The European languages are members of the same fam Essays - Culture

The European languages are members of the same family. Their separate existence is a myth. For science, music, sport, etc, Europe uses the same vocabulary. The languages only differ in their grammar, their pronunciation and their most common words. Everyone realizes why a new common language would be desirable: one could refuse to pay expensive translators. To achieve this, it would be necessary to have uniform grammar, pronunciation and more common words. If several languages coalesce, the grammar of the resulting language is more simple and regular than that of the individual languages. The new common language will be more simple and regular than the existing European languages. It will be as simple as Occidental; in fact, it will be Occidental. To an English person, it will seem like simplified English, as a skeptical Cambridge friend of mine told me what Occidental is. The European languages are members of the same family. Their separate existence is a myth. For science, music, sport, etc, Europe uses the same vocabulary. The languages only differ in their grammar, their pronunciation and their most common words. Everyone realizes why a new common language would be desirable: one could refuse to pay expensive translators. To achieve this, it would be necessary to have uniform grammar, pronunciation and more common words. If several languages coalesce, the grammar of the resulting language is more simple and regular than that of the individual languages. The new common language will be more simple and regular than the existing European languages. It will be as simple as Occidental; in fact, it will be Occidental. To an English person, it will seem like simplified English, as a skeptical Cambridge friend of mine told me what Occidental is. The European languages are members of the same family. Their separate existence is a myth. For science, music, sport, etc, Europe uses the same vocabulary. The languages only differ in their grammar, their pronunciation and their most common words. Everyone realizes why a new common language would be desirable: one could refuse to pay expensive translators. To achieve this, it would be necessary to have uniform grammar, pronunciation and more common words. If several languages coalesce, the grammar of the resulting language is more simple and regular than that of the individual languages. The new common language will be more simple and regular than the existing European languages. It will be as simple as

The Art of Being Lonely a Portrayal of the Lives of Chinese Women of the Post

The Art of Being Lonely a Portrayal of the Lives of Chinese Women of the Post Because of their being not ready for the shift from a WWII to the post-WWII environment and the change in values, Chinese women were highly susceptible and extremely vulnerable to the lures of the â€Å"New Shanghai,† which led the main character of Wang’s novel The Song of Everlasting Sorrow: A novel of Shanghai, Wang Qiyao, to the bitter realization of the fact that in any kind of relationship, be it between the ones in love with each other or between relatives, both parties are doomed to mutual misunderstanding and eventually being used, which means that at the end of the day, every single human being is lonely.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Art of Being Lonely: a Portrayal of the Lives of Chinese Women of the Post-wwii Generation. Wang Anyi’s the Song of Everlasting Sorrow Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More One of the many faces of loneliness, or, to be more exact, the necessity to comply with the false morals of the post-war Chinese society, shows clearly that, by trying to subvert to a new definition of freedom and equality without even questioning its meaning, people were trying to make up for the void inside. Mentioned at the very beginning of the novel, these false morals, however, do not portray the post-40s Chinese world as something to be shunned or ashamed of; instead, Anyi clarifies delicately that the give misconception stemmed from the clash of the Chinese culture and the European one. Nevertheless, the air of misunderstanding that contributes to distancing the characters from each other even more is expressed in a very graphic manner: â€Å"One exalts Ibsen’s Nora as a spiritual leader for having the courage to leave home while deep down inside idolizing Oriole in The Western Wing, who finds a strong man she can depend on for the rest of her life† (Anyi 15). Truly, one should not jump to conclusions concerning the mendacity of the post-war society; instead, the given phenomenon can be viewed as the willingness to comply with the progress of the West while trying to retain the traditional Chinese values. As a result, the Chinese people of the 1940s–1950s were luring themselves into thinking that they can live a better, more exciting and luxurious life according to the elitist standards of the New Shanghai, while not being able to part with the ideas that they had learned at their mother’s knees and have been living their entire life according to. Trying to follow the fashionable fads and finding that the latter offered them nothing but emptiness and false expectations, the Chinese people felt betrayed and lonely.Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Speaking of the characters, neither the lead one, i.e., Wang, nor any of the supporting ones escape the clutches of lonesomeness. The given idea can also be traced in the story of some characters. For example, the following description of Mr. Cheng pretty much incorporates the history of the Chinese people’s fascination and the following disappointment in the distant 1940s: â€Å"In the 1940s photography was still a modern hobby, which naturally made Mr. Cheng a modern youth. [†¦] He was fickle in his interests, always tiring of the old and moving on to the new† (Anyi 78). The desire to follow the trend instead of relying on the traditional values leaves one roaming in search for another fad, feeling finally devoid of any substance. Needless to say, the atmosphere of rivalry and cunningness that the Hollywood is shot through does not give many reasons to hope for the characters to get more in tune with each other, either. By stressing the vulgarity of the Hollywood morals, as well as the shallowness of its actors and actresses, Anyi explains that the glamorous New Shanghai, which was practicall y trying to recapture the specifics of the Western culture, simultaneously paying zero respect to the traditional Chinese one, made the distance between the Chinese people even greater. As Anyi put it, â€Å"He [Mr. Chang] especially despised Hollywood movies and the women in them, who displayed nothing but feminine shallowness. Those Hollywood actresses were not fit to hold a candle to men playing female roles in Peking operas† (Anyi 108). Splitting into the traditional rural and the highly modernized urban parts, the Chinese community was becoming more disintegrated, which resulted in people distancing from each other.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Art of Being Lonely: a Portrayal of the Lives of Chinese Women of the Post-wwii Generation. Wang Anyi’s the Song of Everlasting Sorrow Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It can be argued, though, that Anyi portrays a number of moments in which her characters interact with each other rather successfully; moreover, they seem to be completely in tune with each other and appear to be forming close friendship. However, at the end of the day, most of these relationships turn out to be based on the needs of one of the characters. Another argument against the idea of depressing theme filling Anyi’s work is that the author portrays very convincing development of relationships that are typically looked down at and even mentioned with a pinch of irony, e.g., friendship between two women. However, these relationships often turn out to be based on something as low as gossip: â€Å"If the longtang of Shanghai could dream, that dream would be gossip† (Anyi 9). Finally, it can be argued that the novel portrays not only the relationships in which one of the parties is necessarily the love interest of another one, but also the ones in which a man and a woman form a friendship, which is a rather original solution. Indeed, whe never seeing a female and a male character spending at least a chapter of a book having a talk, the readers will inevitably think them to be enamored with each other. To her credit, Anyi breaks this obnoxious clichà © by showing that the relationships between Mr. Cheng and Wang can take an unexpected turn and that there might be a strong emotional connection between them: â€Å"’If I had a sister†¦ and were able to choose what she was like,’ said Mr. Cheng. ‘I would pick someone just like you’† (Anyi 93).Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, the charming atmosphere of mutual trust and the reconciliation between two kindred spirits is shattered by the fact that they will actually never be able to become more than acquaintances. The last and the most important, in this conversation, one of the characters is far from being as serious as another; unlike Mr. Chang, Wang considers the atmosphere â€Å"playful† (Anyi 93) enough not to take Mr. Cheng’s words as something important. Thus, the given scene is shot through with the idea of loneliness as the only possible escape for the people of the post-WWII era. Therefore, every single sentence of Anyi’s novel rings with the idea of loneliness as the only option for the Chinese women of the post-WWI China, with its empty luxury and pointless attractions, which stress the distance between people taking part in it even more. Reminding of the fleetingness of life and the fact that reaching complete understanding between two people is practically impossi ble, Aniy’s novel offers its readers a bitter reconciliation with their fears. Aniy, Wang. The Song of Everlasting Sorrow: A Novel of Shanghai. n. d. Web.

Analyzing The Oregon Study In Regard To Medicaid For American Citizens

Analyzing The Oregon Study In Regard To Medicaid For American Citizens This article challenges the originally widely praised concept of the famous Oregon experiment; a study conducted in 2011 claiming that having Medicaid was significantly better than being uninsured, which directly refuted various studies claiming that individuals are no better or worse off with Medicaid than without it. The public response to its’ preliminary, flimsy, and uncertain results in 2011 was driven by media hype and premature over eagerness—headlines such as â€Å"A new, rigorous study from Oregon confirms that Medicaid does, indeed, save lives,† (Roy) and â€Å"What we found in a nutshell is that having Medicaid makes a big difference in peoples’ lives† (Roy) flooded front pages; the Oregon experiment had ignited national, growing faith in Obamacare that was previously unseen. The day prior to publishing of this article, May 1st 2013, the authors of the original Oregon study released their updated two year results— â€Å"Medicaid g enerated no significant improvement in measured physical health outcomes.† This article analyzes the staggering results, critiques the experimental methods used, and questions the $450 billion/year spent on a seemingly futile program. The structure of the Oregon study was centered around the comparison between the health outcomes of individuals enrolled in Medicaid, versus the health outcomes of the uninsured. The outcomes examined for comparison were levels of elevated blood pressure, high cholesterol, elevated HbA1c levels, and long-term cardiovascular risk (measured by Framingham scores). The main question the authors wanted to answer: Did Medicaid improve the health of its enrollees? Before analyzing the statistical data of the experiment, it is crucial to understand the flawed structural setup that introduced massive bias and even possibly skewed the results. The Medicaid population was partially self selected, making it an inaccurate representative sample of the common population. The Medicaid users were consciously and knowingly aware that they were receiving the benefits of Medicaid, and the uninsured were well aware that they were uninsured—this concept could potentially favor the Medicaid population due to prevalent bias. In much more accurate clinical trials, both the doctor and patient should be unaware whether the patient has received the placebo or the test drug in order to achieve an unbiased, accurate answer. The Oregon authors also only measured the baseline health status of the uninsured group, not the baselines of the Medicaid group. This massive flaw doesn’t allow for accurate results within the Medicaid group by offering no definiti ve method of comparison when analyzing the data. The process of creating the Medicaid group was also driven by massive bias. Of the 35,169 residents who â€Å"won† the lottery to gain Medicaid enrollment, only about 30% actually enrolled, and 60% of those selected out of the 30% physically filled out the forms to receive benefits. The 60% who signed up are clearly more likely to need the treatment and benefits compared to the other 40%, who didn’t bother to fill out paperwork. (Roy) Those who chose to enroll were therefore sicker and more in need of treatment; making them more likely to benefit from treatment than the control group, or the uninsured. The final element of bias introduced, and perhaps most significant, is how the state of Oregon individually manages their Medicaid program compared to the national average. In Oregon, Medicaid pays primary care physicians approximately 62% of what private insurers pay. Our national average pays 52%, and many blue states pa y well under 40%. (Roy) Because the state of Oregon pays their health care professionals more, their beneficiaries have better access to doctors; better access to doctors should lead to better health outcomes for beneficiaries than we’d likely see in other states, making the state of Oregon an unsuitable host for this experiment. As for the data, the authors found no statistically significant differences in elevated blood pressure, HbA1c levels, high cholesterol, or long-term cardiovascular risks between the insured and the uninsured. The sole, significant difference between the two groups in this study was the amount spent and the utilization of services. Medicaid patients spent an average of $1,172 more than the uninsured, with zero statistically supported data leading to better health outcomes. (Roy) These findings are extremely significant; the flaws within the setup of the experiment introduce extreme bias and inevitably lead to inaccurate data. I am convinced of the validity of this article due to the meticulous research, critique, and analyzation on the flaws of the Oregon experiment as a whole as conducted by the author. He raises a notable point that should be seriously considered by American citizens, government officials, and policy makers alike. With the heavy reliance on Medicaid expansion under Obamacare, this experiment questions the major flaws within the system in its entirety, making us ask ourselves: Is it worth it?

A letter to University Program Leader for an enquery Essay

A letter to University Program Leader for an enquery - Essay Example n thrown into uncertainty by the fact that the structure of my academic program will change from a 15 credits module to a 20 credits module in the September semester. This change is going to affect my study schedule since it is likely to raise the number of credits required for a complete semester and I may end up with fewer modules completed. In March, I made enquiries with the E-learning team on when and what modules would be available for enrolment in the April Semester and I was notified to take two modules in Biological Psychology and Social psychology even though I was aware that the semester had three level 4 modules on offer; Biological, Social and Developmental Psychology. Following the unsatisfactory response that I received from the E-learning team, I contacted the E-learning team for the second time, enquiring for the possibility of adding Developmental Psychology to my program for the Semester beginning April 2012. In response, the E-learning team informed me that the program leader would not allow me to take three modules, leaving me with the unfavorable option of taking the two modules that the program leader advised. However, at the beginning of my Second Semester in mid April, I realized that some students who started in January were taking three modules (Biological Psychology, Social Psychology and Developmental Psychology) for the January Semester. I sought the advice of the program leader and the E-learning team again but did not get any responses and so I had to proceed with the two modules. In the period April to June, I frequently contacted the program leader and the E-learning team to allow me takes the third module without much breakthrough. The E-learning team later informed me that the program leader would not allow me take the third module since the Semester was just four weeks away from the assessment date and so he advised me to wait for a few more weeks when I would obtain my new study pathway. I have since received my study plan

Human Resource Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Resource Information Systems - Essay Example He travels frequently to various locations of the Castle’s Family Restaurant to carry out human resource functions. It is clear that Castle’s Family Restaurant needs a human resource information system. The Castle’s Family Restaurant is a high class business, and it employs the best employees in the market. According to Jonathan (2010), human resource information systems are critical for the performance of any human resource function. Issues of hiring, scheduling, recruiting, and responding to questions from the employees can be handled by such a system. Furthermore, this business needs a human resource information system to facilitate processing of payrolls (Jonathan, 2010). Using excel to process payrolls is rather backward for an organization in the caliber of the Castle’s Family Restaurant. Human resource specialists insist that a business should utilize a human resource information system for the best results (Wright, 2011). To cut down on costs and save on time, a human resource information system is vital (Conaty, Bill, and Ram, 2011). These systems make human resource functions run smoothly and in good time. Individuals do not need to work too hard like Mr. Jay Morgan when they acquire a human resource information system. In addition, this organization assumes that it is easier to use one person to handle two jobs. In this case, a human resource information system is the solution for the Castle’s Family Restaurant. This business is in need of an information system to help in managing human resource functions. There are the several problems that need to be resolved at the Castle’s Family Restaurant. The business does not have a human resource manager. This is because Mr. Jay Morgan ends up doing his work as an operations manager and is still the human resource person. The operations manager, Mr. Jay Morgan, is being overworked. Lower quality software used in human resource functions like payroll processing is a

Langston Hughes Essay Example for Free

Langston Hughes Essay Of the major black writers who first made their appearance during the exciting period of the 1920s commonly referred to as â€Å"the Harlem Renaissance,† Langston Hughes was the most prolific and the most successful. As the Harlem Renaissance gave way to the Depression, Hughes determined to sustain his career as a poet by bringing his poetry to the people. At the suggestion of Mary McLeod Bethune, he launched his career as a public speaker by embarking on an extensive lecture tour of the South. As he wrote in his autobiography: â€Å"Propelled by the backwash of the â€Å"Harlem Renaissance† of the early twenties, I had been drifting along pleasantly on the delightful rewards of my poems which seemed to please the fancy of kindhearted New York ladies with money to help young writers. . . . There was one other dilemmahow to make a living from the kind of writing I wanted to do. . . . I wanted to write seriously and as well as I knew how about the Negro people, and make that kind of writing earn me a livin† (Hughes, 1964:31). Alain Locke, the leading exponent of â€Å"The New Negro,† announced that the black masses had found their voice: A true peoples poet has their balladry in his veins; and to me many of these poems seem based on rhythms as seasoned as folksongs and on moods as deep-seated as folk-ballads. Dunbar is supposed to have expressed the peasant heart of the people. But Dunbar was the showman of the Negro masses; here is their spokesman (Killens ed. 1960:41). Though much of the poetry Hughes was to write in the thirties and afterward was to differ markedly in terms of social content from the poetry he was producing in the twenties, a careful examination of his early work will reveal, in germinal form, the basic themes which were to preoccupy him throughout his career. Hughes’s evolution as a poet cannot be seen apart from the circumstances of his life which thrust him into the role of poet. Indeed, it was Hughes’s awareness of what he personally regarded as a rather unique childhood which determined him in his drive to express, through poetry, the feelings of the black masses and their questions of identity. In â€Å"The Weary Blues†, Hughes presented the problem of dual consciousness quite cleverly by placing two parenthetical statements of identity as the opening and closing poems, and titling them Proem and Epilogue. Their opening lines suggest the polarities of consciousness between which the poet located his own persona: â€Å"I Am a Negro† and â€Å"I, Too, Sing America. † Within each of these poems, Hughes suggests the interrelatedness of the two identities: the line â€Å"I am a Negro† is echoed as â€Å"I am the darker brother† in the closing poem. Between the American and the Negro, a third identity is suggested: that of the poet or â€Å"singer. † It is this latter persona which Hughes had assumed for himself in his attempt to resolve the dilemma of divided consciousness. Thus, within the confines of these two poems revolving around identity, Hughes is presenting his poetry as a kind of salvation. If one looks more closely at Hughes’s organization of poems in the book, one finds that his true opening and closing poems are concerned not with identity but with patterns of cyclical time. The Weary Blues (the first poem) is about a black piano man who plays deep into the night until at last he falls into sleep like a rock or a man thats dead. The last poem, on the other hand, suggests a rebirth, an awakening, after the long night of weary blues: â€Å"We have tomorrow/ Bright before us/Like a flame† (Hughes 1926:109). Hughes viewed the poet’s role as one of responsibility: the poet must strive to maintain his objectivity and artistic distance, while at the same time speaking with passion through the medium he has selected for himself. In a speech given before the American Society of African Culture in 1960, Hughes urged his fellow black writers to cultivate objectivity in dealing with blackness: â€Å"Advice to Negro writers: Step outside yourself, then look back and you will see how human, yet how beautiful and black you are. How very black even when you’re integrated† (Killens ed. 1960:44). In another part of the speech, Hughes stressed art over race: â€Å"In the great sense of the word, anytime, any place, good art transcends land, race, or nationality, and color drops away. If you are a good writer, in the end neither blackness nor whiteness makes a difference to readers† (Killens ed. 1960:47). This philosophy of artistic distance was integral to Hughes’s argument in the much earlier essay The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, which became a rallying call to young black writers of the twenties concerned with reconciling artistic freedom with racial expression: â€Å"It is the duty of the younger Negro artist if he accepts any duties at all from outsiders, to change through the force of his art that old whispering I want to be white hidden in the aspirations of his people, to Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro and beautiful! ’† In this greatly thought-out manifesto, Hughes attempted to integrate the two facets of double consciousness (the American and the Negro) into a single vision-that of the poet. His poetry had reflected this idea from the beginning, when he published The Negro Speaks of Rivers at the age of nineteen. Arna Bontemps, in a retrospective glance at the Harlem Renaissance from the distance of almost fifty years, was referring to The Negro Speaks of Rivers when he commented: â€Å"And almost the first utterance of the revival struck a note that disturbed poetic tradition. † (Addison ed. 1988:83). In Hughes’s poetry, the central element of importance is the affirmation of blackness. Everything that distinguished Hughes’s poetry from the white poets of the twenties revolved around this important affirmation. Musical idioms, jazz rhythms, Hughes’s special brand of â€Å"black-white† irony, and dialect were all dependent on the priority of black selfhood: â€Å"I am a Negro/Black as the night is black/Black like the depths of my Africa† (Hughes 1926:108). Hughes wrote in his autobiography: My best poems were all written when I felt the worst. When I was happy, I didnt write anything (Hughes 1991:54). When he first began writing poetry, he felt his lyrics were too personal to reveal to others: Poems came to me now spontaneously, from somewhere inside. . . . I put the poems down quickly on anything I had a hand when they came into my head, and later I copied them into a notebook. But I began to be afraid to show my poems to anybody, because they had become very serious and very much a part of me. And I was afraid other people might not like them or understand them (Hughes: 34). These two statements regarding his poetry suggest deep underlying emotional tensions as being the source of his creativity. And yet the personal element in Hughes’s poetry is almost entirely submerged beneath the persona of the Negro Poet Laureate. If, as Hughes suggested, personal unhappiness was the cornerstone of his best work, it then follows that, in order to maintain the singleness of purpose and devotion to his art, he would be required to sacrifice some degree of emotional stability. The persona of the poet was the role Hughes adopted in his very first published poem, as the Negro in The Negro Speaks of Rivers. It was a persona to which he would remain faithful throughout his lengthy career. The link between his personal experiences and his poetry has been always evident. References Addison Gayle, Jr. , ed. (1988). â€Å"Negro Poets, Then and Now,† in Black Expression: Essays by and About Black Americans in the Creative Arts, New York: Weybright Talley Langston Hughes (1964). I Wonder As I Wander, New York: Hill Wang Langston Hughes (1926). The Weary Blues, New York: Alfred A. Knopf Publishing, reprinted, 1982 Langston Hughes (1991). The Big Sea: An Autobiography. 1940. New York: Hill Wang Killens, John O. ,ed. (1960). â€Å"Writers: Black and White†, The American Negro Writer and His Roots: Selected Papers from the First Conference of Negro Writers, March. New York: American Society of African Culture

Lord Hastings: A Justification To Omit Regret :: essays research papers fc

Lord Hastings: A Justification to Omit Regret We, the audience, lend our ears and nod our heads at the exactness of Lord Hastings's uttering: I think there's never a man in Christendom, Can lesser hide his love or hate than he, For by his face shall you know his heart. (3.4.51-53). Ironically, we do not assent to his words because they are exactly in the right, but because they are exactly in the wrong. By Act III, Richard III exhibits a pallet of personalities including the devoted brother, the witty wooer, and the loyal subject. We see that these almost Platonic ideals are tarnished black under the rule of Richard's perfectly evil intent to manipulate. Lord Hastings, however, could not see until it was too late. The time to weigh the validity of the supernatural signs and omens in Stanley’s dream had past. Before his death, Lord Hastings misperceives the "subtle, false, and treacherous" Richard, and only saw the face (i.e. the theatrical abilities of Richard), not the heart (1.1.37). Why, then, do we nod at wrongness? The answer lies in the fact that we are plummeted into absolute awe. We have reached a catharsis of our emotions in response to the summit of Richard’s manipulative character, where Lord Hastings had actually believed tha t Richard was a man incapable of manipulating. Our response is a sign of assent because Lord Hastings is completely justified for trusting Richard and ignoring Stanley’s forebodings entirely. If Lord Hastings had the chance to relive his death scene, he would have two choices: to reiterate his regret for not listening to Stanley, or take a different course, and omit his regret. The study of this paper involves what types of justification Lord Hastings could offer if he had the opportunity to omit regret. His justification would necessarily contain an assessment of Richard’s compelling theatrical abilities. In other words, Lord Hastings would have to prove that Richard was too good of an actor for anyone to realize his acting. Lord Hastings now carries the burden of proof on his shoulders. Lord Hastings would probably refer to the ideal representation of brotherly love Richard shows to Clarence. â€Å"We are not safe Clarence, we are not safe,† Richard says, probably placing his hand on his brother’s shoulder while stressing â€Å"we†(1.1.70). In those words, Clarence felt warmth, despite the cold chains draping from his wrists; felt security, despite his insecurities about the reason as to why he was placed under arrest.

Linking promotional activity to the product life cycle Products Essay

BIC was founded in 1950 by Marcel Bich with the introduction of the first high quality ballpoint pen at an affordable price. In 1975 BIC launched the first one-piece shaver and become a market leader within that sector too. In the early days, BIC concentrated on a core range of products which mainly included: BIC Cristal ® and Orange Ball Pen and the Classic Shaver. In the 1990s the company realised it needed to develop its product range to meet changing consumer needs and to compete with new competitors entering the writing and shaver categories. BIC has therefore set about re-shaping itself. It has looked to add value to its products (e.g. by moving from a single blade to a twin blade, then to a triple blade razor) and to develop a range of new products. BIC’s introduction of the Classic one-piece shaver, rebranded as BIC 1, illustrates this process. The re-branding was intended to enhance the brand’s simplicity whilst still maintaining the highly recognisable, orange packaging. BIC has further enhanced this re-branding by launching BIC 2, which satisfies consumers looking for a functional twin blade at an affordable price. Through the launch of BIC 1 & BIC 2, BIC has created a branding synergy. In the twin blade sector, BIC has launched premium products such as Comfort Twin and Twin Lady. These products target consumers demanding enhanced features and benefits while still offering excellent value for money. In 2003, BIC launched its first triple blade shaver for men BIC Comfort 3 and one year later BIC Soleil Lady for women. Both of these products offer greater innovation and technologically enhanced features and benefits at attractive prices. The Boston matrix and BIC products Multi-product businesses like BIC are aware of how products in their entire portfolio contribute to the overall growth of the business. Established profitable lines make a vital contribution that enables a company to invest in the development and promotion of new lines. The Boston Consulting Group developed ‘The Boston box’ or BCG matrix. This relates closely to product life cycles and identifies four classes of  products in an organisation’s portfolio. Problem children – These are newly-launched products. This name is appropriate because many products fail to move beyond this phase. Such products are also referred to as ‘Question Marks’ or ‘Wild-cats’. In order to grow, they require large amounts of investment and promotional support. Wise firms monitor each product’s progress and recognise whether or not on-going support is justified. Stars – These are products that have successfully reached the growth stage in the life cycle. Although they need on-going promotional support, they are already providing high cash returns. They present good future prospects. Cash cows – These products have reached the maturity stage and are now ‘yielders’. They have a high market share in markets that are no longer rapidly expanding. However, they will need on-going marketing support and will need ‘freshening up’ from time to time. Dogs – These are products in decline. These have a low market share in a low-growing or declining market. Because they generate a negative cash flow, they will usually be disposed of. The Boston matrix can be applied to BIC products: The Cristal Ball Pen and Classic Shaver are popular and well established products with very high unit sales. BIC produces them on a large scale. These cash cows provide excellent cash profits for the company. The Cristal Grip and Cristal Gel Pens, and Twin Lady shavers are stars with well-established growth patterns. For example, the Twin Lady filled the gap in the market for shavers for women. Problem Children that have recently entered their respective markets include Cristal Colours and Cristal Pocket Scents in the pen market, and Comfort 3 and Soleil in the shavers market. Currently BIC is investing in these products. Over the next two or three years the company will decide whether these products have succeeded (moved into the star category) and warrant continued support. Products such as Soleil (a shaver for women) are rapidly moving into the star category. Of course, some products fail to take off sufficiently and/or go into decline. The ‘Tough Beard’ shaver has no t warranted further development and BIC has taken it out of production. Developing the product range The Cristal range of pens demonstrates how to inject new life into a product range: BIC’s Cristal Ball pen was launched in 1951. It has over 30% market  share and is the UK’s best-selling ball pen. In 1964 BIC launched BIC Orange. This is a fine-point version of the Cristal pen, easily recognised by its orange barrel. In the 1990s, as the Cristal and Orange Ball pens became more mature and encountered fierce competition from lower priced brands, BIC invested in developing the Cristal range to attract new users and to differentiate itself from the competition. This led to the launch of a range of new products: Cristal Grip, for more comfort Cristal Colours, for fashionable colours Cristal Pocket, for a more convenient size Cristal Pockets Scents, for fun and fruity inks Cristal Gel, for smoother writing. By continually adding to the range, BIC manages to inject new life into the product life cycle of the overall range. BIC now offers a full range of Cristal pens using both ball point and gel ink technology. The range’s development has also helped to support the enhancements of the core brand, and each year sales of Cristal pens increase. The product life cycle and promotional activity BIC analyses its products, and promotes and supports these in line with their stage in the product life cycle. For example, BIC Cristal and the Classic shaver have a long life cycle and although they have had technological improvements over the years and are produced using more advanced manufacturing techniques, the style and design of these products have not changed. They are still recognisable worldwide. Initially, when these products were launched, promotional activity would have focused on generating awareness and encouraging consumers to trial the products. Now that these products have become well established icons, the promotional emphasis is on rewarding loyal customers who continue to buy these products. The illustration shows the way in which promotional activity is tailored to stages in the product life cycle. When BIC launched the Comfort 3 razor, it chose Martin Johnson to represent the brand. BIC invested heavily in outdoor  media such as billboards and conducted national press advertising to raise awareness. With Cristal Gel, BIC carried out a large amount of below the line activity. To build awareness of the new product, BIC supplied existing Cristal Ball pen users with Cristal Gel samples through special promotional packs and other sampling campaigns to office users. This was supported by advertising and direct marketing. During a product’s growth period, BIC continues to use market research data to help it better understand market developments and consumer requirements. It also continues to support the product so that more and more consumers try it out and are converted into regular users. At this stage, advertising and special offers encourage new users to try the product. As a product moves towards maturity, BIC’s marketing experts need to identify ways of injecting new life into it. They must also identify new product developments that can meet similar consumer needs. This explains why, for example, BIC has developed extensions to the Cristal range. Once a product has saturated a market, sales will stagnate. However, it is important to continue to support cash cows because they play a vital role in injecting profits that sustain new product development. Once a product has moved into decline, a company like BIC will look to replace it with new products that meet existing and evolving consumer needs. For example, the razor ‘Tough Beard’ was taken out of the product portfolio because other new BIC razors were better able to meet the needs of customers with ‘tough beards’! Conclusion Businesses that understand the Boston Box and product life cycles are able to target appropriate promotional activities to support the various products in their portfolio. Well established products such as BIC Cristal and Classic shaver are the cash cows that enable BIC to thrive by developing its stars and some of its question marks in line with market needs. BIC is an innovative organisation that uses its technical and marketing expertise to supply consumers with the products they want and need. Questions 1. Using the Barksdale and Harris model that combines the BCG matrix and the product life cycle, consider how useful this might be to BIC when analysing  their product portfolios. 2. Consider the work of Booz, Allen and Hamilton Consultants in relation to the decay curve of new product ideas, and suggest how this might be applied by BIC when bringing new product ideas to the market place. 3. The GE/McKinsey matrix has nine boxes as opposed to the BCG matrix that has four boxes. Consider how it might or might not have been better for BIC to apply the GE/McKinsey matrix on the basis that it might be more accurate? 4. Consider the work of Everett Rogers in relation to product adopter categories. Using his idea, how might BIC adapt their promotional strategy in relation to targeting different adopter categories?

Management matters in retail Essay

Management matters in retail Management matters in retail Working paper 13, APRIL 2010 The Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity is an independent not-for-profit organization established in 2001 to serve as the research arm of Ontario’s Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress. The mandate of the Task Force, announced in the April 2001 Speech from the Throne, is to measure and monitor Ontario’s competitiveness, productivity, and economic progress compared to other provinces and US states and to report to the public on a regular basis. In the 2004 Budget, the Government asked the Task Force to incorporate innovation and commercialization issues in its mandate. Working papers published by the Institute are intended to inform the work of the Task Force and to raise public awareness and stimulate debate on a range of issues related to competitiveness and prosperity. The Task Force publishes annual reports to the people of Ontario each November. How to contact us Executive Director To learn more about the Institute and the Task Force please visit us at: www. ompeteprosper. ca James Milway 416 920 1921 x222 j. milway@competeprosper. ca Should you have any questions or comments, you may reach us through the web site or at the following address: The Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity 180 Bloor Street West, Suite 1000 Toronto, Ontario M5S 2V6 Telephone 416. 920. 1921 Fax 416. 920. 1922 It is the aspiration of the Task Force and the Institute to have a significant influence in increasing Ontario’s competitive ness, productivity, and capacity for innovation. We believe this will help ensure continued success in creating good jobs, increasing prosperity, and building a higher quality of life for all Ontarians. We seek breakthrough findings from our research and propose significant innovations in public policy to stimulate businesses, governments, and educational institutions to take action. Researchers Tamer Azer 416 920 1921 x228 t. azer@competeprosper. ca Katherine Chan 416 920 1921 x231 k. chan@competeprosper. ca Anam Kidwai 416 920 1921 x238 a. kidwai@competeprosper. ca Lloyd Martin 416 920 1921 x223 l. martin@competeprosper. ca Aaron Meyer 416 920 1921 x224 a. meyer@competeprosper. ca Comments on this working paper are welcome and should be directed to the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity. The Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity is funded by the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. Adrienne Ross 416 920 1921 x230 a. ross@competeprosper. ca Ying (Sunny) Sun 416 920 1921 x227 s. sun@competeprosper. ca Copyright  © April 2010 The Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity ISBN 978-0-9809783-6-0 Project Team Design Hambly & Woolley Inc. www. hamblywoolley. om Illustration Blair Kelly Daniela Scur Project Manager Jack Bolland Supervisor Sean Brandreth Supervisor Blaise Bolland Joshua Booth Vadim Dorfman Raswinder Gill Alison McMeekin Nikolina Miljevik Alam Aguilar-Platas Scott Sameroff Management matters in retail Working paper 13, APRIL 2010 Exhibits Exhibit 1Pressure and support drive all three elements of the Innovation System13 Exhibit 2 Managers pl ay an important part in creating Pressure and Support in all elements of the Innovation System14 Exhibit 3 Canadian managers are less well educated than their US counterparts5 Exhibit 4New management techniques are associated with increases in productivity and prosperity16 Exhibit 5 Canada’s retail management matches US performance25 Exhibit 6 Most of Canada’s best managed retail operations are US-owned multinationals26 Exhibit 7 Canada trails the US in adoption and implementation of best practice operations processes26 Exhibit 8 Canada lags world’s best performers in most operations management questions27 Exhibit A Manufacturers are better managed than retailers in the three countries surveyed28 Exhibit B Manufacturers out perform retailers29 Exhibit 9 Canada is among the leaders in best practice for setting and managing goals30 Exhibit 10In performance management, Canada scores very well, but still has improvement opportunity30 Exhibit 11In people management, Canada is not statistically different from the US31 Exhibit 12In people management, Canada performs well32 Exhibit 13 Better managed firms have more educated managers32 Exhibit 14 Multinationals out perform non-multinationals in all countries33 Exhibit 15 Larger firms tend to be better managed4 Exhibit 16Publicly held firms are significantly better managed than privately held or family-owned firms everywhere35 Exhibit 17Ontario retailers trail US peer states, and match Western and Atlantic Canada38 Exhibit 18Ontario under performs counterparts in US peer states, particularly in operations management38 Exhibit 19In operations management, Ontario retailers lag peer state counterparts39 Exhibit 20In most areas of performa nce management, Ontario retailers are not statistically different from counterparts in peer states40 Exhibit 21In people management, Ontario retailers lead in retaining high performers41 Contents Foreword and acknowledgements4 Executive summary6 Strong management delivers prosperityManagement talent is important in the Innovation SystemCanada lacks sufficient sophisticated management capabilitiesManagement innovation delivers higher productivityManagement practices can be measured11 12 14 15 Lean Retailing is best practice operating strategy17 17 19 Canada’s retailers score well but have opportunities to improveWhere can Canadian retailers improve? Public policy and business strategies lead to strong management24 26 31 Ontario trails US peers and matches most other Canadian regions37 Opportunities to strengthen managementEnsure businesses aspire to excellence in management42 43 44 44 References46 Previous publications48 International research evaluates management practicesBroaden innovation policy to include management skillsEmbrace international competition in our economy policy4 institute for competitiveness & prosperity Foreword and acknowledgements I am pleased to present Working Paper 13 of the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity. In this Working Paper, we extend our study of the impact of management talent on our economic prosperity. Last year, we presented the results of the first-ever research on the quality of Canada’s and Ontario’s management in the manufacturing sector. This Working Paper focuses on management capabilities in the retail sector. Strong management is a critical element in the innovativeness of our economy, and hence its productivity and prosperity. Strong management drives the demand for innovation through well developed and ably executed business trategies; it affects the ongoing supply of high quality innovation by setting research priorities and orchestrating technical resources; and it is key to the financing of innovation by assembling resources and allocating them wisely to promising investments. Research in the United Kingdom indicates that better management leads to higher sales per employee. â€Å" Strong management is a critical element in the innovativeness of our economy, and hence its productivity and prosperity. † But government innovation strategies in Canada do not take adequate account of the importance of management. They still focus on increasing scientific and technical resources that drive new-to-the-world inventions; but they do not adequately consider innovations that create economic value in meeting societal needs by drawing on existing technologies and knowledge. Both are important for our prosperity, and we need public policies that attend to each. Our findings for the retail sector are consistent with the research on manufacturing management. Better educated managers produce better performance. For manufacturers and retailers, in Canada and internationally, the link between managers’ education and business performance is powerful. We also find that large-scale, multinational retailers are better managed than those focused only on their home market. This holds true in Canada and other countries. Firms that expand globally have dramatically better management, though identifying cause and effect is difficult. More than likely, there is a virtuous circle at work. Firms with global aspirations need effective management to expand, and expanding firms attract better managers.5 The research indicates that Canadian retail managers are as effective as their US counterparts whether they are working for a multinational or a domestic-only company. Yet, our overall retail productivity, as measured by sales per employee and our retail wages, trails the US retail sector significantly. So we have to acknowledge that the management of store level operations may not be the major challenge we face in improving our retail productivity. However, the quality of corporate management is an important factor; our Canadian retail sector has generated only one global leader – Couche-Tard – while we have twenty-three global leaders in our manufacturing sector. Other factors, such as population size and density as well as competitive intensity, are also likely at play. In public policy, we continue to recommend that our innovation strategies become more sophisticated and balanced. We need to recognize that supporting science for new inventions is not enough; we need to create an environment where business people draw on new science and many other disciplines to innovate products, services, and processes. We need to ensure that our markets are as open as they can be to foreign competition and foreign investment, because they improve the level of management and innovation in Canada. And we need to be investing adequately in post secondary education to develop world-class management talent. We gratefully acknowledge the ongoing funding support from the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. We look forward to sharing and discussing our work and our findings. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Roger L. Martin, Chairman Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity Dean, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto 6 institute for competitiveness & prosperity Executive summary C ompetitive and prosperous countries in the world, as defined by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. Ontario, in turn, is also one of the most prosperous jurisdictions in the world. Still, we are not realizing our full prosperity potential. For eight years, the Institute has been reporting on a persistent and growing prosperity gap with the United States, which stands at $8,700 for Canada and the United States, and $7,000 for Ontario and our US peer stat es. anada is one of the most Our major challenge is to raise our productivity and innovation performance. The two sources of higher prosperity are working more hours and producing more output per hour of work. On the former measure, hours worked per capita, we are near the top of developed economies – through a combination of high rates of participation in the labour force, low unemployment rates, and high hours worked per worker. But on the latter measure – that is, the value we add per hour worked – we trail many developed economies. management matters in retail 7 We have already identified some of the factors behind this poor productivity and innovation performance. While Ontario has a mix of industries that are by their nature productive and innovative, these industries do not operate as effectively as their counterparts in the US economy. Some of these factors relate to broad economic factors – we tend less to live in metropolitan areas, and we are less well educated than our counterparts in the United States. But some other factors relate to how our businesses compete. For example, compared with their US counterparts across the economy, Canadian managers invest less in productivity enhancing machinery nd equipment, particularly information and communication technology (ICT), and they produce fewer patents. Our past research and the work of others indicate that our senior and middle managers do not have fundamentally different attitudes from their US counterparts toward competition, risk taking, and innovation. But our innovation and productivity performance is inhibited by limited management capabilities – such as lower educatio nal attainment and less diffusion of best management practices – and by context – such as lower competitive intensity in the markets and fewer sophisticated customers. Effective management leads business innovation. Innovation is the result of the ongoing interaction of three elements – the supply of innovation, the demand for innovation, and the financing of innovation – in an Innovation System. These elements are driven by competitive pressure and broad support that activate the Innovation System. Effective management provides pressure and support across the Innovation System in strengthening demand for innovation, providing supply of innovation, and driving the quantity and quality of financing for innovation. It is safe to conclude, therefore, that management is an important factor in the prosperity of a jurisdiction. But hard evidence to support this conclusion has been limited. In one research initiative, University of Toronto professor Michelle Alexopoulos has developed a methodology for measuring the diffusion of innovative management techniques, going as far back as Taylor’s scientific management in 1911. Her measures track Library of Congress management book publication records, supplemented with counts of relevant academic journal articles, to determine the adoption of management techniques. Her research indicates that increased diffusion of new management techniques is correlated with growth in productivity, measured by Total Factor Productivity (TFP), and prosperity, measured through GDP. She concludes that economic growth results not only from increases in â€Å"tangible technology† (R&D, machinery & equipment) as most economists agree; but it also is the result of advances in â€Å"intangible technologies,† like management techniques and new processes disseminated in part through publications. 8 nstitute for competitiveness & prosperity In another initiative, in 2008, the Institute partnered with Stanford professor Nick Bloom to extend his pioneering global research in measuring management practices to Canada. His research started as a detailed approach to evaluating how well manufacturing operations have implemented advanced management techniques. It encompassed the level of managers’ knowledge of these techniques, the company-wide commitment to setting targets, measuring and monitoring results, and managing people well. In the manufacturing sector, the research had already been conducted in advanced economies, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, and developing economies like China, India, and Brazil. The quality of management, as captured by this study, correlates well with firm and industry productivity. The results of our research were published in the Institute’s Working Paper 12, Management Matters. We found that the Canadian manufacturing sector is among the best managed in the world. Our production management teams are leaders in implementing specific techniques in the area of Lean Manufacturing. They are solid performers in effecting good performance management, though with room for improvement. But, while they match management teams in other leading economies in people management, Canadian firms trail US practices significantly. Our results also indicated that some of the key variables that drive – or at least are correlated with – better management are education, ownership, and winning global strategies. In Ontario, our results indicated that the quality of manufacturing management is higher here than in the other regions of Canada, and that the province’s results are within statistical range of US results overall. Nevertheless, against the fourteen US peer states we have identified, Ontario under performs, especially in the area of people management – the willingness of managers to keep and promote high performers and to deal promptly with poor performers. In this Working Paper, we further extend this management research into another important industry in our economy: our retail businesses. In the summer of 2009, a team of analysts at the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity interviewed senior managers at 661 retail outlets in total – 409 in Canada, 152 in the United States, and 100 in the United Kingdom. The research was slightly adapted to fit the retail sector, but still remains largely comparable to that in manufacturing in approaches to measuring and monitoring operations performance, setting and achieving performance targets, and managing people. management matters in retail The results for Canada are encouraging. The overall results indicate that we are among the leaders in retail management, scoring statistically no differently than the United States. Results vary across the three sub-indexes that make up the overall measure. In operations management, we stand statistically behind the United States, but ahead of the United Kingdom. In performance management, we tie with the United States for the top spot and stay statistically ahead of the United Kingdom. In people management, though our score is lower than the US result, it is not statistically different, and we stand statistically ahead of the UK score here as well. Some of the key variables that are correlated with better management in manufacturing are also important in retail, such as education and global reach. More highly educated management teams out perform other retail managers. Retailers who have successfully expanded beyond their borders are much better managed than those who are still domestic competitors only. We also found that firm size and scale are important in explaining better management – larger retail firms are better managed. Our results indicate that quality of retail management in Ontario is not statistically different from that in the rest of Canada. Ontario scores statistically worse than our fourteen peer states group; however, unlike our manufacturers, the retailers’ disadvantage is strongest in store operations and not statistically significant in performance and people management. In summary, this Working Paper reinforces our conclusion that management capabilities are important contributors to provincial and national prosperity. And our Canadian retail management is among the best. Ontario, however, while being no different than the rest of Canada, trails the US peers significantly. Overall, our retail businesses have significant opportunities to improve. 9 10 institute for competitiveness & prosperity The implications for Ontario and Canada are clear: If we want an economy built on innovation, we have to include managerial education in our policy development. Developing our cientific and technical skills is important to our prosperity – but not building the capabilities of our managers is an oversight that holds back our prosperity.  ¦ Consistent with the recommendations of the Competition Policy Review Panel, chaired by Red Wilson in 2008, and our own research, we need to encourage an openness to foreign investment in our industries. This Working P aper shows how such investments attract best management practices and performance in our economy.  ¦ At the same time, we need to encourage the global aspirations of our successful companies. In turn, global expansion will drive he development of stronger management in Ontario and Canadian firms.  ¦ management matters in retail 11 Strong management delivers prosperity C its full prosperity potential. Relative to the United States, the economy most similar to ours and our largest trading partner, we have a growing prosperity gap. Canada’s lag in GDP per capita grew from $2,600 in 1981 to $8,700 in 2008. 1 This growing gap reflects a failure to reach our full economic potential. It means that our generation has not created as much economic value as possible from the human, natural, and physical resources endowed to us. nada is not achieving A key component of closing our prosperity gap is for Canada to broaden its approach to innovation. Strong management practices are a cr itical contributor to more innovation. So we need stronger commitment to strengthening the capabilities of our business managers to implement best practices. Following on our work in manufacturing, in this Working Paper, we extend our exploration of management capabilities in Canada and Ontario to the retail sector. 1 2007 Canadian dollars; US dollars converted at 2007 Purchasing Power Parity. 12 The retail sector is full of innovation. One classic example lies in the success of Walmart and its pioneering introduction of â€Å"cross-docking† at its distribution centres. This revolutionary system enabled Walmart to achieve excellent productivity and customer responsiveness without the usual inventory and handling costs attached. By enabling its goods to be continuously delivered to its warehouses, then immediately selected, repackaged and transferred to their stores, Walmart has been able to streamline its inventory pipeline by crossing its goods from one loading dock to another without its goods ever spending valuable time and space in the arehouse. 2 Through effective management and innovation, Walmart was able to transform itself from a small niche retailer to the largest and most profitable retailer in the world today. Other examples of innovation in retail include big box retailers with a focused, but very expansive product selection, and Carrefour, which ushered in the concept of combining supermarket an d department store into one roof, known today as a â€Å"hypermarket. † It should be noted that these examples and other specific ones in this Working Paper are from business literature and in no way indicate that they were mong the companies we interviewed in our research. Such information is confidential. The benefits of improved management practices also apply in many other sectors. For example, a Washington Post article describes a study conducted in hospitals in the United States, where they implemented a simple management tool, a â€Å"surgical checklist† in surgical procedures. The â€Å"low-cost, low tech invention† led to a decrease of in-patient deaths by more 2G. institute for competitiveness & prosperity than 40 percent and a fall in the rate of serious complications of 36 percent. The article captures the essence of this ool very well: â€Å"The human brain can’t remember everything, so it’s best to focus on the complicated challenges and leave the simple reminders to a cheat sheet. †3 Management tools such as the surgical checklist, the equivalent of the retail store’s â€Å"daily to-do list,† are small changes that can substantially decrease the rate of waste in a business – be it of time, resources, or lost revenue because of product shortages. In this Working Paper, we focus on management capabilities in the retail sector. We define â€Å"retail† as those firms engaged in the selling of consumer goods to the public, ranging from utomotive and furniture stores to pharmacies, clothing, and grocery stores. We first briefly review the importance of management talent for innovation and prosperity. 4 We then set out key findings from research we have recently conducted into the current state of management capabilities in Canada’s and Ontario’s retail sector, and how retail fares against the manufacturing sector in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Ma nagement talent is important in the Innovation System As we have discussed in previous reports,5 innovation is a result of the ongoing interaction of three elements supply, demand, and financing of innovation – in an Innovation System. These elements are driven by competitive pressure and broad support (Exhibit  1). Each of the elements is critical for success, but all three need to work together in balance. The supply of innovation includes the factors dedicated to increasing the stock of innovation, including highly qualified personnel, businesses’ facilities, resources, and activities. The demand for innovation is the combination of customer insistence on new products and process breakthroughs and corporate demand for innovation within a firm. The financing of innovation is an important bridge between demand and supply since, even if these two factors are in balance, significant funding is typically required to commercialize new ideas and scientific breakthroughs. Innovation requires pressure and support in each of these areas. Strong management is important in each element of the Innovation System. The management function includes goal setting, organization building, resource allocation, and monitoring of results. It also includes actions in enterprise finance, sales and promotion, production and delivery, and people evelopment (Exhibit  2). Hence, in building an innovative firm or an innovative economy, management talent matters. Senior managers in successful companies develop strategies where innovation is a critical component. Innovation strategies typically follow one of two paths: †¢ Innovation to reduce costs. Cost reductions can be realized in two ways. – First, improved management and operating proce sses can reduce the producer’s costs. For example, Harlequin determined that producing romance novels consistently with the number of pages that coincided with one sheet on the printing press would educe its printing costs, standardize shipping requirements, and simplify display for the retailer. Harlequin also determined that mail order distribution would cut costs and build Stalk, P. Evans, and L. Shulman, 1992, â€Å"Competing on capabilities: The new rules of corporate strategy,† Harvard Business Review, Mar/Apr, 1992, p. 58, available online: http://my. execpc. com/~jpurtell/HBR-CompetingonCapabilities. pdf Washington Post, January 15, 2009, â€Å"Surgery checklist lowers death rate†, available online: http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/14/AR2009011402831. tml 4 For a more extensive discussion see Roger Martin and James Milway, Strengthening management for prosperity, Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity, 2007, available on line: http://www. competeprosper. ca/images/uploads/ManagementPaper_May07. pdf 5Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity, Working Paper 12, Management matters, March 2009. 3 13 management matters in retail repeat purchase behaviour among loyal customers. The lower operating costs could be passed on as lower prices for consumers. But true innovation means that the producer captures some of the value added by not reducing prices at the same rate s costs. –Second, innovation can reduce costs for retailers or other parts of the distribution channel. McCain’s became one of Canada’s global leaders by eliminating the need for restaurants and food service operations to buy whole potatoes and peel them. Instead, they could buy fully prepared frozen fries from McCain’s and simply finish the frying. †¢ Innovation to enhance customer experience. Four Seasons, the world’s leading luxury hotel chain, has succeeded by relentlessly studying what its guests wanted and by improving the customer experience. Cirque de Soleil, the world’s leading ircus company, recognized the customers’ experience of circuses left much to be desired and reinvented the circus world to delight them. Such innovations draw as much on management capabilities – competitive analysis, customer research and segmentations, cost analysis – as they do on technological capabilities. Indeed, our research into high technology firms in Canada shows that, as these firms succeed and mature, the importance of technical skills at the top of the organization is matched by the importance of other skills, including management capability. 6 And below the CEO level, evidence is mounting hat the economy is requiring greater numbers of sophisticated conceptual thinkers and those with the strong analytic and people skills required to lead innovation and upgrading. 7 Exhibit 1 Innovation system has three components Exhibit 1Pressure and Support drive all th ree elements of the Innovation System The Innovation System PRESSURE PRESSURE Strong Management Source: Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity. 6 7 Demand for Innovation SUPPORT Financing of Innovation SUPPORT Supply of Innovation The Strategic Counsel, â€Å"Assessing the Experience of Successful Innovative Firms in Ontario,† 2004, p. 1, available online: http://www. competeprosper. ca/images/uploads/InnovationInterviewStudyRep. pdf Ibid, p. 41 14 institute for competitiveness & prosperity Canada lacks sufficient sophisticated management capabilities An important opportunity for improving Canada’s innovation and productivity performance is to strengthen management talent in our economy. In our research over the years, we have consistently found that our managers generally have lower educational attainment than their US counterparts, and CEOs of our largest corporations are less likely to have formal business education at the graduate level. Half of US managers hav e a bachelor’s degree or above compared to just over a third of Canadian managers (Exhibit 3). Further, innovative, hightech firms report disadvantages in access to management talent as a key constraint. 9 A key part of Canada’s prosperity under performance is attributable to its lack of management talent. Management skills are a critical complement to science and engineering skills in creating a high quality supply of innovation, driving sophisticated demand for innovation, and putting in place the required quantity and quality of financing to make the Innovation System work effectively. Exhibit 2 Managers play an important part in creating Pressure and Support in all elements of the Innovation System The Innovation System PRESSURE PRESSURE Strong Management Source: Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity. 8Institute 9R. Demand for Innovation SUPPORT Financing of Innovation SUPPORT Supply of Innovation for Competitiveness & Prosperity, Working Paper 6, Reinventing innovation and commercialization policy in Ontario, October 2004, p. 40 Martin and J. Milway, Strengthening management for prosperity, p. 11 15 management matters in retail Management innovation delivers higher productivity Contemporary research often focuses n two measures of productivity: †¢ output per unit of labour input, such as hours worked or employment; and †¢ total factor productivity (TFP), which measures the extent to which actual economic output is higher than capital and labour employment data would suggest. Many researchers and policy makers believe that productivity changes are i ntimately linked to changes in technology in the traditional sense; that is, productivity growth results from improvements in machinery, equipment, or techniques of production. Thus, the key to higher productivity is technological advances, as evidenced in higher R&D expenditures or more patents. Professor Michelle Alexopoulos of the University of Toronto presents an alternative, though less intuitive, view. 10 She argues that anything that improves producers’ ability to transform inputs into final goods and services deserves the title â€Å"technology. † For her, productivity is indeed influenced by the traditionally understood types of technology – such as machinery and new products – that she calls â€Å"tangible. † But productivity is also influenced by â€Å"intangible† technology – such as management techniques and production processes. She posits that it is important to distinguish between these wo types of technologies, since they affect the types of policies governments may want to put in place. It is generally agreed among management experts that changes in intangibles – such as corporate work rules, team structures, communication channels, morale, or managerial leadership – raise productivity and workfo rce efficiency. While this is not a controversial statement, quantifying the effect of improvement in management techniques at the aggregate level is extremely difficult because of measurement issues. Professor Alexopoulos’ measure tracks the development and diffusion f management techniques through a count of Library of Congress management book titles, supplemented with counts of relevant academic journal articles. She has demonstrated that changes in management techniques are an important factor in US productivity growth. 11 With the index of management book publications serving as a proxy for diffusion, her regression analyses reveal that available management books are positively associated with growth in an economy’s TFP and GDP. In particular, following the introduction of a new management technique that causes a 10 percent increase in new management books, GDP and TFP Exhibit 3 Canadian managers are less well educated than their US counterparts Managers’ educational attainment, average 2005–2007 12% 18% Advanced degree 35% Bachelor’s degree 26% Some post secondary 18% High school 23% 39% 19% 7% Canada 3% United States Less than high school Source: Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity analysis based on Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, and U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey 10M. Alexopoulos and T. Tombe, â€Å"Management Matters,† forthcoming working paper, University of Toronto. 11Ibid. 16 institute for competitiveness & prosperity row at statistically significantly higher rates than average for approximately six years. In fact, the impulse response estimates suggest that by year five, GDP would be 2. 1 percent higher and TFP would be 1. 4 percent higher in an economy with innovation in management techniques (Exhibit 4). A 2 percent increase in our GDP per capita would increase avera ge disposable income per family by $1,500 in Canada and Ontario. 12 Alexopoulos does not assert that the research definitively leads to this direct impact – but it does suggest that improved management has a significant effect on a region’s or nation’s prosperity. She concludes that Canadian managers, have access to the same resources as our American neighbours, but many lack the expertise to employ the most productive management innovations. Increasing the number of graduates from economics, business, or management programs and raising funding for research in business management and related fields may help alleviate this deficiency. This kind of â€Å"business R&D† is to management what science is to engineering, and deserves more attention from the government. It is intuitively likely that stronger management capabilities lead to more innovation and higher rosperity. But the impact of management capabilities on regional prosperity has not been well studied. Our research and that of others indicate that management matters. The development of improved management techniques, their diffusion, and their implementation by capable managers lead to higher prosperity. Exhibit 4 New management techniques are associated with increases in product ivity and prosperity Effect on Gross Domestic Product and Total Factor Productivity Response to a 10% increase in management publications Percentage increase 2. 5 % Gross Domestic Product 2. 0 1. 5 Total Factor Productivity . 0 0. 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 Years following unanticipated increase in management publications Source: M. Alexopoulos and T. Tombe, â€Å"Management Matters,† forthcoming working paper, University of Toronto. 12Calculation based on a 2 percent increase in the Canadian 2008 income per capita, personal disposable income as a percentage of GDP, and average household size. 6 management matters in retail 17 Management practices can be measured C learly, good management is an important factor in firm innovation and productivity and, to the extent that a region’s firms are well managed, overall prosperity will be higher. But economists and management researchers have paid little attention to measuring effective management practices and their impact on firm productivity. A major stumbling block has been the lack of useful, consistent measurements of the quality of management across firms and countries. While researchers recognize the importance of effective management, they typically refer to it as an empirically unobservable variable in their research to account for the differences in productivity across firms within the same country and industry. International research evaluates management practices To fill this research gap, professors Nick Bloom, John Van Reenen, and Raffaela Sadun developed a methodology to measure management practices first within a manufacturing operation,13 and now have expanded this methodology to include 13 See, for example, N. Bloom and J. Van Reenen, â€Å"Measuring and Explaining Management Practices Across Firms and Countries,† NBER Working Paper No. 12216 and N. Bloom, J. Van Reenen, â€Å"Why do Management Practices Differ across Firms and Countries? † Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 203–244. 18 institute for competitiveness & prosperity the retail sector as well as forthcoming esearch on management of schools and hospitals. They have applied this methodology since 2004 and have interviewed over 7,000 firms in eighteen countries,14 including developed economies, such as the United States, Germany, and Japan, and developing economies like China, India, and Brazil. The Institute collaborated closely with Pro fessor Bloom to interview Canadian manufacturing firms through the summer of 2008. In 2009, the Institute further collaborated to extend the methodology to the retail sector, for the first time in a large-scale project, including Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Bloom, Van Reenen, and Sadun’s ethod to measure management practices in the firm is based on an interview evaluation tool that scores firms on a scale of 1 to 5, indicating from worst practice to best practice across eighteen management practices, developed originally by McKinsey & Company, a leading international management consulting firm. The management practices cover three distinct, but related areas of management: †¢ Adopting effective operations management approaches. How well have firms implemented retailing management systems that are generally regarded by academics and consultants as best practice? â€Å"Lean Retailing† is a fairly recent concept erived from the original â€Å" Lean Manufacturing,† which is generally regarded as the most effective management system. Based on the production methods developed by Toyota, but applicable beyond the automotive (and manufacturing) industry, Lean achieves highly efficient operations through a relentless drive to reduce waste of time and resources. It is characterized by an ethos of 14For continuous improvement, backed by close tracking of the operation to identify problems and improvement opportunities. †¢ †¢ Managing targets effectively. Do firms’ management teams set stretch yet realistic targets, monitor performance against these targets, and ake corrective action when necessary? Effective management in this area means that companies are finding the right balance of targets to aspire to for maximum achievable performance. Setting targets too low means under performance; setting them too high will discourage improvements by workers and managers. Effective management also means determining how to measure performance and to follow through with actions when targets are not met. Managing people well. Are companies promoting and rewarding employees based on performance, and systematically trying to hire and keep their best employees? The cliche that people are a firm’s most mportant asset is true. Skilled workers and effective people management together are an important element of productivity in firms and across the economy. Well managed firms are able to attract and retain their top talent through effective reward and incentive programs. They also deal effectively with problem performers. Professor Bloom and his team designed the research process according to rigorous academic research standards. Our analysts, who were business and economics students, were trained to conduct the interviews consistent with analysts in other countries. We randomly selected retail locations for elephone interviews from a comprehensive industry list of firms categorized by Standard I ndustrial Classification (SIC) retail codes. 15 The analysts conducted telephone interviews that lasted an average of fifty-seven minutes with the most senior store managers available and occasionally district managers. Through a series of structured, but open-ended questions, the analysts scored each company on a scale of 1 to 5, across eighteen factors. These results generated scores on each of the three factors described above, which in turn generated an overall score for the quality of management at the operation. The structure of the retail interview followed the manufacturing one, in which sixteen out of the eighteen topics were comparable between the two sectors. Analysts also â€Å"double scored† fourfifths of the interviews. That is, while one analyst conducted the interview, another, who was not taking part in the interview, listened and independently scored the company. Subsequent comparisons of the scores showed a high degree of consistency between analysts. We conducted interviews from June to August 2009 from a central location in Toronto. To ensure the comparability of the retail scores with the previous year’s anufacturing scores, our analysts were trained using the same methodology, and two analysts from the previous year’s manufacturing project returned to supervise and double-score the interviews. Thus we conclude that, as much as possible, the retail interviews were scored in the same way as those in the manufacturing sector, and therefore are comparable to the rest of the management sample. Further, the distribution of completed interviews across Canada and the United States matches the distribution of actual retail locations. more information on the research methodology, see Professor Nick Bloom’s website: http://www. tanford. edu/~nbloom/index_files/Page371. htm on the Dun & Bradstreet database, using SIC codes 50–57 and 59. For more information, see http://www. dnb. ca/ 15Based 19 management matters in retail Lean Retailing is best practice operating strategy Lean Retailing is an example of a best practice operating strategy that management needs to adopt to maximize the efficiency of the retail operation process. including those in insurance companies, hospitals, airline maintenance organizations, government agencies, retail industries, and many others. 16 In the retail sector, the same Lean approach as now developed to improve operations flows; these principles are known as Lean Retailing. What is Lean Retailing? H ow does Lean Retailing work? Business success lies in effective management. This is especially critical today, as retailers continue to face the increasing challenge of competing against falling prices alongside rising operating and labour costs. Now, more than ever, retailers are turning toward adopting a more Lean approach in their management operations to improve profitability. At the core of Lean Retailing is a dedication to the elimination of waste. Similar to the manufacturing sector, the ajor types of waste targeted by the Lean approach include excess inventory, product defects, unnecessary motion, under used employees, and wait times. Managers can now apply similar tools and principles to identify these forms of waste to improve their operations efficiency. These Lean techniques include: But what is Lean Retailing? Lean Retailing refers to the operating strategy that seeks to maximize efficiency by identifying and eliminating waste. It focuses on simplifying the work process to eliminate wasted effort, time, materials, and motion. By adopting a Lean approach, managers who employ these tools and principles are able to educe non-value adding activities, detect and prevent problems early, and improve overall operating flow. †¢ †¢ Using â€Å"pull† to drive replenishment. Ensuring that the supply of goods is pulled by actual demand of customers as opposed to forecast or estimated demand so that inventory levels are kept low and space is conserved †¢ Removing bottlenecks through the supply chain. Eliminating inefficiencies to shorten delivery times, lower transportation costs and defects, and improve product flow and operational performance †¢ Today, the Lean approach has evolved from the manufacturing industry to apply to operations of all kinds, 16S. To win in this increasingly competitive environment, retailers need to adopt a relentless focus on delivering value cost effectively. For, despite steadily falling prices, store operating costs are trending upwards because of more expensive operating overheads and labour costs as well as higher investments in shop fittings to match increasing trends to improve the customer experience. 17 Retailers must pursue a Lean perspective in their core operations, including best practices in operations management, performance management, and people management. (See A guide to best practices in Lean Retailing. ) Doing so will produce a more fficient cost structure, more productive workers, less waste, lower effort, and shorter wait times – all of which generate significant improvements in store profitability and customer satisfaction. Today, more and more businesses are focusing on streamlining their key operations to reduce unnecessary processes and waste and to improve customer experien ce. Lean Retailing is a best practice that, once implemented, can improve productivity and contribute to higher overall economic performance. Our research allows us to measure the quality of retail management through the lens of Lean Retailing – and to provide guidance for retailers in dentifying and implementing Lean Retailing best practices. Eliminating wasted effort, time, materials, and motion. Identifying the core value of operations by eliminating excess motion, time, and materials used in the process flow to reduce and prevent extra work, problems and wait times Where did Lean Retailing originate? Pioneered by Toyota Motor Corporation, the concept of Lean was conceived as a set of tools and methods to eradicate waste and inefficiency in their manufacturing system, famously known now as the Toyota Production System (TPS). This revolutionizing manufacturing strategy fuelled Toyota’s rise from a ash-strapped company to becoming one of the most successful automobile manufacturers in the world. Simplifying work design. Organizing individual work processes to be more feasible and manageable so that these efforts have clear start and finish points Why is Lean Retailing important? Corbett, â€Å"Beyond Manufacturing: The evolution of Lean production,† McKinsey Quarterly, 2007, 3, pp. 94-96. Voisin, â€Å"The ‘Industrial revolution’ of European retailers in underway,† McKinsey Quarterly, 2004, available online at: http://www. mckinsey. com/practices/retail/knowledge/index_full. asp? startval=20&sort=title 17Jean-Baptiste 0 institute for competitiveness & prosperity A guide to best practices in Lean Retailing For each topic in the study, we define the best practice and provide an example drawn from the 661 retail interviews conducted across North America and Europe Operations management Rationale for Lean retailing techniques Adoption of Lean practices store operations Has the store implemented all the major Lean store ope rations practices? For example, does the manager have a standard to-do list to follow daily? Is there an automated inventory control system determined by the pull of demand? Is the backroom organized systematically? Example of best practice: A Canadian bookstore has a point-of-sale system that automatically orders an item as soon as it is sold. The managers and employees check off every item on their set to-do list every morning. The manager has a â€Å"store clock,† where she plans for what is happening in the store every hour of the day. Some inventory is kept, and what is on hand in the backroom is organized by aisle with bin codes, keeping the backroom clutter-free. scheduling Has the store implemented all major Lean scheduling practices? Is the scheduling done automatically, based on store traffic and transactions data? Are there defined roles within the staff? Example of best practice: Scheduling at a US supermarket is based on a computer system that is linked to its sales results system. The computer system bases the schedule on transactions per hour and allocates more labour to peak hours. Roles in the store are clearly defined, and employees rarely have to respond to unexpected traffic increases. What was the reasoning behind the adoption of any or all Lean Retailing techniques? Were managers implementing changes because all their competitors were doing it? Did managers believe it would merely reduce costs and thus ecided to make the switch? Or did Lean fit the businesses’ goals, which often include increasing quality, reducing waste, and reducing injuries while increasing profits? Example of best practice: A UK specialty apparel store introduced techniques to improve customer service, raise product availability, decrease waste, and increase efficiency and productivity. Process problem do cumentation If an operational/procedural problem in the store occurs, what happens? Do managers wait for problems to happen to address them or do they search for ways of improving processes and avoiding potentially costly product shortages or mistakes? Is there a specific way that shop floor workers, who are executing most of the tasks, can suggest process improvements? Example of best practice: A UK supermarket uses a checklist system for checking the store every hour. Managers document all issues and have weekly business strategy meetings to discuss them and identify solutions. Action plans encompass targeted completion dates and everything is reported to corporate headquarters. There is a standard system whereby employees can suggest improvements, and managers review them weekly with potential rewards for the employee whose suggestion gets implemented. management matters in retail atters Operations performance tracking What types of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the managers tracking? For example, do managers only track sales per day or does the set of KPIs include a comprehensive list of all productivity factors, such as average transaction value and conversion rates? And are these KPIs available for all to see, or is i t only the senior managers who are privy to this information? Example of best practice: A Canadian bookstore manager tracks all major performance indicators daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. Sales are tracked by shift, and if targets are not being met, the manager follows up mmediately with the sales staff to improve performance. All information is posted for employees to see and updated as new data become available. Operations performance review Does a manager review KPIs with other managers and staff? Is there a meeting to review them? Who is involved in these meetings? Who gets to see the results of this review? What are the typical next steps after a meeting? Example of best practice: A hardware store in Canada has weekly management meetings to review the basic KPIs, and routinely invites floor staff to attend as well. Every meeting, they create a follow up plan with five to six main oints they have to focus on in the coming week with specific timelines and accountability. Res ults are tracked daily and shared with employees in small team huddles and storewide meetings twice a week. The managers keep a scorecard to help track how they are doing. a 21 Operations performance dialogue Here managers are asked to describe a KPI meeting. Is there a set structure to the meeting; for example, a set agenda used every week? If KPI data are needed to discuss specific issues, are the data always available? Do discussions lead to the root cause of problems? Example of best practice: The manager at an American eneral merchandise store has a set agenda for the meetings (part of it from corporate, part of it open to managers’ discretion), which is distributed ahead of time. All involved are expected to have reviewed it and to come prepared for discussion. Problems are identified and conversations are only finished when the root cause is found. The manager often uses root cause analysis tools such as fishbone diagrams and the 5Ys. a All items are documented and fol lowed up on. Consequence management How do managers deal with a business unit that is under performing? What are the consequences for the under performing unit? Are there parts of the business that seem to fail repeatedly to carry out agreed actions? Example of best practice: A general merchandise store in Canada has a computerized system where follow-up plans are logged. Outstanding items are flagged (red, yellow, or green). In-store issues have a â€Å"sundown rule,† where problems need to be fixed by sundown. External issues require progress reports, and status is frequently reviewed until the item is no longer red-flagged. 5Ys is a management technique used to solve problems by asking â€Å"why† five times. By the time the fifth why is asked, the root cause of the problem has already been found. 2 institute for competitiveness & prosperity Performance management Types of goals What types of goals are set for the company? Are there specific goals for the store? Are there any non-financial goals? Example of best practice: A hardware store in Canada has a range of financial and operational goals in place, and also has specific non-financial goals for community involvement (charitable donations/fundraising) and environmental targets. The manager was concerned with â€Å"making money† but felt that supporting their community was just as important. Interconnection of goals Is there a clear motivation behind the goals? For instance, oes the company clearly communicate goals, such as â€Å"we want to be the leader in the industry† or â€Å"we want to grow by 4 percent in the next two years†? How are the goals cascaded down to the individual workers? For example, are workers aware of how their work fits within the larger framework of the company? Example of best practice: The motivation behind a US general merchandise store’s goals is to create shareholder value and deliver customer satisfaction. Corporate headquarters divides goals by region, division, and store. The manager then further divides those goals by department and individual associates, so that all ave personal targets l inked to the store’s overall goal. Company goals are communicated through storewide meetings and newsletters. Time horizon What is the time scale of the targets? Do managers focus more on short-term or long-term goals? Do the short-term goals form a â€Å"staircase† to the long-term goals? Example of best practice: A Canadian department store has daily, weekly, quarterly, annual, three- and five-year goals and ten-year strategic goals. The goals are all linked in a staircase; if the store meets all the short-term goals, they will inevitably meet the long-term goals. Setting stretch goals How tough are the goals? Do managers feel pushed by them? Are any goals obviously too easy or too hard? In other words, are there goals that are always met and some that are never met? Do all departments have the same level of difficulty in the targets or do some get off easy? Example of best practice: A UK clothing store has rigorous goals for all departments, based on a specific store growth plan. The manager feels the targets are very tough, but attainable. She meets them between 75 to 80 percent of the time. Clarity of goals Do all employees in the store know what their personal targets are? Does anyone complain that the targets are too omplex – that is, not that they are too stretching, but that they are difficult to understand? Is performance between teams or shifts openly compared to others? Example of best practice: A Canadian bookstore manager sets clear individual targets for her employees and keeps them accountable to them during weekly huddles. She posts performance in the break room and e mployees are encouraged to compare individual performance, as the manager believes this leads to friendly competition. Instilling a talent mindset Do senior managers discuss attracting and developing talented people? Do managers get any rewards for the talent ool they create? Are managers held accountable for creating a talent pool? Example of best practice: Managers at an American department store participate in university/college job fairs, and actively seek talented people to join the company. The company has a â€Å"human capital report,† and the number and quality of the people a manager hired are important in his appraisal and affect (positively or negatively) his bonus at the end of the year. management matters in retail 23 People management Promoting high performers If a worker is exceptionally good, can he or she be promoted on a fast track? Are top performers routinely identified and developed? Is length of service unduly important in promotions? Rewarding top performers How does the appraisal system work? How does the bonus system work? Are there non-financial rewards? How do these systems compare to the competitors’ systems? Example of best practice: An American hardware store holds appraisal meetings every six months – one full appraisal meeting and one update meeting. There is a bonus for both shop floor employees and managers, based on a review of personal performance. For the shop floor employees, there is a reward system where employees et â€Å"stars† in a staircase structure for outstanding performance. For each set number of â€Å"stars,† there is a financial reward. When employees reach the highest level, they get a gift. There are also gift cards/movie tickets and other financial rewards for good customer service performance. Addressing poor performance If a worker is continuously under performing, what is the course of action? Is there a set procedure that is followed? How long would under performance be tolerated? Example of best practice: A US department store has a performance improvement plan, whereby managers meet with poor performers, identify their improvement pportunities, develop a plan, and give them tools to make them work more effectively. Once under performance is identified, weekly meetings are set up to update the status. The manager tries to retrain and/ or move the employee to other departments, but under performance is only tolerated for a maximum of three months. Example of best practice: An American grocery store has a formal career path plan for all employees and a succession plan for managers. Promotions are based solely on performance, and tenure does not play a role. The manager uses regular performance appraisals to identify op performers and look for â€Å"diamonds in the rough. † The company has a mentoring program that tra ins the best to be future managers, and encourages workers to take courses outside the store. Attracting high performers Does the company offer a distinctive work environment that is attractive to top talent? Example of best practice: An American hardware store offers competitive wages, strong performance incentives, and clear career paths. The managers believe it is important to get employees involved in the decision-making process to make them feel like a valued part of the company. Retaining high performers What special practices are in place to retain top performers who want to leave the company? Example of best practice: A hardware store manager in Canada keeps an eye on the top employees and, if they seem unhappy or are thinking about leaving, senior management will meet with them to discuss their career. For a top performer, the manager would adjust hours, increase pay, and offer more responsibility. The manager mentioned an example where he helped the employee’s mother move to their town so they could live closer together and the employee would stay with the company. 24 institute for competitiveness & prosperity