Higher Education Marketing Mix

CHAPTER 3 MARKETING’S ROLE IN HIGHER EDUCATION 3. 1 INTRODUCTION Chapter 2 introduced some of the major changes and trends that have taken place in the higher education environment both internationally and locally. Although higher education institutions can be classified as non-profit organisations, the challenges discussed in Chapter 2 necessitate higher education institutions to take on the organisation-like behaviour of profit organisations and to become more marketingoriented.An understanding of the environment in which higher education institutions operate, provides an essential background against which to understand and assess the benefits of focusing on students as customers. If higher education institutions understand the landscape in which they operate, they can begin to plan to serve the market effectively and efficiently with their marketing strategy. Being marketingoriented requires that organisations have knowledge on external forces (as explained in Chapter 2), b ut also knowledge on customers’ needs and wants (to be addressed in Chapter 4).It is against this backdrop of changes in the environment, such as the decrease in government funding and the increase in competition, that the need for marketing in higher education can be seen. In order to survive and to develop a sustainable competitive advantage in a changing higher education landscape, higher education institutions should satisfy the needs of their customers by adding value. Institutions should provide more benefits to their customers than competitors if they want to stay competitive.In the competitive environment in which higher education institutions operate (refer to Chapter 2), enhanced customer satisfaction may be one of the ways in which institutions can create and sustain a competitive advantage. This can be achieved with the effective application of the marketing mix elements. Marketing, and more specific a market-orientation, can provide a detailed understanding of th e needs of ustomers and ensure that higher education institutions address the needs in as – 73 – efficient and comprehensive manner as possible. In short, higher education institutions need to set marketing objectives and formulate a marketing strategy. Given the market-oriented focus and importance of the marketing mix elements, the main focus of this chapter will be on higher education institutions’ formulation and implementation of the elements of the services marketing mix.This chapter will explore the literature available on the changing role of marketing, the marketing concept, market- and marketing-orientation, consumer behaviour and the integration of all the units of a higher education institution to formulate a service product strategy, price strategy, distribution strategy, communication strategy, people strategy, physical evidence strategy and process strategy in order to meet the needs of students. 3. 2 THE CHANGING ROLE OF MARKETING Marketing plays a major role in any organisation and is viewed by Lamb et al. 2004:5) as a process that starts with identifying customer groups, finding out about their needs and wants, matching what the organisation can offer with what the customer wants and then effectively communicating and selling it to the customer. Although the primary aim of marketing is to satisfy the needs of customers, it involves a cluster of activities such as product/service innovation, design, development, distribution, advertising, selling and how the product/service is acquired and used by the customer.Machado and Cassim (2002:2) regard marketing as the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organisational objectives. Mowen (1995:7) states that the importance of understanding consumer behaviour is found in the definition of marketing as a human activity directed at satisfying needs and wants t hrough a human exchange process. Effective marketing requires a higher education institution to identify their target audiences, understand them, and communicate with them as directly and interactively as possible (Laurer, 2006).According to Shoemaker (1999), marketing is the proactive management of the relationship between a higher education institution and its various – 74 – markets by using the tools of marketing: service product, place, price, promotion, process, people and physical evidence. Marketing’s greater contribution lies in its ability to facilitate the exchange process that takes place between the non-profit organisation such as the higher education institution, and each of the customer groups it addresses (Sargeant, 2005:295).Marketing can provide a detailed understanding of the needs of such customers and ensure that the institution addresses these needs in as efficient and comprehensive manner as possible. This understanding of customers’ needs can aid organisations in creating and sustaining a competitive advantage. Lynch and Baines (2004:171) found that higher education institutions’ sustainable competitive advantages are usually based on superior knowledge, reputation, innovation or architectural related advantages.However, marketing is not stagnant and over the years the marketing activities of organisations have changed. Kolter (2003) and Strydom, Jooste and Cant (2000:10) identify four stages that strongly influence the evolution of organisations’ marketing activities. These stages are referred to as production, sales, marketing and societal marketing. The production orientation focuses on the internal capabilities of the organisation rather than the needs of the market, while a sales orientation is based on the premise that people will buy more if aggressive sales techniques are used.Both of these orientations lack a customer focus. Organisations realise the importance of marketing and building long-term relationships with their customers; thus, a marketing orientation. The societal marketing orientation builds on the marketing orientation but adds that customer value must be delivered in such a way that it maintains or improves the society’s wellbeing. According to Kotler and Fox (1995:11), there are also definite stages in the evolution of marketing in higher education.The focus has moved from â€Å"marketing is unnecessary† to â€Å"marketing is promotion† to â€Å"marketing is positioning† to the stage where in some cases marketing is seen as part of strategic planning for higher education institutions. Law (2002:4) is of the opinion that higher education institutions in South Africa are moving from â€Å"marketing is promotion† to more emphasis on positioning and strategic planning. This stage is also described as the â€Å"marketing company† era. The marketing – 75 – ompany era is characterised by short- and lon g-term marketing planning and the whole organisation’s efforts are guided by the marketing concept (Perreault & McCarthy 2002:34). The marketing concept is a management philosophy with the basic premises that an organisation needs to research the needs and wants of customers and then produce products or services that will satisfy these needs and wants (Strydom, Jooste & Cant, 2000:12; and Kohli & Jaworski, 1990:467). The marketing concept will be explained in the next section. 3. 3 THE MARKETING CONCEPTChurchill and Peter (1998:12) describe the implementation of the marketing concept as an organisation that satisfies customer needs and wants as a means to achieve their own objectives. Although it seems simple, it is complex in the sense that changes within the economic, social, political and technological environment, as discussed in Chapter 2, constantly leads to changing customer needs and wants. Lamb et al. (2004:17) state that institutions who want to survive in the futur e will have to be customer-focused, market-driven, global in scope and flexible in its ability to deliver superior value to ustomers whose preferences and expectations change continuously. Foxall and Goldsmith (1998:7) feel that consumer orientation stems from an organisation’s adoption and implementation of the marketing mix (price, service product, promotion, place, people, process, physical evidence), but adds that the adoption and implementation of the marketing concept has four major implications: †¢ The success of any organisation depends above all on the consumers and what they are willing to accept and pay. †¢ The organisation must be aware of what the market wants, preferably well before production commences. Consumer wants must be continually monitored and measured so that, through service product and market development, the organisation keeps ahead of competitors. †¢ Top management must achieve the integration of all the components of the marketing s trategy into a single strategic plan, based on knowledge of consumer behaviour. – 76 – Mowen (1995:4) underlines the importance of the marketing concept by stating that the marketing concept embodies the view that an industry is a customer satisfying process, not a goods producing process.An industry begins with the customer and its needs, not a patent, raw material, or selling skill. The general acceptance of the concept that an organisation functions to fulfil consumers’ needs and wants, through understanding their exchange partner (customers), makes the study of consumer behaviour, and thus this study, essential. Mowen (1995:5) and Churchill and Peter (1998:13) agree that the basic idea of the marketing concept is to give the customers what they want.However, consumers are not always sure of their wants or what they are being offered, and are much more open to persuasion than is commonly acknowledged by the marketing concept. The marketing concept is based on four basic principles: consumer orientation or the target market; long-term maximisation of profitability or another measure of long-term success, total organisation effort, and social responsibility (Kotler, 2003:20 and Perreault & McCarthy, 2002:34). The four principles of the marketing concept will be briefly explained below. 3. 3. THE PRINCIPLE OF CONSUMER ORIENTATION Strydom et al. (2000:12) view consumer orientation as the first principle of the marketing concept, indicating that all actions should be aimed at satisfying consumer needs, demands and preferences. Although this implies that the consumer objective is to achieve total need satisfaction, it does not mean that an organisation must provide for unrealistic consumer needs. According to Kotler (2003:20), organisations have to carefully choose their target markets and then prepare a tailored marketing programme.Research conducted by Conway, Mackay and Yorke (1994:35) on higher education institutions in the United Kingdom (UK) found that more than half of the institutions did not have a customer orientation in their planning and that most institutions merely pay lip service to the variety of target markets they serve. This study will attempt to gather the necessary information to enable institutions to become more customer oriented in understanding the needs and wants of students, specifically regarding the choice factors and information sources used when selecting a university. 3. 3. THE PRINCIPLE OF INTEGRATION AND COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES – 77 – Strydom et al. (2000:14) define a system as an integrated whole – a group of related units working together to achieve a joint objective. The second principle suggests that marketing activities of a higher education institution should be closely coordinated with each other and with other functional areas such as production, finance, administration, human resources and procurement. The marketing concept has been a useful mechanism in helping to unify the independent functional areas to increase customer satisfaction.All seven marketing mix instruments (price, service product, promotion, distribution, people, process and physical evidence) should complement and reinforce one another in such a way that the student will prefer the institution’s service offerings to that of competitors. 3. 3. 3 THE PRINCIPLE OF MAXIMISING LONG-TERM SUCCESS The third principle is directed at achieving market share, return on investment and the objectives of the organisation. Marketing plans and corporate goals must be closely coordinated to ensure profitability.Maximising profitability is the primary objective of a profit-seeking organisation and can be achieved only through the consideration of consumer needs. Non-profit organisations attempt to achieve some other objective than profit. This does not mean than they are uninterested in income, as they have to generate cash to survive. However, their primary goal is non-econom ic, and for higher education institutions that is to provide education. Although there is an emergence of for-profit higher education institutions, as discussed in Chapter 2, non-profit higher education institutions also need to focus on their long-term sustainability.For-profit organisational success is measured ultimately by profitability. For non-profit organisations, measuring success is not so easy. Higher education institutions’ success can be measured in research output terms, number of students taught, student pass rate, range of qualifications of staff or even the quality of teaching. The combination of these factors makes the measurement of success difficult and can lead to conflict. For example: more students and larger classes may reduce time needed for research by staff to deliver the required research outputs.The principle of maximising long-term success is therefore more complex in higher education institutions than for for-profit organisations. Marketing is of growing importance to non-profit organisations, because of the need to generate funds in an increasingly competitive arena. Even – 78 – higher education institutions that rely on government funding must show how their work is of benefit to society and must meet the needs of their customers. 3. 3. 4 THE PRINCIPLE OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYZikmund and D’Amico (2001:20) state that the pure marketing concept disregards environmental changes and problems and focuses on short-term customer satisfaction rather than on the long-term wellbeing of society. Involvement and concern for the environment and the society in which the marketing task is performed are typical characteristics of a strategic approach to marketing management. Organisations should therefore strive to obtain the goodwill of the society, rather than only the support of the target market. By demonstrating social responsibility, higher education institutions can earn the goodwill of the public and governme nt.This has a long-term dimension that can favourably influence the future of any institution in terms of funding and a steady supply of customers. From the discussion of the marketing concept and its principles, it is clear that by accepting the marketing concept, institutions have recognised that consumers and their behaviour has a direct bearing on the formulation of a marketing strategy – and therefore the relevance of this study. The marketing concept helps to bring focus and enables an organisation to satisfy consumers’ needs (Perreault & McCarthy, 2002:41).If higher education institutions want to be successful in today’s dynamic higher education landscape, competing for resources, support and customers, they too should adhere to principles of the marketing concept, especially being consumeroriented, when conducting their business. Applied to higher education, the marketing concept holds that higher education institutions should conduct their planning bear ing in mind and recognising that they exist primarily for the purpose of providing a service product to students. Campus activities should thus focus on satisfying the needs of students (Massad & Tucker, 2000:1-5).The philosophy of the marketing concept forms the underlying basis for an organisation’s market- and marketing-orientation. These two concepts will be briefly explained in the next section. – 79 – 3. 4 MARKET-ORIENTATION AND MARKETING-ORIENTATION Throughout the literature, the term market-orientation and marketing-orientation is used interchangeably (Payne, 1988; Kohli, Jaworski, & Kumar, 1993 and Sharp, 1991). Notice should however be taken of a small group of authors, such as Cravens, Lamb and Crittenden (1996), who argue that there are slight differences between the two concepts.However, it is not the purpose of this study to argue or investigate if there are differences between these concepts, but rather to show how the adherence to these concepts can enable higher education institutions to survive and grow (Voon, 2006:598). 3. 4. 1 MARKET-ORIENTATION Market-orientation refers to everyone in the organisation being committed to the customer and adapting in a timely way to meeting the changing needs of the customer. Market-orientation is a bias towards the market, requiring knowledge of customer needs and wants, competitors and external forces (Evans, James & Tomes, 1996:209).Kasper (2002:1047) defines a market-orientation as the degree to which an organisation and all its thinking and acting (internally as well as externally) is guided and committed to the factors determining the market behaviour of the organisation itself and its customers. Kohli and Jaworski (1990:3) define market-orientation as the activities involved in the implementation of the marketing concept. An organisation with a market-orientation determines the needs and wants of the target market and delivers the desired satisfaction more effectively and efficien tly than the competition.Thus, market-orientation extends beyond the marketing concept philosophy, as it also offers a process for delivering customer value. A market-oriented organisation understands customer preference and requirements and effectively combines and directs the skills and resources of the entire organisation to satisfy customers’ needs. According to Kasper (2002:1052), a robust market-orientation has become a strategic necessity for any service organisation due to increasing market turbulence and intensifying competition.He states that the market-orientation of an organisation can be seen as a particular position on a scale ranging from being truly market-oriented to not being market-oriented at all. Results from Kasper’s research show that a market-oriented service organisation has an open, employee-oriented, result-oriented, pragmatic, – 80 – professional, well-communicated, marketing goals-oriented, market knowledge (customers and comp etition) system with dedicated employees that know what customer focus and service means.Market forces (refer to Chapter 2) changed the landscape of higher education into a competitive environment requiring a market-orientation (Koerwer, 2001). According to Couturier (2002), reduction in government support and increase in new technologies and improved learning produce students with high expectations and this further pressurises higher education institutions to become more market-oriented. Shoemaker (1999) states that glossy brochures, catchy slogans and the existence of marketing programmes do not give higher education institutions a market-orientation.Marketorientation requires a philosophy and a culture that go deep in the organisation. This means an institution where students are involved in the service production process and where administration, faculty and support staff work together effectively. A marketorientation requires a commitment and power from top management. Shoemake r (1999) states that a market-oriented higher education institution is characterised by: †¢ A top management actively involved in providing institutional marketing leadership; †¢ A marketing process integrated to reflect, recognise and involve all institutional stakeholders; Marketing plans that are well distributed among top institutional officers; †¢ Outside marketing consultants used to build and enrich the institutional culture; †¢ Regular and structured marketing research studies of all important stakeholder areas; †¢ A marketing-oriented planning culture that includes the participation of all stakeholder areas; and †¢ Marketing evaluation systems in place to assure continuous monitoring and improvement of marketing programmes and strategies. – 81 – 3. 4. 2 MARKETING-ORIENTATIONAn organisation with a marketing-orientation adheres to the principles of the marketing concept and offer customers what they need (Perreault & McCarthy, 2002: 37). Marketing-orientation implies that the main task of a higher education institution is to determine the needs and wants of target markets and to satisfy them through the design, communication, pricing, delivery of appropriate and competitively viable programmes and services (Kotler & Fox, 1995:8). Laurer (2006) states that strategic plans of higher education institutions will have to become marketing-oriented plans.This begins with an environmental scan that determines how society is changing and then outlines how programmes, pricing and access to learning (distribution), employees (people) and process will meet these changing needs. According to Massad and Tucker (2000), higher education institutions in the United States have embraced a marketing-oriented approach to admission. They state that the trend began in the late 1970’s in the USA and is driven by increased competition and a shrinking enrolment pool. Higher education institutions in Shanghai started in 1999 to re form their policies to be more marketing-oriented (People Daily, 1999).These policies include practical plans such as providing enough residence and departmental buildings for students and lecturers, logistic service renovations, and improved logistic service quality. Several reasons exist why achieving a marketing-orientation is problematic for some higher education institutions (Sargeant, 2005:297): †¢ Conflict between management and academic interest. There is a split in the responsibility for dealing with customers between departments and an institution’s central administrative function. †¢ The lack of a strategic perspective.Courses are sometimes established and maintained for the status of the department or institution rather than where there is clear evidence of an economic viability or long-term demand. †¢ The diversity of the marketing activity. Marketing is conducted by a variety of players, such as the admissions officer, school liaison officers, res earch officer and faculties, making the coordination difficult. †¢ Academic value. Some institutions still perceive marketing as being incompatible with their education mission. – 82 – Nevertheless, higher education institutions must aim to become marketing-oriented.The market concept forms the underlying philosophy for both a market and marketingorientation. A marketing-orientation is an all-embracing concept referring to both behavioural and philosophical standing of marketing, therefore incorporating the market-orientation. Thus, for the purpose of this study, the term marketing-orientation will be used to indicate a market- and/or marketing-orientation. 3. 5 MARKETING STRATEGY AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR According to Hawkins et al. (2001:7), an effective marketing strategy is based on knowledge of the environment, competitors and customers.The study of customers’ needs, perceptions, aspirations, motivations, culture and decision-making processes is called co nsumer behaviour (Du Plessis & Rousseau 2005:8). Consumer behaviour serves as a basis for marketing strategy formulation. Figure 3. 1 indicates that an understanding of consumer behaviour is the basis for marketing strategy formulation and will serve as a visual guide for the remainder of this chapter. It also visually shows the integration and link between Chapter 2, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. Figure 3. begins with the analysis of the market (Step 1) in which the organisation is operating. It requires a detailed analysis of the organisation’s capabilities, strengths and weaknesses, competition, the economical and technological forces affecting the market, and the current and potential customers in the market (refer to Chapter 2). The consumer analysis component of the first step enables an organisation to identify groups of individuals with similar needs. The identified market segments, in step two, can be described in terms of demographics, media preference and geographic loc ation.One or more of these segments are then selected as target market, based on the organisation’s capabilities relative to those of its competition, taking into account current economic and technological conditions. The organisation then decides on the desired image of the service product or brand, also known as the service product or brand position. The third step entails the marketing mix/strategy formulation. Hawkins et al. (2001:14) point out that a marketing strategy basically answers the question: How will we provide – 83 – superior customer value to our target market?The answer requires the formulation of a consistent marketing mix. Thus, the marketing strategy is formulated in terms of the marketing mix. Lamb et al. (2004:12) point out that this step involves the determining of service product features, price, communications (promotion), distribution (place), people, process and physical evidence that will provide the customer with superior value. The total service product is then presented to the target market, which constantly engages in processing information and making decisions to enhance and maintain their lifestyles.The marketing strategy (as implemented in the marketing mix) intervenes between the decision-making process of consumers (Step 4) and the outcomes/goals of an organisation. The outcomes of the organisation are determined by its interaction with the consumer decision-making process. Organisations can only succeed if consumers see a need that the organisation’s service product can address, become aware of the service product, decide that it is the best viable alternative solution, proceed to buy it, and become satisfied with the results (Hawkins et al. , 2004:22-23). The consumer decision-making process will be discussed in detail in Chapter 4.Finally, the reaction of the target market to the total service product produces an image of the service product, brand or organisation, sales (or the lack thereof), and some level of customer satisfaction among those who did purchase. As the components of the market analysis (Step 1) was discussed as part of the trends in the higher education landscape in Chapter 2 and the consumer decision-making process (Step 4) will be explained in Chapter 4, the remainder of the chapter will focus on the STP process (Step 2) and marketing strategy (Step 3) as depicted in Figure 3. . – 84 – MARKETING MIX/STRATEGY (CHAPTER 3) Service product (3. 7. 1) Price (3. 7. 2) Promotion (3. 7. 3) Place (3. 7. 4) People (3. 7. 5) Process (3. 7. 8) Physical evidence (3. 7. 9) Problem recognition (4. 7) Information search (4. 8) Alternative evaluation (4. 9) Selection and purchase (4. 10) Post-purchase process (4. 11) OUTCOME Customer Satisfaction Sales Product/brand image/organisation Source: Adapted from Hawkins, Best and Coney (2001:8). – 85 – CHAPTER 3 STP- PROCESS (CHAPTER 3) Segmentation, target market and product positioning (3. 6)CONSU MER DECISION-MAKING PROCESS (CHAPTER 4) STEP 4 CHAPTER 2 MARKET ANALYSIS (CHAPTER 2) Competitors Company Consumer Conditions CHAPTER 4 STEP 3 STEP 2 STEP 1 Figure 3. 1: Marketing strategy and consumer behaviour As the components of the market analysis (Step 1) was discussed as part of the trends in the higher education landscape in Chapter 2 and the consumer decision-making process (Step 4) will be explained in Chapter 4, the remainder of the chapter will focus on the STP process (Step 2) and marketing strategy (Step 3) as depicted in Figure 3. . 3. 6 SEGMENTATION, TARGET MARKETING AND POSITIONING (STP PROCESS) Marketing strategy formulation for organisations takes place via the process of integrating segmentation, targeting, positioning and the services marketing mix. Once organisations have segmented the market, they must determine the market potential of each segment and then select segments to target. A target market can be defined as a fairly homogeneous group of customers to w hom an organisation directs its market offering.Organisations must determine a mixture of the marketing elements that they will combine to satisfy their target market. Selecting a market-oriented strategy is referred to as target marketing. A specific marketing strategy specifies a particular target customer (Perreault & McCarthy, 2002:47). Most non-profit organisations serve several groups or publics. The two broad groups are donors, who may be individuals, trusts, companies or governmental bodies. The second group consists of their clients such as students, parents, government or employers.Often higher education institutions need to satisfy both groups and this complicates the marketing task (Lovelock & Wright, 2002:233). Students, prospective students and their families are seen as customers or consumers who must be attracted to the institution, who must be satisfied, and who must have a good experience at the institution. This will ensure that they spread positive word-of-mouth and influence other potential students to select the institution (Reich, 2004).Students can be regarded as the primary clients of higher education institutions and parents, employers and society as secondary beneficiaries. As an institution’s target market changes, new needs and trends evolve (as discussed in Chapter 2), making it necessary for institutions to rethink their position and often to reposition in order to address the new needs or trends (McGolddrick, 2000:54) This study focuses on students as a target market of institutions, as traditionally most institutions’ marketing efforts are directed at satisfying 86 – the needs of students. This study will provide insight into the demographics and choice factor importance that forms part of students decision-making behaviour, which will aid higher education institutions in understanding their target market to ensure satisfaction through implementing an appropriate marketing strategy. After segmentation and t arget marketing, organisations should position their market offerings in such a way that it is perceived to satisfy the needs of customers better than the competition. According to Hawkins et al. 2001:289), a product’s position refers to the schematic memory of a brand in relation to competing brands, products, services and stores. Brand image, a closely related concept, can be defined as the schematic memory of a brand without reference to competing brands. Strydom et al. (2000:14) regard a product’s position as the way consumers perceive a product or service in terms of its character and advantages in relation to competitors. Du Plessis and Rousseau (2003:276) state that the important underlying principle is recognising that the marketing battle today is fought in the minds of the consumer.Research shows those products or services that enjoy high awareness levels usually enjoy dominant market penetration and market share. But awareness is not enough; the service prod uct must have a meaningful position in the mind of the consumer and stand for something of value to the consumer. Mowen (1995:18) defines product differentiation as the process of positioning the product by manipulating the marketing mix so that customers can perceive meaningful differences between a particular brand and competing brands.A highly differentiated brand may have strong competitive advantages, because it is easily recognisable as being different from competitors. Institutions need to know how they and their service products are positioned in the student’s mind. The stimuli that institutions employ, such as advertising or sponsorships, can influence the service product’s interpretation and thus its position. Hawkins et al. (2001:289) is of the opinion that organisations frequently fail to achieve the type of service product image or position they desire, because they fail to anticipate or test the consumer’s reaction.These positions have developed an d evolved over time. Therefore, the message received from the organisation must be consistent or change in a deliberate manner to reflect or alter a desired change in brand position. – 87 – Strydom et al. (2000:134) state that organisations must position their brands so that they are perceived to satisfy the needs of the target market better than competitors’ offerings. The institution must develop a unique appeal for the brand in the consumer’s mind and position the brand as filling a particular need of the consumer.Berman and Evans (2001:122) point out that through positioning, institutions devise their strategy in a way that projects an image relative to the institution’s category and its competitors, and elicits consumers’ responses to their image. Sargeant (2005:322) notes that positioning can also have a profound impact on the success or failure of fundraising initiatives and attempts to work closely with commerce and industry. Those h igher education institutions that are perceived as being either of high quality or as unique in some way, are likely to have the greatest success in these areas.Law (2002:3) states that it is important for institutions to distinguish themselves from competitors in terms of values that are important to the student. Therefore, higher education institutions need to develop a clear position that can be stated simply, effectively and often (Dehne, 2001). The author continues by saying that as competition becomes stronger, an integrated marketing strategy based on the identified positioning of the institution will play a crucial role.If organisations want staff and students to project a positive image, they must clearly define exactly what that image is; not vague understanding, but specifics (Sharpe & Harville, 1987). Law (2002:4) emphasises the importance of addressing the values that are important for prospective students in the publications of the institution. It can therefore be said that in the positioning of the institution, the needs and perceptions of important values of the respective public should be seriously considered.The elements of higher education institutions’ marketing are mixed to form an integrated strategy where each component plays a role to position the institution in its chosen target market (Van Biljon, 1992:65). According to Czinkota, Kotabe and Mecer (1997:217), organisations must first determine how they want to position their service products and use their service products’ position as basis for developing their marketing strategies. This means that after the STP (segmentation, targeting and positioning) process, organisations must blend the services marketing mix elements into a marketing strategy that reflect the organisation’s desired osition to their target market. – 88 – The next section focuses on the services marketing mix and its elements as it pertains to higher education institutions. 3. 7 TH E SERVICES MARKETING MIX OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS The development of a marketing strategy involves the coordination and combination of the marketing mix elements (Mowen, 1995:19; and Hawkins et al. , 2001:6). It is the combination and coordination of the elements in the marketing mix that enables organisations to meet customers’ needs and provides customer value.A traditional marketing mix consists of the following elements: price, service product, promotion and place (distribution). However, due to the intangible, inseparable, heterogeneous and perishable nature of services, the traditional marketing mix was extended to include process, people and physical evidence (Goldsmith, 1999:178). Because higher education institutions mainly provide intangible service products, the extended marketing mix, better known as the services marketing mix, forms the focus of this chapter.Higher education institutions need a well-developed comprehensive marketing strategy that is caref ully communicated throughout the institution (Robinson & Long, 1987:44; Brooker & Noble, 1985:34) and the services marketing mix will help higher education institutions to shape their service offerings according to the needs of their customers. Grove, in Kraft (2006) showed that in the marketing of education, the marketing mix is the single most important determinant of marketing success.In the light of the fact that marketing can influence the consumer’s behaviour and the services marketing mix can assist higher education institutions in developing a holistic and well thought-through service offering, the seven services marketing mix elements (service product, price, promotion, distribution, people, physical evidence and process) will be discussed in the main part of this chapter. – 89 – 3. 7. 1 THE SERVICE PRODUCT STRATEGY OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS The most basic decision that higher education institutions have to make is what programmes and services th ey will offer to their students, alumni and donors.An institution’s service product strategy determines its identity, position and how customers will respond to the institution. A product is anything a consumer acquires, or might acquire to meet a perceived need and thus the sum of all the products and/or services offered by an organisation. To define the term service is not easy or simplistic. Although the process may be tied to a physical product, the performance is essentially intangible and does not normally result in ownership of any of the factors of production. Services create value and provide benefits for customers at specific times and places.Lovelock and Wright (2002:3) define services as an act or performance offered by one party to another. Irons (1997:12) defines services as perishable, transient acts that have no lasting material, being mainly presented by people that cannot be separated from the provider. Therefore, the personal characteristics of the provider are an important part of the service. Du Plessis and Rousseau (2003:175) state that these definitions reveal that the nature of service centres on the characteristic of intangibility and that it is this feature that distinguishes services marketing from the marketing of physical goods.The goods and services continuum is shown in Figure 3. 2 below. Figure 3. 2: Goods and services continuum Tangible dominant Complete tangible products Tangible products with supporting services Intangible dominant Hybrid offers Source: Adapted from Palmer (2005:24). – 90 – Major service with supporting products Pure services It is evident that in services, the intangible element is dominant. The provision of education, although intangible, also contains tangible elements. Institutions provide service activities such as the teaching process and contact with customers (intangible element) as well as learning aterial such as textbooks (tangible element). McCollKennedy (2003:6-7) regards goo ds and services’ tangibility on a continuum, rather than in one category. At one end of the continuum are the intangible services and at the other end are tangible products. Higher education, which can be described as a major service (intangible) with minor supporting products (tangible), are leaning towards the intangible side of the continuum. In addition to categorising services based on their tangibility, it is also useful to identify who or what is the direct recipient of the service.Services can either be directed at people’s bodies, intangible assetes, physical possessions or people’s minds such as education (Lovelock, 1996:29). In order to better understand the concept of services, the distinguishing characteristics of services will now be explained. The basic characteristics of services are briefly outlined below (Lovelock & Wright, 2002:14-16): †¢ Customers do not obtain ownership. Customers usually derive value from a service without obtaining ow nership of any tangible elements; †¢ Service products are intangible performances.Intangible refers to something that is experienced and cannot be touched or preserved. Although services often include tangible elements, the service performance itself is basically intangible; †¢ Customer involvement in the production process. Customers are often actively involved in helping to create the service product by helping themselves or by cooperating with the service personnel. Customers cannot sit back and wait for the experience to be delivered as they do with the purchase of tangible products they have to participate. †¢People as part of the service product. Given the fact that different service personnel may deliver the service product to customers, it is difficult to achieve – 91 – uniformity in service delivery. This difference (heterogeneity) in attitude and action will typically result in very different customer perceptions of the quality and overall sati sfaction levels. People are such an important component of service delivery that it is added as an element to service organisations marketing mix and will be discussed in Section 3. 7. 5; †¢ Importance of time.Customers have to be physically present to receive services. Customers are becoming increasingly time sensitive and speed is often a key element in good service delivery; and †¢ Services are perishable and cannot be stored like physical goods. Thus, although education includes tangible elements such as textbooks, chairs and notes, students derive value from higher education without obtaining ownership. Students are involved in the education production process as they participate in and help make the final service product, by giving inputs in class or participating in campus events.As higher education is perishable and cannot be stored, students must be physically present to receive education. It is evident that offering educational services involve special challenges , since most services education is intangible, inseparable, variable and perishable. Developing service products that satisfy consumers’ wants and needs are a critical marketing activity for institutions (Hoyer & MacInnis, 2001:40). Consumer research can provide useful information for service product decisions.According to Czinkota et al. (1997:109), information provided by consumer behaviour research, such as this study, can help organisations to decide which attributes to add to or change in an existing offering; aid them in correctly naming or re-naming their organisations and make effective packaging and branding decisions. Higher education institutions should evaluate its academic programmes and service product mix periodically, and particularly when considering modifications. Some programmes are more central than others.Education offerings are specifically essential programmes that institutions cannot do without. Other programmes may be easier to modify, like recreation al activities that are usually auxiliary programmes. Certain programmes will play a major role in attracting customers and these are called flagship programmes (Kotler & Fox, 1995:282). – 92 – Information provided by this study will enable institutions to determine the importance of some components of their service product (variety of study courses, academic quality and sport programmes) in the institution selection process of students.Higher education institutions must also develop a pricing strategy for their service products. The pricing decision is of utmost importance, as this will ensure income for higher education institutions that will enable them to implement al the other decisions such as promotion, distribution, processes, physical evidence and people. Section 3. 7. 2 will focus on the pricing strategy of higher education institutions. 3. 7. 2 THE PRICING STRATEGY OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONSIn this section, the pricing strategy of higher education insti tutions will be discussed by defining the term price, explaining possible pricing objectives of higher education institutions, explaining discounts and highlighting the role of price. Price plays an important role in the marketing mix, quality perception, attracting customers and providing revenue to institutions. Price is the amount of money (or some other item that is exchanged or bartered) that the buyer exchanges for a service product provided by the seller. Lamb et al. (2004:570) describe prices as that which is given up in exchange to acquire goods and services.The price of a service plays two major roles. Firstly, it influences how much of the service product the customer will purchase, and secondly, it influences whether selling the service will be profitable for the organisation or not (Machado & Cassim, 2000:99). Prices can be seen as the amount that a customer (students, parents or employers) must pay to be educated. The price of higher education institutions are influenc ed by the subsidy from government as well as donations and the cost of presenting the course, prices of competition and inflation.Price, for students, consists of a monetary cost as well as other costs, for example effort cost (completing long essay application forms), psychological cost (stress of enrolling in an institution far from home) and time cost (visiting or attending open days at different institutions) (Kotler & Fox, 1995:311). Students and their parents are not just interested in the institution’s list price (official – 93 – tuition and fees printed in a catalogue), but also the effective price. According to Kotler and Fox (1995:312), the effective price is the amount the customer will actually pay for all the educational benefits and value received.Prospective students may find it difficult to measure effective price early in the decision process, since effective price can only be known after the student has gone though the application process and h as been accepted and financial aid has been allocated. Tuition fees represent only a fraction of the total cost of attending a higher education institution and living cost and other education related expenses must also be considered by students (Anon, 2006b). Diederichs (1987:112) found that price plays an important role in students’ choices of a higher education institution.The first aspect organisations should consider when pricing a service product is to decide on the pricing objectives they want to achieve. Pricing objectives can influence the price of the service product and include: maximising profit (short- or long-term), building market share, maximising long-term customer perceptions of the value of the service product, maximising immediate cash flow, positioning the service product in a certain place in customers’ minds, and targeting a given segment of the market.Higher education institutions may pursue more than one of these objectives at the same time depe nding on the situation they are facing. A new higher education institution emerging after a merger may aim to position their service product, as well as targeting a given segment and maximising long-term perceptions of value (McColl-Kennedy, 2003:270 and Machado & Cassim, 2002:106-107). Higher education institutions should take into account three factors when setting prices for their educational programmes: †¢ Firstly, cost, by determining the amount of revenue needed to cover expected operating expenses; Secondly, customer demand, which emphasises that the final price decision is always made by the customer; and †¢ Thirdly, competition, as institutions have to weigh their â€Å"value† and establish their price relative to their competitors. Institutions should always consider the effects of a given pricing policy on enrolment, the nature and mission of the institution, the prices charged by competition and the – 94 – effect of their prices and price c hanges on actions of competition (Kotler & Fox, 1995:309).The pricing objective of a higher education institution will also affect its discount policy, as discount influence profit, market share, cash flow and positioning. Once the basic price is established, organisations need to establish some flexibility in terms of that price. Discount can be defined as the reductions to the basic price (Machado & Cassim, 2002:116). Higher education institutions need to determine and publish their prices (tuition fees) and discounts. Financial aid is seen as a form as discount by students.Kotler and Fox (1995:310) state that financial aid is not just used to attract students to increase the size of classes, but also to ensure the needed composition of the class to meet diversity objectives. Student aid or financial aid makes it possible for many students from low- and middle income families to afford higher education (Anon, 2006b). Cabrera and La Nasa (2000:10) found that financial aid especiall y influences students positively to select a particular institution and also allows parents to consider a wider range of institutions.This study will include the importance of financial aid in selecting a higher education institution. Diederichs (1987:114) found that a higher education institution’s price policy should take into consideration the facilities needed, quality of education and competitiveness, as students often use the price of a product or service as an indicator of quality. For example, more expensive institutions may be viewed as providing better education. Some institutions make use of their price/quality relationship by trying to raise the prestige and attractiveness of their institution by raising the tuition fees.Higher education institutions must carefully consider the role of price in the marketing mix, as price can be used as a quality indicator and thereby influence the perception of the institution’s position. Higher education institutions ofte n offer substantial amounts of financial aid to talented students to maintain their competitive advantage. Students and parents are looking for the best overall deal in terms of educational quality and prices (Laurer, 2006).Courant (2006:4) is of the opinion that higher education institutions prepare students to lead an examined life and should therefore price higher education as an expensive, high value proposition. Wallace (2003:32) argues that higher tuition fees will enable institutions to improve the quality of education and in countries where higher education is subsidised or offered for free, education would be held in higher esteem if a price were attached to it. However, Beckett (2005) warns that institutions – 95 – should be aware that charging top fees may cause institutions to loose students and not widen the participation.Wallace (2003) states that universities in France, England, the United States and Germany are facing the same problems with the price of education, as government funding for education is decreasing and institutions have to look at increasing tuition fees. The result is that students in these countries are protesting the price increases. The increased value of a higher education degree, increased research at universities, reduced state funding for public higher education institutions and monopolistic behaviour of higher education institutions are other possible reasons for higher prices (Barry, 1998:84).Higher educational institutions rely on tuition fees, donors and government subsidies as sources of revenue. As discussed in Chapter 2, changes in the financial environment emphasise the trend of institutions to cut cost, increase productivity and offer more financial aid to students. Most educational institutions depend heavily on tuition fees to keep operating and pricing therefore becomes very important. Price plays a role in determining who will apply, who will attend, who the institutions will serve, what the ins titutions will be able to offer and whether the institutions will meet its enrolment objectives and revenue needs.From the discussion it is evident that a pricing strategy is important for education institutions because they depend on revenue to operate, especially in the light of the decrease in subsidies (refer to Chapter 2). Price is part of the marketing mix and should be considered as an element of the institution’s strategy planning. When setting price, decision-makers should understand how students perceive price and the importance of price in selecting institutions.According to Cosser and Du Toit (2002:77), price is an important factor considered in choosing a higher education institution. It is important that higher education institutions know the cost of producing the service, know the price of competitors, identify pricing factors that are relevant to pricing decisions, and decide on a pricing strategy that will attract enough students. It is evident from the above -mentioned that higher education management needs information on the students and market to make effective pricing decisions.This study will provide some insight on the importance of price in the institution selection process. – 96 – Higher education institutions can have good quality educational services offered at the right price to students, but if students and parents are not aware of these services and prices, they will not consider the institution. It is thus important that higher education institutions communicate with their prospective students and parents. The next section will focus on the promotional or communication strategy of higher education institutions. 3. 7. THE PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS Educational institutions need to effectively communicate with their target market(s) and publics. Institutions must inform students and parents about its goals, activities and offerings and motivate them to take an interest in the instituti on. To identify and satisfy consumers’ needs, an institution must have a good understanding of the consumer in order to gain a competitive advantage through its marketing mix (service product, price, distribution, promotion, process, people and physical evidence).Persuasive communication is central to the marketing of service products as features, benefits and values must be communicated to the consumers to influence their purchase behaviour. Everything and everybody in an institution has a role to play in communication. Examples include the organisation’s brand name or logo, campus grounds, service product quality, prices, employees, delivery vehicles, buildings, the technology the organisation has at its disposal, the capital the organisation has at its disposal and the organisational philosophy.Kelley and Mahady (2003:2) are of the opinion that promotion is an element sometimes overlooked by non-profit organisations. They argue that even if an institution offers som e of the best programmes and services, these will not be utilised to the fullest if the market they were intended for has no knowledge of their existence. The remainder of Section 3. 7. 3 will focus on the definition of promotion, the communication process and the integrated services marketing communication (ISMC) mix available for higher education institutions. According to Hawkins et al. 2001:19), promotion or marketing communication includes advertising, the sales force, public relations, packaging and any other signals that the – 97 – organisation provides about itself and its products and services. Lamb et al. (2004:466) describe the promotional strategy as a plan for the optimal use of the elements of promotion, namely advertising, sales promotion, publicity and personal selling. Many higher education institutions are returning to promotional or communication tools to promote courses in an attempt to maintain and/or expand their market share.The importance of com munication can be seen in the establishment of communication departments, more funds that are allocated to marketing and appointing marketing managers or external communication experts to help with promotional activities. Higher education institutions are making use of radio, television, newspapers, buses, taxis and open days as well as more professional brochures and promotional material as vehicles for communication (Jones, 2002:41). This is necessary, since higher education institutions can no longer depend on pass rates alone to attract students.In order to utilise the promotional tools to their fullest and to ensure effective communication, higher education institutions need to understand the communication process. Communication involves the creation of shared meaning between participants. The intangibility, inseparability, perishability and heterogeneity of services create special communication requirements and involve the risk of miscommunication that is not so evident in the marketing of goods (McColl-Kennedy, 2003:236). Communication can be viewed upon as the transfer of a message from a sender to a receiver by means of a signal of some sort via a channel or medium.The sender translates his/her objectives, ideas and concepts through language into a message also known as encoding (Strydom et al. , 2000:344). The receiver tries to decode the message before he/she can comprehend its meaning and then the receiver reacts or responds to the message (Lamb et al. , 2004:326). The disturbances (physical or psychological) that prevent the successful transfer of the message are known as noise. Noise influences all the components of the communication process and places obstacles in the way of effective communication.Higher education institutions are the senders, while the receivers of the message are the potential students, existing students, parents, employers or alumni. For the purpose of this study, the focus is on the students of a higher education institutio n. This does not mean that institutions do not need to communicate with other publics such as alumni, parents, donors, government or the general public as well. According – 98 – to Jones (2002:44) the student’s ability to decode the message is influenced by his/her past experiences, feelings, emotions, attitudes and perceptions of the institution.Thus, higher education institutions need to fully understand their target market to identify the appropriate intended messages for the target market. The communication process gives higher education institutions the opportunity to influence prospective students’ behaviour by developing a message that creates awareness, position themselves in the mind of the student, change the student’s attitude towards the institution, or encourage the student to apply to the institution (Jones, 2002:45). The most popular communication/promotion objectives are general image enhancement and awareness of the institutions (K ittle, 2000).According to Jones (2002:43), emotions or feelings also play an important part in the encoding process and it is vital that higher education institutions should have empathy for other people’s cultural backgrounds. Higher education institutions need to select a medium that will attract attention, arouse interest and present the message clearly (Kotler & Fox, 1995:353). Higher education institutions need knowledge about the language of the prospective students, knowledge of forms of communication and general background information about the prospective students in order to encode successfully.The media that will be investigated in this study include: printed media (advertisement in magazines, newspapers or outdoor media), broadcasting media (advertisements on radio and television), direct mail or direct marketing (newsletters and brochures of higher education institutions), body language and direct communication through representatives of the institution (school v isits by staff or open days attended by students), word-of-mouth (conversations with alumni, friends or family members), or websites. In Chapter 4 the different media will be further discussed as part of the sources of information used by students.The promotional mix that an institution uses is determined by the student market’s expectations and requirements of the service products, together with the other elements of institutions’ marketing decisions. Machado and Cassim (2002:157) describe the promotional mix as the blend of promotional methods used by the organisation to communicate. A huge array of promotion elements exist, such as direct marketing, sales promotions, advertising, Internet and sponsorships. The communication process and the promotional mix elements (advertising, public – 99 – elations, personal selling and sales promotions) are used by organisations to communicate to their prospective customers. The message that reaches the customer sho uld be the same regardless of whether it is an advertisement on the radio, websites, open days, or a newspaper insert. To ensure the careful coordination of all the promotional mix elements, organisations must adopt the concept of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) (Du Plessis & Rousseau, 2005:345). For a higher education institution, this means that the institution coordinates all its communication activities.Zeithaml and Bitner (2000:405) suggest that a more complex integrated form of communication is needed for services, hence the ISMC approach as shown in Figure 3. 3. This concept requires a complete communication strategy that involves staff, every interface the institution has with its students, stakeholders and the community at large (Jones, 2002:450). Laurer (2006) suggests that institutions must coordinate all the promotional elements so that they meet the needs of students and parents who will pay for their products and services. Figure 3. serves as a visual guide f or the discussion

Where Do Artists Get Their Ideas?

How does an artist really see the world? The real source of ideas for their masterpieces is a mystery. Many believe that the artists’ sources for their ideas are included in their surroundings and what they may have experienced. Well, those two things are the source of their ideas, but artists look at these things from a different perspective; much different from the normal point-of-view. To explain how artists decide on what to paint, there will be two paintings to be used as tools. Both of these paintings were made by artists from the Ancient world. The first painting, â€Å"Alexander the Great confronts Darius III at the Battle of Issos,† was created by Philoxenus of Eretria, a Macedonian artist who lived during the 4th Century B. C. , much later than Alexander’s rule (Smith 911). He was most likely requested to paint the masterpiece which was to be commissioned to King Cassander later on. With that statement, a clear reason for his decision to paint the masterpiece sprang out. During this period, artists were skilled-workers who had powerful clients; in his case, King Cassander. However, it still did not say why he chose that particular battle of Alexander the Great. By analyzing the painting itself, a person could easily conclude that it was recreated to assert Macedonia’s dominance over Persia. Besides that, Alexander the Great was the greatest Macedonian hero. This may very well be the reason why Philoxenus chose to paint the epic battle. It was simply fit for King Cassander, who was also known as the most powerful man in Macedonia during this period—Post-Alexander. A painting that defines power and Macedonia fits a man who defined power and Macedonia during his reign. This may have been Philoxenus’ idea after all. The second painting, â€Å"Battle of Centaurs and Wild Beasts,† was created by Zeuxis from Ephesus, a Greek artist who lived around 5th Century B. C. It was later on revealed that a mosaic of this was found in Roman Emperor Hadrian’s villa. Zeuxis was very well known for a host of Centaur paintings, one of which was the painting mentioned and the painting â€Å"Helen of Troy. Zeuxis’ central theme for this painting was the Greek mythological creature, the Centaurs, and their struggle against the wild beasts. It may have been an imagery of the imminence of the Persian invasion on Greek soil, since Xerxes was already amassing an army for the attack; the Greeks as the outnumbered but powerful Centaurs against the wild beasts as the invaders. Zeuxis lived around this period being knowledge of the upcoming or o ngoing Second Persian War. The painting, however, was most likely a symbolism of the First Persian War. One possible reason why he decided to paint this event could be because it was the most significant event at that time for most Greeks. He had the talent to portray the event on a panel or a wall, just as the artists at that time did, in an artistic way—sometimes with the use of characters similar to that of the painting. Unlike the first one by Philoxenus, this painting was more metaphorical or symbolic than direct. If the central idea was really about the Persian war—the first or the second—then it would be almost quite similar to that of the Alexander painting. These events were of great importance to the people and were great sources for flourishing art work, especially the heroes that played a major role in it. Heroism has greatly contributed to the formulation of ideas for the masterpieces. Philoxenus and Zeuxis, both artists from the Ancient world, depicted two great encounters by infusing them into art. Both were inspired by war against a common enemy but were separated by time. Both also told stories of heroism but were separated by earch artists’ painting styles. Works Cited â€Å"Kassander†. In2Greece. 11 March 2009. < http://www.in2greece.com/english/historymyth/history/ancient/kassander.htm> Mansfield, Elizabeth C. Too Beautiful to Picture: Zeuxis, Myth, and Mimesis. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 2007. Philoxenus. Alexander the Great Confronts Darius III at the Battle of Issos. 11 March 2009 . Smith, William. A School Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1870. Zeuxis. Battle of Centaurs and Wild Beasts. 11 March 2009 .

Preparing and designing learning Essay

Preparing and designing Learning and Development Activities In this assignment I will address factors which influence learning and development activities, focusing on adult learning, organisational factors and key legislation which must be adhered to. I will describe different learning methods and learning resources and highlight both the advantages and disadvantages of each. I will also plan and prepare a full training session including development activities for a Team Manager with the objective for them to effectively manage the attendance of their employees. Factors Relating to Adult Learning Andragogy (adult learning) is a theory that holds a set of assumptions about how adults learn. Andragogy emphasises the value of the process of learning, It uses approaches to learning that are problem-based and collaborative, and also emphasises more equality between the teacher and learner. Knowles identified the six principles of adult learning outlined below: 1. Adults are internally motivated and self-directed – Your role is to facilitate a students’ movement toward more self-directed and responsible learning as well as to foster the student’s internal motivation to learn. 2. Adults bring life experiences and knowledge to learning experiences – Adults like to be given opportunity to use their existing foundation of knowledge and experience gained from life experience, and apply it to their new learning experiences. 3. Adults are goal oriented – Adult students become ready to learn when â€Å"they experience a need to learn it in order to cope more satisfyingly with real-life tasks or problems† (Knowles) 4. Adults are relevancy oriented – Adult learners want to know the relevance of what they are learning to what they want to achieve. 5. Adults are practical – Through practical fieldwork experiences, interacting with real clients and their real life situations, students move from classroom and textbook mode to hands-on problem solving where they can recognise first hand how what they are learning applies to life and the work context. 6. Adult learners like to be respected. Adult Learning Cycle Kolb learning styles: Diverging (feeling and watching – CE/RO) -Kolb called this style ‘Diverging’ because these people perform better in situations that require ideas-generation, for example, brainstorming. People with the Diverging style prefer to work in groups, to listen with an open mind and to receive personal feedback. Assimilating (watching and thinking – AC/RO) – The Assimilating learning preference is for a concise, logical approach. Ideas and concepts are more important than people. People with this style are more attracted to logically sound theories than approaches based on practical value. Converging (doing and thinking – AC/AE) – People with a Converging learning style can solve problems and will use their learning to find solutions to practical issues. People with a Converging learning style are more attracted to technical tasks and problems than social or interpersonal issues. People with a Converging style like to experiment with new ideas, to simulate, and to work with practical applications. Accommodating (doing and feeling – CE/AE) – The Accommodating learning style is ‘hands-on’, and relies on intuition rather than logic. These people use other people’s analysis, and prefer to take a practical, experiential approach. People with an Accommodating learning style prefer to work in teams to complete tasks. They set targets and actively work in the field trying different ways to achieve an objective. Barriers to Adult Learning Barriers that are associated with adult learning include; poor writing skills lack of sufficient time lack of funds lack of persistence or motivation Other barriers include gender discrimination, age discrepancies, language problems, and lack of support from employers, friends, and family. Organisational factors which impact design of learning and development activities 1. Organisational policy and culture 2. Financial Factors 3. Timing and timescales 4. Equality of opportunity 5. Learner factors 6. Organisational priorities Key legislation relevant to learning and development activities Equality and diversity Health and safety data protection Learning Methods The Visual Style – People who learn best through visual aids have a visual learning style. Visual aids include facial expressions and gesticulations of teachers, pictures, texts with illustrations, DVDs, etc. Advantage: It makes recollection easier when, in an environment different from where you had learned the information, you see pictures similar to those through which you learned the information. Disadvantage: the difficulty you experience when only texts and speeches are available for learning, without any visual aids. The Auditory Style – Some people prefer to learn by hearing what they want to learn. Theirs is the auditory learning style. To learn, such people would prefer listening to discussions, talking matters over, reading out of texts or making use of e-courses containing audio recordings. Advantage of this style is that you assimilate and retain information without having to see it in texts or pictures. Disadvantage: the difficulty of learning among silently reading learners EG in a Library. The Read/Write Style – If you learn best by reading texts or writing down notes from what you read, see or hear, then you are a read/write learner. Read/write learners need writing materials to take down points they think important from what they read, hear or see. Advantage of making them more self-dependent because with their note taking, they can learn much by themselves. Disadvantage of not being able to learn easily where the only  medium of instruction is visual or audio, or where they do not have access to writing materials. The Kinesthetic Style – Kinesthetic learners prefer to learn by moving and doing. They prefer interactive learning, learning through practical challenges and hands-on experience and taking in information as they move from one place to another. Kinesthetic learners are therefore not comfortable sitting in a place for long. Advantage of exposing learners faster to practice and evidence: You learn as you practice and practice what you learn; you see the evidence of what you had digested with difficulty from texts or discussions. Disadvantages where there are no places to move to for such live experience and nobody to interactive with. Learning Resources Instructor-led training remains one of the most popular training techniques for trainers. There are many resources used including: whiteboard, power point presentation etc†¦ Advantages  Instructor-led classroom training is an efficient method for presenting a large body of material to large or small groups of employees. It is a personal, face-to-face type of training as opposed to computer-based training and other methods we will discuss later. It ensures that everyone gets the same information at the same time. It is cost-effective, especially when not outsourced to guest speakers. Storytelling grabs people’s attention. Disadvantages Sometimes it is not interactive. Too much of the success of the training depends on the effectiveness of the lecturer. Scheduling classroom sessions for large numbers of trainees can be difficult—especially when trainees are at multiple locations. There are many ways that you can break up training sessions and keep trainees attentive and involved, including: Small group discussions. Break the participants down into small groups and give them case studies or work situations to discuss or solve. This is a good way for knowledgeable veteran employees to pass on  their experience to newer employees. Case studies. Adults tend to bring a problem-oriented way of thinking to workplace training. Case studies are an excellent way to capitalize on this type of adult learning. By analysing real job-related situations, employees can learn how to handle similar situations. They can also see how various elements of a job work together to create problems as well as solutions. Q & A sessions. Informal question-and-answer sessions are most effective with small groups and for updating skills rather than teaching new skills. For example, some changes in departmental procedure might easily be handled by a short explanation by the supervisor, followed by a question-and-answer period and a discussion period. Role-playing. By assuming roles and acting out situations that might occur in the workplace, employees learn how to handle various situations before they face them on the job. Role-playing is an excellent training technique for many interpersonal skills, such as customer service, interviewing, and supervising. Advantages Interactive sessions keep trainees engaged in the training, which makes them more receptive to the new information. They make training more fun and enjoyable. They provide ways for established employees to pass on knowledge and experience to newer employees. They can provide in-session feedback to trainers on how well trainees are learning. Disadvantages Interactive sessions can take longer because activities, such as taking quizzes or breaking into small groups, are time-consuming. Some method can be less structured, and trainers will need to make sure that all necessary information is covered.

Job Costing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Job Costing - Essay Example In numerous systems, costs can be classified in stages, cost classes and cost codes, and this breakdown must be meticulously customized to correctly reflect Dell’s needs. Dell should start by developing a team that will identify the needs of the company and organizes the structure and approach to be used to achieve them. This team should include among others, managers, account receivable, accounts payable, as well as payroll personnel since a diverse group will consider the views of numerous people to whom the data will benefit. The team constituted by Dell should meet for discussions on the items on their checklist and find ways of assisting the company to determine what it needs from a job hosting system and then identify an approach and the details that should be monitored. In Dell’s case, every functional area can be affected by changes to activity-based costing and this makes it imperative to for managers to participate and buy into all the functional areas. Variou s people from different departments at Dell bring particular knowledge to their functions which are required to complete the set of activities in the entire company while appreciating the cost drivers of every activity. At Dell, job costing is utilized for the collection of costs associated with direct labor, overhead and direct materials whereby overhead is allocated to computers, which are considered jobs, subject to a predetermined rate of allocation like square footage and machine hours among others(Dussart, 2010).

Plot Structure Analysis of Frankenstein Coursework

Plot Structure Analysis of Frankenstein - Coursework Example In contrast, this perfect human turns out to be a ugly monster, and he runs away from it because of its disgusting appearance. This is the mid-point of this narrative, observed in that Frankenstein rejection of the monster created a feeling of loneliness of it, and in its attempt to find company, it ends up murdering his own brother, and having a young innocent girl bear responsibility of his death in the eyes of general society members. This narrative reaches climax when Frankenstein realizes the real murderer of his brother, creating a twist on preceding actions. How a â€Å"perfect† creature created by an individual turns out to be his own pain? This narrative strives to advise human race on truth and value of accepting life in its simplicity. Underlying truth is that mankind seeks to achieve peace and perfection, by creating things he thinks ought to be there for this form of life, and at the end of it ends up destroying himself, and those close to him. This narrative is of great value in contemporary society, where wars and mass destruction is the order of the day in a bid to achieve

HRM - exam preparation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

HRM - exam preparation - Essay Example How much of remuneration is to be paid (the absolute level) is important to the extent that it takes care of a person’s minimum needs. Fixing of a minimum wage by an employer or company, or legislating on minimum wages by the Government, therefore focuses on ‘how much’. This ‘how much’ depends on physical variables (what is needed to keep body and soul together) and cultural variables (what is perceived as ‘necessary’) (Here we may refer to the first two levels of Maslow’s Theory of the Hierarchy of Needs — taking care of the physiological and safety needs. Beyond the level of the minimum wage to be paid, equity and fairness should play an important part in determining wages (the relative levels). Further, equity should be ensured without having to sacrifice the other objectives mentioned. Equity and fairness considerations in pay fixation take care of the social and esteem needs (Maslow) of an employee. Both internal and external equity principles (relative fairness of wages of workers in the same organisation, and outside the organisation) should be kept in mind while fixing pay. Rewards (compensation) are of two kinds — direct and indirect. The direct reward is the salary; and indirect rewards are the benefits or perquisites (perks) that an employee gets. Benefits include company provided house, car, medical facilities, company paid holidays, company sponsored study courses and training and so on. Equity or fairness between one employee and another can be maintained by adjusting both the direct or indirect benefits. 1- Modification of input or output to match pay. A person who is underpaid would reduce work effort; a person who is overpaid may work more sincerely and for longer hours without further compensation. A worker may attempt to change the input/ output of others, by asking them to work/not work harder. 2- Workers may adjust

Introduction to Accounting and Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Introduction to Accounting and Finance - Essay Example A mixing, filling, and labeling machine would cost me 45.000 pounds to purchase and install and I would need to invest 20.000 pounds in advertising. Initial stock of supplies would cost 6.000 pounds and I would have to employ two workers at 2.000 pounds/month each to cover two shifts with the machine. My gross salary is set at 4.000 pounds per month as I will be responsible for management and sales. We would start working immediately to set things up so our salary, accountant, and rent would include two additional months, i.e January through August in 2011 instead of six, while other costs and revenues are calculated on the basis of six months. I would have to pay accountant 200 pounds a month and that includes end year financial and tax statements. Marginal Costs Statements Our marginal costs are variable costs of supplies and marketing costs for selling additional products. The formula is Cost per additional jar = variable costs (or in our case costs of supplies for a jar) but in r eality we cannot purchase supplies in such small quantities so increments should be set per 100 jar package. Our marginal costs per unit between anticipated 15.000 unit sales and maximum capacity of 20.000 units are 50 pennies per jar or 2.500 pounds per month. ... Quantities over 20.000 units per month would probably cost more to make than quantities around 15.000 as I plan. If we were able to sell 20.000 units per month i.e. 5.000 more than we anticipated, and there would be no bottlenecks in production, we would get additional income of 10.000 pounds per month that would cost only 2.500 pounds per month. Our pretax profits would rise for 90.000 pounds a year. 3) Breakeven Point Breakeven point is a level of sales where revenues equal expenses. To calculate this point we have to divide our fixed costs on enough units. Formula is Breakeven Production = Fixed Costs / (Selling Price – Variable Costs) Breakeven Production = 13.200 L per month/1,5L per unit = 8.800 units per month In our case everything except supplies represent fixed costs. Our rent is set regardless of the products we make and sell, we have to pay salaries regardless of production and sales, we have to pay the accountant, advertising, and amortization and miscellaneous is completely detached from sales we make. The only real variable cost of producing additional unit is therefore the cost of supplies. From the graph below we can see that we anticipate to reach Breakeven point in second month of production and by fourth month we intend to reach our sales target that will remain constant until and if we decide to add capital investment and labor. 4) Proformance Financial Reports a) Proforma Cash Budget Proforma Cash Budget January February March April May June July August September November December Inflows 50,000 20,000 32,455 60,221 15,822 13,122 9,122 4,233 2,445 2,124 3,600 Investment for 40% stake in the company 4,300 10,324 9,800 5,787 6,458 5,457 9,500 3,100 1,200 2,457 3,000 Net Sales 12,122 12,000 12,800 14,500 10,300 8,000 16,000

The play, Everyman Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The play, Everyman - Research Paper Example Considering the reality of death, the author has portrayed death as someone who calls Everyman, the protagonist of the play to meet God and reply for his deeds. The protagonist asks Death that he wants some time to get some friends to accompany him in his journey to his destination to meet God. He gets some time, but he realizes that the friends who were dear to him are not ready to accompany him. The author perceives and treats death as a call from God to enable people realize what is good for them in life. Everyman as the name suggests represents every man on earth. The play as a whole is a play that portrays Christian values and can be understood as an allegorical or morality play. The play starts with God’s call to Death where he claims that human beings in the world are not following his commandments and are committing sins (Lester, 1981). He asks the Death to bring Everyman to answer for his committed deeds. Death works as God’s messenger who brings God’s m essage to Everyman that he should appear before God to answer for his deeds. God sends for Everyman as he says, â€Å"...Go thou to Everyman, And show him, in my name, A pilgrimage he must on him take, Which he in no wise may escape; And that he bring with him a sure reckoning Without delay or tarrying...† (Everyman, 1987, 65-71) Death is asked to tell Everyman to conduct a pilgrimage in order to reach God. The sending of Death ensures that Everyman has to leave the world and its belongings in order to reach the court of God. Death also represents the abolition of life and reaches Everyman to inform him of his ending to reach his final destination before God. The representation of death in Everyman is not fearsome, but educative as the figure when comes forth Everyman, he is not frightened at seeing him. However, when he is told that he is going to come before God, he is frightened considering himself alone and secluded. He thinks that he will gain someone’s sympathy i n his journeying towards God and this sympathy will lead him to have Heaven (Spinrad, 1987). Death comes and informs Everyman, â€Å"Death: In great haste I am sent to thee From God out of his Majesty. Everyman: What, sent to me?† (Everyman, 1987, 90-92) At hearing a call from God with Death as God’s messenger, Everyman gets disturbed considering him incapable to appear before God in his present condition. He calls Death â€Å"gentle† And asks him for some time, in which, he can arrange for some friends to accompany him in his pilgrimage. Everyman says, â€Å"O wretched caitiff! whither shall I flee That I might 'scape endless sorrow? Now , gentle Death, spare me till tomorrow, That I may amend me With good advisement.† (Everyman, 1987, 171-75) He sees no place to escape and seeks mercy from Death. He regards himself extremely sorrowful and distressed not because of appearance of Death, but because of being called by God when he is not ready to appear. As mentioned earlier on, death is portrayed not as fearsome and horrible as it was supposed to appear at that time when the play was written. In medieval times and middle ages, death was portrayed with skeletons or someone with frightening appearance that at once made the observer to tremble (Cawley, 1970). Death in Everyman was portrayed as a messenger of God who was so merciful that he gave some time to Everyman to search for his companions for the journey. Death let everyman to ponder over the differences between right and wrong that assign him the title of

Ambiance and Musical Symmetry at Count Basie Theater Essay

Ambiance and Musical Symmetry at Count Basie Theater - Essay Example After attending the grand performance by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra at Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, leftover emotions and higher appreciation for the plight of the orchestra remained long after the event. Enjoyment of the symphony was certainly not limited to the more obvious elements of music such as tempo and style, the performance was pounded out by a host of talented musicians who furiously engaged the audience with competent instruments. The performance included Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 which was a rather brilliantly executed in a rather unique tempo with both conductor and musician working incredibly hard to focus attention on powerful percussion. Neeme Jarvi, the conductor, was rather violent in his obligations, which served to draw audience focus away from the instruments so as to see the passion Jarvi obviously has for music and the symphony. My traditional history with the symphony had rarely illustrated such an active conductor, which I believe made this particular series of performances more captivating. Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg was the soloist violin at Count Basie Theater, who managed to work the crowd into somewhat of a frenzy with her unique style.

Merger,Acquisition,and International Strageties Assignment

Merger,Acquisition,and International Strageties - Assignment Example It has been clarified that the merger of the two companies was enhanced by the fact that AMR corporation had previously encountered numerous loses. Therefore, it was within the best interest to file a case to declare the status of bankruptcy. Therefore, the engagement into a merger concept was seen as one of the best ways that would restore the organizational, financial status back to normalcy. Initially, American airways were recognized as one of the lucrative companies in the airline industry with up to 3100 flights departing from the United States and other different parts of the world on a daily basis. An airline company with integrated customer’s carriers employed over 32,000 aviation personnel. Having played an active role in human rights network, the organization was rewarded 100 percent by the human right corporation because of the quality index and campaign for the transgender employees. By the beginning of 2012, the airline corporation started feeling the effect of financial turbulence. As such, it was declared bankrupt by the united stain the department of justice to forge ahead for the merger by the United States airways and form American Airline Inc (Bryer & Simensky, 2002). It was considered a vital step towards reviving the organizational level of competitiveness. Therefore, AMR Corporation applied to Dallas/Fort worth court and requested for bankrupt cy approval permitting merger to a United States airways group. At first the application was not very successful, but after court judge Sean Lane intervened the procedure was allowed to continue. Although the two American airline companies were given go ahead to form a merger, coming up with a single certificate took some time while the newly formed organization had already started enjoying numerous benefits. For instance, the merger was perceived to as a wise decision because it has created an open way

Ice 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ice 3 - Essay Example Self-sufficiency is no longer possible because one individual will depend on another for grocery, another for fuel, and another for other items. To avoid further suffering in times of disaster or lack we need to effect changes that will favour our conditions. For instance, instead of screaming at civic leaders about slow pace of power restoration, individuals can team up and pay for this repair. In addition, the government has a responsibility to provide services, social amenities, and habitable houses to its citizens as per the constitution. Thus, the government is charged with the responsibility of effecting changes that better the lives of the citizens. For instance, the government has to restore and build the power systems, roads, and buildings in case of a disaster. However, the government can sensitize its citizens and work as a team to effect desired change. For instance, the government can work with fuel storeowners to reconstruct the stores in a way they will not be affected by the heated storms like Sandy. Richard Stuebi argues that American Government should be more involved with climate change. In fact, Americans need to alter their current lifestyles and accommodate a sustainable environment. Scientists argue that the recent disasters like Katrina and Sandy have come because of rising sea levels after global warming. If this is true, then climate issue in America need an urgency move by the government and by individuals. The government need to take an active role of sensitizing the public to make efforts to reverse our climatic conditions in the near future. Sensitizing the public and educating them on depth of the climate conditions needs finances, which will come from the government funding. The changes that need to be effected to make climate of America will involve households. First, each household will need to plant some trees to help purify the carbon dioxide released to the atmosphere everyday. Secondly,

Best Leader Essay Example for Free

Best Leader Essay INTRODUCTION That I had chosen is Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad which is our Malaysian fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He is one of a good Malaysian politic leader. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysias longest serving Prime Minister. His political career spanned almost 40 years. Born and raised in Alor Setar, Kedah, Mahathir excelled at school and became a medical doctor. He became active in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Malaysias largest political party, before entering parliament in 1964. He served one term before losing his seat, before falling out with the then Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman and being expelled from UMNO. When Abdul Rahman resigned, Mahathir re-entered UMNO and parliament, and was promoted to the Cabinet. By 1976, he had risen to Deputy Prime Minister, and in 1981 was sworn in as Prime Minister after the resignation of his predecessor, Hussein Onn. ACHIEVEMENTS Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad had achieved lot of achievement during being a Prime Minister of Malaysia. He brings many good programs, mission and vision to Malaysia such as â€Å"Wawasan 2020†, first Malaysia cars†Proton â€Å", good education system and many more. There were lots of changes happen in Malaysia during his Management. Although he was rise from an ordinary family, he becomes a successful person in his life. This is indeed the great achievement of Tun Dr Mahathir in his twenty-two years as the Prime Minister of Malaysia. In my opinion an award is given to Tun Dr Mahathir in recognition for his achievement in changing, the mental altitude of the Malaysians. We can say that Tun Dr Mahathir is able to change to a certain extent the negative mental attitude of the Malaysians to a positive mental attitude. Tun Dr Mahathir has come with the slogan that change the negative mental outlook of the Malaysians to become positive mental outlook and this has becomes the basi s towards making Malaysia an advance country by the year 2020. Tun Dr Mahathir has set the vision that Malaysia is to become an advance country by the year 2020. An advance country to Tun Dr Mahathir is not only advancing materially but also spiritually. He wants Malaysia to becomes advance in all fields and to become advance in their thinking and achievements. In order to achieve vision 2020 all Malaysians especially the Prime Ministers must cling to the vision, slogan set by Tun Dr Mahathir. Unfortunately the Prime Ministers Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi comes with the vision of Islam Hadari, and the Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak comes with the slogan of Satu Malaysia. In my opinion, we should stick to the vision, slogan set by Tun Dr Mahathir. All of us should work hard to achieve the vision that is to make Malaysia an advance country in the year 2020. During the times when Tun Dr Mahathir becomes the Prime Minister of Malaysia, there were so many infrastructure developments in Malaysia. We have the north and south highways built during his time, the twin towers, once the highest building in the world, the airport and many others built during his time as the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Malaysians are sent abroad to study and acquire knowledge and it is during his time that Malaysia start sending students to Japan and Korea. Tun Dr Mahathir is in the opinion that we do not sent student only to acquire knowledge but also to acquire good working attitudes. Since the Japanese and Koreans have better working attitudes than the Americans and Europeans, the decision made by Tun Dr Mahathir to send our students to these countries to learn good working attitudes are commendable. Tun Dr Mahathir knows very well that having only knowledge without good working attitudes will not make Malaysia an advance country. In order to become an advance country Tun Dr Mahathir want the Malaysians to acquire knowledge as well as to acquire good working attitude. CHANGES IN MALAYSIA CONCLUSION As a conclusion, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad is a great man and a very good leader which I saw in my life. A simple normal man changes the country to become a one of the top country in the world. He is a good and intelligent leader, bring along our Malaysia community to a become a successful community by his good management.

Importance Of Organisational Behaviour Business Essay

Importance Of Organisational Behaviour Business Essay Introduction In the current context there are more competitive for the business. Many companies are producing same items to the market with different trademark. They are running their business with a vision. For successful vision achievement they have to achieve their goals. So they are in a position to run their organization better than their competitors. So for the successful organisational environment, they have to satisfy their employees. In the present context, when you are working in the organisation, you may think is this the right organisation for you? In my point the many answers will be No. The main reason for this answer Managers have lack of knowledge about how to manage organisational behaviour. Due to this less knowledge, managers straggling to handle employees problems in a proper way and they are not guiding the employees in a line to achieving organisations goal. Because of this many qualified employees are trying to find a job in other organization where having a high-quality management. If qualified employees leave the organisation, organisations goal achievement result will be negative. So the managers should have jam-packed knowledge about organisational behaviour. In this point you will think what is organisational behaviour? There are many definitions for this but simply can say, for a act getting different responds from different people and the way of reaction between two people in the office situation. So good manager will observe this and he could identify that who is proficient and who wants to get more knowledge. If the employee satisfied with his job, they will be more productive and their respond also will be satisfied. For example, if manager employed who is a young, shy and softly spoken girl, manager cannot put her in the role of marketing. Instead, manager can place her in a low stress position that would suit her nature. So the organisational behaviour is not just about keeping employees happy. It is about placing staff in a position that suits their personality and experience as well as helping employees to nurture in a way that they become more of an asset to the business. Literature revive Organisational behaviour is an inevitable process in the organisations. The organisations goals are achieving by their managers, so they should run the organisation effectively. Here we are analysing some important organisational behaviours which knowledge helps to managers. In the organisational environment, all behaviours are interconnected. Manager has to identify the employees behaviour and he has to make the link with other behaviours to effectively run the organisation. For an example if a person who is working efficiently in the marketing field with an extraversion personality, we need to motivate him as well as we have to make a job satisfaction for him. So here personality, motivation and job satisfaction behaviours are interconnected. Here I am analysing some important organisational behaviour about what is behaviour? How these behaviours will help to the managers for decision making? What are the theories has to consider when decision making? Etc. So this will helps to the managers who are having lack of knowledge about organisational behaviour. Organisational Behaviour importance of todays context Personality What is personality? Until now there is no any agreement on the exact meaning of personality. But there are many ways to describe the personality (i.e strong, weak or polite). My description about personality is The kind of ability which people having. All people they are not having equal mentality, person to person it will differ. So when manager while working with them, he/she can identify their personality and he/she can categorize them with Big Five personality traits. If manager assign a job to a person in inside the office who is having more extraversion, his all talents are shrinking inside the office and he/she wont get effective result from him. But if manager assign him as a marketing person, he/she will get more effective and efficient result from him. 3.2 Motivation Motivation is the process to encourage the employee to work effectively to achieve the organisational goal. Manager has to identify the system to motivate his/her employees. Without an appropriate technique manager cannot satisfy each and every employee. So initially manager has to identify the needs and based on that needs he/she can motivate the employee by provide incentives. There are many theories from many researchers to identify the needs. But Maslows hierarchy of need theory and Herzbergs two factor theories are mostly consider by decision makers. Motivational system can be identified by categorize the employees needs under these theories. For an example if an employee has a need for job security, manager can motivate him by giving long term contract, job related training programme etc. 3.3 Job Satisfaction What is job satisfaction? How manager can satisfy the employee? Simply can say that getting positive result from the one employees job appraisal or job experience, job satisfaction is one of the important attitude. In the job satisfaction many internal factors will influence like the work itself, Payment, Promotion opportunities, Supervision and Co-workers, but in the meanwhile some external factors also influencing. For an example one person is working in the developed area with all internal external facilities. But suddenly management has transferred him to the remote area with same job, where is no external facilities like his previous worked area (travelling facilities, good food etc). When they observed his performance after transfer, it was lesser than previous. So manager has to take action to enhance satisfaction for an example Make jobs more fun, have fair pay, design jobs to make them satisfying and providing office transportation or allowance. Leadership As we discussed earlier, the different personalities are working in organization. There should have monitoring and controlling between staff, so they need a proper leadership. How manager can find correct leadership? What kind of characteristics he/she should have? This type of questions will arise before assign the leader. There are many definitions for leadership. According to Useem, leadership is a matter of making a difference. It entails changing an organisation and making active choices among plausible alternatives, and depends on the development of others and mobilising them to get the job done. Manager can ask a question why managers cant be a leader? As per Watsons 7-S organizational framework he suggests that whereas managers tend towards reliance on strategy, structure, and systems, leaders have an inherent inclination for utilisation of the soft Ss of style, staff, skills, and shared goals. Also manager can see the different characteristic between Manager and Leader as fo llows. Manager Leader Administers Innovates A copy An original Maintains Develops Focus on systems and structure Focuses on people Relies on control Inspires trust Short-range view Long-range perspective Asks how and when Asks what and why Eye on the bottom line Eye on the horizon Imitates Originates Accepts the status quo Challenges the status quo Classic good soldier Own person Does things right Does the right things When manager intend to recruit or position a leader, he/she should identify above characteristic from that employee. Leadership style There are different styles are following by leaders among their group. Autocratic This style is dominating the staff by his decision. Democratic This style is making decision among consult with others. Laissez-Faire This style is following the systems as it is. It will helps to the managers to identify the correct leader style to the appropriate group. Group Behaviour Group behaviour is two or more individuals, interrelating and co-dependent, who have come together to achieve particular goals. Group behaviour starts from the beginnings that contribute to the groups efficiencies. So manager should know why group behaviour is important? How groups are working? How to develop the groups? What are the characteristics groups should have? While working in the group, employee can reduce the insecurity of standing alone, recognition and status will be provided by others to the group members, possibilities are in the group for achievement which could not achieve as an individual, goal achievement period will be less. Group development Forming : characterized by uncertainly. Storming : characterized by intergroup Norming : characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness Performing : when is fully functional Adjourning : This presents the end of the group, characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather than task performance. Based on above structure if manager form the group, the behaviour of the group will be efficacy for organisations goal achievement. Training Development Manager is the responsible person to get more work from employees. From the above examples he/she can come across that someone capable someone incapable to handle specific job. So manager has to make everyone as capable workers. What is training programme? How can do this? What are the better ways to conducting training programmes to staff? This type of questions will arise from manager. There are many definitions for training. Steinmez said Training is a short-term process utilizing a systematic and organized procedure by which non-managerial personnel learn technical knowledge and skill and David de Cenzo and S.P. Robbins said Training involves changing of skills, knowledge, attitude or social behaviour (Nirmal Singh, HRM, p404). Before go for a training, manager has to identify the lacking part of employee. There are certain steps to discover the training needs Analysing Jobs and Men: if the men are less capable to perform the particular jobs they can be given training to increase their skills. Collecting Employees and Managerial Opinions: The training section may either by interviews or questionnaires obtain views of different people regarding necessary and desirable training programmes. Anticipating Requirements of Different Jobs: As a manager, you can forecast earlier the manpower requirement on the basis of long-term plans such as business expansion, new technology etc. Training may be given to the existing employees to enable them to meet the requirements of new jobs in the future. Once manager identify the needs, he/she has to plan the training methods. The training programmes should conducted by well trained trainers. Development is the process of transition of an employee from a lower level of ability, skill and knowledge to that of higher level. This transition is influenced by education, training, work experience and environment. Developments are mostly considered for the managerial level staff. Change Management In every organisation change is inevitable and unavoidable. The organisation which fails to change is sure to fail, because change is required to maintain stability to some extent in the functioning of organisation. The managers always keen on these changes. There are two main forces will involve in changes. Internal forces: These forces may either be derived from the change in external environment or may be because of management induced forces. Internal forces mainly include the following: Top management and its philosophy and corporate policy. Retirement, promotion, resignation and transfer of key functionaries of the organisation. Change is the perception, attitude, feelings, beliefs and expectations of the employees working in the organisation. Change is internal environment of the organisation. External forces: These forces include all factors of external environment which directly or indirectly affect the functioning of an organisation. Some of them are as under. Socio Culture: Education, population dynamics, rate of urbanisation, social traditions and customs will force the organisation for changes. Economic: It will includes the demand, competition, price mechanism, buying capacity, distribution of income, cost and quality and availability of various resources. Political and Legal: In the political level major opposition party, political stability, morality and values will force the organisation. Technology: In the technology level new techniques of production, innovation of new process etc. Will force the organisation. Work environment: in this environment customer loyalty, supplier regularity, community attitude and recognition of society will force the organisation Once manager identified the factors for changes, he/she should plan to make changes. There are few steps to be followed to make changes. Step 1 Preparing for change  (Preparation, assessment and strategy development) Step 2 Managing change  (Detailed planning and change management implementation) Reinforcing change Collect and analyze feedback Diagnose gaps and manage resistance Implement corrective actions and celebrate successes Preparing for change Identify change management Strategy Arrange change management Team Develop sponsorship model Managing change Develop change management plan Implement plansStep 3 Reinforcing change  (Data gathering, corrective action and recognition) Conclusion. Above organisational behaviour analysis exposed that how organisational behaviours knowledge is very important to manage the organisation. Each and every behaviours are important because they are inter-connected with each one. If group behaviours are not satisfied, they can go for a training programme. As well as if Leadership style changed, we can identify the lacking part for change and based on that can be motivated or making job satisfaction. Like this all behaviours are linked with other. So when organisation is planned to place a manager, they need to test their behaviour knowledge. So I hope that above my analysis will help to the managers, who are having poor knowledge about organisational behaviour. 5. References http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/node/34687#web-34687 http://www.pateo.com/article6.html http://cgda.nic.in/rt/rtcblr/website/Training%20Material/H%20R%20D/Motivation.htm http://www.coaching-for-new-women-managers.com/job-satisfaction.html Group Behaviour Model  (PIC) http://www.management-hub.com/change-management.html http://www.change-management.com/tutorial-change-process-detailed.htm http://www.ehow.com/how_2076444_identify-employee-training-needs.html#ixzz1BXP7leoM