Innovations in Payment Systems Square

Description of company Square Inc is an innovative company that was launched in December 2009. Its president and the co-founder, Jack Dorsey, is also the co-founder of Twitter, a social network platform. The logic behind Square Inc. is to use paperless money as a mode of payment and transaction where every tweet would be a transaction.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Innovations in Payment Systems: Square specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company is on the verge of changing the mode of payment in the U.S to ensure that payment is carried out through the use of smartphones (Romo 2). However, the president of Square Inc. has recently admitted that the company entered in the market prematurely. Square Inc will ensure that payments are transacted everywhere since they are supported by android phones, iPads, and iPhones. According to the company’s president, the goal of Square is to enable customers acc ept payments instantly, everywhere. Nonetheless, the company is wary of the anticipated competition from other emerging players like PayPal, Apple, and Google. The company has also devised a method of using the smartphones as cash registers whereby a squared credit card reader is connected to the Smartphone and transactions carried out easily (MacMillan 44). Lastly, the innovative payment system of Square Inc. does not require fixed costs, hardware costs, and credit check like other credit payment systems. This makes it unique and competitive as people are on the lookout for the best mode of payment that is up to the current recession and changing market trends. Problem definition, Goal, and Constraints The problem is to determine whether Square Inc. is wary of, and ready to accept and face competition from other emerging companies that have adopted new modes of payments in the industry. Square Inc. has to make sure that its new payment transaction system has no loopholes that could be used by other companies as a competitive advantage. However, their goal is to â€Å"enable people to accept payments immediately, everywhere† (Siegler 3).Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the other hand, this has not been achieved yet since the company is facing hardware shortages, although it has ordered for the parts. Another constraint facing the company is the inability to carry out transactions in the quickest time possible as some incidents of delay have already been reported to the Square management team. This problem could have resulted from its underwriting infrastructure facilities and capabilities (Siegler 4). The company is also faced with the fear of customers caught up in fraud cases in the course of carrying out their payment transactions as this could dent their image. Although Square Inc wishes to execute a modern method of carrying out tra nsactions through mobile phone innovations, the mode of payment faces a major blow if cheques re-emerge as a mode of payment. The company also faces stiff competition from emerging competitors like, PayPal, Google, and Apple who could offer better modes of transactions and services than Square Inc. Lastly, the company is constrained by its inability to handle risks associated with charge backs by determining the transactions limits (Siegler 4. This could lead to incidents of fraud and other malicious issues on the part of the users. Analysis of possible solutions For Square Inc. to remain relevant and competitive in the market, it has to devise solutions that will help the company to address the current problem and constraints facing it. The constraints act as impediments in realizing the company’s goal, which is to enable payments anywhere immediately. The solutions that follow would enable Square Inc. to solve the current problems as well as allowing the company to compete favorably and effectively in the market. Square Inc needs to develop strong encryption software that would address the risks of fraud thus promoting security (Romo, 2011). This would ensure that crime cyberspace is reduced since hackers or fraudsters cannot access credit cards in the process of carrying out transactions.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Innovations in Payment Systems: Square specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is also supposed to create awareness to its customers on the need to secure their phones and passwords as fraudsters could take advantage of their carelessness to commit frauds. The company has to address the issue of the hardware shortages by importing or finding a reliable supplier who will address the increased demand by Smartphone users. This would ensure that customers are not swayed away by other payments providers like the NFCs system of Goggle or PayPal. Customers have already filed complaints, and the President of the Square Inc has also acknowledged that there have been delays in carrying out transactions. The company needs to view the causes for delays during transactions immediately before consumers lose their loyalty towards the brand and adopt other modes of payments. Square Inc needs to improve its underwriting infrastructure facilities and capabilities to a competitive edge. This will increase its competence and the speed required in financial transactions. Technology improvement is the core solution to the problems facing Square Inc. Therefore, the company needs to address its problems before entering the market with full force. Lastly, the looming problem facing Square Inc. is the emergence of other rival companies who are bound to introduce competitive rivalry through perfect substitute products. The company can operate at low costs by minimizing the transactional costs. This would create a competitive advantage to the company, thereby increasi ng its profits margins. Through marketing methods and structures, Square Inc. can make the new mode of transactions acceptable by its customers and other people who posses Smartphones or are willing to adopt one. This would ensure that it gains adequate market share, making it competitive. Recommendation that need to be adopted Based on the analysis of the problems, constraints, and the available solutions, it is recommended that Square Inc. adopts all the solutions because they address all the issues currently being experienced. No problem should be taken for granted as a single mistake would affect the customers affecting their loyalty.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Other than solving the problems, it is recommended that the company adopts a more efficient and the latest technology accessible to all customers. With competition increasing in the industry, Square Inc could operate under economies of a scale after reducing the transactional costs. This would ensure that the company remains relevant and that it realizes its competitive edge. Square Inc has the capability of turning the whole industry into a technological hub. To retain its capabilities, the company needs to devise a means of improving its software and hardware to meet the changing consumers’ demands and the markets trends caused by technological advancements. In conclusion, although Square Inc seems to be the latest option that will change payment transactions, the company needs to address all its problems in advance. This will ensure that it remains relevant in the market as it competes favorably and effectively. Works Cited MacMillan, Douglas. Turning Smartphones into Cash Registers. Bloomberg Businessweek, February 2011. Web. Romo, Venessa. Square Businesses ‘Square’Away Client Bill Pay. January  2011. Web. Siegler, Michael. â€Å"Square Delays Mass Roll-Out, Admits They Began Before Things Were â€Å"Fully Baked†Ã¢â‚¬ . June 2010. Web. This case study on Innovations in Payment Systems: Square was written and submitted by user Brandon Goff to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Personality and Leadership Essays

Personality and Leadership Essays Personality and Leadership Essay Personality and Leadership Essay A Comparing Traits and Skills Theories Impact on Leadership Robert L. Reese Grand Canyon university October 1st, 2014 Introduction In this review (see table 1) two empirical articles were compared, one that reviewed Trait Theory of leadership, and the other that reviewed Skills Theory of leadership. Personality and Leadership: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review, authored by Timothy A. Judge, Joyce E. Bono, Reams lies, and Megan W. Gerhardt conducted quantifiable evaluations of the connection between character traits and Leadership. The rationale of this research study was the existence of unreliable and inadequate results from prior examinations that have, until recently, provided a deficient configuration for categorizing and consolidating qualities. The authors were able to build a strong case based for their approach; by using the five-factor model of personality as a unifying structure to predict relationships between character traits and leadership. Additionally, there were relationships containing several standards were used, because of the apprehension with past personality trait research as to whether comprehensive or precise character traits forecast leadership? The article further investigates the comparative projective power of wide-ranging versus precise measures of these five traits (Timothy A. Judge, 2002). The leadership skills strapless: Leadership skill requirements across organizational levels the authors Troy V. Uniform, Michael A. Champion, Frederick P. Morrison; endeavors to not classify the features of leaders (that has had a varying history of success), but instead focuses attention directly on the job requirements of the leader, as well as the skills it squires, not focusing on the person. A further consideration of the skills required for leadership across an organizations level is examined by Identifying four distinctive classifications of leadership skill requirements that occur across structural levels. According to this article, the requirements for leadership are described as being stratified on one hand, yet a complex of various classifications. As such, skills needed for leadership can be described using a strapless selling the stratification and multifaceted nature of the skills required for leadership and the correlation within The research questions posed by Judge, et. Al (2002) in the research examination of the five-factor model of personality and how this model relates to leadership : 1 What are the associations between personality traits and leadership? 2. ) What is the overall connection among the Big Five character traits and leadership? (the Big Five character traits are defined in this article as: Neurotics, Extroversion, Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness) 3. ) What is the relationship that lower level personality constructs have to leadership? (Timothy A. Judge, 2002) In the research inducted Uniform, et. Al. Several questions were posed in the form of hypotheses: (1) Will the Cognitive, Interpersonal, Business, and Strategic skill categories be empirically distinguishable in relation leadership? (2) How will Leadership skills requirements will vary by skill category such that Cognitive skills will be needed the greatest amount, followed by Interpersonal, Business, and Strategic skills, respectively? (3) Will Cognitive, Interpersonal, Business, and Strategic skill requirements will be positively related to the Jobs level in the organization? How will the skills required in leadership interact within different organizational level? For example: a. Which skill requirements will be more strongly related to organizational level; strategic, cognitive, interpersonal, and/or business skills; b. Will the business skill requirements needed of leaders be more strongly related to organizational level than cognitive or interpersonal skills; and c. Will the interpersonal skill requirements needed for leaders be more strongly related to organizational level than cognitive skills? (Troy V. Uniform, 2007 ). Sample Populations The two articles reviewed used different methods with different characteristics and or qualities, as well as examining two distinctly different theories related to leadership. Judge, et. Al. (2002) samples consisted of 1023 professional employees within international agencies of the United States government. These people were working within five different career fields and encompassed 1 56 different countries.. The organizational positions examined included people that were involved in supervision of the purchasing of goods and services, managing financial endeavors, and negotiating and monitoring contracts. The personnel were selected from different levels within the organization; Juniors with 1-5 years of experience, mid- level with 6-20 years, and seniors with 21+ years (Timothy A. Judge, 2002). In the research conducted by Uniform, et. Al. (2007) an examination 998 plus past studies was conducted. Searches of articles were conducted and this resulted in 1,447 abstracts, 263 Journal articles and 77 dissertations. Of these articles used sixty studies were examined with 73 independent samples in all, which contained 222 associations that were categorized into one or more of the traits. In addition the article, examined 20 studies relating self-esteem or locus of control, together with two of the 60 five-factor model studies. However when research on leadership (before 1950) failed to report the information necessary to obtain a linkage, these were excluded by the current research. Also, the articles omitted studies that defined leadership related to salary level, career success, or the person most liked by peers exclusively. Studies that were included in the examination, were studies defined as representing leader development or leadership effectiveness based on the authors Within the research study Personality and Leadership: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review (2002) Judge et. Al the following results were determined. First, Extroversion showed the most closely related correlation to leadership, then Conscientiousness and then Neurotics. Also, Openness to Experience showed a correlation with leadership but was the weakest correlation of the areas researched. This indicated confidence that the relationship of four of the Big Five traits were distinctive when examined across situations. Finally, Agreeableness presented a moderately weak connection with leadership. However, four characteristics displayed reasonably strong associations with leadership?sociability, dominance, achievement and dependability. Two personality traits, Extroversion and Openness, were significantly predictive of leadership across the criteria studied. Results in the Judge et. Al. (2002) study offers strong evidence in favor of the personality trait method and suggests that research on the characteristics of leadership has evolved (Timothy A. Judge, 2002). In the Uniform, et. Al. Search study of the leadership skill requirements across organizational levels, the results supported the four-factor model of dervish skill requirements and the question presents in Hypothesis number one. Cognitive skills were higher than Business skills although they both showed movement in the predicted directions and were not statistically noteworthy. Thus according to this study, hypothesis two was somewhat supported. Hypothesis three, through the research received full support, because leadership skill requirements increased with organizational level on which the leader was. Results indicated that the relationship between the skill requirements of leadership and organizational bevel was stronger for strategic skills than for interpersonal and cognitive skill requirements, and this provides partial support for hypothesis four (a). Hypothesis four (b) was fully supported within the research by the relationship demonstrated between skill level and organizational level being stronger for business skill requirements than for interpersonal and cognitive skill requirements. Finally, hypothesis four (c) was also completely supported, because the difference between the leadership skill requirements-to-organizational level correlation; was significant for interpersonal and cognitive skill requirements. Finally, Uniform, et. Al. Proposed a hypothetically rich leadership skills order, and tested this hierarchy in a sample of over 1000 lower, middle, and upper level leaders, these results provided support for the model and its key hypotheses (Troy V. Uniform, 2007 Conclusion Within their research study Personality and Leadership: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review (2002) Judge et. L. Searches were conducted for studies on personality traits-to-leadership relationship in two phases; (1) entering the keywords personality and leadership along with each of the Big Five traits in a database, (2) urinals were manually searched that were thought to be particularly relevant, then (3) the database was searched using leadership and 48 other traits such as; self- esteem, locus of control, modesty, and self-control that were known to have been studied as directly related to leadership (Bass, 1990) (Timothy A. Judge, 2002). The article, The leadership skills strapless: Leadership skill requirements across organizational levels by Uniform et. Al. (2007), examines previous conceptualizations of leadership skill requirements and suggests that this can be understood in terms of and (4) Strategic skills (Troy V. Uniform, 2007 The research study of Personality and Leadership: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review (2002) Judge et. Al. Discusses the following limitations. In the review and subsequent research it was found to be important to determine which traits are relevant, as well as why. Within this study these process oriented issues could not be addressed. According to the authors there are many situational reasons that may impact the validity of personality characteristics in actually predicting leadership. A drawback of the meta-analysis within the study was that there may be representative effects on the lower order rats. Specifically, personality traits within a particular Big Five dimension may be differentially connected to leadership across the settings. Judge, et. Al. (2002) point out using the example, that dominance may display greater association with leadership in student settings than in military or government settings (Timothy A. Judge, 2002). In Uniform, et. Al. Research study of the leadership skill necessities across structural levels, limitations were examined by looking toward what would be appropriate for future research. According to the authors future research will have to cake advantage of the conceptual and concrete findings and further experiment with the model in throughout other organizations. Furthermore, future research must refine management development, placement, and selection systems in within different organizations. Finally, other researchers should explore the degree to which these results can be replicated when other information is taken into consideration and determine the impact leadership skill requirements (Troy V. Uniform, 2007 ). References Bass, B. M. (1990). Bass and Goodwills handbook of leadership. New York: Free Press. Timothy A. Judge, J. E. (2002). Personality and Leadership: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 765-780. Troy V. Uniform, M. A. (2007 ). The leadership skills strapless: Leadership skill requirements across organizational levels. The Leadership Quarterly, 154-166. Appendix Comparison Matrix Article 1 Article 2 Title/Author(s) Personality and Leadership: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review Authors: Timothy A. Judge, Joyce E. Bono, Reams Lies, and Megan W. Gerhardt The leadership skills strapless: Leadership skill requirements across organizational levels Authors: Troy V. Uniform, Michael A. Champion, Frederick P. Morrison http://library. GU. Deed:2048/login? URL=http://search. Boycotts. Com. Library. GU. Deed: 2048/gin. Asps? Direct=truedb=bthAN=12130448site=eds-livescope=site http:// library. Cue. Deed:2048/login? URL=http://search. Boycotts. Com. Library. GU. Deed:2048/ login. Asps? Direct=truedb=bthAN=24385837site=eds-livescope=site Purpose of the Study What is the authors rationale for selecting this topic? Does he build a strong case? The purpose of this article was to provide a quantitative review of the relationship teen personality and Leadership. The rationale for this study is; the inconsistent and disappointing results from previous reviews are that, until recently, we have lacked a taxonomic structure for classifying and organizing traits. I believe the authors build a strong case based on their approach; they use the five-factor model of personality as an organizing framework to estimate relations between personality and leadership. Furthermore, we estimate relations involving multiple criteria, also because there is much concern in personality research about whether broad or specific personality traits best redirect criteria (Block, 1995; Hough, 1992), they investigate the relative predictive power of broad versus specific measures of The Big Five traits. Focus is shifted from the person holding the Job (I. E. , the leader) to the Job itself. Thus, instead of attempting to identify the characteristics of leaders (which has had a checkered history of success), the focus is squarely on the Job of the leader, and the skills it requires. We seek to further our understanding of leadership skill requirements across organizational levels by identifying four distinct categories of leadership skill acquirement that emerge differentially across organizational levels. Leadership skill requirements are often described as being stratified by organizational level and a complex of multiple categories. As such, leadership skill requirements across organizational levels can be usefully described using a strapless. The term strapless captures the stratified and complex nature of the leadership skill requirements and their relationship with level in the organization. Research Question(s) What question(s) does the author present? They present these as possible questions but not directly as questions: What is the engages between personality and Leadership? What is the overall relationship between the Big Five traits and leadership? Relationship of lower order personality constructs to leadership? Hypotheses: (1) The Cognitive, Interpersonal, Business, and Strategic skill categories will be empirically distinguishable. (2) Leadership skill requirements will vary by skill category such that Business, and Strategic skills, respectively. (3) Cognitive, Interpersonal, Business, and Strategic skill requirements will be positively related to the Jobs level in the organization. 4) Leadership skill requirements will interact with organizational level such that: a. Strategic skill requirements will be more strongly related to organizational level than Cognitive, Interpersonal, and Business skill requirements; b. Business skill requirements will be more strongly related to organizational level than Cognitive or Interpersonal skill requirements; and c. Interpersonal skill requirements will be more strongly related to organizational level than Cognitive skill requirements. Literature Review How is this organized? What are the main themes found in the review? Who are the main authors used? They conducted searches for studies on the personality- leadership relationship in two stages; (1) first entering the keywords personality and leadership and each of the Big Five traits and leadership in the Psychology database, (2) manually searched Journals thought to be particularly relevant, (3) searched the database using leadership and 48 additional traits (e. G. , self-esteem, locus of control, modesty, and self-control) known to have been studied in relationship to leadership (Bass, 1990). Previous conceptualizations of leadership skill requirements (Connelly et al. , 2000; Kananga Miser, 1992; Katz Kahn, 1978; Luau, Newman, Broadening, 1980; Mahoney, Jeered, Carroll, 1965; Integers, 1973; Uniform, Marks, Connelly, Carrot, Ritter-Palmtop, 2000; Carrot, 2001) suggest they can be understood in terms of four general categories: (1) Cognitive skills, (2) Interpersonal skills, (3) Business skills, and (4) Strategic skills. Table 1 summarizes how past research into leadership skill requirements are related to these four categories. Sample Population(s) What group(s) is/are being studied? 998 studies; (2) This search resulted in 1,447 abstracts, (3) the remaining 263 Journal articles and 77 doctoral dissertations, Sixty studies (73 independent samples in all), containing 222 correlations that were classified into one or more of the five-factor traits, met these criteria. Additionally, 20 studies involving self-esteem or locus of control was coded, including two of the 60 five-factor model studies noted above. Early studies on leadership (pre-1950) failed to report the data necessary to obtain a career success, or the person most liked by peers. We also excluded self-reports of leadership. In terms of the criterion, studies were coded as representing leader emergence or leadership effectiveness based on our a priori definitions. The sample consisted of 1023 professional employees working in an international agency of the U. S. Government. These employees were generalists working in five different career specialties in 156 different countries, including the United States. Administrative positions involved overseeing procurement of goods and services, managing financial operations, and negotiating and monitoring contracts with various external groups. The employees were sampled from three levels in the organization that will be offered to as Junior (1-5 years experience), mid-level (6-20 years), and senior (21+ years). Limitations What are the limitations of the study? Why can it only encompass so much? They have a relatively poor idea of not only which traits are relevant, but why. The study could not address these process oriented Issues. There are many situational factors that may moderate the validity of personality in predicting leadership. A limitation of the meta-analysis is that there may be nested representative effects involving the lower order traits. Specifically, traits within a Big Five dimension may be differentially associated with leadership across the study settings. For example, dominance may display greater associations with leadership in student settings than in military or government settings. Future research will take advantage of the conceptual and practical findings and further test the model in other organizations, as well as refine management development, placement, and selection systems in organizations. Future research should explore the extent to which the results replicate when other sources of information are drawn upon to determine the leadership skill Results/ Conclusions What did the author find through the study? Was the original question answered? Correlate of leadership. Conscientiousness and then Neurotics and Openness to Experience displayed the next strongest correlations with leadership. Indicating that we can be confident that the relationship of four of the Big Five traits to leadership is distinguishable from zero across situations. Finally, Agreeableness showed a relatively weak correlation with leadership. Four traits displayed moderately strong correlations with leadership?sociability, dominance, achievement and dependability. Two traits, Extroversion and Openness, were significantly predictive of leadership across the criteria. Results in this study provide strong evidence in favor of the trait approach and suggest that we have come a long way since J. A. Murphy (1941) remarked, Leadership does not reside in the person (p. 674), and Jenkins (1947) concluded, No single trait or group of characteristics has been isolated which sets off the leader from members of his group (up. 74-75). This provides support for the four-factor model of leadership skill requirements and Hypothesis 1 . Cognitive was higher than Business. Other mean differences, although in the predicted direction, were not statistically significant. Thus, Hypothesis 2 was partially supported. Hypothesis 3 received full support. This relationship is illustrated in Fig. 2, which shows that leadership skill requirements increase with organizational level? Results indicate that the relationship between leadership skill requirements and organizational level is stronger for Strategic skill requirements than for Interpersonal and Cognitive skill requirements, providing partial support for Hypothesis AAA. Hypothesis b was fully supported in that the relationship between skill level and organizational level was stronger for Business skill requirements than for Interpersonal and Cognitive skill requirements. Finally, Hypothesis c was also fully supported, as the difference between the leadership skill-organizational level correlation for Interpersonal and Cognitive skill requirements was significant. The paper has proposed a theoretically rich leadership skills hierarchy, and tested that hierarchy in a sample of over 1000 lower, mid, and upper level leaders. Results provide support for the model and its key hypotheses.

Organizational Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organizational Analysis - Research Paper Example Globally, the entity is rated at the 23rd largest firm-entity in terms of composite scale measurements of assets, market value, revenues and profits. Importantly, the entity is rated as the 20th-largest mobile telecom operator globally, providing key telecommunication services to an estimated 120 million plus mobile subscribers. Throughout its years, from the initial government-authorized monopoly of phone services (the Bell System) when the entity was the largest phone company globally, to the 1982 breakup of the monopoly by U.S. regulators, it has been a force to reckon with. As Smith (2013) presents, through subsequently created subsidiaries, the entity was able to be re-founded, after the 2005 SBC acquisition of the former parent company. Further expansion has been witnessed since 2013, when the entity planned entry into Latin America through partnership with America Movil. Additionally, through agreed purchase of DirecTV in 2014, the entity further aims at widening its consumer base to include the fast-growing Latin American market arena. Further acquisition of Mexico’s Iusacell and NII Holdings is expected to solidify its presence in the wider North American frontier. Globally, the entity also offers a variety of services in different locations spread around the Asia Pacific (Smith, 2013). Human resource management (HRM/HR) pertains to the functional role-play present within organizational entities, designed specifically towards maximizing existing employee performance. As Collings and Wood (2009) portray, this is mainly in terms of service of the employer’s core strategic objectives. Accordingly, HR primarily is concerned with the manner in which individuals are managed within various organizations, focusing keenly on present systems and policies. Such responsibility falls upon existing HR departments and associate units within organizations. These are mainly tasked with a variety of core activities such as employee hiring/ recruitment, their