Stem cell research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Stem cell research - Essay Example The article has looked at the benefits of stem cell technology to the human being as well as its dangers (The Century Foundation Press 4). On the benefit side, the stem cells heave been confirmed to have impacts on the everyday human survival. The article talks about the strides that are being made by scientists in the study of embryological development. This involves giving the scientists an understanding of why genetic diseases recur as well as other human abnormalities. The authors also mention the benefits of stem cells to the body including the repair of worn out tissues as well as the growth, development and maintenance of the body (The Century Foundation Press 5). On the other hand, the authors have mentioned the dangers of the stem cells. Here, they have mentioned risks such as low ‘shelf life’ if the cell are contaminated or experience mutation. There is also the danger of adopting adult stem cells, as opposed to embryonic stem cells. The authors state that the risk involves the formation of benign tumors also known as teratomas (The Century Foundation Press 6). While attempting to seek balance, the article is advocating the positives than the negatives. This means that while the article is balanced, it would do well to add more information on the risks of stem cell technology. ... The study has the benefit of allowing scientists to understand how the cells specialize themselves into the more than 200 body cell types (14). The other finding about this part of the article is that the stem cells are also used for medical purposes (The Century Foundation Press 9). This includes allowing doctors to study some diseases and come up with lasting solutions to these problems. Medically, the use of stem cell technology can be a standing solution to the negative effects of drug intake. Generally, when people get debilitating diseases like cancer, they have to take a regime of drugs that help keep the disease in check. However, there is now the chance to alleviate effects of drugs in the body. This is through the use of stem cell technology. The result would be a treatment that is relatively safer and even more natural. Treatment of diseases like cancer will now become much safer and less unpleasant. At the same time, there is the added advantage of the potential to tailor the medicine to the patient’s specific genetic make-up. This thus prevents side effects that are likely to occur with drugs that are generally made. The third finding of this part is that the stem cells are of value therapeutically. This means that people can be able to fix problems such as scars or other deformities that they have thanks to stem cell technology. According to Hayes et al, Hematopoietic cells, which are adult stem cells have for almost four decades been used in the treatment of several diseases (15). These include leukemia, Lymphoma, as well as, other blood disorders. This is, therefore, testament to the safe nature of the stem cells in terms of their use. Apparently Hayes et

Employee Performance Essay Example for Free

Employee Performance Essay The methods presented here are designed to develop elements and standards that measure employee and work unit accomplishments rather than to develop  other measures that are often used in appraising performance, such as measuring behaviors or competencies. Although this handbook includes a discussion of the importance of balancing measures, the main focus presented here is to measure accomplishments. Consequently, much of the information presented in the first five steps of this eightstep process applies when supervisors and employees want to measure results. However, the material presented in Steps 6 through 8 about developing standards, monitoring performance, and checking the performance plan apply to all measurement approaches. A HANDBOOK FOR MEASURING EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE foreword The handbook has four chapters and three appendices: ⠝™ CHAPTER 1 gives the background and context of performance management that you will need to understand before beginning the eight-step process. ⠝™ CHAPTER 2 defines accomplishments, which is key to using this handbook successfully. ⠝™ CHAPTER 3 includes a detailed description of the eight-step process for developing employee performance plans that are aligned with and support organizational goals. ⠝™ CHAPTER 4 provides study tools, including a followup quiz and a quick reference for the eight-step process. ⠝™ THE APPENDICES contain example standards that were written specifically for appraisal programs that appraise performance on elements at five, three, and two levels. After reading the instructional material, studying the examples, and completing the exercises in this book, you should be able to: ⠝™ DEVELOP a performance plan that aligns individual performance with organizational goals  Ã¢ â„¢ USE a variety of methods to determine work unit and individual  accomplishments ⠝™ DETERMINE the difference between activities and accomplishments ⠝™ EXPLAIN regulatory requirements for employee performance plans P E R F O R M A N C E M A N A G E M E N T: B A C K G R O U N D A N D C O N T E X T emember the story about the naive student in his first English literature course who was worried because he didn’t know what prose was? When he found out that prose was ordinary speech, he exclaimed, â€Å"Wow! I’ve been speaking prose all my life!† Managing performance well is like speaking prose. Many managers have been â€Å"speaking† and practicing effective performance management naturally all their supervisory lives, but don’t know it! Some people mistakenly assume that performance management is concerned only with following regulatory requirements to appraise and rate performance. Actually, assigning ratings of record is only one part of the overall process (and perhaps the least important part). Performance management is the systematic process of: ⠝™ planning work and setting expectations ⠝™ continually monitoring performance ⠝™ developing the capacity to perform ⠝™ periodically rating performance in a summary fashion ⠝™ rewarding good performance The revisions made in 1995 to the governmentwide performance appraisal and awards regulations support â€Å"natural† performance management. Great care was taken to ensure that the requirements those regulations establish would complement and not conflict with the kinds of activities and actions effective managers are practicing as a matter of course. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT PLANNING In an effective organization, work is planned out in advance. Planning means setting performance expectations and goals for groups and individuals to channel their efforts toward achieving organizational objectives. Getting employees involved in the planning process will help them understand the goals of the organization, what needs to be done, why it needs to be done, and how well it should be done. The regulatory requirements for planning employees’ performance include establishing the elements and standards of their performance appraisal plans. Performance elements and standards should be measurable, understandable, verifiable, equitable, and achievable. Through critical elements, employees are held accountable as individuals for work assignments or responsibilities. Employee performance plans should be flexible so that they can be adjusted for changing program objectives and work requirements. When used effectively, these plans can be beneficial working documents that are discussed often, and not merely paperwork that is filed in a drawer and seen only when ratings of record are required. MONITORING In an effective organization, assignments and projects are monitored continually. Monitoring well means consistently measuring performance and providing ongoing feedback to employees and work groups on their progress toward reaching their goals. The regulatory requirements for monitoring performance include conducting progress reviews with employees where their performance is compared against their elements and standards. Ongoing monitoring provides the supervisor the opportunity to check how well employees are meeting predetermined standards and to make changes to unrealistic or problematic standards. By monitoring continually, supervisors can identify unacceptable performance at any time during the appraisal period and provide assistance to address such performance rather than wait until the end of the period when summary rating levels are assigned. MEASURE WHAT IS IMPORTANT—NOT WHAT IS EASY TO MEASURE It is easy to count the number of days since a project began, but if that is all that you measure, is that enough information to assess performance? No, probably not. Or if, for example, a customer service team only measures the number of calls that come into the team (the easy measure) and does not attempt to measure customer satisfaction with its service (the more difficult measure), the team does not have complete information about its performance and has no idea how well it is serving its customers. In addition, because what gets measured gets done, the team will probably focus on how it can increase the number of calls it receives and ignore the quality of service it provides. As a result, organizations need to anticipate the behavioral and unintended consequences of measuring performance. As an example, recently a medical laboratory came under fire because of the errors it made in certain of its cancer tests. A high number of cancer tests that the laboratory had approved as negative turned out to be wrong—cancer had actually been

Services to club members and casual flyers

Services to club members and casual flyers Introduction: The Long Ridge Gliding Club is gliding club that has been running by its members. It is an organization who is not running for the purpose of profit. The extensive grass airfield which is located on the top of a ridge nearly 400 metres over sea level.   It is a perfect place for having the enjoyment of ridge soaring and cross country flying. This club is also a best place for practice of ridge soaring and flying. The gliders launches by using a winch machine which can move forward with force to them from a standing start to approximately 110 kilometres per hour, 300 metres above the flying field, in just 5 seconds. The club is established in a set of old farm buildings with naive but comfortable facilities for members.   A bar and fundamental catering services are supplied by the club steward and inexpensive bunkrooms are available for club members. Services to club members and casual flyers: Different types of services are provided to different type of customers. The Evaluation of different services can be done by using following factors or services: Services Club Members Casual Flyers Products They can get benefit of Bar and Catering Services They can get Trial Flight gift Voucher Customers Club Member Public Member Product Range High Quality Medium Quality Design Changes In favour of Club Members According to numbers of booking Delivery Fast decisions Dependable Service Quality Fast service with high quality Close relationships between flyers and club Volume Per Service Type Most Service are high volume Most service are low volume Profit Margins Medium to high Low to Medium Competitive Factors: Charges Relaxation They get benefit in Charges.  £6.00 winch fee and 40p per minute if they are using clubs gliders They get charged  £40 for per flying session. Facility High facility provided Medium Facility provided Time Members know the total schedule of club therefore they take benefit of time. They have to wait only 2 to 40 minutes for another flight. Members do not know about the club Schedule therefore they cant take benefit of time. They have to wait one or more hours for another flight. (Different Services provided to Differente Customer) Five performance objectives The Long Ridge Gliding Club provides many facilities to their club members and public members. The club members and casual flyers both expect good performances from the gliding club. These services can be categorized in following performance objectives: Safety Safety is the most important service which is expected by both types of members. In safety they expect extra parachute, helmet, googols, etc. All these facility is provided by The Long Ridge Gliding Club. Time Casual Flyers expect that Club will provide better facility in small time interval. They do not want to wait much time for having enjoyment of gliding. Club Members also expect the same service related to time. The Long Ridge Gliding Club provides good quality of service to their club members in all respects. They can wait in bar or in reading room. Distance between Launch Point and Club Administrators Cabin Both types of members want that distance should be less between the Club Administrators office and the launch point. But The Long Ridge Gliding Clubs Administrators office is located away about 1.5 km from launch point. Same Quality of Service Casual flyers want the same type of quality which is provided to their club members. Casual Flyers do not want to wait longer time. They never expect to wait one or more hours for a single gliding session. Club members also want the same service. The only difference between the provided services and expected services is that club members needs fulfil by The Long Ridge Gliding Club but Casual Flyers expectations do not meet to the expected service. Lack of Knowledge Casual Flyers so not know about any type of knowledge either it is related to the facility or related to the knowledge of gliding and soaring instructions. Club Members know all about these facilities and instructions. The Long Ridge Gliding Club does not provide the other types of facility. It only focuses on the flying sessions. (Performance Objectives) Advice to the chairman I would like to give advice to the chairman of The Long Ridge Gliding Club that he should enable different type of facilities and services in their club. He should provide a cafeteria, gaming zone, etc which are related to entertainment so every member can get benefit of them in free time. He should charge for those facilities which will be growing their business. He should enable newest technology in their organization for not only customers safety but also for growing their business. Chairman should try to locate their office near to the launch point. The club timing should increase by the chairman so more customer can get benefit of The Long Ridge Gliding Club. He should take a step forward in order-winning direction. He should raise performance of order winning factor.

Comparing Boys and Girls by Alice Munro and A Clean Well-Lighted Place by Hemingway :: comparison compare contrast essays

Importance of Foils in Boys and Girls and A Clean Well-Lighted Place A Handbook to Literature says that the word "foil" literally means a "leaf" or a sheet "of bright metal placed under a piece of jewelry to increase its brilliance" ("Foil"). Thus when applied to literature, the term refers to "a character who makes a contrast with another, especially a minor character who helps set off a major character" (Barnett et al. 1331). For example, a foolish character may place a wise character's wisdom in a stronger light, or a cowardly character may make the hero's actions appear even more courageous. A foil is frequently an antagonist or confidant, but whoever the foil might be, the purpose is to illuminate one or more significant traits, attitudes or actions of a main character ("Foil" NTCE). In the story, '"A Clean Well-Lighted Place," by Ernest Hemingway, the younger waiter is a foil for both the older waiter and the old man who comes to drink in the café. The older waiter is concerned for the old man who has tried to kill himself. He understands that there are many lonely people who need a safe, well-lighted place to escape loneliness at night. The older waiter makes the comment near the end of the story that "each night I am reluctant to close up because there may be someone who needs the café" (1172). The older waiter is sympathetic to the old man because he himself is lonely. He confesses that " I am of those who like to stay late at the café, with all those who need a light for the night" (1172). On the other hand, the younger waiter has a wife to go home to and is irritated at the old man because he will not leave. He even says to the old man, who is deaf, "You should have killed yourself last week" (1170). This cruel remark contrasts sharply with the older waiter's characteristics of compassion, friendliness, and tolerance. In the story, " Boys and Girls," by Alice Munro, Laird is the foil for his sister, the narrator of the story. When the children are young, Laird's behavior contrasts with the maturity and responsibility shown by the girl. While she is busy watering the foxes, he goes off and swings "himself sick . . . going around in circles" or tries to catch caterpillars (987).

Describe the Process Consultation Essay

Describe the  process consultation. Discuss when it should be used and how it applies to organization development. Process consultation (PC) is a general framework for carrying out helping relationships. It is oriented to helping managers, employees, and groups assess and improve processes, such as communication, interpersonal relations, decision making and task performance. Schein argues that effective consultants and managers should be good helpers, aiding others in getting things done and in achieving the goals they have set. Thus, PC is more a philosophy than a set of techniques aimed at performing this helping relationship. The philosophy ensures that those who are receiving the help own their problems, gain the skills and expertise to diagnose them, and solve them themselves. Thus, it is an approach to helping people and groups help themselves. Schein defines process consultation as â€Å"the creation of a relationship that permits the client to perceive, understand, and act on the process events that occur in (her/his) internal and external environment in order to improve the situation as defined by the client. † The process consultant does not offer expert help in the form of solutions to problems, as in the doctor-patient model. Rather, the process consultant works to develop relationships, observes groups and people in action, helps them diagnose the way they are carrying out tasks, and helps them learn how to be more effective. In the OD literature, team building is not clearly differentiated from process consultation. This confusion exists because most team building includes process consultation—helping the group diagnose and understand its own internal processes. However, process consultation is a more general approach to helping relationships than is team building. Team building focuses explicitly on helping groups perform asks and solve problems more effectively. Process consultation, on the other hand, is concerned with establishing effective helping relationships in organizations. It is seen as key to effective management and consultation and can be applied to any helping relationship, from subordinate development to interpersonal relationships to group development. Thus, team building consist s of process consultation plus other, more task-oriented interventions (Cummings & Worley, 2009, p. 253). Describe the key success requirements for a microcosm group intervention. A microcosm group onsists of a small number of individuals who reflect the issue being addressed. For example, a microcosm group composed of members representing a spectrum of ethnic backgrounds, cultures, and races can be created to address diversity issues in the organization. This group, assisted by OD practitioners, can create programs and processes targeted at specific problems. In addition to addressing diversity problems, microcosm groups have been used to carry out organization diagnoses, solve communications problems, integrate two cultures, smooth the transition to a new structure, and address dysfunctional political processes. Microcosm groups work through â€Å"parallel processes,† which are the unconscious changes that take place in individuals when two or more groups interact. After groups interact, members often find that their characteristic patterns of roles and interactions change to reflect the roles and dynamics of the group with whom they were relating. Put simply, groups seem to â€Å"infect† and become â€Å"infected† by the other groups. The following example given by Alderfer helps to clarify how parallel processes work. An organizational diagnosis team had assigned its members to each of five departments in a small manufacturing company. Members of the team had interviewed each department head and several department members, and had observed department meetings. The team was preparing to observe their first meeting of department heads and was trying to anticipate the group’s behavior. At first they seemed to have no ‘rational† basis for predicting the top group’s behavior because they â€Å"had no data† from direct observation. They decided to role-play the group meeting they had never seen. Diagnostic team members behaved as they thought the department heads would, and the result was uncanny. Team members found that they easily became engaged with one another in the simulated department-head meeting; emotional involvement occurred quickly for all participants. When the team actually was able to observe a department-head meeting, they were amazed at how closely the simulated meeting had approximated the actual session. Thus, if a small and representative group can intimately understand and solve a complex organizational problem for themselves; they are in a good position to recommended action to address the problem in the larger system (Cummings & Worley, 2009, p. 279). Discuss why the matrix structure is the best and most flexible organization structure. Some OD practitioners have focused on maximizing the strengths and minimizing the weaknesses of both the functional and the self-contained-unit structures, and this effort has resulted in the matrix organization. Matrix organizational designs originally evolved in the aerospace industry where changing customer demands and technological conditions caused managers to focus on lateral relationships between functions to develop a flexible and adaptable system of resources and procedures, and to achieve a series of project objectives. Matrix organizations now are used widely in manufacturing, service, and nonprofit, governmental, and professional organizations. Every matrix organization contains three unique and critical roles: the top manager, who heads and balances the dual chains of command, the matrix bosses (functional, product, or area), who share subordinates: and the two-boss managers, who report to two different matrix bosses. Each of these roles has its own unique requirements. In a matrix organization, each project manager reports directly to the vice president and the general manager. Since each project represents a potential profit centre, the power and authority used by the project manager come directly from the general manager. Matrix organizations, like all organization structures, have both advantages and disadvantages. On the positive side, this structure allows multiple orientations. Specialized, functional knowledge can be applied to all projects. New products or projects can be implemented quickly by using people flexibly and by moving between product and functional orientations as circumstances demand. Matrix organizations can maintain consistency among departments and projects by requiring communication among managers. For many people, matrix structures are motivating and exciting. On the negative side, these organizations can be difficult to manage. To implement and maintain them requires heavy managerial costs and support. When people are assigned to more than one department, there may be role ambiguity and conflict, and overall performance may be sacrificed if there are power conflicts between functional departments and project structures. To make matrix organizations work, organization members need interpersonal and conflict management skills. People can get confused about how the matrix works, and that can lead to chaos and inefficiencies (Cummings & Worley, 2009, p. 319). What is the TQM approach to employee involvement and how does it differ from other approaches? Discuss Deming’s influence on this approach. Total quality management (TQM) is the most recent and, along with high-involvement organizations the most comprehensive approach to employee involvement. Also known as â€Å"Continuous process improvement† and â€Å"continuous quality,† TQM grew out of a manufacturing emphasis on quality control and represents a long- term effort to orient all of an organization’s activities around the concept of quality. Quality is achieved when organizational processes reliably produce products and services that meet or exceed customer expectations. Like high-involvement designs, TQM increases workers’ knowledge and skills through extensive training, provides relevant information to employees, pushes decision-making power downward in the organization and ties rewards to performance. When implemented successfully. TQM also is aligned closely with a firm’s overall business strategy and attempts to change the entire organization toward continuous quality improvement. TQM is a philosophy and a set of guiding principles for continuous improvement based on customer satisfaction, teamwork, and empowerment of individuals. TQM applies human resources and analytical tools to focus on meeting or exceeding customer’s current and future needs. There are a series of planned improvements that will ultimately influence the quality and productivity of the organization. Like high-involvement designs, TQM increases workers’ knowledge and skills through extensive training, provides relevant information to employees, pushes decision-making power downward in the organization and ties rewards to performance. When implemented successfully TQM also is aligned closely with a firm’s overall business strategy and attempts to change the entire organization toward continuous quality improvement. (Cummings ;amp; Worley, 2009, p. 359). Discuss the motivational approach to job design. What are the key dimensions that lead to high work quality and internal motivation? The motivational approach to work design views the effectiveness of organizational activities primarily as a function of member needs and satisfaction, and seeks to improve employee performance and satisfaction by enriching jobs. The motivational method provides people with opportunities for autonomy, responsibility, closure (that is, doing a complete job), and performance feedback. Enriched jobs are popular in the United States at such companies as AT;amp;T Universal Card, TRW, Dayton Hudson, and GTE. The motivational approach usually is associated with the research of Herzberg and of Hackman and Oldham. Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation proposed that certain attributes of work, such as opportunities for advancement and recognition, which he called motivators, help increase job satisfaction. Other attributes that Herzberg called hygiene factors, such as company policies, working conditions, pay, and supervision, do not produce satisfaction but rather prevent dissatisfaction—important contributors because only satisfied workers are motivated to produce. Successful job enrichment experiments at AT&T, Texas Instruments, and Imperial Chemical Industries helped to popularize job enrichment in the 1960s. Although Herzberg’s motivational factors sound appealing, increasing doubt has been cast on the underlying theory. Motivation and hygiene factors are difficult to put into operation and measure, and that makes implementation and evaluation of the theory difficult. Furthermore, important worker characteristics that can affect whether people will respond favorably to job enrichment were not included in his theory. Finally, Herzberg’s failure to involve employees in the job enrichment process itself does not suit most OD practitioners today. Consequently, a second, well-researched approach to job enrichment has been favored. It focuses on the attributes of the work itself and has resulted in a more scientifically acceptable theory of job enrichment than Herzberg’s model. The research of Hackman and Oldham represents this more recent trend in job enrichment. Considerable research has been devoted to defining and understanding core job dimensions. Figure 50 summarizes the Hackman and Oldham model of job design. Five core dimensions of work affect three critical psychological states, which in turn produce personal and job outcomes. These outcomes include high internal work motivation, high-quality work performance, satisfaction with the work, and low absenteeism and turnover. The five core job dimensions—skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback from the work itself—are described below and associated with the critical psychological states that they create (Cummings ;amp; Worley, 2009, p. 377). References Cummings, T. G. , ;amp; Worley, C. G. (2011). Organization development ;amp; change (11th ed. ). Australia; Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning.

Balanced Scorecard IKEA Essay

About the company IKEA is a Swedish company registered in the Netherlands that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, appliances and home accessories. As of January 2008, the company is the world’s largest furniture retailer. Founded in Sweden in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, who was listed as one of the world’s richest people in 2013, the company’s name is an acronym that consists of the initials of, Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd (the farm where he grew up), and Agunnaryd (his hometown in Smà ¥land, south Sweden). The company is known for its modern architectural designs for various types of appliances and furniture, and its interior design work is often associated with eco-friendly simplicity. In addition, the firm is known for its attention to cost control, operational details, and continuous product development, corporate attributes that allowed IKEA to lower its prices by an average of two to three percent over the decade to 2010 during a period of global expansion. IKEA is about much more than just products. It is about offering inspiration, home furnishing knowledge, new products and solutions people can relate to. Always at low prices. IKEA home furnishing gives people access to affordable solutions that solve their needs and improve everyday life at home. Simply put, IKEA home furnishing makes it possible to turn dreams into reality and create homes to love living in. A culture of hearts The IKEA culture is hard to describe but easy to embrace. It’s a culture of enthusiasm, togetherness and willpower, born from our roots in southern Sweden and inspired by the IKEA founder, Ingvar Kamprad. The IKEA culture humbly unites us in our work to create a better everyday life for the many people. It’s not an easy task – and maybe that’s why we and all other IKEA co-workers are so dedicated and so stubborn. We all share the same conviction that many, not few, shall be able to create the home they want  and dream of. And when you put your heart into your work, it’s then you really can make a difference. Over 150,000 people are involved in the creation of a better everyday life for the many people. Business plans †Maintaining a strong IKEA and expansion ideas are great motivators to work hard. But there is no culture is one of the most crucial substitute for the feeling of actually contributing to something bigger. factors behind the continued success of the IKEA Concept† Ingvar Kamprad IKEA founder The IKEA values Values cannot be invented – they can only emerge from one place: the heart. IKEA values are very much a product of our origin. Hard work, tough challenges, common sense, Swedish roots and limited resources have formed IKEA values. To keep the IKEA Concept successful, we work to keep our values close to our heart. The IKEA values convey the essence of the entire IKEA culture. Over the years we’ve learned that acting according to IKEA values not only brings us together – no matter what age, race or part of the world we live in – it helps us do business successfully. The IKEA product range Developing IKEA products can take place almost anywhere around the world – on a factory floor in Asia or on the drawing board in Älmhult, Sweden. And everybody involved works together to create a product range that is simple, easy to live with and affordable. Good design should be available for the many, not the few. That’s why all IKEA designers design every IKEA product starting with a functional need and a price. Then they use their creativity and knowledge and use low-cost raw materials and manufacturing processes to create functional products. Then large volumes are purchased to push prices down even further. Most IKEA products are also designed to be transported in flat packs and  assembled at the customer’s home. This also lowers the price by minimizing transportation and storage costs. By doing all this, the IKEA Concept uses design to make sure that IKEA products can be bought and enjoyed by as many people as possible. IKEA designers constantly seek new ways to improve people’s lives – without emptying their wallets. But how can good design and function be combined with good quality, all at a low price? It starts with focusing on what’s important. Will an expensive finish on the back of a shelf or under a table-top improve the function? Of course not. So IKEA designers do not do it, because a product is of no use to the many people if it is not affordable. Low prices with meaning Low prices are only valuable if they offer good function, quality and design. IKEA product development teams constantly ask themselves – does this product contribute to a better everyday life? Does it have a good, sustainable design? Is the function and quality suited for everyday life? And most crucial – is the price low enough to make this product accessible to many, not just the few? Touch. Try. Explore. Dream! The IKEA store is our meeting place. It is where the IKEA product range comes to life. Visitors can compare styles and prices and get inspired by realistic room settings. They are welcome to sit, lie down, open and close drawers and cabinets, and pretend to cook, sleep or watch TV. The IKEA store is designed to meet many people looking for something for their homes. It’s also a place where you actually can go from inspiration to involvement by getting inspiration from solutions in the store, searching, finding and choosing the products needed, picking them up, buying them, bringing them home, putting them together and enjoying them the same day. All the IKEA products in the store are supported by price and product information that makes it easy for visitors to serve themselves. Customer involvement contributes to low prices. An invitation for the whole year With hundreds of pages of ideas, inspiration, solutions and products, the IKEA catalogue shows how the IKEA product range contributes to a better  everyday life. It is filled with solutions that answer people’s dreams and needs, it is also complemented with digital content that gives users a richer experience and provides more in-depth home furnishing knowledge. Still, it shows only part of what is offered in IKEA stores. Improve and develop the IKEA Concept The IKEA Concept is a living concept. We develop and improve it together with IKEA retailers and other contributors. Together we work to stay in the forefront of global trends and changes in retailing. We listen to the needs based on real-life shop floor experience to get better insight into what the many people need in order to improve their life at home. All this helps us to ensure that the IKEA Concept remains successful in an ever-changing world. We constantly monitor how the IKEA Concept is implemented in every market to ensure it is creating the maximum impact. Monitoring helps us to understand the different challenges facing IKEA. This could range from market conditions to cultural factors affecting shopping behavior. Through monitoring we can find ways to improve the IKEA Concept and how it meets the many people. IKEA retailers share their experiences, knowledge, innovation and ideas. This helps the IKEA Concept to be a living and dynamic concept that continuously develops and expands. The key is working together. Online know-how, Publications, Training programmes We offer an online resource for IKEA know-how that includes solutions, news, training programmes, publications and much more. We provide manuals and guidelines for all parts of the business and specific know-how areas. We also publish a magazine for IKEA retailers filled with tips, tools and proven solutions from all over the IKEA world. We offer a range of training programmes for many aspects of the business. Market research We conduct regular market research and provide IKEA retailers with reports and tools that help them improve their business. For example, we measure how well IKEA retailers have positioned the IKEA Brand in each market and how satisfied customers are with their latest store visit. We also conduct  research that helps find ways to improve the IKEA product range, the IKEA catalogue and the IKEA website. And we gather and analyze insight into macro-economic factors and the competitive situation. The IKEA Concept Center We believe in learning by doing. We operate the IKEA Concept Center in Delft, the Netherlands, where shopping, learning, testing and supporting all come together. The idea is to give IKEA retailers the chance to learn about the IKEA Concept and its recent updates and benefit from all the competence of specialists in a hands-on environment. For most visitors, the main attraction of the IKEA Concept Center is the IKEA store. Like all IKEA stores in the world it offers inspiring solutions, low prices, tasty food and shopping that is fun and enjoyable. The IKEA Concept Center is also home to specialists who, in co-operation with the IKEA retailers, find and identify good ideas and solutions. New solutions are developed, documented and analyzed from a conceptual viewpoint. We provide systematic transfer of IKEA know-how. And communicate proven solutions to all IKEA retailers, so that each and every one can benefit from these in their business. Together, we work to keep the IKEA Concept successful. We offer more than 50 different training programmes and workshops to IKEA managers and specialists at the IKEA College. In addition, many training programmes are offered locally or as elearning programs. Every year thousands of students are educated on how to use proven systems, methods and solutions to maximize the possibilities of the IKEA Concept. Testing Just as all IKEA products are tested to ensure quality and to find ways to improve, we are always interested in improving the living IKEA Concept. We test lots of new and innovative ideas at the IKEA Concept Center. These could be ideas suggested by IKEA retailers or ones that we come up with ourselves. When we find solutions that work well we make the part of the IKEA Concept and document and describe them so that all IKEA retailers benefit. 2013 was exciting for IKEA retailing In a tough climate IKEA retailing continued to grow and expand. Retail sales ended at EUR 29.2 billion for the full year. The business climate in Europe continued to be challenging for IKEA retailers, while we see improvements in North America, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. As many developed economies strive to balance economics and social well being, we see that uncertainties will continue to dictate the business climate for some time. This affects people’s lives and living conditions and therefore we believe that the IKEA Concept is more needed than ever. The IKEA Concept gives everyone the possibility to improve their life at home IKEA products are becoming more accessible. This is about offering a wide range of good home furnishing products at low prices. It is about providing more and better services. And it is about creating a positive shopping experience in IKEA stores and online. Nine new IKEA stores opened, two of which are in new markets: Lithuania and Qatar. The re are also continued You do your part. We do our part. Together we, save money. improvements in sustainability efforts in various aspects of the IKEA Concept. One example is that by 2016, all the lighting sold at IKEA stores will be LED. The IKEA product range aims to help the many people live a more sustainable life at home, with solutions to help save energy, water and reduce waste. Most things remain to be done The first IKEA business was founded in 1943 and the IKEA Brand celebrated 70 years during 2013. Today more than 150,000 co-workers are working through-out the IKEA world. We saw more than 770 million visits to the IKEA stores and 1.2 billion visits to IKEA websites in the past year. Still we are just at the beginning. IKEA retailing is small in most markets and does not exist in others. People’s needs for good home furnishing products at low prices are bigger than ever and the IKEA Concept will continue to contribute  to a better life at home for the many people. A July 2013 media report speculated that IKEA is the world’s largest consumer of wood after a finding that the company uses 1% of the Earth’s wood supply. As of January 2014, IKEA owns and operates 349 stores in 43 countries. The Balanced Scorecard Value proposition IKEA’s value proposition is operational excellence because all IKEA designers design every IKEA product starting with a functional need and a price. Then they use their creativity and knowledge and use low-cost raw materials and manufacturing processes to create functional products. Then large volumes are purchased to push prices down even further. Mission Statement IKEA’s mission is to create a better everyday life for the many people, by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. It’s about creating homes to love. Critical success factors Financial -grow and expand -increase sales -enhance customer value -improve cost structure Customer -brand positioning -low cost product solutions -real life experience stores -rich content catalogs Internal Business Processes -minimizing storage and transportation costs -quality testing -product development -market research reports Learning and Growth -culture of hearts – e-learning programmes, training programmes and workshops -sharing experience, ideas, innovations, knowledge and know-how -market research reports -IKEA college

Problems in Rondonia essays

Problems in Rondonia essays The Amazon, the largest area of continuous tropical rain forest in the world, is greatly cherished for its abundance of plant and animal diversity. Destruction of the tropical rainforests that take place today in Rondonia is caused by a government movement. The government of Brazil stated that all the 'Small Holders' would receive a share of land to their ownership where they are also promissed a better and easier life, farming the lands are their jobs once moved to Rondonia. The terible irony in this situation the governement hasn't realized is, the farms don't have furtile land that can't support farming which defeats the purpose of starting a farm there which also leads to destroying the land. As the Small Holders have to move to new lands they push out the already living rubber tappers that can live of of 1 hectare in which Small Holders can't even live off 500. The one most dredful irony the fact of cutting down the rainforest creates a national globel problem for example , the rain forest keeps the ground from drying out. Its vegetation absorbs water and then slowly releases it. When this vital watershed is lost, catastrophic flooding can result. Thus, the Amazon also serves as a weather regulator. If the cutting of the rain forest continues many species in the Amazon will be lost, the most devestating part is weather change, globel warming because of our ozone beening decreased it is. The destruction of the Amazon should be stoped. ...