Lisa Fraziers The Pact :: Lisa Frazier The Pact

Lisa Frazier's The Pact My father's family lived in New Jersey when my dad and his three brothers were just blooming adolescents. Their parents were the product of the cocktail generation, and the Irish tendency towards alcoholism was augmented by that social niche. Despite the arguments and drinking, Mary and Jack wanted to make sure their children got the best possible education. The boys were sent to Catholic schools, and once they graduated were forcefully directed down a collegiate path. The brothers gave each other support throughout the years, but what they did with that support behind them was up to each individual. All four of the brothers went on to higher education, but their choices there and the lives they'd lead thereafter were all rather different. The doctors in the Pact, a book about close friends using a promise to unite the and motivate eachother to succeed, grew up where my father and his brothers did, but in a very different time. Much like my father's family, they were to face their own individual obstacles and make their way to higher education and their lives beyond. Both had parents with little money and received the best education that could be provided, and both would face elements in their lives that could change it. Before further comparison the lives of Tom, Bill, Pat, and Tim should be discussed. My father, Tom, was the eldest brother and was the first to attend college. He had been an alter boy in high school and a football player. When it came time for him to attend college he chose Millersville University . There he played football and was well known as a student who knew how to throw a party. Two years into his college career he decided to go into the navy. After serving his time there he went back to Millersville only to drop out near the beginning of his senior year because he found college to be â€Å"boring†. To my father there is nothing worse than being bored. His biggest accomplishment in college, as far as he saw it, was when trying to write an original poem in a certain style on one of his English finals, he wrote a limerick instead which went as follows:

What are some of the individual and group †level factors that affect organisational change and development? How can these be managed?

Introduction â€Å"Change and resistance go hand in hand: change implies resistance and resistance means that change is taking place† (Gravenhorst, 1993). This definition exemplifies the importance of the human element in organisations as it is this constituent that ultimately becomes the face of any organisation. Due to the difficult economic and political situation nationally and internationally, many organisations have changed their working practices; it has never been more vital for managers to handle change effectively by avoiding common errors made by change agents and become what Tushman and O’Reilly call an â€Å"Ambidextrous Organisation†. Implementing change in organisations has proved to be a lot tougher than originally thought, as success depends on the stakeholders involved in the process, the organisational context for facilitating change, as well as many other internal and external factors. This essay will argue the most difficult aspect of organisation change is the human element in change processes, due to the emotional dimension that humans bring with them into organisational life. This essay will first will discuss change resistance generally, stating reasons why people resist change and offering ideas for how to overcome resistance. Then the impact of emotions will be dealt with: why they are important in change processes referring to scholarly texts and theories. The last sub-section of the essay will address group level factors, making distinctions between different types of groups and teams. A discussion and analysis on group norms and how they can prove to be problematic will follow. Finally, solutions will be provided for combating group factors of resistance and how they can be seen as an opportunity to oversee past management behaviour. The conclusion will reiterate the main arguments put forward and will summarise the essay findings. What is Resistance to Change? From an internal point of view, resistance to change is situated at individual and group levels. Beer and Nohria (2000) argue that 70 per cent of change programs fail because of a lack of strategy and vision, inadequate communication and trust, poor commitment from top management, a lack of resources, poor change management skills, and resistance to change from within organisations. Resistance to change inside organisations has been understated in the past, and many organisations continue to neglect emphasis on the internal factors of change. â€Å"Resistance towards change encompasses behaviours that are acted out by change recipients in order to slow down or terminate an intended organisational change† (Lines, 2004, cited in Hughes, 2010, p 33). This quote exemplifies that behaviours of change recipients play a key role in the implementation of change, which can act as a barrier during transition processes. Resistance to change can be defined in many different ways, but trad itionally ‘resistance’ is experienced negatively in organisations, with management viewing resistance as a stumbling block, delaying mechanism, and enemy of necessary changes. However, Ford and Ford (2009) and Waddell and Sohal (1998) have argued that the way managers interpret resistance is wrong and posit that in many cases management do not truly understand such behaviour, instinctively interpreting objections as a form of resistance from employees. This point has validity since it is very common for managers to see any form of feedback as resistance from their subordinate counterparts (Ackroyd and Thompson, 1999). Why Resistance Occurs Resistance to change occurs for many reasons, whether at the individual or group level. The first point to consider is whether change processes benefit employees or not. There are such cases where change is structured in favour of employees, but where the change is still resisted. This type of self-sabotaging behaviour can be directly related to organisational misunderstanding and a lack of trust between staff and management (Kotter and Schlesinger, 1979). The word change itself is defined in such a way so as to bring an element of surprise to organisational structure and processes – altering the status quo (Hughes, 2010 p.164). Whenever changing a process, there will always be a sense of anxiety and fear amongst recipients, especially if organisations have previously failed in adopting to change and implementing new practices (Hughes, 2010). This will increase the likelihood of change resistance from the shop-floor, regardless of the change proposals put forward. Change agent s often unintentionally alienate employees in the decision making process, acting without the consent of other groups within the organisation and assuming they have all the knowledge needed for implementing the best changes (Ford and Ford, 2009 and D’Amelio, 2008). Fransella (1975, p135) states individuals have to negotiate and manage change on a daily basis; this point validates the argument of Ford that resistance will occur if there is no input from the employee perspective. Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) have, in their work, noted four common factors as to why individuals resist change: self-interest, misunderstanding and lack of trust, different assessments of the changes most needed, and a low tolerance to change. Parochial self interests are a very common reason for resistance since loss is always a difficult acceptance. Therefore, individuals will always try their utmost to keep what they have, and in an organisational context Zaltman and Duncan (1977) view threats to power and influence as one of the most important sources of resistance to change. How to Manage Resistance Managing resistance to change can be very problematic, the reason being that managers have a tendency to view resistance as something oppositional, dangerous or purely self-serving (Brown and Humphreys, 2006). However, if managers adopt new behaviour patterns, dealing with resistance from an optimistic perspective where feedback loops can be seen as a positive means for discussion amongst employees and management (Ford and Ford, 2009), then stronger relationships can begin to be built across organisational hierarchies, and change can be more effectively managed. Seeing resistance from a more favourable perspective allows change agents to hear concerns and advice from change recipients, and it also gives employees the opportunity to address entrenched problems such as a lack of communication between management and employees and ineffective organisational practices that continue to survive. However, such harmonious outcomes are easier espoused than achieved; since management is intrins ically suspicious of giving over power, and placating disenchanted workers has proven to be a difficult task in the past (Coghlan, 1994). Cialdini (2001) suggests six principles of persuasion, based on communications which are very effective. Cialdini states that every leader has to harness the art of persuasion in order to win people over and overcome resistance to change, without creating negative feedback. However, management behaviour has proven to be a very path dependant model, where radical change is needed to convince people that past events will not reoccur. As soon as management behaviour has changed, it is vital to make new incentives achievable, where benefits and outcomes are in tandem and there is no confusion or lack of knowledge on the part of employees that would inhibit them from delivering satisfactory outcomes (Vroom, 1964). Role of Emotions in Change Processes Emotions and responses to change can be so intensive that the literature in organisational change has compared them with individual responses to traumatic changes such as death and grief (Grant, 1996; Elrod and Tippet, 1988; Kubler-Ross, 1969). Emotions are such that they are experienced by everyone, mainly by individuals but also collectively in groups as well as by change agents themselves. This point is consistent with Myers et al.’s (2010) claim that â€Å"emotions are not just experienced by those on whom change is imposed on; those who lead change may experience transitions as equally emotional† (p. 63). From an organisational perspective, emotions play a key role; they can directly affect performance and emotions have an impact on the overall culture within organisations (Hofstede, 1989). Organisational change can be seen as either a challenge or an opportunity; triggering positive emotions such as excitement and anticipation or negative feelings such as fear, anxiety and the anticipation of a tangible threat to the material position of staff within an organisation. The challenge for change agents is to carefully manage such emotions to ensure that they do not affect the transition process change entails. Negative emotions have proven in the past to be a major hurdle in organisational change (Hofstede, 1989). The impact of negative change will leave an impact on the collective morale of staff, which can be an obstacle for future successful change processes. ‘Emotional contagion’ is also an important unintended consequence of change and little explored facet of organisational life to be highlighted here. It refers to situations when â€Å"emotions can be directly picked up from other people† (Myers et al, 2012 p. 66). In other words, emotions can initiate and spread amongst all members of an organisation, for example if organisational change has adverse effects on a few individuals, their negative emotions will affect their peers. Therefore, emotions can move from individuals to other individuals, and as a result become an influential group dynamic and even epidemic. Emotion Coping Cycle To understand emotions from a theoretical perspective, the works of Elizabeth Kubler Ross (1969) are informative to the debate. She puts forward six stages of emotional responses that effect individuals; her work is especially relevant to organisational change discourses since employees and change agents go through similar stages of emotions during periods of change and transition. Mark and Mirvis’ 1992 study based on a failed merger of two computer companies is also an intriguing example of emotional interplay and its role within organisational change. Mark and Mirvis discovered individuals involved in the merger feared a loss of control, ‘unknowns’ associated with their new work responsibility, and also how they would be judged in the future. Since organisations often use mergers as a cost cutting strategy, likely resulting in people being made redundant, such negative emotions associated with mergers are founded on previous experience and hence validated. During the redundancy process, employees affected will go through stages where emotions vary Ross (1969). From an appraisal theory perspective, individuals affected will make their own interpretation of events and emotions will trigger behaviour. It is vital for change agents to possess excellent communication skills in order to manage the emotional cycle individuals will likely go through as the anxiety of the merger spreads amongst employees (Mark and Mirvis, 1992). The most dangerous stage of the redundancy process is the depression stage, which can take months to subside, especially if the redundancy is not effective immediately. Change agents need to deploy sympathetic communication methods and be reasonable in explaining why change is taking place by taking blame away from the individual and ensuring employees move to the acceptance stage as fast as possible. Solutions (Emotional Intelligence) Emotional Intelligence encompasses a multi-dimensional framework of thought which raises awareness, facilitation, knowledge and regulation of emotions. Emotional intelligence allows individuals to form substantiated, reasoned opinions about emotions during periods of transition without allowing emotions to turn their subjectivity against their goal of better understanding the emotions they are feeling. However, personalities initially dictate the levels of emotional intelligence individuals have to a certain extent; an individual who possesses traits of a ‘sensing and judging’ person will likely resist change as they will see radical change as a violation of the psychological contract. However, instilling employees with high levels of emotional intelligence requires an overall organisation transformation. Senge (1992) emphasises that organisations and employees need to develop personal mastery and take account for their own actions as well as learning how decisions based on emotions are dangerous for one to make. Organisations should not buy into the fact that emotions cannot be tampered with, they should invest heavily in developing staff and training them to become more emotionally intelligent, so they can adopt the practice of monitoring their own actions which will help facilitate transition. Group level Dynamics Individual factors of resistance to change are a big issue for change practitioners, but it is unrealistic for such practitioners to work with every individual who comprises an organisation, especially when working within big corporations. Almost every individual in an organisation belongs to at least five or six groups inside that organisation. Groups have a direct impact on change processes; moreover, change agents must devise strategies where they do not cause anger and resentment to groups as they have more of an influence than individual resistors of change. However, focusing on group dynamics is a realistic way of tackling organisational change and development, as consistent with Lewin’s (1966) idea of group decision making being more effective and more likely to be pursued. McKinley et al. (2010) have distinguished between groups and teams, stating that groups are two or more people working to a common goal, where there is no psychological contract between them. Teams a re seen by Katzenbach and Smith (1991) as differentiated to other working groups by performance results, since only teams produce individual results and â€Å"collective work-products† , the results from several members working together. Teams and groups can come in many different forms, such as formal and informal groups, both of which are vital to life within organisations. Informal groups are dangerous to management as they do not possess any form of institutional rules and are governed by ideas which are not always in the best interest of employers. Causes Of group Resistance (Group Norms) Group norms can be a big stumbling block for organisations and can be a root cause for resistance to change. Coghlan (1994) has described group norms as unwritten rules which constitute the atmosphere within groups and teams. Group norms in a formal setting can be governed and overlooked by organisations. However, since informal groups are self-organised by the thoughts and identities of individuals it is not so easy for organisations to influence them. The dangerous aspect of group norms is that they can easily become viral as personalities differ in groups in which a very outspoken and influential figurehead can influence the thinking of the quiet individuals getting them to comply with their frame of mind, this is in line with Watson’s (1969) argument where he posits that team resistance is based on conformity to group norms. In an organisational context group norms can cause difficulties for change processes due to the influence they have. During change processes, where th ere is a great deal of uncertainty, there is a strong possibility that this will result in people joining informal groups since these may wield hidden but significant power within organisations and be able to influence decisions on organisational process due to such power. This will also have a positive impact on groups as they will broaden their capacity. Solutions Group dynamics can be an extremely difficult question for organisations; however, winning groups over can benefit organisations in terms of morale, productivity and cultural cohesion that results from positive networking: â€Å"It has been argued that the modern organisation is no longer a collection of individuals, but rather a network of interconnected teams (Kozlowski and Bell, 2003). This way of imagining organisations exemplifies the importance of groups and collective thinking in this context, and how such thinking can shape the outcomes of organisational change. It is therefore vital that organisations include groups in change processes or else they will run the risk of engendering demotivated and disempowered work forces, as well as the possibility of employees joining informal groups resisting top-down transitions and changes in order to exercise power and feel valued as individuals. Solutions presented by Ford and Ford (2009), where change processes are seen as an opportun ity to change the status quo by changing norms within groups, have been seen to produce positive results in Coch and Ford’s 1948 case study among others. These solutions also coincide with the thoughts of Kotter and Schlesinger (1979), where methods of dealing with resistance which emphasise the importance of participation and communication are put forward as the best resolution to issues of organisational change. Change agents are seen as needing to encourage cross-organisational participation and dialogue, and to see resistance as a resource and a necessary feedback loop in order for change to be implemented successfully through the medium of groups. Conclusion This essay has discussed internal factors of organisational change and development from the human element perspective. Resistance to change is something which has traditionally been assumed as a negative development by managers. This perception was shown to be a cause for change attempts being resisted. How resistance to change is helpful to organisations where poor employee participation has been a prevalent feature during past transitions has also been discussed. The points made by Ford and Ford (2009) are useful as they see resistance as a resource which encourages organisations to start afresh and change the employee base instead of gratifying the self-interest instinct. Emotions have been shown to play a key role in change processes, where negative emotions have a big influence not only on individuals but also on groups, as they can be highly contagious and effect organisational cultures. It is clear that managers need to carefully manage emotions during transitions, since a pro longed coping cycle can prove to be disastrous for organisations. Dealing with emotions can be complicated; however, having a high level of emotional intelligence among staff will make the probability of resistance lower without letting emotional subjectivity surpass objectivity at work. As mentioned above, almost every individual belongs to several groups within their organisation. The most dangerous types of groups are informal ones due to their hidden power agendas and circumventing influence they can have on individuals, which can be a direct form of resistance to change. This essay has argued that the most feasible solution to coping with emotions during organisational change periods is winning over groups through interpersonal ways where groups are the sole focus of change, and groups can participate and contribute towards change. This may take up time and resources, but in the long run the organisations will benefit hugely. References and Bibliography Ackroyd, S., Thompson, P., 1999. Organizational Misbehaviour. SAGE: London pp. 46-49 Beer, M. and Nohria, N., 2000. Cracking the code of change. Harvard Business Review. pp. 133-41. Boreman, D.R., Ilgen and I.B., Weiner (eds), Handbook of industrial and Organisational Psychology. Vol. 12. New York: Wiley, pp. 333- 76. Brown, Humphreys, 2006. Organizational Identity and Place: A Discursive Exploration of Hegemony and Resistance. Management Studies. Vol. 43 No. 2 pp. 231-257 Buchanan, D., and Huczynski, A., 2010. Organisational Behaviour, Cialdini, R., 2001. Harnessing the Science of Persuasion. Harvard Business Review. Coch, L. and French, J., 1948. Overcoming Resistance to Change. Human Relations. (1: 512-32). Coghlan, D., 1994. Managing Organizational Change through Teams and Groups. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 15 Iss: 2 pp. 18 – 23 Elrod D., and Tippet D., 1988. The â€Å"death valley† of Change. Organisational Change Management. Vol. 15 No. 3 pp 273-291 Ford, J., and Ford, L., 2009. Decoding Resistance to Change. Harvard Business Review. Ford, G, Ford, L., & D’Amelio, A., 2008. Resistance to Change: The Rest of the Story. Academy of Management Review. Vol. 33, No. 2, 362–377. (2), P. 1-16. Grant, R. M., 1996. Prospering in Dynamically-Competitive Environments: Organizational Capability as Knowledge Integration. Organisation Science. Vol. 7 No. 4 pp. 375-387 Hofstede, G., 1989. Organising for Cultural Diversity. European Management Journal. Vol. 4 No. 7 pp 390-397 Hughes, M., 2010. Managing Change: A Critical Perspective. 2nd ed. London: Chartered Institue of Personnel & Development Jordan, P. J., 2003. Dealing with Organisational Change: Can Emotional Intelligence Enhance Organisational LearningInternational Journal of Organisational Behaviour. Vol. 8:1, p. 456-471 Katzenback, J, R., Smith, D, K., 1991. The Discipline of Teams. Harvard Business Review [online] Available at: [Accessed on: 14/12/12] Kotter, J. S. L., 1979. Choosing strategy to Change. Harvard Business Review Kozlowski, S.W.J. and Bell, B., 2003. Work Groups and Teams in Organisations. In: W.C Kubler-Ross, E., 1969. On Death and Dying. Touchstone: New York. pp. 33-66 Lau, C.M. and Woodman, R.W., 1995. Understanding organizational change – a schematic perspective. Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 38, pp. 537-54 Lewin, K., 1966. Group Decisions and Social Change. In: Maccoby, E, Newcomb, E, and Hartley, E., Readings in Social Psychology, London Marks, M.L and Mirvis, P.H., 1992. Rebuilding after the merger: dealing with survivor sickness. Organisation Dynamics, Vol. 21, No 2, P. 18-35 McKinlay, A., Carter, C., Pezet, E., Clegg, S., 2010. Using Foucault to make strategy. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal. Vol. 23 No. 8, pp.1012 – 1031 Mirvis, P. H., and Marks, M. L., 1992. The Human Side of Merger Planning: Assessing and Analyzing â€Å"Fit†. Human Resource Planning, 15 (3), 69- 92. Myers, P., Hulks, S., and Wiggins, L. 2012. Organizational Change: Perspectives on Theory and Practice. 1st ed. Oxford: OUP Senge, P. M., 1992. Mental Models. Strategy and Leadership. Vol. 20 No. 2 pp. 4-44 Schein, E.H. (1978). Career Dynamics: Matching Individual and Organisational Needs. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Tushamn, M., and O’Reilly, C., 2006. Ambidextrous Organisations: Managing Evolutionary and Revolutionary Change. In: Mayle, D., 2006. Managing Innovation and Change. SAGE Publications: London pp. 170-184 Vakola, M., Tsaousis, I., Nikolaou, I., 2004. The role of emotional intelligence and personality variables on attitudes toward organisational change. Managerial Psychology Vol. 19 No. 2 pp. 88 – 110 Vroom, V. H., 1964. Work and motivation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Waddell, D., and Sohal, S. A., 1998. Resistance: a constructive tool for change management. Management Decision, Vol. 36 Iss: 8 pp. 543 – 548 Watson, G., 1969. Resistance to Change. In: Bennis, W., Benne, K., and Chin, R., (Eds), The Planning of Change. (2nd ed). Holt, Rinehart & Winston: New York pp. 27-46 Zaltman, G. and Duncan R., 1977. Strategies for Planned Change. J. Wesley & Sons: New York.

Management Research Project and Presentation - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 15 Words: 4591 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? 1. Executive Summary:- With the ever increasing ratio of crime in the UK and all around the world, an unprotected property has become extremely vulnerable, day or night. This is why, in the presence of current environment it is of utmost importance to keep your loved ones safe at home by protecting it with a professional burglar, fire and intruder alarm system. After more than 40 years of success in the current business line, it has been thought that the Weather Seal Holdings (Weather Seal) has now got the right strength to diversify its business. Thereby, I have seen an opportunity to introduce Home Security System as a new product for company to be marketed sold at competitive cost to its existing and new customers through its branch at Romford, Essex (UK). As a result of kind approval by the companys branch regional manager and area managers (project sponsors), I have fascinated an opportunity to develop a project report regarding introduction and marketing plan of this new product for company. Time period allocated/authorized by Weather Seal branch management for the completion of project work is Six Weeks. The final project report will be submitted to the said project sponsors at Romford Branch (UK) for final vetting and valuation. It would then be on the excretion of branch management to send the report to company head office at Ches hire (UK). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Management Research Project and Presentation" essay for you Create order This project experience could give me a personal learning experience of how to introduce new products to companies. Hoping this project report would gain necessary attention of Weather Seal regarding launch of new product in marketplace and thereby creating cutthroat competition for companies like ADT, Chubb securities etc. The report will be important for the company to launch the fascinating new product among its product range enabling it to not only to diversify its business line but also generate extra revenue in the near future. Findings will be discovered through the data provided by the company, through company risk assessment form to be completed by customers, by acquiring few statements about the company performance from selected customers and assessing home security and crime survey reports being published by the institutions like Home Office (UK), The British Crime Survey etc. These findings will help the company in launching the new product at right levels. The strategic marketing implementation plan will be proposed in order to present important factors of success in future such as marketing budgets, marketing tactics and advertising options. Environmental analysis will be presented in order to critically analyze the marketing aspects by using the tools such as SWOT analysis and Porters Five Forces Model etc., will help in building the marketing strategies and objectives by highlighting the factors such as Marketing Mix(Product, Price, Promotion Place)), Target Audiences and examining all possible strategic options including financial projections. The conclusion and recommendation about the new product will be presented in terms of product usefulness for the customers, profit generations, customer satisfaction and different sort of tactics being recommended to increase sales in future. 2. Introduction To The Business:- Weather Seal Holdings (Weather Seal) has been the Britains largest privately owned manufacturer installer of PVC-u replacement windows, doors, rooflines and conservatoires. The company was founded in 1968 under the prestigious mono of The Pride of the Nation. Since its foundation, huge commercial and public projects has tested companys technology from time to time and more than a million domestic customers are witness to weather Seals craftsmanship. The company continues to grow and in a period of 14 years i-e. From 1995 to 2009, Weather Seal has become a 75.0 Million company. The company is now renowned as an award winning service provider to its customers. The product qualities are of highest possible standards and second to noe.. The head office of the company is located at the heart of the country on the M6 motorway network at Winsford Cheshire (UK). The company has 21 local branches servicing the UK and 07 Installation Depots all around the country. Weather Seal has got over 1000 trained personnel nationwide and 24 hour customer service response. Local staff includes: Designers Surveyors Fitters Service and Installation Engineers Administrators The company rightly claims that with Weather Seal the customers are dealing with the industry No. 1 as it has achieved every industry standard. Among its competitors like Euro Glazing, Everest Group etc, Weather Seal provides 10 year Platinum Guarantee for all of its products. This is the only guarantee worth having is issued by the company who design, manufacture and install the entire product range themselves. Weather Seal wants to introduce a sophisticated and state of an art Home Security System all around the UK market place. As an Initial phase, company wants to utilize the services of its Romford branch in this regard, which is located in the South region of the company. 2.1 Introduction To The Branch Management:- As project work has been conducted under the supervision and guidance of Romford branch management and that is the premises where the final project report would be submitted. Therefore, it is thought to describe the branch management structure as follows: Owners Mr. Ian Blackhurst and Mr. Brian Kennedy Group Head Marketing Sales Mr. Tony Reilly Director Sales Marketing (South) Mr. Mushtaq Zaman Divisional Manager (South) Mr. Kevin Brookman Romford Branch Regional Manager (South) Mr. Muhammad Ovais Hafeez Romford Branch Area Manager (South) Mr. Mudassar Nawaz Khan 2.2 Aims and Objectives:- Aims:- The aim of this project report is to introduce the desired state of an art Home Security System as a new product to Weather Seal Holdings and also present an appropriate marketing implementation plan. Objectives:- The essential objectives of this report are: Present the complete description of the new product and propose the most appropriate manufacturing partner in order to make the new business a successful operation of revenue generation in future. Identify the target audience assess the customer thinking about the company and new product enabling the company to attain the better customer range for the new product. To present the appropriate marketing strategy by using tools such as environmental analysis, marketing mix and financial projections for the new product. 2.3 Name of the New Product:- The name of the sophisticated home security system (new product) will be PowerMax+ Wireless Alarm Control Home Security System (PAS) 2.4 Product Overview:- The PowerMax+ (PAS) is the latest, advanced and state of an art wireless alarm control home security system that provides protection against burglary, fire and tampering. In addition, it can be used to control lights and electrical appliances within the customer household and/or to monitor the activity of elder or disabled people left at home. Status information is presented visually and verbally, and in most cases a recorded voice prompts customer to take correct action. The PowerMax+ is governed by a control panel designed to collect data from various sensors that are strategically located within and along the perimeter of the protected site. In the disarmed state, the system provides the customer with visual and verbal status information, and initiates an alarm if smoke is detected or upon disturbance in a 24-hour zone (a zone which is active 24-hours a day). In the armed state, the system initiates an alarm upon detection of disturbance in any one of the armed zones. Customer will need a 4-digit security code to master the system, and he/she can authorize 07 other persons to use the system by providing them with their own security codes. Moreover, customer can obtain up to 08 multi-function key-ring transmitters that will allow the customer and other users to control major functions without approaching the control panel. 2.5 Key Product Features:- PAS will offer the customers a personal security guard watching customers family and home 24 hours a day seven days a week 52 weeks a year. The Key features are: Latest technology Invisible two beams, thermal velocimatic system Motion sensor Wireless (no messy installation) Smoke alarm (optional) Flood alarm (optional) Up to 04 members of family / friends as contacts via text, land line or pager Latch key for kids Access remotely (if away from home) via landline or mobile Can connect up to 15 different electrical appliances (computer, lights etc) with additional X-10 units Back up battery if electricity goes down Pet friendly Panic button (elderly) wrist, pocket etc Fire button Save on the insurance policy Secured by design (police approved) Security guard access to premises in case of no contact with alarm Complete peace of mind Leave voice message for the family Codes for false alarm and under duress 2.7 Proposed Partner Company for New Product Business:- Honeywell Security and Communications will be the partner of Weather Seal in the manufacturing of PAS and cater off the customer needs from alarm response centre. This will be the perfect partnership for UK customers security needs. Weather Seal Holdings and Honeywell Security and Communications will jointly deliver a winning combination of expertise in selected home security system, and a proven track record of quality and a firm commitment to their customers. Honeywell Security and Communications is one of the worlds largest manufacturers of security systems, with 30 million security systems installed. Weather Seal is one of the UKs leading home improvement companies with a strong heritage in making peoples homes more stylish, energy efficient and secure. Security focused, the fusion of two well-known names in the UK will eventually give their customers the peace of mind that their home security will be in the safe hands. Why Weather Seal:- With a UK wide sales, installation and service network, customers can be safe in the knowledge that they are putting their trust in a reputable business that is here to stay. The Weather Seal name and brand synonymous with the home improvement market for in excess of 40 years and have worked on more than 200,000 peoples homes. The company started out in the business with a clear focus on providing the products that would make its customers houses warmer, safer, more efficient and a great place to live. The security elements of Weather Seal doors and windows are something that company has always taken really seriously. With this as central to companys approach and off course through continual research and development, Weather Seal products have undoubtedly set new heights in security with style in relevant industry. Why Honeywell:- Part of a global technology and manufacturing leader with revenues in excess of $30 billion, Honeywell Security and Communications has been designing and manufacturing security systems since 1923. With expertise in every area of security, the company provides advanced security solutions for residential and commercial applications. Honeywell works closely with professional security installers and alarm monitoring providers to ensure our products are designed and manufactured with the flexibility to be tailored to each individual customers security needs. Be it private homes or global corporations, around I million customers trust their security to the company each year. Designed for customer convenience, Honeywell intruder alarm systems like PowerMax+ have a wide range of user-friendly features gives the customers peace of mind that their property is secured, with round the clock monitoring in the hands of professionals. 2.8 Importance of the Topic:- This is an interesting project studies as this will offer an opportunity to the renowned company like Weather Seal to introduce a diversified new product in the market place thus enhancing its business line. Companies are becoming more global day by day and to be able to have a critical insight of the marketing strategies and implementation plan of a new Home Security System product of successful UK Company can be an important reference when conducting other marketing activities. This project study will offer an opportunity to Weather Seal to create massive partnership with globally recognized company like Honeywell in order to successfully run its new product in UK market place. As a result of this partnership, Weather Seal could make a global presence with the help of Honeywell and thereby giving more competition threat to its competitors. As a part of research, risk assessment questionnaire has been presented to the customers to be filled out by them in direct interaction with them. The response from customers would enable Weather Seal to better understand the customers security urgency level. The project studies helps researcher in understanding how to introduce new product by making the appropriate marking strategy and provides an opportunity to look into insight of the Weather Seal operational activities. 3. Literature Review:- Most break-ins are opportunistic, not planned and with statistics revealing that burglaries are on the rise day by day not only in the UK but globally, thereby, now is the time for the consumers to take next step in protecting their homes and thus their loved ones too. Summarized important facts that evoked Weather Seal to work on the idea of introducing PowerMax+ Wireless Alarm Control Home Security System as a new business product and researcher to introduce this new product to the company are as follows: Households with no security measures in place are 10 times more likely to be burgled than those with such simple security measures. Results from the British Crime Survey demonstrated that having security measures in place was strongly associated with lower level of victimization. Government officials predict that the economic slow down will lead to upward pressure on levels of property crime. As property crime increases, insurers demand better security to stem losses. 1.7 million burglaries were reported to police in England and Wales during 2007/2008. Home burglaries recorded by the police have risen by 4%, the largest rise in seven years for the period July-September 2008. On the basis of these facts and figures and data already revealed the research has been made via internet to explore the best possible system in order to develop the desired new product for the Weather Seal. As a result of internet research, Stage-Gate System of product development has been shortlisted. STAGE-GATE THE ROADMAP FOR NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT:- The need for lean, rapid and profitable new product development has never been greater. Product life cycles are shorter, competition is more intense and customers are more demanding. Companies that fail to innovate face a grim future. The problem is that winning with new products is not easy. An estimated 46% of the resources that companies devote to the conception, development and launch of new products go to projects that do not succeed they fail in the marketplace or never make it to market. Leading companies have overhauled their product innovation processes, incorporating the critical success factors discovered through best practice research, in the form of a Stage-Gate new product development process. According to several independent research studies (i.e. Product Development Management Association, AMR Research, Booz-Allen Hamilton, etc.) between 70-85% of leading U.S. companies now use Stage-Gate to drive new products to market. A Stage-Gate System is a conceptual and operational road map for moving a new-product project from idea to launch. Stage-Gate divides the effort into distinct stages separated by management decision gates (gatekeeping). Cross-functional teams must successfully complete a prescribed set of related cross-functional activities in each stage prior to obtaining management approval to proceed to the next stage of product development. How Does the Stage-Gate Product innovation begins with an idea and ends with the successful launch of a new product. The steps between these points can be viewed as a dynamic process. Stage-Gate divides this process into a series of activities (stages) and decision points (gates). Stages are where the action occurs. The players on the project team undertake key activities to gather information needed to advance the project to the next gate or decision point. Stages are cross-functional (there is no research and development or marketing stage) and each activity is undertaken in parallel to enhance speed to market. To manage risk, the parallel activities in a certain stage must be designed to gather vital information technical, market, financial, operations in order to drive down the technical and business risks. Each stage costs more than the preceding one, resulting in incremental commitments. As uncertainties decrease, expenditures are allowed to rise and risk is managed. In addition to the discover stage, there are five key stages: Stage 0 Discovery: Activities designed to discover opportunities and to generate new product ideas. Stage 1 Scoping: A quick and inexpensive assessment of the technical merits of the project and its market prospects. Stage 2 Build Business Case: This is the critical homework stage the one that makes or breaks the project. Technical, marketing and business feasibility are accessed resulting in a business case which has three main components: product and project definition; project justification; and project plan. Stage 3 Development: Plans are translated into concrete deliverables. The actual design and development of the new product occurs, the manufacturing or operations plan is mapped out, the marketing launch and operating plans are developed, and the test plans for the next stage are defined. Stage 4 Testing and Validation: The purpose of this stage is to provide validation of the entire project: the product itself, the production/manufacturing process, customer acceptance, and the economics of the project. Stage 5 Launch: Full commercialization of the product the beginning of full production and commercial launch. Stages The structure of each stage is similar: Activities: The work the project leader and the team must undertake based upon their project plan. Integrated analysis: The project leader and teams integrated analysis of the results of all of the functional activities, derived through cross-functional interaction. Deliverables: The presentation of the results of the integrated analysis, which must be completed by the team for submission to the gate. Preceding each stage is a decision point or gate which serves as a Go/Kill and prioritization decision point. Gates are where mediocre projects are culled out and resources are allocated to the best projects. Gates deal with three quality issues: quality of execution; business rationale; and the quality of the action plan. Gates The structure of each gate is similar: Deliverables: Inputs into the gate review what the project leader and team deliver to the meeting. These are defined in advance and are the results of actions from the preceding stage. A standard menu of deliverables is specified for each gate. Criteria: What the project is judged against in order to make the go/kill and prioritization decisions. These criteria are usually organized into a scorecard and include both financial and qualitative criteria. Outputs: Results of the gate review. Gates must have clearly articulated outputs including: a decision (go/kill/hold/recycle) and a path forward (approved project plan, date and deliverables for the next gate agreed upon). What are the benefits of using Stage-Gate? The Stage-Gate Product Innovation system has been referred to as the single most important discovery in product innovation empowering almost 85% of all North American companies to achieve improved returns on their product development dollars and to achieve new growth. When implemented properly, Stage-Gate delivers tremendous impact: Accelerates speed-to-market Increases likelihood of product success Introduces discipline into an ordinarily chaotic process Reduces re-work and other forms of waste Improves focus via gates where poor projects are killed Achieves efficient and effective allocation of scarce resources Ensures a complete process no critical steps are omitted The results: A more effective, efficient, faster process that improves the companys (in this case Weather Seal) product innovation results. 4. Cost Incurred on Facilities and Resources Utilized:- Following are some of the items and their approximate costs that were required for the conduction of project work. Recourses Quantity Cost Total Cost Computer Personal Computer at Store Personal Laptop Pc 02 (Front Office) Laptops 1 (at home) N/A N/A Internet Virgin Media Broadband (home) Weather Seal Branch Broadband N/A 15 per month N/A 30 for 06 weeks N/A Printer Lexmark (At home) Weather Seal Branch Office Printer 1 Printer N/A 25 per cartridge N/A 25 N/A Stationary binding 10 10 Online Resources Survey Reports N/A N/A N/A Instructors Cooperation N/A N/A N/A Traveling Expenses 1 person 95 per month 190 Total 245 5. Sources and Methods:- In order to answer the key aspects of the project studies i.e. how to introduce new product for the company and how to prepare the marketing plan, secondary and primary research will be collected. Both types of research are essential in this project work as they offer crucial results regarding finalization of project report. Furthermore, qualitative data has been collected instead of quantitative data, this is because the available time was not enough to collect and analyze a wide range of data. Secondary Research:- The secondary research consists of reanalysing data that have already been collected for some other purpose (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2003: 188). In this project studies, we will be interested in information about this national level company overall, the importance and impression of the company in the marketplace and among its customers prior to the launch of new product and off course the utmost important strategic marketing issues affiliated with it. One of the main books used for this is Principles of Marketing (Kotler et al, 2005). These sorts of usage create the part of theoretical frame. The information needed to conduct the project will be collected through the use of external sources of secondary data such as published books and online articles and survey reports. However, the main part of the research focuses on the introduction of new product for the company. In order to collect all the necessary information the researcher will gather internal sources of secondary research. This information includes corporate documentation such as company reports and earlier marketing plans which are available due to solid professional relationship of the researcher with the branch management. The internal sources of secondary research will be backed-up by other external sources such as published general statistics and industry statistics, which have been collected through the use of the internet. Some of the most relevant information collected from online sources regarding UK burglary, fire and child abductions incidents and statistics will be presented in Appendix. This informa tion will be essential to collect and analyzed in order to make the company enable to assess the urgency of new home security system product among the UK citizens. Although secondary research has a number of advantages such as the fact that it is readily available, it saves money and it is not time consuming it also has some disadvantages. In order to use secondary data effectively it is important to make sure that the data is relevant to the specific issue addressed and that it has been classified in a way that is consistent with the study at hand. This consists in making sure that such things as variables and measurements are in line with those used in the investigation. It is also important to make sure the data is accurate and that it comes from the original source and not an intermediate or third-hand report (Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2002). Primary Research:- The secondary research conducted, will be further backed up, by some primary research. This is data gathered and assembled specifically for the project at hand (Zikmund, 1994: 40). 5.2.1 Security Risk Assessment Check Questionaire:- The Weather Seal will create Security risk assessment check questionnaire and researcher will carry the assessment visits with company assessor to observe and record the individual customer needs for statistical purposes. The said questionnaire will be closed end and enable the company and researcher to approve or disapprove the installation of PowerMax+ Wireless Alarm Control Home Security System at the premises. This will also enable the company to estimate the correct number of new product to be remained in stock. The Security risk assessment check questionnaire will be presented in the Appendix. Customer Survey Questionnaire:- As business can only run on the basis of customers. Therefore, it is critically important for Weather Seal to explore the customer views about the company and its new product. A sample close end survey questionnaire will be presented to 50 selected customers along with Security risk assessment check questionnaire to be directly filled by the customers during our visit at their premises. The responses against the survey questionnaire would enable the company to assess the attitude of customers towards the company and its new product. 5.2.3 Interviews:- No specific interviews will be conducted. This is due to the already available massive customer pool of the company all around the UK. However, the researched has suggested the company to publish the comments of few prestigious customers of the company about its performance and customer support and services. These comments will be published in the company new product brochure for the product promotional purposes. Few customer comments will be presented in Appendix. Data Analysis and Interpretations:- After conducting both the primary and secondary in depth researches, it has become possible to present the key findings and data analysis both in terms of figures and percentages. Data Analysis -Secondary Research:- British Crime Figures:- As a result of this type of research, the following key findings have been revealed relating to British crime figures: A home is burgled in UK every 20 seconds. There were 943,000 reported domestic burglaries in year 2007-2008. 1 in 30 homes were affected by at least one domestic burglar. Property crime accounts for 78% of all reported crime. A house with no security is 7 times more likely to have an attempted burglary. 50% of homeowners were at home when the burglary took place. Violence was used in 55% of those cases. Only 28% of homeowners have a security alarm on their property. 2 out of 10 homes still need a smoke alarm. An unexpected 25% increase in personal thefts and a 4% rise in domestic burglaries in the official quarterly crime figures published on 23rd April 2009. The number of child abductions was soared by 45% as at 2004-2005. All those facts and figures will help researcher and Weather Seal to establish a comprehensive marketing strategy for PowerMax+ Wireless Alarm Control Home Security System. Data Analysis Primary Research:- The sample customer survey questionnaire has played an important part in introducing the home security system by the company. The questionnaire comprises of 06 questions to be directly filled by respondents. Each question is related to the specific aspect either about the company or the new product. Each question has got the special attributes to be acceptable or non acceptable by the customers. On the basis of acceptable ratios, we can consider the introduction of new product as a successful launch. Activity Timescale Sheet Activity $description = This Management report will look at the Recruitment Processes with an NHS Acute Trust and identify if E recruitment can help with the difficulties experienced in the Trust. Alongside a literature review of Recruitment difficulties,; March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 Week commencing 2 9 16 23 30 6 13 20 27 6 13 20 27 Project Proposal (Draft) X Project Proposal (Final X Meetings with Section Manager/Project Sponsor on Research Design X X Survey Distribution X X Presentations/finalization of Research Design to Project Sponsor X X Updates to Project Sponsor Closure on Data Collection X X X Data Analysis/Data Interpretations/Graphical Representations X X X Conclusion, Recommendations Proposed Action Plans X X Bibliography Appendices X Document Compilation/Proof Reading/Printing X Project Report Submission X Presentation X Kotler, P., Wong, V., Saunders, J., Armstrong, G., (2005). Principles of Marketing. 4th ed. Harlow: Prentice Hall.