The Impact of Diversity on Creativity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Impact of Diversity on Creativity - Essay Example This is particularly relevant for companies now with the call for both incremental and revolutionary change to enliven the vision and mission† Segal (2001).   Let us take the workplace as an example. Many companies hire people from different ethnic backgrounds. And apparently for very good reasons. The recent years saw the number of corporate managers subscribing to the idea that â€Å"when well managed,† ethnic diversity in the workplace can â€Å"provide organizations with certain competitive advantages.† (McLeod, Lobel & Cox 1996). These managers believe that ideas, which the ethnically diverse groups come up with, are often found to have â€Å"higher quality—more effective and feasible—than the ideas produced by the homogeneous groups,† or the group of people with the same ethnicity. According to McLeod, Lobel & Cox (1996), an enlightened manager realizes that stronger unity exists within diversity. As Lisagor (2006) states;   On the other hand, leaders who appreciate the value of different life experiences, surround themselves with many types of individuals, and encourage dissenting views are usually rewarded with greater success and personal satisfaction.   Advocates for diversity argue that having people with diverse backgrounds will offer diverse ideas to the company.

Sales and Distribution Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Sales and Distribution Management - Assignment Example To solve the solve both the sales and distribution problem the company finds itself confronted with, it is important to objectively outline the situation. The situation, as it currently stands, is that our company had contracted with a sales/distribution company to both sell and distribute 3,000 tones of our toys across the United Kingdom in time for Christmas. The goods have been loaded onto the Emma Maersk and will arrive in the United Kingdom on the due date. The problem lies in the sales and distribution of the unloaded cargo to stores across the UK, given that the company which had originally been contracted to handle this process has gone out of business. As we have exactly three weeks to resolve this problem, the imperatives of immediately deciding upon a model for the effective and efficient sales and distribution of the unloaded cargo are inarguable. There are two steps to the resolution of the above-described problem. The first step involves motivating and managing a sales team to sell the goods within the specified time-frame and the second involves distributing the goods within that same time-frame. Our ability to do satisfy the first depends on our understanding of team behaviour and the ways and means by which to motivate sales teams. As for the second, the resolution of the distribution problem lies in the implementation of a modified version of the Just-In-Time paradigm. 2 Sales Team Management Models Researchers who study general team characteristics often examine and reference the models of Gladstein (1984), Hackman (1987), and Campion et al. (1996). These three key models are discussed below. 2.1 Gladstein's model Gladstein's (1984) model categorized the variables and labeled them as either input, process, or output (Figure 1). Gladstein defines inputs as contributions from individual, group, and organization for group effectiveness. Gladstein categorized the inputs into two levels: group and organizational. Process refers to the activities of decision-making and output refers to the outcomes of the team activities. Group task moderates the relationship between group process and group effectiveness. Group level inputs and organizational level inputs directly affect group effectiveness. Both levels of inputs indirectly affect the group process. Gladstein's model defines team effectiveness based on the performance of the team and the satisfaction of the team members. Figure 1 General Model of Group Behavior: Constructs and Measured Variables. From "Groups in context: a model of task group effectiveness," by D. Gladstein, 1984, Administrative Science Quarterly, 29, p. 502. 2.2 Hackman's model Hackman (1987) created a practical framework for team studies (Figure 2). Hackman's model (1987), like Gladstein's model (1984) uses an "input-process-output" framework for analyzing group behavior and performance. Hackman's model consists of six major variables: organizational context, group design, group synergy, process, group task, and group effectiveness. In Hackman's model, organizational context, refers to the reward system, the education system, and the information system, all of which support the work of the team. Organizational context, along with group design and group synergy, influences how well team members are able to apply their skill and knowledge to the team task. The model defines group synergy as interactions between members, which increases group progress and decreases