So after working for this client on freelancer, he ran off without paying me my money. Unfortunately for him, the paper is not due until 16th October 2016. I am going to publish the work here, hoping when they run Turnitin report on his paper the result will be 100% similarity. Please don't feel compelled to read or comment.

THIS IS JUST A PAYBACK. Those Oyinbo's want to scam me.


Here goes:



WALMART IN CHINA

1. Overview of the Company

History of Wal-Mart

The company which today is known as Wal-Mart was founded by a renowned American retailer by the name Sam Walton. Sam, after ending his military service in 1945, moved with his wife, Helen, to Newport, Arkansas, where he gained retail experience (Walmart Corporate). It was during this time he opened his first retail store- Walton’s 5&10.

Following the success of Walton’s first dime store, Sam left Newport for Bentonville in 1950, where he eventually opened the first Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas, in the year 1962 (Walmart Corporate). Having recorded over $12.7 million in sales in 1967 (Walmart Corporate), the company became officially incorporated in 1962 as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Wal-Mart Inc. operates through its the ‘Every Day Low Price’ business strategy.
In 1991, Wal-Mart through a Mexican retail company by name Cifra opened its first overseas Sam’s Club in the North America country. Thereafter, operations of Wal-Mart were expanded into Canada in 1994. Following the series of success, Wal-Mart opened its first stores in Shenzhen, China, in the year 1996 (Walmart Corporate). In China, Wal-Mart operates hypermarket, Sam’s clubs, and Neighbour stores formats.

Wal-Mart International Objective

Wal-Mart is currently in operations in 28 countries worldwide with over 11,500 stores under 70 banners (About Walmart Stores, Inc.). Wal-Mart’s operations span China, Japan, Canada, India, United Kingdom, Brazil, Africa and elsewhere with headquarter in Bentonville, United States where it employs over 1.5 million associates at over 1500 stores and clubs nationally (Walmart Corporate).
Wal-Mart offers retailing and e-commerce services in its 28 countries of operations covering sales of groceries, bakery, deli and dairy products, electronics, apparels, toys, beauty products etc. In the 2016 financial results, Wal-Mart posted revenue of over $480 billion, consequently becoming listed in the top of Fortune’s top 500 companies (Walmart Corporate).

Concept of Multinational Corporations (MNCs)

As defined by Lazarus A., a multinational corporation is a business venture that operates in more than two countries (LAZARUS, A., 2001). An MNC is the organizational form of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) into a foreign country. A multinational corporation has also been defined as one with overseas subsidiaries (HARROD, J. W.). MNCs can vary based on their activities or the number of countries of operations. Following the definition, Wal-Mart Inc. is clearly a multinational corporation as its operations span 27 countries besides its home operations in the United States.

2. Host Country Analysis

China

Within the last three decades, china has risen to become a major economic power in the world. Following the economic reforms by China in 1979, its GDP growth stood at over 10percent yearly. Prior to the 1979 reform, China’s GDP growth was put at an annual growth rate of 6.7 % between 1953 and 1978. (MORRISON, W. M., 2015). Judging by the purchasing power parity (PPP), China is the world’s largest economy in manufacturing, merchandise export and imports, foreign exchange reserve holding. A number of US companies are in operation in the booming Chinese market to sell their products, and also leverage on the cheap labour that abounds in China. China’s economy when measured using nominal exchange rates, had a gross domestic product (GDP) size of $ 10.4 trillion as of 2014, with a per capita GDP of $7,589 as estimated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the same year (MORRISON, W. M., 2015).

According to the Michael Porter’s Diamond Model, the first attribute the first attribute is the factors that prevail in the country. The country factor conditions can be broadly categorised into human resources, material resources, knowledge resources, capital resources, and infrastructural resources. The human resources further consist of qualifications and cost of labour while the material resources consist of space, natural resources, and vegetation. (RECKLIES, D., 2015). (ADJABENG, S. O., 2013), has identified the determining factors that affected Wal-Mart’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in China as being the market, labour cost, tax, and infrastructure.

Amongst the determining factors that influenced Wal-Mart’s FDI in China was its desire to increase its retail market size in relation to the growing China population. Wal-Mart has been favoured by the growing number of rich middle class and the price consciousness of the Chinese market. Consequently, it deployed an everyday Low Price strategy to conquer the Chinese market. Generally, for marketing seeking Multinational Corporations like Wal-Mart, the market size and growth potentials are always among the determining factors that affect Foreign Direct Investment decisions. It can be inferred, therefore, that Wal-Mart prior to its 1996 entry into China, have been attracted by the market size and growth potentials of China. Wal-Mart was able to overcome earlier entry problems due to the Ownership advantage (i.e. the company’s abilities and expertise). This clearly conforms to the Dunning Eclectic Paradigm. Wal-Mart’s successful internationalisation in China was also significantly determined by the everyday Low Price and everyday Low-Cost strategies that it deployed to great effect.

The Chinese business environment of which Wal-Mart, is a part of, is clearly indicated in Figures 1 to 3. The trend and nature of retail investments are as shown in the three figures from 2006 to 2011. After the effect of the economic downturn in 2008, the attractiveness of the retail market as of 2009 is also captured.

Figure 1: China Retail Investment Volume 2006-2011


2: Proportion of Retail Investment Reached New High

Figure 3: Distribution of Investment in 2011 by Product Type

3. Entry Strategies of Wal-Mart in China

As stated by Bishop, an entry strategy is a mode through which a company enters a foreign market, and how it makes its products and services available to the customers in the foreign country (YUE, L., 2007). The entry strategy chosen by the foreign firm is very important to its success. As reported by Johnson et.al., the Uppsala models visualizes internationalization as happening sequentially, and also affected by an increased commitment and market knowledge (CHO, HYEON JEONG, 2012). The internationalization process can be affected by a lack of experiential learning and knowledge between a domestic company and its foreign host. Commitment decisions and internationalization can be affected by knowledge level as well as commitment to foreign markets as espoused by the Uppsala model.

Wal-Mart officially entered China in the year 1996 (Walmart Corporate). Before its entry, Wal-Mart waited for openness in policy, following the increase in the number of experimental cities where non-Chinese firms were allowed to operate by the Chinese government. This was because the government of China had put restrictions and regulations which prevent foreign businesses from operating unless it entered into a partnership with a Chinese company, with the Chinese company owning over 51% in the joint venture (YUE, L., 2007). As a result, Wal-Mart before its formal entry had gone into partnership with Shenzhen International Trust & Investment Company Limited in 1995. It was afterwards that Wal-Mart opened its first outlets in Shenzhen, China. Wal-Mart Inc. has had success as the largest retail stores. Wal-Mart adopted a joint venture as its entry strategy which allowed it gained adequate knowledge of the Chinese market and other country factors from its local partner. Wal-Mart’s success was in part due to its ownership advantage in business expertise and know-how of retailing, and the valuable knowledge it acquired from its partnership.

China, being the most populous country in the world, presents huge retail market opportunities. Between 1990 and 1995, prior to Wal-Mart’s entry, China recorded annual retail sales growth of 11% (GOVINDARAJAN , V. and Gupta, A. K., 2002), which was fuelled by rising demand for consumer goods and economic recovery. Wal-Mart experimented with a variety of strategies to determine which had the greatest appeal to the Chinese market. One of the entry strategy used by Wal-Mart was the opening of the Shenzhen supercenter, which combined a supercenter with warehouse clubs. Wal-Mart also tried various products merchandise to determine the one that had great appeal and suits the Chinese culture better. Consequently, Wal-Mart began selling a lot of perishable goods that the Chinese found appealing. Regulations in China pose great challenges for foreign businesses. Another factor that posed a challenge to Wal-Mart’s low price model was the low middle-level disposal income in China. Consequently, Wal-Mart adapted its marketing strategies to suit the Chinese consumers’ pattern of buying in small quantities while also paying attention to language differences in the labelling of products and branding.

Multinational Corporations (MNCs) like Wal-Mart view entry into China as not just an opportunity to expand and grow their businesses, but also an opportunity for supporting the over 1.3 billion population of China. Wal-Mart aims to become a top player in the retail sector- this has informed its decision to acquire Trust-Mart (MUN, Y. L. and Yazdanifard, R., 2012). Wal-Mart’s proposed $1 billion takeover of Trust-Mart is seen as its largest efforts at expanding its operations in China (GEREFFE, R. and Ong, R.), with Trust-Mart recording over $1.7 in sales in the year 2005. Apart from utilizing the acquisition strategy in China, Wal-Mart is also utilizing the offshore sourcing strategy in China. Wal-Mart uses China to source for its product. As a result, it has become the largest export channel of products from China to the United States and elsewhere. Wal-Mart does not operate a manufacturing plant in China nor does it have any direct control on manufacturing processes and supplies. This strategy enables it to maintain its everyday low price that has become its core philosophy. Wal-Mart is able to exercise it high bargaining power while also maintaining its high ownership advantage. The high point of the strategy is that Wal-Mart is able to purchase cheap products from China which it can sell at higher prices to the United States and elsewhere. The expansion plans by Wal-Mart has faced challenges from the government of China. The ACFTU had threatened Wal-Mart and other MNCs to allow employees to set up branches of the union in their companies or else face being sued. Even though the action may greatly benefit the china government, Wal-Mart will be faced with limited options in handling employee benefits and resolutions of grievances among employees.

4. International Business Impacts and Contributions:

Wal-Mart has embarked on a global campaign to cut down the environmental impacts of its operations in China and elsewhere. Prior to before now, in the 1980’s and 1990’s, Wal-Mart had attempted to initiate a few green products and eco-friendly stores. The environmental initiatives by Wal-Mart in China have signalled other corporations to embrace sound environmental practices. Though it has been modest, but it continues to make laudable achievements in this regard. The global economic downturn which impacted Wal-Mart’s profit margin had a hand in the stalling of the programs. Through its sustainability program, Wal-Mart is aiming to reduce waste, encourage reuse, increase organic based products, support farmers, use more renewable energy, and to cut its energy footprints. Through its organic and green product initiatives, Wal-Mart sources much of its food from Direct Farm Program which it established in the year 2007 (SCHELL , O., 2011). Wal-Mart has found it difficult dealing with China’s worsening industrial pollution problems. To this end, it enlisted the help of NGOs to train and monitor workers in the factories of its suppliers.

Currently, Wal-Mart is the largest private employer of labour with over 2.1 million workers. Since it began buying made in china products in 1993, Wal-Mart has grown its operations in china to include over 300 stores and over 90,000 people employed (KROLL, A., 2012). In the supply chain of Wal-Mart, there are over 30,000 local Chinese factories which are charged with production of 70% of goods that is sold by Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart has recorded sales of $7.5 billion in the Chinese market, a figure which accounts for over 2% of its yearly revenues (SCHELL , O., 2011). The amount of sales in China has continued to increase in the last 10 years. As mentioned before, over 30,000 Chinese partners are responsible for over 70% of goods sold by Wal-Mart which is worth nearly $420 billion dollars yearly (SCHELL , O., 2011). China has become very decisive to the supply chain of Wal-Mart. Consequently, Wal-Mart relocated its global headquarters which was formerly at Hong Kong to Shenzhen, China. The partnership between China, the most populated market in world, and Wal-Mart, world’s largest retailer, has helped to fulfil the mutual needs of each partner. China aids Wal-Mart in fulfilling its growth needs through the provision of supplies while Wal-Mart helps Beijing in meeting the ever increasing needs of its budding consumers.

UN Global Compact
Wal-Mart was known for its resistance to employees’ efforts to form trade unions in its areas of operations in China and elsewhere. This was clearly a violation of the 3rd principle of the UN Global Compact principles, which mandates businesses to uphold the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining (The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact). Wal-Mart employees in China have had to act following an order by President Hu Jintao in setting up its first branch of the ‘All-China Federation of Trade Unions’ (ACFTU) in Wal-Mart office in the south-eastern city of Guangzhou (NBC NEWS, 2006). The ACFTU represents the interests of Chinese workers in a single company or sector but not the whole industry. The ACFTU seeks to protect the legitimate rights of the Chinese workers, and also serve as a mediator in promoting a cordial relationship between a management and its employees.

Another area Wal-Mart can do better is in the environment footprints of its operations as it had come under series of criticisms from environmental activists for releasing millions of tons of Carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. Wal-Mart has also been slated for the waste generated through the consumption of its products. The problem is always exacerbated due to Wal-Mart’s size. 2011 reports showed that Wal-Mart’s waste usually disposed in landfills were cut by over 80% while also increasing locally grown produce by over 90% (KURTZLEBEN, D., 2012). Despite the efforts, Wal-Mart’s operations still leave a detrimental impact on the environment.















Bibliography
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ADJABENG, S. O. 2013. The determinants of FDI:The case of Wal-Mart China Inc. Denmark.
CHO, HYEON JEONG. 2012. U.S. APPAREL RETAILERS’ INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION: AN APPLICATION OF THE UPPSALA MODEL. Greensboro.
GEREFFE, R. and R. ONG. Walmart in China: Can the World's Largest Retailer Succeed in the World's most Populous Market. Harvard Asia Pacific Review.
GOVINDARAJAN , V. and A. K. GUPTA. 2002. Taking Wal-Mart Global: Lessons From Retailing's Giant. [online]. [Accessed 7 October 2016]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.strategy-business.com/article/13866?gko=e19cb>
KROLL, A. 2012. Are Walmart's Chinese Factories As Bad As Apple's? [online]. [Accessed 7 October 2016]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/03/walmart-china-sustainability-shadow-factories-greenwash>
KURTZLEBEN, D. 2012. Walmart Struggles to Overcome Environmental Criticism. [online]. [Accessed 8 October 2016]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/04/20/walmart-struggles-to-overcome-environmental-criticism>
MORRISON, W. M. 2015. China’s Economic Rise: History, Trends, Challenges, and Implications for the United States.
MUN, Y. L. and R. YAZDANIFARD. 2012. WALMART SUCCESS IN MEXICO, CANADA ANDCHINA: GLOBAL EXPANSION, STRATEGIES,ENTRY MODES, THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES. Research Gate., p.4.
NBC NEWS. 2006. [online]. [Accessed 8 October 2016]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14371756/ns/business-world_business/t/chinas-president-encouraged-wal-mart-union/#.V_gxuDUYMjl>
Our Locations: United States. [online]. [Accessed 7 October 2016]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/locations/united-states#/united-states>
RECKLIES, D. 2015. Porters Diamond – Determining Factors of National Advantage. [online]. [Accessed 7 October 2016]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.themanager.org/2015/01/porters-diamond-national-advantage/>
SCHELL , O. 2011. How Walmart Is Changing China. [online]. [Accessed 7 October 2016]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/12/how-walmart-is-changing-china/308709/>
The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact. [online]. [Accessed 8 October 2016].
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YUE, L. 2007. A Comparative Study of Strategies Adopted by Wal-Mart and Carrefour in China: A Resource-Based Perspective. [online]. [Accessed 7 October 2016]. Available from World Wide Web: <https://www.academia.edu/4975677/A_Comparative_Study_of_Strategies_Adopted_by_Wal-Mart_and_Carrefour_in_China_A_Resource-Based_Perspective_Acknowledgements?auto=download>

Here are more papers till the THIEF pays:





















Abstract
Entrepreneurship has been identified as the process of creating new ventures or pursuits which can bring in value by investing effort, ideas, and capital. The entrepreneurial process can be undertaken by both existing businesses and individuals who wish to establish new ventures. An entrepreneur is one that can identify business opportunities and invest his time and ideas into the pursuit of the opportunities. The success of perceived business opportunities largely depends on the ability of the entrepreneur or the organization to be creative, innovative, while also taking some educated risks. This report studies the important roles played by innovation and creativity in the success of business ventures. A new venture on solar systems installation to be based in Malaysia was proposed. Consequently, conditions necessary for the success of the business were highlighted.

Introduction

Entrepreneurship is an activity that can be engaged by both existing businesses and new start-ups when new business opportunities are discovered. The business environment is already saturated with many types of small and large corporations competing for the same customers. To gain good market shares, entrepreneurs and business owners alike have to differentiate their products and services. This is the role of innovation and creativity in business- differentiation. Innovation will enable one business start-up to acquire a competitive edge over other businesses out there. Creativity has been identified as the ability to transform ideas into substance while innovation is the ability to create new things or use new methods to provide a service that is distinctive. Innovation can lead to a product that is distinctive in terms of price or product functionalities. Innovation can also be applied to the functioning of an organization in such a way that leads to organizational differentiation or uniqueness.

There are different ventures an entrepreneur can invest his capitals on. Entrepreneurship, apart from requiring innovation and creativity for success, also involves a lot of risk-taking. An entrepreneur must be able to take risks that will lead to a gain in a business venture. For a business to establish, the entrepreneur has to go through a lot of processes, one of which is undertaking a feasibility study, during which he studies various aspects of the market and what is required to establish a financially viable venture. A product visibility study must be able to answer various questions on the description of the project, the significance of the project, financial analysis among others. A good feasibility study with creativity and innovation will lead to establishing profitable ventures.

The feasibility study carried out in this report is about establishing a solar system start-up that is to be based in Malaysia. The Malaysian government is making an effort which is directed at diversifying the source of energy used in the country. The remaining sections of this report will examine in greater details the importance of creativity and innovation in entrepreneurship, after which a feasibility study of solar systems start-up to be based in Malaysia will be proposed. The report concludes by highlighting various success factors and conditions that must prevail for the start up to be financially viable.

Role of Creativity and Innovativeness on Entrepreneurship

With so many start-ups springing up by the day, some offering the same services or products, the edge needed to create a competitive advantage may lie in new business being able to differentiate their products and services through creativeness and innovation. Innovation has to do with being able to create new things or modifying the already existing with new features that differentiate it from the former self and others in the marketplace. Creativity, on the other hand, involves turning one’s ideas into substance. Creativity will enable one to transform new ideas, new methods, etc. into reality. Creativity in entrepreneurship has been defined by Amabile as the capability to generate and implement new ideas in a business (DROMERESCHI, Maria Irina, 2014).

Innovation and creativity will certainly differentiate one venture from the others. An entrepreneur must be able to create a distinctive path (or niche) for his business as the level of competition for customers is simply huge as the level of business activities is increasing daily. In Malaysia, figures acquired from the Registrar of Companies (ROC) indicate that 585,471 businesses are legally registered and of the total private limited companies are 577,310 (over 98 % of total). The number of limited companies has been put at 3,056 with 885 being limited guaranteed companies, while 204 are unlimited companies. Of the total, 3979 are owned by foreigners and the rest are other forms of business ventures (ARIFF, Mohamed and Abubakar, Yanti Syarisa, 2003). Based on the statistics of the rate of start-ups, survival in the marketplace can only be guaranteed by innovation and creativity in business. As reported in the work of (TU, Chiayu and Hwang, Swiuh-Nan, 2014), entrepreneurial activities are not always successful even though they have been a source of employment. Research has blamed this occurrence on the inability of such entrepreneurial ventures to innovate in the business.

Both creativeness and innovation are important for a business which wishes to succeed in the light of the massive competition for the same customers. Usually, customers are at the advantaged end as they can pick from a plethora of choices. So, to succeed in a business one must be able to offer the customers what is not available or common anywhere else. What new things can your product perform? How is it different from every other out there? These amongst others are questions that will be answered by creativeness and innovation. Innovation in most cases is usually motivated by the need to beat rivals in a very competitive market (TU, Chiayu and Hwang, Swiuh-Nan, 2014).

As noted by (BABU, Ranga et al., 2013), innovation has become a worldwide necessity for businesses, irrespective of the size. The role of innovation has emerged stronger because of competitions in business for customers. As they further noted, companies that invested in innovation in the past were beginning to reap the benefits now. Innovation was succinctly captured as being a combination of creativity and risk-taking, as it does not come without its unique challenges. Even as they agreed you cannot innovate without creativity. Innovation, as they defined it, is being able to ‘bring the best of ideas into reality’ and creativity as being the ability to create and bring into existence, new things, through the use of imaginations.

Three factors of key importance to entrepreneurship have been identified as being: proactiveness, ability to take calculated risks, and innovativeness. Innovation in a business is measured not only by the novelty of the ideas but the overall successes that can be achieved in the marketplace. Risk-taking ensures that businesses are able to commit huge resources to the pursuit of newly identified opportunities. Proactiveness allows businesses to continually take actions and adapt to changing trends in the market (FILLIS, Ian).
The processes involved in innovation have been identified as being five – fold (GHOLAMI, Keyvan and Karimi, Arman, 2014) . The process ensures that changes which are necessary are implemented. The steps involved in the process are succinctly captured in the diagram below:

Figure 1: 5 Processes of Innovation
Innovation can take one of three forms (BABU, Ranga et al., 2013):
Products and services- this is innovation in which the products are services with unique features and performance are introduced. As identified in the work of (TU, Chiayu and Hwang, Swiuh-Nan, 2014), innovation in products and services is a crucial factor in the performance of businesses.

Process – to increase productivity, significant changes can be made in the methods of producing or delivering services that result in lowering cost of operation whilst increasing customer demand. When the price is lower, many more customers can be attracted.
Management – this involves efficient management of the human and capital resources to produce or render the best services.
In light of the foregoing discussions, it can be concluded that the main role of innovation and creativity is to serve as a tool to navigate competition in business.

Presently, the role of creativity is becoming more and more important than ever. For various organizations, creativity has become a core factor for success even though efficiency and effectiveness used to take centre stages as the main requirements. With the dynamic nature of business world, creative leadership is now seen as a more preferred attribute to conventional managerial methodologies in navigating various environment challenges faced by businesses. In spite of the important role which creativity has been identified to play, it is yet to be fully embraced by many organizations as a result of the associated risks (FILLIS, Ian). Effecting creativity in the business environment can lead to some radical changes, which is a risk many are not willing to take.

In smaller enterprises, creativity is seen as the most useful asset in overcoming challenges and providing cost-effective solutions to problems (FILLIS, Ian). The ability to render cost-effective solution can provide the needed competitive edge for smaller ventures and indeed for larger corporations, with a lot of customers buying decision skewing toward cost/price factors. Creativity is the key to innovation, and both will work together in differentiating a business from a myriad of others out there...

ANOTHER PAPER:

DIVERSITY IN THE WORKFORCE

Introduction

The need for one organization to outperform the others has given rise to a diverse workforce comprising of different individuals who significantly differ from one another. Diversity in the workplace has been defined as the differences and similarities among the employees that make up an organization in terms of age, cultural background, sex, religion (Business Dictionary). The diversity in the workplace in terms of age is more often referred to as generational diversity.

The desire by some to stay and work longer has led to the current workforce capturing many generations. With countries such as the US capturing as many as 5 distinct generations, others have been able to capture 4 and 3. The various generations is a type of demographic which segments the different age ranges into generations generally governed by different attitudes to work, preferences and value systems. The attitude, preference, and values held by any generation affect the way they approach their works. 21st-century organizations tend to prefer managers which can deal with the different generations as they have different characteristics and present diverse challenges. The attitude of the various generations greatly differs in the workplace. The generations in the workforce have been segmented into the following demographics: the Traditionalists (also known as the silent generation or the greatest generation); the baby boomers; generation X; generation Y (also known as Millennials), and finally generation Z. An understanding of these generational cohorts is required in building and managing a successful workforce/business. The different generations have also been identified to prefer a different style of working, communication etc. For example, the millennials being born in a time of technological advancement and social media tend to prefer communication using social media while the more traditional silent generation prefer face to face interactions.
This paper presents a critical analysis of the relationships between work behaviours and the attitudes of the different generational cohorts in the workplace and how to better manage each group.

Types of generational cohorts

The general population in the workforce has been segregated into different groups (cohorts), with each group governed by different attitudes, value systems and preferences. The attitudes of each generation greatly affect how it should be motivated and managed in the workplace as espoused by (Fletcher, et al., 2009). In the following sections, efforts have been made at describing different generational cohorts and how their attitudes affect their work behaviors.

The Silent Generation (Traditionalists)

This refers to the generation born between 1928 to 1945 (Pew Research Centre, 2016) and would be between 71 to 88 years of age by 2016. As reported by (Fletcher, et al., 2009) there are about 50 million of the silent generations still alive with as many as 97 % of them already retired from the active workforce. The children who grew up in this generation were generally encouraged to be quiet as they were ‘meant to be seen and not heard’. This resulted in the vast number of the silent generation not being disposed to giving public speeches.

The silent generation grew up in the middle of depression which encouraged them to become more ambitious and set goals. The following attitudes have been identified as common among the silent generations: strong work ethics, loyalty, respect for constituted authorities, technology challenged, traditional (Kane, 2016). As a result of the great depression witnessed during the period dominated by the silent generation, they usually are very hardworking- preferring to put in more work to get ahead. This leads to them retiring very wealthy.
The silent generation which is sometimes referred to as the traditionalists, are usually conformists and are known for respecting authorities and preferring a top-down management approach (Tolbize, 2008). The traditionalists prefer to learn soft skills through discussions, peer interactions, and coaching on the job. They also tend to stay and work in the same organization for a longer period of time, with most of them preferring to retire in the same organization. The traditionalist is generally the workaholics as they see work as a ‘privilege’.
The Silents prefer a face to face communication in the workplace; they favour communication style that accords them with a lot of respect.

The Baby Boomers

This comprise of the people born after World War II. They were born between 1946 to 1964 (Pew Research Centre, 2016) with present adult ages of 52 to 70 years. Following post World War II, the average marriage age greatly dropped leading to a baby boom. The people born during the period tend to be very competitive with a very overwhelming desire to succeed (Sajjadi, Sun, & Castilo, 2012). Having witnessed various sweeping changes growing up, the boomers have emerged with stronger beliefs in themselves and have learnt to set and achieve goals.
A study conducted by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), as cited in (Fletcher, et al., 2009), identified the following attitudes of baby boomers as respect for authority, drive to achieve results, loyalty to the organization, giving maximum effort in the workplace. The baby boomers are also known to have good communication skills, competent, good at crisis management and very willing to take responsibilities.
They prefer to learn soft skills through on the job training, peer interactions, one-on-one coaching, and discussion groups. The boomers are known to sacrifice work for personal life; as a result, they tend to have very poor work-life balance (Tolbize, 2008).

The generation X

This comprises of people born between 1965 to 1980 and would be between the ages of 36 to 51 years by 2016. The Xers are known to have entered the market during the period regarded as the ‘great downsizing’. When compared to the generations before them, they are usually more technology savvy and are able to adapt to various difficult situations. The generation X is full of energy and usually very independent (Sajjadi, Sun, & Castilo, 2012).

The SHRM study also indicated the following characteristics of generation X as seeking work-life balance, learning quickly, technologically skilled, embracing diversity. (Fletcher, et al., 2009). They are also very ethical, willing to put extra efforts to get the job done and are also very confident. With regards to work-life balance, the Gen. X can stay in a workplace if flexible work schedules and opportunities for attaining internal promotions are present (Tay, 2011).

Generation Xers are comfortable with authority figures but are not intimated by them and usually interact easily with their supervisors. They prefer to learn soft skills through on the training, peer interaction, and discussions. Generally, they are less loyal to organizations when compared to the earlier generations and value a good work-life balance (Tolbize, 2008).
On the negative side, the X generation is a very skeptical bunch and sometimes displaying distrust for authority. To motivate them requires allowing them a lot of flexibility in the work environment.

Generation Y (the millennials)

They comprise of people born between 1981 to 1998 (Pew Research Centre, 2016) with adult age range of 18 to 35 years. The millennials grew up in an era dominated by social media and technology, consequently, they have become very ‘’social media-savvy’’. The technological advancements recorded in the time of millennials affect their communication preferences, with a large number of them preferring to communicate using technology than face to face. The sociable nature of millennials makes them desire to work in team situations where they seek to become valued members of an organization. Technology not only affect communication preferences of millennials, but also their problem-solving approach.

The following are typical of the millennials: learning very quickly, technologically skilled, requiring supervision, likes informality, less regard for hierarchy (Fletcher, et al., 2009). The millennials are also known for being able to think out of the box, open to new ideas and very socially developed. Unlike some earlier generations with an aversion for feedback, the millennials constantly want feedback. The feedback helps in gauging their learning and development.

The millennials are known to be loyal to employers only when they are dedicated to an idea, cause or a product. As a result, it is not very uncommon for generation Y to change jobs as they always prefer to advance their careers and once the conditions in one workplace do not guarantee it, they tend to move on. They are skilled at the use of computers, multitasking and tend to communicate clearly and concisely. With regards to respect for authority figures, they usually view respect as what must be earned (Tolbize, 2008).
Managing Generational Diversity in the Workplace

Managers in the currently diversified work environments are now faced with the challenges of managing different generations. The method used for one group may not be effective for the others as they tend to have different attitudes toward work. An understanding of the different generations is essential for adequate management.

Managing Traditionalist
The silent generation with their desire of wanting to be in charge tends to prefer communication through face to face discussions. Managing the silent generation requires being direct, providing specific work expectations, and adopting an approach to work that is very logical. Apart from requiring clear work expectations to be set and properly communicated, the traditionalists prefer managers who are respectful, set clear long-term goals and are consistent (Bursch, 2014).

Managing the Baby Boomers
The baby boomers preference of management is the democratic and consensus seeking managers who will treat them as equals in the workplace. They also expect managers to work with them in the team while defining missions and showing them care and warmth. A large number of the baby boomers are poised to retire, though some prefer to stay on and work for some time. To retain baby boomers, flexible work conditions and phasing retirement programs must be devised (Bursch, 2014).
On communication, the baby boomers prefer it through telephone calls and face to face interactions. Management can plan their conversations over lunch, and give them ample opportunity to express their views as they tend to favour a more participative and interactive communication style.

Managing Generation X
The Xers generally prefer a management style that is straightforward. They are known to seek opportunities for growth and engaging in training. Recruiting and retaining the X generation requires providing autonomy in the work environment as the Xers have been known to freely speak their minds. Also, the workplace must be very flexible as the Xers place a high value on work-life balance.
Generation X tends to favour a straightforward communication approach. Management must communicate to them clearly what is expected of them.

Managing the millennials
The Y generation is considered to be the most educated of all the generations. They tend to prefer management approach that is educational; expect management approach that pays attention to their life goals and personal characteristics. Millennials can be engaged by employers in the workplace through the provision of constant and meaningful works. They are the most prone to job hopping as a result of their need to constantly advance their careers. Managing millennials require giving constant feedback, coaching, motivation and providing structure (Bursch, 2014).

As identified by (American Hospital Association, 2014), the millennials always require being mentored in order to achieve their work aspirations. Consequently, managers handling millennials are to always provide challenges while also giving a lot of feedbacks to enhance their productivity. Millennials value constant feedbacks to help them know how they are doing; therefore, managers should provide constant and honest feedbacks.
The millennials exhibit high individuality in making career decisions than the generations before them, therefore it is very pertinent that human resource and talent managers organize career discussions in order to retain them because once millennial cannot balance their work-life, discover growth and development opportunities, they always tend to move on to other organizations (Stein, 2016). The work environment must be one that is flexible, as many of them prefer to work from home.


Conclusion
The workplace has become more diverse with organization devising means to obtain a competitive advantage over others. The diversity in the workplace, when leveraged, can lead to building an organization that has talent pipeline that encourages growth and sustainability in the business.

Effective communication is at the heart of managing the generational diversity in the workplace. With the younger generations preferring to communicate through the use of technology, the older baby boomers and silent favour face to face communication styles. Management must be able to adapt their communication styles to include the two areas.
There is also the need to create awareness in the workplace about generational differences and what is expected of every employee in getting along with the others. This will go a long way in minimizing frictions in the workplace that is sometimes as a result of misunderstanding among the different groups.

The different groups have shown somewhat different working behaviours based on their attitudes, therefore efforts must be made at developing flexible work conditions that encourage the participation of the older and younger generations. Work from home can be encouraged as this lets the younger millennials to maximize their full potentials; it will also be beneficial to the older baby boomers on the verge of retirement.
Mentorship should also be encouraged among the younger generations and the older baby boomers and traditionalist to facilitate cross-generational interaction. This will allow the younger ones to acquire the knowledge and experiences of the older ones while encouraging the older generations to be open to the new perspective provided by the younger generations.
All in all, an understanding of the generational differences and gaps in the workplace is essential for managing a successful organization. Efforts should be made at developing leaders with intergenerational skills to effectively manage the various mixes.


Bibliography
Pew Research Centre. (2016). Retrieved October 4, 2016, from The generations defined: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/08/29/this-may-be-the-last-presidential-election-dominated-by-boomers-and-prior-generations/ft_16-08-26_generationsdefined_2016_silentgreatest/
American Hospital Association, C. o. (2014). Managing an Inter-Generational Workforce: Strategies for Healthcare Transformations. Chicago, IL: Health Research and Educational Trust.
Bursch, D. (2014). Managing the Multi-Generational Workplace. UNC Kenan-Flegler Business School.
Business Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved October 4, 2016, from workforce diversity: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/workforce-diversity.html
Fletcher, F., Roberts, C., Gibson, C., Gibson, D., Cooke, D. R., Eldridge, L., et al. (2009). GENERATIONAL COHORTS AND THEIR ATTITUDES TOWARDS WORK-RELATED ISSUES IN CENTRAL KENTUCKY. Kentucky: Midway College Faculty from the Business .
Kane, S. (2016). Common Characteristics of Traditionalists (The Silent Generation). Retrieved October 4, 2016, from The Balance: https://www.thebalance.com/workplace-characteristics-silent-generation-2164692
Sajjadi, A., Sun, B. C., & Castilo, L. C. (2012). Generational Differences in Work Attitudes. Sweeden: Jonkoping University.
Stein, G. (2016). Nine Tips for Managing Millennials. Retrieved October 4, 2016, from Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/iese/2016/09/08/managing-millennials-nine-tips/#43045d6b2171
Tay, A. (2011). Managing generational diversity at the workplace: expectations and perceptions of different generations of employees . African Journal of Business Management, 249-255.
Tolbize, A. (2008, August). Generational Differences in the Workplace. United States: University of Minnesota.

@Amicable09, no need to share though.. I'm on a revenge mission, and the THIEF is not a 'nairalander'.

Wow! Misterkay, I particularly love this chapter on workplace diversity. It has opened my eyes to the generation I fall in

I think I'm a mix of X and Y
Thanks for the enlightenment.

But, why has the white man failed to pay? Is there no other way to get some money out of this article because I believe the amount of work you put into it must have involved losing of sleep. You've got to translate this article to cash please. Compile and make it an eBook if need be.

amicable09:
Wow! Misterkay, I particularly love this chapter on workplace diversity. It has opened my eyes to the generation I fall in

I think I'm a mix of X and Y
Thanks for the enlightenment.

But, why has the white man failed to pay? Is there no other way to get some money out of this article because I believe the amount of work you put into must have involved losing of sleep. You've got to translate this article to cash please. Compile and make it an eBook if need be.

No be only X and Y. What of Z?
I put in more than sleepless nights. I can't believe you actually read that. S/he (they) have refused payment and stopped all communications. I am just hoping they get caught when a plagiarism test is run on the papers.

misterkay:
@Amicable09, no need to share though.. I'm on a revenge mission, and the THIEF is not a 'nairalander'.

Nah.... Some things are worth sharing!
When I read something this rich, I will be selfish to keep it to myself. No use hoarding important information like this. Do you know that if this paper is presented in an executive meeting it can give one unimaginable degree of recognition.

Someone on NL may also notice your work and contact you by virtue of my shares . Receive it in good faith.

Sorry about the thief. No Victor, No Vanquished!

amicable09:

Nah.... Some things are worth sharing!
When I read something this rich, I will be selfish to keep it to myself. No use hoarding important information like this. Do you know that if this paper is presented in an executive meeting it can give one unimaginable degree of recognition.

Someone on NL may also notice your work and contact you by virtue of my shares . Receive it in good faith.

Sorry about the thief. No Victor, No Vanquished!

Alright. I believe thanks is in order.

misterkay:


No be only X and Y. What of Z?
I put in more than sleepless nights. I can't believe you actually read that. S/he (they) have refused payment and stopped all communications. I am just hoping they get caught when a plagiarism test is run on the papers.

Hahahaha. Research for Z please . Could actually be me fully. I read o, don't mind me. I read very long stuff too when the spirit is willing and the flesh is cooperative

I'm really sorry about the seemingly wasted effort and time. I believe it will work in your favor.

More paper:

BIG DATA

2. What is big data? How big data technologies can be used by information professionals to improve their user services and user experiences? Support your discussion with appropriate literature and/or real-world examples.
What is Big Data?

Big data is a large volume of data that cannot usually be handled by traditional storage means, and whose analysis requires more complex and complicated tools. With small data, analysis can usually be carried out with simpler tools like spreadsheets etc. but big data, which can be structured or non-structured, will require the use of advanced storage, management, and analytical tools. Big data is really ‘small data’ that has accumulated over time.

Big data may consist of data that have been collected ranging from data like stored webpages, emails, telephone numbers, social media etc. whose size becomes really large that management and analysis has to be handled by professional information technology experts.
As reported in a study, Facebook updates made by users in the social media exceeds an excess of 100 terabytes in size, just as the size of data collected on the digital space is put at 2.7 Zettabytes (Elena Geanina ULARU, 2012). This sort of data size is essentially a ‘big data’ so to speak.

The term ‘big data’ which was reported to have been introduced in the year 2005 by Roger Magoulas of O’Reiley media, is used to describe a data whose size is unmanageable by using common traditional management techniques (Elena Geanina ULARU, 2012). Big data can help organizations, when managed efficiently, to improve performance in areas like volumes of sales recorded and improving product functionalities.
Big data resulted as a consequence of development of mobile and computer devices which give large number of people access into the digital space hence leading to large accumulation of data. Most organizations design interfaces that can enable users to analyze such big data. An example of such interface is the Google Insight (Snijders, Matzat, U. , & Reips, 2012).

In the definition of big data, three V’s have been identified to include volume, velocity, and variety. In the three V’s, Volume is the size or amount of data that can be said to be big. The velocity is the speed that is required to capture and process the data. Finally, the variety refers to a number of data types that constitute big data. The three V’s of big data is captured in the info graphic below.

Figure 1 Three Vs of Big Data. Source: (Introduction to Big Data)

Four additional V’s are usually associated with big data. They are value, visualization, veracity, and variability.
Value - big data must be able to generate real business values to it users. It can help an organization to make decisions that leads to a cut in cost of operations. Also, providers of big data technologies (the information professionals), benefit hugely by offering their services to the organizations that need them. The use of big data can enable businesses detect new consumer needs which in turn helps them create products that meet the needs.

Visualization - for smaller scale data, spreadsheet tools are usually enough to analyze and understand them. For instance an excel pie chart, bar charts, line graphs can easily be generated for small data but big data require more complex and robust tools to transform them into forms that are understandable, and provides real actionable intelligence. Visualization makes big data comprehensible, and it result in complex graphs that usually capture many data variables. The visualizations can further include images, tables, diagrams, etc. that can be used to make an informed decision. As reported by (Wang, Wang, & Alexan, 2015), the representation approach chosen is key.
Veracity - the data being analyzed must be accurate and complete to generate any value. Also analysis performed on the data must be accurate.

Variability - the scope of big data is such that it is always changing in meaning and context. Analysis of data is always made more difficult when they contain different meanings. Organizations have to be able to determine whether the meanings conveyed by the data are useful to it.
Big data, when collected and managed with the right technologies, can be beneficial in improving the performance of organizations that generate them. Generators and users of big data include the following: manufacturing companies, governments of different countries, health care institutions, educational institutions, media organizations, technology, private sectors such as real estate, retail banking, science and research institutes, sports etc.




How Big Data Technologies Can Be Used By Information Professionals to Improve Their User Services and User Experiences

Managing big data entails processes such as organizing, administration and controlling of the large volumes of structured and unstructured data in order to leverage the opportunities presented by such data. There are tools or technologies available to information technology experts for such management. Managing the data will allow the organizations to discover information trend from such stockpile of data exceeding millions of terabytes.

The environments used for managing such big data should have the following attributes in order to bring any real business values to organizations. The following attributes are essential for a good big data environment:

a. Flexibility- the environment must be flexible enough to allow for easy future modifications as data collection is constantly changing. Every seconds, minutes, days, data is being generated. The environment must be flexible and of reasonable cost to meet these demands.
b. Stability- stability is also an important factor as the volume of data collected is very enormous. The environment must be able to withstand the storage demands of such large volumes of structured and unstructured data sets.
c. Easy access- the environment must also be seamlessly accessible to be able to generate any value.

The benefits of big data in improving their user services and experiences are highlighted below:

Cost reduction – most big organizations usually have data storage architectures such as ware houses and marts. Big data technologies such as Hadoop are being used to complement the roles of such data warehouses whilst also performing their main functions. This in turn can lead to cost cutting in the operation. Examples of big corporations using such big data technology like Hadoop for data analytics and storage are the likes of Citi, Wells Farg, USAA etc. (Davenport)

Development of New products and Services – the use of big data analytics tools can help organizations to gather information that leads to creation of new products. GE, for example, has used big data analytics to make investments into creation of new industrial products (Davenport). The extensive users’ mobile data reserve generated by Verizon has helped customers like Phoenix Suns in the US to target their advertisements and promotions aptly. The big data collected by Verizon show information like where people attending Phoenix’s games live, the number of people coming to such games who live out of town, and the number of them that combine watching Sun’s basketball games with other sports. The analysis of social media data can generally help an organization in unearthing consumer needs and adapting their products to meet such needs.

Transport Planning - the information generated in big data analytics can help in planning and directing traffic flows in our cities. The big data picked up by GPS and other sensing devices can significantly help our governments in proper transport management to make our cities safer and less prone to accidents occurrence. As an example, big data has been used by Portland in Oregon, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by optimizing the timing of traffic signals. In Spain, the Rivas Vaciamadrid smart city programme has helped in cutting expenditures in energy to 35% (Ten Practical Big Data Benefits ). Also, it has also realized a cut in the expenditure in ICT spending to 50%. Big data has helped generally to make our cities smarter.

Improved Communication with Customers – customers are important in any organization. Their behaviour can be profiled from their social media data which will significantly help businesses to dialogue with them effectively. As an instant, staff in banks can view the profiles of customers in real time with the use of big data technology to enable them suggest products suitable for such customers. Big data technology can also help organizations to modify its websites in real time to suit different users, thereby improving service delivery and customer experience.

Risk Reduction – [/b]businesses can utilize big data tools to keep up to date with latest developments. Insights gained from such analysis can help to make informed decisions by organizations. Developments reported in media, newspapers, etc. can be captured and analyzed by big data tools.

[b]Creation of Additional Revenues – organizations can sell insights gotten from big data analysis to others operating in the same segment. As an instant, Shazam by using its songs identification platform is able to identify new music cultures and markets that record labels can utilize to sign new artists.

Works Cited
Davenport, T. (n.d.). Three big benefits of big data analytics. Retrieved September 27, 2016, from https://www.sas.com/en_ca/news/sascom/2014q3/Big-data-davenport.html
Elena Geanina ULARU, F. C. (2012). Perspective on Big Data and Big Data Analysis . Database Systems Journal.
Introduction to Big Data. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2016, from http://sci2s.ugr.es/BigData
Snijders, C., Matzat, U. , & Reips, U.-D. (2012). Big Data: Big Gaps of Knowledge in the Field of Internet Science. International Journal of Internet Science, 1-5.
Ten Practical Big Data Benefits . (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2016, from DATA SCIENCE SERIES.
Wang, L., Wang, G., & Alexan, C. A. (2015). Big Data and Visualization: Methods, Challenges and Technology Progress. Science and Education Publishing.

amicable09:

Hahahaha. Research for Z please . Could actually be me fully. I read o, don't mind me. I read very long stuff too when the spirit is willing and the flesh is cooperative

I'm really sorry about the seemingly wasted effort and time. I believe it will work in your favor.

Generation Z are those born from 2000 and upward or what I will call the ''2go generation''. They are not in the workforce yet. Some have barely finished secondary schools.

misterkay:


Generation Z are those born from 2000 and upward or what I will call the ''2go generation''. They are not in the workforce yet. Some have barely finished secondary schools.

Lol. I can predict what this '2go generation' will look like in the workplace. I recently read up some articles on social media effect on teenagers and what most teen girls do on Social Media. I was flabbergasted.

They will be an exciting generation to work with though. It will be exactly like having an Xer work with a traditionalist. Somewhat frustrating I tell ya but loaded with lessons to learn.