How is the music industry being affected by iTunes and similar Research Paper

How is the music industry being affected by iTunes and similar services - Research Paper Example This work "How is the music industry being affected by iTunes and similar services?" outlines how the introduction of iTunes, Amazon MP3, Napster, Zune Marketplace and Rhapsody have changed the music industry business. Instead of buying the whole CD just for one song people nowadays prefer buying their favorite single. Previously people were forced to buy the whole album of a particular artist or band on CD if they liked a particular song however now people have the choice of buying only the song they prefer instead of the whole album. This means that people save on their cost and can buy many more such singles instead of wasting their money on just a single album, whose songs they will hardly listen to except for that one song. Hence services like Amazon and iTunes allow people to choose amongst various songs from a plethora of songs in their database. With services such as iTunes, music has become increasingly accessible for the consumers. It is now very easy to transfer your favor ite song to your handheld device allowing you to listen to your favorite song on the go. Instead of going to the neighborhood’s music shop to buy the album that had your favorite song now you can just sit at home and buy your favorite song online. Artists who worked hard on making their whole album a success are at a disadvantage as others can easily steal their spotlight by introducing their one single hit and then disappearing into anonymity. This has led to a decline in the artists’ creativity.... This means that people save on their cost and can buy many more such singles instead of wasting their money on just a single album, whose songs they will hardly listen to except for that one song. Hence services like Amazon and iTunes allow people to choose amongst various songs from a plethora of songs in their database. With services such as iTunes, music has become increasingly accessible for the consumers. It is now very easy to transfer your favorite song to your handheld device allowing you to listen to your favorite song on the go. Instead of going to the neighborhood’s music shop to buy the album that had your favorite song now you can just sit at home and buy your favorite song online. Artists who worked hard on making their whole album a success are at a disadvantage as others can easily steal their spotlight by introducing their one single hit and then disappearing into anonymity. This has no doubt led to a decline in the artists’ creativity as we no longer s ee albums with all the songs that were a hit. On the other hand however, there has been an increase in the sale of individual songs because they are cheaper than the whole album. In fact by 2010, iTunes had sold 10,000,000,000 songs and the online music store is still going strong with consumers buying thousands of songs from the iTunes store every day. However the increase in sales does not add that much in revenue that it can offset the decline in revenue from the fall in sales of music CDs. In a study conducted by Elberse, she found out that for every one percent rise in the consumers who shift to buying music online there is a six percent drop in the sale of albums. Sales of a ‘mixed bundle’ (the album plus its single) fell from $15000 in 2005 to just $7000 in 2007 (a staggering

Recommendations to some of the pertinent HRM problems Essay

Recommendations to some of the pertinent HRM problems - Essay Example The model was chosen because it covers the SWOT analysis, a focus on the training on teams for fostering a more participatory organizational culture, Training programs for the HR group Promotion & recruitment within the company, Performance related pay (PRP) & Annual bonus which is related to company performance, Individual Development and feedback, and finally Performance Appraisals. These points were the recommendations made to address the HRM problems identified in the case. The recommendation was adapted from the work of existing scholars such as Kotter, and Gilbreath. The field of human resource (HR) management is one of the many interesting area of research that has witnessed a paradigm shift within the last few decades (Huselid, A. M., 1995Doty &Delery 1996). Within this area of research, an increasing body of literature contains the argument that, high performance work practices, including comprehensive employee's recruitment, selection procedures, incentives compensation and performance management systems, and extensive employee's involvement and training can improve the knowledge, skills and abilities of firms (Huselid, A. M., (1995), Doty &Delery (1996). Today, with the increasing researchers desires to demonstrate the importance of an effective human resource policy on organisation performance research has shifted from a micro level that previously dominated research interest to a more general, strategic macro level (Huselid, A. M., 1995, Doty &Delery 1996). The term human resource management is not new. It has been widely used by scholars and managers to refer to the set of policies designed to maximize organizational integration, employee commitment, flexibility and quality of work (Huselid, A. M., 1995, Doty &Delery 1996) Jackson & Shuler (2002) referred to it as an umbrella term that encompasses (a).specific human resources practices such as recruitment, selection and appraisal and (b). formal human resource policies which directs and partially constrain the development of specific practices and in all, it comprise a system that attracts develops, motivates and retains those employees who ensure the effective functioning and survival of the organisation and its members (Jackson & Schuler 2002). Cobb Gnyawali & Offstein (2006:315) argued that while effective human resource management and policies have, indeed, been linked to strategic outcomes, human resource management theory has yet to link human assets and HR practices directly to the building blocks of strategy and competitive behavior. Accordingly, their model of strategic human resources links both micro and macro literature streams. 1.1 Structure of Work This paper is aimed at analyzing the case study of the absentee bus crews. The Coal Valley Company where absence seems to be a more acute problem. Absence and lateness are the regular cause of disrupted bus services and are rated as the chief concern of local management. This paper is therefore going to analyse the case thoroughly by looking at the main issues discussed in the case study in section 2 below; evaluating the management control system as described in the case study in section 3 below; analyzing the case using agency and contingency theories in section 4; comparing and contrasting agency and