Conflict Resolution Dissertation

There are many potential strategies for conflict resolution in teams. One of them is positional bargaining: each party opens with their position on an issue, and reaching a solution requires give and take from both sides. However, this conflict resolution technique has been frequently criticized on the grounds that compromise is hard to achieve, and interests of both parties are only partially satisfied. Some commentators also deem positional bargaining to be detrimental to the further relationship between the sides. The advantage of positional bargaining is the speed of negotiation.
 

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Another strategy for resolving conflicts in groups is direct approach when the team leader intervenes and solves the conflict. He or she should be as objective as possible and voice criticism which is constructive and impartial. This method is likely to be most successful if the manager likes to be involved in every decision.

The third possible way out is mediation. Mediation is a powerful dispute resolution tool that is often employed in cases of deadlock when parties fail to agree upon basic premises of conflict resolution, so an outside mediator steps in to help parties achieve common ground. It is important to keep in mind that mediators are only facilitators of the resolution process; they cannot force any opinions or decisions upon parties.

The fourth strategy is consensus-based conflict resolution. This process is very time-consuming, yet decisions reached in such a way usually enjoy the greatest degree of support from all parties.

Finally, enforcement of team rules is another option. If these rules are laid out at the beginning of teamwork, their application can help solve conflicts on terms which are considered just and fair.

Ramjan, L. M. (2004). Nurses and the 'therapeutic relationship': Caring for adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 45(5), 495-503.

This research was prompted by the fact that hospitals treating adolescents with anorexia nervosa have high readmission rates. This suggests that nurses caring for these patients encounter problems in establishing a therapeutic relationship. Difficulties and obstacles hindering the formation of therapeutic relationships between pediatric nurses and teenagers with anorexia nervosa are numerous: in semi-structured interviews, nurses listed many problems which can be classified into three distinct categories such as ‘Struggling for understanding’, ‘Struggling for control’, and ‘Struggling to develop therapeutic relationships’. Problems in the first category were caused by lack of education in mental health among nurses or knowledge about how recovery from anorexia takes place. They perceived other patients with more ‘real’ health problems as deserving their attention, while teenagers with anorexia nervosa were often seen as guilty for their own condition. Problems in the second category were associated with the extremely controlling nature of recovery programs. Rather than developing mutual trust, patients saw nurses as jailers having to impose ‘punitive’ measures such as nasogastric feeding, while nurses experienced manipulation and absence of cooperation from the side of the patients. Problems in the first and second categories together led to the emergence of the third category of problems, problems in establishing a therapeutic relationship. Blaming the victim, negative labeling and favoritism towards more cooperative patients prevented nurses from providing adequate support and care to adolescents with anorexia.         

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Dissertation on Weddings

Wedding traditions around the world vary according to nationality, country and religion. One custom that I had the pleasure of learning is the Christian Wedding in India. I became interested in what happens during a typical Christian Wedding in India. Though traditions may be similar, the meaning and practice behind them vary greatly. India's Weddings are coupled with many traditions and beliefs. Christians in India perform a vast of ceremonies leading up to the actual wedding ceremony.

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Though in America we marry out of love, the first act before a couple unites in India is the arranging of marriage by their parents. The belief in India is that parents are to look out for their daughter's best interest. The parents choose a groom for their daughter, who will look out for her best interests. In India it is customary for the parents to unite the couple. Upon approval from the potential bride and groom then they begin to prepare for the ceremonies. The couple then has a Mangni, the engagement ceremony; the priest officiates over this service (shaadionline.com). It is traditional for the groom's family to arrive at the bride's home with gifts for their daughter-in-law. The gifts may include some jewelry, sari, and green glass bangles (which tells of her marital status).

The couple has to send out a posting of banns. This is an announcement of the intended matrimony between the bride and groom. The banns are published three weeks prior to the ceremony to give the community a chance to object if there are any restrictions (freemarriage.com). During the wedding ceremony the priest also gives those gathered for the service a chance to object.

Two days before the ceremony the bride is given an Uptan celebration. This is the beautification of the bride tradition. They mix powdered sandalwood and dried herb into a paste with jasmine oil. The paste is applied to the brides face, arms, legs and feet. The process can take up to eight hours to apply and even more time to dry. The art is detailed in actual drawings upon the body in the form of a skilled craft of artwork. While the paste dries they begin the Mehndi ceremony. The ladies sing to the rhythm of a "œdholak" (small drum) traditional wedding songs during the ceremony (shaandionline.com). The bride may not leave the house until her wedding day. She is also forbidden to meet with the groom again until the wedding day.

Then it is time for the Shagan, or the custom of blessing the couple with gifts. Shagan is the practice of welcoming the bride into the groom's family. Blessing the bride with gifts is a way of showing acceptance of her into the family. The groom's family brings gifts in the form of clothes, jewelry, and bangles for the bride. The bride's family in return presents the groom with gifts of clothes and jewelry. The bride's family distributes gifts as a gesture of thanks. They show their appreciation, to the groom and his family for taking in their daughter. Then they begin celebration of the couple with music. Family and friends sing to the y beat of the 'dholak' (small drum). They make sure to sing several songs to tease the bride's mother-in-law and other members of the groom's family! The Shagan ceremony is usually hosted in two separate ceremonies one, by the bride's family and the other by the groom's.

Once the Shagan ceremony is wrapped up, the families begin to prepare for the wedding ceremony. 

The wedding is given at a traditional Christian Church in India. The wedding is performed during the week, late afternoon. Most wedding ceremonies in India are performed during the week. Wednesday is the traditional day for weddings; it is considered the most auspicious. Weddings are never conducted on the weekends. Sundays are considered the Lord's day, Saturdays are days of rest.

The ushers are present to assist the guests on which side of the church to sit. When the ceremony is ready the groom takes the traditional place at the alter nest to the Best Man. It is customary for the mother's brother to receive the bride at the entrance of the church. The uncle then hands the bride over to her father. The father is to lead the bride into the church, preceded by three priests, the flower girls and then of course the bridesmaids. They still play the traditional song "Here comes the bride" while the attendees stand, until the bride is handed over at alter to the groom.

The couple kneels at alter while family and friends recite meaningful poetry to them. Once this has concluded the priest begins the service. It is then customary for the Best Man to pass the wedding rings to the priest for his blessings. The couple then exchange vows in the language that they choose. 

Public displays of affection, such as kissing, is not performed in India After the exchange in vows the couple proceeds to the vestry, along with the priest and their parents to sign the church register. Then it is time for the reception which is usually hosted by the bride's family.

The ceremonies are concluded with the Vidai or bridal send off. This is when the groom and his family take the wife to their home. The bride is to leave home and retreat to whatever city or country the groom chooses. Before they leave, they go to the bride's home where the couple have prayers offered and receives blessings. The bride then departs with her trousseau or lingerie, wedding gifts in a decorated car.

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Dissertation on Human Resource Management

Dissertation on HRM

QUESTIONS

1. How have the external environments influenced the human resource policies and practices in OA?

The human resource policies and practices in AO are a lot based on the external environmental influences. This is primary due to the fact that first of all it has to deal with the socio-cultural background of the employees, their education, experience and character of social relations in the region. This is a vital external factor as it becomes the forerunner of the potential technological learning capability of the human resources and has impact on their performance and productivity. The economic, legal and political factors are essential to take into consideration as they can cause certain difficulties in the company’s functioning as well as the team functioning. This is primary due to the fact that AO management concentrates on the household (economic issues) of its employees as well as many other aspects like safety (the legal issues) which are somehow related to their work. The international character of the AO team management sets high requirements and provides it with a global nature. The proper implementation of the Star concept is what makes AO management competitive in any sphere.

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2. What internal environmental factors have been most relevant in influencing OA’s human resource system?

OA’s human resource system is also greatly influenced by the internal factors. The first position is given to the management style, because it is what determines the success of the team, corresponding team members and the ability of these team members to fulfill necessary tasks. Personnel training peer appraisals and compensations and other make this management style and philosophy so appealing. OA takes the necessary time to make sure the employee is well trained and ready to operate. The organizational structure with the board of directors and the president on top and the plant manager, the HR manager ,the controller, the training manager and the MIS manager – make up the solid base for the successful team functioning. Production technology is learnt by the employees through training and through the team leaders and is mainly controlled by the planning system. Therefore it is another important internal relevant in influencing the OA human resource system. As the corporate culture of the OA HR has a solid character. OA’s physical facility is also one important internal factor as it helps the HR in a way that it is an automated facility and its manufacturing capability is great.

3. What are the unique issues in human resource planning that team management organizations must address?

HR is vital for the team management. The team management organization in terms of human resource planning in the first place needs to take into consideration the necessity to have employees that would fit in the OA Team Concept. As team management is concentrated on team work it is obvious that the team members need to show interaction with other team members in order to be a team that has one task and is responsible for it. So the human resource planning should address the “fit in” issues, which are obtained not only through the social, cultural and education background, but also through training which the employee can eventually realize in a well structured team and have his concrete responsibilities that are a part of greater team responsibilities. The planning concentrates on treating the operation personnel and trusting the same way the managerial personal is treated and trusted.

4. What role should teams and team members play in human resource planning?

When a new team member comes into the system, the OA Team concept is what makes him eventually competent as the team teaches him and “upgrades” him to the team level. Therefore the teams and team members, with their practical experience should participate in human resource planning in a way that they need to mention their recommendations: those HR characteristics that make their job more effective and does not make it harder. As the OA teams are paid for what “they know, not for what they do”, the teams may give recommendation on what future team members need to potentially know. 

As the OA Team concept is concentrated on the positive team member treatment, therefore here the team opinion may become an essential component as it may lead to new level of productivity and the higher dedication of the team in general and team members in particular. The OA’s” fundamental concern” about people is in the first place to the revealed through the participation of teams and team members in human resource planning.

5. How does job design in self-managing teams differ from traditional job design?

The job design of self-managing teams strongly differs from the traditional job design. The OA job design calls for equality between the team leaders and team members. In OA’s job design there is no place for reserved parking, executive dining rooms and it actually implies an all-salaried workforce. 

Every team member is important for the team, correspondingly there are no more or less important team members. Therefore the self-managing tem job design is observed in the daily work of the team. 

As opposed to the traditional job design, the self-managing job design implies defines team as the basic unit of the organization which performs work. The traditional approach gives tasks given to individuals repeatedly. When an OA tem gets a task the whole team works on learning all the necessary skills to cope with it in.

6. How would you evaluate the effectiveness of OA’s initial recruitment efforts?

It is necessary to say, OA revealed a strong position in its initial recruitment efforts. In order to recruit potential employees OA invited HR and training experts. While the building was under the construction, this group of people formed a recruitment system which corresponded to OA’s demands. 

The recruitment of the employees for the mill was absolutely based on the notion that each and every employee has to be able to survive in a team management environment. The initial effort identified potential employees as effective “team players”. They went through a half-day orientation session. 

This session explained the main directions the organization is aimed to follow, analyzed the importance of the team concept in terms of the organization and what are the potential employees expected to do. This session sifted out those individuals that were not interested. The rest completed applications and passed a variety of tests in the assessment center. It is necessary to say that this step was rather effective as objective observers rate the participants and the tests revealed differed sides of the employee. This sifted out a group of people who went through several interviews and only after this the training for the actual job began and people were hired. Such comprehensive approach is rather difficult, but the result is very impressive and provided exactly what OA wanted – good team members.

7. Would you recommend any changes in the way the organization should recruit for future openings?

The OA’s recruitment system is progressive and effective. It perfectly corresponds to the goal which OA put as the priorities of the organization. A thorough selection of the potential employees, their orientation and further training and development of skills results in effective team work – the primary goal of the organization. OA’s work is impressive and it is very hard to give any kind of recommendations to its improvement. The only recommendation would be the suggestion to initially sort out those individuals who come to the orientation session, because it would facilitate the following laborious and expensive testing work.

8. OA used a comprehensive approach to employee selection, especially through the use of an assessment center. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach?

The comprehensive approach allows maximizing the probability of choosing a good employee for the organization. It allows analyzing the capability of the potential employee to fit in the Team concept and ability to interact within such specific corporative culture. The main problem is that many people are not ready for such approach and they expect concrete individual repeated tasks, the OA introduced a new system in which the team is responsible for the task and not the individual. The main disadvantage is that some employees may find it difficult to be “paid for what they know”, because people are ordinarily paid for “what they do”. Additional skills result into addition compensation within seven levels of development. The comprehensive pay and progression plan has a concrete view of what the necessary skills are to be and in what measure they must be demonstrated. So, it may be said that both the advantage and the disadvantage of the comprehensive approach to employee selection is the innovative character of this selection which changes the mentality of the workers.

9. How would you describe the role of training in OA?

It is very hard to underestimate the role of training in OA as it is what makes the employee “suitable” for their places. Training is vital for OA as it is comprehensive, it possess a systematic character in a way that the team member constantly progress. The training always has to deal with concrete tasks the employee may face and therefore it is always related to it. The evaluation of the training skills is always very objective and the whole training program uses the individual approach to each employee. 

OA training gives both the theoretical and the practical aspects of the required skill. Evidently, OA’s training leads the employees to the “no-fail” motivation which is priceless in terms of HR. Such training unites the team members and the makes inter-team relations better.

10. How do you think the role of training and development will change at the organization?

The only possible direction of changing training and development at the organization is the full implementation of the Star Concept which would eventually result into making all teams at an equal level of development. Therefore this would extremely raise the productivity of the organization. The training and development may change is such a way that would allow all the team adapt to the conditions at the same rate and correspond to the organization’s highest expectations. OA’s training and development is an essential aspect for the team concept, therefore its role is expected only to grow in direct progression to the amount of training class and their members with special attention to the pre-hire and post-hire orientations. From all perspectives, the role of training and development within the OA’s team concept is to rise and become the dominant one within the Star concept.

11. OA has developed a peer appraisal approach system that is used within the teams. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach?

Each team uses peer appraisal forms learnt from the classes that teach employees how to actually do appraisals, avoid pitfalls and how to help in order to assure consistency in the process of appraisal. The main advantage of this system of appraisals is that it helps to monitor the product quality through performance appraisal and statistical process system. Nevertheless, the appraisal still includes the subjectivity factor of every individual and this becomes its main disadvantage. This factor is very hard to eliminate, nevertheless OA’s appraisal classes do their best in teaching the team members how to avoid subjectivity and make the appraisals basing on objective factors and criteria.

12. What are some of the issues related to the compensation plan OA had to resolve?

As it has been mentioned before, the OA compensation plan deals with the notion that the employees get paid for “what they know”. When they come to mastering additional skills they get addition compensation. The compensation plan is basically a reward plan, which stimulates the employees to develop more and more new skills required for effective completion of the organization’s tasks. For instance, in order to assure that team members attend team meetings – they are paid for this one-half hour meeting. This both respects their time and makes sure the team members interact and share their difficulties in order to solve them. Therefore these meeting provide the required communication between the team members and correspond to the OA team concept. Any overtime work – is compensated as well as team building activities. The compensation plan helps to maintain the cross-training model and makes the team more prepared for further problem-solving.

13. Identify some of the strategies that OA has used to enhance employee relations?

OA is very interested in enhancing employee relations. According to OA team concept it is necessary to focus on employee relations and development activities as they establish positive relations not only between team members but also between team members and top-level managers. Fine communications between upper and lower units creates the “we” attitude, which is very important in terms of OA’s management. Basically, the main strategy used to enhance employee is aimed at the prevention of adversarial relationships and may be called the “non-adversarial strategy”. Another aspect of the strategy is enhancing employee relations through the process of training. Plant wide meeting, team visits to the president and quarterly communications meetings are also the realizations of this strategy. By means of these activities the pressure is taken away and the team concept actually starts working.

14. Most discipline was handled within the team structure in OA. List the advantages and disadvantages of this approach.

As the majority of discipline was handled within the team structure as any other aspect is has both advantages and disadvantages. The discipline is based on the accountability system and is a vital element of any organization. Owing to this system the inter-team control is maintained and as the result the quality of product raises. The advantages are the next: the team approach allows maintaining disciple at every stage of production, team work and team building activities. At the same time it puts the president away from all the disciplinary sanctions; it creates the perception of individual accountability and therefore may undermine the top-level management authority. This converts the team into an organization inside another organization in which they are only interdependent.

15. Show how the following are interrelated and integrated in OA: Employment Environment, Human Resource Planning, Recruitment, Selection, Training and Development, Performance Appraisal, Compensation, Employee Relations and Discipline.

OA started it work with the analysis of the employment environment which semed suitable for the peculiarities of their offered jobs. The process of recruitment consisted of several phases and on each of the phases the process of selection took place at the end resulting in a number of individuals that “fit” the organization’s team concept. At these stage training and development starts with the post-hire orientation. The further development and training is stimulated by the system of compensations. 

According to the system each new skills is rewarded. The evaluation of the skills is conducted with the help of performance appraisals when the individual passes written and performance tests. In case the skill’s level corresponds to the demands of the organization, the employee get compensation. Also team meeting and team-building activities may provide compensation too. Evidently, the OA’s team concept implies that the team plays the role of the discipline controller of the individuals. This is how the teams are self-managed.

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Dissertation on Iraq

Formerly the territory of Iraq is the cradle of the civilization, but presently it becomes the field of battle, on which there is a fight for control under this territory between a few forces. Encroachment of foreign troops with the United States at the head in 2003 was the impulse to this violent fight. As a result the government of Saddam Hussein was overthrown. Now in the country there is new government which functions at support of thousands of soldiers. It faced with the sequence of crises. Among urgent tasks there is renewal of civil society and system of country safety.

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Attacks of militants on the peaceful habitants and Iraqi forces of safety do not stop. Tense relations between Muslim -Sunni and Muslim –Shi’a became the result of sanguinary collisions.

But war with Iran, in the Persian Gulf in 1991 after occupation of Kuwait, and subsequent introduction of international sanctions, made a destructive effect on the economy of country and its population. In 1991 UNO declared that Iraq had become into the state of pre-industrial period. Last years, after the overthrow of Saddam, damage, inflicted upon country as a result of attacking of insurgents on Iraqi oil buildings, made the milliards of the lost income.

The development and changes in Iraqi society during last decades were reflected in the Journal article by Shereen T. Ismael “Dismantling the Iraqi Social Fabric: from Dictatorship through Sanctions to Occupation”.

The subject of Iraqi women is widely opened in articles By Arwa Damon and Peter Beaumont.

Iraqi women and girls live with the fear of being killed or raped. At present time the lack of security induces the Iraqi women to avoid public life and appreciably embarrasses the development of their rights. Since the beginning of the military campaign in 2003 armed bands had persecuted and killed several women-politicians, and active defenders of women’s rights.

Three wars and more than ten years of economic sanctions have brought very difficult consequences for Iraqi women. During the regime of Saddam they were underwent discrimination on the gender basis, including rape and other kings of sexual violence. Besides they were underwent as political figures, relatives of politicians and members of separate ethnical and religious groups.

Prostitution was illegal, but there were pleasure marriages are when a man hires a woman to be his wife in exchange for money. Nowadays a lot of families live poorly, and women have to be prostitutes to feed their children.

Iraqi children paid the highest price for this war. It becomes evident from the Shereen T. Ismael “The Cost of War: The Children of Iraq”. During 2007 hundreds of Iraqi children died. Experts of the Children Fund of UNO calculated that every month among forced migrants and refugees there were in general about 25 thousands of children. At the end of the year in camps and temporary refuges about 75 thousands of children lived. In this situation children don’t have access to education and treatment. 

UNICEF worried that during last years situation with education in Iraq become worse. According to their data only 28% of teenagers passed their exams at schools. Situation in the field of children health protection is aggravated because of only 20% of people who live outside Baghdad live in the places with the functioning sewer system.

Journal article by Gary A. Stradiotto insists that the first Gulf War in 1991 Iraq had one of the best educational performances in the region. “Education was free; enrollment and literacy rates were high”.

Journal article by Shereen T. Ismael “Dismantling the Iraqi Social Fabric: From Dictatorship through Sanctions to Occupation” represents the analysis of social life in Iraq.

The old men have the opportunity to get the cash benefit: pension.

Families have become unstable as a result of intensive migration of the population.

Death in the family can be the reason of break-up of family household, and if the death was a result of religious conflict, the possibility that family will come into other place, increases.

In the article by Frederick W. Kagan “Iraq is not Vietnam” the author analyzed the policy of the USA in these countries and the positions of soldiers in these conflicts.

Soldier of the USA in battle conditions must carry on himself about 50 kg. This is standard accoutrements - rifle, helmet, body armour, meal, water, devices for nightly vision and a lot of electronics with batteries.

The USA army is the best trained army in the world. But what circumstances force them to live their families and go to Iraq? The reasons may be: good payment, benefits, and maybe respect.

Analyzing these articles and journals I was horrified about the changes in the Iraqi people’s life. All these sources describe the reader earth-shattering results of this war.

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Total Quality Management Dissertation

Dissertation on TQM

Introduction

This paper will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Total Quality Management (TQM) in relation to the hotel and leisure industry. More specifically, it will analyze the application of TQM principles to catering services in the hotel industry. Catering is defined as a service including delivery of meals outside the restaurant, for instance, room service, delivering meals to functions in the hotel such as buffets, and catering to outside events. The importance of this service is hard to overestimate: catering ensures the quality of customer experience, especially in cases the hotel is used for high-level events such as business meeting and conferences as well as social occasions. The advantages and disadvantages of TQM in catering will be illustrated by a case study focusing on the delivery of this service in Ritz Carlton chain.

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The paper will have the following structure: first of all, theoretical principles of TQM will be discussed; secondly, different aspects of TQM in catering services will be analyzed using the example of Ritz Carlton hotel chain (including such aspects of TQM as organizational communication, service availability, food quality guarantee, customer focus, organizational integrity, and employee development and empowerment); thirdly, a comprehensive conclusion will be made concerning the advantages and disadvantages of applying TQM in the hotel industry.

Theoretical Background

There is little consensus among researchers and practitioners concerning the most appropriate definition of Total Quality Management (TQM). This practice is defined by the UK Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (2000) as ‘a way of managing people and business processes to ensure complete customer satisfaction at every stage, internally and externally’ (p. 1).

The key focus of this approach is on producing quality goods or delivering satisfactory services on the first try rather than correcting mistakes. In order to implement TQM, changes have to be made to people, processes and systems of an organization. These changes encompass commitment to quality among both leaders and employees, communication of the quality message, and creating a culture of TQM in an organization.

Quality is defined as comprising ‘performance, appearance, availability, delivery, reliability, maintainability, cost effectiveness and price’ (Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, 2000, p. 2).

Easton and Sherry (1998) suggest that TQM is based on the principles of process focus (including process definition, process management, and process improvement); systematic improvement (cycle-time reduction, cost reduction, and prevention-based orientation); companywide emphasis (quality is a central concept for all functions of an organization, including product development and business support processes); customer focus (encompassing lead-time reduction, on-time delivery, field and technical support, integrating customer information into management system, involving customer into planning and product development); management-by-fact (decision-making on the basis of objective data by deployment and tracking of metrics); employee participation and development (employee empowerment and organizational learning); cross-functional management (enhanced focus on processes that cross several functions); supplier performance and supplier relationships (supplier capabilities, supplier improvement, and supplier involvement and integration); and recognition of TQM as a critical competitive strategy (TQM becoming a concern of employees at all levels).

Achieving quality starts with a research into customers’ needs and expectations. An organization should clearly identify its internal and external customers and measure its own ability to meet their expectations. If this ability turns out to be insufficient, the organization should actively seek ways to enhance it. The organization should also develop a system of monitoring changes in customers’ needs and expectations. Every customer-supplier interaction should be a part of a quality chain, in which all members demonstrate a straight-out commitment to quality.

Additionally, TQM requires leaders to have a strategic vision and to be able to communicate it to the entire workforce. Leaders who do not give clear direction constitute a prevalent case of decreased efficiency and quality. Moreover, competitive positioning should be understood and acted upon. Reactive responses to market moves should be given up in favor of a proactive position. The unproductive thinking that a level of defects or errors is inevitable should be eliminated. Large amounts of wasted effort and energy in organization should be reduced to minimum. Benefit of all stakeholders should become a priority.

Achieving TQM requires an organization to function in a well-coordinated and cooperative manner. Interdepartmental rivalry and hostility should be solved and prevented in the future. In general, the focus of TQM is on prevention and not correction of mistakes and misunderstandings.

Senior management should define and communicate corporate beliefs, values and objectives, act as role models in achieving TQM, and encourage effective employee participation. Supervising and training, teamwork and system thinking and can ensure success of TQM implementation.

TQM principles were first developed for manufacturing. Given the increasing interest in TQM from the side of service companies, there were attempts to apply this approach to hotel and leisure industry as well. Several problems were encountered with quality assurance in service sector, such as ‘the intangibility and perishability of the product, variability of delivery, simultaneous production and consumption of the service, and the changing needs and expectations of providers and users’ (Partlow, 1993, p. 17-18).

Despite the aforementioned difficulties, TQM is nowadays widely applied in all sectors of the economy. The paper will proceed with examining different aspects of TQM that relate to catering services in Ritz Carlton hotel chain.

Organizational Communication and Service Availability

It has been noted above that communicating the message of quality is essential for achieving TQM. Ritz Carlton chain has implemented TQM principles in all management and service processes; it was the first hotel group to win prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award by the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology. The recipients of this award has achieved excellence in such fields as leadership, information analysis, strategic quality planning, human resource development and management, quality assurance, quality operating results, and customer satisfaction (Partlow, 1993).

Communication between management and employees as well as between employees is widely recognized as one of the key elements of quality service delivery. The chain of communication from kitchen staff to waiters delivering the food to guest has to be fairly long, and failure of communication at each stage can be fatal.

To avoid such blunders in the delivery of catering services, Ritz Carlton focuses on teamwork as one of the most vital aspects of TQM. Teamwork is encouraged by communicating the message that all employees, irrespective of their statuary duties, should help their fellow workers if assistance is required by an employee who is responding to a customer’s complaint or wish. Teams are given a considerable amount of independence: ‘[a]t each level of the company--from corporate leaders to managers and employees in the individual work areas--teams are charged with setting objectives and devising action plans, which are reviewed by the corporate steering committee’ (Partlow, 1993, p. 19).

Speaking about availability of catering services, Ritz Carlton hotels make a genuine effort to ensure such availability at all times. For example, Ritz Carlton Chicago made in-room dining service available 24 hours a day, serving a variety of menus at different times. In-room dining menus ‘include an inspired selection of nutritionally balanced fare that does not sacrifice gourmet presentation and taste’ (Ritz Carlton Chicago, 2008, ‘Specialties’). In-room catering options include a children's menu, a pet menu, a hospitality menu and a wine list.

Food Quality Guarantee

The staff of a hotel striving for achieving TQM should demonstrate a continuous commitment to providing only the best in freshness and taste. For instance, Ritz Carlton Chicago achieves food quality through recruiting award-winning chefs and developing menus in close cooperation with nutritional experts from Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Wellness Institute. Therefore, catered menus are ‘calorie-controlled, low in fat, carbohydrate-controlled, and high in fibre’ (Ritz Carlton Chicago, 2008).

Another Ritz Carlton hotel, at Lake Las Vegas, serves food that has less butter, more olive and infused oils and relies heavily upon the food’s natural flavors (Ritz Carlton Lake Las Vegas, 2008).

Customer Focus

Catering services should be diverse enough to fulfill a wide range of customer needs, both dietary and cultural. One of the principles of Ritz Carlton Chicago is developing diverse gourmet menus without compromising food quality. The hotel ‘prides itself on culinary creativity, and offers an extensive array of menus to choose from’ (Ritz Carlton Chicago, 2008, ‘Wedding Details’, ‘Menu creations’).

Menus for special occasions such as weddings or other social events can be custom-designed, giving the customer an opportunity to make his or her own selection of food items and beverages. As concerns customers’ cultural preferences, Ritz Carlton Chicago (2008) informs that it is ‘proud to offer extraordinary kosher catering’ (‘Wedding Details’, ‘Specialty Kitchen’).

In general, Ritz Carlton is noted for its exceptional commitment to satisfying customer needs. Therefore, the chain can be considered an example of a service-oriented organization implementing a one-to-one customer interaction strategy. The chain runs a database of customer profiles that allow its staff to anticipate customer preferences and, as a result, increase customer satisfaction. The elements of this profile are customer suggestions, preferences, and complaints. The information comes from two sources: the customer and hotel workers (Wells, Fuerst & Choobineh, 1999).

The chain management ‘records guest preferences gleaned from conversation with customers during their stay and uses them to tailor the services that customers receive on their next visit at any other Ritz-Carlton in the world’ (Chen & Popovich, 2003, p. 676-677).

As concerns the second way of gathering information, Ritz Carlton provides each of its workers with a ‘guest preference pad’ for recording information about the customer, based on face-to-face interactions with the customer together with direct observation (Wells, Fuerst & Choobineh, 1999).

As a result, each employees of Ritz Carlton ‘will know the needs of their internal and external customers (guests and fellow employees) so that we may deliver the products and services they expect’ (Partlow, 1993, p. 18).

Organizational Integrity

Quality being defined differently by different departments can be a major obstacle for achieving TQM. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to integrate the message of quality with the message of consistency across departments. It usually starts with top management being clear about company’s values and objectives and encouraging all departments to adhere to uniform standards, senior management acting as role models.

When Ritz Carlton pioneered the TQM model, it united the efforts of its CEO and senior executives in setting up a corporate steering committee and a senior quality-management team. During their weekly meeting, the team devoted one-fourth of their time to discussing ‘product- and service-quality measures, guest satisfaction, market growth and development, organizational indicators, profits, and competitive status’ (Partlow, 1993, p. 19).

A new vision has been formulated and communicated to all employees under the name of Ritz-Carlton Gold Standards. These standards included a credo (a pledge to provide the best service and facilities for guests and fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of all customers); motto (‘We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen’); three steps of service (a sincere greeting, anticipation and compliance with customer needs, an warm farewell); and twenty Ritz-Carlton Basics (practical steps aimed at ensuring quality and customer satisfaction).

This vision has been continuously communicated by daily ‘line ups,’ regular recognition for significant achievements, and performance appraisals. All workers are surveyed each year to ascertain their levels of satisfaction and commitment to quality standards. The final measure to ensure consistent understanding of quality issues was designated a quality leader in each hotel, charged with being a resource and advocate as teams and workers develop and carry out their quality plans (Partlow, 1993).

Employee Development and Empowerment

Under the TQM model, training should be offered to enhance the quality of service and to create an excellent experience for the customer. As concern training, Ritz Carlton requires that all new hires receive Training Certification to ensure they understand how to perform to The Ritz-Carlton standards in their position: ‘new employees are versed on the corporate culture through a two-day orientation, followed by extensive on-the-job training, then job certification’ (Partlow, 1993, p. 19).

The second important aspect of employee development is empowerment: ‘[e]mpowering employees and teams requires training them to use their authority effectively...[and]...redesigning some jobs to facilitate a team approach and modifying policies and practices that support rewards for results and other cultural elements that empower employees’ (Partlow, 1993, p. 20).

The philosophy of Ritz Carlton chain in the field of employee empowerment consists of the following principles: 1) At The Ritz-Carlton our staff are the most important resource in our service commitment to our guests; 2) All employees have the right to be involved in the planning of work that affects them; 3) Each employee is empowered; 4) Whoever receives a complaint from a guest will own it and resolve it to the guest's satisfaction (Nicholls et al., 2000, p. 177).

Employees are given sufficient independence to detect and correct all irregularities of service delivery by themselves. They are encouraged to use the so-called ‘Mr. BIV’ formula, which stands for Mistakes, Rework, Breakdowns, Inefficiencies, and Variations. All irregularities that have been solved should be followed up with a telephone call within 20 minutes to ensure that the issue has been settled to the customer's satisfaction. Every case of guest dissatisfaction should be reported using guest-incident action forms.

Every work area is supervised by three teams charged with problem solving, strategic planning, and setting quality-certification standards for each set of job duties. Daily quality reports are collected from each of the work areas in the hotel. They can be used as a warning signal for detecting problems that can be an obstacle for fulfilling quality and customer-satisfaction standards. By these means, Ritz Carlton ensures that quality is not compromised and all employees are involved in running the business (Partlow, 1993).

Conclusion

Implementation of TQM in the hotel industry has apparent advantages, such as increased customer and employee satisfaction, elimination of wasted effort, and focus on efficiency. However, there are certain disadvantages as well. By virtue of intangibility of services and subjectivity of delivery evaluation, TQM in the hospitality industry might be hard to ensure. However, if all TQM principles are construed correctly and implemented fully, an increase in efficiency can be achieved by an organization from any field. 

Ritz Carlton hotel is a brilliant example of a hotel chain that maintains a competitive edge due to practicing TQM. It was one of the first hotel chains to pioneer this approach to management. Nowadays it is a classical example of a successful organization committed to quality and customer satisfaction, development of employees and strong corporate persona. 

Ritz Carlton achieves TQM in catering through ensuring food quality, service availability, anticipating and fulfilling customer needs, and offering well-trained and committed staff.

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Dissertation on Dollarization

Dollarization Dissertation

Recently, Ecuador announced that it would replace it's local currency, the sucre with the US Dollar for all purposes. This change was intended to help return the country to growth and prosperity. This "Dollarization" has become a popular topic and has been considered by many developing nations in Latin America and other regions.

By implementing dollarization, a developing country would accept the following consequences:

1. It's government would give up the revenue and benefits it enjoys from creating it's own money. This is typically referred to seignorage meaning that the country can print currency at very little cost to purchase what it needs. In a dollarization situation, the country would give up its seignorage revenues to the US government. 

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Seignorage revenues have typically amount to 0.3-1.3% of GDP for Argentina and Brazil, respectively. The level of seignorage indicates the degree to which the government relies to finance their budgets. Therefore, it would be much easier for a country with lower seignorage revenue to implement a dollarization policy. In addition to the revolving seignorage revenues which would be lost, a dollarizing country would also be subject to the one-time start up cost of trading the local currency in circulation for dollars.

2. It's central bank would no longer serve as a lender of last resort to domestic banks. The lender of last resort is a crucial component to reassure creditors and depositors of the banks such as the assurance provided by the FDIC in the US. Since the ability to print local currency would no longer be in the control of the country, they would lose this ability to provide an influx of cash to bail out struggling banks. If there is no lender of last resort, confidence weakens and bank runs (increase of withdrawals) becomes more likely and more damaging when they occur. However, the cost of this impact is hard to quantify depending on the type of system it is replacing (i.e. currency board with fixed exchange rats vs. floating exchange rates). Options to ensuring backing of the banking system include: setting aside a liquid fund to be lent to banks in a crisis or securing a line of credit from abroad.

3. It would no longer control domestic monetary policy. Therefore the government would be forced to accept the decision of Federal Reserve. By controlling the monetary base, a central bank can have an impact on inflation. With dollarization, the country would lose this control. The "cost" of this impact is questionable depending on the level to which the country has used monetary policy in the past; may countries in Latin American have only used interest adjustment sparingly, therefore the "cost" would be minimal. In the end, the "cost" will depend on the value that a more stable currency brings relative to the more standard behavior of output and employment typical of standard flexible exchange rates.

Benefits of dollarization include:

Dollarization may lower the country's cost of foreign credit. The risk of currency devaluation would not exist because the domestic currency would disappear, therefore the cost of foreign credit would come down due to the elimination of default risk or sovereign risk, stimulating investment and economic growth. However, there is the countering concern that the elimination of a lender of last resort will result in an increase of risk.

It may enhance the credibility of government policy. The background of this statement is that dollarization would be more difficult to reverse than another fixed exchange system. The problem is putting a value on this benefit. Three (3) benefits can be stated based on the irreversible nature of dollarization: 1) elimination of possibility of devaluation, 2) monetary policy removed from central bank which is often unreliable, and 3) enhance fiscal discipline.

The conclusion reached by many economists is that dollarization is a desirable reform in spite of widespread uncertainty about its economic benefits. Most of the costs can be identified and quantified, however the benefits remain to be demonstrated.

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Dissertation on Church

Dissertation on Women in the Catholic Church

The media continually changes the way that people think about important issues. Mass media reaches us in the car, in our homes, on our computers and in most other areas within our lives. Without the gift of media we would not know what was going on in the world around us. Newspapers accompany people at the breakfast table, the internet is often the first thing people turn on in the morning, and television is frequently what people watch as they fall asleep. On political issues media is generally what informs us about important topics and how they present these issues can greatly affect the way that we feel about those matters. The "gatekeepers" or editors of TV stations, newspapers and magazines play the role of God as they decide what will be reported on and how that news will be broadcasted.

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As important information arises the media is constantly changing and with that change, attitudes change. Within the past few years there have been numerous "hot topics" discussed daily by Americans, some of these events include; environmental issues, the war on Iraq, global warming, the downfall of the economy, and so on. One issue that has been debated over the years and continues to come up in the news is the decision of whether or not women should be considered to be ordained into the priesthood in the Catholic Church. Over the years various events surrounding the Catholic Church on the basis of women in the priesthood have been addressed, and questions as to what roles women should play in the church have been asked. To date there has been no definite decisions made and undoubtedly there are two major points of view; those who believe women should be ordained and those who believe they should not.

Women in great numbers have expressed that they feel their role is to be the supporter of others and the backbone to their husbands within the church. It has been said that when women do feel called to leadership roles and the priesthood often their husbands, clergy and even women friends may think they are foolish, acting out of the traditional roles of the church. Through examining the ideals of a few feminist groups as well as the Catholic Church and members of it we shall see the difficult strain that this issue has put on everyone involved for years. Should women be allowed to enter the priesthood? The answer to this question is different for each individual; however, how you chose to answer it can affect many other areas of decision making. If one says, "no women should not take on these roles," that would lead to believe that all men are not one in the sight of God, as God has said. However on the other hand if the answer is, "yes women should be equal and take on roles in the priesthood," other questions arise within the value of tradition, and also the many scriptures that can be found to back up ideas that wives are to serve their husbands and be the home makers, not home builders. It is an interesting debate that has affected the way that women view their lives for centuries, can women join the priesthood?

The mere consideration of accepting women into the priesthood has caused many people to feel confused about their own role in the church. Many members of the Church of England have even considered leaving the church after the decision was made to consider women for ordination. Some members said that they would split and create their own church and others said that they may go to other branches of the church which are upholding what they believe to be the true tradition of the Catholic Church, an all male priesthood (Steinfel). Many members of the church have voiced that they are appalled by the notion of women in leadership roles however there are also plenty of people inside and outside the Church that believe women and men should be treated completely equal in their roles within the church. They have stated that by denying women this opportunity to join the priesthood they are denying women of their human rights. One woman has even sued the Church for "refusal to consider women for the priesthood" stating that it "violates her right to free expression and religion (United)." Her suit requires that the church's tax-exempt status be withdrawn and not reissued until the church agrees to ordain women (United). She feels that until the church is hit hard in the pocketbook that there will be no change. This tactic has gotten attention, but many ask if change will really occur. It is apparent that she means business, however many people feel this approach is unethical under the laws of their religion. This contradiction makes it a very touchy problem with the power to upset a great number of people rather effortlessly.

An example of a group that believes women should at least be considered for the opportunity of join the priesthood is The Catholic Theological Society of America. This group has voted 216 to 22 (with 10 abstentions) in favor of a resolution urging to continue discussing the possibility of ordaining women in the priesthood (Steinfels). This is a very controversial vote because although the Pope has never vetoed the ordination of female priests, which would close the entire discussion, the Congregation has stated that women should not be ordained based on scripture, Catholic tradition, and century old education (Steinfels). By this group believing that women should be considered for ordination it will certainly spread and make other members question what they believe and quite possible vote for the side of the women.

However, due to the firm and steadfast opinions against women based on tradition it can be hard for women to speak up when they feel they have been called to the priesthood. Frances O'Connor uses a very powerful analogy in her book The Female Face in Patriarchy: Oppression as Culture, she says that the patriarchal society that women in the Catholic Church are forced to endure is like carbon monoxide poisoning. Often women do not know that they are being poisoned by this male dominated society yet it seeps into their lungs and takes over them as does carbon monoxide. O'Connor continues to discuss many ideals that the Catholic Church has conditioned women to believe, such as; "to relate to a male God only, trust in an external superior male authority, believe that only males have been called to the alter, believe decision making should be done by men only and believe that the term "men" is the norm and thus that the term men includes women also."

O'Connor goes on to discuss messages that women have absorbed throughout the years. These messages include; the thinking that women belong in the home, volunteering in the church is a privilege, the more humble women are the holier they are and that a woman's role is to be secondary and supportive. All of these ideals plague women each day as they attempt to be "good" women and wives while still accomplishing their own goals. This patriarchal conditioning has so debilitated women that they continually look to clergy for approval. In this self-doubting state women are constantly trying to make everyone happy while worrying about what others are thinking of them.

James Kenneally brings up an interesting conversation about how women are forced to live in a world where they often feel they cannot complete their purpose in his book; American Catholic Women: A Historical Exploration. Kenneally discusses the protest of 1870 when the first national women's antisuffrage society was formed. When this occurred people were appalled saying that it would bring nothing but the downfall of families and increased divorce. At this time, as early as the eighteenth century, young women were taught that the ideal women was pure, pious, submissive, and domestic and should be confined to her own sphere of activity, a standard quite in keeping with the church. Women were told that they should keep with these virtues to become perfect in the eyes of God and their husbands. It is in these beginnings that women today are still basing many of their roles within the church. Some of these ideas are not completely overdrawn; women can be pure and domestic without losing who they are in the seeking of these attributes. It is only a problem when women feel that they are nothing unless they can be everything that history has described women to be. For example the women who feel they should not be aloud to work because they are to take care of the house and the children. These women can often feel dissatisfied even if their homes are pleasant and their family is well taken care of because they are denying themselves the right to go out and accomplish their own personal goals. This is not to say that taking care of children and a home are not amazing accomplishments, but for the women who feel they only meant for that it is unfortunate when they feel called to other jobs that they feel they are not deserving of. In this instance the church can be a hiding place for many women; they may use it to feel as though they are being the perfect member of the church even if they are not fulfilling their other goals.

The church has continually ignored advances from feminist groups that attempt to get a rise out of the church by the use of strong accusations and extreme demands. Under the current Pope it seems apparent that there will not be a vote to consider women for ordination as those groups would request. He has said, "the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitely held by all the Church's faithful (Francisco)." It seems that the church has evaded this issue continuously in an attempt to keep the members of the church happy and possibly ignore the fact that there is an increasing amount of women who feel that their gifts are being stifled under the strict patriarchal society that has been in place for centuries. Although there are different views that can be taken within the church it is apparent that change is always hard, especially when it comes to a tradition that has been in place for centuries and is founded on what people have structured their lives on, their religion.

This is an issue that can be viewed differently by varied groups. The media has given us the means to develop our own belief surrounding this matter; however it still hinders us because we are never given an unbiased viewpoint. To truly understand this issue and be able to take a stance on it we much look beyond what is presented at face value and seek to find the truth. Whether women are allowed equal rights in the church or not shall come into view in the future, and the media stories surrounding this with continue to unfold as new decisions are made and opinions are realized.

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This is a small excerpt from dissertation on Catholic Church topic. As free dissertation samples and dissertation proposal examples are plagiarized we recommend you not to use it in your own dissertation or thesis paper. Why not to get online dissertation writing help on Church from professional dissertation writing company? Top-rated PhD academic writers will write a custom dissertation on any topic and discipline from scratch!

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