Bargaining and Negotiation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Bargaining and Negotiation - Essay Example There is also the perception that conflict resolution is a costly, complicated and thankless undertaking. In the process of upholding bargaining and negotiation as the best methods of resolving this type of organizational conflict, the paper also discussed related human resource management strategies commonly intended to create a complement of committed and motivated employees. These include: equal opportunity in promotion and advancement; fostering cooperation and camaraderie in the workplace; attending to employees' physical, emotional and psychological well-being; and hiring people who not only possess the necessary skills but the willingness and capability to work in a team. The research found that conflict resolution is possible without professional counselors such as occupational psychologists, whose services not many organizations can afford. Managers and supervisors can perform this function just as well with some training on non-directive counseling or "listening with unders tanding (Skaperdas, 1998)." This works because the manager serves as catch basin by which the discontented employee can vent his feelings and thus relieve his frustrations to move to a problem-solving frame of mind. It was also learned that the appropriate HRM strategies mentioned above are good preventive measures. Research Conflict is part of organizational life, which becomes even more pronounced in highly politicized and hierarchical organizations. One view of organizational structure looks at it as the outcome of a political contest for control within the organization, which at the same time provides the participants with further advantages in the political struggles because of their structural positions (Johnson, 1976). Once people of different capabilities and estimation of their self-worth come together, they invariably form a political organization. According to organizational theory, each individual and group in an organization is expected to play a specific role, like organs in the human body, and that all institutions, laws and traditions in a society are designed to support those in power or groups perceived as superior to others. Consequently, conflict arises when any of that individual or group breaks out of its specific role and aspire for a higher position or a greater share of the organ ization's resources (Bacal, online). Conflict within an organization is thought of as unpleasant, counterproductive and time-consuming, but it need not be destructive if the energy expended on it is directed towards problem-solving and organizational improvement. Instead of viewing it as a destructive force, it is seen as a factor to stimulate members in increasing their knowledge, skills and contribution to organizational innovation and productivity. Rather than try to eliminate conflict or suppress its symptoms, the best way is to manage the conflict so that it enhances instead of

Patient satisfaction with dental care services Essay

Patient satisfaction with dental care services - Essay Example Infact, current core of modern marketing involves targeting consumer satisfaction because it is only through customer satisfaction that organizations can thrive, survive and grow. Dental service too like any other organization is concerned with consumer satisfaction or patient satisfaction. There is enough evidence to show that patient compliance, adherence to dentist and improved outcomes of treatment are related to patient satisfaction like in any other healthcare sector. Specifically, in dental services, a patient may need to meet the dentist several times, because many procedures are done in several sittings and can cause pain, distress and financial burden. Thus, it is only through patient satisfaction, that a patient can be made to come back to the same dentist. In this essay, patient satisfaction with dental care services with be discussed through review of suitable literature. Studies pertaining to consumer satisfaction were first done in 1960s and since there more than 15,000 articles have been published in this regard (Newsome and Wright, 1999a). According to Patterson et al (1997; cited in Newsome and Wright, 1999a), "the satisfied customer is an indispensable means of creating a sustainable advantage in the competitive environment." In the terrain of health care, consumer satisfaction has been widely recognized and is considered as a recognition of quality. Such a widespread importance for consumer satisfaction has occurred because of recognition of the need for involvement of the consumer in the process of health care. (Tuominene, and Tuominene, 1998). In health care system, clinical outcome of high quality is directly dependent on the level of compliance to treatment regimens, which in turn is dependent on patient compliance. A patient who is satisfied is compliant with appointments and treatments advised and hence, high quality in health care canno t be achieved without

Effect of the Financial Crisis on the Automotive Industry

Effect of the Financial Crisis on the Automotive Industry Globalization refers to the shedding down of the walls of distrust and the barriers of suspicion in between countries to make a bridge where ideas and beliefs can cross the borders. We are divided into different worlds, and therefore could never have managed to deal with deadly epidemics and natural holocausts which have time and again challenged us. Globalization has strengthened the nexus and has helped us to understand each others need in a better way. Globalization has helped us to break the walls that separated us and have restricted our natural identity of being fellow human beings. It is true that the impact of globalization is clearly visible and affects the politics and economy of the country but it also affects the mindset of the people and their way of thinking. Globalization has made way for free trade and business and has communication between various parts of the world. It was made a world a better place to live in. Recently with the recession hitting the market, there has been doubts in many peoples mind weather globalization has made our lives better or not? Had the impact not been that great if the world was not that connected? Especially in the Automotive Industry with such heavy dependence on the Big three companies in the United States. There had been a sudden collapse in this sector which had made it difficult for car manufactures world over. The car industry, which is seen as a barometer of the world economy, is storming itself into deep recession, with sales and profits dipping(BBC News). Manufacturing plants are closing, jobs are being axed, share prices of the car companies are tumbling and production being cut back. The economic meltdown has taken its toll in almost all the industrial sectors across the globe. While the scale of the crash was unprecedented, so was the coordinated response by the Government and Banks in providing to get the financial markets industry working again and also to gain back the consumer confidence. The 2008-2009 automotive industry crises were an integral part of the global financial recession. The crisis affected the European and Asian automobile manufactures, but it was primary felt in the U.S automobile manufacturing industry. It also had an impact on Canada by the virtue of Automotive Products trade agreement. The Automotive industry was mainly weakened by the increase in the prices of the automotive fuels which is linked to the 2003-2008 energy crisis which dint encourage the purchase of low fuel economy vehicles such as the sports utility vehicles(SUVs) and the pickup trucks(MSNBC News). With the increase in the popularity and having high profit margins of these vehicles have motivated the Americas â€Å"Big Three† automakers also know as Detroit, General Motors, Chrysler and Ford to produce vehicles in this segment.   With the fuel-efficient models presented to the consumers, sales began to go down. The pressure on the prices of raw material being so much it had turned the credit crunch by the 2008. The US automakers suffered from considerably higher labour cost than their other counter parts including salaries, benefits, healthcare and pension. A letter to the CEOs of the Big Three automakers were sent by the Democratic Congressional party leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to present a â€Å"credible restructuring plan† involving â€Å"significant sacrifice and major changes of doing work† At the beginning, U.S sales fell down to 32% which brought down the car sales of General Motors by 45%, Ford by 30% and Chrysler by 35%. GM and Ford both having their components manufactured from India, with such a steep fall in the sale of cars it made a tremendous impact on the auto components manufactured in India. A cut in the production made them to cut down their orders of the car components manufactures. India is a strong and growing economy but the hit of recession has put red marks on the entire balance sheet of the Indian economy. The business analysts have reported that the Indian car industry had recorded a continuous growth of about 17.2% over the past few years. But with the hit of recession it has brought the growth down to about 7-8%. Be it Tata Motors or Maruti Suzuki or even Mercedes-Benz the market has gone down to a negative terrain. In addition, the uncertainty in exchange rate and increase in the dollar value against the Indian rupee has caused the slowdown. Increased dollar value has lead to an increase in the landed cost of imported machine tools and even the raw materials needed for production by approximately 14%. Steel and alloy prices have also not reduced which have forced the car manufactures to increase their car prices. To make the matters even worse is that the steel manufactures across the country are looking for re-imposition of custom duty on steel. Seeing the drop in the production numbers the State Bank of India has reduced the interest rates on loans in February, 2009. In 2008, the Chinese government had reduced the automotive taxes in order to encourage flagging sales. In January 2009, Chery a Chinese auto manufacturer reported unprecedented monthly sales. With the weak US economy in 2008, Japanese automaker Toyota recorded a double digit decline in sales. Toyota declared that it had expected a first time loss of $1.7billion in 70 years. Its sales saw a dip of 33.9% and that of Honda motor by 31.6%. In December, 2008 Japans second largest car manufacturer Suzuki Motor Corporation announced that it will cut down the production in Japan by 30,000 units due to the shortage in the demand. The company is likely to face its first plunge in the profit after eight years. Mitsubishi Motors because of the fall in demand had to cut their production requirements. It was roughly reduced by 110,000 vehicles in this year because of the fall in the sales of Japan, the U.S and the Europe. Japans car sales will fall to the lowest in about 31years according to the countries automobile manufactures. Toyotas President Katsuaki Watanabe said the Impact on the company from the struggling global economy has been â€Å"faster, wider and deeper than expected†. On 4th November, 2009, Toyota announced that it was pulling out from Formula One, ending the teams sports involvement. The crisis even affected the South Korean automakers, in December 2008, Hyundai Motor Company had reduced production in the plants at U.S, India, China and Turkey because of the sluggish demand. Amid the global financial crisis the company in an earlier projection had missed about 4.8 million units for 2008.they shortened factory operations and froze the wages of the administrative workers. South Koreas fourth largest automakers, SsangYong Motor, owned by SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) the Chinese automobile manufacturer is the worst affected in the crisis as they manufacture mainly high petrol consuming SUVs. The car maker incurred its straight fourth quarterly loss by the end of 2008 with losses amounting to $20.8 million in the third quarter. Also the sales dropped from 63% to about 3,835 vehicles. In Europe the sales of the car have so drastically reduced that consideration was being given to give monetary support for the automotive industry, particularly in France, Germany and Italy. French automobile manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroen sales dropped by 17% in the last quarter of 2008, as a result it planned to cut 2700 jobs. In February 2009, PSA announced a cut of 11,000 jobs worldwide. Renault also saw a steep dip in sales in 2008. There was a dip in profits by 78% compared to the previous year. European sales fell 4% and worldwide the sales fell by 7% forcing Renault to abandon their growth targets of 2009. Fiat in Italy announced its temporary closure by a month. Alfa Romeos main plant of cars will be shut for four weeks. In January 2009 Fiat announced a 19% dip in revenues in the last quarter of 2008. Spanish automobile manufacturer SEAT cut their production at Martorell plant by 5% due to fall in its sales. In the United Kingdom, Jaguar Land Rover, now owned by Tata Motors, was demanding a $1.5 billion loan from the government to manage with the credit crisis. Nissan Motors UK announced that it was to get rid of 1200 jobs from its Washington factory near Sunderland due to the automotive industry crisis. The Canadian auto industry is closely related to the U.S due to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and is in similar trouble. Canada has about 3500 car dealers which employ 140,000 people, are at the risk of losing their jobs from the financial crisis. Chrysler Canada demanded for $1 billion in support, making it the only Canadian arm of the Big Three to call for any dollar request. The CTF has opposed the bailout for the Canadian subsidiaries $3.5 CAD billion for the Big Three. The CTF noted that federal and provincial governments have already spent $782-million in the past five years. On December 20th, government of Canada and the province of Ontario offered a loan of about $3.3 billion on the auto industry. Under the loan GM got about $3 billion and Chrysler got the rest. Ford only asked for small amount of credit but they will not be participating in the bailout. Chrysler vice-chairman and president and Fords chief of manufacturing said that the â€Å"GM-CAW deal wa s insufficient† signifying that they will break the pattern set by the GM. Chrysler may also pull back from Canada if it fails to achieve substantial cost saving from the CAW. In March 2009, the Canadian federal and Ontario governments jointly discarded the restructuring plans given by the GM and Chrysler. This came a day later when US President Barack Obama had rejected the restructuring plans of the parent companies. As recession was seeing in all parts of the world it was most affected in the United States. In November 2008, there was a hearing by the United States Senate in the presence of the heads of Chrysler, General Motor and Ford. They all demanded an aid of about $25 billion if they were to evade bankruptcy. The Republican Senators were reluctant to give aid; some even suggested that bankruptcy would be the best option as it would help the manufactures free from the deal between them and the unions. General Motors share prices steep down to the lowest since the Great Depression. Ford share prices also fell considerably. On 2nd December, 2008, the Big Three submitted a revised plan to the Congress which included more drastic measures. The total bailout aid demanded had now increased to about $34 billion, giving a gloomier image of what would happen if the Congress will not give aid. Chrysler required $7 billion by the end of the month just to continue the business, while Ford required $4 b illion immediately. In an interview with the President Barack Obama said, ‘the last thing I want to see happen is for the auto industry to disappear, but Im concerned that we dont put $10 billion or $20 billion or $30 billion into an industry, and then six months to a year later, they come back hat in hand and say, ‘Give me more. Under the Obama administration the idea of the car czar was approved and an agreement was reached on about $15 billion in emergency loans to the auto industry. On 18th February, 2009 Chrysler and General Motors again approached the U.S government on obtaining a second of $21.6 billion, of which General Motors asked for $16.6 billion, while Chrysler took $5billion. General Motors also agreed in line to reduce 47,000 jobs, close 5 plants and axe 12 car models. Chrysler managed to cut 3,000 jobs and reduce one shift from production and axe 3 car models. Ford was able to stand on its own but General Motors and Chrysler had to file for bankruptcy. On 30th April, 2009 Chrysler filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11after the talks with all the leaders had broken down. On 14th May, 2009 Chrysler announced to shut 25% of its U.S operations as a part of the restructuring process. On 1st June, 2009 General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after the deals with the bond holders had failed. The application to the court in the New York marked the biggest collapse of an industrial company in the U.S. The restructuring process will involve a loss of about 20,000 jobs in the U.S. they also announced that nine other plants will be shut down while three more will be idle. It was the largest ever industrial bankruptcy in American history. In the new GM, in line with the financial regulation planned out by the U.S treasury, the federal government will take 60% of the ownership stake and the Canadian government about 12.5% along with the united auto workers getting a 17.5% share and the unsecured bondholders getting about 10% of the equity. Chapter 11 bankruptcies would allow Detroit to reorganize but not cause the massive job losses feared by some, Any bailout of the auto industry is really a bailout for the health benefits of the UAW [United Auto Workers]. Thats a ll it is. stated by Wharton finance professor Jeremy Siegel, author of the book The Future of Investors. There have been made arguments made which feel that there was no need to file for the Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This will be a visible shift in the consumer choice to choose a car as they may not be able to depend so easily from the bankrupted companies, as there will be no warranty of the vehicles. G.M also states that the bankruptcy will also cause a loss of a lot of jobs and make it difficult for the governments as they will not be able to get so many jobs. The bankruptcy served as a blessing in disguise for the Big Three as it helped them to void the outrageous union contracts and escape them from under worker obligations which were entered decades ago. It will also allow the automobile industry to be more competitive than before and be more sustainable. The government of America has also committed that it will help in the restructuring process of the auto industry as a whole and will wants the consumers to ensure on the cars they buy and also the suppliers to support them to weather the storm. The Administration will help stabilize the industry by the following ways: protection of consumer warrantees, supplier support program, unlocking the flow of credit for the consumers and dealers. The hit of the crisis at the automobile industry affected the whole world economy. The crises have not only caused problems for the car manufactures but also squeezed the car component manufactures. The component suppliers are an important part of the car industry that contributes 70% in the production of the car. The car component manufacturing companies are impacting the overall car industry in a big way. There were thousands of people being jobless and slowly people had no money with them to even buy a car. This drastically affected not only the sales of United Stated but the world over. Globalization played a crucial role in spreading this crisis world over as the automobile industry is highly dependent on United States and Canada for its manufacturing. Recession has hit the world economy through globalization causing problems not only in the auto industry but in every sector. There are millions of people world over who are jobless now as so many plants world over have been effected. Even with the inflation increasing such heights workers all over are facing pay-cuts which have made it difficult for them to survive. There is a constant pressure on the employees working as there is a fear of products being outsourced from the developing nations at a cheaper rate. Although because of globalization it has marked a new civilization which has enabled the people to stay in touch with each other and making the world a smaller place. But still it has a lot of evils which we cant overlook and we have to make sure that something is done to ensure that from the future such a thing is not repeated. There should be some measures or restrictions imposed to insure that if anything major happens either in Europe, India or even United States it should not cause problems for the whole economy. Unemployment, social degeneration and the main problems of globalization which people must be aware of that globalization is a one way tale. None the less, it is hoped that even after such an impact on the industry, the whole automotive industry which has stood the test in the previous recessions as well will bounce back once again. REFERENCES: BBC NEWS. Jorn Madslien,Business reporter, BBC News Car companies look beyond recession(online) Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7674505.stm MSNBC News. Gas prices put Detroit Big Three in crisis mode(online) Available from: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24896359/

Like A Virgin.. Or Not :: essays research papers fc

Like a Virgin†¦or not   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Madonna had always been a holy icon until the early 1980’s when the name â€Å"Madonna† developed a dual connotation. The introduction of America’s top female sex symbol Madonna created an image far opposite of the previously known hallowed one. In John Fiske’s essay â€Å"Madonna,† he depicts the singer’s character, portraying her as socially and semiotically powerful. Although his essay is currently outdated, Fiske illustrates an illusion of Madonna that Generation Xers eventually accepted and will probably never forget.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sex has always been a controversial matter in American society. Before the 1980’s, those that openly articulated their views about sex were thought of as promiscuous and perverse, unless they were male. Perhaps, that is why the aura of Madonna stirred raving controversy across America. Fiske notes that her image was not a â€Å"model meaning for young girls in patriarchy, but a site of semiotic struggle between the forces of patriarchal control and feminine resistance, of capitalism and the subordinate, of the adult and the young (Fiske 282).† Never before had a woman presented herself so provocatively yet so comfortably.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the beginning, Madonna ultimately sacrificed sexual purity. Her daring exploitation of sex from a feminine point of view was definitely a breakthrough in 1980’s American society. Often, she dressed like a man and grabbed herself in â€Å"sacred† and â€Å"unseen† places. Actions like these, as Fiske points out, presented a threat but â€Å"not the traditional and easily contained one of woman as a whore but the more radical one of woman as independent of masculinity (Fiske 284).† Young girls regarded her actions not as â€Å"tarty† or â€Å"seductive† but as completely â€Å"acceptable.† Eventually, they embraced her image and strived to follow her example of the independent and sexually licentious woman (Fiske 283). Society has finally accepted feminine independence and accredited Madonna as the pioneer for introducing that autonomy. In many ways, she now represents the woman’s metamorphosis. As Fiske noted she began by showing â€Å"both her pleasure in her own physicality and the fun she finds (found) in admitting and expressing pleasure: it is (was) a sexual-physical pleasure that has (had) nothing to do with men†¦(Fiske 285).† While this may have been an impression of Madonna in the 1980’s, she has evolved into what society deems as the epitome of badass woman: utterly independent. Fiske’s essay does not really have much application to the perception of Madonna in today’s society.

Chemistry Concentration and Molarity Lab Essay

I solved for my unknown by plugging in â€Å"y† as my given transmittance value, which was 85.0. y = -278x + 100.12 .85 = -278x + 100.12 -99.27 = -278x X = .357M (concentration) The relationship between the transmittance values and the concentration is an indirect relationship. Whenever the concentration increases, the transmittance decreases. It can also be reversed, so when the concentration decreases, the transmittance increases. For this graph, the line should not touch the origin because it is a negative slope. In order for the concentration to be 0, the transmittance level must be at exactly 100%. This means that all the light particles are transmitted directly through the object without any levels of concentration. Y = 1.4599x – 0.0068 .07 = 1.4559x – 0.0068 X = 0.05 The 2nd graph was between concentration and absorbance. This is a direct relationship because as the concentration increased, the absorbance also increased. For this graph, the line should touch the origin because it is a positive slope going from lower values to higher values. Also it passes through the origin because direct variation relationships are in the form of y = mx, where y and m are constant variables. For the absorbance value to zero, the concentration must be also be zero. Should the line of Concentration versus Absorbance go through the origin? As stated above, the line should touch and go through the origin eventually because it is a positive slope going from lower values to higher values. It is a direct variation relationship.

Close Relationships Essay

I never have been a very good communicator, be it family, friends or strangers. After reading the article â€Å"Close Relationships Sometimes Mask Poor Communication† it really hit home for me. My husband and I have poor communication skills. We have been together for the past six years, and we still have a problem commutating. He likes to take over the conversation, or cut me off when we are talking. I feel at times that he is talking at , not to me, or he is making me feel like I don’t have a clue on what it going on. He has at times actually told me that I just don’t know as much as he does, therefore his ideas and suggestions should be followed, and not questioned. This has honestly caused a huge amount of arguments and constant disagreements. My lifestyle is so busy I communicate and think very quickly and a lot of the time I guess I expect people to know what I mean without fully explaining it. In my observation over time, people seem to communicate better with strangers than they do with family members. I feel that when communicating with strangers one tends to give more detail, because you never know how a stranger will understand what you are trying to communicate. â€Å"People commonly believe that they communicate better with close friends than with strangers. That closeness can lead people to overestimate how well they communicate, a phenomenon we term the ‘closeness-communication bias,’ (Keysar, 2011) I found this sentence very interesting. A wife who says to her husband, ‘it’s getting hot in here,’ as a hint for her husband to turn up the air conditioning a notch, may be surprised when he interprets her statement as a coy, amorous advance instead,† (Savitsky 2011). It has become very clear to me that even though I may communicate something to my husband, at times when he doesn’t seem to understand, I get frustrated, I plan to try a lot of the communication tools I have learned in this class to try and help clean up my communications with my friends, family and co-workers. â€Å"Our problem in communicating with riends and spouses is that we have an illusion of insight. Getting close to someone appears to create the illusion of understanding more than actual understanding, (Epley, 2011)†. I actually had this situation happen to me last weekend. My husband and I were working in the yard, he was fixing a sprinkler wire, and I was replacing sprinkler heads and drip lines. We were both doing our own things while still working in the yard. I thought everything was going great, then out of now where, my husband says, that I don’t appreciate the effort he is putting into helping â€Å"Me† in the yard. I was completely blown away. I said in a defensive tone, that I didn’t know I had to tell him thank you every time he does stuff around the house. I went on to say that it is his house to, so why do I always have to thank him, or ask him to do things to help out around the house. I know that I could have handled this situation differently; however it really gets tiresome to always have to tell him I appreciate every single little task that he completes. I had another situation between my husband and myself over the weekend. I was talking with him about hanging up our American flag, I asked him if he knew where my curtain rod went, I explained to him the one I was looking for, he finds this small rod and says that he wanted to use that one, I told him I already had plans for that rod, and the one I was looking for was perfect. He continued to take the rod that I did not want to use and put the flag on it, and they tried to hang it up. He kept telling me to just come and look at it. So after telling him for the 7th time that I didn’t want to use that rod, I went to look at it. It was too small and would not hang correctly, I told him that again, and he got pissed off at me, and told me to never ask him to help me do anything ever again†¦ I was pissed that he wouldn’t listen to me; it is always his way or no way. When this happens, it is very easy to become angry with my spouse because we expected them to understand what we meant or said, to listen and try to understand. As couples, we want to believe that we are on the same page all the time because we are so close. Whether we are face to face, back to back, in another room, or on the phone with each other, misunderstandings can and will happen without further questioning from the other spouse. When something is said, it is the other spouse’s responsibility to make sure they are clear in what they are hearing. Without this tactic, there will be misinterpretations between the spouses. This creates unhealthy communication between the spouses. My spouse it not a good family man, he prefers to do what he wants, when he want too. This tends to be a huge problem for our relationship. When my spouse gets mad at me for not listening to him, he starts making threats, like I mentioned earlier, don’t ever ask him to help again, etc†¦ So, I stop including him in those things, then he starts going through all kinds of changes because of it. He would say, I support you in anything you do. Then he would vent like crazy about our life not being the same anymore. Your self-image, in turn, results in your level of self-esteem, the beliefs and feelings you have about yourself. Self-esteem has two primary components: a sense of self-efficacy or your personal effectiveness and a sense of your personal worth and self-respect. However, your self-concept, self-image, and self-esteem are not destiny. You can also enhance your self-esteem through affirmations and positive self-talk, (Sole, 2011). You can build your self-image and your self-esteem by successful experiences. Your successes create self-confidence, which enables you to take on new challenges and continue to increase your self-esteem in an upward spiral of success. It is critical that one learns to communicate accurately; it will help all your relationships become stronger and be successful.