Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Plan for Skoda

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Plan for Skoda The purpose of this report is to implement power integrated marketing communication plan for Skoda; automotive company. The outcome of this plan is to establish an impressive and desire challenger brand in order to compete with category big fish automotive brands in Australia. Skoda is encountering a big challenge from its marketing communication although company is gradually establishing itself known to automotive consumers, but it seemed difficult to reach their goal, since companys history and reputation were not accepted by Australian consumers. As a consequence of company necessary to break with the immediate past and reposition itself. By changing consumer perception of Skoda from the brand that lack of history and weak reputation to become the brand that everybody wants. As a result, single key thought which is VALUE will be used as platform of all marketing communication strategies and tactics in order to become a big fish in the automotive category in Australia This integrated communication plan will outline many aspects pertaining to firstly; the communication plan will focus on the overall of Australia automotive and identify companys position and problem. Second part will provide the solution of Skodas marketing communication plan based on Morgans eight credos by utilizing it through all power communication channels such as Public Relation, Advertising, Internet marketing and Sponsorship. Lastly, this plan also presents a communication brief of each party such as PR agency and Advertising agency. Part 1: Background InformationCompany Background Skoda is the one of car manufactures in the world with its strong engineer and production for more than century. The company first was established in 1895 in Czech Republic. Later on, the Czech brand was searching for well-known partner. As a result of in 1991, Volkswagen was chosen since VW is the largest automotive manufacturer in. However, 30% of Skodas equity was owned by Volkswagen group in Germany. Ten years later, Skoda was completely taken over by Volkswagen. Company was introduced in Australia in 2007and keep growing up to develop new ideas for simply clever driving with proudly of innovation and design. Overview of the Australian motor vehicle market The Australian automotive market is extremely competitive, with more than 60 models of many car brands available for purchase. The new record for this industry was reported that in 2007 the number of new vehicle sales were 1,049,982 units which have been increase about 9.1% from 2006. Furthermore, there was an increasing of all types of vehicle; however the increasing trend of small/city car took the highest in the market growth as detailed in the figure 1 below. Source: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, 2008. As a result of company aims to introduce the newly product, with full performance of diesel engines into city type which called SKODA MANIA Source: Australian automotive intelligence, 2010 From figure 2 above, the market leader in selling is Toyota, the brand has been in the first rank for 7 years followed by Ford and Holden. In addition, there was a significant strong position of Japanese brand in the Australian market whereas the strongest European brand was Volkswagen which has been strengthened its sales in Australian market for 10 years. As previous information, it provides opportunity to Skoda to introduce a new product and leverage its competitors as the newly European brand in the market. Consequently, Skoda needs to create strong brand reputation; moreover, the communication needs to concentrate on the most powerful key though VALUE into prospects mind. Key issues From figure 3 below, illustrate the latest research reported total market shares of competitive vehicle brands in Australia, the majority percentage of share market contributed to Toyota with 21% of proportion same as other brand name which combined various non-dominant brands. So in order to compete the market share of the big fish in this category, the new European brand like Skoda has to introduce new image of itself settle in a position as European brand that provide value and performance could comparable with Japanese brands. In order to launch a new brand product SKODA MANIA and generate the influential communication plan, it is required to identify communication challenges as following points: Brand has weak reputation in Australians mind since it was taken by Volkswagen, Skoda need to build brand preference and persuade a target audience to consider its product attributes by building its reputation as a long-established and trusted name in the market. Automotive product category need high involvement in purchasing decision, the communication concepts need to focus on visual and emotional appeals to create value for money in consumers decision. There is a shift in consumer preferences due to the demand of consumers on type of car has been significant changed from large passenger cars to smaller with lower fuel consumption cars, thus the effective communication will provide value proposition for the Skoda brand to launch city full performance car . As a result of Skoda needs to position itself as a challenger brand and break with its immediate past from the brand no one knows to become the desire brand. Furthermore, our Czech brand has to drive itself to become a leader in automotive category in Australia market which requires an effective and pioneer the comprehensive integrated marketing communication plan. So it could be done by follow the process of The Eight Marketing Credos by Adam Morgan. The big fish main competitor The big fish in the automotive of Australian market is Toyota, as a major competitor of challenger brand like Skoda. With a dominant position in Australian car market since companys market share achieved around 21 percent in 2009 and retained the number one status in selling products than any other single brand in the country. More than 50 years in Australia, Toyota has grown to be one of Australias leading automotive companies with the total sales revenue $7.982 billion in the end of 2009 Toyota.com, 2010. Toyota has a strong key element to support its brand positioning such as being an innovative brand that implement the most advanced environmental technologies and enrich society through car making. Forrester Research, 2006. The Japanese brand sale several of product types which are passenger car, 4WDSUV, commercial and hybrid with offering more than 15 marques. In 2009, the company spent more than $ 65 million on adverting; the report was covered advertisements in all areas of media such as television, radio, newspapers and online search and classifieds Stafford, 2010. Part 2: Communication Plan Why marketing communication plan is important to Skoda? The marketing communication has a significant function for Skoda plan since we need to manage the concept and make all aspects of marketing communication such as advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing work together as a integrated force Lake, 2009. Furthermore, it is general argue that the branding is related to get companies target audience to select their brand over the highly competition, but it is about capture the prospects to recognize their brand as the only one in their mind and perception that could deliver them the best solution to their problem. However, to succeed in doing that, we must to realized and understand the needs and wants of our customers and prospects. As a consequence of integrate marketing communication is very important to our branding, advertising and marketing strategies in all attribute areas of public contact. Brand like Skoda has not instituted a strong historical brand in the market, consequently; company has to invest in communications due to the fact that Skoda needs to formulate prospects to aware its product and emphasis on its key though VALUE by communicating through functional and emotional of its product attribute to ensure that its advantage could leverage the big fish in automotive industry Millier, 2010. In addition, developing communications strategies could provide companys knowledge and help Skoda understand its markets effectively. So Skoda needs a large investment in communication plan. There are various benefit that company will derive from invest in communications and develop marketing strategy as following figure 4 below The communication plan will enhance company in four major areas; sale growth, price premium, brand loyalty and fast penetrate into the market which increasing in the marketing communication budget will maximize shareholder value as well as the long-run profitability. Budget Allocation According to increase of marketing communication spending, Skoda needs to maximize profit and shareholder value for brand. Since, the company will be positioned itself for the city car segment with expecting that these advertising spending will enhance shareholder value and the company profile margin sustainably. Therefore, to allocate the budgets on media that communicate to all areas of the community, Skoda total marketing communication budget will spend up to $AUD 8 million within period 5 months. Skoda will process the plan with various agencies and other media house to response for this campaign communication to facilitate company from the inception stage; build an unknown brand and overcome the risk factors from enter to mid car segment. The challenger strategic approach: a four stage process Stage 1 Attitude and Preparation Credo1: Breaking with Immediate Past The core problem of challenger brands is not provide new and unique idea into the consumers, it depend on how they can remove the conventional idea from the past. Consumers perception is same as a room with full of old furniture. Therefore, before we move a new one into that space, we need to delete the old furniture from the room first. Skoda has to realise about the concept of breaking with the immediate past in order to see real challengers and possibilities in the new market. Formerly, company has weak reputation on the market as a consequence of the challenger brand as Skoda need to consciously break with its own immediately past by reinventing brand history as key issue from an unknown brand to become desire brand in Australian market. Furthermore, its a bright opportunity for the brand to introduce new product SKODA MANIA, the city car with powerful diesel engine into the market by providing the new concept of The true VALUE of powerful diesel car and bringing other inspiration from another category into its product. This brand new opportunity enables company to step back and make upstream question and refine a new product. To define the challenge, we want to compete with the market leader and we want to make the different. It is vital role for the company to make its brand stand out in the competition by opposition its product attribute and create a new category on powerful diesel car against the Big fish like Toyota hybrid. However, Skoda clearly identify itself to be different from the category, Skoda has to battle within the same areas of brand leader by trying to win the number one market share of automotive market. Stage 2 Challenger Strategy Credo 2 : Building a Lighthouse Identity The critical role in marketing strategy is we have to state that who we are. Skoda has to develop clear stage in what its brand stand for which is the desire brand of powerful diesel car by creating its own values through key thought The true value of powerful diesel car. In order to become desire brand, company does not only position itself as the brand that everybody wants but its also want to position itself as a impressive value perspective as a good sign of how Skoda is going to play. Another aspect of brand challenger as Skoda has to consider is tried to build emotional attachment based on point of view with consumer. Not only the brand has to determine what are the key features that want to communicate, but Skoda also has to build its prominent identity the desire brand of powerful diesel car to let consumer engage and affiliate with brand. Credo 3 : Assume Thought Leadership Of The Category Now Skoda brand does not be the leader in the Australian automotive market but there is another opportunity for Skoda thought as the leadership in the brand category. To create a long term goals that makes everyone talk about its brand, Skoda had clarified itself different from competitors as the desire brand of powerful diesel car and make great reason which is impressive value perspectives why consumer must select its brand. In accordance to communicate the massive impact of brand identity and positioning, Skoda could achieve by breaking of key conventions in the category. In this kind of situation, Skoda chooses to break the conventions of neighborhood and network. By selecting BP gas station as a brand partner since Skoda quite new comer in the Australian market, company needs to enhance brand positioning by being partner with worldwide fuel brand that provide reliability and trustworthiness products to the market like BP. Moreover, to encompass a wide range of its communication marketing activities such as provide special promotion when consumers purchase SKODA MANIA they will get petrol coupon to use at BP for free. Combining the strength of BP brand helps company gains more trust, build consumer acceptance and brand preference that create impactful reason why they have to choose you. Additionally, Skoda will break the convention of media in promoting of its brand new product. Company use website as a platform to integrate of all communication channel. Although Skoda has invested a high budget into advertising and PR, the company will benefit from the low cost of operating from using the digital media to communicate with its target. All communication channels will provide Skoda website www.skoda.com.au in order to convince prospect to find more information at there. Furthermore, valuable thing from utilize internet channel is time, since consumers could find and get precise all products details from online store that opening 24/7. Using of free social media such as Facebook or Twitter will help company reach the right target easily since this kind of free media become a part of everybodys life and most of working people also associate with them. Credo 4 : Create Symbol of Reevaluation To create our symbol of re-evaluation, the key concern is not budgeting but it is about Skoda needs to recognize what the dominant customer complacency is and show how they can see its brand. In order to achieve this key complacency, the brand has to stimulate actions that make consumers rethink about Skoda and recognize the symbol to what the brand want to communicate. Skoda seemed to be unbranded as first introduce to the market this chance will help company to change consumer perception towards the brand from little or no image to be the brand preference / desire brand that make consumer perceive to its brand values. PR agency will create viral as unbranded first by placing its car with full of money fake in the high traffic areas, let people curious what is about and why this car has a lot of money. The company will reveal the reason why its car must filled with money which is value of saving from diesel engine that make the owner of SKODA MANIA has a lot of money. Also use the other media to emphasis its key thought and brand concept which is The true value of powerful diesel car. Stage 3 Challenger Behavior Credo 5 : Sacrifice To be successful challenger brand does not necessary to have a perfect marketing strategy. In order to get number one of brand leader sometimes the sacrifice has to be taken. First is Skoda has to sacrifice in the target market by focusing on male and working people on the other hand, Skoda has to give up female as a main target in order to establish relationship with the core target. Due to its product performance match with working men who choose the quality and performance of product as first criteria, this beneficial enable company to sale the product and build closely relationship to its target easily. Sacrifice on pricing strategy would be another thing which company has taken into account. To facilitate new product launch in this country, Skoda has to realize on its key though VALUE by giving consumer value for money in purchasing its product. Consumers perception towards diesel car is save thus company need to sacrifice the premium price in order to capture consumer attention and create the brand considerable. Credo 6: Overcommitment To be the brand challenger does not mean to do just enough for achieving the key success. Alternatively, if all members in Skoda whether top managements or employees work together and dedicate themselves to make consumers perceive brand differentiate, Skoda will be accomplished and become desire brand. Since Skoda has determine its goal to be the brand leader in the market and compete share of mind in consumers, as a result of motivation of its staff to reach overcommitment is the critical concept that Skoda should state in its mind. All Skoda members do not only overcommitment to provide the impressive value product to the market and but also attempt to focus on implementing the key thought and brand concept to be consistent in order to achieve the company goals. Credo 7: Use Advertising and Publicity as a High-Leverage Asset For the challenger brand, only clear communication is not enough, capturing the targets imagination and mind must be objective Morgan, 2009. To introduce brand into new market, roles of advertising and PR must be noticed. Both of effective tools characterize an enormous opportunity to Skoda to accomplish position in the new market since Skoda needs to attend the consumers mind and get them to spread its word. As a consequence, Skoda has been identified what the brand want to say and create the precise message to be communicated with specify the period of time, location and required task. Skoda debut its brand via PR tools is such a dominant strategy because once consumers did not know anything about its brand and new product. In order to gain the brand credibility, company needs to leverage competitors by using PR as credible source to make the brand more acceptances in the new market. Skoda has to build its position through various PR campaign such as word of mouth, special event and the group of influencers such as mavens and connectors and salesman. Advertising will be another channel that Skoda uses to convince consumers to make the decision in purchasing our product. The persuasive ads will be utilized to persuade consumer mind to use Skoda MANIA with emotional appeals of advertising techniques that company try to engage upon emotions of its audience. Moreover, key though of the brand must be highlighted through all communication messages to encourage audience perception towards its brand values. Stage 4 Sustaining challenger Momentum Become Idea-Centered, Not Consumer-Centered The brand challengers have to realize that the new ideas need to be employed in order to maintain in their momentum. Instead of changing core identity, Skoda has to refresh and make the core idea to be differentiated. As a consequence of the failure in its momentum in the market, the brand needs to sustain consumer perception and keep building relationship with consumers. To achieved this kind of challengers, Skoda has to deploy ideas-centered not consumer-centered by continuing generate product beyond customers satisfaction and product improvement. On the top of that, Skoda do not change its communication strategy, the challenge brand like Skoda tend to find more opportunity to deliver its brand value through the creative ideas and communication tools such as ambient and concept of car customization. Part 3: Marketing Communication Roles In order to generate the marketing communication program and make it strong and true, we need to employ the concept of six honest serving men of Rudyard Kipling which help we formulate the successful brief and avoid weak briefing that can stimulate and deliver the weak messages. What : The aim of this communication plan To build awareness of Skoda brand and capture consumers attention by shifting from no one know to desire brand To launch new Skoda car into Australian market with full performance of diesel engines into city type which called SKODA MANIA To stimulate the sale in order to compete market share of automotive car in Australian market Establishing of key thought VALUE to this plan , paveing the way to engage all communication tools within single focus that helps promote the effective campaign to consumers To create a new category in the consumers mind that is powerful diesel car Product Since the historical of both brand and the new product does not exist in market, we have to provide the clear benefits, features and advantages of the product to all agencies. To make them clear what our desires and needs to promote of this plan. Description: Newly powerful diesel engines has introduced into Skoda model. The superior with diesel engines which completely installed in the body. All product features designed to capture consumers attention with offered the VALUE for money. Features Advantages Benefits A large of passenger room Increase the space inside passenger room Comfort and spacious with 5 adults able to sit. Extensive equipments Import leather seats, full options of CD player and climate controlled air conditioning. Adjustable leather seat 6 step, both MP3 and USB adaptable in CD player. Reasonable price As the cheaper model in the Skoda product category. All pricing provide with negotiable agreement. Guarantee from Euro NCAP crash rating. Safety features such as six airbags, stability control and ABS brakes. This model also gets a four-star Euro NCAP crash rating. Low fuel consumption Reasonable level for diesel consumption for both standard testing and highway testing. The diesel engine is supremely improved with appropriate average figure for a mid-sized sedan. Brand personality Due to the good characteristic of brand personality should expression the core values of the brand, thus Skodas personality is centred on Elegance and European. If we compared its personality with famous person it might be Jude Law who could best represent elegance character to the brand. Key message Emotional appeals will be delivered as key tone The true value of powerful diesel car will serve as the platform for all communications and keep our campaign strategy consistency. Mandatory executional requirement legal qualification Company logo has to be shown in all communication tools. Tag line Simply clever should align with brand logo. All communication tools should end up with key message of the product which is The true value of powerful diesel car Activities Following are activities must be done; Why : The reasons that we need to perform this integrated communication plan are building positive brand awareness and associating the brand in the mind of consumers. Moreover, as a brand challenger competing the brand leader and gaining number one share in the market would be the optimum outcome for the brand. Who The primary target that we want to communicate with would be male 25-40 years old those working men who looking for the car that provide them better performance with elegance style. Secondary target are smart business people both male and female who age raging from 25-35 years old. Demographic characteristics Working people age is 25 or above Income level $AUS 9,000 per month. Most who lived in city or suburbs. Psychographic characteristics Lifestyle: Sociable, friendly, concern for others and pleasantness. Attitude: Self-confidence and belief in their decision. Where : The main campaign will be carried out in Sydney as centre in order to build giant impact in Australia. We need to implement in the big city because our target market mostly work and live in Sydney. Moreover, to create the powerful communication tools, we need to gain the massive reach and visibility from our prospects by placing our media in the centre, department store and office building of city such as CBD, QVB and martin place. When : This campaign will be carried out for 7 months starting from September 2010 until end of January 2011. For the details will be shown as following timeline; How : Measuring the effectiveness of marketing campaigns is to determine how successful it is. So, we need to set judgment criteria for each marketing communication tasks by tracking the main measurement such as Key performance index Total number of sales Leads generation. For each marketing task we can assess the effectiveness as following; Requests for information/brochure Request test drive Retail dealer traffic Website traffic or click-through rates Number of coupon redemption Phone lines to track phone orders Communication Brief Market research brief Objective To measure consumers value perception towards Skoda before and after the new communication campaign. To assess whether creative development create impact to the audience or not To conducted creative development to analysis whether IMC campaign achieves its objectives and marketing goals or not. To anticipate the future outcome of the social trend towards product category market Socials insight Customers Insight Target market / Audience Middle / city car segmentation. Respondents; businessmen and women 20 45 year of age. The research method Focus group Open-ended questionnaire Online survey Required task : Conducting brand positioning and image testing Conducting creative assessment Conducting Outcome-based research to study consumers insight and experience about city car Geographical boundaries All market research activities should be done in Sydney, Australia. Timeline Market research should be conducted start from week 1 week 2 of September 2010 Budget $ 320,000 for overall market research budget Advertising agency brief The role of advertising agency: Advertising agency has a responsibility to communicate our brand to the public via mass media. Each media will perform with particular purpose in order to capture a different area of prospect mind. Objective To build the brand awareness of Skoda To motivate consumers demand through the effective media To promote new product SKODA MANIA diesel engines Target audience Male 25 45 year of age. Key thought : VALUE Mood and Tone : Elegance / Prestige / Powerful / Smart Clean Key message : The true value of powerful diesel car Mandatory: All advertisements have function to influence our target audience to purchase the product Key message must out the end of ads scene Brand logo must be shown in all advertisement as well as tagline Simple clever TVC concept must engage a compelling story to unite the idea of with emotional. Story should build audiences emotion and energy with the detailed information of brand image and history. Advertising Campaign Tools Agency must develop 2 TVC , 2 print ads and 1 out of home medias TV Commercial: must be promoted during prime time. Print ads: must be placed in impact areas, could capture mass target audience such as train stations, bus stops, and office building areas and shopping centre. Timeline: Ads will be launched first 3 weeks of October 2010 then week 2 and 4 of both November and December 2010. Then only week 2 on January 2011 Budget $ 1,840,000 for overall advertising budget PR agency brief The role of PR agency: due to we want to establish brand reputation in the market and provide product into new category, PR such a powerful tool to help company accomplish lots of goal such as create Skoda name in consumers mind and capture consumers attention. Objective To build the brand awareness of Skoda To amplify talk of the town as well as buzz of Skoda test drive campaign To create brand value and equity into consumers perception To promote new product SKODA MANIA diesel engines Target audience Consumers, government , dealers , suppliers , corporate , NGOs and employees Key thought : VALUE Key message : The true value of powerful diesel car Required task: Providing press kit / press release to mass media about our brand new product The article published about the brand must be written in the magazine, advertorial and newspaper. The content must be captured attention of consumers, compete share of mind, and highlight on our product attribute VALUE Selecting Skoda brand ambassador who can be represented to brand concept and brand personality It is PR roles to create an attractive test drive event to amplify brands virus and motivate those three groups; Connectors, Marven and Salemen. To launch road show test drive event , let consumers experience with the new Skoda product and create word of mouth Word of mouth PR also responsible for generate the big impact of the buzz, thus we will engage people to word of mouth marketing as a key component to spread our test drive event. To let consumers experience with our SKODA MANIA and it is also opportunity of them to receive our product details and benefit of Skoda concept. Then the consumers will share experience among their friends and family. Moreover, word of mouth is more likely to reach and touch the mind of consumers which could drive the message to reach mass target without or low assistance from the company. So in this test drive event, it is necessary to invite all journalists from car magazine, men magazine and newspapers to attend and experience with test drive as well. The Buzz must encourage all journalists and maven to experience and spread about our product by providing advantage and highlighting on how consumer will perceive the value of the new brand product Timeline : Press release will be launched on week 1 October 2010 Brand ambassador will be selected on week 1 October 2010 Special event will be launched on first week 2 of November 2010 and run on for the 3 weeks Articles and advertorials in magazine and newspaper will start written after first week of test drive event Budget $ 1,440,000 for overall PR budget campaign Media planner brief Objective To select the effective media for all campaign tools Target audience Male 25 45 year of age. Key thought : VALUE Key message : The true value of powerful diesel car Required task Agency needs to select the powerful media

Motivational Methods Essay

Motivation in the workplace is very crucial for businesses and people. For most healthcare managers they have a lot of stress on them daily. As manager they provide leadership, guidance, and skills to their employees. Making sure the workplace operates correctly not only for the success as a team but also for the public. There are different ways motivations can affect us in a behavior standpoint. Quoted â€Å"Based on psychological and neurobiological theories of core affective experience, we identify a set of direct and indirect paths through which affective feelings at work affect three dimensions of behavioral outcomes: direction, intensity, and persistence. First, affective experience may influence these behavioral outcomes indirectly by affecting goal level and goal commitment, as well as three key judgment components of work motivation: expectancy judgments, utility judgments, and progress judgments. Second, affective experience may also affect these behavioral outcomes direct ly’’ (2004, Barrett and Bartunek). Based on scholar article this provides allot of different information of how studies have shown It is important in every organization big or small that everyone has the ability to make sure all departmental managers are on the same page. Especially with a downsized company, this can really hurt those who have had issues with bad employees versus good employees. There are difficult facts to make sure that we all keep an open perspective when a company downsizes. Giving employees bonuses during this  type of a difficult situation is good because this allows you to make a peaceful profit for the employee to stay while downsizing staff. Sometimes if you downsize a large staff and people get cut, this can become an intimidating situation and those who are staying should feel more comfortable with their job. Having employee bonuses really reflect on those who are really hard working people and can make sure that they stay motivated. Motivation allows a person to feel confident in their job and with the bonuses that are given; this will help to keep loyal employees during a difficult time. Those who are let go should be assured that a good reference will be with the company and that sometimes downsizing doesn’t mean a negative unemployment. Motivation of people to work effectively comes from inside out, the organizations they work for, and how motivation is accomplish. People’s intrinsic and extrinsic needs to be satisfied with such things as money or security or maybe both are needed to get the job done. There are many theories on motivations that have been studied, and some have proven to be very effective. â€Å"TheAdams’ Equity Theory- which proposes that individuals are motivated whenthey perceive that they are treated equitably in comparison to others within the organization† (Adams, 1963). According to the theory, it comes down to a fair balance between the employee’s inp uts and outputs. Inputs such as his/her work skills, effectiveness as a teamplayer; against his or her outputs like money, intangibles such as sense of achievement, praise and reputation. The heart of the Equity Theory is when people feel they are being treated fairly and respected for their work are more likely to be more motivated. Those that are unfairly treated are highly prone to feelings of disaffection and demotivation. So, by using this model in our organization we will have very motivated employees who are team players. The model will be effective by sharing information good or bad on how they are performing at their jobs and rewarding those that show good motivation and team work. The goal is for employees to like what they are doing and share that with others on the team. â€Å"As motivational situation we might seek to assess using the model, is not dependent on the extent to which a person believes reward exceeds effort, nor even necessarily on the belief that reward exceeds effort at all. Rather, Equity, and the sense of fairness which commonly underpins motivation, is dependent on the comparison a person makes between his or her  reward/investment ra tio with the ratio enjoyed (or suffered) by others considered to be in a similar situation†(Balancing Employee Inputs and Outputs). Behavioral Management Theory is the understanding and response of employee needs to enforce motivation. This theory guides management in a better understanding of the human aspect. It involves management to treat employees as important resources in the workforce. The goal is to raise productivity and to do this by motivating employees. Motivating employees can involve incentives like employee bonuses, promotions, and the collection and redeeming of points for rewards. As the management takes interest in employees, it makes them feel like an important part of the puzzle, and in turn motivates employees to work harder. Like in most cases, if the employees are satisfied and working conditions are good, productivity raises automatically. A theorist by the name of Mayo Hawthorne devised an experiment that allowed a group of telephone line workers to be separated and observed in a private room. The controlled group of employees increased greatly in productivity. This brought the human rela tions movement that involved management spending time, showing interest, and rewarding employees to increase productivity. Employees felt management was interested in their wellbeing. Motivated employees produce positive productivity and behavior. The behavioral management theory was developed in response to employees’ behavior education and motivation towards work being positive and increasing productivity. (Kat Kadian-Baumeyer) Managers facing a major change within a company such as downsizing must know how to handle the situation in order to make their employees feel comfortable with the impending change. There are several techniques a manager can apply in order to make the transition smooth and flawless beginning by treating each employee with respect as the individual that they are. A manager could discuss possible promotions to certain employees in order to keep them which could calm and prepare them for change. However, not every employee will be offered such a deal, but honesty will go a long way when speaking to them when there is a big change about to take place. Once the information has been given one important technique a manager can adhere to is to listen because there will many questions and concerns. If an employee feels, they are receiving neither respect nor honesty it can quickly escalate into something hostile that is something every company and manager needs to avoid. In the workplace many  times once we get into a position it can be hard for us to stay driven. That’s why managers tend to try to change things up in the work environment. Good motivations to get employees driven again are offeringrewards. It is a work driven environment that makes employees both maintain and push themselves to reap the reward. In the healthcare environment with it being ever changing managers may even offer a reward for those that complete trainings. Many times the trainings that pop up daily have changes that need to be put in place immediately. Employees even feel better about the workplace and themselves upon completion of assignment especially knowing there will be a reward for their effective work. Managers often have to do the dirty work of disciplining and punishing employees. When managers give instruction,it’s important to be clear what performance below expectations will do for you and at the same time explaining what rewards are given for meeting and exceeding expectations. We as the future of healthcare managers need to make sure we have the education and tools to be great leaders and lead the future of our staff to great lengths and expectations. Provided by my team this paper shows our great strengths and weaknesses. As a team we have shown that we are a stronger unit as one, we have our different opinions but still manage to make our deadlines. I am grateful for theteam membersin this class we have learned allot, and I know we are well prepared to conquer this paper. References Adams’ Equity Theory/Balancing Employee Inputs and Outputs Retrieved from:http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_96.htm The role of affective experience in work motivation: Test of a conceptual model (Jean M. Bartunek and Lisa Feldman Barrett, 2004) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1519413/ Behavioral Management Theory: Understanding Employee Behavior & Motivation Retrieved from: http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/behavioral-management-theory-understanding-employee-behavior-motivation.html#lesson Lipman, V. (2013). 5 Easy Ways To Motivate – And Demotivate – Employees. Forbes Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com Rewards and Incentives in the Workplace by Sherrie Scott, Demand Media Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/rewards-incentives-workplace-11236.html

Greek Temples - Residences for the Ancient Greek Gods

Terence the Famous Roman Playwright

Publius Terentius Afer, or Terence, was a famous playwright of North African descent in the Roman Republic. He was born around 195 B.C. in Carthage  and was initially brought to Rome as a slave. However, Terence’s abilities got him eventually freed, and he went on to write six separate plays. Terence’s works were performed for the first time around 170 BC. Terence based his comedy on the New Comedy of Menander. New comedy was the forerunner of the comedy of manners (written by Molià ¨re, Congreve, Sheridan, Goldsmith, and Wilde). Arrival in Rome Terence was initially brought to Rome as a slave by a Roman senator named Terentius Lucanus. Lucanus educated Terence as he served as a slave, and he eventually freed Terence due to his abilities as a playwright. Death Terence is thought to have died at a young age, either at sea on his way back to Rome, or in Greece. His death is thought to have occurred around 159 BC. Plays Despite his early demise, Terence wrote six separate plays that have each survived to this day. The titles of Terence’s six separate plays are Andria, Hecyra, Heauton Timoroumenos, Eunuchus, Phormio, and Adelphi. The first, Andria, is thought to have been produced in 166 BC, while the last, Adelphi, is thought to have been produced in 160 BC. Production notices for his plays provide approximate dates:  · Andria - 166 BC  · Hecyra (The Mother-in-Law) - 165 BC  · Heauton Timoroumenos (The Self-Tormentor) - 163 BC  · Eunuchus (The Eunuch) - 161 BC  · Phormio - 161 BC  · Adelphi (The Brothers) - 160 BC. Terences plays were more refined than ​Plautus’, which led him to be slightly less popular at the time. There was also a fair share of controversy during Terence’s lifetime, as he was accused of contaminating the borrowed Greek material that he utilized in his plays. He was also accused of having had assistance in the creation of his plays. From The Encyclopedia Britannica: â€Å"In a prologue to one of his plays, Terence] meets the charge of receiving assistance in the composition of his plays by claiming as a great honour the favour which he enjoyed with those who were the favorites of the Roman people. But the gossip, not discouraged by Terence, lived and throve; it crops up in Cicero and Quintilian, and the ascription of the plays to Scipio had the honour to be accepted by Montaigne and rejected by Diderot.† The main sources of information regarding Terence are the prologues to his plays, the production notices, biographical material written centuries later by Suetonius, and commentary written by Aelius Donatus, a fourth-century grammarian. Also Known As: Publius Terentius Afer Examples: Terence wrote, According as the man is, so must you humour him. Adelphoe. Act iii. Sc. 3, 77. (431.)

Rational Model Of Decision Making - 1036 Words

What do you consider the most important points (or lessons) that were introduced in the text and class discussion? Were these new topics or did they reinforce what you had previously learned? What have been your personal experiences and/or how would you apply these to your workplace? Tools for decision making is interesting topic to me. I used probability theory some time using actual values. Often everyone use the probability concept based on the previous experience and knowledge. This the first time came across decision making software. I searched internet about decision making software. Those program leads the user through the steps of the formal decision making process. These days I am looking for Laboratory Management Software for my work place. I will use brainstorming concept in this chapter to select good program. I will use rational model of making step to direct my team during brainstorming session. Identify the problem identify the alternative solution gather facts evaluate alternative chose and implement the best alternative feedback and corrective action. The rational model of decision making use every day in my life. Not only has the work placed in the home too. The â€Å"Recency syndrome† (tendency to remember more easily those events that have occurred recently) is very true concept. I experience lot in my workplace. Every year I conduct good manufacturing training and food defense training to the employees. I hope it help people to remember theShow MoreRelatedRational Decision Making Model1679 Words   |  7 PagesAbstract What is a decision? The word decision can be defined as, the act of reaching a conclusion or making up ones mind (American Heritage, 2000). Essentially, a decision is a choice that an individual or a group of people makes. A decision can be a single action, an entire process, or even just a single spoken word or gesture. Decision-making is one of the defining characteristics of leadership. Making decisions is what managers and leaders are paid to do, and is an integral part of theirRead MoreThe Rational Decision Making Model1066 Words   |  5 Pageswe do the most. All of these things, both small and large require a process that is commonly referred to as the decision making process. Decisions make up every aspect of our daily lives that is remotely imaginable. One of the most common decision making model is called the, rational decision making model. The first step in the model is to construe the problem or the actual decision to be made. Then, you will identify the information needed for the process to go forth. After that, you will weighRead MoreRational Model Of Decision Making1287 Words   |  6 Pagescompany and will be understood by every employee. The first step within the rational model of decision making is to identify the problem or opportunity at hand. This can be anywhere from customer compliments to turnover of staff or mergers that can take place to hiring a new top executive. This stage is all about making improvements and diagnosing them in the proper way. The second step within the rational model of decision making it to think up alternative solutions. This can be either obvious or creativeRead MoreThe Rational Decision Making Model766 Words   |  4 PagesMost of us have to make decisions from the time we wake up until the time we go to bed at night. Answering questions like what should I eat for breakfast, can I make that yellow light and should I go to the gym or go out for pizza all require us to make a choice or a decision (Robbins, S.P., Judge, T.A., 2009). At work I am challenged with collaborating with managers and other leaders to make decisions based on scenarios and events that occur in the hospital. The challenge when workingRead MoreThe Rational Decision Making Model Essay1796 Words   |  8 Pagesrecommendations of the report. The rational decision making model is utilized to make the best decision possible. â€Å"The rational decision making model is the best-known prescriptive model; the model involves several sequential steps: identifying the problem, determining the goals and objectives, identifying and evaluating alternative policies, choosing from the alternatives, recommending actions, implementation, and evaluation (Smith, 2014).† The use of this model is justified as it provides structureRead More Rational Decision Making Model Essay1605 Words   |  7 PagesRational Decision Making Model Abstract What is a decision? The word decision can be defined as, â€Å"the act of reaching a conclusion or making up ones mind† (American Heritage, 2000). Essentially, a decision is a choice that an individual or a group of people makes. 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First of all, because a rational decision model provides structure and discipline to the decision making process. In contrast an intuitive model is basically making decisions based on feelings. Catherine cannot afford to make a decision just based on feeling because at this stage in her life, she wants to make a decision that is going to be logical and based on facts. Therefore, Catherine will have full and perfectRead MoreThe Rational Model of Policy Decision Making2813 Words   |  12 PagesLefoko O. Molebatsi (2001) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Public Policy and Policy Analysis: The Rational Model Question: The rational model of public policy making, though h eavily criticized, is the most widely used and or talked about model. Discuss why. By Lefoko O. Molebatsi (University of Botswana) Instructor: Prof G. S Maipose 2001 1 Selected Essays by Lefoko O. Molebatsi (2001) -----------------------------Read MoreThe Rational Model of Policy Decision Making2827 Words   |  12 PagesLefoko O. Molebatsi (2001) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Public Policy and Policy Analysis: The Rational Model Question: The rational model of public policy making, though heavily criticized, is the most widely used and or talked about model. Discuss why. By Lefoko O. Molebatsi (University of Botswana) Instructor: Prof G. S Maipose 2001 1 Selected Essays by Lefoko O. Molebatsi (2001) -------------------------

Settling the Rio Grande Valley Free Essays

Settling the Rio Grande Valley The Rio Grande Valley consists of the southern most part of Texas, along the Texas/Mexico border. The population growth in this area was very slow until the 1900’s, when it began to skyrocket. From 1920 to 1930, the population in the Valley more than doubled. We will write a custom essay sample on Settling the Rio Grande Valley or any similar topic only for you Order Now One of the main factors for this population increase was the railroad construction. The St. Louis, Brownsville, and Mexico railroads all were completed in 1904. This furthered the expansion of the already popular method of irrigation farming in this area. The railroad system allowed for commercial production of different fruits and vegetables. Irrigation farming became extremely popular in this area and citrus orchards began popping up in this area. The farmers even discovered a tree that would thrive in the Valley climate. Irrigation farming became so successful that an amendment was added to the Texas constitution encouraging irrigation and drainage districts. Though it was becoming very popular, irrigation farming was far more expensive than the dry farming done in West Texas. It was almost impossible for small farmers to compete with the corporate farms and wealthy land owners. The large, corporate farms required extensive staff and therefore increased the population. The railroads continued to encourage population growth into the 20’s and 30’s by running excursion trains. These trains transported people, free of charge, from North Texas cities into South Texas. The passengers would often times buy land in South Texas and a single excursion could generate up to one million dollars in land sales. The economy continued to thrive and population continued to grow. Since most of the Valley consisted of large, corporate farms; the farmers relied on low paid laborers and the farms had their own cotton gins, stores, and employee housing. This created a wide gap between the wealthy and the poor, this gap was wider and more apparent than in other areas of the state because there were less small farmers to buffer the gap. Many of the low-wage laborers were African- American or Mexican-American. With that said, not only did rifts between classes become more evident, but also the racial tension became heavier. Earlier, â€Å"tradition and a relatively static social and political order† made people more sympathetic with the Tejanos. But during the twentieth century, these wealthy land owners were far more unsympathetic to the Tejano traditions and culture than in earlier years. This made discrimination more rampant and people became more outspoken with their bigotry. There are many documented events, like the Brownsville Affair to shed light on the extreme racism. In 1906, a documented fight broke out between a black soldier at Fort Brown and a local merchant. Since the soldiers arrived at Ft. Brown, the black soldiers were subject to extreme hatred and racism. With this particular incident, shots were fired and a white man was killed. This just goes to show the intense division between the classes and the hatred that was shown between the two groups. The railroads, the newly popular irrigation system, and the high land sales all contributed to the population growth, but because the corporate farms dominated the area, racial tension was very prevalent. How to cite Settling the Rio Grande Valley, Papers

SBCs and Operating Systems

Question: Discuss about the SBCs and Operating Systems. Answer: Introduction Single Board Computers are those that utilize single computer circuit on top of a motherboard. Single board computers contain different circuit equipments like integrated circuits, chips, microcontrollers, input output systems and others. Single board computers are of different types and have different functions (Diggs and Merry 2013). Single-board microcontrollers are the most basic versions of single board computers that are made by using microcontrollers on a computer circuit board. With the development of the circuit board equipments, new models of the single-board microcontrollers are also being developed. Again, Beaglebone Black is another simple type of single board computer that uses flash drives, memory chips and USB jacks in addition to the basic structure of the circuit board (Barroso, Clidaras and Hlzle 2013). Beaglebone Black supports different operating systems like Linux, Symbian, Minix, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, RISC OS and others. In this report, different types of SBCs are studied and analyzed for understanding their different fields of usage as well as the operating systems that are supported by these computers. Single Board Computers and Operating Systems Different types of single board computers and their supporting operating systems are discussed below. Single-Board Microcontroller Single-board microcontrollers are the most basic versions of single board computers that are made by using microcontrollers on a computer circuit board. This single board supports all types of necessary computing tasks like RAM, clock generator, I/O circuits, microprocessor, integrated circuits and others (Gmez et al. 2015). Single-board microcontrollers also support all types of operating systems and are extremely cheap and hence, they are extremely popular among the developers for testing purposes. Although this type of SBC was developed few decades ago, they are still popular among OS developers. Initially, the board was controlled by the primitive versions of microcontrollers that were not in fully developed state. However, with the advancement of technology, microprocessors were developed and as a result, new advanced versions of microcontrollers came into existence (Lutz et al. 2014). These microcontrollers enhanced the single-board microcontroller s by a large margin. The microcontrollers also enabled the SBCs (Single Board Computers) to support all types of operating systems including Windows and Linux. Hence, the OS developers prefer this type of SBC for testing a newly developed operating system. Moreover, the hardwares used in this SBC are extremely cheap and easily available. Hence, it finds multiple and extensive usages in the developing companies. Nowadays, with the development of new circuit equipments like chips, LED, flash memory and others, these single-board microcontrollers are further enhanced and used in many other systems like robot design, bluetooth projects, multi-camera control and others. These devices and gadgets use complex operating systems for automated control with the help of single-board microcontrollers as they can be used to operate all types of operating systems (Fernandes and Bala 2016). With the development of the circuit board equipments, new models of the single-board microcontrollers are als o being developed. As a result, new types of these computers have come into existence and diversified so that now, there are different categories of single-board microcontrollers that are available in the market. Beaglebone Black Beaglebone Black is a type of low power single board computer category named BeagleBoard. Beaglebone Black is a simple type of single board computer that uses flash drives, memory chips and USB jacks in addition to the basic structure of the circuit board. Beaglebone Black supports different operating systems like Linux, Symbian, Minix, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, RISC OS and others. This operating systems are generally used for development of some specific softwares for some specific platforms like mobile phones, special computers and others (Lim et al. 2012). Hence, Beaglebone Black is quite popular among the software developers for the development of the softwares for different platforms. Nowadays, trials have been made to use Android on Beaglebone Black as well so that it can be used for development of softwares for the most popular handheld device operating system in the current time. Beaglebone Black also comes with a quite large memory RAM for a single board computer ( 512 MB) and hence, multitasking is possible with this single board computer. With the advancement of new circuit types of gear like processors, flash drives, USB support and others, the beagleboards are further improved and utilized as a part of numerous different frameworks like software development, software testing, debugging and others. These gadgets and devices utilize complex working frameworks for mechanized control with the assistance of beagleboard computers as they can be utilized to work a wide range of working software frameworks (Siewiorek and Swarz 2014). With the advancement of the circuit board types of equipments, new models of the beagleboards are likewise being created. Raspberry Pi Raspberry Pi is a single board computer that is the size of only a credit card. Raspberry Pi is not very much popular among developers and only finds use in the teaching schools and computer education in underdeveloped countries. Raspberry Pi, in spite of its small size contains a number of equipments and machines including bluetooth, Wi-Fi, central processing units, USB jacks and even has audio support (Meier et al. 2012). With further inclusion of more equipments, new versions of Raspberry Pi like Raspberry Pi 2, Astro Pi have been developed with more functions and utilities. Raspberry Pi also supports a number of external accessories like Camera, HAT (Hardware Attached on Top), Infrared Camera, Gertboard and others. Although Raspberry Pi supports different operating systems like Ubuntu, Windows, RISC OS and others, the most commonly used OS in Raspberry Pi is Raspbian, a kind of Linux operating system based on Debian. Raspberry Pi also finds extensive use in game coding purposes where coding techniques are used to debug, change interface and other modifications in popular video games like Minecraft (Veenendaal et al. 2016). As it supports a huge number of operating systems, it can be easily used to change or modify programs for any platform based on the requirements. However, testing and developing of softwares cannot be done using this single board computer and hence, Raspberry Pi is less popular among developers. However, Raspberry Pi can be effectively used in teaching purposes as they are easy to operate and support a wide range of functions including audio and Wi-Fi support. Hence, Raspberry Pi is widely used in the learning schools in the underdeveloped countries where people do not unders tand complex electronic structures or computer languages. Gumstix Gumstix is an extremely small single board computer that is mainly used to design a complete new and customized board. In other words, it is only a basic form of SBC that has to be modified and customized for preparing new boards according to user requirements (Swan 2012). Gumstix is as small as the size of a gum stick and it utilizes Linux 2.6 operating system. It does not have any distinct functional softwares and hence, an online tool named Geppetto is used for the modifications that are to be made for preparation of the new customized boards. Intel Edison Intel Edison is an advanced type of single board computer that has been developed by Intel for use with the latest available technical equipments. Intel Edison supports all the modern operating systems like Linux, Windows and others and also modern computer languages like C, C++, Python and others (Firby 2014). Intel Edison also provides customization support i.e. it can be used and further modified for the design of more and advanced single board computers. It also supports a massive 1GB of RAM and hence, it can be used for multitasking and other complex networking purposes. Intel Edison is widely used in all modern computer systems that are popular and used different fields of use like domestic, office and commercial sectors. Comparison Comparison Factor Single-Board Microcontroller Beaglebone Black Raspberry Pi Gumstix Intel Edison Size Single-board microcontrollers are the most basic versions of single board computers and are of the size of a regular motherboard Beaglebone Black is a simple type of single board computer of the size of a normal motherboard Raspberry Pi is a single board computer that is the size of only a credit card Gumstix is as small as the size of a gum stick Intel Edison is somewhat larger than an ordinary motherboard Use They are extremely cheap and hence, they are used by the developers for testing purposes Beaglebone Black is used by the software developers for the development of the softwares for different platforms Raspberry Pi is widely used in the learning schools in the underdeveloped countries where people do not understand complex electronic structures or computer languages It is only a basic form of SBC that has to be modified and customized for preparing new boards according to user requirements Intel Edison is widely used in all modern computer systems that are popular and used different fields of use Operating System Single-board microcontrollers support all types of operating systems Beaglebone Black supports different operating systems like Linux, Symbian, Minix, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, RISC OS and others Raspberry Pi supports different operating systems like Ubuntu, Windows, RISC OS and others, the most commonly used OS in Raspberry Pi is Raspbian It utilizes Linux 2.6 operating system Intel Edison supports all the modern operating systems like Linux, Windows and others and also modern computer languages like C, C++, Python and others Popularity It is popular among software developers for testing purposes It is popular among software developers for development purposes It is popular in teaching schools in underdeveloped countries It is popular among board developers It is popular among all types of SBC users and computer builders Conclusion From the report, it can be concluded that different SBCs have different functions and fields of usages. Moreover, the choice of operating system also significantly affects of the use of a chosen SBC. For example, Single-board microcontrollers support all types of operating systems. On the other hand, Beaglebone Black supports different operating systems like Linux, Symbian, Minix, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, RISC OS and others. Again, most commonly used OS in Raspberry Pi is Raspbian. Hence, their fields of usages are different as single board microcontrollers are popular among software developers for testing purposes whereas Beaglebone Black is popular among software developers for development purposes. Again, Intel Edison has extensive uses and is popular among all types of SBC users and computer builders. Hence, the SBC should be chosen based on the type of function to be performed and also on the operating system that is to be used by the SBC user. References Barroso, L.A., Clidaras, J. and Hlzle, U., 2013. The datacenter as a computer: An introduction to the design of warehouse-scale machines.Synthesis lectures on computer architecture,8(3), pp.1-154. Diggs, M.S. and Merry Jr, D.E., Siliconsystems, Inc., 2012.Multi-interface and multi-bus structured solid-state storage subsystem. U.S. Patent 8,166,245. Diggs, M.S. and Merry, D.E., Siliconsystems, Inc., 2013.Multi-interface and multi-bus structured solid-state storage subsystem. U.S. Patent 8,433,858. Fernandes, S.L. and Bala, G.J., 2016. ODROID XU4 based implementation of decision level fusion approach for matching computer generated sketches.Journal of Computational Science,16, pp.217-224. Firby, R.J., 2014. Building symbolic primitives with continuous control routines.AIPS92, pp.62-69. Gmez, C., Hernndez, A.C., Crespo, J. and Barber, R., 2015. A ROS-based Middle-cost Robotic Platform with High-performance.Proceedings of the International Academy of Technology, Education and Development (IATED), Barcelona, Spain, pp.6-8. Lim, H., Park, J., Lee, D. and Kim, H.J., 2012. Build your own quadrotor: Open-source projects on unmanned aerial vehicles.IEEE Robotics Automation Magazine,19(3), pp.33-45. Lutz, T., Gu, C., Gardecki, S., Cordes, F., Hormigo, T., Bljes, A., Bolz, J. and De Maagt, P., 2014. StarTiger Dropter project: Development and flight experiment of a Skycrane-like terrestrial lander demonstrator. InThe 9th International ESA Conference on Guidance, Navigation and Control Systems, Porto. Meier, L., Tanskanen, P., Heng, L., Lee, G.H., Fraundorfer, F. and Pollefeys, M., 2012. PIXHAWK: A micro aerial vehicle design for autonomous flight using onboard computer vision.Autonomous Robots,33(1-2), pp.21-39. Siewiorek, D. and Swarz, R., 2014.Reliable Computer Systems: Design and Evaluatuion. Digital Press. Swan, M., 2012. Sensor mania! the internet of things, wearable computing, objective metrics, and the quantified self 2.0.Journal of Sensor and Actuator Networks,1(3), pp.217-253. Veenendaal, A., Daly, E., Jones, E., Gang, Z., Vartak, S. and Patwardhan, R.S., 2016. Fight and Aggression Recognition using Depth and Motion Data.Computer Science and Emerging Research Journal,4.