The Concept of the Homeland Security After the September 11 Incident

Introduction Following the glaring terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the homeland security became a key national concern. Law enforcement bodies and their respective roles changed at the federal, state, and local levels. The United States’ Congress responded to the attacks by enacting the U.S.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Concept of the Homeland Security After the September 11 Incident specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Patriot Act, which sought to restructure the federal, state, and local bureaucracies coupled with disseminating powers to law enforcement bodies across various agency departments (Davis 2010, 44). Even though most of the traditional security policies changed drastically, law enforcement personnel is yet to understand how to adapt to these new roles and powers towards curbing terrorism. In many respects, many people may perceive the Homeland Security as a recent policy a rea developed to react to the terrorist attacks of September 11. However, it is not a new idea since the U.S. government has been dealing with domestic invasions for a long time. In addition, much attention since the World War I has been given to safeguarding the home front from internal and external enemies. However, the concept of the homeland security shaped as an internal policy after the September 11 incident. Research question Several national intelligence issues continue to pose threat to the future of the Department of the Homeland Security (DHS) including strict bureaucratic structures, inadequate finances, lack of coordination, reluctance to share intelligence information, fragmentation as opposed to integration, and lack of accountability (Jenkins, Liepman, and Willis 2014, 19). In addressing these issues, this article will be answering the question on the challenges that the DHS will continue to face in the future. These areas will continue to pose challenges because the decision makers seem to be contented with the existing bureaucratic organization. Second, the same bureaucratic leadership is tasked with the allocation of finances meaning that considerable time will be wasted while trying to distribute funds to the security bodies. Furthermore, due to the bureaucratic systems, information sharing is highly restricted to a few people, thus leading to mistrust and further fragmentation of intelligence bodies (Goldstein 2013, 11).Advertising Looking for research paper on homeland security? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Purpose statement The most prominent future intelligence challenges encountering the DHS are much attributable to the September 11 attacks. Most notably, the immediate response issued by the George Bush administration was an enforcement of strict bureaucratic systems across the national intelligence community. This approach did not solve the problem, but it created differences since many workers were demoralized due to working under highly bureaucratized structures. This system has been reflected in the current Obama administration not only in the security systems, but also in other departments that influence the performance of the security agencies. Currently, the process of recruitment, training, and firing of workers is strictly bureaucratized. For instance, the incumbent Secret Service Permanent Chief, Joseph Clancy, has often expressed his regrets over the complex system deterring him to take swift actions to security agents and other officers who engage in mischievous and unacceptable behaviors (Rogers 2014, 337). Following the intensive consultations in decision-making, achieving timely interventions has been in vain. In addition, lack of adequate finance has led to poor service delivery and yet the government looks reluctant to utilize soft power to mitigate this issue. Literature Review Even before the September 11 attacks, intelligence analysts had explored the risks and threats of terrorism in a bid to fill the gaps that persisted within the US security system (Hymans 2006, 457). The experts repeatedly identified the lack of cooperation and poor coordination as the eminent concern amongst the several bodies linked to the Homeland Security. Prior to these attacks, the law enforcement system was majorly divided and bureaucratized. For example, the CIA addressed foreign threats while the FBI handled internal threats. This fragmentation encouraged division and different versions of intelligence operations. In most cases, the National Security Agencies (NSA) dealt with similar problems, thus overlapping each other. Before the attacks, the US government lacked a clear framework for pulling its intelligence expertise together to offer protection against terrorism. Apparently, insufficient information sharing by key federal entities remains the primary indicator in the security gaps in the US.Advertising We will write a cus tom research paper sample on The Concept of the Homeland Security After the September 11 Incident specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Most of the post-attack responses made it common knowledge that the U.S.s security efforts suffered poor coordination. This aspect led to the formation of the DHS to foster coordination among all security entities with a mission of preventing future attacks together with enhancing preparedness and response (Kamien 2006, 31). In a bid to mitigate the foreseen challenges facing the DHS and the American fraternity as a whole, this review will address various issues that are seen as weak ends destabilizing the homeland security framework. For instance, the bureaucratic system is still acting as a barrier to implement the recommended changes. The main national intelligence challenge facing the DHS is poor coordination and this aspect brings forth the possibility that attacks will continue to happen if not contr olled. Coordination does not only involve the intelligence entities, but it also extends to the Congress, which passes budgetary allocations coupled with enacting key security laws. The current workforce in the DHS is inadequately equipped in terms of resources, empowerment, and training. For example, after the September 19 2014 White House incident in which a man managed to jump over the White House fence, Cummiskey, a former DHS agent, argued that the security flaw was purely attributable to the lack of funds (Shear and Schmidt 2014). Further investigations backed this claim by showing that several agents on duty had no appropriate skills to handle the situation. In addition, the majority had no idea on how White House Communication radio operated under such circumstances. This assertion holds due to the lack of enough financial resources, which should not be a reason to expose prominent leaders such as the president to any sort of security threats. Despite the evident commitment and progress demonstrated amongst government agencies, this review notes that there has been lacking professional exchange of intelligence information amongst security agencies. Furthermore, military and law enforcement training is yet to upgrade to the standards of the 21st Century technology that can assist in promoting the US security level (Rychnovska 2014, 27). It is about 14 years down the line since the September 11 attacks, but the US government continues to delve into research and forums to develop strategies to enhance the homeland security. It has become increasingly evident that the U.S. security entities are suffering due to the lack of interconnectedness.Advertising Looking for research paper on homeland security? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In light of this impasse, President Obama, in a directive to evaluate the DHS and its efforts towards counterterrorism, retaliated that the DHS is inseparable from other security agents and they should be functionally thought as a unit rather than separate entities (LaPira 2014, 230). Contrary, the federal state still faces conceptual and functional differences. This aspect has weakened integration, efficiency, and cohesive approaches that promote the national security since the bureaucratic system inhibits the formulation of ways that reflect this reality. In a bid to address the underlying mission of the homeland security, it is good to understand that the burgeoning campaign against terrorism is a multifaceted endeavor. The federal machinery has to deploy every tool at its disposal to wage this fight; for instance, international training, law enforcement, finance, diplomacy, as well as the new tools that are being invented. In this regard, it is noteworthy to review the works of Joseph Nye, viz. Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. Soft power is a concept developed as an alternative to use of force, coercion, or monetary compensation to persuade others to adhere to what one wants (Nye 2004, 74). Nye (2004) had keenly observed how the American society was struggling with hard power, yet enemies were in a position to not only hit, but also hit hard regardless of the alleged preparedness of the US security agencies. Nye’s conviction of power as possessing the ability to lure others to get to the preferred destination is currently given a chance albeit in part by various security entities across the world (Nye 2004, 98). The US Congress has shown reluctance in allocating more money to cater for security matters. In the last decade, in spite of the security concerns, the budget allocation to ensure a more secure homeland has always fallen short. Consequently, planning and implementation have overlooked key security factors that gradually co ntinue to affect the homeland security negatively. The US government can adopt soft power and save chunks of taxpayers money used on hard power like the military. Soft power and hard power should be used alongside each other, but the former should be granted much attention in terms of implementation and financing. It is evident that soft power is hugely overlooked, and this aspect contributes partly to the current fall in the US power influence over the past five decades. The old image of the US as the representative of democracy and a symbol for others to emulate has declined dramatically. The use of hard power by the US has doubled the fear rather than instilling optimism. The US security entities have developed an old versioned tendency of using tactics employed in past wars to address current concerns. While there are positives to be drawn from history, facing the 21st Century terrorism requires a paradigm shift. Since the case is new, security agents should adapt quickly to new measures and act in new ways. So far, the existing partnerships encouraged by President Obama’s administration are yet to materialize, as there is still overlapping of critical roles by different intelligence partners. The CIA’s chronic failure prior to the September 11 attacks to inform partner agencies about the names of the alleged terrorists in the country enabled them to stay and orchestrate the attacks. Therefore, information- sharing continues to suffer from significant flaws. In order to learn from past events, it is necessary to change the bureaucracy that encourages information hoarding and empower experts to take full responsibility for their roles with less closed systems. This hindrance can be overcame by developing a paradigm shift whereby experts have the power to react to an urgent situation at best of their knowledge instead of waiting for commands from the top, which are time wasting and uninformed in most cases (Puyvelde 2013, 142). Despite the many advantages of soft power, it has some shortcomings. Americans are scientifically oriented, and thus they resist soft power because they find the design behind it difficult to trace and research. As a society, the US is used to quick answers and it seeks immediate satisfaction. Unfortunately, soft power is a long diplomatic investment with no assured outcomes. This aspect explains why the US government prefers hard power even though it is expensive. In addition, soft power is not purely owned by the government like the case with hard power. Many public and private entities engage in soft power, thus making it hard to collect information together. After evaluating the social learning theory, one is in a position to identify that not all cultures are receptive of other nations’ strategies and ideas (Lieven and Hulsman 2006, 61). In this regard, these theorists challenge soft power as not many cultures find the US values and ideologies admirable to follow. Therefore, there is a possibility that soft power can backfire especially when in control of the wrong people. Cultural exchanges have developed to serve as measures to control national security. Through cultural exchanges, different people are in a position to gain better understanding of others. Similarly, other individuals get the opportunity to acquire greater understanding of the US mainstream culture. For instance, some scholars attribute the fall of the Soviet Union to social exchanges gained after visiting the US the international relations theory advocates for multilateral relations between the state and non-state actors. Developing mutual understandings is one way through which the DHS can achieve its mission of ensuring security at both domestic and international levels. This theory further suggests that mutual relations are difficult since every state has its own ambitions and if they fail to reciprocate with those of the other state, then cooperation is not possible. So far, the Government A ccountability Office’s (GAO) appraisal of the federal government and its security agencies indicates that there has been positive progress yet not enough to guarantee sustainability. For example, in a report done on September 2013, GAO reported on the activities that DHS had taken in regard to the use of resources outside the US. The GAO established that the DHS had not identified strategic plans like target zones to combat crime and secure the US borders. The DHS also lacked mechanisms to capture resource deployment neither did it have a reliable cost data to make informed resource-allocation decisions. This aspect implies that the DHS is failing significantly in planning since it does not consider data monitoring and analysis on expenditure abroad. Without this data, it is hard to disseminate funds on future programs. In addition, this aspect manifests poor intelligence planning and data collection gaps, hence poor analysis. In a bid to avoid this issue, the DHS must inform its resource deployment outside the US as well as encourage screening. Theoretical analysis Following a review of the past literature, this theoretical approach seeks to test the hypothesis that poor gathering and utilization of intelligence data will continue to hinder the performance of the DHS in the future. Looking at the state of affairs in the US intelligence community, it is largely generalizable that the US law enforcement and intelligence bodies depict the overarching problems of coordination and sharing of intelligence information based on baseless assumptions. Although the US Congress and the Obama administration have shown efforts to eradicate some of the misunderstandings that hinder coordination, there is still no confidence in sharing of critical intelligence information. Nevertheless, the social learning theory offers an appropriate approach to learn the changing social context of the American Society as well as its potential enemies concerning the significance link ed to the national intelligence community. This theory claims that learning is a cognitive process that prevails in a social environment through provided directives or observation. In this case, according to the GAO, the US security services have shown the desire to learn through observation of past attacks, but that desire has been jeopardized by the slow rate of behavior change and adaptation to new trends in the management of security affairs. Some of the stringent measures adopted by the US Congress and the George Bush administration following the September 11 attacks have failed to impede security threats. Critiques posit that the bureaucratic measures have led to a string of security gaps even in the White House. To critics like Hummel, tight bureaucratic measures foster a circular sluggishness in decision-making. The policymakers have been reluctant to initiate a paradigm shift in security affairs. On the contrary, they keep on twisting old strategies to solve emergent proble ms. For instance, the DHS and the Secret Service require strong and flexible leadership, which is open to criticism and ready to share security information with relevant bodies. Working under strict bureaucracies is discouraging for workers and if it proves hard to avoid the protocols, then it is also difficult to enhance performance and coordination. Bureaucratic values discourage teamwork and decrease trust among security machinery, thus meaning that information sharing is minimal if any. This approach has proved inadequate particularly after the September 19, 2014 invasion of the White House by a stranger who managed to jump over the fence without being noticed. Models that influence leadership In a bid to understand the research on human intelligence, it is crucial to explore the triarchic theory of intelligence. In this theory, Sternberg defines human intelligence as mental activity focused on a specified goal and shaping of real world events influencing one’s life (Spar ks and Sulmasy 2006, 34). This assertion implies that intelligence entails how effective a person can handle changes occurring throughout life. His model entailed three components including problem solving, performance, and knowledge acquisition. The combination of all the three components completes tasks that entail selective choice of information from irrelevant sources or unforeseen events. In addition, these components assist in putting together the several pieces of information collected and analyzed to establish any possible cues. Different people have disparate abilities to learn new information depending on training. The DHS has expertise with the potential to utilize these three components fully and come up with useful intelligence information. The challenge comes in when experts seek to change the norms to suit the situation. The bureaucratic machine fails to acknowledge change from outside since all decisions come from the top. Even though the DHS is willing to adapt to n ew environments that contend with real world situations, the pace is too slow and it might keep on playing catch-ups with its enemies. The policy regime theory holds that in the policy world, major attacks are rare and in most cases, unpredictable, but they have huge effects. Unexpected external disruptions often influence routine policy goals and government activities. Policy theorists refer to these events as ‘shocker moments’ that force some drastic shifts in government concerns to issues that had for a long time been overlooked. The September 11 attack is an example of these trigger events. Such moment causes dramatic focus by government machinery, but the attention quickly fades away soon after. The issue may not be completely forgotten as it was the case before the attack, but it fails to keep the heightened concentration that was employed amid the attack. The government seems to assume that the adversaries disappear entirely, and thus get reluctant once again (Th achuk 2007, 71). Contrary to these views by the policy regime theorists, this paper affirms that government security agencies such as the DHS have enough intelligence to foresee attacks and neutralize them before they hit the targets. The fact that large-scale attacks are rare should provide enough time for the intelligence community to organize and identify all security loopholes that may be exploited by terrorist groups. In addition, the work of the DHS is to ensure security, and thus there should be heightened attention continuously irrespective of whether there is a looming attack or not. The government demand-oriented theories for interest representation argue that the government itself engages in activities that encourage groups to foster political action merely by orchestrating concerns that those groups will benefit. In other words, the government demand theory advocates the idea that groups as well as individuals react to policy agendas determined by only the government ins titutions. This theory fails to consider the efforts of non-governmental agencies. This aspect is reflected in the lack of cooperation as experienced by the US security agencies. This view is different from the Truman’s classic pluralist disturbance theory, which claimed that different groups, both governmental and non-governmental, should come together in response to some foreseen threats in the society. This aspect implies that problems outside and inside the government motivate like-minded people to respond cohesively to try to find a permanent solution. This model influences the leaders’ behavior as the government shows attention to factors that might affect a group like the DHS, and thus it is more likely that the DHS will work towards government objectives (Stana 2003, 84). When leaders in the DHS get financial support from the government, they feel obligated to perform effectively. Future threats to the homeland security Military researchers and defense technolo gists are recently exploring possible challenges that face not only the US, but also the entire global security. This review gives a forecast of four potential traditional and non-traditional security challenges that may catch the US unawares in the near future. This assertion holds because the pace of research is slow and it may not match that of the terrorists. First, there is the possibility that biological weapons will be used in large scale in a terrorist attack. In 2009, the White House came up with a National Strategy for Countering Biological Threats with an assumption that such weapons might be used for major attacks (Robinson, Xinsheng, Stoutenborough, and Vedlitz 2013, 715). With these insights, the US government has acted too slowly to identify ways to ensure that it can prevent deadly viruses from being used as weapons of mass destruction. Due to the lack of coordination and bureaucratic structures, it is hard to attain timely insight on possible attacks as well as taki ng swift measures in case one is detected. Since this phenomenon is new, researchers need to anticipate widely by closing all potential gaps that might be useful to terrorists. The second issue is the eminent threat of cyber-attacks. Cyber warfare is a traditional security threat to global peace that has persisted for years. Terrorist networks are using the same technologies that propel developments to sabotage the critical structures, which are necessary for public safety (Thachuk 2007, 99). The US intelligence community has embarked on cyber security activities to ensure timely fixes, but it is now evident that the sophistication of attacks is outdoing the available security measures. Therefore, solutions should surpass the traditional approach, which requires more funds to upgrade the system and catch up with the enemy. This assertion holds because in the near future, attacks on computer systems are about to cross the line from mere theft and disruption to serious terrorist attac ks. These attacks will be controlled remotely and devastating damages will occur if such circumstances happen. These postulations are within the realm of the possible given what has been witnessed when hackers overwhelm networks. The National Security Agency and the Cyber Command have a wide array of expertise, but they lack the commitment to share classified information. The private sector in most cases is not ready to reveal attacks for the fear of losing clients or facing lawsuits. The lack of enough network security personnel remains a concern in the private sector as well as the government (Sun 2008, 170). Therefore, it is time to create incentives and issue bonuses as a way of retaining and motivating experts. The third aspect is the existence of the transnational crime. The US intelligence community views transnational terror as a key global security challenge (Nakaya 2005, 93). These groups lead to instability and blackmail to governmental organizations through corruption. T hese groups are very well organized without strict bureaucratic systems. They generate funds through engaging in illicit activities such as human and drug trafficking. Much of the US efforts to counter terrorism have been concentrated in the Middle East, thus forgetting that al-Qaida sympathizers are located everywhere (Murray 2003, 66). The last aspect is the proliferation of nuclear weapons. For at least the past five decades, the US has spent huge sums of money and time trying to find, monitor, and impede all means through which they are developed. Non-state actors such as terrorist groups are hiding nuclear weapons deep in the ground. Finding and destroying these weapons has remained an increasingly complicated endeavor. Thus, the US government will need weapons that can unravel these mysteries. Due to lack of adequate finance and poor coordination, it will be hard for the US to destroy nuclear weapons in the possession of terrorist groups any time soon (Mullins 2010, 102). Find ings Based on the reviewed articles, there are clear signals that the frequency and intensity of attacks on the US and its allies will escalate. Since terrorism is a strategy that can be used by any enemy, the DHS must be ready to react to foreseeable and unforeseeable threats coming from expected as well as unfamiliar origins. As technology evolves and becomes readily available to a larger population of actors, potential attackers are motivated to use terrorism. This aspect has been attributable to the gaps left in the innovation of these technologies. For instance, computer manufacturers should redesign their products in a way that it is hard to manipulate its functioning to suit the terrorists’ desires. The movement of people across borders has also increased the ease of movement by terrorists. The Internet has served as a key platform for terrorist activities ranging from recruitment and training to planning and attacking. Of huge concern is the spread of religious radica lization, which is taking root in the Muslim society due to different reasons. These tensions have become widespread via the Internet even to countries like the US, which have a better understanding of the Muslim populations (Maxwell 2004, 94). Increased funding is now needed than ever to advance training and purchase sophisticated facilities because threats continue to evolve. The DHS must be in a stable financial state to cater for learning programs and ensure good pay for security agents to ensure that they are motivated to perform well (Marion and Cronin 2009, 22). The enemies are proactive, innovative, adequately funded, always learning, and adapting to the dynamics of a globalizing world. The DHS must be in a position to surpass the adversary tactics and reflect the evolving threat environment. The DHS has so far issued analysis of possible future occurrences, but it is yet to demonstrate its capabilities to counter those threats. Furthermore, effective collection and utilizat ion of intelligence data will only be achieved if the DHS is allocated enough money to cater for its extensive activities (Walker 2007, 74). The increase in funding should also target all avenues of international cooperation to bolster the existing and create new alliances to create and sustain international networks that embrace information sharing. The Sternberg’s intelligence theory helps in answering the research question as it shows what the DHS lacks and the consequences it has to face for its ignorance. For instance, Sternberg talks of divergent thinking, which is brought by activities like task switching and domineering management. The DHS must learn specific skills to help in coping with the ever-changing environment. Strategies to impede future threats The primary strategy is impudent leadership. Combining tools of soft power with selected hard power can transform the National Security apparatus greatly. Leadership is a common tool that the US has embraced for decad es. The question is how this leadership has influenced matters of national security. From previous reviews, it is evident that the American leadership both at home and abroad has suffered poor coordination, thus leaving gaps for terrorists to exploit. Adopting the soft power model brings forth leadership styles that mobilize people with an objective and the leader helps the people in attaining those shared targets. It is time for the US leadership system to abandon the hierarchical leadership pyramid and shift to what Nye (2004, 106) refers to as leading from the center of a circle. The current leadership model in the DHS is a rigid one because information flow is often slow from top to the bottom or from bottom to the top. In addition, information is subject to distortion amid intended or unintended additions and omissions. The second model is more flexible because leaders at the center of the circle find it easy to coordinate large groups via persuasion and influence. Leaders are in a position to link straight to the subordinates, and thus their influence is felt on a wide scope. In a fast globalizing world, the US should ensure that it encourages leadership from the center since it is the way to impertinent leadership. The former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, echoed these sentiments by reaffirming the need to embrace civilian power in line with military power as essential pillars in enhancing global security. The role of international training and cultural exchanges by the DHS can be a starting point in a bid to make a huge effect on both national and global security by utilizing soft tools as opposed to hard power. Given that the homeland security has a direct link to the global community, embracing intercultural literacy is paramount. Leadership in the homeland security has to understand the dynamics of culture. This aspect can enable them to act as pioneers of transformational leadership that motivates individuals from various diverse origins to f ight global criminal cartels and ensure national security. These changes can only be possible if improvements are done on communication both within the DHS and within other agencies. Evidently, the homeland security has failed to speak a common language on various occasions, and thus increasing communication is necessary. Communication should not only focus on the security agencies, but also engage the public since security is everyone’s responsibility. The DHS should collaborate with learning institutions, media, and religious bodies to sensitize the public on terrorism. As the US adopts a new paradigm, civil rights and individual freedoms must be observed. Even though some risks have to be taken, this move will ensure that the process does not interfere with human dignity. The DHS in partnership with the media should embark on instilling trust in the public by keeping the society well informed with accurate and timely information (Caponi and Belmont 2015, 17). Conclusion Af ter the September 11 attacks, homeland security has gained national interests with key projects focused toward promoting the safety of the US citizens. This review has established that the US Homeland Security faces many conceptual, structural, organizational, and functional problems that are posing threats to security. A review of several cases shows that even the White House has become vulnerable to attacks due to poor coordination and training of security agents. These dysfunctions have been directly linked to the lack of enough funding and rigid leadership that discourages innovation as well as employee motivation. Cultural diversity has also been identified as a possible problem impeding interagency cooperation. Consequently, this paper has predicted various challenges that ought to face the DHS including cyber attacks, biological weapons, nuclear weapons, and transnational crimes. The DHS in partnership with other bodies of the intelligence community has a chance to prevent th ese attacks from happening. As indicated earlier, the application of soft power is a major way forward since it does away with bureaucratic systems, whilst keeping the critical values of that system. However, through proper coordination and information sharing amongst security agencies, the US will stand a better position to promote homeland security. Reference List Caponi, Steven, and Kate Belmont. 2015. â€Å"Maritime Cybersecurity: A Growing Threat Goes Unanswered.† Intellectual Property Technology Law Journal 27, no. 1 (January): 16-18. Davis, Lois. 2010. Long-Term Effects of Law Enforcement’s Post-9/11 Focus on  Counterterrorism and Homeland Security. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Goldstein, Mark. 2013. â€Å"Homeland Security: Federal Protective Service Continues to Face Challenges with Contract Guards and Risk Assessments at Federal Facilities: Testimony Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate.† United Stat es Government Accountability Office. Web. Hymans, Jacques. 2006. â€Å"Theories of nuclear proliferation: The state of the field.† Nonproliferation Review 13, no. 3 (May): 455-465. Jenkins, Brian, Andrew Liepman, and Henry Willis. 2014. Identifying Enemies among Us: Evolving Terrorist Threats and the Continuing Challenges of Domestic Intelligence Collection and Information Sharing. Santa Monica, CA: Rand. Kamien, David. 2006. The McGraw-Hill Homeland Security Handbook. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. 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International Law Challenges: Homeland Security and Combating Terrorism. Newport, R.I.: Naval War College. Stana, Richard. 2003. Homeland Security Challenges to Implementing the Immigration  Interior Enforcement Strategy. Washington, D.C: U.S. General Accounting Office. Sun, Henry. 2008. â€Å"International Political Marketing: a Case Study of United States Soft Power and Public Diplomacy.† Journal of Public Affairs 8, no. 3 (August): 165-183. Thachuk, Kimberley. 200 7. Transnational Threats: Smuggling and Trafficking in Arms, Drugs, and Human Life. Westport, CT: Praeger. Walker, David. 2007. Homeland Security Management and Programmatic Challenges Facing the Department of Homeland Security: Testimony Before the House Homeland Security Committee. Washington, D.C: U.S. Government Accountability Office. This research paper on The Concept of the Homeland Security After the September 11 Incident was written and submitted by user Jayden E. to help you with your own studies. 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To what extent does business process reengineering improve sustainable competitive advantage The WritePass Journal

To what extent does business process reengineering improve sustainable competitive advantage Rationale / Background To what extent does business process reengineering improve sustainable competitive advantage Rationale / BackgroundDescriptionResearch MethodologyDeliverablesScheduleResources RequiredReferencesRelated Rationale / Background Due to the increasingly competitive and evolving environment of modern business, a significant focus now lies on business restructuring in order for firms to meet the demands of the global economy.   Buhalis and Owen (2010) see this necessity as the driver behind business process reengineering and as a result the practice is widespread, for instance Attaran (2004) highlighted a study in which 87% of businesses were found to engage in the process.   Much research has been conducted in this area (see Kettinger and Grover 1995), which points towards competitive advantage as the primary focal area. Based on Porter’s original five forces model (Porter 1979) companies now look to business process reengineering to create a sustainable competitive advantage for their firm. Whilst research done by Ansoff and McDonnell (1990) focuses on more traditionally held beliefs about a firm’s unique resources, many has since changed their beliefs on what is considered a dynamic capabil ity worthy of creating a sustained competitive advantage. Meed et al (1994) cited a company needs to transform in order to adapt to its environment, and Osborne (1997) suggested that the very nature of the issue requires ever evolving material. Thus there is becoming an increased focus on the more subjective capabilities of modern organizations, as Barney’s 1999 article noted how strategic resources tend to be evenly distributed across firms and so there is a new focal point of knowledge being central to the business reengineering process and to creating a sustained competitive advantage for modern businesses. According to Grint (1994) reengineering quickly became the buzzword for businesses in the 1990’s, set on organizational improvement and change. Business process reengineering is defined as â€Å"a requirement to study fundamental business processes, independent or organization units and information systems support, to determine if the underlying business processes can be significantly streamlined and improved† by Langer (2008) and is based on operational objectives in order to improve performance. For instance a firm may wish to simplify their processes, improve communication procedures or speed up their operational turnover (Sayegh 2005.) As mentioned previously the very nature of business process reengineering requires a circular flow of communication in order for business processes to continuously improve, as Guha et al (1993) suggested the process reengineering cycle to be implemented into organizations in order to quickly tweak any issues with a new process with a minimal delay on output.   The subject of business process reengineering is still relatively new and so there are suggestions for future improvements, as a significant focus now lies on not only creating the information systems but using them effectively. This requires what Earl et al (1995) called alignment, that a process must not only be operationally efficient it must also be aligned not only with the company’s other materials and systems but also with the existing knowledge of the firm’s staff. This view is supported by Burgelman et al (2008) who focused on the links between not only different management levels but also between different strategic levels of the business. The suggestion by Burgelman et al being that organizational knowledge is unevenly spread and so needs to be aligned more thoroughly.   According to Brynjolfsson and Renshaw (1997) business process reengineering does suffer from low success rates, due to a lack of tools for managing the change process. Brynjolfsson and Renshaw proposed utilising a matrix of change in order to help managers identify and deal with critical issues. In this sense the importance of organizational knowledge is evidently the weak link in making business process reengineering reach its potential. Therefore much work has been done to attempt to bridge this success gap between the operational processes of a business and people’s ability to use them (see Khosrowpour 2006.) Attaran (2004) believed information technology to be a key element of a successful reengineering approach, citing Bill Gates’ comment on the 2000’s focus being on velocity. Therefore it is feasible for a company to rely on information technology to understand processes if they operate in a particularly fast paced industry like the example Bill Gates was referring to. In fact Johnson and Vitale (1998) believed innovations in information technology to be the future source of competitive advantage for firms, usin g examples of where it has been essential for business success for instance linking systems between an organizations diversified functional areas. Organizational knowledge is therefore seen to be one of few sources of a sustainable competitive advantage for modern firms. Tacit knowledge means that no two companies are the same (Collis and Montgomery 1995) and so as a dynamic capability knowledge appears to fulfil the necessary criteria, seen by Ambrosini and Bowman (2002) as being difficult to imitate, difficult to substitute or transfer and being scarce. Especially vital in the modern business environment is the speed in which knowledge can be created or transferred, as Saint-Onge (1996) noted how a company’s intellectual capital needs to be in line with rapid technological developments.  Ã‚   This focus on human capital led Saint-Onge to cite the â€Å"knowledge era† of modern times. A key application for business process reengineering of this focus is the need to constantly reinvest in organizational knowledge, due to the attrition effects of competition decaying the casual ambiguity that knowledge creates (R eed and Defillippi 1990.)   Therefore the real challenge for modern companies is how to undertake this required reinvestment in business process reengineering. Cavusgil and Calantone (2003) pointed out in their study on tacit knowledge that the primary issue is sharing knowledge throughout the firm. Howells (1996) noted that in order to be fully utilised tacit knowledge can be transferred on a variety of levels as in many cases knowledge should not only be transferred horizontally but vertically in firms, i.e. that managers must pass on their knowledge to their staff and vice versa.   This vertical transfer is vital for informational systems as in many cases practicalities experienced by lower level staff are not considered by upper management. Due to the difficulty in representing tacit knowledge acknowledged by Lubit (2001) the suggestions on how to transfer knowledge throughout the firm focus on more informal means. Lubit believed social mechanisms to be the best option, citi ng how formalised processes will always leave gaps. Similarly Ambrosini and Bowman (2002) found that techniques such as individual questionnaires and storytelling were most suitable for demonstrating tacit knowledge. Description Project Aims and Objectives: To uncover relevant links between organizational knowledge and the firm’s business process reengineering, and the role of knowledge management in facilitating the reengineering process. To examine theoretical approaches to business process reengineering and empirical evidence of their respective success rates. To investigate the impact of business process engineering on sustainable competitive advantage from a theoretical standpoint. Research Methodology Due to the theoretical approach being adopted in this study, secondary research would be utilised in accomplishing the aforementioned research objectives. Based on this approach, the study would adopt an interpretivist epistemology.   According to Saunders et al (2007), â€Å"Interpretivism is an epistemology that advocates that it is necessary for the researcher to understand differences between humans in our role as social actors†. Interpretivism relates to how people make sense of the world around them, and how they interpret social phenomena. Compared to the positivist view, the interpretivist view relates essentially to the interpretation of findings by those collecting data, and a common risk is that there may be issues of reliability and validity due to its subjective nature (Collis and Hussey, 2003). Based on recommendations by Collis and Hussey (2003), an inductive approach would also be utilized in conducting the research, as this involves analyzing the theoretical data concerning business process reengineering and competitive advantage, and drawing up a conclusion (after indepth analysis), on how both factors may be related. Data collection and analysis within this study would involve the systematic review of literature, reviewing previous studies on business process reengineering, knowledge management and competitive advantage to establish the relationship between all 3 variables, and ascertain if and how they the reengineering of business processes could actually lead to an improved competitive advantage within an industry. Through the combination of a number of results from a number of studies, the researcher hopes to uncover reasonable, reliable and valid insights into the subject area. Relevant databases such as Business Source Premier, Ingenta Connect and Emerald Insights would be utilized in finding these researches. Further research would also be conducted on institutes of business, such as those who may have statistics on how business processes affect competitive advantage. An entire subchapter would also be devoted to critiques of business process reengineering, particularly in its relevance to competitive advantage, as this allows for a balanced critical research and helps support the study’s reliability. Secondary research has been adopted as opposed to primary research, as it essentially bases our findings on more extensive research that may have been done in the past. These literatures are usually wider ranging and cover a lot more aspects of BRR than this research could have, if it adopted a primary approach. Deliverables This project intends to deliver clear conclusions and recommendations on the following: The relationship between business process reengineering and knowledge management within organisational settings. Do they necessarily impact on one another? Does effective knowledge management particularly promote better results when processes are reengineered? Empirical findings on the success and / or failure rates of business process reengineering activities that have been conducted over the past decades. These could be differentiated based on industries, and conditions, such as whether the organisations properly utilised information technology or knowledge management systems. Empirical or theoretical evidence suggesting that business process reengineering does promote sustainable competitive advantage. Particular emphasis would be placed on how it was accomplished and the secondary factors (such as information or knowledge management technology) that may have acted as catalysts. Schedule Secondary research (literature search) to be completed within two weeks of the project’s start. Cross-examination of literature is to be completed within a week of the final data being collected. This will encompass all of the data to spot any clear patterns. Checking of the discovered patterns to ensure their viability, reliability and generalisability will also be aimed to be completed within the same week that the original cross examination has been completed. The Introduction and Methodology chapters would be written within a week from when the data has been gathered. This would help in the structure of these chapters. The systematic literature review would be written up and conducted using the thematic approach. Meaning that each of the project deliverables would be separated into different themes and analysed as such. Overall project timeline – A maximum of 4-5 weeks from starting to accumulate the relevant data to having a clear, presentable set of results. Resources Required No hardware resources are required, except for computer hardware to use in researching, analysing and writing up the project. Access to literature sources such as the journals mentioned above, and empirical results on business process reengineering may require library access to such journals and in-depth Internet research. The researcher is confident that he has the skills to accomplish all of these. References Ambrosini, V. And Bowman, C. (2002) Tacit Knowledge: Some Suggestions for Operationalization. Journal of management studies, Vol 38, Issue 6, pp 811-829. Ansoff, H.I. and McDonnell, E.J. (1990) Implanting strategic management. Prentice Hall New York. Attaran, M. (2004) Exploring the relationship between information technology and business process reengineering. Information and management, Vol 41, pp 585-596. Barney, J. (1999) Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, Vol 17, No 1, pp 99-120. Buhalis, D. And Owen, R. (2010) Business Process Reengineering. Business Process Management Journal, Vol 6, Issue 2, pp 113-121. Burgelman, R.A. Christensen, C.M. and Wheelwright, S.C. (2008) Strategic management of technology and innovation. McGraw- Hill / Irvin. Cavusgil, S.T. Calantone, R.J. Zhao, Y. (2003) Tacit knowledge transfer and firm innovation capability. Journal of business and industrial marketing, Vol 18, Issue 1, pp 6-21. Collis, D.J. and Montgomery, C.A. (1995) Competing on Resources: Strategy in the 1990s. Harvard Business Review, July-August. Earl, M.J. Sampler, J.L. and Short, J.E. (1995) Strategies for business process reengineering: evidence from field studies. Journal of Management Information Systems, Volume 12, Issue 1 (June 1995.) Grint, K. (1994) Reengineering History: Social Resonances and Business Process Reengineering. Organization, Vol 1, No 1, pp 179-201. Guha, S. Kettinger, W.J. and Teng, J.T.C. (1993) BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING Building a Comprehensive Methodology. Information systems management, Vol 10, Issue 3. Howells, J. (1996) Tacit knowledge, innovation and technology transfer. Technology analysis and strategic management, Vol 8, No 2, pp 91-106. Kettinger, W.J. and Grover, K. (1995) Special section: toward a theory of business process change management. Journal of management information systems, Vol 12, Issue 1 (June 1995.) Khosrowpour, M. (2006) Advanced topics in information resources management. Vol 5. Idea group publishing. Langer, A.M. (2008) Business process reengineering. Analysis and design of information systems. Lubit, R. (2001) Knowledge Management : The Keys to Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Organizational dynamics, Vol 29, Issue 3, pp 164-178. Meed, J.W. Bots, P.W.G. and Sol, H.G. (1994) A hard core for soft problems: A business engineering case study within the Amsterdam municipal police force. TCBAUS IFIP Information systems international working conference, Gold Coast, Australia. Osborne, T. (1997) Business process reengineering. PACIS 1997 Proceedings. Porter, M.E. (1979) How competitive forces shape strategy. Harvard business review. Cited by Smit, P.J. (2000) Strategic planning: Readings. Juta and Company Ltd. Reed, R. and Defillippi, R.J. (1990) Causal Ambiguity, Barriers to Imitation, and Sustainable Competitive Advantage. The academy of management review, Vol 15, No 1 (January 1990) pp 88-102. Saint-Onge, H. (1996) Tacit knowledge the key to the strategic alignment of intellectual capital. Strategy and leadership, Vol 24, Issue 2, pp 10-16. Sayegh, F. (2005) Business process Reengineering.   EFS Technical report No.21. (December 15th 2005.)

The Molly Mcguires of Pennsylvania Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

The Molly Mcguires of Pennsylvania - Essay Example Though their life in Ireland was fraught with famine, poverty and arduous labor conditions, life in America was no less hard. At least in Ireland, they were not the subject of bigotry based simply on their heritage, accent or religion. Irish Catholics were thought of as almost sub-human. Two Catholic churches were burned to the ground while occupied in Philadelphia on May 6, 1844 causing 16 people to lose their lives. One of the only places in the country that the Irish were welcomed was in the coal mines of Pennsylvania where the owners of the mines were more than happy to employ those disenfranchised persons of Irish nationality who were desperate enough to take the dirty, dangerous jobs. It was in these Pennsylvania mining camps that the Molly Maguires experienced a rebirth in America. In 1860, following a typical tough day of mining, several Irishmen were heavily drinking and bemoaning the harsh working conditions at their usual location, the Girardville, PA lodge of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a group established by Irish Catholics (Liljegren, 1964). The Irish working class had a long history of acting violently when they believed that they were being taken advantage of and the addition of being drunk and extremely unhappy served to light the fuse for actions against their oppressors. This is when they reformed the Molly Maguires, a group that had its roots in Ireland during the 1700’s. This very secretive brotherhood was originally formed to exact retribution upon their cruel English landlords who were infamous in their treatment of Irish tenants. The English would actually kill their tenants so that they could raise the rent on new renters. The ‘Mollies,’ as they were commonly called, took this name from such an instance of cruelty. Molly Maguire was an aged widow who was one of the people being evicted from her home by one of these evil

English - Evaluation on a restaurant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

English - Evaluation on a restaurant - Essay Example The thesis statement for this paper is, ‘to evaluate the pros and cons of the Ocean Prime, three criteria will be used: food choices must include a wide range of seafood with high nutritional value, the service staff must be efficient and well mannered, and the total cost must not exceed $20 per person’. The first criterion used to evaluate the restaurant was that food must include a wide range of highly nutritional seafood dishes for seafood lovers.   I believe that the restaurant does very well in this regard. We ate Crab Wedge with Maytag Blue Cheese and Shellfish Cobb Salad and really liked them. Both dishes had good nutritional value as they contained high percentages of potassium, protein, and omega-3s. Some strengths of the restaurant in this regard include variety of signature salads, chicken and fish sandwiches, cocktails. However, a couple of weaknesses that we observed regarding this criterion included a little amount of extra vinegar in the Crab Wedge dish and unavailability of some main seafood dishes listed on the menu book. The second criterion used to evaluate the restaurant was that service staff should be well mannered and efficient.   I believe that the restaurant did not meet this criterion to full extent. The reason is that there were just 4 to 5 waiters for 12 to 14 tables. Each waiter was serving more than two groups of visitors at a time which made it difficult for them to serve each visitor properly. However, they were all well mannered and dealt with visitors very courteously. Therefore, the strength of the restaurant in this regard was its well-behaved service staff, whereas the weakness was its shortage of service staff to serve a large number of visitors. The second criterion used to evaluate the restaurant was that the total cost must not exceed $20 per person. The restaurant’s rates were economical as compared to most of the other seafood

Case Report on country with a large refugee Essay

Case Report on country with a large refugee - Essay Example This enforced migration highlights the humanitarian concerns, our social biases and national and international policy. What lay ahead for refugees after their battle of survival? This paper aims at analyzing from humanitarian point of view the lives of refugees, often treated as an undifferentiated mass, both before and after displacement. This paper will explore the civil trauma faced by Afghan refugees and investigate the socio cultural and political background of the Afghan refugees in Pakistan. This paper aims at highlighting the lifelong psychological and mental affects of the trauma and the kind of life in refugee camps. Afghanistan has a very long and rich history mainly due to its geostrategic position. It lies on the crossroads of many cultures and on the many Asian migration routes. It is the home of many diverse cultures and population mainly due to extensive trade and migration. This diversity is one of the most important determining factor in its politics and responsible for the current economic and political instability. The term Afghanistan evolved in the eighteenth century when Pushtuns took control of this territory. Originally the term Afghan was also termed to Pushtuns majority. This also had political implications which made all non-Pushtuns outsiders to Afghanistan. Current Afghanistan is also divided among many ethnic groups. A rough estimate reveals that Pushtuns are the dominant majority forming 40% of the population. Second biggest group is of Tajiks who constitute 20% of the population. The other important ethnic groups are Hazaras, Uzbeks and Aimaqs each forming almost 9 % of the population. Afghanistan has a long history of conflicts and wars. However it gained its first independent monarchy in 1919-1973. During this period Afghanistan managed its own independent foreign policy. The third Afghan –Anglo war fought in 1919 led by king Amanullah earned Afghanistan complete freedom. This resulted in huge migration from central Asi an countries to Afghanistan which became safe haven for Muslims and hence enriched the already diverse population of Afghanistan. Amanullah implemented the modern concept of a nation according to the wishes of the King. This became the first cause of drift between the Islamic scholars and the modern government. Throughout this independent monarch period there were many political reforms sometimes conservative and sometimes very liberal. During the last decade of the Zahir’s rule there was severe political instability with many active political parties and freedom of press. In 1965 Peoples Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) was formed in 1965 which was basically the Afghan Communist party. In 1969 elections the Communist were elected in the government. The PDPA representatives immediately took control of all the major authoritative positions and paved the way for soviet invasion and military coup of April 1978. They tried to abolish all traditional and Islamic religious cu stoms practices and policies and tried to form a secular state. This attempt became the root cause of all the internal conflict and the rise of Taliban. Afghanistan came into the international lime light with the Soviet invasion, guerrilla war fought by Afghans against the Soviet Union and the communist government. Recent history has seen huge political upheaval in Afghanistan. Civil war broke out after the fall of the Marxist government. It has also

Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Berhad Proton

Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Berhad Proton The company that is discussed in this essay is Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Berhad (Proton) which is an automotive company that was founded in Malaysia on 1983. The company experienced increase in revenue from the year 2007 to 2011 and the sales of its cars is a major factor affecting revenue. Motivation level can affect sales performance, but it would not be the only factor. The goal of this essay is to explore the motivation level of Protons sales department in comparison with other factors affecting sales. Hence, the research question that arises is To what extent does the motivation level of Proton Berhads sales department affects its sales revenue? The methodology revolves around the use of survey among the Protons sales department staff and followed with an interview with one of the head of the sales department. Using the data obtained, motivation level of the staff is assessed using Herzberg Two-Factor Theory while the other factors affecting sales are assessed using PEST analysis. The conclusion was that Proton had implemented measures that help to motivate its employees, but there is a limit to how effective can motivation level affects sales as there are other factors involved such as quality and brand perception. The unresolved issue would be regarding the need of Proton to improve its quality and increase its employees motivation at the same time. 1.0 Introduction Issues regarding employees motivation had been one of the main focus of an organization as motivation can affect a certain company in many ways. Based on the book An Integrated Approach to Business Studies by Bruce R. Jewell, motivation can be defined as a factor or an influence that can drive people to behave in a certain way  [1]  . For a company, they would need a motivated workforce if they want their employees to sell well. The company in question here is Perusahaan Otomobil National Berhad(Proton) which is an automotive company that was founded on the year 1983  [2]  . Its product mix includes various categories of cars ranging from sedan, compact cars, hatchback, multi-purpose vehicle, and microvan  [3]  . Along its years of operations, Proton had been the target of scrutiny from the general public especially regarding its sales as there are criticisms to its sales  [4]  and after sales service  [5]  . One factor that can affect quality of sales service is motivation. Thus, the intention of this essay is to explore whether the motivation level of the Protons sales department had been a crucial factor affecting the companys sales revenue? Besides that, this essay would also discuss on how other factors could also affect sales revenue for Proton and how other factors could compare with motivation level in terms of its effects to sales revenue. From the questions that arise, the research question was formulated as follow:- To what extent does the motivation level of Proton Berhads sales department affects its sales revenue? 2.0 Methodology 2.1Data collection The main purpose of data collection for this particular essay is to measure the motivation level of Protons sales department. Thus, primary research had been carried for the sole purpose of measuring the motivation level of the employees. The two chosen methods were surveys and interviews. As stated before, with the data obtained, a qualitative deductive will be made to see how high or low the motivation of Protons employee. To deduce, the content theories regarding motivation used is Herzbergs Two-factor theory. 2.1.1*Details of Survey* A survey was designed in order to uncover information regarding the motivation of Protons sales department and the number of respondents was 15 people from the Enterprise Sales Team and R3 Sales Team which are a part of the sales department of Proton. The surveys question and its respective data are shown in Appendix 1. 2.1.2*Details of Interview* The interview was done with Mr. Hj. Roslan Hj. Mohamed which is currently the head of Eneterprise Sales Department of Proton. The interview question and its answers are shown in Appendix 2. 2.2 Analysis The analysis in this essay mainly revolves around the correlation between the motivations levels of Protons employees with its sales revenue. The findings will be discussed so that the extent to which the motivation level affects the sales revenue can be seen clearly. The next step is to see other factors that may be involved which can affect sales. To do this, Political Economy Social Technology (PEST) analysis will be carried out so that we can see the external factors that surround Proton. Further discussion will be carried out in order to see how big do the factors affect Protons sales revenue, and compare it with the internal factor which is the motivation level of employees. The end result would be a conclusion that will include suggestions and an unresolved issue. A simple 4 step flow can be seen below:- 3.0Main findings and analysis Determining the motivation level:- 3.1 Application of Herzberg Two-Factor Theory Based on Herzberg Two-Factor Theory, there are two aspects that define motivation which are the hygiene needs and motivators  [6]  . Fulfilling hygiene needs prevents employees from being dissatisfied while having motivators will ensure satisfaction of employees. This theory is chosen to determine the motivation level of Protons employees because of the two aspects mentioned that is evident in their working environment. Above is a table outlining the hygiene needs and motivators as outlined by Herzberg  [7]  . To determine the motivation level of the employees in Protons sales department, most of the points in the table will be discussed based on the findings. 3.1.1 HYGIENE NEEDS Relationship with supervisor Protons sales department employees feel that their supervisor listen to them and most felt that they are involved in the decision making process. They also feel that their supervisor give moderate attention to their work and most feel that their supervisor expectation of them is good in which it corresponds to their actual potential. Yet, some felt that their supervisors are bias in their work with some claiming that there is presence of so-called bosss pets and also gender biasness. Working conditions The employees of Protons sales department felt that the working condition is normal at best rather than good. Most felt that it is normal in their working condition to get positive feedback and constructive criticism. Still, some felt that office politics is present thus it could be a source of unhappiness regarding the working conditions. Salary It was found that the salary is high. This is due to the presence of many types of commission that helps to increase the payments received by employees such as finance commission, model-based commission, accessory commission, and insurance commission. 3.1.2MOTIVATORS Achievement Proton promotes the desire to achieve for their sales department by having seasonal monthly campaign. Employees will be given an incentive for achieving the target for a specific sales campaign. Recognition In Proton, the form of recognition comes in the form of a club membership that celebrates sales personnel who had sold 100 cars. Advancement Opportunities for advancement exist for Proton since it was found that an employee can advance into a sales manager in just 5 years. Growth Most of the employees agree that growing their knowledge and having opportunities for self-development is highly important for them but it can be seen that most of them thinks that the opportunities for self-development is not high but still present in the company. The presence of growth opportunities will lead to higher satisfaction for the employee. ANALYSIS OF MOTIVATION LEVEL Based on Herzberg Two-Factor Theory, to ensure employees are motivated, it is better to address the hygiene needs and then focus on the motivators. For Proton, the company had in a way provided a moderate working condition and the supervisors are having good relationship with their subordinates. These two factors fulfill the hygiene needs and reduce dissatisfaction in the sales department. Aside from that, the salary structure which is high also contributes to lower dissatisfaction for the employees. Although we cant say for sure that the dissatisfaction is completely addressed by Proton, but we can deduce that Proton had fulfilled some of the hygiene needs thus lowering the dissatisfaction among employees. For the motivators, Proton had also provided ample motivators for the sales department. We can see that Proton had provided its employees with adequate opportunities for them to receive proper achievement, recognition, advancement and growth. The presence of the motivators mention ed helps to promote satisfaction for the employees in the sales department. As a result, Proton had fulfilled the hygiene needs and provided motivators for its employees. It is hard to see whether the employees are highly motivated or not but from the discussion, it would be better if we deduce that the employees in Protons sales department is coined as motivated due to the low dissatisfaction and adequate satisfaction. 3.2 Establishing the relationship between motivation level and sales revenue Graph of growth of Protons revenue from 2007 until 2011 (Appendix 3) Judging from the graph, Protons revenue had improved for 5 years straight. As company that make cars, most of Protons revenue would come from the sales of their cars thus that is why the sales department plays a crucial role to ensure better sales. We had found before that the employees in the sales department are motivated because of the way Proton had addressed the hygiene needs and motivators. Due to the fact that the employees are motivated, it can be seen that their motivation level correlates with the increase in revenue. A motivated employee would definitely perform better when at work thus there would be higher sales compared to an unmotivated employee. As a conclusion, we could see that the motivation level had contributed to the increase to revenue. Yet, the underlying question here would be the need to establish the limit in which motivation level plays a role to the increase in revenue. Thus, the following questions could come into play:- 1. Are there any other significant factors that contribute to sales? 2. How about the state of the country Proton is in? Does it affect the sales? 3. Are there any outside factors, which are out of Protons control that contributes to greater motivation among employees? Thus, in order to uncover the extent to which motivation level plays a role, the next step would be to find the factors that affect Proton sales and determine its significance in comparison to the motivation level of Protons sales department. Determining the extent to which motivation level affects the revenue of Proton 3.3 Application PEST Analysis The use of PEST analysis is crucial in order to see the environment Proton is situated in. The findings would be analyzed regarding their significance to Protons revenue. Political Government discards protectionist policy  [8]   High excise duty for imported cars  [9]   Economy Low loan approval rate by Bank Negara Malaysia  [10]   Social Low average wage per individual  [11]   Technology Appearance of hybrid cars in Malaysia  [12]   POLITICAL Government discards protectionism with Proton thus removing Protons exclusivity in the automotive industry If a company is backed by the government, the cost of operation can be considerably lessened as there would be injection of funds by the government. This would ensure that the company can sell its products cheaper, thus garnering an increase in revenue. But what would happen if a company was stripped off from being protected by the government? For Proton, when there is no more protectionism by the government, the company would need to stand by its own thus it needs to channel its cost to their products. This will make the price of its cars higher. Still, if we look at the revenue, Protons revenue still increases despite the hike in prices. This shows that the removal of protectionism doesnt really affect Protons sales and the possible reason for this is either Proton had improved its quality or there are other factors that promote sales. High excise duty for imported cars Excise duty is one of the major factors that affect a cars price. In Malaysia, the excise duty for imported cars is imported as high thus increasing the prices of imported cars. National carmakers such as Proton and Perodua are at an advantage in terms of pricing because they can provide lower priced cars as compared to their foreign competitors. For Proton, its cars which are considered cheaper than imported cars would prompt price-sensitive consumer to buy their cars thus increasing their cars considerably. ECONOMY Low hire-purchase approval rate by Bank Negara Malaysia Bank Negara Malaysia is the national bank of Malaysia and it regulates the hire-purchase approval rate in Malaysia. Recently, the approval rate for hire-purchase differs from a carmaker to another, and for Proton it is rated as low. Not every customer can pay the full price of cars in the early stage of buying thus they would resort to hire-purchase. When the hire-purchase approval rate is low for Proton, customers cannot buy Proton cars thus they would proceed to other carmakers which has higher hire-purchase approval rate. Thus, this would reduce Proton sales. SOCIAL Low average wage per individual The worlds average wage is approximately RM 4440 ($1480) which is a stark difference compared to Malaysias average wage which is RM 1500 ($500). Due to the low wages, Malaysians wouldnt have enough purchasing power thus they would gravitate towards buying low priced products in order to save cost and sustain their living. Protons cars which are cheaper than imported cars would be a fine choice for most Malaysians thus this would contribute to more sales for Proton hence contributing to an increase in revenue. Yet, with the Economic Transformation Initiative carried out by the government, Proton would be threatened because the program was intended to increase the nationals average wage from RM 1500 ($500) to RM 4000 ($ 1333) which is closer to the worlds average wage. If the government initiative reached its goals, the purchasing powers of Malaysian would increase thus they would have a wide range of cars that is feasible for them to purchase. TECHNOLOGY Appearance of hybrid cars As the world is moving towards less use of fossil fuels in everyday lives due to pollution, hybrid cars is invented to cater for the environmentally conscious consumers. Aside from that, hybrid cars would save consumers a hefty sum of money because consumers would need to depend less and less on petroleum which is infamous for its constant rice of price. The appearance of hybrid cars in Malaysia and the governments incentive for Malaysians to buy hybrid cars is a probable factor that can affect Protons sales. Still, hybrid cars is still not many in Malaysia thus it would not be a major factor affecting Protons car sales yet. Other factors that affects Protons sales but outside the scope of PEST analysis PEST analysis is limited in the way it restricts the analysis of environment surrounding Proton towards political, economy, social, and technology. In reality, there are other factors affecting sales for Proton that should be considered. The factors could be internal or external and some of them have an effect to employees motivation. Before we discuss even further, look at the list of the factors below:- Quality of Protons cars Banks interest rate*  [13]   Pricing of used car market* Marketing methods Relationship between sales and after-sales Discussing the factors Quality of Proton cars Quality of products is undeniably one of the greatest factors affecting the sales of a product. With high quality, some product can even exist without the need of extensive marketing because there will be word of mouth, which is a great marketing method. Regarding Proton, the quality of its cars is questionable.. Aside from that, Protons car is also perceived as inferior and low quality as compared to its competitors especially carmakers from Europe, Japan and Korea. Thus, the quality of Protons cars is a huge factor affecting sales and it should be taken into great consideration when discussing about Protons sales. In term of employees motivation, the quality of Protons cars can affect its employees motivation level. It is a common knowledge that if you want to sell something, it would be best to sell the best to consumers. Why? This is because when we sell something that is high in quality; we would feel confident selling it because we know that our customers would love it once they use it. This is also true for the case of Proton. If the employees in the sales department of Proton know that the car they are selling is perceived as inferior and low quality, they would feel less motivated because they arent confident that their customer is receiving a good car. This is a good example of Expectancy Theory in which if sales personnel of Proton perceive that no matter how much effort they put into selling, they would know that the rewards will be far from their grasp. This is because even if their selling effort is great, they would not be rewarded with a successful sale of a car because they woul d feel that customers would probably not buy a low quality car no matter how good they are in trying to sell it. This shows how employees performance is also affected by the quality of products they are selling. Banks interest rate Banks interest rate for each car brand is different and will continuously change. If the interest rate for Proton is high, car prices will be high and customers will be more reluctant to buy, thus causing low sales. The opposite would happen if interest rate is low. The changes to interest will also affect the sales department employees. For example, a high interest rate would make car prices high and they would feel less motivated or confident selling the car. Pricing of used car market Pricing of used car market for a particular car brand also changes over time. If a particular car has high price in the used car market, the user of that car would be inclined to sell his car especially if the car is outdated. The opposite would happen if the price of a car is low in the used car market. For Protons employees, it was reported that they would feel more motivated selling a car to a customer who is seeking to replace their car which had been sold off as used car. This group of customers is called as the replacement buyers. Employees would feel motivated because it is easier for them to make the sale because cars are essential in everyday life and replacement buyers would feel greater need to buy a car as compared to buyers who already own a car. Motivation will convert to performance thus there would be higher sales. Marketing methods Proton marketing method revolves mostly on having direct contact with the public which is their prospect such as having activities in the showroom and shopping complex that involves the participation of the public. It is reported that the sales department employees like the direct marketing method because they like the contact with the public. Direct method of marketing is unquestionably a good way for marketing and can boost sales but for the case of Proton, the most evident benefits would be the increase to the sales department employees morale, thus there would be an increase in sales due to increased performance. Relationship between the sales team and the after-sales team The after-sales team of Proton is reported of providing low quality service to its customers and it could affect customers perception towards the brand. Still, the most important aspect about the after sales team is the relationship between the after-sales team and the sales team which is really crucial especially with regards to the sales team motivation. Sales personnel would be motivated especially during the act of selling if they know that whenever there is a problem after the customers bought the product; they can be confident that the after-sales team can handle it. For the case of Proton which has low quality after-sales service, we can probably deduce that the sales team motivation level will be affected because of low confidence towards the competency of the after-sales team. Conclusion We had started by acknowledging that the sales department of Proton is motivated based on the use of Herzberg Two-Factor Theory and the fact that the revenue increases from 2007 2011 shows that motivation did indeed prove to be a contributor to the revenue of Proton. The question that we need to really discuss is the extent to which motivation really plays a role to contribute to revenue, thus other factors that affect sales must be discovered. It was finally found that there are many factors that affected the sales of Proton and some such as the high excise duties and quality of Proton cars seemed to be a really major factor that affects sales. Thus, it can be concluded that motivation level of Protons sales department is a factor that affects sales but it is not the greatest factor. If Proton were to employ measures that can continuously improve its employees motivation, sales would increase but until a certain point when an increase of motivation wont increase the sales. This is because of the mentioned major factors such as Protons car qualities that hinder sales growth significantly. To really improve its sales revenue, there are some issues that Proton must address. External Factors Internal Factors 4.1 Issues and suggestion on how to handle it From the above diagram, we can see how the factors affecting Protons sales are sorted into internal factors and external factors. Proton should consider focusing on the internal factors because it is the factors that Proton can really control and directly improve. Thus, there are three issues that is internal for Proton and suggestions are given on how Proton can address the issues below:- 1. Product quality The quality of Protons cars is an issue that Proton should focus on addressing because customers decision to buy are mostly affected by quality. In order to improve its quality, one of the measures Proton could employ is improving its quality control method so that no inferior cars are produced. Aside from that, Proton should also maximise the benefits of owning Lotus by ensuring better technology transfer with Lotus and also devise more training that is catered to help Protons engineers to learn more from Lotus. 2. After-sales team quality The quality of after-sales is important in order to retain customers loyalty. If Proton doesnt improve its after-sales quality, customers will think lowly of the brand thus it would affect sales. It was found that Proton had made a fine decision by giving out proper training to its after-sales team recently but another factor that might affect the after-sales team quality is the salary of the after-sales team which is below industrys average. To counter the issue, Proton should either negotiate with its after-sales team or consider giving better wages or perks. 3. Employees motivation Although it was found that the employees of the sales department are motivated, yet there is still so much more Proton could do to really increase employees motivation. In Proton, there are issues that Proton should tackle such as biasness and lack of guidance in order to make the working environment a better place. Proton should also consider reviewing the Herzberg Two-Factor Theory so that the company can how it can reduce dissatisfaction even further aside from increasing satisfaction in the long run. A final note Although suggestions are given, only Proton knows best how it can improve itself because its internal issues can be tackled best from within their company. The unresolved issue here would be the issue regarding how Proton can really improve its products quality and at the same time increase its employees motivation so that more sales can be gained. If Proton were to devise a way to tackle the issue, then sales would definitely increase as a result. Word count : 3852 Bibliography 1. Chedet.cc 2. CLARKE, P. (2009). IB business and management course companion. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 3. Corporate.proton.com 4. En.wikipedia.org 5. Freemalaysiatoday.com 6. HAGEMANN, G. (1992). The motivation manual. Aldershot, Gower. 7. JEWELL, B. R. (1993). An integrated approach to business studies. London, Pitman. 8. KREITNER, R. (1983). Management. Boston, Houghton Mifflin. 9. Malaysia-chronicle.com 10. Paultan.org 11. Reganrajan.com 12. Thestar.com.my Appendix 2 Hj Roslan Hj Mohamed Head, direct and government sales operation Enterprise Sales Department ([emailprotected])Interview What is the reward package provided by Proton for its sales department employees? Generally, our reward package is similar with most companies. But, the main focus of employees when joining Proton would be the salary and commission structure of the company. Can you give a more detailed explanation about the salary and commission that you previously mentioned? I will be glad to. There are two basic positions the sales department non-executive (sales advisor) and executive (management). The non-executive or the sales advisor starts with a basic salary of RM300++. Sales advisor is similar to sales personnel and their remuneration lies within their commission is plentiful. There are 5 types of commission which are model-based commission, used car commission, financing commission, accessory commission, and insurance commission. There are also monthly and quarterly volume commissions. The executive or the management also has their own commission but the commission depends on the group they are managing. Essentially if his group succeeds, the executive will succeed too. What is the average payment that the sales advisor would receive each month? The amount is quite hefty. The average payment for sales advisors is usually RM7000 which is quite high. Is there any form of recognition sales advisors would receive after selling many cars? Yes, there is. It is called Club 100, which is an achievement club for sales advisor who achieved 100 sales. There are many benefits for the sales advisor who is a member of Club 100 such as having their own parking space. Is there any sales campaign held by Proton? Yes, there is and you could say that the sales campaign is one of the events that really motivate a sales advisor. A typical seasonal sales campaign would involve selling unpopular models. Any sales advisor who sold an unpopular model would be given a monthly incentive and that is the reason why they are eager to achieve success when a seasonal sales campaign comes. What do you think are some factors affecting motivation of a sales advisor? Well, there is a lot. One of them would be having many model ranges because sales advisor enjoy their work when they have many selection of cars that they can advise their customer to buy. Other than that, sales advisors love to sell zero problem cars which are top-notch and high quality. This is because they will feel excited selling it aside from not having to deal with customers complaints afterwards. They feel that it is hard to manage complaints about qualities because it is not they who design it. Lastly, sales advisor love selling new models too. How about the economy? Does it affect sales? Banks interest rate plays a big role here. When interest for car is high, people would definitely exercise caution before buying thus sales would be low and vice versa. You can see that when interest is low, sales advisors would be motivated because more people are inclined to buy thus increasing their chances of increasing their income. Talking about car prices, aside from interest, the pricing in the used car market also affects sales. For the public, when the price for used cars is high for their model, they would be inclined to sell it at that time so that they can buy new models. This group of people is called the replacement buyers which are the customers who buy a product in order to replace their previous items which had been sold off. You could say that when a specific model has high trade-in value in the used car market, people would be inclined to sell their cars and buy a new one to replace their own. A sales advisor would be motivated to sell cars when they know that the customers they are serving are replacement buyers. How about the leadership in the sales department of Proton? We apply autocratic way of leading as a way to manage employees in the staff department. This is what we call as the best practice approach because other leadership style is not suitable. Being autocratic doesnt mean that we need to compromise relationship between manager and the sales advisor. In Proton, sales advisors performance is closely monitored and they must sell a minimum of 6 units or they will be deeming as under perf

The Meaning of Being American Essay -- American Citizenship Patriotism

The Meaning of Being American What does it mean to be an American? Can this statement ever really be defined since America is a melting pot of different races, religions, political views, social views and so on and so fourth. To be an American can mean virtually anything and whether or not somebody supports national symbols is just another part of being and American. As Americans we have the right to disagree with the government, the right to protest against something unjust, the right to burn a flag in disgrace because after all we have freedom of speech. To some these things are un-American, but to others they are the reasons America is such a wonderful place to live. There is no definite answer to this question, but many different possibilities. Like any other country America has national symbols such as the American Flag, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the â€Å"Start Spangled Banner.† To be an American means that you support these things to fullest extent and hold them in the highest regard. This means that When the National Anthem is played or the Pledge of Allegiance is recited, it is our duty as Americans to stand, remove our hats and cover our hearts as a sign of the utmost respect. These symbols are a sign of our heritage. They stand for what we believe in, who we are, and where we come from. We are Americans. We believe in life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. True Americans speak the national language, English, and know that America is a one of a kind country that cannot be beat. We have worked hard over the years to become the wealthiest and the most prosperous country in the entire world. As Americans we have the right to drive a Hummers, the right to live in luxurious houses, because after all we’... ...unds for music and art education, and library books for their children, by issuing the products of their kitchens: cookies, bundt cakes, lumpia, spring rolls and ribs. Watch the kindergartners dance the Hula!† America is a place where freedom of speech prospers. Some people believe that America stands for one thing while others believe it stands for completely opposite things. The first stance I wrote about it a viable stance, but it lacks one thing, freedom. To be American doesn’t mean one thing, it means that you are open to anything, no matter how outlandish it may be. America is country that was founded on freedom, happiness, and love. Over the years many of these qualities have been lost to greed, corruption, and hatred. If we ever want to return America to its former glory we must open our minds, our eyes, and our hearts to people different from us.

How Personal Can Ethics Get? Essay

The level of ethics competency is determined by the individual’s ability to identify elements of ethics, assess issues with ethics that arise, apply knowledge and regulations when making ethical decisions, and communicate those decisions to others. As stated by Curry in his discussion of workplace ethics: Ethics are about making choices that may not always feel good or seem like they benefit you but are the â€Å"right† choices to make. They are the choices that are examples of â€Å"model citizens† and examples of the golden rules. We’ve all heard the golden rules: Don’t hurt, don’t steal, don’t lie, or one of the most famous: â€Å"Do unto others as you would have done to you. † These are not just catchy phrases; these are words of wisdom that any productive member of society should strive to live by. (Curry, n. d. ) Organizational ethics depends on the culture of the company or organization and the extent of the importance of codes of ethics within the company. Organizational ethics is the company’s codes and procedures that manage the actions and decisions of its employees and leadership. Personal difference and preference can impact this, however. There are occasions when organizational ethics and personal ethics are not in line with one another. A lot of times employees do not know how to balance the personal side with the business side. In businesses there are several factors that influence the morality of individuals. Those factors are peers, company policies and procedures, and superiors such as management. In our personal lives there are factors as well. Those factors include family and friends. Ethics are thought of by many people as something that is related to the private side of life and not to the business side. In many businesses, having ethics is frowned upon or thought of as a negative subject. This is because business is usually about doing what’s best for number one, not about what’s really the right thing to do. (Curry, n. d. ) With this in mind, there are occasions when business decisions are not made simply because the decision is really the right thing to do. Businesses are created for a number of reasons, but to stay in business the company must practice good decision making and make a profit. Over time, in the long run, the business that finds a way to balance personal differences and preferences with organizational ethics will last longer and be more profitable. Mary White, the co-owner of MTI Business Solutions addresses business ethics in her article. In one particular point White states: Companies and businesspeople who wish to thrive long-term must adopt sound ethical decision-making practices. Companies and people who behave in a socially responsible manner are much more likely to enjoy ultimate success than those whose actions are motivated solely by profits. Knowing the difference between right and wrong and choosing what is right is the foundation for ethical decision making. In many cases, doing the right thing often leads to the greatest financial, social, and personal rewards in the long run. (White, n. d. ) Often times, individuals in leadership positions put their own goals and preferences before that of the company. For example, a CEO might accept a deal with another company that includes an extra incentive or reward that solely benefits the CEO and deny a deal with another company because there is nothing extra that benefits the CEO. Although the company benefits by accepting another client, the ethics of the organization is compromised. Although the company with no included incentives may provide more value in the long run for the company looking to make a deal, the CEO may lose the opportunity to gain a deal in the future. When any individual becomes a part of a company, their own personal differences and preferences do not only impact the individual, but everyone around them including the company. Organizational Policies and Procedures and the Impact on Ethics In addition, organizational policies and procedures can impact ethics. The policies and procedures put into effect by businesses provide guidelines in efforts to allow the business to run smoothly. These procedures and policies set by the organization provide a means of what is right and what is wrong. This is the company’s code of conduct or set of organizational ethics. The organizational policies and procedures can either benefit the company or hinder the company. The purpose of setting this code of right and wrong is so that the company is providing employees with guidelines in hopes that employees will follow. The benefit is all employees are working towards a common goal in a common matter. This provides a sense of order within the business. Every position has its own guidelines so that employees know exactly what is expected. When an employee violates a code that is clearly documented in the company’s policies and procedures, the employee cannot state that he or she did not know what was expected. In the same sense, just as the organizational policies and procedures can benefit the ethics of the company, the policies and procedures can also produce a negative outcome. This can occur when employees refuse to follow these procedures. An employee may choose not to abide by policies when he or she has his or her own motive. For example, an employee does not agree with a company policy that states that no employee may release a certain type of information. In turn, the employee shares the information with a highly competitive company. This affects the ethics of the company as well as the individual. In this situation, the policy is clearly documented. Although the policy is set in place to provide order and give a guideline for employees to follow, the employee violated the policy. Ethical Dilemmas and Valerie When ethics become an issue within a company, ethical dilemmas occur. An ethical dilemma is a dispute between what is right and wrong between two opposing parties. Although ethical dilemmas occur every day, there is really no right or wrong solution. It is simply a matter of what one believes. In the case study, Valerie is facing an ethical dilemma. The ethical dilemma she is facing is not only about what she considers right or wrong, but also her job. As a result of her decision, she could lose several things. The ethical dilemma that Valeria is facing is if she tells anyone what she has learned, she could lose her job, her privilege to stay in the United States since she doesn’t have a Green Card, future education, and her career relationships. In this situation, Valerie can reveal the information and risk losing everything or keep the information to herself and work for a company of which she no longer respects. In either situation, Valerie is losing something. It is up to her to decide what is more important. If I were in the situation Valerie is in, I would keep the information to myself. Although neither decision is potentially right or wrong, if Valerie chooses to keep the information to herself, she does not have to risk losing her job and ability to stay in the United States. Even though Valerie does not reveal the information herself, the information may still come out in the future from another source. Another method that I would chose is to provide an anonymous explanation to corporate. Most businesses provide a means in which employees are able to provide information anonymously. In either case, Valerie will not have to jeopardize losing her job, right to live in this county, education, nor relationships within the company. Conclusion In closing, personal differences and preferences can impact organizational ethics. Employees must realize that their own decisions and beliefs affect the company they work for. In the same sense, organizational policies and procedures can impact ethics as well. Although companies set up policies to address what is right and wrong, there are positive benefits as well as negative outcomes.