Benefit and Compensation

This company is a commercial contractor with annual revenue between 10-20 million dollars (PC One Source Contracting, 2013). According to their website, PC begins part-time general laborers at $10. 50 per hour (www. Vociferousness. Com). They offer medical benefits, vacation pay, and merit increases for full time employees. Management and project leaders are also offered a car allowance, and retirement plans (www. Vociferousness. Com). Bellow Disaster Restoration is an international commercial construction company with operations in both Michigan and Arizona.Bellow currently creates approximately $20 million in revenue within the Detroit area (Bellow Property Restoration, 2013). They offer pay structures (depending on position) within both markets averaging from minimum wage to $1 00,000 per year (Bellow Group Salaries, 2014). They offer incentive programs for early completion of projects, bonuses for exceeding sales goals, and merit increases for exceeding performance or promotions. In addition, Bellow offers medical benefits, accrued paid time off, paid sick leave, retirement plans, and car allowance and travel expense reimbursement for applicable employees (Bellow Group Salaries, 2014).According to Glissando. Com, the national average wage for commercial contractors (not including additional benefits in a total compensation package) is $65,239 (Salary: Contractor, 2014). In both markets, competitors of similar size are offering wages between minimum and approximately $100,000 per year (dependent on position). Competitors also offer compensation packages with merit increases, health insurance, paid vacations, productivity incentives, retirement plans, and are within the national average compensation of $65,239 for commercial construction contractors.This market survey and evaluation will allow Clayton Commercial Construction to better prepare a competitive and relevant compensation package for employees of the Detroit, Michigan and Arizona operations. Compens ation Structure and Position in Market Since the company wants to be comparable to other construction companies it is easier to determine the pay structure that can be used for the company. This can be achieved by using the practice of benchmarking. This can be done one of two ways.The company can take a direct approach, go around to different companies in Arizona, and see if their human resources department will give them a look at how theirs works. Another way to benchmark would be to use the internet job boards to see what current salaries in the area are going for. The best recommendation would be to grade each job on a points scale to decide difficulty and importance. From there decide which jobs have an average salary and which ones should have a pay scale based on time in service and skill level.From there the company can identify how many positions for each job title the will have and can factor in the projected payroll of the company against the projected gross value. This will allow for growth within the company as well staying competitive with other companies. For the expansion to Arizona, the company will have to look at trying to undercut prices Of competitors. The positioning will be weak and should look to specialize in smaller jobs. According to central. Com (2014) the top 10 companies billing is from $500 million to $47 million.This company currently nets about 20% of the tenth ranked company's billing amount. Positioning themselves as a smaller company that offers a more intimate experience is the marketing strategy to go with. People like to do business with companies that give the impression of personal touch. Bigger companies can lose this eel and open the door for other businesses. This is where Clayton Commercial can really make their money. Compensation and Benefits Strategy Expanding into a new market presents many challenges, but perhaps the most critical element is recruiting excellent talent in the new market to ensure successful gr owth.Ensuring that Clayton Commercial Construction is attractive to potential hires is the key goal behind designing a competitive compensation and benefits strategy. Our recommendation for Clayton is to provide a wide variety of options to employees and then allowing them to hose the benefits they want to pay for. We recommend assigning costs to each benefit, and we will provide employees with a budget of â€Å"Benefit Dollars† to spend on the benefits they care about most. Employees may go over these â€Å"benefit dollar† budgets, but they will be responsible for extra expenses beyond their budget.We recommend allotting employees 20% of their annual base salary in â€Å"benefit dollars† to spend how they choose, and then charging employees based on the benefits they take. This cafeteria-style approach will allow Clayton to save money by not paying for benefits that are r low extreme flexibility to Clayton employees. It will also reinforce with the employees of Clayton just how much these benefits cost much off benefit the company is paying for. Morale and employ appreciation will be higher and employees will be less likely to tall benefits packages for granted.Regarding compensation, we erect Clayton utilize market research to set and maintain comparable Our preliminary research indicates that in Arizona, a typical front construction worker earns roughly $31 ,OHO per year (Indeed. Com skilled tradesman makes $46,000 per year (Salary. Com, 2014), an, rings home $120,000 (Salary. Com, 2014). In terms of raises, rata annual raises, we recommend that Clayton conduct annual mark into comparable salaries and then adjust pay as needed to stay IR with industry norms.Claptrap's plan is to increase workforce size which constitutes 130 employees. Assuming we have 1 director, 45 skilled laborers, 60 unskilled laborers, and 21 support staff, ‘M manage three different full construction teams. Each team will h manager, 15 skilled laborers, 20 uns killed laborers, and seven soul resulting in a per-team annual cost of roughly $1. 7 million. Clap dated that they are aiming for a net revenue growth of -3%, we r this team aim for exact revenue neutral, so they must earn $1. 7 revenue to offset the increased cost.Performance Incentives and A performance incentive system is and merit pay is a way to retail employees and should be used to recruit top employees. Enema) set goals for their employees that are attainable and realistic, who turn motivate them to work harder to attain the goals set by the Some incentives to look at would be bonuses, stock, and time off Merit pay is used frequently amongst businesses to pay their me based on performance. In order for the merit pay program to be employers must assure that the reward is delivered to the top en will be prominently healthier than raises given to average or subs employees.The theory of performance-based compensation for is that they should be compensated generously for out perf ormer workers, but if a worker performance is ordinary, that worker cord should show that. Compensation law The primary federal law to be aware of when it comes to compel benefits is the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or IRIS sets the standards ensuring employee benefits plans are fair and mound and establishes employer obligations to provide benefit AR retirement plans (United States Department of Labor, 2009).Thud requires persons managing plan funds to refrain from conflict of transactions, disclose information on conditions of the plan, and the funds of the plan to the exclusive benefit of participants. ERE! Codifies provisions for COBRA, which gives former employees of large companies the right to continue health coverage at previous group rates, well as establishing rules for exclusions relating to preexisting conditions (United States Department of Labor, 2009). With regard to state law, there are a few requirements: Clayton is required to pay employees twice a Mont no more than 16 days apart, on regularly scheduled paydays.Employees w work beyond 40 hours in a week must receive 1. 5 times normal base and characteristics such as sex, ethnicity, and religious preference may not be considered when determining salaries (State Bar of Arizona, 2014). Conclusion To assist with the expansion to Arizona, it was important for Clayton Commercial Construction's strategies are comparable to other commercial construction business within the area. Team a made recommendations WI sat considerations with the compensation laws, benefits, incentives and marketing to assist Clayton Commercial Construction to excel in their new location.

Bartolome de las Casas’s Destruction of the Indies Essay

Bartolomà © de las Casas was a Spanish historian and a social reformer who was writing in the 16th century, during the time of the Spanish occupation of the Indies. In A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Casas provides a scathing commentary on the cruelty exercised by the Spanish colonizers on the natives of Hispaniola—as well as explain the aims that motivated this behavior. The account acts as not only an observation on the practices of the colonizers, but is also a reflection of the imperial policies of the Spanish Empire. Through writing A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Casas aims at bringing the Spanish Crown’s attention to the atrocities committed by the citizens of the empire on the natives. In keeping with that aim, he utilizes a rhetoric that seeks to arouse the sympathy of his readers towards the natives and a sense of horror over how they are being treated. Right from the beginning of the account, in the preface, he paints an i mage of the natives as being simple, and harmless. He describes them as, â€Å"the simplest people in the world†¦they are without malice or guilt†¦never quarrelsome or belligerent or boisterous, they harbour no grudges†¦indeed the notions of revenge, rancour and hatred are quite foreign to them†. In contrast to that, he describes the Spaniards as â€Å"ravening wolves† who fell upon the natives like â€Å"tigers or savage lions who had not eaten meat for days .â€Å" Casas sets up a comparison between the helplessness of the natives and the savagery of the Spaniards, and this comparison holds throughout the document. Examples of this comparison are in the frequent accounts he gives of the before and after native population levels once the Spanish occupy an area—â€Å"when the Spanish first journeyed here, the indigenous population of the island of Hispaniola stood at some three million; today only two hundred survive† or â€Å"not a living soul remains today on any of the islands of the Bahamas.† Casas uses concrete numbers in describing the decline in the population level, in the number deaths—he does this as a means of stressing the official nature of the document, to lend it a sense authority. These numbers also help in giving his reade rs a very clear idea of the terrifying extent of the Spanish cruelty. He enumerates the different ways through which the locals are being exterminated, which gives a fair idea of the general colonial practices in the Indies— through â€Å"forcible expatriation†, â€Å"unjust†¦tyrannical war,† working the natives to the  point of death—Casas gives an example of a man who worked the natives under him so hard that within a month, out of three hundred, only thirty survived. More importantly, Casas reveals the motives behind the widespread cruelty as being simple, materialistic greed. He explains that the greed for the gold that the natives have is the driving force behind the actions of the Spanish. The one instance that effectively reflects this fanatical greed is of the local lord who makes an offering of nine thousand castilians to the Spanish and is still seized and tortured for more gold—â€Å"tying him in a sitting position to a stake set in the ground, lit a fire under his outstretched feet to induce him to hand over yet more gold†¦when he produced no further gold, they carried on until all the marrow ran out through the soles of his feet.† What is worth noting is that Casas when first talking about this greed, refers to the Spanish as Christians—â€Å"the reason the Christians have murdered on such a vast scale and killed anyone and everyone in their way is purely and simply greed.† Casas obviously uses the term â€Å"Christian† ironically to draw attention to the un-Christian behavior that the Spanish are displaying in the colonies. Casas was the Bishop of Chiapas. He was a clerical man, and so his primary concern was the un-Christian activities that were taking place in the colonies. He exclaims that the colonizers have â€Å"little concern over their [natives] souls as for their bodies, all the millions that have perished, having gone to their deaths with no knowledge of God.† This clearly defines exactly what A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies as a text is—it is not a text that is arguing for equal rights, it is instead a text that shows the priorities and concerns of a man living under the Spanish Empire at the time. Casas views the natives not as people equal to the Spaniards, but as potential Christians. He describes them as being, â€Å"innocent and pure in mind and have a lively intelligence, all of which makes them particularly receptive to learning and understanding the truths of our Catholic faith and to being instructed in virtue.† Casas is outraged because the Spanish policy of â€Å"conversion a nd saving of souls as first priority† was not being followed. Instead, it was being used as an excuse—â€Å"The gulf that yawns between theory and practice has meant that, in fact, the’ local people have been presented with an ultimatum: either they adopt the Christian religion and swear allegiance to the Crown of Castile, or they will find themselves faced with  military action.† He describes how the Spanish would unnecessarily pillage an area, but would essentially be within their legal rights as they would make sure that they presented the natives with the royal ultimatum. Casas’ account is a good reflection of the general imperial policy of expansion of the Spanish Empire. The Spanish Empire used religion as a tool to further its aims—the Spanish Inquisition, for example, was established in 1478 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella as a way of increasing their political authority via religion and to suppress any tension that may arise from social and cultural differences. While the activities of the colonizers wasn’t the same as the inquisition, as Casas points out, the Spanish in the colonies were using religion in a similar way. Therefore, Casas’A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies gives important insight into the practices of the Spanish Empire. It also presents an interesting perspective from someone who is a part and within the empire—who is aware and recognizes the malpractices of the Crown and more importantly, is attempting to do something to put a stop to it. It’s also important that the way he goes about this, is through literature—it shows us the importance of the written word in the process of trying to affect a change. Though Casas’ sentiment in the account might not be a common one at the time, it does signal a rising awareness of the moral blindness displayed in the activities of the empires/colonies. Works Cited Bartolomà © de las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, trans. Nigel Griffin (London: Penguin Classics, 2004), 9-37. Bartolomà © de las Casas, â€Å"Bartolomà © de las Casas,† in Norton Anthology of American Literature, ed. Nina Bayme and Robert S. Levine. (New York: WW Norton & Co, 2012), 38.

Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay

Actions speak volumes of character. While words are used to convey emotion, action is what determines character. In Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he emphasizes the relationship between characters’ actions and their moralities. Ironically, Huck and Jim, the novel’s social pariahs, represent the moral fiber of this novel as they defy predefined racial boundaries and learn to trust and even love each other. Tom Sawyer, Huck’s well off, socially accepted counter part and literary foil, is a manifestation of selfishness and corruptness, despite being of a higher class than Huck and Jim. As the novel is plot driven, Twain establishes the characters’ morality through their actions, and ultimately asserts that it is character, not class, that determines integrity. Huckleberry Finn, for whom the novel is named after, is the protagonist of the story. In the beginning Huck is portrayed as a troubled boy with a questionable past. Since Huck’s father was an alcoholic and abusive, Huck lived with Miss Watson and the Widow Douglas. Society looked at Huck as if he were â€Å"that kid†, the kid who causes trouble, who is uneducated, and the kid to pity. However, Huck’s intelligence and moral superiority to those who surrounded him is proven when he chooses to keep Miss Watson’s slave, Jim, in hiding instead of turning him in. When Huck decided to do the morally correct option of keeping Jim safe, even though he could be sent to jail, shows what kind of character Huck is. Jim, Miss Watson’s slave, at first glance seems to be superstitious to the point of idiocy, but later on, the time that Huck and Jim spend on Jackson’s Island reveals that Jim’s superstitions conceal a deep knowledge of the natural world and represent an alternate form of â€Å"truth† or intelligence. As Huck and Jim make their way down the river, Jim becomes a surrogate father to Huck, taking care of him without being intrusive or smothering. Jim cooks for the Huck and shelters him from some of the worst horrors that they encounter, including the sight of Pap’s corpse, and, the news of his father’s passing. Jim is realistic about his situation and must find ways of accomplishing his goals without incurring the wrath of those who could turn him in. In this position, he is seldom able to act boldly or speak his mind. Nonetheless, despite these restrictions and constant fear, Jim consistently acts as a noble human being and a loyal friend. In fact, Jim could be described as the only real adult in the novel, and the only one who provides a positive, respectable example for Huck to follow. Tom is the same age as Huck and his best friend. Whereas Huck’s birth and upbringing have left him in poverty and on the margins of society, Tom has been raised in relative comfort. As a result, his beliefs are an unfortunate combination of what he has learned from the adults around him and the fanciful notions he has gleaned from reading romance and adventure novels. Tom believes in sticking strictly to â€Å"rules,† most of which have more to do with style than with morality or anyone’s welfare. Although Tom’s escapades are often funny, they also show just how disturbingly and unthinkingly cruel society can be. Tom knows all along that Miss Watson has died and that Jim is now a free man, yet he is willing to allow Jim to remain a captive while he entertains himself with fantastic escape plans. Tom’s plotting tortures not only Jim, but Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas as well. In the end, although he is just a boy like Huck and is appealing in his zest for adventure and his unconscious wittiness, Tom embodies what a young, well-to-do white man is raised to become in the society of his time: self-centered with dominion over all. In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain’s plot driven story establishes the characters’ morality through their actions. Through Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, and Jim, it is proven that it is character, not class that determines integrity. Through out the novel, each action Huck and Jim took made them stronger and smarter, while each action that Tom took made him crueler. Mark Twain wrote this novel not only to reflect on his childhood, but also to define the importance of a moral conscience.

Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries - Essay Example The latter, is itself the result of the change in weather patterns at the dawn of the 14th century. It was at this point in time that Europe went through a period of bad weather, characterized by severe winters and rainy and cold summers. This caused crop yields to decline and as a result, there was inadequate food supply to feed the whole population. The Great Famine was followed by the Hundred Years War that was fought between Britain and France. Although conflict between the two states dates far back, it was only in the 14th century when the two states constantly engaged in disputes. This crisis brought about great economic losses for both states as well as loss of human life. However, the effects of such economic loss were most felt when the next crisis hit Europe, the Black Death. The Black Death is the most notable pandemic to hit Europe. It struck in the mid-14th century (1347-1351). The result of such pandemic was a huge loss of life when around one third of Europe's total population was killed. This event occurred while England and France were engaged in the battles of the Hundred Years War. As a result, the two states were placed in a situation where they found themselves with depleted treasures and infrastructure and faced with the problems of poverty, malnutrition, disease, and hunger. The aforementioned problems characterize the situation Europe found itself in during the 14th an

Frankenstein Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Frankenstein - Essay Example or the reader to ignore the place of the author within her own text as Shelley, who portrays the image of avowed atheist, and makes the comparison of human development basing on contrary means encompassing both religious and secular relationships. At the end of the novel, through Frankenstein, the author completes that the moral and spiritual development is possible to attain best through the shading of dogmatic belief structures, which results to the elimination of God upon the attainment of self-realization. There are many ‘monstrous reflections’ in this entire text basing on the critical commentary. Frankenstein’s creature serves as the existence of his short existence, which results to the last freedom of the creature that occurs through the death of his creator. Even though a secular theme continues through the entire novel, it is also impossible to ignore the religious references and the biblical allusions, which provide the complex addition to the text that one could view as being the secular treatise basing on the dangerous nature of knowledge. Even though it can be possible to pare the text down into such non-religious terms, one cannot easily ignore that Frankenstein also contains the great deal of the biblical symbolism, evident particularly on the theme of outcast and the creation story. In the story, the monster is subject to portray as a sympathetic character, especially in regards to the contemporary reader. Through the biblical story, Adam causes his own fate through engaging in sin. His creator, Victor, goes ahead to cause the creature’s hideous existence, and it is through the grotesqueness that eventually leads to the spurning of the creature. It is only upon facing repeated rejection that leads the creature into becoming violent and thus deciding to seek revenge. The allegory of creation becomes clear to the reader right from the beginning of the novel. Despite lacking cultivation and learning through the morals and ethics of

Human Activities on Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Human Activities on Environment - Essay Example they either overestimate the size of earth or the problem of global warming. Increase in the level of CO2 in the air has been scientifically proved. CO2 has already increased up to 380 ppm in the atmosphere and may reach 600 ppm in the next fifty years. Its symptoms have shown up in the melting of glaciers and an overall increase in the temperature of Earth’s atmosphere since the American Civil War. In 2003 alone, 20000 people lost their life as a result of the unexpected heat wave in Europe. Fifty years are not very far meaning what shouldn’t happen is already happening thus coining the term, climate emergency. Global warming has altered our relation with Earth as we have changed the look of the world and made it warmer. Facts presented in this article are all reliable as they are supported with research. With our conscious efforts, we can control global warming like we have controlled CFCs in the past and solved the ozone hole problem. Works Cited: Al Gore. â€Å"The Climate Emergency.† 13 Apr. 2004. Web. 28 Jun. 2011.

Analyze the Slave Petitions in light of the key changes taking place Essay

Analyze the Slave Petitions in light of the key changes taking place in this new American society - Essay Example They campaigned for equality and recognition of their rights and racial acceptance among other Americans, who still embraced unjust treatment through slavery. This compelled blacks in new American society to lobby for recognition through petitions that they submitted to congress and senate for redress despite the open hostility that they faced from their white counterparts. Slave petitions were vital in the campaign for the rights of blacks, mostly slaves, in new American society. This is what later resulted to the 1963 match to Washington. During the match, Martin Luther delivered his renowned speech advocating for the rights of black slaves in new America. Besides King and his proponents’ efforts, there several other slave petitions were praiseworthy for the changes attained in new American society. They brought recognition for Black Americans, enhanced justice and appreciation. Before the petitions, the nation’s culture and societal set-up was one that could not withstand the face of revolutionary changes. As such, the culture, societal set-up and political landscape of the U.S. changed significantly and subsequently during the course of the journey. The America revolution began during the 18th century during when it attained its independence from the British. The declaration of independence rendered Americans including blacks free and independent (Williams 21). Essentially, slave petitions in the new American society sought to restore black Americans’ sovereign and the recognition of their rights (Main, Mark and John 226). Slave petitions propagated for liberty and self-representative and were an awakening during the revolutionary war. Proponents of slave petitions opted to pursue the representative way. In 1774, blacks submitted the petition of "A Grate Number of Blackes". Through the petition, enslaved Americans advocated for freedom as a fortune of the revolution (Dorsey 152). It is during this time that the slaves also took

Should USA got in war with Iraq Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Should USA got in war with Iraq - Research Paper Example The war is undeniably illegal as defined by the United Nations (UN) and International Court of Justice (ICJ), the two most paramount legal bodies in the world. Iraq had no link to terrorism, no weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and no legal rationale to attack. Despite this, Bush decided to invade the Republic of Iraq for causes deemed objectionable to the majority of other countries so he frequently relied on and utilized false information to rationalize it. He lied. This discussion will examine how the truth was a casualty early and often during the lead up to the war and outlines some of the consequences brought about by these far-reaching and deadly deceptions. Bush voiced his disagreement to the concept of ‘nation building’ during the 2000 presidential election debates but as president waged an undeclared war against a sovereign country that had neither attacked first nor threatened to. Immediately following and as a reactionary reply to the terrorist attacks on Se ptember 11, 2001, Bush stated the county’s intention to begin a ‘War on Terrorism’ which he portrayed as a protracted battle against those that would use terrorist actions in addition to the countries that enabled them. The eventual culmination of the selective legal reasoning and rhetoric concerning the ‘War on Terror’ was Bush’s order of the military to invade both Afghanistan and Iraq, an illegal action on many fronts. Bush had constantly claimed that these actions were legal. First, he argued, due to language existing within the UN Security Council Resolution 1441 regarding Iraq and secondly, the invasions were an act of self-defense which is permitted by international law. Conversely, according to Richard Perle, advisor to U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and official of the U.S. Defense Policy Board, â€Å"international law ... would have required us to leave Saddam Hussein alone.† (Burkeman & Borger, 2003). However, this op tion would have been â€Å"morally unacceptable† according to the Bush administration. Bush chose to solicit then followed the advice of biased, self serving legal opinion from a low-level Justice Dept. employee despite strong disagreement by higher level personnel within the Dept. in addition to and the U.S. State Department which cautioned against ignoring international law and U.N. laws in addition to covenants of the Geneva Convention. The Bush administration was determined in its careless use of military force and disregard for laws established to by the world’s community of nations. The initial foreign incursion of the U.S. military along with the ‘coalition of the willing’ in its ‘War on Terror’ was Afghanistan, more specifically the Taliban terrorist faction based in that country. The U.S. claimed to possess ‘clear and compelling evidence,’ that the State of Afghanistan was giving refuge to terrorists, as did Iraq. However , if this assertion were true, why then didn’t the Bush administration divulge this information to the UN Security Council so as to obtain legal grounds to invade? The United Nations Charter, Article 51, Chapter Seven stipulates â€Å"nothing shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self defense if an armed attack occurs against a member of the United Nations†

Just write after reading the promt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Just write after reading the promt - Essay Example In this regard, there is a need to examine the benefits that new technologies can bring to us. New technologies have introduced communication devices such as smart phones and computer-related devices. One longer has to travel and meet face-to-face in order to deliver a message. The new technological devices have made the world appear like a global village since individuals from different continents communicate real time and use video links to see each other during the conversation. Individuals have become accustomed to new technological devices such that they do not imagine a world without them. To make it worse, some claim they cannot fail to pick calls or reply to messages while driving. For instance, Roman admits that he responds to calls and text messages while driving and claims that he cannot stop (Turkle 170). The influences the new technologies have brought are enormous. Previously, I did not see the need to own an expensive and sophisticated phone such as a smart phone. However, time has proven me wrong because the influence of my peers and the changing times have prompted me to buy one. After owning the smart phone, I came to realize the benefits I was denying myself. The device has made my work easier because I do not need to ask anyone for direction, especially when I move to new locations. I use it to navigate using the available map and other compass devices. I have downloaded many applications such as Whatssup and joined many social groups such as Facebook and Twitter. I connect with my friends and family whenever I want from anywhere. I find the smart phone helpful and dread the time I delayed purchasing one. I take pictures when touring new places and store in the device’s memory. The device allows one to print the stored photos and send them to friends and relatives. The refore, when outside home, I always keep in touch and send updates of my status to my family. The use of

Usability will be an important factor in QoL and QoA Essay

Usability will be an important factor in QoL and QoA - Essay Example Current markets are saturated with lots of computer products from different vendors. As a result, manufactures need to develop systems and products that are usable by consumer. In order to achieve this, they should focus on user-oriented methods of product design rather than technology-oriented methods (David, 1984). In doing so, the customers quality of experience will increase which will in turn increase the quality of experience. The key idea behind usability is the object should be designed with key attention and consideration put on the user’s psychology and physiology. In other words, the designed systems should be efficient. By efficiently, it means that a consumer takes little time to learn and use it. This will ensure that the consumer make more use of the given product thus improving their quality of life. Many are the times when products come in the market and go. During this period of time, consumer may forget how to use the particular product. Usability focuses on the ability of consumers to remember how to use this product, were it to return back to the market. It is very important to design products that consumer will easily remember to use as this will enable them establish proficiency hence improving the quality of life (Iler, 2000). Produced goods are never 100% efficient and as a result the manufacture needs to test it before releasing the product into the market. Manufacture need to understand that testing things prior to releasing them into the market is cheaper compared to releasing and then make rectifications later. In addition to that, quality of life demands that for people to experience the general welfare of life the level of errors, arising from usage of commodities, should be minimized greatly (Mellouk, 2014). This means that consumer goods should be designed in a way that consumers will make very minimal errors while using these products. Manufactures should therefore design products with interfaces that are easy to understand

Knowledge Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Knowledge Management - Essay Example Thus, contemporary KM theories can roughly be classified into three major categories: 1. Technology-focused: primary focus on the enhancement of technologies that facilitate sharing/growth of knowledge. 2. Organisational: designing and reshaping the organisational environment in a way to facilitate knowledge processes. 3. Ecological: focus on the interaction process within the organisational environment involving people, knowledge and environmental factors (Gordon & Edge, 1997). A similar categorisation of the KM approaches is suggested in perhaps the only formal taxonomy of KM up to date. Michael Earl (2001) based his research on comprehensive empirical data to identify three major schools of KM: Technocratic: emphasis on information or technologies of KM. Economic: knowledge should be managed similarly to other assets (e.g. stock, bonds, etc). Behavioural: focus on knowledge exchange as a fundamentally social process (p. 224). However, modern models and theories of models are often difficult to fit in this taxonomy due to their integrative nature which encompasses elements of each school. The below overview provides some key concepts and theories associated with effective KM system. Main Body One popular KM approach widely used these days is a so-called 'pragmatic management'. Though it is not classified in the Earl's classical taxonomy pragmatic management is recently becoming increasingly popular, especially in the small to middle organisations. This approach seems rather close to Earl's behavioural paradigm that views knowledge management and knowledge exchange as fundamentally social processes. The main difference of this paradigm lies in the fact that it doesn't imply serious investments in the employees and their all-round... this paper describes the basic idea of knowledge management which is universal – doing what is needed to get the most out of knowledge resources – its practical implementation may vary in each particular case. The variations are not too serious and mostly concern the share of attention paid to either technological or human aspect of KM while the key principles remain similar in the modern models of KM: explicit and tacit knowledge, interactive nature of KM processes, increased attention cognitive and motivational aspects of KM. Therefore, the differences in KM systems implemented are mostly associated with different organizational structures and demands of the companies. Although the challenges related to designing/implementation of effective KM strategy are serious the practice continues to demonstrate that they are not compelling. The most essential of these challenges are identified in the professional literature as well as the alternative ways and tools to cope with them. Tu sum up this paper approves that the major factors contributing to the failures of knowledge management strategies are highly changeable global environment, coupled with failure to take a holistic approach to designing the system of knowledge management, and substantial resources required to design and implement a truly effective KM programme. Evidently, the first of these drawbacks has received better recognitions from the theorists whom develop KM models, programmes, and strategies for modern organisations.

Null hypothesis. Marketing Essay Example for Free

Null hypothesis. Marketing Essay Assessment activity 1 1. When conducting research on behalf of your organisation or for a client organisation, how will you determine the most appropriate data sources to use? In this case the most suitable data source will be a desk research because this information will have already been gathered, analysed and reported on by other companies. It means that you will not waste time and money doing what others before you have done. 2. Why are cross checks and cross references necessary? To ensure the information is correct. Assessment activity 2 1. What tools would you use to collect and collate data and why would you use them? 2. Why should your desk research include the collection and analysis of data relative to the organisation’s current and past performance? Collection and analysis of data relative to the organisation’s current and past performance is very important to decide what we are looking for and the questions we are trying to answer. In this way our needs can be met. Assessment activity 3 Describe and explain the reporting formats that might be required to follow when submitting desk research results. Assessment activity 4 1. What is the difference between working and null hypothesis? A working hypothesis is a theory that we can use in our thinking about possible consequences. Such hypotheses allow us to predict and then look for results. Null hypothesis stands in direct contrast to its Alternative hypothesis. If we propose that action A will cause result B, we have a testable hypothesis, called the alternative. 2. How do these hypothesis help to focus the research? It help to guide the development of a research project and aid you in determining the direction you need to take and the questions to which you need answers. Assessment tool 2 1. What is desk research? Explain the steps involved Desk research is identification and analysis of information which has already been compiled and published in some form. The basics of a good desk research involve: knowing where to look and what to look for Understanding the quality of the source material ensuring you get the right information. Core to any desk research is obtaining a list of sources. If you do know the subject area or the key jumping off points, you are likely to know exactly where to look immediately. This is where experienced researchers have advantages, as typically, they have a wide knowledge of sources know where to look and how to look. 2. What are quantitative and qualitative data? Explain the differences and their use in market research. Quantitative data is anything that can be added up whereas qualitative data deals with options, attitudes and behaviour and provides dues as to â€Å"why and how†. Quantitative information allows analysis of the strength of a trend. It is used to answer questions such as ‘who, what, where and when’. Qualitative info consists of descriptive statements about events that have happened. It includes opinions or comments by customers on a product or a service provided, future plans or even visions of what an organisation right become. 3. Describe the techniques you would use to identify potential research respondents. 4. Why is it important to ensure that rooms and facilities for survey recruits are well prepared? Describe how you would conduct a data gathering session. 5. Compare and discuss 2 software applications suitable for entering data. Assessment tool 3 Market research Market research is a powerful tool, which can be utilized to better understand a company’s customer base – allowing these companies to optimize their advertisements, predict market trends and guide their overall decision making. Specially in the case of coffee shops world. This report covers multiple and independent coffee shops. Coffee shops are defined as outlets where coffee accounts for a sizeable (usually at least around 40%) part of sales with quite a restricted, mainly packaged, food offer and small amounts if any, free alcohol. For some countries this will therefore include outlets such as donut shops and bars. Market value is based on expenditure including sales tax in these outlets; market volume is based on numbers of outlets. A Snapshot report is designed to provide instant preliminary market research. Each report provides an overview of the defined market, including market size, market forecast, segmentation, company market share along with top-line socio economic data. The data is supplied in both graphical and tabular format for ease of interpretation and analysis. There is is a mix of primary and secondary data sources. In addition each market contains an exclusive 5 year market size forecast. What’s more, our team of international research analysts are always on hand to provide further assistance where required. It’s a level of service you won’t find anywhere else. Secondary Research All secondary data sets in both local and global languages are derived from a range of sources, from government statistics to trade magazines. In addition, strong relationships with different companies. . Typically an analyst use a minimum of 3 to 4 data points for each table, analysing different aspects of the market. Full transparency of source data is provided for all secondary sources. Furthermore, we need to seek written permission from the original source which is quoted in every case, reinforcing the integrity and robust nature of the data. Primary Research – Trade Interviews Once secondary research has been exhausted, the language specialist researcher will then validate the information collected though semi-structured telephone interviews. Validation through telephone interviews is critical. We aim to receive confirmation from National Trade Associations, Statistic Offices, and major players of each quoted market. Forecast Methodology The basic model which the GMN forecast was built on is called the ISDE model, which is a framework based on four main concepts, namely: ï‚ · Interface ï‚ · Supply ï‚ · Demand ï‚ · Environment These four concepts can each affect the fluctuation of markets. First, all the main parameters are identified that affect the market/industry which is to be forecasted. Once identified the parameter is matched to and classified with the ISDE model. Interface These are factors which affect markets or industries. Mainly they regard to conditions and factors in the transition phase between the supply and demand. Supply  The total amount of goods and services that are available to purchase. Demand  Desire, ability or need by individuals or companies to purchase goods or services. Environment  The environment includes all factors external to the market or industry, which in one way or another, influence them. Each element of the ISDE model is affected by different parameters. Based on their understanding of the sector in question, the analyst selects the parameter regarded as the most relevant. For reasons of conformity, reliability and currency, the range of parameters at the analyst’s disposal is confined to eight parameters. These are updated on a monthly basis: ï‚ · Real agriculture ï‚ · Real industry ï‚ · Real manufacturing ï‚ · Real services ï‚ · Population ï‚ · Private Consumption The research methodology employed by MSI has been subject to numerous procedures to guarantee the quality and the reliability of the information contained within the reports. In-house consultants are employed full-time and receive a sixmonths training period to acquire and implement MSI’s research methodology. MSI’s methodology can be divided into five principal stages: †¢ Stage 1: secondary research  The consultancy teams work closely with trade associations, magazines, and government bodies operating in the researched field. Further research is also carried out from information available internally from our in-house documentation service and externally from the Internet. The latter is carried out by our teams which have the experience and the knowhow to efficiently and productively extract information from existing sources. †¢ Stage 2: primary research: interviews with trade sources The consultancy team proceeds to undertake a series of telephone or face-to-face interviews, with a representative selection of companies operating in the chosen industry. Every attempt is made to talk to leading players in the sector as well as smaller companies. Interviews are therefore carried out with manufacturers, distributors, importers, suppliers, installers and end-users. Indeed, some of our studies involve more than a hundred interviews. The data gathered from interviews is systematically checked and compared with the secondary research. †¢ Stage 3: analysis of the gathered data The information gathered during the two previous stages is then analysed and synthesized. A second series of interviews can be done if necessary to check and validate the data during this decisive stage. †¢ Stage 4: quantitative data MSI reports provide quantitative data, such as market estimates and forecasts, to measure the researched market. This data is based on the estimates obtained during stage 3. The quantitative data contained in the reports is based upon the consultancy teams’ appreciation and analysis of the market and is consequently unique to MSI. †¢ Stage 5: quality control  Each report is the subject of a rigorous checking and editing process by an experienced management team.

Benefits of Foreign Direct Investment

Benefits of Foreign Direct Investment Do Host Countries Benefit From Foreign Direct Investment? Evidence From Developing Economies Executive Summary The multinational companies (MNCs) and associated foreign direct investment (FDI) play an important role in international economy. It is well-known that FDI activity can bring many significant effects to host countries. In this essay I estimate such effects from three different aspects: The first part I focus on the relation between FDI and host country wages. Previous studies show that it is a universal phenomenon that the wages in foreign companies are higher than domestic companies. The FDI activity has a positive effect to the overall wage levels of the host countries, although wages spillovers to domestic companies are not always exist. The second part I focus on the relation between FDI and host country productivity. Foreign companies have higher productivity than domestic companies; it can be supported by most of the available studies no matter what measures have been used. Although some findings reflected that local firms in developing countries can benefit from FDI by productivity spillovers, in more cases, the productivity spillovers are not significant, even negative. The third part I focus on the relation between FDI and host countrys economic Growth. The result shows that developing countries can benefit from FDI and achieve economic growth. Overall, the host countries, especially the developing countries, can benefit from foreign direct investment. 1. Introduction The worldwide spread of multinational companies (MNCs) and associated foreign direct investment (FDI) play an important role in reconstructing economy pattern of the world. It is well-known that FDI activity can bring many significant effects to host countries development. In this essay I will estimate such effects from three different aspects- the effect in wages, the effect in productivity and the effect in economic growth- by reviewing numerous relative studies and try to find out whether host countries, especially the developing countries, can get benefits from foreign direct investment. 2. FDI And Host Country Wages In this section, I will explain to what extend does FDI influence host countries wages level. Whether local firms could benefit from the entrance or existence of foreign companies will be analyzed based on the previous studies. Firstly, let us take a look at the difference between foreign companies and domestic companies in regard to wages level. Almost all the available studies proved that foreign companies did pay higher wages in developing countries. Haddad and Harrison (1993) made a research on different companies performance in Morocco. They found that in unweighted means, foreign firms paid about 70% higher wages than domestic firms. According to weighted means, the foreign companies still paid higher real wages than domestic companies (PP.58-59). Higher wages paying by MNCs was also supported by some studies of other developing countries, such as Indonesia (Hill, 1990, Manning 1998, Lipsey and Sjà ¶holm, 2001). Lipsey and Sjà ¶holm (2001) reported that when taken the educational level into account, blue-collar workers can get 25% higher wages and white-collar workers can get 50% higher wages in foreign companies. In the conclusion part of this paper, the author stated â€Å"those higher wages for workers of a given educational level do not reflect only the greater size and larger inputs per worker in foreign plants, or their industry or location† (p.13). If considered all these factors, the foreign companies paid 12% and 20% more wages than domestic companies for blue-collar workers and white-collar workers respectively. Another evidence is taken by Ramstetter (1999), he did an research in five East Asian economies (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan) and made a report that wages in foreign plants were higher than domestic firms over 14-23 years, but the differences were not so significant in Singapore and Taiwan. It is a universal phenomenon that the wages in foreign companies are higher than domestic companies. Lipsey (2002) gave several explanations of this phenomenon. Firstly, higher wages may be caused by host-country regulations. Foreign firms are required to pay a higher price to the same quality workers in order to keep a good relationship with the host countries. Secondly, it could regard as compensation for the workers because they tend to choose local companies rather than foreign companies. Thirdly, as the foreign companies possess some advanced technology, they would rather pay more money to the employees to reduce the technology leaking resulted by stuff turnover. Last, the higher wages could count as an expense for attracting better employees because the foreign companies are not familiar with the labor market in host countries. Whether higher wages paid by foreign firms would affect the wages level in domestic firms and then change the wages level in host countries is another important question. The effects in wages of the local firms in host countries are referred as wage spillovers. Many studies focused on such wage spillovers as well as the effect to the overall wage level of the host countries taken by FDI. Aitken, Harrison, and Lipsey (1996) investigated the relationship between wages level and FDI in Venezuela and Mexico and found â€Å"no evidence of wage spillovers leading to higher wages for domestic firm†(Aitken et al., 1996, p.369). The lack of wages spillovers is in line with the different wages level between foreign and domestic companies. But there was a positive relationship between foreign ownership shares and averages industry wages, which means higher foreign ownership tend to increase industry wages. Besides, the effect was more significant for well skilled workers. The wage differ ences can be explained by â€Å"the greater human capital formation in foreign firms and lower turnover† (Aitken et al., 1996, p.369), well the increasing industry wages can be explained by the raising demand of labor in the foreign companies. Lipsey and Sjà ¶holm (2001) calculated the wage spillovers caused by FDI in Indonesia and found out foreign ownership could affect the wage level in domestic companies even if the difference in wage levels is not significant. Higher foreign ownership tend to increase the wage level of domestic companies, especially for white-collar than for blue-collar workers. We can conclude that the FDI activity has a positive effect to the overall wage levels of the host countries as the higher wages in foreign companies can increase the average wage level of the host countries, although wages spillovers to domestic companies are not always exist. As Lipsey (2002) summarized, the positive effect might caused by the higher wages paid by the foreign firms if there are no wages spillover to domestic companies; if there are positive wage spillovers, both higher wage level in foreign companies and the positive spillovers to domestic companies can contribute to the overall wage increasing; even when foreign companies take a negative effect to the wages of domestic companies, the negative spillovers could be offset by foreign companies higher wages, so it could not impact the wage level increasing in the host countries. 3. FDI And Host Country Productivity In this section, I will review the previous literatures based on two questions. The first one is whether the productivity is higher in foreign companies than domestic companies in developing countries. Only if the existence of higher productivity has been proved in foreign companies could the productivity spillover of FDI take place in developing countries. The second one is whether the higher productivity in foreign companies spills over to domestic companies. According to previous studies, comparisons of productivity between foreign-owned plants and domestic-owned plants were focused on the manufacturing sectors in developing countries. Lipsey (2002) gave a summary of Blomstrà ¶m and Wolffs working paper. They found that by measuring both value-added and gross output from manufacturing data of Mexcican in 1970, the productivity of foreign companies was more than twice of domestic companies on average. When comparing with domestic companies, the labor productivity in foreign companies was much higher in 20 manufacturing industries. They also found that the capital intensity in foreign companies was 2.5 times higher than Mexican domestic companies. Sjà ¶holm (1999, p.55) in his article examined intra-industry spillovers from FDI in the manufacturing sector of Indonesian. He used micro-level data to examine the difference in labour productivity between foreign and domestic companies in 28 industries. It was proved that technology level was higher in foreign firms than domestic firms in 26 out of 28 industries. A similar conclusion can be found in a working paper written by Okamoto and Sjà ¶holm (1999) which published in the same year. They reported in Indonesia, higher foreign shares of gross output than foreign share of employment between 1990 and 1995 indicated that foreign-owned companies had higher labor productivity. Many other studies also showed that in developing countries, the foreign companies have higher productivity than domestic companies. For Morocco, Haddad and Harrison (1993) compared the â€Å"deviation of firm productivity from each sectors best-practice frontier† in 18 industries from 1985 to 1989. They found a higher output per worker and a smaller deviation from best-practice frontiers in foreign companies than in domestic companies among total 12 industries. For Uruguay, value added per worker was used to estimate the difference in productivity between foreign and domestic owned companies. Result revealed that in 1988, the productivity in foreign firms was about 2 times as in domestic firms on average (Kokko, Zejan, and Tansini, 2001). According to a research of Taiwan manufacturing sector in 1991, Chuang and Lin (1999) found that labor productivity of MNCs was much higher than local firms, but total factor productivity of foreign companies was only slightly higher than lo cal companies. The study for Turkey between 1993 -1995 in which different elements of the production function were taken into account by Eridilek (2002), as well as the study for five Ease Asian economies (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan) in which Ramsteteer (1999) used value added per employee to measure labor productivity, both found that the average productivity of were significant higher in MNCs than in domestic firms. From all evidence mentioned above, the conclusion that â€Å"foreign companies have higher productivity than domestic companies† can be supported in developing countries no matter what measures have been used. This phenomenon may be resulted from â€Å"larger scale of production† or â€Å"higher capital intensity† in the foreign companies (Lipsey, 2002, p. 40). Before move to the research on whether host countries could get benefit from FDI in respect of productivity growth, we should first make clear when the productivity spillovers take place. Blomstrà ¶m and Kokko (1998) expressed that the productivity spillovers occur when establishment of foreign companies result in promoting the productivity and efficiency of the local companies in host countries, and the foreign companies can not completely internalize the value of these benefits. Another reason that productivity spillovers take place is the domestic companies are forced to improve the efficiency of using their existing technology and resources because the entry of foreign companies carried fierce competition to the host countries. The severe competition also leads the domestic companies to pursue new technologies which can result in the productivity spills out. Besides, we should also classify the different types of spillovers. Horizontal spillovers are the effects from foreign to local firms belonging to the same industry. Vertical spillovers occur both in upstream industries and downstream industries (Javrcik, 2004). For horizontal spillovers studies, Aitken and Harrison (1999) used a panel data of Venezuelan companies during 1976 to 1989, concluded that there are â€Å"no evidence supports the existence of technology spillovers† between foreign and local companies (p.617). Konings (2001) also used panel data to study the effect of FDI in Bulgara, Romania and Poland. According to their conclusion, they did not find any evidence of spillovers in these emerging market economies. Such results have also been supported by Djankov and Hoekman (2000). However, this conclusion can not be generalized from all the developing countries. Damijan et al. (2003) used firm-level data to study 8 transition countries between 1994 and 1998, found spi llovers from foreign to local companies were positive in Romania ( p.11). Besides, Kinoshita (2001) proved that the RD-intensive sectors of Czech Republic have positive horizontal spillovers. Compared with horizontal spillovers, â€Å"It is quite upbeat about the existence of vertical spillover† (Javrcik and Spatareanu, 2005, P.54). Since many existing articles have provided evidence of vertical spillovers in developing countries. In another paper of Javrcik (2004), firm-level panel data was used in testing the productivity spillovers in Lithuania. The results revealed positive spillovers from FDI in upstream sectors but the positive productivity spillovers were associated with partially owned foreign investments. Such existence of vertical spillovers has also been provided by Blalock and Gertler (2004) and Schoores and van der Tol (2001). Although most of the articles have a common idea on the existence of vertical spillovers, they cannot reach agreements in some questions, such as whether there are some positive spillovers carried by FDI in upstream industries. Javrcik and Spatareanu (2005) gave a theoretical assumption that if multinationals can benefit from the better performance of intermediate input suppliers, they would not take measures to prevent productivity spillovers from happening. Thus, a spillovers-channel would be established between foreign companies and their suppliers belonging to local firms. In their opinion, positive effects of FDI might take place in upstream industries as the foreign companies would impose an increasing demand and better quality of intermediate products, such requirements would stimulate local suppliers to improve their technology in productive activity, meanwhile, they can benefits from scale economies. It seems reasonable but is not always the case in reality. Lipsey (2002) in his article cited an unpublished paper written by Aitken and Harrison (1991), which showed â€Å"negative effects of foreign direct investment in an industry on productivity in upstream industries† in Venezuela (p.41). They also provided a possible reason that â€Å"foreign firms shift the demand for intermediate inputs from domestic to foreign producers, reducing the scale of output, and there fore productivity, in domestic production† (p.41). Other factors that could influent spillovers are also existent. Xu (2000) used data from 1966 to 1994 of US manufacturing MNCs in 40 countries to investigate whether MNCs can help international technology diffusion. The paper found a weak evidence of technology diffusion from US MNCs in less developed countries (LDCs). The explanation given by the author is most LDCs cannot reach â€Å"a human capital threshold of about 1.9 years (in terms of male secondary school attainment) to benefit from technology transfer of US MNE affiliates† (p. 491). A conclusion that â€Å"the technology spillover effects brought by FDI are not significant in less developed countries† could be abstracted from this paper. Some studies did support that local firms in developing countries can benefit from FDI, because productivity spillovers from foreign firms can help local firms to improve their existing technology as well as achieve scale economies. However, in more cases, the spillovers are not significant, even negative. So we can not make a simple conclusion as whether the positive spillovers are really existent is depend on different factors in different circumstances. 4. FDI And Host Countrys Economic Growth Economic growth, which is a common objective for all developing countries, can be achieved from productivity spillovers. Several authors have studied the interaction between FDI and economic growth in developing countries. De Mello (1999) found that spillovers of technology and knowledge from the foreign countries were two determinants of long-term growth in host countries and FDI has positive effects on economic growth in developing countries. Bende-Nabende (2001) used annual data from 1970 to 1996 studied on Asian countries and showed that in Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines there is a positive impact carried by FDI. Bengoa and Sanchez-Robles (2003) used data between 1970 and 1999 of Latin American countries and find that positive effect only take place in countries with more economic freedom. According to Kohpaiboon (2003) and Marwah and Tavakoli (2004), a positive correlation between FDI and GDP growth were showed in Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines. Moreover, several papers focused on FDI effect in China also reflected positive effect on economic growth (Vu et al., 2008, p. 546). However, not all the studies supported the positive effect of FDI in developing countries. In the research of Blomstrà ¶m, Lipsey, and Zejan (1994), developing countries were separated into two groups the higher income countries and the lower income countries -and reported that only the higher-income group FDI inflow lead to economic growth. Through the analysis on 69 developing countries in the period of 1970 to 1989, Carkovic and Levine (2002) used panel data to test the correlation between FDI and developing countries economic growth. The results showed that the effect of FDI inflows was not significant. The different methods and data choosing may lead to such different results. Some unknown factors would also affect the results. But they do not have so much impact to our conclusion. Based on the findings of previous studies, generally speaking, developing countries can benefit from FDI and achieve economic growth, 5. Conclusion The propose of this essay is try to estimate whether developing countries can get benefits from foreign direct investment. The effect of FDI has been classified into three aspects. Firstly, it is a universal phenomenon that the wages in foreign companies are higher than domestic companies. The FDI activity has a positive effect to the overall wage levels of the host countries, although wages spillovers to domestic companies are not always exist. Secondly, â€Å"foreign companies have higher productivity than domestic companies† can be supported by most of the available studies no matter what measures have been used. Although some findings reflected that local firms in developing countries can benefit from FDI by productivity spillovers, in more cases, the productivity spillovers are not significant, even negative. Thirdly, developing countries can benefit from FDI and achieve economic growth. Overall, we can get a positive conclusion that the host countries, especially the dev eloping countries, can benefit from foreign direct investment. References Aitken, B., Harrion, A., Lipsey, R. E., (1996) ‘Wages and foreign ownership: A comparative study of Mexico, Venezuela, and the United States, Journal of International Economics, Vol. 40 Issue 3-4, pp.345-371 ScienceDirect [Online]. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Bende-Nabende, A., (2001) ‘ FDI, regional economic integration and endogenous growth, some evidence from Southeast Asia, Pacific Economic Revies, Vol. 6 Issue 3, pp.383-399 InterScience [Online]. Available at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com / (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Blalock, Garrick. ‘Technology from Foreign Direct Investment: Strategic Transfer through Supply Chains. Paper presented at the Empirical Investigations in International Trade Conference at Purdue University, November 9-11, 2001 (part of doctoral research at Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley). Blomstrà ¶m, M. and Kokko, A., (1998) ‘Multinational Corporations and Spillovers, Journal of Economic Surveys, Vol. 12 Issue 3, pp.246-277 EBSCO [Online]. Available at: http://web.ebscohost.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Borensztein, E., Goregorio, D. J., Lee, J-W (1998) ‘How does foreign direct investment affect economic growth?, Journal of International Economics, Vol. 45 Issue 1, pp.115-135 ScienceDirect [Online]. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Carkovic, M. V. and Levine, R. (2002) ‘Does Foreign Direct Investment Accelerate Economic Growth?, University of Minnesota Department of Finance working Paper SSRN[Online]. Available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Chakraborty, C. and Basu, P., (2002) ‘Foreign direct investment and growth in India: a cointegration approach, Routledge, part of the Taylor Francis Group, Vol. 34 Issue 9, pp.1061-1073 [Online]. Available at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Chuang, Y. C. and Lin C. M., (1999) ‘Foreign Direct Investment, RD, and Spillover Efficiency: Evidence from Taiwans Manufacturing Firms, Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 35 Issue 4, pp.117-137 EBSCO [Online]. Available at: http://web.ebscohost.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Damijan, J. P., Knell, M. S., Majcen, B., Rojec, M (2003) ‘The role of FDI, RD accumulation and trade in transferring technology to transition countries: evidence from firm panel data for eight transition countries, Economic Systems, Vol. 27 Issue 2, pp.189-204 EconPapers [Online]. Available at: http://econpapers.repec.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) De Mello, Jr.,L.R., (1999) ‘FDI-led growth: evidence from time series and panel data , Oxford Economic Papers, Vol. 51 Issue 1, pp.133-151 OXFORD FOURNALS [Online]. Available at: http://oep.oxfordjournals.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Gà ¶rg, H. and Greenaway, D., (2000) ‘Multinational enterprises, technology diffusion, and host country productivity growth , Research Paper 2000/12, Centre for Research on Globalisation and Labour Markets, University of Nottingham. Available at: http://globalisationandeconomicpolicy.com (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Haddad, M. and Harrison, A., (1993) ‘Are there positive spillovers from direct foreign investment? Evidence from panel data for Morocco , Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 42 Issue 1, pp.51-74 RePEc [Online]. Available at: http://repec.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Javorcik, B. S. and Spatareanu, M., (2005) ‘Does foreign direct investment promote development?, PP. 45-71, Available at: www.economics.ox.ac.uk (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Javorcik, B. S. (2004) ‘Does Foreign Direct Investment Increase the Productivity of Domestic Firms? In Search of Spillovers through Backward Linkages , The American Economic Review, Vol. 94 Issue 3, pp.605-627 JSTOR [Online]. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Kathuria, V., (2001) ‘Productivity Spillovers from Technology Transfer to Indian Manufacturing Firms, Journal of International Development, Vol. 12 Issue 3, pp.343-369 InterScience [Online]. Available at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/home (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Kohpaiboon,A., (2003) ‘Foreign trade regimes and the FDI-growth nexus: a case study of Thailand , Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 40 Issue 2, pp.55-69 RePEc [Online]. Available at: http://repec.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Kokko, A., Zejan, M., Tansini, R., (2001) ‘Trade Regimes and Spillover Effects of FDI: Evidence from Uruguay, Economics of Transition, Vol. 137 Issue 1, pp.124-149 RePEc [Online]. Available at: http://repec.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Konings, J., (2001) ‘The effects of foreign direct investment on domestic firms: Evidence from firm-level panel data in emerging economies, Economics of Transition, Vol. 9 Issue 3, pp.619-633 EBSCO [Online]. Available at: http://web.ebscohost.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Lipsey, R. E. and Sjà ¶holm (2001) ‘Foreign Direct Investment and Wages in Indonesian Manufacturing, NBER Working Paper No. 8299, Cambridge, MA, National Bureau of Economic Research. Available at: www.nber.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Lipsey, R. E., (2002) ‘HOME AND HOST COUNTRY EFFECTS OF FDI , NBER Working Paper No. 9293*Issued in October 2002 NBER Program(s): NBER [Online]. Available at: http://www.nber.org (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Marwah, K. and Tavakoli, A. (2004) ‘The effect of foreign capital and imports on economic growth: further evidence from four Asian countries (1970-1998) , Journal of Asian Economics, Vol. 15 Issue 2, pp.399-413 ScienceDirect [Online]. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Okamoto, Y. and Sjà ¶holm, F., (1999) ‘FDI and the Dynamics of Productivity: Microeconomic Evidence, Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance, No. 348, Stockholm School of Economics, December. RePEc [Online]. Available at: http://repec.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Ramstetter, E. D., (1999) ‘Comparisons of Foreign Multinationals and Local Firms in Asian Manufacturing Over Time, Asian Economic Journal, Vol. 13 Issue 2, pp.163-203 EBSCO [Online]. Available at: http://web.ebscohost.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Sanchez-Robles, B. and Bengoa-Calvo, M. (2002) ‘ FDI, economic freedom, and growth: new evidence from Latin America, Universidad de Cantabria, Economics Working Paper No. 4/03. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=353940 or doi:10.2139/ssrn.353940 (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Sjà ¶holm, F., (1999) ‘Technology Gap, Competition and Spillovers from Direct Foreign Investment: Evidence from Establishment Data, The Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 36 Issue 1, pp.53-73 RePEc [Online]. Available at: http://repec.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Vu, T. B., Gangnes, B., Noy, I. (2008) ‘Is foreign direct investment good for growth? Evidence from sectoral analysis of China and Vietnam , Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Vol. 13 Issue 4, pp.542-562 informaworld [Online]. Available at: http://www.informaworld.com/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009) Xu, B, (2000) ‘Multinational enterprises, technology diffusion, and host country productivity growth , Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 62 Issue 2, pp.477-493 RePEc [Online]. Available at: http://repec.org/ (Accessed: 20 December 2009)

What Is Leadership And The Leadership Styles Management Essay

What Is Leadership And The Leadership Styles Management Essay Introduction: Definition: 1. Leadership is stated as the process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. Chemers, M. M. (2002). 2.Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen Kouzes, J., and Posner, B. (2007). 3. Leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust among colleagues, and taking effective action to realize your own leadership potential.(Warren Bennis) 4. Leadership is the process through which an individual tries to influence another individual or a group of individuals to accomplish a goal. (Blake, R.; Mouton, J. (1964) What is leadership? Leaders always have an impact on our lives. The leader affects us in our daily life and in our future too. Whether it good time or bad time. Theres always a need of a good leadership. The success of the business or industry depends upon the leader which you have chosen for the task and what leadership style he or she adopts. Leadership is in which you lead the whole group of peoples whether in business industries or sports. The contribution of the leadership should be effective in all the situations. In leadership a person who is leader should always have vision about the future he should forecast and should know the upcoming conditions and situation in the market or industry. For affective leadership the leader should have good skills in communication and convincing other people and also should have humility when he is treating people. The theory of leadership say leader always has great ideas but most of time ideas come from someone else. So leader should always have people around him who can generate ideas. For good leadership leader should have qualities such as good communication, well planner, decision making, flexible, intelligent, handworker, good company, friendly, sense of humor, good looks, punctual, management skills, leadership qualities, vision and Listening qualities. Leadership style: There are four leadership style, 1.Autocratic leadership 2.Persuasive leadership 3.Consultative leadership 4.Democratic leadership ( Kurt lewin. 1939) Autocratic leadership: Autocratic leadership style is one of the most oldest leadership style. This autocratic style has been seen in classical era when the industrialist use to take decision on their own. Autocratic leadership has following characteristics. In autocratic leadership the owner or the manager tries to make as many decisions as he can. He or she does not consult with anyone. In autocratic leadership the owner seem to have the most authority and he has full control on the decision making. When owner is making decision he or she does not care whether this will be acceptable by the other or not. Usually in this style owner want to have all authority with him he does not want to distribute the authority to different people. In this leadership style consultation with the member or colleagues is very low and decision making become a solitary process. In this style the main defect is that all the managers have less concern in investing their own idea. They just prefer to work on task which is assign to them. This trend of leadership style is used in traditional organization. Persuasive leadership: Persuasive leadership style is in which before making any decision the owner or the manager call a meeting in which everyone is setting. The point is raised in the meeting everyone participates in the decision making. After the decisions which are made is implemented. The positive thing of this leadership style is that everyone gives its ideas lots of ideas are generated. Everyone interest is developed in the decision which is going on. This tread of leadership style is used in the modern organization. Where fast decision have to be made like Symantec Corporation, Microsoft, software house, IT field organizations. Consultative leadership: Consultative leadership style is that the leader shares the problem with his team members or the subordinates but not in meeting or gathering. The leader shares the problem individually. Leader sends the problem to each member and takes individual decision, suggestions and ideas from them. After getting the decision from everyone the manager work on it and makes the decision out of it. Which reflect team member participation. This leadership style is good but may be sometime it could not work accordingly because in the manager is the only one who is making all the decision. Democratic leadership: Democratic mean characterized by or advocating or based upon the principles of democracy or social equality (George du Maurier) Democratic leadership style is one of the best leadership styles because in it the leader is not involved. This leadership style works like if there is some problem the leader will share the problem with the subordinates or members as group. After that leader doesnt involve in it. The group member sit together they make discussions and they try to generate alternatives after those generating alternatives they evaluate the alternatives and try to reach the agreement or solution. The leader does not participate in all the process and he is ready to accept solution which the group has made and he implement any solution that has support of all the group. Leadership skill ,traits and attributes: SKILLS: 1.Understand the needs and characteristics of the post 2.Knowing and using the resource of group 3.Controlling the group performance 4.Evaluating 5.Representing the group 6.Communication 7.Planning 8.Setting example 9.Counseling 10.Effective teaching. Understand the needs and characteristics of the post: Each participant or individual have needs so as a leader he or she should understand wants of every person. Before that leader should know what are his or her needs. Leader should know what people want from him. This helps the leader in planning the work and making it done from the employees. This understanding creates trust and built a strong relationship between the employees. Leader should know why he is joining the post. What really post demand from him or her. What are the major interests of the job and what are the future plans which he or she has to implement. Knowing and using the resource of the group: Resources is all that which are required to do a job. Resources also include people because people have knowledge and skill. Knowledge is what a person learns from path experience and skill is the ability to do what you want. Leader usually uses the knowledge and skills of the group to get the job done. Leader usually develop positive attitude towards skills. Leader should know what person is good for what job. In what skill he is best so he should be given that job in which his skill can be most used. Controlling the group performance: A leader increase the performance of the group and employees participants through his or her actions. A leader is an engine and employees are like boxes which are following them. Group best work when everyone has on direction and they want to achieve one thing. Controlling is a function which is performed by leader to see whether the group is working in right direction or not. Through controlling leader keep watch on the group. Setting example is the best way to control the group. Group can be controlled through following ways 1.Continually keeping an eye on the activities of the employees. 2. Knowing the attitude of the group 3.Giving instruction clear and pertinent 4.Help someone who is in need of it. 5. Quickly deal with the problem Evaluating: Evaluation helps to know the performance of the group and people working together. Evaluation suggests in which way we can improvement of the group performance. There are question to evaluate for getting the job done. What was the job? Was the job done right? Was the job done on time? Keeping the group together- Were relationships between group participants helped or hurt? Was participation equally distributed among group Participants? Did the group enjoy the activity? Did the group handle conflicts well? Representing the group: Leader of the group represents the group in meeting or any other gathering. Leader represents his group in two ways without consultation and with consultation without consultation: without consultation mean that leader does not consult the decision with the group. He represents the group without their ideas with consultation: when the leader represents the group with consulting with the group. He represents the decision which is made by the group. Communication: Leader should have good communication skills because he has to communicate with his subordinates and he or she also has to answer people working over him. Communication is very important because without communication leader cannot convey his message. To improve the communication skill the leader should always listen carefully to the subordinates and make notes of everything. Always be sure before speaking. Speak slow and clearly. Planning: Leader should have planning abilities. To improve the abilities leader should know what the objectives are and how he or she has to achieve it. Should know all the skills, equipments, knowledge and attitude. Should consider the alternative and then should evaluate the each option. After that execute and in the last evaluate the plan. Setting example: Leader should be setting example. He or she should do work in front of the employees so that they can learn from it. Counseling: Counseling is very important it help people to solve the problems counseling also help to encourage people. Counseling can be effective when person cannot make decision and when he is confused. Effective teaching: effective teaching is a process of increasing the knowledge and skills. Effective teaching includes choosing the learning objectives. Demonstrating or explaining the skills. Allowing the learner to practice the skills and evaluating the process. Traits: A leader should be honest with his work and his subordinates. Should be competent for the job. Always have forward looking. Should be intelligent. Leader should always be fair minded and also broad minded. Leader should be straight forward and leader should have vision so he can lead the employees with him. Attributes: Attributes establish what leaders are and every leader needs three attributes. 1. Standard barrier 2.Developer 3.Integrator 4. Understands people Standard barrier: Is establishing the ethical frame work within an organization. This demand a commitment to live and defend the climate and culture that you want to permeate your organization (U.S. Army Handbook (1973). Developer: It helps through teaching, training and coaching. This creates a good place to learn and work. Coaching helps other to learn or understand the skill. Employees who work for developers know that they can take risks. Integrators: Success can only be achieved when everyone is working in right direction. Integrators predict problems which will occur and make their presence felt during critical times. Understands people : Leader should understand people which are working under it. Leader should involve employees for the decision making. If leader understand and work with them they can easily achieve organization goals. Impact of leadership according to skills and traits for success: Leader are not made over night. It takes time to develop skills to become a successful leader. If a leader has good skills he can have successful leadership. The impact of the skills for the success of the leader is if a leader understands the needs and characteristics of the post he can understand his work more properly. If the leader of the group understands the work properly he can guide his subordinates well and further subordinates can teach lower employees. Leader should know the needs of the post. Because if a leader does not have information about the job. He cannot take all employees with himself. There will be no clear goal for the employees. Due to this skill he can know what he has to give to employees and what he wants in return from them. If a leader has skill of knowing and using the resource of group he can easily take work form people. Through this skill leader can know what the group is capable of. So if he or she wants to take work out of them he or she knows up to what level they can do. Controlling group performance skill is also very important skill. If this skill of the leader is good he can maintain the group performance. He will boost or motivate that person who is not working well so that he work up to the standard of the group and all group work together and give 100% out of it to achieve goal. If a leader has evaluating skill he can easily evaluate what is the working performance of the group. He can also evaluate the individual performance of the employee. In evaluation skill the leader can see what was the job how it been done. How much time it took to complete the job? So through this skill leader can finish his work and group work on time. If a leader has presenting skills he can present himself in a good way to the group and can represent group in a good way. Good communication is the most important skill needed by the leader because a leader has to communication with everyone. If a leader has a good communication skill he can u nderstand employees very well I can know the need of the employees and he can give direction easily. Planning is also a important skill for the leader because through planning leader can know what new step he has to take. Through planning he can forecast what will be the upcoming environment of the organizational section. Planning can really help the leader. Leader who has counseling skill will never get short of idea because through counseling he will get different idea from different people and those idea will help the leader to make new decision. If leader is honest everyone will trust him and he will have respect in his colleagues. If leader is hard working and competent then can easily gain success over his competitors. If leader is forward looking he can easily predict about the upcoming future. So he can think according to it. If leader is intelligent and has vision he can easily take his organization to next level. Leadership theories: There are four leadership theories: 1.Trait theory 2.Behaviour theory 3.Contingent theory 4.Transformation theory Trait theory: In early day people use to think that people are born with inherited traits and some are suitable for leadership and people who become good leader have right combination of traits. In 1974 stogdill identified the following traits and skills as critical to leaders. Adaptable to situations Alert to social environment Ambitious and achievement-orientated Assertive Cooperative Decisive Dependable Dominant Energetic Persistent Self-confident Tolerant of stress Willing to assume responsibility Skills Fluent in speaking Knowledgeable about group task Persuasive Socially skill Behavior theory: They assumption of the behavior theory is that leader can be made rather than born. Behavioral theories of leadership say that leaders are not born by birth. Behavior theory doesnt seek inborn traits and capabilities. Behavior theory says that you can learn leadership capabilities rather adopting them. Contingent theory: They assumption of contingent theory is there is no one best way to lead in the situations. There may be one style successful in one situation but May not work in the other. This theory tends to focus on more leadership style for success. This theory says that leader should act according to situation and should adopt different leadership style for success. Transformation theory: Transformation theory assumptions are that people follow that person who inspires them. Person with vision or passion can achieve great things. The style of transformational leader is great because it put passion and energy in everything. They care about you and want you to succeed in life. Transformation theory is that a leader develops a vision and then sells the vision by telling people what they have to achieve by motivating them. Then he or she find way forward mean he know how to lead. After that he remains centre of action. In transformation theory leader motivates people to achieve the goal. Leadership style you like: The leadership style which I like is transformation leadership because everything just revolve around you. You are the center of everything. You are the person who gives innovative idea to the people or vision then you know the way how you have to achieve this goal. After that you take the charge and you put energy in people which are working with you. You motivate them and you put this idea in their mind that success will be in the end. You take each and every person with you. This is why I like transformation leadership because you are the active member. Stages of group development: There are five stages of development: 1. Forming 2. Storming 3.Norming 4.Performing forming: Forming is where group is formed to achieve a task or to solve a problem. In this members have desire to be in the group. Member gets oriented to the task as well as to one other. Basically in forming group of people is gathering to achieve or discuss a goal. Storming: In this group member attempt to organize for the task. Individual have to mold their feeling and attitude for organization objective. In storming question are raised that who will be responsible for which thing. What will be the rules? What will be the reward system? There might be conflicts over leadership, structure and power. To move to next stage member should develop problem solving mentality. Norming: In norming group member share their idea so that they can reach to some decision. Everyone in willing to change their idea on fact and figure presented my other group members. During this stage member develop a scene of group. They try to understand other point of view. performing: In performing the group members works collaboratively and member care for everyone in the group. The group establishes a unique identity and members are interdependent. I performing member find solution to problem using appropriate control and they try to find effective and satisfactory results. Belbins team role theory: 1.Co-ordinator 2.Sharper 3.plant 4.Resource investigator 5.Company worker 6.Monitor / evaluator 7.Team worker 8.Completer finisher. 9Specialist. Coordinator: A coordinator is a person who is leader in the group. This person is trusted, accepted and is committed to team goals and objectives. Coordinator is a person who listen everyone . Sharper: Shaper is person who motivates the team member for the goal they have to achieve. Usually there are two to three sharper. Plant: Plan is a person with high IQ. Plans are more related to major issues. Plant takes approaches to team functioning and problems. Resource Investigator: Resource investigator is a person who is always busy because he is in search of opportunities and develops plans. They are usually very social people. They usually work outside the group. Company worker/implementer: Company worker works for the team in practical way. They work of the task with is given to them and implementer are those who figure prominently in position of responsibility in large organization. Monitor / evaluator: monitor or evaluator is a person who sees the work of the people. Monitor evaluators contribute particularly at times of crucial decision making because they are capable of evaluating competing proposals. West. M (1994) Team worker: Team worker are whose people with are working in teams. The keep the spirit of the up and allow members to contribute freely. They have skill of listening, coping. Completer/finisher: They made steady effort and they work consistently. They give attention to the details. They check work in the end that whether its completed correctly or not. Specialist: Specialist is a person who provides knowledge and techniques which are rarely supplied. They are master of their field.

Television and Media - America Needs TV Advertising :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

America Needs TV Advertising Television would not be in the place it is today had it not been for commercials. Commercials not only provide a much needed break from the shows we watch, but also gives paying advertisers a chance to promote their products. With a large audience watching, businesses spend untold amounts of money to make sure their commercials are the best. The worst nightmare however for an company is for a couch potato to not look at their commercial, but instead change the channel. To remedy this advertisers strive to capture the attention of the audience as soon as possible. If the audience does not like what they see within the first ten to fifteen seconds then most likely they will change the channel. Miller Lite "Miller Time" commercials counteract this ingeniously. The distinctive opening music create a light and humorous mood and instills curiosity in the viewer about what will happen next. The offbeat and sometimes absurd characters give the audience a well deserved laugh. For example, a man obviously dressed up as a beaver gnaws a log cabin, and then everything wooden and goes after a man holding a Miller Lite beer can. One does not think too much about the ad (for if one did he would wonder why do these commercials sometimes have nothing to do with their product?) but instead gets caught up in the comedy. The humor in these ads immediately captures their audience immediately and leaves them with a smile on their faces. Feeling good is also what makes Burger King's commercials so attractive. The typical Burger King commercial features 60's or 70's dance music accompanied by various shots of burgers. The music, if the audience likes it, pulls them in, watching it sometimes simply for the music. That is most often the case with my brother who "shakes his groove thing" to the music while not fully realizing that the thing which motivates him is simply inanimate and unhealthy food. The implicit message the advertisers send it seems, is that if you are dancing in your seat at home, how more will you love them in person? Attraction comes in the form of nostalgia, a more subtle and hence less used part of advertising. Chili's commercials with singing tamales on an open frontier uses music like the Burger King ads but creates a mood of nostalgia rather than one of excitement.

Problem Television Programs :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Problem Programs Robert MacNeil began his article the, â€Å"The Trouble With Television,† with the overwhelming statistic that the average television viewer squanders one thousand hours per year watching television programming (MacNeil). One thousand hours is a tremendous amount of time squandered watching programs with unchallenging content, this time could be better spent earning a college degree or perhaps earning various languages (MacNeil). I concur with MacNeil that television does â€Å"discourage concentration and applied effort† for the reason that viewers spend an excessive amount of time watching unsophisticated and undemanding programming rather then engaging in activities that will further develop the viewer’s critical thinking. In MacNeil’s article he asserts that viewers waste an excessive amount of tome watching television that is brief and unchallenging. He also adds that programmers deliberately create brief and rousing programs in hopes of achieving the goal of exposing viewers to their advertisements so that a profitable outcome can be reached. MacNeil informs his readers that approximately thirty million adults are functionally illiterate in America, meaning that thirty million adults are unable to read past the fifth grade level. He does not go as far as to say that television is to blame for this outcome, but he does   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cascarano 2 believe that television contributes significantly to the misfortune. MacNeil also insinuates that viewers are attracted to simple and quick resolutions for many of today’s complex problems in these one half hour shows. Complex problems and quick, easy solutions are often found in these ine half hour comedy sitcoms such as Home Improvement. In a recent episode eighteen year old Brad (the eldest son) confronted his parents about his plans to marry his girlfriend of two months. Brad was convinced that he and his girlfriend wer in live and that was all that they needed to survive. Jill (Brad’s mother) turned to Wilson (their neighbor) for advice. He gives a simple resolution to a complicated problem: reverse psychology. Within a matter of four minutes the problem had vanquished, the young couple would wait until they had both completed four-year at a commendable university. Although quite witty, this simplistic one half hour comical sitcom is not challenging and it does not develop the viewer’s critical thinking because it does not break down the problem and explain a sophisticated and real resolution. Real resolutions are not given in these types of short sitcoms because real resolutions are lengthy and do not keep viewers watching.