Monday, December 23, 2019

Poetry Analysis of Third Eye by Muhammod Darwish - 2056 Words

Max Bonetti Mrs. Onorato English – World Classics 29th October 2012 Third Eye View â€Å"He Opens Wide a Third Eye†¦Ã¢â‚¬  by Bei Dao in his written work Old Snow, is a narrative of one mans life and his epiphany on society as life and death would influence it. Bei Dao shows a man looking through a â€Å"third eye† or â€Å"inner eye† view, a very mystical and spiritual way to look at life that only the most enlightened peoples have been able to observe. The poem by Bei Dao starts off by a man opening wide his third eye, showing that finally this man has achieved enlightenment by spiritual guidance or by another catalyst of sorts and shows that he is now disconnected from the â€Å"world† and is in his own mind to see what the â€Å"world† has to tell him and†¦show more content†¦Should he stay with them and live as he was or now take these new influences of life and live as he should or die and go to the golden coffin, die, earlier then expected. As he takes in his surroundings the people are still staring, judging his every move and every move he made in his life. They are judging to see if he will make the right choice, to see if he has made the right choices before and to see if he is truly able to be apart of the Emperor’s memory (heaven). In the last line of the poem Dao states a very powerful line â€Å"the exile of words has begun† (Dao 326). There is no more talking, no more waiting its do or die from here on out. The man starts to awaken from his spiritual journey as he got full intentions where his life was heading if he kept living the way he was. Yet he can’t explain what has happened to him, lost of words he now sees life in a new light. And now the greatest conflict has occurred, will he change his life and do good by being his own being and follow the new path through the setting sun or will he be affected by outside influence and sit idly by like the people behind the rock and do as society tells him. This poem is about great strife in one mans life and shows how one single outlook or journey can change one mans perspective to start to live differently. But who is the man? What is the journey he just took? What theories or morals did he take from this great extensive spiritual journey? Is

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Management and Information Systems Free Essays

string(83) " by managers and employees in the firm is called A\) information systems literacy\." Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, 11e (Laudon/Laudon) Chapter 1 Information Systems in Global Business Today 1) Internet advertising is growing at a rate of more than 25 percent a year. Answer: TRUE 2) Developing a new product, fulfilling an order, and hiring a new employee are examples of business processes. Answer: TRUE 3) A fully digital firm produces only digital goods or services. We will write a custom essay sample on Management and Information Systems or any similar topic only for you Order Now Answer: FALSE 4) A business model describes how a company produces, delivers, and sells a product or service to create wealth. Answer: TRUE ) Information technology (IT) consists of all the hardware that a firm needs to use in order to achieve its business objectives, whereas information systems consist of all the software and business processes needed. Answer: FALSE 6) Computers are only part of an information system. Answer: TRUE 7) Information systems literacy describes the behavioral approach to information systems, whereas computer literacy describes the technical approach. Answer: FALSE 8) The dimensions of information systems are management, organizations, and information technology. Answer: TRUE 9) Knowledge workers assist with paperwork at all levels of the firm. Answer: FALSE 10) In order to understand how a specific business firm uses information systems, you need to know something about the hierarchy and culture of the company. Answer: TRUE 11) Business processes are logically related tasks for accomplishing tasks that have been formally encoded by an organization. Answer: FALSE 12) There are four major business functions: Sales and marketing; manufacturing and production; finance and accounting; and information technology. Answer: FALSE 13) A network requires at least two computers and a shared resource, such as a printer. Answer: FALSE 14) A substantial part of management responsibility is creative work driven by new knowledge and information. Answer: TRUE 15) Intranets allow firms to work easily with third-party suppliers and vendors. Answer: FALSE 16) An IT infrastructure provides the platform on which the firm can build its information systems. Answer: TRUE 17) UPS’s use of Web-based tools that allow customers to embed UPS functions such as tracking and cost calculations into their own Web sites was an information systems solution used to achieve customer intimacy. Answer: TRUE 18) Government and private sector standards are examples of complementary social assets required to optimize returns from IT investments. Answer: TRUE 19) A firm that invests in efficient business processes is making an investment in organizational complementary assets. Answer: TRUE 20) In the behavioral approach to information systems, technology is ignored in favor of understanding the psychological, social, and economic impacts of systems. Answer: FALSE 1) The six important business objectives of information technology are new products, services, and business models; customer and supplier intimacy; survival; competitive advantage; operational excellence; and A) improved flexibility. B) improved decision making. C) improved business practices. D) improved efficiency. Answer: B 22) Dell Computer’s use of information systems to improve efficiency and implement â€Å"mass customization† techniques to maintain consistent profitability and an industry lead ill ustrates which business objective? A) improved flexibility B) improved business practices C) competitive advantage D) survival Answer: C 23) The use of information systems because of necessity describes the business objective of A) survival. B) improved business practices. C) competitive advantage. D) improved flexibility. Answer: A 24) Which of the following choices may lead to competitive advantage: (1) new products, services, and business models; (2) charging less for superior products; (3) responding to customers in real time? A) 1 only B) 1 and 2 C) 2 and 3 D) 1, 2, and 3 Answer: D 25) Verizon’s implementation of a Web-based digital dashboard to provide managers with real-time information such as customer complaints is an xample of A) improved flexibility. B) improved decision making. C) improved efficiency. D) customer and supplier intimacy. Answer: B 26) The move of retail banking to use ATMs after Citibank unveiled its first ATMs illustrates the use of information systems to achieve which business objective? A) improved efficiency B) customer and supplier intimacy C) survival D) co mpetitive advantage Answer: C 27) An information system can be defined technically as a set of interrelated components that collect, process, store, and distribute information to support A) decision making and control in an organization. B) communications and data flow. C) managers analyzing the organization’s raw data. D) the creation of new products and services. Answer: A 28) The three activities in an information system that produce the information organizations use to control operations are A) information retrieval, research, and analysis. B) input, output, and feedback. C) input, processing, and output. D) data analysis, processing, and feedback. Answer: C 29) Order data for baseball tickets and bar code data are examples of A) raw input. B) raw output. C) customer and product data. D) sales information. Answer: A 0) The average number of tickets sold daily online is an example of A) input. B) raw data. C) meaningful information. D) feedback. Answer: C 31) Output A) is feedback that has been processed to create meaningful information. B) is information that is returned to appropriate members of the organization to help them evaluate the input stage. C) transfers data to the people who will use it or to t he activities for which it will be used. D) transfers processed information to the people who will use it or to the activities for which it will be used. Answer: D 32) Converting raw data into a more meaningful form is called A) capturing. B) processing. C) organizing. D) feedback. Answer: B 33) An example of raw data from a national chain of automobile stores would be A) an average of 13 Toyotas are sold daily in Kentucky. B) 30 percent increase in Toyota RAV 4 sales during September in Kentucky. C) 1 Toyota RAV4 sold March 3, 2008 in Louisville, Kentucky. D) all of the above. Answer: C 34) The field that deals with behavioral issues as well as technical issues surrounding the development, use, and impact of information systems used by managers and employees in the firm is called A) information systems literacy. You read "Management and Information Systems" in category "Essay examples" B) information systems architecture. C) management information systems. D) information technology infrastructure. Answer: C 35) In a hierarchical organization, the upper levels consist of A) managerial and professional employees. B) managerial, professional, and technical employees. C) professional and operational employees. D) managerial, professional, and operational employees. Answer: B 36) Which of the six strategic business objectives did the NBA’s use of Synergy Sports Technology help to achieve? A) customer and supplier intimacy B) improved decision making C) new products and services D) operational excellence Answer: B 37) The fundamental set of assumptions, values, and ways of doing things that has been accepted by most of a company’s members is called its A) culture. B) environment. C) atmosphere. D) values. Answer: A 38) Thomas Friedman’s declaration that the world was now â€Å"flat† meant that A) the Internet has reduced the economic advantages of developed countries. B) globalization is starting to offer less advantage to large corporations. C) the global economy is increasingly commanded by fewer and larger corporations. D) global capitalism is homogenizing culture and business practices throughout the world. Answer: A 39) Data management technology consists of the A) physical hardware and media used by an organization for storing data. B) detailed, preprogrammed instructions that control and coordinate the computer hardware components in an information system. C) software governing the organization of data on physical storage media. D) hardware and software used to transfer data. Answer: C 40) The hardware and software used to transfer data in an organization is called A) data management technology. B) networking and data management technology. C) data and telecommunications technology. D) networking and telecommunications technology. Answer: D 41) Networking and telecommunications technologies, along with computer hardware, software, data management technology, and the people required to run and manage them, constitute an organization’s A) data management environment. B) networked environment. C) IT infrastructure. D) information system. Answer: C 42) An example of a business using information systems to create new products and services is A) Wal-Mart’s RetailLink system. B) the Mandarin Oriental hotel’s customer-preference tracking system. C) Verizon’s Web-based digital dashboard. D) Apple Inc. ‘s iPod. Answer: D 43) An example of a business using information systems to attain operational excellence is A) Wal-Mart’s RetailLink system. B) the Mandarin Oriental hotel’s customer-preference tracking system. C) Verizon’s Web-based digital dashboard. D) Apple Inc. ‘s iPod. Answer: A 44) An example of a business using information systems for customer and supplier intimacy is A) Wal-Mart’s RetailLink system. B) the Mandarin Oriental hotel’s customer-preference tracking system. C) Verizon’s Web-based digital dashboard. D) Apple Inc. ‘s iPod. Answer: B 45) Maintaining the organization’s financial records is a central purpose of which main business function? A) manufacturing and accounting B) finance and accounting C) sales and manufacturing D) finance and sales Answer: B 46) Based on the examples in the chapter, if you were asked to formulate a plan for a regional drive-in restaurant chain’s efforts to use information technology to develop a loyal customer base, what would be the best use of information technology from the list below? A) Use IT to increase supplier loyalty. B) Use IT to increase operational efficiency. C) Use IT to create new products and business models. D) Use IT to help survive government reporting requirements. E) Use IT to achieve customer intimacy. Answer: E 47) The fact that online advertising revenues are growing at 25 percent a year, while offline traditional advertising revenues are growing at about 5 percent a year, suggests that A) Internet advertising is very inexpensive. B) offline traditional advertising is not very effective. C) the Internet is transforming the traditional advertising business model. D) new technologies are more efficient at selling to customers. Answer: C 48) Toyota Motor Company’s vehicle orders management system allows it to improve efficiency by basing vehicle production on A) superior forecasts of regional demand. B) actual customer orders. C) improved decision making. D) customer preferences. Answer: B Diff: 3Page Ref: 15 AACSB: Use of information technology CASE: Content Objective: 1. 1 49) In a business hierarchy, the level that is responsible for monitoring the daily activities of the business is A) middle management. B) service workers. C) production management. D) operational management. Answer: D 50) Which of the following are environmental actors that interact with an organization and its information systems? A) customers B) suppliers C) regulatory agencies D) all of the above Answer: D 51) From a business perspective, raw data is transformed systematically during various stages, transforming it into valuable information, in a process called A) the information value chain. B) the IT value chain. C) information processing. D) feedback. Answer: A 2) A corporation that funds a political action committee, which in turn promotes and funds a political candidate who agrees with the values of that corporation, could be seen as investing in which main category of complementary assets? A) managerial B) governmental C) social D) organizational Answer: C 53) Apple Computer dominates the online legal music sales industry primarily because of a failure of recording label companies to A) invest in technology . B) adopt a new business model. C) invest in complementary assets. D) modernize their information value chain. Answer: B 54) An example of an organizational complementary asset is A) using the appropriate business model. B) a collaborative work environment. C) laws and regulations. D) all of the above. Answer: A 55) An example of a social complementary asset is A) technology and service firms in adjacent markets. B) training programs. C) distributed decision-making rights. D) all of the above. Answer: A 56) Disciplines that contribute to the technical approach to information systems are: A) computer science, engineering, and networking. B) operations research, management science, and computer science. C) engineering, utilization management, and computer science. D) management science, computer science, and engineering. Answer: B 57) The discipline that focuses on mathematical techniques for optimizing parameters of organizations, such as transportation and inventory control, is A) management science. B) MIS. C) operations research. D) utilization management. Answer: C 58) Sociologists study information systems with an eye to understanding A) how systems affect individuals, groups, and organizations. B) how human decision makers perceive and use formal information. C) how new information systems change the control and cost structures within the firm. D) the production of digital goods. Answer: A 59) Psychologists study information systems with an eye to understanding A) how systems affect individuals, groups, and organizations. B) how human decision makers perceive and use formal information. C) how new information systems change the control and cost structures within the firm. D) the production of digital goods. Answer: B 60) The costs for firms operating on a global scale have been drastically reduced by A) networking technology. B) investments in organizational complementary assets. C) the Internet. D) the rise of digital content. Answer: C 1) Which of the following are key corporate assets? A) intellectual property, core competencies, and financial and human assets B) production technologies and business processes for sales, marketing, and finance C) knowledge and the firm’s tangible assets, such as goods or services D) time and knowledge Answer: A 62) Overproduction or underproduction of goods and services, misallocat ion of resources, and poor response times are the results of a firm’s having A) poor relationships with suppliers. B) poor relationships with customers. C) inadequate information. D) a surplus of information. Answer: C 63) A firm that must invest in new information systems capabilities in order to comply with federal legislation can be said to be investing to achieve which business objective? A) customer intimacy B) operational excellence C) survival D) improved reporting Answer: C 64) Which of the following would NOT be used as an input for an information system? A) digital dashboard B) handheld computer C) bar-code scanner D) cell phone Answer: A 65) Which field of study focuses on both a behavioral and technical understanding of information systems? A) sociology B) operations research C) economics D) management information systems Answer: D 66) The three principle levels within a business organization hierarchy are A) senior management, operational management, and service workers. B) senior management, middle management, and operational management. C) senior management, operational management, and information systems. D) senior management, middle management, and service workers. Answer: B 67) Engineers, scientists, or architects, who design new products or services for a firm, belong to which level of a business hierarchy? A) middle management B) production workers C) knowledge workers D) data workers Answer: C 68) Which main business function is responsible for maintaining employee records? A) sales and marketing B) human resources C) finance and accounting D) manufacturing and production Answer: B 69) Which of the following constitutes an organizational element in the UPS tracking system described in the chapter? A) the specification of procedures for identifying packages with sender and recipient information B) monitoring service levels C) promoting the company strategy of low-cost, superior service D) the use of handheld computers and networks for managing package delivery Answer: A 0) A managerial element in the UPS tracking system described in the chapter is A) taking inventory. B) providing package status reports to customers. C) the decision to use automation. D) in-house package tracking software. Answer: C 71) ________ is data that has been shaped into a form that is meaningful to human beings. Answer: Information 72) ________ is output returned to approp riate members of the organization to help them evaluate or correct the input stage. Answer: Feedback 73) ________ is a global network that uses universal standards to connect millions of different networks around the world. Answer: The Internet 74) Computer ________ consists of the detailed, preprogrammed instructions that control and coordinate the computer hardware components in an information system. Answer: software 75) The ________ is a service provided by the Internet that uses universally accepted standards for storing, retrieving, formatting, and displaying information in a page format. Answer: World Wide Web/Web/WWW 76) ________ are private corporate networks extended to authorized users outside the organization. Answer: Extranets 7) The key elements of an organization are its people, structure, business processes, politics, and ________. Answer: culture 78) In a(n) ________ perspective, the performance of a system is optimized when both the technology and the organization mutually adjust to one another until a satisfactory fit is obtained. Answer: sociotechnical 79) ________ makes long-range strategic decisions about the firm’s products and services. Answer: Senior management 80) Invest ments in organization and management, such as investments in new business models and training, are also known as ________. Answer: organizational and management capital 81) Define operational excellence. How can information systems help achieve it? Answer: Operational excellence is the achievement of higher levels of productivity, efficiency, profitability. Information systems can help achieve operational excellence by improving communications to supplier and optimizing the supply chain. Information systems could help managers communicate with workers more efficiently, enable technological innovation in products, minimize warehouse overhead, streamline distribution. 82) You work for an auto manufacturer and distributor. How could you use information systems to achieve greater customer intimacy? Answer: You could create a Web site that allows customers to customize cars, communicate with support personnel and other car owners. You could create an automated e-mail service reminding car owners to take their car in for periodic checkups. You could have an information system that tracks customer preferences in local areas, so you can provide cars that reflect local customer needs and desires. 83) What is the difference between information technology and information systems? Describe some of the functions of information systems. Answer: Information technology (IT) consists of all the hardware and software that a firm needs to use to achieve its business objectives. Information systems are more complex. An information system can be defined technically as a set of interrelated components that collect (or retrieve), process, store, and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organization. An information system: †¢supports decision making, coordination, and control †¢helps employees analyze problems †¢helps employees visualize complex subjects †¢helps create new products 4) You are a marketing manager for a national movie theater chain. Give an example of data that your department could use for creating meaningful information. What type of information could that data produce? Answer: Movie ticket sales from individual theaters would be an example of raw data. Meaningful information from this would be: average number of tickets sold to seniors on certain days of the week. 85) Define business process. What might be a business process used at a hospital? Answer: A business process is a set of logically related tasks and behaviors for accomplishing work. Hiring a new employee, customer intake, and filing medical records are examples of business processes at a hospital. 86) You are starting a small bike messenger company. Given your type of services (hand-delivering packages within a small geographical area), could your firm be a digital firm? If so, what would make this a digital firm? Answer: Being a digital firm doesn’t purely rely on having digital goods and services. A digital firm would have most of its relationships with customers, suppliers, and employees be digitally enabled. Ordering deliveries, assigning deliveries, managing employees and assignments could certainly be digitally enabled; using cell phones, information systems, and handheld devices to connect customers, delivery management, and bike messengers. 87) This chapter discusses how each organization has its own culture and sets of values shared by most of its members. What kind of shared values might you find at a law firm? Answer: Shared values at a law firm might be: The legal system works, the legal system is fair, lawyers help people, and people need help with the legal system because it is complicated. 8) You work at the business headquarters for a chain of movie theaters. Describe this firm’s information value chain. Answer: An information value chain adds value to data at various stages, transforming it into valuable data. At a chain of movie theaters, data would be gathered from ticket sales and concession sales. Information systems would help transform this into meaningful infor mation, such as determining the types of movies popular in certain regions, times and days of the week that people most often saw movies, what snacks were the most popular. This information would be valuable in making decisions, such as offering ticket discounts during less popular time slots, and offering more popular snack items. Further feedback based on the results of these decisions could determine whether these decisions were effective. 89) How does a company’s use of information systems affect its corporate strategies? Provide an example. Answer: A firm’s ability to effectively use information technology is interdependent with its ability to implement corporate strategies and achieve corporate goals. More and more, the ability to compete and succeed depends on a company’s ability to implement technology. What a business would like to do in the future can depends on what its systems will be able to do. Examples of this might be a company who invests in information systems that enable it to create new products or to make its distribution system more efficient, allowing the company to become the low-cost producer. 90) The information systems of Accenture, a global consulting firm, allow for a highly decentralized organization without a traditional headquarters. Based on your reading of Chapter 1, which of the six strategic business objectives does Accenture’s information systems contribute to? Answer: Student answers will vary. The following is an example of a possible answer: Accenture’s information systems allow its mobile workforce to be within easy, constant reach of its customers, contributing to the business objective of customer and supplier intimacy. Additionally, the ability of employees to connect to and work with local branch information systems in standard ways, regardless of their location, contributes to more efficient processes and operational excellence. How to cite Management and Information Systems, Essay examples

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Queensland Rail Recruitment Challenges †Free Samples for Students

Question: Discus about the Queensland Rail Recruitment Challenges. Answer: Queensland Rail Recruitment Challenges and Recommendations The success of an organization is largely contributed by the effectiveness of its employees, whose performance is dependent on recruitment. Any challenges in the workforce arising from recruitment, therefore, need to be addressed for effective operations toward achieving company goals (De Cieri Kramar, 2003). Queensland Rail is an organization providing transport as a railway operator in Australia. The organization operating in Queensland and has been estimated to offer over 20,000 employment opportunities each year. The railway operator has however faced various challenges in recruitment, which has impeded the recruitment of the top talent required by the innovative company. This paper seeks to highlight some of the recruitment challenges faced by Queensland Rail as a result of engaging in poor recruitment practices. It also makes recommendations on how they can be solved and possible recruitment strategies for the company. Recruitment Challenges Faced by Queensland Rail and their Recommended Solutions Organizational Image and Brand Research has shown that companies offering candidates a poor experience during assessment damage their brand to an extent that has the candidates no longer consuming from it (Ogunfowora, 2014). Queensland Rails brand and image were put at risk through poor recruitment practices that gave candidates the wrong perceptions. The organization had poor communication in their recruitment process. This is made evident by reports indicating a lack of job advertisements even after plans by Queensland Rail to employ more people after staff shortages were identified. This lack of proper communication kept the qualified individuals needed by the fast growing organization from applying for the positions. It also frustrated candidates seeking employment information on Queensland Rail and hardly find it. The frustration experienced by the candidates, therefore, damages Queensland Rails brand and fails to attract the top talent needed by the company (Allen, Mahto Otondo, 2007). Queensland Rail is committed to protecting their brand and image by ensuring they are used in accordance with the organizations stipulated behavior (Worthington, Russell-Bennett Hartel, 2010). Consequently, it is recommended that the recruitment practices carried out are transparent, open and accountable. Queensland Rail can achieve this through the employment of a better communication system where all potential candidates for the job are able to access all the information regarding the position. Scheduling by the transport provider should also ensure announcements are made in time and the given information is clear and easy to understand. Contacts through which the candidate can communicate with Queensland Rail in the case of any questions should also be included in an effort towards openness and transparency. These recommendations will ensure that Queensland Rail remains the leading provider of integrated transport services in Australia. Supply and Demand of Staff A commission of inquiry launched to investigate the train crewing practices at Queensland Rail in 2016 identified shortage of staff as one of the problems facing the organization. This was found to be as a result of an increased demand for train crew services between 2014 and 2016 that did not meet the supply of the hired train crew. The supply of qualified personnel also decreased due to recruitment decisions by management to cease driver recruitments and reduce the training offered to recruits. Another reason for the decreased supply of train crew staff was the restriction on Queensland Rails ability to make external recruitments. This created challenges in recruitment, burdening the organization and depleting guard ranks. These poor recruitment practices, therefore, led to a low supply of train crew that could not meet the demand of Queensland Rail and a disruption of their operations (Broadbridge, Maxwell Ogden, 2009). A program should be implemented at Queensland Rail with the intention of predicting the train crews demand and supply. The recommended program should also take into consideration any future projects and changes in operations that will require staff recruitment (Si, 2015). Keeping a surplus of staff especially train crew is another recommendation that Queensland Rail requires in addressing the shortage of staff supply. Proper recruitment practices will ensure this supply is developed and maintained over time as a preventive measure. In an effort to keep the supply of train crew in surplus, the process of recruitment should remain open to attract external applicants. Open recruitment further contributes to diversity in the applicants resulting in diverse staff (Campion, 2015). The implementation of these recommendations will prevent further disruptions in Queensland Rails train operations. High Cost of Recruitment Process Queensland Rail, in an effort to address train crew shortages, has spent an estimated $100 million on recruitment agencies. The high cost paid to the agencies is brought about by the need to find qualified candidates fast and the urgency to fill critical roles. The money used in the recruitment process is incorporated in the calculation of return on investment. High costs in the recruitment process may, therefore, lead to major losses to the company if they exceed the returns resulting from this practice (Munstermann, Eckhardt Weitzel, 2010). The cost of recruiting staff, therefore, needs to be economical to ensure that staff recruitment creates a return on investment and is beneficial to Queensland Rail with regard to financial results. Recommendations that Queensland Rail may choose to implement to address this issue include seeking cheaper alternatives that are just as effective and even more efficient (Breaugh, 2017). This could be done through the introduction of an automated recruiting system, which will make the process simpler in terms of selection, communication and scheduling processes of recruitment. This will minimize the costs used in these processes and better management of the process will ensure Queensland Rail does not end up in situations where they have to hire staffing agencies for urgent staffing (Lad Das, 2016). Queensland Rail should also focus on the proper scheduling of their recruitment to ensure it is always ready to effectively fill critical positions without the having to pay heavy costs for fast service. Staff Retention Failure The transport industry is a highly competitive jobs market that is also dynamic and always in need for new talent. These facts put Queensland Rail at the risk of losing their top talent due to poor recruitment practices. The human resource department in charge of recruitment at the organization has not set up a system where top talent is identified and retained. The top talent or high performers are also not rewarded and this makes the employees lack the motivation to fully perform and deliver their services to Queensland Rails (Samuel and Chipunza, 2009). The unsatisfied employees might also choose to leave the organization to Queensland Rails competitors offering better recognition and reward. Failure to retain top talent affects the organizations long-term growth and causes the company to incur costs through replacing employees. For a transport company priding itself in innovation, Queensland Rail ends up lacking the staff responsible for creating and maintaining this innovation ( Armstrong, Brown Reilly, 2011). Identification of top talent at the company and retention of these employees is significant to the growth and performance of Queensland Rail. A system that identifies top talent and rewards them is, therefore, necessary in the organization. Rewards could be in the form of promotions and raised ranks, which will work as an incentive to motivate the staff (Hauskanecht, Rodda Howard, 2009). Motivated staffs are less likely to leave the company and give better performance at work. Implementing the system will, therefore, ensure growth for Queensland Rail through retention of talented employees who are in line with the companys innovative goals. The company is also meant to experience good financial results due to better performances (Sebastian, 2007).Introduction Ageing Workforce Challenge In the final 2017 report of the Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Rails train crewing practices, it was acknowledged that part of the staff consisted of an aging workforce. This was made clear in a statement explaining that in an effort to retain employees, Queensland Rail was supporting the transition of staff into retirement among other practices. The transport provider also acknowledged the fact this decision would probably have a negative impact in the long term (Rudolph, Toomey Baltez, 2015). The dominance of an aging workforce in an organization is often an indicator of outdated skills and a shortage of relevant skills (Beck, 2014). This has a negative effect on the transport industry, which requires an innovative set of skills by workers in order to stay ahead of the competition and grow. This is made harder by the fact that the younger generation is not attracted to the transport industry with regard to career decisions. Those eventually pursuing this career choose to pu rsue other careers first before finally settling on the transport industry. It is recommended that the recruiting department at Queensland Rail, therefore, needs to effectively campaign for the application of jobs by qualified young people. The recruitment campaign will focus on getting more young adults to take consider the transport industry in their career. This can be achieved by changing the image of employment in the transport industry to make it attractive to young people. The current image of working at Queensland Rail may portray negative perceptions of a working environment that is not sophisticated and this diverts the interest of young people. Queensland Rail can also use a recruitment system that collects demographic information and makes the process of finding younger people easier. Queensland, therefore, needs to invest in a workforce including young people who are more likely to grow the company through new ideas and skills (Zimmer, 2016). Conclusion The challenges discussed in this paper make it clear that although Queensland Rail is the leading integrated transport provider in Australia, it is facing some recruitment challenges that hinder its operations. The transport industry is dynamic and competitive and these do not allow for any disruption. Challenges such as staff shortage, recruitment costs and flight risk of unsatisfied employees should be addressed. All of the mentioned challenges arise from poor recruitment practices and lack of investment in the proper recruitment strategies. Recommendations offered in the report offer solutions to problems faced by Queensland Rail in the form of reduced costs, a system that will assist in better recruitment practices and better management of operation schedules. Based on the recommendations offered, the ultimate solution for the recruitment challenges faced by Queensland Rail seems to be the implementation of an automated system customized for their recruitment needs. The system brings make the recruitment process more organized resulting in minimized costs, better communication with candidates, improved brand image, less time is taken to fill critical positions, attracting and retaining the organizations top talent. Incorporation of recruitment strategies in addition to this will ensure the company carries out its functions effectively and remains the leading provider of integrated transport services in Australia. References Allen, D. G., Mahto, R. V., Otondo, R. F. (2007). Web-based recruitment: effects of information, organizational brand, and attitudes toward a Web site on applicant attraction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1696. Armstrong, M., Brown, D., Reilly, P. (2011). 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