Pit Bulls Essay Example for Free

Pit Bulls Essay American societies famous bully breeds is too often stereotyped as malicious animals, but that stereotype is false due to evidence that pit bulls can be just as loving as the iconic golden retriever. According to the American Temperament Test, which is a test that focuses on and measures different aspects of temperament such as stability, shyness, aggressiveness, friendliness and self-preservation in the face of a threat shows that Pit Bulls have a temperament of 86.8%, (American Temperament Test Society) a much higher percentage than other breeds which justifies that these animals can withstand a higher tolerance of aggressiveness. If this is the case, why are Pit Bulls one of the most discriminated dog breeds in today’s society? Due to irresponsible owners, Pit Bulls have been labeled cruel and violent animals, leading people to be frightened for themselves, their children, and their pets. By experience and owning a pit bull for oneself, people would begin to understand something entirely different. Pit Bulls are a misunderstood breed; they are one of the most loving and loyal breeds that deserves a fair chance just like any other dog would, but because of irresponsible owners, and their negligence toward teaching their pit bulls the right mannerisms this may never happen. The reputation of the Pit Bull has taken a dramatic downfall in the past few decades due to negative publicity. Originally, Pit Bulls were considered to be   Ã¢â‚¬Å"American darlings†; during WWI they were claimed to be the sweetest and most loving dogs a person could own, but in the 1980’s the view of the â€Å"American darlings† changed due to an illegal â€Å"sport†, dogfighting. Although dogfighting is illegal in all fifty states, inhumane persons who participate in the sport choose pit bulls because of their strong physique and loyal personality, which contribute to the stereotype of all pit bulls being violent due to the public only viewing them as fighters. A famous example of this is the widely known scandal around NFL player Michael Vick, who was convicted of running Pit bull fighting kennels in Smithfield, VA. The outcome of this case brought on more discrimination toward Pit bulls in general. Although Pit Bulls were viewed badly, people still used them as the preferred guard dog not only for the bad as in drug houses and gang members, but also as one would get any dog, to use them as protection for their property. In 1987 an incident regarding a Pit Bull and a two-year-old sent red flags up for this prestigious breed. A pit bull that was under the care of an irresponsible owner had the dog guarding an illegal marijuana crop, in California, when a two-year-old boy who was unsupervised was wandering around and fell victim to the pit bull. This attack was immediately publicized because of the pit bull being involved as the main concern, which made the reputation of Pit Bulls sink even lower. People began to think that Pit Bulls were heartless killers, due to the mis-training of their owners. The public was misinformed; they did not know that the child was wandering around unsupervised in an enclosed area. This situation would create a threat to any guard dog, not just a Pit Bull, and the outcome would have been the same. Because of that horrible mistake, the Pit Bull was killed. In a situation like this, it is in no way the Pit Bull’s fault; he was merely doing his job. Rather, it is the owner’s fault for not clearly training him and the parent’s fault for being careless with their child. This was brought to the courts attention and soon thoughts of a ban against Pit bulls were raised. The public was outraged by this attack and proposed a ban on Pit bulls. This ban was granted throughout 39 or more cities and states without the consent of any animal professionals or the owners of this breed. These bans lead to the death of many innocent Pit Bulls in many areas. Many Cities reportedly spent over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in rounding up and killing these animals. Devastated owners had their animals confiscated and killed without warning. In Tijeras, New Mexico, the ban was so strictly enforced that animal control officers were allowed to kill any Pit Bull seen on sight without compensation to the owner. Due to their misunderstood reputation, people made rash decisions that affected the lives of many loving Pit Bulls that never stood a chance. They have even become a â€Å"liability† due to their â€Å"overly violent† personalities and because of this have been banned from many areas in the United States. One thing that frightens people the most is a Pit Bulls jaw. While they do have one of the strongest jaws, it is not the strongest. Dr. I. Lerh Brisbin, of the University of Georgia, states, â€Å"The few studies, which have been conducted of the structure of the skulls, mandibles and teeth of Pit Bulls show, that, in proportion to their size, their jaw structure and thus its inferred functional morphology, is no different than that of any [other] breed of dog. There is absolutely not evidence for the existence of any kind of locking mechanism unique to the structure of the jaw and/or teeth of the American Pit Bull Terrier. † There is no evidence to prove that Pit Bulls have unique jaws or any lethal â€Å"lockjaw†. The â€Å"lockjaw† method is learned through training, it is not a special killing tool, and once again the owner creates this issue for the breed. Pit Bulls are not the only kind of dog to be able to do this; most breeds can. The difference is people are already scared of Pit Bulls, so they continue to publicize it much more than the other breeds. Christina Berry, writer for The Lazy Pit Bull states, â€Å"Pit Bulls are the most discriminated dog in the US. This is in part because there are so many myths surrounding them, which makes some people believe theyre not suitable for adoption. This is not true. A rescued Pit Bull can make a wonderful companion. † Once people realize this, then Pit Bull adoption rates will rise and they can be put into good homes. These animals need someone that will take care of them and love them. That is all that is required for a happy dog and no accidents will be encountered. If these animals were provided the rights training and proper care than there would not be any worry about owning one of these animals. There are many precautions that have to be taken when owning these animals. Such as; proper housing and fencing, this contributes to a safe environment where these animals can roam and live without the disturbance of others. Also a calm and secluded area where no one can be around or taunt the animal in its own territory. When these animals are out in the public they should be constantly under supervision, this will allow you to know what the animal is doing at all time and give the proper amount of time to react if the Pit Bull feels threatened. Throughout the awful times many people continue to stand by Pit Bulls, these people are the ones that have experienced owning this loving creature and understand that the bad reputation Pit Bulls have is merely a misconception. I believe that Pit Bulls are the greatest breed a family could have. I have had fourteen Pit Bulls and each one was very special to me. They are very playful, confident, strong, humorous, loving, but most of all loyal. They will do anything for their owners. They are just like any other dog, but unfortunately they are not seen the same. Not one of my Pit Bulls ever harmed or attacked any other animal or human. They continuously proved themselves to being the sweetest animals that many have had the great fortune to meet. What normal, other dogs can do, like jump on somebody or behave like a dog, a Pit Bull can do that and be deemed dangerous, (Kingsbury) Unless people start taking the time to get to know the extraordinary breed that Pit Bulls are, they will never be able to understand their true personality or help them. Pit Bulls need to stop being looked at as monsters and killing machines, they are just like any other dog. They are loving, trusting, loyal, and fun. Pit Bulls are a wonderful versatile breed and are used for many different purposes; Fighting is not the only thing they excel at. They are a breed always focused and determined to please its owner, thus if we start using them for the right purposes these dogs make wonderful therapy, guide, rescue, service, weight pulling, but most of all companion dogs. â€Å"Pit Bulls love people. Although this breed frequently gets a bad rap in the media, if you have ever met a Pit Bull that was raised by a loving, conscientious family then you will understand how much they like to be with people.   All they need is the right kind of guidance, and owner. Pit Bulls are just like any other pet that one takes into their home, these dogs are wrongly named and deceived for the acts they are trained by their owners to do. JRL Solutions states, â€Å"It is in actuality the humans who continue to make a series of hasty or ignorant mistakes that are helping to perpetuate the bad reputation this breed has gained over the last decade. † If a law should pass against these dogs, it should be the law to mandate the right methods of training. To punish these dogs and classify them as malicious or dangerous is a hypocritical judgment as any dog, small, medium, or large could be classified into these categories. After much research and experience as I have had my fair share in taking responsibility and care of this precious breed, it is safe to say that society should rethink their opinions and misconceptions of these dogs. It is proven that they were the â€Å"American darlings† of our time, they have the tolerance to withstand aggressiveness, and they are one of the most loyal companions any man could ask for.

Financial Motivation And Non Financial Motivation Business Essay

Financial Motivation And Non Financial Motivation Business Essay It is commonly believed that the majority of people aim to earn money to meet their satisfaction. In point of the view, it exactly meets Taylors theory which approach to a fair days pay for fair days work advocates utilizing financial motivation to inspire employees passion (Tutor2U, n d). According to Hall et al (2008), financial motivation can be defined as the way of using money chiefly to encourage employees. Nevertheless, half factor that motivate employees be willing to work with passion have been mentioned in Maslow hierarchy theory are nonfinancial motivational methods. However, after taking financial and non-financial methods of motivation into account in the work place, it is judged that non-financial motivation is the most valuable for companies to encourage their employees. Although it is stated that financial motivation methods have benefits to both supervisors and employees, the negative impacts of that are caused simultaneously. According to Hall et al (2008), the core of Taylor theory is money, which is relevant to the financial methods of motivation, including fringe benefits (benefits which received above wages and salary) and piece rates (employees are paid by how many items they produce in a period of time). An agricultural employee management consultant, Gregory Billikopf, examined thoroughly the productivity of two groups of farm employees, one group was paid hourly, and the other one is paid by piece rate. The result of the research is that the efficiency of the latter group was four to eight times higher than the former one (Ucanr, 2009). It is obviously proved that piece rate not only enhances to the employees passion on work, but also enhances the productivity of the company. However, piece rate as one of the financial motivation methods h as caused some disadvantages. The more products employees produce, the more money they can earn. Therefore, they probably will not focus on the quality, but on quantity (Tutor2U, n d). In this circumstance, the company is plunged into scrapes in which supervisors not only pays the employees, but also produces inferior goods. Additionally, once a company uses fringe benefits to encourage employees to reach higher targets, the cost of the company will increase dramatically by extensively offering the extra benefits to employees (Tutor2U, n d.). In brief, because money is the solely essence of financial motivation, employees probably will not take appropriate responsibility to the company. After the above analysis of the benefits and risks of financial motivational methods, it is worth exploring non-financial motivational methods from two aspects; namely, esteem needs and safety needs which had been advanced in Maslows hierarchy theory (Tutor2U, n d). To begin with, esteem needs are essential to motivate employees when they achieve objectives in their duty. Employees will receive respect from their colleagues and superiors. In 2001, a Gallup poll indicated that almost nineteen percent of employees were dissatisfied with their jobs, since they were seldom respected or recognized by their supervisors when working (Swlearning, 2003). Obviously, the more recognition employees receive, the stronger sense of confidence the employees will have. Once their confidence is enhanced appropriately, it will probably bring unique enjoyment which money cannot balance. Most importantly, this sense of confidence contributes making them to feel their talents are recognized and trusted. Therefore, the more passion will be involved by the employees into work (Hall, 2008). Hence, esteem needs play a key role in motivating employees to achieve higher targets. Safety needs which have been mentioned in Maslows hierarchy of needs (Hall et al, 2008), including job safety, are one of the most widely recognized non-financial motivational methods. An attractive working place should be well quipped with fire alarms, smoke sensors, safety doors and extinguisher. Job safety is regarded as a factor of whether the staff will continue working there. It can prevent workers from confronting dangerous situations. In 2010, one of the worlds largest pharmaceutical firms employed a gas analyzer to test the air quality after the employees complained that there was a serious odour in the office. The result of the test was that there were nearly 25 compounds in the air (Envirotech, 2010). In this instance, employees are more willing to work if there is a healthy environment in which employees can avoid being injured. Employees can work more efficiently if they are equipped with safety measures. In a broad sense, job security should also include safety insuranc e for workers. With safety insurance, workers can minimize potential loss once the disaster occurs. All in all, an attractive working place should be acknowledged to be safe which employees will have a sense of safety. In summary, financial motivation (fringe benefits and piece rates) advantages of both employees and companies in some aspects; however, the drawbacks of financial motivation far outweigh its benefits. For instance, albeit employees can benefit from piece rate, otherwise, the low quality product will probably plunge the company into scrapes. In this point of view, non-financial motivation methods which were advanced in Maslows hierarchy theory are more efficient and have played a significant role in encouraging employees to work with enormous passion, for example, esteem needs (respect and reorganization), and safety needs (job security). These non-financial motivations provide a significant environment for employee to work with passion and willing to take responsibility in to the work. It is suggested that non-financial motivational methods will probably be a leading factor for employees to work with passion. Reference: Envirotech(2010) Portable FTIR Verifies Safe Working Environment Available at: http://www.envirotech-online.com/news/air-monitoring/6/quantitech/portable_ftir_verifies_safe_working_environment/8577/ [Accessed 13-3-2010] Hall. D, R Jones, C. Raffo, A. Anderson. (2008) Business Studies, 4th edition. Haddington [Accessed 13-3-2010] Swlearning(2003) Management, Fighting the System Available at ¼Ã… ¡ http://www.swlearning.com/management/management_news/motivation_0902_001.html [Accessed 13-3-2010] Tutor2u Subject: People, Topic: Motivating employee-financial rewards Available at ¼Ã… ¡ http://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/people_motivation_financial_rewards.htm [Accessed 13-3-2010] Tutor2u (n d) Motivation in Theory- Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Available at: http://tutor2u.net/business/people/motivation_theory_maslow.asp [Accessed 13-3-2010] Tutor2U (n d) Subject: People-motivation theory Available at: http://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/people_motivation_theories.htm [Accessed 13-3-2010] Ucanr(2009) Agricultural Labor Management Effective Piece-Rate Pay Management Available at ¼Ã… ¡ http://ucanr.org/delivers/impactview.cfm?impactnum=238 [Accessed 13-3-2010]

The business strategy of talent management

The business strategy of talent management In todays world when the global economy is striving to recover and re-stabilise the growth, many of the organisations are hit by a major crisis in the area of talent management. In an attempt to save them from being subjected to huge debts and liquidation, many of the organisations made quick moves in removing their employees on a large scale from the rolls during the peak of recession. There were no set criteria for terminating many of them. In some cases, certain employees were terminated for the reason that they were too costly for the organisation to maintain them in rolls. Many of those organisations hardly recalled the great work those employees had done, in contributing to the success of those organisations in the past before recession was hit. At least few among those organisations decided to forget the fact that those highly paid employees are the master architects in their organisations. Had they been retained, those organisations might have recovered from recession much qu icker. This is where the talent management would play its role to strategically retain the highly potential and key employees, recruit new competitive talents and remove those employees who were adding no value to their organisations. Talent management would be the key business strategy in such a scenario. INTRODUCTION Talent management has been a prevalent concept in the administration of organisations since many decades. However, in the recent past this concept has changed its dimension from being merely observed from the point of recruitment, to an array of areas like organizational capability, business success, individual development, performance enhancement, succession planning, leadership accountability and more. It has developed as a business strategy in todays highly competitive world. In many organisations Talent management has become the top priority for the management and HR today. According to Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the forces driving Talent management are the external issues and internal demands which include but are not limited to highly aggressive global markets, demographic trends, shortage of skills, corporate governance and business strategy(CIPD, 2010). Every industry needs to recruit and retain the right kind of people with the right set of skil ls. This is where each organisation should strategise their approach on talent management in line with the industry in order to ensure that their employees are delivering the best performance. Organisations want to ensure the value for money by evaluating the talent invested by the work-force and managing their talent pool consistently. Lawler states that, for a talent management system to be effective, the fit between the employee and the employer has to be right, and mere recruitment and introduction of highly qualified people to the organisation alone does not add much value (Lawler .E.E ,2008). Many of the huge multinational companies feel the need to advance their talent mix rapidly and more effectively as they do realise the need to take their organisation a step further ahead along with the continuously changing business environment around them. DEFINTION In simple terms Talent Management is getting the right people with the right skills into the right jobs. CIPD defines talent management as the systematic attraction, identification, development, engagement/ retention and deployment of those individuals who are of particular value to an organisation, either in view of their high potential for the future or because they are fulfilling business/operation-critical roles (CIPD,2010). It is also told that talent management should begin with the identification of key positions that delivers sustainable competitive advantage to the organisation. This way there has to be more differentiation in the roles within an organisation which would create an exceptional impact by those individuals who would deliver sustainable competitive advantage to an organisation against the average backups. These people are important for the successful continuity of the organisation. A highly efficient HR structure has to be in place to fill in the key positions w ith these highly talented key people. Once these steps are taken, appropriate HR policies should be deployed to ensure that the individuals who hold the key positions in an organisation are supported with key HR policies for them to deliver results successfully (Human Resource Management Review, 2009). TALENT MANAGEMENT: EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES If an organisation has a strong talent management plan, which is aligned parallel to their business strategy, then there are higher chances that they would achieve their business success. Talent management and business strategies of an organisation can further be strengthened together through several small but regular events that happen in an organisation, laying attention on talent enhancement and through constant interaction of senior leaders with the employees. This way, management could keep the employees informed of where they are heading towards as an organisation, how they want the organisation to stage their performance and finally what the organisation expects from the employees, to take their firm to success. Talent reviews are conducted in depth while organisations use strategic workforce planning. They also re-position talent to different levels to achieve future needs, try to come up with a mix of the available internal talent pool along with the new hires from the external talent pool. They always make a deliberate attempt to retain the critical talent the organisation possesses and at the same they ensure that business strategy is on same page with the human capital strategy. Talent management strategies should be aligned to the strategic business objectives with the support from the management, co-ordination between departments, through the resources made available to the employees, performance review mechanisms and a common platform to share (The Conference Board, 2010). Different departments have to adopt different strategies which suit their functioning within an organisation. FEATURES OF TALENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY According to CIPD, following are the key features of talent management strategy. i. Aligned to Corporate Strategy Talent management strategy should always be closely aligned to corporate strategy. It is necessary to take into consideration both internal and external factors while a talent strategy is designed. As mentioned earlier talent management strategy varies from industry to industry. Hence, the HR management team should have a clear picture of the strategic analysis from the business perspective to create a talent management strategy that suits its industry. ii. Narrow and Broad Approaches Some organisations decide to focus on developing talent according to the current situation and need. In such cases it can be noticed that the attention is laid only on certain departments or specific positions or some particular processes and projects. On the other hand there are certain organisations which prefer to take a holistic approach to talent management where in they try to spread the focus on the entire workforce in an organisation. There is nothing right or wrong about either of these approaches. It just matters on which approach suits their organisation the best for the time being. However, it is imperative to ensure that fairness and consistency are the key ingredients of all talent management processes. To enable the organisation to draw talent from all the possible sources, talent management processes should be highly diverse. iii. Involving the right people 1. Human Resources Team HR team provides the basic structure and design to develop the pathway to talent management strategy that would encompass the requirements of an organisation. An HR team can play an active role in this process only by directly coordinating with all the other groups involved in this design. 2. Senior Management Team The key senior managers and directors in an organisation have a major role in this process, as they represent all the functions, departments and aspects of an organisation. They work closely with the HR team to set the direction to the talent management strategy. 3. Line Managers Line managers also play crucial roles in almost every phase of this process, as they are immediately responsible for the management of performance and identification, development and retention of talents within their teams. Emphasis has to be laid to convince the line managers to view talent as a corporate resource and not just as a local resource limited only to a particular frame. 4. Employees They are the participants and they play a major role in this process. It is their talent which is managed through this process. Hence, it is vital to seek for their feedback in designing the developmental process. Their feedbacks are of great value for the talent managers and organisation to continue, improve or if required re-design the organisations talent management strategy. ROLES OF SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND HR The management of talent within an organisation should ideally start from the senior management level. A good amount of their time and focus has to be spent on talent management. The emphasis they give on talent management varies from industry to industry. According to Lawler, senior managers need to focus 30-50 percent of their time on talent management, and may be even more would be essential if the organisation is a professional service firm (Lawler .E.E, 2008). The adequate planning they carry out on human capital allows the senior management to assess the impact, the qualified talent available in their organisation make on business strategies, performance and success. In todays highly competitive environment, business leaders can no longer have a notion that, it is the responsibility of the Human Resources Department alone to assess, filter, encourage and retain the talent in an organisation. Senior leaders need to stay focused continually on bringing in and retaining the talent which would lead the organisation to the success in the midst of constant changes in the market. Management and the human resources department of an organisation should have transparent discussions in terms of human capital to have a clear understanding of organisations direction. Such discussions enable them to gauge the depth of the qualified talent pool available in their organisation and what their requirements might be in the future (The Conference Board, 2010). MANAGING TALENT ON DEMAND Peter Cappelli through his book Talent on demand presented the four principles of managing talent on demand. According to Cappelli, Talent management has some failures. The mismatch between people (supply) and skills (demand) is one among them. This literally means that there is a very huge pool of employees on one side, because of which there is recruitment, layoffs and restructuring happening. On the other side there is very limited talent and skills available that could hardly fit into the need. This mismatch is posing a big threat to the organisations. Cappelli suggested a new approach which has a clear goal in place as the first step. This approach describes the goal of talent management as a pathway which leads the organisation to achieve their objectives, which is the business success. Achievement of objectives is made possible through the recognition, quick response and resolution of the problems that organisations face. These problems mainly arise through the rapid change in the markets and the highly aggressive global environment. In response to these rapid changes, organisations make quick changes in operations, strategies and structures. These decisions are not always made with a clear strategy in place. However, a delay in response in taking a decision might prove it quite costly too. As mentioned earlier major risks in talent management are 1) the mismatch between the employees (supply) and skills (demand) and 2) cost of losing organisations investment in talents, when an employee cannot be retained in an organisation. Cappelli states that the basic aspect of the new model is that it accepts uncertainty as an eternal element in the business world that could react and adjust to the changes. The new model is built on the techniques used in Operations Research, Supply chain management and Business forecasting. Keeping in mind uncertainty as the biggest challenge, Cappelli has formulated four principles of managing talent. (Cappelli.P, 2008). Principle 1: Make and Buy to manage demand According to Cappelli, there are two different aspects for risk. One is the unpredictable nature of the outcome of a risk and the other is the cost of the outcome. Managing risk by evaluating the costs of various outcomes is easier than trying to reduce the uncertainty. Bringing this to the context of talent management, it is possible to estimate the loss, that could be caused when an internally developed talent leaves an organization. This loss outweighs the cost of recruiting a new talent from the market. Cappelli explains that the costs of the uncertainty in this case could be dealt either by developing the internal talent (making) or by hiring talent from outside (buying). This way through the internal development and external hiring, the risks and related expenditure could be minimised. Principle 2: Reduce the uncertainty in the talent development This principle revolves around the means to minimise the uncertainty linked to the prediction of demand for talent. The business forecasting techniques are less advanced to handle these predictions in the fast changing and highly competitive environment. Predicting those positions which would be vacant in a long term and finding a people internally to fill those vacancies may not be the right approach. It is almost impossible to predict such business situations ahead. It is better to develop a larger talent pool with a wider spectrum of competencies that can fit into the new vacancies that come up, with the help of basic training and coaching. Cappelli suggests that shorter forecasts are better than longer ones as they are easier to be predicted and tackled. Hence, training a group of employees, keeping in mind a set of developments which would occur in the next couple of years may not produce the desired result as the prediction cannot be accurate. However, training a group of emplo yees for a shorter term would benefit more, as that training would be functionally specific to the current context. New trainees could also be added to the group if someone leaves. Principle 3: Earn a Return on Investments in Developing Employees The recovery of investments in talent is tough, when the need for their skills over a longer period of time is not predictable. It can also happen so, that the employee acquires numerous skills from an organisation and leaves them abruptly. According to Cappelli, it is wiser to recruit smaller groups of employees for a shorter period of time than recruiting a larger group as it is easier to forecast the need for talent required for a shorter period. Getting the employees share the costs also is a means to recover the investments. Employees could be given options to take up talent development programs voluntarily, which they could attend after their regular work hours. This skill enhancement would benefit the employees and the organisation and at the same time would save the regular working hours of the organisation as well. Yet another approach to develop employees, concentrates more on the benefits, the organisation would gain than the cost factor, through the contributions received from the employees by getting them onboard quicker. Principle 4: Balance Employee Interests by Using an Internal Market Earlier employees were not given the option to choose their career decisions within an organisation. This approach lead organisations to trouble as the talented employees left them and found opportunities in other organisations with ease. To retain their employees, many organisations have introduced the approach of internal job boards which provides flexibility to an employee to change jobs internally. With the introduction of internal job boards, employers have left the concept of career planning for their employees. The drawback noticed in this approach is that the employer doesnt possess much control over their internal talent (Cappelli, 2008). Cappellis concept of talent management focuses on the objectives of the organisation. It has a unique way of managing the risks posed by talents that has risen from the unpredictable nature of the business demand and high volatility of the competitive global markets. This approach of talent management throws light upon the ways to recover the investments made on employees and also the importance of internal job movement which retains the talents within the organisation itself. CONCLUSION As seen throughout the essay, talent management has been always regarded as a strategic element in the functioning of an organisation. In the earlier days it was viewed more from the perspective of recruitment, and HR was the only team involved in talent management. However, this trend has changed over years and talent management is open to a wider spectrum of people today, positioned at the different levels of the hierarchy and multiple areas of an organisation which includes the key senior management, line managers and the participants apart from the HR. Further looking into the latest trends and approaches which are introduced in the talent management strategy, it is absolutely evident that Talent Management has evolved as a business strategy over years and it is no longer considered as an approach to HR that will help companies implement business strategy. Every talent management strategy discussed in the modern context relates directly to the growth of an organisation in a highl y competitive world. Today, Human capital is considered to be the most valuable asset of an organisation which controls its growth. In such a scenario there is no wonder that Talent management has evolved as a strong business strategy.

Analysis of taobaos business strategies

Analysis of taobaos business strategies Taobao is the most famous online shopping website in China. It was launched in 2003 and within two years it became the leader of Chinas online shopping market. In order to keep the leadership position in increasingly intense competition and sustain its development, Taobao needs to modify and better its strategies for future development. Furthermore, its marketing strategies can also provide a good example for other online shopping companies. This essay is going to make an overall analysis on Taobaos business strategies by SWOT. Key words: Taobao; marketing strategies; SWOT analysis Taobao operates a website, Taobao.com which is the largest Internet retail website in China. According to its website the transaction volume on Taobao (gross merchandise volume or GMV) exceeded RMB200 billion (US$29 billion) in 2009. Taobao launched in 2003, is owned by Alibaba Group, which is a family of Internet-based businesses. (Taobao, n.d.) Taobao provides not only online platforms but also third-party online payment services (Alipay) and instant messaging services (Aliwangwang) Platforms within Taobao include Alimama (alimama.com), an online advertising exchange and affiliate network for publishers in China. In addition, there is also a classified listing website Koubei.com. (ibid.) SWOT analysis, according to Philip Kolter, is an overall evaluation of a companys strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. (Kolter, 2003) As the competition in the online shopping market is becoming increasingly fierce, Taobao faces some problems as well. The purpose of this SWOT analysis is to provide a critical review of key factors that may slow down Taobaos future development. 2. Strengths 2.1 Leading position in Chinas online shopping market Taobao is an acknowledged leader in both B2C (business to consumer) and C2C (consumer to consumer) online shopping market in China. Taobao has (should be: had) more than 190 million registered users by (could use: at) the end of April, 2010. (Taobao, n.d.) It has built a strong brand and is recognised by more Netizen (which is defined as the Chinese population who have accessed the Internet in the past 6 months by China Internet Network Information Centre) (CNNIC. 2008, January 15th). The company is well-thought-of by customers which gives Taobao more advantages in competition. 2.2 Effective combination of diversified offerings Taobao combines its three segment businesses effectively to enlarge its customer base. Take Alipay as an example, it is a third-party online payment platform, provides a simpler, efficient and safe payment service for both customers and sellers. This service not only ensure (should be: ensures) the transaction security but also reduces the transaction risk for online consumers, as it enables buyers to confirm the quality of goods before releasing funds to sellers. For example, if goods are found (to be) broken or fake, customers can request Alipay to postpone the release of funds to sellers. (Taobao, n.d.) This service help (should be: helps) Taobao (to) attract more customers. In addition, an instant message (could use: messaging) service called Aliwangwang make (should be: makes) the communication between (the) buyer and seller easier. Moreover, this service enables (the) buyer and seller (to) have a directly private bargain during the transactions, which is the preference of Chinese customers. 2.3 Precise market positioning Taobao analyzed Chinas online shopping market at the beginning of its business. Different from other online shopping websites which prefer older white-collar worker(s) with higher salaries or people who like collecting and sharing, Taobao chose fashionable younger females as the target customer. This market positioning proved more suitable for Chinas market compared to other websites (apostrophe not needed) . This is one of the reasons that the growth rate of Taobao is much higher than other competitors. 3. Weaknesses 3.1 Limiting itself to local market The design of Taobao website and other supporting services were based on Chinas local market. This localisation strategy made Taobao grew (should be: grow) fast at the beginning. However, with the development of the website, this strategy limits Taobao to the Chinese market and (, therefore resulting in a) lack of presence in (the) global market. 3.2 Insufficient screen process to control counterfeit products Although Taobao has taken some measures to control the sale of fake goods, such as rating the sellers by credit value, the result was not as expected. Because of the free strategy that Taobao used, individuals can establish an online shop easily without charge and requirement. This makes it even hard to monitor and select sellers that commit fraud. Lack of effective screening processes to control the sale of counterfeit products has had a negative influence on customers confidence in Taobao. It could also affect Taobaos brand image and sales. 4. Opportunities 4.1 Growing demand for online shopping in China According to CNNIC, the number of online buyers reached 87.9 million by June 2009, increasing from 74 million in 2008 and 46 million in 2007. The online shopping penetration rate achieved 24.8% by June 2009. (CNNIC. 2010, January 15th; 2010, July 15th) As the data above shows, more people in China prefer to buy products online. Convenience and various choices could be two main reasons. This increasingly growing demand for online shopping contributed to the growth of Taobao. 4.2 Government support After the global financial crisis, (the) Chinese government provided a RMB 4 trillion stimulus package in order to boost the domestic economic growth through 2010. (the) IT industry received around 0.5% to 1% of the cash injection. (Xinhua, 2008). This gave online shopping companies strong support for future developments. 4.3 Safer payment systems for online transactions The improved online payment systems play an important role in the growth of Chinese online shopping markets. There are more flexible payment systems for customers to choose. For example, a third-party online payment system ensures the security of transaction(s) and enables customers to get their refunds easily. A simpler and safer payment for online transaction(s) attracts (should be: attract) more customers. 5. Threats 5.1 Low entry barrier leads to fierce competition Because of the low entry barrier and fast growing market, Taobao meets many challenges, particularly in the face of increased competition from new market entrants. In addition, without many technical difficulties, it is easy for other competitors to copy Taobaos business pattern. Therefore, Taobao will be forced to increase investments on advertising or technological innovation. 5.2 Strict policy for third parties payment license Recently, Peoples Bank of China issued an Administrative Measures for the Payment Services Provided by Non-financial Institutions which has raised the entry standard for third payment party. In order to get (could use: obtain) and keep the license, Taobao has to increase its expenditure on online payment. 5.3 Higher logistics costs Taobao will give customers suggestions about the logistic companies which are mostly local third party logistics providers and customers usually take the suggestions because of the lower delivery prices these companies offered, compared to other international express companies, such as DHL and UPS. However, local third party logistics recently announced that they would raise the price. As most online customers are highly prices sensitive, this will have a negative effect on Taobaos sale. 6 Conclusions According to the SWOT analysis, although there are some drawbacks which have negative effects on Taobaos future development, the advantages still outweigh the disadvantages. In addition, there are many opportunities for Taobaos further growth. This conclusion will give some suggestions for Taobaos future business expansion. First of all, in order to keep the leadership position, technological innovation is crucial for Taobao. Taobao may focus on continuous improvement of its online payment system, which is also one of its strengths, particularly in the aspect of transactions (should be transactions, without apostrophe) reliability and security. Moreover, website functions, Internet stability and high-speed access to websites are also important in providing a better user experience, which may help to attract more customers. Secondly, as Taobao has the advantage of large scale consumers and sellers, Taobao may segment its market to provide more specialized services based on different demands so that it can meet customers requirements more effectively. To sum up, it is undeniable that the future of (the) online shopping market in China is promising. Based on the statistics by CNNIC, It is in a steadily (should be: steady) development stage. In this attractive online shopping market, more complete logistics providers and payment systems will appear. These will provide Taobao more opportunities to develop in the future.

Explain What Is Meant By The T :: essays research papers

Explain what is meant by the term â€Å"an economic model† and outline a model of price and output determination in a free market. Examine the effect of a change in real disposable income on equilibrium price and output. An economic model or theory is a simplified explanation and analysis of economic behaviour. It allows us to predict, and therefore intervene, if we do not like the outcome of a possible chain of events.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Theories and models are mainly derived from past responses to similar stimuli or from statistical surveys, and this information may not always be accurate as it assumes ceteris paribus, or all other things remaining equal. For example, figures may show that the number of people smoking doubled when the price of cigarettes halved in the 1960’s. This does not mean to say that following a similar price reduction today, the response would be the same, as advertising has increased the awareness of the dangers of smoking. Such a difference in behaviour patterns can be explained when we consider that economics is a social science, concerned with people, who have a free will and cannot be made subject to laws. This also explains why many models are generalised, dealing with trends in economic behaviour rather than the choice of the individual, as this varies and is difficult to surmise and predict.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A market is a place where buyers and sellers communicate for the purpose of the exchange of a good. In free market, the price of a good can fluctuate, determined by supply and demand. When economists discuss demand, they mean effective demand, or how much people will want, and can afford to buy at any given price of a product. This means that demand is dependent on price. The graph above is a demand curve that illustrates that as price rises, demand falls. This enables movement along the curve, which we term an expansion or contraction of demand, depending on the direction of this movement. Like most economic models, it is simplified and assumes ceteris paribus that price and demand have an inversely proportional relationship. This theory does not account for goods which are nesscessities or that have few close substitutes, for whom demand may remain constant with price changes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Similarly, there is a supply curve that shows the relationship between price and supply. The economic theory here is that the higher price a good commands, the higher your profit margin will be (assuming costs of production remain constant).

No Death Penalty For Minors :: No Death Penalty for Juveniles

The Death Penalty is the execution of criminals for committing crimes regarded so bad that this is the only acceptable punishment. It establishes order in society by putting the fear of death in to would be killers. Although this works for the most part, one has to wonder if a child who commits murder thinks about the fact that it can lead to a death sentence. Studies by the Harvard Medical School, the National Institute of Mental Health and the UCLA’s Department of Neuroscience found that the frontal and pre-frontal lobes of the brain, which regulate impulse control and judgment, are not fully developed in adolescents. Development is not completed until somewhere between 18 and 22 years of age. In addition to this information, South Dakota is currently one of 16 states in the country that allows this practice. Based on the previous information, it is very clear that children especially those under 14 years of age, cannot and do not function as an adult. They have a greater tendency to act on impulse, making unsound judgments or reasoning, and are less aware of the consequences of their actions. In America, teenagers under the age of 18 cannot drink, vote, or sit on a jury, yet they can be sentenced to death if convicted of a crime. What these children need is rehabilitation, guidance and most importantly given a second change to mend what they did as impulsive children. On the other hand, family victims often call for the death penalty because their sibling/child had no right to die in the hands of a murderer. Since this person took their life, the family should have the right to lawfully take the murder’s life. Life in prison is not always enough for them because they have an opportunity to leave on parole, and the thought of these murderous monsters being released into society again horrifies these families, thus they call for execution. However, many states recognize that minors, especially children, are at a confusing impressionable, chaotic age of transition. If a teen commits a murder, that youth should be given the opportunity to set his or her life straight. Juveniles still have a lot of growing up to do. It may mean many years in prison and loss of their freedom, but it would also mean that there is at least a chance for a young life to reform.

Essay on Picture of Dorian Gray: Looks Can Kill -- Picture Dorian Gray

Looks Can Kill in The Picture of Dorian Gray   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Have you ever heard the saying, "If looks could kill"? Well, they can. Oscar Wilde reveals how looks can be charming, deceitful and even deadly. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, there are three main characters. Dorian Gray, who is a calm, very attractive young man and adored for his good looks, Basil Hallward who is a painter that idolizes Dorian and Lord Henry Wotton, an older man, who becomes a good friend of Dorian's. As Basil is painting a portrait of Dorian Gray, Dorian makes a wish that only the picture would age and he would stay the same. As he later notices, his wish is granted and the picture begins to age. Not only is the portrait aging, but the face is also becoming more devious looking. This is because Dorian had fallen deeply in love with an actress, Sibyl Vane, and one night he had taken Basil and Lord Henry to watch her act. That night Sibyl Vane was acting so badly that people were beginning to leave. Dorian was humiliated so intensely that he went back stage and told her he had fallen out of love with her. She said the reason for her bad acting was because she no longer cared for acting, just for him. Dorian s till could not take the humiliation and told he was never to see her again. After he left, Sibyl ended her own life by drinking a cleaning fluid that was in her dressing room. Wilde first shows the importance of looks when Basil first sets eyes on Dorian Gray. "I knew that I had come face to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that...it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself" (7). This was before Basil had even talked to Dorian, and he had already judged what type of personality he had, ... ...e picture itself . . . . He would destroy it . . . . He looked round, and saw the knife that had stabbed Basil Hallward . . . He seized the thing, and stabbed the picture with it . . . . There was a cry heard, and a crash . . . . When they entered they found, hanging upon the wall, a splendid portrait of their master as they had last seen him . . . . Lying on the floor was a dead man . . . with a knife in his heart. He was withered and wrinkled . . . it was not till they had examined the rings that they recognized who it was" (253-254). Wilde uses great characters, setting and plot to explain the significance that looks have. Everyone's life could be altered just because of the way someone looks, or even the way they look. Looks can not only be charming and deceitful, but deadly as well. Works Cited: Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Grey. Penguin, 1992.