Research Korner

Business Plan for Radio Station

Business Plan for Radio Station   Situational Analysis             The radio industry in the Middle East is composed of public service broadcasters and commercial broadcasters and with FM as the primary radiowave. Today, radio broadcasting is a thriving industry with 346 FM radio stations in total. Private FM radios constitute 48% of this total and the rest are government-owned. Liberalisation in the Arab region is reported to be the reason for the growing industry. As it is linked with economic reasons, the need to broadcast in multi-language because of the growing presence of expatriates enhances the number of radio stations (Sennitt, 2009).             Further, there are also radio stations that are broadcasting live on the Internet. Stream types differ depending on the requirement of the radio station. Most of these radio stations are offering rai ballads and pop music, 24/7 (Sennitt, 2009).   Business Description Objectives <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Provide broadcasting services in the Middle East in the field of entertainment </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Broadcast programmes in line with Islamic ideology, national unity and principles of democracy</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Promote right to communicate and encourage creative expression</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Provide right to access to various groups including minority and marginalised</li> </ul>   Services offered             Programmes relating to music will make up the basic programme but will also cater to religious, news and current affair, women and children and youth-oriented programmes. Music continues to remain to be a dominant feature of Middle East radio stations as it involves the diversity of cultures through music.   Market Analysis The need for radio station             Faten Bader, Arab Advisors senior research analyst, noted that, “State-owned radio stations in the Arab World still outnumber private radio stations, although the number of private ones is growing and approaching the number of state-owned radio stations” (Sennitt, 2009). As such, there is an opportunity to establish commercial radio station in the Middle East. Demographics             Basically, anyone who owns a radio or have a computer and Internet access at home can listen to the radio traditionally or virtually. Baby boomers tend to listen more on the former while Generations X and Y listens on the latter. On Internet radio, downloads of music on mobile phones and iPods are possible. Geographical market             The radio station should first cater to the Middle East market prior to extending services on other areas outside the region.   Marketing Strategies and Implementation             The business will be driven by press releases, expo/exhibit participation and word of mouth. The target markets are Generations X and Y and secondarily the baby boomers. Fresh music from pop to cultural to ballads, the radio station should offer a wide array of musical inspiration. The radio station will be positioned as a full-pledged entertainment radio station that caters to the diverse musicality of the Middle East. When it comes to the distribution strategy, the radio will be the key distribution channel which is planned streamed online.   Promotion Strategy             Promotion strategies depend on the requirement of the target market. Initiatives, nonetheless, will center on creating awareness of the existence of the radio station. Conventional advertising will be sought to increase brand recognition. Classified newspapers will be used four times a month for twelve months. Press releases will be also implemented, focusing on the strength of the radio station and how it would succeed the competition. Sponsoring musical events especially on Universities in the Middle East could be also strategic for the radio station. This is a low-cost way of increasing awareness while also building goodwill to the community.             A streamlining website will be created for the radio station so that it can also compete in the Internet radio industry. Basic information about the music will be provided as well as the lyrics and downloads page. Traffic and brand exposure could be achieved using this medium. The radio stations logo will be also displayed for one calendar year on appropriate websites including the music authority in the Middle East and concert pages.   Evaluation and Control Strategies Objectives will be established for the radio station so that actual performance can be measured against them. Each subsequent year, new objectives will be set for these benchmarks and actual performance will be then measured against them. In terms of promotion, it will be obtained from the listeners the information on how and where they learn about the radio station so that the effectiveness of promotion strategies could be evaluated.   Financial Projections Each subsequent year’s budget should adjust spending accordingly. There will be developmental and general operating expenses for the radio station. Funding will be achieved through donors. Advertising rates will be initially offered at low prices to build up the advertising relationship.   References Sennitt, A 2009, ‘Middle East FM radio broadcasting services boom,’ Media Network.

Business Plan for Radio Station

Business Plan for Radio Station Situational Analysis The radio industry in the Middle East is composed of public s...

Cyberspace the Next Playground for the Violent Offenders

The Internet is a Safe Place for Children to Play             The internet is a powerful communication tool and a major source of valuable information. Children today are communicating and interacting using the internet in a multitude of ways. There are online networking sites and online chats. There are also internet games that attract a large number of children. The common uses of the internet are surfing, chatting, email, instant messaging, downloading/file sharing, social networking/blogging and gaming.             Although the internet has become a part of everyday life, there are security and safety threats that children must be protected from. One of the most serious threats to children on the internet on being victimized by a sexual predator. Unsupervised children may find their way into chat rooms or forums, which are proven venues that pedophiles use to lure victims. Other risks include cyberbullying, harassment, and stalking. The feeling of anonymity on the web makes it a perfect playground for students to engage in cruel behavior. Cyberbullying includes acts such as spreading of lies and rumors about a person, insulting and targeting a person’s sexuality or physical appearance, deceiving a person into revealing personal information and then publishing it, and posting personally identifiable information or photos without the victim’s consent.             The internet is not a safe place for children to play. Much like in the real world, the cyber world is fraught with dangers and threats especially to children. Because internet offers a community wherein anyone can enter, interact and communicate, it has become also a place where criminals (cyber criminals) lurk.     Sex Offender Registries Provide Enough of a Warning System for Parents                         Sex offender registries offer accessible information to community members, most especially parents of young children, about the presence of sex offenders in their community. The sex offender registry serves as a tool for warning parents about the possible threats to their child safety and a source of information for informed actions concerning children.             Used correctly and disseminated appropriately, the information from sex offender registries provides valuable information to parents. However, parents must not rely solely on sex offender registries; rather they should work with the local police department and constantly monitor their neighborhoods. Parents must also remember that people who are in the sex offender registries are not wanted from committing a crime and they also have rights.   Local Law Enforcement is Equipped to Deal with Internet Crime             Technological advances especially in the area of communication technology and internet have made a big impact our lives. The creation computer technology has enhanced our lives. Because of computers and the internet, anyone can access unparalleled recreational and educational opportunities. Unfortunately, these technologies are also being used in crimes. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of internet crimes. Computers and the Internet are being used by predators and criminals to commit crimes.             The nature of Internet crimes presents complex new challenges for law enforcement agencies and victim service providers with regard to investigating crimes, collecting evidence, identifying and apprehending offenders, and assisting child victims and their families. The federal and local law enforcement agencies are addressing these issues, but there are still so many things to learn when it comes to preventing, identifying and investigating Internet-based crimes against children.

Cyberspace the Next Playground for the Violent Offenders

The Internet is a Safe Place for Children to Play The internet is a powerful communication tool and a major source of valuable...

Research Proposal Assignment Essay Instructions on Critical Appraisal of Levels of Employee Engagement in W.J. Towell & Co

Research Proposal Assignment Essay Instructions on Critical Appraisal of Levels of Employee Engagement in W.J. Towell & Co

as usual I need your help on this one, am now at final stage of my study and would like you guys to help on my proposal (Research Proposal...

Dangerousness/risk assessment of sexual offenders

Sex offenders A sex offender is a person who has been criminally charged and convicted of, or has pled "guilty" to, a sex crime. Crimes requiring mandatory sex offender registration may include child sexual abuse, downloading child pornography, rape, and statutory rape. The term sex offender is a broad term, with sexual predator often being used to describe a more severe physical or repeat sexual offense. However, someone can be labeled a "sexual predator" if their crime involves the internet in any way.1 In the United States, United Kingdom, and other countries a convicted sex offender is often required to register with the respective jurisdiction's sex offender registry. These registry databases are frequently accessible to the public through the internet. Sexual offenders are also sometimes classified into levels.2 Risk assessment The Abel Assessment for sexual interest is supposedly the newest state-of-the-art objective measure of a possible offender’s sexual interest in children. Gene G. Abel, M.D., who formed the company in 1995, had spent the previous eight years developing a new technology to measure a person’s sexual interests in 22 categories with emphasis on his/her sexual interest in children.3 The person engaged in this study will get a chance to view various pictures and how you rate those pictures. The pictures are a collection of boys, girls, men and women dressed normally, dressed in underwear, dressed with bathing suits and in different situations. Some scenes will depict subjects tied up to reflect "bondage". Some scenes will show ladies dressing through a window. Some scenes will show a man touching people in public. If the examinee stared much on one picture than the other, then the examiner may thought that this person is sexually attracted to the picture shown. After viewing all of the pictures, the questionnaires are the next. This part is very straight forward, but you should understand that a "normal person" does have feelings such as impatience, feelings of anger and has viewed some pornography. The Abel Assessment test will not determine whether a person have committed a crime or not, but rather it will determine whether you have tendencies towards abnormal sexual desires. Civil commitment Involuntary commitment is the practice of using legal means or forms as part of a mental health law to commit a person to a mental hospital, insane asylum or psychiatric ward against their will and/or over their protests. In some jurisdictions (e.g. India), it was once known as the "restraint of the insane". Now it is called "restraint of the mentally ill".4 Many countries have mental health laws governing involuntary commitment. Some, such as the United States, require a court hearing if the individual is hospitalized more than briefly. In most states, police officers and designated mental health professionals can require a brief commitment of an individual for psychiatric evaluation. Purposes of Involuntary Commitment Involuntary commitment is used to some degree for each of the following headings although different jurisdictions have different criteria. Some allow involuntary commitment only if the person both appears to be suffering from a mental illness and that the effects of this produce a risk to themselves or others. Other jurisdictions have criteria that are broader.5 Involuntary civil confinement wets constitutional only if a state could prove by clear and convincing evidence that an individual was: (1) mentally ill and (2) dangerous, either to the individual himself or to society at large. Neither element alone was sufficient to warrant detention.6 The Argument If the individual is evaluated as needing further hospitalization, a court order must be obtained. Doctors, psychologists and/or psychiatrists present written reports to the court and in some cases testify before the judge. The person, who is involuntarily hospitalized, in most U.S. jurisdictions, has access to counsel. A commitment is always time-limited and requires reevaluation at fixed intervals. It is also possible for a patient to challenge the commitment through habeas corpus. The decision means that it is unconstitutional to commit for treatment a person who is not imminently a danger to himself or others and is capable to a minimal degree of surviving on his own.7 There have also been allegations that at certain places and times the practice of involuntary commitment has been used for the suppression of dissent, or in a punitive way. There have been alternating trends towards the abolition or substantial reduction of involuntary commitment via stricter standards for its imposition, and the greater use of involuntary commitment with more lax standards for its imposition.8             For many years, the civil commitment has been a kind of escape in any case that a person is involved. The degradation of one’s self-esteem can be earned if a person enrolled in this psychiatric measure. It seems like a parody just to escape the guilt in the victims. Added to that, the government forced the victims to be rehabilitated and too much damage cannot be erased. Moreover, the worst scenario would be attaching them to the past and depression can kill the victim. The psychiatric institution might only create a niche inside the person and a percentage that he/she doesn’t able to quickly gain the confidence they had before.             The civil commitment legislation should be applicable, if and only if, the person is willing to undertake the different insolent test to fathom the person’s sanity. It is hard to identify who among the sexual offenders really committed a sin, especially when he is mentally incapacitated. The product of some measurements of this kind of psychological tests can lead only to the person to have a doubt in himself. The bearing of a man before he entered inside this recreational program will never be retrieved back to him again. The disappointments amongst the people around him will only make the situation worse. There should be a barrier of who is qualified to enter this institution. The aptitude of the psychologist should apply to those only proven mentally ill and help them to recover. References:

Dangerousness/risk assessment of sexual offenders

Sex offenders A sex offender is a person who has been criminally charged and convicted of, or has pled "guilty" to, a sex cri...

International Business of Pizza Hut

International Business of Pizza Hut             Running a business is a difficult task for the management team, as well as, the owners. The managers and owners must face the challenges and the risks involved in managing a business, especially if it spans internationally. Pizza is one of the most popular foods in the world. Almost every people in this world, at some point in their lives, have tasted Pizza. Pizza marginalised the social status of the people, from class A to E individuals eat Pizza. Therefore, the demand for the food is high and businesses catering to this market have emerged over the past years. One of the most popular Pizza parlours in the world today is the Pizza Hut. The company is one of the oldest chains of restaurants in the industry today, having been in the food industry for almost 50 years. Pizza Hut continues to flourish in the business, adding more chains in every part of this world.             This paper describes the appropriate tools and techniques in the strategic analysis in order to examine the current trends and issues in the business environment of Pizza Hut. In addition, at the beginning of this paper a brief history pf Pizza Hut will be provided. In the strategic analysis of Pizza Hut different methods will be used. For the analysis of the impact of the external environment a PEST analysis will be used, in determining the mobility barriers and the strategic space, strategic group analysis will be utilised. Moreover, for the determination of the competitive advantage of Pizza Hut, Porters Five Forces Analysis will be used and competitor analysis will be used for the determination of the wherabilities of the competitors in order to assess the opportunities and threats in the industry.               Pizza Hut was established on June 15 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by two brothers  and . The brothers had the concept of opening a pizza parlour which was relatively new during the 1950s and the potential of this business was seen by the two. They borrowed around $600 from their mother to buy second-hand equipments and rent a small space to open the first Pizza Hut. The next year, the second store was opened in Topeka, Kansas and for only just a decade Pizza Hut already has 310 pizza parlours in various locations serving approximately a million people. In the year 1970, Pizza Hut was listed in the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PIZ.  In 1986, Pizza Hut already had 5,025 branches in the United States alone with half of it franchised. During the same year, the company introduced the concept of deliver service; the total amount of the sales of the company in 1986 alone amounted to $2 billion dollars. In the years 1990, the total sales of Pizza Hut reached $4 billion dollars world wide. By the year 1996, the sales in the domestic market, which is the United States, have reached over $5 million dollars; the company had the largest share of the market in that year for 46.4%. In the year 1998, Pizza Hut launched their campaign, “The Best Pizzas under one Roof,” in celebration of the company’s 40th anniversary. (2007)             The restaurant of Pizza Hut has a particular concept and design which is a prominent red roof. The services of all the restaurants range from eat-in and carry out with approximately 60 to 90 seating for people.             Pizza Hut, no longer dominates the pizza industry, a number of restaurants have emerged, and thus the playing field for this particular industry have been more competitive in the past decades.  In order to keep up with the competition and remain one of the top players in the industry Pizza Hut must examine the trends and issues using the proper techniques and methods. Impact Analysis             The external environment plays an important role in the sector of business. According to the  (2005) the PEST Analysis is a method utilised in order to examine, identify and assess the external forces that have a huge impact in the performance of an organisation. In addition, the PEST Analysis is used to aid an organisation to obtain a better comprehension of the broader environment in the sector of business and can be used in carrying out the continuous process of environmental analysis. PEST stands for Political, Economic, Social, and Technological Factors. Political Factors- the policies and actions of the government wherein Pizza hut is located, whether national of local affects how the business is being conducted. The political and legal conditions that could affect the business of Pizza Hut are the policies of the local and national government towards business, if the government is more open in the establishment of numerous Pizza Hut restaurants, then more restaurants will be established. On the other hands, if the policies do not protect the business then fewer restaurants will be established. Another factor is the regulation of the business and the environment. If the business environment is not friendly with the company, then there is a possibility that Pizza Hut will not open a restaurant and instead move to a more business-friendly government. Economic Factors- this part is concerned on the overall perspective of the economy. The macro economy of a nation has a huge impact on the business such as Pizza Hut. Factors in the economy include the gross domestic product, the unemployment and inflation rates, the foreign trade deficit and surplus. If the overall economy of a country is not favourable, lesser people will franchise Pizza Hut because they will most likely loss a great amount of money instead obtaining profits. Social Factors- it is the most difficult from the four factors because the attitudes and beliefs of people are difficult to quantify. Aside from the attitudes and beliefs, demographic factors such as population and life expectancy are also important aspects in the analysis of the social factors. The influence of the values and beliefs affects the business of Pizza Hut, example in Muslim countries such as Egypt and Middle East; the recipes of the Pizza do not include pork. In the case of India beef is not served in the Pizza. The changing trends in the taste of the consumers also play an important role in the external analysis of the environment, if the current trend in food is Thai, Japanese or Vietnamese, therefore Pizza Hut can add an additional food such as Vietnamese or Thai soups. If the current trend in the society is being health conscious, thus consumers will demand that the foods be healthy. Technological Factors- the fast changes in technology nowadays has far-reaching effects in the businesses. The factors that have a huge impact are the research and development, internet and e-commerce, and new technologies. The research and development has effects on the business of Pizza Hut because through R&D new products are developed for the business, the internet and e-commerce also contributes to the technological factors because through them customers can give feedback regarding the products of Pizza Hut which can also aid in the research and development, and the service of the company. Strategic Group Analysis             According to  (1985) strategic group analysis is an analytical technique that gives insights in the various approaches utilised by the competitors in the marketplace and the resulting indirect indications for the performance of the organisation. According to Bensoussan (2003) there are five steps in which strategic group analysis can be applied and these are: Analyse industry structure- in the analysis of the structure of the industry wherein Pizza Hut markets, Porter’s Five Forces Industry Analysis can be utilised. Threats of New Entrants- new entrants in the pizza industry could be a threat in Pizza Hut because it can lessen the market share of the company. Usually new entrants offer cheaper products than the established; therefore more customers could be lured in buying their products which eventually would shift from Pizza Hut to these new entrants. The new entrants in this field usually offer cheaper prices of products; therefore Pizza Hut should create measures to counter the approaches used by the new entrants. Bargaining Power of Suppliers- the supplier power is the capability of the supplier to control the cost and supply of the raw materials used in the market. Pizza Hut uses raw materials in creating their products; in order to shift the power from the supplier to the company Pizza Hut can alter it in a number of ways, such as replacing it with substitutes that are cheaper than the prices of the suppliers, Pizza Hut should order in bulk so that the prices will be cheaper, and if Pizza Hut thinks that the suppliers are over-charging then shift to another supplier. Threats of Substitution- it exists when the demand for the product decreases because there are substitute products that performs better at a cheaper price. Although the Pizza Industry has low threats of substitutes, still it poses threats such as instant pizzas, and sandwiches that have pizza flavours. Bargaining Power of the Buyers- the power of the buyer can either be low or high. In low buyer powers the conditions of the market allows the companies or entrepreneurs to enter easily because of the wide markets. On the other hand, a high buyer power the entry to the industry could be hard. In the case of Pizza Hut, the buyers have low power because almost all the people love Pizzas and there arte only few players in the industry, therefore entering to new markets in different parts of the world is easy for Pizza Hut. Degree of Internal Rivalry- it is the final factor in the Five-Force theory, the degree of rivalry can either be low-level or high-level.  In the case of Pizza Hut the competition is in the high-level, although the market is wide, the degree of competition is tough, in order to gain the biggest market share, Pizza Hut must have aggressive advertisement and competitive pricing. Map the Strategic Groups- In mapping the strategic groups, Pizza Hut should list the relevant competitors into strategic groups, and the senior managers should look at the following: Mobility Barriers- the barriers to entry in the pizza parlour industry is relatively low, due to fewer barriers in the entry and the employees do not need to be highly experienced. Bargaining Power- the bargaining power of the suppliers and buyers in the industry is low, therefore the threats to these two is low, however Pizza Hut must still be aware on the changes that may occur. Threat of Substitution- Just like, the mobility barriers and the bargaining power, the threat of substitution is also low; therefore Pizza Hut must also be aware with the entry of the substitutes so that they could create measures to counter it. Rivalry from other strategic groups- the rivalry is stiff in the case of the food industry and in order to come out on top, Pizza Hut must develop attractive menus, as well as, prices so that the company could be one of the top players in the industry. Gauge the Strength of barriers between groups- gauging the strength of the barriers has five steps in which Pizza Hut must follow; first is to determine the factors that prevent companies in a strategic group to compete with companies in another group. Second, Pizza Hut must identify the strength of bargaining power between the buyers and suppliers and the strategic groups and the industry. Third, identify the threats of substitutes between the strategic groups. Fourth, is to examine the strengths of the rivalry between the strategic groups. Last, is to utilise the Porter’s Five-Forces Analysis on strategic groups. Understand the strategy of the firm vis a vis strategic group’s interaction- Choose the membership of Pizza Hut in the prime strategic group. Use the Porter’s five forces model of the strategic group in which Pizza Hut belongs and assess the weaknesses and strengths of the firm. Determine the strategic group that will provide the greatest opportunity to utilise the strength of the company and decrease the weakness of Pizza Hut. Identify the appropriate strategic responses- in identifying the right response to the evolution of the food industry, Pizza Hut must analyse the strategic opportunities and threats that come with the changes in the industry. There are two types of strategic response that could be use in order to meet the challenges and these are mildly proactive and intensely proactive.             Based on the analysis the positive scenarios that could be seen in Pizza Hut is it will penetrate more markets in various parts of the world and the company will gain more shares in the market. However, there are also negative scenarios in the future such as more competition from the new entrants in the market, substitutes would be created in the future, and suppliers may be fewer in the near future.                          International Business of Pizza Hut             In businesses changes always occur in order to cater to the different tastes and trends in the environment. In order to address the changes in the business, strategies are used by the managers and owners so that it could aid in shaping the decision-making and strategic thinking process. Pizza Hut is one of the well-known international businesses in the world today. Almost every country in this world has at least two or more Pizza Hut restaurants. The company has been in the business for almost 48 years and it is considered one of the key players in the industry. For the past years, Pizza Hut has faced a number of challenges over the past years, from new entrants in the market that pose threat in the company, to the shifting tastes of the consumers and the company have surpassed and continues to counter those challenges and threats.             This paper examines the appropriate tools that determine the strategic capability of Pizza Hut.  The techniques the will be utilised in this paper are the resource audit for the analysis of the value and extent of the use of assets, Value Chain Analysis for the examination of the linkage of the value adding activities in order to develop sustainable competitive advantage and core competencies to identify the extent of the exploitation and protection in the business.               It is difficult for a company, like Pizza Hut, to maintain its status for over 40 years and remain one of the top players in the food industry. The restaurants that were established at the same time as Pizza Hut have disappeared completely or have been acquired or merged by other companies. The companies that were not able to withstand the challenges in the business environment were the outcomes of the failure to adapt in the changes in the trends and tastes of the consumers, as well as, the proper utilisation of the techniques in strategic capability and management.             According to   (1996) strategic management is defined as a set of decisions and actions that could lead to the development of efficient strategies that could aid in attaining the objectives of the company. On the other hand, according to  (2007) strategic capability is the ability of an organisation to deliver the future value of their products and services. In the analysis of the strategic capability of Pizza Hut the following methods will be used: Resource Audit              (2007) defined resource audit as the one that determines the available resources to a business. The resources for a business can be categorised in to different categories:             Financial Resources- it is the ability of a company to finance the strategy that it will be utilised. In the case of Pizza Hut since it is an established company and has been in the industry ever since it began, it already has significant investments in its new products, capacity for production and other factors concerning the financial capability of the company. In auditing the financial resources of the company it includes: Existing finance funds- which is the cash balances of Pizza Hut, the overdraft of the bank and loans, the capital of the stakeholders, the capital that is already invested in the business and the creditors. Ability to raise new funds- in raising added funds by adding more stakeholders in the company, Pizza Hut must continuously sustain their reputation of having a good business and management team, the relationship between the investors and lenders to Pizza Hut must also remain strong, and the company must remain attractive, especially to the consumers and the stakeholders. If the company attracts more customers in their restaurants then more stakeholders will invest in Pizza Hut.             Human Resources- according to Tutor2u the human resources in the business is the skills-base of an organisation, such as the skills possessed by the company. In auditing the human resources of Pizza Hut, these factors must be considered: Existing staffing resources- Pizza Hut must identify the number of staff functioning in a particular area of the business, the location of the staff, the qualifications and skills. In a business wherein Pizza Hut is operating having a good staff is important in ensuring the quality of products and consumer loyalty. Aside from the existing staff, Pizza Hut must also keep in track the wastage of incompetent staff and must assess these people. The standard of training for particular jobs in the company is also essential in assuring that the employees will deliver excellent products and services to the consumers. Every now and then Pizza Hut must assess their intangibles such as the culture of the business and determine if it still fits the business strategy or not. Changes required to resources- in the human resources of Pizza Hut changes occurred alongside the utilisation of new strategies in business such as new products and locations. In new business strategies the added human resources are required, in the case of Pizza Hut, every time a branch or franchise is opened in various locations in the world, human resources are being added. The human resources in the new strategies of Pizza Hut could be sourced through employment.             Physical Resources- the physical resources are the operational resources used by organisations to deliver the business strategy and these include: Production Facility- in the production facilities of Pizza Hut it includes the location of the restaurants and the maintenance and investment of each store whether it is a branch or a franchise, another is the process of production of the food the quality of the process of pizzas and the methods used by the Pizza Hut restaurants all over the world. Marketing Facilities- the marketing of Pizza Hut and distribution is involved in the marketing facilities. Pizza Hut was the first restaurant to launch the service delivery to consumers, therefore, adding to the profits of the company. The company also employed advertisements on television, print, and radio. The distribution channel utilised by the company is through person-to-person wherein customers interact with people, however with the advancement in technology and the internet, people can already order online via their website. Information Technology- Just like mentioned above, Pizza Hut is using technology particularly the internet in interacting with its customers, through the internet, consumers can give feedback and order pizza online.             Intangible Resources- these resources cannot be easily distinguished in a business especially when determining how to deliver the business strategy it includes the following: Reputation- Pizza Hut has a reputation of establishing the first Pizza Parlour in the world and the company already has a good track record in the business, therefore, the suppliers and the consumers will probably support if the company changes some of the aspects in the business. Brands- having a strong brand is important in the success of the growth strategy. Pizza Hut was able to do that and the company was able to penetrate in other markets aside from the United States. The brand of Pizza Hut is very strong wherein individuals all over the world have associated Pizza with Pizza Hut. Value Chain Analysis             According to  (2007) value chain analysis is a helpful tool in creating and developing the best possible value for the consumers, at the same time, maximising the profit through using the best route possible. Moreover, according to(2007) it describes the activities that happen in the business and associates it to the analysis of the strength of the business in the competition, the work of Michael Porter stated that the business activities can be grouped into two and these are:             Primary Activities- the primary activities are those directly concerned in the development and delivery of the product. In the value chain analysis the activities that are involved are: Inbound logistics- in inbound logistics in firms such as Pizza Hut the activities are concerned with receiving and storing the sourced materials such as flours and cheese used in making Pizzas. Operations- in Pizza Hut the operations are when the raw materials are converted into Pizzas, and other foods that are in the menu of Pizza Hut. Outbound Logistics- outbound logistics activities in Pizza Hut include the delivery of the Pizzas to the customers and serving the Pizza and foods to the consumer dining-in the restaurants. Marketing and Sales- in marketing the products of Pizza Hut, the company uses advertisement in television, radio and print in order to inform the existing and new products of the company, it also includes prices on new products. Most of the time, Pizza Hut offers affordable prices on its new products in order to entice the consumers to try it. Service- the service does not only mean during marketing and selling the product but also in sustaining the quality of the products. In the case of Pizza Hut, maintaining the taste of the Pizzas and food served in restaurants is an important aspect in the business because it is a key to the loyalty of the consumer. Consumers will buy the product, even if it the prices were raised, as long as the taste and quality is sustained.             Secondary Activities- these are activities not directly involved in the production but aids in the efficacy of the production. Support activities include: Procurement- it is concerned in the acquisition of the raw materials from the suppliers, in the case of Pizza Hut the products are sourced domestically or locally and the procurement managers negotiate the prices. Human Resource Management- the activities mainly concerned in recruiting, training and rewarding the employees of the company. In Pizza Hut, most of the employees are recruited and trained for the specific jobs they applied for. Technology Development- in this activity, the managers utilised various technologies in assessing the status of every Pizza hut restaurants. Technology development also enables Pizza Hut to identify the current trends in the industry through customer feedback and determine the performance of employees, as well as, the restaurant.  Infrastructure- it does not only mean the building that is used by Pizza Hut but also functions such as finance, quality control and senior management. Steps in Value Chain Analysis The first step in Value Chain Analysis of Pizza Hut is to divide the organisation into important activities under primary or secondary, wherein Primary activities include inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service. And the secondary activities are procurement, human resource management, technology development and infrastructure.The next step is adding value in the products through cost leadership strategy or differentiation strategy. Pizza Hut could invest more in creativity, marketing and engineering skills, and the research and development of new products. Last, is to identify the strategies that can be utilised wherein it gives emphasis on activities in which Pizza Hut can gain and sustain competitive advantage. Core Competencies             According to  (2002) core competencies are the abilities that are crucial in attaining the competitive advantage of the business. Core competencies were developed by  and  according to them there are three factors that would aid in the identification of the core competencies of the business and these are: Provides potential access to a wide variety of markets- Pizza Hut was able to enter to various markets all over the world because Pizza Hut was able to develop a clear and distinctive brand that give emphasis on a defined group of customers, which are the Pizza and fast-food lovers. Pizza Hut also developed new type of service which is the delivery service to households, in addition to the aggressive marketing campaign.     Makes a significant contribution to the perceived customer benefits of the end product- Pizza Hut was able to successfully capture the market in Pizza parlours because the company was the first to establish the delivery service, Moreover, aside from Pizzas, Pizza Hut also introduced variety of foods in their menu lists making the food offering more diverse. Pizza Hut has an efficient and reliable service delivery, may it be in the restaurant or not. Difficult for competitors to imitate- although the business can be easily copied, Pizza Hut remained on top due to the excellent quality of the products at affordable and competitive prices.             Pizza Hut has its share of strengths and weaknesses. The strengths include brand recognition because Pizza Hut has been the pioneer in the industry; strength is that Pizza Hut restaurants offers full service and delivery services. Because Pizza Hut has restaurants the company could be able to market to various segments of the society. However, the restaurants can also be the weakness of Pizza Hut because the costs would be doubled than its competitors that have no restaurants. Due to the high costs of restaurants, the prices would also be higher than others.

International Business of Pizza Hut

International Business of Pizza Hut Running a business is a difficult task for the management team, as well as, the owner...

THE IMPACT OF NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE ON UK LABOR MARKET AND UK ECONOMY

Analysis on the Impact of Minimum wage in the labour market and economy of the United Kingdom               Workers around the world are being paid for the amount of work they have done. Over the years changes on the pay sector have dramatically changed and there was the introduction of the minimum wage in the labour market. Minimum wage, according to  (2006) is the monthly or hourly fee to the employees and workers. The first country that passed a legislation regarding the minimum wage is New Zealand in the year 1896, followed by Australia in 1899 and the United Kingdom in 1902. (, 2005).             In the United Kingdom, the minimum wage started way back in the 1524, wherein small towns are having ordinance regarding the wage levels. And on the year 1909 the Trade Boards Act was created, it is composed of For Trades Board in which it sets the minimum wages according to the sector that the employee is working, it was expanded substantially at the end of the Second World War the name was changed to Wage Councils. The Wage Council was nullified in 1993. And in April 1999, Tony Blair’s government presented the national minimum wage having a rate of £3.60 per hour for workers aged 22 up. The present minimum wage of adults in the United Kingdom is £5.35. Workers aged between 18 and 21 have the minimum wage of £4.45 per hour and the minimum wage for workers under the age of 18 is £3.30 per hour. (, 2006)             The reaction regarding the minimum wage varies, there are people in favour for it and there are also opposes it.  (2006) discussed the Pros and Cons of Minimum wage. Some of the reasons why a number of economists agree to abolish minimum wage are: It costs thousand jobs for the economy, teenagers, interns and part time workers have limited options and opportunities and removing the minimum wage will allow the organisations to attain more efficiency and lower prices. However, there are also some people that are not in favour for the abolishment of minimum wage, they believe that adults that are working in jobs with a minimum wage are probably going to lose it to young workers, the employees needed a minimum income in order to survive and pay for the bills and organisations and businesses have bigger chances of abusing the labour market.   The aim of this paper is to discuss the effects of having a minimum wage in the labour market and the economy of the United Kingdom. The literatures provide insights on the impacts of minimum wage in the society and economy as a whole.               The legislation of minimum wage in the United Kingdom dates back as far as in the 1500s, as mentioned earlier. Different studies regarding this issue have already been made over the past years. Some economists are not in favour for the legislation and some are. But, does the minimum wage have an impact in the labour market of the UK? And if it does, are the impacts favourable for the minimum wage workers and the labour market as a whole?             According to the  (2003) it is always assumed that implementing a minimum wage would create lower level of employment in the formal sector and higher unemployment and enlargement of                                                     low wages in the informal sector of the economy. Moreover, the issue regarding minimum wage become controversial and a number of studies were developed. Some of the researches have found negative effects of minimum wage in specific groups such as the youth and disabled persons, on the other hand there are some studies that determined that the effects on employment is weak or even the reverse. As a whole the effects of minimum wage in employment varies between countries and in an industrialised nation like the UK, there is little effect on the employment.  (1998) has reported that when the government announced its minimum wage, the 16 and 17 years old where excluded. He pointed out that 70 percent of the young people ages below 18 are usually working part-time, some of these kids are even working in order to “keep body and soul together.” He argues that if these kids do not have a minimum wage they will be most likely be exploited by their employers. Having minimum wage in all age brackets of workers have positive impacts on the businesses. (1996) discussed that the firms will manage more carefully their employees that are paid above the minimum wage in order to raise a better performance. It will most probably elevate cooperative labour-management relations by having better communications and inclusion of the workers in the business. Minimum wage will ameliorate the incentives that the workers receive, motivate some of the employees to sign off benefits and participate in the labour market. On the other hand,  wrote that although sensible national minimum wage can lower the inequality of the wages without losing jobs it will not help in lessening poverty which is due to lack of work and not low wages. According to the  (2005) the impact of the national minimum wage in the labour market of the United Kingdom is generally positive. As a whole the labour market are continuing to be healthy and there is an increase in the employment rate, at the same time decrease in the unemployment rate.  The total existing weekly work hours has also increased. And with the low inflation and interest rates, the pay settlements are subdued in a relative manner. As a whole the employment has raised especially in the sectors that are directly affected by the National Minimum Wage. And also there is a considerable increase in the sector of low-paying jobs. Moreover, after the introduction of the minimum wage there is a significant diminish of unemployment in all age groups with the exception of 16 and 17 years old. The minimum wage has no relevant negative impact in the labour market. However, the increase of minimum hourly rate of £4.50 to £4.85 will have a great impact on the firms in the United Kingdom. According to the  (2004), a quarter of 520 companies that were surveyed have said that there would be a considerable effect in terms of costs and bigger firms are expecting the most damaging impacts such as jobs and hours will be cut in order to balance the costs. The businesses that would be greatly affected by the increase in minimum wage are the retail, hotels and restaurants. Income and wage inequality is one of the issues different sectors of organisations and the government of the United Kingdom is facing. Minimum wage is legislated so that abuse of some employers could be reduced. But does the national minimum age have an effect on the income and wage inequality of a number of workers? Inequality in payment comes in different forms; there is the gender, age and racial inequality. As mentioned earlier in the case of students working part-time, a number of them experience inequality in payment, by having a national minimum wage for that particular age bracket; abuse of some employers will be reduced. Furthermore, the International Labour Review discussed that the minimum wage can be an effective tool in reducing the male-female earning differentials. And through the minimum wage legislation it has the potential to address the scope and root of discrimination in the structure of the firms. The paper also identified the six categories of causal factors: ·         Component wage- women are always assumed to be secondary earners or have the means in getting family subsidies. By having a minimum wage it raises floor from wage structure towards necessary wages in order to cover the cost of reproduction by a single adult. ·         Powerful employer- women’s domestic responsibilities are often postulated as the only job they are good at in which inhibit the employment options. Minimum wage reduces sanctions of looking for non-standard jobs. ·         Weak representation- women are always underrepresented in organisations. Minimum wage can provide a shift in the representation in the work area. ·         Job segregation- women and men can be seen occupying different jobs. The minimum wage can decrease the gap of wage between jobs that are dominated by male and jobs that are dominated by females and could set up a new basis for the wages of females especially when seeking for employment.  ·         Social value placed on different types of skills- care work are always valued as low in the wage economy. Minimum wage can decrease the disparity in the value between traditional work and care work. ·         Social hierarchies- hierarchies imposes the dominant role of men in the society. Minimum wage can be the foundation in challenging the gender hierarchies.             In addition,  (2002) discussed that the national minimum wage has been efficient in increasing the earnings in the lowest-paid workers. However, in the overall wage inequality, the impact of national minimum wage is rather little, there is also no noticeable impact one the 10th percentile even when the national minimum wage impact is at its largest. The authors identified the two reasons for the small impact in wage inequality: the first one is that the minimum wage was set in a low degree, in which it affects less than 10% of workers. And secondly, the spill over effects is not even existent.             In another study wherein  and  (2004) are the authors, the results were almost the same with the study above. The result of the research was the National Minimum wage in the United Kingdom also has a small impact in the wage inequality in the United Kingdom because it is set in a low level in which it has very minimal spill-over effects. A reason on a small spill-over effect is that the number of workers affected was small and the large expectation of the national minimum wage.             In contradiction, a study by ,  and  (2003) have resulted that the minimum wage have increased a number of home care workers that is the cause of a huge wage compression of the lower end of the allocation of wages, therefore it reduced the wage inequality.             The implementation of a national minimum wage in United Kingdom in the 90s faced a number of controversies. Some people do not agree with having a minimum wage others welcome the idea. The National Minimum Wage has advantages and disadvantages. And based on what is written above, the advantages includes it provides equality in gender in terms of payment, especially in low-paying sectors. Another is it reduces the abuse of workers especially with women, youth and the immigrants. And most of all it increases income of low-wage employees. On the other hand, minimum wages have also its disadvantages such as the employers may not afford to hire more employees especially if the minimum wage increases and the products and services will increase. And it will not aid in reducing the rate of poverty in any country.             And based on the literatures gathered having a national minimum wage implemented in the United Kingdom is rather positive than negative. The employment increased and vice versa. Positive reactions were given especially by the workers that benefited directly in the national minimum wage. Although it had no great effect in the wage inequality in a large proportion, it is due to the fact that the minimum wage earners are small in number. It still impacted the low wagers such as the care home workers.                The scope of the National Minimum Wage is broad. One study cannot equate to the efficiency or inefficiency of the Minimum wage. A number of factors must be studied and researched in order to identify and determine the effect of the implementation of the National Minimum wage, in which will have an effect in the long-run. Further research must be done especially in the sector of youth that are below 18 and working part-time, the sector that is mostly unheard. Another area of research in the minimum wage is the immigrant or foreign workers. A number of foreigners in United Kingdom are working in the minimum wage sector. Additional studies must also be made regarding the impact on the inequality of wages in the larger scale. As a whole, having a national minimum wage is more helpful and useful especially those working in low-paying jobs.                              References:

THE IMPACT OF NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE ON UK LABOR MARKET AND UK ECONOMY

Analysis on the Impact of Minimum wage in the labour market and economy of the United Kingdom Workers around the world ...

The Role of Motivation to the Performance of Employees in Food Retail Sector of UK: Chapters 1 & 2

The Role of Motivation to the Performance of Employees in Food Retail Sector of UK   1.0 Topic for Research The topic chosen for this research is based on the operation of human resource management department, focusing on role of motivation and how it impacts the performance of the people working within the food retailing sector in the UK. The working title of this study is initially drafted as – The Role of Motivation to the Performance of Employees in Food Retail Sector of UK. This study is organisation-based and inputs will be collected from the staff of different food retailing organisations in the UK. 2.0 Rationale for the Chosen Topic Common to all organizations is the fact that they are relying on their people for the continued survival and existence of their organization. People, or the employees, are the key in sustaining the organization and this importance in their role gives responsibility to the organization to motivate them so as they can function more effectively. Motivation gives impetus to behaviour by means of arousing, sustaining and directing such towards a thriving attainment of goals. Therefore, motivation is directly related with satisfaction and retention. While many organizations believe that motivation will positively affect the satisfaction of the employees, the changing nature of organizations, its dynamics and structure could affect the delivery of motivation.  Several previous studies have already proven the interplay between motivation and organizational performance and most organizations confirm the results. However, there are several emergent influencers of motivation today that affect the employees’ performance. Organizations from different industries have different organizational structures and functions, and the food retailing organizations are not an exemption. It would be then desirable to dig deeper into which among the several factors influence performance of food retailing employees in the UK context. Large supermarkets and convenience stores dominate the UK food retail market. Supermarkets account for three-fourth of the sales and the rest is divided to convenience stores and other traditional retailers such as the discount stores. The primary basis of competition among the UK supermarket chains, further, is the price. Prices, however, had resulted in the low profit margins for the industry, affecting its growth in return. Such dwindling profits forced the supermarkets to look for new avenues to promote and sell their food products to remain competitive in the market. Product and process innovations are the areas where the UK retailers have focused their attention to (Defra, 2006). Performance at individual level is being jeopardized and subjected to various organizational changes. Specifically, as food retailing organizations became larger, more complex and more problematic, concerns about organizational performance and competencies development and how these could likely to impact culture and direction of the organization have been in the forefronts of business dialogues. There had been much talk about the role of motivation and their development but very little has been done on developing motivation-based performance and much little progress on investigating organizational performance and its relative effect on employees working in the food retailing organizations. The issue is decided to be investigated upon because of the many issues surrounding the correlation between motivation and job performance is an inconclusive ideology and that there are no established direct causality. Within the workplace, motivation will serve as the driving force in building and establishing relationships, persistence in accomplishing individual objectives, accomplishing difficult tasks and meeting deadlines at the very least. There is a drive then to ascertain the various effects of motivation on the ability of an individual to perform well on the job. Job performance is not predicted by cognitive ability alone but creativity, leadership ability, integrity and cooperation as well. Dalal and Hulin (2008) defines motivation as the combined effect from three choice behaviors – choice to expend effort, choice of level of effort to expend, and choice to persist in the expenditure of that level of effort. As such, work experience, physical work conditions, lack of control over work content and processes, unrealistic demands and lack of understanding by the management are the underlying conditions. These resulted in alteration of working conditions and processes and strong control from the management, all of which contributes to the performance of the employees. There is the necessity then to explore motivation and how it impacts job performance. Job performance is one of the most misunderstood concepts in management. Motivation, according to Campbell (1990), is a precursor of effective job performance. This study seeks to investigate the beneficial and detrimental effects of motivation on employee’s performance. The premise is that depending on the levels of motivation of the people it will cause outcomes and will yield to either productive or counterproductive practices especially in the workplace. 3.0 Statement of the Problem A study on the relationship between employee motivation and employee performance within the UK food retail sector, this study intends to give answer to the following questions: 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%"> 	 	How do the employees perceive the overall motivation program of the food 	retailing companies in the UK? Are the activities within the motivation 	program adequate? If not, in what specific areas do the program is lacking?</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%"> 	 	How do the employees perceive their overall job performance? Are they 	satisfied enough to stay within the food retail industry for good? If not, 	what specific factors contribute to the levels of performance of the 	employees?</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%"> 	 	How do the employees perceive the overall motivation strategies of the UK 	food retailing sector? What are the contributing factors for an employee to 	be demotivated leading to low performances? How can the sector address such 	factors?</li> 4.0 Objectives of the Study In lieu with answering the above research questions, the study will address the following specific objectives: 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%"> 	 	To identify reasons for the employee motivation strategies employed by food 	retailing organisations;</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%"> 	 	To identify factors that affects the levels of motivation of the employees 	working in the UK food retailing sector;</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%"> 	 	To examine the relationship between employee motivation and individual 	performance; and</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%"> 	 	To establish guidelines and solutions to make employee motivation more 	strategic for food retailing organisations.</li> 5.0 Significance of the Study This study is undertaken to advance the awareness in various human resource management issues within the UK food retailing sector which will provide greater efficiency to the organizations. Understanding the issues and how these affect the conduct of the company can further the human resource management processes proactive and advantageous. Among the human resources issues to be addressed in this study are employee motivation, job satisfaction, staff retention and staff turnover. The study is also important as it can relate the factors affecting the likelihood of success through effective employer-employee relationship that is buffered by the human resource department.  On a more personal note, I am expecting a role in the business environment in the future hence it is my role to contribute to literatures concerning understanding strategic human resource management or how relationships within the food retailing sector can be made more strategic. 6.0 Scope and Limitations of the Study The study is limited on the elements of human resource management unique to the UK food retailing organizations. The utilization of a company as the basis of the case study is another limitation because of the fact that it cannot make generalizations. To compensate, a recommendation for future study will be provided so as to promote the continuous investigation on the issue. In this way, a continuum of learning through investigation on this issue could be promoted. Survey is the primary means in the study in collecting data. The study is also limited only the pieces of information that the respondents are willing to disclose. It is limited to the respondents’ capability to answer such questions. There may be commercial information also that may not be disclosed because of its commercial confidentiality. 7.0 Conceptual Framework The most basic theory of motivation is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as shown in Fig. 1. Such theory explains the motivating factor as the desire to achieve or maintain a condition where satisfaction rests. The five needs Maslow relates are the physiological, safety, love and belongingness, esteem and self-actualization needs. Physiological needs sustain our physical life. Security needs refer to people’s physiological needs of safety, shelter and economic security. Love and belongingness needs conform to affiliations and affinities. This third need is a direct requirement for the fourth one which is esteem needs or a healthy personal life. Self-actualization needs are growth needs that are forward-looking and forward-driven (Maslow, 1943, pp. 394-395).   Figure  SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs The second theory that the study will going to make use of is the Porter and Lawler model. This model depends upon the expectancy theory where the basis is the perceived degree of relationship between how much effort an individual expends and the performance that results from that effort (Muchinsky, 2008, p. 380). The Porter and Lawler motivation model emphasizes that actual performance in a job is primarily determined by the effort spent. However, motivation is also affected by the individual’s ability to perform the job and by the individual’s perception of what the required task is. Such performance could lead to intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, in conjunction with the equity of individual, resulting to satisfaction. Thereby, the satisfaction of an individual in performing a task depends upon the justice of rewards (Shah and Shah, 2008). As McKenna (2000) puts it, the message conveyed by the model is that should not only to enrichment through challenge, variety and autonomy but also empowerment achieved through extrinsic rewards (p. 108).   8.0 Organisation of the Study The thesis shall be divided into five chapters in order to provide clarity and coherence on the discussion of the role of motivation in performance of employees working in food retailing organizations in the UK. The first part of the dissertation will be discussing the background, problem statement, questions and objectives and the significance and limitations. The second chapter shall be discussing the relevance of the study in the existing literature. It shall provide studies on information sharing processes, supply chain and buyer-supplier relationship. After the presentation of the existing related literature, the researcher shall provide a synthesis of the whole chapter in relation to the study. The third part of the study shall be discussing the methods and procedures used in the study. The chapter shall comprise of the presentation of the utilized techniques for data collection and research methodology. Similarly, it shall also contain a discussion on the used techniques in data analysis as well as the tools used to acquire the said data. The fourth chapter shall be discussion of the results of the study. Data to be presented will be statistically treated in order to uncover the relationship of the variable involved in the study. With the said data, the chapter seeks to address the statement of the problem noted in the first chapter. The last chapter shall comprise of two sections: the conclusions of the study, and the recommendations. With the three portions, the chapter shall be able to address the problem stated in the initial chapters of the study.                     2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Motivation theory Motivation gives impetus to behaviour by means of arousing, sustaining and directing such towards a thriving attainment of goals. Movers which literally means to move is the foundation of motivation which then takes the meaning as an internal drive that activates one’s behaviour and gives it direction. Psychologically, motivation refers to the biological, emotional, cognitive or social forces that activate and direct behaviour. Managerially, motivation involves activities of managers and leaders to persuade individuals to produce the desired results. To put it in context, motivation has a direct interrelation with ability and performance, purporting to minimize dissatisfaction among the employees. Individual empowerment is the key which is perceived as a precursor to higher productivity and higher quality.  This is central to understanding the employee needs and expectations. When this comes to these aspects, there are content and process theories to motivation. Basic difference is that the former focuses on internal factors which direct behaviour while the latter provides an opportunity to understand though processes that influence behaviour. Levels of interest and satisfaction of works; the significance and meaning or work; and expectations and communal needs all relates to theories of motivation. Thereby, business entities must adapt only the necessary motivational elements that present and future situations require, that can be align with cultural variability, the needs of the people, the corporate culture and values and that resonate with the differences of attitudes and behaviours toward work, for instance. Although motivation theory is tended on attaining goals, it is more emphasized on issues of economic realities of reward such as increase in salaries, promotions and benefits. To wit, what motivates people to act (or perform) could be measured by the idea that effort could result in performance which then could be rewarded and with the value of reward depending on the exerted effort. Put simply, when an employee wants more pay, s/he tends to believe that working harder could probably result in getting more pay. As such, they will work harder and perform better for these employees to attain and get more pay according to that level of performance (Muchinsky, 2008, p. 380). Fudge and Schlacter (1994) made mention that emphasizing individual perceptions of the environment mean performing based on personal expectations. The strong points of motivation theories lie on the conception that there are extrinsic motivators that explain behaviours exhibited within the workplace whereby external rewards are envisioned as motivation inducers that fuel behaviours that are derived as a consequence of internal forces as enjoyment of work for instance. As such, the result of these three beliefs is motivation embedded on individual factors such as personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities. Initially, motivating the people is intended for career advancements. Motivation theories intend to teach organizations and its members how to set goals from team and organizational levels. Individuals thereby devise goals by using organizational objectives, statement of values and vision and mission statements. These theories are thus strategic when it comes to implementing goals in the workplace. Strategic goal setting skills of individuals could lead to development and implementation of action plans while also identifying the factors that could influence strategic goals and putting the organization and individual goals into action (Harvey and Brown, 2007). There is the need to identify goals mentally to be followed by comparing performance against these goals. The pressure, however, is on creating a working environment where individuals are contributing. 2.2 Employee motivation The term motivation has both psychological and managerial connotation. The psychological meaning of behaviour refers to the internal mental state of a person that relates to the initiation, direction, persistence, intensity and termination of behaviour. The managerial meaning of motivation deals with the activity of managers and leaders to induce others in order to produce results desired or outlined by the organization or by the manager. The managerial concept of motivation conforms to a relationship between motivation, ability and performance. The main purpose of motivating your workplace is to minimize dissatisfaction and to keep people within the organization. There are so many factors that an individual employee may be motivated. Examples of this are technical supervision, interpersonal relations, salary, working conditions, status, company policy and job security (Tosi et al, 2000, pp. 129-133). Further, reward systems, most especially, are the considered as forerunners of employee motivation (Caruth and Handlogten, 2001, p1). Since the people and their knowledge, skills and abilities are the most important driving force to the success of any organization, continuing commitment and support to them could be realized through looking for effective ways to reward their contributions, loyalty, dedication and efforts. Reward systems, for instance, must be created in such a way that employees will be compensated to enhance motivation, growth and productivity while also encouraging them to align their efforts with the company's objectives, philosophies, culture and values. Reward and punishment is composed of direct and indirect monetary incentives. The latter consists of pay and rewards received by employees in the form of wages and salaries, incentives, bonuses and commissions whereas the former comprises of the benefits supplied by the employers. According to Sims (2002), these non-financial compensations include employee recognition programs, rewarding jobs and flexible work hours to accommodate personal needs. An ideology is that commitment and motivation are an outgrowth from organizational behaviour that place emphasis on management strategy connecting human resource management with organizational behaviour and management strategy (Guest, 1987). An incremental function of human resource management is central on the emergence of better educated workforces and higher individual expectations. Employees would be motivated to perform even more through more incentive. Eventually, employee turnover rates would be lessened and positive reinforcement would lead to higher job satisfaction. The drive is to provide challenging and interesting work, recognitions and rewards for accomplishments and provide an opportunity for fast career growth and advancement. At the individual attitudes/behavior level of the best fit model, and in schemes of total human development, an effective management is characterized by the promotion of attitudes that value contribution and performance. Further, reward systems, most especially, are the considered as forerunners of employee motivation (Caruth and Handlogten, 2001, p1). An ideology is that commitment and motivation are an outgrowth from organizational behaviour that place emphasis on management strategy connecting HRM with organizational behaviour and management strategy (as cited in Caruth and Handlogten, 2001). An incremental function of HRM is central on the emergence of better educated workforces and higher individual expectations. Employees would be motivated to perform even more through more incentive. Eventually, employee turnover rates would be lessened and positive reinforcement would lead to higher job satisfaction. The drive is to provide challenging and interesting work, recognitions and rewards for accomplishments and provide an opportunity for fast career growth and advancement. At the individual attitudes/behavior level of the best fit model, and in schemes of total human development, an effective management is characterized by the promotion of attitudes that value contribution and performance. 2.3 Motivation and other HR functions As already noted, reward systems are considered as the frontrunners of employee motivation, as according to Caruth and Handlogten (2001, p1). It is in this sense that organizations should reorganize the existing pay elements to reflect the pay requirements in the global and local scales. As well, it should also reflect Healthcare’s continuing commitment and support to the employees by looking at effective ways to reward contributions, loyalty, dedication and efforts. Reward systems have psychological dimensions of work leading to job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is the degree of one’s job is valued through reward systems. As Caruth and Handlogten puts it, compensation as reward encompasses all of tangible and intangible, monetary and non-monetary and physical and psychological rewards that an organization provides its employees in exchange for the work perform (2002, p. 6).  With this said, it would be necessary to determine how reward systems could move along with the changes in the workplace particularly in terms of global to local contexts. In terms of locally adapting variable pay, the explanation is simple. Supervisor biases, inaccurate or unfair performance measures, difficulty in assessment, inertia, and the like, undermine the intent of rewarding individual performance, particularly when combined with traditional compensation practices that prevent above-average performers from being paid appreciably more than average or poor counterparts (Caruth and Handlogten, 2002). Measuring the performance therefore requires the decision to consider rates of return. Pay-performance sensitivities emerge in relation to time hence it appears that the organization’s cost relative to the employees both in headquarters and in subsidiaries is determined not by the performance alone but also the time that employee will spend on the organization. With this, compensation represents the employee’s share of value creation. Notably, if an organization’s reward system revolves around group or division or unit performance; similar financial rewards for each unit, group or division can create individual perceptions of inequity as individual contributions are likely to be dissimilar.  Such inequities are thought to be resolved by these groups, units and divisions by developing their own intangible rewards such as recognition (Morris, 2004). This is the main reason why the pay components of individual and my unit and broader context are exchanged. Reward system supports job satisfaction when there is reciprocity between behaviors and rewards.  According to Caruth and Handlogten (2001), the compensation system should focus on providing individual rewards that recognize and reinforce individual performance. Outstanding individuals are often eligible to receive performance bonuses or recognition awards. The emphasis on individual rewards often fosters a spirit of competition. When it comes to fringe benefit which is placed on both sides, the truth is that maximizing personal compensation is not the only motivation that people have in their work. As we move up Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we discover that once our basic material needs are satisfied, money becomes less important to us. In my experience, deeper purpose, personal growth, self-actualization, and caring relationships provide very powerful motivations and are more important than financial compensation for creating both loyalty and a high performing organization. Employees are basically motivated by extrinsic rewards which also guides them to illicit the expected attitudes and behaviours among them. In modifying the current global performance management system, employees would be motivated to perform better through justifiable incentives. Eventually, employee turnover rates would be lessened and positive reinforcement would lead to higher job satisfaction (Rummler and Brache, 1990). There is the drive to provide challenging and interesting work, recognitions and rewards for accomplishments and provide an opportunity for fast career growth and advancement. An effective pay management considered at the global context should be characterized by the promotion of attitudes that value contribution and performance (Morris, 2004). Pay for performance has emerged as a strategy for responding to demands for increased productivity and management accountability. Long-term and short-term incentives then are critical. The explicit nature of reward or pay system is realized on cash compensation and performance. While year to year performance of the employee is measured and analyzed to determine the pay, the contract of the employees conforms to time trends. This means that the organization also invests in the employees in both short and long-term. 2.4 Motivation and performance Individual empowerment refers to providing them decision powers and sense of ownership as this was perceived to bring higher productivity and higher quality. The key element is to align individual purpose and vision to the organization’s culture that could lead to interest, concern, commitment and responsibility. As Michael Armstrong put it, paying for performance and competence provide the employers and the business a competitive edge (2002, p. 28). The challenge herein peruses on employee’s motivation and ability. How can a company reach a competitive advantage when workers are continuously coming in and out of the company? Are the skills and competence of the newly hire workers can compensate the demands of the job? Thus, companies are usually tended to hire only those whom they can immediately align their potentials with the company’s expectations at a fixed rate despite the high performance of the workers. Maintaining commitment to a core strategy means to enable the people within that organization. Enabling also means to hone a participative and responsive culture. In this way, the enthusiasm of the people regarding organizational changes will be sustained, for instance. The height of the momentum will enable them to fully commit in terms of performance and productivity (Fitz-Enz, 2005). Further, sustaining commitment is always directed to the future. To wit, competitive advantage could be only achieved one the organization learned to develop strategic capabilities that are appreciated by all its stakeholders. The key is to convert core human competencies into human strategic commitment. The drivers of human development are knowledge and skills, relationship management and conceptual thinking. Rummler and Brache (1990) assert that there are three levels of performance within an organization such as organization, process and individual. In the organization level, strategies, goals and measures are considered as both the drivers and bases of performance. Nevertheless, the main work of the organization occurs in the second level which is multifunctional. Individuals who often find themselves as part of more than a single process perform in relation to others. These levels and their interplay serve as the vantage points of any organization (Rothwell et al, 2007). Performance accrues competitive advantage or the position that any firm occupies against its competitors. Porter (1985) argued that the basis of above-average performance within any given industry is sustainable competitive advantage. As such, an organization can only achieve sustainable competitive advantage when its value-creating processes and position have not been able to be duplicated or imitated by other firms. Rothwell et al (2007, p. 49) stated that competitive advantage at individual levels centers the collective performance resulting to organizational process that contributes to the attainment of organizational goals. When it comes to managing individual performance, performance management purports on establishing a culture, sharing expectations, creating interrelationships and a joint-holistic-continuous process which also involves planning and measurement (Sims, 2002). As such, organizations seek informations to improve systems and on which to base rewards through assessing the performance. Simply performance appraisal, employee’s contribution to the organization during a specified period of time is evaluated so that specific corresponding reward could be determined. References Armstrong, A. (2002). Employee Reward. CIPD Publishing. Brown, D. R. & Harvey, D. (2005). An Experiential Approach to Organization Development. (7th Ed.). Prentice Hall. Caruth, D. L. & Handlogten, G. D. (2001). Managing Compensation (And Understanding It Too): A Handbook for the Perplexed. Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Caruth, D. L. & Handlogten, G. D. (2002). Compensating Sales Personnel. The American Salesman, 6-15. Dalal, R. S. & Hulin, C. L. (2008). Motivation for what? A multivariate dynamic perspective of the criterion. In R. Kanfer, G. Chen, & R. D. Pritchard (Eds.), Work motivation: Past, present, and future (pp. 63-100). New York: Routledge. Defra, C. (2006). Economic Note on UK Grocery Retailing. Food and Drink Economics Branch. Fitz-Enz, J. (2005). The 8 Practices of Exceptional Companies: How Great Organizations Make the Most of Their Human Assets. American Management Association. AMACOM Division.   Fudge, R.S. and J.L. Schlacter (1999). Motivating Employees to Act Ethically: An Expectancy Theory Approach. Journal of Business Ethics, 18(3), 295-304. Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50(1), 394-395. McKenna, E. F. (2000). Business Psychology and Organizational Behaviour: A Student’s Handbook. Psychology Press. Morris, D. (2004). Strategic Reward Systems: Understanding the Difference between ‘Best Fit’ and ‘Best Practice. National University of Ireland Publication. Muchinsky, P. M. (2008). Psychology Applied to Work: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Hypergraphic Press, Inc. Rummler, G. A. and Brache, A. P. (1990). Improving Performance: How to Manage the White Space on the Organization Chart. San Francisco: Brache; Jossey-Bass Publishers. Shah, K. and Shah, P. J. (2008). Theories of Motivation.  Sims, R. (2002). Organizational Success through Effective Human Resources Management. Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Tosi, H. L., Mero, N. P. & Rizzo, J. R. (2000). Managing Organizational Behaviour. Blackwell Publishing.

The Role of Motivation to the Performance of Employees in Food Retail Sector of UK: Chapters 1 & 2

The Role of Motivation to the Performance of Employees in Food Retail Sector of UK 1.0 Topic for Research The topic chosen fo...