Mcdonalds Marketing Intelligence System Marketing Essay

Mcdonalds Marketing Intelligence System Marketing Essay The driving forces behind the urgency to have quality marketing research and marketing information are hinged on the two factors. The continued decline in the unit cost of computer hardware and steady improvement in the flexibility and power of computer software, (Vitale, Ives, and Beath, 1989) and the quick pace in which environment changes, (Miles and Snow, 1987). The purpose of marketing research is to assist and improve marketing decision. Market research narrows the gap between producer and consumer, and increase the chance of successful decisions. In any field, the basis of decision making is having effective information available and using it. Processed, analysed and correctly used, market information can reduce risk, time and waste by providing the best basis for decision, (Tinniswood, 1986). Naturally, it seems, this leads to well defined marketing strategy. However, (Assad, 1990) posited marketing research must be conducted vigorously and systematically to fulfil its intended role, which is only vigorously when data collected are valid, reliable and representative. 2.0 The Quality of Marketing Research and Marketing Information What is Quality Marketing Research and Marketing Information? We will tackle this question by first collecting related framework, model and system and then discuss the issues of accuracy, reliability, amount of information required and data analysis complication that affect the quality of marketing research and marketing information. Mcdonalds Marketing Intelligence System Dr. Malcolm Mcdonalds concept of marketing intelligence system is depicted in fig. 1. As explained by Mcdonald, marketing research and marketing information are inseparable and hence synergistically entwined to effect a good marketing strategy. From the above, data from the market through marketing research are processed and analysed to form relevant marketing information which forms intelligence (knowledge) to make quality decision focuses on key determinants for example, the significance of market share or correct service levels for profitable growth. In marketing, these can be realised with a shrewd marketing mix (i.e. the 7 Ps). Hattons Information Priority Framework Marketing research is just one source of information available to the business planner. Also, the collection of new data can be very expensive. It is therefore imperative for the marketer to go through the process of identifying the priority for information need as in fig 2. The easy and hard can be defined by either time or cost. Weicks Theory of Marketing Research Limits On the same vein, (Weick, 1984) felt similar concern espoused a model with three criteria , (fig 3) to keep within the research limits i.e. generality, accuracy and simplicity. He provokes the thought of tradeoff among the three components. In reality, he stress that no all can be met at the same time but rather at most, any theory can meet two of these criteria. General accurate theories are complex, general simple theories are inaccurate, and simple accurate theories have no generality. The strategic implication of McDonald, Hatton and Weicks theory is that marketing researcher and the marketing manager have to work hand in hand to define problem correctly in the first place, prioritising information required and subtract, simplify, distil, (The Sunday Times, 18th May 1997) marketing information. This could improve the quality of information at optinium time and cost. All these certainly give us an indication of the complexity of the real world and management judgement is required. Lunns Database Marketing (DBM) Technology can increases the ease of data collection and provides new form of data analysis (Stone and Shaw, 1987). (Lunn, 1986)s thorough and ingenious DBM is a cut across functional boundaries system which can be a benchmarking tool to to information system designer. It helps in the linking of data collection to alternative marketing scenario which could lead to quality marketing strategies as depicted in fig 4. This system embraces organisational and cognitive process reliant on a solid IT foundation. 2.1 Accuracy of Marketing Research Most market research information does not have to totally accurate. For example, if a firm wants to know its market share, it will not matter whether the figure is 26 per cent or 27 per cent, but it will be important to discover whether it is 26 per cent or 50 per cent. Suppose a firm wants to know what portion of 10,000 person in a specific target group used their brand. They discover this information by asking everyone in the group. This is both expensive and time consuming Alternatively, they could take a proportion of the sample which should reflect the group. However, it is possible that the sample is not true reflection of the group and representative enough. The key to quality information is to have just enough information. Weicks theory come handy in this process. 2.3 Is there a need for more information? Elaborating on the above, it is easy to forget that market research is not usually needed for it own sake. In fact marketing research is not providing a direct recommendation about the correct decision to be taken. It usually provides indirect information about the environment, customers behaviour and attitude and so forth. In short, it will provide information which has to be combined with a mass of other already existed information before a final decision can be made. This indirectness can represent a potential problem. A question will arise is the present data not good enough? It is much more difficult to judge whether the information is really worth the cost and delayed involved, (Barron, and Targett, 1985). Although, the value of information can be calculated by comparing the profit available with and without the marketing research and its processed marketing information, for example, decision tree technique, it is unfortunately complicated and not reliable as the value will var y from situation to situation. One further problem is the calculations involve issues of probability and uncertainty which many people find difficult. An illustration of a survey on the likelihood of different sales level with three columns : sales, original probability estimate %, and revised probability estimate % as show in table 1 and could not find any change in it principle in making decision. For example for both estimates, the high portion of sales still fall in the region of  £40m  £50m. The revised probabilities make the decision process easier (is this quality enhancement ?), but they did not change the principle. Thus the important question is whether the revised odds would result in final decision. If not, the forecast is worthless. Hattons priority framework can provides a good guide to this consideration. 2.4 Data Analysis Accurate marketing research data needs not necessarily and automatically provides quality marketing information. Data have to be analysed. Most market researchers have learnt the art of data collection but there is certain room for improvement in the science of data analysis. (Drucker, 1992) also strongly advocates executives have become computer literate but data illiterate. As such, market reseachers should be urged to co-ordinate with the marketing manager and master the skill of interpreting data and re-look at the use of basic inferential procedures as an extra area to marketing decision making. It should use multivariate methods based on matching the technique to problem rather than the problem to the technique. The key issue here is not only to focus excessively on forecast accuracy but instead decision usefulness. For example building a consumer profile enables the firm to make quality and informed decisions. Thus, reducing the risk of making wrong decision on how to distribu te, promote and price its products. Lunns DBM model should be considered for overcoming some the above problems. Cost Issues Once data is collected and processed, the information must be distributed to the decision-makers. Its availability at the right time, right cost and its delivery in a user-friendly format will be critical to its usefulness and value. 3.0 Marketing Strategy and the Innovative use of Marketing Information (Bonoma, 1985) defines marketing strategy as the analysis of alternatives opportunities and risks to the firms, informed by environmental (e.g. competitive, social) and internal (e.g. production or people abilities) information, which leads management to choose a particular set of market, product, and customer goal. This administrative approaches carry the underlying assumptions that strategic marketing decisions are well understood and widely agreed upon within organisation (Skivimgton and Daft, 1991). At this junction we accept this unconditionally although many marketing experts discover inherent inadequacies of this nostrum, (Hamrick 1983, Mintzberg and McHugh 1985). This view holds that strategy drives structure, a strategic direction require the development of new market structure, effort and administrative mechanisms. Fig. 5 shows the corporate management spells out the mission and goals in which marketing strategy and plan are formulated after carefully evaluates the external and internal factors. Relatively, the quality of marketing strategy is definitely dependent of the marketing audit, in this case we can take as marketing research/marketing information sandwiched between the corporate mission and marketing strategy. Sharing the same view, (McDonald, 1995)s marketing planning process depicts below: According to him, marketing strategy is about the manipulation of 4 Ps Product, Price, Promotion and Place based on marketing theory (Structure, framework, models, etc.). These could include market research, market segmentation studies, response elasticities and the budgeting of resource allocation decision which may includes the distribution of people and money need to put marketing strategy into effect. (Lunn, 1986)s approach to database marketing (DBM) which allows market research data to be blended with the system database (derived from previous internal and external market research data) to enhance marketing information for predictive decision marketing by combining marketing managers intuitive skills. This would allows marketer to test the effect of difference marketing mixes on specific segments. In another words, positioning by creating an USP for target market defined by research. His marketing modelling is useful for the presentation of marketing research/marketing information defining the marketing strategy. One of the many such example is the success of General Motors innovative rebate programme which became an eye opener for company like Ford, Apple Computer, who follow similar program. Synthesising the concept of relationship marketing and the segmentation technique, General Motor groups customer by their purchasing level. Loyal, heavy and creditworthy users are being rewarded with free gifts, upgrades and allows accumulating rebates toward the purchase of new vehicles by tracking the researched database. The quality of this type of marketing information was confirmed with the result of 12 millions cards, (Berry, 1994) being issued in the United States. The strategic implicati on to this is the accuracy of GMs targeting which enables quality marketing strategy. Such are not possible without a quality marketing research, database system and the innovative use of interpreted information. 4.0 Power, politics and the dissemination of information There are many literatures elaborating power, politics and the dissemination of information which is centred to the quality of marketing strategy. However, what seems to be obscuring is its specific co-relation relative to marketing strategy. Let digress slightly to discuss these issues. Knowledge, derived from organised information, which in turn is interpreted from raw data, is power, (Francis Bacon, 1957). Building on this ground, (Emerson, 1962) espoused the beholder of knowledge is a powerful figure within the organisation. Further, (Piercy, 1985) argued and introduced the information-structure-power theory of marketing emphasising on the political aspect of information in the marketing environment. Such a view is compatible with (Bonoma, 1985)s claim that it is naÃÆ' ¯ve to belief that data, especially numerical data, are science-associated and therefore somehow purer than intuitions or qualitative statements. Adding he reiterated that there is nothing so politicised in management as the collection and use of quantitative information. Data or information in management, as in science is politicised, tortured, bent, and occasionally broken in the service of vested interests in the marketing organisation. For example, in my corporation, sales expense reports are put on hold by manager until call report are turned in at the end of every month. This is to use as a punitive mean to red-line salesmans moonlighting rather than use as a base for customer research or marketing intelligence gathering. There are also numerous cases, where divisional managers are under pressure to increase market share. These sales executives came up with a manipulated pricing plan of 30% increment in vo lume, supported by dressed marketing research information. What went conveniently unreported, however, was that the current fleet of equipment would be obsolete in a few month time; much earlier, because of the forced increased in capacity. One can imagine the future repercussion of having to fund the purchase of the new equipment which the top management is unaware of. In consistent with this, (Piercy, 1984) co-relates power and politics of marketing with marketing information seamlessly. He focuses on the implications for the management of marketing in organisations, where a political analysis suggests that the management of marketing should concentrate not only on techniques of marketing research or of rational, scientific decision making but also on structure and process, i.e on power and political systems, to influence and control outcomes. His works provide the empirical support that structures and decision making processes are frequently political in nature. Piercy builds on (Velasques and Cavanagh, 1983)s defense that politics in organisations are in someway bad in themselves, but in reality power goes to the politically able rather than others with more legitimate claims. This is due to organisational situation of high ambiguity relative to structure and process, as in the case of information gathering in strategic problem formulation, (L yles and Mitroff, 1984). For example, in the allocation of fund to even within the marketing department, top management may favours the lower level executives request for his endeavour due to him being a politically competent manager as against the request of the most effective superior with better marketing information supporting him. This is in reality possible as the strategic decision are often unstructured and broad in nature, (Hayes, 1984). With the awareness of the above, quality of marketing strategy is not narrow down to only quality information. What seems to define quality marketing strategy is the interconnectedness of power, politics which are structure and process related. 5.0 Quality Marketing Strategy and Corporate Strategy We have discussed marketing strategy with some reservations in section 3 on this paper. To further demonstrate the true meaning of quality marketing strategy we continue to elaborate more. (Levitt, 1960)s Marketing Myopia adds favour to it by arguing that customers buy solution to their needs, not products. A domestic example is our home grown Creativity Technology, a PC sound card maker is introducing new kit by solving customers upgrading problem by providing the next generation DVD solution, (Strait Times, 30th July 1997). Having all said and done about marketing strategy, then precisely what is quality marketing strategy? Robet Pirsigs Zen in his art of Motorcycle Maintenance provokes some unusual thinking. He do not use the term productivity in connection with marketing activities but prefers to use phrase like peace of mind and feeling good about the marketing actions undertaken. Pirsig would say that we move from being uncomfortably involved with what is going on to more comfort with events, people, and things by our acts. As we do this, we move toward Quality. In this view Quality is bred of caring, not just technical skill, and is the brother of involvement. Another school of thought came from (Gilbert,1978), who related quality with worthy performance, which he suggested, is associated with doing the most difficult thing best with the least effort. This, he said is measurable against the behaviour aspect which is difficult to qualify. (Bonoma, 1985) merges both concepts by using coping behaviour skill as a measure of output that meets Gilberts performance yardstick. Marketing effectiveness is then about managements coping quality and can be defined by referring to a comparison of achieved output with intended goals. We call this comparison satisfaction which is similar to Pirsig peace of mind and feel good about. Putting all these together, quality marketing strategy is about the triple interface of company, customer and trade. It is only achieved with satisfaction created with the least effort using coping skill to realise the intended goal. This leads us to (Skinner, 1969)s missing link which he suggests a kind of top-down approach, starting with the company and its competitive strategy, and its goal is to define tactical task (i.e marketing strategy) in support of the corporate strategy. In short, if marketing strategy defers from corporate strategy, it is not quality marketing strategy as it is not the intended goal of the corporation. We have discussed intensely that quality marketing strategy is not only about quality information as the latter is one of the many components that assist marketing decision-maker to be more effective. 6.0 Shortcomings of Marketing Research/Marketing Information On balance, not all marketing research/marketing information can help to define quality marketing strategy. These can be illustrated in the real-life examples that follows: In the early 1990s, American Express, decided to launch their resolving credit card, the Optima to compete with Visa and Master Card. In theory, the modelling of consumer profiles and credit histories from marketing research and datebase confirmed opportunities for new product line. It was a total failure with bad debts and American Express had to abandon this endeavour after 2 years. A postmortem analysis reveals (a case of reliable information yet inappropriate) although from same individuals, the various data was taken from the American Express card for corporate business travel expenses which are reclaimed or paid directly; whereas the Optima Card was used for personal expenses. Timely information is important in the defining of marketing strategy. (Stalk and Hout, 1990), in their espoused time to market strategy argues the reduction of time to gain significant competitive advantage. Collecting data requires time and too much of it may be resulted in redundancy and misinformation system, (Ackoff, 1967). This may also renders the firm to miss their market opportunity. A case in point is Levers introduction of Signal mouthwash. Signal was in the test markets for so long that it gave Scope a chance to emphasis the same benefit in a national advertising campaign and launch the new product successfully ahead of the originator. The starting point of the marketing research is to define the problem that researcher can help to solve. If the problem is defined wrongly, the result of the marketing research not only define sub-optimal marketing strategy but also lose the firms brand image which may takes years to recover or not at all. A classic example is that of Coca-Cola who focuses the wrong problem as the sweetness of Pepsi-Cola instead of the quantity. The ideal research should instead focus on the positioning of size rather than taste. This case illustrates how experienced marketer can overlook vital consumer behaviour and that the perception is stronger than reality Original Coke is the real thing. How can anything taste better than the real thing? In cases where requirement is to be entrepreneurial in nature, innovation, gut feeling and decisiveness (Drucker, 1986) may also has competitive advantage, without the need for marketing research. An example of the victory which does not belong to the side that does a better job of marketing research is American Motors. The company ignores customer needs develops the Jeep, a product borrowed from the military. No focus group is likely to have conjunct up that idea, nor is the identifying of customer need is going to have any co-relation with it, but it is a winner. 7.0 Conclusion A quality marketing research/marketing information involves the accuracy, relevancy, reliability, its time delaying elements and its cost attached with it. As traditional costing is about economic cost, a new look into the future (Farlan, 1984), involves the concern of forward looking marketing opportunity rather the present. This assignment has demonstrated other means of innovative concept such as strategic management cost encompassing the value chain analysis, cost driver analysis and competitive analysis as a better alternative evaluation of marketing research/marketing information investment. Concerns of quality marketing information is in the area of data analysis, data interpretation and decision usefulness to provide solution rather than the research and information per see. There are also two missing links from the input of marketing research to the output of quality marketing strategy. On one hand, the problem of information dissemination involving the power structure organisation. On the other, the alignment and co-ordination of corporate strategy and operations strategy (Skinner, 1969), in which marketing strategy and information system strategy becomes more blurry, (Earl, 1989, Ward, 1996). To a certain extent, technology can improve data analysis and assist the clumsiness of co-ordinating organisation, inter-organisation and external differences, but it is the innovative use of information (Keen, 1993) that put forward the marketing edge. Examples and solution to the opportunities and concerns are discussed and illustrated. In sum, strategically, in the context of marketing management, the quality of market research/marketing information related to marketing strategy narrowed to the outcome of new opportunities derived from fulfilling the perceived unfilled needs or problems of the customer. This should be done by offering creative product based on the researched information to provide benefit and solution to the end-user, the so-called marketing myopia by (Levitt, 1960) in their relationship with the market place and the relative worthiness involves the cost- and profit myopia, (Piercy, N., 1982) of the investment in their goal setting and strategic decision marking; to achieve what is required, they must also be wary of the missing links and political myopia; in implementing marketing strategies with regard to alignments and co-ordinations of the corporate strategy and the timely disseminating of information.

Admiral Grace Murray Hopper and Lady Augusta Ada Byron Lovelace Essay

Ada & Grace: Practical Visionaries Imagine a computer programmer who still programs in bits and bytes and has never heard of the terms "bug" or "de-bugging." Then, stretch your mind much further, and try to imagine a world without computers. Most of us, no matter what age, don't have such powerful imaginations. But without the contributions of women like Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, who developed the first compiler, and Lady Augusta Ada Byron Lovelace, who made the idea of an Analytical Engine accessible to a world without computers, our most advanced computing device for general use would very likely still be a simple calculator. Lovelace and Hopper are by no means the only women who have made invaluable contributions to the field of computer science. Without Betty Holberton, who "devised the first sort-merge generator, for UNIVAC I" (AWC, "Frances..."), Grace Hopper would never have been able to design the first compiler. A more contemporary scientist, Dr. Anita Borg, has profoundly influenced the field by "designing and building a fault tolerant UNIX-based operating system" ("Short Biography of Anita Borg"), as well as developing a performance analysis method for high-speed memory systems. However, I've chosen to focus on Lovelace and Hopper because they are probably the most frequently mentioned women in computer science, and they represent two critical historical moments in the field: Lovelace helps to bring the first computer into being, while Hopper forges the start of the modern computer age. A researcher looking into women and computer science will find Ada's and Grace's names scattered all over the place. Lovelace has a programming language named after her (Ada), the Association for Women in Computing offer the ... ...//www.ex.ac.uk/BABBAGE/ada.html (11 March 2000). AWSEM - Associate of Women in Science, Engineering and Mathematics. "Facts in Brief." AWSEM Gender Equity. http://www.awsem.org (2 Feb. 2000). Danis, Sharron Ann. "Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper." 2 Feb. 1997. http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Hopper.Danis.html (17 March 2000). GirlTECH. "Introduction." Getting Girls Interested in Computers. 1998. http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/club/girls.html (7 Feb. 2000). "Grace Murray Hopper: 1906-1992." A Science Odyssey: People and Discoveries (PBS). 1998. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/btmurr.html (17 March 2000). "Short Biography of Anita Borg." Institute for Women and Technology. http://www.iwt.org/trubio.html (20 March 2000). Toole, Betty Alexander. Ada, The Enchantress of Numbers: Prophet of the Computer Age. Mill Valley CA: Strawberry Press, 1998. Admiral Grace Murray Hopper and Lady Augusta Ada Byron Lovelace Essay Ada & Grace: Practical Visionaries Imagine a computer programmer who still programs in bits and bytes and has never heard of the terms "bug" or "de-bugging." Then, stretch your mind much further, and try to imagine a world without computers. Most of us, no matter what age, don't have such powerful imaginations. But without the contributions of women like Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, who developed the first compiler, and Lady Augusta Ada Byron Lovelace, who made the idea of an Analytical Engine accessible to a world without computers, our most advanced computing device for general use would very likely still be a simple calculator. Lovelace and Hopper are by no means the only women who have made invaluable contributions to the field of computer science. Without Betty Holberton, who "devised the first sort-merge generator, for UNIVAC I" (AWC, "Frances..."), Grace Hopper would never have been able to design the first compiler. A more contemporary scientist, Dr. Anita Borg, has profoundly influenced the field by "designing and building a fault tolerant UNIX-based operating system" ("Short Biography of Anita Borg"), as well as developing a performance analysis method for high-speed memory systems. However, I've chosen to focus on Lovelace and Hopper because they are probably the most frequently mentioned women in computer science, and they represent two critical historical moments in the field: Lovelace helps to bring the first computer into being, while Hopper forges the start of the modern computer age. A researcher looking into women and computer science will find Ada's and Grace's names scattered all over the place. Lovelace has a programming language named after her (Ada), the Association for Women in Computing offer the ... ...//www.ex.ac.uk/BABBAGE/ada.html (11 March 2000). AWSEM - Associate of Women in Science, Engineering and Mathematics. "Facts in Brief." AWSEM Gender Equity. http://www.awsem.org (2 Feb. 2000). Danis, Sharron Ann. "Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper." 2 Feb. 1997. http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Hopper.Danis.html (17 March 2000). GirlTECH. "Introduction." Getting Girls Interested in Computers. 1998. http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/club/girls.html (7 Feb. 2000). "Grace Murray Hopper: 1906-1992." A Science Odyssey: People and Discoveries (PBS). 1998. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/btmurr.html (17 March 2000). "Short Biography of Anita Borg." Institute for Women and Technology. http://www.iwt.org/trubio.html (20 March 2000). Toole, Betty Alexander. Ada, The Enchantress of Numbers: Prophet of the Computer Age. Mill Valley CA: Strawberry Press, 1998.

Ellen Moore: Living and Working in Korea Essay

Question 1: What are the problems in this case? 1.Elllen’s female identity made her an alienated participant in the work place in Korea, whose culture is dominantly masculine. The acceptance of her came in and took responsibility as the senior member of the project was early based on a compromise of her obtaining of required skills, however, her identity as a female was constantly reemphasized in the company’s social events. 2.Ellen and Jack were both initially appointed as the co-manager to the SI project, however, from the organizational structure perspective, the power was not equally distributed between the two participants: Jack clearly had much more commanding authority than Ellen. With Andrew involved in a distance manner and absented from daily management, and the other manager in the above hierarchy such as Mr. Park was only directly connected with Jack instead of Ellen, all of those factors had resulted in even sever power inequality. 3.The group project progress was severely delayed, and the communication efficiency is low between the U.S personal and Korean personals, In addition, Jack as a senior consultant, had deliberately made work decisions diverged from the overall objective of the project (by adding a time consuming and unnecessary market research). Plus, the skills of other Korean consultants were obviously not sufficient and the effort that Ellen tried to make on coaching the junior consultant was interpreted by Jack as personally criticizing as him lacking of leadership ability. 4.The communication with clients was limited and the information exchange was restricted. The relationship with client was not established on a mutually beneficial service provider and buyer bases, rather the clients obtained relative dominate power towards the project group by requiring the consultant conduct extra tasks beyond work scope. 5. The higher management blamed the inefficiency of team performance sole on Ellen, which Andrew considered that it was the ineffective organizational structure and inaccurate information provided by the Korean side regarding team skills that resulted in the problem. Question 2: Now that you have discussed all of the problems, pick two or three root problems and discuss why you believe they are driving the other problems. The principal problems that resulted in Ellen’s dilemma are the inequity of female and male roles; the hierarchy and power that Jack possessed to command the fellow junior consultant running the project in a diverged direction; also the hierarchy that the client posses towards the project team. As for the gender inequity aspect, it is clear that the Korean traditional has played a significant role, even though there were improvement of women social status in young generation, in the business environment, male are still dominating the workplace and the male and female are still in a superior-subordinate relation. Given that Ellen and Scott are both functioning as senior consultants for the SI project, however, Ellen was the only one getting ultimate criticism in the eyes of the higher Korean management. Moreover, the overall organization structure also demonstrates an inequity of gender where tolerance for diversity of ideas and individuals do not tend to be encouraged (In the Eye of the Beholder, cross cultural lessons in leadership from project GLOBE, Mansour Javidan, Peter W. Dorfma, etc), therefore, female opinions such as Ellen’s towards Jack’s market research proposal will be consider unacceptable as in the business setting as SI project team. Beside gender issue, the tension between Jack and Ellen also raised from the in-depth culturally sense of power and respect for hierarchy which also explaining the ineffective communication manner between the Ellen and other Korean consultants. Jack pointed as the leader of Korean team will expected a full commanding authority and loyalty from his Korean subordinates who are also intuitively perceive Jack as the leader. Ellen’s direct involvement with the Korean junior consultants was perceived by Jack as trespassing and challenging of his leadership power. Besides, regarding to the clients, the JVI had never build up a connection with the client until the surprisingly got the contract, the existence of hierarchy and non-trust between client and project team lead to the inefficiency of obtaining client information, later resulted in Jack’s misleading proposal for market research. Also, because in the concept of high power distance, decision making process is limited one-way participation and communication (In the Eye of the Beholder, cross cultural lessons in leadership from project GLOBE, Mansour Javidan, Peter W. Dorfma, etc), Jack’s own lack of experience on project management made it is possible for the project to diverge from previous direction under one person’s leadership. Question 3: What alternatives exist at this point? In Andrew’s position, what would you do? Why? Based on the development of the event, the possible scenarios are 1) The dispute is taken to the JV Committee and Ellen is expelled from the group, taking the blame of being the ineffective leader; 2) recruiting new consultants for the project who have the required qualification and skills to do the job; 3) Jack is replaced by other consultant from JVI with relative more experience in project management. 4) Ellen and Jack communicate the problem and find a way to compromise. For Andrew, under the obligation of the agreement with Korean company, if the tension between Ellen and Jack cannot be comprehend by the Korean side without the possible biases towards female leadership, then Andrew could consider to promote Scott to the position to have direct communication with Jack. Ellen stays in the project continuing contributing but with Scott as the speaking representative for SCG side. Andrew can also propose a official recognition being made from the above senior management team for Ellen to clearly state her authority towards the junior consultants, and a division of Jack and Ellen’s duty should be draw and a manifest â€Å"who to report† system made for the team. This can minimize chances of having â€Å"stepping upon each other’s territory† problem. However, regarding to the delayed process of the project, that is not a problem that can be tackled in short-term, the hierarchy that existed with the clients should be respect, but at the meantime, start to build a mutually trust long-term relationship should be recognized by the SI project team. Therefore, Andrew either has to motivate the higher management such as Mr. Cho and Mr. Song to organizing frequent social event with the client or has to start to hunt recruiting liaison personals that used to working in the competitor company and have a professional connection with the client company. Question 4: What changes would you recommended making for future global consulting project teams? 1.From management perspective, it is crucial to have a clear vision setting for the project also a detailed guidance for the task, so as to prevent the potential divergence of project direction and loaded the team with unnecessary and time consuming tasks that will yield little result. 2. On the organization structure setting, for the expatriated employees, it is necessary to have a direct supporting management that he/she can report to or exchange opinion with, and that supporting management executive should be easily accessible and aware of the in-time progress of the project. 3.Expats in the global team need to build up a connection with local employees and co-workers, and need to be perceived as a part of the group instead of an outsider. In addition, expats need to accept the way that Korean conducting business, and do not presume what should be a â€Å"more effective way† of doing business. 4.From the aspect of building relationship with clients, in a context such as South Korean, accept the hierarchical order and establishing a social connection is important. Try to avoid behaving for one’s own interest, and instead, demonstrating the relationship is mutually beneficial. 5.Even though the conflicts between the two cultures gets obvious and sever, publicly confrontation and seeking judgment is not a good approach to resolve the problem. Question 5: what is the role and importance of national culture in this context? Which value differences created problems? Culture has a profound impact on preferences for leadership styles and management systems, perception of authority, organizational fairness, interpersonal relationships, communication and expectations about organizations and co-workers, and many other organizationally relevant outcomes. (Three decades of research on national culture in the workplace: Do the differences still make a difference? Vas Taras, Pier Steel , Bradley L.Kirkman). South Korea is considered as a country with traditional Confucian values mix with western lifestyle habits. The Graph below is a comparison of U.S and South Korea culture from the common nine dimensions model that used in the GLOBE Project (In the Eye of the Beholder, cross cultural lessons in leadership from project GLOBE, Mansour Javidan, Peter W. Dorfma, etc), in general, the two cultures are illustrating variance in aspects such as uncertainty, gender, power distance, in-group and social collectivism. In the case of Ellen Moore, the differences are fully illustrated in those mentioned aspect expect for uncertainty avoidance. Especially the power distance, the Korean tradition of holding respect to authority and hierarchy internally resulted in the inefficient communication and dictated decision making, also attributed to the power distribution conflicts between two leaders of the project. Externally, given that there were no long-term business relation exist before JVI won the contact, the hierarchy of clients made the information collecting process inefficient, and even influencing the team performance by giving unreasonable requests. Question 6: How would taking a class such as this help Ellen Moore? What would you have done differently given what you know about culture? Taking an organization behavior class will help Ellen understand the root of cultural differences, the intrinsic reasons behind all the culturally distinct behaviors that appears in a global setting work place, so as to effectively resolve cultural conflicts issues or even avoid them. From the study of national cultural and the value effects on organizational behavior, global team leaders like Ellen Moore will actively develop essential attributes like global mindset, tolerance to high level of ambiguity and cultural adaptability and flexibility. It was clear that Ellen had experience in global team environment and had actively prepared for the cultural adapting process in South Korea by paying attention to mannerism, learning language and business etiquette. But in behavior level, what she did not realize in this joint venture program was that raising awareness to other culture is not enough, she needs to also tell the host country employees and co-workers about her own cultures, this exchange of understanding among management executives could dispel misunderstanding, mitigate the tension that Jack hold regarding Ellen’s power trespassing behavior. In addition, Ellen should also give a thought on how to bridge the gap between the cultures after knowing where the differences are. She should demonstrate to the employee that showing encouragement and compliment to work well done are not necessarily interpreted as weak leadership in American Culture. What is the most, opinion towards one’s professional work does not necessary linked to the personal judgment of that person, even when it is a negative comment.

Building Regulations - 1281 Words

Unit: Building Regulations and Control in Construction Title: The origins and purpose of building control Pass 1 UK Building Regulations: The first building control legislation in England dates back to the Great Fire of London in 1666. The reasons why it spread out so quickly were the proximity of the timber buildings. The government of the day realised this and introduced by-laws to try to prevent it from happening again. So in 1667 they introduced the London Building Act. However it was not until 1774 that the District Surveyors in London were appointed to enforce these laws. Around this time due to the Industrial Revolution other towns were rapidly expanding and they started to experience similar problems that London had†¦show more content†¦* Overall average emissions target: 5.4% * UK target: 12.5% * Some eco-advanced countries have agreed to high emissions targets; e.g. Germany and Denmark 21% * Some less advanced countries are allowed to increase emissions: e.g. Greece +25%, Spain +15%, Ireland +13% * The large developing countries, especially China, India and Brazil, took part in the discussions but were not expected to have reduction targets. Merit The Building Act, consisting of 135 sections, was made law in England and Wales in 1984. Part A: | Structure | Stability is the vital factor here, also taking into account the need to withstand additional weight such as furniture, and the effects of strong winds. | Part B: | Fire | Fire escapes have to be safe, effective and available at all times, and lead to a safe place. Recent changes in how the fire-resistant qualities of materials are measured. Internal surfaces have to be able to resist the spread of flames, but if they do catch fire, they must restrict the rate at which heat is released. | Part C: | Site Preparation amp; Resistance to Moisture | The ground to be built on must be free of vegetation and precautions must be taken to get rid of dangerous contaminants including radon, landfill gas and methane. If necessary the subsoil must be drained and walls, floors and roofs must be reasonably moisture-proof. | PartShow MoreRelatedBuilding Regulation And Construction Regulatio n2499 Words   |  10 PagesThe building regulation is a construction standard and it ensure the building work satisfies with minimum constructional standard. The following type of work, the owner or occupier of building required to make building regulation application by law The construction or extension of a building, unless the building type is exempt the building regulation The installation, extension or alteration of a service or fitting which is controlled under the regulation An alteration project involving work whichRead MoreBuilding A Compliance Regulation Plan1149 Words   |  5 PagesBuilding a Compliance Regulation Plan Many regulations exist for various facets of corporate industries. Compliance plans in a health industry exist to ensure that any program created by a healthcare provider follow regulations to avoid abuse of information. Compliance planning for healthcare providers has become essential to protecting practices. As we have recently acquired a hospital group we should work to build a compliance plan, and the safeguards needed to keep information secure. ImportantRead MoreEducational Facilities For New Building Code Regulations1183 Words   |  5 Pagesfacilities designed and built between 1950 and 1970 have come to a point in their building’s life cycle that it is time for them to retire. These schools are no longer viable to keep running because of the financial strain to upgrade to new building code regulations. This means a flux of education construction is upon us. This also means that these schools, unless they are private, will be given a bond issue awarded by the state. Traditionally, schools are one of the tightest budgets to work with becauseRead MoreBuilding Inside The Home Assembling Industry1304 Words   |  6 Pagesdevelopers are neglecting the highly required wellbeing regulations when figuring their financial plans. In the development business time is cash, and when time is an issue presents are frequently made. It is these offerings that are bringing down the guidelines of building inside the home-assembling industry, costing Americans millions every year because of property misfortunes and repair costs. Establishments are splitting because of poor building and hurried pouring methods, and homes are smolderingRead More Manchester Airport operates in an increasingly competitive environment1508 Words   |  7 Pagesdifferentiate itself not only. Finance All organisations must take great care in setting their financial targets. If they are set too low then they will be readily achieved and full potential will not be reached. At present the economic regulation of airports is targeted solely at reducing the charges to airlines. Non-aviation income is not regulated and the Airport, therefore, seeks to encourage the development of such revenue streams to sustain the profitability of the Company. ToRead MoreA Plan For The Low Calorie, Frozen Microwaveable Food Company1414 Words   |  6 Pagesmany rules and ordinances that guide businesses. Businesses will normally shift the way they work when government changes these rules and ordinances. Government economic policy and market regulations have an influence on the competitiveness and profitability of jobs. Business owners must comply with regulations established by federal, state and local governments (chron.com). The government carries out policies that shift the social behavior in the job environment. In the case of low calorie frozenRead MoreThe Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development1468 Words   |  6 Pages1948. Since then and as an extension for the with the convention on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the OECD an international economic organization was established in Paris, on the 14th of December 1960 with the aim of building strong economies in its member countries, and contribute to development in industrialized as well as developing countries. Nowadays, the OECD is trying to expand their missions and agenda to include cooperating according to the requirements of theRead MoreAccording to the Singapore consumer watchdog, there have been an increasing number of complaints700 Words   |  3 Pagesincreasing number of complaints against tuition agencies in the country. With the given situation, the quality of education is then compromised. Se veral agencies remain to be unregulated, making and following their own rules. Given the standard regulations and procedures, owners still remain to be deviant. Others owners are informed however, that they still manage to overlook the standards. To serve as a guideline, the following is a discussion on the standard procedures on how to set up a tuitionRead MoreThe Functions Of Human Communication911 Words   |  4 PagesHuman communication serves various functions that are not only important for the individuals but for the larger society as well. One of the significant functions of human communication is to regulate the other’s behaviors. This act of regulation, known as â€Å"social control acts† or control acts (hereafter) consists of various degree of directives—requests, commands, offers, and orders—that aim at controlling others’ behaviors (Blum-Kulka ,1997a, p. 142; Ervin-Tripp, 1982). Accordingly, the use of controlRead More Consumer Alert Essays817 Words   |  4 Pagesscrutiny of any action which discourages competition in the marketplace.quot; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Consumer Alert was founded in 1977 as a national, non-profit membership organization for people concerned about excessive growth of government regulation at the national and state levels. Consumer Alerts mission is to inform the public about the consumer benefits of competitive enterprise and to expose the flawed economic, scientific and risk data that underlie certain public policies. Now, Consumer