Reflection on Teamwork and Gender

Reflection on Teamwork and Gender Introduction As the only male in a group of four female working on a presentation, the learning experience gained reflectively looking back was invaluable. How I got on in the working process while engaged in the completion of this presentation represented a process of understanding the difference in dynamics of working within a group situation whereby my initial impressions of the progress being made differed from the manner in which each individual approached the situation. The following will offer a reflection on this situation. At first, I felt as if I was the only one actively engaged on the project, gauging that the others were being flippant in their approach. Tavris and Wade (1984, pp. 71-73) offered some insight into this as they advise that men are more aggressive than women. They point to the example that this difference is detectable as early as age three when children start playing with one another (Tavris and Wade, 1984, pp. 71-73). Their analogy stated that little boys from the start show more physical aggression, play aggressive, have fantasy aggression and utilize verbal aggression (Tavris and Wade, 1984, pp. 71-73). This, they point to is the male aspect of winning, which means getting started earlier and taking over (Tavris and Wade, 1984, pp. 71-73). Fay and Tokarczyk (1993, pp. 78-79) developed my understanding further in adding that women approach work in a different manner, as they are more social beings. Dale and Lynne Spender (1986, p. 32) dismiss the mythical talkativeness of women ind icating that in mixed sex conversations that women only talked ten to twenty percent of the time gauging their situation. They added that women, after feeling comfortable in a group setting will then set about the task at hand, however, they have privately thought about the problem and have definitive ideas and approaches to discuss when that time arrives (Spender and Spender, 1986, pp. 34-35). Lunneborg (1990, p. 21) offered the following insight to this start of the project situation that I seemingly was so preoccupied with. She states that women tend to spend time gathering and thinking more about the information aspects in singular fashion, gauging the situation against their own personal skills and formulating approaches as they consider what they either know or have gleaned from other members of the group (Lunneborg, 1990, pp. 23-28). These dynamics helped me to understand that my learning style was simply too male oriented to at first take in the significances of how women approach problems and solutions. I learned that the first thing I should have done was approach the first session as an introduction to my co-workers, asking for inputs on how to set about the presentation as a group process, instead of feeling that I was the only contributor. Novarra (1980, p. 51) advised me that women manage in a less academic fashion. They, women, are â€Å"†¦ accessible, unstuffy, informal, direct in getting to the point, spontaneous, averse to wrangling, sympathetic and not long winded or pompous†. Nickles and Ascroft (1981, pp. 206-207) referred to the foregoing style as ‘beta’. They, women, utilize power for the good of the group as opposed to the individual, and that good management represents sensitivity in the creation of a work environment that fosters growth and learning (Nickles and Ascroft. 1981, pp. 206-207). They offered additional insight in that ‘Beta’ power cares more about the quality of work life and uses flexible schedules, job sharing and the decentralization of authority (Nickles and Ascroft. 1981, pp. 206-207). Leaders are not needed at the top of the hierarchy in making decisions, as it is a shared process. Howe (1975, pp. 127-171) advised me that women are more democratic, egalitarian and cooperative. In working with men, or in this case a male, women tend to slow things down to create a pace that reflects thinking and sharing. She added that women have an alternative view of power that is based upon sisterhood, and that in a group situation the usual first steps in the process entail an informal discussion as the parties get to know one another for later interaction as opposed to the male method of the big dog taking over and letting other things fall into place. As I saw the collective approach take hold later in the process, the understanding I gained after the fact made me better understand the dynamics of working with women and how my initial impressions were male based. The difficulty I felt I had in maintaining group focus was my male approach as opposed to the reflective and group sharing approach women utilize to address working situations, which are similar in context to their approach of problems in any form. Conclusion The apprehension I experienced in working with a group of four females taught me that there are differing ways in which the approach to a working situation can be handled. As the only male member I thrust myself into thinking into feeling that I needed to take charge, even though I held back on that action. Upon reflection, that was a wise choice as the group dynamics later showed me that the work at hand was being handled, but in a different manner than I was accustomed to. The lack of individual conflicts, the overall courteousness of the group, and the process of producing the piece was an enjoyable and productive session. My feelings of getting a late start did not account for the accelerated pace of development as a team whereby ideas, solutions and contributions flowed naturally without power struggles, thus shortening the time frame to get things accomplished. In retrospect the entire experience enabled me to take away from the process a new set of techniques and understandings with respect to group dynamics that was not just applicable to women, but groups of any gender composition. My concerns regarding being the only male in the group were facets of my own imagination as the females did not and were not focused on gender differences, they were focused on meshing the group into a cohesive unit, whereby the synergy would be greater than the parts. Bibliography Fay, E., Tokarczyk, M. (1993) Working Class Women in the Academy. University of Massachusetts Press Howe, F. (1975) Women and the power to change. McGraw Hill Lunneborg, P. (1990) Women Changing Work. Bergin and Garvey Nickles, E., Ashcroft, L. (1981) The coming matriarchy. Seaview Books Novarra, V. (1980) Women’s Work, men’s work. Praeger Spender, D., Spender, L. (1986) Scribbling sisters. Camden Press Tavris, C., Wade, C. (1984) The longest war: Sex Differences in perspective. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

Community Management of Toyota Owner Club

Background Technology takes part in the development of human being, especially information and technology. It creates globalization in almost every sector of economy, politics, education, and culture in almost every country. Technology makes information almost borderless and simplifies the customer source of information but on the other hand makes the market analysis grow more sophisticated and also creates the need of improvement in knowledge to understand the marketing model to cope with the dynamic improvement of technology.Marketing as knowledge to describe â€Å"what-who-when-where-why-and how† to the market works describe in 3 main issue which is ; 1. Product management 2. Customer management 3. Brand management That is all learnt by marketeers so corporates could generate the demand of production continually time after time and surviving in the market. The problem nowadays is when the company’s marketing slowly has less effect on customer due to a lack of trust o r the obsolete company methods used in today’s shifting market, companies needs to be more ease and open to new, necessary information so it could be disseminated to their customers.Social media and information portal, easily accessed by those who need current information and recommendations, is more preferrable to the consumer. A research said that 90% of customers are sure about recommendations his/her friend gave them and 70% of customers are sure about opinions on the internet. graph 1 Degree of Trust for company advertisement (April 2009, the Nielsen Company) Somehow it is a phenomenon that less of consumers are convinced of company’s advertisements and shifted to another form of â€Å"advertisement† which is what we call recommendation by acquintances.It is an oopportunity for companies to take advantage of a community or group of loyal customers as an information pipeline to attract customers and prospected customers. It is what we know as word of mouth, which the dissemination of information is not massive but specified and spread in high speed thus making it unstoppable. To companies, above the line (ATL) advertising should not only be the main focus and main budget spent to market their product information and create the willingness to buy, companies also should convince the potential customer by developing the methods of effective below the line (BTL) advertising effective-efficient.Community involvement in this BTL aactivity is one of the activations in horizontal marketing. How to do that is develop a company that has marketing orientation from a precious concept (main issue of marketing explained above) into new concept of horizontal marketing which contains; 1. Co Creation 2. Communitization 3. Character building The point in communitization is explaining the relationship between the company and the consumers with a community between them. Godin Seth in his book â€Å"Tribal† concludes that successful companies have t he support from the community.It explains that consumers intend to be more connected with other costumers rather than with the company. Here is great oopportunity if companies understand what its consumers want and take the appropriate action by accomodating consumers in a community or enter the existing community and give the company's influence there. A company needs to help consumers connect to their community so the influence has more power to persuade the following marketing effort. Fourier and Lee explain that consumers themselves would choose where they belong on the following type of connection : 1.Pools : here is where consumers are real brand fans and event hough they did not interact directly with other consumers in a community they would still be â€Å"brand evangelists† and strengthen brand power. 2. Webs : the consumer has one-on-one interraction, it is typically consumers who connect with each other on social media. They spread information and influence in one- on-one interaction but usually also affects other group members. 3. Hubs : A hub connection needs a leader, the trend setter and figure who brings another consumer (follower) into the network and these consumers will move around the leader and create a loyalty of brand.We might agree that a community is developed not to serve the business but to serve their members which attracts loyal consumers. But this indirect relationship does not mean the company has no intention, the company needs to maintain in effective-efficient way so marketing effort will not be a waste but instead succeed slowly but sure, the company builds the building blocks of a consumer’s trust and loyalty, and the community has significant role in it. 1. 2Problem Formulation For the background has been explained before, authors have researched the question to be developed as mentioned below : 1.What sre Toyota Owner Club’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in its current position ? 2. How Toyota explains the frame work and milestones in this community management process ? 1. 3Research Objectives This research is done pursuing the explanation of problem found and set objectives as shown below : 1. Identifying Toyota Owner Club has strength, weaknesses, oopportunity, and threat 2. Giving suggestion of current community management process has frame work and milestone 1. 4Research scope Author has scope in this research are ; 1.Research conducted while doing industrial training in PT Toyota-Astra Motors (Head Office, Jalan Yos Sudarso – Sunter II Jakarta 14330) in Marketing Division- Marketing Communication Departement, Event Section. 2. Information provided is infromation from author has observation, discussion, and primary and secondary data from industrial training period. 3. This research is not for profit and conducted as author has suggestion to the management, event section of PT Toyota-Astra Motors. 1. 5Internship Objectives This internship itself were conduct more than doing research are also to achieve these objectives ;

MP3 Player Industry Analysis

Electronic gadgets are very much popular nowadays. Both teens and adults alike are caught up in this technology wave of the present and future. Almost everyone in the US and other first-world countries have mobile phones. Even little kids have one for practical reasons, according to some parents. Yet another electronic gadget that is as popular as a mobile phone is the MP3 player. Since everyone seems to like music a lot, this little electronic device easily captured the hearts of many people around the world. Apple was the company that had big risks yet big hopes in this market when it released its own version of MP3 player called the Apple iPod in 2001. Some were not convinced of Apple’s strategy entering this line of business as the industry was not quite promising that time (Guglielmo, 2001). But even with its price tag on the upper bracket, Apple reportedly has the highest share in the market at about 80% (Skee, 2006). But with the increasing number of competitors in the market offering much more affordable digital audio players, this huge amount of market share will most likely decrease in the years to come. As all knows, technology is something that does not really stagnate at all. MP3 players would not only remain as simple music playing device forever. With continuous engineering and innovation, a third of the MP3 players currently available in the market now have video playing capability. This means that users will not only be able to listen to their favorite music wherever they want, but watch some cool music videos as well. This made a huge impact in the sales of MP3 players since the feature was introduced. Wargo, director of Consumer Electronics Association, (as cited in Slocombe, 2006) stated that, â€Å"MP3 technology helped boost the audio and accessories markets in 2005. With the introduction of video playback capability, MP3 player sales surged 200 percent in 2005 to $3 billion.[†¦]† The figures concerning this industry are really huge considering that this only talks about the US consumers alone. At present, MP3 players still do not lose their charm. Just for the past holiday season, MP3 players topped the survey of 1,000 US adults for their most wanted gift (Ogg, 2006). The device had outdone other popular consumer electronic devices such as digital cameras and portable DVD players. According to CEA (2007), â€Å"MP3 players continue to drive the audio market. [†¦] Thirty-four million MP3 players shipped in 2006 and an additional 41 million are expected to ship in 2007.† The toughest competitor of Apple iPod now is Microsoft’s own Zune which was just introduced in the market late 2006, just in time for the holidays. The two products have been compared by a lot of analysts. Most of the reviews and comparison reports made still think that Apple will be the leading brand in this industry for the next years to come. However, Apple is still in stand by because Microsoft is still Microsoft. Although there are not enough information yet as to how many people already own the new Microsoft Zune nor their current market share, it is well-known that the brand Microsoft itself owns about 90% of the market when it comes to operating systems which is about 300 million people. On the other hand, there are about 30 million people who have an iPod, which is about 70% of the MP3 player industry. (Elgan, 2006) In a nutshell, the MP3 player industry is still a promising and flourishing industry and will continue to increase sales in the coming years. With all the different companies trying to compete and outdo the market starter, Apple iPod still is the leading player in the market since its introduction despite the quite expensive price tag it has. References Elgan, M. (2006). Opinion: Why Microsoft’s Zune Scares Apple to the Core. Retrieved February 22, 2007 from http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9003718&pageNumber=1 Guglielmo, C. (2001). Apple Has Big Hopes for iPod. Retrieved February 22, 2007 from http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1242682,00.asp Ogg, E. (2006). MP3 Players Top Holiday Wish Lists, CEA Survey Finds. Retrieved February 22, 2007 from http://news.com.com/MP3+players+top+holiday+wish+lists,+CEA+survey+finds/2100-1041_3-6126358.html Skee, G. (2006). US MP3 Player Sales Will Reach $4.5 Billion in 2006. Retrieved February 22, 2007 from http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/2006/01/us-mp3-player-sales-will-reach-45-billion-in-2006.php Slocombe, M. (2006). CES 2006 Starts: MP3 Player Sales to Soar 200%. Retrieved February 22, 2007 from http://digital-lifestyles.info/2006/01/05/ces-2006-starts-mp3-player-sales-to-soar-200/

Recruitment And Selection HR Policy - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1628 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? A number of articles and studies have argued that Human Resources function is more effective as a strategic partner in many organisations. The current focus has seen Human Resources Management as an integral part of the resource contributing to firms overall profitability as opposed to cost of production. The viewpoint of strategic human resource management brings to the forefront the importance of human resources practices to organisational performance, such as organisations productivity, financial performance and effective employees selection and recruitment guidelines. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Recruitment And Selection HR Policy" essay for you Create order This dissertation seeks to consider this how human resources management adds value to the changing business environment and also the accompanied problems associated with the implementation of recruitment and selection policies. It will further discuss how recruitment and selection policies can be successfully implemented into the organisations working practices to facilitate it effectiveness and how they can be used to improve business efficiency and value. It also examines the challenges the implementation of recruitment and selection could pose in a banking sector, using as case study Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) which is situated in Nigeria. Dissertation Objective, Question, Hypotheses and Justification Dissertation Objective The aim of this dissertation is to assess the importance and effectiveness of HR selection and recruitment policies at Guaranty Trust Bank and to examine how it significantly affects the organisational levels outcomes. Therefore, the objectives of this study are as follows: To obtain detailed knowledge on the effectiveness of recruitment and selection process. To establish whether the implementation of the policies helps to achieve high levels of organisational effectiveness. To investigate whether the recruitment and selection policy is applied equally, consistently and fairly. To specify the positive or negative impact of implementing the recruitment and selection HR policies. Dissertation Questions The research will help answer these questions What is the impact of HR policies in the Nigerias banking industry and how has it affected recruitment and selection processes? Which aspect of recruitment and selection processes needs to be improved on by banks in Nigeria? Do recruitment and selection practices influence the choice of applicants? What will be the impact of effective recruitment and selection process on the competitiveness of banks in the banking sector? Hypotheses This research will help answer these questions: H0: Recruitment and selection guidelines will have positive impact in the banking sector. H1: Recruitment and selection guidelines will negative impact on the organisation. H2: Recruitment and selection guidelines will not be a factor influencing the choice of applicants for a job. H3: Recruitment and selection guidelines will not have a significant impact on the competitiveness in the banking sector. Justification for the Dissertation This study will be useful in the following ways: Serve as an additional basis for studies of recruitment selection practices in Nigeria. Add to the existing knowledge of recruitment and selection practices in Nigeria. Serve as a measure to check the business performance of banks in the banking industry. Serve as a pointer to banks decision makers to improve on the implementation of their HR policies which serve as medium to improve their competitiveness. Literature Review Recruitment and Selection HR Policy: Recruitment is the method of attracting individuals on a timely basis, in sufficient numbers and with appropriate qualifications, developing their interest in an organisation and encouraging them to apply for jobs within it (Mondy Noe, 1993; Crawford, 2004). During this process, efforts are made to inform the applicants fully about the selection criteria of the required competencies that will lead to effective performance, as well as career opportunities the organisation can provide the employee. Whether or not a particular job vacancy will be filled by someone from within, or outside, the organisation depends on the organisations human resource policies, the requirements of the job to be filled, the talent to be found and, often, the organisational politics surrounding the decision (Nankervis et al., 2002). Selection is the process of choosing from a group of applicants the individual best suited for a particular position (Mondy Noe, 1993) based on conventional and non-conven tional methods (Crawford, 2004). Therefore, the effectiveness of recruitment has a significant impact on the efficiency of the selection process. The selection process should provide as much reliable and valid information as possible about applicants so that their qualifications may be carefully matched with the job requirements. While the selection process is usually the responsibility of the human resource director or similar professional, managerial and supervisory personnel in all the business units of an organisation also have an important role in the selection process (Goldrick, 1997). They need to be well versed in the conventional selection methods of psychological and aptitude testing as well as single-stage to multi-stage interviews. Further, essential experience with non-conventional selection should include graphology, group selection or assessment centre and country house weekend techniques. When the final decision of hiring is in the hands of members of a selection committee, it is important that they understand both the objectives/policies relating to selection and the overall strategic direction of the organisation. Recruitment and Selection are integrated actions. According to Armstrong (2009), recruitment was defined as the process of finding and engaging the people an organisation needs while selection involves the recruitment process concerned with deciding which applicants or candidates should be appointed to jobs (Hackett, 1991). Recruitment is primarily concerned with generating a pool of suitable candidates whereas selection is concerned with identifying those that meet the organisations requirements (Beardwell Claydon, 2007). Albrecht (2001) also states that recruitment is just a first step in developing a global workforce, a first stage in cultivating global leadership and supporting your international business. Redman et al (2009) examines recruitment as practices and activities carried out by the organisation with the primary purpose of identifying and attracting potential employees. Be that as it may, the main aim of recruitment is to ensure that the organisation is effectively and adequately staffed at all times. Therefore, the purpose is to attract suitable people for a particular job which involves matching the applicants with the criteria of the job within the organisation and eventually making a decision at the selection process (Nankervis et al, 2009). Dowling et al (2004) claims that selection is the process of gathering information for the purpose of evaluating and deciding who should be employed in specific jobs. The purpose of selection is to match people to specific jobs as it is the most important element in any organisations management of people simply because it is not possible to optimise the effectiveness of human resources if theres a less than adequate match (Roberts, 1997) Dissertation Methodology Secondary Research Method The secondary methodology approach will be adopted in this study drawing data from secondary published journals and reviewsThe current study will be conducted in a single industry to examine within-industry differences: banking. Johnson et al. (1989) argued, and found, that consolidation essentially prevents firms from implementing the full range of their strategic choices. Deregulation, as has occurred in banking industry in Nigeria, has allowed banks the freedom to exercise strategic choice. The overall effect of the structural and technical changes has contributed to HR practices, as a source of competitive advantage. The banks have moved from being order takers to being customer oriented sales organizations continually searching for more products and markets. Hunter (1997) states that banks are currently exploring new ways to organize work. Thus, banking currently offers a highly competitive environment that allows firms to exercise differing business strategies. Because of its service orientation, human resource management rises to prominence as a significant factor in strategic implementation as the employees are the product (Zeithaml and Bitner, 1996). Research Philosophy The research philosophy is made up of important assumptions about the way the world is viewed (Saunders et al (2000)). These assumptions underpin the research strategy and the methods used which is also part of that strategy. The two main research philosophies commonly used are positivism and phenomenology. The positivist angle tends towards quantitative studies while phenomenology applies to qualitative studies (Collins Hussey, 2003). The phenomenological stance supports the importance of exploring a situation so as to understand its reality (Remenyi, 1998). This is especially relevant to research studies because they are often complex and unique. A positivist philosophy is also appropriate for this research because positivism supports that findings should be observable, quantifiable and replicable (Collis Hussey, 2003). Research Approach Hyde (2000) states that there are two assumptions to reasoning which may result in the acquisition of new knowledge. They are: inductive and deductive approaches. The inductive approach is a theory building process, starting with observations of specific instances, and seeking to establish generalisations about the phenomenon under investigation. Deductive approach one the other hand is a theory testing process which commences with an established theory or generalisation and seeks to see if the theory applies to specific instances (Hyde, 2000). The inductive approach is the most appropriate for this research because it allows for the investigation and interpretation of complex situations mostly found in business environments which the deductive approach rationale and law-like generalizations of situations might not adequately capture (Bryman, 2008; Saunders et al, 2000). It was possible and easier to study the environment where findings were collected. The findings collected would be analysed and interpreted before a theory is generated (Daymon, 2002; Easterby-Smith et al, 2002) Research Method and Design The research method design to be adopted in this study will be reviews of existing employment policies, previous researches and other existing literature, combined with case study methodology and survey because it involves obtaining information directly from the staff of the bank. Timescale The whole process of completing this dissertation would take three and half months: from 30th January till 16th April 2013: Conclusion At the end, this study will seek to establish the following: Are better recruitment and selection strategies result in improved organisational outcomes? Does effectiveness of an organisations selection process influence bottom-line business outcomes, such as productivity and financial performance?