International Management Essay Example for Free

International Management Essay Problem Statement Jabwood International is contemplating international expansion into new markets specifically, Saudi Arabia and China to compensate for a decline in revenues. Problem Causes The Middle Eastern situation, specifically the uprising in Syria. The borders between Lebanon and Syria being closed causing the company’s main wood supplier TANITA to expand to other timber companies. Jabwood’s market share and sales volume had a drop of 20 %. Jabwood does not have any business in Saudi Arabia which has the Biggest Market in the Middle East for wood products. Jabwood does not have any business in China which the potential for wood products have increased every year due to the population. The company depends on one major Supplier, which constituted 60 to 70 percent of its revenue source. Managers are under tremendous Pressure to meet sales quotas and avoid any conflict with TANITA because it generates most of Jabwoods revenue. Jabwood has no succession plan incorporated and discussion for it is considered Taboo. Finally managerial positions were only extended to family members only, which shows favoritism to those individuals and no advancement or promotion to other employees. Possible Alternatives Jabwood needs to incorporate a succession plan as well as extend managerial positions to non-family members, doing so will reinvigorate the employees and change their views on the company. Jabwood has two difficult decisions whether to expand to a place they know Saudi- Arabia or to China which they have no Knowledge in. Saudi-Arabia Expansion Jabwood operated in Saudi Arabia before and had established operations with one of the Jabado brothers Adnan During the time they had business in the country. Saudi- Arabia generated half of Jabwood international sales. Jabwoods market share dropped once they withdrew from Saudi-Arabia. Expansion with Saudi- Arabia does have its pros and cons. Pros First year sales are 10% of the target market. Sales growth is estimated at 100 % in two years. There are no restrictions on mobility of funds. Capital can be 100% foreign. Processed wood products are exempted from import taxes. Government Stability is at 61 which means it is not likely for the country to go unstable. Saudi- Arabia is in the Middle East and it also an Islamic country which Jabwood international is familiar with that market. Cons Tariffs on lumber are 12%. 28 million population does not compare to the 13 population in China and the citizens who need homes there. 0% forest areas 1 million CBM to import wood. 82 % of the country are urban areas meaning less places required for wood construction. $686.00 to import per container. Sawn timber is not needed. China Expansion China is a huge market for wood products, Demand for wood is through the roof. The Chinese wood industry has been Prospering since 2010. They have become the biggest producer and exporter of WBP and plywood in the world, they are the second biggest importer of wood products in the world. Pros A new regulation in Shanghai allows the replacement of sloppy rooftops to be replaced with sawn timber, this would be a huge market for Jabwood International. Tariffs on lumber are low. Only 150 million CBM is produced locally. The 13 billion population alone makes the demand at an astounding number for wood. Rural areas are at a higher percentage, meaning more room for building houses. Cost of imports are at a less cost than in Saudi-Arabia. Sawn timber is needed. Cons First years sales are at 2% of the target market. Sales growth estimates are at 0% by the second year. China law does not guarantee re-transfer of capital, annual transfer of dividends, and transfer of capital in cases of termination. No exclusivity to sell TANITA products in China. Establishing a representative office in a foreign country in $60,000. The Chinese wood market is known to have stringent requirements with regard to wood sizes and quality. The Communist laws in China might lead to issues in business practices. Staff must know Chinese regulations and speak Chinese to have an easier time trying to cope with the strict business administrative procedures. Chinese people are afraid that houses made of wood are prone to natural disasters. Decision Jabwood International should make the decision to re-establish its connections in Saudi-Arabia and began working there immediately. Justification Even though the Market in China is more in demand since there are 13 billion people. There are much more cons to expand there than there would be in Saudi-Arabia. Also expanding in China would be very risky, since Jabwood International never did any type of business there before. Jabwood International has experience in Saudi-Arabia and they made about 50% of their sales when they did do business there, which justifies why they should return there. Action Steps Fayez Jabado should conduct a meeting with Imad and Mahmoud Jabado since they are familiar with the Saudi market and begin plans to expand out there as soon as possible. Adnan Jabado should be head leader or in charge of the operations in Saudi-Arabia since he has done so before. It only takes 5 days to start a business in the country so operations can began sooner than expected. Some issues that may arise are the high costs of tariffs and corporate tax rate. The Jabado brothers should divide the tasks among each other so the expansion can go as smoothly as possible.

Me and the Moon :: Something Corporate Me and the Moon Essays

Me and the Moon Music has always been a crucial part of the way society views the world. Some songs have hidden messages that can change’s one’s life and opinions. Today many songs become popular without having meaning. Something Corporate is a fairly new band, which sings, â€Å"Konstanine†, â€Å"You’re gone†, â€Å"Only Ashes†, and â€Å"Me and the Moon†. Being a new band in the music scene, they have caught many listeners attention through their lyrics. One of their more interesting songs is, â€Å"Me and the moon†. Something Corporate’s song â€Å"Me and the Moon† succeeds because it makes you think about relationships through subliminal messages. Obviously, the author of the song â€Å"Me and the Moon† is the new and up coming band Something Corporate. This song brings in an audience of women who have difficult relationships with their significant other. Many of their songs tell their listeners real life experiences. â€Å"Me and the moon† appeals to people in relationships because it describes someone in a relationship that is suffering. Being alternative music, it appeals to people who are interested in rock music or like different kinds of music rather than the popular music. Most songs use pathos because of their emotional lyrics. We realize that this song is pathos because of the extremely personal experience represented in this song. Throughout the song, he uses emotional lyrics that touch your heart. Many people in unhealthy relationships can identify with this song In the beginning verse of the song, the first line â€Å"It’s a good year for murder. She’s praying to Jesus. She’s pulling the trigger. There’s no tears, cause he’s not here. She washes her hands, and she fixes dinner, but soon they’ll be coming to rush her away. No one’s so sure if her crime had a reason†. This lyric tells us that a woman is trying to kill her husband. We can infer this because they describe the presence of a gun and her committing a crime. We can tell that they are married because they state activities that would be associated with being a house wife. The murder would be considered a crime because no one knew the pain her husband caused her. She has no feelings because she does not cry after she murders her husband. After killing her husband she has no remorse because of the damaged he caused. In the next verse, Something Corporate tells us that â€Å"Reasons like seasons.

Job Roles and Working Arrangements At Richer Sounds Essay

Levels of Hierarchy: are the layers of authority within an organisation. Spans of control: A span of control is the number of workers directly supervised by a more senior employee. Whereas an organisation chart shows how employees fit into the business, a job description gives details about what is expected of the individual employee. Job applicants normally receive a job description when they apply for a position with a business. A job description usually consists of: 1) The title of the job (e.g. sales manager). 2) The tasks to be completed as part of the job (e.g. having to write monthly sales reports, in the case of a sales manager). 3) The responsibilities of the job (e.g. a sales manager might be responsible for managing a team of sales representatives). 4) Information on working conditions linked to the job, such as rates of pay, hours to be worked and holidays. 5) A description of how the job fits into the organisational structure. UK businesses have employed increasing number of part-time and temporary employees. They have also used self-employed workers, who hire out their skills to firms but are their own bosses. At the same time, businesses have made use of more flexible contracts of employment, in some cases with annualised hours (hours worked in a year) included instead of hours per week. High proportions of these types of employees in businesses are called flexible workforces. In recent years, a number of trends have emerged in the UK’s workforce, including: More temporary workers: The number of workers on temporary contracts has risen since the early 1980’s although in the last few years it has levelled out. In 2000, nearly two million workers were on temporary contracts. Use of annualised hours: Many businesses face an uneven pattern of work over the year. For example, farms are very busy in the summer months harvesting crops, but are quiet in the winter. Without annualised hours, farmers might pay overtime in the summer and not have enough work to keep employees busy during the winter months. More part-time working: The number of employees within the UK who work part-time has increased each year. By 200, more than one-quarter of all employees – nearly seven million people – were part-time workers. Self-Employment: The number of self-employed has fallen recently, but 2.5 million people still work for themselves. Hiring consultants: Many businesses have replaced full-time employees with consultants, who work for a business for a short time. Consultants are usually very highly skilled, for example IT experts. Use of contractors: Many businesses employ other firms to carry out particular duties. The exact arrangements are set out in a contract between the businesses involved. It is common, for example, to hire contract staff for cleaning, rather than use permanent full-time employees. Managers: Managers play a vital role in businesses; 1) They have responsibility for an aspect of the business’s work under the guidance from the director. For example, a manager might take responsibility for employee training, under guidance from the director of human resources. 2) Managers plan activities, look after teams of employees, manage finances and attempt to meet targets set by the directors of the business. 3) Managers’ jobs are normally secure, as they usually have permanent full-time contracts. Managers often have a professional qualification in an area such as accountancy or marketing. They need to be good communicators, able to use IT, use time effectively and control finances. Managers’ pay varies according to the seniority of the position, but it can be over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100,000 a year. Other benefits that are common are company cars and private health insurance. Supervisors: In some businesses supervisors are also called team leaders. Supervisors provide a link between operatives and managers. They; 1) Monitor work of junior employees. 2) Ensure that production and quality targets set by managers are met whenever possible. 3) Advise managers of problems or difficulties in the work of the business. In some businesses supervisors have been given responsibility for some of the roles previously carried out by managers. For instance, they may recruit new employees or lead training sessions. The pay of supervisors depends on how much authority they have, but they are normally paid more than operatives. Operatives: The most junior employees in the business are the operatives. In a factory, they would work on the production line; in a shop they would be the sales assistants. Their role in a business is as follows; 1) They are normally only responsible for their own work. 2) They usually carry out routine tasks, though some employers do provide more varied and interesting work. 3) They often have little job security. Many are employed on temporary contracts, and when the contract runs out they may find themselves unemployed. Others find they are no longer needed because their jobs have been replaced by machinery. 4) In a minority of businesses, they are allowed to take decisions such as stopping the production line to remove poor-quality products. Many operatives are relatively unskilled. Sales assistants may have some training and qualifications in customer service, but some factory workers on production lines have no qualifications. Because of this, pay rates for operatives are normally low.| Support Staff: The support staff provides Specialist skills in businesses. They may offer expertise in the areas of security or information technology or provide secretarial skills. Support staff can operate at various levels in the organisation; 1) They offer advice and assistance in their specialist areas to employees. Thus, IT staff may recommend new software or hardware, provide training and sort out computer problems. 2) Some support staff are managers looking after teams of people are in charge on finances; others carry out routine tasks. 3) Senior support staff take important decisions, such as spending on computer systems. There are two working arrangements at Richer sounds, one is for permanent and temporary colleagues and the other is for full-time and part-time colleagues. Information on these working arrangements follow; Working arrangements for permanent and temporary colleagues: The vast majority of their colleagues are employed permanently. They are all issued with a written contract of employment. At Christmas Richer S0unds employ greeters in their stores to greet and assist customers at busy times. Their greeters are temporary colleagues who work for a short time and their work ends after the sale period. Many are students at college or university who work for them during their Christmas holidays. Richer Sounds do not issue written contracts to temporary colleagues, neither do we keep personnel records for them. However, they do receive a mini-welcome pack, which explains how Richer Sounds operates. Working arrangements for full-time and part-time colleagues: Most of thei colleagues work full time, although their hours may vary. A normal working week for store colleagues is 42.5 hours although in some of their stores which are open from 12 noon – 7 pm, colleagues may work fewer hours. Departmental support colleagues work 40 hours a week. Richer Sounds don’t use the term ‘part-time’. Colleagues who don’t work the full number of hours are called career key timers. They have access to all the same training opportunities and benefits as the full-time colleagues.

Organizational Behavior Individual Analysis - 2600 Words

Individual Analysis Paper MGMT 320 Organizational Behavior Introduction I want to begin this paper by stating what my initial thought was once I reviewed and analyzed all of the results, I can sum it up into one word – WOW! These results couldn’t be more dead-on than they are; about ninety-five percent of the results hit the nail on the proverbial head. Yes, I disagree with about five percent of the analysis, but overall, it’s amazing how accurate these scores reflect individuals various behaviors and management types and as I took these assessments, I kept thinking, â€Å"quite a few of these questions are somewhat ambiguous.† Understanding your role as an individual within your organization, as well as the role of other individuals and†¦show more content†¦Being positive in these interactions allows for agreeableness, which is the next dimension. My agreeableness score was 78 and I’ll break it down specifically in a minute. One point I absolutely disagree with in this IPIP-NEO report states that â€Å"agreeableness is not useful in situations that require tough or absolute objective decisions.† (IPIP-NEO) I am the policy and procedures manager for our department and these policies and procedures are cut and dry, follow them or risk government penalties. These policies and procedures have to be enforced to the letter of our manual to ensure the safety of everyone involved both the customer and employee. My highest scores within this dimension were morality (97) and modesty (81). I am very candid and frank with everyone I deal with, whether it’s my direct reports, my boss, or the VP of our department. The lowest score within this dimension was sympathy (31). If this score is just relating to the work environment, then I agree with this score, people who get into trouble or don’t complete their work, bring this upon themselves; if not, I vehemently disagree with it. 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