Role of Women in the Odyssey Essay examples - 810 Words

Natasha Castillo October 3, 2012 Role of Women in â€Å"The Odyssey† â€Å"The Odyssey† by Homer is an epic poem about Odysseus’ return to his wife and son in Ithica after the Trojan War. Women play an exceptionally large role in this epic poem. Odysseus’s son, Telemachus attempts to gain authority in the presence of the suitors but it is difficult. Especially once he goes on his own journey under the guidance of Athena. Throughout the epic poem however, the women play their roles as mothers, servants, seductresses, some are a combination. These ones can be seen as women in power because they use these tools in order to control men. Mothers portrayed in this epic poem are seen as the givers of â€Å"pity and sorrow† rather than true supporters of their†¦show more content†¦When Telemachus returns, he knocks some sense into Penelope. â€Å"Odysseus is not the only man who never came back from Troy, but many another went down as well as he. Go, then, within the house and busy yourself with your daily duties, your loom, your distaff, and the ordering of your servants; for speech is man’s matter, and mine above all others- for it is I who am master here† (Book 1). The sirens and Circe are the ultimate seductresses in the epic poem. Circe turns Odysseus’ men into pigs and tells him she will change them back only if he goes into bed with her. Odysseus does not realize that he stays in bed with her for about a year or so. Sirens sing to men at sea and make them fall in love with them and then eat them. These are great examples of seductresses. However, I believe Clytemnestra is another good example. She is Agamemnon’s wife and during his absence, suitors too surround her. Clytemnestra also went through a deep mourning and shows that women who are mothers and are devoted to their husbands, sons, and family, are prone to look for other men, in their absence. Clytemnestra falls in love with Aegisthus and they plot to kill Agamemnon when he returns. â€Å"At first she would have nothing to do with his wicked scheme, for she was of a good natural disposition; moreover there was a bard with her, to whom Agamemnon had given strict orders on setting out for Troy, that heShow MoreRelatedRole of Women in the Odyssey1201 Words   |  5 PagesThe Role of Women in The Odyssey The Odyssey, by Homer, is an epic poem based on the story of an ancient Greek hero, Odysseus, and his twenty year journey—ten years spent fighting in the Trojan War and the other ten spent traveling home. In the poem, Homer presents the theme of the role and nature of women. Men were the dominant gender in ancient Greece, and women, who were inferior, were only valued for their beauty and their ability to reproduce. However, in this poem, Homer both exemplifiesRead MoreThe Odyssey : The Role Of Women In Homers Odyssey966 Words   |  4 Pagesinteractions. The Odyssey portrays what is right or wrong in relationships between god and mortal, father and son, and man and woman. In the epic poem, the role of women is a vital demonstration of Ancient Greece. The women in the epic are unique in their personality, motives, and relationships towards men. In Homers, The Odyssey, all women are different, but all of them help to represent the role of the ideal woman. Homers epic describes the world of women in Ancient Greece, a time where women were seenRead More The Role of Women in the Odyssey Essay1212 Words   |  5 PagesThe Role of Women in The Odyssey Homer wrote the classic epic The Odyssey more than 2,500 years ago. At that time in ancient Greek society, as well as in the whole of the ancient world, the dominant role was played by men. Society was organized, directed, and controlled by men, and it was accepted that women occupied a subservient and inferior position. Women, of course, were valued, but were expected to possess certain traits and perform certain tasks that men demanded of them. Does Homers writingRead MoreEssay On The Role Of Women In The Odyssey739 Words   |  3 PagesImagine living at a time in which women were only seen as second-class or lesser beings. The Odyssey, by Homer, is an epic poem based on the story of an ancient Greek hero known as Odysseus. The Story follows his twenty-year journey, ten spent fighting the war, and the other ten spent getting home. Throughout the Poem, Homer presents the roles and nature of women. In The Odyssey, Greek society is controlled by men, while women face an entrenched so cietal expectation to be subservient and loyal withoutRead MoreCultural Role of Women in the Odyssey1025 Words   |  5 Pages   The cultural role of women in the Odyssey In Homer’s Odyssey the cultural relevance of a preferred woman’s role in society generally stands out in the roles of the female characters of Athena and Penelope simultaneously rejecting the negatively viewed characteristics of Calypso and Circe. The entire structure of Ancient Greek culture boasts its men in more superior roles than that of women. Greek society was largely built upon an idea that good women were only around to faithfully serve andRead MoreRole of Women in the Odyssey Essay1582 Words   |  7 Pagesmasculine point of view† (Ibsen). This saying also applied to the times of the Odyssey, an epic constructed by the blind, eight century B.C.E. poet, Homer. As one of the few representatives of ancient Greek social order, the blind, Homer witnessed women as substandard to men, regardless of their actions; many of them existed as seductresses, prostitutes, or slaves. He engraved into his poem women’s role s; the roles of women, as mothers, wives, seductresses, and goddesses are exemplified in this epicRead MoreThe Role Of Women In Homers Odyssey1165 Words   |  5 Pages The Role of Women In The Odyssey In literature, are women used as important roles or only used as love interests and for their beauty? This question has been around for a long time and there is still no clear answer. One literary example is the women characters in Homer’s The Odyssey- the ancient Greek epic of Odysseus and his journey home to Ithaka. When on his journey, Odysseus meets many women who are ultimately used as alluring characters to distract Odysseus on his journey home. ThroughoutRead More The Role of Women in Homers The Odyssey Essay695 Words   |  3 PagesThe Role of Women in Homers The Odyssey Women form an important part of the folk epic, written by Homer, The Odyssey. Within the story there are three basic types of women: the goddess, the seductress, and the good hostess/wife. Each role adds a different element and is essential to the telling of the story. The role of the goddess is one of a supernatural being, but more importantly one in a position to pity and help mortals. Athena, the goddess of wisdom,Read More The Role of Men and Women in Homers The Odyssey 1173 Words   |  5 PagesWho is the ideal Greek man? It can be argued that through the illustration Homer weaves throughout the Odyssey, Odysseuss character traits cast a lens as a prime example of a man in ancient Greek society. He appears to be brave, intelligent, well-spoken, and clever. Much of his knowledge is discovered by his travels, absorbing the local culture around him and using it as a guide. Aristocratic and a warrior. Perhaps the best warrior of all time. It is the Iliad which presents these attributes initiallyRead MoreThe Demeaning Role Of Women In Homers The Odyssey1280 Words   |  6 PagesThe Odyssey is one of two poems written by Homer describing the drama of the Trojan War, more specifically, the catastrophic journey of the hero Odysseus b ack home. Throughout the tales, female characters exhibit the many and diverse roles of Greek women, and also their significance in a world dominated by immortal beings.   Like countless others, the goddess Calypso’s beauty and elegance could be the cause of circumstances both good and evil. Calypso is remembered most for keeping Odysseus as a prisoner

The Chronicles of Gre Argument Essay Topics

The Chronicles of Gre Argument Essay Topics Nowadays it's quite hard to locate a trustworthy essay writing service. However you get ready for the essays, make sure you at least write a couple of each type before you take the actual GRE. There are scores and scores of mock essays on the web, and with a very simple google search, you can get access to several essays for the GRE. Employing good words improves the standard of the essay. So, you must make sure there are at least 5-6 paragraphs in your essay, if you would like a good score on the AWA. Substance matters more than every other component in regards to your essays. Take care to proofread your essay, when you finish writing it. Since you may see, the longer the essay, the greater the grades. So, it's safe to say that in case you write no less than a few sentences in English, you will receive a score of 1.0. Most students think about the GRE Essay as the absolute most stressful assignment ever, but it isn't so difficult as it appears. Consequently, you will wind up with a score much lower than that which you actually deserve. Nowadays you know what it requires to receive an ideal essay score. Things You Should Know About Gre Argument Essay Topics Also a reminder you could work with me if you're searching for issue essay feedback. You will find that it is possible to use a number of them for many essays don't let the very first thing that springs to mind box you in. Sample essay write about yourself custom essay writing has come to be an extremely popular task during the last few decades the key explanation is supposed to improve in. Given an essay is a lengthy bit of writing condensing into a 5 page structure is a powerful means to ensure it is comprehensive. While reading, you also need to make note of all of the unfamiliar words and later learn them. Practice brainstorming plenty of different essay prompts from the ETS website to get accustomed to coming up with examples that you may use to support your standpoint. Others, obviously, scoff at the idea since they're such great writers. Moreover a reading habit is beneficial as you come across a large number of new words which you'll be able to increase your vocabulary. The argument is weakened by the presence of several facets which might have directly or indirectly affected the ordinary property values of the Brookville community in the past seven decades. Debates are effective, since they attract people's attention on issue in how a speechmaker is not able to do. Though the response may start to deal with the assigned task, it provides no development. An answer to any other issue is going to receive a score of zero. The Secret to Gre Argument Essay Topics There's great benefit in practicing for the essay at the right time of preparation. If you're able to reveal wonderful writing skills together with a good ability to organize, you will become definitely an ideal grade. After all, the work of the student is to just explain how other positions might not be well informed or updated on this issue. Tell our experts what sort of homework help on the internet you will need to get. Students lead busy lives and frequently forget about a coming deadline. Consequently, they will find it increasingly difficult to afford off-campus housing. Every student demands help with homework from time to time. Most students believe that essay length the only important aspect in regards to AWA scoring. The Number One Question You Must Ask for Gre Argument Essay Topics The argument essay is deemed difficult by a lot of the students. The first element of the essay we'll analyze is the way that it succeeds in identifying and examining the pieces of the argument that are related to the job. The essay graders know that you simply get 30 minutes to compose each AWA essay and in addition, they know that you won't have the ability to cover every potential argument, reason and rebuttal. One of the absolute most important features about a compelling essay is its capacity to convince the reader by way of sound logical reasoning. It is essential that the thesis statement ought to be slimmed down so as to adhere to the guidelines of the given writing exercise. To begin with, the student should comprehend the argument completely. This essay is one possible reaction to the argument. Whether it's an argumentative or expository essay which you're writing, it is crucial to develop a clear thesis statement and an obvious sound reasoning.

Tony Hsieh free essay sample

Anthony (Tony) Hsieh was born in 1973 to Taiwanese immigrants in Illinois, and grew up in the San Francisco bay area. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in computer science in 1995 (The Billion-Dollar Question about Tony Hsiehs Las Vegas Experiment). In 1966 Tony Hsieh founded a business called LinkExchange with his college roommate. When Hsieh was only twenty-four years old he sold the business to Microsoft for $265 million (Tony Hsieh on His Secrets to Success). The main reason Hsieh and his partner decided to sell LinkExchange, was because the culture in the company had gone bad. â€Å"I was dreading waking up and going to work at my own company† Hsieh said to Niblez. com. This realization defined Hsieh as a leader throughout his remaining career. His dread of waking up to go to his own company inspired him to create an environment where culture plays a crucial role. He is very passionate about companies’ cultures and has stated, â€Å"Companies that have strong cultures outperform companies who don’t† (Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh Explains Why Company Culture Matters. We will write a custom essay sample on Tony Hsieh or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page ). Hsieh got involved in the small shoe company called shoesite. com as an advisor and investor in 1999, about two months after the company was founded. The shoe company’s name changed to Zappos after the word zapatos, which means shoes in Spanish (The Zappos Family Story). Tony Hsieh invested $500,000 in the company and became the CEO of the company in 2000. During his leadership, Zappos has grown gross merchandise sales from $1. 6M in 2000 to over $1 billion in 2008 by focusing on its customer service (Hoovers). Zappos has thirteen hundred employees and is headquartered in Henderson, Nevada and also has an office in San Francisco and is working on their newest location in Las Vegas, Nevada. Zappos has been ranked as one of the best companies to work for by Fortune Magazine many years in a row. In 2011, Zappos was ranked number six on the list and in 2012 it was ranked number eleven (â€Å"Lexis Nexis†). Tony Hsieh undoubtedly possesses many traits that make him a leader and has produced an effective management style that has allowed him to create extreme success at Zappos. Hsieh is determined to succeed, ambitious even when facing failure, modeling the way through superb customer service, challenging the process by choosing to be untraditional, inspiring a company wide vision through his democratic management style, enabling his employees to act in an environment they can thrive in, and remaining confident in his company culture. By doing this, he has modeled a new way of effective leadership and created a successful company. Tony Hsieh’s determination is what sets him apart from other leaders in Corporate America. He has been entrepreneurial all of his life. From middle school on, he had his eyes set on the prize and ran a mail ordering service. From then he continued on to study at the prestigious Harvard University. While attending Harvard he ran a Grille where he would travel by subway to McDonalds every day to purchase a hundred frozen hamburgers patties that he could sell at a higher price, and then he ended up investing in pizza ovens that would deliver a higher profit (Hsieh). After that he invested in LinkExchange, and by the age of twenty-four he was investing in what is now one of the largest online retailers, Zappos. Without the determination to succeed, Tony Hsieh would not be in the position of where he is today. He has been an entrepreneur his whole life and was bound to end up with a great company. As Hsieh quotes in the first section of his book, Delivering Happiness, â€Å" I failed my way to success. † This famous quote by Thomas Edison perfectly expresses Hsieh’s leadership trait of ambition. From a young age Hsieh was a go-getter; he describes purchasing a worm farm at the age of 9 to breed and sell, which was a failure, calculating how much money he would make by distributing papers around his neighborhood or selling greeting cards. His biggest childhood business success, and the way he would become a billionaire, was his button making business that made him over $200 a month. These little steps of entrepreneurship led him to his first multimillion-dollar business, LinkExchange, and then on to Zappos, which grosses about $1 billion annually (Hsieh). His success with Zappos did not come easily; it was not until he realized his boredom at his previous jobs at Oracle and LinkExchange that he decided to strive for more than just a money-making business. At Zappos, Hsieh combines his ambition to make money with an environment that also makes his employees ambitious. His ambition allows him to have a management style that encourages his employees to grow within the company. As stated in the Zappos core values, he wants his employees to â€Å"pursue growth and learning,† because Hsieh believes the secret to success is a vision with passion behind it and that cannot be successful without everyone feeling like they are contributing to the vision (Quiqley). Tony Hsieh models the way through customer service, which is his number one priority for being an online retailer. He has made it his commitment to have all his employees trained in excellent customer service, and he prides himself on it. By having an online twenty-four hour help service and shipping delivery within five days, he is able to make sure all of his Zappos customers are happy. He stated his vision and modeled the way for all of his employees as seeing them as equals rather than being their leader. â€Å"We figure the best way to have an open-door policy is not to have a door in the first place† (â€Å"How I Do It†). As crazy as it may seem, this is why his business is effective and is so profitable. The employees can relate to him, and therefore they are able to better relate to the customer. â€Å"He participated in all of our activities throughout the week, but is clearly intent on being a platform builder, not a figure head. There was no motivational speech, only the evidence of a like-minded, fun, creative, focused group of people† (â€Å"Tony Hsieh on His Secrets to Success†). Tony Hsieh does not act above anyone; rather than dictating, Hsieh models the way for others to act by being involved on a day-to-day basis. Choosing to run a business can be a tricky thing to do. Tony Hsieh not only models how a leader should be, but he has also challenged the process along every step of the way. When he first started LinkExchange, which he later sold, he felt as though he was not using his full potential. He felt like he was stuck behind a desk and business was business. His passion, determination, and drive died. Once the company sold, Hsieh realized that he wanted to create a new culture and transform Las Vegas. Instead of focusing on the income he was bringing in, he focused on the potential of the people who would be living and working for him. This approach is not common in Corporate America; he wanted to change the workplace for everyone to be involved. His core values to change the culture include embracing drive and change, building a positive team and value, do more with less, create fun, build open and honest relationships, be humble, be a positive team, be open-minded (Quiqley). To keep a positive culture, each employee is interviewed with behavioral questions to make sure they are a right fit for his company. Most employers do not ask these kinds of questions and this is challenging the process through a CEO point of view. â€Å"I think it’s a combination of how self-aware people are and how honest they are. I think if someone is self-aware, then they can always continue to grow† (On a Scale of 1 to 10, How Weird Are You? ). He has enforced these core values in all aspects of business and overcome any obstacles he was faced with. Tony Hsieh inspires a company wide vision by motivating employees through a company vision that is about more than being number one. It is about running his business in a democratic style. He chooses to treat all his employees with extreme value and make the company values mirror those of his employees. The New York Times describes Zappos as a â€Å"highly social company where workers get free sodas and popcorn, decorate their cubicles, are invited to share ideas and can climb the career ladder from inside. † Hsieh wants to hold onto his employees who he thinks are the best and give them a chance to grow without ever leaving. To do this he creates a comfortable environment where his employees can feel motivated, enjoy themselves, and want to succeed within the Zappos structure. The Zappos culture and way of business allow the employees to set high goals- that are also realistic- of where they want to see themselves at Zappos in the future. In Hsieh’s book, Delivering Happiness, he reveals his framework to a successful business, which he calls â€Å"Happiness Framework 1. † In â€Å"Happiness Framework 1,† Hsieh discusses his way of handling pay raises and promotions. For example, in his call center, he uses a pay raise system that allows the employees to take control of their own pay raises and when they receive them; to do this, the call center representative has a list of skill sets that they must achieve, for each one complete and they receive a raise. By doing this, he notices his employees are happier when they have control and an ongoing sense of perceived progress. Hsieh’s democratic style of management was also influenced by rave culture, which he participated in during his younger years, and the mantra PLUR, that stands for â€Å"Peace, Love, Unity, Respect. † From this culture he realized that everyone is human at core, and instead of losing sight in business, politics, and social status, we should be appreciative of each another and our work (Hsieh). Tony Hsieh enables others to act by creating an environment that his employees can thrive in and be inspired to input new ideas. Zappo’s core values of being â€Å"adventurous, creative, and open-minded†, lead his employees to believe that anything within the business is possible. Hsieh believes that by focusing on inspiring his employees the overall business will be better (Quiqley). For a Zappos employee, anything is possible with the right planning and determination. For example, an employee thought about how many company birthdays there were at Zappos; from that thought she came up with the idea of putting a bakery in Zappos. When it was someone’s birthday, she would bake him or her a cake and deliver it right from inside the Zappos building. She planned her idea and pitched it, and with that Zappos funded it (Young). This management style of enabling others to act and thrive comes from Hsieh’s growth within the businesses he worked for and created, from working at Oracle to quitting Oracle and creating Internet Marketing Solutions to turning that business into LinkExchange and finally moving on from LinkExchange to explore and recreate Zappos. Tony Hsieh is confident in the culture that he creates for Zappos and keeps the culture of the company the number one priority. Hsieh says, â€Å"Its important to me to build a business where money isnt the primary motivator because in tough times, Ive found that it isnt enough to see it all the way through† (Tony Hsieh, The Billion Dollar Interview). When Zappos has a new hire, he or she goes through a traditional interview; once he or she passes that interview, the next interview is entirely based on how that person will fit in the company culture. If he or she gets hired, after a trial period, Zappos will offer him or her money to leave. They pay their new employees for the amount of time they’ve been working at the company plus a $1000 bonus. The reason for doing this is that Zappos knows that the environment is not for everybody, and they only want people there that really want to be there and like the culture of the company. By offering the new employees money, it is easy to sort out the people who are a really great fit and those who would rather take the money. About 10% of the new employees choose the money. The people that would rather have the money are not the people who are going to fit into the culture anyway (How I Did It ). â€Å"I think that happier employees lead to happier customers, and happier customers lead to better business overall,† Hsieh has said in an interview with success. com. He has also said that the best advice he ever got was to never forget that the most important thing in life is the quality of life we lead, which drives him to maintain the quality of life and culture at Zappos (â€Å"Tony Hsieh, The Billion Dollar Interview†). Tony Hsieh is proof that determination and creating a company culture that everyone can strive in leads to a successful business, motivated employees, and, most importantly, happy and satisfied customers that keep coming back. Hsieh not only challenges the way a business is traditionally run but creates an environment where he views his employees as valuable, gives them opportunities to climb the Zappos’ career ladder, and always welcomes new ideas. Hsieh pushes his employees to be creative, take risks, embrace change, be a little weird, have fun, but always remember the customer and the tools to provide excellent customer service. There are many traits we admire about Hsieh’s management style, but there are four main traits that really stick out. First, we admire his ongoing determination within Zappos. Though Zappos is already a successful business, Hsieh is always working to make it better and using his employees to help him do so. His personal adaptability makes him embrace the changing work environment at Zappos. Second, we admire that he includes everyone in all processes that affect Zappos. He is open to new ideas and how those ideas can be applied to make Zappos better. Third, he does not want his employees to leave in order to grow. He wants his employees to grow and improve within Zappos while always staying satisfied with an ongoing pursuit to be better or to reach a goal. Lastly, we admire how he uses his leadership to project a positive message and to uplift his employees. Hsieh knows that without his â€Å"Tribe† (employees), Zappos could not be where it is today.

Management of Digi Telecommunication Sdn Bhd free essay sample

The fundamental issue that is going to be discussed in this assignment is sales force management. The purpose of this assignment is to gain understanding on the real life application of sales force management in an organization. The organization our group had chosen to conduct an interview is of DiGi Telecommunications SdnBhd (DiGi). An interview has been conducted with the senior associate of consumer and enterprise sales department of DiGi. This insightful interview gives our group a complete view of how DiGi carries out the six-step process in managing its sales force. This report will begin with a brief introduction DiGi, then we will be looking into each of the six steps in the sales force management process, which begin with designing sales force strategy and structure, followed by recruiting and selecting salespeople, training salespeople, compensating salespeople, supervising salespeople, and evaluating salespeople. This section discusses on how DiGi implements these steps based on the data collected from the interview. We will write a custom essay sample on Management of Digi Telecommunication Sdn Bhd or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Finally, we will recommend a few possible solutions to the weak areas of their sales force management. Our group had an interview with Billy Wong from DiGi who is the Senior Associate Consumer Enterprise Sales (Accounts Manager). The interview was held in Bangsar Shopping Center’s Coffee Bean at 2pm. Billy Wong is a senior who had been working for three years in DiGiand he is still serving the company. He is a friendly and nice person who is willing to share his experience and answer our doubt, our group had a good discussion with Billy Wong on the topic of the six sales force management in DiGi. Besides, DiGi provides variety of affordable mobile communication services such as internet mobility and broadband servicesthat allow consumers to have easy access into the internet through wireless service (The Edge 2011). In addition, DiGi had set the standard of innovative and creative data plans, prepaid and postpaid to serve consumers (DiGi 2012). According to Wong (2012), DiGiis one of the top three stable mobile communications companieswith a high market share of 30%. â€Å"There are 22 people in charge of the central region which forms the sales force of DiGi in Shah Alam. Likewise, the sales force consists of permanent employees†, said Wong (2012). Wong (2012) also mentioned that DiGihas a competitive advantage of strong internal direct work force team. Compare to DiGi’s competitors, it has direct teams that deal with their individual and corporate customers on a one to one basis. For instance, DiGi provides service and solution to corporate customers such as iPhone, Blackberry, Samsung, T. G. I Friday, Nando’s and etcetera. According to Henrik Clausen the CEO of DiGi. Com, DiGi has a history of being game changers in the way they deal with customers and provide services (The Edge 2011). Structure and Strategy Organizational structure determines how well activities are coordinated in serving customers profitability, and how quickly the organization can adapt to changes in the marketing environment (Hair et al. 2008, p. 161). Basically, DiGi is working under a horizontal organization structure. We look into the sales department, starting from head of department, then head of hunter and farmer team, followed by mangers and lastly the based-level workers(Wong 2012). Hunting team is in charge of finding new customer to increase the sales whereas farmer team is in charge of serving the existing customer and maintain the relationship with them. The staffs work in individually basis. Diagram below is the illustration of the structure of DiGi sales department. Despite the organizational structure, employees are welcomed to approach anyone in the any layer of the organization. The only disadvantage of this structure is that there slightly more reporting to be done and takes more time (Wong 2012). According to Wong (2012), DiGi practices open concept in their internal officewhere there are limited cubical rooms. Employees are not bound to a table but are able to work anywhere and everywhere with their laptops in the office and they are allowed to wear casually to work. The aim is to let the employees themselves feel more comfortable while working in this lovely and friendly environment. Strategy planning is the process of setting overall objectives, allocating resources, and developing broad courses of action (Hair et al. 2008, p. 155). Wong (2012) revealed that DiGiis now at a high growth and high market share state which is the â€Å"star† state of BCG Matrix. Wong (2012) added, â€Å"To improve the business DiGi is always innovative and differentiate their product with the others. † DiGi often comes out with new ideas with data plans. Currently, DiGi offers several rewards like birthday bonus, reload bonus, discounts on certain brands, new plans and packages etcetera. So we can say that DiGi places itself as differentiation in Porter’s Three Generic Strategy and using market penetration in Ansoff Matrix Strategy to increase their sales growth. Recruitment and selection Recruitment is finding potential job applicants, telling them about the company and getting them to apply (Hair et al. 2008, p. 212). Likewise, selection is choosing the right salespeople for the company (Hair et al. 2008, p. 234). DiGi recruits salespeople on an ongoing basis and whenever recruitment is needed (Wong 2012). Wong (2012) explained that DiGiprefers salespeople with at least few years of sales experience so that they can save up the training cost. However, fresh graduates are not hired but internship is available for them. According to DiGi (2012), the duration of DiGi internship programmes for fresh graduates have a range from three months to a year. Besides, this one year internship provided for fresh graduates to develop potential employees’ skills, personal development and technical rotation (DiGi 2012). Outstanding interns with right attitudes will be offered employment (DiGi 2012). In addition, DiGi recruits salespeople through online recruiting from Jobstreet and through employment agencies and professional recruiters. Wong (2012) said that potential salespeople should have the experience in similar roles in the previous company and there is an advantage for potential salespeople who come from the same industry which is telecommunication. Wong (2012) said, â€Å"InDiGi, potential salespeople have to go through several stages of interviews. Generally, an interview has two rounds. The first round is just a getting to know session where DiGi will find out about individual’s previous job and working experience. In the second round, DiGi will give salespeople a problem scenario to solve and set expectations for the potential salesperson. † Based on Wong (2012) experience, he has gone through four stages of interview. Billy Wong has two interview sessions with the superior, one with the Human Resource Department and a confirmation interview. Wong (2012) explained thatDiGi will shortlist potential salespeople from the pool of job applications. Salespeople who are shortlisted are the potential salespeople that have the qualification. Therefore, when there are vacancies for positions in the company, DiGi will select potential salespeople from a smaller pool of applicants who are shortlisted. Furthermore, the types of employment testing methods such as personality test and attitude and lifestyle test are used to select potential DiGi salespeople. 3. Training Salespeople Training is a continuing process that equips salespeople with the required knowledge, skills, and character (Hair et al. 2008, p. 250). According to Wong (2012), DiGi conducts sales training once a year for its salespeople. The types of trainings that the salespeople have to undergo includes product training, training on selling skills and soft skills such as relationship management between colleagues and customers. For instance, on the 23-26 April 2007 DiGi arrange Intellectual Property (IP) training to increase employees’ knowledge on IP rights such as patent, copyrights, trademarks and etcetera (DiGi 2012). Product training is not only about knowing the company’s product, but also to be prepared to solve customers’ problems and able to distinguish their product from the competitors’ (Hair et al. Since DiGi is using a relationship based strategy to retain its major customers, salespeople must possess the soft skills to listen to customers’ needs and problems, answer customers’ enquiries, and build a long-term relationship that benefits both parties. For example, DiGi organized integrity programme to train employees’ to face ethical issue and challenges with the right attitude and value (DiGi 2012). Besides conducting classroom trainings, DiGi also applies on-the-job training and mentoring (Wong 2012). For instance, junior salespersons will be supervised by seniors during their sales presentations. After that, the supervisor will analyze how the presentation was done and discuss on which areas to improve. In addition, on-the-job training and mentoring allows junior salespeople to learn directly from their senior teammates. Once the junior salespeople have developed the required skills, they will be asked to conduct sales presentations on their own. Wong (2012) stated that DiGi’s training courses and activities are organized by external training providers. For instance, DiGi’s Telenor group will select 12-20 graduates in every 18 months from all over the world to join the Telenor Global Trainee Programme (DiGi 2012). Likewise, â€Å"DiGi meets† programme an internal programme was arranged for employees by inviting external speakers to speak in order to challenge employees’ thinking and creativity (DiGi 2012). These trainings build salespeople’s confidence and enhance their knowledge, which have a significant impact on the sales force’s performance. Hence, by conducting training for new and current salespeople, company’s overall productivity will increase. At the same time, salespeople will be able to secure more accounts and develop continual growth. 4. Compensation Compensation is defined as a way to remunerate the employees for their works in term of financial and non financial support (Hair et al 2012, p. 358). DiGi offers several types of compensation including salary, commission, bonus, share option and insurance. According to Wong (2012), basic salary for sales staff is generally lower than other employees but they also earn commission which is based on their performance in achieving their targets. Besides, DiGi’s sale force is generally divided into two different teams, the farmer and the hunter team (Wong 2012). The hunter team is responsible to seek out new customers while the farmer team has the responsibility to retain existing customers (Rackham 1989). Targets are usually set on an annual basis. For example, the corporate team has a target of 10,000 new lines for the Central Kuala Lumpur region (Wong 2012). In addition to salary and commission, the sales staff also receive bonus on a quarterly and annual basis. Sales staff receives quarterly bonus ranging from 0.25% to 0. 5% of their monthly income, depending on the key performance indicator which is evaluated every 6 months(Wong 2012). For staffs who have been employed for ten years, they will also be awarded one lot of share option (Wong 2012). Insurance and medical benefits are available to staff after they pass their probation period and become permanent staff (DiGi 2012). After probation, each staff will also be given RM 1,000 cash for telephone related expenses and after that, the same amount will be given once every two years (Wong 2012). The primary aim of DiGi’s compensation package is to provide adequate salaries and employee benefits. The sales force has a commission scheme that offers high financially rewards to strong performers in order to encourage more sales. Likewise, DiGi always improve and match the salary and commission structure to what is being offered by other telecommunication companies (Wong 2012). Non-financial compensation offered by DiGi includes promotion and upgrade to a higher job band (Wong 2012). The sales staffs are more motivated by financial compensation rather than non-financial compensation; therefore, DiGi focuses more on the financial aspect of the compensation (Wong 2012). The compensation scheme should change to adapt to the DiGi’s sales target and any changes will be communicated by the managers prior to implementation. In general, DiGi does not allow commission to be higher than 12 months’ salary (Wong 2012). 5. Supervising salespeople Supervising is observing and directing the worker on their job. Through supervising, manager is able to understand the behavior of salespeople, motivate or even find out whether they are suitable for the job. The normal working hour for DiGi is 9am to 6pm. DiGi’s working hours are flexible, salespeople are allowed go back after they have completed their target of the day (Wong 2012). Billy Wong stated that DiGi do not practice the punch card system. According to Wong (2012), they go home after completing their work outside the company. Besides, in companies conflict happens all the time. DiGi deals with conflict by listening to both parties, explaining and clarifying the situation,then allow both parties to solve the conflicts between themselves (Wong 2012). In addition, DiGi does not send salespeople to motivation courses or counsel sessions. If salespeople fail to achieve sales target, the manager will provide one-on-one mentoring and coach the salespeople rather than issuing a warning letter, demoting or firing the salespeople (Wong 2012). The sales target of DiGi for every month is approximately 10, 000new lines (Wong 2012). The salary will increase 3 to 5 percent based on salespeople’s performance states Wong (2012). Besides, if salespeople do not respond to the incentive of more money, the employees will change role or switch to other companies (Wong 2012). According to DiGi (2012), salespeople have to obey DiGi’s policies such as anti-corruption policy, fraud and integrity, codes of conduct, supplier code of conduct and Health Safety Security and Environment policy. For instance, salespeople are allowed to receive gifts that do not exceed RM150 (Wong 2012). Hence, a warning letter will be issued by the senior manager to salespeople who are caught bribing, stealing, lying and cheating (Wong 2012). Sales Force Performance Evaluation Basically, every company would have performance appraisal on their employees in order to evaluate the employees on how they are performing the duties and responsibilities in their current position (Hair et al. 2008, p. 423). Moreover, performance management model with specific KPI is implemented by DiGi (Wong 2012). For instance, salespeople are evaluated base on their target sales achievement and performance. Besides, the sales department conducts evaluation on salespeople in every six months. Every salesperson will be evaluated personally based on their working behavior (Wong 2012). On the other hand, DiGi employees’ performance evaluations are conducted on a monthly basis by DiGi’srespondents. 80 percent of DiGi’s respondents will prepare performance evaluations and review performance plans monthly for all the employees. This is to ensure that all the employees are doing their jobs and archiving target sales. The employee performance review questionnaire is used to evaluate the satisfaction about their work environment and overall job responsibilities (INC 2012). Besides, the review questionnaire can be used to create a great relationship between employees and managers, develop a quality work and increase productivity. Wong (2012) added, â€Å"DiGi uses one-on-one approach to employees and managers, to discuss the direct report’s service monthly and focus on the individual’s needs of the direct report. † Furthermore, DiGi’s parent company in Norway also takes part in evaluating DiGi’s employees every year (Wong 2012). Recommendations According to Goh (2012), it shows that Maxis is the leading of market share in 2012 with 39. 1% and follows by DiGi with 27. 5% and Celcom with 33.4%. These figures are not consistent as it may change over every month. To catch up with the other competitors, DiGi should improve several issues. Firstly, DiGi salespeople should take a great interest in addressing the customer affairs and complaints and inflict the problem to the technical department. Most of the issue about DiGi is that the poor coverage network connection. Many consumers feel that other providers such as Maxis and Celcom have a better network coverage. To help DiGi sales team to increase sales, this issue should be solved immediately in order to maintain relationship with customers. Therefore, DiGi can improve their network coverage by implementing Femtocell technology which is capable in improving the coverage and sound quality (Reed 2007). Secondly, motivation is playing an important role among the employees. Aside from the existing training, DiGi should design a motivation course for the employees especially the salespeople. Motivation course is capable to help employees to practice and apply good motivational techniques in their working practices and understand how the job satisfaction can influenceitself. Besides that, motivation is important to encourage the employees to reach the desired goal, for DiGi salespeople it is the 10,000 new lines annually. Motivated salespeople are able to perform better. DiGi practices individual selling; however, these practices will cause salespeople to be aggressive and competitive. Furthermore, this will cause an unhealthy environment. Therefore, DiGi should organize leadership and team building camp to focus on building team work among the employees to improve the relationship between departments. All departments in DiGi should work together towards the same goals and wants of the company. Conclusion This report covers the six steps of sales force management process of DiGi Telecommunication Sdn Bhd. DiGi has a horizontal organization structure with hunter and farmer team. The hunter team finds new sales while the farmer team retains the existing customers. DiGi uses market penetration strategy to improve their sales growth. Another strategy used by DiGi is differentiation, DiGi always come out with something new and different. Besides, DiGi recruits salespeople through online recruitment and professional agencies. DiGi doesn’t accept fresh graduates because experienced salespeople save up training cost. DiGi’s management team selects salespeople who have the potential and the qualification for the job after having two rounds of interview with them. Likewise, simple trainings are provided like product and soft skills training. After coaching, salespeople would be capable in working on their own. DiGi compensates employees with salary, bonus, commission and incentives. For salespeople, they are paid with low basic salary with high commissions. Managers supervise and mentor employees to help them reach sales target. Besides, employees solve the conflicts by giving counsel on one to one and allow them to solve the problem on their own. Every month, DiGi let respondent to evaluate the performance of salespeople. DiGi’s manager does the evaluation with the employees every six months. Furthermore, the parent company in Norway does the evaluation of salespeople every year. To sum up, DiGi is a leading telecommunication provider today because they have an efficient and effective sales force management.