IKEA Global Sourcing Challenge Essay

Summary In this case, it is known that IKEA’s procurement model is the mode of global sourcing. IKEA products are shipped to the 26 distribution centres from the trade area after procurement, and then delivered to the shopping malls in the world. IKEA’s procurement philosophy and assessment of suppliers mainly include four aspects: continuous price improvement; strict supplier performance and service levels; good quality and healthy products; and environmental and social responsibility (IKEA Sustainability Report 2011). In the aspect of social responsibility, IKEA does not accept child labour, but also actively prevents the use of child labour when its supplier Indian Rugs is revealed to use child labour (Bartlett et al., 2006). All IKEA suppliers and subcontractors must comply with the special code of conduct on child labour â€Å"The IKEA Way on Preventing Child Labor†. The standard requires that all acts must be done to maximize the protection of the rights and interests of children (Motamed et al., 2010). The code of conduct and monitoring measures must be supplemented by the corresponding program to eliminate the root causes behind child labour. It is for these reasons, the IKEA Foundation actively supports UNICEF and Save the Children Relief Projects designed to protect the rights of children. Key issues resulted in problems and analysis In this case, the key cultural management issue is the corporate social responsibility. IKEA, the world’s largest furniture company has a fairly commendable corporate culture, and an important element of its containing: IWAY. In terms of IWAY, there are strict rules on the procurement of products, materials and services, particularly intolerance of IKEA’s suppliers using child labour or forced labour (Maon et al., 2007). Another prominent feature of it is committed to preventing corruption, fraud and illegal activities, and developing the â€Å"anti-corruption rules†. The business  management researchers can analyse the business grow and even decline and fall from all angles. IKEA fortune in essence is supported by its corporate values. Otherwise, it cannot carry over in numerous fluctuations of economic cycles. A sustainable development of enterprise is largely determined by the corporate culture. The quality of enterprise could also affect competitiveness. This is not an ideal question for entrepreneur, more than a philosophical question, but a question of competition in the market. In fact, almost all first-class entrepreneurs in the business process carry out first-class corporate culture operations. They use the values, philosophy to show a unique quality in business. And this kind of internal but critical competitiveness is the riche class and managers lack of. In the production process, the trade office staffs will keep in contact with the IKEA suppliers, they can take an advantage by this opportunity to observe social and working conditions of suppliers and make efforts to prevent the use of child labour (IKEA Group, 2003). IKEA in the supplier organization encourages workers and subcontractors to discuss the problems they encounter every day. This approach strengthens IKEA’s understanding of the causes of child labour. If IKEA finds child labour, it will require suppliers to take action based on the child’s best interests. The supplier must implement corrective and preventive action plans, including education and training aspects. IKEA will visit the children’s school, and carry out a surprised visit to suppliers. If the supplier does not take action on the scheduled date, or later there’s occurrence of the violations, IKEA will terminate all business relationships with the suppliers. It can be seen that IKEA’s motivation emphasis on corporate social responsibility is closely related to commercial activities. Its primary motivation includes the legitimacy of the business, brand reputation, reduction in business risks, total quality management and marketing environmental analysis, especially the legitimacy of the business and reduction in business risks are becoming increasingly important. In addition, the communication of corporate social responsibility is crucial. It can maintain the attractiveness of IKEA for a new generation of partners. IKEA hopes that the partners in dealing with corporate social responsibility can show independence, but the ability to realize this issue will have to depend on the employees’ management level (Maon and Swaen, 2006). Through this initiative, colleagues at all levels can increase the awareness of corporate social responsibility, so as to achieve the purpose of incentives. Key learning Corporate social responsibility is developed since the 1990s, which is a turning point of corporate social responsibility. IKEA is also in accordance with some of the pressure in this community to adjust its operating way on the requirements of the enterprise. IKEA’s business is constructed in the price and quality environment and work environment (Maon et al., 2007). With regard to a supply and demand model of corporate social responsibility (CSR), it’s assumed that a firm’s size, level of diversification, research and development (R&D), advertising, government sales, consumer income, labour market conditions, and stage in the industry life cycle could estimate the firm’s standard of CSR (McWilliams and Siegel, 2001). IKEA as a large multinational Corporation with 26 distribution centres and emphasis on R&D and advertising hopes to establish long-term cooperative relationship with suppliers; looks for more partners who recognize the IKEA culture as the co mmon value; and aim at its development (Maon and Swaen, 2006). Respect for fundamental human rights and fair treatment of labour are the basic requirements for its suppliers. Therefore, child labour is absolutely not allowed. And the cooperation should be based on frankness and respect and it should be put into a gradual and long-term procedure. Under continuous pressure on price and sub-contractors from developing countries, IKEA is positive to face with the accusation of using child labour. It’s shown that how stakeholders can affect the improvement of CSR policies by showing their societal expectations, by publicly criticizing corporate behaviours considered as irresponsible or by building in a collaborative and constructive relationship with the company. This case study focuses on the CSR practices and communication by a complexity of the corporate decisions  and it also reflects the public attitudes have played a key role in enhancing a company’s CSR construction (Maon and Swaen, 2006). References Bartlett, C. A., Dessain, V. & Sjoman, A., 2006, ‘IKEA’s Global Sourcing Challenge Indian Rugs and Child Labor’, Harvard Business School, 9-906-414. IKEA Group, 2003, ‘IKEA: Social and environmental responsibility report’, viewed 1 May2012, . IKEA Group, September 1, 2010 – August 31, 2011, ‘IKEA Sustainability Report 2011’, IKEA, viewed 1 May2012, . Maon, F., Swaen, V. and Lindgreen, A. 2007, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility at IKEA: commitment and communication’, Research Memorandum, F Maon, V Swaen, A Lindgreen. Maon, F. & Swaen, V. 2006, ‘Integration and communication of CSR principles by IKEA: an analysis of the influence of and on external stakeholders’, LGA Working Paper, Louvain School of Management. McWilliams, A. & Siegel, D. 2001, ‘Corporate social responsibility: A theory of the firm perspective’, Academy of Management Review, 26(1), p.117-127, viewed 1 May2012, . Motamed, M., Ozhusrev, N. & Pena, G. 2010, ‘IKEA and the Child Labor Challenge’, BAHR 509 – Group Project Paper.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT ON AN UNDERPERFOMING VDP Essay

CHANGE MANAGEMENT ON AN UNDERPERFOMING VDP - Essay Example es and frameworks, in their efforts to bring about the necessary changes by the VDPs to increase the performance levels and thereby patient satisfaction. The practise of dentistry in the United Kingdom requires all dentists to be registered with the General Dental Council (GDC). The GDC is the monitoring body for the dentistry practice and in its perspective the register of dentists â€Å"is not simply a list of those who call themselves a dentist. It is a list of professionals, who are recognised under the Law to be properly trained, qualified and fit for current practise and subject to regulations†. (1) Vocational Training (VT) has become mandatory for dentists to retain their own contract with a PCT. VT in general dental practice originates from the generic term ‘on-the-job-training’ (OJT). OJT for long has been acknowledged, as the preferred means for developing practical and other workplace skills. Trainers with adequate teaching and assessment skills are responsible for the work of VDPs. Through weekly tutorials; trainers supply their VDPs with help on demand and adequate supervision. Development of peer and self-review and the need for enhanced professional education, training and audit, as a lifelong continuous process are encouraged throughout the VT. (2). R Rattan Curbing unsatisfactory performance has become necessary. To this end the GDC utilises the assistance of the National Clinical Assessment Service (NCAS), to provide the assessment service. The GDC has effected this assessment through the new powers it received since July2006, to strengthen its procedures in taking decisions on the fitness of a registrant to practise, in case of misconduct, ill health, and in establishing new procedures to check unsatisfactory performance. I faced such a challenge in my dental practice last year, when several factors including an increase in patient complaints identified trainee performing unsatisfactorily. For improvement change initiatives were proposed,

Double- spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, Term Paper

Double- spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, headers and footers. You are required to adhere to the 7 - Term Paper Example According to OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, U.S draws approximately 85% of its energy from fossil fuels. This is an alarming fact since global fossil fuel reserves are dwindling at a very fast rate. Consequently, this has caused an increased cost of energy thereby affecting the economic drivers. Nuclear energy comes in handy in solving this energy crisis (OECD, 2008). Low input cost Arguably, setting up a nuclear energy power plant requires a lot of capital investment. However, the overall running costs of the plant are relatively cheap. The main input cost when harnessing nuclear energy is production of nuclear rods. Once a good supply is established, a constant supply of energy is guaranteed. Unlike fossil fuel which is bulky to store and transport, nuclear materials are less bulky and can thus be prepared and stored to ensure constant supply of energy without the need of large storage. Constant and Consistent Supply Nuclear power plants can be set up in any convenient place that meet s the safety standards. This implies that U.S does not have to depend on imported fossil fuel energy, which is usually affected by global political climate. For instance, the current political crisis that has affected northern African oil producing countries such as Libya has greatly affected fuel supply to U.S (Herbst and Hopley, 2007). Having nuclear power plants in U.S would ensure constant and efficient supply of energy to the whole population. Nuclear energy offers a long-term supply of energy enough to drive the U.S economy for many years. Therefore, nuclear energy offers not only a solution to the current overdependence on fossil fuels but also offers a long-term viable energy supply. Power Output Efficiency One of the main advantages of nuclear energy is the efficiency in power output. Nuclear energy is obtained from nuclear reactions in the atom of elements such as uranium. A very small amount of uranium is enough to produce a lot of heat energy during the nuclear reaction. This energy is used to drive steam turbines, which in turn generates electricity. Energy from fossil fuels requires extraction and refining of a very large amount of fossil ore to come up with a refined usable energy product. This comparison makes nuclear energy the preferred choice when it comes to power output efficiency. Effective interchangeability Advancement in Technology has made it possible to transform electric energy to a wide variety of forms. Hybrid and electric cars are increasingly becoming a reality. This makes electric energy to be the most preferred form of energy due to its wide variety of applications. Transforming fossil fuel energy to electricity requires burning of the fuel thereby contributing to environmental pollution. This does not come by surprise since the greatest percentage of global pollution comes from burning of fossil fuels in the process of transforming it from one form to another (Holt, 2008). Nuclear energy comes in as the best alternative. Prod uction of nuclear energy does not cause environmental pollution and the electric energy produced comes in a form ready to use in an environmental friendly way. Integrating Saint Leo’s Core Values The primary objective of any leadership is to serve the community with best interest in mind. When leadership provides the U.S community with efficient, safe, affordable, and stable supply of energy, the community will develop and advance. This is concurs with Saint Leo’

MySpace and Facebook are among the fastest growing sites on the web Essay

MySpace and Facebook are among the fastest growing sites on the web. But are these sites enriching or diminishing our social experience - Essay Example These web sites like Facebook and MySpace became popular as online community webs in a short period of time. People like these web sites as they can share their ideas with their friends and with the world, they can upload and comment on the photos and share these to their friends and other persons. But are these web online communities are helping people to be close to each other or these community web sites making people anonymous. Today we use internet a lot. Many people utilize most of their time on the internet using Facebook or MySpace or any other such web site. It has been found that people mostly the youth spend most of their time using the internet rather than watching television or doing other things (Gale).In the essay â€Å"Study rates online habits† Thomas gale writes that the rate of reading newspaper, magazine, listening radio and watching TV is declined with the rapid increase in the usage of internet. He says that only 20 percent people read magazine and 15 per cent read newspaper but 51 percent people spend more than 10 hours on the internet (Gale). On the internet there is no way to detect a lie. Susan Youngwood in the article â€Å"Networking by the ‘Book’: Vt. college students cull, gather friends on facebook.com† quotes Stone that â€Å"there is no way to determine truth from fiction on Facebook (Youngwood 2006).You can write whatever you want, put whatever picture you want. The picture doesn't even have to be of you.†¦ Photoshop,† he says, â€Å"is a wonderful thing†. That is the reasons that Susan says that it is impossible for the administration to look into the profile and make decisions about any student. Student use internet and social networking sites a lot (Youngwood 2006). They share their ideas and other such things. In the same article Susan Youngwood quotes Greg stone says that the students suppose that they are anonymous and states â€Å""Even though they say very, very, very, very private things, they do it because †¦ they don't have to look someone in the eye. We're real concerned about them understanding that." So the social network of students on the internet is not helpful for the administration to detect a fiction (Youngwood 2006). Now the youth ranging from 14 to 24 years old don’t know that who should be their heroes. Being busy in the network sites the young generation has not enough time to interact with their family in a proper manner. They unwillingly ignore their families and spend most of their time on the web. In the essay â€Å"Computers Will Not Significantly Transform Society† Clifford Stoll discourages the computer and networks and have the opinion that it is impossible for a person to enjoy more on a computer screen rather than a live concert. He says that a meeting over a coffee is incomparable with a chat on the internet and the term cybersex can never make a person such happy that a real can (Stoll). The vital characte ristics of the human interaction are neglected uncompromisingly. The values of the human interactions are replaced by the technology (Stoll). In the book â€Å"Computer and Society† Clifford states â€Å"A poor substitute it is, this virtual reality where frustration is legion and where--in the holy names of Education and Progress--important aspects of human interactions are relentlessly devalued† (Stoll). The social network sites on the one hand proving an ease of communication and interaction among the people but on the other hand the online communities are devaluing the

Week 3 Discussion Questions and Participation Questions Essay

Week 3 Discussion Questions and Participation Questions - Essay Example Group data refers to data that is illustrated in the form of a range such as 20-50. Ungrouped data shows single numbers such as 20,21,30,42. A good graphical technique to illustrate the prices of homes in a particular region is a bar graph. The bar graph can illustrate the different prices of homes in the area. The reason I choose a bar chart is because it reflects categorical data. Below is an example of a bar chart with five home prices ($100000, $150000, $200000, $175000, and $250000). The basic formula used in a regression analysis is y = a + bx. In this formula the y represents the dependent variable. This variable is subject to the independent variables to find the result of the equation. The dependent variable cannot be controlled, but the result is influenced by the values of the independent variable or variables. If the formula illustrated above had multiple independent variables the regression formula would be a multiple regression. â€Å"In mathematics the independent variable is one whose value does not depend on any other variable† (Wisegeek, 2010). In the formula mentioned above the X represent the independent variable. B is the slope of the regression line, while A represents the intercept point of the regression line and the y axis. Regression analysis is a tool that is very useful due to the fact that it allows managers to forecast information. Once the regression equation is created the user can alter the independent variable in order to fore cast something based on the model. The slope tells us how inclined is the regression line. An application that managers can use is forecasting its sales. The manager would have to input the sales of the company for multiple past periods such as ten years. Once the data is input into the linear regression the manager can forecast the future sales of the company. Regression analysis can be extremely useful to forecast any type of business data. Managers have a need to forecast the future due to the fact

People, Organizations and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

People, Organizations and Management - Essay Example The organization structure depicted narrowed perspectives due to the separateness of the different divisions. Horizontally it was separated in to divisions the two main ones being electronics and sales. Managers must have had difficulties and used a lot of time to relate to sales for instance which is an exclusively different division from product development. Consequently the reactions of the company in response to consumer demands were made more challenging. The organization structure was professional bureaucratic. In addition internal cooperation and effective communication may have been an issue. Oticon’s basic organizational design and structure differs from hotel easy due to its larger size and hence structural concepts likely to be more formal, decisions more central, experience more specialized and operations more complex. Initially, the organization vertically had a tall hierarchy with six levels of management. Easier communication and Decisions made are impeded since these processes become very slow in a company with many layers of hierarchy. The authority is mostly centralized and there was a lot of formalization. This structure does not expose the managers to other fields apart from their own. The managers have not the opportunity to observe how the all the departments interact and collectively perform. Previously option’s executives did not understand the interrelationships and the interdependence between the departments and hence ultimately what results is that the executives are only equipped with experiences in handling top management responsibilities hence the company’s goals and market needs do not mingle as they should. However the structure’s advantages are that it had well defined channels of authority and the structure minimized duplication of personnel and equipment than the one he later adopted. Functional structure makes it easier to monitor. The new C.E.O attempted to change this initial structure to

Quality Enhancement Policy Essay Example for Free

Quality Enhancement Policy Essay 1.1 Introduction and Background The Government of Pakistan established Higher Education Commission (HEC) in 2002 to facilitate growth of indigenous universities of Pakistan to become centers of quality of education and research and development. Though this process, HEC aims to play its role in building of knowledge-based economy in Pakistan. In order to achieve this goal, HEC has undertaken a systematic plan of implementation that is 5year Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF). The main aim of HEC was to focus on quality and relevance (HEC, 2010). The core strategic areas of MTDF are: 1- Faculty development 2- Improving enrollment 3- Quality in learning and research 4- Importance to national plan These plans are supported by well-integrated crosscutting themes for developing leadership, governance and management, enhancing quality assessment and accreditation, and physical and technological infrastructure development, (Batool, 2010). HEC introduces quality enhancement cell in universities for maintaining and improving the academic quality in the country by establishing that criteria are being met and educational activities are also in an agreement with the plans of the commission. According to international practices and development, HEC improves plans in order to more improve the standards. HEC intends to achieve excellence in the higher education and by taking major initiatives to develop the performance of universities and started up with the primary step of outlining the performance evaluation standards for the universities. For this, numbers of documents are defined, every document of these articulates a detailed element of the institutional quality. Therefor these documents are equally important for achieving the desired certifications to quality enhancement in higher education (Batool, 2010). Self-Assessment is an essential element in completing the HEC recognition. The recommendations for Self-Assessment are published as â€Å"The Manual for Self-Assessment† for the purpose of implementation at department / programed level in the universities. The complete practices of Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) are controlled by the QECs established under the umbrella of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) of HEC at the universities and consequently develop an integral part of the universities concerned. Furthermore the QECs also work in management with authorization bodies to make the process of program level accreditation. However, the institutional act of evaluation has many more measurements with greater complexity, (HEC, 2006).This thesis defines the Institutional performance evaluation standards and to make sure that quality establishment is certified by the HEC for the universities. The institutional act assessment comes under the Purview of the HEC whereas this process is dated by the results of IQA Exercise done by the universities through implementation of the â€Å"Self-Assessment Model†. The effects of Self-Assessment will agree to the process of Performance Evaluation Standards for the HEIs to be directed by the HEC in line with best performs of External Quality Assurance (Raouf,2010). The Higher Education Commission is working for continuous improvement of these standards and their effectiveness. The HEC through QAA will assess individual institutions periodically established on the performance evaluation standards defined here. These periodic reviews will be shown from side to side an arrangement of On-Site Assessment by Performance Assessment Teams under the direction of QAA. The quality standards observed by a university will be documented only as a result of successful performance assessment reviews through evaluation of institutional successes against pre-defined principles (HEC, 2011). To sustain academic quality and standards in higher education the institutions need to be professional, creative and innovative. The vision, mission and objectives are the essential values when applied in its principle, examined and measured are likely to be fruitful. The motivation of assigning all these movements and applying them under the authority of QEC is not only to emphasize on maintaining the best faculty, administrative staff and students but to be best in research, emerging interdisciplinary courses, academic performance, strategic and integrated academic planning (GCU, 2011) Quality in academic development means agreement of all the stakeholders where the challenge is to deliver education which is continuously improving and is at the same level with the international standards. In recent years it has become a requirement that institutions of higher education demonstrate the success of their academic programs in providing high quality education that impacts the concerned stakeholders. The Higher Education Commission develops methods for evaluating the quality of academic programs (Kanwal, 2007). Moreover with the establishment of Quality Assurance Agencies at Higher Education Commission, it was decided in the National Quality Assurance Committee (NQAC) meeting that Quality Enhancement Cells will be established at all universities to make stronger the internal quality assurance procedure with a special emphasis on the quality of higher education to fill the gap between the fundamental and the desired status of quality education, (HEC,2011). The matter of quality is being known as the major issue confronting the higher education sector in the Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF). Therefore, to enhance the quality of output and efficiency of the higher education learning systems, a mechanism for the establishment of QECs has been developed by the Quality Assurance Committee to improve the standards of quality of higher education in a systematic way with uniformity across the country. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) established Quality Enhancement Cells (QECs) at ten public sector universities in 2006-07 whereas in 2007-08 more twenty QECs were established in the remaining public sector universities for enhancement of their academic, teaching and learning standards. The QEC family is being extended to additional fifteen public sectors and fifteen private sector universities in 2009-10 and twenty four in public sector universities in 2010-11 (Zafar, 2006). At the moment, the HEC has given incentives to encourage research, appoint foreign faculty, funds for workshops and conferences, and granting scholarship to go overseas to present research or do postgraduate research. It shows the deep concern of HEC regarding QA. The quality of research is a special focus and HEC has developed a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism, (kanwal, 2007) It has established a QA Cell that states the necessity to improve a culture of assessment is always together with the concept of quality. Both internal self-evaluation and external reviews are dynamic components of any well-developed quality assurance system. It is entirely critical to monitor and control growth of sub-standard institutions of higher learning. A comprehensive multi-level mechanism of accreditation is to be developed to make sure establishment of quality education. Qualification needs to occur at the department or program level, as well as the Institutional level. (HEC, 2011) 1.2FUNCTIONS OF THE QUALITY ENHANCEMENT CELLS 1. The Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC) is to be supervised by a Dean reporting directly to Vice Chancellor/Rector. 2. QEC is responsible for maintaining public confidence that the quality and standards of the reward of degrees are improved and secured. 3. QEC is responsible for the review of quality standards and the quality of teaching and learning in each subject area. 4. QEC is responsible for the assessment of academic affiliations with other institutions in terms of effective management of standards and quality of programs. 5. QEC is responsible for essential clear and explicit standards as points of reference to the evaluations to be carried out. It should also help the employees to know as to what they could expect from candidates. 6. QEC is responsible to improve qualifications framework by setting out the qualities and skills that can be expected from the holder of a qualification, i.e. Bachelors, Bachelor with Honors, Master’s, M. Phil., and Doctoral. 7. QEC is respon sible to improve program qualifications. These are standard set of information clarifying what knowledge, understanding, skills and other qualities a student will have developed on successfully completing a Degree. 8. QEC is responsible to improve quality assurance processes and methods of assessment to affirm that the quality of provision and the standard of awards are being maintained and to foster a program of study, subject and staff development, together with research and other academic activities. 9. QEC is responsible to make sure that the universitys quality assurance techniques are designed to fit in with the arrangements in place nationally for maintaining and improving the quality of Higher Education. 10. QEC is responsible to develop procedures for the following: a). New programs approval b). Annual monitoring and evaluation including program, faculty, and students monitoring perception. c). Departmental assessment e). Student comment f). Comments of Employer g). Quality assurance of Masters, M.Phil and Ph.D. degree Programs h). Review of Subjects i). Institutional assessment j). Program specifications k). Qualification framework Universities play a significant role in the overall development of a country, their significance lies not only in providing degrees, but also in producing quality human resources for various zones of the economy (GIKI, 2011).To succeed this goal, Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) has designed some guiding principle to evaluate the quality of education in Pakistan to the ever changing conditions and global needs (HEC, 2011). It is state that Higher Education’s unique and symbolic phase is Quality Enhancement in Pakistan by IMscience that Importance of Quality can be understood from the fact that rapid development in higher education requires Quality Assurance in order to put up with current levels of academic standards and improve modern learning processes (IMScience, 2011).