Business and Management Research Paper

Business and Management Research Paper Research Paper: Identifying Key Concepts in Business and Management Introduction Key concepts in business are important for the growth of any entity. This is because such concepts determine the direction in which the business is governed, and hence, they determine the success or failure of any business. By understanding the key concepts applied in the business environment, managers are able to avoid errors that may arise in business operations such as poor financial management. The purpose of this paper is to explore different concepts used in key areas of business operations. The key areas include dynamic business environment, critical business functions, the integration of individuals and systems, and ethics and social responsibilities that confront a business. Dynamic business environment In our text, Boone Kurtz (2010) defined business management as the process of managing an organization by applying various business concepts on the set objectives. For the objectives to be met there must be stable functions of the organization such as good planning, organizing, coordination, and directing. These functions can be achieved through well co-ordinated management team. Therefore, good business management results into smooth flow of business activities. In a business set up, various dynamic business environments may affect the performance of the firm negatively or positively. One of the key concepts in the area of dynamic business environment is economic changes. Economic changes refer to changing trends of general performance in an economy. Economic changes comprise of economic boom and recession. Economic boom has a positive effect on the business environment because businesses generate supernormal profits. Economic recession has a negative effect on business environment because it results into a slowdown in demand and thus a reduction in production. Firms and businesses wind up during economic cycle. Another concept in the area of dynamic business environment is market conditions. Market conditions refer to the extent of demand and supply of goods and services in the market. Demand and supply are the main determinants of prices of goods and services. The presence of many competitions in the market results into a reduction in prices of goods and services. To beat this odd, Beaumont (2003) noted that a firm must differentiate its products by producing goods and providing services of high quality and standards as well as developing good relationships with the customers. Boone and Kurtz (2010) observed that maintaining good customer relations increases the sales revenue generated by the firm even when market conditions are unfavourable. The other concept in the area of dynamic business environment is changes in government policies and regulations. Governments change regulations and business policies to regulate business activities. Such regulations may include high taxes imposed on businesses, changes in business registration requirements and policies for reduction in carbon emissions. Failure to observe these changes in government policies may lead to increased conflicts between the government and the firms thus destabilising business operations. Critical business functions An organization is divided into operation units that perform different functions. Such functions include human resource, sales and marketing, information technology, production or operation, research and development, finance and accounting and customer service. These functions are undertaken in different levels of management in the organization. These functions are interconnected in different ways. For example, the human resource trains people to work in customer service. The quality of customer service affects the sales generated by the firm. Research and development, generates new methods of production and operation. Information technology affects the extent to which the sales and marketing teams reach the customers in the market. The accounting and finance departments must work to ensure that the human resource receive their salaries in time as a way of motivating the human resource to perform their duties with dedication. In this regard, the concepts above are intertwined and the y generate a positive effect in the long run if the management does not create barriers between the departments represented by the functions above. Integration of individuals and systems Boone and Kurtz (2010) noted that a smooth flow of activities can be achieved in the organization through proper co-ordination between the workers and the organizational management. The three types of communication flow that must be taken into consideration to enhance better business management include; (a) upward communication; (b) Horizontal flow of communication and (c) downward communication flow. Upward communications refer to communication between subordinates and managers. Managers should create a free and fair environment that allows them to welcome any worker with an issue. Upward communication enhances the relationship between the managers and the workers which make the workers feel as part and parcel of the firm. Horizontal communications refer to positive relations between people of the same level. This means that departmental managers should develop positive relations in order to increase the connection of service delivery between the departments. This will allow effective information flow between the departments. In downward communication, messages and information flow from the managers to subordinates. Effective and timely delivery of information from the manager to the subordinates enhances the time within which activities are undertaken in the firm. A delay in the flow of information from the manager delays every other activity being undertaken in the firm. Therefore, all persons from the manager to the subordinates must work together to achieve the desired objectives. Ethical and social responsibilities that confront a business Ethical responsibilities refer to the acceptable code of conducts that guide the behaviour of people in the organization. Ethical responsibilities may be determined by the government, customers, competitors and the business environment at large (Weybrecht, 2010). For example, courtesy in dealing with customers may be an important consideration in beating competitors. The dressing code may be determined by the government to enhance smartness during service delivery both in private and public held institutions. Social responsibility refers to the society’s requirements towards the firm. For example, producing high quality products and selling the products at an affordable price is a social responsibility (Weybrecht, 2010). Additionally, adopting green production methods to reduce emission of green house gases is another social responsibility. Providing a safe and healthy working environment is another example of social responsibility. Treating customers with courtesy and paying the pending debts in time is another important concept in the area of social responsibilities that confront a business. Positive behaviour concept in the organization includes relating with other people positively and following proper channels of dispute resolution. It also involves dressing smartly in the office in order to gain respect particularly from the customers. Ethical and social responsibilities are important considerations in the organization without which the business may not yield the desired objectives. Conclusion In the above sections, different areas that touch sufficiently on operations in the firm have been discussed. They include dynamic business environment where concepts such as economic changes, market conditions and changes in business regulations and policies. The other area discussed is critical business functions where concepts such as human resource, sales and marketing, finance and accounting, production or operation, information technology, research and development as well as customer service have been discussed. The area of integration of individuals and systems has also been discussed. The concepts discussed here include upward communication, horizontal communication and, downward communication. All these make up the flow of communication in the organization. Further, the area of ethical and social responsibilities has been discussed. Among the concepts explored in this area include the responsibility of the firm towards the society in terms of employment, reduction in pollution of the environment and payment of better salaries and wages to the workers. Other concepts discussed in this area include proper dressing codes, handling of customers with care and using courteous language under the area of ethical responsibilities that confront the business. For any company to succeed, all these concepts must be taken into consideration because they may affect the business positively or negatively.

ACT Tutoring

How To Save Money on SAT/ACT Tutoring SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips As you may have seen in some of my other articles on tutoring, if there's one thing you need to know about tutoring, it's this: tutoring is expensive, particularly high quality tutoring. In fact, I've even written an entire article devoted to the topic of how much you should pay for SAT/ACT tutoring. So how can you save money on SAT/ACT tutoring? Let me give you a few tips, tailored around the case studies of 3 hypothetical students. feature image credit: Money – Savings by 401(K) 2012, used under CC BY-SA 2.0/Cropped from original. Case 1: Anthony - Comprehensive Tutoring Anthony and his parents have decided he needs a tutor to help him with his ACT test prep and bring his composite score up. He took a timed practice test and scored 23 on Reading, 30 on English, 30 on Math, and 20 on Science, giving him a composite score of 26. His scores seem all over the place, and he isn’t exactly sure where to start with his studying. Anthony's family can’t afford a lot of tutoring. Originally, they thought they could save money by hiring a cheap tutor – maybe some high school student who aced the ACT and is charging $30/hour. After all, a $30/hr tutor could make Anthony's budget stretch to many more hours of tutoring than a more expensive tutor, and more hours are always better, right? Probably not. Getting a low quality tutor, even if she's only charging $30/hr, is a waste of time and money for many students. Why? A high school student who's only charging you $30/hr may be able to help with explaining the answers to practice tests, but it is unlikely that she will have the skills and experience necessary to help with comprehensive test prep.For someone like Anthony, who doesn't know what he needs to study, or how he should plan his studying, or where his weaknesses lie, someone who just helps with practice test answers would not be helpful. Cost-Saving Recommendation for Comprehensive Tutoring: Instead, we'd recommend Anthony hire a higher quality tutor, but for fewer hours. How come? Higher quality tutors are able to help you set the stage for your studying outside of tutoring sessions. This means that you are able to stretch what you can get - if you end up spending 9 hours using what the tutor taught you in one $60/hour test prep session, you're effectively paying $6/hour for tutoring. Not too shabby! Anthony goes with a $60/hr tutor for two sessions over the course of 4 weeks, and learns how to better plan his studying and what he needs to focus on. His tutor finds that Anthony is overwhelmed by the large amount of information presented in the Reading and Science questions, and so focuses Anthony's study around becoming more comfortable with the Reading and Science sections and drilling these questions. Anthony creates a study plan with his tutor for 6 hours of study a week, scheduling in practice tests and time to review his mistakes. Even after Anthony's 2 sessions with the tutor are over, he's able to use the study schedule his tutor devised to guide his test prep, right up until testing day. When he takes the ACT for real, he gets a 32 on Reading, 31 on English, 30 on Math, and 30 on Science – huge leaps in achievement for a minor investment in tutoring time. Case 2: Carmela -Partial Tutoring Carmela took the SAT in December and got a 740 on CR, 640 on Writing, and 660 on Math. She’s applying to college as a humanities major, so she really needs to get her score up on the Writing section. What are Carmela's issues with SAT Writing? Well, she keeps messing up the hardest writing questions, and she doesn't really know how to improve her SAT essay. After all, she's good at writing essays in school - shouldn't that just carry over? Why should she bother studying something she's good at in school? Carmela doesn't know how to plan her essay prep and in any case is unmotivated to do so. Cost-Saving Recommendation for PartialTutoring: How does Carmela overcome these obstacles? She gets tutoring only for the hardest problems and for high-level study planning and motivation. Carmela hires a tutor for $50/hr for 4 sessions over 8 weeks. The tutor figures out that Carmela is getting the hardest Writing questions wrong when the answer choices are technically correct but worded in a way they would never appear in real life. She also discovers that Carmela is using mostly abstract reasoning in her practice essays, rather than concrete examples. Carmela's tutor sets out a study schedule for Carmela: half an hour of practice on the hardest writing questions every other day. On the off days, the tutor tells Carmela to start coming up with some historical, literary, or pop culture events that she can mine for examples on the SAT essay, like World War II or The Hunger Games; if she knows a few historical events or pieces of literature really well, she will be able to take examples from them for nearly any SAT essay topic. In addition to giving Carmela specific tutoring tips, the tutor helps Carmela figure out that her target Writing score is a 720, and so she needs to improve by 80 points. With concrete information on how much she needs to improve and how to do so, Carmela is motivated to study for the SAT outside of tutoring as well as during tutoring sessions. After 2 months of tutoring, Carmela takes the SAT again and gets 730 on CR, 730 on Writing, and 690 on Math – a much better score report for a prospective humanities student. Another alternative: If Carmela had only had issues with hardest Writing problems, she could have tried tutoring combined with another test prep strategy, like tutoring and a self-guided online prep program, or tutoring and focused self-study. In this particular case, since Carmela was struggling with motivation to improve her essay as well as with the hardest Writing problems, it made more sense for her to get tutoring that would help her with both. Case 3: Marie -A Limited Budget for Tutoring Marie took the SAT in October of her junior year and got a 660 on CR, 600 on Writing, and 570 on Math. After focused math self-studying, she retook the SAT in March and got a 640 on CR, 620 on Writing, and 740 on Math, which brings her composite superscore up from 1830 to 2020. Marie has a very limited budget ($120), but really wants to solidify her chances of getting into Smith College. The middle 50% of first years who enter Smith have composite SAT scores ranging from 1870-2190, so to increase her chances of getting in, Marie really needs to get her total SAT score to at or above 2190...which is a 170 point increase. How does Marie decide if she should get tutoring? Marie considers her overall budget and her current test prep progress. Can she achieve her results within her current system, or does she need a tutor? Cost-Saving Recommendation for Limited Tutoring Budget: Marie concludes that because she was able to improve her Math score with self-study, she can probably apply the same methods to studying for the Critical Reading and Writing sections. What were these methods? She took timed practice tests, marking every question she wasn't sure about, and thoroughly reviewed the questions she got wrong and the questions she guessed on but got right. During her prep for the SAT Math section, Marie discovered that she had a tendency to rush through reading the question because she was so nervous that she would run out of time, which led to her often answering the wrong question. She spent hours drilling herself on actual SAT Math questions in her weakest areas, elementary algebra and plane geometry, slowly but surely increasing the speed at which she could answer the questions, which in turn helped her slow down when reading the questions. Marie decides that since Smith superscores the SAT (combines the highest scores for each section across all testing dates), and she clearly has an effective test-prep method, she will take the SAT 2 more times (a cost of $105), once after having focused on Writing and once after having focused on Critical Reading. She does and scores 750 on Writing and 790 on Critical Reading, bringing her overall score up to 2280 - well above the composite she needs to get into Smith. So how does this apply to you? Let’s take a look at the tips I mention above, distilled down into a series of hypotheticals. How Can I Save Money on SAT/ACT Tutoring? Do you want the best test prep, bar none? Then get high quality, expensive tutoring. Want good prep but have a limited budget, like Anthony? Spend your money on a higher quality tutor for a shorter amount of time. Only need focused prep, like Carmela? Get a high quality tutor who can focus on that section so you don't buy hours for the other sections. Have a strict budget that limits tutoring? Then use another prep program, and add tutoring sparingly for high level stuff. Is your current method effective? Keep careful watch on how you do on practice and actual tests, note where you need to improve (by section and within a section), and then take more official tests. If your score plateaus, you should consider other options. If you hit your target scores, like Marie did, then you're all set! Use these tips to help you save on tutoring when studying for the SAT/ACT. Dollars by 401(K) 2012, used under CC BY-SA 2.0. What’s Next The best way to save money on tutoring is to make sure you’re getting the best tutor for you. How do you do this? Read more about it here. What should you be looking for in a tutor, anyway? Check out my article on what makes an effective tutor. Want to find out more about PrepScholar Tutoring Program? PrepScholar co-founder Fred Zhang has the article for you. Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Employee Survey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Employee Survey - Essay Example The employee engagement survey of McDonald’s will consider three aspects of employee equity such as alignment of the Human Resources (HR), their capabilities and their engagement in the organizational process. The employee engagement survey is designed for the purpose of studying employee equity which includes their alignment, their capabilities and their engagement with the overall organizational process. The survey is intended to be based on the questionnaire method where employees will be provided with several close-ended questions in order to judge the equity. Contextually, it can be mentioned that survey is a useful method for recognizing the degree of alignment, possessed capabilities and level of engagement of employees. The major component of the survey is the type of questions to be asked to the respondents. The questions are designed in a close-ended framework so that it can fully address all the aspects of employee equity and make it a valid one reducing any kind of ambiguity (Nawaz, 2011). The reaction of respondents will be measured through Likert scaling method and will also be benchmarked by contrasting with other similar organizations. Employee engagement is considered as one of the biggest challenges for a multinational company such as McDonald’s. The sample for the survey will be selected randomly in order to avoid any kind of biasness from every hierarchical position of the organizational structure. The survey report on employee equity will depict the suitability of approaches and strategies used by McDonald’s in order to make employees satisfied and capable enough to contribute in the overall organizational productivity. It is worth mentioning in this regard that the survey has been developed in order to measure the level of organizational proficiency of McDonald’s and similar other businesses to manage their human resources

Lab report peer review Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lab report peer review - Assignment Example In figure 2 the COSY and H NMR data for unknown 2 shows a structural representation known as 4-heptanone. FEEDBACK: Yes, there is a good transition between the paragraphs. The information flow from one paragraph leads to the analysis of the next one. Together, the paragraphs sustain an argument, for example, paragraph 1 that introduces the thesis statement is followed logically with paragraph 2 that analyzes unknown 1 to completion before introducing analysis of unknown 2 in paragraph 3. FEEDBACK: There is a remarkably smooth integration of examples by the author into the argument. The connections between the evidence cited and the ideas supported are also quite clear. For instance, in each of the three cases of unknowns, the author illustrates the number of carbon/proton chains that produce the structure of the peaks that help in identifying the figures. The author supports the findings with appropriate figures. FEEDBACK: The other problems are not spotted. Only clichà ©s are used in the paper. Examples are â€Å"†¦in conjunction with†¦Ã¢â‚¬  in paragraph 1 and â€Å"†¦pentane chain which mirrors each side†¦Ã¢â‚¬  in paragraph 5 (Pavia, Pg

Human resource management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Human resource management - Essay Example However, other forms of motivations discussed in this essay enable companies to increase their productivity. Motivation refers to any incentive or force that seeks to develop, direct and sustain behaviours of employees (Perkins & White, 2011, ch.6). The first theory that seeks to explain how employees are motivated in the workplaces is the expectancy theory. This theory also explains the relationship between pay and performance in the workplace. Expectancy theory is based on the notion that employees consciously choose options that maximize pleasure and minimize pain. In the workplace, this is evident by employees working hard in order to have a better life and lifestyle (Thompson, 2009, p130). Expectancy theory correlates efforts and performance; employees will perform according to expectations in order to achieve rewards (Marsden, 2004, p16). The reward helps the employee to satisfy his or her needs. The satisfaction gained from the reward makes the work worthwhile. According to this theory, the employees have a choice while doing their work (Marsden, 2004, p17). The goal setting theory, on the other hand, emphasizes more commitment rather than incentives as the prime motivation for employees. The theory suggests that employees work harder if they are committed to attaining their individual and company goals (Thompson, 2009, p130). The goals increase the effort and performance of the employees. The goal setting theory is often complimented by, to some extent, the use of incentives. The incentives should be because of the employees setting their own goals (Grimshaw & Ribery, 2010, p361). Moreover, the goals should be attainable and realistic and not far-fetched (Marchington, Mick & Wilkinson, 2008, p47). The manager’s task, while adopting this motivational theory, is to achieve balance between the set goals, the difficulty and challenging nature of the goals and the incentives for completion of the goals (Kessler,

Distinction Between Leadership in Educational Organisation and Essay

Distinction Between Leadership in Educational Organisation and Business Organisation - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that leadership has been an aspect of human civilization from time immemorial and has been exercised in ruling tribes to nations and in winning wars and facing adversities of natural disasters. Leadership is defined as â€Å"the ability to influence individuals and groups to work toward attaining organizational objectives†. While leadership, in general, remains essentially an influencing process, the styles of leadership vary greatly and to suit the different situations and follower profiles. While different schools of thoughts extend different views on leadership, they are grouped under four wide categories of trait, behavioral, situational and transformational theories. Trait theories believe that leaders have specific qualities and characteristics in them that make them a leader. Subsequently, leadership studies turned to leaders’ actions and behaviors. Leadership studies evolved further to accommodate the idea of situation al aspects that required different leadership styles. Alternative approaches have emerged in the form of Transformational vs. transactional approach. In order to compare and contrast the different styles of leadership adopted by two leaders in two different organizations, a leader in an educational organization – Principal of Washington Elementary School and CEO of Slim Line Limited – an apparel manufacturing International Joint Venture of MAST Industries USA have been interviewed.

Explanation of Roper et al's Activity of Living Essay

Explanation of Roper et al's Activity of Living - Essay Example Other underpinning theories including dignity, consent, and privacy shall also be discussed in this paper as they relate to better and effective nursing care. Although not all of Roper’s activities of daily living apply to this case, they shall nevertheless be included for discussion purposes. This paper is being carried out in order to establish a clearer picture and understanding of Roper’s activities of daily living and the impact of disease, disability, and infirmities on such activities. Body The patient is a 55-year old Afro-Caribbean male who was admitted to the hospital after suffering a fall secondary to excessive alcohol intake. He also has Type 2 diabetes as his other co-morbid condition based on his previous medical history. He lives alone after his wife divorced him two and a half years ago. He is also unemployed because he lost his driving license three years ago and has since sought solace in alcohol which he initially thought he could control. Roper†™s Activities of daily living 1. Maintaining a safe environment Maintaining a safe environment is crucial for this patient. Patients who have experienced falls are likely to fall again because of any injuries they may have suffered and any immobility which their fall might have caused (Lord, et.al., 2007). Maintaining a safe environment includes safety precautions which can be made on the home and in the patient’s hospital room. Guard rails on the bed have to be put up, especially in instances where the patient’s mental awareness is low (Miller, 2008). Since the patient is suffering from excessive alcohol intake, the guard rails need to be put up in order to prevent any repeat falls. Maintaining a safe environment also requires the nurses taking on leadership roles in order to maintain and monitor standards which can secure the cleanliness and effective infection control measures (Smith, n.d). The care administered to the patient therefore includes various remedies i ncluding infection control as well as monitoring of patient progress. Maintaining a safe environment for the patient also includes the process of ensuring that the nurses have the sufficient skills and training to care for the patient and administer to his needs (Smith, n.d). Such safe environment also includes working in partnership with health professionals in order to deliver adequate patient care (Smith, n.d). Ensuring a safe environment also includes the process of effective communication with the patient, gaining their consent before interventions are carried out (Department of Health, 2010). Maintaining a safe environment for the patient also involves patient education, teaching the patient about the dangers of alcoholism and any further injuries he may suffer due to his intoxication. It is also important to educate the patient about his disease and the risks he is taking with his alcohol intake (Gonzalez, et.al., 2005). Any injuries he may suffer would also likely take a lon g period of time to heal because of his diabetes. Maintaining his privacy at all times is also part of the safe environment created for the patient, ensuring that he can trust the nurse and his dignity can be respected at all times (Department of Health, 2010). 2. Communication Since the patient is still in the throes of his alcoholic stupor, there is a communication barrier between the nurse and the patient. When he was sober, there were no apparent communication bar