Reseach Report

Internal Communication in [pic] Improving the internal communication within the Eurest division in Holland Casino Utrecht Student:Saskia Roose Studentnr. : 20022355 Supervisor: Mr. B. Van der Sluijs Date:June 2009 The Hague School of European Studies Executive Summary A recent employees satisfaction audit, showed that the employees of Eurest in Holland Casino Utrecht were very dissatisfied about ‘communication’. Though, when I asked them they could not describe the exact problem and if I would ask what needed to change for them in order to improve the communication they did not know.The goal of this thesis is to improve and optimize the internal communication for Compass in Holland Casino Utrecht by finding out what the needs of the employees are in regard to the internal communication. The central question is: ‘How can the internal communication of Compass Group in Holland Casino Utrecht be improved in order to fulfill the needs and expectations of its employees? ’ Research methods that are used are desk research, a group discussion with employees, interviews with floor managers and supervisors and an internal ommunication survey. The research starts with evaluating the current internal communication situation. Views on the situation from both employees as management are taken into consideration. The communication survey is used to provide insight on the needs and expectations from the employees concerning the internal communication. At the end recommendations on improving the current communication means is given and a new communication structure is composed. Conclusions from the research are: The currently used communication means are not sufficient for providing information to all employees – More attention needs to be paid to the bottom-up communication (meetings and performance reviews) – Communication between the management team needs to be improved – Employees need more types of information Table of contents Introduction 1 Motive to do the research 1 Research goal 1 Central question 2 Sub questions 2 Justification of research methods 2 Organization of thesis 3 1. Theory 4 1. 1 Internal communication 4 1. 2 Functions 4 1. 3 Types of information 5 1. 4 Communication flows 5 1. 5 Communication means 6 . Company profile 8 2. 1 Compass Group 8 2. 2 Eurest in Holland Casino Utrecht 8 2. 3 Organizational Structure 9 2. 4 Employees 9 2. 5 Leadership Style10 2. 6 Organizational culture10 2. 7 Problem11 3. Internal Communication Situation Analyses13 3. 1 Internal Communication13 3. 2 Interviews Floor Managers and Supervisors16 3. 2. 1 Floor managers16 3. 2. 2 Supervisors17 3. 3 Audit results18 3. 3. 1 Overall satisfaction18 3. 3. 2 Information need18 3. 3. 3 Communication means19 3. 3. 4 Meetings21 3. 3. 5 Performance reviews22 3. 3. 6 Contact with manager22 4. Conclusions23 5. Recommendations27 List of References32 Appendices33Introduction â€Å"The single biggest problem in communication is t he illusion that it has taken place. † George Bernard Shaw Motive to do the research Next to my study at HEBO, I have been working as a waitress for Compass Group in Holland Casino Utrecht for more than 4 years. After the latest employee satisfaction survey (appendix X) concluded that one of the things my colleagues were most dissatisfied about was ‘communication’, I was curious to find out what was wrong. I often had heard complaints about not getting information, but when I asked specifically what they thought the problem was, nobody really had an answer.I decided that this was a good subject to do my thesis about. Why were the employees so dissatisfied with the internal communication and what could be done about it? I asked the location manager if they had an internal communication plan, which they had not. I explained to him that I had to write a communication plan to finish my studies at HEBO. As I referred to the bad score communication made on the last empl oyee satisfaction research and the signals that I had picked up from my co-workers, he agreed that it would be a good idea to make an analyses of the communication structure.Research goal The goal of this thesis is to find out what the bottlenecks in the communications flows are in order to improve and optimize the internal communication for Eurest in Holland Casino Utrecht, to provide a clear view on the effectiveness of the communication means that are being used and to find out what the needs of the employees are in regard to the internal communication. With my recommendations I hope to contribute to a positive change in the internal communication, so that the employees feel better informed and will be more involved in the organization.Central question ‘How can the internal communication of Compass Group in Holland Casino Utrecht be improved in order to fulfill the needs and expectations of its employees? ’ Sub questions †¢ What is the current internal communica tion situation? †¢ Which communication means are being used and how effective are they? †¢ What are the bottlenecks in the current internal communication? †¢ What is the information need of the employees? †¢ How would the employees like to receive information? †¢ How can the current communication means be made more effective? What can be done to improve the internal communication structure within the Eurest department in Holland Casino Utrecht? Justification of research methods To find an answer to the central question, I used several research methods: a literature study, desk research, a group discussion, interviews and a survey. Next to that working in the casino myself already gave me a good view on the situation. Informal talks with my colleagues were also a great source of information, they gave me insight in the perspective of the employees as well as the management team.The literature study is based upon several books and articles that provided inform ation about the importance of internal communication in organizations. As there was no internal communication plan present, I wanted to stress the importance of internal communication, its functions and goals. The theory illustrates what kind of information employees need in an organization and which means can be used to distribute this information and apply this to the situation in the Compass department in Holland Casino Utrecht.Subsequently desk research uncovered the current internal communication structure and the communication and deliberation means which are being used. A group discussion helped me to get a better insight on how the employees viewed the problem. With a small group of employees I discussed their information need and effectiveness of the current communication with the management. I asked the where they thought lied the problem and what should change to improve the effectiveness of the communication? The interviews with the floor managers and supervisors had the same purpose: providing insight on how the management looked at the problem.Did they even think there was a problem and what was going wrong if there was? I asked the same questions to both groups, employees and managers, so I could easily find similarities and differences. The results of the discussion group and interviews with floor managers and supervisors were the basis of questionnaire which all employees could fill in. Transcripts of the discussion group and interviews can be found in appendices I – VII. To conduct the survey I made a questionnaire. It contains mainly closed questions with the opportunity to give comments. It consisted of five different parts: General information – Information need – Communication means (written communication means) – Deliberation forms (verbal communication means) – Personal information As employees do not use a computer at work, it was more effective to let them fill in the questionnaire by hand. The quest ionnaire can be found in appendix VIII. 36 of the 55 employees returned the survey. This brings the response of the questionnaire to over 65%. Unfortunately, a great number of employees did not want to fill in yet another questionnaire or were just too busy with their work.The results of the survey can be found in appendix IX. Organization of thesis The first chapter provides a theoretical framework for finding an answer to the central question. In the second chapter the company is introduced and a more in-depth description of the problem is given. The third chapter gives an overview of the current internal communication situation, based on desk research and interviews with the floor managers and supervisors followed by the results of the communication survey. The fourth chapter contains the conclusions, followed by recommendations in chapter 5. 1.Theory To obtain an answer to the central question of this thesis it is important to understand what internal communication is. In this c hapter the importance of internal communication and its functions are explained. Subsequently a description is given of the types of information employees need to be able to function in an organization. After that an overview of the components (communication flows and means) that are necessary to ensure effective communication are described at the end of the chapter. 1. 1 Internal communication Koeleman (2008) describes internal communication as: the intentional production of messages that can be received and interpreted. This process takes place within an organization in an informational and relational context that shapes the significance of messages? Internal communication is vital if an organization is to function properly: cooperation assumes exchange of information; motivation is an important factor to achieve quality and can be improved by communication; processes of change cannot do without communicative support. (Vos & Schoemacher, 2001, p. 81) To ensure effective internal c ommunications it is important to have a clear, concise and consistent communication structure.The internal communication structure is the whole of deliberation forms, channels (flows) and (digital) means that are available within an organization along which information exchange and dialogue can take place. (Koeleman,2008, p. 5) 1. 2 Functions Internal communication has 4 main functions. Koeleman (2008) describes them as: 1. ) to facilitate work processes (task information): information about what to do and how to do it; 2. ) to motivate and create commitment amongst employees; 3. ) to aim the organization and to intensify the identification (policy information): information about the joint goals and course of the organization. 4. to optimize the use of knowledge available in the organization (knowledge management): the creation of a work environment where everyone is stimulated to handle and share knowledge; (p. 19) 1. 3 Types of information To be able to function within an organiza tion, employees need certain types of information. It is important to make the distinction between different types of information. Task information is all the information that supports the primary process in the organization. Employees need to cooperate in order to perform their work properly. For example work instructions, working procedures, problems with machines or materials etc. Policy information is information about policies and organization, in which direction is the company going and why? For example a new mission of the organization, reorganization, new projects etc. ; Management information is information about the progress the company is making. For example results, figures and customer satisfaction etc. ; Social information is Information about the social policy and personnel information. For example house rules, new and leaving employees, information about pensions etc. (Reijnders, 2006, p. 126) 1. 4 Communication flows All the information that is send out in an organi zation flows in different directions.Figure 1. gives o good overview (Koeleman, 2008, p. 26) Vertical communication is communication between superiors and employees from different hierarchical levels. This can be top-down, from superior to employee, as well as bottom-up, from employee to superior. Horizontal communication is communication between people that work on the same level in the organization, like meetings or discussions. Diagonal communication takes place between employees who work on a different level and on a different department. Line communication is the communication along the hierarchical lines in the organization.The upper management provides the middle management information that they need to pass on to the operational staff. With parallel communication information can directly be send to all employees from a central point in the organization, so that everyone receives the same information. Meetings or internal magazines are means that can be used with parallel com munication. Formal communication is communication through the formal communication network, This could be a meeting or a memo, but it always contains official information. Informal communication is the social contact that employees have outside the formal network.Informal communication cannot be controlled, but is an important part of the total communication. 1. 5 Communication means Organizations can use various communication means to send information to members of the organization. Choosing the right instrument to transport messages is important to achieve the objectives that have been set. Usually, organizations use a combination of communication instruments, so that a communication mix exits. We can distinguish three categories of internal communication instruments: 1. ) Verbal ( group discussion, conversation, performance review, staff meeting, kick-off meeting, brainstorm session) 2. Written ( newsletter, memo, internal magazine, notice board, poster, year report) 3. ) Digital & audiovisual ( intranet, e-mail, weblogs, podcasts) Personal (verbal) communication is the most effective form of communication. (Koeleman,2008, p. 26) It gives the people involved the opportunity to give direct feedback to what the other person is saying. Employees frequently prefer personal over non personal information. Even though as effective personal communication might be, organizations often choose written and digital communication means (non personal communication) to get information to their personnel.The advantages are that a larger group of people can be reached in the same time and that the information can be read again. It is cheaper and it takes less time than personal information, but there is no space to give feedback and the sender can never be certain if everyone really received and read the information. 2. Company profile In this chapter, a brief description of the parent company is given. Subsequently the Eurest division is presented and more in-depth descript ion of the communication problem is given. 2. 1 Compass GroupCompass Group is a world(wide) market leader that provides food and a range of support services for over 5 million customers every day. In the Netherlands Compass Group is known by the brand names Eurest and Medirest. Both are specialized in foodservices. Eurest provides food and catering services to a wide range of companies from schools to prisons and from theme parks to big events. Medirest offers her services to companies in the social service sector (http://www. compass-group. nl/over-ons/). 2. 2 Eurest in Holland Casino Utrecht Eurest provides their service to three of the fourteen establishments of Holland Casino.They focus on all the food and beverage activities within these casino’s. One of the establishments is Holland Casino Utrecht where Eurest set up their own vision and values. Eurest Horeca / Holland Casino Utrecht’s vision: ‘To exceed the expectations of the guests of the casino with our products and services, every day again. ’ This mission is propagated by the values the location manager has set up: †¢ Teamwork †¢ Observing procedures †¢ Fun †¢ Eye for detail †¢ Transparency †¢ Integrity The management team added: †¢ Keep your promise †¢ Mention the positive, not only the negative †¢ Openness †¢ Understanding †¢ Acceptance Commerciality 2. 3 Organizational Structure [pic] Fig. 2. Organizational chart 2. 4 Employees The Eurest division in Holland Casino Utrecht currently employs over 80 employees. This includes the kitchen and waiting staff and the employees from the company restaurant. The chef (kitchen manager) is the manager of the kitchen, the dishwashing and the company restaurant. Furthermore, five floor managers have their own unit which they are responsible for. These units are the bars inside the casino. All together there are seven bars in the casino. Every unit has a supervisor, who is respon sible for the functioning of the unit.This thesis will further only discuss the internal communication between the waiting staff and the management team because this group indicates to have the most problems concerning communication. 2. 5 Leadership Style The management style is best described as a persuading style, which is characterized by a lot of support and control (Vos & Schoemacher, 2001, p. 93). Floor managers focus on the performance of tasks, but are also very human orientated. Every floor manager, as well as the location manager, uses the leadership style ‘management by walking around ’ (Vos & Schoemacher, 2001, p. 94).By walking around on the work floor they keep in contact with the employees. It gives them a clear view on what is happening inside the casino and it gives the employees the opportunity to give feedback or ask questions. 2. 6 Organizational culture Erik Rijnders (2008) describes organizational culture as follows: ‘Organizational culture i s comprised of the norms and values of an organization, the way that the members of the organization interact with each other, with assignments and tasks, with their superiors and subordinates, with external developments and with developments in time’ (p. 7). Eurest employees are bound to strict rules and regulations in respect of working procedures, handling money and interaction with casino guests. The casino expects great service for its guests. Therefore observing procedures, eye for detail and commerciality are some of the most important values of Eurest. An interesting part of the culture is that though the employees work for Eurest, they seem to have more affinity with Holland Casino. If you would ask employees where they work, almost everyone will say ‘at Holland Casino’ instead of ‘at Compass Group’.Even though working procedures are very formal, the interaction between co-workers and floor managers is very informal. Eurest observes an open communication culture where everyone can speak their mind. As seen in the values of the organization, openness is encouraged and employees will address a colleague or floor manager when a problem occurs. 2. 7 Problem In the last employee satisfaction survey ‘communication’ scored below average. It was one of the points that the employees were the most discontented about. Some remarks that were made by employees: – ‘Communication for part timers needs to be improved.When you cannot attend the briefing, because you start at a different time, you miss out on important information’ – ‘Employees do not feel taken serious’ – ‘I feel badly informed’ – ‘I don’t get feedback to my questions’ The employee satisfaction survey can be found in appendix X. In personal conversations with employees I asked them they thought what was wrong with the communication. Some of the answers were: – â⠂¬ËœManagers do not listen. ’ – ‘If I ask a question, I never get an answer. ’ – ‘If I cannot attend the briefing, I do not get the information’ – ‘They never tell me anything around here’These statements show that there are problems in the internal communication. One of the difficulties in the casino is that because the casino is open from 12 in the afternoon until 3 in the morning, employees and managers work in shifts that start on different times during the day. Because of the different shifts, it frequently happens that employees and/or floor managers do not see each other for a few days, which obstructs the communication. An often heard complaint is that floor managers forget to give feedback on questions and that employees do not feel taken serious.They feel unmotivated and uncommitted, which this results in a high turnover. Another problem is that information does not reach every employee. When employees are not present at the briefing they miss out on the information that is provided and memo’s are often not read. Employees declare that they frequently do not know about new information. The management team also seems to have a problem in their communication. One of the conclusions from the satisfaction survey is that the management team itself is not well informed. Managers send out different and confusing messages as not every manager is up to date.What is making it difficult for the management team is that there is no communication plan and there are no objectives. Furthermore there has never been any research done after the effectiveness of the communication means that are currently in use or to the information need of the employees. So far four main communication bottlenecks can be identified: – There is no internal communication policy – Shift work makes communication difficult – Information does not get through to all employees – Management team itself has trouble with communication 3. Internal Communication Situation AnalysesThis chapter will discuss the current internal communication in the Eurest department in Holland Casino Utrecht. First the communication system and the means that are used will be illustrated. After that the floor managers and supervisors perspectives will be discussed in reference to the interviews. Subsequently, the results from the internal communication audit will be given. 3. 1 Internal Communication Because Eurest is only a small division of Compass Group it does not have its own communication department. The management team arranges all communication to the employees itself.There is no communication policy, but a mix of tools is used to send information. If you want the internal communication to function well, you need to have a clear basic structure. Employees and managers have to be familiar with the channels and methods of this basic structure. The basic package is used to send out different types of information that employees need. It has to be suitable for top-down-, bottom-up-, horizontal and diagonal communication (Koeleman, 2008, p. 95). To analyze the basic internal communication structure I used a media/content matrix (fig. ) (Koeleman, 2008, p 97). This matrix gives a clear overview of the communication means that are used, the type of information that is send, the sender of the message and the frequency. The data in the matrix are based on desk research, interviews with floor managers and the answers of the discussion meeting. The briefing and memo’s are the most important communication instruments. In the briefing floor managers provide mainly task information for the night or day ahead, but policy and social information is also given during these briefings.Briefings are moments when there is personal contact with the floor manager (top-down) and for employees there is the opportunity to ask questions or make comments (bottom-up). The problem with the briefing is that during the day employees start at different shifts, but only the employees that start at 12:00h and 19:00h can attend the briefings. Briefing reports were used before to give employees that start at other times the possibility to read the briefing information. Though the management has stopped handing out these reports because they thought the employees were not interested.In addition there were problems with the distribution of the reports to the units as employees frequently forgot to take them with them to their unit. Unfortunately now a large part of the employees misses important information. Memo’s are used to send out policy and social information. Sometimes they are used to provide task information as well. There are several places that are used by the management to place a memo. In most cases a memo is put on the folder in every unit. Supervisors also use the folder to place memo’s about specific information about the unit that is ot relevant to members of other units. Other places are the pigeon holes of the employees and the notice board in the kitchen. A problem with memo’s is that employees are often not aware that there is a new memo. Holland Casino Utrecht and Compass both publish internal magazines every two and three months. Though in personal conversations with employees and even floor managers, I found that the Compass magazine (‘Dienblad’) is thrown away without reading it because the information is not relevant to the Eurest employees in the casino. Om de Tafel’ (Internal magazine HC Utrecht) is being read, but as it is primarily made for casino employees, it contains more information about the casino than about Eurest. Meetings should be held four times a year. They create involvement and are important to motivate employees. Meetings are the only moments that the unit teams are complete and problems can be discussed with the whole team. Unfortunately, not every unit meets four time s a year. It is remarkable that in these times Eurest uses only one digital communication means, e-mail, and that it is only used to send work schedules to the employees.Furthermore I noticed that there are no parallel communication means. This means that there is no way of directly sending information to all employees. Management is dependent on spreading information by memo’s and briefings, which do not reach all employees. 3. 2 Interviews Floor Managers and Supervisors To get a complete view and to hear about the managements point of view on the situation I conducted interviews with the floor managers and two of the deputy managers. Not only the communication between management and employees was discussed, but also the communication between the management team itself. . 2. 1 Floor managers Floor managers admit they are not aware of the information need of the employees. They feel they provide information, but notice that a lot of information does not get through to all emp loyees. They claim that different work schedules and shifts work against effective communication, but also think that employees are sometimes just not interested in new information. Another point that comes back in almost every interview are the briefings. The floor managers are aware that the information that is given in the briefing, is only available for the employees that start on that time.They point out that the briefings do not have a fixed format. Most of the briefing information is task information about the day before and the night or day ahead. But the briefings are also used to provide information about casino activities for guests, policy and social information and important information about changes in working procedures. This information is frequently not repeated in following briefings during the week and briefing reports are not handed out because of the lack of interest from employees. The result is that important information is missed by a large group of the emplo yees.The contact between the employees and floor managers is perceived as good by all floor managers. They all frequently walk around on the work floor, which gives them the opportunity talk with employees and to discuss problems or ask questions and vice versa. In spite of the good contact between management and employees, the floor managers acknowledge that questions from employees frequently remain unanswered. Another problem that comes up in every interview are the communication problems between the management team.Because of the different shifts the floor managers team is seldom complete. The management team meets once a month, but these meetings are not structured and are often used as an outlet, which makes it difficult to come to agreements and make decisions. Most of the communication takes place by e-mail and daily reports. Due to the lack of joint deliberation, floor managers take actions without informing their other colleagues, which causes frequent miscommunication. Tw o floor managers point out that there is a lack of control.Control from the floor managers and supervisors on employees and work procedures, but also the lack of control and coaching from the location manager on the management team. Results are that without control or evaluation moments new rules or procedures lose vigor and the situation turns back to how it was before. ‘Maintenance’ and ‘making it important’ are often heard terms, but are rarely observed. The floor managers indicate that they have a very work load. Not only do they have to make new policy, they also have to implement, carry out, control and evaluate it.Without well structured communication it is difficult to inform the whole team about changes and as there is always someone who cannot attend the discussion it is difficult to get support from the whole team. Because of this every floor manager seems to have his or her own objectives that are important to them, which causes confusion amongs t the employees. They all agree that they miss someone at the back office that makes and supervises the policy, so they can focus on operational tasks. 3. 2. 2 SupervisorsBoth supervisors indicate that the employees do not get enough information. Supervisors receive information by e-mail, but as normal employees do not have a casino e-mail account they do not get this information. The communication means that are currently being used are working sufficiently, but especially in case of the briefings there should be done more to distribute the information to every unit. One of the supervisors points out that there is no communication means that reaches all employees in the same time.They claim that the contact between the management and employees is going well. Though both floor managers and supervisors should be pay more attention to answering questions. It now frequently happens that someone forgets to get back on a question. In this way needed information gets stuck somewhere along the hierarchical line. To the question of what should change to improve communication they point out that the management should show more discipline in communication towards the employees. Furthermore communication between the supervisors has to be improved.At the moment there is no team spirit or mutual support. As there are several new supervisors the team has to be rebuilt. In this process they need more coaching from the floor managers. 3. 3 Audit results As the survey was divided in different parts, I will separately discuss the outcome of each subject. 3. 3. 1 Overall satisfaction I started the survey with questions about the overall satisfaction with the communication. A previous employee satisfaction survey from Sjors Vreeswijk showed that communication was one of the points employees were most dissatisfied about.Based on the answers given in the discussion group, I asked questions about the information provision. It drew my attention that 58,3% of the employees is satisfie d with the information they get about their daily tasks and 50% knows where to find the information they need, but over 40% of the employees indicated that they do not always receive the information they need to perform their tasks. Over 36% of the employees are not always up to date about new information and only 22,2% claims they are. Furthermore the figures show a lack of information about Holland Casino and Compass. 8,9% of the respondents did not think they receive enough information about the two organizations, while both companies distribute internal magazines every three months. Positive is that the majority of the respondents feels that there is an open communication culture and that their opinion is being heard. 3. 3. 2 Information need In the interviews with the floor managers, I found that it was not clear to them what the information need of the employees was. The type of information that is send most is task information.I made a list providing topics of all types of in formation that could or could not be relevant to the employees and asked how important it was for the employees to receive information about these topics. The information that is considered very important to the employees are customer satisfaction results (63,9%) and professional knowledge about food beverages (55,6%). This is not surprising as these topics are dealt with every day and customer satisfaction are the results of the employees’ work. Information about training or education possibilities (47,2%) and new colleagues are also considered very important.It is remarkable that 25% of the employees finds information about Compass Group important and an equal 25% finds it unimportant. 33% does not have an opinion about it. Also in their opinion about the importance of information about results from Compass group the employees are divided: 30,6% finds it important information, 30,6% does not find it important or unimportant and 25% finds it unimportant information. Informat ion about the vision and goals (44,4%) and about the results of Eurest in Holland Casino Utrecht (47,2%) are considered as important information that employees would like to receive. 3. 3. 3 Communication meansTo establish the effectiveness of the current written communication means, I asked the employees whether it was important to them to attend the briefings. 36,1% agreed very much with this statement and 44,4% also agreed that the briefings were important. 41,7% thinks that the briefings provide sufficient information for them. Over 40% (11,1 + 36,1%) agrees that the information given in the briefing is important to carry out their daily tasks. It caught my attention that almost 40% does not read the briefing report when they cannot attend the briefing, but over 50% indicates that they read it when it is present.I asked some employees how these numbers were possible. The answer was that the briefing reports often were not handed out by the floor managers or that colleagues who d id attend the briefing did not bring it with them to their units. The numbers show that employees think that the internal magazines do not provide relevant information for them. Only 5,6% agrees that the Compass magazine has relevant information against 19,4% for the Holland Casino magazine. 36,1% even totally disagrees with the presence of relevant information in the Compass magazine.Even though 61% of the employees agrees that memo’s provide sufficient information, 36,1% does not. The motivation that employees give to their negative answer shows that employees often do not get to read new memo’s. Some do not know where to find them and some give as a reason that they just do not know that there is a new memo. Another important question is how employees would like to receive information. I asked them what would be the most effective communication means for receiving information about certain subjects. Because the ommunication means that are currently used are limited, I added communication means that could be good alternatives. In the next figure you can see the most chosen communication means per information topic. I highlighted the briefing and memo in red, the internal magazine and newsletter green, e-mail is blue and presentation is orange. | | |3. Welk communicatiemiddel zou voor jou het meest effectief werken m. b. t. het verkrijgen van informatie over de volgende | |onderwerpen? |Informatie over†¦ Communicatiemiddel % | |Dagelijkse werkzaamheden |Briefing |86. 1% | | |Memo |30. 6% | |Nieuw beleid, procedures en regels |Memo |66. 7% | | |Briefing |63. % | | |E-mail |33. 3% | |Compass Group |Personeelsblad |38. 1% | | |Nieuwsbrief |36. 1% | |Resultaten van het bedrijf (Compass) |Personeelsblad |38. 9% | | |Nieuwsbrief |36. % | |Resultaten van ons bedrijfsonderdeel (Compass in HC Utrecht) |Nieuwsbrief |44. 4% | | |Presentatie |38. 9% | |Visie en doelstellingen Compass |Presentatie |52. 8% | | |Nieuwsbrief |27. 8% | |Vakkennis m. b. t. dranken en gerechten | | | |Workshop/Cursus |86. 1% | |Klanttevredenheid (Mysterie visits) |Memo |66. 7% | | |Briefing |47. 2% | |HACCP Checks |Memo |61. % | | |Briefing |36. 1% | |Acties en activiteiten in het casino |Briefing |50. 0% | | |Memo |50. 0% | | |E-mail |41. 7% | | |Nieuwsbrief |36. % | |Holland Casino Utrecht |Personeelsblad |47. 2% | | |Nieuwsbrief |33. 3% | |Resultaten van het Holland Casino |Personeelsblad |47. 2% | | |Nieuwsbrief |30. 6% | | |Presentatie |27. % | |Opleidingsmogelijkheden |E-mail |47. 2% | | |Memo |38. 9% | | |Nieuwsbrief |36. 1% | |Nieuwe collega’s |Briefing |86. 1% | |Persoonlijke info zoals verjaardagen, geboortes etc. |Personeelsblad |47. % | | |Nieuwsbrief |36. 1% | | |E-mail |50. 0% | | |Memo |44. 4% | |Vacatures |Nieuwsbrief |38. 9% | In figure 4 you can see that employees prefer to receive information that is of direct influence on their day to day activities, in briefings or in a memo.Also information about customer satisfaction and cleaning checks is preferred to be received in a memo or in the briefing. The largest part of the employees would like to obtain information about Compass Group and Holland Casino (results and other information) in a newsletter or an internal magazine. Though they would like to see the results of the Eurest department and the vision and goals in a presentation. It was surprising to me that the employees did not seem to be very interested in using new communication means.E-mail is mentioned as a communication means in four of the given topics, concerning new policies, procedures and rules, activities in the casino, training possibilities and vacancies. The newsletter is also a communication means that is not currently used, but would be the means of choice on several topics. 3. 3. 4 Meetings Meetings are an important part of internal communication. It gives employees the possibility to discuss problems they encountered during their work and it increases cooperation and involvement i n the organization.Especially in the Eurest teams, it is one of the few moments a year that the teams are fully complete and are able to have discussions with the whole team present. It is not surprising that 77,7% of the employees thinks that regular meetings are important. In the Eurest department in HC Utrecht, four meetings a year are the standard, though the frequency tends to differ from this standard. Only 13,9% of the employees indicates that their team has four meetings a year. Over 60% of the employees meets less than four times a year. 63,9% of the employees feels that their unit does not meet enough (fig. 5). [pic] 3. 3. 5 Performance reviewsEmployees from Eurest get a performance review once year. 44% of the questioned employees replied that this was true. Though the many replies on whether the employees were satisfied with their performance reviews, shows that there are some points for improvement. Most of the respondents that replied they never had a performance revie w are part-time employees that work for Eurest for over a year and full-timers who work for the organization for less than a year. The 25 percent of the employees that claim they do not get a performance review every year are mainly full-timers who have been working for Eurest for over a year.This tells me management has to better hold track who has to have a performance review. These personal contact moments with the manager that gives an employee motivation to improve their work and the opportunity to ask questions about their personal development. Temporary employees do not get their performance reviews from Eurest, but from the employment agency they work for. 3. 3. 6 Contact with manager 52,8% of the respondents claims to be satisfied with the support their manager gives them. Though frequent heard complaints are that the manager is often not present on the work floor or just not available.In addition to this, questions frequently remain unanswered, which causes discontent amon gst the employees. 4. Conclusions In this chapter I will draw conclusions from the desk research, interviews with the floor managers and audit results in combination with the theory described in chapter 1. Subsequently I will give recommendations which will be realistic and feasible, so that they can be integrated in the organization. 1. Information provision Do the different media provide sufficient information?When we look at the media/content matrix on page 15 we can conclude that most of the communication means are used to send task information. The internal magazines also provide other types of information, but the employees indicate that the specific information about Compass Group and Holland Casino does not apply to them. The briefings and memo’s also provide policy and social information. The problem with the briefings is that not every employee can attend the briefings and the information cannot be found somewhere else. Briefing reports are a solution to informing t he employees who cannot attend the briefing.Employees indicate they read the briefing reports when they are present, but because the reports are often not distributed employees do not get the opportunity to read them. Memo’s are read, but still a large group of employees indicates that they are often not aware of any new memo’s. The bottom line is that too many employees do not get the information they need because of failing communication means. Furthermore, the information that is offered is not enough. In the survey employees indicate that they receive enough task information, but they find it important to receive policy and management information as well.These types of information are often not provided or in many cases, not received. 2. Communication flows Are there enough communication means to assure communication flows in different directions (top-down, bottom-up, horizontal and diagonal)? Within the Eurest department communication flows mostly along the hierar chical lines. The management team and deputy managers provide information to the staff using several communication means. For top-down communication briefings and memo’s are used. Problems with these means is discussed above. Furthermore two internal magazines also provide information.Nevertheless employees indicate that the information given is these magazines is not relevant to them and that they would like to receive information that is tailored to their situation. The means for bottom-up communication are meetings and performance reviews. Every unit should have meetings four times a year. Unfortunately the survey revealed that most units meet less than determined. By being able to discuss and solve problems with the whole team increases motivation and involvement in the team. Furthermore it gives the team the opportunity to address the floor manager and deputy managers on issues that are playing within the team.Performance reviews are another more personal means of bottom -up communication which gives an employee the opportunity to discuss their progress with their floor manager. Again employees indicate that they do not have a performance review every year. Floor managers should be better aware of this. Another positive way of enabling bottom-up communication is management by walking around. The floor manager on duty, as well as the operational manager when he’s present, regularly walks around the casino to assess the situation on the work floor and talk with employees.This gives employees the opportunity to directly address the floor manager when they have any questions or problems. A point of improvement is that frequently questions remain unanswered. Due to the different work shifts it frequently happens that the floor managers in question does not see the employee for several days, especially with part time workers, and forgets to give an answer. Horizontal and diagonal communication mainly takes place through e-mail (management team) and in personal conversations and phone calls on the work floor. Furthermore, it is remarkable that almost no parallel communication means are being used.Parallel communication increases commitment to the organization and strengthens the organizational culture. These means are especially handful to reach the full staff when sending out important information. Eurest currently does not have a means to reach everyone in the organization in the same time and no central point where employees can look up information. The only digital communication means that is used is e-mail. This is used only for top-down communication to send work schedules to the employees. There are no staff meetings or kick offs where additional information is given to the entire staff. . Management communications The management team currently meets once a month. This is not enough. Because of the different work shifts, the whole team is seldom complete. Horizontal communication between the team flows mainly by e-mail and daily reports. Meetings are not structured and used as an outlet rather as an opportunity to discuss important issues in the organization. Because there are not enough opportunities to meet with the whole team, there is too much miscommunication between the management team, which causes confusion amongst the employees.From the interviews with the floor managers and supervisors I can further conclude that there is no unity in the team. Again, more frequent and structured management meetings could be the solution to solve this. As currently floor managers take action without consulting the entire team small groups of one to three managers start a project, but as there is no support or control from their colleagues, these projects often are not realized in the end. Important terms are ? maintenance? and ? making it important?. To maintain a certain policy or to make something important, you need the support of the whole management team.For an organization that is running almost 24/ 7 it is important to keep communicating if you want everyone to be informed. As one of the supervisors said in his interview: ‘It is important to keep communicating at all times, even when you think it is not important enough. ’ The same counts for the supervisors team. They also say that there is no unity in the team and they as well have meetings only once a month. The supervisors would like to see more coaching from the floor managers as new supervisors are often left to fend for themselves. . Needs and expectations employees Results of the communication survey show that though employees know where to find information, they do not always receive the information that is necessary to perform their work. More than one third of the employees claims not to be up to date about new information. This number is too high! The employees are most interested in receiving information about customer satisfaction, professional knowledge about food and beverages, training and educati onal possibilities and actions and activities in the casino.What is remarkable is that they receive information about Compass Group and Holland Casino, but they claim to not receive enough information. When I asked some of the employees about it, they claimed that the information that these magazines provide is not tailored to their situation. The management team mainly provides task information, but from the survey results I can conclude that there is a high need for policy, management and social information as well. In regard to choosing communication means to provide the information, memo’s and briefings are still popular especially for providing task information.Though for company results about Compass Group, their own Eurest department and Holland Casino employees prefer to receive the information in an internal magazine or news letter. E-mail is also mentioned to be effective for receiving certain types of information. As these are communication means that are currently not being used, it is sensible to look at the possibility of introducing these media to the communication structure. Meetings are considered very important, but should take place more often. In the matter of performance reviews, management has to be better aware of which employees did not had a review yet.Especially part-time employees claim not to have a performance review each year. 5. Recommendations The following recommendations give an answer to the central question: ‘How can the internal communication of Compass Group in Holland Casino Utrecht be improved in order to fulfill the needs and expectations of its employees? ’ In making these recommendations I looked at the results of the communication audit, theory and findings throughout my research. I will start by discussing how to make the current communication means more effective. Subsequently I will introduce two new communication means.To give an overview of the new, recommended communication structure I made a new media/content matrix which includes the people who have to take responsibility for the communication means. 1. Briefings The problem with the briefings is that not all employees are able to attend the briefing and miss out on the information that is given. Briefing reports are a good way of providing this information to the employees that could not be there. Employees indicate that they read the reports when they are present, but currently they are often not distributed to every unit.The management should reinforce the use of the briefing reports and make sure they are distributed to every unit at the end of the briefing. Like this, employees have the opportunity to read the reports and keep up to date with new information. 2. Memo’s As memo’s are the only written means that the management team uses to send other types of information besides task information, it is critical that the memo’s reach all employees. Currently employees often are not aware of new memo’s and miss out on the information that is given.Memo’s can be found on the folder of every unit or in the pigeon holes of the employees, these places are easily looked over or forgotten as new memo’s are not in clear sight. I would recommend to put the memo’s in a central and more visible place. As employees spend most of their work hours on the units, it would recommendable to hang up notice boards at every unit on a clear and visible place. The notice boards can be used to put up memo’s, briefing reports and other information that is relevant to the unit. The supervisor of the bar should be made responsible to keep the notice board up to date. . Meetings Every unit should have four meetings a year. Though from the survey results I can conclude that this is not the case. Employees feel that the meetings are very important, but they do not meet enough. Well structured and frequent meetings increases involvement of the employees. Four meetings a year is the rule. The floor manager and supervisor of the units are responsible for organizing the meetings and should maintain this number of meetings a year. 4. Performance reviews Performance reviews are held once a year.The reviews are a point of motivation for the employees as they give feedback to how they work. Some employees indicate that they do not receive a performance review every year. These employees are mainly full-timers who work for Eurest less than a year and part-timers. Floor managers should me better aware of who already had an performance review and who still has to get one. 5. News letter A news letter is currently a communication means that is not being used. Though in the communication survey comes forward that employees would like to receive certain information in an internal magazine or news letter.Two internal magazines already exist, but Eurest employees claim that they do not provide relevant information. They would like to receive information about Compass, Holland Casino and their own Eurest department in a format that is tailored to their situation and information need. As internal magazines take a lot of time and money, two things that the managers at Eurest do not have, a news letter would be the better option. The news letter should contain: – information about Compass Group that is relevant to the employees – results of the Eurest department in HC Utrecht information about upcoming actions and activities in the Casino – information about upcoming workshops and trainings – social information, such as new and leaving colleagues, vacancies and birthdays I also suggest to send the newsletter by e-mail. In this way employees can read the information at home. All the recommendations made above are based on providing information. If you want employees to have a better understanding of why things happen and why certain decisions have to be made a presentation or kick off are two ways of providing this information. 6. Kick off and presentationsA kick off can be a way of communicating when changes in the organization occur. Presentations can be used to present the annual returns and information about the mission and goals of the coming year. Both communication means are currently not used by the management team. Employees indicate that they would like to receive information about these topics. If the management team wants to create better understanding, I recommend to use a kick off or presentation more often. Like this, the employees receive management and policy information in a personal way that also gives the opportunity to give feedback and ask questions.The location manager should be responsible for kick offs and presentations. 7. Training and workshops Workshops and trainings are motivating for employees to learn new things, on top of that management shows support by offering employees this extra training. Professional knowledge about food and beverages and customer satisfa ction are considered as very important topics by the employees. It increases their knowledge and supports employees in carrying out their work. Currently there are a few trainings and workshops each year.Some can be followed by all employees and some are specifically for the employees of the restaurant, who need more in-depth knowledge to be able to advise their guests. As employees indicate that these are very important topics to them, I would advise to plan a several workshops each year. 8. Contact management The contact between management and employees is perceived as good on both sides. Because of the management by walking around, managers have frequent personal contact with employees. A point of improvement is giving feedback to questions.It is too often forgotten to get back to an employee, which causes the feeling of not being taken serious. Questions should be answered the same day. When this is not possible the question can be answered by e-mail as well. 9. Management commu nication Better communication within the management team can only be reached when there is an opportunity to actually communicate. For an organization that operates almost 24/7 a day it is crucial for the management to have frequent communication moments with the whole team. The management team currently meets once a month.When meeting only once a month there is too much to discuss and meetings are often closed without making decisions on anything. As a result the meetings are not structured and used as an outlet. It is recommendable to have weekly meetings to improve communication between the management team. It is necessary to keep each other up to date about new developments, improve cooperation between the managers and to have better control and insight on what the members of the team are working on. The meetings have to have a clear structure with fixed items on the agenda that are discussed every week.In this way it should be possible to discuss problems and come to agreements that are supported by the entire team. Weekly meetings will also provide the opportunity to discuss progress on new projects and schedule controls on certain procedures. The overall communication between the management team can benefit from meeting weekly instead of once a month. 10. New communication structure Currently the briefings and memo’s are used to send out task, policy and social information that is important to all employees. As stated before, these communication means do not reach the whole group and important information is missed.In the recommendations above, I made suggestions about how to improve the current communication means and how to make the internal communication more effective as whole. To give a clear overview of the newly recommended communication structure I made a new media /content matrix (fig. 6). This matrix gives a clear view on which communication means will be used to send out which type of information, who will be the sender/responsible for the use of the means and how frequent the means will be offered to the employees.It contains a basic structure with communication means that will provide the largest part of the internal communication. The additional structure contains the media that provide extra information. List of References Compass Group Web site: http://www. compass-group. nl/over-ons/ Eschauzier, L. , (2007) HET ligt aan DE (interne) communicatie. Retrieved Januari 13, 2009, from the Reply to All Web site: http://www. replytoall. nl/corporate-communicatie/het-ligt-aan-de-interne-communicatie/ Hopkins, L. , (2006) What is internal Communication?Retrieved January 13, 2009, from the Better Communication Results Web site: http://leehopkins. net/2006/07/06/what-is-internal-communication/ Koeleman, H. , (2008) Interne communicatie als managementinstrumen. Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer McNamara, C. , (n. d) Basics in Internal Organizational Communications. Retrieved January 12, 2009, from the Free Management Library Web site: http://www. managementhelp. org/mrktng/org_cmm. htm Olsthoorn, A. C. J. M, & Velden, J. H, van der, (2007) Elementaire Communicatie, Strategie – Beleid – Uitvoering. Utrecht/Zutphen: ThiemeMeulenhoff Reijnders, E. (2006) Basisboek Interne Communicatie, Aanpak en achtergronden. Assen: Van Gorcum Vos, M. , & Schoemaker, H. , (2001) Integrated Communication, Concern, Internal and Marketing Communication. Utrecht: Lemma Publishers Vos, M. & Otte, J. & Lindes, P. , (2003) Setting up a Strategic Communication Plan. Utrecht: Lemma Publishers Vreeswijk, S. (2008) Verslag Medewerkerstevredenheidsonderzoek 2008. Utrecht List of Appendices Appendix IInterview J. Polman Appendix IIInterview A. Zinser Appendix IIIInterview J. Rietsnijder Appendix IVInterview H. Kleeftstra Appendix VInterview M. van der Kaaij

Motivation Can Improve Team Outcomes Essay

After eight weeks of working with a group of six members, the most important learning experience was learning how to use motivation in a group work. Accurately apply motivation can improve team work efficiency and outcomes. This essay will provide a critical thinking about how to use motivation in a group and discuss which aspect need improvement when apply motivation in a group. In this task, will be concentrate on three areas to reflection and analysis about how to apply motivation in a group. They are ‘managing groups and teams’, ‘planning’ and ‘leadership’. From these three areas to disclose some practical experiences, and make these practical experience relate to management theories. The first section is discussed and analysis the special understanding about the stages of group development, why people join a group and how to use motivation impact people join a group. The second section is discuss and analysis planning process, why organization need to setting a clear goal and how setting goal can provide a motivation encourage people work hard and increase work efficiency. The last section is discussing and analysis the activity of leadership and how a good leader through all kinds of methods to create employee’s work motivation and stimulate employees work hard and efficient, help organization achieve goal. From these three section, it will be argued that suitable apply motivation in various management field, will increase our group work efficiency, improve work outcomes, and successful help group completed a high quality work, achieved the group’s high goal. Group already became a really popular work method in recent year. Lots of organisation and government department use team work to complete task, and achieved organisational goal. Team has all kinds of type, such as project team, management team, work team, virtual team and parallel team. Although team have various type, but the project team is the most popular type of team. Project team is include employees who group to solve a specific problems, develop a product, or in some other way focus their energies in a limited time task, when the task completed, the team will be disband (Davidson et al. 2009, p440). Our team work in the eight weeks period is project team, because we are together discuss some problems and solve it, together completed presentation during 8 weeks. When the presentation is completed in week 10, our team would disband. One group’s evolvement need passes through several stages. When the development of group passes through these stages, the group will be disbandment. A well-know model of group development is the sequential-stage theory. In this theory, the group or team develops through some stages of development. The theory’s model clear shows that there have five distinct stages to group development. The five stages are forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. The group development will follow the specifically order to completed (Davidson et al. 2009, p444). Everyone has their own motivation to join a group. Different people have different situation, people have variety of reasons to join a groups and teams. The first stage, forming, provides a platform so that everyone can have an opportunity to join any groups. According to a study by Robbins et al. (2006, p488), ‘Forming is the first stage of group development in which people join the group and then define the group’s purpose, structure and leadership’. So, it can be see that when the group development, the first things is people join the group. Therefore, motivation was occurred at the forming stage, because when people join a group, they usually have some motivations to join that group. Davidson et al. (2009, p442) state that people join groups and teams for a variety reasons, they often have some motivations to join a group. These motivations can be interpersonal attraction, group activities, group values and goals,needs satisfaction and instrumental benefits. From the evidence, it can be clear that when people join a group, they have some motivations. Such as person join a group, that group’s goal with the person’s goal same, and also people join a group because that group can satisfy people’s needs. Bosso (2003, pp399-403) claims that the reason of some organisation fail is because lots of organisational members leave organisation and find a new job in other organisations. Because the original organisation cannot give members lots of benefits, these benefits most are in terms of money. The organisation not has loyal members because it not has motivation to keep original members and attract new members. From the evidence, it can be see that people’s motivation to join an organisation is a really important factor for organisational success. If an organisation not have some special things to attract people, so people will be not join this group, because they are not have motivation to join the organisation. The organisation will be lost lots of talents and ultimately lead to failure. Our group work in week 2, we are also have some motivation to join a group. I am an international student, so I am joined a group have many local students. My motivation to join a group have many local students is because local students have language and cultural advantages, and also we all have a same task goal. This can make my work easier and more easily to achieve my task goals. With local students work together also can improve my English. So, my motivation to join that group is can help me to achieve the task goals and improve my English. We also have same motivation to form that group, the motivation is we are have same task goal. The same motivation make us work more happy and congenial, this can increase our work efficiency. When people work in a group, it also has some motivation to encourage people work more hard and efficient. For example, a group of people climbing a mountain, in this period tethered together can climb only as fast as its slowest member. From that example, the least capable group member tends to work harder than when working individually (Gockel et al. 2008, p1316). From the evidence, it can be see that people work in group, will be have stress to work harder. In a group, have most ability’s member also help other members work, make group work efficient and more easily achieve goal. In eight weeks group work, our group has some stresses to stimulate us work hard, this is a kind of motivation to make us work efficient. Therefore, from these analysis and practice experiences, management needs to clear understand what is people’s motivation to join an organisation then make organisation have some special things to attract talents join the organisation, this can help organisation more easier to success. Manager also needs make employees work in a group, because this can create motivation to encourage employees work hard, improve group work outcomes. Planning is an important part when people do a task. A good planning can directly affect group work efficiency and outcomes. There are at least four reasons to do a planning. Planning provides direction, reduces uncertainty minimises waste and redundancy and sets the standards used in controlling (Robbins et al. 2006, p238). These reasons can significantly reveal planning can give organisational or group’s work brings huge benefits. When manager do a plan, they need clear understand the environmental context. If managers do not understand the environmental context, they are unable to develop efficient plans. Understanding the environment is necessary the first step in planning (Davidson et al. 2009, p238). In an organisation, have many different kinds of plan. Plan generally includes three levels. They are strategic plans, tactical plans and operational plans. Strategic plans are the plans developed to achieve strategic goals. Tactical plans aimed at achieving tactical goals, is developed to implement specific parts of strategic plan. Operational plans focuses on implement tactical plans to achieve operational goals (Davidson et al. 2009, p243). From these kinds of plan, we can find these plans all is use to achieve some goals. So, an organisational goals setting also is a really important part in planning. Organisation setting goals have four important purposes. First, goals provide guidance and a unified direction for people in the organisation. Second purpose is goals can dramatically influence other areas of planning. Third purpose is goals can provide some motivations to employees of the organisation. The final purpose of goals is serving an effective mechanism for evaluation and control (Davidson et al. 2009, p239). These purposes make lots of managers set more suitable goals in organisation. Suitable goals can increase organisational work efficiency. However, from the group experiences that the motivation occurred in the third purpose, goals can provide some motivations to employees of the organisation. For example about athletes, Stratton (2005, p31) states that setting goals can increase athletes’ motivation, these motivations most are athletes internal motivation. These motivations can encourage athletes to develop new skills and strategies to improve performance. The goal can be all kinds of goals. Such as athletes hope become professional athletes or qualifying for the Olympics. When athletes have a goal, they will have motivation to encourage self training hard and improve skills to achieve the goals. Goals not only provide motivation to athletes, it also provides motivation to all kinds of people. Such as organisational employees and university’s students. When people have a goal, they will have motivation to work hard and improve work skills, ultimately achieve the goal. Motivation also occurred our group in week 4, we are doing a planning and setting group goals. When we setting the group’s goal, we decide set a difficult goals. We hope get a high mark in the presentation assessment. A difficult goal motivates our group work hard and improves work skills to increase our work efficiency. Although a goal difficult to achieve can provide a motivation to encourage people work hard thereby improve work efficiency, but if the goal is really difficult to achieve, this will be bring some negative impact to people’s motivation. Even people not have motivation to work. Shalley, Oldham and Porac (1987, pp553-554) argues that individuals who were assigned an easy goal, they will be easier to achieve the goal and not have motivation to work hard. But if the individuals assigned a goal is really difficult, no one can attained the goal, and this also make people not have motivation to work hard. Form the evidence, it can be see that if the people’s goals too easy or difficult, they will be not have motivation to work hard and improve work efficiency. Because the really easy goal people can easier to achieved, they do not need work hard, but if the goal is really difficult, nobody can attained it, people will think they cannot achieve the goal, then give up it and not have motivation to work. In our group, although we are decide the goal is difficult to achievement, but the goal is not too difficult, because this assessment not hard, we can through work hard and improve work skills to achieve the goal, get a high mark. From analysis these theories and relate practice experiences in group, manager should do a good planning and carefully setting goals in organisation, because a good planning can make organisation work have a logical structure and a suitable goal can provide motivation to employees, encourage employees work harder, thereby improve organisational work efficiency. Leadership is a really important part in management, most organisation attain success the leadership is the necessary factor. A good leadership can make organisation more solidarity, have a logical structure to work, thereby improve organisational work efficiency. Although Management and leadership have some relations, but leadership is not similar managership. Manager and leader have some basic distinctions. Managers are focus on accomplish goal, through planning, organising and controlling to make organisation achieve orderly results. Leaders are focus on influence, through guide in direction, uild commitment and convince others of a vision to change organisation, make organisation work more effective, and improve organisation outcomes. Some of the basic distinction between leadership and management conclude for four main activities. The four main activities are creating an agenda, developing a human network for achieving the agenda, executing plans and outcomes (Davidson et al. 2009, pp351-352). However, one leader’s behaviour can significantly impact employees work situation and efficiency. Different leader have different attitude about how to affect an organisation work. They are using all kinds of method to change group work situation, increase group work efficiency, make group better, and ultimately help group achieve goals. Motivation is a really important method when leader lead a group work, they often use motivation to encourage employees work hard, thereby improve group work efficiency. Leader can apply all kinds of method to provide motivation to encourage employees work. Such as reward, when employee perfect completed a task and only use a little bit time to achieved group’s goal, the leader will be give the employee some rewards. These rewards can motivate other employees work hard because employees will think if they perfect complete the task, they also can get reward. Leaders’ behaviour can direct impact employees’ work motivation, may be some smalls behaviours also can make employees have motivation to work hard, such as daily communication. Jamail (2009, p13) states that, in everyday’s morning, when leader go to the office, walk around and talk to every person, try to remember every person’s name and know their work situation, pump up employees, these can make employees have motivation to work hard and improve their work efficiency. From this evidence, it can be see that some small behaviours of leader also can affect employees work efficiency. In everyday’s work, leader only needs to spend some times to communicate with their employees, pump up employees, know their work situation and help them solve some problems. These can make employees think their leader regard them, is a good leader and have confidence to complete a good work. So, employees will be having motivation to work hard. Therefore, leader can through communication to know employees’ work situation and provide motivation to employees, encourage employees to work hard and improve group outcomes. Leader through daily communication to provide employees’ work motivation, the motivation language also is an important method to motivate employees work hard. Mayfield (2009, p9) argues that a high level of motivation language can significantly improved employee performance, increase employee’s work efficiency. Such as empathetic speech, when employee does a hard task, the leader can talk to this employee â€Å"you can do it†, these can make the employee have confidence to do the task, thereby motivate employee work hard and more effective. When employee completed a task, leader also can say â€Å"Good job†, this also can make the employee have confidences to do other tasks, improve the employee’s work motivation. In our group, we have a serious problem. Our group not has a clear leadership, we do not decide who is our group’s leader. When we work together, our group has a member really lazy, she didn’t work hard. But our group not have a leader, nobody to monitor the member work and also nobody to provide motivation to the member encourage she work hard. So, that dramatically affected our group work efficiency, postpone our group’s work progress. Through the group experiences and management theories, leader is really important to a group, because group leader can through daily communication and motivation language to provide motivation to their employees, encourage employees work hard and increase work efficiency, thereby improve group outcomes. In conclusion, it can be concluding that motivation is a really important part in management. It can occur in all kinds of management theories. Through 8 weeks group work, find motivation occurs in people form a group, setting group goal and planning and leader change a group. Manager need clear to understand what are people’s motivations to join a group, and make group have charm to attract talent join. These can help group success. Managers also need make employees work in a group, because work in a group can have some stresses to motivate employees work hard, improve organisation outcomes. If manager want their group work effective, they can setting a suitable group goals. Suitable group goals can motivate group work hard. Manager also need make group have a leader, because group leader can use daily communication and motivation language to provide motivation to members, encourage group members’ work hard and improve group outcomes. Therefore, manager clear understand motivation and accurate use motivation can directly improve group outcomes.

The Role Of The Form Tutor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Role Of The Form Tutor - Essay Example This is because education is seen as a social factor and also as an economic activity that should be embraced by every member in a society. The finest individuals in a society are regarded to be those who are educated. Tutors can also be referred to as teachers who are a major part in every child’s development. This is because the time that they spend with the students matters a great deal in terms of their behaviours, morals and understanding. The above study will show the common roles of the tutor and how these roles have been changing over time. This will involve the use of different theories used in educational research. The study will also show the understanding that the pupils have in terms of the roles and responsibilities of the form tutor. Tutors are of different types for example private tutors comprise of those who are for academic development and coaching. There are also those who conduct tutoring online or at home. A private tutor mostly helps in academic activities for example if a student does not understand a particular subject then they can approach their partners for more explanation. Online tut oring is where the students share their views with a tutor who is always ready to help. To access this tutor a student has to register for easier communication. Some of these techniques used include chat, web conferencing and teleconferencing. The main role of tutors is to instill personal, social and health education (PSHE) and this training takes place outside the school setting. It is important to encourage students to develop physically through exercising and eating the best diet. Socially the tutors engage students into groups so that they may share their experiences at home or in the school compound. This makes the students feel at home and it also avoids other kinds of discrimination for instance racial, demoralization for instance in cases where pupils are mistreated at their homes they rebuild through

Need to summarise and paraphrase in own words Essay

Need to summarise and paraphrase in own words - Essay Example Even though the two sources overlap, they differ in focus as social science evaluates social processes and structures while nursing concentrates on the dearth of men in nursing and recruitment and retention approaches. Additionally, social science asserts that male nurses experience difficulties in their profession while nursing opposes this assertion. According to the author, historically, men were greatly involved in nursing in war and during the monastic movement. But in the 19th Century, Florence Nightingale introduced reforms in training based on the perception of women as being biologically endowed in caring and nurturing which saw men being replaced by women in nursing as men solely took up combat roles. The challenges that men face in nursing include cultural norms that makes people in other professions to discriminate against them. In addition, the support from supervisors, clients and colleagues and the discrimination from outsiders considering them as feminised males also present a challenge. Therefore, male nurses adopt labour practices that would shield them from stereotypic segregation. Despite these discriminative aspects, the researcher notes that men would not experience prejudice or discrimination in female-dominated occupations as would females in male-dominated occupations. Their minority representation advantages them for promotion as opposed to hindering them. The discrimination in hiring places them at an advantaged context as female-dominated specialties have been noted to attract more males. Sexist attitudes hinder females from breaking the invisible barriers for promotions to highest

Develop a partial risk and mitigation plan Assignment

Develop a partial risk and mitigation plan - Assignment Example These are the malicious programs that are spread via the internet which damage stored information in the computers. High Attack by the malicious programs would lead to loss of information that is stored in the computers which results into a significant loss for the company. The first impact would be loss of documents while the latest would be total crushing of the ICT system. 2 Hacking The ICT students may hack the schools’ accounts, which would lead to loss of information and money. Medium If this happens, the school may lose a lot in terms of cash. This is because hackers can even clear the school fees for students with fees balances First impact may be unsustainable college due to the big losses accrued. The latest impact would be total declaration of bankruptcy of the college. Malicious programs As shown in the table, the risk associated to malicious programs is very likely to occur. Malware such as viruses, bugs and other destructive programs find their way into computers and other memory storage devices. Viruses and worms have been declared a big threat to businesses’ and institutions’ security (Brittson, Oshea & Reyes, 2011.) The last survey that was done for the 1000 fortune companies indicated that cyber crime is the most dangerous crime in businesses and institutions and that can drive an organization into a lot of losses. These disastrous programs have a very high probability of occurrence in the learning institutions. Most of the Universities today do everything online. Establishment of an ICT center would enable students to carry all the assignments and other applications through the internet especially when there is a configuration of WIFI. Since most of the students are in need of the computer facilities, they would be regular in the ICT centers to carry out their research. It is through interaction of students with computers that the ICT laboratories are exposed to the risks. This results from the various memory storage devi ces that the students insert into the computers for instance the flash disks, memory cards, diskettes, external hard drives and hard disks. These storage facilities if infected would lead to infection of the computers in the ICT laboratories. The other way through which the computers could be affected by viruses and worms, is through the downloading of non-genuine files, music, or movies from the internet. If the downloaded document of music is from untrustworthy provider it may be malicious to the stored information in the computers in the ICT center (Clough, 2010). According to Martin & Schell (2004), malware attack is always associated with the loss of information from the computers. This has been witnessed in many businesses and institutions especially in the cases of viruses and worms attack and also the hackers. For instance the attack known as Aurora which happened recently destructed a lot of information in many companies. In this attack, the hackers used techniques that emp loyed a combination of stealth programming and encrypted techniques. Through the use of this technology, the attackers traced the source codes for Adobe, Google and many

Cause and effect essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Cause and effect - Essay Example An emotional effect of being angry is pessimism. Anger drives the positivity out of an individual and leaves them emotionally drained. As a result, the outlook of the individual on the world in general and people in particular becomes very pessimistic. While this emotional effect lasts just as long as the anger does, it can cause the individual to make negative moves that they might even regret later. For example, just because of a misunderstood comment on Facebook from an otherwise close friend, the individual might unfriend the person out of anger, only to realize later that the move was not worth making. Pessimism causes people to make uninformed decisions. In anger, people tend to overlook the positive aspects of an individual’s personality and expand on the negative aspects excessively. The ability to rationally analyze situations, people, and circumstances is sapped in anger. An emotional effect of being angry is emotional outburst. Anger saps intelligence and the abilit y of an individual to maintain emotional balance. Emotional outburst can be exhibited in different ways. While some people shout, scream, or yell, others become faint. In emotional outburst, people say things that they really do not mean to say. They exaggerate the matter at hand and other’s fault in it, thus not only sounding irrational, but also casting a negative impression upon the audience both that is related to the matter and others that are not. Emotional outburst also causes many effects to appear physically and reflect in the face of the angry person. For example, some people go very red in the face when they are angry, some people’s lips, hands, and limbs start trembling in anger, and yet there are others, who start to perspire heavily in anger. All of this is a result of the interaction between mind and body in emotional outburst. In emotional outburst, people even say things that are not directly related to the matter at hand. They may draw examples of eve nts that have passed several years ago, thus casting an impression upon the audience that they do not let go of things even if they seem to have forgiven. When people faint as a result of emotional outburst, their body temperature decreases and they turn white and pale in the face. Many people also perspire heavily when they faint. A physical effect of being angry is violence. Different people behave differently when they are angry. A reaction commonly shown by people in anger is violence. While some people simply enclose themselves in an empty room, and sleep away the anger, others start throwing things away, thus breaking them. A bad news heard over the television can seem a good reason to throw a vase at the LED screen and shatter it. Some people become so overwhelmed with anger that they ignite fire and burn away their possessions, rooms, and other kinds of property, thus putting others’ lives in danger in addition to their own. Possession of weapons can be potentially ha rmful for such an individual who cannot control themselves in anger. People who possess pistols have a tendency to shoot the person they are angry at in rare circumstances. Possession of weapons can be particularly dangerous when there is a fight between children or young adults. Out of immaturity and insanity, they are vulnerable to hurting or even

Wembley Stadium Project Management Strategic Issues Essay

Wembley Stadium Project Management Strategic Issues - Essay Example It increased the projected costs to more than double the earlier projections. Especial about the Wembley Stadium is its innovative steel arch that adds to the beauty of the Stadium. The steel arc also endures weight and reduces the need for internal support that could have come in the way of viewers sitting in the stadium. The load bearing feature of the arc adds decorum to the seating arrangement. The design of the Wembley Stadium unlike the Sydney Opera House or Guggenheim Bilbao was not new but nevertheless included a design element in the arch that was innovative, leaving no scope to adhere to best practice techniques such as reference class forecasting as there are no past figures to depend upon, being the novel concept. This absence of historical example is many-a-times a red flag in perfect project planning (Strategicppm, 2011). The Wembley Stadium project was contracted to the lowest bidding company, which developed a situation similar to winner’s curse in measuring the cost of the project belligerently. Project cost hiked 36% in between the time of the bid acceptance and signing of contract (Strategicppm, 2011). The Wembley Stadium occupies a distinct place in the event and entertainment industry worldwide and particularly in the history of the UK. The Wembley Stadium has been a host to a number of global events in the 20th century, which included a chain of leading park, theatre and funfair events the like of the 1924 British Empire Exhibition, the 1934 Empire Games, the 1948 Summer Olympics, the 1996 World Cup Finals, the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest, the 1996 European Championships and many other events organised in between (Quintain, 2004). The stadium was razed in 2002 to be reconstructed in 2006 to a 90,000-seating capacity stadium. The new ?757 million Wembley Stadium (NAO, 2003) is now about thrice as big to its earlier size with its arch positioning 140 metres extended from its concourse, which is huge enough to be looked over by the whole of London (Quintain, 2004). The major difference visible is of the arc that replaced the twin towers, the symbol of the stadium. The new Wembley National Stadium equally justifies the fame of the icon it used to be like the old Wembley Stadium (SPG, 2008a). Though a hot debate followed with the razing of the historic twin towers, but it is highly commendable that the final settlement for constructing an arc was welcomed with uproar. The project got initiated in 1996, by raising a hue and cry for a new English national stadium. Soon after holding the national competitions, Sport England decided with a majority Wembley as the most desired location (House of Commons, 2004). The mission of the Sport England was to back the creation of an iconic stadium for three leading sports namely, football, rugby league and athletics (NAO, 2003). The major use of the Wembley national stadium was planned for football and rugby league (NAO, 2003). It was earmarked that after five years of the stadium's functioning, 1% of its yearly turnover would be donated by WNSL for the provision of sports education and other projects (NAO, 2003). 2. Analys is of the Reasons of Delays or Cost Increase during the Project The

Viability of Incorporating E-business Research Paper

Viability of Incorporating E-business - Research Paper Example The prevailing scenario of the business world is the outcome of multiple factors where globalisation plays a very crucial role. Globalisation has itself offered better opportunities for trade and commerce as it has helped to enhance international trade. Moreover, the technological advancement is another key factor that has contributed significantly towards the growth prospect. The world economies have experienced a massive development in the fields of information & communication technology, transportation, infrastructure, research & development etc. All these improvements have changed the entire social and economic arena and now the entire business world is successfully incorporating and utilising these technical improvements to gain a better and sustainable competitive advantage over the prevailing highly competitive business world. In this regard, e-business and e-commerce are two most crucial technological developments that have revolutionised the entire business world. ...On the other hand, considering the prevailing essence of competitive advantage, every organisation must incorporate e-business in their strategic business management. This paper will attempt to offer a plan for incorporating the e-business through a process of restructuring the entire business model. In this respect, before re-modelling the strategic business structure, number of tasks like environmental condition of the present business setup, including internal and external assessment, analysis of competitive market, financial planning etc has to be done. In order to meet these objectives, this paper will present necessary discussion through analysis. On the other hand, based on the analysis and discussion, a plausible set of recommendation will be offered in order to frame an e-business oriented strategy. A. Developing an online business expansion proposal Brief outline of the company and product Light Feet Shoe (LFS) Pvt. Ltd is primarily an India-based shoe manufacturing and retailing company. LFS has been in the shoe manufacturing and retailing industry of India for the past one and half decades. Since its inception, the company has experienced a massive growth in its domestic market and has also established a number of manufacturing plants and retailers storeall over India. One of the primary reasons for its massive success is that it has been offering better quality shoes at reasonable prices compared to its other key competitors. On the other hand, it has also targeted the customers belonging to the middle income group and has been able to develop brand preferences in their mind.

PART 3 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PART 3 - Term Paper Example It is of significance to posit that for ethical considerations to be followed, health institutions are ought to create and implement appropriate strategies as well as rules and guidelines that will govern the daily activities of the health institution. This involves a lot of financial input and time to create. According to Post Blustein and Dubler (2007), ethics are considered costly. According to him, observing ethics in the workplace will involve a lot of time and effort, egotism, though clients are presented with a chance to benefit from high quality of services. Individuals seeking treatment or health care services in Mount Sinai prefer it to a great extent due to high quality services as a great proportion of ethics is followed. The more the clients, the more the revenue generated by the hospital. This shows that total revenue generated by Mount Sinai Hospital is dependent on ethical considerations. To ensure that ethics are followed by all employees in the hospital, Mount Sinai conducts regular trainings to employees geared towards presenting them with basic knowledge on ethics. This involves a lot of money to plan though it is aimed towards empowering employees. As evidenced in other health care institutions, patients’ medical records in Mount Sinai are also digitalized. This requires the hospital to design security programs and conform to it. Designing an effective health related programs is in itself expensive and time consuming. Available sources put a lot of emphasis on the importance of ethical considerations in health care. A physician or any other medical practitioner is only allowed to share any information regarding the health of a patient with consent of the patient, or when required to do so by a court of law. Physician can be sued by the patient if s/he is proved to have made public any personal and medical information associated with the patient. In such a case, a health institution may lose a lot of money through lawyer fees. Where a patient requires to be compensated for the damage caused, a health institution would lose a lot of money in settling these cases. Though such a case has been hardly heard of in Mount Sinai, maintaining plans of actions that prevents such occurrences from happening involves a lot of finances and time. If a health care institution is found guilty of breach of confidentiality or sharing a patient’s medical information with third parties, medical license may be cancelled (Ashcroft, Dawson and Draper, 2007). In a nutshell, creating and establishing plans of action that will ensure ethical and moral considerations within a health institution is very expensive in terms of money and time as I involves a lot of effort. Duty to report In the modern world, millions of people have been affected by many chronic illnesses. Millions of people are living with the HIV virus. In other words, people are affected by a wide range of illnesses that necessitates medical attention. In the course of treatment, a physician or medical practitioner ought to treat any divulged information by the patient with utmost confidentiality. However, there are some cases where morally the medical practitioner is supposed to report the matter to authorities. This part of the paper describes an ethical dilemma associated with moral considerations in health care. For public health concerns, the government and the public health sector of a particular country is required to follow up on prevalence of diseases of public concern. For instance,

Market Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Market Economy - Essay Example Therefore, the market will only depend on the pricing, which affects their frequency for demand of some products. For instance, when some prices of some goods are reduced, the customers could insist on increasing the quantity in demand. This technique could be used by markets to shape their demand for products in the market, depending on the market perception of the products and pricing (Gregory & Robert 2004).   In part A, there is need to have a focus on the provided data, which would be used in plotting the demand curve. Given the equation P = 10 – 0.5 Q, there should be a stated acceptable pricing and quantity that will be used by the consumers. The pricing will have a direct effect on the quantity in demand, as they are closely related. Using the current price of ? 6.50, the equation will be denoted as follows; P = 10 – 0.5 Q This will be followed by a substitution of the price, which is P ? 6.50 = 10 – 0.5 Q 6.50 – 10 = - 0.5 Q -3. 50 = - 0.5 Q 3. 50 = 0.5 Q 2 *3. 50 = 0.5 Q *2 7=1Q Q = 7 When the pricing of the moonshine club is at ? 6.50, the attendance according to the above mentioned equation will be seven. This means that, the attendance will be at 7, when the pricing is at ? 6.50. Using the above equation, there is a possible curve that could be derived, given the pricing range from ? 0 to ? 10. The pricing and attendance will have change, depending on the curve and preference of the demand. For instance, many people will increase their attendance when the pricing is low. pricing quantity 0 20 1 18 2 16 3 14 4 12 5 10 6 8 7 6 8 4 9 2 10 0 In plotting a demand schedule, there are various considerations that should be factored. The First factor is the pricing of the moonshine club. The second consideration is the demand for the services of the moonshine club. When the price of the club is at 10, there would be a possible zero attendance. However, when the price of the club is at 0, the attendance is likely to be at 20. Th e elasticity of the moonshine club is evident in their pricing. The highest pricing is denoted at 10, which brings a zero attendance. However, when the club decides to reduce its pricing to zero, the attendance will be full at 20. To make a better reflection on the elast5city of the club in pricing, there is need to focus on the equilibrium point. The equilibrium point is where the lines intercept. This is when the price is at ? 6, and the attendance will be denoted at 8. In part B, there are several considerations that could be used to make the favourable changes in the pricing and demand for the services of moonshine club. In the first instance, when a substitute club initiates a reduction of the pricing from ? 5 to ? 4.50, there are possible changes that could be discovered. Since moonshine is charging ? 6.50. With two visits to moonshine club, the customer will be spending ? 13.00. However, going to the substitute charging ? 4.50 will be favorable as the customer would make thre e visits which will be charged a ? 13.50. ? 5.00 ? 4.50 2 3 In this graph, it is evident that a person would prefer three visits to a substitute club, than spend the equivalent on two visits top moonshine club. In the second scenario, there is a change in the annual income which is a 10 percent increase. With such an increase, there is a possible increase in the