Human Resource Management in the FMCG Industry

Human Resource Management in the FMCG Industry Human resource management (HRM) is that part of management process which makes, enhances, manages and develops the human element of the enterprise measuring their resourcefulness in terms of talents, abilities, total skills, creative, knowledge, and potentialities for effectively contributing to the organizational objectives. Human resources are precious and a source of competitive advantage. Human resources may be tapped most effective by mutually standard policies which promote promise and foster an inclination in employees to act flexibly in the interests of the adaptive organizations pursuit of excellence. Human resource policies can be joined with planned business and used to reinforce appropriate culture. Human resources play a critical role in enabling the organization to effectively deal with the external environment challenges. The human resource management has been accepted as a strategic partner in the formulation of organizations strategies and in the implementation of such strategies through human resource planning, employment, training, appraisal and rewarding the personnel. Strategic management of human resources facilitates creation of competitive advantage for the organization over its rival by building unique human resource based competence. An organizations recruitment, selection, training, performance management process and compensation practices can have a strong influence on employee competence. Company output increase if the management can hire more experience well qualified candidate. Performance appraisal takes in account the past performance of the employees and focuses on their improvement for the future performance of the employees through counseling, coaching or training. The human resource strategy of a business should reflect and support the corporate strategy. An effective human resource strategy includes the way in which the organization pans to develop its employees and provide them with suitable opportunities and better working conditions so that their optional contribution is ensured. This implies selecting the best available personnel, ensuring a fit between the employee and the job and retaining, empowering and motivating employees to perform well in the direction of corporate objectives. Statement of Purpose Consumer packaged goods (CPG) Organization, alternatively called as FMCG industry mainly deals with the production, marketing and selling of consumer packaged goods. The FMCG or Fast Moving Consumer Goods are those goods which are generally consumed at a regular interval by the consumers. FMCG industry has some of the main activities like financing, selling, purchasing, marketing etc. The industry also contributes or also involved in general management supply chain, operations and production. FMCG industry gives a variety of consumables and consequently the amount of money is very high which is circulated against FMCG products. Day by day the competition between the FMCG producers is increasing consequently the investment in FMCG industry is increasing. FMCG Sector in India is estimated to grow at a very high rate by 2012. PRIME FMCG PRODUCTS Some general FMCG product categories include dairy products and food, drinks, coffee, tea, tobacco and cigarettes, glassware, paper products, pharmaceuticals, dry cells, electronics, prepacked food products, plastic goods, watches, greeting cards, soaps, printing and stationery, household products, detergents, photography, drinks etc. In FMCG industry some of the features which made this organization as a strong distribution networks are small operational cost, as a prospective one, presence of renowned FMCG companies. Population growth is also one of the major factors behind the success of this industry. Introduction GOOD FOOD, GOOD LIFE NESTLE is a very popular brand in all over the world. It basically supplies packaged food. It was established and has headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. Nestle was established in 1905 when the two companies was merged. The first company was established in 1866 by Page Brothers to produce milk products and their company name was Anglo-Swiss Milk Company in Cham, Switzerland and the second one was Farine Lactà ©e Henri Nestlà © Company to supplies an infant food product set up in 1867 by Henri Nestlà ©. Nestlà ©s have a trademark (birds in a nest), derived from Henri Nestlà ©s personal coat of arms, evoke the values upon which he founded his Company. Nestlà ©s have their no. of brands which are well-known worldwide; list of all the products has made the company a international market master. Some of their famous products are coffee, chocolate, ice cream, confectionery, milk, pet food bottled water. FAMILY OF NESTLE Family of NESTLE consists of products related to: Milk Nutrition Beverages Prepared dishes cooking aids Chocolates confectioneries NESTLE is one of the well known FMCG company. In the Every part of the world, the Nestlà © name represents a commitment or promise to the customer that the product is of high standard and safe. NESTLE support the UNGC (United Nations Global Compacts). UNGC guiding principles on human rights, their aim and labour to offer an example of better labour practices and human rights all over his business activities. Nestle people played a major role for his success. Nestle people give the equal respect and dignity to each other and expect from the every employee to share and contribute their opinions and views to improve Company personal development and results and also promote a sense of personal responsibility. Nestle recruit motivated and competent people, who know and respect our values, provide equal opportunities for their advancement, development, protect their privacy and do not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment. Human resources of an organization can provide it with a reasonable advantage over its competitors in the fast changing environment. This calls for the strategic management of human resources for the accomplishment of corporate objectives. STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT is called as the linking of strategic goals with human resources. No. of objectives in order to enhance or to develop an organizational culture, to improve organization performance and that fosters flexibility, innovation, and sustainable competitive advantage is called. HRM practices of an organization give its an edge over its competitors, thereby leading to strategic human resource management. KEY FACTORS OF SHRM PROCESS The outcomes of the Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) process which should be evaluated both qualitatively as well as quantitatively. The business strategy it alters and is altered by the SHRM process and which provide the business a good thought of direction. The external environment which is flexible and dynamic in the present global business scenario. The internal environment The general culture and the organizational context which is prevalent in the organization. VISUAL DEPICTION OF THE SHRM PROCESS HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT WITH BUSINESS OUTCOME STRONG AND FOCUSED VISION HUMAN RESOURCING OPEN COMMUNICATION PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL CHALLENGES AND ADVENTURES SHARING OF INFORMATION SHAPING THE WORKING CULTURE CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT STAGES OF STRATEGIC HRM PLANNING PROCESS Strategic human resource management is the process by which managers design the mechanisms of an HRM system to be reliable with each other, with the organizations plans and goals and with other essentials of organizational architecture. The main role of strategic HRM is the improvement of an HRM system that increases an organizations awareness, worth, invention, and productivity to customers. Strategic human resource planning (SHRP) involves four distinct stages: Situational analysis/environmental scanning. Estimating demand for human resources. Analyzing the supply of human resources. Developing action plans to close any gap between human resource demand and supply. The first stage of HR planning is the point at which strategic planning and HRM interact. HR planners anticipate sources of threats and identify and should drive the organizations strategic planning and opportunities with the help of Environmental scanning. The strategic ideas or plan implement to environmental circumstances, and HR planning is the mechanisms that an organization can use to accomplish this adaptation process. The second stage, forecasting demand, requires estimating not only how many but also what kinds of employees will be needed by the organization. The demand for employees should be closely tied to the strategic direction of the organization. Forecasting yields advance estimates of the organizations staffing requirements. This is a difficult task, especially for organizations in rapidly changing environments. Four forecasting techniques include expert estimates, trend projections, statistical modeling, and unit-demand forecasting. Estimate by no of expert, a group of experienced or expert provides the organization with demand estimates based on subjective assessments of available economic, intuition, prior experience, and labor force indicators. Trend projection involves forecasting which is based on a previous relationship between the employment and a factor related to employment (e.g. sales levels). Statistical modeling techniques (e.g. regression analysis or Markov analysis) are mor e quantitative forecasting and sophisticated techniques. Unit-demand forecasting requires the unit managers (e.g. department head, project team leader) to analyze the present and future job-by-job, people-by-people needs. The third phase involves studying the number and types of current employees in terms of the training and skills necessary for the future and also the supply of capable workers in the outside labor market. The skills inventory is a major tool used to assess the internal supply of employees. A skills inventory is a list of names, skills and characteristics of the people currently working for the organization. The list of skills coded into the skills inventory should be tailored to the needs for the organization, but might include such factors as level and field of education, knowledge of a foreign language, professional qualification or certification, or licenses held. The organized inventory provides a way to acquire these data and makes them available as needed in an efficient manner. Also important is the need to maintain the inventory so that information is kept current. With regard to the external labor market, the entire country (or world) may be the relevant labor market for hig hly skilled jobs. For unskilled jobs the relevant labor market is usually the local community. After the HR planning system has analyzed both the supply of and the demand for future workers, the two forecasts are compared to determine what, if any, actions are necessary. If a discrepancy exists between the two estimates, the organization needs to choose an appropriate course of action designed to eliminate the gap. The organization has a number of options available when the demand for workers is greater than the supply of workers. The organization might elect to use overtime work with current employees, increase training and promotions of current employees, or recruit new employees. In tight labor markets, the availability of labor is limited (i.e. demand exceeds supply), driving up the price of those employees who are hired, and limiting the extent to which the organization can be selective in its hiring procedures. In a loose labor market, qualified employees are abundant. When the supply of workers exceeds demand, alternative solutions include attrition, early retirements, demotions, layoffs, and terminations. STRATEGIC HRM AT NESTLE Nestlà © aims to increase the business, list of customers, profits and sales but, at the same time, to improve the Standard of living everywhere it is active and the quality of life for everyone. Nestlà © is also convinced that nestle employees is the strength of the Company and it is impossible to achieved without their energy and their commitment, which makes people its most important asset. Involvement of people and also showing their interest at all levels starts with the basic and appropriate information on the Companys activities and also on the specific aspects of their work. Through shared their views, ideas and communication and focused vision, everyone is invited to share and contribute there opinions and views to improvements enhancing Company personal development and results. Currently human resource is the term which is in demand of every organization. By using the HR policies companies are able to describe the combination of organizational management personnel functions with achievement, Knowledge, relation between employees, employees experience and how to utilize resource at different levels. PURPOSE By using the HR policies an organization can be transparent with their employees on organization environment Employee expectation from the company Company expectation from their employees What are the company policies and how the polices apply. What are the acceptable behavior What is the behavior of the workforce that cant be accepted? The policies are basically used to help an organization to explain that it reach the requirements for training, variety, principles. If an Organization want to fire any employee in this case it may be necessary for the organization to show the reason of the complaint with the employee contract and also all the others legal documents. HR management policies are important for those companies that do not want and personnel issues in future. Complete HR solution which covers human resource policy solutions, evaluation services, professional human resource advice and job description writing given to the customers. Common Sense would seem to dictate the necessity of having written policies and procedures covering all aspects of the employee/organization relationship. Yet, there are organizations with few or no written policies. In fact, there are organizations that have never considered developing policies and procedures-written or otherwise. There are organizations with written policies and procedures that read well but have no relationship to the needs of the organization/company or employees. There are organizations with elaborate sets of policies and procedures that no one seems to read, let alone follow, and there are organizations that appear to use their policies and procedures primarily as rules for identifying and punishing infractions. In actuality, HR policies- Provide clear communication between organization/company and its employees regarding conditions of employment. Form a basis for treating all employees fairly and equally. Are a set of guidelines for supervisors and managers. Create a basis for developing employee handbooks. Establish a basis for regularly reviewing possible changes affecting employees. To fulfill all these purposes and objectives, Policies should: Be clear and specific, but provide adequate flexibility to meet changing conditions. Comply with all appropriate federal and state laws and regulations. STEPS FOR SHRM Job Design Recruitment Selection Training Development Pay structure Benefits Performance Management Rewards and Incentives Maintenance: Welfare JOB DESIGN: Job design refers to the way the tasks are combines to form a complete job. Job design is a process which joins the intrinsic and extrinsic relationship, tasks, and the candidate experiences and educations required like knowledge, qualification, skill and capabilities for every type of task that meet the requirements of organization and employees. The job design under NESTLE is a very detailed and based on strategic process. The company incorporates practices like Job Enrichment and Job Enlargement, to motivate employees and to break the monotony of their job tasks. The correspondent herself works in both sales and brand management departments, which is an example of job enlargement. Nestle HR policy- Nestle group used this policy to covers those rules which create a sound basis for well-organized and active HR Management around the world. 2. RECRUITMENT SELECTION: Recruitment is the process of developing and maintaining adequate manpower resources. Recruitment is basically a process to select the interested candidates and divide the candidates in different- pool of prospective employees, so that the recruiters are able to select the right candidate from this pool. The recruitment process at Nestle is clearly defined. People with qualities like dynamism, realism, loyalty, pragmatism, hard work, honesty and reliable. Match between candidates values companys culture. Recruitment for management levels takes place in the head office and all others at the branch level. The existing employees are promoted to higher posts as per the requirements. There are no lateral recruitments. Another source of recruitment is campus placements and human resource consultancies. Selection-Combination of written test, GD interview (Interviews for top Management posts). 3. TRAINING DEVELOPMENT: Training is a major and also an important part of organized activity for increasing the skills and knowledge of people and also to understand the deep knowledge of task that what they have to perform or for a definite purpose. It involves systematic procedures for imparting technical know-how to the employees so as to increase their knowledge and skills for doing specific jobs with proficiency. From the Company floor to the upper management, training at Nestlà © is continuous. Nestlà © people provide this training and it is constantly appropriate to the professional life. Nestle provides the following- Literacy training-to upgrades essential literacy skills, especially for workers who operate new equipment (Mission-directed Work Team Approach). Employees are also sent abroad to study markets, consumer tastes etc. Nestle Apprenticeship Programmes. Local Training Programmes-on issues ranging from technical, leadership, and communication and business economics. Employees are also sent abroad to study markets, consumer tastes etc. Nestle people development review- this policy throws light on Nestlà ©s culture and core values, different training programs and life of employees after work. Nestle leadership and management principles- it describe the management style and the corporate values of the Nestlà © Group, specifically in the area of interpersonal relations. 4. PAY STRUCTURE: Pay Structure is basically used to set the salary structure of the employees according to the level of job, or group of jobs and also consider basic salary, overtime and bonus. We can also call pay structure as salary structure. Nestle strives to offer fair remuneration. Remuneration level is above the average in industry. The variable component of the salary is comparatively big to reward individual Performance. In case of higher management level, the variable part is linked to individual team target achievements. 5. BENEFITS: Nestle offers no. of benefits to their employees to fulfill their expectation like Health insurance for his and his family members, PF, reimbursements (Car, Phone) etc. Take all the necessary steps for the protection of the employees during work with Nestle. The following benefits are provided to all employees, with no discrimination- Leave-Personal Medical (fixed no. per year) Children Education Assistance Scheme Provident fund Retirement Gratuity Scheme Group Insurance Accidental Insurance Scheme Conveyance Reimbursements Residential Accommodation Monthly health check-ups free consultation for self family etc. 6. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: Performance management includes all standard procedures used to appraise contributions, potentials and personalities of group members in a working organization. It is a process which is important for making accurate and impartial decisions on employees for secure information. At Nestle performance appraisals of Employees are done in order to understand each employees abilities, competencies and relative merit. Formal assessment by Line Managers and HR once a year with feedback. Subordinate can question an unfair evaluation. Specific Key Performance Indicators have been enlisted by the HR department. One of the important key performance indicators is achievement following the Nestle management and leadership principles. Remuneration structure and promotion criteria take into account individual. 7. REWARDS INCENTIVES: it consists of a variety of modules that can be presented to reward employees and identify unique performance. The structure is based on consistent, delivering equitable and fair rewards to a differentiated group to encourage the employees to generate new ideas in improving the workplace productivity and consists of the following non-financial and financial rewards. Passion to Win awards- These quarterly awards have been institutionalized to reward those who over-achieve their targets. Long-service Awards- To recognize employees who have been with the company for more than 30 years. Nestle Idea Award- It was found from the correspondent that the company institutes Nestle Idea Award every quarter to recognize and award employees who come up with relevant and innovative ideas which have the potential of being implemented at Nestle. 8. MAINTENANCE A) EMPLOYEE RELATIONS: Employee Relations involves the body of work concerned with maintaining employer-employee relationships that contribute to satisfactory productivity, motivation, and morale. Essentially, Employee Relations is concerned with preventing and resolving problems which arise out of or affect work situations. Nestle provides a very healthy working environment which is one of the reasons why Nestlà ©s employees state their commitment level to be very high. Employee turnover is less than 5%., which is considered to be very low for a Multinational Corporation. Nestle has a open culture upward communication especially in case of grievance redressal. Work/Life balance is given importance, as illustrated in the Nestle Human Resource Policy document. Nestle Family annual events are organized by their HR department whereby employees along with their families are invited. Emphasis is laid on safety of employees (Nestle Policy on Health and Safety at Work). B) SAFETY HEALTH: Risk assessment must be required in an organization to identify any type of miss happening or danger in the workplace and should be able to identify or known the steps to be taken to handle the condition. The Nestle Operational Safety, Health and Risk-Management Strategy document illustrates that: Nestle is dedicated to safe healthy work environment. Regular safety assessments audits take place by internal external bodies. CHANGE MANAGEMENT Nestle has adjusted to the ever-changing external environment for the last 140 years since its inception 1866 without losing its fundamental views and fundamental values. It manages Change and drives sustainable profitable growth by following the policy of making gradual changes instead of making drastic and risky changes. ERP implementation- In June 2000, Nestle SA signed a contract of $200 million with SAP with additional $80 million for maintenance and consulting to install an ERP system for its global enterprise to maintain centralize a multinational that subsidiaries in 80 countries and have owns 200 operating companies. While the ERP system was likely to have long-term benefits, the project touched the corporate structure and culture. The structure was decentralized, and it tried to centralize it. This was initially opposed by employees but with subsequent measures taken by the HR like training etc., this has been successfully implemented. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The Model employed by Nestle is one of High Performance, High involvement and high commitment. Nestle is unique in the sense that it has been able to successfully inculcate its business objective as well as its core values, consistently in its employees day-to-day activities starting from recruitment till continuous performance appraisals. Like, open and flexible culture is ensured by way of providing training programs to employees at all the levels. This kind of culture is also supported by decentralized structure of Nestle. Transparent performance appraisal systems and the freedom given to them to question their seniors benefit not only the employees but even the organization as a whole. Nestles emphasis on individual achievement is evident from the kind of pay structure HR has designed for its employees. Need to develop consultation/awareness program to assist the employees for their better understanding of the policies. More incentives should be offered to the employees who provide continuous services to the organization. Nestlà ©, maintain their essential principles and fundamental value from their past historical experience from village operation to the international leading food company which is important for long-term achievement and success. Nestle used HR policies from the last many years and as the company size is growing, increase the difficulty to a dimension which make the demands of research and development of its organization. Nestle motivation is depend upon the willingness to understand and to put query about what why it is doing it, along with respect to Nestlà © values, will guarantee its victory.

Make Friends and Get a Social Life

A fairly common social issue people have is that they're not sure how to make friends and put together a social life for themselves. There are quite a few ways someone can find themselves in this situation: They've moved to a new city and don't know very many people yet. They've been in a long term relationship and have let their social life wither. Their old friends have slowly been dropping out of the picture (moving away, busy with work or a new family, etc. ) and haven't been replaced by new ones.A large chunk of their social circle disappeared overnight, like everyone graduated from university and most of their friends moved out of the city. They feel like they've grown apart from their current friends and want to make entirely new ones. In the past they were happy being alone a lot of the time, but now they want to be around people more often. They never really knew how to make friends and have always wished their social lives were better. They've recently made a big lifestyle change such as deciding not to drink anymore, and need to develop a new social circle that's more suited to it.Below are my thoughts on how to make friends. I'll cover a basic structure first, then go into some attitudes and principles towards the whole thing that I think are important. I've noticed people who are already good at making friends naturally tend to do most of the things I outline below without thinking about it. Bare bones guide on how to make friends Here are the basic steps to making friends. It seems simplistic, but there can be a lot to each point. People who struggle with their social lives often stumble on one or more of them as well. 1. Find some potential friendsTo make friends you first have to find some possible candidates. There are two main ways to do this: Draw on your current contacts This won't apply to people who have just moved to a new area and don't know anyone, but often you'll already have the seeds of a social life around you. You don't necessaril y have to go out and meet ten strangers to have one. It's often easier to turn existing contacts into full-fledged friends than it is to meet new ones. There are probably a handful of people you already know who could end up becoming part of a new social circle.I'm talking about people like: Acquaintances you're friendly with when you run into each other, but who you never see otherwise. People at work or in your classes who you get along with. Friends of people you know who you've gotten along with in the past. Someone who has shown an interest in being your friend but you never really took up the offer. People you very occasionally hang out with, who you could see more often. Friends you've gradually lost contact with who you could call up again. For some people, cousins who are close to your age. Meet some new peopleGetting more out of your current relationships can go a long way, but it doesn't always work. Sometimes you're at a point where you need to meet entirely new people. Not having easy access to potential new friends is a big barrier for many people in creating a social circle. I go into more detail here: How To Meet People. Overall, I'd say the easiest things to do are: Being in a situation where lots of potential friends are around, and you naturally have to get to know them through your day-to-day interactions. Work and school are the two big ones. Meeting one or two good people and then getting to know all their friends.If you hang out with fifteen people, you shouldn't have to have met them all individually. Being into hobbies or communities where you'll naturally meet a lot of people, ones you already have something common with and a built-in activity/conversation opportunity to do with them. Overall, meeting new people may require making an effort to pull out of your day-to-day routine. If most of your hobbies are solitary you might also need to add some more people-oriented ones to the mix. Also, the easiest way to naturally meet a lot of p eople is just to live a full, interesting life and run into lots of potential friends as a side effect.Once you're in a situation with some prospective friends around, you need to strike up conversations and try to get to know them. You won't form a connection with everyone you interact with, but if you chat to enough people you'll find you like and get along pretty well with some of them. Once you've done that you could say you're now at the Friendly Acquaintance stage, or that they're context-specific contacts (e. g. , work â€Å"friends†). If you have trouble with successfully meeting, chatting to, and getting to know people, you may want to check out the site's sections on shyness, fears, and insecurity and on making conversation. . Invite potential friends to do something with you Once you've met those people you seem to be clicking with with, ask them to hang out and do something outside of the situation you met them in. This is the most important step in my experience. You can meet all the people you want, and they can think you're great, but if you don't take any actions to do something with them in the future, then you won't form many new relationships. People will stay as the guy you talk to in class, or the girl you chat to at work in the break room. This seems basic, but lonelier people often hit a wall here.There may be someone they joke around with at work, or chat to in one of their classes, but they won't take the step of inviting them out and taking the relationship to the next level, and beyond the acquaintance stage. If you're on the shyer side, you might be a little hesitant to invite people out. While it is a little scary at first, and there is some risk of rejection, it's fairly easy to get used to. It's not nearly as bad as asking someone out on a date, for example. Depending on how you met them, you may invite someone to hang out fairly quickly or wait a few weeks.For example, if a friend brings one of their buddies along to have drinks with you one day, and you spent four hours together and hit it off right from the start, you may be totally comfortable asking them to hang out again right away. On the other hand, if you seem to mesh with someone at your job, you may only be able to have short conversations here and there over a month before you feel like they'd be someone worth knowing better. If you're not sure how to ask someone to do something with you, you could check out this article: Examples Of Various Ways To Invite People To Hang Out Make a habit of getting people's contact informationIt's a good idea to get into the habit of getting people's contact info fairly early. You may meet someone interesting, but you can never assume you're going to see them around again any time soon. Ask for their phone number or email address, or see if they're on Facebook. That way if an opportunity to get together comes up, they'll be easy to reach. Also, if they have your info, then they can get a hold of you if th ey want to invite you to something. Have a basic grasp of how to make plans To hang out with someone you've got to plan it. Sometimes the process is straight forward.You ask them if they want do something, they agree, and you set a time and place. At other times trying to nail down a plan can be tedious and unpredictable, especially when more than one other person is involved. It helps to accept that this is just an area where there's always going to be an amount of uncertainty, and you can't control everything. If inviting people out and arranging plans all seems like a big hassle, it also probably feels that way for everyone else at times. They shouldn't always have to step up and organize things for you. Do some of the lifting yourself when you need to.More details here: Advice On Making Plans With People Do your best to accept every invitation Of course, making your own plans is important, but if someone asks you to hang out, then that's even better. If someone invites you to do something, then you should go. Why turn down a free chance to get out there with people? When you've got more friends and different options competing for your time you can be more choosy. If you're more of a shy or solitary person it's easy to mull over the invitation and rationalize that it won't be that fun and that you don't want to go.Ignore those thoughts and go anyways. You never can be sure how fun something will be until you show up and see how it is for yourself. Sometimes you'll have to inconvenience yourself for the sake of your social life. You may get invited to a movie you don't particularly want to see, or someone might call you up on Friday evening as you're about to go to bed, asking if you want to go out. Whenever you have two or more people in the equation, you're going to have to compromise sometimes. Again, just being out there outweighs these minor annoyances.Another thing to consider is that many people will stop inviting someone out to things if they decline too often. They may have nothing against the person, but the next time they're planning an event will think, â€Å"Paul never comes out when I ask him, so no point in letting him know this time really. † 3. Once you've got some budding friendships, keep in touch, keep hanging out, and let the relationship grow It's one thing to hang out with someone once, or only occasionally. You could consider them a friend of sorts at that point.For that particular person maybe that's all you need in a relationship with them, someone you're casually friendly with and who you see every now and then. However, for someone to became a closer, more regular friend you need hang out fairly often, keep in touch, enjoy good times together, and get to know each other on a deeper level. You won't have the compatibility to do this with everyone, but over time you should be able to build a tighter relationship with some of the people you meet. I talk about developing friendships way more in this artic le: How To Grow And Deepen New Friendships Once you know some people, build on this foundationOnce you've made a regular friend or two you've also got a good base to work from. If you're not super social in nature, one or two good buddies may be all you need to be happy. At the very least, if you were feeling lonely and desperate before, having a relationship or two should be enough to take those feelings away. Sooner or later you'll end up meeting your friend's friends. If you hit it off with them then you can start hanging out with them as well. You could also become a member of the whole group with time. You can also continue to meet entirely new people.Having friends will make this easier as they'll do things like invite you to parties or keep you company in places where there are new people to potentially meet. 4. Repeat the above steps more often to make more friends If you join one new club, hit it off with three people there, and end up hanging out with two of them long term , then you've made two new friends. If you stop there then that's all you'll have. If week after week you're coming up with new ways to meet people, and then following up and attending lots of get togethers, then you'll have a pile of friends and acquaintances eventually. It's up to you when you feel like stopping.There's no law that says everyone has to have dozens of people in their social circle either. Many people are perfectly happy only having a few really close relationships. If you only have a couple of friends and decide you want more though, you can always get out there again. General principles on making friends Above I outlined a basic structure of Meet People > Hang Out With Them > Keep Hanging Out > Repeat. Now I'll go into some broader concepts that apply to making friends as a whole. I think the points below are just as important as the stuff I've covered already, if not more so. If you want social life, you've got to make it happen for yourself A huge, core principl e when it comes to building a social life is: Take Initiative. It's a big mistake to passively wait for other people to do the work of befriending you. It's great if it happens, but don't count on it. If you want to get a group of friends, assume you'll have to put in all the effort. If you want to do something on the weekend, don't sit around and hope someone calls you. Get in touch with various people and put something together yourself, or find out what they're doing and see if you can come along. Don't worry too much about seeming desperate or needy.Take the attitude that it's about you and you'll do what needs to be done to make some friends. Who cares if a handful of people think you're a bit too eager along the way if it all eventually works out? It's a lot like dating or trying to find a new job. What you get out of these things depends a lot on how much you put into them. Don't take it personally if people seem indifferent to you Other people are often harmlessly thoughtles s and preoccupied in the sense that they'd be happy if they hung out with you, but they wouldn't think to ask you themselves. Sometimes you have to take an interest in them before you appear on their radar.Similarly, some people are more lax and laid back than you'd like about returning your emails or calls. They're not consciously trying to reject you, they're just a little more loosey-goosey about that stuff than most. Don't feel making friends is super tricky If you're inexperienced with making friends, you may see the process as being more drawn-out and complex than it really is. Often all you have to do to make a friend is meet someone you naturally click with and hang around with them enough. You also don't have to know them for months before applying the ‘friend' label to them.One characteristic of more social people is that they'll throw the word friend around pretty loosely when describing their relationships with people. But it almost becomes a self-fulfilling prophe cy in a way. Sure, if you've just met someone it may not be a deep, intimate relationship, but you can still hang out with them and have a good time. Don't be overly picky about who you hang out with at first Your initial goal should just be to get some sort of social life going. So hang out with whoever you get along with and who seems interested in doing things with you.The first people you meet may not be your 100% ideal friends. The benefits of just being out there as opposed to moping around at home outweigh this. At the very least, it's easier to make further friends when you've already got a few. Also, if you're forming your first-ever group of friends, you probably don't totally know what you like or want in other people. You have to see what different types of people are like in a friend capacity firsthand. As a general rule, if you more-or-less get along with someone, actually become friends with them first, and then decide if want to be friends.If you're picky, you can co me up with reasons not to befriend just about anyone ahead of time. But when you're already hanging out with someone, and you've skipped over your pickiness, you often find you like their company, even if they wouldn't have been good ‘on paper' in your mind beforehand. I also give this advice because studies show lonely people tend to be more negative about others in general. Less naturally outgoing types can also be more picky about who they choose to spend their time with. If you naturally tend to be down on everyone you meet, you need to make an effort to consciously override these feelings.Plus, don't have an unrealistic self-image that demands you can only hang out with a certain caliber of people. Be realistic about yourself and your circumstances. If you don't totally like yourself, you may also be averse to hanging around people who you see as too similar to you, as it can act as a mirror that reflects your shortcomings back at you. This may be justified if you have so me irksome traits and understandably want to avoid others who have them, but often you may be turning away legitimately good people who just happen to have some characteristics that hurt your pride a little. Be persistent nd try not to get discouraged by setbacks too easily Sometimes you'll join a club or be introduced to your friend's friends and hope to meet a bunch of great new people. Then you get there and the experience is disappointing. You may feel like you don't click with anyone, or like they're ignoring you in favor of making in-jokes with each other. Give these groups a few more tries, often you're limited in how much you'll connect with others on the first meeting. You may warm up to each other before long. If someone refuses your invitation because they're busy or not sure if they can make it out then don't give up.Try again another time. Don't automatically jump to the conclusion that they hate you and you're fundamentally unlikable. Assume the best. Also, even the ac t of making an invitation sends the message that you like someone and want to hang out with them. They may be unable to meet that one time, but now see you as someone they could possibly have fun with in the future. When you meet potential friends be realistic about your importance in their lives and how long it may take to become buddies with them. They probably already have a social circle and their world won't end if it doesn't work out with you.As such, don't get too discouraged if they're not knocking down the door to hang out with you a day after you met them. They may be busy and your plans may not pan out for another few weeks. Sometimes it just won't work out with someone. You'll get along at the time, and they may express an interest in hanging out in the future, but for whatever reason things don't materialize. They may be too busy, already have enough friends, or they don't think you're a good enough match for them. It happens to everyone and is nothing to get too down a bout.Keep the bigger picture in mind and continue meeting people. The whole ‘taking initiative and don't give up too easily' thing can be a missing piece of the puzzle for people, but sometimes it still seems that no one is interested in you. You may want to check this out: When People Don't Seem Interested In Being Friends With You Be patient In the right situations you can build a new social life really quickly, like if you've just moved to a new city to go to college, or if you join the right club or team and instantly click with everyone there.At other times it takes longer for things to develop, but stick with it. It may take a while before you get a chance to meet some people you're compatible with. After that, it may be a few months before you're consistently hanging around with each other. It may be a year or more before you feel like you're really, really friends with them. It often takes time to go from having no plans, to having plans with the same person every thir d weekend, to having plans with a variety of people three times a week.

Email Etiquette

Email Etiquette I feel that email etiquette is very important these days because we use this method frequently. I think that it is more important to businesses to use these practices because of the standard of customer service. Email etiquette can assure that you get your point across to the consumer without overwhelming them or even being inappropriate. These listed below are the main three components to email etiquette and I agree strongly with the concept: * Professionalism: by using proper email language your company will convey a professional image. Â  Efficiency: emails that get to the point are much more effective than poorly worded emails. * Â  Protection from liability: employee awareness of email risks will protect your company from costly law suits. When following this step I think that it will keep the company on track with their customers. Another very important factor in email etiquette is Replying. When replying to a customer’s concern or general email a compa ny should do it in a timely manner.I think that 48 hours is long enough and it makes the customer feel like you care about them. I had a very important question about a warranty and the company took two weeks to reply, let’s just say I will never buy anything else from them. Response time is very big when dealing with customers. If your company is able to deal professionally with email, this will provide your company with that all important competitive edge.Moreover by educating employees as to what can and cannot be said in an email, you can protect your company from awkward liability issues. Make sure you staff is fully trained and this will cut down on customer complaints a lot. The use of emotioncons and other lingo can have a negative impact on your business as well these should only be used for personal emails and not business ones. References: http://office. microsoft. com http://www. emailreplies. com

Essay about Value and Fast Food Customers - 751 Words

1. What situation did Skinner inherit when he became CEO? What are the current forces in the external environment that affect Skinner’s ongoing strategy? 2. What source of competitive advantage does McDonald’s have, and is that position supported by its value chain and other internal resources? -Inherit the previous CEO Cantalupo’s turnaround strategy. This strategy referred as the †Plan to win† tried to target various critical areas that needed to be addressed. -Rapid market fragmentation, which is describing the changes of consumer taste have made once-exotic foods like sushi and burritos everyday options. Many fast food customers are looking for healthier and better tasting food. Moreover, competitions has been coming from†¦show more content†¦Primary: Inbound logistics: Hard to assess Operations: Strived for consistency across the chain, withdiffering results. Refurbishing of restaurants,change in hours may help draw customers. Outbound logistics: Hard to assess Marketing and sales: Many product innovations failed, $1 menu didn’t go well with franchisees. I’m Loving It campaign was attempt to reach all customers. Service: Hard to assess Value ChainActivity How does McDonald’s create value? Secondary: Procurement: Info not available in the case Technology development: Adoption of expensive cooking processesfailed to generate desired results. Premiumsalads take advantage of technology. Human resource management: Lower standards for hiring, less time fortraining led to deterioration of service General administration: Top-down decision-making, lack ofinvolvement in changes caused franchisee complaints, especially when profits wentdown. Franchise training program will help. -Skinner realized that basic changes in McDonalds’ value chain needed to made to get the company back on track. -Menu changes and franchisee relationshipswere key factors that he addressed. 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