Abstract This paper presents a marketing plan to help evaluate the viability of the author's proposed small business of a market research consultancy. In this paper, a SWOT situational analysis helps to define the marketing objectives and the strategies of the marketing mix. The key to success, the author believes, is to monitor carefully each area of his business and to take corrective actions.
Table of Contents:
Table of Contents
Introduction
Marketing Objectives and Strategies
Situational Analysis
Target Markets
Marketing Objectives
Marketing Mix
Services (Depth, Breadth)
Price
Place
Promotion
Marketing Strategies
Monitor and Improve Marketing Performance
In Communication Area
In Sales Area
In Customer Satisfaction
Conclusion
From the Paper "If clients' answers show a high dissatisfaction level, I would change the particular point where the dissatisfaction is observed. If it is about providers, the solution could be to contact them and trying to define ways to improve their work relationship. If the provider does not feel concerned by customer service, I would find another one. If the problem is about the payment delay, we can have a negotiation with clients during the contract negotiation and extend payment delay or split the payment in several times."
Abstract In this article, the writer researches and examines the effects of employee turnover on an organization, including the costs in terms of financial aspects as well as costs associated with customer retention. It is clear that employee turnover is very costly to organizations and as noted in the introduction of this study employee turnover rates are as high as 23.4% in some industries, which demonstrates a very large financial cost to these organizations. As demonstrated by this report, the costs associated with employee turnover are costs both of the direct and indirect nature. The writer concludes that there are methods of avoiding employee turnover which are briefly touched upon within the scope of this present research. The writer further concludes that there are methods that hold promise for the organization in the reduction of employee turnover and the costs in terms of finance and productivity that the organization suffers due to employee turnover.
Outline:
Objective
Introduction
Costs Associated with Employee Turnover Causes of Employee Turnover Comprehensive Cost Calculation
Calculation of Losses Associated with Employee Turnover Strategies for Avoiding Employee Turnover Summary and Conclusion
From the Paper "The employee will likely only contribute at a 25% level of productivity for the first few weeks therefore; the organization must calculate 75% of the employee's salary for at least two to four weeks of their new employment. During weeks, five through twelve the employee will likely contribute at a 50% level of productivity requiring the organization calculate 50% of the individual's salary for that period. During the thirteenth through the twentieth week, the employee will likely contribute at a 75% level of productivity requiring the organization to calculate 25% of the individual's salary for that period."
Investigates what factors drive employees to select a pay method or compensation that would motivate them for increased performance and reduced turnover.
Abstract This study attempts to determine determine the relationship between high employee turnover and personal factors against the preference for compensation. The study is conducted on a comprehensive services organization located in Northeast, Florida that employs more than 12,000 people and is one of the largest billing and customer service organizations in that county.
Table of Contents
Purpose of the Study
Statement of Problem
Definition and Nature of Employee Turnover Employee Satisfaction and Customer Turnover Causes and Correlation of Employee Turnover Analyzing Employee Turnover Consequences of Employee Turnover Controlling Employee Turnover Conclusion
From the Paper "Employee Satisfaction and Customer Turnover. One of the most important components of making new customers happy and retaining loyal old customers is to ensure that they receive quality customer service. A dissatisfied employee, whether new or tenured, though, is unlikely to provide this level of service on a reliable basis. For the purposes of this discussion, the entire range of causes of employee satisfaction and dissatisfaction come into play, and these factors are by definition highly subjective and individualistic. Nevertheless, no customer wants to do business with an enterprise characterized by poor customer service and employees who are not motivated to provide that service."
Abstract The paper discusses how in recent years the military has been reduced in numbers and funding. These changes have made it necessary to increase the use of civilian contractors during times of war. The paper explains that they provide contract labor in areas that require special handling and when the project or job is over they leave without retirement pay or other benefits. The paper describes how contractors provide technical expertise and support where the logistical decisions can mean life or death on the battlefield of war. The paper concludes that with the reduction of funding and troops in the military, the use of civilian contractors is the prudent and cost effective way to maintain military strength without having to increase the cost of the military.
From the Paper "They provide expertise with a focus on technology, as well as a cost reduction for the United States Armed Service Corps. Contractors are paid by the job which relieves the government of responsibility for their retirement pension fund, vacation or sick pay and other things that are typically provided in a traditional military or private sector job.
Another element to increased civilian contract use is the need for military personnel in other operations. The use of civilian contractors frees up military personnel for other operations while not reducing the work or coverage in the areas that the civilians work with."
Abstract This paper looks at the US military's use of private contractors to perform military activities and the many problems associated with this practice. The paper focuses on the war in Iraq and reveals that privately contracted personnel in Iraq have the power and authority to use arms against anyone who they believe to be a threat, regardless of the consequences of their actions. The paper then discusses the multinational corporation, Blackwater USA, which holds the largest share of security contracts in Iraq. The paper explains some of the problems with Blackwater USA including lack of supervision, lack of continuity, and allowable secrecy that has led to innocent civilians' deaths. The paper also explains that the Bush administration was the chief opponent to reforming the practice of using private contractors and points out that if no reform is undertaken, taxes will continue to go to Blackwater and the reckless slaughter of innocent people will continue as will increased distrust of Americans by Iraqi civilians. The paper concludes by proposing changes to the development and awarding of contracts to private contractors.
Outline:
Demand For Change
Proposed Changes
From the Paper "During the course of the war in Iraq, the United States has seen many of its allies remove their troops from Iraq. By itself, the United States military would be unable to fight the war and bring stability to the region as it is does not have the requisite number of troops on the ground and those troops are not adeptly trained for all of the dangerous tasks involved. The definitive number of troops is determined not by need but by executive and congressional orders, which do not allow greater numbers for support and or security troops which creates an essential gap in services for troops and for the cause of securing individuals, groups and even supplies. The answer to this gap has been to provide for such services through private contracts and in doing so the dire need calls for such contracts to be closed bids, where the contract is not offered to the best provider or the provider who offers the best return on the investment it is simply offered to an individual corporation that is most likely to be able to provide the service as rapidly as possible. These services range from cooking and maintenance services for US troops and equipment to prison guards and or trained security staff for high profile Iraqi civilian officials."
Tags: transparency, accountability, mercenaries, military
Abstract This paper explains that retention of employees has become a major task for companies because employees no longer show company loyalty by staying with their employers throughout their career life. The author points out that, whereas years ago employees stayed with their employer for years letting the employer define the quality of their life in terms of salary or satisfaction; today, employees leave their current employer in search of more income, better benefits or career advancement. The paper relates that issues of retention and turnover are all about company culture -- "kinder and gentler" is replacing "do it my way"; examples of companies seeking to change their culture are MasterCard, Great Plains, Inc. and Southwest Airlines. advancement.
Table of Contents
Introduction
What is Retention and Turnover?
Employee Stability
Undervalued and Underutilized
Supervisor issues
Problem Analysis
Employee Symptoms
Labor Shortage
Turnover Costs
Why Companies Fail at Retention
It's not about Money
Other Issues
Raising Retention, Lowering Turnover Mindset
Survey
Supervisor Responsibility
Work Environment
Feedback
Compensation
Training
Career Development
Bureaucracy
Conclusion
Chart: The Cost of Turnover Chart: A Sample New-Hire Survey
From the Paper "Employees who feel undervalued and underutilized will look to change jobs. Employees who feel undervalued and underutilized have lost the meaning of their job. According to Holbeche (2004), employees in general are looking to make their work more meaningful. The author reported a study that stated, "63 per cent of board directors, 72 per cent of middle managers and 69 per cent of directors and senior managers are looking for a greater sense of meaning in their working lives". Based on this study, companies must actively work to help their employees feel valued if they want them to stay. The author also reported that 68% of the people in large organizations have lost the meaning in their work and seek flexibility in their work. However, they were not willing to give up career advancement to achieve the work/life balance. In contrary to that, Knippen and Green (1996) suggest that employees who feel undervalued and underutilized should ask their supervisor for interesting work. Interesting work could be anything from adding more responsibility to simply changing the way a task is done. No matter what the work change is, it is important to outline to the supervisor the benefits of getting interesting work and the consequences of not getting it, which includes quitting."
Abstract This paper explains that the purpose of the proposed qualitative study is to survey the staff of a small help desk at a company named Convergent, regarding the causes of turnover and the impact leadership styles and motivational factors have on turnover. The paper relates that the literature review indicates that more research is needed to help identify employees at risk of quitting and to implement broad-ranging programs, which foster a sense of team work and a shared sense of purpose on the job. The paper then reports that the mixed methodology for this research will include an extensive literature review, case studies and a survey. An annotated bibliography is included with the paper.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Statement of the Research Problem
Purpose of the Study
Research Questions
Significance of Research
Definition of Key Terms
Brief Review of Literature
Causes of Employee Turnover Table 1. Four Paths to Employee Turnover Impact of Employee Turnover on Small Businesses
Reducing Employee Turnover Summary
Methodology
Approach to Research
Data Collection and Analysis
Ethical Assurances
From the Paper "Because employee turnover has been recognized as a serious problem for many companies, the topic has received an increasing amount of attention in recent years. The studies to date have shown time and again that just as it is more profitable for companies to keep the customers they already have instead of trying to find new ones, it is in almost any company's best interests to retain their existing employees to avoid the enormous costs and adverse impacts typically associated with employee turnover. The costs associated with unreasonably high levels of turnover have been well documented."
Abstract This paper is a research project to identify the causes of teacher turnover and to provide solutions, which educators and administrators can use to reduce turnover rates and to improve teacher satisfaction. In addition, the research attempts to identify the impact these high rates of turnover have on student achievement and educational satisfaction. The paper explains that, to gain information, the author used personal interviews and a survey of teachers currently working in the profession and of former teachers and a survey of student views on teacher turnover rates and their performance. The preliminary results are included with the paper.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Problem Statement/Rational
Limitations
Literature Review
Background for the Study
Reasons for Turnover Methodology
Participants
Findings
Recommendations/Conclusions
Appendices
Appendix I: Top 3 Factors Influencing Teachers' Decisions to Leave the Teaching Profession
Appendix II: Questions
From the Paper "Continuing professional education is in fact, a tool schools have recognized as important to retaining supplies of good teachers; the theory behind this is teachers that are "up-to-date" are "enthused and stimulated" about their role in education. However, if continuing education takes up too much time or occurs in a manner that proves costly or provides additional stress for teachers already unduly stressed, than continuing education efforts can have the exact opposite effect, contributing more to turnover than researchers once predicted."
Abstract This paper defines the roles of the Army's Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) which hires private civilian contractors to provide supplies and services to American soldiers. It also explores the Government Accountability Office (GAO) which asseses the federal programs to see if money is being spent in a wise fashion. The paper, through statistics and research, tries to determine whether the American taxpayers are getting their money's worth from the contractors who are supplying and servicing American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
From the Paper "Going way back to 1997 and the U.S. military involvement in Bosnia, the same problem (lack of accountability and oversight) was apparent, according to the GAO "Report Abstract" issued on February 11, 1997. "The Army lacks basic financial systems to track how contractor funds are being spent and contractor monitoring systems to evaluate contractor performance," the report states. Civilian contractors were used "extensively in the Korean and Vietnam Wars... [and] in the case of Bosnia, the Army's latest estimate for contractor support has risen to $461.5 million - about $111 million more than the Army's original estimate." The GAO also criticizes the "unnecessary overhead costs and duplication resulting from the Navy and the Air Force introducing similar support contract programs.""
Abstract This research paper analyzes the problem of high employee turnover within a specific division of the Global Science and Technology (GST) company. In addition to reviewing research that addressed job satisfaction, job insecurity, motivation, social identity, and organizational commitment (loyalty) and how these factors might relate to employee turnover rates, the author of the study also examines possible problems at the organizational level that might be contributing to the high turnover rate. Appended to the paper are the author's own reflections about the company and his experience as an employee there. Table of Contents Introduction Problem Statement Literature Review Causes Solutions and Implementation Plan Developing Human Resources Program Establish Avenues for Promotion
From the Paper "NASA Peer Review Services (NPRS) is a consolidated contract made up of three companies: Global Science & Technology (GST), Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), and Indyne, Inc. Each company supports different research or education divisions within NASA. My employer, GST, supports the Offices of Education (Code N), Aerospace Technology (Code R), and Exploration Systems (Code T). SAIC supports the Offices of Earth Science (Code Y) and Space Science (Code S). Indyne supports the Office of Biological and Physical Research (Code U). Together, these three companies provide support for all of NASA's grant/contract review and selection processes. My division, supporting Codes N, R, and T (hereafter referred to as "NRT"), is somewhat unique. Although we provide peer review support like the other divisions at NPRS, we also coordinate large outreach initiatives, design programmatic websites and databases, research and write educational policy, evaluate program effectiveness, and report program outcomes. This type of support is highly knowledge-driven, and most of our staff are career oriented, possess advanced degrees, and take pride in collaborating with NASA to contribute documents of significant programmatic impact, such as strategic plans and evaluation methodologies."
Abstract This paper presents a case study concerning the company, Convergent, and its help desk department that provides customer assistance services, in particular. The paper surveys the personnel on a small help desk regarding the causes of turnover and the impact that leadership styles and motivational factors have on turnover to meet the help desk staffing needs while improving company profits. Lastly, the paper asserts that identifying appropriate and effective leadership techniques for a specific workplace setting may be reasonably expected to help improve a company's profitability while reducing or otherwise mitigating the incidence of employee turnover.
Outline:
Introduction
Statement of the Research Problem
Definition of Key Terms
Brief Review of Literature
Methodology
From the Paper "Because employee turnover is inevitable and its impact and costs are well known, identifying the most effective leadership methods to reduce it to the extent possible readily translates into money saved for a company as well as improved morale and effectiveness among employees (Koestenbaum, 2002). According to Lamb and McKee (2005), 'Everyone, individuals and the organization, will get the most from an enterprise when all commit as much human and hard capital to the endeavor as they can. . . . Satisfied employees care more about customer satisfaction, cooperate more with each other, and apply more effort' (p. 8). At Convergent, help desk employees are required to be continually recruited and a bank of potential employees is kept at the ready to meet unexpected losses; to the extent that the company is able to retain its existing employees, then, is likely the extent to which ongoing recruiting efforts could be minimized and the effectiveness and esprit de corps of the company's existing help-desk workers maximized."
Abstract This paper examines the hotel and restaurant industry in the United States and provides several reasons for the rise in employee turnover rates in previous years. The paper shows that it might be the case that management is more at fault for this trend than the employees themselves.
Table of Contents
A Tight Job Market
Turnover Statistics
Salaried Versus Hourly
Part-time Employee Rates
The Hotel Industry
Layoffs Provide Potential Employees
Terrorism and the Economy
Attracting Employees
Surfing the Web
Luring Back Employees
Creating a New Image
Training the Future
Conclusion
From the Paper "Most people believe those in the hospitality industry work long hours, earn a low income and have very little chance for advancement in their career. The industry actually offers a wide selection of jobs with flexible hours. Hotels and restaurants are attempting to change their image by showing prospective employees the many benefits now being offered, which include training programs and the chance for advancement within the company."
Tags: hospitality, industry, training, recruitment, career
Abstract The paper also suggests some key practices, which can help in keeping the employee and reducing the turnover rate in the industry. It is seen that with a turnover rate of over 70- percent last year, the industry is facing some real challenges including the increase in costs that it incurs on the training of new employees.
Abstract When employees identify with organizational goals, they are less likely to leave the organization to work for another. This paper explains that, in order for firms to survive in a global economy, they need to design effective human resource management (HRM) practices that encourage the retention of high-performing employees, particularly among skilled employees. It shows how past research has linked various human resource management practices to employee turnover. This paper assesses which HRM practices have the greatest impact on employee satisfaction and have the potential to reduce employee turnover.
From the Paper "It is predicted that under different economic cycles, different HRM practices have differential impact on employee turnover. Typically, in an economic recession, employees are less willing to quit their jobs because there are fewer employment options available. Therefore, everything else being equal, those who do quit during an economic recession may have to be more dissatisfied with certain HRM practices compared to those who quit during an economic boom."
Abstract This paper discusses two similar articles, which analyze that the highest turnover in the labor market today is in the youngest end of the workforce from ages 18 - 25 years. The paper compares the two articles and their opinions on this specific demographic cause of high turnover. The author also comes to offer a personal criticism on the two articles and their slanted and lacking viewpoints.
From the Paper "Leo in his piece lands squarely on the demographic itself blaming it for its inability to commit to and stick with any sort of employment. However Mr. Leo, what sorts of jobs do you think these young people with only high school education's have to look forward to. It's flipping burger in one fast food joint for eight hours or more then rush to another low end job for six to eight more hours of back breaking work just to meet their rather meager and slim needs. Can this be blamed on the youth? One should think not."
