Design management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Design management - Essay Example Design thinking is a problem solving process used to find most suitable and most creative solutions for any type of problem in order to get success and produce desired results. The four key stages of design thinking process include defining the problem, considering different solutions to the problem, refining the selected directions, and picking and applying the selected solution to the identified problem. The process of design thinking combines various critical factors which are directly involved in the success of any business. These factors include creativity, ingenuity and rationality. All these factors are combined in the process of design thinking in order to find proper solutions regarding different issues, to meet demands of the customers, and to make a business successful in a competitive market. Talking about design thinking, let’s also discuss the role of decision thinking process in the success of any business. Not a single business can achieve success and market domination without implementing appropriate decision making and problem solving methods and processes. These two processes act as pillars for the foundation of any business. If any of these important factors is ignored, success of the business can never be achieved. Design thinking is one of these processes and is widely used as a repeatable problem solving protocol in order to achieve extraordinary and progressive results for various businesses. Design thinking not only helps an organization in exploring the future of the organization in a competitive market but also helps in detecting and minimizing the risks related to the businesses. Hambrose (2010) asserts that â€Å"design thinking - shorthand for the role of design in a business - allows an organization to explore the future, test innovations and m inimize risk cheaply†. Today most companies and organizations make a great use of decision thinking approach because it not only helps the

Organizational Issues and Recommendations Essay

Organizational Issues and Recommendations - Essay Example Organizational Issues and Recommendations The Taylorist production approach was established by F.W.Taylor, who gave birth to Scientific Management. His school of thoughts is termed as Taylorism. Taylorism believed that any job can be learnt and taught. This theory treats the humans like machines and proposed that for the achieving higher production the management must eliminate inefficiency from its functioning. However, this theory completely neglects the usual complications that happen within a normal human being (Boyd, n.d). Taylorist production style supports the assembly line system where each worker performs the same task repetitively. Here the concept of division of labor was given significance and people started getting specialized in a certain domain while the rest of the production system remained unknown to them. A strict supervision policy was maintained within the organization which created distance between the management and the employees. The repetition of same task created frustration among the workers. The q uality of work started to decline which affected the management adversely. In turn the employees were threatened and scolded which ultimately resulted in more and more employee turnover. The management thought of forming groups for reducing the work pressure on individual employee and delegating each group with a particular task, like a group was responsible for making the engine and other relevant parts while another group worked on the creation of seat and the third group focused on the making the wheels of the car. The fourth group would work towards assembling the parts of the car and presenting the final product. The Issues faced by the firm The manufacturing unit realized that even after implementing the form of group work in their day to day operations, the problems like employee turnover and poor performance didn’t reduce. As they hired me as an HR consultant, I studied the various facets of the organization and reached the conclusion that the groups are suffering fro m several issues like role conflicts within groups, communication problems among group members, lack of cohesiveness in groups with diverse members and excessive intergroup conflict. Thus before proceeding with the recommendations towards solving these issues, it’s necessary to study the impact of each of this issue on the organization and the group in specific. The issues are discussed as follows- Role conflicts within groups This kind of conflict occurs between groups when the members feel uncertain about the role to be played by them. The group members might get a feeling that they are in charge of more than one responsibility within the setting of the organization and that the roles might prove to be contrasting each other. If the probability of two or more roles is irreconcilable, role conflict becomes prominent (Losh, 2011). For instance, a superior at a manufacturing plant might feel tensed due to the role played by him or her as the person poses to his juniors both as a friend and as a mentor at a time. Role conflict can occur due to non-availability of proper socialization facilities inside the organization. Group conflicts might take place due to several reasons which are- Misinformation and miscommunication Perceived or real disparity in the priorities and needs of the groups Perceived or real disparity in perceptions, values, culture, attitudes and beliefs Different structures

Case 1; What else can go wrong Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Case 1; What else can go wrong - Essay Example If Van West could have understood Mexican culture, everything would have been easy. This is because culture dictates the way individuals treat each other, outlines that which is acceptable, the manner in which management is viewed and the way in which people approach their daily work. Since Hernandez has been helpful to Van West, he needs to inform him when it comes to business it is important to focus on your objectives. Therefore, West should transfer him to another department to avoid daily meeting while at work. In Mexican culture, a boss has the role of influencing a faction or group of people towards the attainment of a goal. Bosses are expected to lead by example, so that others are motivated to follow him and not just any individual with a position of influence. In addition, He or she is an individual who is in charge of a certain division of a company. In this case, superior people in the firm are undermining the subordinates a situation that has brewed into a cold relationship between the two groups. In order to address these issues, Van West needs to negotiate with the workers and agree on a different pay package. This will make workers change their mind about striking because they can perceive the move as inclusive and unbiased. In the end, individual relationship will improve since workers will feel safe. They will not have a negative attitude about the hierarchy since it cares about their

Briefing Paper on Cadbury Schweppes (Business Environment) BTEC Higher Essay

Briefing Paper on Cadbury Schweppes (Business Environment) BTEC Higher National Diploma (HND) in Business - Essay Example P1. The purpose  of Cadbury Schweppes Cadbury Schweppes seeks to: increase share prices; meet customer by addressing their demands and awarding them the best quality and prices; challenge rival companies by keeping up with their prices; and, make more profit. In order to meet these objectives, Cadbury Schweppes seeks to develop a good reputation by an aggressive advertising heavily, increase sales and market share by always seeking new ideas in its product and packaging. The core purpose of Cadbury Schweppes rests in â€Å"working together to generate brands that people love.† Cadbury Schweppes seeks to be judged as a company that is among the best within the business world for being successful, significant, and admired. One of the Cadbury Schweppes goals relates corporate social responsibility, which centres on high reputation as a great company to work for and one that is socially responsible to consumers and communities across the globe (Nelson College London 2013,p. 2). P 2. Employees and customers satisfaction Cadbury Schweppes maintain regular and open discussions with all its stakeholders and utilizes diverse ways to communicate with the diverse stakeholder groups. Consumers have an opportunity to contact the company through various means on a daily basis; moreover, Cadbury Schweppes undertakes market research to track the changing consumer trends and utilize surveys and market research panels to determine what consumers think. Cadbury Schweppes also has ongoing discussions with its customers in which wholesalers and retailers provide the vital link to consumers. Cadbury Schweppes works with customers to deliver highly appealing products of high-quality (Blowfield and Murray 2011, p. 51). The company appraises its suppliers based on a set of standards including ethical labour practices and environmental protection before doing business with them, and stipulates their principles and standards to be maintained during the relationship. Cadbury Schw eppes has a tradition of fostering a direct, two-way involvement and communication with employees. Managers regularly hold individual and team meetings to inform colleagues regarding the business and hear about their views. Cadbury Schweppes also score highly in its corporate social responsibility. In 2011, Cadbury Schweppes ranked in the top ten of the FTSE 100 in terms of community investment as it seeks fresh and better ways of building stronger communities. Some of the benefits include motivating employees by utilizing company resources to support causes that they care about, and building loyalty among who are proud to work for the company that is socially responsible and a good neighbour. The community engagement has also helped the company to develop a better understanding among employees of the diverse nature of society, and improve team working via employee participation in community activities. The extent to which Cadbury has met its objectives concerning customers and empl oyees Cadbury Schweppes’ central objective centres on â€Å"working together to create brands that people love† and some of the most popular brands include Cadbury Dairy Milk, Flake, Roses, Trebor mints, Bassett’s range, and Maynards range including Wine Gums and sours. Cadbury Schweppes is governed by five goals with regard to balancing stakeholders and their interests: (1) delivering superior shareholder performance; (2) profitably and significantly

International HR Management in Australia and India Case Study

International HR Management in Australia and India - Case Study Example Startup IT Company, which has recently established a subsidiary in India (New Delhi), has various options that can be followed to attract candidates for the different job position both internally and externally. Accordingly, the company is looking forward to attract candidates for different job positions listed as five senior executive, fifteen line managers, supervisors for two call centers, thirty staffs divided in to two groups for dealing with customers and suppliers and fifty assembled line workers. It is to be noted that the senior managers will be recruited from Australia while other professionals can be recruited from India. Accordingly, each job position has specified job description which shall facilitate in executing the recruitment and selection process more effectively. In order to ensure that right person is placed for the right job position, the company has the two major options of internal and external workforce for imbibing considerable talent within the organization . Additionally, internal and external recruitment processes shall provide the company with the opportunity to meet its needs for recruiting and selecting potential talents inconsistent with the job description and specification. One of the most suitable options available with Startup IT Company for targeting potential candidates can be related with its internal recruitment prospects facilitated with skilled labor force. It is worth mentioning that targeting candidates internally poses significant benefits. to the company. Responsively, the company will be able to save considerable amount of finance if the company follows internal recruiting. In addition to finance, the company will also be able to save considerable amount of time generating greater employee satisfaction and morale (Briggs, 2007). Some of the basic tools that the company can use for targeting candidates have been illustrated as follows. Promotions and Transfer It is worth mentioning that promotion and transfer is a vital tool for recruiting candidates internally. Contextually, Startup IT Company can take promotion and transfer as an important tool for recruiting candidates internally. The company can promote managers as senior executive on the basis of their capability and the past performances. It can also have the option to transfer managers from hone country i.e. Australia to India in order to assign them with the task of a senior executive (Ferner & et. al., 2005). Employee Referrals Employee referrals can be regarded as another important tool available to Startup IT Company to fill the vacant positions. The organization can recruit staffs on the basis of

Fire Protection Hydraulics and Water Supply Essay

Fire Protection Hydraulics and Water Supply - Essay Example o different parts of a building and for local distribution to the miniature network of pipes in the building and they convey water to these respective regions in large quantities. They are more reliable when two or more primary feeder systems are extended by independent means from the supply source to the most important regions of the municipality (Brannigan & Corbett ,2008). Secondary feeders are water distribution systems that are made up of network of pipes that are quite smaller in size to the Primary feeder system. They strengthen the water distribution system and are surrounded by different sections of the primary feeder system. The Secondary feeder system helps in the full concentration of water and control the rate of fire flow that is required at a particular region in a building. It is necessary to give two water delivery directions to any spot; hence the secondary feeder system must be arranged in loops (Brannigan & Corbett ,2008). Distributors are the smallest class of the water distribution system as they consist of much smaller mains when compared to the primary and secondary feeder system. The distributor system is mainly used for specific fire hydrants and individual units of users(Brannigan & Corbett

Social development Essay Example for Free

Social development Essay Inclusion is viewed as a social development connected to a history of social policy reform in the United States beginning in the mid-1950s. Inclusion involves the processes of increasing the participation of students in, and reducing their exclusion from, mainstream curricula, cultures and communities. There has been a vigorous, ongoing academic debate between those who support and those who oppose the inclusion of special education students in general education classes. Much of this debate has taken the form of argument about the appropriateness of instructing special education students in classrooms with their general education peers or in separate, exclusionary spaces. When special education students are included in general education classrooms, they are expected to adhere to a modified version of the standard curriculum and are graded according to alternative standards. This work considers inclusion in the classrooms of Longview Public Schools. An overview of the national and local contexts for inclusion is presented, and then a high school theater arts class is portrayed from data collected over a fifteen-week period. The work concludes with a synthesis of the issues raised by the case-study and their implications for continued progress toward the goal of inclusion in American society and its impact on special needs students. Literature Review The idea of inclusive education was given impetus by two conferences set up under the auspices of the United Nations. The first of these, held in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990, promoted the idea of education for all; this was followed in 1994 by a UNESCO conference in Salamanca, Spain, which led to a Statement that is being used in many countries to review their education policies. The Salamanca Statement proposes that the development of schools with an inclusive orientation is the most effective means of improving the efficiency and ultimately the cost-effectiveness of the entire education system. The International Journal of Inclusive Education, established in 1997, encourages the same broad conception of inclusive education as ourselves, involving an examination of all the processes of inclusion and exclusion in education. Among those who anticipated the failure of mainstreaming during the 1980s, many challenged the institutional practice of special education, calling for widespread reform (see Reynolds, Wang, and Walberg 1987; Sarason and Doris 1982; Skrtic 1986; Will 1986). The radical restructuring of special education urged by Skrtic (1986) has yet to occur, although some states have attempted special education reform, often in concert with general education reform (Ferguson 1995; Thousand and Villa 1995). However, so-called â€Å"systemic reform† of special education is far from the norm in the United States (Roach 1995). Skrtics (1995) theoretical analysis of the field of special education aims for excellence, equity, and adhocracy through a deconstruction and reconstruction of both general and special education for a post-industrial economy in the twenty-first century. He maintains that an alternative paradigm, that of critical pragmatism, is necessary to reconstruct special education and disability. Without it, the current inclusion debate will not â€Å"resolve the special education problems of the twentieth century†¦ [but] will simply reproduce them in the twenty-first century† (p. 80). He argues that critical pragmatism enables individuals to continually evaluate and reappraise the â€Å"political consequences of a professions knowledge, practices, and discourses by critically assessing them and the assumptions, theories, and metatheories in which they are grounded† (p. 91). The authors of the book From Them to Us: An International Study of Inclusion in Education (Ainscow Booth 1998) used the terms special educational needs or just special needs to categorize pupils with learning difficulties, physical impairments and behaviour disorders. Such terminology implies that there is a division to be drawn between â€Å"normal† and â€Å"less than normal† learners. It implies exclusion, as pointed out by Booth (1995, p. 99). The term integration is still in use among teachers although officially, at least, it has been replaced. When referring to integration, teachers mean the presence in ordinary schools of those children who used to be transferred to special schools or special classes. One of the writers on normalization (Solum 1991) has tried to replace integration with the term anti-segregation. This has a more positive connotation in that it takes for granted that nobody is segregated at the beginning and, therefore, the challenge is to see that everybody remains within the regular school. For many involved in the current debate on inclusion, it is evident that the questions raised by Sarason and Doris over a decade ago remain unanswered, diluted by concerns that locate this endeavor within an educational rather than a societal discourse. The current literature on inclusion in the United States documents the way the practical realities related to inclusion continue to obscure the â€Å"charity† needed to frame the moral issue (Zigmond et al. 1995). This literature, in combination with the concerns of Sarason and Doris and the warnings issued by Skrtic, challenge the success of inclusion. And yet, at this particular moment schools continue to grapple with inclusion: an ill-defined, and yet, ever-increasingly accepted and widely practiced reform.