Project Management Essay Example for Free

Project Management EssayDue to the rapid neuters in the working populace and the business environment, organizations crap been forced to transform as a dash of surviving in the ever-changing business environment. According to Gardiner (2005), some organizations Have pick out decl ar oneselfs as their means of imposeing heighten at bottom the organization. The adoption of a discombobulate oriented a approach, with its associated perplexity framework, is sufficient to ensure greater success in the implementation of convert within an organization.While use of best practices in fox management whitethorn non guarantee success in the change of an organization, the presence of renders increases the opportunity for success. Studies have shown that, where a contrive theatre director is well equipped with the skills and knowledge of externalise management, projects work as the best tools for implementing change within the organization. The Concept on Project Management Project management refers to the discipline managing, planning and organizing resources to achieve successful completion of specific project objectives and goals.A project is in record a finite endeavor, that specifies the date as to when it should begin, and the time when it should end, this is done in outrank to create a unique service or product that brings about added value, or upright change in a company. The finite character of the project is different from operations or processes of an organization, some of which may be permanent or functional work, that are used to repeated operations, with the aim of producing similar goods or services.Management of the two systems is always complex and difficult. on that point is therefore need to employ distinct technical skills and adopt separate philosophy of management, that would en equal to(p) the implementation of the best project that can bring beneficial returns to the company. messages. Application of Project Management in Org anizational Change According to grayish Larson (2006), in the regime where implementation for change is the motto for most organizations, projects are the best vehicles for implementing change.The aspect of project management has in fact become much significant than ever. In any company that needs to change its organizational structure so as to change with the improving technology, or in order to meet the needs and wants of the consumers, projects are used as the vehicles for implementing the required change, and managing the link up change. It is nevertheless main(prenominal) to possess the ability to sustain and build project management in order to succeed in the implementation of change.The importance of project management has been illustrated by the efforts of Swiss Re organization by using all its business operations to meet the requirements of e-business. Projects were used as the main vehicles for implementing this change. coarse concern has however been expressed in the way most projects once began run short to set up, or get stopped while they are underway. According to a research carried out by Levine (2005), most of the Information technology projects implemented were discouraging with 90% of the projects being late to deliver change in the organizations.It has been shown that, 50% of the projects are never completed at the right time, while 30% of the projects began are stopped while still underway. Project management allows the implementation of change in an organization in a more organized manner likely to realize success. The major challenge of any form of project management is to attain the objectives and goals put in place, while at the same time adhering to project constraints which are usually in the form of time factor, budget and scope.The more ambitious and secondary challenge is the optimization of integration and allocation of inputs that may be necessary to meet the goals and objectives. The success of a project management is associated with the nature the project itself. Projects involve most of the key players in an organization, both the managers and the workers at the lowest level. Projects also involve the entire organizational participation. For instance, it involves people, money, pro trances, motivation, communication and space, in order to achieve the project objectives and goals.With the region of all these elements, an organization is able to identify and make use of the best resources as a means of attaining the best results. Gray Larson (2006), have emphasized that the managers can easily identify the talented workers and most potential factors in the organization, and allocate them where they can give a maximum contribution towards the achievement of the company. Management of a project is often the key responsibility and province of a specific individual project manager.The manager however does not participate directly, but instead strives to maintain progress and motivate other facto rs involved in the process, so as to achieve the objectives. The aim of the project manager also involves striving to achieve productive mutual interaction of the active parties, in a way that the entire risk of failure is reduced. Studies have shown that, where a project manager is well equipped with the skills and knowledge of project management, projects work as the best tool for implementing change within the organization.The project manager should be well equipped with the vision and mission of the organization, so as to direct the process of the project in the right direction, failure to which the project may fail to deliver, be late to achieve its goals, or get stopped while underway due to discouragements. The project manager represents the interests of clients and has to implement, as well as construe the specific needs and requirements of the clients, based on the understanding of the organization they are representing.Gray Larson (2006), have expressed that the capabili ty to adopt the available internal systems of the detection organization, and to establish close links among the nominated representatives, is an all-important(prenominal) step to ensure that the major issues of quality, time, and cost among others are attained with the main aim of client satisfaction. A successful and focused manager should be in a position to envision the whole project from the beginning to the end, and should have the skills and ability to ensure that the vision is realized in order to achieve successful change within an organization.In order to attain successful change by use of a project, there is need for the project manager to consider the three key factors that include human resources, time and finance. If an organization is in need of achieving change in the shortest time possible, there is need to employ more people and resources towards the problem. Though this may increase the cost of the project, it may be the best way of achieving an organizational c hange in the shortest time possible.Doing the task quicker in fact helps to reduce the cost of the project, the organization may end up spending the same amount it may have spent if it was to carry the same project in a pro broaded period. Researchers have established that, there is no undivided way of implementing a project within an organization due to the fact that each each enterprise is unique, has different characteristics, and different financial capability. It is therefore important for the project managers to consider the features that are divert and important within any organization.Consideration of the important factors guide the project managers to come up with appropriate and straight projects that can easily realize the vision of a specific organization. Cultural Factors Considered in the Implementation of project Management According to Dye Pennypacker (1999), some of the important cultural organizational factors considered while implementing a project include the history of the previous enterprise implementations, record of failures or success of the company is looked into, as this provides an sagacity into what should be done to achieve success in the project.A consideration is also done on the types of operational work and projects to be managed, organizations that are able to clearly prioritize and identify their projects end up with rigorous features of a project from the initial stages to the end, unlike organizations that do not identify and prioritize their projects at the first stages of implementation. The number of departments involved within the organization are also considered.This directs the planners to consider if the project is meant to satisfy a small number of users, or whether the project should expand in the process, if other departments will be incorporate as time goes by, or whether all the departments will be involved from the begging, thus requiring the project to satisfy a large number of users from the on-set stag e. The expectation and support of the aged leadership is considered as a truly important factor, because their involvement drive acceptance, and appropriate expectation.This is important for the success and realization of the changes expected within the organization. The value to the end user and management is absolutely important to ensure that the change implemented through the use of the project satisfy the needs and expectations of all parties involved in the process. According to Levine (2005), organizations also consider the maturity of the desired project management discipline. The 2007 project server is often used as it contains important features for managing projects.Where an organization is considering the application of project management for the first time, it is not easy to incorporate all the capabilities at the first instance. Studies have established that, staging the first features in project management implementation help to establish both the short term and lo ng term changes effected in an organization. Any changes that are likely to take place are considered due to the fact that, if too much changes takes place, the chances of implementation reduce, with most of the people within the organization becoming resistant to the change.Resistant to change is one of the human characteristics. Critique of Project Management Approach Researchers have however established that there still exist discomfort in the use of projects. While project management is preferred as the most efficient way of implementing change within an organization, use of too many projects may fail to deliver the desired results. Researchers have asserted that, most projects in organizations fail to deliver due to the use of poor project management practices, whose importance has been ignored by managers over a long period of time (Balogun, Hailey, 2004).Grundy, Brown (2002), have argued that the approach of organizational management is not effective on its own in the field of information technology, because they assume that IT solutions are developed by a technical team. The potential solution for organizations dealing with IT has been stated to be misaligned with the important characteristics of an organization like incentives or culture. Combining the management of projects in IT and organizational change management as it has been argued, cannot produce the desired results for the organizational change.Conclusion From the above analysis, studies have shown that, where a project manager is well equipped with the skills and knowledge of project management, projects work as the best tool for implementing change within the organization. Senior managers spend a lot of efforts and time promoting and formulating their strategy, but most of the time, they realize very little changes within the organization.The strategy may not yield the results expected, somehow the original goals are dissipated in the process of moving the strategy to implement the change , and the initial momentum may be lost before the anticipated benefits are achieved. Failure to implement change occurs as a result of the senior management trying to make use of the the existing structures and systems within the organization, the status quo, to change the same status quo. The adoption of a project oriented a approach with its associated management framework, is sufficient to ensure greater success in the implementation of change within an organization.

Suburb and United States Essay Example for Free

Suburb and United States EssayThe Suburbanization of North America although not commonly realized, is indeed one of the most striking features of the twentieth century. For North Americans this function has changed where we live and how we live. No longer is the metropolis and countryside completely separate, rather for many of us, these two ideas have formed together into a new urban environment. more(prenominal) slew today live in suburbs than cities, and these entities have continued to meld, amalgamate, separate, conjoin and coexist. Consequently, a study of suburb and its origins is often subjective. A common definition of a suburb is a community within a commuting distance of a central city. However, this statement doesnt al tracks hold true as someone who lives in Hamilton or Guelph and commutes to Toronto every day for work probably do not consider themselves residents of Toronto. Massive areas of continuous urban development similar Megalopolis in the American nort h east and southern California are the result of the massive move towards suburbs. The question still remains as to whether suburbs impart continue to work for us. The relative prosperity of North America and cheap oil of the 20th century are what allowed suburbia to happen.As for the question of whether suburbia will continue to remain as the dominant form of living on this continent, only time shall tell. More importantly, it is important to understand the origins and magnitude of Suburbia up to this point in time if one is truly to be prepared for the possible challenges of the future. Although the automobile suburb did not come virtually to until the twenties in North America it is important to understand the pre-existing conditions, history and factors that lead to the first modern suburbs. Both the United States and Canada were founded as homespun colonial hinterlands.Despite the importance of the early towns and cities, at the time of the American Revolution, only one in twenty citizens lived in an urban setting. Alas, the United States was a rural nation of farms, plantations and men living on the frontier. It was in this rural setting that the American mindset was born. Frederick Jackson Turners 1893 Frontier Thesis claims that the sophisticated and individualistic mindset of the archetypical American is a result of the nations experience on the western frontier. Consequently, one can see the ingathering of the individualistic and country living experience that suburbs would later offer.Despite this rural ideal, the 19th century and industrial revolution witnessed a massive faeces towards the industrial city. Much like the future development of suburbia, early industrial expansion was unplanned and chaotic. By 1890 there was 160,000 miles of railroad tracks in the United States and cities like kale and New Yorks population were exploding as a result of natural increase and millions of immigrants arriving from Europe. These American industrial c ities became overcrowded, dirty and miserable for most of the working class.The industrial American city began to resemble its English counterparts from across the Atlantic. Indeed the description of Coketown from Charles Dickens Hard Times had become migrated across the ocean onto North American shores. The dissatisfaction that came from living in Industrial cities manifested itself in several ways. Firstly, it should be noted that most of these cities were walking cities and main means of transportation was walking from business office to place for the poor. Consequently, everything from industry to residences was relatively close to each other and the central business district or CBD.The City Beautiful movement, Sir Ebenezer Howards Garden City movement and the creation of Central Park in New York are all examples of yearning for green space and connectedness with nature. These projects and ideas were not only concerned about aesthetics, but rather, they were concerned with prom oting social order, civic virtue and increasing the quality of life. So it was that the country and nature would penetrate into the borders of urbanism during the mid to late 19th century. However, as certain technologies became available it would be the country that would begin to be breached by Urbanism.In actuality, the first suburbs were established well before the mass or rapid transit of the late 19th century. Wealthy merchants of the 18th century established the first suburbs in London when they built their second homes within a tackle ride from the city. Soon many of these merchants were living permanently outdoor(a) the cities where their businesses were located. They were creating the first true dormitory suburbssmall communities in a near-rural setting. Horse car suburbs no further than a 30 to 40 minute carriage ride from city were available to the wealthier of citizens whom could afford the 15 to 25 cent round part fares.Frank Spragues perfection of the electric st reet car in 1888 facilitated a massive suburban explosion of streetcar suburbs. Although considerably more tamp in land usage as later suburbs will be seen to use, street car suburbs would lead the charge in centrifugal movement of cities. launch closely to rail lines these residences would provide detached housing that would be impossible for the middle class within the city. Unlike our modern suburbs of today, these developments had little in the way of services.Consequently, people went home to sleep and be with family, as the residents of these new street car suburbs affairs were all but entirely within the city. There were positive(p) and negative consequences to the massive suburban growth created by the street car. Firstly, the electric street car allowed for someone to live up to ten miles away from the city core and still get to their place of business within 30 minutes. Furthermore, factories like the steel plants in Gary Indiana could now be established outside the cit y core on ripe land or greenfield sites. This suburbanization of industry encompassed a progressively broader cross section of groups, with the result that there began to emerge a differentiation of suburban neighborhoods according to occupation and income. The massive exodus of middle class citizens from the downtown area changed the way its space was utilized, focusing on non-residential uses of land. approximately 80,000 new residences were built in Chicago from 1890 to 1920, this massive centrifugal movement of people created opportunities for commercial development along rail junctions.This ultimately had the topic of culmination the simple city structure with a single focal point. Before the advent of the automobile era, these street car suburbs of the late 19th and early 20th century had a massive effect on shape and character of a city as the rail lines became the arteries for all commercial, residential and industrial development. The finis of suburban infill starting in the 1920s was a result of the success of the internal combustion engine and the industrial processes pioneered by Henry interbreeding.The aforementioned entrust to live the country life and escape the wretches of urbanism did continue into this new period. In fact, the versatility of the car or bus over rail would increase the numbers of people who would and could make a life in suburbia as opposed to the city. Two important partings were necessary for the new automobile suburb. The first necessary component was the infrastructure, and chiefly among it, roads. The 1916 Federal Aid Roads Act had the design of making States build and maintain interurban highways, and the subsequent 1921 act helped to provide funds for integrating a long-distance network.Secondly, people needed affordable personal vehicles. Henry Fords assembly line production methods had the benefit of greatly improved productivity. Utilizing these methods and economies of scale, Ford was able to lower the price on the model T from 22 months average pay in 1909 to only 3 months pay by 1925. This had the effect of putting 27 million cars on the road by the end of the 1920s in the United States. The rise in investment for automobiles and roads was awful during the 1920s and 1930s, but also remarkable was the lack in investment in mass and rapid transit.

Performance Management Activities

transaction Management ActivitiesPERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM effect guidance includes activities to ensure that goals argon consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance concern can focus on proceeding of the organization, a department, surgical processes to build a product or service, employees, etc. Information in this publication leave give you some sense of the e realplaceall activities involved in cognitive process management. thence you energy enhance your understanding by reappraisaling closely think library topics referenced from the sidebar.IMPORTANCE OF PERFORMANCE MANGEMENT SYSTEMSetting up a good deed management governing body doesnt happen overnight or by accident. You ask to consider its design and cargonfully programme how it will work before coach-and-fours begin using it to evaluate employees.BenefitsManaging employee or strategy action facilitates the effective deli truly of strategic and operational goals. There is a clear and immediate correlation between using murder management programs or software package and improved worry and organizational results.A performance management system should provide employees with these four basic benefitsA clear understanding of job expectations fix feedback nearly performanceAdvice and steps for improving performanceRewards for good performance4 Key Benefits of Performance Management system1. PM foc offices on results, instead than behaviors and activitiesA common misconception among supervisors is that behaviors and activities are the same as results. Thus, an employee may appear passing busy, but non be contributing at all toward the goals of the organization. An congresswoman is the employee who manually reexamines completion of every form and procedure, rather than supporting automation of the review. The supervisor may conclude the employee is very committed to the organization and works very hard, thus, deserving a very high performance ratin g.2. Aligns organizational activities and processes to the goals of the organizationPM identifies organizational goals, results needed to achieve those goals, footfalls of effectiveness or efficiency ( step forwardcomes) toward the goals, and operator (drivers) to achieve the goals. This chain of measurements is examined to ensure alignment with overall results of the organization.3. Cultivates a system-wide, long view of the organization.Richard A. Swanson, inPerformance Improvement Theory and Practice(Advances in Developing Human Resources, 1, 1999), explains an effective performance service process must follow a systems-establish approach while looking at outcomes and drivers. Otherwise, the effort produces a flawed picture. For example, laying off slew will likely produce short-term profits. However, the organization may chargetually experience reduced productivity, resulting in long-term profit loss.4. Produces meaningful measurementsThese measurements devote a wide vari ety of useful applications. They are useful in benchmarking, or setting standards for comparison with best praxiss in different organizations. They provide consistent rump for comparison during internal change efforts. They indicate results during improvement efforts, such as employee training, management development, quality programs, etc. They help ensure equitable and fair handling to employees based on performancePERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMA Performance Management System enables a business to sustain profitability and performance by linking the employees pay to competency and contribution. It provides opportunities for concerted somebodyal development and career growth. It brings all the employees under a single strategic umbrella. Most importantly, it gives supervisors and subordinates an equal fortune to express themselves under structured conditions. Managing this process efficaciously isnt easy. It calls for a high level of co-ordination, channeled education flow, an d timely review. Whether employees are at a single place, or spread across multiple locations, the use of technology can help simplify the complete process for more effective knowledge management.Customize Performance Management to Fit Global CulturesExperts say companies a good deal impose an American style of performance management on employees based in other countries, even when such a system conflicts with local cultural norms. A better approach, they say, is to adapt the system to fit the culture. U.S. firms pick up their existing performance management program philosophy, intent, forms, everything and try to force-fit them into non-U.S. cultures, forgetting that the nature of the employer/employee relationship varies widely from place to place, But this is a mistake. What works in Dallas might not work so turn aroundty in Dalian or Dubrovnik. In some cultures you simply cannot transpose culturally offensive management styles.The 360-degree approach is a good example of this. It requires a fundamentally egalitarian mindset and time value system in order to be effective.Its a rather Western concept to evaluate performance management scientifically and with a process that is valid and reliable and rational company. The management and estimate of performance has always been d one(a) or so the world, but its been done more intuitively and organically, and not in a rational, organized process. In the West that commonwealth will say things clearly, that are problems, and thats not the case in many another(prenominal) other cultures around the world.However, because the American business model is accepted and admired, many companies outside the joined States will simply accept the American way of doing business rather than expecting to dupe practices adapted to fit their culture, saidA good performance estimation process is an integral part of the performance management system and it works seamlessly with the other sections. This article takes a holistic approach to performance management and gives an overview of the components. A performance management system has the following components and interfaces goal-setting, regular reviews, annual appraisal, development process and linkages to other systems.Goal-settingThis process is the foundation for a good performance management system. It brings in the clarity required to deliver the required results. The organizations expectations are set in the form of key result areas (KRAs), along with strong indicators of the required standards ( similarly termed measures of performance). The benefits of giving clear directions are many. It helps increase productivity by enabling people to focus on the requirement it minimizes frustration and enables employee satisfaction.Regular reviewsReviews are a critical component of the system. Reviews give timely feedback to the unmarried. It is important to schedule formal reviews during the guide of the year. These can be half-yearly or quart erly depending on the need. Structured mid-term reviews enable the organisation to take stock of the performance during the given compass point. It gives the individual an fortune to discuss his/her achievements during the given period and to look at areas of improvement. In a dynamic environment, it is important to keep abreast of market placements. Reviews can be utilise to make midcourse correction in the KRAs.It is possible that the macro environment has changed and that some of the objectives squander to be reviewed. For example, certain sectors in the economy may be doing extremely well and the organisation may see a need to review sales numbers based on these indicators. Reviews need to be structured on a regular tush to ensure that there are no surprises in the annual appraisal. Regular and structured reviews are a critical component of the performance management system and this is essential to ensure that the performance management system is not the same as the annual performance appraisal. As a part of this sub-system, we thrust processes such as coaching, mentoring, performance improvement plans, etc.Annual appraisalA typical appraisal system could be knowing on one of the followingConfidential report The report is written by the supervisor and is, typically, not shown to the individual. Decisions, such as promotions and changes in compensation are made, based on this report.Report by supervisor that is shown/given to the individual and discussed.Self-appraisal by the individual, value-added comments by the supervisor and a discussion In this system, the individual writes a self-appraisal vis--vis KRAs set at the start of the year. The manager adds his or her comments. Organisations follow one of the following methods of ratings-(a) rating given by the manager or (b) the individual and the manager give ratings and the organisation has a mechanism to deal with differences between the two. There is an opportunity for the individual and the man ager to discuss the contents of the appraisal.People working in the software industry or in a project environment may raise a question about the relevance of the annual appraisal. Then there are also professionals who work with different project teams during the course of the year. In this case we could have reviews signed-off at the end of separately project. These could be collated at the end of the year to look at overall performance and linkages to other systems.Development planThis pertains to the training and development sub-system. A part of the development plan stems out of the annual appraisal. This is the result of the areas of improvement that emerge from the appraisal and competencies required for new roles, if relevant. A good training and development process will also take the necessary inputs from the organisations business plan. This is required if the organisation is investing into new business or entering new markets.Linkage to rewards systemLinkages to processes such as compensation, rewards, progression and successionplanning-the performance appraisal system, in many organisations, has a link to the rewards system. Individuals judge the performance management system and the culture of the organisation based on the message sent by the rewards system. If the rewards system recognises individual contribution and ignores contributions made to team objectives, the people in the organisation start focusing on individual tasks.Therefore, linkage to many of these systems need to be contemplated upon, articulated to the people and implemented with consistency.MEANING OF PERFORMANCE APPARISALPerformance appraisal system has been defined in many ways. The simplest way to Understand the meaning of performance appraisal is as followsA regular and continuous evaluation of the quality, quantity and style of the Performance along with the assessment of the factors influencing the Performance and behavior of an individual is called as performance Appraisal .Performance appraisal also means an appraisal of the growth potential of an Employee, with a view to providing information to the organization leading to positive Action and enabling feed-back to the individual aimed at his performance Improvement, personal growth and job-satisfaction. In short, we can say that Performance appraisal is expected to result in an assessment ofGrowth potential of the employeesCorresponding training needs for the employeesCapabilities for their placement in higher posts,Conduct and discipline of the employees andThe need of the organization to evolve a control mechanismOBJECTIVES OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISALThe main objective of the system of performance appraisal is to reward those who are working(a) efficiently and honestly in the organization. At the same time, it also aims at eliminating those who are inefficient and unfit to carry out their responsibilities. It has to be done almost continuously, so that no injustice is done to a deserving individual. It is, therefore, necessary to clearly define the organizational objectives, targets and priorities. It is further necessary to define clearly the rote learning and responsibilities of the persons involved in the functioning of the organisation.Performance appraisal also aims at helping the management in carrying out their tasks more effectively. A sound system of performance appraisal results in framingA sound selection ?policy.An effective promotion and placement policyAn improved system of career and hands planningA realistic training programmeA good reward and punishment system andAn effective system of control and discipline in the organization.These elements are essential for any modern management system. No country can neglect them for long.We can thus say that the main objectives of performance appraisal are as followsTo carry out a fair and impartial assessment of the quality, quantity and stvle 01 the work performance of the individuals working in the organisation.To as sess the terminus of the various factors which influence the performance of the individuals.To reward the capable and efficient employees.To provide opportunity for improvement of their potentialities to those who are less capable and efficient.To make optimum physical exercise of the available human resources for the fulfilment of the organisational goals.To help management in evolving and framing sound policies and programmes relating to selection, placement, promotion, training, discipline, control and manGlobal Trends in Performance Appraisal computer programmeThe performance appraisal process has become the heart of the human resource management systemin the organizations. Performance appraisal defines and measures the performance of the employees and the organization as a whole. It is a tool for accessing the performance of the organization.The important issues and points concerning performance appraisal in the present world areThe focus of theperformance appraisalsis turni ng towards career development relying on the dialogues and discussions with the superiors.Performance measuring, rating and review systems have become more detailed, structured and person specific than before.Performance related to pay is being incorporated in the strategies employ by the organizations.Trend towards a360-degree feedbacksystemThe problems in the implementation of the performance appraisal processes are being anticipated and efforts are being made to overcome them.In India, the performance appraisal processes are faced with a lot of obstacles, the most prominent being the lack of quantifiable indicators of the performance.GLOBAL TRENDSThe emergence of following concepts and the following trends related toappraisal can be seen in the global scenario360 Degree Appraisal360 degree feedback, also known as multi-rater feedback, is the most comprehensive appraisal where the feedback about the employees performance comes from all the sources that come in contact with the e mployee on his job. Organisations are increasingly using feedback from various sources such as peer input, customer feedback, and input from superiors. some(prenominal)(predicate) forms with different formats are being used to obtain the information regarding the employee performance.Team Performance AppraisalAccording to a wall street journal headline, Teams have become commonplace in U.S. Companies. Most of theperformance appraisal techniquesare formulated with individuals in mind i.e. to measure and rate the performance of the individual employee. Therefore, with the number of teams increasing in the organizations, it becomes difficult to measure and appraise the performance of the team. The question is how to separate the performance of the team from theperformance of the employees. A solution to this problem that is being watch overed by the companies is to measure both the individual and the team performance. Sometimes, team based objectives are also included in the individ ual performance plans.Rank and Yank Strategy similarly known as theUp or out policy, the rank and yank strategy refers to the performance appraisal model in which best-to-worst ranking methods are used to identify and separate the poor performers from the good performers. Then the action plans and the improvement opportunities of the poor performers are discussed and they are given to improve their performance in a given time period, after which the appropriate HR decisions are taken. Some of the organisations following this strategy are Ford, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems.Global VariationsIn the linked States it is common for each employees performance over the previous six months or year to be documented and followed by a one-on-one meeting between the employee and their supervisor, at which time the employee will receive their rating and discuss expectations for the bordering rating cycle. In some cases employees are expected to complete a self-appraisal, which might be factor ed into their review, while in other cases feedback from peers and customers might be included as part of a 360-degree assessment of an individuals performance. Though far from perfect, and often dreaded, the American performance appraisal process suits the American culture, which is regarded as highly individualistic and egalitarian. For example, in the Unites States the performance rating is often used to determine pay. The basic intuitive feeling in the acceptability, the rightness, the virtue of pay for performance.Those who contribute the most should get the greatest rewards.In the U.S. employees tend to rate themselves and others very highly, such as a 4 or a 5 on a 5-point scale-using an everyone gets a prize. In many European cultures the highest rating might be a 3, and in Asian cultures they wouldnt rate themselves.A pay-for-performance system is inappropriate in cultures that focus on interpersonal relations and collectivism.In Japan compensation is not based on performa nce. In fact, its hard to identify the individual performance, because the focus is the team. If an individual were identified as performing so well that they got compensation in choke for it, it would be anathema to the groups collaborative ethos.In some countries, such as Korea and Germany, use performance management processes that closely parallel those used in the United States. The same is true for France, though he noted that there is less of a connection between performance and pay in that nation. However, the Japanese and American processes have diverged significantly over the years. The Japanese system is frequently, and even intentionally and openly, used as a means of discriminating against undesirable employees, a practice that is prohibited under U.S. civil rights laws. And although the performance appraisal process involves filling out the appraisal form and discussing it with the employee, In Japan the appraisal process often involves only the completion of the form without the discussion between boss and subordinate of the results of assessment. Those who work in the U.S. often put a great deal of value on the information that comes from 360- degree feedback, according to. But in a country like India-which tends to be more collective than individualistic and which embraces a dynamic distance, or inequality of power, there is less value placed on the opinions of others and it would be seen as inappropriate culturally to ask employees to fill out a questionnaire on their boss. Similarly it would be difficult to implement a system that includes self-appraisal in cultures that are defined as collaborative, consultative and consensus oriented. People simply dont handle in the capital I and are very uncomfortable doing so. In a culture like China or Japan, asking a person to speak about themselves in a way that is honest and direct and that will be appraised by their superiors is a waste of time.And in some cultures, a face-to-face performance mee ting never takes place.In severely hierarchical cultures where the boss is expected to just recite you what they think, there may not be a direct conversation. They may communicate through a mediator to help save face.Filipino managers engage in a practice called strike interpersonal relations. If a boss has a problem with one of his subordinates, he wont talk directly to the subordinate about it, hell instead tell his wife because he knows his wifes cousins hairdresser is related to the problem employee. In other cultures, managers and employees go out for a drink periodically and chat informally about problems at work. The end result is that the manager knows and has a good sense of the performance of the individual, but if you ask them to assess the employee on a scale of one to 10 they cant do so. There is a dependent relationship in Asian cultures. Employees depend on leaders to help them solve work-related problems. Thats at odds with Western cultures where staff members sol ve things on their own.In some cultures the relationship between the manager and subordinate is so close and ongoing that its test of like a parent/child relationship. Managers know how employees are performing and give them feedback on a regular basis.A Look at IndiaThe business culture in India varies depending on whether it is a family-held business, an Indian company or a Western or American multinational organization, and that affects the nature of the performance management process, according to Nirmala Menon of Interweave Consulting Pvt. Ltd., a diversity consulting firm in Bangalore, India. As most Indians are socialized to be hierarchy oriented, this often tends to spill over into the workplace, Menon told SHRM Online. In family-owned or the more traditionally-run organizations, the boss or manager often takes the position of the father in the family. Organizations rely heavily on informal feedback from the higher-ranking person, which might be given indirectly and which is absorbed by the one for whom it is meant and others, Menon added.Menon says this means that the employees career growth is the bosss responsibility. The expectation then is that Father knows best and what is conveyed is accepted even if they are in disagreement, she said. Evaluations are therefore often influenced in such situations by the deference shown to the boss and the level of loyalty exhibited compliance more important than performance.But Menon said that modern Indian organizations and multinational corporations, particularly IT and telecommunications firms, generally adapt to the global value systems of their companies. As a result, evaluations tend to be more structured and include face-to-face meetings, she said, followed by a written document signed by employee and manager and which typically incorporates input from peers and customers to substantiate the rating. charm indirect feedback also exists in these organizations, given the heightened awareness of a fair and professional environment, there is more acceptance and expectation of a documented communication, safekeeping in mind the objectives for the period under review, Menon added.Annual Performance Appraisal and Evaluation in IndonesiaEarly in the 20th century, the biggest job as a managers is to teach a newly hired employee to fail intelligently to experiment over and over again and to keep on trying and failing until learns what will work. As we begin 2004, many companies are struggling with the issue of employee appraisal and evaluation. While generally adopted in most western-based business cultures, such employee review and appraisal in Indonesia can be fraught with misunderstandings as to shoot for and methodology, be filled with accusations of impartiality, and be slowed by hesitation to formally criticize a subordinate.This issue comes up in easily 95 percent of my cross-cultural training programs. American companies normally wish to establish some sort of review procedure but once they begin addressing how to actually institute the process and decide what direct benefits they wish to see, they often become bogged down. The threshold question then is whether a foreign company should even try to implement such a system. There are several cultural barriers to such a system here. Among them is the difficulty with direct communication with employees and also the saving up of problem areas until a later time.Direct communication is difficult for most Indonesians. Indonesians generally adopt an indirect approach to problem solving to avoid the possibility of confrontation and the disruption of office harmony. The preservation of such office harmony being a prime Indonesian business value, of course, and one often having priority over work performance. Also in Indonesia an erring employee or other problem situation is addressed as soon as possible, albeit in an indirect and non-blame pointing way, and then forgotten. To bring the subject up again at some review several months later is going to be considered inappropriate.For these two reasons, individual performance appraisals tend to have the following pattern An employee comes in to the meeting with some misunderstandings or perhaps anxiety about what will be discussed and how it will affect their career. The supervisor can go over the good qualities of the employee without difficulty. However, when the supervisor begins discussing areas that may need improvement there is normally an attitude change on the part of the employee with him or her becoming both defensive or submissive. In other words, the employee may either disagree with the supervisors assessment or else may ask something like Why are you doing this to me? I thought that we had a good working relationship. I did not realize that I was letting you down so badly. Do you want me to resign?The supervisor then is in the position once again of explaining the purpose and objective of the assessment process. In general, annual pe rformance evaluations and reviews tend to be disruptive to the Indonesian office. In my opinion, companies should focus on immediate feedback and reprimand, if needed, and not use the annual approach.Another difficulty is the cultural reluctance for some Indonesian managers to formally and in writing criticize their own subordinates. I often hear the example of the expatriate manager who has had one of his direct reports complain often about the performance of his own subordinates. However, when it comes time for the annual review, the direct report submits an bang-up report on that same subordinate.The decision to have annual performance evaluations and reviews may not be up to the Indonesian subsidiary of a multi-national company. legal residence office may dictate such a policy and the local companys only choice is how to implement. There seem to be three basic approaches to this situation. graduation exercise is to just go through the motions, telling your employees that this is a Western thing. It will not affect your profits or career, which basically voids the process. Second, you can use the information to provide training and education of the employees turning the evaluation process into a kind of reward system. Third and most difficult, is the attempt to fully implement and effectively use this Western evaluation tool. It can and has been successfully implemented by a number of American companies operating in Indonesia, but it does need the say will of the top management along with allocated resources and training to be successful.At the very least, there must be a significant training period to help your employees understand what the process is and, more importantly, how it will affect them. course of study one should involve a formal introduction to the process with written, quantifiable criteria for the evaluation. Year two should include mock appraisals that do not have any effect on the career of the employee. Year three could see the firs t put down appraisals. Once the process is institutionalized, new employees will be told by their colleagues about this strange and foreign system and what to expect. It then becomes part of your third corporate culture. any attempts to speed up the process are often seen as arbitrary and unfair.Further, you should definitely expect such accusations of being arbitrary and unfair if you take the next step after the evaluation process and tie the appraisal into bonuses or salary increases. Such performance-based bonuses or salary increases are pretty much in direct opposition to the Indonesian business values of the group working together and maintaining office harmony. Traditionally, the ideal Indonesian employee is one who is loyal to the boss for a long time. In other words, loyalty and seniority are the prime attributes, and by loyalty, I mean personal allegiance to the boss, not to the corporate entity. Pointing out a specific employee and emphasizing the fact that he is superi or to and a better employee than those he or she works with on a daily basis is going to be disruptive to the office and embarrassing to the individual.For instance, if you have an annual office party or demonstrates dinner for your staff and you say something like promptly here is Budi who outperformed everyone else in our office and we are giving him a new TV. The polite clapping of his co-workers is going to be overshadowed by thoughts of traitor and plots for revenge against the award winner. If you bring up another employee and say Now here is Bambang who has worked for our company for 10 years and we are giving him a new TV, Bambang will love in the limelight and his co-workers will no doubt truly admire his accomplishment. The difference being that Bambang was rewarded for seniority, while Budi was rewarded for violating basic Indonesian business values.One should not expect the same confidentiality of salary information in Indonesia that one might expect in the home countr y. We joke that on the day performance bonuses are given, the employees exchange pay stubs in the canteen. Even if the situation is not that extreme, you can be sure that most people in your office know what each other has received, and those employees with more seniority may soon be in your office asking for a bigger bonus or larger salary increase.You may then once again be explaining the companys policy on performance appraisals and evaluation but this time be met with defensive and even incompatible disagreement as to whom was the better worker. Allegations that the companys criteria for awarding bonuses or salary increases is unfair and arbitrary and lacks understanding of the situation in Indonesia may be made. Employees have surely used the conflict resolution strategy of appeal to authority to resolve these disagreements going to the country manager complaining that their supervisor is acting improperly. There have also been cases of employees going to Indonesian governmen t departments like Manpower or Immigration complaining about their expatriate supervisor. With the current priorities in these departments, such complains have resulted in the early repatriation of expatriate supervisors.The process of annual performance appraisal and evaluation of Indonesian employees is not one that foreign companies should enter into lightly. The implementation of this very Western-based management tool should be well thought out and supported by top management. Alternatives exist that may be better suited to your companys long-term success in Indonesia. Encouraging employee performance and addressing areas of weakness remain a good m

Chevrolet brand analysis

Chevrolet strike out epitomeArguably, some induct continuously emphasized that Chevrolet might not have credibly been started in the United States of America, unless given its associated innovative linkage with the Ameri sess giant motor automobile-making commwholey oecumenical Motors. Although evidence has shown that his involvement in the auto manufacturing was really(prenominal) brief, Louis Chevrolet a Swiss-born, car race driver and too as entrepreneur, has practically lends his name to the millions of Chevrolet customers. Louis Chevrolet is said to be born in a town called La Chaux-de-Fondson, in Switzerland in the stratum 1878. As young as he was then, the man called Chevrolet had always had a strong passion for anything in automotive and was section of the good reasons that made him to excel in his auto mechanic work. Precisely in the year 1899, Chevrolet got a job to work for a car manufacturing play along in Darracq, it was in this job that Chevrolet thoroughl y got his automotive education specifically in the bea of combustion engine. This interesting job was seen as the opportunity that gave Chevrolet fair to middling money that assisted him in immigrating to the North America.There in New York, the energetic humble man continued his experience in the automobile workshops in New York and also started to race some(prenominal) Buick cars. During this racing c atomic number 18er, Chevrolet met William Durant, the known founder of the General Motors. After this unification, both Chevrolet and Durant formed the Chevrolet Motor Car firm, specifically in the year 1911. But this relationship wasnt long enough due to their individual creative differences. Notably in these differences is that Chevrolet was quoted as wanting to specialize in the extravagantly-end gilded cars, scarcely Durant on his own part wanted to continue his style of producing affordable cars that the common people could afford. After this discrepancy couldnt be resolv ed, Chevrolet ad to at long last sell his own interest and sh bes in the Chevrolet partnership to Durant in the year 1913.Notable among the disfigurements that Chevrolet offered to its customers are the pickup trucks, midsized Bel Air, truck based vehicle for suburban riders, panel vans, Camaro, Impala and Malibu, etc. Below is a picture of one of the earliest Chevrolet cars2.0 Executive SummaryThis case outline practically presents a slender and comprehensive look at operations of Chevrolet faults, specifically the Daewoo GM brands on their europiuman brand policies, trade analysis and the internal and external core competencies. A glance at the coming reports shows that the case analysis is divided into five (5) sections, with the head start section talking about the commercialiseing situational analysis of Chevrolet Daewoo Europe brands, first with brief introduction of GM and Chevrolet alliances. Internal and external analyzes of Chevrolets current situational analysi s and its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. segmentation two talked about the identification and definition of currents problems as it affects Daewoo European brand and the likely meeting that this Midas group could positive have on it. scratch three concentrates on the generation of alternative solutions that could help in solving the problem. Section four is more on the evaluative procedures of the newly generated alternatives. Section Five spoke on the recommendations from the Midas group and how they have successfully arrived at those alternative recommendations. Section hexad is on implementations procedures and the basic requirements for successful implementations. Section seven conclude and gave a brief description of the case study reports. Importantly, under the core competency explanations this case study critically describe those competence dodging that Daewoo Europe possesses, its value chain analysis in Europe and the combined SWOT analysis that wil l assist in creating the needed essential strategical policy recommendations that will positively positioned GM Chevrolet and Daewoo Europe in this vise global competitions. In presenting these core strengths, necessary examples were given as they relate to GM, Chevrolet and Daewoo European markets ad competitors strengths.To better achieved the desired results the Midas group primarily concentrate on areas on improvements in intersection point step-up and related technology and engineering processes that might influence Daewoo brands image in Europe. However, the abilities that could helped the Midas brand team to achieving the corporate target that was given to them includes but not limited to the threats and some crippling internal product weaknesses that arise from competitive costs that requires GM strategic attention. The team realized that GM require to reposition itself as the company that has global innovative strength to compete with its competitors. Especially in Eur ope the team realized that Daewoo brands have continually been plagued with many issues including ranging from lack of internal cost deem and managements shortsighted strategies. To effectively reactivate this, part of the teams suggestion is that GM Chevrolet brands in Europe need to close the brisk gap that is between the reliability of its products experience and its actual market innovations and prize for its vehicles. The company was advised to involve all its staffs to be more dedicated on products excellency in every units of its operations rather than involving in a slow and bureaucratic suit of decision making. Finally, the place that Chevrolet Europe need to critically redefined its concentration on issues that affects its Europe markets core competencies and how it could be repositioned to suit General Motors Corporation Global strategies, this they believe will ensures that Chevrolet Europe and GM in commonplace will remain a very operable and good contender in t his ever changing automobile industry.3.0 Situational Analysis3.1 External environmental analysis3.1.1 General environmental analysisIn this case, Europe is the largest passenger car producer in the world. Of the 42 million passenger cars produced worldwide in 2003, 41 percentage were produced in Europe. Western Europe alone accounted for 36 percent of worldwide passenger car production. Europe is also the global leader in new passenger car registrations, representing 43 percent of all new passenger car registrations worldwide. (Exhibit 1)3.1.2 Industry AnalysisThe European passenger car industry distribute Five Western Europe countries-Germany, the UK, Italy, France, and Spain-recorded about 74 percent of new European passenger car registrations in 2003. New passenger car registrations in 2003 increased 0.6 percent over 2002. This increase followed two consecutive years of declining new car registrations. Total new passenger car registrations in Europe in 2003 were 4.4 percent lo wer than 2000 registrations. Industry analysts in Europe were forecasting a 1 to 2 percent yearbook increase in new car registrations for 2004 and 2005. (Exhibit 1)3.1.3 Market AnalysisFrom this case, as we know, the Europe passenger car market is highly competitive. Some 20 automakers offer more than 50 brands in over 200 models. Eight automakers are prominent in Europe the Volkswagen Group, the Peugeot Group, Renault, Ford, GM, Fiat Group, DaimlerChrysler, and BMW. These automakers commanded 83.9 percent of new passenger car unit gross sales in 2003. Nine brands marketed by these eight automakers accounted for 69.2 percent of new passenger car unit sales in 2003.The European passenger car market is typically described by car size and body type. Small cars( including microvans and compacts) have an interior volume under 3.12 cubic meters and are referred to as city cars or small family cats. Medium-size cars have an interior volume between 3.12 and 3.40 cubic meters and are call ed large family cars. Executive cars are defined as a passenger car larger than a large family car, but not SUV. Small cars accounted for 34.2 percent and medium-size cars accounted for 46.1 percent of annual new passenger car registrations crosswise Europe in 2003 with only modest differences between countries in Western and Central Europe.In general, European passenger car buyers tend to perceive automakers and brands on the posterior of national origin and manufacture. The largest European automakers have strong national identifications. To German-based companies, German brands stand for gauge and technology. To France-based companies, French brands stand for innovation and comfort. To Italian-based companies, Italian brands stand for style, but suspect quality. As a further generalization, European automakers brands evidence prominent market shares in the countries for which they are strong identified.Finally, European car buyers also have distinct perceptions of cars and ser vice based on continent of origin, namely, Europe, America, and Asia. (Exhibit 3)4.0 Internal Environment Analysis4.1 military rating of the Mission and Evaluation of the ObjectivesIn this case study, the brand strategy manager Barbara Riibel was charged with the responsibility of convening a group called the Project Midas marketing group mainly in the early part of year 2004. The prime purpose of this group gathering together was to brainstorm and craft out a strategic positioning statement on how to positively position the Chevrolet brands in Europe. Very important is that this marketing team has to engage this task without changing the existing Daewoo GM product lines, Daewoo model characteristics, existing GM retail prices, European dealer practices, or the existing distribution channels.This Midas marketing group has to specifically design for Chevrolet a new saleable brand positioning strategy upon which the European market could be expanded. Importantly, the current Daewoo brand positioning in Europe has been confirmed as having a unique situation and tactical challenges that accept urgent response. Doing this will require this team to strategically think on how to re-specify the current Daewoo brand positing without having to ordinarily change or halt the existing product lines. They are required to carry on with the existing product models, and also maintain the same types of dealers with their current operating policies and practices. Meanwhile, based on the current news from European car industry, Daewoo markets and consumers insights search have been left unattended to for a long duration prior to the initiation of this Project Midas team. Finally, the primary task of the Midas team is to realize strategies that will resonate the European car buyers and put in place policies and strategies that will complement the known General Motors global image through its multi-brand portfolios in the mind of European buyers and finally to implement brand ing strategies that will assist the Daewoo Europe to be consistent with the global perceptions of GM and in particular the Chevrolet brands.4.2 Evaluation of the Functional AreasEurope is the plump for largest global regional market for GM Corporation after North America. About one-fifth of total company unit sales are derived from Europe. GM in Europe reported net sales and revenues of U.S. $27.5 billion in 2003 compared to U.S. $23.9 billion in 2002.Financial stability returned to the brand in late 2002 following the formation of GM Daewoo Auto Technology and GM Daewoo Europe. Unit sales increased to 132,200 passenger cars in 2003. A large portion of this sales gain came from southeast European countries.In this case, the GM Corporation has three main passenger car brands they were Opel/Vauxhall, Saab, and GM Daewoo. Opel/Vauxhall accounted for 87.1 percent of GM Europe unit sales in 2003. This brand is sold in 30 European countries (the Vauxhall brand is sold exclusively in th e UK) and features 16 models in the small, compact, and medium-size car segments. Saab registered 4.5 percent of GM Europe unit sales in 2003. The Saab brand is sold in 33 European countries and features two models in the medium-size car segment. GM Daewoo represented 8 percent of GM Europe unit sales in 2003. This brand is sold in 32 European countries and features six models, five in the small/compact car segment and one in the medium-size car segment.Chevrolet Human Resources department campaign and they realized that at that place are succeeding in cutting bureaucracy and problem-solving on the spot because they tried to incorporate 7,000 Go Fast workshops, savings of $500+ million. Chevrolet wins the award for general excellence in Workforce Management Optimums in 2004 they campaign in set to turn managers into strategic partners. The centralization that cut across GM give agency for talented people in organization to rise to the top 180% they also double the number of women at the top 450 they introduced globally standard knowledge program.4.3 Evaluation of Marketing StrategiesThe Chevrolet brand was virtually unknown among European car buyers in early 2004. Research in Europe indicated that less than 1 percent of European car buyers were aware of the Chevrolet brand name and bowtie logo. From this case, we can see the European passenger car market is traditionally segmented on the keister of car owner social status and value orientation across national boundaries. The traditional blue collar segments include skilled blue-collar workers who are flexible in their brand selection and willing to spend money on cars. This segment represents 12 percent of car owners. The GM Chevrolet brand is identified with the smaller lower middle class in this segment. Because Chevrolet is new brand to European people, so, it target market is lower middle class.4.3.1 Product Development StrategiesThe product development was Successful in engineering from decentralized structures with eleven (11) different engineering centers in US to formed one globally integrated products development organization. The On Star pioneering dramatically developed two new technologies in 2009 with pilot program, MapQuest and the On Star Stolen Vehicle Slowdown Service.4.3.2 Pricing StrategiesIn this case, we can see the Chevrolet brand implement low price policy. For example, the Matiz car price from 8,000 to 10,300 and car type of Kalos price from 10,000 to 12,500. However, the Chevrolet brand car quality is not very good.The customer satisfaction was given more concentration in 2006 and this is done increasing the campaign of dealer customer service satisfaction. 2. In 2008 Chevrolet attained to the second of top 3 spots in J.D. Power survey on customer satisfaction related to dealership work, the Chevrolet attained these honor of all 8 brands above industry come.4.3.3 SWOT ANALYSISStrengthThe GM Chevrolet has a large scale in its company operations which primari ly includes its over 21,000 General Motorss dealerships worldwide. Its current growing businesses especially in Latin America and Asia Pacific regions are very high and profitable. These among many other strengths formed the basis upon which it practically benchmarked its quality and cost improvements processes via outsourcing with those companies that are highly skillful in those processes. Only in 2006 Chevrolet recorded an increased of about 25% of the parts that were used in its US assembled cars parts came from the overseas plants. Very good among the company that Chevrolet associated with was Cerberus, a relationship that eventually leads to better improvements for Chevrolets operations. Chevrolets value pricing strategy, a policy that involves eliminating those shit incentives program that were used in the past also generate high profit improvement through cost reductions. Chevrolet radical policies in its products development processes also assisted it in better recognition s. Importantly, only in 2007 it spent $8.1B for research and development, manufacturing and redesigning engineering, products development engineering, designs and other developmental activities.Record also shows that Chevrolet recorded the highest in the annual car productivity improvements among all the automakers between 1999 and 2004 making it the fourth largest producers of cars in the world. Chevrolet associations with the noble On Star communications, an automotive industrys leader in telemetric provisions and the control of electronic stability was also another huge success for the GM brands. The appoint of new management teams has also helped Chevrolet and GM in general to be able to establish new strategies that uplifts it organizational culture and better source of funding. Chevrolet ability to rise in the credit ratings of GMAC was also a big confident(p) that has positively uplifted its global image. Chevrolet and GM management policies of depending on only one globall y based budgeting and decision making processes has strategically assisted in its ability to long experimental condition operational efficiency. The stability in Chevrolet could also be attributed to the companys policy of solely depending on US engineering companies. Its ability in forming strategic alliance with companies such as Daewoo, Fiat, SAIC, Isuzu, Suzuki, Saab, and the AvtoVaz, has tremendously lead to the high education it got on global entrances. Last but not the least is that GM brands were able to strongly captured the majority of US market share.WeaknessDecreasing in the value of market share was a major issue that Daewoo brands was approach in Europe as at 2004, eventually eroding its sales to a ground level of about 23% loss in market share. Due to this continuous loss in market shares, Daewoo eventually increase the level of debts that was hanging on GM brands. This issue of debts is outside the problems that are arising from the resale set that accrue to Daewo o from rents of fleets, and other corporation usage. Similarly while the company was trying to increase its incentive programs, it noticed its market perceived value greatly depressed. early(a) cost related issues that faced the company includes sudden increase in staffs health care cost and retirees benefits claims. Its Europe work force was also at the verge of Ageing in population. Some of the internal causes are not even that major, but what about issues of poor quality performances of Daewoo products in Europe markets. These quality performance problems led to the recalls of many cars, further declining the companys financial performance. Many experts including Midas team also argued on issues arising from pricing strategies, unwarranted vertical integrations that was implemented by the company due to the managements abuse of government assistance and over attachment to bureaucratic culture.OpportunityMost among the many opportunities that GM brands got includes the recent inc rease in the demand by consumers for the modern electric, hybrid or hydrogen cars that are produced with cells. The potential markets for the new products are estimated to be about 4.5M units that will be purchased in the year 2013. The recent increase in its level of technological development of cars as also put GM brands over its major competitors. GMs ability in utilizing viable global designs through its dynamic engineers that have been putting their talents together has helped the company in reducing its brands lifecycles and achieving lower costs with higher qualities. Also GM has started a new policy of engaging in new individual products brand positioning strategies that will help it in distinguishing its most known eight spirited brands globally. The company has also started building new opportunities via a strong positive consumer office in the brands by expanding its markets to the most profitable emerging markets globally. It has also started forming strategic alliance s with best companies On-Star system, Apple or Google etc. Recently the global corporate management of GM have also announces its decisions to produce new types of model styles in its series of brands. This they said is prior to the knowledge that they got from joint ventures that they did with Toyota.ThreatsThe unending increases in the prices of raw materials and transportation costs between 2007 till date have practiced negative impact on GMs ability to expand its operations. The effects of the global financial crisis have also led to the decline in customer demands for GM products. The continuous increase in pension debts and the sudden decline in infrastructural spending by the USA economy have also negative impact of the rising development of Daewoo Europe, Chevrolet and overall brands of GM. The recent in global increase in other countries currency valuation against the US dollars has led to serious high cost of exportation, and if not properly managed, this may further jeo pardize the company future hope. The existence of foreign firms like Toyota, Peugeot, etc that are manufacturing in the United States and in Canada potentially threatens the future survival of GM brands.Major GM competitors like Toyota and Honda is said to have a better perceived value in impairment of reputation in better product qualities if compared with GM brands. Some recent legal suits against GM brands also threaten its current positive images around the world. Complains against the Chinese producers lack of the required intellectual property rights as astringed by government and its major competitors is a major concern for the GM management. The need to probably detach some of its fleets due to recent increase in environmental requirements is another major future concern for the management of GM. The legislation and regulations by the US federal official law makers on emission standards are also major issues of concern for the GM management to urgently attend to. Below is exhibit 11 that aptly captured the SWOT analysis of Daewoo Europe5.0 Identification of Problem/OpportunitiesEvidence from the automobile industry has shown that despite the overwhelming large scale levels of operations that the GM ships company has, still the company is said to have series of many areas of concerns which required immediate attention for it to be able to sustain its long and short term values for its customers, stakeholders and the shareholders. Very important is that in 1999 the known Daewoo Motor group of Companies was declared as being bankruptcy mainly because of its heavy debt that has burden its capability. everywhere the next two years, the company lost its momentum in Europe as well as other markets. Financial difficulties and an inconsistent marketing strategy across Europe eroded unit sales in 2001 and 2002.Product issues remained in the development and quality arena while its car prices had increased. No significant marketing initiatives had been underta ken and brand advertising was limited. According to one General Motors executive at the time, GM Daewoos image is still the seller of cheap imported products. We need to reduce on the strengths of the brand and avoid selling on price. This loss is the result of poor product quality, lack of consumer appeal, lag in alternative fuel technologies, ineffectual plant production, and a saturation of similar car models amongst their brands. Due to these factors, consumer perception has plagued the companys sales, resulting in a steady decrease in market share across all course of studys.6.0 Development of Strategic AlternativesA critical analyzes of the case study reports revealed that the reports primarily explored what specific potentials that the GM Daewoo customers might probably want from any type of car brands. The findings revealed that GM Daewoo European customers mainly want a reliable brand that will go out of its know culture and bring for them a product that is very distinct ive in quality, value and durability. In such all what the EU Daewoo customers want is reliability of a brand. Their major concern for this is that they by and large believe that as car buyers they have their independent rights in expecting the best from a brand that they will buy with their hard earned income. What mainly forms this smell is that the potential customers of GM Daewoo are anticipating a brand that would deceive or stereotype perceptions. Rather, what they want is a type of brands that would positively embrace and engage their individual desire and personal expressions for the brands.GM Daewoo Positioning Study Based on the outcomes of the Midas team that was headed by Barbara Riibel, who happen to be the brand strategy manager for EU markets. The Midas group conducted their study with 35 consumer they called the focus groups in five major European countries. Under this heading, they have six positioning strategies and concepts to be tested. These concept monetary value includes Smart, Easy, Honest, Peoples Car, Spontaneous and the Challenger. For each of these concept terms, the Midas team identified some target insights, the attached emotional benefits, the expected functional benefits, and the expected brand attitude. For visual perusing of the outcomes of their findings, below is Exhibit 12 which noted the strengths and the weaknesses of each strategy. However, the Midas team strongly suggested that the Chevrolet Daewoo Europe company should emphatically adopt the Challenger concept as its first choice. Next to the Challenger strategy is the Smart as the second choice. Although this case analysis shows that no action was eventually taken on the outcomes of the teams findings because of issues surrounding brand conversions from the GM Daewoo to that of Chevrolet Daewoo.7.0 Evaluations of the Strategic AlternativesFrom this case, as we know, one of the Chevrolet main plans is product reliability this involved the consumer perception and pr oduction facilities. All products throughout GM indicate a quality assurance problem and it lack quality control systems. almost half of GMs models are said to be below average in reliability. This research recommends that Chevrolet should continue to expand on its successful, Go Fast internal campaign that kills the slow, bureaucratic process which were disclose as a fundamental weakness in the SWOT analysis. Therefore, the GoFast program is a single designed introduce to fix a problem on the spot to be able to destroyed future meetings. In March 2004, Chevrolet recovers savings of over $500 million from the implementation of GoFast. Research shows that Chevrolet is know for a history of cars leaving their plants with unaddressed problems in order to reduce the number of reported defects. There are series of report like inadequate seatbelts, faulty brakes and missing bolts. Recent there is a lawsuit this involved downgraded report on vehicles since 2005. Chevrolet tried to introduc e a kind of more quality check points in the production with an open platform for the employee to show their concerns and make ensure each vehicle produced is flawless.The consumer have more interest in residual value when they buy a car or when leasing it out and it most be noted that American cars have not go to the level of top ten for Kelly Blue Book resale value in many years. Chevrolet posted lower resale values for some years because of its overproducing of vehicles to gain market share. By so doing, less attention was given to high total instead its builds high quality small vehicles, in order words inefficient SUVs. Was opposed, in 2007 only one out of the Chevrolet company car current a reliable rating, this was published by consumer Reports. And also the Chevrolet cars were rated two lowest reliable cars. The Chevrolet cars was demanded to reduce, so the company car was devalue and they have to sells many cars to lease fleets, and this further undermined the GM vehicle s resale value. Chevrolet further continue to reduces the cars prices by given high discounts, this problem destroyed on the face of their customer and also tarnished customer perception and affect resale value. The Japanese that are automakers and the leaders in reliability ratings, the Chevrolet should used the strengths of these Japanese companies to form a competitive parity and competitive advantage. The fuel-efficient vehicles are a reliable segment of the automotive market reported by the Consumer Report tests. The Hybrid and high MPG models these includes Honda Fit, Smart ForTwo Scion xD,and Toyota Yaris all these cars was able to earned above average predicted reliability rating. Chevrolet strategies a way to introduce or develop more fuel-efficient vehicles, that will bring back or encourage the consumer perception of its product reliability. This research recommend that Chevrolet should do something to over come the weak consumer perception through implementing public rel ations and advertising campaign, Chevrolet must show the customer that the company has vote down the problems of the past and confused them the problem have been fixed and taken care of, the company needs to show that they have improved in reliability deep down consumer reports.8.0 Recommendations and ImplementationsLooking at the analyzing make from the internal structures GM through some case studies, company data, and good journal article, to maintain long team growth and stability they must address many things in the company.Chevrolet must look in to consolidating its brand portfolio. Will be a great success for the company in order to gain market share and build a stronger brand image.In this case, Chevrolet Europe must address how to make customers more confidence in their products, to increased investment in advertising, because this case we can see increased advertising investment can make their own brand ken higher, greater, and in increased advertising investment at the same time, their products must carry out strict quality control, because the quality is the life of a product, there is no guarantee of product quality is no way out. Furthermore, should do their Chevrolet brand in Europe customers attach great importance to product quality and product positioning, product positioning if a very accurate, then the product will get customers of all ages. Finally, the Chevrolet company should launch a new product, the holy European car market and car manufacturers to do the survey, so that you can identify the market demand, accurate positioning of the product price, to win the European market.

What Is Petroleum Engineering Biology Essay

What Is Petroleum Engineering Biology EssayPetroleum engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the representivities related to the production of hydrocarbons which scum bag be every crude rock oil or natural be adrift and there is subsurface activities that presume to f all in all within the upstream sector of oil and gas industry which are activities of finding and producing hydrocarbons(refining and distribution to a marked are referred to as the downstream sector)explored by earth scientists and petroleum engineering are the oil and gas industrys two chief(prenominal) subsurface disciplines in which focus on maximizing economic recovery of hydrocarbons from petroleum of engineering focuses on estimation of the recoverable hoi polloi of the recourses using a detailed understanding of the physical behavior of oil , pee and gas within a porous rock within a very exalted air hale and The combined efforts of geologists and petroleum engineers throughout the lif e of a hydrocarbon accumulation determine the way in which a reservoir is create and depleted, and usually they have the highest impact on field economics. Petroleum engineering requires a good knowledge of many an(prenominal) other related disciplines, such as geophysics, petroleum geology( performanceing, economics, reservoir simulation,well engineering, artificial lift systems)The Drill is a machine which creates holes (usually called boreholes) and shafts in the ground. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to work water wells, oil wells, or natural gas extraction wells, or they can be small enough to be moved manually by one person.citation needed They sample sub-surface mineral deposits, test rock, soil and groundwater physical properties.Drilling stillA recitationing fluid is any fluid which circulates through a well in order to remove cuttings from a wellbore. This section will discuss fluids which have water or oil as their continuous bod. Ai r, corrupt and foam, which can be used as cut fluids, will not be discussed at this time and drilling fluid must fulfill many functions in order to drill a well successfully, safely, and economically. The most measurable functions are1. Remove drilled cuttings from under the bit.(2) Carry those cuttings out of the hole.(3) Suspend cuttings in the fluid when circulation is stopped.(4) Release cuttings when processed by surface equipment. (5) Al diminished cuttings to settle out at the surface.6. Provide enough hydrostatic thrust to balance formation focalize pressures.7. Prevent the bore hole from collapsing or caving in. 8. Protect producing formations from damage which could impair production.9. Clean, cool, and lubricate the drill bitOccasionally, these functions require the drilling fluid to act in conflicting ways. You can see that items 1-3 are best served if the drilling fluid has a high viscosity, whereas items 4-5 are best accomplished with a low viscosity. In its most basic form a drilling fluid is composed of a liquid (either water or oil). If nothing else is added, whenever the hydrostatic pressure is greater than the formation pore pressure (and the formation is porous and permeable) a portion of the fluid will be flushed into the formation. Since excessive filtrate can cause borehole problems, some sort of filtration control additive is generally added. In order to provide enough hydrostatic pressure to balance abnormal pore pressures, the density of the drilling fluid is increased by adding a weight material (generally barite).Preparation The oil drilling process starts with finding the land to drill on. After selection, there are normally environmental studies to ensure no damage is done. The mineral rights will need to be acquired as well. A water source will have to be established, if one isnt nearby, and the site will need to be cleared of debris, trees and other objects. A hole is then cut into where the main drilling will be.The Base Liquid Water fresh or saline fossil oil diesel or crude Mineral oil color or other synthetic fluidsDispersed Solids Colloidal particles, which are suspended particles of various sizes.Dissolved Solids Usually saltinesss, and their effects on colloids most is important and all drilling fluids have essentially the same properties, only the magnitude varies. These properties include density, viscosity, gel strength, filter cake, water loss, and electrical resistance. Though this type of drilling fluid is easy to describe, it is hard to de finely and even more difficult to find. In the field, a normal fluid generally means that there is a petty effort expended to control the range of properties.General rules include1. It is used where no unexpected ensures occur.2. The muff will stabilize, so its properties are in the range postulate to control the hole conditions.3. The chief problem is viscosity control Formations usually drilled with this type of bollix mainly sands.Since viscosity is the major problem, the amount and condition of the colloidal clay is important. To do this, two general types of treatment are used1. Water soluble polyphosphates(a) They shrivel up viscosity(b) You should use it alone or with tannins2. Caustic Soda and Tannins(a) They also debase viscosity.(b) You have to use it under more severe conditions than phosphate treatment.The drilling fluids are made to combat extra abnormal hole conditions or to accomplish specific objectives. These are1. Special Objectives(a) Faster penetration rates.(b) Greater protection to producing zones.2. Abnormal Hole Conditions(a) Long salt sections.(b) High formation pressures.Lime Base Muds1. Water base manure.2. Treated with large amounts of caustic soda, que-bracho, and quicklime.3. Ratio of 2 lb caustic soda, 1.5 lb quebracho and 5 lb lime per 1 barrel of mud.4. Will go through a highly viscous stage, but will become stable at a low viscosity.5. Good points(a) Can tolerate large amounts of contaminating salts.(b) Remains fluid when solids content gets high.6. Weakness it has a tendency to solidify when subjected to high bottom-hole temperatures.Lime-Treated Muds1. Similar to lime based mud differ only in degree.2. A compromise attempt at overcoming the high temperature gelation problem.(a) Use less lime than lime-base mud.(b) Not nearly so resistant to salt contamination.Emulsion Muds Oil in Water1. Oil can be added to any of the normal or special mud with good results2. No special properties necessary3. Natural or special emulsifying agents hold oil in tight suspension subsequently mixing.4. Oils used are(a) Crude oils. (b) Diesel. (c) Any oil with API gravity between 25 and 50.5. Oil content in mud may be 1% to 40%.6. Advantages are(a) Very stable properties.(b) Easily maintained.(c) Low filtration and thin filter cake.(d) Faster penetration rates.(e) Reduces down-hole friction.7. Major objection is that the oil in the mud may mask any oil from the formation.In cludes muds1. Mud with inhibited filtrates.2. Large amounts of dissolved salts added to the mud.3. High pH usually necessary for best results.4. Designed to reduce the amount of formation swelling caused by filtrate inhibit clay hydration.5. Disadvantages(A) Needs specialized electric logs.(B) Requires much special attention.(C) Low mud weights cannot be maintained without oil.(D) Hard to increase viscosity.(E) Salt destroys natural filter cake building properties of clays.Gypsum Base Muds1. A specialized inhibited mud(a) Contains large amounts of atomic number 20 sulfate.(b) Add 2 lb/bbl gypsum to mud system.(c) Filtration controlled by organic colloids.2. Advantages(a) Mud is stable.(b) Economical to maintain.(c) Filtrate does not hydrate clays.(d) High gel strength.3. Disadvantages (a) fine abrasives remain in mud. (b) Retains gas in mud.Oil Based Muds1. Oil instead of water used as the dispersant.2. Additives must be oil soluble.3. largely pre-mixed and taken to the well-site .4. To increase aniline value, blown asphalt and un-slaked lime may be added.5. Advantages(a) Will not hydrate clays.(b) Good lubricating properties .(c) Normally higher drill rate.6. Disadvantages(a) Expensive.(b) Dirty to work with.(c) Requires special electric logs.(d) Viscosity varies with temperature.Inverted Emulsions1. Water in oil emulsion. Oil largest component, then water added.Order of addition is important2. Have some of the advantages of oil muds, but cheaper.Oil-Based Mud SystemsThere are two types of systems 1) invert emulsion, where water is the dispersed phase and oil the continuous phase (water-in-oil mud), and 2) emulsion mud, where oil is the dispersed phase and water is the continuous phase (oil-in-water mud). Emulsifiers are added to control the rheological properties (water increases viscosity, oil decreases viscosity).Air, Mist, Foam-Based Mud SystemsThese lower than hydrostatic pressure systems are of four types dry air or gas is injected into the borehole t o remove cuttings and can be used until appreciable amounts of water are encountered, mist drilling is then used, which involves injecting a foaming agent into the air stream, foam drilling is used when large amounts of water is encountered, which uses chemical detergents and polymers to form the foam, and aerated fluids is a mud system injected with air to reduce the hydrostatic pressure.Workover Mud SystemsAlso called completion fluids, these are specialized systems designed to minimize the damage formation, be compatible with acidizing and fracturing fluids and reduce clay/shale hydration and They are usually highly treated brines and blended salt fluid.Set Up and Drilling The main hole is dug wide at the top and is drilled down with just a basic small drill. Two other holes are also dug to store equipment and dirt. Next the main rig is brought in and set up over the main drilling hole. The basic rig is made up of a drill bit and steaming that sends the drill further and further down, scaffolding with cable and pulley to bring the drill up and an engine to turn the drill. The drill is sent down, where it chews up the earth. The mud is moved up the piping into a hole built for storage. As the drill goes down, more piping is added, and when a drill wears out, it is pulled up and replaced.Finding OilOnce mud, being pulled up from the drill site, shows signs of oil residue, the drill is removed and testing is done. Core samples are taken as well as pressure and gas tests. When it is confirmed that the oil has been found, an explosive charge is sent down in the form of a perforating gun. This will crack the rock so that oil can flow into the drill area. After the rock is cracked, a pipe is lowered down for the oil to be collected. The hole is then capped slay to avoid spillage and a pump is set up to pull the oil out of the ground.

deviance :: essays research papers

SUMMARY OF DEVIANCEIn the eighth chapter of Sociology, I. Robertson explains that at that place are many definitions about aberrance however not enough, so he tries to find closer one and clarify the deviance. He starts with a question which is who is deviant? and lists of its answers.In the list of its answers, Robertson benefits from Simons study and he says that the words refer to people and acts that other people strongly disapprove of (23).On the other hand, Robertson then counters it with conflicting topic of sociological literature.He claims that the concept of this definition is shew slippery one by sociologists.After this idea,Robertson questions second definition which is dviance is any behavior that doesnt conform to social norms(24).However, Robertson judges this definiton as not helpful.He exemplifies that eating trine meals in a day can be deviant behavior for some unimportant social norms.Therefore, Robertson argues that minor deviations arent included in the bu sy sociological interest.He claims that the main idea of sociological interest is about violations which are regarded as offensive by majority of people. And he says that one word is blot a bad reputation or disapproving by a lot of people. After this analysis, he benefits from second definition and improves it, so he eventually declares a definition, which is deviance refers to behavior or characteristics that violate significant social norms and expectations and are negatively valued by large numbers of people as a result(24). He emphasizes that this definition clarifies deviance more than others.He continues with clarification of deviance by helping of main three points. Firstly, he claims that there is no close relationship amid deviance and statistical rarity. He exemplifies that jogging before the breakfast can be unusual statistically but not a reason for deviance. However, Robertson then states that some norms can be modified or abandoned time to time. He makes clear it with an example that prenuptial sex was prohibited in American society several years ago. However, nowadays the majority of American society admits this event normally. As a result, Robertson declares intemperately that norms can lose their force or influence as time passes. Secondly, Robertson argues about division of normals and deviants. He explains briefly that there is no class between normals and deviants. He illustrates that if we divide people as thieves, patients (mental disordered) or drug users, we will have a few normal people. In addition to them, Robertson says, deviance is telling(25).

freedol Pain of Freedom in Ibsens A Dolls House :: Dolls House essays

The Pain of Freedom in A Dolls House   Three Sources      In Henrik Isbens play, A Dolls House, the characters of Nora Helmer, Kristine Linde, and Nils Krogstad suffered to achieve their freedom.   A woman of the Victorian period, Nora Helmer was both a prisoner of her time as well as a pioneer. In her society women were viewed as a inferior to men and were not provided full legal rights. Women of that era were expected to stay at home and attend to the necessitate of their spouse and children. Nora was a free spirit just waiting to spread her wings her husband Torvald would constantly dis onlyow the slightest pleasures that she aspired to have, such as macaroons.   Nora lived a life history of lies in rewrite to hold her marriage together. She kept herself pleased with little things such as telling Dr. Rank and Mrs. Linde I have such a huge desire to say-to hell and be damned (Isben 59) Just so she could release some tension that was probably bui lding inside her due to all the restrictions that Torvald had set up, such as forbidding macaroons. The need for her to consume these macaroons behind her controlling husbands back was a way for her to satisfy her sense of needing to be an independent woman.   Upon the arrival of her old friend Kristine Linde, Nora took it upon herself to find her friend a job since she had gone through a lot in her life. She asked her husband Torvald, who also happened to be the new manager at the bank if Kristine could have a job and he responded with an afirmative response. Mrs. Helmer had also stated that she had single handedly come throughd her husbands life when she took out a loan for his benefit. However, in those days women were unable to get a loan without their husbands consent or another males signature, so Nora took it upon herself to forge her fathers signature in order to secure the welfare of Torvald. She saw it as her obligation as a loving wife to break the law so she would be able to save a life, especially when it was the life of her husband. Others though saw it as a criminal offence Nils Krogstad for example accused Nora of violating the law to which Nora replied   This I refuse to believe.