Organizational Behavior: a discipline for discovery Essay

Ask a manager of 35, 25 or even 15 years ago what their Organization’s Behavioral patterns were or how their employees felt about certain issues and you would probably be met with blank stares. Organizational Behavior (OB) was not a part of the business world in those days. The idea that a manager need only deal with the technical skills of it’s employees while disregarding their own listening skills, communication skills and interaction skills was the common mode of thought. A recent study on employee burnout by Northwestern National Life Insurance shows that at least one out of every four employees views their job as the biggest stressor in their lives (Work, stress and health conference, 1999). Clearly it is time to reevaluate our thinking on the business concepts of the past and focus our attention on our organization with a more humanistic approach. What worked in the past is not necessarily going to work today. As the world changes so too does our environment change. We need to change with it or be left behind. Organizational Behavior is one of those vehicles being used for change. The past 10-15 years has shown an increase in Organizational Behavior studies. OB has become an important tool for businesses striving to meet the needs of its employees while understanding the impact of the individual on an organization’s behavior. History The generational gap between people is apparent. The values, thoughts and dreams of our parents are probably much different than ours of today just like their values were differed from your grandparents. The attitudes and beliefs of a generation are a big part of the make-up of a person’s personality and work ethic. Stephen P. Robbins notes in his text that the previous 3 generations, while similar in some respects, held distinct differences in their values (p.130-2). Organizational behavior is a byproduct of the times. The workers adapted to their organization and grew with it (1940’s and 50’s). As time went on a shift towards quality of life, non-conforming, autonomy and loyalty to one’s own values became prevalent (1960’s and 70’s). Another shift occurred in the mid 70’s. The value system  moved towards ambition, loyalty to career, hardworking, and the desire for success and achievement. This period lasted till about the mid 80’s when another shift moved us towards the value system commonly held today of flexibility, value to relationships, desire for leisure time and overall job satisfaction. Robbins classified these four stages as follows: Protestant work ethic, Existential, Pragmatic, and Generation X (p.131). We can see that what worked in the 50’s in terms of how an organization operated is probably not going to be as effective in today’s organizations. Whether it’s the Protestant work ethic of the 1940’s and 50’s or it’s Generation X of today, the picture should be clear. We need to know what our workers value, how they feel and change with them so as to keep our organization on the cutting edge of productivity and profitability. Research In order to highlight the need for OB studies we need to know what OB gives us, how it relates to our employees and what that overall impact is on the organization. OB is a field of study that investigates the impacts that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an organization’s effectiveness (Robbins, 2001, p.16). Simply put, OB allows us the chance to learn what individuals are thinking, how their though processes work, what motivates them to do certain things, and how their choices relate to an organization. What do workers want? What are their concerns? The answers are not always the same and the methods of discovery are varied as well but some key responses that seem to be constantly mentioned are job security, a balanced work and family life, and a competitive salary (Cohen, 2002, para.5). Another survey, from Watson Wyatt Worldwide, showed that employees listed the desire for trust in their senior leaders as their number one want when considering what would make them committed to their employers (Johnson, 2001, para.10). Almost half (45%) of the 7500 people in that survey said they were not committed to their employers. Another interesting note from one professional is that managers too often try to manage the stress in employees’ lives rather than trying to avoid it (Johnson, 2001, para.11). Why should we be concerned with these surveys and studies? Quite simply,  because other companies are using this information and if we don’t we will eventually be left behind. Scott Gellar, a psychologist, noted a list of companies/organizations that are investing considerable time, money and manpower into addressing the broad cultural issues of their organizations. Fortune’s â€Å"100 Best Companies to work for in America† topped the list of those being proactive (Johnson, 2001, para.19). In 1984 only one of the top 100 companies offered onsite daycare. In 2000, 24 offered it. More than 50 offered onsite university courses and more than 90 offered tuition reimbursement (Johnson, 2001, para.21). The signs are there. We just need to be watching for them and always keeping abreast of the situation. Discussion So now that we have some ideas about what OB studies can provide for us the next question is why do we NEED to investigate it further? Is it of that vital importance that we should alter the way we have been doing things for so long? Procedures have worked in the past why won’t they work in the future? I think it is important to say that just because something has worked in the past does not guarantee you success in the future. As the research above shows, the top companies are adapting and doing what it takes to gain an edge. It is working for them. You may stay in business doing what you have always done, you may even have a modicum of success, but wouldn’t it be nice to be able to get the most out of your business? Let your business maximize its potential. Conclusion It was once said that a good company researches what it is selling and is always learning. Why should we treat our employees any differently than we do our product or our target consumers? Employees tell us what we need to know. We just need to listen and be able to interpret the results. We need to become proactive and not reactive in the future. The study of OB is vehicle we can use to interpret what we learn from individuals. The method is there. Why not use it to instigate change in our organizations? The results of our studies will become more and more useful as time goes on. We  are always changing, learning and adapting to different situations. OB will allow our organizations to change right along with the people that make it up. Works Cited Cohen, A. (2002). Survey says workers want balance. Sales and Marketing Management, 154(9), 13. Retrieved December 9, 2002 from EBSC Ohost database. Johnson, D. (2001). Climate control. Industrial Safety and Hygiene News, 35(9), 1-4. Retrieved December 9, 2002 from EBSC Ohost database. Robbins, S.P. (2001). Organizational behavior (Custom electronic text, University of Phoenix). Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing.

Improving Student Test Scores Utilizing Brain

Improving Student Test Scores Utilizing Brain-Based Learning People often say that everyone can learn. Every person is born with a brain that functions as an immensely powerful processor. Brain-based learning offers some direction for educators who want more purposeful, informed teaching. This paper will provide information on how brain-based learning works. In addition, discuss how brain-based learning is improving student test scores. Lastly, provide research findings on the benefits of brain-based learning. Creating stress-free environments, enhancing complex cognitive skills, and understanding memory become essential in brain-based learning. Receiving, encoding, storing, and retrieving information make sense as the memory pathways are defined. Assessing student learning becomes the simple task of accessing the same methods that were used for teaching. The more we understand the brain, the better we will be able to educate it. Brain-Based Learning (definition) Brain-based learning is the informed process of using a group of practical strategies that are driven by sound principles derived from brain research. Brain-based education is defined by three words, engagement, strategies, and principles. It is learning in accordance with the way the brain is naturally designed to learn (Jensen, 2008). The overall goal of brain-based education is to attempt to bring insights from brain research into the arena of education to enhance teaching and learning. The area of science often referred to as brain research typically includes neuroscience studies that probe the patterns of cellular development in various brain areas; and brain imaging techniques, with the latter including functional MRI scans and positron-emission tomography scans that allow scientists to examine patterns of activity in the wake, thinking, human brain. These brain imaging techniques allow scientists to examine activity within various areas of the brain as a person engages in mental actions such as attending, learning, and remembering. Proponents of brain-based education espouse a iverse group of educational practices and approaches, and they generally attempt to ground claims about effective practice in recently discovered facts about the human brain. They argue that there has been an unprecedented explosion of new findings related to the development and organization of the human brain and that the current state of this work can inform educational practice in meaningful ways. Advances in brain science led brain-based educator David A. Sousa to proclaim that â€Å"no longer is teaching just an art form, it is a science† (Sousa, 1998). Principles of Brain-Compatible Learning that have Emerged from Brain Research. Educators who have a background in the neurobiology of learning and memory have a distinct advantage in their classrooms. By following the brain-based teaching principles we can create an enriched, brain-compatible environment and effectively counter such existing negative influences as stress, sleep deprivation, and poor nutrition. According to Ronal Kotulak in his 1996 book â€Å"Inside the Brain†, an enriched environment can contribute up to 25% increase in the number of brain connections both early and later in life. Our environments need to allow for active manipulation. To summarize, there are at least twelve principles of brain-compatible learning that have emerged from brain research. 1. Uniqueness-every sing brain is totally unique. 2. Impact of threat of high stress can alter and impair learning and even kill brain cells. 3. Emotions are critical to learning-they drive attention, health, learning and memory. 4. Information is stored and retrieved through multiple memory and neural pathways. 5. All learning is mind-body-movement, foods, attention cycles, all have powerful effects. 6.  The brain is a complex and adaptive system-effective change involves the entire system. 7. Patterns and programs drive our understanding-intelligence is the ability to construct patterns. 8. The brain is meaning-driven-meaning is more important to the brain that information. 9. Learning is often rich and non-conscious-we process both parts simultaneously. 10. The brain develops better in concert with other brains. 11. The brain develops with various stage of readiness. 12. Enrichment-the brain and grow new connections at any age. Cognitive skills develop better with music and motor skills (Kotulak, 1996). Three Instructional Techniques Associated with Brain-Based Learning. Orchestrated immersion-creating leaning environments that fully immerse students in an educational experience. The idea is to take information off the blackboard to bring it to life in the minds of students. Orchestrated immersion provides learners with rich, complex experiences that include options and a sense of wholeness. Relaxed alertness-trying to eliminate fear in learners, whole maintaining a highly challenging environment. It is a dynamic state that is compatible with great deal of change. Relaxed alertness ensures that students are being challenged within a context of safety. It also includes a personal sense of well-being that allows students to explore new thoughts and connections. Active processing- Allowing the learner to consolidate and internalize information by actively processing it. It is the path to understanding, rather than simply to memory. Active processing necessarily engages emotions, concepts and values (Caine & Caine, 1994). How Brain-Based Learning Impacts Education. There are three ways that brain-based learning impacts education through curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Curriculum- teachers must design learning around student interests and make learning contextual. Instruction- educators let students learn in teams and use peripheral learning. Teachers structure learning around real problems, encouraging students to also learn in setting outside the classroom and the school building. Assessment-since all students are learning, their assessment should allow to understand their own learning styles and preferences, this way, students monitor and enhance their own learning process (Jensen, 1998). What Brain-Based Learning Suggests. How the brain works has a significant impact on what kinds of learning activities are most effective. Educators need to help students have appropriate experiences and capitalize on those experiences. As Renate Caine points out in her book Making Connections, three interactive elements are essential to his process. Teachers must immerse learners in complex, interactive experiences that are both rich and real. One excellent example is immersing students in a foreign culture to teach them a second language. Educators must take advantage of the brain’s ability to parallel process. Students must have a personally meaningful challenge. Such challenges stimulate a student’s mind to the desired state of alertness. In order for a student to gain insight about a problem, there must be intensive analysis of the different ways to approach it, and about learning in general. This is what’s known as the â€Å"active processing of experience. † A few other tenets of brain-based learning include: Feedback is best when it comes from reality, rather than from an authority figure. People learn best when solving realistic problems. The big picture can’t be separated from the details. Because every brain is different, educators should allow learners to customize their won environments. The best problem solvers are those that laugh (Caine & Caine, 1994). Most neuroscientists believe that at birth the human brain has all the neurons it will ever have. Some connections, those that control such automatic functions as breathing and heartbeat, are in place at birth, but most of the individual’s mental circuitry results from experiences that greet the newborn and continue, probably, throughout his or her life. Some researchers believe the circuits are completed by age five or six. Other studies extend the period of development from birth to the later elementary school years. Still others argue that nerve connections can be modified throughout life with new connections forming perhaps even late in life. The links between learning, the number of neural connections, or the time frame for development of those connections are not clearly understood. These and other findings encourage educators and parents to expose very young children to a variety of learning experiences-providing blocks and beads to handle and observe, talking to the child, playing peek-a-boo. How does Brain-Based Learning Improve Student Test Scores. Recent scientific studies about the brain and how it learns have given educational leaders and teachers new insights about teaching and learning. Recently, educators have explored links between classroom teaching and emerging theories about how people learn. Exciting discoveries in neuroscience and continue developments in cognitive psychology have presented new ways of thinking about the brain-the human neurological structure and the attendant perceptions and emotions that contribute to learning. Brain-based research also discusses the school environment that is best for optimal learning to occur. According to Dr. Petrie and Dr. Chan in their article, â€Å"The Brain Learns Better in Well-Designed School Environments, â€Å" optimal learning takes place in well-ventilated classrooms, which offer plenty of water for students to drink. In addition, students learn best in bright warm colored well-lit environments that offer challenging activities including visual and performing arts, physical activity, and real life situations (Chan & Petrie, 1998). Summary of Findings: A study Conducted by the Education Trust in 1998, done in collaboration with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), demonstrates those qualities which appear to be necessary to promote student achievement. Such qualities demonstrate how teaching to higher standards can be effective when appropriate support. This work analyzed data collected from 1200 high performing high poverty elementary schools in 21 states. The study concluded that high performing; high poverty schools tend to use state standards extensively to design curriculum and instruction, assess student work, and evaluate teachers. Over 80% of the successful schools in this study were using state standards to design instruction, assess student work and evaluate teachers. In the great majority of top performing schools in this study, extended learning time in the areas of math and reading was provided for their students. In addition, to crease student achievement, these schools often devoted a larger proportion of funds to support professional development focused on changing instructional practice. The school in this study appeared to be making greater progress than lower performing schools in creating greater opportunities for teacher to obtain training in those areas determined to be important to helping students achieve. It was noted that a majority of schools implemented comprehensive systems to monitor individual student progress and provide extra support to students as soon as it’s needed. 80% of the schools in this study had systematic ways to identify and provide early support to students in danger of falling behind in the academic progress. It was obvious in this study that the more uccessful schools focus their efforts to involve parents on helping students meet standards; the traditional role of parents in schools is that to provide support in fund raising efforts. In the majority of the schools in this study, parents were given opportunities to increase their knowledge of the standards, be involved in curriculum and in reviewing students’ work. Lastly, it was clearly observed that these successful schools have state and district accountability systems in place that have real consequences for adults in schools (The Education Trust, Inc. 1999). Teachers can no longer ignore the findings and implications of brain-based research in the educational environment. The cognitive development of children is affected by a multitude of diverse factors, but educators have been slow to recognize the impact that brain-based research provides in our awareness of the role of the brain in learning Findings suggests that heredity provides 30-60 percent of our brain’s wiring, while 40-70 percent is due to environmental factors (Jensen, 1998). Teachers and educational leaders need to develop a biological understanding of how the brain works. In order for student achievement to continue, principals must look at all aspects of instructional strategies. Understanding the brain’s ability to grow and adapt in response to stimuli increases our ability to develop meaningful relevant lessons, which challenge students and broaden their comprehension of their world. Developing interdisciplinary instruction allows the brain to develop patterns and thus increases student learning. Learning to apply brain research in the classroom helps teachers gain a deeper understanding of how students learn and to develop challenging lessons that stimulate the brain. All in all, understanding how the brain functions is just one more way to help students achieve. In conclusion, scientists caution that the brain is complex and, while research has revealed some significant findings, there is no widespread agreement about their applicability to the general population or to education in particular. Nevertheless, brain research provides rich possibilities for education and reports of students from this field have become popular topics in some educational journals. Enterprising organizations are translating these finding into professional development workshops and instructional programs to help teachers apply lessons from the research to classroom settings. Every person is born with a brain that functions as an immensely powerful processor. The more we understand the brain, the better we will be able to educate it.

Charles taze russell

Charles taze russell Introduction Charles Taze Russell, an American entrepreneur-turned-minister in 1897 had made an early description of globalization. Economists and other social scientists used globalization term during 1960s. (Wikipedia) The use of globalization term was widely used during the half of 1980s. There are numerous people who tried to come up with the definitions of globalization at that time. Globalization is the transactional processes and domestic structures of economy, politics, culture, and social. Besides, usually globalization specifically refers to economic globalization. Economic globalization defined by national economies into international economies. International trade, investment by foreigners, capital flows, migration of nation or foreigners, and the spreading of technology are some of the examples of international economy. Malaysia as one of the countries of Southeast Asian also undergoes the process of globalization. Furthermore, globalization gives effect on Malaysia in economy, political, social and culture. In 1970s, Bumiputera run the Malaysian firms and enterprises by 35 percent. This is one of the implementation aspects of New Economic Policy (NEP). In addition, Malaysia’s economy has successfully narrowed the gap of income disparity between Bumiputera and other races. Other than that, since 1989, 8% of consistent economic growth was recorded. 9.2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew in 1995. During the first quarter of 1996, the growth rate falls to 8%. In the middle of 1997, Malaysia have seriously been attack by tremendous drop of currency that give impact on country’s growth of exportation helps Malaysia recover from recession period. Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad during his career as Prime Minister announced the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) to transform the economic from a production-based economy to a knowledge-based economy (K-economy). Thus, Malaysia undergoes globalization due to the economic expansion although receiv ed the recession period and successfully recovered. In Malaysia, prime minister should be a member and have the self-assured of House of Representatives. Parliamentary democracy is used in Malaysia to attain the globalization in developing the country with the federal constitutional monarchy. In operating the government, prime minister must be highly responsible to make the political environment in Malaysia to be stable. Due to the political stable, Malaysia has made a good relationship with United States and Europe even in the Asian region, South Korea, China, and Japan. Government in Malaysia, encourage foreign’s investment in manufacturing industries. Thus, nations can get income as an employee to the industries. Since Malaysia gained its independence, our nations have made globalization in political. Political has successfully lower down the poverty in the rural area. Rural development was taken placed since 1965 where budgets were largest allocated to the rural area. Hen ce, political that are stable is important in globalization of a country. Educational system in Malaysia has undergoes many changes of reviews and curricular activities to gain high right mentality and good attitudes of students. In order to achieve that, professors, lecturers, and teachers were recommended to find alternative to achieve this goal. Family, entertainment media, government political, and communities play an important role to mould the competitive, good moral attitudes, and more independent students. Malaysia government have make strategies on educational system to support Bumiputera to become an intellectual person. Government produced Maktab Rendah Sains MARA (MRSM), universities of science and technology based, and sponsorship for bright students. Furthermore, developing technologies is also one of the Malaysia aims. This aims has contribute the increase of foreigner’s investment. Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) is providing capital to Mal aysian and foreign companies that are interested in investing in Malaysia. So, educational and developing technologies are the aspects of social globalization.

Health and Sustainability of Food Systems in Toronto City Essay

Health and Sustainability of Food Systems in Toronto City - Essay Example Farm inputs used in food production should not contaminate food products with such potentially harmful contents. In this regard, the World Commission on Environment and Development defined sustainable food production processes as those that meet the present consumers’ needs without compromising the ability to meet the nutritional needs of future generations. In this context, food production processes that use harmful pesticides and fertilizers to alter the soil’s natural composition are neither sustainable nor healthy for food systems. However, production processes that utilize environmentally friendly farm inputs not only foster environmental protection but also improve the nutritional soundness of food products in the market. As identified in class, common vulnerabilities in farm inputs sector including but not limited to: use of chemicals, high energy costs and swift evolution of farm machinery. Food production is a business, and farmers expect to earn profits from t heir farm produces. In food production, profit margins are determined by three distinct factors: the cost of production, amount of yield, and market prices of harvested produces. Occasionally, amount of farm yields increase with increased use of inputs like pesticides, while heavy use of pesticides translates to the increased cost of production. In food production, cost of chemicals like pesticides is of a particular concern to farmers. Farm chemicals are expensive; it requires approximately $50-100 million to develop a new inorganic pesticide.

Description of the Afterlife in Different Cultures Essay

Description of the Afterlife in Different Cultures - Essay Example That is why different cultures attach different meanings and beliefs to this afterlife. (Still3) The Greeks for instance, believe that once someone dies, they go to another world, whereby you are welcomed by a goddess who is very beautiful. Homer uses a narrative to explain this myth. He shows how Odysseus was carried in a ship together with other companions in a black ship. He also explains that there is another region which they saw, and which was covered by mist and clouds where another goddess sits. According to the Greeks, the dead communicate with each other and can always see each other. They also believe that after the end of the physical life, the spirits of the dead join the dead in the new land even before they are physically buried. That is why Elpenor and Odysseus manage to talk to one another, and that is why Elpenor sends Odysseus with a message that, he should be buried soon. (Homer 89) They also believe that the living can communicate with the dead through spirits and that one can recognize the dead by appearance. That's why when Odysseus made the sacrifice of a ram, he even saw his mother's spirit who did not speak to him, but god advised him on how to lead his life. The gods act like their seers and can foresee all the shortcomings in life, and warn their families. Greeks have different gods for different things, who also have different names. Through the sacrifices they make, the living are told what they want by talking to their god and asking these gods, questions which are not clear to them. (Homer 150) The (home) land of afterlife appears to be a very scaring place from Homers description. It appears like a lifeless place. For instance, "huge rivers, fearful waters, oceans which no man can cross on foot." This means that there is a lot of water in this land and people use boats to move across these waters. The living can communicate with the "Living" dead verbally. The dead live together as groups, and they seem to appear in groups of their gender. The women came in large numbers to drink the blood. Odysseus seems to hold a very detailed conversation with people's spirit who had died long time ago. It appears to be a question answer dialogue between him and these spirits and also the gods of the people. (Homer 601). The deaths of people can always be prophesied just like Odysseus death was prophesied. There is also revenge from the dead to those who had crossed them or killed them. The Greeks afterlife seems to have very many interactions with the living. It's like there is always a channel of interacting and communicating between the living and the dead. According to the Islamic culture, afterlife is a moment to enjoy more than the physical life. They believe that, in that land, Angels are all over taking guard on the dead; the environment is so good and very peaceful. They believe that once one dies, they go to accompany their God in a precious land. They believe that the physical life on earth is actually a preparation to the afterlife in heaven. According to them, their afterlife is in heaven, and that all generations will meet some day in that land. Once someone dies, they go to heaven and they will be judged one day, the day when all the generations will meet. However they believe that the faithful Muslims will be rewarded for their faith. That is what the Koran (Qur'an) states, and that their God is very generous. They

History 1500 The Wahhabis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

History 1500 The Wahhabis - Essay Example The Wahhabis desire to destroy the tombs and graves of the saints was met by several objections. One objection supported its argument by depicting that construction of the graves served as a place of worship. Since the saints were said to be holy, offering prayers on top of their graves was to provide interception with God (Wahhab 2). However, it is proved beyond exceptional doubt that a curse was to befall whoever made the graves as prostration places. Another issue that Wahhabis tried to oppose was the kissing of the shrines. Opponents argued that it was a form of showing commitment, reverence, and devotion. However, this was unlawful since an individual was not allowed to go closer to a grave and was required to maintain distance with it as a sign of respect. Putting pictures, objects, and building of structures on top of graves was depicted as a sin. Wahhabism emphasized on conformity and inward faith of an individual. Additionally, they strived and still strive to be the embodim ent of God’s

Real life research Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Real life research - Coursework Example When a company conducts qualitative research through a focus group, the company is attempting to do research by having the moderator in focus group record everything that is the side in the focus group. The chosen forms of research were the appropriate forms of research for this study. Today focus groups can be conducted on the Internet. If the researchers had done a quantitative study, the researchers would have found out how the customer’s feel about the brand image. A quantitative research study will give researchers a general idea of what a customer thinks about a brand, or a company into. They can’t see the research study on what, how, where, and when. So, into a native research study the researchers could’ve found out what the customer’s like most about the brand, where the customers shop most for the brand and when they shop for it. One can measure the success of the campaign in the sales figures. If the campaign brought in more revenue than prior to the campaign and the campaign is, then determined a success. If the campaign only brought the same amount of revenue as before the campaign would not be so much of a success. However, if the company takes what was and changes the brand, and images the company will undoubtedly become a success

The First Persian Gulf War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The First Persian Gulf War - Essay Example The main battles were aerial and ground combat within Iraq, Kuwait, and bordering areas of Saudi Arabia. The war did not expand outside the immediate Iraq/Kuwait/Saudi border region, although Iraq fired missiles on Israeli cities.The Iraqi seizure of Kuwait was of immediate interest to the western capitalist societies because Iraq and Kuwait together would control approximately 20 percent of the world's known oil reserves (Kellner 9). With the potential wealth generated from future oil sales and control over oil prices, Saddam Hussein could play a major role on the world's political and economic stage. Consequently, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait produced a crisis for the world capitalist system, for U.S. and European economic interests, and for the stability of the Middle East. Iraq was not able to get control of Kuwaiti investments because much of their money had been transferred out of the country. Yet, rather than encouraging a diplomatic solution to the crisis that would return Kuwai t's sovereignty and secure the region, George Bush responded with a military intervention, which inexorably led to the Gulf war itself. Interest in the crisis increased when the U.S. claimed that Iraq might also invade Saudi Arabia, which was said to control 20 percent of the world's known oil reserves and an investment portfolio even larger than Kuwait's. George Bush, who had initially attacked the invasion as "naked aggression," heated up his rhetoric and declared on August 5 that the invasion "would not stand." Two days later, he sent thousands of troops to Saudi Arabia. The Bush administration had thus set the stage for the Gulf war by failing to warn Iraq of the consequences of invading Kuwait and then by quickly sending troops to Saudi Arabia while undercutting diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis (Frank 20). There was no single reason why the United States relentlessly pursued the military option in the crisis of the Gulf. Dissection of the underlying forces that led the Bush administration to pursue the war option reveals a complex web of political, economic, and military considerations. The Gulf war was not solely a war for oil, for the greater glory of George Bush and the Pentagon, or for the promotion of U.S. geopolitical supremacy in order to bolster a faltering U.S. economy, although all of these factors played a role in producing the war. Instead, the Gulf war was "overdetermined" and requires a multicausal analysis (Kellner 11-12). In 1990, Bush's presidency was facing severe domestic economic and political problems, including: a sky-rocketing deficit caused by Reagan's and Bush's astronomical defense-spending; a severe S&L, banking, and insurance crisis caused by Republican deregulation policies; and proliferating public squalor marked by growing homelessness, unemployment, economic deprivation, deteriorating cities with epidemics of crime and drugs, health problems such as AIDS, cancer, and the absence of a national health insurance program. These and many other problems were in part caused, or aggravated, by the policies of George Bush and his predecessor Ronald Reagan. Consequently, it was in George Bush's interest to divert attention from current crises and the potentially deteriorating economy with a scapegoat for the economic imbroglio produced by Republican economics. That is, Bush could claim that the economic problems were caused by Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait and the ensuing crisis that drov e up

Management accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 6

Management accounting - Essay Example The decisions also help in reducing cost that a company incurs in day to day activities. The second one is by assisting the management in controlling and directing the operations of the company. A company that has well organised activities achieves efficient use of resources, (Chandler, 1977). The third one is that the information motivates employees and managers to achieve the targets set. The targets are set in a participatory manner and, therefore, every worker has their views taken into consideration. The fourth one is by measuring the performance of every aspect in the business, for example, employees, managers and departments. The last one is that the competitive position of the company is gauged. This ensures measures can be taken to increase the company’s long-run competitiveness over others in that particular industry. The business thus controls a large portion of the customer share which ensures high profits. Management via accounting is so crucial today because mana gerial accountants are important members of any management team. Managerial accountants play an important role of providing strategic decisions as well as day to day decisions. The decision making process is complex and requires specialists from management accounting as well as other financial disciplines. The day to day operations would be very expensive and tiring if management accountants do not plan them in advance. This is what makes management via accounting very important in modern business enterprise. These enterprises use the accounting and statistical information to ensure the smooth running of business activities. Business activities that are well managed lower the internal cost of running a business. It also ensures intensive use of resources in the business thus avoiding wastage. The business is also sure that customers pay for their goods and services in time and that suppliers deliver stock and are paid when due, (Capa Centre For Aviation, 2013). Management by using a ccounting is a field concerned with the efficient use of data from accounts. The managers of a company or business organisations use this information to help them make decisions that assist them to better manage and control resources, with the end goal of increasing the profitability of a company, (Kieso, 2005). The use of accounting data to manage a business is often confused to be financial accounting. This is not true because of several aspects that are related to management accounting information. The first aspect is that management accounting information is forward looking. This means that managers use data to plan for the future and determine how they can control situations that seem will be bad for the company. Managers can also use this data to improve situations that appear will be favourable to the company. For example, if managers predict a certain good sales will increase by 50%, they can employ more sales staff to increase the sales to 60%. This is an example how manage ment via accounting can serve as a good tool to increase the profitability of a company and ensure that it becomes a multi-national business. Other managers use historic information to make decisions that will affect the company. This approach might be accurate but not as effective as that from management via accounting, (Dameri, 2013). The second aspect that mangers use from management accounting is the assurance with which a plan made using management accoun

Insights That Travels Trough Time Essay Example for Free

Insights That Travels Trough Time Essay The dramatic effect of a masterpiece always depends on the one who views it. John Berger argues about perception and that only few own and experience the proficiency in terms of visual images that shape the cultural memory of a society. Berger opens out and focuses on the power of images (Parks, 2009). He looked up to how others should consider and understand how a certain image could produce â€Å"a new language of images†. Perhaps, he wanted to make each and every artist takes advantage of using his or her works to represent or reflect the ethos that exists in a society. For him the art itself speaks up a rich testimony about the culture and other occurrence in the history. Also Berger establish the notion that those who were unattached from their past, has unbound role and can freely act as an individual or a group. Herewith, it could be assumed that experiences affect how we accept or perceived something or how we or what we believe as true. Further, according to Berger The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled. The truth could be assumed to still rest in the eyes of the viewer. Berger insists to how we people should respond and take importance of what we see. With this, we should learn to read and know what lies behind it. Every image is an instrument that leads us to different region and period (Wong, 2009). If we just learn how to read and decipher the knowledge it offers, then we could freely purchase the vision that the most ignores References: 1. Parks S,. (2009)Studying Culture/Controlling Images. , Retrieve: April 14, 2009 http//www. temple. edu/isllc/sparks 2. Wong M. , (2009)Just in Time :Anamorphosis as a Strategic Survival Visual Tactics. , http://www. para-site. org. hk/_pre/96_txt4. html

Role of Franchising in Business Growth

Role of Franchising in Business Growth CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION Franchising has become one of the most recognizable business formats and an internationalization strategy for business practitioners globally and also in the United Kingdom especially in the way entrepreneurs are operating under other peoples business concept. It has emerged over the years as a popular expansion strategy for a variety of product and service companies. This research critically examines how franchising play vital role in retail business growth and expansion in the food industry, using the Strand Mc Donalds as a case study. The research looks at the importance of franchising, and will be very informative for organizations and stakeholders directly and indirectly involves in franchising business. This chapter looks at the research background, organization background, the research problem, the aim and objectives of the study, the scope and limitations, brief introduction of the study area and the structure of the research. RESEARCH BACKGROUND Franchising is basically a specialized form of licensing in which the franchisor not only leases intangible property (normally a trademark) to the franchisee but also insists that the franchisee agree to abide by strict rules as to how it does business. The franchisor will often assist the franchisee to run the business on an ongoing basis, (Hill 2008.pp 408). It is similar to licensing, although franchising tends to involve longer term commitments than licensing. Franchising is a method of distributing products or services. At least two levels of people are involved in a franchise agreement, namely: the Franchisor, who lends his trade mark or trade name and a business system; and the Franchisee, who pays a royalty and often an initial fee for the right to do business under the franchisors name and system of operations, technically, the contract binding the two parties is the franchise. Franchising has emerged in recent years as a highly significant strategy for business growth, job creation, and economic development at both local and international retail business arena, (Hoffman Prebble, 1995.p 80). It has moved from traditional product (trade mark) areas such as automobiles, petroleum and soft -drink bottlers to be a more proven format business concept. Over 80% of Mc Donald restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by local businessmen and women. They adapted Ray Krocs franchising business strategy of providing high standard of quality, friendly services, cleanliness and value, (QSCV). Also in the hotel industry, companies such as Marriott, Holiday Inn, Hilton and Accor have employed franchising as their primary growth strategy globally. Of course, the most well known restaurant franchise in the worlds is McDonalds. So much has been written about Ray Kroc and the McDonalds brothers that McDonalds and Crock have become an institution. The first McDonalds were opened in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955 and soon afterward, more McDonalds outlets continued to open. Today there are more than 30,000 McDonalds in 118 countries. There is no doubt that when it comes to franchising and fast foods in general, McDonalds is the leader of the pack. (Teixeira, 2005, p. 20). The international franchise association estimates that American consumers spend approximately 1.3 trillion dollars on franchise goods and services on an annual basis. (Teixeira 2005, p.19). This shows that the franchise strategy is one of the important aspects in expanding business and economic development. Different research methods will be used to analyze data/ findings for this research, and the sources of data will include observations and interviews. This research therefore, focuses on the importance of franchising as a business growth and expansion strategy from both the franchisee and the franchisors perspective. It also examines the relationship that exists between the franchisee and the franchisor .The benefits of franchising to Mc Donalds (franchisors) in expanding its business globally and its international market position through leveraging its brand name and business process through the utilization of the capital and local management of its franchisees will also be examine in this research. ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND McDonalds Corporation (McDonalds) is one of the worlds largest foodservice retailing chain. The company is known for its burgers and fries which it sells through more than 31,900 fast-food restaurants in over 100 countries. The company originated and operates mainly in the US and has expanded globally to over 100 countries including United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois and employs about 400,000people. The company recorded revenues of $23,522.4 million during fiscal year ending December 2008 (FY2008), an increase of 3.2% over FY2007. The operating profit of the company was $6,442.9 million during FY2008, an increase of 66.1% over FY2007. The net profit was $4,313.2 million in FY2008, an increase of 80.1% over FY2007. (McDonalds Corporation Company profile, (Data monitor) June 2009, p.16) McDonalds restaurants offer a substantially uniform menu, although there might be geographic variations. In financial year 2008, the company operated more than 31,900 fast food restaurants in over 100 countries in the following geographic segments: the US; Europe; Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA); Latin America and Canada. The company is one of the worlds largest food service retailing chain, preparing and serving a range of foods. All McDonalds restaurants offer a standard menu, which comprise food items such as hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Filet-O-Fish, Chicken McNuggets, French fries, salads, milk shakes, desserts and ice cream sundaes. Some McDonalds restaurants offer additional food items to suit local taste and preferences and sell a variety of other products during limited-time promotions. (McDonalds Corporation Company profile (Datamonitor), June 2009, p.5) McDonalds generates revenues through company operated restaurants and franchisee restaurants where over 6,500 are operated by the company and over 25,400 are operated by franchisees and affiliates. The companys revenue comprises sales from company operated restaurants and fees as well as rent from franchisees and affiliates. Under the franchise arrangement, the franchisees invest in the equipment, signage, seating and decor, while the company owns or leases the land and building. Franchisees pay the company service fees and rent for premises. A service fee is set as a percentage of sales, while rent and other terms of occupancy are stipulated in the franchise agreement, which is drawn for a period of 20 years. (McDonalds Corporation Company profile, June 2009) The company and its franchisees as well as affiliates source purchase food, packaging, equipment and other goods from approved suppliers. The company maintains quality standards through assurance laboratories around the world. A quality assurance board, including the companys technical, safety and supply chain specialists, provide guidance on all aspects of food quality and safety. The major competitors of McDonalds include Starbucks corporations, Burger Kings Inc, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), and other upcoming high streets food restaurants worldwide. (McDonalds Corporation Company profile, (Datamonitor) June 2009) In October 1974, the company opened its 3000th restaurant and the first in the U.K in woolwich, south-east London, (Business franchise, 2009). The U.K headoffice was sited in Hampstead, North London.Web1 Also in 1986, the first U.K franchisee- operated restaurant opened in Hayes, Middlesex, (Business franchise,2009) and the first Drive-thru restaurants opened in U.K at fallowfield, Dudley, Neasden and Coventry. Web1 RESEARCH PROBLEM Research problem forms the basis of most academic research study. It is based on this that the aim, objectives and the research questions of most dissertations are formulated. There must be identified problems that the dissertation seems to tackle, mostly business problems. Despite the popularity of franchising among business organizations and entrepreneurs nowadays as a business expansion and development strategy, it has been unacceptable to some entrepreneurs because of its disadvantages and risks involved. To these groups of individuals, setting up and management of owned business is the best option, no matter which forms it take to start. The assumption is that franchising is a system of building, expanding and adding value to someone else existing business, which many entrepreneurs will always avoid, as Norman(2006) indicated Many conclude the time, effort, money and shift in emphasis from running a business to helping others run businesses is not right for their companies,(p3) On the other side, some individuals choose franchising as their best option to start up business because of its merits and less risk involved in starting business. To these pro-franchising entrepreneurs, it plays a major role in business growth and expansion, especially in retail food industry globally. This research, therefore critically examines these arguments and answer the question how is franchising vital to retail business growth and expansion according to the views of the pro- franchising business entrepreneurs. SIGNIFICACE OF THE STUDY Theoretically, a broad range of literature does exist on franchising concepts and in most instances, there seems to be gap between theory and practice in most business organizations. However, it is significant to find out the practicality of the literature in real life situations. It is essential therefore, to carry out this study in order to find out whether in reality the ideas provided by literatures are actually revolving around management issues and applied to business organizations. The findings of this study will assist a wide range of stakeholders interested in franchising business including the government, private sectors, and local authorities to increase the general understanding and knowledge of franchising particularly in the food sector. To the researchers, academicians, it helps deepen further research in business development who will be interested in franchising in the future. RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES The main aim of this dissertation is to investigate how franchising play an essential role in retail business growth and expansion in the food industry. Research Objectives In order to achieve the above stated aim, the following objectives will be specified: Analyze the impacts and importance of franchising (business format) on organizations (business) growth and expansion. Assess the benefits of franchised businesses on the socio-economic growth of the economy. To determine whether economic conditions affects the success of franchising as a strategy for business growth and expansion. Investigate the importance of the franchisee-franchisor relationship on the business growth and expansion. Examine the risks involved in the franchising relationship. Examine the effects/impacts of globalization on franchising as a business growth and expansion strategy. To make suggestions and recommendations based on the findings elicited by the study. THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY The study was carried out in London covering using one of the McDonalds restaurants as the study area. The content of the study was to understand how franchising contributes to business growth and expansion in retail business sector. THE STUDY AREA London is one of the cities of England; it is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. It has 32 boroughs, of which 13 are in the inner London and 19 constitute the outer London. (Office for National Statistics Online). Web2cited. It is a growing city spreading out and swallowing many villages and towns in the south east of England. Because of this, there are many conflicting definitions of London and Greater London and the population of London varies accordingly. As the capital city, London occupies over 6,267 square miles (16,043km2). London population is heavily concentrated at about 4,539 people per sq km/ 11,568 per sq mi. Web3 According to the figure from the April 2001 census, London population was 7,172,000. This represents 14.6 percent of the total population of Britain. The population as of mid 2005 was thought to have been increased to 7,517,700 of which about half of this figure lives in inner and central London and the remaining lives in outer boroughs. Web 3 Londons population has grown every year since 1988, and it is likely that in the years to 2031, it will continue its steady growth. The study area lies in inner London borough of Westminster, which lies in the busy business environment of the city (central business district), It is very close to the seat of power, the parliament, and it is very close to many international business environments, busy London streets, tourist attractions like the London eye, Trafalgar square, British museum, National Gallery, National Art gallery, Covent Garden- since its redevelopment in the 1970s has become a popular piazza and nucleus for visitor activity in Londons cultural district with theatre, opera and ballet venues. (Page et al, 2001.p122). London is a multicultural city, where different people from around the world lives and study, it comprises of individuals with diverse cultural background. Because of the above description about the study area, it has become an important area to carry out this research, because of the concentration of other franchised business in the area. STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH Chapter One (Introduction): This state clearly the purpose of the dissertation, it includes the background of the study, significant of study, the statement of the research problems, organization background, the research aims and objectives, scope and limitations of the study. It also describes the study area briefly. Chapter Two (Literature Review): This section deals with the academic review of texts, journals, articles and so on, relevant to this research topic. It also discusses model and relevant theoretical ideas on the subject matter. Chapter Three (Research Methodology): comprises the methodology used for this study. It includes the styles and techniques chosen in collecting primary and secondary data/ informations for this research purpose. Chapter Four (Data Analysis/ Research Findings): The chapter that report and describes the findings of the survey to be undertaken, it describes both primary and secondary findings. Chapter Five (Conclusions and Recommendations): This chapter set out the main findings of the dissertations linking it with the literature reviews and the research findings. It also sets out clear recommendations which came out of the research work. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW INTRODUCTION This chapter provides a review of relevant literatures on franchising. It will be used as a base to throw more light on the importance of franchising concept and the roles it plays in business growth and expansion. The literatures were selected and critically evaluated in a bid to sift the relevant informations, and portray the opinions of relevant authors. It offers academic insight to research previously conducted by authors on the importance of franchising to retail business growth. Lastly, the section acknowledges the principal research questions for this study. DEFINITIONS OF FRANCHISING CONCEPT Hill, (2008) defines franchising as a specialized form of licensing in which the franchisor not only sells the intangible property (normally a trademark) to the franchisee, but it also insists that the franchisee agree to abide by strict rules as to how it does business, (p.408). It usually involves long term commitments than licensing. On the other hand, Business format franchising is a joint venture between an independent person (the franchisee) and a business owner (the franchisor) who wants to expand its activities. The venture is governed by a contract. This gives the franchisee the right to operate using the franchisors trade name/ trademark, in accordance with a business format or blueprint. All aspects of the franchisees business are strictly controlled including image, products or service, systems and administration. (HSBC Bank, 2009.p1) The franchisee pays certain amount of money for the right to use the franchisors trademark. Firms use franchise arrangements to extend scarce firm resources, because the franchisee puts up both an initial fee and much of the capital investment, franchisors are able to expand their markets without having to generate capital by themselves, and in most cases exploit on the knowledge of the local entrepreneurs in expanding their business. This is an attractive option, particularly in mass consumer services such as fast food that require the construction of many units to achieve brand name recognition and increased market share like McDonalds Restaurants. BRIEF HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT IN FRANCHISING Franchising is highly developed in the USA, although popular in the UK, but a recent phenomenon. Its development dates back to the end of the American civil war (1865), when the singer sewing company franchised exclusive sales territories to financially independent operators. In 1898, General motors used independently owned businesses to increase its distribution outlet. (Lancaster Reynolds, 2005, p160).At some point, there were some form of disagreements and arguments among historians in the United States regarding when the franchise system first started. According to Bythe Bennett,(2008), franchising began to gain acceptance as a viable business arrangement with the growth of automobile industry, and also in the petroleum industry during the 1930s, (p.234) Franchising became one of the fastest growing types of retailing business in the United Kingdom in recent years.It was introduced into the UK in the early 1950s and since those early days, has become respectable and often very profitable business concept as a result of explosion in the number of franchises being operated. Today franchising encompasses products from pipes to pastries and includes such well known names as Body Shop, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonalds, and so on. (Lancaster Massingham, 1999, p269). For instance, Over 80% of Mc Donald restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by local entrepreneurs. They adapted Ray Krocs franchising business strategy of providing high standard of quality, friendly services, cleanliness and value, (QSCV). Also in the hotel industry, companies such as Marriott, Holiday Inn, Hilton and Accor have employed franchising as their primary growth strategy globally. The first McDonalds were opened in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955 and soon afterward, more McDonalds outlets continued to open. Today, McDonalds has over 300,000 restaurants in 119 countries outside the U.S or in non-traditional site locations in the US. There is no doubt that when it comes to franchising and fast foods in general, McDonalds is the leader of the pack. Of course, the most well known restaurant franchise in the world today is McDonalds and so much has been written about Ray krok and the McDonalds brothers that McDonalds and Crock have become an institution. (Teixeira, 2005. p.20-21). Teixeira, (2005, p21), indicated that during 1960s and 1970s, the growth of franchise industry exploded and continued to gain appeal with a boom mostly in Europe, on an increased rate, and this has been supported also by welsh (1992) in Doole Robin (2004) franchising has grown rapidly during the 1990s due to the strong interest in a variety of franchise formats, (p.230). These successes remain an ongoing process. According to Ghauri Cateora (2005, p.280), franchising has become the fastest growing market entry strategy, it is often among the first types of foreign retail business to open in the emerging market economies of Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China. It has become successful as it is evidenced in most retail food business, and it has now become a major business growth and development and marketing strategy globally. It can be viewed from these two perspectives. McDonalds is a good example of organization that has grown with franchising strategy, (Hill, 2008.p.408). Franchising explosion in recent years however has increasingly saturated the domestic market, where businesses are opening in airports, sports stadiums, colleges, hospitals, parks, casinos, pools and other strategic locations globally. (Kotler Keller, 2006.p508) Lastly, the surge in franchising has been underpinned by the efforts of different bodies who regulates the activities of franchised organizations, like the International Franchise Association, (IFA), British Franchising Association, (BFA) various franchising organizations globally, which has developed codes of practice for franchising entrepreneurs, and in doing so, has recorded progress and greatly helped to reduce the risks to both franchisees and the franchisors. (BFA NatWest Bank, 1991). TYPES OF FRANCHISING Monir (1999 pp.164) identified two major types of franchising in his book. These include: First Generation/Product Distribution Franchising simply sells the franchisors products and is supplier-dealer relationships. In product distribution franchising, the franchisor licenses its trademark and logo to the franchisees but typically does not provide them with an entire system for running their business. This is often common with soft drink-bottling industries, automobile, and in petrol retailing. Second Generation/Business format franchising by contrast, the franchisor transfers a much more comprehensive business package (the format) to buyers of the franchisee. This contains most of the elements needed by the buyer to establish and replicate the business. The buyer also receives detailed instructions and guidance on how to operate the franchise successfully, managerial expertise, training and perhaps financial support if need be. Diagram 1: Showing Two major types of franchising There have been other divisions of franchising as recognized by other authors identified as important for the understanding of this research. Justis Judd, (2007, p.56) identifies two major types of franchising namely: product and trade name and business format franchising. Nathan, (2008 p.54) also classifies business format franchising into six major groupings as follows: executive, job, investment, management, retail, sales and distribution franchise. Also, on the other hand, Murray (2006, p.23), identifies four major categories as, Job, Retail, Management and Investment Franchising. Franchise Arrangements Beshel (2001,p3), reiterated that because of the possibilities of so many franchisors, industries and range of investments, there exists different types of franchise arrangements available to business owner. Two types of franchise arrangements were identified: Single-Unit(direct) franchise Multi-Unit Franchise ( Area development and Master development franchise) A single-unit (direct-unit) franchise is an agreement where the franchisor grants a franchisee the rights to open and operate one franchise unit. This is the simplest and most common type of franchise. It is possible, however, for a franchisee to purchase additional single-unit franchises once the original franchise unit begins to prosper, it is then considered a multiple, single-unit relationship. A multi-unit franchise is an agreement where the franchisor grants a franchisee the rights to open and operate more than one unit. Beshel (2001, p3), also identifies two ways in which multi-unit franchise can be achieved: An area development franchise or A master franchise. Under an area development franchise, a franchisee has the right to open more than one unit during a specific time, within a specified area. For instance, a franchisee may agree to open 5 units over a five year period in a specified territory, while master franchise agreement gives the franchisee more rights than an area development agreement. In addition to having the right and obligation to open and operate a certain number of units in a defined area, the master franchisee also has the right to sell franchises to other people within the territory, known as sub-franchises. Therefore, the master franchisee takes over many of the tasks, duties and benefits of the franchisor, such as providing support and training, as well as receiving fees and royalties, (Beshel, 2001, p3-4). Blair Lafontaine (2005, p.90) and Philip et al, (2006, p.77) also identifies the above four classifications as forms of franchising where all the four were grouped together. Building a strong foundation for a successful franchising strategy A successful franchising concept needs an appropriate business strategy and lots of facts have been identified as making a business appropriate to be franchised and make it worthwhile to invest in. According to HSBC Bank, (2009, p1), a well established and proven business format franchise from the franchisee perspective should provide an established market for the franchisors products and services, proven sales, marketing and operational procedures, the benefit of an established business name, training (ongoing support and help in running the business), also, where appropriate, help in finding, fitting out and furnishing premises. Hoffman Prebble (2008, p.68) also add some factors that influence the appropriateness of a business concept using franchising including; valuable System to sell, proprietary process/ advantage for making the product in getting to the end customers, a satisfactory brand/ trade name like McDonalds which will be acceptable to the larger population, and high Profit Margin business. On the other hand, Murray (2004,p.67), shows some possibilities in which potential franchisee get a proven business format and support from the franchisor, which includes, an entire business concept with no bits missing out, with the aid of the operating manuals, trademarks, logos, patents, and standard designs for the layout of the premises, colour and pattern of staff uniforms, accounting and financial systems, training and help to set up the business, continuing help and back-up once the business is operating, legal right to operate in an exclusive territory and marketing, public relations and advertising support, decor in case of retail franchises, the franchisor will provide design and advice for the fitting and decoration of the shop and the installation of any equipment necessary, records, the franchisor will provide the franchisee with sales report and accounts forms to assist the franchisee maintain accurate financial report. On the franchisors perspectives, Sherman (2003, p414), explains that in order for business growth through franchising, a secure foundation from which companys franchising programme has to be launched. He uses the concept of the responsible franchising as the only way to avoid failure and to ensure a harmonious relationship with the franchisees. He outlines some of the key components of a responsible franchising strategy. These includes, proven prototype location/ chains of stores, strong management team, sufficient capitalization, distinctive and protected trade identity, comprehensive training programmes franchisees, proprietary and proven methods of operation and management, field support staff who are skilled trainers and communicators, set of comprehensive legal documents, demonstrated market demand for the companys products and services, set of carefully developed, uniform site selection criteria and architectural standards, genuine understanding of the competition, relationship s with suppliers, lenders, real estates developers, franchisee profile and screening system, an effective system of reporting and record-keeping, research and development capabilities, communication system, national, regional and local advertising, marketing and so on. Sherman (2003, p.417), went further to acknowledge that Responsible franchising starts with an understanding of the strategic essence of the franchising structure. He identified three critical components of the franchise systems from the franchisors perspective. The brand, which creates the demand, allowing the franchisee to initially obtain customers, the brand includes the companys trademarks and service marks, its trade dress, decor and all of the intangible factors that create customer loyalty and build brand equity, the operating system, which essentially delivers the promise, thereby allowing the franchisee to maintain customer relationships and build loyalty, the ongoing support and training that the franchisors provide, supplying the franchisee with the tools and tips to expand its customer base and build its market share. Sherman, (2003,) also acknowledges the importance of customers in any responsible franchising business concept. He mentions that the responsibly built franchise system is one that provides value to its franchisees by teaching them how to get and keep as many customers as possible who consume as many products and services as possible, as often as possible,(p.417). He concludes that the focus must always be on the customer, where the franchisor essentially licenses and delegates the task of local brand building and market expansion to the franchisee in its local territory. (Sherman, 2003, p.417) Importance of Franchising To Business Growth and Expansion Franchising has gained much popularity in modern business environment over the years, because of its success in contributing to business growth and expansion globally which is the primary aim of this research. This can be viewed from the perspective of the franchisee and franchisor respectively. Sherman (2003) acknowledges the growth of a business via business-format franchising in the United States. He maintains that The ability to obtain operating efficiencies and economies of scale are among the reasons for franchising and one of the key components of a responsible franchising strategy is a proven type of location that will serve as a basis for a franchising strategy, (p.411). Over the past three decades, franchising has emerged as a popular expansion strategy for a variety of product and service companies. Sherman,(2003), points to the importance of franchising, he states that recent international franchise association (IFA) statistics demonstrates that retail sales from franchised outlets comprise nearly 50% of all retail sales in the U.S, estimated at more than $900 billion and employing some nine million people in 2000. (p.411) Also in his view, Sherman,( 2003,p 411), points out to what has made franchising so popular in the U.S. and globally as a business development and expansion strategy, from the franchisors view, franchising represents an efficient method of rapid market penetration and product distribution, without the typical capital costs associated with internal expansion.On the other hand, from the franchisees perspective, franchising is regarded as a method of owning a business but with a less severe chance of failure due to the initial and ongoing training and support services offered by the franchisor. According to Shay (2009, p.6) franchising is the key to Global Economic Recovery and that franchise businesses represent some of the worlds best brands. He went on to explain the rate at which fra Role of Franchising in Business Growth Role of Franchising in Business Growth CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION Franchising has become one of the most recognizable business formats and an internationalization strategy for business practitioners globally and also in the United Kingdom especially in the way entrepreneurs are operating under other peoples business concept. It has emerged over the years as a popular expansion strategy for a variety of product and service companies. This research critically examines how franchising play vital role in retail business growth and expansion in the food industry, using the Strand Mc Donalds as a case study. The research looks at the importance of franchising, and will be very informative for organizations and stakeholders directly and indirectly involves in franchising business. This chapter looks at the research background, organization background, the research problem, the aim and objectives of the study, the scope and limitations, brief introduction of the study area and the structure of the research. RESEARCH BACKGROUND Franchising is basically a specialized form of licensing in which the franchisor not only leases intangible property (normally a trademark) to the franchisee but also insists that the franchisee agree to abide by strict rules as to how it does business. The franchisor will often assist the franchisee to run the business on an ongoing basis, (Hill 2008.pp 408). It is similar to licensing, although franchising tends to involve longer term commitments than licensing. Franchising is a method of distributing products or services. At least two levels of people are involved in a franchise agreement, namely: the Franchisor, who lends his trade mark or trade name and a business system; and the Franchisee, who pays a royalty and often an initial fee for the right to do business under the franchisors name and system of operations, technically, the contract binding the two parties is the franchise. Franchising has emerged in recent years as a highly significant strategy for business growth, job creation, and economic development at both local and international retail business arena, (Hoffman Prebble, 1995.p 80). It has moved from traditional product (trade mark) areas such as automobiles, petroleum and soft -drink bottlers to be a more proven format business concept. Over 80% of Mc Donald restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by local businessmen and women. They adapted Ray Krocs franchising business strategy of providing high standard of quality, friendly services, cleanliness and value, (QSCV). Also in the hotel industry, companies such as Marriott, Holiday Inn, Hilton and Accor have employed franchising as their primary growth strategy globally. Of course, the most well known restaurant franchise in the worlds is McDonalds. So much has been written about Ray Kroc and the McDonalds brothers that McDonalds and Crock have become an institution. The first McDonalds were opened in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955 and soon afterward, more McDonalds outlets continued to open. Today there are more than 30,000 McDonalds in 118 countries. There is no doubt that when it comes to franchising and fast foods in general, McDonalds is the leader of the pack. (Teixeira, 2005, p. 20). The international franchise association estimates that American consumers spend approximately 1.3 trillion dollars on franchise goods and services on an annual basis. (Teixeira 2005, p.19). This shows that the franchise strategy is one of the important aspects in expanding business and economic development. Different research methods will be used to analyze data/ findings for this research, and the sources of data will include observations and interviews. This research therefore, focuses on the importance of franchising as a business growth and expansion strategy from both the franchisee and the franchisors perspective. It also examines the relationship that exists between the franchisee and the franchisor .The benefits of franchising to Mc Donalds (franchisors) in expanding its business globally and its international market position through leveraging its brand name and business process through the utilization of the capital and local management of its franchisees will also be examine in this research. ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND McDonalds Corporation (McDonalds) is one of the worlds largest foodservice retailing chain. The company is known for its burgers and fries which it sells through more than 31,900 fast-food restaurants in over 100 countries. The company originated and operates mainly in the US and has expanded globally to over 100 countries including United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois and employs about 400,000people. The company recorded revenues of $23,522.4 million during fiscal year ending December 2008 (FY2008), an increase of 3.2% over FY2007. The operating profit of the company was $6,442.9 million during FY2008, an increase of 66.1% over FY2007. The net profit was $4,313.2 million in FY2008, an increase of 80.1% over FY2007. (McDonalds Corporation Company profile, (Data monitor) June 2009, p.16) McDonalds restaurants offer a substantially uniform menu, although there might be geographic variations. In financial year 2008, the company operated more than 31,900 fast food restaurants in over 100 countries in the following geographic segments: the US; Europe; Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA); Latin America and Canada. The company is one of the worlds largest food service retailing chain, preparing and serving a range of foods. All McDonalds restaurants offer a standard menu, which comprise food items such as hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Filet-O-Fish, Chicken McNuggets, French fries, salads, milk shakes, desserts and ice cream sundaes. Some McDonalds restaurants offer additional food items to suit local taste and preferences and sell a variety of other products during limited-time promotions. (McDonalds Corporation Company profile (Datamonitor), June 2009, p.5) McDonalds generates revenues through company operated restaurants and franchisee restaurants where over 6,500 are operated by the company and over 25,400 are operated by franchisees and affiliates. The companys revenue comprises sales from company operated restaurants and fees as well as rent from franchisees and affiliates. Under the franchise arrangement, the franchisees invest in the equipment, signage, seating and decor, while the company owns or leases the land and building. Franchisees pay the company service fees and rent for premises. A service fee is set as a percentage of sales, while rent and other terms of occupancy are stipulated in the franchise agreement, which is drawn for a period of 20 years. (McDonalds Corporation Company profile, June 2009) The company and its franchisees as well as affiliates source purchase food, packaging, equipment and other goods from approved suppliers. The company maintains quality standards through assurance laboratories around the world. A quality assurance board, including the companys technical, safety and supply chain specialists, provide guidance on all aspects of food quality and safety. The major competitors of McDonalds include Starbucks corporations, Burger Kings Inc, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), and other upcoming high streets food restaurants worldwide. (McDonalds Corporation Company profile, (Datamonitor) June 2009) In October 1974, the company opened its 3000th restaurant and the first in the U.K in woolwich, south-east London, (Business franchise, 2009). The U.K headoffice was sited in Hampstead, North London.Web1 Also in 1986, the first U.K franchisee- operated restaurant opened in Hayes, Middlesex, (Business franchise,2009) and the first Drive-thru restaurants opened in U.K at fallowfield, Dudley, Neasden and Coventry. Web1 RESEARCH PROBLEM Research problem forms the basis of most academic research study. It is based on this that the aim, objectives and the research questions of most dissertations are formulated. There must be identified problems that the dissertation seems to tackle, mostly business problems. Despite the popularity of franchising among business organizations and entrepreneurs nowadays as a business expansion and development strategy, it has been unacceptable to some entrepreneurs because of its disadvantages and risks involved. To these groups of individuals, setting up and management of owned business is the best option, no matter which forms it take to start. The assumption is that franchising is a system of building, expanding and adding value to someone else existing business, which many entrepreneurs will always avoid, as Norman(2006) indicated Many conclude the time, effort, money and shift in emphasis from running a business to helping others run businesses is not right for their companies,(p3) On the other side, some individuals choose franchising as their best option to start up business because of its merits and less risk involved in starting business. To these pro-franchising entrepreneurs, it plays a major role in business growth and expansion, especially in retail food industry globally. This research, therefore critically examines these arguments and answer the question how is franchising vital to retail business growth and expansion according to the views of the pro- franchising business entrepreneurs. SIGNIFICACE OF THE STUDY Theoretically, a broad range of literature does exist on franchising concepts and in most instances, there seems to be gap between theory and practice in most business organizations. However, it is significant to find out the practicality of the literature in real life situations. It is essential therefore, to carry out this study in order to find out whether in reality the ideas provided by literatures are actually revolving around management issues and applied to business organizations. The findings of this study will assist a wide range of stakeholders interested in franchising business including the government, private sectors, and local authorities to increase the general understanding and knowledge of franchising particularly in the food sector. To the researchers, academicians, it helps deepen further research in business development who will be interested in franchising in the future. RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES The main aim of this dissertation is to investigate how franchising play an essential role in retail business growth and expansion in the food industry. Research Objectives In order to achieve the above stated aim, the following objectives will be specified: Analyze the impacts and importance of franchising (business format) on organizations (business) growth and expansion. Assess the benefits of franchised businesses on the socio-economic growth of the economy. To determine whether economic conditions affects the success of franchising as a strategy for business growth and expansion. Investigate the importance of the franchisee-franchisor relationship on the business growth and expansion. Examine the risks involved in the franchising relationship. Examine the effects/impacts of globalization on franchising as a business growth and expansion strategy. To make suggestions and recommendations based on the findings elicited by the study. THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY The study was carried out in London covering using one of the McDonalds restaurants as the study area. The content of the study was to understand how franchising contributes to business growth and expansion in retail business sector. THE STUDY AREA London is one of the cities of England; it is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. It has 32 boroughs, of which 13 are in the inner London and 19 constitute the outer London. (Office for National Statistics Online). Web2cited. It is a growing city spreading out and swallowing many villages and towns in the south east of England. Because of this, there are many conflicting definitions of London and Greater London and the population of London varies accordingly. As the capital city, London occupies over 6,267 square miles (16,043km2). London population is heavily concentrated at about 4,539 people per sq km/ 11,568 per sq mi. Web3 According to the figure from the April 2001 census, London population was 7,172,000. This represents 14.6 percent of the total population of Britain. The population as of mid 2005 was thought to have been increased to 7,517,700 of which about half of this figure lives in inner and central London and the remaining lives in outer boroughs. Web 3 Londons population has grown every year since 1988, and it is likely that in the years to 2031, it will continue its steady growth. The study area lies in inner London borough of Westminster, which lies in the busy business environment of the city (central business district), It is very close to the seat of power, the parliament, and it is very close to many international business environments, busy London streets, tourist attractions like the London eye, Trafalgar square, British museum, National Gallery, National Art gallery, Covent Garden- since its redevelopment in the 1970s has become a popular piazza and nucleus for visitor activity in Londons cultural district with theatre, opera and ballet venues. (Page et al, 2001.p122). London is a multicultural city, where different people from around the world lives and study, it comprises of individuals with diverse cultural background. Because of the above description about the study area, it has become an important area to carry out this research, because of the concentration of other franchised business in the area. STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH Chapter One (Introduction): This state clearly the purpose of the dissertation, it includes the background of the study, significant of study, the statement of the research problems, organization background, the research aims and objectives, scope and limitations of the study. It also describes the study area briefly. Chapter Two (Literature Review): This section deals with the academic review of texts, journals, articles and so on, relevant to this research topic. It also discusses model and relevant theoretical ideas on the subject matter. Chapter Three (Research Methodology): comprises the methodology used for this study. It includes the styles and techniques chosen in collecting primary and secondary data/ informations for this research purpose. Chapter Four (Data Analysis/ Research Findings): The chapter that report and describes the findings of the survey to be undertaken, it describes both primary and secondary findings. Chapter Five (Conclusions and Recommendations): This chapter set out the main findings of the dissertations linking it with the literature reviews and the research findings. It also sets out clear recommendations which came out of the research work. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW INTRODUCTION This chapter provides a review of relevant literatures on franchising. It will be used as a base to throw more light on the importance of franchising concept and the roles it plays in business growth and expansion. The literatures were selected and critically evaluated in a bid to sift the relevant informations, and portray the opinions of relevant authors. It offers academic insight to research previously conducted by authors on the importance of franchising to retail business growth. Lastly, the section acknowledges the principal research questions for this study. DEFINITIONS OF FRANCHISING CONCEPT Hill, (2008) defines franchising as a specialized form of licensing in which the franchisor not only sells the intangible property (normally a trademark) to the franchisee, but it also insists that the franchisee agree to abide by strict rules as to how it does business, (p.408). It usually involves long term commitments than licensing. On the other hand, Business format franchising is a joint venture between an independent person (the franchisee) and a business owner (the franchisor) who wants to expand its activities. The venture is governed by a contract. This gives the franchisee the right to operate using the franchisors trade name/ trademark, in accordance with a business format or blueprint. All aspects of the franchisees business are strictly controlled including image, products or service, systems and administration. (HSBC Bank, 2009.p1) The franchisee pays certain amount of money for the right to use the franchisors trademark. Firms use franchise arrangements to extend scarce firm resources, because the franchisee puts up both an initial fee and much of the capital investment, franchisors are able to expand their markets without having to generate capital by themselves, and in most cases exploit on the knowledge of the local entrepreneurs in expanding their business. This is an attractive option, particularly in mass consumer services such as fast food that require the construction of many units to achieve brand name recognition and increased market share like McDonalds Restaurants. BRIEF HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT IN FRANCHISING Franchising is highly developed in the USA, although popular in the UK, but a recent phenomenon. Its development dates back to the end of the American civil war (1865), when the singer sewing company franchised exclusive sales territories to financially independent operators. In 1898, General motors used independently owned businesses to increase its distribution outlet. (Lancaster Reynolds, 2005, p160).At some point, there were some form of disagreements and arguments among historians in the United States regarding when the franchise system first started. According to Bythe Bennett,(2008), franchising began to gain acceptance as a viable business arrangement with the growth of automobile industry, and also in the petroleum industry during the 1930s, (p.234) Franchising became one of the fastest growing types of retailing business in the United Kingdom in recent years.It was introduced into the UK in the early 1950s and since those early days, has become respectable and often very profitable business concept as a result of explosion in the number of franchises being operated. Today franchising encompasses products from pipes to pastries and includes such well known names as Body Shop, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonalds, and so on. (Lancaster Massingham, 1999, p269). For instance, Over 80% of Mc Donald restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by local entrepreneurs. They adapted Ray Krocs franchising business strategy of providing high standard of quality, friendly services, cleanliness and value, (QSCV). Also in the hotel industry, companies such as Marriott, Holiday Inn, Hilton and Accor have employed franchising as their primary growth strategy globally. The first McDonalds were opened in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955 and soon afterward, more McDonalds outlets continued to open. Today, McDonalds has over 300,000 restaurants in 119 countries outside the U.S or in non-traditional site locations in the US. There is no doubt that when it comes to franchising and fast foods in general, McDonalds is the leader of the pack. Of course, the most well known restaurant franchise in the world today is McDonalds and so much has been written about Ray krok and the McDonalds brothers that McDonalds and Crock have become an institution. (Teixeira, 2005. p.20-21). Teixeira, (2005, p21), indicated that during 1960s and 1970s, the growth of franchise industry exploded and continued to gain appeal with a boom mostly in Europe, on an increased rate, and this has been supported also by welsh (1992) in Doole Robin (2004) franchising has grown rapidly during the 1990s due to the strong interest in a variety of franchise formats, (p.230). These successes remain an ongoing process. According to Ghauri Cateora (2005, p.280), franchising has become the fastest growing market entry strategy, it is often among the first types of foreign retail business to open in the emerging market economies of Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China. It has become successful as it is evidenced in most retail food business, and it has now become a major business growth and development and marketing strategy globally. It can be viewed from these two perspectives. McDonalds is a good example of organization that has grown with franchising strategy, (Hill, 2008.p.408). Franchising explosion in recent years however has increasingly saturated the domestic market, where businesses are opening in airports, sports stadiums, colleges, hospitals, parks, casinos, pools and other strategic locations globally. (Kotler Keller, 2006.p508) Lastly, the surge in franchising has been underpinned by the efforts of different bodies who regulates the activities of franchised organizations, like the International Franchise Association, (IFA), British Franchising Association, (BFA) various franchising organizations globally, which has developed codes of practice for franchising entrepreneurs, and in doing so, has recorded progress and greatly helped to reduce the risks to both franchisees and the franchisors. (BFA NatWest Bank, 1991). TYPES OF FRANCHISING Monir (1999 pp.164) identified two major types of franchising in his book. These include: First Generation/Product Distribution Franchising simply sells the franchisors products and is supplier-dealer relationships. In product distribution franchising, the franchisor licenses its trademark and logo to the franchisees but typically does not provide them with an entire system for running their business. This is often common with soft drink-bottling industries, automobile, and in petrol retailing. Second Generation/Business format franchising by contrast, the franchisor transfers a much more comprehensive business package (the format) to buyers of the franchisee. This contains most of the elements needed by the buyer to establish and replicate the business. The buyer also receives detailed instructions and guidance on how to operate the franchise successfully, managerial expertise, training and perhaps financial support if need be. Diagram 1: Showing Two major types of franchising There have been other divisions of franchising as recognized by other authors identified as important for the understanding of this research. Justis Judd, (2007, p.56) identifies two major types of franchising namely: product and trade name and business format franchising. Nathan, (2008 p.54) also classifies business format franchising into six major groupings as follows: executive, job, investment, management, retail, sales and distribution franchise. Also, on the other hand, Murray (2006, p.23), identifies four major categories as, Job, Retail, Management and Investment Franchising. Franchise Arrangements Beshel (2001,p3), reiterated that because of the possibilities of so many franchisors, industries and range of investments, there exists different types of franchise arrangements available to business owner. Two types of franchise arrangements were identified: Single-Unit(direct) franchise Multi-Unit Franchise ( Area development and Master development franchise) A single-unit (direct-unit) franchise is an agreement where the franchisor grants a franchisee the rights to open and operate one franchise unit. This is the simplest and most common type of franchise. It is possible, however, for a franchisee to purchase additional single-unit franchises once the original franchise unit begins to prosper, it is then considered a multiple, single-unit relationship. A multi-unit franchise is an agreement where the franchisor grants a franchisee the rights to open and operate more than one unit. Beshel (2001, p3), also identifies two ways in which multi-unit franchise can be achieved: An area development franchise or A master franchise. Under an area development franchise, a franchisee has the right to open more than one unit during a specific time, within a specified area. For instance, a franchisee may agree to open 5 units over a five year period in a specified territory, while master franchise agreement gives the franchisee more rights than an area development agreement. In addition to having the right and obligation to open and operate a certain number of units in a defined area, the master franchisee also has the right to sell franchises to other people within the territory, known as sub-franchises. Therefore, the master franchisee takes over many of the tasks, duties and benefits of the franchisor, such as providing support and training, as well as receiving fees and royalties, (Beshel, 2001, p3-4). Blair Lafontaine (2005, p.90) and Philip et al, (2006, p.77) also identifies the above four classifications as forms of franchising where all the four were grouped together. Building a strong foundation for a successful franchising strategy A successful franchising concept needs an appropriate business strategy and lots of facts have been identified as making a business appropriate to be franchised and make it worthwhile to invest in. According to HSBC Bank, (2009, p1), a well established and proven business format franchise from the franchisee perspective should provide an established market for the franchisors products and services, proven sales, marketing and operational procedures, the benefit of an established business name, training (ongoing support and help in running the business), also, where appropriate, help in finding, fitting out and furnishing premises. Hoffman Prebble (2008, p.68) also add some factors that influence the appropriateness of a business concept using franchising including; valuable System to sell, proprietary process/ advantage for making the product in getting to the end customers, a satisfactory brand/ trade name like McDonalds which will be acceptable to the larger population, and high Profit Margin business. On the other hand, Murray (2004,p.67), shows some possibilities in which potential franchisee get a proven business format and support from the franchisor, which includes, an entire business concept with no bits missing out, with the aid of the operating manuals, trademarks, logos, patents, and standard designs for the layout of the premises, colour and pattern of staff uniforms, accounting and financial systems, training and help to set up the business, continuing help and back-up once the business is operating, legal right to operate in an exclusive territory and marketing, public relations and advertising support, decor in case of retail franchises, the franchisor will provide design and advice for the fitting and decoration of the shop and the installation of any equipment necessary, records, the franchisor will provide the franchisee with sales report and accounts forms to assist the franchisee maintain accurate financial report. On the franchisors perspectives, Sherman (2003, p414), explains that in order for business growth through franchising, a secure foundation from which companys franchising programme has to be launched. He uses the concept of the responsible franchising as the only way to avoid failure and to ensure a harmonious relationship with the franchisees. He outlines some of the key components of a responsible franchising strategy. These includes, proven prototype location/ chains of stores, strong management team, sufficient capitalization, distinctive and protected trade identity, comprehensive training programmes franchisees, proprietary and proven methods of operation and management, field support staff who are skilled trainers and communicators, set of comprehensive legal documents, demonstrated market demand for the companys products and services, set of carefully developed, uniform site selection criteria and architectural standards, genuine understanding of the competition, relationship s with suppliers, lenders, real estates developers, franchisee profile and screening system, an effective system of reporting and record-keeping, research and development capabilities, communication system, national, regional and local advertising, marketing and so on. Sherman (2003, p.417), went further to acknowledge that Responsible franchising starts with an understanding of the strategic essence of the franchising structure. He identified three critical components of the franchise systems from the franchisors perspective. The brand, which creates the demand, allowing the franchisee to initially obtain customers, the brand includes the companys trademarks and service marks, its trade dress, decor and all of the intangible factors that create customer loyalty and build brand equity, the operating system, which essentially delivers the promise, thereby allowing the franchisee to maintain customer relationships and build loyalty, the ongoing support and training that the franchisors provide, supplying the franchisee with the tools and tips to expand its customer base and build its market share. Sherman, (2003,) also acknowledges the importance of customers in any responsible franchising business concept. He mentions that the responsibly built franchise system is one that provides value to its franchisees by teaching them how to get and keep as many customers as possible who consume as many products and services as possible, as often as possible,(p.417). He concludes that the focus must always be on the customer, where the franchisor essentially licenses and delegates the task of local brand building and market expansion to the franchisee in its local territory. (Sherman, 2003, p.417) Importance of Franchising To Business Growth and Expansion Franchising has gained much popularity in modern business environment over the years, because of its success in contributing to business growth and expansion globally which is the primary aim of this research. This can be viewed from the perspective of the franchisee and franchisor respectively. Sherman (2003) acknowledges the growth of a business via business-format franchising in the United States. He maintains that The ability to obtain operating efficiencies and economies of scale are among the reasons for franchising and one of the key components of a responsible franchising strategy is a proven type of location that will serve as a basis for a franchising strategy, (p.411). Over the past three decades, franchising has emerged as a popular expansion strategy for a variety of product and service companies. Sherman,(2003), points to the importance of franchising, he states that recent international franchise association (IFA) statistics demonstrates that retail sales from franchised outlets comprise nearly 50% of all retail sales in the U.S, estimated at more than $900 billion and employing some nine million people in 2000. (p.411) Also in his view, Sherman,( 2003,p 411), points out to what has made franchising so popular in the U.S. and globally as a business development and expansion strategy, from the franchisors view, franchising represents an efficient method of rapid market penetration and product distribution, without the typical capital costs associated with internal expansion.On the other hand, from the franchisees perspective, franchising is regarded as a method of owning a business but with a less severe chance of failure due to the initial and ongoing training and support services offered by the franchisor. According to Shay (2009, p.6) franchising is the key to Global Economic Recovery and that franchise businesses represent some of the worlds best brands. He went on to explain the rate at which fra