Research design - Methodology - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2848 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Uncategorized Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? CHAPTER 3 Methodology This chapter aims to describe the research methodologies used to collect the data which will apply in this study. The discussion of methodology was structured as follows: research design, data collection methods, sampling design, data analysis method and mostly important is model description. According to Hair, Bush and Ortinau (2006), the research design serves as a master plan of the methods to use to collect and analyze the data. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Research design Methodology" essay for you Create order By evaluating and choosing the correct research design, it will enable the researchers to develop relevant research methodologies. In this chapter, the details of models will be discussed on how it will help researchers in answering the research questions on how total loan, loan tenure, education of borrowers, borrowerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s age, business experience, type of business, technical training, business course, marital status and gender influence the impacts of microfinance on household income, individual income and business income offered by government agencies and commercial banks. This study utilized surveys intended to assess the relationship between the effects of microfinance facilities that provided by government agencies and commercial banks with income of household, individual and business in Malaysia. 3.1 Research Design A research can be differentiated in terms of approach, either by using quantitative or qualitative approach (Neuman, 2006). Deriving accurate information is highly dependent upon the survey method. The direct face-to face interview is the most commonly used approach (Ogunlade and Adebayo, 2009) and is employed in this study. The research aims to provide an understanding of what is the different between government and non-government institution on the impacts of microfinance taking place on household income, individual income, and business income was affected by constructs like total loan, loan tenure, education of borrowers, borrowersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ age, business experience, type of business, technical training, business course, marital status and gender. In addition, the descriptive and causal research design was applied in this research and work as the main research design. Meanwhile, causal study method was being used to examine the relationships between income of household, individual and business toward the total loan, loan tenure, education of borrowers, borrowers age, business age, type of business, technical training, business course, marital status and gender in microfinance activities. According to Zikmund (2003) descriptive research is use to describe the characteristics of population or phenomenon meanwhile causal research is conducted to identify cause-effect link between variables when the research problem has already been defined. 3.2 Data Collection Method Data collection is the systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose. A research can be started by selecting quantitative or qualitative approach (Neuman, 2006). This study uses one types of data collection method which is primary data. Due to the money and time constrain, this study was choosing the survey questionnaire as the primary data source. 3.2.1 Primary Data Primary data consist of information collected for the specific purpose at hand (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong 2004, p.219). Primary data collection will be adopted in this research and the main source of primary data collection in this study is obtained from survey questionnaire because survey questionnaire is convenience, cost saving and time saving. In this research, 123 sets of questionnaire were distributed to residents in Klang Valley. It is important to have a clear and well structure of questionnaire to let all the respondents to answer it easily in the shorter time. Although primary data are more expensive compare with secondary data, it can provide the latest information about the opinions from the current respondents. 3.3 Sampling Design The purpose of this research as stated as in the earlier chapter is to evaluate impacts of microfinance that provided by government and non-government institution toward household income, individual income, and business income in Klang Valley. The determinants (independent variables) include total loan, loan tenure, education of borrowers, borrowerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s age, business age, type of business, technical training and business course. Hair, Bush Ortinau (2006) defines independent variables as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“an attribute or elements of an object, idea or event whose measurement scales values are directly manipulate by the researcherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . In this research, dependent variables are including household income, individual income and business income. Hair et al. (2006) defines dependent variables as a singular attribute or element that is the measured outcome or effect change on specific test subjects that is derived from manipulating the independent variables. 3.3.1 Target Population Since, it is difficult to conduct a survey on the whole Malaysia population due to limited resources such as cost and time. As a result, this research will select a specific area which is Klang Valley respondents in the population to draw conclusion about the entire population of Malaysian. The main population for this research is the residents in Klang Valley who have receiving the microfinance facilities from government and non-government institution. The eligible respondents for this research will be adults who are 18 years old and above that getting microloan to run his or her business. The reasons for choosing this area of target population are due to the numbers of entrepreneur who getting microfinance are the highest among other cities in Malaysia. This will directly save the cost and time in order to get the greater accurate results and high speed of data collection. Meanwhile, this studyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s respondents came from one of the cities in Malaysia, namely, Klang Valley and the surveys were conducted from 3th April to 8th May 2015. 3.3.2 Sampling Elements The respondents that will take part in this research study will be restricted to the current residents of Klang Valley who have getting microfinance facilities for business purpose at least one time from any financial institution. The microfinance facilities are including micro-credit and others. Sampling location for this study is Klang Valley. Residents of Klang Valley which have participated in microfinance facilities at least once are identified as the prospective respondents as they have ability to evaluate the impacts of microfinance on household income, individual income and business income. Respondents were randomly selected to ensure the accuracy of this study. All the respondents were required to answer the questionnaire on the spot. 3.3.3 Sampling Techniques There are two types of sampling techniques which are probability sampling and non probability sampling (Churchill, Jr. and Iacoucci, 2005). The samples selected of this study are based on the non-probability sampling. In this study, judgment sampling is selected as main sampling procedure which based on research objective. The researcher believes that the respondents represent the population of interest (Malhotra and Peterson, 2006). 3.3.4 Sample Size Roscoe (1975) proposed the rules of thumb for determine the sample size where it is more than 30 and less than 500 are appropriate for the most research. This study has gathered 123 potential respondents who getting loan from any finance institution as the target respondents in this study. In 123 respondents, there are 58 respondents who getting microfinance facilities from government agency; while 65 respondents are getting credit from non-government institution. 3.4 Data Analysis Method According to Cooper and Schindler (2006), data analysis is defined as the process of editing and reducing accumulated data to a size that is manageable, easy to look for patterns in, developing summaries and applying statistical techniques. Several analyses of the data have been carried out in the core of this study. Simple descriptive statistics such as sums, means, ranges, percentages and frequency distributions are were used to analysis primary data for this study. This study utilized the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) to analyses the data. This study also conducted 3 multiple regression analysis for determining impacts of microfinance on 3 models such as household income, individual income and business income from all respondents, 58 respondents who getting microfinance facilities from government agency; and 65 respondents who getting credit from non-government institution. Hence, there will have three different analyses result that based on three dataset in orde r to reach to the research objective. 3.4.1 Descriptive Analysis According to Burns and Bush (2003, p. 433), descriptive analysis is used to summarize and describe the sample characteristic of the typical respondent and disclosing the general pattern of response. Parametric statistic such as measures of mean, standard deviation and variance will be used to describe the key features of the interval data. 3.4.2 Multiple Regression Analysis Multiple regression analysis is used to gain a better understanding about the relationship between several independent variables and a dependent variable. This technique is applicable in this study because the dependent variables in 3 model (household income, individual income and business income) and independent variable (total loan, loan tenure, education of borrowers, borrowerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s age, business age, type of business, technical training and business course) are measure using the same scale. The weight of data is measured by the beta value is the indication to measure. 3.5 Model Description For the analysis of this paper, we suggest that each dependent variable are consist 1 model to evaluate the impacts of microfinance. Hence, the analysis is consisting 3 models where each model (household income, individual income and business income) is accounts for the expected effects of microfinance. 3.5.1 Impacts of Microfinance on Household Income Model In this model, household income is representing the dependent variables. Household income of a respondent was measured in terms of his or her total monthly earning from business activities in which respondent was involved. This dependent variable was measured by taking into consideration all the existing family membersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (such as respondent, husband, son, daughter, father, mother) income of the respondent households. While, in this model there are 7 independent variables which are total loan, household size, business experience, loan tenure, technical training, borrowerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s age and individual income. All independent variables will be further explained below. In brief, the model of impacts of microfinance on household income can be concluded as: Household Income = Total loan + Household size + Business Experience + Loan Tenure + Technical Training + Borrowerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Age + Individual Income 3.5.2 Impacts of Microfinance on Individual Income Model The model is measuring the impact of microfinance toward individual income, thus individual income was taken as the dependent variables in this model. Monthly individual income of a respondent was measured by his or her total monthly earning from business activities in which respondent was involved. The main different between household income and individual income is this variable was measured by respondents earning only and not taking into consideration all the existing family membersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (such as respondent, husband, son, daughter, father, mother) income of the respondent households. In this model there are 8 independent variables which are total loan, business income, loan tenure (monthly), education level, business experience, technical training, business course, marital status, gender and borrowerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s age. In addition, all independent variables will be further explained below. In summary, the model of impacts of microfinance on individual income ca n be concluded as: Individual Income = Total loan + Loan tenure (monthly) + Education Level + Business Experience + Technical Training+ Business Course + Marital Status + Gender + Borrowerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Age 3.5.3 Impacts of Microfinance on Business Income Model Business income is representing the dependent variables in this model in order to measure the impacts of microfinance. This variable was measured by taking into thesum of allmoney received by business, includingincome from revenue fromsales. It is measured by how much profit and money earned by respondents monthly. In this model there are 7 independent variables which are total loan, loan tenure (monthly), education level, business age, type of business, technical training and business course. All independent variables will be further explained below. In brief, the model of impacts of microfinance on business income can be concluded as: Business income = Total loan +Loan tenure (monthly) +Education Level + Business Experience + Type of Business + Technical Training+ Business Course 3.5.4 Independent Variables Description For the analysis of this paper, we suggest that there are several independent variables that used in multiple regressions. The independent variables in this research consist of total loan, loan tenure (monthly), education level, borrower age, business experience, type of business, technical training, business course, marital status and gender. All variables are accounts for the expected effects of microfinance. The independent variables are representing the causes that influenced the dependent variables and tested to see whether there are the causes. 3.5.4.1 Total Amount of Loan The most influential independent variables in this research refer to the total amount loan. This variable are mostly influenced the result of analysis is due to it have a very strong figure in R-square. Furthermore, total amount of loan is the main independent variables that used to test on the effect of microfinance toward household income, individual income and household income. Consequently, others independent variables are consider as control variables. Additionally, this variable is defined as amount of loan received by the SMEs from any microfinance institution such as AIM, TEKUN, MARA, Bank Simpanan Nasional, SME Bank, Bank Rakyat and other institutions. It is measured by how much respondents received in term of ringgit Malaysia. 3.5.4.2 Loan Tenure In order to support the main independent variables, loan tenure considers as another useful control variables in determining the effects of microfinance. Loan tenure was measured in term of how many months that a microfinance institution offered to respondents. Thus, this variable was calculated in term of months rather than years. 3.5.4.3 Education Level Refer back to the research, the education level of respondents was taken care and consider as an independent variables. Education variable was measured in terms of formal education acquired by the respondents. In this research, researcher was assigned respondents into two categories which are tertiary and non-tertiary. For example, if the respondentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s education level was above certificate, diploma or bachelor, they are fall into tertiary group. On the other hand, if the respondents are having an education level under certificate, diploma and bachelor, they are fall into non-tertiary group. In this study, non-tertiary group is recode as 1, while tertiary group as coded as dummy value. 3.5.4.4 Business Experience Business experience are believed to have a slightly impact on the effect of microfinance, therefore it represent one of the independent variables. In this analysis, business age refer to experience of a respondents has been in the business. In this variables, we are calculated the experience of respondentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s business into the monthly. 3.5.4.5 Type of Business Different type of business are expecting to influence the analysis, hence it is stand for another independent variables. In this research, types of business are grouping into two groups such as retail and non retail. Besides, there is a dummy value for no retail business, while retail will be recoded as 1 in this study. 3.5.4.6 Technical Training Technical training refer to the training progamme that prepaid by microfinance institution to some of the business requirement. For example, AIM provides an technical training to an entrepreneur who wish to open a tailor shop. In this section, respondents was been question whether they have been send for a technical training or not. They are giving two option which are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Yesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ showing they went for a technical training or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Noà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ showing that they never go for a technical training. In order to run the multiple regressions, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Yesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ will be recode as 1, while à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Noà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ recoded as 0. 3.5.4.7 Business Course Business course refer to the management progamme that offered by the microfinance institution. Business course are considering having small impact on the dependent variables. Thus, it is treated as independent variables in this analysis. Business course was measured in term of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Yesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Noà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Yesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ are presenting the respondents attended business course that provide by microfinance institution, while No presenting the respondents attended business course. Besides, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Yesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ is recoded as 1 and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Noà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ is recoded as 0 in the analysis. 3.5.4.8 Household Size The size of household is used to measure the impacts of microfinance on household income. This variable was measured by taking into thesum of allexisting family membersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ such as respondent, husband or wife, son, daughter, father, and mother. Besides, it is measured in term of unit such as 1, 2, and others. 3.5.4.9 Marital Status The marital status is used to measure the impacts of microfinance on individual income. This variable was measured by categorized respondents into two groups which are married and single. In order to have an easier comparison between two groups, married was recorded as 1 and single was recorded as 0. 3.5.4.10 Gender Refer back to the research, gender consider as another influential factors. Therefore, gender of respondents is taken under independent variables to test on individual income model. In addition, in this research male was recorded as 1 while female is recorded as 0. 3.5.4.11 Age Age of borrowers is measured in years. Borrowers age is included in the independent variables of household income and individual income. According to Su and Heshmati (2013), age of borrowers is one of factors to determine the level of household income and individual income. 3.6 Hypothesis Development In summary, three hypotheses can be specified as follows: H1: Microfinance has impact toward individual income. H2: Microfinance has impact toward household income. H3: Microfinance has impact toward business income. 3.7 Conclusion Chapter 3 mainly discussed the types of research methodologies used to conduct the research study. Quantitative research is used in order to collect numerical and measurable data. Questionnaire will be conducted as to collect the primary data. Hypothesis regarding the effect of the various independent constructs were tested through analysis of survey data obtained from eligible SMEs respondents. Appropriate data analysis strategies were carried out to ensure accuracy of information gathering and analysis process. This study will include descriptive analysis, multicollinearity test and multiple regression analysis.

National Negro Business League Fighting Jim Crow with Economic Development

Embryonic Stem Cell Research How does it affect you Essay

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Mr Taha Uppal Free Essays

string(55) " or problems arising by implementing those strategies\." Strategies towards betterment for team management The research will be based on the following questions: How can we eliminate the harmful factors of staff management I. E performance appraisal? How can the employee’s play an important part for the organizational success? What are the feedbacks usually received by the employer? 1. 1 INTRODUCTION TO MARKS AND SPENCER: Marks and Spencer also popularly known as M is British based clothing and food retailer headquartered in the city of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. We will write a custom essay sample on Mr Taha Uppal or any similar topic only for you Order Now It has more than 700 outlets located all over the United Kingdom while 300+ stores are coated all over the world. Most of them are located in the European countries, like Hungary, Greece, Czech Republic and Romania etc. Marks Spencer is also trying to expand in the Asian markets with quite a few stores opening in India and China recently. Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer founded M in the year 1884 in a city of England, Leeds. According to BBC news, Marks and Spencer is doing better in their food department as compared to their general merchandise as the turnover is split in 54% and 46% respectively. Marks and Spencer aims to provide a very high quality DOD to their customers, that is why, it is one of the most successful food retailers in the United Kingdom. The well known brands, which sell their products with the brand name M are Autograph, Indigo collection, Classic collection, Collection and lastly blue harbor. 1. INTRODUCTION TO PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: Performance appraisal or performance review is an analysis of an employee’s work habits undertaken at a fixed point in time to determine the degree to which stated objectives and expectations have been reached. Performance appraisal or review is very beneficial and important for the evaluation of the staff and of course for the effective management. Appraisals are of great help regarding organization’s employee and also play a vital role i n improving organizational performances. Formal performance appraisals are conducted every year normally in the last half of the year to review how the organization is performing and what strategies should be undertaken to improve the organizations performance. It is a straight line process for example the staff is appraised by their managers, the managers are appraised by the directors, and the directors are appraised by the Coo’s who are generally appraised by the founder or the chairman of the company. 2. 1 TYPES OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: The different types of performance appraisals are formal annual performance appraisals, handwriting analysis, skill or Job related tests, informal one to one review discussions, probationary reviews, survey of opinion of others who have been dealing with the staff, counseling meetings, observation on the Job and assessment centers including observed group exercises and test presentations. 1. 2. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL PROCESS: Performance appraisal is a process which takes place qu arterly or yearly and is the process of interaction between the employees and their managers. In this process the performance of the employee is assessed, with the manager telling or describing the employees their weaknesses and strengths and also identifying the opportunities that how can the employee improve their performance within the organization. Performance appraisal is the least liked responsibility any manager has to perform. The first step which comes in performance appraisal is review preparation. In this process the manager makes the objectives that the organization wants to meet in the future. An analysis of the employees is then taken out because employees or individuals must know what the organization is expecting from them and how they can work to achieve the objectives stated by the firm. Step two in performance appraisal is the assessment. This step is all about giving the timely feedback as it has proved to be very beneficial for the organization. For instance if an employee works well to achieve an objective, the positive feedback should be given to them as soon as possible rather than waiting for weeks to let them know as it might have a negative effect on their confidence as well as performance level. Step three is reviewing communication. This is all about reviewing the past and the current performance of the employee and if the performance is not up to the mark the manager should politely explain them that what should be done to improve their performance. Step four in the process is appropriate setting. Make sure that the atmosphere where the manager is going to deliver the appraisal is very friendly and welcoming. No threats should be given to the employee as this might De-motivate them and as a result they may not be able to perform 100%. Step five in the process is delivering, for instance it Leary explains the appraisal in simple language as the usage of the code words or difficult words might make it difficult for them (staff or employee) to understand it properly and they may have confusion which might proved to be harmful for the employee and also for the organization. The final step in this process is encouragement. At the end of the process the manager’s responsibility is to encourage the employee and boost their confidence by adding words like we have faith in you or we trust your abilities or you are capable. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2. 0 INTRODUCTION In this chapter the past and the current strategies of Marks Spencer will be discussed and in the end of this chapter we will also give a brief explanation about how employer can improve their Performance appraisal (PA) process. There will also be discussions on the employees and the manager roles that how can they contribute for a better service and reputation of the organization. First of all we will talk about the staff management strategies of Marks Spencer for instance, how they benefited from those strategies, what were the drawbacks of those strategies and what did Marks Spencer did to solve those issues or problems arising by implementing those strategies. You read "Mr Taha Uppal" in category "Papers" Performance appraisal helps in evaluating the employee’s performance as it gives a clear light on how an employee can improve their performance and skills. However, performance appraisal in depth will be discussed this chapter. 2. 1 THE EVOLUTION OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: Sometime near World War 1, (WAD Scott) has the credit to present the world with what performance appraisal is. However, performance appraisal was known by the mid asses and became very popular in the organization or companies. McGregor (1957) also played a vital role in discussing about performance appraisal in sass’s and ass’s. It’s a process by which the individual tries to look in the future with some valuable assumptions and to plan what should be done in the future to meet their goals. Performance appraisal helps in goal setting. In the year 1970, this process of performance appraisal became more widespread and many of the firms started using this process in order to gain success however, by practicing this process a large number of legal cases were brought. In the years sass’s and sass’s the process of performance appraisal became very popular and according to Williams (1998) it improved the performance up to a certain extent and also generated motivation which is very useful for an organization. According to Fletcher (2008), performance appraisal is conducted differently in the Western and the Asian cultures however; both of these cultures use this process and are benefiting from it despite the fact that around 90% or more staff doesn’t like this process. 2. 2 WHY IS PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SO NECESSARY? Questions like why performance appraisal is used in companies when it did not exist in the past and the companies were still doing great? Why is it so important to use performance appraisal? Can’t an organization run efficiently and effectively without the performance appraisal system? Weiss and Buckley (1998) tried to give an answer for this by stating that performance appraisal is very useful because it gives an idea to the employees how can they improve their performance and also this process helps in rising their commitment towards their organization. There is great importance of performance appraisal within the firm. The organization whether small or big, private or government or any other type of firm should be exempt from having a formal performance appraisal (PA) program. PA process has benefits like improved immunization within the firm, addressing the problem and tries to resolve them through this process of PA and gives the employee confidence and boosts their morale. However, while planning performance appraisal process the employer should bear in mind that it is a slow and time consuming process and there might be some obstacles during the process which for some time may make this process even slower than expected. We can see the companies who have introduced this process of performance appraisal are the ones who do the most business in their respected fields such as Ezra, Louis Button, Marks Spencer, Gucci, Hugo Boss etc. When employees know that they are an important part of an organization and all their suggestions or ideas are valuable they even work harder so that they can get promotions or there may be an increase in their salaries and this can only be done by performance appraisal process. PA process not only identifies the training needs within an organization or firm but also identifies the hidden talent which may have a very positive effect on the firm’s reputation. For instance if the staff is highly trained they are in a better position to deal with all their customers which plays a very positive role towards the success of an organization. . 3 PURPOSE OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: The most effective purpose to use performance appraisal is to improve the performance of the employees who are working for an organization. There are two most important purposes for which the performance appraisal is used one of which is maintenance of organization control and secondly to measure the efficiency with which the company’s human resources are being used. Cummings 1973) however, there are other purposes of performance appraisal as well for instance it helps in improving the morale of the employees working for the organization, more importantly also identifying when does the staff or employees need training, communication improvements, counseling and setting targets which the organization aims to meet (Britton and Gold 2003-04). As discussed above perf ormance appraisal is used to determine the strengths and weaknesses off the employees and providing them with the best training in order for them to give their best at work. However, by conducting the performance appraisal process both the organizations and the employees have advantages for example McGregor (1972) in his paper ‘An uneasy look at performance appraisal’ stated that performance appraisal meets the needs of OTOH the employees and the organization however, the difference is it meets three needs in total one for which is organization and the other two for the employees or the individual. Bowels and Coats (1993) conducted a survey which was sent to 250 West midland companies in the year 1992, where the organization were asked the question on the effectiveness of performance appraisal in the organization. However, in the results they found out that the performance appraisal plays an effective role to improve the communication skills of the employees and also improves the communication between the employees and the employer which has many benefits costly in favor of the organization. On the other hand it was very useful for when and how the training is needed for a number of employees to improve their skills. However, around 90% of the employees did not favor the performance appraisal process and commented it has certainly no use and is time wasting. Many organizations want to become the best in productivity or simply want to produce more and quality products so in order to achieve all of these objectives organizations choose and introduce performance appraisal process within the organization as this is the most successful way of achieving goals such as higher productivity or lean reduction. This process of performance appraisal gives a clear direction that where the organization is heading towards or what are the goals the organization or the firm. As discussed before, it not only measures a firm’s employee’s performance but also gives a clear picture of an organization’s performance. The example to illustrate this is performance appraisal measures the work done by the employees and also the organization on a weekly or quarterly basis. An organization can have all the information of their employees and their productivity by using this process. Another useful purpose of performance appraisal is that it gives a clear picture to the employees that where do they stand and what are they supposed to do in order to improve their skills and position within the organization. This way the organization can have a full advantage of their work force because if their employees need training, they train them and as a result the work force becomes very useful and experienced which in the long run is very beneficial for the organization as well as the employees. 2. 4 BEHAVIOR MAINTENANCE MODEL (CUMMINGS AND SWABS): The IBM model which was presented by Cummings and Swabs attempts to show owe the employees are motivated and opt to perform well within the organization. In their model they tried to explain the IBM model in four different steps. The first step in this model is goal aspirations which lead to goal attainment. When the goal attainment is achieved by the employee it gives them a sense of Job satisfaction and they become more focused on their Job and try to work even more hard. However, when the employee is satisfied with their Job they become automatically motivated towards their work which is very effective for the organization. 2. A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL IN MARKS AND SPENCER: performance appraisal give Marks Spencer all the required information about their employees as it helps MS to help improve their skills through training and making sure that they are capable enough for the Job they are being trained for. As most of the big companies or retailers conduct performance appraisal once or twice every year, Marks Spencer is also one of the British companies known for conducting performance appraisal twice every yea r. In this process the employees get feedback from their managers about their performance and if the performance of the employees is not up to the mark they are suggested with different strategies to adopt n order to improve their performance as it is believed that the employees play the most important part in an organization’s success and thus are the most important and effective assets of any organization like Marks Spencer. The performance records are encouraged to use by the employees as it plays an important factor in setting up the personal objectives that support their continued development. Whenever an appraisal system is carried out at Marks Spencer (normally takes every 12 months to conduct an appraisal) discussions are being made about the current progress of the company as well as the employees and a lot of new ideas are narrated about how to improve the concerned areas within the organization. These meetings are always done by the managers who work in M regarding their employees and are kept confidential. If any of the employees or workers at M do not perform well they are given more training and make sure that they understand how the organization works and operates. Rewards are given to the employees who prove that they are working best and the organization is benefiting from their efforts which are being put in. For instance in Marks and Spencer if the sales exceed the expected number or are higher than expected all the employees are given a bonus and also receive a bonus gift voucher of 20% which in fact plays a vital role in staff motivation. Also according to the research on motivation conducted by Frederic Taylor money is the only motivator and the only reason due to which the employees work hard to achieve their and the organization’s objectives they work for. According to Taylor â€Å"If the workers were paved per item made, they would want to make more and work harder. † Marks and Spencer uses Tailor’s theory by providing their employees or staff with handsome salaries as they think to keep the staff motivated paying them with bonuses and retreating them with some discount cards would be beneficial for the organization and as the staff will put in their efforts to make M a success by providing their customers a better service and by creating a friendly atmosphere in the stores which obviously every customer likes. On the other hand, M also uses Herbage’s two factor theory by paying them with handsome salaries but more important to note according to Herbage’s theory is that M make their employees feel special and important in the business as the upper management ask for suggestion from all the employees and also providing them with the best working environment to motivate hem. As seen in the table below Marks and Spencer has got the highest reputation in the recent years as compared to their rivals such as Sad, tests, Morison, Ginsburg and Waitress and that’s only done with the fair and proper selection of the employees for the Jobs through interviews and as well as the tests. By going through the process MS makes sure that the right candidate is selected for the Job and the organization can benefit from them. 2. STRATEGIES THAT MARKS AND SPENCER USED IN THE PAST: Marks and Spencer in the past have tried a lot of strategies to improve their staff performance. The strategy which Marks and Spencer used in the past was to sell its products on discounted prices or higher sales which at one point gave rise to the sales but on the other hand when people realized the clothes designs are the same and not changing their sales fell dramatically. MS did not emphasize on innovation but they tried to grab shopper’s attention by advertising and give them g reat deals and high discounts on their products. Another strategy that M favored was expansion overseas as the top management thought it’s the biggest opportunity to expand abroad because in that way MS will see a rise in their sales. The main focus f MS was to target the European markets specially Germany because in the recent years the population of Germany increased from 65 million to 80 million and also is the biggest exporter after USA with a lot of potential and industrial strength. However, firstly MS planned to expand in Germany in the asses but later dropped this strategy because the property costs were too high at that time but the main reason to drop this strategy was the recession of the German economy in asses. However in the late in asses the market position of Germany looked attractive and impressive which therefore forced MS to expand in to the German market. Marks and Spencer also played a vital role regarding waste as an estimate states that the waste all over the United Kingdom is around 400 tones which comes from different parts of the industry such as construction, households or discharged packaging. The waste that comes out is not recycled properly and the result is landfill sites which takes many years to decompose and is also very harmful for the human health. However, the strategy that Marks and Spencer put emphasis on is that in the recent years 2010-2011 they have tried to achieve a recycle rate around 90% and also they have tried and achieved the reduction in waste by around 20%. Marks and Spencer in the year 2006-7 had 133 million clothes hangers and instead of throwing or recycling them the company used around 80% of the hangers again. 2. . 1 OPPORTUNITIES FOR IN THE GERMAN MARKET: MS focused on expanding in the German market because the GAP of Germany is about three times higher than the United Kingdom with a staggering El 5000 billion. German consumer has a 50% higher expenditure than the Auk’s market also 22% higher than France which is the second biggest market in the Europe. Inflation rate is under 2% in the Germany which attracted the Marks and Spencer manag ement the cost to expand in the German market with expectation of higher sales which M was lacking in the United Kingdom. According to the research conducted by the well known news channels CNN and BBC M had examined the customers need in Germany for instance what exactly did the customer want and catered accordingly. 2. 7 MARKS SPENCER CURRENT STRATEGIES: The current aim of M is to become the world’s most sustainable brand by the year 201 5 and for that they are following a plan called plan A. The plan A consist about many things about how to make world a better place to live with a few things which ops the list in plan A are cut carbon emissions, reduce waste and importance on health and well being. As the world is getting more educated day by day which means people are aware of what should be done to make this planet a better place to live in and also become very conscious about environmental and also for the natural issues. This is the reason for which MS launched plan A in the year 2010. The primary focus in this plan is to change the climate and also reducing the waste. 2. 8 EVALUATION: As discussed in this chapter that Performance appraisal is very useful for any type of organization but there are always some exceptions. For example, if the managers fail to grade their staff according to their performance there are quite high chances that the company or the organization could land in hot water. So it is very important that the managers should not grade their employees on personal assessment but should only grade them according to their performance which would only help the firm to achieve success in the future. CHAPTER 3- METHODOLOGY 3. 0 INTRODUCTION: Methodology is a set of practice to regain information about something. In other rods it is a choice about what data and information to gather. The information that will be obtained will also be used in the outcome and also be compared to the literature review In order to have an appropriate evaluation. One should keep in mind some factors when developing a successful methodology. I tried to contact the Marks and Spence’s business and management analyst but it was too difficult to have a decent reply from them. Developing a methodology is not at all an easy task and requires different types of techniques and hard work in order to gather some useful information. 3. 1 TYPES OF DATA COLLECTION: How to cite Mr Taha Uppal, Papers

Italian American vs. Italian Cuisine free essay sample

As we shadow Primo and Secondo, two brothers that emigrated from Italy to open an Italian restaurant in America, we learn a lot about the differences between Italian and Italian-American cuisine through the many obstacles they face. Primo is a gifted chef, a culinary genius determined not to waste his talent making routine dishes that American customers expect. Secondo is the smooth front man, trying to do anything to keep the restaurant financially afloat. Italian cuisine is known for its diversity throughout Italy’s different regions and its abundance of difference in taste. However the one thing they all have it common is its simplicity. The first known Italian food writer was a Greek Sicilian named Archestratus and he said, â€Å"that flavors should not be masked by spices, herbs or other seasonings. † Italians cuisines extreme simplicity explains why most dishes have only 4 to 8 different ingredients. In â€Å"Big Nights,† we can see Americans are not used to this simplicity, but rather foods indulged with ingredients, a common misinterpretation Americans have with Italian cuisine. We will write a custom essay sample on Italian American vs. Italian Cuisine or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It is highly distasteful to ask for ingredients that are not included in the dish already, such as extra salt, balsamic vinegar, or meat. Another common trait with Italian cuisine is their keen eye for quality and freshness in ingredients. We see this when Primo goes to a market to buy some herbs for the big dinner, but refuses to buy the spices because they seem old. Quality is just as important to Italian cuisine as the location these ingredients come from. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar are two examples of ingredients where location is important. If you look closely on their labels you will see how the very good oils and vinegars are usually 100% from a certain region like Lucca, Siena, or Puglia. The lesser quality olive oils and balsamic vinegars will usually be a mix of different regions, but on the bottle will say, â€Å"Bottled in Italy. † A major difference between American and Italian cuisine is the importance of the meal structure. One line you will never hear a waiter in Italy say is â€Å"would you like your dishes as they are ready? † The meal structure consists of 3 or 4 courses usually. During the â€Å" Big Night† we experienced all the ourses. Normally an Italian meal is longer than an American meal and can last a few hours. Aperitivo is the start of the meal and usually includes a glass of champagne, sometimes nuts, chesses, sauce dips, and little quiches. Next comes the Antipasto and is comparable to the appetizer. A traditional Italian aperitivo includes a few different sliced meats, cheeses, and vegetable. It is heavier than Antipasto, but is still a starter. The first course comes afterwards and is called Primo. Usually a Primo doesn’t include meat and can be a risotto, gnocchi, or soup. The heartiest course of the meal is the secondo or piatto principale. Normally this course includes different kinds of meat or fish. A contorno or side dish is served with the secondo and usually is a dish of hot or cold vegetables. After getting through the first 3 courses if you are still hungry don’t worry because there is still desert. Il dolce or desert is popular after large nice meals. Frequent desert dishes are tiramisu, gelato, and panna cotta. With every meal Italians love a good glass of wine. Wine is very important to the Italian meal and that can explain why Italy leads the world in wine consumption. Just like their food Italians take their wines seriously and will always make sure that it will pair well with the meal. There are 20 wine regions in Italy and an importance is put on where the grapes are grown rather than what type of grape it is. Now that we dug into the characteristics of real Italian food lets take a look at Italian food in America, a cuisine that has transformed into what is now known as Italian-American cuisine. Most of what is called Italian food in America came from the immigrants from southern Italy and Sicily who arrived in the 18th and 19th century. They made up about 80% of all Italian immigrants. Interestingly, about half of the dishes that would become Italian staples in America originated in Naples. Pizza, pasta with seafood, and spaghetti with marinara sauce are a few of the well-known dishes. These foods were largely based on foods the immigrants could not afford back at home, but with American wages and more affordable ingredients they made this kind of food a regular in their diet. These dishes were heavy and rich with ingredients as this is what the immigrants dreamed about having. A great way to describe the differences between Italian-American and Italian cuisine is, Abundance vs.Harmony. Italian-American cooking uses far more spices, more sauce, much more cheese and meat. Pasta is an entree, which is almost never seen in Italy. Less importance is put on the quality of ingredients used and instead the importance is put on quantity. Overall, Italian-American cuisine is much more robust, compared to Italian food which can be described as poor mans food because of its simplicity and ingredient driven nature. This newfound prosperity of the immigrants can explain the differences between traditional Italian and Italian-American cuisine that was designed.