UPK

 The choice for this topic was drive by a growing research showing that providing high quality education for pre-kindergarten children has significant benefits to them, schools and the entire communities in which the kids grow. The need to understand these benefits and any possible negative effects of the education programs was also a major reason for selecting this particular topic. The Pre- Kindergarten education programs assist in preparing children for the school, and considering that gaining basic knowledge is important for childhood development, the programs are quite essential to the kids.

Various research work done indicates that children who attend pre-K programs offered in public schools   are normally better prepared to succeed in kindergarten than the kids who have not been exposed to such programs(Stevens  & English, 2016). Such benefits have been observed among kids who are dual-language learners and these benefits are relatively significant after they undergo pre-k education programs. Another important aspect is the effect on the cognitive development of the children who have been taken through such programs. The cognitive development of the children is enhanced and this improves their readiness to take part in the kindergarten education moving forward (Stevens & English, 2016).

Regardless of the mentioned impact of Universal Pre-K, the programs should have a broad focus on childhood education to cover not only the academic part, put their social and emotional growth as well. I think that to connect the dots in educational trajectory of a child, the program should involve the input of parents and well-trained teachers. My passion for this stems from the fact that these programs can close the life gap for all children and hence benefit entire society.  The strengths for the Universal Pre-K are that all children regardless of economic status or race are given the same platform to start off their academic journey.

References

Stevens, K. B., & English, E. (2016). Does pre-K work? The research on ten early childhood programs—and what it tells us. American Enterprise Institute, 1-53.

Strategic planning questions

The elements of industrial organization above average return model includes the following:

External environment: consists of general environment, industrial environment and competitor environment. The general environment consists of constraints and pressures which determine strategies that lead to returns that are above average.   Industrial environment and competitor environment involves organizations within an industry which are controlling similar resources that are strategically relevant and while competing, these firms pursue same strategies in regard to the mentioned resources (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016).

An attractive industry: This involves an industry that consists of structural features that seems to indicate returns that are above average (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016).

Strategy formulation: it refers to choosing a strategy that can be linked with above- average returns in a given industry in a competitive market (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016).

Assets and skills; they involves the necessary factors required for the purpose of implementing the selected strategy (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016).

Strategy implementation; it refers to choosing a strategic action aligned with effective adoption of the selected strategy (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016).

Superior returns; refers to where an organization obtains earnings that are above average (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016).

Elements of resource based model

Resources; refers to various inputs in the production process of an organization like the capital equipment, finances, patents, employees skills and talented managers (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016). Capacity; refers to the capability of certain resources to carry out a given activity or task in a way that is integrative n the organization.

Core competences; refers to those capabilities and resources which gives competitive advantage for a company over its major competitors and they are mostly viewed in terms of organizational functions. Competitive advantage; refers to the ability of a company to outdo its competitors in terms of performance. An attractive industry; means an industry where a firm can exploit available opportunities using its resources and capabilities. Formulation and implementation of strategy; refers to strategic actions adopted by the firm so that earnings will be above average returns (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016).

Vision refers to a specific picture of what an organization wants to be and generally the ultimate achievement that it wants to obtain, and it I contained in a vision statement which describes the organization while shaping the intended future. Mission; refers to the specification of business in which the organization plans to compete and the targeted customers, and it is basically founded on its vision (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016).

Corporate governance; refers to various methods used in managing the relationship among the organizational stakeholders and in controlling and determining the performance and strategic direction of a firm. The members of board of directors are classified into either insiders, related outsiders or the outsiders. Insiders involve senior and active managers elected by the board and are familiar with organization’s daily operations. Related outsiders have their relationship with the firm established through contract or otherwise. Outsiders offer independent advice to the organization and may hold managerial positions in other firms (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016).

The role played by “keiretsu” in Corporate Governance in Japan is to enhance obligation on the part of directors through creation of a family unit relationship so that individuals take up organizations roles as part of their lives and thereby promoting allegiance of involved parties across the corporations (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016).

A heterogeneous top management team refers to a group comprising of individuals who possesses different functional education and experience and different functional backgrounds. They have expertise and knowledge that is required to ensures that operations of the internal organizations are running, and can also handle the all the stakeholders of a firm and various competitors. These individuals are able to benefit from discussions about the different perceptions held by members of the team in which they belong. Such discussions lead to quality decisions from the team when synthesis is found within the group while assessing the diverse opinions (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016). 

Core competencies; refer to capabilities which bring about competitive advantage for an organization over its main competitors. The core competences are linked to the functional skills of an organization such as finance, marketing, manufacturing, research and development. They are important elements to strategic leaders when they are implementing strategies. The development of these competences happens overtime as organizations learn through performing specific actions and improve the knowledge on them (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016).

The general environment refers to the various dimensions that make up the broader society and whose impacts are felt within individual firms and the industry in which they operate. These dimensions are grouped into different environmental segments including the economic, legal-political, technological, social cultural, demographical and physical factors. Industrial environment refers to the various factors whose impacts, competitive actions and even responses are felt directly by a firm (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016).

The five competitive factors include powers of suppliers and buyers, competitors’ rivalry intensity, threat posed by new entrants and substitute products. The five forces interact to determine the profit potential of a given industry and such potential affects the choices made by every firm in terms of strategic decision (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016).

Value refers to the measure of the characteristics of a product’s performance and the various aspects for which a customer is willing to spend his money (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016). 

Reference

Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2016). Strategic Management. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Pay for Performance plan

Abstract

This paper looks into the pay for performance plan , how to measure its effectives and its disadvantages to both employees and employers .Measuring effectiveness involves determining whether it’s relevant , controllable, measureable and objective. While pay for performance may have various incentives to employees and benefits to employers it may affect individuals and general organization.

How to Measure effectiveness

Measuring the effectiveness of this plan in organizations should involve collecting information on the practices being used, assessing the effectiveness of the different rewards practices and highlighting the major reward issues that will be addressed. This will make it possible to determine whether plan is relevant, controllable, measurable and objective. When considering the relevance of the plan, the management should ask whether it aligns with the organization in terms of business health. A major issue to consider is whether the reward practices will have a direct impact the performance of the entire organization in the short-term , and whether failure to have positive impact will affect the organization positively (Mathis & Jackson, 2010). For instance, in sales and marketing department, it would be necessary to determine whether parameters set like customer calls can yield the desired results. Will paying incentive for number of customer reference bring results that matter to marketing goals?

Determining whether the plan is controllable will show whether the employee are capable of influencing the final outcome. If the employees cannot, then this is not an incentive plan but a one whose aim is profit sharing. For the pay for performance plan to motivate the employee, they should be able to influence the results either negatively or positively. After determining what is relevant to the relevant to the organization and its business operations, the management should map out how every employee’s role affects the results of the organization (Mathis & Jackson, 2010) .This will be a good way of determining the effectiveness of the plan, which may lead to adoption of good performance measures and discard those that employees cannot affect. A measurable plan is one that whose effectiveness can be tracked. The performance measures that have been adopted should enable tracking for every person and after passing the previous tests (Mathis &Jackson, 2010). It is important to consider the balance in terms of what will be gained by adopting the incentive plan vis-à-vis the cost involved in the process of measuring, tracking and reporting on the final results.

Objectivity of the pay for performance plan involves determining the extent to which it is perceived as upholding fairness. Team management in an organization where there are numerous alternating functions often desire to adopt a subjective evaluation on the basis of performance observation by managers. Subjective measurement that involves an incentive pay can present various challenges since it may lead to discrimination suits in an organization.  While subjective evaluation in small bits can be used in some situations to deliver an incentive plan that is well –rounded, it should be kept as a very small percentage of overall target incentive (Mathis &Jackson, 2010).  If they are used properly, the plan can be a strong motivator and may drive high performance among employees while assisting the management to strike a balance between the risks and reward costs and improve moral.  The evaluation of the plan should follow the already established measures of effectiveness and conduct review of the reward practices. Assessment of the present reward practices or policies against the set criteria while applying specific evidence from a given situation and general research in the work place will help in identification of major issues (Mathis &Jackson, 2010). This will enable management to determine the necessary changes to address the issues and agree on how to implement the changes.

Disadvantages of pay for performance plan to employees

While this plan can have benefits for many ambitious employees, it can bring harms due to various reasons. Such a system tends to favor those employees in those areas that generate revenue such as sales, marketing, development of new products and senior management, and those that are perceived as cost centers like accounting, manufacturing and customer services. The revenue generating operations and activities are normally disproportionately (Kumar, 2015).  Since the rewards are based on certain profit pools, those credited with such performance are given the biggest share of rewards. The plan fails to attribute this success to the entire areas of the organization hence, discriminating against some employees (Snell, Morris & Bohlander, 2015).  In addition, the average worker may feel discriminated against since the senior management are likely to be rewarded than other employees. The senior employees are commonly perceived as being more important and not easily replaceable than junior workers (Kumar, 2015). Some jobs may present a problem while trying to quantifiably correlate between personal efforts and final results unlike other with a distinct edge like sales. There is a problem in determining performance measures.

 A major issue with the pay for performance is the possibility that it will lead to unhealthy competition instead of collaboration among employees. The performance based rewards can stifle the intended results when workers are pitted against each other while trying to earn a paycheck that is more lucrative (Mathis, & Jackson, 2012). Employees may resent others who are given the rewards in case they do not. The final results will be conflict at work and dissention across the organization. Given that jealousies and professional judgments are inherently human, the individuals with high conscience can rise above such a mentality, but those employees with less ambition or morale can feel endangered instead of being motivated. This kind of system does not recognize efforts but end results. 

Employer’s perspective

The plan for pay for performance may lead to unintended results for the employers. To begin with, there may be a deterioration of quality productivity among workers. This is true where the employees focus their energy in product quantity instead of required quality and the organization can end up offering products and services that are of low quality (Snell, Morris & Bohlander, 2015). For instance, in case of teachers, they may embark on dubious practices that ensure students get high scores while less focuses is placed on the learning process which embodies other aspects beyond academic.  Moreover, there may be less benefit from the effect of teamwork in performance due to unhealthy competition that makes it possible for employees to work in collaboration (Snell, Morris & Bohlander, 2015). When workers direct their focus towards achieving personal goals to obtain rewards, they will not be willing to co-operate with others. They may be unwilling to provided necessary assistance to fellow workers who are struggling in their roles because they see it as waste of time which they need in increasing their productivity (Snell, Morris & Bohlander, 2015).  The lack of collaboration or teamwork and a notion that colleagues are hindrances to performance of others may lead to workplace conflict when individuals attribute their failure to obtain goals to co-workers.  The end-results are that an unfavorable working environment is created and this prevents employees from reaching high performance levels and stifling the overall performance of the organization.

References

Mathis., Jackson, J., (2010).Human Resource Management. Cengage Learning. 396-397

Development and Implementation of Human Resource plans

Introduction

Human resource management is generally a description of the system that is used to govern individuals in any particular organization. This department has many duties among them compensating the employees, staffing and designating employees to various positions. The main duties of the human resource are to maximize and improve the state of an organization by increasing the productivity of the organizations (Grant, 2016). This fundamental mandate of the human resource department is likely to remain the same for decades to come even with the ever increasing and improving the state of the world businesses. Contributing to an organization is essentially the work of the human resource department. Formulating and implementing strategies that are required in an organization is a move that aims at making the organization better by offering the best to the employees, staff, management and the general society. The most important asset and part of an organization should be and is the human resource. Without the human resource, most of the fundamental requirements for a business to be successful would be a failure since there lacks a central unit in the organization (Bamberger et al., 2014). Achievement of the corporate goals and strategic measures of an organization are mostly linked to the human resource and if there are not plans on making them better each moment then there are possibilities that they might fail.

Career paths along the human resource management field involve being communicative and always understanding the surrounding environment and business settings in the world. A manager of the human resource ensures that the cultures, benefits, recruits, and payrolls are in line with the organizational goals. The pivot of every organization is the manager in the human resource as the business or organization works according to the guidance developed from this position. The career in the human resource profession involves training and development, recruiting, administration of benefits and taking care of the labor relations (Bamberger et al., 2014). There are also more advanced positions for the human resource such as being a director in this department which is a position that has the best incomes as the whole organization depends on this position to identify the best strategies for achieving organizational goals.

Different organizations use different strategies to implement a human resource management plan. The human resource department is essentially important in allowing the organization to perform to its level best given the best guidelines. The human resource department is a department that is involved in the formulation of strategies, the planning, implementation and having an evaluation of the relationships among the employees in an organization (Cummings & Worley, 2014). The human resource department is also important to an organization since it gives the guidelines in an organization in the recruitment and organization status. Developing and implementing a quality human resource plan can be a challenging task as it allows the organization to work effectively and deliver on time. Different organizations develop different methodologies in the development of the human resource plan. For the delivery of a quality plan, the human resource uses certain steps which are crucial for development.

The first step used in the development is aligning the business with the human resource needs. The goals of an organization are essentially the main focus for an organization. This is a strategy that is in most cases an imperative one since the development of these strategies can be a foundation for the business. Understanding the organizational goals will help in the formulation of strategies that will be able to deliver customer request on time and more precise (Noe et al., 2014). The demands of the business will guide in aligning the business goals and this way effective in understanding where the business has a strong competence and where there are weaknesses within the organization. At this particular stage of development, the human resource department can conduct a review of the strategic objectivities of the organization in terms of the direction, and the success factors for the organization (Grant, 2016).  Strategic objectives are basically the goals that are obtained through the vision, value, mission and the strategic programs in the organization. This can be done through conducting the interviews with the senior staffs in the organization in order to get their views on the direction of the department.

Once the objectives, mission, vision, key difficulties and the direction are obtained, the next step for developing a clear human resource plan is the identification of the human resource issues (Cummings & Worley, 2014). There are the main issues that will hinder the organization from achieving the objectives of the organization. The human resource department will be responsible for the effects of the results of the strategic analysis. These issues can be an increase in the manpower efforts and the developing of new skills in the organization. The human resource can identify the ongoing issues which are not related to the organizations objectives can be essential in developing the plan (Noe et al., 2014). These issues can be highly related to recruiting, planning, performance, training, the relationship between the staffs and the development of the staff. This can be done through conducting interviews which are a good way of developing an effective human resource development plan. Focus group can be very beneficial in identifying, prioritizing and probing of the human resource issues. 

The focus group should also be led by individuals with the capability of heading the members involved. Prioritizing on the human resource issues and developing the actions needed to solve the issues identified. The issues identified can vary and some might not be of importance to the organization as they will cause no major harm to the organization. This ensures that the human resource recommendations are valid and actionable in the department. It can be carried out through a compilation of the preliminary results identified in each group in accordance with the category such as the recruitment or the training. The final strategy of developing a plan is to formulate the plan to the organization. The plan developed should possess various key programs and every program should be a representation of at least one area in the human resource that needs to be addressed seriously such as training, staffing, and recruitment. Each of the programs should be unique in its own set and should also contain a strategic importance, the objectives, and the recommendations to the objectives (Cummings & Worley, 2014). For the developed plan to be formulated and presented to the organization there must be an implementation of the plan. This system can be formulated into a working plan that will be beneficial to the organization. The implementation of a plan mainly focuses on the procedures and the demand for change in all levels of the organization as a whole. Regardless of the plan being of equally important to the organization, if the employees are not considered then the plan might as well be of less importance to the organization.

Changing the work system of the organization means improving the methods which are used in completing the tasks and also altering the processes of the units of the organization. Training is the best method of implementing any plan that is developed by the human resource (Noe et al., 2014). Training increases the level of understanding of the focus groups and this similarly impacts the organization and employee adaptability to the plan developed. Through a very detailed training, the employees are given the tips on how to achieve the predetermined results timely and effectively. Evaluation of the training activities must take place to ensure that the results are factual and goal-oriented in all sectors of the business. Conducting interviews is also a strategy used by organizations in implementing the plans of the human resource.

Conclusion

Organizational strategies are based on the knowledge of the wider market needs and demands with understanding the weaknesses, the strengths, opportunities and the threats to the organization. This assist in making sure that the strategies developed will be useful and its implementation will be of greater benefit to the organization involved (Grant, 2016). While developing human resource plans, one should take into consideration the implications and the benefits of not only the organization but also the human concerns for delivery of the best output in terms of productivity. Implementing goal oriented strategies ensures the realization of organizational goals and objectives are timely. 

References

Bamberger, P. A., Biron, M., & Meshoulam, I. (2014). Human resource strategy: Formulation, implementation, and impact. Routledge.

Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2014). Organization development and change. Cengage learning.

Grant, R. M. (2016). Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. John Wiley & Sons.

Noe, R. A., Wilk, S. L., Mullen, E. J., & Wanek, J. E. (2014). Employee Development: Issues in Construct Definition and Investigation ofAntecedents. Improving Training Effectiveness in WorkOrganizations, ed. JK Ford, SWJ Kozlowski, K. Kraiger, E. Salas, and MS Teachout (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1997), 153-189.

LEADING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation

This is a non-profit organization chartered by the Congress for the purpose of supporting the community developments across U.S and in Puerto Rico. The organization offers supports for revitalization efforts in the communities in terms of finances, training and technical assistance to development organizations. It also promotes reinvestments in the communities whether rural, suburban and urban areas carried out by financial institutions that are locally based and which work in collaboration with local governments and residents of such communities. It was established in 1978 by a Housing and Community Development Amendments Act. The organization is therefore an intermediary to Community Development Corporation (CDC) and it has created a momentum for the growth of these institutions.

 The organization has to encounter a major change emanating from the emergence in information technology and telecommunications. The increased innovation and advancement in technology has great impact on different organizations including those that offer financial services. These changes have altered the way organizations are run as they various financial services are becoming automated. The loan processing procedures have become automated which has an effect of reducing the overall transaction cost .This means that the organization has to adapt to the changing technology not only in providing financial services but also in provision of the other services including training and technical assistance to the local organization (Pang, Lee & DeLone, 2014). The instantaneous data transmission across broad regions make it easy to manage national organizations since the various services provided incorporate the new  technology in implementation  process. New technology comes with improved methods of sharing information effectively and the ability to interact with different stakeholders in any particular sector. This is especially true when it comes do disclosure management, even in public and non-profit making organizations where information is supposed to make public all their internal operations and financial undertakings (Bloom, Garicano, Sadun,  & Van Reenen,  2014). Information technology is important for Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation in its dealings with the various CDCs, the local government and the residents in the local community.

In provision of financial assistance, information technology affects the processing of various finances required to support the community-based developments and in assessing the progress of the utilization of these resources. This means that the organization has to implement new technological innovation in the budgeting and financial allocation process so as to ensure transparency and integrity in management. In assessing the performance of the funded projects the management will have to use technology in detecting misappropriation or misuse of resources. Technical assistance and training are other areas which the organization has to adapt to the changes in Information Communication and Technology to reach to large areas and provide high quality services at the local level.

However, the change comes with its own challenges that the management may encounter when trying to implement them. Firstly, the innovative technologies come with a lot of disruption in status quo and this call for more flexibility and agility to the change in environment.  To address this challenge, the management should focus on implementing small projects instead of resolving everything at ago (Cummings & Worley, 2014). Another challenge involves the bureaucracy management where the implementation process may focus on following established policies in ICT implementation and this may become an end in itself rather than a means to the end. The management should align the implementation process and employee efforts to achieving the set goal.

References

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, (n.d).Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (NeighborWorks America). Retrieved from: https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/hudprograms/nrc_nwa

Pang, M. S., Lee, G., & DeLone, W. H. (2014). IT resources, organizational capabilities, and value creation in public-sector organizations: a public-value management perspective. Journal of Information Technology, 29(3), 187-205.

Bloom, N., Garicano, L., Sadun, R., & Van Reenen, J. (2014). The distinct effects of information technology and communication technology on firm organization. Management Science, 60(12), 2859-2885.

Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2014). Organization development and change. Cengage learning.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FOLLOWERS TRAITS & VALUES & LEADERS PERFORMANCE

In any organization, interaction between leaders and followers is very important since it determines how effective the leadership will be ensuring that the established relationship between the two serves the intended purpose. If the characteristics of the leader and the follower results to mutual benefit and support, a lot can be achieved. The characteristics dynamisms of both parties have to find harmony and a common purpose since they are in need of each other so as to work together in accomplishing the goals that have been set in the organization (Guay, 2011).  Being a good leader requires a person to be a good follower, so that he can understand the behavior of a follower and why they react in a certain way. For the leadership to be effective there has to be a link between the leader’s trait and follower’s traits which is enabled by some specific situational factors.  When traits of both individuals revolve around sociability, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness, regardless of the specific factors in a given situation, the influence of leadership can be felt (Northouse, 2016). If the characteristics of the leader and those of a follower can find a common ground in a specific situation so that trust, authenticity and support are established, the style of leadership adopted will be very effective. Leaders have to trust the followers to perform their tasks while followers have to trust the leaders to make the right decision. Authentic leaders will be ethical and balanced in regard to decision making while followers’ authenticity is seen self –regulation and such an interaction creates an environment for positive outcomes. Majority of the characteristics in the interaction between the leader and the follower results from support that each gives the other in any situation (Guay, 2011).

Challenges that may emanate from such interactions can attributed to change in situational factors and hence the behavior of the follower. Changes in followers behavior is due to the fact that they have needs and these needs are not constant but change in relation to different situational factors. These factors determine the kind of leadership style to be adopted by the leader and if such behaviors are not supportive to the follower, a problem in leadership effectiveness arises (Guay, 2011). If the style of leadership treats the follower as only a physical being while disregarding their emotional being, it will results to a different behavior that requires the leader to adjust again. For the followers to respect the leadership, they have to observe traits in their leader that makes them feel motivated or appreciated. The other challenge relates to the fact that followers are many and have diverse characteristics. This means that while the characteristics of the leader and those of some followers may find a common ground or a link, such a link may not be common for all the followers (Derue, Nahrgang, Wellman & Humphrey, 2011). The challenge is how the leader will find a connection with all the followers under different situations.

To address the first challenge, leaders have to have to adapt to a situational approach in the leadership style so that it matches with the commitment and competence of their followers.  Effective leadership involves recognizing the needs of the followers and adopting the style to meet those needs (Northouse, 2016). For the second challenge, have to strive to close the widening gap created between them and followers by diverse traits and situations.

Reference

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice  . Sage Publications. 7. Ed

Guay, R. P. (2011). Igniting the fire between leaders and followers: The impact of having the right fit.

Derue, D. S., Nahrgang, J. D., Wellman, N. E. D., & Humphrey, S. E. (2011). Trait and behavioral theories of leadership: An integration and meta‐analytic test of their relative validity. Personnel psychology, 64(1), 7-52.

EXTERNAL GROUPS, WORKING WITH LEGISLATIVES

 Public and nonprofit managers face challenges while working with special interest group. The latter is involved in the decision-making process and they influence the public policy through lobbying government members (Cohen & Heikkila, 2013). It is important to understand that challenges arise because there is no transparency and the process of decision making may lead to administration corruption especially when policy-makers favor the special interest group. Indeed, special interest groups focus on interfering wkith the legislation action and they use different mechanism such as direct communication with government officials, media comment and more. The first major challenge related to working with extern groups is undue influence will results to state capture. Special interest groups   put more influence on policy-making and create disproportionate and unregulated authority through developing a ‘sense of reciprocity (Cohen & Heikkila, 2013)’. This process creates a second challenge which is known as  state capture which means that  the special interest group will influence  the government decision making and  enjoy advantage in own economic positions.  

 As a public or nonprofit manager, these challenges can be addressed through employing different approaches. First, as a leader I must ensure that there is transparency and this can only be achieved through creation and implementation of regulations. In this case, I would ensure there is lobbying regulation (Cohen & Heikkila, 2013). This regulation will create transparency and accountability of the activities done by the interest groups.  As a leader, I also support effective implementation through public disclosure of financial information, issue areas and more.  The second approach is ensuring transparency through preventing conflict of interest and this is done by creating laws and internal rules and these will promote transparency and accountability. Finally, as leader I would ensure transparency in decision making process (Cohen & Heikkila, 2013). For example, citizen participation and consultative decision-making will control the influence of special interest groups’ decision.

Reference

Cohen, S., Eimicke, W. B., & Heikkila, T. (2013). The effective public manager: Achieving

success in government organizations.

Innovation Strategies

There are various techniques that the management can use to identify the ideas of employees without necessarily having to face the employees one by one. Some of these methods are sending a weekly communication message to generally all employees in an organization (Jaskyte, 2012). Organizations which have applied these techniques have benefited from it since it has allowed the management to get a clear response and also connect with the employees mainly through sending emails and newsletters.

Holding general meetings with all the employees present can also be a clear strategy to identify the different ideas that the employees might be having. Meetings are a great way of connecting with all the employees especially while maybe offering bonuses (Dawson and Andriopoulos, 2014). These methodologies apply the use of team management which allows the organizations to generally engage with the employees at any particular time by use of group forums to discuss on the different ideologies that a member might be having.

Challenges which might arise from using now and then group meetings are that some members may ridicule the ideas generated by other members. This will eventually discourage other members from contributing unless it is by the use of an inquiry box which can be mounted in various places in the compound.  The benefits of using an email to communicate are that it is a private way of communication and a fast way to get genuine personal responses (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). It also assists in saving time since it does not require face to face conversations.  The costs of using this method are that it needs a lot of investment in terms of internet and use of Smartphone’s to communicate effectively. Some employees might not be having access to such devices therefore not a convenient way.

References

Dawson, P., & Andriopoulos, C. (2014). Managing change, creativity and innovation. Sage.

Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson.

• Jaskyte, K. (2012). Boards of directors and innovation in nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit Management & Leadership, 22(4), 439–459.
• Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Maintaining order & qualified immunity

The statement by Marissa that Savana Redding had given her the ibuprofen pills led the school administrators to suspect that Redding may have some of the pills on her person. This led to the search on Redding but the search was not justified. The allegation was potentially self –serving on the part of Marissa and was not corroborated. Where a sliding-scale test is adopted as a standard for the search, where the more invasive searches need higher level of suspicion so as to be reasonable, the strip search by the school officials was very intrusive in relation to the risk posed by the ibuprofen pills (Bradley, 2010). This is in light of the level of suspicion that could have been raised by Marissa. There was no justification for the search since the school officials since they reasonably should have been aware that the search would lead to violation to the girls rights stipulated in the Fourth Amendment. The search would have been reasonable and the officials could have been protected against liability arising from the unlawful search if they had been reasonably unaware that this conduct would be a violation to Marissa’s privacy rights. Conducting the strip search on the girl and not based on clear judgment by the officials but on allegations would leave little check on the authority of the official to invade the privacy of the student. Whereas there was some degree of reasonability to conduct the search, it did not meet the standards for a reasonable search.

In general, school officials act as the parents’ surrogates and as the state’s representative and have to maintain order in public schools. The setting of the schools requires that officials be granted qualified immunity against liability arising from Fourth Amendment, in relation to searches on students (Davenport, 2008). The need to ease restriction on searches that public officials are normally subjected to relate increasing problems such as drug issues in public schools.  The immunity should be granted to the school officials but who have the responsibility to act with quality judgment so that their searches can meet the right degree of judgment (Liptak, 2009). Without this immunity, the school administrators would find it difficult to maintain order in the public schools due to fear of bearing the liability of violating individual privacy that is offered in the fourth amendment. However, the immunity should apply against some set reasonableness standards, where the officials have justification that the search is aimed at providing order in the institution. The qualified immunity should only occur where the search is reasonably related to its objective; there is not excessive intrusion in regard to the student’s sex and age, and the kind of infraction.

 I agree with the precedent set by the case, since the search conducted on the female student was quite unreasonable. With the knowledge of the limited threat posed by the pills, the administrator’s suspicion was not reasonable enough in suspecting that a lot of such drugs were being used in the school.  For the official to be granted the qualified immunity there must be reasonable suspicion that there was violation of a specific law and the search could be expected to provide evidence (Davenport, 2008).  The level of intrusion on the privacy of the student was also very intrusive, which was not necessary.

References

Bradley, C. M. (2010). Reconceiving the Fourth Amendment and the Exclusionary Rule. Law and Contemporary Problems, 73(3), 236-238.

Liptak, A. (2009). Strip-Search of Girl Tests Limit of School Policy. New York Times, A1.

Davenport, E. P. (2008). Stripped Bare: Students' Fourth Amendment Rights, School Searches, and the Reasonableness Standard. Tenn. JL & Pol'y, 4, 115.

Main issues concerning privacy in the workplace

            Privacy is a controversial issue among employees in the workplace. This issue has grown as public employees demand for freedom from unreasonable searches and seizure. Another concern that has raised the issue of privacy is on drug screening where there is a need to establish policies and procedures on how to implement drug screening so as to maintain security among the public. Some people argue that drug screening on tests such as urinalyses do not determine the performance of people at work. Others feel it is a way to protect the employers and the society from being hurt by impaired workers.

Do you think it is fair for workers to be tested for drugs?

            Drug use has been an issue of concern to employers for several years, this is because drug use is associated with negative effects for instance it can lead to employee impairment. Especially the use of alcoholic drugs at work lead to poor concentration and risk-taking behaviors, which may affect the performance, and general productivity at work place. In addition to that, it may also result into higher rates of fatalities and absenteeism. Therefore, it is important to test employees for drugs, however, the employer should preserve the privacy of the employee while carrying out the exercise.

Table of Contents

Table of contents ………………………………………………………………………………….1

1.0 Introduction 2

  1.1 Samsung research ……………………………………………………………………………2

2.0 Literature review 2

2.1 Theoretical framework 3

3.0 Methodology 5

   3.1 Data collection method ………………..……..……………………………..………………5

4.0 Findings ………………………………………………………………………………………6

    4.1 Theories on the possible causes of failure in note 7……………………………………......6

5.0 Recommendation …………………………………………………………………………....10

6.0 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………..11

Reference ………………………………………………………………………………………..12

• Introduction

1.1 Samsung research

The research paper will be on Samsung which will basically focus on it in the electronics industry in relation to its growth up to date in relation to the just failed note 7. There has been a problem at Samsung Electronics after one of its best selling products line caused a lot of problems in the market. This follows a failure in its technological operations where one of its Smartphone physically explodes while charging (Wee, 2016). There are physically more problems that can be associated with the faults that Samsung products experienced in its production. These problems are mainly built in and therefore causing losses at the company. Samsung has always been given credit in the Smartphone industry, therefore, the faults being experienced with the Note 7 type of mobile phone could see the market reducing at a very high rate as people opt for other alternatives like using the Apple products (Park, 2013). The shifting of the market could also see the competitors perform better at offering the same kind of services, therefore, making the company lose the market at a glance. 

2.0 Literature review

            Samsung Electronics is one of the leading companies in terms of offering the best mobile phone services, digital televisions, computers, air conditioning appliances, memory, panels, and other LCD panels. The main market for the products is that of Smartphones and the tablets which mostly accounts for over 30 percent for the Smartphones and 20 percent for the tablets according to the data count release of 2015 (Singh, B. (2016). Samsung has basically focused its efforts on the tablets and Smartphone’s business which is a business that is getting flooded with mobile phones and this causes the market to be overcrowded meaning the company has to invest in being unique. For the past 70 years, the company has always dedicated its resources, time and money in making the world better by having the latest technology, the best skyscraper, construction technologies, medicine, hotels, finance, petrochemical, and so much more (Wee, 2016). By having the best manpower, services and products which are reliable, and innovation the company has been leading in terms of high-tech manufacturing products. Samsung has a total of more than 370,000 employees and has opened more than 80 branches in the world.

2.1 Theoretical framework

Samsung Electronics has been on the market for more than 7 decades and considering this time period, it is generally very possible that the market experience has grown big significantly. But even after so much experience in making quality and loved products, the latest failure of the note 7 has brought down the market share tremendously with other companies such as Apple taking over the market. The main reason for the manufacture of the Samsung Note 7 was to create a competition for the second largest selling Smartphone Company Apple iPhone 7. Offering an alternative for the consumers by manufacturing the note 7 brought in many problems than the company has ever experienced since its birth (Wee, 2016). There are significantly fewer channels and windows of opportunities for the company especially after the failure of the note 7. If the problem is not fixed immediately, then there are many possibilities for the Smartphone industry at Samsung to be under pressure as this line of business is what has been the major income for the company. This failure in terms of the Note 7 could be the worst at this company as it happened during a crucial Christmas season. With this ideology in mind, the competitors could see their sales rise above the skylines since there is less competition for the same market. Samsung was now left with minimal options on what to do next since the chances of coming up with a new note 7 to replace the failed one are less.

 At this particular period of the year, Samsung had sold more than three million plus units of note 7. Eventually, the company recalled the note 7 and requested all the global partners not to continue with the sale of this phone. The recall was due to the fact that the phone was experiencing some problems especially with the batteries being said to be flammable and also the idea that the replacement for the note 7 now caused more problems of overheating while being used. In the United States and in Australia, the note 7 services have been halted due to the fact that the replacement was overheating excessively; therefore, the user experience became worse than it was before (Wee, 2016).  A similar case happened with the technology and standards Korean Agency confirming that actually there were problems with the just released note 7 and its replacements also had a number of issues.

Samsung had a continued increase and dominance in the Smartphone industry due to the previous release of the S7 and the S7 edge which both brought in a huge profit in the business and there were hopes that the note 7 would continue with the cycle only to be disappointed by its failure. This particular incident coincidentally happened a time when their competitors were seriously marketing their new products the iPhone 7 and also the Google Pixel, therefore, making the competition fierce and overheated on their part. The failure could become worse with some users becoming more skeptical in any other Smartphone that is manufactured by Samsung. Up to date, the company has kept silent on the possible reasons as to why the phones became overheated in an actual sense. The recall of the note 7 would not affect the business since the business components were still up and running mainly the display and the semiconductor businesses (Morita et al., 2017). During this period of between July and September, the company had made profits of more than $7 billion and the figure is slightly higher than the previous prediction. Much impact would now be felt after the company brand image of the note 7 brought loses and but the overall fiscal outlook for the year 2017 is not affected but remains very solid.

3.0 Methodology

3.1 Data collection method

The main method of data collection is the qualitative method through interviews and also focusing on the various fields of study and concern. The interview is the best methodology to use to get access to get full details on user experience on the Note 7 device. The interview was conducted in the field, streets, homesteads, offices and any resting places in various cities so it is a general interview. The purpose of the interview is to define the user experience and how they feel about the just failed note 7 and if they would really consider using any other handset developed by Samsung in the future. The response given by the participants will be used in the development of the results and can be used in the analysis of the same problem (Wee, 2016). The interview can take less than two days since it involve the use of a one on one conversation with people on the streets and this does not require a lot of time and it is cheap unless the query is specifically to organizations which can be a bit expensive and time consuming due to booking appointments and other procedures.

On the bar above, the number of males who are unclear on how the device affected them is much larger than that of the females. This can be attributed to the fact that the device has great features which are mostly associated with the females such as the camera and the curvy stylish while males are mostly inclined to the internal parts for convenience at any particular time.

4.0 Findings

4.1 Theories on the possible causes of failure in note 7

There are many theories that have been developed over the failure of the note 7 and most of these theories are related to the system model of the mobile phone. One of the theories is the possibility of new manufacturing issues. A commission that deals with the safety of the product which worked closely with the United States in recalling the devices termed the failure to be caused by the batteries.  The batteries developed by the Samsung SDI were initially faulty (Morita et al., 2017). These batteries which were made became slightly too large than space available slot in the device. During installation, they would crimp the corner and this would lead to short circuiting eventually causing overheating and finally the possibility of fire. The company disintegrated the battery from the note 7 and opted to use an alternative from China Amperex technologies as a replacement to reduce the effects.

 However, the technology behind this batteries was also faulty and therefore another failure. These kinds of flaws are blamed to the previous technology which caused the second battery from Amperex Technologies to fail after recalling the devices. These new issues have however not been cleared though it seems like it may have crept back into the supply chain immediately after the company started the replacement for the new batteries. Samsung failed to deliver the actual cause or the solution to the problem but asked its partners to test and share data and it never shared the data from its part causing a reaction in the market since the partners never realized what they were to tell their customers (Morita et al., 2017).

Fast charging of the devices was also a possible cause of the note 7 failure. The tweaks that are made to the processors have been equipped to charge the devices faster than the normal rate. Fast charging could cause the explosions being experienced with the devices (Mi, 2017). Charging the batteries can make them a more volatile same case to when a person presses an engine significantly too hard causing an explosion.

The smart beautiful design of the phone could cause an explosion specifically the symmetrical curve of the device and this is a feature that the company has been bragging about since its development. The smart feature may have exerted some pressure in the battery packs causing a short circuit and eventually a fire outbreak (Mi, 2017). The isolating plates which separated the cathode and the anode were physically very close to the edges, therefore, this causes them to be prone to collapsing while under pressure.

Certain theories also indicate that the external pressure during manufacture could have been applied to the isolation plates. The plates have been placed towards the edges of the batteries and after the phone is sealed off, the battery packs could be subjected to the excessive pressure. The cost of covering this particular project is mostly a direct cost of transport, developing the hypothesis of the interview on paper and other minor costs. There are less or no equipment required in the interview since there are no questionnaires involved (Wee, 2016). The cost of developing the datasets in the project is significantly low since there are fewer data to be printed out and eventually used in determining the possible solution for the project.

Interview cost is low and significantly friendly since there are no charges involved by talking to people or being in the public resting places. Interview conducted is generally based on the market response of the device. On the question of how well the device can perform before the breakdown, the response was rather general with most interviewee terming the experience as excellent. Most of the people who responded to this question said that the note 7 experience was the best ever seen with its slim and curvy feature attracting more of their friends to buying the device. Compared to other handsets, the Note 7 had the capability of storing charge for more than two days even if the user was always using the device. This response was obtained from various individuals who use the mobile phones for other activities such as doing the online marketing which is the current market trend. Using the device was termed as a great but a short lived experience since the company called off all the note 7 devices even before some had the best part of it. Before the phones started exploding and at some point, some airlines denied people the permission to board the plane with the device, the device was even better than the current competitor, iPhone 7, according to an interviewee.

Looking at the device, the ratings are very high thus a record for this giant company since its birth but the note 7 has left a blank space that is full of questions on whether any other person will ever consider purchasing the handsets manufactured by Samsung (Park, 2013). The metallic part of the phone really excited many customers according to some respondents and this created a demand for the phone as this has always been the wish for the customers. However, the market strategy for the phone over the short period of time it was in the market was very high but regulated by the fact that some users had already started to site problems with the mobile device.

The risks involved in the research are the courage to get humiliated and trashed by some people during the interview. Loss of time is one of the major risks experienced from conducting the research since many of the people being questioned see it as a waste of time given that we do not represent a bigger player in making international reports. The time required in the formulation of this research paper is identified and already dedicated to making it a success. Time taken to conduct a single interview ranges between 10 to 15minutes and therefore many see this as a waste of time and resources. Also, some participants in the research have some poor communication skills making it difficult to question them but instead choose to change the topic to some irrelevant talks, therefore, wasting another variable time (Morita et al., 2017). For example, in a certain city where an interview was with a well-composed person, there were hardships trying to formulate a response from the person. Some respondents feel obligated to talk about other experiences rather than answering the question was asked and this is a variable waste of time, therefore, impacting on the scheduled time limit. Due to the fact that some mobile stores never gave a refund to their customers over the failed note 7 they had just purchased, some users became too harsh to a point of even chasing us away in the event.

Boredom is also a risk involved in the research. This is due to some embarrassment which is brought about by some materials such as the lack of enough and accurate response from the research. Some people cited the lack of confidence with the Samsung devices and with this ideology, there were risks of not even getting as much information as required to draw possible conclusions from the same.

The contract involved in this project is generally a contract between the Samsung Company and the other stakeholders in this case problem (Park, 2013). Having noted that the main reasons as to why the note 7 failed are due to the battery issues, it is a clear that the contractors, in this case, failed to honor their word and submit quality products. In this case, the same company that developed the faulty batteries is a subsidiary of Samsung meaning that the blame should entirely be focused on the same company. The faulty batteries developed new challenges for the company such as the loss of market and in due time there will be less customer loyalty to any handsets by Samsung.

5.0 Recommendation

Considering the company reputation, a team of experts has been selected to deal with the issue on the Note 7 batteries failure in ensuring that there are no such cases in future. According to the staff and the management, there are a number of safety team individuals who will be mandated to overseeing that whatever is developed will be of high quality and standards. Previously, Samsung had as usually performed a pre-test of the note 7 and the reason it did not fail then is not clear yet but the elected members will be there to ensure that quality and standard is observed at all times. Samsung has been the leading manufacturer of Smartphones and display units in the world. The kind of technology used by this giant company is top notch making it receive more customer loyalty to its brands. The current heating up debates on the failure of the note 7 could see the company fall or rise as this is an act that might trigger the customers to either like the products or prefer the competitor’s products.  To ensure that the company never experiences such issue in the future then it is really advisable that the team considers running a pilot project in determining the quality of the products at all times (Dissanayake & Amarasuriya, 2015). This will ensure that once the products are in the market, the customers will be comfortable using them as cases of failure will be eliminated completely. 

6.0 Conclusion

The failure of the note 7 might have come as a shock to the company since it had already done a pretest of the device. The possibility of the device failing once in the market caused a loss of more than $5 billion in the closing of the financial year 2016. With this kind of a loss, the company might have experienced a big blow in terms of remarketing and also attracting their loyal customers back since there is fear created in the minds of many people once they want to buy the handsets (Morita et al., 2017). But as a giant company with many other components in its business, it is simple enough for it to develop another type of phone even before the anger from the market sinks as a way of ensuring that customers are retained again.  

References

Dissanayake, D. M. R., & Amarasuriya, T. (2015). Role of brand identity in developing global brands: a literature based review on case comparison between apple iPhone vs Samsung smartphone brands.

Mi, X. (2017). Samsung Galaxy Note 7 battery explosion during charging?!. Laser.

Morita, H., Nakajima, K., & Tsuru, T. (2017). Product Architecture and Intra-Firm Coordination: Theory and Evidence.

Park, S. S. (2013). U.S. Patent No. D677,644. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Peppers, D., & Rogers, M. (2016). Managing Customer Experience and Relationships: A Strategic Framework. John Wiley & Sons.s

Singh, B. (2016). Factors Influencing Brand Loyalty For Samsung Mobile Users In Nepal (Master's thesis, Universitetet i Agder; University of Agder).

Wee, A. (2016). Samsung might ban Galaxy Note 7 for air travelers.

Wee, A. (2016). Samsung: Galaxy Note 7 sales/replacement suspended.