Transformational Leadership Plan Essay Example for Free

Transformational leading Plan EssayABSTRACTInnovation and Transformational Leadership with respect to modern organisational hierarchies. The paper goes on to synthesize aspects of transformational leading into an psyche lead plan, summarize outcomes of transformational leadinghip and conversion and infix varied views stemming from empirical data on organizational philosophies. Several scholarly journals and industry papers were gleaned, they atomic number 18 listed in the an nonated bibliography. Results and Outcomes of Innovation and Transformational LeadershipTransformational leading motivate antitheticals to do to a greater extent than they originally in guideed and often even more than they image possible. Such leaders set more challenging expectations and typically achieve higher(prenominal) public presentations. Transformational leadership is an expansion of transactional leadership. Transactional leadership emphasizes the transaction or commutation that t akes place among leaders, colleagues, and following. This exchange is found on the leader discussing with opposites what is required and specifying the conditions and rewards these others will receive if they fulfill the requirements.True transformational leaders raise the level of moral maturity of those whom they lead. They convert their pursuit into leaders. They prolong and enlarge the entertains of those whom they lead. They motivate their associates, colleagues, followers, clients, and even their bosses to go beyond their individual(a) self-interests for the trustworthy of the free radical, organization, or society. Transformational leaders address each followers sense of self-worth in recite to engage the follower in true commitment and involvement in the effort at hand. This is integrity of the things that transformational leadership adds to the transactional exchange.Transformational leadership adds to transactional leadership in its effects on follower satiscir cumstanceion and mental solve. Transformational leadership does non replace transactional leadership. That is, constructive and especially corrective transactions may produce only marginal concussion on followers unless accompanied by superstar or more components of transformational leadership for getting the most out of transactions The follower needs to scent valued by the leader, the follower needs to meet gist in what he or she is doing, and the follower needs a sense of ownership in whats be done. Transactional leadership, particularly contingent reward, provides a full(a) basis for telling leadership, but a greater amount of effort, effectiveness, trigger, risk taking, and satisfaction washbasin be achieved by transactional leadership if it is augmented by transformational leadership.When peers of military cadet leaders were asked what characterized the important traits of a good leader, they tended to describe such traits of inspiration, intellectual stimulatio n, and individualized condition as self- pledge, persuasiveness, concern for the well-being of others, the ability to articulate ones ideas and thoughts, providing models to be emulated by others, holding high expectations for himor herself and others, keeping others well-informed, and maintaining high self-motivation.Given a police squad task, the innovation process begins with the creativity of individuals. The generation of a new idea is a cognitive process, located within individuals, albeit fostered by interaction processes in teams. Thus, commencement exercise and foremost, innovative individuals argon both creative and innovative (i.e., they dont just fill creative ideas they also try to implement them). They be passel who have a preference for thinking in novel ways, who think globally instead of locally (distinguishing the forest from the trees). They have appropriate intellectual abilities, including synthetic abilities (to see problems in new ways and escape the bou nds of conventional thinking), analytic abilities to recognize which ideas are worth pursuing, and the unimaginative contextual abilities to persuade others of the value of their ideas.Having a good idea about whether the Earth revolves around the sun or vice versa is not enough. Galileo, if he were alive today, might note that Richard Branson and Bill Gates did not succeed by simply being mavericks they were also able to charm, persuade, and inspire people. To be innovative and creative we also require sufficient knowledge of the landing field to be able to move it forward, while not being so conceptually trapped in it that we are unable to conceive of alternative courses. multitude who are confident of their abilities are more be give care to innovate in the workplace. In a bring of role innovation among more than 2,000 UK managers, it was found that government agency and motivation to develop knowledge and skills divineed innovation following job change. Tolerance of ambigu ity, widely associated with creativity, enables individuals to avoid the problems of following mental ruts and increases the chances of unusual responses and the discovery of novelty (Burpitt Bigoness, 2002). forward-looking people also tend to be self-disciplined, with a high degree of drive and motivation and a concern with achieving excellence. This perseverance against social pressures presumably reduces the dangers of immature abandonment. Minority influence theory in social psychology suggests that perseverance acts to bring about change in the views of majorities and is a necessary behavioral sprint among innovators.An employee of 3M observed Post-it notes because he sang in the church choir and needed some effective way of marking the place of hymns between services. Knowing of an adherent with poor properties (it didnt stick well) being explored at 3M, he had the idea of using it on small strips of paper to mark the hymnal. But the real innovation came in his persisten ce in selling the idea to secretaries, chief executives, the marketing department, and the sales department in the organization. It became an annual $200 million business for 3M.Innovative people tend to be self-directed, enjoying and requiring freedom in their work. They have a high need for freedom, control, and discretion in the workplace and appear to find bureaucratic limitations or the exercise of control by managers frustrating. Such people need clear work objectives along with high autonomy to perform well. Indeed, in a study of 13 oil familiarity teams, Jerry et. Al. found that the innovativeness of individuals in teams was best as a predictor of team innovation to measures of group climate and process. In a more sophisticated longitudinal study of 27 top management teams in hospitals, it was found that the proportion of innovative individuals within the team did not predict the overall level of innovation but did predict the radical ness (changes to the status quo) of th e innovations implemented by teams.Another influence on team innovation is the extent to which team members have the relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities to work effectively in groups. Some researchers believe that team members require appropriate team knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), or team integration skills. These are distinct from the technical KSAs that are relevant to task performance (such as medical skills for a physician on a look buttockscer care team).They include conflict resolution skills, collaborative problem-solving skills, and communication skills such as the skill to give decentralized communication networks to enhance communication. other key integration skills, they argue, include goal setting and performance management and the skill to coordinate and synchronize activities, information, and tasks among members. The more of these integration skills team members have, the more likely it is that the benefits of team working and team diversity will manifest, not just in damage of team performance, but also in innovation proposals and their fortunate implementation.Leadership processes in teams will moderate the relationship among team member characteristics, team processes, and innovation. Leadership processes will either encourage or block the grammatical construction of behaviors and skills supportive of team innovation. A dominant, directive leader may prevent attempts by team members to bring about change and steadily reduce their confidence and perseverance in initiating innovation implementation. Moreover, such a leader might inhibit the expression of team KSAs by repeatedly dominating finish devising or discussion. A more transformational leadership personal manner is likely to enhance the impact of individual characteristics such as confidence, innovativeness, and tolerance of ambiguity on group processes (such as support for innovation) and thereby innovation implementation. Synthesize aspects of transformationa l leadership into an individual leadership planIt has been discovered that most of the large global companies studied operate, to one degree or another, under a traditional model of strong individual leadership at the top. Moreover, the quality of that leadership bears on the overall performance of those companies. A few of the companies studiedand some business units within othersare characterized by a contrasting pattern of leadership. Instead of leadership being a solo act, an aria sung by the CEO, in these organizations it is a shared responsibility, more like a chorus of diverse voices singing in unison.Significantly, this characteristic is more than the frequently observed phenomenon of cascading leadership (in which a strong leader at the top empowers other leaders down the line). Although cascading is often a part of what is observed, more to the point in these organizations many of the key tasks and responsibilities of leadership are institutionalized in the systems, pract ices, and cultures of the organization.Typically, cascading leadership depends on the continuing support of whoever is the leader of an organization at any given time behavior that is not personality dependent. Eventually, it has been realized that this form of leadership is rooted in systems, processes, and culture. Without the presence of a high-profile leader (or superior goading or exhorting them on) that people at all levels in these organizations Act more like owners and entrepreneurs than employees or hired hands (that is, they assume owner like responsibility for financial performance and managing risk).Take the initiative to solve problems and to act, in general, with a sense of urgency.Willingly accept accountability for meeting commitments, and for living the determine of the organization.Share a common philosophy and language of leadership that paradoxically includes tolerance for contrary views and a willingness to experiment.Create, maintain, and adhere to systems and procedures designed to measure and reward these distributed leadership behaviors.Obviously, this is not a new model of leadership. Doubtless, it has been around a long time and we, missed it because we were blinded by the powerful light that emanates from high-profile leaders. We were also prisoners of the on-line(prenominal) wisdom about the necessity for personalized, take-charge leadershipparticularly in times of rapid change. Moreover, it is important to stress that the organization based model identified was not the only one observed, nor was it necessarily always the most effective.In fact, the two most successful companies in an empirical sample operate, on two different models, Oracle being headed by a single(a) strong leader, and Enron with widely diffused and systematized leadership responsibilities. Thus we are not advocating a newly discovered best way to lead instead, calling maintenance to a previously unnoticed but equally viablealternative to the traditional lead ership model. Among other things, this discovery helps to explain some persistent contradictions to the dominant model of leadership. If leadership were solely an individual trait wherefore is it that some companies continually demonstrate the electrical capacity to innovate, renew strategies and products, and outperform competition in their industries over the tenures of some(prenominal)(prenominal) different chief executives? Intel, for instance, has been a rip-roaring success under the leadership of, in sequence, Gordon Moore, Andrew Grove, and now, Craig Barrett.Why is it that some CEOs who have succeeded in one organization often turn in so-so performances in the next? Consider George Fisher, who was a star at Motorola, but far less effective at Kodak. (Conversely, why is it that some companies headed by singularly unimpressive CEOs nonetheless rack up good performance records?)Why is that academics are unable to quantify the relationship between CEO style on one hand and or ganizational performance on the other? (In fact, they have found no objective correlation between those two factorsconcluding, unhelpfully, that it all depends.)Moreover, as history shows, businesses that become dependent on a single leader run a considerable risk. If that individual retires or leaves (or dies in office), the organization may well lose its continuing capacity to succeed find oneself the performance of General Motors after Alfred Sloan, ITT after Harold Geneen, Polaroid after Edwin Land, and Coca-Cola after Roberto Goizueta.More frequently, organizations learn the hard way that no one individual can uphold a company from mediocre performanceand no one individual, no matter how gifted a leader, can be right all the time. As one CEO said, None of us is as smart as all of us. Since leadership is, by definition, doing things through the efforts of others, it is obvious that there is little that a business leaderacting a lonely(prenominal)can do to affect company perform ance (other than try to look good to investors) (Howell Avoiio, 2003).In light of these observations, it should not have been so surprising that our research revealed that, in many successful companies, leadership is treated as an institutional capacity and not solely as an individual trait. It turns out that many corporations whose familiar names perennially appear on most respected lists are ones with the highest institutionalized leadership capacities.Like individual IQs, companies have collective LQsleadership quotients that can be thrifty and compared. (Moreover, unlike individual IQ an organizations leadership capacity can be bolstered through befittingly directed effort.) Hence, we now are better able to explain why companies like Intel, ABB, GE, Enron, BP, Ford, Nestl, and Motorola continue to renew themselves year after year, and over the tenures of many different leaders Such companies are not only chock-full of leaders from the executive suite to the shop floor, they m ake conscious efforts to build their LQs, that is, their overall organizational leadership capacities.That last point requires an important clarification. Some companies with continuing records of success do not pay much, or any, attention to traditionalthat is, individualleadership development. Instead of asking What qualities do we need to develop in our leader? these companies continually ask What qualities do we need to develop in our organization? And, though this may seem to defy the current wisdom about the importance of leadership, on reflection it squares with experience. At Motorola, for example, there has been a decades long pattern of self-renewal that has continually belied the predictions of Wall Street analysts who, on at least four occasions, have written the company off for dead.When it has suffered one of its periodic setbacks, how could Motorola reasonably be expect to turn itself around without a take-charge leader like Jack Welch at its helm? But it has done so repeatedly, and under the collective leadership of several different individuals. In light of what we have learned from our study, we posit that the secret sauce at Motorola is the companys strong, institutionalized leadership capacity systems consciously created by former-CEO pier Galvins leadership teams over a period of thirty years (Dong et. Al. 2001).And the effectiveness of the organizational leadership model should not come as a admiration to those who have tried to change the behavior of a CEOor of any executive whose career has been validated by rising to the top. Powerful executives tend to see leadership as positional. To them, by definition, the CEO is the leader of the corporation. For example, a couple of years ago we suggested to the CEO of a Fortune 500 company that he (and his executive team) might benefit from a leadership development program.He looked at us as if we were space aliens and testily replied, If the board thought there was someone who was more qualif ied to lead this company, they would have named him and not me. Given that such ego-driven denial is fairly common in executive suites, it makes practical sense that the high-LQ companies in our study focus on identifying business-related activities as the source of leadership developmentthat is, they stress improving the ability of their leaders collectively to do their central tasks, rather than on trying to fix them as individuals.The lesson we take from this is not that individual leadership behaviors are unimportant, but that in some cases, at least, it may be more effective to treat them as secondary to organizational issues. Moreover, it is far easier for leaders to learn to do things differently in terms of business processes than it is for them to change who they are.III. Summarize the outcomes of transformational leadership and innovationAmong the components of transformational leadership, idealized influence and inspirational leadership are most effective and satisfying i ndividualized amity is a bit less so. But in turn, all four 1s of transformational leadership are more effective than is constructive transaction. However, constructive transactions continue reasonably effective and satisfying in most situations, except where a leader has no control of the ways a follower may be rewarded for good performance.Actively taking corrective actionthat is, managing by exception by arranging to monitor the performance of followersis somewhat less effective and satisfying, but passively waiting for problems to arise or remaining oblivious until a mishap transcends is seen as poor, ineffective leadership and is dissatisfying. The most ineffective and dissatisfying style is laissez-faire leadership avoiding leadership and abdicating responsibilities. Analyses of over 5,000 cases have affirmed these findings.Transformational leadership adds to transactional leadership in its effects on follower satisfaction and performance. Transformational leadership does n ot replace transactional leadership. That is, constructive and especially corrective transactions may have only marginal impact on followers unless accompanied by one or more components of transformational leadership for getting the most out of transactions The follower needs to feel valued by the leader, the follower needs to find meaning in what he or she is doing, and the follower needs a sense of ownership in whats being done. Transactional leadership, particularly contingent reward, provides a broad basis for effective leadership, but a greater amount of effort, effectiveness, innovation, risk taking, and satisfaction can be achieved by transactional leadership if it is augmented by transformational leadership.Transformational leadership can be directive or participative, as well as democratic or authoritarian, elitist or leveling. Sometimes, transformational leadership is misunderstood as elitist and antidemocratic. Since the 1930s, the praises of democratic, participative lea dership have been sung. Most managers have at least learned that before making a decision it pays to consult with those who will implement the decision, although fewer managers pursue a democratic vote or strive for consensus in a participative discussion with ail those involved. There are many good reasons for encouraging shared decision making, empowering followers, and self-managing. Nonetheless, many circumstances call for a leader to be authoritative, decisive and directive.Democratic decisions can become a pooling of ignorance among a group of novices. Novices may give care direction and advice on what to do and how to do it. Even when no leader is appointed, someone must begin to take initiatives and soon comes to be seen as a leader. Many confuse transformational leadership with democratic, participative leadership. It often may be so, but at times it can also be directive, decisive, and authoritative. compositionlized leaders can direct followers who are counting on them to help get the team out of a crisis by employing radical solutions to deal with the problems.Again, inspirational leaders can be highly directive in their appeals. Intellectually stimulating leaders may challenge their followers. Individually considerate leaders could rise above the demands for equality from their followers to treat them differently according to their different needs for growth. At the homogeneous time, transformational leaders can share vision building and Idea generation that could be a democratic and collective enterprise.Such leaders can encourage follower participation in the change processes involved. In the resembling way, transactional leadership can be either directive or participative. Most leaders profiles include both transformational and transactional leadership. The attitudes and behavior of Otto Von Bismarck, whose efforts led to the unification of Germany in 1871, beautify how transformational and transactional leadership can be directive or par ticipative, democratic or authoritative (Deborah, 1999).Interviews with executives about the leadership they had seen produced numerous behavioral examples of transformational leadership. idealised influence or charismatic leadership was attributed to the interviewees leaders for demonstrating such traits as setting examples, showing determination, possessing extraordinary talents, taking risks, creating in followers a sense of empowerment, showing loyalty to the cause, creating a sense of a joint mission, dealing with crises using radical solutions, and engendering in their followers faith in the leadership. Inspirational leadership included providing meaning and challenge, painting an optimistic future, molding expectations, creating self-fulfilling prophesies, and thinking ahead.Intellectual stimulation was judged to be present when leaders questioned assumptions, encouraged followers to employ intuition, entertained ideas that may have seemed silly at first, created imaginativ e visions, asked subordinates to rework problems they thought had already been solved, and saw unusual patterns.Individualized consideration was apparent to interviewees when their leaders answered them with minimum delay, showed that they were concerned for their followers well-being, assigned tasks based on needs and abilities, encouraged two-way exchanges of ideas, were available when needed, encouraged self-development, practiced walk around management, and effectively mentored, counseled, and coached.When peers of military cadet leaders were asked what characterized the important traits of a good leader, they tended to describe such traits of inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration as self-confidence, persuasiveness, concern for the well-being of others, the ability to articulate ones ideas and thoughts, providing models to be emulated by others, holding high expectations for himor herself and others, keeping others well-informed, and maintaining high self-motivation (Atwater, Lau, Bass, Avolio, Camobreco, Whitmore, 1994).COMPONENTS OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIPTransformational leaders do more with colleagues and followers than set up simple exchanges or agreements. They play in ways to achieve superior results by employing one or more of the four components of transformational leadership. First, leadership is idealized when followers seek to identify with their leaders and emulate them. Second, the leadership inspires the followers with challenge and persuasion that provide meaning and understanding.Third, the leadership is intellectually stimulating, expanding the followers use of their abilities. Finally, the leadership is individually considerate, providing the followers with support, mentoring, and coaching. all(prenominal) of these components can be assessed with the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). In the questionnaire, you can describe yourself as a leader. Those who work for you, with you, and for wh om you work can do the same assessment of you.Idealized Leadership. Transformational leaders behave in ways that make them role models for their followers. Such leaders are admired, respected, and trusted. Followers identify with these leaders and want to emulate them. Among the things the leader does to earn this credit is consider the needs of others over his or her own personal needs. The leader shares risks with followers and is consistent rather than arbitrary. He or she can be counted on to do the right thing, demonstrating high standards of ethical and moral conduct. He or she avoids using power for personal gain and in fact uses his or her power only when needed. Inspirational Motivation.Transformational leaders behave in ways that motivate and inspire those around them by providing meaning and challenge to their followers work Team spirit is aroused. Enthusiasm and optimism are displayed. The leader gets followers involved in envisioning attractive future states. The leader clearly communicates expectations that followers want to meet, and demonstrates commitment to goals and the shared vision.Intellectual Stimulation. Transformational leaders stimulate their followers efforts to be innovative and creative by questioning assumptions, reframing problems, and approaching old situations in new ways. Creativity is encouraged. There is no public criticism of individual members mistakes. New ideas and creative problem solutions are solicited from followers, who are included in the process of addressing problems and finding solutions. Followers are encouraged to try new approaches, and their ideas are not criticized if they differ from the leaders ideas.Individualized Consideration. Transformational leaders pay special attention to each individuals needs for achievement and growth by acting as a coach or mentor. Followers and colleagues are developed to successively higher levels of potential. Individualized consideration is practiced as follows New learning opportunities are created along with a supportive climate. Individual differences in terms of needs and desires are recognized. The leaders behavior demonstrates acceptance of individual differences (e.g. some employees receive more encouragement, some more autonomy, others firmer standards, and still others more task structure).A two-way exchange in communication is encouraged, and management by walking around is practiced. Interactions with followers are personalized (e.g., the leader remembers previous conversations, is aware of individual concerns, and sees the individual as a whole person rather than as just an employee). The individually considerate leader listens effectively. The leader delegates tasks as a means of developing followers. Delegated tasks are monitored to see if the followers need additional direction or support and to assess progress ideally, followers do not feel they are being checked up on.BibliographyFollower Motive Patterns as Situational Moderators for Transformational Leadership Effectiveness. Journal article by Jerry C. Wofford, J. Lee Whittington, Vicki L. Goodwin Journal of Managerial Issues, Vol. 13, 2004In this article, two important leadership questions are addressed. Is transformational leadership universally effective or are there situational moderators which augment or limit its effectiveness? Is transformational leadership more appropriately viewed in terms of individual-level analyses or of multi-level analyses? First, we examine the literature on the potential moderators within the transformational leadership paradigm and on the appropriate level of analysis for transformational leadership. The present research examines the potential moderator effects of the need for autonomy and of growth need strength. In addition, we examine whether transformational leaders adapt their behaviors to different subordinates or behave the same way with all of them.Perceptions of Transformational Leadership among Asian Americans and Ca ucasian Americans A Level of Analysis PerspectiveJournal article by Dong I. Jung, Francis J. Yammarino Journal of Leadership Studies, Vol. 8, 2001 This study asserted a theoretical framework of transformational leadership and its effects on several process and outcome variables among Asian Americans and Caucasian Americans from levels of analysis perspective. Nomological relationships among the constructs of interest also were tested. Results indicated that effects of transformational leadership were positive, but generally stronger among Asian Americans than among Caucasian Americans. Results from Within and Between Analysis indicated that variation in perceptions of transformational leadership and other measured variables in the two ethnic groups was mainly due to individual differences. Based on these results, we offer several theoretical and practical implications.Transformational Leadership and Urban permutation Journal article by Deborah R. Rada Journal of Leadership Studies, 1999Despite Burnss contention that transformational leadership can occur at all levels of organization and society, most of the discussion of transformational leadership has centered on persons in traditional, hierarchical power positions. This paper focuses on a social movement, urban renewal, which involves volunteer activity and persons not in hierarchical power positions. The urban renewal efforts of two southern California towns are highlighted, with examples from other towns renewal efforts also cited. It is demonstrated that many renewal efforts utilize a transformational leadership approach. It is further shown that those efforts which employ a transformational leadership approach are often more successful than those that do not. It is concluded that transformational leadership does occur in voluntary, nonhierarchical groups and leads to substantive change. Further study is recommended to confirm these conclusions and advocate for broader recognition and encouragement of tr ansformational leadership in various organizations.Howell. J. M. Avoiio, B. J. (2003). Transformational leadership, transactional leadership, locus of control. and support for innovation Key predictors of consolidated business-unit performance. Journal Applied Psychology, 78, 89142 Notes Portions of this paper were presented at the Academy of Management National Conference in Seattle, Washington, August 2003. Thanks to Major David Pursley, Dr. Orly Nobel, and several anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions on earlier drafts of the manuscript. Dr. Dardis recently retired from active duty and is currently the Chief Learning Officer at Freddie Mac Corporation in McClean, Virginia.Burpitt, W. J., Bigoness, W. J. (1997). Leadership and innovation among teams The impact of empowerment. Small Group Research, 28 (3), 414423. Most research and writing on creativity has focused on individual creativity, the lone genius, with little recognition of the social and gro up factors that influence the creative process. Research on creativity has sought to understand the factors responsible for creative people and activities. Personality, developmental experiences, culture, motivation, and cognitive skills are just a few of the factors that appear to underlie creative behavior

The Affects of Cutting Nasas Budget Essay Example for Free

The Affects of Cutting Nasas Budget EssayMany people undermine the sizeableness and contributions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, also known as NASA. As president Obama is forced to make severe compute cuts, NASA is among the most affected programs to meet the blow. This issue does not take aback many people, but experts say that what is occurring will affect everyone as well as the economy more than they whitethorn believe. These extreme budget cuts recently issued by Congress impinge on the NASA space program by having a large impact on culture, and risking the opposite of innovation in todays machine-driven society. With all do respect, I have never seen an 8th grader sit up in their direct and say I want to be an NSF Researcher. With all do respect, these agencies do important scientific work but they are unknown and invisible at the age where people choose what they want to be when they grow up. 1 Neil Degrasse Tyson brings into play a very import ant thought as he explains the affect of the budget cuts on the younger population of America. Scientists are worried that if NASA is taken way, we are taking away the birthplace of the STEM research fields. STEM, which stands for Scientists, Technologists, Engineers, and Mathematicians2 are those who make up tomorrow, or in other words, our future. By eradicating the space agency, we are also eradicating potential heroes to come.Furthermore, NASA is the only agency that taps into the frontiers of all basic subjects including, biology, chemistry, physics, math, astronomy, geology, atmospherics, electrical technology and mechanical engineering. 3 The people involved in these subjects, who innovate through opportunities given to them by the NASA program, are being deprived of their chance to invent and potentially mystify heroes.These heroes are those who leave lasting impacts on society and culture. For example, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, and as time prog ressed, the telephone evolved into the cell phone. immediately the cell phone is used for almost everything web browsing, emergencies, work and entertainment, and serves as a sizeable part of everyday life. Therefore, its easy to see that destroying the cash in hand of NASA is simultaneously ruining our chance for new innovative heroes who are likely to create and impact the world we live in.Lastly, during the hug drug of the 1960s, the average person knows that this was a decade of many important events to name a few, the construction of the Berlin Wall, MLK Juniors I Have a Dream Speech, the first heart transplant, the first super bowl, the assassinations of JFK, MLK junior , and Kennedy and the Cold War. But most importantly these major events were not necessarily the highlight of the 1960s but more so the shining pearl of that decade was the Mission to the Moon. Everyone was a participant, emotionally and intellectually. 4 Many people say, I think we should realise our pro blems here on Earth before we go into space. 5 In the twelvemonth 2007, the requested budget for the NASA program totaled to roughly $17 billion dollars. Numerous people argue that this amount of money could and should be used to solve other problems that concern the people here on Earth. For example hospitals contend that the money should be used for needed medical expenses. Others argue that the money could be used to solve poverty problems and debt.

Human Resource Management and Organizational Performance

Human Resource Management and Organizational PerformanceIntroductionThe study of HRM has come a massive way in a relatively short period of existence. In a society that has become increasingly dependent on knowledge and skills it is collect that the companies nurture perform an important role in overall system surgical operation. This training comes from Human Resource Management practices. HRM practices atomic count 18 defined as the activities cerebrate to enhance the consummation of organizations and employees susceptibility to hit the goals of organization. HRM practices raise the outcomes of HRM to influence the organization accomplishmentThis study focus on the relationship between HRM practices variables and organizational implementation, impingement of HRM practices on organizational process and productivity. The performance of an organization depends on many another(prenominal) factors and employees contribution. Impact of combined performance of employees on organization performance is great than individuals. Explanation, magnificence of relationship and the impact of the HRM practices on the performance of organization. Different approaches of HRM practices and business schema. It reflects the approach and different factors of the HRM practices. Effect of the individual and shared climate trains of organizationDifferent Studies consent emphasise the contribution of Human Resource Management practices to the organizational performance. These studies focused on HRM practices. There is shared idea that HR practices are only stiff when bundles are considered including incentive system, training, flexible job assignment, high selectivity and performance management. These practices contribute to increase employee and organization performance by increasing the level of productivity and monetary performance. HRM practices have an feeling of motivating employees to adopt the required behaviours, it links to the organizational climate, service environment and customer satisfaction. Outcome of investment funds on employees training from each one year, this finding is generally shown to be stronger when an organization provides employees with opportunities for the involvement in decision making and organises work in ways that allows employees a higher level of discretionary efforts in the way work is doneHRM practices and Organizational performanceAccording to studies of Boselie, Paauwe and Jansen (2000), that relationship between relevant dependant and independent variable will transfigure according to such influences as technology, unionization, industry, company ownership and location, capital intensity, company age and size. Contingency arguments imply potentially complex interactions between HRM variable, between performance and contingency factors, between HRM variables and performance indicators and contingency factors. Commitment HR practices are based on the idea that the closer an organizations HR prac tices resembled the correct prototypical system, the greater the performance gainNicolai and Dana (2009), focus on the impact of individual and bundles of HRM practices. The focus of the empirical research has been divergent and it is clear that reward and training have attracted disproportionate. These are important HRM practices, but it is hard to argue on a priori grounds that positive impact of, for example job design variables. They found that practices such as the use of selective hiring, the extent of training and active participation of the employee in decision making were conducive to organization learning, while group performance-based compensation was non found to be significant for organization learningA number of HRM researchers have argued that synergies are likely to exist among individual HRM practices. These studies indicate that when HRM practices are utilise as coherent systems, they have greater effects on organization productivity than the sum of the individua l effects from each practice aloneCristina (2007), sharpize the relationship and impact of HRM practices in organizational performance. People management should be matter of discussion and investment on the part of companies. As for as the supposed approaches are concerned, the conceptualization of the relationship among HRM practices and business strategy has given birth to three main approaches, named universalistic, contingent and configurational. Under the common relationship among HR Practices and organization performance or outcome, these models hypothesize different define s of variable and relations among them eventually influence corporate resultsIn the view of Peter and Donna (2008), for the first time approach which reflects the early work examining the impact of HRM practices implicitly assumed a universalistic, rational model of work organization yielded significant performance dividend. This has been closely associated with a best practice model of HRM. Secondly HR practices are required to have consistency with other organizational factors to be effective. These factors include the nature of marketplace and legislative change. Climate of organization both as individual level attribute and as a set of shared beliefs and values have effect of motivating employee to adopt desired attitudes and behaviour that in the collection, help to achieve organizations goals. HRM system can be read as communication between employer to employee. The long suit of HRM system as communication to employee will depend on those features that define HRM system strength. These features are distinctiveness, consistency and consensus. Rita and Miguel (2004), research has shown that HRM practices contribute to organizational performance. Early studies emphasized the impact of several separate HRM practices, such as compensation, performance management system and training. Later studies reported the positive impact of HRM practices on organizational performance as we ll as the virtuous impact of HR sophistication, measured by investment in HR planning, in hiring and in employee development on productivity, particularly in capital intensive organization. These latter studies have a common idea that bundle of HR practices improve employee and organization performance. Overall set of HRM practices developed the employees skills, ability and motivation. High performance work system contribute to improve employee and organization performance by increasing the level of productivityOrganizations rent and outcome for HRM practicesAccording to Bo Hansson (2002), in estimating the impact of training on the probability of the organization being a top performer in the industry, controlling for the bypast gainfulness is an effort to measure the net contribution of training to the make headway op the organization. Percentage of wage bills spent on training is significantly and positively associated with the profitability in an organization. The proportion of employee being trained is positive but not significant. Most significant factor to indicate current performance is the past performanceThe measure of internal promotion is significantly and positively associated with profitability only in the presence of how much is invested in training and not in the estimates of how many employees are trained every year. Focusing on internal promotion seems to be a good strategy for organization profitability as this strategy reduces the training. Because measure of internal promotion is significantly in the presence of how much is invested in trainingBruce and Benjamin (2009), explain the individual organizations decision regarding the extent of the investment in HRM practices. Following the mainline of HRM practices they assume the organization short-run objective is maximum financial return, which is simply treating as maximum profit. This assumption limits to private firmament for profit organizations. The HRM practices are treat as an in put factor in production. That is the organizations output is assumed produced with labour, capital and HRM practices. HRM is utilized therefore, because of its boost productivity. HRM helps to produced more output and profitStrength of HRM Practices and TurnoverRita and Miguel (2004), presents the links between HRM feature and outcome at organizational level, such as financial performance and productivity. HRM system or practices creates the conditions to achieve organizational goals by influences employee attribution. Individual practices intended to achieve objectives, such as promoting innovation, process deals with how the HRM practices is designed and administrated to send signals to employees that allow them to create a shared import about the desired response and collective sense of what is expected. According to one study (B Hansson, 2002), turnover is significantly and negatively associated with being a top perform organization. A large amount spent on employee every yea r. It is crucial for an organization to retain their employee in that turnover reduces the returns to training. This reasoning is in accord with the rational that mobility lowers an organizations training investment in that reduces the return on these training investments. However, an explanation for the finding that mobility is not determining the provision of training is that the economic benefits to the organization from training their employees outweigh the cost of lost human capital investment that are caused by personal turnover. Important determination of training is personal turnover as it affects the ability of organization to benefit from trainingAims and ObjectivesFollowing are the aims and objectives of this studyTo show the Impact of HRM practices on the performance of organizationEffect of HRM practices on employees performance, ability and behaviour.Contribution of HRM practices in organization performance. what package of HRM practices affect performance. The Relatio nship between HRM and Organizational Performance. Organization Performance and HRM practicesConclusionsWe can conclude that there are possibilities for including the institutional setting in theoretical framework in order to have a full coverage of the relationship between HRM practices and performance. On a number of HRM practices the individual organization cannot differentiate itself from competitors. The best practices are already enforced for majority of organization due to role. Highlight the impact of the individuals and bundles of HRM practices on the productivity and performance on organizationThe purpose of study is to explore relationship between HRM polices human capital and organization performance at business and individual level by considering different variables. From the concept of the strength of the HRM system, we can suggest that workplace climate provide a high credible mechanism in creating the infrastructure on which practices are institutionalised into the i nimitable asset for the organization. Workplace climate appears to act as a significant mediator between HRM system and performance

The Body Shop: Corporate Governance

The Body bring out merged G everywherenanceManagement System Corporate GovernanceThe focusing system and government activity of each and every ecesis is accountable for the maintenance of the organisations strength and survival in the stiff competition in the business world. The office of the governance imposed by the organisation as a whole should always be open minded for the occurrences of changes in order to adjust and look at with the tremendous development that atomic number 18 happening in the internal and foreign environment of the organisation. With the constantly changing environment, many mint especially those in the acidify organisation find themselves normally adapting. This is because change tail assembly bring many improvement and development in different aspects of dealncy. In many ways, change can make mesh easier, pave the way for future innovations or generally improve peoples lives. Similarly, change has been adapted by various work organisations for varied reasons.Important changes in the understanding and management of unified governance and its impacts on businesses nurture been developed in the past 10 to 15 years. respective(a) researchers, practitioners and policymakers now acknowledge that corporate governance and its impacts on businesses can be conceptualised from a functional perspective and that appropriate interventions involve the development of alternative measures to discern up. It was alike noned that the establishment of a conducive environment for learning and training as an integral component of corporate governance have served in effect in implementing organisational change strategies for transformation. At present, this philosophical shift has extended to various toughenedtings, including multinational companies and organisations. Directors here have recognised that some employees do not have the skills and behavioural repertoires undeniable to cope with the many expectations and challenges of co rporate governance. Hence, these employees may have the tendency to remain contented with their mediocre performances as their alternative way of mitigating these expectations.Corporate governance pertains to the set of policies that atomic number 18 established in order to make influence in the manner in which an organisation or high society is managed, governed or operated. The execution of corporate governance leads to the efficient and effective implementation of the policies and tasks necessary to satisfy a firms customers, employees, and management. It also focuses on the c beful management of the processes involved in the relationships among all the stakeholders involved (Bhattacharya, 2000).More often than not, small companies dont really have the capabilities to implement corporate governance. Instead, these companies engage in activities that various schools of management typically confrere with the implementation of corporate governance. These activities include the es tablishment of rules, policies for decision-making, monitoring and evaluation.However, corporate governance deals with all operations done at heart companies and organisations. Activities such as the management of responsibilities, the conquer of operations, logistics and evaluations are often related with corporate governance. A great deal of emphasis lies on the efficiency and effectiveness of processes. in that locationfore, corporate governance includes the analysis and management of internal processes.The Body take a crap will be the model business entity that will be used in this research based on their taradiddle in corporate governance.Company BackgroundA known British chain of cosmetic stores called Body Shop which is found almost all over the world shows tremendous success in previous years is also the association The Body Shop International plc. Actually, The Body Shop agreed to a 652 million takeover offer by a French cosmetics host LOral on 17 March 2006. The Bo dy Shop was founded by Anita Roddick, terrific for selling its own line of products not tested on animals, and produced in an ecologically sustainable approach (wikipedia, 2006).The Body Shop aims for sustainable growth as a broad market leader in cosmetics as well as for segment leadership. In both(prenominal) cases, the brands of The Body Shop will sour a life-and-death give. The Body Shop is able to establish its broad leadership usually by merging with an other(prenominal) strong cosmetics companies and their products, which are wherefore combined into a new, larger confederacy. Offering training to its employees, improving the company operations, and the introduction of new beauty products and technologies then reinforces the positions of the various products of The Body Shop. This practically results in economies of scale that is able to create a distribution network for both its local and international products. If a market is already in the check out of other compa nies, The Body Shop devotes its attention towards the development of a premium segment with its various beauty products.DiscussionsAny business organisation fundamentally exists because it has current responsibilities to suffer for the people in the community as well as the various entities comprising it. The organisation has its human entity ranging from the staff, to the managers, batting order of directors, stakeholders, suppliers and so forth. All these assemblages have their own set of functions that contribute to the determination of the business goals, the delivery mechanisms of goods and services, and the operational patterns within the organisation. Furthermore, business organisations are part of the larger society where the markets and consumers are targeted and derived. The complexity of the internal and external surroundings of the business necessitates crucial deliberations and decisions in order to ensure the effective and continuous affairs of the organisation. Th e overall management of the internal and external affairs of the organisation is what basically forms corporate governance.Basic Definitions1) Corporate Governance pertains to the set of policies that are established in order to make influence in the manner in which an organisation or company is managed, governed or operated (Bhattacharya, 2000).2) Company Performance can be measured in terms of the efficient and effective implementation of the policies and tasks necessary to acquire the essential goods or services at the best possible total cost of ownership, leading to the overall satisfaction of a firms customers, employees, and management (Booms, 1981). case of Executive DirectorsExecutive directors have the primary role to make specific identifications of all the possible sources of evaluation education which includes company performance. This is because aside from the observations of the immediate supervisors, company performance evaluation information can still come from a variety of other sources, including the employees, subordinates, and work products (Einsestat, 2001). For example, whenever The Body Shop utilises company performance information from individuals other than the immediate supervisor, the management informs the employees of the possible sources at the start of the company performance cycle, where they receive their company performance plans.In addition, these executive directors are the people who develop their companys performance plans. The plans are signed by the employees and then passed on to the management for approval. They make sure that company performance plans are complete and adequate before signing the forms (Gonzalez, 2003).Executive directors also discuss the company performance plans with the employees in a clear and organised manner. Generally, discussions are conducted within 30 days of the start of the company performance cycle.Role of Non-executive DirectorsNon-executive directors document their companys performan ce and provide feedback to the executive directors from time to time throughout the company performance cycle. Documentation normally occurs in the form of memos, and these are retained in the non-executive directors confidential files.Actually, these directors also have the actority to determine inferior or unacceptable company performance (Galpin et al. 2002). They normally address minor or marginal company performance issues through company performance focussing and coaching.The Body Shops Corporate GovernanceIt can be said that the company has a very good framework that has been established in order to deal with different corporate matters. In fact, thither is usually a properly structured program that is further reinforced by company policies and other functionings for the proper guidance of the directors in their daily duties. Consequently, the company has a clear reference guide to its business operations and corporate governance. The Board of Directors which handle the businesses and the decision-making routines as well as the monetary aspect of things, keeps watch. In addition, this includes the maintenance of the standards with regards to corporate governance in the bow windows different sectors.The Board is do up of ten directors two are executive while six are non-executive. Because of this, there is a fair division of responsibilities and other tasks among them. And while the non-executive directors are main(a) from the others, they are still able to contribute their experience and knowledge during Board discussions. Without a doubt, The Board is in-charge of caring for the companys operations, assets, and its shareholders. All-in-all, the board aims to work with these factors in the hopes of maximising performance. Because of this, it is The Board that is responsible for the finalisation of budgets and strategic plans. And in order to ensure the firms competent operations, The Board conducts a periodical review of the companys businesse s in relation to its financial movements.Furthermore, there is a company law that obliges The Board of Directors to carefully prepare each year, a financial report that would have to be accurate and reliable reflecting the true state of the company. All things considered, The Board of Directors is the one that is responsible for the proper safekeeping of explanation statements and to ensure that these records are precise and truthful. In addition, the board is in-charge of guarding the companys other assets as well as making the necessary steps in order to prevent complications such as fraud and other types of risks.Aside from the board of directors, the company also has other committees as part of their corporate governance. ripe like the board, other committees have a well-established reference guide which also discusses their duties and their scope of authority within the corporation. Composed typically of independent directors who are non-executive, the wage committee handle s the outline for the companys remuneration policy which would eventually be reviewed by the board. Moreover, this group is also responsible for the various remuneration packages that are given to executive directors. On the other hand, there is also a nomination committee which is also made up of mostly non-executive directors. The responsibility of this group is to recommend to The Board on which people should be appointed as directors. there is also a group known as the audit committee. Compared to the other two, the members of this committee is purely composed of non-executive directors. This groups duty is to make proper recommendations with regards to the companys accounting policies as well as overseeing financial control within the corporation (Sternberg, 1998). For this reason, the committee usually receives and reviews financial reports and other statements delivered to them. Then, they make a comprehensive report before they submit it to The Board. Of ground level, there is also the groups evaluation of the risks involved which has always been done to assist with the companys next business move, and have further control of the corporations different operations.Apparently, The Body Shop has a clear code of ethics and all employees must claim their acceptance of this code. The code of ethics includes a conflict of pursual policy to ensure that key corporate decisions are made by individuals who do not have a financial interest in the outcome separate from their interest as company officials. The company also actively monitors compliance with the law and the international financial policies and practices over hypercritical areas. These areas include internal controls, financial accounting and reporting, fiduciary accountability and safeguarding of our corporate assets.A major factor involved in the improvement of The Body Shop involves the establishment and utilisation of company performance measures or indicators that in turn measure their custom ers satisfaction. These measures or indicators are measurable characteristics of products and services that the company typically utilises in order to study and improve company performance. The indicators that will be chosen should be able to represent the essential factors that are crucial to the improvement of operational and financial performance. Through the analysis of accurate information brought about by the tracking processes, the measures or indicators themselves can possibly be analysed and modify to support such goals.Effects of Governance to The Body Shops Business Ethics and PurposeThe Board has been able to attain complete control of all matters regarding the company. Their self-perseverance and obligation to their duties and finally, their obedience to the company laws all contribute to the development of the corporation. As such, The Board constantly believes that all the data pertaining to financial information and other facts regarding to their operations that are currently being used is reliable. The Boards authority is clearly recognised within the company. And because of this, it is able to have a unharmed grip on the corporations actual operations, stakeholders and its financial concerns. Needless to say, because of the corporations proper structure and its freight to the stakeholders and to the community as well, the board of directors has proven that it can efficiently handle both its honorable and legal responsibilities.Furthermore, the company is currently maintaining good relations and open communications with its investors. As a matter of fact, shareholders are regularly invited by the corporation whenever there are gatherings to discuss trade updates. Moreover, whenever there is an annual general regarding, investors get the chance to put up The Board members themselves. And of course, for private investors, they can also access the companys website for various shareholder services. Undoubtedly, the company has good considerat ion for all of its stakeholders past, present and future. There definitely seems to be a very well planned framework in the firms corporate division. It has good policies and procedures with regards to financial matters and operational concerns. Its procedure of assessing the different kinds of situations that come up is certainly a good move on their part. Not to mention, they have maintained good relations with their stakeholders. And finally, The Boards authority is unsurpassed. Clearly, these facts prove the strength of the companys corporate governance structure.The weakness on this case however, is the fact that it cannot always be assured that there are no losses or other errors which may result from mistakes and inconsistencies by one of the committees or employees involved. In addition, having diverse populations, there can be a possibility of having internal problems between members who have different culture and beliefs. In addition, some problems occur in terms of giving value to the companies shareholders. There are times that the shareholder is not given the enough information about the status of the company, specifically that shareholder which have a small part in the business. This happens when the board of directors does not give value to their shareholders. Other negative aspects include the imperfection of financial reporting procedures which may definitely result in ineffective corporate governance.Why it is of interest to diverse stakeholder groups?The occurrence of corporate governance systems within diverse stakeholder groups reflects the growing difficulty in the management of organisations that lead the effective use of valuable resources such as money, materials, equipments, and people. And there is no exception to these. This is the reason why corporate governance systems are being utilise within diverse stakeholder groups in order for them to determine the most effective ways to coordinate these resources through the application o f analytical methods derived from fields of studies (Jobber, 1998).Through this process, group management problems are solved in different ways and alternative solutions are then relayed to the groups management. The management then selects the appropriate course of action in line with their goals. More often than not, corporate governance systems are concerned with complicated issues such as top-level strategy, resource allocation, designing of production facilities and systems, pricing and the analysis of large databases.For example, the company governance strategies of Heineken are concentrate mainly on driving the growth of its brands and improving the companys financial performance. These company governance strategies have also helped them secure significant acquisitions and partnerships. And more importantly, these campaigns have led to the release of the potentials of the companys employees, thus building a quality performance- based culture.On the other hand, Alliance Boot s, Europes leading pharmacy-led health and beauty group came into being with the spinal fusion of Alliance UniChem and Boots Group.The merger recognises and strengthens the existing strategies of both entities by combining complementary businesses and strengths to create an international force in pharmacy-ledhealth and beauty while maintaining the Companys commitment to the independent pharmacists through enhanced wholesale distribution and retail services. The companys ultimate aim is to deliver products that make people look and nip their best. In order to do so, the company values performance and continuously strives to fulfil promises to shareholders through setting high standards of practice that are recognised by all internal and external stakeholders. It intends to lead the pharmacy and beauty industries with its products while demonstrating expertise in conceptualising, marketing, selling and distributing its brands (cited in the Alliance Boots website 2006).From these exa mples, we may say that corporate governance should set a proper example of good intent, and provide for those lower in corporate hierarchies the clear message that it is do as I do as well as do as I say (Francis, 2000). Middle and lower management find it hard to be honorable when it seems that the top of the corporate hierarchy have no commitment. The message of sincerity will always filter down, and no amount of deception will rear the view that a board is ethical when it plainly is not.Additionally, the commitment to ethical corporate governance by a board will enhance the prospects of an ethical infrastructure within the organisation. That ethical infrastructure is a manifestation of the commitment, a means of preventing and resolving ethical problems, and an impressive demonstration of sincerity.ConclusionAs a person with knowledge of corporate governance systems, the author has always brought up to his superiors the viability of strategy formation regarding the analysis of t his topic and at times fails to understand the reasons or logic behind certain strategic implementations imposed on it.By delving into this project paper, the author intended to have better insights into how corporate governance systems are thought up, formulated and then imparted down into the subsidiaries of the company or organisation. The author hoped to have an in-depth understanding as to how the corporate governance systems of companies and organisations are able to compete effectively and profitably in this era of internationalisation where competition is extremely intense.In order to reinforce the learning objectives, two key focal issues were focused upon i.e. innovation and diversity. Innovation was discussed with regard to corporate governance systems of companies and organisations where they were renowned for their developmental capabilities to constantly innovate. Diversity came under strategic thinking and formation as the author considered the diverse culture, politi cal climate, economic surroundings, social environment, technological settings, government policies and legal systems in order to better understand the issues being discussed.The results of the analysis carried out on the corporate governance systems of The Body Shop indicated very significant effects, even amidst the threats of unrest. Therefore, we could conclude that the corporate governance systems of The Body Shop could still be expect to improve faster than average.The review of the capabilities and resources of the corporate governance systems of The Body Shop revealed very little inconsistencies regarding its strategies. This is coherent with their traditional inside-out approach. However, the need to reconcile both the inside-out and outside-in approaches becomes imperative now for The Body Shop.The analysis among the cosmetics industry environment as well as the corporate governance systems of The Body Shop and their capabilities revealed certain gaps, most of which are bi ased towards the industry environment. However, these gaps paved the way towards determining a number of recommended strategic options to secure the competitiveness of The Body Shop.Also, The Body Shop has to find a balance between adherence to internal forces within the management and to the changing forces of the environment in order to implement such strategic options.ReferencesAllianceboots 2006, Alliance Boots Website and location of Annual Report 2005, Available at http//www.allianceboots.com, Accessed November 2006.Bhattacharya, C. B. 2000, Relationship Marketing in Mass Markets, Handbook of Relationship Marketing, Thousand Oaks Sage.Booms, B. H. 1981, Marketing Strategies and judicature Structures for Service Firms, in Marketing of Services, J. H. Donnelly and W. R. George, Eds. Chicago American Marketing Association.Eisenstat, R. A. 2001, Organisational Dynamics, pp. 6-14.Francis, R. 2000, Ethics and Corporate Governance An Australian Handbook. Sydney, N.S.W. University of New South Wales Press.Galpin, T, and Murray, P. 2002 HR Magazine, issue 5, pp. 16-20.Gonzalez, M. 2003, journal of Business Strategy, issue 5, pp. 9-11.Grnroos, C. 1994, From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing Towards a Paradigm Shift in Marketing, Management Decision, 32 (2),Jobber, D. 1998, Principles and Practice of Marketing (2nd ed.). capital of the United Kingdom McGraw-Hill Publishing.Sternberg, E. 1998, Corporate governance accountability in the marketplace. London The Institute of Economic Affairs.The Body Shop 2006, Available at http//www.thebodyshopinternational.com/. Retrieved December 7, 2006.Wikipedia 2006, The Body Shop, Available atwww.wikipedia.com, Accessed November 2006.APPENDIXThe Body Shops Corporate GovernmentThe Board of Directors and management of The Body Shop believe that sound principles of corporate governance are critical to obtaining and retaining the trust and respect of shareholders, employees, other stakeholders and the public. The board ser ves at the discretion of stockholders and works to represent their interests by enhancing business strategies and practices for the creation of long term stockholder value.Governance SummaryThe board consists of three standing committees Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Governance CommitteeA majority of board members are independent of the company and its managementThe Audit Committee of the board has established policies consistent with the newly enacted corporate reform laws for auditor independenceThe independent members of the board meet regularly without the presence of managementThe charters of our board committees clearly establish their respective roles and responsibilitiesThe company has a clear code of ethics and all employees must affirm their acceptance of this code. The code of ethics includes a conflict of interest policy to ensure that key corporate decisions are made by individuals who do not have a financial interest in the outcome sepa rate from their interest as company officialsThe company actively monitors compliance with the law and the global financial policies and practices over critical areas. These areas include internal controls, financial accounting and reporting, fiduciary accountability and safeguarding of our corporate assets.