WNBA Salary Claim :: Technical Writing

ATTENTION: MR Salary Man TO: WNBA Salary Board FROM: Mamma Thomas Professional Sports Representation Agent SUBJECT: Rookie Salary Negotiations Dear Sir, I am writing to discuss the details of Latoya’s Thomas’ contract in which my client disagrees upon. For entry into the 2001/2002 Women’s National Basketball Association, referred to from here as the WNBA, player draft. Latoya is a 6’1 all around player and is very versatile my client is now playing for the WNBA and has considered coming to America to play for your league the WNBA In looking over the minimum requirements I noticed that a few things rose to my attention. In particular endorsements allowed, contract length, sponsorships, work out dates, travel conditions, and salary increments. I will attempt to address all of my reservations and offer suggestions to remedy these requirements and leave room for negotiation between your negotiation team and myself. If you can not meet these requirements then my client will not be allowed to enter your WNBA draft 2001/2002. Firstly, let me quickly outline Latoya’s extensive playing history and this will demonstrate the level of play that Latoya can offer to your league. Starting out at 11 years old in the seventh grade Latoya played for Dent Middle School. In the eigth grade she also played for Richland Northeast High School on the Junior Varsity and Varsity teams. In continuing her career she made the Varsity team her Freshmen year and contiuned to play all four years. As a freshmen she averaged 15 points per game and was named Freshmen of the year. As a Sophmore she averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds. As a Junior, Latoya averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assist. She also lead the team and the nation in scoring. She lead the team to a Conference championship and a State Championship. As a Senior she was #1 player in the nation, averaged a triple double with 31 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assist. For the second consecutive year in history she lead team to a state championship and lead the nati on in scoring. All four years in High school she was selected to be on the all-state team, all- region team, and all-conference team. During the summers of her High School years she would continue practicing and playing for an AAU team. To play for an AAU team you must be selected by the regional committee of which you belong to as a player.

Does Anything Break Because it is Fragile? :: Philosophy Philosophers Essays

Does Anything Break Because it is Fragile? ABSTRACT: I maintain that dispositions are not causally relevant to their manifestations. The paper begins with a negative argument, which is intended to undermine David Lewis’ recent attempt to restore causal potency to dispositions by identifying their instantiations with the instantiations of their causal bases. I conclude that Lewis’ attempt to vindicate the causal credentials of dispositions meets obstacles that are analogous to (though importantly different from) those that beset Donald Davidson’s attempt to accord a causal role to the mental. I then consider an argument recently given by Frank Jackson against the causal relevance of dispositions (to their manifestations). Jackson’s argument relies on a conception of dispositions that is not likely to be shared by those who defend their causal relevance. I sketch an alternative conception of dispositions that links them more closely to their causal bases, but argue that even on this model disposition s are causally impotent. The paper closes with a defense of the claim that dispositions, in spite of their causal irrelevance to their manifestations, are nevertheless causal-explanatorily relevant to them. We regard dispositions as being causally responsible for their manifestations. We say that the glass broke because it was fragile, that the rubber band stretched because it is elastic, and that the arsenic killed him because it was lethal. Some philosophers have denied this. According to them, dispositions are causally irrelevant to the effects in terms of which they are defined. This view was defended by Elizabeth Prior, Robert Pargetter and Frank Jackson, and has been (tentatively) endorsed by David Lewis. According to them, fragility is the second-order property of having some or other first-order property (e.g., a given molecular structure) that tends to cause breaking under certain circumstances. But then, they infer, it is this first-order feature (the `causal basis' of the glass's fragility), and not fragility itself, that is responsible for causing the breaking. Fragility is thus conceptually after the fact as concerns the causation of breaking: the glass counts as being fragile only in consequence of its having some other, first-order property that is causally responsible for its breaking when struck. Lewis has always seemed uneasy with this view. He has called it a "disagreeable oddity" that must be dispatched if the identification of dispositions with second-order properties is to win our unequivocal support. In a recent paper, he takes himself to have done just that.

Symbolism in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Symbolism in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman      Ã‚   Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" is the journal of a woman plagued with severe depression and the inability to recover due to her role as a submissive woman. At the time of publication, "The Yellow Wallpaper" was seen as a story merely about the perils of insanity. Even Gilman was proud to say it provided a wake-up call for the medical field and the families of women stricken with mental illness who believed solely in the "rest and ignore the problem cure." However, the short story was also an attack on the role of women in society at the time.Women, cast into the prison of acquiescence, were trapped between the rock and the hard place of doing what they were told was best for them and those around them and doing what they felt was best. The characters who surround the narrator throughout the story symbolize the ideals of women and their roles that at the time, the late eighteen hundreds. For instance, her husband, John, represents the male role of superiority over the weaker wife. His inability to recognize the true problem of his wife's sickness and to deal with it accordingly is much like the inability of men to recognize a woman's capabilities to function in the public sector. His simplistic solution of plenty of rest and an abundance of vitam... ...n, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon, 1992. 387-400. Haney-Peritz, Janice. "Monumental Feminism and Literature's Ancestral House: Another Look at 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" Women's Studies 12 (1986): 113-128. Johnson, Greg. "Gilman's Gothic Allegory: Rage and Redemption in 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" Studies in Short Fiction 26 (Fall 1989): 521-530. King, Jeanette, and Pam Morris. "On Not Reading Between the Lines: Models of Reading in 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" Studies in Short Fiction 26.1 (Winter 1989): 23-32. Knight, Denise D. "The Reincarnation of Jane: 'Through This' - Gilman's Companion to 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" Women's Studies 20 (1992): 287-302.    Symbolism in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Symbolism in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman      Ã‚   Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" is the journal of a woman plagued with severe depression and the inability to recover due to her role as a submissive woman. At the time of publication, "The Yellow Wallpaper" was seen as a story merely about the perils of insanity. Even Gilman was proud to say it provided a wake-up call for the medical field and the families of women stricken with mental illness who believed solely in the "rest and ignore the problem cure." However, the short story was also an attack on the role of women in society at the time.Women, cast into the prison of acquiescence, were trapped between the rock and the hard place of doing what they were told was best for them and those around them and doing what they felt was best. The characters who surround the narrator throughout the story symbolize the ideals of women and their roles that at the time, the late eighteen hundreds. For instance, her husband, John, represents the male role of superiority over the weaker wife. His inability to recognize the true problem of his wife's sickness and to deal with it accordingly is much like the inability of men to recognize a woman's capabilities to function in the public sector. His simplistic solution of plenty of rest and an abundance of vitam... ...n, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon, 1992. 387-400. Haney-Peritz, Janice. "Monumental Feminism and Literature's Ancestral House: Another Look at 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" Women's Studies 12 (1986): 113-128. Johnson, Greg. "Gilman's Gothic Allegory: Rage and Redemption in 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" Studies in Short Fiction 26 (Fall 1989): 521-530. King, Jeanette, and Pam Morris. "On Not Reading Between the Lines: Models of Reading in 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" Studies in Short Fiction 26.1 (Winter 1989): 23-32. Knight, Denise D. "The Reincarnation of Jane: 'Through This' - Gilman's Companion to 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'" Women's Studies 20 (1992): 287-302.   

Small capital in Philippines Essay

This chapter consists of brief summary of articles, findings of the study that are related to the present study. It contains foreign and local literature, foreign and local studies. Local Literature According to Mishell M. Malabaguio of entrepreneur magazine Philippines, Small capital, easy set-up and a good chance of success are just some of the reason why Food Cart Business is thriving in the Philippines. If you will look at the market trend today, Food cart business is the choice of most aspiring entrepreneurs. A mobile food cart is a business where you can start on low capital ranging from P30,000 to a maximum of P300,000. But it could be a little lower though, depending on how you will put it up — by franchise or on your own. Some companies offer food cart franchise for as low as P10,000 per package that includes, the cart, product, uniform for the crew and training. Over the last few years, food service carts have sprouted all over the metro — from MRT and LRT station, malls, sidewalks, church, schools, markets etc. – name it and for sure, you’ll find a food cart there. Today, there are about 800 different food cart formats available in the market–pizza, waffle, fishball, siomai, rice toppings, and baked goodies, rice in a box, hotdog and a lot more.Industry estimates that more than P1 billion in sales are turned over every year from the food cart businesses. With this amount, no doubt that Food Cart is the hot business in the market. If you have a nice cart, then the next thing to consider is Location. Location plays a big part in the success of your food cart or in any business for that matter. You have to think of a good location where a person frequents and can see what you are selling. But not all places cramming with people is a good venue just like MRT and LRT station. Lastly, you have to match your good locati on with the right product at a good price.

College Student Should Join Clubs Essay

Students of any university or community college attend school in pursuit of an education and career. Most of the time spent by college students is aimed towards studying, doing homework, and any other activity that will assist their education. What many college students are unaware of though, is by affiliating themselves with clubs and organizations, efforts to their education, social networking, and community can all be accomplished. Joining a club has the ability to enrich any student’s college experience and should be taken into consideration by all college students. Clubs give students opportunities to meet other students and individuals who share the same interests. Not only will they benefit in gaining a friend, they will have the opportunity to meet peers with similar majors and classes. Taking into consideration that incoming freshmen may need an extra boost; clubs will be able to provide the needed attention and information with guidance from the seniority. For example, freshmen can benefit in joining clubs by receiving guidance from other students on what classes or which professors to take. New freshmen tend to enroll into college as an undeclared major and sometimes may require assistance in the selection of classes. College organizations can play as a major factor in helping college students and should not be ignored. According to Jeff Milam, the eHow Contributor, not only will joining a club help â€Å"encourage you to form relationships with your peers, it may also lead to important business contacts in the future† (Milam). All college clubs must have at least one advisor that assists and overlooks the club. By being in a club, students will have the opportunity to meet and communicate with college staffs and instructors. In most scenarios, the advisor of a college club is an administrator of the campus. Thus, straight-forward information can always be received from a club advisor because of his or her credibility. By taking part in college clubs, an individual will also gain a chance at observing specialists in their career fields. Being in a club may even be life changing to college students. There will always be some bashful individuals who are simply too shy to ever socialize. By joining a club, it will provide a gateway to overcoming this personal problem. Whenever a student comes upon an interesting club, it is most notably because that individual has something in common with the club and its members. Students are more comfortable being around people who share the same interests or have particular things in common. In result, this can be the start of getting students out of their comfort zone and leading them to socialize more often. College clubs and organizations should be a part of college students because of the opportunity to establishing a student’s social skills. Most importantly to some students, joining a club is an escape from stress. Sometimes school can be stressful on individuals, or students may have other issues that require relief. School organizations are most certainly not always about accomplishing specific goals; school clubs can be a stress relief to those who may need an escape from reality once in a while. By taking action in a club, a student will be able to achieve great feats and at the same time, have some fun. According to Heidi Coghlan, former About.com guide, by participating in clubs, it can help individuals in â€Å"developing independence† (Coghlan). It helps students stand on their own and make their own decisions. Many school clubs are run for students and operated by students. By being a member, it increases the chance of a student being able to speak out for his or her ideas. This can contribute to a student’s future with leadership skills, communication, and to being a responsible individual. Affiliation with college clubs can also motivate students to do more for the campus or to argue for a cause. The opportunity of becoming a club member should not be missed because it can assist an individual in becoming well-rounded and an open-minded thinker. Many clubs take trips to visit other college campuses. This gives students a chance to explore how other schools function and how other campuses compare. Especially for the students who are planning to continue their education for a great period of time. Joining a college club is great opportunity in meeting other peers from school and establishing social networks. With the affiliation in a club or organization, campus visiting trips can be issued and beneficial to students. Most clubs do volunteer work and this is a good start to building a bond with the community. Students get to experience being in an environment where they can learn and yet have fun at the same time when they are involved with club activities. Joining a club really does make a difference in the world; and by having more students join in, the more impact it will have in establishing better community affiliation. As all students are striving for a professional career in the world, it should be taken into consideration that community involvement cannot be ignored. Thus, with college clubs, an individual can give back to the community. College clubs and organizations are all unnecessary in the pursuit of an education, but can be a factor in developing a well-rounded thinking and professional individual. Clubs provide all that may be necessary to a student. For example, a club provides a variety of peers, educators, and numerous other resources for students. Attending college can be hard on freshmen and anyone who is unaware of opportunities on and off campus. In conclusion, with the aid of school clubs, freshmen and anyone else will receive the chance to utilize any necessary information. School organizations and clubs should not be ignored and every student should instill some effort into a club because of the extraordinary investment it yields. Works Cited Coghlan, Heidi. â€Å"Reasons for Your Child to Join a Club.† Kids’ Clubs — Learn About Clubs, Organizations and After School Activities for Kids. The New York Times Company, 2011. Web. 19 Sept. 2011. Milam, Jeff. â€Å"Reasons College Students Should Join a Club | EHow.com.† EHow | How to Videos, Articles & More – Trusted Advice for the Curious Life | EHow.com. Demand Media, Inc, 1999. Web. 19 Sept. 2011.

Organizational behavior of HK Disneyland Essay

Introduction Hong Kong Disneyland, opened to visitors in 2005, is one of the two largest theme parks in Hong Kong. It successfully brings magical experience of Walt Disney to all the visitors just like other Disneyland around the world. Hong Kong Disneyland has created a culture for their employees with open communication with their managers and subordinates, professional training, and rewards. This philosophy of treating employees well has long been adopted by Walt Disney for many years. The belief of Walt Disney is that you can have joyful guests as long as you have employees who enjoy working for Disneyland and bringing happiness to visitors. With the comprehensive training for each employee, they make all visitors  experience a memorable magical moment. No matter the cast of Disney characters, or the people working in Disneyland’s restaurants or hotels, all of them receive comprehensive training. This training can ensure that every Disney employee can work together as a team, and provide excellent customer services to cater for their customers’ needs. In this report, we will illustrate how Disneyland incorporates organizational behavior concepts to create a culture for their employees where they feel satisfactory for their work environment and feel that they are important to the team. Motivation and learning are two main focuses in our research. We will also provide suggestions on how Disneyland can further improve in terms of organizational culture. Motivation Hong Kong Disneyland has many ways to motivate its employees to work. Our team is going to apply Theory X and Theory Y, Herzberg’s two-factor theory, and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need these three theories to analyze the employee motivation methods of Hong Kong Disneyland Theory X and Theory Y Here is a brief introduction on the Theory X before the application on Disneyland. Theory X based on pessimistic assumptions. It is impediment to employee morale and productivity. For example, it assumed that labors are inherently lazy and avoid to work, only interested in money and in need of close supervision. Also, they would have little ambition without incentive programs, avoid responsibility and need to be driven through control systems. So, once the manager adopting this theory, they will end everything in blame without evaluating the situation, structure the work, energize the employees and also in authoritarian style based on the threat of punishment. Here comes to the application on theory X. According to the spokesperson of Disneyland, Angela Bliss, Disney employees have to adhere to strict guidelines and rules for their behavior and appearance. Once hired, they have to maintain the â€Å"Disney Look, and the Disney look is a fresh, clean and  approachable look, ensuring that every guest feels comfortable with our entire cast. Therefore, â€Å"Cast members,† Disney’s way of referring to their employees, receive a â€Å"Disney look book† that details all of the requirements, emphasizing a natural look with natural hair color and makeup. The purpose in doing this is to keep the focus on the ‘show’ and not on the individual cast member. Besides, a cast member with purple hair may not appear approachable to all of their guests. According to Disney rules, anytime a cast member confronts a guest who appears lost or frazzled, the employee must offer their help and point them in the right direction. Pointing must always be done with either two fingers or the full hand. So, the above showed that the workers in Disney are suffered serious and high intensive instructions and rules by the theory X style managers. What’s more, with reference to the article by Jason Garcia, Orlando Sentinel on November 16, 2010, The Walt Disney Co. has issued a new policy banning employees from texting while driving on the job. The ban applies to all of the Burbank, Calif.-based entertainment giant’s worldwide employees — including its roughly 60,000 workers at Walt Disney World. The policy, which recently took effect, also prohibits employees from making or receiving phone calls while driving on the job unless they use a single earpiece. It applies to workers who are either driving company vehicles or using their own vehicles while on the job. Disney punishments for workers caught violating the driving policy will be decided on case-by-case basis. The policy does not apply to employees during their drives to or from work. In short, the evidences above status that the management of theory X style, use to set up regulations and punishments to motivate their ‘‘actors’’. On the other hand, here comes to the theory Y. On the contrary, it based on positive assumptions, and also more positive view of workers and the possibilities that create. For instance, they assumed that employees are ambitious, self-motivated and anxious to accept greater responsibility. Employees exercise self-control, self-direction, autonomy and empowerment,  also exercise creativity and become forward looking. So, once the managers are adopted this theory, they believes that people want to do well at work, have a pool of unused creativity and that the satisfaction of doing a job is in itself motivating. Here comes to the application on theory Y. The Walt Disney Co focuses on creating a culture in which employees can flourish and find meaning in their work. Together with more than 10,000 online reference materials and resources, instructor-led classes, performance support systems, and education reimbursement for job-related degree programs, The Walt Disney Company offers an array of tools. From the website of The Walt Disney Co., they claimed that ‘It takes a special kind of person to work at The Walt Disney Company. Our employees and cast members contribute to the success of our many brands in a way no other company can match. That is why our employees and cast members are the most valuable part of our organization. But we know your life isn’t just about work. You have additional things going on – family, friends, personal interests, education and more. The Walt Disney Company offers a comprehensive total rewards package that helps you live your best life, grow p ersonally and professionally, and get rewarded for the results you deliver. The programs, benefits and perks you receive as an employee or cast member may vary based on where you live and work. But when you add it all up, the total package provides the same results: your total rewards support you throughout all stages of your life and career.’ Herzberg’s two-factor theory The two-factor theory states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction, while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction. The theory suggests that to improve job attitudes and productivity, administrators must recognize and attend to both sets of characteristics and not assume that an increase in satisfaction leads to decrease in not pleasurable dissatisfaction. Two-factor theory distinguishes between motivators and hygiene factors based on the notion that the presence of one set of job characteristics or incentives leads to worker satisfaction at work, while another and separate  set of job characteristics leads to dissatisfaction at work. Therefore, satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not on a continuum with one increasing as the other diminishes, but are independent phenomena. Motivators such as challenging work, achievements, recognition, responsibility, or anything else that given positive satisfaction, arising from intrinsic conditions of the job itself, which is based on the long lasting working environment but not short-lasting achievement. The Walt Disney Company offers a comprehensive total rewards package that helps employee live better life, grow personally and professionally, and get rewarded for the results they deliver, for example, there are incentive and special recognition programs which includes quality of work, length of service, community volunteerism and employee of the month recognition. Reward will be varied by company, job status, location and/or the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreement. The company have a diverse workforce is critical to the business. Variety of opinions, ideas and perspectives to ensure staff and their managers continue to top the performance and represent the company’s global marketplace. When employee reflects the communities, it can enhance the way for them connect to guests, audiences and consumers. Employee can feel that they work toward an inclusive environment that fosters creativity, innovation and camaraderie across all of the Disney companies. The c ulture can also inspire the workers. For instance, they are committed to a tradition of innovation and technology. Employee can be easily given job satisfaction from setting a high standard of excellence and maintain high-quality standards across all product categories. Apart from that, working in The Walt Disney Company can always enjoy in the joyful atmosphere as the entertainment is about hope, aspiration and positive outcomes, they can create positive and inclusive ideas about families and provide entertainment experiences for all generations to share. The rewarding, inclusive and supportive work environment is committed by the company. Thus, the staffs are able to gain satisfaction from working in Disney. Hygiene factors, for example, status, job security, salary, work conditions,  the benefits for employee, that do not give positive satisfaction, though dissatisfaction results from their absence. The Walt Disney Company provides employee base salaries with the total compensation opportunity and health and wellness benefits which includes medical, Disney Health Pursuits Wellness resources, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), behavioral health, prescription drug coverage, dental, healthcare and dependent day care flexible spending accounts, accident and disability Insurance, long-term care insurance. Besides, the employee can have enough time off working in Disney. They can have 11 paid holidays per year, vacation, sick pay and short-term disability, leaves of absence, bereavement and jury duty, personal life resources, group legal plan, adoption assistance program and onsite childcare centers. Moreover, they can also enjoy the retirement and financial benefits. 401(k) savings plan wi th company match, retirement savings plan for salaried employees and employee stock purchase program would be included. Also, they can enjoy special extras which are complimentary theme park admissions, employee discounts, merchandise discounts at Disney-owned stores, company-sponsored events and services, Disney employee matching gifts, commuter assistance program and many other unique advantages. Last but not least, some world-class training programs are customizable for employee to join such as professional development, management and leadership development, computer skills, business immersion programs and individual career development as the company encourages staff to learn and reach their goals. To sum up, the Herzberg’s two-factor theory can be applied into The Walt Disney Company as motivators and hygiene factors can be found in the policy of the company and working environment. It can satisfy both motivators and hygiene factors of employee and that is the reason staffs enjoy to work there. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need Maslow’s theory relates motivation to a hierarchy of needs. At the bottom are essential physiological needs such as air, food, shelter and clothing. As individuals satisfy one level of need, their motivations change as they aspire to reach the higher order needs. Therefore, to motivate an individual Maslow suggests that it is necessary to know where within the hierarchy each  employee is placed so that these factors can be taken into account. Physiological needs – Hong Kong Disneyland offers competitive salaries. This gives employees the means to acquire the basic needs for living. Also, provide benefits programme to employees which suit them. These benefits and competitive salaries help workers’ pay go further and so motivate them to be loyal to the company. In Hong Kong Disneyland, empolyees can earn more than just a pay-check and will receive a total rewards package that consists of different types of compensation and benefits, such as: Cast exclusive MTR discount scheme Comprehensive group medical insurance, including outpatient, hospitalisation, specialist, Chinese herbalist and dental services Group life and group personal accident insurance Discretionary gratuity Paid annual leave, maternity leave, marriage leave and examination leave Overtime payment for frontline overtime eligible positions Overnight shift premium Laundry services for uniforms and costume Safety needs – Hong Kong Disneyland values the safety of all employees. It is committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment to prevent accidents. Hong Kong Disneyland provides a clear rule and regulation to employees. For example, how to access the control of the machines; therefore employees are accountable to create a safe working environment too – that means they have to take responsibility for observing the health and safety rules and practices. Hong Kong Disnetland also offers employees a range of working patterns. For example, it provide a flexible working schedule, some employees may want to work as a part-time, they can choose among the schedule. This helps employees to choose the best option for a healthy work-life balance. Social needs – These are associated with a feeling of belonging. These provide informal opportunities for employees to get along with each other. This helps strengthen teams and enhances workers’ sense of belonging. Having an open approach to communication keeps everybody focused on the Hong Kong Disneyland’s aims helps individuals contribute to the company. In Hong Kong Disneyland, there is a RACE Club which provides a variety of interest programs, instructor-led courses and outdoor recreational activities for cast members and their family and friends. The RACE Club strives to promote diversity and work-life balance for cast members. It is also a platform for passionate and talented cast members to unleash their potential by being program instructors. Esteem – All employees in Hong Kong Disneyland have a need to be respected and to respect themselves. Esteem is the normal employees desire to be accepted and valued by others. Employees need to engage themselves in activities, to gain recognition and a sense of contribution. Esteem needs can intersect with motivation in the Hong Kong Disneyland too. For example, employees’ voice will be heard at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. Cast members are welcome to share any feedback employees may have with the Cast Advisory Council (CAC). The CAC meets regularly to listen to cast member feedback and make suggestions to improve the working environment. Self-actualisation – Hong Kong Disneyland provides employees with the opportunity to take on challenging and stimulating responsibilities. This enables them to develop and improve. Hong Kong Disneyland offers more than 100 instructor-led programs to all cast members, including the Operations and Professional Teams. As a full time cast member, Employees can receive an average of 35 training hours per year to help them excel in their career. Typical instructor-led training courses include: Classes for All Cast Members: Disney Traditions Training Communicating Effectively in the Workplace Giving and Receiving Feedback in Disney Style Influencing Team Members as a Role Model Good Show Begins with Me Classes for All Managers: Coaching for Win-Win Outcome Problem Solving & Decision Making Skills Time Management Seminars and conferences hosted by Guest Speakers Learning Organizational Learning in Disneyland Learning in Disneyland take parts in three aspects, it includes Disney University, DU Learningland and Emerging Leader Program. 1. Disney University The Disney University (DU) offers more than 100 instructor-led programs to all cast members, including the Operations and Professional Teams. As a full time cast member, people can receive an average of 35 training hours per year to help them excel in their career. This also acts as a guide to providing world-class service to our guests. Typical instructor-led training courses include: Classes for All Cast Members: -Disney Traditions Training -Communicating Effectively in the Workplace -Giving and Receiving Feedback in Disney Style -Influencing Team Members as a Role Model Classes for All Managers: -Coaching for Win-Win Outcome -Problem Solving & Decision Making Skills -Time Management -Seminars and conferences hosted by Guest Speakers 2. DU Learningland The DU Learningland provides a wide variety of self-learning materials to study at workers own pace. There are about 1,000 collections including Disney feature films and books on career development as well as personal growth. 3. Emerging Leaders Program Hong Kong Disneyland Emerging Leaders Program can help workers develop for future leadership roles at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. The six-month program focuses on developing your core leadership competencies. During the training, workers and other cast members work on group projects, attend classroom training and do on-the-job shadowing with a Guest Service Manager. Current situation of learning aspects in Hong Kong Disneyland 1. Explicit knowledge Explicit knowledge is Knowledge that is articulated through language, such as documents. Hong Kong Disneyland provides training to its workers. With the aim to progress along a steep learning curve, Disneyland offers learning opportunities for the trainees, including classroom training that give workers guidelines of the way workers should behave. 2. Tacit knowledge Tacit knowledge refers to knowledge acquired through observation and direct experience. From the recruitment post of Hong Kong Disneyland, it suggests that previous work experience at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (e.g. Part Time Host / Internship) or any other Disney theme parks will be considered as an added advantage. This proves the workers are likely to have some experience of welcoming guest before they enter the firm. Moreover, abundant mentorship and mentoring workshops are offered to colleagues so that that new workers can have deeper understanding about Hong Kong Disneyland more easily. 3. Skills Most of the job offered in Hong Kong Disneyland requires that applicants should have excellent command of English and Chinese, including spoken Cantonese and Mandarin. Despite the language requirement, Hong Kong Disneyland further requires candidates have the ability to demonstrate strong computer proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, familiarity with Apple presentation products, and willingness to learn new software programs Generally, Language skills and computer skills are the two fundamental skills that Hong Kong Disneyland is looking for. 4. Attitude Hong Kong Disneyland demands that workers should demonstrate outgoing personality with good communication skill. Moreover, applicants should be those that are energetic, strong team-players and passionate about Disney. That is to say, Hong Kong Disneyland tries to let co-workers to imagine working for an organization that brings smiles to millions every year, or working with people whose passion for what they do is simply indescribable. Problems of Disney Learning Style From the above description, we find that Disneyland provide extensive training program to their employees. These training programs have equipped their employees with basic knowledge on facilitating daily operation of Disneyland; however, these training programs do not equip employees with creativity on how to make their service better. In other word, the training programs of Disneyland do not give enough reinforcement to their employees. Reinforcement is classified into two categories: positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement occurs when positive consequence is presented to a desired behavior while negative reinforcement refers to the presentation of negative consequence to undesired behavior. Both operant conditioning and classical conditioning state that extinction of particular behavior will occurs if reinforcement is no longer presented upon the completion of behavior which is previously reinforced. Moreover, social learning theory also suggested that human will learn though observing because of self-reinforcement. In other words, reinforcement has played a very important role in every types of learning. Without reinforcement of desirable behavior and severe punishment of misbehavior, employees may not have any incentive to perform better. Some of them may even lose their incentive to maintain their expected performance and withdraw from Disneyland. This may lead to severe consequences Disneyland in a few aspects. First, with employee losing their work incentives, there will be a reduction of average customer service quality. As Disneyland aims to bring the greatest experience to its customer, their reputation as the world most famous theme park may be harmed. Moreover, if employees resign from Disneyland frequently, the turnover rate of staff is high. In this case, not  only the cost of training newly join staff will increase, the time of training new staff will also be boost as every Disneyland staff needs to receive sufficient training before they become available to work. With the total c ost increase in a great proportion, this will lead to a loss of comparative advantage of Disneyland. To solve the problems mentioned above, Disneyland may need to provide enough external reinforcement and self-reinforcement to their employees. Suggestions 1) Since Disneyland is a service industry, their staffs are required to provide high-quality customer services. And this kind of customer service is not only an explicit knowledge, but also a tacit knowledge. That is, knowledge acquired through observation and direct experience, it cannot be obtained directly through knowledge, such as document. Explicit knowledge is provided by Disney University, while tacit knowledge can be learnt from on-job training, new worker are asked to observe their mentor and learn. At the same time, employees are required to deal with different scenarios to obtain customer satisfaction, and they can only learn through real-time experience since there are many unexpected situations happened in reality. So, extensive training can just provide the existing and past experience to their employees and after they obtained the explicit knowledge from Disney University, they can apply it to customers and make a change to satisfy customers with different needs. And this implies practice makes perfect, only through dealing with actual cases with continuing improvement to obtain a high-quality customer service and that is a tacit knowledge. 2) Positive reinforcement can be used since it occurs when a positive outcome follows a desired behavior. In this case, desired behavior will be the high quality service provided by employees, positive outcome can be bonus and commissions. It is the common way for manager to create learning among their employees, and it becomes the motivator for employees to provide a better service in order to achieve the target set by Disneyland. Before the positive outcome launched, employees will less be motivated since they think there is no problem to work as usual. But after having this positive  outcome, it will motivate employees to provide a better customer service as they want to get the bonus based on the checkpoint set by Disneyland which is related to themselves, the monetary benefit. So, it can create a win-win outcome that Disneyland can continue to have a positive reputation and a continuing improvement on customer relationship through the effort provided by employees, at the same time employees can receive bonus as rewards to affirm their effort directly. Employees can learn from social learning theory. First, behavioral modeling and learning behavior consequences are observing and modeling behavior of others and its consequences afterwards; Since one department have lots of employees who have their own method to deal with customer matters, like the ways to deliver customer service when dealing with customers with different tempers, so everyone can be a role model towards the others. For example, for a host at Chef Mickey (Food and Beverage), there are many staff to serve customers, such as ordering, serving, and cleaning up. They can first observe how the other staffs perform their job responsibilities to get customers’ satisfaction, and then the consequence is they can improve themselves to provide a smoother customer service after observation and modeling. For self-reinforcement, it is a conclusion that employees should reinforce their behavior with consequences within their control after the learning from observation. Disneyland can carry out the performance management through defining the criteria: define what is high-quality customer service by the management department, items may include customer preferences, establishing rapport, dealing with complaints, promoting and up-selling; measuring and appraising employees’ performance: how often to carry out quality assessment and when will have appraisals based on the needs with the current situation, like the peak season for Christmas or The Lunar New Year; providing them either positive or negative feedback: using face-to-face approach in order to deliver their feedback directly: self-reinforcement will occur if the feedback is positive, employees can accumulate a higher marks for the overall performance in order to get the bonus and rewards from achieving the checkpoint set by Disneyland. And their performance can be  improved through providing a better service to achieve the bonus and rewards, learning from colleagues, personal development, such as the goals and schedule set by an individual to provide a better customer service. 3) Using a reward allocation decisions can shape ones behavior in Disneyland. Which people to reward: who meet the requirement of providing high-quality customer service, how to reward them: whether using monetary or non-monetary term. When to reward them, depending when will the appraisals be released. Since Disneyland is a service industry, using team reward systems will be more appropriate as employees should have a good interpersonal and communication quality, and this reward approach can emphasize cooperation and joint efforts, also employees can share their experience to others in order to achieve a better performance and gain a higher reward through cooperation. At the same time, competency-based reward should be used as a financial reward practice as it is the fundamental part of employment relationship. The pay has multiple meanings, such as symbol of success which provides high-quality customer service performance, reinforcement and motivator, reducing anxiety that the worries about how is their own customer service providing performance. Competency-based reward is a pay increases with competencies acquired and demonstrated. It is a skill-based pay which means how well is the customer service provided, pay will be increased with skill modules learned. The advantages is having flexibility on the workload with a better quality, since different employees will provide different customer service, they can learn from dealing with real-time cases in order to adjust how can the customer service be delivered better. Not only is this reward focusing on individual rewards: commissions, but also team rewards: gain sharing and the most important part – organizational rewards: profit sharing, stock options, balanced scorecard. 4) It is suitable to use the job rotation in Disneyland. The existing one is  called the Internal Transfer Process, which is eligible to regular full time cast members who have been employed at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and held their current position for at least six months. And the purpose is to provide Cast Members with cross-functional transfer opportunities and equip them to be multi-functional and multi-tasked. Cast members can first have six-months experience in their department, after being familiar with its job responsibilities and they feel it is time for them to experience the different challenges, they can submit the application for internal transfer without getting a supervisor’s approval. They can transfer within a Single Team, across different teams or between Operations Team and Professional Team with the same career path. And they can have job rotation after their demonstrated performance, education background, as well as work experience being assessed. Undoubtedly, it has a slightly difference with the job rotation approach since cast members need to submit their application and be assessed. However, the goal is actually similar that offers their employees a chance to have internal transfer. It can minimize repetitive strain injury and reduce the job boredom after staying as the same position for a long time; it is good for employees to experience different customers’ needs through working in different department and it is the only way for them to obtain a real experience through working by their own but not on books or documents. At the same time, there will be some drawbacks that cannot be ignored, such as the extra resources on training as some employees may only work for six months and have internal transfer, that means they need another training which lead to an extra cost on training, the extra training cost will be much higher for employees transferring between Operations Team and Professional Team because the trainin g criteria are totally different; also employees may not be an expert in all fields, this problem may occur frequently also in the case of transferring between Operations Team and Professional Team, since the job requirement will be totally different and they need more theoretical knowledge to manage employees or work out for a win-win outcome and also have decision making which will have a significant influence of Disneyland’s market share or status. Conclusion Hong Kong Disneyland has demonstrated how a world class theme park creates a working atmosphere for its employees. As motivation and learning are always two most important aspects of employee management, so our team has taken these two factors for study. In motivation aspect, we have introduced Herzberg’s two-factor theory and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need to explain the motivation of employees. The two factor theory and the hygiene factors can be applied in the ways that how Hong Kong Disneyland motivates its employees. The Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need explains how Hong Kong Disneyland motivates its employees according to the five stages of needs, that is, physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem, and self-actualization. In learning aspect, currently, Hong Kong Disneyland provides Disneyland University and mentoring sections for its employees to acquire both explicit and tacit knowledge. Its problem is that is does not give enough reinforcement to the employees on bettering the services, resulting in lower incentives and even job resignation. Therefore, we have suggested Hong Kong Disneyland to provide positive reinforcement such as bonus and team reward to boost their motivation and arrange job rotati on to keep the employees’ passion about the company as well as their job. In a nutshell, Hong Kong Disneyland is an international level organization hiring thousands of employees for operation. Its employee management method is a great model for studying but there are still rooms for improvement.

“How Should Posco-Ippc Increase Its Footprint in the Automobile Segment?

| Business Management IA| â€Å"How should POSCO-IPPC increase its footprint in the Automobile segment? | Candidate Name: Amrit Shah Session no. 002798011 School: Symbiosis International School Research Proposal: Executive Summary: 199 words Word Count: 1977| | Acknowledgements: I would like to acknowledge and thank: * Mrs. Vaishali Phatak for her support and assistance in helping me with this report * Mr. Bharat Indu Bhattacharya- Electric Steel Dept. Manager of POSCO-IPPC, Pvt. Limited, Pune – for his contribution to the report and his time for the interview. * Mr. Joseph Joe- Automobile Steel Dept. Manager of POSCO-IPPC, Pvt. Limited, Pune- for his contribution to the report and his time for the interview. * Mr. Jacy Kim- General Manager of POSCO-IPPC, Pvt. Limited, Pune- for allowing me to do this report on the company and for providing guidance and help throughout. Executive Summary POSCO-IPPC, a steel distributor for the Korean company POSCO have plans about establishing themselves firmly in the Indian Steel Industry given that they are facing consumer problems from their customers in the Automobile sector. As such this paper analyzes the question, â€Å"â€Å"How should POSCO-IPPC increase its footprint in the Automobile segment? † Primarily, a research question highlights the rationale, theoretical framework, action plan and methodology applied and possible constraints in answering the question. An Introduction enlightens us about the background and basic history related to the company itself and of relevance to the question. Findings and analysis is written on the basis of primary research inclusive of multiple interviews conducted with different managers and secondary research inclusive of mails concerning their expenses over the future prospects by the automobile sector manager that acted as a catalyst in evaluating using both financial (capacity utilization and decision tree) and non-financial methods(SWOT & PEST). The report mainly focuses on the problem of raw material which POSCO-IPPC is currently facing due to which they are not able to meet the increasing demand. Based on the research conducted, it is found that POSCO-IPPC has two options to overcome this problem. One that it could ask POSCO, Korea to supply them with greater raw material and the other that it could ask POSCO, Orissa, a manufacturing unit to supply them with raw material. These options have been evaluated keeping in mind the conditions to find out the most feasible option to give a strong conclusion. Possible solutions are discussed and the conclusion suggests that POSCO-IPPC in order to sustain itself in the Indian Steel Market needs to increase its output and using the financial and non-financial techniques discussed and the best viab1e option would be to increase its raw material supply from POSCO, Korea. Contents Acknowledgements†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦2 Executive Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 Research Proposal†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 Procedure/ Methodology†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 Main Results and Finding †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦ 10 Analysis/Evaluation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 12 Conclusions and Recommendations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 16 Bibliogr aphy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 17 Appendix†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 18 Research Proposal Research Question How to increase POSCO-IPPC footprint in the Automobile segment? Rationale POSCO-IPPC, a distribution centre of Korea’s POSCO Steel Company, is a newbie in the Indian Steel market; they have a monopoly in the Electric steel market and they are undergoing problems in the Automobile sector so they should work on capturing more consumers in the Automobile sector so that they are able to stabilize themselves. The research question focuses on the ways POSCO-IPPC should apply to set its footprint in the automobile segment. Theoretical Framework My plan is to utilize both financial and non-financial techniques to evaluate the problems incurred by the management so that they are able to firmly establish themselves in the automobile sector. The report will analyse the problems faced, thus it will try to solve it using the financial techniques of Capacity Utilisation and Decision Tree and non-financial techniques of SWOT and PEST which will analyse the other problems, opportunities and threats. Key Areas of Syllabus Unit 4 – Operations management Decisions * Introducing Operations Management Improving operational efficiency: Capacity, Scale of production Unit 6 – Numerate techniques for business studies * Information for decision making Primary Research: * Interview with Electronic Steel manager Mr. Sharad Indu Bhattacharya regarding the company history, company status, market and other general aspects about the company’s working. * Interview with Automobile Steel manager Mr. Joseph Joe regarding the market stats in Automobile sector, drawbacks, problems and possible implications so as to understand their market in the Automobile sector. Secondary Research: * Some Information and the list of customers of POSCO-IPPC, Pune, India received through mail from Mr. Joseph. * Other background history of POSCO, Korea used and other facts and figures were taken from the internet. Possible Problems:| Solutions:| Managers were not able to understand the true purpose of the interview resulting in very compact answers. | Managers were asked questions in a very narrow perspective which narrowed down to minute details. | Responses from the managers were related to only their departments, unable to give a general view. Requested them to get information from other managers as well. Small interview with a employee and the production manager. | Limited access to detailed information on the customers and the company as the locations are very far and detail information is confidential. | Acknowledged in the conclusion. | Financial Data was limited to a great extent as it was a new company and Data was yet not published. | Estimates have b een taken and where estimates could not be taken, it has been described in words. | | | Action Plan: Date| Task | 18th August, 2008. | Talked on phone with Mr. Jacy Kim who agreed to let me do my project on the company. | 20th August, 2008. | Will take an Interview with Mr. Bharat Indu BhattacharyaWill take an interview of Mr. Joseph Joe Research Question formulated. | 22nd August, 2008. | Planning will be done as to the way this essay needs to go about. Introduction and Research Proposal will be written. | 30th August, 2008. | Data Collection should be done. | 5th September, 2009. | Main results and findings will be written down based on the information gathered from Mr. Bharat Indu Bhattacharya and Mr. Joseph Joe over the days. 13th September, 2009. | Analysis of the data will be done. | 14th September, 2009. | Techniques of Capacity Utilization and Decision Tree will be applied. Will make a SWOT and PEST analysis. Analysis to be completed. | 15th January, 2009. | Recommendations written. Appendices made and attached. | 16th January, 2009. | Executive summary, content page, Action plan| Introduction: POSCO-India Pune Processing Centre Co. Ltd. , established in August 2006 but started its commercial distribution in 2006, and is a highly recognized by all the major companies of India for its great quality of its steel. Although being a newcomer in the Indian Steel Market, it has set its footprint as a Quality and principle based company. POSCO-IPPC is a coil centre for the Korean Steel giant POSCO Steel Limited which is a global producer of crude steel and finished steel goods. POSCO-IPPC involved an investment of 15 million dollars. It is an independent company of its own as it is a joint venture of POSCO (holding 65% of shares. ) and LG (holding 35% of shares. ) POSCO-IPPC is a processing unit which is locally managed. It is a processor-cum-distributor of steel in the electronic and automobile segment. It only plays a small role of slitting and shearing of the raw material as a processor. Its output is 10,000 metric tons per month with an annual turnover of 320 Crores in the previous financial year. It employs 120 people as its working staff out of which 60 are employed as payroll workers and other 60 are in contract. With the import prices and duties of steel and being a newbie in the Indian Steel market, it is facing competition from other distributors like ESSAR, TATA STEEL, JINDAL and other Chinese and Russian companies. In the Automobile sector, there are many problems created due to its high price and lack of output compared to that in the electronic steel sector for it holds monopoly in the sector for many of its products. As the management is highly equipped in its factors of production, it is researching on ways to exploit the Automobile market in order to firmly establish itself in the country. Therefore this report focuses on- â€Å"How should POSCO-IPPC increase its footprint in the Automobile segment? † Procedure/Methodology The Initial research included a detailed interview about the company and its standings with Mr. Bhattacharya-Electronic Steel manager. Another interview was with the Automobile Steel manager- Mr. Joseph Joe about the Automobile sector inclusive of the discussion over the problem mentioned in the research question. Underlining the major aspects in the interview, the questions focused on POSCO-IPPC’s strength, standings in the market, internal and external factors involved for and against production (which created the PEST, SWOT analysis and information for the analysis), and financial status and estimations advising financial techniques to be applied ( Capacity utilization and Decision Tree. The secondary research resulted in analyzing of POSCO Steel’s information and accessing other reports, industry statistics, market information and data via numerous internet sites. This helped in the results and findings, in strengthening the information available and recommendations and conclusions. It should be noted however, that financial data collected is based upon both à ¢â‚¬Ëœactual’ and ‘estimates’, which need further validation. In addition, the validity of this report may be influenced by the apparent subjectivity of some financial data given confidentially issues. Main results and Findings POSCO-IPPC Private Limited is a subsidiary of POSCO, the world's  fourth largest steel producer and one of the most competitive steel companies (World Steel Dynamics 2006) whose products are shipped to over 60 countries around the globe. Aside from this unit, POSCO has also invested 12 billion USD in Orissa which is proposed to produce an output of 12 million ton per annum by 2010. Since 1990, more than Rs 19,000 crores (US$ 4470. 58 million) has been invested in the steel industry of India and there is an increasing trend in its production. See Figure 1) The auto component sector has also posted significant growth of 20 per cent in 2003-04, to achieve a sales turnover of Rs. 30,640 crore (US$ 6. 7 billion)(See Figure 2). Such opportunities in the automobile sector and the Indian economy can help POSCO-IPPC to establish itself firmly. In terms of current market position, POSCO-IPPC brands itself as a leading provider of electric steel in some of the areas in India for not many of the companies have explored the electric steel market. Being a newcomer, it plans to inhabit the automobile steel market, where it still hasn’t managed to set its foot firmly. The company is based upon certain policies and factors which many of the customers are unable to comply with. POSCO is a global player and it supplies and manufactures steel all over the world. It exports steel from South Korea at an international price which is comparatively high in Indian currency so this difference between the prices, leads to a high price charged by the company. Due to the high price, POSCO decided to put a special price (Rs 49000-cold rolled steel) to fit in the market but in exchange for lower supply of steel so this reduces the supply power of POSCO-IPPC. POSCO-IPPC is only a distribution centre and does not manufacture. It is a market-oriented firm and follows the concept of mass customization for it creates the output maintaining to different customers need. It slits and shears steel depending upon the customer’s want. Its main customers are Crompton, LG and Suzlon in the electrics sector and Tata and Bajaj in the automobile sector. It uses batch production to produce an output of 10,000 metric tons per year where 1. 5% of the raw-material is wasted in slitting and shearing. The demand for their steel is a lot higher than their output and their capacity is also higher (35,000 metric tons/year) but the lack of raw-material limits them, due to the special price-low supply factor. Instead of creating more output, their machines are doing job work for other competitors like JINDAL, ESSAR, etc. of 5000 metric tons monthly. Highlighting the difficulty suffered in the case of TATA MOTORS Pvt. Limited Total Requirement of TATA | 30,000 (Demand going up by 7-10% annually) | TATA’s demand from POSCO (for high quality steel)| 5000-7000| POSCO-IPPC’s Supply to TATA| 2000-2500 (Rest to be supplied to other customers. )| POSCO-IPPC’s Cold Rolled Steel Price at the market | Rs. 53-55000| TATA’s pay price to POSCO | Rs. 48000| | | | | (All figures are in metric tons/month) Analysis/Evaluation: The evaluation of different problems which cause hindrances in trade with other companies will be done with the help of certain financial and non-financial techniques. Financial Analysis: I. Capacity Utilization With the purpose of utilizing its capital to the fullest, POSCO-IPPC has two pathways in order to supply more in the steel market and set its foot strongly: a) acquiring more raw-materials from POSCO, Korea. b) Purchasing of raw-material from POSCO manufacturing unit at Orissa, India. Thus, we will analyze the present scenario of capacity utilization in compared with the two options mentioned above. Present Capacity Utilization scenario: The capital utilization is calculated in percentage and the formulae used for it is given below: OutputMaximum capacity? 00 Current Output: 10000 metric tons/ month. Maximum Capacity: 11250 metric tons/ month. Capacity Utilization = 1000011250? 100 = 88. 89% Option a): acquiring more raw-materials from POSCO, Korea: Estimated output: 11250 metric tons/ month Maximum capacity: 11250 metric tons/ month Capacity Utilization = 1125011250? 100 = 100% Option b): Purchasing of raw-material from POSCO manufacturing branch at Orissa in India: Estimated Output: 11250 metric tons/ month Maximum Capacity: 11250 metric tons/ month Capacity Utilization = 1125011250? 100 = 100% II. Decision Tree: Utilizing this approach for both the options and other decisions to be made by the company are evaluated and financially viable decisions are suggested. (Figure 1) (All money values are in Indian Rupees) Key: Decision square Chance node Calculations: (611. 105mn ? 0. 6) + (466. 07mn ? 0. 4) – 500mn = 53. 091mn INR (572. 88 ? 0. 3) + (491. 04 ? 0. 7) – 500mn = 15. 592mn INR Non-financial analysis: India has gone through a considerable change in the production and consumption of Steel in the past 10 years. Driven a booming economy and concomitant demand levels, consumption of steel has grown by 12. 5 per cent during the last three years it has been forecast that the apparent steel use point in India will increase by 11. 8 per cent in 2008. POSCO-IPPC has great opportunities to set their foot firmly in the Automobile sector. The POSCO steel plant is India’s single largest foreign investment project ever. For its part, the Indian government is eager to boost its steel production and attract more foreign investment through such a lucrative partnership. But it also may lead to limiting of foreign ownership and application of protectionism to prevent foreign investment from exceeding its levels. Technology level in POSCO-IPPC is of high standards and helps them with maintaining the quality. The machines brought in are imported but India is a developing county and it has certain problems of electricity which results in regular power-cuts causing hindrances in processing of steel. These load-shedding periods are often covered by the use of generators but these generators prove to be expensive. The steel being imported is affected by any change in the foreign exchange policies and any government/fiscal policies which may affect them. POSCO-IPPC being a new-comer may feel threatened by the presence of multi-national companies as it leads to greater competition and more exploitation of resources. Conclusions and Recommendations: Available management’s perception on the opportunities to establish themselves in the Steel Industry, it does appear that the management should research this further by the help of a market research and research on all of the customer needs. Analysing the written report on the basis of the data supplied, it appears that POSCO-IPPC’s only hindrance is its limitation of supply which if solved will solve many of their other problems. Using Capacity Utilisation and Decision tree, it was understood that if maximum capacity utilisation takes place, it will reduce the price; increase the output; increasing the output will lead to long term relationships with the customers; it will involve maximum utilisation of resources. Maximum capacity utilisation is only possible with the increase in output which can be only done by increase in the supply of steel. There had been two options discussed with the help of decision tree to look for the best and cheapest way to increase the supply by deciding upon the source. The analysis showed that purchasing from POSCO, Korea at the special price is more profitable (53. 091mn INR) but this is only possible if POSCO, Korea agrees to supply them at the special price. The second possible option was from purchasing steel from the other branch of POSCO at Orissa, India but this would prove less profitable (15. 592mn INR) as they would sell it at the selling price in order to save their profits. Other factors which tend to support POSCO-IPPC to set its foot in the Automobile sector include in the non-financial analysis: growing Indian economy and its Steel Industry; Government support; Great Quality Steel; modern technology used with strict disciplinary issues which makes them a good supplier. Recommendations: As such, my recommendations would be: * Undertake further research in terms of specific of customer requirements and problems, by performing a market research and research on the clients, as many of my findings are generic to the company’s knowledge. More accurately determine the precise nature of the costs and profits upon purchasing steel from the sources analyzed in the written report. * Embark upon extensive research as to search other ways to increase the output and also request POSCO, Korea to supply more at the special price. However, my analysis is limited; it does not cover all the aspects of this topic due to the restraints of the data supplied. The re search was not more extensive because the unit was far away and many meetings were not possible with the officials as this would interrupt in their work . With only two personnel interviewed, a wider perspective from other departments must also be obtained . The report is a reference material, the research can be more extensive and proper results can be achieved if access to more data was possible. The Report is still in progress; there are many issues which need to be solved which can be done with the help of the recommendations and more access. Bibliography Books: AS Level and A level Business Studies, Peter Simpson, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002, Websites: http://www. stratfor. com/analysis/india_poscos_steel_investment_challenge Steel, India Brand Equity Fund, http://www. bef. org/industry/steel. aspx India Steel Industry, Economy Watch, http://www. economywatch. com/india-steel-industry/ India Automobile Industry, Economy Watch, http://www. economywatch. com/business-and-economy/automobile-industry. html Corporate overview, POSCO-INDIA, http://posco-india. com/website/company/corporate-overview. htm APPENDIX: * Appen dix 1: Interview Transcript with Mr. Bharat Indu BhattaCharya * Appendix 1: Interview Transcript with Mr. Joseph Joe * Appendix 3: SWOT Analysis * Appendix 4: PEST Analysis * Appendix 5: Graphs * Appendix 6: Mail from Mr. Joseph Joe Appendix 1: Interview Transcript with Mr. Bharat Indu Bhatta Charya, Electric Steel Dept. Manager of POSCO-IPPC, Pvt. Limited, Pune 1) Good Afternoon, Could you please enlighten us about your company? * Good Afternoon, POSCO-IPPC stands for POSCO – India Pune Processing Unit. We are situated in the Talegaon Horticulture and Industrial Park in the dist. Of Pune. POSCO-IPPC is a coil centre as known by its parent company POSCO, which is a steel manufacturer giant in South Korea. It is the fourth largest producer of steel in the world and its distributors and manufacturing units are spread all over the world. From the start of this company to the present date, POSCO has led to massive advancements in the socio-economic status of South Korea. Coming back to POSCO’s investment in India, this is POSCO’s third investment, the other two being in Delhi and Orissa. Although POSCO is POSCO-IPPC’s main investor but it is an independent company which is locally managed. POSCO entering in a new market planned to establish this processing unit as a joint venture with LG International, where POSCO has 65% of shares and LG international owns the rest 35%. A total 15 million $ was invested in this project and it commercial processing started in 2006. 2) Can you emphasize more on your commercial processing and the working of this unit? * POSCO-IPPC processes the raw material which comes from POSCO, South Korea and distributes it to the customers. By processing, we mean the steel which comes from POSCO is slatted and sheared according to the customers need. We receive our steel in the form of coils, this is one reason for our being known as coil centre, then the coil is put in a machine which slits and shears it based on the dimensions set. This is then packed and sent to the respective customers. Our major customers are Crompton, LG, Suzlon, TATA and Bajaj. Our company produces output for electric steel as well as automobile steel. Although in the electric steel market, we hold a monopoly but in automobile, we are yet to expand our approach. These are the different types of steel we produce: Electric Steel * CRGNO- Cold Rolled Grain Oriented Steel * CRNO- Cold Rolled Non-Grained Steel Automobile Steel * HR ; PO- Hot Rolled and Pickled ; Oiled Steel Cold Rolled Steel * Stainless Steel White Goods * Electro-Galvanised Steel We have 120 people as staff, out of which 60 are on payroll and 60 are on contract. We follow the batch production for our processing unit. Our output is 10,000 metric tons / month with an annual turnover of 320 Crores as of last year. The raw material which comes to us, we add a value addition of 10% and sell it in the market. Our capacity to produce is 135,000 metric tons per annum where as its outp ut is low because of the lack of raw material so the capacity utilization is not up to the mark. So to involve our other machinery, we do job work for other companies of 5000 metric tons. 3) Can you please tell me about the managers of this company? * The managers at all the leading posts in the company are all from South Korea and they have been assigned by POSCO for a fixed period of years for a perfect start in the Indian Steel market. These are very experienced and are strict followers of discipline and quality. The work at POSCO-IPPC is efficient and advancing due to these managers. These are: * Gil Ho Bang – Managing Director Jongyeol Her – General Manager * Jung Chule Kim – General Manager * Woon Tae Jung – General Manager 4) Can you please tell us about the difficulties you are facing as a new company in the Indian Steel market? * We have a monopoly many in the market for Electric steel so we don’t have any problems in that sector but in the automobile sector, our competitors are well established and they have a far greater market share than POSCO-IPPC in the market so it creates pressure on us to create our product better than theirs to stay in the market. Our competitors: TATA STEEL, JINDAL, ESSAR, ISPAT and other Chinese and Russian companies. The two main difficulties which our company is facing are: * There has been a Star Rating which the Indian Government has started on the electric appliances. This effect of BAE Star Rating on the consumption of Electric Steel. * The Automobile sector in India is booming and has a lot of scope so POSCO-IPPC is trying to increase its footprint in the Automobile steel segment. There is a lot of demand for POSCO’s quality steel in the Automobile sector. 5) What is your SWOT? SWOT Strength * Any downfalls can be supported by POSCO-Distribution of quality steel – Inherits a quality name in the market from POSCO- Maintains strict disciplinary levels- Market leader in Electric Steel- Demand for its quality steel in the Automobile sector-Machinery is very advanced and the labour employed are few but skilled. Weaknesses * Not enough raw materials-Is not yet able to firm its stand in the Ste el market-The high price of their product due to the currency of Korea being more powerful – Language/ Cultural gap between India and Korea. Opportunities To increase its output and meet the high demand – Lack of high quality steel in the Automobile market gives them a big opportunity – India encouraging foreign investments- Increasing International trade between the countries- Rate of high economic and the country's economy gradually increasing- Special Reduced Price for the steel. Threats * Price of the raw material is highly dependent on the foreign exchange – POSCO holding a small share in the market is comparatively smaller than its multi-national counterparts -Low output due to lack of raw materials which may result in the loss of customers and a long term relationship. Appendix 2: Interview Transcript with Mr. Joseph Joe, Automobile Steel Dept. Manager of POSCO-IPPC, Pvt. Limited, Pune 1) Good Afternoon, What can you tell me about POSCO-IPPC in relevance to the Automobile market? Good Afternoon, POSCO-IPPC is a subsidiary of POSCO which as you know is a global producer and distributor of high quality steel. So as its parent company, POSCO-IPPC is also known for its high quality in the Indian Steel market. Automobile Company requires high quality steel for the chassis parts of the automobile, usually such parts are imported or substitute quality steel is bought so due to the lack of high quality steel producers in India, there is a lot of demand for the emerging POSCO-IPPC’s Steel. Though POSCO-IPPC has so many opportunities to set itself firmly in the market, it has many hindrances preventing it from doing so. 2) Can you pleases talk about the hindrances in little more detail? * There are many factors which sum up to conclude as a hindrance for POSCO-IPPC. The major ones are: * High cost of POSCO-IPPC’s Steel leads to a discouragement to the Indian customers. * POSCO-IPPC is looking for big customers so they are able to establish themselves by directly targeting at the higher end. * POSCO-IPPC is strict in its payment dates which are not favoured by all its customers for they need a margin to settle their accounts. * Although the main problem is the lack of raw material from POSCO. Due to the Special price-low supply condition between POSCO and POSCO-IPPC, there is low supply of raw materials. The demand is high for POSCO-IPPC’s steel but due to low output, it cannot adhere to every customer’s needs. POSCO-IPPC is capable to produce more output than its current production but due to the lack of raw material, it has to restrain itself and do job production. * POSCO-IPPC’s customers expect a same price and supply surety for three months which is not possible for POSCO-IPPC as it imports its raw material and it is subject to foreign exchange policies and other government policies which affects its price. The supply surety cannot be given due to lack of supply of raw material. * Also the defaulting of POSCO-IPPC’s price and bargaining to pay less price by the customers is discouraging POSCO-IPPC to expand itself so quickly as they are losing on their profits. * But overall, the lack of raw material is a big issue and solving that issue can solve many other problems related and in the course of time, brisk movements of trade will solve other problems too. 3) What can you tell about the special price-low supply condition? POSCO is a global player and it distributes its steel at a common international price (Rs 59000) to the world but as that rate is very high in terms of Indian currency, it would not settle down in the Indian market so in order to satisfy its Indian customers, it reduced the price and this is known as special price (Rs 45000). But as POSCO reduced the rate for POSCO-IPPC, it only did this for a condition and this condition was that POSCO-IPPC will receive only a limited supply from POSCO, Korea. ) Since TATA is one of your major customers in the automobile segment, can you please put light on the company’s relationship with TATA? * Sure, TATA Motors is a major customer of ours and there is a considerable amount of dealings with TATA. Tata itself produces steel but is partly dependent on POSCO-IPPC for high quality steel for the chassis of their automobiles. They need good quality for the outer body of the car for it to be firm and more attractive for which they take the support of POSCO-IPPC. Tata requires 30,000 metric tons/month and the demand is going up by 7-10% / year. Tata demands 5000-7000 metric tons/month from POSCO-IPPC but it can only supply 2000-2500 metric tons/month to TATA for out of its total output, it also needs to supply to other customers in order to remain in the market and also to stabilize it. The customers in the market are also asking for POSCO-IPPC’s steel like General Motors, Volkswagen and Fiat. For which TATA has supported POSCO-IPPC in sending a petition to POSCO to supply more steel. POSCO-IPPC distributes cold rolled steel in the open market at Rs 53-55000; the price keeps on fluctuating, whereas TATA gets it at Rs 48,000 (maximum. ) Thus, such factors are creating hindrances in transaction between TATA and POSCO-IPPC. 5) What is your PEST? * PEST POLITICAL & LEGAL * Central Government encourages the foreign investment- Change in the central Government may result in change in different trade policies – Indian Economy has shown relatively high levels of development, stability and potential growth. -Korea having a high level of percentage of investment in the Indian market Economical * Indian Economy is booming-Growth in its GDP and economic growth-Fluctuations in the exchange rates -Social ties and contacts between India and China is increasing-Expansion of a basic industry is always favoured- Company also gives importance to maximum exploitation of resources. Social * Opened a school for the children of its workers- Helped to develop the village Talegaon -Increase in the capacity of the unit, there will be more employment in the area-Adapt the Indian Culture-It believes in job satisfaction and motivation of its staff Technical * POSCO-IPPC uses advance technology to process its raw material-High dependency on technology-India is a developing country where there is a great problem with electricity so load shedding takes place-Alternative method to use generators during the time of load shedding proves expensive-Supply of diesel in such large quality proves to be a negative factor. Appendix 3: POSCO-IPPC SWOT Analysis Appendix 5 – Graphs Figure 1: Figure 2: Appendix 6: Mail from Joseph Joe This was a mail from Mr. Joseph Joe giving out some information. Investment: 500 mn INR | | | | | | | | | | | | | Probability | | Difference| | Source Company | | Cost Price/ metric ton | | Selling Price/ metric ton| | Quantity Purchased and sold| | Total Revenue| | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0. 6| | Special Price| POSCO, Korea| | Rs 45000| | Rs 55000| | 11111| | 611. 105 mn INR| 0. 4| | No Special Price| POSCO, Korea| | Rs 59000| | Rs 55000| | 8474| | 466. 07 mn INR| 0. 3| | Wihtout O. H. E| POSCO, Orissa| | Rs 48,000| | Rs 55000| | 10416| | 572. 88 mn INR| 0. | | With O. H. E| | POSCO, Orissa| | Rs 56000| | Rs 55000| | 8928| | 491. 04 mn INR| ——————————————– [ 2 ]. Refer to Appendix 1 – Interview with Mr. Bhattacharya [ 3 ]. Refer to Appendix 1 – Interview with Mr. Bhattacharya [ 4 ]. Refer to Appendix 1 – Interview with Mr. Bhattacharya [ 5 ]. POSCO-INDIA, â€Å"corporate overviewâ⠂¬ , http://posco-india. com/website/company/corporate-overview. htm. (20th September, 2008. ) [ 6 ]. Refer to Appendix 5- Graphs [ 7 ]. Economy Watch, â€Å"India Steel Industry,† http://www. conomywatch. com/india-steel-industry/, (20th September, 2008. ) [ 8 ]. Economy Watch, â€Å"India Automobile Industry,† http://www. economywatch. com/business-and-economy/automobile-industry. html, (23rd September, 2008. ) [ 9 ]. Refer to Appendix 5- Graphs [ 10 ]. Refer to Appendix 2 – Interview with Mr. Joseph Joe [ 11 ]. Refer to Appendix 1 – Interview with Mr. Bharat Indu Bhattacharya [ 12 ]. Refer to Appendix 2 – Interview with Mr. Joseph Joe [ 13 ]. Refer to Appendix 1 – Interview with Mr. Bharat Indu Bhattacharya [ 14 ]. Refer to Appendix 6 – Mail received from Mr. Joseph Joe [ 15 ]. India Brand Equity Fund, â€Å"Steel,† http://www. ibef. org/industry/steel. aspx (3rd August, 2008. ) [ 16 ]. SWOT Analysis [ 17 ]. PEST Analysis [ 18 ]. http://www. stratfor. com/analysis/india_poscos_steel_investment_challenge [ 19 ]. PEST Analysis [ 20 ]. SWOT Analysis [ 21 ]. PEST Analysis [ 22 ]. SWOT Analysis [ 23 ]. PEST Analysis [ 24 ]. http://www. economywatch. com/business-and-economy/steel-industry. html [ 25 ]. http://www. economywatch. com/business-and-economy/automobile-industry. html