A Better Place for a Factory

After taking every possible factor into consideration, Vietnam is chosen as a better alternative to build a factory instead of Croatia and Botswana. The purpose of this report is to explain the reasons why Vietnam is an advisable choice, the selection of international direct investment as entry mode, as well as the risk assessment and management.When it comes to the investment in Vietnam, the obvious reason first come to people's mind is cheap labour, but in this report, a deep analysis of Vietnam will be done by adopting PESTEL, which analyse from the perspectives of political spect, economic aspect, social aspect, technological aspect, environmental aspect, as well as legal aspect, the result turn out Vietnam is more feasible for mobile phone manufacture than another two countries. As to the selection of entry mode, direct investment will be the primary alternative for Vietnam, because most factors in the eclectic theory of Dunning can be settled in Vietnam.Further assessment and s olution to the probable risks will also be given. To put it into a nutshell, the research demonstrates the background and advantages of Vietnam as a destination to build actory, together with the decision of entry mode and risk management. Introduction Vietnam, a country which occupies an area of 329,000 square kilometres, locates in the southeast part of Asia. 3/4 of its territory is distributed with mountain and plateau. The number of its population is 86,160,000. As a developing country, its economy is developing rapidly. It maintains trade relationship with more than 150 countries around the global.Because of its astonishing economic growth, numerous enterprises are getting interested in establishing business in this country. Vietnam has for some years now been aggressively expanding its national nfrastructure and growing its subscriber bases across all market segments. All kinds of industries are booming here, including mobile phone manufacturing industry. At the same time, inc reasing amount of international factories is entering the market and gain sustainable success. Therefore, it would be a wise choice to set a manufacturing point in this country.Full analysis in Vietnam Political reasons As is known, Vietnam is a communist country. The government made a wise decision to establish a plan, which is called doi moi, which is also called â€Å"open door policy'. In order to develop the economic and attract foreign investment, the plan includes abolishing official price controls, devaluing the Dong to the prevailing market rate and so on (Embassy of the United States, 2005). Since the open door policy has been implemented, Vietnam has experienced a rapid growth, also poverty in Vietnam decreased dramatically.The government ot Vietnam is continuing to make changes to maintain the pace of growth and encourage foreign investment. They set an award, called â€Å"Golden Dragon Awards†, to honour enterprises funded by foreign investment. According to Pre ss Release, in 2005, they adopted the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) to rank every province's business-friendliness to compare the provinces equally. There are indications that the Vietnam's government is wise and welcomes foreign investment. Economic reasons After various changes have been taken, Vietnam's GDP is rising dramatically and reached $121. billion in 2011(The World Bank, 2011), and its foreign investment is rapidly increasing too. As GDP growing, Vietnamese citizens' incomes are increasing. On November 7, 2006, Vietnam was officially recognized by the international ommunity as the 1 50th WTO member, which means Vietnam will be bound by the international rules of law in regards to trade, the market potential is substantial and US firms can benefit from these. Investors of America believe that Vietnam would become the next â€Å"Asian Tiger. † More than $3 billion investment flowed into Vietnam after Vietnam and America re-established diplomatic relations.Vi etnam is Asia's second fastest growing economy after China, and Vietnam will become the world's 17th largest economy by 2025 (S. Karmel, 2008). Vietnam also has abundant natural resources, so it is good place for manufacturing business. Factory investment continues to pour into Vietnam, even faster than China and India (fgurel) Figurel Social reasons In Vietnam, more than 95% of the population can write and read. English has been the second language in Vietnam and is taught at the high school level, which means training workers is much easier than in Botswana. The population aged 65 and over accounted for only 5. %, and the labour force accounted for 60% of the total population, with an average age of only 24. 5 years old. Low cost for skilled workers is the main reason why we choose Vietnam, while Chinese wages are still less than $1 n hour, factory workers in Vietnam earn as little as $50 a month for a 48-hour workweek, including Saturdays(Clemen, 2006). Technological reasons Acco rding to National Trade Estimate Report (2012), the new test and assembly plant is being built in Ho Chi Minh City and will be completed in 2013, employing more than 2,400 workers eventually.For example, in Vietnam, Nike has been employing more than 150,000 people since 2002. When Intel's factories finished, Vietnam will have a high-tech manufacturing factory, except clothing and footwear assembly. Other recent high-tech firms include Fujitsu, Canon and Toshiba. Our factory will get benefits from this. Environmental reasons It isobvious that in the situation of global economic integration, phones are not made by one factory, and most components of phones are come from different countries.Screens usually come from South Korea and chips come from Taiwan, while the flash memory mostly comes from Japan. Vietnam is close to these countries, and Shipping from Vietnam to America is 7% to 9% cheaper than from its neighbours. Finally, infrastructure within Vietnam continues to improve to sup port developing industries. The road network has increased in quality and more than doubled in length since Electricity is available in all urban areas and in 88% ot rural households, and improved water supplies are accessible to 49% of the population, up 23% from 1993 (The World Bank).Investments in infrastructure accounts for 10% of Vietnam's GDP in 2010, this high level investment will continually improve infrastructures of Vietnam. Legal reasons Mr. Shu (2010), the chief financial officer of Texhong, said, â€Å"Communism means more stability, it is a common view among Asian executives. † At least a few American executives agree, although they never say so on the record.In order to maintain social security, Vietnamese government does not encourage employees to strike, they take labour disputes and strikes seriously, often take the initiative and come forward to deal with them, hoping that both employers and employees are properly handled to avoid large-scale strikeo Vietn am formulated the â€Å"Foreign Investment Law† in 1987, the law includes: In Vietnam, co-operation enterprise can be carried out in cooperation with a foreign-owned enterprise or establishing a new foreign-owned enterprise; for the companies engaged in mechanical and electronic parts roduction, there is a five-year exemption from the production of raw materials, supplies, spare parts import tax. In order to attract more investment for foreign investors, Vietnamese government requires the local government to simplify and reduce unnecessary procedures, and also seriously deal with corruption. Mode of Entry International direct investment is recommended as a mode of entry in this report. The definition of direct investment is that a country invests into another country establishing operations or getting tangible assets, including risks in other businesses (Maitena Ducel, Banco de Espana, 2003).Reasons why we choose this mode of entry is based on the eclectic theory of (Dunning, 1993), which will be analyzed in detail in the following part. Three aspects can affect a company's decision regarding entry mode, namely, ownership, location, and internalization. 1 . Ownership advantages From the perspective of ownership, we use international direct investment as the mode of entry to Vietnam is reasonable. The first factor that should be taken into consideration is that our company owns the whole technology of mobile phone manufacturing and the patent of phones are belong to us, so there is no need to use oint venture, which may cause profits and technology outflow. Phone's remarkable achievement is a good example. Furthermore, compare with Vietnam, our company owns relatively mature and advanced management skills in this area, so if we do not choose direct investment as the mode of entry, it will bring unnecessary contradiction and difference of opinions to us when we make decisions about the management of our phone factory. 2. Location advantages In Dunning's t heory, he suggested that the location is the key point when we use direct investment. Due to the high cost of human resource of the United States, anufacturing industry is no longer competitive in US as before. In contrast, Vietnam owns many advantages.Vietnam is located in the south area of Asia-Pacific region, near Japan, Taiwan and China, which means factory in Vietnam could get in global production cooperation. Asia-Pacific region enjoys a huge potential market, especially China. The world first large population will likely to provide the market for the mobile tlrm set in Vietnam. This market- seeking motive point also comes trom the theory ot Buckley and Casson(Buckley and Casson, 1998). (Vandemoortele, Milo; Bird, Kate, 2010). Besides this factor, the cheap and abundant labour resources are available is another advantage for building factory in Vietnam. Also, the Vietnamese government provides plenty of incentive policy for encouraging foreign direct investment, such as exempt ion of import tax.Based on these location advantages, we choose international direct investment. 3. Internalization Our firm is based in the United States. With the abundant experience in managing multinational business, the firm is able to internalize the Vietnamese local situation and take the most advantage of all those merits and decrease the cost. By August 2005, Vietnam had 5,618 foreign-investment projects, and with the total capitalization at $49 billion in the country, while the direct investment had reached $3. 2 billion by the end of July 2005(Clemen, 2006). According these data, we believe choosing direct investment as the mode of entry to Vietnam is a reasonable and promising choice.Risk Assessment and Risk Management In spite of the advantages of Vietnam, risks still exist. Risks can be divided into several parts as follow. Environment risk in Vietnam is about its climate change and natural disaster. Like Philippines and Cambodia, Vietnam is a coastal country that requ ently suffers from catastrophe like Typhoon, storm, earthquake and Tsunami, which may lead to some economic risks. For example, in 2012, the flood in Indonesia resulted in the shutdown of the hard disks workers and then led to upward price in hard drives globally. This may happen in Vietnam, too. However, this risk can be prevented if handled before the disaster happens.For instance, the company can consult experts of geology to find a proper position to build factories (upland or dry area). And the building materials should be chosen carefully to stand against those isasters, for example, reinforced concrete. The structure of building also need to be paid attention to, earthquake proof and storm proof construction would be a smart choice. Apart from the environmental risk, technological risks also exist. Although economy is developing rapidly in Vietnam with the gradually mature infrastructure system, it still confronted with some problems, including delayed port and other infrastr ucture, and depends heavily on its neighbour countries for transhipments. Eric Johnson, American Shipper, 2013)However, this sort of risk can be handled in nother way. The US mobile manufacturing firm can set the plants in the manufacturing district where infrastructure is relatively mature. In this case, the risk can be avoided. Furthermore, geopolitical risks should be considered in this report. As mentioned above in the analysis of mode of entry, Vietnam is one of the world's four remaining single-party socialist states, and it is highly government oriented in terms of culture and medium. ( Vuong, Q. H. ; Dam, V. N,Van Houtte, D. ; and Tran, T. D. Dec. 2011). This may result in corruption in the company. Regarding the risk of the ompany, the following advice can be put forward.First of all, transparency of the company's management should be improved, which includes holding stockholders' meeting at regular intervals, selecting the representatives of the staffs. Additionally, super vising and monitoring system should be improved in the company. W more, election of the leaders of the company should be honest, fair and regularly. In addition, in terms of societal risks, the income inequality leads to regular strike in Vietnam. Like China, Vietnam does not offer complete tranquillity either. For instance, workers re becoming more vocal and staging more strikes, despite a government ban on independent unions. Nearly 20,000 workers walked out this spring at a Nike shoe factory run by a Taiwanese contractor.Only when given a 10 percent raise to $55 a month and the workers went back to work. In this case, it is not difficult to find an appropriate solution. Firstly, make sure the rest time of the staff. Specifically, two days weekend and 8 hour's working hours should be guaranteed, with overtime offered diploid salary. Secondly, incentive and encouragement in public shall be given to stimulate the motivation of the staff. Thirdly, company managers should keep in trac k of the thoughts of the staffs, how they are satisfied with their working situation, what they need etc. Fourthly, improving the welfare of the workers, for example, providing adequate subsidiaries and health insurance will help to reassure the public.Conclusion To sum up, choosing Vietnam as the destination of mobile phone manufactory is more advantageous than Croatia and Botswana, which means fewer obstacles, more opportunities, more support, and more resources. Though it comes along with some risks, they can be avoided by many effective measures.

Importance of Meditation

What is meditation and what is it intended to accomplish? If you go to your doctor for stress related problems, she or he will likely tell you that perhaps the best treatment for stress is Meditation. So what is meditation? The word â€Å"meditation†, is derived from two Latin words: meditari (to think, to dwell upon, to exercise the mind) and mederi (to heal). Its Sanskrit derivation ‘medha' means wisdom. Meditation is a group of techniques that induce an altered state of focused attention and heightened awareness.Many years ago meditation was considered something just not meant for modern people, but now it has become very popular with all types of people. Published scientific and medical evidence has proved its benefits, but it still needs to be much understood. Various types of meditation that are recognized include transcendental meditation, prayer, Zen meditation, Taoist meditation, mindfulness meditation, and Buddhist meditation. Some methods of meditation may req uire the body being absolutely still or to be moved with controlled deliberation, while other types allow for free movement of the body.While the methods are different, the end goal of all types of meditation leads to a mind that is quieted, purified, and free from stress by the use of quiet contemplation and reflection. Meditation Categories. There are two general categories of meditation. Concentration techniques involve focusing awareness on a visual image, your breathing, a word, or a phrase. When a sound is used, it is typically a short word or a religious phrase, called a mantra, that is repeated mentally.The other one, called Opening-up techniques, involve a present-centered awareness of the passing moment, without mental judgment (Tart, 1994). Rather than concentrating on an object, sound, or activity, the meditator engages in quite awareness of the â€Å"here and now† without distracting thoughts. The zazen, or â€Å"just sitting†, technique of Zen Buddhism is a form of opening-up meditation. Effects of Meditation. Effects of meditation include physical, psychological, and spiritual effects.Some of physical effects include: Stabilizing blood pressure; lowering heart rate and respiratory rate; reducing stress hormones; improving mental functioning; improving brain wave coherence; improving the strength of the immune system. Some of psychological effects include: decreasing stress, anxiety, and depression; increasing joy of living; increasing positive emotions & attitude; increasing self-confidence; and increasing spiritual awareness. The spiritual effects of meditation include growing compassion; decreased sense of ego; unitive consciousness; self-realization and enlightenment.

Economic inequality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economic inequality - Essay Example What mainly creates this economic inequality is the fact that most of the people do not utilize their talents, but rather envy other successful people's talents and wish they had the same talents meaning that they are jealous. It is better to be envious than jealous of other people's success because envy comes in two forms: positive and negative envy. If someone is positively envious he/she will work towards achieving the goal the other person has achieved but when a person is negatively envious then he/she will develop jealousy in you. Jealous people wish for others not to have what they cannot have. Since everyone has his or her given talents regarding a certain field then should utilize those talents to become economically satisfied. This proves that the economic inequality comes from the wish of the people who do not want to utilize their given talents and opportunities to become economically satisfied hence creating economic inequality. In the other point of liberty upsets patte rn, imagine that the distribution is favored by one by one of the entitlement concepts and everyone has an equal share of wealth and riches. They would still lose their treasures to some more innovative people. Nozick also argues that no end state principle can be continuously realized without interference with people’s lives. This means that even if resources are distributed fairly people would still redistribute them through exchanging goods for services and giving things to other people for certain favors.

Resource Development vs Conservation In Alaska Term Paper

Resource Development vs Conservation In Alaska - Term Paper Example Mining industry in Alaska is wide, which includes exploration, mine development, mineral development, and mineral production. Some of the notable minerals mined and produced in the state include zinc, lead, gold, silver, coal, as well as construction materials such as sand, gravel, and rock (Alaska Miners 1). A quick glance into the 2007 statistics of how mining industry contributed to the economy, it becomes clear that mining plays great role to economy of Alaska. For instance, during the period, about 3,500 direct mining jobs were created in Alaska, in addition to another 5,500 direct and indirect jobs (Alaska Miners 1). In terms of royalties generated from the mining activities, an estimated $340 million in direct and indirect payroll was realized. Out of this sum, $14 million went to the local government revenue through property taxes and payments of taxes; $175 million went to state government revenue, while another $170 million of payments went to Alaska Native Corporation (Ala ska Miners 1). In summary, what these figures indicate is that, mining industry is today one of the primary economic sources for the development and prosperity of Alaska. Nevertheless, in this midst, there have been concerns of mining activities to the social, economic, cultural, and environmental aspects of the communities in which mining takes place. This is particularly of great concern when mega-projects of mining are permitted to be carried in the state whereby, the costs associated with the project may outweigh its benefits. Alaska State’s issues are intricately connected to the natural resources, which for the last fifty years have dominated the economy and politics of the state (Kimura 191). At the same time, it has been observed that these debates are likely to continue into the future and the only likely changes that may be witnessed constitute resources that will fulcrum the future debates, the composition of coalitions that are established to promote and oppose re source development, and the complexity and touch of the issues at hand. Furthermore, debates on these issues are likely to be affected by critical elements of global market forces, conservation concerns, policy directives and judicial decisions, which in turn will affect the decisions associated with developing resources in the state. Chuitna Coal Mining Project in Cook Inlet A proposal has been made to the state of Alaska and the federal government of USA to permit PacRim LP Company to construct Chuitna Coal Project, which is a coal strip mine in Beluga Fields located near Chuitna River (Environmental Protection Agency 3). The project will involve surface mining and export development of coal resources in the Beluga Coal Field located in the

Poster presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Poster presentation - Essay Example a. Competitors – competitors are other companies who are offering the same product or services or an alternative to the product or services offered by a particular company. Competitors can either be direct or indirect competitors. Direct competitors are those companies who could offer the same product and services while indirect competitors are companies who could offer an alternative product or services. The political environment is the regulatory atmosphere of which Starbucks operate as a business. The political environment could determine whether Starbucks can open a franchise in a certain country or if its bean can be had without any regulatory issue (issue of quota, banned goods, taxation etch.,). Economic environment determines the financial capacity of its market. In the case of Starbucks, economic environment made Starbucks reconsider its position in the market when the financial crisis hit in 2008-2010 that companies were compelled to adapt to the new market realities to stay afloat as a business. Along with the financial crisis is also the changing economic behaviour of Starbucks customers whose purchasing habits changed dramatically along with their choices of coffee products. The â€Å"premium coffee† preference suddenly became less a priority and convenience and affordability moved to the forefront. The â€Å"prestige orientation† of Starbucks is no longer applicable in the changing behaviour of its customers. The use of technology is one of the advantage s of Starbucks from its competitors. Despite the crisis, it still managed to keep in touch with its customers with its web platform where customers can discussed about coffee. This became an online community where Starbucks reinforce with its own ingenuity of sending greetings during the customer’s important personal events such as birthdays. In addition, its Gold Card Holder facility through a cellphone helped maintain customer loyalty during the

Statutory Interpretation Within The Courts Of England & Wales Essay - 1

Statutory Interpretation Within The Courts Of England & Wales - Essay Example In this essay, the primary purpose is to identify the standard powers available to the courts in England and wales in association with statutory interpretation. Moreover, the essay will explore how the canon of judicial precedent employs statutory interpretation. Users of the law such as students, practitioners, academics are in many times faced with difficulty to interpret drafted laws. Factors that lead to the need for the interpretation have already been highlighted and shall be divided into two i.e. due to insufficiency or narrowness and broadness or the legislation being general. To clarify such matters, the court has the power to give guidance and interpret such law by administering justice to the people. Therefore, in this regard, there are three basic rules ‘Canons’ that are at the disposal of the court to determine the targets and the meaning of a statute (Edlin, 2007). Further According to Keenan and Riches in their book Business Law, judges must follow the laid out guidelines that are categorized according to their origin i.e. either statutory rules or common law rules. For example, under the statutory rules interpretation sections are found in the Modern acts (interpretation Act 1978 and internal/intrinsic aids). On the other hand, common law rules guides the judge on how to interpret (Literal rule, Golden rule, and mischief rule) ( Keenan & Riches, 2011). This is the first rule of statutory interpretation where the court is expected to assess the common and basic understanding and meaning of a provision. This rule is aimed at maintaining the original intent of parliament. Hence, in case ambiguity is present the natural and original dictionary meaning is applied. Consequently the literal rule is greatly recognized because it respects parliamentary independence. However, this also means that judges are not at liberty in regards to statutory interpretation. More so, the literal rule does not go without its flaws for example the use of dictionary

Child Abuse at School Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Child Abuse at School - Dissertation Example From this discussion it is clear that in everyday terms, people use the word punishment to describe negative consequences imposed on people when they misbehave. Often, the term has moral overtones, suggesting that those being punished 'deserve' that punishment because their actions violate a rule, law, or social expectation. But when it comes to behavior management, it has a somewhat narrow definition.This paper highlights that  teachers should understand the pros and cons about using punishment in the classroom, as schools frequently use the method as a tool to manage student behaviors. Since punishers affect different students in different ways, so one punisher my not be effective against all students and should be suited to a particular student’s temperament. There are times at which punishment tends to put a stop to problem behaviors and would seem a strong and desirable behavior management tool. But there is a price for everything.  Discussion has been going on, on th e topic of punishment for many years. Educators cannot find agreement as to the best way to discipline students in schools. Hundreds of articles were written and lectures delivered on this subject.  Most students cannot comprehend what action or lack of action on their part does bring punishment. They feel that the teacher’s mood at a particular moment brings about the punishment.   Another expert supports this general idea.

The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro - Essay Example This remark brings with it, and an emotional appeal of sympathy from his listeners and they are made to see the sincerity of the utterances that will follow. Mr Douglas uses Toulmin as his method of argument. Great Britain is mentioned as the colonial power  from which  the United States liberated themselves. He frowns upon the mind-set of their colonisers towards their subjects and refers to those as the disastrous times. This he does by bringing to light how the British put restraints and limitations on them because they saw it fit to keep their liberties in check. It  strips their colonisers of their credibility. He seeks pardon for any imperfections that may be detected in his speech and attributes them to his level of education and hastiness that may have been triggered by the magnitude of the occasion. It, therefore, brings about a logical appeal which he seconds with a follow up remark when he refers to the fourth of July as the birth date of the nation. It symbolises a new dawn with which the past injustices that were perpetrated by their colonial masters are gazed upon as a part of a history that has shaped the nation of

Questions on UML and Project Management Research Paper

Questions on UML and Project Management - Research Paper Example The UML is used to construct, visualize, document, specify and modify the elements of an object oriented system under enhancement.. J. Object Management Group (OMG) is an association of several computer design and system developers. The formation of the OMG targeted the setting of conventional standards for disturbed object oriented systems. Currently, the organization concerns with different aspects of modeling such as business processes, systems and programs. OMG attempts to avert vague standards that cannot be implementable or have never been implemented. Object Management Group also provides other standards basing on modeling principles. Apart from the UML, OMG also involves in other modeling operations. Meta Object Facility (MOF) is another specification employed in OMG. MOF is applicable in the Model-Driven Architecture and combines each development and integration steps of business, architectural and application modeling to enable development, management and transformation. Bu siness Motivation Model (BMM) is also an OMG specification standard. The BMM avails vocabulary for organization’s governance and strategic planning. ... of the UML state machine operation incorporates the organization of a way a device such as a computer program works  in a way that a section or each of its elements is accurately one of the number of probable state at which there are explicitly definitions of conditional conversions between the states. UML state machine initiates the concepts of hierarchy nested states and perpendicular regions, while extending the notion of actions. The state machines depict protocol and behavioral state machines. The behavioral state machines can be utilized in modeling the actions of individual elements while the protocol statecharts are employed to express utilization protocols and identify the legal usage situations of order interfaces and ports. Umbrello UML Modeller Umbrello UML Modeller is a software diagram tool which is present for many platforms such as Unix-like and Microsoft windows. The modeller is versatile and performs well with other computers and programming conditions. Umbrello U ML Modeller tool manages all types of paradigm UML diagrams. The tool can reverse all written codes from different languages such as python, C++, Java, IDL and Ada. Umbello can also reverse the XMI files produced from PHP codes and export to other diverse programming languages. Umbello permits sharing of model components through exportation of Docbook in addition to other XHTML layouts. The distribution assists in amalgamation enhancement attempts in case the team members cannot access the umbello directly. The tool is also critical in situations where the data is to be published in the web. Therefore, Umbrello UML Modeller would be the best for a project team to use in developing an object-oriented information system using UML. Umbrello UML Modeller is more significant because it supports

TOM CREEKS PTY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

TOM CREEKS PTY - Essay Example The current capital employed by the company is $3500, 000 and that is the price that we are putting on the table, as a result, we are which means that we are not paying any goodwill to the company and taking over a profitable business. This is a good thing as we are investing in a profitable asset.Sir, I may also like to present you the profitability report of the company. The company has earned a profit of $653,000 in the last fiscal year. If this trend continues and we invest in the company, we are going to earn an ROI of 19%. This very good return and will earn us a profit rate greater than if we deposit the money in our bank account. This ROI is among the return rates on higher sides and will be able to help us earn a decent amount of return on our investment.As far as the share capital is concerned, it is around 56% of the company's resources. This is an ideal ration and the company is neutrally geared. Due to this, our interest expenses will be low and we will be able to retain much of what we earn. Similarly, the company's working capital is in a very good position. We can easily clear our debts without endangering the company's liquidity position. Similarly, as we can see that the company has idle cash lying around in the form of excess working capital, we can put it to interest earning securities and this will further improve the company's profitability and we help us recover our investment.In the end,

Little thing Essay Example for Free

Little thing Essay Of the five poems I have selected beforehand, I happen to choose the poem â€Å"The Pebble†. It took me awhile to choose which poem to talk about but somehow, I keep coming back in reading this poem. I favour this poem compared to the other four because of the simplicity it implies. It starts off with the title which gives out a plain imagery of the thing that will be talked about. The poem struck me in the way that it talked about a very little thing. A thing that is often taken for granted. Nobody would actually pay much attention to a pebble. Usually, the pebble is just an add-on to an aquarium or a little thing to beautify a garden. Even so, be it in an aquarium or a garden, the object of concentration is not the pebble. But in this poem, the pebble holds the main attraction. My attention was taken away by the description given to a pebble. And as to how the poem unfolds, the comparison and contrast of a pebble and that to a person was stated plainly, but not directly though. Often times we think of a use for a certain thing and eventually we talk about it or write about it. In any case, we share that what is important. So, in the case of this poem, a pebble never seemed to be something important. Most of the time, people don’t seem to bother about anything regarding a pebble. A poem expresses the emotions of a writer and usually in the state of turmoil. What is captivating about this poem is that there isn’t much of a turmoil expressed in words for this. It describes what a pebble is, how a pebble could be and compared it as to how a person could feel. I feel a certain depth in this poem, though I doubt if I could eventually express that depth. I somehow could feel that this poem has something more than what it is giving. The problem is just that I’m still trying to measure up the feeling conveyed by this poem. Somehow, I have a strange idea of being able to fathom what the poem holds, but because of its vividness, I’m having a hard time grasping the concept it implies. Such ironic feelings are extracted from my mind but I’m trying though to put it into words. The poem has an intrinsic impact on me. I don’t have much of an idea of the author but as I read the poem over and over again, and internalize it somehow, I gain knowledge to the truth it may imply. With how I describe it, the poem may seem to be a prayer, but actually, it’s not. It’s not everyday that we read a poem which is presented so simply. I just have a feeling that the writer wrote this according to how he perceives the truth of the pebble. A pebble which is a little stone that eventually could last longer than any other thing. Part four The Pebble is a very interesting poem. From the title itself, it projects a literary piece about simplicity. As we have seen pebbles and grasp a meaning of this thing, it is an object that is pretty much of little value. But this thing has been often times used as an instrument for symbolism. It doesn’t actually become the symbol, but yet, it is used as a contributor for the statement of the symbol. Like the ripples on the water, to make the ripples, the pebble is used as the object that is thrown to create the ripples. But in this situation, the impact was made by the pebble but the symbol was the ripple. Interpretation of the Poem At the start of the poem, the pebble is described as a perfect creature. It is here that we can see that the object has been given the traits as that of a person. Attributing the perfection that the writer is talking about for the pebble would be on its physical aspect. The physical description of pebbles which are often perfectly oval in shape with a smooth surface, having no cracks or lumps, would suit the description of excellence or perfection. In comparison to a person, a perfect creature would then be one without cracks or perhaps loopholes and one who doesn’t have any lumps. Perfection in our own view would be that of someone who doesn’t possess any frailties, errors and does all things without mistakes and stands as clean as ever. But as the writer proceeds with the poem, it mentioned that it could only be equalled to itself and is aware of its limits. A perfect thing that cannot be compared by anything except itself and has limits, were the descriptions emphasized by the poet. Still, this has been compared to that of a person. Perfection does not imply that the person has no limits. With this description then, we could imply that in perfection, it is being and doing something flawlessly but in the range of one’s limits. Often, when we talk about perfection, it is in comparison already to supreme beings or gods. But the poet has stated that what could be compared to one creature would not be anyone else, but only with it. Indeed, the concept of uniqueness has been unfolded. As the poem proceeds, it has been defined by the author that the meaning this object holds, is the meaning it holds from the time it has been made. â€Å"A pebbly meaning† would mean the identity that this object holds and whatever that is, that is the true meaning of the thing. Same goes if related again to a person, that the definition or meaning of who we are is the self. It is not somebody else that hold the meaning of our life, but it is our self, the one with us from the beginning, that defines what we are. Another idea of the â€Å"pebbly meaning† would be the concept of a pebble which is not of great significance but just possesses the simplicity that it is as an object. It is not a big rock that could smash something smaller or a stone which may be small but definitely holds weight. It is not a mountain that shows greatness just by looking at it. It is emphasizing a pebble, small, perhaps insignificant, and does not hold much weight. But as we ponder on the purpose as to why it exists, it holds more than what it is actually letting us see. The poem describes further that the pebble is one thing that doesn’t have a specific characteristic that would be intimidating and though it is unique and different, it stands with its uniqueness without any other factor that might entice anybody. As all other things or people would need more than what they have, like they would go for enhancing the appearance or develop any form of attractive facilities for others to see or witness, the pebble sticks with what it has. Despite the simplicity or plainness it holds, it still has its dignity and pride. It is contradicting to the idea that without pride is simplicity. Being simple does not mean that one does not hold any value of himself. It doesn’t also mean that there is no regard for the self. Instead, inside that simplicity, an aura of pride and dignity emanates. It’s just that people don’t get to see it because they are more aware of the obvious things. As the poem proceeds, the writer was somehow humbled down to the value of the pebble that in the changing world, struggling all the time for attention and importance, the pebble or anyone that could be related to a pebble, simply sits quietly and wait. In the end, all the others vanish, and it’s just the pebble that remains. Those who do not live such complicated lives could eventually see all that is happening and live longer than most of the people. Conclusion The poem is written as a realization in life. Often times people would prefer to have the symbol of a mountain, or something powerful and bigger. This is so because of how we see our life, we prefer to have the control especially when we are not in control in reality. We want to be in power when in reality we are weak and helpless. Our symbols tell what we really are and it’s has always been the opposite of what we are. In this poem, the concept of simplicity and the awakening of humility are emphasized. Simplicity is held in the object of the pebble. The object of no complications and the writer is in the point of using this imagery to a person’s life. The awakening of the humility is expressed in the last two stanzas of the poem where the writer has gone to see the impact of a pebble and how it absorbs everything there is without complaining. This is a contradiction to people where complaining has been made a hobby and dissatisfaction always a companion. Before going to the point of appreciating, people tend to complain, grumble and then when the worse has come, perhaps, mellow down and bear with the idea of appreciating something. The poet has created a very good concept of life. The poem written is also expressed the same way as that of the idea it intends to convey. Simplicity indeed is beauty and only few have seen it.

Job sales

Job sales Home * job sales-3 * jobs in sales-4 * sale jobs-3 * sales job-8 sales jobs-6 As economy experiences an upsurge, there is an increased diversity in sales jobs. Sales jobs are no longer those instantly recognizable jobs in sales with targets setting and bonuses. There are many jobs which are an ever growing element of sales. Increasingly, no sales job is also becoming sales centric. Jobs in sales definitely require one to brush up their sales skills not only because of the corporate culture these days but also due to growing requirement to prove oneself each day in the job. Now, the concept of ‘jobs for life is diminishing and with that so is the concept of salary pensions. Jobs in sales can be tough but usually are accompanied with huge rewards. Before one starts a job in sales, he needs to be sure he understands the company terms and conditions on the sales job in terms of targets and commissions. There are various types of sale jobs- Direct sales, Indirect sales, Business to business sales, servicing sales jobs and IT sales jobs. Direct sale jobs refer to directly selling to private individuals. Products that are sold in this way are financial services (like credit cards, personal banking products, etc), home appliances and improvements or travel packages. Direct Sale jobs usually involve selling directly to homeowners. Sales representatives and sales executives carry out direct sales job which can comprise capital equipment sales or technical Sales. Indirect sales job refer to selling consumer goods and services to corporates which in turn sell them to individuals or other oragnizations. In a Business to Business job, sales involves selling products or sevices to different companies either directly approaching them or indirectly through other distributors. IT sales jobs have become very diverse in the last two decades.They fall into three main categories pre sales, sales and post sales support of hardware and software. Servicing sales jobs have also become an integral part of IT sales jobs. In servicing job sales refers to selling services to customers or corporates. The services can be in area of transport, logistics or advertising or management consultancy. Services sales job are considered to be highly specialized as there is no physical products for customer to touch, feel or acknowledge. Fundamentally in a job, sales requires different skills sets and personality types. In any type of sales job, a person needs to have constant interaction with clients either face to face or through phone. A sales man needs to have a pleasing personality, be an extrovert and should have excellent communication skills. He needs to constantly identify opportunities for cross selling or up selling and be prepared for delivering presentations with confidence and articulation. A person armed with above mentioned personality traits and qualities is sure to succeed in any sales job. Sales Representative Jobs sales representative job -4 sales representative jobs-5 sales rep jobs-4 sales executive jobs-5 A sales representative job comprises of selling companies products or services to customers. Sales representative jobs can involve selling products or services like electronic equipment, home appliances, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics or vehicles. Sales rep jobs involve selling to individuals, factories or companies. Technical sales representatives and sales engineers are some of the sales executive jobs. Selling industrial, high tech gear and components comprises other types of sales representative jobs. People in sales rep jobs usually work on targets and can earn huge salaries in form of commission if they manage to achieve their targets. Sales representative jobs involves working long hours usually. Sales rep jobs involves lot of driving to visit clients at their homes, offices or factories. They often demonstrate the product or leave catalogues with the customer at the customer meeting points. In sales rep jobs, people are required to keep records of the orders made, number of appointments or cash transactions in a day with a handheld device or company provided laptops. They act as consultants between customers and companies in their sales executive jobs. Sales representative jobs involves being cautious and honest about the products that are popular with the customers as companies need this information to improve on their current products or services. For a person to excel in sales executive jobs, he should be brimming with confidence, ambition, persuasion skills and have extensive knowledge on companies products and competitors. He should be able to take refutation easily and move on networking extensively. There are no set qualifications besides having GCSE or equivalent qualified for a sales representative job. However, increasing number of candidates vying for sales executive jobs try to get higher qualifications by doing MBA specializing in sales or marketing. Many companies provide adequate training on their companys products and services when an employee joins in a sales representative job. They also get an understanding on specific sales m ethods used in a sales representative job in their company. Fresh employees in sales representative jobs usually are expected to work alongside senior members of the team till they become familiar with companys products and area where they need to work. Sales executive jobs are available in all sectors including working for manufacturing companies, wholesale distributors or in IT sector. Some sales representative jobs are freelance options. Progression possibilities for sales rep jobs include taking additional responsibilities in sales area and becoming sales manager, account manager or National Account Manager. Sales and Marketing jobs sales marketing job-3 sales marketing jobs-4 sales and marketing jobs-6 telesales jobs-4 There are many types of sales and marketing jobs available these days. Due to recession there was a slight fall in the number of job opportunities in sales marketing jobs. But with recession receding, sales and marketing jobs have also experienced a high. Sales and Marketing jobs can be classified into two categories- client side and Agency side. Client side sales and marketing jobs involve working as a part of the marketing department of a company. When people work in agency side sales and marketing jobs, they are basically working for a company specializing in Marketing. A person can look out for entry level positions in telesales jobs or Junior Account Executive. If you like talking on the phone, have the confidence to sell and possess the persistence to go on calling then telesales jobs are for you. Telesales jobs require one to be competitive to continuously meet targets and endure in aggressive environment. Telesales jobs involve making outbound calls to prospective customers, converting inbound calls into sales orders, exploiting opportunities from marketing campaigns and obtained databases as well as making general sales enquiries. Junior account executive in sales marketing job act as link between clients and the company and see to it that all deliverables are met on the agreed timelines. When a person has gained relevant experience in the field, he can look out for a senior sales marketing job as an Account Director, Account Manager, Marketing Manager, MarCom Manager or Brand Manager. Sales and Marketing jobs basically requires a person to have qualities like interpersonal skills, customer service, organizational and communications skills. Account Directors administer client relationships, delivers presentations to existing and prospective clients in their sales marketing jobs and also manage the account managers. Account Managers,in their sales marketing jobs, assist Account Director in creating strategies for achieving organizational plans for the financial year. They continuously work towards achieving targets by upselling and cross selling companies products and services. Brand Managers, in their role, work towards creating strategies and marketing campaigns that can directly be applied to a product or service. They work in conjunction with sales Managers and production teams to create the best strategies for increase in product sales. MarCom Managers look after the marketing strategies and promotions, organize marketing events and conferences and supervise all marketing related communication in their sales marketing jobs. A Marketing Manager in his sales marketing job, is entrusted with directing and managing all actions in the marketing department. Sales and Marketing jobs are a good career option as they are diverse and each one entails a different function, mind set and attributes to excel in it. IT sales jobs it sales jobs-4 software sales jobs-3 sales support jobs-5 technical sales jobs-3 Sales is an integral part of any business, especially IT. At the business level, IT sales jobs mean selling hardware and software systems. IT Sales jobs require personnel to continuously search for prospective clients who might benefit from the companys software products and services. People in IT sales jobs need to have in depth understanding of all applications and services and markets, proactively understand client requirements and create demand for their companys products. They need to have proven track record of consistently achieving high results in previous IT sales jobs. Software sales jobs require sales force to develop innovative methodology for selling. This is because Information Technology is an ever booming and ever growing sector. IT firms need to provide superiors applications and services in a highly competent environment. The development of these applications involves huge costs in researching and development. Unless these applications are sold at the best possible price, they have no value. This is achieved through employing best sales people in the industry in software sales jobs. Technical sales jobs entails combining technical know -how with sales skills. Based on the requirement of technical sales jobs, the work involves extensive technical knowledge to sell products and services and respond effectively to client queries. Clients usually are the technical staff of IT organizations.Technical sales jobs requires people to liase with clients and companys technical staff on an ongoing basis so as to meet the client requirements and deliverables. People in Software sales jobs need to explain and also give presentations on highly complex concepts and procedures. Once a sale has been made, there is usually a requirement to provide after sales services to clients which are called sales support jobs.Sales support jobs require people to have sound technical knowledge on the application or service, troubleshooting skills and problem solving skills. Sales support jobs are usually customer facing hence excellent communication skills are the base for these jobs. Entry level sales support jobs usually require college graduates with little or no experience. However, a good way to progress in sales support jobs is by getting a higher degree in computer science accompanied with an MBA in marketing. Professionals with strong visual designs, technical expertise and a knack for numbers usually excel in IT sales jobs. Medical and pharmaceutical sales jobs medical device sales jobs-4 medical sales jobs-5 pharmaceutical sales jobs-3 pharmaceutical sales rep jobs-4 The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most stable and fast growing industry in the world today. Studies have indicated that pharmaceutical industry has grown by 300 percent in the last ten years itself with which you can imagine pharmaceutical sales jobs have also quadrupled. Pharmaceutical sales rep jobs involves selling highly technical advanced products to teams of physicians and medical professionals. Therefore, medical sales jobs are regarded as very prestigious. Medical sales jobs are often referred as slump proof and offers good salary potential, flexibility, benefits and growth. Medical sales jobs can be devided into 2 categories- capital sales and non capital sales or consumable sales. Each category has it own set of unique sales requirements and processes. Pharmaceutical sales jobs involving Capital sales refer to selling information systems, hardware, billing, diagnostic and laboratory equipment. Medical sales jobs requiring consumable sales consist of selling consumable products like pharmaceuticals, laboratory reagents, and medicines. Employers usually seek those with a college degree and some previous sales experience for pharmaceutical sales rep jobs. People with no sales background can still break into pharmaceutical sales rep jobs if they come geared with clinical or healthcare background. Other most sought after qualities in pharmaceutical sales rep jobs are strong drive to achieve the set targets, willingness to learn, good communication skills, listening skills and presentation skills. But most of all an aptitude for science is required. If you do not enjoy science or reading about new scientific breakthroughs then you cannot think of succeeding in a pharmaceutical sales jobs. Pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Merck offer loads of opportunities to college graduates to work in pharmaceutical sales jobs.Medical device sales jobs are one of the types of pharmaceutical sales jobs.Medical device sales jobs involve demonstrating products ranging from sophisticated surgical devices like hip or knee replacem ent surgical devices to key hole surgical kits. Medical device sales jobs also involve selling varied products like non clinical hospital equipment, aids for the disabled, implants and high tech equipment used in imaging and radiotherapy. A proven track record in pharmaceutical industry and thorough knowledge in ever changing competitive marketplace is needed to make a mark in medical device sales jobs. The international market for medical devices continues to grow at an unprecedented rate wherein competition is getting tense by the day. As a result there is an upsurge of medical sales jobs with people to benefit from the tremendous opportunities available in pharmaceuticals. Inside and outside sales jobs outside sales jobs-5 inside sales jobs-5 international sales jobs-7 sales trainer jobs-5 Sales today present varied roles apart from the traditional sales jobs.There are various types of sales opportunities- sales trainer jobs, inside sales jobs, outside sales jobs and even international sales jobs. Depending upon your experience and personal characteristics, you can decide which type of sales job you are suited to. Sales trainer jobs are offered to those who have had a successful sales career in the past and have mentoring capabilities to train new people in sales.These days sales trainer jobs are on a rise as companies are realizing that by training their sales force on company policies, products and methodologies, sales figures increase by bigger numbers. Sales trainer jobs involve training the employees on the companys offerings as a result they are able to sell them better. Also there is a better retention of sales staff if they are given training. Sales training was frowned upon by top sales managers earlier as the popular belief was that sales people are born with instinctive ability to convince and sell. However, with changing times it is felt that uncertain sales people can be churned into confident people with appropriate training. And already chiseled sales people can turn into greater sales men after sales training exercises. Sales trainer jobs involve training sales force on an ongoing basis as that makes sales people feel more supported in their company. Inside sales jobs requires sales executives to work while staying in office. Inside sales jobs requires one to sell products and services over the phone. Handling questions, complaints and pitching for new business over the phone are all part of inside sales jobs. Inside sales jobs do not involve much of travel, require less paperwork and lesser hours than outside sales jobs. Outside sales jobs are usually offered to those who have more sales experience, have proven track record of achieving results and require less management intervention. People in outside sales jobs need to fix app ointments with prospective clients, make presentations and pitch for the companys products and services constantly. Outside sales jobs are more challenging, time consuming and offer more job satisfaction than inside sales jobs. This is because of the sheer excitement sales executive feel before any face to face meeting. Also the customer tends to connect well with them and possibility of closing a deal sooner increases in case of outside sales jobs.While it is still easy to land an inside or outside sales job, international sales jobs are hard to get. They dont just happen. You need to plan a career if you wish to persue international sales jobs.You can target to get recruited by a global conglomerate in international sales jobs.These companies require you to travel abroad frequently to meet up with prospective clients and close deals. Usually international sales jobs are offered to people with extensive sales experience. An early entry into International sales jobs can be made if y ou have a degree from foreign university or have some international work experience. The three most sought after skills for international sales jobs are social skills, cognitive skills and personal qualities. Problem solving, decision making, adaptability, innovative and good product knowledge are general and personal skills which are a base but the social skills like ability to work and sell to highly diverse group of people make you the apt candidate for international sales jobs. Entry level and field sales jobs entry level sales jobs-4 field sales jobs-3 healthcare sales jobs-6 fmcg jobs-6 Entry level sales jobs are available these days in all employment arenas whether it is Banking industry, healthcare , fmcg, IT or call centres. Usually entry level sales jobs are field sales jobs. Entry level sales jobs involves representation of the companies at trade organizations, events and demonstrations. Sales personnel usually travel a lot to meet prospective customers in field sales jobs. Entry level sales jobs require high school degree or at the maximum graduation degree. Field sales jobs require people to be active, enthusiastic and have good product knowledge of products and markets. Freshers have an exciting opportunity to take advantage of a rewarding career and growth in fmcg jobs. FMCG refers to Fast moving Consumer goods sector which is fourth largest sector in Indian economy. Fmcg jobs for freshers include direct selling jobs, business to business sales jobs or business to customer sales jobs. In fmcg jobs, employees start directly selling through company outlets, i nternet, tele sales, departmental stores and hyper markets. Professionals in fmcg jobs are trained by the organizations per the business requirement and profile assigned to the employee. They need to be competent, outgoing and should be able to work well under pressure. Fmcg jobs usually require professionals to be armed with higher degree in form of MBA or advanced diploma in marketing. People can search for fmcg jobs in consumer goods sector, electronics or pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceuticals or Health care sales jobs have outgrown any other sector. Health care sale jobs involves sale of any product that helps in the process of laboratorian, radiologist, physician, respiraotory therapist or any other professional who provide service to patients. Medical sales, Medical device sales, pharmaceutical sales, clinical laboratory sales, Biotech laboratory sales, laboratory equipment sales and pathology sales are some of the types of Health care sales jobs available. There are field sales al so available in health care sales jobs.Field service engineers, Field technical support, Research laboratory sales and Imaging sales are other types of healthcare sales jobs. A person with proven experience in medical field armed with a graduation or post graduation degree in health science can be ideal for healthcare sales jobs. If people try to get into healthcare sales jobs as freshers, they tend to build extensive work experience in this sector and are able to experience unprecedented growth. Hot sales Jobs hotel sales jobs-4 industrial sales jobs-3 construction sales jobs-4 sales associate jobs-4 With economy showing upward trend, sales as a career option is experiencing a high. Hot sales jobs are available in hotel industry, industrial sales or construction industry. No industry today is as fast moving as hotel industry. With the rise in the hotels industry there is rise in hotel sales jobs as well. Hotel sales jobs involve selling blocks of rooms or bookings for special events like new years or accommodation packages or dining and banquet services .The type of salary in hotel sales jobs largely depends on the type of employer you work for and the number of years of experience. You can start a career in hotel sales job by becoming a hotel sales executive or sales associate or hotel sales manager and go on to become Corporate sales manager or Sales director as you progress in your career. Construction industry has experienced boom in the recent past and construction companies have become one stop shop for clients which include building design, pre construction and property management. This has led to rise in construction sales jobs. Construction sales jobs consist of External sales, Marketing and project management. Construction sales jobs also include being the key point of contact for manufacturers, distributors and merchants for building products. You can start a career in field sales by taking up construction sales jobs as Area sales manager or Sales executive or Sales associate for selling products in insulation, bathroom fittings, lighting or curtain walling. If you have relevant experience in construction then you can take up senior roles like Marketing or National Sales manager or National account Manager or export manager. Industrial sales job is another hot sales job sector. Sales associates work for Industrial sectors like adhesives, air compressors, building services, coatings, drilling machinery, industrial manufacturing consumables, lubricants, oils, polymers, test and calibration equipement or welding equipment when they opt for working in Industrial sales jobs.Industrial sales jobs requires sales associates to be comfortable in industrial setting and sell to engineers and professionals with mechanical aptitude. Media, retail and advertising sales jobs advertising sales jobs-4 media sales jobs-5 retail sales jobs-5 sales coordinator jobs-3 It could not be a better time to be in sales. With economic recession almost over, every industry seems to be looking for competent professionals to bring in the business. There seems to be a welcome rise in advertising sales jobs, media sales jobs and retail sales jobs. You can find Advertising sales jobs including sales coordinator jobs, sales executive and telesales executive jobs when you are trying to break into the advertising industry. Advertising sales jobs basically involve selling magazine or online advertising space to existing and prospective clients. As you progress in your career, you can think of getting Account manager or Account Director roles in Advertising sales jobs. In Account Management capacity you basically plan the brief, manage the advertising and brand campaigns and manage relationship with clients, suppliers and internal teams. Media sales jobs involve selling across many platforms like print, online, email campaigns and subscriptions. Media sales jobs also involve researching and contacting exhibitions and conference clients with an imaginative approach to impel sales and maintain good client relationships for future sales. Sales coordinator jobs are available as entry point into Media sales jobs. From there on, there are ample opportunities in media sales jobs to grow as an International Media sales manager, global media manager or strategic Marketing and Media Manager. At the same time retail sales jobs are also on a rise. There are many professionals who work behind the scenes to keep employers, suppliers, customers and investors happy. It is easy to get sales coordinator jobs in retail sector as a fresh graduate. Retail sales jobs are devided in three main categories- store upkeep, product handling and administration. Retail Buyers review products in the market and sign off that might be bought for their store. Retail Merchandisers review available products, price them and decide the best of displaying them in the store for maximizing sales.Retail sales jobs also include being retail sales clerk, retail cashier, retail store managers and retail loss prevention managers. Once you have crossed the middle management in retail sales jobs, you can go to become part of Retail Corporate Management and manage the entire look and feel of the store or mall. As you can see, there are ample opportunities in advertising, media or retail sales so what are you waiting for? Go on and start applying and build a fabulous career. Auto, car and insurance sales jobs auto sales jobs-6 car sales jobs-4 insurance sales jobs-5 sales assistant jobs-4 With economy coming out of the recession slowly and steadily, auto sales jobs are on the rise. Auto sales jobs are offered at car dealerships. Car dealerships basically serve as a link between car manufacturers and customers. There are two types of car dealerships- franchised car dealerships which showcase new vehicles manufactured by a popular brand and independent used car dealerships which are smaller in size and sell used vehicles including cars. Auto sales jobs or car sales jobs requires professionals with good communication skills, customer servicing, strong drive and ability to work under pressure. Auto sales jobs require people to work long hours. People in car sales jobs usually work weekends as most of the sale is expected on weekends when customers get time from their busy schedules. Bureau of labor statistics projects that there will be eleven percent increase in auto sales jobs by 2016.More and more dealers are providing lucrative salaries in car sales jobs by devising b etter compensation methods and better commissions. Types of Car sales jobs are Car sales representatives, Used car sales executives, Car sales administrator, Car sales manager and Car sales controller. You can start of a career in auto sales jobs by taking sales assistant jobs. People in sales assistant jobs are required to provide efficient, prompt and courteous service to all customers. Sales assistant jobs also require people to assist with client mailings and processing paperwork, performing office tasks like taking messages, copying, faxing and telecalling customers to schedule appointments. If you have good communication skills, organizational skills and proficient in MS office applications, then progression is easier to senior roles in auto sales jobs or even into insurance sales jobs. Insurance sales jobs require people to sell insurance in life, health, property and long term care to customers. Professionals in insurance sales jobs offer advice to customers on how to reduce risks and choose the best insurance policy. Professionals in insurance sales jobs advise on best financial planning options and retirement plans. Therefore people in insurance sales jobs are involved in continuously cross selling insurance policies and complete account management. Increased competition in Insurance sector has made companies choose people in insurance sales jobs very diligently. Professionals work as insurance agents or brokers either by being directly employed with companies or on independent basis. College graduates can start working in insurance sales assistant jobs and slowly climb the ladder up. Income potential is huge in insurance sector therefore chance to work in insurance sector should not be missed. Sales manager jobs sales management jobs-4 sales manager job-4 sales manager jobs-4 sales marketing business development jobs-3 Sales management jobs require sales professionals to manage, organize, lead and motiv

The Daily Problems Of Foreign Language Learners English Language Essay

The Daily Problems Of Foreign Language Learners English Language Essay Language learning is a very complex process and foreign language learners face great number of problems daily, while they try different strategies and educational tools to master the foreign language in the best possible way. One of the areas which seems have made trouble for language learners is the pragmatic competence which has also drawn attention of those who are interested in language teaching to itself. [P]ragmatic competence . . . is understood as the knowledge of the linguistic resources available in a given language for realising particular illocutions, knowledge of the sequential aspects of speech acts, and finally, knowledge of the appropriate contextual use of the particular languages linguistic resources (Anne Barron, 2003 : 10). Pragmatic rules are essential for a successful interaction with other people for language learners and they should learn them the right way, otherwise it will lead to misunderstanding or total failure of conveying and receiving the message and the speaker will unintentionally be considered as rude or insensitive person. The research that here wants to be reviewed wants to find what are differences between kind of refusal strategies of EFL learners in situations that deals with pragmatic competence (Allami Naeimi, 2009). The Researchers found that cultural factors play great role in learners conceptualization and verbalization of the speech acts, even though the learners may have access to wide range of speech acts and realization strategies as native speakers do as well. Research Questions Three questions which were posed in the research are as follow (Allami Naeimi, 2009): 1. What are the most common semantic formulas used by Iranian learners at different pro ¬Ã‚ ciency levels with regard to the contextual variables of the status of interlocutors (higher, equal, or lower) and the eliciting acts (requests, invitations, offers, and suggestions)? 2. What are the areas of difference between Iranian EFL learners and American speakers with regard to the strategies employed to make refusals? 3. If Iranian EFL learners refusals are different from those of the American native speakers, does the L2 pro ¬Ã‚ ciency of the Iranian learners affect their possible pragmatic transfer or not? Theoretical framework Different studies have tried to show that if learners want to give appropriate speech act to a given speech event pragmatic competence has a major role in it. Fraser de ¬Ã‚ ned pragmatic competence as the knowledge of how an addressee determines what a speaker is saying and recognizes intended illocutionary force conveyed through subtle attitudes in the speakers utterance (Allami Naeimi, 2009: 2). Rintell is one of scholar who has worked deeper than the other scholars in field of speech acts and he believes that L2 learners utterances for some specific communications purposes are because of their pragmatic ability (2009: 2). In addition, L2 learners should have enough knowledge of L2 sociocultural limitations so that they would have acceptable pragmatic level. According to Wolfson choosing appropriate pragmatic strategies is crucial for speech act ability (2009: 2). Moreover, social class and culture have effect on choosing those strategies. The main theory which Allami and Naeim i have tried to focused on is that the different cultures and languages make different pragmatic competence in the minds of people and there is a good chance that learners L1 interfere with learners L2 pragmatic competence, even though their command of L2 can be very good. Methodology of Research There are three questions which were posed by researchers and they were mentioned earlier (Allami Naeimi, 2009: 2). Researchers used experimental research method in which independent variables were learners language proficiency (lower-intermediate, intermediate and upper-intermediate) status of interlocutors (lower, equal and higher) and types of eliciting acts (requests, invitations, offer and suggestions) and the dependent measures were the realization of the strategies. The researchers chose 30 participants which their native language is Persian and all of them were undergraduate males, within the age range of 16 and 29. The data used in the research was collected through a written Discourse Completion Test (DCT) which was in the form of a questionnaire presented some natural situations to which the respondents were expected to respond when making refusals. The reason why 30 participants were chose was that it has been claimed that in using the DCT for interlanguage speech act st udies, questionnaires with 30 subjects will serve as an appropriate guide (2009: 5). The participants were divided into three different groups of 10 upper-intermediate, 10 intermediate and 10 lower-intermediate students at a Language Institute in Yazd. In order to have a pertinent cross-linguistic examination of the speech act of refusal responses to the same DCT conducted by another American researcher were also analyzed. There were 37 Americans responses to the same DCT which was conducted by Kwon (2009: 5). The American participants in the research were between 18 and 22 years of age and they were all students from Boston. The DCT consisted of three requests, three invitations and three asks a favor of the other person. In each situation type were supposed to refuse a person of higher status, one to a person of equal status, and one to a person of lower status. There were a second group of participants who were asked to answer DCT which was translated into Persian and the purpose of designing this DCT was to compare semantic formulas used by Persian native speakers with those of the EFL learners. DCT was given to learners and they were asked not to think about the given situations thoroughly and they are just supposed to respond quickly. All of the respondents returned their papers within 20-30 minutes and the researcher were there all the time while the subjects were writing the answers. The Reponses were compared in terms of language forms with the 31 native speakers responses in Persian, and with 37 native speakers responses in English. Researchers in order to be analytically honest analyzed components of each speech act present in the responses; the produced refusals were parsed into strategies (2009: 6). Data Analysis Taxonomy of refusal developed by Beebe was the basis of coding all data in the research. Units used in analysis were semantic formulas. According to Cohen definition of semantic formula is a word, phrase, or sentence that meets a particular semantic criterion or strategy; any one or more of these can be used to perform the act in questions (Allami Naeimi, 2009: 6). Through this study new categories of semantic formulas were identified. Number of strategies in each refusal indicated complexity of speech act of refusal. The average number of semantic formulas used by the American respondents, Iranian Persian speakers and EFL learners were 4.00, 3.10 and 3.30 respectively. Regarding numbers which were gained it was shown that Americans use more semantic formulas, but variety of Iranians strategies were significantly more. Analyzing each of the semantic formulas in detail is a big task so researchers focused on similarities and differences among three groups of American native speakers, Iranian EFL learners and Persian native speakers answering the translated DCT. Another factor which was taken into consideration was the shift of frequencies of semantic formulas regarding the status of interlocutors. For higher status a boss, lower status an employee, a salesman, a student and a cleaning lady and for equal status a classmate and a friend were used. Arguments One of the things that researchers of this article are looking for is whether L1 might influence the L2 or not (Allami Naeimi, 2009: 15). Majority of EFL learners cannot have interaction with native speakers therefore they do not have good knowledge of semantic formulas or the way they should be used in different situations. Linguistic and cultural differences affect the way language is used by the language learners because the way people provide a speech act regarding a speech event is culture bound. Iranian learners are more sensitive about the status level of interlocutor and used different strategies, whereas Americans used a same pattern regardless of the status level. In other words, Iranians are more concerned with the face saving act rather than Americans. Americans are more specific and clear in their responses rather than Iranians. The researchers work result was along with positive correlation hypothesis which was suggested by Takahashi and Beebe, in which language profic iency has effect on pragmatic transfer (2009: 16). Article Results Some of interesting findings in the research were as follow: Iranian English learners were depending on their native culture-specific refusal strategies was the direct refusal Americans subjects were more concrete and specific when it came to refusing a high status person in comparison with Iranian participants in the study. The main goal of doing this research among Iranian EFL learners was because of lack attention to sociocultural and sociolinguistic factors. If EFL learners are not aware these factors it will lead to their misunderstanding of the concept in real-life situations when they are communicating with native speakers. The outcomes of this research supported that there is great difference between using speech acts in different cultures and languages. Teachers of second language should increase students knowledge level of target language pragmatic competence and how they should deal with different speech events in proper way. Conclusion The researchers have tried to go deep and find why EFL learners do not interact in the same way as native speakers do especially when it comes to speech acts which in this research refusal was the case. One of good points about this research is that in the procedure of it researchers tried to be as honest as possible by considering all the aspects in their data analysis. Another good point about this research was previous studies which were done in the same field by different researchers, therefore the researchers made a laid a good background and comparison in their task. However, there are some downsides in this research as well. One of the shortcomings in the research is lack elaboration for status of a person in the cultures of Iran and America. According to Foley à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ understanding of what kind of person they are vis-à  -vis the other interlocutor is embodied in their habitus. To the extent they rate of higher rank, the habitus will enact that proper demeanor in bodi ly and linguistic practices à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Foley, 1997: 260). If someone does not know exact definition of person within a culture and society then certainly he or she will not interact properly in that culture or society the person is a social concept made up of local notions of the ones rights and obligations, and hence varies crossculturally (Foley, 1997 : 263). Another problem was choosing only males as participant in this research. Woods believed that gender has a great role in conversations especially at work place the gender was the most significant factor determining speech behavior, more important than status. With respect to patterns of interruption, higher status people were more likely to interrupt successfully than lower status conversational partners, but men of lower status were still usually successful in interrupting a higher status female speaker (Foley, 1997 : 294).

Disabled by Wilfred Owen Essay -- Poetry Analysis

Born 18th March 1893, Owen was raised in Merseyside. His education began at the Berkhamstead institute and continued at the Technical school in Shrewsbury after his family was forced to move there. Owen began experimenting with poetry at the young age of 17. After failing to achieve a place at university, Owen moved to France to teach the Berlitz school of English following a year as a lay assistant. It was during the latter part of 1914 and early 1915 when Owen became increasingly aware of the magnitude of World War One and moved back to England to enlist in the ‘Artists rifles’. 1917 saw Owen’s first post in France, where he witnessed his first taste of the brutality of war. He experienced the horrors of being trapped in a dug out whilst under bombardment; and in May he was caught in a shell explosion and eventually diagnosed as having ‘shell shock’. In June 1918 Owen arrived at Craig Lockhart War Hospital, it was here he met Siegfried Sassoon anoth er patient and poet. The period at Craig Lockhart was in many ways Owens most creative time, where he wrote many of the poems that he is known for to this day. Like many of Owen’s other poems ‘Disabled’ explores the themes of war and the impact on soldiers. This poem particularly focusses on one individual and is interpreted by many as a poem that invites the reader to pity and empathise the above the knee, double amputee war hero for the loss of his legs. However, this interpretation not only disregards the subjects social isolation which Owen directly addresses in this poem, but also fails to acknowledge the subjects identity as a human being as defined by the language throughout the poem. ‘Disabled’ reveals the irony of war, a soldier’s fight for his countries freedom which in tu... ...e the terrible realities of the deaths. it is widely known that prayers and ells represent a celebration to the souls that have ascended into heaven, but Owen points out in this poem that the deaths on the battlefield were so horrific and needless that even religion cannot save these souls. Owen wants readers to recognise that no sort of harmonic music can be enjoyed through the sounds of war. ‘At the end of the day, the battlefield is left â€Å"sad† because the pain is so great that even an inanimate object could empathize and feel the pain of the losses of soldiers’. Works Cited http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/530/707 A Critical Analysis of Wilfred Owen's "Disabled". Copyright 2005 by the Society for Disability Studies. (ACCESSED 30TH 05 2012) http://litxpert.wordpress.com/2012/03/24/poetry-analysis-disabled-wilfred-owen/ litxpert, Disabled analysis,

Historical Events that Impacted Contact Improvisation Essay -- Dance T

Historical Events that Impacted Contact Improvisation Dance has evolved greatly throughout the centuries. It began with ballet and has led up to contact improvisation. This form of dance begun in the early 1970's and was started by a man named Steve Paxton and a group of postmodern dancers from New York City. Contact improvisation is a partnering form of dance and known as the art of moving spontaneously with a group or another person. This form of dance does not require the exact set of traditional skills of other dance form, it doesn’t have a technique that could be studied, and it is practiced in order to accomplish the highest potential. Contact improvisation came at a great time period, which of course was the 70's. The main historical events that were taking place then were the Watergate Scandal, the end of the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. The Watergate Scandal was a very important and altering event in our nation’s history. The Watergate Scandal was during a presidential campaign when DC police arrested five men caught breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in a residence complex, the Watergate. Eventually, the scandal got back to Nixon and they realized that he was behind it. Then the House of Judiciary Committee adopted three articles of impeachment, which were Nixon’s abusing of power, obstructing justice, and defying Judiciary Committee subpoenas. Before Nixon was impeached he resigned from the presidency on August 9, 1974. After this happened people had less confidence in the nation and Americans became suspicious of the government. This scandal I think had little affect on contact improvisation. They might have started this because they were showing their anger or unt... ... better way for people to express their emotions. First of all, improvisation is dancing what your feeling or thinking at that time so that expresses your emotions, and therefore contact improvisation would be more effective to get your feelings out on war. In conclusion, contact improvisation was a very big development especially for its time period. It is a partnering form and known as an art of moving spontaneously with another person. Steve Paxton began contact improvisation during the early 1970s. The events that were going on in the United States during the 70s had a great impact on contact improvisation. The main historical events during the 70s were the Watergate Scandal, the end of the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. Contact improvisation has been a source of many new understandings in dancing and it has affected a lot of contemporary choreography.

Gene Therapy Essay -- Biology Science Genetics Technology Essays

Gene Therapy Imagine yourself being a parent of a young child suffering from a horrible disease in which you now know to be genetically inherited. This disease is caused from the genes that you and your partner passed on to your child. Now lets say, you can treat this disease or may even be able to cure your child of this disease by altering, modifying, or replacing the genes that cause this disease through a process called gene therapy. Would you do it? I think most of us would answer yes. The option of being able to help our child several years ago may not have seemed possible. Genetic research has made giant leaps over the past decade and now the idea of gene therapy is reality. Through gene therapy it is possible to treat and elevate genetic diseases and mutations. We now have the knowledge and the technology to treat ourselves , our children, and the future generations. In order to make an educated decision, one must be aware of gene therapy itself. When making such a decision of whether to use gene therapy or not it would be beneficial to understand the technical aspects of gene therapy. It is also important to understand how gene therapy treats an individual, what it can be used to treat, and the previous trials and successes of the use of gene therapy. Or a person may find it worthwhile to know how the public perceives gene therapy and the overall consensus on its usage. After obtaining all of this knowledge, the decision of whether or not to use gene therapy should be able to be made confidently. Gene Therapy and the Technical Aspects Gene therapy is a means of treating diseases based on modifying the expression of a person's genes towards the therapeutic goal. Gene therapy could be used in treating letha... ... and thus will make the difference in life and death of our loved ones and ourselves. References Biotech Applied. Gene Therapy- An Overview. Biotechnology Industry Organization, 1990. Obtained from the WWW 9/3/98: http://www.gene. com/AE/AB/IWT/Gene_Therapy_Overview.html Bruce, Donald M.. Moral and Ethical Issues in Gene Therapy. Society, Religion and Technology Project(Church of Scotland), 1996. Obtained from the WWW 9/18/98: http://webzone1.co.uk/w ww/srtproject/genthpy1.htm Grace, Eric S.. Better Health Through Gene Therapy. The Futurist Jan- Feb 1998, v32, n1, p39(4). Obtained through Pals. Rifkin, Jeremy. The Ultimate Therapy. Tikkun May-June 1998, v1, n3, p33(7) Obtained from WebPals on 10/6/98. Wilson, Jim. Institute for Human Gene Therapy. Last modified: 10/20/97.Obtained form the WWW 9/3/98:http://www.med.upenn.edu /ihgt/info/whatisgt.html

Employee Empowerment Essay

The empowered employee is said to respond more quickly to customer service requests, act to rectify complaints and be more engaged in service encounters. A more reflective approach suggests there are different managerial perceptions of empowerment, resulting in empowerment being introduced in different service organisations in different ways, and presenting different benefits to managers and working experiences for the empowered. This paper suggests that a framework of analysis needs to be developed which goes beyond the more simplistic claims which tend to discuss empowerment as that which is labelled empowerment. The success or failure of an initiative which claims to be empowering will be determined by the experience of being empowered. Employee empowerment in services 169 Introduction Employee empowerment has been hailed as a management technique which can be applied universally across all organisations as a means of dealing with the needs of modern global business (Barry, 1993: Johnson, 1993; Foy, 1994), and across all industrial sectors. However, the service sector is said to involve a unique cluster of tension which managers, employees and customers have to address (Heskett et al. 1990), and the empowerment of employees is an approach which has been advocated for service sector management (Sternberg, 1992; Lockwood, 1996). Investigation of the use of empowerment in service sector organisations reveals a number of different forms of empowerment being applied in practice. These different approaches evidence a range of managerial meanings being applied which are based on different perceptions of business problems, motives for introducing empowerment and perceived benefits to be gained from empowerment. The fact that empowerment can be used as a term to describe different initiatives provides a convenient rhetoric which suggests that empowerment is â€Å"in principle a good thing† and produces a â€Å"win-win† situation for employees and managers. In part these different perceptions of the service need and the appropriate match with the management of employees, is a consequence of the different service offers being made to customers. Some service offers require employees to exercise discretion in detecting and delivering customer service needs. In other cases, the service offer is highly standardised and require employees to practise service delivery in â€Å"the one best Personnel Review, Vol. 28 No. 3, 1999, pp. 169-191. # MCB University Press, 0048-3486 Personnel Review 28,3 170 way†. Reflection on both the specific applications entitled â€Å"empowerment† and on variations in the characteristics of the service offer, question the somewhat simplistic claims for the universality of empowerment, and the supposed benefits which ensue. This paper is based on a cluster of research projects which have investigated different approaches to empowerment in similar service businesses: Harvester Restaurants, TGI Fridays and McDonald’s Restaurants Limited operate branded restaurant chains. All are to some extent â€Å"McDonaldized† (Ritzer, 1993), they use highly standardised menus, â€Å"one best way† production techniques which assist in the delivery of consistency and predictability to customers. That said, these organisations differ in the service offer to customers, particularly in the extent that employees exercise discretion to meet customer service needs. The approach outlined in the paper is informed by these cases studies, though the key concern of the paper is to establish a framework for understanding empowerment in the service sector which questions the universalistic and evangelical claims of some of the advocates of empowerment. This framework of analysis suggests that there is a need to approach the study of empowerment in a systematic manner which goes beyond the label. According to Conger and Kanungo (1988) empowerment describes working arrangements which engage the empowered at an emotional level. They istinguish between concepts of empowerment which are relational and motivational. As a relational concept empowerment is concerned with issues to do with management style and employee participation. As a motivational construct empowerment is individual and personal, it is about discretion, autonomy, power and control. This motivational aspect to empowerment becomes the defining feature of the initiative. The empowered must feel a sense of personal worth, with the ability to effect outcomes and having the power to make a difference (van Oudtshoorn and Thomas, 1993; Johnson, 1993). Advocates of empowerment claim that employee empowerment helps firms to enthuse and enable employees to take responsibility for the service encounter (Barbee and Bott, 1991). The paper identifies four different types, or managerial intentions, for empowering employees, which in turn impact on the precise form the arrangements take. Following from this, and so as to better understand the detailed changes in working arrangements which claim to be empowering, the paper provides a five dimensional framework of analysis. By contrasting and comparing the detail of the changes to what the newly empowered employee can now do, it is possible to establish the boundaries and limits which are placed on empowerment in any particular context. Given the need to engage employees at an emotional level and to generate the appropriate feelings about the service encounter, the impact of each initiative on the employee is a crucial ingredient in meeting the objectives set. This paper suggests that there are likely to be a number of factors which generate positive or negative feelings about a particular initiative. At root this will be concerned with the empowered employee’s perception of the state rather Employee than the form of empowerment. Investigation into empowerment must, empowerment in therefore, incorporate an analysis of how individuals feel about the result of services being empowered. Finally this paper suggests that beneath the rhetoric of empowerment, service firms are in different positions in relation to their customers and markets, and 171 this will impact on how managers perceive and interpret empowerment. Factors such as the degree of customisation/standardisation and the relative importance of tangibles/intangibles in customer satisfaction are likely to be influential in determining the locus of control of employee performance. Empowerment in the service sector Interest in employee empowerment in service industry firms has been associated with many of the key issues related to employment practices in general, namely in gaining competitive advantage through improved service quality. Paradoxically, however, attempts to gain competitive advantage through service quality can present some major problems for service operators. In the first instance, there are difficulties in defining the successful service encounter, particularly in the intangible sources of customer satisfaction. Customers vary considerably in their expectations of service quality (Rust and Oliver, 1994). Indeed individual customers may define and re-define their needs from service deliverers as their circumstances, experiences and expectations change. In turn, customer evaluation of a successful service encounter, and thereby repeat visits, will be a product of the extent to which their experience matches their expectations (Foulkes, 1994). Whilst there are these difficulties in defining successful encounters, many writers agree that â€Å"front line staff† (Johnston, 1989; Horovirz and Cudenne-Poon, 1990; Barbee and Bott, 1991) play a crucial role in the service encounter. There are in fact, some base level customer expectations of employee performance, positive interpersonal contacts, service deliverer attitudes, courtesy and helpfulness that are all closely related to customer evaluations of service quality (Adelmann et al. 1994). Hence human resources management and the strategies needed to engage employees emotionally in the objective of customer service take on a new and urgent meaning. This leads to the second difficulty for service deliverers. Unlike other resources used within an organisation there is a problem in predicting the levels of output, efficiency and general effectiveness which will be the outcome of a given level of labour employed. Human resources can be uniquely unstable. Under certain circumstances they physically leave the organisation, they may collectively resist management instructions or individually just not give â€Å"a fair days work for a fair days pay†. Clearly, these are problems shared by all employers but given the pivotal role of service delivery employees these issues are of particular concern to service sector employers. The response of many employers in the sector has been to look to manufacturing industry for models of control which minimised the significance Personnel Review 28,3 172 of individual idiosyncrasies. What Levitt called the â€Å"production-line approach to service† (1972) or the â€Å"industrialisation of service† (1976). Based on essentially Taylorist (1947) views of job design, they establish standardised procedures and one best way of doing each task. In many cases this extended to scripting the interaction with clients and left little to the discretion of the individual service deliverers. The consequence of this has been the rapid growth of organisations specialising in high volume, mass produced, standardised services which minimised the significance of labour inputs (Bowen and Lawler, 1992) in the delivery of predictable tangible and intangible product attributes to customers. Ritzer’s (1993) somewhat overblown comments about the â€Å"McDonaldization of Society† are little more than observations about the application of manufacturing techniques to the production of mass services, which are themselves but one of a number of service offers (Wood, 1997). Whilst this strategy was tremendously successful over the two decades preceding 1990, many of these operators now see the limits of standardisation and control. A point largely ignored by Ritzer. Apart from high labour turnover which has been endemic in many of these firms, any attempt to compete on service quality cuts across the rigidities of the production line approach. Firstly, even the most standardised operation encounters occasions when customer service needs are difficult to predict and a quick response is needed at the point of the service encounter. A small child in a family group at a McDonald’s is getting restive and the quick intervention of a crew member with a balloon or a hat calms the child. A customer knocks over his coffee in a Welcome Break and the service operative replaces it without charge. Whilst these responses may well be prescribed in operational manuals, they still require employees to act with initiative and discretion. The intangible element of the service encounter requires some form employee of participation, even in highly standardised and Tayloristic situations. The second problem is in the quality of the service encounter itself. Hochschild’s (1983) work with air stewardesses reveals much in common with â€Å"the commercialisation of feelings† across the service sector in general. She makes the point that seeming to love the job becomes part of the job; and managing the appropriate feelings of enjoyment of the customer helps the worker in this effort. Fineman (1993) also comments on the interplay between feelings and performance in service interactions. Enabling employees to sense their own power and the significance of their role in the service drama may help employees manage the emotions required of their performance. It is here that empowerment of employees seems to offer the prize of generating feelings of commitment to the service encounter (Barbee and Bott, 1991) with the appropriate amount of power and the freedom to use that power (van Oudtshoorn and Thomas, 1993) to meet customer needs as they arise. The extract below is from a series of advertisements by Marriott Hotels which make play of the benefits of empowered employees. It highlights the aspirations for empowerment. Here the night porter’s feelings of commitment to â€Å"delighting the customer† perfectly match the organisation’s commitment to its clients. The Employee advertisement also confirms that empowerment, service quality and empowerment in organisational attempts to gain competitive advantage through improved services service quality are entwined in some operations. It was more than considerate of the Marriott night porter to trace my lost wallet  ± it meant he had to re-trace my entire journey through Vienna. All I could remember was that I’d been travelling on a Southern District streetcar. Miraculously, from this tiny piece of information, the night porter from the Marriott hotel managed to trace the route I’d travelled, the particular streetcar I was on, and my wallet. I was astonished that he went out of his way so much to help me. But, as I now know, everyone at Marriott works this way. personally assuming responsibility for the needs of every guest. It’s called Empowerment. And thankfully, they never seem to find anything too much trouble. (Always in the Right Place at the Right Time, Marriott). 173 For the advocates of empowerment, empowered employees willingly take responsibility for the service encounter, they respond more quickly to customer needs, complaints and changes in customer tastes (Barbee and Bott, 1991). The organisation will experience lower labour turnover (Cook, 1994), there will be high staff morale and employees will take responsibility for their own performance and its improvement (Barry, 1993). Employees’ inherent skills and talents will be put to work for the organisation (Ripley and Ripley, 1993) so as to produce more satisfied customers (Johns, 1993) and greater profits (Plunkett and Fournier, 1991). Research methods The observations reflected in this paper are based on case studies of three organisations who make different service offers to their customers, and who manage their employees in different ways. Each is attempting to empower employees to take responsibility for the service encounter, though each expects employees to exercise discretion in different ways. The case studies provide a valuable context through which to explore employment practice in context (Hartley, 1994), though these are published in detail in other publications (Lashley, 1995; Ashness and Lashley, 1995; Lashley, 1997). This paper reflects on the findings from the case studies to build the framework for analysing empowerment. In each case, the study involved semi-structured interviews with senior managers to explore their perceptions of empowerment, intentions for the initiative and the perceived benefits ensuing from the changes. Interviews were also conducted with the immediate line managers of the empowered. Again the intention was to explore the detail of the changes on the ground, and most importantly the practical responses from both middle managers and those line managers whose role might have been changed by the introduction of empowerment. Finally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the â€Å"empowered†, that is the subjects of the initiative. In particular, the study explored their perceptions of the changes, the boundaries in which they had to operate and the extent to which employees developed a sense of personal efficacy. Personnel Review 28,3 174 The semi-structured interviews identified key themes which needed to be explored with each respondent. For managers and those responsible for introducing and managing the initiative (the empowering), the questioning explored the background to the change in the way the organisation was to be managed  ± perceived problems and views as to what contribution empowerment ould make to overcoming the problems. Having established the managerial intentions for empowerment, interviewees were asked to describe the form of empowerment and the changes in working arrangements which ensued. They were then asked to comment on the success and weakness of the changes, and comment on any plans for the future development of the approach. For the supposedly empowered, questioning followed similar broad themes but from their perspective. In other words, to what extent did they share managerial views of problems and benefits of empowerment? They were asked to comment on how the nature of their work had changed and how they felt about it. Fundamentally did they feel empowered? Flowing from this, the interviews explored changes in work behaviour and their perceptions of the benefits and limitations of the initiative. Table I shows the total number of interviews in each of the three case study organisations. The table indicates the number of interviews that were conducted with â€Å"empowering† and the â€Å"empowered† in each organisation. The case studies which inform this paper were founded on an approach which suggests that empowerment needs to be based on the systematic exploration of each aspect of empowerment. The more evangelical claims suggest that empowerment of employees will result in an almost automatic improvement in organisational performance (Foy, 1994; Stewart, 1994). These models are simplistic and do not take into account, different managerial intentions, different forms introduced, differences in what employees can now do, different needs of employees to feel empowered and different impacts on the resulting performance exercised by employees. It is more likely that a multistage model is needed to analyse initiatives and outcomes. Figure 1 suggests a model for studying empowerment which assumes that the organisational benefits will not be a simple and direct trade-off. Managerial perceptions of what empowerment is and the benefits it is supposed to deliver will shape the form that is introduced (quality circles, autonomous groups, etc. ), which in turn will shape what employees can now do that they did not do before the change. This in turn has an impact on the feelings of those empowered, do they Number of interviews with â€Å"empowering† 11 8 11 Number of interviews with â€Å"empowered† 28 38 25 Organisation Table I. Numbers of interviews in three case study organisations Harvester Restaurants McDonald’s Restaurants TGI Friday Restaurants Managerial intentions Forms of empowerment Change in working arrangements The state of empowerment Change in work behaviour Organisation objectives: – improved service quality – increased service productivity – reduced labour turnover Employee empowerment in services 175 Figure 1. The form, state and outcomes of empowerment experience the state of empowerment, and if they do, does the state of empowerment result in improved work performance which then results in the desired organisational objective? Managerial intentions for empowerment Once we move away from the generalised claims for empowerment it is possible to see that the term itself is being used to describe a wide variety of practice in service delivery. In the Accor group of hotels, for example, empowerment has been used to describe the use of quality circles (Barbee and Bott, 1991); in McDonald’s Restaurants, suggestion schemes (Bowen and Lawler, 1992); â€Å"Whatever it Takes† employee training programmes in Scott’s Hotels (Hubrecht and Teare, 1993); employee involvement in devising departmental service standards in Hilton International Hotels (Hirst, 1991); autonomous work groups and removal of levels of management in Harvester Restaurants (Pickard, 1993); and the delegation of greater authority to service managers in British Telecom (Foy, 1994). Investigation of these specific initiatives reveals that there is considerable overlap between employee empowerment, employee participation, employee involvement and even employee commitment. Often these terms are used interchangeably (Collins, 1994; Cotton, 1993; Denton, 1994; Plunkett and Fournier, 1991). Thus quality circles, autonomous work groups, suggestion schemes and various employee share ownership programmes are frequently discussed under these different headings without defining the boundaries between them. Clearly, these initiatives do have similar antecedents in that they aim to meet, in varying ways, the individual employee’s psychological needs (Watson, 1986). In addition there is similarity in the intended outcomes. Marchington et al. (1992) say that employee involvement is used to describe initiatives which are largely designed and initiated by management and intended to improve communication with employees, generate greater commitment and enhance employee contributions to the organisation. This Personnel Review 28,3 176 might equally be said of the intentions for employee empowerment (Sewell and Wilkinson, 1992). Indeed empowerment is an integral feature of the â€Å"soft† version of human resource management (Legge, 1995). Watson (1986) suggests that employment strategy tends to wax and wane between managerial concern for control over employee performance and concern for employee commitment. Whilst this is a useful metaphor which does indeed suggest that employment strategy is both dynamic and political, it does suggest that a shift towards employee commitment results in less organisational control. A view frequently expressed by line mangers is that empowerment of subordinates will result in a loss of control. In reality empowerment as an employment strategy is concerned with both commitment and control of employees. It is more a shift in the locus of control (Friedman, 1977). Figure 2 provides a model which suggests that different employment strategies might shift the locus of control along a continuum between externally imposed control of the individual to internally generated self control. In effect employee empowerment, â€Å"increases [top management’s] control whilst creating the impression of lessening it† (Robbins, 1983, p. 67). Under this model, production line approaches to service delivery rely largely on imposed external controls in which employee commitment is less significant for effective performance, it is typical of Edwards’ (1979) â€Å"technological control†. Employee empowerment, in its more participative form, is more reliant on internalised self-control, where the employee works to the desired standard and controls their own performance accordingly (Salaman, 1979). Personal commitment to these standards then becomes a crucial ingredient. The empowered employee has much in common with Friedman’s (1977) employee with â€Å"responsible autonomy†. Having said that, it is possible to detect variations in the locus of control implied within different definitions of empowerment. Bowen and Lawler (1991), suggest that empowerment is defined as â€Å"management strategies for sharing decision making power† (p. 49). Others (Barbee and Bott, 1991) define empowerment as being â€Å"the act of vesting substantial responsibility in the people nearest the problem† (p. 28). These two different phrases reflect more than mere semantic differences. They reflect different assumptions about the nature of empowerment and the power of the empowered. The first implies a shift in authority whilst the second is concerned with a shift in responsibility. Traditional Technological Social Self Organisation Structure and Procedures Technology Leadership/ Management Style Work Groups Empowerment Professionalism Figure 2. Employment strategies and the locus of control External Control Internal Control My own investigation in the hospitality sector suggests that there are probably Employee four distinct but overlapping managerial intentions for empowerment (Lashley, empowerment in 1994). These are summarised in Table II. In principle they reflect the variations services in the assumptions discussed above, but there do appear a range of managerial intentions which have their roots in other initiatives mentioned earlier. For this reason the four categories are labelled with terms which reflect their 177 antecedents. There are three types of managerial intentions for empowerment of operatives. Empowering through participation is closely related to the Bowen and Lawler definition because they are chiefly concerned with empowering employees with decision making authority in some aspect of the work which had been formerly the domain of management. Harvester Restaurant’s use of semi-autonomous work teams (Ashness and Lashley, 1995) provides a good example. Employees not only dealt with and rectified customer complaints, they also were involved in receiving goods, securing the building and â€Å"cashing up the tills†. Empowerment through involvement is chiefly concerned with gaining from the experiences and expertise of service deliverers through consultation and joint problem solving. Managers continue to make the decision but with inputs from employees. The study of TGI Fridays (Lashley, 1997), confirms that pre-service team briefing sessions are used to both provide employees with immediate information about the operation and company objectives, but are also used to test out ideas with employees and gain suggestions. Employees have little authority to make decisions, even complaint handling is the responsibility of managers. Attempts at empowerment through commitment overlap and interrelate with both these other categories because it is hoped that improved employee commitment will result from the changed arrangements. However, some initiatives are distinctly aimed at winning Managerial meaning Empowerment through participation Initiatives used Autonomous work groups â€Å"Whatever it takes† training Job enrichment Works councils Employee directors Quality circles Team briefings Suggestion schemes Employee share ownership Profit-sharing and bonus schemes Quality of working life programmes (job rotation, job enlargement) Job redesign Re-training Autonomous work groups Job enrichment Profit-sharing and bonus schemes Empowerment through involvement Empowerment through commitment Empowerment through delayering Table II. Managerial meanings of empowerment Personnel Review 28,3 178 greater commitment to organisational service quality objectives. As with Barbee and Bott’s definition, these initiatives are ultimately about employees taking more responsibility for the service encounter through a variety of training programmes and appeals to both extrinsic and intrinsic sources of job satisfaction. McDonald’s crew training includes a customer care programme which aims to sensitise employees to customer service objectives. Crew are encouraged to intervene in the service situation, as in the example given above. They can give away some low cost gifts to children. The limits and boundaries of what they are empowered to do are narrow and restricted. Whilst the three foregoing intentions are typically concerned with employees, particularly front line personnel, some initiatives empower managers within the management hierarchy. These I have called empowerment through delayering. The restructuring of the McDonald’s MCOPCO organisation (Lashley, 1995), and the removal of layers of management in the external management of Harvester Restaurants (Pickard, 1993), or empowerment of hotel managers (Jones and Davies, 1991) are examples. Here the intention is greater managerial focus on the source of organisational profits  ± the units, greater responsiveness to customer needs, reduced management costs and the encouragement of entrepreneurialism. In the McDonald’s case, two levels of management were removed and the unit managers were â€Å"empowered†. In reality it meant that they were allowed to operate with reduced contact with their Area Supervisors. In this case, empowerment of the unit managers meant they were not as closely supervised by their superordinates and were â€Å"left to get on with it†. In suggesting these four features of managerial intentions I do not wish to imply that these are mutually exclusive. Whilst managers in some organisations may well be more concerned with one meaning more than others, it is more likely that managerial actions will be driven by a mixture of motives, and hence will encompass more than one, or all, of these. However, it is useful to suggest that managerial intentions are different and there are different managerial perceptions about empowerment and the benefits it will deliver. The form of empowerment Whatever the intentions of managers, initiatives which claim to be empowering will be translated into concrete practical arrangements which set the limits and boundaries within which the empowered operate (Ripley and Ripley, 1993; Potter, 1994). Somewhere, these arrangements will clarify just what the empowered have the authority to do and for what they will be responsible. It is here within the practical objective limits set by management that tensions between the perceptions and needs of management are likely to be set against the perceptions and needs of the empowered (Conger and Kanungo, 1988). Ultimately, the success of a particular initiative will be dependent in the first instance on the empowered being given the authority and freedom to make decisions which they themselves consider to be valuable, significant and important. Whilst this will clearly be subjectively assessed by individuals, who ill differ in their evaluation of these arrangements, it is important to arrive at Employee an objective analysis of the changes which have been introduced. empowerment in Our research has identified a number of dimensions of empowerment which services provide a means of describing, analysing and locating the form of empowerment being introduced in a particular company (Lashley and McGoldrick, 1994). These dimensions are listed in Table III. Essentially they 179 provide a mechanism for identifying the boundaries and contexts set for the form of empowerment being introduced. Consideration of these themes creates a framework for understanding the likely meanings of a particular form of empowerment within a given context. Each of the five dimensions is based on a bi-polar model which assumes a traditional â€Å"production line†, â€Å"top-down† approach at one extreme and a more empowered approach at the other. The task dimension considers the discretion which is allowed to the empowered in performing the task for which they were employed. To what extent are the empowered allowed to interpret the tangible and intangible aspects of the organisation’s services so as to satisfy customers. To what extent are the brand attributes, prices, product sizes, etc. , fixed, or to what extent can they be customised? To what extent does the need to control these issues set limits on the ability of an organisation to empower its members? In the cases we have studied there are frequently limits put on the employee because of the brand attributes being marketed. Hence employees in McDonald’s Restaurants and Harvester Restaurants were not allowed to alter menus or provide dishes off the menu, not even unit managers were allowed to make these decisions. In TGI Fridays employees could get a non-menu item produced if it involved ingredients which were stocked. In most cases, and to varying degrees, employees had some discretion over the service encounter. As stated earlier, McDonald’s had scripted the service in the past, but had dropped this in recent years as part of a strategy to improve service quality. Harvesters and TGI Fridays both relied on training and service values to guide the employee in their interactions with customers. An employee of TGI Fridays reported an incident that seemed typical. A customer had asked for a cigar, the company do Employee involvement in production line organisation (High volume, standardised, short time period, simple technology, theory X organisations) Low discretion Seeks permission Limited to task Calculative Control-oriented Employee involvement in empowered organisation (Personalised service, long time period, complex technology, unpredicatable, theory Y organisations) High discretion Responsible autonomy Influences the direction of policy Moral Trust-oriented Dimensions Task Task allocation Power Commitment Culture Table III. Five dimensions of empowerment Personnel Review 28,3 180 not stock cigars, so the employee went next door to the tobacconist and bought one. The guest was very pleased and wrote a letter to the company congratulating it on its excellent service. The task allocation dimension considers the amount of responsible autonomy an individual employee or group of employees have in carrying out their tasks. To what extent are they directed, or need to ask permission to complete their tasks? To what extent do company policies and procedures lay down what has to be done and then let them get on with it? To what extent are there tensions between responsible utonomy and the objectives for effective performance set by senior managers. In McDonald’s Restaurants, a â€Å"one best way† approach involves a narrow span of control and close supervision of both â€Å"crew† and managers. TGI Fridays, was also tightly controlled in the tangibles, again one best way procedures and close supervision of standards meant that employee performance was directly controlled. However, food and drinks service staff are encouraged to use their initiative in finding ways to customise the service interaction. Having said that, staff are not generally allowed to provide discounts or free meals to customers who complain. In Harvester Restaurants staff exercised more responsible autonomy, they were empowered to deal with complaints, to give free drinks, etc. , without reference to a â€Å"team manager† where they felt it would resolve a situation to the guest’s satisfaction. In some situations staff were able to decide on staffing levels, order stock and decide on how best to meet sales targets without the immediate involvement of the team manager. The power dimension is concerned with the feelings of personal power which individuals experience as the result of being empowered. What is it that the empowered are empowered to do? To what extent is their power limited to tasks? To what extent does it involve issues of policy at a more senior level (Marchington et al. , 1992)? To what extent do management efforts to share power foster feelings of empowerment in employees? What tensions are there between strategic objectives and limits on individual power? In all the cases included in these studies, arrangements were limited to what has been described as being â€Å"task participation† (Geary, 1994). In other words the empowered employee was not able to influence the policies which influence them. Thus at Harvester Restaurants, food service staff were able to decide as a team how best to achieve a sales target which required employees to sell one extra side order per table (Pickard,1993), but had no influence over this as an objective. The commitment dimension explores the assumptions about the source of employee commitment and organisational compliance in a particular form of empowerment. To what extent do they follow patterns in traditional organisations which assume that commitment is calculative and based on material extrinsic rewards (Etzioni, 1961). To what extent does the initiative assume a moral commitment, as the individual takes a personal sense of ownership in their activities and work? To what extent is there recognition that individuals may differ in their attachments and needs from work? How, if at all do the changes address needs for a sense of equity and fairness in the benefits from empowerment? Interviews with employees at Harvester Restaurants Employee revealed that employees working in autonomous work teams liked the empowerment in experience. Many reported that they â€Å"liked the extra responsibility† (Ashness services and Lashley, 1995, p. 27) and some that this was the first time they had been given responsibility. In TGI Fridays, employees reported that they enjoyed the â€Å"atmosphere† and that â€Å"you could have a good laugh†, but many also reported 181 that â€Å"they were working here because the money is good†. Employees are guaranteed a low basic pay, but can substantially add to this through a bonus on food sales and tips. Employees and managers both stated employees could earn over ? 0,000 per annum, some even as much as ? 30,000. The culture dimension examines the extent to which organisational culture fosters feelings of empowerment. To what extent can it be typified as being oriented towards openness, learning, and employee contributions (ChristensenHughes, 1992) and creating a climate of trust (Sternberg, 1992)? To what extent can the culture be described as bureaucratic, role, task or control oriented? To what extent is the initiative to empower a part of a broad organisational culture, or just â€Å"bolted on†? The research with the â€Å"delayered† McDonald’s organisation revealed that â€Å"empowered† General Area Supervisors in the pilot group experienced tensions with senior management because senior managers wanted to retain control over the recruitment of Restaurant Managers, and to get involved when problems occurred (Lashley, 1995). Using this five dimension model it is possible to locate the different forms which empowerment takes in practical organisational arrangements against the managerial intentions and the form empowerment takes  ± quality circles  ± autonomous work groups  ± â€Å"whatever it takes training†, etc. As stated earlier, managerial intentions may not be mono-dimensional, and particular initiatives may be driven by a range of intentions. However, each form of empowerment is likely to represent different sources of satisfaction to employees and represent different benefits to employers. Thus quality circles are usually representative, and may provide intrinsic satisfactions for those immediately involved (Kelly and Kelly, 1990), but they represent a more indirect source of satisfaction for the staff who do not take part. Managers gain suggestions and involvement in problem solving for those closest to the problem, but managers retain the decision making power. Autonomous work groups do give employees more direct involvement, all employees take part. They can provide sources of satisfaction which meet belonging and control needs. They can involve some task dimensions, but in the main, autonomous work groups are about improving work organisation. Frequently they are used in situations where the immediate organisational needs are difficult to predict, but the people directly involved are best placed to respond to changed circumstances. Several employees at Harvester Restaurants reported that when the operation was quiet the team would, â€Å"jointly agree for one member to go home for the rest of the shift, so that the team’s labour costs would be kept under control† (Ashness and Lashley, 1995, p. 27). â€Å"Whatever it takes† is again a direct form of involvement, particularly for service personnel, training is aimed at â€Å"giving Personnel Review 28,3 182 staff confidence to make decisions large or small, that impact on a guest’s stay† (Hubrecht and Teare, 1993). Typically these arrangements are focused at the task and interpreting customer requirements. For employees a sense of ownership, pride in the service encounter and the potential tip are sources of employee satisfaction. For the organisation, employees are encouraged to be responsive to customer needs and a greater level of customer satisfaction is likely to follow. Each of these examples, claim to empower employees, yet the brief discussion above shows that each represents different sources of satisfaction for employees. The arrangements are themselves different and appear to meet varied managerial needs. Certainly it is possible to identify alternative ways of managing and motivating employees which involve different amounts of discretion, autonomy, power, sources of commitment and cultural contexts, all claiming to be empowering. By considering the detail of the changes against the five dimensions it is possible to develop a much closer picture of the form of empowerment, the consistency of the arrangements and the limits placed upon them. My research with hospitality operators provides some useful vehicles for the analysis of forms of empowerment. For example, it is possible to describe Harvester Restaurants as empowering front line personnel through participation. In this case it takes the form of autonomous work groups where employees have virtually no discretion in the tangible aspects of their task, though they have some limited discretion in the intangible elements of the task. There is a high degree of responsible autonomy in task allocation. Power is limited, however, to the task level with little opportunity to influence objectives outside the immediate job. Commitment is in part calculative though, for some individuals, arrangements do meet psychological needs within a culture which is best typified as being control oriented. The state of empowerment The feelings of the empowered are fundamental to understanding the concept of empowerment and variations in form and application. Most definitions of the state rather than the form of empowerment stress the need for the individual to feel in control (Conger, 1989), have a sense of personal power together with the freedom to use that power (van Oudtshoorn and Thomas, 1993) and a sense of personal efficacy and self determination (Alpander, 1991). Similarly, Thomas and Velthouse (1990) suggest a four dimensional model of employee motivation based on a cognitive assessment of the competence, impact, meaningfulness and choice associated with a set of changes. In other words the state of empowerment is likely to be a consequence of the individual’s assessment of their ability to be effective, that they could make a difference, in a task which they feel is worthwhile and they have some degree of freedom to act as they see fit within a given context. Attempts to empower service workers will be tested against the experience of being empowered and the sense of personal efficacy which is created. Empowerment, therefore, involves both the objective facts of what a person is mpowered to do and the subjective feelings which the individual experiences Employee as a result. In these circumstances individual differences, orientations to work empowerment in and needs are likely to be important factors in the way an individual interprets services and responds to a particular change (Alpander, 1991). Managerial initiatives to empower employees are introduced to meet commercial objectives. In the case of service workers, the objectives may be to improve service quality or service 183 worker productivity, or improve job satisfaction and reduce labour turnover. Managerial evaluations of empowerment will therefore turn on the extent that these initiatives result in worker behaviour which meets the desired objectives. Whilst there is some research, on service workers which identifies factors likely to result in outcomes of empowerment as measured by pay satisfaction, promotion satisfaction and intentions to leave (Sparrowe, 1994), few studies draw the links between these feelings of empowerment and increased productivity or improvements in service quality.