Cultural Diversity in the Workplace

Today’s workforce is truly mixture of different races, ages, genders, ethnic groups, religions and lifestyles. It is the job of the management of the organisation to fit together different pieces of mosaic in a harmonious, coordinated way and utilizing the abilities and talents of each employee to its maximum. If skilfully managed, diversity can bring a competitive advantage to an organisation. If not, however, the bottom line can be negatively affected and the work environment can become unwelcoming. Many organisations have recognized that the workforce is changing and they are working to create a work environment in which diversity and difference are valued and in which employees can work to their fullest. They are dealing with the problems that arise when people in the workplace communicate. Businesses must be aware of the impact of cultural diversity on important business factors especially communication and the degree of the effect of cultural Continue reading

Employee Involvement – Meaning and Importance

Employees, the strongest pillar of the organization are the most valuable asset that contributes significantly to its success and prosperity. The involvement of employees in the organizational operation not only motivates them but also enables them to contribute more effectively and efficiently. Further, employee involvement as a process involving participation, communication, decision making which leads to industrial democracy and employee motivation. Employee involvement is defined as a commitment of the employees towards the values of the organization and willingness to help each other to achieve the organizational goal. The results are not only to increase job satisfaction, or motivation but the increasing performance of that organization. In short, employee involvement is creating an environment where people have a continuous impact on decisions and actions that affect their jobs. Employee Involvement vs  Employee Participation   Employee involvement and employee participation are like two sides of a coin. Both are supplementary to Continue reading

Communication Effects of Advertising

The management should attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of the advertising campaign if the firm’s advertising goals are to be achieved and the ad effectiveness is to be increased. By regular evaluation of the advertising effectiveness, the short comings and the plus points would be revealed and the management would be able to improve the campaign by negating the shortcomings and retaining the favorable point. For this purpose, it is very necessary to know how advertising affects the buyer’s behaviors. But this is very difficult task because measurements are imperfect and imprecise. The effectiveness of advertising can be measured by the extent, it to which it achieves the objectives set for it. If it succeeds in attaining the objectives. Advertising can be said to be effective otherwise it will be a waste of money and time. In this sense, advertising can be recognized as a business activity like other activities. Continue reading

Competitor Analysis

Analyzing competitors is an integral part of strategic planning. Porter’s book, “Competitive Strategy,” gives various insights in Competitor Analysis. In identifying current and potential competitors, firms must consider several important variables: How do other firms define the scope of their market? How similar are the benefits offered by the products and services to those of other firms? How committed are other firms in the industry? What are the long-term intentions and goals of competitors? The goal of competitor analysis is to be able to predict a competitor’s probable future actions, especially those made in response to the actions of the focal business.  Competitor analysis has two primary activities, 1) obtaining information about important competitors, and 2) using that information to predict competitor behavior.  A competitor analysis should include the more important existing competitors as well as potential competitors such as those firms that might enter the industry.  Two complementary approaches Continue reading

Case Study: “Dude, You’re Getting a Dell” Ad Campaign by Dell

Michael Dell began working with computers at age 15, when he took apart a brand-new Apple computer to see if he could rebuild it. He could. In the 1980s Dell began rebuilding and selling computers from his University of Texas at Austin dorm room, naming his company PCs Limited. In 1985 the company developed its own computer, the Turbo PC, which was advertised for direct sale in national computer magazines. Consumers were attracted by the low prices, so much so that the company grossed $6 million in its first year of business. In 1987 PCs Limited changed its name to Dell Computer Corporation, and in 1992 Fortune magazine listed Dell as one of the world’s 500 largest companies. Sales climbed dramatically, giving even the century-old IBM something to worry about. Within a decade Dell had become the largest seller of personal computers in the United States. It lost that spot Continue reading

Why Businesses Fail to Manage Ethics in the Workplace?

The majority of the company including international and local organizations starts to alert and concentrate on the importance of business ethics between managements and employees. One of the major challenges in business ethics is creating a safe environment where all employees or workers can raise their concerns about possible misconduct and wrongdoing. Business ethics has been an essential but difficult subject to handle. Many business organizations recognize the importance of business ethics but do not give it due attention. One the contrary, some organizations have simply provided the fundamental business ethic course which involves learning what is right or wrong and doing the right thing. In the reality, some of the organizations have failed to manage the business ethics in the workplace. The major elements which affect the business failure mainly identified and divided into six different types of categories including gender diversity, sexual harassment, lack of communication, age discrimination, Continue reading