Strategic Management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategic Management - Coursework Example â€Å"Performance consensus† according to the journal is a neutral factor that is crucial to both strategic approaches. The size of the firm, influence of the CEO and uncertain operational environment of the company restrain strategy making approach of the firm. Before settling on any particular strategy, it is important to conduct a cost-benefit-analysis so as to determine the combined possible benefits of both rather than focus on one strategy. Dynamic business world demands that organizations utilize emergent strategy, which makes performance consensus a significant success driver in the implementation thereof. In concurrence with the journal, it is true that utilizing the relevant strategy ensures flexibility of managers. The article facilitates the process of strategy formulation in firms by providing adequate information needed for the entire process. Mintzberg, H 1990, â€Å"The design school: reconsidering the basic premises of strategic management,† Strategic M anagement Journal, Vol. 11, PP 171-195. ... The author critically examines the design school model exposing its strengths and weakness. According to this design, leadership in an organization has the responsibility of determining organizational goals and essential tasks that must be undertaken to achieve the desired position of the firm. In this school of thought, the following premises hold: strategy formulation should be a managed and cognizant process. Second, the main strategist is the CEO, the model used must be straightforward, the strategy should be exclusive, the strategies should be communicated and they become implemented after complete formulation. The authors argue that the design school model is riddled with false assumptions and is often out of context. Both relevant structure and strategy determine organizational success. Despite many criticisms about the design school model, it still remains popular with many organisations and provides useful understanding into managerial concepts and practices. However, it is most likely to be outdated, particularly concerning modern business application. Ansoff, H 1991, â€Å"Critique of Henry Mintzberg's 'The design school: reconsidering the basic premises of strategic management’,† Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 12, PP 449-461. Ansoff in 1991 assessed Mintzberg’s (1990) critique of the ‘design school’ of strategic management based on two conditions: procedural reliability and factual authenticity. In his work, Mintzberg critique lacks both criteria. His own suggestion for the fundamental philosophy of strategic management falls in the same analytical criteria. According to Ansoff, Mintzberg’s clarification lacks methodology and his descriptive as well as prescriptive affirmations are contradictory to the contemporary management practices.

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle - Essay Example Aristotle rejected Plato's notion and brought about the foundation of modern logic, which is syllogism. Aristotle did not accept that something was true just because someone said so. He was interested in why it was true. From Aristotle's complex system of inquiry have evolved the tools of modern logic and empirical study, using both induction and deduction in the material world. To Aristotle, nothing can be more than what it is designed to be. Socrates was the consummate lover of the soul. He abhorred the senses, discounting them as biological demands standing in the way of the attainment of true knowledge. His concern was focused on enlightenment rather than inquiry, since the senses could not be trusted to yield anything unbiased. Plato took these concepts and added the components of mathematics and astronomy as the keys to true knowledge. Plato's love of mathematics, astronomy and geometry led him to believe that the pursuit of these subjects was fundamental to any other instruction. His methods for acquiring knowledge did not include empirical observation; rather, he favored abstract concepts. Aristotle agreed with Plato to a point, but took it a step further in adding the necessity of gathering data and empirical study. He is credited with being the founder of modern methods of scientific research. Socrates held fast to the idea that the highest love is personal

Milgram's Experiments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Milgram's Experiments - Essay Example After World War II, in the Nuremberg War Crimes trials, a common defense of those accused of these crimes against humanity was "obedience.". The prevalence of this justification is what prompted Stanley Milgram to perform his experiments. Milgram's experiments focused on the conflict between obedience to authority and a person's conscience. Milgram recruited participants through newspaper advertisements calling for anyone interested in getting paid for participating in an experiment supposedly intending to determine the effect of punishment on learning. The participant (the subject) is introduced to a stern-looking experimenter in a white coat and to a second 'participant' that the subject understands was recruited in the same way that he was. This second participant, who is pleasant and friendly to the subject, is actually an accomplice of the experimenter. Under the directions of the experimenter the subject, given the role of "teacher", is made to inflict electric shocks of increasing power for every mistake that the other "participant" (the "learner") makes in answering some questions. The experimenter and the teacher are in the same room while the learner is in an adjoining room. 65% of the teachers obeyed all orders and went to the maximum of 450 volts administered to the learner, even though most of the subjects were extremely uncomfortable in delivering the punishment. None of the subjects stopped "punishing" before reaching 300 volts.

Essay --

During exercise, in order to obtain energy, muscles have to burn carbohydrates and lipids, which causes the production of heat. The increase in metabolism during exercise increases the body’s core temperature (Burton, 2004). Circulating blood flow is used to transport the excessive metabolic heat produced by the working muscles. The heat is transported to the surface of the body and it is released to the environment. Radiation, convection or by evaporation of sweat, are the three main ways the body gets rid of excessive heat (Fortney, 1985). The hypothalamic neurons control the body temperature (Soare, etl,2011). These neurons modulate the autonomic and hormonal control of heat production and heat loss. This allows for the constant maintenance of core body temperature when the environment temperature changes (Soare, etl,2011). When the core body temperature is at an ideal temperature, the internal organs and the bodily systems work at their best. The ideal temperature to be at is 98.6 F. Having it below 96 F or over 100 F the organs and systems will not work properly. Exercise sessions performed 2-3 times a week can help improve cardiovascular fitness (White, 2013). Not being active enough increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other disorders. Over time, exercise reduces cardiovascular risk, reduces blood pressure and decreases insulin resistance (Cohen, 2013). The cardiovascular system is a direct beneficiary of increased physical activity. Exercise can minimize the effects of aging on the cardiovascular system and improve circulation, heart function, blood fat lipid levels, and reduce blood pressure. On the other hand, people who live a sedentary life are more prone to cardiovascular disease (Exercise for ... ...s that exercise will have on the body. Oxygen demand increases when doing a physical activity. This causes the person to breath heavy. During exercise, the respiratory rate will elevate and might remain elevated after heavy exercise for up to 1–2 h. During strenuous exercise, the heart rate and stroke volume increase to about 90% of their maximum values. The body can never use oxygen at a higher rate than the rate at which the cardiovascular system can transport oxygen to the tissues (Burton, 2004). Staying physically fit will lose body fat, increase energy, and improve confidence (Bergen, 2013). To prevent weight gain, 150-250 minutes of moderate exercise a week is recommended. People that exercise have decrease in body fat and an increase in quality of life. Their energy level was also measured and they scored higher than the controlled group (Burnham, 2002). Essay -- During exercise, in order to obtain energy, muscles have to burn carbohydrates and lipids, which causes the production of heat. The increase in metabolism during exercise increases the body’s core temperature (Burton, 2004). Circulating blood flow is used to transport the excessive metabolic heat produced by the working muscles. The heat is transported to the surface of the body and it is released to the environment. Radiation, convection or by evaporation of sweat, are the three main ways the body gets rid of excessive heat (Fortney, 1985). The hypothalamic neurons control the body temperature (Soare, etl,2011). These neurons modulate the autonomic and hormonal control of heat production and heat loss. This allows for the constant maintenance of core body temperature when the environment temperature changes (Soare, etl,2011). When the core body temperature is at an ideal temperature, the internal organs and the bodily systems work at their best. The ideal temperature to be at is 98.6 F. Having it below 96 F or over 100 F the organs and systems will not work properly. Exercise sessions performed 2-3 times a week can help improve cardiovascular fitness (White, 2013). Not being active enough increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other disorders. Over time, exercise reduces cardiovascular risk, reduces blood pressure and decreases insulin resistance (Cohen, 2013). The cardiovascular system is a direct beneficiary of increased physical activity. Exercise can minimize the effects of aging on the cardiovascular system and improve circulation, heart function, blood fat lipid levels, and reduce blood pressure. On the other hand, people who live a sedentary life are more prone to cardiovascular disease (Exercise for ... ...s that exercise will have on the body. Oxygen demand increases when doing a physical activity. This causes the person to breath heavy. During exercise, the respiratory rate will elevate and might remain elevated after heavy exercise for up to 1–2 h. During strenuous exercise, the heart rate and stroke volume increase to about 90% of their maximum values. The body can never use oxygen at a higher rate than the rate at which the cardiovascular system can transport oxygen to the tissues (Burton, 2004). Staying physically fit will lose body fat, increase energy, and improve confidence (Bergen, 2013). To prevent weight gain, 150-250 minutes of moderate exercise a week is recommended. People that exercise have decrease in body fat and an increase in quality of life. Their energy level was also measured and they scored higher than the controlled group (Burnham, 2002).

Ikea’s Organizational Behavior

INTRO: IKEA is known for its strong organizational values, which are based on Swedish norms and in particular the opinions and values of the founder himself. It is not unusual to see IKEA employees following the norms and values even outside the working hours, but how important is OB really for IKEA? IKEA’S BRIEF HISTORY 1940-1950 A Swedish 17-year-old man named Ingvar Kampard founded Ikea in 1943. It all began with the Ikea catalogue that was sent from house to house, which is still known today as Ikeas signature. In 1948 the range of IKEA products extended to furniture and by 1958 the first store is opened. 960-1970 By the end of the seventies, Ikea manages to not only open stores all over Europe, but in Canada and Australia as well. 1980s The large cash flow start coming in once Ikea enters the US in1985. By this time IKEA has 10,000 co-workers and 60 stores. Ingvar Kampard retires from Group Management and becomes an advisor to the parent company INGKA Holding B. V. 1990s In 90s IKEA expands in Eastern Europe as well as China. In 1990 the first environmental policy and social responsibility policy is introduced in IKEA.In 1997 IKEA launches Children`s furniture and becomes a retailer with offers to the entire family. By 1999 IKEA group grows to 50,000 co-workers and has 158 stores in 29 countries. 2000s In the year 2000 IKEA arrives to Moscow, Russia and same year Code of Conduct is introduced, called IKEA WAY. Following years IKEA is actively participates in world donating events and promotion of social responsibility. IKEA AT A GLANCE 287 IKEA GROUP STORES WORLDWITE In 2011 IKEA Group opened 7 new stores in 7 countries. As of 31. 08. 2011 it had 287 stores in 26 countries 13 0888 3 144 49 Top 5 purchasing countries: 1. China 22% 2. Poland 18% 3. Italy 8% 4. Sweden 5% 5. Germany 4% Top 5 Selling Countries: 1. Germany 15% 2. USA 11% 3. France 10% 4. Italy 7% 5. Sweden 6% CO -WORKERS PER FUNCTION * Purchasing, distribution, wholesale, range & other: 1 4,300 * Retail: 100,000 * Swedwood: 16,000 * Swedspan: 700 * Total co-workers in FY11 131. 000 TOTAL SALES: Sales increased by 6. 9% compared to 2010. Total sales amounted to EUR 24. 7 billion. SUPPLIERS IN 2011: 1,018 suppliers in 53 countriesPRODUCTS: The IKEA range consists of approximately 9,500 products. PRINTED CATALOGUES, LANGUAGES & EDITIONS: The IKEA catalogue was printed in more than 208 million copies in 30 languages and 59 editions. STORE VISITS: In 2011, the IKEA Group stores had 655 million visits. IKEA . COM: IKEA websites had 870 million visits in 2011 As for Ikeas competitors, there is Wal-Mart, Howden and Ashley Furniture. Company Employees According to Emil Svallingsson who is an employee at IKEA for 10 years, about 50% of the employees are proud of their jobs.The other half refers the individuals who do not share the exact same vision about the company, and need to be told how to do things and have a stereotypical â€Å"boss†, rather than be all a part of one team. Culture Center – Together In the hometown of IKEA, Almhult, there is a Culture Center called â€Å"Together†. It is a place for employees all over the world to attend education, meetings and to learn about the company culture. There is a lecture hall, access to product archives and documents, as well as exhibitions and interactive installations.Employees are stating that the center is a great help to keep their foundational values alive and that it makes them more motivated in the everyday work life. â€Å"Together† works as a meeting place for people working at IKEA as well as a place for developing employment skills. The main idea is to gather the IKEA culture in to one building. Since there are more and more warehouses build over the world, it is not always easy to keep the same values for everyone, and therefore the center is the beginning to keep the company culture as Ingvar first created it to be. Our heart is in Almhult and it's amazing to be a ble to have a cultural center here. † -Ingvar Kamprad â€Å"Together† is also a great example of their flat organizational structure. Hopes are that employees, by themselves, will get a deeper understanding for the culture and by that develop IKEAs future together. † Ikeas center provides different exercises to the employees that show the entire IKEA concept and how it works at its best; how all the employees’ jobs together create one big job structure, and how products are being made and the importance of raw materials.At IKEA, training is crucial to keep the social work environment functional. From the training sessions, the hope is to develop awareness, knowledge and responsibility. All employees receive this training in order to take charge of their own development. In general, IKEA wants to give the opportunities for co-workers to grow, both at an individual level, but also in their professional roles. In return, IKEA expects their co-workers to do the ir job as well as possible depending on their ability and experience, take responsibility, and be willing to develop and grow continually and to act in an open and straightforward manner.Workforce Diversity Gender The gender diversity at IKEA is probably among the best one's over the world. They have applied special workforce diversity programs in all departments, and are working for a continuing development. The program is based on â€Å"stomach feeling† and employee’s opinions in order to fill the positions in a fair way. In the warehouses, there is quite an equal diversity between genders. Right now, globally it is about 54% are women and 46% men. Even among the higher positioned jobs such as warehouse responsible, it's equally divided, 52. % measured to be women and 47. 5% men. However, when you are getting really high up in the working positions, such as the top board, there are no women. According to Hakan Sandman, the Marketing Director of IKEA France, the gende r diversity is very equal overall; but that it also depends on what department one is looking at. Human Resources department tend to be mostly women, as well as the Marketing department where Mr. Sandman is the only man. THE AGE DISTRIBUTION OF CO-WORKERS IN IKEAThis pie chart represents employees’ gender distribution at IKEA globally, but for example in Sweden it looks different: The age distribution in IKEA Globally: Workforce Diversity: Ethnicity Ikeas main philosophy is â€Å"The People Philosophy†: though in the past their strategy was â€Å"Swedes†, they have abandoned it in 1998 with the rise of globalization. Currently they have a lot of long-time workers from different cultures and backgrounds. IKEA sees the diversity matter as a subject for creating more challenging business atmosphere.France’s new store in Avignon has staff from 21 different nationalities. Since 1998 they have changed their recruitment base to: including everyone and not just S wedish people. Recruited staff are immediately made aware of IKEA`s cultural diversity philosophy; first day at work new staff get exercise to tell their group members something unique or different about themselves. â€Å"As a global player it is very important for IKEA to be aware of what the world looks like today, and how it will change in the future. The only common thing for all of us is that we are different.If we accept and understand this fact we can start to use this Diversity for the best of ourselves and for IKEA† (Fajtova, 2007) The corporate language of IKEA is English and in their TV commercials they feature a wide variety of different ethnicities, ages, genders and race. Holistic Responsibility: â€Å"IKEA is a leader in setting high environmental standards for its product. That means employing strict manufacturing methods and supply processes so that materials, technologies and transportation have the least amaging effects on the environment. â€Å"1  œ Rene Hausler, Partner, IKEA-San Diego Franchisee. â€Å"We consider IKEA to be setting an excellent example for other corporations to follow. IKEA is prepared to go further than just saying ‘no' to a supplier who exploits children. The company is showing a genuine interest in bringing about improvement for children by assuming a responsibility for child labour issues. â€Å"2 – Ingvar Hjartso, UNICEF Representative. It seems as if today everyone is praising Ikea, and it is not without a reason.Ikea is a remarkably socially responsible company, it sets example to so many other companies that simply are profit driven, and do nothing but destroy the eco system, or poison the environment with chemicals such as â€Å"the monstrato†. Therefore, Ikea is rewarded and recognized highly for its CSR, it has received numerous awards, including the one on April 2005, the Outstanding Sustainable Style Achievement (OSSA)3 Award for eliminating the usage of Polybrominated Di phenyl Ether (PBDE),4 a toxic fire suppressor used in manufacturing furniture.In addition, earlier in 2004, IKEA had received the BUPA Healthy Communities award for Excellence,5 an award funded by the Ministry of Health, UK. The company pays a great deal of attention to different problems in the society and the environment; this did not begin recently, for more than twenty years Ikea has been environmentally conscientious. It began in 1989 when the then president of Ikea said that the â€Å"Environment is not just a new fashion, it will not fade away, it is the new reality and we have to adapt to it. And so, in 1990 in association with Karl-Henrik Robert, was initiated The Natural Step (TNS) environmental program in IKEA. And so throughout the years, one by one it began tackling different environmental issues; waste management were the first thing that Ikea took seriously, and so each IKEA store started having an â€Å"environmental coordinator† who worked towards waste recy cling and energy conservation, and also trained employees on environmental aspects. Since 1999, IKEA has works actively to reduce waste in manufacturing. Where possible, waste from one manufacturing process was to be used in the production of other items.And it did not end there; most IKEA stores provided collection points for customers to return waste. In the recent years, Ikea has been trying hard to be environmentally friendly, and it began rewarding the same behavior in its employees. It varies throughout the Ikea’s in different countries; IKEA Poland stores provide facilities for bikes, maps of bike paths and tools to repair customer bikes, IKEA Denmark lends out bicycles equipped with trailers at its stores, IKEA UK stores offer interest free loans and a 15 percent rebate to co-workers travelling to work by public transport.And in May 2007, IKEA Canada launched a Hybrid Parking Program, rewarding customers driving a hybrid or fuel-efficient car, with a premium parking s pot. Throughout the years, Ikea’s interest rose in a better future for our children through a better environment rose; when it came to energy consumption, the company’s data showed that IKEA it consumed a huge amount of energy for electricity, but, Ikea did not simply decide to switch off the lights on earth day. The company went a step further; it tried to consciously reduce its energy consumption. Therefore, in 2003 IKEA launched a ‘Kill-a-Watt-Energy Saving Competition. The competition was open to all IKEA stores across the world and it aimed to achieve reduction in energy consumption and also to create awareness among employees regarding electricity costs. By the end of the competition, IKEA had saved energy equivalent to providing electricity to 2,000 households, or two IKEA stores for a year. From waste to energy, Ikea then focused on forestry; around 75% of the raw materials used for Ikea’s furniture, catalogs and packaging came from timber. Hence, conservation of forests was an important environmental issue. IKEA worked with groups such as Greenpeace to formulate policies for sustainable forestry.IKEA was also a member of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). As a result of consultations with these organizations, IKEA banned the usage of timber from intact natural forests. Many companies in industries, such as the diamond industry, choose to be ignorant; companies ignore or lack interest in where their diamonds come from, but often the blood diamonds that they purchase give life to more slavery. And even though there are a lot of different forms of slavery throughout the world, Ikea is one of the companies that does not tolerate it and even though child labor oes exist in countries where IKEA products are manufactured, IKEA does not accept child labor at its suppliers or their sub-contractors, and works actively to prevent it. The company has a special code of conduct called The IKEA Way on Preventing Child Labor, and monitor ing of compliance with The IKEA Way on Preventing Child Labor is done by IKEA trading service offices and with unannounced visits by KPMG to suppliers and sub-contractors in South Asia. As listen above, we can see that throughout the years Ikea has demonstrated over and over again that its responsibility goes beyond home furnishing.It undertook several projects for community development and a lot of its projects were centered on children, such as the one in August 2000, IKEA initiated the Child Rights Program in India in association with UNICEF. The project started in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and the aim of the project was to prevent child labor in ‘the carpet belt' of UP, by addressing root causes such as poverty, illiteracy and ill health. The company’s CSR extended from the community and environment, to the suppliers. Ikea did not choose to be ignorant about where their suppliers got their goods.So it launched ‘The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furn ishing Products (IWAY)' in September 2000, this way all of Ikea’s 2,000 suppliers spread across 55 countries, had the ‘code of conduct' to adhere to. Student Support Programs: Ikea helps students of all ages throughout the world; it has aligned with is Save the Children’s Early Steps to School Success (ESSS is designed to assist children with language, social and emotional development); an early reading readiness program that IKEA supports through financial and in-kind product donations.In addition, since early 2001, the IKEA Group supports one-year scholarships for students from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia to study forestry at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science in Alnarp, Sweden. The purpose of the scholarships is to support competence building in sustainable forestry in countries that are important wood sources for IKEA, and to help future forestry professionals in those countries develop relationships with each other.And it doesn’t stop there; due to the fact that many IKEA products are made with cotton, they partnered with the WWF to run Farmer Field Schools in Pakistan and India. Ikea over and over again displays its care for the society and the environment, it is because the company is not simply profit driven, it has a vision; and the vision is â€Å"to create a better everyday life for the many people. This includes doing what we can to help create a world where we take better care of the environment, the earth’s resources, and each other†. Internal Communication: Communication & EqualityThe CEO of the company has a specific culture that has been passed on since Ikea was founded, and this culture is communicated to all of the employees. She states that when she hires a â€Å"co-worker,† as IKEA terms employees, her plan is to help the person through his or her slumps. One of her greatest rewards is to see a worker she has worked with excel, and she believes all super visors and managers should serve as mentors. Every manager is also a team member, â€Å"I’m responsible but not the center of the universe. There is always someone who knows more than you do.And there are always new things that you can learn, which I think is the essence of why I work with IKEA. † Par Sundqvist Store distribution manager Sweden In Ikea a manager is not â€Å"the boss† or the one who commands and rules his department. Due to the low power distance in Sweden, Ikea was founded on the basis that everyone is equal. And based on the chart below of Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, one can see that because of the relatively low power distance in the U. S. , it was quite easy to communicate this approach to all the â€Å"co-workers† in Ikea North America. Exhibit 1.A Cultural Dimensions Theory Exhibit 2. A Cultural Dimensions Theory In Exhibit 1. A, one can see the power distance in both Sweden and the United States, though ther e may seem like there is a difference, once it is compared with Exhibit 2. A one can see that compared to countries such as China who have a high power distance, on average, the power distance is relatively the same in both the U. S and Sweden. Therefore, it can be concluded that Ikea’s Scandinavian way of doing business with the absence of the traditional â€Å"boss† was understood and quickly absorbed by Ikea North America.Equality within the company is emphasized and communicated to all of Ikea’s stakeholders; and though according to â€Å"glassdoor† Ikea employees give the company’s ability to communicate an average 3. 5 rating, they give serious leadership a poor rating of 3. 1 because according to the employees â€Å"there is a little too much equality†, employees want to be guided and told what to do a little more. It seems that not all employees are ready to be treated equality with their bosses and be all a part of one team. Based o n the latest updates on glassdoor, the company rating is a 3. ; the employees say it is â€Å"ok†. This company rating is based on eight components; career opportunities, communication, compensation & benefits, employee morale, recognition and feedback, senior leadership, work/life balance, fairness & respect. The lowest scores of 3. 1 were in career opportunities and in senior leadership. Two of the â€Å"Top Ten Reasons Why Good Employees Quit† are listed in the components that make up glassdoor’s company rating; employees have given to â€Å"Recognition and feedback† a score of 3. , and when it came to rating the â€Å"work/life balance†, IKEA employees gave the highest rating to it. Employees believe that better than anything else the company takes good care of their employee’s need of the work/life balance. Even though the rating seems to be solely satisfactory, it doesn’t truly represent the reality. Based on the rating one will assume that the company’s job demand is at a mediocre level, however, IKEA jobs are actually highly demanded; in Florida USA, IKEA had over 10 000 applicants for only 450 job.And in Sweden, Ikea ranks on the top 5 companies that university graduates want to work for. In addition, Ikea was on the â€Å"Top 200 World's Most Reputable Companies† (#2), Forbes, in 2009 and on the same year it was on the list of â€Å"Best Places to Work in Orange County† (Large companies), Best Companies Group, 2009. Pay and Benefits According to glassdoor. com Ikea employee’s rating of Compensation ; benefits is a mediocre 3. 4, however it does not portray the full picture. Where some believe that Ikea does a mediocre job, others are enjoying the vast benefits that Ikea provides them.Last fall Working Mother magazine named IKEA North America one of the 100 best companies for working mothers and singled out Spiers-Lopez for its Family Champion Award. The award was given for I kea great paid maternity leave and flexible work schedules. In addition, Ikea provides a number of benefits that are not usually offered to retail workers in the U. S. such as â€Å"full medical and dental insurance for those who work as little as 20 hours a week, including coverage for domestic partners and children; tuition assistance; and a 401(k) matching plan†.In addition, they receive long breaks, free uniform and the company has a food plan, it is known as the â€Å"$3 meals†. As for the facilities, there are lounges, relaxation rooms and showers. Ikea has all sorts of benefits from end of the year gift, to long service awards to sick pay and first day of school leave. Lastly, Ikea unlike most companies provides even part time workers with benefit packages. Bonuses in the company may vary, but on average the bonus of a sales associate is $785, and the team leader receives $1,002.However no all positions receive such high bonuses, when it comes to Ikea cashiers, they receive $50, and customer service associates receive $100. And all full time employees receive a 10% discount; it increases to 15% after 7 years of work. The employee discount comes hand in hand with home delivery and assembly of the furniture, always free of charge. All employees in Ikea receive above the minimum wage rate; most are paid by hour except a few who receive a fixed salary; the team leaders receives $39,908 and the department supervisor $34,712.Sales associates hourly pay is $10. 39, Ikea cashier’s is $9. 65/hour, customer serve associates receive $9. 38/hour, floor associates receive $10. 00/hour, Safety ; Loss prevention agent’s pay is $12. 69/hour and the pay of a co-worker is $13. 15/hr. On average the pay is around $12 per hour, with exception the interior designer who receives $16. 56 per hour. As for pension, at the moment, IKEA is building a new global pension package where they want to construct a global second-pillar retirement benefit struc ture. It is planned to be a fixed interest rate of 3. % on contributions. In 2000, IKEA introduced a multi-fund pension arrangement for their employees, which also can be used as a private retirement fund if they leave. The arrangement also offers workers who moves between countries a choice of asset mixes in which they can invest contributions. Co-workers at IKEA are able to transfer money between funds or split contributions between different plans, depending on their age and risk taking profile. It can also be mentioned that even if you choose to leave your job at IKEA, you may remain in the pension agreement. Everyone should have the same amount† – Ingvar Kamprad Ingvar also wishes to start a bonus program for employees over the world, but it is not yet defines how much money we are talking about. IKEA has 131 000 employees so the amount will easily reach very high numbers. So far, there are only 3 principles decided around the future wish; Everyone gets same amount , everyone can take part and its related to Inka holdings financial results. (Inka holdings is IKEA’s Dutch holding company) Improvements and Changes in 2011:The workforce turnover has decreased to 22% in 2011, and 81% of employees now come back from maternity leave: 100% at management level and 78% of hourly-paid workers. Thirdly, 2011 employee satisfaction survey came up with results that employees` favorability to rewards and benefits boosted by 5% in IKEA. Fourthly, IKEA launched family-friendly benefits such as a staff support program and childcare vouchers, as well as an loan with no interest in order to cover costs a month after birth. IKEA: TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT IKEA uses mostly 3 different types of training: * Induction training (35%) Mentoring (40%) * Coaching (25%) 85% of training is on-the-job training and only 15% off-the-job training. Differences between IKEA houses per region in relation to Educational background of co-workers IKEA`s workforce has reached al ready 131,000 employees and these people are an epicenter of IKEA values. Value is a core word for company`s strategy and co-workers` involvement in it. IKEA is doubling their sales every five years; however it does not doubling their staff. One of its keys to such a success lies in training and development programs constantly offered to the employees.Each employee is offered 40-hour training every year in average. Since the very beginning employees` development was perceived as a non-stop process in IKEA. The first period for all newcomers is training in IKEA’s culture. It usually implicates learning about the company’s history by watching the educational videos. Many co-workers start they way in IKEA as part-time co-workers and shift progressively to full-time, seniors, deputies etc. Along their career path they are getting cultural training and regularly acquire IKEA’s values.The major part of training is acquiring the core aptitudes and skills such as teamwo rk, efficiency, mobility, leadership, that were considered necessary for a successful career at IKEA. Networking in IKEA takes important role in training and development. When new employee joins the â€Å"family† he/she gets immediate access to a local network. Curt Temin, who works globally with learning and development within IKEA Group, regards â€Å"networking as the ultimate tool for professional development†. One of the very first things new employee learns is an ancient Swedish word â€Å"fika† (coffee break).In IKEA they understand that even informal meetings and communication between people lead to knowledge transfer and this is where development starts. â€Å"People’s careers are only as limited as they want them to be at IKEA,† concludes Jeff Wilson, learning and development manager for IKEA US. 90% of all positions inside IKEA globally are filled inside, and 35% of those jobs are managing positions. To keep such a high data company has launched a personal development program called â€Å"PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE†, which has 3 components and takes place ones a year.This program is open to employees who already became aware with companies values, understand their position within the company and ready for self-development. At the first step staff is invited to investigate strengths, weaknesses, self-awareness and career pathways. The second step includes meeting with manager to discuss previous conclusions, perform a skills gap examination and choose position to develop toward desired path. There are online career centers available at this stage to provide all necessary reference materials to complete this stage. Last third step in the program leads to setting goals by employee and making an action plan.IKEA has created environment for growth founded on belief that good people can be even better. In the year 2002 the â€Å"SKILLS ESCALATOR† program was born from this idea. The Skills Escalator is compound of 4 main steps. When employee starts job as a trainee comes the first step. The second comes when employee actually step into planned responsibility. The third step is called â€Å"senior† because at this stage staff becomes leading with tasks of coaching others in their specific work. When the employee has become a mentor and expert it means the last fourth step of program has been reached.This program was created due to willingness of the company to employ people not solely for one role but to take a leading position in long-term. The core idea lies in progress, in order to learn and then train others. In IKEA nobody is a trainee longer than one year. The â€Å"SKILLS ESCALATOR† always gives opportunity for staff to get higher skills level. Employees are progressing while working, they perform work and see which skill are necessary and how attain them during the working process and receiving feedback Employees are confronted with a coach, who is not telling exactly what to do, but help to ind an answer by giving few leading questions. Therefore employees receive help and support, but in such a way they describe what they need to know rather told in advanced. It gives employees control over own development. This relates to on-the-job training, which is most used training process in IKEA. In fall 2011 IKEA launched mentoring initiative â€Å"PARTNERS FOR GROWTH† which was directed by famous mentoring consultant Dr. Lois Zachary of Leadership Development Services. This program was set up to help co-workers establish vital relationships to maintain them in piloting IKEA and in pursuing their own personal development.This program targets only to the IKEA`s key management. Jeff Wilson, Leaning & Development Manager in US explains that â€Å"Partners for Growth† will have a crucial influence on IKEA, he believes, that among many other programs this one is one of the most important. As IKEA has big expansion plans for next 10 years this program will lie in the very heart of the process. A lot of efforts will be given to co-workers` development programs such this one, due to the need of greater capability for people to take superior responsibilities in US and Canada.Pernille Lopez, President of IKEA NA admits that Zachary`s knowledge helped to line up a triumphant monitoring strategy with his own. Lopez confirms, that IKEA`s main goal is to help co-workers to do their job better by developing and empowering staff. In IKEA they take extra steps in mentoring program. IKEA base mentoring program on growth of both mentee and mentor holding expectation of creating better employees by making them a partners. Innate result of this program turns IKEA`s mentees to future mentors. Major mentor to IKEA`s mentoring support groups, Dr.Zachary praises company`s commitment to development processes and finds those innovative and hopes to see mentoring process as a natural aspect of the IKEA`s culture in the next few years. â€Å"P ARTNERS FOR GROWTH† soothes the progress of individual learning, encourages professional and personal development, and has 4 strategic goals: * Develop Leaders from top to bottom – Support career development across the board – Develop and support diversity through IKEA organization – Strengthen IKEA culture Interest of employees in IKEA for more internal training | Percentage| Yes| 79%| No| 4%| Don`t know| 16%| Totals| 100%|PASSIONATE CAREER IN IKEA In IKEA at entry level all employees are hired externally, then those employees are making their way up through promotions. Only 10% of employees on higher levels are hired externally mostly because of lack of eligible candidates. Career planning in any organization is based on how the organization may help and helps its employees in planning their careers. IKEA behave as a supportive partner, in managing its employees careers, for example, by lowering the work load while employee is taking any educational prog ram, by giving time off to study, or by paying a part of the tuition fee.Therefore, career planning may include anything from policies on hiring and promotions and collecting data about personal preferences to Educational Assistance Programs and flexible working hours. Educational Assistance Program gives employees monetary benefits for taking certain training or courses. To be eligible for those benefits the employee must pass the course with the mark of 75% or higher. Those benefits depend on the course taken and on the level at which the employee is. Nonetheless, IKEA offers also its own training and development program.Whereas the company and the level of employment require certain training programs, others are optional. IKEA says that career planning mostly depends on their employees if they want to be pro-active rather than reactive, if they are willing to take more responsibility and to learn more, positions are always posted in the store and every employee may apply upon mee ting certain requirements and having good performance appraisals. IKEA as being in retail industry hires many people on a part time basis, therefore it may offer what is called flexible working hours.This primarily means that employees have a choice what day to work and what hours to work, since they are not required to work 40 hours a week. Flex work enables co-workers to balance home and work careers as well as to spend more time on personal development. Nonetheless, flex work program depends on where the co-worker is working, for instance, in some departments, such as IKEA Trading, co-workers are required to work 8 hours a day but it does not have to be in straight time as long as they have eight hours a day worked.Whereas, in other departments it means that co-worker may choose which days to take off and which days to work. Promotions within IKEA may be vertical or lateral. The policy states that in order to be eligible for promotion for a position lower than management position , the candidate must work with the company at least six months, and to be eligible for promotion for management position the candidate must work at least three years. IKEA provides good program for those employees that would like to, and are eligible for, relocation to different country.Interested co-worker needs to meet certain requirements and be the best candidate for that position. In case of not having the language knowledge IKEA provides language training therefore upon arriving in the new workplace the promoted candidate can communicate with others. This tactic ensures that all employees meeting the requirements may be chosen and the language is not a barrier. IKEA, as a part of career planning of its employees, also does succession planning in conjunction with management. It means that IKEA has charts with listed higher positions, employees on that positions, and relationships between those positions.In case of any vacancies the chart lists prospective successors that may st ep up into that position. IKEA in developing such charts takes into consideration performance appraisals, experience, personal characteristics, and personal preferences of the candidate. As mentioned earlier IKEA does it in conjunction with managers, it means each candidate's qualifications are confirmed by the manager and that manager decides whether the candidate is ready to be promoted or not. Feelings of employees in relation to competences utilized in the right way within the company TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE: EMPLOYEESIKEA always tends to give greater value to its people by calling them co-workers, in such a way highlighting the importance of workforce in this company. The most important values for communication strategy in IKEA are respect, cost consciousness, togetherness and simplicity. During the hiring process IKEA is willing to take people who are willing to growth both professionally and individually, it is always stressed and emphasized during the recruitment. IKEA wishes to create sort of a partnership with its co-workers, it is ready to listen to their ambitions and particularly interested in hiring people who share IKEA`s values.In IKEA responsibility is given to co-workers and strategy of empowerment is applied. Therefore co-workers in IKEA are not afraid of making mistakes and are encouraged to innovative way of thinking. Worst enemy or evolution in IKEA is fear of mistakes. One of the factors IKEA using to make their employees feel better at the work place is absolute avoidance of status symbols. This system allows people to feel equal. The inspiration comes from the top management, and particularly from Ingvar Kampard who brings a great encouragement through his own life.For instance, he always uses public transport instead of taxis or car whenever it is possible. This again sets a good example for cost-consciousness from the highest level on, shows that managers do not expect things from their co-workers that they aren’t willing to do themselves. For Christmas 2006 IKEA has given 9000 bicycles to its employees with a purpose of cutting down the pollution and stick to idea of togetherness and cost-consciousness, which comes from top management. The staff is getting 15% off travel tickets on public transport to sustain same goals.Another example of how IKEA takes care of its employees is training and learning which not necessarily be important for the jobs performed. In 2002 Scottish IKEA introduced IT training for co-workers even thou most of those employees were not using computers in their jobs. IKEA tries to support co-workers, increase self-awareness and encourage them through continuous motivation and incentives. As mentioned before, preference during the recruitment process is given to people who are ready to grow both professionally and personally in IKEA.Regarding the motivating theories, when we begin using McGregor’s theory of X and Y, it can be safely stated that IKEA recognizes its employees as theory Y. IKEA consequently supplies the employees with benefits and incentives in order to give the opportunity for the workforce to grow themselves and their careers. Success of IKEA does not lie in cheap prices, but particularly in treatment of so-called co-workers and direct outcome of it. IKEA has two programs directed towards older employees: The duration of notice of termination of employment is increased by one month per year of employment for employees who are 40 years of age or older.The maximum raise is six months and is in addition to the length of notice according to the law. After ten years of work in IKEA, employees going on pension are allowed to a period of six months of reduced working time with full payment before the retirement. This helps to ease the transition from work to retirement by letting leisure to gradually take the place of work. Differences between IKEA per region in relation to Perceived Stress on the workplace Differences between IKEA per region in relation to how loyal employees feel towards the companyDifferences between IKEA per region in relation if they see themselves working in the company in the next 5 years TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE: CUSTOMERS * 1 million customers visit IKEA every day * The average customer makes 3. 5 store visits per year * The average age of a customer is 42 * 60 per cent of them are female * 150 million meatballs a year are served in IKEA restaurants * 145 million catalogues are printed in 48 editions and 25 languages * IKEA staff conduct 50000 yearly â€Å"home visits† where they visit customers' homes (in exchange for an IKEA credit voucher) to find out what frustrates customers about IKEA products.All business organizations need to make sure that their customers are satisfied with the service they receive because customers are the most important part of any successful organization. IKEA is acting according to the A. R. T. of great service, to carry out a good customer service: Approachable- a n organization must create an open and friendly environment that will influence customers to come in with self-assurance so that their matter can be dealt with. Responsive -all staff should take responsibility of their action. Customer service should be flexible and provide precise and honest information, at all times.Timely – done accurately and efficiently at all time. Many businesses record customer complaints so that, they can review the matter, and to improve its customer service. THE WORK WELL PROGRAM HEALTHY PEOPLE= HEALTHY ORGANIZATION Retention of senior co-workers in IKEA in ways of: * twice a month offered body massage; * specialized course in healthy lifestyle containing a personal diet program, and guidance on losing (or gaining) weight; * help to stop smoking, handle stress or manage situations of conflict; * providing discount on fees to fitness centers; providing comprehensive health insurance coverage providing medical treatment and rehabilitation therapy in private clinics to encourage quick recovery and return to the workplace after illness; * a local project promoting good working attitude through colleague-to-colleague guidance in standing, sitting and lifting correctly Discrimination in IKEA USA Ikea has their way of conduct called the IWAY standing for ‘The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products’. It defines what suppliers can expect from IKEA and specifies what IKEA requires from its suppliers. Moreover the IWAY guides the work of employees.It covers working conditions, the prevention of child labor, the environment, responsible forestry management and more. Suppliers are responsible for communicating the content of the IKEA code of conduct to co-workers and sub-contractors and ensuring that all required measures are implemented at their own operations. For example, talking about discrimination the IWAY mentions: ‘The IKEA supplier shall not discriminate with regards to workers based on race, religion, beliefs, gender, marital or maternal status, age, political affiliation, national origin, disability, sexual orientation or any other basis. Discrimination is therefore forbidden not only concerning the race but also the gender, religion, beliefs, marital or maternal status etc. However in April 2011, complaints of racial discrimination were present in Virginia, more precisely in the city of Danville. Six African American employees have filed discrimination complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that black workers at Swedwood's (an industrial group within the IKEA Group of companies) U. S. actory are assigned to the lowest-paying departments and to the least desirable third shift which means from 11 p. m. to 7 a. m. One of the women, Jackie Maubin, mentioned that white people were more likely to receive more money than black people. Swedwood found solutions to face those issues by showing those complaints through mediation and Ikea had offered Maubin 1000 dollars. The company Ikea is trying to eliminate discrimination by hiring based on workers individual skills and ability to do the job.CONCLUSION: As shown thoroughly throughout this report, in both theory and practice, OB is IKEA’s top priority; the company pays a great deal of attention and energy to the company’s organizational behavior. It is part of Ikeas foundation, which results in great success. Though of course, whether OB is IKEA’s number one, or number two priority, it varies depending on factors such as the country in which that particular IKEA is located, as well as the culture in which it operates in.Though the origin of the Swedish IKEA has OB as a number one priority, it slightly varies depending on the location of each IKEA store or warehouse, that is due to the fact that cultures and norm and ways of doing business vary all over the world, and even though IKEA does its best to keep OB its number one priority, it is not the number one prior ity in every single IKEA all over the world. There is still room for improvement though in comparison to other companies, IKEA certainly never neglects the important of OB, but whether it is the number one or number three priority, that varies all over the world.Appendix: Interview With Emil Svallingsson, Warehouse Employee at IKEA Sweden for 10 Years According to you, how are employees being treated at the IKEA warehouse? In an equal way? In general, all employees are treated well, even though some bad things has shown during my 10 years at IKEA. If you are complaining, you are risking to not get a promotion. People were always quitting and new were starting, mostly because of annoying costumers and due to a too small number of employees. IKEA is constantly trying to cut down on their staff in order to have the consumers doing as much as possible.During a very long time, no new people were hired at my department. Additionally, I have to say that there always have been a good diver sity between men/women, religion and age. It's a good mix! Are employees proud about their jobs? †No, it's about 50/50 I would say. 50% thinks IKEA is amazing and a wonderful place to work. We call those certain people the â€Å"IKEAns†, like Indiens. The other 50% are mostly working there because of a lack of other things to do. †Is IKEA a good environment for new initiatives? You always have to push yourself forward and be initiative if you want something to happen with your carrier. It is almost expected from the employees to do more than it says in their contract if they want to achieve higher positions. †Are employees actively involved to develop IKEA, or are they according to you, in need of being â€Å"pushed† forward in order to develop? †Again, that's 50/50. The ones who believes in the IKEA concept (the IKEA`ns) loves to be a part of the IKEA family and they do not have to be pushed. The rest of us might need a clear goal to be motivat ed.I would have liked to just have a small percentage of the extra money I earned if my selling went extra well for example. They don't have systems like that. Time to time, they did have a small competition or party for the employees though. That was fun. Interview with the French marketing director Hakan Sandman How are decisions in general being taken at IKEA? Ikea is very democratic in general, even though it's different between different countries. It differs depending on a country's general values and how the people are looking at the word Trust. It is easy to say, Yes†- we trust our employees! but not as easy to live. I would say that IKEA Sweden trust their employees most of all countries, but in comparison to other companies in France, we are very good at trusting and giving away responsibilities. How are the people at IKEA helping each other in order to move forward as a group? At IKEA, it is important that it's easy for our employees to understand and live our value s and beliefs. In the retail department, there are so many people who comes and goes, so it is important that the new ones are able to learn quickly and that the old ones are willing to teach.One of our most important slogans is: â€Å"Lead by Example† which basically means that you have to live as you learn. When the founder, Ingvar Kamprad, where in his forties, he was driving around in a Porsche, drinking champagne with beautiful women and he was living a very different life from today. He later on realized the importance of guiding people by being the example himself, and started to behave in a more appropriate way for IKEA. So what is â€Å"appropriate† for IKEA? It is important for anyone who works at IKEA to be a good example when it comes to money. You have to live as you learn and you are not opposed to waist them.An example of this is when a person at IKEA Russia once where spending a bit too much, which lead to that the company lost 50 million euro. Ingvar h imself then went to the person who was responsible for the act, but instead of yelling at him for what he did, he started to lecture about good behavior and the norms of IKEA. In this case, Ingvar saw that it wasn’t the money that were important in the situation, but the symbolic act to waist 50 millions. It was just not good for IKEAs reputation. At the same time he managed to â€Å"Lead by Example† by being a really good and understanding leader. Is it really that equal at IKEA?IKEA is a flat organization, which means it is not hierarchic. Our decisions may take longer time, but when letting everyone decide, people all over the organization will truly believe in the decision and work more efficient to get through with the new idea. At IKEA, it is important to feel the â€Å"We- Spirit†. Since we are doing things together, that leads to more personal energy and everyone will be more effective. Do you prefer it like that or the other way around? Sometimes, it ma y be hard to take a decision within the overall budget for example, cause we don’t really have anyone who Really decides.Everyone might want different things and that can require more time and energy than it would have done in a hierarchical organization. But in the end, I really prefer the flat type of organization. How to you get a flat organization to be effective? It's all about a balance between time efficiency and democracy. In the warehouses, there is somewhat a hierarchy, but as flat as possible. It wouldn't work otherwise. Ingvar himself is very concerned about his employees though and likes to spend time in warehouses in order to take in the opinions of people working there. He wants them to also have power.But is it really that equal between men and women? Every department sets its own goals every year. The goals are based on feeling form the employees but also on measured facts. In the very top, there are more men than women. A lot of women are working in HR depar tment and marketing. I'm the only man at the marketing department! It is really well divided between warehouse bosses though, I would say very close to 50/50 for men and women. 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Robert Smalls - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2627 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2018/12/28 Category History Essay Type Research paper Level High school Tags: African American Essay Slavery Essay Did you like this example? Robert Smalls was an African American politician who was born in the year 1839. He was natured in slavery in a bungalow at the adjacency of his master Henry McKees household in Beaufort on Prince street, South California. His parentage fatherhood was not known but it was alleged to be Henry McKee. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Robert Smalls" essay for you Create order He grew up in the metropolitan under the inspiration of the Lowcountry Gullah culture of his mother Lydia Polite was also an incarcerated of the McKees. His mother was serving in Master Henry McKees territory as a house help under slavery where it is assumed that they felt in love with the master and conceived which later led to the viability of Smalls but there was no clear information about the tale. At his teenage age, probably 12, Robert Smalls was sent to Charleston as a laborer where all the wages and remuneration from the labor was paid to his master who was allegedly his father. His chores were to work in a hotel as a service man and thereafter, worked as a lamplighter in the streets of Charleston almost throughout his youthful stage. Furthermore, he had passion and love over the sea in the Charleston which eventually made him to secure work on the Charleston docks and wharves as a stevedore, sail maker, and eventually become a wheelman in the sea regardless of the dishonor the slaves where accorded despite the titles he had in the sea harbor. He humbled himself throughout the chores he was running in the sea shore that saw him the most knowledgeable pilot across the Charleston harbor. At his mid teenage when he was 17 years, he proposed to Hannah Jones for marriage. Jones was also one of the incarcerated hotel maid in Charleston in the year 1856. Hannah was older than him by 5years and had had two daughters of her own before bearing another two children with Robert Smalls to whom one passed on at the age of two. Robert Smalls showed his tribute to the master by continuing serving as a slave in his own fathers territory for that substantial period of time. It was at this juncture, April 1861 that America woke up into a Civil War which began with a battle of Fort Sumter near Charleston Harbor. At the tumble of the civil war, Smalls was given the responsibility to bullock the Planter that was affiliated with armed troops. He was mandated to deliver reports, throngs and supplies, to inspect the sea ways and finally to lay mines. Smalls however coxswained the Flowerpot throughout the port of Charleston and further onto the extended rivers along California, to the coastlines of Florida. In the Charleston waterfront, Robert Smalls and the Planters team were able to cross-check the slant of the Federal obstruction ships in the outer anchorage over 6 miles far away from the Charleston seaport. He had confidence and composed himself with content to the Planters crew and proprietors, at some point around 1862 where he began planning on how he can escape from the slavery. He broadly discussed the issue with other fellow slaves whom they were toge ther with an exception of one whom he never had loyalty and trust over him In 1862, the Planter had was navigated ten miles to the southwest of Charleston to facilitate its dock at the Coles Island located along River Stono which was earlier on pulled to pieces. They took large weapons including guns and conveyed them to a fort in Charleston anchorage. Moreover, while in Charleston, the crew had encumbered 200 pounds of riles and 20 cords of kindling onto the Planter. Eventually, the three confederate officers who had accompanied the Planters were court-martialed and later on two of them were convicted and their verdict was later outlooked. As a result, this gave Smalls and the other seven slaves who had planned for an escape in Charleston to the Union Blockade ships. Robert Smalls therefore in their escape plan faked to be captain Relay by wearing his uniform and hat. He therefore sailed the Planter the Southern Wharf and harbored in another wharf to pick his wife Lydia and the child and the entire families of the other crew men they were together. He mana ged to all this out of his expertise and confidence he had gained under the slavery of McKees. Robert Smalls therefore guided the ship through all the five confederate harbor forts without any episode has he gave the exact signals at all the checkpoints the same way as being commanded by Captain Relay. Smalls imitated captain Relays habits and manners, straw hat on the deck to fool the affiliated bystanders from the shore and the forts. in addition, Smalls went further and navigated the Planter past Fort Sumter in the morning straight to the Union Navy fleet where he intended to declare that they have totally surrender the hostage of the Planter. He raised a white piece of sheet to hover high in the Planter to signify their submission to withdraw their solidarity from the captivity. In the process, the Planter was spotted by the USS crew to which they were almost firing it until they spotted the white sheet flying high at the ship. At that moment, the captain of the Onward, John Fredrick Nickels lodged the Planter where Robert Smalls asked him for a United states flag to display to raise it next to the white sheet that made him successfully surrender the Planter and its cargo to the United States Navy which made the escape deal to go through without more constrains though it was not that easy. After the escape plan going true, Robert Smalls was now conversant with the whole Charleston regions, he surprised the federal officers by disapproving their calculations and brought to their attention that the area had only remained with few soldiers to shoulder the responsibility of protection after majority of them being sent to Virginia. He also brought to their attention that the southern Charleston was greatly abandoned without any substantial protection. As a result, the Coles Island was captured by the Union forces peacefully few days after Robert Smalls escape with his seven bears and their families. Why the Story of Robert Smalls will make a compelling play people will want to see The story of Robert Smalls is so daring, heroic and amazing and therefore it has the ability to make a compelling play that most people are yearning to watch. The reason to the holistic proposal is that the struggle and achievements of Robert Smalls never ended at the point of success of his escape plan but it acted as the motivation and morale to his political progress. As he turned 23 years of age, he began gaining familiarity in the North of California as a result of the tribute he received from his heroic daring exploit as reported by a newspaper in the US congress. He tireless initiated projects in New York that was aimed to improve the living standards of the ex-slaves which was eventually outlooked by Admiral Dupont and he resolved back to serve the Union Navy. At this stage he had dared to meet president Abraham Lincoln with the major aim of convincing him and the secretary of war Edwin Stanton to allow the black men to participate in wars for the union. He then managed to persuade president Abraham Lincoln and his request was successfully approved were Edwin Stanton signed an order allowing over 5000 African Americans to participate in the Union forces at Port Royal named first and second South Carolina regiment meaning the colored soldiers. His sequential daring activities which includes his fighting efforts as a pilot on both the CSS Planter and the Ironclad gunship, he was in the forefront of the Union ships in destroying the mines as the fulfilment of his plans while he was in the slavery. Furthermore, Smalls helped the Union army in the destruction of the rail bridge within the harbor area. Robert Smalls on his series of events being the first African-American to fight a civil war and emerged victorious and was appointed to the rank of Major General of Militia in one of the territories in the United States. The story therefore is so dramatic and can make such a nice captivating play. Robert Smalls never had time to consider any retaliation in his missions. He made comeback to the Beaufort the village where his mother and him were enslaved. To admit that he was such a dedicated man, he dared on McKee and purchased the mansion that was owned by his master during his childhood. Moreover, his determination saw him owning the same house where he used to be treated as a slave. It is actually thematic that Smalls did it intentionally this time round as a revenge on the things he went through in the past. It is therefore pleasing and urging to watch all these happenings on a play to bring out the reality of what was going on throughout the course of his life. The most interesting part of his life sounds fantastic and seems to be well illustrated when produced in a play. His family life martialed his daring act as he commandeered the ship with his entire family that was so risk to the extent that they could be fired as a result of stealing the warship and escaping from sl avery. Moreover, he married two wives starting from Hannah Jones, in the year 1857 in Charleston south California who gave birth to two children to whom eventually one passed away at the age of two years due to ailment from smallpox. In the year 1883 Hannah also died and Smalls got married to Annie Elizabeth Wigg in the year 1890and gave birth to one son called William Robert Smalls before Annie dying in the year 1895. In addition, Robert Smalls never stopped in the family life. He continued building his heroic reputation this time round as a political leader in the African-American municipal. He established the Beaufort county in the South Carolina republic where he served on the Beaufort school where he was the founder to establish the first school intended for the overlooked African-American children. At this juncture, Robert Smalls was now becoming more famous out of his daring historical acts that was trending all across the sectors that he developed interests. With all the tributes he offered to the people of Carolina, he decided never to stop but instead he ventured into politics at the era of reconstruction after the civil war. He seemed to be a man of luck, he managed to be elected as the leader of the Low Country to head the South Carolina constitutional convention in the year 1868. Since he was development oriented leader, he took initiative upon his efforts and build a public school to serve the education thirsty among the children of South Carolina and made sure that he protected all the rights of each African-American. He made sure that wherever he is left to deliver a service to the people, he is willing to take risks that might even cause the loss of his life. He served as the leader of the two houses in the year 1868 in South Carolina where he was elected to serve the legislature in the US congress between the year 1869 to 1889. He made sure that he never left a place worse than he found, he therefore made sure that within his five years as the congress man, he pushed the bill that was calling for the creation of Parris Island Marine Base in South Carolina due to his passion in the navy. Smalls achievements are so interesting through is dynamic adventures ranging from slavery, Union Army, politics and education and emerging victorious in all the activities he undertook. He therefore showed that he is unstoppable when he was dedicated to work hard to get somet hing. Why the time is right for this particular story to be heard now At this time of the divisiveness in the United States of America, the story of Robert Smalls is the right story to be heard due to his motivation, heroism and determination that inspires almost every resident in the United States. First and foremost, Robert Smalls showed a lot of bravery in all what he was going through and still made it. He had parentage disputes where his father is not clearly known but was alleged to be the master his mother was serving. He was born under slavery with the minimal freedom but he could still keep his dream alive. He actually did tremendous job by feeling the discrepancies of the other captives and bravely made a plan to deliver all the enslaved families out of the hands of the Henry McKees. He persevered in a cottage behind the master mansion with his mother but he never lost hope. The story is so inspiring and motivational hence should be taken into concern by those individuals who are free and have their all-time to make into something better if a slave can do the same. It is the right time for the story to be heard at this stage. Secondly, Robert Smalls showed a lot of consistency in the attempts he was making in his endeavors. After the election he participated being disputed in the year 1888, he never allowed it to go in vain but he eventually secured a political post as a collector of customs for the port of Beaufort. He secured this political appointment from president Benjamin Harrison to which he maintained this position for twenty years with excellent work. While in this position, he sustained his power in the republican party in South Carolina. This was because of his service deliverance being noteworthy. This time is the correct time to narrate the story of Robert Smalls in the United States and the entire world to teach people on how consistence and perseverance earns tributes. Another virtue that was upheld by Smalls that makes the story fascinating and worthy to be told is the immeasurable patriotism he had over the African-Americans they were together in the slavery. He was concerned a lot with their captivity that he took initiative to take the risk of planning for the escape deal which was not that easy. The undertake was live worthy but he never minds losing his on in the attempt of stealing the war ship and surrendering it to the Union Army. He did all these because he had passion and love for the African-American captives. He also showed the highest democratic levels, this is significant from the case of redemptions that occurred in the year 1876 which they were successful but attempts were made to falsely charge and convict Smalls and forcing him out of office after rejecting to take bribe. It is worthy enough that the to ascertain the story of the Smalls as an exemplary to the American leaders who are bribe oriented than delivering services to the people who have landed them to the jobs as representatives. In addition, the challenges that Smalls faced starting from his childhood, he was despised and discriminated not because of his personality but because he was an African American. Since he was a one man unstoppable, he disapproved them to the despise ascend by making it all through from the age of twelve till his death while still unstoppable. He showed them that the alleged African-Americans also can do it better than the whites. The story at this particular time is recommended to be told to condemn those white American natives who are discriminative to the African-Americans due to race and color and instead, embrace the brotherhood and good living with each other. Reference Koenig, R. (2017). Be Free or Die: The Amazing Story of Robert Smalls Escape from Slavery to Union Hero.

Online purchase - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 21 Words: 6416 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Search and Purchase Correlation in German Online Market Dynamics and Trends Purchasing Drivers for Customers Abstract More and more people make online purchase; buy different kind of goods in online stores. Targeting on these people becomes opportunity as well as challenge for marketers. Understanding what are the main drivers of people preferring to buy products and services online rather than offline has become main area of research for many stakeholders. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Online purchase" essay for you Create order Researchers analyze the topic form various angles, they try to find main online purchasing drivers for customers, which make them prefer to go to online stores rather than real ones. Building a reliable model on that factors which will make predictable the future of online purchase dynamics, is one the purposes researchers aim to achieve. My thesis will be one more contribution in that area. It will be unique in the way that its analysis is based on most recent facts which cover 4 years dynamics and tends in that field on German market, starting from 3rd quarter of 2005 until 2nd quarter of 2009. Looking at facts through this time frame should give us opportunity to observe if there is any recognizable change in â€Å"customer behavior†: if the trust towards online purchase is increasing which is reflected on the increased amount of sold products in online stores, and which factors or purchasing drivers can be applicable for explaining these trends. To be more specific, I will divide my thesis in several important parts: first, I will try to find out if there is any connections between the amount people spend with the internet stores and the amount of products the buy, or in other words, if there is any evidence of correlation between the â€Å"product search† and â€Å"product buy† amounts. This will be done by running regression analysis based on internet traffic data provided on www.AGOF.de web site (in more details it will be discussed in the INTRODUCTION part). Second, after tracking the statistically significant relationships between these two factors: â€Å"search† and â€Å"buy†, where second factor depends on the first one, I will try to dived this relationship between â€Å"explainable with search amount† and â€Å"explainable with other factors† parts. Then I will try to cover already famous literature, which is explaining the motivators of people searching goods online. Finally, we will talk abo ut other factors, which might explain online purchase behavior but they are not prone to the underline logic of our model, or just simply are beyond or the factor â€Å"search† as an explanatory of â€Å"buy† rate. As a conclusion I will summarize my findings in the topic. 1. Introduction Developing of technologies and internet has born for people new opportunities changing our behavior and our attitude to many things. Without any exaggeration it has dramatically changed our lives. In many activities Internet has given us opportunity to save our efforts, time and sometimes even money. One of the areas internet has made dramatic affect is shopping. Online shopping becomes more and more important part in our everyday life. Referring to the Chen Chih-Chung and Su-Chao Chang common research in 2005, â€Å"if in 2004 online shopping was only 7% of retail sales in USA, in 2010 it is expected to reach 13%†. Marketers are paying more and more attention to the opportunities lying in online world trying to analyze and predict the trends and movements there, in order not to miss their chance, while in the fierce and almost saturated competition in offline shopping, online market is almost only way of fast growth. In order to succeed in online shopping one of the m ost important aspects for marketers is to understand their potential clients _ what makes them buy goods in virtual stores rather than in real ones, what are the key factors and drivers which initiate them to conduct online purchase. The final goal of the thesis cant be to find the only model with only factors which describe pretty exactly the determinants and intensions of customers. Many researchers try to explain the phenomenon such as online purchase intension and I will one of the also. Hope to make my little contribution in that field. In this Thesis I apply some academic researches, online traffic data analysis available on AGOF, bring some insights from ESMT practice project conducted with my per classmates in Axel Springer consulting team and also will refer to one questionnaire conducted for the same practice project. Based on these information and my personal observations I will try make some more insights not only in above mentioned online purchase determinants for customers, what makes them to pay money online, but also I will try to analyze overall trend and dynamics in online shopping during last four-five years. I will try to make some insights which products were sold mostly through internet several years ago and which are sold now, through which web sites. Which Internet-content-areas were most employed years ago and which are emerging now. Finally, I will try to build a model explaining the intension of purchase through different factors. Even more challenging is converting offline shoppers into online shoppers, but before achieving that, marketers in the industry have to understand basic drivers _ what make people buy different things on-line instead of going to supermarket, understanding whether it is general trend that due to the technologies development people change their purchase habits and more and more people transform form off-line into on-line shoppers and hence the future of e-markets is sunny with plenty of room and e ver growing possibilities, or there is something special which catches peoples attention, which affects their decision making process in particular situation and makes them preferring buying things in virtual world. Something which makes them â€Å"take more risk† and without having possibility to touch the product and checking its quality pay money in it and at the same time be sure that his decision is right. My thesis will be one more contribution in understanding above mentioned online-purchase drivers. Besides referring to already published academic researches and newspaper/magazine articles, I will try to analyze internet traffic data, to look at the developments and trends over last four-five years, if there is any content-wise change what people were buying several years ago and what they are buying now. This observation should give us additional information if there is substantial difference in amount of purchased quantity of different products, if it so, we have to analyze what induces these differences, why are definite kind of products sold through internet more compared to others. Finally, defining key online purchasing derivers, I will try to classify them with respect of relevance and importance, try to understand their correlation and final affect on purchasing decision. 2. Literature Review Literature, different researches and publications, were basically used for explaining the driving factors of people who search and buy products online. By analyzing various sources I tried to come up with common understanding of drivers which motivate people in conducting online purchase. Besides academic and non-academic researches, some insights from area experts were also taken in consideration. These experts were interviewed during consulting practice project, which I and my three other peer class mates conducted for one of the European leading media companies, about the topic â€Å"how to monetize online content†. Kevin Wises and Hyo Jung Kims publication in Cyber Psychology Behavior in November 2008, named â€Å"Searching versus Surfing: How different ways of acquiring content online affect cognitive processing† elaborates about distinctions between different methods of search people apply online. Authors claim that there are two different types of search: s earching and surfing. In first case people are aware of their will. They look for something objectively, whether in another case, they just wander in internet, without aiming on finding something specific. Testing differences between these two models with different type of examples and quantitative models and assessment tools, gave evidence that, depending on that whether people surf or search internet, differences not only final content of found information and then they way how these people remember details about the searched product, but differences also the biological processes which take place in these people while looking for information. Depending on the model used, they hade different level of arousal and different pace of hart beating. Authors conclude that, â€Å"being there† and â€Å"getting there† makes big affect on the final outcome of searched data. M. Bosnjiak, M. Galesic and T. Tuten in their â€Å"Personality determinants of online shopping: Expl aining online purchase intensions using a hierarchical approach† published in Science Direct in 2007 make focus on personality determinants of online shopping behavior and the study is based on the on the work of Mowen about hierarchical approach to personality (Mowen, 3M Model, 2000 will be described below). Besides Mowen, authors widely apply to some other researchers and academics works. It could be perceived as almost perfect summarization of most valuable researches conducted on this topic by other researchers. One of the theories they apply is Pachuris 2002 work, where he tries to explain approach to online shopping behavior through four categories: 1) economics of information approach, 2) cognitive costs approach, 3) lifestyle approach, and 4) contextual influence. 1) Economics of information approach elaborates on perceived efficiency of buying online. It focuses on consumers preferences on shopping channels taking in consideration and comparing different alternativ e subjective costs including time costs. Perceived cost of shopping online should be less then shopping offline, if that is not the case, then consumers will not apply to inline purchase. 2) Cognitive costs approach elaborates on search-related cognitive processes and claim that consumers take decisions based on price and quality of the products, as well as reliability and credibility of online stores. Their final aim is to minimize cognitive costs associated with the actual purchase. 3) Lifestyle approach focuses on the type of life consumers lead, and their socio-demographic habits of money spending, interests, motives, values and opinions. Here they quote Alerck and Settle (2002) investigate regarding the time saving as a motivator of online shopping, where they conclude that surprisingly online consumers do not shop because Internet is perceived as the time-saving factor during shopping. 4) Contextual influence approach makes focus on navigational aides as well as atmos phere. Quoting Senecal et al. studies (2005) they repeat that recommendations in buying process to the customers who are exposed to the product make decision more complex but in fact it does not change final outcome. The work claims that despite all four points give us some insights and knowledge about online purchase motivators, it does not exactly examine the traits affecting the willingness of shopping online and still makes hint on the psychological portrait of every individual, and it seems that online and offline shoppers psycho-portrait differs from each other (Donthu and Garcia, 1999). Online shoppers seem to be more innovative people who are willing to take more risk and experience new feelings rather than non-Internet-shoppers. Mowens 3M Model of Motivation elaborates more on personality, takes I consideration individual differences and tries to draw the portrait of online shoppers. It applies four hierarchical levels: surface traits, situational traits, compound tra its and elemental traits. All these are hierarchically dependent on each other with the order they are presented. Situational traits (affective involvement, cognitive involvement) affect surface traits (intention to shop online), then come compound traits which often are developed through socialization (need for cognition, need to evaluate, need for arousal, need for material resources), but they are affected not only from external factors but also with personal experiences and socialization history with the traits at the highest level of model (elemental traits neuroticism, conscientiousness, extraversion, openness, agreeableness). â€Å"Effects of consumer Trust and Risk on online purchase decision making: A comparison of Finnish and United States students† (authors: C. Comegys, M. Hannula, J. Và ¤isà ¤nen) published in August 2009 by International Journal of Management, as we understand from label, makes focus on consumers trust and risk perceiveness during online pu rchase. They go through Kotlers five stage Consumer Buying Decision Process (need recognition, information search, evaluation, purchase decision, post-purchase behavior) and investigate how risk and trust theories work together through these five stages. Based on hypothesis testing method they also examine such factors as gender, changes over time and purchase volume. Finally they suggest managerial implications. Chen Chih-Chung and Su-Chao Changs â€Å"Discussion on the behavior intention model of consumer online shopping† tests and extends the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) models by examining variables of past experience and purchasing channels knowledge, in predicting consumer shopping. TPB elaborates that not all human decisions are explained and motivated by personal will, but rather they are somewhere between completely and incompletely controlled by personal will. In this research, authors exercise different factors, such as attitude, subject norm, perceived beha vior control, behavior intention, past shopping experience and consumer channel knowledge through multi-regression analysis model with level of significance p0,01. Jonna Jà ¤rvelà ¤inens â€Å"Online purchase intensions: An empirical testing of a multiple-theory model† (2007, Journal of Organizational Computing) concentrates on understanding how consumers choose their purchasing channel when the environment is relatively stable. The factors tested are: preferring conversation with customer service, complexity of product, prior online shopping experience, social influence or perception of system usefulness or ease of use. This model also offers to test some hypothesis and then builds correlation matrix to identify extent of final influence of each factor. Finally it summarizes theoretical and practical implications. â€Å"A model of the determinants of purchasing from virtual stores† by R. Bakhri, F. Belanger and J. Hiks (2008, Journal of Organizational Computin g and Electronic Commerce) describes the consumer purchase decisions in a virtual stores. It makes focus on how individual visiting online stores could be affected to purchase from such a stores. Factors such as perceived usefulness, perceived behavioral control, perceived peer influence are tested through several hypothesis built in a quantitative model Chi-square analysis. The research discusses the design of stores as a tool leading to a purchase decision. As a conclusion I would say that literature contributed me not only in understanding intensions and drivers of online customers which make people start search for products objectively, but also to understand what are some other factors which are not among the factors motivating search, but are in the â€Å"un-explainable by search† part of our regression analysis and affect final decision of purchase. 3. Identifying correlation between the quantities of searched and purchased products. Analyzing AGOF data 3.1. What is AGOF? Founded in 2002 by German online marketers and online advertising media, AGOFs area of interest include activities such as: advertising market, meaning media agencies and online media planners, marketing decision makers at advertisers, marketers as well as other market partners. It has 17 members and 60 licensees and its studies are audited by independent third parties. AGOF collects and analyzes data about customers usage of internet, analyzes it through different criteria and segments (differentiated by sex, age, education, working status) and thus makes internet advertising more transparent and predictable. AGOFs approach is to sort and analyze everything through â€Å"unique user†, and the methodology applied is multi-method model, which means: collecting data about unique users (unique computer) with three different ways. Main source is the electronic measurement (data collection) is a basic, and the other two, telephone interviews and on-site surveys are complementa ry for fulfilling the data. Individual clients account measures more technical inputs such as page impressions, visits, time (when), content related topics (content on IVW level), whereas online survey collects the information about clients themselves and their computer usage habits: socio-demographic data (age, gender, education†¦), place of use, information on computers (number of users, login, etc). AGOF renews its information on the quarter basis, publishing the internet facts of previous three months, tries to catch with latest dynamics to make internet more predictable and plannable for marketers. Also, it constantly tries to further develop internet facts study. Analyzing relationship between â€Å"search† and â€Å"buyâ€Å". Conversion rate Before I move to the main part of the thesis, and use the â€Å"search† data as the main explanatory of â€Å"buy†, I will try to conduct multi-step analysis, first find out if there is any statistically significant relationship among these two factors. For this purpose I will test two hypotheses: 1. H0: B = 0, there is no statistically significant relationship between these two factors 2. H1: B 0, there is statistically significant relationship between two factors We will test these hypotheses on p0,01 significance level. Then if there is any correlation between â€Å"search† and â€Å"buy† we will interpret this confirmed correlation through the time-line across all products. Finally we will try to find main explanatory drivers and motivators of online purchase, academics and different publications talk about. Before testing the hypothesis lets review what it means for two variables being correlated to each other: to claim on correlation be tween X independent and Y dependent variables, the following should occur: * X proceeds Y * Y must not occur if X does not * Y must occur whenever X occurs As we know, the last point is not always the case, and very often people search products but do not buy them. One of the explanations of this â€Å"phenomenon† is nicely described in Kevin Wises and Hyo Jung Kims research named â€Å"Searching versus Surfing†, published in 2008, with the purpose to find out whether the content of acquired online media changes or not depending on the way how it acquired. The â€Å"surfing† part describes situation when people just â€Å"wander in the internet† without aim to buy anything. For us it is important to understand what makes these wanderers not aiming to purchase, suddenly change their mind and conduct online shopping. More important for us is to understand the purchasing drivers of those people who go shopping online consciously and predetermined . Or as this article explains, we are going to describe different motivators of â€Å"being there† and â€Å"getting there†. For the first step of our analysis, we are taking 26 different products from AGOF database (list of products in Appendix 2), for which we have different observations for every quarter, and then we run one linear regression for 4 year time observations. In total we will have 416 (26 products multiplied on 16 quarters) observations in the regression analysis (Appendix 4). As the results of regression show on appendix, R Squared is 0,8422 which means that about 84% of buy data can are explainable with â€Å"search†, and if we explain what are the motivators for people to search or surf on internet, then we will make one more step towards making internet purchase process more explainable and predictable. Other 14% of data can be explained with some other factors rather than search, and in later stage of the thesis we will have a talk on the se factors either. Besides R Squared, there are some more important coefficients in our results of linear regression, which are worth to pay attention. P-value as well as F-value in ANOVA table, is almost zero with 168 level, which tells us that from two hypothesis previously developed by us, we can reject first H0 hypothesis with p0,01 significance (1% significance level) and claim that there is statistically significant relationships between search and buy data. Some other coefficients which are worth to interpret are slope and the intercept: * Y intercept B0, in our case 1,13 says how many products are bought when â€Å"search† rate equals to zero. Once we have not any observations on zero â€Å"search† level, then its interpretation will be dubious practical value. * Slope B1, 0,53 in our regression, can be understood as change in half-year â€Å"buy† quantity, when â€Å"search† is increased by one degree. On the second stage we should inte rpret this confirmed correlation through the timeline, across different quarters across all 26 products participating to understand if the conversion ratio of search into buy changed over time. Because it is suggested to have more than 26 observations for running more reliable regression analysis, we will unite two quarter data under one group/label â€Å"half year†, thus doubling our sample of observations and running regression on 52 observed products. In 4 year time period we will 8 different half-years and thus 8 more new regressions should be run. After running eight different regressions, to facilitate overview of results I gathered major coefficients in one table and then built some graphs to indicate trends better for R Squared, Intercept, Slope and P-value (Appendices 6 and 7) As table on Appendix 6 and the slight but constant increase over time of R Squared show (P-value decreases over time), correlation between search and buy rates increase, which means, more and more actual purchases become explainable with search rate, so more and more actual purchases become prone to logical explanation by different purchasing motivators researches have investigated. Other 14% which on its side is also decreasing over time, which means less and less purchase are non-explainable by search factor and its motivators. 4. Defining purchasing drivers based on academics researches, publications and expert insights As we already saw in literature review part, different academics have different approaches toward this problem; they all try to find the most appropriate criteria which will be most accurate measure of on-line purchase willingness. They try to test their theories and models form various angles, starting from personal psychological characteristics and portrait of people, continued with previous purchase experience, poor IT skills, affect of different external factors such as socio-demographic or the shopping channels used during process. Lookin g at the models of different publications and researches we can structure general criteria and factors which might be main motivators for conducting online purchase. Despite that these works never are the same they still have quiet much in common. We can categorize these factors as those, which might be logical motivators for searching products in internet and those which affect final â€Å"buy† quantity but are not explanatory factors for search motivation. As we already ran regressions on AGOF data for half-year time periods to look at the changes through 4 years time frame and we have clearly visible relationships between search and buy factors, where search as an independent variable mostly explains buy rate outcome with even increasing tendency, we can now try to correlate quantitative outcome with theory and try to interpret figures in purchasing drivers. But, lets first discuss separately what each article and publications tell us and then let us try to unify the m under one structure. In â€Å"trust and risk† theory already discussed in literature review, authors categorize eight different risk factors associated with internet purchase; these factors play important roles in every stage of the buying process. 1) performance risk related to product performance 2) time risk involved in transaction timed needed for shopping 3) financial risk absolute cost may be higher than in conventional shopping 4) delivery risk- the product may not arrive or may arrive late 5) social risk how friends and family react 6) privacy risk whether personal information is secure or not 7) payment risk financial consequences from sharing the credit card number 8) source risk reliability of the information on web-site Authors conclude that privacy, source, performance and payment risks were considered as the most crucial of risk in electronic business. Some of the hypothesis developed in the research found justification and also some other findings were: a) There is a positive relationship between the amount of consumer online trust and the online purchase volume b) There is a positive relationship between the amount of consumer online trust and the possible increase in purchase volume. There was evidence that people with little trust towards e-vendors significantly reduced purchased volume of products over time. c) Amount of risk-taking does not have any influence on purchased volume d) Risk and trust factors were perceived independently from five stage purchase process during buying process itself. â€Å"Behaviour intention model† which came up with following factors as purchasing drivers: attitude, subject norm, perceived behavior control, behavior intention, past shopping experience and consumer channel knowledge, finally concluded: a) Consumers attitude will affect their shopping behavior b) Consumers subject norm to online shopping will affect his/ser purchase beha vior c) Consumers perceived behavioral control to online shopping will affect his/her purchase behavior d) Consumers past online shopping experience will affect his/her purchase behavior e) Consumers internet channel knowledge will affect his/her shopping behavior f) The perceived behavioral control is not significant Further more, research agrees that consumers increased channel knowledge will grow in increased shopping intention. In fact the same concludes another, â€Å"online purchase intension model†, or â€Å"multiple-theory model†, which studies the affect of online channel in a relatively secure environment. This theory comes up with some interesting findings, but before quoting those findings, I will describe the theory approach itself: In the model, author looked to the case of purchasing behavior through eight different factors: PU, PEOU (Appendix 1), conversation preference, prior online experience, previous online booking experience, prod uct complexity, task ambiguity and social environments attitude. Covariance table was built for checking the relationship of each factor towards the final outcome. As covariance table showed, none of above mentioned criteria was significant determinant of result on its own; however some combinations like PU-PEOU might have become not big but statistically significant. Also, the model made evidence that: a) Prior online purchase experience has a significant positive effect on behavioural intention b) With increased experience a customer begins to trust online channel more c) The more customers are willing to repurchase form any given site, the more tend to shop on-line in general positive relationships with repurchase intension and purchase volume d) Trusting customers tend to be more loyal than who are risk-neutral. Loyal customers are typically satisfied with the service/products they receive â€Å"Experience with traditional and online channels had a conside rable impact on channel choice, as well as PU. The effect of social environment was smaller but statistically significant. Inexperienced customers who do not find online shopping quicker, cheaper, suitable, for shopping, or easier to find information are likely to abort the online shopping process and finish it offline.† Experience had such a big impact that special efforts should be done by companies to create first pleasant shopping experience. Some other important findings were: a) Some people, who do not want to shop elsewhere than in a store, do not perceive any convenience in for example online shopping. This again comes to the individualistic approach of different people. b) The social environment has a significant positive effect on behavioural intention and PU of the system Theory claims that the main reasons to purchase online could be: convenience, broader selection, competitive pricing, product choice, product value, greater access to information Do IT skills matter? What really matters rather than IT skills is trust towards the online shopping, which is something which comes with experience of internet usage. As conducted research among Fin and American students show, any difference in trust factors among consumers lay beyond the IT skills. It something deeper, which in most cases is inexpiable because perceived risk is very individual and comes from personal characteristics * Described in of Jonna Jervelà ¤inens Multiple-theory Model, â€Å"Technology acceptance model (TAM), which is based on two basic concepts, perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) tries to somehow answer that question. Experience with traditional and online channels rather than pure IT skills, had a considerable impact on channel choice, as well as PU. The effect of social environment was smaller but statistically significant† General insights in academics researches Lets sum up also some more general knowledge also, different research ers and stakeholders got about the internet: Here are some important findings: * Those who have less risk perception associated to the internet purchase buy more but at the same time we should consider that risk perception reduces due to the usage the internet over time. More experience customer has more he starts to trust the online channels. Hence heavy internet users buy online more than those who use internet less. Women and men perceive risks differently no matter the level of their technical or any other skills and no matter the environment * First online purchase experience has a significant influence on customers behaviour in the future. If a consumer had a negative experience during first purchase process, e.g. during booking tickets online, it less reliable that he will come back and try some other time. This explains why companies try to make positive first experience in their consumers buying behaviour and very often with different approaches try to incentivise them to conduct the purchase * Having positive prior experience increases the tru st of customers towards channels. There is always less possibility that trusting, loyal customer will be unsatisfied with the product/service he receives * Experience is so important that it is recommended to be taken in consideration while making the design of site. Even more as researches show, very often people take purchase decisions based on emotions rather than reasonable judgment and actual need of the product * There is positive correlation between total volume purchased by a customer and his repurchase intention rate from any other site. * Increased security perception in terms of provided personal information safety does not increase significantly consumers willingness to buy more. At the same time risk perception for customers is on peak when they enter their personal information. Thus we can conclude that companies should not make barriers to the customers during purchase procedure * One of the main factors which can make believe people to by products online is having possibility of returning them back, in case they do not like it will not meet their expectations after receiving it * Overall costs perceived during online purchase should less than during offline parches. If is more or the same, than consumer will not by online. In other words it should be more â€Å"convenient† for client to prefer buying online Interpreting increasing dynamics of regression analysis coefficients As we saw in previous topics reviewing academic and non-academic researches and their findings regarding purchasing motivators, purchasing channel preferences and etc. we can conclude that the trend we came up in our regression analysis (Appendices 6 and 7) is very logical reflection of what researches say. Increased R Squared value means that hypothesis mentioned by us in previous topics as the explanatory factors gain more and more credibility. They become more prone to the logic, which tell us that, over time, people get more experience of using Internet, thus their fear and risk averseness towards online purchase decreases: two main factors benefit two that: shifting the proportion of generation distribution, thus more and more old people become skilled in internet usage (those who were young several years ago) and another is socio-demographic affect or in other words peers or friends influence: once more people buy start trusting online purchase at least because of gained experience in the area, more people they will recommend. So, the conversion ratio of search to buy data will increase, as well as absolute number of online shoppers. Some other factors explaining this phenomenon might be the marketers themselves who are now more aware about online customers and their behaviour rather than several years ago, when industry was new and emerging. Many marketers possibly also realized that sometimes it might be nice, attracting design and correctly delivered massage, rather than customers actual need which will make them buy products online. Marketers started â€Å"attacking† the customers by asking with different flexible approaches to buy for some products and services online, and in many cases they become successful, once as we mentioned they are now more educated, and customers also become more trustful towards internet shopping. Factors not explaining the search amount As Mowens 3M Models one of the surprising findings is that sometimes important determinant which makes people to purchase goods online, is affective rather than cognitive involvement. In other words, decision sometimes is made purely on emotion merit rather than reasoning. This might be partial explanatory factor of those 13% of error term we got in our regression analysis last â€Å"half-year† coefficients. The other explanatory factor might be e.g. easing of payment for the good online. Because mostly this is the factor that customer is not aware the specifics about from the very beginning of purchase decision and when comes at the stage of real purchase, way of payment (easiness, clarity, quantity of information required) might become either motivating factor or discouraging one. 5. Conclusion As dynamics show slowly but objectively more people become online buyers, and also more consciously they become regarding online purchase (which is reflected in regression analysis coefficients) meaning that they need less and less page impressions (search clicks) to conduct actual purchase. I think this trend will continue because many facts already mentioned by us, contributes to this dynamic. As we mentioned, more experience with online has positive relationship with increased purchased volume. Another factor is the successful prior experience which also positively contributes towards increased purchased volume and finally the affect of your social network. Marketers should take in consideration some important factors which affect either negatively or positively the buying decision: * Sometimes people make online purchase on emotional basis rather than cognitive, so attractiveness of massage and design of site has big importance * Ease of payment system is another facto r contributing to increased amount of online sales * Increased security measures regarding filling the personal information, in not transformed in increased perception of safety. Even more, risk perception from customer is on the peak while entering online his name or his credit card number. Thus marketers should target on minimizing risk perception for the customers and hence boosting sales * Once successful prior experience with online purchase has invaluable impact on customers further behavior, marketers should aim to create first pleasant experiences of online purchase for their customers * Customers should have opportunity to return product back, is they do not like it after receiving As we managed to show in our analysis, there is a strong correlation between search and buy amounts in internet. Marketers should target not only â€Å"buy† traffic records, but also, â€Å"search†, because as we mentioned customers need time to become more loyal towards online shopping, time and experience converts them more trustful. Besides, sometimes purely emotional arousal might become the basis of consumers decision, thus give them opportunity to sea a nicely designed massage, might convert them in from neutral to active customers. References M. Bosnjak, M. Galesic, T.Tuten (2006) Personality Determinants of Online Shopping: Explaining Purchase Intentions Using a Hierarchical Approach ScienceDirect (www.sciencedirect.com), Journal of Business Research 60 (2007) 597 605 Jonna Jà ¤rvelà ¤inen, Online Purchase Intensions: An Empirical Testing of a Multiple-Theory Model Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce 17(1), 53 74 (2007) Chen Chih-Chung, Su-Chao Cahng (2005) Discussions on the Begaviour Intension Model of Consumer Online Shopping Journal of Business and Management vol. 11, (2005) Reza Barkhi, France Belanger, and James Hicks, A Model of the Determinants of Purchasing from Virtual Stores Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 18: 177 196, (2008) Copyright  © Taylor Francis Group, LLC; ISSN: 1091-9392 print/ 1532-7744 online; DOI: 10.1080/10919390802198840 Charles Comegys, Mika Hannula, Jaani Và ¤isà ¤nen, Effects of Consumer Trust and Risk on Online Purchase Decision-making: A comparison of Finish and United States Students Vol. 26 No. 2; (August 2009) Kevin Wise and Hyo Jung Kim, Searching Versus Surfing: How Different Ways of Acquiring Content Online Affect Cognitive Processing, volume 11, Number 3, (2008) Traffic data analysis Power Point presentation from internet web-site: www.agof.de graphiken if 2009 ii Traffic data from internet web-site www.agof.de Appendix 1: Terminology Explanation of some words or phrasal words, which in everyday life could be understood with many different meanings, but in my thesis they bear one and only one underlined meaning: AGOF German internet web-site tracking internet traffic data based on multi-method model AGOF clients German audience more than 14 years old using internet Conversion ratio the ratio of searched and purchased products in internet, indicating the rate by which â€Å"search† are converted in â€Å"buy† Customer behavior customers attitude towards online purchase on average, their intention to search and then by products online. The pace they search and buy products at a definite period of time Changing customer behavior any changes in amount of searched and purchased products in particular period of time compared to other period IVW German internet web-site tracking internet traffic data Unique user individual user in internet, individual computer Technology acc eptance model (TAM) consists from two major concepts: the perceived usefulness (PU) and ease of use (PEOU) of a system. PU users subjective perception of the ability of a computer to increase job performance when completing a task PEOU persons subjective perception of the effortlessness of a computer system Appendix 2: List of products on which analysis are conducted Alcoholic bavareges other alcoholic beverages and spirits Books computer and videogames computer hardware and accesoories computer software without games Tickets for movies, theatre, classical concerts, pop concerts or sporting events Movies on DVDs, Videos cheap air tickets from airlines Pay to music or movies from the internet as a download Investments, shares, securities, funds Health products and medicines DIY or DIY tools Hotels for leisure and business trips Charges Lottery Games Life and annuity insurance as private pension rental cars Music CDs Furniture or objects on the furniture Perfumes, fragrances for men or women shoes Sporting goods, sports equipment Sweets and salty snacks Telecommunications products, e.g. Cell phones or cordless phones Frozen foods and ready meals Holiday travel and last-minute travel Appendix 3: Number of Internet users in Germany in the second qurter of 2009 Source: www.AGOF.de, graphiken-if-2009-ii.download Population in Germany (people more than 14 years old) _ 64.82 million People who use Internet _ 43.20 million Internet users observed for surveys (people who used internet last three months) _ 42.22 million Appendix 4: Regression analyses for finding out relationship between â€Å"search† and â€Å"buy† data Appendix 5: Uniting two quarter data under one group for the sake of regression analysis Appendix 6: Important coefficients from eight different period regression analyses Columns: SS explainable Regression sum of square. Portion of â€Å"buy† explainable by â€Å"search† SS Residual Residual sum of square. Non- explainable part of â€Å"buy† factor with â€Å"search† SS Total Total sum of square R Squared Portion of â€Å"buy† explainable by â€Å"search†, as portion form 1 Non Explainable Non- explainable part of â€Å"buy† factor with â€Å"search†, as portion from 1 Appendix 7: Graphs representing trends in regression analysis coefficients over 4 years time period R Squared increases over time, which means, more and more „buyâ€Å" data are explainable with „searchâ€Å" data, thus the purchase motivating factors described by academics become more and more prone to the logic. It also is a matter of experience, social affect, improved IT skills, and trust towards channels as well as online purchase as the whole P-value approaching to zero means that hypothesis about â€Å"search† and â€Å"buyâ€Å" data correlation gain more and more viability