Counselling Theory and Practice 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Counselling Theory and Practice 2 - Essay Example session may emphasize on exploration of the clients childhood experiences, which may provide a rightful assessment of the clients reaction to challenging situations. Mostly, after careful analysis of these experiences, the counsellor will consider ways in which the client could adjust these reactions. Effective counselling will allow the client see situations with the much needed clarity essential for making positive steps towards changing their mindset towards challenging situations. The critical aim of counselling is enabling the client arrive at, and make their own decisions and act upon them accordingly, and does not involve any form of advice giving. In understanding the client centred approach, we first have to look at its architect, psychologist Carl Rodgers (1902- 1887) who made enormous steps in expounding his dislike in the way psychology treated people as object of study rather than individuals deserving respect and understanding(Merry, 2002, pg 2). This meant that the counsellor, needed to show attributes such as positive regard, empathy and congruence whenever a client sought help from them. The client centred approach is therefore defined as a precise from of interviewing in which the client only responds to questions asked by the counsellor, more like a direct interview rather than a discussion. Patterson (1985) however outlines a number of characteristics exhibited by the client centred approach that may either promote or limit it as a form of counselling A counsellor must have in mind the face that no two clients are similar or share the same train of thought and capability of handling difficult situations and experiences, owing to the fact that the way they will react to a situation is dependent on their personal experiences in the world. Therefore, it is very essential that the counsellor avoids instances of expecting his/her clients to react in a manner they would when faced with a similar situation. The role of a counsellor is primarily to

Marketing Concultancy Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing Concultancy - Coursework Example This is a big problem potentially for Apple because the new firms can tank iTunes music revenues, and seriously undermine Apple’s business model. The proposed solutions therefore rely on leveraging the formidable strengths and assets of Apple, including its large cash hoard and its venerable name, to come up with alternatives to Spotify in order to check the latter’s rise and to shore up Apple’s revenues in music subscription sales. This solution leverages key strengths, and also leverages emerging trends in cloud computing and the benefits to be had from harnessing technological progress in cloud computing. This report makes use of external environmental analytical frameworks such as PESTLE and Porter’s Five Forces frameworks, as well as a SWOT analysis, to properly assess the extent of the market problem and Apple’s condition relative to the external market challenge (Hunt 2011; Goldman 2010; Ausick 2013; Google Finance 2014; Schaefer 2014; Hinks 2014; McDuling 2014). Apple needs no introduction. The maker of the iPhone and the iPad is the most influential and the biggest name in technology, and its smartphone business and the ecosystem of apps, software, music and other digital content is the biggest in the world in terms of revenues and traction in the premium markets all over the world. The company is described as being in the business of providing both portable devices and computing devices for mobile communication and personal computing, together with the digital content, platform and apps that go with the hardware. Apart from the iPhone and the iPad, the company is also the maker of the Mac and the Apple TV platforms, together with software such as iOS and OS X, and iCloud. Content is aggregated via iTunes and the App Store. With a market capitalization of $ 661.67 billion, Google is the biggest tech firm

Library Services Essay Example for Free

Library Services Essay Libraries today have improved their services in order to provide both printed and electronic materials to the users. Majority of students prefer using electronic materials to do their research since it is convenient and faster. In order to become â€Å"information literate† and to successfully deliver successful research project, it is important to locate the relevant information. It is important to understand the difference between doing a critical substantive research and â€Å"surfing the net† (American Library Association, 2003) The first step to undertake when a certain research assignment that requires internet research or library is given is to determine the objectives of the assignment. The student first sets on the section that has the topic of research using the library reference collection. A statement of objectives or background information helps the student to select the appropriate library catalogs, printed indexes and article databases. If the student is conducting an internet search ‘a statement of objectives’ helps him/her to establish the appropriate search tool and locate timely and relevant materials. LIBRARY STRATEGIES After setting and establishing the research objectives, the next step involves breaking down the assignment in to research strategy steps that would help in accomplishing the stated objectives (Dempsey, 2007). The research strategy steps involves first defining the topic using an appropriate book that has the background information or using an encyclopedia. From there a list of keywords and relevant phrases are developed that help in the search. If the research requires printed material, library catalogs, printed indexes and article databases are used to find recent and relevant information in books, journals and magazines. When using electronic materials, keywords are typed on the search engines or internet directories to locate high-quality, relevant and authoritative web sites. Most libraries are co-operating in order to provide developed services to the users. Therefore it is necessary to locate a library that has diversified materials as it would grant recent and quality materials to choose information from a number of books, journals or websites. When searching for materials online, it is important to look for licensed sites to avoid problems with the law. Scholarly articles are the best materials to do a research from as compared to popular sources because they are free from bias. CONCLUSION Library research process can be broken down in to five easy steps namely defining the topic, selecting research resources for the particular topic, locating the information identified in the selected resources, evaluating the resources and finally documenting or citing the resources (American Library Association, 2003). To define a topic involves having clear understanding of the research objectives. The topic of research should be well understood and background search conducted using encyclopedias, subject dictionaries or thesauri, bibliographies or research guides and handbooks. In case it becomes hard to locate a book using library catalogue, the librarian can be requested to give instructions and direction. A concept map is a method used by modern libraries to find information in electronic and print research resources. Selecting resources for research depends on whether the research requires in-depth study or not. If the resources are for basic research, Short Loan collections or articles and books found in Desk Copy can be used. However for an advanced search abstracting journals, indexing publications or electronic journals are used to locate conference papers and articles that are relevant to the topic. Peer reviewed scholarly articles are recommended for conducting research because they go through external editing that verifies the authenticity and accuracy of information presented. Reputable magazines and newspaper are a good source of information so long as they have current information and are objective. All research materials should be properly cited and documented to avoid plagiarism. REFERENCES American Library Association. (2003). Toolkit for academic and research libraries (@ your library: the campaign for Americas libraries). Chicago, IL: American Library Association. Dempsey, L. (2007). The network reconfigures the library systems environment. Retrieved on July 19, 2010 from http://orweblog. oclc. org/archives/001379. html

Factors Affecting Labour Turnover Commerce Essay

Factors Affecting Labour Turnover Commerce Essay This proposal is on the factors that affect labour turnover of Life insurance Agents in Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. A Life insurance company relies on a stable Agency force to sell and service its Life insurance products to enable it make profit from the Life policy. The exit of an Agent affects the servicing of the policies sold with negative impact on Companys profitability and investable fund for the nations economic development. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify the factors, find out how and to what extent they affect labour turnover of Agents in Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. It will also seek to find solution to the problem and make recommendations. This study will benefit the management and Agency Managers of the company, other Life Insurance companies, current and potential investors in Life insurance companies as well as government and its Agencies. The study will make use of descriptive research design which will involve field survey of targeted respondents of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. The target population will be the regional managers, sales managers and the Agents at its branches in Nairobi numbering about 200. A sample of 15% will be taken using simple random sampling technique. The data will be collected by the use of questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics which will include tables, charts, diagrams and frequency distribution measurements such as mean, mode and median. OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS Life Insurance Life Assurance is an aspect of Financial Planning which provides for the payment of a capital sum to the dependants of a policy owner on his death or to the policy owner on survival to policy expiration, in consideration of the payment of a smaller, often regular, amount to the Life office Life Insurance Sales Agent Life insurance agents specialize in selling policies that pay beneficiaries when a policyholder dies. They also sell other varieties of Life insurance products such as annuities that promise a retirement income, Health insurance and short-term and long-term-disability insurance policies. Agents may specialize in any one of these products, or function as generalists, providing multiple products to a single customer. They earn commission and other benefits for their effort. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS LIMRA Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association AKI Association of Kenya Insurers IIAA- Independent insurance Agents of America COP Certificate of Proficiency OMLAC Old Mutual Life Assurance Company CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION This chapter will focus on background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, the hypothesis or research questions, significance, scope and limitation of the study. 1.1 Background to the study Life Insurance is an aspect of Personal Financial Planning which enables somebody to provide for his future financial needs at old age and that of his or her dependants in the event of unforeseen circumstances. Such unforeseen circumstances are premature death, Total Permanent disability resulting from Accident or Critical illnesses which may reduce or terminate a persons income earning capacity. The risk of premature death is one of the major personal risks faced by most individuals. The financial consequences resulting from the death of a breadwinner before adequate resources have been established for dependents can be severe. Life insurance is a major source of financial protection against premature death. There are three main sources of life insurance protection which are individually purchased, Employer-sponsored and Government sponsored life insurance coverage. The dependable source is the individually purchased Life insurance protection because the other two may not be available to an individual. Life Assurance is a service premised on a promise to pay a certain amount of money in future in the event of the occurrence of a stated contingency which usually depends on the duration of human Life. Hence, the best form of selling this service is one on one personal selling through a Sales Person traditionally called an Agent. One major problem facing Life insurance Companies in selling their products and hence, profitability is the high rate of labour turnover of their Agents. A Life insurance company relies on a stable Agency force to sell its Life insurance products. These products are usually long tern going for a minimum of five years in duration. The profitability of a policy to the Life insurance Company depends on the consistent servicing of that policy by the Agent. When an Agent leaves an insurance Company when the policies he sold are still in their early years, such policies will no longer be serviced. Hence, the Company will lose in terms of future in-flow of investible funds, lost of commission that has been paid in advance to the Agent and payment of surrender values arising from lapsed policies. This situation threatens the survival of Life insurance companies and it has attracted the attention of some writers and researchers. According to Leverett et al (1977), the death of the independent Agency system as it exists today has been predicted for several years. Increased competition from newer sources, such as the entrance of Life insurance companies into the property-liability field, as well as traditional competition from the direct writers of insurance, tends to reinforce the foundation for such a prophesy. The attraction and retention of new agents into the independent agency system is vital to the continued successful existence of that system. A number of studies have indicated that the retention rate for agents recruited into the Life insurance industry is very low. According to one study, the two year and five year retention rates for 13 large life insurers in the United States were 39 and 13 percent respectively. Furthermore, the retention rate for smaller life insurers was found to be even less than for their larger counterparts. These figures are not totally unexpected given the lack or inadequacy of training and educational programs offered to new life insurance recruits. LIMRA (2009) points out that, it has been of great concern to many managers, the fact that only 5% of sales representatives who join the industry remain in the industry and become successful sales representatives. Out of the 5% only 2% become high achievers in the industry. Despite the fact that those on commissions earn more than majority of the salaried people, it has remained a very challenging field especially for the young people from college and university who would wish to earn good money easily and fast. Burand (2010) notes that over time, agents retention in the life insurance industry remains a perennial challenge for companies operating within the traditional career agency system. According to LIMRA (2010), 68% of agents leave companies within their first two years. Many managers presuppose that retention rates correspond with a companys effectiveness in building its sales and Organization in general. Company bottom lines would benefit substantially from increased retention rates. 1.1.1 Background to the Scope of Study Old Mutual Life Assurance Kenya belongs to an International long-term savings, protection and investment Group. The Group provides life assurance, asset management, banking and general insurance in 33 countries (Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia). It has over 15 million customers and approximately 55 000 employees. The vision of the group is to be their customers most trusted partner passionate about helping them achieve their lifetime financial goals. The group was founded in 1845 and has expanded from their origins in South Africa in the last decade through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. It is listed in the UK, South Africa and three other African exchanges. Old Mutual Kenya (OMK) started doing business in Kenya in the late 1920s. The vision of the company is the same as its parent company but limited to East Africa. The mission statement of the company is as follows through understanding and meeting our customers needs, we will profitably expand our market for wealth accumulation and protection in Kenya. 1.1.2 Background to the Population Area and organizational Chart Old Mutual has 16 retail marketing outlets throughout Kenya including 4 in Nairobi. The retail marketing arm is under the jurisdiction of the Head of Sales who is at the head office. The head of sales is part of the executive management who reports on the activities of the sales force. The head of sales is assisted by head of channels who oversees the activities of the Branch managers in different locations. Under the Branch Manger are Sales managers who manage the Agents. 1.2 Problem Statement The Insurance industry has suffered astronomical losses resulting from high rate of labour turnover among Agents especially the new agents. The new agents are the sales representatives who have been with the company for less than four years. Annual report published by LIMRA international in 2004 pointed out that four year agents retention has not been able to move above 13 percents. This translates to 87 percent of the new agents in the insurance industry leaving their respective companies within the first four years of signing the contract. An agent in the insurance industry especially life insurance starts becoming profitable only after the third year of their contract in the company. This is because the initial years are characterized by huge training cost, initial allowances which are not tied to production and forward-earning commission system. This results in high expenses for the firm in the early years of recruiting an Agent with the hope of recouping the cost gradually from the future earnings of the Agent. This implies that most of the insurance companies have been incurring huge losses because of consistently poor retention rate of the new agents. Insurance agents retention has become a matter of concern as the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) highlighted in the 2011 report concerning developments of the tied agents in the insurance industry in Kenya. AKI report (2010) observed that lack of personal development of many Agents who join insurance industry is an issue that requires attention by the industry if the industry is to remain relevant in the country. Lack of personal development among the agents has been cited as an important factor that affects agents retention in the industry. A Life insurance company relies on a stable Agency force to sell its Life insurance products. These products are usually long tern going for a minimum of five years in duration. Agents are paid commission for any policy sold. The commission is structured in such a way that a substantial percentage up to 50% of the premium is paid in the first year and between 10% to 40% is paid in subsequent years up to the fifth year or sometimes end of the policy term. The profitability of a policy to the Life insurance Company depends on the consistent servicing of that policy by the Agent. If an Agent leaves an insurance Company when the policies he sold are still in their early years, such policies will no longer be serviced. Hence, the Company will lose in terms of future in-flow of investable funds, loss of commission paid in advance for future services of the Agent and an early lapse of such orphan policies. The economy also suffers because it will be starved of investable funds which aid the economic development of the nation. Old Mutual Life Assurance Kenya has experienced a drop in its number of Agents in the past years. While it had 500 Agents in 2010, they currently have about 200. This has also reflected in the revenue of the company from the individual life Insurance segment of the company. The premium income generated by the Agents for the past four years is represented in the following table. Table 1. Premium Income of Agents in Old Mutual Life Ass. Co. Kenya (2008 2011) Year Premium Income (Kshs 000) Difference Percentage Difference 2008 386,367 2009 378,056 (8,311) (2%) 2010 376,496 (1,560) (0.41%) 2011 349,429 (27,067) (7.18%) Source: OMLAC (2012) The graphical representation of the above situation is shown below. Figure 1. Premium Income of Agents in Old Mutual Life Ass. Co. Kenya (2008 2011) Source: OMLAC (2012) Life insurance premium from the sales Agent should increase in geometrical progression with positive cumulative effect on the revenue of the company. If the premium from new policies sold is added to the premium of existing policy holders, it should lead to increase in premium income from year to year. However, the reverse is the case in Old Mutual where premium income from Life insurance Agents has declined from Kshs 386 million in 2008 to Kshs 349 million in 2011. This represents a drop of 9.56% in premium income in 2011 compared to 2008. It is against this premises that this study will focus on factors affecting labour turnover of Life Insurance Agents in Old mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. 1.3 Objectives of the study The objective of the study will include the following: 1.3.1 General Objective To investigate the factors that affect labour turnover of Life insurance Agents in the Life insurance industry in Kenya. 1.3.2 Specific Objectives To find out how remuneration affects the turnover of Life Insurance Agents of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. To determine the effects of training on the turnover of Life Insurance Agents of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. To investigate how physical work environment affect labour turnover of Life Insurance Agents of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. To establish to what extent job satisfaction affects labour turnover of Life Insurance Agents of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. To determine to what extent level of education affects labour turnover of Life Insurance Agents of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. 1.4 The Research Questions The study will seek information to answer the following research questions: To what extend does remuneration affect turnover of Agents in Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Limited? To what extent does training affect turnover of Agents in Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Limited? How does physical work environment affect labour turnover of Agents in Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Limited? How does job satisfaction affect turnover of Agents in Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Limited? To what extent does level of education affect labour turnover of Agents in Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Limited? The Significance of the Study The findings from this study will benefit the organization and its stakeholders, the life insurance industry, government and other researchers in this field. The top management of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Limited consisting of the Managing Director, the head of sales and head of channels who are likely to use the findings to understand the reasons behind labour turnover of Agents in the company. It will also help the Regional and Sales managers of Old Mutual Life Assurance Kenya to improve on their management techniques towards reducing labour turnover of Agents in their region and sales unit. The Sales Agents will also benefit from the study by using the recommendations to improve on their sales performance and create the personal willingness to stay with the company The findings of the study will also be of immense benefit to the government, especially the ministry of finance, and the commissioner of insurance who will use it to formulate policies that will improve retention of Agents in the Insurance industry. The stakeholders of Old Mutual Life Assurance Limited which include customers, investors and the public will also benefit from the study by understanding the factors that affect labour turnover of Agents in the company. Lastly, it will also benefit other researchers in this field who may use this report for further studies. 1.6 Scope of the Research Study The scope of this study will be found in the Life Insurance industry of Kenya. However, due to time and limited resources, the focus will be on Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. Since this study is on factors affecting labour turnover of Agents, the research will concentrate on the Agency force of the company which has about 200 Agents nationwide. For the same reasons above, the study will concentrate on the Agency force in Nairobi which is about 100 in number. The researcher will take sample from the research population. The period of study will be up to 30th September 2012. CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction This chapter will critically analyze literature related to the study. This will include the issue of labor turnover in general and its effect, special attributes of Agents engage in selling services and Agent turnover in Life insurance industry. 2.2 Labor Turnover Labor turnover is the ratio of the number of employees that leave a company through attrition, dismissal, or resignation during a period to the number of employees on payroll during the same period. One of the 14 principles developed by Henri Fayol is stable labor turnover. He postulated that there should be stability of tenure of personnel in an organization. This is because a high labor turnover is harmful to the organization. Employee turnover refers to the rate at which employees leave jobs in a company and are replaced by new hires. A high employee turnover rate implies that a companys employees leave their jobs at a relatively high rate. Employee turnover rates can increase for a variety of reasons, and turnover includes both employees who quit their jobs and those who are asked to leave. Average employee turnover rates differ among industries; for example, in 2006, average turnover rates in the United States varied between around 15 percent annually for durable goods manufactu ring employees to as high as 56 percent for the restaurant and hospitality industry, according to Nobscot Corporation. According to a freelance writer, Shelley Frost, Employee turnover is a natural part of business in any industry. Excessive labour turnover decreases the overall efficiency of the company and comes with a high price tag. Understanding the effects of losing a high number of employees serves as a motivator to work toward reducing the labour turnover rate for higher profits and a more appealing work environment. The writer identified some cost associated with labour turnover as follows. Each employee who resigns costs the company money. All of the money invested into that employee through training, education and licensing walks out the door with the employee. When you hire a replacement, the company spends money on those same areas to prepare the new hire for the position. The company also pays to advertise the vacancy and may incur costs for drug testing, physicals and moving expenses. The company could pay 1/3 of the yearly salary of the new employee in costs. Labour turnover rates cost the company time in addition to money. Managers or human resources staffs spend time conducting exit interviews, advertising the job, recruiting candidates and interviewing. Supervisors and colleagues are often left to cover until a new employee is hired and begin working. The new employee may take several months to fully learn the job and achieve competency in the position. When the staff changes frequently, the employees who stay have a difficult time building a positive team dynamic. A group of employees learns to work well together, only to have one or more members leave. This leaves the staff in limbo until a new employee starts. The personality and work ethic of the new employee may vary significantly from the previous employee. Labour turnover can hurt overall morale of employees. The overall productivity of the workplace tends to decrease with high turnover. Since a new employee has a period of adjustment, he wont complete tasks as quickly as the person he replaces. Group projects that rely on the new team member may slow down, which affects experienced employees productivity levels. The loss of momentum when an employee resigns may also affect morale. A high turnover rate affects the continuity of service to clients and other employees. This is particularly difficult in an industry that relies heavily on relationships with clients. For example, a client who purchases products from a company on a regular basis may grow tired of getting a new salesperson or customer service contact every few months. Consistent relationships with clients help build a stronger loyalty to the company. The company is also better able to provide consistent, high-quality service with well-trained staff that doesnt change often. 2.2.3 Life Insurance Agent According to Independent insurance Agents of America (IIAA) (2009) an agent is a person who performs services for another person or an organization under an express or implied agreement and who is subject to the others control or right to control the manner and means of performing the services. The other person is called a principal. Rosenberg (2004) expresses the same opinion in different words by saying that, Insurance agents are sometimes referred to as insurance sales agents whose main obligation is to help clients choose insurance policies that suite their needs. There are two types of agents as classified by LIMRA (2007), some agents are captive or tied agents who mainly work for an insurance company and only sell that companies products, the other category of agents called independent or free lance Agents, are those who work for various insurance companies and sell insurance products of many insurance companies. The independent or free lance Agents are usually registered and licensed companies popularly referred to as brokers. 2.2.4 Qualification for becoming an Insurance agent Frankas (2010) says that, for Insurance sales agents job, most companies and independent agencies prefer to hire college graduates-especially those who have majored in business or economics, high school graduates are occasionally hired if they have proven sales ability or have been successful in other type of work. In fact, many entrants to insurance sales agent jobs transfer from other occupations. According to LIMRA (2007), College training may help agents grasp the technical aspects of insurance policies and fundamentals and procedures of selling insurance. As per the recommendation of AKI (Association of Kenya Insurers) regulations, every insurance agent must have done C.O.P (Certificate of proficiency in insurance) which is a proficiency certificate to transact insurance business in Kenya. Various employers are also placing greater emphasis on continuing professional education as the diversity of financial products sold by insurance agents increases. (Holt, 2010). An Insurance sales agent who shows ability and leadership may become a sales manager in a local office. As noted by U.S Bureau of Labor statistics (2010) a few advance to agency manager. However, many agents who have built up good clientele prefer to remain a sales agent. Some particularly in the property and casually field-establish their own independent agencies or brokerage firms. 2.2.5 Resourcing strategies George (1990) has pointed out that before selecting an agent there has to be a great process than just interview. He asserts that pre-hire assessment like testing and call center simulations have become essential tool in the industry. Tett (2000) of employment Technologies Corporation says that, for the insurance industry to succeed in improving agents retention there has to be simulation centers where the applicants would be given the opportunity to experience what they expect to find in the field and how sales are like. According to Ashly (2000) it is good to control; the flow of less-interested candidates before they reach the interview stage. Sometimes the applicant knows better than the hiring specialist that he or she is not the right sampling the job. Tom (2009), and Peter (1999) agree that accepting agents without checking their interests in the initial selection stage leads to poor retention of the agents. Nevertheless Srivivas (2003) warns against relying too heavily on the simulation. He says that simulation can be very effective for providing people with some exposure to what the job is likely to be. On the same note Banks (2010) disputes the other authors by pointing out that simulation are too artificial such that good candidates get left behind because they do poor simulations Wright (1992) asserts that simulation is only good to give a job presentation. 2.2.6 Agents Remuneration According Armstrong, (2006) Remuneration is the compensation an employee receives in return for his or her contribution to the organization. Luthans (1992) asserts that Remuneration occupies an important place in the life of an employee, his or her standard of living and status in society. Groholdt (2001) points out that, Motivation, loyalty, and productivity depend upon the remuneration he or she receives. For the employer too, employee remuneration is significant because of its contribution to the cost of production, besides, many battles (in the form of strikes and lock outs) are fought between the employer and the employees on issues relating to wages or bonus. Life insurance sales professionals typically earn all or most of their income through commission, which means that they get a certain percentage of every sale they make as well as residual income when clients continue to make payments. For this reason, an agent has the potential to earn much more than he would at an average hourly job. As with any other commission-based job, if an agent fails to perform, he will not be able to earn anything. Even if he does sell a substantial amount of insurance one month, he may not be able to sustain these sales numbers from month to month, and this may result in an unstable level of income. Cravens, Ingram, Loforge and Youngs, (1993), explored the relationships between compensation/control systems and performance and retention. Their results indicate that the type of control system, that is management control versus commission control, is correlated to several measures of success and agents retentions. They found out that sales performed and agents retention was more affected by commission control than by management control. 2.2.7 Agent Training Employee development is something that most people imagine as intrusive all-day group training sessions. Unfortunately, this dreaded approach to employee development is just the opposite of how employee development should occur and feel to employees. Employee development can manifest itself in many forms of training, evaluations, educational programs, and even feedback. If executed correctly, the effects of training on agent performance can often encourage growth within the worker and the organization itself. One of the larger aspects of developing Agents skills and abilities is the actual organizational focus on the Agent to become better, either as a person or as a contributor to the organization. According to Organizational Behavior by Robert Kreitner and Angelo Kiniki, (2009) its been shown that employees that receive regular, scheduled feedback, including training, along with an increase in expectations, actually have a higher level of worker output. Kreitner and Kiniki refer to this as the Pygmalion Effect. The hope is that agents who receive training in line with their individual or organizational goals will become more efficient in what they do. Organizations should look at the positive effects of training on agent performance, and consider agent development as a targeted investment into making the front line worker stronger. More importantly, development plans that include train-the-trainer (training that trains agents to become trainers of a skill) can provide exponential benefits to the organization. This training can be anything from how agents can do their own jobs better to these agents being groomed to replace their supervisor. In addition, agents who are invested as a trainer might be further inclined to stay with the organization, and possibly reduce agent turnover. Along with supporting the organization, agents might recognize that most types of agent development provide them benefits. Agent development programs that range from certifications to education reimbursement, to even basic sales skills training, have a certain cost to the organization that can easily be considered a benefit to the agent. Such awareness on the part of the agent can also lead to greater loyalty to the organization as well as enhanced job satisfaction. Training and education that can be added to the agents resume are big ticket items in terms of compensation plans, and should be treated as such. Beyond agent training and certification courses, evaluations and counseling sessions are another form of agent development. They provide performance feedback and allow agents to be aware of changes to both their work goals and the overall objectives of the organization. Agents who do not receive feedback on a regular basis usually end up feeling as though they might be forgotten by their supervisor, and this pattern may even lead to feelings of dissent among the Agency force. Going back to the Pygmalion Effect, agents who have consistent knowledge of their levels of performance, and who feel that their supervisors are placing expectations on them, generally perform better on an individual basis. Agents are required to attend meetings, seminars and programs to learn about new products and services, learn new selling skills and receive technical assistance in developing new accounts. Churchill, Ford, Hartley, and Walker, (1998) explored role variable, skill, motivation, personal factors, aptitude, and organizational/environmental factors in the retention of agents. The study found that, on average, single predictors or sales performance accounted for less than 4% of the variation in salesperson performance. Aptitude accounted for less than 2% skill levels slightly more than 7%, motivation accounted for 6.6% role perceptions was by far the best predictor, accounting for as much as 14% of the variation in performance. Personal variables (age, height, and sex, completion, and dressing) accounted for 2.6% while organization and environmental factors accounted for about 1%. They concluded that personal characteristics, while important, are not as important as the influencing factor s such as, training, company policies, skill levels, and motivation. 2.2.8 Physical Work Environment The physical work environment can be identified as a place or location where somebody works. Performance experts agree that the physical work environment has a significant impact upon employee performance and productivity. By physical work environment we mean the building structures, office layout, tools, furniture, space, noise level and surrounding of

Essay --

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE Akhil Lohchab Growing up in the late 90’s, I witnessed computers revolutionize India – we had cellphones and personal computers and the internet transforming our lives - and like most other kids, I was fascinated by them. It wasn’t until I took course on QBasic in 8th grade, however, that I really took a liking to computer programming. The idea of computer ‘languages’ seemed almost magical to me. Over the years, that proclivity for programming grew into a passion and led me to take more programming electives in higher grades. I also took the initiative to set up a student-run Computer Club in my high school and host our first annual Computer Symposium. My upbringing in Delhi also made me aware of the gaping inequalities of wealth distribution in our society and as my interest in Computer Science deepened, it only reinforced my belief that lean-technologies can help governments of developing countries in bringing their policies to the altar of execution more effici ently. It is that passion which has grown over the years into a single-minded pursuit of Computer Science as a serious academic career, and led me to pursue a B.Tech in Information Technology at Delhi Technological University (DTU; formerly Delhi College of Engineering), one of the premier institutions in the country. I aspire to attain a doctorate in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP). I believe Berkeley’s MS in Computer Science will help me expand both the breadth and depth of my knowledge in these areas and allow me to identify a specialization for a subsequent doctoral degree. My undergraduate degree at DTU has laid the groundwork for me through a well-designed curriculum that has helped me develop... ...Documents’ particularly interesting. I would also relish the opportunity to contribute to the AI research project on ‘Child Question Answering Software’. Berkeley offers me the unique proposition of not only being able to gain expertise and depth of knowledge in my fields of interest, but the chance to interact with a highly motivated and talented cohort of students that would help me grow as an individual. Pursuant to my doctoral research, I envision myself as an academic preferably teaching in the field of natural language processing. A MS in Computer Science from Berkeley will equip me with the proficiency and gravitas required to embark on my journey to become a Professor. I believe that my undergraduate research work makes me uniquely poised to pursue a graduate program and I am confident that I can be a valuable addition to the graduate community at Berkeley.

Band :: essays research papers

MILES DAVIS This is my report on Miles Davis that I have written for band class. When I first started I didn't even have a clue who Miles Davis was. But for the past week I have been working on this report I have began to realize the amazing life that this famous musician has lived. So I hope you learn as much as I did on this wonderful trumpeter. Even in the beginning he was already miles ahead. It's very evident that Miles knew and lived by that old axiom if it's named, then it's outmoded. Miles Dewey Davis was born May 25, 1926 in Alton, Illinois and grew up in East St. Louis. Miles collected records and for his 13th birthday was given his first trumpet. By age 16, Miles was playing professionally and received his first real taste of what playing jazz was like when Billy Eckstine's band was traveling through and needed to replace a sick horn player. At that time, the band employed Diz and Bird and for two weeks Miles soaked it up! Undoubtedly, the fire had been ignited. After high school, Miles was off to study music and enrolled in Juilliard in September 1944. Practicing his ass off every day and feeding his mind every night Miles' sound was taking shape. As a sideman, Miles recorded his first recording in New York with singer "Rubberleggs" Williams and later recorded "Now,s The Time" & "Ko-Ko" in Parker's quintet. Miles Davis was known to the general public primarily as a trumpet player. However, in the world of music he had a great deal of influence not only as a innovative bandleader but also as a composer. His music and style was important in the development of improvisational techniques incorporating modes rather than standard chord changes. Miles experiments with modal playing reached its apotheosis in 1959 with his recording of Kind Of Blue. Brought up in the Bebop tradition and taught under the auspice of Bird and others, Miles was now ready to lead. After a few solo records, Miles transformed jazz into it's next phase with his BIRTH OF THE COOL sessions, which were recorded 1949-50. These sessions took Bebop, with it's fast running styled chords, which changed on every beat, to a more modal concept and chords that changed every other measure, like in the tune "Dig". As a experiment, Miles formed a nine piece band, with Mulligan, Evans and Lewis as arrangers and incorporating Gunther Schuller on French Horn.

river island

BiographyRiver Island was introduced by Bernard Lewis in 1948, a household concern and it started out as a little store in Londonwith the trading name of Lewis Separates. There have been many alterations to the trade name name such as Chelsea miss and Concept Man and non until 1989 its officially became known as RiverIsland today. Between the period of 20 old ages, from the 1960s to 1980s, Chelsea Girl was a good known high street shop and was celebrated for its long hairy miss logo. A group of about 45 pupils from Uxbridge and Middlesex has teamed together with the shop to recover its repute in the name of Chelsea Girl. River Island could see to be one of the UK ‘s biggest and most successful in private owned high street companies with over 250 shops runing all over the universe and is still turning. Furthermore, to guarantee theirs client a great, alone and stylish expression, unlike New Look and others high street shops which buy others trade name design so altered it, River Island has their ain in-house interior decorator. River Island ever focus on supplying their client the hottest expression, therefore, they besides concentrate on supplying their employees with a good working environment so that they can work expeditiously and at their best. River Island shops across the state are ever similar in both ornament and layout. In recent old ages, River Island has changed all of their shops to hold a unique and similar layout. The general coloring material strategies are normally white walls with some accent of bright green to make a fresh feeling ; the flooring is laid with creamy java colour ed tiles with black panelling. Bright topographic point visible radiations have besides been used to make a classy expression. In order to assist the client to experience comfy and relaxed the shops have been designed to hold an unfastened air infinite which is simple but act as an effectual background assisting the apparels stand out and besides enabling the client to happen their apparels. The layout of River Island is known to be like a walk-in dress shop where you have tendencies that are divided into subdivisions in the store, which helps clients to cognize what they ‘re looking for, i.e. insouciant, smart or traveling out.MannerRiver Island is a UK ‘s prima high street trade name, supplying a large scope of fashionable apparels, but most significantly, their monetary values are low-cost and the quality is great. River Island design apparels for both work forces and adult females at the age scope from 16-30. With 250 shops and selling many different types of vesture like denims, skirts, knit wear, jacket etc†¦ or even accoutrements such as jewellery or places. To â€Å"Get the most out of it† the company besides provides on-line shopping so that it is more convenient for their clients. â€Å" The design squad represents the civilization that ‘s around them and that ‘s the civilization our clients understand, † says Richard Bradbury, River Island ‘s pull offing manager. This twelvemonth, the trade name have reported mega net incomes, as adverting this, River Island will hold to thank their immature squad of interior decorators, purchasers and in-house stylists. The company‘s general subject for apparels line is normally smart looking, rather frequently the client will see that there is a combination between smart-casual. Additional glister, spangles, diamonds and gems appear on all types of apparels to add a spot of bling and to run into with the immature manner tendency. Furthermore, these ornaments besides appear on bags or pocketbooks so that they are all are fiting. One of the company philosophies is concentrating on happening new endowment and conveying them up to lend to the new high street tendency, aggregation after aggregation is required to run into with demand of clients who seeking for the new expression mundane. In order to make that, every two hebdomads, Style Challenge is launched by one of our insiders. The subjects will be different each clip to do certain there ‘s something for everyone. Youthful could see being the inspiration for each design, but still could accommodate any age scope every bit long as they are the individual who is seeking a famous person or catwalk manner at a cheaper monetary value. River Island ever concentrated on the manner and the quality. The company apparels are so voguish, smart, immature, low-cost and of a really high quality. Not merely the apparels, but besides the shops provide an exciting and merriment environment to shop within. The mean monetary value of each garment is low-cost:Ethical issu eRiverIslandis committed to supplying a just trade between the company and their employees. The company has understood that to do an first-class concern, it has to construct strong relationship with its providers, consumers and employees. Corporate Social Responsibility has ever been the company ‘s scheme.Ethical Supply ChainAt River Island, it works enthusiastically with its providers and official bureaus around the universe to supply a standard wellness and safety ordinance to its employees. The company ever ensures that their providers sign a contract which commit to World Wide Ethical criterions and those who violate them will be prosecuted. To back up this policy, the company have ordered the purchasing and proficient squads to see their mills throughout the twelvemonth and actively prosecute in looking out for errors, hence, better it. Today, River Island merchandises are made across the universe such as in the European Union, Turkey or India. Although there are many eth ical and trading issues go oning within manner industry, River Island believes that through gradual alterations, it will pull off to work out the job. Harmonizing to beginning, â€Å"In June 2008 RiverIsland became a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative ( ETI ) . Established in 1998 the ETI is a trade brotherhood organisation and non-governmental administrations committed to working together to place and advance good pattern in the execution of codifications of labor practice.† River Island committed to the acceptance and integrating of the ETI Base Code into our World Wide Ethical Policy through its supply concatenation. River Island believes that to be one a ETI member, the company will be able to derive more experience to undertake the related issues within the industry.Environment:Presents, being green is one of the chief focal point ‘s of each single company. In order to protect the environment, River Island is purely committed to a figure of chief cardinal points targeted such as:cut downing jobs the environment is holding, this includes dropping degrees of energy ingestion ( including the usage of renewable energy beginnings )cut downing the degree of merchandise packaging,increasing the degrees of recycling and increasing the usage of biodegradable stuffs.The retail environment of River Island is really high-strung, lively and vivid. The staff are committed to supply the client a high quality service. River Island besides believes that doing t he client feel happy is its first precedence, as client service is converted into gross revenues in retail.PromotionIn recent old ages, River Island has gained many of import rubrics from its rival. Top store has been at the top for old ages but easy losing its â€Å"style crown† losing its â€Å" best store on the high street † rubric of three old ages to equal River Island. River Island besides won in the â€Å" best bags † and â€Å" best topographic point to pass GBP50 † classs in the Company Magazine. The victors were chosen by more than 6000 people trough the vote system on the â€Å"company.co.uk† web site. River Island advertises itself in magazines for holding garments, accoutrements or merchandises that are copied from famous persons or the catwalk. In order to publicize and run, River Island has joined forces with Look in fall 2007 – the UK ‘s first calendered high street manner hebdomadal magazine- to observe and present its fall aggregation.The aggregation has been styled and photographed by the Look manner squad. More interestingly, River Island ‘s shop Windowss nationally have besides been specially designed by Look to do a connexion between the company and the magazine to advance different facets of the aggregation. Look printing manager Julie Lavington remarks: â€Å" We are highly excited to be working with River Island on such a major undertaking. The coaction exemplifies our trade name certificates, and it ‘s great that River Island are tackling the power of Look ‘s repute as the authorization on high street manner. After all, we ‘re dr iving 100s of 1000s of adult females in-store every hebdomad! † .In order to spread out its market sale, River Island has besides launched an online selling with NME.com ( a music trade name ) . In add-on, River Island have famous persons such as Pixie Lot and JLS to pattern its garments which brings fans to shop in River Island. Together with the advertisement runs, River Island besides sponsors Graduate Fashion Week which brings publicizing all over the universe, for interior decorators and pupils who would love to get down a calling in the manner industry. Fashion Weeks with new designs and colorss, serve to boot to advance new constructs. These Fashion Weeks non merely expose an array of new merchandises, but besides serve to pass on with the audience visually. Dresss and accoutrements worn by theoretical accounts making catwalks, are more lively and enchanting than the mere show on manikins. Normally with a scope of Fall, Spring, Summer and Winter aggregation, Fashion Weeks encouragement market demand and advance its associated concerns every bit good. In add-on, presence in alumnus manner hebdomad is the chance for their company to hold a reappraisal from other people who have visited the show. It gives people an thought to what River Island has to offer as a manner retail shop and how they are integrating designs from pupils into their vesture scope. River Island was one of the retail merchants which has joined in High street manner hebdomad to demo its line up. The event was taking topographic point on London ‘s Oxford Street from September 7 to September 11. This is a great chance to advance the company image. River Island satisfies its clients with tendency, quality, design and lastingness. That is one ground that River Island is, twenty-four hours by twenty-four hours, acquiring support and demands by its clients. It provides a scope of comfy draper footwear to comfort hurting pess of all twenty-four hours long. River Island won the Draper Footwear Award in 2008 while another cogent evidence of its excellence emerged when this trade name bagged ‘LK Today Fashion High Street Fashion Award for Best Denim ‘ . Manner is non merely a phenomenon for epicurean life, but this concept trades with humanity every bit good. That is why, modern manner companies are cognizant for the fact of back uping particular people of society with particular demands. River Island is antiphonal towards particular people and that is why it supports BDF ( Birth Defect Foundation ) , now known as New Life Foundation Other than the BDF, River Island besides helps Heart and Design ; an association that combines creativeness of manner communities with bosom and lungs intervention. Manner is non merely for healthy people, but it besides helps to do indisposed people healthy, it supports them in contending for wellness. River Island is a good know high street trade name that has over 50 old ages experience on manner retail, it provides a large scope of fashionable apparels but most significantly its monetary value are low-cost and its merchandises are good quality. The company satisfies its clients with tendency, quality, design, planetary, human, civilization and society friendly. At one terminal it emphasises corporate psychological science and tendencies of a society, and at the other terminal, it deals with the single demands of client attention. Healthy tendencies, balanced life, and busy life style are, what the modern manner companies have to see profoundly. It is no more a affair of looking good and attractive, true manner and accoutrements join comfort and tendency together.