SOCIAL ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF MARKETING

Social Economic Benefits of Marketing

The article Marketing’s Contributions to Society by Willkie and Moore (1999) is a farfetched reflection of the numerous impacts of marketing to the society. I find the authors presentation of the benefits of the aggregate marketing system and how it continues to benefit the society argumentative and convincing. The article is largely a celebration of some of the aspects of marketing field to the society.

The authors, Willkie and Moore present the benefits of marketing by discussing its contribution to the larger economic issues .They further examine some of arguments raised by critics of an aggregate marketing system. Three of the major issues that have widely been covered in the article are marketing and economic development, effects on consumers and impacts of unethical marketing activities.

However, the article does not delve much into the benefits of engaging in ethical marketing, but rather focuses on the general economic and social benefits of aggregate marketing system. Perhaps the greatest benefit a firm can accrue from ethical marketing activity is not only propelling the

aspect forward, but that it may never be entangled in a legal lawsuit or ethical dilemma that can lead to losses and unnecessary cover up expenses.

Marketing and economic development

Aggregate marketing system has largely benefited the area of economic development. The articles argue that marketing is an entrepreneur and an organizer of resources. Areas with increased population in marketing tend to have a higher Gross Domestic product. In support of this argument, Patterson (2012) note that on an average of £1 spent on advertising- a form of marketing- the UK economy gains £6. This implies that for £16 billion of UK advertising in 2011, £100 was generated for the UK economy.

Advertising in UK helps export more than £2 billion in addition to presenting a strong international recognition where the UK can export a wide range of goods and services. This type of marketing has successfully supported advertising sectors of the economy such as photography, film production, music and entertainment. Patterson states that there are over 550 000 people employed by advertising, or involved in creation and production of advertising (2012).

Through marketing practices such as advertising, businesses are able to deliver a wide range of innovative and high quality products and service that can help match buyers and sellers more efficiently. This allows business with novel ideas to succeed faster and in a unique manner (Binsardi and Ekwulugo, 2003). The revue generated form advertising provides help provide valuable services to consumer’s such as news, entertainment and travel information.

These services are highly beneficial to the economy as they support online and high street sales. Nonetheless, it’s insufficient to define the role of marketing in terms of advertising alone. The role is broader with a critical role in the making of key economical functions. It’s at the core of diferent cycles of competition and innovation.

The treatment of aggregate marketing economy, according to Willkie and Moore (1999) is a complex political context. Government policies help determine opportunities for the contribution of marketing to the society (Theorell, 1996). Governments will usually pursue five possibly contradictory goals: income distribution, price control, payments balance and fuller employment. In social terms, marketing must be ethical and embedded in the society’s culture.

However this can be difficulty where diferent cultures fail to synchronize with prevailing marketing systems. Certain consumer characteristics like handling of finance, saving, ethical orientation and persuasion must be learned for the marketing system to function well.

Marketing has a critical effect on the aggregate demand although so many business persons have not realized the full contribution of marketing to the wellbeing of the economy (Min and Mentzer, 2000). Kinnear (1994) argues the reason is that benefits are not seen in the classic macroeconomic equation. They fail to look into efficiencies and skills form wholesaling, retailing and logistics.

The aggregate supply depends on capital stock, labor, raw materials and technology. Willkie and Moore (1999) argue that if economists’ equation were to identify the effects autonomous consumption and the value of marketing efforts in the economic system would be clear. This would in the end stimulate interest in calibrating that magnitude of these conditions.

Both regional and national marketing are a powerful tool for economic development. When done properly, regional marketing has the potential to attract foreign and domestic investment through effective policies (Bordaskaya, 2012; Thorne and Ferrell, 2002.). The marketing will further lead to preservation and development of intellectual capacity through the development of science and education.

Other benefits range from creation of favorable conditions for the development of small and medium sized firms, enlarging of existing institutions for economic and social expansion. Additionally, marketing encourages increased production by organizing and operating networks for communication and exchange (Weerawardena, 2003).

The equalization of demand and supply occurs through transport, storage and price where a special connectivity joins different locales in larger market. This ensures there is a place to provide efficiencies of scale and reduce the price of goods and services for the consumers. With time, these will serve as springboard for marketing and entrepreneurs.

Contributions to Buyers from Specific Marketing Activities

The article agrees that there are numerous competing firms in the aggregate system at time that presents uncountable benefits to the society in parallel. To understand the scope of these benefits, the article starts by examining the concept of utility. Distributing series add more value to the economy than production, and elementary utility which refers to extraction of crops and raw materials is arguably beyond market purview.

Other form of utility results from operations where marketing activities contribute by supplying essential inputs to the production process and the provision of insights from the marketplace. Place utility on the other hand represents the value added by offering goods needed by the buyers while marketing utility contributes to time utility by preplanning, and promotion activities. This ensures customers obtain goods when they need them. The final utility is possession utility which is offered through marketing transactions and allows customers use goods for the right purpose.

Marketers have paid significant attention to the purchase process given that they benefit from payments of purchases. Yet, the benefits received by customers result from consumption. Interestingly, each usage occasion creates an opportunity for another delivery from the system. The consumers will get multiple benefits from single purchase since one product can present more than one benefit. For example, a car can not only provide transportation service, but also music entertainment or shelter when it’s raining.

Also, facilitation of transaction process is one of the most powerful aspects of the marketing system in any given society. This saves consumers time and effort while maximizing purchase opportunities. Some of these benefits include extended store hours, free parking, stocked shelves, displays ad smooth checkout. Process for buyers credit enables some of the expensive purchases to be realized which would have otherwise been delayed. The channels of distributions at entry point for new products and services.

Ethical aspects of marketing

It’s not easy to understand the numerous benefits and implications of marketing without looking at the interplay between the ethical and legal aspects of the sector. Although the article fails to sufficiently diagnose ethical marketing and its role in the society, there is a clear argument by the critics of an aggregate marketing system. Some of these practices noted by the Willkie and Moore (1999) include stress conformity and promotion of materialism.

Furthermore, marketing discourages participation in non-economic activities like arts while undermining family ties, altering socialization and the enabling the practice of manipulative persuasion. Additionally, aggregate marketing leads to creation of artificial needs and wants, causes depletion of resources through continued exploitation of resources (Caudill and Murphy, 2000).

To maintain their competitive advantage and maximize market presence, firms might be entangled in illegal and unethical practices. Harris (2001) notes that marketing is either part of the law, or subject to the law. Consumers should be concerned about marketing of products and how companies present information (Carrigan and, 2001; Shaw, and Shiu, 2003.).

How do oil producing firm’s influence environmental research that goes against increased carbon dioxide emission? What is the role of big pharmaceuticals in health related researches? Do alcohol manufactures have a hand in research that supports moderate alcohol consumption? Even if the article seemed to avoid this aspect of marketing, there is a need for consumers to question the morality of marketing practices noting that many firms are primarily driven by desire make more profit.

According to Friedman (2000), firms are plunged in a universe of relationships where there are many stakeholders. The emergence of global groups of stakeholders has further complicated the globalization scenario. The competition has seen companies rush to identify creative and workable solutions to create a competitive edge. Marketing ethics therefore becomes a prerequisite for running any type of activity in the market place.

Verhezen (2005) adds that the role of ethics in marketing has been understood using two approaches. The first states that business executives have a sole responsibility to increase the shareholders’ value. The article contends that ethical business activities are rewarding, suggesting that choosing to engage in ethical marketing can enhance shareholder wealth. Due to the sensitivity of ethics and its implications, governments have lately established strict regulation measures to protect consumers from unethical marketing behavior (Azmi, 2006; Eon and Van Vuuren, 2010).

However these regulations are not sufficient enough. According to Geoghegan & Azmi (2005), a company that boasts of having a good regulation must have found ways to fit the ethical values of an individual agent and when it’s appropriate. One of the major functions of marketing is to create a positive corporate reputation.

Companies will spend a lot of money to improve their public image but all the effort is meaningless if it’s unethical. Fan (2005) defines s corporate reputation in terms of various attributes that form in the consumer’s perception about a products reliability, goodness, trustworthiness and reputation. Corporate reputation has also been referred to by (Fombrun, 2000) as being concerned with how people feel about a company based on the information they have the firms activities and past performance.

Conclusion

As seen in the article, Marketing’s Contributions to Society, marketing plays a key role in the development of social economic activity of any given society. There are several benefits ranging from advertisers, transporters, distributers manufacturers and wholesalers who get employed in marketing activities. This in turn leads to creation employment in news, entertainment, fashion, design and transport sectors.

Willkie and Moore have consistently held that marketing is the key driver of the economy that leads to economic development. If well played out well, marketing has the potential to attract foreign and domestic investment for the upward mobility of the society. Furthermore, marketing is a leading promoter of competition and product differentiation.

Coupled with innovation, marketing helps new entrants penetrate the market and remain competitive. Not only do consumers demand the products at a higher rate thorough marketing, but also become price sensitive. This benefit can be seen clearly in every market type ranging from transportation, flight, entertainment, tourism and manufacturing. At the core of marketing are the legal ad ethical aspects that have the capacity to ruin or polish any firm’s corporate reputation. Global competition and increased awareness of product features by the consumer’s has resulted to unhealthy competition for market dominance. However, only firms that understand proper marketing strategies while engaging in ethical and legal activities can sustain their customer base for a long time.

Reference

Azmi, R.A., 2006. Business ethics as competitive advantage for companies in the globalization era.

Binsardi, A. and Ekwulugo, F., 2003. International marketing of British education: research on the students’ perception and the UK market penetration. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 21(5), pp.318-327.

Bondarskaya, T.А., The Role Of Marketing In Socio-Economic Development Of The Territory. Tambov State Technical University, Tambov

Carrigan, M. and Attalla, A., 2001. The myth of the ethical consumer–do ethics matter in purchase behaviour?. Journal of consumer marketing, 18(7), pp.560-578.

Caudill, E.M. and Murphy, P.E., 2000. Consumer online privacy: Legal and ethical issues. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 19(1), pp.7-19.

Eon Rossouw, D. and Van Vuuren, L., 2010. Business ethics. Oxford University Press, 2010.pp 341. Available at: https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Business_Ethics.html?id=cXn2RAAACAAJ

Fan, Y., 2005. Ethical branding and corporate reputation. Corporate communications: An international journal, 10(4), pp.341-350.

Fombrun, C. (2000) “The value to be found in corporate reputation”, Financial Times, 4 December

Friedman, Douglas (2000). “Ethics needed to be Part of the Cutting Edge”, Erlanger, Vol. 104, pp. 2-14.

Geoghegan, J. and Azmi, R. (2005). “Corporate Governance Enforcement: Between Institutional Investors and Social Pressure”, the Fifth Annual Conference of the Faculty of Commerce – Alexandria University on Corporate Governance, Alexandria, pp. 545-560.

Harris, H., 2001. Making business ethics a competitive advantage. Hawke Institute, University of South Australia.

Min, S. and Mentzer, J.T., 2000. The role of marketing in supply chain management. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 30(9), pp.765-787.

Moore, Elizabeth S. and William L. Wilkie (2000), “Criticisms, Con- troversies and Problems in the Aggregate Marketing System,” working paper, Graduate School of Business, University of Notredame

Patterson, Gavin . 2012. Advertising Pays: How advertising fuels the UK economy, Deloitte LLP, Advertising Association, London

Shaw, D. and Shiu, E., 2003. Ethics in consumer choice: a multivariate modelling approach. European journal of marketing, 37(10), pp.1485-1498.

Thorelli, Hans B. (1996), “Marketing, Open Markets and Political Democracy: The Experience of the PACRIM Countries,” Ad- vances in International Marketing, 7, 33

Thorne McAlister, D. and Ferrell, L., 2002. The role of strategic philanthropy in marketing strategy. European Journal of Marketing, 36(5/6), pp.689-705.

Verhezen, Peter (2005). “Integrity as Good Reputation”, International Conference on Ethics and Integrity of Governance: A Transatlantic Dialogue, Belgium

Weerawardena, J., 2003. The role of marketing capability in innovation-based competitive strategy. Journal of strategic marketing, 11(1), pp.15-35.

Wilkie, W.L. and Moore, E.S., 1999. Marketing’s contributions to society. The Journal of Marketing, pp.198-218.

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RESPONSIBLE TOURISM AS THE KEY TO ETHICAL TOURISM PRACTICES

Responsible Tourism

Responsible tourism is one of the key areas related to ethics and marketing in the tourism sector. In the article, Tourists’ Accounts of Responsible Tourism, Caruana et al. (2014) define responsible tourism by looking at the benefits gained by the host country, the ability to minimize impacts, engagement of the local community in decision making, and conservation of cultural heritage. The definitions aid in enforcing responsible tourism among the consumers.

Some of the major issues raised by the article about ethics in tourism were: participation in responsible tourism, social economy and environment, ethical marketing, and motivations factors for ethical tourism. Findings from the article revealed that responsible tourism is a concept involving market of heterogeneous consumers. By participating in responsible tourism, consumers and marketing firms can significantly improve ethical tourism behavior while promoting development, social interaction, and understanding with the host country.

Participating in Responsible Tourism

The accounts of tourists on responsible tourism can be defined using their experience and degree of involvement in responsible tourism. According to Winchenbach (2013), one of key strategy for developing ethical tourism is human capacity building. However, current literature pays little attention to operations factors that have a direct role in tourism.

Winchenbach notes that trainee’s personal motives, attitudes and the capacity to transmit knowledge can significantly improve transparency within communities. According to Salazar (2012), the society will be fully equipped to influence tourists and firms to practice responsible tourism. Affirmative action and active cooperation at the community level can go a long way in enabling the local community to overcome barriers to responsible tourism.

Consumer’s involvement in ethical tourism is usually dependent on the perceptions of an ideal culture that the consumers identify with. Albeit many tourists expressing participation in responsible tourisms, some engage in low level or no participation at all. It all depends on the attitude, the perception of the host country and moral obligation of the consumers (Liu, 2003).

Some tourists have no business with the commercial or cultural issues of the community around. For example, one might say that relaxing or breaking away from work is what that concerns them and therefore fail to engage responsible tourism activities.

The government and tourism firms have a role in promoting responsible tourism. Drivers, tour guides, and advertisers have a title role in creating awareness to the consumers, supporting the local county and begun obedient to the regulations of tourist’s authorities. The administration should be involved in zone divisions, issuance of licenses to guides and promoting cooperation amount different players.

Murphy (2013) as cited by Breugel (2013) stressed the numerous benefits of local community involvement in the development of responsible tourism. He argued that the industry can be destroyed if tourism and development planning fails to align with the expectations and capabilities of the host country. Although there is no literature in support of realistic ways of engaging the community directly in tourism development, there are several means and discussions on how they can be part of responsive tourism.

Some of these participations range from decision making and involvement in benefits so the tourism, showcasing of the society’s culture and assisting in tourism awareness campaigns (Bramwell, B. and Sharman, 1999; Stamboulis and Skayannis, 2003).

People will be more inclined to take part in ethical tourism activities like marketing if they are involved in discussion and decision-making process to voice their opinions (Holden, 2003). They will also volunteer in information sharing, interpretation and other tourism related activities and events. It is recommended to articulate the community values and generate local support for tourism development.

Factors to consider while planning for community involvement range from assessing the current commitment procedures, making first meetings with members of the community where issues of responsive tourism can be addressed, and gathering information. Collecting of data is done by reviewing the existing materials about trusts and determining whether there is sufficient information available for tourist interests.

Community meeting should also be conducted where proposals, opportunities, plans and feedback can be presented. The results of the meeting can be distributed to the public using relevant media while soliciting citizen’s feedback.

Social economy and environment considerations

There are a variety of economic, social and environmental factors associated with tourism. Understanding responsible tourism will help organizations and governments plan for sustainable tourism that takes care of the environment, economy and the social aspect of the host country (Stynes, 1997). Tourism leads to increased sales, the creation of job opportunities, tax revenues and income (Briedenhann, and Wickens, 2004; Frechtling, 2000).

Some of the direct effects on the economy are emergence and sustenance of lodgings, restaurants, and entertainment and transportation sectors. There are more direct impacts of tourism on the community that are quite clear. Nonetheless, responsible tourism is the key to productive and increased economic activities in an area (Wang and Davidson, 2010).

A transportation firm that attracts about 50 tourists every day can get more consumers to positive results from responsible traveler’s practices. The firm, for example, might get new 50 visitors in a day and double its daily income. If each visitor spends $50 for transport, the business will experience a positive change from $ 2500 to $ 5000. If let’s say the new boom is sustained for the next 100 days, the region will, therefore, accumulate half a million in cash sales.

While the amount will be distributed among retailer’s owners, restaurants, and entertainers proportionally, another fraction will be channeled to cover for goods purchase and allow a significant amount of growth development of the region.

Ethical marketing

The importance of culture is critical in the ethical marketing of tourism (Gurel and Yaman 2006). In support of this idea, Fleckenstein and Huebsch (1999) argue that cultural difference is one of the top issues of international tourism. It may have a disproportional impact while making ethical and fruitful business decisions in a global setting (Payne and Dimanche (1996).

Variations in the perceived importance of ethical marketing and social responsibility as the key determinants of a tourists firm’s effectiveness can be explained by the country difference. As Singhapakdi (2001) notes, these perceived variations include cultural differences and the variances in the economic environment as well as the firm’s climate, gender, and age.

Marketing ethics in tourism has been complicated by the idea that marketers must deal with a heterogeneous audience who possess different cultural attributes. The failure to apply ethical marketing may lead to two extremes. First, there will be the breach of ethics that will end to consumer contempt of the product, and the firm will suffer long term consequences. The next extreme will be immediate damage to both the individual and the host country.

Motivation factors for ethical tourism

The article indicated that tourists engage in moral tourism where ” Our respondents also involved in what we might refer to as ‘morality plays,’ wherein the ethicality of their holidays was dramatized into tensions around nature, culture, and economy” (Caruana et al. 2014 pg. 125). This engagement was categorized into fundamental or extrinsic goals. The former refers the type goals meant to make money and are directed from the inside.

They are aimed at controlling people and achieving self-esteem needs such as social recognition. The later refers to outer directed ends that include achieving real social interactions, making contributions related to the development and helping others. Intrinsic goals also encompass delighting in volunteer programs and personal growth efforts. The interviews carried out revealed that tourists demonstrated a wide variety of themes and the respondents could position their experiences of responsible tourism as directed to immediate personal growth and family unions.

Extrinsic goal direction

There were several cases where tourists expressed self-interest motives as the reason for participation in responsible tourism. These motivations were partly connected to the issue of responsible tourism in ethical marketing. The details and information presented to tourists through advertising were seen to have a huge impact on the role and motives of tourists in taking part in responsible tourism.

Ethical marketing was cited as one of the factors that attracted respondents to taking part in meaningful activities. Consumers see the message and feel compelled to act. They believe what they hear and see and understand what to expect from it. According to Debicka and Jastrzabek (2014), responsibility is depicted as a conduit of personal assurance and a way of avoiding commercialization.

It links to personal benefits of a quality holiday filled with good value. Instead of using commercial links to access services such as food and accommodation, some tourist prefers to explore on their own and seek out new places. While they might be sensitive about ethical issues related to such endeavors, they are comfortable spending money on services that looked decent and appropriate.

Responsible tourism (Ford and Acott, 2015) presents consumers with a good value proposition and serves them individual goals. Notably, a lot of tourists look for services that fit their individual needs and tailored specifically to meet their expectations. Mass marketing (Goodwin, 2001) is not favorable due to its perceived failure to offer customized information.

Consumers will always seek out things that can be well planned and pertains to their unique tastes. If the tourists desire to portray individuality and difference similar to their inner motivations that make them concerned about mass marketing (Ford, 1994). The construction of extrinsic goals is shaped by situational factors such as children, friends, and spouses who the consumers have duties to live up to.

For example, a tourist who brings along her husband and children will have obligations to them and therefore seek out to engage in responsible tourism. This motivation would be different if she came alone. By bringing their husband children, people will effectively be ethical, take part in community engagement, prove to be good parents and take part in educative initiatives.

Intrinsic goals

Tourists explicitly express more intrinsic and outer directed goals within responsible tourism. In this type of ethical marketing, some consumers will seek to participate in conserving the environment, share the wealth and help others access quality life. One respondent interviewed in the research, Tourists’ Accounts of Responsible Tourism by Caruana et al. (2014) stated that going as responsible travelers will benefit the host country a lot.

Some will participate in responsible tourism to raise awareness of the positive and adverse effects they might have on the economy and the vulnerable social community. It’s conversely difficult to interact with the local community and tourists are advised to remain in the hotels if overcoming the challenges looks impossible. Meeting the locals is one of the most effective ways of understanding one’s impact on that community.

Conclusion

Responsible tourism has a broad range of cultural, economic and environmental benefits varying from job creation, revenue generation, to increased sales. The article on responsible tourism revealed that consumers do not have fixed perceptions of ethics, marketing, and social issues on travel products. The market is heterogeneous and defines responsible tourism about aspects of their behavior, interactions with local community and their impacts on the host country.

There were several themes identified by the article ranging from motivations for engagement in ethical and responsible tourism, marketing and experience. Consumers take part in ethical issues by being part of responsible tourism. Tourists’ involvement in ethical tourism depends on their perceived notion of the culture they identify with. Some take part in high-level issues of marketing, social and moral matters while others do not participate at all.

The motives could be extrinsic, meaning they are personal in nature. They could also be intrinsic where people engage in ethical tourism to help others, spread cultural values and be part of development agendas. Ethical issues in tourism should not be left to policy makers, governments and marketing firms alone. All players including tourists, members of the local community, marketers, environmentalists, government agencies, and businesses should take the time to part of ensuring tourism is conducted in a responsible, social friendly and ethical manner.

References

Bramwell, B. and Sharman, A., 1999. Tourism policymaking. Annals of tourism research, 26(2), pp.392-415.

Briedenhann, J. and Wickens, E., 2004. Tourism for the economic development. Tourism Management, 25(1), pp.71-79.

Caruana, R., Glazer, S., Crane, A. and McCabe, S., 2014. Tourists’ accounts of responsible tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 46, pp.115-129.

Debicka, O. and Oniszczuk-Jastrzabek, A., 2014, January. Responsible tourism in Poland. In Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management in Opatija. Biennial International Congress. Tourism & Hospitality Industry (p. 189). The university of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism & Hospitality Management.

Fleckenstein, M., and P. Huebsch 1999 Ethics in Tourism-Reality or Hallucination. Journal of Business Research 19:137–142.

Ford, A. and Scott, T., 2015. Responsible tourism: A guide for tourism and sustainability in small-scale fisheries and agri-food.

Ford, R., and W. Richardson.,1994. Ethical Decision Making: Review of the Empirical Literature. Journal of Business Ethics 13:205–211.

Frechtling, D.C., 2000. Assessing the Impacts of Travel and Tourism-Measuring Economic Benefits’. International Library of Critical Writings in Economics, 121, pp.9-27.

Goodwin, H., 2001. Responsible tourism and the market. International Centre for Responsible Tourism

Holden, A., 2003. In need of innovative environmental ethics for tourism?. Annals of Tourism Research, 30(1), pp.94-108.

Liu, Z., 2003. Sustainable tourism: A assessment Review. sustainable tourism, 11(6), pp.459-475.

Murphy, P.E., 2013. Tourism: A community approach (RLE Tourism). Routledge.

Payne, D., and F. Dimanche 1996 Towards a Code of Conduct for the Tourism Industry: An Ethics Model.Journal of Business Ethics 15:997–1007.

Salazar, N.B., 2012. Community-based cultural tourism: issues, threats, and opportunities. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20(1), pp.9-22

Stamboulis, Y. and Skayannis, P., 2003. Innovation strategies and technology for experience-based travel. Tourism Management, 24(1), pp.35-43.

Stynes, D.J., 1997. Economic effects of tourism: a handbook for tourism professionals. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois, Tourism Research Laboratory, pp.1-32.

Van Breugel, L., 2013. Community-based tourism: Local participation and perceived impacts. Radboud University Nijmegen

Wang, Y. and Davidson, M.C., 2010. A review of micro-analyses of tourist expenditure. Current Issues in Tourism, 13(6), pp.507-524.

Winchenbach, Anke., 2013). Taking Responsibility for Responsible Tourism in Communities – A Local Perspective. King’s College, University of London.

Yaman, H.R., and Gurel, E., 2006. Ethical ideologies of tourism marketers. Annals of Tourism Research, 33(2), pp.470-489.

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Spurgeon, C. H. Lectures to My Students: Book Critique

Spurgeon, C. H. Lectures to My Students

Book Critique

Bibliographical Entry:

Spurgeon, C. H. Lectures to My Students. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Pub, 2010.

Summary

Spurgeon’s book “Lectures to my Students” is a journal that pastors, ministers, and those pursuing training for ministerial positions use as a reference. Charles Spurgeon has authored several books on the principles that people in ministry should adhere into a bid to be better ministers of the gospel. This book was written to establish the principles that spiritual leaders need to avoid that include unhallowed and the use of endearing words in ministry, thus showing the elements that pastors need to incorporate into their lives to remain consistent in their prayer lives.

Additionally, Spurgeon reiterates on the essence of developing a relationship with Christ, the necessity of prayer, the genuineness of having a call to serve, and a thirst to reach the lost. Speaking to his students on the element of Christian life Spurgeon ululates that, “For a herald of the Gospel of Christ to be spiritually out of context in an individual’s proper person is, both to himself and to the work he is called to do, a most serious catastrophe[1].

Ministers in this care are required to be vigilant in prayer, faithful in their private devotions, and understanding the fact that their souls must be taken care of before they consider taking pastoral ministries on others.

Spurgeon delves into greater detail on the reasons why the call for ministry needs to be authentic, with origins from God. Ministers are therefore advised to have the desire to serve, an aspect that details the need for gentleness even under difficult circumstances, and the inclusion of good judgments in ministry. In his book, Spurgeon provides examples of unfortunate cases of individuals who go into ministry without authentic calls from God.

In regards to the calamity, Spurgeon alleges that hundreds of ministers have lost their course and stumbled against the pulpit, sorrowful evidence that depicts the fruitlessness of their ministries and decaying churches which currently surround the world[2]. It is prudent to consider that Spurgeon points to the need to understand that God only opens doors for ministers who are faithful[3].

The call to ministry as evidenced by Spurgeon is a call to holiness and godly characters. Individuals striving to minister must be people who are looked up to by the society. They must be examples of what it means to be true followers of Christ. The ministers therefore need to pious and develop high moral standards that are consistent with the principles of the bible.

Spurgeon shows his eloquence in regard to a godly living by alleging that the world finds it challenging to trust people who are two faced, nor will the world believe in those whose practical and verbal testimonies are contradictory[4]. The inclusion of these godly characters resonates from an individual’s faith in the person of Christ. In his teachings about sermons, Spurgeon advices his student’s to preach Christ always[5].

Critique

Surgeon on his book Lectures to my Students is an important edition that offers ministers practical lessons and guidelines that prepare them for ministry especially on what they may encounter and approaches of staying on the right course. One of the greatest strengths of Surgeons works remains in the practical application presented to the ministers in the book. The practical application documented in the book is seen in the author’s presentation of what ministers need to do within their ministerial lives both in public and privately.

On the other hand, Spurgeon speaks more on sermons, hence insisting that sermons need to give teachings that can be applied in everyday life. Additionally, he insists that the truth should never be held back no matter how complex or unpopular it may sound[6]. The author also reminds ministers on the importance of humility, hence denoting the need for ministers to understand that they are called by their creator to serve the Universe. This intrigues the practicality and application of our place within God’s scheme, an approach that gives reverence to God’s priorities.

However, it is imperative to note that there are weaknesses to Spurgeon’s book to the 21^st century readers. Spurgeon is considered to have served in England in the 1800’s and ministry has revolutioned since then. One aspect relates to language that has immensely changed over the last 200 years. Additionally, changes are notable in doctrinal beliefs among different Baptist groups in England compared to those that existed during Surgeons time.

Evaluation

Within the larger academic context, Spurgeon’s book Lectures to My Students is viewed as remarkable in standing the test of time by establishing approaches that ministers can enhance their relationship with Christ. Through this, the ministers of the Gospel are in a position to establishing the authenticity of their calling, and the need to fulfill the Great Commission.

The book therefore reminds spiritual leaders that things such as quit time, solitude, prayers and fasting are essential tools required in prospering the ministry of the Lord. In as much as these elements are viewed as popular, they remain essential in supporting the course of ministry. Spurgeon through his work exemplifies the ingredients required by pastors and servants of God in serving the world.

[1] . Spurgeon, C. H. Lectures to My Students. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Pub, 2010.

[2] . Ibid. 1pp. 13

[4]. Ibid. 2, pp. 17

[5]. Ibid. 3, pp.79

[6]. Ibid. 4, pp.75

Diabetes Self care: PICOT and Literature Review

Diabetes self care us an integral part of diabetes therapy and entails active involvement of family members. Effective self management is associated with positive clinical outcomes in diabetic patients. However, effective self management can be challenging because of the naturally evolving and age appropriate attitudes as well as biological factors in young adults. Several studies have shown low self discipline and management which results into higher hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) (Jackson, Adibe, Okonta, & Ukwe, 2014).

In addition, standard self care of diabetes management involves prescribing constant drug dosages, which are often titrated based to patients condition during their clinic visits. The clinical visits for most patients are usually 2-3 times every month. Consequently, the patient drug dosage is determined by only these visits, which is not the true representation of daily patient health needs. This is associated with significantly elevated levels of blood glucose and frequent recurrent admission episodes attributed to treatment failure (Hinshaw & Basu, 2015).

In this context, the study aims at investigating whether the use of social network (SocialDiabetes.com) can reduce the incidences of hypoglycaemia in adolescents patients diagnosed with diabetes type 1. The PICOT statement is as follows: In adolescent patients diagnosed with diabetes type 1 (P), is integration of social network (SocialDiabetes.com App) (I), in comparison with standard care (C), reduce hypoglycaemia incidences (O), in a period of eight months?

Literature review

De Jongh, T., Gurol-Urganci, I., Vodopivec- Jamsek, V., Car, J., Atun, R. (2012). Mobile phone messaging for facilitating self management of long term illnesses. Cochrane Database System Rev 12 (12) : CD007459. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007459.pub2.

This paper assesses the impact of mobile phone messaging applications in self management of chronic illnesses. The study evaluates the health outcomes and patients capacity to manage their health complication. This systematic review examined randomized controlled trials, quasi controlled studies, interrupted time series (ITS) and controlled before- after (CBA) studies to ass the effects of mobile phone messaging.

The paper found some limited information regarding the implication of integrating technology in improving self management for chronic diseases. However, the study found some significant knowledge gaps regarding long term effects, costs, acceptability and risks associated with these interventions.

Dobson, R., Whittaker, R., Jiang, Y., Shepherd, M., Maddison, R., Carter, K., Cutfield, R., McNamara, C., Khanolkar, M., and Murphy, R. (2016). Text message-based diabetes self management support (SMS4BG): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials 17: 179. doi: 10.1186/s13063-016-1305-5.

According to this article, utilization of technology to deliver self management is an effective support strategy that allows people to have patient centered care. The Self- Management Support for Blood Glucose (SMS4BG) is a novel technology that is text message based, and is used to support people diagnosed with diabetes to support self management strategy and to achieve better glycaemic control as well as patient education that is tailored to individual patient needs and preferences.

This randomized controlled study was conducted in New Zealand Health districts, where one thousand participants were randomized into 1:1 ratio to receive SMS4BG and usual standard care. The study findings indicated that this technology is associated with better glycaemic control (HbA1c), enhanced self efficacy, diabetes distress, and perceived social support and improved health related quality of life.

Hinshaw, L., & Basu, A. (2015). Technology Use for Problem Solving in Adolescent Type 1 Diabetes. Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, 17(7), 443–444. http://doi.org/10.1089/dia.2015.0175

According to this article, technology and use of social media in adolescent care has been associated with improved glucose control among the adolescents because it provides them with practical platform to solve their therapeutic issues, thereby improving their quality of life. The qualitative study evaluated the relationship between use of modern technology and glycemic control.

The study findings indicated that the modern technologies have significant impact in enhancing self care management because it provides an opportunity for individualized care for a given patient, making it need based and focuses. However, the paper warns that one size fits all approach in this approach may not effective due to unique health demands and preferences.

Jackson, I. L., Adibe, M. O., Okonta, M. J., & Ukwe, C. V. (2014). Knowledge of self-care among type 2 diabetes patients in two states of Nigeria. Pharmacy Practice, 12(3), 404.

This study aims at exploring knowledge of self care practices and factors responsible patients knowledge deficiency in patients diagnosed with diabetes type 2. The cross sectional survey was conducted on patients attending the University of Uyo teaching Hospital, where Diabetes Self Care Knowledge (DSCK-30) was used to assess the self care knowledge.

The study found that nearly 70% of the population had basic knowledge about self care, but it was associated with the level of education, household income and the length the patient has suffered from the disease. The study recommended for further investigations that will help enhance self care and individualize care based on patient’s health needs or demands.

Ng, S. M. (2015). Improving patient outcomes with technology and social media in paediatric diabetes. BMJ Quality Improvement Reports, 4(1), u209396.w3846. http://doi.org/10.1136/bmjquality.u209396.w3846

According to this article, there has been significant increase in the number of people diagnosed with diabetes Type 1 in Europe, but only small percentage of people attain better diabetes control. Recent studies have established novel digital strategies with the aim of improving overall patient health care.

The quantitative study evaluated 3 digital initiatives with the aim of implementing electronic diabetes information system that would help to undertake routine blood glucose values and calculate drug dosages with the aim of improving clinical outcomes. The study concluded that use of digital initiatives is effective in empowering patients, improving efficiencies, satisfaction, communication, reduction on emergency admissions, and to reduce diabetes related complications.

Marques, M.B., da Silva, M., Coutinho, J.V., & Lopes, M.V. (2013). Assessment of self-care competence of elderly people with diabetes. Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, 47(2), 415-420. https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0080-62342013000200020

The prevalence rated of diabetes is highest among the USA population. Diabetes self care management is complex as it contains important recommendation for physical activity, nutrition, glucose levels and medications. Young adults and the elderly have issues that uniquely impact self care.

This is because as people age, their health status, mental abilities, nutritionl requirements and physical abilities change. Depression is also common among the diabetic patient is associated with the deterioration of self care behaviors. This descriptive cross-sectional and correlation study assess self care competencies among the population through Scale to Identify Diabetes Mellitus Patient’s Competence for Self Care as well as other factors associated with it.

The study findings indicated that only 6% of the participants had self competence, highlighting the need to integrate other health promotion activities that target this population, assess their skills and to encourage effective self care practices that enhance planning of health interventions.

References

Hinshaw, L., & Basu, A. (2015). Technology Use for Problem Solving in Adolescent Type 1 Diabetes. Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, 17(7), 443–444. http://doi.org/10.1089/dia.2015.0175

Jackson, I. L., Adibe, M. O., Okonta, M. J., & Ukwe, C. V. (2014). Knowledge of self-care among type 2 diabetes patients in two states of Nigeria. Pharmacy Practice, 12(3), 404.

Weinger, K., Beverly, E. A., & Smaldone, A. (2014). Diabetes Self-Care and the Older Adult. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 36(9), 1272–1298. http://doi.org/10.1177/0193945914521696

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ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT

Organizational change and development

Executive summary

The need to embrace workable and sustainable strategies as touching organizational development and change has been pressing for modern day organizations. Whereas organizational development encompasses the efforts made by firms over duration of time to come up with better problem solving abilities organizational change connotes the process that enables organizations to optimize their performance whilst working towards an ideal and projected state.

Dyson, a multinational company has had to consider embracing strategies for effective development and change due to the changing strategic situation engraved in the current global economic turbulence that has challenged the firms operations, sales, and profitability. The existing strategy for the company being based on cost leadership and differentiation has thus necessitated the adoption of a future strategy entrenched in e-commerce. The internal and external environment of the firm is captured by economic aspects, technology, and low prices.

Introduction

Organizational development and organizational change are directly related. However, the two differ in terms of their definitions. Scholars have repeatedly concurred that organizational development connotes a planned process to stir up change within the culture of a firm by utilizing research, theory, and behavioral science expertise. Additionally, other scholars have defined organizational development as corporate efforts made over a long duration with the intention of enhancing the ability of a firm to solve problems as well as its capacity to deal with alterations in the external environment.

Further, others have argued that the term connotes a systemic process performed via collection of data, analysis, action planning, intercession, and assessment in order to improve congruence in structure, procedure, stratagem, human resource, and culture culminating in the development of more effective problem solving as carried out through organizational team work with the assistance of change agents.

On the other hand, organizational change is a process that enables organizations to optimize their performance whilst working towards an ideal and projected state (Meyers 2013, p. 43). Moreover, studies indicate that organizational change is usually triggered by the business environment that is ever-changing causing organizations to respond in order to avert a crisis. In most cases, organizational development precedes organizational change except in cases where firms are forced to change and adopt new strategies in order to deal with a foreseen problem.

In both cases of development and change, the processes involved always encounter resistance to change as firms seek to make adjustments in operational strategies and culture. This paper takes the form of a report and focuses on Dyson, a multinational company in order to explore its changing strategic situation engraved in the current global economic turbulence that has challenged the firms operations, sales, and profitability.

Review of Literature

Review of literature indicates that in the light of the current turbulent times, companies, and especially multinationals need to come up with new strategies for development and change. Studies also indicate that organizations are fastly adopting to such strategies in order to acquire the ability to stay afloat amidst the unpredictable economic changes. Conversely, Sullivan (2001, p. 7) argues that only few of modern multinationals have fully embraced the need to see change as an organizational project rather than viewing it from the traditional perspective of it being a core organizational process.

Further review of literature also suggests that unless organizations develop the ability to merge development and change into a single process they may not be able to stand the test of time during the turbulent economic times (Weissenberger& Kotch 2007, p. 7). Additionally, firms need to realize the importance of developing the competencies of their core personnel in a way that helps them enhance their objectivity, imagination, consistency, and flexibility (Balzac, 2011, p. 14). However, Sridhar (2011, p. 2) argues that this alone will not help enhance development and change strategies without multinationals embracing the requirements entrenched in efficient collection of data, assessment, forecasting, diagnostics, , design, and implementation procedures.

The company

Dyson is a company based in Britain and has grown over the years since its inception in the year 1974 into one of the largest multinational. The organization basically operates many stores currently having infiltrated markets in over 70 countries with over 7,000 employees. By the year 2014, the company had already been crowned as the number one corporation in terms of annual revenues. However, the current global economic turbulence has recently caught up with the company causing it to experience declines in sales, efficiency in operations, and profitability in virtually all the 70 countries within which it operates.

Actually, records indicate that in the year 2015, the company for the first time since its inception recorded a decline in both sales and revenues. Despite spending over 11 million dollars to advertise in the 70 countries, the company has not been able to produce the level of sales and revenues it anticipates. This as studies indicate is because the target clients in these countries no longer have the financial capability to make purchases as they did before because of the global economic crisis.

Existing strategy

According to Sridhar (2011, p. 3), companies should always ensure that proper strategies are in place. Strategies define the output of a company (Meyers 2013, p. 45). The existing strategy for Dyson is based on cost leadership and differentiation. This simply means that the company endeavors to provide their clients with an assortment of products and services offering similar or improved quality with their competitors at prices that are much more relatively cheaper.

The company took up this strategy since the day it went public having realized that it could source raw materials and acquire products at prices that could pose a threat to its competitors. However, critics have argued that despite the strategy having worked well for the organization in the past decades it may not be sufficient to help it maintain its competitive supremacy given the current agitating global economic problems (Balzac, 2011, p. 18).

This is because despite its low prices the purchasing ability of its target clients is gradually dwindling making them unable to make the same volumes of purchases. Nevertheless, the organization has kept up with this strategy by always looking out for newer ways to provide products and services at lower prices. Additionally, Dyson is relentlessly rethinking new ways via which it can complete its primary and support activities so that it can further lower the costs while simultaneously preserving competitive echelons in terms of differentiation.

Actually, studies indicate that this is the reason why its competitors have not been able to gain the upper hand over the last three decades because they have not appreciated the need to lower their prices due to the emphasis they have been giving to the maintenance of escalating revenues. The role of the firms supply chain in terms of fostering efficiency in this strategy is evidenced by the efficient internal logistics made possible by the usage of just in time inventory .

Consequently, the company has been able to reduce the costs emanating from outbound logistics. This explains the creation of better levels of fuel efficacy in the firm’s trucks and the bulk purchases that have also served to enable the organization cut down its costs. It is also imperative to consider the role played by technology in advancing and implementing the strategy under discussion.

Technology has given the organization the capacity to forecast demand in an accurate manner and has also sharpened its ability to come up with routes of transport that are more efficient than those used by its competitors. Additionally, technology has also enhanced the ability of Dyson to manage its clients. Conclusively, the cost leadership and differentiation strategy has given the organization the upper hand due by placing high barriers of entry to its competitors (Meyers 2013, p. 49).

Future strategy

The future strategy of Dyson is entrenched in E-commerce. The company came up with this strategy having realized that its sales and revenues had declined greatly over the last few years. By using this strategy, the company intends to rely on technology by setting up a framework that will use the internet as a platform to serve its customers across all conduits. The agenda behind the strategy is to come up with a unique shopping experience (Weissenberger& Kotch 2007, p. 7).

However, one would wonder whether the same strategy will enable the organization to lower its costs below the current ones being offered. However, there is a possibility that this could enable the company to do so bearing in mind that it will lead to a reduction in operational costs. Thus, the strategy could well enable Dyson to lower its prices by approximately 10-15% compared to those offered by its competitors (Sullivan 2001, p. 8). Whereas critics argue that this may not be possible, some scholars believe that it could work with clients that make bulk purchases.

The use of this strategy is also aimed at positioning the firm to become the future of retail as well as catering for the declining purchasing abilities of its globally positioned clients by enabling them to save money. Nevertheless, before agreeing to this possibility one would have to consider the existence of competitors in e-commerce such as Amazon.

Evidently, Dyson will have to do more than just enter into e-commerce because Amazon is currently the giant in this line of business making around 60 billion dollars per year. Whereas Dyson has built its reputation based on logistics, it is almost impossible to achieve the echelons of delivery that Amazon has when it comes to e-commerce. Nonetheless, Dyson intends to start relying on computer sales and the growth of e-commerce by lessening the investments made in starting new stores to focus more on directing capital towards e-commerce.

Transition process

The transition process for Dyson to move from emphasizing on cost leadership and differentiation strategy to directing its resources towards e-commerce must first take into consideration redirecting the company’s resources towards expansion of its e-commerce infrastructure (Riley 2013, p. 23). This means that the organization has to forego its previous efforts geared towards opening new physical stores and focus more on enhancing its online business.

Actually, Dyson has already embarked on the acquisition of jet.com as it seeks to pursue its digital aspirations (Zogjani & Raçi, 2015, p. 3). However, pumping financial resources towards e-commerce alone is not enough to ensure an effective transition. As studies indicate, transition processes only prove effective when organizations realize the need to focus on the needs of target clients by ensuring that the needs of the customers become the platform for business growth.

Bearing in mind the fact that the need for strategy change has been triggered by the adversity of global economic conditions that have decreased the sales and profitability of the company, the transition process must involve a careful consideration of how shifting to e-commerce will enable Dyson to lower its prices to levels that global clients can afford bulk purchases. In addition, the transition process must involve the training of personnel so that the people deployed to work in the digital line will have full comprehension of their duty related obligations (Sharma & Vredenburg 2009, p. 11).

As such, functional training will be necessary so that the e-commerce personnel will have the skills needed as well as the new process information for the transition to be fruitful. Nevertheless, studies indicate that functional training works best when an organization has particular people in mind. This means that prior to the training exercise Dyson will have to identify and recruit specific individuals and sharpen their performance standards based on the e-commerce strategy (Denyer, 2013, p. 135).

Further, the transition process must encapsulate a communication strategy. This means that the current employees must be involved and updated concerning the new changes in order to give each of them the ability to leverage their knowledge, decipher probable pitfalls, and make a commitment towards working with the new strategy.

More importantly, the process of transition should not be considered as an opportunity for the organization to lay down its former strategy entirely but should rather be viewed as an opportunity to merge the useful attributes of the old with the new strategy. Studies indicate that organizations that have viewed the process of strategy transition as an opportunity to completely do away with old strategies have seldom reaped the projected benefits of their new strategy (Denyer, 2013, p. 137).

Consequently, for the e-commerce strategy to help the organization deal with the challenge posed by the turbulent economic crisis Dyson must be able to adopt the new strategy while simultaneously seeking to implement useful and workable aspects of the cost leadership and differentiation strategy it has been using (Suriyamathi, Velavan & Radhiga 2013, p. 31).

Analysis of internal and external environment

The most significant factor in the organizations external environment with regard to the turbulent economic times is the economic aspect. Consequently, Dyson is undergoing a lot of pressure as it seeks to adapt its new e-commerce strategy to the prices of its products and services (Windapo & Goulding, 2013, p. 10). This single factor has led to the reduction of revenues since the countries within which the organization operates are having problems with economic stability.

However, the economic factor still presents an opportunity for the company because of the levels of economic growth being experienced by developing countries in which Dyson has not yet started to operate. Technology is another external factor since the organization must now focus on addressing the current technological trends and especially with regards to e-commerce. Additionally, there is an opportunity because the company can automate its operations and increase its revenue levels.

The aspect of technology also presents an opportunity for Dyson because of the escalating levels of mobile device usage. The threat however is that companies like Amazon have already made their successful entry into e-commerce and it may take a lot of time and effort before Dyson catches up. The most significant internal factor for the company is its low prices. This is a great advantage for the organization because customers have become accustomed to the fact that its products and services are lower than those of its competitors.

Critical analysis of the changing situation

The changing situation as engraved in the turbulent economic times and the future strategy of e-commerce is more of a planned than emergent change. It is a planned change because the company is currently making intentional changes to make its products available over the internet. However, Ali (2008, p. 56) argues that he change is more of emergent than planned because the company has been forced to make amendments in order to respond to the changing customer preferences for online shopping as well as the turbulent economic times.

Although the company has decided to use e-commerce as the future strategy for combating the effects of the turbulent economic times, this may not remedy the situation because of the presence of already existing online companies like Amazon.

While some deem the move to adopt the new strategy the best option for the company to respond, Ali (2008 p. 7) says that it may not be possible for the company to reap the anticipated results unless it persists and focuses on delivery. The ability of Dyson to deal effectively with the challenges emanating from the turbulent economic times will depend on how well it is able to make fitting structural changes that are aligned with the new strategy.

The most significant structural change that will be experienced by Dyson as it seeks to adopt the e-commerce strategy will affect teams and team work in the organization. This is because Dyson will have to come up with technology efficient teams that will work together for the success of the strategy. Additionally, this structural change will influence the culture of the organization.

According to Strazewski (2009, p. 137), e-commerce teams have to be so cohesive that any changes in the customer demands and prices are passed to each member of the team to help businesses stay afloat. This means that the organization will have to focus more on the culture of timeliness and transparency. However, the company is likely to experience problems in entrenching this culture because its current employees have not been accustomed to online business.

The cultural web of Dyson has played a major role in the past in helping achieve organizational competence (Prasad & Nori 2008, p. 50). For instance, the control systems of the firm have enabled the company to effectively monitor and sustain its supply chain (Zendg 2009, p.44). However, the current control system may not be compatible with the strategy that the company aims to deploy.

According to Cloutier and others (2015, p. 21), it is impossible for companies that have engaged in e-business before to expect success by deploying the same control system. Further, the current rituals in the organization have been focusing on the supply chain as well. This means that the firm will have to adopt a new set of rituals that emphasize more on the performance of e-business.

The role of technology at Dyson as the company seeks to introduce the e-commerce strategy is irreplaceable. Firstly, this is because the organization will most likely have to make some changes in terms of human resource in order for the strategy to work. This means that the company may have to replace some of its employees with others that are technology efficient (Loo 2009, p. 9).

Further, there will be need for constant training so that the strategy works as anticipated. Although Dyson expects the new strategy to lead to higher profit margins, this may not be the case in the short-run. According to Huang (2010, p. 140), e-commerce forces organizations to lower their prices more than expected because customers can easily find the same products at similar or lower prices over the internet. Nevertheless, the catch is that technology will help Dyson to do business in every country of the world. This is because of the ability of technology to break geographical barriers (Jones & Parry 2011, p. 16).

This means that the organization will have the capacity to increase the volume of sales and consequently the profit margins due to the global expansion of its market (Theodore, 2014, p. 71). There is however a possible problem in that the use of technology has a way of altering consumer loyalty and purchasing behaviors. This is because of the increasing presence of online retailers causing clients to begin evaluating their options and may opt to go for retailers that have already made their impact in online business like Amazon (Ling. 2015, p. 75).

Recommendations

It is highly recommendable for Dyson that the company instead of completely doing away with the cost leadership and differentiation strategy to try and merge the existing strategy with the future strategy based on e-commerce. This is because the existing strategy has helped the company achieve the current levels of competitiveness and completely setting it aside will deprive the company of the benefits attached. Due to the presence of competitors like Amazon the company should also consider taking time to research on better online platforms although this will take time.

Conclusion

Business strategies should be set up in line with structures of businesses. Well selected strategies always thrust businesses into good performances. Change management should be handled properly till completion. This should be guided by organization culture and company leadership as seen in the case of Dyson company.

References

Ali, M 2008, Developing environmental impact statement (EIS) guidelines for the management of organizational quality at major projects in Kuwait, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/business/docview/204618562/13EB17FBF311442APQ/2?accountid=45049, Last accessed 9th February 2017.

Cloutier, O, Felusiak, L, Hill, C, Pemberton, Jones & Enda J 2015, The Importance of Developing Strategies for Employee Retention. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1726791378/5524C7862854D96PQ/5?accountid=45049, Last accessed 9th February 2017.

Denyer, M., 2013. Organizational Policy Changes. Guidelines for Managing Process Safety Risks During Organizational Change, pp.135–147. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/business/docview/204618562/13EB17FBF311442APQ/2?accountid=45049, Last accessed 9th February 2017.

Huang, T 2010, Dynamic Quality Management in Complex Construction Projects, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/business/docview/733014523/13EB17FBF311442APQ/1?accountid=45049, Last accessed 9th February 2017

Jones, R & Parry, S 2011, Business support for new technology-based firms: a study of entrepreneurs in north Wales. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/893890243/4A01D25259254328PQ/16?accountid=45049

Ling, F et al. 2015, Effect of adoption of relational contracting practices on relationship quality in public projects in Singapore, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/business/docview/1660895554/13EB17FBF311442APQ/15?accountid=45049, Last accessed 9th February 2017.

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Suriyamathi, S, Velavan, M & Radhiga, TD 2013, Importance of Leadership in Innovations of HR Practices. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1470793027/5AD72EE4297469CPQ/6?accountid=45049, Last accessed 9th February 2017.

Theodore, J 2014, the Importance of Imbedding the Concept of Continuous Development in The Formulation Of Global Strategies. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1516952897/5524C7862854D96PQ/8?accountid=45049, Last accessed 9th February 2017.

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Emerging Cyber Security Approaches

Introduction

People have become more dependent on information systems over the past few years. Even as societies are increasingly embracing open networks, the demand for new cyber security measures grows each day. Emerging trends such as internet of things (Iota) have further prompted governments, businesses and institutions to seek advanced ways of tackling cyber threats.

One of the reasons that make it difficult to handle these threats is the occurrence of global laws that require investigation of facts across international borders. This has increased the complexity of networking infrastructure resulting to demand of new approaches to address cyber threats. There several existing cyber security strategies being used by organizations, and while their monitoring system can help secure information, they are hardly enough to challenge today’s external and persistent problems efficiently.

Current methods include facial recognition and finger biometrics that have seen a wide range of applications and usage. However, these approaches need to be updated and highly sophisticated to address emerging threats and issues. However, there are new approaches being researched and tested to address cyber security issues such as the use of random numbers, remote agent technologies, real-time forensic analysis, and smart card technologies.

Although these technologies have not been widely accepted and have received insufficient pragmatically application, they can offer strategic solutions to the issue of cyber security when well researched.

Use of random numbers

Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have come up with a masterpiece project on cryptography where new methods for producing random numbers could be used to encrypt data (Bowie, 2016). At the core of the random number technology is David Zuckerman, UT scientist and Eshan Chattopadhyay, a computer science graduate. The two scientists developed a theorem that lays the foundation for new methods of producing random numbers that require little computer efforts (Ransom, 2016).

The idea behind the technology is to create a random application that creates sequences which do not obey a particular pattern and thus cannot be predicted. Scientists use randomness to create algorithms and model complexities. Some of the most general uses of randomness are measuring demographic changes in the economy and electoral polling.

In their draft -paper titled Explicit Two-Source Extractors and Resilient Functions, the scientists state that their efforts are “motivated by the ubiquitous use of randomness in various branches of computer science like algorithms, cryptography, and more”(Zuckerman & Chattopadhyay 2016, pg. 2).

According to Ransom (2016), extractors are functions that output and distribute random numbers randomly that vary from the input source. Most applications require truly random, uncorrelated bits, but most easily obtainable sources of randomness do not satisfy these conditions. The study of randomness extraction pays attention to nearly uniform numbers from sources that are only weakly random.

Government Role

The federal government faces a lot of cyber security threat that has the potential of jeopardizing infrastructure, economy, and freedom of citizens. The failure to actively seek new and sophisticated actions against cyber threats can have multidimensional effects. Furthermore, nations and states such as Russia, China, and Iran have expressed willingness to grab US digital data for their gains.

For these reasons, the federal government is at the forefront of supporting emergent cyber security technologies such as the Explicit Two-Source Extractors and Resilient Functions based on random numbers. The government has supported these researchers indirectly through federal aid, provision of sufficient resources and infrastructure and provision of a free atmosphere to carry our scientific experiments freely.

Additionally, the government has the developed of viable cyber security liability and insurance system, coupled with the advocacy for more private sector efforts to enhance general awareness and ratings.

Real examples

According to Zuckerman (2016), high-quality randomness can help keep online channels more secure. People need randomness when making online transactions to protect information from hackers. For example, buying something from online sites like Amazon will require randomness functionality. While there are current randomness technologies in play, use of the emergent Explicit Two-Source Extractors and Resilient Functions can offer more secure and unpredictable random patterns.

The masterpiece cryptography can be used to encrypt data, make electronic payments more secret while providing more accurate statistically significant polls. The emerging technology creates truly random numbers with minimal computations than existing methods. This will go a long way in facilitating high levels of security for consumer credit cards and military communication…

References

Tarala, J. (2011, Feb). A real-time approach to continuous monitoring. Retrieved from http://www.sans.org/reading-room/analysts-program/netwitness-splunk-monitoring

Tarala, James. (2011). A Real-Time Approach to Continuous Monitoring. SANS White Paper.

Tiwari, V., Shailendra, G., Tiwari, R., & K, M. (2010). Computational analysis of .net remoting and mobile agent in distributed environment. JOURNAL OF COMPUTING, 2(6), 34-39. Retrieved from http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1006/1006.4538.pdf

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Succession Planning in Community College

Introduction

The community college sector is approaching its 70^th anniversary of enactment by President Harry Truman and its 50^th anniversary of becoming a viable sector of higher education. In achieving this milestone, research recognized maturation of leadership in the community college sector, and resultant impending retirements of a high percentage of those in leadership positions.

As noted by Lipka (2013), the American Association of Community Colleges projects that of approximately 1,200 community colleges in the United States, about 500 presidents are projected to retire in the next 5 years, creating a potentially serious void in leadership within this sector of higher education. Lack of leadership succession planning can be noted when one reads of an institution recognized as the exception because of its commitment to succession planning (Bornstein, 2010).

The responsibilities of the college president and all administrators in higher education have changed drastically in the past decade (Barden, 2009). Government regulations, the ever-expanding world of technology, and the global landscape have drastically changed the dynamics of the community college sector and its leadership (Adcock-Shantz, 2011).

The recent economic downturn and the mandates it has imposed on higher education present a vivid example of that change. With these challenges, the conventional path to the college presidency, progression from faculty member to dean and chief academic officer, does not automatically qualify a prospective successor to lead the modern community college (Barden, 2009).

Planning for and selecting the most appropriate new leadership can engender institutional renewal, strengthen the organization and enhance institutional goals to achieve its mission and vision (Mitchell, 2014). A multi-case study on leadership succession planning in community colleges is the focus of this proposed study. Because there is a noted scarcity of empirical research on community college leadership succession planning, this study will be undertaken to further that body of knowledge.

Community college enrollments account for more than 45% of those students in the United States experiencing their first postsecondary education (American Association of Community Colleges, 2013). Thus, strong leadership and succession planning to achieve that leadership are critical to the community college mission of student success.

Background of the Problem

Community colleges, a relatively unknown entity 50 years ago, have become a viable sector of higher education. Today, more than 45% of students in the United States start their college experience in community colleges with the hope to have access to success in their academic endeavors (American Association of Community Colleges, 2013). Regulatory directives have made a considerable impacton budgetary constraints, accreditation standards, curricula, instructional delivery, and student diversity (Adcock-Shantz, 2011).

In addition, community colleges face many administrative changes, including an expected deluge of presidential retirements over the next five years (Lipka, 2013). Confronted by increased enrollments, diminished state funding, accountability for student success, and increased public oversight, community colleges must restructure their praxes for preparing and appointing leaders to keep up with demand and heightened expectations (DeSantis, 2013).

The research literature is extensive with respect to leadership succession planning in the business sector. According to Deloitte (2014), “For a business, working without a succession plan can invite disruption, uncertainty, and conflict, and endangers future competition.” (p. 1). Such planning, particularly for those holding positions of Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Financial Officer, is considered critical for successful business entities.

A well-reputed example of corporate succession planning can be seen in the approach taken by General Electric Company (GE). According to (Onatolu, 2013), GE’s philosophy to ensure long-term survival of the company is to have in place an organizational structure with a unique form of leadership succession plan that will be cognizant of organizational culture of GE.

Additionally, American Management Association (2010) addresses the importance of succession planning, noting that global demographics and multinational corporations are challenged with potential retirement of one in five senior executives in the Fortune 500. There is however a dearth of empirical research addressing such leadership succession planning in higher education, and more specifically, within the community college sector (Hammond, 2013).

Two decades ago, little significant strategic planning was generated in community colleges (Lipka, 2013). In this decade, leadership sustainability and strategic planning are major factors in the functionality of community colleges. The dynamics of formal leadership succession planning for those in leadership positions, i.e., Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Deans, is integral to such strategic planning and the future of community colleges in meeting 21^st century commitment to student success.

As noted by Barden (2010), as the populace progresses and the requirements of the workforce are transformed, institutions of higher education may need to rethink the relationship between succession planning and organizational sustainability. Planning and choosing the right leadership are critical to sustain strong organizational structure and culture. Employee attrition can be predicted.

However, for leadership succession planning to be successful as a means by which to retain or grow talent, it must be a top priority of every organization‘s strategic agenda (Robinson, 2009). Such is the context in which this research is undertaken.

Conceptual Framework and Review of the Literature/Themes

Conceptual framework. This study will be informed by a model for succession planning and House’s (1996) path-goal theory. For the purposes of this study, succession planning will be defined as a process used to identify, prepare, and develop employees internal to an organization to meet an organization’s future talent needs (Rothwell, 2005).

There are a variety of succession planning models, but the attributes common to most include a systematic process implemented at all levels of an organization, employee opportunity for upward and lateral movement within the organization, rewarding leaders for promoting their best, talented employees (Rothwell, 2005). There are several steps to an effective succession plan.

These include conducting an assessment of organization’s needs, identifying the knowledge, skills and attributes of future leaders, identifying and assessing the talents of current employees, developing growth plans for employees interested in upward movement, implementing those growth plans with clear feedback and accountability requirements, and finally, evaluating the process (Neef, 2009).

Additionally, the path-goal theory of motivation will serve as a foundation for the study (House, 1996). This theory is based on the idea an employees will exert effort and performance based on their perceptions of a leader’s behavior. The goal of the leader is to communicate clear expectations, describe the path to achieving a goal and then to remove the obstacles for workers as they attempt to perform in an effort to achieve that goal or complete a task. Leaders provide information, support, and resources for employees to do their work.

Review of the literature themes.

Succession planning defined
Components of succession planning
Leadership styles and succession planning
Succession planning in community colleges
Leadership development in higher education
Strategic planning defined
Components of strategic planning
Relationship of strategic planning and succession planning
Research on succession planning in community colleges
Methodologies used in research on succession planning in community colleges

Problem Statement

It is not known how leadership succession planning is developed and executed in the community college sector in New Jersey. With anticipated high volume of retirements of those in leadership positions within the next decade, it is evident that community colleges need to develop and execute succession planning to safeguard institutional stability and learning.

According to the American Association of Community Colleges (2013), “community colleges are facing a wave of impending retirements among their CEOs. More than two-fifths of community college CEOs surveyed in 2012 indicated that they plan to retire within five years. About 75% plan to retire within 10 years.” Succession planning is critical because of the void created by promotion from within the institution to fill vacancies created by retirement, resignation, or discharge.

Organizational culture and structure are also key factors in leadership succession planning. Depending on the political climate of the institution, some look for innovation and major change that may favor consideration of external candidates for leadership (Katz, 2012), while other institutional structures may be deemed strong enough to effect leadership change with internal transparency (Kleinsorge, 2010). An institution’s resolve to commit to succession plans might encourage valued staff to remain with their current community college employer (Basham et al., 2009).

Research Question(s) and Phenomenon

Phenomenon. This study will focus on the importance of succession plans in community colleges. Leadership succession planning has been integral in the business world. The research addresses the significance of such practices in the academic environment while assessing the characteristics of organizational structures and respective stances on the importance of succession planning within the community college sector. According to Anderson (2013), tradition, dormant leadership cultures, and magnitude of the institution can be limiting factors to the process.

Bornstein (2010) posits that most college boards hesitate to change the status quo and recognize potential leaders who can be groomed for specific positions for fear that faculty will not support a selection process in which they have little or any input. Organizational climate may dictate a change in organizational structure or need for new vision to lead a troubled institution (Anderson, 2013). Adoption of a succession plan can have a major impact on the culture and structure of the organization.

Having stakeholders who know the intricacies and vision of the institution and who are willing to carry out succession planning builds a strong position for institutional sustainability (Rothwell, 2010). According to Bornstein (2010), succession planning can bring value if the institution remains open to new ideas, focuses on long-term goals as provided for in strategic planning, and practices high leadership standards.

Research Questions

R_1:How does leadership within New Jersey community colleges plan for the succession of executive leadership positions?

R_2:How do New Jersey community college leadership development programs align to succession planning?

R_3:What organizational structure attributes promote succession planning in New Jersey community colleges?

R_4:How does the community college’s shared governance structure influence succession planning?

Significance of the Study

A review of succession planning literature suggests a gap in succession planning research respective of the community college sector of higher education (Barden, 2009; Bornstein, 2010). As noted by Mercer (2009), comprehensive interviews are recognized as methodology that assists researchers in identifying cultural norms and social behavior. The intent of this research is to examine succession planning in a community college setting and more specifically to address a study of leadership succession planning in the context of New Jersey community college administration.

A qualitative research design is proposed to study how leaders in New Jersey community colleges ensure that strategies are in place to avoid a leadership vacuum. According to Myatt (2012), such vacuums occur because existing leadership fails to lead. In focusing on the human factor, qualitative methodologies can be instrumental in supporting theory and providing the researcher with a viable study representative of the population to be explored (Yin, 2013). Community colleges are reasonable research sites since the propensity of anticipated retirements within the sector is anticipated to create a major concern for institutional stability and organizational structure.

Although community college leadership recognizes the need for a strategic approach to succession, existing research indicates that most community colleges do not have succession or leadership development plans in place (Barden, 2009; Bornstein, 2010). By examining the experiences of leaders in community college settings, the details of this case study will add to the existing body of qualitative research regarding the practice of selection and development of potential community college leaders.

A qualitative multi-case study of succession planning could facilitate deeper understanding of the underlying processes, mechanisms, and concepts associated with succession planning and its relationship to leadership in the community college sector (DeSantis, 2013).

The majority of succession planning has taken place in the business environment. According to Forbes (2013), lack of a formal succession or transition plan places a business at risk for its stability and shared governance. Succession planning helps to ensure select stakeholders are aligned with the business and that key personnel support the organization’s succession planning.

While succession planning appears to be delineated in corporate contexts, the methods, experiences, and outcomes of such leadership succession planning may share some mutual theoretical and practical elements across community college settings.

For the purposes of this study, succession planning will be defined as a process used to identify, prepare, and develop employees internal to an organization to meet an organization’s future talent needs (Rothwell, 2005). There are a variety of succession planning models, but the attributes common to most include a systematic process implemented at all levels of an organization, employee opportunity for upward and lateral movement within the organization, rewarding leaders for promoting their best, talented employees (Rothwell, 2005).

There are several steps to an effective succession plan. These include conducting an assessment of organization’s needs, identifying the knowledge, skills and attributes of future leaders, identifying and assessing the talents of current employees, developing growth plans for employees interested in upward movement, implementing those growth plans with clear feedback and accountability requirements, and finally, evaluating the process (Neef, 2009).

References

American Association of Community Colleges (2014). Community college history. http://www.aacc.nche.edu/AboutCC/history/Pages/default.aspx

American Management Association (2010). The growing interest in a strong succession-planning program. Retrieved from http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/The-Growing-Interest-in-a-Strong-Succession-Planning-Program.aspx

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Budget Planning and Management Role in Health and Social Care

Managing Financial Resources in Health and Social Care

2.1 Power Point Presentation Discussion

This presentation shall discuss section 2’s Budget Planning and Management Role in Health and Social Care. Specifically, the speaker shall provide the Diverse Sources of Income that can be used in health and social care settings. Every budget planning includes internal sources and external sources, no matter what is the setting.

The organization shall use internal sources and external sources as diverse sources of income. Internal sources shall include Company Savings, working capital, retained profit, and sales of assets.

Company Savings or commonly known as the owner’s investment (can be used as a start-up capital or additional capital)

Another interesting source of finance is using the working capital. These are funds that are needed when conducting daily operations, like wages, purchasing of raw materials, covering some overhead costs and used for offering credit services.

Retained profit can be used within the organization, from a standpoint, this is an attractive source of finance because it allows investment projects without risking nor involving shareholders or any outsiders.

Sales of assets are one way of raising finance. Selling off the stocks or assets that are no longer in need. Such as equipment that is not in used can be sold off to buy new equipment.

The next slide is the discussion of the external sources of finance. These are finances that are commonly gained outside of the organization, such as from banks or creditors. This may include the short-term and the long-term assets.

Short-term assets are financial assets that need to be sold, converted to cash or liquidated to pay the liabilities inside one year. These assets include Loans, Trade Credits, and Debt Factoring.

Loans are usually long-term debt capital used by the company to provide a cash-flow cushion. Moreover, with bank loans, the organization can set repayments with spreading over a period of time which can be good for budgeting.

Trade Credits, shall cover the organization’s short-term finances. This is where suppliers can deliver goods and willing to wait for days before the payment. If this shall be included within the organization’s budgeting, this will provide more chance for the organization to prioritize the needed equipment or services that should be sold.

Debt Factoring or Factoring is where the organization can sell their invoices to the banks. Rather than waiting for 28 days of full payment, the organization can gain cash right away.

Now, Long-term assets are finances that can be paid over many years. This will include, mortgages, venture capital, retained earnings, debenture for long-term sources.

Now, if the organization wanted to secure a location, mortgaging is the best answer. This is advantageous since this can be repaid through installments over a period of time, mostly over 25 years. If we view the setting as a public or private institution, then it would be feasible to mortgage a specific location than renting it.

For a starting organization, venture capital can provide sufficient fund to the organization. Moreover, it is also feasible for new businesses with limited profits, especially with public health and social care setting.

Retained earnings are useful to finance new investments, either on new programs within the organization or new facilities. Moreover, it is believed that retained earnings are sources of funds that does not lead to payment of cash.

Having able to induce debenture as an external source of income, it will save the organization income tax since debenture is a tax deductible expenditure. Moreover, it is way cheaper than preference shares and equity shares.

Since we are imposing health and social care setting, the organization aims to provide more efficient but cheap services; the organization may also use Government funding, Bursaries, Grants, Rentals, and Company assets.

There is government organization such as Invest NI funds new and established businesses in their venture. Which is believed that since the organization, shall cater health and social care for elderlies and with special needs, the government shall heartfully fund this newly established institution. Moreover, there are also charities that can assist the organization in the further development of the institutions.

Leasing or renting an asset will allow the business to obtain assets without the need to pay a large lump sum. For example, the organization may pursue on letting their clients rent some equipment for the benefit of the institution.

2.2 Factors that Influences the Availability of financial resources

The organization may experience difficulties in achieving the desired resources through the identified factors such as funding priorities, agency objectives and policies, private finance, type of services, government policies, and etc.

Decision making on funding priorities is usually formalized, procedurally driven, sequential, and protected; thus, the size of the organization may affect the board’s decision on funding the organization’s needs.

Moreover, the agreements between association and local about funds, service contracts and authorities together with other home care agencies. Provision of the type of service, such as Nursing, residential and private services. Lastly, geographical locations of the organization, any geographical constraints may greatly affect the entire organization.

2.3 Different types of budget expenditure on the proposed health care organization

Budget Expenditures includes; Operational Budget, Cash Flow Budget, and Capital Budget. Wherein, the operational budget is recorded at the beginning of the year for different expenditures related to the organizations daily operations. Organization’s cash flow budget may include the budgets allocated for everyday outflowing and incoming services. Capital Budget, on the other hand, is a budget that is allocated to pay for exclusive purchases and specific projects allocated for the organization’s health and social care services.

2.4 Decision about expenditures made within health and social care organization

The expenditures of the organization can be determined through extensive budget preparation and how the organization will implement several expenditures. However, before budget preparation, the organization must determine the organization’s financial status. And after identifying the financial status, it is empirical for the company to prioritize its goals and objective.

The organization must assign specific roles and responsibilities of varied people for the purpose of the budget. Thus, the management must include the timely preparation and accurate budget for the income. Finally, health care managers and executives must include the process of specific budgeting to avoid unwanted errors. This may include draft the budget, reviewing points of the budget, presenting the drafts for approval and if approved, it is appropriate to document the budget for final implementation.

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Human Resource Management Strategies

Human Resource Management Strategies that SMEs Business Leaders use to Increase Employee Productivity

Background of the Problem

Profitability in many organizations is below envisaged levels due to a lack of knowledge about effective usage of human capital among their HR professionals (Lawler &Mohrman, 2013). In Thailand, organizations that fail to implement the necessary HR strategies by their recommended HR professionals often record the lowest profits or no profits and collapse within 2 to 4 years of their existence (Becker &Huselid, 2014). Zaugg and Thom (2013) asserted that employee productivity and the subsequent profitability of many organizations could be increased through the adoption of appropriate human resource management (HRM) strategies and adjust to the fast- changing labour market.

The company productivity is directly linked to the employee’s productivity. If the employees are motivated and are given the freedom to express themselves in a way that corresponds to the operations of the company’s efforts will result to improved company performance.

Inefficiency as far as HR departments are concerned leads to insolvency or financial distress of companies. Organizations have efficiently played a role in improving the nature and the operations that are undertaken by the human resource (HR) professionals. The HR professionals’ role is to ensure that the employees are effective in increasing the company profitability and productivity (Wright et al., 2014).

The creations of sustainable HR strategies are essential for improved employee productivity and continued profitability in organizations in Thailand (Pfeffer&Veiga, 2014). For instance, firms in Thailand have adopted HR strategies such as motivation and ranking of position. This strategy helps the employees to work excellently so that they can get the reward and at least get promoted to a certain position. In return, the employees’ productivity and the company’s profitability increase since the two are directly linked to one another.

Problem Statement

More than 50% of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) business leader in Thailand fails to utilize strategic human resource management (HRM) practices to manage employee productivity (Platonova et al., 2013). HRM practice accounts for over 80% of employee productivity in SMEs (Platonova, Hernandez & Moorehouse, 2013).

The general business problem is that lack of HRM strategies to manage employee productivity could affect SMEs profitability (Chahal, Jyoti, & Rani, 2016). The specific business problem is that some SMEs business leaders in Bangkok, Thailand lack HRM strategies to increase employee productivity.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study is to explore human resource management (HRM) strategies that small and medium-sized (SMEs) business leaders use to increase employee productivity. The target population consists of SMEs in Bangkok, Thailand. I will interview five business leaders from SMEs who are successful in implementing HRM strategies to increase employee productivity in their perspective organization.

The implication for social change stems from its design to help businesses to implement strategies to increase employee productivity. Employee productivity could increase business profitability, which could foster growth, resulting in employment opportunities for local communities.

Research Question

What HRM strategies that SMEs business leaders use to increase employee productivity?

Interview Questions

1. What HRM strategies you use to increase employee productivity?

2. What are the challenges you face while implementing HRM strategies?

3. How do you overcome such challenges?

4. How do you know that you are successful in implementing HRM strategies?

5. What else could you share that is pertinent to your HRM strategies that we have not covered for increasing employee productivity?

Nature of the Study

There are three types of research method: a) qualitative, b) quantitative, and c) mixed method (O’Brien et al., 2014). In a qualitative method, a researcher seeks to understand the event from the perspective of those who are experiencing the phenomenon (Vaismoradi et al., 2013). Quantitative researchers use statistical method that gives numerical results to provide additional data sets for analysis (Blau et al., 2013; Gherardi&Perrotta, 2014; Wolgemuth, 2014).

In this study, I will be interviewing participants to understand the particular occurrence from their perspective. There will be no statistical analysis of numerical data. Therefore, I chose qualitative method over quantitative method. Mixed method, researchers use both qualitative and quantitative methods (Yin, 2014). The mixed methodology is not suitable for this study since the quantitative method is not viable.

There are many designs to choose from under qualitative method. In ethnographic design, a researcher collects ideas, histories, insight, and assumptions in cultural settings (Symons & Maggio, 2014). In narrative design, a researcher collects data in a storytelling format to find the research outcome (Benson, 2014). The purpose of this study is to explore HRM strategies to increase employee productivity.

Both ethnographic and narrative design is not suitable for my research because I am not collecting data in a story telling from the participant’s point of view or in cultural settings. The phenomenological design is suitable for the study that plans to explore the lived experiences of the participants (Wagstaff& Williams, 2014). In this study, I do not plan to capture the lived experience of participants in a general setting, and for this reason, the phenomenological design is not appropriate.

I will use a multiple case study design for this study because it offers in-depth information about a particular matter that would not be likely to get from other designs. The case study is exploratory in nature that integrates multiple data collection techniques and helps to develop common factors inherent in the collected data (Gherardi&Perrotta, 2014; Yin, 2014). The multiple case studies will allow me to interview select SMEs business leaders from multiple companies to understand their perspective on the phenomenon under study.

Conceptual Framework

The Ulrich model is the conceptual framework for this study. Ulrich and Yeung (1989) developed the Ulrich Model in 1989. The Ulrich Model views the human resource process in terms of talent acquisition, compensation and benefits, training and development, leadership, organizational design, and HR development (Brockbank et al., 2013). The model connects HR strategy, goals, objectives, and processes into an operating model (Brockbank et al., 2013).

The central objective of this model is to explain the relationship between the competency of HR professionals and the performance of the organization (Huselid et al., 2014). This framework is applicable to the study, as it will help me to understand how SMEs business leaders integrate HR strategies, HR goals and objectives, and HR process in their overall business strategy to increase employee productivity and business profitability.

Definition of Terms

The following defined terms are specific to the study topic. These definitions help the reader to understand the study as a whole.

Cognitive Orientation: Cognitive orientation describes the different ways an individual may go about the thinking process (Wolgemuth, 2014).

Competency Model: This is a set of expectations within organizations that are used to serve as benchmarks for exemplary performance and increased productivity (Wolgemuth, 2014).

Competency: Competency describes the ability someone’s to do something effectively or successfully (Huselid, Jackson & Schuler, 2014).

Effectiveness: It’s the potential of an organization to make use of its asset to generate cash inflow that exceeds its cash outflow (Yeung, Woolcock& Sullivan, 2013).

Human Capital: Human capital is the skills, knowledge, and experience possessed by an individual and includes education, experience, knowledge, and skills (Wright, Dunford& Snell 2014).

Management: It is the capability of a firm’s management to formulate and attain challenging objectives, take change and decisive practices, outdo the competitors and motivate other to execute efficiently (Weatherly, 2013).

Managerial Competencies: These are the motives, skills, as well as attitudes necessary for a job, including characteristics such as problem-solving, communication skills, the ability to work as a team, and customer focus (Weatherly, 2013).

Practices: Practices describes the ability to perform or carryout a particular method, custom, or activity regularly or habitually (Wright, McMahan & McWilliams, 2014).

Strategy: Strategy describes a policy or a plan of action designed to attain a major or overall aim of an organization (Yeung, Woolcock& Sullivan, 2013).

Sustainability: Sustainability is logical development based on the balance of economic, social, and environmental outcomes to provide benefits to multiple stakeholders (Huselid, Jackson & Schuler, 2014).

Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations

Assumptions

An assumption is acknowledged as accurate or confident to happen without having any proof, (Baranyi, Csapo, & Sallai, 2015). Making sure that the study is complete, there are several underlying assumptions. The first assumption is that during the interview process the researcher should obtain continuous feedback from the research participants. Secondly, during this study, women HR professionals are termed as considerate since they are looking for ways to increase the profitability of their organizations.

The third assumption is that the research participants would provide perspectives or ideas that would assist other HR professionals a not only focus on their industry and business alone but also think global and act the same time act local. This assumption made on the premise that the research participants will articulate how to use HR management strategies to increase organizations profitability.

Limitations

A limitation is the limiting circumstances or rule and restrictions, (Souba, & Souba, 2016). There is a limit of the study by the selected location of study, and there is a possibility of research participants unwilling to share or holding back information. For the mitigation of this limitation particularly the lack of willingness to open up and memory, the interview questions focused on specific issues followed by probing questions to seek for clarifications to ensure that short answers but on point according to the research questions obtained. The five research participants are the other limitation of the study only focused on two medium sized businesses in Bangkok, Thailand.

Delimitations

Delimitation is the choices which the researcher makes for the research which is under the management of the researcher, (ZHANG, & ZHANG, 2013). The researcher must rationalize these delimitations in a research proposal. To mitigate the limitations of the study several delimitations established concerns the research participants, data, as well as the geographical area of the survey.

For instance, the study included participants from two HR organizations that seemed to help organizations to manage their employee’s productivity. The data collection included interviews with the SMES businesses, and the reviews documented. The geographical area provided a reasonable representation of areas in Bangkok, Thailand.

Significance of the Study

Contribution to business practice

The creation of sustainable human resource management strategies is necessary for the continued profitability of SMEs in Bangkok (Pfeffer&Veiga, 2014). The business profitability is dependent on employee productivity (Ahmad et al., 2015; Becker &Huselid, 2014). The human resource management strategies highlight HR activities within the organizations, both large and small to remain sustainable (Becker &Huselid, 2014; Yeung et al., 2013).

Organizations that integrate HRM strategies are efficient in utilizing its human capital and ultimately displaying high profits and growth (Huselid et al., 2014; Martina et al., 2013; Platonova et al., 2013). In essence, the findings of this study could contribute to effective business practice in three ways.

First, the study results will provide HR operational, procedural, and process strategies that successful SMEs use to increase employees productivities. Second, the study may help businesses to identify HRM software and other business intelligence tools that successful SMEs business leaders use to remain profitable. Lastly, the study findings may act as a precursor for future research in strategy formulation to increase business productivity.

Implication of social change

The study results will lead to HRM strategies that are effective in the workplace to increase employee productivity which could lead to business profitability. Effective HRM strategies would make employees satisfied with their job and hence, lower employee turnover for the company resulting in a reduced unemployment rate in the society (Gherardi&Perrotta, 2014; Wolgemuth, 2014). (Wright et al., 2014). Moreover, employee productivity could increase business profitability. Profitability fosters business growth, which could result in employment opportunities for local communities.

A Review of the Professional and Academic Literature

The purpose of the qualitative is to explore human resource management (HRM) strategies that small and medium-sized (SMEs) business leaders use to increase employee productivity. To come up with comprehensive findings and results of the dissertations, various resources were used. They were arranged in the Zotero software. Seventy articles were researched as far as literature review is concerned, ninety seven percent of the articles were peer reviewed and ninety three percent are in accordance with limited time period required by the Walden University Chief Academic Officer (CAO) agreement.

I limited myself to case studies and peer review to acquire the necessary information that I needed to answer to the research questions formulated and more so get to review the into detail about the human resource management strategies that SMEs business leaders use to increase productivity.

The central research question of the study was as follows: What HRM strategies that SMEs business leaders use to increase employee productivity? In this section, the topic to discuss covers how organizations in Bangkok, Thailand uses or link the human resource management with employee’s productivity that yields to company’s productivity. The subsections include (a) human resource management, (b) human resource strategies, (c) employee productivity, and (d) company productivity.

Human resource management

The primary role of human resource management is to hire and fire employees. However, this changes as per the organizational environment and the nature of the firms operations. In an organization, the human resources play with the company’s operations and they tend to waste time even if they are working. To ensure productivity, the human resource management department imposes human resource strategies such as motivation of workers to ensure productivity.

Doing so, they must come up with various HR mechanisms and strategies that are flexible and easily adoptable by the employees, ((Yeung, Woolcock& Sullivan, 2013).It makes it easier for the human resource to comply with the strategies and yield efficient productivity n terms of company’s productivity. In return to this, the organization will increase on its core competencies, gain a competitive position in the market that is resulted by a bigger market share in the market arena as compared to the competitors. This makes the company profitable with a strong financial position.

Human resource strategies

The imposed plans of the human resource management tend to motivate the staffs to work a little bit harder to ensure efficiency and efficiency of the company’s operations. The strategies imposed should be flexible and adoptable to change depending with the nature of the business environment both internal and external. Also, the strategies must comply with the demand and supply of what is been produced by the employees and what is needed by the company from the human resources.

If the strategies imposed by the HR management department are not in accordance with the taste and preference of the employees, it is difficult to force them to comply. On the other hand, if they are in accordance with their demand, they will comply and changes will be identified in their productivity together with the company productivity, (Huselid, Jackson & Schuler, 2014). Some of the strategies that are imposed are motivations. Through motivations, the employees may compete fairly for the betterment of attaining the award set for the winner or the group of employees. The results of this are to increase the employee’s productivity.

Employee productivity

If the strategies imposed by the HR management department are not in accordance with the taste and preference of the employees, it is difficult to force them to comply. On the other hand, if they are in accordance with their demand, they will comply and changes will be identified in their productivity together with the company productivity, (Huselid, Jackson & Schuler, 2014). It is with no doubt that employee’s productivity is directly related to the human resource strategies.

When a company fails to impose good human resource strategies, it means that the probability that the employee’s productivity will be high is less than 0.5 and vice versa. When employees are well catered for, it guaranteed that they would reciprocate by working in an effective and efficient manner for the development of the firm’s operations. When the employees work excellently, the company profitability will increase since the organization market share and the competitive position will gradually develop (Jakob et al., 2013).

Company productivity

When the HR mechanisms and strategies are flexible and easily adoptable by the employees, ((Yeung, Woolcock& Sullivan, 2013) It makes it easier for the human resource to comply with the strategies and yield efficient productivity n terms of company’s productivity. In return to this, the organization will increase on its core competencies, gain a competitive position in the market that is resulted by a bigger market share in the market arena as compared to the competitors. This makes the company profitable with a strong financial position.

Company productivity is a result of increased or improved employee’s productivity. When the staffs work increases, they develop the organization’s competences at a minimum hurdle rate. With this, it means that the company operation cost is less hence huge profits. Furthermore, improved employee’s productivity creates opportunities for the firm to operate globally and this increases the firm’s competitive position and financial position.

Transition and Summary

The central research of this study is What HRM strategies that SMEs business leaders use to increase employee productivity? The section covered some key elements in the studyand thoseare the Problem Statement, Purpose Statement, Nature of the Study, Research Question, Conceptual Framework, Significance of the Study, and Literature Review sections.

Human capital shows a significant proportion of expenses in organizations that subsequently reduce their profits (Platonova et al., 2013). Research shows a lack of profitability strategies that are unique to the utilization of human capital (Platonova et al., 2013). Organizations perform better when their human capital is aligned to their needs (Becker &Huselid, 2014).

The review of the literature on the practices of HR professionals and organizations’ profitability has shown that in order for effective management of the human resources there is need for organizations to ensure implementation. It entails the implementation of innovative human resources management practices that are angered in the efficiency, competencies, and willingness of the HR professionals (Ahmad, Kausar & Azhar, 2015).

The organizations which are in forefront at implementing such practices with commitment and dedication, attains competitive advantage over their competitors. it is because such practices influence other variables such as financial performance, job satisfaction, employee turnover, employee commitment, among others positively.

Therefore, lead to overall organizations’ performance, productivity subsequently resulting in increased profitability (Platonova, Hernandez & Moorehouse, 2013). The findings from the study could provide HR professionals with a better understanding of the strategies that are effective to increase the employee productivity.

The knowledge could facilitate HR professionals to enhance the profitability potential in their organizations. The literature review provided an understanding of the processes, social constructs, and motivations that are unique to human resource management.

In Section 2, there is a description of a qualitative method research approach, including the populations and sampling, data collection, data analysis, and reliability and validity. The information in Section 3 presents the doctoral study findings, including applications to professional practice, implications for social change, and recommendations for future research.

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