Free Online Public Schools in Georgia

Georgia offers resident students the opportunity to take online public school courses for free. Below is a list of online schools currently serving elementary and high school students in Georgia. Most programs are free to residents, but one program may require students to pay a fee. To qualify for the list, schools must meet the following qualifications: Classes must be available completely online.They must offer services to state residents.They must be funded by the government. Virtual schools listed may be charter schools, statewide public programs, or private programs that receive government funding. Georgia Connections Academy This website for this online school notes that: Students throughout Georgia have the opportunity to thrive at Georgia Connections Academy Charter School, a tuition-free public cyber school. (The online program) gives students the flexibility to learn at home with an online curriculum that meets rigorous state  education  standards.   The school offers: A  curriculum  developed by leading education expertsInstruction from state-certified  teachers  experienced in  online instructionSupport from trained counselors, principals, and administrative staffCurriculum materials  needed to participate in a dynamic online learning environment Georgia Credit Recovery The Georgia  Credit Recovery Program gives students who did not initially succeed in obtaining course credit the chance to earn credit toward  graduation. The school notes that it provides: Flexible  schedulesComplete core courses, aligned to state standards, for which the student will demonstrate mastery before receiving a gradeSome elective courses The courses, however, are not taught by a teacher, and even though the program is publicly funded, students may incur a fee. Georgia Cyber Academy The Georgia Cyber Academy is for kindergarten through 12th-grade students and offers: Full-time, tuition-free online public educationSupport from state-certified teachersStudents a chance to earn college credit while in high school in select coursesHigh-interest courses that introduce a variety of possible careersA range of extracurricular activities Georgia Virtual Academy A tuition-free, online public school, Georgia Virtual Academy offers: Individualized  learning plans  targeted to each students strengths and weaknessesGeorgia-certified teachers who guide progress and tailor teaching to student needsAn advanced-learner programThe opportunity for qualified high school  students to earn college creditsField trips, social activities, and clubs  help students connect Georgia Virtual School Georgia Virtual School is sponsored by the Georgia Department of Educations Curriculum and Instruction Division. The program, operated in partnership with schools and parents across the state, offers over 100 middle and high school courses in the core content areas, world languages and electives as well as a number of AP courses. The school also has  online media and guidance centers The school also offers some flexibility in course schedules, including: For fall and spring, students can choose an 18-, 16-, 14- or 12-week  schedule.For fall and spring,  Advanced Placement  courses are only offered on the 18-, 16- or 14-week schedule.For summer, students can select either a six- or five-week schedule.

Effective Communication - 3193 Words

Communication Communication and Effective Communication Khaled Nashaat Mamdouh HROB 501- M9- ID: 7-3691 Dr. Ahmed Amin January, 21st, 2007 A. INTRODUCTION Determining or figuring out the level of importance of communication in any organization or even between people in their daily lives is fairly impractical. No one can ever resolve the significance of communication because it is such a gigantic topic with many different definitions and understandings. Also communication and gaining communication and interpersonal skills is again such an easier said than done profession. Communication is such an essential skill –could be even considered a talent given to certain people instinctively-. Miscommunication could cause to†¦show more content†¦The function of the feedback is to determine whether the message has been appropriately delivered or not because if the message has been sent and wasn’t verified that it has been understood properly then there is no way that the effectiveness of the process could be measured. http://www.soc.iastate.edu/extension/publications/Soc2.pdf Stimpson,P. 2002. Another imp lication of communication and the process involved is a term called efficient communication. Efficient communication is communication that occurs at minimum costs in terms of resources expended. One of these resources that could be costly is time. Time is always an essential factor regarding any organizational process especially communication. It is also true to say that for effective communication to take place it doesn’t necessarily have to be efficient, because effective communication will definitely cost more and so the process won’t be considered efficient. Thus, we can conclude that the main goal of communication is to be a compromise between both effective and efficient communication. (Schermerhorn, 2005.) The question now which pops in everyone’s mind, why effective communication is that important and why do organizations pay a lot of attention to it. Effective communication positively enhances the speed of decision making by means that when the staff act effectively in communication this aids the process of fact decision making and in the end results benefits for theShow MoreRelatedCommunication : Effective And Effective Communication818 Words   |  4 PagesEffective communication is an extremely important piece in a business organization. Not only does effective communication increase work flow it also enhances and keeps good morale in the workplace. In effective communication has the reverse effect and can be an anchor on production and workplace morale. According to Rogers,† Communication failures may occur when information is not clear or to complex, which causes problems with information recall. When too much information is given at once, inc ompleteRead MoreEffective Communication1085 Words   |  5 PagesEffective communication Communication is primarily an exchange of information, ideas, or thoughts. This paper will focus on the process of verbal and nonverbal communication as well as the components of each. It outline the formal and informal channels of criminal channels. This paper will also list the different barriers to effective communication within a criminal justice organization. Finally it will cover strategies that can be implemented to overcome communication barriers within criminalRead MoreEffective Communication1513 Words   |  7 PagesEffective Communication Bryan Walker CJA/304 Version 4 May 5, 2014 There are many aspects to the communication process. It is necessary to take into consideration the definition of communication. Communication has been defined as a process involving several steps, among two or more persons, for the primary purpose of exchanging information (Wallace, 2009). Communication requires transmitting an idea, sending the idea through a medium, receiving the message, understanding the idea, andRead MoreEffective Communication2513 Words   |  11 PagesINTRODUCTION†¦ Communication has existed since the beginning of human beings, but it was not until the 20th century that people began to study the process. As communication technologies developed, so did the theories. Before becoming simply communication, or communication studies, the discipline was formed from three other major studies: psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Psychology is the study of human behaviour, Sociology is the study of society and social process, and anthropologyRead MoreCommunication : An Effective Communication1318 Words   |  6 Pages1 Communication Communication remains a critical aspect of everyday life of all people across the globe, be it in the workplace, family meetings, business activity, or any other initiative that requires human interaction (Varner, 2000). According to the author stated above, communication can be only effective when both parties not only understand each other but also able to comprehend the cultural backgrounds of each other. Such understanding is essential in ensuring effective communication withoutRead MoreCommunication : An Effective Communication919 Words   |  4 PagesCommunication Communication is one of the most essential tools in management, however, effective communication is difficult to achieve when you have 150 direct reports. I rely heavily on the charge nurses, however, they have varied abilities in effectively communicating information to the staff. Consequently, there is often a lack of clarity in the communication complete miscommunication to the staff via the charge nurses. Clearly one of the most efficient ways to communicate important informationRead MoreEffective Communication780 Words   |  3 PagesEffective communication is the process of transferring information or thoughts to someone or a group of people by way of speaking, writing or body language. According to â€Å"Livestron.com† (2014), â€Å"Effective communication extends the concept to require that transmitted content is received and understood by someone in the way it was intended. The goals of effective communication include creating a common perception, changing behavior s and acquiring information† (para. 1). It is important that the personRead MoreEffective Communication And Communication Skills Essay1146 Words   |  5 Pagestogether as a team to collaborate, delegate and consult. In order for this team effort to be effective, good communication skills must exist between medical professionals. Many times, messages can be altered and interpreted differently; if the conditions for transmission barriers develop. External barriers and internal barriers, such as confusion and mental status can hinder effective communication. Communication can be both verbal and nonverbal, and it is important to understand that different culturesRead MoreEffective Communication And The Barriers Of Communication Essay1203 Words   |  5 Pagesstudy of effective communication and the barriers of communication is very important in the workplace in order for the company to be successful. Every person in the business will have to communicate in one form or anothe r. The better the communication in the workplace the better the relationships with each other. In this article I will help you to understand the processes needed in order to have effective communication in the workplace. I will discuss the importance of effective communication, theRead MoreThe Communication Contract : Effective Communication1451 Words   |  6 PagesThe Communication Contract Communication is important to enhance understanding among people. Every single relationship that human beings make is made from effective communication. Individuals think differently and look at the world with various lens based on how they were raised, experiences, and many other things during their development. As such, knowing this difference as well as multiple ways of on how to effectively communicate with others will help individuals build authentic connections

Counter-terrorism Free Essays

string(37) " the new strategies of surveillance\." What is counterterrorism? Why is it important to understand the motivations behind terrorism efforts? What kind of general motives might you find among terrorists in this country and abroad? Counter-terrorism is a combination of practices, strategies, techniques and practices that the various governments, police departments and the military service units use to stop terrorism acts with both the response to completed acts and the detection of potential terror acts included in counter-terrorism. The techniques and practices used in counter-terrorism aim at preventing or stopping certain terrorism acts, with the strategies usually offensive in operation. One major reason why the motivations behind terrorism efforts need to be understood is its great role in the development and implementation of effective counter-terrorism strategies. We will write a custom essay sample on Counter-terrorism or any similar topic only for you Order Now Since counter-terrorism measures depend on the nature of the terrorism act being mitigated, it is vital to identify how and why certain terrorism act is undertaken in order to also combat it successfully. Understanding the motivation behind terrorism efforts forms the base for the development of an effective countering action where lack of a clear understanding of all the issues surrounding a terror act, makes the possibility of curbing the act properly and effectively almost impossible (Bolz. F et al. 2001). In addition, understanding the motive behind terrorism efforts allows the appropriate government organizations to select amongst the many, an effective action to counter a terrorism act that seems like an isolated event. This kind of understanding promotes good intelligence which forms a very vital component of preparing an effective counter-terrorism strategy. Another reason why identification of terrorist motives is vital is the huge role it plays in hunting down hard-core terrorist. It is through proper knowledge of a terrorist’s motives, that a government can isolate the hard-core terrorists and cut them off from external supplies. This makes it possible for the terrorists to be referred to as criminals, making it easy to hunt terrorists according to the law and with popular support. When a government or an organization plans and implements a counter-terrorism strategy, there is need to understand how terrorism efforts violate the human rights. This in turn enables the governments to develop effective measures that ensure that severe and appropriate actions are taken against the terrorists who are viewed as human rights violators, a situation that may repel others from participating in terrorists’ activities. Counter-terrorism experts are able to eradicate any terrorist organization if they correctly and accurately understand the terrorists’ motives, where one is able to understand the terrorists’ thoughts so that one can anticipate their next move correctly to stop it on time. In the USA and other countries, terrorist’s motives are many and they vary (Crank, J. et al.. 2005). In the USA, Some of the general motives that might be found in terrorists include, political motives, fighting for the injustice of a given group of people, economic superiority as well as the creation of fear and a sense of insecurity in the American citizens. When they view themselves as the underserved underdogs on a mission, the terrorists use the strategy of using the weak to weaken the strong and to strengthen the weak. Question 2 Is counterterrorism a tactic of warfare or crime-fighting? What role does due process play in either context? What are the implications when terrorists can be characterized as the â€Å"enemy† rather than mere criminals? Counterterrorism can be used as both a warfare tactic or as a crime fighting tactic. However, in the United States counterterrorism is usually used as a crime- fighting tactic. For instance, the computer and the Internet are used to undertake warfare actions through the cyber space. Counter terrorism as a warfare tactic is then used and can be used to stop people from using terrorism tactics against a given nation or organization. In such a case, comprehensive tools can be used to deal with possible terrorist incidents and can further be used to repulse attacks that have been directed against a nation. As a crime fighting tactic, counter terrorism is used by the law enforcement authorities to hunt down terrorists who have been labeled as criminals. The authorities normally cut off hard-core terrorists from external sources of supply so as to label terrorists as criminals, and then use the law to easily hunt the terrorists down (Combs. 2005). When terrorists are referred to as â€Å"enemy† instead of â€Å"criminal,† it encourages more terrorist’s attacks or strengthening of terrorist organizations. For example, it leads to the recruitment of more followers in the terrorist organizations because those who are recruited have developed great desire to become fighters against their enemy. The labeling of terrorists as an enemy serves as a motivation for every group to strengthen itself to attack another group they view as â€Å"enemy†. It further encourages terrorism behavior of solidarity, loyalty and self protection even when the group faces difficult times. The members get convinced that they need to protect themselves from a group that views them as an â€Å"enemy’. Finally, referring to terrorists as ‘enemy’ instead of criminals makes it very hard for the concerned organization or government to hunt down the terrorist according to the law. In addition, the organization lacks the popular support to hunt down the terrorists (Crank. J et al.. 2005) because they are seen as just revenging against other people with an unjustified reason. The terrorists cannot be tracked down in pursuit of justice which makes it difficult to use force against hard-core terrorists with the use of brutal force generating more terrorism and terrorists. Question 3 How has surveillance changed from the â€Å"traditional† to â€Å"new surveillance†? Are these changes potentially problematic for civil liberties in any way in the United States? Should law enforcement be permitted to use all technological resources available to accomplish its mission including in the fight against terror? Are there limits? Traditionally, counterterrorism strategies and techniques against terror acts were hugely the responsibility of the military force, and the level of surveillance not as intensive as it is in the new strategies of surveillance. You read "Counter-terrorism" in category "Papers" The major reason for this is that in the past, terrorism acts were not as many as they are in the modern world. Traditional institutions approved surveillance only when it was seriously necessary to do so, as compared to new surveillance which has been blamed for overstepping the bounders. The ever increasing terrorist attacks against certain states in the world have demanded the development of many and effect counter terrorism measures through surveillance, in comparison to the traditional surveillance. In new surveillance, building of the counterterrorism plans has integrated all the segments of the society or government agencies (Mahan, S and Griset, P. 2007). New surveillance has seen the development of counterterrorism strategies that have increased both the standard of the police as well as domestic intelligence. While traditional surveillance involved the interception of communication and tracing of the suspected terrorists, new surveillance has expanded its ways of operation due to the advancement in technology. For instance, new surveillance has managed to expand the range of both the law and the military enforcement operations. The direction of domestic intelligence at specific groups that is based on origin and religion is a feature of the new surveillance. Mass surveillance is also done in new surveillance where an entire population is investigated. In the United States, changes in the surveillance have raised concerns based on the civil liberties. One good example is the mass surveillance which involves the surveillance of an entire population, an issue that has been objected since it is considered to defy civil liberty of the citizens (http://www. usatoday. com/news/washington/2006-05-10-nsa-x. htm). The surveillance defies the citizen’s liberty in that mass surveillance is done whether or not there is the consent of those being surveyed. Furthermore, surveillance is done whether it serves or it does not serve the citizen’s interest. For instance, use of a network of secret police informers is considered a new surveillance abuse. In the United States, the government has been accused of illegally cooperating with the National Security Agency to monitor the US citizens’ phone records. Further allegations that the government has conducted electronic surveillances of domestic phone calls without warrants are an issue that has been said to go against the civil liberty. However, the law enforcement organizations should not be fully allowed to use technological resources to fight terror. This is because uncontrolled use consequently may result to severe negative effects. For instance, there have been some instances where technological measures against terror have resulted to the abuse and violation of the human rights. The return and extradition of people within countries and restriction of freedom of citizens are some of the examples that violate human rights during the process of counterterrorism. Invasion of people’s private lives through technology-advanced tools need to be stopped by limiting how far the law enforcement bodies should go to fight terror. Lack of a boundary within which technology can be used poses a great risk, where the authorities may undertake counterterrorism practices while they violate the human rights at the same time. Question 4 What is the FISA court? Explain how it works. What authorities can it grant law enforcement? How is it different from traditional courts? What concerns exist about expanding the use of FISA? A FISA court refers to a secret court in the USA that has the responsibility of approving the wiretaps that target the terrorists. It was established and has been working since 1979 to ensure that terrorists and foreign agents are monitored. The FISA court was established under the 1978 US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The court has approved domestic wiretaps and has continued to handle very sensitive domestic wiretaps in the US national security investigations| (media filter. org/CAQ/cqq53. court. html). The FISA court operates through a process that is based on probable cause. An application to a FISA court judge is normally made by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) if it believes that it can show probable cause that the target of the surveillance is either a suspected terrorist or a foreign agent. The application should contain 4 documents; a request for a wiretap, FBI directors’ or executive branch official’s certification that information cannot be acquired through the normal investigative tactics, and an FBI supervisory affidavit with a statement of fact about the target of surveillance. This is then followed by the submission of the documents to the Justice Department for the Justice Department attorneys’ review. The application is then forwarded to the FISA court and presented to a federal judge. There are 10 federal judges in the FISA court who sit on the court on a rotating basis. The FISA court grants authority to the law enforcement authorities based on the probable cause presented to them. It gives warrant to the authorities to conduct surveillance on a suspected target, if enough evidence is provided in the court to justify why a suspect should be surveyed. It receives an application if the FBI director certifies that there is need to obtain information above the normal investigative tactics. Clear indication of facts about the target of surveillance is also demanded by the FISA court before they give the authority and the judges often demand for more details about the targeted communication to authorize or approve a wiretap. It maintains a high rate of secrecy where a judge can make an ultimate decision to approve a wiretap (FISA orders 1979-2004) The FISA court is different from the traditional court in its secret nature of operation where the court makes approval of the applications in secret. Furthermore, the FISA court is considered to have acquired expanded authority than a traditional court to approve surveillance applications made, after President’s Clinton signing of the Executive Order 12949. Unlike in the traditional courts, the FISA court evidence can be used in criminal trials after the 1995 expansion as compared to the traditional courts where the evidence could only be collected and stockpiled only for intelligence purposes. The FISA court has expanded powers and it has the authority to allow both the electronic and physical searches due to its expanded powers. The expansion of using the FISA court in the USA has raised great concern. One concern of the FISA court expansion is the possibility of government’s extreme intrusion into people’s private lives. Because the court operates secretly, government measures that may intrude into people’ lives unnecessarily may result. Another great concern is the fact that, it promotes surveillance that defies people of their liberty. For instance, the expansion of the FISA court has made it able to give legal authority to approve black-bag operations, that authorize the Department of Justice to conduct both electronic and physical searches without an open court warrant. Furthermore, the subjects are not notified and an inventory of seized items not provided. Sometimes the surveillance allowed by the FISA court is considered to be unconstitutional. The Civil liberty lawyers in the United States have stated that some searches that have been conducted are unconstitutional. It is a great worry that under the FISA court cover of secrecy, the court is likely to exceed its own broad legal mandate. The expansion of the court has been argued to have been motivated by the governments need to conduct searches they would not have been allowed to undertake under the nation’s national provisions. For instance, the US government may attempt and fail under the traditional constitutional argument to secure a search warrant, but it would go to FISA court and secure approval for a search by converting the case into a national security investigation. Question 5 How has aviation security changed since 9111? What were the provision of the Aviation and Transportation Act? Did this Act change Aviation security in a dramatic way? What role does racial and religious profiling play in securing the aviation industry and its consumers? What role should it play? Before the 9/11 terrorist attack, the aviation security in the USA was the responsibility of the Federal Aviation Administration within the Department of transportation. However after the 9/11 attack there was great urgency in securing the US nation’s entire transportation systems. The federal agencies concerned with transport security were transferred to the Department of Homeland security (www. encyclopedia. com/doc/iG2-34033000149. html). The need to increase aviation security after the 9/11 led to the enactment of the Aviation and Transportation Act on Nov 19, 2001. This saw the creation of the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) within the DOT (Department of Transportation). The Act permits the existing authorities to permit the TSA to flexibly manage and deploy the workforce to carry out important security work where the national security is concerned. The act mandates the increase in the number of federal air marshals and has placed the US airport security screeners under federal control. All the screeners were required to be US citizens, though the provision was later changed by American Civil Liberties Union. It was the Act’s provision that all the bags in the airports to be first screened and then matched to the passengers. Another provision of the Act was the $1. 5 billion award to the airports and private contractors so that the direct costs of meeting new security requirements were met. Checks for baggage in the airports was made necessary with screening recommended by use of explosive detection machinery or manual methods. The Act allowed the Transportation Secretary to authorize airports to use all the necessary equipment for the chemical and biological weapons detection. The Act did change the aviation security dramatically. For instance, before the 9/11 attack, the civil aviation security was handled by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). After the creation of the Act, the civil aviation security was put under the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). There were also changes in the federal statutes that covered aviation security (contained in title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations Chapter XII). The provisions that were made by the Act changed security practices in the airports with the airports implementing changes in the checking and screening procedures, where tight security procedures were and are still being developed. The placement of the airport security screeners under federal control made changes when all screeners were required to be US citizens and the matching of bags to passengers was made necessary with new security requirements adopted in airports. Racial and religious profiling in the US Aviation Security practices has been seen by some as illegal and inconsistent with American values (travelsecurity. blogspot. com/2007/09lantos-warns-tsa-against-religious. html). Furthermore, this profiling is detrimental to the national security. Civil liberties of some religious groups have claimed that TSA employees conduct secondary screening for passengers wearing ‘religious’ clothing. For instance, TSA employees have discriminated the Sikh by ordering Sikh Americans to remove their turbans, which defies their faith. There have been an estimated 50 incidents of religious discrimination since the institution of the new policy. Racial and religious profiling has led to discrimination and humiliation of people including the ordinary Americans. The practice leads to stereotyping of some citizens as terrorists and provokes a sense of fear against innocent citizens. The racial and religious profiling should instead promote changes that will prevent discrimination and humiliation of travelers. The profiling should not be used as a means of abuse but instead should be used with respect for the civilians. Exposing people to extra screening procedures simply because they belong to a certain race or religion should be done away with, but instead everyone subjected to the procedures to promote equality. References Bolz, F. , Dudonis, K. and Schulz, D. (2001). The Counterterrorism Handbook: Tactics, Procedures and Techniques. Second Edition. CRC Publishers Crank, J. P. , Gregor, P. E. 2005. Counter-Terrorism After 9/11: Justice, Security and Ethics Reconsidered. Cincinatti: Anderson Publishing Colangelo, P. The secret FISA court: Rubber Stamping on Rights. Covert Action Quarterly. Online at: media filter. org/CAQ/cqq53. court. html. Retrieved on June 26, 2008 Combs, (2005). Terrorism in the 21st Century, 4th Edition. Prentice Hall. FISA orders 1979-2004 Judson, K. Civil Aviation Security United States. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence and Security. 2004. Available at: www. encyclopedia. com/doc/iG2-34033000149. html. Retrieved on June 26, 2008 Lantos, T. US representative from California. Lantons Warns TSA Against Religious Profiling Insensitivity Sept 7, 2007. Online at: travelsecurity. blogspot. com/2007/09lantos-warns-tsa-against-religious. html. Retrieved on June 26, 2008 Mahan, S and Griset, P. 2007. Terrorism in Perspective. Sage Publications, Inc USA TODAY Com – NSA has Massive database of American’s phone calls http://www. usatoday. com/news/washington/2006-05-10-nsa-x. htm. Retrieved on June 26, 2008 How to cite Counter-terrorism, Papers

Positive Aspects Of Human Rights In Greece-Myassignmethelp.Com

Question: What Is The Positive Aspects Of Human Rights In Greece? Answer: Introduction Human rights are the norms or moral principles describing standards of human behaviour and are guarded as legal rights in international law. They are perceived as unassailable fundamental rights to which an individual is inherently entitled as he is a human being. As per this notion, all individuals have the same rights irrespective of their location, language, ethnic origin, caste and religion. They are applied everywhere across the globe and in the sense of being universal (Donnelly 2013, p. 3). The United Nations (UN) is the intergovernmental organisation responsible for Accounting international collaboration and corporation for creating and maintaining international peace and order. This organisation has the objective of maintaining security and peace, promoting human rights and fostering economic and social development (Freeman 2017, p. 7). The present briefing report discusses the Human Rights in the country Greece which is a member of the UN. The briefing identifies the areas where the country is doing well as well as the issues faced by the country in relation to human rights. It highlights the particular issues, regions and groups in this context. Recommendations have been outlined that can bring improvement in the light of all aspects of human rights in the country. This report ends with a summative conclusion to the overall report. Positive aspects of Human Rights in Greece Greece is a constitutional republic of the European continent and a multiparty parliamentary democracy. The unicameral parliament upholds a legislative authority for the country. Human Rights in Greece are given prime importance by the government, and this is reflected in the fact that such rights are observed by a number of organisations in the country (Donnelly Whelan 2017, p. 65). Greece is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, the United Nations Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. In addition, the Greek constitution upholds the basic human rights for all its citizens (Smith 2016). Greece amended the Criminal Code in 2014 to article 81A for strengthening the sentences imposed for offences that are hate-motivated and for the recognition of the absolute protection of material witnesses and victims of racist crimes. Further, Law No. 4198/2013 has been adopted for the prevention of trafficking of individuals, especially women. This law aims to protect the victims of human trafficking and other related provisions. The next domain where suitable legal regulations have been considered for implementation is racism and intolerance. Law No. 4356/2015 guides the setting up of the National Council against Racism and Intolerance which has been regarded as a significant measure to protect the victims of racism. Further, the relationship with the Racist Violence Recording Network has been enhanced in the recent past. This is a wing of non-governmental organisations for addressing incidents of racist violence (state.gov 2015). Social inclusion of Roma has to take been a concer n for the government, leading to the adoption of the National Strategy for the Social Inclusion of Roma, 2012-2020. The adoption as well as the implementation of the National Action Plan on Human Rights, 2014-2016 is another beneficial approach of the government (ohchr.org 2017). Greece has been doing well in relation to human rights in the area of unlawful or arbitrary deprivation of life. This is indicated by the fact that there have been no reports of any cases that the government or any of the government agents have committed arbitrary killings and any such unlawful acts. Further, there have been minimal reports of politically motivated disappearances. This draws attention of human rights advocates since politically motivated disappearances have increased in number in many other European countries in the recent past (Anthony 2016). Further, the law prohibits actions such as arbitrary interference with family, privacy and home. There have been fewer reports of the government failing to show respect to the mentioned prohibitions. The government and law uphold the freedom of press and speech. The political system and judiciary, along with independent press promote freedom of press and speech. The independent media is active to express different views on dive rse topics without any stringent restrictions. Any publications offending any religion or political party are however seized. Restrictions are imposed on speech that provokes hatred, discrimination, and violence on the basis of colour, religion, descent, sexual orientation and race (Salomon De Schutter 2015). The Greece government has not been reported to provide disrupted or restricted access to the content available online. Another point of relief is that the government monitors private online communications when there is no legal authority. The Greek constitution is known for freedom of assembly while respecting this basic human right. The freedom to take part in all of the major political processes of the country is by far the most significant adherence to human rights. The citizens can select their choice of government in a fair and justified manner. This selection is done on equal and universal suffrage (Buergenthal et al., 2017, p. 174-75). No cultural practices have been reported on prevention of women form taking part in political decisions. Lastly, different international human rights groups and domestic human rights groups can operate without the restriction of government and publish all significant findings regarding cases of human rights violation. Responsive nature of the go vernment officials and their proactive nature to cooperate have always been appreciating (Tomuschat 2014, p. 532). Image- Human Rights Protection across the globe, Source- ourworldindata.org 2014 Human Rights issues in Greece Greece has been in the news for a long time for its inability to abide by human rights policies outlined. The most significant human rights problems in Greece have emerged as a result of deplorable conditions and overcrowding. The lack of adequate potable water, sufficient food, the shelter has added to the issue. Poor conditions have aggravated the challenges, leading to societal discrimination (Harris et al. 2014, p. 271). The devastating economic crisis if deeply felt by the section of the society that is most vulnerable. Greece is on the frontline of challenges regarding migration and asylum in Europe. According to Peroni and Timmer (2013, p. 1059), the problems about human rights in Greece mainly encompasses treatment of refugees and migrants, treatment of conscientious objectors to military service, and incapability to grant protection to the majority of the women victims of forced prostitution and domestic violence. The authors further highlight that Greece has reported certain cases of arbitrary arrests against the charges of war on terror, and cases of conviction by the European Court of Human Rights for the violation of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights by convicting an unofficial mufti for seizing the role of a minister of a religion that is known. Bantekas and Oette (2013, p. 564) in this regard have highlighted issues faced by Greece in relation to human rights. The authors state that Greece has been infamous for multiple cases of abuse which have been done by security forces, especially illegal immigrants. Moreover, undocumented migrants have been detai ned in squalid conditions. Prisoners have been made to withstand harsh and overcrowding conditions. The authors further highlight that members belonging to the community of non-Orthodox religions often have to encounter rigorous administrative challenges and restrictions. Detention of separated and unaccompanied immigrant minors is a serious concern, grabbing the most of the attention of human rights proponents. It is to be noted that this group includes asylum seekers as well. The last, but no less important, is the issue of limits of the freedom of certain ethnic minority groups, such as Roma, to self-identity. Discrimination against this group is high as the individuals face social exclusion at different levels. Violence against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) community is high along with discrimination against certain creeds in occupation and employment on the strength of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, HIV-status and lastly, status of mi gration (amnesty.org 2017). Image-Sea arrivals at Greece in 2016, Source- data2.unhcr.org 2017 Mixed migratory flows draw a considerable amount of resources for combating the issues coming with it. Undocumented migrants who enter the country are detained for a period more than the maximum legal period of administrative detention. Together with this is the abscence of due process guarantees while the individuals are in detention in the country. The government is concerned about the low standards of identification and reception centres on the major islands of Greece. The chaotic situation has a disproportionate influence on the children and women, facing risks of violence. Insufficient access to asylum and immigration procedures, appropriate information passage among arrivals about the asylum procedures, and strenuous procedure for registering asylum seekers as well as migrants add to the issue. Guardianship system aiming to protect unaccompanied children is ineffective in the country. Children are not provided with appropriate accommodation. To add more to the issue, the practi ce, to all is to detain them with adults who are not related to them. Thousands of individuals who are asylum seekers, including women and children, are found to be trapped in conditions in EU-sponsored processing centers so-called hotspots, that are worseining with each passing year. Similar other facilities are also present amid the new arrivals and what makes it problematic that the Greek government has a critically slow decision-making process. Female migration has become a significant occurrence since it is growing in volume. The detention of migrant pregnant women, is of a concern. Women are at times held in detention together with men who are not related to them. Female migrants and refugees are vulnerable to exploitation, discrimination, human trafficking and abuse. Single women who travel with their children or alone, nursing women, adolescent girls, pregnant women, and elderly women are more prone to unsafe environment and are in urgent need of effective and coordinated p rotection response system Marketing (Koutrolikou 2016, p. 181-83). Labour discrimination in Greece also remains a major concern for human rights advocates. The working conditions of the migrant workers are considerably poor, characterised by a lack of coverage for social protection, extreme health and safety conditions, low incomes together with long working hours. These conditions are outrightly infringements to basic human rights (Rogan Rogan 2017, p. 7). Racism and hate crimes have been on the rise in the last one decade. The Golden Dawn party emerged in the year 2009 that primarily targets Muslims, Jews and Roma. The social media platforms and the mass media are not left behind. Xenophobic attacks and racist crimes have been exacerbated as a result of the economic crisis (Stoyanova 2016). Roma encounter obstacles and serious challenges in receiving the social services necessary for living. These include education, housing, employment and healthcare. Perseverance of incidents of forced evictions, unhealthy living conditions and educational segregation is severe. Recommendations The first step that the Greece government must take for bringing development to the present human rights scenario is to diversify the activities for data collection on victimisation, on the basis of self-identification and anonymity of individuals. This would provide an empirical foundation for policies and regulations that enhance the opportunity for all to enjoy equal rights in the country. Since a detailed and reliable socioeconomic information is needed for the monitoring of policies, the same is needed at the earliest. Secondly, although the government has the explanation that ethnic groups are not perceived and treated as minorities, there is a need of recognising ethnic groups of smaller sizes so that their identities and existence can be protected. In this context, the State party must consider recognising other groups which can be given the title of religious minorities and encourage implementation of major decisions taken by the European Court of Human Rights (Headley 2016, p. 165-66). Since racism is a major issue in the country, State party of Greece must bring the legal framework for anti-racism in complete adherence with the requirements of article 4 of the Convention. It is also to be ensured that it is strictly followed. For strengthening the anti-racism provisions, increasing the financial, technical and human resources already allocated to enforcement authorities who are responsible for the investigation of racial crimes would work in favour of the country. Moreover, undertaking awareness-raising measures, such as in-service training among the prosecutors, police and lawyers, on the anti-discrimination aspect would serve the purpose (Goodhart 2016, p. 466). The next human rights issue that comes into the limelight is the mixed flow of migrants. Refugees and asylum seekers have been putting a profound burden on the government. For ensuring that the rights of all migrant, asylum seekers and refugees are protected, initiatives are to be taken through a robust international cooperation with the countries of European Union (Douzinas 2013, p. 68). Conclusion Coming to the end of the report, it can be stated that human rights are a serious concern at the present world against the backdrop of growing conflicts among nations and within nations. Human rights have been regarded as the rule imposing the obligations on individuals to respect others as humans. The principle of human rights is known to be highly influential within international law and regional institutions. Debates have been long considered on the significant issue of the ability of Greece to promote and advocate human rights agendas. Though the country has some essence of positivity in certain areas of human rights, the challenges faced are more profound, having deep consequences on social life. The government has been open to periodic reports and suggestions that can lead to responses to the diverse range of concerns arising in the present time. Constructive and open dialogue with the delegation of the government and other political parties are always welcomed. References Amnesty.org. 2017.Greece 2016/2017. [online] Available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/greece/report-greece/ [Accessed 10 Aug. 2017]. Anthony, D., 2016. The Problematic Use of Human Rights Discourse in the Greek Crisis Debate. Bantekas, I. Oette, L., 2013.International human rights law and practice.Cambridge University Press. Buergenthal, T., Shelton, D., Stewart, D. Vazquez, C., 2017.International human rights in a nutshell. West Academic. Data2.unhcr.org. 2017.Situation Mediterranean Situation. [online] Available at: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean [Accessed 10 Aug. 2017]. Donnelly, J. Whelan, D.J., 2017.International human rights. Westview Press. Donnelly, J., 2013.Universal human rights in theory and practice.Cornell University Press. Douzinas, C., 2013. The paradoxes of Business rights.Constellations,20(1), pp.51-67. Freeman, M., 2017.Human rights.John Wiley Sons. Goodhart, M., 2016.Human rights: politics and practice. Oxford University Press. Harris, D., O'Boyle, M., Bates, E. Buckley, C., 2014.Harris, O'Boyle Warbrick: Law of the European convention on human rights. Oxford University Press, USA. Headley, J.M., 2016.The Europeanization of the world: On the origins of human rights and democracy. Princeton University Press. Koutrolikou, P.P., 2016. Governmentalities of Urban Crises in Inner?city Athens, Greece.Antipode,48(1), pp.172-192. Ohchr.org. (2017).OHCHR | UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants concludes his follow up country visit to Greece. [online] Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=19972LangID [Accessed 10 Aug. 2017]. Ourworldindata.org. 2014.Human Rights Protection. [online] Available at: https://ourworldindata.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/human-rights-protection-1.png [Accessed 10 Aug. 2017]. Peroni, L. Timmer, A., 2013. Vulnerable groups: The promise of an emerging concept in European Human Rights Convention law.International Journal of Constitutional Law,11(4), pp.1056-1085. Rogan, M. Rogan, M., 2017. Human rights and correctional health policy: a view from Europe.International Journal of Prisoner Health,13(1), pp.3-9. Salomon, M.E. De Schutter, O., 2015. Economic Policy Conditionality, Socio-Economic Rights and International Legal Responsibility: The Case of Greece 2010-2015. Smith, R.K., 2016.Textbook on international human rights.Oxford University Press. Stoyanova, V., 2016. LE v. Greece: Human Trafficking and the Scope of States' Positive Obligations Under the ECHR. Tomuschat, C., 2014.Human rights: between idealism and realism. OUP Oxford. www.state.gov. (2015).Greece 2015 Human Rights Report. [online] Available at: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/253065.pdf [Accessed 10 Aug. 2017].

The Philosophies of Thomas Jefferson free essay sample

An examination of the social philosophies of the American founding father, Thomas Jefferson, focusing on his concept of natural aristocracy. This paper examines the concept of natural aristocracy by Thomas Jefferson. This concept laid the basis for the rest of his thoughts and teachings about the ideal society of early America. The writer shows how Jefferson viewed education, society and leaders and also mentions some of his writings. Thomas Jefferson most clearly explained his views on the natural aristocracy in 1813 in a letter to longtime friend and sometime rival John Adams. Like many of the founding fathers, Jefferson despised the European aristocracy, with their notions that leadership could be earned with gold or a distinguished family name. He felt that people should rise through the ranks of society on the basis of merit, hence his natural aristocracy. The hallmarks of the natural aristocrat, according to Jefferson, were virtue and talents. He added that body strength, good humor, politeness, and other accomplishments were auxiliary grounds of distinction (qtd. We will write a custom essay sample on The Philosophies of Thomas Jefferson or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page in The Founders Constitution). It was these natural aristocrats, he believed, who should lead a free country like the newly born United States of America (Thomas Jefferson Biography).

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) company internationalization essayEssay Writing Service

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) company internationalization essayEssay Writing Service China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) company internationalization essay China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) company internationalization essayEconomic success of China and its growing economic and political influence disturb many neighbors and competitors. China’s search of oil and gas resources around the world is one of the most controversial topics for geopolitical speculation. Politics of exit abroad in China officially existed since 2001. In the oil and gas sector, one of its leaders is China National Offshore Oil Corporation, as well as two more national oil companies CNPC and Sinopec.Tactics of the strategy consists of four main areas: purchase of assets and companies, alliances, transaction of resources for the market type and loans for oil. From 2002 to 2013, Chinese NOCs completed more than 50 mergers and acquisitions in 20 countries. Currently, Chinese oil companies operate in more than 30 countries, including 20 where they take part in the production.Basic information about CNOOCChina National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOO C) is the third largest national oil company of China after CNPC and Sinopec. It is engaged in production, processing and marketing of crude oil and natural gas in offshore China. It is engaged in development of offshore oil and gas resources on the basis of international cooperation and it is Chinas largest offshore oil and gas producer. It was founded in 1982 and employs consists of 57,000 people. It is a public company, as 70% of shares are owned by the Government of the PRC. CNOOC securities are also traded on the stock exchanges of Hong Kong and New York.HistoryCNOOC was formed in February 1982 as a result of the publication of Decree on January 30 by the State Council on cooperation with foreign enterprises in the development of offshore oil fields.Deputy Minister of oil industry Venkay Keane was appointed the first president of CNOOC. As a part of a national corporation, there were established in May 1982 in Tanggu Bohai Oil Corporation, in June in Guangzhou Nanhai East Oil Corporation, in Zhanjiang Nanhai West Oil Corporation, in July in Shanghai Nanhuanghai Oil Corporation. Since 1999, CNOOC has changed its strategic priorities, conducted a large-scale reorganization and listing of its assets carried on two stock exchanges. By 2003, the companys total assets exceeded 100 billion Yuan (Boisot Meyer 2008).ActivitiesChina National Offshore Oil Corporation is integrated energy company engaged primarily in oil and gas development, energy production based on oil and gas, refining, chemical fertilizer production, oilfield services and provision of other specialized technical services, financial services and new energy. At the moment, the corporation has a monopoly in the field of offshore oil and natural gas, as well as their processing.It owns 44 oil and gas fields in China, located in the Bohai Sea, the South China and East China seas. In 2008, its operating income was about 194.8 billion Yuan, total profit about 67.8 billion Yuan, the total assets o f the corporation amounted 409.5 billion Yuan (Tong 2009). Annual oil and gas production amounted 42.93 million tonnes of oil equivalent. The corporation in 2011 took 162nd position in the ranking of 500 largest companies in the world, compiled by the magazine â€Å"Fortune Global 500† (although in 2010 it took 252nd place) (Ling 2013).CNOOC has plans to expand its global presence to become one of the major energy companies in the world. In particular, in March 2010 it was announced the acquisition of 50% of the Argentine oil and gas producer Bridas Corporation for approximately $3.1 billion. In addition, CNOOC owns energy assets in Australia, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.China National Offshore Oil Corporation internationalizationCNOOC is of great interest of many countries. Aggressive purchase of corporation  «Unocal » (USA) and mutually beneficial cooperation with the Argentine company  «Bridas » hit the road to the resources of America. After 6 years, during which CNOOC rapidly followed the path of internationalization, the idea of ​​overseas expansion was changing.In March 2013, the member of the CPPCC, chief geologist of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Mr. Zhu Ke in the interview to The first financial and economic newspaper said: China should be fully prepared to the high oil prices, there is no need to predict the course of industrial development after the price increase of oil. National Oil Company and other companies in China, entering the path of internationalization, can still make a big step forward (Moreira 2013).Internationalization of CNOOC from 1993 to 2004Internationalization of China National Offshore Oil Corporation has begun some time ago. In 1993, they approved the development of overseas regions and created appropriate department. And before that, in 1992, CNOOC had a strategy for the development and detailed study of foreign areas rich in oil and gas (Schuler-Zhou,  2009).Af ter 3.5 years, it adopted the cooperation with foreign oil companies registered abroad, under administration of China and selling in Singapore. The first successful acquisition of CNOOC was the purchase of shares on the oil field in Malacca.In October 1993, an international company  «Atlantic Richfield » ceded shares of Malacca field to China National Offshore Oil Corporation and provided all related materials. In May 1994, CNOOC with the international company  «Atlantic Richfield » has entered into an agreement to purchase 32.58% of shares of the deposit in the amount of 16 million US dollars. In 1995, CNOOC purchased from a Japanese Oil Company 6.93% of shares of the field in the amount of 2.95 million US dollars. These two purchases allowed China National Offshore Oil Corporation to become the largest holder of this oil field (Boisot Meyer 2008).In 1997, CNOOC with an international company  «Atlantic Richfield » and the company  «Environment, health and safety » signed an agreement on differentiated purchase of 5.9% stake in M7/M9 fields in Myanmar, 26.67% stake in four districts in the Gulf of Mexico and 20% of one more field there.Development of China National Offshore Oil Corporation was due to foreign cooperation to create transnational cooperation. In the beginning, the company was aimed at training and learning environment.However, in the initial period of the internationalization, the company missed some opportunities due to external influences. China National Offshore Oil Corporation reached an agreement with one oil company in Spain, Asian financial crisis stopped the process. The country worried about losing money and suspended the project.After Chinas accession to the WTO in 2001, the strategy of expanding outside the country has been framed as a political task, named exit abroad. It was announced that foreign investment became a major focus of the five-year development plan for 2001-2005 (West 2005).CNOOC conquest of the world m arket (2005 -2010)Although the first steps towards internationalization were made relatively early, but biggest success was mainly achieved in recent years. In 2005, China National Offshore Oil Corporation was going to buy the corporation  «Unocal ». Although it failed on the verge of success, that was regarded as a landmark event.This aggressive style of expansion surprised the world, but the loss taught general director of CNOOC Fu Chehnjuj a very useful lesson. Buying corporation  «Unocal » showed the determination and courage of the Chinese company, demonstrated its confidence in the future. However, looking back, I see that difficulties in purchasing were underestimated, - says Zhu Ke. Playing on the enemy’s and own field are two different concepts (Hong Sun 2006).In 2005, as a part of the strategy of â€Å"absorption†, CNOOC together with Sinopec got involved into the development of Canadian sandstones by purchasing assets of MEG Energy and Northern Ligh t. Later, during 2009 and 2010, the purchase of assets in oil sands continued.In 2007, China National Offshore Oil Corporation explored 10 new oil and gas fields in the Bohai Bay and the Gulf of Beibu. According to the statistical bulletin on the state of the marine sector in China, in 2007 the value added products industry operating offshore oil and gas resources reached 76.9 billion Yuan, having increased by 17.3 percent compared with 2006 (Haldis 2008).China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) company internationalization essay part 2

Palliative Sedation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Palliative Sedation - Essay Example Palliative sedation is a  beneficial  therapy  as it provides comfort and dignified death. The key  value  of palliative medicine is to  relieve  suffering (Braun,  Hagen  & Clark, 2003). It is an accepted and effective symptom  control  method  for patients with intractable physical symptoms. Palliative sedation  get  supported by beneficence,  autonomy  and double  effect  doctrine. According to  autonomy  every person has a right to  decide to regard  health status based on the beliefs, values and goals. Suffering being a personal experience, a person should be given a  chance  to choose the options they  wish  to use to relieve pain (Quill, Dresser & Brock, 1997). Based on beneficence principle, health care practitioners should  offer  care that is beneficial to patients. Relief of suffering whether physical or  emotional  is their  duty. Clinicians should  weigh  all the options and bear in mind that palliative sedation is  beneficial  to the caregivers and family  too. The double effect doctrine deals with the intention of treatment. In this case, the intention is to  relieve  suffering as the patient nears death. Before administering palliative sedation, it is necessary to ensure all other options  are exhausted, and the symptoms are  unmanageable.  Consider different options such as  intermittent, continuous and respite sedation. Caution must be exercised, and administering should be done on informed consent (Hallenbeck, 2000). Shaver, W. & Rousseau, P. (2005). A challenge to the ethical validity of palliative sedation. Program and abstracts of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine/Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association Annual Assembly. New Orleans,

Funds Management and Potfolio Selection Assignment

Funds Management and Potfolio Selection - Assignment Example that not all the investors have the necessary time and knowledge to search the market and identify different assets which can yield consistent results for them. In order to overcome such situations, intermediaries offer their services which include a range of services including offering advice as well as tailoring the portfolio for the individual investors according to the requirements of the investors. Fund management is one type of financial intermediation which can help investors to mange their wealth in a manner that not only provides the consistent returns but also preserve the capital of the investors. Investment fund industry in Australia has grown recently and as such the growth has resulted into the formation of a mutli-billionaire industry at the global level. The essential feature of the fund managers running such investment funds is to offer the services of managing the money on behalf of their clients because they develop expertise as well as knowledge of the market which ordinary investors lack. Fund management is often considered as the professional management of the different securities as well as assets in order to meet the specific goals of the investors. Funds are often created for specific purposes with very well define investment goals and objectives. Funds often also outline their strategies as to how the investment process will be carried out to achieve such objectives. For example, if the objectives of the fund are to provide consistent results with minimum risk, the fund may clearly outline that it will invest into government securities or money market so that the overall risk profile of the portfolio remains within acceptable limits. Fund management industry is typically dominated by small as well as large players which cater to the specific needs of the various groups of customers and offer specialized services by creating specific niche markets for themselves. Typically, a fund charges commission on the transactions carried by it

Operations Management and Business Development Essay

Operations Management and Business Development - Essay Example In this management style, all the employees and management work together as a group so as to harmonize operations such as deciding what should be invested in to the operation arrangement such as workforce, material, apparatus, power and how these resources can be easily be acquired and used to ensure that finished products meet the requirements of consumers Over the recent past, Avon Mill toys has faced competition in it field of operation hence getting the urge to expand to other fields so as to offer a diversity of product and be able to stand the current economic crisis amid competition. Some of the effort that is underway includes trying to sell their product over the internet, an idea that has suffered several drawbacks in terms of rejection by its representatives (Galloway et al 2000). Avon has used direct marketing to make its sales and this has been very effective though the current increased use of the internet is giving competitors an upper hand as they can reach a wider range of clients. The companies efforts to sell their products over the internet has faced rejections from representatives as it could lead to loss of jobs or the company could loose that direct customer relationship (Grassley 2008). A big question is whether Avon can afford to remain competitive by direct marketing or by inventing another way to increase its sales Over the past years, Avon has relied on direct marketing as a major strength to promote and sell its goods. The company has been in the lead for providing toys to the customers directly and the developments in communication have suddenly changed the company's major strength into a very large obstacle. Any innovations intended to increase the company's sales above direct sales faces opposition from sales repetitive. There is a lot of competition emerging from other companies offering alternative and substitute products. For this reason, Avon Toys has to come up with a strategy that will be cost effective and of sharing promotion and branding expenses in all the company's markets has helped to cut down the operation costs. Avon has also involved in marketing its product over popular medium like the television and movie theatres thus increasing customer base covered. Avon is determined to provide everyone with high value toys that are innovative and in the process also provide financial independence to the general population like employing sales representatives (Galloway et al 2000). The toy company has targeted to reach a lot of people if not everyone with their product in the global market hence help in improving the quality of live by the products they offer. Under operational management, it is very important to focus on the corporate objectives of firm which means that the company's supply of raw materials, manufacturing process and marketing strategies should be harmonized to reduce incidences of misunderstanding, delays and process failure (Grassley 2008). The operations strategy should provide the company with the capacity to compete in the UK market especially the Avon Mill toy Company. The operations framework includes the following steps; 1. Defining the

A Pestel Analysis Of China Market Economics Essay

A Pestel Analysis Of China Market Economics Essay Since 1979, China adopted an export-manufacturing strategy successfully following with Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. The Golden Bridge Co., Ltd is one of the beneficiaries. It was founded in 2007 with flooring as its main products. The product is of high quality by utilizing advanced technology and equipments imported from Germany and Italy. The glue and lacquer materials for production are also imported. In current stage, Golden Bridge has a total capital of 800 million RMB and exported to 35 foreign markets including the U.S., Canada, Japan and Germany. In order to help it to expand the business, our consultancy company attempt to analyze the China business environment and seek a foreign market to relocate the manufacturing of this company with proper entering and competing strategies. This essay first illustrates the business environment of flooring industry in China and German with PESTEL analysis. Then it evaluates the threats in Germany market by following Porters five-force mode l. Later a recommendation would be given on how to properly enter into the targeted country. PESTEL analysis of china market: The PESTEL analysis is used to assess the macro environment and identify the challenges Golden Bridge faced with in china market in order to make an appropriate suggestion. Political: The Chinese political system characterized as one-party communist dictatorship makes a great contribution to national stability, enabling the economy keep dynamic and sustainable. Nevertheless, when the economic system was deregulated from the command economy to market economy since 1978, the power of economic management was increasingly decentralized, raising the issue of uncoordinated development of regional economy. Currently, though the central government has made effort to alleviate the gap among different areas in terms of developing standards, provinces tend to give a priority to local profits rather than considering the integrated advancement of the whole country. Local protectionism exerts detrimental influences upon market expansion of Golden Bridge Company in nationwide and deters the establishment of a comprehensive distribution channel. Economical: China is valued as one of the most vibrant countries in terms of economic development among the world. The reform opening up in 1978 accelerated Chinas GDP growth from 362.4 billion RMB to 30 trillion RMB within a 30-year period. Moreover, in 2010, China has been the second largest economy instead of Japan whilst the value of export accounted for 10% of world. Based on these statistics, judgment can be made that manufactures in China including flooring industry may keep an optimistic attitude to their future prospects in some extent. Nonetheless, Chinese economy may suffer unpredictable circumstance in the future. Labor resource is one double-edge sword. Once being an advantage of China, abundant labor resource and economical labor price make a great contribution to progress of those labor-intensive manufacturing industries. This is also the primary reason that China flooring industry is quite profitable though China is a net importer of timber. However, as cited by AME info (2005) there is a growth in the minimum wage standard, labor may not be regard as a perpetual advantage of China if this trend continues. In Addition, appreciation of CNY since 2005 against USD may imperil the export of Golden Bridge Company (Goldstein, M. and Lardy, N., 2006). Social: It is claimed by Su and Littlefied (2001) that China is an extremely high-context country where people prefer to receive implied messages. For establishing a business in China, strong private-relationships with different stakeholders is the key to success. However, this is extremely time-consuming while the maintenance is also expensive. Potential conflicts in interest may easily erode it. Besides the relationship, corruption is another issue in China. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, China was positioned 72nd among all 179 countries in 2008. However, damages caused by corruption may be far more hazardous than anticipated, particularly to the economic development. Corruption has been treated as a vital barrier for operating in Chinese market due to enormous back-stage expenditures as well as resulted injustice. For Golden Bridge to gain more import quotas and pay less tariff, costs may be made up of not only normal ingredients such as transporting, but also implied expense for smoothing the network. Technological: China wood flooring industry is experiencing a relatively laggard technological standard in its initial stage of development. According to Cheng and Song (2006), the level of timber utilization was 61% in 2004 with a considerable disparity with developed countries (nearly 90%). Additionally, imbalanced technological support aggravates the long-term conflicts between wood supply and demand in Chinese domestic market. In 2004, though the total domestic timber supply is 273.6 million cubic meters and exceeded the total consumption of 241.5 million cubic meters, scarcity of raw material still existed in some parts of timber manufacturing industry. Environment Legal: Chinese government proposed the Natural Forest Protection Program (NFPP) nationwide in 1998 to limit exploitation of natural forest resources. The legislation made the supply of domestic natural timber restricted. Between 1997 and 2003, natural timbers supply decreased from 32.05 million cubic meters to 12.145 million cubic meters (Cheng and Song, 2005), which was extremely insufficient to satisfy demands of the highly prosperous timber industry in China. Timer manufacturing companies in China have to depend on importing. Statistics shows that in 1997 the quantity of imported timber only occupied 23.56% of total wood consumption, while the number soared to 53.78% in 2004. The expenditure of imported timber was $33.96 higher per cubic meter compared with the price in 2007, which increased the material coast of Golden Bridge Company. PESTEL analysis of German market: Since this essay has analyzed the macro environment of the china flooring market, further looking at the political, economic, social and technological factors of the German can help advance and strength the logic of the whole assessment. Political factors: Germany is a home of secure, legal and rewarding investment. The World Economic Forum has rewarded its legal system as the most efficient and this fact has also gained international recognition. Flooring coverings are categorized according to German and EU laws and building products should be subject to the EU construction products directive and the German construction products law. The directive and law are mainly focused on environmental, health-related, material and usability sectors and most people agree that by considering the environmental restrictions, the EU can be the strictest market. Moreover, with the transnational economic environment, it is predicted by experts that the approval criteria for flooring is likely to decrease and there seems to be a limited permission of eco-labels for flooring products. Further, comprehensive incentives  are provided to both home and oversea investors by German government, individual federal states and the EU. Economic factors Germany is the largest economy in Europe and in general German is export-oriented. Since 2003, German has been the largest exporter machinery, vehicles, chemicals and household equipment, with an annual export increase of 8%. However, factors that may prevent Golden Bridge from entering into and developing itself in Germany also exist. They can be excessive dependence on euro currency, tight credit markets and an increasing rate of unemployment. Stimulus and stabilization efforts initiated in 2008 and 2009 and tax cuts introduced in Chancellor Angela MERKELs second term will increase Germanys record budget deficit, which is expected to exceed 5% of GDP in 2010. The EU required Germany to get its consolidated budget deficit below 3% of GDP until 2013. A new constitutional amendment likewise limits the federal government to structural deficits of no more than 0.35% of GDP per annum as of 2016. Technology factors: Germany is claimed to be the leading nation in high-tech development and receives high turnover accordingly. In 2007, the high-tech products exported by Germany accounted to a value of RUR 114 billion, ranked first in Europe and third worldwide. More than 27% turnover of German manufacturing factory is generated from high-tech products, compared to a European average of 19%. Social factors: Social factors also need consideration. Hofstedes analysis of Germany shows the emphasis on individualism, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. Power distance and long-term orientation are both ranked considerably lower than the others. Germany believes in equality and equal opportunity, as well as its ability to change and adapt rapidly. Another arising issue is the social awareness of pollution, which leads Germany to use more environmental-friendly materials. Abstract for the use of five-force model: After analyzing the macro-environment of both countries, it is reasonable and necessary to apply Michel Porters five-force model in order to provide a thoroughly understanding of the German flooring market before the Golden Bridge company entering into it. According to this model, the competitiveness of an industry is influenced by such five forces and their collective strength and thus determines the ultimate profit potential of this targeting industry. These five forces covered in the analysis are competitive rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, the threat of substitution and the threat of potential new entry. However, the five-forces framework is not a set of principals per se, instead is a tool for systematically use these principals to assess the current status and likely evolution of an industry. Competitive Rivalry: The internal competitive rivalry in German flooring market seems high. There are three main reasons. First, the switching cost is low because flooring products are homogenous with little product differentiation. Another reason is that the German flooring market is saturated with a relatively low growth rate. The flooring production in 2008 suffered a 15.1% decline while the total consumption slumped for about 12.19% (FEP, 2008). Also the number of competitive companies in German flooring market and the intensity of rivalry also determine the high threats of rivalry. There are a large number of companies competing in the German flooring market and these companies are divided into three categories, they are Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Domestic Leading Manufacturers (DLMs) and Niche Market Brands (NMBs). First of all, SMEs has the largest number in the German flooring market (Roadmap, 2010). These SMEs are often manufacturers provide low-grade flooring with low price. Their marketing strategy is just reverse to Golden Bridges. Thus Golden Bridge is suggested to treat them in an abstemious way. However, there are also a few numbers of large flooring manufacturers who operating on European and/or global base. It is suggested by German Timber (2007) that few DLMs account for the majority of the total market share. These companies usually possess strong competencies, highly recognized reputation and well-established brand image. One main rivalry is the Krono Group, who is one of the world leading producers of high-quality flooring. Founded in 1897, it has accumulated years of experience and extensive knowledge know-how. It delivers products to 80 countries worldwide while has its own production-base in 18 countries. In 2004, its production capability of flooring reached 310 million à £Ã … ½Ã‚ ¡, took up about 1/3 of the world market share with total sales revenue of 24 billion RMB. It also has an annual RD investment of 15billion RMB with over 200 scientists doing research in Krono International Laboratory. In addition, there are Niche Market Brands (NMBs) with several well-known brands like Espirt and Kaindl, holding part of the flooring market (FEP, 2007). These companies merely provide certain kinds of flooring to meet the special needs of a group of customers. Furthermore, in order to gaining competitive strength, the NMBs together with some foreign brands such as Balterio from Belgian and Vito from Austria have formed a conglomerate named Beamy International, a commercial platform allowing them to compete on both domestic and global markets (FEP, 2008). As the competition is fierce in German flooring market, Golden Bridge is suggested to adopt a niche strategy and doing effective promotion after entering the market. To explain, the original German wood flooring manufacturers already gains economy of scales and undeniably enjoy a cost advantage. Advanced distribution channel comparing with those new entrants also allows them first mover advantages. Cost disadvantage and lacking reliable cooperators are main barriers for Golden Bridge to survive in German market. Insufficient in capital determines that an aggressive expansion strategy is also irrational. However, one advantage Golden Bridge occupies is that it has been doing export business within German importers for couple of years and its products did have certain reputation in this highly competitive market. By offering additional value, Golden Bridge can efficiently differentiate itself among the rivals with a brand image of reliability, valuable, and symbol of statuses. This may help obtain sustainable brand loyalty among German customers. Threat of Substitutes: The threat of substitution refers to the extent to which different products used in place of a companys products or offered by other industrials. Flooring is not restricted on only wood but other materials such as textile and stone/ceramics are also widely used. For instance, in German market in 2008, textile took the largest raw material market share (i.e. about 37.4%) for making flooring. This is followed by stone/ceramics of 28.6%. Comparably, the laminate only had a market share of 13.9%, ranked in the third place. In terms of switching cost, the result can be distinct regarding to different objects of study. To individual consumers, there is almost no switching cost exists because choose one kind of material instead of another is just a matter of personal taste. However, this can be criticized in depth for the reasons that wood-made flooring has its own characteristics and functions that other materials may not have. To some extent and to specific customer groups, for instance, those who have fixed-decoration style, the switching cost can be relatively high. However, to large wholesalers (e.g. Beamy International) who previously dedicated in wood-made flooring, the switching cost would be extremely high, as they may lose the stable distribution channels with their current wholesalers or retailers, and also the price advantage provided by the long-term cooperative producers. This means the substitution threat is less considerable because their past investment in developing stable distribution channels with retailers and producers offers them an advantage in current market and this may make them unwilling to undertake risks of operating and competing in a new and highly competitive market. Summing up the above, it is the end-user customers that Golden Bridge should pay close attention to. First of all, it is advised that a regular customer survey to be conducted to make a comprehension of customers preferences and what they really appreciate. The company should also emphasize the exclusiveness and unique utilities of their products, making it cost more for the customers to switching to other substitutes. In the meantime, though as mentioned the future trend seems favor wood flooring industry, Golden Bridge should cause enough value that the technology development is always indeterminate. Thus in order to avoid sudden shock of new technologies that brings in comparable substitutes, Golden Bridge should invest continuously in Research and Development to keep pace with the times. Threat of New Entrants: Threat of new entrants is moderate. As put by European Commission (2001), the main barriers to enter German market include certification approval and the quality standards and label, while the incentive to enter German market depends mainly on its impeccable infrastructure system. The extensive unified intensification, which has been mentioned before in PEST Analysis of German, increase the starting investment of new entry, accordingly has negative effect on new entrants to the market. There are totally fourteen member countries of European Federation of the Parquet Industry (FEP). Under the Single European Market policy, twelve of them have reached an agreement on moving goods, service and capital freely internally, giving companies in these markets strong mobility. To put it simpler, a flooring company located in Germany for example, can either choose to develop domestically or entre into either of the other 11 member countries of EFP, in support of the unified system. Once entering into the consolidated FEP, the new members deserve this privilege with little hindrance, however, the legal entry requirement, especially for flooring companies compliance with environmental protection, is said to be quite strict in European Market, which is especially true in Ge rmany. Thus it can be expected that in order to harmonize to European standards, a large quality of funds will be needed to invest in order to fulfilling the standards ranging from environmental protection to individual healthcare. What is more, the sophisticated infrastructures that Germany possesses nationwide make the market considerably attractive to those adventurous entrepreneurs. As known to all, Germany lays in the center of the Western Europe, with large-scale transportation centers such as International airport in Frankfurt and seaport in Hamburg (ELA, 2010). Centering in a fast and efficient logistic network covering almost all the main markets in Europe, flooring companies in Germany can procure raw materials namely timber on a global scale, and reach the external markets with relatively lower transportation costs. Therefore the threats of new entrants would be moderate in German flooring market. For Golden Bridge, the corporate should create a marketing and brand image and keep customers loyalty, tie up to both suppliers and distributors. More important, it should sign a patent to protect the intellectual property of their high-tech products. Buyer Power: Buyer power, which is determined by the individual customers ability in negotiating purchase prices with suppliers, is at an intermediate level in German market basing on four crucial reasons. Firstly, according to the previous analysis, competition in the wood flooring manufacturing is largely intensified by a large amount of incumbents. Hence, purchasers are more unrestricted in choosing their suppliers with considering competitive advantages of products, and price may be a decisive factor for some customers. However, it is important to note that Wholesalers have more bargaining power than individuals. Being the large-volume buyers, they are not only main customers where companies earn profits from, but also controllers of dominant distribution channels. By stark contrast, individual customers with smaller purchase volume may be positioned less vitally in suppliers minds. Secondly, the buyer power is attenuated by the availability of substitutes of wood flooring in German market. E xcept for this category of flooring, more choices are supplied on the market. Despite competition reinforces customers bargaining power, the phenomena of demand surplus in German wood flooring alleviates this circumstance. According to the research of European Federation of the Parquet Industry (FEP), the consumption of German wood flooring is about 17.88 million square meters, while the production of German wood flooring is only about 11.04 million square meters (Slides Stats 2008). In additionally, German culture also plays a significant role in lessening customers bargaining power. The spirit of the nation, such prudence and fixation lead to a fairly strict standardization in both work and life. Germans are used to calculating a precise price based on all dimensions. Hence, they dislike dealing with situations out of their planning, enabling bargaining become very difficult. Ten percentage cut in price is the biggest range they will agree in they dealing with foreign buyers. (LeMont Schmidt, 2001). Supplier Power: Supplier Power refers the power of suppliers to drive up the prices of raw materials, supplies, equipment or inputs. Your company purchases the glue, paint and equipment, and employs labors from Germany and imports the wood from Russia. There are some crucial factors performing low supplier power of your company. Firstly, German is not used to bargaining, which is mentioned in Buyer power. Hence, it is meaningless for German suppliers to drive up the price of material and equipment. Negotiating power is weak in Russia as well. Although the nation is one of the largest wood producers, there are a large number of wood suppliers ¼Ã…’which provide a strongly competitive circumstance in Russia. Admittedly wood is a kind of nature product so that customers are sensitive to the price of wood. Because of high standard of transparency, the switching cost is low in Russia. On the other hand, many substitutes with lower expenditures are becoming increasingly prevalent such as marble, carpet, plastic flooring. High standard of substitutes threat can restrict the suppliers to drive up the price and reduce the power of suppliers. However, high labor cost strengthens the supplier power. The German labor cost is one of the highest in world. According to Common Protocol of Salary, Labor wage need be determined by the negotiation between wood flooring industry and backwards industry (Fact about Germany, 1996). Therefore, the security of labor force is quite completed. Unions are powerful to argue with unfair wage or welfare. For example, Michael Sommer, the head of the trade union federation(DGB) , claimed that is necessary to increase labors wage with the upturn of economy in 2010( Guardian ¼Ã…’2010). Supplier power and buyer power, which exert a moderate threat on Golden Bridges development in German, can be alleviated through several ways. From one aspect, to limit bargaining power of large-volume wholesalers, the company should give priority to building up a distribution network itself by developing new franchisers rather than depending on the primary channels of wholesalers. In terms of individual customers as well as challenges from substitutes, enhancing the products benefits would be the most efficient way to reduce their bargaining desire as most of affluent people value quality more important than price. From the other aspects, labor relationship, the most considerable barrier in lessening German supplier power, should be harmonized through affording sufficient welfare to employees, as well as building a relative democratic organizational culture by the company. Moreover, it is supposed that importing a few skilled workers from China would benefit the company not only by more economical labor cost, but also reducing the significant dependence on the German labor market. Limitation of the 5-forces: Porters five-force model is not perfect but based on the assumption that from the view of any one firm, all the other firms no matter whether they are supplier, competitor or buyer are threats to the profitability. However, according to Brandenberger and Nalebuffs value net theory, interactions among firms can sometimes enhance profits. Thus critics raised and attentions on cooperation are much more paid. The cooperation between the Golden Bridge Company and other foreign flooring companies will be analyzed and evaluated in the later recommendation part. Recommendation By illustrating the German macroeconomic environment and its circumstance of flooring industry, it is thought that the most recommended strategy for Golden Bridge is to build a joint venture with one or several German covering floor manufacturing enterprises, whilst maintaining the manufacturing section and primary market system in China. Joint venture can be explained as a collaborative formation among companies that each party invests parts capabilities to constitute a new enterprise, thereafter determining the distribution of ownership according to corresponding contributions. Nevertheless, two preconditions should be taken into consideration before making an alliance with German incumbents. Firstly, as a dominant barrier in Chinese market, capital insufficiency would also limit the investment ability of Golden Bridge in German to a large extent. Consequently, small-to-medium incumbents are more desirable as cooperators rather than large-scale companies in terms of ensuring a rela tively high proportion of ownership of Golden Bridge in the new joint venture. Moreover, it is imperative to illustrate compatibility of potential partners based on a number of philosophic criteria, including similar experience, common principles and agreed future target as well (Kanter, 1994). Where extremely intensive competition takes place, German market would tend to pose more threats than opportunities on the Golden Bridge if the company attempts to entirely entry the market alone. In comparison, cooperating and aligning with local companies would be a much safer and efficient measure from two aspects. First, by giving joint ventures preferential treatment, the Golden Bridge gains a good opportunity to penetrate the German market in a relatively short period with minimum risks as the company is unnecessary to expose abundant long-term investments to gain market shares in German wood flooring industry. Instead, it can utilize those important strategic assets of local cooperators such as complete distribution channels, customer relationships and brand loyalty. Moreover, Golden Bridge is still deficient at technology and management comparing with the local German companies. Through setting up a joint venture, advanced technology and managerial know-how can be more easily accessible by Golden Bridge, which is beneficial to its development in China market as well. Nevertheless, possible issues relating to joint venture cannot be neglected by the Golden Bridge. First, operational dissimilarities caused by political and economic divergence between China and German may be a vital problem for Golden Bridge. For instance, blind spots in law or financial systems will damage the corporate profits at initial stage. Additionally, cultural and managerial difference may be difficult to consolidate as different authority, reporting and decision-making patterns (Kanter, 1994), therefore leading to possible mistrust and misunderstanding between Golden Bridge and its partners. It has been widely recognized that German managers are prudent and rigid in dealing with regulations and rarely consider the influences of the network relationship, which is fairly distinct from Chinese managers conceptions. Conclusion: In conclusion, according to the PESTEL analysis, there are a number of challenges in China. These challenges can be the unbalanced market condition in china because of local protectionism and insufficient infrastructures, under-developed technology and managerial skill led to the low efficiency of timber industry in China, Natural Forest Protection Program limits the domestic nature timbers supply as well as the increasing labor cost in flooring industry due to Chinas economy prosperous. The complexity of interrelationship of different parties involved in the business environment also cannot be neglected. The PESTEL analysis of German market was further conducted to make the assessment more comprehensive. Later the consultants use five-force model to assess threat of entering the German flooring market. For instance, the competitive rivalry and threat of entry in German flooring market is extremely high. In terms of threat of substitution, it is much more complex. The supplier power and buyer power are both at an intermediate level. However, Porters model is criticized for lacking of corporation with other market players. Thus, a recommendation is made by our consultancy company for Golden Bridge to organize a joint venture and thus with other reliable and competitive companies for instance, the Beamy International. Facts about Germany. (1996). Frankfurt am Main: Società ¤ts Verlag. LeMont Schmidt, P. (2001). Die amerikanische und die deutsche Wirtschaftskultur im Vergleich: Ein Praxisbuch fà ¼r Manager. Gà ¶ttingen: Hainholz Verlag. Guardian (2010) German steel workers demand 6% wage increase http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/14/germany-angela-merkel http://www.roadmap2010.eu/wisd/pdfs/68-81.pdf http://ecotec-energiesparhaus.de/Daten/Holztechnik-Forest-and-wood-industries-in%20Germany%20at-a-glance.pdf http://www.tarkett.com/group/en/company/Tarkett-at-a-glance http://www.homeinstitute.com/types-of-flooring.htm http://news.frbiz.com/parquet_floor_once_again_leading-440481.html http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004D0275:EN:NOT

Hemophilia :: essays research papers

Hemophilia is a rare genetic blood clotting disorder that primarily affects males. People living with hemophilia do not have enough of, or are missing, one of the blood clotting proteins naturally found in blood. Two of the most common forms of hemophilia are A and B. In persons with hemophilia A (also called classic hemophilia), clotting factor VIII is not present in sufficient amounts or is absent. In persons with hemophilia B (also called Christmas disease), clotting factor IX is not present in sufficient amounts or is absent. People with hemophilia do not bleed more profusely or bleed faster than normal; they bleed for a longer period of time. Virtually all people who have hemophilia A or B are born with it. The majority of people with hemophilia have a family history (it is a hereditary disorder). In as many as 30% of cases, there is no family history of hemophilia. In these cases, the mother may not be aware that she carries the gene for hemophilia, or a gene mutation may have occurred spontaneously. A long history Hemophilia was identified as early as biblical times. Doctors in medieval times were familiar with it as well. In 1803, a Philadelphia doctor published the first description of hemophilia in the United States. But it was not until 30 years later that hemophilia became widely recognized. Hemophilia later developed a reputation as the "royal disease" because it passed from Queen Victoria of England to her descendants throughout the royal houses of Europe. Who Gets Hemophilia? Hemophilia occurs when the gene to produce clotting factor does not work correctly. Without the proper amount of clotting factor, bleeding occurs easily. Hemophilia is an inherited disorder in about two thirds of the cases. About one third of the cases of hemophilia occur due to spontaneous changes in the gene or mutations. The presence of a mutated gene may not be noted until a woman with no family history of hemophilia has a son with the disorder. The gene for hemophilia is carried on the X chromosome. The gene for hemophilia is also recessive. This is why hemophilia is referred to as an X-linked recessive disorder. If there is not a normal gene present to offset the defective, recessive gene, the disorder will be present. Whether or not a child will have hemophilia or be a carrier for the disorder depends on the status of the mother and of the father. The figure below shows how this type of disorder is inherited.

Hr Term Paper

Table of Contents: Introduction to SME Recruitment and the process involved Challenges faced by SME’s Overseas challenges Suggestions to overcome challenges What are SMEs? Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are businesses that employ up to 250 people.No one is precisely sure how many of them there are because there are lots of companies that have limited liability status but are not trading and there are lots of businesses that are sole proprietorships that have escaped the official net of the tax man, the VAT man and the registrar of companies. We will see figures that range as high as 4. 3 million and as low as 3. 7 million, the best estimate being around 4. 0 million. Although the most usual definition of an SME is a company employing up to 250 employees, nearly all (over 99%) employ less than 50 people.In fact, three quarters of them don’t have any employees – they are sole operators. So, the emphasis really is on small rather than medium in the SME label. T he engine of economic recovery The significance of these small businesses is often overlooked. They are the ants in the ant hill rather than the more glamorous animals of the forest. And yet they make up a half of all the jobs in the UK and account for half of our GDP. Because they are small and tightly managed, decisions can be taken quickly and they are flexible in responding to changes in the temperature of the market.In the UK as in the rest of the world, SMEs are recognised as the most responsive engine of economic growth. Who are they? There are over 1,500 different classifications of SMEs. These are referred to as Standard Industrial Classifications by the Government and they are used to describe the nature of a company’s business. As might be expected, SMEs do not compete where large capital investment is required for process industries. Therefore, they do not exist in car assembly, steel making, cement manufacture and the like. They are found in profusion in the serv ice industries from vehicle servicing, hairdressing, retailing to the professions.There are manufacturers, of course, and they operate across most industries from complex electronics to traditional businesses such as metal bashing and wood turning. The SME shopping basket Every SME purchases goods and services in the pursuance of its business. They all have some basic needs such as telephones, stationery and they consume energy. Nearly all have office furniture and operate vehicles. They rent property and they buy legal and financial services. Depending on their industrial classification, they also will buy materials of one form or another.In total this adds up to over ? 1 billion of products and services per annum. Safety in numbers The most surprising thing about this huge shopping basket is that it is often ignored by marketers who have their sites on the larger corporations that appear to make easier picking. Whilst it is true that large buyers are easier to line up in the sight of a marketing rifle, they are not necessarily the most profitable. Slimma enjoyed being a main supplier to Marks & Spencer until M&S changed its buying policy and it lost the business. It not only lost the business; it went out of business.In contrast, RS Components has always seen the potential in SMEs and through its next day postal delivery service, it supplies a myriad of bits and pieces to businesses at premium prices and good margins. A simple decision making unit There are no complicated purchasing teams in SMEs. Very often it is just the boss who is tea person, book keeper, principal sales person and buyer. With all these duties, it is not feasible to agonise too deeply about the choice of a supplier. Decisions are made quickly and based on simple criteria such as the supplier is easy to buy from, it is good value, it is supported by the right kind of service etc.Once a purchase has been made, a relationship is established and very often a buying pattern is set up that wil l last for a long time. The B2B SME panel B2B wants to get to the hearts and minds (and purchasing patterns) of SME owners and has recently launched an online panel comprised of key decision makers within the SME sector. B2B has undertaken a rigorous panel recruitment programme to ensure a diverse and high calibre sample of thousands of SME decision makers throughout the UK, people who are notoriously hard to get hold of yet who buy hundreds of different services. In IndiaIn India, the Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) sector plays a pivotal role in the overall industrial economy of the country. It is estimated that in terms of value, the sector accounts for about 39% of the manufacturing output and around 33% of the total export of the country. Further, in recent years the MSE sector has consistently registered higher growth rate compared to the overall industrial sector. The major advantage of the sector is its employment potential at low capital cost. As per available statistics , this sector employs an estimated 31 million persons spread over 12. million enterprises and the labour intensity in the MSE sector is estimated to be almost 4 times higher than the large enterprises. In South Africa the term SMME, for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises, is used. Elsewhere in Africa, MSME is used, for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Size thresholds vary from country to country. The lack of a universal size definition makes business studies and market research more difficult. RECRUITMENT Recruitment is the process where the HR identifying the gaps to be filled, attracting the suitable person's cv's through different media ( like adds. n paper, approaching consultants, employee references, campus placements( when the requirement is huge), even u can verify active working employees in ur company through promotions/transfers) & etc. , upto receiving the cv's. selection starts from scrutining the received cv's, conducting the tests & finally ends with the HR round of interview for taking a desicion whether selected or not. Recruitment Process The recruitment and selection is the major function of the human resource department and recruitment process is the first step towards creating the competitive strength and the strategic advantage for the organisations.Recruitment process involves a systematic procedure from sourcing the candidates to arranging and conducting the interviews and requires many resources and time. A general recruitment process is as follows: Identifying the vacancy: The recruitment process begins with the human resource department receiving requisitions for recruitment from any department of the company. These contain: Posts to be filled Number of persons Duties to be performed Qualifications required Preparing the job description and person specification. Locating and developing the sources of required number and type of employees (Advertising etc).Short-listing and identifying the prospective employee with required chara cteristics. Arranging the interviews with the selected candidates. Conducting the interview and decision making Identify vacancy Prepare job description and person specification Advertising the vacancy Managing the response Short-listing Arrange interviews Conducting interview and decision making The recruitment process is immediately followed by the selection process i. e. the final interviews and the decision making, conveying the decision and the appointment formalities. CHALLENGES FACED BY SME’S FOR RECRUITING NEW ENTRANTSChallenge One – Find, recruit & retain high quality sales people   Organisations of all sizes and in all market sectors have a major challenge in finding and developing quality sales people. The impact of employing average or poor sales personnel can seriously hurt SMEs, as these companies rely on a smaller number of sales staff. They simply do not have the resources, systems and processes that exist within large corporations to effectively mana ge, develop or re-deploy underperforming sales people. Having high quality, reliable and consistent sales people can make our sales function and a lack of them will break it.Organisations are able to invest in Health Checks, which reviews how the sales function is performing in terms of people, processes and customers. This health check also highlights the areas within the sales function which need to be developed, which is a good starting point for SMEs looking to build or enhance their sales function. Challenge Two – Develop high quality, profitable, long-term customers The issue of quality sales people is the main cause of challenge two – Developing high quality, profitable, long-term customers.The definition of a high quality customer is one where: * To have a win-win, mutually beneficial relationship * The relationship exists at the highest possible level with the key stakeholders * They take a number of products or services from you * They see you as a key suppli er or integral to their success * They believe in your people, brand and product, they will not use a competitor * They will actively promote your people, brand and product (word of mouth advertising & referrals) Gaining high quality customers is the focus of any successful business over the longer term.Look at any industry or sector where individual key players have shown steady, sustainable, controlled growth and where they have outperformed their competitors. You will notice a number of similarities around the quality of the sales people, perception of the brand, and standard of the product or service. You will also note that in the majority of these organisations, a number of reports and statements focus on' The Customer'. What makes these organisations so special is that they have simply developed an effective sales, supply, customer management and retention system.This system runs like a well-oiled, high-performance engine, where all the cogs turn and interlink in a highly eng ineered way. In business, this is like having a successful, proven ‘How to' users-guide for all the key aspects of sales and client fulfillment. Whether we like it or not, every business has a system that covers all of these critical sales and client management areas. What is evident is that these systems don't necessarily interlink effectively.In fact, some of these systems seem to work against each other and slow down progress, creating roadblocks for sales and client management to cross. Interestingly enough, high quality sales people also have a system they use at an individual level to sell effectively. This system guides them like a missile to the target and covers all areas of attitude, skill and execution of their tasks. If an organisation wishes to overcome the two key challenges of high quality sales people and high quality customers, they need to develop an effective system that covers sales and client management.An effective selling system has a huge number of bene fits to any business – too many to list, however they can be summarised into the following: * Increase profitability per customer and per sales person * Reduce cost of sale * Reduce lead times * Increase win ratio * Improve internal communication and access to information * Increase control and focus * Improve forecasting and business planning * Improve customer relationships and retention * Reduce churn of quality people We do not need to find, recruit and retain high quality sales people, especially as they are expensive.Even small organisations can develop quality sales people themselves and realise the key benefits this brings by simply introducing a successful selling system. This means that the organisation is reliant on an effective, proven and sustainable system and not on individual sales people to perform. If the system works, then the sales people can use the system to work for them. The system will show the organisation very clearly who is performing well and who needs to be developed, and it can even show exactly where and how.To clarify the key point, however, we are not saying that you can or should employ low quality sales people and tell them what to do, and how to do it. What we are saying is that the quality of focus has changed, from finding high quality sales people who can work individually and do the numbers for you, to developing a high quality, repeatable sales system. This is not a new concept; every successful franchise is built on this very principle. If a business wants to realise these benefits, then it is undeniable that they need to have an effective sales team.It is also undeniable that they need to develop high quality customers. If your organisation needs to realise these benefits and you would like the opportunity to work with a specialist, then contact Enact Services. They have developed the ‘Complete Selling System'. This has been designed specifically to address the challenges faced by your sales team(s). Thi s system has been proven to positively impact on the sales results of SME and corporate organisations. CHALLENGE IN THE TALENT WARThe global phenomenon in talent shortage has led to a ‘talent war’ amongst organisations large and small, across all industry sectors throughout the world. This talent war is all about attracting, retaining, developing and engaging a quality workforce that plays a critical role in impacting the organisations bottom-line and growth. With such a struggle for the best talents, it is no wonder that the SMEs often lose out to the MNCs which typically invest millions of dollars in their recruitment and retention strategies.Given that SMEs may not have such ‘muscle’ to fight the talent war, nonetheless it is becoming clear to business leaders / entrepreneurs that an effective HR strategy is critical for its long-term survival. The following are some of the typical challenges faced by SMEs today: Talent Attraction Not maintaining an acti ve database of potential hires – adverts are placed each time there is a vacancy without harnessing past database effectively Not implementing comprehensive hiring channels such as referral, graduate, recruitment internal transfers etc.Lack of detailed job analysis which leads to ineffective recruitment (i. e. often it is not known what are the key criteria for hiring the personnel and key success factors on the job) Weak or no employer branding – candidates do not have a good knowledge of the overall organization OR do not have a good experience during their recruitment exercise Not able to offer higher than average starting salaries and having ‘standard’ benefits/rewards Talent Retention Lack of a comprehensive orientation programme or induction training Lack of clear career path development for individual staffLack of communication of corporate goals/vision Lack of job-rotation : often SMEs lose talents as they are not able to provide new learning oppor tunities within the organization by redesigning jobs etc. Minimum investment in training ; development. We have heard: finding and retaining top talent be it for large corporations, SMEs, associations and consultancies is fast becoming a major challenge. In many cases, the challenge has become a factor in the loss of competitive strengths, and consequent decline of market share.Some underlying reasons are well known: demographics (the â€Å"baby boomers† are beginning to retire and not being replaced by equivalent numbers of new entrants into the workforce); declining unemployment; sustained high demand for candidates with similar profiles in many sectors, such as IT and Telecom; shifts in employee attitudes to loyalty and their work/life balance. But another, less obvious factor is at play: employers' response (or non response) and in particular the adaptation of their recruitment and retention strategies to a rapidly changing labour force landscape.In fact, pragmatically, t his is perhaps the most important issue. Employers can't change demographics, but they can change the way they recruit. Until recently, most employers were in the enviable position of being able to pick and choose among a plethora of spontaneous candidacies to fill most, if not all their open positions. In those cases where â€Å"Mr. or Mrs. Right† was not at hand, word of mouth, and an advertisement would more often than not elicit a more than adequate number of qualified applicants. The biggest challenge was making the right choice!But today, employers are facing new realities. And, as in any rapidly changing environment, those who are the quickest off the mark in adapting their attitudes and strategies will reap the benefits of stronger, more stable, and more efficient human resources. The more senior and/or technical the positions, the more vital this becomes. New challenges and the need for specialised assistance With many or even most employers fishing for the same prof iles in the same pond, yesterday’s recruitment strategies are fast becoming inefficient and un (or even counter) productive.The bottom line is that most employers are rapidly (re) discovering the value and economic sense of retaining, and building long term relationships with Executive Search firms. The simple logic is that the quest for talent needs to be both broader, and deeper than ever before. Chances are the ideal candidates are not scanning the â€Å"want ads† or online recruitment websites nor talking to friends about changing jobs. They could come from a different industry (which has already faced the challenge an employer is up against today), and thus bring fresh thinking and new vision.They may bring talent that will enable an employer to embark in new, lucrative business ventures. And they need to be in a position to contribute to an employer’s strategic plan. Leading Executive Search firms will build a highly personalised strategy for each individu al recruitment taking these complex factors into account. Headhunters†¦. and headhunters Most leading headhunters accept the title with a smile†¦. they generally prefer to be known as Executive Search consultants. Perhaps to more clearly identify themselves as employer business builders (via human resources), as opposed to simple recruiters.Recruitment agencies tend to use large databases of names, rely on electronic/web technologies, and place cold-calls to potential candidates whom they might never have met before. While not eschewing these methodologies, executive recruiters use their specialised and often personal networks of contacts to attract individuals to opportunities and search for candidates for the most senior positions. In Brussels, as an example, the typical minimum annual salary for a position that an Executive Search firm is retained to fill is â‚ ¬100,000.Consultants specialise within given industries, and typically have long-lasting relationships with their clients. These relationships are key, because the recruiter knows the nuances of the internal culture within the client’s organisation, and is best prepared to offer candidates that would make a good fit. In addition, executive recruitment firms often offer guarantees for the candidates who are hired. That is, if the individual resigns, for example, within six months of the date of hire, the firm will mount a new search to find another candidate. Taking care of the detailsCompanies that decide to search for a senior candidate using a specialised recruitment firm find that they save time and resources. Following an exploratory meeting to learn more about the position and after participating in a thorough briefing session, the search consultant returns a written description of the employer, the competitive situation, the recruitment context, and the position to the client for approval. The description is a key step, and the client must share as much information as possib le in order to enable the recruiter to identify the best possible candidates.Of course discretion is paramount – privacy of the client, as well as privacy of the candidates. Building on his experience as Managing Director and Marketing Manager for L’Or? al, Howard Honick has been a senior consultant with Alexander Hughes, one of the leading recruitment firms in Europe, since 2000. â€Å"We believe every mission, every client, every candidate is unique†, says Honick. Our consultants spend whatever time is necessary to understand every aspect of the mission; we pay particular attention to soft skills, and matching client/candidate culture†.Confidentiality is of course crucial. And we only present candidates to our clients who we know could be an ideal match in terms of experience and personality, and therefore make a long-term fit. † It’s all about who you know Executive recruiters know their client’s industries and have many contacts bec ause they have worked in the sectors themselves. Anne De Greef, a senior consultant at Alexander Hughes previously worked for many years in executive positions in business development, operations, strategic planning and M;A for DHL, UPS and as COO for Fleetlogistics/Wheels.Combined with her additional management experience in the chemical and leasing industries, she is well-placed to identify potential candidates for clients in these businesses, because she knows – and has worked with – many individuals in those sectors. â€Å"This detailed knowledge of and ability to recruit high-level executives is what makes clients rely on our services. Clients realise that top-level recruitment is not an overnight process,† said De Greef. Strategic recruitment impacts the bottom-lineRecruits for top-level appointments will eventually have a role in shaping the future of a company. They will be a part of the team making strategic decisions about the organisation’s dir ection and developing and enacting its business plan. Thus, candidates must have extensive experience and the business sense to succeed in making the right decisions. â€Å"There’s a lot on the line when filling positions for our clients,† said Honick. â€Å"The positions we help fill are vital to the client company’s success, otherwise the company probably wouldn’t invest in our services. Costs for recruitment services usually are linked to the salary level of the position being filled. Firms typically charge a placement fee when the candidate they identified and recruited accepts a job. The fee can be set as a straight percentage of the salary, or negotiated as a retainer. For some companies with ongoing hiring needs, the retainer model is usually the most advantageous. Widening the gene pool Once recruitment profiles have been defined, there are several steps to finding the right candidates.One of the most important is to take a cross-sector approach. Companies must not depend only on the talent that is already employed within their sectors; to the contrary, employers must extend their search for candidates to include industries that they may never before have mined. â€Å"Our experience shows that more and more companies are taking this cross-sector approach. This is particularly true in the financial sector, where we are seeing an increasing demand for mathematicians and actuaries to manage hedge funds and private equities,† said Honick.For big and small Surveys of European executives indicate that three factors are hampering corporate expansion: increasing bureaucratic and administrative complexity (regulation, compliance issues); uncertainty, as it relates to top line growth; and the difficulty of finding the best people to grow the company. These issues hold true for small, mid-size and large organisations. Executive recruiters specialise in filling senior leadership positions, no matter what the size of the organisa tion.Perhaps for SME’s, it is even more critical to find not just â€Å"the right person† but â€Å"the best person†, since each new recruit will have a proportionally greater impact on the existing team as a whole. â€Å"In smaller companies, the quality of internal human interaction tends to have a more immediate effect on overall results,† said Honick, â€Å"Also, responsibilities in an SME can cover more than one functional area. A Finance Director will probably have admin duties, and also might oversee HR. So we would need to find a person who can positively impact all three areas. ————————————————- Recruiting ‘in-house’ is typically the first reaction of most HR directors. But for small and mid-sized companies searching to fill management positions, looking within is often not feasible. Most likely, for young and/or small bus inesses the required talent does not yet exist in-house. So for middle and senior-level hires who will have a significant impact on the top and bottom line, it’s becoming more and more common for organisations of all sizes to rely on a executive search firm to find the best talent out thereOverseas recruitment and challenges: The rules of engagement Overseas recruitment has gone mainstream. Once viewed as the last resort of vaguely treacherous corporate wage cutters, hiring foreign workers is the newest trend for small and medium businesses struggling to deal with an unprecedented skills shortage. But the popularity of overseas recruiting – and a few well publicized instances of abuse by rogue employers – has caught the Government’s attention.In April 2007 federal Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews declared his intention to â€Å"clean up the system† by introducing tighter policing and hefty new financial penalties for employers who breach migratio n laws. All this means that overseas recruitment now presents greater risks and rewards for Australian businesses than ever before. For an increasing number of SME owners, coping with the skills shortage means this is a gamble they must take if they are to find the staff their businesses need to survive. So much work, so few workersEach month, economic data confirms what SMEs are experiencing on the ground: the skills shortage is getting worse. With unemployment already at a 32-year low of 4. 4%, in May 2007 the number of new jobs ads surged 10. 3% to 251,996, a massive 40. 8% rise on a year earlier. While shortages are being felt across the board, the cupboard is particularly bare for employers in the resources, information technology, professional services and hospitality sectors. Andrew Stormon, the manager of Queensland SME Mt Isa Fleet Maintenance Services, tells a common story. We advertised for 18 months trying to find people for mechanic positions; we just found we got very few responses, and those we did get didn’t have the right skills and weren’t suitable for the job. † In a booming economy, not enough staff means lost work and lost profits. â€Å"We lost in the vicinity of $500,000 because we continually had to knock back work. We lost one of our clients worth $250,000 because we just didn’t have the people we needed to service their fleet for them,† Stormon says.It is this combination of commercial opportunity and labour shortage that is driving business to recruit from overseas in increasing numbers. Immigration Department figures show 97,430 skilled migrants came to Australia in 2005-06, up from 77,880 in 2004-05. This number is set to increase to 102,500 in 2007-08. By far the biggest increase in numbers has been in the s457 temporary skilled migration category, under which employers sponsor foreign workers with in-demand skills to work in Australia for between three months and four years.There are reported to be 105,000 foreign workers currently in Australia on s457 visas, a number that could increase significantly next year. Navigate the migration minefield Bringing a worker into Australia is not just a matter of filling out a few forms and sending a cheque for the processing fee. Although there is a lot of information available – the Federal Government and industry associations are good sources – the migration process is complex and requires knowledge of both Australian immigration rules and those of the country from which a worker is migrating.Added to that is the difficulty of finding eligible candidates for the position in the country of origin, an especially difficult and time-consuming task in countries where English is not the first language. Given the complications involved, it is no surprise recruitment and migration service providers have proliferated in recent years, encouraged by low barriers to entry and the big dollars desperate employers are prepared to pay for good staff.It generally costs about $4000 to $6000 to have an agency find an employee and bring them into Australia, although prices vary depending on where an employee comes from and how they are employed in Australia. Jo Burston, the managing director of migration services firm Job Capital, says the time-consuming nature of the process and the heavy penalties associated with breaches of migration legislation means agencies offer good value for money for many businesses. â€Å"The Department of Immigration has very strict guidelines and the penalties can be substantial, so it’s a process that allows very little room for error.Since most SMEs don’t have specialised immigration staff, hiring an agency allows them to get on with their core business,† Burston says. â€Å"Most SMEs would hire an accountant to give them tax advice, they wouldn’t just have their admin person do it, and this is really no different. † Even businesses that can afford to devote staff to recruitment tend hire professionals to help them navigate the process. Mike Smith, operations manager at IT services and integration firm Anatas, says he supplements his in-house resources by outsourcing difficult aspects of offshore recruiting process. We would just burn weeks and weeks of staff time doing it all ourselves. Even with staff working on the process it can be time-consuming just providing the information and vetting candidates. There is no way to short-cut the process, you just end up causing problems for yourself if you do,† Smith says. Traps for young players and what to do about them Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of businesses who hire foreign workers are not motivated by the prospect of lower wages.Imported workers cannot be employed to perform cheap unskilled labour and must be paid above a legislated minimum standard annual salary of $41,850 ($57,300 for IT staff). These rules are not flexible. The desire to avoid any furthe r horror stories of foreign workers being paid a pittance or charged outrageous migration fees has caused the Government to allocate more than $80 million in this year’s budget to increasing the monitoring and investigation capacity of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and to increase penalties for breaching migration laws.From August 17, employers can be personally fined up $13,200 or, in extreme cases, jailed for up to two years for employing a worker without the appropriate visa or referring a worker without an appropriate visa to another employer; while businesses can be fined up to $66,000 for each offending worker they employee. More severe penalties are applicable if workers are being exploited through slavery, forced labour or sexual servitude. The complexity and bureaucracy that governs the skilled migration process means planning ahead is also important.Finding an employee and bringing them to Australia generally takes three to six months, migration serv ice providers say, with even longer lead times workers with very specialised skills are sought. A more obvious problem employers of foreign staff have to deal with is culture shock. Even for people who come with all the good will in the world, the shock of finding yourself in unfamiliar territory far away from family and friends can be too much to handle.Australian Recruiting director David Young, who recruits Asian and UK workers for Australia’s mining and healthcare industries, says it is rare for foreign workers to cut short their time in Australia because of culture shock, but it does happen from time to time. â€Å"It can be for all kinds of reasons: sometimes it’s the climate, the food, often people who come here don’t realise quite how big Australia is and get a bit of a shock if they find themselves in a remote location.On the other hand, I was talking to a company the other day who brought in workers from Sweden: they were very skilled but it didn†™t work out because there was a big difference between the sense of humour of Swedes and Australians,† Young says. Small things like meeting new arrivals at the airport, help with accommodation and transport, opening a bank account and taking out medical insurance can help minimise homesickness. â€Å"We brought someone in the other day who was a great musician and we connected him up with a local band; things like that can make a huge difference,† Young says.Once these hurdles are overcome, it seems there can be real upside to taking staff from other countries into your workforce. Mt Isa Fleet Maintenance manager Andrew Stormon says after dealing with some â€Å"out-of-date† attitudes on the workshop floor towards the four skilled tradesmen he brought in from the Philippines, the new arrivals have now become an important part of the business. â€Å"These blokes have turned up and keen as hell, punctual, their English is excellent and they really get in and wo rk.And their skills are fantastic: I haven’t come across tradesmen as good as some of these blokes for many years,† Stormon says. Another advantage of bringing in workers from overseas can be loyalty. Anatas’s Mike Smith says in sectors such as IT, where highly skilled employees tend to be highly mobile, this is be a big plus. â€Å"We have found workers we bring tend to stick with us. Often they will be looking to become permanent residents in a couple of year or perhaps it’s just because we have developed with them, but we’ve found they stick with us for a bit longer than Australian staff,† Smith says.As long as Australia continues to enjoy the fruits of the China-led resources boom, economic necessity will continue to drive Australian businesses to hire skilled staff from overseas. ————————————————- The key to making overseas rec ruitment a good experience is to take advantage of the information available and obtain professional advice and assistance where necessary. By going into the process with eyes open, a business of any size can successfully navigate the migration minefield. ————————————————- ———————————————— ————————————————- SUGGESTIONS THAT CAN BE IMPLIMENTED____________________ Outsource Outsourcing non-core activities is increasingly becoming popular even for SMEs. Instead of incurring huge fixed costs in manpower to manage recruitment/ retention issues with sophisticated IT software, SMEs can reap the following benefits by outsourcing such functions to the experts in the field: Cost savings Technology (a simple HR IT software can cost from to $50,000 to $300,000) Experienced HR staff to manage recruitment/retention issuesAdministrative time (even with the HR software, lots of time goes in updating, maintaining a database etc) Focus on strategic functions By outsourcing these functions, the HR can focus on vendor management and on making sure that results are achieved. Access to world-class recruitment/retention strategies Service providers typically invest millions in the most updated systems and technology as this is their core business. Hence by outsourcing such functions, SMEs can leverage on the service providers’ world-class technology.Create employer branding The service providers function as an extended arm of the SME. Hence by running the entire hiring process (right up to orientation) effectively, a positive brand image is created for the SME. Measurement of hiring effectiveness The HR can extract useful indices such as ‘q uality of hire’, ‘cost per hire’, ‘days to fill job’, ‘candidate experience’ etc. from the service providers. This will enable the HR to focus more on strategic issues rather than administrative tasks of the hiring process. Quality of HireThis is of critical importance to any organization – whether is there a good fit between the job and person. By outsourcing the hiring to experts, it has been proven that the quality of hire will improve. This means that the new hire performing better on the job and eventually affecting the organisation’s overall operational effectiveness and profitability in a positive way. Employer branding Having mentioned outsourcing as one of the strategies in managing talents, the responsibility on employer branding still remains with the organization.Companies need to brand themselves as choiced employers just like how they brand their products and services. There are some distinct advantages of bei ng an SME which need to be communicated to job seekers and existing staff. Being small can be an asset in many instances. Having a staff strength of less than 300 makes an organization a lot more nimble, fast and flexible compared to larger MNCs which often wait for global initiatives before implementing changes in their HR policies and practices.THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME TIPS FOR SMES: Talent Attraction Employer branding – focus on key strengths such as â€Å"innovative†, â€Å"fast-growing† â€Å"regional exposure† Provide flexible and innovative benefits/rewards that cater to individual needs Measure the current hiring effectiveness – indices such as ‘cost per hire’, ‘days to fill a job’, ‘effectiveness of hiring channels’, ‘candidate experience’ are critical so that SMEs can track where there are bottlenecks and where the hiring process can be improved. Plan career path for individualsMore growth opportunities, regionalization – which is attractive to the younger workforce. Talent Retention Shift from being family-oriented to more performance-based Communicating the corporate goals, vision, direction (for a more engaged workforce) HR can afford to give personalized attention to individual’s needs in terms of benefits, rewards, career goals, training ; development needs Invest in meaningful training ; development that leads to job expansion for staff Once the SME has established themselves as a hoice employer with attractive and innovative HR policies, retention strategies and career advancement opportunities, it is only a matter of time that happy employees spread the word. There is nothing more powerful for an organization than happy staff who become their ‘ambassadors’ wherever they go! This inevitably does wonders for enhanced employer branding and attracting better talents over the years. ******************************************************* **********************BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www. eurofound. europa. eu/emcc/content/source/eu06025a. htm http://en. allexperts. com/q/Human-Resources-2866/Challenges-faced-HR-Manager-1. htm http://72. 14. 235. 132/search? q=cache:yyt4gJDUXlMJ:www. gmprecruit. com/pdf/KC/SMEchallenge. pdf+recruitment+challenges+faced+by+SMEs;hl=en;ct=clnk;cd=1;gl=in http://www. hrmguide. com/recruitmentsmanagers/+tasksfaced+SME.