Relationship

Introduction

The reform and open door policies initiated by the Chinese Government through its Ten Year Programme for Social and Economic Development in 1978 has led the country to unprecedented economic growth (European Business Review, 1999). The key strategy that was adopted by the Chinese in order to accelerate these reforms was to attract foreign investment frequently in the form of joint ventures (International Journal of Social Economics, 1997). These joint ventures are often complex processes and should not be underestimated by foreign executives. Specific consideration must be given to the negotiation process at which time difficulties such as language, cultural differences and political barriers will develop.

The purpose of this report is to illustrate the key characteristics of the Chinese negotiation process and how their culture and customs may impact the early stages of establishing a joint venture.

Chinese Economy

The Chinese economy has been transformed since it opened its doors to the outside world in 1978 as part of the Ten Year programme for Social and Economic Development (European Business Review, 1999). One element of this reform saw the creation of 14 Special Economic Zones including the Fujian district (see Fig. 1) in the East of the country. Significant investment has been made in the Special Zones over the last 20 years with a view to attracting new foreign investment.

China was officially admitted to the World Trade Organisation (W.T.O.) in November 2001 (BBC News World Edition 2001) and hopes that being a member of the W.T.O. will seal its ongoing commitment to the social and economic reforms of the last 20 years. China’s ascension to the W.T.O. will create significant business opportunities for the other 140 member nations as well as for China itself. Following its entry to the W.T.O., China has significantly cut the import tariffs on numerous products and has pledged to lift the current restrictions in banking, insurance and telecommunications as well as improving its current legal system.

China is currently the 5th largest trading country in the world with annual exports equivalent to 23% of its GDP. China’s abundant labour availability has made it internationally competitive in many low cost, labour intensive manufacturing activities and as a result manufactured products represent the largest share of China’s trade.

Infrastructure

When considering potential investment in China it is important to consider the infrastructure of the country. China has made a significant investment in the Special Economic Zones to encourage foreign investment (Int’l Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, 2002), however outwith these zones the infrastructure is generally very poor. The Eastern region benefits from excellent road, rail and a large number of seaports strategically located for importing and exporting goods. The coastal areas offer the foreign investor the best choice in terms of location as the Middle and Western regions transportation links tend to be unreliable and over priced. Telecommunication services have been significantly improved and again it is the East of the country that has benefited from the ongoing investment ensuring good telephone and E-commerce links are available.

There are many international freight-forwarding companies including BAX Global, Danzas/AEI, Schenker and DHL who have successfully established distribution hubs and local offices in China in recent years.

Chinese Banking System

A major area of concern with foreign executives looking to invest in China is that their banking system is not compatible with those found in Western countries. The Chinese banks lack modern management expertise and experience and this tends to impact the services that are currently offered. Unlike their Western counterparts China’s banking system is heavily regulated and controlled by the central government (Managerial Finance, 2002). They tend to play a minor role in financing private sector businesses. Several state owned banks control about 80% of the county’s total banking business, a sharp contrast to the large number of banks that exist in the West.

Unlike Western banks, China has yet to fully accept the idea of credit and this can impact capital projects lasting longer than one year. Foreign investors should be aware that corruption does exist within the Chinese banking system and loans are often made on the basis of political connections. In order to be more effective when conducting business in China it is advisable for foreign investors to establish banking connections in advance of any meetings taking place. The banks can provide invaluable information relating to currency restrictions, credit terms and even the current political and economic situation.

Intellectual Property Theft

Copyright infringement is a major concern for any corporation that is considering entering into a Chinese joint venture. The European Union claimed that over 400 Chinese companies were involved in the practice of intellectual theft in the year 2000 (Bizasia, 2000). These infringements are costing European companies millions of euros every year in lost revenues. The Chinese government has signed all of the recognised world treaties relating to intellectual property including The World Trade Organisation Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (Harvard China Review, 1998). Upholding the regulations relating to intellectual property rights in China is the responsibility of the law enforcement agencies and government administrations. The Chinese legal system is available to pursue issues of copyright although it can be a slow and often tedious process due to local patriotism, corruption and the lack of experienced legal officials.

The Importance of Research

Any foreign corporation that wishes to successfully conduct business in China must research their particular market sector and preferred Chinese partner thoroughly in advance of any meetings taking place. There are various means in which the research can be conducted, the most obvious being to contact the Chinese company directly and request background information. There are also Government publications, university research papers and the press, all of which can be explored to provide relevant research information. It is worth pointing out that the Chinese will pose similar questions to those asked by any potential foreign partner.

The Business Negotiation Process – Cross-cultural negotiation

The challenges of cross-cultural negotiation are significantly harder than that of a mono-cultural environment. The mono-cultural process tends to be predictable and accurate, as those involved are not concerned with language barriers or cultural differences. The cross-cultural negotiation process is far more complex, as both parties are dealing with both language and cultural issues, which will impact the speed at which progress is made.

It is important when entering into a cross-cultural negotiation process that in addition to possessing excellent negotiating skills, a full appreciation of the cultural differences is understood.

Guanxi (Relationship)

Chinese people believe that cultivating a good relationship or “Guanxi” with their potential business partner will minimise any risk. Regardless of previous business experience it is vital to gain a sound understanding of “Guanxi” (Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 1999), which literally means “relationship”. “Guanxi” originates from the Confucian values of trustworthiness, responsibility and group loyalty. Individuals who work by these values and acquire a “Guanxi” network are committed to each other. Relationships are sustained by means of exchanging favours and gifts in order that both parties achieve their primary objectives.

Individuals and companies who successfully adopt “Guanxi” can expect positive assistance in return for any support that they may offer. It is often understood that gaining the right “Guanxi” with the appropriate authorities will increase the chances of success for the foreign company within the Chinese business environment (European Business Review, 1999). The Chinese have a preference to deal with people that they know. This may not be that different from the Western world, however, any foreign corporation wishing to invest in China must make themselves known before the Chinese will consider conducting business.

Status

The Chinese place a high degree of importance on status and respect of the hierarchy in both their social and business life. It is not uncommon for the Chinese to insist that only people with a similar or higher hierarchical level participate in the negotiation process (European Business Review, 1999). This status is given by the role that he or she has within their corporation. Before the meeting commences the Chinese will expect to receive a full list of the delegation in order of their position within the company. It is normal protocol when negotiating in China for the leader of the visiting company to sit directly in front of the Chinese negotiating team. Both leaders will have their respective teams around them to allow for consultation during the negotiation process.

Trust & Friendship

Mutual trust and respect on both a professional and personal level along with business credibility is valued very highly by the Chinese and is critical to the success of the negotiation process. Trust will form the basis of a successful negotiation and it is important not to ask too many questions on any issues that have been responded to. The Chinese may interpret as mistrust or questioning the trustworthiness of their negotiators. In order to ensure a smooth negotiation process it is important to share a common interest with the Chinese. They will view this as trust being shown to them. When negotiating with the Chinese it is important to project an appearance of trust. This can be achieved through honest discussion ensuring that there are no hidden agendas. A skilled Chinese negotiator is capable of sensing these positive characteristics. It is worth noting that although trust as expressed by the Chinese is important, no Western company should assume that the Chinese are above suspicion and caution should be exercised at all times.

The concept of friendship is related very closely to that of trust. It is important to gain the friendship of the Chinese, as this will be a key factor during the negotiation process. Achieving a level of friendship will in turn ensure a smooth business relationship. The Chinese do not like being taken by surprise and it is important to try and establish some common ground as a foundation for developing trust and friendship.

European Corporations operating in China.

There are many European companies who have successfully established manufacturing plants and joint ventures in China. These include The Volkswagen

Group, Maersk Industry, SNF Floerger, Vivendi Water, Nokia and Ericsson. Many of the problems experienced by these companies in the initial stages of establishing their Chinese facilities were due to the fact that they did not appreciate Chinese culture and what to expect during the negotiation processes. For example SNF Floerger highlighted the following difficulties as they established their business in China: They found it difficult adapting to the different locations and business environments; inconsistency with the interpretation of local business policies and guidelines; the market place was reluctant to adopt proven new technologies and business negotiations were subject to wide regional differences. This contrasts with the experiences of the shipping company Maersk who found the Chinese government both central and local to be very committed and business like and very serious about attracting foreign investment.

Conducting business in China varies from region to region and the negotiators had to adapt to the habits of the different locations. Chinese administration and local politics often impact the initial stages of any proposal and delays are inevitable. It is important to establish business relationships with local political administrators who are capable of removing bureaucratic barriers. Companies that have successfully developed sites and joint ventures in China maintain that it is vital to be physically present during the negotiation stages. It is not possible to conduct business by telephone, e-mail or fax in China as this often leads to misinterpretation and confusion. Western corporations must be prepared to adapt to the different situations that they will encounter before, during and after the negotiating process has been completed. It is also advisable to enter into long-term agreements where possible that are clearly defined and understood by the Chinese.

Summary

The ultimate objective of any negotiation process is to reach agreement. Negotiating under any circumstances is difficult but in a cross-cultural situation the negotiation is more complex and further complicated when you consider the differences in communication, negotiation style and culture. To be successful when negotiating in China foreign executives must prepare thoroughly in advance of the meetings taken place. They must ensure that they have a detailed knowledge of their own products and services and have obtained as much information about their Chinese counterparts as is possible. It is also important that they understand how the cultural differences may impact the negotiation process and be prepared to adapt their negotiating style to suit the varying situations that will arise. The Chinese will appreciate any effort that is made by the Western negotiation team to learn and understand their culture and methods of conducting business.

Mobile phones are increasingly taking a major role in the communication revolution and the use of the mobile phone is an immensely significant social and cultural phenomenon, hence over the years, the telephone has dramatically changed how people live their lives, see their world and communicate. As we read in Ferraro ( 2002: 29 ) “all cultures experience continual change”, however nowadays the process of a change is even more intensified, more dynamic and much quicker.

A lot of that has to do with the development of mobile telephone technology. In referring to the drivers of change, we cannot forget about phenomenon of globalization which affects our modern lifestyle. In today’s world we live in a fast-pace, where maintaining relationships is made difficult by the fact we have less time for social bonding, and communication is often very limited. Here comes into importance the technology of the mobile phone, as it gives the opportunity to talk to anyone, anywhere at any time.

Since mobile phones have become an increasingly important tool in social interaction, the purpose of this research project is to gain insight into the mobile technology phenomenon and to understand better how it affects the way people maintain relationships by linking it to the theoretical background of social construction and selective perception. The report consists of four major sections. Firstly, theoretical background will be presented, followed up by the explanation of methodology used.

Then the findings of the primary research will be presented, followed up by an overall analysis of information gathered. Finally, a conclusion will be given.

Theoretical Background

Before investigating the influence that mobile phones have had on the way the relationships are maintained, it is crucial to understand the connection between communication and culture. According to Hall (1977) “Culture is communication and communication is culture”, from which we can deduce that the way we communicate expresses our culture. Therefore, any shift in the way we communicate has an influence on our culture, our perception , our behavior and the social construction. Let us take a look at the social construction. Why does this concept need to be mentioned? The answers is that we, as members of the society, are assembling ways of seeing things, while at the same time shaping our expectations and behavior. As culture is maintained by social construction, we learn culture every day. We learned to use mobile phones on a daily basis, letting them become inseparable part of our daily routine.

Here another concept comes into importance, namely perception. Culture, and at the same time communication, performs an important role in how we perceive and understand reality. According to Gamble and Gamble (1996), (in Samovar et al, 2007: 128-130), we select, interpret and organize data in order to make sense of our world. And being exposed to similar experiences, culture creates similar meaning and behavior, which is called selective perception. It is truly incredible how fast mobile phones have caused a change in social construction and the way people perceive communication and social bonding. Sections below intend to explain how exactly mobile phones are changing the way people maintain relationships.

Methodology

In order to find out how the mobile technology is influencing the way the relationships are maintained in Britain , several methods were used to study the behavior of mobile phone users. Firstly, during a period of 4 weeks, in a variety of settings, using an observation, I observed the behavior of mobile phone users, by listening to their conversations and observing their approach to phone conversations, texting and using their mobile for various purposes.

This was followed up by 2 individual and 2 focus group discussions. I found the in-depth interviews and focus group discussions most appropriate for my research, as they gave a lot of qualitative information and let the people who were being interviewed express themselves and their opinions fully, which would not be the case if I decided to use questionnaires .

Findings

As indicated before, for the research methods I have used an observation, two in-depth interviews and also two focus group discussions. During the period of observation I have noticed many different behaviors regarding mobile phone usage, however for the purpose of this report, only the ones which apply to the topic have been listed below:  On the bus: 10 out of 25 people were using their phone in some way . On the bus: 7 out of 25 people received or made a phone call within 45 min time frame. At the university: at least 1/3 of people gathered in a mutual area were talking or texting on their mobiles . In the cafe: All individuals sitting alone had a mobile phone either on the table or in usage

It can be argued that mobile phones are increasingly used by people, for they are new communication tools. Since mobile communication is an uprising issue, the above observations conducted me to bring forth questions for further investigation on how mobile phones are influencing the way people maintain relationships. The sample for the qualitative research method included 10 people [male and female] (for both interviews and focus group discussions). The answers were mostly collected from the age group 20-30 years old.

All participants were believed to be in a peaceful state, important in concluding the honesty and quality of the answers given as they were unaffected by an unnatural sate of nervousness. To better understand how relationships are maintained in today’s society and to get a better view of the issue discussed, first the respondents were asked to describe how they communicate with their family and friends. Their instant response was via phone calls, text messages, facebook, skype, and instant messengers like WhatsApp .

Only one person said that they maintain face to face contact with family. Since the respondents indicated mobile phones as means through which they often communicate with their contacts, this initiated a series of questions. Asked how the phones changed/are changing the way people maintain relationships, the respondents said that nowadays people maintain more contact, call more, send messages, and claim that it has made the communication very easy.

However on the other hand the contact is possibly superficial as you may keep in touch with people you do not care for as much. A female respondent argued that “It has made people lazy in certain aspects, because all you have to do is pick up a phone and call someone instead of making an effort and meet that person. So it has made us lazy, but on the other hand it’s very efficient, especially if you have something to do, when you are in a rush. As for the time when people tend to call their contacts, many respondents indicated afternoon or evening, saying that they make phone calls or send texts when travelling (primarily walking or when on a bus), because that is when they have some free time between other activities. As one female respondent said “ it’s all about time”. The majority of respondents argued that speaking on the phone influences the way we speak to one another and they also admitted they do it themselves. Primarily because when on the phone one can get interrupted easily, especially when multi-tasking.

Also they argued that you usually make everything briefer on the phone, because when you talk you can be distracted by many things that are happening around you. In the case of new relationships, people tend to be more comfortable and open over the phone, especially considering text messages. Two female respondents said that it is easier to speak to another person differently if you do not really know her/him and also said that phones give means to hide certain things that you do not wish to reveal “because the other person cannot see my face so they do not know what I am feeling”.

The change in non-verbal communication must also be mentioned here, as the majority of respondents admitted that they use their phone as an excuse to avoid speaking to someone. The statement of the male respondent confirmed that : “I have pretended I was on the phone when I did not want to talk to someone, you just want to pretend that you are doing something, it shuts you off, because it is not very socially acceptable to interrupt somebody who is having a conversation”.

Furthermore, some respondents claimed they used their phone as a form of security and protection. One male respondent said : “ My friend is always on the phone when she feels nervous”. A female respondent said that she feels safer knowing she can always call somebody to get help, or when in the bar waiting for some friends, she claimed she takes phone out to make people think she is busy, using phone as a bodyguard. Respondents were also asked to indicate positive and negative aspects of mobile phone usage in terms of aintaining relationships. As a positive they pointed out the fact that communication has become very efficient, easy, cheap, and also allows one to keep in touch more readily with family and friends, to arrange meetings and to develop new relationships. On the other hand respondents indicated that it has been made too easy, “because we do not even have to go out anymore to meet our friends”. They said the contact is not as real and might be taking away some value of a real friendship.

As a male respondent said “You may have a long conversation over the phone with someone, then you meet up in real life and it is like you do not really know each other, you can find awkwardness sometimes. ” Ultimately, the respondents mutually agreed on the statement that mobile phones help maintain relationships. As a female respondent said “it’s a constant reminder that you are thinking of someone and they are thinking of you, and that you want to stay in their lives, and that is maintaining relationships”.

At the end the respondents were asked to express their view on how the social interaction looked like before the mobile phones became so popular. They said that people were sending more letters and cards, than nowadays. Also people used to interact with each other more, however they would meet with less people, only close family and friends that lived nearby. Now, as they confirmed, it is possible to keep in touch with friends that are on the other side of the world, because you are constantly available on the mobile.

Analysis of Findings

The importance of this research is that it explains behavior noticed during the observation and analyses the information gathered during the individual interviews and the focus group discussions . After investigating the subject area, I have found that mobile phones are influencing change of some of the underlying cultural values in Britain, for instance, bonds within close social circles, the meaning of time and communication patterns, which then influences the way people see their reality and perceive certain things and behaviors.

As culture is maintained by social construction, we learn culture every day. We learned to use mobile phones on a daily basis, letting them become inseparable part of our daily routine, which created patterns and made them become something which we perceive as normal. Nowadays, we claim mobiles necessary to socialize, they became a tool for developing new contacts, maintaining a friendship network and arranging meetings. In the last 10-15 years we have been exposed to similar experiences of communication. Mobile phone communication has become as natural as going to the shop and buying bread each morning.

Our behavior has been shaped by the regular use of mobile phone, so that many people nowadays cannot imagine to spend a day without it, they even claim they would feel lost without it (Fox, 2001). As we read in “Towards a sociology of the mobile phone”( McGuigan, 2005), we perceive the mobile phone as an extension to the body, sometimes even feel naked without it. We tend to keep our phones nearby, in our pocket, in our hand, making us always contactable and available, for someone from our social network.

We feel like there is always something to be said and when we get the message we tend to write or call back as soon as possible We did not even noticed that we are increasingly dependent on the mobile phone technology in terms of social interaction. Mobile phones, as proven by this research project and many others, have gained protection and security status. We increasingly depend on our phones in situations of distress, they give us reassurance and sensation of being secure, for instance walking late at night.

Why do we feel secure? Well, we can always call somebody, let them know where we are, gain a feeling of unreliable reassurance, as the person you have contacted may be miles away, not really being able to help us in certain situation. On the other hand, phones are used for protection in the situation when we want to avoid contact with someone, for instance in a bar or in a coffee shop. When one does not wish to be approached, it is enough to put a phone on the table and look it up from time to time.

With the British “obsession” about privacy, it would be simply considered rude and socially unacceptable to interrupt someone who is busy. That lead me to consider one of the Hall’s dimensions (Hall, 1976). It may be that communication in Britain is becoming more high-context oriented. Mobiles can not only be used as mean of protection, but perhaps also as a barrier. When we do not want to talk to someone we know on the bus, it is enough to pretend we are busy with our mobile. We may acknowledge the other person’s presence but we would immediately go back to looking at the phone.

The message is clear to both sides – “I do not really want to talk right now”. Also , another example of high context approach is: when a person is not responding to our messages or phone calls, it may mean that he or she does not wish to speak to us, on the other hand, subtle signal, known as “giving the buzz”often means “I am thinking of you”. As we can see there are many examples of high-context communication within mobile phone influence on the way people maintain relationships, however it does not necessarily mean all communication in Britain is becoming high-context.

Another change in terms of social construction is that via technology we are now able to keep in touch with more people than before, it is deemed normal to have a large net of social connections. Why is that? Perhaps, the distance seems shorter, because another person is just a phone call away. Before, we used to have more face-to- face interactions, but they were restricted to the close circle of friends and family that lived in the same geographic area. Therefore we maintain more contact, but it is possible it has become much more superficial.

Considering the lack of openness in social interaction, mobile phones seem to facilitate interpersonal contacts and act like an ice-breaker. It is easy to send a message and it is nice to receive one in return, but the issue to consider is whether we can really count on that person. Mobile phones therefore might be depriving values of real friendship and in fact people may feel very alone, even though they have 300 contacts in their mobile device. There has been a behavioral shift in terms of social construction, for as a society, we have become more lazy and comfortable.

As the other person is reachable on their mobile at all times, we have adapted the pattern of calling and not necessarily meeting with friends and family, which can sometimes be dangerous, because it deprives us of developing social skills. It has also been proven that we speak to each other differently on the phone than when talking face to face. Considering there is no visible contact, we cannot see expressions on our interlocutor’s face and his/her body language. People may be making faces and rolling their eyes and we would not know!

Also if we do not want to say something, we can easily avoid doing that, because since there are no facial expressions, the interlocutor would not notice the difference. And nowadays, especially with text messages, you can almost pretend to be someone you are not! Speaking on the phone or texting gives some people the confidence they do not have in face-to-face interactions, especially in the reserved British culture. How did the use of the mobile change the way we perceive communication? We communicate when we have free time, as the respondents said, we are using “time in between”, when we are walking, when on the bus.

Is it not all about time nowadays? As time is limited, which suggest monochromic orientation (Hall, 1983:42), and with the lack of time we have these days , we use every free moment we have to get in touch with people. But since these conversations are being conducted when we are on the go, it may deprive of the focus and dedication we would give this other person if we were talking to him/her face-to-face. Also, in terms of contact, we have a chance to keep in touch more often, but it is more about exchanging information than having real in-depth conversation with another person.

People tend to divide time into little blocks in order to use it as efficiently as possible, tending to multi-task and combine many activities at a time. For instance, talking on the phone, checking emails, responding to messages, on the way to/from work, school, walking, sipping coffee – which again suggests a slight shift towards polychronic orientation. Time is considered limited, however nowadays we are trying to make the most of it, some would wish to even “save it” via multi-tasking.

To conclude this section, we communicate more easily, more efficiently and more cheaply, but also we have created some needs and new obligations. Specialists claim that we are becoming addicted to technology, but the answer may be different. We are not as much addicted to technology, as to communicating with people. We are addicted to interacting with our social circle, and mobile phones facilitate the process of communication.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is no doubt that the spread of mobile communication is affecting our lives and the way we maintain relationships. Since technologically advanced information systems tend to encourage and facilitate communication and at the same time cultural interaction, it is understandable that they play an important part in influencing the way the communication is conducted and change the way people are perceiving certain situations, at the same time creating new ways of seeing reality and different behavior patterns. In the modern world we live in, the patterns of communication in Britain are rapidly changing. Mobile phones are increasingly used to help us establish, develop and maintain relationships. We see it as means to help us to bond and interact with our colleagues, friends and family. We perceive this new technology as a new approach to build social networks, and as a tool that makes our busy life easier.

References

1. FERRARO, G. P. (2002). The cultural dimension of international business 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, pp. 29
2. FOX, K. (2001) Evolution, alienation and gossip: the role of mobile telecommunications in the 21st century. Social Issues Research Centre. Available from http://www. sirc. org/publik/gossip. shtml [Accessed on 15/11/2011 ]
3. GAMBLE, T. K. , GAMBLE,M. (1996). Communication works 5th ed. New York:McGraw-Hill, pp. 77
4. HALL, E. T. (1977) Beyond culture. Garden City, NY: Anchor Doubleday, pp. 14
5. HALL, E. T. (1983) The Dance of Life: Other Dimensions of Time. New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday, pp. 42
6. McGUIGAN, J. (2005) Towards a sociology of the mobile phone. An Interdisciplinary Journal on Humans in ICT Environments. Vol. 1 , pp. 45-57. Available from : www. humantechnology. jyu. fi [Accessed on 17/11/2011]
7. SAMOVAR, L. A. , et al (2007). Communication between cultures 6th ed. Belmont, Calif: Thomson/Wadsworth, pp. 128-130

Functional Area Interrelationships October 29, 2012 BUS/475 University of Phoenix Abstract Huffman Trucking is a trucking company that was established in 1936. Throughout this paper, we will discuss the company’s mission and vision statement. It will also identify the type of organizational structure and how each of those roles supports the company’s goals. The collaboration process among the functional areas must also be established to support the goals.

Finally, the stakeholders will be reviewed and how the company plans to protect them and how their communication is vital to the success of Huffman Trucking. “Huffman Trucking started in 1936 in Cleveland, OH. By 1945, the company had increased in size to 16 tractors and 36 trailers. ” (Virtual Organization) Today Huffman trucking is one of the largest trucking companies in the United States. The company has four locations across the U. S. ; Cleveland, OH, Los Angeles, CA, St. Louis, MO, and Bayonne, NJ.

The company has created a core foundation to continue to grow the company and sustain financial stability. Since the inception of the organization in 1936, Huffman trucking has grown their fleet of tractor-trailers from one to over 800 tractors, 2,100 45 foot trailers, and 260 roll on/ roll off units. Huffman trucking also employees 925 drivers and 425 technical support staff members, which is based from the increase in business that they have seen over the years from their acquisitions of five other freight companies.

The mission of Huffman trucking is “to be a profitable, growing, adaptive company in an intensively competitive logistical services business environment”. Huffman Trucking according to the mission statement wants to be a competitive company within the logistics industry, and they also want to maintain the growth and profitability that they have experienced over the years. The vision statement of Huffman Trucking is “to be a model company to our stockholders, employees, customers, and all stakeholders”.

Through the vision statement that Huffman Trucking has put into place at their organization they want to be a company that does right by all the people that are investors in the company, as well as, the employees and customers that are also valued by the organization. In analyzing the mission and vision statements of the company, Huffman Trucking existence is to maintain their market share in the logistics industry by treating the customer, employees, stock, and stakeholders with the upmost respect and consideration.

The reason that Huffman Trucking uses the business structure that they have is to maintain the solid structure of the employment, and maintain the growth of the business in the industry of logistics. Huffman Trucking is a company that prides themselves on the idea that taking care of the employees will help the employees will take care of the customers, and the revenues from the customers will help the business and the stock and stakeholders maintain their edge. Huffman Trucking is a leader in the industry of logistics, and is one of the larger corporations that are in operation.

The contracts that Huffman Trucking has are strong stable contracts that will help the vision and mission of the company to be successful in the completion and achievement of the goals that they set for the organization. Huffman Trucking has a strong foundation and the future of the organization is solid with the contracts that are in place from years to come. The services that Huffman Trucking offers to its customers are services that can help the growth of the business, and to maintain the competitive edge that Huffman Trucking has over its competition.

Huffman Trucking is a privately held United States based company. Huffman Trucking’s Mission Statement is “to be a profitable, growing, adaptive company in an intensively competitive logistical services business environment”(Huffman Trucking, 2012). Huffman’s Trucking Vision Statement is “to be a model company to our stockholders, employees, customers and all stakeholders” (Huffman Trucking, 2012). Huffman trucking has implemented the following steps of the collaboration process that must be employed to achieve organizational goals.

The action plan to implement the collaboration process is to create an important objective, build, sustain, or enhance a core competence or competitive advantage, important new market opportunities as well as mitigate significant risk to the trucking business. Facilitating the close cross-company by merger and acquisition strategies play a part in Huffman trucking. Expanding the company’s geographic coverage and independently developing whatever resources and know-how were needed to be successful was imperative. Huffman Trucking has facilities in four major cities in the United States, Cleveland, OH, Los Angeles, CA, St.

Louis, MO, and Bayonne, NJ. In order for Huffman Trucking to be a successful business there had to be several things put into place. The mission of the company is to be a profitable, growing, adaptive company in an intensively competitive logistical services business environment. The vision of Huffman Trucking is to be a model company to our stockholders, employees, customers and all stakeholders. In order for Huffman Trucking to be able to achieve the mission and reach the vision for the company there had to be the use of collaborations within. Such collaborations would include lateral and vertical collaborations.

Lateral collaboration is where a group of people with the same ranking work together to accomplish a task. An example of lateral collaboration would be if two or more of the floor employees work together to try and come up with a way to increase production. A vertical collaboration would occur when a person of higher rank works with a person of lower rank to accomplish a goal. The CEO of the company working with a floor shift manager to try to increase production would be an example of vertical collaboration. Looking on the service request page, there has been many requests for service made by different people.

One request that was made was made by the CIO for a Windows server upgrade for all the network locations. The expected goal of this server upgrade is to provide a migration path from the current network to one running Windows Server 2008. An action plan will be put together in order to accomplish this goal. Vertical collaboration will be used as the CIO works together with the IT department in order to accomplish the task of upgrading the server. They will work together to make sure that the server upgrade allows Huffman Trucking to do everything that it needs to be successful such as the right domain model and network dministration for all sites. An action plan will then be put into effect for lateral collaboration. This will allow the front line staff to develop ways that the upgraded server can help them. Examples of that would be that Administrative control of domain controllers can be decentralized if needed and allows the drivers to have access to at least one computer at each site. Huffman Trucking takes great pride in their company not only for their employees and customers but also for their stakeholders.

They have developed a mission statement for their stakeholders; “We will maintain continuous awareness of our stakeholders and apply the test of reasonableness to assure our business practices are commensurate with stakeholder expectations. ” (Virtual Organization) By identify awareness to the stakeholders, they will want to continue to invest in Huffman Trucking. Some of the stakeholders include; President/CEO, VP of Transportation, VP of Equipment, VP of Real Estate, VP of Terminal Operations, VP of Sales, Shareholders and all employees.

The collaborative interaction between the Huffman Trucking Executive Management is critical to the success of the business. They are the making the deciding factors for each category that they are over. At the end of the day, each VP relies on another VP in order to proceed with their decisions. The management team must work together in order to ensure that Huffman Trucking and the Stakeholders are happy and successful. At the end of the day, if the stakeholders do no collaborate together all of them will lose out. Huffman Trucking has created a company that continues to grow and build upon their success year after year.

By staying true to their mission and vision statement the company will be able to open up more locations in the United States. Huffman trucking has a clear strategic plan that allows them to have a strong internal and vertical collaboration. By keeping their focus and foundation alive to their shareholders, stakeholders, employees, and customers Huffman Trucking will continue to be a leading trucking company. References Virtual Organization Portal. (2012) Huffman Trucking. Retrieved on October 29, 2012 from http://ecampus. phoenix. edu

Communication and professional relationships with children, young people and adults Introduction This unit provides the knowledge that forms the basis of effective communication and professional relationships with children, young people and adults. Learners will find out how to adapt their communication to suit the age or developmental stage of the person they are interacting with. The unit also covers the legislation, policies and procedures concerned with confidentiality, data protection and the disclosure of information. Learning outcomes

After completing this unit, learners should: know how to interact with and respond to children and young people know how to interact with and respond to adults know how to communicate with children, young people and adults know about current legislation, policies and procedures for confidentiality and sharing information, including data protection. This unit has links to the following national occupational standards. STL4 Contribute to positive relationships SWiS 2.

• Explore school values, policies, roles and responsibilities CCLD 201 Contribute to positive relationships

Additional guidance for delivery For all sessions, it will be useful if the learners have access to school policy covering confidentiality and the grievance procedure. For session 1, you may like ask learners to research into relationships within the workplace. For session 2, you can facilitate a whole-class discussion in which learners identify someone whom they think is a good role model and give reasons for their choice. For session 3, learners can carry out some research on the Internet about communication and how to deal with conflict.

They may find the websites listed helpful for this task. For session 4, you can ask a college employee to come in to discuss with the learners how their personal information is stored within the organisation and how this adheres to current legislation.

A1 Interacting with young people and children to establish relationships Task 1 Words should appear in the following order: 1 4 trust positive 2 5 relationship high expectations 3 6 honest communicate A3 Interactions with adults How to establish professional relationships with adults By approaching and responding politely Be committed to cooperative working By considering the views of others Why adult relationships are important as role models for children and young people To demonstrate positive relationships To demonstrate mutual respect To model effective communication

Communication

How communication differs

• Vocabulary is limited.
• Communicating mainly through body language and by reading facial expressions.
• Starting to copy adults, learning more words and gaining confidence.
• Starting to string words together and may be using questions.
• Using language to build relationships.
• Developing reading and writing skills.
• Developing discussion and negotiation skills.
• More confident and using more complex language.
• Can communicate using complex language.

Able to use verbal and non-verbal communication. A5 Adapting communication Task 1 Different ideas – People may interpret things differently and have a different concept of what everyone should be doing Poor communication – Not passing on information and failing to agree as a team can cause problems within school Different personalities – Everyone is different and sometimes, despite the best efforts, certain individuals just cannot get along A6 Legislation Data Protection Act (1998) – Legislation that ensures pupils’ personal information is locked away or password-protected if stored on computers.

Confidentiality – Safeguarding all pupil information and ensuring that the people you are sharing information with are authorised to receive it. Disclosing information – When information has to be shared with outside agencies, for example, when neglect or abuse is suspected.

Own behaviour

This activity requires learners to complete two spider diagrams by giving examples of how their own behaviour can promote interactions with children and young people or impact negatively upon them. 2 Know how to interact with and respond to adults A3 Interactions with adults In this activity, learners are asked to consider how they establish professional relationships with other adults and why these relationships are important as role models for children and young people. They then summarise their thoughts by completing a table, using a list of provided statements. Know how to communicate with children, young people and adults A4 Communication This activity asks learners to consider how different age groups communicate. They are required to complete a table by selecting statements from a provided list.

Adapting communication Task 1 of this activity requires learners to match different communication difficulties with the correct descriptions. In Task 2, learners are asked to consider two scenarios about disagreements and explain how they will deal with them. Know about current legislation, policies and procedures for confidentiality and sharing information, including data protection Legislation This linking lines activity asks learners to match legislation, policies and procedures with the correct descriptions.

Link to Functional Skills

Link to textbook Sharing Information Task 1 of this activity is a fill-the-gaps exercise about the importance of , young people and adults of the confidentiality of shared information. For Task 2, learners discuss in groups the types of situation when confidentiality protocol must be breached; they must then write down two examples of such situations. Electronic resources PowerPoint P1 Maintaining relationships The PowerPoint presentation for this unit looks at how to communicate effectively with different age groups and the importance of confidentiality, including data protection.

It is best used by looking at the relevant slides in each session of the scheme of work, but can be worked through in its entirety at the end of session 4 for learners to reflect on their learning. Activities and resources You may like to begin this session with a discussion about how to interact with children and young people. Then split the group into smaller groups to complete Activity A1. PowerPoint P1 slides 2, 3 and 4 support this session. This can lead to small-group work in which learners discuss, compare and complete Activity A2 on how their own behaviour promotes effective interactions or negatively impacts children and young people. Session number

Learning outcomes/Assessment criteria Functional Skills English: Speaking, listening and communication 1 Learners will know how to interact with and respond to children and young people. They will know how to establish respectful, professional relationships with children and young people and will be able to describe, with examples, how to behave appropriately for a child or young person’s stage of development. Learners will also be able to describe how to between children and young people and how their own behaviour can promote effective interactions with children and young people or impact negatively upon them. You may like to have a class discussion about establishing positive relationships with adults and why these are important for children and young people to witness. PowerPoint P1 slides 5 and 6 support this session, as does Activity A3. 2 Learners will know how to interact with and respond to adults. They will be able to describe how to establish respectful, professional relationships with adults and the importance of these relationships as role models for children and young people.

They will be able to describe how communication with children and young people differs across different age ranges and stages of development, as well as the main differences between communicating with adults and communicating with children and young people. Learners will be able to identify examples of communication difficulties that may exist and describe how to adapt communication to meet different needs. They will also be able to describe how to deal with disagreements between the practitioner and children and young people, or between the practitioner and other adults.

Activities and resources

You may like to begin this session with a discussion or research opportunity looking at the legislation that covers confidentiality and data protection. Activity A6 and PowerPoint P1 slide 8 will support this. For Activity A7, ask the learners to work in small groups to discuss and consider the importance of reassuring children, young people and adults of the limits of confidentiality. If there is an opportunity near the end of the session, go through the whole of PowerPoint P1, giving learners time to consider and answer the reflective questions on the last slide.

As a group, or on an individual basis, ask the learners to complete the Interactive Knowledge Check to finish the unit. English: Writing Learning outcomes/Assessment criteria Functional Skills 4 Learners will know about and be able to identify current legislation, policies and procedures for confidentiality and sharing information, including data protection. They will be able to describe the importance of reassuring children, young people and adults about the confidentially of shared information and the limits of this. They will also know the kinds of situations when confidentiality protocols must be breached. Continued overleaf Unit 2.

Communication and professional relationships with children, young people and adults

Interacting with children and young people to establish relationships Task 1 In small groups, discuss how you establish respectful and professional relationships with children and young people. Then, fill in the gaps in the following paragraph using the words from the box below. When working with children or young people, it is important to earn their to enable a positive Hold to develop. This can usually be done by and fair at all times. values and attitudes, and ensure that you have ensuring that your behaviour is professional, of the pupils that you support.

Adapt the way in which you to suit the age or stage of development that a pupil is currently at. communicate high expectations positive relationship honest trust Task 2 In groups, consider the following questions and write your answers in the spaces below. 1 How do you deal with disagreements between children and young people? Include an example from your work setting when you have had to this (please do not include any names of pupils or the school).

• How would you have adapted the way that you behaved in the above situation if the child or young person was in reception class or in Year 6?

Functional Skills English

Reading

You could use the text book to help you find the information you need to match the expected stage of development to the reason why the child may not have reached it.

Write your answers on the spider diagrams below. Showing an open, friendly approach How your own behaviour can promote interactions Upsetting people with your body language TDA 2.

Think about why these adult relationships are important as role models for children and young people. Complete the table below using the statements in the boxes. How to establish professional relationships with adults How positive relationships with other adults can provide important role models for children and young people Demonstrate positive relationships Demonstrate mutual respect Be committed to cooperative working. Printing and photocopying permitted. TDA 2. The way that we communicate will differ depending on the age of the person we are communicating with. Complete the table below, using the statements in the boxes, to show how communication differs across age ranges. Age range Younger than 2 years How communication differs 2–3 years 3–4 years 4–8 years 8–16 years Adults Developing discussion and negotiation skills. More confident and using more complex language. Vocabulary is limited.

Communicating mainly through body language and by reading facial expressions. Starting to string words together and may be using questions. Can communicate using complex language. Able to use verbal and nonverbal vommunication. Using language to build relationships. Developing reading and writing skills. Starting to copy adults, learning more words and gaining confidence. You could complete this activity in pairs verbally in the form of an interview. Take it in turns to play the role of the interviewer and then the person being interviewed. In such situations, it is important to continue to behave in a respectful and professional manner. Draw a line to match each possible communication difficulty to the correct description.

Everyone is different and sometimes, despite the best efforts, certain individuals just cannot get along. Not passing on information and failing to agree as a team can cause problems within school. People may interpret things differently and have a different concept of what everyone should be doing.

Poor communication – Different personalities

• Read the following scenarios and record your answers in the spaces below. Scenario A There is a disagreement between one of your colleagues and a pupil and the situation is getting worse. What will you do and how will you adapt the way you communicate with them?

Scenario B There is a disagreement between two of your colleagues and the situation is getting worse. What will you do? Functional Skills ICT: Developing, presenting and communicating information – You could complete this table on the computer. Add an extra column on the right with the heading ‘How I would support these transitions’ and write how you would support a child with these transitions. It is important to know the legislation, policies and procedures that cover data protection, confidentiality and the sharing of information. Draw a line to match each legislation or school procedure to the correct description. Safeguarding all pupil information and ensuring that the people you are sharing information with are authorised to receive it Data Protection Act (1998) Confidentiality Legislation that ensures pupils’ personal information is locked away or password-protected if stored on computers Disclosing information

When information has to be shared with outside agencies, for example, when neglect or abuse is suspected

Writing

In small groups, discuss the importance of reassuring children, young people and adults that you will keep shared information confidential and the limits of this. Then fill in the gaps in the following paragraph using the words from the box below.

As a learning support practitioner, you will come into regular contact with information. You may need to reassure parents and other adults that the information that you are confidential. Pupil records that hold their of birth, home address and to know will be kept information, date details are important for you to have access to in an emergency, but they must remain locked away otherwise. You may need to know other information about the pupil, such as their current assessment level or if they have any This information must remain confidential and can only be between authorised authorised personal members. onfidential medical shared special staff educational needs.

Blind Side (healthy family relationships) What makes a healthy family? Well in the movie ” The Blinde Side” it depicts the importance of family, and what parents need to do in order to raise a happy, healthy family. Leah Anne Touhy a mother of the memphis family took strong effort in changing Michael Oher, a troublesome kid’s life for the better. Leah brought Michael into the family as one of their own. Leah then saw that Michael Oher, was born into a family of 12, was held back 2 years in elementary school and had a horrible education record with a . 6 GPA.

Leah knowing these factors decided to adopt Michael and raise him to become the American football player of the Ravens he is today. This was only accomplished by the efforts of commitment and communication which was used throughout the entire movie. Through the entire movie the Tuohy family used efforts of commitment and communication to change not only Michael’s life but their own too. It started with the introduction of Leah Tuohy’s son, S. J. to Michael who happily greeted himself. S. J. showed confidence in himself to let Michael know that you should smile.

Later on Michael was found wandering the streets in the night cold when Leah Anne and her family were driving home from a play that her son was in. Leah Anne being the compassionate person she is stopped the car and got out to confront Michael and offered him a stay at their warm house for the night, Michael had no other place to go so he took it. Leah Anne set up a bed for him and made him comfortable. The next morning Michael was on his way to leave but Leah Anne stopped him in his tracks and brought him back in.

This showed Leah Anne’s caring for other people. It happened to be thanksgiving that day and the family was huddled around the couch watching tv while Michael was eating off in the dining room. Leah Anne quickly observed this and brought everyone to the dining table so that all of them would celebrate thanksgiving as a family including Michael. During the Thanksgiving dinner Leah Anne offered Michael shopping so that he could feel comfortable in clothes other than his own 2 pairs of shirts and shorts.

On the trip there Leah Anne stopped the car to get a eye-to-eye conversation showing that she takes great care in finding out Michaels past and how she can help him for the better. One night Leah Anne asked a simple question to Michael, if he wanted to stay? Michael responded ” I don’t like anywhere else” and sure enough she turned the guest room into a comfortable place for Michael with a bed, that he had never had before. Michael was improving his grades and now able to play on the football team, in celebration the Tuohy family went to diner.

As they arrived Leah Anne had to run a quick errand to the Library and they found an old book that was read to the children when they were younger. After the dinner and went home Leah Anne read that book “Ferdinand the bold” to both S. J. and Michael in a heartwarming bond with the daughter over behind the door listening carefully and cherishing and old time story that was told to her. Later Leah Anne was in bed with her husband expressing her happiness and that it was because of Michael.

She goes on to talk about how she influenced by the change in michael that she wants to have charities for people in Michael’s condition. Slowly they wander off into sexual intercourse showing that as well as Leah Anne’s responsibilities she still has time to express her inner feelings with her husband. Michael, never having a photo ID before asks Leah Anne if he could get a driver’s license not just for the driving but for an identification of himself. Leah Anne agrees and takes him to the DMV when they run into a problem.

Michael has no name registered for himself and Leah Anne comes up with an idea that changes everything. Leah Anne then talks to her husband about the issue of adopting Michael into the family. They communicate with their ideas about this and share their feelings toward it as well. They come to decide together happily that its best if they adopt Michael since he’s already a part of the family as it is. Leah Anne goes to an office that deals with legal guardians and finds that she just needs to go before a court and get permission from a judge to adopt.

She is startled in that she doesn’t need to confront the mother and decides it’s the right thing to do. She confronts the mother and she tries to make the situation comfortable as possible letting Michaels mom know that she wants to adopt Michael. Michaels mom slowly takes in the idea and accepts. The family then has a family meeting where they discus what’s going on and they finally bring on the idea to Michael that they want to adopt him and he happily accepts saying aren’t I already part of the family. From these commitments and communication comes many learning’s and values.

This shows that a little bit of kindness can go a long way. The efforts from Leah Anne Tuohy changed Michael Oher’s life for the better. It started with a simple stay at their own home to adopting and taking care of Michael himself. Not only that the family came closer together than before and in result a happier healthier family as well. The communication within the family was already strong and with the addition of Michael their communication became one. The family changed the life of Michael Oher, but Michael Oher changed the families lives forever.

Relationship between a model and Similitude For a model, similitude is achieved when testing conditions are created such that the test results are applicable to the real design. There are some criteria that are required to achieve similitude; 1 . Geometric similarity – The model is the same shape as the application (they are usually scaled). 2. Kinematic similarity – Fluid flow of both the model and real application must undergo similar time rates of change motions. (Fluid streamlines are similar). 3.

Dynamic similarity – Ratios of all forces acting on orresponding fluid particles and boundary surfaces in the two systems are constant.The application is analyzed in order to satisfy the conditions; 1 . All parameters required to describe the system are Identified using principles from continuum mechanics. 2. Dimensional analysis is used to express the system with as few Independent variables and as many dimensionless parameters as possible. 3. The values of the dimensionless parameters are held to be the same for both the scale model and application.

This can be done because they are dimensionless and will ensure dynamic similitude between the model and the application. The resulting equations are used to derive scaling laws which dictate model testing conditions. However, it is often impossible to achieve strict similitude during a model test. The greater the departure from the application’s operating conditions, the more difficult achieving similitude is. Similitude is a term used widely in fracture mechanics relating to the strain life approach.

Under given loading onditions the fatigue damage in an unnotched specimen is comparable to that of a notched specimen. Similitude suggests that the component fatigue life of the two objects will also be similar. One example that we can give here Is the. Pipe friction apparatus has been designed for students to measure pipe friction losses for laminar and turbulent flows. For laminar flow study, an elevated head tank Is used for water supply, whilst for turbulent flow; the supply is from the Hydraulics Bench using oses with rapid action hose coupling.

Students may control the flow rate of water by adjusting the flow regulator valve. The test section is connected to manometers via pressure tapplngs. The purpose (objectives) doing this experiment are; Measurement of the pressure loss for laminar flow Measurement of the pressure loss for turbulent flow Determination of the critical Reynolds’ number Measurements using a tube manometer Measurements using a mercury U tube manometer Reynolds number in pipe friction

Pressure drops seen for fully developed flow of fluids through pipes can be predicted 1 OF2 uslng tne Moody Olagram wnlcn plots tne Darcy-welsoacn Trlctlon Tactor T against Reynolds number Re and relative roughness. The diagram clearly shows the laminar, transition, and turbulent flow regimes as Reynolds number increases. The nature of pipe flow is strongly dependent on whether the flow is laminar or turbulent. using the Moody diagram which plots the Darcy-Weisbach friction factor f against Reynolds number Re and relative roughness . The diagram clearly shows the laminar,

In a way, a person’s behaviors and mode of thinking towards others, either romantic or otherwise, have something to do with the emotional and psychological relationship developed during his childhood with his parents or the people who raised him. Psychologist John Bowlby said, in his Attachment Theory, that attachment is the psychological connectedness among individuals, particularly between the infant and the caregiver which is, primarily, the mother.

In his theory, Bowlby emphasizes four views:

1. very young children develop attachment to familiar caregivers who are sensitive and responsive;
2.  young children explore the environment with familiar people as a secure base;
3. the attachment has continuous effect to the child’s personality development and social behaviors that will show later in his life and
4. any event that interferes with the attachment may have either a short or long-term negative impact on the life of the child.

He further stresses that the child seeks the proximity or accessibility of the caregiver as a way of survival, especially during troubled times. Apparently, a caregiver who is present always gives a sense of security to the child. In her strange situation research in 1970, Psychologist Mary Ainsworth finds out that children vary in their attachment behaviors: while some toddlers can adapt and interact with anybody, other kids are either ambivalent or anxious with the presence of strangers and hesitant to explore their environment.

The psychological and emotional tie developed at early age is significant as the child may utilize this as a guiding principle or prototype for his future relationship, especially intimate love and parenting. In some cases, an attached child becomes dependent on the caregiver and may suffer anxiety upon their separation. A recent finding states that some children who experienced attachment can develop an unusual deficiency called reactive attachment disorder (RAD) which is characterized by the child’s inappropriate ways in most social interactions.