BAJAJ Auto: SWOT and PESTEL Analysis

BAJAJ Auto: SWOT and PESTEL Analysis INTRODUCTION BAJAJ AUTO came into existence on November 29,1945 as M/s Bachraj Trading Corporation private limited. It started off by selling imported two and three wheeler in India .In 1959, it obtained a license from Government of India to manufacture and it went public in 1960.In 1970, it rolled out its 100,000th vehicle. In 1977, it managed to produce and sell 100,000 vehicle in a single financial year. In 1985,it started producing at Waluj near Aurangabad. In 1986,it managed to produce and sell 500,000 vehicle in a single financial year. In 1995,it rolled out its ten millionth vehicle and produced and sold 1 million vehicle in a year. The company is headed by Rahul Bajaj who is worth more than US$1.5 billion.According to the author of Globality : competing with Everyone from Everywhere for Everything, Bajaj has grown operation in 50 countries by creating a line of value -for-money bikes targeted to the different preference of entry- level buyers. (Kwenkbodenmille, 2008) LITERATURE REVIEW Swot Analysis SWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and its environment. It is the first stage of planning and helps marketers to focus on key issues. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. Opportunities and threats are external factors. In SWOT, strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. Strength could be: Your specialist marketing expertise. A new, innovative product or service. Location of your business. Quality processes and procedures. Any other aspect of your business that adds value to your product or service Weakness could be: Lack of marketing expertise. Undifferentiated products or services (i.e. in relation to your competitors) Location of your business. Poor quality goods or services. Damaged reputation. In SWOT, opportunities and threats are external factors. An opportunity could be: A developing market such as the Internet. Mergers, joint ventures or strategic alliances. Moving into new market segments that offer improved profits. A new international market. A market vacated by an ineffective competitor. A threat could be: A new competitor in your home market. Price wars with competitors. A competitor has a new, innovative product or service. Competitors have superior access to channels of distribution. Taxation is introduced on your product or service. (Gerry Johnson, 2008) PESTEL analysis of the macro-environment There are many factors in the macro-environment that will effect the decisions of the managers of any organisation. Tax changes, new laws, trade barriers, demographic change and government policy changes are all examples of macro change. To help analyse these factors managers can categorise them using the PESTEL model. This classification distinguishes between: (Anon., 2011) Political factors- These refer to government policy such as the degree of intervention in the economy. What goods and services does a government want to provide? To what extent does it believe in subsidising firms? What are its priorities in terms of business support? Political decisions can impact on many vital areas for business such as the education of the workforce, the health of the nation and the quality of the infrastructure of the economy such as the road and rail system. Economic factors- These include interest rates, taxation changes, economic growth, inflation and exchange rates. As you will see throughout the Foundations of Economics book economic change can have a major impact on a firms behaviour. Social factors- Changes in social trends can impact on the demand for a firms products and the availability and willingness of individuals to work. In the UK, for example, the population has been ageing. This has increased the costs for firms who are committed to pension payments for their employees because their staffs are living longer. It also means some firms such as Asda have started to recruit older employees to tap into this growing labour pool. The ageing population also has impact on demand: for example, demand for sheltered accommodation and medicines have increased whereas demand for toys is falling. Technological factors- New technologies create new products and new processes. MP3 players, computer games, online gambling and high definition TVs are all new markets created by technological advances. Online shopping, bar coding and computer aided design are all improvements to the way we do business as a result of better technology. Technology can reduce costs, improve quality and lead to innovation. These developments can benefit consumers as well as the organisations providing the products. Environmental factors- Environmental factors include the weather and climate change. Changes in temperature can impact on many industries including farming, tourism and insurance. With major climate changes occurring due to global warming and with greater environmental awareness this external factor is becoming a significant issue for firms to consider. The growing desire to protect the environment is having an impact on many industries such as the travel and transportation industries (for example, more taxes being placed on air travel and the success of hybrid cars) and the general move towards more environmentally friendly products and processes is affecting demand patterns and creating business opportunities. Legal factors- These are related to the legal environment in which firms operate. In recent years in the UK there have been many significant legal changes that have affected firms behaviour. The introduction of age discrimination and disability discrimination legislation, an increase in the minimum wage and greater requirements for firms to recycle are examples of relatively recent laws that affect an organisations actions. Legal changes can affect a firms costs (e.g. if new systems and procedures have to be developed) and demand (e.g. if the law affects the likelihood of customers buying the good or using the service). (Anon., 2011) SWOT ANALYSIS: STRENGTH:- Bajaj Auto is LEADING automobile manufacturing company in India. It is one of the Indias trusted two wheelers manufacturers. It is an operative subsidy of the Bajaj Group. Bajaj Auto happens to be the largest two and three wheeler manufacturer in India and also ranks in this field across the globe. This automobile company was established on 2 November 1945. The company was then known as M/s Bach raj Trading Corporation Private Limited. The company made a modest beginning by importing and then selling two and three wheelers in India. Today Bajaj Auto has become synonymous with two and three wheelers in the country. Some of its popular two wheelers are; Pulsar 220DTS and Kawasaki Ninja 250R.Bajaj have highly experienced management. Company mainly focus on RD and fulfil of customer needs and requirements. (Ashwin, 2010) Bajaj Auto has been sitting on a cash pile for over five years now. Over the next couple of years, competition in the two-wheeler market is set to intensify. TVS Motors and Hero Honda are on a product expansion binge. To fight this battle and retain its hard-earned market share in the motorcycle segment, Bajaj Auto will need its cash muscle. A look at its own story over the past five years provides valuable insight. (Anon., n.d.) Earlier, most of the products that Bajaj exported were scooters and some motorcycles. However, in its target markets, like in India, the shift was towards motorcycles. With the expansion in Bajajs own range to almost five-six platforms of motorcycles, it had a better offering to export, also the reason for its stronger showing. For the last fiscal, 60 per cent of its exports were two-wheelers and the rest three-wheelers. Of the two-wheeler exports, close to 90 per cent were motorcycles. Bajaj has identified certain key markets, which hold potential. Its first overseas office established at the Jebel Ali free trade zone has been the focal point for exports to middle Africa and the Saharan nations. Egypt and Iran also continue to be strong markets for Bajaj. The other market, which would be a focus area, is South America, where the company feels it is fairly well represented in most countries, except in Brazil, the largest market. The company recently participated in a large auto exhib ition in Brazil and found good consumer acceptance to products like Pulsar and Wind 125. Thus, in India, Bajaj would see swanky four wheels jostling with our ever reliable and sturdy steed the two wheeler India is the second largest producer and manufacturer of two-wheelers in the world. It stands next only to Japan and China in terms of the number of two-wheelers produced and domestic sales respectively. Indian two-wheeler industry has got spectacular growth in the last few years. Indian two-wheeler industry had a small beginning in the early 50s.The Automobile Products of India (API) started manufacturing scooters in the country. Bikes are a major segment of Indian two wheeler industry, the other two being scooters and mopeds. Indian companies are among the largest two-wheeler manufacturers in the world. In the initial stages, the scooter segment was dominated by API; it was later overtaken by Bajaj Auto. (Anon., 2007) Weakness: The promotions and ads of Bajaj are very less as compared to its competitors. Some of the products of Bajaj like Pulsar require high maintenance. It expected that by 2020 scrap generated by end of life vehicles in India would be about 2.5 million tonnes and 40% of it will come from two wheelers. But Bajaj is not capable enough to recycle the scrap generated and may impose environmental threat. In Bajaj group there is no organized labour union and family members of employees find ready employment within Bajaj. The philosophy with regard to labour management is Bajaj is growing, grow with Bajaj. Bajaj workers receive a uniform allowance, as well as House Rent Allowance (HRA) and Leave Travel Allowance (LTA). Extra benefits include medical check- ups not just for workers, but also for the immediate family members. For the majority of the production workers, who are hired through contractors, these benefits are out of reach. This and other problems lead to a strike and factory occupation by 4,000 temp workers in the pune plant in spring 2006 (Ashwin, 2010) Bajaj Hasnt employed the excess cash for long. Bajaj has no established brand to match Hero Hondas Splendor in commuter segment not a global player in spite of huge volumes. Bajaj Not a globally recognizable brand (unlike the JV partner Kawasaki) (Anon., 2011) Opportunities: Double-digit growth in two-wheeler market. Untapped market above 180 cc in motorcycles. More maturity and movement towards higher-end motorcycles. The growing gearless trendy scooters and scooterette market. Growing world demand for entry-level motorcycles especially in emerging markets. The Inevitable Change Bajaj on internal analysis found that it lacked The technical expertise to deliver competitive goods. The design know-how. And the immediate inability to support the onslaught of competitors. All these forced Bajaj to look for an international partner who could bring in technology and also offer some basic platforms to be manufactured and marketed in India. Kawasaki of Japan is a world-renowned manufacturer of high performance bikes. Bajaj entered into a strategic tie-up with Kawasaki in late 1990s to enhance its product line and knowledge up-gradation to support long-term strategies. This served the purpose of sustaining the market competition for a while. From 1996 to 2000, Bajaj invested hugely in infrastructure while simultaneously developing product design and innovation capabilities, which is the prime reason behind the energetic Bajaj of 21st century. Bajaj introduced a slew of products right from entry-level motorcycle to the high premium segment right from 2001 onwards, and since then its raining success all the way for Bajaj. (Anon., 2007) Last quarter, Bajaj had impressive performance growing at a rate of 20%+ when the largest manufacturer grew at just 6%. This stands a testimony to the various important strategic decisions over the past decade. The focus of BAL off late has been on providing the best of the class models at competitive prices. Most of the Bajaj models come loaded with the latest features within the price band acceptable by the market. BAL has been the pioneer in stretching competition into providing latest features in the price segment by updating the low price bikes with the latest features like disk-brakes, anti-skid technology and dual suspension, etc. NCAER data for top 24 cities in India shows migration to higher income levels growing at over 40 per cent per annum. Prosperity in rural India is also a significant phenomenon, with 43 per cent of households in middle and the high income groups coming from rural India. More incomes per person, more persons will lead to a quadrupling of Indias consumer markets in the next two decades, a 2007 study by McKinsey Global institute has projected. And this will provide Company the ballast to sustain and consolidate its leadership position. Good will of the company: If the company utilizes the good will they have gained so far from their customers, they can increase the sales performance by economizing the cost and few technical renovation of the product. With new launch they can be benefited at present market scenario like Pulsar, Ninja has huge attraction towards the younger generation because of its style, sporty look, and high accelerating power and is stable at its feet even at high speeds. (Ashwin, 2010) Threats: The competition catches-up any new innovation in no time. Threat of cheap imported motorcycles from China. Margins getting squeezed from both the directions (Price as well as Cost) Finance assistance: Easy availability of finance is the main cause of sales growth and any restriction will hamper its growth prospects. Inflation: If inflation increases cost of raw material used in production will go high and selling price may go high that may decrease demand of the two wheeler. Technical renovation aspect: Competitor bike like Karizma splandar and apache are threat to Bajaj product like Pulsar Discover in respect to fuel economy. So if they dont short out in the new launches and give something extra in its engineering performance it may affect in demand of this company product. (Ashwin, 2010) For PESTEL analysis refer Appendix RECOMMENDATIONS: 1) Use excess capacity present to produce ungeared scooters for women. The female population constituting around 50 per cent of our addressable population contributes less then 10 percent of the total two-wheeler demand. With urban markets with addressable male population getting saturated, players will have to aggressively target the women population for expansion. 2) Review product mix, focus on RD to bring new products in market Demographics show increased youth population Young people fashion savvy 3) Focus on Rural market: Rural markets currently contribute around 45 per cent of the industrys demand. However, going forward, with urban markets getting saturated, analysts expect a rise in demand from rural markets. To address the changing dynamics, BAJAJ would have to resort to aggressive rural-centric sales and promotional activities. BAJAJ would have to alter marketing strategies by focusing on rural oriented adverting on mass media, educative road shows and create aspiration values for the products, and expand their sales distribution network. Introduce low cost models Develop sales distribution network which is currently weaker than other players For rural youth, introduce low cost trendy vehicles 4) Increase focus on exports and penetrate new markets: With domestic demand for two-wheelers slowing down, it would be increasingly important for BAJAJ to look beyond boundaries to partially mitigate the slowdown. BAJAJ would accordingly have to develop products suitable for different markets; high investments are required for setting up manufacturing facilities and for building a reasonable level of brand equity. Till now BAJAJ focussed only on economy class and developing country markets, but now in those segments it is facing competition from cheap Chinese players. Therefore need arises to penetrate new markets like USA and UK. CONCLUSION: Bajaj auto faces stiff competition from the Market leader Honda and closest rival Suzuki. It is because they are not able to create reliable brand image among their customers. They need to focus on developing their products that can give better experience to their consumer. 1. From the survey, it is seen that Bajaj is only able to somewhat satisfy their costumers from their products. They need to create a great sense of joy in their customers by offering unmatched product features and service that will make their customers loyal to the brand and this will greatly help Bajaj in increasing its market share. 2. Bajajs product prices are in comparison with its leading competitors. The problem is that consumers do not think that Bajaj has that much value and hence prefer to buy other brands. Bajaj need to offer more competitive pricing and better promotions to sell their motor cycle better.

Developing Yourself as an effective HR Practitioner Essay

Introduction The intention of this report is to address the following learning outcomes:- †¢to understand the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to be an effective HR practitioner; †¢know how to deliver timely and effective HR services to meet users’ needs and; †¢be able to reflect on my own practice and development needs and maintain a plan for personal development. For the purpose of this report I will use research journals, books and internet searches, in particular, help and guidance from the CIPD website in order to reflect on my own personal experience and skills to constructively align with the assessment criteria. Career in brief Throughout my career I have had a diverse range of roles including the recruitment and selection of employees, carrying out inductions with new staff, issuing contracts of employment and job descriptions, carrying out appraisals and arranging training if needed. I have also been responsible for the implementation of annual budgets and setting sales targets. Activity 1 HR Profession Map The HR Profession Map is a model designed specifcally by HR professionals to help HR practitioners identify the knowledge and skills demanded by the profession. The Map describes what to do, what is needed to know and how to do it. Essentially the Map provides a widespread overview on how, within an organisation the HR department functions. It also shows what is expected within the role of an HR practitioner from all levels based on the individual’s qualifications and experience. The Map has also been designed to support HR professionals at every stage of their career and sets out the global standards for HR. The clear and flexible framework has been developed  for career progression in recognition that HR roles and career progression can vary. The Map contains three key elements: †¢10 Professional areas – what HR practitioners need to do and know †¢8 Behaviours – how to carry out activities †¢4 Bands and transitions – how to develop from one role to another, split into four bands of competence which illustrate the hierarchy of the profession. The main purpose of the Map design was to highlight 10 professional areas at four different bands of competency and then eight key behaviours at which all HR professionals need to operate. The 10 professional areas set out what a practitioner needs to do and know for each area of the HR profession listed below: †¢Organisation design †¢Organisation development †¢Resourcing and talent planning †¢Learning and talent development †¢Performance and reward †¢Employee engagement †¢Employee relations †¢Service, delivery and information †¢Leading HR †¢Insights, strategy and solutions What is considered the two core professional areas sit at the heart of the professional map – Leading HR and Insights, strategy and solutions which are applicable to all HR professionals regardless of their role and are explained in more detail below. The core: Insights, strategy and solutions This core area describes how HR professionals within Human Resources can help optimise their organisation’s performance using insights to create HR strategies and deliver solutions that stick, staying agile and innovative. An HR specialist actively develops an understanding of the organisation’s  goals and how HR actively contributes to their delivery by knowing how the organisation is structured and how the teams work together. They understand the product or service that their organisation provides and who the customers are and they understand the goals of the organisation. As an HR specialist they are also expected to guide their team to create solutions that deliver value in line with the organisation. Table 1 shows how I am able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding relating to this particular core area. Table 1Personal knowledge and competency relating to insights, strategy and solutions Business Knowledge1.18.2 The vision and purpose of the organisation and how this relates to your role.I researched and created the business’s Vision Statement. It was important to create a vision statement at the outset to assist with future planning and where we wanted to the see the business in the future. Creating the vision statement impacted immediately upon my role as Owner/Director as I had invested my own money to fulfil the ambitions I had of building the business. The core: Leading HR This are relates to HR professionals being active, insight-led leaders: owning, shaping and driving themselves, others and activity within their organisation, not just observing or facilitating. The model suggests that an HR specialist leading HR services acts as a role model to help develop their teams’ goals The model also suggests that they know how to engage people with different backgrounds by utilising their experience and skills and by developing their team’s knowledge of the operational plan of the organisation and helping their team to drive forward whilst supporting and mentoring other HR team members. Table 2 shows how I am able to demonstrate my knowledge and understanding of this core area. Table 2Personal knowledge and competency relating to leading HR Personal leadership2.1.2 Seek feedback and coaching to continually learn and develop as a professional. Use HR processes as appropriate for own CPD (e.g. through My HR Map)As Managing Director of my own reta il business it was essential that I had proven skills to continue my own professional development. I therefore sourced various courses which would lead to an appropriate qualification which augmented my current skills and qualifications. I gained a Management qualification in 2011 and am now seeking my CIPD  foundation Certificate a Level 2. The 8 behaviours within the map describe how work activities should be carried out and make a contribution to the organisation’s success and are detailed below: †¢Decisive thinker – demonstrates an ability to analyse and understand data and information. †¢Skilled influencer – demonstrates an ability to influence to gain necessary commitment & support from diverse stakeholders for organisation value. †¢Personally credible – builds & delivers professionalism by combining commercial and HR expertise to bring value to the organisation. †¢Collaborative – works effectively and inclusively with a range of people both within and outside the organisation. †¢Driven to deliver – determination, resourceful & purpose to deliver best results. †¢Courage to challenge – shows courage and confidence to speak skilfully – challenging others if confronted with resistance. †¢Role model – consistently leads by example. Acts with integrity, impartiality and independence, balancing personal, organisational and legal parameters. †¢Curious – future focused, inquisitive, seeks out evolving and innovative ways to add value. Finally, the 4 bands of competence range from Band 1 to Band 4. Band 1 covers the early stages of an HR career, culminating in Band 4 for the most senior leaders in HR and each band defines the responsibilities required by HR professionals at every stage of their career. Personal competency at Band 2 within one professional area: For the purpose of this particular section I have chosen the following professional area; ‘Learning and talent development – Capability assessment 6.21.2 How to work with an individual to assess their learning and training needs’ Whilst being self-employed, I was responsible for the supervision and management of sales staff. In particular there was one staff member who was identified as requiring further additional training as she wished to continue with her own professional development. I therefore undertook the following procedures to identify the appropriate learning and training: Following the employee’s initial induction, risk assessment and 3 month  appraisal, it was identified that she would like to achieve her NVQ 3 in Business Administration, having successfully completed her NVQ 2 in her previous employment. WHY she wanted further qualifications Following on from the appraisal, I researched appropriate course material to see what the NVQ 3 entailed to ensure that the employee’s current job role would be sufficient to fulfil the requirements of the NVQ 3 as she intended to progress within the industry. WHAT learning opportunities are there I contacted Sunderland ITEC as the employee had previously completed a training course with them and I knew that ITEC would still be able to offer the apprenticeship at level 3. I therefore requested that a representative come out to see us in order to identify the relevant information to enable her to complete the NVQ level 3. WHERE In house training and monthly day release & monthly visits from her training adviser The NVQ level 3 in Business Administration can be completed in-house with day release once a month to the training facility for the employee to go through their portfolio with their training advisor. The training advisor attended the business once a month to give a progress review on the employee and to gather evidence. HOW I identified, with the help of the Training Adviser that there was funding available for under 25’s to enable them to complete NVQ training under my mentorship. Activity 2 For this activity I am required to identify 3 users of HR services, establish one need for each and explain how conflicting needs would be identified and prioritised; to give examples of three effective communication techniques, outlining the advantages and disadvantages of each and finally; effectice  service delivery to include delivery service on time, delivering service on budget, dealing with difficult customers, handling and resolving complaints. There are many users of the HR services within my organisation but I have chosen the following three users for the purpose of this assignment and set out what their need may be and how the conflicting element of each user is identified and prioritised by the HR Department: †¢Line Managers †¢Employees †¢Potential Employees (Applicants) Line Manager The Line Manager has the sole responsibility for their team. They therefore need their team to be productive and motivated to meet the demands and targets of the organisation. They should ensure that absenteeism is kept to a minimum and that all workers are skilled professional workers. Conflict may arise if employees fail to meet expectations or targets to a point where the Line Manager’s own professional career may be under threat. Employees One of an employee’s main goals is to gain financial reward and training for the commitment they give to the organisation. A conflict may arise if the employee is de-motivated in their job role due to not being sufficiently qualified or lacking in certain skills which could easily be identified and rectified by further training and support. Potential Employees It is commonplace in many professions that potential employees are better qualified and trained than most long standing employee’s of the organisation. However, it is often the case whereby there are many applicants for each potential vacancy with many applicants being well qualified with respect to the vacancy. Conflict may arise as the HR practitioner will be required to shortlist from numerous applications for one vacancy therefore they need to be able to quickly and accurately assess each application and CV for precise key specifications required on the job description. How conflicting needs are met As can be seen, the needs of the employees, potential employees and the line managers are different but similar. The conflicting needs of the three users of the HR services are identified by their working behaviour and the motive behind doing their job. The varying conflicts can be prioritised by firstly understanding the needs of the employees as they are the backbone of the organisation and arranging further training or negotiating pay increases with the Line Manager based on the employee’s work ethics, commitment and qualifications. Further training can be a motivating influence on any employee thus fulfilling the needs of the organisation and maintaining a happy yet professional relationship with their line manager as he will have fully qualified and skilled staff, therefore the conflicting priority with the Line Manager is that his concerns are fulfilled by having motivated staff. The final priority is the potential/new employees as it would be envisage that any new employee would be fully qualified and experienced to do the job correctly. Methods of Effective Communication, the advantages and disadvantages of each The three methods of communication I have chosen for this assignment are: †¢Oral/Face to Face An advantage of this communication style is that it is immediate and you gain an immediate response. It makes giving an instruction to an employee simpler as you are able to express the requirements expected of them using intonation, hand gestures and examples. Body language is also important in this type of communication both on the part of the communicator and receiver. A disadvantage could be that an employee could misinterpret or forget the instruction once the conversation is finished and time has lapsed. †¢Electronic ie. email/telephone An advantage of this communication is that it is also immediate. A ‘read receipt’ or ‘delivered’ acknowledgement is gained in sending an email  therefore the sender is aware that the recipient has received the message and again when calling somone on the telephone you can immediately relay your message. The disadvantage of a telephone call may be that the receiver is not at their desk and therefore a voicemail message may be left and there would be no timescale as to when the receiver would pick up their messages. Again the disadvantage with an email is that the intonation can be easily misinterpreted. †¢Written ie. memos/minutes An advantage of written communication is that it eliminates the risk of the recipient forgetting the task as it has been written down and given to them therefore reports, letters, memos, etc can be read again and again if anything is not understood and minutes can be changed if something is omitted. The disadvantage with written communication is that it may take time to reach to the desired destination. Also minutes or letters may get a late response if management need to call upon a face to face meeting to clarify any uncertainties within the report/minutes. Effective Service Delivery Effective service delivery is vital to any organisation as the reputation of the business is dependent upon it. In my role as owner of a bridal business it is imperative that we maintain high standards of service delivery to customers at all times. Delivering service on time is vital as there are often occasions when brides inform us that their wedding date has been set for a matter of weeks ahead. If a new bridal gown needs to be ordered there is a rush service available at a minimal cost to the customer as it guarantees 8 weeks delivery rather than the usual 16. Many customers are also working to a tight budget therefore we always have a range of lower cost bridal gowns and sale gowns available. There have also been times when we have encountered difficult customers and have had to handle and resolve complaints. Although the first thought is to be defensive, it is imperative that you listen intently to the complaint as losing a customer and receiving negative recommendations for yo ur business is detrimental. After listening  to the customer’s complaint which is often said in anger, you need to go back over the question – â€Å"Let’s go over what’s happened so we can resolve this† and apologising without sounding patronising but depending on the nature of the complaint it is sometimes necessary to reinforce the shop policy. On occasions, it is also considered appropriate to offer refunds or exchanges in order to resolve a complaint. Activity 3 I have self assessed against the Associate Membership criteria, electronically via the CIPD website and I have used the findings to identify 2 development needs at band 1 which I have h on my Personal Development Plan (attached) where I require further training to meet the criteria and are mentioned below in summary: †¢Insights, Strategy and Solutions Support the organisation development specialists in delivering organisation development interventions and associate change. †¢Employee Relations The fundamentals of employee relations. Definition of CIPD One definition of continuing professional development states that CPD is â€Å"part of lifelong learning; a means of gaining career security; a means of personal development; a means of assuring the public that individual professionals are up-to-date; a method whereby professional associations can verify competence; and a way of providing employers with a competent and adaptable workforce. † Friedman, A. & Phillips, M. (2004) ‘Continuing professional development: developing a vision,’ Journal of Education and Work, 17(3) pp361-376. CPD is important as it ensures you continue to be competent in your profession, it shows a commitment to lifelong learning and may also be a requirement of a professional role or membership to a professional body. It is an ongoing process and continues throughout a professional’s career. The ultimate outcome of well planned continual professional development is that it safeguards the public, the employer, the professional and the professional’s career. Explain at least 2 of the options I considered for meeting my development needs against my plan for  future development. One of the options I chose for further development was ‘The fundamentals of Employee Relations’ as this is an area I feel I can grow exponentially. The outcome of this module is to enable me to understand the impact of employment law at the start of the employment relationship; understand the main individual rights that the employee has during the employment relationship and; understand the issues to address at the termination of the employment relationship. I wish to build my knowledge around these areas as I would like to progress into a more managerial position with my current employers as they currently have no senior HR personnel and it is therefore important to have sound knowledge of employee and employer rights. Another area I wish to extend my knowledge is ‘Resourcing Talent’. The organisation is currently under redevelopment and I wish to move into a more senior position therefore gaining further knowledge and expertise is prerequisite to my future growth within the organisation.

Failure of the Arab League

In the wake of any great conflict, states will try and assemble a system that is based on unity and prevention of further conflict, there are several aspects usually addressed, including the economy and the international relations. In the wake of World War 2 the UN assembled to form the new world order (Pinfari, 1. ) In the Middle East, 6 founding members (Egypt, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq) formed the Arab League, an organization founded upon a common sense of Arabism with a goal of Arab unity (Pinfari, 2.) In the wake of the Cold War, Africa found itself at a political disadvantage because of the fragmented politics of the continent, they were at a geographical advantage and wanted to make use of that, so they formed the African Union to address inner-conflicts and the mayhem caused by the remains of colonialism after the Cold War (Dersso, 13-14. ) On the other side of things the European Union formed in the late 1990’s with a different mission in mind when compared to the two aforeabmentioned organizations.The Arab League and the African Union’s missions were more ambitious than those of other political organizations such as the EU and the UN, due to many reasons why this paper will focus on discussing their economy, their judiciary and the effect of pan-Arpabism and a pan-African perspective. When nations group under one banner as is the case in the examples mentioned, the issue of their individual political sovereignty is brought into the foreground as countries value their autonomy.The European Union is more of a â€Å"union† in the judiciary sense than the Arab League: while the Arab League clearly states in its charter that the League has no right to intervene in the internal affairs of a member country unless their overall safety is compromised, this then makes way for dictators like Qaddafi to rule for years in what certain scholars would view as a tyrannical manner.The judiciary of each country is separate from the Arab League which isn’t the case with the EU, whereby the Court of Justice of the European Union has the right to supersede any national court of law (Wallace, 484), by so doing maintaining peace in a more efficient way. How does this make the Arab League’s mission more ambitious, is that they are seeking peace and unity based on a sense of Arabism rather than an effective judicial system (Reiser, 1), and it is ambitious to assume that this will prevail.When discussing the Organization of African Unity (OAU), their mission can also be seen as more ambitious than that of the EU, the OAU’s mission was to establish widespread security and unity between African members of this union through the ideal of â€Å"African Solutions for African problems,† but like the Arab League, their mission contains certain clauses that are emphasized in discourse, yet not much is done to re-enforce them (Dersso, 13), and often the governments of individual states will do as they please, as is the case with the Rwanda genocide in 1994,with no higher judicial force to intervene, and that is where they fail (Tavares, 23.)Africa however should not be grouped with the Arab League, even though they are comparable, because after the Cold War, Africa had been depleted because of their division into pro-USA forces and pro-Soviet forces during the Cold War, as they underwent a number of proxy wars for the USA and the Soviet Union. After having served their purpose Africa was then disregarded and faced with â€Å"indifference† from forces that had had an increasing interest in it before (Dersso, 15.)When discussing the economy there are also rather ambitious initiatives on the AL and the OAU’s parts, in their missions they strive for unity, but one of the main constituents of said unity, is economic unity, whereby member states implement policies that will be beneficial to one another’s economies as is the case with the EU, they have a unified currency and an open market, whereby, goods, services and people are not taxed when traded between members.The EU is the only Regional Insisution with a separate monetary system which makes , â€Å"the EU has become greater than merely an arena of inter-state co-operation and has taken on many state-like powers† (Bradbury 18). This however does not work with the Arab League, because of the lack of a policy which dictates the existence of such a market but also because of the division in wealth in the Middle East, oil-rich states such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar control the capital and give money to the poorer members such as Egypt, in exchange for one thing that Egypt has in abundance: labor and cheap labor at that (Korany, 279.)Also how can the Arab League hope to achieve such unity when travelling between member states still requires visas and there are still taxes on products traded between member states? Again, the mission is ambitious with no real actions taken to implement. As for the OAU, the member states are still very much in conflict as is evident by Africa’s human rights violations and constant violence. After all , Africa is simply too large and divided to ever fit under one banner.After all, overcoming colonialism is not simple; North Africa is an attest to that, with French being a prominent language, even though it was the tongue of their colonizers. In the Arab League’s charter there is a clause which dictates that states in aggression shall be forced into deliberations by the League itself and shall receive a majority vote on what they are expected to do, â€Å"the league’s decision shall then be effective and obligatory.†This however, did not seem like a viable clause as there have been many conflicts between states in the Arab League and interventions were long and tedious and ultimately rendered useless, when there are clauses and no way to implement them, then it is ambitious to place them in the charter in the first place. The importance of pan-Arabism and pan-Africanism is also note-worthy.Pan-Arabism started in the Middle East with leaders like Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser and his nationalistic sentiment; it is a concept which dictates that Arab nations should unite because of a shared Arab identity (Reiser, 1983. ) Ever since pan-Arabism was introduced, Arabs have been asking themselves what it stands for and what is it based on (Reiser, 1983), it was the leaders ambition, one that was evidently misplaced as the citizens of member states don’t see each other as Arab, rather, Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese etc.One also begins to ponder the role of colonialism here; different nations have colonized the members of the Arab League, for example: Egypt was colonized Britain and France, Libya by Italy, North Africa by France and Jordan by Britain, there are remnants of these â€Å"cultures† in these countries, and hence there is a difference in psyche and a difference in identity.Pan-Arabism and pan-Africanism are both supposedly built on an â€Å"identitarian† principle yet Hall argues that identity get created through discourse, it’s not a stable entity but a process that is incomplete and is reproduced through process (Hall 16). This same problem exists in Africa and pan-Africanism has the same logical holes in it, African states were and still are very much divided (as I have mentioned previously), so how can they all exist under one African umbrella? Hence, the Arab League fails (Pinfari, 1. ) The OAU fails. ï » ¿Failure of the Arab League In the wake of any great conflict, states will try and assemble a system that is based on unity and prevention of further conflict, there are several aspects usually addressed, including the economy and the international relations. In the wake of World War 2 the UN assembled to form the new world order (Pinfari, 1. ) In the Middle East, 6 founding members (Egypt, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq) formed the Arab League, an organization founded upon a common sense of Arabism with a goal of Arab unity (Pinfari, 2.)In the wake of the Cold War, Africa found itself at a political disadvantage because of the fragmented politics of the continent, they were at a geographical advantage and wanted to make use of that, so they formed the African Union to address inner-conflicts and the mayhem caused by the remains of colonialism after the Cold War (Dersso, 13-14. ) On the other side of things the European Union formed in the late 1990’s with a different mission in mind when compared to the two aforeabmentioned organizations.The Arab League and the African Union’s missions were more ambitious than those of other political organizations such as the EU and the UN, due to many reasons why this paper will focus on discussing their economy, their judiciary and the effect of pan-Arpabism and a pan-African perspective. When nations group under one banner as is the case in the examples mentioned, the issue of their individual political sovereignty is brought into the foreground as countries value their autonomy.The European Union is more of a â€Å"union† in the judiciary sense than the Arab League: while the Arab League clearly states in its charter that the League has no right to intervene in the internal affairs of a member country unless their overall safety is compromised, this then makes way for dictators like Qaddafi to rule for years in what certain scholars would view as a tyrannical manner.The judiciary of each country is separate f rom the Arab League which isn’t the case with the EU, whereby the Court of Justice of the European Union has the right to supersede any national court of law (Wallace, 484), by so doing maintaining peace in a more efficient way. How does this make the Arab League’s mission more ambitious, is that they are seeking peace and unity based on a sense of Arabism rather than an effective judicial system (Reiser, 1), and it is ambitious to assume that this will prevail.When discussing the Organization of African Unity (OAU), their mission can also be seen as more ambitious than that of the EU, the OAU’s mission was to establish widespread security and unity between African members of this union through the ideal of â€Å"African Solutions for African problems,† but like the Arab League, their mission contains certain clauses that are emphasized in discourse, yet not much is done to re-enforce them (Dersso, 13), and often the governments of individual states will do as they please, as is the case with the Rwanda genocide in 1994,with no higher judicial force to intervene, and that is where they fail (Tavares, 23.)Africa however should not be grouped with the Arab League, even though they are comparable, because after the Cold War, Africa had been depleted because of their division into pro-USA forces and pro-Soviet forces during the Cold War, as they underwent a number of proxy wars for the USA and the Soviet Union. After having served their purpose Africa was then disregarded and faced with â€Å"indifference† from forces that had had an increasing interest in it before (Dersso, 15.)When discussing the economy there are also rather ambitious initiatives on the AL and the OAU’s parts, in their missions they strive for unity, but one of the main constituents of said unity, is economic unity, whereby member states implement policies that will be beneficial to one another’s economies as is the case with the EU, they have a unified currency and an open market, whereby, goods, services and people are not taxed when traded between members.The EU is the only Regional Insisution with a separate monetary system which makes , â€Å"the EU has become greater than merely an arena of inter-state co-operation and has taken on many state-like powers† (Bradbury 18). This however does not work with the Arab League, because of the lack of a policy which dictates the existence of such a market but also because of the division in wealth in the Middle East, oil-rich states such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar control the capital and give money to the poorer members such as Egypt, in exchange for one thing that Egypt has in abundance: labor and cheap labor at that (Korany, 279.)Also how can the Arab League hope to achieve such unity when travelling between member states still requires visas and there are still taxes on products traded between member states? Again, the mission is ambitious with no real actions t aken to implement. As for the OAU, the member states are still very much in conflict as is evident by Africa’s human rights violations and constant violence. After all , Africa is simply too large and divided to ever fit under one banner.After all, overcoming colonialism is not simple; North Africa is an attest to that, with French being a prominent language, even though it was the tongue of their colonizers. In the Arab League’s charter there is a clause which dictates that states in aggression shall be forced into deliberations by the League itself and shall receive a majority vote on what they are expected to do, â€Å"the league’s decision shall then be effective and obligatory.†This however, did not seem like a viable clause as there have been many conflicts between states in the Arab League and interventions were long and tedious and ultimately rendered useless, when there are clauses and no way to implement them, then it is ambitious to place them in the charter in the first place. The importance of pan-Arabism and pan-Africanism is also note-worthy.Pan-Arabism started in the Middle East with leaders like Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser and his nationalistic sentiment; it is a concept which dictates that Arab nations should unite because of a shared Arab identity (Reiser, 1983. ) Ever since pan-Arabism was introduced, Arabs have been asking themselves what it stands for and what is it based on (Reiser, 1983), it was the leaders ambition, one that was evidently misplaced as the citizens of member states don’t see each other as Arab, rather, Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese etc.One also begins to ponder the role of colonialism here; different nations have colonized the members of the Arab League, for example: Egypt was colonized Britain and France, Libya by Italy, North Africa by France and Jordan by Britain, there are remnants of these â€Å"cultures† in these countries, and hence there is a difference in psyche and a difference in identity.Pan-Arabism and pan-Africanism are both supposedly built on an â€Å"identitarian† principle yet Hall argues that identity get created through discourse, it’s not a stable entity but a process that is incomplete and is reproduced through process (Hall 16). This same problem exists in Africa and pan-Africanism has the same logical holes in it, African states were and still are very much divided (as I have mentioned previously), so how can they all exist under one African umbrella? Hence, the Arab League fails (Pinfari, 1. ) The OAU fails.

Aeneid Analysis - 1416 Words

THE AENEID:Problems encountered by readers The author of Aeneid: Virgil, used many resources to come up with one of the most influential piece of work in the history of poetry. While writing the Aeneid, Virgil was most influenced by the literally work of another renowned author known as Homer who hailed from Greek. The Aeneid is an epic poem that narrates the adventures of its main character and hero who is known as Aeneus. Aeneus is a renowned Trojan hero, he survived the fall of troy and fled, he sailed towards the west to a place known as Italy. It was in Italy that he founded the Rome Empire. When Virgil wrote the Aeneid, he included all the history of Rome in it up to his own time. This book is recognized worldwide, many people†¦show more content†¦This particular act where Aeneus loses his control and is controlled by anger instead of the voice of reason is the opposite of stoicism and Aeneus portrayal in the rest of the poem. I agree that Turnus had to die so that Rome can be founded but I don’t think that he should have died this way without honor. However his death was like a payback of the dishonorable way in which Pallas was also killed. The images in the sword belt were similar to those that were scribbled on the shield. This can be found in book eight. All this incidences are a representation of the theme of greed and it is very clear that they all resulted into the demise of the thief tragically. Another problem that is experienced by the dedicated reader of this book is the fact that the last scene was authored differently from theother parts of the book. As the novel comes to a conclusion, Aeneus kills turners because of a number of reasons. Most of these reasons are not honorable. Aeneus had faced a lot of challenges throughout the poems. At the very genesis of this book, the author portrays Aeneus as responsible and dedicated man who knew his fate andduty to his people very well. This is demonstrated throughout the book, and an example is when he goes back for his wife during his flight from troy. However the prominence of these themes continuously fade away and become less vivid when his understanding of the impacts ofthe gods upon his fate comes intoShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Virgil s The Aeneid 996 Words   |  4 PagesAeneas illustrates the concept of pietas in Virgil’s epic, The Aeneid in several different ways. Pietas is one’s own devotion to public duty or virtue and is only attainable through personal suffering and loss. The center of Aeneas’ pietas is his duty, to find Rome, which goes onto become a great empire. He has a few different things that motivate him; one of these things are that Rome is to be passed down to his son, another is his devotion to the gods. 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In the Aeneid, an epic poem by Virgil, the binary opposition of voluntary associations versus blood relations is presented through Aeneas’s relationship with his father