Engaging Employees In Organizational Change Management Essay

Engaging Employees In Organizational Change Management Essay Let it sink in: Rosenberg (1993) states that people need time to adapt to the idea of change. It is best to announce the change management plans much before the actual implementation begins rather than springing up the announcement as soon as the actual transition is about to take place; in most cases it has been noted that individuals were unhappy with the rapidity at which the change management course was employed rather than the idea of change itself. If for example a company plans to layoff 20% of its staff by the end of the week; no prior announcement of this action might result in severe chaos, anger and frustration by the employees who would have to deal with the situation there and then which could result in severe emotional and mental trauma. Teach the staff well: People are usually comfortable with the familiar and suspicious of the unfamiliar. For this purpose individuals might resist changing over to a new system or procedure of doing things simply because they are afraid of making mistakes and would prefer to work according to the tried and tested procedures. Management here needs to ensure that individuals are encouraged to experiment under the new system and are allowed to learn from their mistakes rather than being reprimanded for their behavior. Relinquish some control: Rosenberg (1993) has mentioned time and again in her article that to bring about an effective change, it is necessary to give autonomy to individuals so that they feel that they are also in control and play an integral role in the course of managing change. Again resistance is not necessarily to the change itself; rather than the way the change was implemented. A good manager would always involve his employees in the change management process to garner their full assurance and support to the change being implemented. Communication is the key: This is a very important aspect as employees want to be constantly kept in the loop regarding what changes are taking place in the organization. Both the employees and their managers have to keep an fluent mode of conversation so that the queries and grievances of the employees can be addressed by the managers and the managers are also aware of the strategies they would have to use in order to compel their workforce to remain committed to the cause. If managers want to successfully overcome resistance to change then these are some of the few viewpoints they have to keep into consideration when being involved in a change management process. Kimberling (2006) has suggested four simple steps for overcoming resistance. For todays management one of the growing challenges is overcoming employees resistance to change. It is widely assumed that people dislike change. There are some ways of overcoming employees resistance to change as given below: Identify change agents early in the project/program Train, train, train Involve employees in the change enabling process Over-communicate According to Brown Cregan (2008), Cynicism tells regarding employees opinion of their organizations management and it is derivative of employees familiarity with the environment, it may require considerable efforts by management to trim it down. Engaging employees is one of the ways of managing Organizational Change Cynicism (OCC). Sharing information has been considered as the approach is suitable top-down form of engaging employees which has important and negative association with OCC. It is believed that information passed down by the management is based on employee accepting of management decisions and thus reducing level of OCC. Taking inputs from employees validates that employees and employers have differing interests in the employment relationship. Delegating the role of decision making reflects shift in the form of employment terms. Managers and employees work in a cooperative environment where solutions/ decisions may emanate from either side and no more managers are the only authority holders. Engaging employees in decision making reduces levels of OCC. This helps employees in understanding the fall out of managerial decisions as nothing comes to them as a surprise this undermines the potential of cynicism to develop. This point of view is further supported by other researchers who state that constant communication and employee involvement is the key to a successful change management process. Communicating decisions justifies change, improves sense of employee effectiveness, and makes clear the changes to employee responsibilities (Young and Post, 1993). Besides, it provides employees information on how the intervention will happen and its fall out and hence allowing them greater control over the process of change. Successful Change: Paying Attention to the Intangibles Adams (2003) asserts that though bringing about any sort of change is a challenging and daunting task, confrontation to change can be combated and an organization can make the transition to a new environment successfully. Adams (2003) further states that while there would be approximately 10-15% of an organizations employees who would be resisting change; there would also be another 10-15% who would be supportive of the change. Organizations who have implemented the change management program successfully in their vicinity have done so by involving these proponents of the change management program from the beginning stages in order to garner their full support. This does not mean that these organizations did not face any sort of resistance; resistance to change was there just like any other change management program but it was dealt with in a smart manner so that the hostile and negative feelings of the employees did not take over the entire process. The basic factors that have been identified by Adams (2003) for successful change implementation are: accepting the need for change, faith that change is both favorable and probable, enough fervent assurance, explicit deliverable goals and a clear starting strategy, structures or mechanisms that require a repetition of the new pattern, feeling supported and safe, patience and perseverance, clear accountability, the responsibility of others in the organization (not just change agents) and rewarding of new behavior. All of these factors combined have worked together in bringing about a successful change program in various organizations that applied these theories or factors either entirely or used combinations that supported their organization structure. The basic premise of bringing about a successful change program has been that it is possible to overcome resistance if a clear strategy if firstly identified and secondly people are managed in such a way so as to develop feelings of en thusiasm and commitment towards the process of change. It is how these intangible factors of change are managed that determines the successful implementation of any change management program in the world. Simultaneously, with fast pace of change organizations are currently experiencing, there is parallel increasing interest in the role of organizational trust within these processes. (Mayer et al., 1995). Lower level of trust in organization will make change look doubtful and upsetting. Change agents need to take a closer look at trust and control factors in order to comprehend better how a constructive association among employees and employers can be continued. Triumphant organizational change can take place if employees stick to the processes sketched by organizational leaders. Non-acceptance or refusing attitude towards change may harm the relation between individual and organization (Ferguson Cheyne, 1995). On the other hand, control is seen as a regulatory process by which the basics of a system are made more foreseeable by making standards in the pursuit of some preferred goals or state (Leifer Mills, 1996, 117). This means that when employees have a high sense of control over a change intervention, it means they predict the result associated to it, hence they feel comfortable increasing the probability of sticking to the change. Some authors have treated trust and control as substitutes (e.g. Inkpen Currall, 1997; Leifer Mills, 1996), such that the more trust there is in a partner, the less need to control its behavior. A different approach is presented by Das Teng (1998) which state that these parallel phenomena hold a supplementary character. According to them, If employees perceptions of control over change represent how comfortable and familiarized employees are concerning the change, what is the impact of lower or higher control in the relationship between employees and organizational agents? Although the stronger is employees trust in their supervisor, the more committed these employees are to their organization, we believe trust has differential effects on work outcomes depending on how employees perceive change (i.e. how much they feel they control the change process). For this purpose Das Teng (1998) explain the concept of organizational change interventions. Organizational change interventions are situations in which both perceptions of trust in the supervisor and control over change are high stake factors because of the risks entailed in them. A situation in which employees have low perceived control over an organizational change intervention is a situation where trust concerns are increased. If an employee has lower control over the change, a trusting relationship with his supervisor will help him maintain his level of commitment to the organization. As a consequence, not only employees with low perceived control over change and low trust in the supervisor are expected to have the lowest levels of organizational commitment, but also the relationship between trust in the supervisor and affective organizational commitment is stronger for employees with lower perceptions of control over the change intervention. Brockner et al. (1997) found that when trust concerns become more prominent, the level of employees trust in organizational authorities is more likely to influence their support for the organizational authorities and their organizational commitment. The Hard Side of Change Management The DICE Factors Sikrin et al. (2005) has a different opinion on which factors to focus on when bring about the change. Recently the gurus of change management tend to pay more attention and emphasis on soft factors such as culture, leadership and motivation. These factors play an integral role in making an organization attain success but one cannot focus on these factors only when an organization needs to be transformed. Such basic factors do not always affect the change management programs in organizations. For example, a good leadership is essential to the success of any organization but is not the sole affective factor. Communication plays a major role when bringing about any change but again, is not the only factor to severely affect the change process. The most difficult factor to change is changing the mindsets of individuals; individuals and organizations have certain perceptions and behaviors that are so deeply inculcated in their personality that it is very difficult to steer them in a diff erent direction. Sikrin et al. (2005) also states that while surveys can be conducted to understand the effect of such soft factors such as culture and leadership, it is difficult to quantify such soft factors. An emphasis on the unconventional outlook of change management, the hard factors, is also important to be taken into consideration. These factors have three important characteristics which are as follows: Organizations are capable to evaluate them in straight or circuitous methods. Organizations can simply correspond their significance, both inside and outside of the organizations. And possibly mainly vital businesses are able to influence those essentials rapidly. Such important factors that directly affect the change process are the time span taken to undergo a process, the individuals necessary to carry out the various job requirements and ultimately the financial returns that such an activity leads to. There are numerous researches that depict that hard factors play an essential role in bringing about any sort of change process, else the organizations face failure. (Sikrin et al., 2005). On the other hand it is also necessary for the management to pay an equal amount of attention to the soft factors. However, if organizations do not firstly emphasize on the hard factors, the entire change process would result in severe failure. Sikrin et al. (2005) write in their article that they gained an insight into a new aspect when they studied and identified the basic factors of change that all processes shared. They conducted a hypothesis that studied how various organizations conducted similar transformation programs. For this purpose the authors studied various industries in various countries in order to take out the common elements. 225 companies were part of the research conducted where it showed that there was a directly related relationship between the outcome of a change process and tough four elements: plan life span, specifically the time between plan feedbacks; performance veracity, or the abilities of project teams; the dedication of both higher staff and the lower staff whom the transform will influence mainly; and the extra attempt that peoples must make to manage with the alteration. They named these factors as the DICE factors since we could stack them in support of projects accomplishment (Sikrin et al., 2005). According to Sikrin et al. (2005) We finished our learning in 1994, and in the 11 years since then, the Boston Consulting Group had used those four elements to forecast the results, and direct the completion, of more than 1,000 change management stances globally. Not only has the association held, but no other elements (or combination of these factors) have forecasted results as well. The Four Hard Factors Organizations work with the four factors in different ways in order to create new combinations. On one end of the continuum, there are projects that will ultimately face success than the ones that are going to face failure on the other end. For example, Sikrin et al write, At one end, a small plan led by a capable, ambitious, and consistent team, led by top management and implemented in a division that is open to the change and has to put in very little further attempt, is destined to thrive. On the other end, a lengthy, designed plan implemented by an unskilled apathetic, and incoherent groups, without any higher management sponsors and aim at a function that disapproves the alteration and has to do a excessive efforts, will be unsuccessful. Through this process the organizations can then find out which change program fell at which end of the continuum. However, most of the change processes ended up in a neutral position where it was difficult to find out if they were a success or if they had failed. It is the responsibility of executives to conduct an in-depth analysis of the DICE factors to decipher which direction the change program go. Following are the DICE factors: D. The time span Duration required concluding a transformed plans if it has a limited duration; if not limited, the longevity of time between feedbacks of objectives. I. The plans teams performance Integrity; that is, its skills to finish the program on time. Which are linked to teams abilities and expertise as per plans necessities. C. The Commitment to revolutionize that top hierarchy (C1) and staff affected by the transformation (C2) display. E. The Effort other than the routine work that the transformed initiative necessitates from staffs (Sikrin et.al., 2005). This study therefore goes to show that there are multiple methods that could be adopted in order to bring about an effective change management process. Furthermore, case study research shows that there are multiple methods adopted for managing change. While many prescriptions, guidelines and models exist, managers responsible for executing the changes are selective in the way they use these ideas (Storey, 1992). Keeping in mind the above mentioned point of view we can assume that to a major percentage of the change varies from person to person. Those who see themselves as creating organizational change as an intentional process (i.e. top management formally leading change) will have a different perspective to those who are on the receiving end of change (Kanter et al., 1992). Change Management Around the World Change Resistance in Bureaucratic Organizations in Jordan To understand why employees resist change Khassawneh (2005) highlights the reasons and causes behind employees resistance to administrative change in various bureaucratic organizations in Jordan. There were eleven factors, were identified as being major causes of change resistance in bureaucratic agencies. These factors include: inadequate financial and non-financial incentives offered to government employees, lack of employees participation and involvement in the change process, distrust between employees and higher management, expectation of more control and supervision from higher management, expectation of additional job demands and requirements, comfort with status quo, disruption of stable work standards and social relations, lack of goal clarity, lack of employees conviction in the goals of change, fear of loosing job and/or job prerogatives, and the sudden and confused manner in which change is introduced (Khassawneh, 2005) According to Khassawneh (2005) the most significant reason of resistance to change was found out to be lack of employees participation in the change process. This factor was assessed on the basis of two parameters: seniority in organization and number of training programs attended by employees. Senior employees who were part of the organization for five years or less resisted strongly due to lack of participation in the change process than their seniors who had served in the organization for periods ranging from 6-20 years. Employees who had served for five years or less in such government institutions made up 32% of the sample (133 respondents). These individuals were involved in activities concerning of an executive nature and therefore played a significant role in the running of the bureaucratic organizations. Employees who had not attended any training program felt that lack of involvement led to resistance to change. Therefore this attitude goes to show what an important role the training programs play boosting employee morale and involvement as training enables individuals to discover their strengths and weaknesses and also instill in them a sense of belonging in their organization. Therefore the respondents who did not get an opportunity to participate in any training programs claimed to have low sense of involvement with the organization treated the management with greater suspicion, than those who took part in certain training programs. Another major cause of resistance to change was as found out by Khassawneh (2005) was lack of proper incentives for employees. This lack of proper incentives was correlated to five of background characteristics of respondents which were namely; seniority, administrative rank, number of training programs attended, age and level of education (Khassawneh, 2005). Younger, low level ranking employees resisted more due to lack of proper incentives. Employees who have served for longer periods of time tend to receive greater incentives as the longer they remain in a government organization. Resistance to change also came about when the employees viewed the management with suspicion and distrust (Khassawneh, 2005). Younger employees working at a low level position who did not get adequate decision making authority or those who did not attend enough training programs were mainly the individuals who highly resisted any sort of change. Khassawneh (2005) states that if such low ranking employees are also not given enough information regarding the change process, then such employees would always create issues in the organization. Change Management in Indian Banks Hegde George (2002) in their study further highlight reasons of why employees resist to change of shifting towards automated services in the banks. Before the privatization wave began in India, the public sector commanded a major chunk of the economy. Though there was excessive regulatory mechanism there was widespread corruption, a high cost economy and poor performance from the state owned enterprises. State-owned banks were also run in an extremely inefficient manner due to interference from political quarters and as a result these banks were frequently caused to go through bankruptcies. Employees in these banks too were not ready to accept any new changes as they preferred the old practices and lived happily under the umbrella of State protectionism. Hegde George (2002) conducted this at Goa, in which a sample of 100 branch managers (BMs) with the objective of finding out the factors that motivate or inhibit BMs in servicing customers. They also focus on the reasons why employees resist any sort of new change taking place in the organization. Transition to a new work methodology was cited as a major factor contributing towards employee resistance. Since the traditional bureaucratic banking practices did not focus so much on customer service, the employees had to be given intense training in how to deal with the customers, how to respond to their queries regarding new services and how to respond to complaint situations. This required a whole new work ethic and attitude to be developed among employees as well as they were not equipped to deal well in the customer dealing sphere. Along with this the staff had to also be trained in the new technological aspects of the innovative banking solutions as well (Hegde George, 2002). Secondly the researchers found out that lack of technological know-how/training also contributed to resistance to change. Branch managers admitted that they were not aware of all the workings of the new banking system and could not answer customer queries regarding ATM machines as they were not knowledgeable about the workings of ATMs. Added to this computerization was another major woe of the employees as they employees were give inadequate training where they learned through a trial and error process which resulted in delay and frustration with the work at hand. Furthermore the top management frequently decided to change the software being used so the employees had to go through the whole process of learning through trail and error again. Lack of communication and inadequate training resulted in a high level of de-motivation and resistance from the employees who were not willing to accept the new changes as they felt that the new process created more confusion and damage rather tha n resolving the issues. Hegde George (2002) also discuss how the staff was downsized by the management in order to cut down on its cost where a Voluntary Retirement Scheme was introduced in order to let the staff go. This resulted in paucity of staff a the branches where the few remaining staff was overworked and underpaid which led to further resistance and de-motivation of the staff, many of whom quit their job as they felt exploited by the new change management process introduced by the top executives. Through the course of their study, Hegde George (2002) find out that the key to customer satisfaction is firstly employee satisfaction as employees who feel de-motivated and discontented of their jobs and companies exhibit their feelings via not serving the customers properly and even by speaking bad about their company in front of the customers. The main reason why employees resist changing is because the reasons and benefits of the change are not communicated to them, adequate training to deal with new procedures is not provided and furthermore staff is laid off without any prior warning which creates feelings of insecurity and mistrust towards the organization. Finally resistance to change could have been overcome if the management proceeded to bring about the change process in a systematic manner. If all the employees were communicated the plans of the management right in the beginning and the benefits of the change to the employees and the organization were made common knowledge, then the employees would be more emphatic towards the change process. An organization is nothing without the support of its employees and in order to bring about any sort of change the organization has to make sure that its internal customers are satisfied before the external customers are serviced. The IBM Making Change Work Global Study IBMs (2008) research department addressed the issues as to why most organizations cannot bring about a change successfully in an organization. IBMs research was conducted using a sample size of more than 1,500 key practitioners through surveys and detailed interviews. The purpose of the research was to find out why implementing a change management program was met with resistance by the employees and why the program failed to be implemented in most organizations successfully. The study revealed that 44% the projects failed to be completed on deadlines, or within budget or without decided quality of end goals, while 15 percent either ceased or failed to meet any of the objectives. The reasons cited for these failures range from lack of clarity of goals, failure to execute the project successfully from the perspective of the top management and lack of employee involvement, age factor, educational level and fear of new change from the perspective of the employees. The major challenges to change were divided on two parameters; soft factors and hard factors. The soft factors of resistance to change included: changing mindsets and attitudes, corporate culture, complex nature of the change process, lack of dedication from the side of upper level management, and deficiency of motivation of employees involved. While the hard factors of resistance to change included: shortage of resources, lack of change information, not much transparency because of incomplete or unreliable information, change of process change of IT systems, technology barriers. Its was found out from this study that while the hard factors play an important part in hindering the process of change, surprisingly it was the soft factors that was harder to get right. Altering thinking, behaviors and norms of an entity typically need different methods and skills that are applied time after time and over the time. Sometimes they require being applied over a series of consecutive assignmen ts and even some of them often continue after the project has been finished formally. (IBM, 2008). In order to overcome these resistances, the study then focused on the parameters that made a change successful. While leadership, employee engagement and honest communication were cited as the major areas providing impetus for change; again the list was divided into hard and soft factors that made a change management process successful. The soft factors comprised of: higher managements commitment and support, employee motivation and participation, open and accurate communication on timely basis, organization environment and culture that motivates and promotes change. The hard factors included: efficient training programs, adjustment of performance measures, efficient organization structure and monetary and non-monetary incentives. The major responsibility of implementing the change was that of the top management. The results of the research revealed that Practitioners firmly place key responsibility for the fate of change projects in the executive suite an overwhelming 92 percent na med top management sponsorship as the most important factor for successful change (IBM, 2008). Therefore it can be concluded from this study that while employees would always be suspicious of any kind of change and would resist the efforts of the management out of this fear and suspicion. It depends upon the top management to ensure timely communication, encouragement of employee involvement and appointing of professional change agents would pave the way for a successful change management process for any organization. Factors Affecting Resistance to Change: A Case Study of Two North Texas Police Departments Gaylor (2001), tried to explore the issues that affect conflict with change. For this purpose a law enforcement agency was chosen as the case in point i.e. two North Texas Police departments where the police consequence of mature education and expectation on the police teams level of opposition to change and the results of contribution and mutual understanding on reliance were examined. There were 5 factors that were identified as very influential on organizational change. These factors were: 1) Employee participation in resistance to change, (2) Trust in management, (3) Communication process, (4) Quality of information available and (5) Education (Kent, 2001) Research resulted that factors that affect resistance from employee side are involvement in the process, believe in management, processes of communication within organization, and exchange of information. The synopsis by Kent (2001) states that employee involvement in the process of change encourages him to feel to be owner for the new system and therefore, boosts the level of comfort and trust between employees and the management. Secondly, the organization needs to have a proper system of communication for employee remedy and support. This also increases the level of trust between the two stakeholders. Third, employees must be provided with accurate and timely information so as to reduce the level of chaos that is normally created at the time of change in any organization. And finally, to feel secure about their jobs and statuses and other issues of change process, employees have to have a high level of trust in management. Leading and Coping with Change Woodword Hendry in 2004 undertook 2 surveys to look at different perspectives in research on how change is being managed in financial services institutions of Londons. These involved representatives of senior management personnel who were responsible for initiation of change in the organizational and all other employees inclusive of managers experiencing change while serving at different levels. The aims of the study were: To define the skills and attitudes required to lead change and those needed effectively to cope with change and To develop a model to show how change is absorbed within the organization They organized their findings in five parts as described below, which have been arranged in the following manner. In the 1st section, as people keep on seeking to explore that what is going on in their organization, states what the employees and employers consider as the main pressures for change, their formal boss responses, and in what ways these changes have impacted them. Then, as conventional ways of working are tempered, in parts two and three they show how people cope and what different resources are required in terms of skills and competencies to perform well in this new changed environment. Then in part four they describe specific qualities required by the change managers to cultivate with respect to employee needs. Finally, they state what the organizations do in order to support their employees through out the change process, and how senior management and employees percieve this. The results of

Vision Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Vision - A Learned Process Or Are We Born With It? Depth perception is made possible by having two components, binocular vision and stereopsis. Binocular vision is defined as vision where both eyes are aimed simultaneously at the same visual target and where both eyes work together a coordinated team (1). Stereopsis is defined as vision where two separate images from two eyes are successfully combined into one image in the brain (1). In class it was learned that through the process of depth perception, one can have 3-D vision even though our retina receives visual information as 2 dimensional. This is made possible by the fact that the brain has learned to process visual images by comparing the relative sizes, horizontal and vertical orientations, object overlaps and shadows projected within the field to define our perceptions of the world around us (4). Is this really true? Does the brain learn how to perceive its world as three dimensional or is it something that we always did from birth? The most obvious time to see if this visual process is learned is through the observation of the visual processes of infants. The earliest studies of depth perception and babies used an apparatus called the visual cliff (Berk 151). This device consists of a glass covered table and a central platform, from which babies are encouraged to crawl. Patterns are placed beneath the glass to create the appearance of a shallow side and a deep side. When trying to get the babies to crawl across the glass, the babies readily crossed the shallow side and all but a few reacted with fear to the deep side. The researchers concluded that about the time infants crawl, most of them have an understanding of depth perception. Another study carried out ... ... crucial first weeks of life. The efficacy of vision therapy is something that should also be studied. Not much has been heard about this therapy and if it is effective as it says to be, then the visual system can be better understood. It would also be interesting to note if any changes in brain structure take place as a result of vision therapy. Further investigations (like those mentioned above) can help us better understand whether vision is learned or not. At the beginning of researching this paper, I was ready to say that we were born with our visual abilities and were stuck with them due to genetics, however I am now willing to support a theory that vision is learned and can be re-learned, due to the findings of vision therapy. Internet Sources: http://www.autism.org/visual.html Berk, Laura E. Child Development 4th Ed. Allyn and Bacon, Boston, 1997. Vision Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers Vision - A Learned Process Or Are We Born With It? Depth perception is made possible by having two components, binocular vision and stereopsis. Binocular vision is defined as vision where both eyes are aimed simultaneously at the same visual target and where both eyes work together a coordinated team (1). Stereopsis is defined as vision where two separate images from two eyes are successfully combined into one image in the brain (1). In class it was learned that through the process of depth perception, one can have 3-D vision even though our retina receives visual information as 2 dimensional. This is made possible by the fact that the brain has learned to process visual images by comparing the relative sizes, horizontal and vertical orientations, object overlaps and shadows projected within the field to define our perceptions of the world around us (4). Is this really true? Does the brain learn how to perceive its world as three dimensional or is it something that we always did from birth? The most obvious time to see if this visual process is learned is through the observation of the visual processes of infants. The earliest studies of depth perception and babies used an apparatus called the visual cliff (Berk 151). This device consists of a glass covered table and a central platform, from which babies are encouraged to crawl. Patterns are placed beneath the glass to create the appearance of a shallow side and a deep side. When trying to get the babies to crawl across the glass, the babies readily crossed the shallow side and all but a few reacted with fear to the deep side. The researchers concluded that about the time infants crawl, most of them have an understanding of depth perception. Another study carried out ... ... crucial first weeks of life. The efficacy of vision therapy is something that should also be studied. Not much has been heard about this therapy and if it is effective as it says to be, then the visual system can be better understood. It would also be interesting to note if any changes in brain structure take place as a result of vision therapy. Further investigations (like those mentioned above) can help us better understand whether vision is learned or not. At the beginning of researching this paper, I was ready to say that we were born with our visual abilities and were stuck with them due to genetics, however I am now willing to support a theory that vision is learned and can be re-learned, due to the findings of vision therapy. Internet Sources: http://www.autism.org/visual.html Berk, Laura E. Child Development 4th Ed. Allyn and Bacon, Boston, 1997.

A Study on Indian ‘Ready-to-Eat’ Food Industry

A study on Indian ‘Ready-to-Eat’ Food Industry 1. Problem Identified 1. 1Problem Definition Indian lifestyle is undergoing a massive socio-economic change, which is also being reflected in food habits. Owing to this fact, India is experiencing a significant growth in the ‘Ready-to-Eat’ Food industry. The Indian ‘Ready-to-Eat’ industry is making a huge progress and Ready-to-eat foods market in India is expected to reach Rs 2900 Cr by 2015. The popularity of ready-to-eat packed food now is no longer marks a special occasion. People want value for time, money in terms of quality and variety. The food processing industry is one of the largest industries in India and it is the ranked fifth in terms of Production, Consumption, Export and Expected growth. Processed food market in India accounts for 32% that is Rs. 1280 billion or 29. 4 billion US $ in a total estimated market of Rs. 3990 billion or 91. 66 US $. The demand for this industry comes from the global Indians as well. NRI’s and others are looking for convenient food, (almost) authentic dishes and entree on the go. This demand for ready-to-eat meals has captured a large amount of the food retail market in India and around the world. Walk in into any desi grocery shop in North America and one can find a wide assortment of emerging desi brands. Also Euromonitor International, a market research company says that amount of money Indian spend on ready to eat snacks & food is 5 billion US $ in a year while on abroad Indian or Indian subcontinents spend 30 billion US $ in a year. The factors contributing to this growth would be changes like cold chain development, disintermediation, streamlining of taxation, economies of scale on the supply side, coupled with increasing disposable incomes, diminishing culinary skills and the rising need for convenience on the demand side. The new technologies and techniques like retorting or sterilization process, which are developed to store the ready to eat food products and increase there shelf life is also an important factor adding to the fast growth of this industry. Some of the reasons for the market growth are listed as follows †¢Globalization of Indian food and its culture are the core factors for popularization of ready to eat foods. †¢Main motivation for these ready to eat foods is fast growing foreign market. †¢Retail outlet culture is now growing rapidly in India. Shelf lives of these foods are at least 12-18 months. †¢Quality, Taste and Flavour of these foods remains as good as fresh up to the expiry date. †¢Women wanting to spend more time out of the kitchen. †¢More working bachelors staying away from homes. †¢Cost effective in comparison to the Indian cuisine served by the restaurants in foreign countries. 1. 2Problem Statement: A study on Indian ‘Ready-To-Eatâ €™ food industry Market 1. 3Research Objectives: 1. To study the market of Indian Ready to Eat food. 2. To determine the factors affecting the purchase decision of Ready to Eat Food. . To identify market potential of ready to eat market segment in India 4. To understand the consumption pattern of Ready to Eat Food. 5. To identify the target market segment for RTE 6. To analyse the competition among different brands. 7. To develop marketing strategies for RTE products 2. Proposed Methodology: 2. 1Type of Data Research Methodology: The research is primarily both exploratory as well as descriptive in nature. The sources of information are both primary & secondary. A well-structured questionnaire will be prepared to collect the primary data through the questionnaire Sampling Process: Non probability of Sampling 2. 2Tools for data collection: †¢Primary Data ?Questionnaire ?Personal Interview †¢Secondary Data ? Internet ? Magazines ? Companies’ Brochure †¢Sample size – 100 †¢Sampling Technique – Convenience Sampling. 2. 3Framework for data analysis Analytical tools to be used: ?Percentage analysis ?Chi-square test ?Rank Correlation ?H test ?U test ?ANOVA 2. 4Expected deliverables: This study is used to understand the market of Indian ‘Ready-To-Eat’ Food Industry, its growth potential, consumer behaviour and to develop suitable marketing strategies.

Copyright vitamine A Essays

Copyright vitamine A Essays Copyright vitamine A Paper Copyright vitamine A Paper CONCLUSION The role of vitamin A deficiency is not limited to the initial processes involved in receiving visual stimuli. Normal functions of the photoreceptors or light-sensory receptors of the eyes largely depend on the presence of vitamin A and its metabolites within the retina. Prolonged vitamin A deficiency leads to deterioration of these structures causing impaired vision. Adequate amounts of vitamin A are required for proper eye development in embryos and maintenance of normal anatomical structures of the eye, including the conjunctiva and cornea. As a whole, deficiency in vitamin A results to major destruction of eye structures and visual functions, impairing vision and ultimately leading to irreversible blindness. Blindness caused by vitamin A deficiency remains a public health problem, especially in developing countries resulting from vitamin-A-attributed corneal scarring. There is a significant difference between causes of prevalent cases of blindness across different levels of socioeconomic statuses. Studies also emphasize the overall impact of vitamin A deficiency to child morbidity, mortality and growth. Evidently, the concern for the emotional, social and economic costs also diffuses from the problem with blindness as a disability. Serious actions must be taken to help address the situation. Further studies are needed to evaluate measures most adept to combat vitamin A deficiency in a community with regards to cost and feasibility of the program, together with the strategies to detect subclinical VAD for early management; and hopefully, restore vision among the blind.

Whig History of Science

Whig History of Science Whig history describes our past as a kind of progression towards independence and enlightenment. The major idea of this history is the raising of scientific progress, human freedom, and constitutional government. Kearney underlines that Whig interpretation of any history â€Å"implies a view of the past which divides men essentially into two simple categories, progressive or reactionaries, forward-looking or backward-looking.† (1971, 17) Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Whig History of Science specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to such idea, Whig history of science divides all scientists into good and bad ones. Good scientists stick to the side of truth, and bad, ignorant, scientists prefer to disprove the truth. Whig history of science presents all past cultures like blind groups, which try to arrive at the views people have already enlightened. Only great men or women can present great discoveries, which will be truthful and corresponding to the already existed theories. Whig history of science creates a kind of barrier to clear understanding of everything. Theory-Loading of Observation Observation plays a very important role in the development of science. Alan Chalmers (1982, 23) points out that observation should be respected due to two reasons: (1) â€Å"science starts with observation† and (2) â€Å"observation yields a secure basis from which knowledge can be derived.† The theory-loading of observation is rather important for humans’ understanding of how science works and can be developed. Humans observe many things and make certain conclusions about them. This is why it is possible to say that nature give all facts, which are so important for science, to humans. People have nothing to do but continue observing things and compare them with their own predictions. The theory-loading of observation and facts, gathered by people from nature, infect all the tests and influence considerably future results. In order to make true, clear conclusions about something, it is crucially important for an observer to stay unbiased and unprejudiced. Popper’s Theory of Falsification Karl Popper was a famous Australian and British philosopher. One of his main purposes was the explanation of why many people could not come to one and the same conclusion after the experiment had been already conducted. Proper underlines that things do go wrong during the experiments, this is why the results cannot be positive. Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to Popper, experiments cannot prove something but just fail to disprove. â€Å"Popper’s theory of falsification relies upon closely similar ideas about the role of ‘agreement’ among the scientists.† (Niiniluoto, 49) Popper works between two conceptions, whi ch are the centre of his theory. They are verification and falsifiability. With the help of Popper’s theory of falsification, it is easy to analyze and criticize already existed works and experiments and demonstrate their falsifiability. In such case, the hypothesis, created according to Popper’s theory of falsification, cannot be disproved, and this is what is necessary for science. Merton’s Norms of Science One of the sociologists, who influenced considerably the development of science, was Robert King Merton. He conducted numerous researches into the sociology of science and developed one of the most famous norms of science, also known as CUDOS. The Merton’s norms of science â€Å"compose an interacting and mutually reinforcing system of behaviour designed to make the common intellectual property of science proof against the distorting possibilities.† (Trachtman Perrucci, 13) The norm of communism underlines common ownership of all discoveries , ideas, and goods comprised by science. The norm of universalism lies in the fact that truth-claims of science should be evaluated without taking into consideration race, gender, religion, class, etc. Disinterestedness norm is all about the absence of scientists’ preferences during conducting researches. The last norm of organized scepticism points out that all scientific ideas have to be checked and analyzed properly before they will be presented to the public. Kuhn’s Paradigms Thomas Kuhn was one of the most known American historians of science and philosophers. Kuhn said that science was not able to progress any more because of unbelievable increase of new knowledge. His notion of paradigms replaced numerous theories in the social sciences. â€Å"A paradigm is an all embracing theoretical framework that defines scientific work in a given moment or period within one particular field of science.† (Schuster, 128) Kuhn had an unbelievable desire to avoid certa in subjectivity in science; however, his paradigms were not properly evaluated, they could not be connected to the modern world, and, finally, Kuhn’s paradigms could not help to solve any problem existed in science. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Whig History of Science specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This is why these paradigms are rather infamous in philosophy of science. Without any doubts, Kuhn developed the idea of paradigm better than any one before; he described the components of any paradigm and even underlined its importance in science. Reference List Chalmers, A. F 1982, ‘The Theory-Dependence of Observation’, What is This Thing Called? An Assessment of Nature and Status of Science and Its Methods, University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia, pp. 22-37. Kearney, H 1971, ‘The Whig Interpretation of History’, Science and Change 1500-1700, Weindenfeld and Nicholson, London, p p. 17-22. Niiniluoto, I 1984, Is Science Progressive? Springer. Schuster, J. A 1995, ‘Kuhn and the Nature of Science and Scientific Revolution’, Introduction to the History and Social Studies of Science, Department of Science, University of Wollongong, pp. 123-148. Trachtman, L. E, Perrucci, R 2000, Science under Siege: Interest Groups and the Science Wars, Rowman Littlefield.

Apple vs Microsoft Research Paper Example

Apple vs Microsoft Research Paper Example Apple vs Microsoft Paper Apple vs Microsoft Paper Bryant Ri’chard 11-22-2010 Sheri Easton-Long 6 P. M. Apple vs. Microsoft Apple (formerly known as Macintosh) and Microsoft, without a doubt, produce the largest operating systems in the world OS X Lion and Windows 7. With Apple bringing in $20 billion and $4billion in profit, and Microsoft bringing in $62. 48 billion and $18. 76 billion in profit, there’s no doubt that these two super giants are going down anytime soon. Even though they are both huge companies that relatively offer the same products, they have their differences. In 1975, a man named William â€Å"Bill† Gates started the company know as Microsoft through his interest of business and managing people. Ever since his early education, he became very competitive and driven to be on top with his company which led him to his rise to fame and unimaginable wealth. When Microsoft started, they were specializing in programming and software. Whereas when Apple started in 1976 by two men named Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, they designed circuit boards for the next generation of computers. This led to the invention of the first ever home computer with a GUI (Graphical User Interface) the Apple Lisa. Even thought these two companies got very different starts, they have one major thing in common that makes these companies boom; and that are their Operating Systems. Microsoft’s first operating system was known as MS-DOS (MicroSoft- Disk Operating System). This system was broken down to the very basics of executing basic processes of a computer. Same was with the first Macintosh operating system named MacOS. Both systems were the main kickoff for the biggest rivalry in the computer world. With both companies striving to be on top in innovation and quality, the both have come up with rivalry tools to be the king of computers. Both of these companies have come a long way over the years. With Microsoft’s operating system being Windows 7 and Apples being OS X Lion, both systems have their perks depending on which industry they are used in. Apple has always been a simple company out to make computers easy for everyone to use without offering 3rd party applications and programs. With this, OS X (all versions) has taken the lead in being the best system for anyone into music, graphic design, art, or any kind of creativity program. Most software companies go to sell the license to apple first due to the demand of the industry. While Windows 7 still offers the same features, they have their own perks such as a wider variety of user friendly programs. Windows 7 offers more along the lines of students and businesses. This is because the company has always been ran on business since the beginning. The biggest contender/similarity/rivalry is between the Apple iPod and Microsoft Zune. The first ever iPod model released in October 23, 2001 was called the iPod First Generation. This device had 5 buttons on the front along with a screen. It came in quantities of 5-10 gigs of memory with a 10 hour battery life and could only play music. But now today, the iPod has almost completely ditched the buttons and most of today’s Apple iPods are majority touch screens. Apples biggest selling iPod is the newest to the family, the iPod Touch 4th Generation. There aren’t many things that this iPod can’t do; it can download and play applications for everyday life or entertainment and games just to pass time, it’s almost a modern day cell phone without the phone. Every September, Apple does the best they can to innovate and evolve their line of iPods so that it’s able to rein king of the Mp3/Video/Entertainment device. The Microsoft Zune, released in 2006, is Microsoft’s response to the booming success of the iPod. When released, the Zune was very unheard of due to its size and not very big release; people didn’t realize that it was a Microsoft product. But, at the time, the Zune had one major feature that the iPod lacked; that feature was the ability to wirelessly share music with anyone else with a Zune. This was made possible by the innovation of Bluetooth; the users would sync together via Bluetooth and select which files to share with their friends. But eventually over the years, the Zune has also migrated to touch screen, but unlike Apple; Microsoft only sells one model of Zune in various memory capacities and colors whereas Apple sells 5 different kinds of iPod models all in different capacities and colors. Another big market these companies have exploded into is the Cellphone operating system world. Microsoft has the Windows phone. Windows phone is almost the exact computer operating system into a phone. These phones are made by many different manufactures, such as HTC, Samsung, and Motorola just to name a few. The latest form of Windows phone operating system is called Windows Phone 7; designed to keep the business man up to date in email and edit his documents on the go. The system also allows him to browse the web in his spare time. The advantage of having a phone ran on Windows Phone 7 is that you can visit websites that operate on Adobe Flash player which allows you to watch videos and animations on a websites page. Apples answer to phones ran on Windows was the iPhone. The iPhone is manufactured by Apple for Apple. This phone does almost anything you can imagine and is broken down to be very simple as Apple always strives for. This phone is best for any audience really, it allows the user to download apps and games out of the app store or even access the iTunes store to download music on the go. But the big feature offered by Windows that causes major controversy among the iPhone is the lack of the Flash Player. Most people don’t realize it, but most of the sites we use today all run on flash; and with Apple not offering in on the iPhone, users are getting a very stripped down view of the site, or for some sites, no views at all. Apple (formerly known as Macintosh) and Microsoft, without a doubt, produce the largest operating systems in the world OS X Lion and Windows 7. With Apple bringing in $20 billion and $4billion in profit, and Microsoft bringing in $62. 48 billion and $18. 76 billion in profit, there’s no doubt that these two super giants are going down anytime soon. Even though they are both huge companies that relatively offer the same products, they have their differences. With Apple being the simple and clean company and Microsoft being the business giant, these two companies will always continue to fight to be on top in the world of electronics; partnering up with faster processors such as Intel and AMD or manufactures like Sony, Samsung, or Asus or hundreds more. Bellis, Mary. The History of Apple Computers.   Inventors. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. http://inventors. about. com/od/cstartinventions/a/Apple_Computers. htmgt; Lion, Marc. How Microsoft Started Marc Liron Microsoft MVP.   Windows XP Update Website Tips News and Secrets! Web. 21 Nov. 2010. updatexp. com/how-microsoft-started. htmlgt; Siegler, M. G. Apple Q4: $20B Revenue, $4B Profits, 3. 89M Macs, 14. 1M IPhones, 4. 19M IPads - All New Records. TechCrunch. 18 Oct. 2010. Web. 21 Nov. 2010.   http://techcrunch. com/2010/10/18/apple-q4-2010-earnings/; Team, Rapid R. Fast Facts About Microsoft.   Facts About Microsoft. 2010. Web. 21 Nov. 2010.

Training And Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Training And Development - Essay Example It can convert speech into text in real time for deaf or hard hearing students to read what is taught in the classroom. Training and development of CART needs skilled typists who also possess good auditory and verbal skills and need to be familiar with different operations of computers. Trainer must also be familiar with the course material. In training, the text is displayed in real time for deaf or hard hearing students to read on monitor or display. When the class is finished, the text is saved in a word file, which can be copied, edited, printed and disseminated to the students. Two different techniques are used in the training and development of CART to wrap as much information as possible. First is to use computerized abbreviation system to lessen keystrokes and second is the text condensing strategy to allow the transcriber to add fewer number of words devoid of losing verbal information (Ross & Marion 119). As long as the text is readable to the deaf or hard of hearing learners, it can be demonstrated in a number of different ways. If the training is provided to a solitary student, a subsequent laptop or computer can be used for a display. However, if there is not a single student but infect a group of deaf or hard of hearing students that are to be trained, a big TV or protrusion screen is a good idea to use.