International Management Management of Tata Group

Question: Discuss about the International Management for Management of Tata Group. Answer: Introduction In this study, the discussion is made on the international business management of Tata Group. The study starts with the discussion on the source due to which the Tata Group is facing problems in its international business management. After that the discussion of the study moves forward to the secondary source of the problems of Tata Group. After identifying the sources of problem, the study analyzes the problems of Tata Group and then provides some alternative strategies that can help the company to solve the problem and operate its international business properly. Source of problem Tata Group is one of the well-known multinational companies in the global business world (Chatterji Palakshappa, 2016). Currently, the company is operating its business in several countries like, UK, US and other 148 companies throughout the world (Tata group, 2016). The company has a wide product range and the company is operating its business in several sectors including automotive, chemicals, engineering services, consumer goods, electrical distribution, financial sector, telecommunication, real estate and many more. The company has a plan to be one of the top most companies in the international market (Kerai Sharma, 2015). However, the company is facing several challenges in taking proper marketing strategies and in identifying the proper talents. Secondary source of problem If the current business problems of Tata Group are evaluated, then it can be identified that there are mainly three secondary sources for which the business of the company is facing trouble in the international market. These three secondary sources of problems are stated below: Decreased sales in Nano car Tata Motors or Tata Group introduced worlds one of the cheapest car Nano in the year 2008 (Tata group, 2016). The company thought that by introducing Nano, it can grab mare market share in the international market because this particular car is within the affordable range of middle class people, who are not able to invest high amount of money to purchase a car. However, the strategy of the company worked for the initial years but after 2011-2012, the sales of the car declined (Mukherjee Mukerjee, 2016). The declining trend of Nano sales can be identified in the below diagram: Figure 1: Declining trend in Nano sales (Source: Tata group, 2016) In several journals, it has been found out that the main reason behind the decreased sales in Nano cars was the weak customer handling and safety management of the cars (Crawford, 2016). This decline in Nano sales affected the financial health of the company. Limited skilled and talented employees The success of a company in the international market depends on the skills and experience of the employees. The multinational companies take several HR policies to improve the quality of its workforce (Singh Joshi, 2015). However, in case of Tata Group, the HR policies are not effective because it failed to attract new skilled employees. The company does not immediately terminate the unskilled employees and due to that the scope of recruiting new talent is reduced. At the same time, the HR policies of the company are not innovative and the company mostly prefers to utilize the traditional HR techniques, which are not that much effective in todays context (Cappelli et al. 2015). High competition in hotel business Tata Group is also facing trouble in its hotel business because of high competition within the industry. The management of the company took the strategy to invest in the hotels, which are less costly and affordable to all people (Kale Singh, 2016). However, this strategy of the company did not work out because of more facilities provided by the other hotels. Tata Group is not able to provide many facilities because the rent of the hotel rooms is less but on the other side, the other hotels provide more facilities, which attract the tourists more (Shah, 2016). Analysis Analysis of the decreased Nano sales In the above discussion, it has been identified that the Nano sales has declined at a high speed after 2011-12. It was much unexpected that though the price of the car was much less, the company could not increase the sales volume of Nano (Thite et al. 2016). In the analysis of the decreased sales of Nano, it has been identified that the sales of the car has decreased because of the negative publicity. Moreover, it has also been identified that the company lost 30% of the new customers because of negative brand image. The quality was the main issue behind this negative brand image of Nano (Moon, Lee Yin, 2015). There were manufacturing defect in some of the cars (Nano), which created negative perceptions in the minds of the customers. On the other side, the workers, who were appointed in the production and distribution sections of Nano, were much casual. Apart from that the management in the Nano division was also not effective (Morschett, Schramm-Klein Zentes, 2015). As per the available data, it has been understood that the management of Nano division did not sale the car to the target market. The target market of the company was the middle class families and low income groups but the company sold near about 1 million cars to the higher income group of people. It indicates that the management of Nano division of Tata Group failed to create interests in its target market, for which the sales of the company declined so fast. Analysis of the workforce related issue In the above discussion, it has been identified that the company (Tata Group) is facing a huge trouble in using the talented workforce in its business activities (Crawford, 2016). The HR policies of the company are much weak and it does not permit to eliminate or terminate the unskilled laborer. Due to this, the working standard of the workforce is decreasing. On the other side, the HR policy like, recruitment through employees reference has also affected the quality of workforce. Many employees in the company have been recruited without proper testing of their skills and knowledge and many employees are working for many generations (Mukherjee Mukerjee, 2016). In the previous surveys on Tata Group it has been disclosed that there are many unskilled employees, who are working at Tata Group for many years. These unskilled employees affected the overall performance of the company because in maximum time, the unskilled employees are underperforming also. Due to the unskilled or less knowledgeable employees in the marketing department, the company faces problem in handling the customers properly (Singh Joshi, 2015). On the other side, many of the employees in the company are working for generation to generation and for this the scope of recruiting more talented people from other sources has reduced. Apart from these, at Tata Group, many people of different religion work together and so the cultural differences also affected the performance level of the employees. Analysis of the issue related to the hotel business The Company is also facing issues in its hotel business. The competition in the industry is much high and the strategy taken by the company to survive in the hotel industry was not effective to compete in the market (Kerai Sharma, 2015). The management of the company emphasized on the price level; however, in reality, the customers mostly emphasized on the facilities. The competitors charged bit high price than the Tata Group and provided more facilities to the customers and so the customers were more attracted towards the hotels, which provides more facilities. This indicates that the management of the company failed to analyze the mentality of the customers properly (Morschett, Schramm-Klein Zentes, 2015). Due to low price, the standard of the services in the hotels of Tata Group was low, which affected the goodwill of the company. Therefore, from the above analysis, it can be said that the company (Tata Group) is facing several issues due to wrong policies and strategies taken by the management of Tata Group. Criteria of Evaluation Tata Groups Criteria Evaluation Attributes Indices Present performance Target performance 2015 2016 2015 2016 Difference between Current performance and target Efficiency level Net profit (4738.95) 234.23 1134.17 537.77 (3604.78) 303.54 Growth rate Revenue 38183.04 44502.74 39104.03 46121.03 920.99 1618.29 Contribution to performance of the employees Expenses of employees benefit 3091.46 3026.75 2900 3000 191.46 26.75 Contribution to branding Marketing expenses 437.47 424.61 400 400 37.47 24.61 Table 1: Criteria of evaluation (Source: Tata group, 2016) In the above table it can be identified that the company that is Tata Group Could not achieve the target in the year of 2015. The efficiency level of the company was much below the targeted level of performance. The same thing happened in case of the growth rate of the company also. However, in case of the year 2016, the company has improved its level of efficiency; still it was unable to meet the target (Tata group, 2016). In case of growth rate of Tata Group, in 2016, the performance level was much lower than that of the targeted amount. The expense level in marketing and employees benefits was also higher than the targeted amount. This shows that the strategies taken by the company was effective in the last year as well as in the current year. Alternative strategies There are several alternative strategies that Tata Group can take to improve its performance level in the future. The alternative strategies as under: Reformulation of the existing strategies - The Company can reformulate its pricing strategy in case of its hotel business. The company can provide or include more facilities by increasing the price level of the hotel rooms by a small percentage. This will help the company to attract the national as well as international tourists (Singh Joshi, 2015). More emphasize in the advertisement strategy The Company should focus more on its advertisement strategies. However, as the marketing expenses of the company are already high, the company must keep eye on the expense level. The company must use its marketing fund properly and can improve the advertisement and other promotional activities (Cappelli et al. 2015). Proper work distribution The higher management must take care of distribution of work in the organization. The work must be distributed as per the as per the efficiency level of the employees. Recommended alternatives In the above segment, several alternative strategies for Tata Group have been stated. However, the best possible strategies for Tata Group are as follows: Implementation of JIT Tata Group can implement the Just-in-Time strategy in its overall business operations. The above-mentioned table has shown that the efficiency level of the company was much lower in the year 2015 as well as in 2016. Therefore, if the company implement the JIT strategy properly, then it will be possible for the company to reduce its waste level and improve the resource utilization. It will ultimately improve the efficiency level. Market penetration pricing strategy Tata Group can take the market penetration pricing strategy as the new pricing strategy of the company. This pricing strategy will help the company to compete with the competitors in the hotel industry. Improve HR policy The human resource department of the company must include improved strategies to motivate the employees and improve their performance level. These policies are rewarding policy, monthly competition policy and attractive incentive schemes. Implementation In order to implement the above-mentioned policies, the company must build a separate team, which will take care of the new strategies. The higher management of the company must conduct a meeting to inform the employees about the change and then must ask for their opinion. At the same time, the company must improve its control system (Shah, 2016). In order to implement a strong control system, the company must emphasize on the monitoring system. The supervisors and team leaders must play a proper role in this case. Conclusion In this study, it has been identified that the Tata Group is facing trouble in its international business management. The problems have started few years back. The problems are related to its Nano car section, HR policies and the hotel business. The efficiency level of the company is not up to the standard. The management of the company has different alternative strategies among which the JIT strategies, market penetration pricing strategy are the most preferable. Reference list: Cappelli, P., Singh, H., Singh, J., Useem, M. (2015). Indian business leadership: Broad mission and creative value.The Leadership Quarterly,26(1), 7-12. Chatterji, M., Palakshappa, N. (2016). Going Beyond Profit: A Case Study of the CSR Initiative of Titan, Tata Group. InEthical Leadership(pp. 215-238). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Crawford, M. J. (2016). An Analysis of Operating Environment Strategy: A Case Study of Tata Motor. Kale, P., Singh, H. (2016). Management of Overseas Acquisitions by Developing Country Multinationals and Its Performance Implications: The Indian Example.Thunderbird International Business Review. Kerai, A., Sharma, S. (2015).Innovation in Business Group Firms: Influence of Network Diversity(No. WP2015-03-26). Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department. Moon, H. C., Lee, Y. W., Yin, W. (2015). A New Approach to Analysing the Growth Strategy of Business Groups in Developing Countries: The Case Study of India's Tata Group.International Journal of Global Business and Competitiveness,10(1), 1-15. Morschett, D., Schramm-Klein, H., Zentes, J. (2015).Strategic international management. Springer. Mukherjee, S., Mukerjee, A. (2016). Sustainable Business Development by Responding to Climate Change: A Case of the Tata Group. InStrategic Management of Sustainable Manufacturing Operations(pp. 176-191). IGI Global. Shah, S. (2016). Integrating Stakeholders Welfare and Corporate Success: In an Indian Family-Owned Organization (Interview with Chairperson and CEO of Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd., Mallika Srinivasan).The Journal of Values-Based Leadership,9(2), 5. Singh, S., Joshi, M. (2015). New Market Creation via Innovation: A Study on Tata Nano.Available at SSRN 2597482. Tata group. (2016). Tata.com. Retrieved 27 September 2016, from https://www.tata.com/ Thite, M., Wilkinson, A., Budhwar, P., Mathews, J. A. (2016). Internationalization of emerging Indian multinationals: Linkage, leverage and learning (LLL) perspective.International Business Review,25(1), 435-443.

Self-Care Strategies for Nurse Samples for Students-Myassignment

Question: How might Caring for Palliative Patients like Anthony affect the Registered Nurse? and What are the self-care strategies for the Registered Nurse working in a Palliative Environment? Answer: With ageing process various other distressing symptoms affect older people with protracted illness which eventually decreases the quality of life and increases morbidity. Delivering care to dying-patient is tough for the nurse emotionally and may be distressing in response to suffering and pain of their patient. Nurses who care face an increased threat of developing sympathy fatigue and burnouts which negatively affect patient care. The care has to be patient-centric and more emphasis has to be given on to psychological and social mode of treatment than to medical interventions. This may result in better patient satisfaction and improve life quality by reducing anxiety. It will also include setting of goals for care planning and management of patients health conditions. Palliative care providing nurses are regularly exposed to death of their patients in their course of work; therefore nurses require knowledge and skills to manage stress and anxiety (Peters at al., 2013). The central approach to alleviate such anxiety among nurses who provide palliative care is to encourage self-care strategies. The attitude of nurse while delivering care to the dying patient is of utmost importance. Self-care strategies include maintaining healthy lifestyle (adequate sleep and exercise), to spend quality time with family and engaging in recreational activities (Sanchez-Reilly et al., 2013). Spiritual development and balance in personal and professional life altogether aids to reduce fear and stress. Self awareness, job engagement and job satisfaction are affirmative results of health and wellbeing of nurses. The state of being overall happy and healthy helps every individual to function with optimum aptitude. References Peters, L., Cant, R., Payne, S., OConnor, M., McDermott, F., Hood, K., Shimoinaba, K. (2013). How Death Anxiety Impacts Nurses Caring for Patients at the End of Life: A Review of Literature. The Open Nursing Journal, 7, 1421. Sanchez-Reilly, S., Morrison, L. J., Carey, E., Bernacki, R., ONeill, L., Kapo, J., Thomas, J. deLima. (2013). Caring for oneself to care for others: physicians and their self-care. The Journal of Supportive Oncology, 11(2), 7581.

Physics Coursework Essay Example

Physics Coursework Essay My aim is to see how the resistance of a wire changes when you change the length. Method Diagram of set-up: Apparatus needed: Power Pack, We will write a custom essay sample on Physics Coursework specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Physics Coursework specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Physics Coursework specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Voltmeter, Ammeter, Leads, Constantan Wire, 2 Crocodile Clips, A metre ruler, Sellotape. Set-up a circuit as in the diagram above. Sellotape the wire to the metre ruler. Set the Power Pack on to 2V. Change the length of the constantan wire each time and record the ammeter and voltmeter readings. I will then calculate the resistance by dividing the voltage by the current. Fair Test I will not keep the power pack on for too long at one time because the wire will get hot and the particles may start to move around. I will keep the power pack at the same voltage all the time. I will use the same ammeter and voltmeter for the experiment and any repeats. Range To collect my results I have decided to take an ammeter and voltage reading. I am going to increase the length of the wire by 10cm each time going from 10 to a 100 cm. Prediction I predict that the longer the wire the more resistance it will have. I think this because the longer the wire the more particles there are for the electrons to bang into. When the electrons bang into the particles they lose energy. Preliminary Checking that I can get a reading from the two ends of my range. I can get a reading for a 100cm, I got 0.44 amps and 1.4 volts. For 10cm though I can only get a voltmeter reading of 0.6 volts. The current is too high for the meter to measure. So I have decided to change my ammeter to one that goes up to 5 amps instead of 1. On the new ammeter I still get the same readings for a 100cm as before. But I now get a reading for 10cm of being 0.6 amps. Detailed Theory Resistivity gives a constant value for a material, so that you can compare different materials. The resistance of 2 different wires is not necessarily the same. Resistance depends on: Its length (l) Its cross-sectional area (A) The material of which it is made ? is the resistivity of the material from which the wire is made of. It says that for the constantan wire that I am using ? should equal 4.9 X 10à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ m. When I get my results I will check them against this figure to tell how accurate they are. So to my results tables I have added the column length divided by area which is the other part that I need to work this out as well as the resistance. RESULTS Ist time Length of Wire (cm) Voltage (volts) Current (Amps) Resistance (ohms) 10 0.8 2.0 0.4 20 1.0 1.5 0.7 30 1.2 1.2 1.0 40 1.3 1.0 1.3 50 1.4 0.8 1.8 60 1.4 0.8 1.8 70 1.5 0.7 2.1 80 1.5 0.6 2.5 90 1.5 0.5 3.0 100 1.6 0.4 4.0 Ist Repeats Length of Wire (cm) Voltage (volts) Current (Amps) Resistance (ohms) 10 0.8 2.0 0.4 20 1.0 1.4 0.7 30 1.2 1.1 1.1 40 1.3 1.0 1.3 50 1.3 0.8 1.6 60 1.4 0.7 2.0 70 1.5 0.6 2.5 80 1.5 0.6 2.5 90 1.6 0.5 3.2 100 1.6 0.5 3.2 Comparing my two lots of results I still think that there are some which dont quite look right so I have decided to do one more set of repeats. 2nd Repeats Length of Wire (cm) Voltage (volts) Current (Amps) Resistance (ohms) 10 0.7 1.9 0.4 20 1.0 1.4 0.7 30 1.1 1.1 1.0 40 1.2 0.9 1.3 50 1.3 0.8 1.6 60 1.4 0.7 2.0 70 1.4 0.6 2.3 80 1.5 0.6 2.5 90 1.5 0.5 3.0 100 1.5 0.3 5.0 In working out my averages for resistance I decided to leave out the result I got for 100cms of wire on my 2nd repeats (5.0 ohms) because from comparing my results I think it is an anomaly. Averages Length of Wire (cm) Resistance (ohms) Length divided by Area (metres) 10 0.4 628760.269 20 0.7 1257520.538 30 1.0 1886280.807 40 1.3 2515041.076 50 1.7 3143801.345 60 1.9 3772561.614 70 2.3 4401321.883 80 2.5 5030082.152 90 3.1 5658842.421 100 3.6 6287602.690 I have now worked out the average resistance and the average length divided by area. So I now have everything I need to compare my results to the figures I got from the book. Graphs CONCLUSION My results show me that the longer the piece of wire is, the more resistance there will be. This is what I predicted would happen in my prediction. I think this happened because the more wire there is the more particles there are to bang into, which slows down the electrons. I also found that Resistance and Length are proportional, I could tell this by the straight line of best fit that I got on my first graph. From my 2nd graph I took the gradient of the line of best fit this represented the Resistivity of a constantan wire. I got 0.00000052m the book says for a constantan wire the resistivity should be 0.00000049 metres. Comparing these figures I would say that my results were quite accurate as the difference is 0.0000003m. EVALUATION From my method I was able to easily achieve a set of results. I think that the method I chose to use was quite reliable. If I were to do this investigation again I would come up with a better way of doing it though to get more accurate results because the wire kept bending so I am not sure that the distances we measured at were very precise. As I mentioned before I think that I only had one anomaly and did not use this in working out my averages. I think we got this anomaly because near to the end of the investigation we started to rush becoming a bit more careless, maybe living the power pack on which would of increased the resistance because the wire would have been hotter. Firm conclusions that I can make are: * The longer the wire the more resistance there will be. * Resistance and Length are proportional. * Resistivity of a constantan wire is about 4.9 X 10 metres.

Homosexuality and Single-Sex Schools

Homosexuality and Single-Sex Schools Unfortunately, for many American students, insults and accusations are part of everyday life. All to often, students, as young as elementary school, are faced with criticism and judgment from their peers, and despite great efforts by many, there are still people in our country who are not the diverse, tolerant people wed like to surround ourselves with on a daily basis. This unfortunate truth means that some students look elsewhere to find supportive and welcoming environments for their middle and high school educations. This is where private school comes into play, as many private schools embrace the many facets of diversity that exist within students, creating vibrant communities unlike what most high school students embrace. However, there is debate among many about the role of single-sex schools when it comes to homosexuality. While some believe that schools that cater to just one gender provide a supportive place for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students, others believe that these schools  have a hidden side effect: they promote homosexuality. Scientific Studies Surprisingly, there are few scientific studies available to provide conclusive evidence, but no limit to personal opinions. The debate topics include whether or not single-sex schools promote gender stereotypes, if homosexuality is learned or genetic and, particularly, how single-sex schools may impact students if it homosexuality is, in fact, learned. Debate.com has a page dedicated to whether or not single-sex schools promote homosexuality. The outcome of those who have contributed to date shows a majority of debaters (59 percent) feel that single-sex schools do not promote homosexuality. Many single-sex school graduates claim that their experiences, be it high school or even college, were empowering and helped them grow as individuals. Others agree, but say that they discovered their gender identity in that environment because it was the first time they were allowed to experience something different than the stereotypes they grew up with of only male-female couples being acceptable. Unfortunately, for many children stereotypes are all they see in their daily lives and become what they understand simply because they are not exposed to diverse views. Most certainly, no child wants to be intimidated or ostracized simply because they are different. These difference sometimes mean that students are subject to bullying by peers who dont understand or accept them, and these actions can be especially harsh when adults look the other way or are not present. While some claim that single-sex schools promote gender stereotypes, others adamantly disagree, stating that the single-sex school breaks down the stereotypes and better educates students on a more diverse set of viewpoints. The Value of an Open and Affirming Culture What many people dont know is that boys and girls schools often  play to the strengths of students. These open and affirming cultures can provide better support, counseling, and education, empowering students to embrace who they are more than ever. When students can walk around their school community openly without fear of discrimination or bullying, they are able to grow as individuals and achieve more success. Both boys and girls have to deal with their sexuality, understanding their feelings and inclinations mean and how to handle them. If they havent thought of it themselves, the American entertainment industry will certainly put all those gender debates and discussions right under their noses. What any good private school is able to do is to provide some serious mentoring and discussion of issues like teenage sexuality. The tightly wrapped sense of community which most of these schools have makes young people feel comfortable discussing these and other issues. Teens are under enormous stress under normal conditions. Add to the mix worries about sexuality and grades and you potentially have a recipe for extreme measures of dealing with the stress. For some, this can lead to eating disorders, cutting, or even suicide. Heed the warning signs, no matter how insignificant you think they may be, and talk to someone if there are concerns about the physical, mental, or emotional health of a child. If students feel as though they cannot confront their classmates, they should alert an adult and make sure she follows through. Supporting a peer struggling with an issue often means going against their wishes to deal with issues privately in favor of getting help from a qualified individual.   Edited by Stacy Jagodowski

What is the marketing of Pampers diaper product and why is it marketed Assignment

What is the marketing of Pampers diaper product and why is it marketed in this way - Assignment Example The brand of Pampers always tried to maintain a strong relationship with its target customers and so desired to offer highly innovative products at a competitive price. In order to fulfil such strategy, it introduced pamper diapers for the babies of varying sizes. However, in order to enhance the position of the products in the market, it used varied techniques such as: Sampling program-in order to position the new product, pampers used to offer gif samples to the mothers. By doing so, the reliability and loyalty of the customers might get enhanced that might prove effective for the new product; diapers. Vigorous advertising- in order to market the new product, Pampers offered higher concentration over the process of advertising. However, it is done in order to enhance the level of awareness of the customers thereby amplifying the total sale and profitability of the brand. But it mainly focused on television advertisements, newspaper advertisements highlighting clean and comfortable nights, long sound-sleep day times. By doing so, the brand might enhance its position and brand image of its products in the market and within the minds of the customers. The product of diapers is marketed in the above mentioned fashion in order to analyse and evaluate the purchasing behaviour of the target customers. Apart from this, by doing so, the brand might analyse, which segment (newborn, extra protect, night, fresh comforts and wipes) is highly preferred by the customers. Along with this, the brand might also evaluate, which segments presents the highest sale and revenue among others. By doing so, the brand of Pampers might offer high concentration over that specific segment thereby amplifying its consistency and loyalty in the market among other segments. This might help the brand of Pampers to enhance its market demand and reliability in the market thereby fading the popularity of its competitor; Huggies (Pampers, 2014). Other than this,

Cenozoic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cenozoic - Essay Example Solar radiation change was one of the prime causes of this glaciation during the Cenozoic Period. The later part of this glaciation took place in the high altitudes. Some of the main landforms on this planet were created during this particular period. Among them the mentionable ones are: Tibetan Plateau, Andes and the Himalayas. (Menzies 47) The Mesozoic Extinction survivors continued to live during the Cenozoic Period. This was the time when modern birds appeared for the first time during of their evolutionary journey. Savanna grasslands were seen in many parts of the world. Most of the vertebrates lived in the sea. However, there were insect eaters and herbivores in the lands. A complete extinction of the dinosaurs took place on the course of Cenozoic Period. The Scablands was the main creation in the state of Washington by the flood from Lake Missoula in the Cenozoic Period. The floodwater went to Pacific Ocean from Lake Missoula during this age. According to the records, the rate of flow of this water was 60 times more than the regular flow of Amazon water. The Eastern Washington was entirely flooded by the water which rushed throughout the land at a speed of about 50 miles per hour. Today, the 'Scablands' is the main evidence of this phase in the state of Washington. Cenozoic Period is considered as the recent most period in the world. Therefore surprises with evidences of this era are still found on our planet. One such incident took place in Denmark when a fossil of Cenozoic parrot was discovered there. The wingspan of this parrot is said to be about 20 feet. Northwestern Jutland is the place where the fossil has been discovered. According to the scientists, the fossil belongs to a time period, which is almost 55 million years from now. They have also said that this is one of the oldest parrot species that have been discovered so far. The genus of this parrot, according to the researchers, is known to be Mopsitta. However, the men who discovered it have named it "Danish Blue". (United Press International 2008) References 1. Fossils. University of Waikato, 2008, retrieved from: http://sci.waikato.ac.nz/evolution/FossilCenozoic.shtml on November 17, 2008 2. Age of Mammals: Cenozoic. Te Era, 2005, retrieved from: http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/Geology/Fossils/4/en on November 17, 2008 3. Menzies, John. Modern and Past Glacial Environments: Revised Student Edition. Butterworth-Heinemann. 2002. 4. "Cenozoic Fossil Parrot Found in Denmark". United Press Inter

Carrolls Pyramid Of Corporate Social Responsibility Model Accounting Essay

Carrolls Pyramid Of Corporate Social Responsibility Model Accounting Essay In the past, the common perception of a business responsibility was to maximize their firms profit. This is because businesses were perceived to always put the shareholder interests first. However, businesses are moving towards impacting the socials and environments. Several research have found that businesses now have direct responsibilities to various other stakeholders which include preventing the harm of human rights and ensuring that there are solutions available if abuses occur (Smith, Wokutch, Harrington, and Dennis, 2001). The modern view of business responsibility demands companies to help in problems relating to public welfare. As firms have no utmost responsibility for these unpleasant situations, philanthropic responsibilities are still not mandatory. However, due to a decrease of social institutions that provide help to the communities, people have higher expectations towards company and believe that they should take part in filling up the shortages (Carroll, 1979). Carroll has proposed a CSR concept, which states the organizations 4 business responsibilities (i) economic, (ii) Legal, (iii) Ethical, and (iv) Discretionary (as shown in diagram 1). These four components are complementary to each other (not mutually exclusive). Diagram 1: Carrolls Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility Model Source: Chaisurivirat, 2009. The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility: Exploring the Relationship among CSR, Attitude toward the Brand, Purchase Intention, and Persuasion Knowledge. The economic and legal responsibilities are the basic and essential element in a business. There are a few researches done to further enhance the importance of these elements (Jamali and Mirshak, 2006). Basically, economic responsibility is similar to the traditional view of a business role; which is to maximize the firms profit for their shareholders. Carroll (1979) stated that business itself is an economic unit to the society. In addition, legal responsibility is where companies are required to obey the laws and regulations set by the government or respected authorities. The conventional profit-maximizing view explored in Albert Carrs article Is Business Bluffing Ethical (Velentzas and Broni, 2010). Carr stated that making money out of a product is the businesses main role. Business is said to be like a poker game, whereby organization are to play within the set of rules of the game (Carr, 1968). Those who do not comply will not be successful in their business. The duty that they had towards employees and shareholders surpasses the other moral obligation as long as it does not go against the law (Carr, 1968). Besides that, Milton Friedmans also explained that it is essential for a firm to maximize the revenues of a shareholder by overcoming all the environmental challenges (Cheers, 2011). Similarly, Friedman (1970) reemphasize that, There is one and only one social responsibility of business is to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profit so long as it stays within the rule of the game. This can be further supported by a case of Dodge v. Ford Motor Company (Cheers, 2011). The Ford founder, Henry Ford aims to provide Ford vehicle for everyone by reducing the price. The shareholders were dissatisfied and claimed that the company should not make a profit-reducing decision. Court held that firms are primarily to bring profit to the shareholders. The company should not exercise any choices which will bring disadvantage to the shareholders. However, nowadays, the perception of a business role has changed. The businesses concern should not include only the shareholders, but also other parties or entities that would be affected by the organizations action, which refers to stakeholders (Fassin, 2008). Freeman (2012) defined stakeholders as (i) people or institutions that are affected by the corporate action, practices and decisions and also (ii) those who are related to the success of the corporation. Firms are expected to transform the profit maximization mindset to trusteeships or multifiduciary stakeholders concept, whereby the business role is now to achieve balance among the stakeholders interest by avoiding doing any harm to any individuals or groups (Goodpaster and Mathews, 1982). In addition, Carroll introduced the ethical and philanthropic responsibility. Carrolls ethical aspect refers to the societys perspective of a good behavior (Carroll, 1979). Corporation must comply with the rules and regulation set while operating. Moreover, it also includes the norms or expectations which are not written in law; in other words, the moral value and rights (Carroll, 1991). Furthermore, firms are obligated to act voluntarily beyond their business scope and rational ethical acts. This is known as the philanthropic responsibility, such as organizing or participating in charity event (Carroll, 1979). Bowen (1953) mentioned that social and philanthropic responsibility would serve as a guideline for the business in the future. Nowadays, most businesses believe that they should be more social responsible towards the society and environment and hence, criticisms arises over the traditional perspective. For example, some critics disagreed that business is a game, as it is a needed component in the society. Besides that, the competitions between different businesses are involuntary, which would involve and influence many other stakeholders, such as government and local communities (Kirkpatrick, 2002). Therefore, institutions are said to be accountable to the stakeholders. They need to pay back to the society for what they have done and thus, provide reasonable explanation to the stakeholders. Accountability vs Accounting According to Blagescu, Casas, and Lloyd (2005), accountability is the processes through which an organization makes a commitment to respond to and balance the needs of stakeholders in its decision-making processes and activities, and delivers against this commitment. As mentioned before, todays corporations also have responsibilities to other stakeholders, such as the society. Therefore, corporations have the obligation to be accountable to those stakeholders (Brennan and Solomon, 2008). An accountability framework, Global Accountability Project (GAP) (as shown in diagram 2), was developed by One World Trust with a purpose of generating wider commitment to the values and principles of accountability among global organizations (Blagescu, et.al, 2005). In the case of GAR, it can be seen that they have indeed put in efforts to increase their accountability to their stakeholders, especially in relation to social and environmental aspects. Diagram 2 Global Accountability Project (GAP) Framework Source: Blagescu, Casas, and Lloyd (2005). Pathways to Accountability: The GAP Framework. According to GAP framework, there are four dimensions that are important for increasing and evaluating accountability of organizations. First is the transparency. Transparency is that stakeholder can access to credible and timely information about the organizations operations (Blagescu, et.al, 2005). To be transparent, organizations must do more than simply disclose commonly standardized information. In other words, it needs to provide more useful and needed information for the stakeholders for decision-making. Organizations should be focusing on the quality of the information disclosed, instead of the quantity (Hassan and Marston, 2010). GAR disclosed important information for their stakeholders. For example, they announce that they will partner with TFT for forest conservation while building shareholders value (Golden Agri Resources Ltd, 2011b). The second dimension is participation. It means that the organizations allow those key stakeholders to be involved in the decision-making process and activities which would influence them (Blagescu, et.al, 2005). GAR does fulfill their accountability obligation in this dimension. They have been working hard to engage with their stakeholders, such as their customer, Nestle, in order to improve the performances (Harvey, 2011). Furthermore, evaluation is another essential part of organizations accountability. It involves the evaluation and monitoring of both end results and the ongoing progress of the organizations activities (Blagescu, et.al, 2005). This dimension plays two significant roles in accountability. It reports the performances against expectations after an event in order to supply crucial information to stakeholders; it also increases accountability by learning and increasing organizational responsiveness to stakeholders (McKenna, 1983). In fact, GARs performances in relation to sustainability development are evaluated and monitored by few external independent organizations, such as Greenpeace (Harvey, 2011). Additionally, the dimension of complain and response mechanisms is for both organizations and stakeholders to seek and receive feedbacks from each other in order to increase accountability (Blagescu, et.al, 2005). For instance, GAR takes into account the responses of customers, such as Nest le (Harvey, 2011). Although the interpretations of accountability are very wide and are limited only by imagination, accountability is always found to have links with the provision and receipt of financial information in many accounting literatures (Narasimha Rao and Raghavendra, 2011). Due to the rapid climate change, undeniably, accounting and the environment are no longer mutually exclusive (Andrew, 2001). In fact, accounting had long been treated as just a technique used to provide financial information for stakeholders (Bushman and Smith, 2001). Normally, people will assume that all the accounting information is just financial. However, a modern accounting concept should also include some green issues in order to increase organizations transparency (Andrew, 2001). Besides, accounting system can also help the stakeholders in evaluating the organizational performances as it could provide them with relevant information (Perrini and Tencati, 2006). It is not surprising that accounting can actually be used to increase organizations accountability. Overall, increasing accountability is important for organizations, including GAR. GAR was required to increase their degree of accountability, especially to those external key stakeholders. This is because According to The Straits Times (2010), GAR had deforested illegally before in Indonesia. In order to meet the expectations of the stakeholders, GAR started to be committed in the conservation of forests and peatlands in Indonesia. There are two main actions taken by GAR to do so. Firstly, GAR has signed a forest-conservation agreement with TFT, a non-government organization (NGO). Also, GAR starts to disclose their social and environmental performances in annual report (Golden Agri Resources Ltd, 2011b). GAR published their inaugural sustainability report in 2011, after their illegal deforestation activity was discovered to the society (The Straits Times, 2010). All these signs indicate that GAR is bowing to the pressure from the NGOs and external stakeholders (Harvey, 2011). In fact, there are some conceptual theories which could provide an explanation for the sudden changes made by GAR. These organizational practices changes in GAR could be explained using Legitimacy Theory. This theory asserts that organizations seek to ensure that their activities and operations are perceived to be legitimate by the society and stakeholders (Deegan, 2011). Legitimate could be said as a social construct based on cultural norms for organizations behaviors (Suchman, 1995). Therefore, organizations have to be committed to the social contract between the companies and the society to gain recognition. Social contract could be roughly defined as the implicit and explicit expectations that the society has on the organizations (Deegan, 2011). In fact, failing to commit to the social contract would be perceived as not legitimate, and eventually will bring negative impacts to the companies, such as difficult to obtain resources and supports from the society to continue the operations. Thus, legitimacy is an important component for the organizations as it is considered as a precious intangible resource which organizations rely on in order to survive (ODonovan, 2002). Corporations could actually establish their legitimacy by information disclosures (Suchman, 1995). Through the disclosure of information in relation to social and environmental performance, the company would gain the societys trust. Consequently, it will be beneficial to the company in ways, such as improving companys reputation and establish competitive advantages (Porter and Kramer, 2006). As a result, GARs changes their organizational practice by starting the publication of sustainability report. Besides that, Stakeholder Theory could also be used to gain an understanding of why GAR responds to NGOs in this manner. One of the branches of Stakeholder Theory, ethical perspective, adopts a normative position; that organizations should consider the rights and interest of all the stakeholders, regardless of their powers and influences on the company (Deegan, 2011). According to Freeman and Reed (1983), stakeholders are any parties that are affected by the organizations operations. Usually, organizations would try to meet the stakeholders expectations and be accountable to them by providing and disclosing organizational information (Gray, Kouhy, and Lavers, 1995). Therefore, it is believed that this might be one of the reasons why GAR alters their organizational practice. Undeniably, bowing to the pressure from stakeholders is a good start for GAR. Committing to CSR, disclosing social and environmental performance records, and being more accountable are indeed beneficial to GAR themselves and also their stakeholders. It is also important to note that accountability and transparency are one of the essential factors in enhancing the organizations sustainability development (Global Public Policy Institute, 2005). Sustainability development is generally defined as to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). Golden-Agri Resources Ltd (GAR)s Sustainability Report Currently, there is no any legal law or regulation states that organizations have to disclose their social and environmental aspects. However, voluntary disclosures would bring favorable impacts to both internal and external stakeholders. Therefore, many corporations start making voluntary disclosures, so does GAR (Cheynel, 2012). In fact, GAR published their inaugural sustainability report for a purpose of providing the stakeholders a better understanding of the companys priorities, performances, and stakeholder engagement process (Golden Agri Resources Ltd, 2011b). GARs sustainability reports standard was assessed at application level B, based on an internationally established reporting framework (shown in diagram 3) developed by Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) (Golden Agri Resources Ltd, 2011c). This framework was designed to provide organizations with a set of principles for defining report content and ensuring the quality of the reported information (Global Reporting Initiativ e, 2000). Diagram 3 Global Reporting Iniative (GRI) Framework Source: Global Reporting Initiative, Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (https://www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/G3.1-Sustainability-Reporting-Guidelines.pdf) Diagram 4 Global Reportive Initiative (GRI) Principles for Reporting Source: Institut fur Wirtschaftsinformatik, GRI Principles (http://www.iwi.uni-hannover.de/upload/lv/sosem10/Seminar_SS_2010/SS10/Seminararbeit/torres/www/measuring2.html) According to the GRIs framework, there are 4 principles (Materiality, Stakeholder Inclusiveness, Sustainability Context, and Completeness) (shown in diagram 4) for defining the report content (Global Reporting Initiative, 2000). The materiality principle requires corporations to address the most important and concerning issues to their stakeholders. The major current concerning issue for GAR and their stakeholders is deforestation in Indonesia (Harvey, 2011). This is because GAR had cleared the forests illegally before in Indonesia, as mentioned before. In addition, this deforestation act is destroying the livelihood of the habitat there. The stakeholders, such as Indonesia government, local communities, and even those NGOs are therefore showing their concerns on this issue badly (Harvey, 2011). In GARs sustainability report, it focused on disclosing information about policies of preventing deforestation. For example, they state that they would have a no-deforestation footprint in In donesian rainforest by partnering with NGO, TFT to launch Forest Conservation Policy (FCP) (Golden Agri Resources Ltd, 2011b). Overall, it is believed that the report content is fairly material. Furthermore, GARs sustainability report does fulfill the principle of stakeholder inclusiveness. One of the main disclosures is their multi-stakeholder engagement process (Golden Agri Resources Ltd, 2011b). For examples, engaging NGOs, customers, and local communities to address the interests those stakeholders have in order to achieve their expectations and sustainability development. Moreover, the underlying question of a sustainability report is how organizations plan to contribute in the future to improve economic, environmental, and social developments at both local and global level (Global Reporting Initiative, 2000). This is related to the principle of sustainability context. The report discloses that GAR is committed to a holistic approach towards sustainability, as it is always looking at methods to increase productivity while reducing negative impacts on its land. One of its sustainability policies, Yield Improvement Policy (YIP), is focused on plantation management and land suitability (Global Reporting Initiative, 2000). This shows that GARs voluntary disclosures do meet the requirement of sustainability context. Besides that, the information GAR discloses includes all significant actions or events within the reporting period; which fulfills the principle of completeness. However, it can be seen in the report that data and statistics regarding to enviro nment and sustainability performances are insufficient. Furthermore, there is limited alignment between the sustainability report and overall business strategy. Lack of all these information could affect the completeness of the report (KPMG, 2008). Apart from the content aspect, the quality of the sustainability report is also an important element. Balance, comparability, timeliness, accuracy, and reliability are the 5 principles used to test the report quality (shown in diagram 4). GARs report does not really meet the balance principle as they mostly disclose favorable aspects of the organizations performance while there is lack of unfavorable results and topics. This could affect stakeholders assessment and decision making adversely. Besides that, the comparability principle is irrelevant to the report as this is the inaugural sustainability report for GAR. Therefore, it cannot be used by the stakeholders to compare with its past performance (Global Reporting Initiative, 2000). Other than these, the report does meet the accuracy and reliability principle. Qualitative statements in the report are valid only if it is based on the basis of other reported information and evidences (Global Reporting Initiative, 2000). GAR does pro vide other evidences and information to increase the accuracy and reliability of their reports. Overall, GARs sustainability report is believed to have met the reporting standard requirements set by GRI. Nevertheless, the quality of the report can be improved through the compliance of accounting standards. Accounting Standards Accounting standards (AS) are defined as a policy set by authorities such as accounting body, government or regulatory body to regulate the accounting transactions in the financial statement (The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, 2011). As globalization emerges, the business world realizes the importance of having a common standard in the financial aspect. A survey conducted by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) shows that majority of the leaders from accounting fields support the idea of having common international standards as part of economic growth (Private Company Financial Report, 2008). Thus, the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) developed the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) (Cellucci, 2011). IFRS aims to serve as a regulation for financial reporting which can be exercised equally throughout the world (Ball, 2006). One of the advantages of IFRS is that it provides a principle-based framework with better quality. In addition, there are lesser regulation and exception as compared to the other standards such as General Accepted Accounting Principle. By adopting IFRS, a more professional judgment is being introduced which helps to reduce the risk faced by the company. There is also more transparency in the economic transactions (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2007). However, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) states that the standards in IFRS are highly inadequate compare to some accounting standards (Cellucci, 2011). For instance, the General Accepted Accounting Principle (GAAP) is considered to be the gold standard in US (Private Company Financial Report, 2008). The Staffs interpretation of GAAP includes some disclosures of environmental issues on contingent liabilities. This is to recognize the contingent losses and to acknowledge the different accounting practices and disclosure on contingent liability (Roberts, 1995). However, IASB reported that environmental issues reporting are not within the scope of IFRS (Yara C, Nelson, and Bruna, 2008). Thus, it shows that IFRS are still not compatible with other standards like GAAP in the social and environment accounting aspect (Center for Audit Quality, 2009). Besides that, there are several studies which reported that there are limitations in the role of accounting standards. This includes ensuring the reporting quality as well as the emphasis on the firms incentive in reporting (Ball, Kothari, and Robin, 1998; Ball, Robin, and Joanna, 2002; Leuz, 2003; Ball and Shivakumar, 2004). The application of the accounting standards involves significant judgments and usage of private data. Thus, substantial discretion is provided by any accounting standards to a firm. However, the quality of how the firm behaves depends on the incentive in reporting, such as the market forces and legal institutions (Daske, Hail, Leuz, and Verdi, 2008). The institutions have the right to choose the information that they want to disclose. Hence, an accounting standard for better sustainable development should meet the needs of the users by encouraging feedbacks and comments. Similarly to other accounting standards, IFRS do not record all the effect of economic action (SIGMA, 2003). For instance, externalities, such as the costs and benefit which do not affect the organization directly, are not included in the financial reports. Costs and benefit should be included to provide a better market-based decision making (SIGMA, 2003). For example, the emission of petrol will cause climate changes and air pollution. These consequences are considered as the original cost to the society in the present and future. However, these costs are not reflected in the fuel price. Positive externalities are those that would be beneficial to the society. This shows that the present accounting standard does not have sufficient regulation that enables the firms to relate to the sustainable development aspect. For a company to achieve sustainable development, one should balance the economic, social and environmental impacts in their decision-making. This includes the analysis of the positive and negative impacts of the three dimensions on policy changes, and identifying the outcomes which would benefit one party and harm the other parties as well as the proper precaution steps to minimize negative impact (Bebbington, 2000). The analysis on past principles focuses more on economic impact (Kirkpatrick, George, and Curran, 2001). Rio Principle 4 states that it is essential for environmental aspect to be integrated as part of the development process while Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) principle 3 recognized the importance of integrating the 3 dimension policy and purpose (Janeiro, 1992). Overall, the current accounting standards are inadequate in maintaining a companys sustainable development. Therefore, many efforts have been done to integrate the economic, social and environment policy. For instance, Global Reporting Initiative, the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, Global Initiative for Sustainable Rating and others have been created. This shows that our current standards are not capable to ensure companies, such as GAR, to commit to sustainability development. Hence, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) is launched to create sustainable accounting standards for the users (Deloitte, 2012). This will include the disclosures of sustainability issues which enable investors and public to have a better decision making. The SASB developed a Sustainable Industry Classification System (SICS) to create a sustainable accounting standards that suits different industry (Deloitte, 2012). As a conclusion, apart from profit maximization, organizations play a major role in the community. Organizations should also disclose social and environmental factors in their financial reports. Thus, GAR is held accountable to the Indonesian forests and peats as well as all the stakeholders. They should maintain environmental disclosure in their financial reporting for all stakeholders. However, besides GAR, the regulators and professional bodies also play a big role in ensuring organizations to be more committed to sustainable development. This can be done by creating adequate sustainable accounting standards for the organizations.