Management Essays

Management Essays:

HR Issues related to Kraft Foods and the Acquisition of Cadbury plc

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) describe a situation in which two (or more) firms join all or part of their operations together (Coyle, 2000, p. 2). A ‘merger’ tends to describe a situation in which two firms of approximately the same size join together, the ownership is shared by the shareholders of both pre-merger firms, and senior managers from both pre-merger firms continue to hold top management posts. In contrast, an ‘acquisition’ or takeover describes a situation in only one of the pre-merger firms retain ownership and management control after the firms have amalgamated (Coyle, 2000, p. 2). M&As have become a major aspect of the business world and cross-border M&As are increasing (Coyle, 2000, p. 6).

Employee motivation cannot be managed. Discuss

The main issue when attempting to determine whether employee motivation can be managed is that there is no single universally accepted definition of motivation against which to judge the effectiveness of any management efforts (Arnold et al, 2005, p. 309). However, according to Landy and Conte (2009, p. 360) employee motivation can be linked to a variety of factors and outcomes, including the choices made by employees; the priorities that they assign to the various goals they can pursue; the energy they expend and the level of discretionary effort they assign to various tasks. As a result, it is clear that whilst motivation on its own cannot be easily and directly assessed, the level of motivation can be assessed indirectly, either through employee opinions or outcomes. For example, Ramlall (2004, p. 52) has noted that motivation levels can be linked to levels of employee performance, and also to job retention. As such, this piece will attempt to analyse the various theories of motivation and determine what they as a whole imply about the ability of managers to manage employee motivation. This will be based on the support for the theories in the literature, and what the theories imply about the ability of managers to manage levels of employee motivation.

TASK 1 - Critical Analysis of the Following Academic Paper

Liu, Y., Dong, D., & Kandampully, J., (2010) Online Information Services: The Impact on e- Word of Mouth proceedings from the International Research Symposium in Service Management, Le Meridien Hotel, Mauritius, 24-27 August 2010
The article explores concepts of e-marketing, specifically the use of electronic Word Of Mouth (e-WOM) advertising to determine the validity and usefulness in a modern marking environment. The study is exploratory in nature seeking to examine e-WOM from a fresh perspective to establish the alternative possible uses of e-WOM and how this can be used to generate further sales and increase information transfer between organisations and their customers. The authors determine that a new concept which they term “re-WOM” (essentially response to e-WOM campaigns) can be even more powerful that existing WOM activities in generating consumer interest based on the premise that as a social group, humans tend to share information and opinions.

Why do some innovations succeed and others fail?

One might argue that change is an essential function within modern society (Rainey, 2005:387). Both social environments and organisational structures require change in order to progress and move forward. Moreover one may suggest that change is the adaptation of new processes and understandings which require innovation to introduce new dynamics into existing environments and structures (Rainey, 2005:387). Thus the theory completes that change and innovation work hand in hand with one another to ensure evolution and advancement.

Issue and crisis management – crisis management as a strategic tool.

Crisis management is a ‘critical organisational function’. And, failure to manage a brand well in a crisis can result in losses or ultimately the end of the company’s existence (Coombs, 2007 p.2). A crisis is defined as ‘a significant threat to operations that can have negative consequences if not handled properly’. A crisis can specifically be related to three threats: public safety, financial loss and reputational loss (Coombs, 2002 p.2). All organizational crises can tarnish an organisations reputation, and thus it is important that a crisis management strategy is put in place in order to ensure such damage is reduced. Ultimately, it can be seen that crisis management is designed in order to protect an organisation from threats and protect the stakeholders from the impact of such threats. As a process, crisis management has three key areas: pre crisis, crisis response and post crisis management. This paper will investigate the extent to which effective crisis management can be deemed as a strategic advantage. Firstly, it will review the literature on crisis management before reviewing practical examples of its application. Finally, conclusions will be drawn as to how crisis management should be successfully implemented in order to result in an overall strategic advantage.

TASK 1 - Critical Analysis of the Following Academic Paper

Gu, H., & Morrison, P.D., (2009) Moral Identity and Consumer CSR Association Proceedings from the New South Wales Conference on Marketing
This paper sets out to review the relationship between the consumer perception of socially responsible behaviour by an organisation and corresponding propensity to purchase from them. The paper explores how corporate social responsibility (CSR) serves as a self-regularity mechanism for both organisations and consumers, and determines that where there is a high perception of CSR consumers have an increased propensity to purchase from such organisations even when they are faced with negative publicity. Using a quantitative approach the authors apply statistical analysis to determine the precise nature of the relationship and therefore understand to what extent consumers apply positive attributes to organisations even in the face of adverse publicity.

"Power is the basic force managers use to change organisational realit...

The concepts of management, leadership and power are closely related, and many theorists have conducted studies to examine the relationship between managers and power. Power comes in several forms, and an understanding of how power is used can help to explain how managers within organisations change organisational realities and situations to achieve defined aims and objectives (Baron and Greenberg, 2008:136-139). Therefore this article will examine the statement that "Power is the basic force managers use to change organisational realities by getting others to do what they want done", and with reference to relevant theory and literature the article will consider how managers are able to build and use power bases to achieve their personal and corporate aims and objectives within an organisation.

Due 10.01.11 Implementation of TQM in the Chinese Market. – Disserta...

Introduction
The origins and elements of TQM
TQM can be traced back to as early as 1949, when a committee of scholars was found which were devoted to improving Japanese productivity (Powell, 1995). Statistical quality control was developed in which extensive statistical training and overall widespread dissemination of the philosophy took place amongst Japanese manufacturers (Walton, 1986 p.18). The essential elements of TQM are that it produces managerial innovations such as quality circles, supplier partnerships, cellular manufacturing and just in time production (Powell, 1995 p.16). During the 1980s American firms began to take notice of TQM and, this resulted in a worldwide recognition that Japanese productivity and quality had increased as a result of the management practice. The ultimate result was that Japan and other Asian countries would soon dominate world trade and manufacturing.

Outline and assess the different uses of strategy

Introduction
In today’s business landscape, it is more important than ever for a firm to implement solid strategies. Research reveals that companies have an increasingly difficult time executing strategies to remain competitive (Kaplan and Norton, 2001 p.2). Porter argues that strategy is a race ‘to one ideal position, the creation of a unique and valuable position’ (Porter, 1996 p.61). Porter defines strategy as ‘a combination of the ends for which the firm is striving and the means by which it is striving to get there’ (Porter, 2003 p.4). The reason why firms succeed or fail is often noted as the central question in strategy. This is a question, which has preoccupied strategic management literature and is something, which is increasingly apparent as the causes of firm success are faced to ‘confront the reality of international competition’ (Porter, 2003 p.4: Glyn, 2006 p.88).

Planning an Organisation – A Bakery

1) Mission or Purpose
The mission for this bakery is to produce and sell fresh high quality loaves and bread products such as buns and rolls, using traditional craft techniques. Market research in the local area has identified that customers in the local area would like to enjoy fresh bread on a daily basis in their homes, and that local businesses such as the delicatessens and sandwich bars would also like to sell speciality breads which they cannot produce themselves.
2) Specific Tasks