Research Articles Base: Dissertation Free Samples

Dissertation

4.0 Findings and research             The main goal of this dissertation is to identify the factors behind the inefficiency of the weaker (small scale sector) against their giant counterpart in the textile and apparel industries. In addition, it also aims to determine the ways in which small scale business in this sector can use to overcome the challenges they are facing in the global market This part of the research study provides the analysis on how the change in the textile and apparel industry took place and how each player in the industry reacted or responds to the change. In this regard, the analysis will be based on the secondary data collated from different journals, articles and books relevant to the changes in textile and apparel industries. The main goal of this paper is to determine the factors that affects the   Changes in textile and Apparel Industries and their response The advent of the twenty-first century has been characterized by constant change and not one organization can escape the effects of operating in a turbulent, dynamic and an ever-changing environment. The forces of change are so great that the very success and survival of any organization is dependent on how well they respond to change and whether they can actually stay ahead of change (2002). In addition, change from forces such as globalization, persistent technological innovations, exceptional competition, political upheaval and the opening of new markets puts forth constant pressure on firms of various sizes and types. Consequently, these firms are starting to shift their gears in responding to evolving advancements of the world ( 2002). Indeed, change has driven firms to rethink and review their current strategies. Companies have now begun to think globally in order to remain competitive in the business field. In addition, companies have now also operated internationally in response to the changes occurring in the environment. Such strategies in response to the demands of the competitive business field also include the shift of domestic supply chain management into global supply chain management. In the past few decades, textile and apparel companies have been struggling to reinvent themselves (1997). By investing in new technologies, merging to reduce costs, employing offshore plants to perform certain operations, and developing new products and services, they have been attempting to find a niche in the international market. According to some measures, they have been successful, as production has remained stable and many companies have been profitable. As noted in the literature review, analysis shows that textile and apparel industry is highly competitive business where product life is short and differentiation are established on brand image and product styling which can be quickly imitated.  Throughout the past two decades, the competition on price and quality has intensified as low cost global manufacturing became accessible to even small competitors. In the recent years, competition has lifted to the area of timing and know-how where vertically integrated industries has been able to gain the lead in implementing set of process innovations known as quick response, generated to shorted the production cycle ( 1999). On one hand, less integrated industries have started to erode that advantage, but the integrated industries that have linked quick response into retailing continue to have superior capabilities and potentialities. These industries demonstrate the component of organisation needed to link fast cycle and flexible manufacturing with rapid learning regarding demand and customer satisfaction. There are many factors that enable textile and apparel industries in the world to pursue changes and innovation. Some of these include macroeconomic changes, growth and development of a more integrated world economy, labour market alterations, the existence of globalization and the emergence of micro-electronic innovation in information communication technology (1996). As mentioned in the previous chapters, some of the main aspects impacting the competitiveness of textile and apparel industries include industrial and trade policies, trade barriers, financial capital, buying power, impact of Multinational industries on socio-economic industry and managerial skills. With these factors, changes in textile and apparel industries have become of the anticipated phenomenon in the global market. In the late 1990s and after the turn of the century, most of the earlier trends in manufacturing industry, specifically in textile and apparel industries have continued if not intensified. As mentioned in the literature review, textile and apparel industries have encountered dramatic changes in many aspects including the regulatory environment when the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement Textiles and Clothing (ATC) replaced the MFA in 1995. This change has resulted in further import penetration of the global market.  The opening of the European Union markets to imports and the removal of the trade barriers against imports. In addition, it can also be analysed that changes in textile and apparel industries took place because of the emergence of globalisation and liberalisation trends, have further exposed most textile and apparel industries in the global market ( 2004). The process of globalisation is commonly recognised to be characteristic of contemporary international developments.  Contemporary processes of globalisation have several dimensions or faces: technological, cultural, religious, economic and political. None of these is in itself good or bad. All should be understood as ambiguous, with potential for good and evil, but in the current phase of globalisation it is important to distinguish the different faces of globalisation and identify with a potential to pursue the good. Globalisation implies two distinct phenomena. First, it suggests that political, economic and social activity is becoming worldwide in scope. Secondly, it suggests that there has been an intensification of levels of interaction and interconnectedness among the states and societies (1991). Among these relations are those created by the progressive emergence of a global economy, the expansion of transnationals links which generate new forms of collective decision-making, the development of intergovernmental and quasi-supranational institutions, etc. (1990). The term “globalisation” is elusive and multifaceted; although globalisation is a real and dramatic intensification of existing international patterns including the trends in the textile and apparel industries. Critics of present global developments call for the development of popular accountability on the part of national and global institutions, for more public control over these institutions, for a true internationalism, and for just alternatives to the criminal activities of international financial institutions (2000;  2000:; 2000; 2000).             Changes in textile and apparel industries, took place, especially for developing countries like India, because of the strong competition post by the larger multinational industries in the global market. The general trend has been for textile and apparel manufacturing to become more and more capital intensive and labour intensive. In contrast, the textile and apparel industry, especially among developing countries remains far more disjointed organisationally and is considered as less sophisticated technologically. In addition, retailers of these industries are of notable and growing importance and have enormous impact on the organisation and location of clothing production. In this regard, Buyer-drive production chains are said to be one of the factors that change the current situation of the textile and apparel industry ( 2003).             Aside from these, other aspects that enable changes in this sector, is the existence of the highly concentrated purchasing power of the large retail chains. This aspect gives the industries enormous leverages over apparel and textile manufacturers.  When the global market was dominated largely by the mass market retailers, at low cost, demand for these industries was for long production runs of standardised product.              As mentioned, in the previous chapters, the differentiated market and the buyer behaviour has also been considered as one of the aspects that enable changes in the textile and apparel industry. In this regard, manufacturing industries both in developing and developed countries are forced to respond far more rapidly to the demands of the global market and specifications. Under this situation, the time involved in meeting orders becomes as essential as the cost ( 2003).  The proliferation of the products and the short cycles of product generation, reflected in ever-changing styles and product differentiation, contribute to the demand uncertainty for both the textile and apparel retailers and manufacturers, hence making forecasting of demand and production planning harder for these industries each day.             In the global market, where textile and apparel industries must supply an increasing number of demands with fashions aspects, flexibility and speed are also crucial capabilities for firms competing with product proliferation, whether they are retailers that tries to offer broad range of choices for consumers or industries responding to retail demands (1999).  Another fundamental element in realising the requisite levels of flexibility lies in the reduction of uncertainty. Traditional methods of operation rely heavily upon sales forecasting systems which drive all activity. This leads to large amounts of uncertainty and consequent holdings of buffer stocks in order to combat unknown demand. Fast and flexible response, however, reduces forecast reliance and removes uncertainty by applying different operational practices to individual product groups, distribution channels, retailers, etc. Hence, true demand patterns become evident and easier to satisfy.             Consequently, textile and apparel industries need to factor in demand uncertainty and product proliferation, in which both needs a specific level of time-sensitive agility, when establishing decision. Players or actors in textile and apparel industries in the global market have been able to react positively to the changes in these sectors (See Figure 1)  One of the responses made by these industries to be able to stay in the competition is the consideration of information technologies and telecommunications.  The emergence of more advanced information technologies indicates a fundamental support in the management of most textile and apparel industries. Generally, ICT is made up of innovations, gadgets and instruments that are based on technology; these enable users to improve their operations, products and services. Some concrete examples of ICT include computer systems, internet and wireless communication. Before it was used to improve government and public administration processes, ICT was able to provide several advantages to different fields. One of which is the business sector. In all types of business, innovation and expertise are two of the important elements to be considered. In particular, information and communication technology (ICT) encourages companies to become competitive by means of expanding their markets, attracting and retaining customers through tailored services and products as well as restructuring their current business strategies. This in turn affects the business industry by transforming internal processes and external relationships ( 2001;  1998).             There are several business industries that have already realized the significant role ICT has in their operations. For instance, in the manufacturing sector such as the textile and apparel industries in various countries, ICT has been utilized by several companies in order to improve their production and supply chain operations. Presently, various information systems are made available to business owners, from less-sophisticated to more advanced systems for this purpose. In particular, internet utilization facilitated the ease of interaction between business and business partners (B2B) and consumers (B2C). Through the internet, online deliveries, information searches as well as mass customization are all made available to the customers. Manufacturers, suppliers and distributors on the other hand, benefit from internet utilization through well-coordinated information sharing. Online auctions are even made possible with this breakthrough (Emiliani, 2000).  Aside from managing companies’ supply chain procedures, ICT also improve production processes in textile and apparel industries. Specifically, these technologies enable business firms to perform mass production of textile and apparel products at a lesser time with greater quality. Interacting with external partners has also improved significantly due to intranet systems and e-commerce platforms used by textile and apparel industries as their response to the changes in this sector. Through the establishment of communication networks, manufacturers, suppliers and consumers are able to interact efficiently and textile industries are able to identify the latest trends in the EU market. Aside from these, handling valuable data becomes less tedious and costly as ICT systems allow automatic information gathering and processing ( 2000). In hypercompetition, industries continually disrupt the status quo to generate a series of temporary advantages (1994). Textile and apparel industries are continually jockeying for having competitive position with new products and marketing efforts in an attempt to get the imagination of the target market with image and styling. Analysis shows that textile and apparel industries create short-lived differentiation advantages which are easily and rapidly eroded through innovative styles. The textile and apparel industries, especially those small scale businesses is characterised by very short product life, numerous competitors, fickle consumer preferences, significantly easy entry and exit and a myriad of marketing, retailing and manufacturing alternatives. In this environment, competitive advantage, especially for those small scale businesses in India, or even in other markets is difficult to establish and nearly impossible to sustain. Competition in the area of quality and price has intensified in this industry and low cost manufacturing firms, especially in India initially gave an advantage to larger textile and apparel firms which are moved earlier.  In this regard, the large number of sophisticated subcontractors in various developing countries like India has made low-cost global manufacturing available to even small competitors. Part of the response of the textile and apparel industries is the concept known as quick response (1990). Part of these responses, is the use of vertical integration. Analysis shows that vertically integrated textile and apparel industries have led to the implementation of quick response. The apparel industry are said to face a number of regulatory challenges that distort investment patterns and trade flows. The proliferation of customs practices and labelling schemes will still lead to some market fragmentation even as harmonization in some areas leads to market consolidation ( 2003).   Production Process between China and India Many have pointed to the creation of a textile and apparel industry as the cornerstone of this “trade not aid” reorientation (1999). Businesses are said to be eyeing Asia as a new source for low-cost textile and apparel imports for global markets (1999). Policymakers see this sector as a quick way to generate employment and stimulate basic manufacturing skills that can be used for other industries. Development economists are no doubt attracted to the notion that production and employment in textiles and apparel can stimulate other improvements in basic infrastructure and other social needs such as education and health. The increasing complexity of the apparel industry makes it difficult to derive a precise figure for overall world apparel trade. Complex production-sharing arrangements and the proliferation of regional, and sometimes overlapping, trading blocs lead to double counting that muddles the import-export picture. At the same time, developing countries, particularly those in Asia and those in close proximity to major markets, have secured the dominant share of the world market for apparel exports. Asian countries account for more than half of all apparel exports, or about billion in 1996 (1999). In Asia, India and China textile and apparel industries are able to have their distinctive and unique manufacturing process. During the period of Mao, textile and apparel industry in China, not only met the basic clothing demands of the China’s predominantly poor but large population, but it also served as an essential source of capital for projects in some industrial sectors. Indeed, the apparel and textile manufacturing has borne an enormous tax burden in the half of the century since the establishment of People’s Republic of China (PRC) (1998) Most important to this study, China has emerged as one of the leading international traders of textile products. According to official statistics compiled by the WTO, China was the world’s largest exporter of both textiles and clothing in 1999, accounting for 9% and 16% of the international market, respectively. (Overall, China leads the world industry with a total market share of 13%) While China is not a big importer of clothing, it is the world’s second largest importer of textiles (many of which are re-exported after processing), taking in 7% of total international sales in 1999 (2000). By any measure, therefore, China has become a major player in the world industry. Indeed, textile trade is critical not just to the Chinese industry itself (e.g., exports account for slightly more than one-half of China’s production of textiles and clothing by value), but to the entire Chinese economy, as well (2001). While the share of textile and clothing products in China’s total exports had declined to 22% by 1999 from a high of 30% in 1994, it was still close to the 23 percent share recorded in 1980. (Indeed, textile and clothing exports still account for nearly one-half of China’s total light industrial exports). This record is especially remarkable given the quantity-based restrictions placed on China under the MFA. Indeed, it suggests how successful the industry has been in moving upmarket. While the relative share of textile and clothing products in China’s total exports has declined modestly over time, the absolute value of these sales has continued to rise steadily, reaching U. S. billion in 1999 (1999). In fact, only in 1996 did the textile sector finally relinquish its leading position in China’s export profile to the machinery and electronics sector. Rather amazingly, therefore, nearly U. S. out of every U. S. of Chinese exports is still earned from the sale of textiles and clothing, this despite the rapid growth of Chinese exports across an increasing number of industrial sectors. Any history of the textile and apparel industry in the PRC must begin with the establishment of MTI in 1949 (2004). One of the original four industrial ministries set up under the supervision of the State Council, MTI was charged with consolidating an industry whose resources were not only fragmented but also inefficiently deployed. While the regional concentration in coastal areas like Shanghai, Qingdao, and Tianjin made sense when Chinese producers relied upon foreign supplies for their raw materials, it required significant change after 1949 when the new government decided to rely on cotton grown in China’s inland provinces. MTI’s mandate to exert central control over the industry notwithstanding, much of the industry’s history from the mid-1950s onward was one of partial decentralization. In the Great Leap Forward, for instance, direct supervision over most textile enterprises was transferred from MTI to authorities at the provincial and city level. It is difficult to make generalizations about China’s textile and apparel industry given its enormous size and scope. Even in the pre-reform era, during which greater uniformity in the economic system might have been expected, tremendous diversity existed. While serious problems remain with the quality of its textile exports, China has made substantial progress in several key areas: purity of fibber content; better dyeing techniques; improved packaging; quicker production schedules; more reliable delivery; and greater uniformity in color, shrinkage, and measurement. Informant including several foreign buyers who were otherwise quite critical of the Chinese industry repeatedly emphasized that high quality production was possible in China by the late 1980s and early 1990s, in no small measure due to incentives provided under the MFA. Specifically, many scholars stressed that country reputations, as prevalent as they are, are less important to businesspeople interested in stable, long-term relationships than factory or company reputations. For an enterprise in China to trade up in the world market, it needs to become the source of choice for foreign buyers looking to place orders for higher-end goods. In this sense, reputations are earned and lost by performance (1992). In China, the domestic channels for apparel are characterized using three dominant patterns as shown in the schematic diagram below (Figure 2). Approximately 70-80% of the garments in the local market are distributed in the local market through Pattern A (Almanac of China’s Textile Industry, 1994) through product supply chain and interchanges between the textile manufacturers, apparel manufacturers and the retailer to the consumers. The large cities of China normally employ Pattern A while Pattern B is dominant in small and middle-sized cities and towns. In pattern B, the distribution channels or retail outlets include the specialty stores, the department stores, and the street fashion peddlers. Pattern C is seldom used in the local market to distribute apparel products to the consumers (retail chains and direct mails) (2000)   Figure 2.Distribution Patterns of China’s Apparel Products Some of the ways that companies acquired cost advantages are by improving process efficiencies, gaining unique access to a large source of lower cost materials, making optimal outsourcing and vertical integration decisions, or avoiding some costs altogether. If competing firms are unable to lower their costs by a similar amount, the firm will be able to sustain a competitive advantage based on cost leadership.             Aside from China, other competitive textile and apparel industries are commonly found in India. This industry is of the leading sectors of the economy of India and considered as the largest source of foreign exchange earning for the country (2001). Analysis shows that the textile and apparel industries in India are characterised by the following features. First, India has the second largest yarn-spinning potentials in the global market after China.  The manufacturing India’s spinning sector is considered to be fairly modernised. India is also analysed to have the largest manufacturer of looms in place of toweave fabrics.             Compared to other industry, the textile and apparel sectors in India are largely diversified and have the capability to give a broad variety of textiles to meet the needs and preferences of the global market, especially the demands of the U market. The industries in India have a strategic access to a wide pool of skilled labour and trained and skilled technical as well as managerial personnel. In India, the textile and apparel industries’ production process consists diverse raw material segments, ginning equipments, spinning and extrusion procedures, processing segment, knitting and weaving factories and garment manufacturing which supply an intensive distribution channel (See Figure 3). This production process is considered as one of the diverse in terms of the raw materials utilised, technologies used, and products produced. In the finding of this research, such production process provides about 70% by value of its production to the market. The network for distribution consists of distributors, wholesalers and a huge number of small retailers that sells textiles and garments (, 2005). In the study, it can be said that it is only recently that large retails sectors exist which increases the variety and the volume on display in terms of single location. In India, part of the production process’s distribution channel is the strong emergence of agents who are responsible for securing and consolidating orders for producers. Exports to EU market, are conventionally done through Export Houses or procurement/ commissioning offices of large EU apparel retailers.   In the study, it has been estimated that there are approximately 65, 000 garment units in the organised industry, 88% of this are for woven cloth while the remaining percentage are for knits. Nonetheless, only 30-40 units are considered in the large scale industry as the outcome of long-years of reservation of non-exporting garment units in line with the scale sectors. Such regulation was removed in the Indian industry recently. While large scale firms are scattered in various locations like in the National Capital Region, Bangalore, Ludhiana, Mumbai and Tirupur/Coimbatore that employs 3.5 million people. The study shows that the total value of the garment production is around Rs.1,050–1,100 bn. Herein, 81% comes from the domestic environment (2005). The knits sector and the weaving sector lies at the core of the textile and apparel industry of India. In the study, it has been found out that in 2004-2005 of the total production process from the Indian weaving industry, about 46% was cotton cloth 41% was under 100% non-cotton which include wool, silk, khadi and 13% was blended cloth. In India’s production process, there are three distinctive technologies used which include the handlooms, power looms and the knitting equipments. Further, analysis shows that these technologies signify distinctive production process. The first one is the handloom segment which includes silk, khadi and some wool. This sector serves the low and the high ends of the Indian’s production process and value chain both consumption garments and niche products  for urban and exports markets, in most areas in the EU market.  This generates, chiefly textiles with geographical features like silk sarees and cotton in Pochampally or in Varanasi and in other small batches. The next production segment is the weaving with the use of powerlooms. This was conventionally done by composite mills which are combined with spinning as well as processing operations. In the study conducted, it has been shown that because of the government incentives as well as the demand for low-cost, standard products like sarees and grey cloth and high volume has been moved from composite mills to powerloom activities and production process. While some textile and apparel industries like Ashima and Arvind Mills changes themselves into a more competitive segment, other industries closed down. In the year 2003 and 2004, there remained 223 composite mills in Indian textile and apparel industries which produced 1434 million m2 cloths. Most of these industries are located in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Mostly, the woven cloth are generated from the powerloom which are primarily located in Bhiwandi, Surat, NCR and Chennai. In the year, 2005, it has been shown that there were 425, 792 registered and authorised powerloom units which produced 26, 947 Chennai).  In 2005, there were 425,792 registered powerloom units that produced 26,947 million m2 of cloth and have been able to employ 4,757,383 workers.  In India, the weaving sector is primarily dominated by small scale business which has an average of 4.5 powerloom/unit and suffered from outdated technological equipments and machineries and incurs highly coordinated costs. On one hand, the knitting sectors have become successful specifically in export networks.  The strong production clusters like Ludhiana and Titupur have led to development of the accessories segments.  On one hand, the hosiery segment has largely focused on domestic market and is growing quickly. Further, the spinning segment is perhaps considered as the most competitive industry in the global market, in accordance with variety, production quantity and unit process. Even if cotton is the fibre of choice, man-made fibre which includes polyester filament yarn and polyester fibre has also been produced by about 100 large and medium scale textile and apparel producers in India.  In this regard, spinning is pursued by 1566 mills and 1170 SMEs. Herein, mills are chiefly located in North India and deploys 34.24 million spindles and .385 mullion rotors wile the SME scales generates their yarn on 3.29 million spindles only .119 million rotors that produces 2270 million kg 1106 million kg of man-made filament yarn and 950 million kg of blended yarn annually.  In addition, worsted and non-worsted spindles which produce woollen yarn have also increasingly grown to .604 million and .437 million respectively. In the Indian textile and apparel industry, the spinning sector is noted to be technologically intensive and the productivity is impacted by the quality of cotton as well as the cleaning procedures used during the ginning process. The last steps in the production process in the Indian textile and apparel industry is the processing segment which include  dyeing, finishing and printing is mostly found in small scale business. The largest among this sector would dye and finish about 5000 m/ day. Other remains as independent process houses or just part of composite mills which use automated large bath or simultaneous processing and have a total average scale of 20000 m of cloth in a daily basis. In this regard, about 82.5% or a total of 10,397 units are hand processors who dye yarn or cloth in a manual manner and dry it in open sunshine. Others that use automated and semi-automated machineries are considered as independent process houses. In the textile and apparel industries in India, it is said that cotton stays as the most significant raw materials. Cotton mostly grew in the central and western part of India, jute in eastern, silk in southern India, and wool in the northern part of India. The relative qualities of silk, cotton, fibres and wool are also imported by the sectors of spinning and knitting in the industry ( 2004 ;2007)                         Reasons behind the Poor performance of Weaker Sector             In the textile and apparel industries, it is considered that the major players are those industries which can compete in the global market and those industries that can provide the needs and demands of the target market in the global industry. In this regard, those small scale industries are considered as the weaker sectors in terms of performance. These small scale textile and apparel industries compete in terms of high-quality, low cost, accurate and on-time delivery and flexibility in variety as well as volume. According, to the documents gathered some writers believe that the performance of small scale industries is contributed by many factors such as internal and external to the small scale industries themselves ( 2002). Analysis shows that small organizations usually thrive in a changing environment, although it must not be unduly complex in terms of the number of variables involved or the speed of their change. It is further suggested that the SME nimbleness in response to change is due in part to the fact that senior managers or owners formulate strategies that are closely connected with the work of the organization and with other workers and managers. Control and tactical decision making is not separated and distanced from ownership or senior management. In other words, such firms tend to be task continuous; there is a close link between management, planning, and the work activity. Larger firms on the other hand are task discontinuous; there tends to be a separate and discrete planning and management structure. As mentioned in the previous chapters, the limited scale of SME operations means they have a relatively low impact on their surroundings and have a limited power to influence environmental forces in their favour.  This will include both their suppliers and customers. However, their weakness in these areas can be countered by their ability to react quickly to environmental change. Fundamental shifts in social values, consumer tastes, technological developments, managerial techniques, financial markets and so on, have brought about more complex and dynamic commercial environments. For the SME, their less bureaucratic structural arrangements, together with concentration in the power of the owner, allows growth-orientated small ventures to capitalise on opportunities that emerge from such environmental changes.  There are several challenges that can be attributed as the reasons why small scale textile and apparel industries in India have a poor performance than its rival industries. Such challenges are associated in the context of scale, skills, cycle time, innovation and technology, and institutional support. In terms of scale, analysis shows that the textile and apparel industries in India, except for its spinning process, suffer from the problem of scale. textile and apparel industries in India are commonly smaller than their Thai and Chinese counterparts  and there are smaller number of large industries in the country. For instance, it has been shown that Chinese large firms have 1.5 times higher spinning capability, 1.25 times capability in denim production and 2 times in gray fabric potentialities with about 6 times more profit in garment that the small scale industries in India which affects the cost structure and the ability to attract target markets with large orders.  The core tendency of the small scale industries is to add capability once the order has been gathered than ahead of the product demand.  Accordingly, target market goes whether they see both capabilities and capacities. Large capacity commonly goes with standardized products which are largely found in large industries. In this regard, small scale business needs to develop their managerial capabilities to be able to manage large manpower and design the most strategic production process.  For the size of the economy of India, the management should have to consider bigger firms that produce various small to mid-size batches. However, the tension between the unorganized and organised industries must be given attention to avoid conflict. In addition, the small scale industries in India should also consider the existence of specialist firms which will consolidate orders, manage warehouses, book capacities, and logistics for the delivery process. Aside from scale, skills are other elements that have been considered to affect the performance of the small scale textile and apparel industries in India. For instance, small scale industries have a scarcity of technical manpower. Analysis shows that in Indian industry has an inadequate strategy to bring technological change in the industry. Secondly, it has been noticed that Indian industries invest very little in terms of employee training and development and the skills are restricted to the existing production process ( 1998). It can also be noted that there is an acute scarcity of trained operators and supervisors in India which affects the performance of their employees. It has been expected that small scale industries in India will have to invest a lot of money to increase its global trade by year 2010. Such type of investment would need about 70, 000 supervisors and about 1.05 million operators in the textile sectors or industries alone and at least 112, 000 supervisors and 2.8 million operators for their apparel industries. Herein, the real bottleneck for growth and development lies on the availability of skilled human resources. The next reason why small scale industries have a poor performance than large companies is the context of Cycle time. Accordingly, it can be said that the cycle time is the vital aspect to competitiveness as it impacted both price and the delivery schedule of an industry. The reduction of cycle time is strongly related with high first high throughputs times, high first pass yield and low variability in process times, low variability in WIP and consequently low cost.  In this regard, those small scale industries that cannot reduce their cycle times are affected in terms of their performance, since they could not provide the needs of their customers on time. In this regard, Indian customs should be able to provide a turnaround time of ½ day for an order before small scale industries in textile an apparel sectors become part of larger global supply chains.  These companied needs to have strong development in terms of their industrial engineering, giving emphasis, and focus on cellular manufacturing procedures and JIT and statistical procedural control to decrease lead times on shop floors. It is said that in India textile and apparel industries has a particularly low penetration of information technology to improve enough and quality productivity.             Aside from the above mentioned reasons, the poor performance of small scale textile and apparel industries in India are also affected by innovation and technology.  Analysis shows that a review of the products exported by USA to China in January-April 2005, shows that the top three textiles and apparel products in terms of percentage enhance in exports were Non-woven fabrics, tire cords and tire fabrics and textile/fabric finishing mills products (2005).  These products are not seen in the items that India has provided. The entrance into an innovative application domain of industrial textiles, homes furnishings, nano-textiles and others becomes imperative if the market are to grow 5-6% of global market a these regions are projected to significantly grow. On one hand, innovation includes synthetic textiles which compose of 50% of the global textile market. However, in Indian synthetic industry, this aspect is not well entrenched. In this regard, the Technology Upgradation Fund of the Indian government is being utilised to motivate investment of small scale business in new processes. Aside from the abovementioned factors other reason why small scale industries in India have a poor performance because of lack of institutional support. Accordingly, textile and apparel policy has come along ways in decreasing uncertainties for the industry. Such policies are driven by global competition and also by the international trade provisions. However, in the Indian industry, few areas of policy weakness has been noted, which include the labour context, power availability and the customer clearance, credit for large scale investment, shipment operations from ports and quality, which are necessary for upgrading the technology, and enhancement of the manpower of the textile and apparel industry. It shows that the status of politics in the country affects the progress of small scale textile and apparel industries. In addition, the research reveals that most of the small scale anticipates the uncertainties which may hit their development and they create several strategies to lessen the effect of environmental uncertainties.        In this regard, it can be said that for the small scale industries in India to be competitive in the EU market and other global market, they must be able to address the noted reasons and find solutions to solve such issues.   5.0 Conclusion The main goal of this study is to determine the reasons why the weaker sector in the textile and apparel industry in India is considered to have a poor performance compared to the larger industries. In addition, the research also aims to determine how changes in textile and apparel industries took place and how the major players in these industries reacted or responded to the said changes. In this study, the researcher has solely used secondary data from journals, books, articles, and university thesis to achieve the objective of the study. Based on the data gathered and analysed, it has been found that changes took place in the textile and apparel industries because of the emergence of the context of globalisation and international trade which affected the way players of the textile and apparel industries in terms of competition. In addition, it has also been discovered in the analysis that the technology is also an important reason why changes in textile and apparel industries took place. Aside from these, the quota system of the textile and apparel industries, which has set by international organisation like MFA and the WTO has also pave the way for the changes in these industries. This also changed the way competition is done in the said industry. The result of the study showed that the WTO entrants of Chinese textile and apparel industry has also changed and affect the textile and apparel industries in the global market, especially the Indian textile and apparel industries.  Chinese apparel industry affected international apparel industries in 5 aspects: labor costs and price and global production factors, the successful accession of WTO to China and the production system of Chinese apparel industries. Whereas, the international apparel industries affects Indian apparel industries in four aspects: technology and innovation aspects (production and manufacturing equipments), having quality and standard apparel products than low-medium quality products, Competition with other international textile and apparel industries with labor intensive apparel products and ability of larger international textile and apparel industries to reach more customers through the use of internet and information technology. In this regard, it can be summarised that changes occurs in the textile and apparel industries because of the abovementioned reasons.             In the analysis it shows that most of the players of the textile and apparel industries have reacted and responded in the changes by implementing some strategies and approach to make them survive and adjust to the changes. Most of the textile and apparel industry players have been able to consider the use of advanced technology in their business operations. Larger companies invest on state of the art and more advanced technology which helps them to manufacture or produce products in a standard and quality manner. Analysis also revealed that the notion of quick response has also been considered as one of the components used by the players in the textile and apparel industry to cope with the said changes. Quick response is an approach which helps the industries to adjust their business operations and strategies to address the changes in both local and international level.             It can be said that textile and apparel industry is a conventional industry. Based on the gathered data, India has been considered as a dominant supplier of apparel and textile products as compared with other international apparel industries. The major players in Indian textile and apparel industry have been able to achieve its increasing momentum as they adjust their business to the needs of the global market.   In this research, it can also be said that the competition of the international apparel industry has changed from price and quality principle to a more high-technology oriented.  In most international apparel industries, their competitive advantage against Indian textile and apparel industry relies on their advantage in terms of capital and technology. On one hand, it can be concluded that even if Indian textile and apparel industry has its shortcomings to compete well in the market, it cannot be denied that it also affects competition in the global textile and apparel industry.  Indian apparel products simply dominate the lower market in the industrial chain which affects the performance and competitiveness of most international apparel industry. The labor intensive production of India as well as the cheaper price it offers among customers has paved the way for Indian textile and apparel industry to become competitive also even if most of the players belong to small scale industries. With India textile and apparel industries’ strategy, the apparel industry certainly boasts competitiveness. On one hand, large textile and apparel industries have also some aspects which India apparel industries don’t have, hence, affecting the competitiveness of the latter. With these findings, it can be concluded that small scale industries must be able to cope with the globalisation, innovation and technology, global support an effective management to avoid poor performance.   Recommendations             The data shows that there are some factors which affect small scale textile and apparel industries to compete in the global textile and apparel industries. This study revealed different aspects that can be attributed on how both industries affects or influenced each other and changes the way competition is done in this industry. These include labor costs, price, effective management, technology and innovation (production equipments), internet and information and the quality of the apparel products. In this regard, it is recommended that the apparel industries both in India should continuously find ways or strategies that will enable them to be successful and meet the level of effectiveness for each of the aspects mentioned. In this research paper, it becomes apparent that labor costs, price and technology strategy are among the key factors for textile  apparel industries to succeed and meet the goal of having a competitive textile and apparel industry. In addition, the company should be able to have a strategic approach in these factors.   Given the limits imposed by small scale operations in the textile and apparel industries evidence suggests that growth-orientated managers and owners must pursue opportunities vigorously, flexibly and with innovation. The management of the textile and apparel industry should pursue a number of opportunities and often refuse to be constrained by the assets currently under their control. They make tentative investigations of promising projects and frequently assume that the techniques and technologies not currently available can be developed in the near future. In this way riskier opportunities are explored, despite not immediately having sufficient resources to underwrite their opportunities. Managers and owners are prepared to pursue, evaluate and resource new opportunities in the full confidence of their ability to make things happen.             In addition, in turbulent conditions the variation in demand for final products and services will be reflected in intermittent demands by the small scale textile and apparel industry for resources – the alternative being to hold high levels of inventory. Thus, difficulties in procuring resources will result from (a) changeable demand and (b) lack of power or leverage. SMEs tend to avoid permanent or binding linkages with suppliers and other network contacts. Their flexibility relies upon the transient nature of their relationships with other organisations using short-term, entrepreneurial contracts an ability to utilise resources carried by others ( 1991).             In seeking new opportunities and being nimble and fast they need instrumental relationships; in managing their current business they need strong, more permanent relationships. The two are to a degree exclusive. One solution seems to be the development of new ventures alongside existing ones. The flexibility of the SME often allows this type of project management operation, with resources being switched between current and new activities (1998). Small and medium-sized firms also suffer a power imbalance when dealing with larger suppliers and customers, with both sides regarding the relationship as somewhat temporary. This arrangement certainly offers greater degrees of flexibility, but is also highly speculative and makes operations planning very problematical.             Another fundamental element in realising the requisite levels of flexibility lies in the reduction of uncertainty. Traditional methods of operation rely heavily upon sales forecasting systems which drive all activity. This leads to large amounts of uncertainty and consequent holdings of buffer stocks in order to combat unknown demand. Fast and flexible response, however, reduces forecast reliance and removes uncertainty by applying different operational practices to individual product groups, distribution channels, retailers, etc. Hence, true demand patterns become evident and easier to satisfy.   It is also recommended that the apparel industries must consider that analysis of business competitors does not end after they found who their rivals are. There is still a need to find ways on outgrowing their rival industries. The data shows that there are some factors which may hinder growth and development of Small scale textile and apparel industry in India. This study revealed aspects include government policies, the existence of multinational organisation and some economic factors. In this regard, it is recommended that the small scale textile and apparel industry in India should continuously find ways or strategies that will enable them to be successful. In this research paper, it becomes apparent that management strategy is among the key factors for businesses to succeed and meet the goal of having In addition, the company should be able to distribute and promote their services to their target market efficiently.  It is also recommended that the SME Company must consider that analysis of business competitors does not end after they found who their rivals are. There is still a need to find ways on outgrowing their rival industries.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Dissertation

4.0 Findings and research The main goal of this dissertation is to identify the factors behind the inefficiency of the weaker...

A study to assess effectiveness of structured teaching program regarding self care management among diabetic patients attending Out Patient Department

A study to assess effectiveness of structured teaching program regarding self care management among diabetic patients attending Out Patient Department   Introduction Diabetes management is vital for OPD diabetic patients and that STP effectiveness allows imperative success of diabetes centered management. Research will be in accordance to preliminary and comprehensive encounter of literature studies as it is a must for OPD patients and the rest of the team involved thus, achieving better sense of research process and approaches put into awareness and applicability domains. Thus, because of nature of chronic disease, management varies over time, with treatments adjusted accordingto changes in patient symptoms and fluctuations of diseaseprocess, acknowledge self-management educationas an important aspect of diabetes care.Diabetes self-management programs facilitate acquisition by the patientof preventive or therapeutic health care activities, often incollaboration with health care providers. Self-management educationprograms emphasize the role of patient education in preventiveand therapeutic health care activities and usually consist oforganized learning experiences designed to facilitate adoptionof health-promoting behaviors. Such programs usually are separatefrom clinical patient care, but are often run in collaborationwith health care professionals as previous reviews have been limitedto diabetes disease.   Background of the study Medical care often fails to meet the needs of chronically ill patients, even in managed, integrated delivery systems. The medical literature suggests strategies to improve outcomes in these patients. Effective interventions tend to fall into use of evidence-based, planned care; reorganization of practice systems and provider roles; improved patient self-management support; increased access to expertise; and greater availability of clinical information. The challenge is to organize these components into an integrated system of chronic illness care whether STP adaptation can be done most efficiently and effectively in primary diabetes care practice rather than requiring specialized systems of care for OPD patients.       Statement problem Structured diabetes teaching program/Structured teaching program (STP) might involve cornerstone of care for individuals with diabetes who want to achieve successful health related outcomes allowing in quality diabetes self-management education that can be implemented in diverse settings and will facilitate improvement in health care outcomes. The dynamic health care process obligates the diabetes community to review and possibly reconsider care standards to reflect advances in management knowledge and diabetes oriented care. The need to review and acquire research for STP in lieu to self care diabetes management applied for OPD patients, convened to review current structured teaching standards for appropriateness and health integrated basis, and to be sure STP ways are specific and achievable in care paths and OPD settings. Methodology used in conducting and reportingself management education programs varied widely.The lack of standard methods may hinder interpretation of summarydata across diseases and programs, like STP, there may have limitedthe number of studies with extreme results as interesting to see whether aspects of STP for diabetes will beassociated with care management assumptions as certain programs incorporating face to face teaching can be more effective;in-depth research observation should be considered when developing future STPs for diabetes care organization. Part of the rationale to combine studies will examine whether specific behavioral theoriesused in developing structured teaching programs accounting for diabetes management success. Thus, only few researchers described an underlying behavioralscience model, such programs referring to behavioralframework cannot be in association with better OPD care outcomes. Objectives 1.      Critically review STP process and prepare evidence based review of the literature 2.      Create and assesses usability of STP effectiveness for Diabetes Self-Management Care as appropriate as possible 3.      Perform an initial analysis and review of current STP standards to identify OPD areas that need to be address for diabetes care plan 4.      Collect input from OPD diabetic patients who utilize and receive STP in whatever manner 5.      Critically review STP and perform review of the literature for diabetes care, education centered  programs as well as new trends in diabetes care and management 6.      The need to ensure quality and consistency with Diabetes Association Standards of Medical Care integrating STP effectiveness and assessment routes Hypothesis Conducting structured review of trials of STP programs for diabetes care, examining OPD care efficacy as whetherspecific features of STP are to be associated with better OPD based outcomes. Hypothesizing effectiveness of assessment of structured teaching programs if variations occur and characteristicsof programs across diabetes care would have correlation with levels of effective realization. Hypothesizing that STP for self care diabetes management may be effectiveonly for certain situations and to have basis and grounding support of the latter as self-management teaching have moderatebenefit on important intermediate end points for diabetes patients the effective means of achieving STP will be put in careful assessment routes and outcome monitoring in accordance to theory and literature base. Theoretical framework STP may stress reinforcement and avoidance of self care management and activities, eliciting impeding care behaviors. Preliminary studies showspatients reinforcing others for care giving responses but show improvetolerance of teaching programs execution as being encouraged. Diabetes educators use theories anytime, even if they are not aware of it. To teach, one must have some assumptions abouthow people learn and what constitutes effective teaching. Thepurpose is to help diabetes educators interestedin research and evaluation choose appropriate STP based theories put into description, explanation, prediction and control, as well as articulation and elaboration, reviewinghow to use the teaching programs in every stage of research. Review literature Structured diabetes teaching and treatment programmes (STTP) are increasingly offered for patients with diabetes to improve metabolic control. Fritsche, Stumvoll,  (1999 ) have “prospectively studied the long term-effect of STTP on metabolic control and knowledge of diabetes in patients with type 2 diabetes, differences in the mode of follow up as assessed”. The patients had significantly better knowledge of diabetes and diet 2 years after the program as father noted by the proponents (1999 ), STTP for patients with type 2 diabetes was effective in improving long-term glycaemic control and knowledge of diabetes along precise therapeutic goals and follow up instructions given to patient. There have been controlled study evaluated effect of 5 day teaching program for diabetic patients on their quality of life 1 and 2 years afterwards, three hundred and nineteen insulin-treated patients, of mean age and mean duration of the disease were followed up at reeducation sessions 1 and 2 years after the program (2004 ). There was group of 241 insulin-treated patients was followed up and served as control group, baseline and 1 and 2 years later, researchers have assessed patients’ well-being, using a standard 22-item questionnaire. There was significant increase in overall well-being of patients one and 2 years ( 2004 ) after the program, due to reduction in depression and anxiety and increase in positive well-being after 1 year and decrease in depression and increase in positive well-being after 2 years as compared to the control group. There was improvement in glycaemic control of the educated patients as compared to the control group demonstrated that structured patient education improves patients’ well being and 2 years after teaching program (2004 ).   References and further reading may be available for this article. To view references and further reading you must purchase this article.Methods and methodology plan for data analysis Searching medical databases concerning diabetes care, management, STP and other salient points for topic understanding to be identified by such relevant journals/articles being in consideration for reviewof STP and care management component, research outcomes will be evaluated into literature studiesexclusively put in research knowledge, focusing diabetes care and management programs as diabetes educational program will have to be included to improve comparabilityof assessment and studies. Evaluating practicability and efficacy of structured treatment and teaching program for OPD diabetic patients in primary care. Physicians (n = 5) and office staffs as participated in a special training have to be contacted for survey based interview. A random sample of 4 offices which documenting data of patients who had received teaching in same period will be collected and evaluated. To abstract information regarding the following characteristicsspecific to STP, duration of teaching, number of sessions or contacts, backgroundtraining of educators such as medicine, nursing, social work, healtheducation, setting of structured teaching program (outpatient). Review each study to ascertainwhether behavioral science model can be use in designing STP for diabetes care and management to include framework of cognitivebehavior therapy in which  STP effectiveness can be important research stature and record primary endpoint reported by researcher.     Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

A study to assess effectiveness of structured teaching program regarding self care management among diabetic patients attending Out Patient Department

A study to assess effectiveness of structured teaching program regarding self care management among diabetic patients attending Out Patie...

Employee motivation in international business organizations: the case of PCCW

Employee motivation in international business organizations: the case of PCCW                       February 2008 CHAPTER I Introduction               Human resources management and its functional applications have changed at the turn of the century. There are significant changes, challenges and opportunities that are faced by human resources managers. A considerable number of companies have developed into an essential part of the period of global competition, increasing development, improved business paradigms, and corporate reorganization. The continuing transformation from the traditional industrial framework with its hierarchical companies to a worldwide, knowledge-founded financial system and intelligent corporations that alters the ideas regarding the agreement of rights and duties involving employers and employees and the progressive expansion of more adaptable pool of talent and a body of workforce, necessitates human resource (HR) purposes to realign and relocate itself in the vicinity of these social and economic drivers. Furthermore, the world as well as national economies and markets are different from those of a decade ago. As paradigms have changed, the characteristics affecting human resources management are subject for assessment in order to provide the needs of the organization, its market and especially its people. It is also to keep up with relevance to the latest or emerging trends and strategies that contribute to the whole success of the organization and its operations. In today’s rapid development and technological transformation, the world of big international business industries where transactions and other business operations are governed by law, cultural differences and mutual trust, efficiency counts largely as a common entrepreneurial aim.             The labor force is characterized by people who are oriented to productivity and performance in the basis of their skills and capabilities. Changes in the nature of managerial work over the last years have a reflective and alarming impact on the roles of the HR managers within the new modes of organizational flexibility as well as leveling power of information technology. Generally, the emergence of HRM as a universal remedy for integrating business strategy and people management has exposed personnel practitioners to a fresh set of role challenges and managerial expectations that have stressed out the gaps between the HR language and reality. Further, the attempts to capture the changing environment of the HR personnel roles in response to major transformations in the workplace, the associated rise of HRM, and the competitive advantage of the whole organization through its manpower are few aspects that HR functions embark upon.   Statement of the Problem             It is said that the PCCW Management have blossomed on its local / domestic home country and moved on to internationalize their trend to some other countries / continents because of their effective methods of motivating their stuff. Hence, the causes of this success must be investigated and lessons must be learned and derived from this study.   Purpose of the Study This study will be conducted in order to determine the success factors of the PCCW Management in internationalizing their trend to other countries / continents through their effective staff motivation strategies, and provide meaningful lessons.             This study will also aim to increase the awareness and provide a better understanding of the issues and problems concerning most companies and organizations in order to contribute an effective approach in addressing their staff motivation problems.   Significance of the Study If the success factors of the PCCW Management in internationalizing their trend to other countries / continents through their effective staff motivation strategies will be determined, this study will be a benefit to other multinational companies experiencing problems gaining ground to other parts of the world. Also, if effectiveness is supported, this study will be significant in developing underachieving multinational companies and organizations as productive and effective entities in the future.   Research Questions Specifically this study will address the following questions: 1.            What significant success factors of the PCCW Management in internationalizing their trend to other countries / continents through their effective staff motivation strategies were determined? 2.            What specific alternatives or measures can be done to help improve the performance of underachieving multinational companies and organizations through staff motivation?   CHAPTER II Review of Related Literature   The wide ranges of literatures related to human resources management as well as various incidents affecting its totality are extensive. Given with this fact, this chapter goes over the related literatures conducted on the area of study. By embarking on such pursuit, the research may be guided accordingly by firstly discovering where the research is coming from, what and how much have been studied regarding the topic and what it is yet to tackle.  Besides providing background to the study, this study will provide the necessary theoretical and conceptual aspects in order for the research to stand credible. References from this segment of the paper are a product of broad researching and information retrieval.       Overview of the Company: PCCW             The largest telecommunication company in Hong Kong, PCCW was founded in 1994 and currently headed by Richard Li as Chairman. It offers telecommunication services, business e-solutions, infrastructure, and television and media content. Aside from its Hong Kong, Mainland China and Macau offices, PCCW’s operation extends to various countries namely Taiwan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Korea, Japan, United States, and United Kingdom and still growing. It employs more than 14,000 employees in 2006.   The Concept of Motivation Motivation is an important element to every organization, as this could affect the productivity and the morale of the staff. Lack of motivation will cause high staff turnover, high rate of absenteeism, poor performance, not willing to attend the training course, etc. If the hotel managers understand the employee’s underlying learning motivator, it can improve the customer satisfaction in the long run (1999). It is the role of HRD to implement different kind of rewards system or recognition system in order to maintain the morale.  (2000) stated that “motivation is a process not a result” (p. 92). By understanding the motivation theories, it also assists HRD to prepare a better structure of training planning and design in an organization. It is fundamental to understand the motivation factor in order to examine the relationship between rewards system and learning attitude of the people. There are different perceptions and definitions of “motivation”.  Some people might think that motivation is a view of personal trait as some have or some might not have it (1998).  Motivation can be defined as the willingness to exert high levels of effort toward organizational goals, conditioned by the effort’s ability to satisfy some individual need ( 1998).  (1993) also defined motivation will cause people to act or behave in certain ways. Furthermore, Mullins defines motivation as ‘the degree to which an individual wants and chooses to engage in certain specified behaviors’ (1999). From this theory, Mullins identifies four common characteristics which underline the above definition of motivation: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%"> Motivation is typified as an individual phenomenon. Every person is unique and all the major theories of motivation allow for this uniqueness to be demonstrated in one way or another. </li> </ul>   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%"> Motivation is described, usually, as intentional. Motivation is assumed to be under the worker’s control, and behaviours that are influenced by motivation, such as effort expended, are seen as choices of action. </li> </ul>   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%"> Motivation is multifaceted. The two factors of greatest importance are (1) what gets people activated (arousal); and (2) the force of an individual to engage in desired behaviour (direction or choice of behaviour). </li> </ul>   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%"> The purpose of motivational theories is to predict behaviour. Motivation is not the behaviour itself, and it is not performance. Motivation concerns action, and the internal and external forces that influence a person’s choice of action. </li> </ul> From the definitions mentioned, it can be analysed that motivation is necessary for the growth of the employee in the organisation. The employee starts his/her career through learning, basically the culture of the organisation and his/her responsibilities. Motivation is a vital element to learning because if an organisation does not possess the ability to motivate its employees, the knowledge within the organisation is not practically used to the fullest (1999). Thus, in every successful learning organisation, finding the factors that will motivate its employees to partake in continuous learning and to take advantage of this knowledge, accordingly, becomes their aim (1999). The HR manager evaluates and motivates its employees. It is believed that motivation is the key to beneficial retention of employees to work and to like their work. The theories of motivation gave some ideas of how a motivation program can be implemented within an organisation. This can be started by surveying the employees and ask them what they think about the company. Through research conducted by the manager, the basic needs of employees can be identified and satisfied through the development and implementation of motivation programs. The initial act that should be done is to make employees realise their personal worth by empowering them. For instance, employees should be given the freedom to voice out their opinions, although there should be a standard on how conversations should be ethically observed, as well as respect to superiors. Former General Manager of General Electric, Jack Welch uses this approach to empower employees. Through this, little and huge issues that affect employees everyday work behaviours were identified and solved (1998). This is fundamentally a great way to identify employees’ needs. On the other hand, leadership also plays a fundamental part in motivating employees. Today, leadership serves as a critical element of organisational success. In motivating employees to learn, leaders must set a way towards a given goal, inspire, or motivate them to follow (2003). The HR manager should know how to recognise success and how to praise those who deserve praises. Several studies found positive linkage between leadership styles and job satisfaction, except for the initiating structure leadership style, which similarly shows negative effect on job satisfaction (1993; 1997;2004). Deserving employees can be effectively praised and recognised through awards and bonuses. Developing a program were a particular employee with good performance would be branded as employee of the week can also be a good idea. Of course, this should also come with small rewards to make employees feel that their efforts pay off. Further, motivation is the interaction between the individual and the situation.  Under different situations, individual will respond differently.  It all depends on the individual motivational drive or individual needs and varies from situation to situation ( 1997).  It also leads motivation treated as a need-satisfying process; an unsatisfied need creates tension that stimulates drives within the individuals.  These drives generate search behaviour to find particular goals that, if attained, will satisfy the need and lead to the reduction of tension (1998).  Figure 2.2     Motivation Theory                           To understand better the various terms and forms of motivation to learn, it is useful to review different kinds of motivational theories in this chapter. There are several types of motivation theories. Among these, the best-known and most typical examples are Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s motivation and hygiene factors, McClelland’s three needs theory and Vroom’s expectancy theory ( 1991). These are used on this research because of their proven relativity and applicability to the concept of this research. Also, they are the most common theories in relation to employee motivation and reward system.   2.1.1     Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970) was a psychologist and one of the most well-known motivation theories is Hierarchy of Needs.  (1998) mentioned that Maslow generalized that every human beings exists a hierarchy of five needs, which are: <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Physiological – Food, water, shelter and other bodily needs</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Safety – Security and protection from physical and emotional harms</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Social / Belonging – Acceptance and friendship</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Esteem – Internal esteem factors like self-respect; achievement and external esteem factors like status, recognition and attention.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Self-actualization – Growth, achieving one’s potential and self-fulfillment</li> In order to apply an appropriate rewards system in an organization, it is essential to understand the idea of human needs and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can reflect the five general human needs. The figure below illustrates the graphical representation of the most popular motivational model – Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.    Figure 2.3 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Model                 This theory is based on a progression hypothesis and it called content theory. Content theory seeks to examine the specific factors that motivate behaviours. In Maslow’s theory, people progress up the hierarchy as they successively gratify each level of need. On this research, this theory will serve the purposes of relating the need of motivating people to learn.   2.1.2     Herzberg’s motivation and hygiene factors theory Motivation-hygiene theory was proposed by another psychologist  Herzberg. It emphasised that the needs satisfactions are categorized into intrinsic and extrinsic factors. According to  (1993), motivation can take place in either intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Intrinsic motivation – the self-generated factors and influence people to behave in a particular way or direction.  Intrinsic factors motivate us from within personal interest, desire and fulfilment.  It has long-term and deeper effect.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Extrinsic motivation – To satisfy indirect or instrumental needs.  It arises from some kind of ‘Do this’ and you will get that motivation (Reeve, 2001).  It has an immediate and powerful effect but will not last long.</li> </ul> To a certain extent, part of the Herzberg’s theory is parallel to Maslow’s theory. It can be seen that the hygiene factors in the lower levels of Maslow’s hierarchy and the motivators in the higher levels. However, unlike Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s two-factor theory argued that individual needs satisfaction does not process in a hierarchy (1999). The motivation-hygiene theory needs to hold management not only to provide hygiene factors and avoid employee dissatisfaction, but also provide factors intrinsic to the work itself in order for employees to be satisfied with their jobs. It can be argued that it does not mean that the employee is motivated to learn.  From Herzberg’s theory, it encourages the organisation to enlarge and enrich work responsibilities and pay more attention to goal-setting, appraisal, reward and recognition system. According to  (1993), it applied the Herzberg’s theories in one of the hotels in Cyprus.  From the concept of quality and guest satisfaction level, it shown that Herzberg’s theory is more relevant than Maslow’s. Will this be applicable in the Hong Kong hotel industry?   2.1.3     McClelland Three need theory McClelland’s theory of needs that focuses on three needs: achievement, power and affiliation.  Need of achievement means people are striving personal achievement rather than the rewards.  People are highly motivated by challenge and competitive work situation ( 1995).  Need of power is the desire to have impact or influence or control others.  Need of affiliation is the desire of friendship; prefer to keep good relationship instead of competitive environment (1998).  In McClelland theory, it contends that people with a high need for achievement make good managers. For instance, people with high need for achievement will eager to obtain feedback on their performance, willing to solve problem and exhibit moderate levels of risk taking (1992). In view of  motivation theories, it shown that both theories are not defined ‘money’ as motivator.  It means financial rewards are not the key motivation factor. On the other hand,  (1991) disagreed that the need of affiliation is more important than monetary rewards.  (1987) was conducted a research in Hong Kong, it found that the primary motivator in Hong Kong is the financial reward.  (1988) also stated that monetary compensation is the key motivator for Hong Kong’s staffs. It can be argued that how far it can motivate the staff to learn by using the financial reward for the hotel employees. Besides, hotel management is necessarily to understand the key motivator on learning in order to apply the effective reward system. three needs theory (999) is more focused on different kind of non-monetary human needs. (1945) commented that these three needs are more important than monetary compensation in motivating employees. It is worthwhile to look into the  three needs theory in order to examine the importance of the non-monetary reward system.    2.1.4     Vroom’s Expectancy Theory The staff’s expectancy cannot be ignored. Therefore, Vroom’s expectancy theory will be discussed in the following section. This theory is focused on the personal perceptions and it can reflect the individual concept instead of only concentrated on the monetary reward. Vroom’s expectancy theory of motivation focuses on personal perceptions of the performance process, ‘the more motivated the worker to perform effectively, the more effective his performance’ (1970).  Expectancy theory argues that the strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual (1998). Expectancy is the belief that effort leads to performance, for example, ‘If I try harder, I can do better.’  It reflected this theory focuses on the following relationships: 1.    Effort – Performance relationship – Individual perceived that exert a certain amount of effort will lead to performance; 2.    Performance – Reward relationship – Individual believes that achieve the certain performance level will lead to attainment of a desired outcome; and 3.    Rewards – Personal goals relationship – Organizational rewards satisfy individual personal goals or needs.   Figure 2.4 Vroom’s Expectancy Theory Model                 According to the expectancy theory, employees expect and need to be rewarded according to the work they do, and will help them to develop their capability, help them to work up to a higher level so that they can be better rewarded (2002). Employees expect organisations to have compensation systems that they perceive as being fair and commensurate with their skills and expectations. The compensation may, in some cases, act as employee motivators. These compensations that employees receive may be value-added compensation including direct compensation, such as salary, incentives and commissions; and indirect compensation, such as insurance benefits, employee recognition programs, flexible work hours, and vacation benefits. Similar to Maslow’s theory of needs hierarchy, the expectancy theory may also be applied in the organisational context. More specifically, it could possess vital implications with regard to corporate reward system as according to  (2001): Ø  a clear connection between rewards and performance must be determined, Ø  the connection between rewards and performance must be relayed to the human resources, Ø  the rewards must be provided based on performance, Ø  the rewards must fulfil the specific needs of the employees so as to draw out a high level of motivation, and, Ø  barriers in organizations that hinder excellent performance must be eradicated to ensure motivated behaviour. If the staffs in an organisation believe that it needs to put effort and lead to performance in order to achieve certain rewards and personal goals, reward system could motivate them to learn.   CHAPTER III Methodology   This chapter presents the methods and procedures utilized by the researcher in pursuing answers to the questions raised in the study. It also provides information on the description of the methods and procedures that were conceptualized and constructed in order to obtain the needed data and information that will be most useful to the study. Details on how the accumulated data were analyzed and interpreted as well as how the conclusion was drawn is discussed in full extent in this section.  This provides justification of the means in which the study was accomplished and at the same time helps in giving purpose and strength to the validity and reliability of the collected information that makes this particular research practice truthful and analytic. Specifically, this research chapter covers the following discussions: the research design and approach, the primary data collection, the secondary data collection, the research tools, the validity and reliability of the collected data, and the locale and database of the study.   Research Design and Approach             The researcher uses the qualitative research design utilizing the descriptive research method, which is primarily concerned with describing the nature or conditions of the current situation in detail (1994). According to  (2000), the qualitative research approach is most appropriate when conducting descriptive and exploratory study in order to quantify data that seem immeasurable, such as feelings, beliefs, and thoughts. Qualitative research is defined by(2003) as “a subjective approach which includes examining and reflecting on perceptions in order to gain an understanding of social and human activities” (). The emphasis is on describing rather than on judging. This study employs qualitative research method, since it intends to find and build theories that would explain the relationship of one variable with another variable through qualitative elements. These qualitative elements does not have standard measures, rather they are behavior, attitudes, opinions, and beliefs. So, the goals of qualitative research are primarily to advance new theory, interpret the significance of individual events and giving voice to particular groups.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

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