International Marketing and communications Essay

International Marketing and communications - Essay Example The report is conclusive although the company should conduct future research in the market for it to be successful in the market. The company should follow the proposal in its operation to succeed in the new market. In the recent times companies have been undertaking measures to diversify their products and services in order to compete in the world market. The report gives an analysis of the entry mode, marketing strategies and other factors affecting the introduction of Verizon wireless mobile phones in the Iranian market. The report studies the effect of culture on a product, pricing and positioning. Research is done on the factors that affect the sale of the product in the country including the origin of the country which affects its marketing. The Iranian telecommunication sector has been experiencing massive growth in the past few years. Verizon wireless is a joint venture company in the telecommunications field which is based in the United States in New Jersey. The company is the second largest in this line in the United States and it reported an immense amount of revenue in the previous year as explained by Information Gatekeepers, Inc (2009).The company is well established and this can be seen through its expansion and mergers with other companies for example in 2009 it bought Alltel wireless according to Polishuk (2010). This is a clear indication that the company has enough resources to venture into the Iran telecommunications market and compete with local based companies by employing proper strategies. The company is one of the major carriers in the United States to use the CDMA technology. The company offers 3G data and voice services and it invests annually to expand and maintain its network as explained by Information Gate keepers Inc. (2009). The communication system in Iran has developed over the years an d the current plan is to modernize and expand the network with the aim of improving efficiency, increasing the urban

Data Paper part I Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Data part I - Research Paper Example The system links all essentials services provided by the facility. It forms the basis for data collection and retrieval during consultation. It also keeps track of medicine dispensed to each patient. In addition, it provides a status report of the pharmacy stock levels, pending deliveries, and special inquires. These functions are a part of a complex system that ensures the efficient delivery of services by the healthcare facility. The Enterprise system implemented at the facility serves as the nerve system for all IT based operations at the health facility. These services provide the backbone for efficient operations at the facility. They provide support for all workers at the hospital by providing database and query functions, decision support, and archiving (Burke, 2010). The healthcare facility identified two objectives to drive the implementation of the Enterprise System. The first objective was the improvement of organizational efficiency by leveraging on standardized methods supported by an IT framework. The second objective was to cut back on operational costs associated with the manual systems that were in place previously. The level of the system is enterprise wide. It links all departments and functions at the hospital. When compared to specialized systems such as Transaction Processing Systems (TPS), Enterprise Systems link all activities undertaken in a facility. They provide appropriate gateways for all users to access and use information they need that is available in the system. The major applications of the system at the healthcare facility are that it allows different workers to develop its database by logging in patient details, treatment regimes, stock maintenance, and archiving. All the service providers at the facility have access depending on their clearance level to access and query the databases depending on the information required (Burke, 2010). The system has three key classes of stakeholders. The first one is the

Creating a Sustainable Environment Essay Example for Free

Creating a Sustainable Environment Essay The terms Sustainable and Sustainability are used to describe many different approaches toward improving our way of life. Sustainability is a way to develop the environment without harming it, creating a system that keeps its self-feasible for future needs. Thus, sustainability means taking the long-term view of how our actions affect future generations and making sure we do not deplete resources or cause pollution at rates faster than the earth is able to renew them. Hence, if sustainability is enforced and took in action it will create a world where everyone can have fulfilling lives and enjoy a rich level of well-being within the limits of what nature can provide. Nowadays, there are many lifestyle trends that are rapidly damaging the environment and which are not sustainable. The main three lifestyle trends I am focusing on are; Children’s toys, entertainment focusing on cinema and pubs/clubs and office work environment. These lifestyle trends have a lot of unsustainable factors that can be changed and improved till year 2020. It is important that from a young age children will be taught the values of sustainability because they will inherit the world that we create today. Therefore, the stuff given to them should not damage the environment. Today there is the possibility to make sure that children’s playthings are green and healthy. Finding sustainable and less toxic toys for children is important since it can do well both for children and the environment. When buying toys it is important to look for PVC-free toys (polyvinyl chloride). PVC releases toxins into the environment all the way through its lifecycle from manufacturing to disposal. Many PVC toys also contain, chemical compounds that make the PVC plastic more flexible, which can lead to both cancer and hormonal disruption. Therefore, when choosing PVC-Free toys one will not only be sustainable but will prevent children from hazardous toxins. A better and safer alternative is to choose toys made from wood since, they are more sustainable and most importantly will last generations longer than the cheap plastic stuff. Batteries have become second nature in most toys today. Not only this is harmful for the environment due to massive battery consumption but also easily children can chew batteries which are toxic. Hence, one can easily replace these battery-powered toys by simpler toys which still are of an entertainment and fun. Furthermore, these would be cheaper and sustainable. However, for the older children that have more sense and always look for original and new toys which have the latest electronics, one should opt to look into rechargeable batteries to eliminate waste. Sometimes the most rewarding toy might not be a toy at all it might be the act of planting a tree, play catch or hide and seek. Getting children outside provides them with abundant opportunities to run around, have fun, get exercise, and learn about th e urban and natural environments around them. Outdoors needs to get revived again and children should be given the opportunity to play and enjoy more outdoors activities. Another way of being sustainable is by buying Second-hand toys because it does not mean that when a toy has been used once it would not be just as much fun the second time around. Thus, this will decrease the waist of toys which sometimes are hardly used or damaged, also these would be cheaper and one will be more sustainable. Additionally, for children sometimes is not whats in the box but it is the box! Sometimes it is the stuff that one already has that can prove the most fun to imaginative children. Therefore before throwing the box from that new toy away, think of it as a potential arts and crafts project instead. These factors are really important and not such difficult to practice and understand. These simple adjustments are both beneficial for children and the environment itself. Moreover, the children will be grown up in well sustainable grounding and mentality. Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their l eisure time. Entertainment may also provide fun, enjoyment and laughter. However, it is still important to be aware of a more sustainable entertainment environment. Thus, the challenge is to create good entertainment that sustains an audience and it is sustainable. Looking at the cinema industry there are so many things that go to waste that can be easily used more than once. Starting from when one arrives at the cinema each person that pays gets a ticket, why not making it a stamp on our hand to prove that we have paid therefore, this will eliminate the use of all those paper usage every day. Furthermore, when buying snacks a lot of packaging material is used, normally it would consist of paper and plastic which are all thrown away after usage since, most of them are not good to be recycled due to certain chemicals that are present. What a waste! So let’s entre a new cinema trend instead of a paper bucket or cups let’s replace them with plastic bowl and cups, which remains in the cinema to be reused. Why Plastic? Plastic is more safe, to prevent broken glass on the floor and since people themselves has to walk with them it will prevent certain accidents. This will be more sustainable due to less of waste and even less expenses since one will diminish the cost of buying so much packaging every year. Looking and the pubs/clubs sector one has no idea how unsustainable they are. From my own experience I work in this industry and therefore know a lot of what goes on. From the bar itself the amount of plastic thrown away every night is crazy. Why this? For safety purposes drinks are given in plastic cups to prevent having a lot of injuries during fights. However, these cups are not reused or recycled thus a plastic cup is only used for a couple of minutes and then thrown away. Therefore, replacing them with solid plastic cups which can be washed during the night and reused again is a better option which is more sustainable, more environmentally friendly and cheaper on the long run. Moreover, a lot of empty plastic bottles of soft drinks and glass bottles of alcohol and beers are thrown away in the same bin without recycling them, which is a pity because one only needs two separate bins to do so. Additionally a lot of paper made tickets are given when paying beforehand for parties. Yes, giving a ticket is the best way to prevent hassle and chaos when entering the club however, the size of the ticket sometimes is too much! Since, sometimes one can actually make three tickets from the size of the normal ticket that is normally given nowadays. If minimizing the size of the tickets one will decrease the amount of paper usage every night. Moreover, a lot of fliers are used to market other parties, fair enough marketing is important however, printing thousands of fliers and not even using half of them is a waist. Today, one can market their party through facebook, internet and even automatic mobile messages, this will decrease the amount of fliers printed which is more sustainable. What about noise pollution? The sound at the clubs is set at a very high volume that one cannot even talk to someone else because it will be impossible to understand one another. Noise pollution has an effect on our health, the extra sound can damage physiological and psychological health. Noise pollution can cause annoyance and aggression, hypertension, high stress levels, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and other harmful effects. Then there are certain factors that can be adopted in both sectors, both in the cinema industry and the club/pubs environment. For example focusing on the bathrooms, automatic sensors can be fixed to switch on the light when entering and then switch off when no one is present. Even automatic water turn off devices can be installed to prevent water loss. Additionally, electric hand dryers with automatic turn-off system are good to prevent the use of disposable paper towels. Furthermore, it is good to use water pressure system to save water and energy by adding a water saving device for water taps in wash hands basins to decrease the consumption of water usage. These all are changes which can make a better sustainable environment. Increasing awareness on the work place about sustainable principles can encourage workers to implement sustainability principles into their own personal practices and beyond. There are also sustainable factors that can be adopted till 2020 in an office work environment. Such as using electronic mail to send memos, or route memos to staff members rather than making a paper copy for each person. One can use reused envelops for internal mail. Moreover, is better to do direct deposit instead of making a paycheque every time. Furthermore, it is essential to have a photo copier that makes double sided copies to minimize the amount of paper used every day. Also, cleaning shell be done within office hours rather than at other times which this would require lighting and air conditioning to remain on. It is also vital to encourage employees to bring their own washable mugs to work rather to use disposable cups. Also having a thermos for beverages is a good practice to decrease the use of energy daily. Additionally, it is better to use reusable containers rather than cover launches in plastic or disposable paper bags. It is also good to use a reusable cloth then disposable tissue every time one needs to wipe his/her hands. This will result to a better sustainable environment and less expenses since, an object is used consequently rather used once and then thrown away. These mentioned above are all practices that can be adopted in the future which can make the world more sustainable. If from now people will change their mentality and get more informed how to become more sustainable in 2020 people will be able to live a healthier life, a life where less money is spent, a life which helps build stronger relationship between them and their neighbours, and a life which helps protect, conserve or improve the natural environment. Children are the future, so teaching them sustainability is essential to the well-being of the planet. As a Home Economics and Textile studies teacher it is important to teach students that everything on this earth is related and demonstrated by their behaviours and actions that affect the environment. By teaching students the importance of sustainability, they will be empowered and be more convinced that even they are capable of making a difference. Moreover, in order to make students aware of the importance of sustainability, as a teacher I have to make them aware of the consequences of their actions and decisions taken know and the affect it would have in the future on the environment. Furthermore, it is important to teach students how their daily decisions can affect their ecological footprint so that they make more conscious decisions to boost the sustainability of their lifestyle. Home Economics gives the opportunity to the teacher to entre deeply in the topic (sustainability) therefore it gives us the opportunity to teach and show students the importance of sustainability and build more awareness and knowledge on the meaning and the term sustainability. Furthermore, as a teacher I can show students that being sustainable is not something that require a lot of work but only require some thought. Additionally, show students that we can be sustainable in everything that we do in our life, example trough textile studies I can encourage students to use recycled fabric and teach them how to sew simple things example; repair a zip, make patches to holes, these will prevent from throwing clothes away when little adjustments is required. Therefore it is essential that awareness and education will increase to enhance sustainability. Moreover, encouraging and stimulating good practice in the use and management of natural resources, in particular their minimal use and maximum reuse by recycling in an environmentally sustainable manner is a vital issue. Hence, Education is an essential tool for achieving sustainability.

Strategies to Improve Water Scarcity

Strategies to Improve Water Scarcity Executive Summary This report is the summary of the definition, problems, limitation, consequences, government intervention to solve the issues and suggestion for improvements for the scarcity of water. The topic for my report is the scarcity of water in Malaysia. This report is about in the early March of 2014, there was a water crisis incident that had happened in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. There are 6 subtopics that will be stress out in this report. The first subtopic is about the definition of scarcity and the number of usage of water for Malaysia compare with other country. The second subtopic is about the problem. In this subtopic, we are going to discuss about the problem that faced by the society such as lack of water for personal consumption; Malaysia suffer from malnutrition, dehydration when undergoes scarcity of water. Furthermore, the third subtopic is limitation. In this subtopic we are going to discuss about why scarcity happened in Malaysia. Moreover, we are going to disc uss about the consequences that will happened to the society. There will be good and bad consequences. This report will also reviews on how the government intervention to solve this issue. The methods are government can intervenes through planning, regulation, taxes, subsidies and partnership. In this case, the Malaysian government increases the budget to help to resolve the water shortage problem in Selangor; Malaysian government has also delay a project to save the water supply and Malaysian government has also cut down the water supply of the neighborhoods every couple of days. Lastly, as a conclusion of this report we had express our suggestion on how to improve the society to cut down the percentage of the scarcity of water. Definition In the early March of 2014, there was a water crisis incident that had happen in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Itsdeja vuall over again and this incident reminds us of the incident in Klang Valley on 1998. Furthermore, this incident happens because of the citizen in Malaysia need a lot of water supply every day until the level that the reservoir in Malaysia is not enough to fulfill all their needs. This is a very serious problem especially when we are dealing with the natural resources that produce by our mother earth. â€Å"According to studies, Malaysians use an average of 226 liters of water per person daily, which is way above our South-East Asia neighbors. Singaporeans use 154 liters (and intend to lower it to 147 liters by 2020) while the Thais manage with 90 liters.† (Meng, 2011). Due to this statistic there is no chance that the amount of water can fulfill all the wants of the citizen. Problems When this water crisis incident had happened, there are a lot of problems faced not only by the citizen but also by the government of Malaysia. Firstly, the problem faced by the Malaysian is there is not enough water supply for the citizen’s personal consumption and culinary purpose; this may cause the citizen in Malaysia suffer from malnutrition, dehydration or also dead. According to (Bins, 2012) â€Å"Some people can only survive for 8 to 10 days without water†. Moreover, the citizen can also experience disease problem due to not less water supply. This is because contaminated water carries a lot of virus and it can cause diarrheal diseases. Diarrheal disease alone can directly link to the deaths. â€Å"Contaminated water causes 80% of the health problems throughout the world.† (Globalwater, 2010). Poverty can also take place when water crisis happen. This is because, when the water supply is not enough to fulfill the citizens need, the whole society suffers. The children in Malaysia will lack of energy to go to school and study; professionals are also lack of energy for them to drive to work. Limitations Moreover, this water crisis incident happens because Malaysian citizen does not know how to appreciate the value of water supply. The price of water supply in Malaysia is very low and because of this, most of the people do not know how much water they are using until they receive their monthly bill and the water bill is just a small part of the bill. â€Å"Water is dirt cheap. So cheap that nobody pays any attention to saving it in the same way we would save electricity. In fact, the average Malaysian family’s water bill is only about 10% of its electricity bill,’’ (Dr. Chan, 2014). On the other hand, Malaysian government does not give any attention to the management of the water resources while we have plenty of rainfall to cover up for the lost that we might experience. The government did not plan for any alternative ways to survive from water crisis. â€Å"Our government does not have laws to safeguard water catchment areas and bar development projects in ec ologically sensitive areas.† (MalaysiaChronicle, 2014). Consequences When this water crisis incident had happened, there are good and bad consequences. Firstly, the good consequence is that Malaysian will be more aware of the usage of water supply. Malaysian will be more aware the limitation of water supply in Malaysia. Citizen in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan will start to save water by using campaign. Furthermore, citizen in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan will also know the importance of the water to the society. The citizen in Malaysia will realize that without water, health problem will occur. In addition, water crisis can cause the water pollution to decrease rapidly because people will start to appreciate water and they do not want to suffer from water shortage again. Moreover, the bad consequence is that water shortage can increase the percentage of people pass away. The shortage of water will cause health problems such as diarrheal diseases. This incident can also decrease the production of crops. The shortage of water can decrease the crops prod uction. Without water farmers wont be able to produce enough food to sell in the market and because of this the price of food will raise rapidly and the demand for this food will be very low. Government Intervention Malaysia is a country that uses mixed economic system. All economic decisions are made partly by the government and partly through the market. For example, government can intervenes through planning, regulation, taxes, subsidies and partnership. In this case, the Malaysian government increases the budget to help to resolve the water shortage problem in Selangor. â€Å"Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced on 2nd February an additional allocation of RM120 million to Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) to help resolve the water problem in Selangor.† (wordpress.com, 2013). Furthermore, Malaysian government has also delay a project to save the water supply. According to (thenutgraph.com, 2014) â€Å"Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk SeriPeter Chin, saying Selangor is due for a water crisis by 2014 if the current state government under the Pakatan Rakyat continues to delay land approval for the Langat 2 treatment plant to be built.† This project has been delayed and will be restart again on 2016. Lastly, Malaysian government has also cut down the water supply of the neighborhoods every couple of days. According to (themalaymailonline.com, 2014) â€Å"The rationing will see millions of consumers in the state receive two days of water supply followed by two days of dry taps to enable water to be conserved in the dams over the next two months.† Suggestion My first suggestion for Malaysia to improve the economics is that Malaysia government should understand the issue in the society now days so that the government can meet the needs of the citizens. Secondly, the Malaysian government should not separate from its currently economy system because the benefits are better than the problems the country is facing now; instead Malaysian government should focus on how they can to restructure it in order to enhance the chances of success. The restructuring approach can involves defining areas that businesses will have to invest in and areas that government will have to invest in. The end product will be an economy where all customers’ needs are well meet and equality establishing for competition and business growth. The conclusion is that mixed economy is the right choice for the economic growth of Malaysia as it serves the right background for understanding what should be invested and defining how such investment will be undertaken, and also providing the necessary resources for such investment because it is both the government and the individuals that combines to finance the production process. References Meng Yew Choong. 2011.Malaysia faces looming water crisis. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.thestar.com.my/story.aspx/?file=%2f2011%2f3%2f22%2flifefocus%2f8192017. [Accessed 04 May 14]. Corey Binns. 2012.How Long Can a Person Survive Without Water? [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.livescience.com/32320-how-long-can-a-person-survive-without-water.html. [Accessed 04 May 14]. globalwater.org/. 2010.Why Water? [ONLINE] Available at:http://globalwater.org/whywater.htm. [Accessed 04 May 14]. Malaysia-chronicle.com. 2014.SPORE MUST BE LAUGHING: A water crisis of Malaysias own making. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2view=itemid=232812:spore-must-be-laughing-a-water-crisis-of-malaysias-own-makingItemid=2#axzz2zWgCEZLu. [Accessed 04 May 14]. wordpress.com. 2013.najib gives syabas another rm120million bailout?. [ONLINE] Available at: http://fabm.wordpress.com/tag/water-crisis/. [Accessed 04 May 14]. thenutgraph.com. 2010.Averting Selangor’s water crisis. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.thenutgraph.com/averting-selangors-water-crisis/. [Accessed 04 May 14]. themalaymailonline.com. 2014.In Selangor, taps to run only every two days. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/in-selangor-taps-to-run-only-every-two-days. [Accessed 04 May 14]. 1 | Page

Custom Term Papers: Hamlet’s Heroine, Ophelia -- GCSE English Literatu

Hamlet’s Heroine, Ophelia In Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet there is, technically, no heroine. But the female character who comes closest to qualifying for the role is not Gertrude, whose sinful past precludes this, but rather Ophelia, the â€Å"universal victim† of the drama. She is truly a good, upright person although she is victimized by her father, brother and boyfriend. Harry Levin, in the General Introduction to The Riverside Shakespeare, elaborates on the special kind of prose which the dramatist uses with Ophelia when she suffers her madness: Though there is no invariable rule, the comic scenes are frequently in prose, whereas the tragic scenes are usually in verse. Yet some of the most tragic, notably Ophelia’s made scenes and the sleep-walking scene of Lady Macbeth, are in that special kind of distracted prose which Shakespeare reserved for moments of mental distraction, when the fragments of suppressed emotion well up from the unconscious. (11) Shakespeare’s use of distinctive language is one consideration concerning Ophelia. Another is her victimization. Gunnar Boklund in â€Å"Hamlet† performs a partial-analysis on the character of Ophelia in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet: The only character who is presented almost entirely as a victim is Ophelia, a victim of the King’s fear and curiosity, her father’s servility and fundamental indifference to her, Hamlet’s misunderstanding of the situation and brutal treatment of her, and finally his fatal thrust through the arras in the closet scene. Her madness is, as I see it, a purely pathetic element in the play. In the world where Hamlet has been forced to act, there appears to be no room for passive and obedient innocence. It is crushed, and perishes. (123) The p... ...: Madness Her Only Safe Haven.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from â€Å"Hamlet†: A User’s Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996. Pitt, Angela. â€Å"Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Excerpted from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000 http://www.bartleby.com/215/0816.html Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.

Ramblings from a Rednecks Diary :: Essays Papers

Ramblings from a Rednecks Diary Not since I was three have I been affected by a book this much. When I was a toddler The Berenstein Bears had the influence to make me cry from sadness and scream from fear. In reality I did not actually scream or cry after reading this book, but I was extremely close. In â€Å"Bezhin Lea† I was frightened for Pavlusha when he ran off after the dogs, and I felt real fear when the boys began telling fables of the surrounding areas. In â€Å"Meeting† the girl was so tearful that the urge to jump into the book and comfort her almost overcame me, and never had I wanted to see something bad happen to a person as I did to the bailiff in the â€Å"Bailiff.† My feelings regarding serfs had never been put on such a personal level. Sketches from a Hunter’s Album changed my perspective about serfs and peasants intensely. I do not think his book would have as much impact if it was not for his intense physical and emotional projections of serfs that Turgenev conveys for the reader. Every time a new character is introduced he stops to completely acquaint the reader with the person as much as he is acquainted with the person. Since I truly learned about serfdom, peasantry, and slavery, it has been common for me to generalize them by the statement, â€Å"they suffered,† or â€Å"they were stupid.† After reading just a few sketches, I realized that the serfs are actually human. They are not stupid animals to be pushed around and taken advantage of by their â€Å"mastersâ€Å". It was evident in the first sketch, â€Å"Khor and Kalinych,† that Khor was an intelligent and industrious man, but yet he was only a serf. He had been smart enough to find a way to make money for himself and to afford a pretty heavy rent imposed by his owner. He had enough money but if he actually bought his freedom he would be a small fish in a big pond, but as long as he was serf and rented his own land he was living large. He had his family, his health, and enough to keep everyone happy. It was also evident by this sketch and another â€Å"Lgov† that if a serf had education or intelligence he was able to maintain a certain amount of piece and happiness.

Walmart’s Key HR Functions Underperforming

Introduction The success of any organization depends on its strategic asset, the human capital. As pointed out by Lawler (1996), organization’s competitive advantage comes from its human capital. Efficient management of this resource can bring significant benefits to the company. It should be remembered that motivation is the epicenter of performance and an important factor ensuring the success of a company. Improving workplace productivity however remains a major challenge in most companies. In this regard, this study explores the human resource management approach at Wal-Mart. It identifies the ways in which two HR functions (employee motivation and employee performance practices) are underperforming. This includes a brief account of how the functions operate within the organization, how they are applied and what the outcomes for the business are given that they are underperforming. The paper evaluates why these particular functions are considered to be underperforming using Herzbergâ₠¬â„¢s motivator Hygiene Theory. Further the paper makes some recommendations for improvement of these HRM practices and the benefits to the company. What is human resource management? Human resource management encompasses all activities associated with management of the human capital and in ways towards achieving the corporate goal or objective. In any organization, the human resource department plays a crucial role. Not only are HR managers required to recruit and train employees, but they also have the obligation of motivating and engaging the workforce. Understanding what motivates the employee and ensuring good employee employment practices is key for talent retention and performance (Lockwood et al. 2010). Regardless of the economic environment, it is imperative for companies to create an engaged and motivated workforce. Underperformance in the workplace has recently been a major concern in Wal-Mart stores. According to a new research report by Wolfe research, an equities research firm, Wal-Mart has been underperforming over the past years. The firm lowered Wal-Mart from a â€Å"market perform† rating to an â€Å"underperform† rating (Covert, 20 14). Failure by Wal-Mart has been attributed to their poor employment practices especially low wages and lack of rewards. Whereas Wal-Mart may not be the only big store chain criticized for its poor employment practices and policies, it has come to the spotlight owing to its aggressive policies and low cost strategy which undermines the effort made by employees. Just last year, a lawsuit was filed against Wal-Mart by the international Labour Rights Fund for requiring overtime, denying minimum wage and punishing union activity (Covert 2012). This is clearly a violation of worker’s rights. Wal-Mart which was initially a corporate fortress seems to be headed to a downfall. Even its operations in the US indicate the possibility of a failure in the giant retailer. More recently, Wal-Mart warned its investors that its comparable store sales may be slightly negative after the third quarter. This is also evident in the huge layoff of 2300 workers at Sam’s club, one of its stores. The layoff was attributed to their poor performance. Whereas Wal-Mart still remains the corporate fortress in the retail sector due to its massive size, its underperformance in the US and emerging markets indicate the possibility of a failure in the near future. Walmart’s bad business practices Wal-Mart has on several accounts been criticized for poor wages. Why should employees suffer in one of the giant retail stores that make billions of profit annuallyWal-Mart is ranked among the best 100 corporations by Forbes magazine yet most of its employees take on average less than $250 a week. Full-time employees are paid between $6 and $7.50 an hour. A further a third of the employees who are part-time are limited to working up to 28 hours a week and are not eligible for benefits. Such pay scale places them and their families below the poverty line. The lack of rewards demotivates and discourages them from performing well. Perhaps Wal-Marts bad business practices are more evident with the Rana Plaza tragedy which led to the loss of over 1000 lives. The tragedy exposed some of the profound flaws in the industry. Rana Plaza produced private garments for some of the giant retailers including Wal-Mart. Evidence provided by the Bangladesh center for Worker Solidarity showed that Wal- Mart had been producing its garments in Ether Tex factory situated on the 5th floor of the building (Steven 2013). Some documents were found in the rubble detailing purchase orders for certain garments which were to be delivered to Wal-Mart. Further, at the time of the tragedy, Wal-Mart was already listed in Ether Tex’s website as one of the main customer. Although Wal-Mart denied knowledge of their operations at the factory building, it announced its plans to put in place new safety measures at some of their factories in Bangladesh. The corporate fortress, however, promised to stop production if urgent safety problems were uncovered at some of its factories. The company further assured the Bangladeshi government of their support and commitment towards improving workplace safety. But the company stopped short of committing to these improvements and distanced itself from the Rana Plaza tragedy. This is a clear example of bad business practice. Why these particular functions are considered to be underperforming Last year, Wal-Mart reported $11 billion in net income yet it has not been able to remedy some of its questionable workplace practices. Wal-Mart has been filed in over 5,000 lawsuits for poor employment practices such as inadequate health care, wage law violations, worker exploitation and their anti-union retailer stance. Wal-Mart anti-union stance can be seen in their recent threat to close one of its stores in Quebec after workers successfully unionized. Citing ‘economic reasons’; Wal-Mart announced their plans on shutting the store. However, this argument was rejected by Quebec’s labor relations and Wal-Mart’s firings found illegal. Further, the move to extend operations to overseas markets including setting up factories in emerging markets such as Bangladesh and China was driven by the desire to take advantage of cheap labour. For example, Wal-Mart pays much less its employees in China compared to those in the US and the UK. A further criticism has been the lack of employment benefits. Part-time employees are limited to working up to 28 hours a week and are not eligible for benefits. While, workers who are eligible for benefits pay way over the odds to get health insurance and other benefits. The company has often come under criticism for not providing employees with affordable access to health care and employees are overburdened. For example, in 1999, 36% of the total costs were paid by the employees. In 2001, there was a 42% rise in employee burden. The health of its employees has been deteriorating at a faster rate. According to the company’s internal memo discovered by New York Times, Wal-Mart workers were sicker compared to the national population. This begs the question: Why can’t such a giant corporation provide its workers medical retirement benefits given the huge profits that they makeThis question was once raised by one of Wal-Mart’s managers only to be fired by the CEO and reasons of disloyalty cit ed as the reason for being quitted. (Jordan 2008). As Michael Porter (1980) once pointed out that a company would rely on three basic competitive strategies to maintain their edge in the market: differentiation, cost leadership, and focus strategy. Wal-Mart has obviously taken the cost-leadership strategy by reducing the cost of recruitment, providing low pay, no rewards, requiring overtime, and cheap children labors. It currently faces a barrage of lawsuits for extensive violations of labour laws. Wal-Mart also faces law suits for extensive violations of state regulations that require time for breaks and meals. In some instances, minors are forced to work late for the performance appraising. Outcomes for business Wal-Mart may be headed for a downfall. Its customer service is already low and their low-cost strategy has led to many cut offs of employees. Since recession, Wal-Mart has been cutting down on their staff. Without enough manpower for their retail operations and with workers on site underpaid, its merchandize remains stacked on pallets in warehouses instead of the shelves where customers can reach them. What then is the value of offering lower prices if the products are not accessible to the customers? Further, the check-out lines are painfully long and there seems to be a decline in the overall customer shopping experience. Customer shopping experience has been deteriorating due to the longer checkout lines, disorganization and less staff help. Last year, the giant retailer was placed last among in the American Customer Satisfaction Index, a six year in a row in which Wal-Mart has taken the last spot (Ungar 2013). Lessons must be learnt from the experience of the other low end retail ers. McDonald’s earnings have fallen significantly due to their poor terms of employment. Similarly, Wal-Mart needs to consider the potential upside of their aggressive policies. Despite the poor employment practices, Wal-Mart still remains among the leading retail giants. Its remains ahead of its competitors such as Target and JC penny. However, Wal-Mart faces a threat from Costco, its primary competitor. Costco has been experiencing a fairly healthy 8% growth in annual sales (Ungar 2013). In fact, a significant number of customers are moving to this retailer for their shopping experience. Could this be attributed to the good employment practices at CostcoUnlike Wal-Mart, employees at Costco get a decent living and are paid in excess of the minimum wage. Given the aggressive HR policies employed by Wal-Mart, it begs the question: what then is the role of HR managers in this companySince, as HR professionals, they are required to put in place strategies oriented towards the e mployees. To some point, however, employees seem to be encouraged to think of themselves as ‘servant leaders’. For example, employees are called â€Å"associates† showing that the company values their contribution. Such kinds of HR policies are employed in most of the best performing companies. These policies and practices serve to motivate employees to increase their performance and can aid in developing good corporate culture. However, employees may not feel appreciated if they are paid less than minimum wages and denied rewards and opportunities for professional growth. There seem to be no opportunities for enhancement and professional growth. Wal-Mart does very little training and developments of its human resources and as such, opportunities for enhancement of professions especially for women are limited. In fact, several claims have been filed against Wal-Mart for discriminating against women in terms of employment positions and the lack of opportunities fo r advancement. Improving employee motivation and employment practices at Wal-Mart As HR professionals continue to seek bright, talented and highly engaged workforce, motivational theories can provide insights on how Wal-Mart can improve employee motivation and engagement. Several motivational theories have been suggested including the Expectancy Theory, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory, Herzberg’s motivator Hygiene Theory, Goal Setting Theory, and Equity theory (Lockwood et al. 2010) Herzberg’s motivator Hygiene Theory is perhaps more applicable to the case of Wal-Mart. The theory suggests that two main factors must be met for employees to become satisfied with work. These are: the hygiene factors and motivator factors. The hygiene factors include meeting the basic needs such as adequate pay, comfortable working environment, effective supervision and good relationships with the core workers. On the other hand, motivation factors include advancement and professional growth, and rewards or opportunities for recognition (lockwood et al. 2010) W al-Mart needs to consider applying the two-factor theory of motivation if they are to improve on the performance of their employees. They need to revamp their policies, increase the salary of their employees, and the safety and security of the employees. Further, they need to consider motivators that are intrinsic to the job which include providing rewards for achievement and increasing their growth opportunities. Pundits, policymakers and activists outraged by the company’s low wages have been calling for protests. According to Robert Reich, a professor at U.C. Berkeley, Walmart’s net income is estimated at $17 billion meaning that they can easily afford to give its workers a small pay-rise (Atner 2013). The Chancellor professor of public policy has in fact urged shoppers to boycott Wal-Mart since they do not want to share even a little bit of their income with their employees (Atner 2013). Conclusion In today’s highly competitive marketplace, motivation of employees and employing the best employment practices is key to success. Underperformance in the workplace has recently been a major concern in Wal-Mart stores. Several lawsuits have been filed against Wal-Mart for violation of worker’s rights including low wages, lack of employment benefits, being required to work overtime and denied to participate in union activity. Bad employment practices are clearly evident in Wal-Mart. This has affects employee productivity as it demoralizes and demotivates them. Wal-Mart needs to consider applying the two-factor theory of motivation if they are to improve on the performance of their employees. Incentives are key to maintaining a motivated workforce and ensuring business success. Appraising and offering hardworking employee with incentives will motivate them to go the extra mile of putting the company first. Employee valuations need to be implemented and growth opportunities made plenty. HR managers at walmart need to understand the benefits of employee motivation and engagement. By sharing their profit, employees will feel appreciated and more passionate about their work. Ultimately, this will result in improved performance and greater customer satisfaction Reference Ciura, B., 2014. Is Wal-Mart’s empire about to failViewed on 29th March 2014. Available from http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/01/is-wal-marts-empire-about-to-fall.aspx Covert, B., 2014. Walmart’s labor practices backfire. Viewed on 29th March 2014. Available from http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/02/10/3271221/walmart-downgraded-understaffing/ Gusdorf, M.L. and Reed, S.M., 2009. The role of mission and values in strategic human resource management. 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Wal-Mart pays workers poorly and sinks while Costco pays workers well and sails-proof that you get what you pay for. {Viewed on 30th March 2014} available fromhttp://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2013/04/17/walmart-pays-workers-poorly-and-sinks-while-costco-pays-workers-well-and-sails-proof-that-you-get-what-you-pay-for/