Management styles: Small and large businesses

Management styles: Small and large businesses The overall aim of the essay is to explore the difference between management styles of small and large business. All organisations large or small, are today struggling to develop in an external operating environment which is epitomised by turbulence and uncertainty. Within the small business context research shows that owner-managers view of management as one of their most important roles, and yet one of the task they find the most difficult (Hankinson 1997), while a multitude of theories, concepts and guiding frames of insight have emerged and are embraced the best management style knowledge but it can be argued that much of this knowledge has relevance to large organisations and fails to address the distinctive characteristics of the small business. Management of any business consists of internal and external management, internal management involves human resources management and managing organisational structure and functions where external management can include developing strategies for business growth and development and managing influence of change on business activities. Within the context of management, small and large businesses have different ways to managing business activities. The detail discussion of management differences below covers the management issues that both businesses come cross during its growth. 2. Discussion What is a small business? What is a large business? There are differing definitions for small versus large businesses, depending on the context of the discussion. As an example, the United States Small Business Administration has established a size standard for most industries of the economy (United States Small Business Administration, 2002). Under these standards, for instance, in the manufacturing and mining industries, a business is small if it has fewer than 500 employees, while fewer than 100 employees makes businesses in the wholesale trade industry small. For the discussion in this paper, we use the term â€Å"small business† to imply organizations with fewer than 100 employees. Therefore, a â€Å"large business† implies 100 or more employees. Small and large organizations typically differ in resources, money, and time. [www.sbaer.uca.edu- 19-11-07] 2.1 Management It is known that freedom of information and communication, the culture of trust and confidence, and management systems that support policy implementation are the organisational factors that affect middle manager activities (Hancock and Hellawell, 2003). It appears these issues closely relate to the size of an organization and its form of ownership. For instance, it is easier for small organizations to act as a coherent whole and provide better two-way communication, while this is a challenge for large organisations. The middle managers proactiveness appears to be related to the issues of firm size and ownership: they are more visible in small companies and they get more extrinsic incentives to be active. The organisations size and form of ownership as two separate variables have been the focus of prior studies (for review, Wu, 2006; Chen and Hambrick, 1995), but a combination of these variables in large state-owned enterprises and small private companies has not been a subject of res earch. The difference between the managerial environments of state and private companies is evident: state-owned enterprises are very sensitive to institutional constraints, while private firms have an adaptive ability (Hoskisson et al., 2000); the state sector prioritises income per worker rather than profit, whereas private-sector firms are profit maximizes (Meng and Perkins, 1998); employee participation in decision making is highest in employee-owned enterprises, compared to enterprises with state or mixed ownership (Russell and Callanan, 2001). As to the differences between small and large companies, small firms show a lower degree of visibility as well as a lower degree of responsiveness to competitive actions; they are slower to announce responses, but they execute faster than larger firms (Chen and Hambrick, 1995). Large enterprises have more procedures and regulations regarding employee and managerial operations, while managers of small companies have less feelings of secur ity. Two different managerial environments â€Å"private, small business management† and â€Å"state, large enterprise management† -influence the implementation of middle managers decisions. The possibility of such influence is even sharper in economies that are moving from central planning to market competition. Divergent factors, such as national ideology, culture, and government policy are significantly influential â€Å"in shaping the values of middle managers which in turn affects the interpretation and enactment of their managerial roles† (Holden and Roberts, 2004, p. 270). [www.emeraldinsight.com 23-11-07] 2.2 Business structure and functions Small and large organisations are structured in radically different ways ranging from relatively fixed structures with positions, rules, and established chains of communication to dynamic structures in which people belong to teams that are continually being formed and reformed for the duration of a project. [www.thetimes100.co.uk 24-11-07] Typical organisation structure [www.tutor2u.net accessed 28-11-07] Typical ways of organising people are: By function dividing the organisation up into groups with similar specialises e.g. marketing, finance and accounts, human resources, etc. usually seen in large scale businesses By product grouping people together according to the product they make. For example, BIC has three main divisions pens, lighters, and razors. By process grouping people together according to the processes that they are carrying out. For example retailing organisations like Argos and Travis Perkins will group employees according to whether they are involved in packing and display or customer service. By geographical area most large companies are widely dispersed. Companies like BIC, Gillette, Kelloggs, etc have European and North American divisions. Small and large firms can also be highly centralised or largely decentralised. In a highly centralised structure control will be tight from the centre or Head Office of the firm, mostly implies on large firms. In contrast, in a decentralised organisation power will be passed down to the various project managers and teams typically used in small firms where culture relies on informal management and employee relation and business activities . [www.thetimes100.co.uk 24-11-07] Managers of small and large firms need to learn to work with both formal and informal structures. A flexible manager will realise that elements of the informal structure can be formalised i.e. by adapting the formal structure to incorporate improvements which result from the day-to-day working of the informal structure. When managers nurture these informal groups and mould them into the formal structure this can lead to high levels of motivation for the staff involved. [www.thetimes100.co.uk 24-11-07] 2.3 Bureaucratic versus Pre bureaucratic management Bureaucracy is the structure and set of regulations in place to control activity, usually in large organizations and government. It is characterized by standardized procedure (rule-following), formal division of responsibility, hierarchy, and impersonal relationships. In practice the interpretation and execution of policy can lead to informal influence Pre- bureaucratic (entrepreneurial) structures lack standardisation of task, this structure is most common in smaller organizations and is best used to solve simple tasks. The structure is totally centralized. The strategic leader makes all key decisions and most communication is done by one on one conversations. It is particularly useful for new (Entrepreneurial) business as it enables the founder to control growth and development. [en.wikipedia.org 28-11-07] Regardless the size of the business management styles applies the same, management can be considered as leadership and leadership has various different styles to manage business as well as people working for it. Management of any business based upon the culture of the business and culture or basic assumptions, values, belief and attitudes. These elements are the basic of any management to consider before implementing any managerial styles on business. 2.4 Management and employee relation: All firms, small and large, should emphasize honesty, trust, fairness, and clarity in employee and labour relations. Employers and employees must take the time to build a cooperative relationship for the success of the organization and individual employees. Both non-unionised and unionised environments must emphasize communication, disciplinary action, and conflict and dispute resolutions to achieve harmony in the workplace. [www.sbaer.uca.edu- 19-11-07] A small business is often portrayed as close, friendly, and harmonious. Owner/manager and employee relationships are facilitated through informal communication and greater flexibility (Dundon, Grugulis, and Wilkinson, 1999). Communication takes place one-on-one and face-to-face that typically leads to increased cooperation and less formal policies. [www.sbaer.uca.edu- 19-11-07] Labour relations in a large unionised business are similar to that in a small unionised business. Communication, disciplinary actions, and conflict and dispute resolutions involve the union, employee, and management. One possible difference is that unionisation in a large business may be more desirable for employees than in a small business (Brown, Hamilton, and Medoff, 1990). [www.sbaer.uca.edu- 19-11-07] The small firm provides a better environment for the employee than is possible in most large firms. Although physical working conditions may sometimes be inferior in small forms, most people prefer to work in small groups where communication presents few problems. The employee in a small firm can more easily see the relation between what he is doing and the objectives and performances of the firm as a whole. Where management is more direct and flexible, working rules can be varied to suit the individual. Each employee each employee also likely to have more varied role with a chance to participate in several kinds of work, turnover in small firms is very low and strikes and other kinds of industry dispute are relatively infrequent. The fact that smaller firms offer lower earnings than larger firms suggests that convenience of location and generally the non material satisfactions of working in them more than out weigh any financial sacrifice involved.(Bolton report 1971), (Carter S, Jo nes D, 2000, p309) 2.5 Human resource management Substantial work has been undertaken in the field of human resource management (HRM) as it applies to large organizations. However, for small business these models frequently do not apply. The small business lacks adequate systems to ensure the efficient management of human resources. Further, most small businesses are the product of their owners, whose personality and personal involvement dominate. [www.sbaer.uca.edu- 19-11-07] Human resource management (HRM) is the performance of all the managerial functions involved in planning for recruiting, selecting, developing, utilizing, rewarding, and maximizing the potential of the human resources in an organization (Megginson, Franklin, and Byrd, 1995). Human resource (HR) personnel also support and advice managers, serve as employee advocates, resolve problems, and implement organization policies. Small and large businesses often develop and implement policies and procedures related to these functional areas differently, primarily due to the size and nature of the firms. [www.sbaer.uca.edu- 19-11-07] Small firms may have different HR practices than larger firms because of different workforce requirements and/or a lack of understanding of HRM issues by small business owners (Deshpande and Golhar, 1994). Regardless of size, employees are vital assets, and a well established and maintained HRM department, or just functional area for smaller firms, provides a strong structure which is an organizational asset and crucial to ultimate success. [www.sbaer.uca.edu- 19-11-07] HR planning is part of HRM, particularly the staffing process required by all types of organizations. In many instances, the owner of a small business handles the HRM function himself or herself because the firm only employs a few individuals (Hornsby and Kuratko, 1990). It is easier for the small business owner to make decisions and hire employees due to the owners single authority. In contrast, in a larger organization, this task is often handled by the HRM department, which employs fulltime personnel to recruit, hire, and fulfil the other HRM functions. Such a process may involve lengthy hiring procedures due to the number of individuals and departments who may be involved in the final hiring decision. [www.sbaer.uca.edu- 19-11-07] As a small business grows its owners must begin to increase their staff and learn how to develop and implement human resource management (HRM) policies. The faster the growth experienced by the small firm the more likely it will experience HR problems. For many fast growing small to medium enterprises the main problem is finding and retaining high quality employees (Fraza, 1998). As a firm grows and its employee numbers increase the complexity of its HRM deepens. The owner-manager is usually burdened with a variety of HR functions for which he/she is generally poorly equipped (Thatcher, 1996). Managing such issues as recruitment and selection, staff promotion and retention, wages and salary negotiations, compliance with government employment, tax and insurance regulations and training and development can severely tax the average small business owner. What is required is the development of suitable HR policy and procedure. Ideally this should be flexible and not a mere addition to the bureaucracy (Caudron, 1993). [www.emeraldinsight.com 20-11-07] For e.g. Marks and Spencer CEO Stuart Rose has given all new look to marks and Spencer at the stage where its growth has almost declined. Stuart Rose introduced a new strategy with the element of human resource management, he believed that any thing can save Marks and Spencer is a new effective human resource strategy. His, strategy built a new image of Marks and Spencer in market and enable it to compete with rivalries. 2.5.1 Human resources planning HR planningprocess makes assumptions and forecasting future HR needs of the organization. This involves issues concerning revenue, number of employees, and expansion or downsizing of the company. Both small and large businesses try to predict changes that may occur in the future. Small businesses may look to expand the venture through growth strategies. In this case, forecasting the need for additional employees is the first step. The company may also look at required employee skill levels, particularly when the business relies heavily on technology or other change elements. A large business often looks at cash flow and cost control when it comes to HR planning. It may or may not hire additional employees, provide raises, reduce employee pay, and expand or downsize the company. [www.sbaer.uca.edu- 19-11-07] As a small or large company evolves or grows, employees need proper training to help the company achieve its goals. Training is essential to improve skills and overcome deficiencies. Not only do employees benefit, but the company also benefits. Training and development is also essential to stay ahead of competitors, especially in the area of innovation and technology. Research suggests that the investment made by entrepreneurs in training their employees strengthens a firms technical excellence and innovative capabilities (Gundry, 1991). Small businesses usually do not have large training budgets like many large firms, but they can still get the most out of their training dollars. Smaller companies assess their training needs by finding out what is important to the organization and employees. The most serious challenges small firms face in terms of training and developing employees are restrictions on time, money, space, and staff (Cohen, 1998). Larger businesses typically have more time, space, money, and staff to train employees than smaller organizations. These firms may have training specialists who are responsible for setting training objectives, developing and presenting training materials, and following up on the progress to ensure that the training objectives have been achieved. [www.sbaer.uca.edu- 19-11-07] 2.6 Strategic management Strategic management involves developing a game plan to guide a company as its strive to accomplished its vision, mission, goals and objectives and to keep it from straying off its desired course (Zimmerer.T.W Scarborough N.M, 2005, pg. 69). The goal of developing a strategic plan is to create for the small business a competitive advantage- the aggregation of factors that sets a small business apart from its competitors and gives it a unique position in the market superior to its competition. [www.fm-kp.si- 20-11-07] [www.tutor2u.net accessed 28-11-07] When it comes to developing a strategy for establishing a competitive advantage, small businesses have a variety of natural advantages over their larger competitors. A small business has often narrower product lines, more clearly defined customer bases, and more specific geographic market areas than big businesses. Due to simplicity of organisational structures, small business owners are in touch with employees daily, often working together, allowing them to communicate strategic moves firsthand. Consequently, small businesses find that strategic management comes more naturally to them than to larger companies with their layers of bureaucracy and far flung operations. [www.fm-kp.si- 20-11-07] Strategic management can increase small business effectiveness, but entrepreneurs first must have a process designed to meet their needs and their businesss special characteristics. It is a mistake to attempt to apply a big businesss strategic development techniques to a small business because small business is not a little big business. Because of their size and their particular characteristics small resource base, flexible managerial style, informal organisational structure and adaptability to change; small businesses need a different approach to the strategic management process [www.fm-kp.si- 20-11-07]. The value of strategic planning for firm performance may lay more in the future orientation and planning practices than in the formal form of a strategic plan (Hunger and Wheelen 1998). Small firms in particular tend to plan informally and not on a regular basis. Strategic planning can be beneficial for small firm performance, because it forces the entrepreneur to think about open business questions and search for solutions, and also encourages the entrepreneurs learning and making improvements (Wickham 1998). Strategic planning is a process that helps to forecast the future and prepare for the future, and can be beneficial for firm growth (Zimmerer and Scarborough 1996); [www.fm-kp.si- 20-11-07] Successful small firms tend to a large extent to use advanced planning and activity analysis (Zimmerer and Scarborough, 1996). Strategic orientation can be considered a driver of strategy formulation; a strategically oriented entrepreneur will pursue opportunities regardless of resources under his or her control, whereas a strategically not-oriented entrepreneur will limit his or her activities by the resources that are currently under control (Sahlman et al. 1999).[ www.fm-kp.si- 20-11-07] 2.7 Change management: More than ever, organisations are being subjected to a host of pressures for change from elements in the environment, both internal and external. According to Churchill and Lewis (1983), there are five main stages of development in a businesss growth. These include existence, survival, success, take off, and resource maturity. As an organisation moves from one stage to another, it must adjust to the challenges of that phase. There is a need for continual renewal if the organisation is to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage which will ensure its survival in a turbulent business environment. Organisational change is the process by which the organisation moves from its current position and state towards some future position as a way of increasing its overall effectiveness (Jones, 2001). The management of change is a complex process, which according to Larkin and Larkin (1996) is something which many organisations get wrong. (Jenny Hayes, Managing Change, 2004) Although much has been written about managing change in large private and public companies, very little has been written about managing change in the unique context of small firms. Concerns particular to small firms include their relative lack of control over their environment, commingling of business and personal priorities, and lack of resources to carry out the magnitude of change that is appropriate to meet accurately diagnosed problems or recognized opportunities.. [www.smeal.psu.edu -27-11-07] Change occurs frequently in most large and small companies. The problem is that it is not always well planned, deliberately executed, and successful. It is also often reactive to events rather than proactive in anticipating or even creating them. The typical small firms has not invested much in planning, pursues change haphazardly, and adopts generic or packaged change initiatives (Smart et al., 2004). Owners and managers of small firms should engage their company and its environment in a proactive manner, which means they cause something to happen rather than wait to respond to it after it happens. Owners and managers are more likely to engage in generative learning when they are proactive because they have time to explore potential problems and opportunities. Small firms that are reactive do not have adequate time to explore problems and even less, if any, time to explore opportunities. Learning under these conditions tends to be adaptive. Problems can be solved in this manner, but this may not contribute to long-term survival or prosperity. [www.smeal.psu.edu -27-11-07] [www.managingchange.com accessed 28-11-07] 2.8 Organisational culture Culture is often deeply rooted within an organisation and results in formal and informal systems, rules, and shared expectations that govern attitudes, beliefs and behaviour. Organisational culture, or corporate culture, comprises the attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values of an organisation. It has been defined as the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organisation and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organisation. Organisational values are beliefs and ideas about what kinds of goals members of an organisation should pursue and ideas about the appropriate kinds or standards of behaviour organisational members should use to achieve these goals. From organisational values develop organisational norms, guidelines or expectations that prescribe appropriate kinds of behaviour by employees in particular situations and control the behaviour of organisational members towards one another. [en.wikipedia.org 21-11-07] In an owner managed business (small firms), the organisational culture typically reflects the personality traits and aspirations of the owner-manager that, in turn, help to shape the enabling and constraining forces affecting the firm. The pervading sets of norms and values and the ways of doing things and the freedoms afforded to different individuals are often reflected in informal structures, systems and processes which themselves often the personality traits of the main owner (Carter S, Jones D, 2000). To support the argument there is an example of well known entrepreneur the owner of Virgin group Richard Branson, he introduced a culture at the early stages on Virgin group in mid 1970s a blame free culture, in which Branson and management considered the mistakes made by any employee or manager as the implications for the growth of the business, purpose of this culture is to encourage and motivate innovation among the workforce to produce sufficient outcomes. 2.9 Job quality at small business versus large business: Small businesses create a significant share of new jobs; it is natural to ask how these jobs compare to those at large firms. Simply put, large firms offer better jobs and higher wages than small firms. Benefits appear to be better at large firms as well, for everything from health insurance and retirement to paid holidays and vacations. Finally, job turnover, initiated by both employers and employees, is lower at large firms. The lower rates of employee initiated turnover suggest that job satisfaction and mobility are relatively greater at large firms; lower rates of employer initiated separations suggest that jobs at larger firms are more stable. For e.g. multinational organisations such ICI limited, Unilever limited, Pfizer, these are the known companies around the world due to their quality of work life and effective management styles. [www.emeraldinsight.com 20-11-07] Large firms often have desirable working conditions, such as weaker autonomy, stricter rules and regulations, less flexible scheduling, empirical evidence can capture these differences, working conditions can not explain the firm size wage effect (Brown and Medoff). The expansion lies in the migration of firms across size classes from year to year. In any given year, some small firms will grow beyond 20 workers and join a large size class. Such migration trims the share of firms in the smallest class size, in the same way that small business failures trim the class size. Likewise, some large firms will contract, falling below the 500 employee level and dropping into a smaller size class. Also, new small businesses are born, increasing the share of jobs in the small firm class. [www.emeraldinsight.com 20-11-07] Brown and Medoff and other theories suggested that larger employers may make greater use of high quality workers. This might occur, for example, because larger firms are more capital intensive and require higher skilled employees to operate that plant and equipment. [www.emeraldinsight.com 20-11-07] The critical factor in greater labour turnover at smaller businesses is that the failure rate of small businesses is somewhat greater than that of larger businesses, which leads to higher rates of employer initiated separations (Dunne and others; Idson). Failure rates of establishments drop markedly as firm size increases to 100 employees, but then turn upwards again such that firms with 500 or more employees have larger failure rates those firms with 20-99 employees. Nevertheless, the failure rates for the smallest firms (one to four employees) generally are about one and one half times higher those of larger firms. [www.emeraldinsight.com 20-11-07] 2.10 Management Characteristics, Small businesses Versus Large business There are some characteristics of small and large firms, which may represent an advantage as well as a disadvantage. For instance while the presence of fewer hierarchical layers in smaller firms may on the one hand reduce bureaucracy, increase flexibility and result in less filtering of proposals, it also limits career opportunities for their employees. [www.emeraldinsight.com 20-11-07] Small firms Large firms Little bureaucracy Formal management skills Rapid decision making Able to control complex organizations Risk taking Can spread risk over a portfolio of products Motivated and committed management Functional expertise in staff functionaries Motivated labour More specialized labour Rapid and effective internal communication, shorter decision chains Time and resources to establish comprehensive external Science Technology networks Fast reaction to changing market requirements Comprehensive distribution and servicing facilities Can dominate narrow market niches High market power with existing products RD efficiency Economies of scale and scope in RD Capacity for customisation Better able to fund diversification, synergy Capable of fast learning and adapting routines and strategy Able to obtain learning curve economies through investment in production Appropriation of rewards from innovation through tacitness of knowledge Able to erect entry barriers (www.emeraldinsight.com) 3. Conclusion The relative strengths of large firms lie mostly in resources, while those of small firms are generally argued in terms of behavioral characteristics. It is however not either small firms or large firms which are the better innovators. Small and large firms are likely to play complementary roles in the process of technical advance, in the sense that they are better at different types of innovation. A challenge for management would be to find ways to combin

Black Economic Empowerment and Corporate Governance in Zimbabwe Essay

Indigenous Zimbabwean as defined in the National indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act refers to anyone who, before independence in April 1980, â€Å"was subjected to unfair discrimination [presumably in Zimbabwe] on the grounds of their race, and includes a descendant of such a person†. Thus indigenous Zimbabwean means any person who before 18 April 1980, was disadvantaged by unfair discrimination on the grounds of his or her race , and any descendant of such person, and includes any company association, syndicate/ partnership of which indigenous Zimbabweans form the majority of the members or hold the controlling interest. National indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, defined indigenisation as a deliberate involvement of indigenous Zimbabweans in the economic activities of the country, to which hitherto they had no access, so as to ensure the equitable ownership of the nations resources. Empowerment means the creation of an environment which enhances the performance of the economic activities of indigenous Zimbabweans into which they would have been introduced or involved through indigenisation. The locus of control shifts from managers to workers so that the workers become responsible for their actions but managers do not lose their involvement. Workers are considered as strategic business partners so that participation and involvement of workers is enhanced. Workers who participate in programs designed for learning are encouraged, recognised and utilised. Empowerment brings element of commitment and identity that is we are citizens of Zimbabwe. Corporate governance is a term derived from a Latin word gubanare which means to steer. It is the manner of directing and controlling the actions and affairs of an entity. Reduced to basics, it is the exercise of powers and actions to achieve goals of an organisational entity. Core concepts of corporate governance include†¦ accountability, responsibility, fairness, transparency, sustainability, good board practices, control environment, board commitment, openness, reputation, stakeholder interface, ubuntu. Background to Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Despite reports that the Zimbabwean government is mulling over accelerating the implementation of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act passed in 2008, many foreign firms continue to operate their businesses. Lured by the ever increasing attraction of the Zimbabwean economy, which has been propped up by the economic stability brought about by the unity government, foreign economic players are making inroads into the Zimbabwean market. For example, the British American Tobacco company under its Zimbabwean subsidiary, BAT Zimbabwe, last year purchased 15 million kilograms of tobacco. The company will consumed just 10% of the crop and exported the rest to other BAT operations worldwide. Mining company, Zimplats, which is owned by South Africa’s Impala Platinum also recorded impressive gains and is reportedly seeking to increase platinum mining in the country and production at some of its mines. A report by the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) shows that factory-capacity utilisation in the country is up to 57% from less than 10% before the unity government, which is an encouraging sign for investors. Dr E.  Bloch warned that South Africa, Zimbabwe’s largest trading partner in the region, will be watching the empowerment issue closely, especially since they have several interests in the country. â€Å"Zimbabwe must be wary of scaring off investment. Empowerment must be acceptable to SA as well. Our version of their Black Economic Empowerment initiative must not scare them off,† he said. In Zimbabwe today, industry and commerce is predominantly the domain of big conglomerates, who own most businesses in all sectors. The levels of black people’s participation in industry and commerce and business entrepreneurship continues to be unacceptably low. As it stands, blacks who suffered discrimination due to their race have not really enjoyed the benefits of the Indigenisation Act. The indigenisation process therefore runs the risk of appearing to have been designed for the exclusive benefit of a certain class and in turn loosing the very credibility and broad based support that it requires to be a success. The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act is not merely a moral initiative designed to redress the wrongs of the past, it instead serves as a pragmatic growth strategy designed to realise the nation’s full economic potential. However, neither the pasts wrongs nor future’s promise can be addressed without prioritising indigenous people’s economic empowerment. Officials are not acting in good faith regarding the implementation of the Indigenisation Act. They are looking the other way when foreigners continue to hog the retail business space and other secondary sectors. One only needs to look at how foreign nationals, particularly the Chinese have crowded out emergent black businesspeople from the retail trade to appreciate the concern. This is a sector that ought to remain exclusively indigenous. While Zimbabwe direly needs investment to create jobs enough to absorb a growing legion of jobless locals, there is absolutely no need to give the Chinese or any other foreign nationals the advantage to crowd out indigenous people from sectors that require nominal capital to start. Indigenous people have been crowded out of the lucrative diamond mining business by foreign companies. Government should also encourage firms to meet indigenisation targets by creating Employee Share Ownership Plans (ESOP) for groups of black employees. An ESOP is a means through which employees can own a share of the company they work for and employee ownership increases production and profitability, and improves employees’ dedication and sense of ownership. The government should not scuttle business ambitions of emerging indigenous entrepreneurs instead its major role should be to facilitate and create a business atmosphere that assists those with business acumen and pedigree to develop their enterprises for the betterment of a majority of the people. The Shabanie and Mashaba Mines saga is a case in point. It is an enduring lesson of how government should never, ever flex muscles in a sector which it is clueless about. The consequences are evident for all to see and do little to convince even those that the empowerment programmes are meant to benefit. Indigenous people who have the acumen to run a particular business should be given the chance to do so without government interference. It remains a sad reminder to national goals for economic emancipation when locals are squeezed out of the business and when these locals see opportunities they have identified being whittled away simply because of petty bureaucracy. Regulations of the Zimbabwe Indigenization Policy Regulations to implement the 2008 Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Act requiring local control of foreign firms doing business in Zimbabwe took effect amid rising concern the program would dash any interest investors might have in the country. The regulations require companies with a value of more than US$500,000, to report on the distribution of new shareholdings. The Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Act proposes for a 51 % transfer of shares in foreign companies to indigenous black citizens. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions criticized the drive to establish black majority control of foreign companies, saying indigenization will benefit just a few blacks who will replace minority whites. Businesswoman Marah Hativagone, director of the food processing ingredients company CodChem and a former president of the National Chamber of Commerce, said indigenization is desirable but added that the current initiative is poorly timed as it comes just as the economy is recovering its footing. Under Sections 3 and 4 of the Act, overseas-owned firms with an asset value of more than $500,000 (? 332,000) will have five years to sell a 51% stake to indigenous Zimbabweans. Failure to do so attracts a jail sentence. The foreign-owned firms have 45 days from the day of implementation of the Act to inform the government how they will achieve majority indigenous shareholding within five years. The regulations apply to â€Å"companies, associations, syndicates and partnerships whose object is the acquisition of gain; effectively this covers everything other than literary and charitable associations†. Under Section 4 of the regulations, all businesses with an asset value of more than US $500 000 must send the Minister a form [which is set out in the regulations] showing the extent to which they are indigenised and, if they are not majority-owned by indigenous Zimbabweans, their plans for indigenisation; these plans must conform with guidelines provided in the form. Existing businesses must submit the form to the Minister by the 45th day from the day of implementation but it is not a criminal offence to fail to submit the form — if a business fails to do so. The Minister can send it a form and order the business to complete it; only if the business fails to comply with the Minister’s order will it commit an offence [Section 4(4)]. Having received a form from a business, the Minister has 45 days within which either to approve the business’s indigenisation plans or to make his approval dependent on the plans’ conformity with a notice which the Minister published in the Gazette before the 1st March 2011. If a person or company that controls a business whose asset value exceeds US $500 000 relinquishes control over the business, the transaction will have to be approved by the Minister, and the approval will be conditional on the transaction conforming to indigenisation targets set out in an approved indigenisation plan [Section 8]. Under section 9, anyone who â€Å"projects or proposes an investment for which an investment licence is required in terms of the Zimbabwe Investment Authority Act† will have to obtain the Minister’s approval before obtaining such a licence, and â€Å"any investor requiring a licence in terms of the Zimbabwe Investment Authority Act† will have to obtain the Minister’s approval before investing in sectors of the economy which are listed in the Third Schedule. These sectors include agriculture, transport, â€Å"wholesale or retail trade†, barber shops, advertising agencies and milk processing. If goods or services are obtained from a supplier under the Procurement Act and the supplier is not controlled by indigenous Zimbabweans, the supplier must subcontract to competent indigenous businesses — but only if the supplier â€Å"is required by the Act to subcontract to businesses whose controlling interests are held by indigenous Zimbabweans. † Businesses will have to satisfy the Minister annually that they are indigenising in accordance with the law. Under Section 15 the Minister will establish a database of people who want indigenous Zimbabweans to acquire an interest in their businesses, and of indigenous Zimbabweans who wish to â€Å"partner† those people. The role of the Indigenisation Policy to the Economy Zimbabwe’s much publicised indigenization and economic empowerment program must aim at creating new wealth . The real solution is to grow the economy and in the process generate new wealth which in the process creates jobs and brings national prosperity. Zimbabwe’s broad based black economic empowerment must not merely focus on correcting historical wrongs. It should be refined and become a pragmatic growth strategy that aims to realise the country’s full economic potential while helping to bring the black majority into the economic mainstream which further creates a market for enterprises. The program must clearly identify individuals with potential who can be supported to build enterprises and businesses from scratch and create new wealth and jobs. The over focus on re-distributing current wealth only serves to bring disrepute to an otherwise very noble and necessary program. There are several practical steps which need to be developed and followed to ensure the program becomes a resounding success which include skills development and access to Entrepreneurial infrastructure. The ownership, management, socioeconomic development and preferential procurement are critical areas of broad based economic empowerment program which need to be clarified and developed to ensure the program’s success without disrupting established businesses which are already employing thousands of people and contributing to the Treasury through corporate and income tax. The rules of engagement of the Broad based Economic empowerment program must be well laid out in advance for all investors to understand. If done haphazardly the economy shrinks and more people go hungry because investors flee and the skills that we need also flee, we see that what we have inherited has turned to ash. A credible empowerment program must be aimed to ensure broader and meaningful participation in the economy by indigenous people to achieve sustainable development and national economic security. In light of Globalization and dominance of Foreign Direct Investment and Sovereign Wealth Funds in distribution of capital it is imperative for the economic empowerment to be done within the confines of the law. Admittedly Zimbabwe has several attractive features such as mineral resources, educated labour force, excellent weather etc but investors have multiple other potential investment destinations. This means Zimbabwe still has to be competitive in attracting FDI and the economic empowerment program implementation needs to take into account international trends and internationally acceptable practices on dealing with empowerment matters. Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans should shun being associated with grabbing other peoples businesses or assets but should rather develop a reputation as being welcoming to investors who will help in creation of new wealth. The focus should be on creating wealth and not grabbing, seizing or looting. It has been correctly noted that direct intervention in the distribution of assets and opportunities was needed to resolve the economic disparities created by historical colonial policies which had favoured white business owners and citizens at the expense of everyone else regardless of their education, skills or ambition. The World over BEE is intended to transform the economy to be representative of the demographics, specifically race demographics of the country in particular its racial make-up must be reflected reasonably in the ownership of resources and access to opportunities. There is need to avoid victimizing one section on the population even though it may have been a beneficiary of past ill-thought out and discriminatory policies of the past. It has been observed and universally accepted that â€Å"Societies characterised by entrenched gender inequality or racially or ethnically defined wealth disparities are not likely to be socially and politically stable, particularly as economic growth can easily exacerbate these inequalities. Thus broad based economic empowerment initiative is a necessary and critical program which should be carried out in a transparent and accountable manner for the benefit of broad sections of society which were previously systematically excluded from the Economy. The role of the Indigenisation Policy to Corporate Governance C. R. Baker and B. P. Quere contend that most theories on corporate governance do not acknowledge the importance of the state in bringing about good corporate governance practices but tend to focus instead on relationships between boards of directors, managing directors, shareholders and other stakeholders. This approach would leave the government abdicating its responsibilities to the citizens in the country because ultimately business practices impact on the general populace. Here the Enron saga is a case in point. Instead governments have tended to take the role policing the aftereffects of bad corporate governance practices. A pragmatic shift should be taken in the case of Zimbabwe. A proactive stance that anticipates the foregoing implementation of the indigenous economic empowerment strategies on corporate governance as we know it in industry and commerce today should be formulated. Conclusion Thus there is need for government and industry to realise that if boards of directors are to remain legitimate their constitution will have to change to reflect the new shareholding structure. Braudel, 1985, as quoted by C. R. Baker and B. P. Quere points out that it is the responsibility of government to put in place rules and regulations that specify to a very fine degree, the operations of businesses in the economy. Indeed, the advent of the global financial crisis has show that governments have been wanting by leaving firms with inadequate corporate governance that has precipitated the recurrent global crises. Despite the inadequacy of company law and the newly gazetted and revolutionary indigenization law, it is interesting that the government makes no mention of good corporate governance needs in its mid-term economic policy framework, when the global financial crises put forward a compelling case for government intervention in establishing good corporate governance practices. Thus, on one hand, company laws have been preoccupied with the formation and dissolution of business entities, while on the other hand indigenization law has been concerned with the redistribution of shareholding in firms, but both fall short of the modern responsiveness to the laying down of good corporate governance practices. As the government puts in place the new shareholding structures, it is imperative that codes of best practice for corporate governance are instituted so that empowerment of indigenous people does not lead to an economic downturn as happened with the land redistribution programme at the turn of the century.

Alarming Information About Outline of a Paper Unveiled

Alarming Information About Outline of a Paper Unveiled Writing an outline is a rather effective approach to think through how you are going to organize and present the data in your essay. Essay outline functions as a spine for writing essays. A crucial part of any research paper outline is going to be a literature review. Essay outline for college plays an important function. Here's What I Know About Outline of a Paper A thesis statement isn't a statement of fact. Another way to consider about an outline is to view it like a roadmap. It's only possible to generate an outline in case you have familiarity with the subject. If you're employing a topic outline, produce a word or brief phrase to spell out each instead. An outline is essential for all kinds of research papers. You may also describe the range of your research. Position papers aren't hard in their essence, although the preparation procedure might acquire time-consuming, as you want to conduct thorough research before arguing. Research papers are a main portion of the educational procedure, and lots of instructors require students to make available an outline of their research paper before they actually write it. You may incorporate the sub-points below your key bullets for improved organization of details. As a variant, you can make a list of feasible outline headings, and then, in the procedure for writing or even at the very last stages, you could decide on the most suitable choices. An outline is intended to help you set a structure for a paper you are likely to write. A superb outline is likely to make the writing process simpler and strengthen your final outcome. You compose an outline to make sure you don't miss a few important thoughts and that everything is well-structured. In case you have some ideas what you wish to write about, but they're half-baked, you merely begin writing out a couple paragraphs focused around the principal idea and see which other concepts fall in to place as you write. You might even realize that you have too many ideas or that some ideas aren't really all that relevant and have to be cut. Creating an outline depending on the principles outlined above can let you set your ideas in a logical order, which means that your paper is going to have a stronger, more effective argument. It's possible to also Speech Outline Template. First is the conventional outline you are likely acquainted with. Each item in an outline may be broken into additional sub-items. You might also see chapter outline. Ideas, Formulas and Shortcuts for Outline of a Paper Let's start by viewing the outline in a bit more detail. Making an outline for a position paper isn't hard if you understand what you are managing. The significance of the outline in the research paper is clear. You will also discover the research paper outline will have precisely the same format and contain the exact sections we've detailed below. Outlines are so useful in reality, you will even discover some professors need an outline to be turned in and graded before it's possible to submit your completed paper. Aside from a report outline and a presentation outline, a research paper outline is among the most frequent types of outlines you're very likely to encounter in any particular field. After all, you're making a paper outline so that you're able to guide yourself towards starting a research paper, so clearly, you won't need to enter the literature review procedure. Also, it's a significant approach to see whether your paper flows and makes logical sense before you begin writing. The paper should get off to a good beginning regarding clarifying unfamiliar information as not to depart from your readers puzzled. It should be consistent from the beginning to the very end. For your research paper example to get going, you will need to announce your introduction with few sentences that show what type of research questions you're going to be asking. You make a very clear point what you're going to discuss and why is it important. A great way to begin is by making a compelling and creative title. If you want to write for a particular journal, a superb advice is to look at the research paper outline of a few of the articles to have a better idea on how best to compose your article. What the In-Crowd Won't Tell You About Outline of a Paper There are various methods and distinct approaches to compose a thesis statement. A research paper outline, though, will additionally have a hypothesis or thesis as a portion of the introduction. Adhering to the introduction the points necessary to demonstrate the thesis are provided. You essentially only have to verify your present thesis.

Comparison of Two Poems Shall I Compare Thee to a...

Comparison of two poems â€Å"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?† written by William Shakespeare and â€Å"If thou must love me† written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning â€Å"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day† a poem written by William Shakespeare, is the eighteenth sonnet by this famous writer and a poet. Shakespeare, a popular english poet had written fifty four sonnets. â€Å"Shall I compare thee to summer’s day† is the most popular of all the fifty four sonnets which emphasized Shakespeare’s love poem with the theme of love. The poem, â€Å"If thou must love me† is also a popular poem and a sonnet (number fourteen) written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Browning’s poem revolves around the theme of love towards her expectations from her lover to be.†¦show more content†¦In the poem, William Shakespeare uses praise and question in addressing the person he was referring to. In Browning’s po em â€Å"If thou must love me† was much into herself describing her expectations from someone that will loves her or want to love her. The last two lines known as couplet â€Å"So long as man can breath, or eyes can see,/ so long lives this, and gives life to thee† (13-14) in Shakespeare’s poem tends to reveal the eternal beauty of the person the poet is referring to. Shakespeare used hyperbole â€Å"†¦[†¦]..men can breath, or eyes can see† (13) to exaggerate the quality of beauty in the person he was referring to, and by comparing him to summer’s day, that shows that the person is bright and beautiful as summer’s day is aways bright that’s why it’s referred to as beautiful day. Both poems are devoid of setting and both speakers tend to refer to anonymous persons, for instance, Shakespeare made no mention of who he was referring to throughout in his poem making it hard to know if he was expressing his love to a male o r female. In the last two lines, â€Å"So long as men can breath, or eyes can see,/So long lives this, and this gives life to thee† (13-14), Shakespeare uses anaphora to emphasize the eternity of his poem. His poem will live and reign as far as human lives. In â€Å"if thou must love me† Browning also never disclosed who she was referring to, but rather uses anaphora to express the word â€Å"love†, almost throughout her poem to makeShow MoreRelated Comparative Analysis of Shall I compare thee to a summers day? and The Flea2438 Words   |  10 PagesAnalysis of Shall I compare thee to a summers day? by William Shakespeare and The Flea by John Donne Shall I compare thee by Shakespeare focuses on romantic love, whereas Donnes poem, The Flea is all about seduction and sexual love. The situations in the two poems are very different. In Shall I compare thee, the poet is shown as a lover who is addressing his lady. His tone is gentle and romantic. 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