Do you think fraud on resumes and job applications is an important issue for organizations? Why or why not?

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“You Manage It! 2: Ethics/Social Responsibility What a Fraud!

The economy is tight, and there is competition among applicants to land jobs. This setting is expected to lead to an increase in the number of applicants who will misrepresent their background and credentials. The hope, of course, is that this bit of fudging will help them get the job. The misrepresentations might involve a change in the date of birth, shifting a college major, or maybe even the fabrication of a degree. There may also be lies about criminal records. The fact of the matter is that these misrepresentations, whether “little white lies” or major fabrications, are fraud. It is expected that fraud will be engaged in by approximately 30 percent of job applicants.

Critical Thinking Questions;

5-17. Do you think fraud on resumes and job applications is an important issue for organizations? Why or why not?

5-18. Sometimes qualifications and credentials are important. For example, do you think it is important that your professors actually have the required qualifications (e.g., a PhD) to teach university-level classes? Is it important that your doctor have the qualifications that the medical board indicates are needed? Why?

5-19. If a fraudulent imposter can perform the job, what’s the harm?”

“What business are we in?” and “What business should we be in?”

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STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PROCESS/VISION, MISSION, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The Strategic Management Process: Vision, Mission, Values, Goals, Stakeholders

Strategic management is a company-wide process that includes the development of a long-term plan of action that assists an organization in achieving its objectives and fulfilling its company vision.

This course is focused on the steps and stages of preparing and implementing a strategic plan. Although we do not have time in one short course to go through the entire process in detail, by the end of the course you will know what you would need to do, and you will have the tools to develop a plan if you need to participate in the process. The following two readings and PowerPoint presentation are intended to provide you with an overview of the planning process. They also serve as an introduction and overview of the course.

McNamara, C. (2009). Developing your strategic plan. Retrieved on November 6, 2012, from http://www.managementhelp.org/np_progs/sp_mod/str_plan.htm

The strategic planning process. (2007). Retrieved on November 6, 2012, from http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/strategic-planning/

Click on the link for a PowerPoint presentation summarizing Strategic Management by Professor Anastasia M. Luca.

 

Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals

We will begin by studying the first step of the strategic planning process. This is the step that informs the rest of the process. It is also the step that ensures that all parties to the strategic plan are in agreement as to why the company exists, what the company does, where the company should go, and how it should get there. Those who run an organization should continually be asking the following two questions: “What business are we in?” and “What business should we be in?” Why? Because the answers may not necessarily be the same, in which event the strategic course must be corrected.

Mission statements are explicit statements concerning the reason(s) for an organization’s existence. At the most basic level, mission statements articulate what the company is, why it exists, and what it does. The mission statement sets up the long-term direction of the company, reflects the goals of its major stakeholders (i.e., shareholders, customers, suppliers, and employees), and should be capable of standing the test of time.

The mission statement should be the first consideration for anyone engaged in the strategic planning process, or in decisions which have strategic implications. Any action taken by the organization must be compatible with its expressed mission. Following are several mission statements:

The Elephant Sanctuary: “A natural refuge where sick, old and needy elephants can once again walk the earth in peace and dignity.” This is one powerful statement that evokes emotion and instant attachment to the cause of this organization.

Sun Microsystems: “Solve complex network computing problems for governments, enterprises, and service providers.” This is a simple mission statement identifying the company’s market and what the company does.

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream: A product mission is stated as: “To make, distribute and sell the finest quality all natural ice cream and euphoric concoctions with a continued commitment to incorporating wholesome, natural ingredients and promoting business practices that respect the Earth and the Environment.” This mission inspired Ben & Jerry’s to build a cause-related company.

Joe Boxer: “JOE BOXER is dedicated to bringing new and creative ideas to the marketplace, both in our product offerings as well as our marketing events. We will continue to develop our unique brand positioning, to maintain and grow our solid brand recognition, and to adhere to high quality design standards. Because everyone wants to have fun every day, JOE BOXER will continue to offer something for everyone with fun always in mind.”

Some mission statements are epic in scope. Here are some examples of mission statements from the past that promised nothing less than revolutionizing an industry:

The Ford Motor Company (early 1900s): “Ford will democratize the automobile.”

Sony (early 1950s): “Become the company most known for changing the worldwide poor-quality image of Japanese products.”

Boeing (1950): “Become the dominant player in commercial aircraft and bring the world into the jet age.”

Wal-Mart (1990): “Become a $125 billion company by the year 2000.”

Vision statements are similar to mission statements in the sense that they also define the organization’s purpose. However, they do so by focusing on the organization’s core beliefs as to how things should be done, and they establish an image of a future that the organization aspires to create. Vision statements are meant to be inspiring. They give direction to employees concerning how they should carry out their jobs, and they signal customers about the values of the organization.

Examples of vision statements:

Heinz: “The world’s premier food company, offering nutritious, superior tasting foods to people everywhere.” Being the premier food company does not mean being the biggest, but it does mean being the best in terms of consumer value, customer service, employee talent, and assuring consistent and predictable growth.

Chevron: “At the heart of The Chevron Way is our vision … to be the global energy company most admired for its people, partnership and performance.”

Pfizer: “To become the world’s most valued company to patients, customers, colleagues, investors, business partners, and the communities where we work and live.”

Value statements identify the ethos of a company—or the ethics under which an organization plans to conduct business. Every mission and vision is inherently based on the organization’s core values. Some organizations articulate those values (often, they do so in rather lengthy treatises), while others simply depend on their mission and vision to communicate their values.

Goals and objectives parcel out the vision into achievable units that are further subdivided into smaller and smaller units. Goals are quantifiable and measurable, they are important, and they are attainable. Goals can include deadlines, and are expressed in terms of market share, revenue, and profit for the organization as a whole.

The following short articles will give you a better idea about the functions and content of mission and vision statements:

The business vision and company mission statement. (2007). QuickMBA. Retrieved on August 27, 2014, from http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/vision/

McNamara, C. (2009). Basics of developing mission, vision and values statements. Retrieved on November 6, 2012, from http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/stmnts.htm

Heathfield, S. M. (2009). Build a strategic framework: mission statement, vision, values. Retrieved on November 6, 2012, from http://humanresources.about.com/cs/strategicplanning1/a/strategicplan.htm

 

Organizational Stakeholders

Organizational stakeholders are all of the individuals and groups of individuals who have an interest in (give-and-take relationship with) the firm. Many people think only of shareholders when they think about stakeholders. However, we will see that shareholders are only one of many groups of stakeholders. It may be helpful to remember what you learned in elementary school about the relationships between squares and rectangles. That is, “All squares must be rectangles but not all rectangles are squares.” Similarly, all shareholders are stakeholders, but not all stakeholders are shareholders.

Classification of Stakeholders

Internal Stakeholders External Stakeholders
Stockholders Customers
Employees Suppliers
CEO and executives Government
Managers and supervisors Unions
Board members Communities (local and beyond)
The general public

The following resources provide a very good overview of organizational stakeholders:

Hammonds, K. (2007). Michael Porter’s big ideas, Fast Company, 44, Retrieved on November 6, 2012, from http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/44/porter.html

Luca, A. M. (2007). Organizational Stakeholders. Power Point presentation.

Stakeholder analysis. Assessing who or what really counts. (2009). 12manage: The executive fast track. Retrieved on November 6, 2012, from http://www.12manage.com/methods_stakeholder_analysis.html

Welch, J., & Welch, S. (2008). State your business: Too many mission statements are loaded with fatheaded jargon. Play it straight. Bloomberg. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2008-01-02/state-your-business

Background on the SLP

The SLP for this course requires that you participate in a simulated business exercise. Simulations are interactive, allowing you to see – and learn from – the results of your decisions. Moreover, you are able to repeat the simulation, improving the quality of your decisions, learning from past mistakes.

Speaking of mistakes, Joe Thomas had been the V.P. of Marketing for the Wonder Company during the five-year period of 2012 through 2016 inclusive. Suffice it to say that the pricing and R&D strategy used by Joe Thomas throughout his tenure has been a disaster. Indeed, year-over-year, the company’s performance has declined significantly. The inevitable result: Joe is fired on December 31, 2016.

On the same day (December 31, 2016), you are hired to replace Joe – and this, just as the company faces the prospects of another dismal new year. Mysteriously, however, you are caught up in a Time Warp, and you are taken back to January 1, 2013. While you find these circumstances to be very strange, you recognize that they do give you the opportunity to erase the financial history from 2013 through 2016, by redoing the unfortunate decisions that have been made by Joe Thomas over this four-year period. As a recent MBA graduate, you are excited by the opportunity, because you know that you have the requisite knowledge and the skill set required to vastly improve the performance of the Wonder Company.

In this simulation, you will be examining income statements and marketing reports to assist you in making decisions about pricing, product development (R&D expenditures), and product life cycles.

Following is a brief summary of what you will do in each SLP:

  1. SLP1:In the first SLP, it is January 1, 2017. You have just replaced Joe Thomas. You are getting ready to create a marketing strategy for 2017. Before doing so however, you need to review the performance of the company over the last four years. You review the financial, marketing, and product data to determine how well your products have fared against the competition during the years 2013 through 2016 inclusive. Confident that you are familiar with the 4-year history of your products, you are ready to move forward into 2017.
  2. SLP2:At the beginning of SLP2, you have mysteriously been caught in a Time Warp, in which you have been taken back to January 1, 2013. You recognize that you now have the opportunity to redo the decisions made by Joe Thomas during 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. Of course, you know that you can do better than Joe Thomas. You work your way through each of the four years, making better decisions than Joe along the way, trying to generate more profit and an overall better performance than your predecessor. As you do so, you methodically keep track of your decisions (noting the reasons you have made each decision), and you document the results of your decisions. You write a final report that demonstrates why you made each decision – and the results of your decisions.
  3. SLP3:Alas, in SLP3, the Time Warp has struck again, taking you back once more to January 1, 2013. You realize that you had forgotten to use CVP analysis to support your decision-making process. Using CVP, you evaluate your pricing strategy for the past four years. You have confidence that the use of CVP has helped you to develop a new (and hopefully, a vastly improved) product, pricing, and R&D strategy.
  4. SLP4:In SLP4, you run the simulation using the CVP-related strategy you developed in SLP3. Once again, at the end of each year, you document each decision, and you document your results. Hopefully, your use of CVP has helped to improve your SLP2 results.

NEED TO BRUSH UP ON CVP ANALYSIS?

You were introduced to CVP analysis in your previous courses. The following link will provide a refresher:

Peavler, R. (2017, February 02). How to do Cost-Volume-Profit analysis: An introduction. The Balance. Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-do-cost-volume-profit-analysis-an-introduction-393475

BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE SIMULATION

When you log into the simulation (you will find the simulation link in the Module 1 SLP), you will see the simulation interface, which provides you with information about the Wonder Company, as well as the input interface to implement your strategy (pricing decisions and R&D budget allocations).

Explore the interface, and become familiar with it and the information it provides. The left-hand menu includes these options:

  • Introduction– Background about the company and its three products; how to play the simulation.
  • Financials– Provides the financial results of the current year and the previous year. Clicking on the tabs at the top of the chart will allow for the display of different company data, as well as data for each of the three products.
  • Market Info– Provides the market results of the current year and the previous year. When you click on the tabs at the top of the chart, different company data and data for each of the three products will be displayed.
  • Make Decisions– This is where you input your pricing and product development budget (R&D %) strategy decisions.
  • View Summary– This provides a summary of important information for each round (year) of the simulation. Here, you can determine your personal score. An advisor will tell you how you are doing.
  • Get Help– This provides additional information about the simulation and some theory that it is based on. You should click on each of these links to gain an understanding: Glossary of Financial Terms; Product Life Cycle (some theory you can use), and Feedback. In this last link, notice the Systems Feedback connections.

Each time you open the simulation (or when you reset it to play again), you will begin on January 1, 2013, and the data you see will show the results for 2012 (the previous year). When you run the simulation, you will always run it for the four-year period of 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. At the end of each year, you will see the results for that year and the previous year.

Remember that in preparing the assignments for this module, you must demonstrate that you know how to use the appropriate business tools for such an analysis. This will require you to integrate what you have learned throughout the MBA program.

OTHER USEFUL RESOURCES:

Useful Internet Sites:

You may access some useful Internet and other resources relating to such matters as financial ratios and processes for measurement of organizational resources (both tangible and intangible) at:
http://www.investopedia.com/university/ratios/#axzz2JNe7QCr3
or
http://www.sveiby.com/files/pdf/intangiblemethods.pdf

 

DESCRIBE HOW TO SECURE SUPPORT FOR THE CHANGE PROCESS FROM SENIOR MANAGEMENT .

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PLANNING A CHANGE

PROCESS

CMI UNIT 6003 V-membership number-p 04695630

HARRISH CHANDRA RADHAKRISHNA | | 17 NOVEMBER 2019

TASK 1

Introduction

The Mauritius duty free paradise company ltd(MDFP) is found in Mauritius. MDFP operates retail duty shops at the Mauritius airport and the organization has been set up some 35 years back. We offer for sales a broad assortment of liquor, wines, spirits, perfumes, tobacco and cigars, local made products, high end luxury good like watches, jewelry, leather goods, pen and so on. I have been working for the organization for the last 25 years, I have acted as a sales supervisor for 15 years and I am a shift leader for the past 3 years. I form part of the middle management and I manage a team of 5 sales supervisors along with 80 sales /support/administrative staff. We do work on a shift system depending on flight timings and operations exigencies.

As per Mauritius customs regulations, MDFP is allowed to sell duty free goods to only incoming and outgoing travelling passengers including those travelling by private jets. MDFP also fully owned the Rodrigues duty free shop, which is our sister island around 2 hours’ flight from Mauritius.

MDFP is a parastatal body where the main shareholder (80%) is the government of Mauritius and the remaining 20% for the airports of Mauritius limited. We have a board of directors of highly qualified and top ranked government officials ranging from the advisor to the prime minister to the CEO of airports of Mauritius limited.

This assessment will highlight some of the challenges MDFP is currently facing in regards to input of revenues when compared to similar organizations like DDF.it is the position of this assignment that an increase in the number of MDFP shops as well as introduction of more domestic products could transform MDFP into an internationally recognized retailer making significant contributions into Mauritius economy.

AC 1.1 –DETERMINE THE ORGANISATION POSITION IN THE SECTOR AND MARKET WITHIN WHICH IT OPERATES

MDFP operates in the highly competitive segment of the retail business. The retail industry has experienced a huge transformation with the introduction of online retail with companies like eBay, amazon providing to be a huge source of competition for traditional retailers. However, because MDFP is a duty free retailer operating within Mauritius airport, the online business had a minimal impact on the organization as well as similar retailers.

Furthermore, we do not expect any future developments in online retail to have serious implications on our business since we target mainly travelling passengers at the airport and not the public at large. We do, however, keep looking for different methods that we can employ technology to improve our service delivery with our customers and suppliers. We are the major duty free products retailer in the country and in the region also compared to Seychelles, reunion island, south Africa etc. The largest duty free retailer worldwide is the Dubai duty free(DDF) which is a young organization (1983) but with a huge turnover of USD 2 billion yearly. nevertheless, at MDFP, we are trying to be as competitive as DDF and many of our products line are cheaper than them e.g. liquor, perfumes and confectionery.

MDFP turnover has been constantly increasing since its opening and below figures for the last 3 financial years:

  • 2016/2017-€ 54.5 M

Turnover as per products category as follows:

  • Tobacco-14%

MDFP yearly profits turnaround € 11M with a constant increase of around 2 to 4% yearly. Actually there is a great demand of local made products/souvenirs and a radical change in terms of new products, opening of new shops with a better and wider assortment of these products will give a boost to our turnover from 2 to around 10% thus an increase of around € 5M for this category. The retail sector is very dynamic and with high flux of travelling passengers, mainly during the forthcoming high season, same will be beneficial to MDFP in terms of profits and turnover.

A PESTLE analysis of MDFP will help understand our environment as same is an important step towards developing new strategy and change as the retail business constantly changes and these changes are crucial. These changes will assist in designing an organizational change process that will allow MDFP to reach similar levels as DDF.it is essential to note that the key step towards accomplishing this will be to attract more local and international passengers into Mauritius.

As more people use our airports, it is expected that their spending will go up leading to improved business for us. Consequently, gaining a deeper understanding of the political, economic, social, technological, Legal and environmental factors that can influence the flow of people both positively and negatively will be crucial. Furthermore, a PESTLE analysis will help us understand the messaging that we will use when trying to inform the world about our improved products in our additional retail stores as well as the current ones.

Below a PESTLE analysis of MDFP:

  • POLITICAL FACTORS
  • Competitive products and pricing pressures
  • We are imposed quota on tobacco and liquor for our inbound passengers
  • Comply with health guidelines provided by government to avoid legal troubles worldwide
  • Need also to abide to laws of other countries e.g. allowance of tobacco products to other countries e.g. Singapore is zero tolerance in terms of tobacco for incoming passengers there
  • ECONOMIC FACTORS
  • Our prices are affixed in euros, exchange rates inflation
  • People tend not to spend so much money
  • Competition high amongst our competitors
  • People save more money to buy products of basic necessity
  • Better shape of worldwide economy, higher revenue and higher profits for the organization
  • SOCIAL FACTORS
  • Increase in use of social media resulting in lots of on line sales
  • Tendency to eat/drink healthy so downfall on sales of tobacco/liquor/confectionery
  • Preference for local made products by local entrepreneur
  • Consumers like good deals-discounts and sakes are the norms now
  • Demands of new generation are different and importance of customer service growing more so more focus to be given on customer engagement.
  • TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS
  • Use of variety of technology-like website and cash registers to manage money
  • Internet makes us reach our clients worldwide-offering online selection but must buy at our outlets only as we cannot offer online services
  • Organizations that fail to keep up with technological advances leave opportunities for our competitors or smaller retailers to enter their market
  • LEGAL FACTORS
  • Legal conditions to be abided by for example labour laws, international laws in terms of security as our product goes around the world through all airlines and passengers, e.g. when targeting foreign passengers intending to buy gifts for their loved ones, certain airlines/countries restrict the amount of liquids or cigarettes in their country. Singapore and Australia are examples where only 2 packets of cigarettes are allowed per passenger. Also some countries like USA may charge airport tax and VAT on goods coming into the country. Thus we should price our products with this in mind.
  • One more example all tobacco products should be sold with warning pictorial signs
  • Legal scenario is very complex so we have to be cautious since any violation can be damning
  • Legal conditions between our suppliers as we deal with famous and important brands
  • ENVIRONMENTAL
  • Focus on packaging and sourcing in an environmentally responsible way
  • We sell food products therefore needs to be very cautious about food contamination/expiry dates are monitored closely
  • Environmental issues inside our shops for customers and employee safety-this is set by government and airport authorities

In brief, the PESTLE analysis shows that we need to be up to date with political, economic, social, technological, legal and economic factors that could influence our business model. We must familiarize ourselves with the evolving political and legal changes taking place in other countries so that we ensure our products remain competitive while using technology and social media to market MDFP products.

 

AC1.2-IDENTIFY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CHANGE IN SUPPORT OF THE ORGANISATION OBJECTIVES.

Small organizations must adapt to the competitive business world for its survival. While MDFP has done considerably well to remain competitive, there is a need to increase our market presence in Mauritius and build our brands to promote Mauritius as a shopping destination. The change process proposed in this assignment will follow Kotter’s (1996) 8 step process in addition to Kurt Lewin’s three steps of planned change, as discussed in later sections.

MDFP is doing very well, nevertheless to attract a larger customer base, increase sales and turnover and meet customer needs is a priority.

We have a great demand for local made products under the label “MADE IN MAURITIUS” and additional 2 shops, one in departure and one in arrival, with a larger variety of products will be beneficial to both the organization and the shareholders. New products will create a buzz and there will obviously be an increase in pax penetration thus sales for other lines of products will go up too.one more important point is that change in product assortment will bring higher spend per pax thus improving service level with the ability to x sell and upsell on other existing brands too.

Investment for this change in terms of staffing/salary will be nil as we will deal with suppliers to provide to us additional staff on their cost to promote their products thus boosting their sales too. This is a win win deal as we are their sole provider of goods at the airport and thus promoting their brans with tourists.

TASK 2

A.C 1.3-DISCUSS A MODEL OR METHOD TO IDENTIFY A CHANGE PROCESS AND THE COMMUNICATION OF THAT CHANGE PROCESS

To fully and successfully implement the change and also meet the stakeholder’s requirements, MDFP will have to support the performance of all staff as they will be the most important partners in the change process. We need to develop staff skills in order to match the requirements needed for the launch. On the other way, a good implementation plan is important as same identifies the goals and objectives, list the project tasks and defines rules and regulations.

As a team leader, I will have to manage efficiently as the change will impact on staff but will be beneficial to MDFP. If I can rely on top management and my sales supervisors to help me implementing the change, things would be easier for everyone, for better results.

To assist me in the plan, I will use Kotter’s (1996),8 step process and I will use the first 4 steps for our change plan that is:

  • Create a sense of urgency-by making employees aware of the urgency and need of change, they will support and buy in the change. This requires honest and open dialogue and same will be accomplished by informing them about threats we face.
  • Build guiding team-a project team to be established in order to occupy itself with the changes. Group should be made of employees in different roles so that they are all well represented.
  • Develop a vision-for everyone to understand what we want to achieve, a clear vision needs to be created as same supports and makes the changes more concrete. Employees will accept the vision easier if their ideas are included.
  • Communicate the vision-communication is a very important aspect to any form of change as same creates acceptance among the employees. Each time we get an opportunity, we must talk about the organization new vision and also have feedback about their opinions, concerns and anxieties.as leaders we must take the ownership of the change.

The need and importance of change should be clearly communicated to the key stakeholders about the need and importance of adopting changes in MDFP. Change is not always easy as I have witnessed during the past 25 years in MDFP but when we keep our staff involved and informed, things go on well. The goal will be informing the organization’s management that to remain competitive and make greater contribution into the country’s economy, we must take steps designed towards increasing our sales turnover.

We have several ways to communicate our change strategy in order to make same successful:

  • Be clear and honest about what is changing and why we must change-honest and respectful communication is the key words

Limeade marketing(2014),8 ways to communicate change[accessed on 22 October 2019, https://www.limeade.com/2014/04/8-ways-to-communicate-change-to-employees/

 

TASK 3

A.C. 2.1 – EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF THE CHANGE PROCESS ON INDIVIDUALS IN THE ORGANIZATION

Organizational changes can have both positive and negative impacts on the individuals working within the institution. The effect of the change process within an organization is largely depends on the style of leadership as well as the methods of communication employed by the senior management. For instance, in the case of participative leadership, it is expected that individuals within the organization will be well informed about the changes, and the process of embracing new organizational culture will be well received by the staff. On the other hand, directive leadership relies heavily on the leader of the organization as well as its senior management team making decisions without involving the junior employees. This section will address the two styles of leadership and discuss the impact each is likely to have on individual employees.

Lussier & Achua (2016) argue that the implementation of organizational change is likely to create tensions and possibly affect employee performances in a negative way. This is especially the case when the change process is not well communicated by the management team, and employees are not fully aware of the roles they are expected to play in the change process, as well as, the impact this change will have on their continued employment within the organization. Thus, using a participative leadership style where the management encourages participation from the organization’s entire workforce is important. Participative leadership style works well when combined with participatory communication. Participatory communication takes place when the company leaders collect the views of the employees after informing them and convincing them of the need for organizational change (Greenwood, Jennings, & Hinings,2015)

On the other hand, a directive leadership style is only useful when dealing with inexperienced employees or where the change is urgent. In this style of and organizational change, tensions, anxiety, and conflicts are likely to arise as each employee tries to understand the change processes occurring within his or her areas of occupation. To this end, Lussier & Achua (2016) recommend that organizational leadership considers good communication with their employees so as to ensure the change process is accepted. by all.

MDFP will rely on participative leadership style and participatory communication throughout the change process. While it is possible that some employees will be affected by the organization’s change process in a negative way, any potential scenarios of resistance to change can be prevented through re training of the organization’s workforce in order to prepare them for their new responsibilities. Also, the organization would also stand to benefit from the contributions made by its employees when participatory communication is employed as opposed to the one-way, top-bottom communication style used in the directive leadership style. The company will, therefore, prevent any possibilities of employee unrest, layoffs, and resistance to change that is likely to arise during organizational change.

Nevertheless, it is expected that some of the disadvantages of participative leadership may affect the implementation of our planned change, and we should be prepared for this. For instance, Participative leadership style is time and resource consuming, especially when there are difficulties arriving at a consensus (Greenwood et al.,2015).to avoid delays, the communication inviting input from the employees will be carried out three months before the change process is initiated.

 

A.C. 2.2 – ASSESS THE IMPACT OF THE CHANGE ON ORGANIZATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS

The stakeholders of the MDFP are also expected to benefit from the pending organizational changes. For instance, the expansion of the company’s offerings will most probably draw more people to Mauritius, leading to increased traffic and potential customers for the products and services offered by MDFP.  This increase in potential customers offers the organization the opportunity to increase its sales, thus, increasing the returns on behalf of the key stakeholders, mainly the government of Mauritius and the airports of Mauritius. The increase in profits generated can help the government and the airports of Mauritius to expand the operations of MDFP to more airports while at the same time expanding the organization’s product range. As previously discussed, most of the products offered by MDFP are common to the products provided by similar retailers across the world. However, with the increased profits and the potential for expansion, the retailer can increase its product line and incorporate goods and services that are not currently in offer in other duty-free shops across the world.

Other beneficiaries of the upcoming changes are the local producers and manufacturers of products sold within MDFP. For example, local jewelers, tea, rum manufacturers, toymakers, and other local producers and suppliers within the industry are expected to benefit from increased demands for their products. In this case, the higher number of visitors and travelers will expand the consumption of local products, thereby leading to an input of foreign currency into the country. This would potentially lead to more jobs and income for the government through tax revenues. Making Mauritius a shopping hub, similar to Dubai, would help increase the flow of foreign tourists further benefiting the local population, local businesses, MDFP, and the government in the same way that DDF has benefited from the conversion of Dubai into one of the world’s leading destination for shoppers and tourists. For instance, in a publication by Mack (2019, the author noted that Dubai was ranked the highest by MasterCard in terms of visitor spending in 2018, in the world, this being the 4th year in a row. Furthermore, MasterCard reported that spending in Dubai was at use 553 per person per day when compared to second placed Paris where visitor spending was around Us 296 perday.in Dubai, the city gained in excess Us 30.8 billion from visitors expensed(Mack,2019). given Dubai weather (hot all year long) and geographical location, it is our belief that we would be able to achieve more than our current turnover if we put in extra efforts to marketing and implementing the right changes. In short, an argument can be made that the various stakeholders of MDFP will experience financial and branding gains once the organization carries out the organizational changes, as discussed in this paper. These benefits may be either direct, in the case of immediate stakeholders, or indirect, for the entities not directly tied to MDFP, the Mauritius airports, or the government and also all employees of MDFP.

 

TASK 4

A.C. 2.3 – ANALYZE THE IMPACT OF THE CHANGE ON ACHIEVEMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the expected changes within MDFP include increasing the demand for locally made products, “Made in Mauritius,” and growing the country’s economy through the expansion of the tourism sector and the travel industry. The planned changes in MDFP are expected to increase the demand for local products and services both within the country and abroad. Consequently, the expansion of the current number of retail stores will undoubtedly lead to higher sales volumes of local products through our duty-free shops located within the country’s airports. The current numbers of shops are limited to selling specific and specific volumes of products that are locally made, a fact that leaves out a variety of products that could potentially benefit the economy. For instance, local artists and businesses operating in the fashion industry are presently not well represented in the current setup of MDFP shops within our airports. Furthermore, most of the alcoholic beverages being sold in our shops is imported from foreign manufacturers, and the fact that MDFP is a duty-free shop provides them with an unfair competitive advantage over our local products. This is not applicable to alcoholic beverages alone since MDFP also sells other imported products ranging from jewelry, cosmetics, toys and garments. Given the fact that these international brands enjoy a significant advantage of financial power and brand equity over our locally made products, local producers and manufacturers are faced with tough competition. Thus, increasing the number of shops will offer the local industry an opportunity to grow, market their products, and possibly make sufficient profits to finance the sale of products that are “Made in Mauritius” in foreign markets.

The planned change will also help market Mauritius as a shopping and tourism destination in the similar fashion that DDF has managed to market Dubai to the rest of the world. Increased flights and visitors to the country will play a key role in expanding the country’s economy as well as marketing domestically manufactured products to the rest of the world. As a result, it is our belief that the planned changes will help us in meeting our objectives of increasing the marketing of “Made in Mauritius” products and the growth of the local economy.at the same time, it would be irresponsible if we fail to plan for the potential negative impacts of increase in tourism, for example, issues such as vandalism, pollution, traffic congestion and local goods becoming expensive. As a result, part of the money generated by the increased tourism traffic will be set aside to address the potential side effects of high tourist traffic into the country.

TASK 5

A.C. 3.1 – DESCRIBE HOW TO SECURE SUPPORT FOR THE CHANGE PROCESS FROM SENIOR MANAGEMENT

There are different approaches to securing support for the organizational change process from senior management.one of the main challenges will be addressing the board because MDFP is owned by airports of Mauritius and the government of Mauritius. However, while getting in touch with the prime minister will be challenging, we can always address the board of directors including members that represent the government and the ministry of commerce. The first step is by convincing them of the need to implement change in order for MDFP to become competitive and increase its contwill be conducted in relation to the performance of other duty-free retailers of island nations as well as other African countries. This will be crucial given the fact that Mauritius is a small country with a population of about 1.2 million people, and it would be unfair to run comparisons with countries that have significantly high populations like Europe, China, and the USA. Once this comparison has been highlighted, for example, with the use of DDF, it will be possible to convince the senior management that MDFP is capable of improving its performances in order to match that of DDF.

The second step is to persuade the management that organizational change is not only necessary for the organization’s continued competitive growth but that it is also important for the organization to survive. As mentioned before, small organizations have to continuously change their approach to doing business if they hope to survive in the modern economy. At present, most developed and developing nations are constantly evolving at a faster rate in an effort to increase tourism into their country and market locally made products. Thus, it will be crucial for MDFP to improve as well and help the country market its domestic products in the current highly competitive market. Having a strong and highly competitive MDFP would benefit the country’s economy through the sale of domestic products, a fact that would be of interest to the senior management since 80% of MDFP is owned by the government.

Finally, the senior management would have to be drawn to the fact that the planned change process will help the country’s economy by improving the competitive advantage of the local businesses. For instance, I have highlighted the fact that the current setup disadvantageously affects locally produced goods that are forced to compete with imported products in an unfair environment for the local producers. The additional MDFP-owned shops will have a higher percentage of shelf capacity set aside for local products in order to give them a fair chance to compete competitively with their foreign competitors. Also, the cost of implementing this change will be minimal owing to the fact that MDFP is owned by the government and airports of Mauritius, who, in turn, own the airports and space where the additional shops are expected to be set up. With this proposal, it is expected that the management will see the need for change, the benefits of the change, as well as the low expected costs of implementing the change when compared against the potential benefits.

 

A.C. 3.2 – DEMONSTRATE HOW INDIVIDUALS IN THE ORGANIZATION WILL BE SUPPORTED DURING THE CHANGE PROCESS

The key objective here is to eliminate the possibility of resistance to organizational change by company employees. Myers, Hulks, & Wiggins (2012) argue that one of the biggest challenges to implementing organizational changes arise from poor communication and support for individuals within the organization. Failure to offer the necessary support can cause some employees to be left behind, leading to disruptions in the implementation process as well as the possibility of failing to achieve the organizational goals. Thus, this change process will require the training and retraining of company employees whose skills do not meet the requirements for our objective. Moreover, the organization will aim at implementing an open-door policy where those individuals experiencing difficulties with the change process can communicate freely to their supervisors, myself or other senior managers so as to ensure that their concerns are addressed. According to Mann (2019), there are 9 steps to follow when implementing change within the organization:

1.Enlist champions-this may include the use of mentors and experts to help employees requiring assistance to meet the challenges created by the change process.

2.Establish goals-the goals of the planned change will be clearly communicated to the workforce so as to minimize confusion and ensure that each employee is aware of what is expected of him.

and relevant safety requirements.

7.implementing changes within set time frames-it is important to ensure that the planned change can be reviewed on a regular basis.to accomplish this, a monthly review will be done to assess the progress and determine where we are lagging behind or ahead.

8.making policy changes-planned change without changes in organizational policies is in vain, thus it is the responsibility of management to make organizational policy changes to reflect our new goals.

9.providing post implementation support-in line with Kurt Lewin’s steps of planned change, it is important to provide support during the refreezing stage. This means that the organization must help employees get used to the new company culture.

This further supports the need for a participative communication style between the management and the staff, especially considering that it is the staff who are most likely to be impacted the most by the change process. Therefore, the organization will utilize communication and retraining in order to support the change process.

A.C. 3.3 – CONSTRUCT A PLAN TO IMPLEMENT AND MONITOR THE CHANGE PROCESS

Given the fact that this is a planned change on the part of the organization, the most appropriate plan to implement and monitor the change process will be Lewin’s theory of planned change. This theory utilizes three steps to implement change, namely; unfreezing, movement, and refreezing. As far as MDFP is concerned, the first step is to identify the problem the organization is facing and coming up with the most appropriate solutions that are capable of resolving the issues in question, in this case, the need to expand its product range by opening more shops. The movement stage in Lewin’s theory of planned change involves the entire organization taking the necessary interventions in order to bring about the required change. For the part of the management, this will involve the injection of the capital and space required to construct the extra shops for MDFP. It also involves contacting local producers and suppliers and informing them of the available opportunities for them to market their products in the new retail space. The final step in the implementation of this change process is refreezing which involves allowing the newly acquired organizational culture and changes to be part of the standard practice within the organization.

Pre-implementation Stage
Time Task/Change Process Goals
Four Months Meet with board of directors Inform them about the need to change and obtain permission to start change process
Three Months Call for employee meeting Inform employees about the planned change and receive input on how to proceed.
Two Months Identify relevant sites This will be strategic sites for the new shops
One Month Start contracting construction companies Get companies capable of constructing the entire project within the shortest time (preferably a year
Initiation of Change Process
1st Month Clear out work stations and hand over to construction company Leave the construction process to the contracted party.
2nd-12th Month Carry out monthly inspections To ensure that the work is progressing as planned and that health and safety of workers meets legal requirements
6th -12th Month Employee training This will be done to provide support to employees in need of extra training to manage in the new organisational structure
8th -12th Month Contact local suppliers and manufacturers A message will be sent out that there is extra space for locally made products within our duty free shops
12th Month Open new shops To sell products to our customers
12th Month onwards Offer continued support to our employees The support will be to keep our standards high in order to remain competitive and achieve our long-term goals

 

References

Business-to-you.com, 2018. PESTEL Analysis (PEST Analysis) EXPLAINED with EXAMPLES: B2U. [Retrieved October 19, 2019, https://www.business-to-you.com/scanning-the-environment-pestel-analysis/]

Business Balls, 2019. Change Model-Kotter. [Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://www.businessballs.com/change-management/8-step-change-model-kotter/]

Lussier, R.N., and Achua, C.F., 2015. Leadership: Theory, application, & skill development. Nelson Education.

Marketing, L. (2019, June 18). 8 Ways to communicate change for better employee experience. [Retrieved October 22, 2019, from https://www.limeade.com/2014/04/8-ways-to-communicate-change-to-employees/]

Myers, P., Hulks, S., and Wiggins, L., 2012. Organizational change: Perspectives on theory and practice. Oxford University Press.

Lussier Robert N and Christopher F. Achua (2016), Leadership: Theory, application, & skill development, Nelson Education.

Mack, B. (2019, September 5). Dubai tops world in tourist spending – again.[ Retrieved from https://gulfbusiness.com/dubai-tops-world-tourist-spending/]

Greenwood, R., Jennings, D., & Hinings, B. (2015). Sustainability and Organizational Change. Leading Sustainable Change, 323–355. doi: 10.1093/acprof: oso/9780198704072.003.0013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How has our understanding of management changed over time? Why has it evolved in the ways that it has?

/in /by

Read the article, “The Management Century”. Based on the content presented in the article, describe the evolution of management and how management practices have changed over time. How has our understanding of management changed over time? Why has it evolved in the ways that it has?
References
Kiechel III, W. (2012). The Management Century. Harvard Business Review, 90(11), 62–75. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid&custid=s8856897&db=bsh&AN=82532518&site=ehost-live

Research, outline, discuss, and evaluate the best practices for collective bargaining strategies; Research, outline, discuss, and evaluate the arguments against and for collective bargaining.

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You are the president of the Local Union 312 Chapter. As the president of the union, you are the chief spokesperson and representative of the Local Union 312 to management. Next month, you will start the collective bargaining process with management to get your union members greater wages and benefits and better and safer working conditions. Write a 3–5-page research paper using APA style outlining the collective bargaining process, including the following:

Define and discuss what collective bargaining is.
Research, outline, and discuss all of the steps of the collective bargaining process.
Research, outline, discuss, and evaluate the best practices for collective bargaining strategies.
Research, outline, discuss, and evaluate the arguments against and for collective bargaining.
Use correct APA style, grammar, sentences, and punctuation.
Support your research paper with at least 4 different scholarly sources, such as research journals, research studies, and government or accredited educational institutions’ Web sites.

Explain how the market-based approach may be applied to address this issue. b) Explain how the operational approach may be applied to address this issue.

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Port and Terminal Management Page 2 of 3 Pages

Attempt ALL FOUR (4) questions.

Question 1 Recent research has found that port waste is one of the top-ten environmental priorities in port and terminal management. a) Explain how the market-based approach may be applied to address this issue. b) Explain how the operational approach may be applied to address this issue. [5+5=10 marks]

Question 2 The following graph shows the seven (7) logistics activities of a port, including ‘Start’, A, B, C, D, E, and ‘Finish’. The arrows indicate the sequence of the logistics activities, and the numbers below the activity names indicate the durations of activities in hours.

a) Calculate the Early Start (ES), Early Finish (EF), Late Start (LS), and Late Finish (LF) of all activities.

b) Identify the critical path of the above logistics activities. What are the free float and total float of activities B, C and D. [5+5=10 marks]

Question 3 The following table shows data for the two inputs X1, X2 and output Y of six (6) ports, namely A, B, C, D, E and F.

Write the linear programming for Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to evaluate the efficiency of port B under the constant return to scale (CRS).

Note: You only need to write the equations for the linear programming problem. You do not need to use Excel to answer this question. [10 marks]

Question 4 Select a country of your choice. Explain the impact of the country’s port policy on the development of its port sector.

Terrorism:What are the grievances that led Deniz to join the terrorist organization?

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1) Your paper should be between TWO-THREE pages in length (double spaced).

2) Adhere to the following formatting guidelines: use Times New Roman 12-point font, one-inch margins all around, and put your name and any other pertinent information in a single line at the top of the first page.

1. Why a life history approach is important?

2. Who is the main character of this book?

3. What are the grievances that led Deniz to join the terrorist organization? Explain why Deniz wanted to become involved in a group that engages in violence.

Racism and sexism:Write a reflective essay regarding the experience of watching the movie ‘Hidden Figures’.

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Write a REFLECTIVE ESSAY regarding the experience of watching the movie ‘Hidden Figures’.
Need to make a connection with the concept of the following;
1. Gender role bias in workplace
2. Group favoritism
3. Social identity threat
4. Discrimination (positive, negative, biographical and ability)
5. Affirmative action
6. Diversity management and most importantly show how it affected my personal view and future actions.

Planet Money’s three-part podcast on antitrust policy: What would be the rationale for such breakups — the traditional standard focused on market competition, or the Bork-ian standard of consumer welfare?

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Topic 2: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2019/03/20/704426033/antitrust-in-america

Listen to this podcast. Planet Money’s three-part podcast on antitrust policy (Links to an external site.) as well as the Tim Wu book (Master Switch) highlights the question of whether — and how — it is time to break up the ICT giants, such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon”

What would be the rationale for such breakups — the traditional standard focused on market competition, or the Bork-ian standard of consumer welfare? What are the alternatives to antitrust action, e.g. more regulation, treating those companies as utilities, or Public Goods? Write the reaction of the podcast.