Cross-cultural Management in Multinational Project Groups Essay

Cross-cultural Management in Multinational Project Groups - Essay Example Nonetheless, the business culture of France still reserves some surprises for Americans and other western nations. This report seeks to provide a cross-cultural analysis of France as a potential location for investment. The report seeks to provide a profile for the cultural environment of France, exploring issues that may have significant impact on management, including business protocols, language, housing, clothing, social institutions, education, and others. Introduction According to the 1958 constitution, France is a parliamentary republic. A president, who is the head of state, leads the country. The latter monitors the functioning of democratic institutions as far as the constitution is concerned. The country also has a Prime Minister in charge of day-to-day policy. A bicameral parliament governs the country. It comprises of a Senate with directly elected representatives from the departments and region, and a House of Representatives elected by the universal suffrage every five years. The metropolitan France has twenty-two regions with ninety-six departments. The communities, departments, and regions share the centrally collected tax revenues (Smircich, 2005). France is the largest West European country with a population of approximately 65 million people, about four-fifths of the size of Texas. Due to the large area coverage, the country has different environmental orientation. The country has mountains in the south and east, volcanoes in the middle and beaches in other parts. The beaches are also very different, comprising of cliffs, sand, and stones. Consequently, the country has different climate conditions: dry and hot in the east and south, and rainy in the north and west. The country does not have an official religion, but most of the citizens are Roman Catholic. The country hosts over 4.5 million foreigners, majority of whom are from communist countries and other European countries (UHY, 2011). As far as French citizens are concerned, education is very important. This is evident from the fact that the French educational system is almost free from primary school through to a doctorate degree for French citizens. Population According to a survey carried out in 2010, about three-quarters of the French population live in the cities, with a population density of 97 inhabitants per square metropolitan kilometer. The major currency in use is the Euro. The country majorly speaks French. According to economic statistics, the service sector accounts for over 74% of the overall employment, compared with 5% in agriculture. The industrial sector of the country continues to suffer significant deficits in foreign trade due to the fierce competition from the Far East. In 2009, the country made a Gross Domestic Product of 1950 billion Euros, an increase of 2.5% from 2007. The average growth rate was 0.6%, slightly below the Eurozone average of 0.7% and 0.8% of the US figure. The GDP purchasing power parity in 2010 was $2.097 trillion, with a GDP per Capita purchasing power parity of $32,700. The global economy has been slow in all areas because of the recent financial crisis. The global effect was initially high, but France gained from its little exposure and encouraged a strong public spending policy to maintain a high demand level (Fatehi, 2003). Economy Since 2008, the rate of unemployment has increased to stand at 10% of the overall active population, slightly higher than the average European rate of 9.6%. The country reduced the

Business Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Business Management - Essay Example The present discourse is an in-depth evaluation of operations management from a strategic operations management perspective. Hence, establishing a link between operations strategy and corporate strategy will help in analyzing how and what competitive priorities are chosen by organisations. Further, key management functions such as planning, controlling, coordinating, and leadership are applied to operations management. These aspects of operations management are studied taking the example of the Toyota Production System. Operations refer to all the activities performed by an organisation in order to produce products or services. Management of these activities directly related to the production of goods and services is termed as operations management. For example, activities related to banking, transportation, shipping, and manufacturing of goods or products such as automobiles, food items, textiles etc all constitute operations management (Chase Jacobs & Aquilano, 2005). ... roduction, planning and designing production processes of goods and services, and also effective integration of marketing, finance, human resources management and strategy which facilitate the business to enter the market and also compete with both new and existing organisations in the market. In other words, operations management helps the firm to establish itself and also provide operational capabilities that promote its success and sustainability. Operations management involves complex processes that are interdependent; the core processes involve capacity planning, supply management, inventory management, quality and efficiency, technology and systems and human resources management. Theoretical aspects of operations management in manufacturing and service industries constitute a combination of three distinct functions, strategic functions, tactical functions and operational planning and control functions (Chase et al, 2005). The main management functions such as planning, organisi ng, controlling and leadership are applicable to operations management. Main operational processes in operations management include planning, production, purchasing or inventory management, supply chain management, distribution and marketing. All operations functions are strategically aligned to its larger or strategic business goals. Thus, operations functions are designed based on strategic decisions that match the organisational strategies (Heizer & Render, 2008). These strategic decisions are referred to as operations strategies. These strategic decisions define the conditions in which operations will be carried out in short and long terms. Operations strategies are the total pattern of decisions which shape the long-term capabilities of an operation and their contribution to overall

Progressivism and Naturalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Progressivism and Naturalism - Essay Example he main contribution was that through practical political action and innovative political theory, they reformulated the concept of a liberal state in a way that rejected both traditional liberal minimalism and revolutionary socialism (McGerr 2005). III. I suppose that the progressivism was a great leap towards democracy and social equality. As administrators and legislators, they addressed such problems as insufficient medical care, unsafe working conditions, and exploitation of women and children. Yet for all their concern with the most vulnerable among the working classes, they rejected a politics of class conflict. Many, surely a majority of those who identified themselves as Republicans, were uncomfortable with labor unions; so were most non-urban Democrats. I apply the concept of Progressivism to modern life analyzing economic and political events. Progressive leaders did so without rejecting the forces of change. Many of the progressives eagerly embraced modernity, employing its intellectual tools with zest in their bid to refashion America. Naturalism I. Naturalism is movement of thought that not only takes its name from "nature" but assigns an unqualifiedly positive valence to the fact of our being part of nature. In the tradition of the Enlightenment from which it is itself descended, naturalism was originally a reaction against religious ideas of a supernatural domain to which human beings were supposed to be somehow akin. It was also directed against philosophical systems like idealism that were thought to have much (Clark 2007). II. Contributors: W.V. Quine, Karl Popper (philosophy), Jack London, Stephen Crane, Frank Norris, Theodore Dreiser (in literature). Naturalism as a movement of opposition to the systems of belief also came to be associated, in... The movement's critical mass was in the "urban middle classes interpreting "urban" as did the census bureau to include small towns and cities, not just metropolitan America. The "middle classes" included small business enterprisers of all types, squeezed by enormous corporations, resentful of what they considered railroad rate gouging, insecure about their future livelihoods Naturalism shows how different the world we live in and we ourselves are from the standard accounts that both science and philosophy have given of such matters. Naturalism does not explain the structure of the natural world in which everything took place. These issues do remain and that chief among them is precisely this question about the unique authority of the natural sciences to determine what there is in the world. I suppose that naturalism assumes that whatever is described as being "given" or "present" must be "in the mind" in some objectionable dualistic sense of that expression. Naturalism, accordingly, rejects root and branch anything that is so described and it does so without any sense that it may thereby have cut the ground out from under its own familiarity with the world about which, after all, it has a great deal to say. I use this concept to understand everyday life and our role in the world. y argument will be that the way human beings are in the world with other entities cannot be understood on the model of physical systems.

An Analysis of the Fast Moving Consumer Product Industry and a Review of Kao Corporation :: Business Marketing Japan Essays

An Analysis of the Fast Moving Consumer Product Industry and a Review of Kao Corporation Executive Summary In this project, I have chosen the Fast Moving Consumer Product industry as the topic of study. First of all we will take a brief look at how the industry started in the late 19th century as soap making companies and slowly evolving into some of the most successful multidomestic company of today. Following we will have insight on the industry’s prominent characteristics and highlight some of the major players. We will also get an idea of the attractiveness of the industry through the use of Porter’s 5 forces industrial analysis. Included in this project is an in-depth review of Kao Corporation, Japan. Kao Corporation is one of the major players in the industry. Here we will take a look at how the Japanese based company employs strategies to reduce cost and at the same time differentiate its product from its competitors to gain competitive advantage. We will also examine some of the key financial ratios to aid us in identifying some of the company’s strength and weaknesses. Then a SWOT analysis is carried out on the company. From the SWOT analysis we can formulate suitable strategies in order to improve the performance of the company. By closely examining the company’s internal environment to better understand the company’s capabilities and limitations and then analysing the changes in the external environment that could affect the company favourably or adversely, appropriate strategies can be formed in order to ensure high performance of the company. Then finally we will look at other po ssible recommendation, which I believe would help improve the company’s performance in the competitive fast moving consumer products industry. Fast Moving Consumer Product Industrial Brief Fast Moving Consumer Product are products that consumer would use regularly. The product line of Fast Moving Consumer Products encompasses a wide range of products such as shampoo, body foam and facial wash. These products are classified as fast moving due to the nature of its usage and durability. While shampoos are non-perishables, the consumer would eventually finish utilizing it and would require to purchase another bottle of shampoo. Therefore, unlike products like television and radios which consumers would only buy once in a blue moon, Fast Moving Consumer Products are bought constantly from time to time by consumers. The Fast Moving Consumer Product Industry has evolving since the 19th century.

Analysis of Refugee mother and Child Essay

The title of the poem gives off the initial impression that the poem may focus on refugees: one who flees to seek refuge, The lives of refugee children, their parents, their feelings, their emotions and their pain. ‘For a son she soon would have to forget’. This foreshadows the idea that her son is dying, and she would have to forget him to adapt to her tragic loss. 2 The metaphor in the fist stanza, ‘No Madonna and Child could touch that picture†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, relates to the idea of Mary and her child, Jesus. The picture perfect image – the ideal image of motherhood. The picture of a beautiful, serene mother with her holy new born child. Realistically the scene would have been far from that idea of bliss. The idea of the first stanza is that the tenderness that the character, the mother, expresses towards her child in the poem surpasses the ideal image of Mary and Jesus. The two situations do not even compare to the depth of love and tenderness of the Refu gee Mother and Child. 3 The poet uses the repetition and the contrasting ideas of the word ‘washed’ in describing the emaciated state of the refugee children. ‘Unwashed†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ – the hygienic state, ‘and ‘Washed-out†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ the physical state of the children due to the lack of food. 4 ‘Blown empty bellies’, the physical appearance of the children’s stomachs because of the limited food supply of only carbohydrates. From this unhealthy diet the combination of acids and gases blow out the stomach of the children. This vivid description could also possibly be a pun to the blowflies in Africa. 5 ‘A ghost smile’, this metaphor could possibly be two ideas: The mother is happy because she is with her son, you can tell she is happy but her smile is faint, hard to notice. Her happiness can’t easily be seen, her smile is not shown in a physical appearance, it holds happiness that gives off its emotion in a feeling which can’t quite be explained, but can be felt by others. This metaphor shows how the mother keeps a fake, or ‘ghost’ smile on her lips for her child’s sake – so her son doesn’t have any fears or worries because he feels content because his mother is content. 6 In her eyes you can see her pride in her son. It is inconspicuous and faded like the figure of a ghost. This line of the poem conveys the mother’s pride towards her son, the poem describes this by being able to faintly see her pride towards her son in her eyes. 7 Th e use of the word ‘skull’ is a common symbol for death and foreshadows or represents the death of her son. 8 Singing is commonly known as a happy experience, ‘singing in her eyes’ could possibly  be how the Mother expresses her pride, content and happiness in her son, and how this is passed. Somewhat like the idea of the ghost smile, you can’t see or hear the Mother singing it is seen in her eyes. 9 This simile compares the two ideas of a normal over looked action in another life and a tender and cautious action in their world, the world of the Refugee Mother and Child. In this gentle action, due to her sons dying condition, she takes care while she carefully parts his hair – her way of gently expressing love to her son. This little act being one of the few things she can do for her son and one of the few ways she can express her love to him. This action is being compared to putting flowers on a tiny grave of a dead child because it is a gentle and careful action – something you would do very cautiously. And ‘tiny grave’ because of her sons little size due to his young age. If the child is already passed on when his Mother is parting his hair, this idea of death links to the distinct previous use of the word ‘skull’, by the poet. With this evidence, the poem could also be after the child has died and the mother is still holding and caressing her child, gently, carefully and cautiously yet – he is no longer alive. This action is explained in a simile and compares her parting his thinning hair to laying flowers on a tiny grave – another link to the possible idea that the son is already dead. The mother is gently parting her son’s hair as a way to say goodbye, since he has passed on – just like another form of saying good bye, placing flowers on a grave starting closure and acceptance.

The Information Systems Requirements and Subsequent...

The Information Systems requirements and subsequent evaluation of the impact these systems will have on the business ‘Ready to Eat, Executive summary This report is to be delivered by 25th May 2010 and is designed advise Rebecca Smith about various information system possibilities that would best suit the requirements of Rebecca’s business ‘Ready To Eat’ (RTE). The report firstly describes what an information system is, its purpose and how they work. This report will then discuss the increasing globalisation of markets and how IS can be utilised in small businesses to capitalise on these new markets and improve their competiveness. Further discussion are delivered on what information systems are available and describes how IS†¦show more content†¦Whilst there are many challenges inherent in development of such systems, these systems can offer businesses a number of advantages such as a competitive tool to develop new products and services, integrate with suppliers, compete against rivals, and make effective and efficient changes to business operations. There is a diversity of sophisticated hardwar e, software and communications technologies, used in information systems in today’s business which makes it sometimes difficult to classify these systems in any one category. Whilst the function of information system can overlap they all seek to benefits business by supporting business processes and operations, supporting decision making by employees and manager and supporting strategies for competitive advantages (Chad, Yu-An Shu-Woan 2007). Mangers depend on information system for decision making to help organise the data around them when they cannot process that data accurately and within the short period of time available to them. Managers will use this information to make decisions which have a positive effect on the future of the business. To properly assess the effect in the future of the decisions to be made diverse tools come into play. An effective information system should integrate forecasting the future, and because their choices have been made, such a system mustShow MoreRelatedCRM Development and Implementation at McDonalds4250 Words   |  17 Pagesthat both are usually limited, it is necessary that projects that are selected by an organization provide an excellent return on investment on both the capital and resources invested. The high level of uncertainty that characterizes the modern business environment has made project selection to be a critical aspect of project management. This is because it makes the difference between operational life and the ultimate operational death of an organization. The decisions arrived at during projectRead MoreFood Safety Management Systems9052 Words   |  37 Pagesthat the establishment shall always fulfill their demands and expectations both the expressed and unexpressed expectations. They trust that the food cooked in the restaurant is safe to eat and will not make them sick after eating. Providing customers with safe food is not only important for the success of a business but also mandatory by law. A Food safety Management Program which is intended to prevent food poisoning by following safe food preparation practices; this involves taking measures necessaryRead MoreA Paper Work of Customer Relationship Management of Tesco, and an Analysis of Consumer Behaviour, Business Environment and Pestel .4053 Words   |  17 Pagesleading retailer in UK. It manages over a thousand supermarkets, hypermarkets, and convenience stores in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Central Europe and Asia. The study analyzed the customer relationship management, changes in consumer behavior, business environment, and PESTEL, which is very important in strategic and competitive study of an organization, especially in the retail and service industry. Since the retail industry undergoes very diverse change almost everyday, it is just right thatRead MoreMcdonalds. Human Resources9534 Words   |  39 Pageslot of information which helped us a lot in the project. INTRODUCTION McDonald’s brand is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 30,000 local restaurants serving almost 50 million people in 120 countries each day. FOUNDERS: It’s rich history began with its founder`s vision and their commitment to be peoples favorite place and way to eat with inspired employees who delight each customer with unmatched quality, service, cleanliness and value every time. The business was startedRead MoreInternational Human Resource Management in Ikea4879 Words   |  20 Pages6 Recruitment 6 Selection 7 Expatriate issues 8 Development 9 Performance appraisal 9 Trainings 10 Compensation system 11 Special points in IKEA’s IHRM Practice 13 Problems and recommendations 14 SWOT-analysis 14 Problems 15 Recommendations 16 Description of the company IKEA is a privately held, international company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds, chairs, desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the worlds largest furnitureRead MoreInternational Human Resource Management in Ikea4886 Words   |  20 Pagesinstruments 6 Recruitment 6 Selection 7 Expatriate issues 8 Development 9 Performance appraisal 9 Trainings 10 Compensation system 11 Special points in IKEA’s IHRM Practice 13 Problems and recommendations 14 SWOT-analysis 14 Problems 15 Recommendations 16 Description of the company IKEA is a privately held, international company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds, chairs, desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the worlds largest furniture retailerRead MoreHrm Policies10725 Words   |  43 Pagesdescribe formal systems devised for the management of people within an organization. These human resources responsibilities are generally divided into three major areas of management: staffing, employee compensation, and defining/designing work. Essentially, the purpose of HRM is to maximize the productivity of an organization by optimizing the effectiveness of its employees. This mandate is unlikely to change in any fundamental way, despite the ever-increasing pace of change in the business world. AsRead MoreAn Evaluation of an on-Farm Food Safety Program for Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Producers; a Global Blueprint for Fruit and Vegetable Producers51659 Words   |  207 PagesAn evaluation of an on-farm food safety progra m for Ontario greenhouse vegetable producers; a global blueprint for fruit and vegetable producers A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Graduate Studies Of The University of Guelph by Benjamin J. Chapman In partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science February, 2005 ( Benjamin Chapman, 2005 Abstract An evaluation of an on-farm food safety program for Ontario greenhouse vegetable producers; a globalRead MoreKellogg Annual Report50191 Words   |  201 PagesTrademarks 1 Selected Financial Data 12 Financial Statements 27 â„ ¢ strength of the â„ ¢ Table of ConTenTs 4 Financial Highlights 6 Letter to Shareowners Management’s Discussion Analysis 13 Notes to Financial Statements 31 Shareowner Information and â„ ¢ PeRFoRmAnCe â„ ¢ FoR moRe thAn A CentuRy, Kellogg Company has been dedicated to producing great-tasting, high-quality, nutritious foods that consumers around the world know and love. With 2009 sales of nearly $13 billion, KelloggRead MoreProject Managment Case Studies214937 Words   |  860 PagesSTUDIES, SECOND EDITION HAROLD KERZNER, Ph.D. Division of Business Administration Baldwin-Wallace College Berea, Ohio John Wiley Sons, Inc. This book is printed on acid-free paper. @ Copyright O 2006 by John Wiley Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical

Essay on 18th Centry Slavery In North America - 922 Words

People crying for freedom and liberty from tyranny built a nation out of greed and unethical acts. The rapacious desires of a nation to gain wealth and possessions lead to the emotional and psychological trauma of West Africans and African Americans. In spite of being taken from Africa, the sweat and blood of these Africans contributed to the birth of the beautiful nation that would eventually recognize their descendants as equals. The Exploration Age commenced in the fifteenth century when European nations decided to expand their power for technological, demographic, and economic reasons. The results of European expansion lead to new discoveries, international trade of goods and people, migration, and rivalry among European†¦show more content†¦With less indentured servants in America to provide labor, the labor force transitioned from indentured servants to chattel slavery. â€Å"Unlike Spain and Portugal, who by the late fifteenth century were already enslaving West Afr icans in their domestic economies, the English had no prior model of slavery to serve them in the Americas.† Britain did not set out to enslave West Africans; they did not have the means to justify enslavement. The English later turned to the bible to justify participation in the Atlantic Slave Trade; The official rationale for enslaving Africans was that they were heathens, but slave traders and slave owners sometimes interpreted a passage in the book of Genesis as their justification. Ham, they maintained, committed a sin against his father Noah that condemned his supposedly black descendants to be servants unto servants. The English related the color black to sin. They justified slavery because the bible stated that Ham and his descendant’s punishment for sinning was slavery. The southern colonies were made up of large plantations that produced tobacco, cotton or rice. In comparison to northern states, the southern economy was dependent on the free labor African slaves provided. The plantation society was divided into four major groups: the wealthy planters, the smaller planters, the poor whites, and the Africans. Plantation owners often trained some