Participative Management – Workers Participation in Management

Human Resource Management

Case Study on Entrepreneurship: Larry Page

Business Analysis

The Boundaryless Career: Modern Contemperory Perspective on Career

Human Resource Management

How to Meet Costa Rica’s 2026 VASP Requirements Without Expanding Headcount

General Business Articles

Concepts of Throughput Accounting and Theory of Constraints

Financial Management

Case Study: Starbucks Resilient Turnaround Under Howard Schultz in 2008

Founded in 1971 in Seattle, Starbucks had grown to become a respected global brand, present in 50 states in the US and 43 countries. However, its premium pricing was a considerable disadvantage during the economic slowdown. By March 2008, Starbucks had to close 600 underperforming stores, and its profit had plummeted by 28% compared to the same period in 2007. The following year saw another 300 store closures and 6,700 employees laid off. On January 8, 2008, Howard D. Schultz returned as CEO, taking over from Jim Donald. Schultz, who had been with Starbucks since 1982 and previously served as CEO from 1987 to 2000, found that rapid expansion had diverted the company’s focus from creating inviting cafes and developing new products. In 2007, several factors stood behind Starbucks’ decline, among which one might note a loss of human connection. Howard Schultz observed that the company steadily lost its connection Continue reading

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Case Study on Business Ethics: Ethical Challenges Faced by Nike

Nike Inc. is a multinational American organisation that is known for its ability to design, manufacture and sell footwear-based products, gym accessories and sporting goods. Thus, Nike is considered as one of the largest shoe retailers worldwide, controlling approximately 36% of shoe market. With a revenue of $30 billion in 2015 alone, Nike was acknowledged as the 18th most valuable brand employing over 600,000 workers worldwide. It is, therefore, this which has given Nike the ability to open stores globally. Despite the organisations growing success, Nike has been inundated with criticism since the 1990s regarding the unethical treatment of employees overseas and its impact on the environment. As well as this, there is evidence to suggest that Nike has failed to meet consumer/stakeholder needs in relation to corporate social responsibility; therefore, reducing customer-brand loyalty and consumer trust. Regardless of the effort put in place to overcome these issues, Nike still Continue reading

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The Kübler-Ross Change Curve Model

Kübler-Ross’ Five Stage Change Curve Model, also known as the Kübler-Ross Change Model or the Change Curve, is a framework that outlines the emotional stages individuals typically go through when facing significant change. The Change Curve is based on a model originally developed in the 1960s by Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross to explain the grieving process. Since then it has been widely utilized as a method of helping people understand their reactions to significant change or upheaval. Kubler-Ross proposed that a terminally ill patient would progress through five stages of grief when informed of their illness. She further proposed that this model could be applied to any dramatic life changing situation and, by the 1980s, the Change Curve was a firm fixture in change management circles. The curve, and its associated emotions, can be used to predict how performance is likely to be affected by the announcement and subsequent implementation of a Continue reading

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Case Study: Alliance between Swatch and Mercedes Benz

The process of making Smart car started in 1994 after a deal was sealed between Daimler-Benz, maker of Mercedes-Benz and Swatch, Swiss watchmaker. A joint venture of the two companies created a firm known as Micro Compact Car AG whose headquarters were located in Biel, Switzerland. After announcing the deal, three co-directors were appointed to head the new company, which was later to be known simply as the ‘Smart’ after moving to Germany from Biel. The directors were engineer and designer Johan Tomforde and financial administrator Christopher Baubin from Daimler-Benz and swatch marketing manager Hans Jurg Schar. SMH (makers of the swatch watches) contributed 49% of the initial capital of 50 million Swiss francs while Daimler-Benz contributed the remaining 51%. The company comprised of two branches namely MCC GmbH based in a suburb of Stuttgart known as Renningen charged with the responsibility of designing the car. Hayek’s SMH Auto SA, was to Continue reading

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Case Study of Coca-Cola: Performance Management System (PMS) and Training

The growth of businesses depends on the strategic plans, goals, values, cultures, and norms implemented within a given institution. Multi-national companies like Coca-Cola have dominated the global markets for the past five decades based on adopting performance management and training principles in running activities since its inception in the beverage industry. The organization has an ongoing process of job clarification and open communications within the workspace, a decision that promotes the productivity of workers and the profitability of the firm at large. Performance management promotes coordination between managers and workers through an open-aided communication approach to achieve organizational objectives. Training employees to align with organizational strategic goals starts with clarifying job responsibilities, workplace expectations, developmental planning, and priority setting. Analyzing the strategies of planning, monitoring, developmental, rating, and rewarding employees at Coca-Cola exposes the impact of performance management systems in improving workers’ performance. The Current System in Coca-Cola Coca-Cola’s management values Continue reading

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Case Study: Chrysler’s Merger With Fiat

Among the most attention-grabbing dramas to come out of the Great Recession was the marriage of Fiat and Chrysler. Financed and brokered by the United States government in an unmatched market intervention, the amalgamation brought two outstanding companies together whose histories were strangely similar but whose prospects had recently diverged. Chrysler is an American symbol one of Detroit has framed titanic three in the auto industry. Chrysler is a company with a turbulent history having experienced several cycles of booms and busts. The company fell on hard times and needed a government bailout in the year 1979. Chrysler managed to pay up the government loan and continued to be successful in the auto industry for a better part of the years.  This improvement in its activities was under the leadership of the legendary Lee Lacocca. In the mid 1990s, Chrysler was a strong and growing company, and this aspect led it Continue reading

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