Performance Management at Vitality Health Enterprises, Inc. Essay

Vitality Health Enterprises is a large beauty products and nutraceuticals company offering a full range of health, wellness, and beauty products around the globe. The company was originally founded in 1987 in Ames, Iowa, by Hikaaru â€Å"Fred† Kikuchi who is an experienced serial entrepreneur. His inspiration for Vitality came when his wife was continually dissatisfied with the quality of beauty products she was finding here in the U.S., since they emigrated from Japan. Kikuchi saw a business opportunity and used his relationships from back home to import beauty products and the rest is history. Vitality has gone through numerations of growth that has included: moving company headquarters to Des Moines – thought to be a better location for growth, establishing its own manufacturing facility with its own chemists – to develop its own unique products specifically targeting the U.S. marketplace, purchasing HerbaPure Nutraceuticals to offer a broader range of products, and establishing an IPO to raise capital for further expansion – which now includes nine global offices representing markets in Asia, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Vitality has grown far beyond selling products out of Kikucki’s garage to a large scale enterprise in the personal care products sector. Beth Williams is the current CEO who was recruited in mid-2008 to replace Kikuchi over concerns for his health, and to infuse Vitality with fresh blood and new ideas in the highly competitive marketplace. The board liked her no-nonsense approach and hoped she could turn Vitality around after a period of stagnation. James Hoffman is the newly appointed vice president of Human Resources at Vitality Health Enterprises and shares concerns with Beth that Vitality is not maintaining its edge on innovation, and has a large employee turnover rate among the highly talented research scientists. His first assignment is to take the lead on the new Performance Management Evaluation Team, constructed to evaluate the success of the system, and present the findings and recommendations to the board. Hoffman’s evaluation can either provide him with a great career opportunity, or be the catalyst for his departure. His concern is they do not have all the data to present and having been with Vitality for two months, he needs to be certain of his analysis – not to mention his boss, Beth, is the one who implemented the program several years earlier. The main problem in this entire case is how Vitality can maintain being the industry leader in innovation. There is a high turnover rate with high performing employees, especially those who are the innovators in product development. The high turnover is attributed to the poor incentive structure. Innovation is vital at maintaining the competitive edge, in any rapidly changing industry. For other employees, the structure encourages complacency and a culture of ineffective performance, not easily identifying poor performers. There is a problem with the evaluation process required of the managers, in the performance evaluations. They are not properly trained on how to evaluate the teams and don’t like the structure because it alienates team members. There might also be legal issues with discrimination and how the evaluation is designed. Company wide motivation has been declining due to the performance management system. Managers don’t feel thorough evaluations are, â€Å"worth their time†, and they are concerned the force- rank system incorrectly ranks individual performance. Employees can be placed in the lower tier, comp structure, if they are part of a high performing team and the opposite can be true for employees ranked in the higher tier, if they are part of a lower performing team. The system’s â€Å"fairness† has been questioned throughout the organization, and no clear standards are understood on what dictates your placement in the tier system. If employees are not clear on the system, it is challenging to make corrections in their performance. In addition, management feels employees are less likely to take additional initiative, outside their roles, to better the team’s performance – since there is no real incentive to do so. These issues negatively affect the culture, and have led to increased turnover in top-tier talent, which has left Vitality struggling to maintain its hold as industry leader. Performance management systems primary goal should be to stimulate behaviors that improve performance within a company. It appears as Hoffman suggested – Vitality has, â€Å"missed the mark† and is not fostering the type of behavior it originally set out to accomplish. The question for Vitality and Hoffman is: does the performance management system need correction, or should they start from scratch? We believe they can modify the current system they have in place and make it successful. They have already taken the appropriate measures to find where the system is lacking, which is in motivating the employees. This demonstrates that Vitality is moving in the right direction by being proactive on improving the working environment and culture of the company. One system will never be a perfect fit for all, but we believe we’ve identified a few key suggestions, based off the organizational feedback, that would enable Vitality to â€Å"hit the mark† with their performance management system. First we would address the time constraints the managers have in preparing the evaluations, by allowing the process to be extended by three months. Teamwork is central to turning out new products, yet the evaluation removes the motivation and encouragement for individual initiative that would benefit team performance. We recommend a piece of the individual performance, perhaps 20-30 % of the evaluation, be based off team accomplishments; similar to a NFL football team winning the Super Bowl and earning bonuses for the team. It’s well known that some players contribute more than others due to ability, yet the entire team contributes and receives additional compensation based off the accomplishment. The force-rank component would be based off the employee achieving key individual milestones, that would be determined by the manager and employee, at the beginning of the year. We would also remove the required number of rankings for top achievers, achievers, low achievers, unacceptable and not rated. We would leave these up to the discretion of the manager. The manager would then have a pool of money to distribute throughout his team contingent on the performance evaluations. In order to entice innovation, within the organization, a specific bonus/kicker structure should be incorporated into the plan that rewards individuals and teams that bring new product development to market. It’s clear that Vitality has made the right moves to maintain its market leader perception. We applaud Beth Williams for identifying a problem within the company, and being proactive to change course in order to maintain continued high performance.

Triangular Slave Trade

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade began around the mid-fifteenth century when Portuguese interests in Africa moved away from the fabled deposits of gold to a much more readily available commodity — slaves. By the seventeenth century the trade was in full swing, reaching a peak towards the end of the eighteenth century. It was a trade which was especially fruitful, since every stage of the journey could be profitable for merchants — the infamous triangular trade. Why did the Trade Begin?Expanding European empires in the New World lacked one major resource — a work force. In most cases the indigenous peoples had proved unreliable (most of them were dying from diseases brought over from Europe), and Europeans were unsuited to the climate and suffered under tropical diseases. Africans, on the other hand, were excellent workers: they often had experience of agriculture and keeping cattle, they were used to a tropical climate, resistant to tropical diseases, and they coul d be â€Å"worked very hard† on plantations or in mines. Was Slavery New to Africa?Africans had been traded as slaves for centuries — reaching Europe via the Islamic-run, trans-Saharan, trade routes. Slaves obtained from the Muslim dominated North African coast however proved to be too well educated to be trusted and had a tendency to rebellion. See The Role of Islam in African Slavery for more about Slavery in Africa before the Trans-Atlantic Trade began. Slavery was also a traditional part of African society — various states and kingdoms in Africa operated one or more of the following: chattel slavery, debt bondage, forced labor, and serfdom.See Types of Slavery in Africa for more on this topic. What was the Triangular Trade? [pic]Image:  © Alistair Boddy-Evans. Licensed to About. com, Inc. All three stages of the Triangular Trade (named for the rough shape it makes on a map) proved lucrative for merchants. The first stage of the Triangular Trade involved ta king manufactured goods from Europe to Africa: cloth, spirit, tobacco, beads, cowrie shells, metal goods, and guns. The guns were used to help expand empires and obtain more slaves (until they were finally used against European colonizers).These goods were exchanged for African slaves. The second stage of the Triangular Trade (the middle passage) involved shipping the slaves to the Americas. The third, and final, stage of the Triangular Trade involved the return to Europe with the produce from the slave-labor plantations: cotton, sugar, tobacco, molasses and rum. Origin of African Slaves Sold in the Triangular Trade [pic]Image:  © Alistair Boddy-Evans. Licensed to About. com, Inc. Slaves for the Trans-Atlantic slave trade were initially sourced in Senegambia and the Windward Coast.Around 1650 the trade moved to west-central Africa (the Kingdom of the Kongo and neighboring Angola). The transport of slaves from Africa to the Americas forms the middle passage of the triangular trade. Several distinct regions can be identified along the west African coast, these are distinguished by the particular European countries who visited the slave ports, the peoples who were enslaved, and the dominant African society(s) who provided the slaves. For more on the regions where slaves were sourced see this map.Who Started the Triangular Trade? For two hundred years, 1440-1640, Portugal had a monopoly on the export of slaves from Africa. It is notable that they were also the last European country to abolish the institution – although, like France, it still continued to work former slaves as contract laborers, which they called libertos or engages a temps. It is estimated that during the 4 1/2 centuries of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Portugal was responsible for transporting ver 4. 5 million Africans (roughly 40% of the total). How Did the Europeans Obtain the Slaves? Between 1450 and the end of the nineteenth century, slaves were obtained from along the west coast o f Africa with the full and active co-operation of African kings and merchants. (There were occasional military campaigns organized by Europeans to capture slaves, especially by the Portuguese in what is now Angola, but this accounts for only a small percentage of the total. )

Mothies Comparison Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mothies Comparison - Movie Review Example Pride and Prejudice penned by Jane Austen, based on the contemporary writing has achieved a huge success and is still under awe by various writers. Bridget Jones's Diary is an aptly justified adaptation of it. The most endearing and realistic characters and events have been screened in the movies with similar names. Both the movies have brought forth the similarities along with huge disparities, reinforcing the similarities all the more. It is evidently clear that Helen Fielding is great admirer of Austen's work and the replicated work is also intentional. These had an outstanding response as it seems very close to the common man depicting middle class life-like friendships, gossips, searching "Mr. Right" and false pride. Apart from the two movies there have been seen the up coming of several other movies with similar subjects "Sense and Sensibility", "Mansfield Park" , "The Edge of Reason" are a few among them.Talking of the similarities between the two movies based on the novels Pr ide and Prejudice and Bridget Jones's Diary would take lots of pages with numerous similar characters and construction of discourses as well. Starting with the theme, husband hunting was the foremost theme of the movies which led to various events. "Both are smart, sassy, and thoroughly enjoyable, and features one of the most endearing and believable characters." The heroes of the two bear significant resemblance to each other, being proud of their class. Both think the heroines to be less than beautiful to tempt them and find themselves falling in love with the least suitable women around with the course of events. Bridget also overhears Mark Darcy calling her "verbally incontinent spinster" while Darcy comments that Elizabeth isn't "handsome enough". Bridget on close look resembles to Austin's Elizabeth Bennet too. Both make false impressions about the protagonists in the beginning. The names 'Pemberley' and Darcy are also repeated in both the novels. Bridget works with the press named Pemberley Press while Mr. Darcy owns Pemberley estate and Darcy is the name of the hero in both the novels. The introductory note of Pride and Prejudice - "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." - is similar to the dialogue of Bridget as she halts at a mall to see her mother and says, , "It is a truth universally acknowledged that as soon as one part of your life starts looking up, another part falls to pieces." But in Pride and Prejudice it is not the blonde who is favored, but the beautiful brunette, Elizabeth Bennet, who is lovely and certainly a woman worth fighting over. ................ woman worth fighting over." Ranson - Polizzotti, Sadi. Blog Critics. 17 August. 2005. Mr. Darcy changes in Pride and Prejudice while Mark Darcy doesn't. He has a conversation with Elizabeth to solve the misunderstanding while Mark Darcy tells Bridget that he loves her the way she is which promises happy ending for both. The movies also have a striking equity with the roles of Mr. Darcy and Mark Darcy played by the actor, Colin Firth. The production team of the movies were influenced by the actor who himself belongs to the elite class and has projected the role without any scar in it. And the main reasons for repetition of the same discourse in several movies are the timelessness of the theme, real-life characters and importance of good life partner which can never be changed. Towards the end, watching both the movies, I would like to say that one should overcome the false notions of superiority interfering true love. The films are true classics and ageless fables close to every commoner. Changes are made and will be made with time but the essence is too strong to rule the hearts

Market Research For (Verismo Machine) by Starbucks Essay

Market Research For (Verismo Machine) by Starbucks - Essay Example The company introduced Verismo with the intention of becoming a market leader even in single serve coffee making segment (Barth, 2012). Verismo machine is a single serve coffee maker which makes coffee and espresso. As a pod is dropped into the machine, it comes out as coffee or espresso, which contains the signature taste and aroma of Starbucks coffee (Starbucks Corporation, 2012). The machine is available in different model which ranges from  £149 to  £349. The model ranges from basic to high-end ones. The pods of powdered milk and coffee are also sold by Starbucks, which is used by the customers to produce excellent coffee at lesser cost then the store (Money Watch 2012). The biggest competitor of Verismo in the single serve coffee maker segment is Nespresso, which was launched by Nescafe, Nestle. Verismo’s first advantage is that bears the name of Starbucks, which is a market leader in coffee making. Starbucks is claiming that Verismo offers the same taste and aroma as coffee is served in its stores. Customers pay higher price for a cup of coffee in Starbucks because of their quality, and if they are getting it through a machine which is a onetime investment, customers would surely opt for it. Secondly, the product indeed has been highly appreciated by users because it do offer the quality which it promises and the cost per cup of coffee is also found to be less that having it at a Starbucks store (Clay, 2012). Verismo Machine by Starbucks was a huge hit in the market and the company sold over 150,000 machines in the first quarter of its launch. Howard Schultz in Starbucks’ first quarter’s conference said that they were planning to take Verismo to a multi-billion platform, which depicts that Verismo started really well in its initial year (Warman, 2013). Verismo is counted as a threat in the single serve coffee segment by the market leaders like Nespresso, or Green Mountain.

Marketing and Promotion Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Marketing and Promotion Plan - Essay Example Although H&M has already established its concern for environmental issues as clearly stated in their company website, Fashion Brand Nature believes that there is still much to improve in their production processes and that corresponding campaigns must be implemented to guarantee the target market that the company is really aware of their social responsibilities. The Promotions Plan, while aiming at asserting social and environmental consciousness for the H&M brand, also aims to propel the company into further market triumph as it doesn’t only become commercially successful but is also keen in playing important roles in the society and environment as well. For the longest time, this has been H&M’s battle cry in the Fashion Industry. Offering inexpensive but trendy clothes for over six decades now, H&M has presence in key countries and cities worldwide, having 1,500 stores in 28 countries by the end of 2007. H&M offers fashion for women, men, teenagers and children. The collections are created centrally by around 100 in-house designers together with buyers and pattern makers. The stores are refreshed daily with new fashion items. H&M does not own any factory, but instead buys its goods from around 800 independent suppliers, primarily in Asia and Europe. It also offers own-brand cosmetics, accessories and footwear. It applies a broad differentiated strategy where they offer a wide variety of products to serve various target groups. ). Furthermore, H&M ensures the best price for their goods by doing market survey and research and acquiring depth and breadth of knowledge within every aspect of textile production; buying the right goods from the right market, buying large volumes and efficient distribution mechanism H&M employs about 68,000 people and has about 20 production offices around the world, mainly in Asia and Europe (H&M in Brief. 2008). It has a design and buying department, which creates H&Ms

More on Thinking Well Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

More on Thinking Well - Essay Example Even such informal writing as blogging has a certain structure with its own requirements of links between sentences and paragraphs, that are much different from the requirements of formal writing, but it is this difference that distinguishes blogging from the formal writing. Without a proper structure or proper linkage between the sentences and paragraphs, a piece of writing is just a mess of words, conveying ideas in a haphazard manner, thus making it taxing for the readers to continue reading and leaving them confused and undone. Besides, writing any kind of paper is baseless if it does not serve the purpose. Every kind of writing whether it is a letter, legal writing, or a journal paper has a set of principles that must be adhered to so that the writing qualifies in that category. Writers make utmost effort to conform to those principles so that it is accepted for publishing in the intended

Recent research (Kornberger et al, 2010) suggests that despite a Essay

Recent research (Kornberger et al, 2010) suggests that despite a number of initiatives, the proportion of women accountants reac - Essay Example Nonetheless, despite the presence of many women one perceives one of the most glaring contradictions of the contemporary period – as women outnumber men in the universities and continuously demonstrate their abilities and skills in undertaking productive labour, extremely few women have made it in the higher echelon of management (Baron & Newman, 1980; Castilla, 2008; Reskin, 1988; Valian, 1998). Although this truism is manifested in, almost all segments of the labour sector, its actuality is clear and evident in the profession of accounting. In a study, Kornberger, Carter and Ross-Smith (2010) have found out that despite a number of initiatives in removing the underrepresentation of women accountants in the upper strata of firms, the proportion of women accountants reaching partner level remains much lower than other levels in the firm. Recognising the prevalence of discrimination in the profession of accounting (Gherardi & Pogio, 2007; Kornberger et al., 2010; Lehmann, 1992) , this study will evaluate the various factors deemed to impede the advancement of women accountants and minority groups. ... The first part is the introduction wherein the issue of the research, purpose of the study, the significance of the research, the methodology use in the study, the structure of the paper and the hope of the researcher are laid down. The next part will deal with the barriers that inhibit women’s progress in the accounting profession, while in the third segment; possible solutions will be proffered to address the issue. Finally, the fourth section will be the conclusion of the study. In the end, it is the hope of the researcher that this study may contribute to the clarification of the issues raised in the research and, in a way, offer workable solutions to gender inequality in the profession of accounting. The Alienating Factors Accounting as a profession responds to the challenges posed by the global society (Shafer, Ketchand & Morris, 2004). The responses are not limited only in coming up with conceptual frameworks that will further empower the clients and the public, especia lly after the global economic downturn. It also includes the endeavour of connecting the theoretical frameworks of accounting with reality, thus addressing not only the fundamental epistemological and methodological issues of the field but also its socio-political and economic concerns (Brewster, 2003; Nelson, 1995; Shafer, Ketchand & Morris, 2004). This thrust is significant as it counters the notion that accounting is neutral, objective and that its service is primarily to the client only (Carter, Clegg & Kornberger, 2010). It is in the context of change and challenges that the alienating factors hindering the advancement of women in the profession is highlighted (Gallhofer, 1998). Women’s struggle for emancipation is long and arduous (Firestone, 1972; Tong,