Mohr et al (2010) divide distinctive profiles of CSR practices into three categories: business case, social values, and syncretic stewardship. The business case model of CSR “is driven primarily by the ability of CSR initiatives to create positive business results. Because serving shareholders is paramount, a strong tie to the economic outcomes drives CSR initiatives” (Mohr et al, 2010, p.440). Companies operating under business case model usually adopt reactive approach towards CSR issues and may engage in such activities due to the pressure form various groups, or in the search of competitive edge. Social values model of CSR, on the other hand, involves companies associating with a specific social cause and “it is integrated into the organisational fiber in every way: visible symbols of the cause can be found everywhere in the company” (Mohr et al, 2010, p.441). Businesses operating under syncretic stewardship CSR model aim to harmonise and balance the demands of various stakeholders of he business. In other words, these companies focus on profit maximisation objective of the business as the business case model, but at the same time, they also comprehend the importance of CSR and aim to address it an an effective manner. Four approaches to CSR have been specified by Tudler and Zwart (2006) as inactive, reactive, active and proactive (interactive). It is important to note that “these approaches emerged at different stages of societal development and they are neither mutually exclusive nor do they represent ‘best’ practice models” (Tulder and Zwart, 2006, p.143) The following table illustrates the viewpoints associated with each individual CSR approach: Inactive Reactive Active Pro-/interactive ‘Corporate self-responsibility’ ‘Corporate social responsiveness’ ‘Corporate social responsibility’ ‘Corporate societal responsibility’ Inside-in Outside-in Inside-out In/outside-in/out ‘Doing things right’ ‘Don’t do things wrong’ ‘Doing the right things’ ‘Doing the right things right’ ‘Doing well’ ‘Doing well…
In order to have a successful career it is better to be proactive, rather than reactive in terms of formulating career plans, assessing personal strengths and weaknesses, and devised detailed plans accordingly. It has been acknowledged that “personal development is an increasingly important aspect of life and work” (Boer, 2006, p.6) and therefore this paper represents personal development plan related to the career perspectives of the author. Personal Career Goals and Career Strategy Rothwell (2009) justly argues that personal career goals will be easier to achieve if they correspond to life goals and personal values of individuals. Accordingly, the author of this plan has formulated career goals that reflect personal life goals values. Specifically, the personal career goal for the author of this plan is closely related the e-commerce industry in general, and marketing aspect of e-commerce in particular. In other words, the author of this plan has formulated career goals that involve becoming a competent e-commerce marketing manager. The author has bold ambitions in terms of career plans, but at the same time, cherishes personal values of spending quality time with family and friends. The flexibility associated with the position of marketing management allows the author of this plan to pursue above specified values, and at the same time, to utilise the high level of creativity of the author. Career strategy can be defined as “any behaviour, activity, or experience designed to help a person meet career goals” (Greenhaus et al, 2009, p.131). The main points of the career strategy for the author of this paper consist of the following stages: First, preparing a personal profile. This stage involves identifying the interests of the author as well as assessing personal strengths and weaknesses. Second, formulating short and long-term professional aims and objectives. It has to be ensured that the aims and…
By John Dudovskiy
Category: Personal reflection & development
“Tourism is the world’s largest industry and makes a major contribution to the economies of most developed and developing countries” (Claire and Haven-Tang, 2005, p.1). At the same time, tourism organisations are facing a set of significant challenges they have to deal with in order to ensure their long-term growth. Specifically, quality management can be highlighted as one of the most important challenges for tourism organisations, and the importance of this challenge is increasing with ever-increasing customer expectations. Although the importance of quality in terms of long-term business growth in tourism organisations is widely understood by industry researchers and practitioners, yet no clear and universal recommendations exist regarding how the quality management aspect of the business can be improved in efficient ways. This article critically analyses the significance of quality management within the context of managing a tourism organisation. The article starts with discussions about the importance of managing quality in a tourist organisation, followed by a brief analysis of challenges in ensuring a high quality. Moreover, specific strategies are also described in this paper that tourism organisations can use in order to improve quality management. The Importance of Managing Quality in a Tourism Organisation Managing quality is crucially important for tourism organisations along with other types of businesses. The significance of the quality management issue for tourism organisations has dramatically increased in recent years due to the highly intensified level of competition in the industry caused by the globalisation, low barriers for entering into the industry and a range of other factors. Moreover, “service quality is an intangible, but crucial area of interest to travel service providers” (Morais and Chick, 2005, online) because it is one of the most efficient bases for creating competitive edge in the marketplace. A great level of dedication to such an approach has enabled…
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Started in 2011 by John Dudovskiy, research-methodology.net is a structured academic resource platform that helps students produce high-quality, examiner-ready dissertations, assignments, and business reports. For over a decade, the platform has supported students worldwide in navigating one of the most challenging parts of academic life: Turning ideas into structured, defensible academic work Why Not Just Use AI? AI tools can generate answers. But they often produce generic content, miss academic structure, fail to meet university expectations, and cannot justify methodological choices properly. Information is not the same as academic quality. We focus on structured academic thinking, not shortcuts. Our content teaches you: How to structure your assignments, reports and dissertation step by step How to justify research decisions clearly How to align your work with academic standards How to avoid common mistakes students make This ensures your work is not only completed — but defensible under academic scrutiny. No other source provides SWOT, PESTEL, value chain and Porter’s five forces analysis, as well as, analysis of marketing strategy and CSR practices of major multinational businesses as a single report. Research Methodology is the only portal that offers documents containing the application of the most popular strategic analytical tool using the case study of famous multinational brands within the scope of a single report. The e-book, How to Write a Dissertation: A Step-by-Step System to Plan, Write and Defend Your Dissertation in the age of AI by John Dudovskiy is one of the most comprehensive sources available that offers business students practical assistance in writing their dissertations. The Dissertation Methodology Defense Manual in the AI Era is a practical system to help you justify your research methodology with clarity, respond confidently to examiner questions, and navigate academic integrity in the AI era. Our Vision We are evolving into a complete academic support ecosystem, including:…
It has been stated that “reward management deals with the strategies, policies and processes required to ensure that the contribution of people to the organisation is recognised by both financial and non-financial means” (Armstrong, 2007, p.3). To put it simply rewards are used in order to thank employees, for their increased performances and more importantly, to motivate and inspire them to achieve greater results in the future, therefore, effective reward management systems are crucial to the successful implementation of SHRM. The aims of reward management are listed by Wood (2009) as rewarding employees according to the value created by them, relating the reward practices to the individual employee needs and values, communicating specific messages to the stakeholders in general and to employees in particular through rewards, attracting highly qualified and competent workforce, and motivating employees for high-level performances. Important components of an effective reward management system are specified by Armstrong (2007) as reward philosophy, distributive justice, procedural justice, fairness, equity, consistency, transparency, strategic alignment, conceptual and culture fit, as well as fitting for purpose. Each of these issues needs to be addressed by management in an effective manner in order to maximise the output of reward initiatives. Rewards are usually divided into two groups: tangible and intangible. The most popular forms of tangible rewards include monetary rewards, in the forms of pay-raises and bonuses and other tangible items such as holidays, gifts, free samples of products etc. Intangible rewards, on the other hand, include verbal and written appraisals, appreciation letters, articles in the company and local press etc. The choice between tangible and intangible rewards depends on a range of factors that include cultural background of employees, their personal values, characteristics and traits etc. However, Wood (2009) informs that according to the latest studies intangible rewards in general and the…
By John Dudovskiy
Category: HRM
Effective employment relationships within companies have been recognised to be one of the crucial conditions of succeeding in the marketplace in all industries, including events industy. Therefore, all factors affecting the level of employment relationships within organisations in direct and indirect ways need to be analysed in great detail. Moreover, companies need to promote the factors positively affecting the level of employee relationships at the same time when eliminating the factors with negative effects. Personality can be defined as “the overall profile or combination of stable psychological attributes that capture the uniqueness nature of a person” (Hellriegel and Slocum, 2007, p.42). And “the personality of a person has a bearing on his performance and impression” (Bhatti, 2009, p.3). The nature of personality of an individual has specific impacts on people who interact with that person and the impact is even greater in manager-subordinate type of interactions. According to Adair (2007), the personality of people working in management positions plays significant role in employee motivation, and consequently in achieving organisational aims and objectives. The author rightly argues that managers with such personality attributes as leadership, compassion and effective communication skills are able to motivate the workforce with minimum use of tangible resources. Likewise, managers whose personalities lack important attributes such as leadership and interpersonal skills are most likely to face challenges in terms of motivating their employees and such a scenario would adversely affect the overall work environment and productivity of the organisation. The issue of the personality of managers has even greater implications in the context of event organisations in UK. This is because the successful organisation of special events depends on the level of motivation and enthusiasm of events participants in general, and event staff and volunteers in particular (Matthews, 2008). Moreover, such elements as creativity and originality play…
Business researchers and practitioners agree on the idea that “successful entrepreneurship relies heavily on access to social networks, which provide both, information and trust. Membership of a network not only provides useful contacts that can be trusted – it can also enhance an entrepreneur’s own reputation for trustworthiness” (Casson and Buckley, 2010, p.150). There are many global and local networks with a strong entrepreneurship focus such as Chambers of Commerce, Trade Unions, Freemasons, Trade Associations, Quakers, Business Incubators and others. Each of these networks has its own admission rules, structure, customs etc. and offer business, social and economic values in a unique manner. This article represents a brief analysis of Freemasons, one of the most secret organisations in the world, with the focus on the value the organisation offers in terms of entrepreneurial networking. There are more than six million Freemasons with more than quarter of million Freemasons under United Grand Lodge of England alone (FAQ, United Grand Lodge of England, 2011, online). The popularity of topics associated with Freemasons are increasing in the media for the reasons covered further in this paper. A Brief History of Freemasons There are contradictory opinions in various sources about the origins of Freemasons. It has been stated that “one of Freemasonry’s alleged origins dates back to the building of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem from 970 to 931 B.C.” (Karg and Young, 2009, p.13). According to Jacob (2007) Freemasonry has started by labour leaders and stonecutters in the Middle Ages. Men who were the representatives of other professions than workers in stone stated to be admitted into the organisation starting from 1640s in English, later in Scottish Lodges, and they were referred to as admitted or accepted Masons (Hodapp, 2007). Ridley (2011) informs that the first Grand Lodge, the Grand Lodge of England…
It has been established that “special events are widely recognised as being a growth sector of the tourism industry with potential to generate substantial economic benefit for the city, township or region involved” (Tonge, 2010, p.5). Therefore, it is important to explore the quality issues associated with special event management in order to maximise the economic benefits of special events in various levels. According to Tum et al (2006) the management of special events can be distinguished from many other types of businesses with increased level of influence of human factor on the success of special events, as well as, the increased probability of occurrence of unforeseen circumstances. This situation makes ensuring the high quality in special events a challenging task to accomplish and assigns extra responsibilities for special event managers. Both, special event researchers and practitioners agree about the importance of quality in the provision of special events in a successful manner. Allen (2010) links the increasing importance of quality in special events to dramatically intensifying level of competition in the marketplace. According to ‘UK Events Market Trends Survey’ conducted by industry association Eventia, 1.3 million events have been staged during the year of 2010 and the market size for the year is estimated to be 16.3 billion GBP (Quainton, 2011, online). Such intense level of competition leaves special event companies searching for competitive edge in order to survive in the marketplace and providing high level of services has been acknowledged as one of the most effective sources of competitive edge. Some of the challenges faced by service organisations in general, and special events organisers in particular directly relate to the nature of the business and are not shared by the businesses operating in manufacturing industry. Specifically, it has been stated that “the definitions that aimed to describe services…
Several decades ago there was a global social pattern where husbands were considered to be the breadwinners, whereas wives stayed at home and were mainly engaged in bringing up their children and doing household chores. However, this pattern has changed dramatically and irreversibly in global level in general and in Europe and USA in particular. As a result, today both, husbands and wives have their own career aspirations and this has caused a range of implications for their families, as well as, organisations employing them. Dual-career couple has been defined as “a married couple where both husband and wife have different careers” (HR Dictionary, 2011, online). “For dual-career couples and working women, balancing work demands with personal and family responsibilities is difficult to do” (Jackson and Mathis, 2007, p.295), and the situations becomes even more challenging where dual career couples have a child or children. Organisations have to introduce specific measures and initiatives in order to assist their dual-career couples and parent employees to achieve work-life balance, and thus to achieve their commitment and contribution to the achievement of organisational objectives in an effective manner. The Issues Associated with Dual-Career Couples and Parent Employees It is a fact nowadays that “the number of dual-career couples is increasing and the trend is worldwide. DuPont, for example, has 3,500 dual-career couples in the workforce of 100,000” (Aswathappa and Dash, 2007, p.160). Werner and DeSimone (2009) explain this dramatic increase in the numbers of dual career couples with increasing role and rights of woman in society and changing family values. From a purely economical viewpoint increasing numbers of dual career couples, as well as, parent employees is considered to be a positive tendency, because this will positively contribute to the level of tax revenues and value creation and ultimately, increasing standard of…
By John Dudovskiy
Category: HRM