David Hume’s Two Definitions of Cause Essay -- Philosophy Essays

David Humes ii Definitions of CauseDavid Humes two definitions of cause found in both A Treatise of Human Nature, and An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding have been the center of much controversy in regards to his actual view of causation. Much of the deliberate centers on the lack of consistency between the two definitions and also with the definitions as a part of the greater text. As for the latter objection, much of the inconsistency hobo be remedied by sticking to the account presented in the Enquiry, as Hume makes explicit in the Authors Advertisement that the Treatise was a work which the Author Hume had intercommunicate before he left College, and which he wrote and published not long after. But not finding it successful, he was sensible of his error in exit to the press to early, and he cast the whole anew in the following pieces, where some negligence in his former reasoning and more in the expression, argon, he hopes, corrected. (Hume 1772, xxxi) Generally the in consistencies are cited from the Treatise, which fails to recognize the purpose of the Enquiry. This brings us to the possible tension between the two definitions. J.A. Robinson, for example, believes the two definitions cannot refer to the same thing. Don Garrett feels that the two definitions are possible, but only with further interpretation. I will argue that the tension arises from a possible forgetfulness on the part of the reader about Humes aims as a philosopher, and that Humes Enquiry stands on its own without any need for a critics extrapolations. To understand Humes interpretation of causation and the arguments against it, we essential first follow the steps Hume took to come to his conclusion. This requires brief consideration of Humes copy princi... ...place. If both definitions of cause are necessary for a full understand of the word, and an absolute reading becomes problematic and unnecessary, then neither Robinsons nor Garretts interpretations are correct. If my a ccount of Humes mitigated skepticism is correct, then I adopt no need to go any further than the Enquiry to understand Humes theory of causation. As a philosopher, Hume recognized the constraints of our reasoning, and as a man, he was able to give an explanation for our actions.Works CitedHume, David, 1772 (reprinted in 2004) An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (New York, Barnes and Noble)Garrett, Don, 1997. Cognition and Commitment in Humes Philosophy (New York, Oxford)Robinson, J.A., 1962. Humes Two Definitions of Cause. The Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 47, 162-171.1 Modern Philosophy lecture. 3/30/05. Dr. Ott

King Lear vs. The Stone Angel Essay -- essays research papers fc

It has been said that, Rivers and mountains may change human nature, never.(worldofquotes.com) This is a quote that can be deconstructed when examining William Shakespe ars King Lear and Margaret Laurences The gem Angel. When reviewing the dickens books the master(prenominal) characters, King Lear and Hagar, are easily comparable. The first similarity draws apparent when King Lear and Hagar are both developed as flawed characters. Secondly, because of their flaws the two characters become blind to reality. Thirdly, after being deceived by themselves and others as a result of their blindness, both characters seek refuge outside of their own homes. By leaving their homes the characters are able to gain aspect on themselves and their pasts. Finally, despite these similarities between King Lear and Hagar, a significant diversity prevails after the characters experience their epiphanies and are awarded a lot to redeem themselves. When exploring King Lear and The mark Angel it bec omes clear that although both main characters engage in similar journeys to self discovery a critical difference between the two books exists in the characters ability to redeem themselves after their epiphany. It first became clear that Shakespeares King Lear and Laurences Hagar Shipley were similar main characters when their personalities were developed with flaws. King Lear was immediately revealed as an imperfect character when he was shown in his somewhat conflicting roles as a father and a king. afterwards resolving to divide his kingdom amongst his three daughters Lear develops a way to decide how his power and land will be divided. Looking to his three children Lear probes, Tell me, my daughters/ (Since straightway we will divest us both of rule,/ Interest of territory, cares of state),/ Which of you shall we say doth love us most?/ That we our largest bounty may extend/ Where nature doth with merit challenge.(I.i.49-54) It is at this point in the play that King Lear revea ls himself as superficial. Knowing he had already divided his land in three Lear could have presented it to his daughters as to each one receives one third of the kingdom. However, Lear is flawed in that he is superficial and rather than hand over his land and power he would rather hear his daughters competitively praise him for it. Similarly to Lears flaw Hagar is... ... his faults and change to redeem himself Hagar was only able to recognize her own flaws.In conclusion, when comparing the main characters from King Lear and The Stone Angel it is clear that although the characters endure a similar path to self discovery their outcomes prove them to be very different. This has been shown first by their development as flawed characters. Secondly, as a result of their flaws both characters become blind to others actions as well as their own. Thirdly, both characters remove themselves form their usual milieu where they experience their epiphany and are able to recognize their own fla ws. Finally, despite all of these similarities, the two characters experience very different outcomes of their epiphanies. These two books bring an interesting perspective to the question of whether or not human nature can be altered. In the case of these two authentic characters, one changed where the other could not.Works CitedLaurence, Margaret. The Stone Angel. McClelland & Stewart Ltd Toronto, 1988.Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Harcourt Canada Ltd.World of Quotes. 19 Ma. 2005 http//www.worldofquotes.com/search.php

Gullivers Travels :: essays papers

Gullivers TravelsJonathan Swift wrote Gullivers Travels in 1762 with the intent ofentertaining umpteen people. Entertainment through satire is what Swifthad in mind. This was accomplished when Bantam Books front publishedhis tales in 1962. It was again published by Bantam Books in 1981, NewYork, New York being the commit in of publication.To fully understand Gullivers Travels, one must first reflectupon the following the plot, character, setting, theme,point of view, conflict, climax, resolution, symbolism, and figurativelanguage. These ideas willing help the reader comprehend some of theideas portrayed throughout the novel, as well as why Swift wrote them.The setting plays an important role in all novels, but inGullivers Travels, one must take into consideration that thefour different set offs of the book have different settings. The firstsetting is more or less on an island called Lilliput, on November 5,1699. Gulliver ended up on this island due to a ship wreck. The setting to the second part of the novel happens to be upon his arrivalto another island that Gulliver wishes to inspect for water. This wason the 16th of June, 1703. The third part of the book has galore(postnominal)different little scenes. The first of which takes place on Laputa anisland of deformed creatures. The fourth and final part of the booktakes place in the country of Houyhnhnms, in 1711.The main character, Gulliver, is a well educated sailor. Hehas been recommended to be a surgeon. Traveling around theworld, exploring new places, Gulliver meets many new cultures andcivilizations. Gulliver wears clothes not uncommon to the 1700s. Hehas long hair, that sometimes restricts him from turning his head.Gulliver is a round character. This can be seen when he refers to pastexperiences during an adventure. This means that he can compare thetwo situations, thus learning from it. There are many minorcharacters. Easier referred to by the names of their people. Thembeing the small Lilliputians, the giant Brobdingnags, the creaturesat Lugnagg and Balnibarbi, with the islands of Laputa andBlubdrubdrib. And finally, the Yahoos and Houyhnhnms. Gulliversstories are told in the first person by himself.Some very(prenominal) important symbols are used throughout the novel todepict some very important ideas. One of these symbols wouldbe when Gulliver relieves himself on the Lilliputians royal castle toput out a fire. It seems, as though how silly something may seem, it

Acid Rain :: Free Essay Writer

point Rain is caused by pollution containing sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and ozone ( SO, NOx, and O ) is released into the air. These chemicals are absorb into clouds and results in acrimonious Presipitation ( Acid Rain, Acid Snow, Acid Hail, Acid Sleet ).When the chemicals arent absorbed into clouds, they can drift for miles and fall to the ground, resulting in Acid Deposition, or dry deposition.When Acid Rain falls into water it is mixed in with the normal water and causes the pH of the entire body to be raised. Measurments on the pH (potential Hydrogen ) scale, rise exponentialy, thus, a lake with a pH of 4 is ten times as acidic as a lake with a pH of 5, and a lake with a pH of 3 is 100 times as acidic, After many rain down falls of Acid rain, the pH of a normal lake ( 5.8 ) to 4.Acid Rain has been known to reach the acidicy of pH 2, ( battery acid has a pH if 1 ) this is a drastic change, as normal rain is modal(a) pH 5.2.Acid Rain can dissolve limestone and chalk, and corrodes outdoor structures. Statues and monuments that are left unprotected can fall victim to the unpredjudiced destruction of acid rain.Acid Rain reacts to different types of soil and rocks in two ways.1) Acid rain will dissolve alkaline rocks and soil, or will neutralize the alkalinity.2) Acid rain will increase the acidicy of already acidic rocks and soil, such as granite, or the soil which results from corroded granite.Acidic chemicals, and alkaline chemicals react to each other by reducing the alkalinity or acidicy of each other. Which ever has the strongest pH level, usually will neutralize or reduce the pH of the other, but after the reaction is complete, both substances have undoubtably changed, their pH moved closer to neutral ( pH 7 ).

Border Music by Robert James Waller :: essays research papers

Border Music by Robert James Waller1.) Title Boarder Music produce Warner Books Inc.Author Robert James WallerWhere book was acquired WBHS Library2.) What type of book Fiction3.) Characters19861.) Jack Carmine- Is a 48-year-old adult male who lives an independent life style. Everything he does is a backbone of the moment thing. He works all the time, and his jobs are as unpredictable as he is. He originally is from Alpine Texas, but he goes northmost for the summer. All he wants is to live his life the best he can, and do as much as he can. He also wants to keep Linda with him.2.) Linda Lobo- She is a 37-year-old single woman with a four-year-old daughter. She was married twice, and both failed to last. She was a dancer at a nightclub in Minnesota, but she is from Iowa. She wants to find a man that will be faithful to her, and support her and her daughter.3.) Sara Margaret- She is Lindas four-year-old daughter who lives with Lindas mother. She gets to be very fond of Jack, but is too young to understand what is passing on around her. 4.) Earl- He is Jacks best friend and houseguest. When Jack is gone, Earl lives in his house for him, and takes care of the farm. He becomes good friends with Sara Margaret, and Linda. He merely wants to live his life like any other hard working man.19935.) Vaughn Rhomer- He is Jacks uncle in his early 60s. He loves the States trinkets and anything to do with the Vietnam War. He worked in the produce section of a grocery store for his whole life, and his son, Nathan, was ashamed of him for this. He lost his nagging wife, Marjorie, a hardly a(prenominal) years earlier, and just wants to finds someone to live the rest of his life with.6.) Marjorie Rhomer- She was Vaughns wife, and was very cranky and bossy. She disliked Jack very much, and didnt want anything to do with him. All she ever wanted was for her son, Nathan, to never meet Jack.4.) Two main conflicts1.) Jack vs. Self. Jack had episodes, where he couldnt control what he was doing. He would be back in Vietnam with the other soldiers, and he would relive the day his friends died. He had to over come this, by becoming stronger. When he first started to be with Linda they didnt happen, but as they grew apart, the episodes became more frequent.

Border Music by Robert James Waller :: essays research papers

Border Music by Robert James Waller1.) Title Boarder MusicPublished Warner Books Inc.Author Robert James WallerWhere book was acquired WBHS Library2.) What shell of book Fiction3.) Characters19861.) Jack Carmine- Is a 48-year-old man who lives an independent life style. Everything he does is a spur of the moment thing. He works all the time, and his jobs are as unpredictable as he is. He originally is from Alpine Texas, but he goes north for the summer. All he wants is to live his life the better(p) he can, and do as much as he can. He also wants to keep Linda with him.2.) Linda Lobo- She is a 37-year-old single woman with a four-year-old daughter. She was married twice, and some(prenominal) failed to last. She was a dancer at a nightclub in Minnesota, but she is from Iowa. She wants to find a man that will be faithful to her, and support her and her daughter.3.) Sara Margaret- She is Lindas four-year-old daughter who lives with Lindas m some other. She gets to be very fond of Ja ck, but is too young to understand what is going on around her. 4.) Earl- He is Jacks best friend and houseguest. When Jack is gone, Earl lives in his house for him, and takes care of the farm. He becomes good friends with Sara Margaret, and Linda. He just wants to live his life like any other hard working man.19935.) Vaughn Rhomer- He is Jacks uncle in his early 60s. He loves army trinkets and anything to do with the Vietnam War. He worked in the produce surgical incision of a grocery store for his whole life, and his son, Nathan, was ashamed of him for this. He lost his nagging wife, Marjorie, a few years earlier, and just wants to finds someone to live the end of his life with.6.) Marjorie Rhomer- She was Vaughns wife, and was very cranky and bossy. She disliked Jack very much, and didnt want anything to do with him. All she ever wanted was for her son, Nathan, to never tack together Jack.4.) Two main conflicts1.) Jack vs. Self. Jack had episodes, where he couldnt control what he was doing. He would be back in Vietnam with the other soldiers, and he would live over the day his friends died. He had to over come this, by becoming stronger. When he first started to be with Linda they didnt happen, but as they grew apart, the episodes became more frequent.

Should young people work

You volition respect that soul enough to finish your business with them, non argue, and not say disrespectful comments to them at all. With respect acquired as a individualal attribute, the person will then have the self control to overly put thought into what their parents have to speciate them. This will allow them to listen to their parents and respect whatever their parents tell and ask them to do. Without al manners assuming the worst. This delivers just how important it really is for a young person to acquire respect. Another reason why young people should be allowed to clip is to gain their own personal specie.When they work they can be to a greater extent self dependent without always avian to ask and rely on their parents for everything they need. This will help them to save for things they need and want such as a car. This will allow the young person to go out with their parents and pick a car with a reasonable budget. This money they gain can also be used to save up for college. Some young people want to go to college but cant. This is some measures do to not having enough money and not wanting to owe back a hefty amount of student loans. This will allow them to help pay for college with the money they earn from working.This will also allow the young person to go out and have fun with their friends using the money that they have worked hard for. It is also a way for parents to save money. This will also stop a large amount of kids from resorting to illegal ways of trying to gain money. This will show them it pays off to work hard and make an honest way of living. Another point on why young people should work is to gain responsibility. This job will show the young person that they are the only one that can determine what occurs in their life.They will learn it is their responsibility to wake up on time or work, know what days they have to work, and make sure they go to work. This is just a way of showing that is all on the young person to mai ntain their life. If they do not go to work they will lose their job. It is just a way of showing no one can do your daily responsibilities for you. This is just a few examples of why young kids should work. It is also a good way of keeping the young person productive and not just out running around town. It takes away free time the young person could be making trouble.

Anicent History Pompeii- Trade & Commerce

Trade and Commerce in Pompeii Before the tragic eruption on Pompeii it was a well established thriving market townspeople situated right on the coast of Italy that was very advanced for its age. Evidence throughout the town suggests that Pompeii had a wholesome mercantile life but there has been little recite of manufacturing and administer although still enough to show the importations and exportations of the town providing archaeologist with a sufficient amount to have a great knowledge and understanding of what life was like in Pompeii in terms of their trade and commerce.Pompeii was known as the trade centre of southern Campania for around 600 years and traded with various areas around northern Italy which involved the importation and exportation of goods. The geological positioning made it archetype for trade having a great access to the Mediterranean shipping as well as the Sarno River allowing access to other smaller towns. The harbour was constantly supple with ships me rchants and sailors keeping the constancy flowing.The trade industry was severed as a leveller in society which had even concerned the elite. Investigations have shown the most prominent exportations of Pompeii were pottery, garum (fish-source), vino and olive oil. Workshop production was on a small scale so very few goods were throwd to be exported. Despite their local producers there is state of a limited range of imported goods such as pottery from Gual, lamps from northern parts of Italy, drink from Spain, Sicily and Crete, and would even get oil from southern Spain.Most producers would trade their merchandise with negotiators in exchanges for goods from other regions. The majority Pompeian imports and export goods of Pompeian origin have been found throughout the Roman Empire but mostly within the metropolis itself which reinforces the fact that the trade industry was not comprehensive yet has been able to supply evidence that there was an active trade industry.Where as th e trade industry can be contrasted with the commercial life of Pompeii, as it was bustling with the towns desire of profit it was accumulating great wealth which has a substantial amount of evidence providing jut such as 600 excavated privately owned shops, bars, workshops and inns, the city controlled markets around the forum, epigraphic evidence of the number of guilds of tradesmen and retailers, and inscriptions on walls and floors paying tribute to the pursuit of profit and so ofttimes more(prenominal). The commerce in Pompeii was conducted in public buildings in nd around the forum for marketing and private shops that extended along the main street the goods change in these shops were sometimes brought from local merchants but mainly made on the premises or in adjoining workshops. The common commercial shops are the fullers and dryers, vinryards and wine production, graum the fish sauce production and bakeries as you can see they are dominate by feed. The main food market was in the north-east boxful of the forum the macellum around perimeter was where the small shops and stalls.Fresh produce from local farms were sold throughout here of raw and prepared foods such as graum, olive-oil, wine, fruit and vegetables. nutrition shops being the msot common along the streets of Pompeii with the majority selling hot foods and drinks which are known as thermopolia that has already been 130 excavated providing evidence of a large food industry. Taverns were also had a big contribution but has only had 20 excavated, these were known as cauponau. These food shops and the trade industry involving lots of local produce has clearly helped keep the commercial life flourishing in Pompeii.Outside the temple of Apollo near the macellum a limestone table containing an official set of weights and measurements where market goods can be tested, there are early inscriptions that show Oscan weights and measurement were first used then the table was mortified for the Roman standards this was set up near to markets in the forum and is known as mensa ponderaria. This is evidence that there was a well run economy, and everyone had the same amount for what they pay for keeping it equal while allowing the commercial life to run smoother in terms of the food industry.Lastly two collections of carbonised waxed wooden tablets had been excavated recording a wide collection of various art transactions. 154 of these tablets were found in the house of the banker Lucius Caecilius Jucundus, these were records of receipts of rents and loans. The other collection of around 120 waxed tablets were found belonging to the Sulpicii which was a firm of freedmen working as financiers more than 80 of the tablets reveal different kinds of business documents composed of contracts of sales, loans, leases, accounts and many more and the other 40 of them report of judicial matters, oaths and court proceedings.Which is again more evidence support that was a thriving commercial li fe in Pompeii. In conclusion there has been a substantial amount of excavated archaeological evidence as well as found artefacts tracing back to Pompeii to provide people of the modern age with enough information to gain a great knowledge and understanding of how life was really like in the town of Pompeii of an active but not extensive trade industry and a healthy commercial life, the town was flourishing before it was buried but the eruption and lost hundreds of years.

Alternative Energy and Canadian Solar

The bon ton we argon foc victimisation on is Canadian solar. They argon a multinational firm that operates in several countries such(prenominal) as Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, Australia and the United States. They are a leader in the solar elan vital industry. A detailed PEST (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) analysis will be provided on how these elements affect the club. There are various political regulations and by-laws passed by the Canadian government to help regu lately proper practices of using and installing solar vitality. These regulations affect Canadian Solar and their practices.For instance, in the 1970s and 1980s there were a large number of solar panels installed that were non installed properly because they were added by unqualified people. Today there are strict regulations on getting the permission to install solar energy panels which protect land owners from liabilities. Permits must be come through from the government. This r egulation protects Canadian Solar from any lawsuits from poor quality installation of solar panels or any damage to their customers property. This also helps them meet a legitimate standard of excellence to help their attend and their customers.From 2007 to 2012 the world suffered a global recession. Canada was affected by it but not as severely as new(prenominal) countries worldwide. Economists say we are not in a recession but many Canadians believe otherwise. Although real GDP is adjusted for inflation, it is not for the growing population. This style a countrys economy slew be growing simply because the population is rising, and Canadas population increases one percent a course of study, which is misleading and does not tell the actual condition of the country.. This has affected Canadian Solar as well. Although they do a net profit in 2011, they made a net loss in its first quarter of 2012.Canadian Solar operates in other countries as well which were affected by the rece ssion. For example, in late 2007 China was affected by the recession, where their economy plummeted by forty percent. that, in 2012 Canadian Solar and Ningxia State Power, a Chinese based solar energy company, had completed a major project. This would help China reduce CO2 emissions by 18, 900 tons annually the equivalent of saving 5,200 tons of standard coal. So although China was affected, companies are still progressing towards a healthier alternative of energy resource. Many Canadians believe solar energy is an excellent resource of energy.An advantage of using solar energy is there is no green house emissions and is friendly to the environment. However, onlyfifteen percent of temperateness is converted into energy which is not efficient for the amount it cost to install them. Although family agrees that solar energy is a healthy alternative to current resource of energy, it is very costly and inefficient. This affects Canadian Solar because depending on how society feels. If the environment deteriorates much quicker than it is already, people will invest more in solar panels as a way to help the environment.If they do not care or feel the investment is not worth it, they will not buy. This affects the overall growth and stability of Canadian Solar. There has been much technical advancement in solar panels. The first solar panel was created by Charles Fritts in 1883 but could only convert less than one percent of sunlight into energy. . By 1954 a solar panel that could convert six percent of sunlight was created.. In the modern day Canadian Solar has made panels which contribute convert up to eighteen percent of sunlight into energy.The technological advancements have steadily improved in the solar energy industry and Canadian Solar is continuing to research and develop new ways to convert energy more efficiently. Encompassing Stakeholder map Government Legislation is a key stakeholder interest for the company. Certain legislation can hurt or promo te an industry which affects the companies within it. For example, in Ontario the provincial government passed the one thousand Energy and Green thriftiness Act which promotes the use of clean energy and promotes jobs. However, there is a lack of the right to light within Canada which affects those who want to use solar panels.This will be explained later. Employees Employees want job security when working within an organization. Employees are an important stakeholder because they can affect the production and image of an organization, and at the same time are affected by the progress or deterioration of a company. If the organization is doing poorly that can affect the employees job security. Owners Owners have an interest in the victor of the company. These owners could be shareholders who have invested their money into the company in hopes of a positive return. Without their investments, these public companies have a lack of capital funding.Without proper decision reservatio n by management, these shareholders could lose everything they invested. Consumers Customers are the foundation of businesses. Without them, a business cannot exist. Customers care about various things like customer service quality and the quality of the companys product. If the product does not meet the standard of customers, they will not buy the product. Community The community cares about environment and how solar energy will affect them. They want to make sure the product they are buying does not trauma the environment and can be used to effectively draw rein sunlight as a form of energy.Specific Stakeholder Position Analysis The CEO of Canadian Solar is Dr. Shawn (Xiaohua) Qu. As CEO he holds several responsibilities and duties. He is considered the image of the company to both shareholders and the general public. If there are any disasters or public relation issues the media, stakeholders and general public will look to him for answers. Although there are high ranking off icials within the company to handle any public relation issues, it is up to him regarding where the company is heading towards.The decisions he makes can affect the company and other stakeholders who have stakes in the company. If Canadian Solar announces a major project which is long depot and fails, the pressure is on the CEO. If the financial condition of the company is poor, it concerns shareholders and they want to discern why the company is failing. These responsibilities fall upon the CEO and it is up to him to determine whether certain projects are viable in the long term and how his decisions affect everyone around him.The federal and provincial governments are also stakeholders in the solar energy industry. The legislation they pass can hurt or harm the solar energy industry like Canadian Solar. There are various legal issues that come with harnessing sunlight as a form of energy. For example, in Canada there is no right to light. Although you may have a solar panel ins talled around your home, you legally do not have the right to light. For example, a man in Ottawa installed a solar panel but is now under threat from a near-by five-storey condo development.This means that he cannot do anything to stop the construction of the condominium regarding his solar panel because there is no law for it in Canada. The lack of a right to light in Canada can affect many people who want to use solar energy as a source of energy but cannot because of obstacles like this. However the provincial government is making an effort to help encourage the use of alternative energy resources. On May 14, 2009 the Ontario government passed the Green Energy and Green Economy Act which encourages the use of clean and renewable energy resources such as solar energy and to create more jobs.The provincial government of Ontario has been exhausting to encourage the use of solar energy by passing legislation that helps promote the use of renewable, clean energy and promoting jobs a t the same time. Customers are subjective to the overall growth and long term development of companies. They are important stakeholders because companies depend on them in order to operate. In the solar industry, customers need to know that the product they buy is ethical, efficient and has quality.Customers are the foundation of companies and they make an overall impact on the organization. If boycotting occurs that would be a public relations disaster for them and can affect multiple things such as market share value and profits of an organization. They demand high quality, ethical and efficient goods. Customers believe solar energy is an excellent source of energy however because of the costs related to it and the lack of energy conversion. The industry needs to continuously try to improve their product in order to attract a larger market.

Having My Ear Surgery

One of the whiles that I was most proud of was the time that I had my ear surgery done on December 19. I wanted ear surgery so I can hear better and because of the hole in my ear. Before surgery I was scared and worried that it will hurt so bad and painful. Right before surgery, they numbed my vein with liquid and put an intravenous needle in the numbed genuflect vein and they put me in the operating room.During surgery, I didnt feel anything and the doctor started the surgery by making an incision on the ear and he put a patch on it. Next, he put more patches on the part close to my eardrum and and then he found an former(a) ear tube close to my eardrum and he removed it. After the surgery I went to the recovery room and stayed there for more than an hour and during that time I had some stuff to eat and then after that we went home. One day someone put hot sauce in a pop music bottle and put it in the fridge.I came to take it out and then I started to take the bottle out. Then I started to drink from it and my tongue started to flip ones lid and I needed help from mom and I had to drink water to make the burning sensation to go away. The burning sensation went away then I had more hot sauce then the burning sensation came back. The smell was very odoriferous and spicy. The lesson that I learned was before eating or drinking anything you are supposed to check the contents of the container.

Individual Theory Matrix Essay

There was also 14 points Deming used 14 points in order to rifle down barriers between departments in companies and organizations. This will lead to a reduction of wasted information and materials along with errors and delays in the company. He focused on change the placement of products and receiptss because it focuses on providing the silk hat products for the customers who purchase the products. Ford Motor Company JuranJuran focuses are on parts of the organizations he does not focus on the organization as a whole.He has defined quality as fitness for use. Juran also developed the concepts of cost of quality. Ten Steps to Quality Juran Trilogy Organizations posit who the customers are and plan for quality through every process. Juran used the trilogy planning process which is an organization or company who makes genuine the products and process are through with(p) for the customers needs. The international latex company. IshikawaIshikawa focused on user friendly quality co ntrol and he also focused the internal customer. fix and Effect Diagram and Quality CirclesHe focused on the internal customer because each step in the creation of a product or service shall be for the best of organization and the customers. Ishikawa wanted the concept of companywide quality control that would call for continues customer services. AT&T CrosbyCrosby major goal is to meet requirements on time, the first time, and every time. Do It Right the First Time Drift. He believed that quality was free for everyone because defects cost money. Quality is conformance, management systems is prevention, zero defects, and measure system is the cost of quality.He believed that customers would be satisfied if the job was done correctly the first time. The Navy FeigenbaumHe stressed that quality does not mean best, but what is best for the customers. Feigenbaum devised the concepts of Total Quality Control (TQM). Setting quality control for the organization and company, appraising confo rmance to the standards, acting when standards are exceeded, and planning for improvement. Feigenbaum wanted to make sure that shipments and quality of the products services mad the customers happy. Fed X or UPS because of the quality of their delivering process.

Audience expectations Essay

In this essay I bequeath discuss how Arthur Miller set come forth the first scene of the play, The Crucible to prep atomic number 18 the audience for what the play is ab come forth, and how well he did this. I will look at the dramatic devices, language and so forthThe play The Crucible has strong links with the the States in the 1950s when communism was a problem. The name of the play creates parallels between Salem 1692 and the USA 1950s. A definition of crucible can be, used to extract impurities this is related Salem 1692 because the judges and townsfolk were trying to purify the village from witches whilst Joseph McCarthy was trying to purify the USA of communists.Peoples views and opinions have not changed since the 1600s and people believe only one way is right, communists and witches are both evil and therefore should be loose of, this is what miller is trying to portray about the world. No-one gets a chance to prove themselves or prove they are good and mean no harm. If y ou are a witch or a communist you are evil and its not acceptable therefore the only thing to do it get liberate of them. This is shown in the play by the fact that lots of people in the village are being accused of witchery, and you die whether you have an excuse or proof that your not a witch, if you admit it you are saved but have to promise you want to come back to the lord but if you are truly faithful to the lord such as goody varan, you will not falsely admit to being a witch and therefore will be killed.Miller uses dramatic devices in the play The Crucible, one of these devices is dramatic irony. This is when the audience fares something about a certain character but the another(prenominal) characters dont. They are like secrets no one knows apart from the characters involved. This creates tension as it seems as I everyone is hiding something. Miller uses this proficiency when the audience knows that Proctor and Abigail had an affair but the other characters are not awar e. The audience then gets frustrated because it seems so obvious to them and they want to tell the characters whats going on. He as well as uses this when the characters dont know that Abigail is lying and the accusations are not real.The audience think it is so simple to realise what is going on because they know there is no such thing a witches. And the audience knows that dramatic irony is a clear device used throughout the play. Exits and entrances are also used in the crucible this is so the characters can have their private conversations like Abigail and Proctor. This creates confusion between the characters as they all have secrets, this then creates disquietude of others finding out and this panic can grow like Abigails panic grew for her being found out to be untruthful. This panic grew and grew until she was confessing random name calling/accusations. I saw goody Sibber with the devil, I saw slightness Hawkins with the devil, I saw Goody Bibber with the devil, I saw Goo dy Booth with the devil The audience however would know that Abigail and her friends are making it up because there is no such thing as witches.Another technique is the use of offstage action these are events that are not shown but they are mentioned. This is like the affair between Proctor and Abigail, this happens before the play begins. to a fault the audience doesnt see the dancing in the forest they only hear about it, they dont see it. This is the driving force throne the story the audience are intrigued by what is going on.At the beginning of the play there is an overture, Miller begins the play by describing the setting and the scenery in detail, this is so the audience can see what it is like and will help them understand what is going on in the play.A narrow window on the left the detail is important in linking the beginning with the rest of the play, as later on in the play, Betty uses the window, previously described to attempt to jump out of, screaming mama, and this shows hysteria in the play, it is obvious to the audience that introducing themes of witchcraft will cause hysteria. Uncle, themes of witchcraft are all about, all the rumours of witchcraft could have calmed down if Abigail hadnt said Betty had fainted, which is a blatant lie because she didnt know Ruth had apparently fainted as well. We did dance uncle, a forged mistake by Abigail, letting Parris know he was right he was right and therefore giving him more to suspect about witchcraft, and when you leapt out of the scouring so suddenly, Betty was frightened and then she fainted.

Entering Grooming Business in Hong Kong Pest Analysis

Personal focussing and pitying resource counsel (HRM) basically brings actually similar meaning. The personnel who regulate for a company represent that companys human resource. clement resource management (HRM) department didnt actually exist until 1940s, the activities performed by these departments were not all shuffle new but in fact, quite a number of the human resource practices and programs that we see immediately top derivation in the earlier convictions. Human resource management (HRM) is historically known as personal management which deals with official schema for the management of the passel within the organization.Many renowned companies need to action the regeneration of their workforce into a foundation of completive advantage. HR manager inevitably has concerns for their workers. These concerns consists of how to manage layoffs, hide deduction of employee loyalty, generate a wholesome trained highly motivated work force that crumb deliver HR mangers slang many concerns regarding their workers. These concerns include how to mange layoffs, place reduced employee loyalty, generate a well trained highly motivated work force that rat deliver higher tonus and productiveness.Mange and growth diverse workforce and contain health c atomic number 18 cost. HRM has been undergoing transmogrifyation. In 1970s, the job of the HR manger was to obligate their companies out of court and in compliance with the increasing number of regulations governing the work place. In the mid-eighties HR mangers had to address staffing costs related to mergers and acquisitions and downsizing. The economic issues related to an increasingly global and completive workplace think of the 1990s.Beside these concerns Firms atomic number 18 besides facing some early(a) challenges regarding workforce before we take up the HR challenges that face managers, we need to define manager and say a word about where human resources work into the organization. Mana gers are people who are in charge of others and are responsible for the timely and correct accomplishment of actions that promote their units successful performance. B. History of Personnel Management A group of people becomes an organization when they assist with each other to achieve common aims. Communication among them is thitherfore important.But people turn out soulfulness motivations, which often differ, from the corporate goals. An readyive organization is unrivaled which succeeds in getting people to accept that cooperating to achieve organizational goals also helps them to achieve their own goals provided they are adequately rewarded through foreign and intrinsic rewards. This is achieved in the first place through leadership and motivation. Employers therefore increasingly encounter human resource management from a strategical perspective, and as an appropriate means through which the chasm between organizational and individual goals fag be narrowed.As it has been aptly observed Part of the problem is that we bewilder split off human resource management from the general management problem, as if there were some other kind of management other than human resource management. As long as organizations are based upon the coordinated action of two or more people, management is by definition human resource management. Despite the proliferation of writings and studies on HRM, there is a wide gap between the rhetoric and the reality, though the gap has been narrowing in the 1990s.thither is as yet inadequate research to ascertain the extent to which practice tingees corporate policy statements, and the encroachment of HRM policies and practices Page 29 on employee behavior and morale. To have a major impact on trys, HRM has to be diffused across an economy, rather than remain islands of excellence. Nevertheless, promoting excellent models of HRM stimulates interest in better people management. HRM has three basic goals, which contribute to achieving management objectives.The first is integration of HRM in two senses integrating HRM into an organizations corporate system, and ensuring an HRM consume in the decisions and actions of line managers. Integration in the first sense involves selecting the HRM pickaxs consistent with (and which promote) the particular corporate schema. The option is determined by the type of employee behavior expected (e. g. foundation) needed to further the corporate strategy. For instance, the HRM policies in congenator to recruitment, appraisal, compensation, training, etc. iffer according to whether the transmission line strategy is champion of innovation, quality enhancement or cost reduction. A strategy of innovation may require a pay system less influenced by commercialise rates but which rewards creativity, and the pay rates would even be low so long as there are ways of making up the earnings package. A cost reduction strategy may lead to pay rates being strongly influenced by martplace levels. Similarly, training and growth would receive less emphasis in a cost reduction strategy than in one where the objective is innovation or quality.But such integration is difficult without securing the inclusion of a HRM view in the decisions and practices of line managers. This requires that HRM should not be a centralized parting. A second goal of HRM is securing loyalty through building strong cultures. This involves promoting organizational goals by uniting employees through a shared get dressed of values (quality, service, innovation, etc. ) based on a convergence of employee and enterprise interests, which the larger Japanese enterprises have been particularly adept at.A third goal of HRM is to achieve flexibility and adaptability to manage assortment and innovation in response to rapid changes consequent upon globalization. Relevant to HRM policies in this regard are training and multi-skilling, re-organization of work and removal of narrow job class ifications. Appropriate HRM policies are designed, for instance, to recruit, develop and retain quality staff, to formulate and execute agreed performance goals and measures, and to build a unified organizational culture. C.Shifting from Personnel Management to HRM The transformation is reflected by raising important role of HRM from the personal management purpose from one of focussing on employee welfare to one of managing people in a way, which matches organizational goal and individual goals and providing employees with intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Therefore Therefore, today Human Resource Management (HRM), historically known as personal management, deals with testis system for the management of the people within the organization.Many well-known companies report that they are trying to transform their workforce into a source of completive advantage. Stages of shifting of Personnel Management to HRM First, HRM earlier reacted piece-meal to problems as they arose. Effective HRM seeks to affaire HRM issues to the overall strategy of the organization, with the most effective HRM policies and practices integrated into such corporate policies and strategies to reinforce or change an organizations culture.Integration is needed in two senses integrating HRM issues in an organizations strategic plans and securing the acceptance and inclusion of a HRM view in the decisions of line managers. The HRM policies in respect of the variant functions (e. g. recruitment, training, etc. ) should be internally consistent. They must(prenominal) also be consistent with the business strategies and should reflect the organizations core values. The problem of integrating HRM view business strategy arises, for example, in a diversified enterprise with different products and markets.In such cases it is difficult to match HRM policies with strategies that could vary among different business activities, each of which may call for different HRM policies. Second, building stron g cultures is a way of promoting particular organizational goals, in that a strong culture is aimed at uniting employees through a shared set of managerially sanctioned values (quality, service, innovation etc. ) that assume an identification of employee and employer interests. However, there can be tension between a strong organizational culture and the need to adapt to changed Page 30 ircumstances and to be flexible, particularly in the highly competitive and rapidly changing environment in which employers have to operate today.Rapid change demanded by the market is sometimes difficult in an organization with a strong culture. IBM has been cited as a case in point. Its firmly-held beliefs about products and services made it difficult for it to effect changes in time, i. e. when the market required a radical change in product and service (from mainframe, customized systems, salesmen as management consultants to customer-as-end-user, seeking quality of product and service) o person al computers (standardized product, cost competition, dealer as customer). Nevertheless, in the long term a strong organizational culture is preferable to a weak one. Third, the spot that people are a variable cost is, in effective HRM, replaced by the view that people are a resource and that as social capital can be developed and can contribute to competitive advantage. Increasingly, it is accepted that competitive advantage is gained through well-educated and trained, motivated and move employees at all levels.This recognition is now almost universal, and accounts for the plausible argument that training and development are, or will be, the central pillar of HRM. Fourth, the view that the interests of employees and management or shareholders are divergent and confliction though substantially adjust in the past is giving way to the view that this need not necessarily be so. As organization, which practices, effective HRM seeks to identify and promote a commonality of interests .Significant examples are training which enhances employment auspices and higher earning capacity for employees bandage at the same time increasing the employees value to the enterprises goals of better productivity and performance pay systems which increase earnings without significant working class cost increases, and which at the same time promote higher performance levels goal-setting through two-way communication which establishes unified goals and objectives and which provides intrinsic rewards to the employee through a participatory process.Fifth, top-down communication coupled with tellled information flow to handgrip power within the control of management giving way to a sharing of information and knowledge. This change facilitates the creation of trust and payload and makes knowledge more productive. Control from the top is in effective HRM being replaced by increasing employee fraternity and policies, which foster commitment and flexibility that help organizations to change when necessary.The ways in which the larger Japanese enterprises have installed participatory schemes and introduced information-sharing and two-way communication systems are instructive in this regard. In enterprises that tend to have corporate philosophies or missions, and where there are underlying values that shape their corporate culture, HRM becomes a part of the strategy to achieve their objectives. In some types of enterprises such as ones in which continuous technological change takes place, the goal of successfully managing change at short intervals often requires employee cooperation through emphasis on communication and involvement.As this type of unit grows, If there is strategic thinking in human resource management these units are likely to wish to develop employee-relations policies based on high individualism paying above market rates to recruit and retain the best labor, careful selection and recruitment systems to ensure high quality and skill potential, emphasis on internal training schemes to develop potential for further growth, payment system designed to reward individual performance and cooperation, performance and appraisal reviews, and strong emphasis on team up work and communication In short, technical and capital investment is matched by human resource investments, at times reaching near the ideals of human resource management. Shift of personnel management to HRM took place in three stages Records and 1. Records and Administration 2. righteousness Regulations 3. Competitive Advantage 1. Records and Administration In first stage the native activities, which were carried out by personnel department, were, Planning Company picnics Scheduling vacations, Enrolling workers for health-are coverage, Planning retirement parties These concerns include how to mange layoffs, address reduced employee loyalty, create a well trained highly motivated work force that can deliver higher quality and productivity, mange and increase dive rse workforce and contain health care cost. 2. Accountability Regulations During this stage primary framework of rules and regulations started emerging tin the organization. In 1970s, the job of the HR manger was to keep their companies out of court and in compliance with the increasing number of regulations governing the work place. In the mid-eighties HR mangers had to address staffing costs related to mergers and acquisitions and downsizing.The economic issues related to an increasingly global and completive workplace modify the 1990s. Beside these concerns 3. Competitive Advantage The aim of this shift stage is from merely securing compliance to the more ambitious one of winning commitment. The employee resource, therefore, becomes worth investing in, and training and development thusly assume a higher profile. These initiatives are associated with, and maybe are even predicated upon, a tendency to shift from a collective orientation to the management of the workforce to an i ndividualistic one.Accordingly management looks for flexibility and seeks to reward differential gear performance in a differential way. Communication of managerial objectives and aspirations takes on a whole new importance. What separates or distinguishes HRM from the traditional personnel function is the integration of HRM into strategic management and the pre-occupation of HRM with utilizing the human resource to achieve strategic management objectives. HRM seeks to eliminate the intermediation role and adopts a generally unitary perspective.It emphasizes strategy and planning rather than problem solving and mediation, so that employee cooperation is delivered by programme of corporate culture, remuneration packaging, and team building and management development for core employees, while peripheral employees are kept at arms length. HRM strategies may be influenced by the decisions taken on strategy (the nature of the business currently and in the future) and by the structure of the enterprise (the manner in which the enterprise is structured or organized to meet is objectives).In an enterprise with effective HRM polices and practices, the decisions on HRM are also strategic decisions influenced by strategy and structure, and by external factors such as trade unions, the labor market situation and the legal system. In reality most firms do not have such a well thought out sequential HRM model. But we are considering here is also effective HRM, and thus a model where HRM decisions are as strategic as the decisions on the type of business and structure. At conceptual level the interpretations of HRM indicate different emphases, which lead to concentration on different contents of the discipline. The various distinctions or interpretations indicate that HRM Can be used in a restricted sense so reserving it as a label only for that approach to labor management which treats labor as a valued asset rather than a variable cost and which accordingly counsels invest ment in the labor resource through training and development and through measures designed to attract and retain a committed workforce.Alternatively it is sometimes used in an extended way so as to refer to a whole array of recent managerial initiatives including measures to increase the flexible utilization of the labor resource and other measures, which are largely directed at the individual employee. But another distinction can also be drawn. This directs attention to the hard and soft versions of HRM.The hard one emphasizes the quantitative, calculative and business-strategic aspects of managing the headcounts resource in as rational a way as for any other economic factor. By contrast, the soft version traces its roots to the human-relations school it emphasizes communication, motivation, and leadership. There are several(prenominal) ways in which HRM has changed earlier attitudes and assumptions of personnel management about managing people. The new model of HRM includes many el ements lively to the basic management goal of achieving and maintaining

How China-Based Vanceinfo Grows Big Faster

CASE HR-34 DATE 01/23/09 SCALING HOW CHINA-BASED VANCEINFO GROWS BIG FAST Our biggest ch totallyenge is that the comp each is ontogeny very fast and were non sure as shooting that our systems can withstand such(prenominal) proceeds. 1 ? Chris Chen, hot seat and CEO, VanceInfo Technologies When Chris Chen arrangeed VanceInfo Technologies in Beijing in 1995, the alliance had 25 employees and i low-end IT operate outsourcing hold for a U. S. multinational.By August 2008, through a combination of innate ascendth and acquisitions, VanceInfo employed much than 4,800 people, had numerous share 100 customers, and enjoyed r scourues exceeding $80 one and only(a) million million over the preceding 12 months. It had attracted big-name venture bully fragmentiseners and propensityed shares in 2007 on the New York Stock Exchange. Although small compared to to a greater extent sophisticated Indian rivals, VanceInfo was salutary piazzad to start out an expect explosion in d emand for china found onshore IT go. At the very(prenominal) age, speedy growth was hackn marrowd the sozzleds counselling personnel, systems, and visions.Headcount was slated to quintuple to 20,000 in four to five familys time to delay pace with aggressive r so farue tar repulses. Old ad-hoc ways of doing things no all-night could accommo get wind current or incoming ingests. To succeed, circumspection had to implement saucily monetary, operational, and cozy charge systems, especially in the overcritical battleground of human resources where VanceInfo go about(predicate) whatsoever of its peachyest contends. These included introducing effective processes for rapidly expanding, planning, managing, and retaining its custody in a fast-growth frugality characterized by subscriber line concern hopping and a dearth of focaliseing talent.Moreover, in its quest to grow its wreak lowforce to 20,000 within five old age, move into higher-margin calling li nes requiring freshly expertise, and beat out domestic and international rivals, management had to strike a balance wheel amidst quick gains via acquisitions and electromotive forcely slower growth through organic expansion. 1 Interview with Chris Chen, Chairman and CEO, VanceInfo Technologies, August 18, 2008. Subsequent quotations are from the authors interviews unless other than noned.Pamela Yatsko prepared this case under the supervision of Professor Hayagreeva Rao as the basis for class discussion alternatively than to dilate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright 2009 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford subaltern University. All rights reserved. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, e-mail the Case Writing force at emailprotected stanford. edu or put out Case Writing Office, Stanford Graduate School of contrast, 518 Memorial Way, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5015.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, utilize in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in some(prenominal) form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the permission of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. scoring How china-Based VanceInfo Grows Big unfaltering HR-34 p. 2 THE OFFSHORE IT SERVICES OUTSOURCING intentness In the offshore IT service outsourcing exertion, a order in one country exported IT-related knead to a flying in a second country, universally to take advantage of lower labor be.The exertions growth took off in the late 1990s when global communications infrastructure became to a greater extent than and more inexpensive and reli subject. With a large pool of low-wage, face speaking, technologically savvy tameers at their disposal, Indian companies were preferent suppliers. Valued at $17. 3 billion by 2006, the global offshore IT serve industry was expected to grow at a CAGR of 17. 1 per centum between 2006 and 2011 compared to a CAGR of 7. 4 part for the $674 billion global IT services industry (Exhibit 1). 2 Five of the worlds evanesce 15 IT services dissolutes in 2006 hailed from India, thanks to their outsourcing prowess (Exhibit 2). china in 2004 ranked second to India in attractiveness as an offshore location, tally to management consulting unfluctuating A. T Kearny. 4 Albeit from a low base of $1. 4 billion in 2006, mainland Chinas offshore IT services industry was expected to expand however faster than the global industry as a whole, some 38 percent each year between 2006-2011 as U. S. , European, and Japanese thickenings looked to diversify away from India and gain a foothold for their products in China (Exhibit 3). 5 China in like manner exserted 30 percent cost savings over India and more than 700,000 plan graduates yearlyly. probable brakes on growth included economic d take gotturn in leaf node markets and concerns that off shore outsourcing was thievery domestic stage descents. Compared to their Indian rivals, Chinese vendors primarily offered IT outsourcing services to the China-based operations of multinational tights under the category of R&D Services (RDS). Although adeptly challenging, these RDS activities typically required less English than higher-end IT outsourcing services, do them a comfortably go on short for Chinese engineers, who for historical reasons were weaker in English than their Indian counterparts.RDS included give-up the ghostical anestheticization and globalization services, in which vendors translated clients software system products into Chinese and adapted them for the Chinese market. RDS alike included software testing and development for clients products. In 2007, some 60 percent of international clients hailed from Japan and South Korea, while U. S. stanchs accounted for 20 percent. 7 Whereas clients broadly paid vendors of higher-end, competency-driven IT se rvices on a project basis, R&D services were usually calculate on a less risky time and material basis (kn avouch as a resource or time model), under which vendors billed clients for their engineers time.The more people the service provider put to work for a client, the more revenue it do. Some Chinese vendors had started moving up the value chain to work on clients internal IT systems, offering Application Development & Maintenance (ADM), Application Testing and Quality Assurance, and first step Solutions. Chinese vendors offering Enterprise Solutions 2 admission to VanceInfo Technologies, VanceInfo Technologies, Q2 2008, p. 21. ibidem , p. 23. 4 ib. , p. 26. 5 Ibid. , p. 21 6 Ibid. , p. 25. 7 CBR Project Watch-Chinese Outsourcing on the Rise, Computer Business Review, April 2, 2007, http//www. bronline. com/article_cbr_asp? guid+ED23811B-B0B2-a65B-BD99-78AD9C0A889E, (October 10, 2008). 3 Scaling How China-Based VanceInfo Grows Big Fast HR-34 p. 3 world power customize and i mplement a U. S. software firms enterprise resource planning (ERP) software at a U. S. manufacturers China operations. These higher-end, more knowledge-based IT services (ITS) required expertise in the clients industry. contempt the doubling of Chinese applied science graduates each year, Chinese vendors had trouble hiring abounding qualified resources.Some firms were also setting their sights on shell the top of the ITS value carry to offer solutions to clients based on intellectual property created by their launch engineers. Indian competitors had joined western counterparts in this more lucrative craft. Success in the industry depended more a lot than non on managements ability to attract, lock, train, and retain enough scientific discipli destiny workers to meet growe demand, rapid technological change, evolving industry standards, and changing customer preferences.And with labor costs accounting for roughly 2-thirds of Chinese vendors radical costs, buzz offing ways to keep labor costs down was some other blusher to competitiveness. Vendors make the some money by increasing efficiency and by predicting accurately market demand for specific scientific discipline sets and hiring/ cooking for those skill sets. If they predicted incorrectly, they ended up paying for underutilized people. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE VanceInfo competed for telephone line with a dozen Chinese players. Much larger Neusoft, which built its business line serving the Chinese and Japanese markets, led the domestic pack by a wide margin with total offshore revenues of $145 illion in 2007 (Exhibit 4). 8 VanceInfo, which did $55 million in offshore revenues that year, ranked sixth in the industry domestically. Whereas umpteen topical anaesthetic rivals focused on China- and Japan-based clients, VanceInfo developed a niche as a go-to Chinese vendor for U. S. and European multinationals with a significant presence in the Asia/Pacific region. With $49. 5 million in Nort h the Statesn/EU revenue, it was the top Chinabased outsourcing vendor in those markets in 2007. That verbalize, ChinaSoft, with $45. million and HiSoft with $42 million, were not far arse (Exhibit 5). 9 Analysts expected the field to dwindle in the future as a need for scale encouraged companies to consolidate. 10 anyhow domestic players, VanceInfo competed with large Indian outsourcing firms, such as Wipro, Infosys, TCS, HCL, Satyam, and Cognizant. New vendors were also emerging in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Some international firms were establishing operations in China, driving force up demand for IT service maestros and exacerbating employee turnover at Chinese providers.Although wage costs for skilful staff were lower in China than in India and western countries, these developments were putting pressure on remunerate in China. VANCEINFO MILESTONES Chris Chen, VanceInfos CEO, chairman, and founder, stood out from an early age. Born in 1963, he was the first person from his townsfolk in Jiangxi province to attend prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing. He went on to work for state-owned Great wall Computer, which in 1991 transferred him to Los Angeles. Chinas economic reforms at the time were thus far in their infancy 8 Introduction to VanceInfo Technologies, op. it. , p. 19. Ibid. , p. 19. 10 CBR Project Watch-Chinese Outsourcing on the Rise, loc. cit. 9 Scaling How China-Based VanceInfo Grows Big Fast HR-34 p. 4 and the experience exposed Chen early to U. S. business serves. Two years later, Great border assigned him to help spear toss a major project in China for U. S. technology firm IBM. The Early Days of VanceInfo When IBM in 1995 approached Chen to start a software topical anaestheticization and testing alliance, he and devil cofounders dancinged on the opport social wholey. IBM explained to me Indias success in IT service outsourcing, he state.With IBM as the start ups first customer, Chen secured a 300,00 0-yuan loan (US$1RMB6. 8) from a friend. In 1997, VanceInfo, which originally went by the English name of Worksoft, started doing testing for Microsoft. It opened b scatteres in Shanghai in 1999 and in Japan in 2001, taking on Fuji Xerox as a client. Growth in offshore IT services was steady, alone slow. The firm grew to 80 employees in 1998 and 200 in 2001. Lack of find to finance was a problem Chinas state banks did not sine qua non to lend to private firms venture capital was scarce and the government did not let private companies go public.With company profits its only backing source, VanceInfo, for instance, could not drop in 1997 to pay US$1 million to send 30 engineers to capital of Singapore for training in order to win an of the essence(predicate) IBM project related to Y2K conversion for the European banking industry. The project instead went to India, Chen recalled. The firm also had trouble attracting talent, since Chinese engineers looked down on IT services outs ourcing firms for not creating their own intellectual property. Moreover, the family members whom Chen relied on to help build his business, like most Chinese entrepreneurs those days, lacked professional management know-how.Realizing that VanceInfos family-run structure was hindering growth, Chen in 2001 instigated a management shake-up. He asked family members to go out and act to attract professional talent locally and overseas. He hooked up with David Chen (no relation), who had worked for a event of technology companies in Silicon vale and was itching to do something entrepreneurial in China. Together, the two Chens hatched an idea to provide high-end IT consulting services for domestic clients along with outsourcing services for overseas clients.They succeeded in attracting financing from local investors, only the new business did not succeed as expected. Profits from IT consulting services were terrible, utter David Chen, We spent a lot of money and time p progress toin g those ideas ERP and BPO to Chinese companies. I think at that time we were too ambitious and too stretched, and that was a trying lesson to learn. As a small start-up we should view as stayed very focused. They sold off the consulting division in 2004 to focus solely on offshore IT services outsourcing. Meanwhile, the business climate for offshore IT services outsourcing in China by 2004 had improved.With Chinas sparing booming, Fortune 1000 firms started doing more outsourcing in China. VanceInfo gained a number of distinguished international clients, such as PeopleSoft (later bought by Oracle) and Citibank, for whom VanceInfo established offshore development centers (ODCs) in China to do RDS and core group banking system action testing respectively. 11 Under the ODC model, VanceInfo operated facilities and project police squads dedicated solely to clients. It coveted these arrangements, in which both client and vendor invested in building the ODC, encouraging long-term c lient-vendor relationships.With clients continually creating new 11 In China, offshore development centers (ODCs), are sometimes referred to as CDCs (China Development Centers) due to political sensitivities over offshoring in client countries. Scaling How China-Based VanceInfo Grows Big Fast HR-34 p. 5 software versions and ODC staff building up experience that clients did not want to lose, the work tended to be ongoing. Clients, who were extremely wary of intellectual property theft in China, promote the greater IP protection that ODC arrangements offered. Building Staff VanceInfos headcount by the end of 2004 take offed to 650 (Exhibit 6). 2 The industry had started gaining in prestige, making it somewhat easier to attract Chinese engineers. At the same time, VanceInfo was tidying house internally. Besides re-focusing management energy on offshore IT service outsourcing, Chris Chen believed the firm could not succeed without worthy international. To do this, he inevitable to take away more returnees with greater expertise in western business practices and more fluency in English than he himself possessed. Before hiring more returnees, however, he needed to crash festering conflict over U.S. versus Chinese business practices between the several returnees already on visiting card and the companys local management team. He achieved this, he said, by clearly defining the responsibilities of all executives making each responsible for their business building blocks management, with a direct reporting line to the CEO and by explaining the value that each side brought to the table. International teams would work on the front lines with international clients, while local teams would focus on dealing with local governments and controlling costs.To attract more returnees, Chen took advantage of new rules in China allowing VanceInfo to exit an offshore Cayman Islands company, which in turn entitled it to offer stock options to employees. The re-domiciling al so allowed VanceInfo to seek international venture capital. The firm in 2005 received funding from Silicon Valley VC Doll Capital Management (DCM) and local VC Legend Capital, with another Silicon Valley firm, Sequoia Capital, get together a second round in 2006. The VCs helped VanceInfo hone its governance structures, focus systematically on strategical and technical planning, and impose quarterly reviews. Between 2001 and 2004, we knew about all that, nevertheless we only did it in increments, prexy David Chen recalled. Rapid Growth With the groundwork thus set, growth took off. Between 2005 and 2007, VanceInfo acquired seven companies and set up or acquired seven new offices in China, three in the U. S. , and one in Japan and Hong Kong (Exhibits 7 and 8). It expand into higher-end IT outsourcing services, and added a slew of international clients and two new ODCs (Exhibit 9). Net revenues in 2007 reached $62. 7 million and net income $9. 6 million, up from $29. 1 million and $4. 4 million in 2006 respectively (Exhibit 10). 3 Headcount surged to more than 3,600 by the end of that year (Exhibit 6). 14 Although most employees were Chinese nationals, VanceInfos work force boasted 25 nationalities. The companys leaders at the train of executive vice president and preceding(prenominal) were in some cases American citizens, only all of Chinese ethnicity. They were difficult to attract nonethnic Chinese charabancs, such as Technical Marketing Director Ken Schulz, a Caucasian 12 Introduction to VanceInfo Technologies, op. cit. , p. 6. VanceInfo Technologies, material body 20-F, June 27, 2008, p. 4. 14 Ibid. , p. 6. 13 Scaling How China-Based VanceInfo Grows Big Fast HR-34 p. 6American, and the Shanghai director of VanceInfos Microsoft practice Hajime Hirose, a Japanese American. VanceInfo was particularly proud of its leading position among Chinese vendors in North America and Europe. merely with technology and telecommunications clients in those regions accounting for the vast absolute majority of VanceInfos revenues in 2007, management knew the company was vulnerable to an economic downturn in those geographies and sectors (Exhibits 11 and 12). Although VanceInfo boasted a large number of international clients, its top two clients, IBM and Microsoft, each accounted for over 10 percent of net revenues. 5 Becoming a man Company The company in 2007 set its sights on neat the first pure-play IT services outsourcing firm to list on the New York Stock Exchange. When the offering price for the December 2007 IPO fell far down the stairs the original petitioned price, precedential management discussed whether or not to call it off. They ultimately decided to forge ahead, deeming more important the companys goal of raising brand awareness in its most important market. The decision, said David Chen, seemed the right one given that the company signed a lot of contracts following the IPO, which still raised $75 million.Rather than bristl e under public scrutiny, management welcomed the discipline it forced. We think it is a great way to help us become more process-oriented in terms of financial reporting, he said. foregoing to going public, the firm changed its name from WorkSoft to VanceInfo Technologies. While it did so mainly to stay off trademark conflict with another WorkSoft in Texas, the choice of VanceInfo reflected the companys focus on advancing customer and employee potential as intimately as its desire to shift away from a purely labor-intensive model toward a more innovation-driven future.Company executives in 2008 expected brisk growth to continue, with revenues up some 40 percent annually over the next five years and headcount hitting 20,000. To balance the rapid growth of VanceInfos picture and future customer base with the internal changes that needed to take place to accommodate that growth, VanceInfo spread responsibilities among its leadership in early 2008. David Chen, who had been chief o perating officer, became president. In this role, the fluent English speaker became VanceInfos public face to the international comm building blocky and could focus more energy on the booming gross revenue area.In rundown to his chief financial officer responsibilities, Sidney Huang was made COO to oversee the company-wide systematization of internal business processes across the firms business wholes (Exhibit 13). maturement STRATEGY VanceInfos growth strategy historically and going in front has involved attractive new clients and expanding service lines, both organically and through strategic acquisitions. 15 Ibid. , p. 6. Scaling How China-Based VanceInfo Grows Big Fast HR-34 p. 7 Service Line Expansion Labor-intensive R&D Services contributed the majority of VanceInfos revenues, some 63 percent in 2007 (Exhibits 14 and 15). 16 The handful ofODCs that VanceInfo operated for clients did mostly RDS work. VanceInfo typically started out doing a small RDS project for clients, pro ving itself on that project, and past winning more technically and/or geographically complex projects from them. Although ITS outsourcing accounted for 37 percent of revenues in 2007, VanceInfo wanted it to make up 50 percent in the future (Exhibits 14 and 15). 17 While profit margins were comparable for RDS and ITS, ITS was a larger market and graveled stronger long-term growth potential for the company. In 2008, VanceInfos profit margin hovered some 15 percent? ealthy for China where companies were often willing to do business for lessbut not good compared to American and Indian IT services companies, which enjoyed profit margins above 20 percent. So our profit margins would be flat, said Schulz, Wed plausibly be able to maintain rapid growth rates, but sound not as rapid as if we were able to move into the IT services space as well. Plus, the potential client base for RDS was limited to customers who developed their own software products. In ITS, VanceInfo could potentially serve any firm with an IT system.Explaining the firms decision in 2007 to invest more in IT services, James Xi, VP, frequent Industries Solutions, at VanceInfo in Shanghai, said Most of the revenue of Indian companies like Wipro comes from the financial services and manufacturing industries. We had to bemuse a similar business model. VanceInfo expected strong demand for ITS in China as multinationals expanded their presence in China and the Asia-Pacific region and needed to develop their IT systems. Xi believed VanceInfos knowledge of the China market gave it a competitive advantage over its larger Indian rivals.VanceInfo hoped to parlay its experience in ITS outsourcing into even higher-end Process Driven Services like Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), in which clients outsourced non-core functions, such as accounting, payroll, and customer service activities (Exhibit 15). Multi-year contracts, sometimes worth hundreds of millions of dollars, made BPO both highly attractive a nd competitive Infosys, Wipro, Capgemini, Accenture, and IBM were among the players in BPO that VanceInfo would remove to face. 18 The firm eventually planned to follow Indian and western rivals in providing solutions for clients based on its own intellectual property.The first step for VanceInfo in climbing up the ITS value campaign was streng whence its industry knowledge in targeted sectors telecommunications banking, financial services, and insurance manufacturing and retail & distribution and technology. That meant finding enough skilled talent with domain knowledge in those industries. Because engineers needed to act as consultants as well as developers in ITS outsourcing, they had to understand their clients business, whether it consisted of supply chains for manufacturing clients or capital markets for financial service firms.Knowledge of business processes in China was low owing to the countrys recent renewal from a socialist to a market economy and the continued make i tence of many state-owned enterprises. As a result, VanceInfo had to tap overseas markets in addition to the domestic 16 Introduction to VanceInfo Technologies, op. cit. , p. 5. Ibid. , p. 5. 18 BPO What Is Business Process Outsourcing? SOURCINGmag. com, http//www. sourcingmag. com/content/what_is_bpo. asp , September 26, 2008. 17 Scaling How China-Based VanceInfo Grows Big Fast HR-34 p. 8 market for ITS talent.Xi, who was one of the executives leading VanceInfos charge into ITS outsourcing, for example, spent 15 years in the U. S. working for Lehman Brothers, fix of New York, Deloitte Consulting, and Bearing Point before joining VanceInfo in 2006. Besides hiring talent, VanceInfo was acquiring domain expertise. In August 2008, for instance, the firm announced the purchase of a 33 percent stake in an ITS outsourcing firm serving multinational financial institutions. It had an option to buy the remain shares, depending on the acquired companys performance.COO/CFO Huang explained VanceInfos strategy for building teams in targeted sectors You hire the leaders firstpeople within the industryand have those people conjure and train more. For most of our critical verticals, we already have a team, so if the project expands, the team can recruit and train more people. The beauty of our business when it comes to business growth is we rarely get big projects up front we almost always start with small projects. erstwhile VanceInfo built up sufficient domain knowledge, it would be in a position to develop its own IT solutions and software products for those industries.As of 2008, innovation at VanceInfo was limited to customization of other companies software for individual clients. It did not have an internal R&D budget Instead clients paid for R&D that its engineers performed on their behalf. Investing in R&D was still a challenge for VanceInfo since the engineering hours spent on developing its own intellectual property were not billable. VanceInfo was therefo re proceeding cautiously, focusing on its advance into higher-end IT services and strengthening industry knowledge on the grounds that its engineers could not develop their own IP for an industry without that knowledge.At the same time, management would start thinking about how to create its own IP. When we build the ITS business, we should keep in headway to put an emphasis on innovation and solutions building. We need to cooperate more with research organizations and try to get some more ideas. And we should also empower our employees to come up with more innovative stuff. We no longer need to be heavily dependent on just the time model, said David Chen. The company had already hired some highly educated engineers with multinational experience for the ITS business and was encouraging them to keep an eye out for ways to make VanceInfo more innovative.The company eventually hoped to hire a unified CTO. A tralatitious service company does not have a CTO, but to become very innova tive, you need a CTO to be responsible for long-range innovations, not short-term numbers, he said. Besides winning more technically complex projects, VanceInfo planned to increase revenues by winning more global ITS outsourcing projects. As of 2008, it mainly acted as clients China or Asia/Pacific (APAC) vendor, but had won a large U. S. manufacturers confidence to become its global provider for two major e-business projects.Xi explained We started with one IT services project and then they said, Great job, I will give you five more projects, 10 more projects until they made us their exclusive APAC vendor. Then in July 2008 they invited our team to their headquarters to discuss global projects. We met with 40 to 50 charabancs including their CIO and Global VP. They said, Great. China can do this, not just India. This success was particularly sweet given the competition VanceInfo faced in global ITS markets from Infosys, Wipro, and other Indian rivals, which were well-known brand names inScaling How China-Based VanceInfo Grows Big Fast HR-34 p. 9 U. S. industry circles and had bases there. VanceInfo in comparison enjoyed little U. S. presence or brand name recognition. We have gross revenue offices in New York, Silicon Valley, and Seattle, but we dont have any real affaire team in the U. S. , Xi said (Exhibit 8). And while VanceInfos Chinese engineers could ordinaryly read and write English, they typically could not speak it as well as Indian engineers. They subsequently had difficulty move effectively in throng calls with clients in the U. S. who often had to explain project requirements over the phone with VanceInfos team in China. Xis preferred solution was to hire returnees fluent in English and American culture to take elder management positions which required them to handle contacts with U. S. clients. Organic Growth vs. attainment By 2008, most of VanceInfos growth had been organic, with some selective strategic acquisitions (Exhibit 16). Althou gh it made four acquisitions in 2007, Huang insisted the buying spree did not indicate a change in strategy, pointing out that only leash of revenue growth came from M&A that year.He explained This is a fragmented industry so M&A should be part of our growth strategy. If theres a spotless target well jump on it. Its just that theres a tendency for CEOs to grow their companies through M&A because its easier than organic growth. They tend to ignore the danger in M&A. M&A was apparently easier, he said, because VanceInfo gained a proven team with a passenger vehicle rather than having to build a team one employee at a time. It also obtained the acquired companys knowledge and customers, accelerating expansion into desired business lines, lumping revenues, and quickly gaining scale. VanceInfo could also leverage its larger platform to make the acquired company grow faster than it could on its own. The danger of M&A in IT services outsourcing? where a companys assets were its people ? was the casualty of acquiring a team that did not integrate well, resulting in the departure of the acquired firms core management team and customers. VanceInfo also had to make sure it did deals at a reasonable valuation. In its experience, entrepreneurs often had unrealistic price expectations, making it difficult to close the deal.Huang commented So its not that we dont like M&A, we just fully recognize the challenges. This is such a great industry that even without M&A we could grow. Weve proved it to the market in the past three quarters. Growth was purely organic. So why should we ruin this great growth story with some imprudent M&A action mechanism? Whether VanceInfo grew through acquisition or organically, Huang emphasized the importance of finding the right people. Executives express cultural fit between the candidates top management and VanceInfos.They determined cultural fit a number of ways, first jump with CEO-to-CEO discussions. When CEO Chris Chen met with the CEO of Beijing-based ITC, for instance, they enjoyed a meeting of the minds. I think they have a lot of similar characteristics very aggressive, very good salesmen, very inspiring, very charming, said VanceInfos Regional Human Resources Director Wendy Xia, who originally worked for the smaller company and deemed its 2007 acquisition and integration into VanceInfo very successful.VanceInfo then structured deals to detect signs that the cultural fit was not as good as it seemed. Huang, for instance, informed acquisition targets that VanceInfo would divide payment into three tranches, paying the first tranche at the time of the purchase and tying the remaining payments to post-merger performance. This focus on contract details was different from Scaling How China-Based VanceInfo Grows Big Fast HR-34 p. 10 traditional practices in China, where parties often signed contracts and hashed out the specifics later.According to Huang, the method allowed VanceInfo to find out how the candidat e really perceived their future business prospects and whether the CEO and top management planned to stick around. Sometimes everything seemed good. CEO-to-CEO, they were very happy. But when I lay out terms, the CEO backs off. That sends us a signal that they may just want to get out, he explained. The less than stellar performance of a small acquisition made in 2005 in a handshake type of deal helped underscore for VanceInfo the importance of cultural fit, CEO commitment, and fuddled vetting.The CEO of the acquired company believed his teams performance as part of VanceInfo warranted a greater reward than management believed he deserved. He eventually quit. He did not integrate into our culture, Huang said. And although his team stayed, it never performed as well as VanceInfo had hoped. Huang estimated that for every completed acquisition, a chastened VanceInfo vetted 10 companies. To be successful, the acquisition also had to be a win-win situation for both sides. For example, a lthough ITC had some Chinese clients, its biggest customer was a major European telecom company, which accounted for 70 percent of its revenue.The European company wanted to use fewer outsourcing vendors and had voiced concerns to ITC about the firms ability to handle growing demand given its small size and lack of access to financing. After VanceInfos purchase of ITC, the European company was reassured It became just one of five top VanceInfo clients and VanceInfo became one of the European companys key mobile telecom vendors under development. Moreover, the ITC team started winning business from other multinationals in the same industrybusiness that it never would have won on its own.Former ITC employees were enthusiastic about the purchase. I think this is a very good opportunity for me and ITC, said William Wei, who two months after the acquisition was promoted from running sales and marketing for VanceInfos ITC sub-business unit to doing the same for the entire RDS division. Va nceInfos efforts to integrate its acquisitions through cross-staffing new managers like Wei helped ensure that the initial enthusiasm for the acquisition did not set and that VanceInfo got the most out of its new mployees. ITC founder Howard Yu, for instance, went from running a 251-person team at ITC in 2007 to coping up VanceInfos RDS Mobile business unit, under which the ITC sub-business unit grew to 450 people by mid-2008, and the RDS mobile unit as a whole grew to some 800 employees. Returnee Junbo Liu managed 45 employees for SureKam when VanceInfo bought the international business unit of the IT outsourcing firm in 2005. By 2008, he managed more than 2,000 staff as the head of VanceInfos RDS business unit.According to Huang, cross-staffing provided promising managers live to develop within a large organization and helped them understand VanceInfos culture and management approach. It also broke up the acquired firms tight group, mitigating turf-protection and other problems . Chris Chen also made sure to talk on a regular basis after the acquisition to the former CEOs, to understand their thinking and how VanceInfo could support them. VanceInfo was working as well on integrating acquired companies financial, accounting, human resource, and other systems with its own.For instance, VanceInfo tracked acquired companies periodical financial activity, sending them financial reports and talking to them about their performance. Scaling How China-Based VanceInfo Grows Big Fast HR-34 p. 11 MANAGING GROWTH Company executives across the board underscored the importance of skillful management of human resources to VanceInfos past and future success. Were a service firm, but if you were to compare us to a manufacturer, our products and parts are our engineers and their skills, explained Schulz.When trying to figure out how best to manage its growing staff of engineers, VanceInfos leaders did not have any real role models in China. The most successful Chinese techn ology companies were focused on manufacturing and sales & marketingnot services. VanceInfo instead looked to IBM, which organized human resource management into three centers HR function, HR services, and HR solutions. Chinas labor market posed a number of challenges owing to the countrys socialist past, doubledigit growth rates from 2002 to 2007, and potential as the worlds sterling(prenominal) market with more than 1. 4 billion consumers.Chinas potential and its growth story inspired foreigners to move $1. 8 trillion cumulatively in direct foreign investment into China by mid-2008, making it arguably the most competitive place to do business in the world. These factors created an opportunity extravaganza for engineering and managerial talent in China. The phenomenon affected attrition, retention, recruitment, and training at VanceInfo and complicated its goal of increasing its custody to 20,000 in five years. VanceInfo Human Resource Director Kevin Liu commented The employees w e recruit are not worried about having to find a job.Skilled labor has high expectations. If we do not provide them attractive conditions, its hard for us to retain them. Xi compared expectations in China to those he encountered in the U. S. , where he recalled working with a 64-year-old database administrator His whole life history was engineering. In China you cant imagine this. When engineers here reach age 30, they want to become a manager or a salesperson. Recruiting Because headcount determined business volume in the labor-intensive IT outsourcing industry, recruiting at VanceInfo was an extremely important function.Despite China churning out some 5 million university graduates in 2007, of which 700,000 had engineering degrees and 3,000 had PhDs in computer science, We see a continued challenge recruiting the best, most suitable employees for openings to keep up with the current pace of growth, Huang said. 19 Indeed, one VanceInfo business unit offering higher-end IT servic es outsourcing reported having to put three projects on hold for a key client because it did not have enough qualified staff. Another unit doing RDS work for a major U. S. irm needed to fill 43 job openings and expected any day to have another 50 to fill. Campus Recruiting Campus recruiting accounted for rough 25 percent of net hiring at VanceInfo, although percentages varied by business unit. VanceInfos Shanghai complexify, which did higher-end IT services outsourcing, only recruited 10-15 percent of its employees from university because it required more experienced labor. Corporate HR handled campus recruiting for the business units. 19 Introduction to VanceInfo Technologies, op. cit. , p. 25.Scaling How China-Based VanceInfo Grows Big Fast HR-34 p. 12 Its team in Shanghai, for instance, visited 30 to 60 universities in Eastern China from February to May each year. In some cases, its recruiters first met with project managers in specific business units to find out the skill sets required. If they found suitable candidates at the universities, they asked the candidates to take a test. If the candidates passed, the recruiters referred them to business units to work as interns prior to graduation, after which they ideally became VanceInfo employees.In other cases, recruiters used general criteria to scout for university students to attend special training courses, known as VanceInfo University, during their senior year or immediately after graduation. They sought candidates who were quick learners and not afraid to take on challenges. Candidates who successfully completed VanceInfo University were referred to specific business units. Shanghai branch head Gerry Lu estimated that 60 percent of the branchs college hires came from the intern program and the remainder from VanceInfo University.The branch probably recruited 100 college graduates through the two programs in 2008, up from 70 to 80 in 2007, and hoped to recruit even more in the future. (See Training f or more on VanceInfo University and the intern program. ) In response to complaints from business unit heads, the firm was trying to determine best practices for campus recruiting to improve its integration with business requirements, David Chen said. Recruiting Lateral Hires The majority of new junior engineering staff at VanceInfo were lateral hires, enerally people who had worked in another firms IT surgical incision for two to three years, ideally not a competitors to avoid poaching wars. In response to the job-hopping plaguing the industry and the companys rising headcount needs, VanceInfo employed a low-efficiency recruitment strategy Instead of employing 5 recruiters to recruit 30 engineers per month, for instance, it might employ 8 recruiters to hire 40 engineers a month. This is more expensive, but its more suitable for us, Liu said.VanceInfo recruited more than 800 entry-level workers in 2007, many via the Internet. Recruiters at the corporate and business unit level mostl y tapped Chinese corporate recruiting websites to post job listings and scour resumes, in order to find junior staff with at least a years work experience. Take VanceInfos localization sub-business unit. It dedicated one recruiter to search sites for suitable resumes according to a set of criteria provided by project managers. The recruiter then called candidates to ask them to come in for a job interview.Some business units compensated employees for referring candidates. Lateral hires, though more experienced than college graduates, were also more expensive The starting salary for entry-level staff straight from college was 3,000 yuan per month and at least 4,000 yuan per month for workers with a years experience. Junior wages were rising some 6 percent annually. VanceInfo hoped to cut costs by hiring fewer junior people laterally and more from university. Recruiting Mid-Level ManagersAlthough young engineers often wanted to become managers, finding mid-level managers who understoo d how to manage engineers in a service business in China was a challenge, owing to Chinas long manufacturing tradition, said David Chen. VanceInfos acquisitions accounted for nearly half of mid-level hires in 2006 and 2007, but company executives expected this Scaling How China-Based VanceInfo Grows Big Fast HR-34 p. 13 proportion to decline given the companys selective acquisition strategy. Other key avenues for recruiting managers were through websites and by grooming internally.VanceInfos corporate HR department did not stock-still have a modify program for grooming managers from its engineering ranks, but rather left packaging and training tasks to individual business units. According to Chen, a key challenge going forward was for VanceInfo to figure out how to identify potential leadership candidates from middle management and turn them into top-line leaders (see Retaining Middle Management under Attrition and retention for more on management grooming). This was particular ly important given the shortage of senior managerial talent in China. It is hard to recruit suitable senior people in China. If you lose them, its difficult to back up the position, Liu commented. VanceInfo senior executives with overseas experience often looked for recruits among other returneesones they met while overseas themselves or those referred by the firms VC partners. They looked for candidates, either in China or abroad, who felt they had reached a ceiling at their multinational stool (MNC) employer and were interested in doing something more entrepreneurial.Hajime Hirose had considered starting an IT services outsourcing company after working for Microsoft in the U. S. for octette years, when the head of VanceInfos Microsoft practice, Jeff Wu, offered him the chance to run the Shanghai regions practice. Hirose, who joined VanceInfo in January 2008, commented Microsoft is a great company, but its already established. This company is growing. They dont have many processe s, which is bad, but it excites me because that means we have a lot of room to improve.I figured that with my Microsoft and international experience I could make a difference here. General Industries Solutions VP Xi estimated that for every 50 resumes he received, only two returnees were a match, of whom only one accepted. Not only did candidates need to have the right skills, want to return to China, and regard to join the ITS outsourcing industry, but their families had to want to move to China as well, which was tricky if their children were in school in North America and did not speak Chinese. Moreover, they had to have realistic compensation expectations.Xi recalled how one candidate seemed perfect until he demanded a salary similar to what he earned in North America US$150,000 a year. When Xi could not meet it, the candidate requested an unrealistic number of stock options in the then pre-IPO company. Everything has to be perfect, Xi lamented. As a result, returnees accounte d for only 5 percent of his staff. Given how critical a strong team of senior managers was to VanceInfos success, a question facing the company was whether to offer more competitive pay packages to lure high-level managers from multinational corporations.If so, it would need to reduce costs elsewhere. Its present cost control strategy emphasized opportunity over salary when recruiting/retaining all levels of workers. One sub-business unit head doing RDS business proposed that VanceInfo deflect the costs of offering MNC-comparable wages to senior employees by putting one senior manager in charge of many new graduates, thereby reducing the need for as many mid-level managers. In mid-2008, less than 10 percent of staff were senior, 30 percent middle, and 60 percent junior. If we had more senior people, we could grow a lot faster, he commented.Hiring Outside vs. Growth from Within The companys leadership was also mulling over the best ratio of external professionals to homegrown talent for VanceInfo management. Despite the firms efforts to attract external Scaling How China-Based VanceInfo Grows Big Fast HR-34 p. 14 professionals, most managers to date either came up through the ranks or its acquisitions. Those who came through acquisitions were normally entrepreneurs themselves, able to fit easily into VanceInfos collegial culture. Our competitors hire professionals.Within our company, except for the finance organization, we dont have a lot of professionals in the business operations, David Chen explained. But VanceInfos goal was to become a world-class company, he said, and it could not achieve that without hiring more professionals. Homegrown talent often did not have the breadth of experience and skill sets necessary to manage global activities at a world-class level, like VanceInfos global sales organization. On the other hand, professionals from multinational corporations sometimes had trouble working effectively in a aggressive start-up. For one, they ere u sed to a large support infrastructure to help them perform their jobs, which did not and could not exist at VanceInfo. This meant they had to do more on their own and that the solutions to certain problems at their former employer might not be suitable for VanceInfo. If we copied everything their multinational had today, wed lose money, Chen said. External professionals often came with unrealistic expectations as well as large egos that clashed with VanceInfos collegial culture. Plus, hiring them in large numbers would be discourage to homegrown staff, leading to greater attrition. We want to be a world-class company. At the same time, were very entrepreneurial. How then do we strike the right balance between a professionally run organization and our passion and entrepreneurial spirit? Chen asked. He believed the ideal scenario was to groom 70-80 percent of senior managers internally and to hire the rest externally to keep managements thinking fresh. To reach this ratio, VanceInfo would need to beef up its programs for developing homegrown talent (see Retaining Middle Management under Attrition and Retention for more on management grooming). Current vs. Future Skill NeedsManagement also had to strike the right balance between current business needs and its goal of expanding into increasingly complex business lines that required employees with more advanced skills than those currently in place. To do so, VanceInfo wanted to become less dependent on the time model that typified the RDS business in favor of the competency-driven model practiced by more sophisticated Indian and western IT service companies. I think we need to look at the marketplace two years from today, determine the skill set required and then build those competencies, Chen explained.That said, the company at present did not plan to make big investments in building these advanced skill sets without clear property of business demand. Instead, it planned to invest gradually with an eye always o n demand, said Huang. Central vs. outset Office Recruiting Management was also trying to determine how much to centralize its recruiting efforts. The Shanghai branchs experience underscored the complexities of finding the right balance at a quickly growing operation. Recruiting at the ranch before 2006 was left to individual business units, since each had different HR requirements owing to their clients different technical needs. The branch had maybe 100 employees and two to three business units, with unit managers handling recruiting. The downside of decentralization was that VanceInfo had no systematic way to track recruiter performance or offer recruiters a biography path toward becoming a well-rounded HR professional. Scaling How China-Based VanceInfo Grows Big Fast HR-34 p. 15 In 2006, the branch, which had grown to almost 500 employees, centralized recruiting.Centralization worked at that comparatively small size, said Shanghai Branch head Gerry Lu The account manager in eac h business unit could easily communicate the units human resource needs to four or five recruiters based in Shanghais corporate HR department, who in turn could respond effectively to overnight changes in clients requirements. By 2007, however, the branch had mushroomed to over 1,000 employees spread across five business units with multiple account managers handling an ever-growing number of projects.The centralized recruitment team could not always react quickly enough to satisfy clients, who expected seamless communication and understanding. Lu reorganized recruiting again, decentralizing it somewhat. Rather then clump all recruiters together in the corporate HR department, he put two to three recruiters back in each business unit to liaise between account managers and the centralized recruiting team. The four to five member centralized team hired the unit-level recruiters (with unit head approval), performed their performance evaluations, and provided them a career track.Accordi ng to David Chen, management had not yet settled on the proper level of centralization for the company as a whole. Attrition and Retention VanceInfos attrition rate hovered around 25 percent annually, which was average for the industry. Attrition varied, however, according to employee level. For project managers and above, who made up roughly 15 percent of the custody and received stock-based compensation, the attrition rate rested in the single digits, Huang said. For the remainder, junior employees generally experienced the highest attrition rates, but numbers varied by business line.Attrition rates were below average in VanceInfos ODCs, mainly because employees felt they had a career ladder to climb. Attrition rates were higher in sub-business units focused on testing and lower-level activities, where little technical level differentiation existed. Many junior employees subsequently chose to leave after three years. Some went to work for VanceInfos multinational clients, which normally offered higher salaries, more prestige, and more professional training programs. People leaving the company in some cases thought our training program was not comprehensive enough, said Liu.Attrition rates were not formal criteria by which managers were evaluated, but according to company executives, managers knew they were very important. Retaining Senior Management VanceInfo executives attributed the companys success thus far to stable and collaborative top management. They credited this situation to Chris Chens open-mindedness and his willingness to give managers enough opportunity and leeway to lead their teams. If you look at our competitors, if there are any issues at this stage its internal management issues, meaning that people cant work together.And when you have a defection at management level, its very disruptive, Huang said. This fact, and the scarcity of senior managers in China, made retaining senior managers critical. Attracting and retaining senior managers, who at VanceInfo were aged 35 to 45, was tricky because the company could not afford to pay as much as multinational corporations in China let alone as much as returnees earned in North America. Shanghai Branch head Lu estimated that Scaling How China-Based VanceInfo Grows Big Fast HR-34 p. 16VanceInfo paid senior employees between 12,000 yuan and 30,000 yuan per month, making it competitive with local rivals. It then had to contend with 10-15 percent annual wage inflation to keep up. Tony Zhang, for instance, who joined VanceInfo in 2005, said he earned only oneeighth the amount he had made in the U. S. working in the e-commerce department of a major American insurance provider. Why then did someone like Zhang not jump to a higher-paying position at an MNC? One reason was that VanceInfo sweetened its compensation packages for the top 15 percent of its employees with stock options.It also often supported returnees with trip allowances to visit families in North America, with help lease an apartment in China, and through assistance with visa issues and other personal matters. Most important, according to executives, was that VanceInfo used its high-growth status to provide senior staff with plenty of opportunities to continue developing their careers opportunities that would be harder to come by at an MNC. These included giving senior managers autonomy to run their own business units and making them responsible for their units profit and loss, which was uncommon in China. This company offers an open platform. So even though a returnee like me has no affiliation with its founders, I am able to utilize this platform to run my own show, commented Executive VP Jeff Wu, who headed up VanceInfos Enterprise Solutions Practice and its Microsoft practice, overseeing some 900 employees, approximately 850 more than when he started working for VanceInfo in 2004. He did not believe he would have had the same opportunity to grow had he taken a position with an MNC upon his return to China after almost 10 years in the United States. Retaining Middle ManagementVanceInfo also sought to retain middle managers, normally aged 27 to 35, with opportunities for career development rather than increases in wages, which were comparable to local competitors and ranged from 7,000 yuan to 15,000 yuan, growing at an annual rate of 10 percent. The firms rapid growth allowed management to offer mid-level employees ever-greater responsibilities. The team they managed might grow as the client needed more work, or VanceInfo might win a new project or new client, in which case a superior could promote a manager to take on more responsibility there.VanceInfos corporate HR department did not yet have a centralized program for grooming managers from engineering ranks, but rather left forward motion and training tasks to individual business units, whose programs differed. Promotions and movement between business units was also organized among business units, rather than cent rally through Corporate HR. Likewise, business units had different systems for evaluating and rewarding employees. Corporate HR simply offered general guidelines.The Microsoft business unit pioneered a differentiated title system, under which its employees received a VanceInfo title in addition to their client-supplied title. For example, employees could be a software test engineer as far as Microsoft was concerned, yet also be classified as an associate manager internally at VanceInfo. According to Wu, the system, which was devised internally, worked well to motivate and develop the units employees. We have throughout the years promoted so many engineers to important positionsdevelopment leads, technical leads and many of them became associate managers and managers.By leveraging a good title system weve been able to provide a clear pathway to get them moving up, he said. Corporate HR tried Scaling How China-Based VanceInfo Grows Big Fast HR-34 p. 17 to implement a similar company-w ide program in 2007, but the project stalled when the newly hired HR executive championing it left the company. The Microsoft business unit also introduced a two-track career path for engineers to overcome the problem of losing talented engineers to managementa common approach at high-tech companies. In China, people perceived a procession into management as the sign of career advancement and the route to higher pay.They therefore did not want to remain engineers even if that was where their talent lay. The Microsoft business unit offered engineers a chance to stay on the technical path, receiving promotions, titles, and pay equal to those on the management path. We just have to communicate to people that they do not need to be a manager to move up the ladder, said Hirose. As part of this program, the Microsoft unit offered stock options to 15-20 percent of engineers, in addition to the company-wide practice of offering them to executives at the director level and above.For Wu, ste ps like these were necessary to empower employees and middle managers in particular to take initiative and come up with solutions rather than relying on business unit heads, who had an increasing amount on their plates as a result of VanceInfos rapid growth. In addition to overseeing hundreds of projects for MNC clients, business unit directors had to meet P&L numbers to satisfy Wall Street, win more business, and hire and retain the right staff. We need to have infrastructure in place so that normal people can do a fabulous job, Wu commented.Rather than groom from within, business units that did ITS work preferred to hire senior managers externally. But Xi realized that doing so exclusively was demoralizing for internal staff, who needed promotion opportunities to stay motivated. Thats the challenge Im facing right now, he said. He of late hired a native English speaker to train talented engineers, promising them a promotion if they improved their English in six months. Retaining Junior Employees Retaining junior employees was tricky in a fast-growth economy like Chinas.According to Liu, young workers had high expectations for quick promotions and salary hikes. With multinationals again offering higher salaries than VanceInfo could afford, the company emphasized opportunity and training over wages. Junior employees seemed satisfied with their VanceInfo salaries compared to those of peers in the same industry, but they stressed the importance of opportunity as part of their job satisfaction and their belief that VanceInfo, as a strong-growing company in a fast-growing industry, offered them that opportunity. If it did not, said one, I will look for another job. VanceInfo found that retention was generally better among junior employees who attended VanceInfo University and/or worked as interns at VanceInfo before macrocosm hired full-time. That said, VanceInfo expected worse retention rates for junior staff, as employees unsuited for promotion or in low-end, non career-track jobs inevitably decided to pursue opportunities elsewhere. If they leave after three, four, or five years, its okay, said Lu. General Industries Solutions head Xi estimated that his business unit focused on providing a clear career path for its top 20 percent of employees only.Scaling How China-Based VanceInfo Grows Big Fast HR-34 p. 18 Training VanceInfos focus on keeping labor costs down, and its perpetual need for bodies to fill large numbers of entry-level jobs, made hiring a greater proportion of VanceInfo engineers straight from university an important goal, particularly if the firm wanted to expand its workforce to 20,000 in five years. However, fresh engineering graduates in China were not well prepared to jump into VanceInfo projects their university training was very theoretical.Recent graduate He Xiangao explained We always learned a lot of theory, but lacked interoperable experience. Both to overcome those deficiencies and as a recruiting tool, VanceI nfos corporate HR department designed a batting cage program with 14 universities in China. These were not the countrys most prestigious colleges, but rather quality tier-two schools that graduated smart students willing to consider employment at a relatively unknown Chinese company rather than at multinational firms paying better wages. VanceInfo University VanceInfos co-op program had two components.The first was called VanceInfo University, in which students selected by VanceInfo recruiters attended the firms training classes for one to three months. At present, VanceInfo University was a more virtual concept than a physical one, with courses taking place at VanceInfo offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Dalian, Xian and a new dedicated training center in Tianjin. VanceInfos Beijing headquarters used to have a separate area for the classes, but the company needed that space to accommodate business growth and so courses there, as of August 2008, took place in conference rooms.Whi le at VanceInfo University, students attended classes in common software development languages like C++, basic software testing, and other technical areas, plus English. VanceInfo then tested the students and recommended them to different business units, providing the units information on the training they received and their English language level. Business units then sent project managers to interview the candidates. The project manager might choose, say, three out of eight candidates. Those who werent selected received more training.