Classical Theories of Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Classical Theories of Management - Essay Example The classical management theory comprises of three schools of thought: scientific management, bureaucratic management, and administrative management. Although some organizations apply one or more of these theories in managing their employees, most people consider them outdated and inapplicable in managing the 21st-century workplace that needs more visionary leadership styles. Frederick Taylor advanced scientific management in his quest to increase organizational productivity (Taylor, 2003). Frederick emphasized on the efficiency of production processes that could be achieved through empirical research. Availability of skilled labor became a major problem among the 19th-century industrialists (Cameron & Green, 2009). Only a few people were educated at the time, and the few available were in high demand due to the increased number of industries hiring them. Managers thought that the best way to increase the efficiency of the available labor was to draw strict lines between tasks. This decision might have been arrived at because managers believed that they were more intellectual than the workers were, and their duty was to supervise workers as they perform their work. Taylor’s emphasis on high target is desirable since business organizations desire to grow and expand. However, this principle concentrates on selecting the highest standard possible for employees. Taylor did not accurately define the highest standards; this can cause exploitation of employees especially those who are hired on hourly rates. Although Taylor encouraged managers to use the piece-rate basis of payment, some companies may stress employees to work harder than their capacity as these companies strive to achieve their target standards (Hersey, Blanchard & Johnson, 2001). This can cause stress and poor welfare among employees. Standard conditions proposed by Taylor encourage rigidity of organizations.  

Human resource management (Case study) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Human resource management (Case study) - Essay Example It defines the organisation’s behaviour and how it tries to cope with its environment.† More precisely, the MBA Tutorials (2010) defines SHRM as â€Å"the linking of human resources with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational culture that foster innovation and competitive advantage† (par. 1). The key features of SHRM were identified as: (1) some organizing strategies or schemes link individual human resource interventions so that they are ‘mutually supportive’; (2) a great amount of responsibility is transferred down the line for the management of HR; and (3) there is a precise link between overall organization strategy, organization environment, HR policies and practices† (MBA Tutorials, 2010, par. 3) In this regard, the Talent Management at Standard Chartered Bank displays features of SHRM in terms of manifesting the presence of strategies that show â€Å"emphasis on people that has seen HR issues ascend the corporate agenda, with the bank’s declared goal of measurably increasing its leadership capacity by 2011† (Case facts, 2). ... .to introduce certain global standards and tools, (and) to give managers some freedom to decide locally how best to use them† (Case facts, 3).   1.2 Comment on the relevance of this approach in the light of the recent banking crisis? The Talent Management program that is consistent with the SHRM approach is appropriately significant in the light of the recent banking crisis due to its ability to gauge performance of personnel and bank branches regardless of their assigned locations; it has the ability to generate and integrate performance of employees on a global scale. In this regard, the effect of changes in the external environment could immediately be measured in terms of repercussive effects on bank branches worldwide and on how creative managers and respective personnel are in responding to the external pressures. The Talent Management Program of Standard Chartered manifests acknowledged the important roles and functions of HRM opting to implement SHRM in adapting to di verse factors from the external environment and adjusting to the demands of the times. Its ability to assess its effectiveness evolves into encompassing areas of employee development (employee behavior, attitudes and skills), competencies, performance, as these attributes all contribute to the achievement of organizational goals. As Cabrera & Cabrera averred, â€Å"no longer are operational measures of internal efficiency sufficient. HR departments must be able to demonstrate the value of their strategic contributions† (2003, 3) which are most applicable especially during the financial crisis. 1.3 Why is it important to measure the impact of SHRM? What might be included in an evaluation strategy to measure the impact of SHRM in

Assignment - Assistive Technology Plan Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

- Assistive Technology Plan - Assignment Example Research ability is limited due to his physical disability, and his performance in social science and liberal arts courses is below average. He has a need for more physical activity, but it has proven difficult to make this happen. Due to his lack of involvement in extra-curricular activities, James has a hard time making and maintaining strong relationships with his peers. He is easily angered and frustrated at not being to participate in some everyday activities, yet he appears to be losing the desire to do so altogether as well. His physical skills continue to deteriorate, as he does not exhibit much physical exertion at all during the normal course of a day. James has two older brothers and a caring mother and father at home. All indications are that the family structure provides a nurturing environment that has contributed greatly to James’ successes to this point. The older brothers have always assisted with James when they can and they spend a great deal of time with hi m, while being permitted to carry on with their daily lives independent of the family as well. Goals of the AT Plan: The Assistive Technology Plan for James involves providing him with devices that will assist his researching and writing skills moving forward. In addition, some devices should be considered that encourage James to become more physically active and more socially involved. Finally, the AT Plan will not neglect his current strengths in the fields of math and science and, as such, will include devices aimed at furthering his interest and ability to excel in these disciplines (Beard, Carpenter, and Johnston, 2011). . Materials and Methods Potential Barriers/Missed Opportunities AT Solutions Example: Printed textbook or worksheets Student with a visual impairment has difficulty seeing small text. This student would benefit from using a text-to-speech program, such as Kurzweil 3000 (http://www.kurzweiledu.com/k12.html) so that text can be converted to files and read aloud t o the student.   Further, the student could benefit from having an electronic magnifier for text-based resources used in the learning environment (Beard, Carpenter, & Johnston, 2011, p. 75). 1.Lab reports and mathematical formulas   Because James has difficult with mobility, it is often difficult for him to manipulate lab reports and math formulas to see what is expected of him. A device that magnifies visual aids to the point it is more accessible to James would be beneficial to him as he strives to continue to develop his math and science skills. 2.Reading social science and liberal arts materials, particularly when doing research Because it is not only difficult for James to hold reading material for long periods of time, it is also cumbersome for him to read large amounts of material on the computer, microfilm, or via another medium. There are devices that convert text to voice. This could prove beneficial to James so that once he finds material relevant to a particular topi c he is interested in researching, he can better focus his attention by listening to the text and taking notes as needed. This would eliminate his need to try to manipulate texts, the computer, or papers to suit his physical limitations. 3.   Computer Typing It is quite labor intensive for James to type. In addition, it is even more difficult for him

Working With Teams Essay Example for Free

Working With Teams Essay The scenario is inaccurate coding and lack of patient information which delays payments for the doctor. As head of the billing department a process will be implemented to solve problems on this issue. The current process is not working and because of the loss of productivity, a team was assembled to solve problems. The goal is to find where the error is, and recoup the loss revenue. The first person to question would be the front office personal who checks in a patient upon arrival. After getting the insurance card and demographic page, it is important to compare that information on file to be certain it is accurate, and up to date. A copy of the insurance card should be taken at every visit. Even if the patient were there just there a few weeks ago, it is important to establish a routine of quality. Second, the front office personal should check the insurance carrier to see if a referral is necessary. However, most insurance carriers do not require a referral for family practice it is advantageous to determine if the doctor is in network. When the patient is called back to their examining room, the medical assistant will ask for the reason for the visit. It is up to medical assistant to write down the signs and symptoms of the patient. The documentation must be detailed and recorded properly on the patients face sheet. The department manager of nurses should be scrubbing the documentation before it is submitted to the billing department. For example, if a patient has a routine check and the physician decides to order labs, the lab draw must be documented; even though it was not the reason for the visit. The communication starts with the first point of contact, which is the front office. This person must be detailed, efficient and willing to ask questions without hesitation. They do not assume or fill in the blanks. They are assertive and responsible, to answer staff questions. Without this, the team will spiral downward like a domino effect. For example, the check out personal will not be able to excuse the patient without collecting the co pay. The co pay is not determined unless the insurance is entered correctly by the front office. According to Veean (2012) â€Å"We are paying more attention to electronic devices than to one another. The person to person communication between doctor and staff; and doctor to patient is decreasing. The answer to the question, is we can save health care by utilizing a balance of words and computers†. The team will be organized by personality types. Keeping in mind the group of people has a variety of experience, skills and talents working to help each other achieve a common goal. The group has the task of problem solving why the billing codes are incorrect, and where the missing link is for payment. According to Chong (2007) â€Å"team performance can be positively correlated with the teams that are organized based on their individual characteristics†. Each person will be responsible for their role. Selecting the team by department will make sure all employees are contributing to their individual duty and this will equal success. There will be one leader, a couple of nurses to scrub the documentation for errors, two administration personal to make sure the demographics and insurance information is correct. A person from the billing department who will run a report from the last 120 days. The doctor also needs a friendly reminder, to document according to the procedure. The doctor must know that treating patients is not their sole responsibility in an office. Consequently, all team members were selected according to their talents and skill level. How well they communicate with written and verbal communication. According to Cheesebro, (2010) the ability to solve problems and think critically are good traits to have. They have a desire to accomplish the task and be held accountable for their performance. The potential for conflicts would consist of pointing fingers and judging without investigating. A person might already know who the employee is that started the problem and approach the person, unprofessionally. The process needs to be redefined and no one should be singled out as the culprit. Furthermore, a conflict may ignite if communication is not open. Hence, one person might feel an idea or strategy is not helpful to reach the goal. Although, good teamwork creates a positive environment. If there is a heated disagreement, it can lower the mood, and demotivate the rest of the team. However, according to Cheesebro, (2010) Conflict is healthy in certain situations, because it will bring a team together. Research has shown, employees who feel part of a strong team are happier and more productive. An acronym for team is: trust, empathy, attitude and mutual respect. In conclusion, the best way to avoid future billing failures is to call the insurance company. According to University of Florida, College of Medicine, (2010) Cigna, United Health Care, Medicare and Medicaid will notify the billing office the reasons for denial. It could be as simple as the birth date does not match what is on the enrollment application. A modifier was not placed after an International Classification of Disease, 9th Revision (IDC-9) code. Perhaps the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) was entered as a 4 digit code instead of a 5 digit code. Even though a report will catch this error, if a person overlooks uploads it electronically anyway, it will be denied. The rules for assigning these codes are complex, and have a significant role in coding; so that payment can be received. For example, if a bill for CPT 31256, nasal/sinus endoscopy would not be supported by ICD-9 826.0, closed fracture of the foot. This claim would be rejected and sent back. In most offices, it is presumptuous to label the front office as the reason for failure in payment. It could be anyone’s guess the reason; hence a team approaches to solve the mystery of lack of payment is effective to problem solving. A person from the billing office would concentrate on these rejected claims, repair the error’s, and return them for payment. They will have 15 days to reprocess the claims, and recover the blunder.

Produce a new look for a website. Essay -- Computer Science

Produce a new look for a website. 3.1.2 Formal Report =================== The problem that was in need of solving was to produce a new look for wow.com to target the 17 to 25 year olds. The look that the company were trying to aim for was young, energetic, dynamic and flexible. I firstly set out by comparing some current documents such as flyers, letters and invoices. This helped me as I could gather the best parts from these documents and use them to give me ideas to create new ones. The documents that I selected had to be 3 of a kind that were from three companies with two of a flyer and a letter. I the started off by researching and designing a logo for the new look wow.com. I produced four prototypes of the logo and selected the best one that I felt had got the right look that I wanted. The final design included two people which I felt really stood out from the rest of the designs. The next task was to design the letterhead to update the old style into the new look. I used the documents that I collected at the beginning to give me ideas on how to design it. These where then used as templates for my design, my design for the letterhead was pretty simple as I felt that I didn’t want to overcrowd the sheet. I then brought an example of a staff newsletter and used it to get some ideas from. I then went about designing the staff newsletter for wow.com. It contained four pages which included a front cover, two article pages and a fun and game...

The Problem of Technical Improvement Of Education Essay -- Teaching Ed

The Problem of Technical Improvement Of Education ABSTRACT: What follows considers the problem of technical improvement as one of the main problems in the philosophy of education. I consider technology in connection with transferring from substantial comprehension to comprehension of the process itself. The creation of educational technologies is the expansion of educational freedom, from freedom inside action to freedom inside reflection. The connection between education and technology ensures creating and modifying a particular, non-formal, and humane pedagogy. Profound comprehension of different tendencies and processes in contemporary education is one of the main problems of the recently appeared and developing philosophy of education. Intensifying technological inclinations in up-to-date pedagogical theory and practice must be subject to understanding first of all, to my mind. Not long ago the application of the tecnological approach to education was impossible. The very phrase 'teaching or educational technology' seemed absurd. For a very long time pedagogy has been considered the field absolutely contrary to technical or mechanical kinds of activity. People always thought that profession of a teacher was connected with creation, intuition, unique and unpredictable person communication. The whole history of pedagogy, examining different kinds of educational process, has always been giving a teacher the leading role. Any programs, systems, methods should only support a teacher in order to expose his own potential, they should not substit ute the teacher's place, not determine studies. However, the experience of the recent years has shown that any reinforcement of external formal pressure directed to limitation of cre... ...chnology and education gives a possibility to create an form an other anti mechanistic, humane way of being. Its implementation demands not only practical and theoretical, but also philosophical knowledge. Sources (1) Sheler M. Forms of Knowledge and Education, Gnosis, 1994 (2) Dmitrienko V., Lyurya N. Education as a Social Institution, 1989. (3) Bespalko B. Items of a Pedagogical Technology, M., 1989. (4) Vartofsky M. Art and a Technology are opposite models of Education? M., 1988. (5) Vodopyanova E. Prospects of the Future Education, "Education in Siberia", 1994. (6) Anisimov O. Notional Means of the Theory of Activity and Thinking, M., 1991. (7) Rozin V. Philosophy of a Technique and Cultural and Historical Reconstruction of a Technical Development, "Questions of Philosophy", N3, 1996. (8) A New Technocratic Wave in the West, M., 1986.

Impact of Information Technology on Customer and Supplier Relationships in the Financial Services Essay

Information technology plays an important role to support the relationships between customers and suppliers in financial industry. Different industry faces different competitive and different business practice. Besides, we can use information technology to determine the opportunities and threats to the relationships between customers and suppliers. In this research, it focus on the financial service industry that is motivated by three factors which are the paucity of research in customer and supplier relationships in service industries relative to manufacturing industries, the sheer size of the financial service sector relative to other service sector and the potential for information technology to positively impact firm performance through channel expansion, cost mitigation and service level enhancement. Financial service industry includes all Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes starting with the digit six. In this research, we only focus on those services typically classified as â€Å"financial†. Financial service companies are the earliest commercial users of information technology. Economic forces and technological advances, especially Internet has driven this consolidation across international boundaries and across type financial services. The financial service companies are relatively unique in regard to their value chains. Without possessing any intermediate product can add value to the finish product. The financial services industry has been doing business electronically for many years. Some customer and regulatory statutes demand the use of paper-based transaction audit trails and reporting those transactions. However, the industry leaders will pressure them to adopt electric distribution and information management methods. This report concerns on electronic connectivity, alliances and partnerships. There is a lack of understanding of and available insight into the emerging role of e-business as a delivery channel and customer connection mechanism make a great concern of many organizations. Research Methodology The first phase of methodology is to identify the current and potential role of information technology to support relationship among customers and suppliers in financial services. It included 5 steps which are definition of scope; determination of survey methodology and identification of sample; creation of a survey instrument; administration of the survey; and analysis of survey responses. In this phase, they limited the scope to the immediate suppliers and customers of the subject companies. So the respondents no need to identify suppliers of their suppliers or customers of their customers. In this research, it conducts two interviews in several sectors. Due to the availability of contacts, three of the subjects worked in mutual fund industry, one in retail banking, two in each insurance carriers, institutional investment companies, and brokerage. Eight of them were conducted by telephone and another two were chosen to supply written responses. The typical respondents are senior managers and vice president. Interviews were recorded manually by interviewer so that it is confidentiality and security. Analysis The collected data were analyzed using qualitative techniques. It seeks to conceptualize theory from data rather than proposing theory. The method involves organizing and understanding interview transcripts, collected documents and observe social or business practice. The methodology involves extracting theory from one case study and studies to augment, refine the theory by using subsequent case. Since the sample is limited, they only drew inferences upon a convergence of ideas across industry sectors. Findings / Results Based on the results of interview, there are consistent patterns in the thought, planning, and implementation processes of various participants. They have group the result into five categories. First is how information technology supports existing customer and supplier relationships. Second and third are the opportunities and threats they foresee when they expand their business. The fourth session is the drivers of change. Finally, they examine how manager predict the future respect to the relationship among their customers and suppliers. The analysis of current activities begins with an examination of the partnerships that support inter-organizational business activities within the respondent’s respective industries. There is high degree of interdependence among various financial service industries. A non-linear relationship among the parties is clearly shown. Besides, the relationships demonstrate a high level of complexity and variability. Existing audio response and Web-based account access functions reduced the cost of delivery for many customers account services. There are many opportunities to strengthen the relationships with customers and suppliers. One of the opportunities is to improve customer service levels by providing new form of service delivery, rapidly response to customers, and improve customer confidence. Besides, information technology creates opportunity to increase switching costs for their customers. By this, they can add more value to the transaction. It includes the assimilation of information that supports the investment decision and motivates the transaction execution. Furthermore, information technology also creates the opportunity to extend the world-wide relationships of both customers and suppliers. Similarly, the opportunity exists to create a new relationship with suppliers to create, purchase and provide new products and services. Some respondents believed that the ability to demonstrate technological leadership is one of the opportunities to improve market perception. Besides opportunities, there is a variety of threats to their existing relationships. It includes security risks, network and systems instability and the difficulty of integrating different systems. An opportunity to create a new channel and relationship can create a threat of disintermediation for others. A related threat is the commoditization of product, because it is common in all industries. Many financial service companies have historically relied on existing customers to build profit margins and create loyalty. Besides, the respondents feared the risk of adopting the wrong standard. Since the technology is moving rapidly. So the standards are changing so fast. Another threat is the challenge of keeping pace with escalating technological and business change. The greatest threat is they worried that they may unable to move fast because they cannot see the upside potential and downside risk of inactivity. Evolving customer expectations also impact the e-business strategies. Nowadays, customers demand access to real-time data and expect to access at any time and any place. Besides, improvement in security technology are also driven change. Many respondents believed that internal and public network reliability is improving and will facilitate more rapid expansion of services. There are two primary areas for future investment in inter-organizational integration by respondents. First path is expanding commitment to existing forms of technology to deliver new or expanded functionality. Second area is investing in new technology forms and enhances the inter-organizational relationships. All respondents emphasis on development of technology-enabled education and advice services. Linkage of inquiry and advice functionality to available tools is a vital component of service level expansion and customization. The need to integrate new technology and service with existing system are motivating those firms to pursue more alliances both software and hardware suppliers. Conclusion In the conclusion, there is less linear in the relationships among customers and suppliers in financial services compare to manufacturing industries. And there is a high degree of interdependence exists among the sectors of financial service industry. In this research, there is many findings have been predicted. The participants believe that opportunity for cost savings and service enhancement resides in expansion of customer account maintenance via the Web. Maintenance and education in new form of functionality place more control. So the responsibility is in hand of customers. One discerning manager pointed out, â€Å"we’re now doing business on the customer’s terms, not the terms dictated by our firm or our industry.† Managers interviewed shared many concerns about how to competitive threats and the risk of expanding e-business activity. They fear the capabilities of new, competitors rapidly enter new markets without the millstone of legacy system and traditional organizational cultures will block the progress of industry incumbents. It will cause imbalanced cost structures with new services and pricing. The managers predict further opportunities to improve quality of service, reduce costs, reach customers worldwide, and provide new services. Some managers believe that demonstrating technology leadership was a important component of establishing industry leadership and promoting customer acquisition and loyalty. It has many limitations in this research first it has short term applicability. This is because the longevity of the obstacles is unclear. Another limitation is that it is descriptive rather than prescriptive. Lastly, the conclusion is drawn in this study by small size of sample. This study is very important for both researchers and practitioners. Besides, this study also help managers in financial services industry to identify and analysis the opportunities, risk of building relationships with their customers and suppliers through electronic commerce. A better understanding of the treats and opportunities to existing relationships allow them to response customers more rapidly, accurately and cheaply.