Performance Management In Lloyds Banking Group Management Essay

Performance Management In Lloyds Banking Group Management Essay Corporations organisations look for individuals with potential techniques to develop their management skills, who in current market conditions are facing many challenges to gain skills, qualification, qualities competencies that would make them better leaders managers. Both organisations individuals looks to make investment that can get the best return. One way to achieve this is through the Management Development Program that seeks to set out the purpose of management development by considering what managers do in various contexts, and how they learn. As per Cannell. M (2008) Management development is a process through which individuals gain managerial skills through learning in turn helping themselves organisations. Management Development is an important aspect in an organisation as in house development gives employee a chance to utilize or develop their skills, make them feel loyal to the company and saves cost in the long term. Growing management talent means increased effi ciency profitability for organisations. [www.cipd.co.uk] Value of Management Development (MD) As per Mumford, A and Gold, J (2004) MD is valued as it has to be linked determined by the business needs as per strategic plans and also provide inputs to strategic plans. This top down approach can be contrasted with the one that lays emphasis on the way managers learn develop through actual opportunities. (Garavan et al, 1999; p.193) In relation to MD, a key consideration for many organisations is to show the improvements in performance of managers leading to success of organisation. Effective Management Development As per Mumford (1993) Management Development is an attempt to improve managerial effectiveness through a learning process. Effective Management Behaviour Development Focused on Effective Learning Effectiveness Process The purpose of this effectiveness triangle is that management development is not only focused on development or learning processes but these directly affect the management behaviour. John Kotter (1982) described effective behaviour as building networks for colleagues, executing by working and developing multiple objectives and maintaining relationships spending time with other people to achieve those objectives. This can then help managers to assess their development needs based on the meaning of effectiveness that is important to them or organisations. This then looks at the activities that are carried out by managers, meet their requirements to carry out their work, leading us to the second point of triangle which looks at the needs depending on the desired results from managers and action to achieve those results. The organisation then looks at the needs for learning and development depending on the processes through which those needs can be met effectively to help individual/org anisation. Measuring MD through Management Development Audit (MDA): MDA is a tool for organisations to find out what managers want, how they feel about what they are getting is management development effective, adding value and in line with organisation requirements and goals. MDA is a continuous activity of gaining a broader view of management development needs, assessing its value controlling costs in constantly changing environment. for e.g. in Lloyds banking group there is a Group Operations team which deal with gathering of data by means of interview, surveys, observations documentation. They look after the needs for management development and perform assessment gathering data on individual request and offer relevant courses that can be done online or class-room based to develop required skills and measure those in line with the organisation goals or achievements. Approaches to Management Development (MD): As per Mumford, A and Gold, J (2004) Organisations have different approaches towards management development, the four stages of management development in any organisations are: Unplanned experimental Management Development: This informal approach is based on learning by practical experience while working/experimenting things and situations. In past individuals were promoted based on the product knowledge they possessed regarding an organisation who had little training about supervision, e.g., about delegating, interpersonal skills, stress management, career developments, etc. Unplanned reactive Management Development: This approach is based on immediate situation or pressure. for e.g. the survey of IFA satisfaction report shows dissatisfaction, requires raising awareness or doing courses in respect to those skills. Another example is handling change in difficult situation, where companies like LBG have brought effectiveness by reducing costs. Planned Management Development: This approach is based on planned structured procedure of an organisation where appraisals, performance reviews identify the needs of development. for e.g. Formal Development/learning, a job change will identify the skills possessed required to do the particular job, which will identify the needs of development. An individual with expertise across various management topics is an effective manager. Effective management gives systems view of an organisation, reviewing how major functions affect each other. Strategic Management Development: This approach looks at the longer term issues with the management development for e.g. the development of managers required to handle mergers acquisition over the coming years. Organisations respond to the environmental changes such as customer demands, globalisation and technological changes, here MD could prove to be vital in acting as a tool to achieve implement the strategy and business performance for e.g. The EFQM Model. [www.efqm.org] Learning Development at Lloyds Banking Group There are quite a few different definitions of learning. The one provided by Kolb (1984), has been of particular importance in MD. Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. The definition has further two implications, firstly if managers have achieved knowledge, skills and/or insight, learning is an end result or outcome. Secondly, to achieve an end result requires a process by which mangers acquire knowledge, skills or insight. As per Pedler and Boydell (1985) learning was more concerned with increase in knowledge or a higher degree of an existing skills, whereas development was, in their view a move towards a different state of being or functioning. At LBG, executives are committed to the development of every colleague, including themselves, so as one team the organisation is well-positioned to deliver against the strategic priorities. Learning at LBG is as follows: Your Learning web portal available for all colleagues to manage learning activities online. Effective Performance Management Leadership Management at Glance [Lloyds Banking Group Internal Database] Performance Management in Lloyds Banking Group Holbeche (1999) refers Performance Management is about setting clear and measurable objectives, taking time to regularly monitor performance, having open and honest conversations and coaching colleagues on their performance and development. Organisation like Lloyds banking group concentrates more on their performance management which is a key driver to keep track of improvements, skills achievements. Effective Performance Management to LBG means that colleagues are clear about what needs to be done and this is communicated in regular conversations throughout the year. These conversations may be formal, for example 1-2-1 meetings or annual reviews, or informal, such as quick chats with managers. Staff can also discuss their performance with colleagues other than line managers, such as peers or colleagues whom they work regularly with. These reviews provide an opportunity for colleagues and managers to identify any areas of improvement or development required, where colleagues have th e capacity to stretch themselves in their role. LBG performance management comprises of five elements as shown in the figure below: 1 Effective Performance Conversations Across the whole Business we act As one 5 Clear Simple Actions for 2 Clear, Consistent and For Development and Aligned Objectives Improvements 4 Effective Differentiation 3 Performance Ratings Based of Performance on Overall Contributions [Lloyds Banking Group Internal Database] Effective Performance Conversations (EPC) As per London and Smither, (1995), the purpose of EPC is to enable an improved understanding amongst managers and employees. Managers strengths or weaknesses could be recognised via staff feedback, thus needs for development are recognised where MD can play important role. EPC could be of any form between staff, managers or colleagues; like informal chats about the aspirations frustrations or a formal chat regarding a particular objective its achievement progress. EPC should be conducted regularly so they form an integral part of the daily activities. One of the major drawbacks for EPC is, can mangers take criticism in a positive manner or would they act defensively. As per Meyer et al, (1965) research suggested that it is a very sensitive issue and the key findings from a research carried out onto the impact of feedback on managers during performance appraisals was that, the more criticism a manager received the more defensively they reacted by denying shortcomings and blaming others. It was further found that criticism continued to negatively affect performance after reviews. [Lloyds Banking Group Internal Database] Clear, Consistent and Aligned Objective LBG (Lloyds Banking Group) objectives ensure that the deliverables are aligned with overall objectives of business where all employees actively work and contribute to deliver the organisational strategic goals by appropriate approach. LBG uses Balanced Scorecard approach for clear, consistent aligned objectives. The Balanced Scorecard: The balanced scorecard approach focuses on the clarity of organisations overall business strategy and objectives and the will to work towards them as per Kaplan and Nortons (2001, p52). LBG focuses its development activities on the whole of its workforce because of the importance of high quality customer service. In seeking to develop the talent and capability that are key to its future growth, it is interested in mapping the skills and attitudes of employees at all levels. Balanced scorecards are set at the beginning of each year and have structured objectives with clear metrics, covering five categories. Each category represents elements essential for long term growth and success. Every colleague will have their own balanced scorecard and the content should be appropriate to their role. This means that every scorecard supports individual, team and organisational objectives. The use of balanced scorecard in LBG is to support delivery of business objectives and values in the context of prudent risk management, and ensure that all colleagues work together to achieve this outcome. [Lloyds Banking Group Internal Database] Effective Differentiation of Performance (EDP) LBG staff is distinguished through their performance and thus recognises those individuals who would require more support for better performance. This would imply that ratings are fairly and consistently applied throughout the organisation. Peer Comparison Approach for EDP: LBG uses peer comparison as a technique to differentiate performance. In particular, it helps to ensure that the performance ratings provided are fair and accurate reflection of colleagues performance in relation to the rest of the organisation. For example, it helps prevent one colleague from receiving the same performance rating as another when the evidence shows that they have contributed less during the year. As part of regular reviews, line manager will consider staff performance in relation to their peer group. This could be members of team at the same level, or other colleagues performing a similar role at the same level in another part of the organisation. Bettenhausen and Fedor (1997) found that peer comparison was viewed positively when used for development but negatively when used for evaluation. For example, because managers often have to work closely and associated with other managers, their peers, they tend to give positive feedback bec ause they do not wish to disturb the relationship or damage careers. Peers may require making comparisons between individuals, and this may harm the working of team. Clear Simple Actions for Development Improvements Colleagues should constantly look for opportunities to develop themselves. For example, staff can be thinking about how to improve performance in current role or even what they need to do to move into a new or promoted role. If everyone focuses on development at an individual level, this will in turn have a positive impact on the success of organisation. Businesses tends to change and therefore even colleagues who have been in their role for a significant period of time will find that they need to develop in order to meet the objectives set at the beginning of the year. Every colleague should have a Development Plan, which they will discuss with their line manager. This should include: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ What staff needs to do to develop them in current role (closing any skills gaps you have). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ What behaviours you need to develop. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ What aspirations you have for your long-term career and how you will work towards this. Our approach to Performance Management also allows us to identify at an early stage where colleagues may need support/development to help them meet their objectives, for whatever reason. If you are experiencing difficulty in meeting your objectives at any point in the year, you and your line manager will work together to recover your performance via an Action Plan. Action Plans are required for all colleagues who are considered to be underperforming. [Lloyds Banking Group Internal Database] Case Study: This case study is about LBG undergoing change due to acquisition of HBOS and the employee engagement survey indicated that the change was poorly managed by the organisation and the line managers. There was a very low level of employee satisfaction with both the organisation and management behaviour. Customer satisfaction was worse/lowest to such an extent that LBG was top of the customer complaints with 22,242 complaints in first half of 2010 (Jill Insley 2010 Guardian.co.uk). Analysis of questions used in employee survey showed that the crucial elements of satisfaction were: From Employers/Organisation: Employees wanted job security, generalised market pay and decent conditions for working environment. From Team Leader/Managers: Employees wanted to be kept informed about organisation changes, realistic targets, clear direction, notice taken of their views and setting SMART goals. From Team: Employees expected team bonding/socialisation, fairness of system for deciding duties and opportunities to influence decision. The response for many of the items on this satisfaction index can be influenced by changing management behaviour (i.e. upward appraisal approach Jones, 1996 and conducting workshops). The key aspect was to develop management/organisation behaviour which was linked to effectiveness. LBG provided workshops for senior managers on process skills and their application in developing staff, input of ideas for quality improvement, vision building team problem solving. These workshops were then cascaded down to lower managers and then all employees. As a result of these workshops many new processes were put in place (e.g. People Voice Going for Gold), most of them for solving the problems associated with change. The effect of this was then monitored on employee satisfaction through quarterly surveys. The results from survey were compared with high average scores to those which had lower scores for effectiveness. LBG improved communication to ensure colleagues are kept up to date on the integration programme and other projects within organisation. Managers held daily team huddles to provide information on the current changes within organisation, suggestion boxes were placed in each teams for employees to have their say. The feedback from employees/managers implemented change into infrastructure that provided small pods for meetings, group discussions and appraisals within group areas to give managers and staff more privacy. Meeting rooms were designed with new technology for managers to present clients/customers with product information building relationship. Relaxing areas were introduced for staff and managers with facilities like TV, Xbox, reading rooms message chairs for time out from b usy working environment. Executive managers hold quarterly meeting with teams, using the sessions to provide update on organisation, also expectations reflections on teams followed by QA sessions for colleagues to put forward their views on current issues. These sessions provide management team with useful feedback from the business and enables them to take action accordingly as to what colleagues want to make organisation a great place to work. The result of which provided employees to socialise with other teams and learn their processes/ways of working, it also provided teams to have quarterly business lunch to enable better bonding between teams. This change implemented a People voice team which would now collect data from staff members and understand their requirements or any achievements that were made by them. The Intranet published stories about staff members providing excellent customer service and feedbacks from customers to make colleagues feel as one team. Rewards were offered to staff members providing excellent service or the best recommendations made, this helped to manage changes/improve things in working environment. Staff suggestions helped LBG to implement these strategies and help them to boost motivation, efficiency performance and as a result it had the highest level of sigma scores for IFA satisfaction in October 2010.The overall effect was staff innovation, working as one team increased loyalty of staff towards organisation. [Lloyds Banking Group Internal Database] Conclusion The management development programme demands a lot of commitment and desire to participate in learning process. This requires an evaluation of the situation and thus formulating the appropriate strategy or plan for effective development to work in any given organisation. The techniques used for development in the above case study have effectively achieved the strategic goals of the organisations thus proving to be successful. Provision of the facts or the realisation of short comings could not improve the situations in this case; some sort of strategy was required to be implemented to effect all these changes. The timely implementation of these development learning plans implemented across all levels in LBG lead to better customer relations, improved team bonding and achieving target objectives of the organisation.

Race and the Zone System Controversy :: Free Essays Online

Race and the Zone System Controversy You get in the cab; you are white and well dressed showing your social status. The cab driver is friendly and takes you directly to your destination. The little map in the backseat of the cab tells you the cost of your trip; however since you, like most people, never even read it, the cabbie tells you the price, and you go ahead and pay without question. You are a resident of the District and have gone the same route many times and for some reason the price varies occasionally. You only traveled through one zone from your upper-middle class neighborhood of Foggy Bottom to Capital Hill where you go about your busy life. For you the zone system of taxicab fares is no big deal. You have the money to pay for each ride and a cab driver will always pick you up. A change to the metered system would only be a slight adjustment to your daily routine. However, other residents of the District would be greatly affected by a change to the metered system. Would a change in the zone syste m benefit the upper class, the tourists, the drivers or the lower income residents of DC? Is the city watching out for its lower income black residents? Will changing from a zone system to a metered payment system segregate Washington, DC even more than it is today? The zone system that is used today has been in effect since the Great Depression and has changed very little since then. With the zone system, passengers pay according to the number of zones they pass though with all of Downtown, the Mall and Capital Hill encompassing one zone. DC is the only major city that still utilizes this zone system; there are only a handful of areas that continue to use the system and all are smaller towns without the tourism that DC has. Hanbury president and CEO of the Washington Convention and Tourism Corporation stated that the, â€Å" hospitality industry, which employs more than 260,000 individuals in the Washington area pumps fourteen billion annually into our economy† (Hanbury). Having the second largest taxi industry in the country supports the substantial tourism in DC; the taxi fleet is second only to New York City, with a fleet of over 6000 cabs and 8000 drivers.

Guide to Becoming a Jerk Essay -- Expository Process Essays

Guide to Becoming a Jerk Being a jerk can be fun. It gives you a feeling of dominance over others; you are more important then the rest. You are the wolf among a flock of sheep; people fear you, and therefore look up to you. Being a jerk is not hard; all you have to do is think about yourself and your own feelings, and forget that everyone else has emotions. There are various ways of achieving this perception of importance; you can put people down and belittle them, pretend you’re better than everyone, or just be plain mean, unpolite, and nasty. Sure, there might be some little voice inside saying that you are no better than anyone else is, but you can drown out that nagging reminder with constant insults to others. Nothing replaces that great feeling of emotional triumph over one of your "peers". The fact that you have engaged in and won a verbal war (however one-sided it may be) makes you feel as high as the sky, while the opposing party will probably sink like a rock in quicksand. They will think t hat you are mean (and you are), and they won’t want to befriend you or have respect for you, but you won’t care because you perceive yourself at a higher standing than they are. The foremost aspect of being a jerk is to make people feel inferior by way of your comments and actions; this also gives you a sense of superiority, which makes you feel important. Also, insults can be spiced up by adding sarcastic and witty remarks. Degrading someone is easy; just greet them with a "Hey, loser", or a cynical "What do you want, _______?" (fill the blank in with your favorite witty obscenity), instead of "Hey, how’s it going" or "What have you been up to lately?". Start off by being sarcastically mean, and you have already got the jump ... ...you need to be disrespectful and insulting to others; you need to make everyone else feel lower, and if these people around you feel lower, then you feel higher. That’s what this world is about, getting to the top by stepping on others; the ends justify the means. While you’re working your way up, you’re also having fun at someone else’s expense; belittling others makes you feel good, doesn’t it? Maybe you won’t be the most respected and liked person in the world, and the only friends you have will be jerks; they could turn their cruel ways against you at any time, but you’re ready for them; you’re a jerk too. Fight fire with fire. Even so, that’s just a small price to pay to have the feeling of massive importance born at the expense of others. Besides, you don’t care if those other people are your friends, or if they respect you; they’re not as good as you anyway.

The Global Drinking Water Shortage Essay -- Potable Water Scarcity

" We never know the worth of water till the well is dry." -- Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia #5451 (1732) While it is the single most important substance on earth, we usually don’t think about water other than when we’re thirsty. Most homes have at least two indoor faucets. Almost every public building has water fountains conveniently placed for easy, instant refreshment. Water is simple; it’s always there. Yet despite all this convenience, simplicity, and lack of excitement, water is the most essential part of life. Water is part of every step of the life cycle, every food chain and every organism. Perhaps the effort associated with getting a drink of water is too little to bring to our realization the magnitude of water’s significance. After enough contemplation, it begins to seem too good to be true. Perhaps it is. In Ethiopia, famine due to drought claimed 1 million lives in 1984 (Thurow A8). While Ethiopia has the right temperatures for good agriculture, it lacks consistent rainfall, and crops can only be grown through the wettest season. All of this adds up to a lot of starving, thirsty people (A1). When I say â€Å"Nile†, you think â€Å"Egypt†. When I say â€Å"Ethiopia†, you think â€Å"famine.† The Nile River, which brings life into the hot dessert of Egypt, starts in Ethiopia. In fact, 85% of the water in the Nile River comes from tributaries in Ethiopia (Thurow A1). Ethiopia has a wealth of water running through it; why not use that water to grow food for one of the most impoverished parts of the world? Politics. For years, Egypt has str... ...ntal Psychology. 24 (2004): 91-103. Thurow, Roger. â€Å"Ravaged by Famine, Ethiopia Finally Gets Help From the Nile.† Wall Street Journal. 26 November 2003, eastern ed.: A1,A8. United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Water-Efficient Landscaping. Washington, D.C.: GPO, September 2002. ---. ---. National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Pollution from Agriculture. Washington, D.C.: GPO, July 2003. ---. General Accounting Office. Water quality [microform] : key EPA and state decisions limited by inconsistent and incomplete data : report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives / United States General Accounting Office. Washington, D.C.: GPO, March 2000. Weiss, Rick. â€Å"Threats Posed by Water Scarcity Detailed.† The Washington Post. 5 March 2003: A3. The Global Drinking Water Shortage Essay -- Potable Water Scarcity " We never know the worth of water till the well is dry." -- Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia #5451 (1732) While it is the single most important substance on earth, we usually don’t think about water other than when we’re thirsty. Most homes have at least two indoor faucets. Almost every public building has water fountains conveniently placed for easy, instant refreshment. Water is simple; it’s always there. Yet despite all this convenience, simplicity, and lack of excitement, water is the most essential part of life. Water is part of every step of the life cycle, every food chain and every organism. Perhaps the effort associated with getting a drink of water is too little to bring to our realization the magnitude of water’s significance. After enough contemplation, it begins to seem too good to be true. Perhaps it is. In Ethiopia, famine due to drought claimed 1 million lives in 1984 (Thurow A8). While Ethiopia has the right temperatures for good agriculture, it lacks consistent rainfall, and crops can only be grown through the wettest season. All of this adds up to a lot of starving, thirsty people (A1). When I say â€Å"Nile†, you think â€Å"Egypt†. When I say â€Å"Ethiopia†, you think â€Å"famine.† The Nile River, which brings life into the hot dessert of Egypt, starts in Ethiopia. In fact, 85% of the water in the Nile River comes from tributaries in Ethiopia (Thurow A1). Ethiopia has a wealth of water running through it; why not use that water to grow food for one of the most impoverished parts of the world? Politics. For years, Egypt has str... ...ntal Psychology. 24 (2004): 91-103. Thurow, Roger. â€Å"Ravaged by Famine, Ethiopia Finally Gets Help From the Nile.† Wall Street Journal. 26 November 2003, eastern ed.: A1,A8. United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Water-Efficient Landscaping. Washington, D.C.: GPO, September 2002. ---. ---. National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Pollution from Agriculture. Washington, D.C.: GPO, July 2003. ---. General Accounting Office. Water quality [microform] : key EPA and state decisions limited by inconsistent and incomplete data : report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives / United States General Accounting Office. Washington, D.C.: GPO, March 2000. Weiss, Rick. â€Å"Threats Posed by Water Scarcity Detailed.† The Washington Post. 5 March 2003: A3.

Multiprotocol Label Switching Networks

IP networks were initially designed with network survivability in a decentralized networking as the central goal. Thus the Internet infrastructures and protocols were intended from the very beginning for this purpose. As the Internet is evolving into a general-purpose communications network, the new realities require the development of new Internet infrastructure to support real-time-sensitive and multimedia applications such as voice over IP and video conference calls (Smith & Collins, 2001).Back in the mid to late 1990s, when most routers were predominantly based on software forwarding rather than hardware forwarding, a number of vendors devised proprietary mechanisms to switch packets far more efficiently than was possible with forwarding based entirely on hop-by-hop longest match IP address lookups. Various aspects of these proprietary mechanisms were effectively merged and developed by the MPLS working groups at the IETF and produced what we know today as MPLS (Edwards, Syngress , McCullough, & Lawson, 2000).MPLS is a key component of the new Internet infrastructure and represents a fundamental extension to the original IP-based Internet with changes to the existing infrastructure (Wang, 2002).Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)MPLS introduces connection orientation and packet switching in IP networks. IP datagrams are forwarded by MPLS routers along pre-established paths, based on a short label. This reduces the amount of routing computations, which are carried out only at the times of setting up new paths. MPLS allows introducing new traffic engineering techniques which apply for connection-oriented networks can be applied to MPLS networks. One of these techniques is dynamic routing.Another important application for MPLS networks is the configuration of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) over a public IP network. The benefit of MPLS for this application is that private IP addresses, which may be not unique, are separated from the world-wide valid public IP addresses used in the public IP network. The separation of addresses is realized by building MPLS tunnels through the public IP network. The MPLS protocol can also be run on ATM networks and frame relay networks. This simplifies the interworking between these networks and IP networks (Smith & Collins, 2001).MPLS connections are well suited to the fast-forwarding (also called switching) of any type of network layer protocol (not just IP), hence the word multiprotocol in the name. it will be widely used for two main types of application:First, it adds controllability of IP networks. As already noted, an IP network is much like a â€Å"free-for-all† highway without traffic control, to use the analogy of a highway system. All the traffic can be crammed onto the highway at once, and each router along the way tries its best to get the traffic through without any guarantee of succeeding, MPLS marks ‘lanes’ with labels for the IP highway, and each packet flow has to foll ow a predefined lane or path. Once the ‘lanes’ are marked, a set of traffic parameters can be associated with each lane to guarantee the service delivery. It reduces randomness and adds controllability to the IP network (Edwards et al., 2000).Second, MPLS adds switching capability to the routing-based IP network. The traditional Internet structure has every router along the way examine the destination address inside a packet and determine the next hop. In a switched network, each switch routes the traffic from the input port to a predetermined output port without examining the contents of each packet. This is also called route once and switch many times, since the packet contents are examined only at the entry of the MPLS network to determine a proper ‘lane’ for the packet. The benefits of this change include speedup of network traffic and network scalability(Smith & Collins, 2001).Summary and ConclusionLabel switching is something that has been significant interest from the Internet community, and significant effort has been made to define a protocol called Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS).MPLS involves the attachment of a short label to a packet in from of the IP header. This effectively is like inserting a new layer between the IP layer and the underlying link layer of the OSI model. The label contains all the information that a router needs to forward a packet. The value of a label may be used to look up the next hop in the path and forward to the next router. The difference between this and standard IP routing is that the match is an exact one and is not a case of looking for the longest match (that is, the match with the longest subnet mask). This enables faster routing decisions within routers (Wang, 2002).The expansion rates for Internet protocol (IP) interchange and users persist to be very remarkable. What once was a technology principally used within the territories of academe and leisure is now being utilized around th e world for conventional commerce submissions, like e-commerce, Web-based industry in the development of the carrier system as service contributors around the world concentrate on optimization and benefit efficiency (Edwards et al., 2000).In many ways, MPLS is as much of a traffic engineering protocol as it is a Quality of Service (QoS) protocol. It is somewhat analogous to the establishment of virtual circuits in ATM and can lead to similar QoS benefits. It helps to provide QoS by helping to better manage traffic. Whether it should be called traffic engineering protocol of QoS protocol hardly matters if the end results is better QoS (Wang, 2002).References:Edwards, M. J., Syngress, R. F., McCullough, A., & Lawson, W. (2000). Building Cisco Remote Access Networks. Rockland, MA: Syngress.Smith, C., & Collins, D. (2001). 3G Wireless Networks. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional.Wang, H. H. (2002). Packet Broadband Network Handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional.

Fredrick W Taylor Essay

Frederick W Taylor was one who led a life of earnest development in the production and manufacturing sectors. His life was one the spurned on time study and one that advanced America and the world in scientific management. Taylor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 20, 1856. He lived an eventful and noble life for 59 years and one day dying on March 21, 1915. Throughout his lifetime he was a great inventor with over 40 patents and a brilliant engineer (Britannica). In his early years Taylor was always learning and creating. At age 12, Taylor created a harness that would keep him on his back to try and prevent nightmares (www.stfrancis.edu). In 1872 he went to the Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. Here he led his class scholastically. After his completion of studies at Philips Taylor started working as a machine shop laborer in a steel plant named Midvale Steel Company. Quickly Taylor started to grow in position; he became a successful shop clerk, machinist, gang boss, foreman, maintenance foreman, head of drawing office, and finally chief engineer. It is evident to see that Taylor was a man of wisdom and drive, who never settled for anything less than the best. In 1881, at age 25 he introduced time study at the Midvale Plant. The project was a great success and as a result the profession of time study was started. While working at Midvale, Taylor studied at night to get a degree in mechanical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. As can be seen even from an early age Taylor had successes in new areas of study which spurned on his later life accomplishments. Throughout Taylor’s mid and late life he continued to advance and spread his knowledge of time study. He retired at age 45, after that he, his wife and their three adopted children lived in Philadelphia from 1904 to 1914. He continued to devote money and time to promote the principals of scientific management through lectures at universities and professional societies (Britannica). In 1906 Taylor was elected the president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and that same year was he was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree by the University of Pennsylvania (Britannica). Taylor was a man of expert wisdom and foresight and it is seen throughout his life as we just discussed but these characteristics primary shine when you look at his theory and successes of time study. He realized that production could be increased by standardizing this system of work (smallbusiness.chrono.com). Taylor’s time study theory was that he would break each job down into specific tasks and timed how long it took a worker to complete each task (smallbusiness.chrono.com). Then he specified exactly how each task was to be performed and what tools to use, then the workers were trained to complete the task in a certain way (smallbusiness.chrono.com). He did this because he believed that there was one and only one method of work that maximized efficiency as he said, â€Å"And this one best method and best implementation can only be discovered of developed through scientific study and analysis.† (Vincenzo Sandrone). He proved this theory at the Bethlehem Steel Works where they had 500 men shoveling coal. He performed his time and motion studies and found out that using a different shovel for different size coal that it increased the amount you could shovel. So as a result of these two studies men could shovel more coal for a longer period of time. Thus he effectively reduced the number of men shoveling coal to 140 (smallbusiness.chrono.com). This is the reality of his theory and the results speak for themselves. Also, Taylor worked alongside Henry Ford to create the first assembly line (smallbusiness.chrono.com). Taylor also used his expertise and applied it to moving pig iron. He increased the amount moved from 12.5 tons per a day to 47.5 tons of pig iron a day. This leads to another point of Taylor’s theory and it was that he believed that you had to choose the right people for the task. Relating the example just mentioned, Taylor said that not all workers were fully capable of moving 47.5 tons of pig iron per a day, perhaps only 1/8 of the pig iron handlers were capable of doing that. This is because their physical capabilities were well-suited for moving pig iron. This is Taylor’s point, that workers should be picked according to how well they suit a particular job. Taylor also had a motivational theory, called the economic man (Business Studies). This was that workers were motivated or encouraged by money alone and the only factor that could stimulate further output or work was the chance of earning extra money (Business Studies). Taylor always said that workers should be paid a ‘fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work’ and that the pay should be directly linked with output (Business Studies). This leads to a further point of Taylor’s, and it is called ‘piece rate’. To encourage this, workers were pay by each unit that they produced, and the first unit were paid at a low rate and the more the worker produced that higher the pay they received. He also believed that incentive wages were of no use unless they were coupled with efficient tasks that were carefully planned and easily learned (www.stfrancis.edu). Thus is Taylor’s main motivational suggestion; to link pay with output. Taylor also standardized the role of management. This included setting managers apart from operations and giving them more authority to set the tasks workers do (smallbusiness.chrono.com). Taylors’ attitudes toward workers were laden with negative bias â€Å"in the majority of cases this man deliberately plans to do as little as he safely can.† The methods that Taylor adopted were directed solely towards the uneducated (Vincenzo Sandrone). Taylor believed that the secret of productivity was finding the right challenge for each person, then paying him well for increased output (www.stfrancis.edu). He believed that incentive wages were no solution unless they were combined with efficient tasks that were carefully planned and easily learned (www.stfrancis.edu). Throughout this passage it is evident to see what a work Taylor accomplished. He is the father of scientific management and the one who spurned off time study. Taylor spent his whole life increasing efficiency in the workplace, working with making people and companies, most notable, Henry Ford. He and many others of his time like Henry Ford did work that put the United States on the leading edge during the Industrial Revolution. Bibliography 1. Frederick Winslow Taylor, Mary Ellen Papesh, www.stfrancis.edu/content/ba/ghkickul/stuwebs/bbios/biograph/fwtaylor.htm 2. Britannica, Frederick W Taylor, www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/584820/Fredrick-W-Taylor. 3. Herzberg & Taylor’s Theories of Motivation, Lisa Magloff, Demand Media, www.smallbusiness.chrono.com/herzberg-taylors-theories-motivation-704.html 4. Frederick W Taylor: Master of Scientific Management, www.skymart.com/resources/leaders/taylor/asp 5. Business Studies second edition, Peter Stimpson and Alastair Farquharson, Cambridge University Press 2010

Procter and Gamble Company Essay

Background Procter and Gamble was formed by James Gamble & William Procter in 1837 by a candle manufacturer Procter and a soap manufacturer Gamble. This consumer product company started with a vision to grow to a $33 billion company and by 1879 it started selling its products directly to the consumers, by 1890 it has gained its legal corporation and ever since it has doubled it sales every ten years. P&G growth was driven by innovation not optimization. Radical innovation served as their backbone to success with other factors such as geographic expansion, product line extensions and acquisitions contributing to its growth. Some of its famous and successful acquisitions were, Duncan Hines, Clorox, charmin Paper mills, Folgers Coffee, NorwichEaton, Vicks (NyQuil), Noxell and Max Factor. It also recieves  the credit for developing innovative and advanced technology based products during 1940’s such as Tide, Crest,Pampers, Bounce etc.By the end of 1980’s P&G had its operations in 58 countries,its reputation was built with its new product development strategiesÍ ¾ they produced varied range of consumer products such that these products should meet â€Å"basic consumer needs† and create â€Å"superior total value† creating a brand image for the company. As noted in Kevin Kelly’s quote â€Å"Wealth in new regime flows directly from innovation and not optimization†, i.e. wealth is not gained by perfecting the known, but imperfecting the unknown. P&G successfully used this strategy to earn its reputation as one of the largest company in Cincinnati in 1895 and in 1995 earned the National Medal of technology, the highest given award in United states. P&G was also known for its strong ethics, values and recruiting the best and brightest. R&D was a major focus of P&G. In 1995 P&G spent 1.3billion on R&D,and emphasis was laid on combination of multiple R&D competencies and there were a lot of cross fertilization of technology. They also had an attractive work culture, employee compensation and had a structure in place which assured employees of growing within the organization with its up through the rank approach which fostered innovation. In the process of growing, P&G moved out of their old tradition of new product development and concentrated completely on the global expansion and development of existing products. With structured product  sectors in place, P&G had some difficulty fitting some new product idea into any of the available category which led to the rejection on various novel ideas. In 1993, the company started the Strengthening Global Effectiveness (SGE) with the goal of increasing profits through cost reduction which was achieved by reengineering  and reformation of distribution and manufacturing. This led to a successful increase in profits from 10% to 17% in a year. In the same year, CEO John Pepper said that their was an urge for developments of new brands in order to fulfill the companies longtime goals of increasing their sales. Mark Collar, Vice President and General Manager of New Business Development and a part of SGE said that a breakthrough is required to manage and accelerate the company’s innovation process. In addition, the concept of cross fertilization was fading out gradually so their was a requirement of a new innovation team that can incorporate the old traditions followed by the company during the 1960’s. Therefore this lead to the formation of Innovation Leadership Team (ILT) in 1993. The top seven officers of the company were a part of this team: John Pepper(Chairman and CEO)Í ¾ Durk Jager(President and COO)Í ¾ Wolfgang Berndt(Executive VP North America)Í ¾ Gordon Brunner(Senior VP Research and Development)Í ¾ Gary Martin(Senior VP Information Services and Product Supply) and Eric Nelson(Senior VP and CFO)Í ¾ Robert Wehling (Senior VP Advertising and Market Research). The ILT’s responsibility is to investigate the portfolio of the projects under development and projects on shelf, select valuable projects that add value to the firm. Soon Corporate Innovation Fund(CIF) was established for the funding the research on new products developments. The employees can report projects irrespective of their sector and obtain approval at very fast pace on appropriate projects.