Tesco in Chinese Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Tesco in Chinese Market - Essay Example Question 2: To consider the risk and additional difficulties involved when a UK based retail supermarket expands its outlet to include wider Europe and Central Asia. The aim of the question is to get suitable answers that will aid in the reduction of some particular risks. The discussion will flow in the direction by first providing evidence of research which inform regarding the implications of expanding business in the said geographies and especially expanding in foreign markets. An analysis of the possible risks and steps involved to mitigate such risks will also be mentioned. Question 1: The proceedings of the RICS foundation construction and building research conference stated the following with regards to the client and stake holder briefing during the pre design phase of construction. "Client briefing is considered to be one of the most important stages in the life of a project .. Research in the UK has identified the need for the clients and advisers to be aware of the importance of what can be commonly termed, the strategic level of decision making."(Smith 2002) The research resulted in indicating that client briefing at the strategic level had the most potential for cost savings in the project. The outcome of the briefing can be maximized positively if client advisers at the time of meeting place high priority on: 1. Understanding the project priorities and business objectives 2. Providing advice which assist clients to gain competitive advantage. 3. Being client oriented rather than focusing too much on the details of the project to the detriment of the broader issues and objectives. (Hapanova et. al 2005) The briefing at the pre design stage should no doubt be one that is wholesome and involve all the participants in an active manner. This can be achieved only if the needs and concerns of everyone are addressed. Eventually there arises a need for the development of a process that will systematically solve issues and clarify doubts raised. The process must be useful well organized and sensitive to client and stakeholder needs. Thus any briefing process designed must have the following essentials in order to improve outcomes for the client, the stake holder and the members in the design team. 1. Create various strategic options for the future direction of the organization 2. Actively involve a range and number if different types of stake holder; 3. adopt fair and rigorous means of decision making 4. To allow each participant (the client, stakeholder and the members in the design team) to contribute to the decision making process irrespective of their position and their role in the organizational hierarchy. 5. Involve external stakeholders so that they can contribute to the development of a strategic decision. 6. Provide commitment to decisions made to improve their chances of implementation. 7. be supported by senior management in the process and through the decision makin

Bermuda triangle Essay Example for Free

Bermuda triangle Essay The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devils triangle is said to be one of the most dangerous and mysterious areas of the ocean known to man. It has been held responsible for the disappearances of over 2000 vessels, 75 airplanes and many innocent lives in the past 3 centuries. But the question is how? What really happened in this deadly body of water? There are many theories about what is going on in the Bermuda Triangle. From human error, to the lost city of Atlantis all the way to paranormal activity and Extra Terrestrials. Today I will be talking to you about the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle. The Bermuda Triangle is located between three main points in the Atlantic Ocean, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Miami, Florida and the Island of Bermuda. The triangle is formed by connecting an imaginary line between these three points with an area of the about 500,000 to 1,000,000 square miles. Flight 19 is said to be one of the first known flights to go down in the Bermuda triangle. The aircraft was filled with US naw avenger bombers on a training mission. When the plane went down, it was said that the flight leader was heard saying We are entering white water, nothing seems to be right. We dont know where we are, the water is reen, no white. This raised suspicion about whats really going on in the so called Devils Triangle. It is very possible that the plane had Just run into some bad weather, but some believe weather is not the cause of these vanishing planes. Im not saying I have come up with the answer to what is going on in the Bermuda triangle, but here are some reasonable answers I have come across; 1. Bad weather. The part of the Atlantic in which the Triangle is located is very close to the Caribbean Sea which tends to get many tropical storms. This could be the cause to all of these strange disappearances. Intense storms may be causing ships to sink or planes to crash. But bad weather is only one of the many theories people have come up with. 2. Human error and amateur sailors. The coast guards are said to get over 8000 distress calls a year, thats more than 20 a day! But most of the time, the issue is minor, running into a rough patch of water or a shortage of gas. . Traffic. There are many planes and boats that go through the Bermuda triangle every day. Because its so busy, vessels and planes could be crashing into each other and falling into the ocean below. 4. Underwater earthquakes. In shallow water, underwater earthquakes can cause sunamis in the far east of the triangle. (and) 5. The gas bubble theory. Scientists say that a high concentration of gas hydrates have been fou nd in the Bermuda area which causes the water to become less dense in small patches. This could cause ships to sink quickly without and trace. Believe it or not,some think the tragedies are caused by the lost city of Atlantis. Some even say that government is behind it. The government supposedly runs an underwater base called A. U. T. E. C. It stands for Atlantic Undersea test and evaluation center. It is located in the middle of the triangle where the naw tests new ubmarines, weapons and sonar. Some people think the government has been working with extraterrestrials and that A. U. T. E. C. is actually used for testing reverse engineered alien technology. Some also say the mythical lost city of Atlantis is causing these mysterious disappearances because ot a stone trail called Bimini road. Its supposedly part of the lost city and possesses advanced technology that is interfering with radio signals in vessels and aircrafts. These theories are more farfetched than earthquakes and amateurs but some think this could be the reason to the mysteries in the triangle.

Leadership Styles Research Methodology

Leadership Styles Research Methodology CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This chapter primarily outlines the overall research methodology. Detailed development of hypotheses, sampling procedure used for this survey and sources of data will be described. Method that was used to collect data to run statistical analysis will be discussed further in this chapter. Hypotheses of Study The variables identified for this research are leadership style, leadership behavior and employees job satisfaction. Hypotheses below are proposed for this study: H1a: Transformational leadership has a significant influence on employees job satisfaction. H1b: Transactional leadership has a significant influence on employees job satisfaction. H2a: Supportive leadership has a significant influence on employees job satisfaction. H2b: Directive leadership has a significant influence on employees job satisfaction. H2c: Participative leadership has a significant influence on employees job satisfaction. Research Framework The association among all the proposed variables can be described in a research framework. Figure 3-1 illustrates the research model. Figure 3-1: The proposed research framework for influences of leadership on employees job satisfaction Leadership Style Transformational Leadership H1a Transactional Leadership H1b Job Satisfaction Leadership Behavior H2a H2b Supportive Leadership H2c Directive Leadership Participative Leadership Measures of construct in the Questionnaire The survey questionnaire used in this research consists of four parts. Part A consists of the measurement items for leadership style which is further divided to two sections, transformational and transactional leadership. Part B of the questionnaire consists of the measurement items for leadership behavior and three subsections that is participative, supportive and directive leadership. In Part C, the section measures on employees job satisfaction. Finally in Part D, the respondents demographic data is collected on their age, gender, education level, marital status, job position, and number of years of experience in the organization, years of establishment of respective organization, number of employees in organization and nature of the organization. The literature review has helped to provide a number of measurement items for leadership style, leadership behaviour and job satisfaction in the questionnaire. Survey respondents were asked to state their level of agreement for all the six constructs discussed previously. The survey questionnaire has adopted the five-point Likert scale which ranges from 1(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) as indicated in Table 3-1. Table 3-1: Instrument used in the questionnaire Strongly disagree 1 Disagree 2 Neither agree nor disagree 3 Agree 4 Strongly agree 5 The measurement items used to operationalize the constructs for the purpose of this study were adapted from relevant previous literature with necessary changes. A summary of the past research measures that is used in this study is indicated in Table 3-2. Table 3-2: Research variables and measurement Construct Source Job Satisfaction Milliman, Czaplewski and Ferguson (2003) Transformational Gadot (2006) Transactional Gadot (2006) Supportive Lee and Kamarul (2008) Directive Lee and Kamarul (2008) Participative Lee and Kamarul (2008) Job Satisfaction The items for job satisfaction were adopted from Milliman, Czaplewski and Ferguson (2003). The questionnaire used four items to access respondents satisfaction on their job. Table 3-3 shows the list of questions used for job satisfaction. Table 3-3: Job Satisfaction Diagnostic Survey Instruments How satisfied are you with your job currently? How satisfied are you with the overall chances of advancement in your organization? How satisfied are you with the career opportunities offered in your organization? How satisfied are you with the nature of the work in your organization? Source: Milliman, Czaplewski and Ferguson (2003), Workplace spirituality and employee work attitudes, An exploratory empirical assessment Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 16 No.4, 2003, pp. 426-447. Leadership style The measurement items for leadership style were adapted from the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). This measure was first introduced by Bass (1985) and then was further improved by Bass and Avolio (1993). It is used to gauge two leadership style scales, namely transformational and transactional. Respondents were asked on which particular leadership style their supervisor closely relates to. MLQ has been widely adapted by past researchers in examining the leadership styles. Table 3-4: Leadership Style Items Transformational Leadership My supervisor instills pride because of their association with the subordinates. My supervisor has gained trust in myself to avoid any obstacles. My supervisor inspires myself to be like him or her. My supervisor goes beyond his individual interest and focuses on the interest of his or her subordinates. My supervisor talks enthusiastically about what needs to be accomplished. My supervisor sets realistic vision and guides on achieving them. My supervisor is a symbol of success and accomplishment. My supervisor constantly views the future optimistically. My supervisor constantly suggests new ways to accomplish things. My supervisor always introduces new challenges and new assignments. My supervisor encourages to think in new ways to solve problems. My supervisor encourages to think creatively and innovatively to solve problems. My supervisor constantly provides coaching to improve my productivity. My supervisor always listens to my concern and helps me to improve. My supervisor always updates me with my performance and does the necessary to develop me. My supervisor treats each individual uniquely and attempts to satisfy subordinates current needs. Transactional Leadership My supervisor rewards performance when his or her expectations are fulfilled. My supervisor always sets the right expectation with me on what is offered when performance goals are met. Prior to any tasks, my supervisor states clear on the performance objectives, clarify rewards, and punishment when the correct output is received. My supervisor considers their relationship with subordinates as a series of contract, deals, or service and reward tradeoffs. My supervisor sets his focus on irregularities, mistakes, exceptions and deviations from standards. My supervisor keeps track on all the error, mistakes and wrong doing by the subordinates. My supervisor urges the subordinates to perform functions strictly according to positions requirement and nothing more. My supervisor is stringent about the rules and regulation of the organization and will take the necessary action if one were to not adhere. My supervisor does not interfere until the problem becomes serious. My supervisor always fire fights when taking corrective measures. My supervisor will only step in once the problems are chronic. My supervisor will not fix a problem until it is broken. Source: Gadot (2006), Leadership style, organizational politics, and employees performance, An empirical examination of two competing models, Personal Review Vol. 36 No. 5, 2007 pp. 661-683. Leadership Behavior In this research, a 13-item was adopted from Lee and Kamarul, (2008). It is used to measure three dimensions of leadership behavior, namely supportive, directive and participative behavior. Same as discussed above, survey respondents are requested to rate how closely his or her supervisor relate to the statements provided in the questionnaire. Likert scales was adopted for the respondents to rate the measurement items with (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree). There are four items used for supportive leadership, four items used for directive leadership behavior and five items used for participative leadership. Table 3-5 shows the questions adopted for leadership behavior. Table 3-5: Leadership Behavior Items Supportive Leadership My supervisor rewards performance when his or her expectations are fulfilled. Supervisor cares for the subordinates welfare. Supervisor does very little to make things pleasant. Supervisor treats all group members as equal. Directive Leadership Supervisor gives clear guidance and explains on how a work needs to be done. Supervisor decides what and how things should be done. Supervisor maintains definite standards of performance. Supervisor follows a schedule to get work accomplished. Participative Leadership Prior to making any decisions, supervisor considers the subordinates thoughts and what they have to say. Prior to making any decisions, supervisor consults with the subordinates. When a problem arises, supervisor consults with the subordinates. Supervisor asks subordinates for their suggestions and feedback. Supervisor listens to subordinates advice on which assignments should be made/taken. Source: Lee and Kamarul (2008), The moderating effects of organizational culture on the relationships between leadership behavior and organizational commitment and between organizational commitment and job satisfaction and performance, Leadership and Organization Development Journal Vol.30 No.1, 2009 pp.53-86. Sampling and population The goal of this study is to understand the relationship between leadership style and behavior on employees job satisfaction in the context of IT industries in Klang Valley and Selangor, the first step was to note down all the listed IT companies in Selangor and Klang Valley. This information was obtained through observation and information provided through colleagues and friends. The population of this research is all individuals who are employees, managers, stakeholders in IT companies in Klang Valley and Selangor. Convenience sampling was used for the purpose of this study. This is due to time constraint, quick responses and it is inexpensive compared to alternate sampling procedures. 3.6 Sources of Data Two methods were used to collect the data, namely primary and secondary data. Primary data for this survey was obtained by means of a survey questionnaire. Quantitative approach was used in the survey questionnaire to be able to measure the relationship between the variables that helps in statistical analysis. Secondary data collection was used to gather information through findings by past researchers using the qualitative approach. Journal sources from Emerald, Proquest, Science Direct related to this topic was studied to get an understanding on the variables. Besides, online journal sources, books related to this topic provides exploratory information that is used for this research. 3.7 Data Collection From the secondary data resources, a set of predetermined questions were created.. Three methods were used to collect data which is personally administered questionnaire, questionnaires attached with emails and online survey questionnaire. 3.7.1 Personally Administered Questionnaire Personally administered questionnaires were sent to all employees and colleagues that are attached with IT Companies in the Klang Valley and Selangor. This method ensured to receive back all the number of questionnaire sent within a short period of time. The advantage of this method is that it avoided any unusable surveys as if the respondents had any questions they were able to get the answers immediately. Personally administered questionnaire is where most of the survey responses were obtained for this research. A sample of personally administered questionnaire is attached in the Appendix. Questionnaires Attached with Emails The availability of internet has helped to send and receive data with a very minimal cost and quicker time span. Questionnaires attached to emails were sent to those who were not easily accessible geographically to pass the questionnaire. Questionnaires are mailed to the target respondents by providing an introduction on the objective of the research and clear guidelines on how to fill the survey and respond back. Although reminders were sent to respondents to increase the survey response, the questionnaires attached to emails received through this method was only 13 (6.5%) out of the overall survey responses. The disadvantage of mail questionnaires attached to emails is, one may not have the time to do the survey immediately at the point that they receive it and have the tendency to forget to response once it is being left for some time in their mailbox. 3.7.3 Online questionnaire An online questionnaire was first used to obtain data for this study. The www.surveyshare.com site was used to create the online questionnaire. The web based tool had the advantage of exporting the survey responses to Microsoft Excel format which is useful for inputting the responses in a structured manner. The automation of data exportation has helped data collection quickly. It is also cheaper to use the online tool as no paper and printing cost is involved. Data can be analysed as and when survey response is received since it automatically provides a summary and overview of all the survey responses received to date. Statistical Procedures The statistical software SPSS version 16 was used to analyse all the data obtained from the survey. Frequencies, means, percentage, reliability test (Cronbach coefficient) and multiple regressions were computed using the tool. To analyse the demographic details of the survey respondents, descriptive statistics which includes frequencies and percentages were done. To meet the research objective, multiple regressions were applied to study the significance between the variables as outlined in the research framework. Reliability Test of the Survey Instrument Table 3-5 presents the reliability measures for the 6 constructs discussed previously. The Cronbachs alpha value was determined from a pilot test with a sample of 30 respondents. The intention of the pilot test is to understand the ease of respondents answering the survey questions. At the same time, the reliability of the survey instrument is determined. The Cronbachs alpha value for job satisfaction, transformational leadership, transactional leadership, participative leadership and directive leadership exceeded 0.70. As for supportive leadership the Cronbachs alpha value is 0.637. Therefore, one of the items for measuring supportive leadership was removed to raise the Cronbachs alpha value to 0.788. Table 3-6: Cronbachs alpha value for six construct from pilot study. Construct Alpha No. of items Job Satisfaction 0.806 4 Transformational leadership 0.918 16 Transactional leadership 0.871 12 Participative leadership 0.915 5 Supportive leadership 0.637 4 Directive leadership 0.824 4

Things They Carried Essay: Strength in The Things They Carried

Strength in The Things They Carried  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Everybody has to deal with adversity at some point in their lives. The adversity that they go through varies from person to person. For First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, he had to make it through the Vietnam War alive. In the short story, "The Things They Carried," where Cross draws his strength from is somewhat unclear. He seems strong at the beginning of the story, but then again, he also seems to be gaining strength towards the end of the story. This paper shows two different points of view. It discusses whether Jimmy Cross is a stronger person at the beginning of the story or at the end of the story. One opinion is that First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is stronger before he burns the pictures of Martha. His strength comes from his connections to the outside world. Martha is his link to life away from the war. This is why it is important that "Martha never mentioned the war, except to say, Jimmy, take care of yourself. She wasn't involved" (O'Brien 403-404). She symbolizes all that he left behind, and all that he hopes to someday return to: innocence, comfort, love, and hope. These hopes and dreams are the things that keep him sane; they keep him more human and less of a war machine. He shows his strength by attaching himself to these things and by keeping himself partly detached from the violence surrounding him. He has the amazing ability to admit to himself that, "he was just a kid at war, in love. He was twenty-two years old. He couldn't help it" (397). By having the strength to see this reality, he fights against war's power to consume a person's whole identity. However, by deciding that, "henceforth, when he thought about Martha, it would be only to think that she belonged... ...do, to a man who now realizes his job, and will make damn sure to get it done right. Both of the points of view are valid arguments. Both are well thought out and have good evidence to back them up. So which one is the right one? Well, that's the great thing about short stories like "The Things They Carried," they are open to interpretation. The reader is the one to decide what it means to them. The point of this paper was to present two different arguments from two different readers. These points of view were both able to answer the question, was Jimmy Cross stronger at the beginning of the story or at the end of the story, in their own way. Work Cited O'Brien, Tim. "The Things They Carried." Literature and Its Writers: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 2nd ed. Ed. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. Boston: Bedford, 2001. Pg. 392-405.   

Global Competition

This week, the emphasis was on global competition and in what way this can influence an establishment’s strategy to boost profits and how to utilize global competition to examine the outcome of relationships among employees and management. These dual topics were fairly straightforward for all team associates to comprehend and might be able to relate to their trades. All team associates were able to convey the topics to their trades and recognize how global competition can influence their specific industry. The topic that we deemed the most affluent with this week was the effect of global competition on an organization’s strategies for maximizing profits. utilizing global competition as a process for maximizing profits is comparatively simple to comprehend because it is simple to see how a business can glance at their competitors internationally to realize where they are deficient or where they are exceling. Benefiting from another businesses marketing strategies or product ideas can help a boost a business’s product sales and can heighten their business. We all concur we should take a step back to see the big picture. Looking at each of our respective trades we often get stuck within the boundaries of our companies. This can limit our abilities to utilize the information gathered from our competition. Examining the result of global competition on the relationship between management and labor was a slight more problematic to understand due to the fact that some employers do not use global competition in order to gauge the relationship between employees and the management group in some of our respective trades. We have never first hand had to use this tool to center on the relationships among employees because the individuals in our departments were hired by Human Resources based upon the circumstance that they understand there will be a good working relationship among everyone. After discussing this issue we as a group find it is important to protect and evolve this relationship between labor and management based on global competition. Sometimes the scale of competition may be between countries, regions, states, or even on much smaller scale cities. Important things we find must not be left out when analyzing this relationship are simple. For example, economics, technology, political, and traditions can lead to a success. Increase wages steadily and keeping benefits for workers is crucial. Working from within to achieve competitive advantages goes hand in hand with improvements for your employees. 3 key points are protecting wages, job security, and benefit gains. Our group now has a better understanding on how global completion can affect companies. This can be in a positive or negative way. Reaching international customers is the main goal. Maintain access to customers, communication, improve service, and the reduction of barriers is very important.

The Russian revolution Essays

The Russian revolution Essays The Russian revolution Essay The Russian revolution Essay no other sources mention this.This is a big effect on the death of the remaining members. Source J also mentions there being 5 bodies identified as being from the tsar, his wife and 3 daughters. This information tells us that a son and a daughter were missing. No sources said about them being the 2 people missing. Others sources such as in source I it says His wife and son had been sent off to a secure place. This source does not make sense to source J because the two people dont fit in with the 2 missing bodies. They both get it the same qbout the son but the wife is claimed to be a missing member althought source J says it was one of the daughters. All the sources say different things about what had happened and how the bodies were destroyed. None I dont think agree with source J, but I think this source may be a lot more reliable and a lot different because a lot more evidence had been discovered by then and it has evidence to back it up with the discovered bodies and they ahd been identified.

Definition and Examples of an Implied Author

Definition and Examples of an Implied Author In reading, an implied author is the version of a writer that a reader constructs based on the text in its entirety. Also called a  model author, an abstract author, or an inferred author. The concept of the implied author was introduced by American literary critic Wayne C. Booth in his book  The Rhetoric of Fiction  (1961): However impersonal [an author] may try to be, his reader will inevitably construct a picture of the official scribe who writes in this manner. Examples and Observations [I]t is a curious fact that we have no terms either for this created second self or our relationship with him. None of our terms for various aspects of the narrator is quite accurate. Persona, mask, and narrator are sometimes used, but they more commonly refer to the speaker in the work who is after all only one of the elements created by the implied author and who may be separated from him by large ironies. Narrator is usually taken to mean the I of the work, but the I is seldom if ever identical with the implied image of the artist.(Wayne Booth, The Rhetoric of Fiction. University of Chicago Press, 1961)Too often in my early work, I suggested a total communion between two utterly confident, secure, correct, and wise human beings at the top of the human heap: the implied author and me. Now I see an implied author who is manifold.(Wayne C. Booth, The Struggle to Tell the Story of the Struggle to Get the Story Told. Narrative, January 1997) Implied Author and Implied Reader A classic example of mismatching in kind is The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair. The implied author intends that the implied reader will react to the horrifying account of the Chicago meatpacking industry by taking socialist action to improve the workers lives. In other words, the implied reader of The Jungle already cares about workers in general, and the implied author intends that building on that old value, the reader will primarily be motivated to adopt a new valuesocialist commitment to helping Chicago meat workers. But, because most actual American readers lacked sufficient concern for workers, a mismatch occurred, and they failed to react as intended; The Jungle ended up moving them only to agitate for improved sanitation in meatpacking.(Ellen Susan Peel, Politics, Persuasion, and Pragmatism: A Rhetoric of Feminist Utopian Fiction. Ohio State University. Press, 2002) Controversies As our study of implied author reception will show, there is no consistent correlation between the contexts in which the concept has been used and the opinions that have been put forward regarding its usefulness. In interpretive contexts, both supporting and opposing voices have made themselves heard; in descriptive contexts, meanwhile, the implied author has met with near-universal hostility, but even here its relevance to textual interpretation occasionally attracts a more positive response.(Tom Kindt and Hans-Harald Mà ¼ller, The Implied Author: Concept and Controversy. Trans. by Alastair Matthews. Walter de Gruyter, 2006)