Human resources management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Human resources management - Essay Example The human resource officials the mandate to ensure that diversity at the work place is well managed and utilized to achieve organizations goals and objectives(Joshi & Jackson, 2008). Actually, diversity at the work place if utilized well, it will see number of experiences and abilities put in place to solve organizations problems in a myriad ways. Thus, this is likely to bring about services that are much more all-inclusive in the process since almost different groups of customers will be represented in the workforce. A number of issues are associated with the management of diversity for human resource personnel. To begin with, the human resource officer has to ensure that they have attracted different kinds of workers with diversity to apply (Shen, Chanda, D’Netto, & Monga, 2009). The human resource manager has to ensure that description of a job is not discriminatory to any group that may be intending to work in that institution. Instead, it should be designed in a way to show that it welcomes everybody irrespective of his or her race, experience, age or even gender. Secondly one of the issues that manager has to deal with is ensuring that the recruitment process effectively targets the diverse groups. The recruitment process should ensure that it has gotten all the types of people that it needs to achieve its goals and objectives. Lastly, the human resource office has to deal with the potential biasness in the recruitment process. According to Podsiadlowski, Grà ¶schke, Kogler, Springer, & van der Zee,(2013) ignoring diversity has more harm to the organization than good. For instance, the issue can cost an organization a lot of time, efficiency and money. For instance, it will take more time for members of an organization to integrate out the requirements of the human resource office. This would not be the case if the officer understands the differences and

Reporting results Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Reporting results - Essay Example Financial results, information, and conclusion may be reported in balance sheets, activity statements, and cash flow statement amongst others. The information on the balance sheet, activity statement, and cash flow statements are connected. Whereas balance sheet provides the financial position of an organization, activity statement provides the reports on the entitlements and obligations in respect to taxation and cash statement flow projects, the cash inflow and outflow within organizations (Finkler, 2010). The cash flow statements of organizations are derived from balance sheets and activity statements. On the other hand, taxation entitlements and obligations as obtained from activity statements are derived from expenses that dependent on cash availability portrayed within the balance sheet (Finkler, 2010). In addition, the changes in stock as illustrated by balance sheet are used within activity statements to calculate the income of the organization for tax entitlements and obligations. From the above explanations there is enough evident that the information in balance sheet, activity statement, and cash flow statements are connected and not independent and some allude. The financial statements heavily borrow from each

Organisational Behaviour and Team Work in Business

Organisational Behaviour and Team Work in Business INTRODUCTION The assignment brings out the discussion over the organisational behaviour in life experience of team work in organisation or in classroom activities. Organisational behaviour in a team work plays a vital role and it is the topic has been discussed for a very long time and now nearly everyone knows about its concepts. Simply the organisations wont perform but the one person or many people. When it comes to organisations there should be a team work and perform individuals cant perform whatever they want in an organization they have to form a team and perform individually as well as teams. So when forming a team, organizational behaviour influences toward its success. Organizational Behaviours is the key aspect to maintain and enhance interaction levels amongst people in the organizations. Other attributes like leadership, motivation, decision making, openness to discuss problems, challenge-initiative is all in the base concept of Organizational behaviour to help the business achieve its strategic and in some business objectives. The proper definition of organizational behaviour with its understanding and management has resulted in development of few key offshoots to the concept of Organizational behaviours In my view a personality behaviour means how can we describe a person, how this person differences from the others behaviour, how we can measure the characteristics and differences. Psychometrics is also the most important related to the assessment and measurement of the personality, aptitude, intelligence. It is like the unique character of the individual and measure and understands the differences between the individuals. I think the term itself indicates the properties of behaviour which are both enduring and set the individual apart from others. These properties concern the individuals typical ways of coping with life. I am going to explain a few words about the group because it will explain the importance of individual in the group. The group may spend a lot of time on the each stage, but some groups never reaching the final stages because the personality and levels of dominance of each member may play a large part in the failure or success of the group and its ability to progress through the different stages, the time goes by changes occur, such as new members joining the group or old members leaving the group may re-enter the cycle and begin the development of the process all over again. In this assignment i am going to use the Leadership theory and Motivation Maslows theory. These theories are best suitable for my opinions or views that are raised in my experience and i like those theories a lot so the two theories are chosen. Let me start with those theories Leadership theory A simple definition of leadership is that leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal. Leadership is one of the most hotly debated topics in management studies, social psychology and organisational psychology (Pfeiffer 1993). Despite the depth and breadth of debate concerning leadership effectiveness, it remains an elusive construct. As a result, researchers and practitioners have not reached a consensus on a true and concise definition that represents an accurate depiction of effective leadership in all situations and possibilities. The leadership is one of the effective concepts and well defined as: Treat people with politeness, respect and dignity and in doing so create a strong role model for others to follow. Building a reputation of fairness gives you a buffer against the times when the policy is wrong or you behave badly Gratton (2000:206) According to Nathan F. Iannone, leadership can be defined as the art of influencing, directing, guiding, and controlling others in such a way as to obtain their willing obedience, confidence, respect and loyal cooperation in accomplishment of an objective. Leadership is about the future and about how do I tap into the group orientation (into what everybody shares). According to Jago (1982) the quality and the qualified, good leaders are not born instead they are made with the influenza ion of the training and the self-assessment, developing skills by improvising others. The natural people ability is also evaluated as a measure of walk their talk. The fascination of the leadership is much higher in terms of the charismatic leader. The leadership based on this charismatic model is really being focused towards the vision and also the ability and the talents are naturally born and also termed as gift. The natural leader adapts the tapping of their inner resources and also natural leaders are more often generalist (Stonefield, 1992:3). The leadership theory based on this contingency model states that there is no particular model of leadership which suits as appropriate in all times of situation. The variables are the basic elements and the preliminary components which determine the success rather than the leadership style which we intend to follow or insist. The leadership has a quality in order to follow the vital roles and also in order to perform the action depending and assessing the situation through various means (Cherry, 2010). The trait approach to personality is one of the major theoretical areas in the study of personality. The trait theory suggests that individual personalities are composed broad dispositions. Consider how you would describe the personality of a close friend. Chances are that you would list a number of traits, such as outgoing, kind and even-tempered. A trait can be thought of as a relatively stable characteristic that causes individuals to behave in certain ways. Unlike many other theories of personality, such as psychoanalytic or humanistic theories, the trait approach to personality is focused on differences between individuals. The combination and interaction of various traits forms a personality that is unique to each individual. Trait theory is focused on identifying and measuring these individual personality characteristics. According to Offer Mann, Hanges and Day (2001) much of the discourse on the internal characteristics of leadership over recent years has focused on values and ethics. They argue that disillusionment and a lack of confidence in political leadership have been generated by the particular values that political leaders use to motivate their actions. As a result, Offermann, Hanges and Day (2001) claim that the world is more aware of the importance that values play in leadership effectiveness and success. In addition, it has been shown that particular types of leaders attract different followers depending on their value types (Ehrhart Klein 2001). McShane (2001) argues that in order to motivate, influence, be liked and respected, a leaders values need to align themselves with those of their employees and to reflect integrity, honesty, compassion and assertiveness. The contingency leadership is one of the effective leadership techniques and also has an ability to act as a vital tool in establishing the focus on variables in an environment in order to determine the situations which really opt for our behaviour in any kind of situation. The leadership theory based on this contingency model states that there is no particular model of leadership which suits as appropriate in all times of situation. The variables are the basic elements and the preliminary components which determine the success rather than the leadership style which we intend to follow or insist. The leadership has a quality in order to follow the vital roles and also in order to perform the action depending and assessing the situation through various means (Cherry, 2010). My definition of Leadership is being able to: inspire others, motivate, set a vision, communicate, respect others, and lead by example. A leader must have an honest understanding of who they are, what they know, and what they are capable of. To be successful person you have to convince your followers, not yourself or your superiors. In my opinion this can build confidence in your followers in their faith in you to be able to lead. Followers Different person require different styles of leadership. For example, a company I was working requires more supervision than an experienced employee. A person who lacks motivation requires a different approach than anyone with a high degree of motivation. You must know your people! The fundamental starting point is having a good understanding of human nature, such as needs, emotions, and motivation. You must come to know your employees be, know, and do attributes. Communication Communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another person; it involves a sender transmitting an idea, information, or feeling to a receive. What and how you communicate either builds or harms the relationship between you and your employees. Situation Situations are different from all time. Leader is an individual who can use different leadership styles based on the situations .decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for each situation. For example, you may need to confront an employee for inappropriate behaviour, but if the confrontation is too late or too early, too harsh or too weak, then the results may prove ineffective. Also note that the situation normally has a greater effect on a leaders action than his or her traits. This is because while traits may have an impressive stability over a period of time, they have little consistency across situations (Mischel, 1968). This is why a number of leadership scholars think the Process Theory of Leadership is a more accurate than the Trait Theory of Leadership. Every organisation is subdivided into two different categories such as formal and informal. The organisation when seen as external spectator it appears to be formal with its will defined mission statement, policies and procedure and organisation structure charts, but this is just the tip of the great iceberg floating underneath in the form of informal organisation which a manger has to face. This informal organisation includes informal leaders which have no formal authority given by organisation but they have their influence on many employees, to maintain good relation with such informal leaders as sometimes they can help in getting things done. Internally organisation is subdivided into many groups based on their nature of job, their ethnicity, their culture, their language having their own norms and sentiments managers need to identify such groups and make consistent effort to maintain peace in groups by serving the role of mediator, for smooth running of organisation. Organisation consist of another route of power which can be said as counter organisation, that can be seen in the form of labour unions which are formed to keep check on organisation and make sure that profit hungry organisation dont exploit them. Such counter organisations are needed to be handled with great care. It can be said informal organisations are formed by the people of organisation to satisfaction of their cultural needs and a sense of personal identity and personal belonging. It also provides means to highlight deficiencies in the formal organisation such as excess time taken to complete a task. MASLOW THOERY OF MOTIVATION Motivation is a fundamental driving force behind people behaviour and performance. When the research was done to explain different aspects of motivation from an organisational behavioural perspective many theories or models used to describe the topic of motivation basically it is described as the extent to which persistent effort is directed towards a goal. It is very important to know about different types of motivation theories and their implementation in a group or organisation. These motivation theories specify the kinds of needs people has and condition in which they would want to exemplify these needs. Motivation can be internal or external. Example of external motivation is Deadlines. The fear of losing a contract or of not finishing a job on time you started is an example of internal motivation. Both internal and external motivation can be equally powerful. Why i am using this Maslows theory to reflect on my behaviour in group situations. This theory comes under content theories of motivation. There is significant relationship between behaviour and motivation particularly between group and individuals. Motivations of group have a serious impact on individual behaviour likewise the motivation of an individual can have serious impact on group. Abraham Maslow theory was proposed by Dr. Abraham Maslow in 1943, this theory is general overview of human motivation. His theory strikes a distinctive sense of balance between biological and social needs that integrates many motivational concepts. According to Maslow individual needs are set in a hierarchy, and everyone must satisfy their basic needs before they can satisfy their higher needs. The hierarchy is many times portrayed, as a pyramid beginning with physiological needs at the bottom and self-actualization at the top of this pyramid. The needs at the lower level are the most basic. These basic needs must be satisfy well before an individual can become concern with the higher needs like physiological needs, safety needs, security needs, social needs, law and affection, esteem needs. These needs must be satisfied before a person can act unselfishly. He called these needs deficiency needs. As long as we are motivated to satisfy these craving, people are moving toward growth, s elf-actualization, satisfying needs is healthy, which preventing gratification makes us sick or act evilly. Gareth Morgan suggests that employees are people with complex needs that must be satisfied if they are to lead perform effectively in a work place. Employees perform best when they are motivated by task, which will earn them some reward that satisfies their personal needs. Abraham Maslows theory of motivation most widely famous as hierarchy of needs states that human needs when arranged in form of hierarchy, ascending from lowest to the highest, as soon as need at lower level gets completed, the need at next level servers to be a motivator. Maslow divided human needs into five main categories such as physiological which include basic needs for sustaining life like food, water, shelter and sleep. According to Abraham Maslow there are five different levels in hierarchy of needs. Self-actualizing Needs Self-actualizing Needs is the highest level of Maslows hierarchy of need. People are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others and interested fulfilling their potential. Esteem Needs Esteem needs include the things that reflect on self-esteem, personal worth, social recognition and accomplishment. Social Needs Social needs include belonging, love and affection. Maslow considered these needs to be less basic than physiological and security needs. Relationships such as friendships, love, romantic attachments and families help fulfil this need for companionship and acceptance, as does involvement in social, community or religious groups. Security Needs Security needs include safety and security. Security needs are important for survival, but they are not as demanding as the physiological needs. Examples of security needs include a desire for steady employment, health insurance, safe neighbourhoods and shelter from the environment. Physiological Needs A physiological need is low needs. These include the most basic needs that are vital to survival, such as the need for water, air, food and sleep. Maslow believed that these needs are the most basic and instinctive needs in the hierarchy because all needs become secondary until these physiological needs are met. Maslow was correct when he said that one need has to be fulfilled before we can move to the next one. Without sufficient amount sleep I wouldnt be able to think of nothing but sleep. Also if I am hungry food will be the only thing on my mind. But because each day I satisfy these basic needs I am able to think about other things because these needs are no longer controlling my thoughts. Next priority is given to security which includes freedom from physical danger and other fears like losing job, property, food, or shelter. Since people are social animals they need to belong, to be accepted by others, hence acceptance third in the list of needs. Once people satisfy their need to belong esteem needs emerge in the form of satisfactions as power, prestige, status and self-esteem and at last when all the other needs are satisfied need for self-actualization which is the desire to maximize ones potential and achieve something. Applying this theory many organisations where suggested to motivate their employees by monetary gains or assuring security of their job. , Koontz, H, Weihrich (2008), Morgan (2006). There was a research conducted by Douglas T Hall and Khalil Nongame which studied needs of hierarchy involving a group of managers over a time span of five years. They found that there was no strong evidence of hierarchy, as managers get promoted in organisation their physiological needs tend to decrease, while on other hand needs for self-actualization tend to increase H, Koontz , H, Weihrich(2008). Upcoming flaws of Maslows theory the process theory of motivation stated, with the study of ones decision making process and deter mining how individual behaviour is energised, directed and maintained. The major process theory of motivation includes expectancy theory, equity theory, goal setting theory and reinforcement theory. In my classroom activities I am relating this theorys to my classroom activities in a group. When considered my experience in a group situation once while doing a group presentation in collage we all are five people. We had a 20 days time to presentation and from first day we all thought to meet at my place but no one turn up this happened many time every one say some other reason. It happened for all 19 day only 1 day left to submit the presentation than I thought to divide the task to my group members. Each one is assign a separate task and the task should complete before the particular schedule time. With this I emerge as leader that made me influenza ion as Leadership. Not only Leadership but also motivation In order to sleep tonight I have to complete my task of presentation before sleep. I need to satisfy my physiological need that is to sleep in time. I should complete the presentation before night CONCLUSION According to the trait theory the question arises of weather a leader is born or developed. There is no defined answer as many theorists have different answers to this. Understanding the concepts from above of motivation its rewards systems as to how useful it is for a leader to understand how it can be utilized in getting work done from people, decision making and its importance in growing more efficient, managing change and adapting quickly to it, understanding human perceptions and how they affect management, understanding the value of power in an organization without which a leader is nothing, politics and control and the other factors finally lead towards the understanding that leaders are developed. Many individuals may be born with the skill to be a leader this does not prove that he grows up to be an effective leader. However he can develop the ability to become one. Experience and the urge to learn can help one become an efficient leader. According to my understanding a pers on might be born with natural abilities to become a leader. This assignment is very useful to assess my past behaviour to the present behaviour and ways to develop the behaviour and to assess the performance by using these theories in a group. These are the two oldest theories what I used because older principles are the basic for anything i.e. the applications should follows the basic principle. Only few people are reached the self-actualization concept in the Leadership theory and Maslows theory. I am very much willing to taste that step. So I am going to putting my effort in this way and also looking the ways to develop. In my opinion if the group activities are conducted from the child hood they will be a very useful to the individual to improve their personality, behaviour and from that the concept of Leadership and motivation skills will also improve for the betterment of the future.

The Federal Reserve System: Modern Fascism And Absolute Power Essay

Most Americans feel the United States of America is a beacon of democracy and raw capitalism, the leader of the â€Å"free† world. The founding fathers had every intention of turning the new world into a full fledged democracy, devoid of any monarchy or source of totalitarian power. The constitution itself demands that our government be â€Å"of, for and by the people†, and be divided into complex units of checks and balances, designed to thwart any potential power struggle by one specific branch. In essence, the constitution of the United States is a perfect blueprint for democracy in its purest form, with power and control in the hands of its citizens. Unfortunately, this is not the case today. By giving up the right to print its own currency in 1913, the US Government bequeathed its powers to a select few, who have owned and operated this country ever since. They are the true masters of US domestic and foreign policy. Just like a corporation issues shares of stock to function as a productive entity, a country has to issue currency in order to fund its operations. This currency is the lifeblood of a nation, creating wealth for its citizens by fostering economic development and providing public infrastructure and services. In a true democracy, the government is owned by the citizens and operated by representatives of the population as a whole, who control and more importantly regulate the issuance of this currency. This is a critical point to remember. Just like a public company [that issues too much stock] can be punished by the public markets for diluting its share structure, a nation’s currency can suffer the same effects through inflation if the government prints too much money relative to the value of the economy. This can be co... ...al well into the 21st century and beyond depends on it. Thanks to innovations like the Internet, the public’s ability to access information that was once kept hidden from view is now possible. This instills the hope that much like the Fellowship in LOTR was eventually able to thwart the efforts of Sauron, we as citizens of the United States can succeed in abolishing the Federal Reserve System and help restore this nation to the democratic vision of our Forefathers. http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/frseries/frseri.htm Delaware Corporation No. 0042817, https://sos-res.state.de.us/tin/GINameSearch.jsp http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/jfkeo/eo/11110.htm DiLorenzo, Thomas J. 1994. Economic Fascism, The Freeman DiLorenzo, Thomas J. 1994. Economic Fascism, The Freeman http://www.house.gov/paul/legis/106/hr1148.htm http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/

An analysis of Ocean Park Essay

1. Introduction Hong Kong Ocean Park is considered as a one of world’s largest marine park, located on the south end of Hong Kong Island. The three sections are located on the headlands of Brick Hill, while the other two section is located in the Wong Chuk Hang Valley lowlands and Tai Shue Wan. It is considered as one of the largest ocean in the world, having an area of 870,000 square metres (2013). This paper will focus on analyze the external environment such as the economic and culture aspect that can affect the relationship of the organization to their customers, key to understanding their impact on the industry. Furthermore, it will focus on the internal environment of the organization such as its core competency, together with its strengths and weaknesses. There are various forces that influence the Marco Environment. Following is the detailed analysis based on the above dimensions: 2. Analysis of Ocean Park’s Environment Strategic position: To understand the business environment that Ocean Park is operating, we will examine it by the PEST Framework, and the SWOT analysis. 2. 1PEST analysis: 2. 1. 1 Political issues †¢Launch of individual visit scheme (Pos +) The Individual Visit Scheme was first introduced in four Guangdong cities on 28 July 2003 as a liberalisation measure under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement. There were 4. 3 million Mainland visitor arrivals to Hong Kong under this scheme in 2004, mainland China become No. 1 source guest of Ocean Park (Table 1. 1). †¢ The railway scheme for the South Island Line1 (Pos +) The South Island Line (East) will be connecting the MTR network at Admiralty to the Southern District of Hong Kong, via new stations at Ocean Park. Construction of the South Island Line (East) commenced in 2011 for completion expected in 2015. In addition, there will be expanding tourism in the Southern District and link Aberdeen with Ocean Park. †¢Amendments to the Marriage Ordinance (Pos +) In 2005, the government approved a new policy on marriage registration. There is no limitation on choosing place for registering a marriage. The couples can registration on different place of worship with advance application for competent minister. All these provide new business opportunities for Ocean Park. 2. 1. 2Economic trends †¢ GDP Growth in China and Hong Kong (Pos +). While 2008- 2009 Hong Kong struggles with financial tsunami, one year after the gross domestic product (GDP) grew by a remarkable 9. 3% (Figure 1) in real terms and China’s GDP growth seen as stable. That’s able to provide a stable economic environment to Ocean Park which able to sustain its development. GDP growth (annual %) in Hong Kong and China Fig 1 GDP ANNUAL GROWTH RATE, Source form Census and Statistics Department and National bureau of statistics of china †¢ Employment rate in HK (Pos +) The unemployment rate fell from a high of 8. 6% in the second quarter of 2003 to a near three-year low of 6. 5% in the fourth quarter 2004. Hong Kong consumer spending maintained notable growth throughout the year since they are optimistic of the economic outlook and improving labour market conditions. Underemployment rate (%)2006201020112012 4. 84. 43. 43. 4 Fig 2. Source from Census and Statistics Department2 2. 1. 3Cultural and social values and trends †¢ The demographic distribution of Hong Kong and China (Pos +) Ocean Park is geared toward families: parents, kids, and grandparents. From fig 3 it shows the family size of Hong Kong are getting smaller, that means parent are able to spend more money on their spoiled kids. On the other hands, China’s one-child family policy has had a great effect on living standards, the mainland traveler are willing to spend money on travel. Domestic Households by Household Composition and Household Size, 2006 and 2011 20112006 Household Composition Household size Composed of couple and unmarried children 1nilnil 2nilnil 3382 704344 436 4390 839400 360 5135 293140 382 6 and over25 37934 172 Fig 3, Source: Census and Statistics Department 2011 †¢ Annual event for attraction (Pos+) Events are the main reason of the attractions business. They recognized this early and hold different annual events such as Chinese New Year, Summer, Halloween and Christmas. The Halloween Bash has become an iconic Halloween event in the region and guests from Hong Kong, mainland China and overseas has shown biggest support in October and over the years. The showcase successfully spread Halloween culture to their visitors and bringing a new experience to the tourists from mainland. 2. 1. 4Technology Analysis †¢New web site to promote and events (Pos+) With the increasing use of internet, it becomes an important link for marketing and customer relationship. The internet can offer a great connection with huge and immeasurable possible market. The website will keep updating Ocean Park’s latest information, news, promotion and more interactive function can be added in. 2. 2SWOT Analyze Education, fun and safety are the values which Ocean Park stresses. Apart from that Ocean Park key also provides all tourists with an experience in natural scenic environment and exotics animals (Appendix 1). However, increased competition may result in a further downward price pressure and affect the company’s financial condition and result of operation. StrengthsWeakness †¢Unique animals are selling point in ocean Park. †¢Ocean Park is recognized as icon of Hong Kong. †¢Reasonable price of tickets †¢Limitations on land development as it’s hilly. †¢Facilities are relatively old an unattached. Opportunities †¢Individual Traveling Scheme was carried out in 2003. †¢Strong economy growing in China. †¢Support of local government. †¢Higher demand of entertainment from the public. Threats †¢Competition and challenges from HK Disneyland. †¢More attractive points in the neighboring countries. Strengths: †¢Unique animals are selling point in Ocean Park. Grand Aquarium, marine creature are unique selling point inside the OP. The main strengths of OP focus on their offering of animals, fun and education to the tourists. OP tries to present the natural behavior of animals to enable people to see them in a creative way. The key is finding a balance between human entertainment and natural environments. That makes OP different from a lot of theme parks in the world. They also offer a differentiation advantage because it is considered as bigger than the HK Disneyland, thus enabling OP to offer more and new features and shows than Disneyland. Compare with Disneyland, they are focuses on showing the reality regarding the nature, while Disneyland focuses on fantasy. †¢Ocean Park is recognized as icon of Hong Kong and has established a good image. OP is a Hong Kong park; it’s very local and they have generational values. It’s been around longer than 30 years and there is a connection to the market. People go to the park as children and now they are bringing their children. †¢Reasonable price of tickets Ocean Park offers cheaper ticket costs HK$280 for adult and HK$140 for children, compare to HK$450 for adult and HK$320 for child of Disneyland. Tickets are offered at a reasonable price which can be afforded for most people and attract more visitors easily. Theme ParkGeneral Admission TicketChild TicketSenior Ticket Disneyland$450$320$100 Ocean Park$280$140Free Fig. 5 Comparison of ticket prices of Ocean Park and Disneyland. Source form Ocean Park and Disneyland website. Weakness †¢Limitations on land development as it’s hilly. Structure of geographic location is the main disadvantage. This is due to the fact that they have the limitation on the land development because the location is hilly. †¢ Facilities are relatively old and unattached. 9 Although OP started the renovation works but it would not be completed in a short time. The maintenance expense is higher. The fact that they is considered as an oldest amusement park in Hong Kong, there are different facilities that are old and un-attractive. Opportunity: †¢Individual Traveling Scheme The main opportunity of Ocean Park is launch the Individual Traveling scheme. That had helped to improve the number of the visitors. (Table 1. 3) The stable economy growth in Mainland also improving middle class with strong purchasing power helped to increase the demand of outbound travel. Mainland traveler becomes a main guest source of OP. Now they have Chinese acrobatic shows, which are relevant to the market they serve. †¢Support of local government Ocean Park has a strong marketing support from the government that recommends to the foreign visitors. It is also important to consider the development of new transportation South Island Line that would cause convenience and fast access direct to the park for the visitors. †¢Higher demand of entertainment from the public as economic growth stably. Threats †¢Competition Disneyland In Hong Kong amusement park industry, one of the threats that must be considered is Disneyland. The main influences because they were bringing a world-class standard of entertainment and service that Ocean Park unable to match at that time. Furthermore, it targets the children, thus the whole family because of the different rides and attractions that focuses on different well-known Disney characters. On the other hand, the main disadvantage is that most of the mainland Chinese doesn’t have those strong attachments with Mickey and friends and other Disney characters. These aspects are important for the company because most of the visitors of the country come from mainland China. 3. Conclusion As of now, Ocean Park is enjoying a comfortable position in the amusement industry. The main reason for the success of Ocean Park is because the support from the government that can be seen the implemented for easy access of the said place. With the launch of Individual Visit Scheme, mainland China becomes a main source of Ocean Park. The Mainland market is driving Ocean Park’s growth. Increasing GDP and low unemployment rate provide a stable economic environment to Ocean Park which able to sustain its development. For all the positive factors, it shows Ocean Park will grow faster than average. OP was able to use the culture in order to attract more locals and foreign visitors, as well as the current spread of the environmental awareness, which enables the organization to incorporate education and thrill in their features and services. That is the reason why it is frequently visited by families from different part of the globe. Furthermore, the organization had been focuses on the cost and differentiation create as two important competitive advantages. It had been offer an affordable ticket with fun experience. It is also important for the company to use its unique innovative reform, competitiveness of enterprises and expanding the scope of business and achieved good results to against its competitor. This is due to the fact that Disneyland is currently into renovation process, in order to regain their competitive position in the market. Ocean Park has now entered the second phase of the expansion plan, the further enhance the competitive strength of the Ocean Park is expected to become a world’s best marine theme park. Reference: 1. MTR – South Island Line (East) – Key Information – Summary. 2013. MTR – South Island Line (East) – Key Information – Summary. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. mtr-southislandline. hk/en/key-information/summary. html. [Accessed 14 May 2013]. 2. Overview | Census and Statistics Department. 2013. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. censtatd. gov. hk/hkstat/sub/so30. jsp. [Accessed 18 May 2013]. 3. Vision and Mission | Corporate Information | Ocean Park Hong Kong. 2013.. Available at: http://www. oceanpark. com. hk/html/en/footer/corporate-information/vision. html. [Accessed 13 May 2013]. 4. Hong Kong Economy – Hong Kong Economic Trends. 2013. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. hkeconomy. gov. hk/en/trends/index. htm#2. [Accessed 13 May 2013]. 5. Press Release | Corporate Information | Ocean Park Hong Kong. 2013 Available at: http://www. oceanpark. com. hk/html/en/footer/corporate-information/press/press. php? id=592. [Accessed 16 May 2013]. 6. Gross Domestic Product for the 4th quarter 2004 and the whole year of 2004 | Census and Statistics Department. Available at: http://www. censtatd. gov. hk/press_release/press_releases_on_statistics/gdp/gdp_4q2004/index. jsp. [Accessed 18 May 2013]. 7. Labour – Overview | Census and Statistics Department. 2013. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. censtatd. gov. hk/hkstat/sub/so30. jsp. [Accessed 18 May 2013]. 8. Ocean Park Corporation (2012), Annual Report, Page 96 9. EMSD completes investigation into helium balloon ride incident at Ocean Park. 2013. EMSD completes investigation into helium balloon ride incident at Ocean Park. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. info. gov. hk/gia/general/201208/30/P201208300416. htm. [Accessed 18 May 2013]. Exhibit 1: Hong Kong tourism statistics Table 1. 1, An overview of the latest general tourism statistics. 2013 Visitor Arrivals (Year-to-date) : 12,742,332. Major Market AreasMar 2012Mar 2013Growth (%) All Countries3,709,4844,087,286+10. 2 The Americas167,827165,247-1. 5 Europe, Africa & the Middle East219,777235,706+7. 2 Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific66,14568,459+3. 5 North Asia210,918183,919-12. 8 South & Southeast Asia329,028351,684+6. 9 Taiwan154,942165,455+6. 8 Mainland China2,497,0612,842,002+13. 8 Source from: Hong Kong Tourism Board In 2011, Mainland China continued to be the largest visitor source market of Hong Kong with 28. 1 million arrivals (+23. 9%), accounting for 67. 0% of our total arrivals. Amongst all Mainland arrivals, 14. 5 million (51. 6%) were same-day visitors, up by 31. 7% year-on-year. 65. 3% or 18. 3 million visitors came to Hong Kong under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS), up by 28. 8% over 2010. Table 1. 2 Total Tourism Expenditure Associated to Inbound Tourism Tourism Expenditure fromJan-Dec2011 (HK$Mn)Jan-Dec2012 (HK$Mn)Growth (%) Overnight Visitors166,694. 05185,841. 44+11. 5 Same-day In-town Visitors39,358. 0952,606. 33+33. 7 Cruise-in / Cruise-out Passengers 70. 8274. 935. 8 Total Tourism Expenditure Associated to Inbound Tourism258,722. 71296,563. 77+14. 6 Source from: Hong Kong Tourism Board. Table 1. 3 Hong Kong’s Top 5 tourist attraction (‘000) Leading Visitor Attractions2009201020112012 Total59,326. 261,438. 863,634. 165,774. 9 Other Visitor Attractions28,952. 529,286. 130,118. 030,789. 2 Victoria Peak9,150. 19,608. 89,990. 610,359. 5 Ocean Park4,985. 25,242. 85,472. 55,722. 4 Peak Tramways4,930. 95,434. 65,727. 16,051. 3 Disneyland4,664. 34,970. 25,218. 05,525. 1 Clock Tower2,178. 92,313. 72,399. 02,486. 3 Wong Tai Sin Temple1,989. 02,028. 72,080. 82,137. 7 Tian Tan Buddha1,544. 31,586. 21,629. 01,670. 7 Hong Kong Wetland Park456. 3470. 0477. 3486. 7 Noah’s Ark474. 6497. 7521. 8545. 9 Source from: Travel and Tourism: Euromonitor from trade sources/national statistics Table 1. 4 Tourist Attractions Sales HK$ million200620072008200920102011 Art Galleries 15. 115. 415. 816. 116. 917. 5 Casinos —— Circuses —— Historic Buildings/Sites 202. 1205. 7209. 4215. 7221. 0225. 5 Museums 48. 352. 368. 052. 353. 354. 6 National Parks/Areas Of Natural Beauty 633. 0662. 5685. 7713. 1738. 0765. 3 Theatres —— Theme/Amusement Parks 2,512. 02,007. 92,188. 63,434. 53,674. 93,940. 3 Zoos/Aquariums —— Other Tourist Attractions 296. 9325. 6332. 1345. 4357. 5372. 8 Tourist Attractions 3,707. 43,269. 43,499. 64,777. 15,061. 75,376. 0 Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research, trade interviews, trade sources Table 1. 5 Tourist Attractions Visitors ‘000 people200620072008200920102011 Art Galleries 748. 8775. 8791. 3795. 3827. 1851. 9 Casinos —— Circuses —— Historic Buildings/Sites 5,573. 25,701. 45,786. 95,931. 66,139. 26,323. 3 Museums 4,600. 04,839. 26,049. 05,202. 15,176. 15,251. 7 National Parks/Areas Of Natural Beauty 17,832. 018,402. 618,954. 719,618. 120,402. 821,263. 8 Theatres —— Theme/Amusement Parks 9,659. 29,141. 79,415. 09,516. 510,070. 810,684. 7 Zoos/Aquariums —— Other Tourist Attractions 15,783. 816,573. 016,854. 717,444. 617,968. 018,617. 2 Tourist Attractions 54,197. 055,433. 657,851. 658,508. 260,584. 062,992. 5 Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research, trade interviews, trade source Table 1. 6 Forecast Tourist Attractions Sales HK$ million201120122013201420152016 Art Galleries 17. 518. 118. 619. 119. 519. 9 Casinos ——. Circuses —— Historic Buildings/Sites 225. 5229. 5233. 2236. 5239. 3241. 7 Museums 54. 655. 856. 857. 858. 759. 4 National Parks/Areas Of Natural Beauty 765. 3789. 8811. 9832. 2850. 5867. 5 Theatres —— Theme/Amusement Parks 3,940. 34,176. 74,385. 54,561. 04,697. 84,801. 1 Zoos/Aquariums —— Other Tourist Attractions 372. 8385. 9397. 5407. 4415. 6421. 8 Tourist Attractions 5,376. 05,655. 75,903. 56,113. 86,281. 36,411. 4 Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research, trade interviews, trade sources Table 1. 7 Ocean Park Revenue Breakdown 2012 HK$ Million2011 HK$ Million Admission Income1,109. 4881. 6 Merchandise Income164. 0144. 9 Catering Income262. 3195. 5 Others32. 726. 7 TOTAL1598. 21,248. 7 Source: Ocean Park Corporation (2012). Annual Report Appendix 1: Background of? Ocean Park: Ocean Park has long been established as an iconic attraction in Hong Kong visited by both local residents and tourists. As a result the Park has become part of Hong Kong’s heritage. The Master Redevelopment Project of the Park, with its many new attractions, commenced in 2006 and was completed in 2012. With the implementation of ongoing expansion programme, the Park has been remaining very popular, with visitor number increasing to 7 million in 2012. With the completion of the Master Redevelopment Plan in 2012 and the planned opening of a number of new world-class attractions from 2014, one day is not enough to experience all that the Park has to offer. The Ocean Hotel will thus provide convenient accommodations for guests spending multiple days at Ocean Park, and transform Hong Kong People’s Park into a premier international resort destination. Vision: Ocean Park aspires to be a world leader in providing excellent guest experiences in a theme park environment connecting people with nature. Mission Statement: Ocean Park provides all guests with memorable experiences that combine entertainment and education, while inspiring life long learning and conservation advocacy. Our aim is to maintain a healthy financial status, while striving to deliver the highest standards of safety, animal care, products and guest service Key services of Ocean Park: Animals are the base of OP differential offering—how they present them in their natural environments. They try to showcase the natural behavior of animals to enable people to see them in a way they’ve not done before. The key is finding a balance between human entertainment and natural animal behavior. That makes us different from a lot of theme parks in the world. Target Market of Ocean Park: Target customers of Ocean Park are general public. In different occasion, Ocean Park would concentrate on specific targets. For example, in summer.

Using Quantitative Analysis as an Effective Tool

For most of business history, decision making was based on qualitative individual judgements that had only crude data behind them. Retailers decided what to stock based on â€Å"gut instinct† of a prospective buyer, not on the basis of vital models of consumer behavior. The increasing need for quality research, especially in the area of quantitative analysis, has forced many companies to employ managers and leaders with specific training in this field. The successful companies of today utilize quantitative analysis as a tool to find and solve many different problems. These problems can be as diverse as: evaluating financial benefits, projecting future performance, and determining the savings or simplification of a process. Companies such as Coca Cola, Microsoft and Intel are the leaders in their respective fields because, they effectively utilize the tools at hand to make informed decisions. The key element of any â€Å"problem solving† method is to gather the information necess! ary to make an informed decision. Cooper & Schindler (1998) discusses the vital need for quality research and quantitative analysis. By utilizing â€Å"quantitative analysis† (Cooper & Schindler, 1998), we can project growth and opportunities for future business. This case study will focus on three key aspects of quantitative analysis as an effective management tool: (1) quantitative analysis procedure, (2) Cost effective analysis evaluates results or outcomes, and (3) cost impact-determine cost or impact associated with a process. Finally, specific company examples Ballard Power Systems, Atlantic-ACM, and Brix Networks will be cited. Quantitative Analysis Procedure-Select Alternatives with Best Sustainable Advantage Numbers are a businessman†s best friend. They are first of all, the measure of success. They are increasingly a critical tool for almost every kind of analysis and planning. However, let it be said that quantitative analysis is only as good as the data supporting the analysis. Ballard Power Systems, Inc. was founded in 1979 under the name Ballard Research Inc. to conduct research and development in high-energy lithium batteries. In 1983, Ballard began developing proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. According to Ballard (2001), the company utilized quantitative analysis procedures to project out their long-term goals. The problem defined was: how to commercialize the fuel cell successfully? The possible alternatives were: (1) market the product on their own, and (2) find strategic partners who would integrate this key component into competitive products. The cost or impact on alternative number (1) was too expensive and too risky. Alternative number (2) was the s! martest and most logical course to follow. The effectiveness of alternative number (2) could be projected out with a much higher degree of certainty than alternative number (1). The value of working in conjunction with partners was simple. By leveraging combined efforts: (1) obtaining capital was simplified, (2) mass production was a reality, (3) access to critical markets was realized, (4) service coverage was assured, and (5) it would lower the manufacturing cost and speed up the development of the fuel cell. Alternative number (2) provided Ballard with the best sustainable advantage. By securing alliances with selected global players in Ballard†s target market, the benefits of clean, efficient, and reliable power in a wide spectrum of potential applications could be delivered effectively. Cost-Effective Analysis-Evaluates Results or Outcomes According to Atlantic-ACM (2001), the company is an international strategy consulting and research firm well known for it†s exclusive analysis of the telecommunicatiuons industry in the United States. One of the types of quantitative studies (Cooper & Schindler, 1998) cost effectiveness analysis was used by Atlantic-ACM to study the U. S wholesale market, wholesale long distance. Using the industry â€Å"carrier report card,† a type of survey that provides a quantitative analysis of the overall size and composition of the current wholesale market, Atlantic-ACM was able to project the qrowth and opportunities for future business in the wholesale long distance market. The survey revealed (Atlantic-ACM, 2001) a shifting industry in which new entrants are actively gaining market share over the traditional â€Å"three players,† MCI, AT&T, and Sprint. The exploding data/internet demand, expanding networks, evolving technologies, developing channels, and de-regulating global markets have lo! ered the cost of long distance time and time again. The statistical data gleaned in the survey showed that wholesalers cannot compete on price alone. The outcome of the survey showed that resellers must receive more support from wholesalers to help drive sales of their products and services to the end users. Cost Impact-Determines Cost or Impact Associated with a Process Brix Networks (2001) commissioned Sage Research to conduct a survey of 148 U. S organizations ranging in size from 500 to more than 10,000 employees. The type of quantitative studies utilized by Sage Research was cost impact. Cost impact determines the cost or impact associated with a process. The process in question was service level agreements. The service level agreement in question is an agreement between enterprise businesses and ISPs. The process is the successful implementation of the SLAs. According to Brix Networks (2001) over half of the enterprise IT professionals surveyed, said that services such as web hosting, e-mail, IP VPNs, with guaranteed SLAs have more than 30% more value than the same services without guaranteed SLAs. Service providers who provide guaranteed SLAs in the service contract were more likely to develop a loyal customer base than providers without SLA guarantees. Considering the fact that approximately one third of enterprises change provi! ders as a result of SLA disputes and nearly one quarter give poor recommendations about their provider to others, it seems fair to say that there is a definite cost impact to providers with no SLAs. Companies wishing to do well in the highly competitive ISP business need effective SLAs as part of their contracts with customers. The outcome of not having SLAs is simple: companies will lose their customer base to companies with SLAs. As this case study has shown, Cooper &Schindler (1998) described three aspects of quantitative analysis: (1) quantitative analysis procedure, (2) Cost-effective analysis-evaluates results or outcomes, and (3) cost impact-determines cost or impact associated with a process. In the examples discussed, Ballard Power Systems realized a need to expand their business globally by merging with strategic partners able to effectively deliver the benefits of clean, efficient, and reliable power in a wide spectrum of potential applications. Utilizing the quantitative analysis procedure to identify alternatives/costs/benefits, estimate the value of each, compare costs to benefits and, finally, select the best alternative with the best sustainable advantage enabled Ballard to reach a decision that would ultimately allow them to reach their goals effectively. Atlantic-ACM utilized cost effective analysis to determine that in order for wholesalers to sell their products effectively they ne! eded to provide resellers with more marketing support to help drive sales of their products and services to end users. Finally, Brix Networks commissioned Sage Research to conduct a survey of 148 businesses ranging in size from 500 to more than 10,000 employees. The survey conducted was a type of quantitative study called cost impact. Cooper & Schindler (1998), defines cost impact as â€Å"determines the cost or impact associated with a process. † The process was the SLA or Service Level Agreement in place between enterprise businesses and ISPs. The results of the study showed that ISPs providing SLA agreements in their contracts were more likely to keep their customer base. However, ISPs with no SLA†s in place were one third more likely to lose their customers because of SLA disputes. In conclusion it is this authors view that a company†s willingness to utilize quantitative analysis as a management tool coupled with good research, will affect the decisions of tomorrow. However, it should be stressed that there is also a danger in numbers. Numbers can often give a false sense of certainty and objectivity and can become a cheap substitute for knowledge, experience and judgement. The challenge for managers and leaders is to know when to ignore the numbers and go with gut instinct.