Research Articles Base: Effective Management Styles

Effective management styles

Effective management styles thesis statements <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> While there is a need for managers to have an effective management styles, the efficiency of one’s style will depend on how the whole company will be able to adapt to such style.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> The efficiency one’s management style benefits the whole company if there is an open and comprehensive within the company.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> The effect of management styles is considered efficient if the manager will let its subordinate the essence of such managerial styles.</li>     Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Effective management styles

Effective management styles thesis statements While there is a need for managers to have an effective management styles, the efficien...

An Investigation on the Effectiveness of Accounting

AN INVESTIGATION ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE TO SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES   Introduction             VisiCalc is acknowledged as the first-ever electronic spreadsheet.  VisiCalc has the ability to change a value, instant calculation, real-time navigation, formatting and     minimal key-stroke formula entry.  With affordable and successful marketing, VisiCalc served as the catalyst of the personal computer industry due to the demands of the business segment.  The credit of being the pioneer of modern AIRS hailed from the turnaround VisiCalc did in setting an ultimate programming platform that minimizes the weaknesses and maximizes the strengths of earlier models such as Javelin and Lotus Improve.  Two concepts that highlighted the advantages of VisiCalc are the construction as iterative calculations regularly without requiring repetitive structure, also called replicate command, and the overlapping references followed by relative or absolute rules can be copied, also called range concept.               Accounting software such as VisiCalc is the new generation accounting information system (AIRS) which traditionally is a paper-based and manually-supported engagement.  It is a computer software that can record and process accounting transactions in a more efficient manner.  Due to this advantage, the issue of accounting software became important and crucial to the success of businesses that began in the 1990s.  For example, many suppliers of such software were being acquired or the market for the software undergone consolidation.  As a result, several concerns about accounting software became an integral part of strategic plan of companies.  These includes the issue whether to acquire an software from a third party or create it internally or combination of both and the issue of how complex or functional the software will be and how much budget will the company dedicate to it.               Although there are several studies that proved the usefulness of accounting software to big companies, deriving the same occurrence to small and medium enterprises (Somes) can be misleading.  The transactions in Somes are relatively small, complexities are relatively solvable and the amount involved in the whole accounting system is relatively minimal.  The risk is bearable rather than to pay the cost of acquiring accounting software or subsequent problems that may occur in its implementation.  These points can be argued by Somes who are within an industry that demands reliable accounting software due inherent advantages.  This will be the starting point in introducing this study where Somes need for accounting software and the crucial features of effective software will be explored and investigated.               This study aims to research about the nature of demand of Somes in selected city areas in Hong Kong where the use of accounting software are prominent.  It will focus on the advantages these Somes derive from certain accounting software they are using and what its key features are that highly contributes to an effective AIRS within the organization.  This study will research the financial and non-financial aspects of each accounting software, its background, development and improvements that can be applied into them.  With this knowledge, we will be able to create a model that future Somes wanting to acquire accounting software can use to maximize the benefits of the endeavor.  It can also serve as reference for further studies related to AIRS, accounting software and Somes such as comparison of key features of accounting software of Somes and global companies.  Granting this, it can rationalize the level of complexity or budget that companies must dedicate according to their size.   Literature Review            Background on Accounting Software There are many categories of accounting software.  Personal accounting software functions to address the demands of home users particularly in accounts payable transactions, budget management and reconciling of accounts.  Dedicated software for the same industry or also called as the vertical market defines software that is designed for specific needs of an industry.  Vertical market is prominent in industries like banking, construction, medical services and retail.  Further, industry-dedicated software is preferred over custom-built applications because of leaner and less costly requirements such as smaller development team, lesser risk of failure of vendor delivery and employee resistance from complex design.   When it comes to cost and complexity of software, there are three kinds of market.  The low end market usually carries cheaper products which only needs single-entry system of accounting.  Such software can address general business accounting functions but does not comply with GAP or FSB provisions with limited security and audit capabilities.  The software for middle market has greater abilities than the preceding type and can comply with several accounting standards and can function for different currencies.  As a result, it can serve multiple geographical markets with add-on management systems and other industry-specific features.  Lastly, the most complex and expensive software for high end businesses can enjoy the advantages of having an enterprise resource planning software (ERP) software.  This software is characterized by having a long period of execution, requires significant effort to integrate accounting systems and highly customized to address unique needs of the business.   With automation of financial accounts, however, non-accountants are able to prepare them without caution.  With the lack of expertise and training, the integrity of accounting records, reporting and interpretation is undermined.  To minimize this, systems accountants are called to oversee the software use and management.  Another issue is the high reliance of accountants in the internet to research and select accounting software that can address their specific problems.  This trend is said to continue for a long-time as software options and offering are in great number and regularly updated with the needs of the business.  However, technological advancements and affluence of software use is becoming increasingly insufficient (Mack) and the mere effort of searching for compatible software is described as time-consuming and tedious task (Collins).  In effect, the basic understanding of the whole AIRS concept becomes more appropriate.    Background on AIRS             Accounting transactions that can be process by AIRS are also referred to as functional modules which includes core modules such as accounts receivables, accounts payable, general ledger, billing, stock inventory, purchase orders and sales orders.  There are also non-core modules like debt collection, expense, inquiries, payroll, reports and timesheet.  According to (), AIRS is a system of collection and process of data from transactions and the dissemination of the financial information to specific users.  Selection of appropriate AIRS such as the level of complexity of software depends of several corporate factors like nature of business, size, volume of data, and the vitality of the information.                Since AIRS are regularly applied with audit, they must be free of typing errors to assure they will produce relevant and reliable information.  The introduction of computers aids accountants to this feat but there are other requirements that are emphasized.  AIRS should have business focus which converge them to Accounting and Management Information Systems or A/MIS.  A/MIS put accounting information to the context of decision relevance to the organization.  They support the economics, strategies and development information systems of the business.  Their central role is to manage the data flow between business processes with the use of databases on the operational level.  In the long-run, this information can tackle more strategic issue with broader scope and time horizon (Brecht and Martin, 21).               As suggested, when the business in well-aware with concepts circling AIRS functions, it would be easy to select an accounting software from a vast selection of computer programs.  Also, certain concerns must be answered to support AIRS knowledge like why the need to change the current system, why add software, what are the benefits and when these benefits be realized (Tate, 41)?  Vital stages of developing AIRS includes the initial system design such as coding structures, report formats and level of security; the involvement of the top management in the implementation; installing several oversee groups in each project milestone; and robust documentation.                One example of decision-making applied to software is the extent of its user-friendly features.  An organization with high emphasis to experienced and faster users would design a text-only menu which is not only compatible with high expertise but also provides traditional environment.  On the other hand, graphical menu is useful for an organization that has novice bookkeepers which need proper guidance in inputting data into the system (Collins, 70).  Coinciding with human resource focus, the amount of training required to integrate and run new AIRS are often underestimated by firms because of cost and time bottlenecks.  A solution to be considered is the recruitment of temporary staff to alleviate the task of running the old system while permanent staffs are implementing the new system.  Advice can also be outsourced from consultants especially in the aspect of training employees.   Roles and Benefits             The role of AIRS adapts to the need of the business but there are two primary duties; namely, production of business forms and recording of important assets.  The former emphasizes on design while the latter is on functionality.  Special types of AIRS such as industry-specific software packages can give additional value for the firm not only because it is more expensive but also only few Somes can afford or need them.  With this type of software, the business can take advantage of having wider and deeper profitability information.  This benefit derives from the software’s capability to accurately figure where the areas in the corporate activities the business is making money.  Getting consultancy services for the installation of the software also depended on the needs of the business and are not mandatory.                  Due to continuous development of wide selection of AIRS and software applications, simple programs can be purchased for less than 0 especially for the one-person services companies.  As a rule of thumb, general-purpose programs like QuickBooks, Peachtree and MOB are cheaper versions than extra-functional software that can cost thousands of dollars.  Sophisticated software can also cost millions of dollars if bought.  Once installed, accounting software can bring strings of benefits.  One is the identification of profitable customers which can trigger the need of loyalty marketing to prevent shifting to competitors.  Second, it avoids the possibility of corporate theft particularly from employees.  Software has audit trails, classification of responsibilities and encryption which can deter and detect theft.  Lastly, it can improve cash flows such greater tax deductions, better collection, prevention of bad debts, higher inventory turnover and robust cash assets.                There are software service companies such as The Accounting Library that promises cheap AIRS without the need to undergo the critical process of determining and planning appropriate software.  The company assures the software that will be purchased by its clients is within the latter requirements with proven-to-be-effective methodologies that can minimize cost of training, integrate real-time industry features ready to be exploited, avoidance of substantial loss from acquiring the wrong AIRS, improved analysis and efficient second opinion for the exiting consultant.  For the consultants themselves, they can use the Library to increase the efficiency of each project, provides ability to demonstrate the program in the client’s site and update their knowledge about the current risks in accounting software.    Development of Conceptual Theory               Methodology Research Design Personal experiences and readings of the researcher will form the qualitative aspects of studying the AIRS of Somes in Hong Kong.  Qualitative information is used to speculate that problems are eminent in the current system guided by grounded theory.  This approach emphasizes the generation of theory from qualitative information (2003).  However, the problem will be dealt more thoroughly in the latter part by ensuring that established theories will also be included to justify the problem.  This process will assure that measurable solutions can be implemented for ease of identifying of its strengths and weaknesses after implementation.    The research will be carried as a case study.  According to  (2003), case studies observe, record and analyze stages and patterns of the background, development, current conditions and interactions of individuals and groups relative to internal and external influences (p. 127).  In this sense, qualitative data will be derived from secondary data while some quantitative data can be used and will be sourced from the responses in the questionnaires that will reflect the responses of the respondents through percentages.  Analysis of qualitative and qualitative data will be derived from journal and textbook articles while presentation will be rationalized by knowledge, direct observation and experience of the researcher.  These procedures can help detect false statements from the personal biases which can be affected by self-vested interest.  The goal of the study is to justify a problem and post solutions to mitigate the issue and this should not be compromised by personal manipulation.                Research can deduce information solely from secondary data for decision-making purposes to minimize the conduct of primary data (1995).  As secondary data are not intended to address research questions under study, this research would largely offer decision-makers to gain familiarity and establish appropriate context in which primary data can be implicated.  Secondary data can be gathered in scholarly journals, magazines, books, newspapers and corporate records.  With these materials, the marketing research process such as problem definition, research design and report representation are attended.  Such is crucial in finding pertinent information, sufficing exploratory research for the purpose of primary research and finding the right tools and techniques in analyzing and solving research questions.               This research will use interpretative approaches that can study the topic in an in-depth and sophisticated manner without the rigorous statistical process (1995).  However, this adoption prevents the research to generalize findings but it can provide rich and insightful description of a particular subject which can give the opportunity to contextualize important issues.  This is compatible because the current problem is to identify the effectiveness of AIRS and software application for Somes in Hong Kong. Initial contextualization of important issues regarding the business industry should be dealt first to be followed by pinpointing what is the particular sector within the industry is most apparently fulfilling such issues.  Primary data can be gathered in the questionnaire wherein the understanding of the topic by he researcher is reflected.                     Since Somes have already ample experiences in the business sector, the focus of the study are those sectors that are yet to be tapped.  This will include analysis of how to be profitable operator and constraints that can lead to failure.  Quantitative phase in the research is declined due to lack of adequate statistical competence and lack of time/ resources while qualitative phase is entirely applied because of the personal knowledge in the area of management and to be able to investigate on under-researched AIRS of Somes (1995).  Also, when analyzing qualitative and secondary information, the researcher intends to apply personal knowledge, experience and world-view to interpret and understand them.                        Interpretation will be an output of commonsense at experiential level where the researcher invokes that his analysis will be the same as the reader ( 1995).  To prevent validity problems, this study will extract accounting-related issues from specific transportation textbooks (e.g. relationship of vehicle speed to customer satisfaction) with the aid of theories and concepts especially in the advent of recommendation and conclusion.  Further, the validity of the analysis can be justified by practicing manager’s approach to theory as merely academics against the reality happening within organizational settings.    Participants             Respondents will be determined through investigation about their net assets that can include them to the definition of Somes within Hong Kong boundaries.  They have operation and transaction in other countries but their headquarters is located in Hong Kong.  In this engagement, the researcher will go to Hong Kong authorities to determine the validity of their classification.  Their sectors can vary and the basis will only be the SAME category to prevent the tedious task of segregation wherein companies that are selected do not have accounting software.  Two hundred (200) respondents will be surveyed using the questionnaire and no bias will be given for successful and non-successful companies at the time of research.        Data Processing and Analysis Naturalistic inquiries, developmental research, descriptive research and correlation research will be used in this study to research population behaviors, relate them to success factors and determine the relevance of existing explanatory theories/ empirical studies (___________).  One underpinning hypothesis would be employees/ managers are interested to know, participate and act in the intended M&A.  Another hypothesis is that most of them confront IT-related issue in their jobs and tasks.  With this, they can address the questionnaire.  The questionnaire is divided into three parts.  The first part contains the assessment questions to check if the two hypotheses are eminent.  The second part are a set of questions that are subdivided into four parts (i.e. categories proposed by ) where Scale is applied to determine the level of importance the respondent place on each sub-categories (i.e. the major categories will be applied by the researcher with sub-categories to specify the factors relevant to the respondents).    The third part will evaluate the profiles of the respondents and probably linking them to the part-two answers through specialized grouping (e.g. length of service, age, salary, gender, IT-relevance to work).  The data will undergo SPAS/ spreadsheet application and determine their variance, averages, significance.  Reliability and validity will be checked through the use of additional statistical treatment under SPAS/ spreadsheet such as factor analysis.  As observed, questionnaire method will extensively used.  However, interviews with managers and financial executive would be possible that may comprise the qualitative data that can support the explanation behind the behavior of the respondents.              Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

An Investigation on the Effectiveness of Accounting

AN INVESTIGATION ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE TO SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES Introduction VisiCalc is ack...

Sample Most Effective Rahabilitation Method of Chemically Dependent Offender Populations Essay

Sample Most Effective Rahabilitation Method of Chemically Dependent Offender Populations Essay

Speech on a Success of an Organization

AUDIENCES ANALYSIS             According to Time cover story, Bloomingdale’s, the famous department store, is a phenomenal success, because of its essential formula, “First know your customer, his age, f affluence, customers, habits, tastes.  The  speaker will be delivering its speech in front of graduating students, which are commonly do not have the attention mode that are required during class discussions. The author perceived that what they want to listen in a speech is something that can make them analyze the current events in relation to a light discussion of what successful business organizations are. Hence, an active presentation and an active speaker will likely to be more efficient and effective in making the audience feel that they are really indeed the  center of attraction of the current occasion.   PALM NOTES TOPIC: SUCCESS OF AN ORGANIZATION OUTLINE: I. OPENING LINE – The statement of A.     Role of the business industry to the economic society. B.     The downfall of  to the fall of United Nations Economy. C.    The success of the Business Processing Outsourcing Companies in the Philippines. II. Foundation of the company is the management III. The effect of the  downfall to other businesses and the step taken by the BPO’s. IV. Exhaustion of capabilities and resources V. Risks of diversification and opportunities VI. CLOSING LINE – another statement of SPEECH Thank you Associate  (please provide the name). Good morning everyone. I invite all of you to come with me as we journey to the path where successful businesses are currently traversing. The two scenarios that will be cited by this speaker is not a comparison, but it will provide the audience a comprehensive analogy of the subject matter.  stated that, “The main foundations of every state, new states as well as ancient or composite ones are good laws and good arms, you cannot have good laws without good arms, and where there are good arms, good laws inevitably follow.” Business plays a vital role in the society. The success of the business industry is also the success of the country where it is situated. Cliché as it may seem but one of the greatest downfalls that have a great effect to the success of a nation is the fall of the . The United States has not yet completely recovered from the problem as to its housing industry; the emergence of the  bad situation added another distress to one of the powerful states in the world. Hence, what dictates the success of an economy is on how the organizations in a business industry will be able to progress. It is a fact that what has been the caused of the downfall of the  is not taking into an account a number of several steps in order to counter any downfall or failure it may suffer in the future. The said organization did not live by to the goals or objectives of its creation. On the other hand, one nation that has been surviving despite the fact that it has been on the verge of falling down, has found a way to make its nation’s economy progress. The Philippines has been on the constant and steady level of its economy, as there are several numbers of business processing outsourcing companies coming in and doing business in the nation. The success of the business processing outsourcing gives the Philippines a reason to make its economy stable. Due to the stability of its economy it has been able to counter the United States’ crisis. It can be inferred that the Philippines has made a right choice in developing and shaping the business industry thru the said companies. Furthermore, the foundation of an organization is found on how the management and the organization’s members conducted in a manner that will be targeted in attaining the results that the organization was created. This process will be able to attain if all the missions and goals of an organization have implementing rules and regulations that will be systematic, efficient and effective. The  although successful in the industry, its fall caused so much problem to other businesses that have depended their investment and business progress. On the other hand, the business processing outsourcing companies have succeeded in using the citizens of a nation who are efficient with the language of English but still offer a minimum amount to labor costs. From the said facts, it is right for this speaker to conclude that the amount of good laws in an organization which also has good arms make the organization counter any emergence of problems. Furthermore, it gives the organization a vast opportunity to exhaust all possible resources and capabilities it has in order to make its business more progressive.   Hence, if the business organizations are the biggest player in the success or even on the stability of an economy, the rate of reaching the utmost goal of a nation will be materialized. This speaker did not impliedly say that the United States does not have any good arms or good laws, but the downfall of the economy is attributed to the fact that it did not look and make a possible solution to possible problems that can happen in the future. Lastly, no amount of risks can be associated to a plan of diversification of a company. Managing change can be successful if the current organizational effectiveness is apparent. The speaker has a strong conviction that no amount of change in the society or the business industry that can stumble down an organization. The capabilities of an organization to make all changes as an opportunity is good enough to make the organization successful. To end this speech, I would leave you with another statement by  “Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their=advantage.”     Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Speech on a Success of an Organization

AUDIENCES ANALYSIS According to Time cover story, Bloomingdale’s, the famous department store, is a phenomenal success, beca...

Performance Management and Performance Appraisal

Question 4(1)   PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL   Introduction   The central tenet of performance management and performance appraisal is the word performance. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines performance in many ways. Two among these definitions are accomplishment of something or working effectiveness. Performance, on the one hand, is the act of carrying out or accomplishing something such as a task or action while, on the other, it is also the way in which somebody does a job as judged by its effectiveness. Within an organisation, there are three levels of performance: organisation, process and individual. The first level deals with the organisation as a whole, encompassing its strategies, goals and measures. The main work of the organisation occurs in the second level which is multifunctional. Where individuals, who find themselves part of more than a single process, perform in relation to others make up the third level (1990). According to(2007), these three levels as well as the interrelationships of these levels serve as the vantage points of an organisation.   As such, performance accrues competitive advantage or the position that any firm occupies against its competitors. According to  (1985), the basis of above-average performance within any given industry is sustainable competitive advantage. He also argued that a firm 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. On the organisation level, competitive advantage could be achieved if the company has the ability to meet customer needs, compete in the marketplace, carry out strategies and achieve goals. Performance at this level is higher and more strategic. If there are internal systems and processes that are well-established to achieve goals, competitive edge is attainable in the performance level. Performance is further honed by means of continuous improvement strategies, Six Sigma efforts and other similar initiatives. Competitive advantage at individual levels centers the collective performance resulting to organizational process that contributes to the attainment of organizational goals ( 2007).   As companies grow and move into the schema of complicated business environment, the focus is on developing strategies that will address various threats, challenges and problems both internal and external while at the same time exploring new opportunities that the business environment provides. These organisations also realized that they have to invest in the most important element of the business – the performers. One of the leading strategies that companies engage into is the management of performance of the internal customers or simply known as the employees. (2000) states that performance helps organizations sustain or improve performance, promote greater consistency in performance evaluation, and provide high-quality feedback. As well, it helps organizations link evaluations to employee development and to a merit-based compensation plan. Moreover, performance management form a basis for coaching and counseling, permits individual input during the evaluation process, and allows for a blend of qualitative and quantitative expectations of job demands and factors that reveal how well the job is done.    (2002), on the other hand, relates performance management as the integration of performance appraisal systems with broader HRM systems as a means of aligning employees’ work behaviors with the organization’s goals. Thus, a performance management system consists of the processes used to identify, encourage, measure, evaluate, improve, and reward employee performance at work. Performance appraisal, as defined by  (2002), is the process by which an employee’s contribution to the organization during a specified period of tine is assessed. The author also contends that performance appraisal is treated as an evaluation and development tool, as well as a formal legal document as it review past performance, emphasizing positive accomplishments as well as deficiencies and drafting detailed plans for future development. Further, the performance evaluation also serves a vital organizational need by providing the documentation necessary for any personnel action that might be taken against an employee (2002).   Common Performance Appraisal Methods               Six of the common performance appraisal methods are: Critical Incidents File, Rating Scale, Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS), Ranking and Management by Objectives (MBO). The Critical Incident File refers to the performance appraisal method wherein the manager jots down the positive and negative performance behaviors of employees throughout the performance period. The file is a form of documentation it contains brief commentaries regarding noteworthy events in the working life of an employee. However, it tends to be bias because of its individualistic nature and dependent on the competence of the manager. Second, rating scale is a form on which the manager simply checks off employee’s level of performance including areas of quantity of work, dependability, judgment, attitude, cooperation and initiative. One of the main advantages of the rating scale is the ease of administration and familiarity but might conform to preferences however.               The combination of Critical Incidents File and rating scale make up BARS. The strengths of BARS are it is more accurate and objective than the two methods separately, leading to clearer standards when good BARS are developed. However, BARS has its legitimacy under scrutiny because the effectiveness of performance is being measured by several statements that describe the performance of an employee. It is the manager who will select one that best describes the employee thereby having bias while doing so. Almost similar to the process of BARS is the ranking scale but the employees are evaluated from best to worst using such method. The weakness of this method, however, is the comparison among the employees instead of against standard measurement. Nevertheless, ranking method explicitly considers the opportunity of identifying who needs improvement.                   MBO is the process of jointly setting objectives for the employees by the employees themselves and the manager. MBO is also a periodic evaluation of performance and reward according to the results. In an MBO system an employee meets with his or her manager, and they collectively set goals for the employer for a coming period of time. These goals are usually quantifiable, they are objective, and they are usually written. During the specified timeframe, the manager and the employee periodically meet to review the employee’s performance relative to attaining goals. At the end of the specified period, a more formal meeting is scheduled in which the manager and employee assess the actual degree of goal attainment. The degree of goal attainment then becomes the individual’s performance appraisal ( 2002)               MBO has its strengths and weaknesses. The strong points of this performance appraisal methods centers the employees’ involvement in setting performance objectives and increases the motivation required to reach those objectives. Since it is entirely job-centered, such method offers an objective, factual basis for measuring accomplishments. It establishes the appraiser as a facilitator of performance rather than a critic of performance and assures the organization that all employees are working toward a common purpose. Finally, MBO supports psychological concept that people will exercise self-direction and self-control in the accomplishment of organizational aims that they have participated in setting (2004).   On the other hand, there are also weaknesses inherent to MBO. First, MBO is an organizational philosophy and cannot operate at one organizational level without operating at all levels. As such, MBO cannot be implemented at all organizational levels simultaneously, nor can it be implemented from the bottom up – it must begin at the very top of the organization and works its way down. It also requires a total and sizable commitment of management support, interest, and time if it is to succeed. MBO is not applicable to all types of jobs. Individuals performing routine, repetitive, or machine-paced jobs are better appraised by another method. Finally, Employees require extensive training before they normally respond in a positive way to MBO ( 2001 ).               A notable example of a company which makes use of MBO as the performance appraisal is the Hewlett Packard, a multinational company. The activities of HP employees were guided by a comprehensive system of management by objectives (MBO). The performance appraisal system starts with the establishment of long- and short-range objectives derived from company and group objectives. At each company level, overall objectives were communicated and subunit objectives were negotiated. HP lets the employees decide on how they would accomplish the goals that they have set. The goals were made to interconnect horizontally and vertically throughout HP. Although the top management is the one who initiates the process, every employee is given opportunity to influence the setting of objectives. Employees are encouraged to suggest on how they can contribute to the success of the business unit   Features of a Successful PM System                         As  (1998) put it, performance management is also a strategy that relates organizational endeavors embedded in the context of human resource (HR) policies, culture, style communication systems into the individual performance objectives. A fully-realized performance management is a holistic process, but for this very reason, such process is complex and capable of being misunderstood ( 2005). Based on these definitions, performance management purports on establishing a culture, sharing expectations, creating interrelationships and a joint-holistic-continuous process which also involves planning and measurement (2005). There are specific PM systems that are bound to be successful because of specific features.               Measurability is the first feature, objectivity versus subjectivity, that is. Objective measures include hard criteria as sales, units produced, error rate, personnel data, absence rate, turnover and tardiness. In contrast, subjective measures focus on performance measures and their goal is to accurately assess performance. Success PM system strikes a balance between these two elements and ensures both objectivity and subjectivity, at the credibility of results and stability of the system itself. Opportunity-biases occur and the performance is modified by the current organizational situation . In addition, the organisations must take into account the downstream consequences of selected performance measure, the upstream consistency and the compatibility of measures to skills, capabilities and organizational culture ( 2006).               Organizational support includes basic work conditions, resources, facilities and inputs from internal customers among others. As part of PMS, such factors must enable individual employees to do better and deliver expected results. The need for these employees to do such, one must have competencies, motivation and organizational support. If these support mechanisms does not exist in the organisation, the organisation cannot expect to implement an effective PMS and to arrive at desirable results (2004).               Considering that it is closely tied up with the HR, a PM system to be effective also requires the competencies of leaders and HR employees. McKenna and Beech said that “within an organisation of reasonable size, one can expect a personnel function”. And, organisations would not pay leaders “that pay good behaviour in fishes. Leaders must teach their respective teams how to fish and create a corporate culture grounded in reality.” As such, leaders are also accountable for the success of the PMS so, they must be also competent in order to teach competency towards the team. Further,  (2004) relates that “the biggest bottleneck in PMS implementation lies on the competencies and incompetence of the HR department”. The business sense and the involvement within the main business must be understood and lived-by by the HR employees (2004). As overseers, they are the ones who must understood the competitiveness and the organization’s purpose more before they can make everybody else follows and do the same. This initiative will reflect in PMS.                         Alignment of organizational goals vis-à-vis individual goals is also critical. All efforts must align according to the purpose and objectives of the organisation. Mission, vision, goals and organizational strategies must be defined and clearly understood at all levels. In particular, the individual tasks must contribute to overall plans of the organisation and, in return, plans should create performance standards such as quantity, quality, time and cost. These standards should then be translated into performance for each  Moreover, misalignment puts excessive pressures on the top management, though, it also identify the maturity level of the organisation ( 2004) once reflected in the PMS.               There are considerations in choice of a schema as: cost, usefulness in employee development, usefulness in administrative decisions and validity . Evidently, the pre-implementation plan is critical; however, most companies fail to design a customized scheme. Most employers and HR employees seem to overlook and undermine the importance of this stage. They fail to answer the who, the why and the how. In addition, improper PMS is also evident in standard-setting, appraisal method and the ‘kindergarten report card’. Performance standards must be set according to the level of expertise. A lot of times, though, HR managers summaries performance in a quick, easy way for fast completion which likely creates employee hostility rather than improvement. The managers also rates employees base on numeric scales then get the average performance rating that supposed to mean something               Organisations seek informations to improve systems and on which to base rewards. On the other hand, employees seek valid performance feedback and extrinsic rewards. These conflicts are anathema to the requirements of an effective PMS as relevance to job performance, distinguishing high and low performance and fairness and acceptability. Moreover, the organization’s measures, standards and methods might increase the conflict within the workplace  A more dense conflict arises regarding the internationalization initiatives of Irish organisations. Contemporary trends and Labour changes implicate HR functions including employee attraction and retention, job design, employee motivation, reward systems and employee relations    Conclusion                         Effective management of performance is a source of sustainable competitive advantage. For a firm to achieve this, performance management system and performance appraisal method must be used not just as evaluation and documentation tool but also as a strategic tool. In this way, there will be a holistic analysis of performance at organizational, process and individual levels.                                                                                           Question 6   TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT   Introduction   Organizational learning and development (L&D) is not in its infancy. In fact, L&D is one of the imperatives of human resource management as it can improve performance at individual, collegial and organizational levels. As the process of ‘increasing one’s capacity to take action, organisations are now increasingly becoming particular with organizational learning and therefore collective development. Organizational learning, on the other hand, refers to the “efficient procedure to process, interpret and respond to both internal and external information of a predominantly explicit nature. According to (1999), the emergence of the concept of organizational learning is central on the hitherto idea that prior advocacies of learning are tended to its commercial significance and are lacking of empirical information on learning processes.   Strategically, organizational learning, which makes use of training and development (T&D) as one of the several responses, deals with the acquisition of understanding, know-how, techniques and practices. These intellectual intangibles can be translated into an organizational resource through the people that acquire, infer and utilize such towards the achievement of the organisation-wide L&D ( 2006.) T&D are planned learning experiences which teach employees how to perform current and future jobs more effectively.  (2002) emphasize that training focuses on present jobs while development prepares employees for possible future jobs. Basically, the objective of training and development is to contribute to the organization’s overall goal.   Changes in Approaches of HRD               Human resource development (HRD) plays an important role in modern organisations. As   (1998. ) put it, as “an organized learning activities arranged within an organization in order to improve performance and/or personal growth for the purpose of improving the job, the individual, and/or the organization.” Such definition purports the three important notes: the personal development (individual), professional development (job), and the organizational development (organization). Increasingly, HRD and T&D become hierarchical.  (1998) maintain that the presence of formal hierarchy influences systems thinking and organizational learning. In reality, the self-select role of employees thereby assumes an organizational title, an associated status, apposition in the hierarchy and role responsibilities               The professional legitimacy of T&D had been also critical as it requires the increased ‘educational’ base. As  puts it, ‘managerial learning’ is one of the major institutional barriers to making investments in organizational learning. The era of intense competition and the clash for competitive advantage calls for broader and deeper skills bases. Beyond the traditional division of labor, integrationist would provide the employees the incentive to cooperate in contributing their skills and efforts toward the achievement of common goals   (2001) made mention that T&D could be made more plausible when organisations use their knowledge and experience to improve organizational task performance. Learning involves knowing organizational rules, procedures, operating manuals, strategies, norms behaviors and, in general, the culture that governs the organisations   Moreover, evidences prove that leadership style influences the incidence or quality of the T&D schema because leadership structure is a determinant of the feasibility and quality of T&D initiatives. , (2006) argue that transformational leadership was associated with more intensive organizational learning activity with a stronger learning facilitative culture than transactional leadership  For structuring, these are the organizational structure itself, norms (policies and procedures), roles, technology leadership, education/training/development and rewards and recognition. Making sense to this are shared context (mission, objectives and goals), language and symbols, values and assumptions and schemas and scripts   (1987) asserts that the tripartite sharing of responsibility is the crux of a more effective learning process. Organizational learning is the process by which organisations obtain and use new knowledge, tools, behaviour and values, and it happens system-wide. At all levels, newly learned knowledge is translated into new goals, procedures, expectations, role structures and measures of success. As such, the more learning is built into the culture of the organisation, the more likely it is that the kinds of task and personal learning will take place.   Nowadays, the trend increasingly focuses on the concept of T&D as an integral tool in accelerating the competitive advantage, innovation and organizational effectiveness. As organizational learning leverage organisations in creating knowledge repository, identifying and codifying competencies and routines which includes acquiring, storing, interpreting and manipulating information from within and external to the organisation, the way people approach their work through sharing processes generates quality performance for both individuals and the organisation (, 2003,). To simplify, learning is the dynamic process that manifest itself in the continually changing nature of the organisations. These are exemplified by innovation, collaboration, culture shifts and high morale.                 Aside from competitive intelligence and technical expertise, there are also organizational capabilities that are being tap through T&D. Leadership, organizational learning and employee productivity comprise organizational capabilities. Through organizational learning, leaders communicate, direct, negotiate, influence, adapt and most of all gain employee commitment ( 2001.) Though organizational learning is inclined on the ability to learn from competitors, it is through organizational learning too that employees become more productive and more committed. This happens when they believe that the management has the skill to lead them to success and to provide them with knowledge and resources they need to meet customer requirements.                 Organizational T&D is responsible for talent management as it systematically develop learning processes, providing employees with learning opportunities that develop their capabilities, realize their potential and enhance employability. Not only that, T&D is also central on yielding to high quality people and providing development opportunities to managers to increase their capacity in contributing to the achievement of the organizational goals (2003). And as already mentioned, T&D should facilitate the lessening of restrictive job descriptions while also encouraging the cross-functional cooperation. The supportive atmosphere augments the commitment two-way resulting to productive individuals who feel a sense of ownership and empowerment (1998).   Roles of Different Parties in T&D             The reasons and motivation behind the proposed training programs are: 1. To improve performance – in order to correct deficiencies in the performance of the staff, training must be conducted. One of the rationales for the training programs is to remove current and avoid future career deficiencies. Although training cannot solve all the problems of ineffective performance, a sound training program is instrumental in minimizing those problems.   2. To update employees’ skills – in order to keep up with the advances and changes in the external and internal environment, the skills of the employees must be updated. Employee skills must be updated through training so that changes are successfully integrated into the organization. 3. To promote job competency – in order to update the knowledge, skills and abilities of a newly promoted employee, training is necessary. Training can be used to fill the gap between the new employee’s predicted and actual performance.               Another rationale for the design and the choice of training methodologies are the principles of learning. The recommended training programs are built around the learning principles that are discussed below. Learning can be defined as knowledge obtained by self-directed study, experience, or both; the art of acquiring knowledge, skills, competencies, attitudes, and ideas retained and used; or a change of behavior through experience  1989 cited in  2000).  (1990) believes that learning has little to do with taking in information; rather it is a process that enhances capacity. Learning is about building the capacity to create that which one previously could not create. Principles of learning are the guidelines to the ways in which people learn most effectively. The more the principles are included in training, the more effective training is likely to be ( 1990). 1 Motivation – in order to learn, a person must want to learn. In the context of training, motivation influences a person’s enthusiasm for training, keeps attention focused on the training activities, and reinforces what is learned. 2. Behavior Modeling – majority of what an individual learns is gained through observation of others. One will imitate other people’s actions when they lead to desirable outcomes for those involved (1990). 3. Participation – another way to inspire trainees is through their active participation in the training process. Activities that facilitates active participation enable trainees to become directly involved in the act of learning. Learning usually is quicker and more long-lasting when the learner can participate actively. Participation improves motivation and apparently engages more senses that help reinforce the learning process ( 1990). 4. Repetition of Practice – regardless of individual differences and whether a trainee is learning a new skill of acquiring knowledge of a given topic, the person should be given opportunity to practice what is being taught. Practice is also essential after the individual has been successfully trained ( 1990). There are two aspects of practice – active practice and over learning ( 1989). Active learning allows the trainees to repeatedly to perform the task or use the knowledge being learned. Over learning occurs when trainees are given the opportunity to practice far beyond the point where the task becomes ‘second nature’ and is said to be ‘over learned’. 5. Application – training is useless unless learning can be applied.   Benefits of T&D   Thereby, training and development is beneficial not just for the organisation itself but also to the individual employees. On the one hand, training and development leads to improved profitability and/or more positive attitudes toward profit orientation, improves the job knowledge and skills at all levels of the organisation, improves the morale of the workforce and helps the employees identify with organizational goals (1990). On the other, training and development benefits individual employees through helping them make better decisions and effective problem solving, assisting in encouraging and achieving self-development and self-confidence, helping an employee a person handle stress, tension, frustration, and conflict, increasing job satisfaction and recognition and moving the person toward personal goals while improving interaction skills (1990).   Examples of Successful T&D Programmers   Since its inception, training at Hamburger University has emphasized consistent restaurant operations procedures, service, quality and cleanliness. It has become the company’s global center of excellence for McDonald’s operations training and leadership development. At McDonald’s, the training mission is to be the best talent developer of people with the most committed individuals to Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value (QSC&V) in the world. Our strong commitment to the training and development of our People has resulted in many “firsts” and honors, including being… <ul type="disc" style="margin-bottom: 0in"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> The first restaurant company to develop a global training center</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> The only active QSR currently to receive college credit recommendations from the American Council on Education (ACE), the United States’ oldest and most recognized unifying body for higher education</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Continually recognized for excellence in training</li> </ul>   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Performance Management and Performance Appraisal

Question 4(1) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL Introduction The central tenet of performance management and p...

Flight Center a travel agency case study

“The most important decisions managers make is finding the right balance between vertical control and horizontal coordination depending on the needs of the organization”.   Introduction             Focusing solely on vertical or horizontal control as alternatives is not the only option for business firms seeking to develop competitiveness because of the possible limitations in selecting one over the other. On one hand, implementing solely vertical control could sacrifice flexibility, communication, and front line learning that many business firms require in adjusting to changing market environment and demand. On the other hand, depending solely on horizontal control could give up efficiency and standardization generally achieved through a certain degree of control via a vertical organizational structure. As such, many successful business firms opt to find the right fit between vertical and horizontal control in order to achieve the benefits of both dynamism and efficiency. The paper seeks to provide arguments in support of the integration of both forms of management by citing the case of Flight Centre, a travel agency.  Arguments             Successful business firms are those able to establish well-designed organisations. A good organisational design supports differentiation by designating various tasks as well as fostering specialisation (, 2006). Another benefit of a good organisational design is the integration of the contributions of different working teams or units (2006). For many modern business firms, the contingency perspectives provided the means of achieving a good organisational design by finding the right balance between vertical and horizontal control that fits with the particular context of business firms (, 2003). Three arguments support this statement.             First argument in favour of balancing both modes of control instead of just sticking to one is the need to achieve coordination of work and standardisation. Coordination assumes that there are various individual members of the organisation or working units focusing on different tasks. Coordination is necessary to integrate the contributions of individuals or teams comprising aggregate output of the organisation. ( 2006;  2006) Horizontal or flat organisational design supports coordination. However, standardisation is an equally important factor for business firms to ensure that different business units or working teams operate towards the achievement of the common business goals of the organisation (, 2006;  2006). Vertical mode of control ensures standardisation. Flight Centre is a large travel agency with business units servicing six countries through 800 shops. It maintains standardisation by maintaining three tiers of hierarchical structures—family, tribe and country levels—and achieves coordination by keeping a flat structure at the business unit level. Direct communication constituted both a means in achieving both coordination and standardisation by creating direct links between front line employees and top managers and an outcome of balancing both vertical and horizontal control, especially by maintaining a flat structure at the business unit level with only a small number of employees running the shops. Flight Centre heavily invests in the ensuring communication within the business units and across the organisation to develop good working relations and customer service.             Another argument in favour of balancing vertical and horizontal control is the achievement of a flexible organisational culture. The culture of business organisations pertain to the “pattern of shared basic assumptions” that emerge from the learning derived from the manner that groups address, adjust and adapt to challenges emerging from within or outside of the group (1992). As the outcome of learning, organisational culture becomes the best way of doing things ( 1992) expressed through the practices and norms of the organisation. However, organisational culture has to be flexible to endure internal and external pressures adaptable to change. Flat structures ensure a flexible organisational structure with front line employees of different business units identifying the areas requiring change based on their direct contact with customers and experience of market changes. However, a certain degree of vertical control ensures the alignment of practices and change towards the common goals of the business organisation. At Flight Centre, the organisational culture revolves around the fostering of belongingness by considering managers and employees as co-owners of the shops. By nurturing small business units, the founder Graham Turner was able to fashion the business units into family type structures comprising tribes and countries as the levels of the organisational design. As members of the family, managers and employees benefit from contributing to the continuous growth in the profitability of the shops. The firm was able to achieve this by establishing a maintaining three tiers of vertical control but keeping the business units small even with its international operations. The result is small business units that are profitable and able to adjust to the changes occurring at intervals of two years with continuous increases in the number of shops in the different countries.             Still another argument favouring the determination of the balance between vertical and horizontal control is the support for knowledge building and innovation, which could be intangible and/or tangible output from work. Transforming knowledge into innovation requires effective management. The management of knowledge pertains to the aggregate processes of ensuring that learning translates into means of ensuring the short-term and long-term benefits for business firms ( 2005). There are a number of benefits to the proper management of knowledge including the development of an environment of collaboration, the creation of opportunities for the generation of knowledge, and the provision of the means for the application of knowledge to meet strategic goals such as innovation (2003). Effective knowledge management involves elements of both vertical and horizontal control. At Flight Centre, knowledge building comes from the maintenance of a flat structure so that learning experienced by front line employees become subject to easy communication or sharing within the business units and up to management in a speedy manner to support sound and timely decision-making. Top management could also share knowledge by collating information from the business units and transforming these into responsive policies. In addition, top management also ensures that innovation at the business unit level align with organisational goals.             The counter-argument for the balancing of vertical and horizontal control lies in the classical thinking that explains organisational design of business firms as revolving around either vertical or horizontal control. The two modes of control support different outcomes because vertical control offers the benefit of efficiency and horizontal control revolves around the benefit of flexibility. This means that business firms should select the mode of control depending on its desired outcome. However, relying on one mode of control or the other means the preference of one benefit and neglecting the other. Business firms could benefit from both efficiency and flexibility, as shown in the three arguments presented, by finding the balance between vertical and horizontal control appropriate to its context according to the contingency perspective. In the case of Flight Centre, a travel agency with operations in six countries, keeping three tiers of vertical control and small business units constituted the balance in organisational design that ushered its business success. Conclusion             Business firms no longer have to choose from the implementation of either vertical or horizontal mode of control. The contingency theory provides the selection of one or the other or the appropriate combination of both depending on its needs and objectives or internal and external context. In selecting integration, the key is finding the balance between the vertical and horizontal modes of control that fits the particular of the firm. Flight Centre adopted the integrative perspective and achieved the right balance by establishing three tiers of vertical structure and maintaining small business units.     . Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Flight Center a travel agency case study

“The most important decisions managers make is finding the right balance between vertical control and horizontal coordination depending o...

LEADERSHIP

Leadership Leadership is a key issue in the development of groups, organizations and nations. Actually, leadership plays a crucial role in the behavioral and management sciences. It receives a lot of attention and is intensively explored. In the case of being too dependent of the group to leaders, there should be measures to be taken down in order to minimize the problems.  Actually, a real leader tends to look upon their followers as people – their needs, interests, problems, and focus on the personal development of their followers. Followers are not simply seen as units of production or means to an end. But being too much concern can possibly make your members too dependent to you. As consultant and questioned regarding my capabilities of handling people, I would rather justify and say to them that I can still handle the group since I’m just doing the so-called “participative leadership”. This is a behavioral characteristic where leaders try to share decision-making with others both followers and peers. In addition for my defense, I will also state the importance of the prevailing climate within the organization. Actually, climate is a feeling by the members of the group on how they perceive that something should be done at the minute. These feelings can normally be changed within perhaps a few hours, days or weeks. The members get these feelings from their both leaders and peers, formally and informally. Feelings are transmitted to them by how their leaders act and model, and what they praise and ignore. For example, in my department that needs to provide better customer service. Actually, I may take the necessary actions to help my department start performing customer service better. Thus, in order to make your members follow your orders, there should be a good relationship, goal, better model and clear direction and instruction. It is really nice to work in at ease pace and not pressured by an authoritarian leader. On the other hand, being close to the group is not really a problem, but being too much close can possibly cause group dependence.  As consultant, I would suggest to focus on the implementation of a new performance management and career planning system. In this way, the innate characteristics of effective leadership will become more apparent which may include motivation, influence, skills, attitude, foresight, direction and vision of the group. Through this, I can help people set aside their differences and help them focus on performing the tasks at hand, or motivate them to achieve the set goals. I will make work stimulating, challenging, fascinating, and fun and instead of making them too dependent on me, I will pull them toward a goal by attracting and energizing them to enroll in an exciting vision of the future. I will also motivate them through identification, rather than through rewards and punishments. As part of the improvement of my leadership style, I will raise the group’s level of awareness, our level of consciousness about the significance and value of designated outcomes, and ways of reaching them. I will increase my control to them to get the members of the group to transcend their own self-interest for the sake of the team.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

LEADERSHIP

Leadership Leadership is a key issue in the development of groups, organizations and nations. Actually, leadership plays a crucial role ...