International Corporate Entrepreneurship And Role Of Middle Management

International Corporate Entrepreneurship And Role Of Middle Management Middle management has crucial importance in the corporate entrepreneurial process but unexpectedly it has got little attention in the past research and academic literature. Middle management has great influence on organisational decision making, strategy making and in implementation of these strategies due to their central place in the management hierarchy. This chapter encompasses the academic literature relevant to middle management and their role in the process of corporate entrepreneurship (CE). It will begin with basic concepts of middle management and corporate entrepreneurial processes, their definitions and explanations. Past literature will be presented later on in this section regarding middle management to justify the both positive and negative sides of middle managements role and influence on the corporate entrepreneurial activities by the researchers. This will then follow a counter argument to discuss the role played other forces (higher management, first level managers and employees) in order to influence the CE process. The corporate entrepreneurial process requires innovation and change in order to remain effective in the business and this will be review in the light of previous literature to examine the process of organisational transformation. The last part of this section will concentrate on the issues like change implementation and their failure in organisation. Also literature will be reviewed regarding drivers like organisational citizenship, organisational innovation and ambidexterity that influence organisational changes indirectly. What is Entrepreneurship? The term entrepreneurship was used as an economic term in the mid eighteen century and described as a process bearing a risk of buying and selling products or services at certain and uncertain prices by Cantillon (1855) as cited in Grebel et al. (2003). Grebel et al. (2003) further broadened the term by including and bringing together the production factors in it. But this definition raises few questions whether there was any uniqueness about the entrepreneurial functions or it was just another form of management. Later the definition of entrepreneurship was added with the concept of innovation which includes the product innovation, process innovation, market innovation or even organisational innovation. This definition broadens the concept of entrepreneurship and describes it as the creator of new enterprises and pictures the entrepreneur as founder and innovator. Defining Corporate Entrepreneurship Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) was described as a process that can be used by individuals within an organisation to create opportunities without regard to the resources they are holding (Stevenson et al., 1999). Many researchers defined CE as a process of organisational renewal (Peterson and Berger 1972; Hill and Hlavacek 1972; Hannan 1976; Quinn 1979, and Sathe 1989), while others described it as the combined entrepreneurial efforts based on the organisational resources and commitments in order to perform the innovative functions of organisation in order to develop the product, process or innovation (Covin and Miles 1999; Naman and slevin 1993, Miller and Friesen 1982; Burgleman 1984; Kanter 1985; Alterowitz 1988; and Zahra and Covin 1995). According to Sharma and Chrisman (1999) there are three types of phenomena into existence for CE that may or may not be related. These are: a) Creation of new business from an existing one b) Transformation or renewal of an organisation c) Innovation The creation of new business was described as the internal corporate venturing by Zajac, Golden and Shortell (1991) while Pinchot (1985) called it intrapreneurship. On the other hand the process of renewal of organisation was regarded as strategic renewal (Guth and Ginsberg, 1990), organisational renewal (Baden and Stopford, 1994) and strategic change, transformation and revival of organisation (Shendel, 1990). By enlightening these ideas Sharma and Chrisman (1999) defines CE as the process where individuals or group of individuals create new organisation within an existing organisation or find innovation in that organisation. The entrepreneurial efforts that result in the creation of new business organisation are known as corporate venturing and the resulted innovation could exploit the ways of product offering in the existing or new market. The analysis of these different dimensions and approaches of CE can be concluded with the study of Gartner (1988) who describe it as a multifaceted concept that requires some major transformational changes in order to develop the whole idea of CE. Middle Management and the Organisation Dobson and Stewart (1993) and Turbalull (1998) stressed on the need of a clearer definition for the term middle mangers, as the levels of middle management in a company as poorly outlined as a unit of analysis. Middle management is basically used as a tactical work force to eliminate the gaps between the senior management and the sub-ordinates at the lower end of organisational hierarchy and also to implement the organisational policies made by the senior management. Two types of middle managers were identified by Currie (1999) in organisations: specialist middle managers for the roles like marketing, HR or finance; operation middle managers that coordinate operations between departments. Although both management types are important for any organisation but the specialist functions or boundary spanning activities get the priority. The participation of specialist middle managers in organisational activities appears more often as compared to the operations managers who focus on internal operations more (Wooldridge, 1997). The importance of middle management and their role as an agent in bringing the change in contemporary organisation was first drawn into attention by Bower (1970). However, the next decade or two came with a little systematic research in order to define the scope and nature of middle management and their contribution towards the organisational innovation and entrepreneurship. Although many researchers and authors (Peters and Waterman, 1982; Kanter, 1983; Pinchott, 1985; Drucker, 1985; Burgelman and Sayles, 1986) have argued on the different aspects of middle managements contributions towards CE while others (Schuler, 1986; Woolridge and Floyd, 1990) discussed their role in the companys strategy which is another important variable of CE (Guth and Ginsberg, 1990; Zahra, 1991). Middle Managements Role in Operations According to Floyd and Lane (2000) operating-level managers absorbs the relevant ideas and information from outside the firm while also giving a positive response to the middle level managements information which is based on the top-level management strategic ideas. Every managerial role is different from other and different actions are associated with each of them (Miller and Camp, 1985) but here the discussion will revolve around the middle management, their corporate entrepreneurial activities and their behaviour towards CE. In other words, once commitment is made by the all management levels in order to pursue the CE related activities, then its middle managers responsibility to communicate through all organisational level for the effective flow of information for the implementation and development of project. The role middle management and their importance in the innovation process in an organisation were recognised by Quinn (1985) and who was also among the first to point out the valued part played by the middle management CE. He also recognised that the top-level management is isolated from the daily floor operations and it is important for middle management to play crucial role in fostering the company goals and targets. This importance in the organisational structure gives them an opportunity to interact with the employees and encourage them towards innovation while taking the calculated risk. Middle management and the Corporate Entrepreneurship The literature (Floyd Lane, 2000; Ireland, Hitt, Vaidyanath, 2002) suggests that in any organisation managers play vital role at all levels of organisational structure and contribute towards company success. In simple context, the top level management involves in strategic role where their job is to deal with strategic decision making and set clear direction towards companys goals and objectives. On the other hand, middle managers job is to bridge the gap between two distinct ends of management hierarchy i.e. top-level managers and operating-level managers and their focus is the effective communication between both channels. This is not an easy job and to fulfil the requirements of their job the communication should be carried to both ends of hierarchy efficiently in order to create the innovativeness of all business units including product and service. According to Ghoshal and Bartlett (1994) the middle managers are not only enable the entrepreneurial actions like creating new opportunities for organisation or engage in organisational renewal but also keeping the innovativeness of also these entrepreneurial actions . Other researchers (Kanter, 1985; Ginsberg Hay, 1994; Pearce, Kramer, Robbins, 1997; Floyd Lane, 2000) described the middle managers as facilitator between the two managerial levels and how they play their role to shape the entrepreneurial action set by the top-level management for them. Due to the demand of their role middle managers have to reconcile the top-level strategies and implementation issues at the bottom end of hierarchy as these determine the competencies and also the performance of organisation. There is strong link between the firms performance and middle managers perception about the characteristics of competency (tactics, consensus and embeddedness) and this differentiates them from the first-level m anagers and take them closer to higher end of organisation hierarchy (King et al., 2001). The importance of middle managers as innovators is emphasized by the Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) who suggested that their central position in organisation is key for them to absorb and collect the information, ideas and innovation from both inside and outside of organisation. This flow of information and ideas between both ends of organisation influence the middle-level mangers to shape their entrepreneurial skills as their experience and knowledge grow. The only comment that can conclude this whole discussion on the importance of middle managements role in CE is that all the organisational and entrepreneurial functions are associated with them. Thus, the presence of middle management is there where CE functions are most likely to happen. Middle managers in Strategic Roles Middle managers have played a frequent role in providing strategic alternatives for firms and making those alternative ideas accessible for higher management (Floyd and Woolridge, 1992). The nature of middle managers job requires them to integrate and synthesize the information and resources by crystallizing the strategic issues faced by the organisation and also setting a platform for these strategic changes; by enhancing the old structure of organisation through implementation of formal strategy and giving feedback. This feedback can be used to make future changes in the strategy and for organisational renewal. The findings of Floyd and Woolridge (1992) gives a clearer picture when compared with the earlier work of Burgelman and Sayles (1986) that how middle management play key role in an organisation by shaping the strategic issues and influencing the entrepreneurial activities. The observations of other authors (Peters and Waterman, 1982; Pinchott, 1985) have seen the middle management playing important in encouraging other employees to take risks while working towards innovation. Quinn (1985) and Kanter (1988) also observed similar role of middle managers in promoting the CE activities across the organisation. This can be done by introducing reward schemes that encourage employees to experiment with their innovative ideas. Also different approaches can be used by the middle management to make the whole structure of organisation less resistant towards future changes and allowing the CE activities to flourish. Corporate Entrepreneurship and Other Forces (Actors) Most of literature on the CE and middle management either ignored or failed to identify the important role played by other forces to gain the CE in any organisation and widely criticised by Floyd (1999). According to McMillan (1993) as far as the power is concerned both middle management and other players have equal importance in bringing the CE to the organisational structure. Burgelman (1983) insist that the heart of CE activities is always dependent on the initiative taken at the operational levels of a firm. He insists on the importance of the factors that play towards the success of internal corporate activities by the operational level management, middle managements ability to effectively communicate between both ends of organisational hierarchy and the higher managements trust on the lower sub-ordinates in order to flourish the CE in the organisation. According to Burgelman (1993) operative managers have more importance in organisational structure than middle managers as they have more experience and involvement in dealing with RD and research related activities and are more aware of the corporate culture, market needs and demands. On the other hand Quin (1980 and 1982) has also argued on different occasion about the importance of middle management but he pointed towards the power asserted by the top management to control actions of middle management. Although the organisational operation flow is bottom up but the final decisions are always in top managements hand in either acceptance or rejection of these initiatives. Although Floyd (1999) has insisted towards the importance of middle management is vital due to their central position in the organisational hierarchy. But this literature review is evident that the other organisational forces as important as the middle management in the central role in the organisation and have equal influence on the CE related activities. Organisational Change Implementation Innovation in any organisation does not takes place on its own or in isolation and neither in a vacuum but it happens in a system where the employees and processes work together to achieve it. According to Joe (2005) it is all about the organisation and its employees and their approach towards the implementation of change in organisation. Hornsby et al. (2002) argued on the same note and suggested that the all organisations look for change and they implement these changes strategically through the help of CE. Two types of organisational changes can be found as a result of innovation and are known as deliberate strategic change and emergent strategic change and have their affect dependent on the role of middle management in them. Types of Organisational Change The first approach towards change is deliberate (Ansoff, 1965) and the top managements motive behind this strategy is to maximise both the organisational interest and profits at the same time. Middle management has a limited role in the deliberate or top-down change strategy and they have a very little influence upwards in order to make any change policy. On the other hand, the incremental change approach is a vice versa of top-down change strategy (Whittinghton, 1993) and it is based on the idea that change should be unplanned and unintentional rather that deliberate. This approach is based on the knowledge and outcomes of past policies which lacks in the deliberate change (Lindblom, 1959). He further argued the important role played by the middle management in order to formulate and implement the change in the organisation. On different occasions Quinn (1882, 1978 and 1980) suggested that incremental change strategy can be considered through the implementation of sub-systems before addressing any major change issues. But there is power culture involved in Quinns approach and points towards the higher management in order to decide which sub-system to be implemented and hence limits the role of middle management to some extent. All this discussion leads to one conclusion that there is no single approach which can completely benefit the middle managements role towards the organisational change but the incremental approach is more suited to them as compared to the deliberate change approach and enhances their role in change process. Middle Managements Role in Organisational Change There is plenty of pragmatic evidence in the past literature (Bower 1979; Kanter 1983; Burgelman 1983a, 1983b, 1983c, 1991 and 1994; Schilit and Paine 1987; Dutton and Ashford 1993; Nonaka 1988; Sayles 1993; and Schilit 1993) which shows a significant influence of middle management towards organisational change. On the same note Floyd and Wooldridge (1990) pointed towards the significant relationship between performance of an organisation and involvement of management. They further argued how middle management is involved in both directions of organisational hierarchy; with its upward influence on policy development could help the organisation by setting up a road map for change and innovation. While downward influence sets up a smooth ground to implement the organisational strategies effectively (Shendel and Hofer 1979 and Nutt 1987). Thus it shows the importance of middle management to influence the change in the organisation in the both directions at the same time. Human Nature, Top Management And the Organisational Change According to Strebel (1996) and Siegal (1996) almost two third of efforts made towards organisational change see failure as a result of top management negligence and lack of ability to recognise the human nature of change. This negligence by the top management is often seen as psychological differences between employees at individual level (Coghlan, 1993). The uncertainty and difference of opinion shows how employees look at organisational change at individual levels. The organisational change and all of its processes have direct or indirect link with the employees personal influence towards change and it is regarded as a personal change for them (Bovey, 2001). Evan (1994) has also argued on the same note by saying that employees work for OC in order to make it successful so that it can be a success for them too. According to Prastacos (2002) the OC is dependent on the acceptance and resistance levels of employees. Bovey (2001) noted that technical changes are often seen as bit easier to approach by the top management and are more predictable towards the change issues like developing action plans, making strategies, estimating profit level and resource analysis. The communication process in another key to keep the resistance level in control among employees against the change but if the resistance against change is higher from employee then it shows the poor communication and the inability of the top management (Elving, 2005). The organisational change is not a one way procedure but a two way understanding between management and employee (Bulogun, 2006). He also stressed on the need of mutual consensus between both parties to implement change across organisation and this is only possible through a good communication channel. It is almost impossible for top management to identify, control or prepare for every change before it happens due to the quick nature of change and they have act while it is happening. So, the above suggests that the top management remains isolated during the change mechanism due to hierarchal structure within organisational but on the other hand, middle management remains important during this process and act as communication channel between employees and top management. Thus, middle management has more importance during the implementation of organisational change than top management. Middle Managements Role in Political Nature of Change The top management has all the authorities in an organisation but this is not the case when it comes to organisational change policies and it affects their whole vision about it. The political nature of organisational structure makes the idea of change uncertain and difficult to implement. For the knowledge management the networks are often used as mechanism for to gain the required information and are used for political nature of change. The idea behind the formation of these networks is to use them politically for the change process. Hislop et al. (2000) agree with the fact there is a relation between these political networks and knowledge because of the need of appropriate knowledge is needed to form and use these network. This study shows that due to political nature of change it is vital for middle management to gain knowledge through these networks inside as well as the outside of firm to make a ground for the change acceptance. Organisational Change and Other Drivers There are few other drivers of change that are worth looking at in the literature including the organisational innovation, organisational citizenship and ambidexterity. These change drivers have important link with middle managements role in corporate entrepreneurial activities and CE process too. The Importance of Organisational Improvisation Organisational improvisational is another issue considered important in the reviewed literature that is connected directly with the change implementation in organisations. Different approach was adopted by the Ryle (1979) who described the process of improvisation as thought refining and most of things happen during this process are unique, hard to predict and probably might not get repeated in future. But this process is seen as an outcome from failure of first approach and is a product by accident described by Lebourne (2006). The literature from last two decades considered is another feature of organisational activities that contribute towards the change process of an organisation (Lewin, 1998). Thus the idea of organisational improvisation contributes in the form innovation and by keeping up the market up-to-date. As far as the middle management is concerned they get the opportunity to influence the whole process of improvisation from formulation stage to implementation stage through their time management skills. Relationship between Organisational Change and Organisational Citizenship There is plenty of discussion in the literature about organisational citizenship and behavioural interactions (Katz, 1964; Katz and Kahn, 1966; Organ, 1988; Cohen and Vigoda, 2000; and Padsakoff et al., 2000). Most of this literature has focused on describing the organisational behaviour and there is no discussion about organisational citizenship in the context of corporate entrepreneurship. For example Padsakoff et al. (2000) has identified seven different themes that can fit all dimensions of organisational citizenship while Katz (1964) mentioned four in his work. Although all the literature reviewed prescribes the importance of organisational citizenship behaviour and stresses on the presence of these behaviour for the effectiveness of organisational functions. However, it needs further exploration in the context of corporate entrepreneurship and this will remain the focus throughout this research. Ambidexterity Observations from Literature Review This section outlines the key observation made during the literature review and their summary of whole debate about the corporate entrepreneurship and role of middle management in the context of CE. The corporate entrepreneurship is noted as a complex concept that requires careful consideration towards the change implementation as well as the extra care when dealing with the strategic planning. There are two types of middle management is identified during this literature review; specialist managers who deal with functions like finance, marketing and HR; and non-specialist or operational manager who coordinate functions or activities within their own department or with other departments. The role of middle management and their future in the organisation is rather unclear in the argument by the researcher. Some of them deny the importance of middle management in the CE and point towards other forces that act in flourishing the CE activities. While other think the middle management has an enhanced future as well as importance in organisational corporate entrepreneurial activities and have more positive attitude towards their part in CE functions. But the whole debate of past literature is not sure on the role of middle management as operational managers as well as the extent of their importance in this role. The literature has pointed towards quite a few middle management functions including the functions of communication, innovation, change implementation, motivation, behaviour towards risk, business strategy etc. However, middle managements association with these functions is due to their central position in the organisational hierarchy. The middle management has independence of decision making in organisational innovation to reduce the strategy making period and also save the process of implementation time. This self-sufficiency of decision making is one of feature of contextual ambidexterity and make easier for organisations to implement innovation or change. The contextual ambidexterity is also a step closer to implement innovation in organisations and also allow middle management to improve their role in process of organisational change. Due to explore and develop nature of structural ambidexterity which divide these functions between organisational departments and bound middle management not to raise their voice as it might be outside their job scope and thus limits the role of middle management. But organisations with behavioural citizenship are more likely to have structural ambidexterity as there will be no or little clash due to the separate organisational functions. On the other hand, the contextual ambidex terity results in the form of difference of opinion and rivalry among middle management to get the innovation and thats the reason it doesnt go with the contextual ambidexterity. During the literature review another thing was noticed that the up-down change strategy do not allow middle management to exert their weight upwards to formulate the change development. It is also noticed that for the improved role of middle management requires a vital approach towards change and it should be emergent as well as the intentional. Thus the implementation of change process need to be combination of both approaches and political elements should also be considered in change process. As mentioned earlier in the reviewed literature which points the improved conditions and role of middle management organisational citizenship. It also stresses on the need of deliberate and emergent strategic approach for the organisational citizenship which allows middle management to work independently in a flatter organisation with more freedom of networking across departments. The diplomacy of using these departmental networking allow the middle management to spot the change and innovation in the organisation. The organisational change or transformation through corporate entrepreneurship is always main motive for many organisations and leader use social networking to implement this change across organisation. But many of these efforts fail due to the lack of ability of top management to understand human nature towards change implementation and poor communication between hierarchal levels. Weaknesses Observed in Understanding of CE The literature reviewed earlier shows that there are number of areas in the CE which need further clarification and the research need to be more focussed on the issues of CE which are currently have a weak understanding. There are few issues that need particular focus including the understanding of CE issues including the issue how CE it is managed, encouraged as well as sustained and according to Hornsby et al. (2002) this issue is not well understood. He also emphasise on the need of research to be more focused on the dimensions that can shape and predict the environment where CE can flourish. It was noticed during the literature review is lack of appreciation for the middle management in the processes of corporate entrepreneurship even though they have central importance in corporate entrepreneurial activities. Floyds (1999) argument about the flatter structured organisation where nobody has a central importance and everybody exchange information between themselves free was ignored in the reviewed literature. There is no such discussion in the literature that who gets the influence in CE initiatives in the organisation in such flat organisations. Finally, the relation between corporate entrepreneurship and indirectly related change drivers were not studied in the existing literature and their effects on the CE related activities. The relationship between the corporate entrepreneurship and the organisation citizenship is also ignored in the current literature. Research Focus Research Question The gaps in the literature needs a thorough understanding of concept of CE and needs a further exploration of the ways the organisations respond towards the implementation of CE and also how firms react for the sustainability of corporate entrepreneurial activities. So, there are few questions that will be answered during the course of this research and are as follows: How Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) is managed, sustained, and encouraged within the automobile industry? How CE and Organisational Citizenship are inter-related? What is the relationship between middle management and Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE)? How does the hierarchal structure of an organisation influence or affect the decision making role of middle management? How middle mangers add value in the decision making process of CE? Concluding Comments The research and theories regarding the role of middle management in corporate entrepreneurship was explored during the literature review. The literature reviewed has pointed towards the presence and importance of middle management in corporate entrepreneurial processes. Although the middle managements engagement and interaction with the different interest group both inside and the outside of the organisation makes the whole process of CE complex and shows its political nature. The whole idea behind this research is to identify and fill these gaps found during the literature review and not only to contribute towards the literature on CE and also by providing clearer understanding of CE. The followed chapter will give an understanding of the methodology used to carry out the research and also the justification behind the choice of case studies.

Abc Apparel Case

ABC Apparel Case | | | | |Questions | | | | | | | |1 |What are the respective amounts and percentages of Materials, Labor, Overhead and Other in total COGS for ABC? | |* Illustrate on an Excel pie chart showing amounts and percentages for each slice. | | | | |[pic] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |2 |What percentage of total COGS is represented by what Mr. Price called â€Å"full package† (purchased finished goods)? | | | | | |â€Å"Finished Garments† represent $647 Million. This assumes the purchased finished goods are supplied freight and duty paid; otherwise, applicable freight and duty| | |costs would have to be added.Note that not all freight and duty can be added to this category, since freight and duty must also support the owned supply chain | | |operations. | | |$647 / $2528 = 25. 6% | | | | |3 |Where do you see the largest opportunities for cost reduction? List your Top 3, with strategies to pursue each one. | | |* Explain your selections. | | |Purchas e price or cost of supply (TCO) reductions in purchased finished goods. At 38% of COGS, these represent the largest single opportunity for cost | | |management / reduction. | |Material price reductions (30% of COGS) through supply chain procurement practices. | | |Other Costs. Freight and Duty represent almost 10% of COGS, which is probably ripe for improvement. Evaluate reducing carriers from 4-5 to fewer. | | |Labor – At 20%, Labor is a substantial percentage of cost but has probably already given up the â€Å"low hanging cost fruit† in the relocation to offshore | | |geography, and would probably be difficult to further reduce. | | | | |4 |Which functional areas would you prioritize in your cost reduction efforts? Why? | | | | |Following the same priorities in Question 3: | | |Purchase price or cost of supply (TCO) reductions in purchased finished goods. Apply supply chain procurement practices such as negotiated price reductions, | | |reverse auctions, global sour cing, target costing, centralizing procurement, spend analysis or supplier rationalization. | | |Material price reductions. Apply supply chain procurement practices such as negotiated price reductions, reverse auctions, global sourcing, target costing, | | |centralizing procurement, spend analysis or supplier rationalization. | | |Other Costs Reduction.Freight and Duty represent almost 10% of COGS, which is probably ripe for improvement. | | |Labor Cost Reduction. At 20%, Labor is a substantial percentage of cost but has probably already given up the â€Å"low hanging cost fruit† in the relocation to | | |offshore geography, and would probably be difficult to further reduce. | | | | |5 |Which internal manufacturing processes would you prioritize for improvement? Why? | | |Evaluate moving the textile manufacturing processes (yarn through Fabric Finishing) from US to offshore, preferably close to the cutting operations.If the key | | |materials could be sourced in-region, this would eliminate the cost, risk and lead time of shipping these products from the US to Central America / Caribbean, | | |reducing the high freight costs. | | |Evaluate Supplier Relationship Management programs with Asia garment suppliers. Objective would be to fully identify and reduce â€Å"hidden† costs of supply from | | |this region through collaborative problem-solving and joint incentives (â€Å"gainsharing†) for improved performance. | | |Pursue lead time reductions and reduced lead time variability through improved logistics practices. Seek use of technologies to identify logistics wait times | | |and unplanned delays.Consider use of a 3PL to become accountable for coordinating all Western Hemisphere logistics, negotiating with the major carriers to | | |reduce costs, pre-clearing all shipments through customs, etc. | | | | |6 |What is the ratio of internal manufacturing cost to purchased garment cost? | | | | | |Ratio, internal to external costs | | |275% | | | | | Internal $1,881 | | |External | | |$647 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |7 |Assuming a SG&A rate of 24% and a gross margin of 35%, what annual revenue would you estimate for ABC? Show your calculations. | | | | | |[pic] | | | | |8 |What is ABC's net profit margin, in dollars and percent? | | | | |11% | | |$428 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |9 |What is ABC's â€Å"profit leverage effect† of reducing purchased item costs? How much additional revenue would be required to equal a 5% reduction in purchased | | |prices paid? | [pic] | | | | | | | | | | | | | †¢ 5% of 1404 = $70 Million. So, reducing purchased costs by 5% reduces COGS and increases profit by $70M. †¢ To yield an equivalent increase through sales, sales must increase by ($70/. 35) = $200 Million (6%).

Behavioral Aspects of Project Management Essay

Organizational culture can influence the overall success of a project. Unfortunately, in the given scenario the project is both behind schedule and over budget. Several key team members left in disgust and the morale of the remaining team is low and they fear they will be doing extra work without compensation. In this scenario project leadership is essential to the projects success. This project team needs a leader who can not only get this project back on track but can also build the morale of this demoralized team. This project cannot be managed in a routine fashion. Already behind schedule and over budget, this project will require innovation, skill and a highly competent project manager in order to proceed. 1. How does organizational culture influence the selection, sponsorship, prioritization, and ultimate success of projects?One of the most critical factors for project success is organizational culture and behavior to support project management process. As a result, it is highly important for organizations and managers to understand the influence of organizational behavior and culture in order to meet ultimate success of projects. In this case, we should first know the definition of organizational culture. Organizational culture is made up of attitudes, beliefs, values and behavior of its employees. It is the workplace environment formulated from the interaction of the employees in the workplace. Organizational culture is defined by all of the life experiences, strengths, weaknesses, education, upbringing, and so forth of the employees. While executive leaders play a large role in defining organizational culture by their actions and leadership, all employees contribute to the organizational culture. (1)(2)Organizational culture is important to a project success for several reasons. They are also an important source of stability and continuity to the organization, which provides a sense of security to its members. 2. In what ways could organizational culture create conditions that could lead to the scenario described above?Failing to initiate â€Å"crucial conversations† may be the single biggest cause of project failure, according to preliminary findings of an ongoing study on project management. Thus, project managers’ inability to talk to people about five often-occurring  negative situations frequently leads to failure. Setting arbitrary deadlines and inadequate resources that â€Å"set up a project to fail†. Failing to provide the necessary leadership, political clout or energy for a project. Skirting or manipulating the project priority-setting process. An unwillingness by team members to support projects as required. Failing to acknowledge project problems until it is too late for remedial action. (6)A failure to clearly and completely define the requirements results in building the wrong features or leaving gaps in the features needed. New or state-of-the-art technology is causing unanticipated problems. A poor technical design doesn’t allow the solution to be easily modified or is not scalable. Requirements are not frozen late in the project, and continued change requests start to cause the project to drift. Technology components do not fit together as designed. Poor initial testing techniques cause repeated errors and rework in later tests. (7)3. What role does project leadership play in the success of projects?Project managers have a wide range of responsibilities and face a number of challenges (challenges relate to fundamental functions: planning, organizing, hiring, coordinating, and monitoring) in a variety of areas, on a daily basis. A project manager’s role is a challenging one and requires equal measures of good organizational ability, good people skills, and the technical capacity to judge both individual performance and project  milestones. Project leaders play a significant role in the success of a project. With poor leadership, a sophisticated tool or technique only gives a bad leader the opportunity to do more damage. The person may be a better project manager, but he or she may not be a better project leader. (8) A project leader might contribute different roles in the success of a project. The new role of the project manager requires an ultimate knowledge of the strategy of the project. The PL is responsible for observing and analyzing project process and project structure. (14)A project leader must possess a certain set of combination skills and characteristics that can be used to manage projects successfully including:The diplomatic skills to solicit input and negotiate compromises, having the ability to ask penetrating questions, identifies unstated assumptions, flexible enough to roll with the changes, and resolve personnel conflicts along with more systematic management skills. (12)(13)(15) Also,Developing a grand visionBuilding, leading and mentoring the project management teamLeadership, Facilitation, communicative, Selling (promote and sell the project both within and outside the organization), Presentation skillsPeople-management skills such as constructive feedback, conflict resolution, managing individual styles and personalitiesSkills at interfacing across the organization and removing obstacles for the teamAbility to accept criticism, feedback, and input from othersSkills in using team-based tools such as brainstorming, organizing, decision-making, Project management, conflict resolution, and so on (14)(10)4. Does this role change under the conditions described in the scenario? If so, how and why? If not, why not? To overcome with this scenario, organization should hire a skilled and innovated PM who is able to lead perfectly and solve the above scenario and get the project back on track. (16)In this situation, the new leader must be able to analyze what resources were lost, when key team members left, create a new organizational culture according to the project, and create an inspiring corporate culture that inspires, empowers and energizes project team members. Generally, the project in this situation needs a leader to have enough power to make him/her able for changing the organizational culture, hiring new staffs, offering project members a sense of common purpose beyond the day-to-day  tasks, making work exciting, moving people with a compelling vision, inspiring and encouraging team members to act perfectly for achieving performance. The other important thing which is so vital in any relationship and the new leader must pay attention is building up the morale and trust among team membe rs. The new leader can help build trust faster by following these 10 practical steps:Know the players. Confirm leader role. Identify preconceptions. Set expectations. Involve the team in decisions. Do what you said you were going to do. Deliver informative status reports. Be honest. (17)(18)By bringing a new PM to the project according to case scenario, the role of Project leader would not change. Only, the new leader duties will increase since key member of the project left while the rest of team has lost their trust and motive and feel frustrated and stressed. As a result, it would be much harder for the new leader to reorganize the project progress, project members, build up and improve morale and trust within the project team-members, and let the team members know how important they are for the organization and project. In this case, leader will identify and recognize each member’s duty, skills and their job within this project process and it would be easier for the leader to define tasks. Thus, defining an effective communication plan is critical success through the course of a project. Leader must describe the project in a clear way to ensure that all tasks and responsibilities are going to be done on time and meet the schedules and deadlines. At this time it’s become highly important  for a project manager to decide whether he needs to hire some people to replace the key people or he needs to compensate the people that around in rough time with the project with the salary he would pay to new people because project is already running behind schedule. In such case the second option is more suitable, assuming the current group has the capabilities to complete the project, since project is already over budget. 5) How can a project manager build and manage a successful project team?Building a good team is extremely challenging and rewarding at the same time. It calls for some astute planning. The three most important lessons are: be true to the team’s vision, give people space to operate and develop as leaders and remain intellectually sharp as a team. The first will give the team purpose and direction, the second will give them the ability to deliver and the last will keep the team young and jumping out of their beds on Mondays. Team building in this context is a prized skill that managers are willing to invest in. It has become critical to find â€Å"team players† when selecting people for a job or business project. An organization’s potential will end where the imagination of a sharp team does. There is a lot more involved than simple complimentary skills when building an elite team. Here are seven practices at the heart of building a first-rate team. 1- Get the best on boardA PM should get only those people on board his bus who really understand and value the vision of the project. Also he should make sure and inform those people that it might be a rough or smooth ride so they don’t have any surprises2- Align tasks to skillsIf you allow your team members to progress into the areas where they excel and are interested in, you will effectively keep them engaged and free yourself from the risk of having disgruntled and frustrated team members. 3- Strike the right balanceMost projects require a mix of activities. A team needs to have a balanced set of skills, especially if the majority of the  members are specialists in their field (consultants, analysts, IT experts). All skills will come into play while the team carries out its task, and any lack can result in the hampering of the project. 4- Manage the team mixIt is difficult to predict whether the team mix is correct and if it facilitates success; therefore, constant monitoring is indispensable. Allowing someone to remain on the team when they are a mismatch can prove counter productive. Other members may become resentful when no action is taken and they are obligated to cover for a non-productive member. 5- Give the credit and take the blameDo not indulge in fault-finding or blame games. Pigeonholing a particular member of the team may spread negative vibes within the team and cost you time and quality. Celebrating every small success and appreciating team members will build a sense of camaraderie between team members. 6- Be hard on tasks and soft on peopleThe focus should be on getting the job done. Giving space to every member of the team would allow them to develop their true potential as leaders. A good player always passes the ball. Even superstars need to work as a team player. Individual accomplishments mean little if they don’t enable the team to succeed. Q 6If the new Project manager is able to apply the effective leadership style, and create a team harmony between old team members and new comers, that will certainly revitalize the project Effectiveness. Together with project management discipline, addressing these items will dramatically increase the probability of project success. As we know that just as the main reasons that projects fail are related to human nature and interaction, so are our keys to project management effectiveness. We find that o ¬nly when the appropriate culture, mindset and behaviors are in place are the project management processes able to drive value. If the project manager is able to insert these changes the organizational culture will change to one of high morale, employee satisfaction, employee involvement, formation of groups, open communication lines, and higher employee motivation, employees  embracing the change process, understanding both the ups and downs of the project, like the schedule and budget issues mentioned in the scenario, etc.)Selection & rejuvenating the team: As the project is already behind schedule and over budget, so the Project Manager should focus on selection process more seriously. There are old team members who are already working on the project with lack of resources and guidelines. To relieve these work forces from work overload, there are needs of new workforces to join as team and work together effectively. If the project manager is able to spend more time in selection process that will bring the best into the project board/team, which will certainly save, time and cost. Assign and align task as per the expertise: Once the selection is done, Project manger should categorize the tasks and subtasks as per the critical and non critical path and empower the team members as per their expertise, so they don’t caught up with authentication. This process will enable the project team to work at their best with self-motivation and develop a high degree of morale. Optimum uses of human resources at their synergy will help the project to run smoothly and reduce the project delay. Team synchronization and acculturation: A balance in terms of personality and temperament also needs to be achieved, which will promote better relationships between members of the team. Closely watching the interpersonal dynamics within the team. So by bringing the people together who have the skill sets along with the adaptability and flexibility to work with different people. Synchronized and organizational acculturation enable the project too speed up the scheduled task without any constraints and develop team satisfaction. Communication and collaboration: The concurrent changes within the team rejuvenation and synchronization will enable the project team to communicate effectively and bring the sense of collaboration with in the players. As the project is already behind the schedule, so open line communication and collaborative measures will be developed. Effective measurements: Once the organizational culture is set and adapted by  the project team, there will be an easy access for Project manager to evaluate the project success. Evaluation is very critical at this point of time, as project being behind the schedule and over the budget; project manager should imply the every allocated resource at their optimum use and assessment of every activities and achievements within the due time. Q7)An effective project team leader is a â€Å"social architect† who understands the interaction of organizational and behavioral variables can foster a climate of active participation and can minimize dysfunctional conflict. To be effective and to make better relationship among team members, the team leader must identify major issues associated with three dimensions. These are team related with emphasis on behavioral aspects such as team structure, trust and respect, or barriers to team development and so on also project tasks and resource related to it such as goals and objectives, planning and scope management are essential. What if the other essential ingredient, the team, the followers? Ideally, the more the team can be motivated and empowered to â€Å"take the bull by the horns†, the more productive they become and the less direction and control is required. This has led to the concept of Self Directed Work Teams (Swats). According to Batten, there are 6 things that members of a successful team need from their leader to built better relationship:Expectation (Tell me what you expect of me)Opportunity (Give me an opportunity to perform)Feedback (Let me know how I am doing)Guidance (Give me guidance when and where I need it)Reward (Reward me according to my contribution)Friendly environment (give me open working-environment)Given these prerequisites, both the members of a project team, the followers, and their leader can be expected to progress and develop interactively. The leader focuses successively on telling, selling, gelling and producing project activities, in which the idea is for the team to become an SDWT. However, this only occurs as a result of careful team development and typically advances interactively through four distinct phases of team leadership and â€Å"follower ship† evolution. The four phases of team development have been characterized as â€Å"forming, storming, norming an d performing†. Relationship among Team Members and External resources:Building relationship among the project team and the external resources is the main part for the project to serve the project of the company. We have to identify their level of involvement and work with them accordingly. The key to getting the most out of the outsourcing relationship with the internal project team is to have a good plan in place before hand and to work that plan, but remain flexible. The company must have a clear business goal and an understanding of the role the outsourcing partner which they will play in helping attain that goal. Performance metrics for the outsourced engagement must be in place so that the client company knows weather or not the outsourcing, train and educate the staff in the project management model. And, most importantly, manage communication effectively. Again and effective communication among team members and any outsourced contractor is probably the most critical outsourcing success factor. In fact, it is so critical in a situation where professional services are being provided and contracted for creating a maintaining sound relationship with external resourcesQ8) how would these strategies differ under the conditions described in the scenario. The team is in bad situation, and the previous team has been totally scattered. For this instance the strategies we have defined for the relationship among team members and with external resources will not be the same. So the managing change strategy will be good to handle the situation. So what I believe and also depending upon my finding a project manager should comply with certain strategies which will be helpful according to the current situation. First of all PM will find out that what the reason behind the old situation was? And why the previous manager left also why the team members are scattered and having low moral. Communication with the team members will be the key tool to identify the problem and emotion individually. After identifying the all the key problems in points the role of the PM will to point our the points to coach the employees or team players and to make their moral high, so the PM should inspire people to move forward and make objectives real and relevant. It will also be helpful for the team members to built and maintain the external relationship. Also encourage the team members continue to achieve the final goal according to their task with responsibility on time is the one of the important strategy  too. Although several key team members have quit in disgust, the PM should design the team again, get the right people in place with the right emotional commitment, and the right mix of skills and levels. As the project is behind schedule and over budget, the PM should review the post vision, get the team to establish a simple and right vision, and then focus on emotional and creative aspects necessary to drive the team effectively by building cohesion in between them also with external resources. The project is behind schedule and over budget, the PM should review the post vision, get the team to establish a simple and right vision, and then focus on emotional and creative aspects necessary to drive the team effectively. Now to let the work done properly PM has to take an empowerment action by removing obstacles, enable constructive feedback and lots of support, also PM should reward and recognize progress and achievements. PM also has to highlight achieved milestones time by time. CONCLUSION:In this paper we have addressed the influence organizational culture can have on successful project management. The organizational mission, vision, and value statements shape the expected ethical behavior of individuals. Leadership is an integral part of successful project completion. Effective leadership can influence the moral of a dysfunctional team by building trust within a team. In building an effective project team, the project manager needs to set established principles and hold team members accountable for performance and behavior that is consistent with the organizational culture. Different strategies are needed to successfully manage relationships among team members and the relationship between the team and external resources. Establishing achievable outcomes and linking performance to those outcomes allows team members to recognize achievements. Individual success leads to team success and ultimately organizational success. A culture that supports these strategies will have a competitive edge in the area of successful project management References: 1.Human Resources, Change Management, http://humanresources.about.com/od/organizationalculture/Organizational_Culture_Corporate_Culture_in_Organizations.htm2.Organizational culture, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_culture3.Strategic Leadership and Decision Making (ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE) ,aa

Financing a Degree In Criminal Justice 2019

Are you putting off a career in Criminal Justice because you think you cant afford the education? Are you interested in a Criminal Justice education but think that you do not qualify for financial aid and scholarships? With the average college education costing between twenty and forty thousand dollars, it is no wonder that prospective Criminal Justice students are deterred from pursuing the education that they desire. If you would seriously like to pursue a Criminal Justice career but dont think you can afford it, you may want to reconsider. According to the College Board, the scholarship pot has now grown to between sixty-eight and seventy-two million dollars. The fact is that there are scholarships out there for a Criminal Justice degree, especially for minority populations, although to attain them takes perseverance, knowledge, and dedication. There are many resources available to students interested in scholarships for a Criminal Justice degree. Your educational institute can provide you with information about state and government resources from the United States Department of Education including the State Student Incentive Grant Program (SSIG). The primary education agencies in your area can also give you information regarding scholarships including the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program. Additionally, the AmeriCorps program provides scholarship funds in exchange for community services. These scholarship funds can be used for a Criminal Justice degree or to pay off student loans. The Internet and your local library also provide education in obtaining scholarships for a Criminal Justice degree and dont forget the myriad of compan ies, church organizations, community organizations, civic groups, and labor unions that provide scholarship funds as well. A word of caution, however, about pursuing scholarships for a Criminal Justice degree online. If a scholarship matching service seems to good to be true, it probably is. Beware of services that require a deposit or fee in exchange for scholarships matches that take your money but dont return any results. .ub45c9d93c152464c56ae97d47d08ed0a { padding:0px; margin: 0; padding-top:1em!important; padding-bottom:1em!important; width:100%; display: block; font-weight:bold; background-color:#eaeaea; border:0!important; border-left:4px solid #34495E!important; box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -moz-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -o-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -webkit-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); text-decoration:none; } .ub45c9d93c152464c56ae97d47d08ed0a:active, .ub45c9d93c152464c56ae97d47d08ed0a:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; text-decoration:none; } .ub45c9d93c152464c56ae97d47d08ed0a { transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; } .ub45c9d93c152464c56ae97d47d08ed0a .ctaText { font-weight:bold; color:inherit; text-decoration:none; font-size: 16px; } .ub45c9d93c152464c56ae97d47d08ed0a .post Title { color:#000000; text-decoration: underline!important; font-size: 16px; } .ub45c9d93c152464c56ae97d47d08ed0a:hover .postTitle { text-decoration: underline!important; } READ Find Education and Teaching Degree ProgramsYour chances of finding a scholarship for a Criminal Justice degree are greatly improved by following certain steps recommended by educators and counselors. High school students pursuing a scholarship for a Criminal Justice degree should spend their Senior year applying for scholarships and not searching for them. Scholarships funds can be awarded as early as eighth grade so the earlier students begin their search, the better. Another important point to remember is that many scholarship granters for Criminal Justice degrees are more interested in humanitarian or community involvement than in academic performance, so getting involved in a common good is a great way to be ahead of the competition. Also, don not limit your scholarship searches to bottomless pits of in formation like the library or Internet, but instead lead your search by being specific about what arena of Criminal Justice for which you plan to use your scholarship funds. Searching on a national level can be lucrative, but dont forget to get the word around locally through your families and friends and their places of involvement. Perhaps the best tip is to be persistent and not to get discouraged when turned down. Additionally, adhere to the basic rules of scholarship application etiquette: always type your application, dont send any materials not specifically requested, complete the application in full, and always submit your application by the deadline indicated. Related ArticlesOnline Associate Degree in Criminal Justice Financing a Criminal Justice DegreeA Degree in Criminal Justice Will Advance Your CareerAssociate Degree in Criminal Justice Boost Earning Potential and Streamline into the Criminal Justice WorkforceFinding a Business Administration CareerA Masters Degree in Criminal Justice ManagementCanadian Human Resource Development .ua15d134b90d03d66c3e59c5362628753 { padding:0px; margin: 0; padding-top:1em!important; padding-bottom:1em!important; width:100%; display: block; font-weight:bold; background-color:#eaeaea; border:0!important; border-left:4px solid #34495E!important; box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -moz-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -o-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -webkit-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); text-decoration:none; } .ua15d134b90d03d66c3e59c5362628753:active, .ua15d134b90d03d66c3e59c5362628753:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 2 50ms; text-decoration:none; } .ua15d134b90d03d66c3e59c5362628753 { transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; } .ua15d134b90d03d66c3e59c5362628753 .ctaText { font-weight:bold; color:inherit; text-decoration:none; font-size: 16px; } .ua15d134b90d03d66c3e59c5362628753 .postTitle { color:#000000; text-decoration: underline!important; font-size: 16px; } .ua15d134b90d03d66c3e59c5362628753:hover .postTitle { text-decoration: underline!important; } READ Associate Criminal Justice Degree Checklist 7 Things to Consider Before Enrolling