The learning organization can never be achieved in reality Essay

The learning organization can never be achieved in reality - Essay Example Management theorists including Smith recognize that although there has been considerable debate about learning organizations ever since the emergence of the concept in the early 1990s,it has not been easy to cite examples of such organizations in real life. Smith (2001a) therefore is of the opinion that the concept of the learning organization may be too idealistic to be translated into reality; similarly, theorists such as Jashapara (1993) have metaphorically equated the struggle to become a learning organization with 'a quest for the Holy Grail'. This paper first reviews, summarizes and explains available literature on the subject of learning organizations and further attempts to determine whether such an organization is in reality achievable or not.The concept of the learning organization was pioneered and popularized during the 1990s by Peter Senge through his book The Fifth Discipline which was first published in the year 1990 (Smith, 2001b). The premise behind the theory of lea rning organizations is that in the rapidly changing world; where today's new discovery may be obsolete tomorrow, only those succeed who are 'adaptive' and 'flexible' (Smith, 2001) and Senge (1990a, p. 4) believes that this could only happen when organizations 'discover how to tap people's commitment and capacity to learn at all levels'. Senge (1990a, p. 3) views learning organizations as those where people continually strive to broaden the horizons of their capacity for the achievement of desired results, where innovative and out of the box thinking is encouraged and cultivated, where team work and collectivism is valued and 'where people are continually learning to see the whole together'. Senge believes that true learning enables both organizations and individuals to re-invent themselves and thus argues that survival alone is not the objective for learning organizations. He goes on to distinguish between 'adaptive' or single-loop learning and 'generative' or double-loop learning, and explains that where 'adaptive learning' is that which is necessary for mere survival, learning organizations are those which combine adaptive learning with 'generative learning', i.e. learning which enriches the ability to create (1990a, p. 14). Evolution of the Concept of the Learning Organization Rowden (2001), in an effort to trace the learning organization to its founding disciplines recognizes that the concept of the learning organization is not new and can trace its roots in organizational learning (Argyris & Schon, 1978) as well as being derived from action learning (Revans, 1983). Further, the learning organization concept is found to be rooted in organizational development specifically in 'action research methodology' and organic organizational theory. The concept is based most specifically on systems theory (Senge, 1990a) whereas its application to business has been more of an evolutionary outcome of strategic management (Fiol & Lyles 1985; Hosley et al. 1994), which in turn has over the years realized that the fundamental source of strategic change is in fact organizational learning (DeGeus 1988; Jashapara 1993). Rowden (2001) further notes the opinions of thinkers Senge (1990b) and Stata (1989) that the practical application of the notion of the learning organizatio n began with the increased emphasis on continual quality improvement in the recent past. Characteristics of Learning Organizations Senge (1990a) identifies the five building blocks of the learning organization and calls them its 'component technologies', which are systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, building shared vision and team learning. Similar thinking is echoed by Watkins & Marsick (1993) and Rowden (2001), who agree that learning organizations share certain key characteristics. They provide learning opportunities to

Culture diversity Essay Example for Free

Culture diversity Essay Increasingly today, people come into regular contact with individuals from different cultures and its important to learn to talk with people who may not share a common language, background, and/or worldview. Each of us participates in at least one culture, and most of us are products of several cultures Being aware of our own culture and background is really important as it helps us understand how we are shaped by what we have experienced. Even within cultures, we all have different attitudes and beliefs based on our experiences and this will impact on the way we relate to people both professionally and in our personal life. Learning to value diversity, to become conscious of our ways of relating to each other and their ways of relating to us, does not come easily to most of us nor is it something that can be imposed from the outside. In Valuing Relationship (1995), Lewis Brown Griggs sums the interrelationship of knowing ourselves and building relationship with others as follows: Knowing myself is what allows me to know, understand, and value the diversity of others so that I can build trust with them. With more trust comes the ability to communicate more clearly, to problem solve and network more effectively, and to realize the value of synergistic relationships and productive interdependency. Together, investing in my relationship with myself and enhancing my relationship with others are important insurance policies against lost opportunities. (page 210) Griggs, L. B. (1995). Valuing Relationship: The Heart of Valuing Diversity. In L. B. Griggs L. L. Louw (Eds.), Valuing Diversity: New Tools for a New Reality. McGraw Hill, Inc: New York.

Secret trusts in Blackwell v Blackwell

Secret trusts in Blackwell v Blackwell For the prevention of fraud equity fastens on the conscience of the legatee a trust which would otherwise be inoperative: in other words, it makes him do what the will has nothing to do with, it lets him take what the will gives him, and then makes him apply it as the Court of Conscience directs, and it does so in order to give effect to the wishes of the testator, which would not otherwise be effectual per Viscount Sumner in Blackwell v Blackwell [1929] A.C. 318, 335. Discuss this view explaining the practical and legal problems the approach creates, the nature of the fraud, and whether it is a sufficient justification for the acknowledgment of both fully secret and half secret trusts. Let us commence with a brief examination of the factual circumstances which occurred in this case: A testator, by a codicil, bequeathed a legacy of  £12, 000 to five persons ‘to apply for the purposes indicated by me to them. Prior to the execution of this codicil, the terms of the trust were communicated to the legatees and the trust was accepted by them. The beneficiaries were the testator’s mistress and her illegitimate son. The plaintiff sought from the courts a declaration that no such valid trust in favour of the objects had been created on the ground that parole evidence was inadmissible to establish such a trust. Approaching this factual situation as a probate lawyer, one would not be criticised for suggesting that the trusts in question were invalid for failure to comply with the formality requirements of s9 of the Wills Act 1837, which require a will, â€Å"or any other testamentary disposition†, to be in writing, signed by the testator and two witnesses. Viscount Sumner in Blackwell v Blackwell[1] however did find that these trusts were valid, in spite of this statute: The above excerpt, from the dicta of Viscount Sumner in Blackwell v Blackwell, argues that the enforcement of a semi-secret trust does not in fact contravene the aforesaid statutory provision. Viscount Sumner reasons that the trust in question is in fact created inter vivos, and as such operates outside of the will; the testator communicated the trust to the proposed trustees who accepted it, the trust becoming fully constituted upon execution of the will and transfer of the trust property to these trustees. In this way, he argues that enforcement of the trust is not due to the will document itself, rather the previous agreement made between the trustees and testator; secret trusts therefore operate outside of the will itself and as such are not subject to the formality requirements contained in s9 of the Wills Act 1837: the whole basis of secret trusts, as I understand it, is that they operate outside the will, changing nothing that is written in it, and allowing it to operate accor ding to its tenor, but then fastening a trust on to the property in the hands of the recipient.[2] Viscount Sumner therefore argues that the enforcement of semi-secret trusts should be governed by trust law and not through the rules of probate. This conclusion is certainly neat, and prima facie, does seem to satisfy the concerns of the probate lawyer, but if Viscount Sumner’s argument is to be accepted, and we are to submit to the notion that the applicable principles to be applied to the above facts lie within the sole jurisdiction of trust law, then surely we could expect that there would be a vast body of case law which we could rely upon to support his argument. The truth however is that, despite its beauteous simplicity, there are real legal problems in reconciling this theory with our orthodox principles of trust law; the permission of a trust, which purports to bind after-acquired property, is irreconcilable with the established trust law rule that it is impossible to declare an immediate trust of future property[3], or a trust which binds such property whenever in is received[4]. These are not minor concerns, nor the only concerns: Critchley[5] argues that this viewpoint is also flawed in that Viscount Sumner has confused the notions of â€Å"outside the will† with â€Å"outside the Wills Act†, incorrectly relying on the reasoning in the case of Cullen v Attorney General for Northern Ireland[6], which was a decision relating to tax statutes rather than to the formal requirements of the Wills Act, and was as such within an entirely different legal context On top of this, Pearce and Stevens[7] convincingly argue that the case of Re Maddock[8] is wholly inconsistent with Viscount Sumner’s view: In this case, a testatrix, by her will, left her residuary estate ‘absolutely’ to X whom she appointed one of her executors. By a subsequent memorandum communicated to X during her lifetime, she directed X to hold part of the residue upon trust for named beneficiaries. There were insufficient assets to pay the debts of the estate. The legal issue was whether or not the secret beneficiaries took their interest subject to the payment of the debts. Cozens-Hardy LJ argued that â€Å"†¦the so called trust does not affect property except by reason of a personal obligation binding the individual devisee or legatee. If he renounces or disclaims, or dies in the lifetime of the testator, the persons claiming under memorandum can take nothing against the heir at law or next of kin or residuary devisee or legatee.† Viscount Su mner’s reasoning however suggests that since the trustee takes as trustee on the face of the will, the trust should not fail in the ways suggested by Cozens-Hardy in the above dicta. The legal problems and inconsistencies with Viscount Sumner’s justification must lead us to the conclusion that such trusts cannot be accounted for under the rules of inter vivos trusts; we must therefore accept that their existence does in fact mark a departure from the Wills Act 1837. This does not mean that such a view is necessarily unjustified and outside the scope of Equity’s jurisdiction; after all, Equity is the ‘court of conscience’, and as the age old maxim states ‘Equity will not allow a statute to be used as an engine of fraud’. Therefore, if it can be demonstrated that the permission of semi-secret trusts is preventing such fraud, then, despite the legal problems and inconsistencies discussed above, we may still be able to find adequate justification for the existence of such trusts. As Vaughan Williams L.J. asserted, in the case of Re Pit Rivers [1902][9], â€Å"†¦the court will never give the go-by to the provisions of the Wills Act by enforcing any one testamentary disposition not expressed in the shape and form required by the Act, except in the prevention of fraud.† Clearly therefore, whether or not this justification will apply to any given case depends upon which definition of ‘fraud’ is subscribed to in that case. In McCormick v Grogan[10], the ‘fraud’ being protected was that of the secret trustee: it is only in clear cases of fraud that this doctrine has been appliedcases in which the Court has been persuaded that there has been a fraudulent inducement held out on the part of the apparent beneficiary in order to lead the testator to confide to him the duty which he so undertook to perform. The protection of this type of fraud has been held out, and confirmed in subsequent cases, to be the traditional justification for the existence of the doctrine of secret trusts. However, in the case of semi-secret trusts [such as the type of trust at issue in the case of Blackwell v Blackwell] such fraud is not possible; the face of the will makes it quite clear that the secret trustee is not to take the property beneficially, a nd should the contents of the trust be denied by that trustee, the property would return to the estate by way of resulting trust. And yet in cases involving half-secret trusts, we can still see the courts employing justification-arguments based on fraud. In such cases, a wider conception of ‘fraud’ has been employed; â€Å"it is not the personal fraud of the purported legatee, but a general fraud committed upon the testator and the beneficiaries by reason of the failure to observe the intentions of the former and of the destruction of the beneficial interests of the latter.† It was this argument put forward in the case of Riordan v Banon[11]: â€Å"it appears that it would also be a fraud though the result would be to defeat the expressed intention for the benefit of the heir, next of kin or residuary donee,† and it was this passage which was cited by Hall V.C. in the case of Re Fleetwood[12], a case which was relied upon by Viscount Sumner in the formulation of his judgement: â€Å"It seems to me that, apart from legislation, the application of the principle of Equity in Fleetwood’s case†¦ was logical, and was justified by the same considerations as in cases of fraud and absolute gifts. Why should equity forbid an honest trustee to give effect to his promise, made to a deceased testator, and compel him to pay another legatee, about whom it is quite certain that the testator did not mean to make him the object of his bounty?† Challinor[13] argues that the ‘fraud theory’ has been extended in an artificial way in order to encompass a justification of half-secret trusts and the modern case law. A huge flaw exists in making such an extension; she argues that equity’s willingness to respect a testator’s wishes where that testator has not met the formality requirements as stipulated by s9 of the Wills Act is inconsistent with its approach to other commonplace situations in which a testators wishes are not respected by Equity in the same way: for example, â€Å"purported beneficiaries under ineffective wills are routinely deprived of property which testators or settlers would desire them to have, simply because wills and trusts have not been put into effect in the proper manner.† She argues that the traditional equitable maxim that â€Å"equity will not permit a statute to be used as an engine of fraud† must be adapted to something more like â€Å"equity will not allow a statute to be used so as to renege on a promise† if it is to fit within the situations envisaged in Blackwell v Blackwell. The effect of such a mild form of fraud theory is to shift the focus â€Å"onto potential, rather than actual, wrongdoing†¦ the policy aim underlying it is thus proactive (or preventative) rather than reactive (or curative).† In conclusion therefore, Viscount Sumner’s view as to the enforcement of secret and semi-secret trusts is one which creates a number of practical problems. It gives testators a valid reason for not observing the statutory formalities normally applicable in making a will. These statutory formalities are in place for the very purpose of preventing personal fraud, and in light of this, it seems odd that Viscount Sumner should support a view which in itself gives testators the option of bypassing these precautions and thus increasing their risks to such fraud, especially in light of the fact that the underlying justification in his viewpoint is one of ensuring that the testator’s true intentions are honoured. I must therefore conclude that in light of its legal problems and inconsistencies, the artificial nature of the ‘fraud’ it seeks to prevent, the practical problems which arise as a result of acknowledging such trusts, the view expressed by Viscount Sumner in the case of Blackwell v Blackwell does not provide a sufficient justification for the acknowledgment of both fully secret and half secret trusts. Bibliography Critchley, Instruments of Fraud, Testamentary Dispositions, and the Doctrine of Secret Trusts (1999) 115 L.Q.R. 631 Pearce Stevens, The Law of Trusts and Equitable Obligations (2nd ed., London, 1998) Conveyancer and Property Lawyer 2005. â€Å"DEBUNKING THE MYTH OF SECRET TRUSTS† Emma Challinor Moffat, Trusts Law Text and Materials 3rd ed Footnotes [1] [1929] A.C. 318, 335 [2] Megarry V.C in Snowden, Re [1979] 2 All E.R. 172 at 177, expressing the same viewpoint as Viscount Sumner in Blackwell case [3] Williams v C.I.R. [1965] N.Z.L.R. 395 [4] Permanent Trustee Co v Scales (1930) 30 S.R. (N.S.W.) 391 [5] Critchley, Instruments of Fraud, Testamentary Dispositions, and the Doctrine of Secret Trusts (1999) 115 L.Q.R. 631 at 635 and 641 [6] Cullen v Attorney-General for Ireland (1866) L.R. 1 H.L. 190 at 198, per Lord Westbury. [7] Pearce Stevens, The Law of Trusts and Equitable Obligations (2nd ed., London, 1998), p.222 [8] Maddock, Re [1902] 2 Ch. 220 [9] Pit Rivers, Re [1902] 1 Ch. 403 [10] McCormick v Grogan (1869) L.R 4 H.L. 82 at 89 [11] (1876) 10 Ir. Eq. 469 [12] (188) 15 Ch.D. 594 at 606-607 [13] Conveyancer and Property Lawyer 2005. â€Å"DEBUNKING THE MYTH OF SECRET TRUSTS† Emma Challinor

Hypotheses on the Extinction of Dinosaurs Essays -- Exploratory Essays

Hypotheses on the Extinction of Dinosaurs In the early nineteen hundreds, dinosaur fossils were discovered and recognized around the globe. Greedy scientists and civilians, searching for their own prize skeleton, rushed to rip bones out of the ground, destroying the fossils as they went. It was not until later in the century that scientists and paleontologists began pondering how such widespread creatures disappeared. Currently, paleontologists debate the two main hypotheses of how the classic dinosaurs died: from volcanic activity or an asteroid impact. Although they result in the same outcome, the volcanic and asteroid hypotheses differ in key elements: the actual event, the environment's stress, and the impact on life. Physical evidence left behind in each scenario supports each possible explanation for the massive extinction responsible for wiping out the dinosaurs. Scientists that support the volcanic activity hypothesis believe the massive volcanic activity lasted approximately 500,000 years eventually ending dinosaurs reign on earth. The lava flows filled over 480,000 cubic miles, devastating areas over the entire globe. For example, The Decan Trap, a famous site of Cretaceous tectonic activity, is up to 8,000 feet deep, and it averaged between thirty-three and 164 feet deep. Fires raged across the lands. Those that believe in the asteroid impact, on the other hand, project a six mile wide meteorite moved at speeds from 50,000 mph to 150,000 mph and busted into Earth's atmosphere at the end of the Cretaceous Period. The sudden impact near the present day Yucatan Peninsula ejected 5,000 cubic miles of debris into the atmosphere and created an earthquake of magnitude thirteen sending tidal waves, 250 to 300 feet high... ...sms alike. Conversely, paleontologists backing the asteroid hypothesis guess the massive blast killed nearby animals instantaneously. Creatures on the opposite side of the world, however, were not so lucky. They were forced to dwell in freezing temperatures until vegetation withered. Herbivores quickly starved to death; consequently, carnivores lacked prey. Instead of gradually dying off, dinosaurs perished within one generation. Although the two hypotheses of the great extinction come from opposite occurrences, in the end the event proved fatal. While paleontologists may never agree on the true cause of dinosaurs' extinction, many people are now speculating mankind's termination. Will mother nature be responsible for our destruction also? Only time will tell. Perhaps in the far future, another species will encounter human remains and search for our match maker.

JKL International plc. International Human Resource Essay

INTRODUCTION With the trend of globalisation, the number of multinational companies is constantly increasing as well as expatriates (Business Recorder, 2011). Expatriate management now is an essential issue of human resource department because it takes a large amount of budget from the corporation. It is inevitable for expatriates to face culture barriers in subsidiaries because of unique national cultures in all countries over the world. National culture is †cultural experiences, beliefs, learned behaviour patterns, and values shared by citizens of the same nation† (Neale _et al_, 2006, p.26). A national culture will significantly affect any employee working in firms and furthermore, national culture will influence the management framework in a company as well accompanied with organisational culture so that cross culture management is helpful not only for the supervisors’ decisions but also for employees especially for expatriates (Chen, 2006, p. 2). In the case study of JKL, it showed a range of problems in their expatriates which related national cultures and JKL will implement a British managerial system into its Russian subsidiary. This essay will first examine the problems and issues in managing expatriates in JKL and then evaluate the proposal from Jim Flinn, the CEO of Zagorski who will apply an entire British managerial system into a Russian subsidiary. ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT (CASE STUDY) JKL is a British pharmaceutical company which was founded in 1925 and it has expanded its business by acquiring other pharmaceutical companies in Malaysia, India, Greece and USA. Recently, JKL has made the largest acquisition of Zagorski, a pharmaceutical company in Russia. At the headquarter of UK, JKL applies a decentralised organisational structure. All managers are required to give their own opinions to avoid some drawbacks of group decision making which is conformity pressure in groups (Robbins and Judge, 2009, p.336). Employees are allowed to propose valuable ideas to manufacture and administrative systems as well. Supervisors will award monetary incentives (one of the physical needs) as motivation to employees and managers (Carrell, Elbert and Hatfield, 2000, p.129) if their initiatives are judged as potential innovations. On the other hand, in subsidiaries, JKL applied localised human resource practices in order to fit local cultural values and legal systems (Dowling, Festing and Engle, 2008, p.217) by keeping local managers with existing  organisational and managerial systems. In past years, those subsidiaries in Malaysia, India and Greece were continually making profits to JKL and JKL also regularly sent managers and specialists to those subsidiaries for expatriation in a period of time. After the acquisition of Zagorski, Dr. Jim Flinn will be the CEO who had spent last three years in the subsidiary of USA. PART ONE: EXPATRIATES MANAGEMENT AND CROSS CULTURE MANAGEMENT IN MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS INTRODUCTION Culture is a popular topic in literature research and it could be described as a †software of the mind† (Hofstede, 1991, p. 2) .With the trend of globalisation, managing cultural differences has become an important issue in human resource management of multinational corporations. Misunderstanding may be occurred if culture differences are not well-managed even these colleagues are working in the same organisation (Hall, 1995, p.6). In the case study, seven expatriates of JKL have their own problems and for JKL, there is a high expatriate leaving rate after repatriation (Appendix F). This essay will identify the problem of seven expatriates working in JKL and its subsidiaries and after that, rational proposals of changes will be given to them on the basis of improvements of JKL’s human resource department. EXPATRIATES AND ORGANISATION PROBLEMS AND PROPOSALS FOR CHANGES EXPATRIATES In the case study it lists seven expatriates with their problems and in the following essay they will be numbered from A to G. A (RETURNED FROM PENNSYLVANIA, USA) According to the case study, expatriate A was the first expatriate to Pennsylvania because of an attractive salary. The reason of returning is that expatiate A was annoyed about following managers received better compensation packages than him although they were almost doing the same works. The main problems of the human resource department of JKL are rewarding system and lack of correct performance appraisal system. †Every employee believes, and most experts believe, that pay and rewards are an important part of an organisation’s human resource management† (Harris, Brewster and Sparrow, 2003, p.91). In fact, the first expatriate to a subsidiary will face loads of difficulties in practical and then try to solve them as a pioneer (Business Wire, 1998). As a result, the first expatriate is deserved to have a better compensation package than followers. As the perspective of organisation, the first expatriate may important to human resource managers because this person can be regarded as a training model of human resource management (Arusha Times, 2009, p.16). On the other hand, because of lacking effective performance appraisal, expatriate A had a lower compensation package compared with following managers and that may be the reason of the compensation package of expatriate A was retain unvarying for a long time as well. Expatriates sometimes will feel unfair if performance evaluate system is not effective enough because insufficient performance appraisal system may make expatriates uncertain of their performance especially for those hard working expats (Gordon, 2010, p.56). The possible solution of dealing this problem is establishing an effective reward system by performance appraisal (Performance -related reward system). Performance-related pay (PRP) can change the payment from a rigid structure to a flexible way depended on performance (Harris, Brewster and Sparrow, 2003, p.94). By applying this system, the productivity of employees will be significantly increased and for expatriates, they will be motivated and more  willing to finish their assignments as well (Gielen, Kerkhofs and Van, 2010, p.299). Furthermore, accurate evaluation is also a factor which company need to take account because there is an essential link between motivation and performance appraisal (Carrell, Elbert and Hatfield, 2000, p.315). B (RETURNED FROM INDIA) The reason of expatriate B returning to UK is that his spouse and child had enough of India living and schooling as seemed to be suffering (Case Study). The main problem of the human resource department of JKL is expatriate selection especially in cross-cultural suitability and family. Cross-cultural suitability and family are two of the most crucial criteria of expatriate selection (Dowling, Festing and Engle, 2008, p.120). In culture aspect, Hofstede’s national culture model demonstrated the main various between UK and India in power distance and individualism (Appendix A). According to appendix A, the power distance column in India is much higher than it in UK as well as individualism so that there maybe the reason of his spouse had enough of India. In addition, unlike Western Europe civilisation, there is a caste system in India which cause the high power distance and many females in India basically are not regarded as equal to males (Robert _et al_., 2000, pp.654-656). Moreover, individualism in India is much less important than UK so that residents in India intend to work, study and live collectively (South Asian Studies, 2011) that is totally different to UK. As a result, the wife and child keened on back to UK because of the cultural adjustment problem while her husband was still working only with British colleagues (Case Study). The solutions will be provided here are selecting an appropriate candidate as an expatriate and putting more emphasis on cross-cultural suitability and family requirement. Cotemporary, the family element is having more important weight in expatriate selection because of non-working factors and potential influence to working expatriates (Andreason and Aaron, 2008, pp. 386-387). C (RETURNED AFTER A-FIVE-YEAR-ASSIGNMENT AND WOULD BE SENT OUT IMMEDIATELY) The problem of JKL here is about repatriate management and in detail; it will be related to re-entry management. In general, after completing an international assignment, an expatriate will go back to the home country as called re-entry or repatriation (Harzing and Ruysseveldt, 2004, p.337). However, most repatriates will cope with culture shock after they back to the home country. Using an example of India and UK here, although many British work in India as expats for its booming economic and after their finishing assignments, back to UK, they therefore only find they cannot work under a UK context (The International Herald Tribune, 2009). That may be the reason that JKL sent employee C abroad again without hesitation in order to avoid coping with culture shocks (Case Study). It is obviously that JKL need to improve their repatriate management and there are many models here from other multinational companies. JKL could ‘Offer repatriation training, pre-departure training, and re-entry orientation to employees and their families’ (Liu, 2005, p.129) and expats can increase the awareness of repatriation and decrease the uncertainty after back to the home country . Moreover, JKL could prepare a job vacancy in expatriate management division of human resource management because expatriates have various working experiences in other countries (Berman and Ursula, 2009, pp.80-81). D (NOW WORKING IN GREECE AS AN EXPATRIATE) The major issue of expatriate D in Greece now is adapting the local customs and culture in Greece although JKL had a prepared pre-departure training programme (Case Study). In Hofstede’s national culture demonstration of UK and Greece (Appendix B), the uncertainty avoidance is extremely high and no long-term orientation in Greece. In the case of expatriate D, a problem of communication is occurred as well. In theoretical aspect, there four problems in cross-cultural oral communication: †semantics, word connotations, tone differences and differences among perceptions† (Robbins and Judge, 2009, pp.407-408) and English and Greek are classified to two different language system. As a result, it will take a longer training  programme to completely learn and understand a foreign language. Likewise the body language and gestures in England are slightly different to the world, for example, a †V† gesture means victory or peace in many countries but in England, †if the palm and fingers face inward, it means ‘up yours’ especially if executed with an upward jerk of the fingers† (New York Times, 1996, p.E7). Consequently, post-departure training is a rational option for expatriate D to continually make adjustments into Greek culture. The reason is that post-departure training is suit for expatriates living in a country which has an entirely different culture and it can accelerate accustoming another culture (Managing Training and Development, 2005). E AND F (CONFUSED AFTER REPATRIATE) Expatriate E and F have similar problems after finishing their international assignments because JKL currently have no response about their repatriate (Case Study). The problem of JKL must be repatriate management. The possible solution will be provided here is putting emphasis on repatriate management. In fact, in last ten years, there is an increasing number of multinational corporations focus on repatriate management while in 1990s, only few companies would hold a re-entry discussion. According to a survey in 1997, only 27% firms supposed to hold a discussion about re-entry and it had been improved in 2000s. In 2004, there are 86% companies intended to discuss the re-entry issue (Dowling, Festing and Engle, 2008, p.199). JKL could offer repatriate supports to repatriates such as give interaction to human resource management to increase the sense of loyalty so that the company can avoid losing these experienced employees (Harzing and Ruysseveldt, 2004, pp. 343-344). G (THOUGHT GREEK DISCRIMINATE AGAINST FEMALE) From expatriate G’s case, it seems Greek dislike the idea of female even she is well qualified or experienced (Case Study). Thus, for JKL, it shall  investigate the culture and even the working environment in Greece. From Hofstede’s national culture model, UK and Greece possess almost the same figure in masculinity and Greece actually has a lower masculinity figure than UK (Appendix B). However, the power distance in Greece is much higher than it in UK which means whatever a male or female, their ideas are hardly applied to supervisors as an employee. In Greek working condition, it is surprisingly to find much evidence of discrimination against female. According to an official report written by Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) and the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT) (2002, pp.13-21), there are approximately 4500 rapes in working communities every year and only 6% are reported to police. Furthermore, Sexual harassment in communities is common in Greece due to no specific legislation of sexual harassment. Those factors may be the reasons of Greek male employees discriminate against female in the working place. In JKL’s view, it is a challenge to solve this problem as well, one of the effective ways is sending a male expatriate instead of female employee in Greece to prevent any hidden risks in Greece and make further investigation in Greek subsidiaries. ORGANISATION From the case study, JKL have a high expatriate failure rate (Exceed 46%) in subsidiaries except USA (Appendix F). JKL has paid a low attention on cross culture management because it applies a localised managerial system and most managers in the subsidiaries are from the host countries. In fact, many multicultural corporations which apply localised managerial system have the same issue in manage culture difference (National Centre for Vocational Education Research, 2006, p.1). According to Brunstein (1995, pp. 275-280), a localised managerial system will positively fit the local context and it is easier to bring profit like autonomy units in a shorter of time than centralised management system. However, the drawbacks are employees especially the expatriates from the parent company will probably face a huge  culture shock in the subsidiary if their cultures are totally different. As a result, JKL must release many improvements in human resource department especially in expatriate management field. If JKL continually applies a localised managerial system in acquired firms, it may only have problems on expatriates’ management. However, once the supervisors intended to transplant the whole management system into a country with entirely different national culture like flag-planting, it definitely will bring a serious impact to the target subsidiary and the worst consequence may like the failure of Japanisation entering UK in 1990s. CONCLUSION The main problem that JKL has is on its international human resource management as a part of managerial system. In the case study, seven expatriate had a range of typical expatriate problems comprising training, expatriate selection and repatriate management. Moreover, 43 per cent of expatriate left JKL after their repatriation and at least 46 per cent of expatriate cannot complete their tour in subsidiaries except USA. In short, those fundamental factors of expatriates’ problems are totally based on various national cultures that JKL need to take account in its cross culture management. PART TWO: APPRAISE THE DECENTRALISED MANAGERIAL SYSTEMS OF JKL APPLIED IN RUSSIAN AFFILIATE INTRODUCTION Like national cultures, many companies have developed their own organisational culture as well as managerial structure. Organisational structure is important to multinational corporations because it will definitely interact with different national cultures in host countries (Francesco and Gold, 2005, p.236). In the case study, JKL applies a  polycentric control system in Malaysia, India and Greece and decision making authority is awarded to subsidiaries in order to avoid drawbacks on the motivation and political problems in these countries (Stonehouse _et al_, 2004, pp.382-383). As a result, those subsidiaries make profit very shortly (Case Study). This essay will evaluate Jim Flinn’s proposal who intends to transplant a whole managerial system from JKL headquarter to its Russian affiliate. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS OF JKL’S AND ZAGORSKI’S STRUCTURES AND MANAGERIAL SYSTEMS At the headquarter in UK and its affiliate in USA, JKL uses a decentralised management structure and employees will be empowered to make decisions on their own works (Case Study). Currently, many European multinational companies applied decentralised managerial structure and developed an organisational culture called ‘old boys network’ with high autonomy (Bartlett, Ghoshal and Birkinshaw 2003 pp.342-343). Decentralised structure is one of the most successful management systems in transnational corporations which has experienced a long time modification and has generated many derivative systems. Under this system, diverse standards are made to fit specific manufacturing cases and it will enhance developing new and innovative products (Johnson _et al_, 2008, p. 166). For JKL, it is a brilliant choice because innovation is actually a crucial factor to a pharmaceutical company. Yet, the weak point of this system is hard to implement global business strategies because those subsidiaries are working as autonomies while Zagorski used to apply a centralised structure which renowned for the efficiency of implements business strategies. Furthermore, JKL developed a monitoring system with performance appraisal in headquarter and USA which can significantly motivate employees in working place (Decenzo and Robbins, 1999, pp. 292-294). However, there are a few weaknesses of performance appraisal system. For example, a report from General Electric (GE) which applied performance appraisal system and it found that those employees who received a honest but negative feedback from supervisors would actually not motivated them but decrease the motivation in their work  (Oberg, 2000, p. 64). On the contrast, a centralised structure has a formal bureaucracy system with a tall hierarchy and fixed official duties (Francesco and Gold 2005, pp.240-241). This structure is therefore suit for small or middle-sized companies at the beginning stage for effective control power in strategy implementation (Jeong, 2001, p. 446). One the other hand, the Economist (2004, p.33) found that with the increasing size of firms, a centralised structure will constantly lose the efficiency of decision making process through the complicated bureaucracy system and the employees will get used to receive orders from supervisors instead of expressing their own idea. In addition, there is no performance related rewards in Zagorski because a tall hierarchy management system proposed to make a uniform management system by formalised, vertical and fair control so that regulations are designed to fit every employee as a same unit (Czinkota, Ronkainen and Moffett, 1999, p.712). NATIONAL CULTURE DIFFERENCES JKL used to transplant their management system to its subsidiary in USA and it successful worked. This is the main reason that Jim Flinn, the former manager in US affiliate wants to transplant the system to Russia again. Before making the final decision, it is necessary to analyse the reasons of this success in USA. As main economics in Europe and North America, there are many similarities in the national culture of UK and USA. According to Harris, Moran and Moran (2004, pp.297-298, pp. 437-440), free enterprise, culture affinity, English speaking, private, good manners, aggressive and self-realisation are the common key words of American and British. Moreover, in Hofstede’s national culture model (Appendix C), the national culture of USA and UK are almost the same and in uncertainty avoidance column, USA is slightly higher than UK. However, Russia is totally a different country in East Europe. First, employees in Russia are regarded as a kind of cost rather than a resource (Organizational Dynamics, 1999, p.75). Second, beside the language usage, all management decisions are made by supervisors in business context.  Furthermore, Russian basically have a slow time sense and they intend to work collectively (Harris, Moran and Moran, 2004, pp.497-500). In Hofstede’s national culture demonstration (Appendix D), Russia has a higher power distances, lower individualism, higher uncertainty avoidance and no long term orientation compared to UK and USA. From a report, Russian firms used to apply a reactor business strategy in order to meet immediate need instead of long term benefits but most of those companies are finally failed (Milles and Snow, 1978, p. 353). RELEVANT CASES After culture analysis, it is showed that there is a huge difference in national culture between Russia and UK. Hence, it is not sure that Jim Flinn will still succeed again in his transplanting programme. Look back at history, in 1990s, Japanisation once became a popular word in UK and Toyota established its manufacturing plant in Derby in 1992 because there was an existing skilled engineering workforce there (The Independent, 1992, p.23). During the early 1990’s only about 55000 people were employed by Japanese companies in the UK (The Journal, 1999). Japanisation is a Japanese managerial system with Cost-centred Just in Time System, long term contracts, vertical integration to supplier and low labour turnover rate (Hasegawa, 2001, pp.165-166). However, once Japanese manager attempted to entirely implement this system into British subsidiaries, it was not worked effectively with British employees and many Japanese companies like Nissan finally failed in UK market because Japanese manufacturing method did not fit British economic and culture conditions with collective working method (Procter and Ackroyd, 1998, p. 241, pp.244-245). In Hofstede’s national culture model (Appendix E), Japan is a collective, success oriented and long term oriented country with high uncertainty avoidance which is almost an opposite of UK. It is recommended to apply a centralised managerial structure in Russia because many most Russian companies applied a †traditional production-oriented culture with strong factory patriotism† just like a  typical Soviet traditions (Clarke, 2004, p. 418). In 2003, IKEA opened its first store in Russia and many Swedish worked in IKEA Russia as expatriates. After repatriation, their feedbacks are high power distance in the working place accompanied with rigid centralised management structures (Jonsson, 2008, p.34). Despite the nation culture of Russia possess a high power distance, there are some autonomous states in Russia which has rich unexplored natural resources such as Komi and Sakhalin actually have a more decentralised culture and many Dutch petroleum and pharmaceutical companies had established their affiliates with decentralised management structures in those regions (Condon, and Dauman, 1993, p.31). FORECAST According to the case study, Jim Flinn intends to use a ‘top-down’ change approach to transplant the managerial structure which may be imposed in a coercive manner (Balogun and Hailey, 2004, p.27). Once Jim Flinn has completely applied the management system that used in the headquarter and USA, the employees in Russian subsidiaries have to cope with a huge culture difference from West Europe. Jim Flinn may draw attention on the success of Dutch pharmaceutical companies in Russia as mentioned before. Thus, in a short term, transition will be a main issue in Russian subsidiary and it probably will take a long time in this process. However, in a long term perspective, the management structure of JKL’s headquarter may bring a range of benefits because a decentralised management system is exactly helpful in research and development department although the Russian employees are used to reluctant in changes (Case Study). CONCLUSION The main problem of JKL’s Russian affiliate is culture adjustment if Jim Flinn transplants the whole management structure from JKL to Zagorski. In fact, national culture will strongly influence the organisational culture as well as managerial framework of a company. Changing management system in a  subsidiary is not a flag-planting work because of various national cultures involved. In the first part of essay, some expatriates actually have problems on their international assignments in India and Greece. Hence, it can be estimated that, after the transplantation, many local employees working in Russia subsidiaries may have the same problems. Furthermore, many previous cases above are provided which could be used as a reference to Jim Flinn as well. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS This essay examined the problems in managing expatriates in JKL and evaluated the proposal from Jim Flinn who will transplant a British managerial system to a Russian subsidiary. 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Free Essays on Denver Development

The child that I assessed is my boyfriend’s little sister. I went over to her parent’s house November 15, 2003 to perform the test, the time was about 8:15 p.m. I received prior permission from the parents over the telephone. At that time Julie Anna was told about the screening and couldn’t wait for me to come over. The test date age of Julie Anna is 5 years, 8 months and 2 days. Upon entering the Phillips’ house, Julie Anna runs to the door to see who was there. She sees that is was me and runs to me yelling, â€Å"Kelli! Kelli!† I stooped down a little to give her a hug and she jumped and put her arms around my neck.. I picked her up and she preceded to tell me about her new shoes that she gotten. She said that they were, â€Å"black boots that made her bigger.† She then ran to her room to put them on. I followed her and sat down on the bed and watched her put her boots on. She put them on the correct feet, zipped them up and stood up and said, â€Å"Look they really do make me bigger.† I started laughing at her because she looked funny wearing her boots with Barbie pajamas and said â€Å"Hopefully you won’t be wearing that to school.† She gave me one of her weird looks and said, â€Å"No silly, I’m going to wear this,† she pulled out a sweater and a skirt. â€Å"This matches,† she said. 1. The child smiled when she turned the corner and saw me at the door. 3. When Julie Anna was asked to get ready for bed she needed to be told more than once. The T.V. distracted her, since her favorite show Lizzy McGuire was on. When she finally got into the bathroom, she got her toothbrush and toothpaste out, rinsed off her toothbrush and applied a small amount of toothpaste to it. She brushed her teeth for a long time, then when she was done she put the cap back on the toothpaste and put it away. 4. The child was able to dress with no help. It seemed like every time I seen her, she had on a different outfi... Free Essays on Denver Development Free Essays on Denver Development The child that I assessed is my boyfriend’s little sister. I went over to her parent’s house November 15, 2003 to perform the test, the time was about 8:15 p.m. I received prior permission from the parents over the telephone. At that time Julie Anna was told about the screening and couldn’t wait for me to come over. The test date age of Julie Anna is 5 years, 8 months and 2 days. Upon entering the Phillips’ house, Julie Anna runs to the door to see who was there. She sees that is was me and runs to me yelling, â€Å"Kelli! Kelli!† I stooped down a little to give her a hug and she jumped and put her arms around my neck.. I picked her up and she preceded to tell me about her new shoes that she gotten. She said that they were, â€Å"black boots that made her bigger.† She then ran to her room to put them on. I followed her and sat down on the bed and watched her put her boots on. She put them on the correct feet, zipped them up and stood up and said, â€Å"Look they really do make me bigger.† I started laughing at her because she looked funny wearing her boots with Barbie pajamas and said â€Å"Hopefully you won’t be wearing that to school.† She gave me one of her weird looks and said, â€Å"No silly, I’m going to wear this,† she pulled out a sweater and a skirt. â€Å"This matches,† she said. 1. The child smiled when she turned the corner and saw me at the door. 3. When Julie Anna was asked to get ready for bed she needed to be told more than once. The T.V. distracted her, since her favorite show Lizzy McGuire was on. When she finally got into the bathroom, she got her toothbrush and toothpaste out, rinsed off her toothbrush and applied a small amount of toothpaste to it. She brushed her teeth for a long time, then when she was done she put the cap back on the toothpaste and put it away. 4. The child was able to dress with no help. It seemed like every time I seen her, she had on a different outfi...