Strategic Human Resources Management Bachelor Essay

Strategic Human Resources Management Bachelor - Essay Example This paper contributes to the work/life balance and work/non-work conflict literature by analyzing the literature of various studies, which examine the attitudes and experiences relating to work/life balance among UK, employees in the first 10 years of their careers. Specifically, the analysis explores the extent to which work/life balance matters, the extent to which it is being achieved and the factors that determine perceptions of work/non-work conflict, including the state of the psychological contract between employer and employee, work involvement and organisational support. The potential impact of work/non-work conflict on organisational commitment is examined, and the policy implications for employers considered. Corporate leaders understand that employees' work and family lives rare inextricably linked. They al ways have been but today, with increased pressures in both domains, the overlap and the challenges created are increasingly obvious and complex to resolve. Solving the paradox seated in an organisation's need to be optimally productive and the individual's need to find quality time to meet domestic responsibilities, to establish, maintain and grow relationships and to relax and re-charge, is the great challenge of the new millennium. Most managers have yet to overcome the conundrum for themselves let alone help employees resolve it in their lives. The prospects for easing the work/ life imbalance dilemma lie, at least in part, in establishing what is creating it. 'Know thy enemy' and so forth. Enemy number one must surely be the 'time distribution imbalance' trap - consistently committing too much time to work where this is having a detrimental impact on personal life. However, the concept of 'work-life balance' means different things to different people, and there are always shades of grey. What is an imbalance to one person is perfectly acceptable to another. In addition, commercial realities cannot be ignored. Somehow, the needs of key customers and/or other stakeholders must be met or they will take their patronage elsewhere. These and the myriad of other related issues are why the problem is so vexed and why many leaders effectively suspend their attempts to solve it. It ends up in the 'too hard' basket. However, given the gravity of the problem and the potential upside that comes with finding a remedy, at some point the issue must come back to the fore. So where to start Most managers agree that a so-called 'quality work environment' reduces the employment stresses that can spill over to staff's personal lives and create distress. The quality work environment bundle might include job characteristics such as work time flexibility, individual responsibility and autonomy, the physical office environment, pay, equity and advancement conditions. Lastly, but certainly not least, the nature of interpersonal relations in the office is very important. For some time, it has been argued that achieving a 'balance' between home life and work life is increasingly a priority for many people. As long ago as the late 1980s, Scase and

CULTURAL DIMENSIONS IN ADVERTISING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

CULTURAL DIMENSIONS IN ADVERTISING - Essay Example The products need to encompass global values to attract customers from pluralistic society. The paper therefore, would use global theme. It would evaluate three advertisements based on the broader context of global values and analyze the changing perception of the people vis-a-vis impact of socio-cultural paradigms on the perceived value of the product. Description and semiotic analysis of Advertisements 1. Axe products Currently Axe products from Unilever, especially men’s deodorants are one of the most popular brands of men’s grooming. The products have established excellent track records in the innovative marketing and advertising world. All the advertisements of Axe are highly global in theme and target the men’s segment and are broadly designed to highlight their sex appeal for opposite sex. The vibrantly displayed contents of the text and its background landscape are highly appealing for both men and women cutting across the divide of culture, race and nati onality. Unilever has adopted a creative market mix strategy for its Axe products to maintain competitive advantage in the global market. The advertisement targets men within the age group of 16-25 and subtly links its use as a portent means of attracting the opposite sex. The success of the advertisement lies in the glamour and humor of the contextual content that is very appealing. Indeed, Axe’s advertising targets adventurous young men and sends a subtle message that using it would make them not only more confident but also more popular amongst the fairer sex. Axe website on the whole, is a brilliant example of ecommerce activity that serves multiple purpose of advertising, marketing and selling of Axe products. 2. McDonald’s The company has been a world leader in the fast food category which has now incorporated ‘I’m lovin’ it’ within its logo also. The mission statement of McDonald’s, ‘To be our customer’s favorite pl ace and way to eat’ is reflected in all its advertisements and campaigns highlighted by cliche â€Å"I’m lovin’ it’. The company has established its brand equity by using common advertisement in all its food chain across the globe. The advertisement targets the demographic segment comprising of children, young adults and working people who relish food. The advertisement of its new product, ‘Angus Snack Wrap’ gives the opportunity to buyers to prepare the snack as per their palette taste. Indeed, a very innovative and tempting offer that is hard to ignore! The internet based website advertisement is not only greatly interesting for letting the customers create their own concoction of AngusWrap but concept of letting them have their own personal axiom to define their Wrap is par excellent. The advertisement again, portrays global values and helps transcend socio-cultural misgivings by encouraging customization of the products as per the taste and design of the individual. At the same time, it has successfully influenced the perceived value of its product of the customer by encouraging proactive participation in creating their own snack. Indeed, by catering to the demands of people coming from cross cultural background, it has been successful in adopting global values. The advertisements show Customers have remained its main focus and their satisfaction is ensured through customization, value and highly personalized