Consider the development Essay

The word sonnet is the English translation of the Italian word sonetto, a ‘little sound’ or ‘song’. A sonnet is a poem consisting of fourteen lines, ten syllables in English and Italian and generally twelve in French. There are three basic sonnet forms, the Petrarchan, which is an eight lined and a six lined (octave and sestet) sonnet with no rhyming couplet; the Spenserian, consisting of three quatrains and a couplet; finally the Shakespearian, consisting of three quatrains (four lines) and a couplet. There are different styles of sonnets all over the world. For example, France has its own unique structure that their sonneteers write in and the same with other countries. With all these different countries having different styles of writing that also means there are also different rhyming schemes. Reading sonnets is a great way of learning about different cultural aspects of life; for example during the seventeenth century the central theme of most sonnets was religion. During this time it gave people a great opportunity to learn about many different religions. The use of enjambment occurs in many sonnets. Enjambment is the running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a syntactical break The first sonneteer was Italian, his name was Francesco Petrarch. He was famous for a collection of Italian lyrics which include a long series of love poems. Petrarch wrote his poems about a lady called Laura, whom he met in a church. Laura became the central theme of his poetry. In total Petrarch wrote three hundred and sixty five sonnets. Petrarch’s poems were meant to convey his love and devotion to the love of his life Laura. Sonnets moved to England in the sixteenth century. The seventeenth century saw the theme of sonnets change from love to religion. Donne is a good example of a sonneteer of religion. For two-hundred years a minute amount of sonnets were written. This was because they fell out of fashion. However during the nineteenth century sonneteers began to write about the theme of the natural world. William Wordsworth wrote poems such as ‘Composed upon Westminster Bridge. ‘ War poetry became popular during the time of 1914-1918. This was because The First World War was happening at the time. War was on everybody’s mind. The Poetry was read to the soldiers going off to war to motivate and encourage the soldiers to fight for their families and country. The poem ‘Shall I Compare Thee’ written by William Shakespeare is about an unknown woman that Shakespeare compares to a summer’s day as summer is a picturesque time of year. The poem is written in the Shakespearian form. In the second line Shakespeare writes ‘Thou art more lovely and more temperate’ This quotation informs the reader that although she cannot be compared to a summer’s day as she is more than the beauty of summer. Shakespeare writes ‘Rough winds do shake the darling buds of Mai,’ this quotation is about the winds of summer; Shakespeare describes them as a type of rage. The woman could never be like summer as she is kind and caring. At the conclusion of the poem, (the rhyming couplet) Shakespeare writes ‘So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. ‘ This quotation informs the reader that she may die. However she will stay alive through the poem. The poem ‘Composed Upon Westminster Bridge’ written in 1802 by William Wordsworth is about Wordsworth love of natural world and the city of London. The first line of the sonnet reads ‘Earth has not anything to show more fair. ‘ In this quotation Wordsworth is sitting on Westminster Bridge looking across the beautiful city of London and is besotted with the picturesque view and feels the world has nothing to compare to it. William Wordsworth writes ‘All bright and glittering in the smokeless air. ‘ This quotation informs the reader of the beautiful sunrise and how it glitters across the city. Wordsworth writes ‘The river glideth at his own sweet will. ‘ This quotation means that the Thames has many bends on its path through the city of London and has not got a straight journey like other rivers. Wordsworth metaphorically states that the river glides freely. This sonnet is very popular and was voted 24th most popular poem in 1998. The mood of the sonnet is uplifting. The poem ‘Death be not proud’ written by John Donne is about Donne’s personal interpretation of death. John Donne does not fear death; he does not see it as a bad aspect in life. Donne writes ‘Death, be not proud, though some have called thee mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so. ‘ This quotation informs the reader that some people may find death an awful, petrifying experience; however it is not, death is a new beginning. Donne writes ‘Thou’rt slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men, and dost with poison, war and sickness dwell. ‘ This quotation informs the reader that in life bad things will happen such as diseases and devastation. The mood of this poem is low key and dark. Donne writes ‘One short sleep past, we wake eternally. ‘ This quotation informs the reader that after death our souls go to heaven and we awake eternally. John Donne was born in 1572 and died in 1631 at the age of 59. During Donne’s lifetime this would have been considered an old age to die. There was a short life expectancy during this period because of all the disease and drug taking. The poem ‘Peace’ written by Rupert Brooke is a war poem and it appealed to readers in the First World War as it informs them why their loved ones died in battle. Brooke was a very popular sonneteer as his poems would get the soldiers pumped up and ready for the gruesome activity that is war. Brooke encouraged people to be patriotic, to fight for their country and beliefs. Brook writes ‘Leave the sick hearts that honour could move. ‘ This quotation conveys the fact that there are masses of casualties in a war just as there were in World War One. The sonnet ‘The Vanity of his Passion’ written by Petrarch is addressed to his love, Laura. However he feels unreciprocated love. This could be for two reasons. Laura only exists in his mind or she is out of his league and could never fall in love with him. The sonnet is written in the first person; this is because Petrarch is expressing his love to Laura (There is a direct address to the lady). Petrarch uses many abstract nouns in his writing; he uses two in the title, vanity and passion. The reason for Petrarch using several abstract nouns is that it reflects the abstract nature of his love. Petrarch writes ‘Throughout my song, by hopes and vain grief’s bed;’ this quotation means that Petrarch recognises that he was vain ever to believe that she might ever love him. When Petrarch was younger he thought he was in love; he now realises what it means to be ‘in passion drowned;’ Petrarch writes ‘That worldly pleasure is a passing dream. ‘ This quotation informs that the love is short and can’t last. His love is like a dream. The mood of the poem is very desolate as Petrarch wants something he is unable to achieve. In conclusion the central sonnet theme has not changed in hundreds of years, many are still written today. As time has progressed different forms have been introduced such as the Spenserian and the Shakespearian. My favourite sonnet is ‘Shall I compare thee’ because Shakespeare uses many descriptive language associated with summer and his mysterious woman, this shows the depth of his love for her.

A Funeral Eulogy for a Roman Wife

The primary source is a funeral eulogy written in the 1st century B.C. by the husband of a woman who had just passed away. The eulogy is intended to praise the character and actions of the wife in front of those that had gathered at her funeral, who would most likely be people belonging to the same upper class of Roman society. The eulogy both reveals the type of person Turia was when she was alive and provides insight into the standard behavior expected of women by men, particularly among men and women that were wealthy. Perhaps there existed different expectations of poor women since they did not perform the same duties. Though, there are certainly some basic standards that all women were held to as revealed by the primary source. While Turia's qualities certainly match those possessed by other women of that time, some of her actions break from tradition entirely. Since the eulogy is written by the husband, someone who would have been one of the closest people to Turia, the document can certainly be believed, to an extent. There may have been some slight exaggerations seeing as how the woman had just passed away and the purpose of the eulogy was to highlight her admirable qualities. Turia, the Roman wife, is described as possessing the virtues of â€Å"loyalty, obedience†¦reasonableness†¦religion without superstition†¦[and] modesty of appearance† (LT 30). The virtue â€Å"religion without superstition† in particular may perhaps be praising her knowledge and understanding since she is able to differentiate between what is real and what is not. These virtues she possessed are a testament to her great character, however they are not unlike the virtues held by other women at the time. The husband states she shares many other similar commendable qualities â€Å"with all married women who care for their good name† (LT 34), thus implying that she is like any other wealthy Roman wife who cares a great deal about maintaining a good reputation and standing in society. The husband twice states that Turia's sister is just as worthy of praise as she is and that they are â€Å"equal† (LT 43), which further emphasizes the point that the traits Turia possessed were not unique, but rather the standard among elite women. The husband does, however, state that she is different in that she has faced difficult and rare circumstances that have allowed her to showcase her praiseworthy qualities. Such circumstances include having to fight against those who claimed her father's will was invalid. Turia had a â€Å"firm resolution† that aided her in ultimately resolving the issue in a way that favored her and thus allowing her to fulfill â€Å"[her] duty to [her] father, [her] devotion to [her] sister, and [her] faithfulness† towards her husband (LT 25-26). I believe this to be her most commendable quality. Clearly, the woman cared a great deal about family. Turia did not leave her parents' murder â€Å"unavenged† and was determined to carry out her father's last wishes by upholding his will (LT 5). She cared for her mother-in-law just as she would her own parents and also secured good marriages for her female relations through dowries in what her husband called â€Å"a spirit of generous family affection† (LT 42). Turia's devotion to family can be further shown by her distress at not being able to give birth. She was even willing for her husband to marry another so that he could have a child. She was entirely selfless and dutiful all throughout her life and it is clearly shown by her actions. The information revealed through the eulogy about Turia both coincides and differs from traditional views. Turia was devoted to protecting her family in any way she could, which concurs with the view of women being caretakers. However, Turia's way of taking care of her family breaks with the norm in that she did not simply stay at home and act after the damage had been done. For example, when a man named Milo and his troops attempted to seize the home of Turia and her husband, she â€Å"beat them back successfully† (LT 11a). The fact that Turia was entirely willing to divorce her husband so that he could have an heir coincides with the traditional idea of marriage being for sole purpose of lineage. However, both Turia and her husband break tradition by choosing to stay together despite the fact that they had no children. Their marriage, as stated by the husband, is also rare in that it lasted for 40 years and only ended because of death, not divorce (LT 27). Turia had a great character and that is undoubtedly shown by the deeds she performed and by the great amount of praise that her husband has towards her. She is both a leading example of an elite Roman woman and an exception to the norms of that time.

Good citizen

The Results of Raising a Child as a Good Citizen As parents, we all would like our youths to cultivate to be accountable citizens and moral people. We want them to sense, ponder, and act with admiration for themselves as well as other people. We want them to hound their own happiness, while also being thoughtful of the necessities and the spirits of others. Just as children are deemed to go to the bathroom, solve basic math concepts, read, write and learn a little about events in history, so must they be channeled in evolving the ssets of citizenship that are cherished by their both their family and community in which they dwell.It is only through support and modeling by considerate grownups, children learn to be truthful and caring, to arise for their moralities, to be concerned about others, to act sensibly and make complete ethical alternatives. The extreme chance on a child being a good citizen in society depends on how well parents mold them. Adolescents who grow up with powerfu l, optimistic standards are better-off and they are good citizens. They are able to stabilize their individual desires and needs versus those of other people and make positive contributions to society.Once characteristics such as respect, responsibility, and resourcefulness has been instilled into children y parents they will cultivate to be good citizens and will be able to show a form of thoughtfulness and compassion towards others. The moral values demonstrated by parents will be portrayed through the child's character. The recompense for inspiring our children's progress is massive. An additional pointer is, f children do not acquire appropriate standards and conduct when they are very young they can encounter a vast amount of problems.These children run into problems that has to deal with education, relationships, personal life, their community, and themselves as a whole. These glitches can burgeon with severe consequences as children grow older†dropping out of school, th e use of drugs an alcohol, teenage pregnancy, violence, crime. These children who encounter this typical lifestyle does not enjoy their childhood so in that scenario they make others ife worst. Instead of them showing good citizenship to society, they are being a threat.There are many characteristics that parents express that evolves to children being good citizens. When parents are open to the differences of a child its shows a form of compassion and show that people have different viewpoints. For example, if a child sees the neighbor with a head wrap on and he or she thinks he looks funny, it's up to the parents to tell the child its apart of that individual culture. Honesty and fairness is also another characteristic.Being honest has to do with being truthful with yourself and others. Fairness is acting in a Just way and making the right decision. When a child is exposed to these traits they will know right from wrong and will never cheat themselves into anything. Last but not le ast, self-discipline is an essential factor in inspiring a child to be a good citizen. When a child has self- discipline, they know that there is a time and place for everything, the know how to act towards certain things or situations.The basic foundation of a child's growth is arents It a lot ot interest is snowed towards the sprouting ot children, chances are that they will be molded into good citizens in society with ethical morals. Characteristics such as compassion, fairness, honesty, and self-discipline, revolves around citizenship. The most essential thing we can do for our children is to assist them in obtaining standards and abilities they can depend on for the rest of their lives. In doing so, they will have the greatest probability of leading good lives as a person and a good citizen of their society.

ABORTION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

ABORTION - Essay Example The wealthy were able to travel abroad or pay high fees to a local doctor willing to perform the procedure for a price. Poor women had to resort to less safe options. Prohibiting abortions does not and has never stopped them from occurring; it just acts to harm women. People opposed to legal abortions are also in the same camp that opposes programs that aid the impoverished and abused children who are the result of unwanted pregnancies. They point to ‘Christian morals’ and ‘family values’ as justification for the loss of liberty, discrimination of the poor and the increased cases of injured women. This divide of morals and concepts will never be bridged but the debate whether abortion should be legal or not is a matter for the courts. This discussion considers the legal aspects of the abortion issue. The arguments for and against are significant in a social context yet don’t really mean anything because they will not decide whether or not abortions remain safe and lawful. The Roe v. Wade case, brought before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973, resulted in the Court’s determination that women have the constitutional right to have an abortion prior to when the fetus is viable, meaning when it can survive on its own outside the woman’s womb. The decision removed any state law that restricted a woman to have an abortion or a doctor to perform an abortion during the first three months (first trimester) of a pregnancy. It also restricted abortions during the second-trimester unless a woman’s health was in danger (â€Å"Roe v. Wade†, 1997: 312). Though the case was then and is still strongly debated, the Court’s decision was correct from a constitutional context. Critics of the decision have generally made arguments based on personal moral beliefs which don’t count when the language of the Constitution is examined. Their moral arguments against the Roe decision can be quickly dismissed by weighing the

Critically analyse the importance of Paris in French New Wave cinema Essay

Critically analyse the importance of Paris in French New Wave cinema with close reference to two appropriate films - Essay Example The film makers made France to experience a massive revolution in the film industry. As a result, they acquired the name â€Å"French New Wave† (Betz 2009, p. 136). Before the changes in the film industry, all the French movies were shot in studios. In the traditional films, Paris was presented in reconstructive and conservative way. Many scenes that were captured before and during the war could not be adapted to the screen. The situation was becoming less attractive to the new generation of filmmakers. Consequently, they gathered at the editorial room where they all agreed that the traditional films in French were very artificial. They decided to divert from the filming strategies that were influenced by the preferred aesthetics during that period (Shortcuts 2011, p. 75). Among the factors that motivated the film makers to introduce the new changes in cinema was the fast evolving technology in Paris and the improved financial system. The film makers from Paris made film makin g more flexible with the new technology. For instance, in the traditional French film industry scenes could only be shot during the day. In addition, the outdoor scenes were not very clear. However, with the new technology, scenes could be captured even at night. Outdoor shoots also became clear because of the use of the new lightweight cameras. Among the first film makers to use the new technologies introduced in the film industry was Louiss Malle in the year 1958. His film was followed by other experimental films which aimed at capturing the real life events in the city. This resulted into a shift from artificial films to films that gave a realistic impression of the city. For instance, the scenes captured in the films seemed real and not highly dramatized like those in the traditional ones (Neupert 2007, p. 356). Paris also played a great role in the new wave because all the film critics

Understanding Subsistence Patterns in the Modern World Essay

Understanding Subsistence Patterns in the Modern World - Essay Example Many of these subsistence patterns have been the answer of problems pertaining to survival for societies throughout history. However, these patterns are not just part of history but can be found in today’s world as well and that too not in a dormant state but actively developed and adopted one (Harris, 1996). Out of the many subsistence patterns that are seen in history, Pastoralism is one where people earn their livelihood by herding animals that eat greens. They may vary in species and form around the world but all are tame and eat grass or plants that live in herds. The choice of animals varies according to the regions. In Magnolia and central Asia horses are preferred by most pastoralists. Cattle herding is done in East Africa. Sheep and goats is the choice of the mountainous region pastoralists of Southwest Asia (Harris, 1996). In the more arid lowland areas of Southwest Asia and North and East Africa the camel is used. Pastoralists in Northern Magnolia and Northern Scandinavia herd reindeer. The Dukha people of northern Mongolia, like their other Mongolian counterparts, milk and ride their reindeers whereas the Saami people of northern Scandinavia use the reindeers as their meat source (Harris, 1996). There are essentially two forms of pastoralism- known as nomadism and transhumance. Nomadism is seasonal migration with variance in pattern as the timing and destinations of the migrations are solely dependent on the needs of the herd for fodder and water. Moreover nomads on the basis of their migratory patterns live in tents or easily constructed dwellings and hence don’t possess permanent settlements. Usually they rely on their own means for food and other necessities (Ferraro, 2005). Transhumance pastoralists move from cool highland valleys in summer to warmer lowland valleys in winter thereby forming a cyclical pattern of migration. Unlike the Nomads they

Vietnam War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Vietnam War - Research Paper Example in O’Brien’s â€Å"The Things They Carried†, but the author illustrates the base that Kiley used to be at in â€Å"The Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong†, which is comparable to the base at the Khe Sanh. O’Brien’s intention in the book is to portray on how the war changes people and even if we know the story, what happens inside their minds is still impossible to â€Å"truly† understand. O’Brien writes, â€Å"Fine with me. But you don’t know human nature. You don’t know Nam† (O’Brien 97). The author wants to emphasize that while people strive to understand each other, this attempt would only be limited to personal opinion, and there can be no truth in every individual understanding. O’Brien adds, â€Å"He couldn’t pin it down; her body seemed foreign somehow – too stiff in places, too firm where the softness should be† (99). It appears that the author is trying to evaluate the re sponses of people in the war against his personal views on how people should really behave during a war scene. But as aforementioned, the Battle of the Khe Sanh is one of the most controversial wars in history. Why? The war shows evidence of the fabrication of the American national identity. There are many misrepresentations of facts, particularly in the socio-cultural and political dimensions of the war. In order to obtain control over the infiltration routes south of the Demilitarized Zone and near the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the former French outpost along Khe Sanh was walled and nearly 6 thousand Americans and South Vietnamese were designated in order to secure the base (Browne, â€Å"Battlefields of the Khe Sanh†). In the succeeding passages, the display of horrific scenes including more than 150,000 projectiles and more than 100,000 pounds of explosive ordinance were released on the encompassing hillsides of once silent village of Khe Sanh (Clarke 185). The lush foliage will never go back to the valley that surrounded Khe Sanh and the pristine beauty that it used to have can no

Hypnosis Method Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hypnosis Method - Research Paper Example The method section of the experiment has been well described in order to permit other investigators to repeat the study or experiment. The method segment should employ subheading to separate various subsections. These subsections typically consists participants, materials, design, and procedure. The participants were the students College. These participants were classified into many groups and engaged in a test for a time period of two weeks. Several conferences were conducted. About 16 conferences were held, each one consisting of around 15 students. The materials include a list of questionnaires or forms which were accomplished for the aim of our experiment. The materials required are concerned to measure hypnotisability {accomplished instantly after hypnotic induction]. The hypnotic ability was evaluated with the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic  Susceptibility: Form. They are listed along with the references. The part A of the form contains the format of bio data along with some queries related to medical background such as psychotropic medication, attention problems in the past, colour-blindness, head injury, witnessed any hypnosis, referred any book regarding someone who was hypnotised, knowing anybody who was hypnotised and have you ever hypnotised yourselves. After this the student is asked to look at a target and write down the things that happened while he was looking at the target. In the next step the student is asked to write down what he remember currently which he couldn’t remember previously. In the next st ep the student is given a questionnaire comprising three pages that include 12 special suggestions which were administered to him during the standardised procedure of hypnosis.  

CSR Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CSR - Coursework Example the interests of the society by being considerate of its impact on the society, customers, shareholders, suppliers, employees, communities and the environment in which the business operates from. Socially responsible organizations take the initiative of following the laid down legislation and also takes care of its employees and their families voluntarily without being under any obligations (p.199). They continue to say that CSR just means the strategies that organizations use to conduct their business ethically by being society friendly. CSR involves a lot of activities like partnering with local communities, investing in socially sensitive ventures, having an excellent employee, customers and family relations and lastly being involved in environment conservation activities (Ismail, 2009, p.199). According Gotherstrom (2012), organizations like H&M can use the Stakeholder theory of CSR. It involves the organization management putting into consideration economic and social factors that affect the business during its decision making in its operation.in this case the stakeholders involved include investors, political groups, communities’ employees, trade associations, government etc. These all stakeholders affect the business in one way or another but the business has to find ways and means of keeping them happy. This theory is not only how the shareholders can make more profits but also of how the organization can make decisions that will affect how the society views (p.8). The application of this theory has been on the rise especially due to the rise activists and environmental groups. (p.9) In the case of H&M, we find that it is involved in its CSR activities to atone for the condemnation that it received from Greenpeace in the year 2011for discharging hazardous waste water with chemicals which could affect the environment negatively. This is demonstrated by the way it partners UNICEF to help children in Bangladesh. The next CSR is Legitimacy Theory; this

Global sourcing Essay Example for Free

Global sourcing Essay 1) What is global sourcing? Global sourcing is defined as the process of identifying, developing, and utilizing the source of supply for the enterprise through expanding purchasing activities internationally. It is a part of post reengineering activities which is an useful measure of cutting cost. Global sourcing is a typical example of foreign construction outsourcing firms which process construction by distributing each process of construction work to vendors instead of running on its own. Such construction method not only does reduce costs in terms of managing construction sites such as labor cost and equipment cost including vehicles, but also is being adopted by various companies for value-adding construction management (CM) project. For instance, global sourcing was utilized when building Daewoo Business Center at Warszawa, Poland, on March, 1997. The process of erecting the center was alloted to vendors; construction was executed by VOICE(England), design through RTKL(U.S.), facility management was duty of Dongwoo which is a department of Daewoo Group, hotel management by Hilton hotel(U.S.). 2) Global sourcing factors Global sourcing factors that must be understood and balanced can be segmented into 5 categories. First factor is material cost. The bottom line of execution of global sourcing is reduce cost by minimizing material cost. Another category is transportation cost. Various costs including inventory delivery cost can be dwindled through global sourcing. Moreover, significant amount of transportation expense can be reduced when marketing products at outsourcing regions. Cross-border taxes, tariffs, and duty costs are third factor which form global sourcing. Instead of relying on domestic production but rather outsource each process internationally, costs can be reduce by avoiding trade barriers which include cross-border tax, tariff and duty cost. Next factor is supply and operational performance. With effective resource management and cheap labor cost, supply and operational performance can be efficiently managed which enables global sourcing companies to manufacture high quality-low price merchandises. The last category of global sourcing is supply and operational risks. Cultural and geographical disparities can yield additional costs such as labor cost and transportation cost. If not managed thoroughly, they can militate as huge risks in terms of conducting sourcing. 3) Advantages of global sourcing There are three major merits of performing global sourcing; gumption to changes, reduction of cost, and trade barriers avoidance. To begin with, global sourcing allows a firm to develop capacity to cope with changes in market condition. Importing numerous raw materials and resources economically and steadily can be done through global sourcing. With such abundant resources, a firm can flexibly adopt to environmental alterations when confronting unexpected economic crisis. Secondly, average 20% of cost saving is possible. Components of products or raw materials procured from abroad is advantageous in terms of price. Furthermore, many countries such as American and Europe are sourcing materials to cut cost in terms of distribution industries. As a result, China has become the hub of production base for global sourcing. Even in case of Korea, sourcing products from China are 30%~40% cheaper than Korean domestic goods. In particular, simple functional merchandizes whose design and quality are relatively less considered are largely influenced by global sourcing. Consequently, over 70% of commodities and clothes are imported from China. Last merit of global sourcing is evasion of trade barriers. In case of global sourced goods, the price is lower, leading to economical purchase, by avoiding trade barriers such tariffs and cross-border taxes. On top of that, firms are able to acquire restricted raw materials and resource. Thus, unique and competitive products can be created. 2. Case-Study (LiFung) 1) Introduction LiFung is a professional trading company which specializes in global sourcing and was founded in 1906. It functioned as a broker between Asian manufacturers and foreign traders and expanded as a trading company later on. Today, LiFung acts as a professional sourcing and distribution firm focusing on toys and textile. Becoming an intermediary, it reconstructed the business by forming it as a connection and manager of diverse supply chains. LiFung is the representative of smokeless factory without owning any equipment and factories regarding production process from raw material to final goods and distribution of final products. 2) Business area / Present condition LiFung won the rewards in Fabulous 50 selectied by Forbes Asia, 50 for 2012 from Morgan Stanley, and The most influential companies 25 from Business week. The sales of LiFung in 2007 was 92.4 billion in Hong Kong dollars, approximately 36% increase in sales compared to that of 2006. Net income reached 30 billion dollars(2007) and LiFung Co. Ltd. succeed in gaining 19.8% increase in sales (110.7 billion Hongkong dollars)than that of previous year. After 1998, foreign companies such as The Limited, Gymboree, American Eagle, Warner Brothers, Abercrombie Fitch, Bed, Bath Beyond, Tesco, Avon Products, Levi-Strauss, Reebok have become major customers of LiFung, and Royal Ahold, Guess Jeans, Bebe also joined as major customers of LiFung in 2000. As a result, LiFung currently has 68 offices in the 38 countries, and shareholders numbers 17,900. In addition, it consists of 107,000 employees engaged in the business associated with LiFung, especially 40,000 related businesses only in the United States. Thus, it can be said that LiFung has entered plateau stage as a company settling new form of SCM rather than just being a simple trading firm. 3) Platform / Operation System LiFung is one of the enterprises which effectively employ platform strategy. In terms of strategy, LiFung adequately balances SRM and CRM strategy to manage producers and customers. LiFung distributes textile component orders to vendors as soon as receiving orders from textile industries. It makes most of 15,000 subcontractors which are located around the globe. When producing a jacket, for example, LiFung procures materials from diverse vendors; outshell is from Korea, Zipper from Japan, lining is done from Thailand, and trademarks and thread from Hongkong. Fabric is dyed in Southern Asia, China sews, and finally quality inspection and packaging are done in Hongkong. Then, headquarter in Hongkong generally manages cash flow and value-added process. 4) Success Factors Success factors of LiFung can be categorized into three elements. The first factor is IT evolution. Through IT development, product lead time dwindled through forming network among producers and customers, and even efficiently manage vendors. Another facet is SRM and CRM, especially have strength on SRM. LiFung analyze customer’s needs and scrutinize supply chain to meet the desires. Since firms tend to focus on maximizing their capability instead of in accordance with needs, LiFung can otherwise strive to fortify supply chain or value chain for customers. In other words, the key role of LiFung is to direct manufacturers of supply chain to the intended direction. For that specific purpose, it establishes education to producers on scattered network management rather than having strict control system for managing vendors, and emphasizes on trust and active empowerment. Lastly, LiFung follows 30/70 rule, which is to set a standard(from 30% to 70% of total production) on production quota to LiFung. This enables LiFung to have loose liaison among subcontractors. Minimum 30% of total production allows LiFung to possess minimum supply from each subcontractors and prevention vendors from being subordinates can be done by setting maximum 70%. The core objective of this principle is to assure vendors of gaining huge profit from being a member of the network and on the other hand guaranteeing flexibility of business and availability of a room for growth. Other vendors also benefit from the principle by being expose to opportunities to work with others, which help them to learn and come up with innovative ideas. Such principle demonstrates value of LiFung on making supply chain more dynamic and lively. Thus, change in partners frequently happens in supply chain of LiFung. In conclusion, LiFung shows contradictory management of pursuing stable and long-term partnership whereas also demanding loose network instead to forming strict organization. 3. Problem Solution 1) Wage stagnation / Pricing pressure The first problem of LiFung is wage stagnation of China. China accounts for 60% of total global sourcing of LiFung, which means that shift in China impact LiFung heavily. After the economic liberalization of China, China has been able to attract world companies as the most suitable production base due to cheap and abundant labor. As a consequence of substantial growth, China’s wage has been increasing 16% annually. As labor cost takes up the largest portion of garment industry’s costs, Li Fung’s first half of 2011 net income dwindled 18%. Therefore, there is high necessity for finding a new production base(a new partners) and gain price competitiveness through such measure. Second problem is overseas buyers’ desire to lower supply pricing due to high uncertainty from global recession. As shown in the ‘average import price of textile in the U.S.’ graph on the right, the average import price has been continually decreasing, from $3.18 in 2006 t o $3 in 2009. Heavy pressure on supply pricing is having negative impact on net income of LiFung. 2) China U.S Trade conflict Third adversity is potential trade disputes between the United States and China. This trade conflict, which is referred to as protectionism, is noteworthy of a notice as 69% of total production of LiFung is sold to the United States. The United States has criticized China on the currency exchange rate manipulation, along with accusation of exchange dumping. In addition, Section 421 is an article which can be executed in a situation where increased import of Chinese products acts as a severe damage to American domestic industries. Accordingly, it is inevitable to exclude potential trade conflict between two countries on account of high possibility of implementing additional countervailing duty by executing section 421. 3) Expanding partners in Southern Asia In preparation for deterioration of China’s production environment and falling competitiveness of China as a sourcing region, Southern Asia is evaluated as the most practical alternative for strategic sourcing of LiFung. In terms of percentage change in world textile industry sourcing, diminution of China is noticeable, as –7%, whereas Vietnam and Bangladesh show growth, respectively displaying 1% and 20% of sourcing uprising rate. To demonstrate suitability of sourcing to Banladesh, environment of Bangladesh such as social infrastructure and facilities, and educational level should be thoroughly examined. Nevertheless, wage of Bangladesh is much cheaper than that of China, Bangladesh being one third that of China, in terms of only considering unit labor cost. Furthermore, Bangladesh is likely to be significantly equipped with garment-industry infrastructure judging from the large number of textile industries sourcing to Bangladesh. Therefore, it is no hasty conclusion that Bangladesh is the most appropriate region for new production base of LiFung. 4) Quality management system Controlling over 15,000 vendors is demanding and the possible drawback is failure of consistency in quality. Since quality is prerequisite these days, stricter vendor’s quality management system should be made. One of the tools that LiFung can utilize and apply stricter is ‘Vendor compliance index’. There are six indexes LiFung should keep attention to; efficient operation, productivity, process innovation, ensuring the quality, purchase the appropriate law material, and good working condition of labor. By balancing and fulfilling following vendor compliance indexes, LiFung will be able to afford products to customer with coherent quality. 4. Conclusion The concept having used by LiFung is highly familiar to us as global sourcing is also deployed by domestic companies such as Samsung and LG. Global sourcing can be divided into two factors; risk element and opportunity element. These two elements are in trade-off relation which means that change in one element accompanies the other, while endeavoring to maximize opportunity element. Thus, taking advantage of opportunity and risk element in a timely manner is the premise for successful global sourcing and in-depth analysis on local region and strategy should be followed when implementing global sourcing.

The Personal Protective Equipment Health And Social Care Essay

The Personal Protective Equipment Health And Social Care Essay Scenario # 1: The Medical Assistant is preparing to perform a venipuncture on a patient who has come into the office for their annual physical exam. To prevent exposure to blood you must wear personal protective equipment (PPE). When a medical assistant is performing or assisting with a venipuncture, the expected PPE to be used is gloves. According to Delmars Clinical Medical Assisting, Gloves will be worn when drawing blood and/or handling biomedical specimens. Blood drawing is common sense, but biomedical specimens consist of urinalysis as well as fecal analysis. That means throughout the venipuncture and collection process you must wear gloves to protect yourself from any blood borne pathogen or contamination. Gloves should be worn from the point prior to venipuncture until the blood tube is placed in the biohazard transport container. You want to wash your hands before and after every procedure and make sure that nothing is going to put you at risk for the barrier (the gloves) being broken, and if you think there is a risk to this, you want to double your gloves (long nails, wedding rings and things of that nature can put you at risk) PPE is to be utilized at all times in situations that involve potential exposure to blood or other body fluids. Your skin can have microscopic cuts and abrasions that can provide an avenue for transmission if exposed to blood or other infectious body fluid which is why it is of such an importance to wear gloves when coming in contact with any blood borne pathogen or bodily fluid such as saliva and semen. Gloves are typically effective for protection from splashes but do not protect from penetrating injuries caused by needles or other sharp objects. If any such injury is to occur, you are to report it to your supervisor immediately so prompt action is taken to prevent further consequences such as a patient contracting HIV/AIDS or even worst, yourself. Scenario # 2: Patient Sonny Jones is here for symptoms that include fever, sweating, lots of nasal congestion, and a cough that is productive in nature. This patient has been in contact with family members who just tested positive for the flu. During a flu outbreak, governmental agencies such as the Center for Disease Controls, Health and Human Services and the Occupational Safety Health Administration may recommend that you protect yourself from infection by using a face mask, N95 respirator, or other type of equipment. For this sort of outbreak, according to Delmars Clinical Medical Assisting and the Florida Department of Health and Human Services, employees who work in the medical field and are in constant contact with patients and those who handle the clinical aspect of medical assisting and healthcare as well as collect or transport clinical specimens should consistently adhere to recommended infection control precautions to minimize their exposure. The Center for Disease Controls states that potentially infectious specimens should be placed in leak-proof specimen bags for transport, labeled or color coded for transport and handled by personnel who are familiar with safe handling practices, have been trained in the area of infection control as well as spill cleanup procedures. They also state that workers who collect specimens from pandemic-influenza infected patients should wear PPE as described for employees in the manual that is located on-site at the work environment while performing direct patient care. PPE in this scenario would consist of gloves made of latex(if the patient has no latex allergy), vinyl, nitrile, or other synthetic materials as appropriate, when there is contact with blood and other bodily fluids, including respiratory secretions. Common sense would be to wash your hands before and after seeing every patient, do not double glove unless your needed to for a specific reason, do not re-use the gloves previously used, properly dispose and discard the gloves after usage, and proper usage of hand hygiene should also be adhered to as well to prevent chance of infection. Gowns may also be needed with the chance of heavily soiled clothing due to performing an intubation or where constant secretions might occur, but it is not required by OSHA or the CDC. Goggles or Face Shields are not needed in this case, however, if sprays or splatters of infectious material are likely, it states that goggles or a face shield should be worn as recommended for standard precautions. If you are around a patient who is consistently coughing or hacking, you would want to ensure the patient has a face shield to prevent the spread of infection, and you would also want to protect yourself from getting that as well. Scenario # 3: The Medical Assistant is assisting Dr. Jacobs with a cyst removal (a surgical procedure) in the office setting. For removal of a cyst on a patient, the medical assistant would assist the doctor with whatever he needed. The book did not really go too much into detail so I decided to watch a few YouTube videos of the incision, draining and removal of a cyst to see what actually occurs during this. After watching these few videos on YouTube, because youre dealing with bodily fluids like blood and pus, you would want to wear Gloves. First you would want to wash your hands before placing the gloves on. Of course because this is surgery you would want to ensure your sterile field is maintained. To maintain a sterile field, you would want to open your sterile dressing kit and set it up on a tray. You want to make sure the tray is above waist height because anything below the waist is considered to be contaminated or not sterile. You would then want to open the sterile kit making sure you do not touch anything inside as you do not have your gloves on yet, and everything is sterile. You would then want to put on your first set of PPE for the removal of the cyst, which would be your mask. You would want to wear a mask because this is a sterile procedure, and your mouth has germs. This way youre not breathing on or around, talking, coughing or sneezing around the sterile field. You would then hand the doctor his or her mask, and any other assistants theirs. The next thing you would want to do is put on your sterile gloves. Because this is a surgery procedure, putting on sterile gloves is important because you do not want to cause the patient to be at risk of any sort of infectious diseases. Our skin carries and comes in contact with several billion bacteria during each hour of the day, and you would not want to be the cause of a patient catching MRSA or VRE or a super bug because they got sick and then developed a resistance and could not be treated, so it is important you follow each step about putting on sterile gloves. How you would do this is by opening the glove wrapper with the palm facing up. You then would want to pick up the first glove by the cuff making sure you are only touching the inside portion of the cuff. While youre holding the cuff with one of your hands, you want to slide your other hand into the glove this way your sterile hand is the first to go into the sterile gloves. While you are doing this you want to be careful that you are not touching anything, as everything else is again considered to be contaminated. The second glove is the hardest part of placing sterile gloves but the most important step to maintain sterility in the sterile field and environment. You want to slide your gloved hand under the cuff of the second glove and slide your hand inside the glove until youre able to adjust both gloves to fit comfortably. The next step would be to proceed to assist the doctor with the removal of the cyst by applying sterile dressings from the sterile field, as well as making sure he does not need your help with anything. Before the doctor enters the room you would want to make sure the tray for the removal of the cyst is ready in the sterile field, this way the doctor does not need to leave the room for any reason at all and the sterile field is maintained until the removal of the cyst is completed. The doctor might also ask the medical assistant to assist by giving an injection to numb the area of the cyst removal on the patient. The medical assistant would be responsible for explaining the procedure, and then giving the injection at the site of the cyst removal. Because you might come into close contact with bloods, pus and other bodily fluids, I would recommend wearing a gown. Gowns are worn to protect against bodily fluids from soiling clothing, and depending on the location of the cyst and how large it is, you might want to wear this. Scenario # 4: The Medical Assistant is assisting Mrs. Johnson to the exam table in the patient room. Mrs. Johnson has Stage 2 lung cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments she tells the Medical Assistant that the oncologist called and told her that her WBC count is 2.1 and that she cannot be around anyone who is ill, etc. The first thing to note with this patient is that she does have stage two lung cancer. I as the medical assistant would first verify in the patients chart that she has this condition and check what her white blood cell count is. If confirmed that she indeed does have this low of a WBC, than I would immediately prepare for isolation of the patient so she is not around any possible contamination to where she would get ill. She would be moved from the exam table into an isolation unit exam room. I would then make sure the patient is in a comfortable position for examination and proceed with the check up and assisting the doctor. As with any other procedure or PPE usage, you will want to begin with first washing your hands. The next thing you will want to do is put on a special gown called an isolation gown which is either cloth or paper. You want to make sure you tie your isolation gown at both points which is usually behind the neck and at the waist. You do this so that when youre treating a patient in the isolation unit, in this case Mrs. Johnson, you do not contaminate your uniform or the patient for that matter. The next thing you will want to do is apply your face mask or shield. Usually these have a clear protective eye shield. You again want to ensure that the mask and shield are on your face properly and fit this way you do not risk contamination to the extremely ill patient by breathing on them, and you do not risk contamination to yourself either. The next item of PPE you will want to apply is your examination gloves. It is important that you pull the cuff over the sleeve of the gown this way you are not exposing your skin to the ill patient or any toxins that could make you ill as well. You want to avoid exposure of your skin in the isolation room. After you are done with the examination of the patient in the isolation unit, you want to be sure that the door to the unit is closed securely so no pathogens can come into the room, and then you want to remove your PPE the same way you put it on. Be sure to wash your hands after any visit with a patient. Scenario # 5: The Medical Assistant is assisting her co-worker in cleaning up a blood spill in the office laboratory. Blood spills or other human body fluids that occur inside or in the outside environment need to be decontaminated to prevent the potential transmission of communicable disease. The circumstances associated with blood spills can obviously vary greatly depending on the volume and type of contact surface. A small amount of blood, if splashed, can cover a large surface area. A large volume, if undisturbed on a flat surface, can pool in a relatively small area. A good example of blood or bodily fluids is a pregnant womans water breaking. Prior to beginning the cleanup, you would want to notify your supervisor of the spill and ask where the spill cleanup kit was located. Per OSHA and CDC Standards, a typical spill kit consists of the following: 10% bleach solution (or Lysol, virex or other EPA reg. Tuberculocidal), gloves, clear plastic bags, biohazard labels (available from OSEH HazMat), leak-proof sharps containers, brush dustpan, or tongs or forceps for picking up sharps and disinfectant wipes. You would want to put on a pair of rubber, latex, PVC or similar type gloves. For small blood spills no other PPE should be required. For larger spills where there is a possibility of contaminating your face or other parts of your body, call HazMat to assist in the cleanup, and then put on a mask and face shield along with a gown. The next thing you will want to do is to cover the spill area with a paper towel and then pour a fresh mix of the bleach solution together. You will want to allow the solution to soak into the contaminated material to ensure that it is completely disinfected. You want to also treat this similar to treating a wound in the sense that you want to work from the outside in. Next you will wipe the area with paper towels. The last and final step is that you would want to dispose of the contamination into the biohazard waste bag and dispose in the proper bio hazardous area. To complete the cleanup, you will want to finally remove your gloves and wash your hands to avoid the risk of contamination to yourself and other patients. Scenario # 6: The Medical Assistant is working with the autoclave machine today in the office laboratory. The autoclave that most medical offices use is the ones that are dry heat autoclaves. These get extremely hot so it is important that the medical assistant who is using these is able to understand the proper usage along with the PPE that he or she would need to prevent any potential injury. Some personal protective equipment you would consider to use would be eye equipment, a button lab coat to prevent burns, closed toed shoes to again prevent possible burns and injuries in the case that something is dropped, and heat resistant gloves as you will be removing the items from the autoclave. Potential hazards that could occur without the use of PPE are burns and pressure releases Hazards may be general or specific, depending on the design of the autoclave or pressure cooker. They can include Physical injury to persons in the vicinity from the rapid release of stored energy resulting from autoclave failure (e.g. failure of doors/lids) Physical injury from exploding vessels that have become pressurized during processing (e.g. glass containers) Scalding / burns from steam or the hot contents of items being processed Risk of infection from pathogenic micro-organisms due to inefficient deactivation of the waste Inadvertent release of genetically modified organisms to the environment   Manual handling issues during loading/unloading heavier items, Electrocution (e.g. damaged/wet electrical components) and Fire hazard (e.g. human error leaving manually operated autoclave equipment unattended). It is utterly important that the medical assistant knows how to operate the autoclave from what the manufacturers manual says, as every autoclave is different. The reason for this is to prevent injury from occurring in the work place. Sources: http://extranet.fhcrc.org/EN/sections/ehs/hamm/chap3/section6.html http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Uw7lf6KE1osJ:www.cardiff.ac.uk/osheu/resources/Autoclave%2520Guidelines%2520draft%2520document.doc+ppe+for+autoclavescd=10hl=enct=clnkgl=us http://www.sterilizers.com/aboutsterilizers.asp http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:C8l9I41OLkYJ:roundtable.healthsafe.uab.edu/pages/resources/Autoclave%2520Training%2520Final.ppt+autoclave+and+ppecd=1hl=enct=clnkgl=us http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=vq=cache:uYDSE-dYDbQJ:www.oseh.umich.edu/pdf/sop/blood_spill_SOP.pdf+blood+spills+and+ppehl=engl=uspid=blsrcid=ADGEEShRsZJO5EZW5mXd4823i2EM5UzlmRZRHdzPyo-JH_KnURDhFeWzkeaUJMxTJUU0F38knieNnixNUzbWnd3Iy2XYFN9lq6f_FGFN4CU569u3ezegbDf_w0iu_D6aK-FEyJivIXIesig=AHIEtbRO4Jxq83SAZdUaqxqEyyhFdP4bbw http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FkfgBq95zbEJ:www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/ppt/bhpp/bhpp-train-don-PPE.ppt+ppe+for+isolationcd=3hl=enct=clnkgl=us http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y53k3eQgb20 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmWS5jGnKjE http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/pandemicinfluenza/pandemic_health.html http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/GeneralHospitalDevicesandSupplies/PersonalProtectiveEquipment/default.htm http://www.doh.state.fl.us/disease_ctrl/std/prevent/MODULE_2_V2.1.pdf http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/bbp/ Delmars Clinical Medical Assisting, 4th Edition, Lindh, Dahl, Delmar Cingage Learning, Copyright 2010

Strategic Human Resource Management in Cadbury Schweppes

Strategic Human Resource Management in Cadbury Schweppes 1.1 Introduction The strategic management of an organizations human resource has been recognized as one of the keys to business success. This particular strategy generally involved the optimization of the employees potentials mainly through training and performance assessment. This organizational strategy has been integrated in several businesses mainly to improve profitability, establish stronger customer relations as well as achieve considerable business expansion. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) has indeed been applied to fulfill various important business goals and plans. Hence, major companies including Cadbury Schweppes, have been developing and applying various means on how to strategically manage one of their essential assets. Cadbury Schweppes is one of the major global players in the food manufacturing sector, specifically confectionery and beverage products. About two hundred countries worldwide are enjoying the companys world-renowned quality products and brands. The company has been able to expand successfully in different foreign countries mainly through its dedication to quality production as well as effective management and marketing practices. In order to progress further, the company still aims to continue on producing quality brands and products, meeting the needs of its shareholders and operating towards optimum performance. Cadbury Schweppes knows that its achievement to operate globally is attributable to its workforce. Thus, the company has been employing different strategies in order to strategically improve its human resources towards continuous global success. This study then analyzes how the company applies strategic human resource management it its operations. In particular, focus was centered on the assessment of the companys strategies for maximizing the potentials, assessing the performance and enhancing the skills of its workforce. This research was conducted mainly to determine the relation of Cadbury Schweppes global success to its SHRM practices. 1.2 The Research Background Strategic human resource management (SHRM) was actually derived from the conventional HR concepts. Due to the growing pressures in business, particularly in the need to become more competitive and innovative, organizations and human resource departments see it necessary to reconsider existing HR practices. The application of the new concept involves the modification of HR policies, provision of training programs, development of performance measurement systems as well as the promotion of the employees overall well-being. In turn, the changes in the HR practice then allowed companies to overcome some of the major hurdles in the business sector. Cadbury Schweppes is among the major companies operating in the world. Aside from multiple branches in several foreign countries, the product lines of the company as well as its market have continuously grown over the years. Along with its global growth and success, the company has constantly upgraded its SHRM efforts as well. The researcher then aims to determine how these HR strategies had contributed to the companys global achievement. Investigating on this HR topic can stress the connection between workforce and business efficiency. As effective employees have long been considered as essential to good business operations, identifying how the strategic management of human resource can contribute to greater success will then be of benefit to many other companies. The researcher then attempted to achieve this objective by using some of Cadbury Schweppes HR staff for information. Using a survey as the research instrument, the data obtained were then analyzed to develop the findings. 1.3 Research Value Considering the increasing competitiveness in the business sector, organizations are in need of maximizing its resources in order to operate successfully. One of these important resources is the organizational workforce. By means of determining the different approaches related to strategic human resource management, workforce issues encountered by other companies may be resolved. In addition, companies intending to operate of expand on the global level may achieve this goal by assessing and improving their human resource strategies. This research may also be of value to employees as this could encourage business companies in general to give due value to their workforce so as to achieve better business outcomes. This investigative study could also contribute to the human resource sector particularly by increasing awareness on SHRM and the new approaches other companies could apply. Clients or consumers may also benefit from this study as the increased awareness on SHRM approaches can likely enhance both production and service provision of other companies. 1.4 Research Aims and Objectives This study aims to determine the role of strategic human resource management in the achievement of Cadbury Schweppes global growth and success. Below are the specific objectives of this research study: To determine the role if strategic human resource management in shaping the development processes of Cadbury Schweppes To analyze the performance assessment, training and potential-maximizing strategies of the global company To identify and analyze the human resource strategies of the company that allowed it to operate globally To relate various human resource management theories to the identified strategies of the company 1.5 The Research Outline The entire study is divided into five chapters. The first chapter presents the background of the study, the objectives, research problems and its significance. In the second chapter, literatures and published documents pertaining to strategic human resource management and the strategies applied by Cadbury Schweppes are discussed. The research methodology used for this study is discussed in chapter three. Specifically, this chapter focuses on the description of the participants, sampling technique and the research instruments utilized in the process. In chapter 4, the results of the survey are presented. Literatures supporting the findings of the study are also integrated in the discussion section of the chapter. Finally, the fifth chapter summarizes the findings of the research; significant conclusions as well as appropriate recommendations are also included in the final chapter. Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 A Brief Historical Background of Cadbury Schweppes Cadbury Schweppes is actually a company established by a merger involving two of the greatest companies in UK. Jacob Schweppe was the one behind the perfection of the carbonated mineral water manufactured in Switzerland in 1783. On the other hand, John Cadbury established the now world-renowned chocolate manufacturing company in 1824. Over the years, both companies have operated successfully and became household brand names in the British region. It was not until 1969 when these two manufacturing giants decided to merge. Through organic program and acquisition, both companies were able to expand the business worldwide (Cadbury Schweppes 2006a). As two big companies joined into one, the new company developed and implemented several business strategies that led to its success. For instance, during the middle part of the 1980s, Cadbury Schweppes decided to center its attention on its international brand confectionery and beverages. Through this strategy, the company was able to strengthen its key brand names and even led to the purchase of some other major food brands such as Motts, Canada Dry, Trebor, Bassett, Dr. Pepper and Seven Up as well as Hawaiian Punch. The acquisition of other popular brands of the company continued up to the new millennium. In 2000 for example, Cadbury Schweppes acquired the Snapple and Hollywood and even took the second spot in the French soft drink sector when it acquired Orangina. In 2002, the company placed number two in chewing gum production by acquiring Dandy, a Danish chewing gum brand and became the number one company in confectionery at the global level. For $4.2 billion, the company also a nnounced its acquisition of yet another major brand called Adams (Cadbury Schweppes 2006a). 2.1.1 A Brief History and Importance of SHRM Strategic human resource management is considered as the extension of HRM. While HRM is focused on the theoretical concepts, SHRM is centered on how these theoretical foundations should be implemented. The concept of SHRM was actually brought about by the growing pressures of change. Organizations started to realize that changes in the conventional human resource activities must be carried out. This change would help much organization overcome new issues and challenges related to the human resource concept. In turn, human resource agencies and departments have been active in encouraging HR managers to develop means of applying strategy to the HR function (Niehaus 1995). This then gave rise to what is now called SHRM. Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) is a strategic approach that helps in managing employee relations. This HR concept emphasizes that leveraging peoples capabilities is critical to achieving sustainable competitive advantage. SHRM is actually applied by means of a distinctive set of integrated employment policies, programs and practices. Considering the increasing competition in the working sector, it is important that the employees are equipped with the abilities so as to assist their organization in overcoming such challenge (Bratton Gold 2003). SHRM gives emphasis on the integration of learning and organization. This means that the conception of learning must be considered by the organization as a purposeful business process (Ruona Roth 2000). Walton (1999) noted that SHRM is made of the introduction, elimination, modification and directional procedures and responsibilities where all employees are armed with the knowledge, skills and competencies necessary for them to pe rform various organizational tasks effectively. Through SHRM processes, employees are able to learn how they can improve their skills and enrich their knowledge, which are very useful in their overall work output. The efficiency of the employees will naturally lead to greater productivity and higher levels of customer satisfaction as well as loyalty. The application of SHRM is also essential for the personal and professional development of the employees, which in turn makes them more confident and committed in their work. The ultimate outcome of SHRM is the attainment of a strong and sustainable competitive advantage out of the companys workforce. For companies, generating competitive advantages out of their workforces is an important key in becoming globally competitive (McWilliams, Van Fleet Wright 2001). Schuler, Dowling and De Cieri (1993) noted that in order to successfully compete in the global market, human resources must be deployed effectively. 2.1.2 A Brief History of Human Resource Strategy of Cadbury Schweppes plc and its impact on the company The human resource strategy of Cadbury Schweppes originated from the company main operation purpose which is to work together to produce brands that others would love. In particular, the company developed a goal related to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to achieve this. This goal would direct the company to become socially responsible not only to their consumers but to the people working for it as well. As this goal covers the workforce sector, Cadbury Schweppes develops human resource strategies that are patterned CSR and ethical practices. In fact, one of the essential factors the company uses in its business operations is ethical behavior as well as the establishment of close relations with its stakeholders. The company generally believes that ethical business practices and respect for human rights are core foundation on how the company works and deals with people; the company also claims that good ethics works well with good business, resulting to long term succes s (The Times 100 2006). These core values then became the main influence for the companys human resource strategies. The HR strategies of the company are also influenced by the Quaker values which promote social reform, justice and equality. Thus, from the beginning of its operations, the company has always treated its employees with respect; the company also cares for the welfare of its staff. This explains why the company included sport facilities, parks and housing opportunities for its employees. It is also part of the companys human resource strategy to inculcate its ethical business culture to its employees by ensuring that all staff members understand the values and behavior the company expects from them; this has been achieved through the companys à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Our Business Principlesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? statement. The good practice of Cadbury Schweppes was even recognized in 2003 by the Management Today magazine where it was voted as one of the most admirable companies for fulfilling it environmental and community responsibility. During the same year, the company also placed second for the Food and Drink sector in the Business in the Community per cent club index for doing its social responsibilities (The Times 100 2006). 2.2 Human Resource Strategies of Cadbury Schweppes Over the years, the company has implemented several means to manage its human resources strategically. These strategies include those that maximize potentials, train employees, manage HR risks and assess performance. 2.2.1 Maximizing Potentials One of the key personnel of Cadbury Schweppes is its managers. Thus, in order to optimize their skills, the company applied various strategic programs. One of which is its Building Strategic Capabilities (BSC) program that was developed in 1998. This program course was applied in order to maximize the potentials of the companys managers. The program is made up of three important elements. One is that the program course involved the study of real strategic issues rather than hypothetical cases; this made the course content more applicable to actual business problems the managers would encounter. Another important element of this program course was that the process of strategic decision-making is studied from goal-setting to performance-monitoring. This element of the program aims to enhance the managers strategic language, in order for them to be equipped with the necessary processes and standards for effective strategy implementation. Finally, this program is also made up of an eleme nt, which exposes managers to practical or hands-on training. This element is conducted by letting the program participants interact with the members of the top management. For the past five years since this potential-maximizing program has been implemented, Cadbury Schweppes BSC program is still used as the main approach for executive development (Morley Hepplewhite 2004). The company has continuously developed programs and strategies that would optimize the skills of its staff. For example, in 2005, Cadbury Schweppes pursued its People Strategy through its Building Commercial Capabilities program. This strategy is a group learning and development activity which is implemented to ensure that the full potential of all employees are realized. The program aims to develop the participants marketing and sales expertise as well as their commercial decision-making skills; this is done by studying the standard Cadbury Schweppes marketing and selling technique. A total of 1,000 managers have participated in this program (Cadbury Schweppes 2006b). 2.2.2 Training Training is an important aspect of the companys SHRM strategy. Aside from ensuring that all employees have equal access to the companys training opportunities, Cadbury Schweppes also develops training programs that improve the competency of its workforce. For this year, the company developed Passion for People, a people management training program. This aims to teach the standard approach used for managing people; it is also the goal of this program to refresh such management approach among current employees (Cadbury Schweppes 2006b). Bob Stack, Cadbury Schweppes Chief Human Resources Officer, also explained that this program is also conducted for the purpose of improving the drive performance skills of the managers. Furthermore, it is the objective of this training program to instill among employees the values and behavior that make up the companys culture (Cadbury Schweppes 2006c). The company does not only provide training opportunities to the new employees but also offer regular updates of the existing staff members. This strategy is also applicable in cases when one of its employees becomes disabled. When this happens, Cadbury Schweppes sees to it that an alternative job is offered. Moreover, re-training efforts are also provided to the employee if necessary (Cadbury Schweppes 2006b). 2.2.3 Risk Management In order to support the SHRM strategies of Cadbury Schweppes, the company include appropriate HR policies particularly in the recruitment, selection and hiring of employees. Other common work issues are also covered by the companys HR regulations. Through these strategic policies, the company is able to maintain its standards and meet desired business outcomes. Patterned after its ethical business practices, the companys policies promote equal employment opportunities within its global businesses. Thus, Cadbury Schweppes is a company committed to selecting employees based on their abilities and potentials; it is part of the companys SHRM strategy to optimize the talents and experience the employees have and help them realize their other capabilities. The company believes that by shaping its HR policies with this ethical commitment, the business will not only employ people of talent but it will also help is establishing a good image in the communities where it operates (International Labor Organization 2002). In recruiting and selecting employees, it is Cadbury Schweppes aim to hire the best people for the position it offers and use methods that are free from bias and discrimination. For employee selection, the company ensures that necessary criteria including skills, knowledge, qualifications and experience of the applicants are clearly defined. Psychometric testing, assessment techniques ad other selection methods should also be non-discriminatory. It must be clearly described why the applicant was selected; for this, records for employee selection decisions are kept and stored. The advertisements of the company for the job positions it is offering should also be patterned after the equal employment aspect. In particular, the company must ensure that the advertisements present enough opportunities that most people can apply for. Moreover, these advertisements must reach even underrepresented communities and groups (International Labor Organization 2002). In order to improve its selectio n process, the company had also recently used an online system for its testing procedures. An electronic version of its psychometric tests has been installed so as to make this vital phase of selection faster and more efficient (Graduate Recruiter 2006). The risks involved in human resource management are also controlled by Cadbury Schweppes through relevant policies. For instance, the company follows a compensation structure which is not influenced by the employees color, race, ethnic origin, gender, marital status, religion, disability or age. The career development of the employees is also dependent solely on their merits and abilities. The access of the employees to training is also covered by the companys policies. Specifically, regardless of the employees race or origin, all employees of Cadbury Schweppes have equal access to training. Moreover, if certain employees are in need of educational or skill support, the company provides them with the necessary training; this would allow them to progress equally with other employees (International Labor Organization 2002). Fairness and equality are also part of the companys policies used for handling work issues, grievance matters and discipline. When such issues arise, the company ensures that the situations are assessed fairly and on the same basis as with similar cases. For bullying and harassment, the company also requires all its business units to develop clear guidelines that would help manage these human resource problems. These ensure that the employees are aware on how to report and address these matters. The development and use of these guidelines also help these issues from happening (International Labor Organization 2002). Aside from preventing HR-related risks through policies, the company also develops helpful programs that would promote the well-being of the employees. For example, the company conducts education programs for the employees health and nutrition; whole-family health management schemes are also implemented. In order to support these programs, the company also provides nutrition-oriented on-site cafeterias. Medical facilities are also made available in the company to meet the employees basic safety and health requirements. Aside from the employees physical well-being, their mental health is also cared for; this is done through the provision of counseling services. This aims to assist the employees in handling personal and work-related issues (Cadbury Schweppes 2006b). 2.2.4 Performance Assessment The SHRM application of the company also involves the assessment or measurement of the performance of its employees. Specifically, the company uses a two-part performance measurement system. The line manager is the one in charge of assessing the individual performance of the employee every half and end of the year. Clearly developed performance objectives are used for the evaluation. The line manager presides a formal meeting with the employee to be assessed; during this time, the set objectives set at the beginning of the year is documented by the line manager and signed by the employee (Cadbury Schweppes 2006d). The utilization of a performance measurement system at Cadbury Schweppes allowed the company to fulfill its goal of giving due value on its employees development, growth and performance management. Through this system, the company is able to recognize and reward the employees who have displayed exemplary performance and gave much contribution to the companys success. Having a designed system allowed the company to apply a consistent approach for appraising the employees performance, even for those working in other international offices. This approach is composed of tools that facilitate the employees career development and personal growth; Reward programs are also included. These programs generally help in motivating the employees to contribute more for attaining business success (Cadbury Schweppes 2006e). The managers of the company are also assessed using this system. Specifically, the company makes use behavioral factors that support its global leadership needs, which include accountability, adaptability, aggressiveness, forward-thinking capability, motivation, collaboration, teamwork and company values. A separate assessment process is also used by the company in order to evaluate other potentials of its managers; this enables the company to identify other roles its managers could perform. Due rewards are also provided to the individual based on the outcome of his or her performance appraisal (Cadbury Schweppes 2006d). Aside from the individual performance of the employees and managers, the overall performance of the business in relation to the people it serves is also assessed. For this, Cadbury Schweppes uses the climate survey tool that has the ability to identify the relation between overall business performance and employee engagement. This tool was initially used for the companys 10,000 global managers in 2004 and then applied too all employees the following year (Cadbury Schweppes 2006d). 2.3 Impact of the companys HR strategies The use of multiple strategies related to SHRM application has generally been beneficial for Cadbury Schweppes. The performance measurement system of the company for example, motivated the employees to work their best. This finding was further stressed when a study finding showed that almost 90% of the companys global employees are proud to be employed by Cadbury Schweppes. The survey conducted by the company also showed that the employees are highly committed and engaged to good work performance. The commitment of the employees represents the employees attachment to the company while engagement indicates the level of effort the employees are willing to give for the company; they key factors have been directly related to the surveys key areas. The findings clearly showed that Cadbury Schweppes succeeds globally through its employees engagement and commitment, which were brought about by its HR strategies. The outcome of the survey was further stressed by the employee turnover records of the company. As of 2003, the turnover rate was at low level of 2.5% at an annual basis; executive population has also dropped minimally from 180 to 165 in 2003 to 2004. The number of women working in the company on the other hand had increased from 11% in 2003 to 13% in 2004. Despite the promising outcome of the survey, the company sees it necessary to continuously improve the level of engagement employees have for good performance (Cadbury Schweppes 2006e). The performance appraisal system also made the employees more aware of what the company expects from them; this strategy also encouraged the employees to constantly seek ways on how their performance can be improved. The utilization of the performance system has also been helpful for the company as it becomes more knowledgeable with the operation areas that need improvements (Cadbury Schweppes 2006d). In general, having a performance appraisal system in the companys SHRM strategy helped it to become proactive in maintaining its good business practices and in developing ways on how to be a better company. The training and programs of the company has also been showing positive outcomes. Its communication-related programs for example, have been able to enhance the employees communication and engagement level. These skill developments in turn, enabled the company to accomplish several collective bargaining agreements. The SHRM efforts of the company also encourage share ownership among the employees. Specifically, the HR strategy of Cadbury Schweppes made its all-employee share plan arrangements accessible to its employees in UK, US, Spain, New Zealand, Mexico, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Australia, France and Ireland. This achievement helped in bringing the companys global employees together (Cadbury Schweppes 2006b). The use of ethical practices in the recruitment and selection of the companys employees has also been of benefit especially in ensuring the high standard performance of the staff. Improving the means of recruiting through information technology systems has also helped the company in short listing the best applicants. Since this development has improved the speed of the of the recruitment process, the company has more time to assess job-related exercises. The improved psychometric test allows Cadbury Schweppes to gain information that emphasize the candidates distinct abilities (Graduate Recruiter 2006). Chapter III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction Strategic human resource management has been recognized by various companies as an important factor for achieving business success. Cadbury Schweppes is among those major companies who have long been applying various human resource strategies to achieve good business outcomes. This research was then conducted with aim of identifying the role of SHRM in the achievement of global success using the case of Cadbury Schweppes in UK. In order to achieve this research aim, the researcher used the descriptive method of research. A total of 30 respondents from the companys human resource department were selected in random. The survey questionnaire, structure in Likert-format, served as the main research instrument for this study. In addition to primary information, the researcher also used books, journals and other literatures as sources of secondary data. By means of weighted mean computation and the Likert scale, the results of the survey were then analyzed; relevant literatures were used t o discuss these results. 3.2 Data Requirement In order to achieve the objectives of this research, the researcher would need data that would describe the role of SHRM to the global growth and success of Cadbury Schweppes. For this, the researcher would have to contact people who are knowledgeable of the HR strategies developed and implemented by the company; people who are aware of how these strategies had impacted Cadbury Schweppes would also be helpful in answering the needs of this study. Thus, the researcher saw it appropriate to use some of the human resource staff from the company. Considering their participation and experience with these HR strategies, they would be able to provide the data required of this study. 3.3 Research Design In this research, the descriptive method was utilized. The purpose of employing the descriptive method is to describe the nature of a condition, as it takes place during the time of the study and to explore the cause or causes of a particular condition. The researcher opted to use this kind of research considering the desire to acquire first hand data from the respondents so as to formulate rational and sound conclusions and recommendations for the study. According to Creswell (1994), the descriptive method of research is to gather information about the present existing condition. This research method is advantageous for the researcher due to its flexibility; this method can use either qualitative or quantitative data or both, giving the researcher greater options in selecting the instrument for data-gathering. The aim of the research is to determine the role strategic human resource management in the global growth of Cadbury Schweppes; the descriptive method was then appropriate for this research since this method is used for gathering prevailing conditions. The research used human resource management employees as respondents from Cadbury Schweppes based in UK in order to gather relevant data; the descriptive method was then appropriate as this allowed the identification of the similarities and differences of the respondents answers. 3.3.1 Research Philosophy In order to carry out the research, the researcher ensured that a certain research philosophy framework is followed throughout the process. In particular, as this study will make use of human participants for data collection, ethical considerations were taken into account. This is in line with the researchers aim of carrying out the entire process ethically. Among the significant ethical issues that need attention include consent, confidentiality and data protection. Gaining Consent Securing permission and gaining the consent of the participants for this study is an important ethical consideration. In order to do so, the researcher relayed the aims of the research clearly to all participants. Each participant was asked to accomplish a consent form, stating in detail all the activities involved as well as the purpose of the study. The reasons why the human resource staff of the company was selected as participants were also stated so as to enable the selected participants to connect the aims of the research with that of the participant qualifications. In the consent form, the researcher also discussed in detail all the treatments or procedures to be done in the process. The possible risks that may be part of the research were also discussed with the participants in orde Strategic Human Resource Management in Cadbury Schweppes Strategic Human Resource Management in Cadbury Schweppes 1.1 Introduction The strategic management of an organizations human resource has been recognized as one of the keys to business success. This particular strategy generally involved the optimization of the employees potentials mainly through training and performance assessment. This organizational strategy has been integrated in several businesses mainly to improve profitability, establish stronger customer relations as well as achieve considerable business expansion. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) has indeed been applied to fulfill various important business goals and plans. Hence, major companies including Cadbury Schweppes, have been developing and applying various means on how to strategically manage one of their essential assets. Cadbury Schweppes is one of the major global players in the food manufacturing sector, specifically confectionery and beverage products. About two hundred countries worldwide are enjoying the companys world-renowned quality products and brands. The company has been able to expand successfully in different foreign countries mainly through its dedication to quality production as well as effective management and marketing practices. In order to progress further, the company still aims to continue on producing quality brands and products, meeting the needs of its shareholders and operating towards optimum performance. Cadbury Schweppes knows that its achievement to operate globally is attributable to its workforce. Thus, the company has been employing different strategies in order to strategically improve its human resources towards continuous global success. This study then analyzes how the company applies strategic human resource management it its operations. In particular, focus was centered on the assessment of the companys strategies for maximizing the potentials, assessing the performance and enhancing the skills of its workforce. This research was conducted mainly to determine the relation of Cadbury Schweppes global success to its SHRM practices. 1.2 The Research Background Strategic human resource management (SHRM) was actually derived from the conventional HR concepts. Due to the growing pressures in business, particularly in the need to become more competitive and innovative, organizations and human resource departments see it necessary to reconsider existing HR practices. The application of the new concept involves the modification of HR policies, provision of training programs, development of performance measurement systems as well as the promotion of the employees overall well-being. In turn, the changes in the HR practice then allowed companies to overcome some of the major hurdles in the business sector. Cadbury Schweppes is among the major companies operating in the world. Aside from multiple branches in several foreign countries, the product lines of the company as well as its market have continuously grown over the years. Along with its global growth and success, the company has constantly upgraded its SHRM efforts as well. The researcher then aims to determine how these HR strategies had contributed to the companys global achievement. Investigating on this HR topic can stress the connection between workforce and business efficiency. As effective employees have long been considered as essential to good business operations, identifying how the strategic management of human resource can contribute to greater success will then be of benefit to many other companies. The researcher then attempted to achieve this objective by using some of Cadbury Schweppes HR staff for information. Using a survey as the research instrument, the data obtained were then analyzed to develop the findings. 1.3 Research Value Considering the increasing competitiveness in the business sector, organizations are in need of maximizing its resources in order to operate successfully. One of these important resources is the organizational workforce. By means of determining the different approaches related to strategic human resource management, workforce issues encountered by other companies may be resolved. In addition, companies intending to operate of expand on the global level may achieve this goal by assessing and improving their human resource strategies. This research may also be of value to employees as this could encourage business companies in general to give due value to their workforce so as to achieve better business outcomes. This investigative study could also contribute to the human resource sector particularly by increasing awareness on SHRM and the new approaches other companies could apply. Clients or consumers may also benefit from this study as the increased awareness on SHRM approaches can likely enhance both production and service provision of other companies. 1.4 Research Aims and Objectives This study aims to determine the role of strategic human resource management in the achievement of Cadbury Schweppes global growth and success. Below are the specific objectives of this research study: To determine the role if strategic human resource management in shaping the development processes of Cadbury Schweppes To analyze the performance assessment, training and potential-maximizing strategies of the global company To identify and analyze the human resource strategies of the company that allowed it to operate globally To relate various human resource management theories to the identified strategies of the company 1.5 The Research Outline The entire study is divided into five chapters. The first chapter presents the background of the study, the objectives, research problems and its significance. In the second chapter, literatures and published documents pertaining to strategic human resource management and the strategies applied by Cadbury Schweppes are discussed. The research methodology used for this study is discussed in chapter three. Specifically, this chapter focuses on the description of the participants, sampling technique and the research instruments utilized in the process. In chapter 4, the results of the survey are presented. Literatures supporting the findings of the study are also integrated in the discussion section of the chapter. Finally, the fifth chapter summarizes the findings of the research; significant conclusions as well as appropriate recommendations are also included in the final chapter. Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 A Brief Historical Background of Cadbury Schweppes Cadbury Schweppes is actually a company established by a merger involving two of the greatest companies in UK. Jacob Schweppe was the one behind the perfection of the carbonated mineral water manufactured in Switzerland in 1783. On the other hand, John Cadbury established the now world-renowned chocolate manufacturing company in 1824. Over the years, both companies have operated successfully and became household brand names in the British region. It was not until 1969 when these two manufacturing giants decided to merge. Through organic program and acquisition, both companies were able to expand the business worldwide (Cadbury Schweppes 2006a). As two big companies joined into one, the new company developed and implemented several business strategies that led to its success. For instance, during the middle part of the 1980s, Cadbury Schweppes decided to center its attention on its international brand confectionery and beverages. Through this strategy, the company was able to strengthen its key brand names and even led to the purchase of some other major food brands such as Motts, Canada Dry, Trebor, Bassett, Dr. Pepper and Seven Up as well as Hawaiian Punch. The acquisition of other popular brands of the company continued up to the new millennium. In 2000 for example, Cadbury Schweppes acquired the Snapple and Hollywood and even took the second spot in the French soft drink sector when it acquired Orangina. In 2002, the company placed number two in chewing gum production by acquiring Dandy, a Danish chewing gum brand and became the number one company in confectionery at the global level. For $4.2 billion, the company also a nnounced its acquisition of yet another major brand called Adams (Cadbury Schweppes 2006a). 2.1.1 A Brief History and Importance of SHRM Strategic human resource management is considered as the extension of HRM. While HRM is focused on the theoretical concepts, SHRM is centered on how these theoretical foundations should be implemented. The concept of SHRM was actually brought about by the growing pressures of change. Organizations started to realize that changes in the conventional human resource activities must be carried out. This change would help much organization overcome new issues and challenges related to the human resource concept. In turn, human resource agencies and departments have been active in encouraging HR managers to develop means of applying strategy to the HR function (Niehaus 1995). This then gave rise to what is now called SHRM. Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) is a strategic approach that helps in managing employee relations. This HR concept emphasizes that leveraging peoples capabilities is critical to achieving sustainable competitive advantage. SHRM is actually applied by means of a distinctive set of integrated employment policies, programs and practices. Considering the increasing competition in the working sector, it is important that the employees are equipped with the abilities so as to assist their organization in overcoming such challenge (Bratton Gold 2003). SHRM gives emphasis on the integration of learning and organization. This means that the conception of learning must be considered by the organization as a purposeful business process (Ruona Roth 2000). Walton (1999) noted that SHRM is made of the introduction, elimination, modification and directional procedures and responsibilities where all employees are armed with the knowledge, skills and competencies necessary for them to pe rform various organizational tasks effectively. Through SHRM processes, employees are able to learn how they can improve their skills and enrich their knowledge, which are very useful in their overall work output. The efficiency of the employees will naturally lead to greater productivity and higher levels of customer satisfaction as well as loyalty. The application of SHRM is also essential for the personal and professional development of the employees, which in turn makes them more confident and committed in their work. The ultimate outcome of SHRM is the attainment of a strong and sustainable competitive advantage out of the companys workforce. For companies, generating competitive advantages out of their workforces is an important key in becoming globally competitive (McWilliams, Van Fleet Wright 2001). Schuler, Dowling and De Cieri (1993) noted that in order to successfully compete in the global market, human resources must be deployed effectively. 2.1.2 A Brief History of Human Resource Strategy of Cadbury Schweppes plc and its impact on the company The human resource strategy of Cadbury Schweppes originated from the company main operation purpose which is to work together to produce brands that others would love. In particular, the company developed a goal related to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to achieve this. This goal would direct the company to become socially responsible not only to their consumers but to the people working for it as well. As this goal covers the workforce sector, Cadbury Schweppes develops human resource strategies that are patterned CSR and ethical practices. In fact, one of the essential factors the company uses in its business operations is ethical behavior as well as the establishment of close relations with its stakeholders. The company generally believes that ethical business practices and respect for human rights are core foundation on how the company works and deals with people; the company also claims that good ethics works well with good business, resulting to long term succes s (The Times 100 2006). These core values then became the main influence for the companys human resource strategies. The HR strategies of the company are also influenced by the Quaker values which promote social reform, justice and equality. Thus, from the beginning of its operations, the company has always treated its employees with respect; the company also cares for the welfare of its staff. This explains why the company included sport facilities, parks and housing opportunities for its employees. It is also part of the companys human resource strategy to inculcate its ethical business culture to its employees by ensuring that all staff members understand the values and behavior the company expects from them; this has been achieved through the companys à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Our Business Principlesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? statement. The good practice of Cadbury Schweppes was even recognized in 2003 by the Management Today magazine where it was voted as one of the most admirable companies for fulfilling it environmental and community responsibility. During the same year, the company also placed second for the Food and Drink sector in the Business in the Community per cent club index for doing its social responsibilities (The Times 100 2006). 2.2 Human Resource Strategies of Cadbury Schweppes Over the years, the company has implemented several means to manage its human resources strategically. These strategies include those that maximize potentials, train employees, manage HR risks and assess performance. 2.2.1 Maximizing Potentials One of the key personnel of Cadbury Schweppes is its managers. Thus, in order to optimize their skills, the company applied various strategic programs. One of which is its Building Strategic Capabilities (BSC) program that was developed in 1998. This program course was applied in order to maximize the potentials of the companys managers. The program is made up of three important elements. One is that the program course involved the study of real strategic issues rather than hypothetical cases; this made the course content more applicable to actual business problems the managers would encounter. Another important element of this program course was that the process of strategic decision-making is studied from goal-setting to performance-monitoring. This element of the program aims to enhance the managers strategic language, in order for them to be equipped with the necessary processes and standards for effective strategy implementation. Finally, this program is also made up of an eleme nt, which exposes managers to practical or hands-on training. This element is conducted by letting the program participants interact with the members of the top management. For the past five years since this potential-maximizing program has been implemented, Cadbury Schweppes BSC program is still used as the main approach for executive development (Morley Hepplewhite 2004). The company has continuously developed programs and strategies that would optimize the skills of its staff. For example, in 2005, Cadbury Schweppes pursued its People Strategy through its Building Commercial Capabilities program. This strategy is a group learning and development activity which is implemented to ensure that the full potential of all employees are realized. The program aims to develop the participants marketing and sales expertise as well as their commercial decision-making skills; this is done by studying the standard Cadbury Schweppes marketing and selling technique. A total of 1,000 managers have participated in this program (Cadbury Schweppes 2006b). 2.2.2 Training Training is an important aspect of the companys SHRM strategy. Aside from ensuring that all employees have equal access to the companys training opportunities, Cadbury Schweppes also develops training programs that improve the competency of its workforce. For this year, the company developed Passion for People, a people management training program. This aims to teach the standard approach used for managing people; it is also the goal of this program to refresh such management approach among current employees (Cadbury Schweppes 2006b). Bob Stack, Cadbury Schweppes Chief Human Resources Officer, also explained that this program is also conducted for the purpose of improving the drive performance skills of the managers. Furthermore, it is the objective of this training program to instill among employees the values and behavior that make up the companys culture (Cadbury Schweppes 2006c). The company does not only provide training opportunities to the new employees but also offer regular updates of the existing staff members. This strategy is also applicable in cases when one of its employees becomes disabled. When this happens, Cadbury Schweppes sees to it that an alternative job is offered. Moreover, re-training efforts are also provided to the employee if necessary (Cadbury Schweppes 2006b). 2.2.3 Risk Management In order to support the SHRM strategies of Cadbury Schweppes, the company include appropriate HR policies particularly in the recruitment, selection and hiring of employees. Other common work issues are also covered by the companys HR regulations. Through these strategic policies, the company is able to maintain its standards and meet desired business outcomes. Patterned after its ethical business practices, the companys policies promote equal employment opportunities within its global businesses. Thus, Cadbury Schweppes is a company committed to selecting employees based on their abilities and potentials; it is part of the companys SHRM strategy to optimize the talents and experience the employees have and help them realize their other capabilities. The company believes that by shaping its HR policies with this ethical commitment, the business will not only employ people of talent but it will also help is establishing a good image in the communities where it operates (International Labor Organization 2002). In recruiting and selecting employees, it is Cadbury Schweppes aim to hire the best people for the position it offers and use methods that are free from bias and discrimination. For employee selection, the company ensures that necessary criteria including skills, knowledge, qualifications and experience of the applicants are clearly defined. Psychometric testing, assessment techniques ad other selection methods should also be non-discriminatory. It must be clearly described why the applicant was selected; for this, records for employee selection decisions are kept and stored. The advertisements of the company for the job positions it is offering should also be patterned after the equal employment aspect. In particular, the company must ensure that the advertisements present enough opportunities that most people can apply for. Moreover, these advertisements must reach even underrepresented communities and groups (International Labor Organization 2002). In order to improve its selectio n process, the company had also recently used an online system for its testing procedures. An electronic version of its psychometric tests has been installed so as to make this vital phase of selection faster and more efficient (Graduate Recruiter 2006). The risks involved in human resource management are also controlled by Cadbury Schweppes through relevant policies. For instance, the company follows a compensation structure which is not influenced by the employees color, race, ethnic origin, gender, marital status, religion, disability or age. The career development of the employees is also dependent solely on their merits and abilities. The access of the employees to training is also covered by the companys policies. Specifically, regardless of the employees race or origin, all employees of Cadbury Schweppes have equal access to training. Moreover, if certain employees are in need of educational or skill support, the company provides them with the necessary training; this would allow them to progress equally with other employees (International Labor Organization 2002). Fairness and equality are also part of the companys policies used for handling work issues, grievance matters and discipline. When such issues arise, the company ensures that the situations are assessed fairly and on the same basis as with similar cases. For bullying and harassment, the company also requires all its business units to develop clear guidelines that would help manage these human resource problems. These ensure that the employees are aware on how to report and address these matters. The development and use of these guidelines also help these issues from happening (International Labor Organization 2002). Aside from preventing HR-related risks through policies, the company also develops helpful programs that would promote the well-being of the employees. For example, the company conducts education programs for the employees health and nutrition; whole-family health management schemes are also implemented. In order to support these programs, the company also provides nutrition-oriented on-site cafeterias. Medical facilities are also made available in the company to meet the employees basic safety and health requirements. Aside from the employees physical well-being, their mental health is also cared for; this is done through the provision of counseling services. This aims to assist the employees in handling personal and work-related issues (Cadbury Schweppes 2006b). 2.2.4 Performance Assessment The SHRM application of the company also involves the assessment or measurement of the performance of its employees. Specifically, the company uses a two-part performance measurement system. The line manager is the one in charge of assessing the individual performance of the employee every half and end of the year. Clearly developed performance objectives are used for the evaluation. The line manager presides a formal meeting with the employee to be assessed; during this time, the set objectives set at the beginning of the year is documented by the line manager and signed by the employee (Cadbury Schweppes 2006d). The utilization of a performance measurement system at Cadbury Schweppes allowed the company to fulfill its goal of giving due value on its employees development, growth and performance management. Through this system, the company is able to recognize and reward the employees who have displayed exemplary performance and gave much contribution to the companys success. Having a designed system allowed the company to apply a consistent approach for appraising the employees performance, even for those working in other international offices. This approach is composed of tools that facilitate the employees career development and personal growth; Reward programs are also included. These programs generally help in motivating the employees to contribute more for attaining business success (Cadbury Schweppes 2006e). The managers of the company are also assessed using this system. Specifically, the company makes use behavioral factors that support its global leadership needs, which include accountability, adaptability, aggressiveness, forward-thinking capability, motivation, collaboration, teamwork and company values. A separate assessment process is also used by the company in order to evaluate other potentials of its managers; this enables the company to identify other roles its managers could perform. Due rewards are also provided to the individual based on the outcome of his or her performance appraisal (Cadbury Schweppes 2006d). Aside from the individual performance of the employees and managers, the overall performance of the business in relation to the people it serves is also assessed. For this, Cadbury Schweppes uses the climate survey tool that has the ability to identify the relation between overall business performance and employee engagement. This tool was initially used for the companys 10,000 global managers in 2004 and then applied too all employees the following year (Cadbury Schweppes 2006d). 2.3 Impact of the companys HR strategies The use of multiple strategies related to SHRM application has generally been beneficial for Cadbury Schweppes. The performance measurement system of the company for example, motivated the employees to work their best. This finding was further stressed when a study finding showed that almost 90% of the companys global employees are proud to be employed by Cadbury Schweppes. The survey conducted by the company also showed that the employees are highly committed and engaged to good work performance. The commitment of the employees represents the employees attachment to the company while engagement indicates the level of effort the employees are willing to give for the company; they key factors have been directly related to the surveys key areas. The findings clearly showed that Cadbury Schweppes succeeds globally through its employees engagement and commitment, which were brought about by its HR strategies. The outcome of the survey was further stressed by the employee turnover records of the company. As of 2003, the turnover rate was at low level of 2.5% at an annual basis; executive population has also dropped minimally from 180 to 165 in 2003 to 2004. The number of women working in the company on the other hand had increased from 11% in 2003 to 13% in 2004. Despite the promising outcome of the survey, the company sees it necessary to continuously improve the level of engagement employees have for good performance (Cadbury Schweppes 2006e). The performance appraisal system also made the employees more aware of what the company expects from them; this strategy also encouraged the employees to constantly seek ways on how their performance can be improved. The utilization of the performance system has also been helpful for the company as it becomes more knowledgeable with the operation areas that need improvements (Cadbury Schweppes 2006d). In general, having a performance appraisal system in the companys SHRM strategy helped it to become proactive in maintaining its good business practices and in developing ways on how to be a better company. The training and programs of the company has also been showing positive outcomes. Its communication-related programs for example, have been able to enhance the employees communication and engagement level. These skill developments in turn, enabled the company to accomplish several collective bargaining agreements. The SHRM efforts of the company also encourage share ownership among the employees. Specifically, the HR strategy of Cadbury Schweppes made its all-employee share plan arrangements accessible to its employees in UK, US, Spain, New Zealand, Mexico, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Australia, France and Ireland. This achievement helped in bringing the companys global employees together (Cadbury Schweppes 2006b). The use of ethical practices in the recruitment and selection of the companys employees has also been of benefit especially in ensuring the high standard performance of the staff. Improving the means of recruiting through information technology systems has also helped the company in short listing the best applicants. Since this development has improved the speed of the of the recruitment process, the company has more time to assess job-related exercises. The improved psychometric test allows Cadbury Schweppes to gain information that emphasize the candidates distinct abilities (Graduate Recruiter 2006). Chapter III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction Strategic human resource management has been recognized by various companies as an important factor for achieving business success. Cadbury Schweppes is among those major companies who have long been applying various human resource strategies to achieve good business outcomes. This research was then conducted with aim of identifying the role of SHRM in the achievement of global success using the case of Cadbury Schweppes in UK. In order to achieve this research aim, the researcher used the descriptive method of research. A total of 30 respondents from the companys human resource department were selected in random. The survey questionnaire, structure in Likert-format, served as the main research instrument for this study. In addition to primary information, the researcher also used books, journals and other literatures as sources of secondary data. By means of weighted mean computation and the Likert scale, the results of the survey were then analyzed; relevant literatures were used t o discuss these results. 3.2 Data Requirement In order to achieve the objectives of this research, the researcher would need data that would describe the role of SHRM to the global growth and success of Cadbury Schweppes. For this, the researcher would have to contact people who are knowledgeable of the HR strategies developed and implemented by the company; people who are aware of how these strategies had impacted Cadbury Schweppes would also be helpful in answering the needs of this study. Thus, the researcher saw it appropriate to use some of the human resource staff from the company. Considering their participation and experience with these HR strategies, they would be able to provide the data required of this study. 3.3 Research Design In this research, the descriptive method was utilized. The purpose of employing the descriptive method is to describe the nature of a condition, as it takes place during the time of the study and to explore the cause or causes of a particular condition. The researcher opted to use this kind of research considering the desire to acquire first hand data from the respondents so as to formulate rational and sound conclusions and recommendations for the study. According to Creswell (1994), the descriptive method of research is to gather information about the present existing condition. This research method is advantageous for the researcher due to its flexibility; this method can use either qualitative or quantitative data or both, giving the researcher greater options in selecting the instrument for data-gathering. The aim of the research is to determine the role strategic human resource management in the global growth of Cadbury Schweppes; the descriptive method was then appropriate for this research since this method is used for gathering prevailing conditions. The research used human resource management employees as respondents from Cadbury Schweppes based in UK in order to gather relevant data; the descriptive method was then appropriate as this allowed the identification of the similarities and differences of the respondents answers. 3.3.1 Research Philosophy In order to carry out the research, the researcher ensured that a certain research philosophy framework is followed throughout the process. In particular, as this study will make use of human participants for data collection, ethical considerations were taken into account. This is in line with the researchers aim of carrying out the entire process ethically. Among the significant ethical issues that need attention include consent, confidentiality and data protection. Gaining Consent Securing permission and gaining the consent of the participants for this study is an important ethical consideration. In order to do so, the researcher relayed the aims of the research clearly to all participants. Each participant was asked to accomplish a consent form, stating in detail all the activities involved as well as the purpose of the study. The reasons why the human resource staff of the company was selected as participants were also stated so as to enable the selected participants to connect the aims of the research with that of the participant qualifications. In the consent form, the researcher also discussed in detail all the treatments or procedures to be done in the process. The possible risks that may be part of the research were also discussed with the participants in orde