Theories And Theories Of The Calms Made By Alan Chalmers

The following essay aims to discuss the calms made by Alan Chalmers, discussing his inductive views of the scientific method stating that â€Å"Scientific knowledge is proven knowledge†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and that â€Å"†¦Scientific knowledge is reliable knowledge because it is objectively proven knowledge.† I will also be discussing Karl Popper’s opposing views on the scientific method, siding with his falsification method. I think that even though both sides are rational, Alan Chalmers clams are more practical and better for humans to continue to investigate new theories and laws of the universe. Therefore, I oppose Popper’s stance on the scientific method due to it discrediting non data driven fields sciences, labelling them as simply not science due to their inability to be disproven. To begin, the two opposing perspectives of the scientific method; inductivism and falsificationism, will be briefly explained with arguments for and against laid out. To start with I will present the argument in favour of the inductivist. Inductivism is based upon a single basis; scientific observation, with all resulting laws and theories being derived from said basis. The allure of inductivist accounts is that it provides a clear and practical understanding of the universe from what data has been collected at the present time. The reason why humans have used induction for the majority of history is that it works in situations when our knowledge and information is limited. It allows us to generalise laws of nature andShow MoreRelatedDubais Political and Economic Development: Essay38738 Words   |  155 Pagespuzzle of this thesis: why is it that Dubai has defied the expectations of conventional wisdom and become so economically dynamic and politically stable? The answer to this question has implications for evaluating the efficacy of both development theories and policy options that emerging states may choose to pursue in their own development s trategies. Walking the streets of Dubai, most visitors are struck by the fact that instead of Arabic, the most common languages overheard are English and southRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesOral History and Public Memories Tiffany Ruby Patterson, Zora Neale Hurston and a History of Southern Life Lisa M. Fine, The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin, and Community in Autotown, U.S.A. Van Gosse and Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., History and September 11th John McMillian and Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner

Marketing Plan For Whole Foods Market - 1554 Words

Introduction / History / Company Background Whole Foods Market first opened on September 20, 1980 in Austin, Texas, which is the company headquarters. The founders were John Mackey, Renee Lawson, Craig Weller, and Mark Skiles. These four business people decided that the natural food industry was ready for a supermarket format. The current CEO’s are John Mackey and Walter Robb IV (Whole Foods Market History, 2015). Whole Foods Market stock ticker symbol is WFM and their NACIS code is 445110 (WFM Morningstar, 2015). The company industry sector is listed under a grocery store and retail trade. Whole Foods Market is the eight largest company in the United States with 427 stores located in North America, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The†¦show more content†¦This program through Colorado Correctional Industries says on its website the mission is to train inmates with skills and work ethics so they can gain employment and be contributing members to society upon their release from jail (Whole Foods to stop†¦, 2 015). Some people may feel this program is beneficial for inmates, but at what cost? Prisoners who volunteer for the program are paid 74 cents to four dollars a day, which is way less than the entire fifty states minimal wage (Whole Foods to stop†¦, 2015). Most companies are cost effective, but to incorporate prisoners to farm seafood is morally and unethically wrong. Prison labor programs are unethical since inmates have no protection of their labor rights where exploitation can occur (Whole Foods to stop†¦, 2015). Michael Allen, a prison reform advocate protested at one of Whole Foods Market in Houston, Texas to bring awareness to consumers. People’s opinions will vary regarding this issue, but there’s an opportunity for the public to be aware of who really produce the products we consume (Whole Foods to stop†¦, 2015). The companies that work closely with Whole Foods Market are Fair Trade USA, Rainforest Alliance, The Institute for Marketecology Social (IMO) Fair Trade Certification, and Fair Trade International. These are non-profit organizations along with Whole Foods Market who care about social responsibility started a program called Fair for Life which is based on the latest recommendations by setting social

Rising Inflation in Property Market †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Rising Inflation in Property Market. Answer: Introduction: Singapore comes under the most prosperous nations of the world. In 2014, it was ranked as top third country as per GDP (PPP) per capita ranking (Statistics Times, 2015). It is a democratic country, but since independence it has been ruled by only the Peoples Action Party (PAP). The strong and energetic economy of Singapore is backed by stable political and legal environment and prudent macroeconomic policies. It has a very strong and effective judicial system resulting in least corruption. Service and manufacturing sectors are the two pillars contributing to the growth of economy in this country. Singapore is an open economy in terms of trade and investment. Its highly efficient and transparent regulatory structure promotes healthy commercial practices and competitive environment (The Heritage Foundation, 2017). In 2011 it was ranked as finest country to conduct business in world according to World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index. Since 1960, fast industrialisation took place in th e country because of attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Multinational Companies into the country which resulted in rapid economic growth (Economic Watch, 2010). The per capita GDP in terms of current dollars of country grew rapidly since independence, as recorded US$ 516.3 in 1965 rose to US$ 29869.85 in 2005 and became US$ 56336.07 in 2014 (World Bank, 2017). The problem of lack of natural resources does not come in between the growth of this country as the strength and competitiveness of economy lies in the efficient management of human capital. The tourism industry of this country is also flourishing which attracts around 10 million tourists each year (Zhou, 2017). Gross Domestic Product is the key measure to evaluate the economic performance of a country. It is an aggregate worth of final goods and services produced in a country over a given period of time. To facilitate comparison of counties output on a year to year basis it is important to adjust the effect of price level changes in GDP, as a result Real GDP is calculated. The per capita Real GDP is calculated by dividing total population of country from its total Real GDP, it shows average output contributed by each individual within a country (Amadeo 2017). GDP Growth Rate and GDP per Capital Analysis Year Real GDP (Constant 2010 US$) (Amount in Billions) Real GDP Growth Rate (in percentage) Per Capita Real GDP (Constant 2010 US$) (Amount in Billions) 2005 170.72 7.489 40020.26 2006 185.84 8.86 42223.89 2007 202.78 9.112 44191.24 2008 206.40 1.788 42650.1 2009 205.16 -0.603 41133.3 2010 236.42 15.24 46,569.68 2011 251.14 6.224 48439.94 2012 260.86 3.871 49000.71 2013 273.91 5.001 50467.84 2014 283.69 3.572 51440.82 (Source: The World Bank, 2017) Singapore has experienced gradual growth during the period 2005- 2014 with average growth rate of around 6.06% in GDP over these years. Since Singapore was amongst the robust economies of Asian region it witnessed tremendous growth rates in between 2004-2007. But being an open economy and profoundly linked to the world economy and higher dependence on exports to countries like US, Japan and Europe, its growth rate was severely affected by economic crisis of 2008-09. Besides hurting the export business, the global economic downturn also depressed the financial sector of Singapore. This ultimately affected the manufacturing, construction and other sectors (Jordan, 2009). As can be seen from table 1, the GDP growth rate was 9.11% in 2007 slipped to 1.79% in 2008 and even became negative in 2009. This decline was followed by exceptionally high growth in GDP recording 15.24% in 2010 because of impressive growth in manufacturing sector (BBC, 2011). In 2011 and 2012, the growth rate in GDP showed a declining trend of 6.22% and 3.87% respectively because of contracted growth in manufacturing sector and whole sale and retail trade sector (MTI, 2012; MTI, 2013). It again picked up the growth rate in 2013 to 5% because of remarkable growth in services providing industries, specially finance and insurance along with wholesale and retail trade sector (MTI, 2014). Overall the Singapore is performing quite well in terms of production and output growth. The reason behind outperformance of Singaporean economy than several other developed countries is its economic and market structure, exchange rate mechanism and its policies related to foreign workers. The manufacturing, construction and utilities industries contributed to 23.1% in GDP of 2013. Service sector being the backbone of economic growth contributed 66.3% in GDP. The balance industrial structure of Singapore helped in sustained and fast growth in economy (HKTDC Research, 2014). Government Measure- GDP Government of Singapore has a strong support towards development of small and medium- sized enterprises as 70% of total workforce are employed in these enterprise and they cover half of total enterprise value. Singapore has always kept its high focus on importance of research and development and provided various cash incentives to SMEs to encourage innovation. Because of scarcity in natural resources and high dependence on human capital, government planned its budget by keeping sufficient margin to expand in education for efficient development in human capital (OECD, 2013). Unemployment is situation where a person willing and able to work is not able to find job. Unemployment generally categorised as Cyclical, Frictional and Structural. Cyclical unemployment occurs because of cyclical ups and downs in economy. The loss of jobs by many individuals during recession period is cyclical unemployment. Frictional unemployment occurs because of time taken in matching the potential factors between employer and employee like salary, required skills, training, etc. Structural unemployment is closely resembled to Frictional one; it occurs because of lack of high skilled labours as required because of technological advancement. It happens because of structural change in an economy (Baumol and Blinder, 2008). Unemployment Trend Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Unemployment Rate(in percentage) 5.59 4.48 3.9 3.96 4.3 3.1 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.8 Source: The World Bank, 2017 Unemployment rate is derived as percentage of unemployed people over total labour force of a country. The rate of unemployment in Singapore is quite low and has been on declining trend from 5.59% in 2005 to 2.8% in 2014 except in year 2008 and 2009 which showed little rising trend from 3.9 % in 2008 to 3.96% in 2008 and 4.3% in 2009, due to effect of global economic downturn. As Singapore is open economy closely linked to outer world the global recession hit the employment rate also and resulted in cyclical unemployment (MTI, 2009). Structural unemployment can also be seen in Singapore because structural change in economy due to adoption of technology, fast growth in innovation for higher productivity which many workers unable to adopt according to their skills (Tan, 2017). Government Measure- Unemployment Singapore has a population of around 5.5 million in 2014. Of total population 3.1 million were part of the labour force. The unemployment rate in country was only 2.8% this year being lowest in the world. There is a policy of mandatory primary education for all inhabitants and bulk of work force is found well educated and highly skilled. In early 1990s, the government predicted the possible problem of labour shortage in near future as it had lowest population growth rate. As a result it introduced various policies to welcome foreign immigrants and job seekers to stay and work in Singapore (Economic Watch, 2010). The government has given strong emphasis on education for development of human capital. The liberal policies for entrants of foreign workers has not only increased the high- skilled and high-waged workers but also low skilled and low- waged workers which who were not much helpful in era of technological advancement. At the same time in order to assists local workers to cope w ith changing environment for sustainable employment government launched various schemes for training and development programmes like Workfare Training Support Scheme (WTS), Continuing Education and Training (CET) scheme; providing subsidies to students for higher education, setting up of various universities focusing on technology, innovation and entrepreneurship (OECD, 2013). Ministry of Manpower (MOM) closely monitors the labour market condition of country and announces various measures time to time in order to achieve full employment. Inflation refers to continuous rise in the overall price structure of goods and services in an economy resulting in decline in purchasing power of individual against money. Inflation can occur because of many internal and external factors. One of the main causes of inflation is that the rising demand of consumers cannot be fulfilled by scare resources resulting in price rise, explained by demand- pull effect. Another one is cost pull effect, which is increase in prices of products by firms as a result of their rising input costs (Marthinsen, 2014). Inflation trend in Singapore and its causes Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Inflation Rate (In Percentage) 0.425 1.021 2.095 6.519 0.604 2.8 5.253 4.529 2.378 1.01 Source: The World Bank, 2017 The average inflation rate of Singapore of past ten years since 2005 has been around 2.7 per cent as measured by consumer price index. The inflation rate was rising at a slow pace from 0.425% in 2005 to 1.021% in 2006 and 2.095% in 2007. CPI inflation was contributed by both domestic and external factors in these years. The producer prices and import and export prices increased in these years because of high oil and petrol prices. Such rise in prices ultimately reflated in prices of consumers goods and services (MTI, 2007; MTI, 2008). Year 2008 showed a sharp increase in inflation rate (6.52 per cent) due to hike in Goods and Service tax imposed by government of Singapore. The housing costs and food prices were quite high in this year. Against this extreme rise in inflation government provided most of the citizen with significant offsets to mitigate the effect of GST (Asiaone, 2008). GST was only the one-time effect for increase in prices not the continuous one. As a result the global downturn because of collapse in global oil prices leaded to severe fall in inflation in 2009 with CPI 0.6 per cent only. Producer, import and export prices decreased in these years because of decline in commodity and fuel prices (MTI, 2010). The economic downturn in 2009 was followed by strong recovery in 2010 with 2.8 per cent growth in CPI. The inflation in 2010 was contributed by rice in car prices, oil prices, food prices, education fees and holiday travel (MTI, 2011). The increase in accommodation costs and electricity charges and rise in car and petrol prices caused another significant growth in CPI by 5.25 per cent in 2011 (MTI, 2012). Since then there has been decreasing trend in growth rate of CPI, as it was recorded 4.53 in 2012, 2.38 in 2013 and 1.01 in 2014. The import- export prices and producer prices has been declining in these years because of lower mineral fuel prices. After property- cooling measures there has been decline in rentals and accommodation costs at the same time transportation costs also declined because of lower car prices in 2014. 40 per cent decline in crude oil prices was essential factor for downward pressure (The Straits Times, 2014). Government Measure- Inflation Trade within the country is quite important for Singapore which is the reason the main policy tool for controlling inflation by MAS is exchange rate rather than interest rates (The Straits Times, 2014). To compensate high food and oil prices in imports it allows appreciation in Singapore dollar. National Environment Agency is adopting various management models to keep affordable cost of prepared food. The Retail Price Watch Group is also keeping close watch in unreasonable increase in prices of food and daily necessities. Government has also taken various efficient measures to mitigate cost pressure at domestic level (Singapore Government, 2012). Conclusion: In conclusion it can be said that Singapore is performing commendably well and credit goes to the Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and is effective administration who has been leading the government since 2004. The stable political and peaceful social environment is of great help in accelerating the growth of economy. It has Real Gross Domestic Product of 283.69 billion in 2014. Considering the challenges faced by country like lack of natural resources and low population growth which contribute as human capital, the countrys regulatory and administrative policies systematically managed the human capital as a result it has lowest unemployment rate in the globe. It is an open economy for which trade and commerce is of great importance. It also welcomed foreign labour force to work in country. Its openness although affected it during global economic crisis, but it recovered exceptionally well because of systematically structured policies. A transparent and efficient entrepreneurial environment and high focus of research and development projects supports the innovation and development. Recent structural change in economy due to shifting from labour intensive to capital intensive economy may leads to skill mismatch between labour forces and industry requirement but the government is trying its best to enhance the ability and skills of its workers. Government generously provide funding and subsidies assistance to housing, health care and transportation sector and education. Continuous measures are also taken to curb the rising inflation in property market, food prices, transportation sector and increasing productivity. References: Amadeo, K. (2017). What is GDP? Definition of Gross Domestic Product. Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-gdp-definition-of-gross-domestic-product-3306038 Asiaone. (2008). Inflation in Singapore. Retrieved from https://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20080215-49856.html Baumol, W. J. Blinder, A.S. (2008). Macroeconomics: Principles and Policies (11th ed.). Cengage Learning: USA. BBC. (2011). Singapore economy sees record expansion in 2010. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/business-12106645. Economic Watch. (2010). Singapore Economy. Retrieved from https://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/singapore/?page=full HKTDC Research. (2014). The reason why the Singapore economy has been outperforming Hong Kong. Retrieved from https://economists-pick-research.hktdc.com/business-news/article/Economic-Forum/The-Reasons-Why-the-Singapore-Economy-Has-Been-Outperforming-Hong-Kong/ef/en/1/1X000000/1X09XK48.htm Jordan, R. (2009). Singapore in its worst recession for years: The effects of the current economic crisis on the city-states economy. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affair, 28(4), 95-110. Marthinsen, J. E. (2014). Managing in a Global Economy: Demystifying International Macroeconomics (2nd ed.). Cengage Learning. Ministry of Trade and Industry. (2007). Economic Survey of Singapore 2006. Retrieved from https://www.mti.gov.sg/ResearchRoom/Documents/app.mti.gov.sg/data/article/7062/doc/ESS_2006Ann_FullReport.pdf Ministry of Trade and Industry. (2008). Economic Survey of Singapore 2007. Retrieved from https://www.mti.gov.sg/ResearchRoom/Documents/app.mti.gov.sg/data/article/12381/doc/ESS_2007Ann_Full_Report.pdf Ministry of Trade and Industry. (2009). Economic Survey of Singapore 2008. Retrieved from https://www.mti.gov.sg/ResearchRoom/Documents/app.mti.gov.sg/data/article/17562/doc/AES_2008_Full_Report.pdf Ministry of Trade and Industry. (2010). Economic Survey of Singapore 2009. Retrieved from https://www.mti.gov.sg/ResearchRoom/Documents/app.mti.gov.sg/data/article/21265/doc/FullReport__AES2009.pdf Ministry of Trade and Industry. (2011). Economic Survey of Singapore 2010. Retrieved from https://www.mti.gov.sg/ResearchRoom/Documents/app.mti.gov.sg/data/article/24221/doc/FinalReport_AES_2010.pdf Ministry of Trade and Industry. (2012). Economic Survey of Singapore 2011. Retrieved from https://www.mti.gov.sg/ResearchRoom/SiteAssets/Pages/Economic-Survey-of-Singapore-2011/FullReport_AES2011.pdf Ministry of Trade and Industry. (2013). Economic Survey of Singapore 2012. Retrieved from https://www.mti.gov.sg/ResearchRoom/SiteAssets/Pages/Economic-Survey-of-Singapore-2012/FullReport_AES2012.pdf Ministry of Trade and Industry. (2014). Economic Survey of Singapore 2013. Retrieved from https://www.mti.gov.sg/ResearchRoom/SiteAssets/Pages/Economic-Survey-of-Singapore-2013/FullReport_AES2013.pdf OECD. (2013). Structural Policy Country Notes: Singapore. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/dev/asia-pacific/Singapore.pdf Singapore Government. (2012). How is the government helping to mitigate inflation in Singapore? Retrieved from https://www.gov.sg/factually/content/how-is-the-government-helping-to-mitigate-inflation-in-singapore Statistics Times. (2015). World GDP (PPP) per capita ranking. Retrieved from https://statisticstimes.com/economy/world-gdp-capita-ranking-ppp.php Straitstimes. (2014). Singapore inflation trend spurs some to predict 2015 monetary easing. Retrieved from https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-inflation-trend-spurs-some-to-predict-2015-monetary-easing Tan, A. (2017, April 28). Unemployment could rise further as Singapore faces structural changes: Lim Swee Say. Business Times. Retrieved from https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-budget-2017/unemployment-could-rise-further-as-singapore-faces The Global Economy. (2017). Singapore: Economic Growth: The rate of change of real GDP. Retrieved from https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Singapore/Economic_growth/ The Global Economy. (2017). Singapore: Inflation. Retrieved from https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Singapore/Inflation/ The Global Economy. (2017). Singapore: Unemployment Rate. Retrieved from https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Singapore/Unemployment_rate/ The Heritage Foundation. (2017). Singapore. Retrieved from https://www.heritage.org/index/country/singapore The World Bank. (2017). GDP Constant (2010 US$). Retrieved from https://api.worldbank.org/v2/en/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD?downloadformat=excel The World Bank. (2017). GDP Growth (annual %). Retrieved from https://api.worldbank.org/v2/en/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?downloadformat=excel The World Bank. (2017). GDP per capita (current US$). Retrieved from https://api.worldbank.org/v2/en/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.NE.ZS?downloadformat=excel Zhou, P. (2017). Singapores Economic Development. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/singapores-economic-development-1434565

Strategic Human Resource Management at Sears

Introduction The following research paper shall try to assess the issue of strategic human resource management at Sears. The main focus of the paper willl be on the key human resource infrastructure that Sears has implemented and which has proven to be a success. Use shall also be made of the various human resource approaches and theories in discussing the case.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Strategic Human Resource Management at Sears specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, the research paper shall also attempt to formulate possible research questions that could be asked in a bid to address the challenges facing Sears as the company tries to remain competitive. Understanding of the case The following research paper is an attempt to examine the issue of strategic human resource management at Sears. In particular, the research paper shall attempt to examine the nature of HR management systems implemented at Sears. Therefore, the writer shall try to evaluate the significant transformation that the organisation has undergone under the leadership of its CEO, Arthur Martinez. As a result of this transformation, the management at Sears has paved way for the adoption of high impact HR policies by the organisation. The management at Sears has realised that one way of transforming and turning around the organisation is by developing and communicating the company’s corporate vision, mission, and goals to its workforce. Before the organisation could arrive at this decision, it had to first experiment with the more ‘traditional’ vision and mission statement. However, when this could no longer work, the management saw it fit to drop the idea and instead, adopt a more integrated conceptual model of organisation performance that connects employees, shareholders, and customers. This was because the traditional approach showed minimal direct effect on employee behaviour. Through this experimentation, Sears has also realised that by transforming the organisation into an environment worth shopping, the company is in effect helping to improve the behavior of its employees and by extension, increase customer retention and sales revenues. By executing this process, it also emerged that very few employees of the company were aware of the operation and financial aspects of Sears’ business (Kirn et al. 334). Once the organisation had realised this, the management deemed it necessary to come up with an intervention strategy that would help to enhance the economic literacy of its employees. In addition, the intervention strategy that the company developed was also geared towards reinforcing its vision and mission, and integrating these elements with the three Cs model.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The three Cs models that Sears has adopted entail creating an ideal environment where the company’s employee can go about their job-related activities. This is aimed at changing employees’ attitudes towards their jobs and the company in general. The other C involves creating a compelling place where customers can shop. This is aimed at increasing customer retention and satisfaction. The third C involves creating a compelling place for investment. By creating an ideal environment for investment, the company is looking forward to increasing its growth revenue, increasing its return on assets, as well as increasing its operating margins. In other words, the three Cs connect employees with the shareholders and customers. To further reinforce the three Cs, Sears has since developed Learning Maps that touches on such diverse areas as the company’s ownership, the company’s performance indicators, and customers, among others. This helps to inform and engage the workers. In a bid to reinforce its mission, vision, values and goals, Sears has also developed the Sears University. The goal is to enable employees to integrate the company’s leadership dimensions with the aforementioned three Cs. Teaching at the university is conducted by the company’s managers as they are more knowledgeable about the company’s desired leadership dimension. Classes are normally conducted in the form of team or work groups. Such an arrangement has been deemed necessary as it is an ideal way of facilitating the transfer of knowledge. It is important to note that this project has largely been successful due to strong ties between Sears’ strategy, the curriculum, as well as the company’s senior management buy-in (Kirn et al. 336). The impressive turnaround at Sears can also be attributed to the incentive compensation and performance management systems that the organisation has put in place. In a bid to achieve this goal, multi-perspective performance appraisal, hitherto only directed at the company’s managers, has now been implemented en masse by the organization. This has played a key role in increasing employees and managers accountability to the organisation’s shareholders. The remuneration that the employees and the management at Sears earn is usually pegged on the company’s performance. As such, both the employees and the management have a duty to ensure that the company succeeds as they are also likely to benefit in the process. At the same time, there has been an upward improvement in incentive pay levels. This is aimed at retaining employees with high potential and also attracting potential employees with similar qualities. Sears has also improved its performance competency by improving its employee selection system. This system include among others, the use of selection tools that can detect the dependability and customer service aptitude of an applicant.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Strategic Human Resou rce Management at Sears specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Analysis of human resource theories and concepts applicable to the Sears case study The management at Sears has approached its management issues from a broad spectrum perspective by focusing mainly on strategic HR issues and processes. A high number of organisations are now opting to address this issue. For a long time, financial and economic issues of an organisation have been instrumental in shaping the business process of an organisation. However, many organisations are now realising the need to also address their human resource issues and policies as well, as these have been seen to have a direct impact on the firm’s well-being and financial status. Majority of the organisations tend to adopt a reactive approach in dealing with their human resource issue. What this means is that issues only get to be deal with after they have already happened. Other firms though tend to be more proactive (Thompson and Richardson 19). In this case, they are able to forecast the likelihood of certain issues happening and so they put in place the necessary mechanism well in advance to deal with such issues. In the case of Sears, the company’s transformation under Martinez has also seen it embrace a more proactive approach to issues (Kirn et al. 332). This is evidenced in the choice of employee selection system and in the company’s decision to improve employee behaviour as a way of improving customer retention and also increasing sales. The way an organisation manages its human resources will undoubtedly have a bearing on its performance. So far, numerous studies have been carried out with the intention of identifying specific management practices that when successfully implemented are bound to result in more proactive, satisfied, as well as motivated employees. On the other hand, it is not until recently that focus has shifted to there has been a focu s on how employee relations and people management affects the firm’s bottom line. In a research study conducted by Guest and Conway (27), the findings of this particular research revealed that one of the fundamental aspects of good people management practice is skills development, job design, as well as creating an environment that affords both employees and the management regular and systematic involvement in the activities of the firm. In the case of Sears, the organisation has realised the need for skills development and in a bid to ensure that its employees have better skills in running the affairs of the company (Guest and Conway 27). The management has deemed it necessary to open the Sears University where managers can impart knowledge about the organisation’s corporate vision, mission, and goals.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Berndt (16) notes that there is a positive correlation between work performance and an organisation’s culture that allows employees to believe that indeed, their employers have their best interests at heart. Perhaps it is for the same reason that Sears has developed a plan to assess and change the attitude of its employees towards their jobs and the company as well. Guest and Conway (28) talks of an association between the performance of a business and the application of sound human resource management practices. Towards this end, Guest and Conway (29) argue that such an association is largely determined by the commitment as well as the quality of the workforce. In a bid to improve the quality of its workforce, Sears has developed competency in the area of employee selection system. To do so, the organisation has had to develop and execute a number of selection tools for its employees (Pfeffer 20). There is also a detailed employee interview guide in place to assist with this exercise. The organization has further made it a company policy that selection tools be administered to all potential applicants. Theoretical approaches According to Thompson and Richardson (11), the key fundamental approaches namely, the best practice approach, the configurational approach, and the contingency approach are best suited to summarise the relationship between business performance and people management. According to the best practice approach, any organisation that wishes to realise improved performance must implement key management polices to facilitate this. Pfeffer (11) contends that the success of an organisation is largely dependent on the manner in which such an organisation treats its employees. Pfeffer (1998) observes that such practices include job security, ensuring that only the right candidates are recruited for various positions, increasing employee remuneration and pegging it on organisational performance, sharing knowledge and information. In the case of Sears, the company has linked employee and managerial compensation on performance. Another incentive that Sears gives its employees in a bid to bolster its performance is annual stock option grants. The employee selection system that Sears has employed emphasizes on an applicant’s â€Å"dependability† and â€Å"customer service attitude†. This helps to improve customer retention and improve revenue collection. Another theoretical approach worth of consideration is the contingency approach. Proponents of this approach contend that human resource practices and polices ought to be integrated with other organisational factors so as to realise improved performance (Berndt 18). In a bid to achieve this particular goal, the management at Sears has seen it fit to implement a strategy that would help to reinforce its values, vision, mission, goals, as well as the aforementioned three Cs. The adoption of suitable human capital architecture would also go a long way toward s enabling an organisation like Sears to implement its desired strategies. In this case, Sears should ensure that they select and hire employees in a manner that is consistent with the organisation’s operational goals and competitive strategy. At the same time, the reward system that Sears has adopted should be a pointer to the components of a successful implementation of compensation and appraisal systems. There is also need to ensure that the strategies developed emphasize performance management system and training in line with the firm’s business objectives. Challenges Even as Sears may have realised an impressive improvement in its business over the past few years, however, it is important to note that lately, the company has started to experience a slowdown in such key areas as customer satisfaction ratings as well as decline revenues. In addition, there has been a reported change in attitude of the company’s associates. It is important to address this chal lenge as it might affect the competitiveness and profitability of the company in the long run. Could Sears have reached its saturation point in terms of profitability? Was the management right in reducing the number of divisions that the firm operates, as a cost-cutting measure? Are there employees who are not able to connect with the company’s three Cs? Is there the likelihood of some of the current Sears associates opting to shift their focus elsewhere as the company is no longer in a position to maintain the organizational environment as an ideal place to invest, shop, and work? Should the management and employees be motivated in other more effective ways that the current forms of motivation? Has the human resource department at Sears exposed all options that would enable the company to scale greater height of success? How best can the momentum to improve be sustained or improved? All of these are potential questions that the management and CEO of Sears need to think about if at all the company is to realise its set of goals, vision, mission, values, and goals. Conclusion The above case study reveals the importance of human resource functions in the success of a business entity. The ability of Sears to develop and execute viable human resource policies, practices and strategies has proven to be the magic formula that the firm needed to make a positive turnaround. By embracing a human resource strategy that integrates the company’s values, vision, mission, and goals with its employees, shareholders and customers in the form of the three Cs, Sears has managed to record significant gains in employee behavior, customer retention, and increased profitability., the firm has also improved employee recruitment system by incorporating an assessment tool that evaluates the potential candidates’ dependability and attitudes towards customer service. In addition, the firm has pegged employee remuneration on the company’s performance. All thes e strategies have seen the firm realise tremendous growth in profitability and market share. However, there has been a slowdown in customer satisfaction ratings, revenue collection, and in the attitude of employees, customers and shareholders as regards Sears being an ideal place to work, shop, and invest. There is need therefore to take appropriate action in a bid to get to the root cause of this problem and hopefully, salvage the situation. Works Cited Berndt, Adele. Customer relationship management customer service, New Delhi: Junta and Company Ltd, 2004. Print. Guest, David and N. Conway. Employee Motivation and the Psychological  Contract, London: Institute of Personnel and Development, 1997. Print. Kirn, Steven, Anthony, Rucci, Mark, Huselid and Becker, Brian. â€Å"Strategic Human Resource management at Sears.† Human Resource Management 38.4(1999): 329 335. Print. Pfeffer, Jeffrey. The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First, Boston, MA: Harvard Bus iness School Press, 1998. Print. Thompson, Mac and R. Richardson. The Impact of People Management  Practices – A Review of the Literature, London: Institute of Personnel and Development, 1999. Print. This report on Strategic Human Resource Management at Sears was written and submitted by user Briana Warren to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.