Recent Corporate Scandals in Malaysia Essay

Air-freight firm Transmile Group Berhad hit the business news headline for the wrong reason in 2007. The share price suffered turbulence when it was revealed that auditors of Deloitte & Touche were unable to substantiate the accounts of year 2006. The fraud was discovered after a special audit conducted by Moores Rowland Risk Management Sdn. Bhd. , stating that the company has been overstating its revenue between the periods of 2005-2007 to reduce the net loss shown in its financial statements and total overstatement being RM 530 million. Transmile had recorded revenues which were actually companies that were set up by its former CEO Gan Boon Aun. Share price plummeted from its RM14. 40 high to just RM0. 37 as of 2nd of September, wiping out RM 1. 2 billion gains of the last two years in its market capitalisation. The company is now classified as a PN-17 status company, given to companies that are under financial distress. The current board of directors has now filed a writ of summons and statement of claim in the Kuala Lumpur High Court against its former CEO. Next to the Transmile fiasco is the government funded regional industrial park called Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ). Initially, the project was to be modelled after the successful Dubai-based Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) which offered extensive manufacturing and distribution facilities. The scandal began when the project had cost overruns of up to RM3. 5 billion and the land where the PKFZ is built on was bought over from another private company owned by a politician at an exorbitant amount. Jafza was responsible to manage PKFZ pulled out, citing â€Å"strategic purposes† as a reason, but following after, a local daily newspaper soon uncovered that Jafza pulled out due to red tape, political interference and many other reasons. The Malaysian Government then engaged the services of PriceWaterhouseCoopers to conduct an independent audit on PKFZ and its findings led to the arrest of Datin Paduka O. C. Phang, former Port Klang Authority general manager and several other politicians by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. As seen in two cases above, corporate scandals have managed to delude its way around many watchful eyes, mainly due to existence of agency conflict whereby insufficient actions were taken to ensure transparent reporting. In Transmile’s scandal it is obvious that there is manipulation of related party transactions by former CEO Gan Boon Aun and clearly involved conflict of interest intended to be concealed by falsifying records. Related party transactions refer to the expropriation of the company’s assets by controlling shareholders or insiders resulting in impact on corporate governance and minority shareholders, whereby the company receives less net benefit from a related party transaction than could have been obtained from a transaction with an unrelated similitude. On the other hand, PKFZ similarly involved related party transactions and asset shifting, leading to personal gains and political pressure. Jafza’s initial transactions and then pulling out was a series of actions evidently pertain the existence of motives against the interest of the company. The poor financial management by directors vitally contributed to the leeway for fraud, as management should strongly reinforce company regulations on reporting transparency. Distinctive lack of corporate governance resulted in these occurrence of fraud. Due to the absence of such, there are lack of rules and processes or laws by which the company should have abided as to assure veracious operation, regulation and control of business. Weak corporate governance allowed unmonitored transactions leading to personal gains at the expense of the company’s interest, along with unenforced proper disclosure of conflict of interest. The absence of good corporate governance allows the tolerance of corporate abuses hence possibility of fraud to occur should be effaced by imposition of laws and regulations to enforce corporate governance.

Forever Strong Essay

We all can understand that there is no â€Å"I† in â€Å"team† but how many of us can honestly say we know the significance and appreciation of a team. Forever Strong is a sports drama inspired by actual events. We are introduced to a troubled rugby player, Rick, who injuries himself and his girlfriend driving drunk and finds himself in a juvenile detention center, not knowing this journey will forever change his life. Rick is given the choice to decide between jail and playing rugby for his hometown’s ultimate rival, Highland, which also means playing against his dad, his hometown’s coach. With every scene we are able to see Rick’s struggle with understanding the value of teamwork and the desire to become a better person. It’s not uncommon for someone to neglect the obvious opportunity that is ahead of them, but many never will get over their own ego to do what is best for them. Rick’s first day of practice at Highland he is given a taste of what it means to be a part of a team but he doesn’t quite like the idea of playing for a team who he has competed against and loathed. He tries his hardest to be the star while his teammates try their hardest to put him in his place. At the end of the day his new coach makes the team promise they will keep their bodies clean, eat right, and stay away from drugs and alcohol while Rick makes a complete joke out of it. You begin to see the relevance of this scene throughout the movie while Rick slowly begins to understand the significance of teamwork and what it means to the rest of his teammates. The thoughts that one has going through their head as they encounter something surreal are not only sincere but indescribable. After a phenomenal victory not only for Highland but for Rick, personally, as he allows himself to open his eyes to being a part of a team, the team pulls over to help a family with car troubles and a terrible incident occurs leaving a teammate dead. All Rick can do is â€Å"run it out,† as he handles the impact of the news. Rick decides to stop the drugs and alcohol in order to be a better man and live in honor of his former teammate. Rick later on in the movie has pride in him and confessed, â€Å"I don’t do ANYTHING to embarrass myself, my team, and my family. Rick is given a positive evaluation from his guidance counselor to go home just in time to play against Highland for the championship game. He is quickly pressured into revealing â€Å"Highland’s secrets,† refusing, causing his friends to set him up with drugs and alcohol and getting caught by the cops. He tries over and over to plead his case that he has changed to his peers and family, resulting in a failure, until a former friend tells the truth about what really happened. Rick ultimately wonders where his loyalty lies. We all come to what seems like a fork in the road; we have no idea why life is tugging on us so hard but we eventually figured out what we have to do in order to protect yourself and your morals. Rick was shown the value of teamwork and selflessness while he was at Highland; although, he knew his teammates needed him for the game and he decided to go play for Highland where he was welcomed with open arms by his teammates to fulfill their common goal – win the championship game and come together as a whole. Forever Strong is much more than a movie about rugby, it’s about how one man struggles to become something much bigger than himself.

Discussion Board reply Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Discussion Board reply - Assignment Example By focusing on multiple intelligence skills, the writer can address emotional requirements and motivators associated with flexibility and transformation that are paramount factors of coaching dynamics. It is justified that managers usually have several resources at their disposal and would not hesitate to engage in the coaching process. The explanation given for this reason is explicit. An addition would be that managers mostly like involving themselves with profitable activities. As a result, unless the coaching process is profitable to the well-being of the business, few would find it necessary to undertake coaching. Although feedback given to employees may determine whether a manager will carry out coaching or not, the key justification would be the level of a manager in understanding group dynamics. Employees vary in their levels of motivation and therefore, managers may feel inadequate to coach employees with varied perceptions. This is the rationale behind managers failing to point out other people’s mistakes. The discussion board paper is good and answers all parts of the question to the latter. Any successful and operational organization requires that managers embra ce the spirit of leadership and should not shy off from correcting their junior

Homework Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Homework - Case Study Example Apart from the time element, a firm must clearly define the prospects of the Information Security Officer and determine whether a worker is capable of filling the role (Putvinski 1). A firm is only as strong and tough as its weakest link, and when the organization works with third-party contributors their information security collapse can become the organization’s issue. Organizations should ensure that they document which vendors get confidential information, in addition to how this information, is taken care of when in the position of the vendor (Putvinski 1). The lack of authoritarian vendor guidelines could raise the risk of releasing a client’s private information. Documents do not storm out of the organization on their own. Having strict rules regarding who can physically access the offices, as well as how they gain entry, might decrease the possibility that an unauthorized person is present illegally to take information (Putvinski 1). The next step is to make sure that an organization’s documents how physical information is kept and destroyed. The issues discussed in student 1’s paper slightly resemble the findings in my paper. Student one talked about security issues with regards to protecting information systems through incorporating security policies. Such a topic is extremely wide in the IT field, and I feel that the student could have explained further as to the types of policies that could be implemented in order to secure our information systems. The second student’s paper was extremely educative. The student focused on the diverse fields of the security best practices touching over every security part that information systems involve. The paper also mentions some of the issues that I discussed in my paper such as physical security, vendor management and information security officers. Such a paper would be extremely helpful to someone who, in

Critically discuss the role of an HRD manager in promoting Essay

Critically discuss the role of an HRD manager in promoting organizational competitiveness within a slowly recovering economy - Essay Example or a change and development among the organisational structure is mostly identified when the job performances of employees are not meeting the standards of the organisation. To be more precise, when the performances of the two groups working under same conditions do not produce the same outcomes, then the HRD manager has to step in the role for enhancing the employees’ performance. Career management and development, socialization and orientation, coaching and performance management are among the few factors that the HRD manager’s roles are surrounded with. It is therefore, necessary to identify the appropriate time to assist the management for developing organisational competitiveness. Thus, the objective of the paper is to identify the different roles played by the HRD manager, both necessary and unnecessary, which at times play a vital part upon organisational performance. HR professionals must build up vast competencies which will benefit them for functioning of their tasks to deal with the changes in the organisations. They should ensure that flexibility and effective communication must be a part of their role which will allow them to adapt to situations quickly. Thus, the roles of HR managers are based on few factors which are discussed below. According to Maanen & Schein (1979), procedure of socialisation engages the transmission of information as well as values which are essentially cultural matters. Furthermore, they added that an organisational culture consists of rules and values that are different within various organisations. The culture of the organisation is mostly dependent on few factors such as, how members relate to colleagues, subordinates, superiors and outsiders, which are conveyed to the new employees by the HR managers. The HR should communicate to the newly employed behavioural environment that prevails within the organisation. Additionally, orientation of employees is the basic facet cited by the HR manager, before any simplest role

World War One. Gravess Good Bye to All That Essay

World War One. Gravess Good Bye to All That - Essay Example In his autobiographical novel â€Å"Goodbye to all that†, Graves aims to overcome his traumatic war experience and close that chapter of his life, resolving â€Å"never to make England my home again† (Graves 1960: 279). The author criticizes the British class system and, consequently, his economic class, his education, family religious upbringing, his military leaders and British government as he finds all of them responsible for the tragedy of war and cruel, senseless death of millions of young men. Graves says goodbye to the old class system of Britain as his war experience taught him that, despite coming from different social backgrounds, all people share the same values and identities. As the author?s parents educated him through a strict social code, which treated the lower classes as morally inferior to the bourgeoisie, the author had been aware of class distinctions since childhood. Yet as a four year old boy, when Graves was staying in hospital with scarlet feve r, he discovered that some children, also himself, received deferential and preferential treatment. His interest in different social classes continued through adulthood, when he used to ask his acquaintances â€Å"at what point in childhood or adulthood they have become class-conscious, but never have been given a satisfactory answer (Graves 1960: 24). However, during the war Graves found himself impressed with natural intelligence of poor, uneducated men and, thus, learned to respect people from lower social classes. Graves commanded a platoon of forty men coming from low social backgrounds, who joined the war for money. While at first he called them â€Å"most marginal elements of the society†, with time he came to appreciate their intelligence, courage, and ability to stay calm in the battlefield. Furthermore, at the war all soldiers, no matter their social status, had to face the same conditions, danger, fear, and in many cases severe wounds and death. As a result, Grave s admitted that twenty years after his first experience with the separation of different social classes he â€Å" had refused it† (Graves 1960: 25). After the war, when struggling to maintain his family only with his family, Graves opened a small shop; an activity that was typical of lower-class people and, thus, despised by people from Grave’s background. In this way, he demonstrates that he does not care about class distinctions anymore. The First World War has changed British social classes irreversibly. First, lower class citizens had a chance to earn money when fighting in the war and, thus, raise their standard of living. Furthermore, such factors as rationing and the control of essential for everybody contributed to the decrease in extreme poverty by the end of the war. On the contrary, due to the rationing and lack of many goods in the market, the living standards of the middle and upper class significantly deteriorated. Moreover, many families affected by the rise in tax land had to sell their land holdings. It is estimated that 25% of properties in England were sold between 1917 and 1921. The living conditions of higher class families also deteriorated due to the deaths of the men, who used to be the main financial supporters. As a result of that, higher class women had to take jobs, which changed not only the class structure, but also the position of women in the society (Bourke 2003). At that time, it was a widespread view that the First World War enabled women to advance

Franco Prussian War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Franco Prussian War - Essay Example Historians attribute various causes to this war. First, Bismarck, a Prussian prime minister had a great vision of a unified Germany, which he planned. To him, a provoked war with France will bring about the unity between the North protestant states and the Southern Germans Catholics who were divided by culture and belief but had a common enemy the France. Secondly, the war was about revenge by Napoleon III who wanted to recover what was lost by his lineage after the defeat of Napoleon I and humiliate Prussia (History World international Web). In my view, this war was necessary. We get to see the great leaders of old who could not solve issues via great speeches but through the blood and Iron fist. Different governments can learn from this war that happened many years ago of some tactics of unifying their states to gain power and prestige. I think it is possible to do a comparison between the primitive leadership of the 1800 and that of the 20th century, which is advanced. In the issues of morality and ethics, this war has a great teaching not to revenge. Napoleon III had it rough as he tried to revenge a thing that led to the fall of the second French empire and capturing of its two

Expert Testimony Reliability Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Expert Testimony Reliability - Case Study Example Incompetent experts in criminal cases might be more newsworthy, but surveyors in civil courts face the same pressures. Last year, Geoffrey Wright, of EA Shaw, and I discussed the important role that expert witnesses have to play in dispute resolution (EG 23 July 2005, p90). The General Medical Council had just held that the evidence given by Professor Sir Roy Meadow at the criminal trial of Sally Clarke was "naà ¯ve, grossly misleading, incompetent and careless". He was found guilty of serious professional misconduct and stripped of his licence to practice. On 17 February, Collins J ruled that Professor Meadow had acted "honestly and in good faith": see Meadows v General Medical Council [2006] EWHC 146 (Admin); [2006] 09 EG 182 (CS). The appeal was allowed on the basis that his conduct should not have exposed him to such a sanction. In the same week, Lord Goldsmith, the attorney general, announced new measures designed to ensure that expert witnesses in criminal trials give their ob jective opinion only and do not act as advocates. Expert witnesses will have to reveal all of their evidence, and its source, to investigating police. They will also have to declare anything "that might adversely affect their credibility or competence as an expert witness "and must "not give expert opinion beyond their area of expertise". In contrast to a liberal admissibility view, Paul Milich maintains that "the jury's obvious limitations in evaluating complex scientific disputes cannot be overcome by the mythically powerful tools of cross-examination and closing argument." 2 He suggests that it may be over-hasty to assume that an adversarial proceeding will succeed in enabling a jury to understand scientific testimony satisfactorily. According to Mulch, when jurors are presented with complex scientific issues, they might choose to ignore these issues and make a decision based on other factors, such as an expert's physical appearance and his/her demeanor. Mulch's argument seems pl ausible because jurors might have to resort to this alternative if they really do not understand the proffered testimony. Since judges and juries do not share a common base of experience with an expert witness on the specialized matters being discussed in his/her testimony, they can have a difficult time probing into and evaluating the expert's reasoning and opinions. The accessibility of proffered claims can vary greatly depending on a number of factors, some of which were mentioned previously. The subject matter of some expert testimony can be inherently confusing, if not unintelligible, to laypersons. To return to a point made before, one

Himalayan Tourism in Nepal Essay Example for Free

Himalayan Tourism in Nepal Essay

Confucius’ Social and Political Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Confucius’ Social and Political Philosophy Essay These days we are focusing on the topics of Confucius’ social and political philosophy. After finishing readings of this section, I would like to give reflections that mainly about Confucius’ view on governing and analyze the traditional culture and administration of our country. This essay will present my opinions about the merits and demerits of nowadays Chinese society’s government. First, let us deal with something that Confucius would say that Chinese society is currently doing well. According to Confucius, when the population is already numerous, make them wealthy will further improve them, and once they are wealthy, to instruct them will improve them further more. [1] I think this passage is suitable for making appraisals to nowadays Chinese society, because China has a large population and Chinese government is taking the road of common prosperity, these are very similar to passage’s description. The road of common prosperity means, for the purpose of enabling more and more people to become prosperous, some people are encouraged to become prosperous first, and at last all people will become prosperous. In my own understanding, I think this passage did not show that Confucius think wealth is more important than education. I think what Confucius want to said is, to make people wealth does not means just make people hold a lot of money, actually it means to let people live a peaceful and wealthy life, which is important to build a harmonious society. In addition, Chinese government also focuses on education, like the government increases the input of fund for rural compulsory education. In another passage, Confucius said â€Å"If common people’s need are satisfied, how could their lord be lacking? If the common people ‘s needs are not satisfied, how can their lord be content?† [2] These above passages show Confucius think it is important to satisfy common people’s needs, to let them live a wealthy life is necessary for reaching this goal, so he would be pleased to see Chinese government is paying efforts to improve people’s life and education. However , it is obvious that there is also something Chinese government is currently not doing well. In recent years, human flesh search engine became very popular. According to Wikipedia, human flesh search is a primarily Chinese internet phenomenon of massive researching  using Internet media such as blogs and forums. What made human flesh search became famous is misconduct in public office were exposed frequently through this way, this means the government is not honest enough. When this kind of things happened, it usually begin with some public servants wearing or using luxuries in public activities, then people think it is suspicious that public servants can afford those kind of luxuries, so they begin human flesh search to find out what happened. Confucius would be displeased, because the dishonest behaviors of some public servants are damaging government’s reputation. According to Confucius, he said he would sacrifice armament and food, but he though a state cannot stand once it has lost the confidence of the people.[3] That means Confucius regard the confidence of the people as the most important thing for a government. There is also an old saying that the lord is a boat and common people is water, means when a lord gain the supports from his people, it is like the water make the boat float over water-surface. And it works both ways. The correct attitude towards common people will gain people’s support, the bad reputation cause by dishonest governing will lose people’s support, it is no doubt that Chinese society is not doing well at this point. Confucius also said â€Å"Raise up the straight and apply them to the crooked, and the people will submit you. If you raise up the crooked and apply them to the straight, the people will never submit.† [4] When we understanding this passage and relating it to nowadays society, I think the â€Å"straight† can be understand as the public servant who work honesty and really care of common people’s interests. Likewise, â€Å"crooked† can be understand as the public servant who abuse power and damage common people’s interest. Chinese government did not build up a complete supervise system to punish the corrupt officials and it is what government should do in the future. The key to adopting Confucius’ philosophy centers on discarding the dross and selecting the essence. Chinese society is doing a good job in striking a balance between social improvement and inheritance on traditional culture, like the idea about building up a harmonious society. I think Chinese society should be as Confucian as it is today, because although we can carry forward things from tradition, we cannot carry forward everything from tradition, we need to keep pace with the times. Some of Confucius’ view on governing cannot accommodate itself to the Chinese society’s development. For example, Confucius said, let the lord be a true  lord, the ministers true ministers, the fathers tr ue fathers, and the sons true sons.[5] In this passage, Confucius was only requiring the lord to fulfill his obligation, but he did not require any democratic rights which are extremely important to nowadays society. In ancient China, People did not have their right to choose a lord they want, but nowadays people are supposed to have their democratic rights and choose the government they want. The Chinese society must comply with the world development trend. We should accept the good things showed in the passage, like the idea â€Å"to do what you are deemed to do†, but for governing, we are not supposed to take its idea like â€Å"people serve their lord and cannot against the lord† Chinese society does not take the wrong way and its governing is becoming more and more democratic, so it is Confucian enough and it just need to keep this style. In conclusion, there is still lot of things that we can use the experience of Confucius for reference, the view on governing is just a part of it, and Confuciusâ€℠¢ philosophy is always the important asset for us.

Importance of Strategic Human Resource Management

Importance of Strategic Human Resource Management Introduction As globalization takes place, rapid development and increasingly competitive market have become the immediate challenges for organizations. Surrounded by such environment, organizations should create business strategies to survive the challenges and sustain the competitive advantage. Beside developing on new products, new processes and expanding business to larger market, the investment on the biggest potential that most organizations recognize, human resource, has received more and more attentions. Nowadays, the most valuable resource in a organization is suggested to be the human resource. Human capital, the knowledge, experience and skills that individuals possessed are pivotal for the successful performance of the federal government’s missions (J.L. Perry, 1993). Similarly, other types of organizations have no exception, also treasure the values that individuals bring to the companies. Thus, the management of human resource is closely related to the success of organization al performances. in fact, as argued by many management scholars, human resource management is currently an important, perhaps the most important factor that determines the effectiveness of organization (Devanna, Fombrun, and Tichy, 1984; Schuler,1990). Strategic human resource management (SHRM), as a term first given from the USA, is of more interest recently. It is defined as the pattern through planning human resource deployments and activities such to enable an organization to achieve its goals (J.L. Perry, 1993). SHRM creates a link between the overall strategic business objectives and the human resource strategy and implementation (E. N. Caliskan, 2010). Thus, it is important to understand that how the organization manages its human resource and link to its business strategies have a significant impact on the improved organization’s performance. Impact of human resource management In order to explain the importance of SHRM to the success of organizational performance, the impact that human resource management has on the organizations should be examined first. There has been growing number of studies that indicated a positive relationship between human resource management and organizational performance (E.N. Caliskan, 2010). A research reported by Arthur in 1990 (M. Armstrong, 2006) gave data from 30 US strip mills used to assess how high-commitment strategy or a control strategy influenced labour efficiency and scrap rate. The results showed that firms with a high-commitment strategy was higher in both productivity and quality as comparing to those with a control strategy. In 1995, Huselid (M. Armstrong, 2006) did an analysis of the responses of 968 US firms regarding the use of high performance work practices, the development of synergies between them and alignment of these practices with the competitive strategy. The results showed that the impact of employe e motivation is significant on productivity, and the impact of employee skills, motivation and organizational structures is also significant on the financial performance. Later Patterson et al. in 1997 (M. Armstrong, 2006) did a research to examine the link between business performance and organization culture as well as the use of some human resource practices. The results showed that human resource practices gave explanations to significant variations in profitability and productivity. Two of the practices were particularly important: (1) the acquisition and development of employee skills (2) job design which includes flexibility, responsibility, variety and the use of formal teams. The workplace employee relations survey conducted in 1998 also suggested a strong association existed between HRM and employee attitudes as well as workplace performance through the sample survey of 2000 workplaces and views of 28000 employees (E.N. Caliskan, 2010). Purcell et al. in 2003 (M. Armstrong , 2006) did a longitudinal study of 12 companies to establish the impacts of people management on organizational performance. As indicated, the most successful companies all had a clear vision and a set of integrated values such as embedded, enduring, collective, measured and managed. It was clearly evidenced that positive attitudes towards HR policies and practices, levels of satisfaction, motivation and commitment influenced operational performance. From the research results, we can easily conclude that effective HR practices have positive impacts on the overall performance of organizations. For suitable HR policies and processes to be applied, the firm’s performance will be substantial and sustainable. Regardless of what type of industry the organization is aiming at, the ultimate strategic goal of the chief is to maximize wealth of the shareholders. Financial performance depends largely on operational performance. This can be accounted as a function of its people, process and technology. Effective combination of such function requires people in the organization to be competent enough with adequate knowledge, skill and abilities. Such requirement is closed linked to certain HRM practices such as hiring selection, training of staff, work environment and performance assessment. These practices may enhance the competence of employees, thus improve the performance of organizations. Impact of Strategic human resource management The strategic base of HR practices has a great impact on improved performance. Firstly, in the strategy of hiring employees, HRM tends to attract, develop and retain high-quality people. By matching employees to the strategic and operational needs of the company, can improve the working efficiency. In addition, the talent management also has effective measures. Winning ‘war for talent’ is achieved by making sure that both present and future needs of talented and well-motivated people required by the organization are met. Baring in mind the most important strategy which is to create happiness within the workplace and make the organization a great place to work. This can inspire people to be more innovative and energetic in their work. As the employees’ happiness increases, their performance also improves, thus enhance the overall organizational performance. The job design, as mentioned in the past research, plays an important role in productivity. It is necessary t o provide employees with stimulating and interesting work and give them autonomy and flexibility to complete their jobs. This can enhance job satisfaction of the employees, thus encourage higher performance and productivity (E.N. Caliskan, 2010). Training and initiating a learning culture within the organization can develop the level of competence of the workforce. Encouraging discretionary learning when individuals actively seek to acquire knowledge and skills that match with the objectives of the organizations. By creating a learning atmosphere in the workplace, employees would be more motivated and more competent to face the fast-paced and global challenges. From the case of Snowden, we noticed the importance of building cooperation trust among the employees. Adopting the strategy of increasing motivation, commitment and role engagement to encourage people to identify themselves with the core values of the organizations and to make them willingly contribute to achieve organizatio nal goals. Last but not least, for high-performance management, a positive performance culture should be built to deliver the desired values from the shareholders. For more contribution made, the people should be awarded, in order to encourage him to keep it up and also motivate other employees to devote themselves strive for better performance. As we discuss on how various HR strategies can be implemented to collaborate with business strategies to achieve higher performance of organizations, it is not hard to conclude that SHRM is the driver to improve organizational performance. Human resource, as a source of sustained competitive advantage, is worth being invested to increase the potential of an organization. So long as the people in the organizations are improved in both performance and attitude, the ultimate goal of the shareholder is approachable. The present linkage has given HR managers a clue on how to adopt various strategies onto HRM. These strategies do not only improve the human resource performance, most importantly, also directly affect the overall performance of the organization, thus, determine if or not the organization can achieve its goals. Case study of Google Inc. Backgroud In order to understand the importance of SHRM in practical situation, we introduce the unique and outstanding organization : Google inc. in the following part. Certain SHRM practices within Google would be discussed to show how actively it is focused on managing its people and how this helps Google to achieve its goals. Google inc., the biggest search engine known to the whole world has gained its success largely by the people, the googlers they have. This is a technological organization. Engineers are the main workforce of the organization. However, the HR department, or the POPS as themselves called, is the key factor which determines their past and present success, also perhaps the future as well. Under the lead of Bock, the POPS has helped Google to become the best employer in the US. It has been rated as the best place where people want to work for in the States. Let us see how Google succeeded over the years. Successful examples of SHRM Several years ago, there was a problem noticed by the POPS, that many female employees left the company. Although this IT based organization has mainly male employees, the role of female employees is as important as males. The problem was not about gender equality, but it has affected the bottom line. Regardless of gender, the market of the talents is very thin, fighting for the talented people determines the competence of Google with other organizations such as Apple, Facebook and so on. In addition, the departure of every employee will be inefficient because it will involve a costly and time-consuming recruiting process. Thus, the POPS investigated and researched until they realized it was a problem of happiness. At that time, the company offered an industry-standard maternity leave plan. As long as a female worker gave birth, she would have 12 weeks of paid time off, and only for those new parents in California offices. Those outside the state only got paid time off of 7 weeks. Af ter they figured out the problem, in 2007, Bock announced new policy. New mothers would get 5 months off at full pay and full benefits, also they are allowed to manage the time on their own wish. If she likes, the mother could return as part time after her birth, and then take the balance back when the baby grows older. In addition, Google offered 7 weeks new-parent leave to every worker around the world. It may sound overly generous that this investment outweighs the benefits it brings to the organization. However, this policy was actually a win for the company that after it was carried out, the departures of new mothers had dropped down quickly by 50%. Being compensated by the savings in recruitment costs, the new policy does not cost Google any more money (F. Manjoo, 2013). Google’s POPS does not only solve problems for new mothers. They concern about every little detail that the employees are involved. Surveys about the best way to manage a large firm were done a lot of times to the employees. The questions were such as do successful middle managers have certain skills in common- and can you teach those skills to unsuccessful managers? And say you want to give someone a rise-how should you do it in a way that maximizes his happiness? Should you give him a cash bonus? Stock? A raise? More time off? (F. Manjoo, 2013) Although some may argue that Google’s HR practices may not apply to all companies. Some of their findings such as how to improve interviews, will still be applicable to most of the firms. In the hiring process of Google, within the first few years, it required its candidates to endure many interviews. The interviewer was also played by all the staff currently in the company. The HR department thought this approach would help bo th current employees and prospective ones to be more competent and more capable. However, it slowed down the hiring process and became more and more ineffective on examining candidates’ true values. Later, they realized the problem and studied about the optimal number of interview times. It was found that 4 times interviews will yield the most effective hiring process. After fourth one, the results begin to turn negative. Google was able to correct their HR practices to demonstrate the most strategic HRM. Besides these two major examples, Google POPS did way more. They investigated the way to increase employees’ paying. Whether paying a bonus of more or giving rise to monthly salary with less amount makes no difference to the firm, but the latter one can largely increases the level of happiness of the employees, thus encourage them more to work their best for the company. Even for cafeterias, besides providing free food, drinks and snacks, the size of the table was also concerned. The tables are long, so that workers who do not know each other will have to sit together to interact. The social coherence will improve teamwork spirit. In such a competitive and globalized environment, teamwork is especially important as diversity and combination of different powerful minds can create miracles and successes. In addition, the size of the plates were also considered to change to smaller size, so that the employees would have more healthy portions of food. In such ways, the employees d o not just feel happy about the free services that they receive, they are also satisfied and motivated by the cares that the company shows to them. The learning atmosphere is also maintained well in Google. Googlers can enjoy free classes of dancing, training sessions and choose their interested projects. Such free and encouraging environment inspires the googlers to create more values to the company. It does not only improve the overall performance, but also brings benefits to the entire world as their internet business has already changed people’s life and will continue this mission. Discussion on Google’s SHRM practices Google’s POPS head Bock has revealed that the ultimate goal is to use Google’s experience to answer some important questions about workplace such as: are leaders born or made? Can individuals sustain high performance over their lifetimes? Google would eventually be able to figure out the answers and they believe that the unique luxury that they have as being a date-driven company with people who can do the math will assist them to achieve the goals. So far, Google has set many good examples for all other companies. Their successes in SHRM lead to greatly improved performance. Through the example of Google, other companies are able to see the importance of taking care of the human resource. The strategic management of people does not only enable better alignment of jobs, but also increases people’s happiness. As working professionals are happy about their jobs and workplaces, the development and civilization of the entire society will go to a higher level. The wor ld would not only be economic based, but also more utilitarian and more humanitarians. Conclusion The report has illustrated the importance of HRM to organizational performance. Then SHRM, as a link to connect HRM to business strategies to achieve final organizational objectives can improve overall performance of the organization. Through the example of Google inc., we see how actively Google focused on SHRM. They also gained success in SHRM and also become the most successful search engine in the history. Their ultimate goal is not merely helping Google to achieve business goals through SHRM, but also collecting experience for other organizations on how to improve their employees’ happiness and welfare as well as achieve their business goals. Reference Devanna, M.A.,C. Fombrun, and N. Tichy. A Framework for Strategic Human Resource Management. Human Resource Management. New York: John Wiley. 1984. E. N. Caliskan. The Impact of Strategic Human Resource Management on Organizational Performance. Journal of Naval Science and Engineering, 2010, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp 100-116. F. Manjoo. The Happiness Machine, How Google became such a great place to work, 2013,retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/01/google_people_operations_the_secrets_of_the_world_s_most_scientific_human.2.html J. L. Perry. Strategic Human Resource Management. Transforming Federal Civil Service. Fall 1993. p 59-71. M. Armstrong. Strategic Human Research Management: A Guide to Action. Kogan Page. London. p 73-74. Importance of Strategic Human Resource Management Importance of Strategic Human Resource Management The business that I have chosen to study as part of this assignment is TESCO. TESCO is a public limited company, which is very successful and renowned in all over the world. I am always interested about TESCO and do my shopping very regularly from there. So I chosen to do my study about this particular business and it will help me to get information quite effectively and efficiently than any other organisation or business. Definition: Human resource management is the organisational function which is focused on recruitment, management, and providing direction for the employees of an organization. Strategic human resource management is linking of human resources with objectives and strategic goal in order to develop business culture and performance with flexibly, innovative. In an organisation SHRM means involving the HR function and implementing companys strategies through recruiting, selecting, training and rewarding personnel. 1.1-Importance of Strategic Human Resource Management: Strategic human resource management is a part of human resource management. Rather than focusing on internal issues of HR, SHRM focus on addressing and solving problems what effect people management related issues in the long run globally. So the main importance of strategic human resources is to increase employee skills by focusing on business problems that happens outside of human resources. The actions that needed to be taken at first for a strategic human resource manager is to identify key HR areas ,where strategies will be implemented in the future to improve employees productivity, motivation and skill. Human Resource managers are facing with some issues such as performance management, employee participation, human resource flow, reward systems and high commitment work systems in the context of globalization. These are some of the major issues that HR management involved in SHRM that implemented in the first decade of the 21st century: Internationalization of market integration. Significant technological change. New concepts of general management. Cross-cultural factors The economic trend transferring from developed to developing countries in the world. SHRM also reflects some of the contemporary challenges faced by Human Resource Management. Such as aligning HR with core business strategy, demographic trends on employment and the labour market, integrating soft skills in HRD and finally Knowledge Management. 1.2-The Purpose of Strategic Human Resource Management: The purpose of SHRM is to stimulate interest in the field of Human Resources by inviting HR professionals to speak about different aspects of their job and other HR issues. SHRM was created to provide assistance for development of its members, to provide leadership opportunities, and establish and support standards of excellence in Human Resource Management. SHRM aims to provide a sense of direction in an often turbulent environment so that organizational and business needs can be translated into coherent and practical policies and programmes. SHRM should provide guidelines for successful action, and the ultimate test of the reality of strategic HRM is the extent to which it has stimulated such action. There is an overall corporate purpose and that the human resource dimensions of that purpose are evident. A process of developing strategy within the organization exists and is understood, and that there is explicit consideration of human resource dimensions. The organization at all levels establishes responsibility and accountability for human resource management. It includes the responsibility to identify and interact in the social, political, technological and economic environments in which the organization is and will be doing business. 1.3-Contribution of SHRM to the achievement of TESCOs objectives: SHRM is normally helps us to achieve knowledge about strategic goals in different ways. The main thing of using this strategic advance is maintain the level of the organization for the organizational goals. Different HR policies are providing some good replies that are very necessary for the organizational strategy. HRM task helps us to achieve corporate goals such as growth and development by recruiting, training and orientating, and put them in new job role. The growth plan of an organization requires staffs and recruitment is the only functions that make sure that employees got sufficient skill. The retention policy enable to differentiation through retaining best of the ability force. Retaining appropriately of the employees enables to provide quality works, customer pleasure, and higher proficiency. The strategic approaches boost its performance management of the whole organization. The training and development process enables employees to know that they have proper skills that are required to achieve the whole tasks. The training plans are structured to train the human resources for particular skills that will enable them to achieve the essential goals. So that the organization is benefited as in there appropriate utilization of financial resources available to accomplish the training and development process. This process also maintains the growth of the organization through career improvement of the staffs. Tesco is the UKs largest supermarket. It has more than 240000 employees, and is making constant profit over the last few years. During the last few years Tesco used participative management which helped the organization for its development. The organization tried to apply of competitive circumstances by developing the technique how they can relate with the customers. Tesco used constant improvement, customer relation, welfare management in combination with the HRM strategies to achieve this reputable place in the UK supermarket industry. It makes employees champions and makes them able to make decisions. It also enables to increase employee pleasure, motivation, work proficiency and make able to adopt in any change. Overall the development of the organizational employees is the most important strength of Tesco. It is mainly focus on proper accomplishment and utilization of HR strategies that help it to do well in the market. In Tesco Human Resource policies perform with marketing str ategies that is placed into the operation. The management practice and its participation helped Tesco to improve its employees and the whole company. These steps enable them to obtain appropriate performance through their participation and engagement. The strategic human resource practice enables to produce competencies that distinguish product and service. Task 2: In this part of my assignment I am going to explain about Marks and Spencer 2.1-Internal and external business factors that underpin human resource planning: At this time of year lots of companies are thinking a strategic plan for the coming period. There are some external and internal business factors that effecting Mark and Spencer business policy. Some of them are in below: Labor cost control Increase efficiency and productivity Employee development Business decline Business growth Business change Marks and Spencer is one of the leading companies in UK. Internal business factor like as business growth can strengthen human resource plan on Marks and Spencer. When the whole companys business is growing then definitely management make different human resource plan for the organizational success. It can include recruitment of new personnel or making the existed personnel more efficient through a better training. Similarly when Marks and Spencer business is going through a bad time Marks and Spencer management make a different HR plan, like as redundancies of staff or other HR related expenses. Sometimes for other changes in business its Marks and Spencer Company make some change on the HR planning. Control of labor cost is one of the important factors on Marks and Spencer business policy. Computing a labour cost percentage in addition to other used way of labour efficiency. Justifying labour productivity Maintaining a Productive Workforce Measuring Current Labour Productivity Managing Payroll Costs Dropping Labour-Related Costs Now a days IT is making a huge change in the field of industrial, agricultural and human resources of Marks and Spencer. In this present 21st century IT has been playing a very important role on human resource planning. Due to technological advancemans its been taking some changes on the basis of HR planning in Marks and Spencer. 2.2-Human resource requirements: Marks and Spencer is always looking for particular amount of skills from the employees of different department. Among of these department specific skills is generally required by the employers. Similarly experience and other qualifications also required from the employees. These skills are related with their ability. Depends on the making plan, organize, design, implementation. It also helps his goal-setting. Some of them are in below: Honesty, integrity and morality. Adaptability, Flexibility. Dedication and hard working. Dependability/Reliability/Responsibility. Loyalty. Positive Attitude/Motivation/Energy/Passion. Professionalism. Self-Confidence. Self-Motivated/Ability to Work with Little or No Supervision. Willingness to Learn. In the specific areas whoever is weak can develop these skills by better training, acquiring knowledge on specific field, professional development from the people who possess these skills. Internal factors e.g. (labour requirements, Skill requirements, Workforce profiles etc): Marks and Spencer consider skill requirement, labour requirement and workforce profile. HR planning ensures that Marks and Spencer has suitable access to talent and ensure future business success. Talent means the knowledge, skills and ability to assume some activities like as decision making. HR resource plan consider some iterative discipline. External factors e.g. demand for labour, Supply of labour: Sector Skills Councils, government departments, professional bodies or dedicated employer or trade associations are likely to produce specific labour market studies. Specialist recruitment agencies and local further and higher education establishments will have useful insights into the labour markets they serve. Government polices e.g. employment, Education, Training, Industrial, Regional: Government role and activity can have a good role on the basis of human resource requirements. If government keep a good look on how peoples can develop their skills and requirement. The answers definitely indicate a few things, one of them is education. This is the key factors for the development of a nation. So the developments of Marks and Spencer, even a countrys development mainly depend on educational development. Government need to analyse every single point and focus on that point after that must be taken step by step action to reach the success, the another key point is employment. Government should have developed the opportunity in the job market, need to think about how to make job market better. Must need to try the best how to create vacancies according to the peoples interest and skill. For this reason employees must be skilled, and to be a skilled worker he must be properly trained in both practically and theoretically. Government can support that directly or indirectl y. It can be regional basis or industrial basis. 2.3-Human resource planning: HR planning is the process by which a company can ensure that it got right personnel. To fulfil organisational requirement MS make some HR planning for the development of human resource these are: Recruitment Retention Employee development Re-skilling Up-skilling Succession planning Fulfil recruitment requirement: an organised process of recruitment can avoid the problem of unpredicted wastage, shortage, blockages in the promotion flow, redundancies and so on. Determining training needs: It is very important to have a planning training programme. And in the term of skills requirement these programmes are improving not only quantity but also in quality in Marks and Spencer. Management development: One of the main purposes of HR planning is management development. Because a well trained and experienced manager is very important for the effectiveness of Marks and Spencer Industry. This thing depends on accurate information for both present and future requirement. Setting Smart: To engage SMART objectives in Mark and Spencer is focus on all the SMART criteria to meet with every objective. The full abbreviation of SMART is Specific, Measurable, Achievable or Agreed, Realistic and Time phased. These criteria can help MS to achieve the goal on the basis of HR management. Specific: The goal must be specific. It can be done by drafting a goal statement. For an example MS aimed to make sure this year that they will make a specific amount of profit this year, to reach that goal they planned to make the HR department more skilled. That plan must be specific. Measurable: MS aim must be measurable so that the benchmark of the metrics will be used and it can be tricky. Strategic goals of MS are basically measured making earning or profit. So that it must be careful that it may find that employees use unethical behaviours to achieve the specific goal. Achievable: The goal must be achievable. If the mission is then it will be easier to fix that the goal is whether achievable or not. An awareness campaign or a meeting can ensure that how it can be achieved. Realistic: There is no point of making a goal that necessitates the resources which are unavailable. A tactful session might help to make that realistic. To help and find new alternative MS use empowering staff if its resources are considered. Time based: The goals must have deadline. If the deadline is not affix properly the whole SMART will be useless. Every year MS got an agenda on HR management, which means it plan, its agenda on the basis of a time limitation. That specific deadline allows it to create a benchmark to ensure the goals achievement is on the plan. Outcomes: The purposes of HR planning are to enable organizations to anticipate their future HRM needs and to identify practices that will help them to meet those needs. HR planning may be done on a short- or long-term basis. Its aim is to ensure that people will be available with the appropriate characteristics and skills when and where the organization needs them. The use of HR planning enables companies to gain control of their future by preparing for likely events. When failing to properly plan for their human resources, employers are forced to respond to events after they occur, rather than before; they become reactive, rather than proactive. When this outcome occurs, an organization may be unable to correctly anticipate an increase in its future demand for personnel. At best, such a company would be forced to recruit personnel at the last minute and may fail to find the best candidates. At worst, the company may become seriously understaffed. Resources required: In spite of of the size of the human resources department it is essential to have the necessary personnel in position to develop, apply and monitor a suitable written human resources plan. 2.4-how a human resource plan contributes to the meeting of organisational objectives: A comprehensive Human Resource plan plays a very important role on the achievement of organisational objectives. Human resource plan support some strategic objectives related with marketing, financial, technological and operational departments. HR strategy is aim to explain about the people element, what an organisation is expecting to achieve in medium to long term, which ensure that: The organisation has right people It got perfect mix of skills Employees present good attitudes and behaviours Staffs are improving in the proper way. Fundamental issues which are addressed by the organisation. It identified if employees are motivated, committed and operate successfully. In MS these fundamental issues are: Employees planning issues Employees skills and equity plans Motivation and fair treatment issues Keep level on the basis of payment, recruit and motivate people. A career development framework which is normally focusing on the development of organisation, organising the staffs with employability so they can adopt with regular changes in the employment pattern. HR plan is showing a careful planning of the people issues that make it quite easier for the achievement of the organisation. HR plan have major impact on the changes in the wider market environment which are: Changes in the overall market. Cultural changes that will effect on the future employment pattern. Changes in the legal framework Providing and implementing practical idea on HR planning and making it stronger an organisational performance can be developed such as focusing on good management practice. 3.1-Purpose of human resource management policies: Human resource management policies include different type of activities such as deciding about staffing need that M S Company got. To fulfill these requirements MS Company do recruiting and selecting employees then training for making them better skilled, ensuring their good performance, monitoring the performance issues. Activities also include managing the approach to employees benefits and compensation, employees personal policies and records. During the period of recruiting company must show the balance of equality on the basis of sex, culture, religion or cast. Employers should: Pay workers according to the agreement. The agreement will maintain some areas such as work period, amount of paid holidays etc. The employment contract is the important legal document between the employer and staff. Pay men and women equally for doing the equal values of work, should not be discriminate between men and woman. Make sure they fulfil the requirements of Minimum Wage Act 1998 and pay at least the national minimum wage to appropriate the employees Benefit and expenses: Benefits are forms of value, other than payment, that are provided to the employee in return for their contribution to the organization, that is, for doing their job. Some benefits, such as unemployment and workers compensation, are federally required. Employee benefits typically refers to retirement plans, health life insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, vacation, employee stock ownership plans, etc. Benefits are increasingly expensive for businesses to provide to employees, so the range and options of benefits are changing rapidly to include, for example, flexible benefit plans. Training and development All managers at Mark Spencer are making a career planning profile that helps them to think about next target. Then they can develop their career. Identifying staff, specific training such as technical skill and business competencies needs for the specific role. The profile highlighted what kind of training program Mark and Spencer need to take. There are two forms of training are: On the job training: while employees are on the work then this training form take place. Off the job training: when employees are away from the work then it take place. On-the-job training takes place while employees are carrying out an activity in their place of work. Involving a range of project and training can improve business competencies and technical skills. The purpose of the training is to make the enjoyable to their work, and make them feel that have all the skill that is needed for the role. Off-the-job training, as its names suggests, takes place away from the workplace. For example, within MS there is internet and staff finds required learning materials to develop their technical skills and business competencies. 3.2-Impact of regulatory requirements on human resource policies: Regulatory requirements: Employment legislation include different types of regulatory requirements which is related with business structure, pay, data protection, health and safety, discrimination, equality, employment right and responsibility, contractual terms and condition and data protection. Employment relation act 2004: This act is generally concerned with collective labour law and trade union rights. This is the reviewed one of Employment Relations Act 1999 that was announced on July 2002. The act 1999 was conducted with connecting of interested parties, after that it included a public consultation. Government reviewed that and provides a detailed analysis that is known as Employment Relations Act 2004. Equal Pay Acts 1970 and 1983 This act was came to force on 1975. Its intention was to remove discrimination between men and women in pay. This act allows someone to claim equal amount of payment for both of the gender. approximating work Work rate as equal under a job estimation scheme Work of Equal Value in terms of weight made under such headings as attempt, skill and decision-making Claims to be pursue on the basis of the Employment Tribunal system. Disability Discrimination Act 1995 This act came to force on 2nd of December 1996. This act works like as Sex Discrimination Act and Race relation act. It also put the duty on the employer to make a reasonable adjustment in the premises to the disable people. Disable means physical disable, visual or hearing disable, mental problem such as Multiple Sclerosis and Aid, learning problem. Data protection Act 1998: The Data Protection Act 1998 requires every data controller who is processing personal data to notify the Information Commissioner unless they are exempt. Failure to notify is a criminal offence. The Information Commissioner maintains a public register of data controllers. Each register entry includes the name and address of the data controller and a general description of the processing of personal data by a data controller. Individuals can consult the register to find out what processing of personal data is being carried out by a particular data controller. There is no requirement to notify manual records which come within the scope of the Data Protection Act 1998. However, it can be chosen to notify them voluntary to notify them voluntarily. If notification is needed, there are two ways to notify: By internet notification form can be completed on the internet, printing it and send the form by post with the notification fee or direct debit instruction By telephone it can be telephone the notification help line and a draft notification form will be sent to which is based on the information that is been asked to provide on the telephone. Further guidance and other publications can be accessed from the website of the Information Commissioner http://www.dataprotection.gov.uk/dpr/dpdoc.nsf Task 3: In this task of my assignment i am going to discuss about ACI Company Ltd Bangladesh. 4.1- Impact of organisational structure on the management of HR: Role of HR department on the development of ACI: On the development of ACI Company Ltd Bangladesh, HR department got a huge role. Organisational development of ACI is based on some personnel assessment and HR audit. Its also depending on the basis of how personnel departments are being observed and evaluated. On the viewpoint of a HR consultant here I am going to describe some of them: Recruiting, interviewing and hiring New employee related factors Performance assessment Wages or compensation issues Staff benefit issues HR plan and policies Job categorization Training and interviewing Decision-making skills 4.2- Impact of organisational culture on the management of HR: Organisational culture: organisational culture can be defined as thorough concept of knowledge, belief and thoughts of mind and customs in where peoples are expressing their organisational conditioning. Aci organisation have different shared belief and values which sometimes convert into policies and practice. Aci organisational culture has some impact on the HR management that are: Decision making that can centralised of decentralised Freedom of different level of staff and management Frankness on communication Different leadership styles that is conducted by managers Educational involve and intelligence of employees Attitude of team then if needed training and development. Attitude to change specially with the technology. Commitment on the quality and service. 4.3- How the effectiveness of HRM is being monitored: ACI Companys HRM effectiveness depends on some major components which are mentioned bellow and these components are being monitored by ACI regularly for the organizational development. These are: HRM strategy: Human resource strategy is indicating some objectives like as training and developing, motivation and control workers. ACI Company is one of the most successful organizations in Bangladesh, it achieving its success through business strategy and HRM strategy and company believe that the more successful it is likely to be in terms of achieving the organizational outcomes. So if the whole companys effectiveness is mostly depend on its HRM strategy. HRM operations There are lots of responsibility and functions required for running a business. Performance, productivity, each and every department must be monitored constantly and HR department is responsible for achieving these. These things ensure the overall success of ACI Company. Using human resource properly: Some people might think that HR department is not a most important factor in a company. It is totally a wrong concept. ACI Companys HR department basically focuses on hiring the people and which would build up the workforce of the company. If this department is not performing well then whole process of hiring and recruiting will be on the question for any company. So for the effectiveness of the ACI Company proper using of HR is very important. Efficiencies and inefficiencies: An organizational effectiveness mostly depends on having right people on the right post to fulfill organizational requirements on the appropriate time. Right people can only be obtained by measuring efficiencies. The more efficient the employee will, the more effective the company will be. On the other hand an inefficient employee is a great obstacle for the whole company. So making him efficient the companys development can be obtained. So monitor efficiencies and inefficiencies must be considered on the effectiveness of human resource management. Overall monitoring the above few section ACI Company is performing its organizational success. 4.4- Recommendation to improve the effectiveness of human resource management in ACI: To improve the effectiveness of human resource management in ACI Company, there must be a list of recommendation. The following few factors can be implemented for the improvements of its effectiveness. Benchmarking HR performance: Benchmarking provides an organization with a detail analysis of national and employees satisfaction. It also provides HR effectiveness based on in detail feedback form and the whole companys surveys. ACI Companys benchmarking reports let it to compare the organization with the current and future industry norms. Thats how the management can determine whether the present HR practices are fulfilling the companys need and the needs of employees. Employees attitude survey: Employee attitude survey provides information to improve efficiency and commitment on ACI industry. Finding out the root issues of attitude in the organization ACI Company must take the direct action to broaden its overall job satisfaction. Involving the information that was gathered from the survey will improve the productivity. Improving the attitude of the employees will lead to better cooperation and communication throughout the whole company. So employees attitude must be considered for the future improvement of the effectiveness of HRM in ACI Company. Employee retention: Employee retention is helping an organization to encourage employees to remain in the organization for a long time. Now a days so many companies are facing a lot of problem in employees retention. Hiring skilled and knowledgeable people for the job is very necessary for any company. But retention is more important than hiring. ACI Company is always looking for such a kind of talent employees. If an employee is not satisfied on his present job then he might try to find a better one, as a result it can be a huge lose for the company. So employee retention should be followed for the future development of the company.

Terrorism Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Why do people resort to such violent acts as bombing, assassinations, and hi-jacking? How do individuals and organizations justify these acts of terror? These acts can easily be labeled as terrorist actions. Terrorism is a growing international problem. In the recent years, new terrorist groups and organizations have been forming at an alarming rate. Governments have had little success in their attempts to resolve issues involving terrorism. One of the major problems in discussing terrorism is â€Å"establishing a generally accepted definition.† Terrorism can be described as, â€Å"the unlawful use of fear or force to achieve certain political, economical, or social aims.† By being so difficult to define, organizations like the United Nations have had great difficulty creating policies against terrorism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A single individual, a certain group, or even governments may commit terrorist actions. Unlike criminals, most terrorists claim to be dedicated to higher causes. Repeated methods of terrorism involve threats, bombings, and the destruction of property, kidnapping, hostages, executions, and assassinations. There are many reasons that political groups attempt to bring radical change through terrorism. People are often frustrated with their position in society. Some feel persecuted or oppressed because or their race, or religion. Most often, terrorists are known for their dislike of the government. Groups that use terrorist act...

Times Have Changed Essay -- essays research papers

Times Have Changed Times have changed dramatically in the past thirty years. The style of living, the sizes of families, and education have all changed dramatically. During the fifties, sixties, and most of the early seventies teenagers were thinking about going off to war or starting a family. Very few teenagers coming out of high school were thinking about college. Slowly as times started to change, more and more people were going off to college. Today at the end of the nineties, very few people do not go off to college. Instead of high school students thinking about starting families or going off to war, they have a bigger decision to make. What college to attend. This decision will affect one's entire life; how they live, where they work, what size family they are going ...

Africanisation of south African Ratiling Essay

The internationalisation of retail businesses has become a global phenomenon as retailers around the world expand their operations beyond national borders. This phenomenon has attracted some academic attention. In Africa, South Africa appears to be more advanced in this regard, with Shoprite at the forefront of the Africanisation of South African retailers. A review of Shoprite’s expansion into the continent results in two propositions and some challenges that affect this process. The wider significance of the propositions is further examined by a study of other South African retailers expanding into Africa. The review finds that although there are opportunities for retailers in African countries, there are also significant challenges that can negate the opportunities. Most importantly, the chosen mode of entry into African countries plays a significant role in the overall internationalisation process and should be a primary concern of management teams considering making such a move, and it is established that the mode of entry comprises at least five areas of critical decision making. Key words: Africanisation, retailing, international retailing, South African retailing, African markets, mode of entry, ICTs, international business. INTRODUCTION Since 1994, South Africa has moved to become part of  the African continent, even to the point that it developed  1  and championed an African agenda . This move opened  up opportunities for South African businesses within the  continent. In this regard, leading South African retailers  (including Shoprite, Woolworths, Massmart, Truworths)  have already invested in, and now operate in diverse  African countries. In the past decade, the continent has  also seen shopping centres and malls built in most  African cities, some of which are also South African  investments (Miller, 2006). There is still huge potential for all kinds of South African businesses to expand within the  continent, and there are benefits for all concerned. Already the six primary sectors of the South African  economy: mining, retail, construction and manufacturing,  financial services, telecommunications, and leisure and  *Corresponding author. E-mail: naadakora@gmail.com. 1 African agenda in this case refers to former president Mbeki’ s vision of an African renaissance, and the establishment of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). tourism, are in one way or another investing in the  continent (Daniel et al., 2003). Furthermore, the  completion of the SEACOM’s East African submarine  cable and the up coming West African cable system that  will provide fibre optic connection from Africa to the rest  of the world will open more business opportunities on the  continent. It is, therefore, not surprising to see an  increasing number of South African retail companies  expanding into the rest of the continent to seek growth  and explore new strategic opportunities.  The Shoprite Group operates its own stores in 15  African countries outside South Africa, including Angola,  Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius,  Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Swaziland, Tanzania,  Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe (Shoprite, 2008). The  group’s operations have been generally successful in  most of these countries and in some cases income has  exceeded their projections and expectation s. This  performance has triggered numerous growth and  expansion plans for most of the countries listed above.  For example, with the opening of one supermarket in  Accra, Ghana (in November, 2007), the group  immediately started investigating the possibility of  opening five more stores around the Accra area  (Shoprite, 2008). This report also indicates that their  Dakora et al. African operations have produced higher turnover growth than their South African counterparts. However, this is not the case with their operation in India where foreign retail ownership is forbidden by government regulations. Shoprite had to operate by means of franchising in Mumbai (Shoprite, 2008). Revenues do not match those achieved in Africa, highlighting the mode of entry as a key factor in the successful achievement of retail internationalisation. Yet, even in Africa, it has not all been easy. Due to lack of suitable acquisition targets and alliance partners, and given the informal nature of the retail sector in most African countries, they are obliged to open their own stores (Games, 2008). The Shoprite annual report (Shoprite, 2008) indicates that they are currently facing competition from other South African retailers who are also moving into Africa. For example Massmart, also expanding into Africa, will give Shoprite a run for its money in markets for hard goods. Also, as a consequence of their go-it-alone approach to Africanisation, Shoprite often does not gather enough market knowledge and contacts before entering and establishing a foothold in these new markets, which in itself becomes a problem (Games, 2008). There are also reports of supply issues haunting the company in its Africa operations. Nigeria is reported to have government-imposed import restrictions on some products. This is in a bid to protect the local economy and suppliers. Miller (2008) points out that the issue concerning local suppliers is politically controversial for South African companies operating in foreign African countries. Although South Africa has moved to be part of the continent and has championed an African agenda (as noted at the start of this paper), there are concerns that this commercial activity might become another form of colonisation. As a result, these companies have to demonstrate their support and participation in local development in those foreign countries or risk being accused of â€Å"exporting Apartheid† into Africa (Miller, 2008). Of course, the circumstances of each country might vary: Miller found that the Shoprite Group entered Zambia under favourable conditions that did not attempt to protect local producers and suppliers. Despite the increase in retail internationalisation in Africa led by the South African retailers, little research has been done in this area. This paper is a review based on a study of annual reports and other publicly available sources; it seeks to develop a foundation for more detailed case study work on the phenomenon. The paper discusses how the Shoprite Group’s expansion into Africa has been achieved, and how it secured its position as the largest food retailer on the continent. Two propositions concerning challenges affecting the decision of entry mode are established, based on the Shoprite study. The issues that inform these propositions are, however, limited to the results of the Shoprite’s review, and, therefore, preclude other issues that might be relevant to 749 the phenomenon but not obvious in this study. The propositions are further examined by looking at a range of other cases of South African retailers’ expansion into Africa. GENERAL PERSPECTIVE INTERNATIONALISATION ON RETAIL In recent years, the world of retailing has seen a dramatic increase in international activities by retailers around the world (Park and Sternquist, 2008; Myers and Alexander, 2007; Dawson and Mukoyama, 2006). The phenomenon of retail internationalisation has become an important feature of global business. As consumer products and services become global, and around the whole world consumers’ styles of consumption and attitudes increasingly become similar, retailers are prompted to respond to this trend. This results in the emergence of international (and in some cases global) retail companies (Federzoli, 2006). As Jack Shewmaker, director of Wal-Mart points out; â€Å"it is absolutely clear the biggest opportunity facing retailers [today] is internationalisation† (McGarriagle, 2008:12). In exploiting this window of opportunity, the world has seen retail businesses grow into multinational corporations contributing to economies on a worldwide basis. The rising levels of internationalisation among retail businesses can be attributed to three factors: growth in size, growth in technological sophistication and the need to respond to the changing demands and behaviours of customers (Myers and Alexander, 2007). However, retailing is geographically tied, and international companies must have a physical presence in the foreign countries concerned in order to conduct their business (Sternquist, 2007). According to Dawson and Mukoyama (2006), the internationalisation of retailing is evident in many ways including: the sourcing of products for resale, the operation of stores in foreign countries, the use of foreign labour, the adoption of foreign ideas and the use of foreign capital. There has been an increase in all these aspects in terms of volume and spatial reach, Dawson and Mukoyama indicate. This increase in retail expansion has continued across the world, characterised by large retail chains, mainly from the most developed countries, moving into less developed ones, and this has attracted some academic attention. However, most research in the area of retail internationalisation has focused on the developed world with little attention being paid to developing economies, especially those in Africa. Zhang and Dodgson (2007:336) observe that most research in the field of international business and entrepreneurship concentrates on â€Å"early internationalisation of firms based in developed countries, especially Europe and United States†. Where Africa is studied, little attention is paid to retailing, as 750 Afr. J. Bus. Manage. most previous research has always focused on manufacturing and pure service industries despite the recent increase in retail internationalisation (Park and Sternquist, 2008). METHODOLOGY The review takes into consideration South African retail companies that have expanded their operations beyond their home region, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in a significant way. Pure service retailing is beyond the scope of this paper. Shoprite is the largest food retailer in Africa, and also the pioneering retailer to embark on a continent wide expansion strategy. A review of Shoprite’s Africanisation process is carried out with the view of gaining some understanding of the phenomenon. Therefore, the propositions and challenges around the issue of modality are limited to what is obvious in the Shoprite study. The significance of these propositions and the relationships between them are further examined by the study of other cases of purposively selected South Africa companies moving into Africa. Since the intention is to understand the phenomenon under study, purposive sampling enhances the potential of understanding (Devers and Frankel, 2000). As indicated earlier, the study has largely been based on annual reports and other publicly available sources, and, therefore, the review took a content analysis approach. Due to its ability to assess the effects of environmental variables like regulation, socio-economic issues, and location characteristics such as market attractiveness, credibility and likability (Kolbe and Burnett, 1991) in the internationalisation process, content analysis techniques was useful in this study. A REVIEW AFRICA OF SHOPRITE’S EXPANSION INTO The Shoprite Group of companies came into existence with the acquisition of a supermarket chain in the Western Cape, in 1979 (Shoprite, 2009a). This expansion strategy has continued and has helped the expansiondriven company to show its presence across the country, and the group now comprises Shoprite, Checkers, Checkers Hyper, Usave, OK Furniture, OK House and Home, OK Power Express and OK Franchise Division (with a number of stores and brands under it). The national growth and expansion strategy of Shoprite, as observed, has been through mergers and acquisitions, but it modified and extended this strategy when moving abroad. It achieved international expansion by opening its own stores in the foreign countries in which it operates, so that in 2008, out of a total of 984 stores, 100 supermarkets were being operated in 16 countries outside South Africa (Shoprite, 2008). The company claims that the international stores operate with the same standards of sophistication as in the home country, South Africa. Hence, Shoprite now confidently proclaims its name as the largest food retailer in Africa. The expansion into African was a bold decision that has continued to influence the future of the Shoprite Group to the present day. However, this could not have been possible without clear vision, strategy and the appropriate choice of mode of working. The following points highlight some of the key factors that contributed to Shoprite’s success in Africa: Suitability of business model Most of Africa’s populated cities are home to middle to high income earners who yearn for quality of life, and Shoprite’s provision of a world class shopping environment and a wide range of products at arguably affordable prices meets their dreams of a better life. The opening of shopping centres and malls has been a feature of the Shoprite business model, as expressed by the Chairman of the group, C H Wiese in their annual report (Shoprite, 2008:8), â€Å"we have brought a developed country’s shopping experience to millions of people who have never been exposed to trading of this nature†. In essence, this goes beyond the activities of retailing; it is actually development, as the bright shopping outlets and malls have become part of a new urban development and modernity (Miller, 2006). Mode of working Shoprite’s choice of mode for its expansion programme has largely been by opening up its â€Å"own stores† in the countries where it operates. This strategy allows the company to have absolute control over all its operations, both local and foreign, and managing them from its head office in Cape Town. Park and Sternquist (2008) found that retail companies embarking on global strategies prefer opening branches or establishing wholly-owned subsidiaries for their international operations, although franchising has been widely used in this regard. This is because the wholly-owned entry mode allows for more control and involvement in the operations of the new establishment. Opening their own stores also offers potentially greater returns in terms of profit (Park and Sternquist, 2008). However, wholly-owned subsidiaries or own stores are seen as the most expensive mode of internationalisation for any particular company as it requires more resource commitment, including management time and finance (Doole and Lowe, 2004). Doole and Lowe contend that this mode is used when a retail company is certain that its products and services will do well in the long-run, in a foreign market of a politically stable country, since it allows the internationalising company to have full ownership and the control necessary to meet its strategic objectives. Whatever ever the situation, the choice of entry mode is one of the most critical and strategic decisions the company has to make before attempting to internationalise (Venter et al., 2007). Empowerment, jobs and training Despite Shoprite’s approach of opening its own stores and shopping centres, it also invested and continues to Dakora et al. invest in the human capital of the foreign countries where it operates. The group employs more than 8 000 local people in its stores outside South Africa, some of whom have been trained to become managers (Shoprite, 2008). Further, local small scale farmers are being supported to upgrade their production standards so as to supply the Shoprite stores. It has also been reported that the Shoprite Zambian operation is already self-sufficient in vegetable supplies, thanks to the engagement with local farmers. Supply chain efficiency Selling fresh foods in multiple countries through whollyowned stores could pose a logistical nightmare. But, thanks to Shoprite’s sophisticated supply chain network and strategically located distribution centres this has been possible and it has been a success (Shoprite, 2008). Another important element here is their ability to develop the necessary skills, backed by advanced information systems, to enable them to source and deliver products to all their stores from anywhere in the world, says their 2008 annual report. This element summarises the whole essence of retailing – delivering the right products and/or services to the right customers, at the right place, in the right condition or form, and certainly at the right price. As indicated by Dawson and Mukoyama (2006) the most important function of retailers is to make a range of products available to consumers for potential purchase. Information systems and technology Information systems and technologies not only support supply chain management, but also management processes. For the Shoprite Group to manage all its stores and operations from one head office, it has to have reliable information systems and technology in place. They have invested in the most sophisticated information technology and systems available to the retail industry, and employ talented people to manage them, according to the Chairman’s report (Shoprite, 2008). With this advancement in information technology, their systems are able to place up to 490 000 orders per month to reorder products automatically from their existing suppliers, the report indicates. In his report Whitey Basson (Chief Executive Officer) indicates that their investment in information technology and infrastructure has improved efficiencies at all levels of the business, and no doubt the capacity to handle increased supply chain activity in an international context (Shoprite, 2008). DISCUSSION It has come to light from the Shoprite review that both political issues and company-level issues affect South 751 African retailers in their quest to tap into the African market in a fulsome way. In an interview with the Classic FM business programme on 18 February 2009 (Shoprite, 2009b), Basson said: South Africa has not woken up to the fact that they are part of that big global village, and there are a lot of laws that need to be changed to make African traders work better with each other, in and out, it’s a hell of a job to actually get through the red tape and make trading easier. So I feel very strongly about it that they should look at that and say listen, as SA become part of the African continent and a leading role player, we should actually form some committee†¦that makes the trading easy; get [taxes] structured properly†¦, [so that] a truck can go to and be cleared within an hour going from one border to the next and not stand and wait for four or five days in between borders†¦ I think we [are] just lagging in that process. Moreover, in her research into the conditions of Shoprite workers in Lusaka (Zambia) and Maputo (Mozambique), Miller (2006:36) found that â€Å"across the categories of age, gender, skill and permanent or casual status, workers felt misused and mistreated by Shoprite management†. Miller’s research reveals that workers complain about wages, working conditions, hours, and overtime pay. Due to high costs of living, the wages earned could not support their basic needs, although Shoprite’s pay bettered the legislated minimum wage at the time. In general, the expansion of the Shoprite Group into the rest of Africa has shown that modality is important; and the issue of mode is much more than opening wholly owned stores, franchising and others, as it also concerns the relationship with local producers, suppliers and workers and other stakeholders. Speaking to Fin24 (Shoprite, 2009c), Basson had this to say about going into Africa: We can double our African business if we can get rid of all the red tape and all problems of just getting stores and merchandise out there. So it’s really still very, very tough and there is very little help from anybody, be they manufacturers or government from both sides to make the African continent a global trading area like you have in Europe or the Americas. The review of the Shoprite story, and its African expansion strategies, demonstrate that the mode of entry into African markets is of strategic importance. While it is evident that there are still more opportunities for expansion into African countries, there are significant challenges, and these challenges revolve around the choice of entry mode. Therefore the concept of mode and mode differences are important as businesses have to 752 Afr. J. Bus. Manage. take some important decisions about mode. These observations from the Shoprite study suggest the following propositions: Proposition #1: It is not easy getting into African markets; there are significant mode differences which present various challenges. Proposition #2: Components of the modal issues and the nature of the challenges include: a. Support for local economies, producers and suppliers, and labour is critical; b. Efficient supply chain management, and good information systems help; c. Movement of goods across borders can pose logistical problems; d. Competition emerges as many South African retailers expand into the continent; e. Government interventions are needed to open up the continent for trade. The mode is therefore a mix of how these challenges are handled, and this is indicative of the mode choices. Moreover, the challenges regarding support for local producers and labour, and supply chain management are particularly important. South African retailers have come under scrutiny in recent years for dumping South African products in African markets, little support for local labour and pushing local companies out of business (Games, 2008); an issue Shoprite is said to be working hard on (Shoprite, 2008). Also, although most of the newly economically empowered populations of Africa want to spend their money in shopping mall, there are those people who are driven to be concerned about climate change because of the globalisation of the issues of climate change and the significance of carbon footprint management in running a business. This raises the importance of merchandise range management, as some consumers might prefer locally produced organic products. Therefore, there might be a need for the re-ranging of product lines of South African retailers in their African operations. The wider significance of the propositions established, and the relationships and interdependencies between them can be investigated by a review of other South African retail businesses moving in the same direction. OTHER SOUTH AFRICAN RETAILERS EXPANDING INTO THE REST OF AFRICA that the company now operates 12 Game stores in 10 sub-Saharan African countries outside of South Africa including: Botswana, Ghana, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia; most of the stores are said to perform better (in terms of sales) than their South African counterparts (Massmart, 2008). Other format stores are located elsewhere. The report also indicates that the company buys from local suppliers and also import from different countries including South Africa. According to the annual report, the excellent performance of stores in Africa caught management’s attention, and â€Å"this prompted us to revise our earlier policy to limit our African footprint to one store per country (with exception of Botswana and Namibia)†. As a result there are new stores under development for Malawi, Zambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, and others, as reported. However, in an interview with fin24 the Massmart CEO, Grant Pattison indicated just how difficult it is to operate in African markets outside of South Africa, especially when it comes to acquiring property (Massmart, 2009). He said â€Å"we can work on a property for ten years† and explained how that can hamper their expansion process. Having said that, he also indicated that â€Å"the more difficult it is to operate, the more opportunity there is for a good operator† and in the final analysis they do not consider it particularly difficult to operate in foreign African countries (Massmart, 2009). Truworths Truworths is one of the leading South African apparel retailers, selling multiple brands of women’s, men’s, teenager’s and children’s fashions and related products (Truworth, 2008). Truworths is an investment holding company with subsidiaries. Like other South African retailers, the group is expanding into the continent, and currently operates 25 franchised stores in both foreign African countries and in the Middle East (Truworths, 2009). Unlike the Shoprite and Massmart Groups, however, Truworth’s strategy for expansion has been through franchising. The group has a presence in the following African countries beyond the borders of South Africa: Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho and Tanzania under its multiple brand labels. However, reports of how well those franchised stores perform are not indicated. Massmart group Woolworths Massmart is a wholesaler and retailer of general merchandise and other streams of goods. Since 1994 the company has expanded its business operation beyond the borders of South Africa to tap markets in the rest of the continent. In its 2008 annual report, it is explained Woolworths, like Truworths, is one of the major fashion and accessories retailers in South Africa; the company also operates a supermarket chain and pharmacies. It operates nationwide and also offers franchise opportunities, both in the local market and foreign African Dakora et al. countries (Woolworths, 2008). As reported, the company operates franchise stores in foreign African countries, including Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The performance of the franchised foreign operations is, however, not indicated (Woolworths, 2009). RETAIL MARKET OPPORTUNITIES IN AFRICA Retail opportunities in Africa are extensive, as some African countries are experiencing strong economic growth and are benefiting from political reforms. The â€Å"doing business† report of the World Bank (2008) indicates an increasing trend of countries implementing reforms to facilitate cross-border trade globally, and shows that Africa is at the forefront of this trend. The report observes that Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda and Tanzania have all reformed in recent years, and that African countries such as Botswana, Mozambique and Rwanda and Ghana have been able to create positive and stable governments. The resultant boost in their economies has been noticed, and the opportunities are clearly visible (Mahajan and Gunther, 2009). As well as economic expansion, it is worth noting that the combined population of African countries is also growing rapidly. With Africa still showing the highest birth rate, its population is projected to reach two billion by 2050, despite average life expectancy remaining low (Venter et al., 2007). Within African countries there is a growing highly-educated labour force, that can make a contribution to companies expanding into the continent; there is also a growing proportion of middle-income earners who seek to enjoy the services of these companies. In talking about the continent’s market size, potential and opportunities, Mahajan and Gunther (2009:3) help to put things in perspective: Africa has more than 900 million consumers. Despite the challenges, every day they need to eat. They need clean water. They need shelter, clothing, and medicine. They want cell phones, bicycles, computers, automobiles, and education for their children. Businesses are already seizing these opportunities in building markets across Africa. As we have noted, prominent among the companies seizing opportunities in Africa are South African retailers, and this is evident in the rising shopping malls and South African retail stores in cities across the Continent (Miller, 2006; Mahajan and Gunther, 2009). Moreover, the increased communications connectivity and usage in African countries also opens up a lot of opportunities. The information economy report hailed this technology 753 expansion as the source of the strong wave of innovation that changed the face of the global economy during the th last quarter of the 20 century† (United Nations, 2007). With the launch of the East African Submarine Internet cable, that connects Eastern and Southern African countries to the rest of the world in cheaper and faster ways, ICTs will continue to be a positive factor. However, Mahajan and Gunther indicate that most emerging markets have serious problems that cannot be ignored by businesses operating within them, and Africa has its own unique situation; this issue is discussed under the next heading. DIFFICULTIES PROCESS IN THE INTERNATIONALISATION Infrastructure (including transport, electricity, water, sanitation, medicine, and technology) has always been at the forefront of challenges faced by companies operating in Africa, but these challenges actually present opportunities to businesses that can meet them (Mahajan and Gunther, 2009). All the same, it is still difficult and costly to move goods from one country to another when there are poor rail and road networks (Economist Newspaper, 2008). This poses logistical difficulties for retailers who need to move perishable or fast-moving consumer goods from warehouses to stores, in geographically far-flung locations within the continent, as indicated earlier in the discussion of Shoprite. Additionally, cross-border trade is affected by road blocks, red tape and slow custom clearances at most borders. As explained in his interview with Fin24 (Massmart, 2009), the CEO of Massmart said â€Å"[When] we supply goods into Lagos, it might take 12 weeks on the water, [but it can take] 14 weeks to clear†. Obviously, this precludes any consideration of the supply of fresh products. Conclusion As international retailing becomes a reality in Africa, the complexities of the phenomenon, coupled with the unique African situation, need academic attention to help demystify the process. South African retailers have moved into the continent quite cautiously, and most are achieving growth, in some cases even more than within their home operations. This generally positive experience merits more study so that it can be understood and used to accelerate the benefits for all, especially the African consumer. 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