Supply Chain and Operations Management Assignment - 1

Supply Chain and Operations Management - Assignment Example According to the AIMS' Institute of Supply Chain Management, it is a management of a global network used to deliver products and services from raw materials to end customers through an engineered flow of information, physical distribution, and cash.Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the management of the relationship between the supplier's supplier and the customer's customer through the supply chain participants (Distributor/Wholesaler and Retailer) between them, mainly using information flow and logistics activities to gain Competitive advantage and customer satisfaction.A supply chain, as opposed to supply chain management, is a set of organizations directly linked by one or more upstream and downstream flows of products, services, finances, or information from a source to a customer. Supply chain management is the management of such a chain.[7]In many cases the supply chain includes the collection of goods after consumer use for recycling. SCM is a cross-functional approach that in cludes managing the movement of raw materials into an organization, certain aspects of the internal processing of materials into finished goods, and the movement of finished goods out of the organization and toward the end consumer. As organizations strive to focus on core competencies and becoming more flexible, they reduce their ownership of raw materials sources and distribution channels. These functions are increasingly being outsourced to other firms that can perform the activities better or more cost effectively.

Contemporary Theories of Reasoning: An Analysis

Contemporary Theories of Reasoning: An Analysis Computational and algorithmic challenges to contemporary theories of reasoning Kattja Madrell Reasoning is the process of using given information to draw valid conclusions and produce new information (Goel Dolan, 2003) based on a combination of beliefs and language of thought (Fodor, 2001). The language of thought hypothesis proposed by Fodor (2001) states that thought and thinking occurs in a mental language; mental representations of reasoning are like sentences and this is why language of thought is sometimes also known as Mentalese (Murat 2010). Fodor (2001) admitted, however, that language of thought alone could not be used to explain reasoning; instead a combination of language of thought and a person’s belief is now accepted as the basis of human reasoning. Evans, Barston, Pollard (1983) found that a person’s beliefs about the conclusion of an argument influenced whether or not they deemed that conclusion to be valid; the truth value of a conclusion was based upon its logical relationship to a belief (Goel Dolan, 2003). Marr’s Levels of Analysis (1982) is a tri-level hypothesis that provides us with a critical framework to analyse and evaluate models of psychology thoroughly and consistently. There are three different levels; the computational level, the algorithmic level and the implementational level. In the field of cognitive psychology these levels have also been referred to as the semantic, the syntactic, and the physical (Pylyshyn, 1984). Marr (1982) describes the three levels of analysis as the following: â€Å"1. Computational Theory: the goal of the computation, why is it appropriate, and what is the logic of the strategy by which it can be carried out? 2. Representation and algorithm: How can this computational theory be implemented? In particular, what is the representation for the input and output, and what is the algorithm for the transformation? 3. Hardware implementation: How can the representation and algorithm be realized physically?† In other words, the computational level of analysis is concerned with what the model or system in question does and why does it do so. The algorithmic level builds upon this and analyses the way in which the system performs its computation whilst the implementational level is concerned with the way in which the system is physically implemented. Each level is a realisation of the level before it providing a more complete explanation of the system than its predecessor. This allows for the preservation of many of the properties of inter-level relationships in complex systems (McClamrock, 1991). This essay will discuss some of the critical issues and challenges to various contemporary theories of reasoning using Marr’s levels of analysis. Monotonic reasoning is based upon a series of logical rules. These rules are strict, rigid and cannot be altered by the addition of new information; instead this leads to the production of new beliefs (Brachman Levesque, 2004). In the absence of justifications that would make a rule non-monotonic, we use monotonic reasoning as a default (Lakemeyer Nebel, 1994). For example: A bass guitar (A) has four strings (B) A = B. James’ instrument (C) is a bass guitar (A) A = C Therefore James’ instrument (C) has four strings (B) (C = B) This is an example of monotonic reasoning; the rules are consistent and based on logic and do not appear to be problematic. But what happens when we learn that James’s bass guitar actually has five strings? Reasoning monotonically forces us to learn a new rule (A =  ¬B) that contradicts a rule that is already known to be true (A = B). The principle of contradiction proposes that statements which contract each other – such as â€Å"a bass guitar has four strings† and â€Å"a bass guitar does not have four strings† – are mutually exclusive and cannot both be true in the same sense at the same time (Whitehead Russell, 1912). Monotonic reasoning displays a computational crisis when faced with logically contradicting information; as the rules cannot be manipulated or altered, the goal of the reasoning cannot be achieved. As we gain new information on various things on a regular basis, it is inappropriate to reason monotonically, like in classical logic (Isaac, Szymanik Verbrugge, 2013), as we will not be able to incorporate any new information to our established beliefs. It stands to reason that the only appropriate time to rely on monotonic reasoning is when in a situation in which one has complete knowledge; this, however, is still risky as one may believe that they have complete knowledge of a situation as long as they are not aware of any reason or evidence to suspect otherwise, demonstrating a false belief of what is known as the Closed World Assumption, an example of non-monotonic reasoning (Etherington, 1986) Non-monotonic reasoning is computationally more complex than monotonic reasoning; with its main forms all sharing the same level of complexity (Eiter Gottlob, 1992). This is because the system is malleable and based on various different connections being made. Unlike in monotonic reasoning, the addition of new information that may be contradictive of beliefs already held can alter what is already known; this occurs in two main ways belief revision and belief update. Belief revision is the addition of new information into a set of old beliefs without any logical contradictions or inconsistencies; preserving as much information as possible. Belief update is the changing (or ‘updating’) of old beliefs to take into account any differences (Gà ¤rdenfors, 2003). Non-monotonic reasoning leads to common-sense conclusions being drawn that are based upon the combination of both supporting evidence and the lack of contradictory evidence; Monotonic reasoning encounters problems with this due to the fact that the beliefs being reasoned about do not consider the absence of knowledge (Etherington, 1986). Non-monotonic reasoning shows a level of tautology that is not present in its monotonic counterpart; as beliefs are revised or updated to incorporate new information they become harder to negate. Take the previous example: A bass guitar (A) has four strings (B) A = B James’ instrument (C) is a bass guitar (A) A = C Therefore James’ instrument (C) has four strings (B) (C = B) We now know that the bass guitar in question has 5 strings. Using non-monotonic reasoning we can now amend our initial belief that a bass guitar has four strings so that it now shows: A bass guitar (A) usually has four strings (B) unless it does not have four strings ( ¬B) A = B unless A =  ¬B This example demonstrates a common display of default reasoning (Reiter, 1980); statistically most A’s are B’s so it is acceptable to make a general assumption based on the statistical majority. As well as making general assumptions, default reasoning is also based upon conventional and persistent assumptions, along with a lack of contradictive information (Brachman Levesque, 2004). Various rules of inference in non-monotonic reasoning have been proposed and explored, including circumscription (McCarthy, 1980) and negation as failure (Clark, 1978). The closed world assumption is a form of non-monotonic reasoning based on the assumption of complete knowledge. Proposed by Reiter in 1978 the closed world assumption is described as follows: â€Å"If we assume all relevant positive information is known, anything which is not known to be true must be false. Negative facts may simply be inferred from absence of positive counter parts† (Reiter, 1978). To put it in other terms, if P is not provable from the knowledge base available then we must assume not P ( ¬P) (Etherington, 1986). This assumption has one major flaw; should a person not be in possession of all the relevant information, then the assumption can no longer apply. When (and only when) there is a complete and expert knowledge of the matter being reasoned about is it truly appropriate to employ the closed world assumption. In order to prevent unwanted inferences of non-monotonic logic, such as the false belief of the closed world assumption, it is necessary to retract any assumption of complete knowledge; this leads to the use of implicit general assumptions (Brachman Levesque, 2004). If the addition of any newly learned information is contradictive to these general assumptions, adjustments are made (Etherington, 1986) and beliefs are updated or revised (Gà ¤rdenfors, 2003). The general assumptions made when reasoning non-monotonically are based upon normalcy obtained from knowledge and experience; we may assume that James’ bass guitar has four strings as bass guitars normally do so. But what statistical probability can be assigned to an assumption to label it as ‘normal’ and what situational factors determine which assumptions can be made? When does a situation deem it appropriate to assume? The complexity of the ever-changing algorithms behind non-monotonic reasoning lead to different results being produced; for example, due to slight changes in situation, individual differences and varying information. Default reasoning is arguably one of the most popular forms of non-monotonic reasoning (Reiter, 1978). Based on the principles of default logic (see Nebel, 1991; Goldszmidt Pearl, 1996), default reasoning demonstrates a serious computational crisis known as the specificity principle. The specificity principle states that, when faced with a logical conflict, people make assumptions based more commonly upon more specific defaults than general ones (Brachman Levesque, 2004); this can lead to stronger conclusions and, although at times, these conclusions are correct, the assumption itself that more specific defaults should be preferred is logically lacking (Brewka, 1994). In order to â€Å"make up† for this problem of specificity, one would have to overtly assign the appropriate priority levels to the defaults in regards to the situation in question. According to the principle of contradiction proposed by Whitehead Russell in 1912, when faced with a logical contradiction, a logical person should be able to disregard the restrictions of their system of reasoning to arrive at a logical conclusion. This however is not the case. In fact, much literature to date has shown human beings to behave in an illogical manner, demonstrating various logical fallacies that people reason with when using argumentation to negotiate life in a complex world (Hahn Oaksford, 2013). A few examples of this are ad hominem, ad Hitlerum and the slippery slope argument. When the character of an individual is attacked, it is suggested that any proposition they put forward should be disregarded; this is known as Ad Hominem (Hahn Oaksford, 2013). Ad hominem is a logical fallacy that proposes that once the character or credibility of an individual has been questioned, it is no longer possible for one to have absolute confidence in what that individual says (Harris, 2012). The term ad Hitlerum was coined by Leo Strauss in 1953; it is the name given to the logical argumentation that an idea or a view can be refuted if it is compared to one that may be held by Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party. Harris et al., in 2012, conducted a series of experiments to see whether or not participants agreed or disagreed with an opinion that may had been similar to a view shared by Hitler. They found that participants demonstrated sensitivity to probabilistic information when they were evaluating whether or not the ad Hitlerum argument was convincing. This showed that people based some of their conclusions on the origin of an argument rather than current facts. The slippery slope argument is another logical fallacy based upon belief or assumption rather than evidence, in this case not doing something for fear of what negative consequences that action may lead to. Corner, Hahn, and Oaksford (2011) outlined four defining components of the slippery slope argument: . â€Å"An initial proposal (A). . An undesirable outcome (C). . The belief that allowing (A) will lead to a re-evaluation of (C) in the future. . The rejection of (A) based on this belief.† Within beliefs in the slippery slope argument there appears to be some sort of implied mechanism which leads to the consequent action (C) directly from the antecedent action (A), even though this belief is not based upon prior knowledge nor empirical findings (Hahn Oaksford, 2013). These logical argumentations provide a computational challenge as, should human beings operate logically, conclusions should not be drawn based upon these fallacies however empirical evidence has shown that they frequently are (Harris et al., in 2012). Bayes Theorum is a formula proposed by Thomas Bayes that can be used to calculate probability in everyday reasoning (Bayes Price, 1763). Bayesian reasoning is the process of reasoning probabilistically under uncertain circumstances when not all information is known or available (Korb Nicholson, 2011). Using Bayes theorem, we can calculate the likelihood of different outcomes based on prior knowledge and experience of the world, assign probabilistic values and act accordingly (Oaksford Chater, 2007). The use of Bayesian reasoning has provided a new perspective in the analysis of psychological research; results from empirical studies have shown great deficits in human ability to reason logically (Wason, 1972). Where it would be most logical for participants to seek evidence that negated their hypothesis, they instead searched for and selected evidence that could only lead to the confirmation of their hypotheses (Hahn, Harris Oaksford, 2013). Using Bayes Theorem, however, Oaksford Chater (1994) demonstrated that this confirmatory response was actually the most probabilistically logical response; it involved the selection of data that provided the most information about the truth or falsity of the hypotheses (Hahn, Harris Oaksford, 2013). Persuasion is the process of sending a message to change a belief or incite an action. As well as its personal use, persuasion plays a major role in advertising, politics, law and many more public activities (Kamenica Gentzkow, 2009). There are a variety of different Bayesian persuasion mechanisms, such as talk games (Crawford Sobel, 1982), persuasion games (Milgrom Roberts, 1986), and signalling games (Spence, 1973); Bà ©nabou and Tirole (2004) further adapted the use of Bayesian persuasion to investigate mechanisms of self-signalling and self-regulation. Throughout all aspects of Bayesian reasoning, one thing remains constant; a person (A) can affect the actions of another (B) only by first changing the beliefs of B (Kamenica Gentzkow, 2009). Bayesian persuasion has been criticised in terms of its computational properties. Unlike argumentation, persuasion is concerned with what persuasive techniques work and why regardless of whether or not the reasoning was rational (Madsen et al., 2013). Empirically, the results of study into persuasion have shown that the effects on a person’s beliefs rarely persist (Cook Flay, 1978). There is also a lack of evidence in literature demonstrating that belief change resulting from a persuasive argument produces behaviour that corresponds with the change in belief (Festinger 1964). Bayesian reasoning shows a great deal of algorithmic complexity. The type of information being reasoned about has an effect upon the conclusions drawn with people showing greater difficulty in reasoning with conditional information than joint information (Lewis Keren, 1999). The probability estimates for a hypothesis are frequently updated with the addition of new relevant information using Bayesian inference. Gigerenzer Hoffrage (1995) analysed thousands of Bayesian problems and found that the adaptation of Bayes theorem using a frequency formats can be used to reduce algorithmic complexity. Bayesian persuasion is also a very complex process, most successful persuasion of belief happens after multiple persuasion attempts over a long period of time (Kamenica Gentzkow, 2009). Hahn and Oaksford (2013) proposed that the most influential factor of persuasion is the quality of the argument being put forward; because the quality of an argument is subject to personal opinion it provokes the question ‘what makes an argument good or bad?’ Human beings are not perfect Bayesians (Mullainathan, Schwartzstein Shleifer, 2008) and while some persuasive activities may reflect a person’s failures of rationality, Kamenica and Gentzkow (2009) concluded that a complete understanding of a Bayesian persuasion is needed in order to fully assess results in literature. Recently, psychological study has begun addressing the current issues in the computational and algorithmic levels of different types of reasoning. The effects of emotion upon the ability to reason logically have been called in to question (see Blanchette, 2013; Ayesh, 2003) as has the much greater issue of subjectivity in Bayesian reasoning (see Press, 2009; Ben-David Ben-Eliyahu-Zohary, 2000).

Dandelion Information :: essays research papers fc

Scientific name -Kingdom-Plantea, Phylum- Tracheophyta, Class- Angiospermae, Order- Asterales, Family- Asteraceca, Genus- Taraxacum, Species- officialeDescription - The Taraxacum officiale is a perennial herb that grows from two to eighteen inches tall they are a stem less plant and all parts of the plant contain a milky juice. The leaves are an olive or a dull yellowish color, and smooth with ridged edges where it got its common name, dandelion from the French words "dent de lion" which means lions tooth. The stalks are simple smooth, brittle and hollow. The flowers are one and a half-inch wide and a golden yellow color. The flower blooms from April to August, from 6am to 8pm. They have taproots that can grow up to three feet long in soft soil. There are about 150 to 200 flowerets that are strap shaped that make up the flower.Habitat - Their habitat is in the Northern Temperate Zones located in Europe and Asia. Then the colonists from Europe brought in to America. The pla nt usually grows lawns.Life cycle - The life cycle of the dandelion is when the adult is mature enough the flowerets turn into seeds with a fluff on it. This fluff enables the seed to be picked up the wind to carry it away from the parent plant.Importance - The dandelion has many little known uses to people. Like the roots are bitter, but they can be boiled put into salads when they are young, or they can be used as potherbs. The roots can be roasted and used as a substitute for coffee. The milky juice is used in some tonics for disorders in the digestive system and the liver. The flower stalks can be yields some rubber in the form of threads.

Plan to Improve Organizational Sturcture and Recapture Market Share Essay

Over the past few years, WordPlay Greetings has experienced a sharp decline in market share as well has extremely high turnover of sales staff. The first major challenge discussed was the limited supply of items that are also sold to other national retailers and create competition against Word Plays smaller company owned and franchised stores. The second issue highlighted in our discussion was that operations have been inefficient which also leads to decline of profitability. WordPlay Management was fearful that high turnover of sales staff was a major cause of inefficient operations and stressed the importance of addressing this issue. Technological advances are certainly an issue that every industry must consider when trying to keep with or beat competitors. Online options for the greeting card industry have greatly advanced over the past few years offering ways to send expressions electronically and even customize them with photos and voices without having to leave home. It is critical revive WordPlays website and make stores more appealing to visit with new product lines and customization options that will attract customers and keep them coming back and telling others. Hiring and retaining talented and caring staff is goes hand in hand with keeping up with technology. Knowledgeable and caring sales people are just as important as the product. Developing an organizational culture that inspires and motivates will help spark new creative designs and product offerings for WordPlay Greetings. Bryce & Dancetty has performed industry research, employee and market surveys, leading to job redesign, development of new marketing and product design teams, and improved organizational reward programs that aim at reducing turnover for WordPlay Greetings and getting them back on a path to profits. Introduction Bryce & Dancetty Consulting has been working with WordPlay Greetings over the past several months to analyze their business, develop plans to reduce sales staff turnover, revive its product line, improve its organizational culture, and implement new programs that will motivate employees and enrich jobs and career paths. In this report we will review the methods used to collect data and form plans for change. Causes of Business Downturn WordPlay Greetings market share has seen sharp declines over the past few years. Company leaders concluded that causes for this problem stemmed from the limited supply of items that are also sold to other national retailers and create competition against Word Plays smaller company owned and franchised stores. An additional contributor to their decline was believed to be high turnover with in their sales division. WordPlay leaders agreed to work with Bryce & Dancetty Consulting to look deeper in to these issues and how they could be resolved to help them regain market share and do better at hiring and retaining a highly skilled and motivated sales team. Bryce Dancetty Consulting employed the DECIDE Model which is based on statistical science to examine all aspects of the WordPlay business and its environment. The Decide Model allowed us to define the problem(s) and/or opportunities, along with objectives and constraints. Next, the possible decision factors that make up the alternative courses of action (controllable & uncontrollable) are enumerated (given numeric values). Then, relevant information on the alternatives and possible outcomes is collected. The next step is to identify and select the best alternative based on chosen criteria or measures of success. Then a detailed plan to develop and implement the alternative selected is created and put in to effect. Last, the outcome of the decision process itself is evaluated. We addressed issues by performing a market research and analysis that focuses on the following questions: †¢How can Word Play develop products that are exclusive, unique and will help recapture a higher market share? †¢Can store hours be adjusted based on traffic flow and peak sales times in order to reduce labor costs and increase profitability? Are there colleges in the area that may have marketing and/or design students that would be willing to intern and help bring new/fresh product designs to Word Play Greetings? Research was done and information was gathered via surveys, questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups that Bryce & Dancetty designed and assembled. Surveys and questionnaires provided a wealth of information quickly in a non-threatening manner. Most were completely anonymous and done at a very minimal cost. They were administered via mail as well as online. Feedback received via surveys concluded that Wordplay Greeting Cards current product line was being described as â€Å"stale† by former customers. This perception must be changed in order for the company to regain and increase its market share going forward. Focus Groups were utilized to explore topics related to operational efficiency, product design, marketing strategies, and common complaints regarding products to gain a more in-depth perspective on the best ways to increase market share and profitability. Focus groups yielded results that supported job redesign for the sales division, developing new product design and marketing teams, and creating an organizational culture that motivates and inspires. Sales Division and Sales Clerk Turnover Interviews of corporate employees as well as store staff were performed to better understand their impressions of the current state of the company, their experiences, and their ideas for improvement. From the information gathered, Bryce & Dancetty provided a revised job description which is attached in the appendix for review. In addition to revising the job description for sales clerks, Bryce &Dancetty made several recommendations that do not involve compensation adjustments that can also increase retention of sales staff for Wordplay Greetings. There is a significant need for WordPlay to increase feelings of participation within the organization. While allowing sales associates greater freedom in creating store displays, it is recommended that contests be incorporated to help motivate employees to put forth their best efforts. Allowing sales associates to take responsibility for deciding on how to put together displays is an example of vertically loading the job. Their autonomy increases and they feel more personal accountability for the outcome of their efforts (Hodgetts & Heger 2008, pg. 306). Involvement in new product selections through the creation of employee focus groups is also highly recommended. The focus groups will be allowed to participate on conference calls and in web training to assist with selection of new products that will be carried in the stores and also learn how these choices impact the company financially. This feeds an employee’s desire to learn and grow in their career, knowledge, and skill (Heathfield 2012). A recent McKinsey Quarterly survey underscores this type of opportunity. Respondents felt that the chance to lead projects or task forces were often more effective at motivating than financial increases (McKinsey Quarterly 2009). Another way to build a connection within an organization and increase the sense of belonging that employees feel is to create a company newsletter. Newsletters helps share what is happening on a higher level by sharing hot company news being discussed by executives, sharing status on company goals, and stock standings. When there are multiple locations, newsletters help to share what is happening elsewhere and are a great way to share creative ideas, contest winners, and announce new contests. Employee Profiles can be included to highlight accomplishments both inside and outside of the company. The newsletter is also a great way to share benefit information, deadlines, health tips, and volunteer opportunities. Lastly, increased communication between employees and local as well as corporate management will be a key to retention of sales staff. Well-designed jobs anticipate the need for communication. Most employees want to know what is expected of them in the job, how they are doing, how they can improve, what latitude they have in changing how they do their tasks, what should be discussed with a supervisor and when the discussion should occur. Employees rarely complain about too much communication with their supervisor. They often want more communication (Hodgetts & Heger 2008, pg. 306). The implementation of a regular newsletter as mentioned above will help with communication, however we are also strongly urging WordPlay Greeting Cards to provide a stronger line of communication via email that will allow employees to contact corporate offices more efficiently for feedback if they have concerns that are not being addressed at a local level and/or ideas that they want to share for improvement. Bryce & Dancetty Consulting is confident that the revision of the sales clerk job description which increases responsibility and sense of participation will not only attract more applicants but also encourage company loyalty and lead to retention of a high quality sales staff that can be promoted in to management positions as the business grows. Job Enrichment Job enrichment is a way to motivate employees by giving them increased responsibility and variety in their jobs. Our plans for job enrichment will focus on allowing employees to have more control in planning their work and deciding how the work should be accomplished. Job enrichment efforts will include adding and clarifying: Skill Variety – the number of different types of skills used to do a job. This is important because using only one skill to do the same task repeatedly can get very boring. When employees get bored productivity decreases over time. Task Identity – A matter of realizing a visible outcome from performing a task. Being able to see the end result of the work they do is an important motivator for employees. This can be accomplished through Job Enlargement. WordPlay will move towards this goal by adding more tasks and responsibilities to existing jobs. To illustrate this concept – a customer service representative will follow a client’s issue from start to finish (phone inquiry through problem resolution). Customer service reps will be given greater access and authority to make account/claim adjustments so that fewer inquiries need to be escalated. They will be able to take pride in knowing they solved a problem themselves and customer satisfaction is also sure to increase. Task Significance – How a job impacts others in the organization. If this is clearly defined, employees will make greater efforts to do their best.

Evaluation Criteria Paper Essay

Taylor Transit is a company that is growing rapidly. The company must analyze the resources and capabilities of the company to look for the right tools that will provide potential benefits and competitive advantages in human resources. The new approach should include the selection of effective tools that help human resources during the expansion process and the criteria that will be beneficial in the human resource practices. The intent of the paper is discussing the implementation of specific HR tools such as employee selection test, Human Resource Information System (HRIS), successful planning, and the evaluation of the criteria for each tool selection. Human Resource Criteria Identification Identify and establish which is the most appropriate criteria is fundamental because it allows the implementation of new human resources procedures. The following explain the criteria for each of the following tools: Human Resource Information System (HRIS) For Taylor Transit implementation and use of HRIS is of great benefit because it helps to increase the effectiveness of human resources assets as well as provide guidance. The criteria will be based in the necessity of having a good HR information system in where the company will be able to keep information concerning to each employee and any other related HR information such as employees evaluation, disciplinary actions, rewards, and trainings within the organization. The â€Å"HRIS technology supports strategic planning through the generation of labor force supply and demand needs, requirements and forecasts† ( Lippert & Swiercz, 2005). This tool will be very useful for the company; given that the company is expanding it is important to have a system that allows Taylor Transit to have a solid database to track data 8,000 employees in order to help in the planning and execution of the company objectives. Selection Test The adequate selection test for the company is important because allow identifying the right candidate since the beginning of recruitment process. The recommended tools for measure the candidates are the cognitive aptitude and the ability tests. â€Å"Cognitive aptitude and ability tests are among the most valid predictors available to organizations† ( Terpstra, 1994). The criteria in the selection of these tools are because the cognitive aptitude test measure the candidate mental capabilities as well their reasoning and communication. On the other hand, the ability test will help to predict the performance of the employee within the company. Besides the background and the experience of the candidate, for the company will be useful make a thorough assessment in order to have the best candidates within the company Succession Planning â€Å"Succession planning must be part of an integrated HR process that includes training, development and performance appraisal† (Stensgaard, 2005). The criteria for choosing this tool is because the â€Å"succession planning also has indirect impacts on measures of firm performance such as productivity and gross returns on assets† (Greer & Virick, 2008). This would be excellent tool that would be beneficial in the aid of HR processes (training, development, and performance). One of the things Taylor Transit need to take into consideration is make sure of taking the necessary measures regarding in the proper selection of personnel for each of the positions within the company, as well of having the support of the senior level management. This is important because it allows a systematic process for identifying, evaluating, and developing personnel who are trained to perform key functions within the company. The usefulness of this is essential because it allows certain key personnel receive the necessary tools to develop their skills and abilities, as well as giving them the opportunity in the future to be the future leaders of the company. Conclusion By implementing the right tools allows human resource management to have a higher level of competitiveness. The three selected tools are best suited for the rapid growth of Taylor Transit. Implement the HRIS is helpful because it allows better control of information, and quick access to information for each employee. And for assessing the performance, this will help determine what kind of trainings can be provided to employees. This is helpful because it allows management the assessment and improvement of the procedures of the company. Meanwhile, the employee selection tests are useful because they allow the assessment of cognitive abilities and skills of employees in order to recruit the best possible candidates and may have better performance of the company. This is important because in the long run is cost effective because employees who have better cognitive aptitudes and abilities skills learn quickly, therefore the company does not have to incur in additional expenses for re-training their employees and in turn avoid turnover. Finally, the successful planning is helpful because it allows employees to adapt quickly to the demands of the company; the company in turn may have strategically highly qualified personnel in positions that are key to the success of the company. Implementing these tools allow the proper management of the company.