Literary Devices in The Kite Runner Essay

Symbolism: â€Å"I dream that lawla flowers will bloom in the streets of Kabul again and rubab music will play in the samovar houses and kites will fly in the skies.† Page 218 In his letter to Amir, Hasaan talks about the lawla flowers and music to represent the happiness of Kabul, and the kites now remind him of happiness instead of the bad memories of the past. Simile: â€Å"Like wolves looking at a flock of sheep† Page 219 This is comparing the Talibs to wolves, because they were so mean looking. The greed was in their eyes, and you could see how much it had consumed their thoughts. They were about to attack the house like wolves attacking sheep. Flashback: â€Å"I remember one day we were planting tulips, when I asked Baba if he’d ever consider getting new servants. â€Å"Hassan’s not going anywhere,† he’d barked. He’s staying right here with us where he belongs, this is his home, and we are his family† Page 225 Amir is finally realizing all of the foreshadowing that Hasaan was his brother. He now knows why Baba got mad when he asked about getting new servants, and why he cried when they left. Comparison: â€Å"I feel like a tourist in my own country.† Page 231 Amir compares himself to a tourist, because he is so used to America, and Kabul has changed so much. He doesn’t realize how bad it has truly gotten until he is driving through the middle of Kabul with Farid.

American society Essay

Childcare and early childcare education must be a priority for parents. It can be the difference between success and failure in American society. High quality early childhood education prepare children to succeed and become better citizens, they make higher wages, pay more taxes, and commit fewer crimes. Early education strengthens the foundations of lifelong learning of all children and supporting the educational and social needs for family. Researchers indicate that children who participate in early education programs make significant short-term and long-term gains in cognitive development. Consistency in preschool can impact a child’s cognitive development preschools that provide a curriculum allows children to develop cognitive skills. The curricula build on the Childs existing skills and allow them to acquire new skills. Make believe is also another impact on cognitive and social skills. The preschooler who spend more time in sociodramatic play are seen as more socially competent by their teachers (Connolly & Doyle, 1984). Many studies reveal that make believe strengthens a wide variety of mental abilities, including sustained attention, memory, logical reasoning,  language and literacy, imagination, creativity, and the ability to reflect on ones own thinking, behavior, and take another’s perspective (Bergen & Mauer, 2000; Berk. Mann, & Organ, 2006; Elisa & Berk, 2002; Hirsh-Psek et al. , 2009; Lindsey & Colwell, 2003; Organ & Berk, 2009; Ruff & Capozzoli, 2003). Having the child in the same preschool throughout the year allows them to develop relationship with adults and children, which provide a sense of security. A child that is Benefits of Early Childhood Education 3 comfortable with the willing to learn and participate in learning opportunities. Preschoolers gain  in emotional understanding. Preschooler who spend more time engaged in sociodramatics play are better at taking personal responsibilities for following classroom rules and at regulating emotions ( Berk, Mann, & Organ 2006; Lemche et al. 2003). Parents who take responsibilities to make sure their kids are in a quality childcare/preschool reap the benefits in the long run. Children start learning at an early age, and when they feel confident around the people they are around the more comfortable they will be at enhancing their education. Early education affects: social, physical, intellectual, creative and emotional  developments. A child who starts early education has the benefits of completing high school, having above average test scores and positive attitudes towards school among children and parents. Early education seems like a winner to me. Benefits of Early Childhood Education 4 References Berk, L. E. (2002) Tnfants and children: Prenatal through middlehood (7th ed. ). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. ISBN:9780205831913 Retrieved August 1, 2014, from http://www. kueducation. com/early-chldhood/benefits-early- childhood-education Retrieved August 1, 2014, from http://www. Nowforlater. org/files/2013/03/The- Facts. pdf.   

Tourism Perspectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Tourism Perspectives - Essay Example Since the post-modern era has also offered multiple recreational facilities in the form of TV, internet and CD players etc, the people can make amusements without leaving their homes even. Hence, the sense of entertainment under multiple choices at home has given birth to new leisure time consumption trends in its scope. Although, both the perspectives contain positive and negative aspects in their nature and scope, though the second one creating uniqueness and differentiation in it look far more fascinating one than the one projecting similarity in the form of McDonaldization. The authors submit to state that the latest trends have been introduced in the aftermath of the penetration of two worldwide public entertainment business chains i.e. the recreational Disney Parks, and the food-chain McDonald (Ritzer & Liska, 1997: 98). McDonaldization and Disneyization, according to the authors, appear to be determining new boundaries of tourism with reference to modernity and post-modernity. The authors lay stress upon looking into the tourism phenomenon within the purview of modernity and post-modernity, where instead of taking both these aspects as two different epochs, they look for taking these ages as two different perspectives and approaches actually. Ritzer & Liska have declared tourism as one of the most dominating factors that pave the way towards bringing social change in the wake of it (97). However, the inclusion of McDonaldization and Disneyization have established new dimensions in the tourist industry, where people have become familiar with the food and entertainment they would obtain by visiting any recreational place or sight of their choice in any region of the globe they proceed to during vacations (100). Consequently, the fears and perils regarding the uncertainty about the edibles they would take and the entertainments they obtain during their tour to some foreign land appear to be fast diminishing in the modern era, and people feel themselves a bi t secure regarding their edibles and diets during tours. Hence, since the people do not look ready to experience new, queer or unpredictable situations, things, or states of affairs, the presence, projection and expansion of the recreational and food chains have turned out to be supportive in respect of providing the tourists with complete safety and shelter from the unpredictable events and situations (99). In addition to this, the people are in a position to communicate with the indigenous population of any country in one language i.e. English. It is because of the very fact that the promotion of multinational companies and news channels at the global scale, English has got the status of an international language, which is at least comprehensible for the people belonging to divergent cultures, areas, and regions of the world (Macionis & Plummer, 2008). The credit also goes to McDonald and Disney Parks, as both these companies are the product of the English speaking nation i.e. the USA. Both these multinational chains have introduced the self-supporting and self-serving systems in the contemporary hotel industry. Consequently, the tourists have learned to serve themselves after paying their bills at the food-chain on the one hand and can cruise on the ships of their choice at their own on the other. It has not only increased their efficiency level, but also nothing appears to be unpredictable.

Briefing paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Briefing paper - Essay Example The level of misunderstanding does increase terribly such meeting occurs between people of different countries. Variations in the methods applied to communication also show the difference in culture that is available in the country. These variations, therefore, tend to cause challenges for international companies like Secure IT Mobile towards their globalization system. As a business company in Italy, the Secure IT is faced with a lot of difficulties concerning corruption practices by its employees and the clients themselves. However, in some cultures within the country do accept bribes but it is still detrimental the development of such companies within the market structure. Some forms of bribery that may include money, gifts, some favors, and even entertainment to those targeted by such bribes. Any bribe is quite illegal in Italy and also is unethical business practice in a healthy business operation environment. Some countries, however, bribes are allowed to such an extent no any business can operate in such countries without offering bribes. Bribery, therefore, should be discouraged at all costs since inhibits total income collection from most investment companies, with reference to Secure IT mobile too in Italy(Soerens & Hwang 2009). Businesses such as the Secure IT mobile in Italy may find themselves paying bribes. They can find themselves spending because of the following conditions; competition from other firms, pressure from top management and legalization of the practice itself by the country. Lastly, they may also do them because of high taxation levies, government regulations, and reduced payment to government officials and bureaucratic business delays(Rotschild & Wingfield 2008). The language used for communication in Italy is the Italia no. However, English is the most recognized business language all over the world. It has, therefore, proved to be very difficult for Secure

Mental health psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mental health psychology - Essay Example 7). And until today, the question as to what defines normality from abnormality, remains debatable. But it was also in defining and categorically classifying mental disorders that psychiatry – which was under a decade severe attack in the 70’s – won its bid for professional legitimacy and authority in this field, as brought about by the third edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostically based Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, commonly referred to as DSM-III (Mayes & Horwitz, 2005, p. 249; Kirk & Kutchins, 1994, p. 71). As Robert Spitzer, the primary force in the development of DSM-III, stated â€Å"[W]hether we like it or not, the issue of defining the boundaries of mental and medical disorder cannot be ignored. Increasingly there is pressure for the medical profession and psychiatry in particular to define its area of prime responsibility† (cited in Healy, 1997, p. 233). However, although DSM-III had given so much influence to psychiatry, it did not actually resolve old-age questions regarding mental health, especially so that â€Å"Psychiatric diagnosis provides the fundamental rubric for discourse about mental illness† (Kirk & Kutchins, 1992, p.10). Additionally, although it is now widely used as a biblical text not only by psychiatrists but even by lawyers, federal agents, insurance agents, pharmaceuticals, it is on the other hand criticised in different fronts, which when analysed, such criticisms essentially attack DSM’s integrity as to its true intention, as to its scientific claims, and as to its usefulness. Whether such criticisms hold water could be scrutinised from critically evaluating DSMs origin and contemporary role. The development of DSM from its very beginning to its latest version has consistently compromised with other political and financial interests shrouding its validity as a scientific, diagnostic instrument for

Avis Europe Good Corporate Citizens of the Society Essay

Avis Europe Good Corporate Citizens of the Society - Essay Example The company is now enjoying around 16% market share in U.K. The company provides rental stations through three business formats such as corporate locations, agency location and franchise location. The Budget variety, belonging to Avis Europe in March 2003, provides for customers in above 1,000 places within 65 countries. These are contract-based firms with corporate offices in Austria and Switzerland, France and the UK.   Avis Europe aims to be the leading rental car company while maintaining very high ethical standards. Avis works on the Philosophy of ‘Kaizen’ or Continuous Improvement, which they coin by the phrase â€Å"We Try Harder†. A person named Warren Avis founded Avis Europe. He was a war pilot who after being discharged from US war force came out to design his car rental company. He thought of tapping the niche market of Airport Car Rental Service. The first airports the company tapped were Miami and Detroit. The success of the company can be traced from the fact that in about seven years it rose to the second position behind companies like Hertz and Lazard Freres. Keeping in mind the philosophy of continuous improvement their mission is to build a long-term relationship with stakeholders in the business. They also consider customer loyalty as the focus area. According to a survey report prepared by U.S research organization, Avis is one of the top companies from the vi ewpoint of customer loyalty. Retention of customers in a highly competitive market is always a difficult task. Therefore, they are very much focused on this. In terms of their vision, Avis Europe wants to establish themselves as good corporate citizens of the society. Gaining customer loyalty is their prime goal in this respect. They are also adopting many strategies to project themselves to the society as a good & responsible company. They are equally caring about their employees, suppliers, shareholders,  environment community and society.  

Film Report Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Film Report - Movie Review Example The theme of the movie is the conflict between the two regions of the United States, the South being dominated by African-American slaves. The theme was clearly revealed, although there were already hints in the beginning that it involves war scenes, during the attack initiated by a black militia group to the houses owned by white Americans in the village, including the house of the Camerons. In emphasizing the central theme of the movie, Griffith used two separate families which supported different ideals, and the use of violence in the uprisings seen during the Civil War. 2) What were the choices made by the main characters and what were the consequences of those choices? Griffith is clear in his intentions that the choice of war was a result of aged-long slavery, and the use of violence to achieve the freedom that African-Americans longed was a way to depict superiority. Ben Cameron’s choice of engaging in a relationship with Elsie, instead of a woman from his place, and Ma rgaret’s love for the elder Stoneman, both resulted to a romance in between the war, and eventually led to love in between revenge against the African-Americans. In the end, it was a picture of an interracial relationship and marriage, and the desolation of death in wars. Moreover, Ben’s decision to organize a left wing group, though it paved way in forwarding their angst towards the demise of many white Americans, it created much more conflict, loss of lives, damages to property, and crisis in all sectors of society. Simply told, while both families chose to participate in a battle where nobody clearly wins, war did not create positive results at all. 3) What three or four sequences are most important in the film? Why? It is of personal intention to choose these important sequences in the movie that highlight its central theme. First scene was when the two Cameron ladies, Margaret and Flora, hurriedly went back to their home after noticing that chaos is happening. Bot h panicked while their family thought of the basement as a safe hiding place. The ransacks heated up the civilian wars. Next, the war fought by both Stonemans and Cameron took the life the younger Stoneman while Ben’s almost ended. The next sequence, Ben Cameron was brought to the hospital to be treated. The third scene, he met Elsie Stoneman who works as a nurse, with whom Cameron spent moments of admiration looking at the lady Stoneman’s photo. The two got married, a sign that amidst the impossibility, two people from different backgrounds can be at peace. Ben’s pardon to President Lincoln not to be punished culminated when, as the fourth sequence goes, Lincoln was assassinated. 4) Did the ?lm surprise you with anything unusual in its story, style, technique, or implications? Yes, it did. In fact, the film’s story is unique from the rest of black movies that highlight the miseries of African-American slaves. The movie chose to present the other way arou nd; the violence they asserted to the communities was highlighted that it aroused a negative impression of them. Moreover, the silent approach of Griffith in this movie introduced a new insight in understanding through visuals of the history. People may have a hard time appreciating his style, but it is a breakthrough from the usual that it made me watch it until

What are the expectations and perceptions of the role of a supply Dissertation

What are the expectations and perceptions of the role of a supply teaching assistant - Dissertation Example In collaboration with the â€Å"Every Child Matters† agenda launched in United Kingdom; the emerging trend of utilizing multi agency approach in a school setting has led to the involvement of a range of specialized support staff, other than teachers, who work with children. Employed either by schools or â€Å"Local Educational Authorities†, teaching assistants or â€Å"TAs† offer a variety of services depending on their level of expertise for meeting educational, pastoral and social needs of children in a class room environment (Westcott, 2008).This research will help to envisage the altering nature of classroom support system in United Kingdom and how well teaching assistants are coping with these pedagogical arrangements. It will primarily discuss the makeshift in UK school systems regarding the increase in number of teaching assistants after the implementation of â€Å"work force reform† that was initiated to transform the primary and secondary learning patterns thus lessening work load of teachers (Estyn, 2007). With coming years issues concerned with role definition of teaching assistant resurfaced. Nature of work became more inclined to submerge the teacher and support staff boundaries. Sometimes TAs faces neglect in a school setting. It may happen that they succumb to the subordination of head teachers without honing their job related skills (Ebersold, 2003, p.103). This research will be focused on determining the underlying challenges faced by supply teachers as they try to substitute various responsibilities that were once considered the â€Å"sole remit of the teacher† (Fraser & Meadows, 2008, p.351). Research questions that will be sought in this study include: Whether the impact of improper guidance by senior teachers deviate the career direction of supply assistants? Other than support provisons, do teaching assistants play any significant role in curriculum development? What is the level of ambiguity or role conf usion faced by teaching assistants in a school setting? Is the training offered to TAs sufficient for their professional development? What is the future potential of teaching assistants in UK schools? 3) Please give a short description of the methodological approach that you intent to take in this research, the research methods you will use and the data you wish to gather. [200 words] The research approach for this study will mostly be qualitative. For secondary data, relevant literature will be studied to gain insights about the perceptions of role disposition of supply teachers as held by parents, teachers and children. Contemporary research work as well as the work done by previous school practitioners will be considered for making generalized analysis of the chosen topic. For carrying out this study reviews of parents and children will be gathered to know the perception they hold with respect to the teaching assistant working in the school environment. Primary tools of data coll ection will comprise of questionnaire survey and interviews with parents and school faculty. Participant observation technique will be employed to judge the behavior of students in presence of a teaching assistant. As a research sample, three schools will be selected on random basis in the locality of Manchester offering both primary and secondary education. Target audience for the participant observation will be 30 students from age group 5-12 years. Their movements and gestures will be recorded while the class is being controlled by the supply learning assistant.

State of the Economi in Bosnia Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

State of the Economi in Bosnia - Case Study Example It also ensures that the graduates accomplish their master’s degree in a short time and thus enable them to access the job market in the shortest time possible. This short program has various disadvantages, which includes generation, of little revenue on a student basis compared with the long program model. The shorter model will ensure that the students finish as quickly as possible and give room for new ones to join the school. This would provide an opportunity to the College to earn extra income and complement the one that would be earned by the long program. The short model would offer ten courses in a period of eleven months while the long would offer sixteen courses in a period twenty months. Most of the students would be interested in the ten courses model since they pay a premium over the other schools offering graduate management education. Since most of the students want to concentrate on other issues like seeking for employment, people would adopt the shorter model since it would take those two years which is a relatively short period to accomplish their studies. Discounted Cash Flow Analysis A Discounted Cash Flow method of valuation estimates the credibility of an investment that is worth investing. In a case where the value that one arrives at through this DCF method is higher than the cost of investment, then the opportunity is viable. Discounted Cash Flow= 425,000-87,250/ (1+0.15) + 350,000-87250/ (1+0.15)2 = 735,899.375 US dollars. One achieves this amount after taking the revenue that the organization realizes after an enrolment of 25 students for both programs. The tuition for each cohort is $ 17,000 for the short program and $ 14,000 for the long program. The students prefer the short program since taking part of the program is of little value with regard to enhancement of their career prospects. The students should ensure that they complete their course since it if finishing that counts with MBA. One finds that the models are realist ic and worth investing in since the DCF amount is favourable. Since the amount of revenue that these two projects would generate, is higher than the cost of investing, the project is, therefore, viable and worth venturing. Consideration of other firms who offer Masters in Business Administration, in the country, also provides vital information concerning investing in the project. It will provide the expected price that should be charged in the market and the expected level of expenses that the college should incur in the process of running the programs. Pros of the long program The long program will generate reasonable profits to the school in case a reasonable number of students join the program. This will ensure that the school develops due to availability of resources that it develops through making profits. It is also cheaper where compared with a short program and students can easily raise the fees with a lot of struggles. The administration distributes tuition fee over a longe r duration of time. The students undertaking the long program has a possibility of performing well since they have few courses to concentrate on in a long duration of time. Cons of the long program The long program takes a reasonably longer time when compared to the short program. It requires a large amount of capital for investment since the number of costs involved in running the program is higher. Pros of the short program The short program saves time for students and equips them with the MBA degree which they will use to secure employment opportunities in the job market. This gives them competitive advantage when compared with the long program students who spend a lot of time in school. The students also finish their course in a relatively short

Before the night falls. Comparison of the book and film Essay

Before the night falls. Comparison of the book and film - Essay Example Julian Schnabel made a movie based on this memoir. The movie with the same name as the book, like the book, recounts Arenas’ life. It details his birth in rural Cuba, his youth and his growth as a writer. It shows how he struggled to get published his works considered counterrevolutionary by the Cuban government, his imprisonment and his eventual release from Cuba. It shows him migrating to the U.S. achieving some recognition and success there, before dying of AIDS. Schnabel inevitably has not been able to put the whole content of the book into the movie. However the essence and most of the themes of the book have been incorporated into the movie. Adapted films may be able to bring a book to life. However it is not possible to make a movie from a book with as much detail or depth as a book. In Schnabel’s case adaptation of Before Night Falls, became even more difficult because the book was not only the story of the life of one man but the book also portrayed political history that was quite complicated in nature. A faithful and total adaptation of the memoir would need more than six hours of viewing. Schnabel while missing out on many portions of the book however remains faithful to some of the important actual events in the life of Arenas. Schnabel handles the movie with a light touch with none of the weighty sequences found in the book. He does no go into the details of the brutality and torment Arenas experiences in prison. The descri ption of life in the Cuban prison had made the book unique. Arena’s sexual explorations portrayed in the book are portrayed quite timidly in the film. Schnabel does explore the pleasure, freedom and promiscuity of beach culture, but he does this only peripherally. In the book, according to Arenas he has had about 5000 sexual partners by the age of 25. However in the film, he is shown as having no more than what he can

Cultural Differences in Body Language Essay Example for Free

Cultural Differences in Body Language Essay Do you know what I am doing? (thumbs up to the side – Hitch hiking). When I do this, most of you would think it means â€Å"good job†. But in the middle east, for example in Iran, it’s an insult similar to â€Å"the middle finger†. Good evening Madam Toastmaster, fellow toastmasters and guests, tonight let’s look at body language in different cultures. Do you agree that gestures can communicate as effectively as words? I agree. Some might argue, it maybe even more than words. However we must be aware different culture has different body language. Therefore, in our personal and business lives, careful consideration must be given to whom we are with and where they are from. A question that we might ask is; do we expect other cultures to adapt to our customs and protocol, or are we willing to make an extra effort to learn more about how they prefer to communicate? It wouldnt be the first time that someone who wasnt familiar with the communication customs of another country, found themselves in a rather embarrassing situation. Many years ago, President Richard Nixon arrived in a foreign country. Upon his arrival, he stood at the top of the stairs leading from his aircraft door, and overlooked the welcoming crowd gathered below him. He smiled and proudly raised both hands high in the air, palms facing outward and gave a gesture of his trademark famous Peace sign (as he had done many times before while travelling abroad). However the crown immediately began to jeer and hiss at the President, and he found himself on the receiving end of a hostile and rude welcome. Could you imagine how he felt? The reason was because in the country he was visiting, the two fingered, palms outward Peace sign, which was acceptable in North America, was an absolutely offensive gesture to the local people in that African country. This would have been the equivalent of a president from another country visiting New Zealand, and with a smile, flipped the bird which in their country might have meant greetings. As a member of the audience, how might you react? In North America, a simple thumbs up gesture can mean that things are great or a hitchhiking sign which indicates I need a ride. However, in Greece, this gesture signifies up yours when accompanied with a rapid upward and slower downward motion. The gesture for YES is often thought to be universal, however in India they wobble their heads from side to side to say yes. Correct me if I’m wrong my Indian friends. There are also variations in saying no. In Greece they toss their head up. In Japan, they wave their hands in front of their nose like ur gesture for stinky. Or, how about the OK sign where the index finger and the thumb connect to make an O shape and the three remaining fingers point up and slightly flare out. Although acceptable in Western culture to signal that things are A-OK, in Russia or Turkey, this gesture can represent a sexual insult. specifically an orifice (thats as far as Ill go with that). In China you may see two men walk hand in hand or with an arm around anothers shoulder. This is a sign of friendship. However, the situation is regarded as homosexual in American culture. In some countries such as France or Italy, it is acceptable to exchange a kiss on one or both cheeks while shaking hands when greeting one another. In other countries such as Japan, this type of behavior is considered impolite as the Japanese are considered to be a non-touch society relative to other cultures. The Japanese have a respectful custom to bow to each other. The most senior status person bows the least and the least status person having to bow first and display the deepest bend from the waist. Business cards are exchanged and read first in a complex formality. This ritual is to determine the seniority, position or rank of everyone in the room first. Then the bowing gesture commences based on the information read. For example, let’s say Tony Cooper is the CEO of Mitsubishi Motors in Japan. I am a small department manager from Fontera†¦the process is: So as you can see, it is really important to know your audience. If you are traveling to other countries, you need to be aware that some of the most commonly acceptable gestures at home can have a completely different meaning to someone from abroad. Demonstrating a sound knowledge of the cultural differences in nonverbal communication will get you noticed and others will appreciate that you are both respectful and prepared. Tonight you’ve learnt as least one thing: be careful if you thumb a ride in Greece O Take the time and invest in a little research to become culturally educated. By doing this you will be able to: Save the embarrassment. (i. e. Be careful if you thumb a ride in Greece O) Gain the competitive edge. A little research can go a long way prior to traveling abroad on business. Surely it helps if you are willing to make an extra effort to learn more about how they prefer to communicate. As the saying goes, In Rome, do like the Romans do. Get to know your audience and their customs. Remember in business, its about being prepared and establishing rapport quickly. Understanding body language in different culture might be the very thing that tips the scales in your favor and will give you the competitive edge youre looking for.

Engaged In The Retail Stores Operation Management Essay

Engaged In The Retail Stores Operation Management Essay In the beginning in 1962, Wal-Mart founder, Sam Walton, who opened the companys first discount store in Rogers, Ark. In October 1969, Wal-Mart officially incorporated its business and operates over 4150 retail facilities globally. At the year of 1962, Wal-Mart has its competitors- KMart and Target. Walton studied his competitors and borrowed liberally. In the United States, Wal-Mart is the largest retail store. It mainly has its retail store in Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. (Walmart Corporate, 2012) Throughout the United States, Wal-Mart is engaged in the retail stores operation. Wal-Mart is most practicing mode of entry which is wholly-owned subsidiary and joint ventures globally currently. In China, Wal-Mart is practicing joint venture and acquisition entry modes (Hornblower, 2004). Wal-Mart needs to be careful in choosing the appropriate strategy in order to develop the future expansion successfully. Wal-Mart operate its business is because it wants to save people money tend to help them live better. It continues to deliver that promise to families around the globe. Therefore, Wal-Mart works harder to do their part in protecting our planet and conserving our natural resources (Walmart Corporate, 2012). Joint Venture is an entry strategy for a single target country in which the partners share ownership of a newly created business entity (Warren Mark, 2011). This means that Wal-Mart joint venture with local partner and local parent earn more than 51 percent share attributed to Chinas government policy. Through joint venture, Wal-Mart may able to share the risk with the local partner and it can limit financial risk as well in 1996 (Wal-Marts Strategies in China, 2005). Wal-Mart joint venture expands their strategy in order to gain successful entry into many of its international markets (Marcus, Jon, Wayne, and Constince, 2007). Wal-Mart may able to gain access, increase profitability, enhance global market share and explore into more global market (Gary and Ryan, n.d.). However, Wal-Mart may enter the new market quickly, avoiding costs and risks of new product development, gaining market share and acquiring new knowledge and capabilities. In 2007, Wal-Mart successfully acquired Trust-Mart. Wal-Mart has been established the brand name of Trust-Mart (David, 2007). Current Expansion Strategy Joint Ventures and Acquisition in China Today, Wal-Mart is one of the leading international retailers in China. It is also one of the largest international retailers in China. It is estimated that the firm will have 150,000 employees in its stores and warehouses in China alone by 2010. China is the largest emerging market, and Wal-Mart could expand their business rapidly. Wal-Mart has followed much of this expansion in China through joint ventures because of government restricted foreign retailer not to own a store. Therefore, Wal-Mart followed government policy strictly (DePamphilis, 2009). Learning about a market through a joint venture is a particularly powerful motivator when a firm seeks to enter an emerging or developing market. When Wal-Mart entered China, partnered with local firms in the new cities, tend to enter to learn about their challenging environment and distribution system (Jim, 2004). The nature of China is that the culture and political power can vary widely from one major city to another. Hence, joint ventures in such situations allow Wal-Mart to learn about the local system, such as legal standards, consumer characteristics, labor markets, and building relationships with the government and local distributors (Hornblower, 2004). China is the cheapest workshop and emerging market in Asia, so it would like to attract Wal-Mart to invest in its country. Wal-Mart tend to enter the emerging market is because it operates on a smaller scale in new market before making a more significant investment. Apart from that, Wal-Mart divides the responsibilities and liabilities with others to keep a minimum cost. It also combines assets and skill-sets with other companies. (Wal-Mart Store Inc., 2010 Annual Report) China could offer the opportunity to foreign firm operated with no taxes on foreign business for the first few years of operation. Therefore, Wal-Mart caught a chance and tends to expand their business into China. (Hornblower, 2004) One of the reason Wal-Mart expand their business to China because the impact of competition and the restriction and lowered the market trade barrier caused U.S operation could not control attributable to the faster growth of Wal-Mart. Moreover, due to China has the strong economic growth and it has 1.3 billion population of people and also cheap labor they could provide. It would compete with Carrefour, Tesco and Metro more easily because China removed all limits on business location, amount and share structure. Therefore, Wal-Mart endeavors to gain a better marker share in Chinas $240 billion retail market. (Wal-Mart Bulks up China Expansion Strategy, 2005) Wal-Mart entered China through this entry mode is successfully. China could offer a way of getting around high Chinese tariffs, allowing a company to gain a competitive price advantage over imports. (Philip, Mary and John, 2009) China government has provided Wal-Mart the benefits of synergy which the local partner providing the access to the Government officials and market information besides sharing the risk. Acording to (Gerald and Edwin, 2008), sales and profits of the joint venture may be greater than those of a subsidiary, because the operation is looked upon with more favor by nationalist-oriented consumers than would be the case if it were considered a foreign operation. Therefore, Wal-Mart could be sustained its growth and sales will be increased through this joint venture. Stern and Stalk (1998) found that the expansion in China has been proven Wal-Mart could reduce stock-carrying and transportation costs and increase profitability by 2.5 percent compared with their competitors. However, through the joint venture with local partners, Wal-Mart is able to gain valuable knowledge on Chinese market, economic and political conditions. Joint Ventures are really a good option for their expansion since Chinas government regulated the foreign retailers enters China market should use joint venture strategy. This could allow Wal-Mart apply the valuable resource to improve market, economic as well as political condition (Clem, 2009). There is also an acquisition Trust-Mart in China which bought 35 percent of its shares. Trust-Mart is one of the leading retailers in Chinese market. Wal-Mart is willing to acquire and invest huge amount of capital because Trust-Mart has several number of stores. In addition, Trust-Mart also is leading position in China. This could enable Wal-Mart to capture much more competitive advantages in China. (Lee, 2011) Indeed, Wal-Marts retail footprint could become doubled where taking full control of Trust-Mart. At the same time, China tends to develop its economy sustainably in promoting the domestic consumption (David, 2007). This acquisition helped Trust-Mart expand on the Chinese mainland. Nowaday, it had more than 100 retail outlets in 34 cities on the mainland and employed more than 30,000 employees (Li, 2011). Wal-Mart planned to acquire the rest of the Trust-Mart, but the plan has been delayed because of several top executive resigned in 2010. This caused to Wal-Mart unable to acquire Trust-Mart the rest of the share (Li, 2011). Through this acquisition, Wal-Marts sale is less than 3 percent of its sales in America (Walmart v Wumart, 2011). Future Expansion Strategy According to Bishop (2006), a firms entry mode is how to enter the foreign market, and how to make its goods or services available to foreign customers. Basically, there are six different modes for a multinational firm to choose, such as licensing, exporting, turnkey project, joint venture, franchising and wholly-owned subsidiary (Hill, 2004). The current entry mode of Wal-Mart in China is through joint venture with Shenzhen International Trust Investment Co., Ltd, China due to the government restriction on foreign ownership. But joint venture benefits Wal-Mart from knowledge of the host countrys competitive conditions, political systems, language, culture, and business system. However, joint venture could bring negative effect to Wal-Mart because it has a risk of giving control its technology to its partner when it entry into a joint venture and it would also caused to conflict happen when the shared ownership arrangement is different and the goals and objectives is change. Hence, it is important for Wal-Mart to convert its entire joint venture stores into wholly-owned subsidiary. In order to completely convert into wholly-owned firm, the very first step that Wal-Mart should take into consideration is acquiring its partner Trust-mart. By acquisition, Wal-Mart is able to reduce risk over losing control and tighten control over operation in country and by the way maximize the profits. It is possible for Wal-Mart to acquire Trust-mart because China had lighten the limitations towards foreign company after joining WTO in year 2001 and after so many years operation in China, Wal-Mart is know well about the cultures and customer preferences in that country. At the same time, the large number of stores and leading position of Trust-mart in China makes the strong attraction for Wal-Mart to acquire. Undoubtedly, this acquisition would help Wal-Mart to capture more competitive advantage in China. The successful role models of acquisition that can be benchmark by Wal-Mart were the acquisition done by it in Canada and European countries. The company entering Canada by acquiring 122 Woolco stores in 1994. Due to continuously suffering a loss in Canadian operation, Wal-Mart quickly restructured the operation by applying the practices that had been successful in United States and the action taken was profitable. And the acquisition made in Germany and United Kingdom in year 1998 and 1999 also proved to be successful where it allowed Wal-Mart to build market share quickly within the highly developed and competitive European market. (Source: Wal-Mart takes on the world) Besides that, Wal-Mart should also build up a partnership or joint venture with local supplier in near future to ensure the flexibility, freshness of the foods and understand more about customers needs and tastes. It is because the strategy adopted in United States may not be fitted in China. The Chinese consumers are more prefer to consume fresh food rather than frozen food. A good example can be follow is Carrefour; it did a great job on building partnership and direct sourcing agreement with local suppliers. It focuses on locally sourced products, especially regarding fresh food. It also rely them to distribute goods directly to stores. A greater emphasis on partnerships with farmers enables Carrefour to have better control over food quality, and to reduce buying costs.   Finally, it proved to be more flexible to customers than any others do. Additionally, joint venture with local suppliers and purchase locally not only create flexible to customers, at the same time also reduce the costs in development than having joint venture with Investment Company. As deeply understand of the customers around, local suppliers have more experiences about the customers which are more accurately than foreign companies. Lastly, another future expansion that would recommend to Wal-Mart is through mergers. According to Valentine (n.d.), successful mergers businesses are reaping benefits and gain more profits. Therefore, a merger with Trust-mart and any other giant company in China may help Wal-Mart to obtain quality staffs and knowledge or additional skills to cope with different in culture and customer preference. Apart from this, merging also provide Wal-Mart the opportunity to increase market share and expand to new geographical areas and sectors. The best evidence to illustrate was Carrefour making its first merging with NextMart Shanghai store after entering the China retail market for more than ten years. This movement had marked a basic change in their expansion strategy and indicated the second climax of Carrefour expansion in China. (Sources ¼Ã… ¡www.China-cbn.com, 2007) Wholly-owned subsidiary in Philippine We would like to recommend Wal-Mart to expand their operation in Philippine. Philippine is one of the richest and developing countries in Asia. We suggest Wal-Mart using wholly owned subsidiary. This is because under the Retail Trade liberalization Act (RA 8762), this law indicates that foreigners may own up to 100 percent of a store with pad-in capital of the Peso equivalent of USD $7.5 million. This mean that Wal-Mart could paid up capitalization of USD $7.5, wholly own a firm in Philippine (Abigail, 2011). It is more suitable using wholly-owned subsidiary which is acquired a Philippines local firm. According to Philip et al. (2009), wholly-owned subsidiary could develop its operation with a greater control and higher profit compare with other entry mode strategy. However, this strategy has a higher risk. In another word, higher risk will get high return. Besides that, through the wholly-owned subsidiary, Wal-Mart could also state-of-the art technology hence resulting in increased operational efficiency. Wal-Mart could offer control over the local firm. In addition, Wal-Mart has its wholly-owned operations in Canada, Brazil and Argentina, there are extremely successful since Wal-Mart has past experience operate in these Country. For instance, Wal-Mart successfully became a wholly owned subsidiary in Japan, Seiyu recent year. (Walmart Corporate, 2012). Wal-Mart could learn the strategy same as in Japan because Wal-Mart has its experience and knowledge to use this entry mode into Japan. Wal-Mart can form a new firm or find a local company to do the business. By doing this way, Wal-Mart could earn a valuable knowledge from local partner since they operated in Philippine several years because they know the economic, government policy, consumer buying pattern and consumer purchasing power (Gerald and Edwin, 2008). For instance, David and Gary (2010) found that Wal-Mart often acquires ongoing firm as they move into a new market. Wal-Marts 2005 acquisition of controlling interest in the Central American Retail Holding Company helped Wal-Mart acquire valuable knowledge about this important market. Retail trade in Philippine is very vital and essential in order to boom the economy. Thus, Philippines government encourage foreign retail to invest in their country. In view of the fact that Wal-Mart is giving the low price of the retail grocery service for Pilipino, this would more satisfy them to buy Wal-Marts products (Retailing in the Philippines, 2002). The reason we recommend for Wal-Mart to expand in Philippine due to Philippine is an open economy which is freely and business-friendly economy. Government also gives multinational company some incentives such as tax exemptions and tax and duty-free importation of particular materials and equipment. Aside from tax and government incentive, Philippine has a strategic business location which suitable for European and American businesses to operate their business there (Why do business in the Philippines, n.d.). Joint venture in Malaysia Furthermore, as many foreign retailers looked forward to invest in Malaysia because of the purchasing power of local consumers, we recommend that Wal-Mart can expand their business in Malaysia in the future. However, Malaysia has restricted and controlled the foreign hypermarkets to expand and enter to the local market in order to protect smaller local businesses over recent years. But some of the major foreign retailers such as Carrefour, Tesco, Giant, and Isetan have operated and doing well in Malaysia. Wal-Mart can try to enter Malaysias market because the entry of foreign giant retailer would bring benefit for both parties including the profit for Wal-Mart itself, and at the same time create job opportunities for the local workers. Furthermore, other than create job opportunities; the entry of Wal-Mart will also make the retail market more competitive and simultaneously benefit consumers by providing additional place to shop. Moreover, we recommend Wal-Mart to apply joint venture as the entry mode into Malaysia retail market. Wal-Mart can try to joint venture with the local giant enterprise such as Berjaya Group, YTL, and IOI Corporation. However, Wal-Mart normally applies acquisition to enter into the countries. Unfortunately, Malaysia government has restricted and tightly controlled the entry of foreign retailers. Before that, Wal-Mart has tried to enter into Malaysia but have been rejected because the government realizes that the entry of Wal-Mart into Malaysia will greatly affect the local retailers. Moreover, Wal-Mart is able to provide the goods to the customers at a very low price because its business model is very efficient, but the low price of Wal-Mart has threaten the small local retailers as they may not able to fight the lower price with Wal-Mart and their business will be greatly affected, at the same time unable to survive. The reason we recommend Wal-Mart to expand by using joint venture in Malaysia is because the minister of Malaysia stressed that Wal-Mart is not allowed to operate new retail stores or hypermarkets at their own discretion. However, according to Vivian (2007), Malaysian authority was planning to loosen the limitations on foreign hypermarket so as to attract foreign direct investment in Malaysia retail market. Therefore, Wal-mart might have an opportunity to expand into Malaysia. In order to successfully enter into Malaysia, Wal-Mart should joint venture with Berjaya Group to open a new store named as Berjaya-Mart as Berjaya Group is one of the successful companies. Through joint venture, Berjaya-Mart is able to access larger markets because Berjaya Group provides larger geographical markets and customer bases. Furthermore, Berjaya-Mart is new to the market and may need to spend a lot and the process is complicated. Through joint venture can helps to overcome some of the problems such a s government regulation, direct financial losses, operating complexity, and reduce the cost of entry. Moreover, start a business in a new country might confront with political factors and the strict rules and regulations by the national government. Joint venture will help Berjaya-Mart to penetrate into the local market in Malaysia. Conclusion In conclusion, China is always an attractive market among countries for foreign investment. Although the retail market in China has a great potential, but the competition is very fierce from both local Chinese retailers and foreign retailers. However, Wal-Mart was a well-known company which with high reputation in global. Wal-Mart will continue to success in the future in China is mostly depend on the future expansion and their market strategy. As mentioned above, other than joint venture, we were recommended that Wal-Mart can try to use wholly-owned subsidiaries, partnerships, and merger. The wholly-owned subsidiaries from both acquisition and Greenfield investment will create advantage and help to expand in the future. Acquisition helps Wal-Mart to access and enter foreign market quickly and a way to achieve greater market power. Wal-Mart applies acquisition to achieve the larger market power to consent to exercise of a core competency and capture competitive advantage in global ma rket. Although it is high risk due the potential high cost, but it is the most probable to provide above average return. However, for partnerships is somewhat easy to establish, Wal-Mart able to get fresh products much more easily through partnership with the local suppliers. Partnerships can help Wal-Mart to save cost as each partner specializes in certain aspects of their business. Undoubtedly, more and more foreign investment including Wal-Mart has come into China, and they usually bring advanced technologies and also management knowledge. Moreover, some of these foreign entrants are successful in the worldwide. Expansion of Wal-Mart in China is one of the successful examples of foreign investment and can be learned by other firms. However, some business models which successful in other countries may not be successful in China. In order to success in China, both internal resources and external environment are critically important for Wal-Mart. Moreover, Wal-Mart can be so successful today in worldwide, there must a reason behind, which is Wal-Mart able to implement monitoring measures consistently in their operations and performances of their employees and managers that sent to China. Furthermore, Americans culture and Chineses culture is greatly different, but Wal-Mart is able to adapt speedily to the Chinese culture, fulfill requirements while carrying out their responsibilities, and get appreciation of the exclusive processes of doing business in China. However, there is also a lot space for further improvement of Wal-Marts strategies and future expansion.

Analysis of Employee Turnover at McDonalds

Analysis of Employee Turnover at McDonalds 1.1 Introduction In a perfect world it would be best for any organization to have employees who love their jobs, enjoy working with their co-workers, are happy with the salary, willing to work hard for their managers and never leave the organization. However, in the real world employees do leave either because they want more money, hate the work environment, hate their co-workers, want a change or because their spouse gets a dream job in another state (Sharma, 2008). Many organizations nowadays face ‘high attrition rate or turnover mainly due to a highly competitive market. Staff attrition or turnover has been cited as one of the primary concerns facing organizations and businesses in any industry. Staff attrition or turnover relates to those who leave an organization due to resignation, termination and retirement. According to the latest CIPD survey (CIPD, 2007), the annual employee turnover rate in the UK was at 18.1 percent. The report also found that the annual turnover levels differed cons iderably from one industry to the other industry, with the highest average rates being 22.6 percent and these were found in private sector organizations and, within this sector, the hotels, catering and leisure industry reports rates of turnover at 10 percent higher than the average for the sector of 32.6 percent. High turnover rates creates particular pressures for the HR department, which is primarily responsible for replacing those who leave, but also for line managers who face disruption to production and service standards. This is the necessary result of having to induct new employees, who are usually less experienced and productive compared to those whom they replace. It takes some time for the new recruits to perform at their optimum levels. This results in the organization failing to meet its objectives, reduction in productivity and higher costs. It is therefore important for HR managers to measure staff attrition, monitor its impact and take appropriate action to minimize its effects(BanfieldKay,2008). Globalization has led to the rapid expansion of multinational fast food companies e.g. McDonalds and KFC. Even at this present time of global economic recession, these fast food companies are growing and generating profits. The customers, who were eating out at a high profile restaurant, are now looking for something reasonable and affordable. McDonalds is offering good hygienic food at a reasonable price to these customers and are benefitting from this global economic downturn. This has lead to a fierce competition between these fast food companies and each of them is trying to give the best quality product and service to its customers. In a company like McDonalds, giving a quick and high quality customer service is essential for its success. However many of the McDonalds restaurants are experiencing high employee turnover which could affect the overall productivity and profitability of the respective McDonalds restaurants. One of the senior executives at McDonalds put the chains an nual employee turnover at nearly 44 percent. According to the chief human resource officer of McDonalds Mr. Floersch the managerial turnover was at 20% globally while that of the crew members averaged between 80 percent and 90 percent. This however, varied from country to country (The Wall Street Journal, 2008). In this research, the researcher would like to investigate the main reasons for experienced employees leaving the organization i.e. McDonalds and what sort of challenges the managers face due to the high turnover. The researcher would also like to find out any retention strategies adopted by the HR department to curb the high turnover rate. For this, the researcher decided to choose few selected restaurants in London. 1.2 The Overall Aim The researchers main aim in this study is to find out the main reasons for high employee turnover at McDonalds, the way it affects the managers and the organization, and steps taken to retain employees. 1.3 Research Objectives The researcher in this research would like to find out the main reasons for having high turnover rate in McDonalds and the challenges that the managers face and also how they can curb the rate of staff turnover.The researcher also intends to study the following: To find out the main causes of high employee turnover To find out the various retention strategies adopted by McDonalds in order to retain employees. To find out the various challenges faced by managers due to employee turnover. Chapter2 2.0 Background-Company Overview McDonalds has 31,000 restaurants in 116 countries and is one of the biggest family restaurants in the world. The first restaurant in UK was opened during 1974 in Woolwich High Street and the first franchised restaurant opened in 1986. In UK there are now 1,190 restaurants employing more than 70,000 people, of which 51% is operated by franchisees. McDonalds main vision is to give the family the best experience, something that they will never forget and would want to come back to. They achieve this through its people they employ. McDonalds realizes that its employees can only perform well when they are given the right working environment and for this, they strive to provide various rewards and benefits which would suit each and every individual working in the organization. McDonalds is one of the largest global brands and it offers a culture of flexibility, opportunity, equality and diversity. It has one of the most diverse cultures within the UK (McDonalds, 2009). 2.1 Recruitment at McDonalds McDonalds policy is to hire those ‘Crew Members who can bring a smile to the workplace. This brings in positive energy and creates a good friendly atmosphere. The recruitment procedure for a ‘Crew Member is a two-step process. First the applicant needs to apply online and if successful, the second step will be to invite the candidate to a restaurant for On job evaluation (OJE) and interview. The on job evaluation helps evaluate the candidates customer service skills and his ability to keep up with the high energy environment. This will last for 15 minutes after which the candidate will be interviewed by the Business Manager for another 15 minutes. Once the crew members are hired, they will attend a welcome meeting which will be conducted at their chosen restaurant or the recruitment centre. The welcome meeting involves viewing a DVD which gives important information about the company and also gives the manager an opportunity to interact with the new recruits. They also at tend a compulsory online Health safety and Food safety test when they start working (McDonalds,2009). McDonalds also recruit ‘Trainee Business Managers who need to display some strong leadership skills. In this, McDonalds makes sure that the candidate is right for the job. A candidate applying for this position has to go through four-step selection process. The first stage is the initial screening process, this helps in ensuring that the candidate meets the basic criteria for selection. If successful, the next step is an online personality questionnaire that the candidate will have to complete. This ensures if the candidate has the desired attributes to be working in McDonalds environment. The next step is a restaurant based ‘On Job Evaluation or OJE. In this the candidate works for the entire day in order to find out what its really like to work in a McDonalds restaurant. The final step of the process is an interview with the Senior Manager of the restaurant (McDonalds,2009). 2.2 Training in McDonalds McDonalds success depends on its well trained crew and managers who maintain company standards of providing high quality, good service and cleanliness at each of its restaurants. McDonalds has a company policy to provide career opportunities that will allow employees to grow and meet their full potential. They have included career development programmes for crew and operations management which will allow them to progress to a senior management position. The company believes in promoting people on their merit. The crew members are trained by the Crew Trainers and they learn the skills necessary to run each of the workstations in the restaurant, from the front counter to the grill area. They are also trained on how to take deliveries and store the frozen food into the chiller, this is then further used in cooking and making the necessary burgers. Major part of this training is floor based and this helps the crew members learn faster and are also able to retain the information provided. After the initial training period the crew members are monitored by the use of ‘observation check lists (OCRs) on an ongoing basis. The observation checklist is a score sheet that marks all aspects of work in the restaurant. The ratings derived from these checklists goes towards their performance appraisal. The restaurants do promote the good performers to management positions where they will have the responsibility to runs shifts within the restaurant. For this, training is given to crew members in areas such as Customer Care, First Aid, Taste of Quality and Food Restaurant Safety. On successful completion of the management entrance exam, the employees will attend a training course provided by the Training Department before they start working in management position (McDonalds, 2009). 2.3 Retention Strategies of McDonalds McDonalds provides high levels of training to its employees working in various positions at the restaurants. This helps in reducing staff turnover and lowers the turnover costs. Employees that perform well are given recognition by awarding them with ‘Employee of the month. It provides medical insurance and offers health care. McDonalds now gives quarterly bonus to its crew and managers instead of yearly bonus, this was a step taken towards motivating its employees. The organization gives five weeks holiday per annum and they are going to increase that to six weeks from April 2009. Computerized English language classes are conducted; this can be enjoyed by the crew members between shifts (The Wall Street Journal, 2008). In 2009, McDonalds aims to provide Apprenticeships to up to 6000 of its 72,000 UK workforce and later will be increased to 10,000 from 2010. This will give the staff an opportunity to gain valuable and nationally recognized qualification that is equivalent to fiv e GCSE grade A*-C. McDonalds senses the importance of investing in their staff says the Senior Vice President David Fairhurst of McDonalds UK. This has been done purely to retain the existing staff and also to attract new ones towards working for McDonalds, which, is a global brand name (McDonalds Latest News, 2009). Chapter3 3.0LiteratureReview This section of the study points out the various theories that are relevant to the topic chosen. It starts with the HR and then focuses on employee turnover and the impact it has on the organization. It also speaks about the various ways an organization can adopt to reduce the employee turnover. 3.1Human Resource Management Human resource management (HRM) is a strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organizations most valued assets. The people working in HRM put individual efforts and also work together collectively in order to achieve its objectives. Their main goal is to help the organization achieve their goals and targets through people. HRM is concerned with choosing human capital that meets the organizations requirements and to develop their capabilities so that the work is done effectively (Armstrong, 2006). Recently there has been a growing importance of HRM; this is due to the fierce competition from overseas economies. In the twenty-first century if an organization wants to have a competitive advantage, it would have to effectively manage the organizations human resource. This would also enable the organization to maintain high performance consistently over a long term. In todays market the managers recognize the growing importance of recruiting, selecting, training and develop ing, rewarding and compensation the employees. However, individuals that work with human resource matters face a multitude of challenges such as the ever constant changing workforce, the government regulations and technological revolution. Furthermore, globalization has made organizations of all sizes to think about cutting costs and improving productivity (Mondy, 2008). It is therefore, important that the HRM and the other departments within the organization work closely together in order to achieve the organizational goals and objectives and to compete locally and internationally (Sims,2002). 3.2 Human Resource Development (HRD) Human Resource Development is a title which represents the latest evolutionary stage in the long tradition of training, educating, and developing people for the purpose of contributing towards the achievement of individual, organizational and societal objectives (Wilson,2005).The fundamental aim of strategic HRD is to enhance resource capability in accordance with the belief that the human capital of an organization is a major source of competitive advantage. It is therefore about ensuring that the right quality people are available to meet present and future needs. HRD policies are closely associated with that aspect of HRM that is concerned with investing in people and developing the organizations human capital. Human Resource Development is important for organizations because it is the people whose innovative ideas, their quality at work and their hunger for continuous improvement that is needed in order to compete in todays modern and high competitive business world and these won t come from machines (Swart et al, 2005). The development of human resource will always be an ongoing process and a vital ingredient for the success of an organization. 3.3 Employee Turnover Employee attrition or turnover can be explained as the number of people who leave employment over a specified period due to retirement, death, redundancy, dismissal, transfer or resignation (Secord, 2003). According to Muller-Camen et al (2008) turnover is the number of people who leave the organization at a given time period. Most organizations would like to reduce their turnover rates, especially when it comes to the good performers who have benefitted from the companies training programs. Some organizations measure their turnover rates on a monthly basis, whereas some do it on a yearly basis. A limited amount turnover is positive for organizations as a poor performer could be replaced by a more productive one. Also, it creates an opportunity for promotion or career development when an experienced staff leaves an organization. However, high turnover could affect the quality of product and service that is offered to the customers (Baum, 2006) e.g. in case of McDonalds if an experien ced staff leaves and a new staff is recruited in the kitchen section, the quality of making the burgers will be affected. It is important for any organization to stem the staff attrition rate as finding a replacement could incur heavy costs for the organization. Some of these costs include recruitment, administration and selection costs. The managers will have to recruit new employees which will incur cost to the organization and also to cover up for the loss, the other employees working in the department would be under pressure to meet the company targets. In a highly competitive market this needs to be avoided by the managers. In order to avoid high attrition rate, it is essential for HR managers to try and retain its existing employees. 3.4 Cause of Employee Turnover There are various employee turnover causes. For example, one of the biggest employee turnover causes is an ill tempered manager. Employees dont like to work with those managers who are always being negative to them, shouting at them and blaming them for something which wasnt their fault. The employees dont want to work for a manager who is not well organized in his work. Employees find it extremely difficult to work with managers who have attitude and are not easily approachable when they face problems, such managers often find it difficult to retain their staff. Sometimes managers in order to maximize profits for the organization try to cut costs by making an employee work more so that they dont have to recruit another staff. Another main cause of employee turnover is less pay to the employees. Many employees leave an organization due to not being paid enough by the management. Employees want that they are respected for their efforts in form of good pay and good benefits. It is ther efore important for organizations to treat their employees as human beings and respect their feelings and opinions. When an employee feels that they are not being looked after by their employer, they get affected mentally as frustration creeps in and this forces them to leave the organization. Also, less pay and no benefits results in lack of motivation and job satisfaction. Another reason that causes employee turnover is an employee interaction with other employees. If an employee is not comfortable with their co-workers they often tend to leave the organization. They dont really get along with the workplace and this affects their performance and productivity. Employee turnover also occurs when they are not rewarded for their hard work. If an employee performs really well at work, he/she expects that the employer would recognize the efforts put in. However, this does not happen often to the employee (Employee Turnover Calculator Blog, 2008). 3.5 Types of Employee Turnover There are two types of turnover: Voluntary and Involuntary. Voluntary turnover is sub-divided into avoidable and unavoidable turnover. Avoidable turnover is that which an organization can prevent from occurring such as increasing the employee pay or by giving him new job assignment. Unavoidable turnover is when an employee quits and the organization could not have prevented, such as people withdrawing through retirement or returning back to school or university. Other examples of unavoidable turnover is when an employee quits in pursuit of a new career, health problems which forces an employee to take up a different type of job or perhapswhenanemployeeleavesthecountry. Involuntary turnover can be split into discharge and downsizing types. Discharge turnover occurs when an individual has been asked to leave the organization. This could be due to job performance problems wherein an employee does not perform well over a period of time even after adequate training is given to the employe e or could be for not being discipline at work e.g. coming late at work or misbehaving with colleagues. Downsizing turnover is targeted at a group of employees by an organization, it occurs as a part of organizational restructuring or cost-reduction program to improve organizational effectiveness and increase shareholder value. This reduction could be permanent or temporary due to a plant or site closing or relocation. The reduction in workforce also occurs at the time or mergers and acquisitions (Heneman Judge, 2006). 3.6 Cost as aresult of Employee Turnover The most important factor of high employee turnover that affects any organization is the cost. These costs can further be divided into the recruitment costs, training costs, lost productivity costs, new hire costs and lost sales costs (Pilbeam Corbridge, 2006). Recruitment costs are usually in the form of advertisements. The organization also incurs cost as they have to pay the recruitment agency, and also for posting advertisements on the internet. The training costs include cost of departmental training, cost of the person(s) who conduct the training and cost of various training materials. There are lost productivity costs as the new trained employee would only contribute at 25% productivity level for the first 2-4 weeks and cost of mistakes the new employee makes during his induction period. The new hire costs include putting the person on the payroll, establish computer and security passwords and identification cards, telephone hookups and cost of establishing email accounts. Th e lost sales costs or lost revenue which is calculated by multiplying the number of weeks the position is vacant by the averageweeklyrevenueperemployee.Despite the costs of high employee turnover being so significant it is overlooked and rarely calculated. Few organizations, 7 per cent of those surveyed, calculate the more extensive costs of turnover (CIPD, 2004a). When these organizations were asked why they dont calculate these costs, over half of them gave the reason that the organization did not require the information, while a third stated that calculating the various costs was just too time consumingforthem. According to Risher Stopper (2002) for an organization cost of replacement can sometimes account to around 2.5 times the annual salary of an existing employee. Such costs are rarely identified by the accounting department of an organization. Therefore, in order to avoid such turnover costs, organizations must form a successful retention strategy overtime. 3.7 Customer Satisfaction and Customer Retention According to Hill (2006) recently many organizations whether it be a small one or a large one, they have increasingly come to understand that it is important for them to maintain customer satisfaction. Nowadays the organizations have realized the fact that retaining existing customers is easier and less costly than finding some new ones. Todays businesses are so competitive that in order to gain or win new customers, organizations have to invest a lot of money. Organizations have started to realize that there is a strong link between customer satisfaction, customer retention and profitability. For many organizations in the hospitality and service industry customer satisfaction will be the topmost priority in order to be successful. Meeting the various needs of the customers and satisfying them has become the key operational goal for many organizations. Customers would only be satisfied when the organizations product or service is good enough to meet their requirements and therefore t his needs to be measured by the organization. In the words of Argenti (2002) in order to measure the overall success of any given product or service one needs to find out how often do the customers buy that same product or service. A customer buying the same product repeatedly would mean that he/she is satisfied with that product. If one can put it in simple terms, a company can make regular profits if customers show a long term commitment to their product or service. The reason why organizations can make profits from long-term and loyal customers is because they dont have to invest huge sums in attracting the new customers through the means of advertisements and promotions. Therefore, if a company after acquiring a new customer manages to keep them in the long-run, its investment on acquiring will pay off. E.g. If McDonalds want to stay competitive in the fast food industry it needs to make sure that their customers are always satisfied with the food and also the customer service. This is essential for retaining customers and would also add value to the company,thereby increasing the company profits. 3.8 Employee Retention Retention includes all those activities that an employer does to encourage qualified and highly-skilled and productive employees to continue working for the organization (Jackson et al, 2009). Staff retention is about attracting and keeping good-quality employees, while accepting that some of them will leave the organization. However, the managers should ensure that when these employees leave, it wont affect the organizations productivity to a large extent (Bloisi, 2007). Retaining a productive employee is of considerable importance to the companys HR professional. The CIPD (2004) report intro HR trends and indicators reported that 31.7 percent of employers face difficulty with retaining its employees. Large organizations find it even moredifficulttoretaintheirworkers.According to Browell (2003) an organization can benefit a lot from retaining the existing staff, some of them include: reduction in recruitment costs and selection and training of new staff, it keeps skills and knowledg e within the organization, helps improve performance, productivity and profitability, it helps in building customer loyalty and satisfaction, and lastly, it could help increase the sales volume of the organization thereby making them competitive in the market. Organizations should consider the following elements which would help in retaining employees: Job previews employees should be given a more realistic job preview when they are being recruited. Care should be taken not to give them high expectations that cannot be met. Improve management style one of the main reasons employees leave the organization is due to dissatisfaction with their managers. Organizations that would like to improve retention should take measures to improve their managers people management skills. Career development and Progression organizations should give their employees ample of opportunities to develop their skills. This can be done by introducing mentoring scheme, encouraging multi-skilling, improving career development opportunities and investing in succession planning (CIPD, 2008). Flexibility organizations should be flexible towards employees working hours and times. If employees are forced to work hours which is not convenient for them, they will look for jobs elsewhere. Treat people equally and fairly to improve retention organizations should make sure not to discriminate against employees. If they are unfair towards them it will result in voluntary resignations. Every employee that belongs to a team should be treated equally by the managers. Improve pay and benefits Many employees leave due to less pay and no benefits. A simple pay rise could be a useful strategy for organizations to retain their employees. Organizations should make sure that they match the market rates or better it when it comes to good performingemployees (Muller-Camenetal, 2008). 3.9 Recruitment In todays global competitive market organizations are under constant pressure to perform well and stay competitive and in order to achieve that, they need to recruit the right people for the right job. Recruitment is a very costly process as a lot of resources go into it. If the organization recruits wrong people it could cost to the organization huge sums and also loss of valuable time. Therefore it is important for the recruitment process to be fair, reliable and valid (Armstrong, 2001). According to Bratton and Gold (2003) an organization should setup such a recruitment process, which will help in generating a pool of talented and skilled workers who are capable for employment in an organization. Recruitment involves searching and hiring qualified people for the organization and consider them when filling job openings. The recruitment process should be consistent, taking into consideration the organizations strategy, vision and values. There are different sources an organization can use for recruiting: the first being the internal labor market and this could be the companys current employees. A good way for recruiting employees from within is through posting announcements in a company newsletter. According to the CIPD recruitment survey (2004a) 84 percent of UK organizations surveyed looked for applicants from within the organization. They did so by using internal email or intranet (69 percent), notice and bulletin boards (68 percent), team meetings (18 percent), staff newsletter or magazines (14 percent), and by memos, circulars and approaching directly. The second source would be the external labor market and this could be reached via electronic media and also referrals from current employees (Jackson et al, 2009). However, the success rate of these sources is not equal and may vary e.g. employee referrals may yield better quality applicants than through newspaperadvertisements. It is important for any organization to monitor its recruitment process as this will help reduce the talented and knowledgeable employees from leaving the organization. For any organization the recruitment process is the very first stage of retention. It is therefore important for an organization to monitor the recruitment practice as it will help in finding the right candidate for the job. In the long term this will also help the organization to reduce the turnover levels. 3.10 Training The primary reason that organizations train their new employees is to increase the level of the knowledge, skills and abilities that they possess. It can be used as one of the ways to retain its existing employees, as training will give them an opportunity to develop new skills and gain knowledge. The amount of training given to the employees has a positive influence on the organizations revenue and overall profitability. Managers should therefore keep a watchful eye on the organizations goals and strategies while conducting training programmes (Snell Bohlander, 2007). Training is also described as a planned process which enables to change the attitudes of people; it helps a person to gain some knowledge and develop the skills through various activities which helps the person to achieve effective performance. Training an employee at work is important as the employee will be able to meet the requirements of the organization in the present and in the future (Beardwell et al 2004). Tra ining is the systematic process of altering the behavior of employees in a direction that will achieve organizational goals. Training is related to present job skills and abilities. It has a current orientation and helps employees master specific skills and abilities needed to be successful (Ivancevich,2007). There are two generally accepted methods of training: one of them is called on-the-job training and the other is called off-the-job training. On-the-job training is probably the most widely used method of training and it usually takes place at the workplace. Off-the-job training usually takes place in a location which is outside of the workplace and is normally more expensive than the on-the-job training (Mullins,2005). In on-the-job training an experience worker trains the newly recruited employee. E.g. in McDonalds trainees acquire skills such as running a machine, making of a burger by observing the experienced worker. OJT is also used for top level management, there are â⠂¬Ëœassistants who train and develop the future managers. Some other forms of OJT include apprenticeships and self-directed learning. The advantage of OJT is that it can be customized according to the experiences and abilities of the trainees. Off-the-job training provides group based learning opportunities which is conducted at a site which is away from the workplace. Off-the-job training is conducted in an off-site training classroom close to the workplace or in a corporate or private facility. Off-the-job training is usually expensive as it requires a lot of travelling and maybe used by large organizations. Training classrooms, vestibule training setups and specially constructed training laboratories are some of the sites used for off-the-jobtraining(Jacobs,2003). In an organization training could also be used to change the culture within the organization. It can be used as an important tool by the organization to improve the overall effectiveness, especially in todays world where the marketis highly competitive. An organization can take up two approaches on training: a systematic training and just-in-time training. In a systematic approach, training must be designed, planned and then implemented appropriately in order to meet the needs of the organization. The training is given by those people who know exactly how to train the employees. Once the training has been provided, it is carefully monitored in order to Analysis of Employee Turnover at McDonalds Analysis of Employee Turnover at McDonalds 1.1 Introduction In a perfect world it would be best for any organization to have employees who love their jobs, enjoy working with their co-workers, are happy with the salary, willing to work hard for their managers and never leave the organization. However, in the real world employees do leave either because they want more money, hate the work environment, hate their co-workers, want a change or because their spouse gets a dream job in another state (Sharma, 2008). Many organizations nowadays face ‘high attrition rate or turnover mainly due to a highly competitive market. Staff attrition or turnover has been cited as one of the primary concerns facing organizations and businesses in any industry. Staff attrition or turnover relates to those who leave an organization due to resignation, termination and retirement. According to the latest CIPD survey (CIPD, 2007), the annual employee turnover rate in the UK was at 18.1 percent. The report also found that the annual turnover levels differed cons iderably from one industry to the other industry, with the highest average rates being 22.6 percent and these were found in private sector organizations and, within this sector, the hotels, catering and leisure industry reports rates of turnover at 10 percent higher than the average for the sector of 32.6 percent. High turnover rates creates particular pressures for the HR department, which is primarily responsible for replacing those who leave, but also for line managers who face disruption to production and service standards. This is the necessary result of having to induct new employees, who are usually less experienced and productive compared to those whom they replace. It takes some time for the new recruits to perform at their optimum levels. This results in the organization failing to meet its objectives, reduction in productivity and higher costs. It is therefore important for HR managers to measure staff attrition, monitor its impact and take appropriate action to minimize its effects(BanfieldKay,2008). Globalization has led to the rapid expansion of multinational fast food companies e.g. McDonalds and KFC. Even at this present time of global economic recession, these fast food companies are growing and generating profits. The customers, who were eating out at a high profile restaurant, are now looking for something reasonable and affordable. McDonalds is offering good hygienic food at a reasonable price to these customers and are benefitting from this global economic downturn. This has lead to a fierce competition between these fast food companies and each of them is trying to give the best quality product and service to its customers. In a company like McDonalds, giving a quick and high quality customer service is essential for its success. However many of the McDonalds restaurants are experiencing high employee turnover which could affect the overall productivity and profitability of the respective McDonalds restaurants. One of the senior executives at McDonalds put the chains an nual employee turnover at nearly 44 percent. According to the chief human resource officer of McDonalds Mr. Floersch the managerial turnover was at 20% globally while that of the crew members averaged between 80 percent and 90 percent. This however, varied from country to country (The Wall Street Journal, 2008). In this research, the researcher would like to investigate the main reasons for experienced employees leaving the organization i.e. McDonalds and what sort of challenges the managers face due to the high turnover. The researcher would also like to find out any retention strategies adopted by the HR department to curb the high turnover rate. For this, the researcher decided to choose few selected restaurants in London. 1.2 The Overall Aim The researchers main aim in this study is to find out the main reasons for high employee turnover at McDonalds, the way it affects the managers and the organization, and steps taken to retain employees. 1.3 Research Objectives The researcher in this research would like to find out the main reasons for having high turnover rate in McDonalds and the challenges that the managers face and also how they can curb the rate of staff turnover.The researcher also intends to study the following: To find out the main causes of high employee turnover To find out the various retention strategies adopted by McDonalds in order to retain employees. To find out the various challenges faced by managers due to employee turnover. Chapter2 2.0 Background-Company Overview McDonalds has 31,000 restaurants in 116 countries and is one of the biggest family restaurants in the world. The first restaurant in UK was opened during 1974 in Woolwich High Street and the first franchised restaurant opened in 1986. In UK there are now 1,190 restaurants employing more than 70,000 people, of which 51% is operated by franchisees. McDonalds main vision is to give the family the best experience, something that they will never forget and would want to come back to. They achieve this through its people they employ. McDonalds realizes that its employees can only perform well when they are given the right working environment and for this, they strive to provide various rewards and benefits which would suit each and every individual working in the organization. McDonalds is one of the largest global brands and it offers a culture of flexibility, opportunity, equality and diversity. It has one of the most diverse cultures within the UK (McDonalds, 2009). 2.1 Recruitment at McDonalds McDonalds policy is to hire those ‘Crew Members who can bring a smile to the workplace. This brings in positive energy and creates a good friendly atmosphere. The recruitment procedure for a ‘Crew Member is a two-step process. First the applicant needs to apply online and if successful, the second step will be to invite the candidate to a restaurant for On job evaluation (OJE) and interview. The on job evaluation helps evaluate the candidates customer service skills and his ability to keep up with the high energy environment. This will last for 15 minutes after which the candidate will be interviewed by the Business Manager for another 15 minutes. Once the crew members are hired, they will attend a welcome meeting which will be conducted at their chosen restaurant or the recruitment centre. The welcome meeting involves viewing a DVD which gives important information about the company and also gives the manager an opportunity to interact with the new recruits. They also at tend a compulsory online Health safety and Food safety test when they start working (McDonalds,2009). McDonalds also recruit ‘Trainee Business Managers who need to display some strong leadership skills. In this, McDonalds makes sure that the candidate is right for the job. A candidate applying for this position has to go through four-step selection process. The first stage is the initial screening process, this helps in ensuring that the candidate meets the basic criteria for selection. If successful, the next step is an online personality questionnaire that the candidate will have to complete. This ensures if the candidate has the desired attributes to be working in McDonalds environment. The next step is a restaurant based ‘On Job Evaluation or OJE. In this the candidate works for the entire day in order to find out what its really like to work in a McDonalds restaurant. The final step of the process is an interview with the Senior Manager of the restaurant (McDonalds,2009). 2.2 Training in McDonalds McDonalds success depends on its well trained crew and managers who maintain company standards of providing high quality, good service and cleanliness at each of its restaurants. McDonalds has a company policy to provide career opportunities that will allow employees to grow and meet their full potential. They have included career development programmes for crew and operations management which will allow them to progress to a senior management position. The company believes in promoting people on their merit. The crew members are trained by the Crew Trainers and they learn the skills necessary to run each of the workstations in the restaurant, from the front counter to the grill area. They are also trained on how to take deliveries and store the frozen food into the chiller, this is then further used in cooking and making the necessary burgers. Major part of this training is floor based and this helps the crew members learn faster and are also able to retain the information provided. After the initial training period the crew members are monitored by the use of ‘observation check lists (OCRs) on an ongoing basis. The observation checklist is a score sheet that marks all aspects of work in the restaurant. The ratings derived from these checklists goes towards their performance appraisal. The restaurants do promote the good performers to management positions where they will have the responsibility to runs shifts within the restaurant. For this, training is given to crew members in areas such as Customer Care, First Aid, Taste of Quality and Food Restaurant Safety. On successful completion of the management entrance exam, the employees will attend a training course provided by the Training Department before they start working in management position (McDonalds, 2009). 2.3 Retention Strategies of McDonalds McDonalds provides high levels of training to its employees working in various positions at the restaurants. This helps in reducing staff turnover and lowers the turnover costs. Employees that perform well are given recognition by awarding them with ‘Employee of the month. It provides medical insurance and offers health care. McDonalds now gives quarterly bonus to its crew and managers instead of yearly bonus, this was a step taken towards motivating its employees. The organization gives five weeks holiday per annum and they are going to increase that to six weeks from April 2009. Computerized English language classes are conducted; this can be enjoyed by the crew members between shifts (The Wall Street Journal, 2008). In 2009, McDonalds aims to provide Apprenticeships to up to 6000 of its 72,000 UK workforce and later will be increased to 10,000 from 2010. This will give the staff an opportunity to gain valuable and nationally recognized qualification that is equivalent to fiv e GCSE grade A*-C. McDonalds senses the importance of investing in their staff says the Senior Vice President David Fairhurst of McDonalds UK. This has been done purely to retain the existing staff and also to attract new ones towards working for McDonalds, which, is a global brand name (McDonalds Latest News, 2009). Chapter3 3.0LiteratureReview This section of the study points out the various theories that are relevant to the topic chosen. It starts with the HR and then focuses on employee turnover and the impact it has on the organization. It also speaks about the various ways an organization can adopt to reduce the employee turnover. 3.1Human Resource Management Human resource management (HRM) is a strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organizations most valued assets. The people working in HRM put individual efforts and also work together collectively in order to achieve its objectives. Their main goal is to help the organization achieve their goals and targets through people. HRM is concerned with choosing human capital that meets the organizations requirements and to develop their capabilities so that the work is done effectively (Armstrong, 2006). Recently there has been a growing importance of HRM; this is due to the fierce competition from overseas economies. In the twenty-first century if an organization wants to have a competitive advantage, it would have to effectively manage the organizations human resource. This would also enable the organization to maintain high performance consistently over a long term. In todays market the managers recognize the growing importance of recruiting, selecting, training and develop ing, rewarding and compensation the employees. However, individuals that work with human resource matters face a multitude of challenges such as the ever constant changing workforce, the government regulations and technological revolution. Furthermore, globalization has made organizations of all sizes to think about cutting costs and improving productivity (Mondy, 2008). It is therefore, important that the HRM and the other departments within the organization work closely together in order to achieve the organizational goals and objectives and to compete locally and internationally (Sims,2002). 3.2 Human Resource Development (HRD) Human Resource Development is a title which represents the latest evolutionary stage in the long tradition of training, educating, and developing people for the purpose of contributing towards the achievement of individual, organizational and societal objectives (Wilson,2005).The fundamental aim of strategic HRD is to enhance resource capability in accordance with the belief that the human capital of an organization is a major source of competitive advantage. It is therefore about ensuring that the right quality people are available to meet present and future needs. HRD policies are closely associated with that aspect of HRM that is concerned with investing in people and developing the organizations human capital. Human Resource Development is important for organizations because it is the people whose innovative ideas, their quality at work and their hunger for continuous improvement that is needed in order to compete in todays modern and high competitive business world and these won t come from machines (Swart et al, 2005). The development of human resource will always be an ongoing process and a vital ingredient for the success of an organization. 3.3 Employee Turnover Employee attrition or turnover can be explained as the number of people who leave employment over a specified period due to retirement, death, redundancy, dismissal, transfer or resignation (Secord, 2003). According to Muller-Camen et al (2008) turnover is the number of people who leave the organization at a given time period. Most organizations would like to reduce their turnover rates, especially when it comes to the good performers who have benefitted from the companies training programs. Some organizations measure their turnover rates on a monthly basis, whereas some do it on a yearly basis. A limited amount turnover is positive for organizations as a poor performer could be replaced by a more productive one. Also, it creates an opportunity for promotion or career development when an experienced staff leaves an organization. However, high turnover could affect the quality of product and service that is offered to the customers (Baum, 2006) e.g. in case of McDonalds if an experien ced staff leaves and a new staff is recruited in the kitchen section, the quality of making the burgers will be affected. It is important for any organization to stem the staff attrition rate as finding a replacement could incur heavy costs for the organization. Some of these costs include recruitment, administration and selection costs. The managers will have to recruit new employees which will incur cost to the organization and also to cover up for the loss, the other employees working in the department would be under pressure to meet the company targets. In a highly competitive market this needs to be avoided by the managers. In order to avoid high attrition rate, it is essential for HR managers to try and retain its existing employees. 3.4 Cause of Employee Turnover There are various employee turnover causes. For example, one of the biggest employee turnover causes is an ill tempered manager. Employees dont like to work with those managers who are always being negative to them, shouting at them and blaming them for something which wasnt their fault. The employees dont want to work for a manager who is not well organized in his work. Employees find it extremely difficult to work with managers who have attitude and are not easily approachable when they face problems, such managers often find it difficult to retain their staff. Sometimes managers in order to maximize profits for the organization try to cut costs by making an employee work more so that they dont have to recruit another staff. Another main cause of employee turnover is less pay to the employees. Many employees leave an organization due to not being paid enough by the management. Employees want that they are respected for their efforts in form of good pay and good benefits. It is ther efore important for organizations to treat their employees as human beings and respect their feelings and opinions. When an employee feels that they are not being looked after by their employer, they get affected mentally as frustration creeps in and this forces them to leave the organization. Also, less pay and no benefits results in lack of motivation and job satisfaction. Another reason that causes employee turnover is an employee interaction with other employees. If an employee is not comfortable with their co-workers they often tend to leave the organization. They dont really get along with the workplace and this affects their performance and productivity. Employee turnover also occurs when they are not rewarded for their hard work. If an employee performs really well at work, he/she expects that the employer would recognize the efforts put in. However, this does not happen often to the employee (Employee Turnover Calculator Blog, 2008). 3.5 Types of Employee Turnover There are two types of turnover: Voluntary and Involuntary. Voluntary turnover is sub-divided into avoidable and unavoidable turnover. Avoidable turnover is that which an organization can prevent from occurring such as increasing the employee pay or by giving him new job assignment. Unavoidable turnover is when an employee quits and the organization could not have prevented, such as people withdrawing through retirement or returning back to school or university. Other examples of unavoidable turnover is when an employee quits in pursuit of a new career, health problems which forces an employee to take up a different type of job or perhapswhenanemployeeleavesthecountry. Involuntary turnover can be split into discharge and downsizing types. Discharge turnover occurs when an individual has been asked to leave the organization. This could be due to job performance problems wherein an employee does not perform well over a period of time even after adequate training is given to the employe e or could be for not being discipline at work e.g. coming late at work or misbehaving with colleagues. Downsizing turnover is targeted at a group of employees by an organization, it occurs as a part of organizational restructuring or cost-reduction program to improve organizational effectiveness and increase shareholder value. This reduction could be permanent or temporary due to a plant or site closing or relocation. The reduction in workforce also occurs at the time or mergers and acquisitions (Heneman Judge, 2006). 3.6 Cost as aresult of Employee Turnover The most important factor of high employee turnover that affects any organization is the cost. These costs can further be divided into the recruitment costs, training costs, lost productivity costs, new hire costs and lost sales costs (Pilbeam Corbridge, 2006). Recruitment costs are usually in the form of advertisements. The organization also incurs cost as they have to pay the recruitment agency, and also for posting advertisements on the internet. The training costs include cost of departmental training, cost of the person(s) who conduct the training and cost of various training materials. There are lost productivity costs as the new trained employee would only contribute at 25% productivity level for the first 2-4 weeks and cost of mistakes the new employee makes during his induction period. The new hire costs include putting the person on the payroll, establish computer and security passwords and identification cards, telephone hookups and cost of establishing email accounts. Th e lost sales costs or lost revenue which is calculated by multiplying the number of weeks the position is vacant by the averageweeklyrevenueperemployee.Despite the costs of high employee turnover being so significant it is overlooked and rarely calculated. Few organizations, 7 per cent of those surveyed, calculate the more extensive costs of turnover (CIPD, 2004a). When these organizations were asked why they dont calculate these costs, over half of them gave the reason that the organization did not require the information, while a third stated that calculating the various costs was just too time consumingforthem. According to Risher Stopper (2002) for an organization cost of replacement can sometimes account to around 2.5 times the annual salary of an existing employee. Such costs are rarely identified by the accounting department of an organization. Therefore, in order to avoid such turnover costs, organizations must form a successful retention strategy overtime. 3.7 Customer Satisfaction and Customer Retention According to Hill (2006) recently many organizations whether it be a small one or a large one, they have increasingly come to understand that it is important for them to maintain customer satisfaction. Nowadays the organizations have realized the fact that retaining existing customers is easier and less costly than finding some new ones. Todays businesses are so competitive that in order to gain or win new customers, organizations have to invest a lot of money. Organizations have started to realize that there is a strong link between customer satisfaction, customer retention and profitability. For many organizations in the hospitality and service industry customer satisfaction will be the topmost priority in order to be successful. Meeting the various needs of the customers and satisfying them has become the key operational goal for many organizations. Customers would only be satisfied when the organizations product or service is good enough to meet their requirements and therefore t his needs to be measured by the organization. In the words of Argenti (2002) in order to measure the overall success of any given product or service one needs to find out how often do the customers buy that same product or service. A customer buying the same product repeatedly would mean that he/she is satisfied with that product. If one can put it in simple terms, a company can make regular profits if customers show a long term commitment to their product or service. The reason why organizations can make profits from long-term and loyal customers is because they dont have to invest huge sums in attracting the new customers through the means of advertisements and promotions. Therefore, if a company after acquiring a new customer manages to keep them in the long-run, its investment on acquiring will pay off. E.g. If McDonalds want to stay competitive in the fast food industry it needs to make sure that their customers are always satisfied with the food and also the customer service. This is essential for retaining customers and would also add value to the company,thereby increasing the company profits. 3.8 Employee Retention Retention includes all those activities that an employer does to encourage qualified and highly-skilled and productive employees to continue working for the organization (Jackson et al, 2009). Staff retention is about attracting and keeping good-quality employees, while accepting that some of them will leave the organization. However, the managers should ensure that when these employees leave, it wont affect the organizations productivity to a large extent (Bloisi, 2007). Retaining a productive employee is of considerable importance to the companys HR professional. The CIPD (2004) report intro HR trends and indicators reported that 31.7 percent of employers face difficulty with retaining its employees. Large organizations find it even moredifficulttoretaintheirworkers.According to Browell (2003) an organization can benefit a lot from retaining the existing staff, some of them include: reduction in recruitment costs and selection and training of new staff, it keeps skills and knowledg e within the organization, helps improve performance, productivity and profitability, it helps in building customer loyalty and satisfaction, and lastly, it could help increase the sales volume of the organization thereby making them competitive in the market. Organizations should consider the following elements which would help in retaining employees: Job previews employees should be given a more realistic job preview when they are being recruited. Care should be taken not to give them high expectations that cannot be met. Improve management style one of the main reasons employees leave the organization is due to dissatisfaction with their managers. Organizations that would like to improve retention should take measures to improve their managers people management skills. Career development and Progression organizations should give their employees ample of opportunities to develop their skills. This can be done by introducing mentoring scheme, encouraging multi-skilling, improving career development opportunities and investing in succession planning (CIPD, 2008). Flexibility organizations should be flexible towards employees working hours and times. If employees are forced to work hours which is not convenient for them, they will look for jobs elsewhere. Treat people equally and fairly to improve retention organizations should make sure not to discriminate against employees. If they are unfair towards them it will result in voluntary resignations. Every employee that belongs to a team should be treated equally by the managers. Improve pay and benefits Many employees leave due to less pay and no benefits. A simple pay rise could be a useful strategy for organizations to retain their employees. Organizations should make sure that they match the market rates or better it when it comes to good performingemployees (Muller-Camenetal, 2008). 3.9 Recruitment In todays global competitive market organizations are under constant pressure to perform well and stay competitive and in order to achieve that, they need to recruit the right people for the right job. Recruitment is a very costly process as a lot of resources go into it. If the organization recruits wrong people it could cost to the organization huge sums and also loss of valuable time. Therefore it is important for the recruitment process to be fair, reliable and valid (Armstrong, 2001). According to Bratton and Gold (2003) an organization should setup such a recruitment process, which will help in generating a pool of talented and skilled workers who are capable for employment in an organization. Recruitment involves searching and hiring qualified people for the organization and consider them when filling job openings. The recruitment process should be consistent, taking into consideration the organizations strategy, vision and values. There are different sources an organization can use for recruiting: the first being the internal labor market and this could be the companys current employees. A good way for recruiting employees from within is through posting announcements in a company newsletter. According to the CIPD recruitment survey (2004a) 84 percent of UK organizations surveyed looked for applicants from within the organization. They did so by using internal email or intranet (69 percent), notice and bulletin boards (68 percent), team meetings (18 percent), staff newsletter or magazines (14 percent), and by memos, circulars and approaching directly. The second source would be the external labor market and this could be reached via electronic media and also referrals from current employees (Jackson et al, 2009). However, the success rate of these sources is not equal and may vary e.g. employee referrals may yield better quality applicants than through newspaperadvertisements. It is important for any organization to monitor its recruitment process as this will help reduce the talented and knowledgeable employees from leaving the organization. For any organization the recruitment process is the very first stage of retention. It is therefore important for an organization to monitor the recruitment practice as it will help in finding the right candidate for the job. In the long term this will also help the organization to reduce the turnover levels. 3.10 Training The primary reason that organizations train their new employees is to increase the level of the knowledge, skills and abilities that they possess. It can be used as one of the ways to retain its existing employees, as training will give them an opportunity to develop new skills and gain knowledge. The amount of training given to the employees has a positive influence on the organizations revenue and overall profitability. Managers should therefore keep a watchful eye on the organizations goals and strategies while conducting training programmes (Snell Bohlander, 2007). Training is also described as a planned process which enables to change the attitudes of people; it helps a person to gain some knowledge and develop the skills through various activities which helps the person to achieve effective performance. Training an employee at work is important as the employee will be able to meet the requirements of the organization in the present and in the future (Beardwell et al 2004). Tra ining is the systematic process of altering the behavior of employees in a direction that will achieve organizational goals. Training is related to present job skills and abilities. It has a current orientation and helps employees master specific skills and abilities needed to be successful (Ivancevich,2007). There are two generally accepted methods of training: one of them is called on-the-job training and the other is called off-the-job training. On-the-job training is probably the most widely used method of training and it usually takes place at the workplace. Off-the-job training usually takes place in a location which is outside of the workplace and is normally more expensive than the on-the-job training (Mullins,2005). In on-the-job training an experience worker trains the newly recruited employee. E.g. in McDonalds trainees acquire skills such as running a machine, making of a burger by observing the experienced worker. OJT is also used for top level management, there are â⠂¬Ëœassistants who train and develop the future managers. Some other forms of OJT include apprenticeships and self-directed learning. The advantage of OJT is that it can be customized according to the experiences and abilities of the trainees. Off-the-job training provides group based learning opportunities which is conducted at a site which is away from the workplace. Off-the-job training is conducted in an off-site training classroom close to the workplace or in a corporate or private facility. Off-the-job training is usually expensive as it requires a lot of travelling and maybe used by large organizations. Training classrooms, vestibule training setups and specially constructed training laboratories are some of the sites used for off-the-jobtraining(Jacobs,2003). In an organization training could also be used to change the culture within the organization. It can be used as an important tool by the organization to improve the overall effectiveness, especially in todays world where the marketis highly competitive. An organization can take up two approaches on training: a systematic training and just-in-time training. In a systematic approach, training must be designed, planned and then implemented appropriately in order to meet the needs of the organization. The training is given by those people who know exactly how to train the employees. Once the training has been provided, it is carefully monitored in order to