The Psychology of the Unconscious Review Essay Example

The Psychology of the Unconscious Review Paper Essay on The Psychology of the Unconscious The possibility to write a review for Freud seems blasphemous. This is not a work of art, where you can pound the table, defending his vision (and be right). In order to criticize Freuds need to be confident in their abilities, very confident. But, relying on the availability of special education, not without timidity begin You have heard more or less intelligible words to you: the unconscious, repression, sublimation, libido, the Oedipus complex and want to know their meaning not from paraphrases and interpretations as from. the original source? Then this book is for you. Unprepared reader (what was I during the first reading) may experience a slight shock from realizing the immorality of their motives and desires (I experienced) For a person who is going to work professionally in the field of psychology, -. Book is a must for reading. If your professional activities only indirectly related to psychology (for example you are a seller or advertiser) well you can not read, for practical application exposure better than the original In general, to be honest, this is not a book that. I must read every. We will write a custom essay sample on The Psychology of the Unconscious Review specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Psychology of the Unconscious Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Psychology of the Unconscious Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We can only add. that at the time of the first reading, I was just crushed the truth overwhelmed me but later realized that psychoanalysis is not omnipotent and many of Freuds controversial position. Finally, give some poluanekdotichnuyu history. As is known, the two most popular and talented student of Freud (Adler and Jung) away from psychoanalysis, and their break with Freud was not very good. So, after a row with Jung, Freud came to her mother and complained to her at such injustice. To which the mother replied: Poor Ziggy, you could never understand people .

Anchisaurus - Facts and Figures

Anchisaurus - Facts and Figures Name: Anchisaurus (Greek for near lizard); pronounced ANN-kih-SORE-us Habitat: Woodlands of eastern North America Historical Period: Early Jurassic (190 million years ago) Size and Weight: About six feet long and 75 pounds Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Long, slim body; ridged teeth for shredding leaves About Anchisaurus Anchisaurus is one of those dinosaurs that was discovered ahead of its time. When this small plant-eater was first excavated (from a well in East Windsor, Connecticut, of all places) in 1818, no one knew quite what to make of it; the bones were initially identified as belonging to a human, until the discovery of a nearby tail put an and to that idea! It was only decades later, in 1885, that the famous American paleontologist Othniel C. Marsh conclusively identified Anchisaurus as a dinosaur, though its exact classification couldnt be pinned down until more was known in general about these long-extinct reptiles. And Anchisaurus was certainly strange compared to most dinosaurs discovered up to that time, a human-sized reptile with grasping hands, a bipedal posture, and a swollen belly populated by gastroliths (swallowed stones that aided in the digestion of tough vegetable matter). Today, most paleontologists consider Anchisaurus to have been a prosauropod, the family of svelte, occasionally bipedal plant-eaters of the late Triassic and early Jurassic periods that were distantly ancestral to the giant sauropods, like Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus, that roamed the earth during the later Mesozoic Era. However, its also possible that Anchisaurus represented some kind of transitional form (a so-called basal sauropodomorph), or that prosauropods as a whole were omnivorous, since theres (inconclusive) evidence, based on the shape and arrangement of its teeth, that this dinosaur may occasionally have supplemented its diet with meat. Like many dinosaurs discovered in the early 19th century, Anchisaurus has gone through its fair share of name changes. The fossil specimen was originally named Megadactylus (giant finger) by Edward Hitchcock, then Amphisaurus by Othniel C. Marsh, until he discovered that this name was already preoccupied by another animal genus and settled instead on Anchisaurus (near lizard). Further complicating matters, the dinosaur we know as Ammosaurus may actually have been a species of Anchisaurus, and both of these names are probably synonymous with the now-discarded Yaleosaurus, named after Marshs alma mater. Finally, a sauropodomorph dinosaur discovered in South Africa in the early 19th century, Gyposaurus, may yet wind up being assigned to the Anchisaurus genus.

Balanced Score

Introducing Balance Score In this article I will explain your critical vision, mission, values, and critical thinking on how to achieve your goals from SWOTT analysis. Vision Our vision is to make a well-respected, well-respected company that creates national fashion while providing handbags and accessories in the Bible in manga characters and the Bible. Vision defines the organization's future goals. It reflects an optimistic view of the organization's future. The Balanced Scorecard is defined as a strategic planning and management system that aligns business activities with the organization's vision statement. With simpler and more realistic terms, the Balanced Scorecard attempts ambiguous translation in anticipation of the company's mission. This statement will better manage the usefulness of the business at all levels. To create your own Balanced Scorecard, the advantage of using a Balanced Scorecard for a corporate mission statement is that you can easily display a summary of fi nancial indicators and non-financial indicators compared to each goal. The mix (expressed in many words many details ...) report. After implementing balanced scorecards within your organization, the process should improve. One of the best tools a manager has is a balanced scorecard. Do you remember the 5th week of the bowling alley manager? Create a balanced scorecard for him and explain how to use the balanced scorecard to help him measure and probably improve the problem. It is important to deal with how the scorecard approach fits the administrative control functions. Specifically, please use the scorecard to review manager's questions. How can we solve problems that occurred in branch offices? Balanced scorecards are the most commonly used management tool in an organization. Ryanair's strategic management system can be described with a balanced scorecard. To improve operational efficiency, Ryanair has focused on four main areas: finance, customers, business processes, and learni ng and development. In order to achieve the goal of becoming the lowest cost supplier to the European aviation industry, Ryanair set standards for cost management activities. Since it is currently the industry's lowest cost supplier, we developed our own benchmark. For example, in 2003, we reduced the cost of wheelchair services by providing third-party wheelchair suppliers that provide wheelchairs to passengers.

Patch 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Patch 1 - Essay Example In order to impart education effectively, teachers have to adopt appropriate and efficient resources according to nature of the lesson. One of these resources is Information Communication technology which has stemmed out of technology-enhanced learning. Technology-enhanced learning depicts usage of technology in overall learning process. It is often misunderstood as E-learning, however it refers to use of technology which facilitates interaction between the instructor and student. Usage of technology allows the students to perform critical analysis by immersing themselves in learning and deduce meaningful information out of the content that is being shown to them. This technique allows students to perform self-directed questioning that facilitates two-way learning between teacher and student. Web-based learning and study guides through selected CD-ROM based lessons can be effective resources for technology enhanced learning. The rationale behind this tool is based on Kolb’s ex periential learning theory (1971) and Schank’s learning by doing (2010). These theories illustrate that experiencing the learning process, breaking down information into manageable bits and processing them is further facilitated when a student is actively engaged in them. If a student is asked to visit several websites about museums and analyze their differences accordingly, they are actually undergoing a virtual tour which enhances their meta-cognitive and problem solving skills. Furthermore, engaging student in writing a report about this tour with the help of ICT tools such as Word processing tools would help them perform more analysis and share their inputs about what they have learned. Allowing students to view content available on Web makes them perform critical analysis, find out relevant information and deduce meaning out of it. Although it is a tedious process that requires teacher’s supervision but it is more efficient in engaging students instead of simple i nstruction based lectures. In order to enhance overall language development and learning in students, it is important that they are made to think and transform their thoughts in appropriate words. For this purpose, using interactive whiteboards and videos can be effective media. Using whiteboards, drawing diagrams and flowcharts helps students to think through teacher’s instructions and correspond to them accordingly. Therefore, information is being received, processed and illustrated in the form of questions and feedback by students. Furthermore, using videos and audios help students to use experiential learning strategies and perform mind mapping which not only gives meanings to words but also make them more memorable by attaching images to them. Learning appropriate dialect can be facilitated by allowing students to imitate teacher’s words and figure out meaning from them. Usually teachers in communication classes use audio aids which help students understand approp riateness of different communication styles and vocabulary usage. According to Genishi (1988), children learn better

United States v. Angevine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

United States v. Angevine - Essay Example Therefore, companies reserve their rights to exercise these policies and/or regulations at their discretion. Any violation of these policies and/or regulations can also result in serious disciplinary actions and other consequences, which are usually mentioned or detailed in the policies/regulations. Employees cannot expect to have privacy in usage of such equipment meant for official use though the equipment may be carried out of official premises and can be used as per the employees’ needs. Therefore, employees cannot expect to have explicit assurances of privacy on usage of such equipment and are thus obliged to follow the regulations set forth by their company. Moreover, a company hires employees to achieve a specific goal, which becomes a shared goal of all employees; this shared goal is achieved by collective efforts of all employees. In order to help them achieve these goals, companies provide them with all sorts of facilities, equipment, tools, and technology. Thus employees are expected to make use of these facilities only to enhance theirs and company’s performance. Usage of such equipment for any personal reasons would be a violation of the code. Most companies do not object usage of equipment for personal reasons as long as the reasons are genuine and w ithin limits of law. If the equipment is used for illegal, unethical, and immoral reasons, then the company has the right to seize the equipment. In order to prevent such undesirable usage, companies also reserve the right to monitor the usage of their equipment with or without the users’ knowledge. Companies that offer such equipment to their employees for professional usage usually educate the employees about these guidelines. As seen in the case of United States versus Angevine, the Oklahoma State University computer policy clearly mentions about the usage limits, privacy and

Comparisson of Leadership Styles to Henry V Essay Example for Free

Comparisson of Leadership Styles to Henry V Essay This week’s lecture dealt with the theories associated to the skills approach to leadership. The skills approach can be thought of as very similar to the trait theory. In it we use some characteristics from a person to determine their leadership strength. The main difference between these two approaches to understanding leadership is that, while trait theory discusses personality characteristics in people, skills theory focuses on skills and abilities that these people possess. Robert Kratz proposed a model for skills theory in 1955. It was called â€Å"Skills of an effective Administrator† and recognizes that there are three skills that a manager should possess. These three skills are technical skills, human skills, and conceptual skills. Technical competence encompasses the knowledge, dexterity and expertise that a person brings with them to their job and that are integral to help him accomplish the task that he is assigned. This type of competence can come from a formal education, on-the-job training and/or personal experience. Some examples of technical proficiency can be how to use certain software packages such as Microsoft office, or Adobe Photoshop. It is not only restricted to computer and electronics use, and can also be the knowledge an accountant has on ratios and balance sheets. Some steps to building technical competencies are to first define your job, you need to know what types of tasks you will be required to complete. After that the next step is to become an expert at that job, either by receiving a formal education or gaining experience at a similar job to the one you want. Finally, the last stop to building technical competencies is to seek opportunities to use those skills but also to seek opportunities in the job itself. You do this in order to further expand your knowledge in that area and to be able to use your skills in original ways and learn new ones. Two other things that we learned in class this week was about credibility and assertiveness. Credibility is the ability to make people trust you and has many benefits as a leader. There are two components to credibility and they are: building expertise and building trust. Assertiveness is not bullying and differs from aggression. But it is similar in the way that you are a person that confronts people and do not beat around the bush. I was quite amazed by the portrayal of Henry V in this week’s movie. It was only due to his leadership and motivational skills that the British were able to defeat the French at the battle of Agincourt, even while being severely outnumbered. He did not have the experience that other people might have had but he learned as he went and made the most of the situations that he was in. He also displayed both assertiveness and credibility. His assertiveness was demonstrated on his first speech by trying to avoid battle and to cow the leaders of the other army to surrender. His credibility was shown even more by fighting alongside his men and mingling with them. This credibility also helped him deliver such a great speech as he did before Agincourt. The closest thing in real life that I have seen until now is my current manager at Sodexo catering services. She has an air of authority about her and is able to issue commands at will, but she also relates to the employees and is the first one to help in preparing and performing events. She, like Henry, â€Å"fights† alongside us. This earned her my respect and loyalty, much more than the higher ups in the Sodexo office that do not help out at events. This is a great example of both assertiveness and credibility.

Doctor Faustus Essays: The Appeal of Evil in Dr. Faustus :: Doctor Faustus Essays

The Appeal of Evil in Dr. Faustus  Ã‚   Christopher Marlowe had a thorough idea of what his audience wanted. The audience of that time wanted to be wild and evil but due to the strong influence of the church this was not possible. Most people want to see violence, sin, and give in to temptation but could not because of the label that society and the church would place on them. Marlowe gave them a play where they could see and experience all of the things that people wanted to do but could not or would not because they were dangerous and sinful. In Act I Marlowe sets up the dramatic summoning of the Devil. First Marlowe lets Faustus describe the setting: Faustus. Now that the gloomy shadow of the night, Longing to view Orion’s drizzling look, Leaps from th’ antarctic world unto the sky And dims the welkin with her pitchy breath†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦(I.iii, 1-4) If we look at this passage we see many references to how the stage looked and what the atmosphere of the audience was like. First, Faustus states that the setting is now perfect to begin the summoning of the Devil. Darkness would cover the stage and the audience as the gloomy shadow of night dimmed everything. The darkness loomed so low and black that Orion could not even be seen. Faustus went on to describe the scent in the air, the scent of Pitch, the scent of Hell! The audience was mystified and horrified at the same time. Now that the setting has been set and piqued the audience’s interest, the incantations can begin: Faustus, begin thine incantations And try if devils will obey thy hest, Seeing thou hast prayed and sacrificed to them. Within this circle is Jehovah’s name Forward and backward anagrammatiized, Th’ abbreviated names of holy saints, Figures of every adjunct to the heavens, And the characters of signs and erring stars, By which the spirits are enforced to rise: (I.iii, 5-13) Here we see that Faustus starts to summon the Devils from the depths of Hell. Faustus claims that he has sacrificed and prayed to them, that he has made Jehovah’s name anagrammatiized. At this point the audience would have been actually frightened. They would be fearful of what God might do for Faustus taking the names of holy men and changing the letters around and spelling words from them.

Hubspot Case Study

Case Study: HubSpot 1. ** Do you agree with HubSpot that the â€Å"rules of marketing† have changed? If so, how? Is inbound marketing the answer? Why or why not? 1. I do agree with HubSpot that the â€Å"rules of marketing† have changed. But I do not think that the position of traditional outbound marketing will be totally replaced by inbound marketing. Inbound marketing is a type of marketing strategy through Internet that focuses on getting the qualified custom’ attention and attracting them to find out and learn about what they want and what they need.Companies using inbound marketing strategies relied on market research methods to gain and analyze the information about interests and needs of customers. In contrast, traditional outbound marketing strategies increase a company’s awareness and brand image by all kinds of advertising and promotional activities (such as TV commercials, print advertisements, direct marketing, etc) to find and attract custome rs. With the coming of the era of Web 2. 0, Internet usage becomes more and more common.As a result, inbound marketing contents (like blogs, videos, eBooks, and so on), SEO, and other online marketing and social media platforms will definitely support inbound marketing to become a very important type of marketing strategy. However, I think there will still be some room for outbound marketing in the future since it’s the basement of all kinds of marketing approaches. So I think the mix of inbound and outbound marketing will be the main trend for most companies during the era of Web 2. 0. 2. ** Is HubSpot finding and serving the right set of customers?Given its position as a start-up company, should it widen its focus to serve any customer that comes its way? Or narrow its target, by focusing exclusively on either Owner Ollies or Marketing Marys? Or by focusing exclusively on either B2B or B2C customers? 2. As a start-up company, in my opinion, HubSpot should narrow its target since they have relatively limited resources. Between the choices of Owner Ollies and Marketer Marys, HubSpot can choose one as their exclusive target during their start-up period.In spite the fact that Marketer Marys had more needs of HubSpot’s services and more money to spend on products like HubSpot, Owner Ollies accounts for 73% percent of total customers. Although the profit after acquiring Owner Ollies is much more, Marketer Marys are easier and cheaper to reach and more likely to acquire. As a start-up company, HubSpot needed more money and resources to get started and develop. So, in my opinion, they can narrow their target to Marketer Marys at first. 5. ** Halligan and Shah want HubSpot to be marketing what salesforce. com is to sales. What would your plan of action be to make this happen?Why would you take these actions? What keeps you up at night about your plan? 5. What I concerns the most about HubSpot is that it is facing the threat of competitions from larger a nd more established companies providing similar services. To make HubSpot at the position in marketing field as Salesforce. com in sales field, it is necessary to realize and learn about the competitions in the market. In my opinion, HubSpot needs to quickly go through the start-up period and enlarge to a certain size. Thus, they can expand their target much more widely, and then play to their advantages.

Current and Future Market Trends Essay

When thinking of wireless phone or internet service, the first company that probably comes to mind is Verizon Wireless. Verizon officially became a force to be reckoned with in the wireless market in 2000 when Verizon communications and Vodafone merged. Verizon states, â€Å"Verizon Communications Inc., headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wire line communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.† Since entering the market in 2000, Verizon has made itself popular by offering service in more areas than any other wireless network. Market Structure Within economics, four types of market structures exist. The four types are: monopoly, monopolistic competition, perfect competition, and oligopoly. Colander (2008) describes market structure as, â€Å"the physical characteristics of the market within which firms interact.† Verizon Wireless’ market structure can be defined by a combination of monopolistic competition and oligopoly. Colander (2008) defines monopolistic competition and oligopoly as, â€Å"a market structure in which there are many firms selling differentiated products and few barriers to entry—and oligopoly — a market structure in which there are only a few firms and firms explicitly take other firms’ likely response into account. The wireless industry is smaller that people think and not much competiton exists. For example: Cingular and AT&T are both wireless carriers, but Cingular is a part of AT&T. Essentially, when a consumer spends money with Cingular, it still goes to AT&T. Using an oligopoly structure has worked well for Verizon in the past and currently. Current and future market trends should not have any affect on the market structure of Verizon. New Companies Competition in the wireless industry has always been tough. It seems as though every month or few weeks, a new phone or new service is being unveiled by a well-know company or a company trying to get started. Besides  Alltell, Verizon is usually the company the competition seeks to compete with. To compete with Verizon most companies offer a service similar to Verizon for a cheaper price, or they offer a similar phone for a cheaper price. Verizon would not be affected heavily by any new companies entering the market, because Verizon is already established and consumers are already familiar with the brand. Aside from that, Verizon offers a number of services and slogans to keep their consumers interested. Some of the slogans used are: America’s largest and most reliable network, #1 in customer loyalty, and the worry free guarantee. Verizon does not have to worry about the competition, the competition should worry about Verizon. Prices One of the downsides to having wireless services and phones is the price. Since the introduction of cell phones, the price of phones and the price of service have risen significantly. On average, a contract for cell phone service with two lines would cost anywhere from $160 – $250, depending on the services the customer chooses. That price does not include the price of the phone which could be anywhere from $50 – $900. The prices to maintain the convenience of a cell phone are ridiculous, but it is a necessity that most individuals find it hard to live without. The current and future trend of the wireless industry shows the price of services and phones increasing. With that being said, despite the prices of phones and service, consumers will continue to pay the prices set by Verizon and other wireless companies. Technology Cell phones and services have definitely evolved over the years. Technology is one of the leading factors when consumers consider purchasing a phone or selecting a company as their wireless provider. Most cell phone users use text messaging, check email, and log onto social networking sites like facebook and myspace from their mobile phones. Like any other invention cell phones have evolved and become an important part of our lives. Televisions went from just being in homes to our cars. Computers were usually found in places such as: homes, offices, and libraries. Now cell phones are the more modern version of computers. Verizon has always made note of the changing trends when it comes to technology and the company has always delivered excellent products the consumer wants or needs. Productivity To maintain the position as the largest and most reliable wireless carrier, Verizon Wireless must spend money. The costs range from building the network, to maintaining the network. Costs include employees, equipment and technology needed to keep the company on top. The company makes decisions based on what the benefit will be in the long run. These decisions are made by researching trends and technology in the wireless market and changing tastes of the consumer. The company knows the catalyst of success is a strong network. The law of diminishing marginal productivity states as more of a variable input is added to an existing fixed input, eventually the additional output one gets from that additional input is going to fall (Colander 2008). I was not able to get information specific from Verizon Wireless that would help me graph out this law. The company has over 86,000 employees and made 56.8 billion dollars in profit for 2008 (about us 2009). Each year bonuses are given to employees based on individual performance and company performance. Last year the bonuses were based on the fact that the company made 12% in profits. In today’s economic times, the e profit achieved was outstanding and was above any other profits made in the wireless industry for 2008. Cost Structure Wages and Benefits Employees of Verizon Wireless are compensated well. The employees salary along with the benefits provided are above others employed in the wireless industry, according to David Brown an analyst at Verizon Wireless human resources. At Verizon Wireless a broad-banded structure is used to organize jobs and manage pay. There are six bands that range from A to F. Depending on the skills of the individual, he or she is usually hired in on the F band, which is a customer service representative, or assistant. The duties are usually task oriented. The next band is E, which is a coordinator or analyst, who are proven to work independently, usually on projects and technical functions. D band consists of level one managers, supervisors etcetera. C through A bands are the higher levels of management and CEO. Jobs are assigned to bands based on similar roles and levels of responsibility. The jobs themselves can be quite different in terms of what people do. Jobs in the same band are similar in terms of their impact on our business results, the decision-making authority of the employees who hold them, and the knowledge and skills required. VZW classifies a job as either salaried exempt or salaried non-exempt. Verizon Wireless provides medical, dental and vision benefits to employees at a reduced cost, but also provides at no cost an education benefit up to 8,000 per year, 401k contribution matching up to 6% and yearly performance bonuses as well as profit sharing if enrolled in 401k and a long term incentive program that is also based on company performance. Employees are a vital asset to Verizon Wireless and the salaries along with the benefits are designed to maximize performance. Cost Structure Fixed and Variable Costs Fixed costs are defined as costs that are spent and cannot be changed in the period under consideration (2008). Fixed costs for Verizon Wireless include buildings, warehouses used, and upkeep of cellular sites. Variable costs, or costs that change, include workers employed, contracts for equipment production, new technology etcetera. Verizon Wireless is a firm that sells produced goods to individuals, businesses and government (2008). The company’s main output is technology. The fixed costs dived by the variable costs equal the average costs of the company. As was stated earlier, last year Verizon Wireless made a 12% increase in profits from the year before. Most of the revenue occurred in the 4th quarter of the year with the release of the BlackBerry Storm touch screen device. The device was the answer to the I phone distributed by AT&T. Over 100,000 devices were sold on the first day of release alone. The cost of the device was 199.99, which is around 2 million dollars made in one day. The demand for the devices increased, and the company met the demand with more phones. According to the March 2009 newsletter given to the company for 4th quarter earnings, the CEO Lowell McAdam advised that Storm sales were the factor that  significantly raised the company’s profits and set the bar for future ventures. Price Elasticity of Demand The relation between the shift in quantity and shift in price of a product is known as price elasticity. â€Å"Price elasticity of demand is the calculation of the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price† (Colander, 2008). Verizon Wireless has to make an effort to stay in synch with the pricing and offerings by their competition. Verizon Wireless must implement services and products that incorporate modern technology and are ground-breaking to compete in the wireless market and affordable in today’s economy. Impact of Government Regulations Verizon Wireless realizes the importance in ensuring that all regulations that are established by the Federal Communications Commission. Abiding by these regulations will guarantee that Verizon Wireless will keep providing long-standing benefits for the taxpayer and customers. Verizon Wireless trusts that the present structure â€Å"of auctioning spectrum licenses, with clearly defined, exclusive-use and flexible rights, is the right approach to spectrum policy† (Verizon Wireless, 2009). Although clear benefits towards allowing unlicensed use of spectrum is visible, that advance will not create the revenue for the United States Treasury or the best value for American economy. Broadband is one of the services provided by Verizon Wireless. Over the past ten years Broadband services have been used commercially. During that time the government has acknowledged the significance of implementing market-based motivations to persuade broadband usage and investment. â€Å"Rather than applying more-stringent regulations to telecommunications services and infrastructure, the FCC generally has applied an old wires, old rules; new wires, new rules philosophy towards broadband services and networks† (Verizon Wireless, 2009) By doing this, customers will reap in the benefits form the government’s decision to enhance incentives for broadband service providers to invest in better and superior broadband networks and services. â€Å"Investment and deployment in next-generation broadband networks – such as Verizon’s FiOS network – is happening at a remarkable pace, and consumers  now have more choices than ever before† (Verizon Wireless, 2009). Competitors Verizon Wireless has a substantial amount of competition in the wireless industry. Verizon competes with wireless companies such as T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T. Verizon Wireless became the largest wireless service provider by beating out AT&T. Nonetheless, Verizon’s landline industry is affected by the large opposition of modern technology and tends to confront challenges from various other competitors with high speed internet and cable companies such as Time Warner Cable. Verizon Wireless has to make an effort to stay in synch with the pricing and offerings of its competitors. The Wireless industry is so competitive, equipment can outdate within a few months. Companies must develop wireless devices that are affordable as well as reliable. Supply and Demand Analysis Even with today’s economic challenges, many opportunities to create innovative new products to meet customer demand still abound. In a bold new step the company introduced its line of netbooks, mini lightweight laptop computers that consumers can take with them anywhere. The netbooks have all the functionality of a laptop, with the convenience of a smaller wireless device. The smaller size and the low price the netbooks are offered, is what today’s consumers are demanding. Tapping into this market gives Verizon Wireless a piece of the notebook and laptop market that was only accessible in the past by offering mobile broadband cards. The added revenue from this market keeps Verizon Wireless ahead of the competition. Verizon Wireless also has the opportunity to expand its coverage globally with the 3G UMTS, Quad Band GSM networks. This means that business travelers as well as consumers will now have access to roam on more networks in over 250 countries across the globe. Verizon Wireless strives to produce the best most reliable wireless voice and data coverage in the industry. In order to obtain that goal the company will have to gain customers faster than the competition, widen the revenue lead and lead in profitability. As long as Verizon stays on the right track, the company should not have any issues presently and in the future. Reference Page Colander, D (2008).Economics, Fifth Edition. McGraw-Hill/Irwin, New York, New York, 10020 Verizon Wireless. (2009). Corporate History/investor relations. Retrieved June 26th, 2009 from www.verizon.com.

Walmart’s Key HR Functions Underperforming The WritePass Journal

Walmart’s Key HR Functions Underperforming Introduction Walmart’s Key HR Functions Underperforming ). This is clearly a violation of workers rights. Wal-Mart which was initially a corporate fortress seems to be headed to a downfall. Even its operations in the US indicate the possibility of a failure in the giant retailer. More recently, Wal-Mart warned its investors that its comparable store sales may be slightly negative after the third quarter. This is also evident in the huge layoff of 2300 workers at Sams club, one of its stores. The layoff was attributed to their poor performance. Whereas Wal-Mart still remains the corporate fortress in the retail sector due to its massive size, its underperformance in the US and emerging markets indicate the possibility of a failure in the near future. Walmart’s bad business practices Wal-Mart has on several accounts been criticized for poor wages. Why should employees suffer in one of the giant retail stores that make billions of profit annually? Wal-Mart is ranked among the best 100 corporations by Forbes magazine yet most of its employees take on average less than $250 a week. Full-time employees are paid between $6 and $7.50 an hour. A further a third of the employees who are part-time are limited to working up to 28 hours a week and are not eligible for benefits. Such pay scale places them and their families below the poverty line. The lack of rewards demotivates and discourages them from performing well. Perhaps Wal-Marts bad business practices are more evident with the Rana Plaza tragedy which led to the loss of over 1000 lives. The tragedy exposed some of the profound flaws in the industry. Rana Plaza produced private garments for some of the giant retailers including Wal-Mart. Evidence provided by the Bangladesh center for Worker Solidarity showed that Wal-Mart had been producing its garments in Ether Tex factory situated on the 5th floor of the building (Steven 2013). Some documents were found in the rubble detailing purchase orders for certain garments which were to be delivered to Wal-Mart. Further, at the time of the tragedy, Wal-Mart was already listed in Ether Texs website as one of the main customer. Although Wal-Mart denied knowledge of their operations at the factory building, it announced its plans to put in place new safety measures at some of their factories in Bangladesh. The corporate fortress, however, promised to stop production if urgent safety problems were uncovered at some of its factories. The company further assured the Bangladeshi government of their support and commitment towards improving workplace safety. But the company stopped short of committing to these improvements and distanced itself from the Rana Plaza tragedy. This is a clear example of bad business practice. Why these particular functions are considered to be underperforming Last year, Wal-Mart reported $11 billion in net income yet it has not been able to remedy some of its questionable workplace practices. Wal-Mart has been filed in over 5,000 lawsuits for poor employment practices such as inadequate health care, wage law violations, worker exploitation and their anti-union retailer stance. Wal-Mart anti-union stance can be seen in their recent threat to close one of its stores in Quebec after workers successfully unionized. Citing economic reasons; Wal-Mart announced their plans on shutting the store. However, this argument was rejected by Quebecs labor relations and Wal-Marts firings found illegal. Further, the move to extend operations to overseas markets including setting up factories in emerging markets such as Bangladesh and China was driven by the desire to take advantage of cheap labour. For example, Wal-Mart pays much less its employees in China compared to those in the US and the UK. A further criticism has been the lack of employment benefits. Part-time employees are limited to working up to 28 hours a week and are not eligible for benefits. While, workers who are eligible for benefits pay way over the odds to get health insurance and other benefits. The company has often come under criticism for not providing employees with affordable access to health care and employees are overburdened. For example, in 1999, 36% of the total costs were paid by the employees. In 2001, there was a 42% rise in employee burden. The health of its employees has been deteriorating at a faster rate. According to the companys internal memo discovered by New York Times, Wal-Mart workers were sicker compared to the national population. This begs the question: Why can’t such a giant corporation provide its workers medical retirement benefits given the huge profits that they make? This question was once raised by one of Wal-Mart’s managers only to be fired by the CEO and reasons of disloyalty cited as the reason for being quitted. (Jordan 2008). As Michael Porter (1980) once pointed out that a company would rely on three basic competitive strategies to maintain their edge in the market: differentiation, cost leadership, and focus strategy. Wal-Mart has obviously taken the cost-leadership strategy by reducing the cost of recruitment, providing low pay, no rewards, requiring overtime, and cheap children labors. It currently faces a barrage of lawsuits for extensive violations of labour laws. Wal-Mart also faces law suits for extensive violations of state regulations that require time for breaks and meals. In some instances, minors are forced to work late for the performance appraising. Outcomes for business Wal-Mart may be headed for a downfall. Its customer service is already low and their low-cost strategy has led to many cut offs of employees. Since recession, Wal-Mart has been cutting down on their staff. Without enough manpower for their retail operations and with workers on site underpaid, its merchandize remains stacked on pallets in warehouses instead of the shelves where customers can reach them. What then is the value of offering lower prices if the products are not accessible to the customers? Further, the check-out lines are painfully long and there seems to be a decline in the overall customer shopping experience. Customer shopping experience has been deteriorating due to the longer checkout lines, disorganization and less staff help. Last year, the giant retailer was placed last among in the American Customer Satisfaction Index, a six year in a row in which Wal-Mart has taken the last spot (Ungar 2013). Lessons must be learnt from the experience of the other low end retailers. McDonalds earnings have fallen significantly due to their poor terms of employment. Similarly, Wal-Mart needs to consider the potential upside of their aggressive policies. Despite the poor employment practices, Wal-Mart still remains among the leading retail giants. Its remains ahead of its competitors such as Target and JC penny. However, Wal-Mart faces a threat from Costco, its primary competitor. Costco has been experiencing a fairly healthy 8% growth in annual sales (Ungar 2013). In fact, a significant number of customers are moving to this retailer for their shopping experience. Could this be attributed to the good employment practices at Costco? Unlike Wal-Mart, employees at Costco get a decent living and are paid in excess of the minimum wage. Given the aggressive HR policies employed by Wal-Mart, it begs the question: what then is the role of HR managers in this company? Since, as HR professionals, they are required to put in place strategies oriented towards the employees. To some point, however, employees seem to be encouraged to think of themselves as servant leaders. For example, employees are called associates showing that the company values their contribution. Such kinds of HR policies are employed in most of the best performing companies. These policies and practices serve to motivate employees to increase their performance and can aid in developing good corporate culture. However, employees may not feel appreciated if they are paid less than minimum wages and denied rewards and opportunities for professional growth. There seem to be no opportunities for enhancement and professional growth. Wal-Mart does very little training and developments of its human resources and as such, opportunities for enhancement of professions especially for women are limited. In fact, several claims have been filed against Wal-Mart for discriminating against women in terms of employment positions and the lack of opportunities for advancement. Improving employee motivation and employment practices at Wal-Mart As HR professionals continue to seek bright, talented and highly engaged workforce, motivational theories can provide insights on how Wal-Mart can improve employee motivation and engagement. Several motivational theories have been suggested including the Expectancy Theory, Maslows Hierarchy of Needs theory, Herzbergs motivator Hygiene Theory, Goal Setting Theory, and Equity theory (Lockwood et al. 2010) Herzbergs motivator Hygiene Theory is perhaps more applicable to the case of Wal-Mart. The theory suggests that two main factors must be met for employees to become satisfied with work. These are: the hygiene factors and motivator factors. The hygiene factors include meeting the basic needs such as adequate pay, comfortable working environment, effective supervision and good relationships with the core workers. On the other hand, motivation factors include advancement and professional growth, and rewards or opportunities for recognition (lockwood et al. 2010) Wal-Mart needs to consider applying the two-factor theory of motivation if they are to improve on the performance of their employees. They need to revamp their policies, increase the salary of their employees, and the safety and security of the employees. Further, they need to consider motivators that are intrinsic to the job which include providing rewards for achievement and increasing their growth opportunities. Pundits, policymakers and activists outraged by the companys low wages have been calling for protests. According to Robert Reich, a professor at U.C. Berkeley, Walmarts net income is estimated at $17 billion meaning that they can easily afford to give its workers a small pay-rise (Atner 2013). The Chancellor professor of public policy has in fact urged shoppers to boycott Wal-Mart since they do not want to share even a little bit of their income with their employees (Atner 2013). Conclusion In todays highly competitive marketplace, motivation of employees and employing the best employment practices is key to success. Underperformance in the workplace has recently been a major concern in Wal-Mart stores. Several lawsuits have been filed against Wal-Mart for violation of workers rights including low wages, lack of employment benefits, being required to work overtime and denied to participate in union activity. Bad employment practices are clearly evident in Wal-Mart. This has affects employee productivity as it demoralizes and demotivates them. Wal-Mart needs to consider applying the two-factor theory of motivation if they are to improve on the performance of their employees. Incentives are key to maintaining a motivated workforce and ensuring business success. Appraising and offering hardworking employee with incentives will motivate them to go the extra mile of putting the company first. Employee valuations need to be implemented and growth opportunities made plenty. HR managers at walmart need to understand the benefits of employee motivation and engagement. By sharing their profit, employees will feel appreciated and more passionate about their work. Ultimately, this will result in improved performance and greater customer satisfaction Reference Ciura, B., 2014. Is Wal-Marts empire about to fail? Viewed on 29th March 2014. Available from fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/01/is-wal-marts-empire-about-to-fall.aspx Covert, B., 2014. Walmarts labor practices backfire. Viewed on 29th March 2014. Available from http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/02/10/3271221/walmart-downgraded-understaffing/ Gusdorf, M.L. and Reed, S.M., 2009. The role of mission and values in strategic human resource management. Society for Human Resource Management. Jordan, T., 2014. The good, the bad and Wal-Mart. Workplacefairness Lockwood, N., Anderson, C., Fiester, M. and Samers, K., 2010. ‘Motivation in today’s workplace: the link to performance’. Research Quarterly. The Society for Human Resource Management Rasouli, R., 2013. ‘Modelling the impact of HRM practices on knowledge workers job satisfaction and intention to stay: re-examining the Herzbergs two-factor theory of motivation’. World of Sciences Journal Steven, G., 2013. As firms line up on factories, Wal-Mart plans solo effort. Viewed on 29th March 2013. available from nytimes.com/2013/05/15/business/six-retailers-join-bangladesh-factory-pact.html?pagewanted=all_r=0 Thomasson, E., 2014. Bangladesh factory inspections highlight safety risks as anniversary of Rana Plaza tragedy looms. Retail Marketing. Ungar, R., 2013. Wal-Mart pays workers poorly and sinks while Costco pays workers well and sails-proof that you get what you pay for. {Viewed on 30th March 2014} available fromforbes.com/sites/rickungar/2013/04/17/walmart-pays-workers-poorly-and-sinks-while-costco-pays-workers-well-and-sails-proof-that-you-get-what-you-pay-for/

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