Lean Management :: Business, Manufacturing

Lean management is a thought process and a philosophy, not a tool, used to look at a business weather it is manufacturing, service or any other activity with a supplier and a customer relation with the goal of eliminating non-value added tasks (Womack, Jones, Ross, 1990). The principles of lean production include teamwork, communication, efficient use of resources and continuous improvement (Kaizen). It can be said that they pioneered the idea of applying the concepts outside of manufacturing environments. The objective of lean production is a system for organising and managing product development, operations, suppliers, and customer relation that requires less human effort, less space, less capital, less material and less time to make products with fewer defects to precise customer desires, compared with the previous system of mass production (Marchwinski & Shook, 2004). The concepts of both Ohno (1988) and Womack and Jones (2003) search for ways to reduce lead time by eliminating w aste it can be said that the terms â€Å"Lean† and â€Å"Toyota Production System† are synonymous. Lean management is not restricted to the actions that take place in the manufacturing function of a company, rather it relates to activities range from product development, procurement and manufacturing over to distribution. Together these areas create the lean enterprise. The ultimate goal of implementing lean production in an organization is to have the customer in focus when improving productivity, enhancing quality, shortening lead times, reducing costs etc. These are factors representing the performance of a lean production system. The determinants of a lean production system are the actions taken, the principles implemented and the changes made to the organization to achieve the desired performance (Karlsson & Ahlstrom, 1996) There are multiple ways to combine the individual practices to represent the multi-dimensional nature of lean manufacturing. In combining these practices, the researcher has to compete with the technique used to combine and the actual content of the combinations. The dominant method in operations management literature has been to use exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis to combine individual practices in a multiplicative function to form orthogonal and unidimensional factors (Flynn et al., 1995; Cua et al., 2001; Shah & Goldstein, 2006). A review of research from organization theory, and labour and human resource management shows less reliance on factor analysis and offers multiple ways for combining individual practices and creating an index. One such method is the additive index used by Osterman (1994) and MacDuffie (1995) in developing â€Å"bundles† of interrelated human-resource management practices.

Importance of Motivation in Rention Essay

Employees are the most important factor in the success and failure of any organization. In service industry, employees are in direct contact with the customer, hence they should be motivated. Firstly, this paper focuses on importance of employee motivation on Staff retention, by studying the concepts of staff retention, employee turnover and employee motivation. Further discussing about the major motivational theories, followed by the factors which help to increase motivation and backed up with some latest examples. Secondly, it takes a case study of Heathrow Windsor Marriott, a leading 4 star Airport Hotel, it reflects my observations about the good and bad practises followed by the management of hotel. And at the end, this paper tries to give some recommendations for future practice. 1. Introduction Managing Human Resource has become an inescapable and prominent approach to the management in service industries (Watson 2003).In simple terms, Human means labour/employee, Resource points out employees are valued assets and Management refers to managing personnel of an organization. The objective of Human resources is short term and it mainly focuses on employee relations. However, due to globalization, this approach was fruitless, hence its focus adopted the aspect of strategy. Strategic Human Resource Management means combing Human resources with strategic goals and objectives to improve and develop organization (Regis 2008). According to Banfield and Kay (2012), Human resource management is the ‘glue’ which ensures business success through consistent practises and adapting local conditions. In an organization, employees are the primal force, whose never ending efforts converts the organization’s decision into action with the aim of achieving common goal. Hence, employees should be motivated (Hossain and Hossain 2012). The fast changing competitive business environment has presented challenges for Human Resource professionals for adopting new methods of production and organizing of work. This situation has accelerated the rate of employee turnover. Employee resourcing, employee development, employee relations, productivity are the emerging issues faced by management (Banfield and Kay 2012).The problem of Employee Motivation has become inseparable from Human Resource Management because, employees acts as a major source of organization. This paper is divided into two major parts, literature and reflection. The aim of this paper is on how employee motivation contributes to staff retention. The first part on literature covers topics like Staff retention, turnover & motivation and demonstrate a relationship between employee motivation and staff retention. The second part reflects the practises carried out Heathrow Windsor Marriott Hotel, followed by recommendations for future. 2. Staff Retention Staff retention refers to the techniques employed by the management to help the employees stay with the organization for a longer period of time (Management Study Guide 2013). Every organization puts efforts to transform a raw material to corporate ready material by giving necessary trainings at regular interval to achieve the common goal. Job satisfaction is a vital component of staff retention which can be achieved by making the employee feel comfortable physically and psychologically. Staff retention is crucial for many reasons such as, longer time spent by the employees have an opportunity to perform better, it increases their loyalty towards organization, on the other hand, recruiting the right candidate for the right position is not easy, when an employee leaves an organization, he may join competitors and may share some confidential information. When a trained employee leaves their job, the organization is at a complete loss, as a loyal, efficient and stable staff is one of the keys to competitive success (Taylor and Walsh 2005). This loss of staff has to be replaced which is termed as Employee turnover. This is one of the greatest challenges faced by management. Retention is not only important to reduce the turnover costs but to retain talented employees. According to Ramlall (2004), when every 10 managerial level employee leaves an organization, a company experiences approximately loss of $ 1 million. 2.1. Employee Turnover Rotation of workers around the labour market between the status of employment and unemployment is called as Employee turnover (Abassi and Hollman 2000). Labour turnover has become a critical problem for service industries as it depends on human factor. Employees do not leave the organization without any significant reason. Taris et al. (2004), divided two motives for turnover i.e. the push and pull factors. The pull factors include inequity in compensation, availability of opportunities for future development over the external market and the employees who would resign to go into private business. The push factors have relationship with the dissatisfaction of work situation, lack of democratic managerial pattern and job stress. On the other hand, Griffieth (2000), viewed remuneration and remuneration related variables have intense effect on turnover. Griffieth demonstrated a relationship between remuneration, employee’s performance and turnover and concluded that when an employee performs extremely well expects a high pay and when they are paid low they quit. There are various costs associated with turnover, according to Society for Human Resource Management, it costs 30-50% of the annual salary of entry level employees, 150% of middle level employees and up to 400% costs of the high level employees (Blake 2004). The various costs includes, exist costs, recruiting, interviewing, hiring, orientation, benefits while training, lost productivity, administrative costs, customer dissatisfaction etc (Susan 2011). Considering the case of Oberoi Hotels. The Oberoi group is one of Asia’s leading multinational companies, the Oberoi hotel named Windsor Hotel in Melbourne, had witnessed an average annual employee turnover rate of approximately 40 percent. The Human resource professionals were under pressure due to increasing costs, hence they decided to an employee attitude survey for three consecutive years and analysed the issues faced by the staff. The most common reasons for attrition were job profile and personal profile does not match, least growth opportunities, lack of appreciation, lack of trust, lack of co-ordination between the colleagues, stress from work, imbalance between personal and professional life. The Hotel executive group and the managers improved the retention programmes and motivated their employees by engagement which helped them to reduce their turnover rate to 20 per cent (Watson et al. 2002). Hence it can be said that, employee turnover can be controlled by proper employee motivation which would help the companies to reduce costs associated with turnover. 3. Employee Motivation According to Butkus and Green, ‘motivation is derived from the word ‘motivate’ which means to move, push or influence to proceed for fulfilling a want’ (Kamalian et al. 2010). One of the important functions of management is to create willingness among the employees to perform. Motivation can be termed as a process in which a person stimulates an individual to full fill some want or expectation (Mullins 2007). Motivation is complex because of human behaviour as it changes from an individual to individual, resulting different motives for motivation (Kressler 2003). Employee motivation influences productivity, because company’s performance depends on employee performance. Hence it is very important for managers to realize what propels employees to reach the peak performance. Through employee motivation, the employer can encourage the employees by enhancing their skills and by improving their morale. Motivation is important for both individual and business. In case of individual, motivation helps to achieve personal goals, job satisfaction, self development and in case of business, motivation helps to achieve the organizational goals, to build a friendly relationship and the most important it bring stability in workforce. Overall, it cans help to achieve competitive advantage in competition by retaining talented employees (Hiltrop 1996). 3.1. Motivation Theories Motivation theories are based upon the understanding of employees and work. There are two main approaches to motivation theories, i.e. Content Theory and Process Theory. Content Theories of motivation explains what causes individuals to act in a definite way based on the general agreement that all human beings have needs, which engage them to satisfy these needs lead to motivation. Process Theories of motivation explains on how employee’s needs influence their own behaviour (Hossain and Hossain 2012). 3.1.1. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs In 1943, Abraham Maslow presented need based theory. His theory was based upon the assumption of hierarchy of needs. He categoriesed needs into five types, i.e. Physiological needs ( basic needs of life, example, air water, food etc.), Safety needs (physical and environmental safety), Social needs (need for love, affection), Esteem needs (needs for self-respect or recognition and Self-actualization (based on grwoth and self-contentment). Maslow assumed that motivation decreases as one level of need is met and motivation increases as another need comes in. He potraid that lower level of needs should met before the higher level needs. Maslow felt that if these needs were not met then a person would fail to develop into a heathly individual (Hellreigel 2004). Implications by Britannic Assurance Britannic Assurance is a financial services company, facing issues of employee motivation and retention. Hence, their management adopted the Maslow’s theory to overcome their issue. The management motivated their employees by considering each level of needs: Physiological Needs – Management gave their employees suitable salary, in odrer to meet the basic needs of life and at workplace they gave proper meal breaks, so that phsciological needs are meet. Safety Needs – Management provided clean and hygienic workplace, safety, job security and beniftis program with a purpose of retention. Social Needs – Management supported their employees by encouraing team work, and developing a friendly relationship. Esteem Needs – In order to acheive esteem needs, management put extra efforts by rewarding and recognizing employees at every level. Self-Actualization Needs – Management gave their employees challenging jobs so that they can use and develo their knowledge and skills, and grow big, by benefiting the company (The Time 100 Business Case Studies, 2013). Criticisms According to Lazarus (1971), the hieraracy suggested by Maslow not valid if cross-cultural differences are taken into consideration. McLeod (2012) said, it is difficult to predcit when a need will arise, as ther is no relationship between needs and behaviour and different individual may be pushed by differnet needs at same time. He also states that maslow’s theory lacks empirical support. While Rilley (2012) came with a view that this model aviod the usual behaviour of employees who tolerate low wages for future benefits and mentioned that maslow research was based on middle class workers in UK and USA. Inspite of having some critics, Maslow’s thinking remains inflential to management deliberations in respect of job design, pay and reward structres and helps to motivate employees and retain them (Huczynski and Buchanan 2001). 3.1.2. Expectancy Theory Victor Vroom in 1964, came up with expectancy theory which was based upon Valence, Instrumentality and Expectancy. The Individual perfrence for a precise end result is termed as Valence (V), Instrumentality (I), is the anticipation of good performance will lead to valued benfit and Expectancy (E), is the anticipation of effort will lead to good performance. The Force (F) or want of your motivation to take action will result the product of three variables through multiplication. If any one of the variable is zero the final product will be zero, as it is co-related (Fudge and Schlacter 1999). F = Vx I x E In orther words, Efforts, Performance and Rewards have a direct relationship. Vroom said that employee’s deliberately decide whether to perform or not, their decision is entirely depended on level of motivation. This theory expalins individual differences in motivation and behaviour, it measures the force of the motivation to behave, it assumes that behaviour is rational and emphasis on rewards and pay offs (Sanders and Pritchard 1973). Implications by Management The management should try to link effort, performance and rewards through their support. Suport in terms of adequate trainings, availability of resources and clear rewards to have desired motivational effect (Fudge and Schlacter 1999). Clear rewards should have value in the eyes of emloyees so that they can be influenced. Performance standards should be clearly instructed. Finally, the motivation level should be continousuly assessed which results can inidicate problems and changes required. This will help to retain employees (Virgil et al. 2008) Criticisms The application of this theory is limited as reward is not direclty related to performance, it has ignored the parameters such as education, position etc. It concentrated majorly on financial rewards and ignore other intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. According to Latham (2007), it also lacked the principle of equality with relation to rewards. This theory predicts the choice of efffort, it does not give specific meaning of efforts, it also lacks to specify the outcomes relevent to a particular individual (Management Study Guide 2013). 3.2. Types of Motivation There are two types of Motivation, developed by Herzberg, i.e. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation. The factors which are intrinsic to the job such as recognition, work itself, growth is called as Intrinsic Motivation and the factors which are extrinsic to the job such as pay, company policy, security etc. are called as Extrinsic Motivation (Armstrong 2007). Intrinsic factors create satisfaction and extrinsic factors do not create satisfaction but if preventive action is not taken then it may lead to dissatisfaction(Ryan and Deci 2000). Intrinsic factors are likely to have deeper and long term effect while extrinsic factors are likely to have immediate and powerful effect but it won’t last long. Both Intrinsic and Extrinsic factors concentrate more on satisfaction and not on productivity (ibid). 3.3. Motivation Factors All employees are motivated when their needs or desire are satisfied, these needs vary from person to person, situation, experiences, etc. These factors affects the motivation level in employees. Let us understand the practical implications of various factors: 3.3.1. Motivation through Rewards Employees who work hard to achieve the business goals, expect to receive rewards for their contribution. According to Perry (2009), rewards play a crucial role in motivating employees to work harder. He categorised rewards into two types: Extrinsic and Intrinsic. Extrinsic rewards are provided by the organisation group such as money, benefits, promotions etc. while Intrinsic rewards come from individual such as self-esteem, personal development and feeling of competency. The most critical thing for this approach that rewards must be equal, it should be partial (ibid). Let us take a case study of Royal Bank of Scotland, The employees at RBS are not only motivated through money but also through Total reward benefits. Total reward benefits includes not just money, but it includes motivational motives such as personal choice in working hours, security, health and benefits package, shopping vouchers personal loans at special price etc., This kind of extra benefits will help a company to retain an employee (The Time 100 Business Case Studies 2013). 3.3.2. Motivation through Job Deign When a potential employee looks for job, he has basic two attractions, i.e. money and feeling of pursuing a challenging and interesting job. Job Design is an internal approach of motivating employees. There are two ways in which a manager motivates its employees i.e. fitting people to jobs and fitting jobs to people (Hackman and Oldham 1975). Considering the first aspect of fitting people to jobs, managers can strengthen motivation by Job Rotation, Job Rotation helps to bring a change in daily routine, it helps to increase the area of expertise at work by moving from one specialization to another, this would not only lead to personal development but also will develop a team with wide range of skills (Perry 2009). Considering the second aspect of fitting jobs to people, managers can energise motivation by Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment. Job Enlargement is a process in which an employees are indulged with more challenging task, this will reduce the humdrum of work and increase the skills of employees. However, Job Enlargement has one criticism, if an employee is working on two or more challenging tasks and paid for only one task, then there will be a barrier of not being paid well (Saleem et al. 2012). Job Enrichment is a process in which an employees is given more control over the work by giving more authority and responsibility, which would increase the productivity. However, this was also criticised with a point of that an employee should possess certain skill in order to perform at high level, if the employee lacks necessary skill, then it would decrease productivity (Janson et al. 1975) 3.3.3. Motivation through Work Environment Work environment nearly cause 27% of job satisfaction (Tyilana 2005), Management should create a type of work environment in which the employees are respected and treated equally. Management should provide job security and proper logistic support and create a friendly environment. If any one of them is lacking, then the motivation level would not stand still. However, Lin (2007) said that good working conditions can determine employees performance and productivity but cannot motivate them directly. Considering case of An Enterprise Rent-A- Car, management accented on creating an affirmative work environment. In which they concentrated on six points, i.e. good relationship between all the employees, follow clear communication so that each individual can understand and act as per their role, provision of adequate resources to perform the necessary tasks, encourage employees to get things right, if any frustration is experienced then acknowledged and try to keep their focus on achieving goals and last but not the least, try to recognise the effort of individual and reward the good performance. Along with the points discussed above Enterprise Rent-A-Car used Herzberg theory of motivation to motivate and retain their employees (The Time 100 Business Case Studies 2013). 3.3.4. Motivation through Training and Development Training and Development is one of the most effectual factor of motivation (Lai 2009). Training can be termed as a process in which an individual get a chance to develop their knowledge, qualities, skills and personality (Khan 2012). Training and development helps to increase morale of employees, better interpersonal relationships, better position to adapt changes and finally improved productivity and efficiency (Seward 2011). As rightly said by Marcus Tait, the Director of Human Resources of IHG Australia, training and nurturing talent shares an equal weight age along operational performance, guest experience and corporate responsibility. He trained his employees to be multi-focused, empathetic and preventive of guest needs (Eime). Whenever, an employee is recruited, he should empowered with all kinds of basic training, his performance has to be measured and accordingly he should be trained by considering his skills and ability. Concentrating Training at McDonald’s Restaurant Limited, The success of McDonald’s business is high standards of quality and service delivered to customers, Well-trained staff and line managers are the first step towards achieving these standards. Welcome Meeting, was the first step taken by the company to inform the standards and expectations, followed by structured development programme which provides training in all areas of business. McDonald’s concentrated on floor based training and expected that their employee would perform any task with relation to operations. After the practical training, McDonald’s used to do classroom-based training where they can concentrate on quality, service and cleanliness. After this training, employees are marked as per the check list and if they qualify then they can get promotion by clearing an entrance exam. In this way McDonald’s used to train their staff (The Time 100 Business Case Studies 2013).

2011 National Patient Safety Goals

2011 National Patient Safety Goals Core Competency Pre-Test Reading Material Identify patient/residents correctly Use at least two ways to identify patient/residents. For example, use the patient/resident’s name and date of birth. This is done to make sure that each patient/resident gets the medicine and treatment meant for them. Make sure that the correct patient/resident gets the correct blood type when they get a blood transfusion. Improve staff communication Quickly get important test results to the right staff person.When taking orders from a physician you must read back and verify orders received and document as such. Shift report must be given to oncoming care givers and after procedures. Standardize abbreviations, acronyms and symbols that are not to be used throughout the organization. Use medicines safely Label all medicines that are not already labeled. For example, medicines in syringes, cups and basins. Take extra care with patient/residents who take medicines to thin their blood. Blood thinners such as Coumadin, Lovenox and Heparin have many drug and food interactions.Prevent infection Hand washing is the most important step in preventing infection. Indications for hand washing o o o o o When hands are visibly dirty or visibly soiled with blood or other body fluids, wash hands with either a soap and water If hands are not visibly soiled, use an alcohol-based hand rub for routinely decontaminating hands Wash hands before having direct contact with patients Wash hands before donning gloves for all procedures Wash hands after contact with a patient Page 1 of 3 Â ©2008- 2010 API Healthcare Corporation.All rights reserved. o o o o Wash hands after contact with inanimate objects (including medical equipment) in the immediate vicinity of the patient Wash hands after removing gloves Before eating and after using a restroom, wash hands soap and water Wash hands with soap and warm water if exposed to C-Diff Use proven guidelines to prevent infection s that are difficult to treat. Treatment of Multi Drug Resistant Organisms (MDROs) may require one or more antibiotics. VRE and MRSA are two of most prevalent MDROs.Ensure cultures and sensitivities are done and patient treated accordingly. Use proven guidelines to prevent infection of the blood from central lines. Ensure cultures and sensitivities are done and patient treated accordingly. Use safe practices to treat the part of the body where surgery was done. Properly clean and disinfect all equipment between patient use to reduce chance of spreading infection. Check patient/resident medicines Find out what medicines each patient/resident is taking at home.Make sure that it is OK for the patient/resident to take any new medicines with their current medicines. Give a list of the patient/resident’s medicines to their next caregiver or to their regular doctor before the patient/resident goes home. Give a list of the patient/resident’s medicines to the patient/resident a nd their family before they go home. Explain the list. Some patient/residents may get medicine in small amounts or for a short time. Make sure that it is OK for those patient/residents to take those medicines with their current medicines.Identify patient/resident safety risks Find out which patient/residents are most likely to try to kill themselves. Find out if there are any risks for patient/residents who are getting oxygen. For example, fires in the patient/resident’s home. (Home Care) Page 2 of 3 Â ©2008- 2010 API Healthcare Corporation. All rights reserved. Prevent patient/residents from falling Find out which patient/residents are most likely to fall. For example, is the patient/resident making any medicines that might make them weak, dizzy or sleepy?Take action to prevent for these patient/residents. Hourly rounds by the staff have shown to reduce the number of falls. Prevent bed sores (Long Term Care) Find out which residents are most likely to have bed sores. Take a ction to prevent bed sores in these patient/residents. From time to time, re-check residents for bed sores. * Obtained from Joint Commission. Com 2010 Easy to Read Patient Safety Goals Page 3 of 3 Â ©2008- 2010 API Healthcare Corporation. All rights reserved.

Sodium Thosulphate essays

Sodium Thosulphate essays Plan an investigation into the rate of reaction between Sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid. The equation for the rate of reaction is 1/time. The rate of reaction measures the speed of reaction. It is a measure of the loss of reactants and gain of products. The faster a reaction takes place, the shorter the time needed for the reaction to finish. An example of a slow reaction is rusting An example of a fast reaction is sodium and water. This predicts what will happen to the speed of a reaction if a variable like surface area, concentration and temperature. This theory says that when particles collide a reaction occurs. With a greater surface area a solid, particles collide far more frequently and as a result the reaction rate is greater. If there is a higher concentration the particles are closer and they have a greater chance of colliding. The more collisions, the faster the reaction. The higher the temperature the faster the particles are going to move. This means that there are many energetic collisions that will speed up the reaction. The word and chemical equation, for this reaction, which takes place in a solution: The variables you can change in this experiment are: The variables that we will be keeping constant are: I predict that the rate of reaction would get faster, if the volume of sodium thiosulphate was increased. This is because a higher concentration of sodium thiosulphate would mean that the particles would be closer together and as a result there would be more collisions, which would make the reaction faster. This can be scientifically proven using the collision theory. For my investigation I will use 1/time for the rate of reaction. I decided to do a preliminary experiment to investi ...

The Basis of Commerce in Al-Andalus essays

The Basis of Commerce in Al-Andalus essays Al-Andalus served as a shining star of Muslim commerce. Strict moral codes governed the operation of the marketplace. These codes were overseen and administered by a qadi (judge), also referred to as a muhtasib. Ibn Abduns Hisba Manual examines market regulations in Muslim Seville . The selected document is from a larger work by Ibn Abdun, Islam from the Prophet Muhammad to the Capture of Constantinople. The reader learns from the introduction that the author of the document was most likely a qadi (judge) or what is also referred to as a muhtasib. The document briefly defines the role of a muhtasib as a market inspector. This definition fails in many details that would aid the reader in placing the document in a clear context. Contrary to the authors description of the hisba (text spelling) as a genre, within an Islamic text the meaning has a larger definition. Within the Islamic sphere the Hisbah is a religious institution under the authority of the state that appoints people to c arry out the responsibility of enjoining what is right, whenever people start to neglect it, and forbidding what is wrong, whenever people start to engage in it . Within the institution of the Hisbah the position of muhtasib exists, his position is not only one based on commerce (market inspector) but also one of a moral and religious nature. Al-Muhtasib is a judge (Qadi) who makes decisions on the spot, at any place and at any time, as long a he protects the interests of the public. His responsibilities are almost limitless in order to implement the following principle: commanding the good and forbidding the evil of wrongdoing. Al-Muhtasib as full judge must possess high qualifications of being wise, mature, pious, well-poised, sane, free, just, empathic, and learned scholar. He has the ability to ascertain right from wrong, and the capability to distinguish the permissible from the non- permissible . Placing the docume...

How to Fake a French Accent

How to Fake a French Accent We love the beautiful accent that the French have when they speak English, and it can be fun or even useful to imitate it. If youre an actor, comedian, grand sà ©ducteur,  or even if you just have a French-themed Halloween costume, you can learn how to fake a French accent with this in-depth look at how the French speak English.* Please note that the pronunciation explanations are based on American English; some of them wont sound right to British and Australian ears. *Si vous à ªtes franà §ais, ne men voulez pas  ! Jai à ©crit cet article parce quil sagit dun sujet intà ©ressant et potentiellement utile. Franchement, jadore votre langue et jadore à ©galement votre accent quand vous parlez la mienne. Si vous voulez, vous pouvez utiliser ces tuyaux pour rà ©duire les traces de franà §ais dans votre anglais. Mais, mon avis, ce serait dommage. French-infused Vowels Nearly every English vowel is affected by the French accent. French has no diphthongs, so vowels are always shorter than their English counterparts. The long A, O, and U sounds in English, as in say, so, and Sue, are pronounced by French speakers like their similar but un-diphthonged French equivalents, as in the French words sais, seau, and sou. For example, English speakers pronounce say as [seI], with a diphthong made up of a long a sound followed by a sort of y sound. But French speakers will say [se] - no diphthong, no y sound. (Note that [xxx] indicates IPA spelling.) English vowel sounds which do not have close French equivalents are systematically replaced by other sounds: short A [à ¦], as in fat, is pronounced ah as in fatherlong A [eI] followed by a consonant, as in gate, is usually pronounced like the short e in getER at the end of a word, as in water, is always pronounced airshort I [I], as in sip, is always pronounced ee as in seeplong I [aI], as in kite, tends to be elongated and almost turned into two syllables: [ka it]short O [É‘], as in cot, is pronounced either uh as in cut, or oh as in coatU [ÊŠ] in words like full is usually pronounced oo as in fool Dropped Vowels, Syllabification, and Word Stress When faking a French accent, you need to pronounce all schwas (unstressed vowels). For reminder, native English speakers tend toward rmindr, but French speakers say ree-ma-een-dair. They will pronounce amazes ah-may-zez, with the final e fully stressed, unlike native speakers who will gloss over it: amazs. And the French often emphasize the -ed at the end of a verb, even if that means adding a syllable: amazed becomes ah-may-zed. Short words that native English speakers tend  to skim over or swallow will always be carefully pronounced by French speakers. The latter will say peanoot boo-tair and jelly, whereas native English speakers opt for peant buttr n jelly. Likewise, French speakers will usually not make contractions, instead pronouncing every word: I would go instead of Id go and She eez reh-dee rather than Shes ready. Because French has no word stress (all syllables are pronounced with the same emphasis), French speakers have a hard time with stressed syllables in English, and will usually pronounce everything at the same stress, like actually, which becomes ahk chew ah lee. Or they might stress the last syllable - particularly in words with more than two: computer is often said com-pu-TAIR. French-accented Consonants H is always silent in French, so the French will pronounce happy as appy. Once in a while, they might make a particular effort, usually resulting in an overly forceful H sound - even with words like hour and honest, in which the H is silent in English.J is likely to be pronounced zh like the G in massage.R will be pronounced either as in French  or as a tricky sound somewhere between W and L. Interestingly, if a word starting with a vowel has an R in the middle, some French speakers will mistakenly add an (overly forceful) English H in front of it. For example, arm might be pronounced hahrm. THs pronunciation will vary, depending on how its supposed to be pronounced in English: voiced TH [à °] is pronounced Z or DZ: this becomes zees or dzeesunvoiced TH [ÃŽ ¸] is pronounced S or T: thin turns into seen or teen Letters that should be silent at the beginning and end of words (psychology, lamb) are often pronounced. French-Tinted Grammar Just as English speakers often have trouble with  French possessive adjectives, mistakenly saying things like  son femme  for his wife, French speakers are likely to mix up  his  and  her, often favoring  his  even for female owners. They also tend to use  his  rather than  its  when talking about inanimate owners, e.g., This car has his own GPS. Similarly, since all  nouns have a gender  in French, native speakers will often refer to inanimate objects as  he  or  she  rather than  it. French speakers often use the pronoun  that  for a subject when they mean  it, as in thats just a thought rather than its just a thought. And theyll often say  this  instead of  that  in expressions like I love skiing and boating, things like this rather than ... things like that. Certain  singulars and plurals  are problematic, due to differences in French and English. For example, the French are likely to pluralize  furniture  and  spinach  because the French equivalents are plural:  les  meubles,  les  Ãƒ ©pinards. In the present tense, the French rarely remember to conjugate for the third person singular: he go, she want, it live. As for the past tense, because spoken French favors the  passà © composà ©Ã‚  to the  passà © simple, the French tend to overuse the formers literal equivalent, the English present perfect: I have gone to the movies yesterday. In questions, French speakers tend not to invert the subject and verb,  instead  asking where you are going? and what your name is? And they leave out the helping verb  do: what mean this word? or what this word mean? French-flavored Vocabulary Faux amis  are just as tricky for French speakers as they are for English speakers; try saying, as the French often do, actually instead of now, and nervous when you mean  Ãƒ ©nervà ©. You should also throw in occasional French words and phrases, such as: au contraire  - on the  contraryau revoir  - good-byebien  sà »r !  - of course!bon appà ©tit  - bon appetit, enjoy your mealbonjour  - hellocestdire  - that iscomment dit-on ___  ?  - how do you say ___?euh  - uh, umje  veux  dire  - I meanmerci  - thank younon  - nooh l  l  !  - oh dear!oui  - yespas  possible !  - no way!sil  vous  plaà ®t  - pleasevoil  - there you go French Faces And, of course, theres nothing like  gestures  to make you look more French. We particularly recommend  les  bises,  la  moue, the  Gallic shrug and  dà ©licieux.

Is Leadership Culturally Bound Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Is Leadership Culturally Bound - Essay Example Consequently, the association between cultural factors and leadership is of such a complex nature that not only does it extend to the understandings of organizational culture but it is also vividly observable in a country’s national culture. As MNEs continue to dominate international markets and the world continues to evolve into a global village the question which arises as a consequence of these changes asks whether leadership is culturally bound? As indicated by the wealth of literature that is available on the subject, it can be stated that the phenomenon of leadership in indeed bounded by culture. Not only is this observation evidenced in prior research but it can also be noted by an assessment of real world examples. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to advocate the presence of cultural implications with regards to the phenomenon of leadership, in doing so the research employs the findings of prior researches and cases from the world of organizational management. Furthe rmore, the research paper also explores counterarguments in relation to the topic under consideration in order to present a thorough, comprehensive and well-informed argument. According to House et al. (2002) the objectives behind the initiation of the GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) program comprised of several aspects that are related to leadership and its cultural implications. The outcome of the program suggested that national culture can be examined on the basis of nine dimensions which essentially describe the characteristics of a country and its people. After conducting extensive large-scale surveys over a range of industries, the second stage of the GLOBE research program revealed that it is possible to compare and contrast the dimensions of culture with the attributes of leadership that can be deemed appropriate in the context of a particular culture. For example, in his analysis of the GLOBE framework Robbins (2001) notes that there exis ts a stark difference between the leadership preferences and expectations of individuals which is largely in accordance with and attributable to their culture. Robbins (2001) asserts that a humane approach and collectivism are defining features of Indian culture which are greatly respected and appreciated amongst the masses despite of the recent emergence of urbanites that prefer individualism. Therefore, an Indian employee’s notion of an effective leader is best reflected in heroic and charismatic leadership which also shows concern for the well-being of subordinates while, taking initiatives for employee development. On the other hand, employees belonging to France tend to associate the notion of leadership with that of a bureaucratic setup due to which their perception of a leader is of an individual who does not abide by a humane approach when managing the affairs of the organization’s employees and leading them towards the achievement of organizational objectives (Robbins 2001). The practical application of this understanding is that within the context of Indian culture, a leader would be able to achieve desired and ideal results by the adoption of consideration as