Managing the Managers Essay -- Business Management

Managing the Managers MANAGING THE MANAGERS: JAPANESE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN THE USA The article reviews one of the greatest difficulties that Japanese multinational companies face, that is integration of its subplants in other countries, where not just management is viewed as different, but also the general running of the "mother" company's, not to mention the cultural changes which may be faced when atempting to integrate into another country. The article reviewed attempts to do two things. Firstly, the authors explore the management self so as to give reasoning into the two different managing styles of the United States of America and that of infamous Japanese management. Secondly, the authors report their research on management self-conception and style in Japanese owned factories or 'transplants' in the United States. The article is a summary of a large Japanese multinational company's intergration into the United States. This multinational opened 3 transplants in the same region of the United States. One of the transplants (Honshu manufacturing, which incidently seems to hold strategic significance as concluded by the massive capital investment of $300M) has a Japanese General Manager. The second, Honshu assembly holds and American born and raised General Manager. The third transplant is of an intereting nature as this is a Hybrid of Japanese and American management. The article begins with the facts involved when a firm of a more than a modest size is doing business in a foreign environment. It outlines the difficulties and failures that could be encountered when integration is involved. The article continues to inform us on how the article will be presented and the goals of the study at hand. The article is divided into 8 separate but relevant sections, these are: Introduction which talks about the methods used in the study and gives a brief rundown of the subject of Japanese and American management. Management in the Japanese transplants which talks a lot about previous surveys already concluded of which the nature is the same as the subject at hand. This subsection of the article also provides us with a history of the subject, as far back as 1976 . This section gives case example of previous studies made within the field of Japanese management and integration by Japanese multinationals. Mediating the selves... ...y Seniorities Promotion by competence Utilisation of employees Not fully Fully Utilised Blue-collar / White collar Single Class Double Class External relation Long term Short term Group relationship Keiretsu Ownership Basis of relationship Give and take Market mechanism Decision making Collective Individual Responsibility Collective Individual Ambition of employees Promotion within company Promotion in other company Dreams/ Goals Happily working together Efficiently working together Analogy (system) Organical Mechanical The Japanese management style is deductive and believes in insight and intuition. They believe in the power of logic and reasoning, they believe that which cant be seen or measured can exist, they do not break a whole down first into parts to analyze. Compare that with the Inductive American contructive reality belief that we believe in observing and measuring, the belief that that which cant be measured or seen does not exist, alongside the Joe Friday approach: Just the facts ma'am!

Confidence Interval and Reflective Writing Tips

Reflective Writing Tips Reflective writing is where you revisit experiences and write down your thoughts about them, asking questions such as: †¢Ã¢â‚¬ What did I notice? † †¢Ã¢â‚¬ Why did it happen this way? † †¢ â€Å"How was I changed by this? † †¢ â€Å"What might I have done differently? † †¢Ã¢â‚¬ How could I have handled the situation differently in hindsight? † †¢Ã¢â‚¬  What have I learnt about myself? † †¢ † How do I interact in a team? † †¢ â€Å"How did I feel? † †¢Ã¢â‚¬ Why did I react the way I did? † †¢Ã¢â‚¬ How can I improve for next time? † You will need to do a lot of research, There is a reading list provided as a starting point. Do you follow any of the theories? Have you got experiences now that show the theories are true? You do not need to be analyzing other team members actions. This is not a forum to blame everyone else! You should be looking inwards at yourself for answers and looking at your own reactions to the situations and how you could improve and grow. This is not a report so you don't need to follow report format. You can lay it out however you want to. It should mainly be about what you have learnt in PASBD but you could add in some personal experience if you wish. You will need proper SHU Harvard referencing and a bibliography. Leaflet attached. Don't be too descriptive about the detail of what happened, it is more about your analysis of why the things happened that did. Finally I have two examples from people who have done this assignment previously, one bad and one very good. Bad Example – approx 40% â€Å"As a final year student, the reflection on team building or team working is difficult when you don't know the people you are working with. The first test is to communicate in various forms of communications which are needed to arrange times to meet and possibly exchange contact details at this stage so you know who, where and what a person looks like when it's time to meet. Personally when the first group was formed, the initial test was to email group members to arrange possible times to meet, however I was lucky enough to have two members within my group to which I have worked with before throughout my course, therefore there was a built relationship already which made work carried out easier. This meant I know the capability, thrive and enthusiasm of those individuals to carry out given task, although one of them can be a bit bossy, on the other hand it was more difficult to predict what the other members would be like, as for not knowing who they are and what kind of a person they are this bought my confidence levels down. When faced with a situation such as meeting people for the first time, it is always good to start off on the right foot. In my own personal experience the best thing to do was to meet the group and get to know the members and see what they are like. In terms of confidence, it was certain that they all had similar thoughts going through their minds to what an individual like myself or others would bring to the team. † When we started the first case which was Atkinsons the two stronger members led the way and the rest of us were quite happy to let them take control. We decided that we shouldn't move to Meadowhall which turned out to be the right choice. The national trust exercise didn't turn out as well as we didn’t think about who we were presenting to. I wasn't happy about the mark for this. † Good Example – approx 90% When considering what part I might play, I considered what team role I would suit from Belbins (1981) psychological profiles of how people â€Å"behave, contribute and interrelate with others†. Due to my confident and influential personality my perception would have originally been that of the alpha female. To initiate thoughts, make executive decisions and organise the group towa rds the end goal. Looking at the team roles outlined, I would have classed myself as a â€Å"co-ordinator†; â€Å"Mature, confident, a good chairperson; clarifies goals, promotes decision-making, delegates well. This summary reflects how I would try to control the group work to what I want to achieve. Being a naturally confident person I felt that I would be able to exert influence on people to achieve what I wanted by allowing my â€Å"behavior [to be] controlled by my internal personality (Bateman and Crate, 1993). As tasks began, I found it difficult to â€Å"let go† when tasks were divided and I tried to micro-manage. This lack of trust in other peoples work meant that I put additional pressure and workload on myself. In order to improve my actions (and stress levels) I have to better understand my ‘locus of control' (Rotter 1966); whether the event is within(internal) or beyond(external) my personal control. I have come to learn that winning is not everything and too great a focus on it can block learning. Problems came to head when my considered personal strength was mixed with another strong character, I felt like I had to fight to get my point across. I felt beaten by constant, critical comment as she would often counteract my ideas or discard them. However, we found that our debates achieved an effective balance and we produced a high quality presentation by using constructive criticism. I realise now that she was not aiming to target or discredit my ideas or work but she was just trying to achieve a better result by challenging my suggestions. I have learnt that in future I should value all criticisms as they can enhance my performance. † Finally It's all about the journey and not the destination. Focus on the process and learning with an internal emphasis. It's not about whether you got the tasks right or wrong but about what you learned about yourself and life whilst doing them.

Drunk Driving Research Paper - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 1035 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/04/03 Category Society Essay Type Research paper Level High school Tags: Drunk Driving Essay Did you like this example? Research Paper Every year in the United States 13,000 people are killed from an alcohol related accident. In a different perspective, that is about 35 people every day (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). To bring this statistic down, schools should educate students on the consequences of drunk driving because teenagers are more likely to get into a fatal car crash than any other age group. Teaching students about the legal ramifications will discourage drunk driving, teaching teens about the death rates, and showing them how to cope with peer pressure situations will all decrease alcohol related car crashes. While under the influence, teenagers are 17 times more likely to get into a fatal car crash, compared to driving sober (Burgess). Students need to know that alcohol affects their brain more than it affects adults. In fact, 16-20 year olds have the highest rate of alcohol related fatal car crashes (National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Accidents ). This is because teenagers can be impaired by half as much alcohol than an adult. This is caused by inexperience with alcohol, and even with a low blood alcohol content getting into a car tispy can be fatal. Teenagers do not realize that it only takes a couple drinks to become intoxicated. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Drunk Driving Research Paper" essay for you Create order Furthermore, during parties teens tend to binge drink and then instead of calling their parents to pick them up, they try to drive home or get a ride with someone who is also drunk (Lindsay). It is vital for teenagers to be taught the dangers of driving under the influence. Schools have classes to teach students how to drive, yet the classes do not spend enough time on the consequences of drunk driving. Another reason for teaching teenagers about drunk driving, is that if they are taught about the legal ramifications it might discourage them from getting behind the wheel while drunk. If teenagers, and adults for that matter, think they can get away with driving drunk they are mistaken. For example, in Minnesota alone 30,000 DUIs are handed out each year. That means one out of seven people in the state has received one (Pinto). A few reasons why it is hard to get away with drunk driving, are because of the checkpoints and patrols, harsh punishments, and strict laws to prevent drunk driving. Although ten states prohibit the checkpoints, research shows that these crack downs are improving the drunk driving conditions on the roads. According to Joseph Carter, the president of the IACP, More than two decades of research have demonstrated that sobriety checkpoints and other law enforcement efforts make a difference. They are vitally effective techniques to get impaired drivers off of our roads (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). These checkpoints are meant to discourage drivers about driving drunk because if they are caught the consequences are severe. The punishments for DUIs are strict, especially for teenage drivers. One of the laws to prevent teenage drunk driving is the zero tolerance law. This law states that drivers under 21 cannot have a blood alcohol content higher than .02%. Research shows that this law has decreased accidents by 50 percent in some states (National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Accidents). If a teenager is caught, the legal ramifications can include jail time for up to six months, loss of their licenses and fines up to 1,000 dollars. Keep in mind, these punishments are only for first time offenses (Furmento). Not to mention, a teenagers insurance can be tripled even quadrupled after a first time offense (Pinto). With these deterrents in mind, a teen would have to think twice about getting behind the wheel while intoxicated. Continuing on with the education of consequences dealing with drunk driving, there are not only DUIs one would have to worry about. On the flip side of the consequences, teenagers should be educated not only on the legal ramifications but also on the moral consequences. Sometimes teens believe that they are immortal and nothing will hurt them, but they need to realize that every year thousands of people are killed by drunk drivers. For instance, in Minnesota alone, 300 people are killed from just alcohol related accidents. Furthermore, for every one person that is killed twenty are injured (Pinto). In Illinois, 369 people were killed in 2014. In fact, the highest percentage of alcohol related accidents came from the 16-20 year olds (National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Accidents). Joseph Carter said that impaired driving is not just another traffic offense. It is a serious crime that often causes needless deaths and injuries (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). This quote is important because it shows that drunk driving deaths can be prevented. The reality is, teenagers need to realize every time they get behind the wheel, or in a car with a drunk driver, they are risking the lives of the passengers in the car, but also other vehicles and pedestrian around them. The final reason for teaching teenagers about drunk driving is not just teaching them about the things that could happen, but how to not get into the situation in the first place. This is because kids do not know how to say no when all their friends are pressuring them to do something. In a study conducted by the NIDA, it was proven that teens are more likely to run through a yellow light if their friends were in the car with them (Bellum). If more teenagers learned at an earlier age not to be pressured by their friends, drunk driving would not be so prevalent. Some believe that the schools already teach the consequences of drunk driving in the mandatory driving course; however, the class is only a semester long and it needs to get through other things, such as how to drive a car in all conditions, all the road laws, and the mechanics of the car. As one could conclude, that leaves maybe a day or two to go over the effects of drunk driving. Certainly, not enough time to learn all of the laws, ramifications of drinking and driving with peer pressure, and how one decision, at the time seemed harmless, could lead to countless avoidable deaths. With this in mind, schools need to focus on drunk driving to continue reducing the number of drunk driving deaths.