How to Manage Budget Hotels

How to Manage Budget Hotels Background With the steady growth in tourism, provision of quality and affordable hospitality services is exponentially gaining credence (Weygandt et al., A 2008). The quality of service offered and the satisfaction of the customer are factors that have been considered to be leading to the retaining of customers and the general success of the hotel industry.Advertising We will write a custom dissertation sample on How to Manage Budget Hotels Cases in London specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The hotel industry in the UK has been on a steady rise. According to the United Kingdom Tourism Survey, there was a steady rise amounting to 74.5 percent in hotel bookings by the end of September 2010 (O’Neill Mattila, 2010).Hotels in London, according to the survey, have particularly recorded the highest a high occupancy rate of about 82.6 percent as compared to other regional hotels in the UK. This was, however, not only noted in hotel bo okings, but also in the general hospitality and the larger tourism industry (Sheehan Ritchie, 2005).The performance in the whole industry depends on many factors of the economy. According to Burch (1994) this is actually what is forcing hotels to embrace the need for innovation so as they may stay competitive as survival of the hotels and retention of customers fully becomes a tricky affair. The Budget hotel concept is fast gaining momentum in the UK. The concept is a kind of limited service hotel whose key features are guided by parameters such as bedroom size, the costs of construction per bedroom, and finally, ratio of revenue from rooms and the total turnover of the hotel (Tri Hospitality Consulting, 2007). The report talks about several aspects such as background of the budget concept, budget and location, as well as even the growth aspects expected in the sector. It has also detailed performance of the budget industry, the response of the consumers to the concept, development and operation of the budget hotels, and finally, future predictions for the sector. This report is quite useful to the study as it tries to the almost comprehensive outlook of the budget hotel industry (Albrecht, 2008). However, there are some areas in which the report is limited. For instance, it does not really give the management styles used by the respective budget hotels. Significance of the study The budget hotel concept is one that is fast gaining momentum in the hospitality industry all over the world. This concept of limited service hotels is one that has its profound peculiarities. This study will investigate the factors that give this concept a strategic edge over the other types of hotels.Advertising Looking for dissertation on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The study of budget hotels in the UK will contribute to the pool of knowledge about the hospitality industry. This means that this study will not only give a detailed exposà © of the management best practices in the budget hotel industry, but will greatly add to the general body of knowledge on many other aspects in this segment of the hotel industry such as human resources, performance, location and even the general development of budget hotels. Further this research will assist me gain valuable insights into the existing challenges in the operation/management of budget hotel that form the core of budget hotel industry in the UK. This information will be crucial since some of the issues identified could be of great use if replicated elsewhere. My family has invested in a budget hotel in my hometown and this research is going to help me know the various issues including management/operation strategies also that should be looked into to achieve success in my business. The UK has had a head start in the budget hotel industry and therefore some of the replicable practices could be employed in my business. Ob jectives The objectives of the study are as follows: To investigate evolution/development of budget hotels and impact on the experience of traditional budget hotel To analyse three cases hotels in terms of their operation, interior design and space management. To identify various strategies implemented by budget hotels in London. Research Questions How did the budget hotels evolve? How peculiar is the operation, interior design and space management of the budget hotels? What are the existing strategies used by budget hotels? Literature Review Though there is limited specific literature on budget hotel industry, there exists, however, a lot of related literature which can be of great use to this dissertation. This literature review will generally look at an assortment of issues related to hospitality industry in general and budget hotels in particular. There are several issues that can make an establishment a competitive strategic edge in the market. Corgel (2002), for example, n otes that service quality has been an issue that is gradually taking shape in the UK. According to Waldrop (1992), some business attributes that reflect business performance include growth, image of the company, customer loyalty and also the market share of the company. A lot of literature available has greatly concentrated on this service quality, something which is intangible, hence a bit complicated to assess (Tse Olsen, 1999). What makes it difficult to measure is that customers cannot easily store the type of service they got from one particular place and compare it with other service that is close due to many reasons (Okumus, 2002). Firstly, the services offered by different hotels do vary a great deal, thus making it almost impossible to compare (Crossland Hambrick, 2007).Advertising We will write a custom dissertation sample on How to Manage Budget Hotels Cases in London specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Budget hotels Gener ally budget hotels can be distinguished from the rest based on three major aspects. First of all is the size of the bedrooms of these hotels. Usually, budget hotels tend to have smaller bedroom sizes unlike those ones of the conventional hotels (Cannina et al., 2006). So budget hotels tend to have more bedrooms per area as compared to those in the conventional full service hotels. This equally means that with the less cost per room of the floor translates to even lower initial capital costs required; thus higher revenues realized. This also therefore shows that the other aspect that distinguishes budget hotels is the costs of construction per bedroom. For the budget hotels the costs per room become much lower. The revenue generated from the rooms in relation to the total turnover of the hotel can be used to distinguish between the two. This means that the percentage of revenue from budget hotels in relation to total turnover is higher for budget hotels. There are other areas that al so clearly distinguish between full service hotels and budget hotels. Some researchers have since established some of the various components of service as a whole. D’Aveni (1990) illustrates that tangible aspects of service include physical facilities available; the types of equipment used, the general grooming and appearance of the staff etc. Kim (2003) asserts that the other component is that of reliability, which could be said to mean the capacity of the personnel to provide the particular service promised with accuracy and under the reasonable time expected. Full service hotels usually have a full fledged restaurant attached to them. This is unlike for the budget hotels. But this should not mean that budget hotels do not offer their customers food. Budget hotels may offer complimentary meals (Dev, 2002). For example these could include serving customers with free toast, coffee, juice etc. Another area is that which has to do with pricing. This is one area in which limited service hotels have great advantage over full service establishments. For example, a night’s stay in a budget hotel might be a half cost of that in a full service hotel. Thus, for people who would love to save a little bit, there preferred option is usually the budget hotel. Realizing that room revenues form the bulk of all revenue in all classes of hotels, budget hotels have capitalized on the rooms to reap maximum profit from a given setting (O’Neill Mattila, 2006). What they have actually done is that they squeeze so many rooms into the given space so as to reap this benefit from that space (Capozza Lee, 1995). As such, a survey carried to classify what constitutes those Budget hotels concludes that budget hotels maximize on floor space, consequently leading to lower initial costs of hotel establishment (Teas, 1994).Advertising Looking for dissertation on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another peculiar thing about budget hotels is that they more or less have similar indicative costs per room (Schmidgall Damitio, 2006). Finally, for Budget hotels, the revenue coming out of rooms is usually above 70% and above as compared to other conventional hotels, whose collection from rooms averages at around 50% only of their total turnover (Tri Hospitality Consulting, 2007). The UK budget hotel industry has metamorphosed to an extent that at the moment, there are notable brand names that dominate the market (Hayes Ninemeier, 2007). These include Premier Travel Inn, Travelodge and Express by Holiday Inn. The three constitute the major players in the market. As of April 2007; Premier Travel Inn had 488 numbers of hotels while Travelodge had 304 (Chang Hong, 2002). Another crucial aspect is responsiveness (David, 2001). This actually relates to how willing the personnel may be to attend to the customer. Most customers also require assurance and trust in the particular service provided (Woolley, et al., 1997). Finally, empathy has equally been said to play a crucial role in service delivery (Schmalensee, 1985). This has to do with that caring and personalized attention granted to the customer (Simons, 1994). All these elements are crucial to our research since we will be able to see how different managers address some of these elements to achieve strategic advantage in the budget hotel business in London. The information will also give some valuable insights into the areas of operation that make the given budget hotels stand out. There are equally different dimensions that are quite important to the guests. In other research carried out it has been found out that customers attach different levels of importance to different issues in the hotel (Panvisavas Taylor, 2006). In the findings, it was found out that customers valued responsiveness followed by reliability; and the least being empathy (Donaldson Preston, 1995). This information will further assis t in mapping what the managers of the different budget hotels focus on in order to address the challenges of customer satisfaction (Meissner, 2010). Furthermore this information has critically explained how the managers employ different strategies to deal with the freaky issues of decision making (Dopson Hayes, 2009). Brown et al (1993) have also critically analysed the ways of improving measurement of service quality. His work is equally useful to this study as service quality is important to customer relation and loyalty (Laws, 2004). There are issues associated with service quality. For example, sometimes customers may complain about the food quality that is offered by the hotel. The matters touching on food are sensitive in that some of them arise out of cultural differences of the customers (Laws, 2000). Another problem is the general attitude and the kind of motivation that the workers have, slow response to customer, poor or inadequate communication among the customers, staf f and even management, to even housekeeping problems (Gartrell, 1994). From the research that was carried out, it was found that some of the hindrances to proper service quality include budget; staff familiarization and knowledge of the customers, as well as lack of training of the employees (Eyster, 1996). Financial constraints can really cause trouble to hotels as this will mean lower commitment to quality service provision (Sheehan Hudson, 2007). For example, under a constrained budget, the employees cannot give generous discounts to the customers (Ismail, 2002). They will need permission from the top management and this can lead to de-motivation or slow delivery of services. This information is quite useful to budget hotels (Faulkner Russell, 1997). This is because from the case studies we will be able to see how these challenges are forestalled by the management of these budget hotels. Human resources Several researches have documented recommendations aimed at improving servi ce quality. First is the need for management to interact more with the visitors in order to familiarize with the guests’ needs and desires (Fisk et al., 1993). Another issue that has been stressed is the need for the management to make sure that responsibility is delegated to the other staff so that everybody in the system has experience with decision making (Ford et al., 2009). There is also need for staff to be exposed to formal training before they are hired and also even after employment (Jagels, 2007). This could be in form of refresher courses. This greatly aids in dealing with customers from varied cultural backgrounds (Freeman, 1984). Some clients expect empathy more than others and this is one of the aspects in which training could prove useful. Staffing is one area that takes most revenues from many organizations. It is therefore important for the players to look at the staffing costs seriously (Laws et al., S 1999). Budget hotels have done this and most of them can still operate efficiently on a staff fewer than 20 on full- time basis (Brady Conlin, 2004). In a bid to cut on the staffing costs, some budget hotel chains have decided to do away with reception areas so that bookings can still be done in the pubs. Others balance between permanent and full-time employees in such a way that they retain very few full time staff as much as possible (Sainaghi, 2010). The strategies differ from one hotel chain to the other (Garrison Noreen, 1997). This dissertation will look at the different strategies that some of the budget hotels use to achieve a strategic competitive advantage. With different measures to cut down on costs as explained through this literature, it can be seen that for one to succeed in this cut-throat competition, there is need to have a strategy that works (Ambrose et al., 2000). So many budget hotels in the UK have now reached the stage of extreme maturation, thus, there is need to come up with several strategies (Philips, 2005). Many chains, for instance, have resorted to aggressive branding to beat this cut-throat competition. From the literature analyzed we can see that various studies conducted it can be seen that no study has ever covered all the issues that constitute budget hotels as this study is going to do. In essence this study will majorly identify all the areas that make budget hotels stand up. So far there is no research that clearly compares budget hotel vis a vis the other types of hotels. This study will therefore try to find out aspects that have governed the evolution of budget hotels. The study will determine the roles the budget hotel’s operation, composition; interior design and space management play in strategic planning in hospitality industry. Further, the study will identify and analyse the various strategies employed by budget hotels. The budget hotel phenomenon is unique and there is need to clearly research and enumerate some of the features that define the various brands of this type of hotels. This research will look at the various strategies that budget hotel put in place to maintain a competitive edge. Performance Performance can be said to be one of the measures that are put in place so as the organization gains a commitment that is in line with organization goals (Albrecht, 2008). Neely (1998) views business performance as one based on evaluating the efficiency and the expected effectiveness of the actions taken by the business with a view to attaining the set organisational goals. Performance has been viewed to be that framework that governs the execution of the strategy of an organisation by others. This means that the framework serves as a description of the process through which an organisation manages to translate its laid down plans into desired results or outcomes. Performance of hotels is an issue that has been of great concern in the hospitality industry (Harrison Enz, 2005). Performing hotels are those committed to certain quality s tandards. By meeting these standards the hotels manage to enhance their image as they satisfy guests through constant improvement (Adner Helfat, 2003). They do this through several strategies like constantly focusing on in-house training for their staff. According to Altinay (2006) most hospitality industries, just like any other forms of business, do consider performance seriously. Higher revenues reflect good performance (Yusel Yusel, 2001). The revenue inflows from budget hotel industry have been on the rise (Adner Helfat, 2003). This is also in line with the growing number of hotel rooms in this sector and occupancy. Several hotels employ varied strategies to achieve the desired outcomes. This study will therefore investigate the various dominant strategies employed by the budget hotels under study. Location Location greatly affects the success of budget hotels. For instance, in studies conducted in Southern and Northern parts of UK, it was established that the South budget h otels did far much better than those in the North (Asree et al., 2009). Though several reasons could be advanced to explain this phenomenon, it is clear that this business is location sensitive (Friedman Miles, 2002). There is a positive outlook for budget hotel business since there is increasing demand for them in UK as the guests who fill the hotel rooms are mostly domestic (Avelini, 1998). The budget hotel business has managed to capture the imagination of swathes of domestic tourists, some of whom are quite new to hotel staying (O’Neill Xiao, 2006). The budget hotel business is a mass market concept since most of the budget business gains easy market penetration as seen in other countries in Europe. Its concept is, however, rather more developed in UK (Baum, 1998). What is more, the leisure market is experiencing exponential rise and this therefore makes the outlook positive (Laws, 1997). Availability is also a critical aspect in business (McGahan Porter, 1997). Custom ers usually prefer to associate with whatever is available. Budget hotels are usually readily available in many locations in UK (Beals Denton, 2004). On top of this, they do provide satisfactory standard of accommodation. But this price is not the only driver of budget hotel bookings (Mark et al., 2009). Other drivers could include things like non-intimidating environments, consistency etc. Consumers perceive budget hotels positively. Whenever faced with expenditure to incur, most individuals usually expect value for money (Buhalis, 2000). This means that the customer is paying for quality and even quantity (Chadee Mattson, 1996). Development and operations of Budget hotels Hotels and the hospitality industry started hundreds of years ago. Since time immemorial people have travelled for so many reasons including commerce, leisure, religions concerns, immigration etc (Dev, 2002). According to a report carried out by Texas Tech University, the very first hotels were initially like p rivate homes that were open to public (Imperiale, 2002). But these had very negative reputations. However, with time some of the very first inns were started in America in 1607. The years that followed also saw a surge in business hotels all over the world. In most cases the surge saw very prominent homes such as the Hilton come up (Balser McClusky, 2005). With time, however, there has been an emergence of limited service hotels. There are stark differences between budget hotels versus full service hotels (Savage, 1991). From history of the budget hotel, once opened, the rooms would fill up since the pricing fitted all unlike what happened in the conventional hotel that offered full service (Altinay (2006). Budget hotels have over the time proved to be a valuable alternative to the conventional full service hotels (Roh Yoon, 2009). Though budget hotels have been coming in various locations in UK, as time goes by, it has been seen they still experience some of the challenges that o ther full service hotels face (Mitchell Wood, 1997). These challenges include changing customer tastes and likes. This is why the budget hotel industry was just a paltry 2.9 percent points above the full service ones in 2006 (Tri Hospitality Consulting, 2007). From the above description one should be able to figure out what constitutes a budget hotel (O’Neill Mattila, 2010). However, one should never confuse Budget hotels with the other emerging concept such as town house hotels (Chang Singh, 2000). Though small, town house hotels have business services that are at par with the five star hotels; the major difference is that these types of hotels are usually managed by their owners (Corgel deRoos, 1997). There has been an increase in the variety of investment vehicles in the UK. These include franchises, leases, self ownership, contracts of management etc. (Capozza Seguin, 1999). Any investor will choose the way to invest depending on the degree of risk associated with a particular vehicle of investment (Bejou Palmer, 1998). Thus, most of the leading brands in budget hotel industry have their different ownership and operational structures (PerÃ… ¡ić Janković, 2006). Like with other businesses, funding is an issue that major in the sector and determines the type of investment vehicle to be adopted (Horngren et al., 2003). One can decide to seek for funding from other sources including banks or even equity (Gallagher Mansour, 2000). Just like in niche markets, the budget hotel industry have is guided by several strategies. For example, according to Berkely (1996) locating the appropriate site for budget business is an issue that needs delicate and careful handling. Failure to locate an appropriate site can hinder market penetration (Bowman Helfat 2001).Different entrepreneurs have different ways of approaching the issue of site (Hales Van Hoof, 2005). While some may be lucky and decide to find enough space to collocate their business, som e manage to look for land and site their business in sites they never desired (Brown et al., 1993). However, there are various opportunities that can be exploited, for example, buying other business as going concerns (Ryan, 1995). All in all, different players in the market do have different growth strategies (Hudson Shephard, 1998). It only calls for creativity when it comes to finding the appropriate sites for a business (Blair Fottler, 1990). There are so many other costs in the industry (Hall, 1995). What is even more frustrating is the time it takes for a plan to be approved by the relevant authorities. Other costs may arise out construction (Rizzuto, 2006). But these could only succeed if the players may lobby the governments responsible to at least lower the construction costs for investors. But several players may opt for cost saving strategies as some players do (Roquebert et al., 1996). For example, according to a survey on budget hotels, such as easyHotel, nitenite and even Yotel, there is use of windowless rooms. These types of rooms can be put anywhere, including in basements and other unused spaces, thus maximizing on space utilization (Jambulingham Nevin, 1999). Methodology Qualitative research This research seeks to employ qualitative approach to establish the variable brands of existing budget hotels around London area and determine their respective strategic management approaches (Pfeffer, Salancik, 1978). Qualitative research approaches are made based upon construction activists’ perspectives and even participatory ones or both (Perry Coote, 1994). In this kind of approach the researcher is faced with the task of collecting primary data with a wider intention of drawing or developing themes out of this data collected (Saunders et al., 2009). In this case also, the research will look for the views of top management about all the aspects concerning budget hotels and also see how the strategies or views employed do affect the genera l performance of the budget hotels. In a nutshell, the researcher will be looking for answers to the set research questions in the dissertation. As earlier said, the informants for this research will be top management of the budget hotels in London. These could include general managers, human resources managers, financial managers etc. of several budget hotels around London. Case study approach The strategy that will be used is that of case study. This strategy is useful to this study since it greatly highlights the context (Prideaux, 2000). Further, it is important since it is going to help us gain a deeper and richer understanding of the context that is being researched (Saunders et al., 2009). According to Saunders et al., (2009) case study clearly answers the questions ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ effectively. In our research, we will choose three of the various budget hotels in London. The reason why we will use three instead of a single case i s for validation of the information we will draw from the informants. Using the three cases will enable us to compare the information collected (Crossland Hambrick, 2007). Another advantage of picking three is to ascertain whether the findings that apply to one case can also occur in other cases (Mintzberg, 1990). This is crucial since we can easily establish whether whatever we established can be generalized for other cases. In fact Yin (2003) concurs that multiple case studies are far much better than a single case. Choice of one case study usually requires strong justification for that choice. However, this choice of case study has its flaws (Gannon Doherty, 2010). For example, the case study approach brings about an â€Å"unscientific feel†. All in all a case study is crucial to this study since it is exploratory in nature. Thus, it may be one way generating new knowledge since cases are usually peculiar in themselves (Garrison Noreen, 1997). Sampling Sampling acts as the process selecting the required number of the informants. In our case the purposive sampling will be used since the information we intend to collect will be provided by the line managers of the establishments. The researcher will therefore look for the managers who will be willing to give the information that is crucial to this research. Development of the research instrument The instrument that will be used in the research will be one developed based on the research questions. This instrument will be written in an interview form. The researcher aims at conducting about 3 interviews and analyzing 17 questionnaires. Managers from the three selected establishments will be interviewed while the other questionnaires will be sent to the other budget establishments by post. However, it is hoped that questionnaires will be sent to more establishments considering that some establishments may decline to respond. To make sure that the questionnaires are returned, an empty envelope and stam p will accompany each questionnaire. All in all, all research questions will be represented on the questionnaire. The interview has several advantages to this study. First, it will enable the researcher to reach as many respondents as possible, especially since here we will use a postal questionnaire. It is also easy to standardize the questionnaire, hence making sure that the responses can easily be gauged on a standard scale (Gummesson, 1993). Since they stress anonymity, they may lead to many answering the questions more anonymously (O’Neill, 2004). However, there are notable weaknesses of this instrument (Rumelt, 1991). One is that it will not be easy to tell where the person who filled the questions was the one targeted. Another issue is that the researcher’s absence may mean that there will be no clarification, especially in cases where a question is not well understood. The interview method will be employed in this research as stated earlier. Interviews form a f ace to face kind of interaction with the informant (Yin, 1994). This encounter has several advantages since in-depth data may be collected (Weissinger et al., 1997). However, this method may come with its own disadvantages too. For instance, the presence of the researcher may create some form of bias (Riley Love, 2000). Also in cases where the interviewer is not articulate enough, this may elicit negative response from the respondent (Ramaswamy, 1996). The use of both interviews and questionnaires pose a great challenge as it becomes a bit complicated to compare the responses. For instance to answer the first research question it will be difficult for an interview to do this.Secondary data collected will prove handy in answering this question.To avoid this, there is need for the interview to be structured in such a way that it aligns to the questionnaire (Gummesson, 1991). Data collection The researcher will solely collect the data of this research. He will interview at least 3 inf ormants in the research. Other data will be obtained from questionnaires sent out. The managers of the budget hotels will be the ones to answer the fill questionnaires. Data analysis Data analysis is a crucial component of this research since it will allow the researcher to reflect the findings thereby aiding in the drawing of the conclusion. The data analysis will be done immediately when the information gathered is still fresh. To this effect, a qualitative analysis will be employed. Validation and reliability To guarantee reliability, the information in my research is carefully collected and verified, analyze and also interpreted. For example when collecting data on the three budget hotels I looked at information and made sure that it was true. To come up with the correct information, the researcher has chosen to interview the line managers who have actively and closely steered the establishments. So they are the best placed people to give the information. Validity in qualitative research involves use of the right methods to analyze and interpret the data used. To achieve this I have collected information from different budget hotels in the UK. Sometimes, the informants may want to give a ‘feel good’ picture about the establishments they are in. To mitigate this, the description of each item by an informant will be compared to the response given by other respondents. Further, the format of the same question may be changed to confirm the response previously given. References Adner, R, Helfat, C 2003, ‘Corporate effects and dynamic managerial capabilities’, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 24 No. 10, pp. 1011-25. Albrecht, K 2008, The Future of Destination Marketing, DMAI, Washington DC. Altinay, L 2006, ‘Selecting partners in an international franchise organisation’, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 108-28. 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History of the Olympic Games Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of the Olympic Games - Term Paper Example Zeus, an Olympic god, was said to be the father of humanity. Zeus is said to have fought a god known as Cronus in a struggle for the throne with other gods. The demigod, Heracles, staged games in Olympia in honor of Zeus. The games aimed at encouraging good relations among the cities of Greece and showing the physical qualities accomplished by the youth in Greece. The ultimate importance of the games was religion. During the first recorded Olympic Games, a nude runner, by the name Coroebus, won the sole event at the competition. He was a cook from Elis, a town in Greece. He competed in 210 yards or approximately 192 meters and became the first Olympics champion in the history. The ancient Olympic Game events continued to occur every four years for the next 1200 years. In 393, CE, Theodosius I, the Roman emperor, decided to abolish games, claiming they had pagan influences. Emperor Theodosius was a staunch Christian. About 1600 years later, Pierre Coubertin, a young French aristocrat, began to revive the games. Coubertin was born on January 1st, 1863. Coubertin was only seven when Germans overran the French. The period was known as the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. This young French aristocrat witnessed the defeat of French military and he attributed it to a lack of vigor. According to Coubertin, sports were among the motivating factors needed to have France regain its place. He concluded that Americans, Germans and the British did not have any superior education compared to the French. His proposal was not met with much enthusiasm. His persistence to get France interested in sports continued. He planned and founded a sports organization in 1890. The union named USFSA was launched, and two years later he pitched the idea to have the Olympic Games revived (IOC 10). The games mainly featured athletics. Later, chariot racing and combat were introduced as Olympic events. All conflicts occurring during the games were postponed until the events were completed. To many, the origin of the Olympics games is shrouded in mystery. Another myth suggested that the first games occurred in 775 BCE after some inscriptions were found in the city of Olympia. The ancient Olympic Games featured boxing, javelin, running and equestrian events. The myth concurs that Olympic Games had a fundamental religious importance. Another similarity with the earlier myth is that ritual sacrifices were offered in honor of Zeus which was a famous statue. The idol was a divine hero and an alleged god of Olympia. According to the Greek traditions, a four-year period was known as an Olympiad, which was a unit of time. This is said to be the source of Olympics (â€Å"Olympic Movement† 4). The Olympic Games became part of a cycle called Pan-Hellenic games. They included Isthmian, Pythain, and Nemean games. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the Olympics reached what was known as zenith. With the rise of the Roman Empire, the Olympic Games declined in terms of their importance. The Roman Empire gained power and influence over Greece. Emperor Theophilus II ordered the destruction of all Greek templates in 426 CE. This caused the Olympic Games to be officially ended. According to Coubertin, the revival of Olympics was necessary to bring peace and create friendship among nations. He planned and organized a meeting of seventy-nine delegates representing nine countries in just two years. The meeting was held in an auditorium decorated with neoclassical murals. In the

Arguments For And Against Resistance To Change Essay

Arguments For And Against Resistance To Change - Essay Example With evidence of companies failing to change owing to resistance by employees, it is no wonder that organizations invest great time and resources to conduct training and coaching in order to reduce resistance to change. While there are strong arguments that support this view, there are various reasons to prove that managing resistance to change may, in fact, may not be a good idea always. One reason why resistance to change may be productive is that it prevents bad/wrong ideas from being assimilated in the organization. Employee resistance to change allows firms to rethink â€Å"why† they are changing. In other words, it allows leadership to reconsider the business case for change with a critical perspective. If all employees agreed and there was no resistance, clearly management could oversee the ‘downside’ of changing making it unprofitable for the firm in the long run. Furthermore, because resistance to change often comprises of the fear factor (including loss of status, power or even job for employees), it encourages the top management to discover the impact that change would have on the ‘people’. Therefore, resistance to change is essential in the sense that it allows management to develop an open-ended view of change and consider the drawbacks of change. By doing so, managers can then come up with policies and procedures to counter the drawbacks and make change more workable and feasible for employees. Furthermore, the fact that resistance is seen as a â€Å"problem† to change leads management to derive strategies to overcome rather than engage it. Managers may often go at length to reduce the ‘threat’ of resistance and, in doing so, may adopt tactics that may be harmful to the organization. As a result, it is common to find management taking on an overly defensive role in trying to push the change too hard as well as become overly protective of their status in trying to win the argument against disgrun tled employees (Watson, 1982). This occurs because management views resistance to change as a reactive process in which agents possessing power oppose the reactions of other agents (Jermier et al., 1994). This leads them into an evitable trap whereby the management becomes overly concerned with protecting their position and argument rather than listening to what the disgruntled employees have to say. As a result, communication is reduced and the situation evolves into a manager-employee conflict. This stems from the fact that managers may alienate employees who are seen as obstacles rather than resources for change. Consequently, this conflict results in loss of reputation and poor relationships with employees, thereby reducing the morale of employees. Additionally, managing resistance to change often brings with the incorrect assumption that resistance is a one-sided phenomenon. Managers may become overly simplistic to assume that resistance is caused only by the attitudes and beha viors of employees. In fact, many models, such as three dimensional model of change, are based on the inherent assumption that resistance is solely the product of the behavior, emotions and attitudes of the employees (Hayes, 2010). Under this view, managers attempt to see the resistors as irrational and self-centered and consequently, try to block their interference in the change process. Although this true, resistance to change can be attributed partially to the way in which the organization is bringing about change and the behavior of managers in this respect. Therefore, managers who hold this view often ignore the fact that resistance to change is, in fact, feedback and that it must not be blocked or reduced but dealt with

Art History French Revolution Analysis Essay Example for Free

Art History French Revolution Analysis Essay A very distinct difference between A and B, is that A shows that Napoleon in a different light, as a power hungry and power crazed man and the phrase â€Å"..absolute power corrupts absolutely..† applies very perfectly in this painting. His paintings have evolved from the purpose of propaganda for the revolution and promoting his image as a hard-working and patriotic man to promoting his power, wealth and less than subtle military process in this painting, and it also shows a rather discrete relation to the paintings that the Bourbon Kings may have commissioned to have been painted for them. Painting B was painted in 1804, before Napoleon became corrupted with the power and wealth that comes with his position and interprets his character as a hard-working man, with equality to others. Painting A was created in 1806 two years after painting B, and it confirms the results of his corruption and changed character and perspective. B shows Napoleon with the attributes previously stated, a hard-working and patriotic man. This painting shows that he is hard working by painting him in his study, thus perhaps suggesting that he had a decent and educational upbringing. Another aspect in this painting that shows that he is hard-working is that his right hand is on a stack of papers on the Napoleonic Code that he perhaps just finished writing, showing that he is different from the Bourbon Kings, who could not and would not do any administrations. B shows that Napoleon is patriotic because of many reasons. One, being that his clothing colour is one of the patriotic colours of France (red, white and blue are the patriotic colours of France). Two, being that in the background there is a window overlooking Paris, the rebuilt Notre Dame in particular implying that he is with the people and for the people and of the people. Three, being that his sword hung beside his hip to show that he is always prepared to defend his country against any menaces. Painting A’s style is very different style from painting B. Painting B is rather modest and using rich colours, but has less luxurious texture than painting A gives, whereas painting A uses even more magnificent and rich colours and the texture of his clothing and accessories are even more lavish than painting B. we can see a difference in Napoleons face as well, in this painting, his face looks like it has been caked with white powder, much like the Royals used to do, and his face is also much more expression-less than painting B. B at least shows some degree, although quite small, of emotion. His face portrays a rather serious emotion. The angle of which we view the Napoleon has also changed quite drastically and contradicts one of the Napoleonic Codes that he himself created. In B we are looking at Napoleon on an equal level, showing that although our statuses may not be the same, we are still equal, one of the most important things that the revolution strived to achieve, Egalite (equality). However, in Painting A we are gazing at Napoleon who is sitting above us, on a throne with a range of royal and exquisite items. The change in position clearly indicated the sign of his corruption and the nullification of one of the codes that he created for the people which was that all people shall be treated equally. In this painting we look above to see him, as if he is of a higher class than the people of Paris, above them. His clothing difference is also very dire as well. His clothing in painting B is modest, and thoroughly middle-class while also representing his support in the Revolution by wearing a Revolution colour (red). The texture of the fabric seems to be rather harshly depicted in the painting, which perhaps was meant to show that he did not spend an unnecessary amount of money buying an over-excessive amount of clothing and other various luxuries like the Royals and the upper-class. The fabric of his clothing is painted in a much more overgenerous manner in painting A than painting B. David paints his fabric with sinuous lines and rich colours. The clothing that he wears in this painting shows his corruption, that he has spent the unnecessary and excessive amount of money for such luxuries. Another sign of his corruption shown in his costume is the crown that he wears on his head. Crown, symbolizing royalism. Crown, symbolizing that he fancies himself the King Of France, after all the codes that he has created to distill the peoples fears of a dictator, a dictator was still what they have received. He may not obviously be flaunting that he is in fact dictating, but he is still dictating in a more indistinct fashion. He uses clever manipulations of thoughts and opinions about him by a clever use of marketing strategies, which enhances his image and persona and most importantly his rule.

Essay --

The novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, is well written and a must read for teenagers across America. This novel mainly focuses on the treatment of women and the friendship of women in Afghanistan, and is relatable to many women, mainly in the Middle East. The book takes the reader through the tough lives of two women, Mariam and Laila. These two women have grown up in different environments and were treated very differently from each other. This book shows the unity and strength of two women who stand against their abusive husband and every obstacle they come face to face with. The book starts off in a poor village where Mariam lives with her mother, Nana. Her father, Jalil, is a very wealthy man from Herat who visits her once a week. Since Mariam was born, her mother has always called her names. Nana constantly told her she was a worthless bastard because her father had an affair with his servant, who was Nana at the time. After Nana found out she was pregnant, Jalil and his three wives kicked her out, as it would hurt their reputation. Since Mariam is a girl, no one saw any value in her. Mariam soon learns the truth after she sneaks off to her father’s house to meet him despite her mother’s wishes. At her father’s house she is told to go home as her father is away on a business trip. Mariam refuses to leave and is forced to sleep outside, poorly treated. In the morning, she goes to the yard and sees Jalil’s face in the window, shocked to understand her mother was right all along. When Mariam returns home to apologize to Nana, she finds her dead body hanging. After her mother’s death, Jalil and his three wives force fifteen year old Mariam to marry forty-five year old shoemaker, Rasheed. Years passed in their ma... ... much as its men. He was a teacher before the war so he taught Laila at home as well. Although Laila was educated and Mariam was not, the respect they both had for each other was equal. This novel has a very powerful message for men and women. One gender should not dominate over the other. Equality is important for stability in every relationship and every country. The importance of women should be recognized and this novel briefly shows the power of unity and strength. Men and woman both have different roles, and both should equally have their share in society. The novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a must read for everyone across the country and share the message. Many women in different countries do not have value and are living life in misery. Women’s rights are worth fighting for and Khaled Hosseini did a marvelous job with displaying this story to the readers.

Hyundai Case Study

Asia Paci? c Business Review Vol. 12, No. 2, 131–147, April 2006 Globalization and Employment Relations in the Korean Auto Industry: The Case of the Hyundai Motor Company in Korea, Canada and India RUSSELL D. LANSBURY*, SEUNG-HO KWON** & CHUNGSOK SUH†  *University of Sydney, **School of International Business, University of New South Wales, †  University of New South Wales ABSTRACT Examination is made of the complex interactions between globalization and employment relations as re? ected in the operations of the Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) in Korea, Canada and India.After the closure of its short-lived attempt to manufacture cars for the North American market from Canada, the HMC ‘relaunched’ its globalization strategy in India in 1998. An examination of Hyundai’s experience in both countries suggests that employment relations is likely to continue to be an evolving blend of company-speci? c policies and locally-based practices. KEY WORDS : Global ization, management, unions, employment relations, production systems, Korea, Canada, India Introduction The effects of globalization on employee relations are widely debated.One view is that globalization has created pressures for convergence between different national settings, particularly as multinational enterprises extend their manufacturing and other operations across a variety of countries. Alternatively, it is argued that at national-level institutional arrangements play an important role in creating divergence between employment relations in different countries. As a consequence, globalization is not likely to lead to universal convergence of national patterns of employee relations.A third view rejects the simple convergence/divergence dichotomy and argues that there are complex interactions between global and national (or local) forces which shape the outcome of employee relations (Lansbury, 2002). The Korean automobile industry offers an opportunity to analyse this debat e as it pursues a strategy of globalization and begins the process of expanding production beyond Korea and building plants in other parts of the world. Correspondence Address: Professor Russell Lansbury, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.Email: r. [email  protected] usyd. edu. au 1360-2381 Print/1743-792X Online/06/020131-17 q 2006 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10. 1080/13602380500532180 132 R. D. Lansbury et al. Globalization of the Korean auto industry has occurred in a very short period of time. It began as a repair industry for vehicles released during and after the Korean War in the early 1950s. The ? rst assembly plant in 1955 had an annual capacity of 1,500 units. When the Korean government launched the ? st Five Year Economic Development Plan in 1962, it introduced the ‘Automobile Industry Protection Law’ and began to promote the auto sector as a key element in emerging Korean manufacturing industry. However, the ? edging Ko rean auto sector experienced uncertainty and ? uctuations during the 1960s. The Saenara Motor Company was established in 1962 under a technical alliance with Nissan, but due to shortage of foreign exchange went bankrupt and was taken over by the Shinjin Motor Company which was allied to Toyota.Shinjin assembled the Corona in a complete knock-down (CKD) form of production, whilst the Hyundai Motor Company began production of the Cortina in a technical alliance with Ford. The Korean government announced a ‘localization plan’ in 1970 under which the proportion of local content in passenger cars was supposed to increase from 38 per cent in 1970 to 100 per cent by 1972. However, the localization rate barely reached 50 per cent by 1972. A rapid period of growth occurred in the Korean auto industry during the period 1972– 82.The government announced ‘A Long Term Plan to Promote the Automobile Industry’ in 1974 which had three major targets: to achieve a loc alization rate of 85 per cent by 1975; a target of 80 per cent of domestic sales to be in the small car segments below engine capacity of 1500 cc; and an export target of 75,000 units by 1981. By the end of the 1970s, the Korean industry had three local producers: Hyundai, Kia (which had taken over Asia Motors) and Daewoo (which had absorbed Shinjin Motors).However, a global economic recession in late 1979 resulted in a severe excess capacity for manufactured vehicles and the Korean government announced a ‘Decree to consolidate the Automobile Industry’ in 1980. The plan required that small passenger cars would be produced solely by Hyundai and Daewoo; that Kia would concentrate on small to medium commercial vehicles; and that only buses and large trucks would be open to competition. This resulted in a substantial contraction of the industry and, by 1983, vehicle production had declined to the levels of 1979.However, production grew steadily again during the mid to late 1980s and expanded substantially in the 1990s (see Table 1). The 1980s and 1990s were a period of mass production as all three major companies built up their annual capacities and began aggressively to export Table 1. Korean automobile production and exports for selected years Production (000s) 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001 Domestic Sales, % Exports, % 49 133 601 1,497 2,812 2,946 97. 5 81. 3 49. 1 73. 9 57. 0 49. 1 2. 5 18. 7 50. 9 26. 1 43. 0 50. 9Source: Korean Auto Manufacturers Association, Statistical Reports (various years). Globalization & Employment in Korea 133 Table 2. Comparison of production and sales by Korean and Japanese automotive companies for selected years (%) 1992 Korea Japan Overseas Production Domestic Production Domestic Sales Overseas Sales 3 97 Overseas Production Domestic Production Domestic Sales Overseas Sales 1995 4 96 25 75 73 27 61 39 35 65 55 45 64 36 Source: Li Song (1998) The Process of Globalization of the Korean Automobile Industry, Economics and Management Analysis, 18:1 utomobiles, particularly to North American and Europe. By the mid 1980s, more than 50 per cent of total production was exported. A comparison of production and sales by Korean and Japanese auto companies in the early to mid 1990s is shown in Table 2. In 1992, the size of the Japanese domestic market was ? ve times larger than that in Korea. During the early 1990s, however, the Japanese auto industry began to restructure in response to economic circumstances. By 1995, Japanese companies produced about 35 per cent of its global production through subsidiaries outside Japan.Their globalization strategy concentrated on expanding overseas production and coordinating components suppliers among various global production centres. In 1995, the proportion of exports to total domestic production in Korea was similar to that in Japan. Yet the globalization of the Korean auto industry focused mainly on exporting domestically produced vehicles until the mid 1990s. Altho ugh overseas production began to increase in the late 1990s, the proportion was still rather small and most production continued to take place in Korea.The duration of the globalization process among Korean auto companies has been shorter than their Japanese counterparts. The Korean auto sector adopted a similar strategy to the Japanese of entering foreign markets at the lower cost end and then moving upwards. However, in contrast to the Japanese who began by exporting to less developed countries, Korean auto companies exported ? rst to the developed economies of the European Union and North America and then to less developed countries in Asia. The Korean companies have encountered dif? ulties in developing extensive supply chains and global materials management required for a mature global production system, which have been hallmarks of the successful Japanese auto companies. Most of the important management decisions are still made in the head of? ce in Korea and relocation of com plete production systems overseas is still in the early stages. Furthermore, since the economic crisis of the late 1990s, Hyundai is the sole survivor of the three former major auto companies in Korea. Hence, the focus is on the experience of Hyundai as it seeks to ecome a global manufacturer with assembly plants in other countries. 134 R. D. Lansbury et al. Although there is an emerging literature about global automobile manufacturing by the USA, Japan and European companies, and their employee relations (see Boyer, 1998; Lewchuck et al. , 2001), little attention has been paid to Korean auto manufacturers which have also been seeking to establish an international presence (Hill and Lee, 1998; Kochan et al. , 1997; Kwon and O’Donnell, 2000). Examination is made of the experience of the Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) in establishing overseas plants, as part of its globalization strategy.It seeks to answer the question: ‘to what extent has the Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) app lied Korean approaches to employee relations, or adapted to local custom and practices in their overseas plants? ’ HMC provides an interesting case as it has embarked on a long-term strategy of becoming one of the world’s largest auto companies by expanding into new markets and establishing plants outside Korea. In order to achieve this goal, HMC has sought to develop effective and appropriate employee relations strategies for managing its employees in its overseas plants.HMC’s ? rst venture abroad was in the mid 1980s, when it established an assembly plant in Quebec, Canada. However, this was an unsuccessful operation and HMC closed the plant in 1993. HMC began operations in India in 1998 in an attempt to re-establish its credentials as a global automobile manufacturer. A major issue, which it has confronted, is the management of labour in India, where unions have been very active in seeking membership and bargaining rights in the auto industry, particularly wi th foreign-owned companies. MethodologyThe primary research approach used in this study was ethnographic, and utilized comparative case studies of employment relations policies and practices of the Hyundai Motor Company in Korea and India. Similar methodologies have been used by Frenkel (1983), Kalleberg (1990) and Oliver and Wilkinson (1989). The researchers undertook several ? eld trips to visit Hyundai’s assembly plants in Chennai (India) as well as in Seoul (Korea), over a three year period from 1999 to 2001. Interviews were conducted with managers and workers in these plants using a semi-structured interview schedule.Documentary material was also collected and analysed from the Hyundai Company in both countries in order to compare the of? cial company policies on employment relations with the prevailing practices at the plant level. Given the fact that Hyundai had closed its assembly plant in Quebec in 1993, the researchers had to rely on interviews with former employees and managers, now located elsewhere in the Hyundai Motor Company, as well as previously published accounts. Fortunately, an extensive study of the Quebec plant had been undertaken and published by Gregory Teal (1995).In his study, Teal noted that ‘while there was a managerial discourse of participation and diffusion of power [in the Quebec plant] the gap between this discourse and the real diffusion of power was such that a sizable minority of employees did not comply with managerial objectives’ (1995: p. 85). Teal’s ethnographic study of the Hyundai assembly plant in Quebec provided a rich source of comparative data for the study of the Hyundai plant in Chennai. Globalization & Employment in Korea 135 Background to the Hyundai Motor Company (HMC)The Hyundai business group is one of Korea’s oldest and most successful familyowned conglomerates known as ‘chaebol’ (Steers et al. , 1989). In 1997, the Hyundai business group had over 60 subsidiary companies, more than 200,000 employees and accounted for approximately 18 per cent of Korea’s Gross Domestic Product. In 2000, the Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) and its subsidiaries were forced to separate from the Hyundai group as a result of government policies designed to reduce the size and in? uence of the chaebols.The Hyundai conglomerate was established by its founder, Chung Ju-Yung, in 1946 as an auto repair shop. This small business expanded into a construction company in 1947 with the establishment of the Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company (HECC). During the Korean War (1950–53) with government support, the Hyundai business group expanded into a number of other areas of activity such as ship-building and heavy machinery. These are key industries which enabled Hyundai to diversify into related businesses, expand in size and maximize economies of scale and scope.The Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) began in 1968 as a complete knock down (CKD) assembler unde r an agreement with the Ford Motor Company. In 1976, HMC produced its ? rst originally-designed model, the Pony, using a low cost strategy with more than 90 per cent of its parts being sourced locally. Other new models followed and HMC entered the US market in 1986 with the competitively low-priced Excel. During the late 1980s, however, the international auto industry experienced considerable restructuring due to oversupply, excessive production capacity and intense global competition (see Womack et al. 1990). This gave rise to a number of strategic alliances between various auto companies via mergers and business partnerships. These were initiated to achieve economies of scale and to enhance the enlarged companies’ competitive positions in the international auto market. This was one reason whey HMC formed a strategic alliance with Mitsubishi in Canada. Studies of the Korean chaebol have tended to describe them as having similar characteristics to the zaibatsu in pre Second W orld War Japan: large, diversi? ed, usually family-owned and managed conglomerates (Amsden, 1989).The Japanese colonization of Korea, which lasted from the early 1900s to the end of the Second World War, resulted in the establishment of a number of institutions and practices derived from Japan and which in? uenced the way in which companies were developed and managed. The chaebol, like the zaibatsu, have used a variety of means to foster worker identi? cation with and dependence on the company (Janelli & Yim, 1993). Hyundai, for example, used the dormitory system (originally established by Japanese enterprises in the textile industry) to allow close supervision and control over predominantly young workers (Cho, 1999).This was accompanied by hiring and training schemes as well as paternalistic welfare systems to foster dependency among the workers. Most chaebol also used the ‘moral persuasion’ of the founder to elicit worker compliance by promoting the concept that the g ood of the nation was based on the company’s performance. The founder of Hyundai, Chung Ju-Yung, regularly exhorted his employees to embrace the ‘Hyundai spirit’. Independent unions were not tolerated and were banned by the government until the late 1980s (Kearney, 1991).Yet worker dissatisfaction with both the paternalism of the chaebol and authoritarianism of the state gradually built up to breaking point and contributed 136 R. D. Lansbury et al. to major industrial disputes and civil unrest resulting in the ‘democratization’ of Korea in 1987 (Choi, 1989; Ogle, 1990). Development of employment relations policies and practices at HMC were strongly in? uenced by the business partnership with the Mitsubishi Motor Company (MMC) which involved not only technical cooperation but also management development. MMC was actively involved in the design of the ? st full automobile manufacturing systems at HMC. MMC made a strategic investment in HMC equal to 10 per cent of HMC’s total capitalization. MMC also entered into an enhanced technological cooperation agreement to supply various parts such as engines, axles and chassis components. The ? rst model which HMC developed was based on the Mitsubishi Lancer. Elements of MMC’s system of labour management approach were utilized by HMC in order to enhance productivity and reduce production costs. These included quality control techniques and job design which sought to more effectively utilize workers.Professional engineers became central to the control of production operations and supervisors were given strict control over workers on the assembly-line. The human resource policies practised by HMC during its formative stage comprised two basic characteristics. First, a strict dual labour market created a division between managerial and production workers. HMC applied different selection criteria for each of these groups of employees. Second, a seniority system of promotion was d eveloped in order to strengthen the hierarchical structure of the internal labour market and to educe short-term labour turnover. Years of service was an important criteria for wage increases and promotion. As HMC expanded its production and hired more employees, however, it adopted what was termed an ‘Open Recruitment System’ (ORS) in an attempt to attract more university graduates and develop a professional management hierarchy. The ORS was also used to introduce more formal systems of recruitment for production workers which would enhance the quality of recruits to the production area. However, the dual labour market system remained and was even strengthened within HMC.Table 3 summarizes the criteria by which management and production employees were recruited. However, HMC argued that their approach to recruitment was transformed from one which relied on personal contracts or connections to one which was based on objective selection criteria. As Kwon and O’Don nell (1999; 2000) have shown, workers in HMC appeared to be more compliant than those in other parts of the Hyundai group until the mid 1980s. Part of the explanation may be the relatively secure employment conditions Table 3. Recruitment practices at the Hyundai Motor Company during the 1990s Management employeesResponsibility Target Groups Assessment Process Production employees Group planning of? ce University graduates Written exam (e. g. language skills) University degree Interviews by senior management and personnel management Personnel department at plant level High School leavers Test for relevant skills High School results Interviews by department head and personnel staff Globalization & Employment in Korea 137 at HMC, although some have argued that HMC workers witnessed the failure of strikes elsewhere and were more acquiescent about their conditions of employment (Bae, 1987).Furthermore, management in HMC and the Hyundai Heavy Industry group also used various means to opp ose the rise of an independent union movement, including physical violence, intimidation and the establishment of complaint in company unions. However, following reforms to labour legislation in the 1990s, HMC was forced to negotiate with unions over wages and conditions. The HMC trade union also became a central force in the formation of the KCTU as the national peak council for the independent trade union movement.One of the main policy responses by HMC to the emergence of a more militant workforce and trade union movement during the 1980s was the implementation of an extensive welfare system. Welfare expenditure by HMC increased from 286 billion won in 1986 to 857 billion won in 1990. Welfare bene? ts which had been limited to management were extended to production workers in the late 1980s. Various cultural programmes were organized in conjunction with training programmes and other activities in an attempt to build a ‘unitarist’ philosophy of loyalty to the ? m and reduce the anti-management sentiments of many workers. Unions made the improvement of welfare systems a major bargaining issue, particularly in the context of an inadequate state welfare system in Korea. The unions achieved the establishment of joint project teams with management to oversee a range of welfare programmes, such as the Employee Housing Construction Implementation Committee to build houses for workers. Scholarships were also obtained for children of workers by the unions in negotiation with management. Wages were the subject of vigorous negotiation between unions and management rom the late 1980s onwards. Wages at HMC increased by 20 per cent in 1987, 30 per cent in 1988 and 28 per cent in 1989 compared with only 6 per cent between 1982 and 1986. It was not only the amount of wages which were the subject of bargaining with the unions but also the wage structure at HMC. As shown in Table 4, the unions achieved increased allowances, bonuses and superannuation paid by HMC to its members. Hence unions were able to broaden the range of issues for negotiation with HMC from the late1980s and made considerable gains during the 1990s.In terms of the broad range of human resource policies and practices, however, HMC has continued to use various means in an effort to promote a convergence Table 4. The structure of remuneration at the Hyundai Motor Company during the 1990s Types of Remuneration Components Monthly wages Normal ? xed wage Other ? xed and variable allowances Performance-based pay Productivity-related pay Bonuses Superannuation Value-added remuneration Other forms of remuneration 138 R. D. Lansbury et al. Table 5. Comparison between employment relations practices adopted by the Hyundai Motor Company in the three plants in Korea, Canada and IndiaHuman resource policies and practices Korea Canada India Selection of employees based on performance-related criteria Training programmes which reinforce company norms such as loyalty and team spirit Emplo yee involvement in some aspects of decision-making at plant level Industrial relations Successful avoidance of collective agreements with unions Flexible wages system linked to productivity and/or performance criteria Internal Labour Market Arrangements High status differentiation between workers and managers at plant level Opportunities for promotion from the shop ? or to higher level positions within the plant Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No of interests between employees and management, while seeking to maintain control and authority over the workforce. The HMC union has been able to resist some of the management’s initiatives to change wages and working conditions, but HMC continues to control the basis on which selection and training of employees is conducted and there is still a strong degree of status differentiation between management and workforce. This is re? cted in large differences between wages, bene? ts and conditions of work between HMC employees at the shop ? oor level compared with those in the ranks of management. Some key employment relations practices are set out in Table 5 and a comparison is made between those that prevail in Korea compared with plants in Canada and India. Hyundai’s Experience in Canada In cooperation with Mitsubishi, HMC opened its ? rst overseas plant in Quebec, Canada, in 1985, in order to assemble the medium-sized front wheel drive Sonata model. The objective was to pro? from HMC’s initial success in Canada in 1984, with the Pony, when HMC became the largest auto importer in the country. Sales to Canada accounted for 30 per cent of HMC’s total production that year. By establishing a presence in North America, HMC sought to boost its sales and avoid the imposition of import quotas. HMC acquired a 400 acre green? eld site near the Canadian town of Bromont in Quebec for the token payment of one Canadian dollar and received $Canadian 110 million in gr ants from the Canadian federal and provincial governments as part of HMC’s total investment of $Canadian 325 million.In addition, the Quebec Department of Labour gave a $Canadian 7. 3 million grant to HMC to assist with training the workforce over a three year period. HMC built both a paint and a press shop to increase North American content (an important criterion for exporting to the USA) as well as because of problems in gaining components from Korea due to labour problems Globalization & Employment in Korea 139 and strikes at HMC’s Ulsan plant. Yet, when the plant was ? ally closed in 1993, one of the major contributing factors was ascribed to HMC’s failure to manage successfully relations with its Canadian managers and employees (Teal, 1995). An analysis of HMC’s experience in Canada offers some useful insights into the way in which the company sought to manage its workforce in North America. This is examined in regard to two key areas: human resourc e and industrial relations policies and practices. The data on which the account Hyundai’s experience in Canada is based is from a study of the Quebec plant by Teal (1995).More information was collected from HMC employees who had worked in the Canadian plant. Human Resource Policies and Practices The hiring policy of HMC in Canada was based on selecting employees who would identify with the company and its objectives. The selection process was lengthy and complex, with candidates spending four days being interviewed, tested for hand– eye coordination and subjected to personality tests. The key selection criteria for prospective employees were that they would be willing and able to do repetitive, monotonous work on an assembly line, as well as work in a team.The company explicitly sought younger workers, around 22 years of age, with little or no experience in the auto industry. Hyundai sought to socialize new employees in a way that promoted identi? cation with the comp any. All production workers were called ‘technicians’ and each employee was referred to as a ‘member’. All company employees wore the same uniform, irrespective of whether they were managers or shop-? oor workers. There was one cafeteria and one parking lot for all Hyundai employees.There was a wide range of sports and leisure activities designed to build team spirit and company ethic among all employees. The training programmes for new employees emphasized loyalty, motivation and team spirit. Some employees were sent to Hyundai’s production centre in Ulsan, South Korea. However, the organization of team work in the Quebec plant was different from Ulsan. The work teams in Canada were less hierarchical and authoritarian than in Korea, team members were encouraged to discuss any problems and there appeared to be greater job rotation within the teams.There was also a ‘Direct Communication System’ in the Quebec plant which was not present in Ulsan. Each team elected its own representative to a departmental committee. Team representatives from each department met regularly, with management playing an observer role at most meetings. There was also a health and safety committee to which workers elected their own representatives. During 1991 there were more than 50 meetings of Direct Communication committees at which more than 400 topics were discussed. Yet management found it dif? ult to satisfy the demands and expectations among employees. In 1991 there were nearly 160 complaints by workers concerning health and safety issues, of which only 100 were resolved. Industrial Relations A major concern of HMC was to avoid unionization of the plant in Quebec. The Canadian Auto Workers Union (CAWU) devoted considerable organizational 140 R. D. Lansbury et al. and ? nancial resources to attempting to organize the plant, without success, although by the time the plant closed in 1993, the union claimed to have achieved a growing lev el of support among the workforce.While much of the emphasis by Hyundai management was on more subtle means of union avoidance, by developing strong identi? cation of workers with the company, a number of employees who were thought to be sympathetic to or organizing on behalf of the union were suspended, transferred or dismissed. The union brought cases of alleged unfair dismissal before the Quebec Government Labour Commission and was successful in achieving an out-of-court settlement for a worker who had been dismissed in 1990.However, the union did not succeed in gaining a collective bargaining agreement to cover workers at the site. One of the devices used to prevent unionization of the plant was the formation of a pro-company, anti-union committee among the employees called ‘the Silent Majority’. It was formed in 1991 to dissuade employees from joining the union. The committee distributed pamphlets which alleged that if the plant became unionized, workers would lose money in union dues and their jobs would be insecure.The committee claimed that while workers were being laid off in other Canadian plants, which were unionized, Hyundai had hired new employees, opened a press shop and provided a high degree of job security. It also charged that the union was more concerned with protecting the jobs of workers in the ‘big three’ auto plants in Ontario where it had a large membership, rather than at the Hyundai plant. But faced with the depressed economic climate in Quebec and the disappointing sales of the Hyundai Sonata in Canada and the USA, Hyundai introduced a reduced work week for all employees and ? ally shut the plant in September 1993. Internal Labour Market Arrangements Distinctions between managerial and production workers were minimized in terms of status differentials within the plant (such as dining facilities), and workers were encouraged to participate in decision-making at the level of team or work group. Yet the work it self remained organized along Taylorist principles, with a strong division of tasks and demarcations between various job functions. Workers complained that even though they were supposed to be involved in a team-based approach to management, they were subject to ‘speed-up’ and work intensi? ation without consultation. They also claimed that Hyundai actively discouraged union membership by workers and refused to engage in collective bargaining. Hence, employee involvement in decision-making was highly restricted and had little impact on the internal labour market arrangements. Yet there existed greater opportunities for promotion of workers in production and other functions to higher level positions in the Canadian plant compared with similar plants in Korea and India. Experience of Hyundai Motor Company in IndiaIn 1996, ? ve years after the closure of the Quebec plant, HMC established a 100 per cent owned subsidiary, the Hyundai Motor Company of India (HMI), Globalizati on & Employment in Korea 141 to manufacture cars in India. It represented an investment of more than US$ 450 million. Construction of a plant with the capacity to produce 120,000 passenger cars per year was completed in Chennai, Southern India, in 1999. By May 2000, the Chennai plant was producing 100,000 vehicles a year and had captured 14 per cent of the Indian market.HMI produced two models in Chennai: Santro (999 cc) and Accent (1,499 cc), both of which achieved approximately one quarter of their respective market segments during the ? rst four months of 2000. HMI began its operation in Chennai with a workforce of 1,400 operating in a one shift production system in October 1998. By January 2001, the workforce had increased to 3,000 workers and a three-shift operation. It had become one of the fastest growing auto manufacturers in India and shared the lead with Ford of India in its respective market segments. It is dif? ult to make a direct comparison between Chennai and the Queb ec plant as Chennai was larger and produced two models instead of one. Nevertheless, HMI followed some policies similar to both the Korean and Canadian plants and also implemented HR policies and practices which emphasized selection procedures and training programmes designed to ensure that new employees are strongly integrated with the organization. However, due to lower labour costs in India, there was more reliance on labour-intensive methods and less use of automation than in Canada or Korean plants.Given the lower levels of education and skill among the Indian workforce, compared with Korea or Canada, there was a much greater presence of Korean managers and technical advisers in Chennai, particularly during the ? rst year of operation. The lines of demarcation between different segments of the workforce were also greater in the Indian plant and there was a more hierarchical structure in the Indian company. Some of these practices re? ected local norms in Indian work culture and industry.The experience of the Hyundai Motor Company in India is analysed with regard to three areas: human resource policies and practices, industrial relations and the internal labour market arrangements. Human Resource Policies and Practices HMI used a variety of HR policies and procedures to align the attitudes of its employees with the corporate culture. Training programmes within HMI re? ected the paternalistic nature within the company and emphasized the development of a strong work ethic among the employees. New recruits were given two-day basic orientation training before being allocated to a speci? c department.Most of the initial work skills are taught on the production line. There followed a job rotation programme which exposed workers to other parts of the plant operations. As Chennai is a mass production plant, most of the jobs were fragmented into relatively simple, repetitive tasks and there was a highly detailed division of labour. Much of the training beyond basic skills development was used to promote employee loyalty and develop harmony at the workplace in order to avoid internal con? ict. Workers were also encouraged to participate in productivity campaigns, employee suggestion schemes and quality control systems.There was a Supervisor Development Programme to enhance the skills of ? rst line managers. At executive level, there was a Management Development Programme to improve 142 R. D. Lansbury et al. the capacity of managers to think strategically, manage their time effectively and improve work methods and quality. The majority of workers at the Chennai plant were employed at trainee level for the ? rst three years and it was anticipated that some of these would leave the company after three years (when the traineeship ended) in search of better wages and conditions.By maintaining high turnover at this level, HMI could keep wages down and retain a group of low-paid trainees who were not permitted to join unions and could provide a †˜buffer’ should demand fall and the workforce need to be quickly reduced. In effect, the trainee position was a de facto short-term contract job, although some workers did receive promotion at the end of the trainee period. Nevertheless, promotion procedures were slow and were aimed at cost minimization, although employees with exceptional performance could receive rapid promotion.In general, it could take up to 20 years or more for production workers to rise to the highest level in their employment structure. There was a system of performance appraisal which varied according to the level of the position. When applied to the non-executive groups the emphasis of the appraisal system was on behavioural criteria such as discipline, attitudes to work, cooperation, punctuality and attendance. The system led to some con? icts between production workers and management, although it was supposed to enhance competition between workers to achieve the highest performance ratings.Wages p olicy was the most critical factor in enabling HMI to achieve a ‘cost effective’ approach to labour management. HMI’s goal was to minimize labour costs while providing management with considerable ? exibility to link allowances to productivity improvements. The total wage package comprised four key elements: a base level amount, a cost of living component, house rental allowance, a ? exibility allowance and a mixture of sundry other minor components (including travel, children’s education, provident fund etc. ).There was considerable variation in the ratio of different components depending on an individual’s position in the hierarchy. Hence, the base component of total salary varied from 60 per cent for managers to 30 per cent for production workers. According to HMI, this system helped to promote employee loyalty to the company. The wages of HMI employees were adjusted annually through increments paid in April and the wage structure was reviewed ev ery three years. During 2000, HMI came under pressure from its workforce to increase wages, and a 20 per cent increase was granted to trainees and junior technicians.The wage levels for trainees and junior technical employees at HMI compared favourably with other multinational auto companies in the same area, but were superior to Indian companies in the auto components sector. However, by having the vast majority of their employees at trainee level, HMI was able to contain its wage costs. The wages and salaries differentials between executive and non-executive employees remained fairly constant over the ? rst few years of HMI’s operation in Chennai, with executives receiving approximately six times that of production workers. However, it was dif? ult to gain accurate information about senior executive salaries paid by HMI. Anecdotal evidence from HMI and other automobile producers in India suggested that the foreign-owned companies shared information about wage Globalization & Employment in Korea 143 levels and generally maintained comparability so that they were not competing against each other in this regard. Hence, the variations between multinational auto companies operating within the Chennai area were minimal. However, there were signi? cant wage differences between the component suppliers (mainly local Indian ? ms) and the foreign-owned assembly companies. Furthermore, wage levels in the Chennai area were generally lower than those in the northern industrial zones of India as they had been industrialized for less time and were still ‘catching up’ to their northern counterparts. Industrial Relations HMI has been strongly in? uenced by the experience of HMC in Korea. From the mid 1980s, with the emergence of militant unionism, HMC experienced considerable industrial con? ict at its plants in Korea. There was a great deal of external intervention in an attempt to resolve con? cts at HMC, with varying degrees of success. Experience in Ko rea conditioned attitudes among the senior managers at HMI. One of the principal reasons why HMC chose to locate its plants near Chennai in the south of India, was that unions were not as well organized as in some other parts of India. The trade union movement is well established in India and is closely linked with socialist politics. The Indian Industrial Relations Act provides a range of rights for workers and unions. The Act guarantees freedom of association and allows for multiple unions in workplaces.It also seeks to facilitate third party intervention in the workplace to resolve industrial disputes. In 2000, trade unions were organized in 24 of the 28 major car manufacturers in India, although not in foreign-owned or joint ventures, including Ford, Volvo, Toyota and HMI. There were two major strikes in the auto sector during the late 1990s. One was a strike over wages and compensation issues at the Ascot-Faridabad plant and lasted 70 days. The other was at Hindustan Motors ove r factory conditions and wages and was 30 days in duration (Bhaktavatsala, 1992). During the ? st two years of HMI’s operations in India, there were no successful organizing efforts by unions or industrial disputes at the Chennai plant. Yet, as the plant became more established and HMI’s market share and pro? tability increased, production workers increasingly raised complaints about labour intensi? cation, low wages and limited opportunities for promotion. However, as the trainee workers comprise half of the workforce at HMI, and were not permitted to join a union or participate in industrial disputes, HMI management was able to resist union pressures.Another source of tension within the Chennai plant occurred between Korean managers dispatched to India from HMC in Korea, and local Indian management. An important contributing factor related to the management style displayed by some of the Koreans which the Indians felt was unsympathetic to prevailing customs and pract ices in India. They complained that their Korean counterparts frequently communicated with each other in the Korean language which excluded Indians from the decision-making process.For their part, a number of Korean managers claimed that the Indians lacked a strong work ethic and therefore had to be more strictly supervised in order to achieve the required levels of productivity. 144 R. D. Lansbury et al. The Koreans also argued that the caste system interfered with the ef? cient operation of the plant because some Indian workers were appointed by Indian managers to positions in accordance with their caste position rather than on the basis of merit. The Indian management system was regarded as unduly paternalistic by some of the Korean managers.HMI established a Works Committee, with the objective of resolving con? icts and differences at the workplace without involving unions. The works committee comprised equal representation from both management and production workers. The Commit tee met monthly and provided a forum in which disagreements over wages and conditions could be discussed and resolved. However, in the absence of a trade union, employees had little bargaining power in regard to management and the Committee had no means of enforcing its decisions. HMI management tended to use the Committee as a means for disseminating its policies among the workforce.The Committee did not have any jurisdiction to set wages or working conditions. While HMI has remained union-free and had not experienced any major industrial dispute, strikes occurred among component suppliers which were Korean joint ventures with HMI, including Donghee, Pyungbuang, Hwasung and Samrib. The disputes concerned wages, job security and welfare issues. The strikes had adverse effects on HMI’s production ef? ciency as many of the companies had a monopoly supplier relationship with HMI. The resolution of these disputes often required direct intervention by HMI. Internal Labour Market A rrangementsFrom the initial establishment of the Chennai plant, HMI adopted a dual internal labour market, which differentiated between managerial and production employees in relation to wages, promotion and welfare facilities. Initially, there were two classes of employees: executive and non-executive. In the executive group there were 11 categories while in the non-executive group there were 14 positions. Within the ? rst year of production, however, the total number of employees increased from 1,503 to 2,320 and there was pressure from the workforce to provide greater wage differentials based on quali? ations. Accordingly, the number of categories in the non-executive ranks was increased from 14 to 18 and two new classi? cations of junior engineer were introduced. The expansion in the number of layers within the non-executive group reduced some of the discontent about the limited status differentials in the organizational hierarchy. However, HMI placed restrictions on the number of promotions of workers to higher level categories. This is an important factor in the management of labour within the plant because, as mentioned previously, trainees have only temporary employment status for the ? st three years and are not permitted to join unions. Hence, their opportunities to gain advancement are limited. During the ? rst year of operation, almost all senior decision-making positions at HMI were held by Koreans dispatched from HMC. The Korean managers not only were heads of division, with responsibility for all key activities in HMI, but also some were placed at operational level to provide support and advice to middle level Indian managers and to coordinate management activities.As the number Globalization & Employment in Korea 145 of total employees increased during the ? rst two years of operation, the ratio of Koreans to Indians in the plant changed from 1:19 to 1:46. However, most key roles remained under the control of Koreans. In the production division , the ratio of Koreans to Indians underwent more signi? cant change, from a ratio of 1:26 in 1998 to 1:172 in 2000. This was in keeping with HMI’s policy of becoming less reliant on Korean managers at plant level. DiscussionThe comparison of HMC’s operations in three countries demonstrates that there are complex interactions between globalization pressures towards a uniform approach to employment relations across various countries and divergent tendencies at the local level in each country. Although HMC sought to carefully select employers at its plant in Canada who would identify with the company’s objectives and follow its procedures, the Canadian workers were willing to challenge management decisions and to exercise their rights on issues such as health and safety.This was despite the fact that the Canadian Auto Workers Union was unsuccessful in gaining collective bargaining coverage of the Bromont plant. Although HMC were able to remain non-union, they had a divided workforce and were not able to implement the full range of Hyundai-style human resource policies and practices as planned. Although the closure of the Canadian operation was primarily due to disappointing sales of the Sonata model, poor employee relations were also a contributing factor to Hyundai’s failure in Canada.The Indian operations marked an important attempt by Hyundai to relaunch its globalization strategy and demonstrate that it could successfully manufacture and sell overseas-made Hyundai vehicles outside Korea. The employee relations practices which Hyundai implemented in India were more like ‘traditional’ Korean approaches and appeared to represent a ‘retreat’ from some of the more ‘progressive’ ideas which were attempted in Canada – such as a ? atter hierarchical structure and greater employee participation in decision-making (albeit limited in scope).But the Indian plant was more labour intensive and had lo wer labour costs, which is similar to the earlier stages of auto production in Korea. Unlike the current situation in Korea, where HMC is required to negotiate with the union movement (due to both its organizational strength and changes in legislation), Hyundai has so far been able to avoid unionization in India. It remains to be seen whether the widespread nature of unionization in the Indian auto industry and political pressures in India may force Hyundai to abandon its policy of union avoidance.An alternative strategy, pursued by some other foreign auto companies in India has been to recognize or foster enterprise unions, which may be more cooperative than industry-wide unions. Implications As has been noted in other studies of auto companies, which established transplants outside their home country, there is a strong tendency towards ‘hybridization’ both in terms of production methods as well as employment relations. This has been observed in the case of Japanese co mpanies which have 146 R. D. Lansbury et al. established plants in the United States (see Cutcher-Gershenfeld et al. 1998), but it has also occurred with US auto companies in Canada (Lewchuck et al. , 2001) and European auto companies which have opened plants in other parts of the world (see Boyer et al. , 1998). It would appear, from the current study, that a similar tendency is occurring within the Hyundai Motor Company as they seek to re-start their overseas production activities in India. A more diversi? ed employee relations strategy, which takes into account the demands of local employees and their unions, may be required if Hyundai is to continue to develop an effective global production system.For its global ambitions to be realized, Hyundai will require a much greater proportion of its manufacturing to be undertaken outside Korea, the development of global supply chains and global coordination of production, marketing and technology development. The experience of Hyundai in Canada and India suggests that employee relations are likely to be an evolving blend of company-speci? c policies and locally-based practices, depending on the context in which Hyundai is operating. ConclusionsThe experience of the Hyundai Motor Company in India illustrates the complexity of the impact of globalization strategies on employment relations. It supports the hypothesis that there are dynamic interactions between global and local forces, which shape employment relations when a multinational enterprise establishes a production facility in a country outside its home base. Hyundai has applied some of its human resources policies from Korea to India, such as training programmes to reinforce employee loyalty to the company, but it has provided fewer opportunities for employees to be promoted from the shop ? or to higher-level positions within the plant. This has caused resentment among some of the Indian employees who feel that they have limited career prospects in the compan y. Hyundai has also successfully avoided unionization despite the fact that unions have collective agreements with most local automobile producers in India. It remains to be seen whether the Indian unions will be able to apply pressure successfully to the company to bargain collectively or persuade the government to require Hyundai to negotiate with the union over the wages and conditions of its employees.Acknowledgements The authors wish to acknowledge the Australian Research Council (ARC) for their award of an ARC Discovery Grant for this research project and the helpful comments of the reviewers and editors. References Amsden, A. (1989) Asia’s Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialization (New York: Oxford University Press). Bae, K. H. (1987) Automobile Workers in Korea (Seoul: Seoul National University Press). Bhaktavatsala, R. C. 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Drug Addiction History, Laws, And Treatment Essay

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