Water Diuresis in Man Practical Report Essay

INTRODUCTION The body needs to maintain equilibrium to function properly in everyday life. The most important substance it must regulate is water; water is everywhere in our body and its balance is essential for proper body function. A very carefully regulated process is solute concentration. If there is a sudden increase in water which enters the extracellular fluid, sodium ions will then contribute less to the extracellular solute concentration as the ratio between water and solute has now changed. Osmolality is the amount of solute in a kilogram, hence the osmolality in the extracellular space has also decreased. Water diuresis is the increase in urinary water excreted with little or no change in the solute excretion. Excess water needs to be excreted to maintain a good balance of water and solute inside the body. The aim of this practical is to test the effects of strenuous exercise and desmopressin (anti-diuretic hormone) on urine flow and urine sodium concentration. We will be testing the hypotheses that vigorous exercise will decrease urine flow and increase urine sodium concentration, whereas desmopressin will have the opposite effect of decreased urine flow and increased sodium concentration. Use the class data (refer to the appropriate figures in your discussion). (a) What happens to the rate of urine production (i.e. urine flow) for the three procedures (i.e. control, desmopressin and exercise)? Use your knowledge of statistics to evaluate the evidence that the responses after the treatments (i.e. desmopressin and exercise) differed from that in the control subjects. Explain the following (including the underlying mechanisms): i. why there is a delay in the onset of the diuresis after water loading in the control subject (A); ii. the effects of administered desmopressin on the diuresis (subject B); iii. the mechanisms by which a single session of vigorous exercise affects the diuresis produced by the water load (subject C). After drinking water, the control and test subjects had gradual increase of urine flow, reaching a peak then decreasing again, whereas the desmopressin subject had decreased urine flow after taking the hormone, thereafter plateauing. According to the Dunnett’s t test between the urine flow of the subjects, the urine flow of the treatment subjects was significantly different to that of the control. There is a delay in the onset of diuresis after loading in the control subject as it takes time for the water to be filtered in the body. Water is absorbed from the gut into the extracellular fluid. Osmoreceptors from the posterior pituitary detect the water through cell stretch and initiate responses that control ADH secretion (Widmaier et al., 2014). Fluids are filtered through the kidneys and the excess water is transported to the bladder where it will then be excreted. Desmopressin decreases the urine volume excreted. Desmopressin is a synthetic substitute  for anti-diuretic hormone (ADH). ADH acts on the kidneys to reabsorb water. Due to increased water reabsorption, diuresis (urine volume) is decreased. A single session of vigorous exercise sharply decreases the urine flow and hence, diuresis. During exercise, you lose sodium and water by sweating so the kidney works to reabsorb the water so you are not dehydrated. This results in more concentrated urine. (b) If a control subject was dehydrated at the beginning of the practical class, how would you expect this to affect their response to the water load? They would retain some of the water and hence would have decreased urine excretion compared to someone who is well hydrated. (c) What effect does alcohol have on water diuresis? What is the mechanism of the action of alcohol on a water diuresis? Alcohol inhibits the pituitary secretion of ADH, which acts on the kidneys to reabsorb water. Because ADH levels drop, the kidneys do not reabsorb as much water and hence produce more urine, causing increased water diuresis. (d) Use the class graphs and statistical analysis of the urine sodium concentration to determine if this is different for the control and desmopressin subjects. Do you think there a relationship between urine flow and the urine sodium concentration? According to the statistical analysis, the difference between the control and desmopressin subjects for sodium urine concentration were significantly different. Looking at the class graphs, this is also true; the graph values vary significantly. There seems to be an inverse relationship between urine flow and urine sodium concentration. When the urine flow is high, the urine sodium concentration is relatively low and vice versa. (e) Use the class graphs and statistical analysis of the sodium excretion rate to determine if this is different for the control and desmopressin subjects. Do you think there a relationship between urine flow and the sodium excretion rate? According to the statistical analysis, the sodium excretion rate for the control and desmopressin subjects are not significantly different. This can also be seem from the class graphs; they  follow similar values. There does not seem to be a high correlation between urine flow and sodium excretion rate. After taking desmopressin, the subjects’ sodium secretion rate is similar to the control’s, however, the urine flow is noticeably decreased after drinking water. Looking at the exercise subjects, their sodium excretion is lower than the other subjects after drinking water, however their urine flow after a few samples is significantly increased. (f)Complete the following table: Stimulus Type/Site of Receptors ADH Response Physiological response on Urine Volume Physiological response on Blood Volume Increased osmolality (dehydration) Osmoreceptors High ADH levels Decreased Decreased Decreased osmolality Osmoreceptors Low ADH levels Increased Increased Increased blood volume Baroreceptors Decreased ADH secretion Increased Increased Decreased blood volume Barereceptors Increased ADH secretion Decreased Decreased CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that strenuous exercise decreases urine flow and hence will increase the concentration of urine. Desmopressin decreased urine flow and due to this increased water excretion, also decreased the concentration of urine. REFERENCES: Widmaier, EP, Raff, H & Strang, KT (2014). Vander’s Human Physiology. The Mechanisms of Body Function. MCGraw Hill, Chapter 14, page 499.

The Indian Community

There are different communities around the world serving different purposes. A community tends to affect everyone's life one way or the other by interacting with every individual. Community describes a group of people who have something in common, even though every human is unique. By belonging to the Indian community, I have interacted more with its cultural community, social community, and school community. People all over India belongs to a variety of different communities depending upon their geographic location, values and beliefs, social and recreational interests, history, culture, and language, education and skills, family and race. Apart from the existence of different communities Cultural, Language, Social, and School communities are highly eminent in the Indian community. Culture is an important part of the Indian community. Indian culture has taught me several different things such as how to behave in front of others, how to respect others, how to perform my duties in order, and many other significant guidelines. My culture includes various religious activities such as performing â€Å"Pooja,† a Hindu religion ritual, when somebody bought a new house or for the well being of their family. My sister is also involved in many religious performances like â€Å"Garba,† which is a dance activity done to worship a Hindu goddess â€Å"Amba. † Dance is considered to be a form of art and is of great significance for my family. Certainly, there are several religious festivals in my culture among which the famous one is â€Å"Diwali,† the festival of lights, which is celebrated in honor of Lord Rama on his return to home from exile after fourteen years in jungle. As a child I was always exited to light the firecrackers and eat lots of sweets during the festival of â€Å"Diwali. † Language is also an important constituent of Indian culture since people in Indian community speak several different languages. Hindi, the national language of India, and English are used as the buffer languages by the people of Indian community since they primarily speak their own state languages. My primary language is my state language, Gujarati, then come Hindi, English, Sanskrit, and Spanish, which I learned after coming to United States. In my culture, elders are given the priority of making the decisions in the family and to guide others from their experiences how to make judgments during critical situations. A strong bond of unity prevails in the family, which helps to share joy and sorrow of everyone in the family. Another important aspect of the Indian community is Society. Social community greatly interacts with me in the terms of my relationship towards my relatives, cousins, neighbors, friends, and many others with whom I deal with on a daily basis. Everyone older than me has to be called with a respectful name or a subtitle. I have to go with my family on social visits to my relatives' house on our religious occasions and ceremonies like wedding, birthdays, etc. When we visit someone's house during a New Year day or some special occasions we give them a gift, a box of sweets or usually its money that we offer. There are usually frequent visits from my cousins and friends during the summer time so that we can enjoy our vacation together. For instance, we all would play â€Å"Cricket† in the open fields of the farm in my village and climb up the mango trees to get some raw mangoes. My neighbors around us are very helpful and caring people. A major part in my life and the Indian community is the School community. School community greatly emphasizes on the educational programs than any other programs like athletic, different kinds of clubs, etc. Education is considered as a prestige of the family in the Indian community and highly signifies the family status. My school life in India was the true experience of discipline, manner, and respect for others. Indian schools are strict about the education and so every school enforce rules and regulations of their own. Schools have their own uniforms and guidelines, which every student like me should follow and obey them. My exams were much harder back in my country, India, than they are in United States, in the terms that there were not multiple choice questions, there were mostly essay questions, and in addition to that sometimes we have two final exams in one day. My school life in India is by far the best part of my life that I have ever enjoyed. Thus, Cultural, Language, Social, and School communities in the Indian community are the important aspects of Indian life. The complex nature of these various sub-communities in the Indian community has made them so important that each one can be explored more extensively. As each of these communities is not static, but rather changeable and interdependent on each other. Further more, in-depth analysis of these sub-communities would describe the Indian community as a whole.

Buddhism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Buddhism - Essay Example People were attracted by his teachings and hence there developed a community of monks and nuns. All those who believed in him and in his teachings began to be called as the Buddhists. This paper tends to explore the major principles and teachings of Buddhism and its influence on other religions. Teachings of Buddhism One of the major aims of Buddhism was to give people insights on the true nature of reality regarding death and sufferings. For the spiritual development as foreseen by Buddha, a complete change, both mental and physical, was essential. Since life involves a process of constant changes, man has to change for a better state than the present. It is one’s mind that plays the crucial role in changing oneself. So, Buddhism developed many a number of methods for working on the mind. The major tool used by Buddhists to change people in order to develop the qualities such as awareness, kindness and wisdom was meditation (â€Å"What does Buddhism teach..†). Meditati on is the concentration of thoughts on single subject and completely being aware of oneself. The practice of meditation brought them a more positive state of mind backed by calmness, concentration, awareness, and emotions like friendliness. According to the doctrine, the Buddhist teachings and paths would finally bring enlightenment where one can witness the nature of reality clearly and live naturally in accordance with that vision. With the awareness attained from meditation, they could get a fuller understanding of themselves, their fellow beings, and in due course the life itself. During his public life, Buddha propagated the answers he found out for his questions. Enlightenment gave him answers for all the unanswered questions that bothered him during the term of his family life. The first idea that he spread was that ‘nothing is lost in the universe’. Whatever that loses its current state turns into another form. The dead man turns into soil and so he is never bei ng lost from this world. The second truth was ‘everything changes’. There is nothing in this world that can with stand change. The third universal truth of Buddha was the ‘law of cause and effect’ (Following the Buddha’s Footsteps..†). This law of cause and effect in other words is known as ‘Karma’. According to this principle, we eat the fruits of our own deeds. Nothing happens to us unless and until we deserve it. We receive exactly the result of what we do irrespective of the goodness or badness in it. The state of our present being is attributed to our accomplishments in the past. The relationship between our thoughts and actions decide the kind of life that we are to live. We can change our Karma by paying attention to what we do, what we think, and what we say. Once we clearly understand our actions and thoughts we no longer need to fear Karma; instead, Karma will be our best friend who will lead us to create a better future (Following the Buddha’s Footsteps..†). Another major teaching of Buddha was on dharma. Dharma is a Sanskrit word having a number of meanings. In Buddhism dharma means proper conduct or good behavior that is necessary to keep the natural order of things. As the main aim of dharma contemplated on keeping a natural order, it covered ideas like duty, profession, religion and other occupations which are considered to be correct and proper. Thus, Buddhist dharma was all about

Strategies to Motivate Employees in an Organisation Research Paper

Strategies to Motivate Employees in an Organisation - Research Paper Example This paper illustrates that in the corporate world, the need for motivation cannot be undermined. One of the things that facilitate operations in an organization is the drive which can either be intrinsic or extrinsic. In the work setting, the human resource management is tasked with ensuring the employees are highly motivated if good performance and pleasant results are to be achieved. The strategy to use in order to raise and maintain high levels of motivations amongst workers has always been a great challenge for most organization managers. The management gets into a dilemma when they seek to achieve high motivation amongst the workers while at the same time they pursue to incur the lowest possible cost. It is a great challenge to find the best strategies that can minimize the number of financial resources a firm spends to keep the employees highly motivated. Stress that comes from work is some of the many factors that demotivate employees leading to an economic downturn. Managers , therefore, are required to strategize on how well the workers can be rejuvenated so they may perform best. It is not always motivation in the form of monetary gains that works best for employees. According to Holden and Overmier, non-monetary schemes have been equally found to impact positively as a stimulus to the employees. Other than the financial grants, an organization can resort to using intangible rewards such as recognition, affirmation among others to motivate its employees. Pension schemes are some of the strategies that are currently grounding as a rewarding initiative that can be used to motivate workers. Conversely, myriad arguments have come up about the effectiveness of these non-monetary reward strategies. Do they enthuse and stir employees to deliver high performance? The research attempts to respond to these concerns and show how best employees can be stimulated to work passionately to drive the organization towards meeting its objective. The results will be an e ye-opener concerning how best staff can be motivated.

Safety in industries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Safety in industries - Essay Example When we look at the statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, it can be observed that in 2011, almost 540 fatal injuries at workplace were just due to fall in industries. In those scenarios where the height of the fall was known, almost 57 percent workers fall from a height of 20 feet or bit less than that. Out of these one in every four falls was from a height of about 10 feet or lesser than that. The industry deals with safety risks from activities such as roofing whereby workers are expected to take precautions for their own safety since not much can be done to maintain 100% safety. Enhancements to work at high heights such as scaffolds and ladders are also part of the risk since workers also slip and fall from them while in some cases the scaffolds and ladders fall causing deadly injuries to the workers using them. It is usually supposed that deadly falls are those where the victim falls from a height higher than three meters while in reality falls below this height can be dead ly especially when the head hits the ground first. According to Feld and Carper (2004), safety belts are regarded as the solution to falls in construction, but they only help to address falls in situations where the worker remains in a stationary position for a considerable period. It is not reasonable to provide a person painting a roof with a safety belt with no specific place to hook it. On the other hand, most construction managers rarely assess the experience of workers with regards to tasks requiring them to work in high heights to avoid paying higher costs. However, even with such evaluations, some workers may provide false information so as not to lose the job. Falls may also be associated with deep trenches on the ground that may be unknown to workers and without visible signs (Cheng, Kelly & Ryan, 2013). Dust is a common health issue in construction since it creates from most of the activities involved such as excavation and loading,

Social Impacts of the War in Iraq Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Social Impacts of the War in Iraq - Essay Example The psychological effects associated with war are far-reaching and still felt today. War is generally depressing and brings with it devastating repercussions especially to the children of war. The politics of war has brought with it more division in the country along the lines of pro and anti-war campaigns. This coupled with the already prevalent gap between the rich and the poor has expanded the social and economic inequalities in the society. The Bush Administration justified this war by claiming that there was evidence that Iraq had developed and been planning to use weapons of mass destruction. This claim was strengthened by the country’s history of aggression towards its neighbors such as the use of poison gas against Iran. The fact that the country had previously sponsored international terrorism caused the US government to intervene as a precautious measure. The government took it upon itself to enforce international law since the Iraqi dictatorship under Saddam Hussein had violated UN Security Council resolutions (DeFronzo 2010). The Iraqi war brought with it a lot of mixed reactions with civilians having different opinions on the need for this war. Anti-war activists considered this war to be an ill-conceived lunge for control of Iraqi oil by the US government. Advancement towards the long-standing US policy of gaining control of the world’s oil reserves onto which the country’s power, industry and consumerism rely on. This was a colonial war opposed by the rest of the world because of the previous experiences either as the conquerors or colonialists. This was seen as an imperialistic move aimed at securing the control of oil and by doing so, achieving global dominance.

Make one up Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Make one up - Essay Example The red winged black birds are categorized as generalist birds because they can adapt to a different environment. The red winged blackbirds are found in Southern Alaska, Yucatan peninsula, Canada, and California. The birds keep migrating to various parts of the continent depending on the season. During winter, the birds migrate to southern and central parts of United States. They inhabit open grassy areas such as wetlands. They also inhabit saltwater and fresh water marshes especially if cattail is present Great Blue Heron The Great Blue Heron species have characteristics that make them categorized as specialists. It is among the large wading birds in the Heron family. Great Blue Herons have distinct features such as reddish brown thighs, light feathers, and grey rusty neck. They have long green legs with the males having a puffy trail of feathers behind the head. The males are lighter than the female. The birds are rare to find and do not easily adapt to new ecosystems (Peterson, 20 10). Unlike the other birds, Great Blue Heron fish for food during the day and at night. They like doing most of their activities early in the morning and at dusk. The birds feed on fish, salamanders, snakes, frogs, among other aquatic insects. Herons swallow their food as whole after they catch them. The birds cannot feed on other food apart from aquatic food, which is a characteristic of specialist. They have unique behavior since most of the activities are either done in the morning or at dusk. The herons are said to be private, and never hunt in groups. However, during breeding, the birds do so in groups. When not hunting, the birds sleep in a flock of about one hundred. The birds are extremely territorial and always defend their nests. American Dipper The American Dippers are specialists. It is a thick dark, gray bird with some having a brown head and white feathers on the eyelids. The white eyelids cause the eyes to flash white as they blink. Both male and the female look alik e. They have short tails that are often raised up. American Dipper feeds on insects and their larvae, small fish and fish eggs. They look for food in water or at times over turn a rock to expose the prey. In order for them to survive in such conditions, the birds have lots of feathers, slow metabolism and the ability to carry oxygen for a long time. The birds prefer living on rocky and unpolluted streams. Cliffs on the stream or bridges help them build nests. However, the birds prefer to build their nests on mountainous streams. This is a characteristic of specialist species. They can survive on cold climate and can eat only insects on land and fish (Ross, 2011). American Robin American Robin can live on the road, and in the forest which is a characteristic of generalist. The type of birds can survive in both cold and hot climate which is another characteristic of a generalist. The bird is a member of the thrush family and the name American Robin came about because the bird resemble s a similar bird in Great Britain. Most of them feed on berries, worms, insects and larva. Most of them are seen looking for worms which they take to their young ones. American Robins live in forests, urban areas, and on road sides. The birds can survive in different ecosystems (Ralph, Sauer, & Droege, 2012). Snail Kite Snail Kites are specialist since one can only get them in three areas; they have specific food and living in specific places means that they

Corporate strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Corporate strategy - Assignment Example The constant need to venture into new markets and the pressure to judiciously utilize resources drives businesses to shape their corporate strategies and business objectives accordingly. The marketplace drives corporate decision making with regard to mergers, acquisitions, spinoffs, reorganizations and closures. There could be a number of different factors that prompt businesses to enter into new markets and locations, expand operations and enter into new business relationships. These factors include fast paced changes in tools and technologies, shift in consumer behavior or encountering uncontrollable factors, such as natural calamities and wars. In this era of globalization, mergers and acquisitions is one of the widely used modes of business growth and expansion for several companies. A significant reason for this is that the similarity in competencies among companies competing in the same marketplace promotes the betterment of financial performance, enhance competitive advantage, take advantage of innovative business opportunities and make an entry into newer markets and locations. However, mergers and acquisitions do not assure the organization of growth, development and success. The fact remains that a merger or acquisition can yield positive results for the acquiring company only if it is able to successfully manage the acquired business and transform it to ensure that it is line with the long-term organizational objectives (Haspeslagh and Jemison, 1991). A key element in the merger/acquisition process is the selection of the correct business that will be acquired. This process of selection is critical to the success of the acquisition, and requires deliberation, discussion and effective decision making. The main reason why organizations enter into new partnerships is to take maximum advantage of opportunities, such as entry into new markets and geographical locations, better access to cutting

Theoretical Dimension Involving Criminal Behavior Research Paper

Theoretical Dimension Involving Criminal Behavior - Research Paper Example Academic stakeholders started gaining interest in the connection between psychology and law after the World War II was over. During the period of 1960s, various psychologists were called upon in various criminal and civil cases to help with the cognitive side of the cases (Ogloff, 1996). By 1980s, psychology was applied to law, and students started taking courses and training in the field of psychology of law (Ogloff, 1996). Today, criminology and psychology are taught together in formal and professional educational settings, and various theories explaining why criminals perform criminal activities are taught to students and professionals. Body Among the various theories that examine why individuals perform criminal activities, the choice theory is the most commonly used. Choice theory was created by Dr, William Glasser; according to him, the decision of an individual to commit a crime is made in a rational way (Glasser, 2011, p.224). The theory further suggests that there are severa l reasons due to which one acts in a deviant manner; these reasons includes greediness, desire, rage, envy, suspicion, excitement and pride. The base of the theory of choice is the classical school of criminology, which states that an individual is not restricted, and whether to select a criminal path or a socially acceptable path is his or her own free choice. The classical school of criminology has even suggested a way to counter crime – fear of punishment can help prevent criminals from performing criminal activities (Glasser, 2011). The theory of choice categorizes criminal behavior into three different types. The first type is the rational actor; this means that a criminal makes his or her own decision whether or not to commit a crime, and he or she can be stopped through fear of punishments. The second reason due to which an individual commits a crime is because of his or her inner drives and the environment he or she lives in. The best possible way to counter this kind of criminal is to change the environment in which he or she is situated. The last kind of criminal is the one who has been abused or has been a victim of a crime; this kind of criminal can be controlled with the aid of rules and regulations. Criminology is even associated with personality; Eysenck, a psychologist from Britain, is highly recognized for producing a theory that connects criminal behavior with the individual’s personality. He suggested that an individual performs criminal behavior because of the communication between that individual’s environment and his cognitive system (Raine, 1993). This theorist has focused on the predispositions related to criminal activities available in the genes of an individual. People who are in favor of this theory share a common belief that individuals have distinct mental processes. When these processes interact with a particular stimulus, individuals end up acting in a deviant way. This theory has not signaled that an indivi dual is born with criminal-like qualities; this theory rather suggests that only when the neurobiological processes of individuals interact with a certain environment do individuals act in a deviant manner. The study conducted by Eysenck further proved that individuals who exhibit a lower level of extraversion have a tendency of getting angry quickly, acting in an aggressive manner, and are not reliable (Raine, 1993). He even stated that individuals categorized as extraverts tend to experience increased levels of excitement, which

Economic naturalist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economic naturalist - Essay Example This is the reason for what the movies visualized in past were on the specific stream, heroism was the most popular theme. With the passage of time, after revolutionary measures were taken in Hollywood arena, the scenario was turned towards new altitudes. History observed that the demand of female models was being increased, might be it was deliberately. But now it is uncontrollable. The concept of feminism has been popularized enough that even an advertisement of cigarette is found incomplete without a female model. The most tax paying celebrities in advertisement industry are of course none others but female models. The economic perspective which supports this practical phenomenon and being provisioned by the experts is demand and supply combination. It is probably due to high demand of female models in Hollywood as compared to male category of models. However it slightly differs in case of acting and modeling. In modeling, this is most important that a leading female model should be in the package. It is for image management. The demand of leading and successful female models is high whereas the male models are lesser in number but the ones who are in the fields; no doubt they are leading and money takers. But the overall budget and per cast rate is found higher in female models category. The revenue and success rate of the advertisements in which women models have performed is high and are having decidedly cited records. People have favorites in commercials where they find a female model performing for some brand. The influencing rate is more. It is recognized that the brands which are endorsed by leading female models get raise earlier even the standard is not that much extraordinary. Another very important factor in high cost female models is that they have to spend more money on their personal maintenance. They are required to wear expensive clothes, jewelry and other accessories in order to retain their persona. This

Indian Ocean Region Essay Example for Free

Indian Ocean Region Essay Change and Continuity of Commerce in the Indian Ocean Region from 650 CE to 1750 CE. The Indian Ocean has always been a powerful trading region, between East Africa and China, that has caused religion, crops, languages, and people to spread. Through the rise and fall of powerful land and sea empires, trade routes shifted and control switched hands numerous times over history. The goods have remained fairly constant, compared to the traders and the powers behind them that changed from 650 C.E. to 1750 C.E. Spices, textiles, manufactured goods, and raw goods were staples on the many of the routes that led from the coast of Zimbabwe all the way to the ports of China. Early traders from Polynesia even traveled to Madagascar. With the rise of Islam and of the Mongol Empire, overseas trade slowed slightly because of the importance of the Silk Road as the main connection between China and Europe. However, as the Mongols declined, the Indian Ocean trade became more important to the empires o r kingdoms of China and the regional powers of India. The Chinese Ming Dynasty engaged heavily in foreign trade and they displayed their wealth with giant treasure ships and junks that sailed the day from China through the port of Malacca to the east coast of India. The ships carried silk and porcelain, goods that were in high demand in Europe and Arabia. The ships also picked up spices and hardwoods from Southeast Asian islands. In India, the majority of these goods were sent on dhows to the Arabian Peninsula, stopping at major important ports like Aden, and then continuing on to East Africa and the Swahili Coast states of Mogadishu, Kilwa, and Sofala. The ships sailed according to the monsoons, they then returned loaded with gold and ivory from Africa, to China where the cycle would restart. Eventually states like Gujurat and Calicut grew in importance in manufacturing and the textile production of cotton. The powers around the Indian Ocean remained in control, until the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century. While Silk Road trade with Europe was thriving, Europeans wanted to cut out the Arab middlemen and get direct access to Asian goods. As the tools of navigation developed and new nation-states sought after trade and exploration, Portugal led the continent in the race to Asia. When Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498 by sailing around the tip of Africa, he was greeted with a mocking laughter of people he needed to trade with and was turned down most of the goods he had to trade. The powerful merchants of Gujarat and neighboring states were used to the highest quality goods so they did not want to trade with Gama’s poor quality goods. However, before long, Portugal took over almost all trade in the Indian Ocean, establishing ports like Goa in India and controlling strategic areas with their imperialistic manner. Around the same time, Britain also began its expansion and joined with joint-stock companies like the Dutch East India Company. They proceeded to dominate the region as well, taking land they thought suited their purposes. The sea empires and the cut off of foreign trade by the Ming dynasty did not greatly change the products traded, but did affect the overall trade system. Goods were now produced for the success of mercantilist people in European countries, not for the enrichment of local powers. While the trade routes and the goods that passed through them may not have been greatly changed, the impact of the European trading empires and the decline of nations like India and China changed who benefited from Indian Ocean trade and who were mostly involved.

Reverse Innovation Is Completely Different Marketing Essay

Reverse Innovation Is Completely Different Marketing Essay Large multinational companies traditionally considered deriving revenues in their home turf, and sought most of their growth opportunities within their home country. As markets saturated, they moved on to other rich countries targeting consumers from those market segments that they were able to secure in their home country. As competition from businesses both large and small increased, corporate strategy included expansion into emerging markets. Multinational companies have the capital to leverage their expansion into these emerging markets. This method allowed companies to obtain a foothold in these fast-growing economies, however, their current product offerings were too expensive to cater to the bottom of the pyramid consumers, which is sometimes the bulk of the population. Western multinationals found themselves capturing a small segment of the market, due to the unavailability of cheap products so eagerly sought by these bottom of the pyramid consumers. As done previously in ric h foreign countries, the western multinational could cater to the rich in the developing country. Unfortunately the number of consumers fulfilling these criteria is quite small compared to the entire population. Traditional strategies of globalisation later included local innovation, which together was termed as glocalisation. These local innovations were fuelled by the need to address differences in the demand structure of the current consumers. Existing products of the multinational was slightly tweaked to appeal to the locals, through various ways (include from literature). This process carried out well until local competition from emerging countries, with their superior local market understanding started developing products aimed at meeting the needs of the bottom of the pyramid consumers. These products as identified by Vijay (XXX) share some unique characteristics (low price, etc.) and are much readily accessible by this consumer base. They products created for these consumers by local businesses were highly innovative, often performing the same functions as the western multinationals product offerings, at a much lower price point. It fulfilled the need of these consumers of being of good enough quality but at the same time being easy to use. Cheap products performing the same function attracted the attention of consumers in higher income segments in the emerging countries, and gained popularity through to neighbouring countries with low GDPs per capita. Multinationals were seeing their markets slowly being taken over by these local innovators. To tackle this problem, western companies, not familiar with the demand needs of the locals created local innovation teams to create a clean slate approach towards innovation. Aside from altering current offerings, they also focused on creating completely new products sharing those factors such as low price, ease of use and good-enough quality. These products saw good responses from the local markets, bringing about increased learning of market needs to the Western multinational. The step following this original local innovation was the export of products back to the developed world. This process was coined by Vijay as Reverse Innovation in his book. The latest step for expansion of firms, this stage brings about a large number of research questions mentioned by Vijay and Trimble in their book. However, one aspect not considered was the target market in the developed country for these products. It is clear to recognize that there exists, even in the developed world, a number of consumers, especially in the bottom of the income groups, who prefer products sharing the features of low price, ease of use and good-enough quality. However, it is not clear who exactly these consumers are. With moderate success of the few successful examples of reversely innovated products in the western world, it creates the need to find out the perfect consumer profile for these products. This becomes more apparent during current recessionary periods, causing consumers to tighten t heir budgets. We analyse in this paper, from a consumer standpoint, behaviour towards these reversely innovated products. We ask whether the current economic climate will cause the purchase behaviour of those consumers, who would not necessarily have considered purchasing products sharing such features, to change or not. Literature Review Introduction Guided by the research objectives, the literature review can be broken down into three major parts; 1. Reverse Innovation and related topics, 2. Consumer behaviour and its influence on market segmentation and 3. Consumer behaviour towards reversely innovated products in western societies. Within stated topics, the literature review, first, describes briefly respective theory, its composition and provides distinct definitions, vital key models and perspectives. Thereby, research objectives of this dissertation and related theories can be clarified and explicitly distinguished from irrelevant literature available. This is specifically applicable to the topic of consumer behaviour and market segmentation with its vast amount of diverse scopes and research areas. Second, it helps to define clear definitions of different innovation models, especially those generating from emerging countries, or the bottom of the pyramid (BOP), etc. Defining Reverse Innovationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Definition History Theory (models, frameworks) Critique in contrast with other theory Analysis = hypotheses (if required) Innovation in general Brief introduction to innovation in general (including history or necessity for business?) Definition of innovation with some scholars explaining it and most popular frameworks (if available) Explanation of reverse innovation Brief introduction to reverse innovation (including origin and necessity) Definition of the theory behind reverse innovation In our paper, we focus solely on developed country multinationals, and this also sets the backdrop for the definition of reverse innovation. Indeed the term stands true only if innovations are brought back to the home (developed) country. Introducing the model of reverse innovation (4 stages of RI) (by vijay) Briefly describe all four stages (maybe I can find another model that can be described as an alternative to vijays model although probably not possible) Explaining the four stages in detail: Chris Trimble defines innovation as any project that is new to you and has an uncertain outcome (1,25). US President, Obama, talks about the need for innovation by US scientists to outdo global competition. However, Vijay argues that this can only be done when scientists stop focusing on innovation in the USA and look elsewhere for dynamic ideas based on consumer needs. Innovation can occur anywhere and Mehmood Khan, chief scientific officer of PepsiCo found that Western doctors discovered in Bangladesh the use of century old local treatment for diarrhoea by cholera. What is innovation? Sustaining Disruptive Incremental Radical Reverse Strategic Architectural Modular Competence Enhancing Competence Destroying Globalisation: Definition -43, 45 History Theory (models, frameworks) (ted levitt) Critique in contrast with other theory 51, 54 Analysis hypotheses (if required) transition to glocalisation 48 unused 33, 46, int., ghamewat Phase 1 Globalization -Multinationals built unprecedented economies of scale by selling products and services to markets all around the world. Innovation happened at home, and then the new offerings were distributed everywhere. Globalisation theory was initially developed in 1817 by David Ricardo in his Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, where he suggests that nations should specialise in the production of those goods and services in which they are most adept. However, this would benefit both trading partners only if certain conditions stayed constant, namely: There should be a balance of trade between the 2 nations so that one does not become indebted or dependant to the other in any way Capital investment should take place in home country and not allowed to move from high wage to low wage country In a sophisticatedly connected information network prevalent in todays world, these conditions do not hold, invalidating Ricardos definition. It is not possible for countries to rely on themselves alone based on their competitive advantage. Global economics is dominated by export intensive countries, thus necessitating the need for increased exports to the rest of the world as the only method for expansion. Reverse innovation, however brings back the learning from foreign countries back to the home country to strengthen the foothold in current established markets of the MNC. The bi-polar world economy dominated by USA and Europe (also Japan), has now become tri-polar with the inclusion of East South East Asia. In terms of market size, USA, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and the UK still dominate, by 2020, China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan will move up to the top ten. It is easy to see their success already in a multitude of industries (Steel, Consumer electronics, Food, etc. ). This new tri polar world economy suggests the high importance companies must place to these emerging regions. diagram (447886) can be included to underline the change in globalisation Globalisation is one of the most popular buzzwords around not only in the world of business but a term to define the processes of international integration arising from increased human connectivity and interchange of ideas, products and other aspects of culture. Beerkens, 2006, summarises the different definitions and perspectives prevailing on the matter from Marx Engels, 1848 to his own definition in 2004. He postulates that the process of globalisation causes acceleration, massification, flexibilisation, diffusion and expansion of transnational flows of people. It accelerates basic social arrangements (like power, culture, markets, politics, rights, values, norms, ideology, identity, citizenship and solidarity) to become disconnected from their spatial context (mainly the nation state) to create a worldwide interconnectedness between nation states.(beerkens, 2004). This also means that the development on one side of the globe will have consequences on the other. Som prominent exa mples of globalisation include Coca Colas presence in over 200 countries (1, 43) or the restructuring of the automotive industry to adjust to cost differences around the world through relocation of competitive advantage regarding manufacturing, assembling, etc., to the rise in prices of oil in the Western world due to shooting up of demand for it during 2004 and 2006 in India and China. Globalisation benefits XXXXXX. (1, 43) argue that the effects of globalisation are yet to see any slowing down. With standardised national income, media and technology authors adopt the view that consumers would have similar needs and behaviours. For example, communications development (Bradley, 1991:384) and technology development (Ronkainen 1993:167) will bring convergence in consumer markets. McLuhan (1964) talks about a Global Village, where global media and increased travel will bring about convergence in consumer behaviour, values and lifestyles. This is supported by Ted Levitt (1983) who suggest that new technology will cause consumer needs to become consistent, based on his view of consumer rationality and price sensitivity or profit maximising intentions. However, this assumption of nationality is inherently flawed as it does not incorporate cultural contexts (Antonides 1998; McCracken 1989; Sà ¼erdem 1993). There is also small empirical evidence of consumer behaviour convergence based on universal price-minded customers in the micro level (Usunier 1996). Macro level hypotheses is al so disregarded by (Craig, Douglas and Grain 1992, Hollanders, Soete and Ter Weel 1999, Sarkar 1999). As can be easily understood, the scope of this topic is huge, and we shall look at only from an international business point of view. CONVERGENCE but in reality DIVERGENCE XXXXXX Given the ease of controlling expansion possibilities, cost reduction, resources and logistics, MNEs can now strategically disperse activities, including innovation functions in different low cost geographic locations. The motivations for conducting international business include market motives, economic motives and strategic motives. Market motives can be offensive or defensive offensive being the motive to seize market opportunities in overseas countries through trade investments, and defensive being the motive to protect the companys market power or competitive position in contrast to the domestic rivalry or changes in government policies. Economic motives apply when firms capitalise on the inter-country differences in costs of labour, natural resources and capital and taxation, to achieve economies of scale and subsequent higher revenues. E.g. Motorola establishing production facilities in Chinas special economic zones offering lower taxation rate than applicable in the US. Stra tegic motives lead firms to internationalise, capitalising on distinctive resources or capabilities developed at home (e.g. technologies and economies of scale). Firms can increase their cash flow by deploying these capabilities overseas. Firms may also wish to exploit first mover advantages, e.g. Volkswagen which was the second automaker in China, was the first to locate in Shanghai, gaining a monopoly in the market for years. Firms also gain advantage by integrating both vertically and/or horizontally involving different countries. (1, 43) There are several papers suggesting the heterogeneity amongst different markets in the global sphere. Bakhtazmai (2011) postulates that there is a decentralised regulation of markets, and while cosmopolitan nations move towards globalisation, they also reach down to the social local organisations. According to J.H. Mittelman, globalisation is a historical transformation in economy and cultural diversity. Hofstede postulated different dimensions could be used to understand and tackle cultural differences. Differences in product usage and buying motives are correlated with these dimensions (De Mooij 1998, 2000, 2001). Since peoples attitudes related to consumption are based on their values,the differences become more stable and stronger over time. Conventionally international business interprets the term culture to mean national cultures exclusively, but Hofstede (1991:253) has warned against applying national culture dimensions to subnational levels. Bakhtazmai concludes that the pace , magnitude and direction of change caused by globalisation will continue to progress rapidly through technology transfer. Dynamic management (Dowbor, 2001) requires constant adaptation to different segments of social reproduction. Benefits from globalisation may include design, purchasing, manufacturing operations, packaging, etc. making possible standardised facilities, methodologies and procedures across countries. Companies may only tweak a little bit in each area to achieve profits. The process of combining both global and local operations has become known as glocalisation. Yip and Coundouriotis (1991) argue that global strategy usage can possibly help achieve reduced costs, improved quality, enhanced customer preference and combined global resources. To understand the global consumer culture, (1,54) offers an categorization approach by integrating Roschs categorization theory into the discussion of whether consumer cultures globalize, glocalize or localize. The authors suggest that arguments for global consumer culture are made at the superordinate level. Levitt (1983) predicted the demise of local consumer culture, causing debates about viability of globally standardised marketing. Proponents of global consumer culture argue that cross border tourism, labour mobility (Holt et al. 2004) lead to standardisation of consumer demands (Alden et al 1999, Jain 1989). Advocates of local consumer culture argue that LCC remains resilient against such global forces (Jackson, 2004;Watts, 1996). However, meanings associated with the consumption factor are primarily functional or symbolic, causing the strength of the argument for a global consumer culture to vary between glocal and local consumer culture. Ghamewat, P (XX) also argues that the world today is not as globalised as many strategists believe. The world is not flat, he says, his view significantly differing from Thomas Friedman (XX)  [1]  Companies must find ways to manage differences and similarities within and across regions. Globalisation is relatively recent term, starting usage in 1960, however really starting to realise prominent existence since the 1990s. McLuhan, 1964 talks about a global village where people on earth live in a single social place. The local, however has to come to terms with the global. The mutual relationship also means that global is just plural versions of local. Hence, globalisation is always glocalisation (Robertson, 1995) captured as being global, but acting local. Glocalisation Phase 2 Glocalization In this phase, multinationals recognized that while Phases 1 had minimized costs, they werent as competitive in local markets as they needed to be. Therefore, they focused on winning market share by adapting global offerings to meet local needs. Innovation still originated with home-country needs, but products and services were later modified to win in each market. To meet the budgets of customers in poor countries, they sometimes de-featured existing products. Think Globally Act Locally (Glocal) is the at the core of international marketing departments and this defines the portmanteau word glocalisation. Early critics for global standardization talk about consumers needs and interests becoming homogenous, people willing to sacrifice product features, functions and designs, for high quality at low prices and huge economies of scale can be achieved through internationalisation. (1, 34) (1,37) (1, 37) glocalisation as a linear expansion of territorial scales should we include or not? Can also be included in globalisation (motives for globalisation, but we do not mention glocalisation in that stage yet, so unsure) Standardisation versus Adaptation, Homogenisation versus Tailoring these company activities are optimised when a company goes glocal. (1, 38) The term originated from the Japanese word dochakuka meaning global localization (do land, chaku arrive at, ka process of) (1,42) and came into existence with Japanese business practices as they brought their services in the 1980s to the USA (Japanese cars) (1,39; 1,40). The idea was applied to the marketing of products and affects all the Ps of the marketing mix. (1, 40) (1,36). The word glocal was coined by sociologist Ronald Robertson (1995). The erroneous assumption regarding homogeneity has led to firms to believe that their products will be accepted by international consumers. As studies show, their sales get saturated after a point, indicating the differences in consumer behaviour patterns. Company executives have started to innovate locally through learning of the intricacies of the foreign environment where they operate, understanding that this is the only way to leverage their global scale and reach (1, 43). Although most companies follow the notion Think Global, Act Local Glocalisation is more complex (Medeni 2004). Glocalisation was developed as a more holistic solution to globalisation and localisation, which is more sociological. (1, 41) (also glocalisation as a three level system; 1,37) In his paper, Vignali (2001) (1,36) differentiates between globalisation and internationalisation, defining the former as involving developing marketing strategies as if the world is a single entity, through full standardisation. He describes internationalisation however as incorporating customisation of marketing strategies for different regions of the world based on cultural, regional and national differences. This is in line with Levit (1983) who suggest multinational companies and global companies engage in internationalisation and globalisation respectively. (1, 38) Grune (1989) (1, 38) argues that multinationals pursue independent strategies in each foreign market and subsidiaries are essentially autonomous operations generating their own profits whilst finance and marketing efforts being coordinated by headquarters. Global companies operate as integrated systems with each subsidiary depending on the other for operations and strategy. Therefore multinationals localise while globals globalise (!) Globalisation and localisation may seem contradictory, however this mix of strategies are bound to coexist in the future. It takes into account the vast differences in practices, values, standards of living and taxation across the globe. At the core of the standardisation debate stands the argument to what extent, if at all, is it applicable to design, market and deliver existing offerings across national market boundaries (1, 34). The arguments set forth in this paper for glocalisation suggest that a distribution infrastructure is available for realisation of potential economies of scale, through successful global strategies since global market segments exist, as does global economies of scale. Tiplady (1, 35) adds that the situation is a bit complex and that globalisation does not only travel one way from the West to the Rest. The interconnected world allows ideas to transfer between nations and as they get to their new destination, they are adapted to fit the situation, meaning multinationals also learn within emerging country presence. It can be argued therefore, that reverse innovation is a type of glocalisation. Local realities shape these tweaks, for example Wal-Mart in China sells chicken feet and Chinese branded stewed pork ribs, also an indication of utilising local suppliers (tax breaks). (1, 35) Under the set of assumptions that developing countries are engaged in a slow and evolutionary process of catching up with the rich world, both economically and technologically, and they will import what they desire from the rich world, a strategy of glocalisation makes perfect sense. Firms can tap emerging markets by simply exporting lightly modified versions of global products developed for rich world customers mainly lower end models with fewer features. Glocalisation is essentially a simulation of the process of hybridization A process whereby cultural forms literally move through time and space where they interact with other cultural forms and settings, influence each other, produce new forms, and change the cultural settings. (Lull, 2000. P.242). Businesses not engaging in the process can be rejected by host country consumers, as the process of growth within these countries is organic and must happen through integration with the host culture e.g. Wal-Mart in Germany tried to naively reinforce American culture onto Germans, which led to unfavourable results. (1, 40). (1, 41) points out the important role of cutting edge technologies in advanced products and especially consumer electronics in glocalisation. Good for our reverse innovation hypotheses. When Wal-Mart tried entering Central and South America, it discovered it could not sustain by exporting only its existing formula it had to innovate. In his paper, Immelt (2009) (1, 17) suggests that the business model of adapting global offerings to local needs will not be sufficient given the slowdown of growth in rich countries. He suggests companies start reverse innovating, i.e. involve themselves in local innovation and then distributing them globally. He recognises that multinationals can adopt both strategies, there are some conflicts which must be resolved, and otherwise, emerging country multinationals, with good local knowledge will destroy giants like GE. Reverse Innovation As lastly described, due to the increasing potential of the consumer market within the poor people of emerging markets, MNEs have to start focussing more on these groups of customers. However, because of the drastic divergence in preferences Vijay argues that adaptation will not be sufficient anymore to cover the resulting differences. He defines the following gaps as the main reason of differentiating preferences. Performance Gap Customers in emerging countries have lower incomes than their contemporaries in the developed world. This causes them to demand products that deliver a lower performance from products, however at a much lower price/performance ratio. Infrastructure Gap The developed world has superior infrastructure, e.g. power, water supply, logistical solutions, political institutions, etc. These are all still under construction in the developing world and require some time to reach (or even surpass) the levels in the developed world. This means that consumers in poor countries require products that do not rely on dependable infrastructure. The implication for improved innovation from this gap is that these poor countries will adopt technologies that have either been proved to be useful in the developed world, and also technologies that are better. For example, wireless technology in India is sometimes more sophisticated than developed countries. Sustainability Gap Poor countries face stringent sustainability constraints, for example, India faces the threat of increased carbon emissions from its numerous industries. Problems such as these necessitate environmentally friendly products, which are often innovated locally, e.g. electrical cars in China, biodegradable energy (reference). Regulatory Gap Regulatory structures in developed countries are more sophisticated and require companies to go through a lot of bureaucracy before they may establish new innovations. Thus, emerging countries see regulatory hurdles quickly being passed through. This may also be due to the fact that emerging country governments want more solutions to solve their problems of high population, low education, poor healthcare, etc. Preferences Gap Tastes and preferences are different based on values and culture. Companies must be innovative to address these needs, and this requires a clean state assessment of the customers needs. Vijay argues that it becomes almost impossible to fill these vast gaps with the strategy of adaptation and essentially glocalisation. Thus, MNEs have to start from scratch utilising a clean slate approach for innovation, which is essentially part of the stage local innovation. The first out of two stages within the reverse innovation process. Mentioned gaps inhere the differences in views, traditions, cultures and experiences between the western rich world and the developing world with lower average income (Gobble, 2012). A good example of failing in an emerging market due to a glocal strategy, provided by several scholars (reference), is the failure of General Electric in the medical equipment sector. Describe book example_international business_page 28. Local innovation, as described by Vijay, functions as a bridge to overcome these differences. Immelt (2009) suggests companies to start the process with a multinationals focus on developing countries, innovating products in the country, for the country. They take a zero-based (or a clean slate) assessment of customer needs, as opposed to the notion that consumers will adopt the companys products which have been slightly altered for them. In this stage, the company can pool together its resources from around the world to innovate the most appropriate product for the local customer. This approach is into contrast to the existing glocal strategy where products are being globally standardized and designed from home and only marginally adapted to the local customers needs afterwards. Local innovation requires changes in the organisational structure, to include board of directors with individuals with superior understanding of emerging market needs. Leaders must understand that Stage 1: Local innovation Starting to realise that their glocal strategy was not suitable for the Chinese market anymore, GE created a low cost, portable ultrasound machine called the GE MAC 400. GEs conventional ultra sound machines were sophisticated, but very bulky and quite expensive, affordable by a select few in the emerging world. In 2002 GE launched this product in China combining a regular laptop with sophisticated software, selling for $30000. In 2008, this product was re-engineered and the new model sold for $15000.This new product is less than 15% of GEs contemporary offerings, and it was highly successful in emerging economies. This caused the mental map of GE to shift from the Triad (USA, Europe Japan) to the rest of the world  [2]  , and also initialised the idea of reverse innovation (taking learning back to the developed world)- Although local innovation might indicate an ultimate strategy to capture the entire potential customer population from BRIC countries like China and India, it does fulfil its role only partially. Vijay defines his theory being applicable to the middle- and especially low-end segment in the emerging markets. In the past, they have been neglected by western MNEs due to their focus on the high-end customer segments in emerging markets when utilising glocalisation. The low-end segment is providing an increasing opportunity for MNEs as it consists out of 4 billion people world-wide. Prahalad (2007) defines them as the bottom-of the pyramid with a purchasing power parity of approxamitely 5$ trillion dollars. Bottom-of the pyramid articles To meet the differences in customer preferences, different authors have identified similar theories about the product specifications needed. One theory isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.(different theories such as inclusive innovation, catalytic,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) explain inclusive, catalytic, grass roots innovation, below the radar innovation, appropriate technology, inclusive business, jugaad/ frugal innovation (focus on the last for our first major hypothesis) Factors identified by Prahalad: Affordable Products Emerging nations cannot afford goods priced for the US and Western Europe, which pushes companies to find inexpensive materials or manufacturing options. 2. Leapfrog Technologies Developing countries lack 20th century infrastructure and so have fast- forwarded to newer technologies such as mobile phones or solar energy. 3. Service Ecosystems Entrepreneurs in emerging markets often must rely on natural conditions and, therefore, should aim at building more eco-friendly products and services. 4. Robust Systems Emerging markets require products that work in rugged conditions. A gadget sturdy enough to survive monsoons in India is most likely to handle weather conditions in western countries also. 5. Newer Applications Customers in eme

Strategic Human Resource Management In Retail Organisations

Strategic Human Resource Management In Retail Organisations Their relationship with suppliers and customers are based on their moral and ethical principles, justice and esteem. (JLP) John Lewis creates a culture than customers are looking for. John Lewis is the first company to have its staff as partners in the company. John Lewis was first opened in 1864 in Oxford circus. And by 2009 John Lewis Partnership was created which was in great favour for both employers and employees. . As mention John Lewis is such a company that creates a culture that customer are looking for. Since John Lewis has its staff as its partners, its a better way for them to deal with the day to day activities and having a better approach towards its customers. The partners themselves deal with the customers, so they having a better idea and feedback about the company from customers itself. John Lewis is a customer centric company and it has always maintained its staff quality and always makes it better. Their staffs are being rewarded by being shareholders of the compa ny and in return they work hard for the company. John Lewis staffs are lifers. John Lewis allows its staff to develop ideas, since their reputation is enhanced by the quality of their staff. Explain the importance of strategic human resource management in retail organisations Strategic human resource management is an informative process which is always developing and being studied and talked about by academics and commentators. As mentioned by Wright McMahan, SHRM refers to the pattern of planned human resource activities intended to enable an organization to achieve its goals. Human resource strategy is the result of a set of decisions a company makes about the humans with whom it does business. Human Resource Management is also a vital and absolute approach in controlling people and the workplace proficiency and environment. I have an operations dimension to my own role. Nobody working in HR can just voyage you have to make an effort to win confidence. If you can unlock the operations imperative, and do HR actively, you can create a story and then use it for conversations. (Killen, 2012) A strategic path in Human Resource Management is essential especially in expanding companies. Just like in John Lewis focus more on providing good training to its staffs. It also empowers its staffs to make and take decisions. All feedbacks are positively sorted and management will try to help, support and facilitate those ideas. John Lewis always go to an extra miles for its customers and thus is by giving good training to their staffs. Its staffs are well aware and intelligent. They also have a good knowledge of product. It not only has great customer service in stores but in its online business as well. Human Resource management means not only developing the employees, but the entire organization itself. Human Resources include a broad range in management. A growing company depends on its existing success which can sustain and start developing its business with professional staff members. As demands increases, more labour force is needed to abide with them. The current labour force should be monitor but not only if they can adhere with the demand, but it has to make sure to maintain its quality and reputation. Bulk production should not make any difference to quality customer satisfaction and sale. The human resource actions are linked to the success of the organizations overall aims. For a company that is well known in the industry and is focussing on growth such as John Lewis, their status and authenticity must be maintained. The superior of the organisation can now emphasise on the goods itself and growth, and allow the human resource department hold the development of the company. Looking closely after the organisation aims, mission and vision, the growth of achievement standards is basic to detect any issues, employees who are not active and agreement to job. Minor labour and performance issues should be deal with as soon as possible so as to avoid any further annoyance and potential issues to the customer and thus becoming a liability to the organisation. John Lewis has a psychological contract with its staffs. The psychological contract takes it a bit further compared to the written contract and this is why John Lewis is moving forward. Tracey Killen has been through the whole of it. The psychological contract is a powerful determination of behaviour in the organisation. John Lewis has made 75 years of profitable growth and this is all due to its dedicated staffs. The company expects to have honesty, integrity, proposition of new ideas and exceptional quality of customer service from its staff and in return they are treated as partners in the company. Assess the purpose of strategic human resource management activities in John Lewis Partnership Human resource management comes up with motivation, employee retention, recruitment and engagement, and employee deployment. The success and expansion of JPL can accredit to its norms. The size of the organisation matters as communication issues is raised. And along with it, the trust and company aims are not understood and shared everyone. And in its expansion, the culture plays a very important role which has to be adjusted and maintained accordingly to changes. Human resource can work with both employees and management. With more demands and increase in employees, communication maybe a problem for both sides. However, Human resource management can control this and act like a bridge and plan what management wants from employees and vice-versa. Management should have the appropriate skills for organizing, leading, planning and establishing standards. Since they will be responsible in developing the organisation instead of the technical aspects and organising, a higher knowledge of this responsibility is basic, and its also a concern once competition starts. Due to a number of reasons companies fail and mismanagement may be one. Operations can be out of hands if personal plans and politics are placed, and in expanding companies, this should be observed and stopped. Developing is not only important for management but for employees as well. In order to stay in the organisation, employees should be given a number of reasons and do their work properly. Their regular expansion, the right benefits and compensation, and life term contract are just some of the benefits that motivate employees to bring about better outcome thus better outcome for the customers and eventually, the organisation. Recruitment and selection Learning and talent development Human resource planning Provision of equal opportunities Managing diversity Motivating workers to achieve improved performance Employee counselling Talent management Payment and reward of employees Health and safety Redundancy Encouraging involvement and engagement Change management Managing cross-cultural issues or international Human Resource Management All will be concerned in some way to ensure that Human Resource management activities add interest by helping the organisation achieve its strategic objectives. They will focus on ensuring that the overall HR policies and procedures support the strategic objectives and that there is consistency in approach and implementation across the organisation. Thus JLP has a high degree of expectation from its partners. It tries to reward them beyond the hierarchy level. JLP also has a staff committee as well. Partners are expected to serve customers at a professional level. Evaluate the contribution of strategic human resource management to the achievement of the John Lewis Partnerships objectives Organisations are implementing strategic human resource as a developing factor, not to take over an outdated department. Even though there is still confirmation within the UK that once these involvements are implemented, they just reinstate the work of the personnel division. Human resource associated to the board of a company. JPL during the past decade have introduced strategic human resource with a higher level of trained workers. The role of human resource within the company has rise in significance. Their routine of training will be reviewed in the current theory of human resource. This shows that their training is the best and is worth it, thus giving a hope for further expansion. JPL is moving forward with its 81000 staffs also known as their partners owning 37 shops all across the UK. John Lewis also provides a 24hour online shop. John Lewis operates in a competitive market and consumer has a variety of products from electrical to technological to clothing to baby to home and much more. Moreover they have expanded their services from goods, now they offering insurance, broadband and finance as well. Their commitment to customers has proven into a rise in their customer level. A positive relationship has been diagnosed between the company culture, human resource management practice, and organisation performance and employee attitudes. Change and conflicts as well is another aspect where someone has to be very careful. Organisation so spend a lot of money by promoting team work and so negotiating with managers so as conflicts do not occur. Its good that the Human Resource management stay focus on its goals and focus on what he is suppose to achieve for the company. He should also have a vision of what he is planning for the future and what he thinks should happen in order to make the company successful. John Lewis does aim at all these and thats why it has been successful over the past decades and is still succeeding. John Lewis is good at developing its own staff by helping them performing better day by day by coaching them regularly and giving them training as well. They also create jobs that satisfy their employee. Team working is one of the best things. This allows staff to interact and have mutual responsibility. Thus JLP is maintaining its reputation in the market without ignoring any of its competitors such as MS, Tesco Direct, IKEA and much more. Task 2 2.1/2.4 2.1 Analyse the business factors that underpin human resource planning in Spex4U and critically evaluate how a human resource plan can contribute to meeting the organisations objectives Human resource planning is a process that identifies current and future human resources needs for an organization to achieve its goals. Human resource planning should serve as a link between human resources management and the overall strategic plan of an organization. A plan is going to be a structure of what people will be doing in Sam Brown Company. Business growth Business decline Business change Labour cost control Changing nature of work Impact of technology Employee development The human resource planning will also be based on manpower with not only quantitative but also qualitative. Its not all about the number of person needed but also depends on the skills, nature and type of person. Business is affected by many things whether its an event or a situation, either in an affirmative or in an adverse way. These mention situations are called either environmental factors or driving forces or internal and external resourcing. Driving forces are divided into two: Internal driving forces and external driving forces. Any mishap situations happening inside the business are called internal driving forces and remains under the control of the organisation. Examples can be technological capacity, organizational culture and managing system financial or managing employee morale. Anything happening outside of the company is known as external driving forces and its not in the control of the company. Examples can be the industry itself, the economy, demographics, competition, political interference, and so on. As far as it concerns Sams company a rapid expansion will be a bit risky for her due to competitor such as Boots optician, Spec savers, vision express and many more small businesses. She can increase the number of retail outlet and recruit new staff so as they to carry on the work being done by old staff. Motivation of old staff can be done by giving them opportunity to move to better position. Sam will have to look for new staff by advertising for experienced staff or else she will have give additional time for training purposes and spend even more instead of starting with the new expanding business. Since Sam is planning to start an online business that is moving from traditional to modern method, she will have to be very careful as it all depends how the transfer will be done. It needs to be done equally as it is being done in the shop with the same level of quality as being delivered in the shop. She will need to recruits people with IT skills and set up something that will make purchase look similar to the shop. As to what she has to bear in mind is her competitors, retail and E-retail at the same time .Sam will be needing additional staff such as finance, marketing and e-marketing, human resource, IT, stores managers, duty managers, opticians, cleaners, security, distributions, and more. And after recruitments she will have to focus onto training as there should not be any mistake from any of the staff. Sam brown also wants to establish a call centre which will be very expensive unless she does it outside the country which will cost her much more cheaper than in the UK, for example India or Mauritius. Nowadays customers are not as loyal as they used to be in early days and this is all due to technology. Since internet is available everywhere, people just tend to look for value rather than paying more for something they can get at a cheaper price somewhere else. Attaining the competition edge and being successful at the same time, a business must be aware of every changes occurring, and any change that might come in the future and this process is known as forecasting. 2.4 The HR Plan is a working document that allows us to show what we are doing and what we have achieved. The plan includes an overview of the achievements of the HR Department and a review of the previous Strategy and Human resource target. Human resource contributes the success of the company but some changes in the organisation effect in the human resource plan. So positive aspect of the human resource always not the same in some cases it may be criticize. Human resource plan is the key shape of the organisation which guides the company how to do operate the human resource department. Human resource plan is the key to an effective to decision making process. With the help of the efficient human resource the decision by the company can be effective. If human resource plan is effectively implemented it will positively contribute to the achievement of the organisations objectives. Some of the points which are contributing the company are as follow: Shape of the organisation The shape of the organization rely matter in the achievement of organization objectives. So HRM need to plan about it.HRM can help the organization in order to omit all the unnecessary employment from the organization. Thus it is also help in order to find the excess in human resource in the company. According to the requirements of the company if the structure does not match then the human resource plan will not help effectively. Communication Communication plays vital role in the organization it is considered most crucial part in the organization. In any organization human resource management is a communicator for the organizations employees. In the perspective of communication human resource need to be effective. Communication is a barrier and helps to maintain the demand and supply level in the organization and keep them in the right track. Training and development The skills of the employees are sharpened by training and development. It enables the employees to keep them up to date with the latest requirements. Training is necessary in order to facilitator with the new technology, because technology is a source to save the time and maximize the benefits. Transfer of knowledge. This modern era is the era of globalization and every organization is connected globally and can be. And in this way they can recruit human resource globally. But the time and experiences are different according to the time and new trends requirements. Human resource deals with effective way in order to lead the employees because they know how to deal with the situation the implementation of plan human resource would be effective. Human resource would be effective depending on the implementation of the plan. In the organisation how they make the plan and what process they set to implementation is the major. 2.2/2.3 2.2 Assess the human resource requirements for Spex4u and develop the associated human resource plan As Spex4u is expanding its business, the most important department will be the human resource one. The human resource department will help Sam brown choosing the best staff and will be helping Sam with the business plans as well which is a very important for a new business. Human resource main task will be selecting, recruiting, training and developing new staff. This means selecting the right person, giving proper and professional level of training to the newly appointed and developing them into someone worth working for the company and attaining his level best for the organisation thus rewarding them for their good work and motivating them from time to time. Human resource also deals with the following: Workforce planning This is the main department for the Human resource management. This involves forecasting way in advance the company requirements as well as the employees and what should be done for the future. This will allows the company to anticipate future changes in required employment, in training and recruitment of man power to achieve what expected. Recruitment and selection This is about selecting and appointing the best candidate for the vacant job. It will include an interview where more details about the person including what type of person he is, his capacity and his skills. Working conditions This all includes in what condition are the employees working, which means the temperature in and out, toilet facilities, amount of light, working hours, gender discrimination and equality and so on. Working condition is very important as if they are not good employees wont be motivated to work thus causing trouble for the company. Induction training career development Induction training is for the new comers in the company. This concern the history of the organisation, meeting with new colleagues, having a look at the company premises thus including fire exit and covering health and safety topics without forgetting learning how to use machinery. Induction helps new worker to settle down and be a bit more motivating and effective. Performance Appraisal Performance appraisal is about having a closer look on someone and deciding whether hes performing good or not. Performance appraisal may be use for future promotion as well. Consultation Consultation is about talking to people who will be affected by decision before its being taken. After discussion, every view will be seriously study by a responsible before the decision is made. Promotion and transfers Promotion is a reward that one gets after achieving his level best in the company. He is promoted to a higher level. Transfer is done when someone is being sent from one department to another. Termination of employment Human resource management have the right to decide when its right to terminate someone job. This may be cause of misbehaviour, misconduct, frequent absenteeism, laziness, unauthorised breaks, lack of skills, sleeping and many more. Pay, rewards fringe benefits Any reward received will be deal by the HRM. This may include pension scheme, company house or company car. Wage bargaining If an employee feels he needs an increment then he will go directly to the human resource management. He will bargain and give reason why he needs a better wage rather than the old one. Health and safety issues This is the employer duty to make sure that the health and safety equipment are up to date. Safety equipments and safety clothing has to be provided by the company itself for free. Legally employers must provide a safe work place for his employees. And in case of having five or more then a written safety display must be provided. Employment legislation This is the rules and regulation that the company applies and which its employees have to follow. The HRM is responsible for this as well and has to make sure that the rules and regulations are being followed in a proper way. 2.3 Human resource planning refers to the typical Human Resource authoritative key, and the assessment and description of the requirements for human resource for meeting the company aim. It will also need an assessment on the quality of resources needed. Human resource planning has to be a fundamental key of almost each corporations strategic business planning. Sam brown is planning to expand his business and start up an E-retail shop as well. To make sure that they maintain their competitiveness in the market, companies must have original strategies that will keep on motivating and enhancing its employees and also recruit fresh talent. The very first thing to do is to identify and evaluate needs. This means to find out what the needs for the new companies and how to achieve them. As for Sam brown his needs will be the recruitment of new staff and an online domain for his website and also he has to focus on the location for his new shop as there will be many of his competitors in the market. The company mission, strategic vision and core values are important as well. Then is the recruitment process where human resource will have to recruit one of the best staff for both the retail and E-retail shop. Recruitment involves attracting the right standard of applicants to apply for vacancies. Sam brown can first of all have a look at the current employees and allow promotion to those who deserves it and after that he can advertise for the new staff. Since he will be needing number of new staff both for the retail and e-retail, Sam brown can advertise on different websites, in exhibitions and universities so as he can find the suitable person for the vacant job. Selection involves choosing the most suitable people from those that apply for a vacancy, whilst keeping to employment laws and regulations. Screening candidates is a very important part of the selection process. This ensures that those selected for interview have the best fit with the job requirements. In the first stages of screening, Human resource should carefully study each applicants curriculum vitae (CV). Then make a short list and interview the selected candidates. After selection, successful candidates will be trained professionally and can have an induction as well so as to have a better knowledge about the company background. Human resource can perform an environmental scanning to know about the demographic trends, political issues, competitive trends, economics factors, technological changes and any social concerns which can affect the company. Human resource should forecast the demand and supply for labour and goods as well. He should be able to forecast what the company is expecting and what will be its future requirements. A junior HR may be appointed so as he could just deal with recruitment, interview and training so as the senior management is able to control elsewhere. Motivation of current employees is very important. Some of its current employees will not be willing to move from one place to another and this may be because of distance or other factors. Then its the HR to decide about it. Change of contract may be possible so as employees may change from one place to another. Human resource should perform a trend analysis so as to know what their competitor is after. Another important aspect is quality. Human resource should have a closer look at quality and a SWOT analysis as well. Finally by using a balance scorecard to convert strategic aims into operational objectives. Hence Spex4U will be able to move forward and start its e-retail as well. Part 3 3.1/3.2 Explain the purpose of human resource management policies in organisations showing why they are needed at Spex4u with an analysis of the impact of regulatory requirements. HR policies are written authority instruction about issues raised in an organisation should be handled, covering the responsibilities, rights and fundamental rules that both employee and management has to follow. Policies are all about rules and regulations and disciplines that one has got to follow. Policies give managers a control over employees whether they like it or not. HR policies are important so as to know: The description of the company What is actually expected from the company What are the benefits of policies and procedures What is tolerable and intolerable behaviour? The effect of misbehaving Spex4u is a small medium enterprise and in this kind of company its the Human resource who is involved in making the company policies. HR policies help in decision making process as everything is clearly mention in the policies thus making it easier to cover any issues. The introduction of policies can help a company demonstration, both internally and externally, that it meets requirements for diversity, ethics and training as well as its commitments in relation to regulation and corporate governance. For example, in order to dismiss an employee in accordance with employment law requirements, amongst other considerations, it will normally be necessary to meet provisions within employment contracts and collective bargaining agreements. The establishment of an HR Policy which sets out obligations, standards of behaviour and document disciplinary procedures, is now the standard approach to meeting these obligations. There has been an increase in training within the organisation; all employees now receive more training than before. This is a result of the HR department taking a strategic role. HR is not an administrative department; they are proactive and are on the strategic level of the organisation. This increase in training priority has been supported by a rise in Human Resource Management. This practice emphasises that increased growth can only be maintained in the long run; by equipping the work force with the skills they need to complete their tasks (Mullins, L. 2005). The learning process has been challenged to create a culture that allows continual learning throughout the organisation. As knowledge is what matters, organisations and individuals alike must become continuous learners (Hawkins, P 1994). The organisation runs an academy that recognises skills in the individual. The training is identified from core, operational and leadership skills. All employees can access the core skills. These development programmes are tailored to the individuals skill level. The delivery method for the training is varied, allowing for the individuals learning preference. With the policy, there will be the contract of employment where the responsibility of the employee is mention along with the responsibility of the employer as well. Some of the details mention may be the job description, justification, maternity or paternity leave, annual leave, terminations, rewards and so on. Also included under the country law is the time regulation, gender discrimination, disability, age regulation, grievances, discipline, health and safety, redundancy, employment conditions, unfair dismissal, and many more. Policies are here to ensure that a consistence approach is there. And the one which is included in every policy is the human rights act which is very powerful and can tell the British government what to do. Human resource policy should be transparent, fair and consistent. 3.2 Regulatory requirements are those requirements which are concerned about the employment law, regulation requirements, discrimination of law, data protection law and also human rights are related to these requirements. There is a question how an organisation can access to their rules and other activities which are affected to other stakeholders. As Sam brown wants to expand his business, there are many things he will have to go through with the help of his HR. The impact on Spex4u will mostly based on: Minimal wage The company will Benefits Part time post if its seasonal Work life balance Allowances Hours of working Health insurance Part 3 Task 4 4.1/4.2 Analyse the impact of the organisational structure and culture on the management of human resources in the selected organisation An organisation structure consists of action like task allocation supervision and co ordination ,which are leaded the betterment of organizational aims .It might be concerned as the viewing perspective through which individual can see their organisation and its environment ,an organisation can be structured or formed in many different ways, depending on their objectives. The structure of an organisation will be determined the modes in which ways it operates and performs. An organizational structure determines the desired allocation of responsibilities for several functions and process of different equities such as branch, workgroup and branch workgroup. Organization structure effects organizational action in two ways. Firstly it allocates or provides the best foundation on which standard operating procedures and rest of routines. Secondly it concerned in which of the individual involve to participate in the process of decision making. Hence it also helps in order to understand what kind of their views can help in the organizations action. There are several ways through which organization are structured, Functionally as it is explained above, regional area a geographical structure e,g within a marketing manager products like crisps and drinks 4.2 All organizations will have a culture which will have an impact on the way employees behave within the organization.. Employees are seen as a key resource. Our core definition of HRM from Storey talked about cultural aspects of HRM, so part of the way in which employees, as a key resource, can be managed is through the use of organizational culture to generate commitment to the organization and its values. Thus, as Ogbonn (1992: 80) notes, the achievement of HRM objectives requires the management of the organizational value system (culture) and this requires skilful implementation. Often within tourism and hospitality such values will be concerned with encouraging employee buy in to the customer care and service quality initiatives, which organizations see as a form of competitive advantage in the crowded market place. Organizational culture refers to the pattern of beliefs, values, and learned ways of coping with experience that have developed during the course of an or

Asperger’s Autism and The Classroom Setting Essay -- Education

I am very interested in high at risk student populations in traditional schools. While many students labeled as high at risk exist in ever-increasing numbers, there is little in the field that demonstrates the remediation of the student. There have been successful ventures in some instances, however, the greater question of what works and what does not work exists in piece meal fashion (Grenier, 2010). The high at-risk population I am interested in is the special needs child. I have spent numerous years working with autistic children in school settings. The enduring social emotional issues and the mechanics of social interaction have made me contemplate the question of what works best for these children to learn. I have worked in schools where special needs children were the sole students, and in schools that mainstreamed. Towards my EdD, I am looking at the pragmatic results of inclusion versus mainstreaming versus self-contained classrooms. All three offer different learning envir onments and are based upon public law 94-142, now called the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (Demonte, 2010). Until 1975, schools simply had to describe the student as different to either exclude the student from school or tell the parent to institutionalize the student (p.158). When the IDEA came into being, schools acknowledged special needs students who previously they would not accept into their school (p.165). I remember distinctly in 1969, that separate classrooms housed and educated students with disabilities. It was the beginning of my journey in working with at risk populations. Mr. Papanek was the special education teacher and I remember his compassion and commitment to these children. I often volunteered to use my study hall cl... ....proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/750493608?accountid=28180 Higbee, J.L., Katz, R.E., & Schultz, J.L. (2010). Disability in higher education: Redefining mainstreaming. Journal of Diversity Management, 5(2), 7-16. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/506637577?accountid=28180 Litvack, M.S., Ritchie, K.C., & Shore, B.M. (2011) High- and average-achieving students' perceptions of disabilities and of students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Exceptional Children, 77(4), 474-487. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/877027165?accountid=28180 Loefgren, E. (2011). The missing piece of the autism jigsaw puzzle: How the IDEA should better address discipline problems. Law & Psychology Review, 35(1), 225-238. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/896739171?accountid=28180