Challenges of Implementing Cultural Competence Essay
Order Instructions:
Dear Sir,
Please read the article that it is on the attachment, the answer the following question:
1) Identify the definition of cross-cultural competence.
2) Evaluate and identify the challenges that can occur when attempting to instill cultural intelligence into the workforce.
The following conditions must meet in the paper
1) I want a typical and a quality answer which should have about 830 words.
2) The answer must raise appropriate critical questions.
3) The answer must include examples from experience or the web with references from relevant examples from real companies.
4) Do include all your references, as per the Harvard Referencing System,
5) Wikipedia site for referencing is not allowed.
Appreciate each single moment you spend in writing my paper
Best regards
SAMPLE ANSWER
Challenges of Implementing Cultural Competence
Cross-cultural competence involve the ability, skills, and knowledge of how to deal effectively with people from a variety of cultures. It should not be mistaken to imply a single culture that one has studied for years. A person who has cross-cultural competence is able to interact with people from various cultures comfortably (Eisenberg et al., 2013). It is specifically important for companies that operate internationally as the management must be able to communicate effectively with all its employees and customers. While it is possible to teach cross-cultural competence, various challenges are likely to be experienced when attempting to instill cultural intelligence into the workforce.
Differences in understanding among workers may inhibit an educational process. While some workers may be fast learners, others may be slow at understanding hence calling for more time to be put at helping them catch up. Specifically in regard to virtual communications, older people may either be reluctant in learning about it. The younger generations may on the other hand be reluctant to learn the theoretical part of cultural competence.
Goodman (2012) suggests using a program that is tailored for the company situation so that employees can associate business and culture more easily. There is a likelihood that such a program will be difficult to prepare. Instead, it may require testing over time before it is seen to be effective. The testing time may be translated as wasted time as it may not contribute to the productivity of either the employees or the company.
Language barriers may make creating a culturally competent workplace difficult. While people may understand how to deal and understand each other, language barriers often associated with cultural differences may cause difficulties in instilling the cultural competence (Eisenberg et al., 2013). Even employees who wish to communicate respectfully may not be able to communicate if the barrier is not overcome. Cultural barriers may also be difficult for those learning new language since even directly translated phrases may imply different things in different cultures.
The company requires allocating resources for the program. For a company to instill cultural competence in the work place, it must be willing to go an extra mile and allocate resources for the project (Parekh, 2000). For instance, learning materials must be either purchased or created using the company’s financial resources. The company must also be ready to dedicate its labor time to learning as well as to educate other employees. Employees may also require getting study leaves in an attempt to be culturally competent.
Historical or contemporary differences between various groups may strain the effectiveness of the program (Ewoh, 2013). Employees may either feel distrusted if they get into contact with other communities or they may arouse such feelings from members of other communities. Some employees may also be unwilling to interact with members of the other community if there are similar differences. These will create a difficulty in the learning process. In some cases the situations may arouse pre-existing conflicts.
Creating a culturally competent working often involves an overhaul of the entire company culture. For a company’s workforce to become effectively culturally competent, the idea must be integrated into the work culture (Ewoh, 2013). The overhaul comes with a disruption of the company operations and a reasonable slowdown in production. The culture change also comes with expenses to cover as well as broad consultation of the company’s executives. The company may also require rebranding to show its compliance with certain laws.
Culture is ever changing. While there are certain aspects that are unique to certain cultural groups, it is very difficult to obtain a program that accommodates the changes that will often occur in cultures (Goodman, 2012). Furthermore, culture is not always the same for members of a community. The differences in culture over time make culture difficult to learn. Culture changes moreover do not change in the same direction. This implies that people may find themselves in conflict with people in a cultural setting in which they are competent.
The diversity of culture is very extensive. Even within a foreign country, people can only learn the basics that are generally accepted in the culture (Leavitt, 2010). The rest of the culture is mainly dealt with as situations come up using concepts such as accommodation of those ideas that are seemingly foreign. Learning cultural competence is a gradual process. A company may have to wait for the entire (or most) of the workforce to become culturally competent. Once the company gains momentum, it may make cultural competence a requirement for employment. Before this though, a lot of devotion to the learning process along with patience must be employed.
In conclusion, while cultural competence is very important to any workplace, it comes with a variety of challenges especially to the initiating company. These challenges are mostly those that arise due to difficulties in learning, resource allocation, and the change process. The benefits, however, always outweigh the difficulties, and such constraints should not prevent the implementation process.
References
Eisenberg, J., Lee, H., Bruck, F., Brenner, B., Claes, M., Mironski, J. and Bell, R. 2013. Can business schools make students culturally competent? Effects of cross-cultural management courses on cultural intelligence. Academy of Management Learning \& Education, p.–2012.
Ewoh, A. 2013. Managing and Valuing Diversity: Challenges to Public Managers in the 21st Century. Public Personnel Management, [online] 42(2), pp.107-122. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0091026013487048 [Accessed 29 Oct. 2014].
Goodman, N. 2012. Training for cultural competence. Industrial and Commercial Training, 44(1), pp.47–50.
Leavitt, R. 2010. Cultural competence. Thorofare, NJ: SLACK Inc.
Parekh, B. 2000. Rethinking multiculturalism. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
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Identify and assess the differences between the American and British approaches to competencies. Compare these approaches to those in your own country or in a culture with which you are familiar.
The following conditions must meet in the paper
1) I want a typical and a quality answer which should have about 1400 words.
2) The answer must raise appropriate critical questions.
3) The answer must include examples from experience or the web with references from relevant examples from real companies.
4) Do include all your references, as per the Harvard Referencing System,
Appreciate each single moment you spend in writing my paper
SAMPLE ANSWER
American and British Approaches to Competencies
Competences are characteristics of individuals that are the basic building blocks of behavior or performance at work. Values, Work Style, Knowledge abilities, attitudes and personality are the job performances. Competencies are valuable and significant to succession planning, staffing, career counseling, training, development and team building. Competencies are problematic to implement and utilize in the work place. The idea that the components of effective performance can be individually identified and isolated is one that has many cynics. Acceptance of this idea would also mean accepting that employees must exhibit a set of particular competencies (Burgoyne, 1989: Collin, 1989; Jubb & Robotham, 1997).
A majority of frameworks from which competency is bases are not dynamic. They are mechanistic, static and seek to prescribe a specific list of desirable competencies. By missing the opportunity to incorporate flexibility and openness to change, the frameworks do not give the due value of non-task specific competencies. To try and mitigate this, one must adopt an even wider point of view while understanding the competencies in three levels:
General working competencies, which she defines as competencies required for different working situations and at different periods (Kuijpers, 2001).
Learning competencies, which consists of a bundle of competencies which facilitate the development of working competencies (Kuijpers, 2001).
Career related competencies, which are defined to manage working and learning competencies within a personal career path (Kuijpers, 2001).
Despite these challenges, competencies do not discriminate between management and lower level employees. They are able to meet the needs of employees irrespective of their status differences. When competencies are harnessed, they are able to assist organization increase productivity, conduct trainings that augment the organizations objectives, employees attain the knowledge of expectations, advance work performance and assist build the trust between managers and employees.
It is important to point out that the different approached between the American and British approach to competencies is not because of philosophical divergence but rather due to cultural societal differences – each takes a unique approach. The initial difference is in the behavioral approach. Whereas the one focuses on the input that enhances the successful performance achievement, the other focuses on the outcome of competencies. The United Kingdom and some socialist countries aggressively seek out people with handicapped people and offer them empowerment. This is considered as the standard approach (Orstenk, 1997; Oliveara-Rees, 1994).
The contrary is where individuals are encouraged to prove their competencies. For the organization, it focuses on the outcome with the employee contributing the most being highly appreciated. Most multinational organizations will hire a work force with all manner of competencies and cultures. With this work force, the organization wills endeavor to develop them through training and incentives for outcomes.
Differences in Definition of Competencies: British versus the America Approach
Basis for Difference
American Approach
British Approach
Purpose
Development of competencies to enhance performance
Certification and Assessment of Employees
Focus
Focus on individual behavior and attributes
Focus on Job/individual characteristics and skill accumulation
Procedure to Develop
Produce descriptions of excellent behavior and attributes to define standards
Produce performance standards for job function and professions
Role of Organizational Context
Contest defines the behavior and traits required
Context is not as significant as professional area and specific job functions
Conceptualization of Work/Individual
Greater emphasis on the individual rather that specific tasks
The characteristics of the work are the point of departure.
Methodological Approach
Rationalistic and positivistic
More multi-method and quantitative
Scope
Competencies are specific to organizations
Competencies are specific to professions and job functions
Measurement
Quantitative measurement and identification of a correlation between possession of attributes and work performance
Documentation of evidence of work activities and experience denotes evidence of competency
Role of Assessor
Assessment of performance by job supervisors and job incumbent
Formally assessed by external assessor to determine level
Perspective of Learning Advocated
Cognitive perspective of learning
Constructive perspective of learning
Generally, Americans view competencies as individual. The focus is on the skill set and knowledge to best undertake a particular role or job. On their part, the British take a broader focus. It views competencies as encompassing the attributes of employees in addition to the whole plethora of personal effectiveness issues and guidelines necessary to get a job done. The Americans view and define competences in line with the worker. The worker oriented definitions view competencies as those generated by worker behavior, and clearly specify the qualities and skill the requisite person for the job must have. These competencies will more often than not be generic, making every effort to illustrate as concisely as possible the behaviors that high performers could possible display, even if in different proportions and according to level, function or context.
The British view competencies as standards for job functions and professions, while Americans seek out their excellent performers and from this develop tests to examine the relevant competencies. Despite the difference, both the American and the British view competencies as being individual not group or community. The Europeans have borrowed heavily from the British. In mainland Europe, competencies are visualized mentally in terms of individual capacity to perform within a profession or function. With this, the spotlight will thus be on the certification or qualification they receive. Qualifications are viewed as representing an official certification of knowledge, skill and attitude.
The British and by extension the Europeans view competencies from a predominantly input-based, worker-oriented approach, with the focus on person-related variables that each individual brings to an assignment. To them, competencies in addition to being output-based or work-oriented take into account the outputs connected with effective performance. Though the British and the Europeans view competencies from a similar view, the British focus is more on organizations and the performance requirements of the specific job position as opposed to the individual holding the job. The Europeans on their part advocate a work-oriented approach with organizations uncompromisingly pursuing indicators that will show conformance. The indicators the organization will be glad to experience since they indicate achievement are enterprise, adaptability and flexibility.
The British – by extension the European view on competence is assumed that to have the all the underlying characteristics. Research has shown that the American and British approaches diverge at the point of their pedagogical perspective and on the assumptions about the learning process. For the Americans, the emphasis is squarely on a cognitive perspective of learning. The British and by extension the Europeans place the greatest emphasis on constructivist view of learning. Both approaches offer alternative explanations of the context of competencies, their interaction with work and their measurement. Cognitive approaches place a lot of emphasis on objective measurement whereas constructivist approaches give emphasis to the subjective and motivational dimensions of competency.
Despite the vagueness that surrounds the definition of competencies, the discourse on this topic has been tremendous. Whereas one would expect the indistinctness to hinder discourse, it has been posited that the strength of the concepts could be in their underlying complexity, working towards incorporating labor and educational organizations, external and internal organization gurus and employees, and management interests concurrently.
Research has shown that assessment and identification of competencies is a controversial issues. Different methods of assessment focus on specific approaches. Work-oriented approach advocates methods such as job element method. Worker-oriented approach advocates personal profiling. On their part, multidimensional approaches do not advocate any particular method but instead suggest the use of multiple methods. The critical incident method asks employees of high and average performance to describe critical situations that have occurred at work and how they reacted to these situations (New, 1996; Thomson & Mabey, 1994). The job function method is used to identify the task functions which are used to infer the knowledge and skills for job performance (Spencer & Signe, 1993; McClelland, 1973).
In conclusion, it is evident that competence models do not consider the development of competence in terms of any set programme of learning. The focus is not on the training of the employee but on the capability to do what is required by the function, role, profession, or job. Given the lack of a clear and coherent definition, the US approach identifies itself with an input, worker-oriented model. The UK model focuses more on an output, worker-oriented model. A third school exists that calls for a multidimensional approach.
References
Burgoyne, J. (1989): “Creating the Management Portfolio: Building on Competency Approaches to Management Development”, Management Education & Development, Vol. 20, No. 1, p. 56 – 61.
Collin, A. (1989): “Managers’ Competence: Rhetoric, Reality & Research”, Personnel Review, Vol. 28, No. 6, p. 20 – 25.
Jubb, R. & Robotham D. (1997): “Competences in Management Development: Challenging the Myths”, Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 2 1, No. 4-5, p. 171 – 177.
Kuijpers, M. (2000): “Career Development Competencies”, Proceedings of the Second Conference of HRD Research & Practice Across Europe, 309 – 314. University of Twente.
McClelland, D.C. (1973): “ Testing for Competence, rather than Intelligence”, American Psychologist, Vol. 28, p. 1 – 14.
Oliveara-Rees, F. (1994): “Qualification versus Competence: A Discussion on the Meaning of Words: A Change in Concepts of a Political Issue”, Beroepsopleiding, Vol. 1, p. 74 – 79.
Orstenk, J. (1997): Learning to Learn at Work, Delft: Eburon. New, G.E. (1996): “Reflections: A three-tier model of organisational competencies”, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 11, No. 8, p. 44 – 52.
This is an first year Asian studies essay so it is not a high level one.
This essay must include the introduction and conclusion, and we will choose the question 5 as the topic which is ‘What distinguishes the Deng era from the Mao era in China? In what ways did Deng adhere to Mao’s policies and how did he change them? ‘
You don’t have to be too detailed in this essay but point out some strong points and find some reference to support them.
Thank you and I am looking forward a quality first year level Asian study essay cheers
SAMPLE ANSWER
Deng era vs Mao era
Introduction
The histories and cultures of Asia are very important in any Asian study as they provide some basic general knowledge and intellectual skills required to effectively study any one of the cultures. These usually include China, Japan, Korea, India, Thailand and many more. The religions of the people of the East Asia culture usually include Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, and Zen Buddhism. The South Asian culture is majorly made up of Muslims. The Chinese Culture is one of the oldest in the World. It covers a large eastern Asia region, therefore customs and traditions vary greatly depending on the province, city, or town. Throughout history, many groups have either merged into other ethnicities or disappeared. The largest group, Han Chinese has managed to maintain traditions. Ever since the period of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, one or another Chinese Monarch has been the main ruler. These periods are usually similar in the sense that government and military officials are placed high in the hierarchy, while the rest are basically under the regular Chinese law. Ever since 256 BCE, the Chinese society was organized in various socio-economic classes (Chai 2003: 165). These are commonly referred to as four occupations (Zhang 2013: 450). Unfortunately, this hierarchical system was not effective as other social groups were left out. The distinctions between the groups also became confusing as the Chinese culture was commercialized during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE) (Chang 2014: 42). This paper will particularly focus on the Chinese Culture during the Deng and Mao eras. It will distinguish the differences between these two leaders as well as their similarities.
Distinguishing the Deng Era from the Mao Era
The Chinese regional policy has undergone decades of trials, adjustments and readjustments as is noted from Maoist re-distributive policies to Deng’s approach of the uneven development. Therefore, the policies implemented during the Mao era and Deng era is what can be used to distinguish the two periods. Other forms of development can also be used to achieve the same purpose; such as agricultural situations, political reforms and many more (Chang 2014: 49). The land reforms under Mao that took place between 1953 and 1978 were too many, a fact that proved there were failures in land policies during this time (Chai 2003: 167). Mao was basically experimenting different policies trying to figure out which one will prove effective. This was frequently not supported by the peasantry. For instance, the land reforms supported by Mao led to many landowners losing their lands to the states. This happened because farmers were advised to form cooperation’s, thus they were offered usage rights, but not ownerships of the land (Chang 2014: 43). This in turn greatly affected the agriculture economy at this time, as the absence of incentives resulted in poor productivity for workers.
The compensation offered for these workers in the collective farms was calculated through complex shared points systems. The fact that farmers knew the land belonged to the state also affected their productivity as it made them feel used (Goldman 2009: 664). The food they produced in the farms was sold to the state at fixed low prices compared to the price offered for the open market where other members of the public went to purchase them. Hence, these workers were forced to rely on government subsidies for survival. The infrastructure during the Mao era was poor, and the resulting transportation problems caused great loss as farmers could not move food to their homes without them spoiling. Gradually, the amount of food produced in the fields reduced as a result of poor land management. The chairmen of the collective cooperation’s pushed workers to work on the fields despite the soils being exhausted and water supply reducing drastically (Goldman 2009: 665). It was as a result of this low productivity that China experienced food shortages and famines. To improve the situation, Mao decided to facilitate programs for fertilizers and hybrid seeds. Unfortunately, they also had negative environmental effects.
The Deng era turned out to be a complete opposite of what was happening during the Mao era. In 1979, Deng started working on dismantling the controlled collectivism system (Goldman 2009: 670). He did so by encouraging the farmers to once again start working on their individual plots. Legislation was passed that farmers could employ laborers, and even sell surplus (Walder & Litao 2006: 357). Incentives were offered for peasants who were still not allowed to own land. Deng achieved this by offering them long-term and renewable leases, therefore they could use the land as their own for the given duration. Therefore, once again, order was achieved in China, where the state only expected to be offered part of the crops produced. As a result of this positive change to the reforms, agricultural productivity was once again improved. Farmers made great profits from the sale of rice, vegetables, sugar and many other products. Farmers became motivated to join hands, voluntarily, with other farmers. Thus, they were able to improve irrigation and the status of the roads.
Political reforms that took place during the Mao era proved to be more effective than any other issue this leader ever handled. In Mao’s view, he really hoped to develop a new China that was free from corruption, economically equal and respected all over the world (Dirlik 2012: 23). This is why, instead of focusing on individuals, he implemented a collective system. Therefore, during his era, corruption and disparity were reduced at high rates, but the economic and political vision did not turn out as expected. The Cultural Revolution that took place as a result of the Mao era led to a decade of violence and human suffrage. Mao launched this revolution in an attempt to reassert his authority over the Chinese government (Chai 2003: 170). He did this when he started doubting the loyalty of the other members, thus he called upon the youth to clear the country of impure elements. Deng was lucky as he got an opportunity to witness the mistakes of Mao, and thus make the necessary changes to improve the situation. Thus, another distinction between these two eras is that the Mao reign was full of economic and political failures.
Deng developed a reform, which gave the Chinese people mandate over their own property (Walder & Litao 2006: 362). He also stressed on economic development as well as social stability. Therefore, his reign facilitated a switch from planned economy to the market oriented economy. This approach is what greatly enhanced the economy of China. During this era, 170 million people were saved from poverty, the Chinese citizens’ savings bank increased from 21 billion Yuan to 4,628 billion yuan. This era, however was not all good. As Deng was focusing on righting the wrongs of Mao, he forgot to pay attention to other important factors such as corruption. This era led to the development of the entrepreneurial class. Thus, buildings were erected, and the town developed drastically. This was facilitated on the land that was supposed to be cultivated. Thus, there was degradation of a very precious land that would have been used for better purposes. This may be a contribution to the high levels of unemployment experienced in China. Mao’s era provided jobs and social welfare for most Chinese citizens, while the Deng era seems to have forgotten about them. Hence, during the reign of Mao, individuals were poorer, but at least they had jobs and did not feel so insecure economically. The Deng era presents a lot of fear as the people are afraid for their economic well being. This is because state leaders are misusing public money for their own benefits.
How Deng Adhered To Mao’s Policies and How He Changed Them
Deng managed to adhere to some of the policies passed by Mao, but he also took great effort to make changes to many others. These two leaders had a similar vision for the country; however, the approaches they took were somewhat different. One of the policies Deng adhered to was the one intended to improve agricultural and industrial production. As he was part of the government at the era of Mao, he got to learn a lot of things about the approach taken by this leader. This pushed him to make some changes to this policy, which he did by breaking the collective groups and encouraging farmers to work on their own individual lands (‘Sowing the Seeds of Democracy in China’ 1994: 174). In the situation where Mao was taking lands from individuals, Deng changed things by offering lands to individuals who lost what they owned during Mao’s era. Another way that Deng adhered to Mao’s policies can be seen by how the Peasants were still not given ownership, but instead they were offered rights to cultivate and benefit from the products through leases. The offering of renewable leases is how Deng changed this policy so that he could further enhance incentives for the workers. Thus, even though they were unable to get ownership to the land, they were given an opportunity to farm on it as if it was their own. This is because they only had to give a little percentage of their products to the state.
The policy of Mao that offered employment to all in the lands as workers, and offered them economic security is also another one that Deng changed. This caused worry to many individuals as they now had to suffer from high rates of unemployment, as well as the increasing risk of economic insecurity. By changing the collective policy, individuals had to find employment on their own and live off their hard work.
The military policies of Mao are also another example that Deng adhered to, though after making some changes. He first started by encouraging the criticism of the Cultural Revolution that was triggered by Mao. The public soon resented the revolution, and this led to its end. It was later replaced by the “Beijing Spring” that enabled people to peacefully communicate their grievances over the period (Xu 2014: 184). This made the other politicians with positions in the revolution to be weakened, while also strengthening the positions of others who were suffering at the time.
Deng continued with Mao’s vision of making China a unique and universally respected country. He understood that for the country to achieve the expected development, it would also mean developing the whole world. Thus, he made an effort to make amendments with other countries. As a result of this, he traveled to the West where he held meetings with various leaders. The country’s relationship with Japan was also improved. It was as a result of these efforts that Deng managed to obtain Hong Kong back from Britain, and colony Macau from Portugal (Xu 2014: 188). Deng did not try to improve the country’s relationship with the Soviet Union (Dirlik 2012: 27). This is also another way that he adhered to Mao’s policy.
Conclusion
The Mao era is very different from the Deng era in that the previous was greatly characterized by many problems. This however does not mean that it was all bad, as the reign of Mao also improved some conditions of the country. Deng managed to take Mao’s setbacks to his advantage as his first steps were to right the wrongs of this leader. Thus, the country managed to develop and improve economically and politically over a very short time. Just like any other leadership, Deng’s era was also challenged by various issues such as rise in unemployment rates, increased corruption that could not be controlled, and also misuse of fertile land. These, however, were not as great as the situation during the Mao era where workers felt misused, there was a decline in production, starvation, poor infrastructure, and also war where millions lost their lives.
Dirlik, A 2012, ‘Mao Zedong in Contemporary Chinese Official Discourse and History’, China Perspectives, 2012, 2, pp. 17-27, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 29 October 2014.
Goldman, M 2009, ‘Repression of China’s Public Intellectuals in the Post-Mao Era’, Social Research, 76, 2, pp. 659-686, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 29 October 2014.
‘Sowing the Seeds of Democracy in China: Political Reform in the Deng Xiaoping Era’ 1994, Foreign Affairs, 73, 3, p. 174, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 29 October 2014.
Walder, A, & Litao, Z 2006, ‘Political Office and Household Wealth: Rural China in the Deng Era’, China Quarterly, 186, pp. 357-376, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 29 October 2014.
Zhang, W 2013, ‘Class Categories and Marriage Patterns in Rural China in the Mao Era’, Modern China, 39, 4, pp. 438-471, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 29 October 2014.
Deng Era and Mao Era in China Essay Paper What distinguishes the Deng era from the Mao era in China; what ways did Deng adhere to Mao’s policies and how did he change them.
Deng Era and Mao Era in China Essay Paper
Deng Era and Mao Era in China Essay Paper Order Instructions: This is a first-year Asian studies essay so it is not a high level one.
This essay must include the introduction and conclusion, and we will choose the question 5 as the topic which is ‘What distinguishes the Deng era from the Mao era in China? In what ways did Deng adhere to Mao’s policies and how did he change them? ‘
You don’t have to be too detailed in this essay but point out some strong points and find some reference to support them.
Thank you and I am looking forward a quality first year level asain study essay cheers
SAMPLE ANSWER
Deng era and Mao era in China Introduction
The histories and cultures of Asia are very important in any Asian study as they provide some basic general knowledge and intellectual skills required to effectively study any one of the cultures. These usually include China, Japan, Korea, India, Thailand and many more. The religions of the people of the East Asia culture usually include Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, and Zen Buddhism. The South Asian culture is majorly made up of Muslims. The Chinese Culture is one of the oldest in the World. It covers a large eastern Asia region, therefore customs and traditions vary greatly depending on the province, city, or town. Throughout history, many groups have either merged into other ethnicities or disappeared. The largest group, Han Chinese has managed to maintain traditions. Ever since the period of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, one or another Chinese Monarch has been the main ruler. These periods are usually similar in the sense that government and military officials are placed high in the hierarchy, while the rest are basically under the regular Chinese law. Ever since 256 BCE, the Chinese society was organized in various socio-economic classes (Chai 2003: 165). These are commonly referred to as four occupations (Zhang 2013: 450). Unfortunately, this hierarchical system was not effective as other social groups were left out. The distinctions between the groups also became confusing as the Chinese culture was commercialized during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE) (Chang 2014: 42). This paper will particularly focus on the Chinese Culture during the Deng and Mao eras. It will distinguish the differences between these two leaders as well as their similarities.
Distinguishing the Deng Era from the Mao Era
The Chinese regional policy has undergone decades of trials, adjustments and readjustments as is noted from Maoist redistributive policies to Deng’s approach of the uneven development. Therefore, the policies implemented during the Mao era and Deng era is what can be used to distinguish the two periods. Other forms of development can also be used to achieve the same purpose; such as agricultural situations, political reforms and many more (Chang 2014: 49). The land reforms under Mao that took place between 1953 and 1978 were too many, a fact that proved there were failures in land policies during this time (Chai 2003: 167). Mao was basically experimenting different policies trying to figure out which one will prove effective. This was frequently not supported by the peasantry. For instance, the land reforms supported by Mao led to many landowners losing their lands to the states. This happened because farmers were advised to form cooperation’s, thus they were offered usage rights, but not ownerships of the land (Chang 2014: 43). This in turn greatly affected the agriculture economy at this time, as the absence of incentives resulted in poor productivity for workers.
The compensation offered for these workers in the collective farms was calculated through complex shared points systems. The fact that farmers knew the land belonged to the state also affected their productivity as it made them feel used (Goldman 2009: 664). The food they produced in the farms was sold to the state at fixed low prices compared to the price offered for the open market where other members of the public went to purchase them. Hence, these workers were forced to rely on government subsidies for survival. The infrastructure during the Mao era was poor, and the resulting transportation problems caused great loss as farmers could not move food to their homes without them spoiling. Gradually, the amount of food produced in the fields reduced as a result of poor land management. The chairmen of the collective cooperation’s pushed workers to work on the fields despite the soils being exhausted and water supply reducing drastically (Goldman 2009: 665). It was as a result of this low productivity that China experienced food shortages and famines. To improve the situation, Mao decided to facilitate programs for fertilizers and hybrid seeds. Unfortunately, they also had negative environmental effects.
The Deng era turned out to be a complete opposite of what was happening during the Mao era. In 1979, Deng started working on dismantling the controlled collectivism system (Goldman 2009: 670). He did so by encouraging the farmers to once again start working on their individual plots. Legislation was passed that farmers could employ laborers, and even sell surplus (Walder & Litao 2006: 357). Incentives were offered for peasants who were still not allowed to own land. Deng achieved this by offering them long-term and renewable leases, therefore they could use the land as their own for the given duration. Therefore, once again, order was achieved in China, where the state only expected to be offered part of the crops produced. As a result of this positive change to the reforms, agricultural productivity was once again improved. Farmers made great profits from the sale of rice, vegetables, sugar and many other products. Farmers became motivated to join hands, voluntarily, with other farmers. Thus, they were able to improve irrigation and the status of the roads.
Political reforms that took place during the Mao era proved to be more effective than any other issue this leader ever handled. In Mao’s view, he really hoped to develop a new China that was free from corruption, economically equal and respected all over the world (Dirlik 2012: 23). This is why, instead of focusing on individuals, he implemented a collective system. Therefore, during his era, corruption and disparity were reduced at high rates, but the economic and political vision did not turn out as expected. The Cultural Revolution that took place as a result of the Mao era led to a decade of violence and human suffrage. Mao launched this revolution in an attempt to reassert his authority over the Chinese government (Chai 2003: 170). He did this when he started doubting the loyalty of the other members, thus he called upon the youth to clear the country of impure elements. Deng was lucky as he got an opportunity to witness the mistakes of Mao, and thus make the necessary changes to improve the situation. Thus, another distinction between these two eras is that the Mao reign was full of economic and political failures.
Deng developed a reform, which gave the Chinese people mandate over their own property (Walder & Litao 2006: 362). He also stressed on economic development as well as social stability. Therefore, his reign facilitated a switch from planned economy to the market oriented economy. This approach is what greatly enhanced the economy of China. During this era, 170 million people were saved from poverty, the Chinese citizens’ savings bank increased from 21 billion Yuan to 4,628 billion yuan. This era, however was not all good. As Deng was focusing on righting the wrongs of Mao, he forgot to pay attention to other important factors such as corruption. This era led to the development of the entrepreneurial class. Thus, buildings were erected, and the town developed drastically. This was facilitated on the land that was supposed to be cultivated. Thus, there was degradation of a very precious land that would have been used for better purposes. This may be a contribution to the high levels of unemployment experienced in China. Mao’s era provided jobs and social welfare for most Chinese citizens, while the Deng era seems to have forgotten about them. Hence, during the reign of Mao, individuals were poorer, but at least they had jobs and did not feel so insecure economically. The Deng era presents a lot of fear as the people are afraid for their economic wellbeing. This is because state leaders are misusing public money for their own benefits.
How Deng Adhered To Mao’s Policies and How He Changed Them
Deng managed to adhere to some of the policies passed by Mao, but he also took great effort to make changes to many others. These two leaders had a similar vision for the country; however, the approaches they took were somewhat different. One of the policies Deng adhered to was the one intended to improve agricultural and industrial production. As he was part of the government at the era of Mao, he got to learn a lot of things about the approach taken by this leader. This pushed him to make some changes to this policy, which he did by breaking the collective groups and encouraging farmers to work on their own individual lands (‘Sowing the Seeds of Democracy in China’ 1994: 174). In the situation where Mao was taking lands from individuals, Deng changed things by offering lands to individuals who lost what they owned during Mao’s era. Another way that Deng adhered to Mao’s policies can be seen by how the Peasants were still not given ownership, but instead they were offered rights to cultivate and benefit from the products through leases. The offering of renewable leases is how Deng changed this policy so that he could further enhance incentives for the workers. Thus, even though they were unable to get ownership to the land, they were given an opportunity to farm on it as if it was their own. This is because they only had to give a little percentage of their products to the state.
The policy of Mao that offered employment to all in the lands as workers, and offered them economic security is also another one that Deng changed. This caused worry to many individuals as they now had to suffer from high rates of unemployment, as well as the increasing risk of economic insecurity. By changing the collective policy, individuals had to find employment on their own and live off their hard work.
The military policies of Mao are also another example that Deng adhered to, though after making some changes. He first started by encouraging the criticism of the Cultural Revolution that was triggered by Mao. The public soon resented the revolution, and this led to its end. It was later replaced by the “Beijing Spring” that enabled people to peacefully communicate their grievances over the period (Xu 2014: 184). This made the other politicians with positions in the revolution to be weakened, while also strengthening the positions of others who were suffering at the time.
Deng continued with Mao’s vision of making China a unique and universally respected country. He understood that for the country to achieve the expected development, it would also mean developing the whole world. Thus, he made an effort to make amendments with other countries. As a result of this, he traveled to the West where he held meetings with various leaders. The country’s relationship with Japan was also improved. It was as a result of these efforts that Deng managed to obtain Hong Kong back from Britain, and colony Macau from Portugal (Xu 2014: 188). Deng did not try to improve the country’s relationship with the Soviet Union (Dirlik 2012: 27). This is also another way that he adhered to Mao’s policy.
Deng Era and Mao Era in China Essay Paper Conclusion
The Mao era is very different from the Deng era in that the previous was greatly characterized by many problems. This however does not mean that it was all bad, as the reign of Mao also improved some conditions of the country. Deng managed to take Mao’s setbacks to his advantage as his first steps were to right the wrongs of this leader. Thus, the country managed to develop and improve economically and politically over a very short time. Just like any other leadership, Deng’s era was also challenged by various issues such as rise in unemployment rates, increased corruption that could not be controlled, and also misuse of fertile land. These, however, were not as great as the situation during the Mao era where workers felt misused, there was a decline in production, starvation, poor infrastructure, and also war where millions lost their lives.
Deng Era and Mao Era in China Essay Paper Bibliography
Dirlik, A 2012, ‘Mao Zedong in Contemporary Chinese Official Discourse and History’, China Perspectives, 2012, 2, pp. 17-27, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 29 October 2014.
Goldman, M 2009, ‘Repression of China’s Public Intellectuals in the Post-Mao Era’, Social Research, 76, 2, pp. 659-686, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 29 October 2014.
‘Sowing the Seeds of Democracy in China: Political Reform in the Deng Xiaoping Era’ 1994, Foreign Affairs, 73, 3, p. 174, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 29 October 2014.
Walder, A, & Litao, Z 2006, ‘Political Office and Household Wealth: Rural China in the Deng Era’, China Quarterly, 186, pp. 357-376, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 29 October 2014.
Zhang, W 2013, ‘Class Categories and Marriage Patterns in Rural China in the Mao Era’, Modern China, 39, 4, pp. 438-471, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 29 October 2014.
Roles of the Nurse practitioner, nurse education, nurse informaticist and nurse administrator
Order Instructions:
Compare and contrast the roles of the Nurse practitioner, nurse education, nurse informaticist and nurse administrator in advance practice nursing pertaining to clinical practice, primary care, education administration and research.
APA format is required. Include references of current literature, at least 3 research articles
SAMPLE ANSWER
Roles of Nurses
Roles of the Nurse practitioner, nurse education, nurse informaticist and nurse administrator
Nursing is one of the most important career fields impacting on healthcare. There are various nursing roles in a healthy facility that works together to promote healthy living. Some of the roles they play even though may differ to some extent; aim to achieve a common goal of promoting quality healthcare. This discussion compares and contrasts the roles of nurse practitioner, nurse informaticist, nurse educator, and nurse administrator in advancing practice nursing in clinical, practice, education administration, primary care and research.
Nurse practitioners are one of the nurses in category of advanced practice registered nurse that serve patients as primary care providers. They execute different roles in their capacity in their areas of specialty. Some of these specialties of nurse practitioners include pediatric nurse practitioners, primary care nurse practitioners, geriatric nurse practitioners, psychiatric nurse practitioners and oncology nurse practitioner (Lowe, Plummer & Boyd, 2013). These nurses have a line of responsibilities they execute in their specialty areas. Some of the duties they perform include, providing diagnosis, treatments and provide counseling and consultations to their patients. These nurses as well work in and outpatient situations and perform their duties independently as a team (Lowe, Plummer & Boyd, 2013). They as well educate patients on preventive care as well as prescribed treatments, conduct physicals, carry out tests and as well prescribe medications to their patients.
Nurse educators as well play important roles in nursing. These educators are registered nurses with advanced education in various areas such as advanced clinical training in specialty in healthcare. The educators offer their services in various capacities (Mcsherry, Pearce, Grimwood, Mcsherry, 2012). Nurse educators mostly work in classroom and in practice setting in preparing and mentoring nurses. They help to strengthen nursing workforce, serve as role models and provide leadership, required in implementing evidence-based practice.
They design, implement, evaluate and revise academic as well as continuing education programs for nurse to help them deal with the various health problems in their practice (Mcsherry, Pearce, Grimwood, Mcsherry, 2012). They as well prepare nursing workforce to adapt to ever-changing and diverse health care environment. Nurse educators combine their clinical abilities with responsibilities. These nurse educators as well provide help to students and practicing nurses in identifying their learning needs, limitations and strengths as well in selecting learning opportunities to build on their strengths and manage their weaknesses (Griscti, Jacono & Jacono, 2005). The nurse educators as well provide advice to their students, engage in scholarly works such as research, present in professional associations, and engage in peer review as well contribute to academic community through leadership roles. Nurse educators working in practice settings assess nurses in practice and collaborate with them in designing learning experiences to strengthen their abilities.
Nurse administrators as well play a critical role in health care nursing. Nurse administrators have high trainings and have skills and knowledge in nursing protocols and procedures. They are pivotal leaders in a health facility where they manage people and processes. They have the requisite qualifications that enable them to render their services in various positions in different health settings.
Administrators work in clinical settings and manage teams of nurses or a given unit or shift assigned to them. They must fully implement nursing processes and procedures and remain accountable to their actions. Some of the roles these nurse administrators execute include, ensuring that patients receive quality care from the nurses (Mcsherry, Pearce, Grimwood, Mcsherry, 2012). They must formulate appropriate policies and procedures and document these procedures for the nursing teams to render quality care. They also promote nurses development, develop budgets and maintain standard and practice guidelines. Administrators enhance free flow of communication between nursing staffs and practice, schedule and supervise nurses; they also analyze nursing diagnosis and treatment decisions (Cathcart & Greenspan, 2013). They also adopt strategies that aim at building and counseling employees as well as patient consultation programs aimed at impacting on the quality of healthcare.
Nurse informaticists as well play important role in affecting the quality of care. These nurses combine nursing science, computer science, information management science to manage and process nursing data, information, and knowledge to deliver quality healthcare to the patients (Murphy, 2011). The introduction of technology in provision of healthcare has improved service delivery as various technological and technological communications systems are adopted to deliver healthcare. Major role of nurse informaticists is to facilitate integration of data, information and knowledge to support patient, nurse and other providers in decision-making (Murphy, 2011). They therefore use information processes, structures and technology to achieve their goals.
Nurse informaticists’ role is to develop systems that are user friendly and effective in rendering quality care. They also enhance documentations in health facilities through use of computer and information technologies (Murphy, 2011). One of the technologies they use is the Electronic Health Records to enhance documentation and communications between health care providers in a health setting. They therefore design and implement systems that improve documentation, enhance accuracy and eliminate unnecessary work and allow analysis of clinical data. They also enhance communication in an entity through adoption of various technologies such as Smartphone, note pads, internet in quest to make better decisions about patient care and in overall delivery of quality healthcare (Murphy, 2011).
From this discussion, it is therefore apparent that these nurse professionals have some comparisons and contrasts. Some of the comparisons that cut across these nurses are that they work in a clinical setting or aims to promote quality health care. They as well must have acquired certain level of training in their respective fields (Mcsherry, Pearce, Grimwood, Mcsherry, 2012). The nurse practitioners, educators, informaticists and administrators must be trained and obtain certification and license to operates. Furthermore, are expected to execute their roles by observing certain rules and regulations, policies and standards established. They as well expected to adapt to codes of ethics and professional standards. These nurses as well can participate in advocacy in creating awareness on the prevention of disease and infections. Their capacities and level of skills and knowledge and experience in health care makes them opinion leaders and can therefore influence the society to adopt to positive health behaviors as a way to improving and promoting health care.
There are as well some contrasts between the nurse practitioners, educators, informaticists and administrators. Their differences emanate from their roles and the settings they are working. For instance, nurse practitioners work in primary care setting as they deal with issues of diagnosis, treatment, medical prescription in both inpatient and outpatient settings. They as well provide guiding and counseling services on prevention of certain diseases among other roles. Nurse educators work in classroom setting as they train nurses on appropriate nursing practices. These nurse educators have requisite clinical training and experiences they have to train new nurses. They also engage in research to come up with new skills and knowledge to impact on the nursing profession (Mcsherry, Pearce, Grimwood, Mcsherry, 2012). Informaticists work in all settings to enhance communication-using technologies available. They have requisite skills to use technologies in health care settings to facilitate communication between various stakeholders including patients, nurses, providers and other stakeholders to impact on quality of care. On the other hand, administrators have the responsibility to provide affable management and leadership in a health care facility to ensure that processes and standards of practice are met. They ensure that patients can access to quality health care through proper management, budgeting and setting of policies and procedures.
In conclusion, nursing is a wide field with different practitioners required to execute their roles and duties to achieve common objectives. Nurse practitioners, educators, administrators and informaticist have a role to play to enhance quality of care. Understanding their role is important, as this will promote quality of care. Even though there are some differences in the roles and duties that these professionals do, they have a common objective of ensuring that quality healthcare is provided to the patients.
Lack of Identification of Employer Goals on Organizational Strategy
In every organization, goals and objectives have to be set either by the employer, or jointly through a collaborative process involving the employer and the employees. Either way, organizational goals provide important blueprints that determine the course of action of employees and employers, and aids in designing and preparing for future changes (Ovidiu-Iliuta, 2014). Owing to the crucial nature of these goals and objectives, it become imperative that every employer has to ensure that SMART goals and objectives are instituted, to guide the operations of the organization, and bring order. However, what would happen if these goals were not set? It is on this backdrop that this paper develops a solid argument behind the impact of lack of identification of employer goals on organizational strategy.
As aforementioned, organizational goals provide a blueprint that define the course of action of an organization. Basically, this course of action is what is referred to as strategy. An organizational strategy refers to a contingent of activities and plans outlined to pursue a given objective, and to take care of the future. Drawing from this definition, it is clear that employer goals and organizational strategy go hand in hand, and must be used in tandem to ensure organizational success. According Farndale, Pai, Sparrow, and Scullion (2014), organizational goals serve four major roles: they facilitate planning, provide direction and guidance, assist in employee motivation, and contribute in performance evaluation and control.
Lack of identification of goals would hamper adequate planning in an organization. Since the business world is a rapidly changing platform, it is imperative that organizations come up with plans for the future, for instance, how to compete fairly, how to keep up with the ever-changing consumer preferences, and how to cope up with technological advancements, among others (Ovidiu-Iliuta, 2014). Without the institution of proper plans, it would mean that the organization would be caught off-guard when such crucial changes occur.
Additionally, as earlier identified, goals are important motivators for employees. Working with a known target makes operations easier, achievable, and motivating. However, in a case where the targets are not well designated, employees would not work hard enough, since they are not driven by any pressure to achieve. In line with this, employers also usually tend to align organizational goals with their own, and use these as their performance indicators (Ovidiu-Iliuta, 2014). It is important to appraise highly performing employees, since this would impact heavily on their motivation to work and be retained within the organization. Performance appraisal is only possible if there are set goals that act as indicators of good work.
As line managers, overcoming pitfalls caused by lack of identification of goals calls for solid leadership abilities. Most importantly, line managers need to be collaborative, and involve employees in goal-setting, so that they feel part of the organization. One contingent approach would be to set specific short-term goals for teams, and ensure that these goals are met at the end of the specified time (Effects of wellbeing strategies not measured, report finds, 2013). While these might act as ephemeral solutions to the above pitfalls, it is important that the line managers come together to set long-term goals for the entire organization, based on its culture and objectives. This process should be collaborative, and must involve all employees so that they embrace the goals, and become part of the organization. Still, fostering teamwork in such a scenario is a great way to get the goals to be met satisfactorily.
References
Effects of well being strategies not measured, report finds. (2013). Occupational Health, 65(5), 7.
Farndale, E., Pai, A., Sparrow, P., & Scullion, H. (2014). Balancing individual and organizational goals in global talent management: A mutual-benefits perspective. Journal Of World Business, 49(Talent Management), 204-214.
And add some economics theory which taught in lecture due to 1/3 marks will be based on it (list on the instructions as well), such as the Multitasking and perverse incentives, Performance measurement and appraisals, CEO compensation, Intrinsic motivation, Incentivising across the hierarchy, Relative performance and promotions. Beside just rephrase the source you have found, thank you.
Just link some of these theories to the source you got. U don’t have to put too many papers or reference in this essay. 3 or 4 are enough and link back those references to these theories.
Moreover, the introduction and conclusion are required, Just discuss why there’s a strong growth from 1990 -2007 and instances of large payments despite poor company performance,
have fuelled community concerns that executive remuneration is out of control.. maybe good training and educating? good team work and social environment? or what ever they mentioned in the reading..
Just give out some reasons and elaborate and explains or even bullshits some points. after that put some paper evidence(reference) to support the points, It does not have to be a very high level essay. im expecting a 60/100.
But the background readings and empirical in the assignment pdf must be used. and please give the internet link at the bibliography because i need to know where u find those reference.
The word limits is 1500, Im happy with 1400 as well.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Abstract
Most theories in personnel economics relate to the effects of the monetary compensation or incentives that the workers received based on the output. The major conclusions to these theories are that workers in all cases react or respond to these incentives, a concept which forms the cornerstone in personnel economic theory. To be more specific, it’s a fact that the payment received on the basis of the output expected will basically induce the workers to increase the output. (Lazear 2000) These paper looks at the connection between compensation and accounting performance. The link that exists between incentives pays and company performance. Incentive pay includes options, restricted stock payments, long term compensation and future stock performance.
Introduction
The last two decades has witness a steady rise in CEOs compensation that has not being directly related to their performance. The proponents of the agency theory and the CEO executive compensation have argued that the compensation should be in all occasions be aligned to the performance of the company. (Jensen and Murphy 1990) In Australia and Canada most of the compensation systems are based on organization performance while profit sharing is not common. (Long & Shields 2007) The current compensation strategies have pushed the workers and their CEOs to take advantage of the short term risks to make huge profits without considering the long term effect on the company. As a result of these actions most companies have taken measures to cushion the long term interest of the share holders by opting to offer long term executive compensation plans for the CEOs incentives to also act for the best interests of the share holders long term interests. The markets also do not fully incorporate the CEOs pay information at the time its made public as its intended to be a long term future incentive pay and based on future company performance.
The effects of the future stock performance in the last decade has not received any attention as a result of an implicit assumption that, given an efficient market, the investors will automatically capitalize the current present value of the company’s future performance to increase the stock price after the information on the new incentive pay goes public. (Fich and Shivdasani 2005)
These reasons may have propelled the executive compensation pay structures and incentives to rise rapidly between the years 1990 and 2007. The need to create a positive image on the company and also to influence the share prices positively besides obtaining CEOs who multitask.
However, the information on the CEO incentive compensation may not be reflected immediately on the company returns for some reasons. The first reason may be that the intrinsic compensation contracts for the CEO may in some cases incorporate both the unobservable and observable performance measures. If the performance measures that are not observable in the contract or are directly correlated with all the future performance measures that are observable then the variation in the current pay that is not basically explained by the variation found in the current performance measures that are observable should predict the future variation in all observable performance measures. (Hayes and Schaefer 2000) The extent that companies and managers draw their contracts on the net positive unobservable characteristics of the managers mostly suggests a relationship that’s positive between the pay and the future returns.
Source: Federal Reserve Economic data, St Bank of Louis,
The highest peak of average CEOs total compensation package was in 2000 at $20,172,000 and later declined to $10,394,000 in 2009. This was at the center of the global economic crisis that originated mostly from the collapse of US giant corporations due to mismanagement and financial improprieties in the years 2008 and 2009.
The empirical evidence below suggest a positive link between pay and incentives is illustrated by Lazear’s classic paper that examines the Safelite Glass Company shift to piece rate system in order to retain higher productivity employees. The diagram below indicates the shift to a piece rate system from the hourly rate with minimum guaranteed compensation. The lower productivity employees will not change or alter their behavior as a result of these changes but the higher productivity employees (illustrated by indifference curves marked X) will naturally increase their production to exploit the attractive new incentives available. Lazear argues that the change in compensation will predict the average increase in production per employee and also the average production ability per employee should also increase.
Compensation Before and After at Safelite
Compensation
(Piece work with guarantee)
B be – k
X
A X
Hourly Wages
0 eo e* Output, e
-K
After examining the production records of Safelite in detail over the change in the production levels, Lazear demonstrated that the two predictions were correct. The company’s average output was actually higher where the contract on piece rate was introduced and also the average production levels of new employees hired after the introduction of the piece rate system was higher than the surviving old employees of the hourly system. (Lazear 2000)
The design perspective in personnel economics allows companies to make optimal decisions based on varied constraints. Managerial technology Y= F (K, L, HRM) where the HRM policies have to optimized by increasing the incentive prevalence over time. The challenge however is that it’s difficult to have a uniform basis to measure incentive pay and also their varying effects on the policies of the HRM.
Employees are assumed to have the cost of effort identified as C (e). It varies with different individuals as well trained and educated employees have a less C (e) while the untrained employees have a higher C (e). Heterogeneity in employee leads to additional roles of compensation contracts that will attract the desired employee and provide the comparison between higher and the lower employee productivity.
The wage contracts are in the form 1 = α + βy. If we assume that C (e) is linked to the output and the workers options are set outside the options that are zero level utility.
There are basically two types of employees. There are employees who are risk neutral and those with the standard risk whose utility is neutral. They are identified with the following function
Ui = w – Ci (e), I = l, h
The relationship between the high CEO pay and the decline in company returns may be due to the less transparent nature of the CEOs non-cash stock option components of the compensation. Manager’s use of camouflage incentive compensation strategy to extract rent from the shareholders. For instance, the real value of the options payable may actually be distorted by such practices as option backdating and repricing. (Narayan & Seyhun 2008)
Most deferred compensations are mostly not disclosed. The relative performance and promotion is based on wage dynamics. If the deferred future pay which is mostly uncertain is also correlated with the pay that’s reported and made public then a relationship will exist between the pay and the returns in future. This kind of relationship however spells an uncertain future where the investors may under-react to the non-cash compensation just as much as they have under-reacted to other events on company affairs. (Kadiyala & Rau 2004) These would imply that there is a positive relationship that exists between the incentive compensation and the future performances of the stock prices.
The companies that compensate their CEOs highly seem also to experience the highest returns and performance levels. (Core, Holthausen and Larcker 1999) There other CEOs who may land on high compensations based on sheer lack or due to popular press. For example, companies would also like their CEOs to be ranked among the highest paid CEOs in the world by the Fortune magazine. Most companies would not allow their investments to be managed by CEOs who are below average or compensation that are below the standard market rates. These combinations of glamour that has been characterized by very high returns and even higher operating performance has been publicized to attract the companies to pay the best they can afford as its associated with the star effects that high pay produces the best CEOs globally hence the investors react by investing more in such firms whose shares then rise. These misconception has led to the some firms reduced performance as some CEOs are chosen based on other qualifications and considerations not just on merit alone. The inability of the shareholders to distinguish merit or skill from luck has led to the negative relation or notion between the executive CEO pay and the company’s future returns.
Finally highly paid CEOs are mostly overconfident which leads to higher pay demands. They later embarked on wasteful empire building strategies that lead to wealth destroying activities hence the negative relation between the CEO incentives for high compensation and the negative future company returns.
References
Core, J.E., Holthausen, R.W. and Larcker, D.F., 1999, Corporate governance, chief executive officer compensation, and firm performance, Journal of Financial Economics 51, 371- 406
Fich, E.M. & Shivdasani, A., 2005, The impact of stock-option compensation for outside directors on firm value, Journal of Business 78, 2229-2254
Hayes, R.M. & Schaefer, S., 2000, Implicit contracts and the explanatory power of top executive compensation for future performance, Rand Journal of Economics 31, 279-293.
Jensen, M.C. & Murphy, K.J. 1990, Performance pay and top-management incentives, Journal of Political Economy 98, 225-264. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2937665
Kadiyala, P. & Rau, P.R., 2004, Investor reaction to corporate event announcements, Under-reaction or over-reaction? Journal of Business 77, 357-386.
Lazear, E.P., 2000, Performance Pay and Productivity, The American Economic Review, Vol. 90 No. 5 Dec 2000.
Narayanan, M. P. and Seyhun, H.N., 2008, The Dating Game: Do managers designate grant dates to increase their compensation, Review of Financial Studies 21, 1907-1945
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Marketers do not decide a brand’s ultimate meaning
Marketers do not decide a brand’s ultimate meaning, consumers do
Order Instructions:
The essay topic is as follows:
“While marketers do their best to imbue brands with positive, motivating values and associations,
marketers do not decide a brand’s ultimate meaning. Consumers do – and sometimes they find
relevance, purpose and significance that the brand’s creators may not have seen or intended.
DISCUSS”. – Dorothy Fitch, global analyst, Millward Brown
This is an essay based on scholarly journal article research, theory and critical evaluation/synthesis (not
mere description). You must support your answer with a minimum of 8 journal articles (can be peer
reviewed or otherwise but must be from sources classified as Journals). The essays upper word limit is
2,500 words. There is no minimum word limit. The upper word limit is strict. NB. The word limit does not include; title page/cover page, sub-headings, reference list (it does include in-text citations), appendix.
Notes:
• A minimum of 6 journal articles. Penalty of 20/100 marks applied if this criteria is not met.
• Full Harvard author-date referencing is required (in-text citations, and reference list).
SAMPLE ANSWER
P Morgan once stated that understanding a client inside out is essential in meeting and anticipating their various needs, finding solution to their problems and making them aware of opportunities that they would otherwise not have found on their own (As cited in. Simpson, & Licata 2007, 311). This statement is the reason why there is increased strategic marketing and product branding among organizations and business entities to maximize profitability (Simpson, & Licata 2007, 315). Focus among organizations, therefore, is in coming up with marketing and branding strategies that will appeal to consumers and lead to increased purchases, which will in turn lead to higher profit margin. To achieve this, marketers are left with the daunting task of coming up not only with the best marketing strategy, but also with unique brands that motivate and bear positive values to the consumers (Hudders, Pandelaere, & Vyncke 2013, 394). The challenge with such marketing and branding strategies, however, is that consumers and their spending habits are the most difficult things to understand. Consumer behavior is motivated by several psychological, environmental, and situational factors (Antonetti & Maklan 2013, 117), that assuming their response to a particular brand of product would not only be irrational, but a serious marketing blunder. Other factors such as self-concept, consumer attitude and social influences also play a vital role in positioning the consumer to have the ultimate say in a brand’s image, effectiveness, satisfaction and eventual success (Ward & Dhan 2014, 591). Marketers should, therefore, focus on marketing, and leave consumers to decide on the actual meaning of the brand and establish positive brand associations by themselves (Halt 2002, 71). This is because consumers may derive benefits, and even attach value to a particular brand that marketers had not even intended. With consumers being the final decision makers with regard to brand identity and viability, this paper shall critically analyze marketing and branding strategies and concepts organizations use to lure customers, theories about consumer perception and brand association, in order to prove that marketers have little, if any, role to play in determining how consumers perceive, value, associate with, and use a particular brand, because consumers are in control of the use and identity and significance of a product, as posited by Dorothy Fitch.
To influence consumers’ product consumption and increase profitability, most organizations resort to marketing and branding. Marketing refers to the process of satisfying the demands of customers by identifying what they need, anticipating what they require and satisfying such requirements (Hanssens, Rust, & Srivastava 2009, 115). This, therefore, puts the task of strategic marketing to marketers, since they play the important role of ensuring sustainability in organizations, customer satisfaction and putting organizations in a competitive edge in comparison to its competitors (McCausland 2009, 101). Marketers play several strategic roles in sustaining customer satisfaction and ensuring profitability through increased sales. First, marketers perform market research and evaluate trends in marketing, dynamics involved in consumer needs, consumption attitudes and market efficiencies so as to guarantee competitiveness (Franke, Keinz, & Steger 2009, 111). Second, they play a key role in designing of products, research on efficient production methods and labeling. They also initiate strategic paths that their organization should follow so as to improve the organizations brand in terms of value, its perception among consumers and positive brand association. In their strategic marketing role, marketers should always be aware of the fact that consumers are varied with different motivations, social status, personalities and other unique consumer behaviors that affect consumption (McCausland 2009, 103). While marketer play a key role in ensuring that products penetrate the market and reach the market they have targeted, they have little control on the level of significance that that brands of products they are marketing bear on the target consumers (Naghiu 2011, 129).
Consumers sometimes make their consumption decision based on their knowledge about a particular brand and their expectation about a particular brand are varied (Juscius, & Sneideriene 2013, 794). Branding, a process that rests in the hands of marketers, refers to developing products to possess attributes that appeal to human nature, so as to make them unique, appealing, and valuable to consumers (Juscius, & Sneideriene 2013, 794). Branding aims at building brand equity, and creating features in product so that consumers feel emotionally attached to the brand. There are two branding strategies that marketers use to brand their products, and these include manufacturers branding and branding through a private label. Branding has several functions and roles such as providing a means by which organizations communicate with their customers, through customizing of organizations product to match consumer expectations (Hanssens, Rust, & Srivastava 2009, 118). It builds credibility of an organization’s products and services with time since credibility takes time to build, and branding also provides the connection between the product and the consumer by generating customer loyalty. Branding also tries to provide the motivation that consumers need in order to consume a particular product. The challenge for marketers here, is that various consumers are motivated by various needs, some of them psychological (Naghiu 2011, 128). The major reason for branding is to create products that can lure consumers simply because of the intangible attributes they possess including status, quality, quality and convenience. These features that are associated with the product are non-physical, and are influenced by strategic decisions that marketers take such as price and product. Marketers therefore can influence few elements of a product’s brand, but cannot influence the consumers’ attitude, perception, and level significance that the brand bears on them (Juscius, & Sneideriene 2013, 797). This is where marketers’ role stop and consumers control over the impact of a brand begins since they are the ones who ultimately decide whether to buy a product or otherwise (Whan, MacInnis, Priester, Eisingerich, & Iacobucci 2010, 9). Success therefore depends purely on the consumers since while marketers may have considered all the possible factor to make a brand easily identifiable by consumers, chance of misinterpreting the customers need are certain because consumers can be irrational spenders, motivated by various factors ( Zaichkowsky 2001, 51). Marketers therefore should know that their efforts in establishing brand association and relationship among consumers they have targeted may yield little fruits, if any, since consumer behavior is driven by several physiological and psychological factors.
Since consumers are instrumental in determining the success of product branding, it is important to look at consumer behavior, in particular how they make their decisions, their brand perception variations and what really motivates them to behave the way they do. Various factors have been documented that try to gain an understanding of consumer behavior patterns and decision making. These factors include situational factors such as the location where the organization’s stores are located, influences consumers decision to purchase a product since if they perceive the location to be located in inconvenient or not so easy to reach places, they may be reluctant to travel all the way just to buy the product in question. They may opt for a substitute even if it is of lower brand quality simply because it is accessible. The layout of the physical factors that are in the organization’s control also influence consumption decisions because consumers tend to be lure by attractive physical structures (Whan, MacInnis, Priester, Eisingerich, & Iacobucci 2010, 7). There are also certain physical factors that are beyond the control of organizations but affect the consumption patterns of a consumers. For example, very few individuals will be willing to buy a product in rainy seasons, companies that deal with umbrellas for instance only get market during rain seasons while the same rainy season means bad news for those running beach rests and hotels. Personality and self-concept also have a bearing on consumer consumption, with little effect of marketing strategies intervention and branding. Different consumers have different personality types that have greater bearing on their consumption patterns that marketers may not be aware of (Naghiu 2011, 131). We have consumers who traits such as extraversion, agreeableness, open, neuroticism and conscientiousness. All these presents a concept about the self and greatly affect consumers purchasing behavior, in a manner that marketer cannot. For consumers who have whose personality trait is openness, for instance, are likely to respond to organizations claims about the benefits of a particular brand more positively than consumers who are, say, neurotic. Again research show that consumers with extravert personality trait are more likely to easily spend their money on a particular brand more readily. Perception theories have also attempted to explain the various points of views that different consumers hold about a singular brand of product (Franke, Keinz, & Steger 2009, 114). Consumer perception with regard to consumer behavior refers to consumer perceive or look at things using their five senses. Perception theories try to find the reasons behind consumers’ opinions about their products or organization. The perception theories are vital to marketers because it enables them to come up with brands that are likely to appeal to the consumers, so that they may retain the current customers, and possibly lure more, through designing product features that are likely to appeal to the target consumers. Self-perception, which is how consumers view and think about themselves, and focuses in particular, on customers values, needs, expectations, and motivations that influence their buying patterns or behaviors (McCausland 2009, 105). For example, a consumer may buy a particular brand of product not because of its popularity or quality as marketers may have intended, but they may buy if simply because his friend buy the same product, or may not buy it because some people have bought it.
Psychological needs cannot be ignored where consumer behavior is involved. From a physiological point of view, consumer have various needs such as physiological needs that include hunger and thirst, the need for safety and security, the need for personal esteem, the need to attain self-actualization and the need for belongingness. Consumers can thus prefer a particular brand of product because he associates the product with being safe, or perceives the product to be capable of fulfilling his needs. The need to belong is especially influential especially among the young consumers, because they tend to be influenced easily by peers (Juscius, & Sneideriene 2013, 799). These are called reference groups and much of consumer consumption behavior is influenced by such reference groups because consumers tend to influence each other. This therefore implies that marketing strategies have little impact in determining or giving meaning to brands, especially where such reference groups are powerful.
These perception variations and motivations influence consumers’ behaviors. Marketers, as key players in designing brands of products, usually consider these psychological needs, safety needs, social needs and self-actualization needs (Franke, Keinz, & Steger 2009, 117). These needs have to be satisfied and they are the reason behind the irrational consumption patterns of consumers. This irrational consumption is the reason why even strategic marketers may not be accurate in coming up with brands that are certain to appeal to consumers. If a brand appeals to consumers as a result of a marketer’s input, it is usually more out of chance than design. It is argued that in the marketing arena, the only common thing is the constant change in consumer tastes and references. It is in this regard that marketers tend to carry out extensive market research to try to establish the trending needs and market preferences. What is more, while consumers are the ultimate determinants of the suitability and quality of a product, they initially do not always know what they want until it is developed. This presents a difficult puzzled to producers, who have to fight to satisfy superficial needs (Naghiu 2011, 134). Dorothy’s statement is true in its very nature, since marketers may develop a product based on facts gathered from a series of market research, but end up producing the wrong thing. Could it be argued that the qualification of a new product in the market is purely a subject of chance? The answer to this question begs for a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of consumer behavior.
In conclusion, marketers play a very vital role in branding of products and influencing consumers’ purchasing habit through focusing research on the motivations behind consumers’ consumptions, motivational factors behind such consumptions and the needs that consumers usually try to fulfill that drive their consumption patterns. This has tremendous effect on the organizations profits and sales volumes. However, when it comes to consumers developing brand identity and brand associations, the forces in play are purely from the end of the consumers. Consumer needs are hard to understand, and so despite extensive research, it would be difficult to gain a comprehensive understanding as to what make consumers adopt somewhat irrational buying patterns in existence. It is, therefore, safe to assume that when it comes to brand association, brand identity, brand design, and benefits derived from particular brands, the consumers have greater determining power because no marketer or marketing and branding strategy can fully satisfy the spontaneous, changing irrational needs of consumers. This statement only means that consumers are usually the kings of every product developed and marketed by an organizations, and it is imperative that producers develop products with the consumer in mind, since they are the final determinants of brand identity and ultimate quality.
References
Franke, N, Keinz, P, & Steger, C 2009, ‘Testing the Value of Customization: When Do Customers Really Prefer Products Tailored to Their Preferences?’, Journal Of Marketing, 73, 5, pp. 103-121.
Hanssens, D, Rust, R, & Srivastava, R 2009, ‘Marketing Strategy and Wall Street: Nailing Down Marketing’s Impact’, Journal Of Marketing, 73, 6, pp. 115-118.
Hudders, L, Pandelaere, M, & Vyncke, P 2013, ‘Consumer meaning making’, International Journal Of Market Research, 55, 3, pp. 391-412.
Juscius, V, & Sneideriene, A 2013, ‘The research of social values influence on consumption decision making in Lithuania’, Economics & Management, 18, 4, pp. 793-801.
Naghiu, M 2011, ‘The psychological implications behind the marketing strategies that aim to predetermine costumer’s behavior’, Review Of Management & Economic Engineering, 10, 2, pp. 127-135.
Simpson, P, & Licata, J 2007, ‘Consumer attitudes toward marketing strategies over the adult life span’, Journal Of Marketing Management, 23, 3/4, pp. 305-326.
Ward, M, & Dahl, D 2014, ‘Should the Devil Sell Prada? Retail Rejection Increases Aspiring Consumers’ Desire for the Brand’, Journal Of Consumer Research, 41, 3, pp. 590-609.
Motives are a key consideration in ethical decision making. This assignment challenges you to apply the author’s four-step process as a tool to determine your motives.
Applying this knowledge is a good first step toward building the skills necessary to complete this same type of process when analyzing your motives at work or your organization’s motives in ethical decision making, designing social responsibility programs, and formulating organizational policy.
The author offers a four-step approach to analyzing your ethical motives. In this assignment, prepare answers to the four steps outlined.
Step 1: Describe an ethical dilemma that you recently experienced. Be detailed: What was the situation? Who did it involve? Why? What happened? What did you do? What did you not do? Describe your reasoning process in taking or not taking action. What did others do to you? What was the result?
Step 2: Read the descriptions of relativism, utilitarianism, universalism, rights, justice, and moral decision making. Explain which principles best describes your reasoning and your action(s) in the dilemma you presented in Step 1.
Step 3: Were you conscious that you were reasoning and acting on these (or other) ethical principles before, during, and after your ethical dilemma? Explain.
Step 4: Would you have acted differently in your dilemma than you did? Explain.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Ethical Motive
Step 1: An ethical situation that I faced was when working on a part-time basis as a sales person in a certain firm dealing in beauty products. I discovered that the beauty products I was selling contained a chemical substance that was harmful to the skin of the users. Though the company and all the employees in the company were aware of the fact that the products were harmful, there was a code of silence so that nobody was expected to inform the clients about the consequences of using the products. Therefore, I did not also tell the clients about the harmful chemicals in the products. My reasoning was in line with the code of silence within the organization that made employees reluctant to tell clients the truth. As a result, the company continued to sell the harmful products to the clients.
Step 2: The principle that best describes my reasoning and actions in the dilemma presented in Step 1 is ethical relativism which holds that there is no universal standard or rule that can be used in guiding or evaluating the morality of an act. According to relativism, people set their own moral standards for judging their actions. In this regard, I acted in line with my own moral standards which were guided by the code of silence in the institution. I also acted on the principle of utilitarianism in the context of maximum benefits for the maximum number within the organization. I felt that telling the clients the truth about the chemicals in the products would put the clients off and the organization would not make the desired benefits and the employees would be less paid and they would not be happy with my actions.
Step 3: I was conscious that I was reasoning and acting on these ethical principles during the ethical dilemma. I wanted to make a decision that would not hurt the company and my fellow employees; therefore I felt that concealing the truth from clients to attract more sales was for the good of the organization.
Step 4: I would have acted differently in the dilemma than I did because I could have broken from dependency to become independent in my decisions and make the right moral judgment as to balancing between the responsibility of the institution and the rights of clients to be sold safe products. I could have appreciated the principle of interpersonal leadership that involves building relationships through cooperation, based on a sense of integrity and moral maturity (Weiss, 2008).
Think of a new product that is currently not in market and as a Marketing Manager you are to develop marketing plans to launch this new product.
As a Marketing Manager or Product Manager, what do you have to consider in terms of consumer behavior when developing this new product?
Think of the consumer behavior theoretical discussion which you have learnt from Week 2 till to date.
I will uploaded my lecture notes for that.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Consumer Behavior
Schwartz (2004) defines a consumer as any person or individual who requires a given product or service to meet personal needs and wants. Behavior, on the other hand, refers to a given pattern, perception, belief, or sequence that an individual possesses that guides them or dictates the products or services to purchase. Understanding consumer behavior requires an inquisitive research so as to identify the customers thinking, beliefs, and level of income, social norms, market trends, gender, and religion (Belch & Belch, 2007). Once the researcher have outlined and differentiated all this factors a given geographical location can be segmented and the prevalent consumer behaviors determined. These consumer behaviors are then used in product design and formulation. A good company carries out a SWOT analysis to be familiar with the opportunities, threats and weaknesses of penetrating a given market segment. Mostly ,in carrying out a research in a market segment problems can be identified and then the research panel can brainstorm the solutions which are used to come up with various products and services that meet the needs of customers in that segment.
Factors influencing consumer behavior can be divided into economic, social, political, ecological and technological factors. For example, ecological weather conditions like winter or summer dictate the consumer preferences of clothing. In winter season consumers purchase heavy clothing and protective equipment like gumboots (Engel, Blackwell & Miniard, 2007). The change in technology also influences consumer behavior as this changes fashion and market trends. For example, the advent of android operating system in the mobile phone industry have seen massive demand and sales for this smart phones in companies like Samsung, Nokia, LG, IPhone and Techno. These companies have also been forced to adapt to the changes in technology in order to meet their consumer needs and preferences.
After considering all the above, the product in mind is modern mobile incinerators. These incinerators are of small sizes and are very portable. The reasoning behind this is that most companies and organization nowadays are faced with a lot of paperwork and plastic wastes in the offices and manufacturing sections, however, most of these firms don’t have the appropriate facilities to dispose this waste. My product which goes by the brand name ‘Mobi Inc.’ comes restore and uphold environmental consciousness in this organizations. This product also covers a wide customer base as it can also be used in homes and has a very considerate pricing. This product also has differentiation advantage in that the consumer can order customized incinerators (Hirsh, Kang & Bodenhausen, 2012). Therefore the size differentiation is entirely according to the customer’s needs and preferences. However, at the inception stage the main target market for this product are big firms and governments that can order large quantities and hence enjoy the quantity discounts that come with the package.
After production of these incinerators, we plan to have various marketing strategies and plans. One of the strategies is low price penetration strategy. In this strategy will start to enter the market with the lowest prices until we get acceptance and a good customer base. These customers will have training on the use and benefits of the product and this serves to create awareness o0f the product. This awareness will be crucial to serve as a marketing tool as these customers will pass on the good news. Other marketing strategies will include sales and promotion whereby for every product bought the customer will enjoy gifts and discounts (Assael, 2012). Discounts however come with bulk purchases and this strategy will most work with big corporate organizations that have centralized purchasing. Households that purchase the Mobi Inc. product will enjoy after sale services e.g. warranties, training and installation. Marketing is also to be done through advertising on social media, magazines, journals and all accessible medium. Sales and promotion personnel will also be employed to carry out door to door marketing and sensitization
References
Assael, H. (2012). Consumer behavior and marketing action. Boston: Kent Publishing.
Belch, G. & Belch, M.A. (2007). Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective. New York: McGrawHill
Engel, J., Blackwell, R. & Miniard, P. (2007). Consumer behavior. CBS Publishing Asia LTD.
