Business decision making in different ways

Business decision making in different ways 1.0 Introduction This project is not only done for the sake of submitting as we are asked to but also to gain knowledge by a lot of means in both practical and theoretical ways. Text books and study guides cannot give complete knowledge to any student. And I believe that the assignments are given for students to gain extra practical knowledge from the wide world around. In the study of business decision making us mainly focus on the knowledge of different methods of data analyses and how it is useful for business contest and then the presentation of data in an appropriate way to make decisions and predictions. Its purpose is to build better understanding of different business issues and the ways to tackle them. This project report is under the wide range of business decision making of an organization. We have discussed representative measures and measures of dispersions and the difference between them and how they are used to interpret information in a useful manner. After that we use graphs to prese nt the data in order to make them easy then using the graphs I draw some conclusion for business purposes. Finally we have given some solutions for a company which is encountering problems in telecommunications and inventory control. I have discussed the usefulness of intranet in the process of inventory control to overcome from poor inventory management. Also I have provided some solutions by comparing two proposals using DCF and IRR techniques and clearly mention which proposal the company should adopt in order to enhance its inventory control capacity effectively. This report helped me to apply the theoretical knowledge into real world examples and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages and make business decisions. 2.1Collecting and maintaining the medical data and Medical Records. In modern clinics and hospitals, and in many public health departments, data in each of these categories can be found in the records of individuals who have received services there, but not all the data are in the same file. Administrative and economic data are usually in separate files from clinical data; both are linked by personal identifying information. Behavioural information, such as the fact that an individual did not obtain prescribed medication or fails to keep appointments can be extracted by linking facts in a clinical record with the records of medications dispensed and/or appointments kept. Records in hospitals and clinics are mostly computer-processed and stored, so it is technically feasible to extract and analyze the relevant information, for instance, occupation, diagnosis, and method of payment for the service that was provided, or behavioural information. Such analyses are often conducted for routine or for research purposes, although there are some ethical constr aints to protect the privacy and preserve the confidentiality of individuals. Primary sources- Primary data sources are where YOU yourself have collected the data and it is not someone elses. For example a questionnaire created by you and handed out to the specific people, is a primary source. You can then use them to prove a certain hypothesis and explain a situation. Statistics, Surveys, Opinion polls, Scientific data, Transcripts Records of organizations and government agencies Secondary data- Secondary data are indispensable for most organizational research. Secondary data refer to information gathered by someone other than the researcher conducting the current study. Books Periodicals government publications of economic indicators, Census data, Statistical abstracts, Data bases, The media, annual reports of companies, Case studies Other archival records. 2.2 Data collection methodology and Questionnaire Records of Births and Deaths Vital records (certifications of births and deaths) are similarly computer-stored and can be analyzed in many ways. Collection of data for birth and death certificates relies on the fact that recording of both births and deaths is a legal obligation—and individuals have powerful reasons, including financial incentives such as collection of insurance benefits, for completing all the formal procedures for certification of these vital events. The paper records that individuals require for various purposes are collected and collated in regional and national offices, such as the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, and published in monthly bulletins and annual reports. Birth certificates record details such as full name, birthdate, names and ages of parents, birthplace, and birthweight. These items of information can be used to construct a unique sequence of numbers and alphabet letters to identify each individual with a high degree of precision. Death certificates contain a great deal of valuable information: name at birth as well as at death, age, sex, place of birth as well as death, and cause of death. The personal identifying information can be used to link the death certificate to other health records. The reliability of death certificate data varies according to the cause and place: Deaths in hospitals have usually been preceded by a sufficient opportunity for investigations to yield a reliable diagnosis, but deaths at home may be associated with illnesses that have not been investigated, so they may have only patchy and incomplete old medical records or the family doctors working diagnosis, which may be no more than an educated guess. Deaths in other places, such as on the street or at work, are usually investigated by a coroner or medical examiner, so the information is reasonably reliable. Other vital records, for example, marriages and divorces and dissolution of marriages, have less direct utility for health purposes but do shed some light on aspects of social health. Health Surveys Unlike births and deaths, health surveys are experienced by only a sample of the people; but if it is a statistically representative sample, inferences about findings can be generalized with some confidence. Survey data may be collected by asking questions either in an oral interview or over the telephone, or by giving the respondents a written questionnaire and collecting their answers. The survey data are collated, checked, edited for consistency, processed and analyzed generally by means of a package computer program. A very wide variety of data can be collected this way, covering details such as past medical events, personal habits, family history, occupation, income, social status, family and other support networks, and so on. In the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Surveys, physical examinations, such as blood pressure measurement, and laboratory tests, such as blood chemistry and counts, are carried out on a subsample. Records of medical examinations on school children, military recruits, or applicants for employment in many industries are potentially another useful source of data, but these records tend to be scattered over many different sites and it is logistically difficult to collect and collate them centrally. Health Research Data The depth, range, and scope of data collected in health is diverse and complex, so it cannot be considered in detail here. Research on fields as diverse as biochemistry, psychology, genetics, and sports physiology have usefully illuminated aspects of population health, but the problem of central collection and collation and of making valid generalizations reduces the usefulness of most data from health-related research for the purpose of delineating aspects of national health. Unobtrusive Data Sources and Methods of Collection Unobtrusive methods and indirect methods can be a rich source of information from which it is sometimes possible to make important inferences about the health of the population or samples thereof. Economic statistics such as sales of tobacco and alcohol reveal national consumption patterns; counting cigarette butts in school playgrounds under collected conditions is an unobtrusive way to get a very rough measure of cigarette consumption by school children. Calls to the police to settle domestic disturbances provide a rough measure of the prevalence of family violence. Traffic crashes involving police reports and/or insurance claims reveal much about aspects of risk-taking behavior, for example, the dangerous practice of using cell phones while driving. These are among many examples of unobtrusive data sources, offered merely to illustrate the potential value of this approach. The questionnaire contains something in each of the following categories: Personal identifying data: name, age (birth date), sex, and so on. Socio-demographic data: sex, age, occupation, place of residence. Clinical data: medical history, investigations, diagnoses, treatment regimens. Administrative data: referrals, sites of care. Economic data: insurance coverage, method of payment. Behavioral data: adherence to the recommended regimen (or otherwise). 3.0 Data Analysis Representative Values. These are also called as measures of location or measures of central tendency. They indicate the canter or most typical value of a data set lies. This includes three important measures: mean, median and mode. Mean and median can be only applied for quantitative data, but mode can be used with either quantitative or qualitative data. Mean This is the most commonly used measure which is the average of a data set. This is the sum of the observations divided by the number of observations. Advantages of mean-objective: Easy to calculate Easy to understand Calculated from all the data. Disadvantages-affected by-outlying values May be some distance from most values. Median Median of a data set is the number that divides the bottom 50% of the data from the top 50%. Advantages- Easy to understand Give a value that actually occurred Not being affected by outlying values. Disadvantages- Does not consider all the data Can be used only with cardinal data. Not easy to use in other analyses. Mode Mode of a data set is the number that occur frequently (more than one) Advantages- Being an actual value Not affected by outlying value Disadvantages- Can be more than one mode or none Does not consider all the data Cannot be used in further analyses. Comparison of mean, median and mode For this garage, its representative values are as follows, Mean- 335 Median- 323 Mode- 430 As we can see mean and median does not vary drastically, but mode on the other hand varies. Here the owner has to select which price he has to charge among all these. Mode is very high and it doesnt consider all the values, so if the owner charge  £430 it will be expensive and the customers may switch to competitors. Therefore, owner should not choose mode. Now the selection is between mean and median. Both of them look reasonable and close to most of the cost in October. Median is usually preferred when the data set have more extreme observations. Unless it is likely to select mean because it considers all the data. From the overview of the cost in October it doesnt have extreme values at all. So the mean value wouldnt have affected much. Therefore it is advisable that the owner chooses the mean value of  £335 Measures of Dispersion Representative measures only indicate the location of a set of data and two data sets can have same mean, median and mode. In that case we cannot make any decision using representative values. To describe the difference we use a descriptive measure that indicates the amount of variation which is known as measures of dispersion or measures of spread. This includes the following measurements: Range-Range is simply the difference between the highest value and the lowest value. It is easy to calculate and understand, but it only consider the largest and smallest value and ignore all the other values and it is highly affected by extreme values. Quartile range- Quartile range is the difference between 3rd quartile and 1st quartile. It is also easy to calculate, but it does not consider all the values in a data set so it is not a good indicator. Variance and Standard Deviation- Variance measures how far the observations are from the mean. This is more important statistics because it considers all the observations and is used for further analysis. Standard deviation is the square root of variance. Both variance and standard deviation provide useful information for decision making and making comparisons. From the calculation range is  £284 and quartile range is  £170, but because of the defects of them we cannot use them to derive further decisions. Variance is 8426.9 and standard deviation is 91.79. From the figures we can see observations are highly deviated from the mean. Variance and Standard deviations are used to compare two data sets. So the owner of this garage can compare these two figures with a similar garage or the cost of November and make decisions such as select the price which has smaller variance and standard deviation. Quartiles and percentiles also like representative measure. They indicate the percentage of value below a certain value i.e. 3rd quartile indicate 75% of the observations are below a certain amount and 25% of observations are above. Quartiles and percentile values of the garage Quartiles- 1 248.5 2 322.5 3 418.5 Percentiles- 75% 418.5 50% 322.5 60% 349.4 From the above figures we can see only 25% of the values are above  £418 so we shouldnt charge a price above than that if we do so we will lose many of their customers. 25% of the observations are above  £248.5 so we have to select a price between  £248 and  £ 418. Earlier we have found out the mean which is  £335. This is between 2nd quartile and 60% of percentile. So from the use of quartile and percentile we can select  £335 as the service price. Thus quartile and percentile help us in decision making. Correlation coefficient measures the strength of the linear relationship between two variables. It is denoted by â€Å"r†. Value of â€Å"r† always lie between -1 and +1. If â€Å"r† is closer to +1, two variables have strong positive relationship. Correlation and coefficient also helps to make business decisions. 4.0 Presentation of Information Tables are good at presenting a lot of information, but it can still be difficult to identify the underlying patterns. Therefore the uses of charts and graphs play an important part in data presentation in an effective way. Graphical method includes scatter graph, bar charts, line charts, pie charts and histograms. Pie charts They are simple diagrams that give a summary of categorical data. Each slice of a circle represents one category. Pie charts are very simple and can make an impact but they show only very small amounts of data. When there is more data it becomes complicated and confusing. But using pie charts we can make comparisons. Here we can see the amount of commission Trevor plc paid is increasing because year 2008 has big proportion in the circle then 2007,2006 and 2005.so we can expect the amount will be higher than 2008 for the next year. Bar Charts Like pie charts, bar charts show the number of observations in different categories. Each category is represented by separate bar and the length of the bar is proportionate to the number of observations. Contrast to pie chart, more amounts of data can be plotted in bar charts. It is easy to make comparisons in different periods with different observations. Here sales of BMW and Mercedes are increasing continuously but sales of other cars fluctuating. Also we can see over all turn over also increasing year by year. Line Chart This is also another way of data presenting. Here we use line rather than using bar or circles. It is easy to draw line chart and easy to understand the underlying trend and make predictions. Area chart also like line chart but it shows the whole amount and shows each category as area. By using area chart we can understand the trend and also make comparisons. Line chart of Trevor plc indicates except Lexus, sales of other cars are increasing. But Mercedes show a dramatic increase from 2006 to 2008. During the period between 2005 and 2006 car sales tend to be steady. From the out come of this line chart Trevor plc mainly focus on BMW and Mercedes to increase its turn over in the forth coming years. Area chart also indicates the same result that line chart shows. Scatter Diagram and the trend line Scatter diagram drawn using two variables. Here we draw commission against year. Commission is plot in the â€Å"y† axis and year in the â€Å"x† axis. Scatter diagram explain the relationship between two variables whether they are positively or negatively correlated and whether they are strong or weak. Commission has a positive relationship with year for Trevor plc and the relationship is strong because most of the observation lies closer to straight line. We have calculated the correlation coefficient between commission and year and it comes 0.9744 this indicates strong positive relationship. Trend lines used to understand the underlying trend and make useful forecasting. The trend line of Trevor plc shows upward trend among commission and year. We can predict the commission would be approximately  £18000 in 2009 and it would be  £18500- £19000 in year 2009. 6.0 Intranet To: The Board of Directors From: Management Consultant Date: 20.12.2009 Subject: Intranet and its evaluation Intranet is a private network that is contained within an enterprise. It may consist of many interlinked local area networks. Typically, an intranet includes connections through one or more gateway computers to the outside Internet. The main purpose of an intranet is to share company information and computing resources among employees. And also to share information within the branches of the same organisation. Advantages: Easy access to internal and external information Improves communication Increases collaboration and coordination Supports links with customers and partners Can capture and share knowledge Productivity can be increased Margins of errors will be reduced High flexibility It provides with timely and accurate information It allows communication within the branches of the organisation. Disadvantages: Installation can maintenance can be expensive. This may reduce face to face meetings with clients or business partners. 7.0 Management Information System Management information system (MIS) is a system that allows managers to make decisions for the successful operation of businesses. Management information systems consist of computer resources, people, and procedures used in the modern business enterprise. MIS also refers to the organization that develops and maintains most or all of the computer systems in the enterprise so that managers can make decisions. The goal of the MIS organization is to deliver information systems to the various levels of managers: Strategic, Tactical and Operational levels. Types of Information vary according to the levels of management. Strategic management will need information for long term planning and corporate strategy. This will be less structured. Tactical Management needs to take short term decisions to focus on improving profitability and performance. Operational management needs information on day to day operations of the organisation. 11.0 Conclusion Finally, I would like to conclude my report on Business Decision making. Firstly, I started with various method of data collection the analysis of the data gathered and prepared a sample questionnaire based on the example used. Then the presentation of data through tables have been discussed and continued with the information for decision making. Afterwards, I moved to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of Intranet and its usefulness in controlling inventory. I also discussed about various inventory control methods used by organisations. Finally, I drew a conclusion on the investment decision scenario given. This report made me clearly understand all the subject areas I learnt in the lectures and I found it useful.

Knowledge Questions for Unit Hsc Essay

As a candidate, make sure you describe and explain your actions. | | | | | | | |Knowledge Questions for Unit HSC 44 | | | | | | | |5 | | | |Who draws up the Code of Practice for Social Care? | | |The General Social Care Council. | | | | | | | |6e | | | |Outline features of systems used in Lincolnshire in respect of confidential reporting of issues of concern. | | | |The council has its own policy which helps to inform on bad practice, difficulties between staff members and complaints ect. This is| | | |the ‘whistle blowing’ policy and it was designed in order to protect those wishing to make a complaint and to avoid such things as | | | |victimization. Although anonymous, complaints are still dealt with the same seriousness as named complaints although it is preferred| | | |that applicants with complaints should not be anonymous. | | | | | | | | | | |7 | | | |When the Children’s act 2004 was published it contained some major changes for the way in which services were to be delivered. Take | | | |one and explain in your own words the advantages this brings for the wellbeing of children and their families. | | | |The Childrens Act 2004 brought about many changes and most significant was the Every Child Matters campaign that runs along side the| | | |2004 act. For the Act itself the main change that helps in the work that I do is the implementation of the CAF. This works in line | | | |with the need for inter-agency working. I think this is one on the most crucial changes of the Act, and as the Victoria Climbie | | | |inquiry showed many agencies were involved with the case and through lack of communication, information sharing and joint working | | | |Victoria Climbie died at the hands of her aunt. One of the many advantages is local authorities drive for inter-agency working. | | |Through this many agencies are trying to change their way of working and with the help of the CAF more agencies are invited to the | | | |first meeting when a child has been shown to have additional needs. On the whole the process is proving to be more focussed on the | | | |child and family and this reduces any stigma for the families as in the past most cases where always referred to social workers. | | |Families and children are now seen more often and social workers can now focus on the more complex and child protection cases. | | | |Through inter-agency wo rking families and children are given the help that meets their needs and reduces the need for long term | | | |involvement. | | | | | | | | | | |8a | | | |Outline the features of the Dfes initiative â€Å"Building a Culture of Participation† | | | |This initiative is led by the government in their commitment to allow children to have a say in how policies affect them and to | | | |contribute to how a service is delivered. By listening to children and young people it ensures that policies and services are | | | |designed around their needs. This leads to better outcomes for children, young people and families. It also allows for policies to | | | |be effectively evaluated and evolve as necessary. | | | | | | | | | | | |9a | | | |Outline the Common Assessment Framework. Explain why this Government initiative has been introduced and its purpose. | | | |The CAF was implemented in 2006 in order to have a universal assessment form that could be used by all agencies and professionals. | | | |This was in line with some of Lord Laming’s recommendations after the Victoria Climbie enquiry. As a universal document it reduces | | | |the need for repetitive assessments and focuses more on the child and family and multi agency working. The CAF process can start at | | | |any time once it has been identified that a child has an additional need. Once agreed all information is shared between the agencies| | | |involved again reducing the chance of a child ‘falling through the system’. As the CAF is aimed at early intervention some one such | | | |as a school teacher can be the lead professional allowing more serious cases to be dealt with by social workers. As children can | | | |often have what was once deemed as minor issues and not warrant the classification as a child in need, through the CAF they are | | | |classed as having additional needs which allows professionals to work with the child and family. Once a child that has been | | | |highlighted as a CAF they can move in and out of the system as identified issues arise. | | | | | | | | | | |9bc | | | |Summarise the targets of the combined health and education initiative â€Å"Healthy schools†. | | | |The national healthy schools programme promotes a whole school approach to health. The programme is a joint initiative between the | | | |department of health and the department for children, schools and families. It aims to deliver benefits for children on improvement | | | |in health, raise pupil achievement, more social inclusion and a closer working between health promotion providers and education | | | |establishments. | | | |The public health white paper choosing health (2004) set a challenging target for 75% of schools to achieve healthy school status by| | | |2009 and for all schools to work towards this target. Through a planned curriculum schools can promote learning and healthy | | | |lifestyle choices. The four core themes within the programme are: | | | |Healthy eating | | | |Physical activity | | | |PSHE | | | |Emotional health and well-being. | | | | | | | | | | | | | |12 | | | |How does the Joint Annual Review shape the way in which Children’s Services are delivered locally. You may wish to discuss | | | |Lincolnshire’s last JAR and comment on how the recent Service restructuring has been a result of this. | | | |The Children’s Act requires joint area reviews to be conducted in each children’s services authority area. The multi-disciplinary | | | |team of inspectors review all services provided to children and young people aged 0 – 19. There are around 42 key judgements which | | | |relate directly to the five outcomes highlighted in the every child matters framework. Through the Lincolnshire JAR report published| | | |in March 2007 it was proved that there was a need for better facilities for all children aged 0 – 19. There are now plans to develop| | | |a further 23 children’s centres by 2008. Through this service restructuring the aim is to shift the balance of services from | | | |interventionist to a preventative approach. The strengthening families will work with partner agencies to deliver the five outcomes | | | |for the every child matters. This is where children’s services as a targeted service interface as part of a universal service. | | | | | | | | | | |16e | | | |Identify the risks to effective working caused by stresses on the work force and recommend what action can be taken. | | | |When work becomes too stressful for an individual it can cause a knock on effect throughout the staff team and the cases in which | | | |the individual is working on. The individual can start to have more days off sick which could cause other staff members to add to | | | |their workload in taking on those individuals cases. Stress can also cause the individual to lose direction and focus in the cases | | | |they work on and this can result in a reduced quality of service for those particular families. | | | |Stress in the work place can be identified early and then reduced by regular supervision. Supervision gives the individual a chance | | | |to discuss their cases and anything that might be causing them to feel stressed. Supervisors are then able to help supervisee’s in | | | |managing there stress before it gets to the point where it affects all that they do. Staff meetings are another opportunity to get | | | |together on a regular basis with other team members as it’s a chance for everyone to discuss their working role as well as any | | | |difficult cases they may have. This gives a chance for positive reinforcement by the manager on the work that is being done and also| | | |a chance to ‘brainstorm’ ideas that might help with the work. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |17 | | | |Explain in a short paragraph how the Social Model of disability affects children and their families which you work. | | |The social model of disability says that people are disabled not by their impairment, but by society that does not take account of | | | |their needs and prevents them from having full access to society due to physical, communication and social barriers. A large | | | |majority of the families that I work with fall into the category of being disabled by society. Those families that are most | | | |disadvantaged are those living in poverty. Families face multiple stresses which can affect a child’s needs. If a parent struggles | | | |to provide an adequate environment for a child this will impact on the child’s developments and the parent’s capacity to care for | | | |the child. | | |CHILD A | | | |CHILD B | | | | | | | |No dependence on social security benefits | | | |Household receives multiple enefits | | | | | | | |Two parent family | | | |Single adult household | | | | | | | |Three or fewer children | | | |Four or more children | | | | | | | |White | | | |Mixed ethnic origin | | | | | | | |Owner occupied home | | | |Council or privately rented home | | | | | | | |More room than people | | | |One or more persons per room | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |18a/b | | | |See 8a above. | | | | | | | |18d | | | |Using Lincolnshire County Councils Competency framework, explain how you would assist a member of your team to develop skills in | | | |risk management with regards to child protection. You need to be specific to an individual competency. | | |Using competency number 8 –Analysis and Judgement. I would be able to assist the member of staff in the above question. As part | | | |of the competency it requires the individual to look closely at the work they do and how it could be improved. Part of this is | | | |through having a broad range of information about an issue. In this particular instance it would be child protection. This could be | | | |done in-house through regular supervision. This can be through asking the individual to research up to date information and then | | | |having a question answer session on the information they have found. This shows that the indivual has done what is requested and | | | |demonstrates that they have an understanding of the subject that they would then be able to take into their work practice. Another | | | |useful development skill would be to assign the individual to a child protection case that was held by a social worker. The indivual| | | |would gain insight into the process of how child protection is identified and then managed. This hands on approach would give valued| | | |knowledge and development without risk to the family involved. | | | |Finally a child protection training course would be beneficial to the individual to again further develop there knowledge of the | | | |subject. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |19 | | | |What impact does placement disruption potentially have on the wellbeing of Children In Public Care. You should relate your answer | | | |the recent Government paper ‘Care Matters’ | | | |Most children who end up in care experience multiple moves. It is standard that three or more moves constitutes as placement | | | |stability. Child development theories say that repeated movements jeopardize the opportunity for children to develop secure | | | |attachments with carers and trusting relationships with adults. Children with behaviour problems, prior instability and the age of | | | |the child at placement have all been found to be important factors in placement instability. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |24 | | | |List 3 types of evidence that would be valid in court. Explain your rational behind each one. | | | |1) Video Evidence- For children 14years and under. Also for children classed as a vulnerable witness. Video evidence reduces the | | | |need for a child to be in court and to be face to face with the perpetrator. | | | |2) Court reports – These are factual based evidence which follow a mandatory guideline for completing. | | | |3) Records – Records are an essential source of evidence for investigations and inquiry’s, and may also be used in court | | | |proceedings. Therefore it is essential that any records on a child are clear and accurate and ensure that there is a documented | | | |account of an agency’s or professional’s involvement with a child and/or a family. | | | | | | | | | | |25 | | | |Provide three examples of recording information that might be deemed discriminatory and explain why, in at least one of these | | | |examples, the discrimination might pass without comment. | | |1) The child is ‘missing’ from the record – This doesn’t mean that the child hasn’t been mentioned at all, but that their wishes and| | | |feelings, their views and understanding of their situation, are not recorded. The absence of a child from the record suggests to the| | | |reader that no work has been done with the child, or that the child has not been involved in any work. | | | |2) Facts and opinions are not differentiated – Failing to differentiate between fact and opinions can result in the significance of | | | |some information being overlooked, or opinions becoming accepted as facts and which could influence the management of the case. If | | | |opinions and judgements are not substantiated in the record it can be difficult to explain how these were made to family members who| | | |access the records especially if the case holder who wrote them is no longer working within the agency. | | | |3) The record is not written for sharing. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |This account must (except in the case of responses to questions) be authenticated by at least one of the following | |Work products seen | | |List | | |Witnessed by— |Name |Sign |Expert | |Include on witness list | | |Y/N | |I confirm the authenticity of the |Signature of Candidate | |work above |DATE 31. 03. 08 | |I confirm the judgements claimed |Signature of Assessor |TICK IF OBSERVED | |above |DATE | | ———————– EV 5

Bel Ami

French 0080 December 13, 2004 The Devil’s Workshop The American dream sustained by millions of immigrants in the last three centuries is built upon blind, optimistic faith that hard work and effort will bring about good fortune to good and righteous people. However, this dream does not always become reality and many times, it is the people who work the least who are the most fortunate in terms of wealth and success. In three famed French novels, the effects of money, power, and idleness in Bel-Ami, The Immoralist, and The Vagabond are made known as this degeneration of the morals and/or self-worth of the characters involved are depicted.Maupassant’s novel, Bel-Ami, tells the tale of Georges Duroy and his climb up the social ladder in the 1880’s. At the beginning of the novel, Duroy is a simple clerk who works hard for very small wages and who is forced to husband his resources so that he can afford the rent for his apartment in the slums and his one meager meal p er day. This existence bores and disgusts Duroy however, due to his lack of formal education and social connections he is unable to find a better paying position until his chance meeting with an old army friend, Forestier.With a gift of forty francs for a set of evening clothes, he is catapulted into aristocratic society as he is invited to dine with Forestier, his wife, and several business colleagues and friends. Although his personal experiences are limited, he regales his fellow dinner guests with stories about his time spent in Africa and before the evening is over, he is commissioned for an article on a cavalryman’s view of life in colonial Africa.The journalist’s position is drastically different from the occupation which he currently occupies given the flexibility with work and with an improved salary and Duroy jumps at this opportunity to promote himself into a more respected job. However, he finds himself unable to compose the article that is requested of him and approaches his friend for help. When Forestier instructs Duroy to go to his wife for aid, Duroy was nervous â€Å"wondering what he was going to say and uneasy about the welcome he might receive† (34, Bel-Ami).He is aware at this point that such behavior, visiting someone’s wife early in the morning and while she is dressed in a negligee, is not appropriate. However, he is encouraged by both Forestiers and spends time with alone with Madeleine, an act which was not socially acceptable at the time, and stays until the article is completed by her. Again, Duroy’s conscience forces him to hesitate signing his name to the article entirely composed by another, but he is compelled to by Madeleine. With the article written and completely disregarding this dishonesty, Duroy submits it to the newspaper as his own work.This act of plagiarism is markedly the first step that Duroy takes up the social ladder and the first step down the ladder of morality. Duroy is engage d as an employee of ‘La Vie Francaise’, the newspaper where Forestier works, and the second installment of his series on Africa is requested of him the next day. This position offers him nearly twice his former pay in terms of salary alone and he is also offered commission per line per article. He starts his days at 3 pm each day, rather than at 10am and his line of work is significantly less strenuous than before.However, on the first day when his article is printed, he quits his former job and spends the entire day buying frivolous items before going back to the newspaper offices, sans article. He is briefly reprimanded for his laziness by Forestier and is sent on his first mission with another journalist, St. Potin, to interview two visiting dignitaries. On this outing, St. Potin ‘shows Duroy the ropes’ by taking him out for drinks and gossiping about everyone and everything involved in the paper. He criticizes M. Walter, the head of the paper, and pokes fun at him with Jewish stereotypes.He openly makes inappropriate references to Mme. Forestier and her relationship with the Comte de Vaudrec, despite Duroy’s position as a friend to her husband. Duroy, unaccustomed to such blunt and uncouth conversation topics experiences extreme discomfort and battles â€Å"an urge to insult and slap the face of this gossip-monger† (50, Bel-Ami). The meeting ends with St. Potin telling Duroy how he has no intention to actually interview the two dignitaries and instead will rewrite an old article from an interview with similar foreigners.Again, Duroy is rather surprised but does not voice any opposition he may have to these dishonest acts. The next day, he is also informed that it is possible to get advances on one’s salary at the newspaper, ridding Duroy of the necessity of waiting and saving his money. He continues his work at the paper and becomes a very well known reporter but due to his expenditures, the advances on his al ready increased salary are insufficient and he lives just as poverty stricken as he did before, regardless of the change in his income. The next step that Duroy takes down the path of immorality is his association with Mme.De Marelle, one of the women who he had met at his first dinner with Forestier. After visiting her, she invites him out to dinner with her and the two Forestiers. He accepts and soon all four gorge themselves with delicacies, fine wines and champagnes, and make incredibly inappropriate sexual comments and advances to each other. When discussing love, Duroy is again shown as a bit of a romantic who believes that there is some goodness in the world when it is said that â€Å"[he] believed that [love] could last, creating a bond, a kind of tender friendship, a mutual trust† (64, Bel-Ami).However, this is not enough to keep him from gossiping with the other three and he vocalizes his contempt for love and tenderness despite his beliefs. Shortly after, he and Mm e. De Marelle become lovers and one result of this is another strain on Duroy’s already too scanty salary. She enjoys to be taken out and to experience life while he works to afford his rent and his meals. He quickly falls into debt with everyone and owes the most to the cashier office at the newspaper. After confessing this to her, he finds that Mme. De Marelle adopts the habit of leaving money around his apartment or in his clothing.At first, he is mortified by this turn of events and his â€Å"feelings in a turmoil of fury and humiliation† (82, Bel-Ami). He vows to return the money to her but instead spends it on lunch and paying off debts. Although he confronts her over the issue, Mme. De Marelle continues to leave him tokens of her appreciation. He is duly humiliated each time, but he does not return the money or refuse it. He becomes a prostitute for her and uses her money for all of his purposes, such as food, debts, and even sex from a prostitute at the Folies- Berger.This descent into amorality continues as he continues to make more progress in climbing the corporate ladder. Duroy is eventually caught by Mme. De Marelle when she discovers that he has been paying a prostitute with her gifts and he finds himself strapped for money. After Forestier refuses to lend him a substantial sum and insults him when Duroy doesn’t perform his job well enough, Duroy almost immediately begins plotting against Forestier by thinking â€Å"You wait, I’ll get you†¦I’m going to have your wife, old man† (88, Bel-Ami). Given that only shortly before he had been ready to hit the man who implied Mme.Forestier’s infidelity to her husband, Duroy’s character has obviously changed. Until this point, the only revenge that Duroy sought was at his former place of employment when he insulted his boss and this thought marks the very beginning of the noticeable changes from his decent self to his corrupted and vile counterpart . Duroy continues on his ascent into society and eventually does obtain the hand of Mme. Forestier after her husband’s death. He inherits his money, social position, and occupation and completely assumes Forestier’s position in life.He has achieved the life that he had set out to make for himself. However, he is haunted by the memories of the dead man and soon, the life that he has is insufficient for him. One of the biggest catalysts for Duroy’s descent into amorality is the suspicion of his new bride; he comes to the conclusion that she has been unfaithful to him and he writes off all women, believing that â€Å"all women are whores, you have to use them and not give them anything of yourself† (181, Bel-Ami). He is embittered by this turn of events and becomes ruthless in his plans to achieve the most money and wealth that he can.When Madeleine’s patron, the Comte de Vaudrec, dies and she inherits all of his wealth, Duroy forces her to give him h alf of the sum. Duroy later turns to Mme. Walter, the wife of the head of the newspaper, and uses her to get the top of the company. After using and discarding her, he discards Madeleine after arranging to catch her in an act of infidelity. His lust for money and power ultimately bring about his immorality, while being one of the richest men in his circle. Money has ultimately corrupted him. In The Immoralist, Michel is a man of independent means.Born into a middle class family, he does not have to struggle to make it into society as Duroy did. He already has a comfortable occupation and on his honeymoon, spends his wealth on things of comfort and pleasure. He travels south with Marceline, his new bride, and for one of the first times in his life, leaves his work of books and study behind him. On the way to his destination, he has a severe bout with tuberculosis and nearly dies. He reflects that he â€Å"worked to the end, did [his] duty resolutely, devotedly†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (19, The Immoralist) which reflects his lack of zest for life.He resigns himself to death, but the care of his wife keeps him alive and helps him to recover. Marceline chooses a lovely location for him to recuperate but he shows little interest in his surroundings and is too exhausted to do any work of any kind. He states that â€Å"being is occupation enough† (22, The Immoralist). Michel is an idle man, a man who has never known what it is to truly work hard to achieve something. However, faced with his mortality, he develops a renewed zeal for life and begins to spend his wealth with more abandon than before.On his return back to Europe, the architectural sites mean nothing to him any longer and he only wants to experience life at the fullest. He takes himself and Marceline to a farm that he possesses in Normandy and it is at that farm where he loses his idleness and becomes the best type of man that he ever is during the novel. One can argue that it is at this farm where he spends the majority of his time at work, at various occupations that require him to put forth manual labor rather than being lazy, and that is the cause of this semi transformation.He is, however, called to accept a teaching position at one of the more prestigious universities in Paris and when he takes this position, begins his cycle downward. Going to Paris, he spends enormous amounts of money as he and Marceline struggle to furnish their new apartments, which â€Å"the cost of furnishing the new apartment would exceed [their] income for the year† (88, The Immoralist). Rather than settling for what he could afford, Michel recklessly spends what he needs to get what he wants.As his idle time increases, Marceline’s health decreases and Michel uses her failing health as an excuse to quit his new job, for he has become bored and disillusioned with it, and drags her back to his farm in Normandy. No longer interested in working for the betterment of the property, Michel takes up with poachers and ruins his own lands, making them undesirable and causing them to lose whatever profits they had once made. It seems that his idle hands are aching to be occupied with some matter and given that he is no longer interested in working, he becomes a voyeur into the lives of the most debauched around him.The farm is soon ruined under his direction and he forever ruins his relationships with the people who had worked for him and his father for years. He is confronted by one of the sons of his employee who tells him that it was [Michel] who taught [him] last year that property involves certain responsibilities – but [Michel] seems to have forgotten† (138, The Immoralist). Michel is not moved by this statement but rather becomes disgusted with his work and informs the grounds keeper that the farm is to be sold.Despite Marceline’s increasing health troubles, Michel picks up and leaves the farm as soon as he becomes disillusioned with it and with the peo ple around him and drags Marceline on a trip through Europe and back south to where they had spent their honeymoon. On this flight, Michel has nothing to occupy his time or capture his interests except for multiple acts of immoral behavior. He spends his money recklessly, without abandon, and never takes into account Marceline’s needs or desires. Instead, he constantly justifies his own selfishness by blaming these things on Marceline’s needs.Her health worsens as he drags her to climates not healthy for her ailing lungs, but he is so preoccupied with experiencing the debauched lifestyle that he does not care about it and refuses to acknowledge that he is slowly killing his wife. In a sick way, Michel seems excited by his prospect of wasting his riches for he claims that â€Å"A reversal of fortune†¦should teach as much as a reversal of health† (144, The Immoralist). Finally, his selfishness and inability to distinguish right from wrong cause the death of M arceline. Michel is left alone, without work or meaningful occupation.However, instead of working or attempting to rebuild the life that he purposefully destroyed, he is content to do nothing except exist. At the end of the novel, he states that â€Å"nothing discourages thought so much as this perpetual blue sky. Here any exertion is impossible, so closely does pleasure follow desire† (170, The Immoralist). This last statement of him shows truly how far he has descended into this state. The Vagabond is different from the aforementioned novels in that its main character is not one who does not appreciate the value of money or the importance of work.Rather, its heroine, Renee Nere, works at first because she must but finally because she wants to rather than condemn herself to a life of servitude to a husband. Renee is a thirty-something divorcee who sings, dances, and acts in a second rate performing troupe and who is eventually courted by a rich, handsome man who embodies mon ey and idleness. Rather than openly accepting the life of luxury he offers, Renee ultimately rejects him because he cannot understand her aversion to a married life in captivity.Max, her suitor, is an extremely rich man who has no occupation at all and who lives off of the money provided to him by his family. Max cannot understand the importance of a job in Renee’s eyes and ultimately, it is this inability to comprehend her motives that cause their budding romance to fail. In a short passage, Renee displays her opinions on the effects of idleness on an actor. She states that she is touched by the concern of one of her colleagues who wants â€Å"to save [her] from hard times and the idleness which demoralizes out-of-work actors, diminishing their powers and making them go to pieces† (101-102, The Vagabond).She feels that it is necessary to keep oneself occupied and it is that reason as well as the fact that she does not want to repeat her past experiences with her ex-hu sband that she rejects Max’s advances. The major conflict between the two is the impending tour of the theater group with whom Renee works. Many times in the novel, Max voices his desire for her to remain and to leave the theater and to accept a less strenuous life with him. However, Renee doesn’t respect him for his self-imposed inactivity and she likens him to a prostitute as he is the first man she had ever met who was idle.She states that â€Å"he has no profession and no sinecure behind which to conceal his lazy freedom† (140, The Vagabond). Max constantly asks her why she won’t leave the industry and he often rebukes her for her occupation. She replies to him that he has â€Å"the means to live otherwise†¦but as for [her], what would [he] have [her] do† (143, The Vagabond). When he offers to provide for her, she finds the idea repugnant and humiliating. When discussing the plans for the tour, Renee and her mentor, Brague, begin to discus s her relationship with Max.When Brague asks her what business Max is involved in, Renee replies, slightly embarrassed that Max does nothing at all. Brague finds that admission to be rather fascinating, stating that â€Å"it’s staggering†¦that anyone can live like that. No office. No factory. No rehearsals. No racing stables† (163, The Vagabond). Neither of the two working people can possibly understand nor sympathize with the motives of a person who does not take part in the simple task of human work. Another source of conflict between Max and Renee is the issue of money; Max has too much, Renee not enough.An example of this problem is highlighted when Renee is packing for the tour and is planning to share a trunk with Brague in order to save on the costs. The total proposed sum to be saved is two hundred francs, but Max does not agree with such a situation and tells Renee that the situation was â€Å"sordid† and that â€Å"it’s all so paltry† (167, The Vagabond). She is horribly offended by this dismissive attitude to money, but she recognizes that Max would not â€Å"have learnt that money, the money one earns, is a respectable, serious thing which one handles with care and speaks about solemnly† (167, The Vagabond).In the end, it is Max’s dismissive attitude to everything and his desire to control Renee that ruins their relationship; Renee goes on with plans to further her chosen career and leaves Max with best wishes for romance in his future. In Bel-Ami, The Immoralist, and The Vagabond, money and idleness are major factors that determine the path of each of the characters involved. In Bel-Ami, the more money Duroy obtains, the less work he does for it and his moral state shows much worse for the wear.The Immoralist discusses Michel and how he becomes a degenerate being with self-imposed idleness and his strong desire to cast away all ties to his prior lifestyle. Renee in The Vagabond shows how self-r eliance and independence is extremely vital to a successful relationship and how depending on one person for all of life’s pleasures can only lead to disillusionment and failure. These lessons, though not all good, are important to be learned in order to successfully prioritize one’s life.Only one of the three characters above became financially successful and he ruthlessly sacrificed the reputations, happiness, and sanity of others in order to achieve his goals. Apparently, the ‘American dream’ does not always have the desired fairytale ending but one can derive this lesson from these tales; riches may not be guaranteed, but the chances of living a fulfilling life are greatly increased by keeping oneself occupied and focused on the future, rather than being lazy and uninvolved with life and the world around him. As can be concluded from these novels, idle hands are truly the Devil’s tools.

Ikea And Human Resource Management - 1970 Words

Table of Contents INTRODUCTION: 1 IKEA 1 IKEA HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: 2 ANALYSIS 1: 2 ANALYSIS 2: 4 PROPOSITIONS: 4 OPEN IKEA 4 ENTERPRISE 5 WHY SAYERS 5 EXPRESS YOURSELF 5 ANALYSIS 3: 6 ANALYSIS 4: 7 ADVANTAGES 7 BIBLIOGRAPHY: 9 JOURNALS RESEARCH PAPERS: 9 BOOKS: 9 ONLINE REFERENCES (WEBSITES): 9 Introduction: Human Resource Management (HRM) has developed over the course of the decades to turn into a Strategic Significance, incorporated and rational way to deal with the livelihood, improvement and prosperity of the individuals working in an organization. Duncan (2001) has highlighted that the advancement of HRM effects on the managing intellect capital with associations making them a wellspring of upper hand. The current writing likewise highlights the significance Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM), to make authoritative potential by guaranteeing that the organization has every one of its needs to accomplish supported favorable position. On the other hand, it turns into a worth adding capacity prompting integration and adaptation. IKEA â€Å"Maintaining a strong IKEA culture is one of the most crucial factors in the continued success of the concept† – Ingvar Kamprad, Founder of IKEA IKEA s HRM Practices and Work Culture have focused on primary positive HR exercises and their advancement to achieve key goals of the company. 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