The First Ten Days Of College Essay - 1107 Words

The first ten days of college are some other experience. When I arrived on campus for the Eagle Incentive Program it was in the high nighties with some humidity. Moving in wasn’t that bad, it was just extremely hot. I was breaking a sweat walking up and down the Southern Pines stairs. The next day was time to say goodbye to my family. After giving my mom a big warm hug and a kiss goodbye, seeing them leave was a weird feeling. As I walked up the stairs to head back in my room the feeling really crossed my mind that I wasn’t going to see her again for another five weeks. It was an emotional few seconds saying goodbye, but I knew my mom was proud of my accomplishments that I achieved. Motived to work hard and make her even more of a proud mother; my sad emotions soon turned into happy thoughts. Well, it was not long before my mom was disappointed in me. My first week here I actually got myself in debt and my parents were furious at me. They told me in a serious tone that if that ever happens again, I will have to make myself money. Money management has already gotten me by the tail. Back at home, I could spend money here and there because I had a job and was getting paid weekly. Unemployed now because of moving to Statesboro, I only get 35$ put on my debit card a week. My spending that week was on three meals from Zaxbys and my money was gone. Thirty-five dollars may seem like a lot, but it flies by in college. In an article on usnews.com it states â€Å"Talking to students aboutShow MoreRelatedBenefits Of Attending College After High School1369 Words   |  6 PagesProfessor Tix ENGL 1302- MWF 8:00 AM 29 April 2016 Benefits of Attending College After High School There are many benefits for students choosing college as their first step in your future after high school. Earning a college degree is an important step, both personally and professionally (Hussung, 2015). Having a higher education is valuable to an individual, families, and the community as well. Students who obtain a college education often have higher lifetime earnings and experience a variety ofRead MoreSteve Jobs Commencement Speech Essay877 Words   |  4 Pagesfaced throughout his lifetime. He shared at the beginning of his speech that he had never graduated college  ¨Truth be told, I never graduated from college, and this is the closest Ive ever gotten to a college graduation. ¨ His first story was about his life growing up; he explained that his biological mother, who had never graduated college, wanted him to go to a family where both parents were smart college graduates. The beginning of his life started when he was adopted by his new family. He gave a stepRead More Why I Am A School Classroom1568 Words   |  7 PagesIf at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.’ — William Edward Hickson†. 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How Technology Is The Future - 3613 Words

E.H.R Implementation Paper Introduction Technology is the future. While we can debate this fact endlessly, we as an organization and as a professional field are faced with an extreme challenge: we must meet the growing demand, and begin the process of converting to more efficient, secure, and ethical methods. We must set the standard for success by purchasing, training our employees on, implementing, and achieving qualified goals with use of an Electronic Medical Records system, or we will be overrun by our competitors. It is true this is a significant investment, requiring significant initial startup capital to for purchasing software and hardware upgrades, as well as the cost associated with the required time to train employees. Potential concerns can include going so far as restructuring within our organization to include potentially new personnel to troubleshoot and assist with issues, and essentially re-writing our operating methods to include new technology. 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Cultural Diversity in the Workplace Free Essays

string(95) " including special recognition by the European Union in its Declaration on Cultural Diversity\." CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. OVERVIEW 2. DIVERSITY IN THE WORLD 3. We will write a custom essay sample on Cultural Diversity in the Workplace or any similar topic only for you Order Now CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE 4. DEFENSE OR PROMOTION OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY 5. DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE 6. CASE STUDY OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE 7. 1. Coca cola company _an example in cultural diversity 7. 2. Statement from the coca coal company 7. WORKPLACE ISSUES AND INTERVENTIONS 8. 3. Miscommunication 8. 4. Cultural bias 8. 5. Assimilation . BENEFITS OF DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE 9. 6. Better decision making and improved problem solving, greater creativity and innovation 9. 7. Ability to compete in global markets 9. MAKING DIVERSITY A BUSINESS ADVANTAGE 10. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DIVERSE WORKPLACE SUCCESS 11. 8. Managing diversity tools 11. 9. Creating the Multicultural Organization 11. 10. On the Interpersonal Level 11. IMPLEMENTATION LEGAL FRAMEWORKS 12. CONSEQUENCES OF IGNORING DIVERSITY 13. CONCLUSIONS ABOUT DIVERSITY AND SIMILARITY 14. RECOMMENDATION 15. REFERENCES OVERVIEW Managing diversity is defined as â€Å"planning and implementing organizational systems and practices to manage people so that the potential advantages of diversity are maximized while its potential disadvantages are minimized,† according to Taylor Cox in â€Å"Cultural Diversity in Organizations. † Cultural diversity is the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole. The term is also sometimes used to refer to multiculturalism within an organization. This article does not currently cover that alternative meaning. ) There is a general consensus among mainstream anthropologists that humans first emerged in Africa about two million years ago. Since then they have spread throughout the world, successfully adapting to widely differing conditions and to periodic cataclysmic changes in local and global climate. The many separate societies that emerged around the globe differed markedly from each other, and many of these differences persist to this day. As well as the more obvious cultural differences that exist between people, such as language, dress and traditions, there are also significant variations in the way societies organize themselves, in their shared conception of morality, and in the ways they interact with their environment. DIVERSITY IN THE WORLD By analogy with biodiversity, which is thought to be essential to the long-term survival of life on earth, it can be argued that cultural diversity may be vital for the long-term survival of humanity; and that the conservation of indigenous cultures may be as important to humankind as the conservation of species and ecosystems is to life in general. The General Conference of UNESCO took this position in 2001, asserting in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity that â€Å"†¦ cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature] This position is rejected by some people, however, on several grounds. Firstly, like most evolutionary accounts of human nature, the importance of cultural diversity for survival may be an un-testable hypothesis, which can neither be proved nor disproved. Secondly, it can be argued that it is unethical deliberately to conserve â€Å"less developed† societies, because this will deny people within those societies the benefits of technological and medical advances enjoyed by those of us in the â€Å"developed† world. In the same way it is unethical to promote poverty in underdeveloped nations as cultural diversity it is also unethical to promote all religious practices simply because they contribute to cultural diversity. Particularly, there are some practices that are recognized by the WHO and UN as unethical: Female Genital Mutilation, Sati (burning the widow on the husbands burial pyre), polygamy, child brides, human sacrifice, etc. Cultural diversity is tricky to quantify, but a good indication is thought to be a count of the number of languages spoken in a region or in the world as a whole. By this measure, there are signs that we may be going through a period of precipitous decline in the world’s cultural diversity. Research carried out in the 1990s by David Crystal (Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor) suggested that at that time, on average, one language was falling into disuse every two weeks. He calculated that if that rate of language death were to continue, then by the year 2100 more than 90% of the languages currently spoken in the world will have gone extinct. Overpopulation, immigration and imperialism (of both the militaristic and cultural kind) are reasons that have been suggested to explain any such decline. CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE The Universal Declaration of UNESCO on Cultural Diversity of 2001 is regarded as a legal instrument recognizing for the first time, cultural diversity as â€Å"common heritage of humanity† and considers its safeguarding to be a concrete and ethical imperative inseparable from respect for human dignity. There is also the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage ratified in June 20, 2007 by 78 States which said: â€Å"The intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and ives them a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity. † Cultural diversity was also promoted by the Montreal Declaration of 2007, and by the European Union. The idea of a global multi-cultural heritage covers several ideas, which are not exclusive. See multicultur alism. In addition to language, diversity can also include religious or traditional practice. DEFENSE OR PROMOTION OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY The â€Å"defense of cultural diversity† can take several meanings: * A balance to be achieved: thus, the idea of defense of cultural diversity through the promotion of actions in favor of â€Å"cultural minorities† said to be disadvantaged; * Preservation of â€Å"cultural minorities† thought to be endangered; * In other cases, one speaks of â€Å"cultural protection†, which refers to the concept of â€Å"cultural exception†, which is mainly used in France under the title â€Å"French exception†. This makes the link between the social vision of culture and the vision inherent in its commercialization. The cultural exception highlights the specificity of cultural products and services, including special recognition by the European Union in its Declaration on Cultural Diversity. You read "Cultural Diversity in the Workplace" in category "Papers" In this context, the objective is to defend against what is seen as a â€Å"commodification† – considered harmful to a â€Å"disadvantaged† culture – supporting its development through grants, promotion operations, etc. , also known as â€Å"cultural protectionism†. * This defense may also refer to incorporating â€Å"cultural rights† provisions, conducted unsuccessfully in the early 1990s in Europe, into a layer of human rights. DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE Diversity is a reality in today’s workforce. Diversity is a difference between people, for example, in race, age, gender, disability, geographic origin, family status, education, or personality that can affect workplace relationships and achievement. Diversity management aims to value these differences and encourage each person to fulfill his or her potential in terms of organizational objectives. The approach goes beyond equal opportunities, which stresses the rights of particular disadvantaged groups rather than those of the individual. Cultural diversity in the workplace provides strengths as well as challenges to businesses today. The United States is often thought of as the great melting pot where anyone from any background can assimilate into a single society. A more realistic and appropriate â€Å"Ideal† is one of multi-culturalism (cultural diversity). Multi-culturalism is based on the idea that cultural identities should not be discarded or ignored, but instead, should be maintained and valued. The importance of cultural diversity in the workplace has been, for the most part, accepted in international business. The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development is a United Nations–sanctioned international holiday for the promotion of diversity issues. It is currently held on May 21. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed this holiday due to UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity in November 2001. It was proclaimed by UN Resolution 57/249. Diversity Day, officially known as â€Å"The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development†, is an opportunity to help communities understand the value of cultural diversity and learn how to live together in harmony. It was adopted in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. CASE STUDY OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE COCA COLA COMPANY _AN EXAMPLE IN CULTURAL DIVERSITY â€Å"The Coca-Cola Company is a model employer for diversity and inclusion within its own work force and as a member of the larger business community. Its leadership on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality in the workplace is not only reflected in its long-standing achievement of 100 percent on the Corporate Equality Index, but in its principled support of anti-discrimination legislation that would protect every worker in the United States from being judged on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Joe Solmonese President, Human Rights Campaign STATEMENT FROM THE COCA COAL COMPANY We believe that associates who are inspired and valued create superior results. We strive to be a great place to work for all of our 92,400 associates globally by fostering safe, open, inclusive and healthy work. We want to ensure that our Company is as diverse and inclusive as our brands and our business. Our inclusive cult ure is defined by our seven core values: leadership, passion, integrity, collaboration, diversity, quality, and accountability. Our 2020 Vision is the roadmap that guides every aspect of our business. An unwavering focus on people is essential to our achieving sustainable, quality growth. Our People goal is to â€Å"Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be. † This is supported by our efforts to create a winning culture that defines the attitudes and behaviors that will be required of us to make our 2020 Vision a reality. WORKPLACE ISSUES AND INTERVENTIONS Diversity issues change over time, depending on local historical and dynamic conditions. Diversity issues relate to race, gender, age, disabilities, religion, job title, physical appearance, sexual orientation, nationality, multiculturism, competency, training, experience, and personal habits are explored here, the bias is toward valuing diversity. There are challenges to managing a diverse work population. Managing diversity is more than simply acknowledging differences in people. Many organizational theorists have suggested reasons that work-teams highly diverse in work-relevant characteristics can be difficult to motivate and manage. Miscommunication There are many challenges which face culturally diverse workplaces, and a major challenge is miscommunication within an organization. In an article entitled Developing Receiver-Centered Communication in Diverse Organizations, written by Judi Brownell, she explains that meanings of messages can never be completely shared because no two individuals experience events in exactly the same way. Even when native and non-native speakers are exposed to the same messages, they may interpret the information differently. It is necessary for employees who are less familiar with the primary language spoken within the organization to receive special attention in meeting their communication requirements. â€Å"In high context cultures, communicators share an experiential base that can be used to assign meanings to messages. Low context cultures, on the other hand, provide little information on which to base common understandings and so communicators must be explicit†. Because of this fact, it is better to view all diverse organizational environments as low-context cultures. Cultural bias Cultural bias is an additional factor which challenges culturally diverse work environments. Cultural bias includes both prejudice and discrimination. â€Å"Prejudice refers to negative attitudes toward an organization member based on his/her culture group identity, and discrimination refers to observable adverse behavior for the same reason†. Assimilation Another challenge faced by culturally diverse organizational environments is assimilation. According to the journal Cultural Diversity in the Workplace: The State of the Field, Marlene G. Fine explains that â€Å"Assimilation into the dominant organizational culture is a strategy that has had serious negative consequences for individuals in organizations and the organizations themselves. Those who assimilate are denied the ability to express their genuine selves in the workplace; they are forced to repress significant parts of their lives within a social context that frames a large part of their daily encounters with other people. † She goes on to mention that â€Å"People who spend significant amounts of energy coping with an alien environment have less energy left to do their jobs. Assimilation does not just create a situation in which people who are different are likely to fail, it also decreases the productivity of organizations†. BENEFITS OF DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE Diversity is beneficial to both the organization and the members and brings substantial potential benefits: Managing diversity well provides a distinct advantage in an era when flexibility and creativity are keys to competitiveness. An organization needs to be flexible and adaptable to meet new customer needs. Heterogeneity promotes creativity and heterogeneous groups have been shown to produce better solutions to problems and a higher level of critical analysis. This can be a vital asset at a time when the campus is undergoing tremendous change and self-examination to find new and more effective ways to operate. With effective management of diversity, the corporate develops a reputation as an employer of choice. Not only will you have the ability to attract the best talent from a shrinking labor pool, you can save time and money in recruitment and turnover costs. Better decision making and improved problem solving, greater creativity and innovation This leads to enhanced product development, and more successful marketing to different types of customers. Simply recognizing diversity in a corporation helps link the variety of talents within the organization. The act of recognizing diversity also allows for those employees with these talents to feel needed and have a sense of belonging, which in turn increases their commitment to the company and allows each of them to contribute in a unique way. Ability to compete in global markets Diversity also provides organizations with the ability to compete in global markets. Diverse organizations will be successful as long as there is a sufficient amount of communication within them. Because people from different cultures perceive messages in different ways, communication is vital to the performance of an organization. Miscommunication within a diverse workplace will lead to a great deal of challenges. Diversity is not only about preventing unfair discrimination and improving equality but also valuing differences and inclusion, spanning such areas as ethnicity, age, race, culture, sexual orientation, physical disability and religious belief. Scott Page’s (2007) mathematical modeling research of team work supports this view. He demonstrated that heterogeneous teams consistently out-performed homogeneous teams on a variety of tasks. Page points out that diversity in teamwork is not so simple in the messy real world. Too often the cultural differences create problems. The goal is to manage diversity to take full advantage of it. MAKING DIVERSITY A BUSINESS ADVANTAGE Diversity is being touted as the most important source of competitive strength in the global markets. Rather than merely observing minority representations within a rank, companies are now dwelling into their employee’s backgrounds, perspectives, styles to gain better understanding and using them to leverage business advantages. Companies are attaching importance to diversity and how it could benefit the bottom-line. By adopting a few practices, companies can create a diversity strategy. Ask relevant questions such as which diverse populations is your company serving, how can the diversity of your company reach them, how can your company better leverage diversity. Answering these questions will give you an insight into your diversity strategy. Building a strong infrastructure is also an important practice while creating diversity strategy. Merely appointing a diversity officer is not enough, involvement of all senior management is important. By doing so, your diversity strategy isn’t isolated. Create different groups that will focus on different identity groups. These teams will help to spot market opportunities upon which companies can act and gain profit. Like in any other corporate initiatives, involve every employee in diversity efforts and hold them accountable. Inclusion of different employees will boost them to put greater efforts in diversity strategy. Diversity strategies are being viewed as the latest effort to gain competitive edge over rival companies and to grow and strive in the global market. Serving are the three main steps that can be followed to generate higher leadership qualities. If we want to develop effective working relationships with diverse people at work, we need to start with similarities, not differences, among people when you build relationships. Diversity in the workplace adds a special richness, but also special challenges. As a human resources professional, manager, supervisor, coworker, staff member or business owner, effective diverse work relationships are critical for your success. Emphasis is on honoring and appreciating the diverse needs, skills, talents, and contributions of people in recent years. While this is critical, don’t let the pendulum swing too far in this direction. We are in danger of forgetting to honor and appreciate our similarities. By acknowledging the similarities and likenesses, we create a starting point for understanding and appreciating diversity in the work place. A strong example emerges in The Human Capital Edge: 21 People Management Practices Your Company Must Implement (or Avoid) to Maximize Shareholder Value (Compare Prices), by Bruce N. Pfau and Ira T. Kay, executives with Watson Wyatt Worldwide. In Watson Wyatt’s Work USA research, they asked 7500 workers at all job levels across diverse industries to respond to 130 statements about their workplaces. Watson Wyatt broke down the responses to look for diversity patterns across demographics including whites versus minorities, men versus women, and people over and under 30 years old. They found more similarities than differences, especially in the categories respondents rated as most important to them. People agreed about what inspires their commitment to a particular employer. People cited the following factors as important. * They supported their company’s business plan, * They had a chance to use their skills on the job, * Their reward package was competitive, and The company acted on employee suggestions. People also agreed on what organizations need to improve: employee input and promoting the best performers while helping the worst performers get better. Additionally, the employees want to know how their job affects internal and external customers. They want to understand how their job contributes to the accomplishment of company business goals. They want a safe work env ironment and highly rated products and services. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DIVERSE WORKPLACE SUCCESS Managing diversity tools Managing diversity goes far beyond the limits of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action. High performing diversity managers recognize that specialized skills are necessary for creating a productive, diverse workforce. They seek out continuous learning opportunities and some go as far as acquiring certification. Managers must be willing to work towards changing the organization in order to create a culture of diversity and inclusion. Assessment skills and diversity education are key elements of culture change. However, the leadership’s support of the change cannot be understated. Creating the Multicultural Organization â€Å"The key to managing a diverse workforce is increasing individual awareness of and sensitivity to differences of race, gender, social class, sexual orientation, physical ability, and age†. There are several ways to go about creating the multicultural organization that performs extremely well. The â€Å"business case for diversity†, theorizes that in a global marketplace, a company that employs a diverse workforce (both men and women, people of many generations, people from ethnically and racially diverse backgrounds etc. is better able to understand the demographics of the marketplace it serves and is thus better equipped to thrive in that marketplace than a company that has a more limited range of employee demographics. An additional corollary suggests that a company that supports the diversity of its workforce can also improve employee satisfaction, productivity and retention. This portion of the business case, often referr ed to as inclusion, relates to how an organization utilizes its various relevant diversities. If a workforce is diverse, but the employer takes little or no advantage of that breadth of that experience, then it cannot monetize whatever benefits background diversity might offer. In most cases, US employers are prohibited by federal and state laws from giving race or ethnicity any consideration in hiring or assigning employees. However, the US Supreme Court has upheld the use of limited preferences based on race, ethnicity, and sex, when there is a â€Å"manifest imbalance† in a â€Å"traditionally segregated job category. † In response to the research, Pfau and Key recommend that organizations concentrate on four areas with their employees. * Keep your company effective, winning, and on the right track. * Help people, supplied with needed resources; use their talents and skills to contribute to the overall accomplishment of organization objectives. * Respect and value people and recognize and act on their contributions. * Create an environment in which people have interesting work and enjoy their coworkers. On the Interpersonal Level Take a look at your coworkers or reporting staff with new eyes. Think about the factors that you share in common with them. You’ll find: * You’re all human beings with complex emotions, needs, interests, outlooks, viewpoints and dreams. Share something about yourself to create an environment in which your coworker wants to share information with you. Listen and don’t pry. Polite and continuing interest in your coworkers contributes to workplace harmony. * You have family and other interests outside of work. Hear what your coworkers tell you about their personal lives. Remember the highlights to demonstrate respect and interest. You have similar needs from work as demonstrated above in The Human Capital Edge. Acknowledge this and note the commonalities. Work is more exciting when you feel as if you are accomplishing mutual goals. Act as if you are part of a winning team. Emphasize, with coworkers, your common interest in your success and the success of the organization. You’ll get to know people as people if you partici pate in any fun or team building events your organization sponsors. Better yet, join the team that plans them. Implementation Diversity issues change over time, depending on local historical and dynamic conditions. Overt â€Å"diversity programs† are usually limited to large employers, government agencies and businesses facing rapid demographic changes in their local labor pool and help people work and understand each other. The implementation of diversity is often limited to the Human resources department] when there is also a good economic case for UK companies to use it as a tool to reach new market shares. Legal frameworks US anti-discrimination laws prohibit employers giving any consideration to customers’ preferences for being served by employees of a given gender, ethnic group, or color. In general, the laws also prevent consideration based on religion, although the law allows major exceptions of this provision for religious organizations. Many countries are also introducing anti-discrimination laws (for example the DDA in the UK) forcing companies to be more aware of diversity. The law student organization Building a Better Legal Profession generated significant controversy in October 2007 for reporting data suggesting that most private law firms themselves lacked demographic diversity. CONSEQUENCES OF IGNORING DIVERSITY Ignoring diversity issues costs time, money, and efficiency. Some of the consequences can include unhealthy tensions; loss of productivity because of increased conflict; inability to attract and retain talented people of all kinds; complaints and legal actions; and inability to retain valuable employees, resulting in lost investments in recruitment and training. CONCLUSIONS ABOUT DIVERSITY AND SIMILARITY If you start by recognizing the ways in which you are similar to your coworkers, you’ll build a base of understanding and acceptance that will withstand the sometimes stormy times when your differences come to the forefront. REFERENCES 1. Cultural diversity in the workplace : issues and strategies / George Henderson by Henderson, George, 1932- Westport, Conn. : Quorum Books, 1994 2. www. unep. org 3. www. unesco. org 4. The Human Capital Edge: 21 People Management Practices Your Company Must Implement (or Avoid) to Maximize Shareholder Value Bruce N. Pfau and Ira T. Kay, executives with Watson Wyatt Worldwide 5. Cross-cultural management / edited by Gordon Redding and Bruce W. Stening Cheltenham : Edward Elgar, c2003 6. Cross-cultural management : case studies development and delivery : report and case studies /CCM Research Team ; Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific, University of Sydney Sydney : Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific, University of Sydney, 1997 7. Multinational cross-cultural management : an integrative context-specific process / Robert J. Mockler, Dorothy G. Dologite by Mockler, Robert J Westport, Conn. : Quorum Books, 1997 8. International management : a cross cultural and functional perspective / Kamal Fatehi by Fatehi, Kamal Englewood Cliffs, NJ. : Prentice Hall, 1996 How to cite Cultural Diversity in the Workplace, Papers

Employee Satisfaction at John Deere Harvester Works free essay sample

Having strong values that have stood the test of time allow for a workforce that can feel proud and satisfied to call John Deere their employer. Although the workforce is referred to as a team now instead of a family, the strong culture and values remain intact. To fulfill the needs of their employees, John Deere performs an Employee Satisfaction survey every two years. These surveys are reviewed by Human Resources to find out what is most important to employees, favorable and unfavorable. The results are then discussed with area managers. Deere is showing commitment to continuous improvement of employee morale by involving executive level individuals in the communication of employees’ opinions of how John Deere is working for them. Through these surveys, the company can also identify which employee’s needs are not being met, and which employee groups could benefit by training and further education. Training employees makes them better suited for their current job, as well as the jobs they hope to hold in the future with Deere. Training employees shows confidence in their ability to achieve more, and provide the company with valuable skills. John Deere has proven itself as an honest and ethical company. Employees are treated with enough respect that they have assurance knowing that if their job is in danger, they will know about it. Showing great confidence in its workforce, Deere has actually allowed certain ailing divisions the chance to pull themselves out of danger of extinction. Using an anonymous hotline to report ethical breaches keeps the employees feeling satisfied they will not have to put up with ethical behavior from co-workers, nor be asked to perform unethical tasks by supervisors. Overall, John Deere was started with a vision, and the vision has remained intact through a century and a half of wars, economic struggles, and rapid technological improvements. By sticking to superior culture and ethical guidelines, John Deere will continue to be an employer of choice. Literature Review John Deere has always prided itself in hiring and keeping loyal, dedicated employees on the wage and salaried work forces. Over 54 percent of the wage workforce at John Deere Harvester Works in East Moline, Illinois has been with the company between 25 and 30 years (Workforce Data, 2008). According to the CPA Journal (2004, 74, 6. p. 17(1)), â€Å"a tough job market and bumpy economy have made Americans more loyal and devoted to their employers. † John Deere, however, has had more than half of their employees at this factory already prove their loyalty and dedication before the tough job market emerged, by not changing jobs. These loyal employees that Deere has been able to hold onto exemplify why they are one of the best choices for employment opportunities for the workforce over 50 (Kiplinger’s Retirement Report, 2006). While other companies are focused on bringing in the newest and brightest talent, Deere can boast having some of the most loyal and experienced professionals. Keeping experienced generations in the workforce allows Deere to utilize their experience in order to provide mentor-type relationships with newer employees and show them the values associated with the John Deere name. Tenured employees show the rest of the company that loyalty is something to be celebrated, and Deere does a great job continuing to keep their employees satisfied. When thinking of employee satisfaction, the values of the corporate culture are well aligned with what the employees believe themselves, as responses from the 2007 company-wide employee survey show. Because of these instilled values, employees show that they will remain loyal to John Deere. In the past, John Deere employees were referred to as â€Å"family. † This term has gone away over time and the current CEO prefers that employees be referred to as â€Å"a team,† which is one way to describe an employee group. Bob Lane, chairman and CEO of Deere says: â€Å"The firm is actually a complement to family †¦ while family members who don’t pull their weight may not be welcome at the Thanksgiving dinner table, they remain members of the family, but if you’re not pulling your weight here, I’m sorry, you’re not part of the team. † (Pomeroy, 2007). In saying this, Lane has made his feelings clear that he appreciates his workforce, but he will not tolerate individuals not pulling their weight on a project. Other employees feel a sense of satisfaction from this, knowing that they have the benefit of the leadership team pulling for the development of each employee and team. By referring to employees as team members, Lane demands closeness and stability in his workforce, but he also realizes that it is important to keep work and family separate; this practice is known as work / life management. John Deere helps employees draw the line that allows for the distinction by providing benefits, social networking, and flextime. These programs allow individuals at Deere to plan for personal and professional lives coincidentally. John Deere made his first polished-steel, self-scouring plow in 1837, and after various manufacturing successes, business trials, and patent awards, Deere Company was formed in 1852. From the beginning, John Deere instilled four core values that remain prominent in the values of the business today: integrity, quality, commitment, and innovation. These values have led the employees of John Deere through times of success and abundance and times of turmoil and cutbacks. These values have not only applied to the manufacturing processes at John Deere, these values also apply to the workforce development and quality of life that is known as a John Deere career. Employee development and employee satisfaction ranks highly among management, leadership, and executives and is measured on different levels. John Deere encourages employees to work in an environment where they can expand their skills and knowledge of the product and the business. To maintain employee satisfaction, John Deere focuses on providing the resources and opportunities to challenge employees in their structure based on work specifications, routine, and organization design. Employees can enhance their talent and creativity by utilizing outside resources and technology. Employees are diverse, and they are encouraged to work together in these diverse teams to develop global teamwork strategies. John Deere employees can use their individual differences within the global community for the benefit of many. This allows employees’ attitudes and behaviors to be shaped around global culture and inclusive of teamwork. In addition, with a cultural approach and group diversity, social networking will increase. John Deere encourages collaboration and shared goals focused around people and their abilities (Deere Company, 1996-2008). John Deere’s success is built around professional development, cultural diversity, and training. John Deere provides world-class training and development opportunities, and their employees can advance their careers as fast and as far as their ambition, skills, and competencies allow. Multiple career paths enable Deere employees to explore their many talents and maximize career satisfaction (Deere Company, 1996-2008). At the global level, management creates functional teams based on the company goals and stakeholders needs. Analysis Every two years, John Deere implements a Corporate-wide employee survey. The results of this survey are reviewed at the executive level and at the unit level to measure employee satisfaction for both wage and salary employees. Factories that manufacture John Deere equipment employ both wage and salaried employees. Most John Deere wage employees’ interests are represented by labor unions such as United Auto Workers (UAW), Iron Workers (IW), etc. Wage employees mainly represent the production workforce. However, many wage employees work on Non-Traditional Assignments (NTA). NTA’s are more like salaried positions; they are typically in an office and require knowledge and skills related to computer use. These are typically jobs that salaried employees hold. Salaried employees, then, hold typical office roles: supervisors, managers, engineers, etc. Harvester Works, the factory that will be highlighted later in this paper, is represented by 1,700 wage employees (UAW contracted employees) and 600 salaried employees. In many cases, John Deere management can identify the needs of employee by using surveys and evaluations. It is also important for Human Resource Departments (HRM) to identify employees’ needs and wants in the workplace, so they can effectively communicate with the area management. HRM can implement a specific training and education program for each employee’s job description and needs. By using a content task analysis, managers can execute training programs that are cost efficient and practical for organization needs. Budgets will have to be created for training and eveloping programs in order to plan and forecast for organization operation needs. Operational-activity analysis can be used to input or output variables that management uses to determine unit volume and measurable of employee services (Longest, Rakish, Darr, 2003, pg. 205). Once funding is determined, management can plan accordingly and assess needs for training and certifications. Employee satisfaction s hould be based on stability and structure, which is why management determines who really needs training and who really does not. One way to do this is to use performance appraisal and job descriptions. A performance appraisal helps identify productivity, quality, and service with each employee and helps managers interact and communicate effectively. This allows the employee to feel confident in the manager’s decisions and creates an environment for open communication between different stages of careers. Understanding the Employee’s Point of View The most recent John Deere employee survey was conducted in early 2007. In order to gauge what has changed in the minds of employees since their responses were revealed, another survey was conducted in July 2008. The surveys conducted in 2008 were sent to both wage and salary employees, and the employees were asked questions about their dedication to John Deere, their feelings on John Deere culture, the understanding of their benefits package, the importance of new employee integration, and their opinions on the competitiveness of their pay. Of the 406 wage employee surveys that were mailed, 127 (or 31 percent) were returned for analysis. Similarly, of the 326 salaried employee surveys that were mailed, 104 (or 31 percent) were also returned. The surveys were mailed to wage employees via company mail and returned the same way, as most wage employees work in production on the shop floor and do not have access to e-mail on a regular basis. The information returned in paper format was then loaded into the survey website for ease of analysis. The salaried employees were mailed a link to the survey website and were asked to click a link to fill out their surveys. These two surveys both focused on people hired new to John Deere Harvester Works between January 1, 2007 and January 23, 2008. These new-hire surveys were done between these times because these were employees who were unable to participate in the 2007 corporate-wide employee survey The 2007 employee survey at John Deere found the following feelings from employees: the 2007 employee survey had a completion rate of 72 percent; over 40 percent more returns then the 2008 survey. Fifty-seven percent of those returning the 2007 survey reported that their overall engagement with John Deere is favorable. In terms of compensation and benefits, employees felt 42 and 53 percent favorable, respectively. The overall highest score on the survey reflected 63 percent favorable feelings about the ethics that are employed at John Deere. The 2008 survey performed for the purpose of assessing increases in these scores in employee engagement showed interesting results in terms of people’s favorability with their benefits and pay. According to the survey performed in July of this year, employee favorability with benefits and pay increased to 63 percent. What this shows is that in a short amount of time, Harvester Works has successfully increased the amount of employees that are satisfied with benefits and pay. Harvester Works has worked with corporate human resources to develop a plan for increasing these numbers. One reason for the increase in satisfaction is an employee workshop that was organized by Harvester Works and facilitated by Fidelity, the 401k provider for John Deere worldwide. These workshops allowed experienced employees to ask questions about retirement and also allowed new employees to ask questions about getting into their new 401k programs. In addition, human resources worked with the communications department at Harvester Works and developed a Survey Focus Group to address the needs and feelings of the workforce. A few specific concerns on the initial 2007 survey were related to issues in the parking lot at the factory. These issues were also addressed by the focus group but of course, were not related to benefits or pay. In addition, it was determined in the survey that people were slightly confused about their bonus structure and payout. Harvester Works is in the process of implementing a manager â€Å"talk sheet† that can be covered by managers when they have new employees begin work in their departments. Focus group members are currently working with management to address frequently asked questions and are working with the communications department to facilitate the rollout. All of these actions were in direct request of the 2007 and 2008 surveys and directly relay the importance that John Deere Harvester Works and John Deere corporate put on the satisfaction of their employees. Global Implications on the John Deere Business Operating with the highest business ethics while maintaining employee satisfaction is no easy task, and it requires vigilance on the part of John Deere leadership. John Deere maintains a compliance hotline for reporting possible violations of company ethics policies, and employees who suspect or have knowledge of unethical or improper actions are encouraged to report these concerns, either personally or anonymously. The hotline, available 24 hours a day, is backed up with anonymous e-mail and a postal address as alternative means for confidential reporting, if one chooses (Deere Company, 2007a). This gives employees the satisfaction of knowing that there is support from the executive level when it comes to doing business in an ethical and moral manner. In addition, John Deere’s Office of Corporate Compliance helps â€Å"ensure consistency and compliance in a global business environment of increasing complexity of laws, regulations, and cultural practices,† (Deere Company, 2007a, p 8). This office of compliance conducts continuous training, delivers communications, and promotes the sharing of best practices throughout John Deere’s various operations to ensure compliance with laws and regulations. The office also provides employee access to global policies and offers guidance on complex, and sometimes confusing, business and cultural situations. All of these methods promote not only ethical decision-making processes, but also a culture of ethical behavior in which all employees make the right decision. It is this promotion of ethical culture that leads to the global understanding of the nature and dynamics promoted at John Deere and a main reason why they intend to keep employees satisfied in the working environment. The global community population is growing and with its growth comes the aligned growth of global corporations, which requires a whole different level of creating satisfaction among employees of different cultures. In addition, the global marketplace is becoming more prosperous, which has been driven by increased income for families in poorer countries (Deere Company, 2007b, pg. 3). In the global marketplace, corporations must seek to be responsible to their shareholders and customers, but in different ways that a corporation functioning solely in the United States would be. Performing on the global scale means a corporation has to strive to conduct business in a way that safeguards not only the shareholder, but employees, customers, community neighbors and the environment, as well. Many companies would view global business performance as a necessary part of its pursuit of sustainable growth in any industry (Deere Company, 2007a). A commonality that all corporations share is the value of making a profit, and leadership knows that they have to work towards the common goal and get others to follow in order to achieve success in the field. However, achieving financial goals means different things to different cultures, and actions are held to different levels of accountability depending on culture. While embracing commonalities of employees and their dedication to John Deere, the corporation must also embrace differences. In addition to commonalities, it is important for the leadership of an organization to bring expertise, business skills, and strategic global perspective that enables the corporation to grow while maintaining its values and the values that employees hold. (Deere Company, 2007a). Along these same lines, it should be expected that employees in a global company would have extensive diversity sensitivity training to be sure they are aligned with the business conduct guidelines of the global organization. All of the company’s businesses and its reported results are affected by, among many other things, general economic conditions in, and the political and social stability of, the global markets in which the company operates (Deere Company, 2007b). These conditions must be taken into account heavily in order for the global corporation to be successful. Languages of contracts, payment of employees, prices of commodities, political unrest, social unrest, climate conditions: these are all factors that each and every global business has to understand and be equipped to deal with. Recommendations for Management Employees and management should have skills and training available to them to perform the job and duties efficiently and effectively. Management and all administrative divisions in the John Deere organization should exemplify broad-based expertise in handling conflicts, ethics, design, evaluation, and implementation of training programs. John Deere management should set the standards and keep organization morale high, by providing employee training programs, rewards, certifications, and development courses to maintain employee satisfaction. John Deere should also strive to continue to be an honest employer and build trust with each employee. Honesty and Involvement With the fast paced world and all of the bad news about the housing market and rising gas prices, it may be difficult for an employer to be completely honest with their employees. At John Deere, CEO Bob Lane believes in leveling with his employees. If there is bad news to come, he wants it to come early, even if it involves letting people go. He thinks that each individual has worth and need to be treated with dignity (Pomeroy, 2007). Not only is this concept honest, it makes communication less of a problem. Employees can focus more on their tasks at hand instead of worrying about losing their position. They know that if there is a threat of their job being cut, they would have heard about it; there is no need to fear the grapevine. Not dealing with this fear and anxiety should allow for greater employee satisfaction. Involving employees in some decision-making events can also lead to great employee satisfaction. Even though Deere is a very successful company, they found that they were facing having to close a number of factories and reduce product lines. Even though Lane believed they had a great company, great products, and a great dealer network, they had just an okay business (Pomeroy, 2007). Instead of making the decisions on his own, Lane pushed a lot of the responsibility back on the employees themselves. He encouraged them to pull the workforce together to make the business itself great. Giving employees the chance to work with their team to bring the company back to being competitive shows a great deal of respect for subordinates. This respect allows the employees to feel much pride and should really motivate very innovative thinking. Being part of the solution will benefit both individual employees as well as the company stockholders. If a team of employees can bring a business section back to being productive, they will also earn the respect of fellow employees, who would otherwise be out of a job. Gratefulness and awe from peers can really inspire and satisfy employees. Deere should continue to motivate employees by allowing for their constant involvement in the â€Å"real† problems. Telecommuting One way that employee satisfaction can be encouraged is to allow employees more freedom to take their jobs into their own hands, and decide for themselves when and where they will get their work tasks done. Allowing employees this much freedom will show that the company has the utmost respect and trust for certain employees. By introducing the concept of telecommuting, employee satisfaction can reach new levels. It is a very risky idea with managers feeling like their employees will do nothing but goof off and home and be very unproductive, but the benefits can be astounding. The benefits to the environment can actually be quantified. One news correspondent calculated that he could save 80 minutes a day in commuting time as well as a gallon of fuel a day, which would save the planet 2. tons of carbon dioxide each year (Global Agenda, 2008). If everyone telecommutes instead of driving to work, oil imports would drop over a quarter, and carbon emissions would fall by 67 metric tons a year, and everyone would get the equivalent of an extra 25 working days of vacation per year (Global Agenda, 2008). In the news recently, it seems like the environment has become a very important issue, both ethically and politically. Keeping the earth healthy for as long as possible is a good goal for a large corporation to focus on. The other benefit of telecommuting is making the employees’ lives more enjoyable. More work can be accomplished if the employees are experiencing fewer interruptions by constant phone calls and other co-workers. The stress of other co-workers and bosses should also be diminished, because there will be less time spent with them. The quicker the work gets done, the more free time an employee will have to focus on their personal life, the more satisfied they will be. With the increasing popularity of dual income families, telecommuting will be much more appreciated. Each parent can work around the other’s schedule to make the family happy and successful. Along with the family aspect, the financial aspect also needs to be thought about. By not paying for the gas, employees can save a significant amount of money, which can be spent on more important things, like food. Conclusion Since 1852, the values of John Deere have remained rooted: integrity, quality, commitment, and innovation. These values have not only applied to the manufacturing processes at John Deere, these values also apply to the workforce development and quality of life that is known as a John Deere areer. Employee development and employee satisfaction clearly ranks highly among management, leadership, and executives and is measured on different levels. John Deere encourages employees to work in an environment where they can expand their skills and knowledge of the product and the business. To maintain employee satisfaction, John Deere focuses on providing the resources and o pportunities to challenge employees in their structure based on work specifications, routine, and organization design. Employees can enhance their talent and creativity by utilizing outside resources and technology. Employees are diverse, and they are encouraged to use work together in these diverse teams to develop global teamwork strategies. John Deere employees can use their individual differences within the global community for the benefit of many. This allows employees’ attitudes and behaviors to be shaped around global culture and inclusive of teamwork. At the global level, management creates functional teams based on the company goals and stakeholders needs and from recent survey results, the reader can see that John Deere and its factory environments go above and beyond to achieve employee satisfaction.