Cycles of Failure, Mediocrity and Success and the Role of Staff Essay

Cycles of Failure, Mediocrity and Success and the Role of Staff Empowerment on Breaking the Cycle - Essay Example The paper tells that the role of employee motivation in generating customer satisfaction has been traditionally studied in the context of employees within the service sector. This is because from the company’s perspective frontline interactions with customers are a significant way of attaining competitive advantage and differentiating oneself. Hence, employees dealing in frontline work are expected to anticipate the needs of customers, deliver the service based on customized needs and build long term, personalized relationships with the customers. Thus, staff empowerment is a crucial aspect of maintaining employee motivation and customer loyalty. From the above it follows that poor working environment can translate into poor customer service with employees dealing with their customers the way their managers treat them. Furthermore, employee turnover is attributed to what is known as the â€Å"cycle of failure†. In other cases, some degree of job security is present but there is little room for practicing one’s own initiatives. This situation arises from the lack of empowerment and is termed as the â€Å"cycle of mediocrity†. However, by employing the right tools of empowerment, the management of any company can develop a positive attitude in service employees which is known as â€Å"cycle of success†. The â€Å"cycle of failure† is attributed to the delegation of monotonous, mundane tasks to cheaply hired and untrained employees by employing the division of labor philosophy. This cycle is split into two cycles that work simultaneously. The first one involves failure with workers and the second one involves failure with customers. The cycle of failure pertaining to employees involves working on tasks requiring little or no skills and little scope for personal control. The output is strictly controlled by technology and emphasis is on following the rules as opposed to focusing on the quality of customer service. It is a c ommonplace to hear management attributing this failure to shortage of skilled labor, dearth of motivated employees in the labor market and the fact that high costs of skilled labor would have to be borne by customers in the form of high prices (Lovelock, Wirtz, & Chatterjee, 2007). Mostly companies consider training as a cost (and not an investment) and fear that it will result in wastage of funds if the employee walks away after acquiring the training (Lovelock, Wirtz, & Chatterjee, 2007). Failure with customers is associated with the lack of a consistent and clear image of the company to the customers which occurs because of changing faces due to high employee turnover. Also companies focus too much on the attraction of new customers as opposed to the retention of

Manufactured Operations in China Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Manufactured Operations in China - Research Paper Example There is an abundance of labor in China due to the fact that the country has the highest population in the world. The workers in China are more disciplined than its American counterparts and have higher respect for the job. A major obstacle to doing business in China is that companies must abide by the governmental rules of a communist nation. Companies that want to expand internationally have to seriously consider expanding to China. Abiding by the governmental rules is a constraint that can be overcome by the abundance of business opportunities for companies operating in China. The business rules of China are not as strict as in the past. Prior to China’s entrance in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 companies that wanted to penetrate China had to form a 50-50 joint venture with an established Chinese company (Cnn, 2001). Today firms from the United States or other parts of the world can form whole owned subsidiaries in China. I think that the rule that sales in China have to be contingent on a company establishing its operations there is not that bad. Operating a manufacturing center in China is an extremely profitable proposition due to the lower operating costs in comparison with other parts of the world. Exploiting the Chinese retail market is a very beneficial proposition. In China due to the industrialization movement and economic growth there is a growing middle class that is eager to purchase consumer products in order to increase their quality of living. The massive population of China can help any company increase its sales numbers in a short amount of time. Short term gains are very important to increase the immediate profitability of a company. There are opportunities for market penetration in China in many industries. Overcoming the cultural barrier in China is important towards the success of an enterprise that establishes operations there. The majority of Chinese