Possible Causes of Sales Decline Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Possible Causes of Sales Decline - Case Study Example Many people start businesses without proper planning. They just open their doors for business hoping to succeed. Research has indicated that business plans form an imperative tool for any business enterprise; thus, before one starts a business. This identifies what one wants to go and how he or she will reach there. During our discussion, I will ask the manager, Carol Todd whether she made a plan before the business started. If she did not, this might have contributed to the sale decline problem. I will, therefore, advised her to come up with a business plan. This will assist her to run the business well and hence improving the number of sales. (Blank, 2010) Â  In most cases, businesses plan to get a loan. Once they obtain the loan, they completely forget about the plan. Apart from having a business plan, it is also vital to have specific objectives especially for the first one year of the business operation. In the planning process, one should develop goals and objectives for the business, break them into stages and identify anything which must be done in each of the stages. In my discussion with Caro Todd, I will ask her whether there are goals for the business. If there were no goals, this might have contributed to the problem. I will then advised her to start setting goals and objectives for the business. Â  After establishing the operational goals and objectives, it is also important to ensure that one measures how the business is performing against the established goals and objectives. This will help the owner know whether modifications and other strategies are needed. The manager may have failed to measure the objectives as well as the goals of the business, this might have contributed to the problem. During our discussion, I will, therefore, advised her to start measuring goals and objectives which will help the number of sales to increase. Â  

HIV and the latino community in the U.S Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HIV and the latino community in the U.S - Essay Example In the United States, 1.2 million people are living with HIV. African Americans have the highest prevalence of HIV by race, amounting to 45% of those infected. Latin Americans only constitute 22% of those infected with HIV. Among Latin Americans, 19% of HIV cases are attributed to heterosexual contact. The rate of infection of HIV/AIDS among Latin Americans is second only to the rate of the African Americans. They are 3.5 times higher than non-Hispanic White Americans (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a disease that attacks various organ systems of the body and weakens its ability to protect itself from infection. The last stage of this disease is AIDS or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Krapp, 2002). Aside from the physical aspects of the disease, HIV/AIDS can also affect the mental health of the individual. This disease can cause emotional distress, anxiety, and most dangerously, depression. This may stem from various sources su ch as the stigma associated with the disease, or it can occur if the infection ever reaches the brain of the individual. Considering that the psychiatric and psychological side effects of the disease are connected to social stigma, especially due to its nature as a sexually transmitted disease common among the sexually promiscuous or those who engage in homosexual contact. There is a social aspect to preventing this disease aside from providing care to those who have it. A study from Zea, Reisen, Poppen, Bianchi, and Echeverry (2005) examined how Latinos who tell people close to them about their HIV status helps in their mental health during the disease. It shows that telling trustworthy people about their disease helped them get the social support that they would need to get through the disease without losing their self-esteem or lapsing into depression. On the other hand, a study by Gerbi, Habtemariam, Tameru, Nganwa, Robnet, and Bowie (n. d.) talks about how psychosocial factors can affect into resorting to substance abuse and other HIV/AIDS risky behavior. It’s a harsh circle that feeds upon itself. Risky behavior increases the chances to contract HIV/AIDS. When they get HIV, they have to handle the stigma of the disease. They get pressured from not telling other people about the disease, and they get stressed by how people’s treatment of them changes from knowing about their status. This situation gives them psychological stress, which might lead them acting on more risky behavior such as substance abuse or depression, which might increase their susceptibility to other illnesses which the body cannot defend itself due to the compromised immune system. HIV is not just a systemic infection of an individual; it also affects the person’s life, his psyche, and the people around him. Giving him medicine to manage the illness is not enough. They need help to face the emotional demands of the disease like stress, anger, grief, helplessness, d epression, and even cognitive disorders if the disease reaches the brain. Aside from an immunologist, it would be wise to also consider seeing a psychiatrist; it can help handle the mental aspect of the illness (American Psychiatric Association, 2006). For the case of Latinos, the risk for HIV is framed by their ethnic and racial minority status. This also connects to their socioeconomic status. These factors, plus gender, sexual orientation, and stigma increase their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. According to a

Universalist Approach To Strategic Human Resource Management Business Essay

Universalist Approach To Strategic Human Resource Management Business Essay Your role and background is that of a Human Resource Management generalist consultant who has been called in to provide observations and suggestions to the current situation. You are an HRM generalist who has been asked to sit in on the meeting with John of PF. The CEO will ask for your opinions about how the organisation can move forward and overcome the current issues that it is experiencing. This is based on two critical forms of fit. Firstly, external fit and secondly internal fit. The external fit has to do with the HR strategy that fits with the demands of business Strategy. It is also referred to as vertical integration, the internal fit which is also referred to as horizontal integration suggests that all HR policies and activities fit together so that they make a coherent whole, are mutually reinforcing and are applied consistently. The strength of this model is that it provides a simple framework to show how selection, appraisal, development and reward can be mutually geared to produce the required of employee performance. Resource based approach This approach in concerned with the relationships between internal resources of which Human resources are one, strategy and the firm performance. It focuses on the Promotion of sustained competitive advantage through the development of human capital rather than merely aligning human resources to current strategic goals. The universalistic perspective posits the best of HR practices, implying that business strategies and HRM policies are mutually independent in determining business performance. The contingency perspective emphasizes the fit between business strategy and HRM policies and strategies, implying that business strategies are followed by HRM policies in determining business performance. The configurationally perspective posits a simultaneous internal and external fit between a firms external environment, business strategy and HR strategy, implying that business strategies and HRM policies interact, according to organisational context in determining business performance. Recruitment and selection Using the three recruitment methods of advertising in the national press, advertising in the technical press, and the internet, evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each. National press When considering a press adverting campaign there are two main venues to think about; newspapers and magazines. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. The magazine ads look better but the quality and the workmanship that goes into producing a magazine ad make it expensive. The readership of a magazine, on the other hand, is much easier to target, and is comes with the type of magazine you choose; a car magazine, sports or fashion magazine. On the flip side, magazine ads are viewed more times than newspaper ads and can double the exposure of the readership. the newspaper ad is much quicker and cheaper. Newspapers vary in circulation and with that they vary drastically in price. From the national press advertising campaign in newspapers, advertising in newspapers still holds a charm. Newspapers give credibility to the ads unlike radio advertising that is heard while doing something else, newspaper reading is done when a person has leisure time and his attention is not diverted. Local press advertising has benefits when dealing with a local supplier. Internet Advertising is the branch of marketing that deals with communicating to customers about products, brands, services and companies. The Internet, as a global communications medium, provides advertisers with unique and often cost-effective ways of reaching advertising audiences. As with all media, however, advertising on the Internet has unique advantages and disadvantages. Advertising on the Internet is almost a necessity for modern businesses, especially those that do business outside of their local community. Consumers use the Internet for more than simply entertainment or information, as they do with radio, television, magazines and newspapers. Consumers use the Internet to assist them in nearly every aspect of life, creating countless opportunities to place relevant, targeted ad messages. The Internets vast reach can allow advertisers to reach significantly more people than traditional advertising media at a fraction of the cost. Internet advertising is ideal for businesses with a national or international target market and large-scale distribution capabilities. As a rule, the more people your business serves, the most cost-efficient internet advertising can be. Internet advertising can also be more targeted than some traditional media, ensuring that your messages are seen by the most relevant audiences. One disadvantage of advertising on the Inter net is that your marketing materials are automatically available for anyone in the world to copy, regardless of the legal ramifications. Logos, images and trademarks can be copied and used for commercial purposes, or even to slander or mock your company. This is not the case with television and magazine advertising, wherein images must be replicated rather than simply copied electronically. Another disadvantage is the fact that the Internet-advertising gold rush has begun to introduce ad clutter to the Web. Web users are so inundated with banner ads and spam email that they have begun to ignore internet advertising just as much as ads on traditional media. Technical press There are many trades, technical and professional magazines read by customers, suppliers and businesses in your sector. If your business sells to other businesses, advertisements in these publications can be a powerful way of gaining sales, product enquiries, higher profile, trade partnerships and even potential investors. Editorials are generally perceived by readers to be independent and impartial and are therefore seen as more trustworthy than advertisements. Editorial support or endorsement helps lend your business credibility with the reader. A proactive PR strategy can increase your chances of gaining favorable editorial content. The technical press can also be used for recruitment and to source suppliers. Trade magazines provide a variety of ways to advertise: Classified advertising particularly for recruitment and gaining suppliers. Display and semi-display display advertisements are bigger and more sophisticated, often appear on editorial pages or in special supplements, and can use pictures and other design devices. Advertisement features theyre laid out like editorial pages but feature you and your business or product. You pay for them, and you may also be given advertisement space. Your suppliers might advertise as well and offset the cost. Loose inserts that you supply yourself to the magazine publisher for them to insert into the magazine. Advantages and Disadvantages of performance related pay Performance related pay is the idea of Fredrick Taylor who comprised his theory of scientific management. It is a bonus salary increase awarded in line with an employees achievement over a range of criteria. These criteria depend on each job. Awards are decided based on appraisal results. They must link achievements to pay. Advantages Rewards employees with highest productivity It is argued this system motivates staff It enables firms to recruit highly qualified staff who like the idea of being to earn a bonus Encourages employees whose performance is not u to scratch to leave company on a voluntary basis Easy to identify companies aims and objectives Disadvantages Only those who perform well get paid High flyers find it attractive possible to give employees no pay rise at all Inflation means pay will be cut and this coupled with; the indignity of being judged and found wanting, would make it that employees see a job elsewhere. Employees can be de-motivated if the goals set are too hard to achieve. Disgruntled employees Performance related pay cannot be determined unless there is a measuring system in place to assess output. It also provides a limiting factor to the use and extension of incentive pay in instances where work is difficult to measure. Where output cannot be measured, the sensible solution seems not to pay any bonus. However, because some jobs are difficult to measure, doesnt mean that good performance shouldnt be rewarded.. Learning and Training The essential purpose of training is to develop that knowledge and those skills and aptitudes which contribute to the welfare of the company and its employees. Further, all training programmes aim at making the employees more effective and productive in their present job and increasing their potential for higher level jobs. For effective transfer of training to occur, two conditions must be met; The trainee must be able to take the material learnt in the training process and apply it to the job context in which they work. The use of the learnt material must be maintained overtime on the job. Benefits of Good Training Programme It increases performance on the job, if applied. It help employee to raise current skill levels and correct any deficiency that have in doing their job efficiently. It enables present employees to acquire more and greater skill, thus increasing their versatility for transfers and their qualifications for promotions. If employees are properly trained, accidents, soiled work, and damage to machines and equipment are reduced. Training helps employees to adjust to new methods and processes that are introduced from time to time. Good training reduces dissatisfaction and absenteeism because it helps both new and experienced employees to use to the full, their individual capacities. It improves the quality of output which will benefit the company in the long run. Training improves the promotional prospect. Evaluation The HR Manager has o critically assess the training after the training exercise to determine if there is any change in their knowledge, skills, attitudes and ability. It is important to understand which skills; attitude and ability existed before therefore it is recommended that a measure of performance be undertaken before the training program begins. Transfer/behaviour This address the question, to what extent did the participant job behaviour change as a result of the training? Are the participants using their newly acquired skills and knowledge in their work environment? Is their change in behaviour and new knowledge sustained, are they using them effectively overtime. Is the trainee able to transfer the new skills to another person? Result Results answer the question, how is the training impacting on the organization overall. Is There a reduction in cost, increase in sales, are there more persons being attracted to company, improvement in production levels, less customer complaints or reduction in incidents? Performance appraisal This system is designed to measure the actual job performance of an employee. It provides feedback about the success about previous trainees and discloses the need for additional training. It helps to determine rewards or sanctions eg, of reward are pay increases based on his/her performance, promotion, commendation, demotion, warning or termination. It also gives the employee a clear understanding where he stands in relation to the organisation performance expectation. Performance Management System Performance appraisal is a method of evaluating a workers performance to ascertain how well he/she is meeting up with performance standards and targets and communicating it to the worker in order to set up a plan of improvement. Performance is the degree of accomplishment of the tasks that make up an employees job. An individuals performance is a combination of: Effort-physical and mental energy put in a work Ability-personal characteristics used doing a job Role perception-an understanding of direction and requirements of a job Performance evaluation on individual and group is usually based on: Standards set at the planning stage Performance targets set for individual or groups Accountability-the rate at which an employee understands and takes responsibility for his actions Competencies-the skills, experience, knowledge that a worker exhibits in a job Uses of performance appraisal Performance appraisal information can be used for: Promotions Firings/layoffs Merit pay increases Individual and organisational training and development Suggesting changes in behaviour, attitudes, skills or knowledge Selection procedures, and Human resource planning Performance Appraisal Methods Performance appraisal methods include: Goal setting, or management by objectives (MBO) Work standards approach Essay appraisal Critical incident appraisal Graphic rating scale Checklist Behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) Ranking methods 1. Goal setting or management by objectives. Management by objective consists of the following steps: Establishing a clear objectives for the work to be done by an employee Developing an action plan indicating how these objectives are to be achieved Allowing the employee to implement the action plan Measuring objective achievement Taking corrective action when needed Establishing new objectives for the future 2. Work standards approach. This method of appraisal involves setting a standard or an expected level of output and then comparing each employees level to the standard. Performance standards include: Quantity Quality Time Cost Dependability Accuracy Attendance, etc. 3. Essay appraisal In this method the appraiser prepares a written statement (narrative) describing a workers strengths and weaknesses, and past performance. A typical essay appraisal question might be Describe this employees performance, including quality and quantity of work, job knowledge, and ability to get along with other employees. 4. Critical incident appraisal In this method the appraiser keeps a written record of incidents that illustrate both satisfactory and unsatisfactory behaviors of the employee. The appraiser then uses these incidents as a basis for evaluating the employees performance. 5. Graphic rating scale This method requires the appraiser to indicate on a scale where the employee rates on factors such as quantity of work, dependability, job knowledge, and cooperativeness. Graphical ratings include both numerical ranges and written descriptions. Ex. On quantity of work (1) the worker does not meet minimum requirement (2) Does just enough to get byà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(5) has a superior work production record. 6. Checklist In this method the appraiser answers with a yes or no to a series of questions about the behaviour of the employee being rated. The checklist can have varying weight assigned to each question. 7. Behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) This method of appraisal determines an employees level of performance based on whether or not certain specifically job behaviors are present. BARS consist of scale value and anchors. Scale values define specific categories of performance such as: Excellent, good, average, poor, etc. Anchors are statements which indicate the level of performance on the scale opposite that particular anchor. 8. Ranking methods In this method of appraisal, the performance of an employee is ranked relative to the performance of others. Ranking methods include: Alternation ranking Paired comparison ranking, and Forced distribution Alternation ranking-the appraiser lists the names of employees to be rated on the left side of a sheet of paper. The rater chooses the most valuable employee on the list, crosses that name off the left-hand list, and puts at the top of the column on the right-hand side of the paper. The rater repeats the process for all names on the left hand side of the paper. Paired comparison ranking: suppose a rater is to evaluate six employees. The names of these individuals are listed on the left side of a sheet of paper. The rater then compares the first employee with the second employee on a chosen performance criterion, such as quantity of work; he then makes a mark on the first employees name if he produced more. He then compares the first employee with the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth employees on the same performance criterion. Forced distribution-In this method, the appraiser places a certain percentage of employees at various performance levels. It assumes performance in a group of employees is distributed according to a normal curve. Thus, the rater could place 60% of employees as meeting expectation; 20% as exceeding expectation, and 20% as not meeting expectations. Model of Attendance Your company wont suffer much from the occasional employee day off or sick day, but patterns of absences can create havoc in your work place. With several employees out of the office, production slows, or other employees may have to pick up the slack causing the quality of their work to suffer. While you cant prevent every absence, you can take steps to decrease the number of overall absences. Create an Attendance Policy Some employees may show up late or take several days off because they do not understand the companys stance on absences. You need a clear-cut attendance policy so every employee knows what you expect of him. Include reasons for acceptable absences, what you consider unacceptable and any disciplinary action or reduction in pay the employee may face after abusing holiday or sick days. Make sure every employee receives a copy of this policy. Have your supervisors monitor their employees and enforce the policy. Improve Morale If your office staff suffers from general low morale, employees will start to dread coming to work. This can increase absences throughout the staff. Spend time each week on boosting morale. Make sure every employee has regularly scheduled breaks throughout the day. Offer group lunches, prizes for completing projects or other incentives. Creating a positive environment that incorporates hard work with down time helps boost morale. Reduce Stress An employee can feel stressed in the workplace, especially if she has a large workload. High levels of stress can lead to avoidance, or even cause an illness. Both of which can lead to frequent absences. Make sure every employee has an even workload and can complete tasks given to them. Create teams to complete projects, rather than assigning one employee to the entire task. Reducing workloads and placing the right people with the right jobs will reduce stress levels in the office. Steers and Rhodes developed a model on absenteeism which according to Harrison and Martocchio, 1998 was deemed to be very influential and frequently cited in literatures about absenteeism within organizations. The model states that the capability of employees or workers to attend work is primarily dictated by how motivated as well as their ability to attend and perform their duties. These variables, ability and motivation have been thought to interact in a manner that an individual supposed ability to be present at work usually moderates his/her enthusiasm to attend work-what has been known as attendance relationship(Steers and Susan, 1978).The two further argued that personal characteristics or attributes which include sex(gender), tenure, family size, education, in addition to that, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, the ability to attend which encompass sickness, family responsibilities, accidents as well as transport problems, pressure to attend that include attendance reward system/incentives/bonuses, work group norms all either in isolation or in combination influence absenteeism of employees. It is worth to note that these were addition to their initial model developed in 1978 which only identified job satisfaction as the only specific significant factor affecting attendance motivation. From the diagram, attendance motivation is influenced by organizational practices, culture of absenteeism, attitude, values and goals of employees. Employees who are fully satisfied with their jobs do have strong loyalty to the organization and proud of it hence will desire to actively engage in activities to better the organization, and this is done by being present at work. REFERNCES Retrieved August 12, 2011, from World Wide Web http://smallbusiness.chron.com/things-improve-employee-work-attendance-19070.html Retrieved August 3, 2011, from World Wide Web (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })() Retrieved August 3, 2011, from, from World Wide Web http://www.businessballs.com/trainingprogramevaluation.htm Retrieved August 12, 2011, from, from World Wide Web http://managementhelp.org/training/basics/reasons-for-training.htm Daft, R. and Marcic, D. (2007). Management, The New Workplace. Ohio. USA: Thomson Kotler, P., Armstrong, G. (1996). Principles of Marketing. New Jersey: Prentice hall.

Computer Ergonomics In The Workplace :: Workplace Health and Safety

Business strive for high production at low cost. This would result in the highest profit for a company. To many businesses, this is only a mirage. This is because the 'low cost' of the business usually results in a 'high cost' for the employees. This high cost is lower quality workplace items, lower salaries, less benefits, etc. These costs create an upset workplace environment. Companies understand that the more efficient their workers are, the more productive their business will become. Although this will take lots of money at first, the result will be extreme success. There exist many different things in the workplace that add to stress and injuries. They range from lifting heavy boxes to typing too much on the keyboard. This paper will be focusing on the principals of ergonomics in the computer workstation. According to the Board of Certification for Professional Ergonomists (BCPE), the definition of ergonomics "is a body of knowledge about human abilities, human limitations and human characteristics that are relevant to design. Ergonomic design is the application of this body of knowledge to the design of tools, machines, systems, tasks, jobs, and environments for safe, comfortable and effective human use."(BCPE, 1993) In the average computer workstation, employees are prone to over a dozen hazards. There exist two factors that can prevent this: forming good work habits and ergonomically designed computer workstations. We will discuss these preventions throughout the paper. First, a few terms may need defining. Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) takes place from the repeated physical movements of certain body parts which results in damage to tendons, nerves, muscles, and other soft body tissues. If these injuries are not taken care of immediately, permanent damage could be done. A few common results of RSI's that were not taken care of right away are injuries like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tendentious, Tenosynovitis, DeQuervain's Syndrome, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome etc. All of these are able to be prevented by the use of good working habits and ergonomic engineering.i Usually, ergonomically designing a computer workstation would cost about $1000. This expense could be eliminated by the formation of good work habits. This is essential for the safety of computer terminal employees. There exist a number of precautions that can be taken into consideration when dealing with a computer workstation. We shall discuss six of them. First, the whole body must be relaxed. The correct posture is shown in Figure 1. Notice that the arms and thighs are parallel to the floor and the feet are flat on the floor. Also notice that the wrists are not bent in any way. This is one of the most damaged parts of the body when

Calculate the Window of Vulnerability Essay

To resolve the issue of the window of vulnerability (WoV), we would need to get the patch from Microsoft. According to Microsoft, it will take up to 3 days for the patch to be available. Then, we would need additional time to download and test the patch to make sure that this is what is needed to fix the security breach on the SMB server. After doing the testing, the IT department would need time to install the patch onto the servers and deploy to the client computers. This will take 2 days to do, depending on the IT staff, if they work on weekends will determine the completion date. Meaning, if they will work on the weekend, then the deployment to all computers and servers will be done by that Sunday. If not, then it will be the following Tuesday. So, the time that is needed would be a week. To recap, the security breach was reported on a Friday. On Monday, looked on Microsoft’s website to see when the patch would be released, and it indicated that it would take 3 days for it to be available. Counting Monday, 3 days would be, Wednesday. Depending on the time that the patch is released on Wednesday, would need an additional 2 days to download and test the patch before deploying, if early Wednesday, then Thursday to test. But if it comes late Wednesday, then it would take Thursday and Friday to test. Then that would leave the weekend, if the IT staff would work on the weekend. But if not, then it is going to restart on Monday and complete on Tuesday.

Advantages and Disadvantages of an Early Marriage Essay

Below is a free essay on â€Å"Advantages and Disadvantages of an Early Marriage† from Anti Essays, your source for free research papers, essays, and term paper examples. Young people in modern society have completely different views on marriage. Ones prefer to get married at an early age; others, however, tend to postpone marriage until they finish their studies and make a successful career. Early marriages have lots of advantages, such as experiencing the joy of parenthood and other benefits of the wedlock and becoming mature as early as possible, but also have some negative sides, such as economic restrictions, misunderstanding between partners and inability to get proper education. On the one hand, marrying young has some advantages. Firstly, due to the heavy workload arising from new responsibilities and duties, such as earning the living, taking care of children, organizing time properly, running the household, the newly married youngsters mature much earlier than their peers. see more:advantages and disadvantages of family Read more:  Child Marriage Essay Introduction Secondly, the earlier the partners get married, the more time they spend together, the more obstacles they overcome hand in hand, the more mutual interests they have, and, as a result, it is quite easy for them to find common ground and see eye to eye on various problems. Besides, such spouses are more likely to compromise and to comfort each other more successfully. Thirdly, having children is another important aspect of family life, which is worth mentioning. The idea is that giving birth at an early age is not likely to be followed by any health problems. On the other hand, there are some disadvantages in getting married at an early age. To begin with, both partners do not have an opportunity to finish their education, as they have to provide for their family and one of the spouses is likely to become a breadwinner. Furthermore, marrying young leads to a wide range of problems and inconveniences, such as insufficient income and lack of suitable accommodation. This is when a young couple realizes that the reality is much tougher, than their pure feelings and family life is not always about being lovers, but it also demands self-sacrifice.