Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Employee Recognition Programs Essay Example for Free

Employee Recognition Programs Essay All business entities, big or small, have human resource. Commonly known as employees, these people are an organization’s most valuable asset. These are individuals within the firm who serve as the organization’s human capital and work toward achieving the goals of the company. Without human workforce, establishments will not be able to perform its day-to-day operations. Even if an organization is not labor intensive, it is incontestable that a firm still needs human resource to manage and look over its undertakings, and continuously thrust the company towards proper administration, profitability and success. The improvements and changes in the industry and economy besides increased awareness of employees as a valuable resource has changed the focus from controlling to managing this resource† (Purdy, 2007). As more and more organizations rely on human workforce, there is now the need to manage the most dynamic resource of a company, who are its employees. Recruiting the right kind of employees and training them to become productive are not only the seeming obligation of a company. But more importantly, keeping these employees motivated will not only enhance them personally but will encourage high performance, which will benefit the organization as well. â€Å"Employee morale within an organization has a direct impact on the satisfaction level of its customers and the company’s ultimate success† (Fretwell, 2002, p. 1). For that reason, companies perform different kinds of employee recognition programs that will significantly improve employee morale. One very important detail to remember is that the leader of the organization must have the ability to identify and recognize decline in employee morale, factors causing such, and acceptance of this condition. After which, there are many feasible areas to work on to be able to work out and tidy up the problem. It is very crucial to start with the management. One of the most important steps is to correspond. Communication is always important in maintaining a smooth professional relationship between employees and the management. Encourage the employees to come forward with issues, suggestions, conflicts, complaints, and feedbacks. Listen carefully; do not leave the employees hanging. This way, management will be able to know clearly what factors are causing the employees to perform in such a way that disintegrates their work. Also, they will be able to know the multiple viewpoints of the employees, which if properly attended to, may have the effect of high morale. This method has always been simple and costs nothing at all! Plus it provides a powerful solution to morale problems. Once the leaders know the problem, it is easier to find probable solutions and ways of improving the esteem of the employees. Make sure the employees have a clear understanding of their professional goals within the organization. Keep them up to date about the business, making them feel more involved. Encourage creativity and be consistent in the administration of rules and policies. This way, the employees will not feel they are being treated with prejudice once they get penalized for mistakes. Make them understand what they are going through. However, sometimes, letting the employees do they own work is what they need. They want to feel they are trusted to get their work done. Teambuilding can also help eliminate negative feelings and actions by fostering respect among employees. The power to make decisions help employees realize their importance to the company, and this increases the esteem of the employees. Also, in order to get work done, and done right, the leaders of the organization need to give the employees the skills and tools for them to complete their tasks. This includes giving them support and the training that they need in order to improve or hone their abilities. Management must also identify and nurture those people who perform well and must groom them for leadership roles. At the same time, it has to identify and help the average performers to improve themselves and their productivity. Acknowledging the work of the employees always gives them a reason to work harder and become recognized, making them even more enhanced and productive. Simple awards may do, like what establishments often offer, like â€Å"Employee of the Month† awards may be a step towards recognizing the employees’ hard work. Moreover, giving promotions to excellent and highly improved workers enable them to boost their confidence in terms of their work and push them to work even harder. Provide a better working environment by assuring the safety of the employees while at the workplace. This gives them the guarantee that they are well taken care of by the management. Higher financial remunerations, bonuses and benefits promote the value of loyalty from the employees to the organization. With better compensation, employees are able to give high regard for their work and tend to become satisfied of what they are doing and whom they are working for. Develop incentive programs that improve both employee attitude and attendance rates. Most often, lack of incentive is the reason why employees do not get motivated to work. Examples of this programs include â€Å"the ability to cash-in unused sick days at the end of a specific period, allowing employees to leave early one Friday per month of perfect attendance, bonus pay for periods of perfect attendance, and gifts such as savings bonds or gift cards for periods of perfect attendance† (Bushman, 2007, p. 4). Most importantly, beyond putting into primary importance the achievement of success and profitability is the need to take care of the organization’s people. If the employees believe that their bosses do not care either about the task or them, then they will not care either. And naturally, the company and its operations will suffer. Building morale in an organization may not be as hard as one thinks The key to motivating employees is having them feel valued and appreciated by their superiors and within the company that they working hard for. It requires for each and every employee to feel a sense of achievement in career, a sense of belonging at the workplace, a sense of contribution to the organization, and a sense of appreciation for their involvement in the pursuance of the organization’s goals to achieve high employee morale, and eventually higher productivity and overall success.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Marketing Ethics Essay example -- Business Morals Ethics Essays

Marketing Ethics The question of whether or not marketing is completely unethical is the question most critics of marketing seem to be focusing their attention on. Ethics provide the basis for deciding whether a particular action is morally good or morally bad (Britt 553). But, each individual develops different opinions, moral standards, and values. So, marketers will deal with similar issues differently because there is no "correct" way to handle any given issue. Marketers face various types of ethical issues in their everyday marketing activities. Such marketing activities that require marketing managers to utilize their moral values ethically are advertising, packaging and labeling, and global marketing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  "Advertising is the most criticized of all micro-marketing activities (McCarthy 643)." What is considered as unfair or deceptive advertising is very difficult to pinpoint, because times have changed and continue to change on a day to day basis. What one person may consider unfair or deceptive may not be unfair or deceptive to another person. There are no clear cut guidelines for marketing manager's to go by, so they must utilize their own judgement based on their own moral standards. But, in the United States their is an administrative agency that has the power to control unfair or deceptive business practices. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was created in 1914 to prevent "unfair methods of competition in commerce (commercial trade) and...

Monday, January 13, 2020

Common Core Standards Essay

Much like the runways of Paris with its changing fashion trends, the world of education follows trends as well. Educators cringe when they hear â€Å"No Child Left Behind† some ten years beyond its advent. Now, the phrases â€Å"Common Core† and â€Å"Student Learning Objectives† have teachers seeing red. However, despite the latest and greatest trends to boost student achievement, the very same students in the United States continue to underperform on a global scale in Mathematics. In 2012, the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) bore out results that â€Å"29 nations and jurisdictions outperformed the United States by a statistically significant margin,† (Heiten, 2013). In order for our students to rise to a position high on the performance scale of nations, students must master the basics in all subjects, but more specifically in the area of Mathematics. In an effort to develop students with a deeper understanding of mathematical and language and reading concepts, forty-five states (my home state of Maryland being one of them) and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core Standards, a system of expected benchmarks for students in grades K-12. According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative website, the standards â€Å"define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers so that they will graduate high school able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and in workforce training programs,† (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2014). The local statistics mirror the national data. Both present conditions which are symptomatic of a larger systemic problem; American students are not mastering mathematical concepts at any level. The learning environment is a fourth grade inclusion classroom in a neighborhood school in the suburban Washington, D.C. (Maryland) area. Students in the class are differently abled. The class has students with Individualized Learning Plans (IEP) to accommodate varying needs from Asperger’s Syndrome to mild intellectual disabilities. There are also students who have been tested and identified as Talented and Gifted (TAG), as well as on grade level learners. Students are taught in whole group, differentiated small groups, and occasional pull out sessions with specialists. Current Conditions There are twenty-one students in the fourth grade inclusion classroom. All students took a standardized unit test in October 2013 that tested the Common Core Standards taught in the first quarter of the 2013-2014 school year. Of these, Standard 4.OA.B – Find all factor pairs for a whole number in the range 1–100. Recognize that a whole number is a multiple of each of its factors. Determine whether a given whole number in the range 1–100 is a multiple of a given one-digit number. Determine whether a given whole number in the range 1–100 is prime or composite, (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2014), only 20% scored at a level of â€Å"proficient† on standardized (MUST Test Result Data, 2013). The lack of proficiency in this standard is symptomatic of the underlying condition I have encountered; students have not yet mastered basic multiplication facts. Without mastery of basic multiplication facts 0-12, students are unable to manipulate and perform operations on fractions and decimals and subsequent pre-algebra concepts in the latter half of fourth grade and continuing into following grades through high school. Desired Conditions The current conditions for the fourth grade class is at 20% of students who have performed at a â€Å"proficient† level of mastery in basic mathematical facts. This is equivalent to a grade of 80%, or a â€Å"B†, in traditional percentage and letter grading systems used in the US. The desired state of performance is the inverse of the current statistics; 80% should have mastery at a level of proficient or advanced and 20% performing at minimal or below grade level standards. After mastering basic facts, students will be able to not only identify multiples and factors of numbers 1-100, they will also be able to perform operations on fractions and later, algebraic statements. Data Collection Processes Discussion of Data Collection Instruments The designer developed a survey for teachers of grades three through five in order to help determine where problems or areas of deficiency are in current math. The first two questions asked the percentage of their students who are currently proficient in accuracy and automaticity in multiplication facts. In other questions, respondents ranked their responses using a Likert Scale,  which helped to identify their attitude on the necessity of students mastering basic multiplication facts currently in order to develop a deeper understanding of current and future mathematical concepts. In the questionnaire, respondents were asked to rank what they believe to be their students’ biggest challenges in mastering this specific standard. Questions also asked the extent to which computer aided instruction is used in helping aid in mastery of multiplication facts. In getting answers to these questions, I will use the data to identify several factors; impact of teacher’s attitude t oward remediating students in basic facts that should have been mastered in the previous grade, and time dedicated to instruction and practice in this particular standard. Discussion of Sources of Data Six intermediate elementary (grades three through five) classroom teachers who instruct students in mathematics answered the survey and questionnaire. Students of these teachers range from those with special needs, general education needs, and also students identified as â€Å"Talented and Gifted† (TAG). Data Gathered Through Other Sources Quantitative data was gathered from the Prince George’s County Public Schools Mandatory Unit Systems Test (MUST) in Mathematics administered countywide to fourth grade students in 146 elementary schools. Specific data used in this needs analysis was limited to one fourth grade inclusion classroom, Lake Arbor Elementary, where the designer is the teacher. The designer collected further quantitative data from the same inclusion class on timed multiplication tests where twenty-two students answered 100 multiplication facts (0-12) problems in five minutes. Data Analysis Techniques Used The survey and questionnaire were designed to gather data that would substantiate the need for students to master basic multiplication skills in intermediate elementary grades. The survey was used to gather both qualitative and quantitative data based on teachers giving percentage results of students’ current level of performance. Teachers also ranked what they believed would improve their teaching of mathematics in the classroom. The questionnaire was designed to gather data on teachers’  attitudes of the importance of student mastery of basic multiplication facts. The questionnaire also served as a tool to gain input on the challenges the believe limit their students from performing on grade level in mathematics, particularly in mastering basic multiplication facts. Finally, teachers were given the opportunity to answer an open-ended question, which gauged their attitude toward the importance of mastery of basic multiplication facts in the modern world and classroom . Results of Analysis Question one of the survey asked what percentage of your students can answer basic multiplication facts with accuracy on most occasions. Findings of Needs Analysis While a majority of respondents determined mastery of basic multiplication facts as â€Å"essential for success in their current grade,† it is of note that two teachers said mastery of basic facts are â€Å"desirable, but not as important as in past year.† This information would indicate teachers’ attitudes are moving away memorization of facts, possibly due to the  widespread availability of technological applications that students can or will use in the classroom and later in life. The attitude towards the lowering of importance of rote memory skills for facts reflects the larger societal dependence on technology. Applications on smartphones and mobile devices are becoming increasingly used in place of mental math and are utilized both by the current generation of students in elementary school now, but also by the newer generation of teachers who instruct them. To further deepen the understanding of the philosophical shift in importance of memorization of multiplication facts, teachers were asked if they administered timed multiplication tests in their classroom. Furthermore, teachers were asked if they encourage an atmosphere of healthy competition for mastery of the facts amongst their students. While all six respondents reported that they do administer timed multiplication tests, only one teacher stated that there was an atmosphere of â€Å"healthy competition† amongst her students where they challenge one another to higher levels of performance. The information suggests that while teachers are still administering the tests as part of regular instruction, the instructors’ attitude of the importance of them as a way to aid in student mastery of facts is evidenced in the lack of encouragement by both teacher and students to achieve at higher levels. Finally in the questionnaire, teachers were asked to rank factors they believe to be the biggest challenge(s) their students face that prevent them from performing on grade level in their current math instruction. The two most common responses amongst all respondents cited both a lack of support from parents in practice of math facts and a lack of basic understanding and mastery of basic mathematical facts from addition and subtraction up to division and multiplication as the biggest barriers to student success. Goal of Instruction Given practice in automaticity and accuracy, fourth grade students will be able to independently complete 100 multiplication problems of basic facts 0-12 in five minutes time with an increase in automaticity and accuracy of 50% over a ten-week period as measured by a pre-test and post-test assessments. Having this knowledge will enable students to manipulate and perform operations on fractions and mixed numbers, as well as deepen their knowledge of factors and multiples for future instruction.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

The Imperial Beverage Company As My Company Of Choice

Introduction I chose Imperial Beverage Company as my company of choice. I have always been interested in the distribution of alcohol. Imperial was established in 1933, a family owned business out of Kalamazoo Michigan. Imperial supplies fine wines, craft beers, sodas and mixers to Michigan restaurants and retailers. I have always been curious how the distribution companies work. My mother owns a restaurant and we have had a long relationship with Imperial and other distribution companies. I would like to learn more about some of the rules and regulations are with companies like Imperial. Some of the questions I have always wondered were, how many imports you can have, how liable is Imperial for accidents, what fees have to be paid and†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Sale† as defined when having a liquor license is not only an exchange of money and goods, it also includes the exchange, barter or traffic, or giving away of alcoholic beverages. The sale is considered complete when the exchange of possession of the alcoholic beverages takes place. (pg. 6) At any given point an inspection can be done. Investigators, state or local law enforcement officials may inspect any business that is licensed that sells alcoholic beverages to determine if that business complies with Michigan liquor laws and rules. Inspections may be made during normal business hours, or at any given time when the business is occupied. At no point can you deny or obstruct the investigation. Citations can be given. (State License Search) When it comes to having a liquor license there are multiple classes that you can fall under. Some examples, Class C; allows the business to sell, beer, wine, and mixed spirit drinks. Tavern; allows a business to sell only beer and wine for consumption. Class G-2; allows a facility that has an 18-hole golf course of at least 5,000 yards to sell beer and wine. There are 18 different licenses. For distributors there are specially designated distributor license. They have to be approved by MLCC, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission. There are certain procedures and time frames when