Crm in Fast Food Industry Essay Example

Crm in Fast Food Industry Essay Example Crm in Fast Food Industry Essay Crm in Fast Food Industry Essay Institute of Management, Nirma University, Ahmedabad SERVICE MARKETING Project Proposal on â€Å"Customer Relation Management Practices in the Indian Fast Food Industry† Submitted To: Prof. Ashwini Awasthi Submitted by: Meghna Mavani (091227) 1 Project Title: Customer relation management practices in the Indian Fast-Food Industry. Introduction to the topic: Relationship marketing is emerging as the core marketing activity for businesses operating in fiercely competitive environments. On average, businesses spend six times more to acquire customers than they do to keep them. Therefore, many firms are now paying more attention to their relationships with existing customers to retain them and increase their share of customer? s purchases. Customer Relationship Management is a process or methodology used to learn more about customers needs and behaviors in order to develop stronger relationships with them. CRM is a broadly recognized, widely-implemented strategy for managing a company? s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes. The overall goals are to find, attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has, entice former clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of marketing and client service. Customer relationship management describes a company-wide business strategy including customer-interface departments as well as other departments. CRM or customer relationship management is a system of processes which businesses use to rganize and streamline customer service, give sales staff the customer information they need to achieve higher closure rate, optimize marketing and sales efforts, and help to increase the customer base and revenues. Rationale of the project: ? Customer Relationship Management is a process or methodology used to learn more about customers needs and behaviors in order to develop stronger relationships with them. CRM is a broadly recognized, widely-implemented strat egy for managing a company? s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. Hence a detailed 2 understanding of the various trends of CRM being followed currently would be of great importance to the going-to-be-managers. After all, good customer relationships are at the heart of business success. ? CRM involves all the functions of an organization. The idea of CRM is that it helps businesses use technology and human resources to gain insight into the behavior of customers and the value of those customers. Hence a detailed study of such a widespread initiative carried out by several global organizations would create a deep managerial insight. Moreover the entire reason for taking up the Indian Fast-Food Industry as my project topic is that with the rapidly growing middle class population and changing lifestyle, India is blessed with one of the fastest growing fast food markets in the world. The Indian fast food market is growing at an annual rate of 25-30%. Almost all the world? s big fast food brands have succeeded in making their presence felt in the countr y and most of them are posting appreciable growth. ? Also, all the popular fast food chains have chalked out massive plans for expanding their business and presence throughout the country. Foreign fast food chains are aggressively increasing their presence in the country. ? Another important reason that makes this industry worth studying is that, though this industry has witnessed a robust growth, there is still a huge underpenetrated market in the tier-II and III cities as mostly these fast-food chains are concentrating on the metro cities in India. 3 Literature Review: The innovation decision process model of Rogers (1995) was adopted in this study because CRM is considered an innovative management strategy. Rogers defines innovation as â€Å"ideas, action programs, or objects appealing as new things to individuals or organizations. † The innovation decision process has five stages: knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation. In the knowledge stage, companies recognize an innovation and its functions. In the persuasion stage, the firm needs to be convinced that an innovation will bring benefits and competitive advantages, so it begins searching for information about the innovation, such as its costs and benefits. Organizational characteristics, such as the size of the firm and its external business environment, are influential. The decision stage occurs when the firm decides to adopt, reject, or postpone the innovation. In the implementation stage, the firm puts the innovation to use to achieve its objectives. In the confirmation stage, the firm decides whether to continue or discontinue adoption of the innovation. Recently, consumers needs and purchase patterns have changed dramatically. To meet various needs, companies tend to adopt differentiated and customer-oriented marketing strategies to gain competitive advantage. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is one specific example, adopted to create and manage relationships with customers more effectively through the detailed and accurate analysis of consumer data using various information technologies. Improved relationships with consumers can lead to greater customer loyalty, retention, and profitability. Although the importance of CRM as a successful strategic approach since the 1990s has been widely recognized, there is no consistent definition of it. According to Swift (2001), CRM is â€Å"an enterprise approach to understanding and influencing customer behavior through meaningful communications in order to improve customer acquisition, customer retention, customer loyalty, and customer profitability. † Kincaid (2003) defines CRM as â€Å"the strategic use of information, processes, technology, and people to manage the customers relationship with the company across the whole customer life cycle. According to Ko et al. (2004), CRM is also defined as the integrated customer management strategy of a firm to efficiently manage customers by providing customized goods and services and maximizing customers lifetime values. 4 The challenge for an organization as also highlighted by Peppard (2000) is to move to a situation where the customer starts buying from you rather than being sold to. This new mantra focuses entirely on the customer, and how to provide customer value in the form of tailoring services or products to meet their requirements. Researchers have identified a variety of technologies related to CRM which include: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? product development through customer DB analysis product development through customer involvement development of customized products customer mileage reward programs real-time customer services managing customer loyalty managing customer complaints developing member-only access to website customer database development customer categorization based on spending The main conclusions to be drawn from the existing literatures are: ? xisting research has a strong focus on the three particular areas of: effects of customer satisfaction of CRM, customer retention and profit management, and effects of CRM technique on performance; ? ? ? ? there remains debate on whether or not relationship marketing can be extended to consumer markets with firms having a relationship orientation then implementing CRM; conceptually, sequential effects from CRM implementation to enhanced financial performance are expected, but have not been explored; the research stream in Japan has focused on techniques of data analysis and data mining aspects of CRM Most systems and processes in this information technology (IT) driven era have some form of hitech interface in transforming inputs to outputs. The restaurant industry is no different, in that IT has played some role in changing a customer? s dining experience over the years- the way in 5 which the meal is prepared, the speed at which it is delivered, the way an order is received, just to name a few. With the advent of new technology and its impact on restaurant operations, one would believe that most firms in the restaurant industry would be IT oriented in the production and delivery of goods and services. Specifically, the study addresses three questions: (1) How do full-service restaurant operators generally view the impact of IT? (2) Is there a difference between full-service chain and independent restaurant firms in the adoption, utilization, and implementation of such technology? (3) What are the reasons some chain and/or independent restaurant firms choose not to invest in IT, while others do and what are the implications? The paper first explores why technology matters and the IT-related trends in the restaurant industry followed by a description of the case study approach and the methodology used in this study. Findings from the restaurants used in the case study ensue, followed by propositions, implications and recommendations while ending with limitations and conclusions. Before exploring each topic, it is essential to state that technology in this paper is referred to as IT, which is defined as „„the development, installation, and implementation of computer systems and applications ? Customer feed-back mechanisms. Industry trends indicate that specific areas being targeted by some restaurants firms include aggressive solicitation of feedback from customers regarding perception of restaurant performance. To some extent, „„comment cards and „„mystery shoppers are being slowly replaced by customer tracking tools which measure the needs of all customers (Hayes, 2002). Such a process includes analysis of online surveys completed by restaurant customers (Liddle, 2001). ? Management of repeat business. Another area targeted by restaurants for innovation through IT is the attempt to increase repeat business. One such area is the use of online reservation systems (Ruggless, 2003). 6 ? Management of marketing and service. Closely connected to frequent diner programs are advances in IT that allow restaurants to gather and store specific information about its customers, which comes mostly from comment cards/online surveys and POS data (Prewitt, 1997). By knowing customers? likes and dislikes and their consumption patterns, firms are able to position their product/service offerings more effectively while being able to offer them special deals. Another area that restaurants look at when trying to improve performance is the speed of service. Restaurant firms, both chains and independents, have started to use handheld devices that allow servers to remotely notify management of a dirty table, so that it can be cleaned and re-set faster for another set of patrons as well as place orders in the kitchen. ? IT and restaurant operations management. The use of technology to improve performance can be seen in use of integrated business solution software to help run restaurants operations. A process refers to a collection of tasks or activities that together result in a desired business outcome. Stated differently, a business process refers to a group of activities that convert organizational inputs (e. g. , human resources) into desired outputs (e. g. , successful new products). Given that groups of tasks can be subdivided or aggregated into lower and higher level processes, the specific nature (i. e. , inputs and outputs) of a business process depends on the level of aggregation used to define it. For instance, define CRM as a macrolevel (i. e. , highly aggregated) process that subsumes numerous subprocesses, such as prospect identification and customer knowledge creation.

Jackson Surname Meaning and Origin

Jackson Surname Meaning and Origin The  patronymic surname  Jackson means son of Jack. The personal/given name Jack may have derived from one of several sources: Derived from the name Jackin, a medieval diminutive of the name John, which is an  English form of  Iohannes, the Latin form of the Greek name  ÃŽâ„¢Ãâ€°ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ·Ãâ€šÃ‚  (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name  Ã—™×•Ö ¹Ã—â€"Ö ¸Ã—  Ã– ¸Ã—ŸÂ  (Yohanan),  meaning Jehovah has favored, or more loosely gift of God. See also the surname Johnson.Possibly a derivation of the Old French given name Jacque, the French form of the English name Jacob. The name derives from the Latin Jacobus which, in turn, derives from the  Hebrew personal name ×™Ö ·Ã— ¢Ã– ²Ã— §Ã– ¹Ã—‘  (Yaaqov). Surname Origin:  English, Scottish Alternate Surname Spellings:  JACKS Where Is the JACKSON Surname Found? According to  WorldNames public profiler, the Jackson surname is found in the greatest numbers in the United Kingdom and Australia. It is most prevalent in northern England, especially Cumbria county. The name is also popular in the United States, especially in the District of Columbia and the southeastern states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Famous People with the Surname JACKSON Andrew Jackson - 7th President of the United StatesMichael Jackson - American pop singerAugustus Jackson - creator of several ice cream recipes and inventor of an improved method of manufacturing ice cream c. 1832.Quinton Rampage Jackson - American professional mixed martial arts fighterThomas Stonewall Jackson - Confederate general in the U.S. Civil WarConrad Feger Jackson -  Union Army general in the American Civil War Genealogy Resources for the Surname JACKSON 100 Most Common U.S. Surnames and Their MeaningsSmith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census? Jackson Family GenealogyA Web site dedicated to the descendants of Robert Jackson, who arrived in Massachusetts with his father circa 1630. Jackson Family Tree DNA ProjectRead biographies, check out DNA results, or submit your own DNA to learn more about your own Jackson ancestors. Jackson Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Jackson surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Jackson query. FamilySearch - JACKSON GenealogyExplore over 12 million historical records and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Jackson surname and its variations on this free website sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. JACKSON Surname and Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Jackson surname. DistantCousin.com - JACKSON Genealogy Family HistoryExplore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Jackson. The Jackson Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Jackson surname from the website of Genealogy Today. References: Surname Meanings and Origins Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005. Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Managing change in orgainsations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Managing change in orgainsations - Essay Example The common definition of globalisation suggests that globalisation is fuelled by the interrelationship between various central trigger factors including economic, technological, socio-cultural, political and biological factors, resulting in the interconnectivity of states. In turn, the proliferation of the globalisation phenomenon has offered novel business opportunities regarding expansion in international business strategy. The integration of the globalisation phenomenon into business with the increased movement of capital and commodities has had a significant impact on international business strategy (Tomlinson, 1999). Additionally, Held and McGrew argue that globalisation represents the interconnectedness of states, societies and culture, which has thereby propelled global trade, ideas and capital (Held & McGrew, 1999). Furthermore Brah et al, argue that globalisation as a novel cultural paradigm is exemplified by the internet revolution, which has challenged methods of dissemination (Brah et al, 1999: 3). Moreover, Tomlinson posits that globalisation has had a concomitant effect on traditional cultural models with the creation of new cultural models (Tomlinson et al, 1999). The digital era fuelled novel business opportunities and the continuous evolution of online business channels has made multi-channel retailing a reality, with the customer now placed at the forefront of business strategy. In turn this has reshaped business distribution and marketing models in addition to competing in a product marketplace; in certain industries the customer is the marketplace. Indeed, the e-commerce business model has challenged traditional adage that â€Å"location, location, location† is critical to commercial success (Chaffey, D. 2006); which has threatened the traditional business model for travel agencies in the tourism industry; compelling agencies to formulate novel strategic moves to sustain continued growth (Zhou, Z. 2003). A prime

Describe your professional goals and how your chosen major relates to Essay

Describe your professional goals and how your chosen major relates to these goals. Is there a professional in your field of choice who might serve as your role - Essay Example This would cater to people who want to beautify themselves, eat well, and have time for relaxation in this world of rush. I also want to own the Miss Universe Organization. This follows the same trend as mentioned previously. This gives people the opportunity to see, all over the world, beautiful ladies who also care about other people ´s needs as to when they are asked, what they would like to do. I want to help in various areas of research to help cure many diseases. This research will focus in the following diseases: diabetes, leukemia, breast cancer, and HIV/AIDS. Supporting researchers in these areas will help in prevention measures, maintenance/control, and cure. My desire is to also help combat poverty. There are too many poverty stricken people around the world. Measures to alleviate poverty should be one of the aims entrepreneurs should have while conducting their business. It is clear that corporations make donations and it is also clear that they are tax exempt however, more needs to be done. There is never enough. Working with Adoption Agencies that work with dwarf children and with orphanages is one of my most interests. Children all over the world need attention. They need to feel comfort given their present situations. I would like to build schools in India and in Africa to be in a position to educate children. To give them the opportunities that others take for granted and enjoy. My role model is Donald Trump. He is a wise man, kind, calm, intelligent, thinks quickly, and he is not regularly seen in the tabloids. He is also a successful entrepreneur who owns the Miss Universe Organization. I want to be this kind of person. I want to be an entrepreneur, make donations, become part of the process, and see to it that changes are made to help others in their crisis. I want to be in a position where decision

Business Analysis Of The Sony Corporation

Business Analysis Of The Sony Corporation As directed by the Board of Directors of Sony Corporation, this report will analyse the companys situation from 1999-2005. Sony, a world class consumer electronics makers, was facing serious concerns since the late of 1990s, such as Asian financial crisis in 1997, the tech bubble and the terrorist attacks in America in 2001. Besides, the ever increasing competition from competitors and rapid market changes are eroding the market shares of Sony. The top management confront their difficulties bravely and executed a series of actions to respond to those difficulties. This report focuses on the structure of Sony in 1999 and the restructuring in 2003, as well as the analysis of difficulties faced by Sony and how the management responded to those issues. The structure of the report starts with the business description and the corporation strategy which has significant relationship with the following sections. Then, the focus will move to structure 1999 follow with the restructuring of Sony in 2003 called Transformation 60. After the discussions about the business structure, the report will concentrate on analysing the issues associated with Sony and state the responses taken by the management and its underlying principle before concluding and with appropriate recommendations. 2.0 Business Description and Corporation Strategy Sony is one of the worlds top consumer electronics makers and employs over 167900 workers (Sony, 2010). The business operates in over 200 countries and covers the games, electronics, financial services, entertainment markets and others (ibid.). After 65 years of growth, today, the group has established a world class brand and the strong brand image can benefit its bargaining power and make the business move into new markets easily. 2.1 Key Figures Some key figures of Sony from 1997 to 2010 are listed below (Graph12). The Sales figure remained in the reasonably floating level before 2007. Unfortunately, the management and shareholders are unsatisfied with the profits, since 1998 the profits reduced nearly every year, this might have been the trigger to ignite the restructuring of Sony. Graph 1 Source: Sony Annual Report 2001, 2006, 2010- Five-Year Summary of Selected Financial Data Graph 2 Source: Sony Annual Report 2001, 2006, 2010- Five-Year Summary of Selected Financial Data 2.2 Correlation between Organisation Strategy and Organisation Structure Strategy and organisation structure are correlated to each other, even the debate of whether strategy or structure comes first is still in existence (Lynch, 2006). Therefore, to understand Sonys corporation strategy (Graph34) is significantly important before discussing the structure and restructuring of Sony. Besides, an essential portion of the study of Sonys actions is an understanding of the nature of business strategy for the Sony corporation as a whole (Mullins, 2010). Graph 3 Source: Sony Annual Report 1998 pp6, 7 Sony Annual Report 1999 pp26 Graph 4 Source: Sony Annual Report 2003 pp5-management discusses key issues 3.0 Organisational Structure This section is classified into two parts, 3.1 focuses on the structure of Sony in 1999 while section 3.2 concentrates on the restructuring in 2003. 3.1 Structure of Sony in 1999 Sony as a world class player in a diversified high-tech market was challenged with the fierce competition during the late 1990s (Sony, 1999). Therefore, the restructuring was necessary for Sony to survive in the competitive market. The group announced the organisations restructure plan in March 1999 to seize further growth opportunities in the new century and the Internet era (Sony, 1999). The structure of the organisation is determined by its age and size, technical system, power and environment (Mintzberg, 1979). Furthermore, in relation to the environment, the diversity of the environment will largely determine the structure of organization and directly affects the organisation functions into goal-seeking activities through the formal structure to achieve aims and objectives (Mullins, 2007; Mintzberg, 1979). In this diverse environment, different structures will be taken in specific department to meet different aspects of situation for Sony. 3.1.1 Internal Structure of Sony as a Whole The internal structure of Sony is a tall hierarchical structure as Sony consists of three main business areas which are electronic business, entertainment business and insurance and finance business (Graph 5). Besides, the setting up of the unified dispersed management model is to face the rapid change in market in the aforementioned pillars of Sony (Ravi, 2005). As a result, the overall structure of Sony in 1999 was divisionalized form. Schwartz and Thompson (1986) suggested that the divisionalization form can facilitate the various divisions to compete fiercely among them, with effective operations to face rapid changes in external environment. Graph 5 Source: www.HYPERLINK http://www.sony.net/Sony.net, Press Archive, March 29, 1999 Besides, centralization and decentralization depends on how organisational power is dispersed and is determined by the organization structure for decision-making and problem-solving (Schmidt, 2006). The structure of Sony in 1999 displayed Sonys trend to be decentralization to distribute the power yield. For example, Sony set up a unified dispersed management model which facilitates more functional and operational autonomy (Ravi, 2005). 3.1.2 Divisional Structures of Sony After the discussion above, the focus now moves to the structure of different divisions. The electronic business consists of various subsidiaries (Graph 6). Each subsidiary is responsible for its own different products and makes business decisions in different markets. There is little interdependence that exists between each other. Thus, the structure of electronic business was divisionalized form. Entertainment business displayed adhocracy due to its little formalisation of behaviour. Insurance Finance business displayed a Professional Bureaucracy structure due to its complex environment with highly trained skills and knowledge to offer standardisation of products and services (Mintzberg, 1979). Graph 6 Source: www.HYPERLINK http://www.sony.net/Sony.net, Press Archive, March 29, 1999 Each business division has the autonomous to make decisions in its daily operation. The Group headquarters concentrated on coordinating these business divisions to make a long-term business strategy. Nevertheless, under the complex, diverse and dynamic environment, perhaps the more organic and decentralized structure is more suitable for Sony. 3.2 Structure of Sony in 2003 Indeed, Sony restructured its organisation in 1999 into a more divisionalized and decentralised form using the unified dispersed model as a means of a Value Creation Model. Transformation 60 saw some changes in the architectural structure of the organisation with it becoming more centralised, management-wise and financial-wise. It was aimed to refining the organisational responsibilities in carrying out the operating strategies and restructuring the marketing strategies in profitable niches. The goals are to achieve more profit margins, reducing annual cost, and component outsourcing (Sony, 2003). 3.2.1 Divisional Structure of Transformation 60 Transformation 60 saw the convergence of the three pillars of Sony electronics, entertainment and financial as opposed to the unified dispersed model. The following are the divisional changes: In the electronics business, the management combined the Semiconductor Network Company, Home Electronics, Mobile Electronics and Information Technology (Sony, 2003). The entertainment business saw the joint of assets of pictures, music, game, electronics and services to enhance its position as a worldwide media company. The constructed financial holding company absorbed Sony Life Insurance Company Ltd, Sony Assurance Inc. and Sony Bank Inc. By these convergences, Sony clarified the operational structure and concentrated on the engineering, innovation and financial resources. According to the converging strategy, the new operation structure of Sony seems like a basic Machine Bureaucracy structure (Mintzberg, 1983). Although it is less dispersed than the structure in 1999, the pull to formalize by the technostructure of Sony could be seen in Transformation 60 (Mintzberg, 1981). The restructuring of Sony in 2003 was more centralised than before as a result of the serious convergences of several businesses. The tactical and strategic plans were permitted to each sectors, which points that the divisionalized form still existed. However, the power on personnel issues was controlled by the top management, as well as the supportive finance and the ultimate goal were allocated and formulated by the headquarters (Ravi, 2005). Moreover, the restructured Sony in 2003 did not belong to any specific structure of Mintzbergs pentagon t heory but the combined one (Graph 7). Graph 7 Sony organisational chart: electronics-related business (as of 1 April 2001) Source: www.sony.net, Press Release, 29th March 2001(a) 3.2.2 Financial Structure of Transformation 60 In the light of improving its fiscal position, the consolidation of fixed costs and the combining of assets reflected the change of a more centralized structure in Sony. The company aims to achieve an annualized cost reduction of approximately  ¥300 billion (Ravi, 2005). The cut in employees due to the off-shore strategy to China establish the Contribution equal to Compensation principal of paying for performances, as Schein (2004) stated that employees have worked well enough to be considered valid. Deactivating employees from Sony had cost the company financially and it might have explained the poor financial performance of Sony after the transformation was done. 4.0 Problems and Responses This section will discuss the problems associated with Sony alongside with the responses taken and its rationale. The difficulties faced by Sony have been separated into different categories mainly the rapid evolution of technology, competition in the market and the differences of national culture. 4.1 Rapid Evolution of Technology The rapid evolution of technology as pointed out by Idei (Ravi, 2005) has affected the electronics, entertainment and insurance and finance sectors of Sony. The constant improvements in technology have caused the company to respond to the demand of the market. The following are the responses made by the company alongside with its underlying rationale: Investments: Sony invested heavily in RD, capital equipment and facilities in order to meet demands and improve profitability. Technology for Inspiration and Shared Experience and Creating New Value are Sonys RD missions (Sony, 2011). The company believes that technology is capable of linking inspiration and shared experiences on top of creating new values and capturing emotions of customers (ibid.). Investment strategies link to the capability of top management of Sony. Organisation restructuring: The Company believes that the new group architecture can help gain market share besides increasing shareholders value (Sony, 1999). In this Value Creation Model, the unified dispersed management method saw changes in the electronics operations, establishment of Digital Network Solutions (DNS), changes in composition of workforce which could ultimately affect the morale of employees, implementation of new value-based performance measurement system and the separation of headquarters into two distinct functions (Ravi, 2005; Sony, 1999). Indeed, the model brings competitive advantage to Sony (Jayaranam Luo, 2007). In such a stiff market, it is understandable as to the measures taken to seize every opportunity. Unfortunately, in 2001, the September 11 attacks caused the consolidated drop in sales, affecting the fiscal position of the company (Sony, 2001b). This has proven that the Value Creation Model had loopholes, hence Transformation 60 took course. Severe cost saving measures were taken but by 2005, as a result of pressure from shareholder, a top management reshuffling with Howard Stringer as CEO (Ravi, 2005). This proves that investors of Sony began to lose confidence of the previous management team therefore it was necessary for the company to overhaul its board. 4.2 Market Competition Among Sonys competitors are LG, Samsung, Sharp, Dell and Canon. Each competitor seemed to have an advantage over Sony in different products. Below are among the steps taken by Sony to beat the competition in the market: Partnership with Solectron Corporation in year 2000 and off-shoring to China were to aid the outsourcing process of production of electronics was a step to help the company meet fluctuations in demands, cost reduction, quality improvisation and customer satisfaction (Sony, 2003; Sony, 2000). Outsourcing may be beneficial to the company as a whole but it could ultimately decrease the motivational level of employees, as there is a tendency of decrease of power of managers, and failure rate is between 40%-70% (Purse, 2009). This may explain the Sony Shock (Ravi, 2005) incident that happened in 2003 despite the laborious process of organisation restructuring. The cost-benefit consideration was not given much thought before the outsourcing was done. The takeover of Aiwa Co. Ltd. as a wholly owned subsidiary in 2002 was for the benefit of the electronics business of the company, particularly the audio and visual (AV) industry (Sony, 2002). The takeover became part of Transformation 60. It helped accelerate the structural reform of the electronics business of Sony on top of the creation of synergy as a result of the merger. 4.3 Differences in National Culture As Howard Stringer took over as the CEO of Sony in 2005, a major problem he would experience would be the differences in organisational culture. Culture refers to the way we do things around here (Sanchez, 2004). Being one of the few foreigners to be part of the top management in a Japanese company, Stringer has the responsibility of considering whether to impose the Western culture in a Japanese company. Azumi Mcmillan (1975) found that both the U.S. and Japanese culture are quite highly centralized and companys rules and procedures are abided. In Sony, although divisionalization form can be seen, the Headquarter still plays its role as a coordinator, meaning that ultimately, the decision-making process will need approval from the top management. Also, in Japan, traditional values that emphasises on hard work and details are a common practice due to its religion influences but in the U.S., creativity and innovation are the common values (Webster White, 2009). Hence, in U.S., risk-taking is very much observed. The open management style of Stringer, his understanding towards Sonys tradition and his international viewpoints could be the key to influence the cultural organisation (Sony, 2005). This can explain Stringers successes in streamlining Sonys movie and music businesses. 5.0 Conclusion Due to the external environment effect such as the Asian financial crisis, the ever increasing competition, as well as the internal business issues like the low efficiency, the profits of Sony has been reduced dramatically since 1998. Therefore the management had to execute some restructuring plan to respond to those concerns. According to the restructuring plan announced in March 1999, the structure of the group was divisionalized and more decentralization, in order to seize further growth opportunities in the 21st century. Besides, the group launched a unified dispersed management model to ensure that the business operate more efficiently and to be able to survive the rapid change of environment. Sony did a mass of changes to adapt to the market changes; unfortunately, the pace of the latter was overtaking the managements expectations. Consequently, Sony had to accelerate the reform plan and announced another restructuring plan called Transformation 60 in 2003. The change in 2003 s aw a stronger pull to formalize in the technostructure although it can be seen that there is a mixture between the machine bureaucracy and divisionalized forms. Convergences in the three sectors saw power being more focused at the top management. The change of technology, market competition and the differences in organisational culture, especially after the takeover of Stringer, were the main concerns of Sony. Organisational restructuring and investment strategies were among the solutions in coping with technological changes. Market competition forced Sony to deal with vast partnerships, joint ventures and mergers with other companies for outsourcing purposes. Finally, the change to a foreigner to lead a Japanese company spark concerns on the future of Sonys organisational culture. Nevertheless, based on the analysis that has been done, it can be concluded that Sonys management and business strategies affects its organisational structure. It was the drop in profits that led investors to force the overhauling of top management, as a result, the unified dispersed model and Transformation 60. Unfortunately, both measures failed to bring positive impacts to the companys fiscal positions. In light of the situation above, the new team led by Stringer with the probable change in organisational culture could probably help turn things around. 6.0 Recommendations Two main recommendations should be taken into account: Firstly, the future of the organisational culture of Sony has to be determined from two aspects based on the organization structure and the differences in national culture since the takeover of Stringer as CEO. Perhaps, Stringer could consider integrating the Eastern and the Western cultures to obtain the best of both worlds. Next, investment strategies of Sony may have to be re-evaluated again, as after the study of the company was done, there are hints of possibilities that failures in the companys fiscal position may have been caused by past investment decisions. Outsourcing may be beneficial but a thorough cost-benefit analysis has to be done. Investment decisions will reflect the capability of top management to stakeholders. Appendices Value Creation Model refers to the combination of intangible assets and monetary items to create additional value of the business for stakeholders, particularly shareholders (Qureshi, Briggs Hlupic, 2006; Haksever, Chaganti Cook, 2004). 2 The performance measurement system is capable of reflecting the current cost of capital of Sony 3 Before being elected as the CEO of Sony Corporation, he was the Chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation of America. Bibliographies Azumi, K Mcmillan, C (2004) Culture and organisation structure: a comparison of Japanese and British organisation, International Studies of Management and Organization. Vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 35-47. Available from: Business Source Premier. [Accessed 16 January 2011] Datamonitor (2010), Sony Corporation-Company Profile, pp4, 5 and 21, Publication date: 12 Mar 2010 Elkington, J. Masaki, T. (2004) CSR Report 2004, [online]. 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Factors Affecting Employee Productivity

When we say employee efficiency this means the employee characteristics and also relates to the speed and accuracy of an employee against the role, job and duties. Employee productivity underpins employee efficiency wherein the more efficient employees are the more productive they will be especially when managed correctly. Employee productivity creates an environment that encourages effective performance and hence essential in management of human capital function.In maximising employee productivity, there is the need to focus on areas of personal motivation and the infrastructure of the work environment, both of which form factor that affect the employee productivity. While the most obvious motivating factor for employee factor is often thought to be based on salary and promotions, this may not always be the case. The question is: what makes employee work harder? 2. 0 Statement of the problem While workers are on the job, they do not produce more simply because they are being paid to do such.This is said to be human nature that is triggered by different factors. This study aims to understand these different factors affecting employee productivity. In particular, the study will determine the factors that are affecting the productivity of Ghanaian workers working in fast food chains. With this, the following questions will be given answer to: 1) What are the factors that influence Ghanaian workers to work even harder while in the workplace? ) Specifically, what are the factors that affect their works positively and negatively? 3) How do they perceive their immediate managers to motivate them to work harder? 4) Are their workplaces and/or work environment can be considered productive for them to align their productivity with such? 3. 0 Aims and objectives The main aim of the study is to explore the various factors that influence and affect the productivity of Ghanaian workers who work in fast food chains. There could be positive and negative factors influencing su ch.In lieu with this, the following specific objectives will be addressed: †¢ To determine the nature and dynamics of employee productivity in Ghana and in fast food industry †¢ To distinguish the different perceptions of Ghanaian workers on various influences to own productivity 4. 0 Overview of methodologies Primary and secondary research will be conducted in the study. In primary research, the study will survey Ghanaian workers who work in fast food chains that are generally private.A structured questionnaire will be developed and it will be used as the survey tool for the study. It is planned that the questionnaire will have a 5 point Likert Scale, as well as ranking questions. Data on both medium will be compared and evaluated using SPSS. Aside from survey, a secondary research will also be conducted in the study. Sources in secondary research will include previous research reports, newspaper, magazine and journal content, organization statistics, etc.Sometimes, secon dary research is required in the preliminary stages of research to determine what is known already and what new data are required, or to inform research design. In this paper, existing findings on journals and existing knowledge on books will be used as secondary research. The findings from the journals and books will be evaluated in the data analysis. Types of research journals chosen are all related to issues in advertisements. Basically, interpretation will be conducted which can account as qualitative in nature.Read more: http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2010/10/factors-affecting-employee-productivity-case-study-of-private-ghanaian-workers-working-in-fast-food-chains.html#ixzz1H9R8haOi

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