Ford Motor Company Analysis Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Ford Motor Company Analysis Report - Essay Example The contingency perspective has been demonstrated with the technologies that are used along with the justification of their fitness in the organisational structure. In this regard, the structural problems have also been identified and analysed. The next part of the report demonstrates the cultural aspect of the organisation assessing its goals, norms and rules and how effectively the organisational structure fits into its present culture. Lastly, the report analyses the political perspective in the company while explaining the way in which power is distributed between stakeholders and managers. The project also proposes suitable recommendations based on the analysis of the above four perspectives and identification of the challenges. The Ford Motor Company is one of the largest manufacturers of automobile products in the world. The company had initially started with manufacturing twin cylinder engines which had a potential of 20mph. Later on, the company diversified into developing o ther models. The Model-T had become particularly popular since 1909 because of its price at $850, engine size, fuel consumption and speed in the range of 40-mph. The company had confronted an economic slowdown during the Second World War, but had gradually regained its potential since then. Even amidst very stiff competition, Ford has retained the topmost position with its constant production of innovative products. The worldwide popularity of the company can be attributed to its low price, innovative styles, enhanced production and customer satisfaction (Bryant University, 2004). Analysis Bureaucratic The Ford Motor Company, which is an America based multinational automaker, is located in... This essay stresses that the company has a proper hierarchical structure in which each ones’ roles and responsibilities are clear and well defined. The rules and regulations are designed by the top management and implemented at the ground level. However, this often becomes difficult for the global organisation to incorporate. Ford is a global organisation where the business units are located at different geographic locations. This is the reason why the company has been decentralising at rapid rate. It is recommended that there should be greater decentralisation efforts from the top management. It is not easy to control the entire business from one place. Each business unit must have a specific implementation and management control. This paper makes a conclusion that the company faces problems integrating the different cultures across the different global units. As the company has globalised, the bureaucratic structure has become increasingly obsolete. In order to create a single corporate culture, it is crucial for the top management to allocate power and authority to the individual managers. They should be accountable for implementing the culture, norms and regulations in the individual business units. Maintaining a single culture from a single location would be impossible. This is where the bureaucratic structure fails. Greater decentralisation and allocation of power and authority would be the most effective method of integrating the diverse culture of the global organisation and focussing one single and common norm.

Advertising and Experience Design Strategies Assignment

Advertising and Experience Design Strategies - Assignment Example Pepsi and Coca-Cola are both brand names for the most popular beverage drinks global soft drink enterprises operating within the beverage industry. The two companies have one thing in common; quenching the thirst of their target consumers and selling non-alcoholic beverages. Despite the two companies read on the same page as pertains to the use of young fellows in order to meet the promotional needs, Pepsi has steadily remained on a pathway that contrasts whatever Coke has been following. Overall, has been much into the use of emotional approach to fulfill in order to promote its products whereas Pepsi has stuck to music and entertainment. These two companies have used different marketing approaches. The basic marketing matrix has been integrated to include advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations and direct marketing. The two products have been targeting the young generation in their adverts and slogans. The packaging of each product is set in a manner likely to attract the target market. Coca cola has maintained the red and white colours with the iconic font type on the name. Pepsi has white and red stripes with the name written in blue in the background. Coca Cola Company has gone a step further of identifying with other food products mainly chips (Bhasin, 2013). As much as the differences are distinct, many consumers lean towards the coca cola drink. Coca-Cola and Pepsi both used their official websites in the promotion of the recent products Coca-Cola Life and Pepsi true respectively. Interestingly, the promotional messages learnt in either case reflected the environmental market trends that the companies had learnt. One approach that surrounded the promotion of the two aforementioned products was the use of email-oriented newsletters to aid in customer registration. Mittal & Kamakura, (2013) posits that IMC

Business Research Methods Essay Example for Free

Business Research Methods Essay Organizational Dilemma Starbucks grew as it attracted many people, leading to tripling its stores worldwide. It became part of every neighborhood, appearing on every street, in airports, supermarkets, and roadside rest stops all over America. This is when complaints began to surface that Starbucks is transforming into a fast-food restaurant and not a coffee house. The coffee industry was no longer dominated by Starbucks, for competitors began to put pressure on the business. In addition, the biggest dilemma to hit Starbucks was the 2008 economic crisis. This took a toll on the consumer who saw Starbucks as a luxury and searched for more affordable alternatives. As a result, Starbucks’ management was faced with the need to generate the right management question that would be the thread to making the best decision through its research design. An organizational dilemma can spark a research question. Once an organization determines a situation exists, research methods start to devise and eventually sample designs are implemented. When people think of Starbucks, do they think of great customer service, quality products, clean store, or great coffee? The organizational dilemma is: how should Starbucks go about keeping loyal customers while overcoming the old perceptions and changing with the times. According to Howard Schultz, â€Å"We are not in the coffee business serving people; we are in the people business serving coffee† (Starbucks Board of Directors, 2008). Research Design Marius Pretorius (2008) research infers Starbuck’s organizational dilemma, whether strategic or operational is not diminished when using Michael Porter’s (1985) generic strategies for competitive advantage. Declining sales require a turnaround solution that address strategic causes and cost relationship pressures that govern demand determinants. Which are â€Å"highly susceptible to external influences that are not clearly visible to the decision-makers† (Pretorius, 2008, pg. 21). Designing a two-stage exploratory study to identify the basis of distress and the key determinants is essential to a turnaround strategic plan. An exploratory study provides sufficient flexibility to address research costs, timelines, and development of clear constructs to address priorities and operational definitions (Cooper Schindler, 2011). The first stage of the study will look to ascertain the causation of the organizational dilemma and postulate the asymmetrical relationships in declining sales by examining both internal and external independent and dependent variables. This research will categorize findings into four relationship types as stimulus-response, property-disposition, disposition-behavior, or property-behavior. This will refine the second stage of research and explore influencing factors in depth. Characteristics and Operational Definitions The research design will produce casual inferences upon which a complementary strategy will result. â€Å"Although they may be neither permanent nor universal, these inferences allow us to build knowledge of presumed causes over time† (Cooper Schindler, 2011, pg. 154). Therefore, it is important to identify moderating or interactive variable dependencies. To ensure data validity operational definitions will challenge data to meet specific standards. These definitions may not exhibit the organization’s use but will establish a means to classify clearly an event. The main concern is to establish actionable information in which contributory or contingent effects on the original independent to dependent variable (IV–DV) relationship will provide empirical conclusions. References Cooper, D.R. Schindler, P.S. (2011). Business research methods (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Porter, M.E., (1985). Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance. New York, NY: The Free Press Pretorius, M., (2008). When Porter’s generic strategies are not enough: Complementary strategies for turnaround situations. Journal of Business Strategy 29(6): 19–28. Starbucks Board of Directors. (2008). Retrieved 2 2013, February, from Starbucks.com: www.starbucks.com/aboutus/environment.asp Starbucks, (2011) Our Company: Mission Statement. Retrieved from http://www.starbucks.com

Psychosocial Effects of Technology

Psychosocial Effects of Technology Olivia Di Giulio Introduction As individuals of a modern society, we are use to technology being present in almost every area of our everyday lives. Being that technology is so present in our everyday lives, it is almost impossible to live a normal life without it. Technology such as laptop computers and cell phones have become fixtures of modern culture, affecting how we communicate, work, and spend our free time. Though the effects appear minimal on the surface, technology can alter an individual’s physiological state. Technology affects how view ourselves, our relationship with others, and the ways in which we communicate, therefore, creating negative psychosocial affects on the lives of individuals. Though technology is meant to promote the positive aspects of human connection, it creates an abundance of negative affects and backlashes. Technology has been created and manifested in numerous forms throughout the twenty first century. Technology is a large umbrella term, due to the thousands of creations that can fall under its category. Technology can range from a physical creation such as a laptop and a cellphone, to a virtual creation such as the Internet, its various websites, and various social media applications that can be accessed from both cell phones and computers. The internet, which can be accessed from numerous technological devices, allows individuals to fully participate in its virtual world through sharing pictures, online chat forums, blog posts, and to write about their life and daily activities through social media. Through these various avenues, the Internet allows users to create virtual relationships and communicable ties. Though all of these facets seem extr emely positive, the negative impacts outweigh its benefits. For every positive feature, in turn, creates a negative psychological impact in some shape or form. Technology can affect our individual mental states of being, how we view ourselves, the ways in which we communicate, and our relationships with others, which are some of the most important features of our human existence. Through technology we have redefined acceptable behaviors and moral norms, the basis of communication, and who we are as a culture. One might ask why it matters that technology has affected our psychosocial sates of being. It matters because we are mentally no longer the same culture that we were before these technological advancements. As a society, our mental states have changed negatively. We have become lazy, dependent on technology, isolated, and unable to put down our technological devices. Though technology can be extremely helpful, these are not positive changes, and have affected the human brain, human interaction, and communication culture as a whole. We must be observant as a culture in how often we use our technology/ the ways in which we use our technology, in order to lessen its negative psychosocial affects, otherwise, we will not be able to live without it. In order to be proactive and lessen these affects, we must look at the devices that have forever changed the face of communication and the negative ways in which it affects our mental state and social aspects of society. There are numerous technological advancements that have entirely redefined communication as a whole and the ways in which our society communicates. These technological advancements consist of cell phones, which allow instant communication through texting, and computers, which allow for the download of various communication software, applications, and social media apps (which can be found on both devices). Frequent uses of these devices and applications have allowed methods of communication to be entirely redefined, because most elements of communication can now take place virtually. Technology is extremely convenient and appealing, making it extremely difficult for users to resist, or wish to have face-to-face communication. A survey of undergraduate students showed that 85 percent use technology and social media to stay in touch with friends as opposed to other forms of communication (HumanKinetics.com). Due to its convenience and easy accessibility, technological communication has become a staple of our society and has entirely redefined not only the way in which we communicate, and but also affecting one’s relationships, due to communication playing a significant role in the creation of human ties. Technology Negatively Affecting Personal Relationships The quality of and logistics of human relationships have suffered negative affects due to technology use. Communication is a huge aspect of relationship building and when the basis of communication changes, the basis of relationship building changes as well. Communication plays a fundamental role in producing â€Å"the common understandings† that help create moral norms and â€Å"social value systems† (Bruce Drake, Kristi Yuthas, Jesse Dillard). Within technological avenues such as texting, communication is entirely virtual and many elements of conversation are lost such as body language, tone, and facial expressions, allowing conversation to become extremely impersonal and lack depth (Pyschcentral.com). According to psychologist Sherry Turkle, technological communication, such as texting, ironically interrupts relationship building, and does not foster conditions, which are necessary to build a true connection with another individual (Pyschcentral.com). Being that indi viduals are constantly connected through texting, they do not receive the proper alone time, which is necessary in developing a connection with others (Pyschcentral.com). In a recent study it has been found that the interruption of texting in a physical conversation â€Å"inhibits the development of closeness and trust†, and reduces the empathy that one can feel for others (Wbur.org). Technology does not substitute the quality of physical conversation and does not reach the same heights and depth that physical conversation can. Through conversation, individuals search for and create moral norms, in which technology prevents the possibility of having these in depth conversations (Bruce Drake, Kristi Yuthas, Jesse Dillard). Physical conversation provides the tools necessary in which people can develop â€Å"personal identity, build close relationships, solidarity and community†; elements that are all lost within technological communication (Bruce Drake, Kristi Yuthas, Jesse Dillard). Instead, communication and relationships fostered through technology are extremely substance less, due to the fact that it is difficult to kindle a true connection in a virtual world, have in depth conversations, and rely on virtual fulfillment. Therefore, technological relations have numerous backlashes. Like realistic relationships, the relationships created through technology give individuals reassurance and validation. If the multitude of these associations is not fulfilled through virtual interaction, it can cause one to feel empty. It is extremely likely for one to feel empty when they rely on this type of validation, because it is virtual, and therefore, less likely for these associations to be fulfilled instantly, as opposed to physical contact. Relationships and the process of relationship building have changed, due to our societies shift in dialogue thanks to technology. What we say and how we say it has been entirely changed thanks to technology, which has reinvented the technicalities of language. Cell phones and computers that operate off of a wireless connection can provide users with extremely fast technological communication, allowing messages to be delivered with speed. Abbreviations and colloquial language allow users to type fast messages within texts and chat rooms to one another. Though these aspects seem extremely positive, they are can be extremely dangerous for communication culture. Wireless connection and new conversational mechanisms provide the perfect equation to entirely redefine the face of communication. Users have become extremely accustomed to this type of fast pace communication, to the point where they can no longer live without it, due to its convenience and simplicity. Technology makes users desire speed as an essential need, which is extremely detrimental to quality communication. Technological communication, such as text ing, and online chat rooms, have virtually destroyed the English language and uses of its correct forms within these devices, have become few and far between. Individuals are no longer taking the time to place emphasis on certain expressions or to be grammatically correct, because it is simply easier and faster to speak colloquially, therefore, preventing quality communication (Donovan A. McFarlane). Quality communication requires effort and without it, it leads to various misunderstandings (Donovan A. McFarlane). When communication is misunderstood, it is no longer efficient or achieves its purpose (Donovan A. McFarlane). In our society speed is often mistaken for efficiency (Donovan A. McFarlane). Individuals would rather summarize what they are saying, instead of properly explaining their ideas, due to our society’s need for speed, that technology makes us desire (Donovan A. McFarlane). Though it is meant to simplify communication, technology has made communication more di fficult, due its impersonal nature and lack of quality, which promotes ineffectiveness, as opposed to cohesive dialogue (Donovan A. McFarlane). Technology Affecting Behavior, Mental Health, and Mental Processes As a culture, behavior has also been redefined through what is now seen as morally correct and acceptable. Technology has set these new standards in behavior and implemented entirely new social boundaries. It been said that technology such as the Internet, does not promote social integration (Kraut, Patterson, Lundmark). Over the last 35 years â€Å"Citizens vote less, go to church less, discuss government with their neighbors less, are members of fewer voluntary organizations, have fewer dinner parties, and generally get together less for civic and social purposes† (Kraut, Patterson, Lundmark) due to technology, therefore, enabling social disengagement and a less unified society. According to HumanKinetics.com, technology can cause one to feel, â€Å"distracted, overly stressed, and isolated†, due to frequent use. Technological avenues, such as texting, further manifest negative behavioral habits by hindering our ability to confront situations, allowing individuals to hide behind the screen of their phone (Pyschcentral.com). Bernard Guerney Jr., founder of the National Institute of Relationship Enhancement, believes that texting creates a â€Å"lack of courage† to approach an intense or awkward situation, because it is simply easier to hide behind a screen, which can hinder one’s social growth (Pyschcentral.com). One can grow from certain life experiences, which now have now become obsolete through the advent of texting (Pyschcentral.com). Technology also manifests lazy behavior (Insidetechnology360.com). Technology’s numerous functions enable most manual work to be done digitally, therefore, making the lives of individuals much easier and ultimately making them lazier. As technology evolves, devices are able to do more and more for users (Insidetechnology360.com). For example, Apple’s iPhone feature Siri, allows users to press a button and talk into the phone to request an action such as surfing the web, or making a p hone call. As if making a phone or surfing the web was not easy enough, Apple has made it all the more easier by allowing users to perform these actions with a push of a button. Features like this, in addition to many other features of technology, breed a lazy society, because we no longer have to perform any actions ourselves, because technology can simply do it for us. Additionally, technology enables the developing of more severe personality disorders. With features that enable users to create a profile about their life on social media sites, such as Facebook, and features that allow users to post up-to-the minute pictures on their daily activities on social media apps such Instagram, it allows users to become fixated on their appearance and reputation. Therefore, users will often post their best traits via Internet, enabling for the manifestation of behavioral conditions, such as narcissism (Humankinetics.com). The more one is engrossed, the more likely one can experience physiological, emotional, and behavioral changes such as narcissism (Yi-Fen Chen). Certain activities and interactions a user can partake in will increase the likelihood that there will be psychological traces left behind from the virtual environment, within the individual, after experiencing it (Yi-Fen Chen). The negative affects of technology, which are visible to the human eye, appear minimal. These affects can be seen in the way communication has changed and the way in which we narcissistically portray ourselves via Internet, and do not seem extremely harmful. The affects in which we cannot see, such as, those that affect the brain are the most detrimental, because they target our mental health. Negative affects of technology of have further manifested themselves in the forms of possible addictions and mental illnesses. Being that technology is extremely present in our lives and convenient, it is hard for some to live without it, creating an inseparable and unhealthy relationship between the user and technology in the form of an addiction. Though it is not a recognized disorder by the American Psychiatric Association, there has been much speculation to include Internet Addiction in in the latest addition of the DiagnosticandStatisticalManualofMentalDisorders (U.S. National Library of M edicine), due to the manifestation of unhealthy relationships between users and technology. Internet Addiction is seen as an impulsive â€Å"spectrum disorder† which consists of â€Å"online and/or offline computer usage and consists of at least three subtypes: excessive gaming, sexual preoccupations, and e-mail/text messaging† (U.S. National Library of Medicine). In 2012 study done by the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado, showed a strong correlation between problematic Internet use and psychotic-like experiences (U.S. National Library of Medicine). As a society, we must be extremely conscious and aware towards our technology use, due to its horrible psychosocial affects. Due to the way that it is positively promoted within our society, most individuals would never suspect the horrible backlashes of technology. We must be proactive about the way in which we use technology/ how we use our technology in order to prevent serious changes towards our behavior, mental health, relationships, and how we communicate. These affects are extremely detrimental towards our society and if we do not act upon them by monitoring our technology use, communication, social interaction, and our own mental health will only grow worse, and we will therefore have a communication crisis. Works Cited Adler, Iris. â€Å"How Our Digital Devices Are Affecting Our Personal Relationships.† wbur.org. 2013. Web. 02 Nov. 2014. http://www.wbur.org/2013/01/17/digital-lives-i Chen, Yi-Fen. â€Å"See you on Facebook: exploring influences on Facebook continuous usage†. Behaviour Information Technology 39 (2014): 59–70. Web. Drake, Bruce, Yuthas, Kristi, Dillard, Jesse. â€Å"It’s Only Words – Impacts of Information Technology on Moral Dialogue.† Journal of Business Ethics 23 (2000): 41-59. Web. Human Kinetics. â€Å"Technology can have positive and negative impact on social interactions.† humankinetics.com. Web. 02 Nov. 2014. http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/technology-can-have-positive-and- negative-impact-on-social-interactions Kraut, Robert, Patterson, Michael, Lundmark, Vicki. â€Å"Internet Paradox: A Social Technology That Reduces Social Involvement and Psychological Well-Being?† American Psychologist 9 (1998): Web. McFarlane, Donovan. â€Å"Social Communication in a Technology-Driven Society: A Philosophical Exploration of Factor-Impacts and Consequences.† American Communication Journal 12 (2010): 1-2.Web. Mittal VA, Dean DJ, Pelletier, A. â€Å"Internet addiction, reality substitution and longitudinal changes in psychotic-like experiences in young adults.† Early Intervention Psychiatry 3 (2013): 1751-7893. Web. Mohan, Bharath. Is Technology Making Humans More Lazy – Yes. Insidetechnology360.com. R.R. Donnelley, 20 Feb. 2011. Web. 24 Nov. 2014. http://www.insidetechnology360.com/index.php/is-technology-making-humans-more-lazy-yes-5968/ Pies, Ronald. â€Å"Should DSM-V Designate â€Å"Internet Addiction† a Mental Disorder†?† Psychiatry 2 (2009): 31-37. Web. Suval, Lauren. Does Texting Hinder Social Skills?Psych Central.com. Psych Central, 2012. Web. 02 Nov. 2014. http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/05/02/does-texting- hinder-social-skills/ 1

Thingyan: A Celebration of the Burmese New Year :: Burma, Myanmar

Everywhere I went, there was water. People on the road were all soaked from head to toe. They seemed to like the fact that they are wet. But why would they want to get wet? Because it's Thingyan. Thingyan is a traditional Burmese celebration which is the water festival. It is a celebration of the Burmese New Year. People celebrate Thingyan in April, the hottest month of the year. The Burmese people threw water at each other to cool themselves down, and as Burmese people believe it, to clean away the bad deeds of the previous year. Many flowers bloom in this time of the year and Padauk is the most special among them. Padauk is a spray of small yellow flowers that bloom on little stems. Among the dark green leaves, this yellow flower looks very pretty. Padauk is the typical flower in Thingyan. In some villages, boys would pick those flowers for girls to wear. Most girls wear them even if boys wouldn’t pick flowers for them. In the olden days, people would splash water at each other with buckets of water. They would tease each other and eat special food like, Montloneyaybaw (means–round snack floating on water). Montloneyaybaw is a floating rice dough ball, which had been boiled. In the center, it has a piece of jaggery. It is served with coconut shreds. Just to have fun, the Burmese people who made this dough would put chili instead of jaggery. People would never get angry at each other for it is Burmese New Year and getting wet is a normal thing at Thingyan. Now a days, as the culture developed, people use water guns and water hoses to make others wet. Young people would dye their hair to make themselves look cool. They would go around the town in cars to get wet. People who use water hoses would be on stages, throwing water from a high place. There would also be bands playing or dancers dancing on the stages at the back. Even though the culture developed, the traditional practices are still the same. People still throw water to wash away the bad deeds they did in the previous year. But most of the young people threw water for fun. They think this is the time of year to gather all your friends and go around getting wet. But some young people still follows the real tradition of Thingyan.

Much Ado About Nothing: Love And Marriage Essay -- essays research pap

Even though love and marriage was a major ideal in Shakespearean England, we can get views from Much Ado about Nothing which oppose this idea. From the two main ‘couples’ in this play we can understand their different views on commitment throughout and because of this we as readers and viewers can learn about each relationship separately and watch the thoughts and ideas change throughout the play. From the scene given we can make many assumptions on the Beatrice and Benedick relationship and how it may have grown throughout the previous acts and scenes. We can tell from this small passage that Beatrice and Benedick have a love/hate relationship which may have come from past relationship let downs†¦ Beatrice: indeed my lord, he lent it me awhile, and I gave him use for it, a double heart for his single one. Marry, once before he won it off me with false dice, therefore your grace may well say I have lost it. The two seem to have the same ideas on marriage even though we learn through the play that this is not true, they both know it is important to get married but have different viewpoints on the matter, they both appear to want their individuality. We can see this idea in the passage provided and many other parts of the play†¦ Beatrice: just, if he send me no husband; for the which blessing I am at him upon my knees every morning and evening. Lord, I could not endure a husband with a beard on his face I had rather lie in the woollen†¦ Benedick: the savage bull may; but i...

Merit vs Anniversary Pay Rates Essay

Performance reviews are an integral part of business. Employees crave feedback, whether it is positive or negative, as it provides motivation and a better understanding of the job requirements. Anniversary Date and Common Merit Date performance reviews each have advantages and disadvantages. It would behoove the human resource professional to choose the approach that best suits their organization’s needs and goals. Some of the factors that should be taken into consideration are; planning cycles, hiring practices, and organizational culture (Koss, 2009, p. 7) Anniversary reviews are commonly used when the organization has a lot of hourly, lower level employees (Koss, 2009, p. 2). This method provides a fair system. â€Å"Every employee receives a performance appraisal and sometimes a compensation adjustment on the one year anniversary of their start in a job, and at one-year intervals thereafter. All employees get reviewed and receive compensation adjustments at the same interval† (p. 2). This method is popular when the organization wishes to evaluate select employee performances against industry established standards, instead of vetting an employee against an alternate employee (p 2). [The Anniversary Date Method can] lighten the managers’ workloads and increases the likelihood that they’ll spend more time on their employee performance reviews, since they’re not caught trying to do them all at once. In addition, they spread out the appraisal-related workload over the year, avoiding processing peaks† (p. 2). Sometimes, Anniversary Date reviews are not the ideal choice. â€Å"An employee’s future is based solely on his/her manager’s subjective opinion of them† (p. 2). When appraisals are conducted annually, and on the anniversary date, usually about half of the staff is in line with prospective organizational objectives (p. ). Another con of this method is that the appraisal date generally does not match with any specific performance period (p. 2). This method can also result in inadequate reporting, and lesser understanding of why objectives were not met (p. 2). Because the manager is evaluating the performance of the individual, and not the comparative performance of their peers, it can create an unfair environment, and compensation allocations may be unequal (p. 3). Managers tend to try and accommodate the compensation budget, which is directly related to the cyclical ups and downs of the economy. If there is no money left in the budget, an employee with a year end review may receive a lower increase, not because they are less deserving, but because there is no more room left in the budget (p. 3). Common Merit Date Reviews is a procedure where organizations evaluate all of their employees at one specific time (p. 3). â€Å"One of the biggest advantage is that †¦they allow for corporate and individual goals to unite. HR actually spends less administration time on focal reviews because the process typically runs over a few months, rather than an entire year. This allows for†¦everyone in the organization to align their goals appropriately† (p. ). Because everything is done at one time, and each employee’s performance is being evaluated at the same time, managers can compare employees to each other, and provide consistent and fair appraisals, and allow for compensation to be [somewhat] unaffected by changing business cycles (p. 4). â€Å"Another advantage is that if any changes to evaluation criteria have to be made, new forms or processes can be distributed out to everyone at the same time† (p. 4). When the organization is focused on completing appraisals once a year, it can be much simpler to offer training on tools, processes, and skills necessary (p. ). While there are many advantages to the Common Merit Date Review, there are still a few disadvantages. Newer employees will not be permitted a full year of performance for evaluation. If there are a large number of employees, managers will need a significant amount of time to review the process and may have to neglect other tasks until the process is complete (p. 6) †¢Koss, S. (2009). Which is Best? Anniversary vs. Focal (Common Date) Performance Reviews. Koss Management. Retrieved February 26, 2011, from kosshrexpert. com/Article-WhichisBest. pdf