Effect of Organisational Culture on Customer Satisfaction

Effect of Organisational Culture on Customer Satisfaction Researches by some academics have made it known that a companys culture is closely linked to its effectiveness and efficiency (Kotter Heskett, 1992). In addition, according to (Morgeson, Krishnan, 2006) customer satisfaction is an increasingly significant factor of an effective organization in todays competitive business setting. Prospects arising from increase in globalization by companies, advancement in technology, and outsourcing have meant that companies are increasingly turning their attention to laying greater emphasis on customer service across national borders in order to reduce costs, while at the same time trying to increase customer user-friendliness through day-to-day activities of the firm. ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE (Shein 1996), defined culture as: a pattern of basic assumptions that a group has invented, discovered or developed in learning to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, and that have worked well enough to be considered valid, and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. Other shared definitions by learned scholars refer to organisational culture as pattern of shared values and beliefs that help individuals understand organizational functioning and thus provide them with the norms for behavior in the organization(Deshpande and Webster 1989), a set of cognitions shared by members of a social unit (OReilly et al., 1991). According to (Laurie 2008), organisational culture is a combination of traditions, values, policies, beliefs, and attitude that establishes a general framework for everything done in an organisation. It can also refer to the form of beliefs, values, and ways of managing experience that have developed during the course of the organisations history, and becomes noticeable in its material arrangements and the behaviour of its members. (Brown 1998). (Gupta 2009), in his write up, opined that organisational culture is a set of unwritten rules meant to guide the employees towards an standardardised and rewarding behaviour. TYPES AND MODELS OF ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE In order to appreciate the incorporation of organisational culture, it is very important to examine and search for different models to improve the understanding of the concept of organizational culture. I. Scheins Three Layer Organizational Model These three layers as explained by (Shein 1996) below are stages of organisational culture that should be categorized carefully with the purpose of avoiding any theoretical misperception. Artefacts and Creations the Artefact and Creation layer is the observable stage of corporate culture, it includes the social environment. Usually researchers study the artistic productions, technological output, physical space in the artefacts and Creations stage. Values usually values symbolize the significant things for individuals, they are affective wants or needs and conscious. The existence of values is very important for the organization in order to function competently and share ideals among staff. Basic Assumptions a specific group of individuals study how to manage and handle the difficulties of internal integration and external adaptation through developing and discovering the assumptions. II. Denisons Effectiveness and Culture Model The effectiveness and culture model for (Denison 1990) represents the relationship between management, corporate culture, effectiveness and finally the performance of the organization. This model is equipped to stress the important association in management practices with the beliefs and principles when examining the effectiveness and culture of the organization and its performance. Involvement this feature includes constructing the individual ability, responsibility, duty and ownership. Corporate culture is described as highly involved strongly support participation and generate a sense of responsibility. Adaptability the adaptability feature means translating the environmental business demands into action. Consistency is the vital source of power, course, formation and integration. Mission -is the long-term trend for the corporation. According to (Laurie 2008) organisational culture can be grouped into four main classes namely power culture, role culture, task culture, and person culture. Power Culture- entirely dependent on central power source and control is excercised by key individuals. Role Culture this type of culture is characretised by bureacracy and is based on rationalisation of all aspects of the organisation with role and job description more important than the individual. Emphasis is laid on position as the main source of power. Task Culture job or project oriented. Person Culture here, the individual is the central focus and every resource available is there to serve the individuals within it. (Laurie 2008). The type of culture inherent in an organisation may be decisive for organisations ability to serve its customers effectively. For example, organisations with a culture with respect for the interest of people value their members by displaying concern for their well-being, growth, and development and lay emphasis on the need for cooperation. Such a culture is more effective than one that emphasizes power, control. (Gupta 2009) went further by suggest the existence of two levels in organisational culture; The visible aspect of the organization which he said is reflected in artifacts, symbols and visible behavior of employees, and the hidden aspect which is related to fundamental values and assumptions that employees make regarding the acceptable and unacceptable behaviors in the organisation. Organisational culture in its entirety consists of traditions, values, norms and physical signs (artefacts) of organisation members and their activities. Practically speaking, the members of an organisation will eventually come to understand the particular culture of their organisation. Then, although the culture is one of those factors that are difficult to express definitely, nevertheless everyone knows it when they sense it. Hidden rules and assumptions become an organisational culture as these rules are implemented over time. A strong culture shapes the behaviour pattern members of the organisation in the absence of policies, procedures or advice from supervisors and managers. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Satisfaction is a general customer attitude by a consumer towards a service provider and an emotional reaction to the difference between what customers anticipate and what they receive in terms of service and or product. When customers are satisfied, they are more likely to return, while dissatisfied customers are more likely to go elsewhere (Levesque and McDougall, 1996, Zineldin, 2000). Customer satisfaction is an important constituent of a successful and thriving organization and can be directly associated to increased profit margins and greater employee satisfaction, customer retention, and repeat purchases to organisations that consider customer satisfaction a key factor in its marketing strategy. An organizations social setting-whether it is called culture or climate-is an important driver of customer satisfaction. As stated by, (Ferris et al., 1998) organizational climate can facilitate a positive relationship between human resource practices and customer satisfaction, support ing a social context model for predicting customer satisfaction. Against this background, this paper aims to explore the way organisational culture affects customer satisfaction in the automobile industry setting, based on the general perceptions of front-line employees. However, according to Darby et al.s (1997) the customer service positioning show a positive relationship with different procedures of measuring customer satisfaction, and consequently it is assumed in this paper that the degree to which front-line employees are oriented towards customer satisfaction is an revealing measure of customer satisfaction. (Schneider et al., 1998) reiterated that there are different dimensions to employees understanding of the appropriate form of organisational culture, based on whether they are managers or not. Such differences in perception are linked to their different positions within the organisation. In addition, since the front-line employees (managers) deal with more pressure, managerial demands, and are responsible for their subordinates, they will be more likely able to understand the possible effects of organisational culture on customers. RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES After a critical analysis of the research, the following aims and objectives established for this research are: To analyse the effect of organisational culture on the effectiveness of the organisation. To study the organisational culture of Ford Motors. To understand the relationship between Ford Motors organisational culture and customer satisfaction. RESEARCH QUESTIONS Does organisational culture have any effect on customer satisfaction? What sort of corporate culture does Ford Motors possess? What is the effect of Ford Motors organisational culture on customer satisfaction? LITERATURE REVIEW: A number of academic researchers have studied various elements of organizational culture and customers satisfaction. However, only a few experimental studies have studied the link between the characteristics of an organizations work environment (organisational culture) and this important aspect of organizational effectiveness (customer satisfaction) e.g., Conrad, Brown, Harmon, 1997. Most of the studies that have observed this impact have focused on the relationship between service-oriented climates and customer satisfaction. These studies, while making a very important contribution, have lean towards emphasising on the impact of a climate for service or service climate on customer satisfaction. In doing so, they may run the risk of neglecting some general organizational characteristics that can affect a wider range of organizational outcomes. Starkey and Woodcock (2002) opined that organizations that are less customer oriented are more likely to perform poorly in terms of sales output as against those that are customer oriented. To survive in the highly competitive automobile markets, organisations need to provide products and services that will produce highly satisfied and loyal customers (Westbrook and Oliver, 1991). According to (Asif and Sargeant, 2000), several benefits accrue to the organisation via customer loyalty such as generation of profit, costs related to promotions, advertising, start-up costs are limited. More so, chances of increase in customers will be high, as satisfied customers will recommend the organisations products and services to others. As a result, customer satisfaction can be the key factor to the growth of the business, in term of market share and profit. A popular supposition about the role of organizational culture as it relates to customer satisfaction is that if an organization possesses a strong culture by demonstrating that it has a well-integrated and effective set of defined values, beliefs, and behaviors, then it will achieve a higher level of efficiency. Curry and Kkolou (2004) identify customer focus, participation, and teamwork as important cultural issues influencing customer relations outcomes. They suggested that empowering employees to excel at customer service and ensuring their job security also contribute to customer relation success. According to (Deshpandà © 1999), investigation into market orientation suggests that the existence of an innovative and entrepreneurial culture is strongly associated with exceptional business performance. Collectively, these reports suggest that an organizational culture that puts more importance on customer-oriented behaviours, cross-functional teams, performance-based rewards, adjustment and reactive attitudes to change, and a higher degree of risk taking and improvement, is likely to contribute to have successful customer relations management system implementations. Every organisation has to face the task of ascertaining the critical factors in their organisational culture that will ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty (McDougall and Levesque, 1992). For all these reasons, customers perception of the service experience is frequently the only way accurately to estimate quality level of services and product provided. Within many organizations, identifying these issues may be easy or complex depending on the type of culture involved. In either case, the development of a fitting solution is difficult and the application and maintenance on a long run complex, time-consuming and costly. However, an effective organizational culture is one of the key components influencing an organizations capacity to elicit customer satisfaction and to thrive in the long term. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: Research methodology is basically the procedures and processes of collecting and analysing data. There are two types of research methodology positivist and interpretive. In this study, we would use positivist approach in order to collect and analyse data. According to Comte (1971), researchers that demonstrate the use of real life, data is known as positivist approach. Conversely, when researchers have a set of assumption about the outcome of the research, it is known to use interpretive approach (Malhotra 2003). As mentioned in the objectives, we aim to find the effect of organisational culture on the effectiveness of the organization and to do so, we would have to use factual data from Ford motors, and therefore, positivist approach will be used in this study. Research Strategy According to Brymen and Bell (2007:135), a researcher can follow five research strategies in conducting his research. They are: 1) longitudinal 2) experimental 3) cross sectional 4) case study and 5) comparative. For this study, case study approach will be used in order to accomplish the research objective. This is because the effect of organisational culture would be analysed in this research in order to figure out its effect on the customer relations of the company. Research Approach A set of methods researchers use in order to achieve the concluding remark on the research objective of the subject matter is known as research approach. According to Saunders (2003), there are two types of research approaches available to conduct a research and they are Inductive and deductive approach Deductive approach is mostly used when researchers needs to find a causal relationship between the variables while inductive approach is a widely used method for qualitative researches. Since the primary aim of this research is to find out the effect of organisational culture on customer satisfaction, the researcher will employ inductive approach for the research. RESEARCH METHOD: Different types of primary and secondary sources would be used in order to collect data regarding organizational culture and customer satisfaction. Primary Data is the vital data gathered by researchers via interviews, surveys or questionnaires (Anderson 2005). In this report, interviews and questionnaire will be used to provide the study a better understanding of corporate culture and the financial performance from all level of employees. The source that will be used in primary data is a survey and separate interview sessions with managers, executives and even temporary employees in Ford Motors. Secondary Data: Secondary data will be collected through researchers who are conducting the research. This data will be sourced from many departments and the web site in Zain Company, along with published and academic journals, articles, books, online resources and many other data from previous authors. Interviews: Interview is one of the most effective ways of conducting qualitative research. In this study, interviewing method will acquire a clear knowledge about the organisational culture of Ford Motors. There are many types of interviews such as structured, semi structured, focused group, in depth and so on. In this study, semi structured interview will be used since it is well known method to clear the doubts and misunderstandings that might arise from the interviews. It should be mentioned here that the primary feature of semi structured interview is flexibility from both interviewees and interviewers side. ANTICIPATED METHOD OF ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS: Data Analyses This study will involve both qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques in order to establish its objectives. A qualitative approach will be used while in order to demonstrate the relationship between organisational culture and overall performance of the company. Conversely, quantitative approach will be adopted to create a relationship between organisational culture and customer satisfaction. CONCLUSION: This research will focus on the organisational culture factors inherent in Ford Motors and the individual effects these factors have on customer satisfaction.

Ancient Greek Health Theories: Understanding the Melancholic Mean in Aristotelian Problema XXX.1 :: Philosophy Medicine

Ancient Greek Health Theories: Understanding the Melancholic Mean in Aristotelian Problema XXX.1 ABSTRACT: In ancient Greek theories of health, it was the equal balance or mixing of the humors or elements (i.e., the isonomic mean) that comprised the ideal healthy state. In the Aristotelian Problema XXX.1, however, there is a description of a form of melancholic constitution that is both 1) itself characterized as a mean, and 2) thought to lead to intellectual outstandingness. This is theoretically problematic since the melancholic constitution was by definition a constitution in which there was a natural preponderance of black bile. Thus, there appear to be two incompatible means that are descriptive of the ideal in ancient Greek medicine: the isonomic mean that underlies the ideal healthy state, and the melancholic mean that describes the melancholic who is capable of greatness. This paper attempts to understand the melancholic mean as described in Problema XXX.1 by considering the two different but related models of this mean that are suggested in the text. A reconciliation of the two somatic ideals is argued for on the basis of what else is said in the Problema, as well as ideas found in the Hippocratic work Airs, Waters, Places and other Aristotelian Problemata. Why is it that all those who have become eminent in philosophy or politics or poetry or the arts are clearly of an atrabilious temperament, and some of them to such an extent as to be affected by diseases caused by black bile, as is said to have happened to Heracles among the heroes? (Problemata XXX.1 953a10-14) (1) So begins the Aristotelian Problema XXX.1. Why indeed! The atrabilious temperament or melancholia is, according to Aristotle, a natural disposition in which there is a preponderance of black bile over the other humours. The healthy somatic ideal, however, was conceived by Greek medical theorists as the equality of the humours, either with respect to their quantity or their relative strengths (quality); disease was by definition an excess of one of the humours or elements. If the ideal state with respect to the humours was equality or isonomic proportion, but "all those who have become eminent in philosophy or politics or poetry or the arts..." be melancholics, then which state is the ideal — health or melancholia? The explicit association of melancholia with genius is found for the first time in this Problema. The author was working within a long tradition that linked the ideal state with a mean.

Florida Adoption Laws and Increased Involvement for Birthfathers Essay

Florida Adoption Laws and Increased Involvement for Birthfathers Since 1972, the issues surrounding the rights of unwed birthfathers have provided America with a highly controversial and morally challenging topic for debate. Prior to 1972, these unwed fathers were given little or no involvement in their child’s adoption proceedings, but because of highly publicized adoption cases in which birthfathers have retained custody of their child many years after their adoption took place, state legislatures have been forced to review their adoption laws regarding birthfathers and create more concrete ones. The laws in Florida regarding birthfathers have changed dramatically over the past several years, with complicating, senseless laws being replaced with more rational and reliable ones. The newest laws, passed in 2003 regarding a Putative father registry provide the most stable and fair support for legal adoption proceedings. According to ABC News, in August of 2002, a law passed concerning Florida birthfather’s rights regarding notification of their child’s placement for adoption. ...

Essay --

Attention all teens! As summer vacation is just around the corner, it is time to start thinking about where the best place to spend your escape from every day life. Choosing the proper hotspot is critical, as it will set the tone for the summer. Today’s world is full of extravagant geographical features with a variety of options to spend your time within them. There is a variety of options to choose from: such as the tropical island of Aruba, the mountainous Mammoth Mountain, the incredible Munich, Germany, the beautiful Californian city of San Francisco, or the glorious island of Maui. If you choose one of these hotspots, summer vacation has the potential to be unforgettable, every year. The Mediterranean Island of Aruba To start off, the Mediterranean island of Aruba tops most lists of hot spots. When choosing Aruba, it is essential to have knowledge of the type of clothing and materials to pack. Aruba can be described in one word, paradise. When thinking about paradise, it is important to pack bathing suits, sunscreen, and other beach items. When it comes to nightlife, it is key to bring relaxing, comforting clothing to enjoy a casual, pleasant, beachside dinner. The beautiful island is full of oceanic activities, such as snorkeling or scuba diving. However, if relaxation is what you are looking for, exploring the marvels of Arikok National Park is a pleasing selection. Arikok National Park is filled with Aruban rattlesnakes, parakeets, and other distinctive animals. With this in mind, it is wise to stay clear of this popular tourist spot if animals are not your forte. Picking Aruba as a destination is wise because it is perfect for a romantic getaway, but also a perfect, â€Å"cool† hots pot to hang out at with your friends. Mamm... ... will give you a fun, relaxing, and an all around perfect time. Although heading to Hawaii is found to be a typical summer vacation, the activities it provides vary and make it easy to make your vacation far from a typical hotspot. To conclude, finding any old place to spend summer vacation is not difficult. However, picking the perfect hotspot may take serious deciding. Whether it is the island of Aruba, Mammoth Mountain, Munich, San Francisco, or Maui†¦ spending your time at these hotspots will make you never want to leave the summertime. The wide variety of things to do, and audiences welcome in these hotspots provide a perfect place for everyone. There is no reason to not pick one of these 5 places; they are THAT amazing. Which spot will you choose? No matter what city you decide on, summer vacation will me unforgettable, as long as you pick a proper hot spot.

Corporate Strategies to Hedge Commodity Price Risks Applying

Table of contents List of abbreviationsIII List of figuresIII List of tablesIII 1Introduction1 1. 1Problem and objective1 1. 2Structure of this paper1 2Background Information2 2. 1Definitions of fundamental terms2 2. 2Commodity price risk in different firms2 3Explanation of derivatives3 3. 1Options3 3. 2Futures4 3. 3Forwards6 3. 4Swaps6 4Hedging strategies with derivatives7 4. 1Hedging with options7 4. 2Hedging with futures7 4. 3Hedging with forwards8 4. 4Hedging with swaps8 5Pros and cons of hedging strategies with derivatives8 5. 1Pros and cons of options9 5. Pros and cons of futures9 5. 3Pros and cons of forwards10 5. 4Pros and cons of swaps10 6Practical example of corporate commodity price risk hedging10 6. 1Introduction on firm's practical hedging strategy10 6. 2Analysis on this strategy11 7Summary12 Appendix13 Appendix 1: Amounts outstanding of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives by risk category and instrument——in billions of US dollar13 Appendix 2: Derivatives fi nancial instruments traded on organized exchanges by instrument and location——in billions of US dollar14 Bibliography15 Internet Source16 List of abbreviations CHClearing HouseIMInitial Margin MBMargin Balance MM NMaintenance Margin No OTCOver The Count VM YVariation Margin Yes List of figures Figure 1: Structure of this paper2 Figure 2: P of each option position4 Figure 3: Flow chart of marking-to-market process5 Figure 4: P of each future position6 Figure 5: Hedging model on fuel oil of Air China11 List of tables Table 1: Summary for 4 option positions4 Table 2: Summary for future positions6 Table 3: Summary for 4 derivatives9 1Introduction 1. 1Problem and objective The risk of commodity price is a ferocious topic in corporate operation.Corporate profit is equal to total revenue minus total cost. For firms, because of the high volatility on commodity price, their inputs and outputs relating to commodity are unpredictable. As a consequence corporate profit will be imm ensely volatile, which will possibly lead the firm to go bankruptcy if no any preventive actions are taken. For example, producers of commodities probably need to assume unexpected losses, when the price of outputs goes down or the price of necessary raw materials goes up. The situations are similar to wholesale buyers, retailers, exporters and even governments.Volatility of commodities price has great impacts on corporate daily operation. The objective of this term paper is to introduce derivative hedging strategies for corporate managers to reduce or even eliminate future unpredictability, mainly from the perspectives of the role commodity price risks play, what the typical derivative instruments are, where and how to apply these different derivatives in terms of hedging principles thereof, and both advantages and disadvantages when applying each derivative in real business transactions. 1. Structure of this paper Firstly, this term paper highlights problems existing in real world . Secondly, it introduces advanced derivatives theory that can be applied to solve these problems. Thirdly, specific details on the theory will be presented, including explanation, application, as well as pros and cons of each derivative instrument. Then, an example is analyzed to show how companies apply derivatives to hedge commodity risks practically. Last is a summary of this term paper. Following figure shows the body of this paper. 2Background Information 2. Definitions of fundamental terms In financial markets derivative is a contract or security whose value is derived from the value of other more basic underlying variables . One of its most important functions is hedging. In corporate operation, hedging is to secure the companies against potential loss caused by variable risks that arise in international market, such as the commodity price risks. In this paper, commodity means any tangible goods or raw materials that may be sold or traded in the markets, such as energy, gold , or agricultural products. 2. Commodity price risk in different firms Volatility of commodities price influences firms’ daily operation significantly. Producers of commodities, such as farms, oil producers, mining companies, face price risk on output. Wholesalers and retailers, face price risk during the time period from buying from suppliers and selling to customers. Exporters, face the same price risk as well as currency exchange risk. And governments face price and yield risks generating from tax revenues that depend on firms’ operational conditions. 3Explanation of derivativesDerivatives are traded in exchange-traded markets and over-the-counter markets. (See recent derivatives transaction status in appendix 1 and appendix 2. ) Notably, exchange-traded derivatives are default risk free and liquid. However over-the-counter traded derivatives are the opposite. 3. 1Options An option is the contract that gives the buyer the right but not obligation to buy (call option ) or sell (put option) an underlying asset at a predetermined price (exercise price) for certain quantity during a fixed period of time (maturity).The buyer of the option pays a particular amount of money (option premium) to the seller to buy a right whereby he can decide whether or not to exercise this option, simultaneously the seller has the obligation to perform if the buyer exercises the option. European options only can be exercised on expiration day, and American options can be exercised at any time before maturity. The buyer of the call option is named long call, while the seller of the call option is named short call. Similarly, the buyer of the put option is named long put, while the seller of the put option is named short put.In commodity market, underlying of commodity option is a commodity, such as oil, wheat, or gold. Commodity options are both exchanges-traded and OTC traded. Following figure shows P of each option. Following table is the summary for these 4 option po sitions. Table 1: Summary for 4 option positions Market price expectationMaximum profitMaximum lossBreakeven point Long callupunlimitedoption premiumexercise price + option premium Short calldown or stableoption premiumunlimitedexercise price + option premium Long putdownexercise price – option premiumoption premiumexercise price – option premium Short putup or stableoption remiumexercise price – option premiumexercise price – option premium Source: author’s own. 3. 2Futures A future is a contract between two parties to buy or sell a specified amount of asset at a specified time period in the future for a certain price. Normally there are two types of futures, commodity futures whose underlying are commodities and financial futures whose underlying are financial assets. They are highly standardized, regulated, and traded in exchange markets with highly liquid and default risk free property. Because of the marking-to-market process, at maturity the settling price is the spot price at expiration date with profit gaining or loss paying from a margin account, which indirectly makes the effective bargain price equal to the predetermined price in the future contract. Notably, to ensure high liquidity of futures, marking-to-market process plays a significant role. The following figure shows the marking-to-market process. Generally there are two alternative ways at maturity to settle futures, either by cash or by actual delivery of underlying, which is clearly defined by futures exchange.Following figure and table show the details of a future. Table 2: Summary for future positions ?Maximum profitMaximum lossBreakeven point Long positionunlimitedexercise pricespot price + cost of carry Short positionexercise priceunlimitedspot price + cost of carry Source: author’s own. 3. 3Forwards A forward contract is a customized and over-the-counter agreement to buy or sell an asset at a specified time in the future for a specified price, where a long position has the obligation to buy and a short position has the obligation to sell. Compared with futures, no marking-to-market process are required.Counterparties can negotiate with each about the parameters of the contract. As a result, a firm who wants to make forward contract needs to find the counterparty by itself. 3. 4Swaps A swap is a customized and over-the-counter agreement to exchange a series of specified assets periodically in the future. Normally the counterparties of a swap contract are a large institution such as a bank and a company. Basically, we can view a swap as a complicated forward. Except currency swaps, counterparties just need to pay the differences between the cash flow they should exchange. Because swaps are bespoken as a result they are less liquid.There are commodity swaps, interest rate swaps and currency swaps. Interest rate swaps is an agreement of two counterparties to change fixed interest and floating interest on predefined nominal pr incipal in the future periodically. Commodity swaps normally vary tremendously among different markets. In a currency swap, counterparties change same value of different currencies in inception and termination, where the exchange rate of the tow currencies depends on the negotiation of counterparties. 4Hedging strategies with derivatives This chapter will focus on the principles of hedging strategies on commodities. . 1Hedging with options If a trader wants to procure a commodity with high volatile price, he can buy a commodity call option to hedge the price risk of going up. Similarly, if a company wants to sell a commodity product, it can buy a long put to hedge the price risk of going down. In practice, because investors want to bet more precisely on the future price of the underlying, and hedgers with long positions want to save option premiums, a few combinations of options come out, such as a long call and a short put with identical parameters except the different strike price . 4. 2Hedging with futuresWhen the objective of a commodity trader wants to neutralize the price risk as far as possible, usually he will choose to take a position on a future on commodity. A hedger who already owns a commodity asset or doesn‘t own right now but will at some future time expecting to sell it in the future without assuming any price risk, he can apple future hedging strategy to enter into a short position to become a short. Likewise, a hedger who has to buy a certain commodity asset in the future and wants to lock in spot price immediately, he can apply a future to enter into a long position to become a long. . 3Hedging with forwards The principles of hedging strategy with forwards are similar with futures'. Whether to use futures or forwards depends on different requirements. Generally, financial assets investors who need high liquidity prefer to choose futures, while commodity investors such as producers who need high customization prefer to choose forwards. 4 . 4Hedging with swaps When investors want to hedge risks of interest rates, currencies, or commodities, they can use swaps. In gold swaps, counterparties change fixed lease rate with variable lease rate.In swaps on base metals, counterparties change fixed metal price with average price of near dated metal future. In oil swaps, counterparties change fixed West Taxes Intermediate (WTI is a benchmark in oil price) price with average price of near dated WTI future. 5Pros and cons of hedging strategies with derivatives The following integrated summary of these derivatives depending on pervious analysis makes systematic comparisons. (The options here are exchanged-traded European options) Table 3: Summary for 4 derivatives SUMMERY OF DERIVATIVES FOR GENERAL TYPES OptionsFuturesForwardsSwapsTypes of contractstandardizedstandardizedcustomizedcustomized Settlementscash and deliverymost cash and few deliverydeliverydepends on individuals Trading marketExchange tradedExchange tradedOTCOTC Liqu idityhighhighlowlow Marketing-to-marginnorequirednono Time of settlementmaturitydailymaturityperiodically Initial investmentoption premiuminitial margin nodepends Default risk assumed byClearing houseclearinghouseBoth partiesBoth parties ProsDefault risk free & liquiditycustomization & no initial investment Consinitial investment & inflexibledefault risk for both party & illiquidity Source: author’s own. . 1Pros and cons of options The pros of options are obvious. Firstly, they have no risk to assume more loss than premium but have possibility to get unlimited potential profit. Secondly exchanged-traded options are highly liquid and OTC traded options are flexible. However, the cons of options are also explicit, such as the difficulty to decide when to enter into a long position.Because buying an option needs to pay option premium, if the spot price cannot go above (for a long call) or go below (for a long put) the breakeven point the hedger will suffer a loss, and depends on statistics the possibility of a long position to lose is about 66%. 5. 2Pros and cons of futures It definitely makes sense for most companies whose majors are in businesses but not professional in forecasting the price of commodities price volatility, which can make them pay more attention on their core competences instead of fearing about volatile price.Nonetheless, taking neutralized strategies make hedgers give up the possibility of both profit and loss. Moreover, instead of hedging risks by companies, shareholders can hedge themselves according to their preferences. Additionally, if other competitors of the same industry don’t apply hedging strategies, in fact, it is the hedging company itself that assumes risks, because competitive pressures are the same for other all competitors but different for the hedging company its own. 5. 3Pros and cons of forwards Basic pros and cons have been listed in the table in front of this chapter.Generally, compared to futures, the most explicit pro is that forwards are highly customized and therefore the con is that they are hardly liquid. 5. 4Pros and cons of swaps Basic pros and cons have been listed in the table in front of this chapter. Gernally, compared to futures and forwards the most precise pros is that both counterparties could reap benefits from a swap, such as in a currency swap where a firm with a low rate may get a cheaper loan as other firms with high rates, and the counterparty may get a payment as compensation.However the corresponding cons is that counterparty may need to pay commision to intermediary, because it is difficult to find an appropriate counterparty by itself. 6Practical example of corporate commodity price risk hedging 6. 1Introduction on firm's practical hedging strategy Air China is an airline company, whose cost of fuel oil occupies 44. 75% of total revenue in 2008. To hedge the fuel oil price risk, Air China bought a call option with strike K1, meanwhile sold a put option with st rike K2, where K1

Nickel and Dimed Analysis

Looking at whether or not individuals living in poverty are considered to be a minority group by our contemporary culture is an interesting scenario. I’m a social work major so of course I want to think, yes, individuals living poverty are most definitely an oppressed group in society. Minimum wage is nowhere near to what could be classified as a living wage, and these positions often have little room for career advancement within the company. But I assume that what the question was getting at was whether or not those living in poverty are viewed as a minority group by America’s contemporary culture. The answer to that I believe is a â€Å"no.†People who belong to the upper and middle classes often don’t consider the fact that you can have a job yet still be living in poverty. A single parent may hold down two minimum-wage paying jobs, but still need a little help to make ends meet. And because they receive government assistance their hard work is ignored and they are simply viewed as lazy nuisances who are mooching off the middle classes’ tax dollars, not an oppressed minority group. The American government has taken steps to show that it is more aware about the minority status of those living in poverty, and has taken some steps help people in that group.Beginning with the civil right’s act in 1964, discrimination based on race, religion, or sex was 2 made illegal on a federal level and thereby beginning the first steps meeting the needs of poor individuals by combatting poverty through getting rid of housing codes, and racial redlining laws throughout the U. S. After the civil rights act a plethora of social justice programs were put into action. The Economic Opportunity act and The Economic Development act began to earnestly work a provided more jobs to both rural and urban communities.Medicare and Medicaid were developed to provide aid to the aging and poverty stricken communities, and multiple food programs were p ut into place for different types of people needing assistance. Special attention was paid to developing programs for America’s children and youth. The Special Milk and the National School Lunch Programs were developed feed children through their early childhoods as well as their school years. Grants and services were given to low-income and inner city schools and research was being put into how to deal with the social causes of delinquency and stop the emerging problems of youth gangs.Many of these programs started in the 1960’s have evolved into services we hear a lot about in social work today, such as AmeriCorps, TANF, and WIC. Although many of the programs above have helped to alleviate some of the pressures faced by those living in poverty, in our ever changing country new problems are always coming up. In modern day America, Homelessness, and the stereotypes associated with being homeless, is one of the larger problems social workers are working to help with. On e of the bigger issues with being homeless is finding a stable job and source of income.I remember in class when Dave talked about giving out cell phones to the people at his shelter so that if they had a job interview, they wouldn’t have to put down the shelter’s telephone number. The stereotypes that 3 come with being homeless often discourage employers to consider hiring someone who is living in that condition. When I had my field placement my sophomore year at Refuge of Hope, I remember one of the first things the director of the shelter would do during an intake, was to give the new client a bus pass, so that when the client was job hunting he could say that he had a reliable source of transportation.I think that a lot of these government programs are helpful in meeting some of the daily needs of those living in poverty, but I also think that one of the biggest needs that needs to be met is to stop the negative stereotypes and prejudices we have about those who ar e living in poverty, and I’m not sure I believe that’s something a government run program can do In our American Minorities course this semester we have defined prejudice and discrimination in the following ways; Prejudice is a negative attitude that rejects and entire group and discriminations is a behavior that deprives a  group of certain rights or opportunities.In other words, prejudice is how you feel towards a certain people group, and discrimination is the way you act towards that certain people group. One example of prejudice and discrimination that especially stood out to me in Nickel and Dimed was the way the hotel management in Key West would automatically have their Black and Hispanic job applicants sent to work as housekeeping staff or busboys in the hotel restaurant. Similarly the white applicants were pressed to work as front desk staff or as waitresses in the hotel restaurant.Obviously the Hotel management had conceived the idea that their Caucasian w orkers needed to be the ones interacting with the customers and guests, meanwhile the Black and Hispanic workers where supposed to have jobs that were more â€Å"behind the scenes. Why was this happening? Well perhaps it is because the hotel 4 managers held the stereotype that people of color are lazy, and wanted them out of sight from their customers and guests and in positions where management could easily keep an eye on them and hold them accountable for any â€Å"time theft.†Perhaps the reason is management viewed there Black and Hispanic workers as less educated and sophisticated, and therefore didn’t want them directly interacting with the hotel’s middle and upper class clientele. Either way it’s obvious that in this book the management held negative views of their Black and Hispanic workers, and acted upon them by denying people of color certain jobs. Another example of prejudice in noted while I was reading Nickel and Dimed was how the owners of the houses Barb cleaned while working as a maid in Portland seemed to always be on their guard from the maids.As evidenced by Eh Erenreich later in her book, you can see through the way hidden cameras are being sold to owners so they can spy on their maids or babysitters at home, there is a genuine distrust experienced by these home owners. It seemed like these homeowners are just waiting for one of their priceless heirlooms to disappear. I think that the main belief that Barbara Ehrenreich tried to explore in Nickel and Dimed is that, if anyone is living in poverty, than they can work their way out if they would only get a job.Basically, it’s the concept of the â€Å"American Dream,† where you can be a homeless orphan, but if you work hard enough you can make your way up the ladder until you become the president, or anything else you desire to be. Throughout Ehrenreich’s book, she proves this belief to essentially be a myth. If you are a healthy individual how can find at least two entry-level job positions run by companies who are willing to work around your schedule, and you’re also able to find affordable housing and transportation close to these job sites, then maybe it’s possible to make a better life for yourself.But finding and maintaining everything on this checklist is an 5 extreme rarity in life. If even one of the things on this list doesn’t come through for you, then you’re probably using any extra money you’re making to cover up the gap that this missing thing costs. Ehrenreich combatted many myths about poverty in her book, and I think the first and biggest myth she debunked is the common belief that poor people are lazy. After reading her description about what it was like when she worked as a maid, cleaning houses top to bottom every day, I know I couldn’t do the same.I used to throw a fit when my mom made me dust and vacuum my room once every Saturday. Housekeeping, retail work, e ven waitressing are some of the most tiresome jobs In America, and the fact that you’re paid minimum wage for these things is astounding. A myth I hear most commonly from my own friend’s and family, is that they are pouring so much of their tax dollars into people in poverty, that their basically getting a free ride through life.In the book however, we saw Barb practically chasing her tail to try and get some food assistance, and after hours of phone calls she eventually ended up with a basket of what sounded like expired leftovers from Sam’s Club, not anything the government actually paid for, or anything of real nutritional value. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, she showed her readers that â€Å"minimum wage,† is not equal to a â€Å"living wage. † Even when Ehrenreich was successfully holding down two jobs in Maine, the money she was making wasn’t enough to account for the small unexpected expenses she ran up against, let alone som ething like health insurance.In Nickel and Dimed, the concept of meritocracy is challenged in several ways by Ehrenreich. First we see that gaining employment at many of these entry-level jobs is in no way 6 associated with intelligence. We see Barb take several â€Å"personality† tests that are in reality actually designed to see how well you’ll be able to comply with the company’s standards and employee ethics. It’s also required several times for Barb to let the company test her for illegal drug use. These are the only two things every required before Barb is accepted into a job.I think this sadly only goes to show that companies are not at all interested in having employees that will rise through the store ranks to eventually become managers, in fact, Barb’s employers were often surprised to find that she hadn’t quit after the first week. In sort of an odd way, I actually thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. Barb met some i ndividuals who had gone through or were going through truly horrible things, and while I didn’t enjoy reading about those situations, I did enjoy the breath of honesty that was brought into this book through those people.I think that perhaps the most stunning revelation I received while reading this book, was when Barb acknowledges that while she was struggling with the physical part of being a maid, she was a healthy person who had grown up exercising and getting three square meals a day. What could it possibly be like then, for someone who can only afford a bag of Doritos for lunch, and doesn’t have the vitamins provided by fresh fruits and vegetables to help get them through the day?It’s unbelievable how much the system works against you when you’re trying to make a living for yourself. If the government could start a program that could force everyone in America to read this book, that would be great, but I don’t see that happening. I suppose th at’s why Advocacy is such an important part of social work. We’re the ones who have the opportunity to help others see that a person living in poverty is oppressed by society, and we need to change the way we think about him or her.

Aldi Hr

Introduction ALDI is a global food retailer. Since opening its first store in 1913, Aldi has established itself as a reputable retailer operating in international markets including Germany, Australia and the U. S. Aldi has over 7,000 stores worldwide. What distinguishes Aldi from its competitors is its competitive pricing strategy without reducing the quality of its products. In fact, in some cases Aldi’s products are 30% cheaper than those offered by its competitors. Aldi can do this because the business operates so efficiently. The Times Case Studies, 2011) ALDI and HR Aldi has a very flat organisational structure. In the UK it is split into 5 regions (there are 62 internationally); each region operates individually, only sharing the purchasing function. Each region has 5 departments, and there are only 3 levels between the Store Assistants and the Managing Director of the Region. Organisational Structure Noticeably, there is no IT, Marketing or HR function in the structure. IT and Marketing are both outsourced to third parties.IT are called on as and when needed by whichever department needs them at the time, whether it be till maintenance, or maintaining the logistics software package. Marketing is outsourced to a company in Atherstone, and their link in the organisation is the Trading function. HR is stripped back within ALDI, and is headed by 2 HR Managers in the Store Operations Function. All area managers within ALDI are trained in HR, and deal with all personnel issues, from Recruitment, to performance management and Training and Development.The HR managers in Head Office purely focus on making sure the Area Managers are up to date with new legislation and policies. ALDI adopt a grandfather technique, where, store managers have little to do with HR. It is their job to focus on the store, and deal with staff rotas and minor issues. This way, store employees report to their line manager for operational issues, and the Area Manager for HR issues. T he only HR issue not practised by Area Managers is Payroll, which falls into the Finance Function.ALDI is extremely focused on productivity and efficiency, and because of this, the Neston Region in the UK is trialling using a HR Agency (Kinetic), to manage a major amount of its HR function. The agency takes care of Recruitment, Induction, Payroll, Development, Performance Management, and acts as a HR Manager for the agency staff within ALDI. ALDI intend to get to a point where 70% of store staff is through an agency, with exception to Store Managers, Assistant Managers, Deputies and Full Time Staff. This saves money as it takes a lot of responsibility off Area Managers, leaving them with more time to focus on operations.According to Righeimer (Date Unknown, p. 4), most organizations view the department of Human Resources (HR) as an administrative function and ignore the need and opportunity to align it with its strategic plans. Aligning HR and strategic plans is an important endeavo ur for every organisation. Studies strongly support the alignment between strategies, HR, and performance and thus show the potential role HR can play in implementing strategy and developing an organisation’s competitive advantage. How HR activities support the organisations strategyRecruitment and Selection, Performance Management, and Training and Development are three HR activities that support the organisations strategy. (Hameed, 2011) Recruitment and Selection According to ALDI’s strategy (2012), â€Å"We want every ALDI employee to have a rewarding career, with opportunities to grow and develop, whether they work in our stores, distribution centres or management teams. We expect our people to be committed, hard-working and take ownership of their responsibilities. In return, we provide salaries that are considerably above the rest of the industry. The recruitment and selection activity supports this by ensuring the right people are hired first time. It is vital to find committed, hardworking people, who have a pride in their work and take responsibility for their success and mistakes. Productivity, quality and service are three of ALDI’s focuses, so HR’s ability to attract and select people with the right knowledge, skills and attitude is vital. As it is down for the most part to the Area Manager to fulfil this HR role, it is vital they have the skills to recognise the right sort of employee who would fit in the business.The major disadvantage of using the agencies, as currently being trialled, is that the agencies do not work in the stores, and are an outsider to the culture and work ethic of ALDI. For that reason, the Area Managers should have complete control, as they know what sort of person they need, how to motivate them, and exactly what is expected with ALDI’s culture. Performance Management â€Å"We have developed a range of high quality, structured training programmes to enable our employees to fulfil their roles successfully.ALDI Managers have a responsibility to develop and motivate employees, rewarding excellent performance and continuous improvement. † (ALDI, 2012) A HR activity that is also performed in part by Area Managers is performance management. As Area Managers spend a lot of time in stores, they can see the productivity of staff, who is excelling and who needs a little motivation. The store manager reports performance to them also, so they get a complete picture. The agencies receive reports from the Store Managers, only if something is not working out.The agencies manage the performance of their employees, but do not really focus on opportunities or continuous improvement, as they do not have the power in store to do so. Likewise, store managers and Area Managers do not focus on the agencies employees, as technically they are not their own. If this was fully down to the Area Managers again, and Store Managers were given a greater role, staff could be managed better. Stand out performers could be recognised better, and future progression would be a benefit.Also, employees would be more engaged and productive with a clear structure and with everyone being part of the same â€Å"team†, no â€Å"us† and â€Å"them† as such. Training â€Å"We want to attract the best talent and ours are among the highest advertised starting salaries for graduates in the UK and Ireland. Over 85% of our Directors are recruited from within the company, demonstrating the importance we place on training and development and rewarding performance. † (ALDI, 2012) The Training and Development aspect of HR is focused highly on, within ALDI. There is constant training available and succession plans in place for most stores.Deputies are trained to do the Assistant Managers job in case of Sickness, Pregnancy or Resignation of the latter, and likewise with the Assistant Managers, they are trained to do the Store Managers Role. Store Assistants are enc ouraged to progress to Deputies based on performance. Training and Development is also evident throughout Head Office. Area Managers are only recruited through Graduate Schemes, and Directors are successful Area Managers. 85% of the Directors were Area Managers, whereas the other 15% are either from international ALDI head offices, or â€Å"born into it†, i. e. the Albrieght family.The obvious disadvantage with the Agency is that they have no say or decision in regards to Training. As its employees are employed by them and not ALDI, they do not have access to the same training and development. How HR Professionals support line managers and their Staff With a 2006 ASTD study finding that 70% of training failure happens after the formal training finishes and a recent CIPD study finding that only 12% of employees feel that line managers take learning and development very seriously, it’s a little surprising that more is not being done to gain line manager support in the de velopment process. Peterson, 2006) The role of the line managers has changed over the last twenty years.There is a widespread drive to give line managers more responsibility for the management of their staff and to reduce the extent to which human resource departments control or restrict line management autonomy in this area (Brewster & Larson, 2000). HR professionals no longer have sole responsibility for the management of people, but share this responsibility with line managers. There is evidence that HR responsibilities are increasingly decentralized nd devolved to line managers (Cunningham & Hyman, 1995). In ALDI, Cunningham and Hyman’s point (1995) that responsibility is shared is correct, if not more centred toward the line manager rather than a 50/50 split. This is probably due to the amount of time passed since their original comment. It is interesting that what they originally said nearly 20 years ago still applies, giving the impression that the HR function has been under fire for quite some time, yet is still here in a pretty similar form in most companies.The line manager in terms of ALDI would be the Area Manager and the HR Professionals for the Area Manager. With the Agency staff, their line manager for HR would be their external agency manager. HR professionals in ALDI support the line managers by providing updated regulations, policies and visions down, to be implemented further down. The obvious benefit of Line Managers taking a front line role in HR, is that they know the staff better. HR Professionals in Head Office do not work with the store employees and do not know about performance or what motivates each individual.The CIPD states that where employees feel positive about their relationship with their front line managers, moreover, they are more likely to have higher levels of job satisfaction, commitment and loyalty – which are in turn associated with higher levels of performance or discretionary behaviour. (CIPD, 2 012) As the HR professionals have empowered the Line managers as such, it improves employee engagement. Talent can be spotted, managed and trained, and with the right people in the right jobs, the team’s works better together and is more productive.Consistency is an issue that can arise when different Line Managers have different attitudes and ways of working. This is when support from HR is vital as they can provide guidelines and policies that ensure the message across the company is consistent. With the agency, it does mean that the message HR is sending out, is not necessarily what the agency is doing / preaching. This is another shortfall in the HR process when it comes to agency working. If Area Managers had complete control and there was no agency, then the message would be consistent across the board.Conclusion and Recommendations It is evident that HR takes a simple yet complex form in ALDI. Although it is missing from the organisational structure, it is practiced in part by at least 46 Area Managers. There is a big emphasis on Training and Development throughout the company, and HR activities are being used for succession planning and finding the next generation of ALDI AM’s and Directors. The use of the agency seems to be slightly detrimental to ALDI’s message, and outsourcing the HR like it is, will cause confusion, and splits in the teams.They need to revert to AM as the main HR leader within the Area and only use agencies at times such as Christmas for relief workers etc. As AM know better than any agency, the staff recruited and selected will more than likely be more productive and fit the company better. Also, there may be an issue with succession planning if their aim of outsourcing most staff jobs out is achieved. It would seem that they would hire the people themselves, after trialling them with the agency, so why not just hire directly anyway.The overall finding however, is that HR must remain in the company, and be man aged as it once was. Eliminating the HR function more so than now, will cause major problems, and those problems are starting to arise now. If HR wasn’t managed at Head Office, then inconsistent practices would be followed out, creating discomfort within the stores and the ALDI mantra of Team working would be lost.Works Cited ALDI, 2012. CSR – Our People. [Online] Available at: http://www. aldi. co. uk/uk/html/company/15435_25201. tm [Accessed 06 11 2012]. Brewster, C. & Larson, H. , 2000. Human Resource Management in Europe. London: Blackwells. CIPD, 2012. Role of Line Managers In HR. [Online] Available at: http://www. cipd. co. uk/hr-resources/factsheets/role-line-managers-hr. aspx [Accessed 06 11 2012]. Cunningham, I. & Hyman, J. , 1995. Transforming the HRM vision into Reality: The Role of Line Managers. Employee Relations, 17(8), pp. 5-20. Hameed, T. , 2011. Organisation Strategy and Human Reosurce. [Online] Available at: http://www. rutilities. com/2011/0 9/organization-strategy-and-human-resource/ [Accessed 06 11 2012]. Peterson, E. , 2006. Employee Relations. 2nd ed. Chicago: Hardwell Press. Righeimer, J. P. , Date Unknown. Aligning Human Resources and Strategic Plans, London: Maverick Electric. The Times Case Studies, 2011. Aldi – Competitive Advantage through Efficiency. [Online] Available at: http://businesscasestudies. co. uk/aldi/competitive-advantage-through-efficiency/introduction. html#ixzz2CEnCsFmq [Accessed 06 11 2012].