CASE Analysis: Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Essay

The case describes how seven eleven has successfully established an innovative business model. Toshifumi Suzuki, CEO of Seven eleven Japan (SEJ), described Seven Eleven Stores as: â€Å"Stores where you can find a solution for any of your daily life’s problems. We always try to plan and design a store in such a way that our store neighbours, in particular, can get whatever they need at any time they want† SEJ, headquartered in Japan, leads the world wide seven Eleven chain, which had 24,912 stores in 18 countries in March 2003.In 2003 ranking of retailers by market value, SEJ was number one in Japan. Since its establishment in 1974, SEJ has never experienced a fall in income or profits. With 9,757 stores as of May, 2003, SEJ is the largest CVS chain in Japan. Its stores feature the same basic designs: large, highly visible sign in green, red and orange, a large store window, much brighter than average lightning and a spotlessly clean store. SEJ identifies their customer orientation, offering not only a rich assortment of products but total comfort to customers, as the source of SEJ’s rise to the top of the Japanese retail industry. Industry Background The Japanese Distribution System Prior to 1974: Traditional Japanese retailing consists of a conservative, multi-tiered system that combines large numbers of small wholesalers and retailers into complex exclusive networks. These networks are not based solely on economic efficiency but also on tight human relationships. The wholesale to retail level ratios (W/R) is measure of layers within distribution system. W/R ratio 1992 1998 US 0.98 – Japan – 2.3 Although the development of information technology in the industry has gradually improved the efficiency of the distribution system, small-to-medium-sized retailers owe their existence mainly to the multi-tiered and vertically integrated structure. Retail Business Environment The Japanese retail sector is still dominated by small retailers. Firms with one to four employees make up about 70% of the total number of stores. In these small shops, CVS still accounts for only 3.2% of all stores and only 5% of total sales Because of Japan’s small land area, most Japanese retail stores have too little space to maintain a wide assortment of products in either the store or inventory. These small, local â€Å"mom-and-pop† stores typically lack both managerial know-how and planning skills. In addition, given their limited size, they are often unable to bear large inventory risks and thus have to rely on manufacturers and wholesalers to bear part of that burden. Legal perspective Japanese government enforced in 1974 the Large-scale Retail Store (LRS) Law which regulated the business hours of larger outlets. Initially applied to stores over 1,500 m2, it was later extended in 1979 to stores with an area of over 500 m2. The law mandated that stores close by 7 P.M. each day and remained closed at least 30 shop days per year. Fueled by heavy pressure from abroad, the deregulation trend caused the LRS law to be changed in 1990 and practically abolished in 2001. While operating its large stores under the LRS law, Ito- Yokado, a parent company of SEJ, launched a new retail business based on small regional stores, which can effectively co-exist with large stores. As a result, CVS chains prove that small stores can compete against larger retailers by improving the efficiency and productivity of their franchise and continual striving to meet customer needs. Because of the density of the store network, CVS chains are not only places to sell products, but are also becoming an important part of the social infrastructure. Seven-Eleven Japan Ito-Yokado, a parent company of SEJ, was founded by Masatoshi Ito in 1964 as a 66-square-foot family clothing store in Tokyo. After starting a new chain of super stores offering a range of food and clothing products, he expanded his business into other distribution areas such as restaurants, department, discount and convenience stores. By 2002, the Ito- Yokado group was one of the largest retail groups in Japan with  ¥5,574 billion ($41.6 billion) in sales and 114,600 employees. Toshifumi Suzuki negotiated directly with Southland, then owner of Seven-Eleven, to bring the convenience store concept to Japan. Japanese consumers were generally more sensitive to product and service quality, more fickle and less price-sensitive. Therefore products had to be fresh, and the turnover rate very high. To meet such customer requirements within the constraint of limited shelf and storage capacity, it was necessary to forecast customers’ demand by the time of purchase, the store location and the weather. Providing the customer with well-targeted, differentiated products 24-hours a day, 7-days-a week was critical. As of 2003, SEJ is the largest convenience store chain with  ¥2,213 billion ($17.5 billion) revenue and 5,061 employees. Its market value of $21,721 million and consolidated net income of  ¥82,825 million ($690 million) are the highest in the whole of Japan’s retail industry. Strategy SEJ practice of continuous item control and well-organized delivery system, and the heavy use of information technology (IT). The basic mission of an SEJ store is to provide solutions for all the problems of everyday life. Each store offers a variety of high-quality products and services that are required daily or on an emergency basis to make life easier and more â€Å"convenient†. The two main reasons for the failure of existing retailers. They ignored: 1)  the importance of convenience to the customer and 2) the quality of the products and the service. SEJ developed some key principles to define a quality convenience store. 1. Reduction of lost opportunity: A missed opportunity to sell an item because it is out of stock is one of the most serious problems in retail business in terms of disappointing customers as well as missing the actual profit. 2. Effective Item Control and Well-Planned Product Supply Management: The American practice of keeping large inventories of a wide variety of products could not be applied in convenience stores in Japan where shelf and storage space are limited and maintaining a large inventory is prohibitive. SEJ pursued a strategy of supplying products in high demand with a rapid turnover rate and eliminating dead or slow-moving products through item-by-item analysis. The well-organized analysis and frequent replacement contributes to SEJ’s high product supply efficiency. 3. Commitment to Customer Satisfaction with Original Product Development and Friendly Service:SEJ not only sells manufacturers’ products but also researches customers’ potential needs. SEJ uses this research to provide original products at reasonable prices (such as a lunch boxes and prepared foods) Merchandising The store space available for a Seven-Eleven franchisee is, on average, only 110 m2. The items kept in stock and on the shelf are precisely selected for the targeted customers and product quality is kept high. Product turnover is high, and goods are always new and food fresh. SEJ discovered that customer loyalty was driven more by specific items than by item categories. To meet the demand and achieve such tight item-by item control, SEJ implemented the POS (Point of Sale) system in 1982, whereby storeowners could identify customer trends and enhance product differentiation. SEJ introduced its POS systems to collect sales data used to improve merchandising and the item-by-item control process. For instance, the cash register would not open  until the operator pushed the account button indicating the gender and estimated age of the customer. This information from the POS system was used for consumer trend analysis. Store Network Expansion SEJ considers its market dominating strategy of high-density, clustered store openings to be the key to efficiency and stability. The advantages of the market dominance strategy are: Improved brand awareness Increased customer visits to the stores Boosted distribution efficiency Enhanced productivity of franchisee-support services Improved advertising effectiveness Franchise Strategy Approximately 60% of SEJ stores were modified from old family owned stores (e.g., liquor or rice stores). The relationship between franchiser and franchisee is one of reciprocal obligations. The franchisee is an independent business which gives SEJ royalties and a long-term commitment, and concentrates on the tasks of selling and effectively managing inventory. The royalty that the franchisee pays to the franchiser is 43% of its gross profit. In exchange for their long-term commitment and royalties, SEJ provides franchisees with service from field representatives called Operation Field Counselors (OFC). Each of about 1,300 OFCs supervises between seven or eight stores, providing (i) advice on store operation and ordering and (ii) information on the portfolio of available items and on sales methods. This person-to-person contact with store managers is a key element of the SEJ franchise system. Each OFC visits each store at least twice a week and spends at least two hours providing adv ice and information. Such a close relationship not only motivates franchisees but also supports company-wide brand image and promotional strategies. Outsourcing Policy SEJ is known for its outsourcing policy and ability to manage supplier relationships. The rationalized distribution system crafted by SEJ created conflict within the traditional wholesale system. Over time, however, SEJ’s  system has proved highly reliable and efficient, covering everything from raw procurement to product deliveries. The collaboration between SEJ and the business partners includes shared information systems and know-how about operations management as well as quality control in the food manufacturers’ factories and delivery centres. By 2002, the company had built a network of 223 distribution centres and 195 factories dedicated to fast food production, all of them created and operated by wholesalers, suppliers and forward agents. Information Systems Strategy Daily, Seven-Eleven stores serve a total of 9.5 million customers, process five million order transactions and send 35 million sales transactions to the information systems centre where sales data is collected, integrated and analysed. The decisions have to be based on well-analysed hypothesis, order and validation. Information technology (IT) for SEJ is merely a method to support the cycle. SEJ prefers to outsource most of its information systems management to external service providers due to the speed at which the information technology market moves. This strategy allows the information systems department of SEJ to focus on developing a systems vision that fits with the business strategy, while the rest of the information systems management is outsourced. The department has evolved into a more strategic organization that links needs from stores with top management and proposes innovative system plans. SEJ regularly explores opportunities to gain first mover advantage by trying out state-of-the-art technologies: the first POS system in Japan in 1982, the first major use of Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) in 1991, etc. Operation Infrastructure Total Information Systems SEJ has continued to develop total information systems. In June 1999, the fifth generation total information system, in which SEJ invested  ¥60 billion ($500 million), was released in collaboration with 14 companies including NRI, NEC, Toshiba TEC, etc. High efficiency, maintainability and reliability of the total network system: The system connects 70,000 computers in stores, at headquarters and at supplier sites through satellite telecommunications, exclusive lines, ISDN and mobile networks via the most appropriate telecommunication technology. The combination of ISDN and satellite telecommunications realizes 45x faster speeds at 35x better cost performance. Terminals are constantly monitored and software and configuration can be updated remotely. The most critical systems such as online ordering and accounting systems are backed up at physically separated locations in Yokohama and Osaka. And in earthquake-prone Japan, satellite telecommunication provides an extra layer of safety. The system, now shared by 10,000 stores, is considered highly reliable due to the crisis management planning and high service levels. The store information system which encourages all store staff to participate in ordering: SEJ provides stores with multimedia information such as pictures, video, audio, text and numerical data, which is used by all employees in Seven-Eleven stores. The system platform shared with business partners: SEJ provides its business partners—vendors, distributors and manufactures—with a common infrastructure consisting of 1,800 terminals at 1,100 locations. The applications on the platform vary depending on the partner’s business: raw material ordering system, inventory management, production management, automated sorting system, for example. The broad system infrastructure facilitates collaboration among SEJ allies by improving the efficiency of delivery through the sharing of order, sales and inventory information. And finally, sophisticated analysis system which eliminates intuitive decision-making . Electronic Commerce Business SEJ categorizes its electronic commerce (EC) business into four major groups: 1) financial services, 2) Internet shopping site, 3) public and regional  services, and 4) in-store intelligent copy machines. Financial Services (settlement, finance, and card service): Launched in 1987, Seven-Eleven hasdeveloped the payment acceptance service whichprovides customers with a convenient means to paytheir bills 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Affiliatedcompanies number about 1,500 and the types ofpayment are mainly utilities: electricity, telephone,water, rent, and mail orders. This business has beensuccessful with 144 million yearly transactions witha total value of  ¥1.15 trillion (about $12.8 billion)and a 20% annual growth rate. Internet Shopping Site: 7dream.com, a subsidiary of SEJ, provides the internet shopping site by utilizing SEJ’s existing operating infrastructure in its EC activities. SEJ also ties into other internet sites and provides payment acceptance and pick-up service at the retail stores. Goods purchased via the Internet are picked up at stores 24-hours a day or delivered to customers’ homes, raising the value of Seven-Eleven stores and enhancing convenience for customers. Public, civil and regional services: SEJ’s meals-on wheels service, named Seven Meal Service, offers prepared meals and cooking ingredients to regional customers. Order can be made via the Internet. SEJ plans to expand its public services at stores via its EC platform so that customers can obtain civil services. In-store intelligent copy machines: Multipurpose copy machines at Seven-Eleven stores are connected the Internet and enable customers to print event tickets and documents created by customers at home as well as to pay for pre-ordered airline tickets. With the capability to attract 1,000 customers per day per store, SEJ is pursuing synergy between the existing retail and EC business units to encourage potential Internet users to visit Seven-Eleven stores and become new customers. SEJ also provides its EC platform service for EC partners with functions such as authentication, database, settlement, and distribution. Temperature-Separated Combined Distribution System Since 1976, SEJ has been developing a streamlined distribution system to efficiently integrate product supplies. The company established the Combined Delivery System, whereby the same kind of products coming from different suppliers can be centralized into 223 Combined Delivery Centres (CDCs). The combined distribution system allows products from different suppliers to be loaded on the same trucks for delivery to Seven-Eleven stores. Combined distribution consolidates product shipment from manufacturers to stores at similar optimum temperatures. In 22 years, SEJ has reduced the average number of vehicles visiting each store from 70 a day in 1974 to ten a day in 1998. Delivery routes and time are also well organized to maintain high efficiency. Competitors SEJ is the largest CVS chain in Japan in terms of the number of stores, sales, and net income followed by Lawson, C&S, Familymart, and Ministop. These top-five companies dominate the market with almost 90% market share. All four competitors operate franchise businesses with store networks expanding all over Japan. Competitors are increasingly investing in EC business to compete and establish dominance in a new area. In 1997, Lawson began implementing multimedia terminals in stores to gain first mover advantage. Lawson also tries to differentiate itself in the Internet shopping site named @Lawson by launching new services such net coupons, which was rare in Japan in 1999. Future Vision The company strives to achieve the maxim â€Å"the retail business should always keep up with change of customer demands† with three principles. 1. Responsiveness to changing customer needs and continuous improvement of customer services 2. Manufacturing retailer 3. The combination of demand chain and supply chain management with the common platform. Case Questions: 1. A convenience store chain attempts to be responsive and provide customers  what they need, when they need it, where they need it. What are some different ways that a convenience store supply chain can be responsive? What are some risks in each case? As In this increasingly competitive world, the whole concept of convenience stores from the existing concept of retail outlets have emerged to improve competitive advantage of businesses by enhancing customer service and by providing him with superior quality of products and experience. However, attaining this competitive advantage comes with added costs and risks. As responsiveness towards a customer’s demands increase, a convenience store chain gets exposed to greater uncertainty and risks- the risk of not having timely supply of essential goods, system breakdowns etc. A convenience store may deal in both perishable food items like processed fast foods and non-perishable items( life of more than 1 month) like frozen foods, magazines, beverages, and other consumer items like soaps, detergents etc. It is critical for any convenience store to have a tightly linked supply chain system for perishable items that need to be supplied to the final stores on daily basis. This distribution system ought to be flexible and highly responsive to alter delivery schedules depending on customer demands. The following are some ways that shall make convenience store supply chains operating on market dominance strategies more responsive- Local capacity: The convenience store chains can provide local cooking capacity that is, live counters at the stores and assemble foods on demand. The Inventory could be stored as raw material under controlled conditions at the stores and be supplied by the distributors at regular intervals. This would eliminate the need to supply fresh and fast foods from the to the outlets thrice a day thus bringing down the transportation cost of the entire distribution system and would add certainty to the production and distribution schedules. This strategy of selling fresh foods to customers would also enhance customer confidence in the brand. This is seen at the U.S. fast food restaurant franchise Subway where dinner and lunch sandwiches are assembled on demand. The main risk with this approach is that capacity is decentralized, leading to poorer utilization. High level of integration- One way of insuring more responsiveness is by further decentralizing the entire system. This can be attained by dividing each region further into  zones and having production plants in each zone nearer to each convenience stores. This would increase the set up cost for the parent company but in the long run but would also inhance the flow of information and service among the stores, suppliers and distributors thus increasing customer responsiveness and satisfaction. Local inventory: Responsiveness to customer demands can also be attained by having inventory available at the store at all times. This allows for the centralization of cooking capacity. But the main disadvantage of this way is not delivering fresh foods to customers thus increasing customer dissatisfaction and need for extra storage space. Rapid replenishment: Another approach is to set up rapid replenishment and supply the stores what they need and when they need it. This allows for centralization of cooking capacity, low levels of inventory, but increases the cost of replenishment and receiving. 2. Seven-Eleven’s supply chain strategy in Japan can be described as attempting to micro-match supply and demand using rapid replenishment. What are some risks associated with this choice? The main risk for convenience stores to adopt a supply chain system that works on rapid replenishment strategy is the potentially high cost of transportation and receiving at stores. The suppliers and factories are centrally located but the stores are scattered all across the city. So the company’s effort to supply fresh foods multiple times a day to all the stores increases the transportation costs. This one aspect can be taken care of by probably decentralizing the authority to produce fresh foods at convenience stores itself. Also, the fact that goods get unloaded multiple times a day reduces the store efficiency and increases customer dissatisfactions due to reduced services and frequent disruptions. This tends to fade away the customer’s experience at the store. Sudden breakdown of the information system or the transportation system connecting the stores to distribution centre and suppliers would also bring the functioning of the entire system to a halt leading to customer inconvenience and the resulting loss in sales. Thus convenience stores that attempt to micro-match supply and demand using rapid replenishment must take extra precautions to ensure timely delivery of goods, proper functioning of the information and transportation system, and customer’s convenience 3. What has Seven-Eleven done in its choice of facility location, inventory management, transportation, and information infrastructure to develop capabilities that support its supply chain strategy in Japan? Seven-Eleven Japan has chosen to operate a highly responsive operation and has chosen a supply chain design that supports this strategy. Their facility location choices are to saturate an area with stores, thereby making it easy for customers to shop and their own delivery trucks to move from store to store to replenish inventory. Seven-Eleven’s inventory system is run on an information system that transmits directly to the supplier and distribution centre; goods are produced using a pull system to replace what has been sold during that delivery period. The transportation system is flexible to maximize responsiveness while also achieving efficiency. All choices made by Seven-Eleven are structured to lower its transportation and receiving costs. For example, its area dominance strategy of opening at least 50-60 stores in an area helps with marketing but also lowers the cost of replenishment. All manufacturing facilities are centralized to get the maximum benefit of capacity aggregation and also lower the inbound transportation cost from the manufacturer to the distribution centre (DC). Seven-Eleven also requires all suppliers to deliver to the DC where products are sorted by temperature. This reduces the outbound transportation cost because of aggregation of deliveries across multiple suppliers. It also lowers the receiving cost. The information infrastructure is set up to allow store managers to place orders based on analysis of consumption data. The information infrastructure also facilitates the sorting of an order at the DC and receiving of the order at the store. The key point to emphasize here is that most decisions by Seven-Eleven are structured to aggregate transportation and receiving to make both cheaper. 4. Seven-Eleven does not allow direct store delivery in Japan but has all products flow through its distribution centre. What benefit does Seven-Eleven derive from this policy? When is direct store delivery more appropriate? Direct store delivery (DSD) would lower the utilization of the outbound trucks from the Seven-Eleven DC. It would also increase the receiving costs at the stores because of the increased deliveries. Thus, Seven-Eleven forces all suppliers to come in through the DC. DSD is most appropriate when stores are large and nearly-full truck load quantities are coming from a supplier to a store. This was the case, for example, in large U.S. Home Depot stores. For smaller stores it is almost always beneficial to have an intermediate aggregation point to lower the cost of freight. In fact, Home Depot itself is setting up these intermediate facilities for its new stores that are often smaller. In case of seven eleven, the benefit of delivery through its own distribution centre is total control of the system, aggregation of demand and minimal disruption at the retail outlets. If several suppliers tried to make two or three deliveries every day, it would detract from the store manager’s abil ity to provide customer service. Each of these suppliers would likely prefer their own way of doing things, their own inventory system, truck size, etc., which would make things more difficult for the Seven-Eleven system. The demand and production data would have to be shared rather than residing on Seven-Eleven’s system from cradle to grave. For items that cannot be prepared quickly, pull production may not provide the responsiveness that Seven-Eleven desires. In this case, the DC concept allows pooling of inventory which increases their overall service level while minimizing total system inventory of those items. Direct store delivery might be more appropriate if the items being delivered do not need bulk broken at a DC, have special handling requirements (lottery tickets, newspapers, or alcoholic beverages), or the supplier has a system that is consonant with Seven-Eleven’s (perhaps a regular bread run that has an information system that integrates with Seven-Eleven’s). 5. What do you think about the 7dream concept for Seven-Eleven in Japan? From a supply chain perspective, is it likely to be more successful in Japan or the United States? Why? 7dream makes sense given that Japanese customers are happy to receive their shipments at the local convenience store. From a logistics perspective, online deliveries can piggy back on Seven-Eleven’s existing distribution  network in Japan. Deliveries from the online supplier can be brought to the DC where they are sorted along with other deliveries destined for a store. This should increase the utilization of outbound transportation allowing Seven-Eleven to offer a lower cost alternative to having a package carrier deliver the product at home. The primary negatives are that 7dream will use up storage space and require the store to be able to retrieve specific packages for customers. One can argue that the concept may be more successful in Japan given the existing distribution network of Seven-Eleven and the frequency of visits by customers. Online delivery is able to link with the existing network. The high visit frequency ensures that packages are not occupying valuable store shelf space for a long time. Also, the frequent visits ensure that the marginal cost to the customer of picking up at Japanese Seven-Eleven is small. The 7dream concept allows e-commerce sites to use Seven-Eleven stores as drop-off and collection points for Japanese e-commerce customers. It has been extremely successful; a recent survey revealed that 92 per cent of the customers of one e-commerce company preferred to have their items shipped this way. It seems likely that this concept would work only for high density urban areas; It is being established in congested, less-safe urban areas for a service like package delivery. Suburban customers in the US would likely find it incredibly inconvenient and avoid it unless home delivery was not possible and the alternative was to pick up a package (for example, one that must be signed for) at the local carrier’s office. This is less likely to be the case in the United States. 6. Seven-Eleven is attempting to duplicate the supply chain structure that has succeeded in Japan in the United States with the introduction of CDCs. What are the pros and cons of this approach? Keep in mind that stores are also replenished by wholesalers and DSD by manufacturers. The supply chain structure for the US market can be close, but it can never be exactly as it is in Japan, and will probably not operate as smoothly as in Japan. Some of this is attributable to the culture and the corporate culture. Regardless of how like-minded supply chain partners claim to be, it would be extremely difficult to duplicate the collective spirit that  permeates Seven-Eleven Japan. The disadvantages of this system is that Seven-Eleven in the U.S. would probably have to run two system depending on whether the area could be treated as a dense urban location or a suburban or rural outpost. The cost of running the Seven-Eleven Japan system in middle-America would be prohibitive. The U.S. consumer in that region has too many alternatives that have 24 hour operations and are within a short drive. The difficulty of duplicating the Japan supply chain structure in the United States follows primarily from the much lower density of U.S. Seven-Eleven stores. This is compounded by the fact that Seven-Eleven stores are getting both direct store deliveries as well as wholesaler deliveries to its stores. Setting up its own DCs does not allow Seven-Eleven to get the same level of transportation aggregation as it gets in Japan. Its own distribution system would help more if all wholesaler deliveries and direct store deliveries were stopped and routed through the DC. Even then, having its own distribution system would add much less value than in Japan given the lower density of stores and larger distance between stores. Perhaps a hybrid system can be applied in select markets to test the system’s efficacy in the U.S. 7. The United States has food service distributors that also replenish convenience stores. What are the pros and cons to having a distributor replenish convenience stores versus a company like Seven-Eleven managing its own distribution function? The advantage of someone else replenishing stores is primarily cost; less transportation, material handling, and labour costs for your own system. Depending on how supply and reordering operations are designed, it might be possible for the distributors to perform the aggregation/demand smoothing function with minimal intervention by the individual Seven-Eleven franchise. One can contend that a distributor brings much more value to the table in the United States relative to Japan. Given the lower density of stores, a distributor is able to aggregate deliveries across many competing stores. This allows a distributor to reach levels of aggregation that cannot be achieved by a single chain such as Seven-Eleven. The disadvantage of the outsourced replenishment service is an overall loss of control, an increased  number of deliveries to each store, and the difficulty of integrating information flows across disparate systems. Also, Seven-Eleven is unable to exploit having a large number of stores. In fact, it may be argued that going through the distributor has Seven-Eleven subsidize deliveries to competing smaller chains that may also be using the same distributor

Advantages and Disadvantages of High and Low Exchange Rates of a Fixed and Floating Exchange Rate System Essay

1. An exchange rate is the price of one currency expressed in terms of another. If the U.S. exchange rate for the Canadian Dollar is $1.60, this means that 1 American Dollar can be exchanged for 1.6 Canadian dollars. With a high exchange rate, there are many advantages: Imports become relatively cheaper. For example the price for imported raw materials becomes cheaper; the cost of production for firms becomes less. This could lead to decreased prices for consumers. The lower price of imported goods also puts pressure on domestic firms to keep prices low. All this leads to a downward pressure of inflation. Furthermore, more imports can be bought. A high exchange rate means that for each unit of the currency, more units in foreign currencies can be bought. Therefore there will be more visible imports, such as technology, and invisible imports, such as foreign travel. Moreover, a high value of currency forces domestic producers to more efficiency as they will try to remain their competitiveness. This would lead to greater economic productivity of the country. Yet, a result might also be the laying-off of workers. As visible, there are also disadvantages to a high exchange rate. Export industries might be damaged. Domestic companies will find it hard to sell their products abroad due to their relatively high prices, which could lead to unemployment in these industries. There also might be damage to domestic industries. As it is cheap for households to consume products from abroad, domestic industries might find that the demand, defined as the quantity of goods and services that consumers are willing, and able to buy at each possible price over a given time period, for domestic product falls. A result of this might be further increase in the level of unemployment, defined as the people of working age, those in the labour force, actively seeking work at the current wage rate but cannot find one, as firms cut back. Possible advantages of a low exchange rate involve the greater employment in export industries as exports become relatively less expensive. Furthermore, domestic companies might experience greater employment as the low exchange might encourage consumers to spend more on domestic goods and services, rather than importing goods and services. This might also raise employment. A possible disadvantage of a low exchange rate is inflation, defined as the sustained increase in the general or average level of prices. Imported final goods and services, raw materials and components become more expensive. The cost of production for firms will rise, leading to a raise prices for the final products. To sum up, a high exchange rate may be a good fight against inflation, but unemployment could be created, whereas a low value of a currency may be good for solving unemployment problems, but may create inflationary pressure. 2. A fixed exchange rate is an exchange rate regime where the value of a currency is fixed to the value of another currency, to the average value of a selection of currencies, or to the value of some other commodity, such as gold. Usually the central bank or government decide upon and maintain the value of the currency. The Barbadian Dollar has been fixed against the US dollar at a rate of 2Bds$ = 1 US$ since 1975. When there is an increase in supply, defined as the willingness and ability of products to produce a quantity of a good at a given price in a given time period, for Barbadian dollar, for example due to the Barbadians purchasing a greater amount of imports, the supply curve shifts from S1 to S2. There is excess supply of Barbadian dollars from Q2 – Q1. Without intervention by the government, the exchange rate would fall, leading to inflationary problems. The government will then buy up the excess supply of its own currency on the foreign exchange market. This shifts the demand curve from D1 to D2. This is possible due to previously amassed reserves of foreign currencies. An advantage of such a fixed exchange system is the reduction of uncertainties for all the economic agents in the country. Firms will be able to plan ahead, knowing that the predicted costs and prices for international trading agreements will not change. Furthermore, fixed exchange rates ensure sensible government policies on inflation as inflation has a very harmful effect on the demand for exports and imports. The government is forced to take up measures to ensure a low level of inflation. In theory, a fixed exchange rate should also reduce speculation in the foreign exchange markets. Yet, this has not always been the case in the past. Disadvantages of a fixed exchange rate are that the government is compelled to keep the exchange rate fixed. The main way of doing this is through the manipulation of interest rates. However, if the exchange rate is in danger of falling, then the interest rates have to be increased to raise demand for the currency. This will have a deflationary effect on the economy, lowering demand and increasing unemployment. Furthermore, high level of reserves need to be maintained to make it clear that it is able to defend its currency by the buying and selling of foreign currencies. Setting the level of the fixed exchange rate is not simple. If the rate is set at the wrong level, export firms may find a lack of competitiveness in foreign markets. In case of that, the exchange rate needs to be devalued, but again, finding the exact right level is difficult. Furthermore, a country that fixes its exchange rate at an artificially low level may create international disagreement. This is because a low exchange rate will make the country’s exports more competitive on world markets and may be seen as an unfair trade advantage. This may lead to economic disputes or to retaliation. An advantage of a floating exchange rate is that it does not have to be kept at a certain level. Interest rates are free to be employed as domestic monetary tools. It could be used for demand management policies. An example for this would be controlling inflation. To keep the current account balanced, the floating exchange rate should adjust itself. For example a current account deficit, the demand for the currency is to low since export sales are relatively low. The supply of the currency is high, since the demand for imports is relatively high. As you can see, markets adjust and the exchange rate should fall. Export prices become relatively attractive, import prices relatively less attractive and the current account balance should settle itself. Another advantage is that reserves are not used to control the value of the currency. This makes is unnecessary to keep high levels of foreign currencies and gold. There are also disadvantages. Uncertainty tends to be created. Planning of businesses tends to be difficult and investments, defined as the expenditure by firms on capital equipment and is an injection into the economy, are hard to assess. The levels of international investment will decrease. Furthermore, in reality, floating exchange rates are affected by many factors, not only demand and supply. Another factor would be speculation. Therefore they might not adjust themselves and might not eliminate current account deficits. Last, a floating exchange rate regime may worsen existing levels of inflation. High inflation relative to other countries will make its exports less competitive and imports will be relatively less expensive. Yet, this could lead to even higher prices on import goods and services and inflation.

Interpretive Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Interpretive Strategies - Essay Example This has been considered as a wonderful mix of communication principles. For this purpose, the person who interprets should have basic working knowledge. The working knowledge should be about; journalism, marketing, psychology, non formal and adult education theory and presentation, business management and finances, reservation and tourism planning/ principles, media planning and design principles (John A. Veverka, 2006). The interpretive techniques and principles can be observed when we see an advertisement, magazine, television or a movie. The interpretation will depend on the reality used in the techniques of interpretation. The understanding of an interpreters about the knowledge and the view of the visitors will be helpful in the success of the interpretation. This cannot be termed as the truth in the interpretation. In the aforementioned context, the view expressed about interpretation is that the one which follows the views of the visitors. The truth lies in the interpretation if the interpreters consider the memory, recreational learning and learning experience of the visitors. This consideration of the interpreters may result in the truth in the interpretation. The learning of the visitor from the interpretation can be in the form of fun also. The methods like coin collecting, model making, studying aspects of history, bird watching etc. is involved with recreational learning. The persons learn from interpretation because they want to discover the pleasure of learning in the interpretation. Part 1 3. System Area Plan The system area considered here is information. It can be presented in many forms and as a result was selected as system area. The presentation of information may be straight facts, figures and dates, analyses and stories. A guide provides information to tourists almost without interpretation. A Writer provides information to the readers with information. For example, the environmental education in the form of a program or exhibit can be presented in either an informational instructional approach. These need interpretive approach. In all the above mentioned conditions, the communication nature of the interpretation should be taken into consideration. The education due to interpretation occurs, when the recipient receives the message and understands it. After that it needs the remembrance. The way of communication and the nature of interpretation also will regulate remembrance. The interpretation regarding the sensitive aspects of the human nature will make them remember the informati on conveyed for a long time. The listeners do not remember the information, if they do not understand the information conveyed. Though interpretation needs the resources, it is not resource specific. It can be considered as objective driven and audience focused process. It looks for results after using the marketing and advertising techniques. This can be termed as interpretation communication strategy. The communication need to provoke curiosity, attention and interest in the listeners or the learners. The absence of attention will not make them to stop before an exhibit. The strategy must be in a manner to provoke and create attention. For provoking and creating, the interpreter must think about the reasons the visitor wants information. The answer to the questions that arise by that thinking

Life Lessons From The Brady Bunch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Life Lessons From The Brady Bunch - Essay Example It not only generates new ideas and values but also transmits them to the younger generation. The family is the basic unit of society. In our contemporary society, we find many television programs involving families in different settings in different situations. One can say that almost all the possible issues and predicaments have been portrayed in the screen. For an inquisitive mind such as mine, it becomes interesting to find out how these shows affect the general public. In this study, our attempt will be to examine the relationship between a television program- The Brady Bunch - and its implications to the viewing public. I will be primarily concerned in determining to what degree The Brady Bunch has served as a mirror for society and a medium for transformation or conformity. The concept of "The Brady Bunch" started back in 1966 when Sherwood Schwartz (the creator and producer of the show) heard that somewhere between 20-30% of all families had at least one child from a previous marriage. He wrote a 30-minute pilot episode about a blended family; a man with three boys marries a lady with three girls and in the end they all go on the honeymoon together. He also had prepared several story ideas about the kids and their growing-pains and problems arising due to the new living situation. (Moran, 1992) Moran (1992) further relates that when the s... Yet, the program stands as one of the most important sitcoms of American 1970s television programming, spawning numerous other series on all three major networks, as well as records, lunch boxes, a cookbook, and even a stage show and feature film. The decided emphasis of the series on the Brady children made it very popular among younger audiences. ABC capitalized on this appeal, programming the show early on Friday evenings. This popularity also resulted in various attempts to create other profitable spin-off products: "The Brady Kids," a pop rock group (patterned on "The Archies" and "The Partridge Family"), a Saturday morning cartoon called The Brady Kids (1972-74), and regular appearances of the young actors and actresses (particularly Maureen McCormick and Christopher Knight), in teen fan magazines. Bellefante (1995) also relates that following its initial network run, The Brady Bunch became inordinately popular in rerun syndication. This success can be attributed in part to children's afternoon-viewing patterns. Often programmed as a daily "strip" in after-school time periods, the show found new viewers who had not previously seen the series. The age distribution of the cast may have created appeal among a range of young viewers, and as they aged they were able to take a more ironic viewing stance toward the entertainment of their childhood. The ongoing success of the Brady characters has continually brought them back to television. The Brady Bunch Hour, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft from 1976-1977 on ABC, had the family hosting a vividly-colored disco-oriented variety series. The Brady Brides, on NBC in 1981, was a half-hour sitcom about Marcia and Jan as they dealt with their new husbands and the trials of being married. In December 1988, CBS aired the

Virtue Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Virtue Ethics - Essay Example Kant expresses that the will of the people to treat others as an end rather than a means, defines the rightness of their action (Pojman and Tramel 23-27). He explains that human beings can only act right if they treat other people with fairness. Evidently, human beings consider the virtuous people as those who treat others fairly, with dignity and positive attitude. On this ground, the idea of Kant that moral rightness as the ability to treat others fairly is universally practical. (Pojman and Tramel 23-27).Kant paints the image of a person as a legislator of kingdom, to direct people on how they should act morally. The interpretation of this statement is that human beings should act as if they are designing universal law that applies not only to them but also to other moral agents. In this statement, the philosopher urges human beings to act in such a way that their actions are exemplary and that others should follow the same direction. Thus, if one does a bad thing, then he invites others to act the same way, as this would be legislating a new law in the universal kingdom. On this ground, human beings should act in such a way that their actions are fairto others and the results of these actions are positive. Trammel (24) states that Kant’s philosophy can best be understood as being committed to the theme of rightness as fairness.  From a close examination, Kant alludes to the idea that the morality of an action can be assessed by the extent to which it is fair to the recipient. The role that morality should play in our lives is a topic that garnered attention from numerous philosophers. Wolf (419-439) is among the scholars who focused on the way human beings apply morals on their life. She states that human beings should not strive to live a saintly life as this was be too good to the extent of denying themselves happiness. She agrees that human beings should treat others not as a means but

Influence of Globalization on Organizational Network Structures Essay

Influence of Globalization on Organizational Network Structures - Essay Example Globalization can be identified as the increased â€Å"mobility of goods, sources of labor, technology and capital† on a worldwide prospect. Considering the impact of globalization on the organizational factors, it can be studied that several new possibilities and opportunities are opening as a result of globalization. Newer ways are cropping up with respect to delivery of different functions. There is an increase in the number of options available to a company and hence greater number of decisions to be taken. Moreover such decisions have to be communicated to all divisions and all levels within an organization. This undoubtedly increases the complexity of an organizational network structure as well. However corporate globalization increases the number of opportunities for an organization; but at the same time it sets up more numbers of interdependencies between a variety of organizations. Learning from a World Class Company: IBM (International Business Machines Corporation): The IBM is â€Å"one of the largest providers of information technology and services†. The primary missions of the company include becoming the leader in creating, developing, and manufacturing superior information technologies and transforming those skills and expertise into â€Å"value† for its customers. Computer systems that include â€Å"software, networking systems, storage devices and microelectronics† are designed, developed and manufactured by IBM. The operations of the company are spread across the world providing work opportunities for more than 200,000 people. The headquarters of the company is in Armonk, New York (Tung, 2001, p.40). A brief history of the company: IBM was first initiated in New York in the year 1911. However the company’s history dated back to 1890s when mass immigrants were entering the United States and an efficient system was required to measure the level of population. Initially although the company had been operating only in New York, but within a short duration of time, its operations expanded worldwide. Under the management of Thomas J. Watson the company’s products and services were even more expanded. â€Å"IBM refers to the decades between 1939 and 1963 as the ‘Era of Innovation’†. The product line of the company appreciably enhanced during this period of time. The company moved towards the advancement of computers during the period of the Second World War (Tung, 2001, pp.40-41). Gradually over the years, the company developed several new products that included â€Å"automatic-sequence-controlled calculator†, â€Å"IBM 701† which was the first large computer manufactured with vacuum tube, â€Å"system/360 computer†, and so on. In the year 1969, the company brought in modifications in its product selling and started selling individual components instead of hardware or software devices. IBM had also introduced â€Å"personal computers for small bus inesses, schools and homes†. The company initiated an establishment for network computing and several facilities of such computers. In the year 1993, Louis V. Gerstner joined the company as the CEO and he highlighted the necessity to

Statistical Inference and Regression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Statistical Inference and Regression - Essay Example Those who impress statistics tend to improve on the quality of data, the experimental designs, as well as survey sampling. They also give tools for forecasting, as well as prediction using statistical models. On the overall, statistics is quite applicable in many academic fields and it cuts across, the natural science, the social sciences, businesses and government. Statistical methods are used in summarizing and describing of collected data. Descriptive statistics is particularly useful in research work especially when communicating the experimental results. Patterns in data can be modeled in such a way that it accounts for the uncertainty or randomness in the observation, which are then used in drawing of conclusion about the given population under study (Bethea, & Boullion, 2005). This is what is called the inferential statistics. Inferences are extremely crucial elements as far as scientific advancements are concerned. It helps in providing a means through which conclusions are d rawn for the data that are subject to random variations. The application of both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics comprise applied statistics. The theoretic statistics are concerned with the logical arguments that underlie justification of certain approaches to statistical inference. Mathematical statistics involves the manipulation of the probability distribution that is necessary for deriving outcomes that are closely related to methods of estimation and the inferences (Bethea, & Boullion, 2005). Probability cuts across various fields and encompasses many definitions. This paper discusses statistical inferences and cuts across other areas of statistics including regression, linear regression, nonlinear regression, least-squires method, and the maximum likelihood method. Statistical Inference The term statistical inference as used in statistics is taken to mean the process of drawing or making conclusions from data that are subject to random variations. The example of statistical inference is the sampling variation or the observational errors (Bethea, & Boullion, 2005). More often than not, the terms inferential statistics, statistical inference and statistical induction are used in describing systems of procedures that may be used in drawing of concussions’ from data sets that arise from systems that are affected by random variations including random experimentation and observational errors. The initial requirements of the system of processes for the inference and the induction are that the system produces reasonable answers whenever applied to defined situations. It should also be general enough so that it can be applied in all situations. Maximum likelihood method. Estimation problems involve estimating the value of the one or many population parameters from any random samples of the population (Bethea, & Boullion, 2005). Point and interval estimation are the two categories of estimation. Interval estimation is used in determining t he probability of the outcome that occurs in any given limits while point estimation takes Fisher’s estimation. The term likelihood is also, one key concept used in statistical inference, and it is always calculated for any fixed sample while providing information about the relative probability of any sample data that is as a function of the distribution parameters. The likelihood function is used to measure how likely a given data sample is as the function of

Australian Responses to the Decline of Britain as a World Power in the Essay

Australian Responses to the Decline of Britain as a World Power in the Twentieth Century - Essay Example This is in spite of (or should one say, because) of the fact that, ethnically, the majority of Australians are British, mainly penal settlers; the original habitants of the country-the aborigines-constitute a mere 2% of the present population.2 Although some Australian writers of the early twentieth century, perhaps as a reaction, have gone to the extent of denying British influence on Australian life and institutions in general, this is a denial of the truth. The relation between Britain and Australia, "both official and sentimental"3 is complex, and "till 1914, Australia depended on Britain for much of its prosperity, by choice."(the emphasis is mine)4 As Keith Hancock said, it was "not impossible for Australia, nourished by a glorious literature and haunted by old memories to be in love with two soils."5 The imbroglio over an independent defence for the Dominion was the chief political issue between Britain and Australia during the pre World War years of the twentieth century. In 1899, 16000 Australians had voluntarily served in the Boer War. Neville Chamberlain, who later became Prime Minister of Britain, enthusiastically pushed for the formation of colonial armies (India, Canada, New Zealand and Australia) that would fight anywhere across the Empire. Although New Zealand was agreeable to providing soldiers for this force, both Canada and Australia balked. Australia wanted an army for its own protection and not for being deployed to Europe. Political events of the time, like the Boer War, which undermined British supremacy worried Australia. It felt that it could be attacked in its position as a colony of Britain. When Japan defeated Russia (Russo-Japanese War, 1905) and showed inclinations to spreading out militarily into Asia, Australia worried that it might also divert its coveto us eyes to acquisitions on Australian territory. Britain did not initially encourage Australia to develop itself militarily, because it did not take the idea of a defence force for its dominion seriously. Besides, it was felt that should any enemy commercial ship defeat an Australian gunboat in an engagement, it would reflect on Britain, as a defeat of Imperial forces.6 However, the increasing threats to British supremacy and the spectre of a Germany strengthening its military spurred Britain on to urge its colonies to develop their own military. In 1906, the Imperial Admiralty proposed the establishment of a separate navy stationed at Melbourne and was generous in funding this as well.7 Alfred Deakin, Australian Prime Minister, wrested a concession from Britain-that the personnel from the Australian navy could be interchanged with those of the Imperial. This would give them (the Australian navy) the necessary expertise. Admiral Sir John Fisher of Britain also provided, by default, an impetus for the development of the Australian n avy. Fisher believed that if a flotilla were developed, such that the British Isles instead of being defended at her borders (by battleships) could have torpedo ships that prevented enemy vessels from setting out from their shores, it would be in the larger interest of Britain.8 This led to the addition of ships to the Australian Navy, and an enhancement of its strength.     

The Effect of “Publish or Perish” Motto on Academics Essay Example for Free

The Effect of â€Å"Publish or Perish† Motto on Academics Essay Retailing, warehousing and producing knowledge are the core missions of the academic scholars in the universities. Universities warehouse† knowledge through libraries; they disseminate or retail knowledge via their teaching function; and they produce or â€Å"manufacture† knowledge through research (Hunt, 2000). In order to accomplish these missions, namely to enhance the production and dissemination quantum of the knowledge, governmental institutions and university administrations use incentive and reward systems (Bloom et al. , 1988). These systems present in most universities acknowledge publications and citations as the evidence of scholarly achievement and necessity for promotion, grant, and tenure (Darko, 2003). However, incentive and reward systems in academia were considered to lead a publish or perish syndrome by keeping the academic staff under pressure (Bloom et al. , 1988). On the one hand, these systems lead to a an increase in the quantity of books and papers (Bloom et al. , 1988); on the other hand, the quality of the generated knowledge may decrease since the academics aim to reach maximum number of publications (Nyilasy et al., 2007). As it is seen, these systems have both advantageous and disadvantageous. In this context, the objective of this paper is to analyze whether the incentive and reward systems have institutionalized a restrictive approach to knowledge development or they enhance and encourage the producing of the knowledge. On the other hand, it will be tried to compare the Turkey’s current academic environment with the other countries in the context of ethical academic behaviours. THE OBJECTIVE OF ACADEMICS  Marketing as a university discipline has several responsibilities such as; to society, for providing objective knowledge and technically competent, socially responsible, liberally educated graduates; To students, for providing an education that will enable them to get on the â€Å"socioeconomic ladder† and prepare them for their roles as competent, responsible marketers and citizens; to marketing practice, for providing a continuing supply of competent, responsible entrants to the marketing profession and for providing new knowledge about both the micro and macro dimensions of marketing; and to the academy, for upholding its mission of retailing,  warehousing and producing knowledge, its contract with society of objective knowledge for academic freedom, and its core values of reason, evidence, openness and civility (Hunt, 2002, p. 306). In parallel with this view, Irele (1993, p. 74) claimed that â€Å"A university has three functions to perform which are to conserve knowledge; to advance knowledge; and to disseminate knowledge. It falls short of the full realization of its aim unless, having provided for the conservation and advancement of knowledge, it makes provision for its dissemination as well†. It can be revealed from these statements that, production and dissemination of the knowledge are two of the core missions of universities. Knowledge produced by academic researchers tends to be distributed to the discipline through research books, journals, academic conferences, training and development courses ((Bloom et al. , 1988; McKenzie et al. , 2002; Nyilasy et al. , 2007). However, according to the American Marketing Association (as of now AMA) Task Force on the development of marketing, academic researchers do not produce and disseminate enough publications (Bloom et al., 1988). Furthermore, there is a dissemination problem that academicians are not successful in disseminating the knowledge they generate (Nyilasy et al. , 2007). In order to overcome these problems and increase the production and dissemination of knowledge, and also to become more competitive, university management boards apply incentive and reward systems (Bloom et al. , 1988). INCENTIVE AND REWARDS SYSTEMS At first sight, the incentive and reward systems may be seen well functioning that it leads to increase on knowledge generation and motivate the researchers. However there are several disadvantages and side effects of these systems and in the literature the outcomes of these systems have been criticized by several authors under the â€Å"publish or perish† mantra (List at al. , 2007;Bloom et al. , 1988; Nyilasy et al. , 2007; Brennan Ankers, 2004; Darko, 2003; Remus, 1977; Gad-el-hak, 2004). One of the best explanation of publish or perish doctrine made by P. Van Den Berghe (1970, p. 87) as â€Å"Publishing has become a compulsion. The average academic author does not write because he has something to say, because he hopes to contribute to knowledge, or because he has fun doing it; rather, he writes and publishes in order to improve his vita. This document is frequently the only thing about him which his colleagues will ever read; it is the passport to academic success; and, beyond the routine acquisition of a Ph. D. , published titles are the main ornament of a vita. On the other hand, there are some alternative views such as Blunt (1973) claimed that equating not publishing with perishing is an over dramatization of the present condition. In fact, in this context incentive and rewards refers to â€Å"tenure† and â€Å"promotion†. Namely, in order to get a tenure or promotion to the more senior academic positions it is essential to publish books, academic paper and be cited (Blunt, 1973). In addition, Remus (1977) claimed that publication is one of the most essential criterion for gaining tenure and promotion in a highly competitive academic environment which Remus defined this environment as a treacherous dog-eat-dog world metaphorically. Since AMA (1988) claimed that publications in the marketing field is not enough and there need to overcome the impediments in order to increase the quantity of the publications. The AMA assessed several suggestions to motivate the researchers; the researchers must be provided large scale funding source and faculty release time for their research; the average revision time of the journals must be decreased as much as possible, thus further expenditures of time and effort of both reviewers and authors will be prevented; special workshops and consortia must be supported related to the need of the researchers. To sum up, this system is very effective and advantageous in order to motivate the researchers and achieve a maximum number of publications. However, there are also some disadvantageous and side effects of this system. In the next section the negative effects of this system will be criticized. SIDE EFFECTS OF INCENTIVE AND REWARD SYSTEMS As discussed in the preceding sections, the system puts the researcher under the pressure of publishing more and more books, journals and conference papers. The strong and undesirable incentives motivate especially the young academics through knowledge development (Blunt, 1973). However, it is extremely short-term in orientation and the system discourages risk-taking in the development of new ideas, discourages investment in long-term projects on significant issues, and instead encourages minor improvements in establishing ideas (Bloom et al. , 1988). On the other hand, the young academicians have started to publish books without getting enough wisdom in a particular field (Gad-el-hak, 2004). When the researcher’s age and experience increase, they provide fewer contributions to the journals. The AMA stated the possible reason for this situation as following; (1) A sense that the rewards for research and publication have been less than expected or are simply insufficient to justify additional effort. (2) A cumulative frustration with the competitive review processes of the major journals of the field. (3) An increased need or desire for outside income during the middle years of ones career. (4) An increased capability to undertake activities that hold higher personal value (e. g. , teaching, consulting, administrative positions) than does research and writing(Bloom et al. , 1988, p. 4). Another important issue affected by the system is the quality concern. Publish or perish philosophy makes the researchers give more importance to the quantity of the publications rather than quality (Lofthouse, 1974). In order to get a tenure or promotion, most researchers focus on publishing as much as they can, even sometimes they use â€Å"cut-and-paste† to reach their goals. Furthermore, to fulfil the increasing demand for publishing papers, everyday more and more journals enter the academic market. Thus, there have been the journals stratified into several quality categories which fits different quality papers (Gad-el-hak, 2004). However, since journals are peer reviewed they can preserve their quality in balance (Bloom et al. , 1988). The quality concern is emerged in book publishing as well and probably more noteworthy that there is no need to be reviewed which makes it easier to publish a book than a journal article accepted (Gad-el-hak, 2004). Gad-el-Hak (2004) provided some extreme examples related to the quantity of publications. The first one is a dean of major school of engineering listed 52 papers that he wrote just in a year which equals to publishing a paper every week. In the second example, a professor was introduces at a meeting as the author of 80 books in his 20 year career which is equal to a book every three months. Citation documents the ? ow of information and the links within and among disciplines or other units of analysis (Goldman Grinstein, 2010). The number of citations is a dominant criterion for promotion, salary increases and funding. It also will determine to what extent the individual researcher is seen as a thought leader. On the other hand, it is an indicator of quality, innovativeness and contribution of the publication to the science. Therefore, the researchers try to maximize the number of times they are cited (Verniers, 2010). However, except the articles published in top journals which represent the core of a discipline, most articles receive few or no citation (Van Dalen Klamer, 2005). Also some researchers use make citation unethically. For example, authors generally do not actually consult some of the references they cite, some authors add references at the completion of a research because they support the researcher’s arguments or findings authors often reference well known authors in order to add credibility and prestige, and that misquotations of what is actually written in the references are prevalent (Goldman Grinstein, 2010, p.1389) As Hunt (2000) claimed another mission of academics is the retailing the knowledge in terms of teaching. However, since the â€Å"publish or perish† motto force the academics to focus on publications, especially the young academicians give less emphasis to the teaching function (Blunt, 1973). On the other hand, this motto also affects the relationship level between the practitioners and academicians. Brennan and Ankers (2004, p.  511) claimed that â€Å"It seems clear that although academics would like to get closer to practitioners, they are inhibited by institutional factors, such as academic reward systems and the â€Å"publish or perish† culture†. Since the Publish or perish culture suppresses the academics, they are tempted to perform unethical behaviours such as copying research, faking data and statistics, intentionally leaving out erroneous findings (Van Dalen Klamer, 2005). (List et al., 2007) made a research on this topic and proved that some researchers have falsified the research data; also they became co-authors of the papers without contributing. In addition, Remus (1977) very clearly identified the publication tricks as following; Joint Author Trick, colleagues write papers independently, and they add his / her colleagues name to the paper. Thus, in average both get more point. Experimental Trip trick, in some cases the academics force the students to participate in experiments. Thus, they can set up experiments in a very short time and free of charge. Graduate Student Gap, Graduate students perform great effort to show him qualified, so the academics may use them for library research, analyze and write up the data, or to find new creative research topics. Senior Author Trick, sometimes the junior academics use the name of senior, well-known authors in their studies without their contribution to publish their articles in top journals and books in quality publishers. Kitchen Sink Trick, since the data gathering phase is time consuming, they may use the same data more than once for different articles. In order to overcome the side effects of the publish or perish concept, Gad-el-Hak (2004) offered some suggestions such as; resumes submitted to promotion and tenure committees should be limited to listing only 5–10 the most significant publications; co-authors should contribute meaningfully to a publication and no name should be added merely because he or she is a member of a research group, or worse, the head of the group; journals should publish their impact factor and it should be an important consideration when libraries decide which journals to drop; Completed book manuscripts should go through peer review before publication. PUBLISH OR PERISH SYSTEM IN TURKEY In this section, as an academic member in a university, I will express my observations about the functioning of publish or perish system by comparing with the outside of Turkey. There is an incentive and rewards system in Turkey as well. For example, In order to apply for an Associate Professor position, academicians have to get at least 6 points by publishing books, articles, conference papers and being cited (UAK, 2012). In addition, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) makes payment for the articles published in top journals in order to motivate academics. However the side effects in terms unethical academic consequences of the system is very similar to the other countries. Probably, one of the most important factors is they are assigned many courses to teach and also they are charged with administrative work load. The most common unethical behaviours in Turkey are plagiarism refers to stealing from other authors’ publications without citation and permission, duplication which is publishing the same or similar papers in different journals or conferences, Fabrication which is making up unreal results and publish, and Salamization  refers to slicing up one research in more or less identical papers (Ruacan, 2008). As indicated in the AMA task force report (1988), most of the senior academicians slow up researching and publishing, instead they mostly focus on consulting to the private sector companies, administrative functions, organizing conferences in their most productive period in Turkey as well. On the other hand in order to increase the quantity of their publications some academics search for the journals, mostly in third world countries such as African journals, that they can easily publish their unqualified articles. Furthermore, some of the academics make a deal with publishing companies to publish their book. Actually, the aim is not selling the book and making profit. In most cases the only reason is just getting point to get a promotion or tenure. In addition, authors in Turkey use joint author trick which was stated by Remus (1977) to gain more point. For instance, there are three colleagues and each of them prepared a paper. If they publish them as single authored in an international journal, each will get 3 points independently. However, if they write the other two colleagues’ names as co-authors each will get 5. 4 point which is approximately twice of the former choice (UAK, 2012). CONCLUSION To sum up, producing and disseminating of the knowledge is one of the most crucial missions for the universities. To accomplish this duty, the administrative directors of the universities and Institutes of Higher Education use some incentive and reward systems. However, in some cases these strategies put the academic staff under the pressure which is called as the â€Å"Publish or Perish† motto. Thus, in order to survive in the academic world, the members sometimes look for some unethical ways such as plagiarism, salamization, duplication, fabrication, joint author, publishing unqualified books, and so on. While the quantity of the publications increases, their quality may decrease. In my opinion, being academic members must be encouraged by increasing the salary of the member, providing extra opportunities, to increase the attraction of being a faculty member. Thus, the more qualified people will demand to be an academician and the cumulative quality of the universities and academics will increase and probably there will be a decrease in the rate of unethical academic behaviour. On the other hand, some reformations must be made to prevent the unstandardized proceedings, patronages, and unfairness: In this way, the motivation and quality of the junior academic personnel will increase and they would be more productive. REFERENCES Berghe, P. (1970). Academic Gamesmanship, London: Abelard-Schuman Bloom, P. , Hirschman, E. , Mcaleer, L. , Group, T. M., Weitz, B. , Wilkie, W. , Dame, N. , et al. (1988). Developing , Disseminating , and Utilizing Marketing Knowledge, Journal of Marketing Vol. 52(October), pp. 1–25. Brennan, R. , and P. Ankers, (2004). In Search of Relevance: Is There an Academic-Practitioner Divide in Business-to-Business Marketing? Marketing Intelligence and Planning, Vol: 22(5), pp. 511–519. Darko, C. O. (2003). Scholarly Publ? sh? ng In Africa: A Case Study Of The Pol? cies And Practices Of African Un? versity Presses, Inpublished PhD Dissertation, Graduate School of the University of Stirling Gad-el-Hak, M. (2004). 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Assignment Work Within A Legal And Efficical Time Frame Essay Example for Free

Assignment Work Within A Legal And Efficical Time Frame Essay 1. Why is it important for a worker in the Community Services Industry to follow their job description? Because we have a duty of care to our clients and following our job description is the way we can give our clients the best way to provide a profession standard of service. And keeping in line with the polices kept in place by the organisation. 2. Define the term policy. A policy are rules set out that need to be followed. 3. Define the term procedure. A procedure is a step by step way of how a organisation achieves its desire goal. Why do Community Services Industry workers need to work within agency policy and procedures? Provide three (3) reasons. Ensure they do they do their job properly So No unnecessary harm is caused to the client To provide a proper duty of care to the client 4. Give five examples of areas that should be covered in a policy/procedure manual. Occupational health and safety Duty of care Communication Mandatory Reporting (child abuse) Case management procedure 5. Define the term legislation. Legislation are laws which have been enforced by the state or federal government. 6. Define the term statutory requirements? An act that requires you to do something or not do something is a statutory requirement. 7. Define the term regulatory requirements? Regulatory requirements are rules that tell you how a service should be run. 8. List three pieces of legislation impacting on the Community Services Industry and state the purpose of each. Legislation has the word ‘Act’ in the title. 9. When gathering personal information from a client, what do you need to tell them? Task B Case Study Read the following case study: You are a family and community worker employed by a community-based organisation that is located in a public housing estate. You have been working with the following family for a number of months. Julie has four children, aged 2-10 years old, and lives in a public housing estate in ‘Springvale’. You became involved with Julie’s family when she moved to the estate, having left Bill, the father of her children, due to experiencing domestic violence. Julie was granted public housing due to her single parent status, and she is receiving Parenting Payment (Single) from Centrelink. She was referred to your service, regarding her issues of isolation and parenting difficulties with her elder children. The focus of your intervention has been supporting Julie in her parenting role, linking her with community resources and developing budgeting skills. Julie has never been notified to the state child protection services for suspected abuse of her children. During recent visits, you are becoming increasingly concerned about Julie’s lifestyle. Arriving at Julie’s place in the morning, the flat  is very chaotic, the older kids are always rushing off late to school, and the flat is very messy, with unwashed dishes and scraps of food lying around. The younger children seem to always be watching TV and there is evidence of heavy drinking the night before. On your last visit, Julie informed you that Bill was moving in with her and the kids. Despite Bill’s heavy drinking, Julie is very lonely and not coping with the kids well on her own. She plans to keep this a secret from Centrelink and the state public housing department, as she may no longer be eligible for her financial benefits or subsidised housing. While you acknowledge Julie’s feelings of isolation, you are very concerned for the children’s safety if Bill returns to the family home. You decide that you need to discuss some of these recent developments with Julie. You are aware that Bill is very ‘anti-community workers’ and may react very negatively if he is there when you turn up. He has a history of bullying and threatening behaviour with community agencies that have assisted the family in the past. Answer the following questions based on the case study: 1. How would you find out what your roles and responsibilities are as a family worker? 2. In this case study what would be your roles and responsibilities as the worker? 3. Consult the attached Job Description. From the job description state three (3) key responsibilities and discuss how you could apply each of the responsibilities to this family. 4. As the worker, identify and discuss two (2) ethical dilemmas in this case study. You need to state the ethical dilemmas from the learning material and discuss why it could be a dilemma for you as a worker. 5. What principles of ethical decision making would you need to be aware of when dealing with the ethical dilemmas you identified, and why? 6. Identify the factors that contribute to risk of harm of the children in this case study. 7. Identify and discuss your duty of care in relation to each family member? 8. If you were unsure about how to proceed in working with this family, what would you do next? Read the next part of the case study and answer the following questions: In the course of your work with Julie and her family, Julie expresses dissatisfaction about your work with her family. She is adamant that you have a vendetta against Bill, and that you have breached her confidentiality by discussing her situation with other services (such as Centrelink) and is accusing you of acting unprofessionally. 9. Identify Julie’s rights in this situation. 10. Identify the legislation that supports client complaints in this industry. Legislation has the word â€Å"Act† in the title. 11. Discuss how you would deal with Julie’s complaint. Task C Answer the following questions: 1. From the learning material, identify a model for working through issues and dealing with ethical dilemmas. 2. From the learning material, identify the significant ethical guidelines in the Community Services Industry. 3. From the learning material, identify ways that we can ensure client rights are upheld. 4. From the learning material, identify the basic organisational procedures that you will need to follow when managing a complaint. 5. At what point would you consider using an advocate or an advocacy service? 6. Define these terms: Abuse Neglect Risk Job Description Position:Family Support Worker Location:Springvale Community Services (SCS) Classification:Community Services Worker Grade 3 Social and Community Services Employees (State) Award Hours of Duty: Full time position – 38 hrs/week Position Objectives To support community, families and individuals as an advocate, point of referral and/or resource. Within Organisation Compliance with Springvale Community Service’s Code of Conduct, Goals and Objectives, Mission Statement and Policies and Procedures Compliance with all relevant Legislation, Regulations and Awards Compliance with relevant government funding requirements Compliance with individual scope of practice Maintain privacy and confidentiality of information within SCS Promote a positive image of SCS Maintain a commitment to SCS’s Corporate Plan Liaise with community service providers to plan and engage direct service provision Maintain effective communication and interpersonal skills Efficient and effective utilisation of resources as allocated under the level of responsibility for the position Key Responsibilities Provide direct services to families and individuals that encompass, in consultation with the client(s), identification of issues/needs and implementation of a mutually agreed plan of referral and/or resource acquisition. Provide referral of clients to appropriate / specialist services as required At the request of the client, act as an advocate and/or support for clients accessing referral services and other agencies. Work  within relevant legislation, regulations, codes of practice/conduct and organisational policy and procedures. Maintain factual and objective client records acknowledging the provision of the Privacy Act. Provide outreach services, as required Submit monthly operational and statistical report to the Co-ordinator of Springvale Community Services Perform other duties as requested by the Co-ordinator Actively participate in weekly staff meetings Participate in and contribute to the overall Springvale Community Services Strategic Plan Provide a weekly planner at beginning of each week outlining activities relating to the position role to the Co-ordinator Maintain ongoing professional development ensuring up-to-date knowledge of legislation, referral resources and current professional practices Reporting Relationships