Training Programme for Production Manager Assignment

Training Programme for Production Manager - Assignment Example Top-Toy AS is a multinational company headquartered in Denmark with offices and outlets in Finland. This company produces and markets toys in many countries. In order to reduce manufacturing/production costs Top-Toy AS has moved its production of some toys to China. Top-Toy AS has also begun a new policy of shipping its products directly to its distributors in various countries rather than to Denmark to eliminate some of the costs of getting the product to market. Top-Toy has positioned a manager in China to facilitate communication between its headquarters and the manufacturing plant in China. One of the tasks of the China based manager is to help establish Top-Toy's global organizational culture that has made Top-Toy so successful in other markets. The managerial position in China is a three-year posting of an employee from either the Denmark headquarters or their Finland branch. This is a highly sought after post because it increases the value of the employee to Top-Toy AS and alm ost assures that employee a promotion upon their return to Europe. Top-Toy AS's challenge has been to set up an appropriate training programme for prospective managers. The prospective manager chosen for the next three year rotation is Finland native Frans Gustafsson (hypothetical character). Frans is a thirty-five year old married man with two young sons. Frans attended university in the United Kingdom and holds an MA degree. His native language is Finnish and he also has a good command of the English language. Frans' wife Hanna and his two sons Bo and Luukas will accompany him on his rotation. He has one year before his rotation begins and must use that time wisely to prepare. Frans is in luck! Top-Toy AS has developed a training programme for its managers. Frans will complete the training programme with an alternate candidate (chosen in case Frans can't go) who is first in line for the following rotation. The men's wives have been invited to attend various portions of the training programme as well. The first issue to be addressed are the language skills the Fran's will need to communicate with his Chinese counter parts. Both couples were provided with a programme called "RosettaStone level one Chinese that claims that you can "Learn a language naturally with Dynamic Immersion" (Rosetta Stone website). Both couples were also enrolled in an intensive Chinese language and culture course at the University of Helsinki. A very important part of the course at the university is a study in the cultural differences that exist when conducting business. Frans, and the others, were encouraged to focus on the cultural differences that exist between Chinese workers and Scandinavian workers. In China, managerial relationships with workers have traditionally focused on relationships and family backgrounds. The factory took care of your family while you worked hard for the factory (Su Yi, pg 1.). In contrast, western European managerial/worker relationships are based upon qualifications, compete ncy, and performance. Fran's, and the others, have to learn how to effectively manage in the Chinese workplace. Frans, and his alternate, will communicate frequently with the current manager in China to get a feel for the managerial style that is currently being used at the factory. Both

Bilingual Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Bilingual Education - Essay Example In his autobiography Hunger of Memory, Rodriquez unintentionally portrays himself as an exception to his own beliefs. (Rodriquez 12) This book tracks this Mexican American from the time that he was a "schoolchild until he became a literary scholar and nationally acclaimed memoirist. His memoir also describes his gradual alienation from his cultural roots as his assimilation into mainstream culture deprives him of his native tongue and his connection to his past. The book achieves popularity at a time when multiculturalism is becoming a force in American education." (Burt 2004) In order to make sense of the factors that make up Rodriquez's life, he chooses his love for languages to explain how his persona is formed. Rodriquez surmises that it is better to have used English in school rather than to have had a bilingual education. As he struggles to prove this, he represents himself with a paradox of emotions, thoughts, and beliefs. It is his opinion that it was the different uses of languages and his reaction to them that sets him apart. According to Rodriquez, "It is not possible for any child ever to use his family's language in school. " He thinks that "not to understand this, is to misunderstand the public uses of schooling and to trivialize the nature of intimate life and a family's language." (Aria 13) In his writings Rodriquez appears to... In his failure to study these anomalies, Rodriquez does a disservice to himself. When he started school, Rodriquez could only speak "fifty stray English words." (Rodriquez 1) Unlike his brother and sister who attended a Roman Catholic school, Rodriquez went to an all white school with children whose parents were professionals. In his mind, this must have presented a sharp contrast to his own parents who were poor and spoke little English. During this time, he also observed that his brother and sister enjoyed a relationship of togetherness, one that left him feeling alone. His sense of alienation continued to grow as he listened to them " communicating among themselves in Spanish." (Rodriquez 1) Rodriquez has been criticized for cutting himself off from his roots. A better argument would be that the languages barriers that were forced upon him caused this gap. Had he been given a bilingual education this would have been different. Instead of living in language compartments at his home and school, his new English language would have blended into that of his native tongue. As his brother and sister did, Rodriquez would have used both languages interchangeably.If one reads Rodriquez's work closely, they sense his great affection for his family. The feelings of shame that he talks about are more general than personal. Nevertheless, it is easier to attack the character of Rodriquez than to discover the bonds that exists between him and his people in spite of their physical and psychological differences. While addressing the relationship between his brother and sister, it is evident that he has the feeling that he is an only child. Rather than to see how a bilingual education might have made a difference, he chooses to feel