Andorra - Learn about the Geography and History of Europes Andorra

Andorra - Learn about the Geography and History of Europe's Andorra Population: 84,825 (July 2011 estimate)Capital: Andorra la VellaBordering Countries: France and SpainArea: 180 square miles (468 sq km)Highest Point: Pic de Coma Pedrosa at 9,665 feet (2,946 m)Lowest Point: Riu Runer at 2,756 feet (840 m) Andorra is an independent principality that is co-governed by Spain and France. It is located in southwestern Europe between France and Spain and it is entirely landlocked. Much of Andorras topography is dominated by the Pyrenees Mountains. Andorras capital city is Andorra la Vella and its elevation of 3,356 feet (1,023 m) makes it the highest capital city in Europe. The country is known for its history, interesting and isolated location and high life expectancy.History of AndorraAndorra has a long history that dates back to the time of Charlemagne. According to the U.S. Department of State, most historical accounts claim that Charlemagne grated a charter to the region of Andorra in return for fighting against the Muslim Moors advancing from Spain. By the 800s the Count of Urgell became the leader of Andorra. Later a descendent of the Count of Urgell gave control of Andorra to the diocese of Urgell led by the Bishop of Seu dUrgell.By the 11th century the head of the diocese of Urgell put Andorra under the protection of the Spanish, under the Lord of Caboet, because of growing conflicts from neighboring regions (U.S. Department of State). Shortly thereafter a French noble became the heir to the Lord of Caboet. This led to conflict between the French and Spanish over who would control Andorra. As a result of this conflict in 1278 a treaty was signed and Andorra was to be shared between Frances Count of Foix and Spains Bishop of Seu dUrgell. This led to a joint sovereignty.From this time until the 1600s Andorra gained some independence but control often shifted back and forth between France and Spain. In 1607 Frances King Henry IV made Frances head of government and the Bishop of Seu dUrgell co-princes of Andorra. The region has been ruled as a co-principality between the two countries ever since.During its modern history, Andorra remained isolated from much of Europe and the rest of the world outside of Spain and France due to its small size and the difficulty involved with traveling there because of its rugged topography. Recently however, Andorra has begun to grow into a tourist European center as a result of improv ed communications and transportation development. In addition, Andorra still has very close ties to France and Spain, but it is more closely tied to Spain. The official language of Andorra is Cataln.Government of AndorraToday Andorra, officially called the Principality of Andorra, is a parliamentary democracy that is governed as a co-principality. The two princes of Andorra are the president of France and the Bishop Seu dUrgell of Spain. These princes are represented in Andorra via representatives from each and make up the countrys executive branch of government. The legislative branch in Andorra consists of a unicameral General Council of the Valleys, whose members are elected via popular election. Its judicial branch is made up of the Tribunal of Judges, Tribunal of the Courts, the Supreme Court of Justice of Andorra, the Supreme Council of Justice and the Constitutional Tribunal. Andorra is divided into seven different parishes for local administration.Economics and Land Use in AndorraAndorra has a relatively small, well-develop ed economy that is based mainly on tourism, commerce and the financial industry. The main industries in Andorra are cattle, timber, banking, tobacco and furniture manufacturing. Tourism is also a major part of Andorras economy and it is estimated that around nine million people visit the tiny country each year. Agriculture is also practiced in Andorra but it is limited because of its rugged topography. The main agricultural products of the country are rye, wheat, barley, vegetables and sheep.Geography and Climate of AndorraAndorra is located in southwestern Europe on the border between France and Spain. It is one of the worlds smallest countries with an area of just 180 square miles (468 sq km). Most of Andorras topography consists of rugged mountains (the Pyrenees Mountains) and very small, narrow valleys between the peaks. The highest point in the country is Pic de Coma Pedrosa at 9,665 feet (2,946 m), while the lowest is Riu Runer at 2,756 feet (840 m).The climate of Andorra is considered temperate and it generally has cold, snowy winters and warm, dry summer s. Andorra la Vella, the capital and largest city of Andorra, has an average annual temperature range of 30.2ËšF (-1ËšC) in January to 68ËšF (20ËšC) in July.To learn more about Andorra, visit the Geography and Maps section on Andorra on this website.ReferencesCentral Intelligence Agency. (26 May 2011). CIA - The World Factbook - Andorra. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/an.htmlInfoplease.com. (n.d.). Andorra: History, Geography, Government, and Culture- Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: infoplease.com/ipa/A0107276.htmlUnited States Department of State. (8 February 2011). Andorra. Retrieved from: state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3164.htmWikipedia.org. (2 June 2011). Andorra - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra

Bpo Attrition- the Problem and Its Solution

Human Resources In Indian Business Process Outsourcing Organizations- Attrition. Is there any solution? Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is likely to be the next big thing for services in this decade. The industry is very diverse, with several sub-segments, each displaying its own unique characteristics. The BPO players need to be excellent in every facet of operations as the market is highly competitive at every level and re-defining itself every day. Being a People-Centric industry what are the people issues that, the HR will have to handle? What are the challenges faced by HR in dealing with them? HI Before this, one needs to gain an understanding about BPOs and what businesses are Indian companies doing in this segment? BPO is based on the premise that whatever competencies are not very important for an organization   (not their core competencies); outsource or ask somebody else who is adept at doing it, to do it for the organization. In this way the organization can concentrate on its core competencies and not worry about on trivial issues, which are not strategic in nature. But these days we even find organizations outsourcing their core competencies or the core business aspects to BPOs to gain the advantage of cost cutting and quality issues. Typically, BPO would include call centers, problem solving in insurance sector to other sophisticated activities like research and other back office dealings. India has the advantage of low cost, highly qualified English speaking labour, thus most of the BPO ventures in India are call centers, although of late, companies are entering into high-end areas like research. But for sometime at least we can assume that most of the companies would be doing the call center kind of business. Most of these kinds of jobs get done in the night in India to account for the 12-hour time lag between US and India. Over a period of time the biological rhythm of the employee changes, causing various kind of disorders like indigestion, fatigue, headaches etc. so the health of the employee is a major concern for the HR, more so because most of them are graduates in their early twenties. In addition the jobs are monotonous, often nerve wracking. So it is a challenge for HR to adequately rotate the jobs of employees and provide them with enough time to refresh, so that they are able to deliver service of highest quality. Although many companies are targeting fresh graduates, they are not able to retain them. Attrition continues to be high 35%. HR has to ensure that a proper career path is chalked out so that graduates increasingly see this area as a potential career for them. Clients in US, UK and other European Countries are very quality conscious and as increasingly complex jobs get outsourced, it becomes important that HR ensures right quality people are selected and the right quality of training is provided to them. This ensures that later they do not face embarrassing time from their clients. There has been enormous requirement in this sector for manpower and huge salaries are up for taking. The times are good for this industry, but one has to keep in mind that this industry is still in its way to figure out in the growth stage. One cannot predict the future so easily and the sour experience of software companies is still fresh in minds. So a little bit of caution is to be exercised in this matter and proper trends have to be forecast by the HR to ensure that they do not go the software way when ultimately the industry stabilizes. Attrition †¦ A major problem rocking the Industry. Some Facts to Ponder about†¦ * 95% companies in the industry have Attrition problems * The small-sized and medium-sized companies loose more people * Turnover rates are as high as 30% in some reputed BPOs and over all around 35% in the Industry. Employees move to smaller companies for exciting opportunities and greater identity and move to large companies for defined roles, clearer career paths and better HR systems. Loyalty towards their employer or towards the organization has slowly seems to have disappeared. Executives know that fast-moving markets require fast-moving organizations that are continually refreshed with new talent, and they have become quite adept to outside hiring. Even companies are quite comfortable with bringing in talent; they remain distinctly uncomfortable about seeing talent leave. The competition to headhunt employees with good performance ratings of other organizations is an open ploy. The mediators (so called Consultants) make this job easy for the organizations by gaining the data bases of employees and they lure the employees by offering huge pay packages finally making them to move from their job. One of the biggest assets of the BPO Industry is manpower. So, the biggest challenge in this industry is to attract and retain knowledgeable manpower. Today, BPO companies are facing a shortage of knowledge workers because the rate at which they lose employees is almost ouble the rate at which they hire. A major proportion of the turnover issue is attributed to the movement of manpower to the Companies who lure them by offering either better pay or higher designation. The average stay of an employee in bpo companies has dropped to one year. In such a scenario where companies are fighting to combat global business competition, and struggling to survive, employee turnover comes as a double blow. And the issue of managing employee separation often gets ignored. Just because a business is dependent on Communication skills, for instance, doesnt mean that it has to go to great lengths to retain its employees. If theres a large pool of people with good communication skills available, it might want to focus on recruitment rather than retention. Moreover, since new hires have lower salaries than long-term employees, the company is able to keep a lid on compensation levels. Cooperating with competitors is another way of dealing with retention. Because of the intensity of talent-war, companies instinctively view retention and recruitment as competitive exercises. But history shows that cooperation, even among competitors, can be one of the most effective ways of dealing with talent shortages. A New concept called Anti Poaching agreement between BPO organizations is on the Move. According to this agreement, the parties getting in to the agreement will share their employee databases with each other and so will restrain employees to shift in to each other companies. Lets hope that this works good for the BPOs. Frequent job-hopping of employees is not good for any one, neither for the company nor for the employee in terms of Growth.

Bill Levitt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bill Levitt - Essay Example Unquestionably, Bill Levitt, whose family had been in the custom home building business, envisioned how this atmosphere of new found prosperity and the lack of adequate housing in the overcrowded cities of the East could pave the way for mass production home construction that would forever change the landscape of America - Suburbia was born. Prior to the post-World War II era home ownership in urban America was primarily reserved for the affluent. Custom home building was the norm and the cost was prohibitive to many people. The vast majority of the urban population lived in cramped apartments and row houses and, for the majority, home ownership was only a dream. Levitt, however, seizing on his experience and knowledge of home building understood that through streamlining the building process and standardizing the home designs, he could mass produce homes affordable to the average family. Levitt, though, went a step further by creating massive housing developments on the outskirts of urban industrial cities which offered the prospect of middle class comforts at a price almost any young family could afford (Hales 1). Levitt did not stop with merely building affordable homes; He astutely created communities within these huge developments that offered the convenience of shopping, recreation, church and schools all designed and created within the developments. Levitt sold more than homes; he sold a new way of life complete with a sense of upward mobility and community to the burgeoning young families of the early 1950's. In order to mass produce affordable homes, Levitt drew on several different sources: the efficiency of assembly line production with interchangeable parts coupled with simplistic architectural designs the emphasized open floor plans and modern conveniences. "Levitt sacrificed individuality and custom design for low-cost efficiency" ('Building' 3). To accomplish this Levitt offered only a few models of home choices in each of his developments. Additionally to save on the cost of construction these single family homes were constructed on slab foundations instead of the traditional basement. He did not skimp on quality, however. All the homes constructed used quality products in the building process and the homes offered modern conveniences that appealed to his target audience of young families looking to own their own home on the outskirts of the urban hubs. A testament to Levitt and Sons Builders was the fact that "between 1950 and 1960, 20 million people were drawn to mass housing d evelopments on the outskirts of America's cities" ('Building' 1). To facilitate the low production costs of his homes, Levitt streamlined every facet of home construction. He assembled groups of workers that performed the same tasks over and over again moving from home to home within the development. One group would prepare the building site. One group would pour concrete. One group would rough frame. One group would apply siding. In short, each and every task had specific workers to complete each specific task. This ensured efficiency, speed, unsurpassed productivity and cost containment previously unheard of in the home building industry. Additionally, as there were limited home models constructed his company saved on material cost by purchasing in bulk. His building plans were so well designed

Marketing Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Marketing Management - Assignment Example theless, applying a simple but effective strategy before facing a competitor usually gives businesses first hand advantage even before the real battle starts From the story of the warrior and the lion, I have learned that victory is not always for the strongest. All that one needs is to spot a target, stand at a safe distance and make the attack. In relation to business and competition, we can say that it is not necessary that we use lots energy in fighting our competitors; in contrast, we should develop effective strategies that can help finish the competitors at only one strike. The only thing that marketer should ensure a better marketing strategy. Moreover, competition is important because it leads to improved quality product and better services. This is due to the fact that all the business will be competing to remain relevant and not to made exit. It also protects the public being manipulated with sole businesspersons who have selfish stakes. As a result, both the economy and the quality of product will continue to improve making business more` effective and efficient (Viardot 70). Conclusively, applying a simple but effective strategy before facing a competitor usually gives businesses first hand advantage even before the real battle starts. From the short story of the lion and the warrior, we can conclude that one does not need to apply a lot of energy but just use tactics that can paralyses competitor (Viardot 40). Therefore, for continued existence of a business, it must ensure that it develops effective strategies that can act as shortcuts and tam their

Essay --

Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (French pronunciation: ​[maÊ ki dÉ™ la fajÉ›t]; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), often known simply as Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer born in Chavaniac, in the province of Auvergne in south central France. Lafayette was a general in the American Revolutionary War and a leader of the Garde nationale during the French Revolution. In the American Revolution, Lafayette served as a major-general in the Continental Army under George Washington. Wounded during the Battle of Brandywine, he still managed to organize a successful retreat. He served with distinction in the Battle of Rhode Island. In the middle of the war, he returned to France to negotiate an increase in French support. On his return, he blocked troops led by Cornwallis at Yorktown while the armies of Washington and those sent by King Louis XVI under the command of General de Rochambeau, Admiral de Grasse, and Admiral de Latouche Trà ©ville prepared for battle against the British. Lafayette was the most important link between ...

Chef Satisfaction Essay

The findings showed that employees’ job satisfaction directly and positively influences organizational commitment, but does not directly influence job performance. Employees’ job satisfaction enhances job performance only through organizational commitment. Internal marketing, empowerment and leadership also positively influence job satisfaction. Empowerment and leadership enhance employees’ organizational commitment. Internal job stress negatively influences employees’ job satisfaction and external job stress enhances employees’ job performance. According to the findings, this paper realized the main factors which influence hospitality industry employees’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job performance, which can function as criteria for human resource management in the hospitality industry. Key words: Hospitality industry, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job performance.   With the change of the industrial structure in recent years, the output value of the service industry has become more than 70% of the GDP in most advanced countries (CIA, 2009). Thus, the service industry plays a significant role in national economic development. In 2008, as the world encountered a financial tsunami, the governments of different countries selected potential service industries and supported them with resources, in order to energize economic development. The hospitality industry is a typical service industry, and it is critical service industry around the world. In Taiwan, the scale of the hospitality industry has been increasing year by year. According to the Statistics Department, Ministry of Economic Affairs, in 2001 the business volume of the hospitality industry in Taiwan was NTD 261. 3 billion. In 2006 it passed NTD 300 billion and in 2009 it reached NTD 321. 7 billion. However, the hospitality industry refers to labor services and relies on manpower in areas such as production, delivery and restaurant service. Thus, the hospitality industry is mainly based on services. As mentioned in Bitner’s (1995) framework of the service marketing triangle, service providers play a critical role in the service industries. In service industry management, regarding the importance of employees, Heskett et al. (1994) proposed the framework of service profit chain. In the service profit chain, there are critical linkages among internal service *Corresponding author. E-mail: cccheng@mail. tcmt. edu. tw. Tel: +886-2-28102292 ext. 5009. Fax: +886-2-2810-6688. Tsai et al. 4119 quality, employee satisfaction/productivity, the value of services provided to the customer, customer satisfaction and company’s profits. This chain shows that internal service quality can enhance employee satisfaction, which will enhance employee productivity and further result in external service value and enhanced customer satisfaction. Finally, the company can make a profit (Zeithaml et al. , 2009). Therefore, satisfied employees make satisfied customers. Service personnel satisfaction significantly influences organizational commitment and job performance on customer satisfaction and corporate operational performance (Ladkin, 2002; Dunlap et al. , 1988; Tansuhaj et al. , 1988; Chowdhary, 2003; Yang and Chen, 2010). How to enhance service personnel satisfaction, organizational commitment and job performance is a critical issue in service industry management. In past research on employee satisfaction, organizational commitment and job performance, many scholars (Babin and Boles, 1998; Bernhardt et al. 2000; Van Scotter, 2000; Koys, 2003; Testa, 2001) have validated that employees’ job satisfaction positively influences job performance and organizational commitment. In studies on factors of employees’ job satisfaction, job performance and organizational commitment, the service profit chain proposed by Heskett et al. (1994) and service marketing management model indica ted by Tansuhaj et al. (1988) on overall service industry both demonstrated that management’s internal marketing activities produce job satisfaction and commitment to the organization. In addition, many studies have found close relationships between leadership, employee satisfaction, organizational commitment and job performance (Billingsley and Cross, 1992; Yammarino and Dubinsky, 1994; Burton et al. , 2002; Avolio et al. , 2004; Chen and Silverthorne, 2005). The above studies have mainly focused on the educational service industry, retail industry, manufacturing service industry, medical service industry and governmental institutions, but have not conducted indepth explorations on the hospitality service industry. Hopfl (1994) indicated that in the service delivery, firstline employees must be empowered to some degree in order to cope with customers’ special demands. Thus, job empowerment can be treated as important management to encourage first-line service personnel and immediately solve customers’ differential demands. Avolio et al. (2004), Caykoylu et al. (2007) and Chen et al. (2008) respectively conducted empirical studies on medical personnel and employees of the telecommunication industry, banking industry and postal industry, and found that empowerment positively influences employee satisfaction and organizational commitment. One issue worthy of further study is the extent of how empowerment positively influences hospitality industry employee satisfaction and organizational commitment. In addition, first-line employees face different customer demands and supervisor requirements, therefore job stress is a critical issue for them. Jamal (1990) and Jex (1998) suggested that reducing employees’ job stress could enhance employees’ job satisfaction and job performance. Williams and Cooper (2002) and Ouyang (2009) indicated that proper job stress would enhance employees’ job performance. In the hospitality industry, the influence of job stress from external customers and internal supervisors on employees’ job satisfaction and job performance is an issue worthy of further exploration. Based on the above, internal marketing, leadership, empowerment and job stress are possible factors of service industry employees’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job performance, and these factors are validated in various service industries. However, the outcomes in different service industries are not the same. For the hospitality industry, it is important to validate and analyze the influences of the above factors on employees’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job performance. Thus, this study intended to combine internal marketing, leadership, empowerment and job stress and proposed an integrated model of hospitality industry employees’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job performance. Hospitality industry employees in Taipei City were treated as the subjects, and the researcher probed into factors of hospitality industry employees’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment and job performance in order to function as criteria for management in the hospitality industry. LITERATURE REVIEW Job satisfaction The term â€Å"job satisfaction† was proposed by Hoppock (1935) who suggested that job satisfaction means employees’ emotions and attitude toward their jobs, and is their subjective reaction toward their jobs. The definition of job satisfaction is generalized into three categories: (1) Definition of generality: Job satisfaction refers to the affective reaction to one’s job as the most (Ozer and Gunluk, 2010). Job satisfaction, which is one of the most important necessities for an individual to be successful, happy and productive, is a feeling of satisfaction, that is, an outcome of the perception of what the job provides for an individual (Ay and Av aro lu, 2010); (2) Definition of difference: This refers to the degree of satisfaction and the difference between ndividual actual returns and required returns. For instance, Porter and Lawler (1968) suggested that the degree of satisfaction depends on the difference between a person’s actual returns and expected returns; (3) Definition of criterion framework: Peoples’ subjective perception and interpretation on objective traits of organizations or jobs would be influenced by individual criterion framework. According to Smith et al. (1969), job satisfaction is the outcome after a person interprets the job traits according 4120 Afr. J. Bus. Manage. o the criterion framework. The influence of certain work situations on job satisfaction is related to many factors, such as comparisons between good and bad jobs, comparisons with others, personal competency and past experience, etc. Job performance Kane and Lawler (1976) suggested that job performance refers to the record of the results when employees have practiced a job for a certain period of time. According to Schermerhorn (1989), job performance refers to the quality and quantity accomplished by individuals or groups after fulfilling a task. After a certain period of time, measurements of employees’ job performance could serve as criterion for promotions, wage adjustments, rewards, punishments and evaluations. Cascio (2006) suggested that managers must specifically define performance to allow the teams or employees to recognize the organizational expectations in order to fulfill the organizational goals. In other words, managers must set concrete goals, trace the fulfillment degree and evaluate the teams’ or employees’ performance. Van Scotter and Motowidlo (1996) suggested that employees with a high degree of job enthusiasm will demonstrate extra effort and devotion, and will actively seek out solutions to problems at work in order to enhance their job performance. Robbins (1998) divided the measurement of job performance into job result, job behavior and personal traits. Lee et al. (1999) divided job performance into efficiency, efficacy and quality. Efficiency refers to the employees’ output rate and is the ability to accomplish tasks before deadline. Efficacy refers to the employees’ goal accomplishment rate and proposals. Quality refers to the employees’ error rate and complaint rate, supervisor satisfaction, customer satisfaction and colleague satisfaction. This study suggested that in the application of this construct to measure hospitality industry employees’ job performance, efficiency should refer to the employees’ speed in customer service, efficacy should mean the accomplishment of tasks assigned by customers, and quality should mean the employees’ performance in customer service. As to measurement, Shore and Thornton (1986) indicated that self-evaluation allows individuals to participate in performance evaluation and serves as a criterion. Based on the above, according to the views of Lee et al. (1999), this study divided job performance into efficiency, efficacy and quality, and measured hospitality industry employees’ job performance using employee self-evaluation. Smith et al. (1969) proposed the Job Description Index (JDI) to measure job satisfaction, with the constructs including wage, promotion, job, supervisors and colleagues. Black and Gregersen (1997) found a positive correlation between job satisfaction and job performance. Organ (1990) suggested that when employees are satisfied with their work, they are willing to sacrifice themselves and devote to their organization. Organizational commitment From the perspective of attitude, Porter et al. (1974) indicated that organizational commitment is a person’s active and positive intention to identify with and internalize organizational goals and value. According to Reyes and Pounder (1990), organizational commitment is the strong belief and intention to identify with organizational value, devote to and stay with the organization. Mathews and Shepherd (2002) suggested that organizational commitment refers to workers’ attitude, behavior and connection between individuals and the organization. Guest (1995) indicated that organizational commitment is at the core of human resource management. It transforms traditional manpower management into the core of human resources. Organizational members’ attitude or intentions particularly indicate the importance of employees’ organizational commitment. Dee et al. (2006) suggested that organizational commitment is a person’s intention to devote to and be loyal to the organization. Lambert et al. (2006) suggested that organizational commitment is the structural phenomenon of trading between individuals and organizations. It increases with time, but it does not lead to a transferable investment outcome. Thus, in theoretical study and practical use, scholars have valued organizational commitment in human resource management. In recent years, many scholars have probed into organizational commitment from the view of Porter et al. (1974). Thus, this study also followed the above view and divided organizational commitment into value commitment, effort commitment and retention commitment. This study further treated these three constructs as criteria to measure hospitality industry employees’ organizational commitment. Definitions of these constructs are thus shown: (1) Value commitment: a strong belief and identification with organizational goals and values. 2) Effort commitment: the intention to devote more to the organization. (3) Retention commitment: a strong intention to continue being part of the organization. Internal marketing Internal Marketing (IM) is the process of handling staff as internal customers and projects as internal products that satisfy the needs and desires of the customers and adhere to the company’s goals (Berry and Parasuraman, 1991). Rafiq and Ahmed (1993) suggest that internal marketing involves â€Å"a planned effort to overcome organizational resistance to change and to align, motivate Tsai et al. 4121 nd integrate employees towards the effective implementation of corporate and functional strategies†. Joseph (1996) suggested that internal marketing is can be applied to marketing and human resource management, combining theoretical techniques and principles in order to encourage, recruit and manage all employees in the organization and constantly improve external customer service and mutual services. In addition, Ahmed et al. (2003) defined internal marketing as the emp loyees’ evaluation of the reward system, internal communication, training and development of the company. Internal marketing empirical research in the service sector has proven that internal marketing has influenced on internal customers (that is, employees) satisfactions. Berry and Parasuraman (1991) suggested that the advantages of internal marketing implementation in organizations are as follows: (1) To acquire and keep excellent talent; (2) to provide a common vision so that employees have job purpose and meaning; (3) to give employees the ability and knowledge to accomplish the work; (4) to encourage employees to share the results of teamwork; (5) to create job designs be based on the findings of marketing studies. The aforementioned views reveal that corporate implementation of internal marketing allows employees to enhance service quality, which increases the production and profits of the companies. The implementation of internal marketing in the organizations results in an internal service culture, raises service consciousness and increases profits (Parasuraman et al. , 1985). Based on the views of these scholars, internal marketing is critical for organizations and influences external marketing to further enhance customer satisfaction. According to the these definitions and based on the views of Rafiq and Ahmed (1993) and Ahmed et al. (2003), this study treated employee evaluations of reward systems, internal communication, and training and development of companies as criterion for measuring internal marketing of the hospitality industry. Leadership Leadership refers the process of influencing the team to accomplish the goals (Robbins and Coulter, 2005). Leaders are key success factors of an organization (Bass, 1985; Daft, 2002). Skillful leaders recognize and use the interpersonal relationships of the team and strengthen the members’ loyalty and morale. Effective leaders must learn skills such as patiently sharing information, trusting others and recognizing the timing of interventions (Steckler and Fondas, 1995). In recent years, numerous scholars have tried to discuss leadership from new perspectives. New studies of leadership theory have particularly stressed the influences of demands between leaders and subordinates, the interaction of personality traits and situational factors on leadership (Bargal and Schmid, 1989). Corporate leaders must select a proper leadership according to their subordinates’ different demands for supervision, in order to enhance employee satisfaction and fulfill expected goals. Bass and Avolio (1997) divided leadership into transformational leadership and transactional leadership. In transformational leadership, subordinates trust, respect and are loyal to their leaders. Leaders can develop their subordinates’ potential and enhance their confidence by changing their values and beliefs in order to increase their organizational commitment, intention and motivation to create exceptional outcomes. Transformational leadership can be divided into ideal traits, ideal behavior, the encouragement of inspiration, and the stimulation of wisdom and individual care. In addition, transactional leadership means leaders and members remain in the process of negotiation and mutual benefit instead of a persistent one-purpose relationship. Social exchange theory is treated as the theoretical base. When subordinates act according to their leaders’ expectations, they will have returns with a specific value. Transactional leadership can be divided into contingent rewards, and active and passive exceptional management. Most quantitative studies on leadership have created questionnaires using the MLQ scale designed by Bass and Avolio (1997). The MLQ scale includes two constructs (transformational leadership and transactional leadership). This study also designed a leadership questionnaire for the hospitality industry according to the MLQ scale. Empowerment Empowerment signals a transition away from traditional development that confined people’s role to that of passive recipients, effectively rendering them dependent on handouts in the form of foreign aid (O’Gorman, 1995). Bowen and Lawler III (1992) define empowerment as sharing with frontline employees four organizational ingredients: (1) Information about the organization’s performance; (2) rewards based on the organization’s performance; (3) knowledge about contributing to organizational performance; (4) power to make decisions that influence organizational direction and performance. Murat and Thomas (2003) suggested that empowerment does not simply refer to telling employees that they are empowered, but aims to allow the employees to recognize what power has been authorized. Boudrias et al. (2004) suggested that in managerial circles, empowerment application includes two types: (1) Empowering the responsibility of decision-making to subordinates while emphasizing rich work environments 4122 Afr. J. Bus. Manage. and diverse authority, information, resources and support, and providing the opportunity to learn in order to improve performance; (2) psychological empowerment, which refers to employees’ experiences of empowerment that are inferred as a mediating variable of empowerment and expected results. According to Sherman (1996), empowerment acknowledges that employees have the power to change in order to encourage employees to increase their competency. Kanter (1993) suggested that empowerment can keep employees from feeling helpless. Organizations could thus reduce negative effects such as low morale. The most significant effect of empowerment is to enhance employees’ abilities and self-efficacy (Conger and Kanungo, 1988). Bowen and Lawler III (1992) suggested the advantages of empowerment for organizations below: (1) To rapidly respond to customer demands and questions; (2) a high degree of employees’ job satisfaction; (3) positive interactions with consumers; (4) employees with creative thoughts; (5) the creation of loyal customers. About the definition of psychological empowerment, Spreitzer (1995) defines this concept as the psychological state that employees must experience for managerial empowerment interventions to be successful.

Developing A Safe And Healthy Environment - 1471 Words

Each child deserves to have the opportunity of growing in a safe and healthy environment. Our province’s dream is to become a global leader in achieving academic abilities in all four domains such as social-emotional, physical, language and cognitive development in each child (Early Learning for, 2007, p. 3). In November 2004, the Ontario administration created a great plan called the â€Å"Early Learning for Every Child Today† (ELECT). By launching this plan, Ontario fulfilled its dream. In addition, the ELECT document contains comprehensive and rich sources of information that enhances, rather than modifies, planned curriculum in all Ontario’s care centers operating under the Day Nurseries Act. As long as early childhood professionals working in early childhood settings use the ELECT, this document will constantly improve the quality care, and at the same time, highlight a range of growing abilities and common vocabulary that will sustain early childhood profe ssionals as they work together in early childhood settings (p. 3). Furthermore, organized into five sections, ELECT is a useful document that envisioned leading professionals in early childhood settings. The first section represents the Statement of Principles that is founded on beliefs, standards, practice and present research proof (p. 5). There are six principles acknowledging that families, communities and cultures embrace clear values about how small children should familiarize themselves within their surroundings.Show MoreRelatedEating Food Policy Regulations And Food Choices1256 Words   |  6 PagesEvery time human beings pursue new ways to feed themselves, there are some concerns in different areas. 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