Celebrity Endorsement Effect on Consumer Behaviour within the UK Fast Fashion Industry
Celebrity Endorsement Marketing Dissertation. With the growing importance of social media in a shopper’s purchase journey, companies are evolving and stepping up the endorsement game across different channels. This dissertation will explore the relationship between UK celebrity endorsements on a product and their impact on consumer purchase behaviour as a result of their involvement. It will also aim to understand the relation of traditional advertising, social media and fast fashion and what the effects of these three have on UK consumer purchase behaviour. The secondary data was collected as a result of the literature review that was related to the research question.
Primary data was collected from an online questionnaire as well as interviews that involved 10 participants. As a result of this research, a conclusion was made that it is difficult to come up with a comprehensive answer due to the fact that there are so many variables that can occur in today’s society. However, it was found that younger generations are more susceptible to social media influencers and the older generation are more vulnerable to fast fashion celebrity endorsements. There are, like always, limitations to this research – as our society grows and expands, so does our knowledge therefore some of the research that has been previously expanded on is not as valuable to the actual conclusion of the study.
Celebrity Endorsement Marketing Dissertation
Celebrity Endorsement Dissertation Contents
1 – Literature Review Consumer Behaviour Elaboration Likelihood Model Celebrities and the ELM Model Celebrity Endorsement Risks associated with Celebrity Endorsement The Celebrity Endorsement Marketing Strategy Ethical Implications of using Celebrity Endorsers Framework and models Hypodermic Needle Model Celebrity Worship Celebrity Attractiveness versus Celebrity Expertise Celebrity Attractiveness Celebrity Expertise Comparison Digital Influencers The Meaning Transfer Model Culture Endorsement Consumption Criticisms Brand Conceptualisation What is a brand? PCDL model Fast Fashion and Social Media
2 – Methodology Research Philosophy Research Purpose Research Questions and Aims Primary Research Aim Secondary Research Aim Research Design Method Primary Research Questionnaire Survey Interview Interview Design The Participants
3 – Data Analysis and Discussion Thematic Analysis Consumer Understanding & Motivation in regards to Fast Fashion Consumer Understanding and Motivation in regards to Social Media Differences in Attitudes and Behaviours Profile of People That Are Aware of Celebrity Endorsements
4 – Conclusions Research Conclusions Analysis of Research Question One Analysis of Research Question Two Observations Limitations and Ethics of Research Suggestions For Further Research
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Employee motivation and motivation in general can be defined as a psychosomatic process that directs a person to behave and react in a way that helps them to satiate certain unfulfilled needs (Latham G., 2011). Motivation is what provides the stimuli and direction towards which employees can execute their duties (Lauby S., (2005). Motivation can be broken into three distinct categories that depend on each other for success. First of all, individual choices are driven by persistence, which reminds them of their unfulfilled needs. The choice taken will make an employee change their behavior in order to be in the right direction that would allow them to achieve those needs. Thirdly, there is the upholding of that behavior, which will go on until those needs and desires are achieved. Motivation however occurs differently in varying situations. Achieving a specific goal requires a particular motivational strategy and that same strategy cannot be used to achieve another goal.
Employee Motivation Theories
Need-Based Theories
According to Gary Latham (2011), employees draw their motivation from unfulfilled needs that they need to satisfy. Were it not for those deficiencies, then people would never have enjoyed work. The motivation to work therefore is directly equated to human needs. Once those needs are fulfilled, then the morale to work goes down. These theories were however opposed and criticized strongly by many researchers (Latham, 2011). They argued that individuals did not receive motivation to work due to fulfilling certain needs. Research conducted by these groups reveals that apart from just fulfilling their needs, many people engage themselves in jobs for enjoyment. An artist will not just draw a beautiful portrait of Zeus just to sell it and make money, but also to practice and enjoy what they do best (Latham, 2011). Examples of need-based theories include Maslow’s theory of needs, McClelland’s theory, ERG theory and Herzberg’s two factor theory. This review will only discuss the Maslow’s theory of needs and Herzberg’s two factor theory.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
This theory views motivation as a desire that changes over time and these shifts are governed by different levels of needs. These needs are the actual drivers of employees to work hard in order to achieve their goals by all means. According to Hiam Alexander (2003), these needs are organized into a certain hierarchical order that one must follow in order to reach the highest levels. While coming up with this theory, Maslow suggested that needs already satisfied can no longer motivate someone to work hard. Once they achieve their purposed needs, employees begin to drift towards fulfilling needs that are situated at a higher level in the hierarchy. This theory was however criticized strongly because one does not have to follow the order as put by Maslow in satisfying their needs. The order that Maslow proposed starts with biological and physiological needs at the base, followed by safety needs, belongingness and love needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
As much as Maslow tied employee motivation to hierarchical needs, Hiam believes that recognition, involvement and participation are among some of the factors that motivate a worker at the workplace.
Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory
According to Crouse Norm (2005), factors such as involvement, achievement, autonomy, participation, delegation and recognition are what increases the motivation of employees towards achieving a certain goal. Apart from that, hygienic factors such as working conditions, salary, and policies also influence the motivation of employees. As Crouse (2005) further states, poor hygienic conditions and poorly managed administrative policies lowers the morale of workers in an organization.
This theory suggests that employers should play the role of motivating their employees and is key to employee motivation. They should strive to ensure that all the factors involving working conditions go in favor of the employees – considering these factors will improve performance and bring better results for any organization. Both the two factors proposed in this theory work alongside each other.
No factor is independent on its own. Once the hygienic factors are fulfilled, the motivational factors can also be satisfied. Trying to satisfy only one set may lead to the lowering of work morale among workers, though. After doing away with the dissatisfaction in hygienic factors, employers should look forward to involving their employees in participating and developing programs. This will influence how they will perceive themselves as a part of the organization, with their due respect and recognition. This will make them improve their performance in the workplace, for they will not only increase the returns but they will also make the working environment appear more healthy and active. The model below demonstrates how Herzberg’s two factor theory is carried out.
Employee Motivation and Motivators
Ego/Esteem
Job Enrichment
Self Actualization
Job Enrichment
Hygiene Factors
Job Enrichment
Social
Job Enrichment
Safety
Job Security
Physiological
Salary
Employee Motivators
This theory was also criticized severely by Bruce Anne (2006), who argued that it did not serve the motivational needs of employees universally. Employees experience socioeconomic conditions differently and this makes them behave in variance. Herzberg’s theories assumed that the socioeconomic experiences of all employees are the same.
Process-Based Theories
Unlike need-based theories, these theories focus mainly on job aspects that motivate employees and change their behavior towards achieving their needs. According to Bruce (2006), these theories look at how employees fulfill their needs, while at the same time bargaining between behavioral choices that will suit their motivational patterns.
Cognitive Evaluation Theory
It is believed that extrinsic factors are independent from intrinsic factors in employee motivation. However, this belief does not work in contemporary organizations, because such intrinsic factors like participation and involvement are closely linked to extrinsic factors like financial incentives in the motivation of employees. This is where this theory comes handy, for it provides dependence between the external and internal factors and merges them also in the realization of an employee’s needs. Cognitive evaluation theory argues that satisfying internal factors first before proceeding to satisfy the external factors does not work. Both these factors are supposed to be satisfied at the same time for any improvement to occur in an organization.
Giving employees financial incentives and denying them an opportunity to participate and involve themselves in organizational matters such as decision-making will not motivate them fully towards achieving the goals and objectives of that organization (Latham, 2011). Some of the internal factors to be considered in employee motivation include appreciation of self-worth, employee autonomy and rewards for the achievements made. Organizations should consider such factors before coming up with job designs. The model below demonstrates various reward aspects.
Importance of Aspects of Reward
Controlling
Informational
Proposition 1
Locus Of Causality
Feelings Of Competence
Proposition 2
External/Internal
Self Determination
Intrinsically Motivated Task Behavior
Model adapted from Latham, 2011
Cognitive evaluation theory can help organizations to attract talented employees because of the commendable pay and the participation of employees in decision-making.
Goal Setting Theory
This theory was proposed by Edwin Locke and Latham in 1968. They viewed goal setting as a major basis and foundation of employee’s motivation. According to Latham (2011), the intention and objectives of an employee in a workplace is innate and that is what drives motivation. The more complex the goals become, the harder the employees work, thus improving performance. Organizations are therefore supposed to set more challenging goals for their employees in order to improve productivity. Motivation is the process that controls a person’s behavior in realizing and achieving certain goals and objectives.
As Latham further states, this theory only looks at the increasing complexity of goals with other factors remaining constant. In case there is an interruption in other contributory factors, then the challenge to achieve those goals becomes void. Apart from that, employees are supposed to accept the challenge of achieving their needs as presented to them by the goals set. Failure to accept those challenges will instead reduce the motivation towards performance.
Leaving the employees to set their own goals and objectives will result in better performance than when they are set for them by their organizations. According to Purcell John (2003), that autonomy makes employees believe in themselves and set goals that will be achieved more readily than if the goals had been set for them by others. Purcell (2003) further suggests that an employee who is restricted too much is less likely to get motivated than one that is left to participate in goal setting and decision-making processes. Contemporary organizations are supposed to therefore understand the needs of their employees before setting goals.
The Relationship between Managers and Employees
According to Ritter Joseph and Anker Richard (2002), the relationship between managers and their employees greatly affects motivation. Managers are supposed to come up with strategies that will ensure that employees remain motivated all the time. One related strategy is formulating a plan where the employee can have live forums with their supervisors and managers on a regular basis. Through those forums, managers are also supposed to recognize the behavioral patterns of their employees. Every employee has their own distinct behavior that cannot be compared to another. By understanding and appreciating the behavioral patterns of their employees, managers will be able to know which incentives and techniques to use to increase employee motivation.
Better communication between managers and their employees is also another factor that strengthens the relationship between them. Managers who rarely communicate with their employees suffer a blow when it comes to the overall outcomes of the organization. Ritter & Anker (2002) further point out that the closer the managers are to their employees, the more motivated the latter become. Regular communication between the two also makes managers understand the needs of each personal employee, thus knowing which technique to use to motivate them. According to Bruce (2006), most managers generalize the needs of their employees. This generalization is what leads to dismal performances in most organizations.
A study carried out by Sdrolias Maria, Terzidis Konstantinos and Vounatsou Maria (2005) shows that active, friendly and less strict managers are more inclined to motivate their employees towards achieving the organization’s goals and objectives. The study was conducted on eight employees of the Tech Organization in Canada. All the eight employees admitted that their manager was close to them and that he understood the individual needs of each of them.
Three employees said that they were more motivated by intrinsic factors than extrinsic ones, while the remaining five revealed that extrinsic factors carried the weight in their motivation. However, both extrinsic and intrinsic factors mattered in motivating these employees. If asked whether their manager understood them completely, all of them responded that he was a man who understood all their individual needs without generalizing.
Training as a Motivational Factor
Employee training is also another component that keeps employees motivated. According to Latham (2011), employees are supposed be trained on a more regular basis concerning the new technologies introduced in an organization. Most organizations introduce fresh changes in order to remain relevant in the market. Although such steps are taken to improve the performance of the organization, a issue arises when the employees fail to incorporate those technologies in their working systems. Many organizations will carry out a short-term internal training for their employees. According to Bruce (2006), this training technique discourages most employees because they are not given enough time to master new technologies. Instead, both internal and external training are supposed to be done. Employees should be sent out to a plethora of seminars and conferences that deal with the technology particular to the company.
This will not only give them exposure, but they will also see themselves as important players in the organization. The criteria used by some organizations to only send out only their supervisors and managers for further studies is never taken well by the employees. They see themselves as less important and this lowers their morale towards job performance thus reducing employee motivation.
Apart from technological training, organizations are also supposed to train their employees in special skills that will help them overcome difficulties and stress at the workplace. According to Bruce (2006), stress and other psychological issues like depression reduce the motivation of an employee drastically. Specialists are supposed to be brought and teach employees how they can reduce and manage their stress levels. It is difficult to realize the obstacles employees are going through unless managers develop a closer relationship with them.
A study conducted by Salmela Katariina & Numi Jari-Erik (2004) at Stanford University revealed that the non-teaching staff is motivated to work by the regular training they receive in their areas of expertise. One of the employees in the kitchen said that she strove to make the best food and serve her customers jovially. This, she said, was attributed to the program introduced by their manager to carry out a training that ran for 4 days for all the employees every month. She revealed that this not only helped her to improve her cooking styles, but it also encouraged her to be friendly and courteous to the people she served.
Teamwork as a Motivating Factor
According to Hiam (2003), teamwork is also one of the major components that determine the degree of motivation. In most companies and organizations, sales are achieved through teamwork. What determines motivation in a team is the type of task assigned and its expected outcomes. Once members gather together to fulfill a certain task, the bond and relationship among them heavily determines how that task will be accomplished. Team members are supposed to encourage one another and act as an example to others. Managers and supervisors on the other hand are supposed to evaluate and understand each team separately.
According to Latham (2011), every team in an organization has its own motivational factors which might be different from those of another team. To achieve their desired goals, managers should break down the assigned tasks into smaller and measurable units that will enable team members to easily assess the information on how they have performed. This will greatly help them in determining the amount of effort they are supposed to exert in order to complete remaining tasks. The selection and formation of teams should be done on the basis of compatibility. This step requires managers and supervisors to understand their employees well and how they can perform and react in certain situations. Even though it is useful to understand an employee on an individual basis, some employees are understood best in their various teams (Hiam, 2003).
The empirical research conducted by Latham (2011) shows that teamwork is actually one of the factors that contribute towards employee motivation. The study was conducted on employees of a bank in India. According to Latham (2011), banks are among the institutions that are generally believed to be dependent on individual efforts. This study, however, shows that bank employees feel more motivated when they work as a team and not on an individual basis. Ten bankers were interviewed and all of them agreed that consulting each other while on the job encourages one to work harder in order to achieve the set goals and objectives.
One of the respondents admitted that a career in banking is full of challenges and difficult moments. He cited some of the challenges which included serving fraudulent customers, attending to customers who had not fully complied with all the rules and even attending to clients whose money had been withdrawn by conmen. Due to these challenges, he argued that they should be given freedom to consult their workmates in order to be successful on the job. All the respondents said that their bank manager was strict and he rarely allowed them to communicate to each other, but they found themselves breaking that rule in order to seek help from their team members. All the respondents agreed that they would be more motivated to perform better if their manager allowed them to freely consult with each other while in the course of duty.
Employee-Motivation-Theories
Employee Motivation – A Summary Showing the Relationship between Motivation and Job Satisfaction
Purcell (2003) points out that motivation is the key factor in determining the success of a worker. As observed from the above cases, motivated employees are more likely to meet the demands of a job than those who are not. Motivation is an innate aspect that drives one’s behavior towards achieving certain goals and objectives. Managers are supposed to understand the psychological needs of their employees before drawing work plans. Such psychological disturbances like stress and depression are likely to reduce the motivation of an employee in carrying out their duties. Employers are supposed to understand the behavior of their employees before delegating duties to them. Both the need-based and process-based theories discussed above reveal that intrinsic and extrinsic factors are supposed to be satisfied concurrently for better performance. Motivating an employee by financial incentives alone is not enough, for they will need to be recognized and appreciated as an important person in that organization.
Appreciating an employee can be done through many acts, including training and educating them on the rising issues in the organization. Employee motivation should therefore be considered as a key aspect of job satisfaction.
References
Bruce, A. (2006). How to Motivate Employees: 24 Proven Tactics to Spark Productivity in the Workplace. NY, McGraw Hill Professional.
Crouse, N. (2005). Motivation is an Inside Job: How to Really Get Your Employees to Deliver the Results You Need. Oxford, iUniverse.
Hiam, A. (2003). Motivational Management: Inspiring Your People for Maximum Performance. NY, AMACOM.
Latham, G. (2011).Work Motivation: History, Theory, Research and Practice. NJ, SAGE.
Lauby, S. (2005). Motivating Employees: Career Planning & Talent Management. Washington DC, American Society for Training and Development.
Purcell, J. (2003). Understanding the People and Performance Link: Unlocking the Black Box. NY, CIPD Publishers – Employee Motivation.
Ritter, J. & Anker, R. (2002). Good Jobs, Bad Jobs: Workers’ Evaluations in Five Countries. International Labor Review, 141(4), 331 – 358.
Salmela-Aro, K., Nurmi, J. (2004). Employees’ Motivational Orientation and Well-Being at Work. Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 17 No 5, pp. 471-489.
Sdrolias, M., Terzidis, K. and Vounatsou, M. (2005), Significance, Defining Factors and Consequences of Mental Alienation of Enterprises Personnel from their Work Environment in Organizational Culture, Corporate Governance and Competitiveness. Selected Proceedings of the First International Conference on Business, Management and Economics, 16-19 June, Izmir, Turkey,Vol.2, pp.27-41.
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The federal government is a system of government in the United States that has got three main branches that are the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary. It splits up the power between the national and the local governments connected to each other by the national government. The constitution created a representative government that incorporates the three branches. It developed the federal system by restricting the civic government activities to a few areas, for example, collecting and paying taxes, controlling the commerce, lending money on credit, coming up with smaller courts, making currency, defense provision, and providing patents. The constitution encountered amendments for the 10th parliament, and it vested the other remaining powers to the states. Therefore, any power not given to the federal government remains to be the powers of the state or national government. The purpose of this paper is to examine the politics of the government cabinet, the bill of rights in the constitution, the public officials, and racial diversity in the learning institutions.
The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution constitute the bill of rights. It addresses the majority of the rights of the citizens and limits the federal government powers to protect the rights of all America citizens. The bill of rights protects the religious freedom, speech freedom, authority to bear and keep arms, the petition freedom, and the assembly freedom. It prevents self-discrimination, cruel punishment, and amongst all forbid the federal government from stripping the life any citizen, property or the liberty without following the law process. The rights that are in the Bill of Rights was intended for the federal government and not the local or state governments (Black, p. 35). The individuals’ rights safeguarded from the state interfering only by the institutions of the state themselves.
The new slaves entered after the American Civil War and this changed with the introduction of three amendments for the protection of their rights. Primarily, this forbids slavery and protect the voting rights from racial discrimination. The Supreme court rejected and refused this view stating that specific rights in the Bill of Rights are fundamental, when the state denies, it denies the law process. Every state safeguards the rights of every citizen. The antifederalists labeled the federalists as manipulative, hungry for power and dismissive of the peoples’ rights (Berkin, n.d. p. 21). Therefore, each state should protect the fundamental rights of all citizens within the state.
Federal Government and Congress
The committee system in the Congress is beneficial to the lawmaking process. The lawmaking process starts with a bill introduced then sent to the committee where the chairperson submits the bill to the subcommittee, and maybe the hearing can be held. The committee system is a method to provide the division of labor in the legislature and specialization. The committees and the subcommittees performs most of the legislature work in the Senate and the house. There is the committee formed called conference committee that constitutes an agreement between the Senate and the house on the maters of legislature actions. The house committee suggests the time taken on a debate for most bills. The committee system provided a solution problem of collection, that is, allowed the House to perform legislation. The system was effective in the enactment of bills of farm and public-works (Sinclair, p.23).
The president nominates the cabinet appointees to the government. The President does this before the inauguration process takes place. Most of the appointees have got a broad political relationship with the president regarding the party, or they are respected people due to their level of expertise and skills. I think the cabinet appointees should primarily be making their decisions and formulating opinions since the president requires them to perform (McKeever & Davies, p. 104). The civil servants are supposed to disband the political considerations and give advice which is neutral and free from political inclination. Since politics ended when the president was elected, then the work should begin, and every appointee is neutral of any political party and work for the state.
Federal Government United States
The politics and legal issues are so intertwined that one cannot separate as there is a thin line between them. Majority of the politicians have studied law and a political system founded on a majority rule was perceived as unwise because the societies include the more ordinary individuals than the elite thinkers. The supreme court bases their work on laws which are noticeable but should not include the composition of seasoned politicians since whenever there is a case involving a senior person in the government, he or she is swayed easily. The power of competence regarding law should only have the career jurists included in the composition of the court. The court is a representative of the democracy that provides the citizens its total belief in them.
I don’t agree with the fact that college or a university should not promote racial diversity during the admission process. The ethnic diversity supports racial discrimination which goes a long way into the society. In the United States, the institutions exercise slavery and segregation which restrict specific racial groups from getting into the colleges and universities. The non-Americans and other minority ethnic groups are left out of the education since the system will become selective against them. The admission should only be made available to those who deserve regarding merit and not racial diversity since there are those who deserve but they are from the ethnic minority groups. They undergo discrimination in their thirst for education.
The “Revolving Door” laws have been criticized and accepted in the same measure. Those who support the system argue that the interconnection between public and private sectors enables pool cultivation of people with knowledge about policies and business which gives a benefit to both sides. There is knowledge exploitation by the new employers to achieve privileged access, and there are employment conflicts when senior officials get employment in the new institutions. The transition allows sharing of costs and pooling the information that the private companies would not get access (Harris, p. 166).
The public officials gain more favor regarding allowances in the fact new transitional allowances given for their independence. Also, on the other hand, this transition leads to the brain drain to some extent, the knowledge expertise when they leave moves with their talents to the new employers. The commission must prevent the interests from private sectors in buying the bids from the public officials by giving them high-income jobs once the public officials go out of the public service. Commissioners could exploit the initial status to influence the former staff on the representation of the new employees.
Voting should not be restricted to those with a college education. Primarily, this is entirely against democracy, and this could lead to people from a wealthy community leading the government for many years. The uneducated, the poor, unrepresented and the oppressed are discriminated and suffer forms of bad governance. Allowing the people to vote is a fundamental right in the U.S.A, and everyone should be entitled to participate in the voting process. Instead, the state should educate the people to make better decisions rather than restricting the uneducated from participating. Moreover, it would be unfair to the people who cannot afford to attend the college education and feel the desire to vote. I think in my opinion, there are innovators like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates who never went to school but are great people in the society. They should be able to vote.
Regressive tax in the tax that occupies a more significant percentage as the income drops, while the progressive tax is the tax that takes a more significant income percentage as the income increases. The flat tax, on the other hand, occupies a fixed income percentage. I believe the flat tax is fair since the tax is directly proportional to the income, as the income increases the tax also increase but at the same rate as the tax. Therefore, no matter the income level, the tax remains proportional. Moreover, this cannot oppress those who are earning less, but the tax is higher. All the taxpayers especially in this category those earning less are taxed equally and do not feel the pinch so much taxation.
Works Cited
Sinclair, Barbara. Legislators, Leaders, And Lawmaking. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. Pp. 23
McKeever, Robert, and Phillip Davies. A Brief Introduction To US Politics. Taylor And Francis, 2014. Pp. 104
Harris, Paul G., ed. Routledge handbook of global environmental politics. Routledge, 2013. Pp. 166-167
Berkin, Carol. n.d. The Bill Of Rights. Pp. 21
Black, Hugo L. “The bill of rights.”NyUL Rev. 35 (1960): 865. Pp. 35
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Strategic people management is a key function in every organization. This article seeks to discuss the three strategic people management areas in England’s National Health Service (NHS). Specifically, the paper will analyze leadership and management, talent management, and training and development in the NHS. Finally, the paper will recommend ways forward for the NHS in keeping best practice and improving areas which are more problematic.
The competitive advantage of an organization is based on several things like investing in new technologies, financial management, and effective human resource management. The style in which people are managed in an organization has a critical role in achieving the goals of an organization. Poor management of people can lead to poor performance or to the collapse of the whole organization. To avoid the demerits associated with poor people management, three areas referred to as areas of strategic people management have been devised.
The three areas are leadership and management, talent management, and training and development (Bailey, Mankin, Kelliher, & Garavan 2018). This article seeks to compile a report on England’s National Health Service (NHS) department and highlight the importance of strategic people management.
In 1948, the NHS was established to manage and regulate health services in the United Kingdom. The objectives of establishing the trust were to offer comprehensive health services, free at point delivery, and to centralize the health services. 70 years after its establishment, the trust is yet to achieve some of its objectives. It has been accused of poor health care delivery, failure to cater to the ageing population, long waiting times, over management, and insufficient staff training. The junior staff of the trust have complained of high workloads while the senior management complains of poor funding. A report by King’s fund supported the claim that the trust is poorly funded and refurbished the allegations by the critics that the trust is over-managed (Ham et al., 2011).
Strategic People Management and Leadership
Great Man Theory of leadership suggests that everyone is born with certain leadership traits (Spector 2016). This theory means that if you put together several people to work together in different leadership positions, a great result can be obtained. The NHS in England has tried to employ this theory by having many leaders in each department. Over the last two decades, the trust has increased its number of leaders significantly. In England, there has been an increase of 37% in the number of leaders in the last 19 years. However, many leaders can lead to leadership bureaucracy because no single person can be held responsible for a failure. Managerial positions are entitled to managerial remuneration, therefore, increasing the number of leaders increases the administrative costs for the trust which is already under-funded.
The NHS has been attacked by political parties and other critics of being over managed. Currently, the trust has over 6000 board member and 700 doctors practicing as directors. The critics accuse the doctors of working as directors in contrary to their calling of treating people. However, positioning doctors as directors only cater for distributed leadership. Experienced doctors should the nurses and other doctors to address the issue of poor care and in implementing clinical processes. It is also easy for doctors to hold clinical officers accountable than other professionals. Health care is a complex service and should have many leaders. The NHS should not be accused of being over-managed due to the complex nature of health care.
The Audit Commission and the national audit office have accused the trust of poor leadership styles. Collectively, the two critics have accused the trust of spectacular managerial failures which has led to poor care, hospital acquired infections, surgery deaths, and long waiting times for the patients. Due to the increase in the aging population and the situations at hand such as long waiting times, the leaders have to change their leadership styles. The leaders seem to stick to their styles regardless of the increasing challenges in the trust. The contingency leadership theory suggests that leadership style should be changed to cater for certain situations for there is no single way of leadership. It is the high time that the leaders in the trust changes their style of leadership to address the current issues of long waiting times, poor care, and caring for the ageing population.
Exchange leadership theory urges that leadership is only effective when the leader gives a motivational value or a reward, either motivation or punishment to his follower (Zhang et al., 218). This theory means that a leader should be given sufficient time to reward and motivate the juniors. Demotivating the followers will lead to poor results. However, the current managerial culture in the NHS betrays the Exchange Theory of Leadership.
Leaders are given a short tenure of two years. Two years are insufficient to reward and motivate the juniors. In addition, the short leadership terms cannot enable the leaders to handle the problems in the trust. The external pressure from critics and political parties demotivates the managers. The leaders should be given room to lead the trust and managers should have longer tenure for them to address the current issues in the trust (Jiang, Hu & Wang 2018). Blame games demotivate the employees. The trust has a culture of blaming the employees or a manager in case there is a failure. The managers and medical directors have blamed the nurses and clinical officers for the failures in the hospitals. The blame games demotivate the nurses and the clinical officers rather than motivating them.
Training and Development
Service delivery is depended on the level of training staff gets before and on the job (Larsen, 2017). Job training gives one chance to learn through experiment (Saks 2015). Experimental learning theory suggests that one can best learn through experimentation, reflective observation, and abstract conceptualization.
Organizations should, therefore, have training sessions for their staff. Training also gives a chance to incorporate new staff into the current organizational culture. The NHS staff should be trained in managing people and on business finance. So far the NHS has shown a willingness on training its staff by coming up with business finance course aimed at training all their staff regardless of their positions. Changes in technology and continuous research by health professionals call for regular training to equip the staff with the new skills being invented in the health sector all of which can be deployed using strategic people management.
To train the employees, the NHS has established several courses. The employees can access short-term courses, bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees. It gives a chance for nurses and clinical officers to subscribe to different courses and enhance their skills. This shows that the NHS is committed to improving the quality of health care it offers. The trust faces negative issues of caring for the ageing population and long waiting times. In contrast, none of the courses offered by the trust is concerned with the two issues.
Strategic People Management and Culture
It seems to be part of the NHS staff beliefs that long waiting times are normal and nothing should be done on that. A staff training should be carried out to change the attitude and beliefs on long waiting times. Theory of planned behavior purports that training changes the attitude and belief in certain behavior (Montano & Kasprzyk, 2015). The NHS, therefore, should organize training aimed at changing the attitude on long waiting times.
Strategic People Management Dissertation
It is commendable that the NHS organize in-house induction with updates in statutory areas on annual basis. The NHS managers hold meetings with staff on a regular basis where training and development opportunities are discussed. The staff are also allowed to apply for funding in case of a professional development course. However, the course must fulfil a professional need and support of the manager is required.
The training offered by the NHS is only concerned with health care and not human resource management. Good health care can only be delivered under the effective leadership of people. The trust should come up with training programs aimed at equipping the staff with leadership skills. The trust participated in the South Central Leadership Program. The program was aimed at enhancing the leadership program for the senior staff. Skills development in health care is essential in health care and not a mere luxury. South Central Leadership Program should, therefore, involve all health staff regardless of the positions they hold. The NHS continues to call for applications of their courses which open to anyone who wished to work in the health care department.
Talent Management
The first step of managing talent is on recruitment (Davis, Cutt, Flynn, & Mowl 2016). The human resources department should come up with a rigorous recruitment process aimed at selecting the best staff to work for the trust. However, talent management is not a function purely on the human resources department. The top management has to manage talents once the employees have been selected.
The human resources departments should offer assessment tests before recruitment and give a probation period before an employee is confirmed. This will make sure that the best employees are employed by the trust. Once an employee secures the job, a room should be given to express self-initiative. However, the current situation at the NHS does not give room for self-initiative. The blame game from the managers and pressure on the employees due to high workloads impairs their self-initiative. The external pressure on managers by critics also scares the managers from expressing their self-initiative.
For performance appraisal, the NHS has come up with a policy to identify the poor performing employees. Employees performance will be assessed according to complains received from visitors, fellow employees, and the observation of the manager. In case of a poor performance the employee will be asked to give feedback to the manager. The managers are supposed to fill a performance form for each employee in their department.
However, the NHS does not propose differentiated workforce in its policy and only proposes penalties for the employees who perform poorly. In the differentiated workforce, the best performing employees are rewarded better than others (Collings 2017). The differentiated workforce is to recognize the best employees and to avoid losing the key and the experienced employees to other organizations.
The NHS also lacks a wide pool of talents since people from other organizations are reluctant to work for the trust due to undue pressure on its employees and high workloads compared to the people working in private hospitals and those working for NGOs. The trust also has a culture of appointing people who have worked for it before which keeps away candidates from the private sector and other government institution.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Strategic people management is very important for every organization and should never be undermined. Poor management of people results in poor performance of the whole organization. The NHC has many managers. However, due to the complex nature of the health department, it can be concluded that the trust is not over-managed. There should be clear roles for every manager to avoid leadership bureaucracy. The trust faces a lot of pressure from external bodies and within itself. The trust has a culture of blaming employees of any fault during the line of duty. The trust also has a culture of having short tenures for its managers.
The trust offers training for its staff but the training given is a drop in the ocean since it is not concerned with managing people. The training given is only concerned with increasing treatment knowledge to the staff. The trust lacks a wide pool of talents due to its recruitment policy which selects people who have worked for the trust before. The performance appraisal policy of the trust only forces the staff to perform better but it does not recognize the best performing employees through differentiated workforce. I wish to recommend the following to the NHS;
The South Central Leadership Program should involve both junior and senior staff. This will increase the chances of creating future leaders for the trust.
The public and critics should avoid giving undue pressure to the leaders of the trust and give them room to lead.
The trust should increase the tenure of its leaders. A longer tenure will give them time to fix the current problems facing the trust.
The NHS should recruit managers from the private sector and other government organizations. This will help in increasing its pool of talents.
On top of South Central Leadership Program, the trust should establish a leadership center for mentoring future leaders, offering training, and to support innovative programs.
Adopt a more robust approach in relation to strategic people management.
Bibliography
Bailey, C., Mankin, D., Kelliher, C. and Garavan, T., 2018. Strategic human resource management. Oxford University Press.
Davis, T., Cutt, M., Flynn, N. and Mowl, P., 2016. Talent assessment: A new strategy for talent management. Routledge.
Ham, C., Baker, G.R., Docherty, J., Hockey, P., Lobley, K., Tugendhat, L. and Walshe, K., 2011. The future of leadership and management in the NHS: no more heroes. Report by The King’s Fund.
Jiang, Z., Hu, X. and Wang, Z., 2018. Career adaptability and plateaus: The moderating effects of tenure and job self-efficacy. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 104, pp.59-71.
Larsen, H.H., 2017. Key issues in training and development. In Policy and practice in European human resource management (pp. 107-121). Routledge.
Montano, D.E. and Kasprzyk, D., 2015. Theory of reasoned action, theory of planned behavior, and the integrated behavioral model. Health behavior: Theory, research and practice, pp.95-124.
Saks, A., 2015. Managing Performance through Training & Development, (Canadian ed.). Nelson Education.
Spector, B.A., 2016. Carlyle, Freud, and the great man theory more fully considered. Strategic People Management, 12(2), pp.250-260.
Zhang, X., Zhang, Y., Sun, Y., Lytras, M., Ordonez de Pablos, P. and He, W., 2018. Exploring the effect of transformational leadership on individual creativity in e-learning: a perspective of social exchange theory. Studies in Higher Education, 43(11), pp.1964-1978.
I do hope you enjoyed reading this post strategic people management and how it impacts the NHS]. There are many other titles available in the HRM Dissertation Collection that should be of interest to human resource management students and CIPD professionals. There are many dissertation titles that relate to other aspects of HRM such as employee engagement, HRM Theory, absenteeism, training and development to name a few. It took a lot of effort to write this post and I would be grateful if you could share this post via Facebook and Twitter. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section. Thank you.
Science Marketing and Art Marketing: Marketing research and branding
Science Marketing and Art Marketing: Marketing research is the processes through which the marketing managers collect relevant information about their product and the customers. It also involves an evaluation of the necessary strategies required to develop the correct product that will capture the attention of the customer. It provides the basis for the development of the correct marketing mix and the correct style of marketing. Branding, on the other hand, is the process through which a business develops and creates a unique image and name for a product in the customer’s perspective.
Branding incorporates information marketing research to create a brand that is attractive and present in the customers’ mind. The information from marketing research is important as it presents the customer’s expectations. In other words, branding is the art through which the marketing management delivers the customer’s expectations. It is the means through which the marketing management showcases creativity and ability to meet the customers’ expectation. Combining the two strategies creates a mix of art and science that delivers the right product in the eyes of the customer.
Market research
Market research is the process through which managers gather important information about the product from the consumer. It is a science because it involves a combination of processes designed to gather information and knowledge. The science of market research is objective because it aims at gathering relevant information about the customers. Its main objective is to determine the viability of the product from the perspective of the customer. Market research is the process through which the company identifies the possible market and the customer base for the product. It involves understanding the needs of the customers and the means through which the company can modify the product to meet the customer’s expectation. Also, market research involves gathering the necessary information about the customers’ purchasing power and the ability to purchase the product. Through market research, the company can determine the best marketing mix that would help maximize revenue (Burns et al. 2014). Also, the company can use market research to gather information about preexisting segments in the market. Hence, market research is also useful in market segmentation and product differentiation.
Market research is an objective process that involves the identification of the desired market and the development of strategies for information gathering. The management must also analyze the data collected to extract useful information (Burns et al. 2014). It involves the collection of qualitative and quantitative data concerning the customers. The company can either correct the data directly or through existing research. Therefore, the company has to decide whether to use primary or secondary data sources. Primary data refers to the type of data that has not been used in prior research and that the company collects through primary data collection tools. Secondary data, on the other hand, refers to information gathered in a prior research.
The use of prior research implies that secondary data collection involves another entity. When a company chooses to use primary data collection methods, the management has to decide on the objective of the research. The management can decide to collect answers to previously identified issues. Therefore, the management identifies areas of concerns and seeks to collect answers to the questions through market research. The management may also choose to identify new issues in the market. Using this route, the management seeks to collect an array of questions that the customers would like answers to. Whether the company chooses secondary or primary data, the main purpose of market research remains the same, the company seeks to fulfill a certain set of objectives.
Science Marketing and Art Marketing
Market research is mostly applicable or put into use when an organization seeks to venture into a new market. It is also necessary when the company seeks to rejuvenate its market competitiveness or brand position. Organizations may also opt to identify the characteristics and needs of a special group in its marker. Researching the market may also be necessary when the company seeks to introduce a new product in its existing market (Burns et al. 2014).
Based on the reason behind market research, every form of research will have different objectives and strategies for obtaining the required set of information. For example, a company seeking to venture into a new market has to conduct an investigation of the current interest for the product in the new market. In other words, the organization must collect information to justify the viability of the new product in the target market. Based on the outcome of the research and information gathered, the management can then decide on whether to actualize the plan. If the company establishes that the customers have a viable interest in the product, the move to invest in the new market becomes feasible. However, interest alone is not enough to make a decision to venture into the new market. The organization also has to investigate the price viability and customers’ ability to purchase the product. Hence, the management must develop a strategy that answers all the necessary questions
Branding
Branding is the means through which the management answers to the expectations of the customer by providing the product in a manner that the customers are likely to accept. It involves positioning the product in the mind of the customer and presenting the product in a likable manner. It is an art because it involves the use of knowledge and skills to develop a product. The art of developing a brand is subjective to the information gathered and the need to present a final product that meets the customer’s needs and expectations. Branding involves the development of the product and means to position the product in the minds of the customers (Latif et al., 2014). Therefore, the art of branding involves the physical aspect of designing and developing the brand in form of the product appearance and composition. The physical aspect of branding involves the development of an attractive and memorable product. The physical aspect of branding involves creatively designing the aspects of the company that relates directly to the customer. One is the physical appearance of the product. A good example of vigorous branding is the Fanta brand of Coca-Cola that continuously changes shape and appearance to capture the customers’ attention.
Similarly, physical branding involves the development of the company’s logo in a unique and appealing manner. The logo is the main identifier for any given organization. Its uniqueness determines the company’s ability to position itself in the market (Latif et al., 2014). Therefore, the company must design the logo uniquely and outstandingly. It also involves the development of a company slogan. The slogan must reflect the values of the company and appear in a manner that keeps it viable in the eyes of the customers. Like the logo, the slogan will most likely be visible to the customers at all times. Hence, the slogan must stand out in the market. Most companies identify by the brand. A well-established brand often appears to be similar to the company. Most customers consider the brand to be the same as the company (Latif et al., 2014). Even for companies that have a brand name different from the company name, customers often confuse the company with the brand.
The art of branding involves several aspects that define the company’s position in the market. Brand positioning is particularly important in marketing (Latif et al., 2014). It involves the setting up the brand in a manner that is noticeable and memorable. The brand position is a marketing strategy that is directed at creating a unique appearance to the customers. Other than the design of the logo and the slogan, positioning the brand may also include printing the brand name, logo, and slogan on the company products. The art of positioning has evolved to include online presence and ease of accessibility of information in social media and on the internet. The company can also improve the position of the brand by carefully placing the logo or the slogan in the customers’ daily activities. The Coca-Cola Company is usually very active in brand positioning. For example, the share a coke market campaign positions the company logo and slogan at the heart of summer celebrations. The company also uses promotional campaigns to position the brand in sports and other activities to keep the brand in the customer’s minds.
Science Marketing and Art Marketing
Marketing requires a combination of science and art to achieve its objectives. The application of scientific strategies in marketing allows marketing managers to collect sufficient data. It allows managers to track marketing expenditure and effectiveness. According to Gross (2017), the ease of data collection and marketing research through digital marketing enables the success of marketing strategies. Such a scenario indicates the importance of data collection and market research. According to Gross (2017), the integration between science and art in marketing guarantees the success of any marketing campaign. The organization must find a balance between the art and science of marketing in order to achieve the objectives set. Strategic marketing management is the simply the development of strategies that combine the art and science in marketing. It involves developing the necessary skills and techniques that enable the company to achieve its marketing objectives.
Therefore, market research and branding are simple methods of defining a multifaceted and complex science and art marketing. The discipline involves developing a synergy between the science in market research and the art in branding. The data collected in market research is helping the company to design and develop a unique and lasting market brand. Other marketing strategies whether art or science come into play to make the processes successful. For example, marketing managers can employ strategic marketing to develop strategies for the implementation of research and branding. Similarly, the marketing managers can employ product design in branding as described above to position the brand on the products. By combining marketing science and art, marketing managers develop strategies to achieve marketing objectives. Therefore, the two forms of marketing must work together for the betterment of the marketing department.
References
Burns, A. C., Bush, R. F., & Sinha, N. (2014). Marketing research (Vol. 7). Harlow: Pearson.
Gross, J. (2017). Marketing: The Convergence of Art and Science. Forbes. December 1. 2017.
Latif, W., B. Islam, A. & Mdnoor, I. (2014). Building Brand Awareness in the Modern Marketing Environment: A Conceptual Model.
I hope you enjoyed reading this post on Science Marketing and Art Marketing. There are many other titles available in the Marketing Dissertation Collection that should be of interest to marketing students and practitioners. There are many dissertation titles that relate to other aspects of marketing such as branding, corporate advertising, marketing strategy and consumerism to name a few. I would be grateful if you could share this post via Facebook and Twitter. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section. Thank you.
