Regular Assignment

One of his duties is to serve as the coach for runners who hope to complete the New York City Marathon. He himself has won several marathons and ultra-marathons runner race. Thus he is more acquainted about the roles and responsibilities of coach for the marathon runners. After the introduction of David, case study drives us through understandings of how the complete training period of 16 weeks is carried out by athletes and runners. Initial 8 weeks he found it easy to train the runners.He was pleased looking the progress of the runners and had little difficulty in his role as coach. Some questions started to come in his mind regarding how to help his runners to achieve their goal. His issues of concern seemed quite different from those that he had expected to hear from other runners he previously trained for Marathons. Thus he divided runners and their concerns Into following three different groups. The first group comprised of all basic questions with newly joined runners who never had previous experiences.They kept on asking basic questions such as what to eat a day before marathon race, how much to drink and what kind of shoes to wear. The second group comprised of runners who had previously ran for marathons but were concerned about the effects of Davit's raining on their running, wanted to know the running mileage related to their possible marathon finish time. In addition their concern was to know whether consuming carbon-loading would improve their performances during the marathon.The third group comprised of seasoned runners who mostly finished marathon in top 10 of their respective divisions. These group too had some concerns related to feeling flat and acted a bit moody and down about training. The most important concern they carried was whether Davit's coaching would help them in other races besides the New York City Marathon. Hint David should use the following leadership strategy to train/coach his runners. The first group needs David to make sure that the runners will be motivated if they feel competent.Runners kept on asking questions such as what to eat a day before marathon race, how much to drink and what kind of shoes to wear. I think He needs to motivate the runners, make a diet plan and answer their questions they have. But he should also take a note that not to instruct all of the runners in a single group. Based on runners abilities he should have different training sessions. Because may be the beginners (group ) would keep asking basic questions like which shoes to wear, what to eat in a session which might not be interest to groups 3.For them it would lead to boredom sessions of training and might remove interest from attending further sessions and from Marathon race too. So he should take note of all runners and based on knowledge should keep training. He could have taken information session where all questions and issues are addressed. The second group was concerned about the effects of Davit's training on thei r running mileage related to their possible marathon finish time and forts reward they would get in return after the marathon race.Running a marathon is a huge deal and if people are nervous or unsure they will ask a ton of questions. I think he should explain them the benefits they would get with the training. In addition he as a coach needs to be there for them and coach them to the finish line. He should reduce everyone's stress when most seems nervous. Reassure the second group that they are doing great. The third group concern was not focused on current marathon race as objective by his training, but wanted to know if the payoff for their work valuable.David can motivate each of these groups by tending to the group's needs. Answer the beginners' group questions, make a diet plan. A final criticism that can be made of path- goal theory concerns a practical outcome of the theory. Path-goal theory suggests that it is important for leaders to provide coaching, guidance, and directi on for subordinates, to help subordinates define and clarify goals, and to help subordinates around obstacles as they attempt to reach their goals. In effect, this approach treats leadership as a one way event. The leader affects the subordinate.

Improving Performance of the Work Team Essay

1.1 My company has defined expectations of Team Members which are given to each employee in the form of a job description backed up with a work contract signed by each employee when they join the company. These expectations include, a timekeeping policy which requires the individual to be at work at the stated shift start times and to contact the Team Leader within 30mins of that start time with any reasons why this can’t be achieved. This will allow the Team Leader time to call in help to keep production on target. Absenteeism and sickness are also closely monitored using a system called the Bradford Scale. This concentrates more on the number of occasions when an employee is off rather than the number of days as regular short periods of time off are more disruptive to the working team. If the number of points on the scale reach a certain level then the disciplinary process is used. Personal conduct is also expected to be appropriate as disruptive or aggressive conduct will affect the performance of the work team meaning targets may be missed or team members will be in conflict. Employees are also expected to reach certain levels of performance depending on the job they do. Training needs to be completed and personal objectives which are set annually by the area manager during appraisals are used to keep a continuous improvement mentality within each employee. Completion of set objectives also help towards future promotion and possibly pay increases. All these expectations help the company keep well motivated work teams who are self driven with good moral. 1.2 The objective for my team is to ensure we supply our customers (the other departments in our company) with enough optical fibre to meet the order demand for all the different types of fibre laser we manufacture. To help us meet this objective we use a system of KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) to indicate to us the current level of various indicators throughout the manufacturing process. These Include stock levels against the stock plan, current fibre yields, amount of work in the process at any given time, fibre consumed, fibre in validation, validated fibre, number of man hours available, shipped fibre. All these indicators are passed down through the organization as Laser orders are placed with our company. On the shop floor we break them down to a weekly plan of work depending on the position of current fibre stocks and yields. Each Friday the next weeks plan will be decided at a joint meeting between the area manager and team leader. Once the plan is drawn it is communicated to all the team members and then checked daily during the following week to report progress and any concerns or adjustments that need to be made. In turn the departments we supply with fibre will also have been set there weekly targets and depending on the work that they have in process will determine what target is given to us to supply. Our company works on a Lean basis meaning that no work will be in the line that has not been already ordered and this keeps online stock costs to a minimum. Due to the nature of our production process However, optical fibre is only confirmed as good quality once it is built in product, so to keep supply of good (Validated) fibre between us and our customers my department has to go against the lean principles and hold a stock of fibre on the shelf waiting for Laser orders. This ensures if a fibre fails in build we have enough stock to react quickly and replace the fibre without holding up the laser build line. 1.3 Individual team member performance has a very great effect on a teams overall performance, especially if the Individual is under performing. For instance if a team member was not completing the required amount of work each day this would put extra pressure on the remaining members of that team to meet production targets. This puts the team in a position of possibly not meeting realistic targets which are set on the basis that all team members perform to a set level. Team targets are also set around the number of available man hours per week. If a team member is constantly late or sick this will also put the team under unplanned pressure to meet any set targets. A four man team with one man out sick is down 25% in man hours which usually means most targets will need to be adjusted or missed. This then has a knock on effect in the next department who will be only receiving 75% of the product that they were planning for, and that effect depending on the ability to catch up on lost hours may go all the way to a customer in the form of a late delivery of a promised order. This reflects badly on customer relations and could at worse mean lost or cancelled future orders. Also a team member who does not put enough effort into their work can cause ill feeling and conflict in the team possibly leading to arguments and low team moral. This will have a drastic effect on the capabilities of the team sometimes causing other team members to reduce their efforts also. Underperformance of team members is a serious issue in a target driven environment and needs to be taken seriously by team leaders. It may be the case that outside of work influences are causing a team member to under perform so a friendly chat and understanding approach may be all that’s needed to encourage the team member to improve. Team members who perform above expectations can also boost the performance of a team in a positive way. These team members can motivate others to increase there efforts also. This results in better overall team results against target, which brings praise from management, improving team moral. This then means happy customers, more orders and longer term job security. 2.1 My own team has many indicators that we use to measure under performance. These include, Product Yield Charts, Disruption Reports, Weekly Targets, Scrap Reports and annual appraisals. A disruption report can be raised against our department for any problems our customers have regarding our supply to their line. This could mean damaged fibre, incorrect paperwork, failure to supply parts on time, or any event that â€Å"Disrupts† them from achieving set targets. These reports are then discussed each morning and depending on the severity of the disruption immediate solutions are put in place or a process of problem solving is started and monitored until the problem is solved. Yield Charts give indications of process and operator performance. Product failure codes are recorded and investigated. Process detractors can be used to highlight improvement areas, and operator caused defects can be feedback to the team or individual concerned. Scrap reports are also used to put a financial value on product scrap allowing prioritizing of the most expensive problems first. An annual appraisal is given to each employee by the line manager. If a team member has been under performing, the reasons will be discussed and a plan will be drawn to encourage the employee to improve. 2.2 Underperformance needs to be constantly monitored in the manufacturing environment. It could just be that a team is not meeting targets because the target is set to high which puts to much pressure on them, causing mistakes due to rushing. Team moral is an important factor regarding Team performance. If you have conflict between certain team members it will cause them to take their mind off the workload resulting in reduced production and quality issues. This can have a knock on effect and eventually spread across all team members unless it is dealt with promptly. Poor training can also be a reason why an individual or Team are not able to meet targets. Inadequate training will not only increase scrap costs it can frustrate operators who cant do the work properly and even put them in harms way if Health and Safety measures regarding the work they do are not included in the training. Sometimes people may have domestic or personal worries regarding health problems which affect their performance at work. These need to be discussed with supervisors or managers and depending on the circumstances help may be given to the individual. 2.3 The different causes of underperformance require different actions to rectify them. If a team member is underperforming for no other reason than being lazy then a quiet chat from the Team Leader away from the ears of other team members usually helps re motivate them. If the poor results continue then a disciplinary route of verbal and written warnings may be needed. Re training or extra training will help someone who is falling behind due to lack of process knowledge. If a Team is underperforming they can have a meeting and discuss the reasons as a team, and with all the ideas on the table from all team members, come up with a plan of action to improve their results. In my place of work underperformance can come in the form of a disruption report. A disruption report can be raised against our department for any problems our customers have regarding our supply to their line. This could mean damaged fibre, incorrect paperwork, failure to supply parts on time, or any event that â€Å"Disrupts† them from achieving set targets. These reports are then discussed each morning and depending on the severity of the disruption immediate solutions are put in place or a process of problem solving is started and monitored until the problem is solved. 3.1 Motivated employees are more productive than those who are unmotivated. They enjoy their work more and are usually less stressed. Companies work hard to find ways to motivate their staff. Motivation is the driving force behind all people’s actions. Psychologists have developed various theories about motivation in an attempt to better understand and control human behavior. This theory of motivation is based on the idea that people have strong cognitive reasons to perform various actions. This is famously illustrated in Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which presents different motivations at different levels. First People are motivated to fulfill basic biological needs for food and shelter, as well as those of safety, love and esteem. Once the lower level needs have been met , the primary motivator becomes the need for Self-Actualization, or the desire to fulfill one’s individual potential. Maslow believed employers would see better results from workers if they recognized the various needs of individual workers and if they varied the rewards offered to them.

Political Systems in U.K and U.S Essay

What are the similarities and differences between the political systems in U. K and U. S? When the U. S. Constitution was being drafted, its writers had the British Parliamentary system to base on. The British system was the system they were used to and had learnt since childhood. However, because the monarchy was one of the main things that the former colonists had rebelled against, any form of monarchy and most forms of concentrated power were avoided. The most fundamental difference between the political system in the U. K and the U. S is the constitution. The United States has a written constitution which is very difficult to change. The UK does not have a single document called the constitution but instead its constitutional provisions are scattered over various Acts of Parliament, any of which can be changed by a simple majority in the Parliament. Similarities Both the U. S. and British political systems have a head of state, a court system and an upper and lower house. The U. S political system has a constitution which lays out the rules for government and the rights of the people, however, the U. K has documents with constitutional provisions which lay out the same rules. Both systems are democratic in nature, as governments are put in place and removed from power by the will of the people and both have systems of checks and balances to limit the power of any one branch. Head of State In the U. S. political system, the president is the official head of state. The president is elected under the electoral college system. In the U. K. , although the prime minister usually has the spotlight on political matters and is the official head of government, the queen or king is the official head of state. The queen officially signs off on acts of parliament and, just as the U. S. president delivers the State of the Union Address every year, the queen reads the â€Å"Speech from the Throne,† which is written by the prime minister. In U. K, the monarch is more of a ceremonial figurehead and it is unusual for any member of the royal family to directly interfere with the political process. The Upper House The United States has a Senate as the upper house of the legislative branch and the U. K. has the House of Lords. Under the U. S. ystem, each state, regardless of size, has two senators. Originally, senators were appointed by the governor of the state they represented but they are now elected to serve six-year terms. The House of Lords is very different. Members of the House of Lords are not elected. The 792 members of the House of Lords are members by inheritance, appointment or their rank in the Church of England; they are not elected and cannot be removed byvote. This part of t he political system in the U. K is not democratic. Otherwise the House of Lords serve the same purpose as the U. S. Senate. They discuss, debate and vote on legislation passed by the lower house of the legislative branch. The Lower House The U. S. House of Representatives and the British House of Commons have a great deal in common. Each house is made up of representatives elected by the people. In both systems control of the lower house goes to the party that has the most seats. Under the U. K. system, the leader of the party with the most seats becomes the Prime Minister and the official head of the government. Under the U. S. system this person would be the Speaker of the House. One other key difference is elections. Under the parliamentary system, the prime minister can go to the crown at any point and ask to dissolve Parliament. If this is done an election is called. An election can also be called if the prime minister loses â€Å"the confidence of the house. † This means that the prime minister lost a vote in Parliament on a matter of confidence. Matters of confidence are usually over budgetary matters. If the prime minister loses a vote of confidence, the end result is an election Other political differences. The American general electionlasts almost two years, starting with the declaration of candidates for the primaries. The British general election lasts around four weeks. In the United States, no Cabinet member is allowed to be a member of the Congress because of the strict theory of the separation of the powers. In Britain, every Government Minister must be a member of one of the two Houses of Parliament and, if he or she is not already in the Parliament, he or she is made a peer. The constitutional system in the UK involves a lot of custom and practice, and much more flexibility than the US system. For example, the timing of US presidential elections is fixed. In the UK, it is essentially the Prime Minister’s choice as to when elections are to be held, up to the 5 year limit. The resignation of a president in the US would have to lead either to an election or to his vice president taking up the office. In the UK, the resignation of a prime minister will lead to the party choosing a new leader, but there is no technically requiring this, the Queen is technically free to choose whoever she wishes.

Learning Team Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Learning Team Paper - Essay Example I, in this paper, review application of week one’s objectives of understanding flowcharts and metrics, and factors that affect process development. One of the week’s objectives is understanding the designing of flow charts and measures for determining and improving processes. The objective involves an understanding of elements of flowcharts and approaches to modeling elements to achieve a desired performance level, and process analysis plays an important role. Application of the knowledge of process analysis by a manager or designer in a manufacturing process is an example. This would include determination of the process’s objectives and aims of the specific analysis and determination, through exploring questions, of factors around a process. Such questions may relate to current output capacity of the process, expectations, possible modifications, and involved costs. The manager would then consider available materials and equipments, and process cycles to develop a flow chart, a process that would allow for easy understanding of the process towards improvements. Once a process is understood from its analysis, its performance can be measured from productivity, efficiency, time, and rate, and decisions made to improve the performance (Chase and Jacobs, 2006). Identification of factors that affect process development, and a further understanding of how the factors influence the development are another set of objectives and are applicable in improving processes towards optimum levels of efficiency. Understanding factors such as expected output, customers’ waiting time, and alternative approaches to process generates ideas for establishing a process, refining a draft process, or improving an existing process (Chase and Jacobs, 2006; Inan, Buyukkupcu and Akinci, 2010). The week’s objective of developing flow charts and metrics for determining and improving process performance together with identifying and

Describing the importance of my film selection to the film genre Essay

Describing the importance of my film selection to the film genre - Essay Example It also delineated an invisible connection on the human condition in its terrestrial as well as extra terrestrial modes. It began in the Pleistocene era when man was nothing more than a primitive ape, at the dawn of civilization and continues thru the present day man and deep into the realms of the future. â€Å"It contained more spectacular imagery and special effects than dialogue,† according to the film critic Dirk Dirks. By being non-verbal and subjective, it enters straight into one’s subconscious and stays there for good. On another level it also shows how man is made inconsequential but not impotent by the space-time continuum. It also shows how restricted and cooped up we are by the limitations of the contemporary modes of space travel with its emphasis on space ships which are in a spatial way of speaking as slow as snails. To explore and reach the extremities of the universe we must search out new ways like levitation and arrive at the impossible areas of ‘instant departure-arrivals’, casting away the outdated space ships like so much waste matter on the barren tundra of intergalactic

Lloyds Banking Group Integration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Lloyds Banking Group Integration - Essay Example One of the outcomes of the Housing Bubble Bust and the concomitant recession was the recognition of a pressing need for industry self-regulation bolstered by commensurate statutory and institutional reforms (Global Finance 2009). Especially, the financial markets in Europe today are governed by a general agreement and consensus as to the inevitability of internal and external monitoring of the banks and financial institutions (Global Finance 2009). The banks in Europe are increasingly under the state and stakeholder driven pressure to affect structural and remuneration reforms that positively discourage and restrain extreme risk taking and promote productivity and efficiency. Lloyds Banking Group, which performed miserably during the subprime mortgage debacle, is no way different from any other bank, as far as the requirement for restructuring and going lean is concerned (Fleming and West 2010). This essay intends to analyze as to varied organizational structures that the Lloyds Bank ing Group could resort to and the accompanying managerial, cultural and performance related aspects associated with the proposed options. Lloyds Banking Group It goes without saying that Lloyds Banking Group is indeed a prominent and important British Financial Institution. Lloyds Banking Group came into existence, after Lloyds TSB acquired HBOS in 2009. The British Government commands near to a 41 percent stake in the organization’s shareholding. Lloyds Banking Group comprises of four business divisions that are Retail Banking, Wealth & International, Wholesale and Insurance (Lloyds Banking Group 2010). The bank has business interests and operations scattered around a significant part of the world, including Asia, Middle East, US and Europe (Lloyds Banking Group 2010). Until now, to sell, promote and manage its highly diversified range of financial services and products, the group has predominantly relied on a divisional model, which is primarily a vertical structure, with i ts advantages and the accompanying bureaucratic arrangements, organizational hassles and inflexibility. Lloyd Banking Group’s behemoth size is what worries the regulatory bodies, organizational management and the common and institutional investors (The Economist 2010). Even as per some of the conservative estimates, Lloyds Banking Group has a hold over say 1/5th to 1/4th of the overall UK market for mortgages, small business loans, personal loans, retail accounts and credit cards (The Economist 2010). Added to this, when one takes into consideration the Groups constrained borrowing options, Lloyd Banking Group qualifies to be called a task, which is still far from being over (The Economist 2010). No wonder, the Group is definitely in the need of a desperate restructuring job that boosts its organizational efficiency and profitability, thereby enabling it to assure sustenance with its limited deposits and dried up borrowing sources. Need of Adopting the Right Structure It goes without saying that organizations and especially the financial institutions like banks are not static entities, but organic structures that imbibe sustenance, support and nourishment from the external micro and macroeconomic environment and do react and respond to external and internal changes and stimuli (Earley 1997). It is this very ability of a financial institution to be sensitive to the economic and regulatory changes that ensure its success and viability in the long run. The busting of the

A reflective piece on change initiative and applied work based change Essay

A reflective piece on change initiative and applied work based change in which you will apply the theoretical perspectives. iden - Essay Example However change management to be successful requires effective percolation and transmission of vision and mission objectives amongst the people at different levels. Involvement of human resources is considered as a prime concern for implementation of changes adapted. The people pertaining to different levels are required to be trained and communicated accordingly to make them understand the benefits and advantages related to the change process. Similarly the people must also be encouraged to render effective feedbacks relating to their problems and grievances owing to the requirement to perform in a changed environmental setting. This process put in place helps in the designing of adequate teams in the organisation that would contribute in the accomplishment of the new organisational objectives (Cameron and Green, 2004, p.79-80). Organisational Change in Retail The demand for fashion merchandises is countering dynamic changes owing to changing tastes and desires of the people around t he world for which fashion retail companies are required to bring about changes in the operational processes and accordingly adapt new vision and mission objectives. Retail concerns thus needs to incorporate processes that would help in effectively tracking changes in the demand scenario and thereby help in effective ordering for the right stocks. Working as a store manager in a fashion retail concern rendered a clear understanding about the factors for which the sales figures were countering a fall each month thereby leading to loss of revenues and goodwill. Fall in demand for the garments led to undue stock piling both in the store and warehouse thereby also creating a financial impact on the organisation in terms of locking of working capital. Thus it was strongly felt that the retail organisation needed adequate changes both in the vision and mission guidelines and also needed the incorporation of effective technology and process to help serve the organisational objectives. The main problem identified here related to the failure of the right merchandise to reach the stores from the warehouse at the right time. This fact thus led to the consumers perceives the unavailability of the required merchandise at the store leading to loss of potential demand and business for the retail concern. Thus it was required for the retail organisation to take resort to the process and concept of ‘Fast Fashion Retailing’ and also to implement technological and process changes thereby. ‘Fast Fashion’ is held to be a retail business strategy that aims in helping the retail concerns in effective reduction of lead times thereby contributing in the right merchandising of the stocks required to be sold (Barnes and Lea-Greenwood, 2006, p.259). Henceforth incorporation of technological changes relating to use of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Technology enabled scanners was also strongly felt that would help in rightly tracking inventory movement and thereby inform about the ‘hot sellers’ and the ‘unsold stocks’ (Thomas, 2008, p.98). Along with the above stated process and technological cha