Examining methods of analysing a Companies Environment

Examining methods of analysing a Companies Environment There are factors within the environment that the organization operates that are beyond the control or influence of the organisation but these factors affect the business or strategy planning. The STEEPLE analysis is focusing on the external macro-economic environment that a business operates. This helps business to understand the environment, in which it operates, and the opportunities and threats that exist or are emerging within it. An understanding of the opportunities can help a business to take advantage of the opportunities that exist and reduce the threats to the barest minimum. The STEEPLE analysis helps to understand associated risk with growth in market or decline and thus the potentials and direction for business. STEEPLE is an acronym for Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Policy, Legal and Ethical factors respectively. Some of these factors tend to overlap when conducting the analysis. Below is a STEEPLE analysis of the UK motor car market. Socio-cultural: the pattern of lifestyle affects demand of vehicles, availability and willingness of individuals to work and therefore the kind of vehicles are manufactured. The institution of marriage has fallen, there are more single parents, people are having fewer kids and consumer trends which include fashion ability, luxury preference, working population, spending power etc. Technological: new innovations and technologies keep emerging in the car industry and bring about new products and processes e.g. introduction of three-point seat belt, airbag, electronic stability control, Intelligent Transport System (ITS), Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA), E-call, Driver Assistance Systems such as E-call and Driver Assistance System such as Electronic stability control and Emergency Brake Assist. Environmental: according to SMMT, the climate change has had a great impact on the car industry and this has great impact on vehicle demand. This overlaps with the ethical factors because the car industry is trying to make vehicles environmentally friendly by trying to make 95% of vehicles recyclable by 2015 in order to comply with the End of Life Vehicle (EVL) Directive. Average CO2 emissions of cars bought through the scheme were 132.9g/km, which was over 27% below the CO2 figures of the outgoing cars that were scrapped. Also there is an effort to improve environmenta l standards at sites processing vehicles and limit the use of materials harmful to the environment in the new vehicle Climate Change Level (CCL). This has increased demand for hybrid cars. Ethical: some ethical issues have to be considered in the market, these include ethics in workplace, balancing stakeholder interests, human rights, reduction in CO2 emission from vehicle and manufacturing process (Farnham 2010). Also, the Climate Change Levy (CCL) agreement was signed by 11 UK vehicle manufacturers as co-ordinated by SMMT has effects on car industry. Political: policies that affect the car market include 2008 piece of legislation which committed European Vehicle manufacturers to cut average CO2 emission from cars to 130g/km by 2015, 2009 European Whole Vehicle Approval Directive, introduction of the Scrappage Incentive Scheme, taxation, congestion charges, other policy areas being formulated include alternative fuels, smarter driving technologies, and lower resistance tyres. SMMT has reported that 395,000 new vehicles have been registered under the Scrappage Incentive Scheme, which has now ended. There were 388,540 new cars and 6,959 new LCVs registered for the period, with 8.1% of all new car registrations and 2.1 LCV registrations in April being linked to the scheme Legal: this is closely linked to environmental political and ethical factors but includes health and safety, company law, consumer protection law. Manufacturers have to abide by policies formulated by government and regulatory bodies. This also affects the UK car industry either positively or negatively. Economic: macro-economic policy, markets and prices, price levels, global trends, market structure, public spending, wages and salaries, balance of payment, taxation etc. (Farham, 2010) the industry generates turnover approaching 52billion GBP so the Scrappage Incentive Scheme was introduced to support the industry because of its importance to the nation. Over 181,092 new vehicles had been registered under the scrappage scheme by the end of September. There is an order bank of a further 80,000 vehicles. The scrappage scheme is largely self-funding for government with the 15% VAT paid on a car bought for  £7,650 covering the  £1,000 government contribution (SMMT). The environmental, political and economic factors can be said to have the greatest impact on the strategy planning of the UK car industry. The product market, competitive structure and nature of competition of the UK car market cannot be analyzed without Porters five forces analysis. Threat of entry: The UK car market has high barriers to entry because it is extremely consolidated, well developed value added chain, RD capability, investment capability in terms of equipment which means existing manufacturers can make relatively high profits. Power of buyers: Buyers have little or no bargaining power in the market, households have no power at all but companies that buy fleet cars for official use have very little bargaining power. Power of Suppliers: there is a lot of power in retail and distribution of cars and this power depends on the price of the seller. The threat of substitutes within the industry also determines the power of the supplier as they can switch brands easily. Competitive rivalry: The UK car market can be said to be oligopolistic in nature because there are about 30 firms with the major rivals being are Ford, GM (Vauxhall), VolksWagen, Renault, Peugeot, Toyota, BMW, Citroen and Honda. Ford is Britains best-selling commercial vehicle (CV) brand and last year took over 24 per cent of the CV market. In a challenging market new models such as the ECOnetic Transit and ECOnetic FiestaVan, will play an important role in maintaining Fords competitive position (Ford). In oligopolistic markets there is a high degree of interdependence and so firms will think carefully how their rivals might react to any actions they take. This can lead to an emphasis on non price competition; a price change is relatively easy to imitate and so firms may rely more on methods such as branding or product development. The presence of powerful competitors with established brands creates a threat of intense price wars and poses strong requirement for product differentiati on. Also, there is cost of leaving the industry because of high levels of investments already on ground so firms fight hard to survive because resources are not easily transferrable and as the market is shrinking, these firms fight for a share of falling sales. Brand loyalty is very poor in this market because customers are likely to switch easily from brand to brand. Threat of substitute: this is linked to the power of buyers and sellers. The car market also faces direct competitors like public transport, air, rail, tubes, sea, bicycle and walking but the major source of substitute is the sale of second hand cars. It can be argued that the demand for cars is elastic because it is affected by substitute goods (as listed above) and complimentary goods (insurance, tyres, fuel, license, taxes, Ministry of Transport (MOT). Research two examples of how Human Resource Management in manufacturing has been influenced by and responds to changes in the environmental context as outlined in a. The automotive sector is highly flexible, dynamic and ever expanding. As a result of its flexibility and expansion, it responds to the global challenges which include GDP and trade growth, deep cultural shifts in the economic patterns and strong environmental aims. The automobile industry is constantly changing and adapting to challenging commercial, regulatory and technological trends, competition in the market, discrimination by customers, pressure from government and influence groups. So it can be argued that the car industry adopts the contingency or best-fit school of HRM which advocates the need to fit HR strategy into its surrounding context. The concept of E-V-R congruence as a measure of how well an organisation is attuned to its environment was developed by Thompson (2005). E- Represents the environment which includes the opportunities and threats that exist within it while R is the resources and V represents the value. The concept of congruence is very important and an organization achieves this when its resources, environment and values are mutually reinforcing. Its strategic position will be strong. The macroeconomic understanding is needed by organizations in order to predict and plan for changes in demand for their products, human resources, inflation and changes in investment. Human resource has to match external environment to the companys objectives. The most significant feature of HRM is the importance attached to strategic integration. Legg (1989) argued that one of the common themes of typical definitions of HRM is that human resource policies should be integrated with strategic business planning. As Baird and Meshoulam (1988) remarked, business procedures and systems are developed and implemented based on organisational needs that is when strategic perspective to human resource management is adopted. Human resource managers play a significant role in ensuring that the strategies adopted by the organization are fully supported by the required workforce so HR has to know how many staff needs to be recruited, retained and developed to satisfy consumer demand. In 2009, recession reduced demand for vehicles leading to a sharp fall in vehicle production and hence turnover. This year saw one of the biggest economic challenges of the automotive industry has ever seen with global sale plummeting, plants cutting production and RD budget at considerable risk. This means demand for cars will reduce because of economic meltdown, supply will reduce and labour needed will be cut. Employment in the sector has decreased despite continued efforts to protect the vital industrial capability by introducing short-term working, time banking etc. Despite the surge in sales towards the end of the year as car scrappage scheme kicked in, Toyota in the UK saw production plummet 40 per cent from 213,000 in 2008 to 127,000 in 2009(Robert Lea times online jan 28,2010http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/industrials/article7006329.ece). Toyota had to adapt to its work share programme to fulfill orders incentive by the Scrappage Incentive Scheme. Later on, it led to cutting of 750 jobs, or around a fifth of the workforce, in the face of crashing car sales. The decision will come as a blow to Toyota workers who had already been rattled last year by workshare programmes, reduced hours and non-production workers. Over last year, Toyota also accepted 300 applications for voluntary redundancy. (the times February 19,2010) Toyota is to shut down its UK production plant next month leaving 3,500 workers idle. The unprecedented halt for two working weeks is a result of a collapse in its car sales amid consumer concerns over the safety of the Japanese companys vehicles. Sales of Toyotas are thought to be plunging worldwide after multiple recalls affecting 8.5million cars around the world. The company employs 3,900 workers at its main production site in Burnaston and 570 at its engine plant in Deeside. It has already cut 200 temporary jobs and opened a voluntary redundancy scheme last week. Toyota said in a statement: following extensive consultations with our employees representatives, and with input from all employees, it has been agreed that the best way to secure long term employment is to temporarily reduce working hours and base pay by 10pc. Toyota also scrapped the annual pay increase for employees and cancelled management bonuses, while its UK factories have just finished a fortnights shutdown. All these measures were introduced to reduce cost for the company because of the fall in demand for Toyota products caused by recession, the recall of Toyota cars due to safety issues etc. SMMT estimates that approximately 70% of the cars bought under the scrappage scheme represent additional sales which would not otherwise have happened in 2009. Since there was an increase in the demand for cars, this means that the demand for labour in Ford, whose engine plants in Bridgend and Dagenham employ 4,000 people, had to introduce extra shifts to be able to supply more cars. August output was up 36.5% at Dagenham and 18.3% at Bridgend, compared to 2008. Ford estimates that this resulted in positive knock-on effect for around 100,000 of their UK jobs in sales, distribution and sale supply. (SMMT) Also, due to the rapid change of technological advancement, new makes/models, reduction of CO2 emission and the introduction of the Scrappage Incentive Scheme, the car industry in UK now has a high demand for management/ leadership skills and technical skills. These changes have also made it necessary for the car industry to give staff constant training, since staffs with excellent sales skills are essential for the profitability and success of the sector. The ever-growing feast of technology and the need for constant on the job learning the sector specific product Automotive Technician Accreditation (ATA) was developed. To become ATA registered, an individual must pass a comprehensive and rigorous series of tests of practical skill and knowledge to ensure that they keep up to date with new technologies; technicians need to be assessed in order to maintain their accreditation. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/28/ford-announces-profits-2009 Andrew Clark in New York guardian.co.uk, Thursday 28 January 2010 17.01 GMThttp://www.smmt.co.uk/articles/article.cfm?articleid=20676 http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/industrials/article7032980.ece http://www.ford.co.uk/AboutFord/News/CompanyNews/NewDirector ttp://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199296378/01student/additional/page_11. htmhttp://www.oup.c.om/uk/orc/bin/9780199296378/01student/additional/page_10.htm http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199296378/01student/additional/page_12.htm http://www.smmt.co.uk/articles/article.cfm?articleid=20676 http://www.smmt.co.uk/articles/article.cfm?articleid=20676 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/4972091/Toyota-cuts-production-and-pay-as-motor-industry-crisis-deepens.htmlhttp://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/understanding-microeconomics.asp http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/industrials/article7032980.ece http://www.smmt.co.uk/industryissues/index.cfm?catid=3725sid=259iicatid=P_1002 http://www.smmt.co.uk/industryissues/index.cfm?catid=3725sid=259iicatid=P_973 http://www.smmt.co.uk/industryissues/index.cfm?catid=3725sid=259iicatid=P_4093 http://www.smmt.co.uk/industryissues/index.cfm?catid=3725sid=259iicatid=P_982 http://www.smmt.co.uk/hottopics/index.cfm?catid=3725sid=259 http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/industrials/article7006329.ece http://www.comparecontracthire.com/blog/index.php/2010/05/scrappage-registrations-totalled-395000-units-says-smmt/

Critique of a Nursing Research Article

The abstract summarizers the chief characteristics of the study: job, methods, consequences, and. decision. The job was to place milk adequateness at yearss 6 and 7 to see if that was an index of what the milk supply would be at hebdomad 6 postpartum. The method used was mechanical look to originate and keep milk supply for preterm bringings. The healthy full term bringings were to feed their baby at the chest and to make pre and postfeed weighs with each eating and to document consequences. Baseline milk end product was predicted as a†°? 500ml/d at hebdomad 6. Preterm bringings were at hazard of bring forthing deficient sums of milk. Study consequences indicated that that the intercessions used during the first hebdomad is critical. J Hum Lact.21 ( 1 ) :22-30 Introduction The job about milk production is easy identified. I do experience that a quantitative attack to this survey is appropriate and the information collected will assist nurses Carolyn Reagan p. 3 understand more about lactation and the demand for early intercessions to assist bring forth and keep a good milk supply. The article does non hold a subdivision titled background but this information is enclosed in an ignoble subdivision at the beginning of the article. Three surveies were referenced with the sample size being 9-73 participants. One survey referenced used multiparous Caucasic adult females merely. Study found that it was the map of the frequence and strength of suction by the baby. Study findings suggested that milk end product for a healthy term baby ranged from 600-900g/d. In one survey 733 i‚ ± 69 g/d in another survey through the first 4 months of life. In two other surveies preterm bringings were referenced were the female parents were pumping. The sample size was 9-12 participants. The volume yielded at 2 hebdomads was 2032.5 g/w ( SD = 1736.0 ) and 2513.2 ( SD = 1748.0 ) g/wk. Method The article includes a clearly identified trying subdivision. The research inquiries are easy identified. The eligibility standard was: non-smoking ; English or Spanish speech production female parents ; 18 old ages of age or older ; participants had to be able to be reached by telephone ; no history of Thyroid or Endocrine upsets ; non taking steroids or inhalators ; program to entirely breastfeed for 12 hebdomads or longer ; pre-term a†°Ã‚ ¤ 31 hebdomads gestation weighing 1500 gms or singleton, healthy, full term baby ( 37 hebdomads gestation ) weighing a†°? 2500 gm. Written consents signifiers had to be approved by the University of Illinois at Chicago and the four take parting third attention centre in the Midwest. The consents had to be signed by each female parent prior to take parting in the survey. Appropriate processs were used to Carolyn Reagan p. 4 safeguard the rights of the survey participants. The survey was designed to minimise hazards and to maximise benefits to the participants. The sample size was equal at 92 per group which was specified in the survey. The best possible trying design was used and sample prejudice was minimized. The hypothesis is non stated which is justifiable. The research inquiries are clearly identified. In the country of informations aggregation the female parents received samples and equipment necessary for the survey. Verbal and written instructions on survey protocols were provided and each female parent had to make a return presentation on how to piece the chest pump or how to utilize the baby graduated tables. They besides had to finish a questionnaire during survey entry refering to sociodemographic informations and old breastfeeding experience, every bit good as the day of the month and clip following bringing that chest stimulation via the pump or babe was initiated. For preterm bringings th e female parents were ask to pump chest at the same time for 10 proceedingss or until one chest is no longer dripping plus 2 more proceedingss. They needed to pump at least 8 times per twenty-four hours. Then document start clip of milk look ; Numberss of proceedingss pumped utilizing a stop watch ; and the sum of milk in millilitres expressed in to a unfertile bottle. The full term bringings were requested to make prefeed weights and postfeed weights. The female parent were instructed non to alter the babes nappies or vesture one time the prefeed weight was obtained until the postfeed weight was done. They were requested to nurse 8 to 12 times per twenty-four hours. They were instructed to maintain up with the sum consumed during each eating session. The cardinal variables were operational utilizing the best possible method. The information was collected in a mode that minimized prejudice. Appropriate statistical methods were Carolyn Reagan p.5 used, given the degree of measuring of the variables, and figure of groups being compared. Consequences â€Å" Descriptive statistics were used to depict the features of the full sample and the 2 gestation groups. SPSS, version 12.0 was used for analysis. XA? was used to prove differences for nominal variable with T trials for intervals with 2 groups and 1-way analysis of discrepancy for interval variables with more than 2 groups. Following review of the histograms and trials for normalcy, the square root transmutation was selected for the dependent milk volume variable when parametric statistics are reported ( Hill and Chatterson ) Same as below. â€Å" To exam the association between milk end product for the 2 gestation groups. Spearman p correlativity coefficients were generated. Repeated-measures analysis of discrepancy utilizing the general additive theoretical account was used to analyze average milk end product over clip for the 2 gestation groups. In add-on, GLM REPEATED was computed for each gestation group to depict and find the important tendency for the several group. ( Hill and Chatterson, Date ) . Is this a direct citation? Need close parentheses. The hazard of insufficiency was determined for each gestation group, and the comparative hazard with the 95 % assurance interval are reported. XA? is reported to prove differences of Carolyn Reagan p.6 preterm and term quintiles and hebdomad 6 milk production adequateness. A significance degree of P a†°Ã‚ ¤ .05 was accepted. ( Hill and Chatterson ) Analysiss were undertaken to turn to each research inquiry. Appropriate statistical methods were used, given the degree of i‚ ±measurement of the variables, and figure of groups being compared. The most powerful analytic method was used and it helped to command the confounding variables. Information about statistical significance, consequence size, and preciseness of estimations was presented. All the findings were adequately summarized, with good usage of tabular arraies and figures. Findingss were reported in a mode that facilitates a meta-analysis, and with sufficient information needed for Evidence Base Practice. Discussion This article suggests that during the first six hebdomads postpartum the variableness of milk end product automatically expressed by female parents of a nonnursing preterm baby was greater compared to the variableness in the sum of milk transferred at chest to the healthy term baby. In one prior survey with multiparae of term babies the milk supply increased quickly over the first 14 yearss. Full term bringings milk production can run from 523 to 1124 g/d and norm approximately 812 g/d at 3 months. In the present survey, term female parents at 6 hebdomads postpartum were bring forthing a mean of 663 i‚ ± 217.5 ml/d and preterm female parents 541 i‚ ± 460.0 wk/d. Some possible account could be supplementing with expression, breast milk volume is self-regulated by baby ‘s consumption, or residuary milk end product can be automatically expressed. Carolyn Reagan p.7 For female parents of preterm nonnursing baby, 3 surveies were found that mensural milk production in female parents who automatically express their milk. In one survey 2787 i‚ ± 1939 milliliter was reported. In two other surveies the average hebdomadal milk production volume were reported with great variableness in milk production for all survey hebdomads. There were no important differences in hebdomadal milk end product that was automatically expressed for hebdomads 2 through 6 postpartum. These surveies need to be cited. You give no mention for them. In this experimental survey for each gestation group, the hebdomadal milk end product was extremely correlated, the sum of milk produced at two hebdomads correlated with the sum of milk produced in the approaching hebdomads ; no intercessions were implemented to increase milk volume. The average milk end product at yearss 6 and 7 was associated with hebdomad 2 end product and reasonably associated with hebdomad 6. The findings suggest that early intercession my demand to happen during the first few yearss postpartum. By the 4th hebdomad full term female parents milk volume continued to increase while preterm female parent ‘s milk tended to diminish in volume. In this analysis 500 ml/day in a 24-hour period was used as a lower limit for milk adequateness. The recommendation for breastfeeding nonnursing female parents is to set up an abundant milk supply the first 7-10 yearss after bringing 750 to 1000 ml/d. The female parent ‘s milk supply could decrease and she would stil l be able to feed her baby. The preterm female parent has a 2.8 times more hazard for developing an unequal milk supply than do full term female parents. The mean at 6 – 7 yearss did predict whether a female parent of a term suckling baby or nonnursing preterm baby would accomplish milk adequateness at hebdomad 6 Carolyn Reagan p.8 postpartum. Study findings suggest that intercessions that promote an equal milk supply by the first hebdomad postpartum are critical. All Major findings are interpreted and discussed within the survey ‘s model. Interpretations are consistent with the consequences and the survey ‘s restrictions. The research workers discuss the deductions of the survey for clinical pattern and the deductions are sensible and complete. The study was written in a mode that makes the findings accessible to practising nurses. The research workers ‘ clinical makings and experiences enhance assurance in the findings and their reading. The survey does lend meaningful grounds that can be used in nursing pattern or that is utile to the nursing subject.

Analyse Louisa’s Marriage with Bounderby as an Example of...

A patriarchal society is the one in which the father is the head of the family. In such a social system, men have authority over women and children, and descent, kinship, and title are traced through the male line. The idea of utilitarianism suggests that human beings act in a way that highlights their own self-interest. It is based on pure factuality, leaves out on imagination. Dickens provides three vivid examples of this utilitarian logic in Hard Times through the characters of Mr. Thomas Gradgrind, Mr. Bounderby, and Mr. Gradgrind. Mr. Gradgrind educates his daughter, Louisa, with facts and facts alone. He raises her to disregard emotions and see everything in terms of statistics. He forces this type of education upon Louisa much†¦show more content†¦Bounderby allowing the process of her suppression to continue. Since Louisa is a dedicated sister, she marries Mr. Bounderby for Tom and expresses her regret for it. John S. Mill refers to this deteriorating status of women in the Victorian era in his essays. According to him, husbands considered women to be their property and could even rape her. That is an idea which is absolutely unacceptable to Mill. Mill believes that man and woman are partners and a healthy relationship can be built up only when each treats the other with respect. A marriage creates an atmosphere where a woman becomes subservient to man and that is a position which is unacceptable to Mill. He says that women have been traditionally subjugated by men and therefore it appears a natural thing because it is a practise that has been going on for generations. He also mentions that education, culture and tradition were geared up to train women to believe that they are inferior to men and therefore, they should be submissive to their needs. Domination on women is taken for granted by the male. Whether superior or inferior to the woman, the man feels it’s his right to dominat e women. Mill believes that women must be given their rights. Until and unless women are given equal putting in society, society will not progress. It is important that we discard traditional ideas regarding women and treat them equally for the overall well-being of the society. In the novel, Louisa is