...Business Communication Trends Michelle Gordon XCOM/285 August 11, 2013 Shannon Owens Business Communication Trends The definition of business communication is the sharing of information between people within an enterprise that is performed for the commercial benefit of the organization. In addition, business communication can also refer to how a company shares information to promote its product or services to potential consumers. (WebFinance, 2013) Communication plays a critical role in student’s on-line day to day activities. A on-line student has to be flexible to balance school and family. Some of the flexibility options allow you to work anytime and anywhere. You are able to make your own schedule and incorporate it into your daily routine. The University of Phoenix requires you to participate four days a week. This means you have to log into your student portal at least four days and participate in class discussions and weekly discussion questions. If for some reason you could not participate you are required to check in with your instructor. Checking in will ensure you will not be dropped from your class. An on-line student is capable of meeting personal needs because you are able to go to school from anywhere. All you need is an Internet connection and a computer. You can take your on-line classes on vacation with you if needed. You can juggle so many personal tasks as an on-line student. For example, if you have a doctor’s appointment and need to answer some...
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...Flexible Work Schedule Survey Kasey Taylor LeTourneau University BUSI 4623OL: Business Research Methods October 25, 2012 Abstract The purpose of this survey was to determine whether or not flexible work schedules have a positive impact on productivity in the workplace. The survey was given to all employees at the end of a training class and turned into the instructor to give to the human resource department. The written survey consisted of 10 questions ranging from demographics to personal needs. We found employees with spouses and or children under the age of 18 were in favor of flexible work schedule having a positive impact for them personally on their productivity. The survey also revealed the need for individuals to feel they have some control and flexibility in their work schedules, which leads to a balanced personal and business life. Flexible Work Schedule The purpose of this survey was to determine whether or not flexible work schedules have a positive impact on productivity in the workplace. “Flexible work schedules” refer to choices pertaining to the location and/or time that work is conducted, whether it is formal or informal. Formal being policy from HR department that is written. Informal meaning the immediate supervisor has approved this flexible arrangement. The survey was emailed to 2,000 employees and 526 participants completed the survey. The survey consisted of several questions ranging from the use of flexible work arrangements to their level...
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...RECOMMENDATION #1. Improve the demand forecasts made internally by the Buying Committee in November just before Speculative Production. Instead of using just a simple average of the individual forecasts made by Laura, Carolyn, Greg, Wendy, Tom, & Wally, use a weighted average, with the weights reflecting past accuracy. RECOMMENDATION #2. Obtain market feedback earlier than Las Vegas, thereby converting some Speculative Production to Reactive Production. Sport Obermeyer can invite selected retailers to come in January to Aspen for an all-expenses-paid “Early Order Weekend”, where there is time for a”sneak preview” of the new line, some recreational skiing and socializing, and then the early placement of orders at a discount. To maximize the value of the market feedback, Sport Obermeyer’s “guest list” should include both large and small retailers and both urban and resort retailers. RECOMMENDATION #3. Decrease lead times for both raw materials and finished goods, thereby allowing more time to utilize existing capacity. Since the business strategy should emphasize Dependability more than Cost, lead-times can be reduced using some or all of the following methods: Choose suppliers of raw materials more on the basis of D than C. Expedite orders through information sharing with suppliers. Expedite shipments using faster (but more expensive) shippers. Establish some local (but more expensive) production capacity for “last minute” production. Other ways to reduce lead times...
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...Have you ever felt that I need to train no matter what I feel like today? I have found that sticking with my training plan is not the issue, however veering off it slightly and allowing for flexibility was very difficult for me. In my last two years of competing against Runners and Triathletes there have been a few injuries, chronic fatigue and potential burnout. I decided to step back this year while training for the marathon by preventing myself in falling in the same pattern again. Often times, the best barometer of feedback is not in watts, heart data or fancy graphs. Some of the best feedback comes from our gut instincts. Finding the joy in training and being opening up to being more flexible in our regimen is just as important as all the hard interval work or getting in the volume. This said, I decided to listen to my inner voice which said, “I think I need to rest more today.” That inner voice often sent me an SOS signal calling for either a brief physical or mental break. The best advice that I can give to you as a runner is to speak to yourself as if you were your own best friend. What would you say to a good friend if she or he felt pressure to so something on plan, but knew deep inside what they really needed? What would you say to your friend if he or she said that she was really, really tired and not up for doing something you had planned together? You’d probably say that “it’s okay – we’ll get it in another time.” The best runners, who perform well...
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...Employers and Workers The pace of life dictates ever changing priorities and requires acceptance, tolerance and flexibility. While a source of income is still required, the company where one is employed may not have as much influence if the career detracts significantly from the non-work related needs of the individual. Furthermore, if companies are insensitive to employee needs, and work becomes a significant source of stress, not only does worker productivity lessen but that company’s name and reputation as an employer may hinder its own ability attract necessary quality employees. Employees and employers alike are looking for ways to increase worker satisfaction. One increasingly attractive solution is the growing acceptance of a flexible work week and schedule. Prominent employers like Kraft Foods, Texas Instruments and First Tennessee Bank have implemented these changes for their workers to boost productivity while increasing job satisfaction (Forbes). Employers are also using these flex schedules as a way of attracting and retaining their employees. For example, “In 1999 only 18 companies on Fortune magazine’s list of Best Places to Work offered telecommuting. Today, 79 do (ABC News).” The definition of flexibility encompasses a wide range of topics such as: • Flextime (compressed work weeks and shift flexibility) • Telecommuting • Paid Time Off (personal days and vacation by the hour) “Business leaders are learning how to position flexibility as a powerful...
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...Daft explains that because these type companies are divided into departments, communication and coordination are slow and decision making may be poor (2013). 2. Another structure is the divisional approach. As opposed to the functional way, there are several teams across the same level that works on their own single product or service. Each of these teams has their own leader or manager. Pros of the divisional approach allow teams to be more focused on their own product or service. This allows them to be flexible and more reactive to changes (Daft, 2013. P. 320). Cons of this structure include higher overhead since it takes more employees to make up the teams and there may be a rivalry between teams due to competition. 3. The matrix is a combination of both functional and divisional (Daft, 2013 p. 321). There may be multiple higher leaders that manage different teams. These leaders report to higher supervisors. The matrix can be very effective since it can be flexible in a rapidly changing world. Teams work better together and have broader responsibilities. The downside to a matrix approach is that it may be more difficult to manage. This approach is very much decentralized, not hierarchical like the others. 4. Recent...
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...Assessment Activity BSBWOR501A Manage personal work priorities and professional development Assessment 76 Student ID: Question # Question Type: Assignment Name: Duration/Due: 1 week Marks 1 10 SKILLS THAT WEREN’T EVEN INVENTED A FEW YEARS AGO ARE ESSENTIAL FOR THE NEAR FUTURE By looking at new positions that are emerging in the workplace, supervisors can get some idea of some of the skills they will have to develop in the future. There are three areas that seem to be emerging in a way that will have a major impact on the workplace: information, etiquette and life-work balance. Information is coming at us at an increasing rate. We have now stepped into what is known as the knowledge age, where information (converted to knowledge) is what will provide the competitive edge for organisations. Information and knowledge are fast replacing capital equipment as the key asset for conducting business. Administrative assistants will become information co-ordinators, managing the vast amounts of information to ensure that everyone has access to and is aware of the existence of information that will help them better perform their jobs. The supervisor will also have to manage larger amounts of information, ensuring their staff have access to information that is important to their job. Life-balance is a term appearing in more and more magazines and management books. Many workers have been thrust into the position of caring for ageing parents while also caring for their...
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...Case - Swisher System Corporation I. Company Background: Swisher Systems Corporation (SSC) is an industrial heating company which was established in 1949. SSC is an innovator of flexible heating products, especially with its knit and braided heating element. The heating element is multi-stranded resistance wire that is knit and braided with fibreglass and is the base technology for almost all SSC products. SSC is known in the industry as being the highest quality flexible heat supplier which produces control devices and heating cable. SSC’s competitive advantage is on the quality products which maintains higher and safer temperature that are more flexible than their competitors or other products in the market. II. Facts of the Case: A. Mike Watkins Director of Purchasing for Swisher Systems Corporation Solely responsible for purchasing all materials of SSC. Has various experiences in material management prior to SSC. Has more than thirty-five (35) years of industrial purchasing experience. B. Products at Swisher Systems All SSC products are solutions to industrial heating applications SSC manufactures fifty percent (50%) standard products and fifty percent (50%) custom orders. o The custom products can be applied to virtually all industries that require heating products. Industries like semi-conductors, food processing, medical, petrochemical and others. Biggest contributor of SSC’s sales is the cloth heating jacket, though expensive...
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...adequate amount of examining room was also an important factor. Availability of some assistants and instructing them on the standing operating procedures based on the workload proved to be an add-on. Initial paper work took some time, so the new patients were asked to come earlier so that the work could be completed on time. Also informing the new patients to adhere to appointment timings was a usual practice to avoid delays. What procedures were followed to keep the appointment system flexible enough to accommodate the emergency cases, and yet be able to keep up with the other patients’ appointments? It is often observed that doctors misuse the time and often emergency cases are taken as excuses for not adhering to the schedule. It was important to make the system flexible to adjust the emergency cases as well as to adhere to the timelines and get back to schedule. In case of real emergencies like fractures or caesarean section etc., all other appointments could be dropped; however in case of small issues, the doctor was expected to come back on track as early as possible and give the patient a choice to wait or reschedule the appointment. Also the assistant of the doctors were ordered to keep some open slots throughout the day for the patients suffering acutely. This time was also used to look into the emergency...
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...Business Case for HR Self Service Systems Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Project Overview 3 Business Case for Proposed Project 4 Conclusion 5 References 5 Executive Summary This paper addresses the business case for implementing self service in the IT industry with the aim of gaining higher efficiency for a majority of HR functions and other benefits that can be derived from improved information access. The paper also discusses the various challenges an organization might face while attempting to implement self-service. The business case for self service revolves around reducing administrative costs and gaining better efficiency. It also aims at improving the overall performance and other benefits such as information management, trend analysis and also operational efficiency. The chief argument presented here is that a self-service initiative allows the HR to concentrate more towards the core functions such as people management instead of getting burdened with administrative tasks. While self-service has the ability to improve the service expectations from HR, it may also result in some of the savings being consumed in order to meet the higher quality expectations. However, on the long run, it is bound to reduce expenses to a great extent while enhancing the quality. Self-service also enables an organization to implement flexible work and helps employees to remain connected with the organization through a centralized HR system aimed at remote...
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...With these developments, it is obvious that conflicts between parties of different nationalities occur and liability to tax on income of foreigners especially among those engaging in trading venture. Whilst the laws affecting domicile and residence may be sufficiently settled, it is paramount for courts to pursue a detailed analysis to ascertain specific preliminary issues so as to avoid controversial rulings. Courts often handle numerous financial cases that involve what can be best described as foreign or international elements. In such cases, court must decide whether it has the jurisdiction under the Family Law Act 1975 to make a decision on such cases. In the event that it is determined that the court is invested with the jurisdiction to determine the case, the court has to consider whether there is a system of law in foreign country that also has the jurisdiction to handle the case. As it was addressed in the case Attorney General of New Zealand v Ortiz [1984] AC 1, these benefits and costs to either party if the case resolution is made in foreign country as compared with the apparent country should also be a subject of concern. [1] Legal systems in most countries around the world adopt community property regime, which takes effect at the inception of marriage or at the time of divorce. For instance, California and Massachusetts in the United States have adopted community property regimes that support equal division of assets upon divorce. However, this provision...
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...Adapted from Bernhardt & Kinnear (1988). Cases in marketing management, pp. 6-16. Plano, TX: Business Publications, Inc. Pay careful attention to the following points. They are often used by instructors to evaluate either a written or oral analysis. 1. Be complete. Each area of the situation analysis must be discussed, problems and opportunities identified, alternative presented and evaluated using the situation analysis and relevant financial analysis, and a decision must be made. An analysis that omits part of the situation analysis or only recognizes one alternative is not a good analysis. Second, each area must be covered in-depth and within insight. 2. Avoid rehashing case facts. Every case has a lot of factual information. A good analysis uses facts that are relevant to the situation at hand to make summary points of analysis. A poor analysis just restates or rehashes theses facts without making relevant summary comments. 3. Make reasonable assumptions. Every case is incomplete in terms of some piece of information that you would like to have. A good case analysis must make realistic assumptions to fill in the gaps of information in the case. For example, the case may not describe the purchase decision process for the product of interest. A poor analysis would either omit mentioning this or just state that no information is available. A good analysis would attempt to present this purchase decision process by classifying the product and drawing upon real life...
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...are given. It is understandable then that we should seek out more opportunities to apply our skills and make more positive impacts within our jurisdictions. It is this general attitude that led us to get involved in investigating cold cases. How We Got Started Mark had, for several years, been consulting with our Coroner’s Division as a forensic anthropologist. During this time he came to learn that there were numerous coroners’ cases in which the identity of the decedent was unknown. These cases were kept in three-ring binders on a shelf in the Sergeant’s office. Over the years, in the course of this forensic work, we would discuss these cases and the progress that was being made on them. The conversation usually ran along the lines of us asking “any luck with that 1980 homicide victim?” and the sergeant answering “well, we’ve gotten so many new cases that I haven’t been able to even look at it yet.” This went on for a few years and through two different sergeants. One day we, as a crime analysis unit, were brainstorming about how we could broaden our “client base”, as it were. We had been successful in integrating ourselves into our Investigations Bureau and had been involved in numerous major cases. And, of course, we had always been active in producing tactical and strategic analyses for our patrol personnel. But we knew that we could be doing more, particularly given the size and responsibilities of our agency. It was during...
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...BUSINESS CASE Presented to the Accountancy Department De La Salle University In partial fulfillment Of the course requirements In ACCTBA2 (C33) March 2, 2015 A stakeholder is typically concerned with an organization delivering intended results and meeting its financial objectives. In general, a stakeholder can be one of two types: internal (from within an organization) or external (outside of an organization). The stakeholders in this situation are Lanie Marquez and Tim Rodriguez who are also partners in the retail distribution business and their capital contributions are as follows P500,000 and P300,000 respectively they are an internal stakeholder since they are also the owners. The total Capital of both stakeholders is P800,000 and with a monthly salary for both partners at P15,000 on the assumption that both of them will contribute to manage the business equally. Assuming that both managed the business equally the total salary for the year for Lanie and Tim are P180,000 each. They share profit and loss equally and no interest will be given on capital contributed. The problem for this situation is that Lanie is starting to get concerned with the behavior of her other partner Tim. He only manages the business 50% of the time, which will mean that his salary of P15,000 will need to decrease by also 50% since he does not manage the business equally with his partner. The business has seen a downturn in the profit outcome and for the current financial...
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...Ralph’s Grocery and United Food and Commercial Workers Union The case that I chose for the week 6 critical thinking assignment concerns Ralph’s Grocery Company, located in California. It applies to this week’s material due to the fact that the case involves unlawful suspension and discharge of an employee, as reviewed by the National Labor Relations Board. Background In May 2011, Vittorio Razi was an employee at Ralph’s Grocery and was suspended and terminated after he refused to take a drug test without first consulting with his UFCW Local 324 representative. The company (Respondent) says that on the day in question, Razi’s behavior was in question, acting nervous, anxious, agitated, and slurred speech. After a couple managers discussed the...
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