Project Management Standardization

Standardization of Project Management

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Project Management Standardization Dissertation – Poor project performance has led to industry calling for Standardized Project Management tools, yet it is the organizations themselves who have chosen to overlook or ignore the tools while implementing organization strategy that exists for their assistance. This paper investigates the implications change management practices have on individuals as a result of strategy change, whilst challenging the poor Project Management knowledge and understanding of individuals within project based organizations.

It also identifies the currently poor application of Project Management theory including the alarming levels of academic qualifications many practicing Project Managers currently hold. The purpose of the dissertation was to explore this call for standardization by conducting a review of the knowledge, understanding and opinions of individuals regarding: change management implications of organization strategy implementation; and organizations? application of Project Management theory.

Project Management Standardization
Project Management Standardization

However, while conducting the review, offering discussion points or arguments, it is important to recognize when talking about Project Management Standardization, it is not an exact science and there are several fundamental floors such as the theory is relatively abstract and many parameters are difficult to be measured as they are usually based upon the opinion of industry personnel with predetermined beliefs.

The aim of the dissertation was to identify and understand evolving management theory and how it aligns with organization strategy as it was believed that with such a large amount of capital being spent on projects, organizations did not place a high enough level of priority on Project Management processes or academic qualifications. Whether this is a result of ignorance, or just a pure lack of understanding of the implications on the behalf of executive level management, was the basis for discussion throughout the dissertation. Finally projects are aimed solely at either increasing profit in line with organizational mission requirements or increasing efficiency through productivity. So the dissertation is written with the intention of raising awareness to improve project performance and not just to highlight organizational short comings.

The dissertation aim is to investigate how evolving Project Management theory, organizational strategy and change management implementation and Project Management academic levels influence individual’s perceptions and actions within project based organizations.

Project Management Standardization Dissertation Objectives

  • To identify and introduce evolving management theory
  • To analyze the role that Project Management has within organizations strategic management processes
  • To investigate the level of understanding individuals within organizations have of Project Management processes
  • To investigate the academic levels of individuals within project based positions
  • Conduct a questionnaire based on the aims, objectives, and literature review formulating a strategic set of questions to challenge senior managers with an interview in relation to the concerning trends

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Buzz Marketing Essay

Buzz Marketing

Buzz marketing is defined as “the promotion of a company or its products and services through initiatives conceived and designed to get the media and the public talking positively about that company, product or service”, according to Kirby and Marsden (2006, p.xviii). Buzz marketing involves word of mouth propagation of the products and services of the company through the “vibes” or the buzz created through other customers or a form of a campaign driven by customer hype, says Dye (2000). According to Carl (2006), though marketers knew the power of relationship based recommendations to be very powerful as a persuader of consumer decisions, the dimension of marketers “engineering” peer opinions in social networks is little understood. Therefore, the buzz can come from paid sources who muster up support for their opinions in their social circle or individuals who voluntarily express such opinions positive for the company and both the forms of communication can be included in buzz marketing (Carl, 2006).

The key enabler of buzz marketing is the influence the opinions of individuals have on other individuals known to them. “A third party is involved in the amplification of the initial marketing efforts of the company in his or her relational networks” (Thomas, 2004, p.64). Often, a company has loyal and disloyal customers, and the disloyal ones are more influential in spreading the buzz. The loyal customer already may have influenced his or her networks and the greatest impact for marketers lies in tapping the opinions of the disloyal customers (Carl, 2006). Therefore, the company need not rely on its own customer culture for the creation of the buzz, but can actively look for counter cultures, which can be real value additions to the campaign. This implies that not all individuals have the same level of ability to influence others. Therefore, the concern of marketers is to find the most influential set of people to create the buzz if it has to succeed in its campaign, be it its own set of customers or a group of individuals who have remained out of the influence of the marketer.

Apart from the people who spread the buzz, other factors aid in the success of the marketer. People cherish owning something that most others cannot. This must be used effectively by creating the urgency in influencing the customer decision. The endorsement of a celebrity can also trigger wide spread in buzz marketing, with the critical thing being how the celebrity is made to handle such a communication, according to Dye (2000). The author cites many examples, for instance, the books selected by Oprah Winfrey for her book club invariably become best sellers and publishers lobby to get their work featured by her.

Identifying the best sources that can start the buzz is crucial and the process of identification involves grouping customers according to their purchase behaviors (buzz marketing), understanding how each group influence the other groups, identifying the paths of influential communications through simulation and finding the strongest path and group, according to Dye (2000). The structured approach also dispels the myth that buzz cannot be planned and executed, but highly random.

One of the key approaches to creating buzz marketing strategy lies in getting the influential group of people or some individuals or an individual from the group to experience the product or the service of the company. If the company is right about the selection of the group, the buzz will be created invariably because of the Hawthorne effect; when people feel valued and feel an increase in their self-esteem in being the pioneers in using a product, goodwill is created (Kirby & Marsden, 2006). Buzz marketing can be peer-to-peer and performer-to-peer. While in the former, individuals voluntarily become brand ambassadors for the company, in the latter, the company uses carefully planned seeding into relational networks through rehearsed campaigns. Marketers can also launch covert buzz campaigns, where customers are not aware that they are being marketed to. But the downside is that when customers know that they have been part of a campaign, they may fee duped and this may lead to backlash for the company, according to Kirby and Marsden (2006).

The field of marketing has become so cluttered that customers view all marketing communications skeptically and the importance of buzz marketing comes from the fact that the concept relies on communications from non-marketing sources, which are perceived to be more trustworthy by customers, say Darke and Ritchie (2007). Therefore, when a message reaches the customer from a friend with the intent of convincing him about the superiority of a brand or a product, it is bound to be a sensitive issue in the ethical sense. While the receiver of the communication may place value on the opinion of the friend, the friend may be motivated by the financial and other benefits from the company (Petty & Andrews, 2008). Thus, buzz marketing poses a big ethical question on the marketing community – to what level can marketers legally invade the lives and relationships of individuals in a conscientious manner.

Buzz Marketing
Buzz Marketing

According to research, the best way to ensure that the campaign is ethical is by being completely transparent to customers and the influencers in the initial stages of the campaign and that the credibility and the trustworthiness of the influencer were not negatively affected by disclosure of the affiliation of the latter with the marketing company (Creamer, 2005; Carl, 2006). Most covert communications happen to ensure the credibility of the influencer is not affected through any disclosure of benefits or affiliation to the brand or the product of the company. Such fears seem to be unfounded, considering the impact of any adverse reactions from customer who realize that they have been marketed to at a later stage.

The role of the internet in buzz marketing is being studied by marketers and the role of internet based social networking portals needs to be understood better. Though there is much hype about the potential of the internet in buzz marketing, the reality is that face-to-face interactions carry more influence compared to an online opinion from an acquaintance or a friend (Carl, 2006). But the potential of this media is very high, as the sophistication of social networking portals is increasing and the level of interactions which are happening between individuals at a great distance to each other physically is becoming higher (Kirby & Marsden, 2006). Therefore, the role of the internet cannot be ignored as the principal tool for buzz marketing in the future.

Corporate Reputation Management

According to the resource based view of management, organizations with valuable and rare tangible and intangible assets enjoy competitive advantage in the market and can be expected to yield superior returns. When the assets are not easily imitable by competition, the advantage of the company can be sustained for superior value creation and market dominance; corporate reputation is one such intangible asset that cannot be replicated by a competitor in the short term, according to Roberts and Dowling (2002). According to Fombrun and Riel (1997), it is relatively unexplored as a concept and its importance is realized only when it is threatened.

Corporate reputation is the collective opinion of the stakeholders of an organization based on its past record, according to Nakra (2000). Reputation management is about building and maintaining the repute of an organization and generating positive feedback or word of mouth. The reputation of a company not only impacts the ability of the company to sell its products, but also in securing investments, shareholder confidence, governmental support and hiring talented employees (Nakra, 2000). Once lost, it is very difficult to regain, says Winkleman (1999). This concept comes within the function of public relations and corporate communications, which concern how the organization is viewed by its different stakeholders (Nakra, 2000). While organizations have measures and checks and balances for the other performance parameters of the organization, including effectiveness, financial performance and other tangible factors, the factor of the reputation of the organization that aids in the achievement of the overall goals of the organization are not measured and grossly ignored (Nakra, 2000). This is critical for a robust buzz marketing campaign.

Reputation management for organizations is important due to the changing dimensions of product marketing, diverse communication channels, mergers and acquisitions and high levels of global activism against corporates, say Argenti and Druckenmiller (2004). As businesses go global, they face a number of public relations issues, in having to deal with a new culture and policy environment and this necessitates a good corporate reputation for the process to be smooth (Pinkham, 1998). Customer expectations from companies have also become more stringent, with more choices available. Customers base their decisions based on the level of information available about the company and the reputation of the company before committing to a deal (Nakra, 2000).

Reputation of organization arises from the past, where the actions and performance of the organization in various aspects determine the present reputation. Stake holders consider the performance and success enjoyed by the organization, especially the financial performance as an important indicator of the goodness of the organization, according to Roberts and Dowling (2002). In fact, the correlation between the financial success of the firm and its reputation can be very high. A reputed firm will be able to charge a premium for its products and services from the market. It also has the benefits of being able to attract and retain the best talent in the industry at the lowest possible costs among its competitors. It will be able to generate more value from its supply chain and thus be able to save costs, resulting in higher margins and realizations. Similar relationships are visible in the function of buzz marketing too; reputed organizations are able to sell more with a lower effort at the best prices, due to its superior products, better sales force, better channel partners and a number of other enablers, according to Dowling (2001). These are the views of the external world of the reputed organizations or the collective perception of the market or the society on the characteristics of the firm. This means that to manage reputation, organizations have to be critical of all their interactions with the stakeholders and society, as each of these interactions, from a product launch to a simple customer query have the potential to enhance or spoil the reputation of the company.

Buzz Marketing Reputation

The reputation of the organization is deeply embedded within the experiences of the employees of the organization and manifests itself as a dimension of the working culture. When an organization is reputed and this is part of the organizational perceptions of the managers in the company, the nature of their interactions with their employees and other stakeholders will be in the manner which safeguards the reputation, say Fombrun and Riel (1997). The culture of the organization is manifested in the behaviors and attitudes of the individuals and in their interactions with each other; the organizational reputation becomes an invisible part in the culture and influences it, according to the authors. Therefore, the actions of the individuals and their perceptions within the organization, or the internal identity of the organization is manifested to the external world by means of its corporate reputation (Fombrun & Rindova, 1996). The organizational culture, therefore, plays an important role in determining the reputation of the organization to the outside world, through its policies, stand on its role in society and its responsibility to the world and how these are perceived by the stakeholders.

The reputation of an organization cannot be managed if the perception of society is not considered in the picture. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a philosophy advocating that organizations have a moral responsibility in helping overall social development and uplift through strategic philanthropic activities, according to Carroll (1991). The sustainability of organizations depends on the environmental, social and financial sustainability (Wempe & Kaptein, 2002). The role of philanthropy and other social benefits in the development of the reputation of an organization cannot be ignored. Organizations sometime spend more on advertising their good work than doing the good work (Alsop, 2002). This has led people to view corporate philanthropy as designed for corporate gain in some covert fashion (Porter & Kramer, 2002).  This can be potentially damaging to the reputation of firms. The social responsibility when met has to be advertized at the right levels of austerity. If this is not executed properly, either the organization will be accused of doing too little or of being too brash in its claims of being a caring social entity. Therefore, the CSR activities of organizations are an effective tool for the management of corporate reputation and buzz marketing.

References

Alsop, R. (2002). Perils of corporate philanthropy. Touting good works offends the public, but reticence is misperceived as inaction. The Wall Street Journal, 16 Jan 2002, Print Edition.

Argenti, P. & Druckenmiller,B. (2004). Reputation and the corporate brand. Corporate Reputation Review, Vol.6, No.4, pp.368-374.

Carl, W. (2006). Whats all the buzz about? Everyday communication and the relational basis of word of mouth and buzz marketing practices. Management Communication Quarterly, Vol.19, No.1, pp.601-634.

Carroll A.B. (1991). The pyramid of CSR: toward the moral management of organisational stakeholders. Business Horizons, July/August(1991), pp.39-48.

Darke, P. & Ritchie, R. (2007). The defensive consumer: advertizing deception, defensive processing, and distrust. Journal of Marketing Research, Vol.44(Feb), pp.114-127.

Dowling, G.R. (2001). Creating corporate reputations using buzz marketing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Fombrun. C & Riel, Van C. (1997). The reputational landscape. Corporate Reputation Review, Vol.1, No.1&2, pp.5-13.

Fombrun, C.J. & Rindova, V. (1996). Who’s Tops and Who Decides? The Social Construction of Corporate Reputations’, New York University, Stern School of Business, Working Paper.

Kirby, J. & Marsden, P. (2006). Connected buzz marketing: the viral, buzz and word of mouth revolution. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN: 978750666343, 075066634X.

Nakra, P. (2000). Corporate reputation management: CRM with a strategic twist? Public Relations Quarterly, Summer(2000), pp.35-42.

Petty, R. & Andrews, C. (2008). Covert buzz marketing unmasked: a legal and regulatory guide to practices that mask marketing messages. American Marketing Association, Vol.27, No.1, pp.7-18.

Porter M.E. & Kramer, R.M. (2002). The competitive advantage of corporate philanthropy. Harvard Business Review, December 2002, pp.18-27.

Pinkham, D. (1998). Corporate public affairs: running faster, jumping higher. Public Relations Quarterly, Summer(1998), pp.33-37.

Roberts, P. & Dowling, G. (2002). Corporate reputation and sustained superior financial performance. Strategic Management Journal, Vol.23(2002), pp.1077-1093.

Thomas, G.M. (2004). Building the buzz marketing in the hive mind. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Vol.4, No.1, pp.64-72.

Winkleman, M. (1999). The fickle finger of reputation. Chief Executive, Vol. 44, No.1, pp.79-86.

Wempe, J. & Kaptein, M. (2002). The Balanced Company: a Theory of Corporate Integrity. UK: Oxford Univ. Press.

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Essay Facebook Marketing

Facebook Marketing Essay

Facebook Marketing Essay – Marketing in the current era is believed to take a different dimension to hit its target. With the fast growing technology in the current word professional marketers are widely relying on technology to promote and advertise their goods and services. For this initiative to perform comfortably they need to ensure that engaging customer interrelation by electronic means will work effectively and deliver the best result. When using technology or online marketing sometimes it does not seem to be real to customers and internet users, and they get to prefer television marketing which might be effective to the surrounding environment.

This act as a problem or difficulty in effective marketing and it will automatically lead to poor responsiveness on the organization. Some of the social network working well is face book marketing, they have handled there problems effectively when it gets to advertising measurements. For instance the click-through rate for face book marketing which has done very well over throwing placard advertisement which has dropped over time.

(R., U.M., & A., 2005) Supported that there is a study that published the part of customer overview of social network marketing; this networks grow quickly over a short time of period. In this case study, little is discovered on the behavior of online marketing to the internet users. Due to problems and difficulties capital ventures produce incorrect and insufficient facts which lend to a problem for the advertisers loose track and cannot even identify the targeted viewers.

The new research is carried out to accomplish the research on internet users approach to social networks marketing. The area of study will be Facebook. Facebook is a one of the popularly, most used and known social network used by both young and old. It is commonly used for business matters or personal matters.  Facebook marketing is much different from other customary marketing. This is a service that is mostly used by start-up organization to involve the social network people. This means that Facebook marketing is still at its early age and it is a beginning dimension of marketing which is growing very fast.

However this research entailed aims and objectives, a purpose and also some of the encountered problems. The purpose of this study was to analyse Facebook marketing on how to approach it, measurements on how to appraise their efficiency and also Facebook marketing strategies. There are some challenges and problems of this study this include increasing a close view and analyse measurement of Facebook marketing strategies adapted by different organizations.

The main aim of this study is to find out what influences users on quantity of time they spend on Facebook. This was done at a view point of the kind of usage, brand and how much they are involved in advertisement. The managed result also showed that Facebook usage was on: post on timeline, fun, looking for friends and during free time. It also showed that gender and marital status contribute to the time spent on Facebook. Objectives of this study are:

  1. To view Facebook marketing activities
  2. To evaluate the intensity of Facebook marketing strategies
  3. To examine the consequence of Facebook marketing activities
  4. To charge the helpfulness of Facebook marketing measurements in terms of importance of social network sites
  5. To find out how marketers are adapting to the advertisement changing world.

Reason for the study

Facebook was first discovered in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, it was confined to college students requiring users to use their email ids connected with their colleges. Facebook movement enlarged new has association and today Facebook gets 200000 memberships daily and 54 billion standard page view. Social networking sites they are no longer innovative but Facebook marketing has tried to improve and maintain its users. Facebook is a website equipped with different types of software that are needed in the internet to allow user to perform activities that can be performed on different website making it an outstanding social networking. Apart from the marketing function, Facebook marketing is also used for public communication and personal private communication like sending family pictures.

View of the study

Communication occurs where there is a sender and a receiver of a message being transmitted. Computer application is one of the ways that that is used to communicate; IT modification has developed the mode of communication making it acceptable for social work communication to be accepted. This has allowed users to acquire widespread awareness. Availability of different software that make up Facebook it is possible to use Facebook marketing instead of using other different websites to promote and advertise you product.

This are things like uploading an image or a video so as customers can view all the features of the product. It has also been discovered that most of the users do not pay attention to the advertisement in there profile and this can lead to companies developing a communication direction with their clients and this is much better than social marketing (Bakker, 2003).

Social networks

Social networking has affected individuals differently. The networks link connect individually online all around the word. IT development has put together the daily lives activities of individuals. Out of curiosity people have widely accepted social networking and they engage more on social networking. They send links to their friends and also write more on their profiles. Some websites have restrictions on who is to join in terms age, gender or religious and others group there members into different categories like mutual racial or gender but there are some other groups that do not carry any restrictions and anybody can join.

Competitive market structure

Social networking is based on a competitive market where they work hard for each website to increase its competitiveness advantage for each site to emerge the best then they should be creative and come up with something unique.  This is done by working and coming up with new and more resolution to get hold of their clients. Marketers work on this by making simple online brand communities, this are social sites that depend on structure position of their relationship among their brand followers and they are focused; non- geological limit communities.

This communities influence their customer intentions and behavior due to their good relationship. They also create an easy working environment for their customers like providing contact information. Facebook being one of the social network sites with billions of users they take advantage the relationship to market products. They are different methods used to market in Facebook like rumor marketing, dispersal of modernization, buzz marketing and viral marketing. Rumor marketing is one that is mostly used.

Social network analysis

Social network examination is quite important to search for the best technique to determine “who talks to whom” in a group of people. It is also very important to analyse a social network to understand which group suits you and also to understand the type of information that is required.

Importance of Facebook marketing

Facebook marketing has become one of the best marketing channels in the word of businesses. One of the major importance of Facebook marketing is has varied areas and also makes things appear to be more real. It can also advise and help organizations on how to get new clients. The development of Facebook marketing has helped user to rely on online communication whereby you don’t have to appear face to face. Facebook has turned out to be one of the social networks which have grown drastically in rumor marketing.

In most cases rumor Facebook marketing requires a face to face appearance so as it can be more effective for buyers to buy the product. Companies that want to introduce a new product in the market mostly go for internet marketing. This is because there are several users and also rumor marketing is more effective if used on social sites. This is also cheaper than employing other classical advertising channels and also Facebook is managed by individuals and their relationship among each other helps them to communicate effectively.

You should also consider the most effective and persuasive to use for good promotion. Nielsen researched and found out that 78% of 26000 Facebook users are invited by the Facebook old members. Deloitte consumer products group found out that 62% percent of clients are influenced by user appraisal to read more about products.

Empirical researches inspected that new ideas are passed through interpersonal statement. In the current generation every business has have an online Facebook account this helps in targeting the young generation are also it gives everybody an opportunity to give out there views. (Bakker, 2003) defined the Facebook marketing method as that includes electric media of channel where a buyer and seller interact. These suggest that e-marketing is concerned with promoting products through technology.

Facebook Marketing Essay

Facebook marketing and business

According to researcher It was discovered that Facebook marketing has altered marketing communication in business and company. Most of the vendors use Facebook marketing to look compare and contrast products and services offered by different companies. This also helps to analyse the strength and weaknesses of the rival company. Clients also consider the security of each website.

(Kozinets, 2009, pp. 252-264) Confirms that business that engage in Facebook and e-marketing grow by 46% quicker than those that use classical advertising. Online usage of marketing by companies has believed to be of an advantage over their rival companies. Facebook is the most essential social media platform in e-commerce business has large companies. For instance Ebay and Amazon are the largest e-commerce to reach its vast extensive users.

(C.M., Anthony, & E.A., 2004, pp. 90-204) investigated on possible measure that Facebook marketing can advice the development of the young and growing business to increase their sales and their profits. On the other hand (Henkin, 2006, pp. 109-483) insists that Facebook marketing can be used as an outstanding media off communication and can also assist clients to come up with what they want. (DiClemente & Hantula, 2003, p. 785) emphasized that there was truth in (Henkin, 2006) suggests that Facebook can be used by small companies to gain big numbers of people and increase their sales.

Facebook creates a good customer relationship; this is by a close supervision to assess the customers’ feedback and also to monitor your rivals at a close watch. Del and Fedex Company are some are some of the companies that employ Facebook marketing to promote their products. For instance Del uses Facebook to get rid of the supply chain offer this will offer a reader a design of how straight selling has contributed to the company to be the word class firm while Fedex company concentrate on creating a simple order which directs them to the achievement of the courier organization not only in America but everywhere in the word. (C.M., Anthony, & E.A., 2004).

The development of technology has helped Facebook marketing to play other important role other than just helping in business representation or supervising in the supply chain then they can help the company to understand how they can produce their products.  (Briggs & Burke, 2002). To achieve an efficient firm then Facebook can advice on it is important for firm to have self belief and also put more effort in Facebook marketing. In a number of cases Facebook marketing is believed to have achieved the best like. Big companies like Amazon, Fedex and Dell they have grown rapidly and this is made possible the individual examination of each company to ensure that face book marketing is working effectively in the companies.

Marketing plans

To come up with effective marketing plans the organization should involve the community to get opinions on what their products should have and what is the best time to release their products this will help the organizations to have the best market plan. Advertising is one of the ways that you can involve the viewers and get their opinions. This can be done through television advertisement. In the current years Facebook advertisement is considered to be the best since the viewers can easily live there comment. (Steinfield Ellison Lampe 2008 434–445). This is essential to Facebook marketing plans.

Perceptions of advertising relevance and value

In another research it discovered that clients have a different reaction of online marketing. These reactions can be identified on the use of Facebook marketing. One of the client behaviors is seen on Facebook marketing offered as a two level arrangement showing widespread insight of Facebook marketing and the personal insight with marketing. The other effect is seen at an individual level where one is able to converse with each other regardless the distance (Alwitt & Prabhaker, 2004). Facebook has gain popularity and it is highly praised for its power to influence more and more people to use.

It contains unique measures like image sending, text sending and also sending video links. It is possible and very easy for Facebook marketing affiliates to access information regarding a company when they view the multilingual profile of the business. It also helps business organization to describe more about their products in there profiles (B. & Ellison, 2007).

Advertising avoidance

This may appear mostly when viewers don’t pay attention to the advertisement this can occur when people don’t pay attention to the pop ups in the internet or when people revolve to other programs on the television when there is a ads break. Others don’t even pay attention to the ads place on the newspaper. Advertising confusion may appear when there is over advertising in a well known advertising media (Palmer and Koenig Lewis 2009 pp 162-176).

Credibility

Credibility can be defined as the belief or a personal thinking of something. Media and marketing credibility could be described as the perspective of the customer thinking and customer believe about media advertising. It has been discovered that online media credibility can be measured. Another research carried out discovered that internet information is not restricted. This makes online information not to be trusted since it is not restricted. Peoples mostly don’t pay attention to online pop up advertisement because they don’t trust in it.

Privacy

Privacy matters in social internet sites have become one on of the problems. People don’t trust internet with their information. Some people end up exposing extremely personal information on their website which can be accessed by everybody.

Evaluation

Social media use different methods to converse which are innovative shift. Some of the social media are blogs, wikis which are similar to Facebook as well as LinkedIn. With the developing technology more and more social sites are coming up but customers’ use this websites after lawyers have inspected them and they are found fit to use.

New FTC Guidelines Implicate Social Media

The Federal trade Commission issues testimonials or improvement guidelines that are relevant to social media whether it is a sponsor or not. In Inadvertent liability may affect not present wary monitor. In fabric association a company as well as a blogger or tweeter, it has got to be released by the blogger or tweeter as well as accountability for deteriorating.

Company Sponsored Social Media

Companies using Facebook marketing, YouTube and all the other social media they need there pages to be well regulate in matters of law or trademark and copyright infringement. Facebook is one of the sites that are much easier to regulate and still deliver all your messages.

Employers/Employees Issues

Both the employers and employee play a role in the development of the company. The two parties use social media for business and personal matters. This requires one to be more careful about the laws governing the company. All business is based under laws that that should be well followed by both the employs and the employer.

Employee Use of Social Media

If a company is not allowed to use social media the employees should be fully educated on the consequences of social media participation and they should also know how to differentiate their private and professional life. If a company uses social media then they should know how to handle the business matters to portray a good picture of the company.

Employer Use of Social Media

Companies are more application amusing media to

  1. Awning abeyant job applicants.
  2. Investigate doubtable counterfeit claims for workers’ advantage or unemployment benefits.
  3. Adviser agent conduct, which may reflect ailing on the company.

This amusing media is still evolving in the favor of accepting an accounting policy. As an employer you should acknowledge any risk that can be encountered by the company if the product is posted online.

Intellectual Acreage Issues

For a company to be full recognized it should have a trademark or a copyright to help it protect the company brand. This trademark should appear on the ambit of the product or article for it to be recognized easily.

Policing One’s Bookish Acreage is Essential

This is analyzing amusing media sites for crooked use of a company’s batter name, logo or more bookish property. By quickly policing a company’s bookish acreage on amusing media sites, an aggregation can more acceptable bulwark off an affirmation. Although this can be time arresting there are abundant accouterments a business may use to advise the web.

Trademark Aegis in Basic Worlds

The use of barter names and logos are so essentials and it has become a rising concern. The law is much concerned on these items. Brand support argument has become one of the issues that are a concern online.

Misappropriation of Corporate Bookish Acreage for Amusing Media User Names

Misuse of logo and name is growing rapidly and it has become of allot of concern. People have been using logo and names that resemble. An example is where there are hundred Starbucks sucks pages and groups as well as fake and totally disapproved hundred Starbucks suck pages and groups. Facebook is one social site that has adopted an action to accord with incidents of brand imposters and fake brands.

Copyright Infringement

Agenda Millennium Absorb act was established to the accepted amusing media sites has created a specific action to approve dispute. Most of the sites have begun these procedures that are the agreement of service and a quicker action and also a sure way to accomplish copyrights than litigation.

Facebook Marketing and Litigation Issues

The development of technology is governed by lawsuits that are not supposed to be violated by the company or the users. The use of the amusing media is all about having fun and a lot of excitement. In most cases amusing media acutely expands the cosmos of potentially accountability abstract and impact destruction. In all cases of social media legal matters should be kept into consideration despite the category of the social media.

Contemplating the Close Consumption Experience

A lot of research and investigation have been carried out about the amusing networking website. This website frequently pop up questions like “What is on your mind?” to the members this question helps people to give their real life emotions and experience. These make a lot of users to spend a lot of their time examining their own thoughts. In a business with a customer research may encounter problems during their research. If a business uses Facebook marketing then it will help the owners to get the real expression of the customers. According to Mathews inculcated a thoroughly civil appearance of empiric absoluteness beyond all bookish disciplines, such that the article of our observations is accepted to disentangle in a law like way, uninterrupted by chat with its assemblage or eruptions of anapestic self-disclosure or promptings of close will.

For Virginia Woolf, it was a moment of being; for James Joyce, an epiphany; Ezra Pound, a magic moment; Walter Benjamin, shock; and for T. S. Eliot, the still point of the axis world. Introspection then, bedridden with what a lot of accurate scholars, and absolutely customer ability theorists, would accede a too baby sample, never had a chance, (Wasserman Faust 2004 46-90) which is an abashment accustomed its inherent abeyant to abduction the abstruse moment. Companies like Google and Facebook they have a secret writing system which cause the rising of salaries.

Some of the well paid technology professionals are from Silicon Valley rose. In 2011 it was 5.2% to breach $100000 barrier, while pay rose just 2% nationally, according to a contemporary bacon survey. One admission academy senior, announcement anonymously on the Web, claimed that Facebook marketing office offered a $100,000 salary, a $50,000 signing bonus, and $120,000 in banal options. According to the announcement filed in affiliation with Facebook’s planned antecedent accessible alms of stock, the company’s headcount jumped from 2,127 to 3,200 full-time advisers in 2011. Unlike some ample companies, Facebook marketing does not leave recruiting programmers to its animal assets department.

One thing is that most companies don’t hire for specific jobs Facebook puts new hires through a six-week Cossack affected area they circle through projects, allotment one that apparel them best. “Facebook marketing and added companies accomplishing this are saying, (Simonite 2012) ‘You can plan for us and still be ambitious and actualize your own thing.

Although the coder antagonism looks like a fun and able meritocracy, it as well reflects problems in the U.S. apprenticeship system. Very few women participate, and a lot of the winners are from overseas. “Facebook [is] aggressively traveling to added countries because there aren not abundant accomplished humans in the U.S. Facebook marketing has a able ability of ‘hacking’ and already a month, advisers are accustomed 24 hours to absorb developing a new app. Successful ideas, which were prototype at a drudge day, cover the Like button and Timeline.

The affair of the day was ‘distribution’ via the Open Graph API. By positing user ‘actions’ (such as read, share, like, ate etc) to the Open Graph (OG), this advice can be aggregate beyond the After three added circuit of academician teasers, Facebook marketing will fly the top 25 coders to its arch appointment in Menlo Park, for an adrenaline-soaked after piece this March that will accolade the best $5,000. In return, Facebook marketing gets an attempt at hiring the stars apparent forth the way.

Online marketing has become one of the most leading systems of marketing that is applied by both large and smalls business, both old and new they all engage in online marketing. Some of the social website that rare widely used is Facebook marketing. Therefore, Facebook marketing is believed to be one of the modern ways that people can use to promote and advertise their products. In the current year email marketing and mobile marketing are used. What makes Facebook the best among is that it contains both Emails marketing and online marketing to.

Companies that use Facebook marketing capture more clients thus making more sales. The coming up of Facebook marketing and all other social networking websites in businesses and observation of laws ensuring that they don’t violate any laws has created a remarkable marketing environment for business and its client. Facebook having its positive side it still have some negativity that might cause damage to the business.

Some of the problems faced by Facebook marketers are: some of the people may end up revealing their personal information on the website which will be accessible by anybody; this shows that Facebook does not provide privacy. Social website also does not restrict information this can lead to people sending counterfeit information which is not reliable to the users. This leads to many viewers not relying on internet advertisement and they prefer to use TV advertisement.

This causes decline of sale in internet marketing. For a business to be successful on e-marketing they should educate there both the users and the employees on how they should use the internet without violating the laws. According to the objectives of the research it has been proved that most of the marketers and business owners have adapted technological method of promoting their products. All the problems that were encountered by the marketers were noticed and it became easy for them to come up with the effective solutions. All the measure of how to appraise Facebook marketing strategies were analysed and they can now be practiced.

References

A., A. S., & M., P. (2007). Online Social Networks and Insights into Facebook Marketing Communications. Journal of Internet Commerce.

Adamic, L. A., & Huberman., B. A. (2010). The Nature of Markets in the World Wide Web.Quarterly Journal of Electronic Commerce.

Alwitt, L. F., & Prabhaker, P. R. (2004). Identifying Who Dislikes Television Advertising: Not By Demographics Alone. Journal of Advertising Research.

B., B., & Ellison, B. (2007). Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 13.

Bakker, G. (2003). Building Knowledge about the Consumer: The Emergency of Market Research in the Motion Picture Industry. London: Frank Cass and Company Ltd.

Briggs, A., & Burke, P. (2002). A Social History of the Media. Cambridge: Polity Press.

C.M., C., Anthony, S., & E.A., R. (2004). Seeing What’s Next Facebook Marketing. Boston: Harvard School Publishing Corporation.

Cowan, R. S. (2007). Communication Technologies and Social Control Facebook Marketing. New York:: Oxford University Press.

D, B. (2006). Friends, Friendsters, and MySpace Top 8. Friends, Friendsters, and MySpace Top 8.

DiClemente, D. F., & Hantula, D. A. (2003). Optimal Foraging Online: Increasing Sensitivity to Delay. Psychology & Marketing.

Geyskens, I., Gielens, K., & Dekimpe, M. G. (2002). The Market Valuation of Internet Channel Additions. Journal of Marketing, 66.

Hardin, G. (2008). The Tragedy of the Commons. Science – Facebook Marketing.

Hart, K. (2007). Online Networking Goes Small, and Sponsors Follow,. The Washington Post.

Henkin, D. (2006). The Postal Age: The Emergence of Modern Communications in Nineteenth-Century America. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

J.H, M., J., S., & H, K. (2002, january). Building Brand Community. Journal of Marketing.

Kozinets, R. V. (2009). E-Tribalized Marketing? The Strategic Implications of Virtual Communities of Consumption,”. European Management Journal, 17.

Kreshel, P. J. (2003). Advertising Research in the Pre-Depression Years: A Cultural History.Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, 15(1).

R., A., U.M., D., & A., H. (2005). The Social Influence of Brand Community: Evidence from European Car Clubs. Journal of Marketing, 69, 19–34.

R., G. M. (2008). Facebook Marketing Stranger Danger and the Online Social Network. Berkeley Technology Law Journal Annual Review, 23.

T., H. M. (2008). An Ethnography of Social Network in Cyberspace: The Facebook Phenomenon. The Hong Kong Anthropologist.

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Marketing Essays For Students

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Health and Safety Management

Health and Safety Management Essay

Health and Safety Management – The British Airways Company being a member of the European airlines’ royal family, carries cargo and passengers to destinations exceeding 150 in some 75 states from hubs at the city of London’s Heathrow, Gatwick and airports in London city. The carrier does its operations to a fleet of aircraft exceeding 240, which consist mainly of Boeing jets and Airbus.

BA (British Airways) stretches its network and services to destinations that exceeds 400 in total, through agreements of joint business and relationships that are code shared with AMR’s airlines from America and Oneworld alliance members, for instance, Qantas. Iberia, which was Spain’s number one airline, merged with the BA (British Airways) in 2011 that led to the formation of IAG (International Airlines Group).

The company comprises of a workforce personnel who add up to approximately 57,000, who happen to be distributed to several sectors or sections, for instance, the management, customer service, grounds operations, security, finance, and so on. However, BA being a well recognized airline company, my company is an affiliate of it whereby it deals with clearing and forwarding of goods that are being transported.

The company does its operations on ground level only mainly for BA airlines, and it has a workforce of about 450 employees. The employees are spread across and all over within the airline’s are of work (grounds only). The company mainly deals with luggage on transport or that are imported or exported, cleaning of the aircraft, luggage inspection and so on.

Health and Safety Management

For every company that has employees or workforce that exceeds five in number, should come up with health and safety management measures as required by law in addition to several other management of safety that are subjected as legal requirements. The British Airways (BA) is one of the companies that are subjected to this. Every year, over 200 people get killed and over a million get serious injuries every year at their work stations or places.

Those who suffer from illnesses made worse by or caused by their work are over two million. Forestry industries are the industries that are well known to be more dangerous, and workers in this sector are prone to more dangers that can result to death and/or illnesses when they are at work compared to any other industry or company, for instance, in construction sites or even airports in this case. However, no danger is greater than the other, provided that it can maim or even kill, it is still danger and for that reason, safety and health measures should to be put to safeguard the lives of the workers at the work premises.

Health and Safety Management
Health and Safety Management

The provision of health and safety management training and information has its importance to every individual in instances where it helps to; ensure that workers or employees is not made ill or/and injured by the kind of works that they engage themselves in, developing of a culture that is safe and of positive health, whereby healthy working and safety becomes every worker’s second nature, realizing and finding out how to manage safety and health better and finally, meeting the legal obligation of protecting the health and safety management of workers.

Training the workers effectively also has its significance, whereby; it contributes towards enabling the workers to be experienced in safety and health, assists companies to keep away from stresses that ill health and accidents cause, and finally, help the companies to stay away from financial expenses that are likely to be caused due to ill health occupations and accidents. In addition, it is important to consider that, not all losses are covered by the insurance company. Products that are damaged, production that are lost and workforce that lacks motivation can all be the cause.

Health and Safety Management at Airports

Health and safety management in airports is paramount in the delivery of every project, and operate a system of safety management. The system of system management adopts the main beliefs of the guidance on successful health and safety management and is controlled in full observance with every current legislation safety. Young and Wells (2011 p. 78) give out a suggestion that, highlighting that is done is normally based on regulations on construction, design and management (2007) with airports gratifying the role of contractor or principal contractor, the assessment of risk for the purposes of identifying hazards, risk evaluation, implementation of harmless and secure systems of work and related controls, providing training and awareness for every employee from every level and finally, controlling of the sub contractors.

Like in most airports, according to Fuller and Varssie (2004 p. 112), the health and safety management and systems, replicates detailed approach to in the provision of work for every employee and the company’s duties to others. The company has a safety record that is of excellence, managers who normally attend course of safe management, are usually trained with perfection. The monitoring and the enforcement of the policy regarding health and safety management performance across every business activity through:

  • Toolbox talks
  • Safety audits and inspections
  • Reporting of accidents and near miss
  • Regular reports about safety
  • The involvement of a member of staff and communications
  • Regular meetings regarding management team, with a resilient stress on performance of safety
  • Regular meetings on management with a resilient highlighting on management, safety and performance

Accident assessment at workplace

According to Ludwig and Ayres (2007 p. 67) they suggest that, there are various common accidents that do occur in workplace. Injuries at places of work that are suffered by workers who work in the airport, are not restricted to scrapes, paper cuts and other negligible issues. A good number of workers (probably thousands) — whether they conduct their work inside an office or at a site that construction is underway — put up with incapacitating, life-changing injuries every year. If anyone or a loved one for that matter, became ill withed an injury when he was on his place of work, he should seek out for the assistance he needs as soon as possible.

According to Ludwig and Ayres (2007 p. 76), waiting excessively for so long to file an allegation, could put one’s capability of obtaining full reimbursement at jeopardy. For example, Hank Barnett of The Barnett Law Firm has important familiarity of helping workers who are injured to obtain their compensation via the compensation system of Georgia’s workers’. As of 1983, he has assisted a lot of clients file winning claims or appeals a refutation of reimbursement benefits of workers’. He figures out the functionality of the system, has familiarity in dealing with companies that handle indemnity (insurance companies) and works hard to defend the rights of his clients at any given time.

Common Injuries Due to a Workplace Accident

A number of law firms, among them, The Barnett Law, Firm have assisted workers with injuries who are from the range of syndrome of carpal tunnel and injuries of repetitive stress to accidents that have caused a catastrophic death of a cherished one. It is understood that that a number of injuries may have need of an employer to create accommodations for instance, an impermanent change in duties of work, at the same time as others averts the injured worker from working for extensive periods of time. Whatever the state of affairs, According to Fuller and Varssie (2004 p. 134), the law will make sure that the injured worker is given the care and reimbursement he necessitates. Other common workplace injuries include:

  • Neck and back injuries
  • Injuries of the spinal cord
  • Brain trauma (TBI) and head injuries
  • RSD (reflex sympathetic dystrophy) and chronic pain
  • Ankle, knee and leg, injuries
  • Occupational / workplace disease
  • Burns or injuries those are chemically-related
  • Psychological disorders
  • Aggravation of pre-obtainable injuries

The law is conscious that one is going through a traumatic time. Therefore, it concentrates on getting results fast and provides the clients with the kind of respect they ought to have (National Research Council 2012 p. 89).

Common examples of accidents at work – Health and Safety Management

Accidents at places of work can occur at whichever time and to any person whether an individual is working in an office, a warehouse or a shop. According to Fuller and Varssie (2004 p. 167), scores of these will rely on the kind of working surroundings, for example, recurring Strain Injury is more probable to occur in an office like place of work and injuries of the back from physical work. Despite the fact that it is the employer‘s responsibility of anyone to minimize the risk of accidents, they do unluckily take place from time to time. There are scores of injuries of dissimilar types that can come to pass in the places of work including:

Trips and Slips

Just about a third of accidents that come about in the places of work are a consequence of trips and slips. Trips and slips injuries take place mainly for the reasons that are relating to wet floors because of bad weather poor or housekeeping, or objects hindering the footpath for example cables or floors that are uneven. Young and Wells (2011 p. 126) suggest that these injuries can vary from negligible bruises and bumps to main fractures. To minimize such incidences or accidents then some measures have to be put to combat injuries that are liable to be brought about by trips and slips. Ensuring that there should be no wet floor and incase of any, then it should be dried up immediately. The floors should be rough like to enhance grip while walking hence no trips will be likely to occur, and finally, doing a thorough housekeeping and ensuring that no object is hindering the footpath. If this is followed, least amount accidents will be witnessed.

Lifting

Yet again this is an additional major reason of accidents in places of work. Accidents that are resulted by lifting are more possible to take place amongst those staff members who have to take on manual management including pulling, pushing, lowering, lifting or carrying huge items on a customary basis. An injury can take place if the maneuver is not done in the approved manner or when an individual has not been shown how to perform the task as it should be in line with health and safety management course of action. People in this particular of environment should be well taught on how to perform these tasks appropriately in order to avoid injuries at work. In addition, the use of machinery should come to place in order to make their work easier when it comes to lifting of heavy objects, for example, the use of fork lifts

Falls

According to National Research Council (2012 p. 109), this kind of accident can consist of falling from stepladders or other platforms that are raised from the ground, for example, scaffolding. Injuries that are obtained from falling can array from slight strains or sprains to major back or head fractures and injuries. In this scenario, there is only one simple step that can keep individuals in the places of work safe, and that is simply them being watchful and careful

Workplace Traffic Accidents

These can take place in any place of work that makes full use of motorized vehicles like for example, in warehouses, and airports for that matter. Injuries can take place if the automobile that is being used, crashes or overturns or when items descend from it. The safety measures for this case are quite strict and should be followed in order to avoid such cases. As Ludwig and Ayres (2007 p. 89) suggests that the staff using the automobile, should acquire appropriate training on how to use the machinery, in terms of the required speed, maximum weight to be lifted (commonly in forklifts) and so on, because when it comes to automobiles, it is required that care and watchfulness should be the order of the duty.

Burns

Young and Wells (2011 p. 117) suggest that individuals who do their works in the kitchen, are not the only ones who can go through major or minor burn injuries, but even those perform electrical work are also capable of suffering from burns typically because of shock caused by electricity. The only safety measures to be put to practice in this situation, is the wearing of gloves at all times and never handling hot or naked wires with bare hands.

Neck and Back injuries

Despite the fact that working in an office can appear safe enough, having the same sitting position from time to time can occasionally result to neck and back injuries. According to Reese (2009 p. 113), this can take place if an individual is not in the appropriate sitting position, for instance, when the chair too low or high for the desk, no support of the back, when the computer too low so drooping over the desk. Getting the appropriate office furniture is the solution on top of sitting in the correct position, normally, 90 degrees and eyes straight to the screen.

Driving accidents – these take place to those individuals, who engage in driving as part of their work, for instance, taxi drivers, dispatch riders, sales rep, fast food delivery and so on. Following traffic rules is the only solution to avoid accidents, which is common sense.

Heavy apparatus – members of staff who work with heavy and plant apparatus for instance industries that deal with construction can put up with major work accidents. The use of machinery should be put to practice and weight balancing should also be put in mind to avoid accidents that are being caused doe to overload.

The RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) – is mainly resulted by excessive use of the arms or hands to do a recurring job for so long without taking a break, for instance, factory work, typing, writing, driving, and so on. Taking a break is important n this case and this allows the body to coordinate well.

Problems with Vision– this injury can frequently take place to the individuals who make use of computers as their working toll on a daily basis. This injury is becoming the most widespread injury because of the frequent exploit of computers in the place of work.

PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) – according to Taylor (2005 p. 167), it is a type of a concern disorder that is able to arise after an individual has experienced or witnessed a shocking and disturbing event that drew in the risk of injury or death. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is more frequent in jobs of, for example, driving as one could possibly be involved in a dreadful car accident, or working in a business that may possibly be held up, for example, banks, post office or bookmakers.

Example of an Accident That Occurred

Not much time has passed since one of the mentioned accidents happened to one of the workers and sustained serious injuries that he obtained from burns caused by electric shock. The worker and his colleagues left their respective places of work late in the night and were headed for the engineering department where all the repairs are done. They normally hang out there as they catch up on old time stories, because apparently, they happened to be friends who were united together by the job that they were doing.

It rained heavily that night that the drainage system was becoming a nuisance, so the rain water flooded everywhere and water managed to find its way in the room. Peter accidentally dropped his phone and rushed to pick it up, but without knowing, he supported himself with the wall and his other hand reaching for the wet phone and got an electric shock that was caused by a naked cable that was being used for welding. The burns were so serious that his hand had to be amputated. Following this incident, the colleagues also developed PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) that made them to develop fear of that particular place for the reasons that, it reminds them of that incident.

In such cases, according to National Research Council (2012 p. 78), there are measures that if were put into practice, the occurrence would not have happened. The first thing that should have been done is making sure that all the apparatus that use electricity especially of high voltages, should have been properly checked, managed and repaired, for the reason that any naked wire can result to serious damage as experienced by the staff member. The second thing that should have been done, is ensuring that water drainage system should be regularly checked and corrections should be done upon being spotted, because apart from the shocking incident, water can make floors slippery hence casing someone to trip and fall, something that can bring about head, back or even spinal injuries, and as known, these are deadly injuries with severe results. Lastly, tools must never be left in the open, especially electric tools; they should be disconnected from any source of electricity and be stored and kept in dry places in order to reduce such cases.

References

Fuller, C., & Vassie, L. H. (2004). Health and safety management: principles and best practice. Harlow (Essex), Pearson Education.

Ludwig, D. A., & Ayres, M. (2007). Safety management systems for airports. Washington, D.C., Transportation Research Board. National Research Council (U.S.), Airport Cooperative Research Program, United States,

Ricondo & Associates, Planport GMBH., Two Hundred, Inc, & Flughafen Zürich.      (2012).Airport apron management and control programs. Washington, D.C., Transportation Research Board.

Reese, C. D. (2009). Occupational health and safety management: a practical approach. Boca   Raton, CRC Press.

Taylor, B. (2005). Effective Environmental, Health and Safety Management Using the Team Approach. Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons.

Young, S. B., & Wells, A. T. (2011). Airport planning and management. New York, McGraw-Hill Professional.

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HRM Employee Relations

Employee Relations

One of the most important factors in any workplace is the relationship between employees and employers. This relationship is sometimes termed as “Employee Relations”, referring to the relationship between employees and employers in an industrial setting. Employees have specified rights over their working conditions and over other matters regarding their pay, redundancy, overtime, promotion, and many other issues. These rights are specified by law and sometimes, also negotiated through trade unions or worker unions in order to influence the decision of employers.

Each country specifies the rights of its workforce differently and some countries give workers higher bounds of protection. In some countries, such as the United States and Great Britain, workers have fought for their own rights over different periods in history and have succeeded in gaining a considerable amount of influence. Great Britain has a minimum wage limit set for its workers and employers all over Great Britain are obligated to at least pay their workers this amount for work they have done. Other laws and statutes protect workers from being overworked, underpaid, or discriminated against for employment and promotional purposes. Laws also outline the type of working conditions and working environment that is essential for workers and the rules as to how/when and in which circumstances, workers can be laid off, fired, or made redundant (Rose, pg 94-111, 2004).

Other factors which also affect employee relations are factors such as pension plans, education plans, training, and disability and injury allowances. Hence, there are a number of factors that employers and employees must be conscious of in the setting of an employment contract (Lewis, pg 110, 2009). Moreover, with the growing influence of employees and with increasing bargaining power, employers must set strategies and approaches in order to effectively deal with the whims and concerns of their employees. No workplace can operate without the employees being properly motivated and satisfied with their work. Dissatisfied employees may mean large losses for the firm and in the case of Great Britain, some lawsuits as well (Rose, pg 98, 2004).

International and Regulatory System

The international system regarding employee welfare and employee relations lacks coercive power and is not able to effectively regulate the conditions offered to employees in various countries. International laws are difficult to implement as each country has their own policy and their own concerns regarding employee welfare. An example of an international law that is difficult to implement is the law against child labor, restricting the number of hours a child under a certain age can work. However, Third World countries are not able to implement this law effectively and child labor is heavily prevalent in such countries The United Kingdom has set a proper regulatory system for employer and employee relations and aims to ensure that both sides receive their fair share. It is alleged at times that employees receive a greater amount of leniency and have more say than the employer in the maintenance of this relationship. However, employees in the UK also have issues regarding the minimum wage, pension plans, and health benefits included in their pay (Lewis, pg. 114-184,2003).

Employee Relations
Employee Relations

Developed countries such as the UK, Australia, USA, and Canada have regulatory systems which aim to moderate the relationship between employees and employers (mature employee relations). Laws govern the contracts upheld by both parties and the clauses are testable by law. Hence, if one party fails to acknowledge or fulfill a clause mentioned in the contract, that party is liable to punishment by law. However, not all countries have a regulatory system. Most Third World Countries do not have a minimum wage nor an obligation to provide employees with any other benefits. Discrimination and unnecessary redundancy is strongly prevalent in such countries. No system exists to properly assist labor in standing up for their rights. Cheap labor is readily available in less developed countries and developed countries are often found exploiting this situation. Since their own countries have a strong system regulating employer and employee relationship, they avail cheaper labor without any hassles in less developed countries (Lewis, pg 189,2009).

However, the international system and regulatory power for employer and employee relations details issues such as age requirements for work, health benefit plans, job security,  minimum wage, and retirement plans. There are several agencies working to aim to secure such benefits for employees all over the world (Hollingshead, pg 24-32, 2010).

Trade unions and worker associations also do not have full acknowledgement and recognition under the laws of many countries. Hence, workers are unable to negotiate terms and conditions with their companies on a large scale or engage in “collective bargaining”. Mainly, in Third World countries it is the blue collared workers or labor class who lack education and awareness of their rights. These people also lack opportunities and hence are exploited by their employers by being offered low wages and practically no-benefits (Rose, pg 156-230, 2004) this will have an adverse effect on employee relations.

White collar workers or skilled labor is more informed regarding international law; hence usually such workers do engage in proper contracts and receive competitive salaries, according to their qualifications. They also receive benefits, health insurance, and retirement plans. Most Third World countries also implement international law upon their own government employees.

Government employees are given proper employee benefits and adequate pays with pay raises whenever adequate. They are treated according to international standards of employer and employee relations (Lewis, pg 89-105, 2003).

However, only one side of the story should not be accounted for as employees also have an obligation to fulfill their duties during the period of employment. International law states that employees may be fired if they fail to perform all their duties. Hence, it is mandatory for employees to also not over emphasize their power. There is also a maximum limit to the pay raises and extra benefits that employees can negotiate and any violent or defaming behavior can lead to arrest and conviction. Unnecessary union formations and illicit use of power is strongly condemned (Jenard & Judge, pg 161, 2005).

International regulations mainly aim to ensure that all employees are given fair opportunities and are not exploited. They aim to prevent discrimination on the basis of age, gender, ethnicity, and background. They also aim to ensure that all employers are protected against illicit employee action and employee strikes. However, all of these regulations are made by separate international organizations. It is difficult for these organizations to implement their policies in all countries or convince governments to adopt their policies. They must convince governments to sign deals and contracts for the adoption of these policies, yet this is a very difficult task. These organizations lack coercive power. They cannot force other countries to adopt these policies if they do not find them beneficial. The act against child labor was upheld by the UN, but lacks serious implementation (Hollingshead, pg 121, 2005).

These countries still have children working long laborious hours in dangerous situations and being paid very little for their efforts. Hence, international regulations have very little influence and power in the global world. They are mostly ineffective and of no practical use. However, they do raise awareness and raise a voice for some potential concerns regarding the work place.

Mostly, these international laws affect workplaces in Great Britain, USA, and other developed countries, where employees are educated and well-informed. Employees raise a voice in sequence with these laws themselves and demand to be given equal rights and opportunities as people in other developed countries receive. This can be exemplified in the new Pension increase movement in Great Britain (Coats, pg 1, 2010).

However, people in less developed countries seldom have many opportunities and are happy with what they receive as payment for their work. They cannot afford to demand more as they will be in danger of losing their job, instead of being given what they deserve. Employers in these countries also lack resources to be able to give their employees such extravagant benefits. International regulations can only help in raising awareness among the educated class and then enabling the workers to fight for their rights themselves. Moreover, despite such strong efforts, discrepancies prevail in countries like the UK and the USA, where opportunities for men and women are still not identical. Women do receive less pay in many professions such as doctors, lawyers, actresses, and many others. Biases do exist and there is still a prevalence of unjust behavior in these places as well, tending to make it even more difficult to uphold a system in countries which lack resources for implementation (Jenard & Judge, pg 113, 2005).

Employee Relations Approaches

There are two main approaches to employee relations, which include the individualistic approach and the collective approach. Employers choose their management style according to what they find most suitable and what is preferred.

The individualistic approach outlines the way employers prefer to keep separate management styles and negotiations open with individual employees and collective negotiating means dealing with the full work force at large (Blyton, pg 94-102, 2004).

Coordinating and managing employer and employee relationships become more difficult and complicated year by year. It is essential to manage the concerns of employees regarding issues such relocation of industry, harassment, redundancy, compensation, and violent behavior. Hence, it is important for each employee to have a progressive attitude towards the relationship between employee and employer. If this relationship becomes weak, the company suffers at large (Blyton, pg 230-234, 2004) this will hinder employee relations on a large scale.

As mentioned before, there are two ways of managing this relationship, which are a collective approach or an individual approach. The individual approach involves contact of an individual employee with the employer. The employer negotiates the terms and conditions of the contract with the individual employee, pertaining to that employee only (Lewis, pg 208-215,2003).

There are advantages with using the individualistic approach which include that there are only one person’s interests involved and hence, there is no conflict between parties. Sometimes, when the opinion of multiple employees is taken, various employees have differing views and differing interests. Hence, it is difficult to serve the interests of all employees and a trade-off must be made in order to serve the interests of the majority, which might leave some employees unhappy. An example to illustrate this is, one employee may feel that the wage rate is too low, while another may feel that more fringe benefits should be provided to employees. Another employee’s concern may be the health insurance plan and another employee may be worried about the new downsizing operation that the company has begun. It would be extremely difficult for the employer to serve all needs simultaneously; hence some employees will be left unattended in this regard. With individual bargaining, individual needs are catered to in the employment contract, hence there is no conflict.

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I Love Study-Aids.co.uk

Moreover, since the whims and needs of one person are included in individual bargaining, the employee relations does not have to compromise significantly as to the attendance of his/ her needs. The employee and employer can easily come upon a one-on-one settlement (.Edwards, pg 110, 2003) However, this approach also holds disadvantages which include that one person’s concerns may not be enough to restructure company policies or change procedures. One person may not have enough influence or coercive power to negotiate a great deal and hence the manager may not uphold the concerns of that individual employee. Hence, usually individual bargaining tends to have a much lesser impact upon company procedures and policies at large. There is a very low tendency of compliance by the employer hindering effective employee relations.

The second approach to employee relations is collective bargaining. This entails negotiating issues with representatives from trade unions and other employee representatives in order to solve the issues of employees collectively, on a large scale. This method aims to eliminate or reduce conflict as employees decide upon their demands on a collective scale and choose representatives to convey their demands to the employer. This enables all issues to be addressed quickly instead of individual employees coming to the employer with individual demands. Hence, it is a quicker and more effective process (Blyton, pg 12-36, 2004) and essential for good employee relations.

Through collective bargaining, the employees exert a lot of influence upon the employer and are able to get what they desire quickly and more effectively. As it is said that there is power in numbers, hence the more employees that are involved in the trade union, the better the result. The method of collective bargaining also has some down sides and some disadvantages. It causes the individual worker to be overshadowed by the interests of the whole group. An individual may have some private concerns which may not be the majority opinion. However, these concerns are not catered to when things are being dealt with on a collective scale. Hence, some employees may be left feeling deprived and unhappy (Edwards, pg 76-89, 2003) again, hindering effective employee relations.

There are other methods of employer and employee relations which depend upon the nature of work of the employee and whether the employee is a part-time or a full-time employee. Full time employees benefit the employer in many ways which include a sense of loyalty and belonging in the company which enables the employee to focus their best efforts upon the business. The employers also have a greater amount of control on the employee and his/her activities. The employer senses a feeling of security and trust which leaves him satisfied that there is other permanent staff available to assist him in hard times, this needs to be overcome in order to promote effective employee relations.

However, employers are also faced with a greater burden of full-time employees. They may be required to pay for vacations and must also pay payroll taxes. It is quite difficult to hire and maintain such a dedicated workforce, and employers will constantly need to provide benefits and other sources of motivation to their employees (Taylor, pg 245-246, 2008) this will promote healthy effective employee relations.

According to UK’s internal revenue code, part time employees are defined as those who work for a period less than 1,000 hours in a year. Part-time employees have some advantages for employers which include flexibility in working hours and a potentially economical option which is extremely viable for smaller and newly developed ventures. Moreover, part time employees can be availed when needed; hence full time costs can be saved to a large extent. Moreover, part time employees need not be given extra benefits such as paid vacations and health insurance. Just as full-time employees, part time employees also have their disadvantages. It is difficult to compete on the basis of loyalty and time with the other employers of part-time employees. When part time employees are offered other options and full time work, they may resign and this may result in a shortage in staff. These are the basic approaches that are used by employees and employers for employee relations. The approaches are used according to the suitability, custom, and preference of the employee and employer, this is essential to build good employee relations.

UK Employee Relations System

Although UK’s employment system is one the most highly protected and established system in the world, it is currently facing a lot of controversy and issues. Workers in the UK are most informed about their rights and have the highest amount of power now as opposed to the power they had in the post war period. However, they still find the system to be a complete turmoil. Employers are currently facing problems with high levels of employee regulations and low productivity and motivation in employees. The rate of motivation has decreased substantially over the years and even though 2005-2008 marked a period of Workers’ Rights Awareness and this rapidly increased the awareness workers have of their rights, workers were far less motivated than employers wanted. Workers tend to feel that there is an unlimited amount of unfairness in the system and it needs substantial improvement (Coats, pg 1, 2010)

The UK’s employment relation system is fairly simple and does not over emphasize certain issues. It gives employers fair liberty to hire and fire employees at their own will and it also prevents the formation of unions. Employees today find this quite unfair and are striving to find a collective voice and to be heard by the government and employers of the UK (Coats, pg 1, 2010).

Employees are not quite aware of the fact that unions are very much prevalent in the UK and they do have a right to a collective voice. However, that voice is subdued in the United Kingdom and employees are not made aware of the opportunities and rights that exist for them. Therefore, increasing employee relations is a must.

Union strikes and action is prohibited in the UK, which makes employees feel that they are at a loss for voicing their opinion. Miss Margaret Thatcher imposed this law upon the kingdom as a way to protect employers from unjust violence and threats from employees looking to impose unfair demands upon employers. However, this system has caused the employees to feel that they are at a loss and is causing more frequent and larger amounts of litigation made against employers. Hence, employee tribunals are active at full speed, dealing with a large number of lawsuits. It is found that employees who are not a part of a union tend to look towards employee tribunals for proper acknowledgement of their demands and to convey their whims, concerns, and other matters. This has currently put UK in an uproar and is affecting the economy at large (Coats, pg 1, 2010).

UK, in the post war period, was more or less the same as it is today. However, the predecessors of this government, in the post-war period understood that there was a need for a platform to voice the opinions of other parties and reasonably argue over alternatives. However, the current system of capitalism does not seem to be working well for the UK presently. This may call for a new system or model of capitalism to be designed and implemented (Rose, pg 220, 2004).

The government may be looking for full dialogue on the issue of improving the employee relations system and must make several reforms to the current prevailing system. These reforms may consist of adequate arrangements to deal with employee concerns on a collective scale and find alternate methods to dispute resolution. Implementation and more focused awareness of employee rights would be an advancing step, especially in areas where employees are least informed and most exploited. Companies who are listed on the Stock Exchange should be asked to also publish information regarding their personnel relations policies and other matters such as accident occurrence, labor turnover, and other human resource related issues.

Hence, opposed to the post war period, some regulations were imposed upon UK”s employee relations system which included the setting of anti-union laws. Some allowances were also made such as extra rights for working parents, minimum wage, and other worker friendly policies. However, these movements were disregarded as in the postwar period, little regulation controlled employee relations. It was left up to the employee and employer and the State only controlled major and serious issues regarding safety and other important concerns. Collective bargaining was majorly encouraged and trade unions were recognized as a means of reducing conflict (Coats, pg 1, 2010). Workers today feel deprived of the rights of collective bargaining and the post-war period system began crumbling with the on set on Miss Thatcher’s governance. The system is currently a wreck and needs new reforms or a new model to follow. It is alleged that other developed countries have developed and implemented their employee relations systems better than the UK and workers in the UK claim that the quality of jobs in the UK is below satisfactory and needs major improvement.

References

Blyton,P. & Turnbull,P.2004.The Dynamics of Employee Relations. Basingstoke,Palgrave

Coats, David. 2010. Time for a Re-think: A New Employment Relations System for the UK.

Cook, M. 2009. Personnel Selection. Chichester Wiley

Edwards, P. 2003. Industrial Relations and Employee Relations; Theory and Practice in Britain.Oxford Blackwell

Jenard, J. & Judge, G.2005.Employee Relations. London CIPD

Hollingshead, G.2010. International and Comparative Human Resource Management Employee Relations. London; McGraw Hill Higher Education.

Lewis,D. & Sergeant, M.2009. Essentials of Employment Law – Employee Relations. London, CIPD

Lewis,P et al. 2003.Employee Relations: Understanding the Employee Relationship. Prentice Hall

Rose,E. 2004. Employment Relations. Pearson Education

Taylor,S.2008. People Resourcing and Employee Relations. CIPD

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