Review of research and evaluation on improving adult literacy and numeracy skills

The purposes of this literature review are threefold. First, this review summarises findings of the research from the last decade in six fields identified by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) as critical to its forward planning: (1) the economic, personal and social returns to learning; (2) the quality and effectiveness of provision; (3) the number of learning hours needed for skills gain; (4) learner persistence; (5) the retention and loss of skills over time; (6) the literacy and numeracy skills that are needed. Second, this review assesses this evidence base in terms of its quality and robustness, identifying gaps and recommending ways in which the evidence base can be extended and improved. Thirdly, this review attempts to interpret the evidence base to suggest, where possible, how returns to ALN learning for individuals, employers and wider society might be increased through effective and cost-effective interventions

To identify strategies for differentiating Kebabs Salateen within its market

The aim of this research is to identify strategies for differentiating Kebabs Salateen within its market. The head office of Kebabs Salateen is in Auckland. The company, Auckland Kebabs Limited, was formed in 2014 in Auckland. The original Salateen in Hamilton was in a building on Ward Street, but unfortunately, it was shut down due to safety concern. After 16 months Auckland Kebabs Limited talked to the old Salateen owner, and with his consent, Auckland Kebabs Limited opened the business in Ward Street and kept their old name to attract customers. This study investigates Kebabs Salateen’s internal and external factors. In this research, SWOT, PESTLE, and a competitor analysis of Kebabs Salateen have been completed to identify strategies used in the business. As part of this study, qualitative methods and a convenient sampling method were used. Interviews were taken from customers and employees of Kebabs Salateen to identify customer and employee satisfaction. Primary data was gathered, and secondary sources of data were used to analyse the current situation at Kebabs Salateen. Different strategies were identified and applied in different areas of the business, such as organisational structure, competitive advantage and customer analysis in Kebabs Salateen. The study also identified some direct and indirect competitors of Kebabs Salateen. The analysis of the result included different strategies in business and how these strategies can fit in other areas of the research. According to the findings, customers and employees were 80% and 90% respectively satisfied with the service and quality of Kebabs Salateen. To achieve 100% customer satisfaction, Kebabs Salateen needs to overcome their weaknesses according to feedback and suggestions from customers. The manager, therefore, needs to implement these suggestions immediately

Customer acquisition and engagement in Magic Chinese Health Massage

With the development of massage business, there are more and more massage shops established in Hamilton. Magic Chinese Health Massage is one of them. To achieve a successful development, having appropriate strategies of customer acquisition and engagement is necessary. The aim of this research is to recommend effective and efficient approaches to attract and retain customers for Magic Chinese Health Massage. The research is implemented in the Magic Chinese Health Massage shop through the interview and observation. As a result, the researcher finds the massage shop has a good reputation but it also has some drawbacks of services, advertising and its social media. Therefore, customer services, shop advertising and the social media of Magic Chinese Health Massage should be improved. To achieve the improvement, advertising is recommended to have more detail to attract customers and customer services can be more flexible. Similarly, its social media, such as Facebook, should be updated frequently

Volunteers: How to recruit and retain them?

This research aspires to discuss and analyse the current system of recruiting and retaining volunteers in the events industry, and a comparison with the volunteer programme model existing in H3 Group. The method chosen for this research is qualitative, as the research includes interviews. In order to get a better understanding, interviews are going to be held with people who are part of the industry and have extensive knowledge of this matter. In addition, with the purpose knowing another perspective, two people will be interviewed who habitually participate in activities as volunteers for H3 Group, specifically for sports events in FMG Stadium. The results obtained basically indicate that there is a difference between the information given by the person in charge of the volunteer program of H3 Group, and the perception that the volunteers had about their personal experience of volunteering for the matches held by the Rugby League World Cup in November last year. The difference occurs mainly because according to the information provided by H3 Group, the volunteer programme includes a whole complete process, and the staff is always making sure that the volunteers feel comfortable and confident about what are they tasks. On the other hand, the volunteers think that the assigned task was not of great importance and that many times they got bored because they had nothing to do. Also, they did not receive any feedback on their performance, so they were not sure if what they did was good or not

Identify the HR factors that affect employee turnover in MasterHouse restaurant.

For organisations that seek reduction in employee turnover, it is crucial to identify which specific factors have the greatest impact on the staff turnover rate of the organisation. Similarly, after identifying influencing factors, it is also very important to formulate HR processes and policies based on the actual situation of the organisation. The aim of this research is to identify the HR factors that affect employee turnover rate in MasterHouse restaurant. High employee turnover rate will affect the performance of the organisation’s employees and the decline of daily functions, it will also increase the cost of organisation recruitment on-boarding and training. The purpose of this research is to identify the specific factors that affect employee turnover in MasterHouse and develop a practical plan for MasterHouse restaurant to improve employee loyalty and reduce employee turnover through the organisation’s human resources processes and policies. This research will lead to an understanding of the factors affecting the turnover rate of MasterHouse through secondary research, then researchers will collect data through quantitative research, and develop a strategic plan for MasterHouse to reduce employee turnover. The researcher will use questionnaires to investigate the HR strategies of MasterHouse and employees’ views on MasterHouse current HR process and policies. This research will involve five factors that affect employee turnover rate: Long-term relationships, benchmark, work-life balance, talent management, rewards and motivation. The researcher then connected and compared survey results with information in the literature and developed a practical plan for MasterHouse to reduce employee turnover rate

Keeping profits in New Zealand

The tourism industry is the second biggest for New Zealand and is expected to regain the top spot if current, exponential growth continues. Online travel agencies (OTAs) such as those owned by Expedia Inc. and Booking Holdings Inc. facilitate this boom by encouraging travellers to visit beautiful locations, but are taking huge chunks of this income away from the local Gross-Domestic Product (GDP) in the commission they charge on every night of accommodation booked. One of the largest consumers of New Zealand’s tourism industry is Chinese nationals. This study looks at feasibility of a small player developing an app in a market full of large corporates that are dominating the playing field. The primary research used mixed methods and sought to reach 120 questionnaire respondents and 10 interview participants which uncovered thoughts on stakeholders on either side of the discussion, the China-based potential customers and the New Zealand-based accommodation providers. Preliminary results indicate that Chinese nationals are often likely to conduct thorough research when making decisions about international travel and a large portion are enthused about the prospect of regular international travel. Accommodation providers in New Zealand are rarely hesitant to support a local OTA as they are often frustrated with the poor service received from the large corporates. Developing an app that is based in China and attempts to market the New Zealand tourism industry will be a difficult proposition but is plausible with the implementation of a marketing plan that is strategically thought out

To find a better way of training and development for a small retail business in the health product industry

This research is aimed at finding out how to bring a better training and development process to a small retail business in the health product industry to increase the effectiveness of employees' performance. The study was carried out at Dekang Nutrition Ltd. Currently，it has set up three physical stores in Rototuna, Hamilton. Dekang also has a 300-square-metre warehouse and delivery centre at Te Rapa, and operates two sales platforms online. This research uses qualitative methods. The primary qualitative method that used is interview. The study found out that the type of training needed to be changed, as the current training system is not enough for employees to keep up with rapid changes in the external environment. It also provides an insight into the lack of systematic follow up. The study recommends Dekang to have a mentoring/buddy system for training and to develop an evaluation system for employees to have a clear idea of their own performance in a timely manner. Also, the study recommends that Dekang have a clear career pathway to help employees improve