Analysis of a company Texas Roadhouse Inc.

Executive summary The report analyses Texas Roadhouse Inc. with the aim of defining its strategic management model. Through SWOT analysis, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the company are established.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Analysis of a company Texas Roadhouse Inc. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Several strategic management tools like the SWOT matrix, internal evaluation matrix, EFE matrix, IE matrix, SPACE matrix, Grand matrix, BCG, CPM, and the QSPM have been applied on the analysis of the Texas Roadhouse restaurants. From the analysis it emerges that the company has a competitive advantage held on its products and the product price. It is also found that Texas Roadhouse Inc. has the capabilities and capacity of using its opportunities to deal with the threats exposed by the external environment. This can encourage further market penetration. Basically, the product of the co mpany has been the major reason why the company has remained competitive because it is unique. The internal factors evaluation matrix and the external factors evaluation have been recommended as the most appropriate strategic management tools as they will help the company grow. Outline Executive summary Texas Roadhouse existing mission, vision, objectives and strategies Developed mission and vision statement for the organization Texas Roadhouse external opportunities and threats competitive profile matrix (CPM) external factor evaluation matrix (EFE)Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Texas Roadhouse internal strengths and weaknesses. Other Matrices Internal evaluation matrix (IFE) SWOT Matrix Strategic position and action evaluation (SPACE) Matrix Boston consulting Group (BCG) Matrix Internal external matrix (IE) Grand Strategy Matrix Quantitative strategy planning matrix (Q SPM) Advantages and disadvantages of alternative strategies Financial ratios Specific strategies and long-term objectives Specific annual objectives and policies Procedures for strategy review and evaluation Projected financial statementAdvertising We will write a custom report sample on Analysis of a company Texas Roadhouse Inc. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Analysis of a company (Strategic Management Model) Texas Roadhouse restaurants existing mission, vision, objectives and strategies The mission of Texas Roadhouse is â€Å"Legendary Food, Legendary Service† (Texas Roadhouse, 2011) meaning that the company is there to stay through the provision of quality food to both the local and the international markets. It also means that the food and the services offered by the Texas Roadhouse restaurant are classic and legendary. The following are the objectives of the Texas Roadhouse; To provide high quality meals which are offered through friendly service To ensure that the customers are serviced with high quality and fresh food Use moderate prices for both food and drinks with the aim of attracting customers To increase sales as well as maintaining profits from the sales in the different existing restaurants To start new restaurants successfully and acquire others through franchising To expand their business both domestically and internationally so as to increase their market share. Provide a more relaxed atmosphere for its customers by creating a fun and relaxing atmosphere. To maximize sales all the year round as well as retaining the market share. Offer food and beverage prices that are affordable by all customers across a wider range of customers’ spectrum. Strategies applied The Texas Roadhouse has designed an operating strategy that would position each it is different restaurants as the domestic destination for the different segmented rage of consumers looking for meals of high quality and affordable as well as served in both attentive and friendly service (Texas Roadhouse, 2011). The operating strategy is based on a number of concepts that have enabled the fast and sustainable growth of the Texas Roadhouse restaurants. These key operative key components are; Offer of high quality and freshly prepared meals (Texas Roadhouse, 2011), to the different chain of customers. The company places great deal in ensuring that all the customers are able to acquire high quality and freshly made food all the time. This is achieved through the hand cutting of the steaks and preparing them in a customer satisfying manner. Throughout the restaurants’, Texas Roadhouse has developed unique recipes to ensure consistency in the food quality as well as their taste (Texas Roadhouse, 2011). To ensure that the food is of high quality, the management team inspects all the entrees before they are presented to the customer to ensure that the customers’ orders are matched.Advert ising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The order is also checked to confirm that that the expected standards are met of high quality, appearance as well as its presentation. On top of this, the management has been able to employ a product team coaches who provide continued training to kitchen staff. The education and the training of the kitchen staff is geared towards uniformity in recipes, portion size, food appearance, food safety standards, and the preparation procedures (Texas Roadhouse, 2011). The company offers a manager compensation which is performance based (Texas Roadhouse, 2011). The supervisors and managers who are also referred to as managing partners and market partners are compensated on performance based index. To ensure that the partners are well compensated, each partner is paid a particular salary and performance bonuses which is based on the partners share in the pretax income. This is aimed at attracting highly motivated, talented, skilled, and experienced market and managing partners. The company fo cuses on allocating most of its time on dinner. The operating hours are limited to dinner and the teams are offered a single shift on the weekdays to offer time for managing and preparing the dinner. This is geared towards the preparation of high quality meals with consistency to the different segmented loyal customers. Through the focus on the dinner, the Texas Roadhouse has been able to attract and retain experienced management team. Lastly, the company focuses on the low ration table servers to ensure that their teams’ servers focus greatly on the different esteemed guests. The dinners are served on individualized levels to ensure that each client get what they have ordered. Texas Roadhouse has been able to offer attractive price points to its different customers (Texas Roadhouse, 2011). The company has devised offers moderate prices levels to its beverages and food. The prices are sometimes even lower than competitors to attract a wider range of customers. Each of the mea l has different price points aimed at attracting different customers with different income levels and make them satisfied by making them feel appreciated. The expectations of all the customers are met in Texas roadhouse as well as by meeting their budgets. For example, steaks and checks have different prices with a difference in the weight of each steak. The restaurant has devised a per guest average check which is based on the number of sales divided by the guests numbers and offered at $14.63 (Texas Roadhouse, 2011). Texas Roadhouse Inc has created a comfortable and fun atmosphere for its guests. The company believes in repeat business thus the need for comfortable atmosphere. For instance, the company has lodge dà ©cor which have different artifacts, rugs, Southwestern prints, neon signs, and hand painted murals (Texas Roadhouse, 2011). On top of these, the restaurants offer jukeboxes that usually play country music hits in a ceasing manner. It also offers in-house entertainment like birthday celebrations, and line dancing. Developed mission and vision statement for the organization Mission of the Texas Roadhouse restaurant could be â€Å"the provision of high quality foods, with friendly services† whilst the vision statement would be† to be the leading provider of highly quality foods in affordable food prices.† Texas Roadhouse Restaurants’ external opportunities and threats SWOT is an analysis framework that gives the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats that an organisation faces in the market industry (Hill Westbrook, 1997, p. 48). According to Bohm (2009) SWOT analysis uses an integrated approach to confront internal strengths and weakness of a company as well as the external opportunities to the company and the threats it faces so as to come up with strategic options. SWOT analysis is used by organisations for marketing and strategic planning processes (Kern 2001). The following external threats and opportunities have been developed. External opportunities External threats The restaurants has diversified operations in both domestic and international levels It has the capacity of attracting different people based on its segmentation, positioning and target strategy. The different 71 restaurant outlets are able to attract customers at different localities thus retaining its market share. The restaurant has the capacity of attracting different experienced, highly motivated and skilled marketing and managing partners. The company is in position of franchising different restaurant joints in different localities in the world. The company faces competition from other restaurants in the hospitality industry. Changes in consumers’ tastes and preferences from the beef and the cuisines during different times of the year. It faces external threat from the changing market conditions, financial crisis, inflation, changes in currency exchange rates, and the changes in the interest rates o ffered in different countries Anticipation in the change of food costs and supply costs may affect the food prices lowering the number of customers. The quality of beef and other related food stuffs offered in Texas roadhouse restaurants especially in states that do not eat beef retailed food stuffs. Negative publicity either as a result of low quality food or litigation matters threatens the operations of the restaurants. Diseases that affect cows like the foot and mouth diseases or the mad cow can adversely affect the operations of the company. Any financial breakdown of the different franchisees of the Texas Roadhouse can affect the whole food chain of the company. Future financial financing of the food chain are determined by factors like demand, operational costs, and market conditions and projections which are unpredictable business factors. The company is faced with natural catastrophes like earthquakes, diseases, floods and other negative natural disasters. Human made catast rophes like war, internal conflicts in the countries with operations as well as acts of terrorism pose a great danger of threat to the restaurant. Unforeseen and anticipated macro economic conditions like changes in tax laws, debt, changes in the commodity prices and increased rate of unemployment could adversely affect the business. Increased labor costs in the future may impact negatively leading to employees/ workers shortages. Increased impairment of long lived assets like goodwill and restaurants closures leading to losses. Financial losses as a result of the current litigation, financial crisis, and the effects in the global financial markets. Increase in the cost of fuels affecting transport of the different customers as well as the operational energy required in the different restaurants. Competitive profile matrix (CPM) A competitive profile matrix is a based on the analysis of the different competitors as well as their different strengths and weakness in respect to th e strategic position of the firm or company in question (Torlak, Sanal, 2007; Schultz Kitchen, 2000). For convenient purposes, the CPM will be based on the top competitors of Texas Road house restaurants in the region. The top competitors are McDonalds Corporation, Yum! Brands Inc. Following success factors will be put into the considerations during the construction of the CPM and they are advertising, product quality, price, competiveness, management, financial position, market position, customer loyalty, global expansion, and market share The ratings range from 1 to 4 where 1 represents poor representation, 2 is average, 3 above average, and 4 superior. The weighted score is applied through the multiplication of the weight and factor ratings. Lastly, the total weighted score should range from 1.0 to 4.0 where 1.0 is the lower range and the 4.0 the higher range. For CPM matrix an average is estimated at 2.5 and below 2.5 is considered as weak one. The firm with the highest weight ed score is regarded as the winner among the different competitors Texas Roadhouse MacDonald’s Corp Yum Brands Key success factors Weight Rating Weighted score Rating Weighted score Rating Weighted score Advertising product quality Price Competiveness Management, Financial position, Customer loyalty, Global expansion Market share 0.1 0.15 0.10 0. 1 0.15 0.1 0.1 0.15 0.05 3 4 4 3 4 3 4 2 2 0.3 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.1 3 4 4 4 3 3 3 4 4 0.3 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.45 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.2 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 2 3 0.2 0.45 0.3 0.3 0.45 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.15 Total 1.0 3.3 3.65 2.85 Based on the CPM matrix Macdonald Corporation has the highest level of score compared to the other two. Texas Roadhouse emerges as the second with a score of 3.65 which implies that its standing is above average. This means that it’s strategic positioning in the market although it is below MacDonald’s but below the Yum Brands. An external factor evaluation matrix (EFE) EFE matrix is an assess ment carried to determine external factors through the use of the opportunities and threats faced by a company (Torlak, Sanal, 2007). It is based on the external factors evaluation like the technological, legal, political, social, cultural, demographics, economic, and competitive information among others (Kotler Keller, 2006). The weighted score, weight, and the ratings are basically based on the same synopsis as in the CPM matrix Key external factors weight rating Weighted Score Opportunities Diversified global markets Global customers Geographical segmentation Attracting experienced and skilled management team Franchising Threats Global competition Increased players in the industry Natural catastrophes Macro economic conditions like inflation Global financial crisis Changes in rate of interest rates and the currency exchange rates Change in customers demand Disease infections 0.2 0.1 0.05 0.05 0.15 0.10.1 0.02 0.01 0.05 0.1 0.050.01 0.01 4 3 2 4 4 33 2 1 3 3 43 2 0.8 0 .3 0.1 0.2 0.6 0.30.3 0.04 0.01 0.15 0.3 0.20.03 0.02 Total weighted score 1.0 3.35 Based on the EFE matrix, the weighted score of the Texas Roadhouse restaurant is at 3.35 which is above the average of 2.5. This means that the company has the capabilities and capacity of using its opportunities to deal with the threats exposed by the external environment. If also means that the company can favorably compete in the market although it has more threats than the opportunities. However, the opportunities have more weight compared to the weight of the threats. Internal strengths and weaknesses Internal strengths of the Texas Roadhouse restaurant have been formulated using the SWOT analysis tool. Internal strengths Internal weaknesses The company has developed a strong brand It is able to offer high quality food and beverages Has skilled employees Has training and education programs for its kitchen staff It offers affordable prices It has a segmented market based on demograph ics and geographical representations It has been able to franchise its restaurants Enjoys profits from different counties which have different tax rates and laws It owns its trademarks It has the legal intellectual rights on its developed recipes Offers high quality meals Has developed fun and relaxing atmosphere for its customers It relies more on beef as the raw material It has its major operations in Texas Depends more on franchising It depends much on the dinner as the major course meal Depends much on fresh products as it serves fresh food Internal evaluation matrix (IFE) IFE matrix is a tool used in strategic management to evaluate the weakness and the strengths of an organization (Torlak, Sanal, 2007). Based on the point pointer scale, the IFE weights, rating and weighted scored are ranked the same as explained under the CPM matrix Key external factors weight rating Weighted Score Strengths The company has developed a strong brand offer high quality food and b everages Has skilled employees Has training and education programs It offers affordable prices It has a segmented market Enjoys profits from different countries It owns its trademarks has intellectual rights on its recipes Offers high quality meals Weaknesses It relies more on beef as the raw material Has major operations in Texas Depends more on franchising It depends much on the dinner Depends on fresh products food 0.1 0.12 0.04 0.08 0.04 0.05 0.04 0,03 0.04 0.050.1 0.15 0.8 0.04 0.04 4 4 3 4 3 3 3 4 3 41 2 2 1 1 0.4 0.48 0.12 0.32 0.12 0.15 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.200.10 0.3 0.16 0.04 0.04 Total weighted score 1.0 2.79 The indication by the total weighted score of the Texas Roadhouse Restaurant is that implies that the company has the capabilities of turning the weaknesses from weaknesses to strengths. Since the score is above 2.5 which is the weighted average, the company is positioned better in the market. SWOT Matrix It evaluates the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, a nd threats facing a company (Torlak, Sanal, 2007) Strengths The company has developed a strong brand It is able to offer high quality food and beverages Has skilled employees Has training and education programs for its kitchen staff It offers affordable prices It has a segmented market based on demographics and geographical representations It has been able to franchise its restaurants Enjoys profits from different counties which have different tax rates and laws It owns its trademarks It has the legal intellectual rights on its developed recipes Offers high quality meals Has developed fun and relaxing atmosphere for its customers Weaknesses It relies more on beef as the raw material It has its major operations in Texas Depends more on franchising It depends much on the dinner as the major course meal Depends much on fresh products as it serves fresh food Opportunities Domestic and international markets Presence of segmented market. Has capacity to franchise The restau rant can attract experienced, highly motivated and skilled partners. Emergency of new markets Threats Competition from other restaurants in the industry. Changes in consumers’ tastes and preferences Changing market conditions, financial crisis, inflation, currency exchange rates, and interest rates Changes in the costs of foods and supply costs Negative publicity Diseases like the foot and mouth or the mad cow. Litigations issues Changes in demand, operational costs, and market conditions Natural catastrophes like earthquakes, diseases, and floods. Changes in Macro economic conditions like tax laws, debt, commodity prices and increased rate of unemployment Increased labor costs in the future. Increased impairment of long lived assets like goodwill and restaurants. Financial losses as a result of the current litigation, financial crisis, and the effects in the global financial crisis. Increase in the cost Strategic position and action evaluation (SPACE) Matrix SPACE is used to determine the strategic options that a company has for its operations (Joshi, 2005; Torlak, Sanal, 2007). Table below shows the different strategies based on Texas Roadhouse restaurant which helps develop the SPACE matrix Internal Strategic position External strategic position X- Axia Competitive (CA) Industry strength (IS) -1 Market share -1 Image and branding -3 Market share -2 Quality of product Average -1.75 +6 Franchising +5 Financing accessibility +4 Entry barriers +4 Growth potential Average + 4.75 Total X axis score = 3.0 Y- Axis Financial Strength (FS) Environmental Stability (ES +5 Cash flow +6 Liquidity +4 Leverage +5 Rate of Adjustments Average +5.0 -3 Inflation -4 Financial crisis -1 Preferences and demand -1 Taxation Average -2,25 Total Y axis score = 2.75 SPACE Matrix From the SPACE matrix above, Texas Roadhouse should pursue aggressive strategy since it has a strong competitive position in the hospitality industry. It can use its interna l strengths to gain a huge market share. Boston consulting Group (BCG) Matrix It is a strategic Management tool which is based on product development and market penetration and relates to the different stages of product life cycle (Griffin, 2011). The matrix consists of the BCG question marks, dogs, stars, and the cash cows (Armstrong, 2006). Stars represent high market growth and market share and when kept they lead to more cash. The question marks mean that the firm’s products are in a growing market although it has a low market share (Griffin, 2011). Have low returns since they are unfamiliar to the buyers. The cash cows have low growth although they have a high market share. Through competitive advantage, cash cows lead to high profits. The dogs are products that exist in a low market growth as well as low market share (Porter, 1998). For Texas Roadhouse, it can invest its stars, to boost its cash cows. It should avoid the BCG dogs as they can negatively impact the compa ny and prioritize on its question marks and transform them to stars. Internal external matrix (IE) IE combines both the IFE and the EFE to aid in analyzing the strategic position and the working conditions of a business in an industry. Below is the Texas Roadhouse IE matrix. EFE = 3.35 and IFE 2.F meeting at point A which is a high level to grow and build. This means that Texas Roadhouse has to develop a growth and build strategy which requires aggressive and intensive strategies. The adopted strategies could focus more on product development, market development, and market penetration. Operational perspectives should adopt strategies like horizontal and forward integration. Grand Strategy Matrix It gives alternatives of management strategies that can be adopted by an organization. It is basically based on four quadrants each with set of strategies (Torlak, Sanal, 2007). Based on the matrix strategy matrix below, Texas Roadhouse falls under the first quadrant because it has a comp etitive advantage which can be used for expansion. It also concentrates on a single product which can be used for further market penetration. Since the company has high resources it can concentrate on forward, backward, and horizontal expansion. Quantitative strategy planning matrix (QSPM) for Texas Roadhouse Quantitative strategy planning matrix (QSPM) for Texas Roadhouse Key factors Alternative 1 (Acquire a competitor Alternative 2 (Expand internally Weight Attractiveness score Total attractiveness score Weight Attractiveness score Total attractiveness score Strengths Strong brand Skilled employees Well segmented Affordable prices weaknesses It relies on beef Major operations in Texas Depends on franchising. It depends much on the dinner. Depends on fresh products 0.08 0.06 0.15 0.130.12 0.170.060.100.13 1 2 4 43 0113 0.08 0.12 0.60 0.520.36 00.060.100.39 0.11 0.15 0.11 0.090.9 0.120.080.150.10 4 1 2 30 1324 0.44 0.15 0.22 0.270 0.120.240.300.40 Sum weights 1.00 1. 00 Opportunities Diversified markets Global customers Geographical segmentation Attracting experienced and skilled management team Franchising Threats Global competition Global financial crisis Change in demand 0.12 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.09 0.20 0.15 0 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0.16 0.1 0.12 0 0.09 0.2 0.0 0.09 0.16 0.14 0.08 0.10 0.18 0.09 0.16 4 2 2 0 1 2 3 1 0.36 0.32 0.28 0 0.10 0.36 0.27 0.16 Sum w eights 1.00 1.00 Sum total score of attractiveness 2.90 3.99 From the QSPM matrix above expanding the company internally would be appropriate as it has the highest score of 3.99 while the other option has a score of 2.90. Internal expansion could be adoption of information technology which has numerous benefits to an organization. Advantages and Disadvantages of Alternative Strategies Advantages Disadvantages It offers company wide range of alternatives Encourages pooling of resources It assists in calculating cost benefit analysis It is essential in ensuring that a c ompany achieves it goals Company is able to know its weakness, strengths, threats and opportunities Costly to implement Wastes time in choosing the most appropriate strategy Specific strategies and long-term objectives Some of the recommendable strategies would be the adoption of the IFE and the EFE matrices. These strategic, management tools have the capacity of the company help in determining the internal and the external factors that would in directing the company’s direction. The objectives of these strategies would help turn the threats into opportunities and weaknesses to opportunities. Other long term objective would be ensuring that it gains its organizational goals and objectives. Financial ratios All figures are in thousand dollars Current Ratio = current Assets Current liabilities = 113,922/ 112,058 = 1.01 Since the current ratio is above one it means that Texas Roadhouse has no liquidity issue Quick ratio = quick assets/current liabilities = 113,922/112,7 29 = 1.01 Quick ratio = currents assets—inventories 113,922- 1,193 112,729 Working capital = current Assets – current liabilities = 113,922-112,058 = 1864 The working capital of Texas Roadhouse is not negative meaning that it has no financial pressure thus no foreseen financial difficulties. Debt ratio = total Debt/total assets 52,180/ 702,801 0.074 Debt to equity ratio = total debt/total equity =52,180/ 499,382 = 0.10 Texas Roodhouse restaurant has a debt ratio and a debt equity ratio of less than one meaning that their debts cannot lead to the liquidation of the company equity. Recommended specific annual objectives and policies Following are the annual objectives and policies; Increase the market share of Texas Roadhouse by the end of the next financial year. Achieve the projected market cash sales of 10% in the next quarter. Expand the business internally through forward and vertical integration methods Recommended procedures for strategy review and evaluation St rategy review and evaluation will be carried on quarterly basis so as to explore whether the implemented strategies are in place. This will go only for one year until the implementation process is complete. The implementation costs of the strategies are projected to use five percent of the generated income. However, in case the strategies seem inappropriate, contingency plan will be used to analyze the situation. After the first quarter, a cost benefit analysis will be carried. Other methods of financial evaluation will also be applied to review and evaluate the effectiveness of the chosen strategies Projected financial statements The projections are that the sales of the Texas Roadhouse restaurant will increase by 10% which will lead to a proportionate increase in all assets. Projected Balance Sheet Reference List Armstrong, M. (2006). A handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. (10th edition). London: Kogan Page. Bohm, A. (2009). The SWOT Analysis. München: GRIN Verlag . Griffin, R. W. (2011). Management. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Hill, T., Westbrook, R. (1997). SWOT Analysis: It’s Time for a Product Recall. Long  Range Planning, 30 (1): 46–52. Joshi, R. M. (2005). International Marketing. New Delhi and New York: Oxford University Press. Kern, R. (2001). S.U.R.E.-fire direct response marketing: generating business-to-business sales leads for bottom-line success. New York: McGraw-Hall. Kotler, P., Keller, K.L. (2006). Marketing Management. (12th ed). New York: Pearson Prentice Hall. Porter, M. (1998). Competitive Advantage. (revised ed.). New York: The Free Press. Schultz, D. E., Kitchen, P. J. (2000). Communicating Globally. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Texas Roadhouse. (2011). Texas Roadhouse, Inc: Annual Report 2010. 1-132. Torlak, N. G., Sanal, M. (2007). David’s strategy formulation framework in action: The example of Turkish airlines on domestic air transportation. Web. This report on Analysis of a company Texas Roadhouse Inc. was written and submitted by user London O. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Nutrition Essay Writing 10 Facts to Disclose in the Paper

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Due to it, a person consumes a great variety of fruit and vegetables. The orange day can contain carrot, and a green day may include spinach. They improve eye health because they have much zeaxanthin and lutein. Human brains contain fat, 10-20 percent of which is provided by Omega 3. Scientists differentiate between several main types of Omega 3. EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid): fatty fish, eggs, algae, and fish oil; ALA (alpha-linolenic acid): plant oils. Lack of Omega 3 fats can lead to serious health and mental complications like low IQ, mental problems, depression, cardiovascular diseases, and a great number of others. Vitamin D is vitally important for people. As a rule, human organism gets it through the skin. The main source of vitamin D is the sun rays. Unfortunately, most people use protecting creams or stay at home when there is much sun outside. That’s why people should consume one tablespoon of cod liver oil or some Vitamin D supplement. If a body lacks vitamin D, a person can suffer osteoporosis, cancer, diabetes, and many other health problems. Scientists can’t completely prove whether carbs and fats are harmful to the human organism or not. The fact is that refined carbs are more harmful than unrefined ones. Whole-grain cereals, fruits, vegetables, and beans contain enough unrefined carbs and refined flour, and sugar contains many refined carbs. When a person keeps to a high-carb diet, the organism can lack a great number of nutritious things like fiber. While eating too many refined carbs a person can have high blood sugar. That can provoke diabetes, obesity, and other diseases. It’s impossible to fulfill the body with vitamins and minerals due to supplements. A person should vary meals to avoid a great number of various diseases. The exception is Vitamin D because not everyone can stand the impact of sun rays, like albinos. Diets are not effective. If a person stops eating some food for a period, the body considers it as starving. When a person returns to usual meals, the body tries to restore the lost elements and a person can gain more kilos than before the diet. That’s why it’s important to change a lifestyle. When a person leads a normal way of life, the body gets everything it requires and doesn’t try to restore the lost elements together with weight. Women who eat healthily can also suffer nausea, constipation, and heartburn. However, proper nutrition can ease the symptoms. A pregnant woman mustn’t eat â€Å"for two† as the myth says. It’s necessary to add 300 calories daily during the second and the third trimester to have enough nutrition. A mother-to-be should get 75-100 grams of protein, 1000 milligrams of Calcium, 27 milligrams of Iron, 600 to 800 micrograms of Folic Acid, and 85 milligrams of Vitamin C daily. She also must avoid badly cooked meals not to get salmonella, toxoplasmosis, and other bad bacteria. The chosen topic must be good and lack investigation so that a student could show personal opinion. References: Husband-Coached Childbirth by Robert Bradley, M.D., Marjie Hathaway, Jay Hathaway, James Hathaway . bradleybirth.com/Diet.aspx Kris Gunnars, BS. Top 10 Nutrition Facts That Everyone Agrees on, March 27. 2018 https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-10-nutrition-facts#section4 Parent Tips. Use the Nutrition Facts Label. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/wecan/downloads/nutritionlabel.pdf

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Hacking the Accounting Information System - Essay Example These authorized personnel will for this reason have passwords and codes to access these document. Mostly these passwords to the system will be only available to heads of departments. These passwords can sometimes be breached by individuals with capability to unlock them and thus access some accounts. This act of illegally accessing accounts of a firm by breaching their password is what is referred to as hacking. These hackers usually illegally enter into these accounts with the intentions of getting confidential information of that particular firm either to help them counter competition illegally. Accounting system provides firms with a platform to record and document all their daily business transactions. In today’s technology environment, most firms choose to launch and keep their accounting system in modernized recording keeping platforms (Turner &. Weickgenannt, 2013). Accounting system can also be launched and kept through manual record keeping system though. Both manual and electronic systems come in with different benefits and challenges. Manual systems for example tend to be costly considering expenses and time needed to manage it. The manual system however provides a relatively better platform for understanding the underlying guideline of accounting (Turner & Weickgenannt, 2013). Electronic system on the other hand comes in handy in terms of speed of processing accounting data. These automated systems are never prone to mathematical errors. This error free attribute is due to the fact that in automated systems, the accountant just need to enter information and then the alternate steps like keeping up ledgers and accounts is performed from the prior information documented earlier. The automated systems are thus quicker and work well in recovering already stored data. Most advance firms tend to prefer this system to the manual system. The automated system is however often exposed to several sever danger like hacking (Turner & Weickgenannt,

Community Emergency Preparedness and Response Oral Presentation Research Paper

Community Emergency Preparedness and Response Oral Presentation - Research Paper Example The five boroughs make up the counties. The Staten Island is in Richmond County, Brooklyn is in the King County, the Bronx is in the Bronx County. The Queens is found in Queens County and Manahattan, New York County. In 1898, the five boroughs were merged to form a single city. In area,Queens is the largest County, because it holds 108 square miles,while Brooklyn has the highest population containing 2.3 million residents as estimated by the census conducted in 1990. The 2012 census in New York estimated the population to be 8,33697 within an area of 783.8 square kilo meters. New York City is referred to the most diverse city in terms of linguistics because residents there speak over 800 different languages. The Metropolitan Area, in New York City is the most populated in The United States, with 18.9 million residents occupying an area of 17,1400 square kilo meters (Carroll, 2012). See the illustration below Retrieved on March 26, 2013, from, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ances try.com/~genealogylinks/dmst/%20-dmstgfx/NY/NYC-5B.gif Population New York is the third greatest state in population. California and Texas take first and second place respectively. As portrayed by the 2010 census, the population of New York residents was at 19,378,102, an aggrandizement of more than 400,000 people. The 2000-2006 transition in population was as a result of natural causes such as birth and death. During that period, the total population was 601,779 persons in that; the number of births which was 1,576,125 deduct the number of deaths which was 974,346 less the residents migrating who added up to 422,481 persons. Retrieved on March 26, 2013, from, http://climatechange.thinkaboutit.eu/scripts/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/imagemanager/files/nyc_population.png Geographic New York City is situated at the meeting point of the Atlantic Ocean and River Hudson, South East of The State Of New York. The city is surrounded by three islands, Staten Island, Manhattan And Wester n Long Island. This is the reason why the city is densely populated due to the scarcity of land. River Hudson flows the Hudson Valley and enters New York Bay, resulting to a tidal bay, demarcating Northern New Jersey from Manahattan and Bronx. Harlem River, is another tidal anchorage, separating the Bronx from Manhattan. The New York City counties sprawl between two Eastern North American provinces bordering each other. Long Island, the location of Queens and Brooklyn are constituted in the plains of East Coast. Long Island, a huge ridge was formed at the Southern Borderline of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in the last glacial period. Newark Basin is an incrustation of the earth that subsided during the decomposition of the Supercontinent Pangaea in the Triassic period. The area which New York City occupies is approximated to be 831.4 square kilometers. Be that as it may, an estimation done more recently states that the area is now at 784.4 square kilometers. Todt Hill is said to be the most apical natural point situated on Staten Island at 124.9 meters above sea level. Retrieved on March 26, 2013, from, http://www.ny.com/images/nycmap-s.gif Physical Features The City Of New York has many physical features including The Broklyn Bridge, a historical landmark which has an earth bound footer and a bicycle alley set above the avenues of traffic. The bridge is used by residents and tourists to cross from one view point on the river to the other.

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management Essay Example for Free

International Journal of Retail Distribution Management Essay Introduction Sales promotion is the offer of an incentive to induce a desired sales result (Gilbert, 1999). For our purposes promotional techniques, within UK supermarkets, have been taken to be value increasing promotions (i. e. coupons and price deals) and value adding (i. e. premiums, prizes/contests/sweepstakes, samples, point of purchase display, demonstration and loyalty cards). Sales promotion consists of a wide variety of short-term tactical promotional tools aimed at generating a desired response from customers. Although there is a shift in marketing communications, away from advertising towards sales promotions, there is no consensus among researchers that sales promotions lead to repeat purchase. It is agreed, however, that price promotions can result in a short-term increase in sales (Smith and Sinha, 2000; Banks and Moorthy, 1999; Kopalle and Mela, 1999; Diamond, 1992; Gupta and Cooper, 1992; Bawa and Shoemaker, 1987). It is also important to note that studies of price promotions also show that customers who take advantage of a price promotion often return to their favourite brands (Ehrenberg et al. 1994; Brandweek, 1994). There is a large body of literature, which has examined consumer response to sales promotions, especially coupons (Krishna and Zhang, 1999; Huff and Alden, 1998; Leone and Srinivasan, 1996; Bawa and Shoemaker, 1987, 1989; Gupta, 1988, 1993; Blattberg and Neslin, 1990). Coupons and discounts are the most widely used promotional tools. However, relatively little research has focussed on value adding promotions. In coupon promotions retailers maintain the original price of the product and it is only coupon holders who are entitled to a discount. As buyers are not subject to a reduction in sales price there is no need for them to adjust their internal reference prices downwards, as is the case with discount promotions. Therefore, coupon promotions should be more attractive than discount promotions in improving the transaction value of the product. However, consumers must keep track of the coupons and produce them at the place of purchase. If consumers are used to utilising coupons then they are likely to have a more positive attitude towards them (Huff and Alden, 1998). Also, if a The authors D. C. Gilbert is Professor of Marketing and N. Jackaria is a Researcher, both at Surrey European Management School, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK. Keywords Sales promotion, Retail trade, Food industry, Marketing Abstract UK supermarkets need to be able to assess the current efficacy of the budget they allocate to promotional activities aimed at boosting sales. Therefore, the main objective of this article is to investigate consumer response to the four different promotional deals most commonly used in UK supermarkets: coupons, price discounts, samples and buy-one-get-one-free. Multi discriminant analysis was used on a study of 160 respondents to analyse whether there was an association between the four consumer promotional approaches and respondents reported buying behaviour. The findings indicate that only price discount promotions proved to be statistically significant on consumers reported buying behaviour. Purchase acceleration and product trial are found to be the two most influential variables related to a discount. For buy-one-get-one-free, while the result is not significant, the two variables, brand switching and purchase acceleration are statistically significant.

The Relationship Between Early Humans and Their Environment :: Environment Environmental Pollution Preservation

The Relationship Between Early Humans and Their Environment In television shows and textbooks, early humans are often presented as being an isolated force within their environments - that is, that they evolved with relatively little influence from their environment. This view often stresses the advances of human beings and their exploitation of the environment as a function of their anatomical development, particularly brain capacity. However, it fails to address the fact that human beings were not as we know ourselves to be today; that we were simply another large carnivore interacting with many different types of animals and environmental conditions, who happened to evolve into a social creature with capacities for reason and innovation. I believe that that aspect of human evolution is extremely important because it is the only way in which one can begin to decipher the reasons why humans evolved from a relatively "dumb" creature, one among many, to the animal which they are today. In A Green History of the World, Clive Ponting analyzes human history from humans' hunter-gatherer roots, their ability to stand upright, their use of speech, and their use of tools. Mary Stiner would emphasize that although these aspects of humanity are important, it is just as fruitful, if not more so, to study the interactions of humans with their faunal counterparts. In doing so, one can try to uncover the reasons why humans evolved into large predators capable of using speech and tools to survive rather than remain like their primate relatives, who are relatively non-predatory. In Stiner's article, "Modern Human Origins - Faunal Perspectives," she emphasizes that because of changes within human beings themselves and changes in the environment (climactic conditions and types of surrounding predators, competitors, and prey) were human beings able to perhaps diverge from these primates with non-modern human characteristics and instead evolve to resemble their predatory competitors. Interestingly, a work on the nature of dogs has shed some insight into this idea of Stiner's - that the predatory competitors of humans rather than human ancestors heavily influenced humans in their hunting and lifestyle habits. It has been debated for some time how dogs became domesticated animals, how and from where they evolved, and how they helped humans to evolve. In a New York Times article by Nicholas Wade ("From Wolf to Dog, Yes, but When?"), Wade convincingly argues that perhaps dogs were never domesticated by humans, but rather domesticated themselves as a survival skill.

Leading Change

â€Å"The harder you push, the harder the system pushes back† is the 2nd law in The Laws of the Fifth Discipline.   These laws are the core of a process called systems thinking and the concept is that it’s â€Å"best to manage the system, not just the individual processes.†Ã‚   (West & Cianfrani, 2004, p. 69)   Corporations have a tendency to look at the â€Å"direct linear cause and effect relationships,† rather than looking at â€Å"interactions.†Ã‚   (West & Cianfrani, 2004, p. 69)   Peter Senge’s book The Fifth Discipline identified 10 laws that defined systems thinking. The 2nd law in The Laws of the Fifth Discipline can be interpreted as â€Å"Compensating feedback.†Ã‚   Senge defines this as â€Å"when well-intentioned interventions call forth responses from the system that offset the benefits of the intervention.†Ã‚   (Senge, 1990, p. 58) In other words, the more effort exerted to change or improve the current organizational processes, the more effort it requires. Organizations have experienced this process when, for example, a product or brand suddenly begins to lose its popularity within the market.   When organizations begin to push new marketing strategies aggressively it often turns out that more revenue is spent on the marketing efforts with only a temporary pay back.   This process is not only limited to the business market, it can also be illustrated in personal experiences.   Senge uses the smoker as an example – if a person who is a regular smoker suddenly quits he or she might begin to gain weight, become frustrated with personal appearance and then suddenly begin smoking again.   (Senge, 1990, p. 59) As humans it is natural for us to get drawn into the process of compensating feedback.   We push harder and it’s exhausting and we often â€Å"glorify the suffering that ensues.†Ã‚   (Senge, 1990, p. 59)   When our efforts to produce change fail initially, we push harder and often have the belief that our hard work and effort will overcome all of the obstacles in front of us. However, compensating feedback is a process where we become blind to the fact that our efforts are actually contributing to the current obstacles we are facing as well as creating others we must overcome. (Senge, 1990, p. 59-60) Over the past two decades information and communication technology has continuously evolved and has empowered small businesses and large corporations with new emerging markets and tools.   The Internet has become the information highway and has impacted both social and economic relationships in various sectors such as education, health, government, trade and tourism.   (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. vii) In order to maintain its impact on society the information technology must continuously evolve to compensate for future needs for both local and global societies.   (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. VI)   Focusing on one idea or concept that does not elicit long-term success consumes time and effort that is imperative to online success. The consistent evolution of technology and the platforms provided are numerous and are impacting our society regularly.   These newly emerging technologies affect the way we do business, communicate with others, daily entertainment, study and do research.   (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. VI)   Ecommerce is the largest growing platform of the World Wide Web and it has provided a â€Å"new momentum of doing business in the digital economy.†Ã‚   (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. VI) In order to compensate and adjust to the constant change through the internet environment we must be able to identify the implications. At the end of 2004 it was estimated that 750 million users represented the Internet community worldwide.   (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. VI) The e-marketplaces consist of various products and services that market their products both from Business to Business and Business to consumer.   These products and services provide value for both buyers and sellers. In order to create a successful ecommerce venture processes must be transformed from the traditional ways of doing business to modern Internet transactions that are efficient to both the buyer and the seller.   The biggest challenge for internet businesses is adapting to the virtual environment and integrating their current business processes into the e-marketplace. (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. 97) The Internet environment has its benefits as well as disadvantages, or threats.   On a local business level it immediately provides â€Å"easy and fast entrance to new markets,† 24/7 business hours, less physical structure maintenance, and the possibility of sales increasing.   (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. 99) For buyers this offers more selection of products and services, 24/7 business access and easy comparison between the various seller’s offers.     (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. 99) Threats for businesses as a whole are the loss of direct customer face to face relationships, increased competition and the extra funds required for consistent upgrading of products and platforms.   (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. 99)   For buyers there is the same lack of direct face to face relationships, the unknown reliability of the seller and lack of trust in products and services.   (Waddell & Singh, 2003, p. 99) E-commerce is about â€Å"rediscovering the individuality of the customers and their needs, and the creation of frictionless modes of commercial interaction with them.†Ã‚  Ã‚   (May, 2000, p. 4)   Businesses must approach change in an internet environment carefully, as in the traditional business model the direct interaction allows the consumer to feel important.   Ecommerce does not provide the close interaction; therefore it is imperative that the online business practices allow the consumer to feel like a person, not a type.   (May, 2000, p. 5) A great example of ecommerce success is Amazon.com.   This company has proven its ability to implement change and business growth without affecting its customer base or falling behind the competition.   The vision of the â€Å"Earth’s biggest bookstore† (May, 2000, p. 52) was to offer a range and large quantity of products that would dominate traditional booksellers and to â€Å"achieve market ubiquity without acquiring retail real estate.†Ã‚   (May, 2000, p. 52) Jeff Bezos identified books as an ideal product for selling online because the number of books the traditional bookseller could offer was limited; therefore, if these products were offered online the number available would be unlimited.   In a sense the book trade has always been â€Å"virtual† – any customer can enter a traditional bookstore and order any book in print. Amazon.com brought a new online concept to the book trade and improved the efficiency of a traditional process.   However, though this insight was extraordinary introducing the concept into the ecommerce marketplace meant that consistent change was necessary and that customers must receive the same attention and personal relationships currently experienced in the traditional environment.   (May, 2000, p. 53-54) In order to change the ecommerce impersonal environment Amazon.com had to introduce a new strategy into maintaining and increasing its customer base.   Changing the internet environment is not a simple display creation or the addition of a personable salesperson to physically approach customers.   Amazon.com had to approach this change with a technology based solution that offered a personal approach to its customers.   The applications Amazon implemented offered their customers a positive experience. Customers are now able to access their portfolios at any time and without interaction with a sales representative.   These portfolios are personalized and address customers on a first name basis, provide purchase history and even suggest similar titles that might be of interest to the customers.   This change provided a personal touch, saved Amazon on staff time and clearly benefits the customer.   (May, 2000, p. 54) Rick Berry, CEO of ICGCommerce.com, an Internet-Based procurement business, describes leading an e-commerce business as â€Å"driving a Ferrari with a cinderblock on the accelerator.†Ã‚   (Pandya, 2004)   This fast-paced environment requires consistent change, as â€Å"E-Procurement is a $10 trillion market worldwide.†Ã‚   (Pandya, 2004) Berry states that building a procurement business in the traditional sense would take at least 10 years to become successful; however within the internet environment they are making an attempt to establish credibility within six months.   Their goal is â€Å"to grab a chunk of that market before the competition moves in.†Ã‚   (Pandya, 2004) Berry believes that talent is what businesses require to provide effective leadership and the ability to change quickly within Internet based businesses.   Leadership must have the ability to â€Å"attract teams of talented risk-takers.†Ã‚   (Pandya, 2004)  Ã‚   The speed of the working environment in an e-commerce structure means that very little time is available to train staff; therefore leaders of e-commerce ventures â€Å"must strive to create a specific type of work culture† that is high-energy and results-oriented.   (Pandya, 2004) Because little time is allowed for training and communication in an internet environment is more direct than others, changing the actions of others as well as effectively communicating the vision of change is difficult.   â€Å"You communicate directly, and you must build a team that can cope with that.†Ã‚   (Pandya, 2004) If an internet company is to be successful it must begin with establishing a visionary culture with the ability to attract and retain talented staff.   Talented staff members have the ability to effectively introduce change within the internet environment effectively and without disrupting business flow. David Perry, founder of Chemdex says that creating a successful business with the ability to adapt to the constant change of the internet environment is â€Å"raising money, so you can hire good people, so you can make and sell good products, so you can raise more money.†Ã‚   (Pandya, 2004)   These staff members must be â€Å"enthusiastic, passionate and share the organization’s values.†Ã‚   (Pandya, 2004) In his article titled The True Value of Change Management, George Spafford quotes â€Å"The only constant is change.†Ã‚   (Spafford, 2005)   He believes that many IT organizations â€Å"lack a fundamental understanding of the need to manage change† and that these organizations feel that change management stops at budgetary planning. When introducing change into the internet environment organizations must understand that this process has huge impacts on business operations – the more complex the change is within the system the â€Å"effective change management processes† increase.   (Spafford, 2005)   As most change within the internet environment is technology based, it’s imperative to know that 80% of security breaches have been caused by human error. (Spafford, 2005) Potential solutions in technology have three parts â€Å"people, technology and process.†Ã‚   (Spafford, 2005)   Most organizations have processes in place where change requests are â€Å"submitted, reviewed, planned tested, scheduled and then implemented.† (Spafford, 2005)   The procedures are put into place to ensure that proper thought and planning have been applied and the implications assessed before introducing it within the business structure. Spafford believes that many organizations lack the resources to implement change and that many simply give up once the implications have surfaced with unsuccessful results.   He believes that companies must learn from their mistakes and work continuously to improve and implement future successes.   Developing one simple model of change in an internet environment can also be devastating.   â€Å"The point is to be flexible, keep costs down and remain responsive, adopting multiple change models.†Ã‚   (Spafford, 2005) The ability to manage change within the internet environment will always be a challenge for organizations.   Effective leadership is the key to any organization’s success as well as leadership’s ability to attract talented staff members who are constantly looking to the future, rather than traditional one-sided ideas. Technology is constantly evolving and introducing new competitive strategies into the ecommerce marketplace and little time is available to adapt to the competition.   Looking back at The Laws of the Fifth Discipline, â€Å"The harder you push, the harder the system pushes back† we see that it’s imperative to remain open-minded and constantly looking to the future where new concepts and ideas will introduce positive changes to the Internet environment. References May, P. (2000). The Business of Ecommerce: From Corporate Strategy to Technology. New York, New York: Cambridge University. Pandya, M. (2004). Center for Leadership and Change Management:   Leadership in E-Commerce:   What does it Take to Lead an E-Commerce Venture? Retrieved from http://leadership.wharton.upenn.edu/ecommerce/articles/Wharton_ECommerce_Forum.shtml Senge, P. M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline. New York, New York: Doubleday Dell Publishing Group. Spafford, G. (2005, August 15). Datamation:   The True Value of Change Management. Retrieved from http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/service/article.php/3527471 Waddell, D., & Singh, M. (2003). E-Business Innovation and Change Management. London: Idea Group Inc (IGI). West, J., & Cianfrani, C. A. (2004). Unlocking the Power of Your Qms: Keys to Business Performance Improvement. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: American Society for.          Leading Change Introduction Intense global competition, rapid technological change, and international capital markets are creating more demand for change leadership than at perhaps any other time in history. These forces, combined with the complexity of new and more global organizational forms that span nations and unite organizations through alliances, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions, make the job of leadership increasingly difficult. No wonder it is popular to suggest that leadership is in short supply in most organizations. Moreover, we have a limited understanding of the role that leaders should play in making effective change a reality. This is the motivation for this essay. In the pages that follow, I discuss how leaders can help organizations change to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.Body of the Essay It is one thing to argue that organizations need to reinvent themselves and develop new, more effective approaches to organizing, and quite another to accomplish it . Large-scale organizational transformation is, at best, a developing art that has yet to produce any clear formulas for success, but more and more attention is being turned to executives as the principle agents of change and adaptation. It is increasingly common to assume that leadership plays the crucial role in an organization's successful adaptation to a changing world. Companies are paying record compensation to attract the best and brightest executive talent to lead them safely through today's turbulent business environment. Many boards and executive recruiters assume that there exists an elite corps of individuals who possess leadership skills that have almost universal application.The subject of leadership and organization change is embedded deeply in the lexicon and discourse of business executives, management consultants, and organizational scholars. Business periodicals, the trade press, and academic publications are brimming with information and knowledge about leading o rganization change. Widespread attention to leading change is largely a reflection of the times. Fueled by unprecedented changes in technologies, markets, and economies, organizations are experiencing rapidly changing environments and enormous competitive pressures. Responses to these challenges are resulting in a virtual revolution in new organizational forms and systems. Organizations are increasingly seeking to transform themselves to become more adaptable and competitive, with leaner, more flexible structures, more empowered and committed employees, and more performance-driven human resource practices. (Lawler et al., 1995)As organizations strive to implement these innovations, they discover that change is incredibly arduous, requiring a great deal of expertise, resources, and luck. The sheer difficulty of transforming organizations is evident in their enormous inertial qualities as well as the scope and magnitude of the required changes. Organization transformation typically in volves radical changes in strategy and structure, in work practices and methods, and in members' perceptions, norms, and work behaviors. As many observers have pointed out, because transformational change involves the total organization including strategic relationships with the competitive environment, top leaders or CEOs need to lead the change process and are essential to its success. (Tichy & Devanna, 1986; Greiner & Bhambri, 1989; Nadler, 1997)â€Å"The Harder You Push, The Harder The System Pushes Back† Any organization has its own corporate culture and the employees in all hierarchies are accustomed to that particular culture. Bringing about any change at any level is bound to shake the status quo and bring in an element of disturbance within the smooth functioning of the organization. Keeping that in mind, the change leader has to be extremely careful in doing the job and allowing ample space and time for the employees and other variables to adjust to the change being brought about. If the change process is accelerated too much and transformation is imposed hard on the people and the system as a whole, it will result in increased resistance from the system and mounting difficulties in the process of change.â€Å"Change involves moving from the known to the unknown (Cummins/Worley, 1993). Because the future is uncertain and may adversely affect people’s competencies, worth, and coping abilities, organizational members generally do not support change, unless compelling reasons convince them to do so. Similarly, organizations tend to be heavily invested in the status quo, and they resist changing it in the face of uncertain future benefits. Consequently, a key issue in planning for action is how to motivate commitment to organizational change, such as Business Reengineering. This requires management attention to two related tasks: creating readiness for change and overcoming resistance to change.† http://www.prosci.com/w_4.htmPeople c an be made ready to accept and contribute towards change once they themselves get to feel the need for change. This means making people so discontented with the status quo that they are provoked to try new ways of performing. Generating such discontent can be to a certain extent difficult. People who have been functioning and behaving in ways that have become norms for them now, may find it difficult to the level of hurt, prior to their undertaking the change seriously. In a situation as sensitive as such, the change has to be led very cautiously providing room for delay. The many issues related to change leadership could be structured around multiple themes. They include leader behaviors for effective change, sources of change, different change strategies, whether leadership really matters, and the development of change leaders.Most leadership scholars emphasize the importance of developing a vision or direction as the first step in leading change. This direction is critical in mak ing sure that everyone is moving in the same direction. It is, however, an open question whether a vision is really necessary for leading change. A key issue, particularly in the literature on charismatic leadership, is how to create a sense of empowerment and ownership for employees.One argument is that this requires giving employees the autonomy to determine appropriate means for implementing the vision. (Conger, 1989) Prior research has shown that employees are most motivated when they have the freedom to determine what works best given their talents and skills. (Spreitzer et al., 1997) However, in order for such autonomy to work employees must have access to the resources necessary for implementation and to information about the competition and the financial situation of their organization; without these they are likely to feel helpless in bringing about change. Also, rewards may be particularly helpful in building a sense of ownership. (Lawler, 1986)Leaders in crisis organizati ons facing a revitalization challenge must devote considerable effort at the front end of their transformation to the creation of resources. Individuals' resistance to change builds in direct proportion to the magnitude of the gap they perceive between the level of effort expected of them as part of the transformation process and the resources available to get the job done. Often this initial resource-generating step involves closing and consolidating peripheral or under-performing operations, trimming employee payrolls, reducing corporate staff overhead expenses, and suspending or deferring programs so that current operations can generate more cash to be redeployed to the launch of the corporate transformation process. Leaders attempting to revitalize their organizations also need to seek new external resources as they launch their transformation process.For example, at General Electric during the early 1980s under Jack Welch, the creation of slack resources was not so much a probl em as was the reallocation of existing resources to the corporate transformation effort. So the initial transformation issue was less one of resource creation than one of resource reallocation. Businesses that did not fit the vision had to fix, sell, or close themselves, and resources that would otherwise be consumed by these ill-fitting businesses were reallocated to enhance productivity and automation initiatives and to fuel capital investments in businesses that offered greater promise for achieving Welch's lofty vision of being first or second in their chosen global markets. (Aguilar et al., 1985)It might be argued that the key role for the leader is setting context; he or she must create a culture that embraces the importance of change. The leader then needs to create an organization structure that will support the new vision. This might, for example, involve a team-based design to reduce centralization, hierarchy, and bureaucratization. The leader must select and hire top-notc h people who have the skills necessary to bring the new vision to actuality. If the vision involves globalization, for example, this might involve hiring or promoting people who have international experience. The leader must also create a reward system that encourages behaviors appropriate for the new vision. For example, if the vision requires more focus on the customer, then employees must be rewarded for actions that improve customer satisfaction. In other words, the leader's most important role may be to devise an organization that sustains the vision.Implications For Change In An Internet Environment Sebastian  and Samuel  (2004) â€Å"explore the challenge that technology will deliver to management at both the tactical and strategic level. Changes in communication, content of communication, globalization of communication, are critical to these changes. The environment will support a greater degree of discontinuities in planning which is brought about by the globalization of management activities. Successful management must encompass the management of these discontinuities but use information in an artificial intelligence environment. The integration of these data and the actions that come from that integration must be understood within a moral framework.† (Sebastian  & Samuel, 2004)In the present era of technological innovation and globalization, when the world’s business is coming closer to work as a network, when the logistics are being designed in a way that encompass the ever so easy access of technology, communication and information, when a single business is catering to the markets around the globe, the changes within the organization become more important than those ever were. It is the international culture that the employees have to work in, the greater than ever expansion plans and newer and faster service demands that they have to attend to. All these developments and enhancements come as part and result of the Internet en vironment in which virtually all businesses are operating these days.ConclusionLeading change in such circumstances become an even more demanding and challenging of a task for the managers or leaders. As the trade of goods and services around the world is getting faster and easier, the need for as fast a change continues. However as mentioned in the preceding pages that such changes cannot be brought overnight, nor can those be imposed or pushed hard on the individuals. The system pushes back even harder and poses even more resistance to the change. Instead, the vision once established has to be communicated to the people properly, make them ready for the change by suitably establishing the loopholes of the current state and furnish the future expectations of being technologically sound and equipped.ReferencesAguilar, F. J., Hamermesh, R. G., and Brainard, C. General Electric, 1984. (1985) Boston: Harvard Business School Press (9–385–315, Rev. Mar. 24, 1993).Conger, J. A. (1989) â€Å"The Charismatic Leader† San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Greiner, L., and Bhambri, A. (1989) â€Å"New CEO Intervention and Dynamics of Deliberate Strategic Change.† Strategic Management Journal, 10, 67–86.Lawler, E. E. (1986) â€Å"High-Involvement Management† San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1986.Lawler, E., Mohrman, S., and Ledford, G. (1995) â€Å"Creating High Performance Organizations: Practices and Results of Employee Involvement and Total Quality Management in Fortune 1000 Companies† San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Nadler, D., (1997) â€Å"Champions of Change† San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Spreitzer, G. M., Kizilos, M., and Nason, S. (1997) â€Å"A Dimensional Analysis of the Relationship Between Psychological Empowerment and Effectiveness, Satisfaction, and Strain.† Journal of Management, 23 (5), 679–704.Tichy, N., and Devanna, M. (1986) â€Å"The Transformation Leader† New York: Wiley.Wolf D. Schumacher â€Å"Ma naging Barriers To Re-engineering Success.† http://www.prosci.com/w_4.htm Accessed January 31, 2007.