Saturday, August 31, 2019

Advanced industrial business management

Globalization is actually the process of economic, technological, political and socio-cultural forces i.e. globalization refers to the adaptation or development of values, knowledge, technology and behavioral norms across different societies and countries around the world.The characteristics of globalization are mostly linked with global networking (i.e. internet, electronic communication or technology and many more) with interflow of information in the economic, social, political and cultural learning areas, interflow between international alliances and competitors, international collaboration and multi-cultural integration and global village and technology.Globalization amplifies the cultural diversity of an organization and the company needs to be aware of the culture diversity within the organization so that they can guide the managers when they take decisions. Managers need to further their contributions to the organization by being informed about cultural differences among the company’s international operations.The company’s role is not to object to or block technology transfers or other innovations to facilitate them. The growing globalization of business also means grater movement of employees among countries. (Edwards, 2006)Global ExpansionCompanies large and small believe in global expansion and the companies find that thinking globally can provide them with a competitive edge over their competitors. International markets provide many opportunities for companies to expand themselves. Large companies are the ones who carry out international business .Companies who are global or in the global or stateless stage of international development transcend any single home country. The companies operate in a global fashion, making sales and acquiring resources in countries where the cost is the minimum and where a lot of business opportunities are there.At this stage, companies have their offices located at different locations around the world wit h total control and ownership. The companies that operation internationally encourages free flow of ideas, products, manufacturing and marketing among countries so that they can achieve great efficiencies. (Daft, 1997)Ways to ExpansionThere are different methods of global expansion for any large company. All companies have a couple of ways in which they can expand their business globally. One if the ways a large company can expand itself it through seeking out cheaper sources for supplies and looking for cheaper suppliers who would supply the company offshore, this process is called the outsourcing method.Another method for a company to expand globally would be by developing markets for the company’s finished products outside the company’s home country, this may include licensing, direct investment or even through exporting etc.This kind of method is called the market entry strategy where the company introduces itself and its products for selling in a foreign market. W hat happens is that the most companies start with exporting and they work up to direct investing in the foreign market. The different ways for a company to expand itself globally are as follows:-OutsourcingOutsourcing here is being referred to as global sourcing or outsourcing, basically means engaging in the international division of labor so that the production of the company’s products can be done in the cheapest sources and supplies available to the company.For example, the company may take away a contract from a domestic supplier because the supplier was providing the company with expensive materials and can replace it with a supplier in Far East because that supplier is providing with the cheapest material for the production of the products. Outsourcing is mostly conducted by the company so that it can increase its profits. (Fullmer, 1983)ExportingWith the help of exporting the company can maintain its production facilities within the home nation and then transfers the product for sale in the foreign market. Exporting basically helps the country to market its product in other countries at modest resource cost and with very minimum risk for the company and the country.There are some large companies that usually do not want to be involved in any kind of investment in the foreign market, therefore for such companies who want to expand globally usually export their product to the foreign markets like Gerber Scientific Inc. (high-tech equipment supplier).LicensingWith the help of licensing a company in one country makes certain sources available to companies in another country. These resources include technology, managerial skills, patents or even trademark rights. Franchising is a form of licensing in which the franchisor provides foreign franchises with a complete package of material and services, which include equipment, products, product ingredients, trade mark and trade name rights, managerial advice and a standardized operating.Some of the best k nown international franchisors are the fast foods chains and coffee shops like Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, KFC, Pizza Hut or McDonald’s. Licensing and franchising offer a business company relatively an easy access to international markets at low costs, but the limit its participation in and control over the development of those markets. (Fullmer, 1983)Direct InvestmentDirect investment can be described as a higher involvement of the company in an international trade. Direct investment means when the company is involved in managing the productive assets, which distinguishes it from the other entry strategies which stops less management control.Joint venture is a also a part of direct investment which can be defined as a variation of direct investment in which the company would share costs and risks with another firm to build a manufacturing facility, or to develop new products or even to set up a sales and distribution network. (Fullmer, 1983)C onclusionThis paper basically stresses on the growing importance of an international or global perspective of the company that how it can expand itself.Large companies that have been a huge success in their home countries have begun to expand their business overseas and are preparing themselves even now to withstand domestic competition from the foreign markets competitors. Business in the global arena involves risks and difficulties that have to be faced by the company’s management.ReferencesDaft, R.L. (1997) â€Å"Management†. Orlando: The Dryden PressDavid Roman (2008), Going Global, Available from , on 5th December’08Edwards, W. (2006), ‘Why go global? Compelling reasons to expand internationally’, Available from < http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/4017371-1.html>, on 5th December’08Fullmer, R.M. (1983) â€Å"The New Management† New York: Macmillan Publishing Company

Friday, August 30, 2019

Knowing Your Audience Paper and Communication Release Essay

On August 5, 2010 thirty-three workers were trapped approximately 300 meters underground with limited food, water, and oxygen due to a Coppermine that collapsed in Chile. It was not known at first if there were any survivors. This story gathered audiences all over the world as media interest came to life when a rescue worker’s drill emerged at the surface with a note attached to it: â€Å"The 33 of us are OK in the refuge† (Volk, 2011). Approximately two months after the collapse sealed the mine, a rescue hole was finally completed for the miners. To everyone’s amazement all thirty-three miners were rescued (Yang, 2010). When this tragedy took place, the company had to take care in how the media relied on their findings. The immediate families of the workers need to be notified first, and then the other employees, and then a media publication should be done professionally with truthful and accurate information. No one is prepared for this type of situation. Communication must be handled carefully and thoughtfully especially to the families of the miners and the miners themselves. When a company is communicating with the families, the potential needs will require details about the accident that took place with their relatives while at work (Tennyson & Ray, 2008). They will need to know the exact time and place the incident took place, who is trapped in the mine, and what rescue measures are being taken. They will need to be regularly updated as to the developments of the rescue process. Above all, they will need to be assured that all possible procedures are being taken to ensure that their loved ones are recovered safe and sound. Communication with the employees is going to require concise information and should be done formally. They will need a quick update of the accident that should include what the company is doing to rescue their coworkers. They are going to need to be reassured that any other mines are not at risk of collapsing  when they resume working (Bajak, 2010). Identifying your audience is one action that is needed before any communication is done (Tennyson & Ray, 2005). Once you have identified your audience than you can build your communication plan around it. After you give your message, you should make sure your audience has an opportunity to ask questions and know who or where to go if they still need more information. DRAFT COMMUNICATIONS To the families through the media. A crisis has occurred at the San Jose Mine. The mine has suffered a cave in on August 5th, leaving 33 workers trapped approximately 300 meters below the surface. Rescue operations have started and will continue under the supervision of the Chilean government. Several drills began to bore holes toward locations where rescuers thought the miners might be found but at this time have not established where they are precisely (Fiscor, 2010). Families are encouraged to be patient as these rescue operations are expected to take some time. Updates will be given as new developments arise. Once the workers are located, plans are underway to make sure they receive food, water, and medicine while they wait to be rescued. All families are encouraged to take heart as we are taking all necessary precautions to makes sure all the miners are rescued safely. All families will be allowed to see their loved ones as soon as they receive medical treatment. Please contact the number below for more information. This line will be open 24 hours a day. To the employees at an employee meeting. You may already be aware of the crisis facing our company. The San Jose mine collapsed and trapped 33 employees approximately 300 meters below the surface. The rescue operations are underway to rescue all workers safely. I want to assure you that we are doing everything possible to find and make sure that food, water, and medicine are available to the workers and that we will be working day and night until they are safe from harm. I want to inform you all that we are having all mines thoroughly checked to ensure they are safe before you resume work. We will be updating you on all the developments of the rescue operation and ask that you, please stay calm and if you have any questions or concerns, please contact your managers. Different audiences will need to be communicated in the best possible manner. What is right for one audience may not be correct for another  audience. References Volk, S. S. (2011). Refusing to hear: Press coverage of the Chilean miners. NACLA Report on the Americas, 44(4), 54-56, 44. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/893765826?accountid=458 Yang, J. (2010, Oct 10). Hope surfaces in Chile. Toronto Star Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/757109034?accountid=458 Tennyson, P. A., & Ray, K. (2005). Reaching today’s utility audiences: Why there is no such thing as the general public. American Water Works Association. Journal, 97(1), 49-51. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/221571012?accountid=458 Bajak, F. (2010, Oct 14). As Chile celebrates mine’s future in question. Spartanburg Herald – Journal, pp. n/a. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/758202447?accountid=45049 Fiscor, S. (2010). Rescuers work to free Chilean miners. Engineering and Mining Journal, 211(8), 24-24, 26. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/763615366?accountid=458

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Management matters in retail Essay

Management matters in retail Management matters in retail Working paper 13, APRIL 2010 The Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity is an independent not-for-profit organization established in 2001 to serve as the research arm of Ontario’s Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress. The mandate of the Task Force, announced in the April 2001 Speech from the Throne, is to measure and monitor Ontario’s competitiveness, productivity, and economic progress compared to other provinces and US states and to report to the public on a regular basis. In the 2004 Budget, the Government asked the Task Force to incorporate innovation and commercialization issues in its mandate. Working papers published by the Institute are intended to inform the work of the Task Force and to raise public awareness and stimulate debate on a range of issues related to competitiveness and prosperity. The Task Force publishes annual reports to the people of Ontario each November. How to contact us Executive Director To learn more about the Institute and the Task Force please visit us at: www. ompeteprosper. ca James Milway 416 920 1921 x222 j. milway@competeprosper. ca Should you have any questions or comments, you may reach us through the web site or at the following address: The Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity 180 Bloor Street West, Suite 1000 Toronto, Ontario M5S 2V6 Telephone 416. 920. 1921 Fax 416. 920. 1922 It is the aspiration of the Task Force and the Institute to have a significant influence in increasing Ontario’s competitive ness, productivity, and capacity for innovation. We believe this will help ensure continued success in creating good jobs, increasing prosperity, and building a higher quality of life for all Ontarians. We seek breakthrough findings from our research and propose significant innovations in public policy to stimulate businesses, governments, and educational institutions to take action. Researchers Tamer Azer 416 920 1921 x228 t. azer@competeprosper. ca Katherine Chan 416 920 1921 x231 k. chan@competeprosper. ca Anam Kidwai 416 920 1921 x238 a. kidwai@competeprosper. ca Lloyd Martin 416 920 1921 x223 l. martin@competeprosper. ca Aaron Meyer 416 920 1921 x224 a. meyer@competeprosper. ca Comments on this working paper are welcome and should be directed to the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity. The Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity is funded by the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. Adrienne Ross 416 920 1921 x230 a. ross@competeprosper. ca Ying (Sunny) Sun 416 920 1921 x227 s. sun@competeprosper. ca Copyright  © April 2010 The Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity ISBN 978-0-9809783-6-0 Project Team Design Hambly & Woolley Inc. www. hamblywoolley. om Illustration Blair Kelly Daniela Scur Project Manager Jack Bolland Supervisor Sean Brandreth Supervisor Blaise Bolland Joshua Booth Vadim Dorfman Raswinder Gill Alison McMeekin Nikolina Miljevik Alam Aguilar-Platas Scott Sameroff Management matters in retail Working paper 13, APRIL 2010 Exhibits Exhibit 1Pressure and support drive all three elements of the Innovation System13 Exhibit 2 Managers pl ay an important part in creating Pressure and Support in all elements of the Innovation System14 Exhibit 3 Canadian managers are less well educated than their US counterparts5 Exhibit 4New management techniques are associated with increases in productivity and prosperity16 Exhibit 5 Canada’s retail management matches US performance25 Exhibit 6 Most of Canada’s best managed retail operations are US-owned multinationals26 Exhibit 7 Canada trails the US in adoption and implementation of best practice operations processes26 Exhibit 8 Canada lags world’s best performers in most operations management questions27 Exhibit A Manufacturers are better managed than retailers in the three countries surveyed28 Exhibit B Manufacturers out perform retailers29 Exhibit 9 Canada is among the leaders in best practice for setting and managing goals30 Exhibit 10In performance management, Canada scores very well, but still has improvement opportunity30 Exhibit 11In people management, Canada is not statistically different from the US31 Exhibit 12In people management, Canada performs well32 Exhibit 13 Better managed firms have more educated managers32 Exhibit 14 Multinationals out perform non-multinationals in all countries33 Exhibit 15 Larger firms tend to be better managed4 Exhibit 16Publicly held firms are significantly better managed than privately held or family-owned firms everywhere35 Exhibit 17Ontario retailers trail US peer states, and match Western and Atlantic Canada38 Exhibit 18Ontario under performs counterparts in US peer states, particularly in operations management38 Exhibit 19In operations management, Ontario retailers lag peer state counterparts39 Exhibit 20In most areas of performa nce management, Ontario retailers are not statistically different from counterparts in peer states40 Exhibit 21In people management, Ontario retailers lead in retaining high performers41 Contents Foreword and acknowledgements4 Executive summary6 Strong management delivers prosperityManagement talent is important in the Innovation SystemCanada lacks sufficient sophisticated management capabilitiesManagement innovation delivers higher productivityManagement practices can be measured11 12 14 15 Lean Retailing is best practice operating strategy17 17 19 Canada’s retailers score well but have opportunities to improveWhere can Canadian retailers improve? Public policy and business strategies lead to strong management24 26 31 Ontario trails US peers and matches most other Canadian regions37 Opportunities to strengthen managementEnsure businesses aspire to excellence in management42 43 44 44 References46 Previous publications48 International research evaluates management practicesBroaden innovation policy to include management skillsEmbrace international competition in our economy policy4 institute for competitiveness & prosperity Foreword and acknowledgements I am pleased to present Working Paper 13 of the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity. In this Working Paper, we extend our study of the impact of management talent on our economic prosperity. Last year, we presented the results of the first-ever research on the quality of Canada’s and Ontario’s management in the manufacturing sector. This Working Paper focuses on management capabilities in the retail sector. Strong management is a critical element in the innovativeness of our economy, and hence its productivity and prosperity. Strong management drives the demand for innovation through well developed and ably executed business trategies; it affects the ongoing supply of high quality innovation by setting research priorities and orchestrating technical resources; and it is key to the financing of innovation by assembling resources and allocating them wisely to promising investments. Research in the United Kingdom indicates that better management leads to higher sales per employee. â€Å" Strong management is a critical element in the innovativeness of our economy, and hence its productivity and prosperity. † But government innovation strategies in Canada do not take adequate account of the importance of management. They still focus on increasing scientific and technical resources that drive new-to-the-world inventions; but they do not adequately consider innovations that create economic value in meeting societal needs by drawing on existing technologies and knowledge. Both are important for our prosperity, and we need public policies that attend to each. Our findings for the retail sector are consistent with the research on manufacturing management. Better educated managers produce better performance. For manufacturers and retailers, in Canada and internationally, the link between managers’ education and business performance is powerful. We also find that large-scale, multinational retailers are better managed than those focused only on their home market. This holds true in Canada and other countries. Firms that expand globally have dramatically better management, though identifying cause and effect is difficult. More than likely, there is a virtuous circle at work. Firms with global aspirations need effective management to expand, and expanding firms attract better managers.5 The research indicates that Canadian retail managers are as effective as their US counterparts whether they are working for a multinational or a domestic-only company. Yet, our overall retail productivity, as measured by sales per employee and our retail wages, trails the US retail sector significantly. So we have to acknowledge that the management of store level operations may not be the major challenge we face in improving our retail productivity. However, the quality of corporate management is an important factor; our Canadian retail sector has generated only one global leader – Couche-Tard – while we have twenty-three global leaders in our manufacturing sector. Other factors, such as population size and density as well as competitive intensity, are also likely at play. In public policy, we continue to recommend that our innovation strategies become more sophisticated and balanced. We need to recognize that supporting science for new inventions is not enough; we need to create an environment where business people draw on new science and many other disciplines to innovate products, services, and processes. We need to ensure that our markets are as open as they can be to foreign competition and foreign investment, because they improve the level of management and innovation in Canada. And we need to be investing adequately in post secondary education to develop world-class management talent. We gratefully acknowledge the ongoing funding support from the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. We look forward to sharing and discussing our work and our findings. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Roger L. Martin, Chairman Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity Dean, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto 6 institute for competitiveness & prosperity Executive summary C ompetitive and prosperous countries in the world, as defined by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. Ontario, in turn, is also one of the most prosperous jurisdictions in the world. Still, we are not realizing our full prosperity potential. For eight years, the Institute has been reporting on a persistent and growing prosperity gap with the United States, which stands at $8,700 for Canada and the United States, and $7,000 for Ontario and our US peer stat es. anada is one of the most Our major challenge is to raise our productivity and innovation performance. The two sources of higher prosperity are working more hours and producing more output per hour of work. On the former measure, hours worked per capita, we are near the top of developed economies – through a combination of high rates of participation in the labour force, low unemployment rates, and high hours worked per worker. But on the latter measure – that is, the value we add per hour worked – we trail many developed economies. management matters in retail 7 We have already identified some of the factors behind this poor productivity and innovation performance. While Ontario has a mix of industries that are by their nature productive and innovative, these industries do not operate as effectively as their counterparts in the US economy. Some of these factors relate to broad economic factors – we tend less to live in metropolitan areas, and we are less well educated than our counterparts in the United States. But some other factors relate to how our businesses compete. For example, compared with their US counterparts across the economy, Canadian managers invest less in productivity enhancing machinery nd equipment, particularly information and communication technology (ICT), and they produce fewer patents. Our past research and the work of others indicate that our senior and middle managers do not have fundamentally different attitudes from their US counterparts toward competition, risk taking, and innovation. But our innovation and productivity performance is inhibited by limited management capabilities – such as lower educatio nal attainment and less diffusion of best management practices – and by context – such as lower competitive intensity in the markets and fewer sophisticated customers. Effective management leads business innovation. Innovation is the result of the ongoing interaction of three elements – the supply of innovation, the demand for innovation, and the financing of innovation – in an Innovation System. These elements are driven by competitive pressure and broad support that activate the Innovation System. Effective management provides pressure and support across the Innovation System in strengthening demand for innovation, providing supply of innovation, and driving the quantity and quality of financing for innovation. It is safe to conclude, therefore, that management is an important factor in the prosperity of a jurisdiction. But hard evidence to support this conclusion has been limited. In one research initiative, University of Toronto professor Michelle Alexopoulos has developed a methodology for measuring the diffusion of innovative management techniques, going as far back as Taylor’s scientific management in 1911. Her measures track Library of Congress management book publication records, supplemented with counts of relevant academic journal articles, to determine the adoption of management techniques. Her research indicates that increased diffusion of new management techniques is correlated with growth in productivity, measured by Total Factor Productivity (TFP), and prosperity, measured through GDP. She concludes that economic growth results not only from increases in â€Å"tangible technology† (R&D, machinery & equipment) as most economists agree; but it also is the result of advances in â€Å"intangible technologies,† like management techniques and new processes disseminated in part through publications. 8 nstitute for competitiveness & prosperity In another initiative, in 2008, the Institute partnered with Stanford professor Nick Bloom to extend his pioneering global research in measuring management practices to Canada. His research started as a detailed approach to evaluating how well manufacturing operations have implemented advanced management techniques. It encompassed the level of managers’ knowledge of these techniques, the company-wide commitment to setting targets, measuring and monitoring results, and managing people well. In the manufacturing sector, the research had already been conducted in advanced economies, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, and developing economies like China, India, and Brazil. The quality of management, as captured by this study, correlates well with firm and industry productivity. The results of our research were published in the Institute’s Working Paper 12, Management Matters. We found that the Canadian manufacturing sector is among the best managed in the world. Our production management teams are leaders in implementing specific techniques in the area of Lean Manufacturing. They are solid performers in effecting good performance management, though with room for improvement. But, while they match management teams in other leading economies in people management, Canadian firms trail US practices significantly. Our results also indicated that some of the key variables that drive – or at least are correlated with – better management are education, ownership, and winning global strategies. In Ontario, our results indicated that the quality of manufacturing management is higher here than in the other regions of Canada, and that the province’s results are within statistical range of US results overall. Nevertheless, against the fourteen US peer states we have identified, Ontario under performs, especially in the area of people management – the willingness of managers to keep and promote high performers and to deal promptly with poor performers. In this Working Paper, we further extend this management research into another important industry in our economy: our retail businesses. In the summer of 2009, a team of analysts at the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity interviewed senior managers at 661 retail outlets in total – 409 in Canada, 152 in the United States, and 100 in the United Kingdom. The research was slightly adapted to fit the retail sector, but still remains largely comparable to that in manufacturing in approaches to measuring and monitoring operations performance, setting and achieving performance targets, and managing people. management matters in retail The results for Canada are encouraging. The overall results indicate that we are among the leaders in retail management, scoring statistically no differently than the United States. Results vary across the three sub-indexes that make up the overall measure. In operations management, we stand statistically behind the United States, but ahead of the United Kingdom. In performance management, we tie with the United States for the top spot and stay statistically ahead of the United Kingdom. In people management, though our score is lower than the US result, it is not statistically different, and we stand statistically ahead of the UK score here as well. Some of the key variables that are correlated with better management in manufacturing are also important in retail, such as education and global reach. More highly educated management teams out perform other retail managers. Retailers who have successfully expanded beyond their borders are much better managed than those who are still domestic competitors only. We also found that firm size and scale are important in explaining better management – larger retail firms are better managed. Our results indicate that quality of retail management in Ontario is not statistically different from that in the rest of Canada. Ontario scores statistically worse than our fourteen peer states group; however, unlike our manufacturers, the retailers’ disadvantage is strongest in store operations and not statistically significant in performance and people management. In summary, this Working Paper reinforces our conclusion that management capabilities are important contributors to provincial and national prosperity. And our Canadian retail management is among the best. Ontario, however, while being no different than the rest of Canada, trails the US peers significantly. Overall, our retail businesses have significant opportunities to improve. 9 10 institute for competitiveness & prosperity The implications for Ontario and Canada are clear: If we want an economy built on innovation, we have to include managerial education in our policy development. Developing our cientific and technical skills is important to our prosperity – but not building the capabilities of our managers is an oversight that holds back our prosperity.  ¦ Consistent with the recommendations of the Competition Policy Review Panel, chaired by Red Wilson in 2008, and our own research, we need to encourage an openness to foreign investment in our industries. This Working P aper shows how such investments attract best management practices and performance in our economy.  ¦ At the same time, we need to encourage the global aspirations of our successful companies. In turn, global expansion will drive he development of stronger management in Ontario and Canadian firms.  ¦ management matters in retail 11 Strong management delivers prosperity C its full prosperity potential. Relative to the United States, the economy most similar to ours and our largest trading partner, we have a growing prosperity gap. Canada’s lag in GDP per capita grew from $2,600 in 1981 to $8,700 in 2008. 1 This growing gap reflects a failure to reach our full economic potential. It means that our generation has not created as much economic value as possible from the human, natural, and physical resources endowed to us. nada is not achieving A key component of closing our prosperity gap is for Canada to broaden its approach to innovation. Strong management practices are a cr itical contributor to more innovation. So we need stronger commitment to strengthening the capabilities of our business managers to implement best practices. Following on our work in manufacturing, in this Working Paper, we extend our exploration of management capabilities in Canada and Ontario to the retail sector. 1 2007 Canadian dollars; US dollars converted at 2007 Purchasing Power Parity. 12 The retail sector is full of innovation. One classic example lies in the success of Walmart and its pioneering introduction of â€Å"cross-docking† at its distribution centres. This revolutionary system enabled Walmart to achieve excellent productivity and customer responsiveness without the usual inventory and handling costs attached. By enabling its goods to be continuously delivered to its warehouses, then immediately selected, repackaged and transferred to their stores, Walmart has been able to streamline its inventory pipeline by crossing its goods from one loading dock to another without its goods ever spending valuable time and space in the arehouse. 2 Through effective management and innovation, Walmart was able to transform itself from a small niche retailer to the largest and most profitable retailer in the world today. Other examples of innovation in retail include big box retailers with a focused, but very expansive product selection, and Carrefour, which ushered in the concept of combining supermarket an d department store into one roof, known today as a â€Å"hypermarket. † It should be noted that these examples and other specific ones in this Working Paper are from business literature and in no way indicate that they were mong the companies we interviewed in our research. Such information is confidential. The benefits of improved management practices also apply in many other sectors. For example, a Washington Post article describes a study conducted in hospitals in the United States, where they implemented a simple management tool, a â€Å"surgical checklist† in surgical procedures. The â€Å"low-cost, low tech invention† led to a decrease of in-patient deaths by more 2G. institute for competitiveness & prosperity than 40 percent and a fall in the rate of serious complications of 36 percent. The article captures the essence of this ool very well: â€Å"The human brain can’t remember everything, so it’s best to focus on the complicated challenges and leave the simple reminders to a cheat sheet. †3 Management tools such as the surgical checklist, the equivalent of the retail store’s â€Å"daily to-do list,† are small changes that can substantially decrease the rate of waste in a business – be it of time, resources, or lost revenue because of product shortages. In this Working Paper, we focus on management capabilities in the retail sector. We define â€Å"retail† as those firms engaged in the selling of consumer goods to the public, ranging from utomotive and furniture stores to pharmacies, clothing, and grocery stores. We first briefly review the importance of management talent for innovation and prosperity. 4 We then set out key findings from research we have recently conducted into the current state of management capabilities in Canada’s and Ontario’s retail sector, and how retail fares against the manufacturing sector in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Ma nagement talent is important in the Innovation System As we have discussed in previous reports,5 innovation is a result of the ongoing interaction of three elements supply, demand, and financing of innovation – in an Innovation System. These elements are driven by competitive pressure and broad support (Exhibit  1). Each of the elements is critical for success, but all three need to work together in balance. The supply of innovation includes the factors dedicated to increasing the stock of innovation, including highly qualified personnel, businesses’ facilities, resources, and activities. The demand for innovation is the combination of customer insistence on new products and process breakthroughs and corporate demand for innovation within a firm. The financing of innovation is an important bridge between demand and supply since, even if these two factors are in balance, significant funding is typically required to commercialize new ideas and scientific breakthroughs. Innovation requires pressure and support in each of these areas. Strong management is important in each element of the Innovation System. The management function includes goal setting, organization building, resource allocation, and monitoring of results. It also includes actions in enterprise finance, sales and promotion, production and delivery, and people evelopment (Exhibit  2). Hence, in building an innovative firm or an innovative economy, management talent matters. Senior managers in successful companies develop strategies where innovation is a critical component. Innovation strategies typically follow one of two paths: †¢ Innovation to reduce costs. Cost reductions can be realized in two ways. – First, improved management and operating proce sses can reduce the producer’s costs. For example, Harlequin determined that producing romance novels consistently with the number of pages that coincided with one sheet on the printing press would educe its printing costs, standardize shipping requirements, and simplify display for the retailer. Harlequin also determined that mail order distribution would cut costs and build Stalk, P. Evans, and L. Shulman, 1992, â€Å"Competing on capabilities: The new rules of corporate strategy,† Harvard Business Review, Mar/Apr, 1992, p. 58, available online: http://my. execpc. com/~jpurtell/HBR-CompetingonCapabilities. pdf Washington Post, January 15, 2009, â€Å"Surgery checklist lowers death rate†, available online: http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/14/AR2009011402831. tml 4 For a more extensive discussion see Roger Martin and James Milway, Strengthening management for prosperity, Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity, 2007, available on line: http://www. competeprosper. ca/images/uploads/ManagementPaper_May07. pdf 5Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity, Working Paper 12, Management matters, March 2009. 3 13 management matters in retail repeat purchase behaviour among loyal customers. The lower operating costs could be passed on as lower prices for consumers. But true innovation means that the producer captures some of the value added by not reducing prices at the same rate s costs. –Second, innovation can reduce costs for retailers or other parts of the distribution channel. McCain’s became one of Canada’s global leaders by eliminating the need for restaurants and food service operations to buy whole potatoes and peel them. Instead, they could buy fully prepared frozen fries from McCain’s and simply finish the frying. †¢ Innovation to enhance customer experience. Four Seasons, the world’s leading luxury hotel chain, has succeeded by relentlessly studying what its guests wanted and by improving the customer experience. Cirque de Soleil, the world’s leading ircus company, recognized the customers’ experience of circuses left much to be desired and reinvented the circus world to delight them. Such innovations draw as much on management capabilities – competitive analysis, customer research and segmentations, cost analysis – as they do on technological capabilities. Indeed, our research into high technology firms in Canada shows that, as these firms succeed and mature, the importance of technical skills at the top of the organization is matched by the importance of other skills, including management capability. 6 And below the CEO level, evidence is mounting hat the economy is requiring greater numbers of sophisticated conceptual thinkers and those with the strong analytic and people skills required to lead innovation and upgrading. 7 Exhibit 1 Innovation system has three components Exhibit 1Pressure and Support drive all th ree elements of the Innovation System The Innovation System PRESSURE PRESSURE Strong Management Source: Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity. 6 7 Demand for Innovation SUPPORT Financing of Innovation SUPPORT Supply of Innovation The Strategic Counsel, â€Å"Assessing the Experience of Successful Innovative Firms in Ontario,† 2004, p. 1, available online: http://www. competeprosper. ca/images/uploads/InnovationInterviewStudyRep. pdf Ibid, p. 41 14 institute for competitiveness & prosperity Canada lacks sufficient sophisticated management capabilities An important opportunity for improving Canada’s innovation and productivity performance is to strengthen management talent in our economy. In our research over the years, we have consistently found that our managers generally have lower educational attainment than their US counterparts, and CEOs of our largest corporations are less likely to have formal business education at the graduate level. Half of US managers hav e a bachelor’s degree or above compared to just over a third of Canadian managers (Exhibit 3). Further, innovative, hightech firms report disadvantages in access to management talent as a key constraint. 9 A key part of Canada’s prosperity under performance is attributable to its lack of management talent. Management skills are a critical complement to science and engineering skills in creating a high quality supply of innovation, driving sophisticated demand for innovation, and putting in place the required quantity and quality of financing to make the Innovation System work effectively. Exhibit 2 Managers play an important part in creating Pressure and Support in all elements of the Innovation System The Innovation System PRESSURE PRESSURE Strong Management Source: Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity. 8Institute 9R. Demand for Innovation SUPPORT Financing of Innovation SUPPORT Supply of Innovation for Competitiveness & Prosperity, Working Paper 6, Reinventing innovation and commercialization policy in Ontario, October 2004, p. 40 Martin and J. Milway, Strengthening management for prosperity, p. 11 15 management matters in retail Management innovation delivers higher productivity Contemporary research often focuses n two measures of productivity: †¢ output per unit of labour input, such as hours worked or employment; and †¢ total factor productivity (TFP), which measures the extent to which actual economic output is higher than capital and labour employment data would suggest. Many researchers and policy makers believe that productivity changes are i ntimately linked to changes in technology in the traditional sense; that is, productivity growth results from improvements in machinery, equipment, or techniques of production. Thus, the key to higher productivity is technological advances, as evidenced in higher R&D expenditures or more patents. Professor Michelle Alexopoulos of the University of Toronto presents an alternative, though less intuitive, view. 10 She argues that anything that improves producers’ ability to transform inputs into final goods and services deserves the title â€Å"technology. † For her, productivity is indeed influenced by the traditionally understood types of technology – such as machinery and new products – that she calls â€Å"tangible. † But productivity is also influenced by â€Å"intangible† technology – such as management techniques and production processes. She posits that it is important to distinguish between these wo types of technologies, since they affect the types of policies governments may want to put in place. It is generally agreed among management experts that changes in intangibles – such as corporate work rules, team structures, communication channels, morale, or managerial leadership – raise productivity and workfo rce efficiency. While this is not a controversial statement, quantifying the effect of improvement in management techniques at the aggregate level is extremely difficult because of measurement issues. Professor Alexopoulos’ measure tracks the development and diffusion f management techniques through a count of Library of Congress management book titles, supplemented with counts of relevant academic journal articles. She has demonstrated that changes in management techniques are an important factor in US productivity growth. 11 With the index of management book publications serving as a proxy for diffusion, her regression analyses reveal that available management books are positively associated with growth in an economy’s TFP and GDP. In particular, following the introduction of a new management technique that causes a 10 percent increase in new management books, GDP and TFP Exhibit 3 Canadian managers are less well educated than their US counterparts Managers’ educational attainment, average 2005–2007 12% 18% Advanced degree 35% Bachelor’s degree 26% Some post secondary 18% High school 23% 39% 19% 7% Canada 3% United States Less than high school Source: Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity analysis based on Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, and U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey 10M. Alexopoulos and T. Tombe, â€Å"Management Matters,† forthcoming working paper, University of Toronto. 11Ibid. 16 institute for competitiveness & prosperity row at statistically significantly higher rates than average for approximately six years. In fact, the impulse response estimates suggest that by year five, GDP would be 2. 1 percent higher and TFP would be 1. 4 percent higher in an economy with innovation in management techniques (Exhibit 4). A 2 percent increase in our GDP per capita would increase avera ge disposable income per family by $1,500 in Canada and Ontario. 12 Alexopoulos does not assert that the research definitively leads to this direct impact – but it does suggest that improved management has a significant effect on a region’s or nation’s prosperity. She concludes that Canadian managers, have access to the same resources as our American neighbours, but many lack the expertise to employ the most productive management innovations. Increasing the number of graduates from economics, business, or management programs and raising funding for research in business management and related fields may help alleviate this deficiency. This kind of â€Å"business R&D† is to management what science is to engineering, and deserves more attention from the government. It is intuitively likely that stronger management capabilities lead to more innovation and higher rosperity. But the impact of management capabilities on regional prosperity has not been well studied. Our research and that of others indicate that management matters. The development of improved management techniques, their diffusion, and their implementation by capable managers lead to higher prosperity. Exhibit 4 New management techniques are associated with increases in product ivity and prosperity Effect on Gross Domestic Product and Total Factor Productivity Response to a 10% increase in management publications Percentage increase 2. 5 % Gross Domestic Product 2. 0 1. 5 Total Factor Productivity . 0 0. 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 Years following unanticipated increase in management publications Source: M. Alexopoulos and T. Tombe, â€Å"Management Matters,† forthcoming working paper, University of Toronto. 12Calculation based on a 2 percent increase in the Canadian 2008 income per capita, personal disposable income as a percentage of GDP, and average household size. 6 management matters in retail 17 Management practices can be measured C learly, good management is an important factor in firm innovation and productivity and, to the extent that a region’s firms are well managed, overall prosperity will be higher. But economists and management researchers have paid little attention to measuring effective management practices and their impact on firm productivity. A major stumbling block has been the lack of useful, consistent measurements of the quality of management across firms and countries. While researchers recognize the importance of effective management, they typically refer to it as an empirically unobservable variable in their research to account for the differences in productivity across firms within the same country and industry. International research evaluates management practices To fill this research gap, professors Nick Bloom, John Van Reenen, and Raffaela Sadun developed a methodology to measure management practices first within a manufacturing operation,13 and now have expanded this methodology to include 13 See, for example, N. Bloom and J. Van Reenen, â€Å"Measuring and Explaining Management Practices Across Firms and Countries,† NBER Working Paper No. 12216 and N. Bloom, J. Van Reenen, â€Å"Why do Management Practices Differ across Firms and Countries? † Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 203–244. 18 institute for competitiveness & prosperity the retail sector as well as forthcoming esearch on management of schools and hospitals. They have applied this methodology since 2004 and have interviewed over 7,000 firms in eighteen countries,14 including developed economies, such as the United States, Germany, and Japan, and developing economies like China, India, and Brazil. The Institute collaborated closely with Pro fessor Bloom to interview Canadian manufacturing firms through the summer of 2008. In 2009, the Institute further collaborated to extend the methodology to the retail sector, for the first time in a large-scale project, including Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Bloom, Van Reenen, and Sadun’s ethod to measure management practices in the firm is based on an interview evaluation tool that scores firms on a scale of 1 to 5, indicating from worst practice to best practice across eighteen management practices, developed originally by McKinsey & Company, a leading international management consulting firm. The management practices cover three distinct, but related areas of management: †¢ Adopting effective operations management approaches. How well have firms implemented retailing management systems that are generally regarded by academics and consultants as best practice? â€Å"Lean Retailing† is a fairly recent concept erived from the original â€Å" Lean Manufacturing,† which is generally regarded as the most effective management system. Based on the production methods developed by Toyota, but applicable beyond the automotive (and manufacturing) industry, Lean achieves highly efficient operations through a relentless drive to reduce waste of time and resources. It is characterized by an ethos of 14For continuous improvement, backed by close tracking of the operation to identify problems and improvement opportunities. †¢ †¢ Managing targets effectively. Do firms’ management teams set stretch yet realistic targets, monitor performance against these targets, and ake corrective action when necessary? Effective management in this area means that companies are finding the right balance of targets to aspire to for maximum achievable performance. Setting targets too low means under performance; setting them too high will discourage improvements by workers and managers. Effective management also means determining how to measure performance and to follow through with actions when targets are not met. Managing people well. Are companies promoting and rewarding employees based on performance, and systematically trying to hire and keep their best employees? The cliche that people are a firm’s most mportant asset is true. Skilled workers and effective people management together are an important element of productivity in firms and across the economy. Well managed firms are able to attract and retain their top talent through effective reward and incentive programs. They also deal effectively with problem performers. Professor Bloom and his team designed the research process according to rigorous academic research standards. Our analysts, who were business and economics students, were trained to conduct the interviews consistent with analysts in other countries. We randomly selected retail locations for elephone interviews from a comprehensive industry list of firms categorized by Standard I ndustrial Classification (SIC) retail codes. 15 The analysts conducted telephone interviews that lasted an average of fifty-seven minutes with the most senior store managers available and occasionally district managers. Through a series of structured, but open-ended questions, the analysts scored each company on a scale of 1 to 5, across eighteen factors. These results generated scores on each of the three factors described above, which in turn generated an overall score for the quality of management at the operation. The structure of the retail interview followed the manufacturing one, in which sixteen out of the eighteen topics were comparable between the two sectors. Analysts also â€Å"double scored† fourfifths of the interviews. That is, while one analyst conducted the interview, another, who was not taking part in the interview, listened and independently scored the company. Subsequent comparisons of the scores showed a high degree of consistency between analysts. We conducted interviews from June to August 2009 from a central location in Toronto. To ensure the comparability of the retail scores with the previous year’s anufacturing scores, our analysts were trained using the same methodology, and two analysts from the previous year’s manufacturing project returned to supervise and double-score the interviews. Thus we conclude that, as much as possible, the retail interviews were scored in the same way as those in the manufacturing sector, and therefore are comparable to the rest of the management sample. Further, the distribution of completed interviews across Canada and the United States matches the distribution of actual retail locations. more information on the research methodology, see Professor Nick Bloom’s website: http://www. tanford. edu/~nbloom/index_files/Page371. htm on the Dun & Bradstreet database, using SIC codes 50–57 and 59. For more information, see http://www. dnb. ca/ 15Based 19 management matters in retail Lean Retailing is best practice operating strategy Lean Retailing is an example of a best practice operating strategy that management needs to adopt to maximize the efficiency of the retail operation process. including those in insurance companies, hospitals, airline maintenance organizations, government agencies, retail industries, and many others. 16 In the retail sector, the same Lean approach as now developed to improve operations flows; these principles are known as Lean Retailing. What is Lean Retailing? H ow does Lean Retailing work? Business success lies in effective management. This is especially critical today, as retailers continue to face the increasing challenge of competing against falling prices alongside rising operating and labour costs. Now, more than ever, retailers are turning toward adopting a more Lean approach in their management operations to improve profitability. At the core of Lean Retailing is a dedication to the elimination of waste. Similar to the manufacturing sector, the ajor types of waste targeted by the Lean approach include excess inventory, product defects, unnecessary motion, under used employees, and wait times. Managers can now apply similar tools and principles to identify these forms of waste to improve their operations efficiency. These Lean techniques include: But what is Lean Retailing? Lean Retailing refers to the operating strategy that seeks to maximize efficiency by identifying and eliminating waste. It focuses on simplifying the work process to eliminate wasted effort, time, materials, and motion. By adopting a Lean approach, managers who employ these tools and principles are able to educe non-value adding activities, detect and prevent problems early, and improve overall operating flow. †¢ †¢ Using â€Å"pull† to drive replenishment. Ensuring that the supply of goods is pulled by actual demand of customers as opposed to forecast or estimated demand so that inventory levels are kept low and space is conserved †¢ Removing bottlenecks through the supply chain. Eliminating inefficiencies to shorten delivery times, lower transportation costs and defects, and improve product flow and operational performance †¢ Today, the Lean approach has evolved from the manufacturing industry to apply to operations of all kinds, 16S. To win in this increasingly competitive environment, retailers need to adopt a relentless focus on delivering value cost effectively. For, despite steadily falling prices, store operating costs are trending upwards because of more expensive operating overheads and labour costs as well as higher investments in shop fittings to match increasing trends to improve the customer experience. 17 Retailers must pursue a Lean perspective in their core operations, including best practices in operations management, performance management, and people management. (See A guide to best practices in Lean Retailing. ) Doing so will produce a more fficient cost structure, more productive workers, less waste, lower effort, and shorter wait times – all of which generate significant improvements in store profitability and customer satisfaction. Today, more and more businesses are focusing on streamlining their key operations to reduce unnecessary processes and waste and to improve customer experien ce. Lean Retailing is a best practice that, once implemented, can improve productivity and contribute to higher overall economic performance. Our research allows us to measure the quality of retail management through the lens of Lean Retailing – and to provide guidance for retailers in dentifying and implementing Lean Retailing best practices. Eliminating wasted effort, time, materials, and motion. Identifying the core value of operations by eliminating excess motion, time, and materials used in the process flow to reduce and prevent extra work, problems and wait times Where did Lean Retailing originate? Pioneered by Toyota Motor Corporation, the concept of Lean was conceived as a set of tools and methods to eradicate waste and inefficiency in their manufacturing system, famously known now as the Toyota Production System (TPS). This revolutionizing manufacturing strategy fuelled Toyota’s rise from a ash-strapped company to becoming one of the most successful automobile manufacturers in the world. Simplifying work design. Organizing individual work processes to be more feasible and manageable so that these efforts have clear start and finish points Why is Lean Retailing important? Corbett, â€Å"Beyond Manufacturing: The evolution of Lean production,† McKinsey Quarterly, 2007, 3, pp. 94-96. Voisin, â€Å"The ‘Industrial revolution’ of European retailers in underway,† McKinsey Quarterly, 2004, available online at: http://www. mckinsey. com/practices/retail/knowledge/index_full. asp? startval=20&sort=title 17Jean-Baptiste 0 institute for competitiveness & prosperity A guide to best practices in Lean Retailing For each topic in the study, we define the best practice and provide an example drawn from the 661 retail interviews conducted across North America and Europe Operations management Rationale for Lean retailing techniques Adoption of Lean practices store operations Has the store implemented all the major Lean store ope rations practices? For example, does the manager have a standard to-do list to follow daily? Is there an automated inventory control system determined by the pull of demand? Is the backroom organized systematically? Example of best practice: A Canadian bookstore has a point-of-sale system that automatically orders an item as soon as it is sold. The managers and employees check off every item on their set to-do list every morning. The manager has a â€Å"store clock,† where she plans for what is happening in the store every hour of the day. Some inventory is kept, and what is on hand in the backroom is organized by aisle with bin codes, keeping the backroom clutter-free. scheduling Has the store implemented all major Lean scheduling practices? Is the scheduling done automatically, based on store traffic and transactions data? Are there defined roles within the staff? Example of best practice: Scheduling at a US supermarket is based on a computer system that is linked to its sales results system. The computer system bases the schedule on transactions per hour and allocates more labour to peak hours. Roles in the store are clearly defined, and employees rarely have to respond to unexpected traffic increases. What was the reasoning behind the adoption of any or all Lean Retailing techniques? Were managers implementing changes because all their competitors were doing it? Did managers believe it would merely reduce costs and thus ecided to make the switch? Or did Lean fit the businesses’ goals, which often include increasing quality, reducing waste, and reducing injuries while increasing profits? Example of best practice: A UK specialty apparel store introduced techniques to improve customer service, raise product availability, decrease waste, and increase efficiency and productivity. Process problem do cumentation If an operational/procedural problem in the store occurs, what happens? Do managers wait for problems to happen to address them or do they search for ways of improving processes and avoiding potentially costly product shortages or mistakes? Is there a specific way that shop floor workers, who are executing most of the tasks, can suggest process improvements? Example of best practice: A UK supermarket uses a checklist system for checking the store every hour. Managers document all issues and have weekly business strategy meetings to discuss them and identify solutions. Action plans encompass targeted completion dates and everything is reported to corporate headquarters. There is a standard system whereby employees can suggest improvements, and managers review them weekly with potential rewards for the employee whose suggestion gets implemented. management matters in retail atters Operations performance tracking What types of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the managers tracking? For example, do managers only track sales per day or does the set of KPIs include a comprehensive list of all productivity factors, such as average transaction value and conversion rates? And are these KPIs available for all to see, or is i t only the senior managers who are privy to this information? Example of best practice: A Canadian bookstore manager tracks all major performance indicators daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. Sales are tracked by shift, and if targets are not being met, the manager follows up mmediately with the sales staff to improve performance. All information is posted for employees to see and updated as new data become available. Operations performance review Does a manager review KPIs with other managers and staff? Is there a meeting to review them? Who is involved in these meetings? Who gets to see the results of this review? What are the typical next steps after a meeting? Example of best practice: A hardware store in Canada has weekly management meetings to review the basic KPIs, and routinely invites floor staff to attend as well. Every meeting, they create a follow up plan with five to six main oints they have to focus on in the coming week with specific timelines and accountability. Res ults are tracked daily and shared with employees in small team huddles and storewide meetings twice a week. The managers keep a scorecard to help track how they are doing. a 21 Operations performance dialogue Here managers are asked to describe a KPI meeting. Is there a set structure to the meeting; for example, a set agenda used every week? If KPI data are needed to discuss specific issues, are the data always available? Do discussions lead to the root cause of problems? Example of best practice: The manager at an American eneral merchandise store has a set agenda for the meetings (part of it from corporate, part of it open to managers’ discretion), which is distributed ahead of time. All involved are expected to have reviewed it and to come prepared for discussion. Problems are identified and conversations are only finished when the root cause is found. The manager often uses root cause analysis tools such as fishbone diagrams and the 5Ys. a All items are documented and fol lowed up on. Consequence management How do managers deal with a business unit that is under performing? What are the consequences for the under performing unit? Are there parts of the business that seem to fail repeatedly to carry out agreed actions? Example of best practice: A general merchandise store in Canada has a computerized system where follow-up plans are logged. Outstanding items are flagged (red, yellow, or green). In-store issues have a â€Å"sundown rule,† where problems need to be fixed by sundown. External issues require progress reports, and status is frequently reviewed until the item is no longer red-flagged. 5Ys is a management technique used to solve problems by asking â€Å"why† five times. By the time the fifth why is asked, the root cause of the problem has already been found. 2 institute for competitiveness & prosperity Performance management Types of goals What types of goals are set for the company? Are there specific goals for the store? Are there any non-financial goals? Example of best practice: A hardware store in Canada has a range of financial and operational goals in place, and also has specific non-financial goals for community involvement (charitable donations/fundraising) and environmental targets. The manager was concerned with â€Å"making money† but felt that supporting their community was just as important. Interconnection of goals Is there a clear motivation behind the goals? For instance, oes the company clearly communicate goals, such as â€Å"we want to be the leader in the industry† or â€Å"we want to grow by 4 percent in the next two years†? How are the goals cascaded down to the individual workers? For example, are workers aware of how their work fits within the larger framework of the company? Example of best practice: The motivation behind a US general merchandise store’s goals is to create shareholder value and deliver customer satisfaction. Corporate headquarters divides goals by region, division, and store. The manager then further divides those goals by department and individual associates, so that all ave personal targets l inked to the store’s overall goal. Company goals are communicated through storewide meetings and newsletters. Time horizon What is the time scale of the targets? Do managers focus more on short-term or long-term goals? Do the short-term goals form a â€Å"staircase† to the long-term goals? Example of best practice: A Canadian department store has daily, weekly, quarterly, annual, three- and five-year goals and ten-year strategic goals. The goals are all linked in a staircase; if the store meets all the short-term goals, they will inevitably meet the long-term goals. Setting stretch goals How tough are the goals? Do managers feel pushed by them? Are any goals obviously too easy or too hard? In other words, are there goals that are always met and some that are never met? Do all departments have the same level of difficulty in the targets or do some get off easy? Example of best practice: A UK clothing store has rigorous goals for all departments, based on a specific store growth plan. The manager feels the targets are very tough, but attainable. She meets them between 75 to 80 percent of the time. Clarity of goals Do all employees in the store know what their personal targets are? Does anyone complain that the targets are too omplex – that is, not that they are too stretching, but that they are difficult to understand? Is performance between teams or shifts openly compared to others? Example of best practice: A Canadian bookstore manager sets clear individual targets for her employees and keeps them accountable to them during weekly huddles. She posts performance in the break room and e mployees are encouraged to compare individual performance, as the manager believes this leads to friendly competition. Instilling a talent mindset Do senior managers discuss attracting and developing talented people? Do managers get any rewards for the talent ool they create? Are managers held accountable for creating a talent pool? Example of best practice: Managers at an American department store participate in university/college job fairs, and actively seek talented people to join the company. The company has a â€Å"human capital report,† and the number and quality of the people a manager hired are important in his appraisal and affect (positively or negatively) his bonus at the end of the year. management matters in retail 23 People management Promoting high performers If a worker is exceptionally good, can he or she be promoted on a fast track? Are top performers routinely identified and developed? Is length of service unduly important in promotions? Rewarding top performers How does the appraisal system work? How does the bonus system work? Are there non-financial rewards? How do these systems compare to the competitors’ systems? Example of best practice: An American hardware store holds appraisal meetings every six months – one full appraisal meeting and one update meeting. There is a bonus for both shop floor employees and managers, based on a review of personal performance. For the shop floor employees, there is a reward system where employees et â€Å"stars† in a staircase structure for outstanding performance. For each set number of â€Å"stars,† there is a financial reward. When employees reach the highest level, they get a gift. There are also gift cards/movie tickets and other financial rewards for good customer service performance. Addressing poor performance If a worker is continuously under performing, what is the course of action? Is there a set procedure that is followed? How long would under performance be tolerated? Example of best practice: A US department store has a performance improvement plan, whereby managers meet with poor performers, identify their improvement pportunities, develop a plan, and give them tools to make them work more effectively. Once under performance is identified, weekly meetings are set up to update the status. The manager tries to retrain and/ or move the employee to other departments, but under performance is only tolerated for a maximum of three months. Example of best practice: An American grocery store has a formal career path plan for all employees and a succession plan for managers. Promotions are based solely on performance, and tenure does not play a role. The manager uses regular performance appraisals to identify op performers and look for â€Å"diamonds in the rough. † The company has a mentoring program that tra ins the best to be future managers, and encourages workers to take courses outside the store. Attracting high performers Does the company offer a distinctive work environment that is attractive to top talent? Example of best practice: An American hardware store offers competitive wages, strong performance incentives, and clear career paths. The managers believe it is important to get employees involved in the decision-making process to make them feel like a valued part of the company. Retaining high performers What special practices are in place to retain top performers who want to leave the company? Example of best practice: A hardware store manager in Canada keeps an eye on the top employees and, if they seem unhappy or are thinking about leaving, senior management will meet with them to discuss their career. For a top performer, the manager would adjust hours, increase pay, and offer more responsibility. The manager mentioned an example where he helped the employee’s mother move to their town so they could live closer together and the employee would stay with the company. 24 institute for competitiveness & prosperity

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Feminism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Feminism - Essay Example The reason that female oppression goes unnoticed among many in the community is the fact that women are not actually a minority group which makes it hard for many people to view it as a major issue. A number of feminist factions have come up over the years fighting to safeguard women on the same opportunities and privileges as men in the society. Such include women being paid the same wage as men for the same job done, women having a say in the policies passed by the government and gives women an opportunity to expand their businesses and careers to levels they never could in the past. Feminism movements have received both the negative and positive reactions depending on the social context and the nature of the individuals themselves. These reactions range from anti-feminists to male chauvinists to pro-feminists. To most people’s surprise, there are men who have recently come out recently fighting for equal rights for men in their family, divorce settlements and in the anti-discrimination law. According to Emma Watson, most people view feminists to be â€Å"†¦too strong, too aggressive, isolating, anti-men and, unattractive.† (United Nations, Para 2). This is often how men who are against the idea of female and man equality often perceive the notion. Recently, campaigns such as Women Against Feminism have come about which portray women fighting for equality to be man-hating. However, this is not the case. The main aim of the feminism movements that are underway all aim at ensuring that women get the same opportunity as men in the community. A number of feminist writers are in pact that pinpointing oneself as a feminist is a strong stand that any man in the community can take against the fight over sexism. It is important that men be given an opportunity to join the movement for feminism, which is the strategy that the UN is currently trying to incorporate in their recent campaign HeForShe, which purposes at

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Banking System and Monetary Policy in Portugal report Essay

Banking System and Monetary Policy in Portugal report - Essay Example All of these threats pose serious challenges to the overall health of the Portuguese economy and hence corrective measures are needed to correct the flaws in the system and to make it more competitive and self-sustaining. The assessment of banking system shows that the procedure for borrowing money from banks is easier than other EU countries. As a result, the household debt is as large as 120% of the income. Unemployment trend in the Portuguese economy is also very alarming. It is growing exponentially and poses serious threats to the policy makers to devise strategies to curb this trend. Unemployment can be dangerous for any economy and Portuguese economy is no exception. Unemployment reduces the production potential of a country and results in less output being produced than what can be produced. This hampers the economic growth of an economy and leads government into paying unemployment benefits funds for which the government has to indulge in debt financing. Debt financing can b e very dangerous to an economy in the long-run. Current unemployment rate of Portugal stands at around 11%. (Lipsey and Chrystal, 2003) The fiscal situation of the Portuguese economy shows another flaw in the financial system of the country. Portugal is highly geared and has large levels of debt financing. In fact the debt financing ration has crossed the sixty percent of the GDP mark in the recent years. This makes the Portuguese economy more susceptible to international borrowing and aid which has negative effects in the long-run. According to the estimates published by Banco de Portugal and IMF, the current account position of the country is growing out of control. In the recent years, the current account deficit has widened to around 72% of the total trade carried out by the country. Portugal has been using Euro as its official currency since 1 January 1999. Before that the official currency of Portugal was Escudo. The reason why Portugal shifted to Euro was the weak position of its currency. It was weak and unstable making it very difficult to carryout international trade using Escudo as a â€Å"unit of account† and a base for setting of prices and settling of accounts. As a result, it was deemed that a country like Portugal moved to a more stable monetary base and system that would allow itself to carry out its international trade with traders not having to worry about the fluctuations in Escudo. European Central Bank is playing a vital role in maintain the economic stability throughout the Eurozone. ECB is also responsible for setting up the monetary policy of Portugal and other countries that use Euro as a base currency. Euro banknotes are also issued by ECB and only coins can be issued by the member states and that also only after the consent of ECB. (Eurostar, 2010) Portugal is an active trader in the international markets. It understands the importance of international trade and actively participates in international trade for the mutual bene fits of its importing and exporting partners. Its major imports include wine, fish, agricultural products, computers and heavy machinery. Similarly, Portugal mainly exports wood, copper, clothing and other important minerals. The most important trading partners of Portugal are Spain and Germany which have the highest percentage of trade of done with Portugal. The overall condition of

Employees Performance Appraisal Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Employees Performance Appraisal - Coursework Example It is also the process of obtaining relevant information about an employee and determining its worth to the organization by analyzing the given information. The analysis of an employee’s performance involves its recent accomplishment in the organization, its deficiency, strengths and weakness to determine whether the employee is suited for promotion or needs to be retrained. In short, Performance Appraisal measures the actual performance of an employee in an organization of what it has already done, of how productive an employee is; whereas Potential Appraisal determines the future capabilities of an employee that can be used to optimize its manpower or to determine ability to assume varying or greater responsibilities. 2. Discuss the linkage between ''Potential Appraisal'' and ''Career Development''. (200 words)   Through Potential Appraisal, the company will be able to better match its human resource requirement with the career goals of its employees. As an employeeâ€℠¢s potential is â€Å"unlocked† through Potential Appraisal, the employee is given the chance to develop itself to advance its career in the organization and fulfill its career objective. ... sal a certain aptitude or inclination towards a skill set that is more needed in an organization, the employee may be groomed to undertake such career path for greater chance of advancement. For the company, it is able to optimize the capability of its workforce. Through Potential Appraisal, the company is able to place or match its employees in a job function that it has an aptitude or more motivated to perform. This will result in a workforce that is working efficiently while fulfilling the career goals of its employees. 3. Identify the manager's main responsibilities when conducting Potential Appraisal. (200 words). In conducting a Potential Appraisal to a prospective employee, it is the responsibility of the Manager not only to identify the possible qualities and skill sets of an employee that can be enhanced for future responsibilities but also to explain how these identified qualities and skill sets can be developed to be utilized on the current job and future responsibilities. It is important to note that in conducting a Potential Appraisal, it is the sole responsibility of the Manager to conduct feedback as to the result of the appraisal and provide counseling to the employee when a prospective weakness has been identified in the course of conducting a Potential Appraisal. Identified strength of an employee can be used by the Manager in the process of planning the career development of its employee. In the course of providing feedback to the employee, the Manager can help draw the right career path whereby its employee can pursue and realize its optimum potential. This way, the Manager is also to do proper job-matching by placing the right individual in the right function. In a case of identified deficiency, the Manager can recommend training whereby the

Monday, August 26, 2019

Microfinance - how government regulations affect microfinance in Literature review

Microfinance - how government regulations affect microfinance in Brazil - Literature review Example The governments of the nations have a crucial role to play from the regulatory and financing points of view. A lot of measures are required to make this form of financing a sustainable one. This requires the scope of the microfinance schemes to be further widened. There are several challenges that the governments of the countries opting for these kinds of schemes face. There is lack of mobility in the credit and a lot of reliance on the government as the source of the funds. The competitive environment of the microfinance sector is a lot biased towards the public sector organisations. Therefore the government needs to ensure all forms of transparency in the way the markets and the competitive forces work. Several works have been conducted over the years on various aspects of microfinance. A review of the literature would provide an insight into the microfinance sector and the regulatory framework within which the Brazilian microfinance companies work. Microfinance companies are consi dered to be feasible alternatives for banks as well as informal sources of credit. Collaterals are used to ensure the timely repayment of the funds. The specific feature of microfinance is that instead of an individual liability toward the lending institution, there is a cooperative liability towards the lender. This method guarantees that the funds are repaid on time or the payments are paid at regular intervals. If the individuals repay the loans on time, they get incentive to get loans of higher amount the next time which makes the borrowers credit worthy. The individuals opting for these kinds of schemes are forced to save for themselves so that the there is enough collateral for the amount of loan that they have taken. Due to the joint liability feature of the microcredit the risk of default is less because the people of a particular locality know each other well and they can estimate the repayment capacity and the chances of default of their co-borrowers. Along with this each of the parties in the loan can monitor each other. Therefore the basic economic problems like moral hazard or adverse selection can be removed through this feature of microfinance institutions in Brazil (Morduch, 1999, p. 1569). Though chiefly deployed by the NGOs of Brazil, the government is equally active in the developing nations in the promotion of the microfinance institutions and setting up of a stringent regulatory framework for the proper functioning of the industry. The government also has a significant role in granting credit of lump-sum amounts to the microfinance institutions. The study of various situations where the system of microcredit has been implemented has been conducted by the researchers. The results have shown that the schemes have positively affected the economies in which they were being implemented. The repayment rates had been quite high in those countries. This has been possible because of the structure of the model which entails extreme scrutiny of the b orrowers of the funds. The capital that is provided as the loan is also used effectively which necessitated the repayment on time. About 15 million households represent the informal sector in the Brazilian Economy. However, the microfinance institutions have been able to bring less than three hundred thousand under its purview. This means that apart from 2.5% of the prospective market, the remaining has remained untapped. There have been several attempts on part of

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Discipline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discipline - Essay Example The long range results of punishment may be negative. Discipline is more than just administering punishment whenever rules are broken, its more about the upbringing and general guidance that’s given to an individual that can enable him choose right from wrong. In order to have effective discipline, love and not anger should be the guiding factor. Most parents are expected to punish their children whenever they misbehave. They end up using physical punishment as a form of discipline when irritated by their children. Physical punishment is just a temporary measure of correction that does not teach the children right values. Physical punishment can cause physical, mental or emotional injury. It can even lead to death. Children learn from adults and can take this as the only way of solving conflicts. Once punished, a child may feel he has paid for the misbehavior and may want to do it again. It’s also hard to use physical punishment once a child grows up. It is common knowledge that eliminating undesirable behavior without having a desirable strategy to stimulate more desirable behavior is generally ineffective (American Academy of Pediatrics, 724). Mistakes committed are good avenues to learn if children are guided properly without us ing physical punishment. Consequences can be used as one of the positive ways to instill discipline in children. Consequences are different from punishment since they involve learning through experience. It teaches children to make their own decisions and take responsibility for their behaviors. Consequences can only be positive discipline if parents can learn to be calm, attentive and to be good listeners. The parents should be ready to accept the solutions of their children as it’s a learning experience. Parents need to communicate clearly the consequences of breaking certain rules to their children. Children can learn from natural consequences or logical consequences

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Smoking in public places Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Smoking in public places - Essay Example 5). Banning smoking in public places will result to saving of many lives as well as monetary costs (Cunningham 250). Nevertheless, smokers are a significant source of tax income to governments, and prohibiting smoking in public places will undoubtedly reduce the income. Second hand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke, which lingers in the air hours after extinguishing of cigarettes or stoppage of smoking, has adverse health effects such as cancer, respiratory infections, and Asthma. Active smokers in public places needlessly expose nonsmokers to grave danger. Secondhand smoke contains 4000 kinds of chemicals; 43 of these chemicals are carcinogenic attributable to thousands of lung cancer deaths, respiratory tract infections, and heart diseases among nonsmokers (Rabin 213). The only logic to minimize the ballooning number of smoking induced diseases among passive smokers is banning smoking in public. Allowing smoking in public is sound. First of all, the broad scale prohibition of smoking in public is prejudicial against smokers whose rights should be safeguarded (Rabin 214). Public establishments should reinforce the needs of the public wholeheartedly but not sideline certain individuals because of their personal choices. Banning smoking in public spaces such as bars jeopardizes the sustainability of the places. It may also result to business closure since smokers shift to spaces where smoking is unrestrained such as at home. Nevertheless, banning smoking is compensatory as smoke free zones will equally attract non-smokers who do not want to be exposed to second hand smoke. Banning smoking in public is helpful as it minimizes the frequency of smoking as well as forces smokers to surrender the habits altogether. Banning smoking in public breaks the sequence or renders it harder for smokers to keep up with their habit such as having to leave the bar to have a cigarette. This compels smokers to reduce the frequency of

Friday, August 23, 2019

Marketing Strategy of Marc Jacobs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing Strategy of Marc Jacobs - Essay Example The paper "Marketing Strategy of Marc Jacobs" examines the fashion label of Marc Jacobs and its marketing strategy. Marc Jacobs launched his first Marc Jacobs Collections in 1986 and had won many awards. Before his collection was launched, he made a tremendous mark in the fashion designing world which increased the popularity of his collections. This drove him to launch Marc brand. Marc Jacobs has developed his brand as a fashionable brand with uniqueness with the intention to attract the consumers. Being in New York which is also known for its fashion trends, it made the brand more successful by the acceptance level of the consumers towards the brand. The value is generated when the consumers are willing to pay and are satisfied with the brands. The innovation technique is important in marketing strategy towards the consumers. Marc Jacobs had an innovative idea for developing a marketing strategy that would attract more consumers’ attentions and make the brand more eminent. M arc extensively used YouTube before it was used in an attempt to generate attention towards the brand. Consumers got attracted towards the brand offerings of different category of fashionable merchandises and till today the brand is successful and it illustrates the brand loyalty. Marc Jacobs offer women and men, ready to wear garments, accessories, bags, shoes, fragrance, eye wear and many more fashionable types of merchandise. Young people are more attracted towards the high fashionable merchandises that are offered by the brand.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Article Review Essay Example for Free

Article Review Essay The article, School Counseling Outcome: A Meta-Analytic Explanation of Interventions, written by Whiston, S., Tai, W., Rahardja, D., and Eder, K. is research done to show if certain interventions and techniques used by school counselors are effective. The article discussed two types of studies, one with controlled comparisons and another involving pre and posttest differences. The article began with the history of counseling and the model counselors are using. Campbell and Dahir’s (as cited in Whiston, Tai, Rahardja, Eder, 2011), â€Å"specified that school counselors should coordinate a program that facilitates academic, career, and personal social development†. Many schools and counselors have been following Gysber’s and Henderson’s model which has four program components supported by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA). They include guidance curriculum, individual planning, responsive services, and system support. There has been limited research done on these components to conclude if the interventions are effective. â€Å"A major problem with the reviews of school counseling is that they are not able to indicate the degree to which school counseling interventions influence student outcome† (Whiston, Tai, Rahardja, Eder (2011). In the article there were some major strengths and gains. There was evidence that specific interventions work with certain groups. The research also supports the need for school counselor to be more involved with all students, since there is a positive effect when students have been working with a guidance counselor. Yet, we still need more  research in the elementary level to see how we can support the younger students more effectively. There were also some major limitations noted about the study. This included not having enough supported information on how the interventions or treatments were conducted, missing valuable information, not having reliable standardized assessments, not following up to see how the interventions helped, and the study was done with only specific interventions. They also concluded that there were specific gains in certain areas, but could not identify how they got those results. The conclusions of the studies indicate that students who receive services from a counselor scored higher on standardized test. Counseling also helped with discipline, problem solving, and career knowledge compared to students not receiving any interventions. This shows the importance of having a school counselor and the role they play in making a difference in the lives they touch. Both studies indicated the â€Å"effectiveness of a balance approach to school counseling that provides a guidance curriculum to all students and responsive services that respond to students’ issues† (Whiston, Tai, Rahardja, Eder, 2011). In this study we can see how important a school counselor is to students facing difficult issues. It is noted how some interventions can help a student be successful with academics, social interactions, and behavior. After reading this article I can see how effective counseling can be for all students. As an elementary teacher I will try to use a strategic comprehensive guidance program and data to guide my instruction. Using information from teachers, parents and administration I can plan my lessons to better meet the needs of students. Following up with students and keeping data on interventions will be a priority. References: Whiston, S. C., Tai, W., Rahardja, D., Eder, K. (2011). School counseling outcome: A meta†analytic examination of interventions. Journal Of Counseling Development, 89(1), 37-55. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2011.tb00059.x

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Why e-Business is important to the world economy Essay Example for Free

Why e-Business is important to the world economy Essay While the terms e-business and e-commerce are often used in the same context there is a difference between the two. E-commerce generally refers to financial transactions that take place on the Web, whereas e-business refers to all types of transactions over the Web. The use of the Web, or Internet, is perhaps one of the greatest changes in business practices today. The transforming power of this mode of business extends far beyond the obvious points of convenience for the customer and cost savings for the business. The most powerful implementations of e-business enable a complete restructuring of business models (Ware, 1999). The extensive acceptance and relatively low cost access is making a change in the worlds economy. This paper will attempt to identify some the reasons that e-business is important to the world economy. Many businesses are interested in e-business for the most simple of reasons, which is the increase of profits and, generally, a decrease in costs. Often the decrease in costs is associated with paperwork, employee pay and overhead, and these savings can be passed on to the buyer. An example is Cisco Systems who today sells the majority of its computer networking equipment over the internet. According to Schneider:Because no customer service representatives are involved in making these sales, Cisco operates very efficiently. In 1998, the first year in which its online sales initiative was fully operational, Cisco made 72 percent of its sales on the Web. Cisco estimated that it avoided handling 500,000 calls per month and saved $500 million in that year alone. (2004, pg. 15). In a business-to-business (B2B) transaction, if a buyer can purchase more of a product for a lesser amount, they can sell more as well. Selling more helps to stimulate the economy in any country. In addition, when a company does a good job of advertising on the Web, it allows them to get the message about their product or service out to potential customers around the world. This can lead to an increase in sales and also helps the buyer with purchasing prospects. E-business can also provide a larger selection of products and services for a buyer to select from. The ability of the internet to transfer information has made the world a  somewhat smaller place. The use of e-business allows for communications and transactions to happen extremely quickly. Before the use of the internet, trading among countries could take weeks. Such circumstances lent themselves to fragmented individualized markets with subsidiaries run by family members or close friends (Wright. N/D). Now, businesses can interact with their subsidiaries, business partners, vendors, and buyers in a time and cost efficient manner. Many companies, such as Hewlett-Packard and Dell have taken the opportunity to open offices and plants in other countries as this can greatly reduce production costs. The opening of production facilities has in turn created many jobs for many people in those countries, and this helps to stimulate economic growth. According to Gary Schneider the inherently global nature of electronic commerce leads to many opportunities and a few challenges (2004. pg. 41). While there are obvious concerns about trust, culture, and language legalities, more and more businesses are conducting e-business. E-business has opened the door for many countries to participate in business ventures that they did not have previously, therefore generating a cash flow for that countries economy. This type of business has allowed for some countries to openly sell their best products to the highest bidder and to expand market share. When done on a global scale such as this, every country has the opportunity toshare the wealth, which helps the global economy. References: Schneider, G. (2004). Electronic Commerce: The Second Wave. (5th ed.) Thomson. Course Technology. Ware, B. (1999). Syracuse University research centers. Retrieved January 18, 2008 from http://www.syr.edu/research/ebusiness/benreport.htmlWright, N. S. (n/d). Global economy. Business Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 18, 2008 from http://www.answers.com/topic/world-economy?cat=biz-fin

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Research Project: Is Frozen and Inspiring Film?

Research Project: Is Frozen and Inspiring Film? Introduction In a kingdom called Arendelle, there lived two princesses, named Elsa and Anna. Elsa is eldest sister and she has magical powers which are a kinetic energy that is able to control cold weather and produce ice through the palms of her hand. One night while Elsa is playing with her little sister Anna, Elsa accidentally hurt Anna with her ice powers. This incident had shocked the King and Queen because Elsa’s power is too strong for her to even control it so the King and Queen went out into the night in search for some help from the trolls to heal Anna. The leader of the trolls said that in order to heal her, they must make Anna forget about the whole incident. The King and Queen have decided to isolate Elsa from Anna until Elsa has learned to control her powers because they are afraid that Elsa might accidentally hurt Anna again. This isolation has caused the relationship between Anna and her sister Elsa to have a rift between them and more unfortunately their parents, the King and Queen have passed away in an incident at sea during a storm when the sisters were in their teenage years. As the story progresses, Elsa has finally come of age to become the Queen of the kingdom of Arendelle. The kingdom prepared a coronation for Elsa as a Queen and one of the guess is Duke of Weselton who seek exploit Arendell for profit. This coronation is a golden chance for Anna to go out, meet new people and see her sister Elsa again since they have been isolated since childhood. Anna got excited so she went out of the castle to explore her surroundings but she accidently met a handsome young Prince named Han of the Southern Isles and they both developed a mutual attraction. The coronation for Queen Elsa goes smoothly until the reception time when Anna told Elsa that Prince Han had proposed to her and unbelievably Anna had accept the marriage but her sister Elsa refuses to grant her blessing and also had forbid their sudden marriage. The sister Elsa and Anna started to argue, culminating in the exposure of Elsa’s icy power because of Elsa’s emotion outburst. This has c ause Elsa accidentally unleashing a winter in Arendelle kingdom and Elsa flees the castle. After that, Elsa went to the mountain to build a ice palace with the help of her icy power and unknowingly bring a snowman to life, name Olaf which is Anna and Elsa that have a snowman in childhood. Anna is very determine to bring back her elder sister Elsa to end the winter in Arendelle and mend the sister relationship between them. So in order to bring back Elsa, Anna has to go up to the snowy mountain to search for Elsa. In the meantime of searching, Anna meets a selling ice man called Kristoff and his reindeer and successfully convinces him to guide her up to the top of the mountain where Elsa’s icy palace should be. This have them two developed their love relationship more deeply. On the way to Elsa’s palace, they both encounter the real life cute little snowman Olaf who leads them to where Elsa exactly stays at. After a journey of calming up the mountain, they finally find Elsa’s icy palace and the sister is very happy that they can reunite again. So Anna asking Elsa to return with her back in Arendelle but Elsa think that she might hurt Anna again so she rejected Anna but again Anna keep insist that Elsa return. This had make Elsa become anxious and a ccidentally lash out her ice power on Anna heart and this making Elsa more horrified then she created a giant snow creature to drive Anna away from her together with Kristoff and Olaf. After that, Kristoff noticed that Anna’s hair is slowly turning white and he deduced that’s something bad is going on. So Kristoff decided to take Anna to his adoptive family which is trolls to seek for help. In the way of Kristoff†s family surprising Anna is very special through singing, dancing and warm welcoming because is the first girl Kristoff bring and those trolls though that Anna is Kristoff girlfriend. Trolls say that Anna’s heart is frozen by Elsa and the only cure is the kisses from her one true love if not Anna will be frozen forever. Anna though that her one true love is Han so Krisstoff bring Anna back to the Arendelle kingdom where Han is. Meanwhile Han was with Duke’s man in search for Anna but have meet Elsa icy palace and having a fight with Elsa. Unfortunately, Elsa got knocked unconsciously and imprisoned in Arendelle by Han and the Duke’s man. In the prison, Han asking Elsa to undo the winter in Arendelle but Elsa say tha t she doesn’t know how to undo the winter. When Anna reach the kingdom and reunited with Han back and Anna begged Han for him to kiss her so that she can live but cruelly Han rejected Anna and saying that he marry Anna is only for the purpose of getting control the Arendelle’s throne and leaving Anna alone in a room. After Han leave the room, Olaf come to save Anna telling her that Kristoff love her so much and bring her to Kristoff, now knowing that Anna one true love is not Han but is Kristoff. Finally, Elsa successfully escaped from the prison with the help of her own ice power. On the way Elsa runs out, she meets Han that saying Anna die because of her. This had make Elsa’s in despair as a result the storm suddenly ceases because of Elsa mood that she can control the weather. Anna and Olaf were having a hard time to find Kristoff in a blizzard and because of Elsa making the storm suddenly ceases had make Anna meets Elsa and Han in the blizzard near the kingdom and seeing that Hans was going to kill Elsa and Anna throws herself between the two just as she freezes solid, blocking Hans’ attack. As Elsa grieved for her sister, Anna begins to melt from the freeze, because of Anna make sacrifice herself to save her sister, this have shown the true love. Lastly, Elsa realize love is the only key to control her powers, so she undo back the winter in the Arendelle kingdom and helps Olaf survive in summer using her powers. Hans is send back to Southern Isles to face punishment for his crimes against the royal family of Adrenlle, while Elsa cuts off trade with Weselton. Anna and Kristoff share a kiss, and the two sisters reconcile. Frozen is a global drama who suitable for all ages. Successfully scored millions of dollars in an opening which make a highest thanksgiving debut of all time. The target audiences of Frozen are mostly college students. Frozen is a popular movie film around the world that makes the tickets sales goes up until 18 millions of US dollars. Not only the Frozen story is popular, the themes song of Frozen ‘let it go’ is also popular, for an example the viewer in YouTube reaches millions of views. The themes song and the unique story by Disney attracted many people because this is the first time Disney shows a story of true love between sister instead of the true love between princes and charming prince. Literature review In this research, selective perception has been used as our supportive theory to our topic: Do college student find the movie Frozen as inspiring. Inspiration is a sense which full of infectious and heuristic. According to Media/Impact, an introduction to mass media by Shirley Biagi, mass media not only reflect and affect politics, society and culture but also provides the audiences information and entertainment to fulfill their needs. Selective perception can be define as a concept that every people will processes informations and messages individually. When an information or messages was sent through media, different person will base on their background, own interest and the level of education to receive and react to the information and messages. For example, a college student like to watch comedy, animation and adventure this three genres of movie like Frozen, their family member most probably also will like to watch because they are influence by each other. One person will choose what to do what to read wand what to watch base on their own interest. Then, when a high educational audience watching movie Frozen, they will have much more inspiration toward the moral value of the movie as compare to low educational audiences. The high educational audiences will pay deep attention to what they have watched and will think that if the message they received can influence their minds and they will apply it in their daily life. For low educational audiences, they will think that watch movie just part of recreation. According to Mass Communication Theory by Baran SJ and Davis, selective perception is the psychological recasting which means people will change the meaning of an information and message so that it is same with the person’s belief and attitudes. Research Our title for the research about Frozen is â€Å"Do college students find the Frozen movie as inspiring?†,we had do several interview about the movie Frozen. We had list out 7 questions to interview the audience of the movie Frozen. Here are the questions inside the interview form: Have you watched the movie Frozen? Where did you watch the movie Frozen at? Do you think the movie Frozen is inspiring? Why? Did the movie Frozen inspire you to do anything? Which scene in the movie Frozen is the most inspiring for you? Why? Which character inspired you in the movie Frozen? Why? Is the â€Å"Let it go† song inspiring? Why? Since we had chose college students as our target audience, we had took 15 interviews from the students of TARUC Penang branch. We interview them inside the college and also outside the college. Inside the college means we interview the students at the canteen or in the library, some of them were at foyer. For the outside of the college, we went to the hostels of students or interview them at the restaurants near the hostel. We took interview when we had no class which means the time that we were free when we waited for the next class. The interview was also been taking when we finish all our class if we had nothing to do next. When taking the interview, we will interview the students one by one. We record their student’s ID, faculty and all the answers in the paper. After we finish all the interviews, we made conclude about the survey. Findings For question 1, we asked our interviewees â€Å"Have you watched the movie Frozen?† and all the 15 college students that we have interviewed answered â€Å"Yes† without any hesitation because Frozen is a very popular movie and it is impossible if no one has ever watched it before. For question 2, we asked where exactly did they watch the movie Frozen and 60% which means 9 out of 15 of them said that they have watched it at home on the Internet and on television whereas 40% which are 6 out of 15 of them said that they have watched it on the cinema. Watching Frozen at home is easier as they can easily download it from the Internet and watch it on their laptop or on their television. For question 3, we asked them whether the movie Frozen was inspiring and 66.66% which are 10 out of 15 gave positive answers while 33.33% which are 5 out of 15 gave negative answers. The movie itself has a lot of moral values to learn from which is why the majority did find the movie to be inspiring. For question 4, we asked them whether the movie Frozen had inspired them to do anything and 40% which are 6 out of 15 of them said â€Å"Yes† while 60% which are 9 out of 15 said â€Å"No†. The majority agreed that Frozen has inspired them to do something with themselves or within their lives as the movie focus a lot on relationships, friendships, trust and never giving up on something you believe in. For question 5, we asked them which scene in the movie Frozen had inspired them the most and 93.33% which are 14 out of 15 gave positive answers while 6.66% which are 1 out of 15 gave negative answers. The majority loved that Elsa had run away from the kingdom of Arendelle as it had taught them about freedom. They also loved how Anna had worked really hard to try and find her sister Elsa in the winter all by herself. For question 6, we asked them which character had inspired them the most and 40% which are 6 out of 15 said Elsa, 40% which are 6 out of 15 said Anna, 6.66% which are 1 out of 15 said Olaf, 6.66% which are 1 out of 15 said Kristoff and 6.66% which are 1 out of 15 said that no character had inspired them at all. The main characters are Elsa and Anna therefore the movie’s main focus is on them which is why the majority look up on these two characters as these characters had taught them the meaning of freedom and to never give up even when it seems like it is impossible. For the last question which is question 7, we asked them whether the â€Å"Let It Go† song was inspiring and asked them to give a reason why, 93.33% which are 14 out of 15 gave positive answers while 6.66% which are 1 out of 15 gave negative answers. The majority said that the song had taught them the meaning of freedom and it also helped them to release their stress. Conclusion In short, we found out that the majority of the students we have interviewed do find the movie Frozen as inspiring. We used selective perception as our theory to do our research and to find out if college students find Frozen as inspiring. Selective perception is where you read the same thing but understand it differently based on your background, interests and level of education. This theory and our research have proved to be true as different people do understand the same thing differently. All the students we interviewed have different perspectives on Frozen. Some of them watched it on the cinema while others watched it at home on their television and on the Internet. All of the students loved Elsa and Anna because of their sister relationship. Their favorite part was when Elsa caused it to winter in Arendelle. Everyone thought that it was the best scene because here in Malaysia it has never snowed before and we do not have winter therefore watching it snow in Arendelle gave them an experience of how it feels like. Frozen had managed to inspire some of the students that we have interviewed even though it is just a cartoon. They said that Frozen has a lot of moral values and meanings. Other than that, they also said that Frozen had given them different emotions. Some said that the movie was sad and some said that it actually made them happy. When asked which scene was the most inspiring, some of them said that the scene where Elsa ran away because it showed them that Elsa wanted her freedom and she got it while the minority thought that that scene meant that we cannot run away from our problems even if we tried to as it has consequences. Elsa and Anna were the most inspiring characters to our interviewees as these characters have taught them to never give up even when it seemed like it was impossible. Our group has learned that Frozen has different meaning to different kinds of people. When asked whether the theme song â€Å"Let It Go† was inspiring, t he majority gave positive answers and tells us their reason of why they think so. They said that the song lets them feel freedom and that the song is meaningful, nice and lovely. The song also helped some of them to release their stress as the song itself focuses on letting go of your problems. This research has taught us more than enough about Frozen and the selective perception theory. Working in a group was not an easy thing to go through if group member do not give full corporation to each other. Luckily, our group member tend to work together and complete the assignment on time. Through this assignment, we know that media play an important role in our daily life as it affect what we going to think about. Not to forget our tutor Ms. Louise who always guide us not only to complete the assignment but also increase our knowledge in media field which will help us in the future as a Public Relation students. References 1. Shirley Biagi. (2005). Understanding Mass Media Today. In Media/Impact (7thed., p.25). Belmont,CA:Holly J.Allen. 2. Stanley J.Baran,Ph.D., Dennis K.Davis,Ph.D. (2009). The Rise Of Limited-Effects Theory. In Mass Communication Theory (5thed., p.145). Boston, MA: Lyn Uhl 3. IMDb. Frozen plot summary. (2013). Retrieved November 21, 2014, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294629/plotsummary 4. Hugel,M. (2013) Why children’s movie audiences are filled with 24-years-old . Retrieved November 22.2014, from http://mic.com/articles/76207/why-children-s-movie-audiences-are-filled-with-24-year-olds