Thursday, October 31, 2019
An investigation into issues surrounding consumer online purchasing Dissertation
An investigation into issues surrounding consumer online purchasing influenced by Facebook and Twitter - Dissertation Example A primary research method was used and a survey instrument with 30 questions based on the Likert scale was used. This was administered to a research sample of 200 and the responses analysed using SPSS. Findings from the research indicate that fashion firms use a number of methods and tools for promotion. These include Facebook posts, online reviews, and posts about latest events, trends, celebrity wear, online galleries, discounts and promotion codes. In addition they use eWord of Mouth advertising, buzz marketing and viral marketing. Facebook has also introduced Facebook stores that are micro sites for small and medium enterprises and introduced the Facebook Commerce, which is similar to e-Commerce but based on the Facebook marketplace. Facebook users place a high level of reliance and trust on the online reviews and posts and base their purchase decisions on these reviews. The research concludes by indicating that Facebook has emerged as the new marketplace for fashion products sin ce it brings together customers, sellers and hosts promotions and reviews that attract customers. Table of Contents 1. Introduction 13 1. Introduction 13 1.2. Literature review 15 1.2.1. Internet users 15 1.2.3 Online word of mouth 15 1.2.4. Social media 17 1.2.5. Social media marketing 17 1.2.6. Consumer’s purchase decision behaviour 19 1.3. Research Aims and Objectives 21 1.4. Time schedule 21 1.5 Resources 23 2. Literature Review 23 2. Literature Review 23 2.1. Decision making with Facebook 25 2.1.1. Items purchased with social media 29 2.1. 2. Facebook for selling and buying 29 2.1.3. Emergence of Facebook Store 35 2.1.4. Emergence of Facebook F-Commerce 37 2.2. Word of mouth and e-Word of mouth 39 Figure 2.1. Model for branding in eWoM (Jansen, et al, 2009) 39 2.3. Communication through social media 41 2.3.1. Buzz Marketing 43 2.3.2. Viral Marketing 45 2.4. Summary of the literature review 47 3. Methodology 49 3. Methodology 49 3.1 Introduction 49 3.2 Research Objectives 51 3.3 Research Philosophy 53 3.3.1 Deductive Approach 53 3.4 Research Design 55 3.4.1 Primary and Secondary Data 55 3.4.2 Quantitative Method 59 3.5 Sampling 61 3.6 Survey 63 3.6.1 Survey Design 63 3.6.2 Survey Limitations 65 3.7 Research Limitations 67 3.8. Summary 67 4. Findings and Analysis 69 4. Findings and Analysis 69 4.1. Analysis of various groups in the survey 69 Q1. I use Facebook to look at fashion items that inspire my own wardrobe. 71 Q2. I enjoy using Facebook because it gives me access to fashion ideas I would not otherwise have. 71 Q3. I use Facebook to look at celebrity styles and fashion items 73 Q4. The fashion item posts I see on Facebook inspire me to buy the same things. 75 Q5. I am compelled to buy fashion items to fit in with my friends who post their items on Facebook. 77 Q6. I use Facebook for fashion inspiration because it is free and I have constant access to it unlike fashion magazines. 77 Q7. I buy fashion items spontaneously 79 Q8. I am easily influe nced to purchase items because of fashion posts 81 Q9. I follow fashion on Facebook because it is updated much quicker than any other modes of media. 81 Q10. Once I purchase a new fashion item I post the details on Facebook 83 Q11. I actively search for fashion advice posted by people and pages on Facebook 85 Q12. I mostly use Facebook to be able to see what everyone else is wearing 87 Q13. I trust in the recommendations on products through Facebook 87 Q14. I take advice from Facebook and research online before a purchasing decision. 89 Q15. I am likely to be influenced to buy a particular brand if it is
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Placement report Essay Example for Free
Placement report Essay N.V. Elmar (Naamloze Vennootschap Electriciteit-Maatschappij Aruba) is in charge of providing electricity in Aruba. Formerly, the company’s name is N.V. ELECTRA founded by Mr. John G. Eman in 1950. After his death, his wife Mrs. F. van der Biest-Eman took over his place and continued the company’s operation. In November 9, 1950, N.V. ELECTRA discusses with Parliament the dealings of providing electricity in Aruba at the public’s interest. Under this discourse, the company had experienced several issues. ELECTRA then becomes a government property after the approving the proposal. Within the proposal, the company specifies itself to be under the control of OGEM N.V. located at the city of Rotterdam, Holland. Its first operation in November 15, 1950, N.V. Elmar has the capacity of 3000 KW with three diesel engines and eventually increased in 1958 buying a power station with a capacity of 15,000 KW. However, in 1982, OGEM experienced bankruptcy and decided to sell its shares of N.V. Elmar to Utilities Aruba N.V. owned by the government. Now, the company proudly states of its financial stability and management under the limits of concession (elmar.aw, 2004). Now, Elmar has a number of 163 employees and approximately 33,000 consumers on the island of Aruba. Island of Aruba            Serviced by the N.V. Elmar, Aruba is a Carribean island 24 km west coast of Venezuela. Of the three Dutch Islands, Aruba is the smallest having an area of 194 km2 with eight regions, namely, Noord / Tanki Leendert, Oranjestad (West), Oranjestad (East), Paradera, Santa Cruz, Savaneta, Sint Nicolas (North) and Sint Nicolas (South). The official language used is Dutch, particularly in education, mass media and civil service. Another language, is Papiamento, second to English as the main language in the island. The population also speaks of Spanish, a prevalent language in upper grades of primary schools (Elmar, 2006). Role in the Company            Because I hold a position in the Human Resources Department, most of my concerns are on employee benefits, recruitment and other employee related issue. Six months in N.V. Elmar has undoubtedly reached my capacity as an employee in the Human Resources Department. Two of their projects for employees, health and wellness program and monetary rewards will be discussed as the main concept of this report. Methodology Research Design            Elmar, like any other company, has major concerns on their employees. To address, this, the company initiated a corporate Health and Wellness program. In this program, the awareness of employees on health related issues and quality of life are substantially relayed. The company has outlined the procedures by giving employees education and promotion on health programs, and orientation and coordination of health assistance. Primarily, it is important to know what the general health status in the island is. Some of the researches made convey of obesity as the primary contributor to life-limiting illnesses in Aruba. The reasons for a high rate in the island are the decreased deprivation of food and a sedentary lifestyle. Aruba is a developed country and in most studies, countries in this state have high incidences of obesity especially on families with lower household income. Often, the quality of food is overlooked wherein buying foods high in calorie and fat is rampant. In a survey conducted in 1991-1992, 67% of the Aruba population is overweight. Moreover, this finding affects both sexes. Next study was conducted in 1995 to 1996 showing the nutritional state of first up to fifth grade overweight. Approximately, 13.4 to 14% of the first graders are overweight and 26.1 to 29.4% of the fifth graders experience obesity. A more recent study in 2004 by Dr. Richard Visser stated that of the 367 children studied, 133 were obese, the number of underweight children is 18, and the remaining 216 were healthy. Significantly, Visser found out that one factor of the growing population concerning obesity in oner population is the unawareness and disregard as a public concern. Hence, attention such treatment and proper education about being obese is insufficient.            Monetary and Non-Monetary rewards are essential for performance improvement of employees. Though we may see that vision, mission, and goals would be enough motivating entities in employee performance, still, these direct costs will provide a meaningful and prosperous stay in the company. In the monetary rewards, as the name implies, more of salary additions are being worked upon while the non-monetary rewards focus on recognizing the employee capability on work and other areas. Elmar Company has an incentives and rewards system, wherein it compensates, reinforces, and encourage enhancement of employee duties. In these types, providing incentives and rewards may focus on team or individual distribution. Moreover, the essentiality of these programs for employee performance, will direct work efforts in advantage to the mission, vision and goals of the company. Incentives and rewards are given to teams, organizations, or individuals in the company that exceed the company’s expectations. Procedures            Elmar company has outlined its goals and objectives in preparing the health and wellness programs. In this way, the company will properly monitor how the program is advancing towards the organization’s benefits. The company’s concern for its employees marks the unity of the two in a system of social relations. Upon noting the principles held by the company in this program, the statement now implies that there is the importance for maintenance, prevention, and promotion of health status of employees.            The vision of the company in pursuing this project is to develop an advanced and efficient program for the health and wellness of the company. Conceptual perceptions about this vision are: Corporate health and wellness means work with the employees of Elmar. Corporate health and wellness underlines the positive dimensions of health. Corporate health and wellness has to involve different groups, organizations and institutions.            Subsequently, the company has marked the strategic and operational objectives for this program. Strategic objectives cover the expected results upon reinforcement of the program while the operational objective sees how the actual procedure must perform on the employees. The following are the strategic objectives: To reduce medical costs and disability costs: many companies have found that they can significantly reduce the cost of employee health care benefits by proactively promoting health, safety and wellness. To reduce absenteeism: numerous studies have found that employee wellness programs can significantly reduce employee absenteeism. To enhance productivity: many studies have linked health risks with reduced employee productivity and have found that healthier workers are more productive. To improve general health and well being. (Corporate Health and Wellness Program, 2006: 12) While these are the operational objectives: Structure and develop corporate health and wellness programs and activities according to priorities established. These programs c.q. activities are directed to the individual employee, Elmar as an organization and the community of Aruba. Establish and reinforce collaborative relations with organizations in the community, government, and NGO’s, related to the development of specific projects in corporate health and wellness. Generate an employee data bank related to the risk factors in health and wellness that can be used to generate assistance, prevention and education programs. Develop educational activities for the employees that can reinforce the actions of promotion in corporate health and wellness. (Corporate Health and Wellness Program, 2006: 12).            To start the program, first, the company must identify which are the employee needs prior to implementing operational objectives. In order to have an appropriate amount of data, the company will have to conduct as survey amongst its employees, invite an organization that will manage the physical examination among employees and facilitate education about eating healthy.            The monetary and non-monetary programs will take effect on employee’s performance level. Generally, it enhances the performance to satisfy or exceed the objectives. Examples of Monetary incentives are: Performance awards – monetary incentives that reward employees upon performance that exceeds the expectation of the company. Observation of giving this award is through formal performance ratings of record on the appraisal period. Special act or service awards – one-time awards like lump sum for employees that had done a specific task from performance. Judgment in this kind of award comes from the first line supervisors. Quality Step increases – gives employees faster than normal progression by facilitating stepped rates and a permanent increase in basic pay. Time Off awards – granting employees leave without charging their annual leave. Gain Sharing – a system, wherein both the company and the employee gain improved productivity. In this system, the company measures the productivity of employees, which in turn gives additional income to the company, then, the employees and involved organization will benefit through associated earnings of the company.            Non-monetary incentives may be tangible or incentives that have more bases on rewards like trophies, medals, certificates, and plaques. Moreover, this kind of incentive may take an intangible position, for example, if an employee has exceeded the expectation of the company, the organization may include training opportunities and assignment of employees to a more meaningful, challenging, and prestigious kind of work. Even though these incentives may not have much value directly on budget, some studies have shown that this becomes more important as motivating factors for employee performance. The Report SWOT Analysis            SWOT (which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) is a type of management observation on the overall performance of an organization. This method is often used on businesses because results can be easily transformed in other business philosophy like Porter’s five forces. Generally, the SWOT analysis has effect on overall evaluation when one factor has a cited defect or disadvantage. The strengths and weaknesses are the internal factors while the external factors are the opportunities and threats (marketingteacher.com, 2007). Strengths The strengths of the health and wellness program are in aspects of giving educational awareness to employees considering health problems, disease prevention, and health status. Hence, employee performance may increase. Moreover, productivity may increase because of reduced absenteeism, medical insurance policies, and cost effective strategies. The strengths of monetary and non-monetary incentives take effect on employee and company relationship. Employees regard much of their work because of these rewards, which in turn will not only increase productivity but also enhance the quality of products and services as well. In addition, if properly examined, is the preservation and maintenance of employees with exceptional skills and abilities. Weaknesses Apparently, the weaknesses of health and wellness programs are the appropriate participation of employees particularly in health awareness programs. The individual may listen to these lectures but do not apply them in real life. One weakness of incentives is on the monetary rewards. Generally, monetary rewards have the â€Å"amounts†in order to make employee performance more successful and productive. However, some employees may look at incentive as the central mark of their performance rather than cling on the vision and mission of the organization. In addition, not all employees may non-monetary rewards as a moral perspective, because some employees may develop envy among their co-workers if abundantly present in most of the incentive policies. Opportunities A big opportunity for health and wellness program is to widen the controlled areas in health provisions such as insurance policies and discounts on medical services. The company may also generate proper motivation of these programs when medical specialists are very much involved with the program. There should always be continuity with this kind of program because health is a very essential to an individual. In monetary incentives and non-monetary incentives, monitoring units for choosing which of the employees will gain the award should have a regard. In this way, proper evaluation of the programs will provide trust to employees that the awardees deserve. Hence, envy will not have its place in the organization. Threats The health and wellness program should look unto costs prevalently diverse in most health programs like medicines, fees of professionals and other related issues on economic changes in effect to medical facilities. One threat in monetary programs is that there may be possibilities of lost on the best employees if monitoring is not properly achieved. Hence, the probability of giving good services and products may have hindrances. Reflection            As part of this project, I have noticed the essentiality of the company and employee relationship. Seeing how Elmar valued this social interaction, the severity to serve the company is overwhelming yet incomparable to what I have seen on other organizations. Both the company and its employees are very much interested on the productivity and quality of service. Furthermore, I have seen the social impact of the health and wellness project, as it projects how the society has evolved from a simple unit to a larger unit of the company because it affects the employee performance. Monetary and non-monetary incentives are appropriate sources of motivating employees on the vision and mission of the company but proper attention on the monitoring and evaluation of awardees should be considered, as this could affect trust amongst employees. I think these are apparent objectives after the actual placement: Enhance productivity due to reduced absenteeism and proper well-being. Reduced medical costs because of subsequent education of employees on health related issues. Educational activities for employees in areas like Roll in â€Å"Wit Gele Kruis†for yearly check ups and mini health fair. Monetary Rewards has succeeded in increasing productivity. Non-monetary rewards have increased company commitment among employees. Conclusion            Questionnaire results were positive, looking at the overall performance of corporate health and wellness programs. This survey will generally help the family to be aware in eating the right food and proper diet to reduce the medical costs. The mini survey has given positive results and future benefits to most employees. On the other hand, monetary and non-monetary incentives will help in motivating employees of their performance level and commitment to the company. There is also a great probability of preserving and acquiring employees with exceptional talents and skills. Bibliography N.V. Elmar. â€Å"About Us.†2004 29 January 2008 http://www.elmar.aw/info/content/wp_aboutus.jsp SWOT Analysis. 29 January 2008 http://www.marketingteacher.com/Lessons/lesson_swot.htm
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Employee Involvement in Decision Making
Employee Involvement in Decision Making McCabe and Lewin (cited in Dundon et al., 2004) termed employee voice as a way of expressing complaints or grievances or dissatisfaction and the participation and involvement of employees in decision making process of organization. During the last two decades, revolutionary steps that have been initiated to facilitate the high performance working mainly focused on increasing the ways of joint consultation, which attracts both employers (who demand better business results) and employees (who demand recognition and protection of employee rights) (CIPD, 2009). Employee voice is a very important factor in the success of an organization. Dundon et al. (2004) argues that successful voice regimes not only positively affect the performance of employees in terms of quality and productivity but also help to negate the issues which might explode otherwise. Opportunities of Employee voice are believed to be associated with the employee turnover. According to (Spencer,1986)employees will show more interest in staying with the organization if they have more opportunities to express their dissatisfaction, grievances and to change the unsatisfactory work conditions. Collective bargaining and joint consultation have been the main spotlight of industrial relations as far as employee voice is concerned According to Boxall and Purcell (2003) in the industrial relations, the main focus for representation of employee voice has been on the collective bargaining and consultation. Freeman (1976) defined unions as the institutions of collective voice in the labour market. He further asserted that collective forums, for voicing employee issues are more effective in some situations as they help strengthening worker communities and provide a direct mean of communication between them and management; but Addison and Belfields (2004) findings tend to negate these arguments as according to them more formalized union structure may create a communication gap between workers and management, because they have to deal with their issues through a third party. Freeman and Medoff (1984) argued that union plays a vital role in minimizing turnover rate as they provide employees with the voice mechanisms through which they can rectify the work related problems and can negotiate higher compensation packages . Their arguments are supported by Batt, Colvin and Keefe (2002), who believes that employees in union set-ups are expected to have higher compensation than they could earn in similar jobs in non-union set-up and secondly unions strengthen employees, by providing them with a voice in determining policies that reduce the pay inequality, grievance and arbitration procedures for appealing managerial decisions Employee voice refers to the two dimensional dialogue between management and employees which allows employees to give their feedback and express their concerns and griefs relating to matters affecting them. Employee voice is not a one-off phenomenon as employees like to put their suggestions for improvements and express griefs on a continuing basis. (Landau, 2009) Employee voice not only helps employees to improve performance but it is good in principle (Wilkinson 2001). It is a fundamental right of each employee to know the information regarding the financial and organizational performance of the organization and express their concerns about the work conditions or feed any ideas which they feel will be beneficial and helpful in achieving the long term goals of the organization. Employee involvement (EI) and employee participation (EP) have been given much importance in the employee relations literature for a long time. Employee involvement is normally initiated by the management and it takes place at lower levels of organization sharing information at the shop floor on matters that effect their day to day working not allowing them to give their opinion about the higher lever decision making., on the other hand ,employee participation is driven by indirect means of representation like unions and advice councils etc and its aimed at higher levels of the organization concerning matters of long term importance (Ackers et al,2003). Employee voice plays an important role in increasing commitment. Sensitive financial and organizational information is shared with employees. These symbolic gestures can make them feel they are trust worthy and being treated fairly and openly and they are an important asset for the organization. (Marchington,Wilkinson, 2005 pp77). This commitment can lead to improved performance as committed employees put extra discretionary effort in to the work. Landau, 2009 concludes that employees who express their voice and their voice is accepted and appreciated are more committed,more likely to stay in the organization, have good attitudes about their immediate managers and feel more secure as compare to those who speak up unsuccessfully. Downward communication takes place in almost all the organizations, different kind of mediums are used to brief employees about the current issues faced by the organization. Employee voice can pave a way for more conducive and open work environment to work in.(Wilkinson,2004) Financial participation not only helps employee to contribute towards the success of the organizatioan but also help them take their fair share of company profits. (Marchington,2005) It is argued that employees will be more likely to accept decisions in which they involved. Employees will be in a right /better position to perform if they know what is expected from them and what is the situation of the organization. Participation can lead to less conflict and increased team work spirit. There is compelling logic in favour of effective employee involvement.regular provision of relevant information to employees together with consultation on management proposal on issues, promotes a shared commitment to the objectives of an organization, this in turn maintains a positive climate in which employees are motivated to contribute to business success which benefits both employer and employees alike. Direct participation: direct participation means that the employees themselves express their opinion and say over matters affecting them on the contrast, indirect participation means that a third party e.g trade union or advice council represents the right of the employees (Guest, Fatchett, 1974). In top down problem solving, workers may feel that they are being lectured and not listened to ,where as in bottom up approach,employees may feel that management is using their ideas and suggestions without giving them any reward. A feeling of powerlessness decreases loyalty and commitment in employees, it is important to tap new ideas and suggestions from lower level employees as there are more close to the customer the workplace. There are more chances of having more satisfied employees if they genuinely being involved. Transformational leadership encourages their subordinates to give suggestions or report grievances or anything they are dissatisfied with because of their natural instinct towards improvement rather than just maintaining the status quo. These initiatives help the employees to perceive/discover their value for the organization and results in more committed and enthusiastic work force which is fundamental to the achievement of long term goals and objectives (Detort, 2007) References Derek Rollinson ,2005 pp56 Organizational behaviour and analysis, an integrated approach,3rd edition,prentice hall publishers. Wilkinson, A.(2001) Empowerment, in M. Warner (ed.)International Encyclopaedia of Business and Management(London:ineternational Thomson Business Press) Dr. Tony Bennett, 2007 The significance of employee voice mechanisms in the workplace: Employee participation in the new global economyPaper for submission to the Work, Employment and Society Conference held at Aberdeen University September 12th to 14th September Peter Ackers, Mick Marchington, Adrian Wilkinson ,Tony Dundon,2003 .Partnership and Voice, with or without trade unions: changing UK management approaches to organizational participation. Research series Paper 4 Peter Ackers, Mick Marchington, Adrian Wilkinson ,Tony Dundon,2004 Changing Patterns of Employee Voice: Case Studies from the UK and Republic of Ireland Mick Marchington, Adrian Wilkinson, ,2005 Human Resource Management at Work, third edition,CIPD Jacqueline Landau, 2009, When Employee Voice is Met by Deafears, SAM Advanced Management Journal ,pp 4 -12 James R.Detort,2007 Leadership behaviours and employee voice,Is the door really open,Academy of management journal,Vol 50,no 4, 869-884 David Guest,Derek Fatchett 1974 ,Worker Participation: Individual Control and Performance ,institute of personnel management ,pp13 Mick Marchington,2005 ,Employee Involvement: Patterns ans Explanations ,Participation and Democracy at Work, essays in honour of Harvie Ramsay, pp27 palgrave macmillan CANNEL, M., 2009. Employee Voice [online]. CIPD. http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/comconslt/empvoice.html DUNDON, T., WILKINSON, A., MARCHINGTON, M., and ACKERS, P., (2004) Changing Patterns of Employee Voice: Case Studies from the UK and Republic of Ireland The Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 298-322 SPENCER, D.G., (1986) Employee Voice and Employee Retention Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 488-502.
Friday, October 25, 2019
health care :: essays research papers
1.     What conventional economic principles apply in the health care environment? Economics is defined as â€Å"The scientific study of the choices made by individuals and societies in regard to the alternative uses of scarce resources which are employed to satisfy wants (Rodda, 2004).†The health care environment is based off of uncertainty (i.e. accidents, death, etc) thus, we can expect a large amount of uncertainty towards the future. Since we know there is a lot of risk and uncertainty involved, we also know these are major measurements that the study of economics researches. Economics has some basic principles that are crucial to its theory. For instance, supply and demand is an important principle that affects the health care environment. What we know from this is that when demand rises, prices increase, and when supply rises, prices decrease. Currently, we can see this in Medicaid and Medicare today as demand for these services continue to increase as more older people continue to live longer lives. Another issue is costs. Costs are skyrocketing for healthcare and many can no longer afford it. The cost of healthcare continues to rise and many more are becoming uninsured. Another factor is a labor shortage. Nursing, and other areas in the hospital are becoming dangerously problematic. According to The American Association of College Nursing (AACN) between 1995 and 2002 the number of U.S. educated nursing school graduates who sat for the national licensure exam for RNs decreased from 96,438 to 66,286. They also stated that by 2010 more than a million new and replacement nurses will be needed because of increased health care demands and retirements. The average age of working RNs in 2000 was 43. health care :: essays research papers 1.     What conventional economic principles apply in the health care environment? Economics is defined as â€Å"The scientific study of the choices made by individuals and societies in regard to the alternative uses of scarce resources which are employed to satisfy wants (Rodda, 2004).†The health care environment is based off of uncertainty (i.e. accidents, death, etc) thus, we can expect a large amount of uncertainty towards the future. Since we know there is a lot of risk and uncertainty involved, we also know these are major measurements that the study of economics researches. Economics has some basic principles that are crucial to its theory. For instance, supply and demand is an important principle that affects the health care environment. What we know from this is that when demand rises, prices increase, and when supply rises, prices decrease. Currently, we can see this in Medicaid and Medicare today as demand for these services continue to increase as more older people continue to live longer lives. Another issue is costs. Costs are skyrocketing for healthcare and many can no longer afford it. The cost of healthcare continues to rise and many more are becoming uninsured. Another factor is a labor shortage. Nursing, and other areas in the hospital are becoming dangerously problematic. According to The American Association of College Nursing (AACN) between 1995 and 2002 the number of U.S. educated nursing school graduates who sat for the national licensure exam for RNs decreased from 96,438 to 66,286. They also stated that by 2010 more than a million new and replacement nurses will be needed because of increased health care demands and retirements. The average age of working RNs in 2000 was 43.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Benchmarking: University and Target Organizations Essay
What is benchmarking? †¢ Benchmarking is an approach for departments to measure and compare themselves with higher-performing departments with the goal of identifying work processes, products, services, or strategies that will lead to improvement. Benefits of benchmarking †¢ Identify best practices that increase student satisfaction. †¢ Achieve efficiencies and increase productivity. †¢ Helpful during times of budget growth and reduction. †¢ Broaden perspectives and overcome resistance change. †¢ Demonstrate the quality and efficiency of your programs and services. Origins of benchmarking †¢ Emerged in 1980s as a survival tool for Xerox. †¢ In 1990, first university benchmark study conducted by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. †¢ In 1992, the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) conducted a national benchmark study on administrative services. †¢ Since 1992, hundreds of schools have participated in NACUBO’s benchmark studies on topics ranging from admissions to purchasing. †¢ Today many higher education associations conduct benchmark studies. Opportunities for benchmarking in higher education †¢ Admissions – process of reviewing of applications †¢ Registrar – processing transcript requests †¢. Center for Student Involvement – processing the registration of student organizations †¢ Student Health Services – scheduling doctor appointments †¢ Campus Recreation – signing students up for recreation classes †¢ Career Services – registering employers in job fairs †¢ Crafts Center – registering students in workshops †¢ Human Resources – processing timesheets and payroll †¢ Transportation Services – arranging for special event parking services †¢ Police – computer – aided dispatch services †¢ Facilities Design – project design review process Five steps to benchmarking 1. Planning 2. Identifying target organizations 3. Data collection. 4. Analysis 5. Implementation Step 1. Planning †¢ Limit the study to what is vital to the performance of your department. †¢ Consider highly – regarded practices or services that can be made even better. †¢ Look into practices or services that students and staff regard as â€Å"broken†. – labor – intensive, time – consuming processes with suspected waste – Services or processes that generate dissatisfaction with students. – Processes that affect other key processes in your department or other departments. – Processes with poorly defined objectives or frequent errors requiring corrections. Prioritizing your benchmarking projects †¢. Potential for improvement in student satisfaction or staff productivity, †¢ Extent to which the process or service is broken, Feasibility of re-engineering the service or product. Selecting benchmark study team Involve staff members who are most familiar with the processes or services. If processes or services extend to other departments, involve their staff as well. Include a staff member who can successfully recruit the target organizations to participate in the study. Step 2. Identifying target organizations Identify recognized leaders based on: –awards, conference presentations, articles in association publications, and leaders in your field. †¢ Target organizations can be departments: –internal to the university that perform similar processes or offer similar services. –with similar processes or services at other universities. –outside of higher education with similar functions, products, or services. Step 2. Identifying target organizations To ease the recruiting the process look for institutions that affiliate with one another in some manner. –They still need to be top performers! Secure their cooperation by: –Ensuring confidentiality of the results. – Making their participation easy by minimizing their investment of time in the study. – Promising to share the results. Step 3. Data collection †¢ The objective of data collection is to: – examine processes or services, – resources devoted to processes or services, and – measure performance. Step 3. Data collection Use methods such as: telephone interviews, on – line surveys, collection of department information (e. g. , organizational charts, procedure manuals) detailed flowcharts of internal processes interviews during meetings at conference, interviews and observation during site visits Step 3. Data collection †¢ Measuring performance involves developing metrics such as: †¢ QUALITY – student satisfaction surveys, †¢ EFFICIENCY – number of transactions completed per departmental FTE, or – departmental cost per transaction processed. Examples of metrics †¢ Benchmarking study of custodial services in Student Centers †¢ QUALITY †¢ Staff and student ratings of the appearance of various spaces in the facility (e. g. ,bathrooms, dining spaces, meeting spaces, lounge spaces). †¢ EFFICIENCY †¢ Number of FTE dedicated to custodial services divided by facility square footage †¢ Number of FTE dedicated to custodial services divided by the number of people who visit the facility each day †¢ Amount of supplies and expenses budgeted to custodial services divided by the number of people who visit the facility each day. Step 4. Analysis †¢ Your analysis may focus on: †¢ Differences in quality and efficiency levels. †¢ Factors that contribute to the differences in quality and efficiency including: †¢ Organizational structure, †¢ Leadership and mission †¢ Organizational stability and staff experience, †¢ Policies, †¢ Work flows and internal processes, †¢ Use of technology such as the web, email, phone †¢ Staffing levels, †¢ Training of staff, †¢ Division of job responsibilities, †¢ Funding, †¢ Use of assessment to receive student feedback Step 5. Implementation †¢ Analysis phase culminates in a documented action plan and recommendations †¢ Identify strengths and weaknesses relative to benchmark partners, †¢ Recommendation may include changing: – processes, – job responsibilities, – staff involved, – use of technology and development of software tools. Resources †¢ American Society for Quality http://www. asq. org †¢ Student Voice http://www. studentvoice. com †¢ Educational Benchmarking Inc. http://www. webebi. com – Has national benchmark studies on first – year experience, housing, Greek life, student centers, student organization leaders. †¢ International Benchmarking Clearinghouse http://www. apqc. orgÃ'Ž
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
LIFE ON MARS AND ITS INHABITANT Essay
ESSAY: LIFE ON MARS AND ITS INHABITANT DATE: MARCH 15TH 2013 First of all ‘MARS’ is a planet which is normally refer to as the earth’s twins, why? Because it has the same features of surface reminiscent both on the impact craters of the moon the volcanoes, valleys. The writer of this novel’ life on mars’ made us to understand that he is a Martian who left him home to pass down a message of what I call salvation or redemption to the people of earth. The writer made it clear that mars is a planet ruled by LOVE, with love among them problems like misunderstanding, or internal dissension does not exist among its people unlike the dwellers of earth. He also mentioned that we earthlings are not only false ideals of radical, sociological and religious distinctions a bar to our spiritual and material progress, but also in terms of political and economical falsities which would lead to our destruction if we do not retrace our steps back to the pathway pointed out by Christ the master and accept LOVE. Economy in mars is a virtue long cultivated on the planet mars as pointed out by the writer. While us on earth we have no respect for nature and its gifts as we carry on with the destruction of forest, depletion of our coal beds and crude oil deposits and he said the reason for this is greed and the lust for material things which would lead to the ultimate destruction of our planet earth. As a result of these material lust habitants on the planet earth has suffered disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis floods, which the writer claims is unknown to them in mars. He also stated in the last paragraph of chapter four that the people of mars has no worries in their mind which is in accordance with Christ message ‘’seek ye first the kingdom of GOD and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added on to you( matt6:33). In chapter V the writer pointed out the way material things in mars are been classified as and compared it to the way we earthlings also value these material things. In mars material things has no value as the Martians believes that all property belongs to God and no being in the universe should claim it for his or herself, but man has developed a social habit of stamping lands, claiming seas, love of money, and other material things instead of fighting for the riches of the heavens and wealth the father (Christ) has kept for them in hi s home above. The millions of Martians lived as one family. It is this solidarity, this filial consideration that one holds for the other that has made the stupendous and gigantic public works on mars. It has been made clear that the Martians do not in any way look down on anybody on their planet; none is richer than the other, they all share the same common wealth compare to that of the earthlings. Another social view of the Martians way of life is there religious believe. All Martians accepts Christ as the as there saviour and is been taught about him right from their infant stage. The Martians has no church system and no ecclesiastical hierarchy, all Martians recognised and worship one God which is the eternal father. While us earthlings out of greedy and selfishness for our own interest and glory broke out of the faith and teachings of Christ which is love. Love is the centre of all good things as taught by Christ when he came to our earth 2,000 years ago. And because the Martians have accepted these things crime has been totally erase from their planet. Mars has no political system; since there is love among them love rules them, unlike us on earth that cannot live and prosper without the aid and guidance of a complex administrative system. As quoted by the Maritain ‘’ WHERE THERE IS NO SIN THERE IS NO NEED OF LAWS; FOR THE RIGHTOUS MAN IS A LAW UNTO HIMSELF. I n chapter X this book tells us that mars is generally ruled by love. Mars has a religion which can be expressed in two thoughts: ‘’LOVE’’ and THY WILL BE DONE, NOT MINE’’. While we on Earth, have created a religion to satisfy our conventionalities and because we refuse to accept the common truth which is there is only one true GOD we cannot advance to a higher stage. The Martian system of education as stated by the writer is far better than we on earth. Their education starts from the mother’s knee and the very first thing taught is how to acquire the spiritual knowledge to the Martians GOD comes first, THE HOME IS THE PRIMARY SCHOOL, JUST AS A PHSICAL EXSITANCE ON A PLANET IS THE KINDERGATEN OF A NEVER –ENDING LIFE .THE PARENT ARE THEW FIRST TEACHERS in mars. We on earth look at school in a different point; in our society school is more less a prison for children why? Because knowledge is not been taught but is been forced by the teachers in terms of using grades to rank the children thereby making some superior to the other in class. The task of a teacher is not to teach knowledge but to help in bringing out what is already latent in the soul; such is the Martian way of teaching. In conclusion, the writer has mentioned things like greediness, selfishness, lust for material things, failure to accept the truth, hatred, as things which we earthlings possess in our society and it has been our way of life and unless we accept love among each other destruction awaits our world. The writer has mentioned earlier that he has not come to condemn us or to act as a superior but to show us how to seek redemption and come back with Christ in peace and harmony as it has once been in the years of our first father and mother on earth, ( ADAM AND EVE) before sin separated us. The announced that the only way out is LOVE which is the greatest of all things. And with love there would be no crime and for us to seek this great love we have to repent and ask for forgiveness from the heavenly father. He went as far as boasting with his home planet and this they have achieved so far by accepting Christ and his love, without this earth is doomed and there is no other way to escaped fro m the destruction that awaits us. This was his vision of making an ideal society. LOVE RULES AND ACCORDING TO THE TEACHING OF CHRIST, GOD IS LOVE. (THEOPHLIUS)
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