Motivation

A parallel example to the "Ancient Story" that I have witnessed that shows how employees perceive their jobs differently, was in Disney World. Although Disney is one of the largest corporations worldwide, the example I have came from down the corporate ladder to the amazing "cast members" at Disney World.
After completing College in England, I applied for a gap year to work at Walt Disney World, Florida, and after numerous interviews, I was successful enough to secure a place as a cultural representative, working in EPCOT, at the Rose and Crown Pub, representing the United Kingdom. During the most fantastic year of my life, I made so many new friends and got to meet plentiful interesting people. One evening, I went to a house party, most of which were performers and characters for Disney. From Mary  Poppins to Power Rangers and even Goofy. Many worked in the Lion King show in the Animal Kingdom Park. However, when I asked what they did, the responses varied from 'I'm a character' to 'I play Mary Poppins.' Many seemed very withdrawn and unhappy and not so excited to tell me. But for many others, the responses were so happy and proud of their role and privileged working for Disney. And I will never forget one person, one may say a Disney fanatic, when asked what he did at Disney, he confidently said "I make dreams come true." As Aladdin, this one individual was so proud, happy and loved his position.
In anyone else's opinion outside of Disney, the idea of working as a character in Walt Disney World would be so exciting, having the capability of making lots of children so overwhelmingly happy and making their dreams come true. This in my example, is far and few between in reality in Disney.
Motivation is a key element not just for job satisfaction but also performance. I truly believe, the performance of the characters is never compromised by the morale of the individual but their perception of their role was varied. It seemed that positive reinforcement for Aladdin, whereby playing the role gave so much joy to little children was a motivation in itself, however overs lacked like Goofy, feeling the same way. Covered completely in costume, did not satisfy his social needs, to be recognized for his performing skills, or able to communicate. I think Disney could further motivate these individuals that lack the sense of pride and accomplishment. Disney needs to increase the satisfier factors such as recognition as well as hygiene factors like the base wage as Disney paid very little for characters. If the wage was to resemble the importance of the role, some characters felt a lack of appreciation. Disney needs to focus on both hygiene factors and satisfier factors according to Herzberg Two-Factor Theory as there are elements of both sides lacking. Corporations need to understand that everybody is individual and has different needs to be motivated. Understanding the employees and what drives them to succeed is key to having a well stimulated workforce.

Individual Behavior

When discussing individual behavior this week, Agreeableness was one personality trait from the "big five" that I feel my manager may have too much for a management position. Although my manager shows great aspects of agreeableness, being trusting, helpful and courteous, I believe that being a little tougher,a little more skeptical may enhance her management role and authority. I do believe my manager has a lot of authority but is only tough towards certain individuals and sometimes holds getting along with others, a higher level of importance than being tough and gaining control.

Enhancing her management skills could begin by getting a little tougher, equally towards everybody rather than only a few she feels capable of leading. Whilst still delivering the same qualities of trust and helpfulness, she could have monthly meetings to discuss issues with employees that are too controlling for their position and in a polite way, over time, show them that she is manager and has control. As agreeableness is a great trait that many people like, disagreeableness can be just as important when managing a business, to ensure control and high performance.

Leadership

I believe it is possible for a leader in one organization, to move to another organization and still be outstanding however there are many challenges that will affect whether the individual is able to continue leading successfully. First, it is important to recognize the skill sets that a leader needs to exude  to be outstanding. In my opinion, a successful leader needs to be:

• Knowledgeable
• Great communicator (motivating and inspiring, building morale, understanding, clear, compassionate, public speaking skills)
• Organized
• Reliable
• Honest
• Approachable
• Competent

These are a foundation that take years and experience in order to accomplish and express in an organization. I think that there are two different sets of qualities that are required to be outstanding as a leader. I call them fixed qualities and variable qualities. The difference between the two are fixed qualities are general and easily passed over from one leadership role to another no matter how diverse the subject is. Some examples would include organization, excellent communicative skills, honest, reliable and approachable. Variable leadership skills take time and dedication to understand as they are specific to a leadership role. These would include knowledge, understanding the culture, goals, targets, objectives and strategies of the organization. Variable skills separate the great specific leaders to overall outstanding leaders. I believe its not just skills or qualities that make some leaders greater than others but a mindset, a desire, a want and passion for the role. Barrack Obama did not become president from just having the qualities listed above but also he had a vision, a goal, a drive and passion to lead the United States out of the recession.

One example I feel demonstrates my opinion surrounds Kathy Savitt, the new CMO of Yahoo. As reported in Computerworlduk.com, on 14th September 2012, Kathy Savitt, former CEO of Lockerz, joined the worldwide known brand Yahoo as Chief Marketing Officer. As an acknowledged outstanding leader for Lockerz, a social commerce website and known for her great marketing with Amazon and American Eagle Outfitters, Savitt now pursues a new career forwarding her expertise, aligning with Yahoo. Savitt can also be an outstanding leader if, in my opinion, she can accomplish the variable leadership skills associated with learning the culture of Yahoo, leading the global team creating new objectives, visions and strategies that work well for Yahoo. Learning new knowledge of Yahoo will help Savitt become Yahoo savvy and an outstanding leader in her new organization. Some of her fixed skills that Savitt can take from Lockerz, such as her competency levels, communicating skills and reliableness are just as important. But confidence and creativity will flow once knowledge and understanding is absorbed.

One factor that may deter an individual moving from one organization to another and still showing outstanding leadership could be expertise. For example a CEO of a major organization such as JP Morgan may not lead the Boston Red Sox as outstandingly because he does not have the expertise in the field of baseball. The drive, the passion and vision may get his leadership so far but not deliver and greatly as somebody else when the results are shown. However I feel expertise is predominant when the subject matter is so diverse. 

One example that may show this would be the Celebrity Apprentice . On the show, many celebrity contestants, from Dennis Rodman, known for leading the Chicago Bulls Basketball team, Clay Atkins singer and entrepreneur from Pop Idol, and Lisa Lampinelli, leader in the world of stand up comedy, all failed in being the ultimate leader on celebrity Apprentice. New skills and levels of expertise prohibited these well known leaders in the various fields of entertainment, from being outstanding leaders in many tasks set by Donald Trump. Each had the drive and passion and great leadership skills obtained from there field of work but ultimately, they could not consistently lead one another week to week because they lacked expertise in particular tasks.

Leadership is dependent on many factors as shown and can be transformed from one organization to another but the expertise and rare unique skills can be the one factor that can stop an individual from being outstanding.

HRM Experience

I work at a restaurant in Midtown, Manahattan. For over 2 years I have worked at this upscale restaurant near Madison Square Garden. Whilst the restaurant has many great reviews on-line and from many regulars, we also have a few bad reviews and not fully satisfied customers. This problem has been evident, in my opinion, ever since I began and I highly expect prior to my arrival. The major problem is the level of service.

Firstly, let me explain the issues that can easily be avoided. Almost every night, the restaurant is out of at least one or more items on the menu. There are many wines that are not delivered before we are out of stock as well as liquors. This relevant information is not communicated to the wait staff and many times, when an order is taken, after discovering the "86'ed" item, ( a term used in the catering industry meaning out of stock) the server has to tell the customer causing upset and delays in the dining experience.

Another issue is the specials. During the lunch shift, daily food specials are cooked for the staff to see and try so they can expalin the dish to the customers interested, and upsell the item. However, for evening servers, they do not get to see or taste the specials and cannot explain the dish but only give a mere description copied from the specials board.

The steps of service are inconsistent and vary amongst servers. For example, some servers will not offer any water at all to their customers, either because they are too lazy or don' think its important. Some customers can wait long periods of time without any service. Some customers have the incorrect silverware, are provided with wrong information or even never offered another beverage when clearly there glass is empty.

And finally, customers servers can change without the customer being informed. The restaurant works on a tipping pull basis. This means that every server works together and all the tips are pulled and distributed fairly. As one server leaves, when the volume dies down, the server will pass over his tables to the remaining server(s) to finish and will inform that server at the point of dining the customers are experiencing. However, most of the time the guests are not informed of the change and can strongly affect there dining experience.

The problem in service within the restaurant affects the revenue and reputation of the business. Less guests are willing to return and less revenue can be generated.

In my opinion, there is a very easy way to overcome these challenges that the restaurant has always experienced. It begins with proper training and tighter management communications. Firstly, servers are not trained properly, therefore half a day should be put aside and a training manual created in order to train new servers and current servers to understand the restaurants steps of service. Within the steps, everybody will know to offer water still, sparking or iced water as the first step and a time line should be implemented for every step. For example, water should be offered within 60 seconds, drinks should be offered within 60 seconds of water service, etc. With strict, equal training and rules, can service become consistent so that if a guest returns the service will be the same. It is also a duty of management to keep a very close eye on servers to make sure they are following the steps and to remind those who are not.

Pre-shift needs to be implemented in nightly routines. Here, all the members of staff for the night will come together at the beginning of the shift to discuss key nightly activities. Any items missing from the bar or menu will be informed. The specials will be made for the evening staff to see and taste. And finally, when a server finishes his shift, he would be made responsible to introduce the server that will be taking over the service.

Most importantly, the problem could had been resolved by the selection process. Had the manager selected employees with appropriate experience or even in the future, selects servers with high volume New York City experience, can these processes be far more smooth and faster. In the past, the selection has been based on whether the candidate knows someone already or if they are Irish. For some reason, Irish stick with Irish, no matter whether they have experience or not. This is the fundamental problem with the hiring process. Selecting more experienced candidates can affect the quality of service in the restaurant.

Career Planning

My top three objectives for the next five years are:

1. To finish my Undergraduate Degree in Business Entrepreneurship by the end of next year.

2. To learn the trade of making savory pastries and Cornish pasties from people already in the Business in England

3. To open my own Pasty Bakehouse Business in New York City

Strengths and Weaknesses

1. My strengths that will help me finish my undergraduate degree are:

• I have excellent time management skills. I am able to earn an income from part time work as well as have enough time to study and learn as well as socialize
• I have a great job with flexible hours and high income for the amount of time I work
• I have great contacts with friends, family and professors to help me accomplish this goal.
• I am strong minded and focused on completing this goal.
• I have a very business thinking mind

My weaknesses that may hinder me completing my undergraduate degree:

• I have no financial aid given to me due to my income
• I always have to be in control and sometimes that can affect my ability to perform tasks.
• I do not have the best writing skills
• I am impatient at times and need to finish tasks immediately
• I don't always listen to everyone around me

2. My strengths that will help me learn the trade of making savory pastries and Cornish pasties from people already in the business in England are:

• I am not afraid of the unknown but excited to learn and eager.
• I am punctual and have a friendly warming personality to gets along with the right people
• I have contacts through friends of friends with pastry chefs in England who know the art of the trade. 
• I have plenty background knowledge from growing up in England.
• I have a very creative mind

My weaknesses are:

• I am not the best at cooking
• I am impatient to wait for food to cook
• I like to make up my own rules when it comes to cooking
• I struggle to keep a positive frame of mind when something goes wrong first time

3. My strengths that will help me to open my own Pasty Bakehouse business in New York City are:

• I have already built relationships with possible investors
• I have a very strong idea that I want to fulfill
• I have great contacts to help me active this goal.
• I have a good background on the fast food industry in NYC
• I think realistically and can keep very focused.
• I have great experience and knowledge in customer service
• I have a great sense of what consumer tastes are like

My weaknesses are:

• I am very young and still have a lot to learn about opening a business in NYC.
• I am rigid in my way of thinking and change is sometimes hard to accept
• Sometimes I go with what my parents think rather than what I think
• I can be very anxious and up tight.

Detailed Action Plan

Completing my Undergraduate Degree

1. Finish the 5 classes this semester with grades of B or better
2. Sign up for and take 2 classes in Winter term of Finance 3000 and an elective and complete with grades B or better.
3. Sign up for and take 5 classes in Spring term all that are Business Entrepreneurial and complete with grades of B or better
4. Sign up for and take 5 classes in the fall for the final 3 entrepreneurial classes, an elective plus BPL 5000. 
5. Work at least 2 nights a week until I finish my degree. If I miss a week, make up the hours in another week
6. Study Fridays and Sundays or at least 2 days a week.

Learn the trade of making savory pastries or Cornish pasties

1. Go to England in beginning of June 2013
2. Spend 2 months in England 
3. Go to Cornwall where the pasties are made and learn the trade for 6 weeks
4. Stay with my friends Andy and Byrony Lawson in Cornwall
5. Meet James, Michelin Star chef in Bournemouth, my hometown to help me perfect my skills before I head back to the US.
6. Spend one day a week whilst finishing my degree to make pasties at home and experiment with new recipes

Open my own Pasty Bakehouse Business in NYC

1. Finish my degree by end of 2013
2. Learn the trade of making pasties in Summer 2012
3. Look to recruit chefs in Summer 2013 for business the following year in NYC
4. Devise recipes throughout 2012 experimenting weekly making pasties at home
5. Formulate an initial Business Plan
6. Keep working 2 to 3 nights a week to earn an income to live
7. Look to sell the house in Florida for capital for initial business set up in January 2014 or look to investors already established.
8. Find an already operating kitchen that is used part time for nightly banquets that is already health and safety certified to rent and use during the day to operate a delivery based pasty bakehouse in January 2014.
9. Create a name, logo, menu, and website to begin
10. Recruit employees. Maybe begin with friends for initial research purposes
11. Train employee(s) for delivery and making the product
12. Research local businesses and use contacts to focus on lunch trade for marketing and research, to give free samples with surveys and questionnaires about the product.
13. Put advertisements on social media like Groupon and Social Eatz for Delivery
14. Get local press to taste the new product or pasties to get press coverage.
15. Analyze questionnaires and surveys to get feedback and to help establish target market. Give out samples in different districts of NYC.
16. Update business plan to reflect research and development
17. Experiment with changing the menu.
18. Look towards other market segments and increasing sales.
19. If the idea and product is liked and successful, reflect the findings in my business plan and have a full detailed plan that can be presented to investors with financial aspects of the company
20. Look for a location to open the bakehouse that is low in rent and affordable.

The plan for opening a business is extremely long. Here above I have bulleted my thoughts as of now. I am sure there are many things along the way that I hope to achieve and they may hinder my plan to open my own Bakehouse.

For those of you who do not know. A Cornish pasty is a savory shortcrust pastry that is filled with many different types of meats and vegetables that is baked in the oven. The traditional in England is the beef, potato, carrot, onion, suede and pepper. I am looking to take this concept and develop it further to new tasty exciting recipes that look outside the box and really focus on American comforts and alternative ideas.

Crisis Management: The Collapse of the Coal Mine in Chile

On August 5th, 2010, a small San Jose Copper and Gold mine, near Copiapo in Chile, collapsed. The unstable roof collapsed trapping 33 miners half a mile underground. After 69 days of planning and deciding on an operation, the miners were shuttled up a narrow escape shaft to freedom. On October 12th all 33 miners were pulled safely out of the mine.

A source that really talks about the incident from day one up until today with all its articles published, comes from The Guardian. You can scroll through many pages and articles from when the collapse first happened.

The authorities in Chile managed the crisis very well. They explored all options, made precise careful decisions and lifted the miners to safety in immense condition considering how long the miners were buried deep underground.

The authorities used innovation to process and manage the situation using the six rules for crisis management in my opinion.

Firstly, the authorities gathered all the information that affected the miners condition, there whereabouts and surrounding problems. The authorities knew how deep they were, how much room they had, what food and water supplies they had. Gathering information was very important for the survival of the miners and ensuring their safety.

The authorities were very efficient, and knew that time was crucial. As much as they knew speed matters, they also knew that every move they made had to be exact. 33 men were stuck in poor conditions and soon enough, unless they were rescued they could die from a number of factors. So the authorities knew they didn't have unlimited time but also knew that the time they did have, they would have to move carefully.

Waiting was a key strategy. 69 days is a long time but identifying the main goals of bringing the men to safety as well as in best possible condition meant that not rushing was important. The authorities had to identify the risks and dangers.

The collapse meant that the territory became unfamiliar ground. Any wrong move could further alter the remaining structure of the mine and kill the miners. The authorities respected the surrounding danger. With uncertainty the authorities explored many different options even if the ideas were old tactics, any innovative approach was considered.

The authorities valued what they were skeptical about. The mine had taken a new unsafe structure. Valuing the fact that they were unsure how safe and the dimensions of the mine were key components. If they had not of valued the unknown, the miners may not had been as lucky.

Being such a sensitive situation that was very delicate, every move had to be calculated. I don't know if the authorities could fight fire with fire. If the mine was to further collapse, they would be even more time constrained and would have to think and move quicker. One poor move could instantly of killed all the miners in the small space they were situated.

The Authorities of Chile showed the world that they had the innovation to deal with a disaster. They led the way, set clear goals and openly interacted with all different parties that could ensure the authorities to reach the major goal of saving the miners. A great article that looked at the crisis from a management standpoint comes from The Daily Beast. The article analyses how Chile dealt with the crisis and why they were so successful. The Chilean coal mine is a great reminder of how the world can come together at such critical times.

Ethics in Action

The ethical dilemma for Mr Jayaswal was that the incentive of making a huge fortune considered him to act unethically by either selling the coal mines or sitting on them as assets and not developing them to help with the countries shortages in electricity and blackouts. The open system allows government officials to pick and choose who gets the coal mines. Even though there is meant to be a government screening, the power of an open system has caused such corruption to take place in the idea that its about who you know and not what you know. It may be seen that this aspect of the political system is competitive and those who have tighter bonds to the politicians and prove themselves far worthy should be in favor of acquiring the coal mines, however how the "favored applicants" have responded to owning these mines tells us this is not the case. 

On the other hand, Mr Dadra's incentive is not so clear but one might guess that his close tie to Mr Jayaswai would allow us to subjectively believe that by selecting Mr Jayaswai would mean Mr Dadra would also profit either by bribery or taking a portion of profit. This would consider him to act unethically by using his lawmaking position to allow Mr Jayaswai to acquire the coal mines even though he was not the best applicant when screened by the committee, which was the policy of the open system, that the Prime Minister had implemented.

The advantages for Mr Jayaswal for committing this act has meant that he is very wealthy. He has been able to pay for his daughters elaborate weddings in Thailand. Another advantage is that he has built strong relationships with government officials like politicians and lawmakers like Mr Dadra. He also has coal mines that other businesses like the steel industry want that makes him powerful in the business sector. 

The disadvantages of committing the act id that he can be seen as ethically wrong and acting against his moral code of conduct. He may be rationalizing his unethical behavior by saying that he is helping the country by selling these coal mines or producing some coal to help with the shortages and blackouts but rightfully know he is not doing the best he can for India. He may not be attending to his social responsibility to best serve society in helping India produce electricity all over the country. 

The viewpoint of moral reasoning I believe motivated mr Jayaswal to engage in this conduct was the individualism view that his decision promotes his own long term self interests, that seemingly is to be wealthy. Obviously the justice view was not a viewpoint that was considered accurately as he knew his close relationships served him well in acquiring the mines. The decision was not fair.

As long as the system is open and the people in power like politicians and wealthy businessmen have the opportunity to pick and choose based on false selection processes, corruption will not decline. People in power try to rationalize unethical behavior or just look out for only their own interests. When I make these statements I do not believe all people with greater power are immoral and unethical but have far greater opportunity to be so when it comes to the bigger picture. An article in the US News reveals how even here in the US, after creating the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, that was to stop corruption on Wall Street after the global economy crisis in 2008, that corruption still continues. Still shady dealings and unethical decisions are being made despite the Reform Act, which goes to say that not even the law can stop big business men, corporations or politician like people, stop acting unethically. If in the US, where the laws against corruption are far more stronger, it goes to show that there still is corruption so therefore what hope does India have with example to this case. Another report by the BBC News India, talks about how India needs to talk about corruption as recently their have been many social movements, for example, fasts and protests towards authorities and the recent expose of corruptive decisions that have affected India's economy. As much as this report may seemingly favor the fight on corruption, it seems that it's a political game to win votes and that India's culture for over centuries has been corruptive in nature and that its gonna take a lot more than fasts to change the corruptive nation. 

One strategy I believe India could use that was suggested and I would support is the idea of India having an Independent Anti-Corruption Agency that was proposed in the Indian Express. The strategy talks about strengthening the definition of what corruption is and focuses on being punitive, preventive and promotional. The watchdog committee would need to be very independent and have no ties to political issues but focus purely on watching for unethical behavior amongst the government officials and large business owners. 

But at the end of the day such a strategy is hard to implement and personally I think it is down to changing  cultural dispositions and as we have seen over time that is exceptionally hard to do.

Zara International: Fashion at the Speed of Light

Zara International is a very fashionable and affordable clothing chain globally and has a strong brand name in my opinion. Zara shows many elements of classical management. Most notably is Zara's ability  to be efficient. Fredrick Taylor's scientific management is clearly evident in the aspect of Zaras's quick turn around of runways to stores allowing only 2 weeks for the company to get the garments into stores. Zara also is able to distribute out of stock items within 24 to 48 hours depending on its global location. To me, these efficient qualities refer to Taylor's management and Zara had created the best way to perform a task by creating a science that works well for the company. Not only have they created a science but must of employed the correct people and trained them well. I refer to the 200 professionals of the creative team that keep up with the latest fashions. Also, Zara must have some aspects of an ideal bureaucracy with a clear division of labor. The jobs must be so well defined that the employees are that good and quick for Zara stores to receive the latest fashions within such a short amount of time.
Behavioral management approaches are evident in Zara International. With an excellent flow of production and high revenues and sales, its not just the product that creates such great achievements. In the article references to the managers tracking sales data and given opportunities to replicate eye catching layouts that are emailed from stylists at headquarters shows that headquarters does give a lot of responsibility and trust to its store managers. This seems like theory Y management that allows its staff to be creative. This is also shown with its creative team of 200 employees. With such a large division and with such quick designs created, freedom of creativity must be important for a company that moves so fast. The company employs more than 80,000 workers and has over 1,500 stores worldwide. The managements behavioral approach must be on point for such productivity to occur in all of its operations.
Zara's system concepts are strong. It uses its inputs of employees creativity, fabrics, revenues and sales as well as technology to communicate so quickly to transform into finished clothes that sell fast. And by making small batches at first that can be quickly replenished is a great quality. Zara has many subsystems from its headquarters to creative team to its stores employees as well as its accounting and logistics centers that come together so well for it to be so successful, efficient and effective. Zara's success does not just come from one department but its communication throughout all subsystems using its resources of employees and technology.
When it comes to contingency thinking, Zara depends on all its subsystems to reflect of the environmental changes as in customer demands. Its best way to manage is done by quickly turning runway into affordable clothing. When fashion changes, Zara is quick to adapt and has a great team of creative people to recognize these changes and act quick. Its small batches and sales data tracking is a great way to manage and minimalize its inventory.
Today in my opinion Zara is still pushing forward increasing in size and revenue. In an article from renowned British newspaper The Guardian, Zara still is increasing growth at a phenomenal rate with profits up by 30% from its first quarter of 2011 to 2012. The article expresses how Zara's huge success has made owner Amancio Ortega the third richest man in the world. The Guardian also point out how competitor Mango's sales have fallen by 38.5%.
In my opinion, it is clearly evident of Zara's success here in New York City. Its flagship store opened on 5th Ave by 52nd street and this store alone represents Zara as a major competitor in the fashion market. An article by NBC New York gives a great report on the stores operations and how much man power is going to be invested to make the store function. With 32,000 square feet and 450 employees required, this store by far is not cheap to run and shows the capabilities, growth and success of the company. Zara is a leading fashion retailer globally and from its owner to the flagship store in New York City we can see just how successful the company really is.