Arguments regarding freedom and democracy

Arguments regarding freedom and democracy
Critical analysis of Hayek’s and Dewey’s arguments regarding freedom
Hayek and Dewey brought out various arguments regarding freedom especially within the market. Market freedom implies that the market forces should be allowed to make suitable adjustments which facilitated equilibrium reaching without involvement of the government (O’Neill, 1998). Those who support market freedom put to light that the government does not have to involve itself in various operations towards market control because the supply and demand market forces have the capacity to appropriately adjust themselves to ensure that market operations reach the desired equilibrium levels. Hayek’s and Dewey’s arguments regarding freedom may be put to light as follows.
For instance, Hayek warned of tyranny danger regarding inevitable government control concerning central planning decision making. He puts to light that abandonment of freedom, liberalization, and individualism inevitably brings about fascist or socialist oppression as well as individual serfdom and tyranny. Most importantly, Hayek disputed the view which was generally held by British academics, expressing that fascism would be viewed as a reaction against socialism by capitalism (O’Neill, 1998). He instead put forward that socialism and fascism had universal roots within economic planning which is central in nature and state power over individuals. Hayek’s work regarding market serfdom stands out as most popular and influential expositions regarding market libertarianism. It remains influential and popular within contemporary discourse.
Hayek indicated that most western democracies like America and England have continuously deserted economic affairs freedom without which political and personal freedom has been unattainable (O’Neill, 1998). Society has misguidedly attempted ensuring that prosperity is realized through central planning which inescapably brings about totalitarianism. He supports free market existence by indicating that through free market existence, various activities are appropriately adjusted to one another without arbitrary or coercive authority intervention. Hayek thus indicates that government involvement is usually an inferior regulation method whereas free market cooperation is usually superior.
Dewey arguments regarding freedom may critically be analyzed as follows. For instance, he held strong views against free market. In his work, Dewey has expressed free market as unsuitable because is its inability to effectively handle aspects regarding market failure (O’Neill, 1998). His arguments therefore indicate the need for government participation in various undertakings regarding market control so as to offer appropriate solutions which may not be realized with laissez-faire economy. Laissez-faire economy in this case is one which does not allow for government intervention but undertakes control activities on its own towards equilibrium market realization.
In his work, Dewey highly criticized free market existence and put to light that free market was accompanied by many inconveniences hence declared it unsuitable (O’Neill, 1998). For instance, he used the example of occurrences whereby market failure occurs and market forces have no efficient capacity to restore the situation or turn the situation to normal. This is usually a period whereby the market highly requires external forces like government involvement to occur. It is apparent that Dewey supports government involvement due to its capacity to appropriately control various tools regarding monetary and fiscal policies to help in solving various market problems which come up due to market failure (O’Neill, 1998). Monetary policies are usually essential because they help in realization of suitable situations within the market which facilitate demand and supply levels capable of steering desirable stability and growth levels. Fiscal policy involves regulation of money supply to the economy by government with the aim of ensuring that moderate supply is maintained which has the capacity to steer suitable stability and growth levels. In cases whereby limited money supply is experienced within the society as well as undesirable stability and growth levels, the government influences money supply through central banks which put in to place various strategies to ensure that money accessibility by public through commercial banks is augmented (O’Neill, 1998). Individuals therefore have the capacity to access substantial money amounts and invest within various economic sectors. This ensures that the various undertakings bring about desirable growth levels. They also facilitate suitable stability levels which have the capacity to bring about desirable outcomes within the society. It is apparent that these government functions, according to Dewey, bring about suitable market conditions and help in doing away with undesirable occurrences like market failures.
From the various aspects brought to light above, it is apparent that government involvement is usually very essential in aspects regarding market control. Although Hayek strongly believes that market forces have the capacity to appropriately bring about stability and desired growth levels, it is apparent that some cases are likely to occur within the market making it difficult for the market to handle them effectively (O’Neill, 1998). This creates more problems within the market due to the fact that undesirable outcomes regarding extended instability and poor growth levels prevail. This have to be handled by external forces for it to be solved and this indicates clearly that government involvement has to apply for desirable market conditions to be realized.
Hayek’s argument that government involvement is usually an inferior regulation method whereas free market cooperation is usually superior is therefore proved unsuitable by the various occurrences which require external forces involvement within the market for them to be solved. Pure existence of laissez-faire markets would be problematic in cases whereby aspects regarding market failure occur (O’Neill, 1998). This is because the free market does not have efficient mechanisms which facilitate appropriate market failure control.
Government is very suitable when it comes to various market operations because of its suitable capacity to employ appropriate control measures which ensure that market irregularities are effectively controlled (O’Neill, 1998). This brings about desirable outcomes explained by stability and growth.
Critical analysis of Ginti’s, Bowels and Hayek’s arguments regarding democracy
Various arguments regarding democracy were expressed by Ginti, Bowels and Hayek and may critically be analyzed as follows. For instance, Hayek held that absolute collectivism headed for by various free nations is totally contrary with democracy, and that social planning may end up wiping out economic, political and individual freedom (Thomas, 1999). He brings to our attention that democracy is only attainable in cases whereby free market is allowed to prevail. This is due to the fact that centralized planning or government involvement tends to satisfy minority requirements and this is looked upon as undemocratic.
Democracy in actual fact implies majority rule or representative democracy wherein representatives’ selection is done through the use of fair and free elections (Thomas, 1999). In this case complete suffrage exists. Hayek argues that for desirable outcomes regarding capitalism to be realized, democracy has to be done away with. Capitalism in this case is highlighted as system of an economy wherein distribution and production means are corporately or privately owned. Capitalism is usually very essential especially when it comes to development activities within a nation (Thomas, 1999). Through capitalism, suitable operations are carries out which promote desirable outcomes realization within the economy through stability or desirable growth levels attainment. In his work, Hayek indicates that the useful outcomes regarding capitalism are usually interfered with by democracy existence and therefore it should be done away with for desirable outcomes to be realized.
According to the various views he has brought to light, Hayek indicates that individuals ought to choose either democracy at the expense of capitalism, or capitalism at the expense of democracy since both may not be applicable at the same time (Thomas, 1999). He attempts to put to light that democracy highly supports government intervention within various operations in the market. GHe is generally against government involvement in the market because he argues that the market has capacity to effectively regulate itself. He supports free market existence by indicating that through free market existence, various activities are appropriately adjusted to one another without arbitrary or coercive authority intervention (Thomas, 1999). Hayek thus indicates that government involvement is usually an inferior regulation method whereas free market cooperation is usually superior. According to him, economies should undertake various operations independently without any government since supply and demand have the capacity to appropriately adjust themselves and bring about suitable outcomes. Suitable outcomes in this case imply desirable stability and growth levels.
Ginti and Bowles put forward various arguments regarding democracy as follows. For instance, they look upon democracy as unable to coexist with capitalism (Thomas, 1999). They put to light that democratic social order establishment has the capacity to bring about capitalist economy elimination. This brings about an ideal society creation according to Ginti and Bowles.It is apparent that from Ginti and Bowles work, democracy and capitalism are expressed as having
values which are completely different from each other (Thomas, 1999). For example, one holds on economic privilege pre-eminence which is usually influenced by property rights while the other is firm on the fact that democratic accountability and liberty priority are based on personal rights’ exercise. The disadvantage associated with contemporary capitalist societies may be explained by the fact that economic theory triumphs over political theory and this ought not be the case.
Democracy has been found to be interlinked with market-capitalism due to the fact that free market economy has been indicated as inefficient, and intervention by the government in terms of policies and regulatory laws is needed for the purpose of ensuring that working market economy is realized (Thomas, 1999). Owing to the fact that free market has no suitable capacity to appropriately regulate various undertakings, it is apparent that for suitable operations to be realized the government has to come in. Various arguments therefore indicate the need for government participation in various undertakings regarding market control so as to offer appropriate solutions which may not be realized with laissez-faire economy (Thomas, 1999). Laissez-faire economy in this case is one which does not allow for government intervention but undertakes control activities on its own towards equilibrium market realization.
It is apparent that support for government involvement is usually because of its capacity to aptly control various tools regarding monetary and fiscal policies to help in solving various market problems which come up due to market failure (Thomas, 1999). Monetary policies are generally fundamental when it comes to market operations because they help in attainment of suitable situations within the market which facilitate demand and supply levels capable of steering desirable stability and growth levels. Fiscal policy involves regulation of money supply to the economy by government with the aim of ensuring that moderate supply is maintained which has the capacity to steer suitable stability and growth levels (Thomas, 1999). In cases whereby limited money supply is experienced within the society as well as undesirable stability and growth levels, the government influences money supply through central banks which put in to place various strategies to ensure that money accessibility by public through commercial banks is augmented. Individuals therefore have the capacity to access substantial money amounts and invest within various economic sectors (Thomas, 1999). This ensures that the various undertakings bring about desirable growth levels. They also facilitate suitable stability levels which have the capacity to bring about desirable outcomes within the society. It is apparent that these government functions, according to Dewey, bring about suitable market conditions and help in doing away with undesirable occurrences like market failures.
The various aspects brought to light above indicate that Ginti, Bowels and Hayek held similar views regarding democracy in which case they explained democracy in terms of the influence it had on capitalism (Thomas, 1999). Through out their work, they have expressed various ideas which support the fact that capitalism has no capacity to exist in cases whereby democracy exists. For instance, Hayek held that absolute collectivism headed for by various free nations is totally contrary with democracy, and that social planning may end up wiping out economic, political and individual freedom. He has highlighted capitalism as system of an economy wherein distribution and production means are corporately or privately owned Capitalism in this case is highlighted as system of an economy wherein distribution and production means are corporately or privately owned. Capitalism is usually very essential especially when it comes to development activities within a nation (Thomas, 1999). Through capitalism, suitable operations are carries out which promote desirable outcomes realization within the economy through stability or desirable growth levels attainment. In his work, Hayek indicates that the useful outcomes regarding capitalism are usually interfered with by democracy existence and therefore it should be done away with for desirable outcomes to be realized.
Capitalism is usually very essential especially when it comes to development activities within a nation. Through capitalism, suitable operations are carries out which promote desirable outcomes realization within the economy through stability or desirable growth levels attainment . In his work, Hayek indicates that the useful outcomes regarding capitalism are usually interfered with by democracy existence and therefore it should be done away with for desirable outcomes to be realized.
Conclusion
It is apparent from the above aspects that government is usually very essential when it comes to market operations regulation. This is because it has the capacity to handle various aspects which seem impossible with the free market regulations. For example, it has the capacity to apply suitable tools which ensure that desirable stability and growth levels are attained.

Reference
O’Neill, J. (1998). The Market: Ethics, Knowledge, and Politics. London: Routledge.
Thomas, K. (1999). Racing to Regionalize: Democracy, capitalism, and Regional Political Economy. Boulder, CO Lynne Rienner.

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creating customer value

Running Head: CREATING CUSTOMER VALUE

Creating Customer Value

By

(Your Name)

Presented to

(Instructor/Tutor)

(Course/Subject)

(Institution/University)

(City, State)

(Date)

The ingredients of customer value are price, service quality, image, and product image. To fare on well in the highly dynamic market fronts today, the entrepreneur needs to tailor his goods and services such that they are personalized and customized. The entrepreneur is required to identify the needs of the customer and strive to satisfy them. By so doing, the entrepreneur will create customer value, a desired ingredient in business today.  Customer value will cultivate loyalty from the customer (Timm, 2007), thus leading to profitability.  Naumann in his white paper “Creating Customer Value (1995),” has it that customers will judge the value of a business based on the pricing of commodities, the image of the commodities, the product characteristics and the personalized service the customer receives from the sales clerk. These desired attributes should be well understood by the management. Strategies must be put in place to ensure they are improved on so as to achieve customer value.

The customer value model drawn in figure two illustrate that pricing is an important factor in creating customer value. The customer makes decisions based on the value he/she gets for his/her money. While shopping for commodities and services, thus, the customer will be comparing prices against the everyday price, special prices and the payment options afforded to him/her by the sales company. Profit Impact of Market Strategy (PIMS) suggests that high quality products offered at a lower price, among other factors lead to the success of the business. Naumann (1995) agrees with this factor when he attributes 30% customer’ value for money on pricing. He then notes that even though pricing is the most important factor in creating customer value (its importance is more than double the other factors), all these other factors combined surpass pricing. They contribute up to 70% customer’s value for money.

It is difficult to develop all factors leading to customer value create customer value at a go (Miles, 2003). The management is advised to identify factors that have a greater impact on customer value such as pricing and start creating value with those first. The management should anticipate challenges from new entrants into the market who come up with new value propositions in order to woo customers. Future prospects and uncertainties too are challenges on the way of creating customer value. Creating customer value is an important factor in the growth and expansion of the enterprise (Tellis et al, 1996). The enterprise may rely on new or existing customers to expand. If it were to rely on existing customers, it will bank on the loyalty created between it and the customers over the years. This loyalty is a product of customer value. If the enterprise targets new customers in order to expand, it will have to come up with customer value propositions to woo these new customers (Tellis et al, 1996).

Lamb, Hair and McDaniel (2009-2010), deviates from Naumann’s line of thought when they point out that business enterprises do not exist for the sole purpose of satisfying customers, but also to further society’s long term interests. They are vested with the responsibility to keep the environment clean, produce re-usable and recyclable products.  Lamb, Hair and McDaniel (2009-2010) agree that customer value is important for the success of the company. They do not emphasize pricing as the single most important factor in creating customer value – Naumann does.  In the white paper, he gives additional information as to why pricing is important in customer value creation. It is because the customer’s major concern is whether they are getting greater utility from their money.    Further, revenue impact retention is analyzed to a greater detail in Naumann’s white paper. Lamp, Hair and McDaniel (2009-2010), do not discuss revenue impact retention in depth.

Customer value creation, thus, is vital for the success of business enterprises. Customer value will retain the existing customer (loyalty) while at the same time entice new customers through offering value propositions. Satisfied customers will always come back. This will translate to more revenue to the business enterprise and eventual success. Customer value gives the company competitive advantage over its competitors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Gale, B. & Buzzell, R. (1987). The PIMS principles: linking strategy to performance. New York: Free Press.

Lamp,  C. Hair, J. & McDaniel, H. (2010) MKTG 3.0 2009 Edition, 3rd Edition. London: Cengage Learning.

Miles, R. (2003). Organizational Strategy, Structure, and Process. Stanford: Stanford                   University Press.

Naumann, E (1995). Creating Customer Value: The Value to Competitive Advantage. New York: Thomson Executive Press.

Tellis, G. & Golder, P. (1996) First to Market, First to Fail: The Real causes of enduring market leadership, Sloan Management Review, vol. 37, no. 2, 232-239.

Timm, P. (2007). Customer Service: Career Success Through Customer Loyalty. New York: Prentice Hall.

Nestle

Executive Summary
Recent investigations reveal that the British Nation is slowly ageing and this impacts the development of the country, interior and exterior markets. It is not surprising that the companies participating on the British food market should take into consideration these demographics facts, in order to catch their customers. This report would examine the demographics impact provided on one of the top food industry competitors in UK, Swiss company Nestle, touching the issues the company faces due the scrutinized demographics situation.

 

Introduction

From the very beginning it would be essential to mention that the Nestle position in the food industry is stable (the company is among the five largest food companies in UK). The target market Nestle oriented all these years were children of different ages and young people. Speaking about the integrated marketing communications strategies used by the company to attract the target groups the pull strategy to be the most effective.  Media advertising has always been effective tool for the participants of confectionary market and being in the hard situation it would be better to make a use of the reliable methods that would help to reach the desired effect, without investments into the different strategies, but concentrating on the one particular (Kotler& Armstrong, 2008).

Promotion Mix Strategy the core role of the Message Strategy for Nestle
It goes without saying that making use of a pull strategy need to integrate the message strategy too. Understanding the core role of the message, especially it collaborative work with the pull strategy, it would be essential to include slogan into communication mix to reach the target market. As it was already mentioned that the target market could be children aged between 6 – 15 and young people in the age of 16 – 25, the message should be developed in orientation of these target groups. The same time should also take into account the fact that a number of young people and parents of children who are the target group take care about their health and company within the message could promote their intension to keep up the healthy style of life, providing healthy products. The same time the company should understand that the messages for the each product should be also present and they should correspond to the message of the company. In contemporary demographic situation it would be essential to include the target group of the older people and develop products for them. Nestle is already suggesting the marketing strategies that would observe diverse of target groups: “The new strategy involves widening and deepening this market by using differentiated marketing. This enables the company to alter ingredients of the marketing mix such as where and how it advertises its products, the outlets it sells its products in, and gives it the flexibility to charge different prices for the variants of this where appropriate” (The Times, 2010, p. 4)
Promotion Mix: Main Strategies Used by Nestle in UK
Advertising
Advertising has always been one of the most popular methods of promotion in food industry and what would be important to note that one of the most effective. It is essential that reaching the target group, the company should learn with the help of marketing research what are the most reachable media sources for their target market (Kotler, 2003). It provides high visibility and pervasiveness and it is very important for implementing the Nestle strategy and reaching of the message to the youth  and aged target market. To reach the signified target market there are three most important media means: TV (selecting the most often viewed channels and seeking for the core time), Internet (the most popular web sites such as MySpace, Facebook et al) and store signs, motion pictures used for advertising to attract the potential clients in the area of selling the product. Advertising is the core method, where the message strategy would be used to attract the target group attention. It goes without saying that advertising includes monitoring of the social interest and what the media sources are now popular within the target group. Getting it touch with the target group is the core idea of the advertising strategy. Internet is undoubtedly attractive for the youth, but the two others orient more on the older people who do not often use internet, but watch TV and pay attention to the store signs
Sales Promotion
Sales Promotion is one of the most effective strategies in contemporary food industry. It has a number of incentive tools, the majority of them are short term to stimulate quick or greater purchase of the production: different discount systems, additional prizes and gifts etc. It goes without saying that different promotional events attract the representatives of the more older target group to the production of Nestle and it has already become a typical practice for the other competitors, they mainly hold the Sales promotion events before some holidays such as Christmas, Easter, Halloween and others. It goes without saying that receiving the pleasant bonus is very pleasant for the final consumers. It goes without saying that message strategy also plays here a significant role. And such attractive events as sales promotion should demonstrate visibly the target market how the message strategy is realized in practice. It is always pleasant to get a discount, but according the marketing researches youth pay less attention to it
Conclusion and Recommendations
Direct marketing is not used by Nestle comparatively to the previous two strategies. But it is very effective tool for reaching after 40s target group. I think that telemarketing and catalogues are the two methods that would be helpful for raising the interest of the older people rather than youth. It goes without saying that it is also one of the most effective means of the marketing strategy in order to reach the target group, hence with the decay of publishing industry and creation of teleshop channels and internet development it is now becoming less effective, when we speak about youth, but it would undoubtedly be effective for the older people (Solomon, 2004). So I consider that this strategy could be used as the supportive one. It goes without saying that the message would play the significant role in the direct marketing too; it would be represented in the product placement, making a stress and centralizing attention of the target market

References:
Beall A., 2008. Strategic Market Research: A Guide to Conducting Research that Drives Businesses. IUniverse.
Baesens B., Verstraeten G. et al, 2004. Purchase Modeling in Direct Marketing. European Journal of Operational Research. 138 (1), 191-211.

Douglas, S. & Craig S., 2008. Reassessing global marketing strategy. Research in Global Strategic Management. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Jacob N. Cross-cultural investigations: emerging concepts. Rotterdam School of Management: Erasmus University, Post Bus, The Netherlands

Jones M. L., 2007. Hofstede – Culturally questionable? University of Wollongong

Kotler, P., 2003. Marketing Management, 11^th ed. Prentice Hall/Pearson Education Inc: New Jersey.

Kotler, P. & Armstrong G., 2008. Principles of Marketing 12^th ed., Pearson Education Inc/Upper Saddle River: New Jersey.

Knutson, B., 2005. Marketing to lodging, food service and club consumers in the future: A Delphi study to predict marketing management in 200. Advances in Hospitality and Leisure. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Schiffman L & Lazar Kanuk L., 2003. Consumer Behavior. Prentice Hall

Sheela S., 2009. Advertising and Sales Promotion. Article Base

Silverman S., Sprott D. & Pascal V., 1999. Relating Consumer-Based Sources of Brand Equity to Market Outcomes. Advances in Consumer Research. Vol.26. pp. 352 – 358. Provo, UT : Association for Consumer Research

Smith S. M., 2004. Fundamentals of Marketing Research. Sage Publications, Inc

Solomon M. R., 2004. Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, Being. Prentice Hall

White, J., 1989. Case studies in real estate marketing. Journal of Property Management 54.6 12+. Expanded Academic ASAP. Retrieved October 24, 2010 from http://find.galegroup.com.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=EAIM&docId=A7878214&source=gale&srcprod=EAIM&userGroupName=unimelb&version=1.0

 

 Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Micro economics

POLICY MEMO

12^TH April 2011

To        : Mr. President, United States

Mr. Minister of Trade

Mr. Minister of Health

From       :

Re           : Recommendation of legalization of marijuana

Cc           : Mr. Vice President

Mr. Coordinating minister of economy

Mr. Minister of Finance

Mr. Assistant Minister of Public Health

A recent report released by the international centre of science in drug policy use figures provided by the US government highlights the unquestionable failure of America’s marijuana probation to accomplish a single one of its goals.

By evaluating data over a span of about 20 years back, the description illustrates that despite radically improved expenditure on enforcement labors, including near record-level arrests and attacks, marijuana has become cheaper, more potent, and more available than ever. It concludes, “The legalization of cannabis, combined with the implementation of strict regulatory tools could help reduce cannabis-related harms, as research has demonstrated is successful in tobacco and alcohol control, when strictly enforced.”

The report is very clear in its endorsement of a regulated marijuana market over simply a decriminalized model, in which criminal penalties against users are removed, but the sale of marijuana would remain illegal, and therefore, in the hands of criminals. “Without regulatory controls allowing for limited distribution – as employed for other psychoactive substances such as alcohol and tobacco – organized crime groups continue to exercise control over the cannabis market,” the report states.

It goes on to explain that regulations could include “age restrictions, restricting driving or operating machinery while intoxicated, limiting hours of sale and outlet density, restricting bulk sales and limiting potency of legal cannabis.”This is the same message that MPP and others have advocated for years: marijuana regulation is a far superior policy alternative to the chaotic and ineffective nature of prohibition.

Recently there has been a heated discussion on the ways to move forward in regard to marijuana use. With time a number of movements been established in support of legalizing marijuana. Among the reasons why people think that marijuana should be legalized are: it is generally perceived that marijuana isn’t harmful as compared to other drugs such as alcohol and tobacco, legalization would mean a lower price thus reducing crimes related to theft, it has been noted to have medical benefits for cancer patient, it could be a source of additional tax to the government and lastly it would lead to enforcements of regulatory measures on the quantity and safety of drugs.

It has been noted that the government spend a lot of money in the aim curbing marijuana use in the country. The drug policy alliance advocates for the elimination the creation of a legal regulatory market for the production and distribution of marijuana, and the establishment of laws that provide and protect access to medical marijuana by patients.

The justification and taxation of marijuana might have an effect on its bazaar price and overall use. Learning on lawful drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco, for example, show that taxing them and raising prices can often be quite efficient in lowering utilization even among the heaviest users. It has been eminent that with justification there is an predictable cost drop in price of marijuana.

There seems to be a competitive market in the marijuana market if people used marijuana with no fear of the legal consequences involved and it seems to be a long run analysis. Marijuana use potentially imposes externalities in certain situations, such as driving under the influence, but existing evidence does not support a strong effect in this direction, and in any case such evidence suggests laws against DUI, not a sin tax.   The use of marijuana do not have considerable probability for addiction or negative fitness consequences, so  justification is not valid either.

It have been noted that if marijuana prices can be set at a higher level this would reduce the use f the drug in the household population. In reference to elasticity of demand it is noted that when marijuana was relatively unavailable people are less likely to experiment with marijuana.

In this analysis I will consider some specific assumptions which include: The first assumption is that the marijuana demand curve (relationship between rice and quantity) is the same before and after legalization. In this assumption price and quantity change solely because marijuana becomes less costly to produce.

The second assumption is that Netherlands and United States are similar. In this demand conditions are identical in the two countries and the legalization of marijuana in the United States will have the same effects as the de facto legalization in Netherlands.

The third assumption is that the demand for marijuana in the United States is the same as in 1972. Either that or use the demand from Australia.

The fourth assumption is that the surveys one on illegal activities always lies. Since people fear acknowledging others that they use the illegal drugs and this greatly affects the data collected. The fifth assumption is that the possibility of substitution from other taxed goods to marijuana. It might be that there are no good estimates out there on how people would substitute from alcohol to marijuana, but this is something we need to know.

A cost benefit analysis on marijuana use shows that people between the age of 12 and above have admitted to have smoked marijuana at least once. Also the analysis people arrested with marijuana related cases greatly out ways the number of incidents in other crimes.

As in the year 2009 $14,100,000,000 was spent to reduce drug abuse and availability and at this rate it was observed that $26,809 was spent per minute or else 446.81 per second was spent in trying to reduce the drug use

I would implement the policy by first consulting the various parties involved in the enhancement of the policy. The members to consult involve specialized personnel an areas related to drugs. In implementing the policy I would consider various factors which are: preparing the relevant legislative structure to enable the development, to advance policy development and implementation check out for a specific political change in neighboring countries.

The policy should be implemented in comparatively easy topic areas in order to make sure the initial high visibility and achievement and hold up for the policy at the vital early stages. Also, adopt a flexible approach; be prepared to postpone an activity if it needs more time to prepare for it to explain it and to build consensus for it. The implementation team should have a group of respected political figures and national experts to support the policy publically. Mobilize key groups in the society to support the policy e.g. consumer organizations, trade unions and the media.

The team should also shift in opponents position and identify strategies to involve them and eventually waiver them to your side. It should also create constituencies which support the policy both inside the government and outside the government it is   crucial in the policies sustainability.

The implementation of the policy will cost a huge sum of money. It will be financed by the NGO’s and the charity groups. Smoking condone it use. Of marijuana has been related to moral hazards since the community does not condone that. We therefore believe that the people who are strongly advocating for legalization of marijuana should reconsider their position and look at the hazards related to it.

Table of the potential tax revenue that can be obtained from marijuana production by state

State	Tax revenue
1.      California	105,400,000
2.      New York	65,500,000
3.      Florida	48,200,000
4.      Texas	46,600,000
5.      Ohio	34,800,000
6.      Michigan	32,400,000
7.      Illinois	31,600,000
8.      Pennsylnavia	30,500,000
9.      Washington	22,000,000
10.  Virginia	20,900,000
Total Revenue	437,900,000

 

 

References

Caputo, M. & Ostrom, B. (1994), “Potential Tax Revenue from a Regulated Marijuana Market: A Meaningful Revenue Source,” American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 53, 475-490.

Logistics regression

I have added new variables to the model, which has reduced the -2 log likelihood by 1313.19 with 8 degrees of freedom. The p value for the result of adding the variables to the model is 0.000 which is less than the conventional significance level of 0.05. Hence we would conclude that the model is statistically significant and different from the no model solution (step 0).

The model correctly classifies 78.2% of the cases correctly.

Variables in the Equation

		B	S.E.	Wald	df	Sig.	Exp(B)
Step 1a	Recency	-.629	.025	612.423	1	.000	.533
	Frequency	.046	.005	99.010	1	.000	1.048
	Gender(1)	-.388	.093	17.234	1	.000	.679
	Age	-.014	.005	9.154	1	.002	.986
	Income_Group	.077	.024	10.282	1	.001	1.080
	Constant	1.364	.258	27.918	1	.000	3.913
a. Variable(s) entered on step 1: Recency, Frequency, Gender, Age, Income_Group.

The estimated model is:

All the variables included in the model were statistically significant at the 95% significance level. The output can be interpreted as follows: odds ratios are presented in the last column labeled Exp(B).

An increase in the number of days since last purchase by a day reduces the odds ratio (or the likelihood) that a customer will respond by about 0629. A one unit increase in frequency of purchase increases the odds ratio that a customer will respond by 0.046. The odds ratio of gender is 0.986, meaning that female people are0.986 times more likely to respond than male people (the gender variable was coded as 0=male, 1=female). A one unit increase in age reduces the likelihood that a person will respond by 0.014. A unit movement to a higher income group by a customer increases his/her likelihood of responding by 0.077 times. The odds ratio for the constant is 3.913. This means that if all other variables were set to zero, female respondents would be 1.364time more likely to respond to the request.

Conclusion

Statistical findings: The number of days since last purchase, frequency of purchase, gender, age and income group were significantly related to the likelihood that a person will respond to an offer made to customers.

Scope of Inference: I am unable to state whether we can draw inference from this study given that I am not sure whether the 4,482 individuals used in this study were randomly sampled from any identifiable population to which inference may be made.

Financial Management

Financial Management

A proposal of an outline for the planet’s constitution.

Preamble

The reasons behind the writing of this constitutional proposal is to insure domestic tranquility, form a more perfect union, promote general welfare, establish justice, provide for the common defense and secure the blessings of liberty to the inhabitants of the country and hence ensure their prosperity.

The Articles

Article1

This article will state the powers of the legislature, the judiciary and the executive in the land which are the three topmost and most crucial government branches. In this case, the government will enact a legislation to budget for the countries resources providing a structure for a wise spending of its revenues among various government requirements.

Article 2: The Senate

This section will give a direction on the election of the overall leader through a democratic process and selection of the people to head the various government departments or ministries. These will be the main policy makers.

Article 4: Bills

These will include all bills for raising revenue by the government as swell as paychecks for any services provided. This will come from the parliament or House of Representatives and will cover the various ways that the government will use to enhance economic growth and development.

Article 5: Powers Granted to Congress

The congress will have several powers over the country’s economy and functioning:

a)            Collection of taxes, imposts, duties and excises, pay debts and approved defense.

b)           Control the making of money by the central bank

c)            Fix standards, weights and measurements of goods as well as their regulation

d)           Ensure the development of the economy through infrastructural development

Article 6: Powers Forbidden to Congress

The congress will not prevent anyone from leaving the country or entering into the country. In this case, nobody will be punished without trial, No direct tax can be levied on any product or service, no money will be taken from the country’s treasury and no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”

Similarly, the takings clause will ensure that no private property shall be taken for public use, without just compensation and no excessive bail or fines.

Article 7: Powers Forbidden to the provinces

No province or administrative unit will issue its own money, charge duties other than which are levied by the government or keep its own military

Article 8: Relations of the States to Each Other

All states shall have full faith and credit to each other in public acts, records and all public and judicial proceedings. They shall always coordinate in upholding the obedience of all the country’s laws hence provide a unified mechanism.

Article 9: National Debts, Supremacy

All debts incurred by the government or owed to others shall be paid according to the agreed terms and conditions

A proposal of a program budget for the activities of the planet level government for its first full year of operation.

A table showing budget distribution among the key sectors of the economy

Sector	Budget(000,000K)	Sector		Budget(000,000K)
Infrastructural development	550,000,000	Health care&medical service		400,000,000
Democracy and governance	200,000,000	Public service		450,000,000
Foreign affairs	100,000,000	Agricultural activities		350,000,000
Mining	300,000,000	Support for the provinces		700,000,000
Defence and national security	250,000,000	Provincial administration		300,000,000
Local governance	500,000,000	Policy direction		250,000,000
Human rights	150,000,000	Common costs		100,000,000
Education	550,000,000	Integral development		50,000,000
Housing and social welfare	100,000,000	TOTAL	5,300,000,000

 

Difference in government spending in major and minor sectors of the economy.

Revenue collection methods

There are various methods that the government could use to raise revenue and therefore fund its various projects and pay for world government activities. In this case, the government will use a number of revenue generation and collection methods to ensure that enough revenue is collected to cater for the governments expenses. The revenue collection methods will vary depending on the convenience of the method used.

 

A table illustrating distribution of resources among various sectors of the economy

These methods will be enshrined in the constitution and will therefore apply to all individuals as the constitution dictates.  Any individual, organization found to be violating the revenue generation rules will be punished according to the constitutional requirements. These methods used will be both direct taxing methods and indirect taxation methods. To start with, the government will impose a value added tax on goods and services basically the value added tax of 15% on all goods sold and consumed in the country. This will be a direct tax and therefore individuals will pay while buying goods and submitted to the relevant authorities

A calculation showing the rate to be imposed and the amount of revenue expected to be generated through direct tax (value added tax)

Let the number of people be X, Value added tax from purchase of consumer products

Every person spends 60% of their income on food, clothing

Therefore, total tax payable will be

X (60/100*200,000K*15/100) =120,000*15/100*X =18,000*X

Tax collected from shelter

12/100*100,000,000,000,000K, =12,000,000,000,000K per annum

This will also be levied on all services provided as will be referred to as service tax or service charge of 12% on all taxes provided. The payment of these taxes will be compulsory; all firms and individuals must comply as constitutionally failure to pay taxes is an offence punishable by the laid down procedures in the constitution.

Imposition of income tax

On the other hand, the government will also charge tax on both an individual’s income as well as earnings from business operations meaning that a certain percentage of all business profits will go to the government as taxes. In this regard, every individual will pay an income tax at the rate of 20% on all taxable income and 25% of all business profits will be directed to the government’s tax department. This will be directly deducted by the employer as a way of increasing efficiency. Any individual or business organization that defaults will be liable to prosecution and (or) a fine not exceeding 500,000K and therefore all individuals must pay this tax.

Tax to be collected through income tax

Let us assume that the working population is Y people, every individual earns 200,000K per annum, therefore: Total income tax payable by individuals:

20/100*200,000K*Y= 40,000KY per annum.

This will also include income raised from businesses as their profits are part of income. These are charged an income tax at the rate of 25% per annum on all their profits.

The total revenue raised from businesses annually is 12% of all businesses, hence:

Revenue from businesses will be: 12/100*300,000,000,000,000K

                                                      =36,000,000,000,000K

Out of these, 5% are profits; therefore the government will get part of this as income tax.

Business profits form 5% of the value of all businesses and therefore the government levies 25% income tax, therefore out of this 25% will go to the government as taxes.

Total profits from business, are: 5/100*36,000,000,000,000K =1,800,000,000,000K

Out of this, 25% will be paid to the government as income tax, hence the income tax payable by all businesses will be:

=25/100* 1,800,000,000,000K =450, 000,000,000K

There are various reasons that justify a good budget and revenue plan and therefore it is on this basis that the author has based his formulation of a suitable revenue and budget plan for the country. To start with, a good revenue and budget plan should be fair on all citizens and business organizations in the country. This is the main idea that guided the author in formulating this budget and revenue proposal and feels that it is the right one for this country and will be adopted by the congress. A good budget and revenue plan should use the resources available efficiently. The government can therefore fund this budget by using the locally available resources.

At the same time, the services and revenues recommended for this planet are appropriate, the author strongly believes that the constitution will be approved that would permit the plans to be implemented. The plan effectively provides all adequate services to the citizenry of the planet including infrastructural development, water, sanitation, health services and education among others. These are the services that every nation requires to succeed and therefore it would be a good plan to adopt. The plan also uses reliable mechanisms to fund the various government projects utilizing the available resources well. As such, this plan gives the planet the ability to continuously carry out their affairs without them being affected by lack of sufficient funding. This keeps all government projects running facilitating economic development.

In conclusion, this plan touches on all the aspects of the economy. Economic development is achieved through a combination of strategies to achieve economic goals and objectives. These include proper infrastructural development, health care system and an effective tax collection and revenue system that facilitate the collection of revenue to fund all the projects. As a result, it will lead to a balanced rate of growth in the government with the provision of all basic requirements being possible leading to economic growth and development. This is one of the critical aspects considered in this plan and hence budget and is therefore a good one for the planet to adopt. The plan also takes care of the interests of all by providing clear legal policy mechanisms to achieve its objectives. In this case, the author strongly believes that this plan would be acceptable to both houses of the legislature and to the general public.

Application of Statistics

Abstract

The study sought to determine employees’ perception of teamwork with reference to whether it improves productivity, cohesion, communication, positive competition and innovation within the department. The study will aim at determining if employees perceive teamwork as effective in influencing cohesion, communication, positive competition, productivity and innovation relative to an individual approach to work. A short questionnaire was used to collect data on how employees’ rate the perceived influence of teamwork on the stated aspects of operations within the department. Fourteen employees participated in the study which had an over 80% success rate. The findings show that employees within the finance department in Goldman Sachs perceive teamwork to be influential on productivity, innovation, competition, communication and cohesion. The standard error in the analysis is small showing that a different sample would have yielded similar results. Therefore, it can be concluded that employees within the department perceive teamwork as an influential aspect in the operations of the department

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Background

Goldman Sachs is a renowned company that deals in investment banking, financial services, securities and investment management. The company has been operational for over a century and is considered to be among the best and most active investment bank in the globe. Team approaches are largely used in the company. Team approaches and management are issues in business management that have been explored far and wide (Plauborg 2009). A team in the simplest definition is a group of people working towards a common goal. In this respect, an entire organization with a clearly defined mission can be considered a team. However, teams as used in the study refer to groups that exclude some members of the respective organizations. Teams can be made up of people from within the same department or from different departments.

Analyses of developments in operations within corporate entities reveal a significant increase in the use of team approaches. This increase is mainly a result of increased appreciation of the potential offered by team approaches to improve synergy and productivity by employees. Increased level of competition in the corporate scene has also driven increased appreciation of teamwork (Lavy & Yadin 2010). The potential offered by team approaches in supporting and promoting innovation and creativity in corporate has been noticed and harnessed by many companies.

Though team approaches have been widely adopted by many companies, most appraisal, reward and bonus systems are still at the individual level. In fact, a large proportion of organizational activities including recruitment and firing are at the individual level. Appraisal which forms the basis for determining employees’ potential is at the individual level. Creating a balance between individual and team approaches is a critical success factor in organizational operations. However, most studies on team approaches are cross-sectional and are therefore not specific to organizations. In fact there are few studies on specific organizations that seek to determine employees’ perception of team and individual approaches to operations (Lavy & Yadin 2010). This is in spite of the important role played by employees’ views in shaping the norms, values and beliefs of an organization. Furthermore, the few studies at organizational level focus on entire firms. This does not help capture employees’ views on teamwork.

Problem Statement

The systems and strategies that businesses use affect their operational efficiency and the levels of productivity they can attain. Employees’ perception of teamwork at the departmental level does affect how teamwork is applied to daily operations and its overall influence on the organization. Goldman Sachs’ finance department plays a vital role in supporting its operations and uses both individual and team approaches in operations. The team approaches can either involve workers from within the department or workers from different departments. However, there has so far not been any study to determine employees’ perception of teamwork. The existing studies on employees’ perception of teamwork generally use samples that are from different organizations and can therefore not be applied for a homogeneous population as is the case in the finance department. Additionally, a study within the department would be more accurate in capturing employees’ views of teamwork.

Aim of the Study

The aim of the study is to determine employees’ perception of teamwork with reference to whether it improves productivity, cohesion, communication, positive competition and innovation within the department. The study will aim at determining if employees perceive teamwork as influential on cohesion, communication, positive competition, productivity and innovation relative to an individual approach to work.

Research Objective

The following were the objectives of the set study:

1. To determine employees’ perception on the role of teamwork in improving departmental productivity.
2. To determine employees’ perception on the role of teamwork in improving cohesion among employees
3. To determine employees’ perception on the role of teamwork in improving communication within the department
4. To determine employees’ perception on the role of teamwork in providing an environment that is supportive of positive competition
5. To determine employees’ perception on the role of teamwork in promoting innovation within the department

Research Questions

The following research questions helped in exploring the research questions:

1. What is the employees’ perception on the role of teamwork in improving departmental productivity?
2. What is the employees’ perception on the role of teamwork in improving cohesion among employees?
3. What is the employees’ perception on the role of teamwork in improving communication within the department?
4. What is the employees’ perception on the role of teamwork in providing an environment that is supportive of positive competition?
5. What is the employees’ perception on the role of teamwork in promoting innovation within the department?

Rationale and Significance

The study is mainly motivated by observations in my workplace. Employees’ generally differ in their views on the suitability of teamwork. Some teams tend to be more efficient than others. These are observations that could have profound effect on employees’ perception of a team approach to operations. Another motivation for carrying out the study is the fact that no study has so far been carried out within the department to determine how team approaches to operations are perceived by employees. In spite of surveys to determine how the department views new strategies and tools, team approaches are yet to be evaluated within the department.

The study findings will help determine employees’ perception of teamwork and the factors that may have led to their development. This is not only important to employees as it will help highlight areas that they feel team input is lacking but may also help the entire department reshape its approach to operations. Another important significance of the study is that it will help in highlighting other aspects relating to teamwork and its perceived importance to the department that could be researched further. In this way, the study will help promote further research into teamwork and its effects on operational efficiency within the department.

Literature Review

Teamwork has been studied widely mainly with the aim of improving how it is implemented in an organizational setting. For effective teamwork, group cooperation is critical. In fact, team literature basically points to the importance of having structures that allow for conscious team development efforts. Team priorities, accountability, operational procedures, cultures and team targets are vital to team performance. These require conscious efforts by organizations to ensure that teams are properly formulated and are operating effectively. This is brought out clearly if the factors that inhibit effective teamwork are considered. Differences in priorities among the team members, confusion, lack of accountability and poor interpersonal skills have been posited as deadly for team performance. There are other organizational factors that may affect the efficacy of team approaches within organizations. High staff turnover and lack of team learning can hinder the development of team chemistry and result in poor team performance. These precursors to poor team performance are affected by the strategies and operational approaches that the teams adopt. Literature on teams within financial organizations reveals that teamwork philosophy held by both team and individual members influenced their work behavior. It is generally advisable that teams adopt integrative teamwork philosophies as they allow for wide discussion, shared importance of team functionality and it supports complex communication (Rassuli & Manzer 2005). There is therefore evidence that team approaches adopted within an organization may be influenced by the strategic or operational strategies used.

Teamwork involves people and collaboration. In general, teamwork creates a platform where individuals combine their different competencies to generate synergies. However, teamwork is a form of strategy and is therefore influenced by how it is perceived by individual team members. Teamwork can only result in greater collaboration if the employees involved appreciate its role and potential in meeting set team and organizational goals. This is supported by strategic management literature which highlights employee resistance and culture clash as some of the impediments to strategic efforts. Resistance and culture clash can occur if employees are not involved or considered in the formulation of strategies and if they perceive the formulated strategies are irrelevant to their individual and organizational goals. Teamwork as a strategy must therefore be formulated and implemented in a manner that considers employees’ views.

There are some issues that are specific to teams and are dependent upon their individual structure and contexts. In general, effective teamwork with respect to effective decision making and discharge planning is supported by consensus, trust, learning culture and good leadership. Formulating teams that lack experience or expertise may limit their efficiency when tasked with activities that require either. Therefore, the formulation of teams may affect their perceived and actual efficiency. On the other hand, open discussions by team members has been shown to result in creative and practical solutions. This is important since actual team performance does influence employees’ perception of teamwork. Structured reflection, commitment to finding solutions and open communication are requirements for teams to adapt to different work requirements and work effectively. Best practices in team management posit that joint goal setting helps improve team members’ appreciation of the mission of the teams and how they relate to their personal goals as professionals and organizational objectives (Lavy & Yadin 2010).

Introduction of team based work systems is in most cases aimed at improving effectiveness, innovation and creativity within organizations. This is the main reason why organizational psychology has by large been preoccupied with identification of team factors that promote innovation and creativity among employees. Nearly all models on team performance assert that team output is affected by input and team processes. In fact, a variety of input into the teams affects their internal processes which in turn influence their performance or output (Rassuli & Manzer 2005). This effectively implies that input into the teams by not only the firms but also individual team members and other employees can significantly influence the levels of performance that they attain. However, though the relationship between process factors and team innovation is clear, little is known of the input factors that may influence team innovation.

Creativity and innovation are two highly related concepts. Innovation is vital for it leads to not only the generation of new ideas but also new approaches to working. Innovative organizations and teams are therefore more likely to come up with new services and develop better approaches to improving their output. Innovation requires structured efforts to create an environment that is supportive of innovation. Teamwork is often considered suitable to improving and supporting innovation within an organization. This is mainly because effective teamwork results in greater sharing of knowledge and information, research and collaboration which may give rise to new ideas. However, this is only possible if the team approaches have been designed and implemented in a manner that allows for effective communication and sharing among the members. Individuals are also important to innovation. In as much as teams help support and develop ideas into innovations, individual work can be more sobering and minimizes diversions caused by variant views as is the case in teamwork (Plauborg 2009). Teams that support innovation must therefore be able to create a balance between support for individuals and sharing. Individuals should be able to think independently and also as members of a team. This often requires great appreciation of teamwork’s role in innovation and the inclusion of elaborate team training and management strategies. Thus, the importance and role of employees’ appreciation of teamwork and its role in improving organizational performance, innovation and communication is once again brought to the fore.

There are different climates that organizations can create with the aim of supporting innovation. Generally it is essential that organizations endeavor to create environments that display all the elements required to support innovation. It is fundamental that teams and organizations have well-defined, shared, valued and attainable vision to support innovation. A common and valued vision is necessary for employees to appreciate the need for combined or team approach to operations. Furthermore, the vision in this case may help in focusing expertise and efforts by different team members to a common cause. The other important consideration is developing an environment that can be perceived as non-threatening and safe for members to present ideas. This consideration emphasizes the nature of the operational environment and the expectations placed on the employees. An environment that allows for calculated risk taking and presentation of new ideas is developed via efforts by different departments to support innovation and improve communication. Shared concern for quality and improvement of various aspects of operations such as control, appraisal and appraisal is an important requirement for innovation (Lavy & Yadin 2010). The other important characteristic of an environment that is supportive of innovation is approval and support for attempts to improve and introduce new ideas. Management support for innovation is essential in this case. These requirements show that innovation via team approaches require appreciation and support from the management, employees and other organizational structures.

Studies on team dynamics are vital in bringing out the importance of employees appreciation of team approaches (Plauborg 2009). Team orientation which is team tasks and attitudes that members have towards one another may affect their cohesion and performance. Team orientation is a reflection of the team norms and importance attached to team membership. It is noteworthy that in a properly constituted team, each member plays an important role and must therefore be appreciated by other team members. Team leadership is also essential for the success of teams as it help provide coordination and direction (Su 2007). Leadership in this context does not mean authority rather it refers to initiative. Each member has to show the initiative to pursue and attain the set team goals. Monitoring, feedback, back up behavior, coordination and communication are the other variables that are critical for success in team approaches. A critical review of these variables shows that they are all dependent on the appreciation of teamwork by employees. If employees do not appreciate teamwork they will fail to take initiative, communicate poorly, fail to coordinate with other members and generally participate poorly in teams work. Thus understanding employees’ perception of teamwork within a given setting is important in creating greater awareness of teamwork potential. Thus, the literature review sufficiently highlights and supports the rationale for carrying out the study and potential of the study in improving teamwork in the selected department.

Methodology

The methodology used in the study influences the validity and reliability of the results. It is for this reason that considerable efforts and time were channeled to the formulation and execution of the methodology. The research design that was used in the study was primarily influenced by the nature of the research problem. It is important to note that there has so far not been any study aimed at determining how employees in Goldman Sachs perceive the use of teams. Therefore, the nature of the problem is not permissive of designs that require secondary data. A quantitative research design was adopted in the study. It is noteworthy that the study basically focuses on measuring employees’ perception of teamwork’s’ role in improving some of the common predictors to value generation. A quantitative research design is therefore well suited in light of the nature of the problem.

Data Collection

The population in the study is defined as employees who work within the finance department at Goldman Sachs. Since the population is relatively small, the study sought to maximize the sample size. The aim in data collection was to not only ensure accuracy and reliability but also maximization of the number of department members that engage in the study. The first step in data collection was designing a questionnaire that was the primary tool for data collection. In designing the questionnaire special emphasis was awarded to the length. This is because the finance department is notoriously busy and therefore using long questionnaire would introduce risks of low response and inaccurate responses. Next, the employees were informed of the intended study via the department board. The last step in the study was provision of questionnaires that were to be filled and returned within a period of one week. The one week period is aimed at ensuring that the employees have ample time to accurately fill in the questionnaires.

Data Analysis

Analysis in the study was mainly at the descriptive level. Simple data analysis packs were used to aid analysis of the data. Graphs were also used to compare scores on employees’ perception of teamwork’s role in improving various aspects of the departments’ operations. Averages and standard deviations were also used to measure central tendency and variation respectively. Proportions were also used in relaying the results.

Ethical Considerations

The main ethical considerations in the study were seeking permission from the departmental head to carry out the study and seeking employees’ permission and consent. It is noteworthy that before commencement of the study, the departmental head was personally requested to permit the study. In the request, the aim of the study and the methods that will be used were highlighted. Employees were explicitly reminded in the notice for the study and in the questionnaire that their participation will be out of their own volition. This is a measure that is aimed at ensuring that participants are not coerced or forced to participate in the study (Vogt 2007). Lastly, no tabs on employees’ names were kept when collecting and analyzing data. This is a measure that is aimed at ensuring that participants’ confidentiality and privacy is maintained and therefore minimizing the risk of being vindicated due to their participation in the study. This is an aspect that was highlighted in the notice and in the questionnaire.

Limitations

The main limitation of the study is that the results cannot be generalized for other institutions and departments. The level of homogeneity within the department limits the accuracy and reliability in generalizing the results to other contexts. This is because there could be departmental factors that influence the results that are not present in other departments.

Statistical Findings

Fourteen employees participated in the study. This is representative of over 80% of the employees within the department. The high response rate is important for it significantly improves the generalisability of the sample findings to the population. The results on productivity show that in general the employees perceive teamwork to be influential on productivity. Figure 1 shows that only two employees rated the influence of teamwork on productivity below three. This implies that over 85% of the participants in the study perceive teamwork as influential on productivity within the department.

Figure 1

The findings on employees’ perception of the role of teamwork on cohesion show that only two employees perceive teamwork influence to be below three (Figure 2). This implies that at least 85% of the participants think that teamwork influences cohesion among employees in the department.

 

Figure 2

All participants in the study perceived teamwork as vital to communication within the department (Figure 3). All employees rate the influence of teamwork between three and five with only three employees rating it three.

 

Figure 3

 

When compared to other aspects of operations, teamwork would appear to have the least influence on positive competition among employees as per the results in figure 4. The figure shows that only four participants rate the influence of teamwork on positive commmunication at four and above. Most participants rate its effects at three and below.

 

 

Figure 4

 

Figure 5

Figure five shows that teamwork is perceived to be influential on innovation within the department. The figure shows that only two employees rate the effect of teamwork on innovation below three. This implies that over 85% of the participants perceive teamwork to be influential on innovation within the department.

 

 

Table 1

 

Table 1 presents a summary of major findings from the study. The findings show that the mean values range in [3, 4.07]. This implies that in general employees within the finance department generally perceive teamwork to be influential on all surveyed aspects. The standard error in all categories tested is less than 0.32 and therefore the variations in sample findings are negligible. The standard deviations in the observations are generally less than 1.2 (Table 1). The actual variations in the observations are large for instance there are some cases where the range is 4. This is the highest possible value for the range and represents completely different views by two participants on the role of teamwork. However, the relatively small value for the standard deviation implies that employees’ views on the role of teamwork in the aspects tested is relatively uniform with few polarized views. Though generally employees within the department perceive teamwork as influential on communication, innovation, productivity, positive competition and cohesion among employees, there are some that have different views.

Table 2

 

Table 2 presents the results of a linear regression analysis where productivity is assumed to be influenced by the variables cohesion, communication, competition and innovation. The constant is positive 8.2. This would imply that use of teamwork in the organization results in increased productivity even without considering other independent variables. However, innovation, communication and cohesion as per the results in table 2 have a negative relationship with productivity within the department. On the other hand, positive competition has a positive relationship with team productivity. The most important implication of the findings is that team work has the potential to improve productivity without considering other variables. However, in practice there are several variables that influence productivity attained through teamwork. From the findings it is however evident that the level of cohesion, communication and innovation attained through teamwork is not perceived by the participants to be influential on productivity.

Inference

The findings are significant and in line with existing theories and empirical studies on teamwork. However, the clear variations in the mean scores in different categories shows employees’ perceive the role of teamwork in the different categories differently within the department. The role of teamwork in positive competition within the department records the lowest average with incidentally the lowest standard deviation. The department has to look for factors that are responsible for the relative low rating of the role of teamwork in improving positive competition. A possible explanation is that the team sessions are poorly coordinated and are hindered by negative competition by the team members. Another possible explanation could be poor competition within the department. Further studies focusing on employees that perceive teamwork to have limited effect on positive competition should be carried out to determine why they have taken that position.

Scope of Inference

The study findings however show that past findings on the effects of teamwork on productivity, innovation, communication and cohesion at the organizational level can apply at the departmental level. However, this should not be assumed to hold for all departments since the study only surveyed one department. The study findings can only be inferred for the department. This is because the sample includes employees from the department and the questions used make reference to teamwork within the department. Generalization of the findings to other settings will result in loss of validity and reliability since the findings are specific to the department.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The major finding in the study is that employees within the finance department in Goldman Sachs perceive teamwork to be influential on productivity, innovation, competition, communication and cohesion. The standard error in the analysis is small showing that a different sample would have yielded similar results. Therefore, it can be concluded that employees within the department perceive teamwork as an influential aspect in the operations of the department. The study therefore shows greater appreciation and awareness of teamwork within the department. This is considered important when utilizing teamwork as this appreciation is vital in developing and improving internal team structures.

The findings in the study cannot be generalized for other departments. There is need for other departmental level studies to determine if the findings can be replicated. At the policy level, there is need to determine why some employees perceive teamwork as minimally impacting on positive competition. This can also be extended to other aspects for instance innovation and communication so as to determine avenues for improvement. Though the study shows that the finance department has great appreciation of the role of teamwork in its operations there is still room for improvement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Questionnaire

Questionnaire Code _______________________

This questionnaire is designed for Finance department employees in Goldman Sachs. The aim of the study is to determine employees’ perception of teamwork. The only requirement in the study is to fill the questionnaire. Do not include your name anywhere in the questionnaire.

Questions

1. Have you ever been involved in any team?

Yes                  No

2. On a scale of one to five where 5 represents high contribution and 1 represents lowest contribution, what do you perceive as teamwork’s contribution to the following aspects within the department?

Aspect	Productivity	Cohesion among employees	Communication within the Department	Supporting positive competition	Promoting Innovation
Contribution

Thanks for your participation

 

 

 

References

Lavy, I & Yadin, A 2010, ‘Team-Based Peer Review as a Form of Formative Assessment – The Case of a Systems Analysis and Design Workshop’, Journal of Information Systems Education, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 85-98

Plauborg, H 2009, ‘Opportunities and Limitations for Learning within Teachers’ Collaboration in Teams: Perspectives from Action Learning’, Action Learning: Research and Practice, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 25-34

Rassuli, A & Manzer, JP 2005, ‘“Teach Us to Learn”: Multivariate Analysis of Perception of Success in Team Learning’, Journal of Education for Business, vol. 81, no. 1 pp. 1-21

Su, AY 2007, ‘The Impact Of Individual Ability, Favorable Team Member Scores, And Student Perception Of Course Importance On Student Preference Of Team-Based Learning And Grading Methods’, Adolescence, vol. 42, no. 168, pp. 805-826

Vogt, PW 2007, Quantitative research methods for professionals, Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, London