Formal Sales Process in Small and Medium Size Enterprise (SME) Essay

Introduction History and evolution of formal sales process Formal sales process refers to sales strategies that provide organization sales management with the direction on how to ensure effective and efficient sales. The process can also refer to the steps taken by the management to ensure satisfaction of customers buying process in a more successful way. Notably, formal sales   process allow companies especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to enhance their competitive advantage, and ensure effective sales by teaching sales teams how to succeed. The sales process dates back to ancient times but for the purpose of this study I will be focusing on post World War Two. It is surprising that there is little research on the history and development of the sales process as sales are vital to the survival of business. The earlier sales process models stem from the behavioral model AIDA (Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action) attributed to E. St. Elmo Lewis in 1898.   This was developed to help guide the sales force (Kotler 1999; Sheth and Sharma 2008). The sales process is inextricably linked to the buying process, which has developed significantly over the decades. It has changed from a transactional activity into a strategic supply chain function looking to add value to the business (Axelsson and Wynstra 2002; Cousins and Spekman 2003; Ketchen and Hult 2007). Through the development of the sales process there have been three key changes. The first is the development of the ‘seven steps of selling’ (Dubrinsky 1980) which is based on the AIDA model. The second is the ‘evolving selling process’ (Moncrief and Marshall 2005) which expands on Dubrinsky’s model and brings it up to date, with the advent of the internet and changes in the buying process. Third is ‘value based selling’ (Rackman and DeVincentis 1998) which analyses each element of the sales process, with specific focus on the buyer’s ‘problem’ and the real ‘implications’ of the problem. This model provides focus to the sales process into adding value to the customer. In their report, Davies et al, highlight the fact that ‘no-one was measuring true sales ability’ and goes on to study the behaviors and skill set of sales professionals. Regarding measurement, Sharma said ‘what gets measured gets improved’ which start to address the critical issues of visibility and what to measure. Neely states, ‘an organization need to identify an appropriate set of measures to assess their performance’ (Neely 2007; p149).   Regarding behavior, Covey (1999) talks about responsibility and accountability which is a critical area of any sales process, be it formal or not. Weather, or not, an organization has a sales process, the world, and customers, are changing and the approach to sales has to change to ensure complacency does not set in (Kotter 1996). The culture and management of an organization will also impact the sales process, and vice versa, in positive and negative ways (Handy 1991). Womack and Jones (2003) are pioneers in lean thinking and believe manufacturing processes and the elimination of waste can be transferred into the back office side of the business including sales. One of the key themes that have surfaced from initial reading is that sales is a process, which needs to be followed, measured and improved to help increase the sales funnel, or pipeline, in order to grow sales (Miller and Heiman 1994; Zoltners, Sinha and Lorimer 2004; Thull 2010; McClay 2010). Porter (2004) believes that when working with customers it is important to add value and create a competitive advantage. In addition to this, Doyle suggests that the sales process can add value and create competitive advantage, which will ‘contribute to achieving the company’s objectives of growth and profitability though meeting the needs of the customers’ (Doyle 2002: p.2).   When a formal sales process has been implemented, there is much evidence to support that the sales process should be aligned to the sales strategy and to the company strategy (Kaplan and Norton 2006; Johnson, Scholes and Whittington 2008; De Wit and Meyer 2010). In contradiction to the majority, Adamson, Dixon and Toman (2013) challenge the need for a formal sales process and believe the sales function’s approach should be based on insight and judgment. Effects of a formal sales process on an SME and its people Selling is a communal as well as a business activity and can be defined quite simply as â€Å"making a sale† underpinned by several strategies and personal skills across a range of tasks and promotion situations (TAS Group, 2014). The sales task within a business is accountable for the vital creation of revenues, delivers financial stimuli and forms the fundamental connection between a business and its customers (McClay, 2010; Moncrieff and Marshall 2005). Moreover, business dealings rely on persons and more so how they transact with customers, making the buyer-seller edge a highly capricious interface. On the other hand, formal sales process is the sales strategies that provide the sales management force with the direction on how to sell.   It is the process that allow companies especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to scale their sale force by teaching sales teams how to succeed. According to Johnson et al (2006), formal sales process provides the sales management team with a framework from which to manage and enable measurement and continuous improvement of the sales force performance. More specifically, a formal sales process enables sales managers maintain control over specific sales behaviors as dictated by the system adopted in Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs).   Formal sales processes in the SMEs context help sales management teams. They also help managers understand which measures should be adopted for understanding prospecting, qualifying and performance measurement. Additionally, formal sales processes enable sales managers learn how to replicate good behaviors and eliminate undesirable ones besides recognizing problems before they turn to be major roadblocks (Lii, 2011). If there is one component of the selling system that is most taken for granted is the sales process. Although executives spend some of their times forming strategies, developing   entrepreneurial skills and measuring performance   of their employees, they hardly strategize on the formal sales process; that is the activities their salespeople must execute to   shift an activity from lead generation to closure (Lii, 2011). In a broad spectrum, the sales process, be it be formal or informal is the backbone of any sales force.   According to Lii (2011), the formal sales process is selling strategy, which was introduced to facilitate a sell-aside process in sells concerning public mergers and acquisition context. Moreover, the sales process is a much more advantageous in the sales process involving Small and Medium Enterprises’ and is quite distinct from the traditional means of executing sales.   Notably, for a sales process to be termed as good and successful, the right steps at the right time should be initiated and adopted within the Small and Medium Enterprises   vicinity as well as   making the right decisions. As argued by Blair (2005), for the formal process to work in the SMEs, the sales management team should work  Ã‚   tirelessly to keep the correct movement in track. This owes to the fact that without a good flow in selling and buying for the prospective customers to follow and for the sales management team to follow, the sales will remain to be low and potential customers may look elsewhere (Blair, 2005). Formal sales process allows SMEs to scales its sales force by teaching its sales people how to success. Contrary to the informal process that is normally adopted by many and characterized by unorganized techniques, formal sales process in SMEs measures and manages the sales force. Consequently, Sales management teams understand this and strive to develop standard operating strategies for their workforce to follow hence the formal sales process (Johnson et al., 2006). Essentially, the nature of sales process has critically changed. Sales organizations are being reinvented to better address the needs of the changing marketplaces. More evidently, there are different drivers of change in diverse sales organizations that have been identified in reinventing sales organizations and are perceived to help an organization compete successfully in today’s selling environment. With the use of the formal sales process, different Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have realized a measurable change in the levels of sales they acquire. The formal sales process has enabled SMEs to build long-term relationships with their customers. According to (Dar, 2006),this is because formal sales process is a structured line of attack that enables time-to-time assessment of customer’s value hence focusing on the high- priority customers. Secondly, formal sales process aids in creating sales organizational structures that are more nimble and adaptable to the needs of different customer groups. It is in this perspective that formal sales process is beneficial in that it enables Small and Medium Enterprises’ (SMEs) compete well in the entire markets when willing to customize   their sales efforts to meet their customers preferred ways of doing business (Adamson et al., (2013). In addition, in the modern markets; especially SMEs related markets, flexibility which is important to the formal sales process is viewed as an asset, which can determine the level of sales. Thirdly, according to Dar (2006), with the adoption of formal sales process, SMEs gain greater job ownership and commitment from sales management team. Moreover, this is only accomplished when the formal sales team removes functional barriers within the sales organization more so by leveraging the teams experience as a whole. More importantly,   formal sales process helps shift the sales management style from commanding to coaching. In this, the sales management team and managers create a conducive environment that allows the sales team uses their talents and abilities to secure, build and maintain relationships with the profitable customers. Davis et al (2011) discuss that for the formal sales process to work efficiently and yield the desired results, the management style has to change. Nevertheless, the other visible formal sales impact on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is that formal sales process enables leveraging of the available technology for the success of the sales management team ( Dar, 2006). For instance, formal sales have greatly changed the traditional (informal) sales process in that, its adoption leads to adoption of technological tools. Therefore, sales teams that use the available technology well have a strong competitive edge over others. Consequently, firms globally are investing millions of money in technological advancement in the sales sector to help improve their sales performance. Finally, According to Hayes, (2003), the integration of the formal sales process in then SMEs sales platform encourages the acceptance of better integration mechanisms for sales-team performance evaluations.  Ã‚   Essentially, a real weakness of the informal sales process in the verge of the Small and Medium Enterprises SMEs is on how to evaluate and ultimately reward the sales personnel. However, the use and integration of the formal sales process has solved these problems and instead provided well-marked evaluation strategies hence bringing a positive image of the SMEs and works successfully as a strategy for sales Different sales processes A sales process or strategy is not all about closing business deals; it is about defining a sales process that vividly reflects the image of the organization or firm, the firm’s customers, the products or services it offers and the solution that it offers in the market. By truly understanding its customers and by desiring to solve its customer’s problems, a business can plan to execute a sales process that will accelerate the likelihood of reaching its ultimate goal (Sales educators, 2006). According to the sales educators (2006), there is no specific best way to conduct the sales process. A company’s personality and the sales team desire to achieve as well as the firm’s background determines the type of sales technique that best suits its sales endeavors ( Porter, 2004).   Even though every company in the corporate world has its own sales methodologies, it is always advised that trying different sales processes is healthier. This is because new sales methods keep a company out of rut and may even work better than expected. Therefore, many salespersons even those operating in the B2B environment use a combination of different approaches (Rackman & DeVincentis, 1998). The different sale processes mostly utilized by different sales teams include; older takers, inside sales, outside sales, the guru, the consultant, the networker, the hard seller and active sales among others. Most importantly, every sales process is aimed at increasing the sales to the current customers and finding new ones. However, different businesses and organizations deploy numerous sales processes with shockingly ineffective results. In some cases, when sales management teams use more than one sales process, customers are to same point confused by the different methods of every firm and probably cross selling is limited (Neely, 2007). Sales processes vary significantly according to how much a seller adapts to different selling situations and how much the selling team adapts to customer encounters during the entire sells encounter. According to Neely (2007), among the best sales processes or approaches are the problems solving models, needs satisfaction and consultative selling. Among the three mentioned types of selling processes, in terms of rethinking the sells process, researchers endorse their use to fit any situation on the ground. Neely (2006) argues that consultative selling process is appropriate when the customer is willing to share strategic priorities with the seller and sees the seller as being capable of supporting the customer’s strategic initiatives. Universally, every business is inimitable, hence it should have exceptional sales process to sell service and manage different customers under diverse conditions (Kotter, 1996). Therefore, sales researchers including sales managers across the world are disturbed by the question on whether business should adopt generic sales processes or implement and strengthen a specific sales strategy.   Since business aim at working with the most profitable strategies, studies prove that nonspecific approaches are demanding and possess numerous demerits that include; lack of custom customer profile, lack of metrics that matter, and its association with inflexible business management approaches among others (Johnson et al., 2008). Therefore, sales process needs to be specific. How a formal sales process can improve performance and competitive advantage? According to Thull, (2010), sales process is one of the most components of the selling system that for many decades has been abandoned by many Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). The author eludes that failure to effectively execute a well established formal sales process acts as an impediment to performance and successes of the organization. As a matter of fact, sales process is a vital component in an organization that if well implemented can lead to enhanced competitive advantage and performance or an organization. TAS Group, (2014), affirms that sales process is the backbone of an organization and should not be overlooked at any cost. Notably, most sales managers in many organizations spend most of the time coming up with strategies, building tools, measuring performance and developing skills (Rackman and DeVincentis, 1998). Nevertheless, the author affirms that only a few organizations consider and ensure effective implementation of a well established and organized formal sales process. A sales process in this case is regarded as series of task that must be undertaken by salespeople within an organization to tap and generate opportunities from the lead to closure (Thull, 2010). In a broad spectrum, sales process is an essential component of any sales force in an organization and if carefully and effectively implemented can impact on the success of the organization even in a highly competitive business environment (Thull, 2010). According to Rackman and DeVincentis, (1998), overlooking sales process within an organization hinders sales performance and output even though the organization sales executive have laid down well established sales strategy, tools, skills and metrics in place. Without doubts, this implies that effective of formal sales process implementation in a SME is a strategy of enhancing the performance or the company (Rackman and DeVincentis, 1998). More importantly, sales process can be used to improve the competitive advantage of an organization especially when the process is aligned properly with the customer’s target. In this case, effective alignment of the two lead to enhanced competitive advantage through creation of a world class sales force (TAS Group, 2014).   Performance of an organization is enhanced by the sales process in the sense that the process provides mechanisms of measuring performance. According to Rackman and DeVincentis, (1998), an organization has nothing to measure if it does not have a process.   The author adds that it is difficult improve organization performance if there are no mechanisms of measuring the current performance. Ultimately, sales process is undoubtedly an effective component in an organization to stir performance as it provides mechanism of determining the current performance of the organization and propose changes that need to be effected to improve the performance in the long run.   Essentially, the sales process is critical in SME as it provides a logical framework with various activities, milestones and targets that are used to measure performance (TAS Group, 2014). In this case, an organization which effectively implements sales process is likely to have improved performance. Use of diverse measure in the process of sales process such as calls reports by the salespersons are vital in ensuring they work hard and thus improve the overall performance of the Small Medium Enterprises. According to TAS Group, (2014), the major focus to enhance the organization performance and competitive advantage is simply ensuring effective alignment; implementation and renewal of sales process faster and efficiently than other competitors. Sales process in some way behaves like manufacturing process. In this case, improving sales productivity within a SME, various measures must be put in place stating from the initial sales stage to the end point (TAS Group, 2014). Development of measures ensures that the sales process adopted and implemented by a particular organization is able to address all the need and expectations of the customers through effective alignment of the buying and selling processes. The process of formal sales in SME can never be undermined owing in mind that the process aims to ensure a close relationship between the buyers and the sellers through the use of salespersons. Creation and maintenance of a good relationship between the two parties is imperative as it ensure the needs, concerns and expectation of the buyers are addressed in time and thus result to loyalty (Thull, 2010). This in turn helps to improve the performance of an organization since there will be enhanced sales volume. The presence and implementation of formal sales process is evidently a vital component in ensuring organization have close contact with their customers including prospective customers. In a broad spectrum, development of an effective relationship and alignment of the buying and selling process is crucial in ensuring customer’s loyalty. In this regard, improved customer’s loyalty creates confidence to the organization in terms of increased sales volume and thus enhanced competitive advantage compared to its rivals (Thull, 2010).   In addition, the relationship helps the organization to work harder to ensure maximum satisfaction of the customers need and concerns through addressing various challenges facing the process and discovering opportunities that may arise. This also helps to improve the performance and competitive advantage of organizations especially Small and Medium Enterprises. Essentially, sales process aims to ensure an effective alignment of the salesperson’s selling process with the customer’s buying process. Effective alignment of the two processes is vital to organizations as it ensures needs and expectations of the customers or rather the buyers are met in every step of the buying process. In addition, the alignment leads to an effective and efficient sale in the long run hence improved performance (Porter, 2004).Similarly, if the customer’s needs and expectations are carefully addressed through the sales process, it is more likely that the competitor will not have the opportunity to entice the same buyer to turn to their organization in this way, sales process helps to enhance competitive advantage of Small and Medium Enterprises (Porter, 2004). A critical assessment of how a sales process aligns with a customer buying process According to Davis et al, (2011), sales have two different sale view points, that is, the seller’s and the buyer’s perspective. However, the two sale point differs based on their importance. The buyer’s perspective is more essential compared to the seller’s point of view due to the fact that satisfaction of the buyers is the utmost objective of the sales process. Davis et al, (2011), affirms that organizations have to ensure diverse initiatives and means to ensure satisfaction of the buyers needs and expectations as their purchasing power depend wholly on their perception on organization’s effort to ensure satisfaction (TAS Group, 2014). The buying and selling process are mirror images of each other. Notably, buying process refers to the various steps that current customers use to identify and fulfill their need and expectations (Zoltners et al, 2004). Buying process may vary in time based on the type of product or services a customer want to purchase. However, being short or long, the work of a seller is to ensure buyer or rather customer satisfaction in every step. On the other hand, selling or sales processing is simply the steps or activities that are undertaken by sellers to ensure accomplishment of buyer’s goals, needs and expectations. According to Handy, (1991), buying and sales processes are mirror image of each other in an effective sale.   The two processes align together in that they usually start together and end together having common steps or activities between them. According to Kaplan and Norton, (2006), successful alignment of sales or selling process with the buying process in as essential component within an organization especially SME as it ensure effective and efficient sales. The author affirms that the alignment is based on the way the buyer go from one step to another (buying process), as fast as possible with the aim to find goods and services that satisfy their needs and expectations from the seller, while the seller undertakes and closes all steps with the aim to meet customers or rather buyer’s need throughout the process (Handy, 1991). Dubinsky, (1980/81), suggests that when selling and buying process work together, the result is that sales will be successful and efficient and most importantly, the expectations and the needs of the buyer will be met. In broad spectrum, the alignment of buying and sales process tends to ensure that every step of buying process correspond to a particular step of the sales or the selling process (Dubinsky, 1980/81).   The figure below illustrate how the customer’s buying and salesperson selling processes are aligned to ensure satisfaction of buyers at every step and ensure effective and efficient sales within and organization over a given period of time. Aligning buying and selling processes Customer’s buying process    Salesperson selling process    However, if there is no close relationship between the two process (customers’ buying and salespersons selling processes), the entire sales process is likely to be inefficient and ineffective. In this regard, the expectations and needs of the customers will not be fully met by the salespersons. According to Kaplan and Norton, (2006), sellers should be keen during sales process to ensure they do not omit any step or in other words ensure every buying process step correspond with a particular selling process step. According to Kaplan and Norton, (2006), misaligning the two processes has greater negative impacts to an organization. For instance, omitting a particular step in the sales process that is aimed to correspond to a particular step in the customer’s buying process means that specific need and expectations of the buyers will not be met. This in turn interpret that the customers will turn to other organizations that keen in addressing their needs thus losing their competitive advantage and lead to decline in performance (Dubinsky, 1980/81). Critical assessment of alignment of customer’s buying process and the salespersons selling process brings out the need for SME to adopt and implement an effective sales process within their organization to ensure they meet their customers need and enhance sale, competitive advantage and performance in the long run (Kaplan and Norton, 2006).    Factors to consider when designing, or redesigning, a formal sales process and to make recommendations to the owners of an SME Traditionally, the sales departments have operated informally, with each sales person acting in their distinct ways that in most cases are non-documented, personally derived and non-measured. With the current escalating competition in terms of sales, price war and technological development and design of new and redesign of the existing formal sales processes is inevitable. In response to these forces, small and medium size enterprises need to plan, implement and control their personal contacts programs in order to achieve sales and profit motives of the firms. Designing of formal sale process is a complex and critical undertaking that requires careful scrutiny and a logical examination in its development since it is core in the success of a business (Rickman and DeVincentis, 1998). The going concern of a business entity largely relies on the effectiveness and operativeness of the sales processes in place. Small and medium size enterprises exist with a view to making profit and there fore effort should be made to ensure that they remain competitive and retain a reputable status in the market. Due to, the fragility and sensitivity of formal sales process design and redesign, several factors should be put into considerations in order to safeguard the successful life of the firms. For instance, competencies and skills available in the firm, encompasses the qualification and experience of employees especially management and the Sales department staff. For example the less experienced low level manager spend most time in staffing, monitoring and giving directives to salespersons. The top managers on the other hand, are generally concerned with complex issues of planning, budgeting organizing and coordinating sale strategies with other objectives of small and medium size enterprises. The new design should accommodate the available skill and technology. In the event of limitation of the part of staff qualification, it is worthy to reconsider redesigning the sales strategies, to make them possible to implement operate and eventually achieve the objectives set by the management.   According to Lodato (2006), business sale strategies should be implemented with efficiency with the sole priority of increasing sale despite the completion from rivals. Further more, a look at the geographical coverage and the nature of clients helps determine the correct direction to take. Expansion of business to include a wide coverage necessitates redesigns of sale s process to incorporate the needs and worried of new clients explored. This is through studying and examining their lifestyles, culture and believes and the consumption behavior (Tas Group, 2014).The formal redesign will be there fore necessary in as a way of reinforcing new ways of behavior. Additionally, the sales price and the customers’ economic status should be put into attention. It is worth noting that people consumption pattern entirely depends upon their social economic position and the value of goods and services offered in the market. Visions of the firm should not be trodded underfoot in the process of designing and redesigning the firm’s formal sale process. The necessity of vision and plan in implementation of firms’ objectives is immense (Porter, 2004), Incorporating the vision of the firms is instrumental in determining whether or not the existing strategies are sufficient or not and the need to streamline them to preserve attractive culture of internal work. Solely adding more marketing and sales people is not sufficient .however it should be back up by the firms operational capabilities may produce sale revues needed to increase continuous growth and improvement. Other issue to reflect in designing of formal sales process (FSP) is the workers’ motivation. The current level of employee’s inspiration should be assessed and its effectiveness determined. According to Lauby (2005), motivated workers are highly productive compared to their counterparts irrespective of the qualification and skills possessed. There for the factor that drives employees to their peak performances are determined, followed by implementation of the motivation program. Since not every employee is motivated by the same thing, there is need to include diverse programs ranging from bonus pools individual recognition rewards and group performance acknowledgment. This makes workers feel appreciated for the job well done (Lauby, 2005, p.291) With a view to improving the sale level with business organizations, the manager and owner need to make realignment and readjusted of the operations within the entity and incorporate mechanisms to link product buying process and formal sales process. Majorly, emphasizing on the competence of sales and marketing staff to ensure the easy and efficient implementation of developed marketing strategies at all level of business operations. Recruiting personnel with high qualification that met the current market demands and cope with the stiff competition. The owners should use this as a competitive advantage to maintain their status and reputation. Additionally they ought to explore the nature of their customers with respect to culture, social economic and consumption behavior and pattern especially in new markets discovered. Moreover, the owners should institute programs aimed at motivating the workers. Establishing individual and group recognition reward will make employees feel acknowledged for their work well done and as a result stimulate their peak performance. References Adamson, B., Dixon, M., and Toman, N., 2013. Dismantling the Sales Machine. Harvard   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Business Review Axelsson, B., and Wynstra, F., 2002. Buying Business Services. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ltd. Blair, C. (2005). Four characters of selling: Speak the way your buyers listen, listen the way   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   your buyers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   speak. Calgary: West Creek Resources. Blaxter, L., Hughes, C., and Tight, M., 2006. How to Research. 3rd Edition. Maidenhead: Open   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   University Press. Bryman, A., and Bell, E., 2003. Business Research Methods. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Oxford   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   University Press. Cousins, P.D., and Spekman, R., 2003. Strategic supply and the management of inter and intra- organisational relationships. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 9(1), 19-  Ã‚  Ã‚   29. Covey, S.R., 1999. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. London: Simon and Schuster UK    Ltd. Darr, A. (2006). Selling technology: The changing shape of sales in an information economy.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Ithaca, N.Y:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cornell University Press. Davis, I.A., Le Meunier-FitzHugh, K., Ryals, L.J., and Ward, R. 2011. Improving the Sales   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Force. Cranfield University Paper. De Wit, B., and Meyer, R., 2010. Strategy Process, Content and Context International   Ã‚   Perspective. 4th Edition. Hampshire: Cengage Learning EMEA. Doyle, P., 2002. Marketing Management and Strategy. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Dubinsky, A.J., 1980/81.   A Factor Analytical study of the Personal Selling Process. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. 1(1), 26-33. Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R., and Jackson, P., 2012. Management Research. 4th Edition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   London: Sage Handy, C., 1991. Gods of Management. Great Britain: Souvenir Press Ltd. Hayes, I. S. (2003). Just enough wireless computing. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. Iii, H. C. W. (2011). Sales: What a concept!. S.l.: Lulu Com. Johnson, G., Scholes, K., and Whittington, R., 2008.   Exploring Corporate Strategy. 8th Edition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Kaplan, S., and Norton, P., 2006.   Alignment: Using the Balanced Scorecard to Create    Corporate Synergies. Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. Ketchen, D.J.Jnr., and Hult, G.T.M., 2007. Bridging Organisational Theory and Supply Chain Management: The Case of Best Value Supply Chains. Journal of Operations   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Management, 25, 573-580. Kotler, P., 1999. Kotler on marketing how to create, win and dominate markets. New York: Free   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Press. Kotter, J.P., 1996. Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing. Lauby, S. J. (2005). Motivating employees. Alexandria, Va: ASTD Press Lodato, M. W. (2006). Integrated sales process management: A methodology for improving   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   sales   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   effectiveness in the 21st century. Bloomington: AuthorHouse McClay, R., 2010. Fortify Your Sales Force. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Miller, R.B., Heiman, S.E., and Tuleja, T., 1994.   Successful Large Account Management.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   London: Kogan Page Limited Moncrief, W.C., and Marshall, G.W., 2005. The Evolution of the Seven Steps of Selling. Industrial Marketing Management. 34(1), 13-22. Neely, A., 2007.   Business Performance Measurement: Unifying Theory and Integrating   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Neville, C., 2007. Introduction to Research and Research Methods. [PDF] University of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bradford. Available at:

August Wilson

03/01/13 August Wilson’s Fences is a play set in 1957, about a man named Troy Maxon, who lives his life through societal expectations. He has a family that he destroys by having an affair and getting his mistress pregnant. In August Wilson’s Fences, the character who is most bound by societal expectations is Troy. Troy is most bound by societal expectations because he couldn’t live out his dream of becoming a star baseball player because of his past. He refuses to believe that society has changed a lot since then.He settles with what he grew up knowing about society. When Cory tells him he wants to be a football player, he basically tells him to choose another path. Troy settles with being a garbage lifter because he feels that’s what is expected of him. He regrets his past and not becoming a pro baseball star. He takes it out of Cory because he had big dreams like him and he didn’t make it. The character who is least bound by societal expectations is Cory. He is least bound by societal expectations because he is trying to go out and make it playing football.He tries not to pay attention to Troy and his beliefs that he won’t make it because of the society. Cory wants to live outside of the societal expectations and play football in college. In the play Fences Troy failed to see how much society has changed since he was younger. He takes it out on his son Cory who has realized that society has changed and has big dreams. All of Troy’s actions in this play were based on the way he feels about societal expectations and he destroyed his family.

This I believe essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

This I believe - Essay Example Back then, I was really big, not in terms of height but of width. I am really not so sure how I got that way and when people ask me, I just tell them in jest, that some people are born to be â€Å"more spectacular† than others. During that period, all my friends referred to me as â€Å"big†. Sometimes, to avoid hurting me, they will also add the phrase â€Å"laugh and grow fat†. This is the closest I can translate the term from Chinese, which actually means that fat people usually have a beautiful heart deep inside. But seriously, even if they tried to soften the blow, I felt they still poked at my weakest spot. So finally, I decided to do some change. I told myself when I looked into the mirror that I can no longer live like this. So, I secretly began a program for myself to slim down. It was probably the first semester of my junior high school when the semester began, that I launched my personal project. I decided to keep it to myself as I started my plan with the most simple and effective way which was dieting. I don’t know how I made up my mind but I was able to skip my breakfast and lunch everyday in the next year. However, the only thing I regret about skipping meals was disappoi nting my mother who lovingly prepared them for me. Every morning she woke up very early to prepare breakfast for me and my dad and carefully packed them into a meal box for us to take out. But when I opened the box smell the food, I either threw it directly to the trash or give it to my friend to eat. There were actually several times when I felt I wanted to quit, and that I cannot do it anymore. But every day when I looked into the mirror at my reflection and stepped on the weighing scale, I get motivated with the changes I see. This kept me on track. I told myself to keep trying†¦to keep walking while watching. Six months after my plan started, I found my face thinner and my belt looser and of course, the numbers on the scale

Daniel Rutherford Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Daniel Rutherford - Essay Example Daniel Rutherford, from Holl, 1804 It was a natural academic progression to attend the University of Edinburgh where his father was a professor of medicine. Daniel would also graduate with a degree in medicine, but it was the experiments he conducted as a student that helped unlock the mysteries of combustion, life, and the composition of 'vital air' ("Daniel Rutherford"). At the time, it was known that a quantity of air that had been subjected to combustion would no longer support life. It was mistakenly believed that the only gas left was carbon dioxide (CO2), and it was considered noxious because of its in inability to support life. Rutherford, through a series of experiments, was able to extract the CO2 and found that it still would not combust or support life. Though he is credited for isolating nitrogen, a more accurate portrayal is that he discovered that air was a mixture of many gases and there was the existence of 'vital air', that would later be known as oxygen. In 1772, he published his thesis titled On A ir Said to be Fixed or Mephitic (Daintith 467). This enabled other scientists that were doing similar research to be moved down the path of discovery. Rutherford's thesis helped guide the current thinking and has been credited with spawning many of Joseph Priestley's later experiments.(Daintith 467).

Manhattan Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Manhattan Project - Research Paper Example The success of this project advanced both scientific concepts but changed the potential nature of warfare for the rest of time. Still, today, the threat of such bombs, along with any other Weapons of Mass Destruction, remains a terrifying apocalyptic fear shared by people all over the world. In order to understand how we moved into the â€Å"Atomic Age† it is best to discuss how it all began; the answer might be surprising to some people. It all began with a letter to President Roosevelt from Albert Einstein in August of 1939. He, along with other European scientists, feared that Nazi Germany was exploring atomic technology; in fact, they were already working to purify uranium-235. This is one of the potential radioactive components necessary to create an atomic weapon (Bellis 1-2). Einstein and the other scientists were opposed to Nazi Fascism and were afraid of Nazi Germany developing this technology, primarily because they believed a tyrant like Hitler would not hesitate to use it. At first, Roosevelt’s reaction was not one of great concern and he worried about expending resources and finding the budget necessary might be an issue. However, after some deliberation he wrote back to Einstein. He explained that they could not risk Nazi forces gaining such a dangerous advantage and that America would be exploring atomic technology. The endeavor to accomplish this in totality makes up the Manhattan Project (Gosling 1-120). Unlike previous top secret military or government projects that used covert and misleading code-names like â€Å"Magic,† which was the covert information gained concerning Japanese ciphers and â€Å"Overlord,† which was the secret intentions of the Allied forces to invade Europe; the Manhattan project was much more literal (Broad ). It earned its name because of much of the earliest experimentation and planning began in 1941-1942 in New York at, at least, 10 different locations within the city. Robert Oppenheimer ove rsaw and participated in the project from its beginnings to its completion. Together, along with the research of some of the greatest scientific minds in history, like Einstein, Walter Bothe, Neils Bohr, and Marie Curie, they worked quickly to accomplish the completion of a functioning atomic bomb (Bellis 1-2). An atomic bomb ultimately derives its power from the release of nuclear energy at high speeds. Through the process of fission of the heavier atomic nuclei, the damage it causes results from, not only, the heat of the blast, but, also, from the radioactive elements of its design. In December of 1942 laboratory scientists were finally able to produce the controlled nuclear chain reaction. With this success, the research and the funding began to move rather quickly from there. ( Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia). Nuclear facilities were constructed in Hanford, Washington and Oak Ridge, Tennessee, while the main plant, dedicated to assembly was constructed in Los Ala mos, New Mexico (Gao 9-11). By the summer of 1945 Oppenheimer was prepared to test the first atomic bomb detonation; the hard work of, more than 100,000 people and at the cost of, more than 2 billion dollars of government supports brought them to this day ( Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia).On July 16, just before dawn, at the Trinity site, not

Creating and Sustaining Brand Equity for LOreal Assignment

Creating and Sustaining Brand Equity for LOreal - Assignment Example Models like Porter’s Five Forces have been used to match the practical aspects with theoretical ones, along with recommendations on a feasible course of action for the company to embrace success in the future. Â  The environment surrounding a business comprises of both micro and macro forces that shape up the strategy of the business and also test the viability of the developed strategy in real time. For L’Oreal, the market has been a mix of favorable and unfavorable forces where the genius of L’Oreal through its two success recipes- diversification and innovation, changed the tides. Â  The cosmetics industry has been very fragmented yet open to new offerings and product innovations, keeping in mind the needs of varied consumer groups. Demographically, L’Oreal was presented with a host of opportunities to come up with various products with different ethnic and cultural shades. Â  Cosmetics is an industry which is not limited to just creams. It extends way beyond face products and involves hair and skin care and beauty products. A player who was able to operate through these lines of product width was the one who could sustain itself in the booming cosmetic and beauty product market, which was done really well by L’Oreal. Â  The entire industry, as obvious in the case, is in its growth stage with multiple players entering the battleground. L’Oreal had been able to secure its pole position till now because of new product propositions every year to sustain the wave of innovation and tight control over its operational costs. Yet, the following points emerge out of the industry analysis of cosmetics.

Trends in HR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Trends in HR - Essay Example Though you have tried to support the need for HRM across border teams, I still feel that the points are insufficient. In arriving at the conclusive answer on the need for the HRM in cross border organizations, I expected you to give a lot of points and draw global examples. However, you have supported your points with the academic sources in order to bring relevancy. This is something great. Your introduction is superb. I love the fact that you have commenced your outline by clearly underlining the need for the HRM for both the large and small businesses supported with an academic sources. However, you have not been fair to the paper by just mentioning that there are many papers, books, and articles that have discussed the subject of the HRM without giving any one particular example to support your argument. The discussion of the HRM trends is something that has been exclusively touched in your outline and it actually adds more weight to your paper. Another thing that makes the paper didactic is the fact that you have drawn your recommendations on the need for the SHRM being a member of the C-Suite. However, in doing so, avoid using the word ‘must’ as this are only recommendations. I also request that you have the use of the first person in your final individual

Comparison of International Marketing Strategies Dissertation

Comparison of International Marketing Strategies - Dissertation Example The company associates itself only with those who have the capability to deliver effective services in the cost-effective fashion. Nestle tries to put forward the benefits of nutrition and therefore the marketing strategies are based on demographics which present the transformation in standards of living. Both Nestle and Unilever tend to focus on the health and wellness. Unilever focuses on the actual needs of the consumers but Nestle spotlights the corporate wellness unit to offer valued food to all the consumers. It can be said that Nestle sheds more light on the ingredients of the products rather than targeting the consumers. The corporate wellness group of Nestle deals with the promotion of nutrition value across the globe. The strategy is to provide the consumers tasty foods with high nutritional value. Unilever sticks to the company profile and often take the action of eliminating products from the market if it does not do well but such actions are hard to find in Nestle. Nestl e involves in creating and enhancing the products of the company. The packaging systems followed by Nestle shares huge impact on the marketing. They offer user-friendly packaging techniques which keep the food preserved as well as make the package attractive. The â€Å"Nestle Nutritional compass† is labeled on each product which presents the nutritional value of the products. It shows the benefit of purchasing the product to the consumers (Shaw, and Onkvisit, 2009). It believes that only nutritional information is necessary but not sufficient. The compass consists of three elements- â€Å"Good to know†, â€Å"good to remember† and â€Å"good to talk†. The marketing strategies of Unilever varied only in the three year period of the 1950s to 1980s. During this period the company engaged itself on technological advancements, development of new products, targeting new global markets and maintained the quality of the products according to world’s standa rds.   

WASSENAAR ARRANGEMENT ON EXPORT CONTROLS FOR CONVENTIONAL ARMS AND Essay

WASSENAAR ARRANGEMENT ON EXPORT CONTROLS FOR CONVENTIONAL ARMS AND DUAL-USE GOODS AND TECHNOLOGIES - Essay Example This regime must define the tools under control through identifying software characteristics that are malicious and placing them to export controls (Granick & Fidler 2014, p.1). It has 41 states, and each state implements its arrangement separately. Legally it is not binding and is not a treaty. Some sellers would be required to obtain licenses if implemented in United States. It will bring controls on IP network surveillance systems and intrusion. Software intrusion includes a wide range of used and legitimately traded network security tools. What the provision of IP network surveillance means to vendors over information exercise control inflow and outflow in this network system (Granick & Fidler 2014, p.2). The limitation of the languages is that it is designed to avoid security features on a device. Software exports also have debate issues on how to regulate computers vulnerabilities in the market and encryption export controls. Application of software intrusion is on military weapons and knowledge exchange. Weaknesses of Wassenaar arrangement is that some defectors are allowed to access opportunities due to lack of implementation and the black market an d software are easily transferable (Granick & Fidler 2014, p.3). In conclusion, the aim of Wassenaar is to report members exporting information and destabilizing accumulations of technologies and dual-use items. There is the need for clarity of this changes and objections as countries start implementing them. Clarity will enhance sustainability of these

A Straight Sprint Essay Example for Free

A Straight Sprint Essay In this 1st session I will start by telling the players what they are going to do and make sure they know when they are expected to come to the sessions.  This session I will be using the 1st warm-up that I described previously. Also I will be looking at how they perform this as an indication of how fit the players are and maybe reconsider certain parts of my other sessions, if I feel that they will be too physically demanding for the players. The aim of this session is to improve the way and the effectiveness of getting free.  This session will be all about coaching the players how to get free and different methods of getting free. These are as follows:  A Straight Sprint- from their position, turn with both feet facing the direction of movement and sprint to the side of the opponent to give maximum space.  Starting on a line, I will shout go for them to sprint to the next line on the court.  How fast a player can sprint will determine whether or not they can get free. With practise players can become faster and maximise chances of getting away from opponents. Change of Direction Sprinting in one direction before turning on the balls of the feet to sprint in the opposite direction. On my command from the top line of the court they will sprint and when I shout turn, they will turn on the balls of their feet and sprint off again.  This method takes practise and is not always easy for everyone to do. Being able to change direction quickly is important, as not only do you lose the marker you can quickly adapt your direction to play, for example to receive a pass. Change of Speed vary the use of speed, finishing with a sprint. Dont waste energy running fast all the time, jog then quickly change speed into a sprint to get away from a marker and receive a pass. When going through the change of speed method I will shout jog, then suddenly shout sprint and then walk. I will mix the speeds up to get them used to changing speed. This is a good method if your marker gives up easily or is not as fit as you, walking or jogging away when you see the direction of play change can give an advantage, putting a bigger gap between you then sprinting to receive a pass. We will then finish of with a cool down that will take about 10minutes.  Session 2  The Warm up they will be doing in this session will be the general one as it is more physical.  Reverse Pivot or Rolling Off step to one side to draw the defender, pivot on that foot, make quick half turn with back towards defender and sprint in the opposite direction and in a semi circle.  They will go through this skill in pairs, I will shout go and the attacker will go  through the skill trying to get away from the defender. Then the players will  switch places. Sprint/stop/Sprint This is used when an opponent is faster than you, or it could be a fake and go. By faking a run this will confuse the marker and the player can get away to receive a pass. I will shout go and they will sprint, each line they come to they will make a clear stop then sprint on again.  Running the gauntlet  In a designated area, using lines or cones, the white team must attempt to dodge past each defending player. Defending players must only use sideways steps along the linein order to prevent them getting past. This makes the attackers improve their use of sharp and committed movements while practising their getting free techniques to lose the defenders. Changing round so everyone gets a few goes.  Play running the gauntlet, this helps them put into practise the techniques they have learnt in the last session. Hopefully they will improve and use what they know about getting free. They will then do a good cool down as they will have been running a lot.  Session 3  The aim of this session will be to work with the year 9s and give them some different Centre pass tactics to try out, they can then decide which will work best for them and then work on it.  In this session I will be including the 2nd warm up as the session isnt very physically demanding and will not need a vigorous warm up.  I am going to coach centre pass tactics, I feel that knowing new tactics and knowing how to carry them out will be vital for the year 9 team, to help them improve further.

The Electricity Company Of Ghana Action Plan Finance Essay

The Electricity Company Of Ghana Action Plan Finance Essay Electricity generation, transmission and distribution in Ghana mainly involve three institutions that work in an interrelated manner. Volta River Authority (VRA) generates the electric power through hydro and thermal plants and, until recently, also had responsibility for the high voltage transmission system. The Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCO), created as part of reforms in the power sector, now has responsibility for the high voltage transmission so as to have that separated from generation entities. It is the least known of the institutions. The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) distributes the energy produced to most consumers through low voltage transmission lines. It is the institution that is in direct contact with most of the public. Figure 1 below shows the main processes of the power distribution in Ghana. The ECG is a limited liability company owned solely by the Government of Ghana and has the responsibility of supplying and distributing electrical power in the southern part of Ghana. It was established in November 1997 as Joint Stock Company based on the companies code in accordance with the 1993 Corporate Act (Act 461) of Ghana. The company has its headquarters in Accra, a total workforce of 5,281 with a customer base of 1.7 million (ECG annual report 2008). Vision The ECGs vision is to be among the leading electricity distribution companies in Africa in terms of quality, safety and reliability. Mission Statement The mission statement of the company is to provide quality electricity services to support economic growth and development in Ghana. The primary objective of the company is to supply electrical energy to people in its areas of operation. In discharging its various duties, the company has executed a number of national electrification programmes on behalf of the government. The ECG is a monopoly in the electricity distribution sub sector of Ghana. The tariffs that clients pay for the supply of electricity services are regulated by the state owned company called Public Utility Regulatory Commission. The ECG charges commercial rates to its clients which are subsidized by government. Organizational structure The company is run by the Board of Directors, Principal Officers and Advisors. The companys Board of Directors are appointed by the Government of Ghana. The Principal Officers and Advisors control and run the eight directorates of the Company. These directorates are Engineering, Operations, Customer Services, Materials Transport, Finance, Audit, Legal Services and Human Resources. Figure 2 below depicts the organizational structure of the ECG. Fig.2: The Organizational Chart of ECG Board of Directors ManagingDirector rector Divisional Managers (3) Divisional Managers (6) Director Legal Services Director Customer services Divisional Managers (3) Employees Employees Director Human Resource Director Customer services Director Material and Transport Director Material and Transport Director Audit Director Finance Director Engineering Director Operations Divisional Managers (6) Divisional Managers (3) Divisional Managers (2) Divisional Managers (2) Divisional Managers (3) Divisional Managers (3) Divisional Managers (5) Divisional Managers (3) Lower managemt Employees LOwer Managemt Employees Lower Managemt employees Employees Lower Managemt Employees Lower managemt Employees Lower managemt Employees Lower Managemt Employees Lower Managmt Employees Board of Directors The Board of Directors as at 29th June, 2009 was composed of the following persons: Ing.Sqn. Ldr. Clend Sowu (Rtd.): The chairman of the Board. He is a Consultant Engineer and a Retired Military Officer. Mr. Cephas Gakpo: The Managing Director of the company Mr. Bernard Allotey Jacobs: A Media Practitioner Barimah Kwame Nkyii XII: Omanhene Assin Aimanim Traditional Area, Tax Ecpert. Dr. Kwaku Osafo: Economist/Engineer Mr. Samuel M. Codjoe: Lawyer Mr. Anthony Gyampo: Educationist Mr. Kwabena Adjei: Businessman, Communication Professional Hon. Dr. Nii Oakley Quaye-Kumah: Member of Parliament for Krowor Constituency, Veterinary Surgeon Mr. Jake Kofi Anre: A Lawyer and Secretary to the Board Directorates of ECG The Engineering Directorate is responsible for the planning and designing of the distribution network. The directorate is also responsible for the procurement and implementation of investment projects. The Operations Directorate is responsible for delivering quality reliable and safe supply of electricity to customers, maintain the network regularly in order to reduce the number of interruptions and outages, respond quickly to faults and use modern technology to operate the distribution system; Materials Transport Directorate has responsibilities of managing all activities regarding materials received for projects and other ECG operations. In addition, the department has to manage all operations regarding Transport (Vehicles). Customer Services Directorate has responsibilities of gathering all information about Power Purchases, Power Sales, Average End-User-Tariff (EUT), System Losses, Revenue Collection, debtors position at the end of each year and customer population. Audit Directorate is responsible of operational, commercial and financial activities of ECG. With Technical Audits, physical inspections and reconciliation of materials usage are carried out. The directorate is also responsible of Audit investigations on fraud and corruption. Lastly, it support Management about operational activities and give directives to address them. Legal Services provides legal services to the ECG. The Director is the Secretary to the Board of Directors and maintains a Board Secretariat to provide secretarial services to the Board of Directors. He is involved in the prosecution of people involved in the illegal activities against the ECG to reduce system losses. Finance Directorate has responsibilities of analyzing and reviewing financial data, reporting financial performance, preparing budgets and monitoring expenditures and costs for the ECG as a whole. Human Resources Management Directorate has responsibilities in the following areas: Staffing (Employment and Recruitment, Personnel records, Compensation); Training and Development and Industrial Relations (Health and Safety). The ECG is a Strategic Enterprise in the sense that it is the only electricity distribution company that supplies electricity to the whole of Ghana. Secondly it offers employment to over 5,000 Ghanaians, making it the largest employer in Ghana. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS The analysis of the performance of ECG as described below is based on available information up to year 2008. The Impact of Global and National Forces on ECGs Operations The worldwide economic recession (Credit Crunch) affected both the economy of Ghana and ECGs operations. The year saw rapid hikes in crude oil and metal prices which resulted in the high cost of power generation from thermal sources and sharp increases in the cost of materials and equipment required for capital investment projects. The Ghana Cedi also depreciated against the major world trading currencies especially the US Dollar, the Euro, and the British Pound. Since most of the inputs for ECGs capital investment projects were imported, prices consequently increased relative to energy sales which were generally denominated in the Ghana Cedi. The cost of investment projects therefore increased from 12% to about 20%. The U.S dollar for instance appreciated in value against the Ghana Cedi from a rate of $1: GHÂ ¢0.92 in July 2007 to $1: GHÂ ¢1.49 in June 2009Â  [1]Â   The inflation rate in Ghana also contributed to the high cost of operations and subsequently affected the companys profitability. The inflation rate has increased over the period from an average of 10.73% in 2007, 16.46% in 2008 to 19.86% in 2009. This resulted in increases in labor cost and other local raw material inputs. Details of the inflation rate is attached as appendix 1 Financial, Operations and Human Resources Performance Profit and Loss The ECG has made an operating profit of GHÂ ¢25,089,202 in 2008. Prior to this year, the company had been making losses. In 2006 and 2007 for example, the net operating losses were (GHÂ ¢3,429,300) and (GHÂ ¢8,657,716) respectively. Current Assets The stocks level at year 2008 was GHÂ ¢135,851,792. This was an increase of 99.8% over year 2007 figure. The Accounts Receivables also increased by 50.5% to GHÂ ¢258,033,418 in 2008. The table below depicts the status of the Current Assets of the company over the three year period from 2006 to 2008. Current Assets 2008 GHÂ ¢ %age change 2007 GHÂ ¢ %age change 2006 GHÂ ¢ Stocks 135,851,792 99.8 67,999,841 39.3 48,800,300 Debtors 258,033,418 50.5 171,411,587 16.2 147,503,100 Prepayment 8,323,294 184.6 2,924,574 48.4 5,665,800 Short Term Investment 16,358,519 108.5 7,845,126 12.0 7,002,600 Cash and Cash Balances 49,473,765 42.6 34,690,929 16.4 29,796,100 468,040,788 64.3 284,872,057 19.3 238,767,900 The increases in the stocks and debtors depict a weak inventory management and credit policy of the company. Debtor/Sales Ratio The Debtor/Sales ratio which is an expression of customer debt in days of billing was 130 days in 2008. It deteriorated from 138 days in 2006 to 162 days in 2007 representing a decrease of 17.4%. Although there was an improvement from 162 days in 2007 to 130 in 2008, the figure is still too high. Loans and Suppliers Credit The ECG through the Government of Ghana has secured the following loans and credit from the World Bank and other suppliers for investments in its distribution network. This has increased the companys debt situation tremendously. DSUP $15m financed by IDA, ECG (2003-2007) GEDAPÂ   $94.5m financed by IDA and partners, AfDB, ECG, (2008-2012) GEDAP Extension $70m for Ashanti Region, financed by IDA (2010-2014) French credit Euro 65m for Tema and Kumas. Financing from the french govt. (2008-2012) Norwegian credit Euro 60m for Greater Accra and Eastern regions. Financing from the Norwegian govt. (2008-2012) El Sewedy credit 16.5m from El Sewedy TD (2010-2011) As at December 2008, an amount of GHÂ ¢171.92 million was outstanding in suppliers credit. Systems Losses System loss is a power loss in its course from the source to end users. In 2007 the systems loss was 24.03%. This increased to 25.58% in 2008 as result of poor transmitting system and also theft through illegal connections. The ECGs performance in this area is declining and this is adding onto the cost of operations of the company. The table below shows the trend of the systems losses over a three year period from 2006 to 2008. System losses units (GWh) Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 Total Purchases 5045.4 5252.8 5145.6 5799.4 Total sales 3762.0 3978.4 3909.1 4315.8 System losses in % 24.26 24.03 25.58 Human Resources Capacity ECGs staff strength at the end of the year 2008 was 5,281. This was an increase of 6.07% over year 2007 figure of 4,929. Staff turnover over the year period is showed in the table below. Employee turnover Year 2006 2007 2008 Employee turnover 3.02% 3.27% 3.53% The percentage of employee turnover increased from 3.27% in 2007 to 3.53% in 2008. The reasons assigned for this increase upon our investigation are lack of motivation and incentives to the employees. Evaluation of ECG This section of the Plan tries to come out with a range of expected fair market values for ECG incase the government find it necessary to privatize it. The main purpose of this evaluation is to give all stakeholders especially government and management of the company a fair market range of values within which the ECG can be sold. ECG, as already mentioned above is a public monopolist and as such not listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). As a result of this, the market Comparison Method of evaluation can not be used. The only feasible formulas to use would be the Asset Appraisal Method and the Discounted Cash Flow Method. Asset Appraisal Method This method involves revising all the asset and liabilities of the company including Goodwill. Using the 2008 audited financial report of the company, we can easily get the values of the asset and liabilities of the company at Net Book Values (NBV) and not the Revised Values. Since we are not in a position to revalue the companys assets and liabilities we are solely relying on the NBV of these assets and liabilities. The NBV of assets and liabilities for the 2008 financial year were given as follow: 2008 GHÂ ¢ Current Assets 468,040,788 Fixed Assets Plant, Property and Equipment 1,171,197,452 Goodwill 2,021,653,890 Total Asset 5,008,661,390 Less Current Liabilities (259,567,145) Value ECG 3,401,324,985 Calculating the value of Good Goodwill is calculated based on the Supper Profit Method. This involves determining a value for the expected future profit of the company. Here, some past profit of the collected based on the 2008 report and an average is taken. We then make adjustments to reflect future profits. Thus, expected future expenses and income are adjusted. Years Net profit/Loss GHÂ ¢ 1999 17365,259 2000 (7,583,807) 2001 152,973,046 2002 (451,974) 2003 (483,609) 2004 (269,686) 2005 (305,425) 2006 (475,200) 2007 (48,836,581) 2008 11,598,017 Total 123,530,040 Average profit for the 10 years = Expected Future Operating Expenses Looking at the operating expenses of the company over the years, the average expenses over the years is around GHÂ ¢6,574,530. Since expenses are expected to increase over the coming years, a 10% adjustment is made to reflect future changes. This 10% was chosen based on the increasing trend of operating expenses from 1999 to 2008. This brings the total future expected operating expenses to (GHÂ ¢6574530 +GHÂ ¢657453) GHÂ ¢7,231,983. Expected Future Income Again, looking at the operating income over the years, the average income for the 10 years is GHÂ ¢54,145,602. Since the expected income are expected to increase as a result of the stabilization of the Ghanaian Cedi against major foreign currencies, stable world price of crude oil, materials, and of course the discovery of crude oil in Ghana. Taking all these factors into consideration, a 15% adjustment is made to reflect these changes. Therefore the future operating income is (GHÂ ¢54,145,602 + 8,121,840) GHÂ ¢62,267,442 GHÂ ¢ The number of years of purchase which depends on the bargaining powers of both the government who is the owner of ECG and the would-be private investor on the reputation of the company. ECG, as earlier discussed, serves both the Ghanaian Economy and other two countries in West Africa (Togo Benin). It also has the potential to expend to other countries as a result of the discovery of crude oil in Ghana. With all the above reputations and potentials, we have decided to fix the number of years of purchase at 30 years. The Goodwill for the company would be Limitation of this method The value of the fixed assets used in the valuation might have some composition of non-productive assets and therefore would affect the fair market value of the company. Discounted Cash Flow Method This method takes into consideration the time value of money. Thus, discounted cash streams of future cash flow. Here, the first thing we do is to forecast the future cash flow by making adjustments to 2008 cash flow of the company. From the cash flow statement (2008), the net cash flow was GHÂ ¢15,819,658. Since cash inflows are expected to increase over the next few years due to expansion and reduction in operating expenses, an upward adjustment of 15% is made to the net cash flow for the next five (5) years. Thus, from 2008 up to 2013. Expected net cash flow from 2013 upwards can not be forecasted due to uncertainty. Discount Rate The company is at the moment using a discount rate of 10%. Due to the possibility of inflation and exchange rate fluctuations, have decided to fix the discount rate between 12% 15%. According to the discounted cash flow method: FMV = Present value of cash flow up to the terminal year + Present value of terminal value. Year Expected Net Cash Flow GHÂ ¢ 2009 18192607 2010 20921498 2011 24059722 2012 27668681 2013 31818983 Using the NPV formula which is given as: NPV =, we can now calculate NPV at both rates of discount (12% and 15%). NPV @ 12% = But Terminal = NPV = NPV (12%) = GHÂ ¢2,200,234,081 NPV @ 15% = But terminal value = NPV = GHÂ ¢1,708,064,531 Interpretations Since the Asset Appraisal Method gave us the highest value of GHÂ ¢3,401,324,985 it would be considered. We are therefore concentrating on the Discounted Cash Flow Method range of values to determine the value of the company. This therefore means that the value of ECG, must be in the range of GHÂ ¢1,708,064,531 and GHÂ ¢2,200,234,081. SWOT ANALYSIS The investigations conducted on the ECG revealed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as summarized in the table below. STRENGTH Competent Work Force High level of technical expertise Government Support A monopolist (large customer base) Facilities (i.e. warehouse) Availability of donor funds Installation of prepayment meters Customer Call Center Vast Distribution network system Low cost of production as compared to countries in the sub region Availability of electrical fault detection technology WEAKNESSES High turnover of professional and technical staff Uncompetitive conditions of services Lack of rule enforcement Poor Communication Lack of team work Not clear defined job descriptions Talents in the company not used to the best advantage No effective Research and Development (RD) Weak Inventory Management High network distribution losses Mismanagement of resources OPPORTUNITIES Potential to expand (nationwide and other countries) Potential of quality power delivery Political and Economic stability Staff training and development West Africa Gas Pipeline Oil discovery on the coast of Ghana THREATS Government Interferences Government determination of Tariffs Fluctuations in the exchange rates Effects of inflation Natural Disasters (i.e. rain storms) Increasing World prices of metals, materials and equipment WEAKNESSES OF THE THREE MAIN DEPARTMENTS THAT NEEDS TO BE RESTRUCTURING BASED ON OUR ANALYSIS MATERIALS AND TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT Weak Inventory Management Unstructured Procurement Unit Increases in the world prices of metals, materials and equipment Mismanagement of Company resources Effects of inflation on local procurement Fluctuation in the exchange rate OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT No effective research and development High network distribution losses Unreliable and low quality of power supply Inadequate training and development of operations staff Inadequate staff HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT High turnover of staff Talents in the Company not being used to the best advantage Poor Communication Lack of team work Uncompetitive conditions of service Lack of rule enforcement No well defined job description Excess labor force STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES AND RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES Based on the SWOT analysis, the following strategic alternatives are recommended to bring about turnaround for the Material and Transport Directorates; Human Resource Directorate and the Operations Directorate. MATERIAL AND TRANSPORT DIRECTORATE Assets Reduction Strategies: Divesting Specific Assets Assets that are in surplus with respect to the future requirements of the company should be sold off. Unproductive and obsolete assets such as transformers, power cables, electric conductors and meters should be sold. Reducing Inventory Material costs should be reduced through improved buying practices, better utilization of materials and efficient inventory management. Inventory of the company such as transformers, meters, cables, conductors and wooden poles should be managed based on Vital Few Trivial Many Principle. This will help the company to avoid holding too much inventory, which is cost to the company and also prevent the company from holding too little inventory which can make the company loose customers. Not only that but also, the reorder level should be fixed between the maximum order level and the minimum order level to prevent the inventory from reaching the danger level. Reducing Debtors (Accounts Receivables) There should be a credit policy to help in the effective administration of the debtors. Customers credit worthiness should be well determined. Debts should be collected within 30 days. There should also be a debt recovery plan. Reducing Cost The Company should adopt Total Cost Management (TCM) control strategy as a way of reducing cost. There should be intelligent optimization and not just cost cutting in the areas of direct costs; overheads; procurement costs; production costs; selling and distribution costs; inventory costs; personnel costs. There should be speedy execution of contract bids and procurement processes to avoid additional costs being incurred as a result of lapse of deadlines. The introduction of e-Procurement should also be used to facilitate the procurement process. The company should also enter into forward contracts to reduce costs. Debt Restructuring Arrangements should be made for third party (government) to service the debt on behalf of the enterprise. There should be selective sale of assets and the revenue that would be realized from the sale of these assets should be used to offset the debt owed to suppliers. Legal Restructuring Specific legal steps should be taken to privatize the company. HUMAN RESORCE MANAGEMENT DIRECTORATE Organisational Restructuring There should be a merger of the engineering and operations directorates to ensure harmonization of action plans towards the achievement of corporate objectives. Information technology should also be used to make the hierarchical organizational structure flat. A strategic planning unit should be created and headed by a corporate strategist to lead the process of strategically positioning the company towards the achievement of the companys goal. There should be appropriate job descriptions, specifications and schedules matching with the qualifications, experiences and skills of employees so to get the best performance out of them. Furthermore, training and development should be a routine exercise for the company. Rules and regulations should be explicit, easily accessible and discipline enforced to ensure compliance with set standards. Labour Redundancy Management should develop a Redundancy Implementation Plan considering the economic climate and political mood of the country, since the implementation of the redundancy plan could be a complex and time consuming process. Staff Performance Appraisals methods such as the Balanced Scorecards should be used to identify and declare non performing staff redundant. Compensation packages should be prepared for such redundant staff, and contingency plans made for unforeseen circumstances in the event of strikes. OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE Physical Restructuring It is recommended that this Directorate should be merged with the Engineering Directorate to bring about efficiency and effectiveness. The size of budget for Research and Development should be increased. Investments in distribution networks should be increased to improve quality and reduce losses of electric power. There is also the need to improve upon the monitoring of customers consumptions to be able to detect theft of electric power. The technical staff strength should also be augmented and given the appropriate technical know-how so to be able to cope with the growing demands of the proposed merger of the Operations and Engineering Directorates. Safety equipment should be made available for the staff to use in protecting themselves in order to reduce the rate of accidents. Proposed Timeline for implementation of Turnaround strategiess TURNAROUND STRATEGIES 2010 2011 2012 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Discussions with Management Assets Reduction Reducing Cost Debt Restructuring Legal Restructuring Organisational Restructuring Labour Redundancy Physical Restructuring Conclusion ECG plays a vital role in the socio- economic development of Ghana and there is no doubt that any Turnaround would yield enormous benefits to the Ghanaian economy. Hence, for the above recommended strategies to bring about any meaningful Turnaround, it calls for commitment and support of management of ECG and the government of Ghana. Not only that but also, for efficient and effective implementation of the strategies, there is the need for expert knowledge and advice. It is therefore hoped that the necessary support will be given for the desired results to be realized in ECG. Privatization Option The public sector in Ghana has suffered setbacks which are largely attributed to ineffective and in efficient management. When we consider the case of Ghana Electricity Company, noticing the trend of losses of the company over time and the failure to meet the objectives or purpose of its formation, in view ,it is suggested that it would be better for the ECG to involve expatriates into their operations, this can be done by private sale of there shares to the foreign multinationals who have got the technical and financial knowhow and experience in the distribution of energy to buy into the private share of the organization ,Government should endeavor to have multinational partnership in the operation of the privatization by giving them of shares in the enterprises. There is need for good follow up on privatized enterprises. This would make the organization to be more effective and efficient in their operation. The federal Government should encourage this multinational to participation in the distribution of power in Ghana. This would be done by establishing a power sector reforms which will allow the involvement of foreign multinationals expatriates in the distribution of power. These reforms would include the provision the necessary Infrastructures which would enable the reduction in establishment costs, rationalization of power tariff, mobilization of private capital for power generation and transmission and lower capital-power generation ratio. In order to achieve these goals, distribution companies. A State Electricity Regulatory Commission would also be also set up to monitor the operation of the company. The desire to involve the private sector in the management and provision of infrastructure and services which will prompt multinational company to buy private share of the organization. . Private placement occurs when a company makes an offering of securities not to the public, but directly to an individual or a small group of investors. Such offerings do not need to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and are exempt from the usual reporting requirements. Private placements are generally considered a cost-effective way for small businesses to raise capital without going public through an initial public offering (IPO) The ECG should sale 49 of its shares to a multinational partner would be able to participate in the core business of energy distribution in Ghana. Also the Government should provide

Consumer Appeal Essay -- essays research papers fc

Consumer Appeal Advertisers of today have strategically combined commercials and television shows in order to sell products. Gloria Steinem discusses a similar idea in her article, "Sex, Lies, and Advertising." She repeatedly demonstrates how advertisements, particularly in magazines, are complementary to the articles around them. In the same manner, so are commercials to television programs. They are both aimed at the same groups or types of people, such as sex, age, gender, etc. Many times, the time of day or day of the week a show is aired has a lot to do with the types of viewers the program will attract. Thus, the types of commercials will also differ. On Saturday nights at 10:00 p.m., the program "Profiler" airs, a mystery-thriller series. The story line is of a young, beautiful white female trying to capture a serial killer/stalker, who killed her husband and continues to stalk her. The show is very detail oriented, in the sense that the viewers need to pay close attention to what is going on to be able to follow along with the mystery. It tends to "suck you in", so to say, because it causes the viewers to become involved and engrossed in solving the mystery. The assumed target of this series is mainly adults over the age of twenty-five, with the exceptions of those viewers that do not watch it at the time it actually airs, but they tape it to watc...

The Three Most Important Things I Learned in Economics Class :: Class Reflection

The three most important things I learned in Economics Class The first important concept I learned was the ‘goals of monetary policy’. The primary goal of a central bank is price stability (low and stable inflation). Some of the Feds (short for the Federal Reserve Bank) other concerns are: †¢ high employment †¢ economic growth †¢ stability of financial markets †¢ interest rate stability †¢ stability in foreign exchange markets The Fed desires to maintain high employment because the condition of high unemployment, the alternative, creates idle workers and idle resources. This leads to closed factories, unused equipment and materials, ultimately decreasing our GDP. Now, let me further explain that the goal for high unemployment is not an unemployment level of zero, rather a level above zero where labor demand equals labor supply. This is known as the ‘natural rate of unemployment’. Economic growth focuses on encouraging firms to invest or encouraging people to save, which in turn creates funds for firms to invest. It runs hand-in-hand with the goal of high employment because in order for firms to be comfortable investing in assets such as plants and equipment, unemployment must be low. Hereby, the people and resources will be available to spur economic growth. If financial markets are instable, it will lead to sharp contraction of economic activity. For example, in this most recent financial crisis, a deterioration in financial institutions’ balance sheets, along with asset price decline and interest rate hikes increased market uncertainty thus, worsening what is called ‘adverse selection and moral hazard’. This is a serious dilemma created before business transactions occur which information is misleading and promotes doing business with the ‘most undesirable’ clients by a financial institution. In turn, these ‘most undesirable’ clients later engage in undesirable behavior. All of this leads to a decline in economic activity, more adverse selection and moral hazards, a banking crisis and further declining in economic activity. Ultimately, the banking crisis came and unanticipated price level increases and even further declines in economic activity. Interest-rate stability is very important for the Fed to control because otherwise consumers, like you and I, will be reluctant to buy things like houses due to the fluctuation which will make it harder to plan for the future. The value of the US dollar relevant to other currencies is a major consideration for the Federal Reserve. If they prevent large changes in the value of the dollar, firms and individuals can comfortably plan ahead to purchase or sell goods abroad.

National Missile Defense Essay -- Weapons War Cold War American Histor

National Missile Defense Historical Perspective On March 23, 1983, through a nationally televised address to the nation, then President Ronald Reagan envisioned a †Star Wars† defense system to replace the existing element of mutual deterrence between the two Cold War superpowers. The system calls for a high-tech impenetrable ballistic missile shield for the United States. The speech marks the birth of the Strategic Defense Initiative1 (SDI). It came about when the Soviets then had numerical advantage over the United States in ballistic missiles that are increasingly accurate and powerful. In fact, the Soviets has the ability to overwhelm the United States' missiles on the ground should a conflict ever occur. Arms race is a vicious cycle in itself and will not contribute to the cause of world peace. Therefore, to render this advantage impotent and obsolete, President Reagan directs the nation’s talented and government agencies to begin exploring and researching programs that will achieve the ultimate goal of elim inating threats due to weapons of mass destruction now and for the years to come. In less than a decade after setting the vision, the United States was grossly reminded of the necessity of employing a capable missile defense system during the Gulf War. On February 25, 1991, in a missile attack on Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, an Iraqi-launched Scud missile’s warhead hit a warehouse that served as a United States barrack, killing 28 soldiers and injuring scores of others in the process. Apparently, one Patriot battery was not operational while the other was not able to track the incoming missile due to a software problem. Immediate Perspective The number of nations possessing ballistic missiles has increased ov... ...ense What Does It All Mean?" Missile Defense Issue Brief. Center of Defense Information. 17 May 2002. <http://www.cdi.org/Hotspots/nmdissuebrief/nmd32.pdf> 10. Antonia Handler Chayes and Paul Doty. Defending Deterrence. Virgina: Pergamon- Brassey's International Defense Publishers, Inc., 1989. 11. "Commentary: The Moral Necessity of Missile Defense." Reason, Individualism, Achievement and, Freedom. Mar. 2001. The Objectivist Center. 17 May 2002. <http://www.objectivistcenter.org/articles/jrobbins_moral-necessity-missile- defense.asp> 12. Lieutenant Ron G. Jacobson "Morality of Nuclear Deterrence and Missile Defense." Military Philosophy and Ethnics. Feb. 1999 National Security Affairs. 18 May 2002. <http://nsa.nps.navy.mil/Publications/Micewski/Jacobson.html>

How to Assess Employee’s Needs for Training

COMENIUS UNIVERSITY IN BRATISLAVA, FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT HOW TO ASSESS EMPLOYEE’S NEEDS FOR TRAINING INTRODUCTION A  subject of my seminar assessment from Human resource management is Training needs assessment, or how to assess employee’s needs for training. The training needs assessment is a very effective way, how to identify employees’ needs for training. An object of my assessment is to acquaint readers with this topic, explain them, how the training needs of employees are identified, what the process of identification consists of and how to manage the training needs assessment.HOW TO ASSESS EMPLOYEE’S NEEDS FOR TRAINING Every company has goals which the company is trying to achieve. The main role plays employees who are the ones that actively participate in achieving the goals. That is the reason why the company should pay attention to them and evaluate if the employees have all qualifications, skills and knowledge that are the most efficient in ach ieving the goals. This evaluation can be provided through a very efficient method called training needs assessment, that discovers the training need of employees. Training needs assessment Staff training needs are assessed through a process called a training needs analysis. The exact form that this takes will depend on the nature of the organization, the technology available, and the nature of the staff. However, the fundamental elements of a training needs analysis are the same. It is a three-step process: * Identify the training needs * Deliver training that meets the needs * Assess the effectiveness of the training. These three steps are repeated over and over during the life-cycle of an organization. Continual assessment is required because the needs keep changing.Employees do not remain static they take on new roles and responsibilities. Their environment is also not static — technology keeps changing, as do the demands of their organization. † (Knowles, 2009) Iden tifying the Training Needs The best way how to identify training needs is with a three-step approach consisting of organizational analysis, analysis of employees and task analysis. 1. Organizational Analysis -Organizational analysis identifies abilities, knowledge and skills needed for employees in the future, when their job and the company will change.The analysis collects data through looking at few aspects like lost workdays, customer complaints, grievances, absenteeism, turnover rates, safety incidents, different performance problems, etc. Afterwards these data are assessed to detect where performance could be improved through training. The organizational analysis should be also prepared for future changes and it should also plan for changes in the workplace like worker demographics, laws and regulations and future skill needs. * Workforce.Workers growing old and women or other minorities becoming more prominent make the workforce change. Operating cost modifications and economi c changes also may need workplace changes, when competing internationally. If the company understands these possible changes, then it has a good advantage, because that may help it to adapt to employees’ needs while the company’s needs are still met. * Laws and regulations. An organization might be forced to arrange training in specific areas because of new laws and changes in current safety and environmental regulations.Also other policies which include employees need to be communicated to them. * Future skills. Future skill needs can be recognised if an organization understands, how it might change in the future. For instance, will new equipment be installed or new processes applied? Will standards or regulations be changed? Is technology going to change? Will there be interpersonal or communication skills needed from employees because they will have to work with others or in teams? Will cultural changes be taking place in the organization? 2.Analysis of employees- A nalysis of employees looks at individual employees and assesses their performance in their jobs. Their individual level of skills or knowledge can be determined through interviews, questionnaires or tests. Their performance reviews can contain useful data as well. Furthermore, problems with performance can be recognised by assessing aspects such as output, non-attendance, lateness, equipment repairs needed, accidents, complaints, client complaints and product quality. When shortages are recognised, an individual employee’s needs can be met through initiating training.All three stages of the training needs analysis are interconnected and information has to be gathered at all stages. Based on the data collected, training needs can be recognised, and the company can form learning objectives and develop a training program so the needs can be met, both company’s and employee’s. 3. Task Analysis- Task analysis examines requirements of knowledge and skills that are nee ded for each job and compares them to actual employee’s knowledge and skills. Any absence reveals a need for training.Analysis of job safety, standard operating methods, job description, performance standards, examination and questioning on-site, literature review and best practices are all sources for information collection. An efficient task analysis detects: * tasks that need to be accomplished * terms under which tasks can be accomplished * when and how often tasks are achieved * quantity and quality of work required * skills and knowledge needed to achieve tasks * where and how these skills are best gained Figure 1- Training needs assessment process (Bajzikova, a ini, 2011)Delivering Training That Meets the Needs Training can be provided through many different ways. It can be formal, classroom like, in the organization’s building, together with colleagues or it could be delivered through an external training company, also in class, but with people from other organ izations. Other option is to provide the training on-line. The training might be short or long-lasting. Short lasting, such as classes lasting a day or even longer, that provide quiet big amount of information, or long-lasting trainings, that are delivered in small parts, maybe an hour a day or less.The trainings can be on a one-to-one basis, or they can take place in a group with one teacher. But the one-to-one basis trainings could become more like mentoring than formal teaching. What is important is that the teaching method and content matches the needs of the learners. Assessing the Effectiveness of Training In order to know whether the training has achieved the goals that were set for it, the organization needs to set up some sort of assessment. â€Å"Happy sheet† is the most basic form of assessment, especially for training I classes.The sheet is about one page long and it asks those who were trained if they enjoyed themselves during the training, whether they felt like they learned anything and what could have been better. There are also more complex and sophisticated forms how to evaluate training and these, after the training, measure the employees’ performance and compare it with their performance before. This cycle needs to be repeated even several times, because it is improbable that just one cycle of training needs analysis and following education will solve all problems. Models for Training Needs AssessmentsMcClelland’s open-systems model McClelland (1993) presents an open-systems model for managing training needs assessments. This model contains of eleven steps which help to manage the assessment. 1. â€Å"Define assessment goals. 2. Determine assessment group. 3. Determine availability of qualified resources to conduct and oversee the project. 4. Gain senior management support for and commitment to the process. 5. Review and select assessment methods and instruments. 6. Determine critical time frames. 7. Schedule and imple ment. 8. Gather feedback. 9. Analyse feedback. 10. Draw conclusions. 1. Present findings and recommendations. † (Cekada, 2010) Barbazette’s model Barbazette says that training needs assessment should answer 4 questions: what, who, when, how and why. * What- â€Å"What is the best way to do a specific job? This helps to achieve the desired results. Standard operating methods may indicate how to manage a task or which government regulations need to be considered when completing a task. Other important thing is to ask what jobs are involved in the shortage. This recognises critical tasks that have the possibility to cause a personal or property damage. Who- â€Å"Who is involved in the shortage of performance? † This will identify those employees that are involved and guarantee that the training is customized for them. It is also essential to consider the target audience for the training; what information does the organization have about them to design and customiz e the training; and who else may profit from the training. * When- â€Å"When can be training best delivered? This helps to minimize the impact on the business. It is also crucial to determine other things that are needed to make sure that the training is provided and delivered effectively.These models help guide development of a training needs assessment. * How- â€Å"How the shortage of performance can be fixed? † This helps to determine whether training will resolve the issue. That reveals if a skill or knowledge shortage led to the issue. * Why- â€Å"Why? † This helps to connect the performance shortage to a business need and asks whether the profit of the training is greater than the cost of the current shortage. CONCLUSION The training needs assessment is used to identify an organization’s and its employees’ training needs and determine the type and range of resources that are needed to support a training program.It helps the organization to desig n or choose the right type of training and afterwards it helps to assess if the goals were achieved. The training needs assessment is a very good, not complicated and effective way how to deal with educational needs within a company. And even though the cycle might have to be repeated several times, it is a helpful huma resource management tool. BIBLIOGRAPHY * Bajzikova, Lubica, et al. 2011. Manazment ludskych zdrojov. Bratislava  : Comenius University Bratislava, 2011. pp. 92-96. 978-80-223-2989-7. Cekada, Tracey L. 2010. www. asse. org. [Online] 3 2010. http://www. asse. org/professionalsafety/docs/F1Cekada_0310. pdf. * Knowles, Andrew. 2009. suite101. com. How to assess staff training needs. [Online] 9 7, 2009. http://suite101. com/article/how-to-assess-staff-training-needs-a146161. * Miller, Janice A. , Osinski, Diana M. and SPHR. 1996. www. ispi. org. [Online] 2 1996. http://www. ispi. org/pdf/suggestedReading/Miller_Osinski. pdf. * Unknown. www. opm. gov. [Online] http://www . opm. gov/hrd/lead/TrainingNeedsAssessment. asp.