Grapes Of Wrath Essay -- essays research papers

Grapes of Wrath   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book, Grapes of Wrath, follows the life of the Joad family, who live in Oklahoma during the Depression. The story begins with the return of Tom Joad from prison, where he has spent the last few years. He killed a boy in a bar fight and is now on parole. He is taken by surprise when he returns to Oklahoma only to find that his house is in ruins and his family is not there. He doesn’t know that, while he was gone, the banks forced his family and thousands of others off their land. Tom is accompanied by a former priest, Casey, who searches with Tom for his family. Tom and Casey find the Joad family at Tom’s uncle’s house. The family is preparing to move west to California in hopes that they will find jobs and escape the Dust Bowl drought. The Dust Bowl drought has killed all the farmer’s crops and the land has lost it’s richness. Tom decides to travel with his family, even though he’s going against parole rules by leaving the state. The Joads travel west with all twelve members of the family and Casey piled into an old truck. The trip to California proves to be hard when their grandpa dies just days after their departure. Truck problems are regular occurrences and the penetrating heat tires the migrating family. They have very little money and they have many family members to feed as well as gas to buy. Tom is warned by families going back east that there are no job opportunities in California. They say the Joads will be forc...

Budget Request: Hiring New Officers in the Community Essay

1. Include at least two (2) robust justifications for hiring new police officers. The justification should anticipate the key questions that the chief executive and council will likely ask. a. If this request is the result of an increased workload, how quickly did the workload increase? Could the increased workload be covered by part-time employees or by shifting employees from another area? b. How long have you known this need was developing? Was the manager previously briefed on the growing workload? c. If the request is not funded, what impact will it have on the department? On citizens? (Hint: If your request is not funded this year, managers often look to see if a request is repeatedly put forward to gauge its urgency. ) The present police force include thirty uniformed officers, there is an immediate need to hire three to five more officers. The many of the citizens in this city have observed crime in the downtown area is rising rapidly. With a population of over 75,000 residents in the community, I strongly encourage increasing our police force to offset of crime rate in the community. For every police office there are 2500 citizens at that ratio we are definitely under manned. The budget while important cannot be the determining factor. Our officers must know that we support them as a department and want them to be apart of their families lives. Much of the data from my department show no increase of crime rate however we cannot substaine control of this amount of population without adding to the force. With many veterans returning home from the wars we should be able to get qualified applicants. When hiring these types of talents there will be less money in the training of the individual and more concentration on the duty of the officer saving the community more money. This request will be justified as an increase in crime and workload has increased over the years, the crime and workload has risen moderately over the six year period we never hired new officers and now seems like a great time to contain the problem. The increased workload and crime increase will have to be covered by three full time employees and two part time employees. This need has been developing since the year of 2006 when the economy seemed to be going into an economic depression, when people began losing their jobs crime increased and the workload for the officers went up as well because they were handling situations they were not accustomed to such as counseling families and being mentors to children whose parents were working to help with the ever rising gas and food prices. The manager was informed of the changes in the workload and bought it to my attention that something has to be done or we will lose business in the area due to crime and on other factors. If the request is not funded this will have a major impact on the department the public will no longer believe we are here to protect them just to satisfy a fiscal budget that is drawn up every year. People in the communities will then feel as though they will have to take the law into their own hands causing turmoil within the communities. My second justification citizen appreciation and safety, hiring the new officers will show citizens that we put their public safety knowing that our budget will not be balanced. Analysis executed by the statistical department forecast and increase done by my team and the increase in the population is what prompts us to request for the hiring of new officers. Community policing is required in each community by officers hired through the state this type of policing promotes structural strategies, which provides the officers with partnerships and problem-solving skills, that will deter crime and social disorder. The safeties of each citizen will the number one concern citizens should feel safe walking home from school, the movies or even walking to their dogs. This justification of hiring new officers will just make people feel safer, when they see our patrol cars covering their areas, and also when they see our officers in their local school protecting their kids from any type of violence or verbal assaults. This year we are seeing the biggest increase in retirees, our senior officers are retiring this is also a factor in our need to hire new officers. The first objection would be that after doing the analysis of 911 response calls and hands-on activities of the officer do we really need more fficers? The officers are very efficient and they exceed all of their goals that are placed before them currently. With crime rate at in the community at six year low, why do we need these officers? With the hiring of these new officers the demand for overtime pay with the existing officers will decrease. Overtime cost the department a significant amount it also puts a mental strain on the officers. Financing of the new officer packaging will come fr om those decreases. Another objection proposed revenue for salaries where does it come from? We are going to approve a parcel tax that would give the city millions of dollars to hire more police officers? Will there also be a program in place where the community participates in helping the officers with crime control? If this is put in to place then there will not be a need to higher new officers because this will cut down on cost. Not many citizens oppose hiring five new police officers because of the immediate benefit to morale of the city and police department. One objection is proper allocation of funds throughout the force. With the addition al officers being added on the force their will be additional arrests, court appointed lawyers assigned to the case, and over populated jails. Each of the benefits lead to an increase of fines and revenue collections by the judicial courts. Prevention is the key when thinking of arrests and jail numbers; with the increase in police officers there will be an increase in costs within the community and state trickling to the federal government as well. The cost of equipment replacement and repair could play a role in the investment of new officers. If there is an increase in officers within the community what guarantees that the rate of crime in the downtown area will decrease? There are other areas within the state that has an increase in crime would these officers be beneficial for all areas or just the intended areas? Will the citizens of the city have to worry about a tax hike to pay for these officers? These are very relevant questions that should be answered only to protect the citizens within the community. In conclusion the budget request definitely points towards the hiring of the officers, more than one hundred percent of the money goes to creating jobs. Job creation is very important to the community because it provides family stability. There is funding in the federal government that includes grants if you are hiring police officers and the COPS Hiring Program (CHP) this program has awarded 111 million dollars in grant money to help with the hiring of police officers. (http://www. cops. usdoj. gov/Default. asp? Item=2367). With the increase of crime increasing within the community there is much need for the new officers to be hired our number one goal is to protect the people of the community and state. Police officers are here to suppress the fear of crime and also to decrease the rate of crime. There are many factors that are covered by the federal government when funding each state with enough funding for police enforcement. The federal government uses these funds to initiate activities that combat violence in local communities, including $25 million for the Community- Based Violence Prevention Initiatives that aim to reduce gun and other violence among youth gangs in cities and towns across the country.

Nursing Informatics

Computers are becoming increasingly essential in the workplace. A vast majority uses internet or email at work. In addition, employees around the world also use computers for graphics and design, programming, calendar and scheduling. This is done by using word processing, spreadsheet and database applications or software. They are used mostly by managers or for people in customer, technical, sales or administrative support departments. Fewer operators, laborers and fabricators use the computer in their workplace.Computers greatly help in retrieving, gathering, storing, processing information. Most importantly, they help in making big decisions. Clinical and Nursing Services have greatly benefited from the use of computers. As technological progress takes place it promises to revolutionize healthcare completely. It will provide quicker and direct solutions to patient care. For e.g. it will shorten the time period of documentation and access to data of patient. The implementation of light pens, touch screens, handwriting, voice recognition applications and bar codes, in hospitals will make using computers easier for nurses. Computers can also help in planning nursing care which will include the patients health history, adminstered medicines, dosage therapy and precribed diet. Pateints will be provided the best care with the introduction of a computerized nurse care plan. The use of computers can help in interpretatation and the monitoring of various Physiological Variables. The Cardic rate, B.P and T.P.R of the patient can be assessed from computer assistance. Computers can also calculate the correct drug dosage according to the patient’s age, weight and his body surface area. Another benfit is that computers can help in forecasting the number of nurses needed at a particlar time or date. Their nursing schedules can be made keeping in mind their patient load, numbers of operations performed, location, availability and acuteness. Lastly, computers store and record data about admissions, materials, personnel, inventories, billing, payroll, insurance and discharges as well. In my opinion computers make things easier overall for the nursing profession. It greatly reduces human errors, manual paper work and documentation. In this way they spare time for more eveideence based, professional, knowledge-driven and personalized patient care. As a nurse I wiill be able to help save more lives by the knowledge and understanding of Nursing Informatics. References: Ramachandra, Hooli, S (Feb 2003). Computers in Nursing. Retrieved May 31, 2007, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4036/is_200302/ai_n9233244 The Digital Workplace. (n.d). National telecommunications and Information Administration. Retrieved May 31, 2007, from http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/dn/html/Chapter6.htm    Nursing Informatics Computers are becoming increasingly essential in the workplace. A vast majority uses internet or email at work. In addition, employees around the world also use computers for graphics and design, programming, calendar and scheduling. This is done by using word processing, spreadsheet and database applications or software. They are used mostly by managers or for people in customer, technical, sales or administrative support departments. Fewer operators, laborers and fabricators use the computer in their workplace.Computers greatly help in retrieving, gathering, storing, processing information. Most importantly, they help in making big decisions. Clinical and Nursing Services have greatly benefited from the use of computers. As technological progress takes place it promises to revolutionize healthcare completely. It will provide quicker and direct solutions to patient care. For e.g. it will shorten the time period of documentation and access to data of patient. The implementation of light pens, touch screens, handwriting, voice recognition applications and bar codes, in hospitals will make using computers easier for nurses. Computers can also help in planning nursing care which will include the patients health history, adminstered medicines, dosage therapy and precribed diet. Pateints will be provided the best care with the introduction of a computerized nurse care plan. The use of computers can help in interpretatation and the monitoring of various Physiological Variables. The Cardic rate, B.P and T.P.R of the patient can be assessed from computer assistance. Computers can also calculate the correct drug dosage according to the patient’s age, weight and his body surface area. Another benfit is that computers can help in forecasting the number of nurses needed at a particlar time or date. Their nursing schedules can be made keeping in mind their patient load, numbers of operations performed, location, availability and acuteness. Lastly, computers store and record data about admissions, materials, personnel, inventories, billing, payroll, insurance and discharges as well. In my opinion computers make things easier overall for the nursing profession. It greatly reduces human errors, manual paper work and documentation. In this way they spare time for more eveideence based, professional, knowledge-driven and personalized patient care. As a nurse I wiill be able to help save more lives by the knowledge and understanding of Nursing Informatics. References: Ramachandra, Hooli, S (Feb 2003). Computers in Nursing. Retrieved May 31, 2007, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4036/is_200302/ai_n9233244 The Digital Workplace. (n.d). National telecommunications and Information Administration. Retrieved May 31, 2007, from http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/dn/html/Chapter6.htm   

Tragic Flaw

and The Flaw By Phanit Asavanamaung 10B Stories are told in many styles, through different medias; all which are to entertain or educate its audience. Christopher Booker, the author of the book ‘The Seven Basic Plots', introduces the idea of the seven basics categories of any story told. The seven basic archetypes are Over Coming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Rebirth and Tragedy. Tragedy as one of the seven archetypes, are found in any type of stories; from the most recent published novel to the almost forgotten ancient myths of the earth.Tragedy is mostly used to describe when there is a death in the story, but which the term ‘tragedy’ can also be used to describe when the character has fallen into a lower state. It is better defined when there is a downfall of the main character in the story. In all the stories which are categorized under tragedy, has one thing in common. It is that those characters have a tragic flaw; that in fluences the character to their downfall. The tragic flaw for each character is different. It is influenced by many factors, such as family and the environment they are exposed to.These influences lead to the death of the eternal love of Romeo and Juliet, or even the life of a school girl, Alaska; in Looking for Alaska. The tragic flaw of a character is influenced by many factors, leading to the character’s downfall. The tragic flaw could be observed when there is a decision to be made, and the wrong choice is taken. The decision took, is influenced by the characters experience and also the condition that they are in. The experience of the character is from their past, about their families and their environment. This could result a tragic flaw to the character by making a scar to the character mentally.If the character was poorly treated in their childhood, or have experienced a traumatic event; this could cause a flaw in the character. At times, when the condition of the cha racter is at its worst, the tragic flaw will influence the character’s decision, and which will eventually lead to the downfall of themselves. There are many type of tragic flaws and which a character may develop more than one flaw. By having more flaws, the character will be likely to be influenced by more events, which will make the character to become more vulnerable, in the tragic state.These flaws could be found since the early myth of Jason, on a quest to find the Golden Fleece, which it also ended up in tragedy. The flaws that are most common are from being treated badly as a child or from being blinded with love. Romeo and Juliet, the famous story of the two ‘star crossed lovers’ of the rivalry between the two families, ending up in tragedy. The reason behind the downfall of the couple is not from the conflict between their families, but it is actually their flaw. According to Chrisxbales papers, it describes the relationship of the two as, ‘are not in love, but in lust’.There are many flaws between the two characters, combination of immaturity and stubbornness. It could be observed that the two characters rushes into things, such as the first encounter of the two. Romeo says,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"If I profane with my unworthiest hand / This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: / My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand / To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. † (1. 5. 92-95) The statement shows proof of how at first encounter, Romeo decides to ask Juliet for a kiss, even without knowing each other. This is an evidence of immaturity.Also the two, decides to ignore the advice given from Friar Lawrence, and which they have ended up paying the ultimate price. They also ignore the most obvious of which their relationship is not going to be well, with their family conflict. The main flaw of the Romeo and Juliet is that they are both blinded with love, making them stubborn and immature. The series of events were influen ced by the flaw of the two characters, making them ending up in tragedy. Not only could that tragic flaw be observed in classic stories, but also in modern literature.An example of modern literature would be, Looking for Alaska by John Green. The story is about the life of Miles Halter after he moved to the Culver Creek School. He then narrates of the experience of being with his friends, telling the tragic ending of Alaska Young. Alaska Young was no ordinary school girl, she is the girl who pulls out pranks on everyone and which does all the bad things she is able to do. Once while the group of friends were off smoking, Alaska has stated that,† You guys smoke because it’s fun, but I smoke to die. † This introduces the first flaw of the character.She does not love or care about herself, therefore she will make choices which are bad for herself. Later on, it was then told that Alaska Young has a sad past. In her childhood, she has experienced the death of her mothe r, and which she was blamed by her father of killing her mother. That has created a scar in Alaska, and which she kept on blaming herself on everything that went wrong and that she was failing everyone. She was then found, dead in a car crash attempting to suicide; blaming herself on forgetting her mother’s anniversary.These were the tragic flaw of the character and which it all started by being mistreated in her childhood. The flaw has taken over the character and influenced her daily act. By not being conscious about what is the best choice for the people around and themselves, they would end up with a problem. By not solving the problem properly, other problem will appear. This will continue, until it has reached its worst such as death or the right decision is made. In conclusion, tragedy always ends up with the downfall of the character, which is caused by their tragic flaw.It could be seen through the examples of Romeo and Juliet, and the downfall of Alaska, in Looking for Alaska, that it all started from people around them. Families and friends are most influential on what they will grow up to be like. It is where their future and their fate are decided. By being mistreated or taught to behave badly towards others, it can cause a flaw. The flaw will be hidden in the person, until the time when the person is at a traumatic or panicking state.Each person has a different flaw, and which they may result on developing more than one flaw. As explained, these flaws will influence each person to make a wrong choice. As once stated by Mahatma Ghandi, â€Å"Nobody can hurt me without my permission. † Referring that no one can hurt you, unless you hurt yourself. The quote supports the flaw of the character that it is their own fault that lead to their downfall. In order to reduce the risks of the impact of the flaw of each person, it is important that they are conscious about the decision they are making.This could make the person to be able to think and choose the better choice for themselves and the people around them. Works Cited Green, John. Looking for Alaska: A Novel. New York: Dutton Children's, 2005. Print. â€Å"Quotes About Hurt. † (337 Quotes). N. p. , n. d. Web. 02 Mar. 2013. ;http://www. goodreads. com/quotes/tag/hurt;. â€Å"Romeo and Juliet's Tragic Flaws. † Romeo and Juliet S Tragic Flaws. N. p. , n. d. Web. 02 Mar. 2013. ;

Organizational Focus and Goals Essay

Every organization has a specific set of goals and a differing focus. The only real commonality between them is, and they all strive for success. The focus of an organization will change depending on the needs of the organization and goals are set to attain the focus. Organizational Focus Currently, my organization is focused on doubling our company size in the next five years, growth. We are the second largest manufacturer of our product in the United States. Our overarching goal is to be the number one supplier. My organization understands to achieve this goal, our productivity and profitability depend on making sure all of our employees perform up to their full potential. â€Å"Goal setting is one of the primary tools used by organizations to assist in setting a direction and achieving it.† (Cothran & Wysocki, 2015, para. 1). My organization has set forth many goals some small and some large to obtain. Each goal is a milestone and a stepping stone toward our overarching goal of being number one. Training Needs Training is a central focus right now in my organization. With the size of the company expanding, so does every aspect of it. What this means is that software, tasks, functions, production, processes, and many other areas are all changing. These are just a few to illuminate the need for training. As the organization experiences growth, training is needed to prepare employees to harness the growth that is change. Seasoned employees will need trained in the new software, processes, and even new job duties. Training will keep the wheel of business turning and moving forward to reach the overarching goal, to be number one in the industry. Besides existing employees needing training, with the company expanding its size, this means a lot of new hires will be funneling into all the departments to fill the needs of the organization. These new employees will also need training; however, they will also need to learn the organizational norms, trends, rules, and code of conduct. The new hires will play a vital role in propelling us into the future and meeting our ultimate (overarching) goal. Prioritizing Training The goals set forth by my organization are packaged together to allow for training prior to moving forward. As an example, we rolled out a new software program to meet our needs. This program will take over the current one and move us into position to better keep up with finances as we double our size. The training for the new software was rolled out two months prior to the actual software. The priority of training is relevant to what package is being rolled out. Organizational goals and current focus will significantly impact what training is needed and when it is needed. Specific Training Needs What my organization is doing in regards to prioritizing training is working great. I would not change anything. Prior to something new being rolled out, ample time is given for training. Each new package released has specific training methods attached to bring seasoned employees up to date and introduce new hires. Conclusion The overarching goal is the ultimate goal or where the company wants to be. Training employees according to the ultimate goal will ensure that the workforce is being properly trained to achieve it. If an organization does not keep the overarching goal in mind while prioritizing training, there could be a lapse in training. What this means is that the employees and organizational goals will meet at a crossroads, and the employees will not be prepared. The failure in training will ultimately prevent the organization from reaching the overarching goal. References Blanchard, P.N., & Thacker, J.W. (2007). Employee training and development (3rd Ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Cothran, H.M., & Wysocki, A.F. (2015). Developing Smart Goals for Your Organization. University of Florida IFAS Extension. Retrieved from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe577 Noe, R.A. (2008). Employee training and development (4th Ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

Organisational Development Strategy

Introduction Change is a constant thing and this transpires within world in many ways. As the world becomes more complicated and increasingly intertwined, changes ostensibly far away affect us. Thus, change may sometimes appear to occur frequently and arbitrarily. We are gradually becoming cognizant of how connected we are to one another and to our world. Organizations must withal be cognizant of their holistic nature and of the ways their members affect one another.The incredible amount of change has coerced individuals and organizations to visually perceive â€Å"the immensely colossal picture† and to be cognizant of how events affect them and vice versa. Organization development is a new term which means a conceptual, organization-wide effort to increment an organization's efficacy and viability. Warren Bennis has referred to OD as a replication to transmute, an intricate educational strategy intended to transmute the notions, attitudes, values, and structure of an organiza tion so that it can better habituate to new technologies, markets, challenges, and the dizzying rate of change itself.OD is neither â€Å"anything done to better an organization† nor is it â€Å"the training function of the organization†; it is a particular kind of change process designed to establish a particular kind of end result. OD can involve interventions in the organization's â€Å"processes,† utilizing behavioural science knowledge organizational reflection, system amelioration, orchestrating and self-analysis. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), incorporated on June 16, 1911, is an information technology (IT) company.IBM operates in five segments: Global Technology Services (GTS), Global Business Services (GBS), Software, Systems and Technology and Global Financing. GTS primarily provides IT infrastructure services and business process services. GBS provides professional services and application management services. Software consists pri marily of middleware and operating systems software. Systems and Technology provides clients with business solutions requiring advanced computing power and storage capabilities. Global Financing invests in financing assets, leverages with debt and manages the associated risks.In May 2012, the Company acquired Varicent Software Incorporated. In May 2012, the Company acquired Vivisimo. In June 2012, the Company acquired Tealeaf Technology, Inc. On August 1, 2012, Toshiba Tec Corporation acquired the retail store solution business from IBM. In September 2012, it acquired Butterfly Software Ltd. In October 2012, it acquired Texas Memory Systems. In October 2012, the Company announced the opening of three new branch offices in ASEAN, which are located in the cities of Ipoh and Malacca in Malaysia and Bandung in Indonesia, and announced the opening of three new branches across Brazil.In December 2012, the Company acquired Kenexa. In February 2013, it completed the acquisition of StoredIQ. In April 2011, the Company acquired TRIRIGA, Inc. In October 2011, the Company acquired i2. In October 2011, the Company acquired Algorithmics. In October 2011, it acquired Q1 Labs Inc. In November 2011, the Company opened in Romania its European site for developing and testing IBM switch and networking hardware and software. In December 2011, the Company completed the acquisition of Curam Software Ltd. In January 9, 2012, the Company acquired Platform Computing. In January 11, 2012, the Company acquired Green Hat.In February 1, 2012, the Company acquired Emptoris Inc. In February 15, 2012, the Company acquired DemandTec Inc. In February 10, 2012, the Company completed the acquisition of Worklight. In March 2012, the Company opened a new branch office in Ludhiana, Punjab, India. (http://www. reuters. com/finance/stocks/companyProfile? symbol=IBM) In 1992-1993, IBM began to lose money and struggled to meet payroll for the over 300,000 employees because of the changing market landsca pe. Louis Gerstner, the recently appointed CEO, saved the company by changing IBM’s culture and business model.As we know now one of IBM’s core businesses is consulting, which had not been a key component of the legacy model. It seemed like IBM was facing a similar, if perhaps more dire, situation to Merrill Lynch in the mid 2000’s. (http://professorjickblog. com/post/4194417315/organizational-change-at-ibm) IBM helped pioneer information technology over the years and it stands today at the forefront of a worldwide industry that is revolutionizing the way in which enterprises, organizations and people operate and thrive. The pace of change in that industry, of course, is accelerating, and its scope and impact are widening.In these pages, you can trace that change from the earliest antecedents of IBM, to the most recent developments. You can scan the entire IBM continuum from the 19th century to the 21st or pinpoint — year-by year or decade-by-decade †” the key events that have led to the IBM of today. (http://www-03. ibm. com/ibm/history/history/history_intro. html) IBM has been in the industry for a hundred years already but this paper will focus on the organizational changes and developments with the company for the past 20 years. Brief HistoryIn 1911 IBM was first incorporated in New York as the Computing-Tabulating-Recoding Company. The company’s history, however, can be traced back to 1890, when the United States was receiving waves of immigrants. To meet the needs of measuring population the US Census Bureau sponsored a contest to find the most efficient means of tabulating census data. The contest was won by German immigrant and Census Bureau statistician, Herman Hollerith. Hollerith formed the Punch Card Tabulating Machine Co. in 1896. In 1911 Hollerith’s company merged with Computing Scale Co. f America and International Time Recording Co. to form Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. The company manufactur ed and sold products ranging from commercial scales and industrial time recorder to meat and cheese slicers, tabulators and punch cards. In the beginning the company operated in New York City only. Within a short period of time, however, it quickly expanded its office and plants to other parts of New York State, Washington, DC, Ohio, Michigan and Toronto, Canada. In 1914 Thomas J. Watson joined the company and became the president of the company within eleven months.Under his leadership the company continued to expand its products and services. At that time the company focused on producing large scales custom built tabulating solutions for businesses. Within ten years Watson had expanded the company’s business operations to Europe, South America, Asia and Australia and in 1924 the company was renamed International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) to reflect the firm’s worldwide expansion IBM refers to the decades between 1939 and 1963 as the ‘Era of Innovation ’. During this period the company’s product line expanded ignificantly. In 1891 IBM introduced personal computers (PCs) for small businesses, schools and homes. For first time, IBM collaborated with Intel and Microsoft to produce personal computers. In 1985 IBM introduced local area networks (LAN), which permitted PC users to exchange information and share printers and files within a building or complex. IBM established a foundation for network computing and numerous applications of PCs. In 1993 Louis V. Gerstner, Jr, a former executive at American Express, Nabisco and McKinsey & Co. joined IBM as CEO. Gerstner emphasized the need to provide integrated solutions for the company’s customers. He also decided to keep company, together instead of splitting it into separate independent companies. Today IBM’s strength lies in its combined expertise in solutions, services, products and technologies. http://historyofbusiness. blogspot. com/2009/04/brief-history-o f-ibm. html How IBM does their Organizational Development IBM has launched one of its companies fixating on business strategies and development.So therefore, they will be one of the good companies that we can optically canvass and study how they remain successful over the years. IBM Global Business Services offers one of the largest strategy & transmute practices in the world, their strategy & transmute practice amalgamates business strategy with technology insight to help organizations develop, align and implement their business vision across four strategic dimensions – business strategy, operating strategy, organization change strategy and technology strategy – to drive innovation and magnification.This is withal one of the reasons why IBM is capable of transmuting quickly and successfully. Instead of going with the latest trends, they mold, develop and lead them. By combining the proven talent with the deep research, scale and scope of IBM, they have built a unique approach to industry solution development. This approach allows them to address the opportunities that matter most and deliver business outcomes with faster time-to-value.The IBM strategy and transformation practice helps expand the horizon possibilities while implementing with rigor. Its three areas of competence are aligned to drive opportunity and execute across the value chain. The insight provided by innovation and growth services allows setting an overall direction for the organization by developing sustainable business, customer and technology strategies. Their capabilities within the operations and finance area help optimize how the organization functions to drive higher performance.And finally, with organization and people expertise, they can develop and lead the talented individuals who create value and competitive advantage. With over 100 years of business and technology experience, IBM has demonstrated its ability to drive performance through continuous transformation of their business model, operations, technology and workforce. Their strategy and transformation practice draws upon these experiences as well as extensive IBM assets and best practices.With consultants in over 170 countries and deep expertise in 17 industries, IBM has proven the effectiveness and value of its approach. IBM thought leadership and research – acknowledged by analysts as among the best in the industry – are based on market-driven intelligence, in-depth interviews, and our own transformation story. IBM has a long track record of success in helping companies chart a course for business transformation.This commences with strategic orchestrating that can envision a broad range of future scenarios. Their consultants fixate on results, through the development of business models and executable strategies that foster innovation, sustainable magnification and profitability. They help companies and organizations build on key strategic drivers such as new product and accommodation offerings, dynamic market opportunities, new channels and greater customer insight to create greater competitiveness.Our team of strategists provides a clear roadmap for differentiation predicated on business model innovation, implemented through efficient processes and operations. Definitely by doing this, they have also implemented these strategies within their organization and have proven to have good results. (ftp://public. dhe. ibm. com/common/ssi/ecm/en/gbb03089usen/GBB03089USEN. PDF) The processes and strategies that they have developed and proved over the years are also the factors why their organization is very stable.According to their website, below are some of the services that they offer and most likely apply within their organization as well. IBM's Organization and Workforce Transformation offering assists clients with two transformational imperatives: firstly, it enables them to transform their workforce into the productive, innovative and high-performan ce force necessary to survive and thrive; secondly it manages the people elements in any transformation being undertaken (process optimization, business model transformation, etc. Our services include: * Learning transformation: Addresses the need to inspire and equip people in business to improve performance, skills and knowledge for the following results: aligning learning initiatives with organizational and business goals, developing learning strategies, and harnessing the power of technology to enhance learning and performance. Talent management: Design strategies and solutions to align talent management with business priorities, covering talent sourcing, performance, succession management and rewards and recognition. This solution includes process design, systems implementation, change management and talent analytics. * Social business: Drive innovation and growth by connecting people to people, people to data and information, and people to personal and institutional knowledge inside an organization and across the larger organizational ecosystem. Workforce analytics and optimization: This offering leverages analytics to design evidence-based strategies and practices for optimizing workforce performance and productivity to develop information strategies, and a workforce measurement framework, which can help identify key metrics and align with employee goals. Organization design: Organization design enables enterprises to align their organization with new or existing business models and strategies to maximize effectiveness by clarifying work responsibilities and redefining jobs and their relationships to one another (structure), governance mechanisms, and other organizational elements to drive new behavior supporting strategic change and business results. * Change management: Change management is a roactive and systematic approach to deal with change from the perspective of an organization, a group, or at the individual level. Change management helps ensure that people impacted by the changes (technology) understand, accept and commit to changes; thereby mitigating risks and achieving long term benefits faster. (http://www-935. ibm. com/services/us/gbs/strategy/talent-and-workforce-management. html) During the course of the changes that took place in their organization, there were challenges encountered.Based on the researches conducted, below are the most significant challenges that took place when implementing their change projects. 1. Changing mindsets and attitudes 2. Corporate culture 3. Complexity is underestimated 4. Shortage of resources 5. Lack of commitment of higher management 6. Lack of change know how 7. Lack of transparency because of missing or 8. wrong information 9. Lack of motivation of involved employees 10. Change of process 11. Change of IT systems 12. Technology barriersAnd based on the challenges mentioned above, they were able to come up with factors that contributed to the successful change. It is normal to ha ve resistance to different types of change especially having a big organization like IBM. Below are some factors that contributed to the effectiveness of the different changes in their organization: 1. Top management sponsorship 2. Employee involvement 3. Honest and timely communication 4. Corporate culture that motivates and promotes change 5. Change agents (pioneers of change) 6. Change supported by culture . Efficient training programs 8. Adjustment of performance measures 9. Efficient organization structure 10. Monetary and non-monetary incentives ftp://public. dhe. ibm. com/common/ssi/ecm/en/gbe03100usen/GBE03100USEN. PDF The most fruitful success strategy is to begin with leadership tools, including a vision or story of the future, put the change in place with management tools, such as role definitions, measurement and control systems, and use the pure power tools of coercion and punishments as a last resort, when all else fails.The purpose of business strategy is to exploit t he capabilities of the company to gain and sustain competitive advantage in accommodating the desiderata of customers in a chosen rialto. An effective business strategy will provide good answers to questions on business scope, customers’ needs, how the enterprise will exploit its advantages, and on how competitive advantage will be achieved. It will withal describe the main actions compulsory to implement the strategy and the reasons why the vicissitudes are compulsory.Summary All in all the reason for IBM Global Business Services’ success is because they have methods and strategies that have been tried and tested over the years that they have been in this industry. Also one of the factors for success is having open minded members of the organization who are always open and welcome to change. Somehow, the company also has its own ways to make the employees and members of the organization understand and help them to adapt through the course of these changes.Resistance t o change is normal but with proper guidance and support from the whole management team, members of the organization will feel at ease and motivated, hence, will embrace the change. Today, businesses must bring more innovative products and accommodations to market, more quickly than ever before. IBM makes utilization of best practices to help companies become more rigorous in their approach to development and lifecycle issues – not only to ameliorate speed and cost, but withal to enable the perpetual amelioration of products

The retail industry in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The retail industry in China - Essay Example f various consumer protection legislations like 1993 Chinese Consumer Protection Laws and others that have resulted in high bargaining power of consumer in the Chinese market (Zhuang, Herndon & Zhou, 2003, p.42). Bargaining Power of Suppliers In the past history Chinese suppliers had an edge over the retailer primarily due to legislative policies like the planned price based system. This helped the suppliers to have greater bargaining power. However with the abolition of this policy has led to suppliers in a situation of overstocking that has forced them to lower prices that has in turn heavily reduced the bargaining power of the suppliers. In addition to this the emergence of private label brands and supermarkets has also considerably dented the bargaining power of the suppliers. Hence it can be easily stated that the extent of this force in the Chinese retail industry is low (Zhuang, Herndon & Zhou, 2003, p.40-41). Threat of New Entrants The Chinese retail industry was initially hi ghly protected by the government that made it difficult for new players to enter the market, however with liberalization coming in a step by step manner, the entry barriers have decreased owning to smaller economies of scale in the retail industry. However, the coming up of international supermarkets has also threatened the existence of small individual retailers and has also increased the entry barriers for the new players (Bird et. al, n.d., p.44). Competition among the Existing Players The opening up of the Chinese economy and its liberalization has increased the number of competitors in the market. The emergence of international retailers has further increased the extent of the competition in the retail market. The figure below shows the list of top ten retail brands in the multi brand... According to the research findings the age of globalization has opened up a plethora of opportunities for business organizations operating in the present world. Globalization has rendered the entire world into a boundary less market with organizations trying to establish their presence in the market. The growth of free trade as well as emergence of developing economies like China and India also have opened up new vistas for firms trying to expand their business in the wake of saturation of the traditional markets of Europe and USA. However international expansion also involves considerable planning as there are considerable entry barriers in new markets as well as other forces that affect the business prospects of firms. The analysis of the Chinese retail market shows considerable advantage considering the rapid economic growth of the nation. The analysis of the five forces model reveals that the competitive landscape is very congenial for investing in the market. However certain ent ry barriers like government regulations can emerge as a considerable source of barrier for new foreign players to establish their presence in the market. However since the competitive landscape of the market has become extremely competitive hence, it has become somewhat difficult for new market payers and instantly grab the market share. The key lies in formulating an optimum service mix that can help in generating competitive edge for an organization.