Reflective Exercise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reflective Exercise - Essay Example In addition, the reflection would evaluate the emergence and improvement of new skills. Finally, the discourse would stipulate how this learning can be transferred into skills for one’s future including employability. The course on international marketing provided enriching theoretical perspectives affecting global organizations. The key players were clearly identified; the factors shaping the international business environment were highlighted; the risks and ethical issues were discussed; among a host of other relevant concerns. I realized that managing corporate culture is a skill which every global corporation should learn since culture change is a complex and long process involving coordinated efforts by the head office which is very visible to host branches. While many practitioners and academicians aver that management theories and principles are similar throughout the world, their application varies from one country to another due to varied cultural systems. Others observe that cultural differences make it inappropriate to take management theories and practices from the cultures in which they were developed and apply them to another culture. In addition, I was made more aware that managing diversity should incorporate variables which are critical in operating on a global scale. In designing the organizational structure for international operations, the structure should meet both the strategies of the home office and the requirements of the local market. As such, the structure should be contingency based, taking into account the variables of that particular system at that specific point in time. The most important variables to consider are the firm’s strategy, size, technology, and environment of those countries in which the country operates. Further, I learned that other relevant variables that need to be considered when managing the team in the company’s operations are: geographic dispersion, time differences, language, culture and

Examining The Concept of Politically Correct Speech Essay Example for Free

Examining The Concept of Politically Correct Speech Essay Lets be politically correct about this. This is a common statement people make when they want to avoid offending people. This is the goal of the concept of being politically correct: avoid offending peoples sensibilities. Case in point, it is not uncommon to call blind people visually impaired. The reason for this is that somehow the word blind became derogatory. Well, actually it didnt and neither did a number of benign words but in the 1990s there was a movement that started with the clear intention of making words as antiseptic as possible. The movement was somewhat mocked at first and pop culture comedian George Carlin quipped It is just a means of people hiding their guilt without really atoning for their sins. But, the politically movement has far from gone away. In fact, it has gained significant momentum in certain quarters. This is good in some ways and negative in others. One of the most negative aspects of the political correctness movement is that perpetually trying to be politically correct has a tendency to hinder communications. That is, when people are always trying to choose their words or phrases carefully they may find the end result to be stilted. That is to say, the words they select in their writing or oral presentations may end up being silly. Again, most people assume a blind person is blind. If one refers to a blind person as optically challenged then one may discover the audience laughing at the choice of words. This is because it is obvious the individual is going really out of the way to avoid hurting anyones feelings. Granted, this end result may avoid offense but it could also yield laughter. If that was not the intended result of your actions then the actions would be deemed a flop. Sorry to be so blunt but this is the common end result of going to ridiculous extremes in order be politically correct at the expense of using good language. There are, however, some benefits to politically correct speech. This is most evident in the workplace. Remember when it comes to success in the workplace success will often be based around relationships with people. If your relationships with others are not as best as they can be then you may discover your career suffering. This would obviously be a bad situation and best avoided. Since one of the most common ways of developing bad relationships is through offending people seeking to be more politically correct in your dialogue would not be a bad idea. If you are involved in the insurance sales business there will be a multitude of people whom you will come in contact. As such, you would want these people to feel as comfortable as possible and opt to avoid using words that may prove offensive. For example, you would want to avoid calling the elderly old if you come in contact with such individuals. Sticking with the term senior citizen would be a much wiser option. Of course, you will want to select words that are sensible and not silly. There is a fine line between politeness and parody when it comes to speaking in a politically correct manner. However, if you use simple logic and common sense in your approach to selecting politically correct terms you will avoid many of the common political correctness pitfalls associated with the movement.

Your Description Essay Example for Free

Your Description Essay A. Background Very briefly describe yourself (age, birthplace, social class and status when you were growing up, current cultural orientation, etc.). I was born in San Francisco in 1985 to two young Israeli immigrants. I am the oldest of three and the only daughter. My family was Jewish but very secular, and our stance on religion and politics was liberal. I grew up in a middle to upper middle class suburb in the Bay Area where most of my friends were Catholic or Protestant. My current ideals have not strayed very much from my liberal upbringing, and I think that I lived somewhat of a sheltered, privileged life. However, the only thing that I may have lacked was growing up with an extended family nearby. B. Background of Parents/Grandparents/Great Grandparents ï‚ · Describe what you know about your mother, father, maternal and paternal grandparents and great grandparents and so on. ï‚ · How did your ancestors enter the United States (e.g., were they voluntary immigrants, involuntary through conquest, time of entry, etc.)? My mother grew up in a middle class neighborhood in Jerusalem, and my father was from a poorer family in the suburb of Haifa. They met during my mother’s army service, and, after she was released, they traveled around Europe for a few years. They began to feel cramped by Israel’s small borders and grew weary of the constant conflict that seemed to dominate its society. My mother inherited her US citizenship from my grandparents and had some family that still lived in California, so my mother and father immigrated to San Francisco in the late 70’s. My mother attended a master’s program at SF State, and my father worked as a maintenance engineer in one of the high-rises in the city. When my mother graduated from her program, they moved from a poor, predominantly black, neighborhood in the city to Walnut Creek to raise my brothers and me. My mother’s father was originally from Germany and escaped persecution during WWII by coming to the states with his family. In Germany, his household employed servants that took care of all the domestic work so that his mother never had to work. Her life consisted of having coffee with her friends in the morning and entertaining rich friends and businessmen at dinner parties. When Hitler came to power in Germany, they lost all their assets and immigrated penniless to the US. They settled in Chicago where  they had relatives, and for the first time in her life, his mother had to work. She had no formal education or professional skills but was happy to get a job in the garment industry as a seamstress. His dad got a job as a door-to-door salesman, and my grandfather, who was a teenager at the time, had to work in odd jobs to help the family. My aunt Ruth was too young to work at the time, so she went to the middle school in the area. My grandmother, the younger of the two sisters, lived in a very poor neighborhood in the Bronx during the depression. Her father worked as a garbage collector for the city, and her mother was a housewife. From what I recall, my grandmother’s parents moved to the states as immigrants from Poland and Russia during the pogroms after WWI. My grandparents were a part of a Zionist youth movement and met in Israel on a Kibbutz that they helped build. They were one of the first generations to move to Israel in 1948. They briefly raised their children under the socialist Ideals of Kibbutz Sasa before moving to Jerusalem, and my grandfather became the regional manager of a very successful jewelry company. I know far less history in regard to my father’s side of the family. From the information made available to me, his parents were Romanian and immigrated to Israel with very little family. They settled in Haifa where my grandfather worked in construction. My father suffered a large amount of physical abuse at the hands of my grandfather and ran away from home when he was 14. He stayed with his mother’s sister on a kibbutz in the north. When my father immigrated to the US, his parents stayed in Israel. C. Experiences with Anglo Conformity and Factors Affecting Inclusion ï‚ · By the standards of Anglo Conformity, were your relatives included or excluded in American society? ï‚ · How did they avoid/attempt/achieve assimilation and integration? ï‚ · What role did social class and social power play in their experiences? Even though my mother’s parents came from somewhat different backgrounds, both my grandparents grew up living in a city amongst those of a similar background or class. My grandmother’s neighborhood was comprised of mostly Jews and African Americans, and, while she was somewhat fearful of the black people there because, as she said, they might mug you,† she felt safe and accepted by her surrounding community. During WWII, her grandparents were still in Europe, and she remembers her childhood being more impacted by the war overseas than any discrimination in America that may have been in place.  However, she was aware that in other more â€Å"WASP† neighborhoods outside of the city she lived, Jewish people were excluded. During the depression, there was major competition for jobs, and Jewish people were scape-goated. Also at that time, schools in other areas than where she lived would only accept a finite number of Jewish children. My mother’s father also lived in a tight-knit Jewish community in the city and did not mix with the rest of the community at first. However, as he learned English and began to go to school and work, he began to feel more integrated. Unlike my grandfather and her parents, my grandmother was born in the US and did not have a language barrier to overcome. Like most second generation immigrants, she was able to assimilate with the general public, and, because she already looked European, it was easier to blend in with many other communities. However, there was some judgment from her own community when she befriended children of different backgrounds, and she often heard statements such as, â€Å"Don’t be friendly with the goyium! God forbid you marry one of them,† she was six at the time. My mother considers herself an Israeli American. Since she did not grow up here, she lacks the cultural experiences that others who did grow up in America may have. She speaks Hebrew with her Israeli friends, but also has a lot of American friends. Her English has always been good, and she never had much of an accent. She continues to relate to Israeli folk songs and dances and Jewish holidays and traditions although she does not practice religion seriously. She identifies as Caucasian with middle class values of culture, education, social equality and justice. All things being equal, I think my mother assimilated into the dominant society pretty well. My father had a harder time coming into the states and assimilating from the beginning. He had a thicker accent than my mother and did not have much of an educational background. He also suffered more anti-Semitism at his blue collar job, at which he interacted primarily with less educated, lower middle class people. To this day, his friends and the people he surrounds himself with are primarily Israeli, Jewish, family, or people he knew from his days in Israel. D. Conclusion What conclusions do you draw about your own status of assimilation based on your ethnic roots, socialization, and personal experiences? There was always a very long plane ride that separated me from most of my extended family. As  a consequence of being so disconnected with my roots and removed from relatives, I feel that I may have lost a lot of what makes me Jewish, and, during my years of assimilation and blending with the dominant Protestant culture of my neighborhood, I have become very Americanized. My mother and father would continue to speak Hebrew in the household, however, while my parents tried to teach me, I never learned how to speak it myself. We did not go to synagogue, so, while we continued to celebrate high holidays (the important Jewish holidays), the tradition of what they meant to the Jewish religion was lost on us. These holidays were instead mainly a way for family and/or friends to get together once in a while. My slight ambivalence or naivety regarding the effects of any cultural differences between my cultural upbringing and that of the dominant culture are most likely due to the fact that these particular differences were more subtle than the stark cultural differences of other cultures. Being an Ashkenazi Jew, I did not bare any physical markings of any particular minority, and I could blend in with the rest of the dominant white culture of my neighborhood. As I grew up and made friends in school, I began to notice that most did not have menorahs in their houses or barmitzva parties, and traditional holidays were not celebrated the same. While I acknowledged that these things were different, I do not think I was ashamed of them perhaps because, while they were not practiced by the majority of the people I associated with, being Jewish was mostly accepted by the majority of people. However, my experience may have been different if my skin was darker or if I had practiced my religion more seriously. However, for the most part, religion or background did not warrant discussion unless it was purposefully brought up or mentioned. On the other hand, while being Jewish may not have been shameful for me, it remained something that set me apart from others, and it was something I had to explain when a friend asked why I did not have a Christmas tree or about my fathers heavy accent. However, unlike my grandparents and great grandparents who had their Jewish communities, I also did not have a community nearby where I felt the same. My family was secular and non-religious, so we did not have any connections through the synagogue, and our extended family was in Israel. In consequence, I always felt a little left out, or like I did not belong exactly to any one place.

The Performance Of The Nestle Company Business Essay

The Performance Of The Nestle Company Business Essay Nestlà © is a multinational packaged food company founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It came into being from a merger in 1905 between the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company for milk products established by the Page Brothers in Cham, Switzerland, in 1866 and the Farine Lactà ©e Henri Nestlà © Company set up in 1867 by Henri Nestlà © to provide an infant food product. Trademark of Nestlà © is birds in a nest, derived from Henri Nestlà ©s personal coat of arms, suggests the values upon which he originated his Company. Several of Nestlà ©s brands are globally renowned, which has made the company a global market leader in many product lines, including milk, chocolate, confectionery, bottled water pet food. (Strategic HRM, n.d.). Nestles Brands are: 1. Milk Nutrition 2. Beverages 3. Prepared dishes cooking aids 4. Chocolates confectioneries Objectives of Nestle To manufacture and market the Companys products in such a way as to create value that can be unremitting over the long term for shareholders, employees, consumers, and business partners. It does not favor short-term profit at the expense of successful long-term business development. It recognizes that its clients have a genuine and reasonable interest in the behavior, beliefs and actions of the Company behind brands in which they place their trust and that without its patrons the company would not exist. Nestlà © thinks that, as a common rule, legislation is the most useful protection of responsible demeanor, though in certain areas, extra supervision to staff in the form of deliberate business principles is advantageous consecutively to guarantee that the highest standards are met all the way through the organization. Nestlà © is aware of the fact that the success of a company is the expression of professionalism, conduct and the conscientious attitude of its management and employees. Consequently recruitment of the right people and constant training and development are essential. Nestlà © persists to preserve its dedication to follow and value all applicable local laws in each of its markets. (Strategic HRM, n.d.). Core values of Nestle A requirement for dealing with people is reverence and reliance. Integrity and transparency in dealing with people are very important for good communication. This is balanced by open dialogue with the purpose of sharing competencies and boosting creativity. To communicate is not only to notify; it is also to pay attention and to take on a discussion. The eagerness to collaborate, to facilitate others and to be trained is a requirement for progression and promotion in Nestle. (Strategic HRM, n.d.). Nestle is a human company Nestlà © is a human Company providing a rejoinder to individual human needs all over the world with explicit concern for the comfort of both its patrons and its employees. This can be seen in its approach and its sense of conscientiousness towards people. (Strategic HRM, n.d.). After analyzing Nestle it has been seen that it has to follow all three models High Performance, High Involvement High Commitment. Since Nestlà © simultaneously aspires to boost sales and profits and, to raise the standard of living everywhere, it is active and the quality of life for everyone. Nestlà © is also swayed that it is the people who form the vigor of the business and that nothing can be attained without their loyalty and their vigor, which makes people its most significant asset. Participation of people at all levels starts with suitable information on the Companys activities and on the explicit aspects of their work. Everyone is invited to contribute towards improvements enhancing Company results and personal progress through open communication and dynamic collaboration. (Strategic HRM, n.d.). Nestlà ©s Culture Theres a very strong organizational culture in Nestlà ©. It believes on team work. The head office provides the guide lines to the zonal managers and informs them about their budget limitation. The zonal managers are totally independent in constructing their plans and the usage of budget. Likewise, the regional managers are independent in their areas. They are given a specific target and a certain amount of budget. The discretion is theirs to make plan and attain the targeted result in the certain given budget. The internal control system of the organization is very strong and effective as well. Due to the strong check and balance, they can make eradications and amendments in their plans. If the plan does not work properly, the manager can take corrective measures. No one from the company can challenge his power. The betterment towards the achievement of goals can only be done through the collective commitment. (Nestle Report, n.d.) HR PRACTICES in Nestle Human resource planning and requirements in Nestlà © Planning consists of those guidelines which encompasses a sound basis for efficient and effective HR Management in the Nestlà © Group around the world. They are flexible and dynamic and may require adjustment to various circumstances. Hence its application will be influenced by good judgment, compliance of the local market laws, keeping in mind the specific context. Its spirit should be respected under all circumstances. As Nestlà © is operating all over the world, it is necessary that labor laws and practices be respected everywhere. Degree of development of each market and its capacity to advance in the management of their human resources should also be taken into consideration. (Nestle HRM, n. d.) HR policies are addressed to all those who have a liability in managing people as well as to HR professionals. The Nestlà © Management and Leadership Principles include the guidelines influencing all the Nestlà © employees in their action and in their dealings with others. The Corporate Business Principles comprises of the basic principles which Nestlà © endorses and subscribes to on a worldwide basis. Both these documents are the pillars on which Nestlà ©s present policy has been built. (Nestle HRM, n. d.) HR managers and their staff are there to provide professional support in handling employee matters but should not substitute themselves to the responsible manager. Their major liability is to contribute effectively to the quality of HR management throughout the organization by proposing adequate policies, ensuring their consistent application and coherent implementation with fairness. (Nestle HRM, n. d.) Recruitment The recruitment process at Nestle is evidently distinct. People with qualities like dynamism, realism, pragmatism, hard work, honesty and trustworthiness are welcomed there. Nestlà © follows a set process for hiring more employees. The major document in this connection is the Recruitment Requisition Form. A recruitment opportunity could arise either after discussing or planning a position on the termination of some employee or on an urgent need basis. After receiving the document the human resource department puts up an advertisement in the newspaper or it directly contacts placement officers at various institutes. Approximately eight to ten best resumes are selected and presented to the divisional heads. On their recommendation the candidates are called for interviews and the most suitable are finally selected. (Nestle HRM, n. d.) Training From the factory floor to the top management, training at Nestlà © is incessant. Since it is mainly given by Nestlà © people, it is always significant for the professional life. Throughout the world, each country runs its own training programs (e-Learning, classroom courses, external courses), and it has five training centers in France, UK, Spain, Mexico and Brazil. Nestle provides the following- Literacy training to promote vital literacy skills, particularly for workers who operate new equipment (Mission-directed Work Team Approach). Employees are also sent abroad to study markets, consumer tastes and others. Nestle Apprenticeship Programs. Local Training Programs-on issues ranging from technical, leadership, and communication and business economics. Rive-Reine, their International Training and Conference Centre in Switzerland is where Nestlà © people from all over the world meet to exchange information and ideas in seminars and training courses (Strategic HRM, n.d.). Performance management Formal assessment is done by Line Managers and HR once a year with feedback. Nestle gives subordinates the freedom to ask question for an unfair evaluation. Explicit key Performance Indicators have been listed by the HR department. One of the important key performance indicators is achievement following the Nestle management and leadership principles. Remuneration structure and promotion criterion depends on the individuals performance. (Strategic HRM, n.d.). Compensation Nestle endeavors to offer fair compensation. Remuneration level is above the average in industry. The inconsistent component of the salary is relatively immense to reward individual performance. In case of higher management level, the inconsistent part is associated with individual team target achievements. (Strategic HRM, n.d.). Rewards incentives Passion to Win awards- These quarterly awards have been institutionalized to reward those who over-achieve their targets. Long-service Awards are given to recognize employees who have been with the company for more than 30 years. Nestle Idea Award- the company institutes Nestle Idea Award every quarter to distinguish and honor employees who come up with significant and pioneering ideas which have the prospective of being implemented at Nestle. (Strategic HRM, n.d.). Benefits The following benefits are provided to all employees at Nestle Leave-Personal Medical (fixed no. per year). Children Education Assistance Scheme. Provident fund. Retirement Gratuity Scheme. Group Insurance Accidental Insurance Scheme. Conveyance Reimbursements. Residential Accommodation. Monthly health check-ups free consultation for self family etc. (Strategic HRM, n.d.). Employee relations Nestle provides a very healthy working environment which is one of the reasons why Nestlà ©s employees organizational commitment is very high. Employee turnover is less than 5%, which is considered to be very low for a multinational corporation. Nestle has an open culture upward communication particularly in case of grievance, redressal is encouraged. Work and Life stability is given substance, as illustrated in the Nestle Human Resource Policy document. Nestle Family annual events are organized by their HR department and employees along with their families are invited. Strong emphasis is laid on safety of employees (Nestle Policy on Health and Safety at Work. (Strategic HRM, n.d.). Change management Nestle has attuned to the dynamic external environment for the last 140 years since its commencement in 1866 without trailing its elementary beliefs and core values. It manages change and coerces sustainable advantageous growth by following the policy of making plodding changes as a substitute of making radical and precarious changes. (Strategic HRM, n.d.). Safety health Nestlà © considers its people as its most valuable asset and ranks the highest priority on protecting them. In every country where Nestle operate, it emphasizes the need for safe working environments, which must meet the strict global corporate standards. They are determined to provide a safe working environment for all employees, contractors and visitors and are vigilant in continuing to implement Health and Safety practices and programs at all the sites. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Valuing people by providing a safe place to work. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Identifying, assessing and reducing risk and preventing injury or illness to employees, contractors and visitors. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Operating business to meet health, safety, legislative and other requirements applicable to Nestlà ©. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continually monitoring, reviewing and establishing new objectives aimed at eliminating or minimizing work related injury or illness. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Developing and implementing effective and efficient injury management systems which enable a safe and sustainable return to work for affected employees. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Providing information, training and supervision to employees and contractors to ensure they understand their roles and responsibilities in eliminating or minimizing the risk of workplace injury or illness. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Encouraging a similar Health and Safety commitment from our suppliers and contractors. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Consulting with employees and other stakeholders on Health and Safety matters. (Nestle HRM, n. d.) Contribution of human resource planning towards organizational objectives Nestle is the world leader in FMCG industry. People rely on the products offered by the company. Nestle in this present era is heading towards implementing and adopting new strategies to retain its customer and to get more clientele as well. Nestle tries to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses along with opportunities and threats to assess the need of implementing strategic policy. HR as discussed above plays a significant role to capturing and sustaining Nestle status and consumers in the market. This is possibly done through the constant effort on the part of strategic human resource management and their planning as discussed in this paper to keep up the pace with modern revolutions, technological advances and changing perceptions of the people and consumers world over. List of References Nestle HRM. (n.d.). Scribd Inc. Retrieved March 13, 2011 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/37163662/Nestlle-Project-HRM-Project Nestle Report. (n.d.). Scribd Inc. Retrieved March 13, 2011 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/30801788/Nestle-Report Strategic HRM. (n.d.). Scribd Inc. Retrieved March 13, 2011 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/6694518/StrategicHrm Upson, M. (2011). What is strategic human resource management? Retrieved March 14, 2011 from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-strategic-human-resource-management.htm Task 3 Briefing paper for the client Every organization has people; that implies they have human resources. Not considering the size of an organization or the extent of its resources, the organization endures and flourishes because of the competence and performance of its employees. The actions to take full advantage of those capabilities and that performance are essential regardless of whether the organization refers to them as Human Resource Management, Human Resource Development or Human Resources or has no official name for those actions at all. These activities are the liability of all people in the organization. (McNamara, n.d.). Implementation of straight-forward, unambiguous and brief HR policies and job descriptions are important for a number of reasons in an organization. Failing to implement policies and job descriptions leaves the company open to legal challenges, grievances and law charges, particularly if you contradictorily apply your human resources policies and your pay structure/system. (Absolute HR Solutions, n.d.). Grievances and lawsuits lead to: Increased costs that affect companys profits Increased turnover Negative morale The company can keep away itself from these troubles if you implement HR policies, procedures according to the labor laws. (Absolute HR Solutions, n.d.). The company requires human resources policies and procedures and current job descriptions so that the staff is treated uniformly athwart a variety of employment issues. Moreover, human resource polices facilitate if legal situations arise. (Absolute HR Solutions, n.d.). Impact of organizational structure and culture on the management of HR Organizational culture generates a number of diverse concepts, strategies, and situations which influence every level of scheduling when it comes to any type of hierarchical organization. The implications of organizational structure and culture apply to companies, corporations, charitable organizations, governments, and even sports teams/organizations. (Implications of Organization Structure Culture, 2007). Many leadership theorists and coaches have found that ineffective leadership often tends to be one of the major causes of an organizations retreating and deterioration. A governmental example from history can be ancient Rome. During a series of terrible emperors, the structure and culture was strong enough to often overcome it, even for decades at a time-but without strong top end leadership eventually the mid level governing and organizational culture collapsed, resulting in the ultimate failure of the culture. To be healthy for the long term, a corporation must have strong human resource management, leadership and a strong organizational culture. Though some of the strongest companies or organizations may be able to tread water for a long period of time, or even do well, if the culture starts to erode, its only a matter of time until the larger structure collapses. (Implications of Organization Structure Culture, 2007). Enormous human resource management and good leadership is needed for an organization to have strong culture, even great organizational culture will eventually become dull, and then erode completely without strong HR to help keep everything running smoothly. (Implications of Organization Structure Culture, 2007). Leaders must have a deep understanding of the identity and impact of the organizational culture in order to understand what kind of human resource management and adjustment is needed within the company, as well as perceiving how to communicate their vision to the rest of the company. (Implications of Organization Structure Culture, 2007). From corporations to government to sports teams, the study of how structure and culture impacts the management can reflect a better way to make an entity work. Use a sports team as an example: most teams who have the only head coach as the GM doesnt do well as compared to the teams who split the duties between two individuals who can work together towards the same common goal. (Implications of Organization Structure Culture, 2007). Recommendations to improve the effectiveness of HRM Organizational efficacy depends on having the right people in the right jobs at the right time to meet quickly changing organizational needs. Right people can be selected by performing the role of Human Resource function. A strategic approach to managing employment relations which emphasizes that leveraging peoples capabilities is critical to achieving sustainable competitive advantage, this being achieved through a distinctive set of integrated employment policies, programs and practices. According to this human resource management should not only handle recruitment, pay, and discharging, but also must make the most of an organizations human resources in a more strategic manner. An important aspect of an organizations business focus and direction towards achieving high levels of competency and competitiveness would depend very much upon their human resource management practices to contribute effectively towards profitability, quality, and other goals in line with the mission and vis ion of the company. Staffing, training, compensation and performance management are fundamentally central tools in the human resources practices that shape the organizations role in satisfying the needs of its stakeholders. Common rules and procedures of human resource management must be adhered to by the organization which forms basic guidelines on its practices. Teamwork amongst lower levels of staff and the management should be formed and continue to assist in various aspects that would reckoned necessary in eliminating communication breakdowns and encourage better relationship among workers. The management should emphasize on first-rate corporate culture in order to develop employees and generate an optimistic and favorable work environment. An HR strategy should aim to capture the people element of what an organisation is tending to achieve in the long run, guarantying that It has the right people in place It has the right mix of skills Employees display the right attitudes and behaviors, Employees are developed in the right way. (Groenewald, 2011).

Problems In Rural Distribution

Problems In Rural Distribution Rural consumers spend around 13% of their income on fast moving consumer goods.The FMCG industry in India was worth around US$ 16.03 billion in August 2008 and the rural market accounted for 57% share of the total FMCG market in India. Rural marketing facilitate transfer of goods and service from rural producers to urban consumers at possible time with reasonable prices, and agriculture inputs/ consumer goods from urban to rural. The rural markets have become a great opportunity for many companies to expand sales. However, many of them back out as they find distribution as a major problem. They try the same tricks in rural markets as they have tried in urban market e.g., extensive retailing and sustained pull generation through mass media advertising. As a result they fail and blame the less developed infrastructure of the rural markets. Creative companies like HLL, have been experimenting to find innovative ways of reaching the rural consumers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Problems in rural distribution (i) Difficulty in reaching rural consumers: The major problems are: Lack of adequate transport facilities, Large distances between villages, Lack of pucca roads connecting villages to nearest townships, Lack of proper retail out lets, and The low density of population and inaccessibility makes the problem of servicing these villages individually difficult and often uneconomical. Direct delivery of goods to even the top one per cent of villages costs twice as much as servicing urban markets. Therefore, in the initial stage, it may be better to concentrate only on the larger villages, and towns with large agricultural hinterlands that act as foci for distribution. The semi-wholesalers and retailers servicing smaller villages can obtain stocks from these places or the villagers themselves can buy the necessary items.Studies conducted by the Marketing Research Department of Hindustan Level showed that about 20 per cent of the farmers visit the nearest town at least once a month to sell their produce and purchase their requirements. (ii) Multiple Tiers, Higher Costs and Administrative Problems: In the first place, the rural distribution chain requires a larger number of tiers, compared to the urban one. The long distances to be covered from the product points and the scattered locations of the consuming households cause this situation. At the minimum, the rural distribution chain needs the villagel evel shopkeeper, the mandi-level distributor and the wholesaler/stockiest in the town. And on top of them are the manufacturers own warehouses/branch office operations at selected centers in the marketing territory. Such multiple tiers and scattered outfits push up costs and make channel management a major problem. The scope for manufacturers direct outlets such as show rooms or depots is quite limited in the rural market unlike in urban areas. (iii) Non-availability of Dealers: Many firms find that there are a limited number of suitable dealers. Even if the firm is willing to start from scratch and try out rank newcomers, the choice of candidates is really limited. (iv) Poor Viability of Retail Outlets: Retail sales outlets in the rural market suffer from poor viability. A familiar paradox in rural distribution is that the manufacturer incurs additional expenses on distribution; still the retail outlets find that the business is un remunerative. The scattered nature of the market and the multiplicity of tiers in the chain use up the additional funds the manufacturer is prepared to part with. (v) Inadequate Credit Facilities: Inadequacy of institutional/bank credit is another constraint. Rural outlets are unable to carry adequate stocks due to lack of credit facilities. They are unable to extend credit to their customers. Thus there is a vicious circle of lack of credit facilities leading to inadequate stocking and loss of business,finally resulting in poor viability of outlets.   Need for an Intelligent Approach Further if one takes a closer look at the characteristic features of rural market, it will be clear that distribution in fact, is no problem at all. The perceived problem is only a misconception of the old timers who are not aware of the changing scenario in rural areas and the potential of the existing selling outlets. Under the rural road construction programme, the Government plans to link villages with a population of 1,5000 or above withal-weather roads. Progress in this has been somewhat tardy. Coke To reach out to rural India, Coke started out by drawing up a hit list of high potential villages from various districts. To ensure full loads, large distributors (Hubs) were appointed, and they were supplied from the company’s depot in large towns and cities. Full load supplies were offered twice weekly against payment by demand draft. On their part,the hubs appointed smaller distributors (Spokes) in adjoining areas. The smaller distributors undertook fixed journey plans on a weekly basis and supplied against cash. The distributors also hired rickshaws (cycle operated vans) that travelled to villages daily. ITC eChoupals Another innovator in rural distribution — the $3.6 billion, Calcutta-based tobacco-to hotels conglomerate ITC — has also been trying to build a platform that others can use.   ITC is setting up eChoupals across the agricultural belt in India to offer the farmers of India all the information, products and services they need to enhance farm productivity, improve farm-gate price realization and cut transaction costs. Farmers can access latest local and global information on weather, scientific farming practices as well as market prices at the village itself through this web portal – all in Hindi. Choupal also facilitates supply of high quality farm inputs as well as purchase of commodities at their doorstep. This has been done in a phased approach: In Phase I, the business goal was to create a physical infrastructure of eChoupals at the village level and create local level ownerships through the identified Sanchalaks. At this stage the business goal was supported by creating a local language portal, which provided the required information to farmers such as local weather, market prices and best practices. In Phase II, the business goal was to get the farmer registered and transacting by selling directly to ITC Ltd. through the virtual market. This goal was supported by creating a B2B site, which integrated the transactions directly to the back-end ERP and ensured that there was no latency in processing any of the procurement by the processing units. In Phase III, the business goal was to create a full fledged meta-market.In this phase, the market would facilitate other operators like inputs providers and rural distributors to work effectively through the eChoupal to deliver and procure goods from every participating village.The technology road map to support this phase was to have a secure,consolidated Farmers database with all information pertaining to their holdings and credit worthiness   to be available online. This database, along with identification provided by smart cards would enable support for online transactions through the eChoupal leading to integration with participating financial institutions such as banks, insurance and credit agencies .Transaction costs are also minimized for the farmer by buying output at the farmers’ doorstep, and through transparent pricing and weighing practices. A substantial quantity has already been procured through this channel, resulting in overall savings. The savings are shar ed between buyer (ITC) and seller (farmer).On the marketing front, ITC is able to maintain and grow the trust of its farmers by enhancing their productivity and wealth. ITC leverages this position of trust among farmers, as well as its distribution capabilities, to market its own consumer good brands and those of partner companies offering products and services that ITC does not. Sales of consumer goods through the e-Choupals have been particularly successful because the cost-savings associated with dealing directly with the manufacturer allow Sanchalaks to offer goods at lower prices than other village-level traders or retailers can afford to do.   Empowering Women Consumers I-Shakti Hindustan Lever, whose 2006 revenues were $2.8 billion, has been learning these lessons for nearly a decade. The company’s Project Shakti (its name means â€Å"strength†) was born out of this realization, and it has become a case study for business schools and evolved beyond its original goals. â€Å"The objectives of Project Shakti are to create income-generating capabilities for underprivileged rural women by providing a small-scale enterprise opportunity, and to improve rural living standards with greater awareness of health and hygiene,† says Dalip Sehgal, executive director of the Shakti initiative. Hindustan Lever’s drive into rural India was prompted in part by growing competition. When the Indian economy opened up in early 1990s, multinationals such as Procter Gamble stepped up their activities, forcing Hindustan Lever to seek higher revenues and growth by reaching into villages with 1,000 or fewer residents. Launched in 2001, Project Shakti was an important part of this strategy. It involved working with rural self-help groups (SHGs) to educate rural women, while also making them part of the company’s marketing network. â€Å"Women from SHGs become Shakti entrepreneurs — direct-to-home distributors [of Hindustan Lever products] in rural markets,† says Sehgal. â€Å"This micro-enterprise offers low risks and high returns. The products distributed include a range of mass-market items especially relevant to rural consumers,† such as soap, toothpaste, shampoo and detergent. The Shakti website features a video profile of Rojamma, a young woman from the state of Andhra Pradesh in Southern India, as an example of a typical Shakti distributor. A mother of two who was left to fend for herself and two daughters after her husband abandoned the family, Rojamma initially made ends meet by working in her parents’ fields. She then joined the Shakti project and became a distributor of Hindustan Lever products, speaking in village after village to impoverished and often illiterate women about the need to bathe their children and wash their clothes regularly and also selling them soap and detergent. The commission Rojamma earned on her sales helped provide for her family. â€Å"Today she is a proud entrepreneur and enjoys not only the money she earns from the project but also the respect of society,† says Sehgal. â€Å"The lives of thousands of women have changed because of Shakti.† A typical Shakti distributor sells products worth Rs 10,000-15,000 (around $250) a month, which provides an income of Rs 700-1,000 (around $25) a month on a sustainable basis. While this may not seem to be a high income, it makes an enormous difference to women who live in remote villages in dire poverty. In many cases, earnings from Shakti help them double their household income. Much of the additional income goes to educating children, and also to purchasing consumer durables such as television sets, which further expands the rural market for such products. Some Shakti distributors — whom the company calls â€Å"entrepreneurs† — invest the extra money in buying vehicles such as motor scooters that allow them to go into more villages. Indeed, with help from Shakti distributors, Hindustan Lever has been able to reach rural consumers in thousands of remote Indian villages. According to media reports, Shakti distributors now account for 15% of the company’s sales in rural India. Meanwhile, the potential for growth is enormous, since studies have shown that just 15% of Indian consumers use products such as shampoo. According to Wharton’s Raju, there are behavioural reasons why rural consumers represent a sound bet for companies that are willing to invest in reaching them. â€Å"Affluent consumers demonstrate that they have ‘arrived’ by buying bigger houses or cars. People at lower income levels do so by buying premium brands. This means brand loyalty is very high among less affluent consumers. That is why the rural market is critical for companies. The first-mover advantage is significant.† The Shakti model was piloted in 50 villages of the Nalgonda district in Andhra Pradesh. It has now spread to more than a dozen states, creating 26,000 women distributors covering 80,000 villages. By 2010, the goal is to recruit 100,000 Shakti distributors covering 500,000 of India’s more than 600,000 villages. â€Å"This initiative has been extremely successful,† says Ajay Gupta, CEO of www.ruralnaukri.com, a job site for the rural market. In addition to the distribution network, the Shakti project includes Shakti Vani (or voice), a social awareness program, and iShakti, a community portal. â€Å"Desktop computers are set up in the homes of Shakti entrepreneurs,† says a Hindustan Lever spokesperson. â€Å"These computers are equipped with software developed by Unilever through which users can access content in categories including education, employment, agriculture, health and entertainment. They can also ask questions on any of these subjects and have them answered by experts.† iShakti is in its early days; it was launched in November 2004. The Vani project, however, is operational in more than 20,000 villages in states like Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. Hindustan Lever has also tied up with partners such as Tata Consultancy Services, India’s largest software firm, which is actively involved with the iShakti portal, and ICICI, a financial services institution that is involved with providing micro-credit loans. With the network now in place, other companies want to hop on to the Shakti bandwagon. One service that is likely to be added soon is insurance. Hub and spoke model Ex: Medicated soap which is 100 per cent handmade is exempt from tax and consumers especially in rural market is attracted by the medical qualities of the soap as natural products appeals to an average Indian. Medimix in this category is very popular due to all the above qualities and within the reach of a rural customer. There is no compromise on the packaging or appearance or the perfume or colour of the soap. Their strategy was first target small hotels all over India. A firm decision was taken that Medimix would aggressively market to over 3,000 small hotels all over India, even in small towns. The outcome is even foreign tourists were impressed by the medicated quality of Medimix. Through the hub model, Medimix is offered in the villages and explaining the local influencer about Medimix as an ayurvedic product. When he is convinced, his customers got convinced. In fact penetration of medimix in south is about 80% which is much higher than Hindustan unilevers Haman. Distribution network of coca cola is effective in reaching the rural market. It has a hub and spoke distribution system which helps in gaining access to the small places. Increasing the reach by providing inexpensive ice-boxes to small retailers and distributors in rural areas as it can be a substitute for electricity which is not available 24 hrs in rural areas. Improvements Future Scope : Increasing urbanisation in reference to lifestyle, habits, etc. has given opportunity to the companies to enter into the rural market with a purpose to maximise the market reach and to realise the untapped potential. Making small size packets or sachets and popularizing the brand with the help of opinion leaders facilitate in serving the rural market. As people can afford these packets of small sizes having lesser price. This requires sales force to be trained to win the confidence of opinkion leaders. This strategy is already in use by a number of FMCG companies like HUL, Marico etc. Rural consumers can be reached through innovative media. Apart from radio and television which are the conventional media others like horse cart, bullock cart and wall writing can effectively convey the message. Some of the strategies to tap the opportunities in the rural market are: Build fair price shops i.e. having tie ups with public distribution system. Develop rural shopping malls that act as a two way supply chain. While selling goods to the farmers and also buy their farm produce. Use mixture of retailers and wholesalers to reach every nook and cranny of rural market. Grow rural malls and self help groups to push product into core rural market.

Role of the Media in Political Conflict Resolution

Role of the Media in Political Conflict Resolution An Analysis of the Media’s role in Political Conflict Resolution   Abwino Kumchenga CHAPTER THREE  III. METHODOLOGY The study was aimed at analyzing the role that the media can play in efforts to resolve conflicts incited by politicians. It was based on the Libertarian theory of  Ã‚  Communication  to vary what the media has to do in times when the conflict has risen to try to bring about mutual understanding among the various groups that may not be in good terms at a particular moment. Studies were conducted that involved people working in the media sector both private as well as public media houses including the actual people affected by such conflicts on the ground. Theoretical Framework This research was centered on media houses and personalities role in resolving political conflicts through their various ways that they can play in the process of resolving such conflicts, therefore it will focus on the communication theory of Libertarianism. Media has absolute freedom of expression, media as a watchdog, the press’ attacks on government policies are accepted and even encouraged but it is accountable (Roderick Long: philosopher). Other studies have shown how the state abuses the broadcasting sector in Malawi especially the two state broadcasting entities, MBC radios 1, 2 and Television, situations that eventually lead to political confusion as it is the norm among the different parties that have so far run the Malawi government. This development has seen to it that the state broadcaster usually becomes the mouthpiece for the party ruling the country at any particular time. This has been observed through the kinds of programming and how the content in such progr ams is perceived by the public. However, private media houses are not exempted in this matter, as far as the state broadcaster has to a larger extent been pro government in terms of programming, there have been others that have been highly anti government and have done their work to address political needs of opposition parties that are either affiliated to such stations or simply because the general public has in mind the fact that even if they may try to approach the public broadcaster for political advertisement, they cannot be treated just the same as private media houses can. â€Å"The obstacles facing journalism in Malawi are many, but by far the largest problem is that of political interference in the work of the media. Politicians currently control over 90% of Malawi’s media. The sole television station is state-owned and is very much under the control of politicians from the political party in power. Not surprisingly, the news content on TV Malawi is biased towards the ruling party. For example, the station runs a weekly programme called â€Å"Know your Member of Parliament†. Ever since it started last July, only MPs from the party in power have been featured, though the present Malawi Parliament has about the same number of MPs on the ruling side as in the opposition. The national radio station is worse. On it, low key party functionaries from the ruling side are allowed to castigate their opponents and glorify the Head of State. Opposition parties are not allowed a similar chance, thereby denying them the right to reply.† (Kumwe nda, 1999)  All this should not be part of METHODOLY. Find  another section appropriate for this information. Am thinking  Liturature  Review. Type of Design and the Assumptions that underlie it This study was based on qualitative research design and partly utilized the quantitative method to achieve the results of the case under study. It was the researcher’s assumption that since the study was on the role that can be played, it highly involved views of such personalities from different media houses like Zodiak Broadcasting Station’s political department, former employees of the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, and on the other hand were some employees from Blantyre Newspapers Limited. Not only were the views of such personalities utilized but also the views from the public at a selected site in Lilongwe Rural for validation purposes to the expected results. It is in this line that the quantitative research approach found its sole importance in the study as it was used to vary the figures arrived at in the process of coming up with the results through the various interviews that were conducted. Role of the Researcher The researcher is a qualified personality as far as conducting of this study was concerned. The main role of the researcher was to find out through this study, the role that the media can play in the process of political conflict resolution in regard to the fact that it is through the media that different political parties voice out their ideas to the public. Hence the media has a better stand when it comes to contact with such people and can be the right choice for intervention on political conflicts or misunderstandings. It should be noted that the researcher conducted this study as a partial fulfillment for obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication at the African Bible College. The researcher assumes that the people who were interviewed or asked to fill prepared questionnaires gave the necessary information since they were believed to be professionals in the field. And also the other group that was questioned from the general public was also expected to give the de sired information as they are the ones affected mostly by the issues that arise due to the misunderstandings that the main players in the political arena undertake. Selection and Description of the Study Sites and Participants The researcher intends to conduct structured interviews, at the highest level of the interviewees were several media house personalities in a bid to collect the necessary data for the study. The other level of interviews will be in a form of Questionnaires that will be prepared to collect data from groups with varying ages at Church level at Kaning’a CCAP in area 47. This is the way most of the data was collected through people’s participation in their responses to the questionnaires. The age groups were structured in terms of youths and adults and their gender inclusive, in order to determine the impact that the work of Journalists, media houses and the main players the politicians themselves that they have incited which has led to conflicts. Data Collection Strategies The interviews were conducted with different media house personalities ranging from those with Radio and Television work experience with private and state run stations to print media personalities to share their experiences in their work. Such data together with the data that was collected through the questionnaires that were produced and handed out to different age groups at Kaning’a CCAP Church formed the largest part of the data for this research. The data collected from the people at the church was treated as first hand information from the public itself hence not only getting the facts from the media itself but also those people on whom all those actions determined by politicians and the media falls on, that is those that get affected by the decisions made by those with the power to speak out in whatever way they can through the media, be it through the Radio, Television and also the print media and in this case the newspaper in particular. Data Analysis Strategies To analyze the data that was collected, SPSS statistical software will be utilized, in addition to that, Microsoft Excel will also be used to assess the findings. Basing on the outcomes of the findings, the researcher dwelt much on analyzing and eventually interpreting the data as collected from the respondents both at the highest and the second level of interviews. It is from the analysis of the collected data that conclusions will be made about the opinions and facts as heard from the respondents through the interviews and questionnaires that were prepared in the course of conducting this study. Methods of Achieving Validity To prove the validity of the data collected in this study, the statistical software used in this research (SPSS), (Microsoft Excel) will be fed with the data. After feeding the computer software with the information, it will therefore with its capability prove whether the collected data will be valid or not, be it in terms of its collection or the approaches used to arrive at the desired data in this process.  Sort out your margin for this section REFERENCES Kumwenda Peter(1999). Politics and the Media in Southern Africa. Durbun, South Africa.  Konrad Adenaeur Foundation. CHAPTER FIVE  V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Discussion In this section, the researcher’s emphasis is on the incorporation of what other writers have written about in their books and papers as recorded by the researcher in the literature review section of this study with the information that was found and decisions arrived at in the process of data collection for this study. From the responses given both by the general public as well as the people from the different media houses with regard to the guiding question that the researcher had in mind when conducting this study;  which was:  Ã‚  What  role can the media in Lilongwe play in times of political conflict  to  help  resoluse  matters  ?. It has been the researcher’s observation from the responses that yes there is a role that the media can play in trying to resolve conflicts among politicians and also help to avoid inciting conflicts. The general public touched on areas like being biased and not reporting fairly as some of the issues roaming around the media circle which brings about misunderstandings and confusion among the general public but the people themselves hoped that things can change for the better if the media practitioners can conduct themselves in a proper manner and also through fair means of reporting whatever they may be expected to report. Looking at what the media practitioners themselves commented when they were given a chance to speak about this topic, most of them indicated that indeed there are several roles that the media is expected to play in times when conflicts among politicians arise and they further talked about what they can even do to avoid such issues from emanating within the society because of their influence. Most of the respondents that participated were people with Radio, Television, and Print experience, these were media practitioners from the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, Zodiak Broadcasting Station, Nkhoma Radio Station and Blantyre Print and Packaging Limited. The practitioners were most ly in agreement with each other in terms of their comments, for example the issue of reporting without taking sides and regardless of any political affiliation. This is in line with what others have written before as indicated in the literature review as Puddephatt (2006) in his  Voices of War:  Conflict and the role of the media  book writes â€Å" in addition to the representation of the groups they are reporting on – in this case parties to the conflict – journalists also present their own views and interests†, from that it has to be noted that media practitioners as human beings also have their say on whatever issues they may come across with but they need to be professional in these issues and that implies reporting matters just the way they are as they happen and keep their opinions to themselves. One interesting side that the media practitioners touched on that was related to what is in the literature reviewed by the researcher was about consulting the media ethics and code of conduct first which is a challenge for most journalists practicing their services in a country where politicians own some of the media houses. Nymnjoh (2005) in his book,  Africa’s Media, Democracy and the Politics of Belonging  added that in Southern Africa it is particularly true of Malawi, where most of the so-called independent papers that were established before the 1994 elections ‘are privately owned by opposition parties, the state, government ministers or other politicians in their personal capacities’, with the sole aim of smearing political rivals. This development may be a good one but very tricky for someone working with such media houses owned by politicians because the people in politics may indeed in some instances influence their workers in this case journalists inclusive to write or broadcast that which is of interest to them hence promoting hate journalism. In situations as such it is very crucial for an individu al working in such kind of media to stick to the codes of ethics and conduct but the issue seems to be very different with regard to Malawi where most of the times others have just given in to the needs of their bosses. The researcher was of the view that this may be so sometimes simply due to the fact that not all of the media personalities may be well trained in these issues, but as a professionally trained journalist, the researcher believes that a journalist without knowledge of the media code of ethics and conduct may not be viewed as a  well-trained  practitioner and one who is ready to go into that field. On the other hand, the researcher was of the view that of course they may have undergone such training, but since it is a job and one tries to be submissive to his or her bosses and that is why it is easy to give in and simply do as the boss wishes yet knowing from deep down their hearts that what they are doing is not right. However the researcher thinks that that can a lso be another topic of study on its own if the readers can view it well and deeply think about it. Almost all of the media practitioners that participated in this research took the view of fair reporting, reporting issues just the way they are, without exaggerating and not putting words in people’s mouths but just to let the respondents answer the way they want and not to judge things on their own but to leave it up to the audience to come up with conclusions on what they have heard through the media. Conclusion This study was conducted in order to find out the role that the media can play in times when there is already a conflict in the political arena in the city of Lilongwe and what they can do to help resolve such disputes, and specifically it was aimed at getting the views from the members of Kaning’a CCAP church and also various media practitioners from different media houses with a varied range of media experience. The results according to the responses given to the researcher through the questionnaires that were prepared showed that indeed there are several roles that are there that the media can play in trying to resolve conflicts among politicians in Lilongwe. Not only did the general public confirm that the media really stands a better chance to bring about solutions in political conflicts, but the main players, the media practitioners themselves also agreed that indeed to a greater extent there are bigger roles that people in the media can play looking at them as the bridg e between the politicians and the general public. This according to the researcher proved to be a success in itself in that what the researcher was looking for through conducting this study as guided by the main research question came to light through the responses that the people themselves gave. The correlation of the responses from the general public with those from the people practicing their services in the media showed that really there is a lot that the media is expected to work on Recommendations Having conducted the study, collecting the necessary data, analyzing the data and coming up with conclusions basing on the findings in this paper, the researcher however has several recommendations to the various media practitioners and the different media houses in Lilongwe. In as much as everybody has his or her own view in a particular story or event as it may occur, there is a greater need for the people in the media to weigh the issue at hand and present it in a manner that will be appropriate to the audience regardless of their gender, race, occupation and even political affiliation. This will help to prevent cases of violence and not only that but also the media practitioner him or herself may also end up tarnishing their own image in the industry and being someone famous this can also ruin one’s career as people will definitely associate that particular individual with such kind of behavior. It should hereby be understood that the role of a journalist is to get informa tion as quick as possible to help boost the station’s popularity, but one thing that has to be put into consideration is the fact that putting words in people’s mouths is as costly as killing someone, it has to be noted here that should one report something not factual, if the people involved in that story end up not receiving the issue well, then your own words would surely come back to you and be dealt with accordingly. It is therefore of significance to be professional in the conduct of duties as media personalities. Working in the media should never be taken as an act of simply working in order to please one’s boss but to work with an aim of serving the needs and aspirations of the intended audience at large. Media bodies that watch the actions of media houses and personalities in general need not to look upon such kind of practitioners and houses that practice their work in manners that are not professional as they are expected. A good example is what the M alawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) is currently doing as the country is drawing closer to this year’s tripartite elections, calling upon the general public to report to the body if they suspect that any media house’s conduct seems to be leaning towards the interest of specific political parties, that development is a good one since the media would thereby be held accountable for their actions as in accordance with the stipulations of the communication Act. REFERENCES Nyamnjoh Francis B (2005).  Africa’s Media, Democracy and the Politics of Belonging. Pretoria,  RSA, UNISA Press. Puddephatt Andrew (2006).  Voices of War:  Conflict and the role of the media. International  Media support.

Effect of Brexit on the Financial Sector

Effect of Brexit on the Financial Sector Brexit: A bleak future for the financial sector? Abstract The word â€Å"Brexit† evolves from Britain and exit which is an unforeseeable situation that the UK is now facing. Brexit could cause damages to the UK economy in the long term, especially those in financial sector. The solutions to lessen the impacts of Brexit have been illustrated in this essay. This essay also aims to discuss the impacts of Brexit on asset management services and the banking industry. It will then evaluate these impacts on different aspects: international students, UK housing market, stock market and Britons who live in EU countries. Introduction On 23 June 2016, the United Kingdom held a referendum whether to leave the European Union (EU) or not. Most Britons believed beforehand that the UK would not leave the EU. Surprisingly, the result was 52% of the voters decided to leave the EU (CFA INSTITUTE, 2017). As a result, David Cameron who, at that time, was the prime minister of the UK had to resign. Subsequently, the position in charge was taken by Theresa May. Following this step, on 29 March 2017, the UK government has formally announced its invoking of Article 50 which is the initial step to formally exit from the EU. Thus, the word â€Å"Brexit† evolves from Britain and Exit. The process must be finalized within two years. This means, in March 2019, the negotiation has to be done. However, from a very recent Guardian article, this process could be postponed because there are new variety of regulations which need to be implemented and many institutions that require new staffs to operate (Miller, 2017). It appears highly likely that once Brexit occurs, Britain will lose its right to tariff-free access to the EU market. In other words, UK-based firms, especially those in the financial sector, may be unable to conduct their operations throughout the EU. As a result, overseas financial institutions whose European headquarters are located in the UK must reconsider their decision on whether to continue operating their management from the UK or not. This could cause long-term negative consequences to the UK economy. Therefore, this essay will discuss the impacts of Brexit on financial services, particularly asset management and the banking, moving on this essay will also evaluate these impacts on Britain’s post-Brexit future. Financial Services Financial services are the economic activities that are involved in the flow of money in the financial system. The services include asset management which is the service that aims to allocate money to maximize the profit. Additionally, the banking is an institution which mainly provides such services as accepting deposits and issuing loans to clients. Those activities have become one of the crucial parts of the UK economy and it provides an opportunity for the UK to influence world banking industry. According to the House of Lords EU Committee, 7-12 percent of GDP of the UK, 7-12 percent of employment ratio and 11 percent of tax receipts are ruled by the financial services. Furthermore, the largest trade surplus of the UK in 2014 was the financial services which accounted for  £58 billion of which  £19 billion is the trade with the EU country Austen, Hunt, Kelly, Naylor, & Sants, 2016). However, this positive circumstance could possibly be worsened by the referendum which was held on 23 of July 2016. This is also a major concern for the financial services. As a consequence of Brexit, it is forecasted that the UK could lose 31000-35000 job positions in financial services. In addition, the worst scenario, this number could increase to 40000 (Arnold, 2016). This number accounted for 3-4 percent of job position involving with the financial services in the UK (Austen et al., 2016). Asset management services Asset management is referred to an activity of generating returns for investors from the capital which is subsidized by investors. According to the Investment Association and the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK asset under management (AUM) is  £6.9 trillion, approximately, of which  £2.2 trillion is the overseas client. In addition, 55 percent of the overseas client, or  £1.2 trillion, is the European clients (CFA INSTITUTE, 2017). This can be said that the asset management industry has played a crucial part in the UK economy. Moreover, losing the right to access the EU market could possibly cause long-term problems to the UK economy. After Brexit, the UK-based investment firm could witness severe problems supporting the EU clients, as claimed by Christian Nolterieke, managing director at MyPrivateBanking Research (Greenhalgh, Mooney, & Williams, 2017). In order to serve clients and recruit talented people in the EU, they must acquire the tariff-free license to access the EU market which the UK’s license will no longer be valid if they pursue Brexit. Moreover, the advertisement and marketing are also prohibited from the non-european economic area (EEA), as stated by Nolterieke. There might be some solutions to cope with this issue. One of them is to establish an office in Europe. However, to do so, the business must be in a large scale. This is because establishing office in Europe requires high amount of capital, well-corporate structure, office, and people, as stated by Julie Patterson who is the consultant of asset management global Brexit at KPMG (Greenhalgh, Mooney, & Williams, 2017). Furthermore, to establish an office in Europe, the regulation of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, known as MiFID, requires 20 or more employers onshore. As a result, finding a partner of business in Europe could possibly be the most moderate method to lessen the effect of Brexit, as determined by Nathan Bostock who is now the executive directors of Santander UK (Gerrard, 2017). This is because the UK-based firm is still benefit from being a partner with Europe-based firm, even though the benefit is not fully equivalent to the past. It is a method called profit-sharing in which it could stimulate the UK and Europe economy in the long-term. Surprisingly, in 2017, the research conducted by the CFA instituted, the institution which is the community of fund managers, have shown that two-thirds of the fund managers have not changed their investment horizon after Brexit. Theoretically, this might be because the fund managers tend to invest in the equity market which the price of the equity could increase when the pound is depreciated. The Banks In this essay, the types of bank will be categorized into three types: commercial bank, retail bank and investment bank. Firstly, commercial bank is a financial institution which mainly provides such services as deposit and withdraw of money and offers loans to big business. Secondly, unlike commercial bank, retail bank or consumer bank provides the same services to customers in a non-business sector. Lastly, investment bank is not the bank who provides such services as accepting money or issuing loans services. On the other hand, it is the bank who provides advises on stock market launch, mergers and acquisition or even taking over other company. The impact of Brexit on these types of banks could cause the similar problems as in asset management services. This is mainly because the EU requires the approval of Markets in Financial Instruments Directives (MiFiD) to allow banks to operate in the EU. In order to maintain MiFiD status, the UK must be part of the European Economic Area (EEA). This circumstance is not likely to occur if the UK favours a ‘hard Brexit’. This is because ‘hard Brexit’ means the UK has to relinquish its MiFid license as it will no longer be valid. As a result, this occurrence causes the world’s leading financial institutions to leave the UK. Paris has been one of the biggest rivals for the European financial centre since the UK referendum. However, due to the high corporate tax rate, 33.3 percent, this effects Paris’s attractiveness to be lessen (Stothard, 2017). In this sense, the opportunity is now belonging to Dublin because 12.5 percent tax rate in Ireland could attract the firms from all over the world. Moreover, those firms who wish to move to Ireland do not need to establish new banking license. This is exemplified by the announcement from the Bank of America, the second largest bank in America by total asset, that the bank has chosen Dublin as the headquarter office for its EU operation after Brexit (Noonan, 2017). Brian Moynihan, chief executive officer of the Bank of America, also told the Financial Times that â€Å"We’ve been working with the Central Bank of Ireland to get it all set up and it’s been a very smooth process so far. The government is trying to help us get through the regulatory process.† (Noonan, 2017). As a consequence of the support from the government and an existing banking license of Dublin, it could support the Bank of America to accomplish its process ahead of Brexit easily. Frankfurt has also competed for the position of post-Brexit financial centre. From the announcement of Deutsche Bank, the largest bank in German, they will transfer most of their assets and operation to Frankfurt in this autumn (Arnold, Martin, & Noonan, 2017). This could be one of the largest transfer of single EU bank, as stated by the chief executive officer, John Cryan. Another decision made by Citigroup’s Europe, Middle East and Afica (EMEA) chief executive office, Jim Cowles, that the bank decided to move theirs main trading operation to Frankfurt (Arnold et al., 2017). This is because Frankfurt is well known for its infrastructure and skilled workers which the bank has already had on ground, as claimed by Mr.Cowles. These actions from two of the largest bank in the world could threaten Britain’s economic in the long term, indeed. Undoubtedly, international banks such as Nomura Holdings, the fifth largest bank by asset and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation which is the third largest bank in Japan by asset have already published their plan on moving their main operation to Frankfurt after Brexit (Arnold, 2017). Turning to another side of the issue, there are several private banks who are now enlarging their services in the UK. According to the Financial Times, the senior executives at the following banks; Credit Suisse, UBS, Socià ©tà © Gà ©nà ©rale and Pictet announced that the companies will expand their operation and investment in the UK (Arnold, 2017). This is because the UK is still attractive in terms of market potential. In other words, the wealthy clients still find an opportunity in the UK. This idea was also supported by Jakob Stott who is the EU head of UBSs wealth management businesses (Franklin & Gruber, 2016). Britain’s post-Brexit future International Student The UK has been known for its quality of education but this might be extravagant for international student to study in the UK. However, due to the UK referendum, the pound sterling witnessed a huge drop after the vote had been officially announced (Broadbent, 2017). This drop benefits international students directly because the pound depreciated in its value, comparing to other currency. In other words, international students in the UK spend less budget on their course and accommodation. To illustrate, one of Thai students claimed that the cost of their study which includes tuition fee, accommodation and living expense is now 15 percent lower, approximately. This means there would be a soar in a number of international applicants who desire to pursue the quality of the UK education. UK Property Property in the UK has always been a target for overseas investors, mainly London property. Due to the devaluation of pound sterling, overseas investors found that the UK property is reasonably priced. The study conducted by the property investment firm, JLL, showed that 28% of the housing market transaction in 2016 was done by Asian investors (Vaswani, 2017). This could directly affect the Britons because those Asian investors could inflate the housing market by their unlimited demand. This means house prices could be overvalued for British citizen who are in need of the house. Stock Market The referendum also benefits the UK stock market. This is because those multinational companies who are listed in the London Stock Exchange (LSE) receive their revenue in other currencies, mostly in dollars, which means the depreciation of pound could boost the company’s profit (Inman, 2016). As a result, the stock price of the company rocketed after Brexit which means it creates the value for British company in the long term. British Citizens who live in EU country Technically, if Brexit did occur, the British citizens who live in the UK could become the illegal evacuees overnight. This statement was also supported by Dominic Grieve who is the UK former attorney general. Moreover, there is a possibility that British expats could lose their right in the EU Health care system (Bennett, 2017). Thus, the negotiation might involve such issues as the right to work, permitted license to possess the EU property or even the entitlement to access the EU health care system. Conclusion In conclusion, the UK referendum could be the beginning of a period of unpredictability, especially for those in financial sector. The asset management industry and the banks whose operations are based in the UK could experience even worse predicament. As a result, some international banks are now seriously considering the proposals of moving their operation to the EU country, namely Frankfurt and Dublin. However, for those in asset management, the strategies have not been changed. Fund managers still optimistic on the UK equity market which directly benefits from weaker pound. Moreover, for those in private bank sector, there is a determination to expand their operations after Brexit. 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