GE’s Two Decade Transformation Jack Welch’s Leadership Change Management

Answer 1In April 1981, when Jack Welch became the CEO of GE, US was in recession. There were high interest rates. Strong dollar resulted in country’s highest unemployment rates. In this rapid changing and uncertain environment it was extremely difficult task for him to handle a conglomerate as big as GE and ensure that general confidence among the investors is not lost. His predecessor, Reg Jones, had set the bar extremely high at the company leaving a legacy for Welch to compete with as the new CEO.Also, acquiring new businesses and ensuring that each business unit under the GE umbrella was one of the best in its field was another challenge. Welch was extremely effective in taking over the GE reins. He challenged each to be †better than the best† and planned radical changes across the company. Under his guidance, the company expanded dramatically from 1981 to 2001.He instilled in everyone a culture of innovation and learning, and incorporated measures related to n ew product development, technological leadership, and rates of improvement.He set the standard for each of business to become #1 or #2 or get out of business.Welch categorized business in 3 circles as core, high technology and services and sold off 200 businesses which all together contributed for 25% of sales.Even budgeting process got radically changed and evaluation started against external competition rather internally.Managers that did not fit into or who failed to embrace his strategy were let go. Anything and anyone that didn’t bring value to GE was eliminated.  The most important change he brought in was by eliminating the sector level and reducing the hierarchical levels from 9 to 4.Through downsizing, de-staffing and delayering, Welch modestly increased revenues from $27. 2bn to $29. 2bn.Welch made a varsity team where he wanted managers who were ready to accept change, have a strong commitment towards values and willing to break with old culture and most of all r eady to take lead and bring changes.Answer 2Welch’s objectives:To modify the culture of the company to match the needs of the changing environment and to make sure that each employee embraces the new culture with ease. He created an environment of openness, speed, simplicity and self-confidence.To get the fundamentals right.To create a culture of a small company a place all felt engaged and everyone had voice. A forum where employees could not only speak their minds about how their business might run more effectively but also get immediate response to their ideas and proposals.To increase productivity beyond imagination. He made six sigma a part of the cultureHe focused on locating and developing leadership at all levels of the company. GE employees were being developed, evaluated and compensated based on a demanding evaluation process called â€Å"Session C†.To incentivize stronger work ethics, GE revamped its compensation package by offering more stock options tied d irectly to individual performance for program initiatives. Welch wanted employees to feel valued for their contributions, and highly-compensated for their efforts. Welch based his proposed and implemented changes on proven tactics used by other successful. For eg. Implementation of Six Sigma first stared by Motorola. He realized it was important to develop leaders and break from the conventional to achieve extremely high standards and be at the top, undefeated. So he revolutionized the way GE worked.Answer 3GE defied critics by implementing not just strategies to combat the challenges faced but by implementing a long term sustainable strategy that will be a masterpiece for years to come. Although GE had gone through a major reorganization that contributed to its successes, the changing business climate when Welch took over as CEO required more to be done. Welch realized that overcoming the magnitude of challenges would require unconventional leadership and bold strategies.In times o f uncertainties and recession, the normal course of action for many businesses is to engage in cost cutting strategies, but he believed investments in the right places during hard economic times enables a company to perform better during and after a recession.Right investments at right time: He offloaded all the unprofitable or not so profitable businesses and acquired companies during the slowdown. This was a clever decision since companies can be bought really cheap during recession.GE had acquired firms that enabled it to expand globally and developed global operations that resulted in the company almost doubling its international revenue to $42. 8billionAdapting various strategies which included â€Å"Fix, Sell or Close†. This strategy is an indication that Welch did not adapt cost cutting strategies like many of the companies during that time. Welch ’s goal of making GE lean and agile resulted in de-staffing and reduction of bureaucracy, eliminating layers of hier archical that were bottlenecks to growth.Critics saw the company’s strategy of developing leadership and employee capabilities enhancement as being risky especially in times of uncertainties. However, through the determination of Welch and his team, and the desire for change; the risk paid off contributing to the value of the company. Welch understood that strategy is not about doing things better, but it is about doing things differently through effective decision making and knowing where to compete and how to compete regardless of how radical and risky it may seem to critics.Through the stretch target initiatives, all employees were asked to prove how good they can be by setting and reaching higher goals that were once deemed to be impossible to achieve.Another important value added to the company was the service business, which contributed to 2/3rd of the company’s revenues. With Welch’s leadership GE ventured into new sectors, and did away with ineffective o nes, developed a massive global market that out performed its domestic markets, created a service industry and an E-business.Last but not the least, his introduction of the Six Sigma quality initiatives led to 62% in turnaround time, return of $750million over the investment exceeding expectations along with a forecast of additional returns of $1. 5 billion in 1999. Thus created a large complex diversified conglomerate that continues to defy the critics and grow in performance and profitability.Answer 4According to me Welch set the standard really high for the rest of the world. There was so much to learn from Welch’s leadership. He initiated a change in mindset and was successful in doing it, thanks to his commitment and rock solid attitude. Jack Welch’s mission was to restructure the company in order to become the #1or #2 in the industry. He embraced change, expected his team to do the same, and challenged his team be â€Å"better than the best†. Furthermore t eam members had to have the willingness to take charge, to think outside of the box, and most of all to be team players.Welch fostered open communication and created a culture characterized by â€Å"speed, simplicity, and self -confidence. † Welch never rested on his last success; he continued to innovate and to look for ways to grow the business both internally and externally. He understood that GE’s assets were in fact their people and in turn had to be managed as a company resource. Welch’s unwavering involvement in every facet of the business was essential to all of these directives. Everything Welch did reflected his belief in his people and as he once stated.â€Å"I own the people, you just rent them. † Without a doubt, Jack Welch’s leadership has left a lasting impact on GE and the business world. Welch’s has left a legacy for his successor. The successor will need to establish him/herself and make a name for themselves. This person w ill need to clearly communicate their vision and how they will go about accomplishing those goals. He/she will need to continue to foster open communication in an effort to continue to encourage teamwork. Innovation will be crucial if the company is to thrive under the new leadership.

Hey Huhhuhu

ESO210/ESO203A: Introduction to Electrical Engineering Assignment 4 Date of Submission: 20th March, 2013 1. The rotor shown in Fig. 1 has two coils. The rotor is nonmagnetic and and is placed in a uniform magnetic ? eld of magnitude B0 . The coil sides are of radius R and are uniformly spaced around the rotor surface. The ? rst coil carrying a current I1 and second coil carrying a current I2 . Assuming that the rotor is 0. 30 m long, R=0. 13 m, and B0 = 0. 85 T, ? nd the ? directed torque as a function of rotor position ? for (a) I1 =0A and I2 =5A, (b)I1 =5A and I2 =0A, and (c)I1 =8A and I2 =8A.Uniform magnetic field, B 0y r ? ?2 ?1 R ? ? x Figure 1: 2. An inductor has an inductance which is found experimentally to be of the form L= 2L0 1+x/x0 where L0 =30 mH, x0 =0. 87 mm, and x is the displacement of movable element. Its winding resistance is measured and found to equal 110 m?. (a) The displacement x is held constant at 0. 90 mm, and the current is increased from 0 to 6 A. Find the resultant magnetic stored energy in the inductor. (b) The current is then held constant at 6 A, and the displacement is increased to 1. 80 mm. Find the corresponding change in magnetic stored energy. . The inductor of Problem 2 is driven by a sinusoidal current source of the form i(t)=I0 sin(? t) Where I0 =5. 5A and ? =100? (50Hz). With the displacement held ? xed atx = x0 , calculate (a)the time- averaged magnetic stored energy (Wf ld ) in the inductor and (b)the time-averaged power dissipated in the winding resistance. 4. The inductance of a phase winding of a three-phase salient-pole motor is measured to be of the form L(? m )=L0 +L2 cos2? m where ? m is the angular position of the rotor. (a) How many poles are on the rotor of this motor? b) Assuming that all other winding currents are zero and that this phase is excited by a constant current I0 , ? nd the torque Tf ld (? ) acting on the rotor. 5. As shown in Fig. 2 , an N -turn electromagnet is to be used to lift a slab of iron of mass M. The surface roughness of the iron is such that when the iron and the electromagnet are in contact, there is minimum air gap of gmin =0. 18 mm in each leg. The electromagnet cross sectional area Ac =32 cm and coil resistance is 2. 8 ?. Calculate the minimum coil voltage which must be used to lift a slab of mass 95 Kg against the force of gravity. Neglect the reluctance of the iron. 8 N turn winding Ac g Iron slab, mass M Figure 2: 6. An inductor is made up of a 525-turn coil on a core of 14-cm2 cross-sectional area and air gap length 0. 16 mm. The coil is connected directly to a 120-V 60-Hz voltage source. Neglect the coil resistance and leakage inductance. Assuming the coil reluctance to be negligible, calculate the time-averaged force acting on the core tending to close the air gap. How would this force vary if the air-gap length were doubled? 7. Fig. 3 shows the general nature of the slot-leakage ? ux produced by current i in a rectangular conductor embedded in a recta ngular slot in iron.Assume that the iron reluctance is negligible and that the slot leakage ? ux goes straight across the slot in the region between the top of the conductor and the top of the slot. (a) Derive an expression for the ? ux density Bs in the region between the top of the conductor and the top of the slot. (b) Derive an expression for the slot-leakage ? s sits crossing the slot above the conductor, in terms of the height x of the slot above the conductor, the slot width s, and the embedded length l perpendicular to the paper. s Iron ?s Bs x Conductor carrying current i Figure 3: 8.The two-winding magnetic circuit of Fig. 4 has a winding on a ? xed yoke and a second winding on a movable element. The movable element is constrained to motion such that the length of both the air gaps remain equal. ?2 ?2 8 Â µ g 0 N2 turn winding A A N1 turn winding 8 Â µ ?1 ?1 Figure 4: (a) Find the self inductance of windings 1 and 2 in terms of the core dimensions and the number of turns . (b) Find the mutual inductance between the two windings. ? (c) Calculate the coenergy Wf ld (i1 ,i2 ). (d) Find the expression for the force acting on the movable element as a function of the winding currents.

Sales Promotion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sales Promotion - Research Paper Example A hypothetical budget and return on investment calculation is done in the final part of the study. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Sales Promotion 4 Theories of Sales Promotion 7 Sales Promotion Objectives 8 Creating Inquiries 8 Product Trial 8 Building Traffic 9 Rate of Purchase 9 Loyalty 9 Awareness 9 Tactical Reason 10 Comparative Analysis Product Profile and Sales Promotion Activity 11 Sales Promotion Budget 13 Return on Investment 14 References 16 Bibliography 17 Sales Promotion Sales promotional techniques like free gift item on each purchase, free movie ticket, holiday tour and free dining invitation are used to increase the brand awareness among customers. They use exchange offers (exchange the old TV set and get a new TV set at reduced price) to push the sales. Sales promotion can be done by using seasonal sales technique. The technique can be summarized in the following manner. Winter sale, autumn sale, summer sale and discount of 50% on particular product are few exa mples of seasonal sales technique. These are all incentive program offered by companies to boost up the sales. Incentive program may come in the form of gifts, free samples, demonstrations, discount coupons, trade shows, contests etc. Retailer uses all these techniques as a part of sales promotion to motivate customers to purchase more and in this way they can increase sales volume. This type of sales promotion is known as consumer promotion (Kenneth, 2007, p. 330). Many companies use personal selling and advertising as a promotional tool to increase the brand equity in the mind of consumer. Personal selling deals with face-to-face interaction with customer or target segment but advertising is use to communicate brand massage to large number customers. Advertising and Sales promotion are useful tools to increase sales of product. Advertising can be integrated with sales promotion to communicate incentive program on each purchase. Companies can use advertising to create awareness abo ut sales promotional schemes and offers to target customers. Personal selling can also be used for the same purpose but sales promotion and personal selling is not the same thing. They differ in terms of objectivity and technique. Sales promotion uses short term and non cohesive model to increase the sales with various incentive schemes. Generally the incentive program is not valid throughout the whole season. Companies use sales promotion during end of seasons or during festive seasons. Sales promotion is more occasion dependent. The promotional technique differs from personal selling and advertising in terms of process and application techniques (Pauwels, Risso, Srinivasan and Hanssens, 2003). Sales promotion is a part of integrate marketing communication (IMC) strategy. Company uses sales promotion to increase the brand visibility among customers. Manufacturer companies use sales promotion for two reasons. 1- Increase product sales to retailers (trade promotion) and 2- increase p roduct sales to customers (consumer promotion). Retailers also use sales promotion to increase the sales of a particular product. Sales promotions have an important role in the marketing programs adopted by retailers (Gedenk, Neslin and Ailawadi, n.d.). Sales promotion contributes a large percentage of advertising budgets for a company. Companies use at least seventy percent of total advertising budget on sales promotion.

Listening Teaching Demos for Intermediate Level Essay - 1

Listening Teaching Demos for Intermediate Level - Essay Example it can be seen that providing a discussion and class participation module with respect to cardinal points can have both primary, secondary, and tertiary impact upon a litany of different aspects of furthering the educational process. Firstly, it targets participation and encourages students to become actively engaged in the learning process through working in teams and seeking out solutions. Secondly, it utilizes only a handful of instructional materials as a way of making the point and providing the active forms of education that have been previously delineated. Thirdly, it organizes the classroom environment in a non uni-directional way. What is meant by this is that the teacher is not responsible for providing the students with an endless stream of information and then expecting them to regurgitate this back to him/her. Rather, the active part of learning within this particular scenario is taken part in by the pupils themselves. Although it is understood by this particular educato r that it is not my role and/or responsibility to be responsible for teaching each of these different subject matters in their entirety, providing the linkage between them and allowing the students to explore and improve their education based upon these determinacy’s has a marked level of educational benefit.

Property law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Property law - Case Study Example In addition, with partners that want to join in her business and their various reasons, which probably may not be in line with the image she wants to project, the lack of partners makes it an attractive option. The business is also flexible and permits her to uphold a relationship with her target clients, as well as having no corporate tax (Knapp & Semmel, 2011). This makes it an attractive option. However, it is true that it is not an extremely attractive option because Betty will be fully liable for the business, which is risky because she will be welcoming the customers into her place of business. Betty will also have to deal with raising the funds on her own and deal with her limited managerial abilities (Knapp & Semmel, 2011). The reduced sources of capital that are available for her also make expansion difficult. Finally, the fact that she is obligated to use her own funds and that of her family, coupled with unlimited liability does make it an unattractive option. Corporation I find this to be short of the best option, despite the provision of liability protection. Considering that the integration time for a corporation requires more money and time as compared to a sole proprietorship. The business will also be regulated and supervised by entity rules from local, state, and federal jurisdictions. This would make it more difficult to use the name â€Å"The Gathering Place† since it is already in use in the state and another state. Incorporation of Betty’s business may also result in the business being liable to paying more taxes (Cross, 2009). In addition, the dividends that the corporation will pay to shareholders will not be deductible, and the income may be double taxed. I do not believe that franchising will be applicable in this case; the corporate feel it gives the business may not be suitable for a Christian family-based establishment. Partnership It is my belief that a partnership would be the best idea for Betty’s coffee shop . Indeed, it is true that this form of business will allow Betty to share the business risks and profits with those who are close to her. It is also true that Betty has several takers for the partnership already. The startup cost will be low; the business will possess more borrowing capacity compared to the sole proprietorship, and she can make high caliber Christian employees her partners, which will enable her to get more customers from other churches. In addition, splitting of income will allow her to save on taxes (Mongalo et al, 2010). There will also be limited regulation from outside. This is the best option for Betty and her business. Partners, Investors, Employees Betty’s Husband I agree that Betty taking her husband, as a partner would be a splendid idea for the business. As Christians, it is true that they are one as advised by the Bible, and are one in the eyes of God. John, Betty’s husband, would be an ideal partner in a coffee shop with a Christian settin g, especially in a society where it feels like the institution of marriage is under threat. A coffee shop with a married couple as partners would be a sure draw for the conservative Christian base. John and Betty can contribute to the business as separate entities, from personal sources and bank loans, although they will operate the business as one. Betty’s Sister It is true that Alice is coming into business with an inappropriate reason, and I do not believe that Betty should consider her at all. If John is not for the idea of Alice

Reflective journal about Building high self-esteem Essay

Reflective journal about Building high self-esteem - Essay Example It is a term used to describe human being’s emotional evaluation of their worth (Mind, 2013). It can be explained as an attitude or a judgment towards self. There are various emotions encompassing self-esteem such as pride, despair, triumph and shame. Self-evaluations can be negative or positive. It can be influenced by the external environment or can be completely self-generated (Reece, 2013). Self-esteem can also be associated with self-consciousness. Resent research in self-esteem has suggested that it has a power influence on academic achievement, different exercise behaviour, workplace development and increasing employee morale (Bragar, 2009). The fact that presence or absence of self-esteem can be an important factor influencing the success or failure of an individual makes it an interesting topic. This study is basically intended to critically reflect upon the learning I received from the teachers and trainers. In the course module, we have mainly read about the theorie s and importance of self-esteem and critical evaluation of what I have learned during the programme and how can I apply this in my future career. In order to do this analysis, self reflection methodology will be adopted. In this study, I will demonstrate real life experience of my learning which was during my work in the bank and how I could relate the concepts and theories with practical learning. I will reflect upon how I can use those learning for my professional career.

Atokowa Organization Report Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Atokowa Organization Report - Case Study Example This followed the application of soft system model (SSM) to analyze current issues affecting Atokowa. The same was accomplished through CATWOE analysis. The study further discussed on appropriate recommendations for systems and operations managements whereby possible quality improvement strategies were provided. The TQM was identified as the best system which can improve overall quality performance of the organization. The investigation further covered on the relevant people and management issues which may come up during the implementation of new quality system in the organization. By doing so, possible ways of managing these issues were provided to support the implementation process. The study was summarized through provision of concrete conclusion which summarized the case analysis. Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 1.0 Introduction 3 1.1. About Atokowa Advantage 4 2.0 Analysis of Systems and Operations Management of Atokowa Organization 6 2.1. Input Output Model 6 2.2. The use of business process mapping model on Atakowa’s case 8 2.2.1. Use of process mapping model to analyze Atokowa’s case 9 2.3. Decision Making Hierarchy 10 2.3.1. Three levels of decision making 10 2.4. System levels 11 2.4.1. The role of systems to support business processes 12 2.5. Applying Pareto Analysis 12 2.6. Application of soft system methodology 13 2.6.1. CATWOE analysis 13 2.6.2. Current issues in Atokowa 14 3.0. Systems and Operations Management Recommendations 15 3.1. How the organization can improve quality management 15 3.2. Improving the quality management skills of our employees 16 3.2.1 Other important recommendations 16 3.3. The people and management issues which may arise during the implementation of business improvements and quality managements in Atokowa organization 17 3.3.1. How these issues should be managed 17 4.0. Conclusion 18 5.0. References 19 1.0 Introduction According to research, operation management is defined as activities surrounding the management of resources in an organization. Resources in a manufacturing environment are devoted in ensuring efficient production and delivery of goods and services to the market. Information systems on the other hands refers to a layout of interrelated components which are responsible for retrieval, processing, storage and distribution of information which are vital for decision making and control of activities in an organization (Ram, 2005). This study will focus on Atokowa advantage by looking at systems and operation management practices are handled in the organization. The question which should be asked is what are the systems and operations management practices in the company? What are the strengths and weaknesses of these systems and operations practices? And what are the possible recommendations which should be implemented to improve on the systems and operations management practices? Based on this brief introduction, the report will analyze these system and practices by us e of appropriate models so that critical analysis can be provided to give insight on the way systems and operations activities are managed in Atokowa. By applying these models, the main business requirements will be examined thus understanding the way the company operates. The report will explain the possible quality management improvements strategy which may be implemented in the company. It will conclude by providing

Islam shares many beliefs with Christianity and Judaism. Discuss Essay

Islam shares many beliefs with Christianity and Judaism. Discuss similarities and differences in the burial rites of the three Abrahamic religions in the UK today - Essay Example Most religions have got various rites when it comes to burial. The three Abrahamic religions currently follow different burial rites depending on their religious practices. This paper intends to discuss the overall and detailed burial rites for the three Abrahamic religions. This is due to the evidences on the disparities in their religious burial practices in UK despite originating from same ancestral origin. Christianity is the world’s largest religion with an estimation of 1.2 to 1.5 billion followers (Well Planned Funeral, 2009). This religion has been very prominent and has also undergone many revolutions aiming at restructuring the religious practice. In the UK, it is estimated that there are over 200 Christian denominations which have their own rituals as far as funerals are concerned. Not all churches have similar funeral rituals. Notable to state is that despite the denomination, the Christian faith dictated by the bible is commonly practiced in all denominations (Techner, 2007). This is because they all believe in the teachings of Jesus and follow the same bible. In Christianity, the funeral beliefs is normally underpinned and overruled by the fact that Christians believe in resurrection. Moreover, the teachings of Christianity also assure believers that there is eternal life for all human souls that die following the teachings of Jesus Christ (Well Planned Funeral, 2009). The main objective in a Christian funeral reflects the fact that funerals are a celebration of a winner who will live eternally (Danals, 2007). The Christian funeral must be accompanied by a special service. This is conducted by the local church where the deceased went to or family belongs to. The service is meant to offer final prayers for the deceased. During the special service, there must be biblical readings, singing of hymns and prayers for the deceased and family (Weaver, 2008). In Catholicism, there must be incorporation of the Holy

Abortion Should Be Made Legal or Illegal Research Paper

Abortion Should Be Made Legal or Illegal - Research Paper Example Abortion clinics are the only medical personnel who have a â€Å"constitutional right† to suppress information even when directly asked by the patient (Szafran and Arthur 284). This right is apparently allowed so that â€Å"conscientious physicians† might ‘protect’ women from being frightened by the risk they face or upset by what the abortion process will do to their unborn children. It is solely up to the pleasure of the abortionist or his representative to decide how much information he chooses to give. Most women need support and not an abortion. According to Frederica Mathewes, no woman wants an abortion as she wants an ice-cream cone or a Porsche. She wants an abortion as an animal, caught in a trap, wants to gnaw off its own leg. Pregnant women do want and need support (Wade). While pro-choicers often say that an abortion is a woman’s choice, for numerous women it doesn’t feel like one. Indeed, abortion often seems like the only choice. Most women think that pregnancy will mean loss of vital resources. This is because they lack support. Most women take abortion because they think of it as the only way out. Abortion is not an act of love. Many women say that they want to be good parents and that it is not the right time and that’s why the abort. Women say that they are not prepared for a child but still want the best for the child.

DinkaAgaar of South Sudan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

DinkaAgaar of South Sudan - Essay Example Information was also given to Deal by various government officials and military officers, to try and determine the root and level of the violence and torture experience by the DinkaAgaar. Perhaps the most central concept of the research is that of Cieng. This is, as a noun, â€Å"human relations, conduct, behavior, habit, personality, custom, law, rule, way of life, culture, essence, and nature† (Deal, 2010, p571) and dictates the reason behind much of the violence within the group. The definition of Cieng seems to be the object of study in much of social anthropology, and the fact that it plays such an important role in the group dynamic explains the reasons for much of the behaviour. Deal (2010, p571) suggests that the importance of Ciengensures that the good of the group outweighs the good of the individual, and therefore, some of the torture and violent behaviour continues as it is thought to be an important part of Dinka culture. The main approach used by Deal (2010) is t hat sanctioned by Malinowski; fieldwork, taking the time to get the ‘native’s perspective’ through participant observation and communication with the members of the tribe. Torture and other forms of violence may seem unsavoury to an outsider, but when torture â€Å"appears to be a manifestation of deeply held perceptions of self and society within the people one studies, the calls to intervene are not so sharp† (Deal, 2010, p571) and an anthropologist needs to be sure not to use personal ethical frameworks on the tribe in question. This is perhaps the most appropriate methodology to use when studying such a culture. 17 months is a long period of time to be conducting fieldwork, but perhaps is needed to gain the trust of the group and a true appreciation for their lifestyle. Going in and collecting surveys full of quantitative information can be useful in some approaches, but may be likely to give bias. Deal (2010) was incorporated into the society and was even given a Dinka name by which he was addressed (p566), and as such it is certain that there was a certain level of trust in the researcher by the group. This is not without its failings, as there may be a situations where the group is misrepresented by the researcher due to sympathetic bias. However, it seems more appropriate than using a Western framework on a distinct culture. Additionally, Deal listed the types of information he gathered during the fieldwork period, and these were numerous and came from a number of different sources, so it seems certain that the majority of the research was free from particular bias (Deal, 2010, p564). As the research here focuses on the use of violence and torture as part of the justice system, the most interesting thing to be learnt is about the use of different moral and legal codes by the Dinka people. The use of violence within this tribe must only be seen from their social perspective, as they use violence as a means of starting war, rev enge, and justice (Deal, 2010, p567). Torture is also used to exacerbate the differences between the Dinka and the neighbouring Nyueii, as well as a punishment from indecent contact with these rivals (Deal, 2010, p566). Violence is part of the Cieng defined and used by the Dinka, and it is used to define ‘us’ from ‘them’ in the tribe. In conclusion, this research uses a wide range of material to illustrate the use of violen

Ethics In Education Essay Example for Free

Ethics In Education Essay Abstract Education has ever been considered as one of the strongest foundations for any civilized society. The success of any Nation is largely attributed the way in which education system is built up. There is growing importance the world over these days to incorporate importance of ethical standards in education. Ethical standards in education contain basic principles, procedures and behavior patterns based on commitment to core values that are deeply rooted in education. An ethical education will pave a way to uplift educational standards which in turn will instill right values among students who will certainly create landmark in their career as well as life. ETHICS IN EDUCATION The Concept Of Ethics The definition of ethics is shaped by personal, societal and professional values, all of which are difficult to specify. Some stress the importance of society’s interests and others stress the interests of the individual. These conflicting viewpoints have dominated the discussion of ethics for a long time and may remain in the future as well. Thus, the term ‘ethics’ will have to be defined in this context. The word ‘ethics’ is derived from the Greek word ‘ethos’ (character) and Latin word ‘moras’ (customs). Taken together these two words define how individuals choose to interact with one another. Thus, ethics is about choices. It signifies how people act in order to make the ‘right’ choice and produce ‘good’ behavior. It encompasses the examination of principles, values and norms, the consideration of available choices to make the right decision and the strength of character to act in accordance with the decision. Hence, ethics, as a practical discipline, demands the acquisition of moral knowledge and the skills to properly apply such knowledge to the problems of daily life. Philosophical Theories of Ethics Decision making based on intuition or personal feeling does not always lead to the right course of action. Therefore, ethical decision making requires a criterion to ensure good judgment. The philosophical theories of ethics provide different and distinct criteria for good, right or moral judgment. Three prominent philosophical theories of ethics are utilitarianism, rights and justice. They are normative theories of ethics, which provide a principle or standard on how a person ought to behave towards others by considering the right and wrong of an action. These normative theories are divided into two broad classifications, consequential and non-consequential. Consequential theories define ‘good’ in terms of its consequences, and a best known example is theory of utilitarianism. In contrast, non-consequential theories define ‘good’ not by its consequences but by its intrinsic value and the best known examples are the rights and justice theories. These theories are described below. (a) The theory of utilitarianism According to this theory, the ethical alternative is the one that maximises good consequences over bad consequences. Jeremy Bentham, who is considered as the father of utilitarian ethics, defines utilitarianism as the greatest happiness principle (the principle of utility), which measures good and bad consequences in terms of happiness and pain. He wrote as follows in his book ‘An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation’: Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do. On the one hand the standard of right and wrong, chain of causes and effects, are fastened to their throne. They govern us in all we do, in all we say, in all we think. The terms ‘happiness’ and ‘pain’ have broad meaning and encompass all aspects of human welfare, including pleasure and sadness, health and sickness, satisfaction and disappointment, positive and negative emotions, achievement and failure and knowledge and ignorance. Applying the utilitarian principle is a procedural process involving five steps: (1) Define the problem; (2) Identify the stakeholders affected by the problem; (3) List the alternative courses of action for resolving the problem; (4) Identify and calculate the short- and long- term costs and benefits (pain and happiness) for each alternative course of action and (5) Select the course of action that yields greatest sum of benefits over costs for the greatest number of people. Thus, ethical conduct by accountants based on this theory leads to consideration of all possible consequences of a decision for all parties affected by it. This theory takes a pragmatic and common sense approach to ethics. Actions are right to the extent that they benefit people (i.e. actions, which produce more benefit than harm are right and those that do not are wrong). Thus, the cognitive process required for utilitarian decision making appears similar to the cost-benefit analysis that is normally applied in business decisions. However, there are important distinctions between the two concepts in relation to the nature of consequences, the measurability of the consequences and stakeholder analysis. (b) The theory of rights The theory of rights stems from the belief that people have an inherent worth as human beings that must be respected. Therefore, according to this theory, a good decision is one that respects the rights of others. Conversely, a decision is wrong to the extent that it violates another person’s rights. In general, the rights can be divided into two categories: (1) natural rights (rights that exist independently of any legal structure) and (2) Legal rights and contractual rights (rights that are created by social agreement). The natural rights are commonly known as human rights or constitutional rights. Among many natural rights, the right to the truth is important to the function of accounting. The users of financial statements have the right to truthful and accurate financial information when making choices on alternative investment strategies. This right imposes a moral obligation on the accountant and the reporting entity to prepare and issue, true and fair financial statements. On the other hand, legal and contractual rights are important in the accountant-employer and the accountant-client relationships. These contractual relationships mean that employers and clients have a legal right to expect professional and competent service from the accountants. In turn, the accountants have a corresponding legal duty to perform their tasks to the best of their ability within the constraints of their expertise. (c) The theory of justice Understanding this theory requires understanding various notions of justice. Generally, justice is described as fairness, which refers to the correlation between contribution and reward. However, fairness alone cannot define the term justice. There are also other forms of justice, which include equality (assumes that all people have equal worth), procedural justice (concerns with due process) and compensatory justice (addressed the loss from a wrongful act). However, a comprehensive theory incorporating these various domains of justice has yet to be developed. Thus, the focus of this paper is on the theory of justice, which is based on the principle of distributive justice. It focuses on how fairly one’s decisions distribute benefits and burdens among members of the group. Unjust distribution of benefits and burdens is an unjust act and an unjust act is a morally wrong act. Hence, under this theory, an ethical decision is one that produces the fairest overall distribution of b enefits and burdens. Ethics In Education Basically there are three parties involved in ethical education system namely students, teachers and administrators. Teacher, being the most important facet of ethical education, is the torch bearer to the change the whole scenario of education system. He is the one who could exemplify his ethical behavior in front of students. Students most of the time learn their behavior from their teachers. Right approach of teacher to teach the students inside the class room will make ever lasting impact on the minds of students. It goes without saying that the principle of ethical conduct lie at the core of teaching profession. The whole society can be remolded by administering ethical practices. Secondly, the responsibility for promoting ethics in higher education lies with the leadership of colleges and universities. Like most efforts at organizational change, the energy, financing, and inspiration must start at the top and must anticipate and verbalize a long term commitment to ethical goals . â€Å"Bottom-up† schemes for change are seldom successful since they lack the organizational influence to create a sustained, well supported plan of action. Ethics issues permeate every aspect of university life from admissions to the classroom, from hiring to curriculum development and from research to the athletic field. To alter the ethics culture in an institution of higher education (or any organization) requires the highest level of commitment and realistic consequences for deviations. (a) Verbal and written commitment of the university president/chancellor, board of trustees, alumni association, faculty and staff to the implementation of an ethics plan of action; (b) Verbal and written commitment of departments heads overseeing student recruiting and admissions policy to an ethics plan of action for their areas of concern. Some possible action items might include advertising that the student body is governed by a â€Å"honor code†, the violation of which could lead to disenrollment. The hallmark of the admissions policy would focus on the ethical selection of students to include cultural difference, gender and racial equalities, socio-economic factors, as well as, academic excellence. (c) Faculty hiring guidelines that would include a thorough â€Å"vetting† of the applicant’s qualifications and background as well as a written commitment by the applicant to fully support the ethics initiative; (d) Faculty members to commit to and undertake curriculum revisions that would include the ethical aspects of their particular discipline; (e) Students to commit to a dormitory, fraternity/sorority, off-campus life-style code ethics; (f) Faculty members to commit to ethical guidelines for the research into the publication of scholarly materials; (g) Faculty members to commit to a faculty-faculty, faculty-student ethical relationships guideline. Lastly, students are also expected to contribute maximally by behaving honestly to their work, duties and responsibilities. They should never restore to any malpractices during examination or any class work. Conclusion The writer has reviewed just a fraction of the literature available on the subject of ethics in the workplace. The literature for the most part, supports the notion that the ethical behavior is good, that ethical behavior is needed in the workplace, and that progress is possible in raising men and women above their more prurient interests. Based on the writer’s experience and discussions with university leaders, however, the notion of total commitment by all stakeholders as outlined in the sample plan is probably unlikely. Cries of academic freedom, unreasonable restraints and loss of flexibility would be echoed from the â€Å"bell towers† of academia in spite of the intrinsic â€Å"good† intentions of the plan. All this does not augur well for the â€Å"fast track† implementation of ethics at the university level or in the workplace. Instead, progress in changing individuals towards a more ethical vision of their personal and professional life will be a p lodding effort, characterized by small successes and small failures for a long time into the future. References American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (2010). The Code of Professional Conduct. Retrievedfromhttp://www.aicpa.org/research/standards/codeofconduct/downloadabledocuments/2010june1codeofprofessionalconduct.pdf Audi, R. (2007). Can utilitarianism be distributive? Maximization and distribution as criteria in managerial decisions. Business Ethics Quarterly, 17(4), 593-611. Baiman, S. Lewis, B. (1989). An experiment testing the behavioral equivalence ofstrategically equivalent employment contracts. Journal of Accounting Research, (27)1, 1-20. Bazerman, M.H. Banaji, M.R. (2004). The social psychology of ordinary ethical failures. Social Justice Research, 17, 111-15. Bentham, J. (1843). The works of Jeremy Bentham. Edinburgh, Scotland: John Bowring. Bird, F.B. Walters, J.A. (1989). Moral muteness. Californian Management Review, 73-88. Brenkert, G.G. (2010). The limits and prospects of business ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly, 20(4), 703-9. Burton, B.K. Goldsby, M.G. (2009) . The moral floor: A philosophical examination of the connection between ethics and business. Journal of Business Ethics, 91, 145-54. Caldwell, C. Clapham, S. (2003). Organizational trustworthiness: An internationalperspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 47(4), 349-64. Caldwell, C., Hayes, L.A., Long, D.T. (2010). Leadership, trustworthiness, and ethical stewardship. Journal of Business Ethics, 96(4), 497-512. ETHICS IN ACCOUNTING 30 Caldwell, C. Karri, R. (2005). Organizational governance and ethical systems: A covenantal approach to building trust. Journal of Business Ethics, 58(1), 249-59. Calhoun, C. (1995). Standing for something. The Journal of Philosophy, 92(5), 235-60. Carlopio, J. (2002). The best articles about leadership from the last ten years. BOSS Financial Review, 71-4.

Analysing two primary ways of occurring international business

Analysing two primary ways of occurring international business International business is the core theme in conducting business in current era of globalization. In the competitive environment, businesses are competing at global level. In international business a company can engaged in either of the two ways such as import or export. Import and export are the two basic and primary ways of conducting the business (Dunning, 2007). Whenever a company engages into the international business, there are lot many factors which impact the business. Hence there are advantages and disadvantages of both import and export. Considering this view, this assignment report addresses the critical analysis of two primary ways of occurring international business and respective advantages and disadvantages. In addition to this the assignment report also discusses the international and free trade (Fortanier, 2008). Ways of Occurring International Business: Researcher identifies that there are two primary ways of conducting international business: import and export. In import a company or individual purchase the goods outside the country of origin and sold out in domestic country. On the other hand whenever a company or individual produces the product/goods in the country of origin or domestic country and sold out in foreign company (Gupta and Govindarajan, 2008). In both ways there are several factors which have greater impact and influence on international business practice. In addition there are several advantages and disadvantages of import and export. The term export refers to the shipping of goods and services outside the port of a country (Hennart, 2004). Whenever a seller sells such goods, it is known as exporter and whenever a person purchase the goods or services outside the country then it is known as importer. In the international business, the term export means selling the goods and services outside the home country and vic e a versa. Except some goods or services, any products and goods can be exported to other country. The distribution of exported goods is undertaken by the domestic trader in which the goods are exported (Hennart, 2006). It is required to have the involvement of custom authorities while exporting the commercial quantities of goods in both the country of import and country of export. Due to the low value trades, the small trade over the internet such e-bay and Amazon is usually by-pass through custom. Therefore the export is subject to legal and formal restriction by the country of export to safeguard the interest of domestic producers (Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul, 2008). The counterpart of export is known as import. The transaction of goods and services from resident to non resident is also known as national account export. National accountant therefore sometimes need to make some adjustments of basic trade data and hence the basic trade data requires the statistical analysis. it is different from the coverage of national accounts as the data for international trade is usually obtained from the custom service in the respective country. In case any country consists of general trade then the goods exported or imported in the country are recorded on respective dates. On the other hand in case a company uses special trade system in which the goods are received in warehouses then the goods are not recorded as external trade till the time goods are sent to the free trade zone (Jones, 2006). In free trade zone developed with in the country, some of the goods move freely without any custom, control or statistics in the trade of goods. This is also true in ca se of goods are transferred between the member states. Banks are responsible for the statistical recording for the trade in services and these data points are then reported to the central bank. It is not only applicable for only export but also for the import. In the globalization, the services are provided outside the country electronically such as via internet, therefore it is difficult to measure the amount earned is such cases (Nelson and Winter, 2007). Some basic information or statistics in international trade is normally avoided such as smuggled goods or international flow of illegal services. In the official trade such of type of goods and services is not accounted. Commercial policy and international trade is one of the oldest and most famous branches of international business and thought of economics. Export and import are the major components of the international business. Economists are generally discusses the macro economic risks and benefits of export and import. In presenting the different perspectives, there the two different views such as determining the benefits of international trade and concerning the possibly that the domestic industries may be influenced through international trade (Jones, 2008). For example if an importer imports the electronic goods from china then it is 3 to 4 times cheaper than the domestic producers products. Then the market for the domestic players can be captured by the importers products and the domestic labor will get crushed by the international player. In order to safeguard the interest of domestic market, the government has imposed some policies and duties on imported goods (Easterly, 2008). The export methods include the good or product which is being hand delivered, shipped via port or mailed through internet. The similar process is followed in importing the goods. Trade Regulations: Some of the natural regulations on import and export of goods are export administration regulation, bureau of industry and security, international tariffs, BIS regulation. In addition to this there are some commodities which need international license for import and export. These commodities includes, liquor, gold, tobacco, drugs etc. These regulations vary country to country. The exported or imported item falls under the specific product category and respectively the company can obtain the license. There are some restricted destinations which restricted for both the import and export such as Cuba, Sudan, North Korea, Pakistan, Syria and Iran since these countries promote the terrorist activity (Hennart, 2007). Trade Barriers: Government laws, regulation, policy and practices are generally known as trade barriers which are developed for safeguard the domestic products, labor and market from the foreign players or particular domestic products from the stimulating of artificial export. in order to restrict the business practices, there have been s similar effect which is not generally regarded as trade barrier. The government policies are imposed to protect the international exchange of goods and services in general common foreign trade barriers (Casson, 2008). Strategic: There are certain type of goods, services and information which is limited in the international trade for example goods which are associated with the weapons caused of mass destruction, arms, ammunition, advanced telecommunication, archaeological artifacts and all those items which are not in favor of the country. Some of the major example of these goods includes the nuclear suppliers group, missile technology and technological development (Dunning, 2006). Trade Tariffs: A trade tariff is the tax also known as economic barrier which is imposed by the local government on the items imported in the country. Whenever in the country the foreign competitors goods demand is rising and fallen the demand of domestic players then this tactic is used to safeguard the interest of domestic player. It is therefore the strategic reason to retain the domestic producers and increase their capability by providing them with subsidies and other support (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 2007). Advantages and Disadvantages of International Trade: There are some advantages and disadvantages of international trade for both the export and import. Advantages of Exporting: One of the major advantages of export is the ownership advantage which is specific to the firms international experience, asset and ability of the exporter to either develop the differentiated product or low cost product with in the values chain (Hertner and Jones, 2007). A combination of investment risk and market potential is k won as the location benefit of the particular market combination. In order to retain the core competencies within the organization and stitching it throughout the country without retaining the license, selling or outsourcing is the international advantage in export (Amatori and Jones, 2003). Some of the organizations having lower level of ownership advantage may do not enter into the foreign markets. In case a companys products and companys ownership equipped with the international advantage and ownership advantage, the entry can be made through low risk model known as exporting under the eclectic paradigm. There is low investment requires in exporting of goods than the other modes of international trade and expansion such foreign direct investment. Some how it is recognized that the lower level of risk result in ,lower level of rate of return than possibly the other modes of international trade (Khanna, 2007). On the other hand the usual return on international trade in export sales might not have greater potential but also there will be no risk. In export of goods the managers are allowed to exercise the various operational control however it does not have the option over the control of marketing activities of the company. The end consumer of exported goods is far away from the exporter though the various intermediaries can mange the risk (Jones, 2008). Disadvantages of Exporting: The exporting of goods is specifically difficult and disadvantageous for the small and medium size firms having employees less than 250. The sale of services and goods into the foreign market is difficult for them rather serving the domestic market. A lack of knowledge of different languages, difference in culture, exchange regulations and trade regulations having the major impact on exporting the goods for SMEs. In addition to this the staff interaction and strain of resources is a major block of exporting the goods. Despite this disadvantage, some of the SMEs are still exporting however two third of them sold out to the foreign markets (Jones, 2008). In addition to this there are some major disadvantages highlighted in the export of goods such as financial management, communication technology improvements, and customer demand and management mistakes. In order to minimize the risk of transaction process of exporting the goods and exchange rate fluctuation, it is essential to have more capacity for managing the financials for coping up the efforts (Nelson and Winter, 2007). Customers can now interact with the suppliers due to the recent development is the communication technology has improved the way of purchasing goods, since the communication is mush cheaper then what is was two decades ago. It leads more transparency in transaction and purchasing of goods and vendors are responsible for following the real time demand for submitting the transaction details (Hennart, 2007). The customers are becoming advance due to the improvement in the technology and they demand more support and services from the vendor such as startup and equip ment installation and startup, delivery service and maintenance which are difficult for the exporter to provide. There might be some pitfalls in the organization occurred by some of the management mistakes such as oversea a distributor, an agent or chaos in the global organization (Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul, 2008). Advantages of Importing: Importing raw materials and goods is one of the paths of increasing the profit margins. There are number of benefits in importing the goods, such as high quality, low prices, and benefits related to the international trade. An importer can have the comparative advantage which means lower prices (Jones, 2006). Also the importer can have the much cheaper products from the foreign market due to low labor cost, low taxes etc. in terms of quality, the importer can have the higher quality goods and produce the finished goods with high quality and extend the business profit margins. In some countries, government provides the support to the importer for developing the trade relations (Nelson and Winter, 2007). Government provides the information of the manufactures and producers in the foreign country so that the importer can purchase the high quality and low price goods. Also due to the government involvement reduces the transaction risk. An importer can access to the regionally exclusive resources and cheap labor for producing the goods. These resources are required in the manufacturing process that have specialized skills and can be sound in certain countries. For example in electronic items, the Japanese people are highly efficient and manufacturer in UK use the labor from Japanese market for producing goods. The importing of resources includes everything starting from labor to technology (Fortanier, 2008). Disadvantages of Importing: There are many governments and economists who believe that the importing goods have numerous disadvantages. For example importing of goods could lead the erosion of the domestic markets and national economies specifically when there is trade deficit occur i.e. the import is higher than the export. Some of the goods like cars; appliances lead a higher level of domestic automobile and electronic markets and also loss of jobs in the respective markets (Hennart, 2007). Some other problems can also be increased due to import of goods such as conflict in the domestic values due to the acceptance of social values. The domestic industries can also be crippled due to the import of the countries where the wages are low and the domestic industries are unable to compete since they cannot lower down their prices of goods than the cost of goods and also they have the obligation to the worker union (Hertner and Jones, 2007). Free Trade Concept: The concept of free trade was introduced in the system to benefit the country and improving the condition of poor by providing them high quality and cheaper products. However as an economist, in my opinion free trade is erosion the domestic players for example if UK government lower the down the import duty on sugar then the demand for the imported sugar will increase and domestic player will not be able to compete with the foreign player (Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul, 2008). On the other hand the economic category argues that free trade promote the environmental degradation, supporting the child labor, income inequality and wage labor, slavery, harming the national defense, enforcement of cultural change and accentuating the poverty in the country. The economists also argued that the importing goods under free trade are opposed by the domestic industries due to rise in competition in terms of product quality and cheaper prices (Nelson and Winter, 2007). A maximum exploitation of workers due to the free trade is also opposed by the socialists. Free trade generally do not reduce the poverty or improve the condition of working class in the country but frequently make them more poor. It also supports the colonialism and imperialism in the country. On the other hand I believe that in free trade consumer could gain more than the industrialists and the domestic producers are more likely to mobilize their products without lifting the tariffs (Jones, 2006). Conclusion and Suggestions: The competitive business environment enforces the businesses in both the international and domestic markets to retain their business and remain competitive. However depending on the need and potential of the business, it is essential to understand whether the company should indulge into the export or import activity (Gupta and Govindarajan, 2008). It is recommended to the businesses specially the medium and small companies to extend their business potential at domestic market first and then extend into the international market collaboration, joint venture or business partnership. Prosperity in the country cannot be achieved through protectionism since it increases only the poverty and also do not protect the domestic industries or jobs but harm the export business and industries which has belief on imports (Hennart, 2007).

Defining The Processes Of Emergent Strategy Development Commerce Essay

Defining The Processes Of Emergent Strategy Development Commerce Essay Emergent strategy comes about through everyday routines, activities and processes in organizations (Johnson, et. al. 2005, Pp 408). It occurs by chance or happens within the organization without any long term planning. There are four organizational processes of emergent strategy development: Logical Incrementalism Resource allocation routines Cultural processes Organizational politics Logical Incrementalism The development of strategy by experimentation and learning from partial commitments rather than through global formulations of total strategies (Quinn and Voyer, 2003. Pp 408) Key features of logical incremental approach are Managers have a general view rather than specific view of future direction Develop strong, flexible core business and experiment with side bet ventures Top managers utilize mix of formal/informal social and political to pull together emerging pattern of strategies. Resource allocation routines strategies emerge through formalized routines and systems of the organization (Johnson, et. al. 2005, Pp 411). Key features of resource allocation routines approach are Day to day decision making about resource allocation across businesses Decisions may be made at a lower level than conventionally thought to be strategic Managers proposals competing for funds Collective effects of such decisions guide the strategy. Cultural Processes Incremental strategy development can be explained as the outcome of the influence of organization culture (Johnson, et. al. 2005, Pp 416). Key features are Self-reinforcing model Over time may result in strategic drift The model and the way we do things around here mean that managers try to minimize haziness/ambiguity by defining situation as something familiar. Organizational politics Political view of strategy development is that strategies develop as the outcome of processes of bargaining and negotiation among powerful internal or external interest groups or stakeholders (Johnson, et. al. 2005, Pp 414). Negative influence Powerful individuals may influence identification of key issues and strategies selected Obstructs analysis and rational thinking Results in emergent or incremental patterns of strategic development Emphasis or de-emphasis of data can be source of power Positive influence Champions will support new ideas. Political conflict and tensions may produce new ideas Emergent Strategy The case of Honda: In 1959, Honda Motor Corporation decided to enter the United States motorcycle market. They established the US operations in Los Angeles. The main aim of the Honda was to focus on selling 250cc and 350cc rather than the 50-cc Honda Cubs, which were a big hit in Japan. They think that the Honda 50cc Cubs were not suitable for the US market because in US everything was bigger and more luxurious. The sales of 250cc and 350cc bikes were slow because the bikes themselves were overwhelmed by mechanical problems and the Honda strategy was going to fail (Hill and Jones, 2009, Pp 25). The Honda officials were decided to sell the 50cc bikes to a broad market of Americans. Honda had also found an experimental channel of distribution, general retailers rather than specific motorbike stores. By 1964, nearly one out of two motorcycles sold in the US was a Honda (Hill and Jones, 2009, Pp 25). In this case, the companys carefully planned intended strategy but it was a failure. What ultimately worked was the emergent strategy. Using the website of a large organisation find its organisational chart. Explain why the organisation is structured in the way illustrated? Organizational structure clearly defines reporting relationships, decision-making authority and the physical location of employees from various departments. Organizational Structure Xerox: Source: (Xerox, 2011) Xerox Corporation is a technology and service company. Xerox Corporation is using the worldwide geographic area structure to support its multidomestic strategy. Geographical organizational structure group representatives from each functional department into units formed to serve a specific market or region. A divisional structure by geographic area is appropriate for this firm because the strategies need to be tailored to fit the particular needs and characteristics of customers in different geographic areas. David (2009) says that a divisional structure by geographic area allows local participation in decision making and improved coordination within a region. Xerox Corporation emphasizes product innovation to best serve customers needs and process innovations to simultaneously improve quality and reduce its production costs. Xerox is using multidomestic strategy to serve customers in its three primary markets like production, networked offices from small to large and value added services. The main reason for using this strategy is so the firm can apply its service capabilities to solve unique problems of customers in different geographic locations. Global Services, North America, Europe and Developing Markets Operations are the four business groups that make up Xeroxs organizational structure. Xerox relies on the match between its international strategy and structure of the organization as a key driver of profitable growth (Hitt, et. al., 2009, Pp 325). The main potential advantages for Xerox of having Geographical structure are: Customers can feel more at ease when speaking with local representatives who fully understand their language Customer support representatives will also have greater access to representatives from other functions Tracking the performance of individual markets and work groups is simplified under this structure Explain the four tenets of organizational learning? The learning organization is capable of continual regeneration from the variety of knowledge, experience and skills of individuals within a culture which encourages mutual questioning and challenge around a shared purpose or vision (Johnson, et. al. 2005, Pp 421). Tenets of Organizational Learning: Managers facilitate rather than direct Managers need the skills to facilitate and direct at the same time. Managers should be able to take correct decisions after consulting his team and getting useful ideas and feedback from the employees. This process would not only help the manager to identify problems and opportunities but would also help employees to be motivated and led towards the organizational goals. Leadership in a learning organization means involving employees in decision making. Information flows and relationships are lateral as well as vertical Instead of processing information through the existing hierarchical channels; the organization can establish vertical information systems. In this case, the information flow for a specific task (or set of tasks) is routed in accordance to the applied business logic, rather than the hierarchical organization. Following the lateral relations concept, it also becomes possible to employ an organizational form that is different from the simple hierarchical information. Lateral decision processes are established that cut across functional organizational units. The aim is to apply a system of decision subsidiary, i.e. to move decision power to the process, instead of moving information from the process into the hierarchy for decision-making. Organizations are pluralistic Every organization should entertain fresh and contradictory ideas to emerge which would then become the basis of debate and finally give rise to new strategies. Experimentation is the norm An important if not essential part of a learning organization is its ability to create new knowledge and to use it to capitalize on new opportunities open to the organization. This requires questioning the current status quo and how things are done, which allows employees to bring new ideas into the organization. Managers should also be willing to encourage individuals and teams to continuously improve the existing processes and try to evolve new strategies. Does structure follow strategy or does strategy follow structure? There are two views on the relationship between Structure and Strategy. Structure follow Strategy Strategy follow Structure The first observation put forward by Alfred Chandler (1962), was based on a study of the development of large corporations in the United States. The focus of the study was on the historical development of the businesses and the different types of organizational structure appropriate at each of the key stages of development. Chandler and Cain (1979) says that in all sides of an organizations structure, form the creation of departments and divisions to the designation of reporting relationships, and which should be made while keeping the company strategic intent in mind. He observed that the transition from one form of structure to another usually did not take place as soon as the key strategic issue changed. He suggested that although the entrepreneurs were typically very astute at strategy development and implementation, they tended to know very little about organization structure. From the research he concluded that Structure follows Strategy. The second view, Strategy follows structure is based on the idea that managers already working within a particular organizational structure will take the structure for granted and only consider strategies that will fit with the existing structure. The reason for managerial reluctance to change structure is associated with the time consuming effort involved in such a process and the fact that some managers will have vested interests in maintaining the structure as it is. According to Lynch (2006), strategy and structure are interlinked. It may not be optimal for an organization to develop its structure after it has developed its strategy. Strategy and the structure associated with it may need to develop at the same time in an experimental way: as the strategy develops, so does the structure. The organizations learn to adapt to its changing environment and to its changing resources, especially if such change is radical. If the strategy process is emergent, then the learning and experimentation involved may need a more open and less formal organization structure. Finally, an organization must achieve a fit, or congruence, between strategy and structure. Since different strategies and environments place different demands on an organization, they call for different structural responses. Give an example of an organisation where resource allocation processes (RAP) form part of strategy development? The Resource Allocation Process explanation of strategy development is that realized strategies emerge as a result of the way resources are allocated in organizations (Johnson, et. al. 2008, Pp 411). Bower and Gilbert argues that strategy is not like a software program that you install and it suddenly all works, it is a fluid process that is shaped by a range of internal and external forces (Bower and Gilbert, 2005). It is claimed that resource allocation must be viewed as something that gets in the way of implementing ideas but understood as a force that can lead a company in new and unforeseen directions. The role of resource allocation in strategy making: The case of Intel The Intel case shows clearly how resource allocation has a direct impact upon the effective strategy of a company. Intel started doing semiconductor memories; more specifically they had a dominant position in the production of DRAMs (Dynamic Random Access Memory). In 1971 an Intel engineer invented the microprocessor during a funded development project for a Japanese calculator company. Top managers must know the personal track record of the individuals who are making proposals for resource allocation, recognize the strategic issues in danger; reach down to operational managers to work across the division lines (Bower and Gilbert, 2007). Intels sales of microprocessors grew gradually in a host of small, emerging applications. In 1980s the Japanese DRAM makers intensifies their attack on the US market causing pricing levels to drop (Johnson, et. al. 2005, Pp 430). But, microprocessors consistently had the most attractive gross margins in Intels product portfolio, and the resource allocation process therefore systematically diverted manufacturing capacity away from DRAMs and into microprocessors. From this process, we can recognize the allocation of resources was guiding the company not the deliberate strategy.

Was Andrew Jackson a good president Essay -- essays papers

Was Andrew Jackson a good president Andrew Jackson was born in a backwoods settlement in the Carolinas in 1776. His parents, Scotch-Irish folk, came to America two years before his birth. His mother was widowed while pregnant with him. At age 13, Andrew joined a regiment. He and his brother were both captured and imprisoned together by the British. Their mother got them released, but his brother died on the long trip home. During his independent days, he lived in a tavern with other students. He gained a reputation for charisma, and wildness and hooliganism (Morris, Introduction). After practicing law for a few years in North Carolina, he took up a job as public prosecutor. And after another several years of practicing law, he married Rachel Donelson Robards, the estranged wife of an abusive husband. Andrew also cultivated the imposing bearing of a â€Å"gentleman†, which entailed, in those days in the South, a challenge to a duel in responses to any grave insult, or otherwise with whipping or caning (Morris, Introduction). In late 1795, Andrew was on the committee to draft a constitution. He was under some powerful men who made him the first member of the House of Representatives from Tennessee. While in Congress, he co-signed in a land speculation with partners who went bankrupt. Fortunately for him, he escaped debtors prison. He retained a lifelong distrust of banks, and paper money, which was involved in the transaction (Morris, Section 3). In an episode of Jacks...

The Essence of Pip Essay -- Literature Charles Dickens Papers

The Essence of Pip The forms that stand in closest competition with those undergoing modification and improvement will naturally suffer most. --Darwin, The Origin of the Species (1859) Christopher Ricks poses the question, in his essay on Dickens' Great Expectations, "How does Pip [the novel's fictional narrator] keep our sympathy?" (Ricks 202). The first of his answers to this central inquiry are: the fact that Pip is "ill-treated by his sister Joe and by all the visitors to the house" and that Pip "catches" his unrequited lover, Estella's, "infectious contempt for his commonness" (Ricks 202). In answering like this, Ricks immediately assumes a dichotomous contrast between the natural human and the taught (acted-upon) human. Ricks is saying that the natural Pip is good and therefore holds the reader's sympathy while the manipulated Pip is bad and behaves in ways with which the reader cannot sympathize, and wants to condemn. The reader sides with the basic Pip and blames not him, but his circumstances and others, for his problematic conduct. The abbreviated childhood narratives that many of the novel's characters provide support this loaded nature / nurture division, in which nature is the base and nurture is the skewed corruption of that base. The reader sympathizes with and is intrigued by the stories the characters tell of their childhoods because the stories easily explain why these people act as they do, and render excuses for them when they act maliciously. Children act according to the way they are raised so as to remedy and balance out the past, and their basic good nature only re-emerges after that task has been completed. Miss Havisham, the novel's schadenfreud terrorist, "was a spoilt child. Her mother ... ...gled with their circumstances as to incorporate their selves into them, the novel becomes simply a series of events. Miss Havisham asks Estella "Are you tired of me?" and Estella replies, "Only a little tired of myself" (Dickens 279). Estella has no self and so all the intrigue of personal dilemma and development disappears. Even Miss Havisham is not a self, but is only the blunt response to rejection. This extreme example is representative of all the characters in Great Expectations. They are not subjects; they are objects in a world of pure, artless evolution. Bibliography Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. London: Penguin, 1994. Ricks, Christopher, "Great Expectations," from Dickens and the Twentieth Century. Ed. John Gross and G. Pearson, 1966. pp. 199-211. Schad, John. The Reader in the Dickensian Mirrors. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992.

Swiming with giants :: essays research papers

Swimming With Giants My Encounters with Whales, Dolphins, and Seals   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The novel Swimming With Giants, by Anne Collet was an extraordinaire piece of literature about a biologists experience with the animals she loves. It is simply a book that expresses not only the wonder but also the tenderness that encounters with whales and other giants of the sea engender. The story tells of Anne Collet’s experiences as a young girl to a well known biologist.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Anne Collet was a child she had her first encounter with the sea, as many young children do, by going on vacations with her family. From that point on she knew it was what she would want to do with her life. She went to college at a university in Brest and enrolled into the department of marine biology. This is where she began to study the sea and all its creatures in it. In 1973 Anne had her first Dolphin encounter and from then on became infatuated with the â€Å"Giants† of the sea. Her passion was for Dolphins and Whales. Collet became, and is today, the founder and director of the Center for Research on Marine Mammals in La Rochelle. She has been a Biologist for the past twenty years and has enjoyed every second of it. In her books she speaks with vivid intensity of her encounters with whales, dolphins and seals throughout the world’s oceans. She conveys the thrilling aspects of her work with marine mammals, from the sublime gaze of a whale’s eye to the race to save animals harmed by drift nets or toxic spills. Like the teenagers she regularly takes on her voyages, the reader will not only learn about such things as whale evolution and the unusual sensitivity of dolphins’ skin, but will experience her passion for the ocean, respect for its creatures, and heartfelt concern about â€Å"scorched sea† policy of over fishing, trawl fishing and pollution.

KFC Culture Essay

culture: 1: believe in all people —–we trust in positive intentions and belivev everyone has the potential to make a difference. we actively seek diversity in others to expand our thinking and make the best decionsion. we coach and support every individual to frow to their full capability. 2. be restaurant and customer maniacs†¦.now!—- we love running great restaurants and our customers rule.we act with ensure every customers sees it and feels it in every restrants. We make sure we have great RGMs who build great teams. We are maniacal about rigorous execution of our core processes to deliver our brand standards as our #1 brand building initiative. It’s the foundation for making customer mania come alive. 3. go for breakthrough. —-we begin by asking ourselves, what can i do now to get breakthrough results in my piece of YUM?!our intentionality drives step change thinking. We imagine hoe big something can be and work future back., going full out with positive energy and personal accountability to make it happen. 4. build know how—–we grow by being avid learnes, pursuing knowledge and best practices inside and outside our company.we seek truth over harmony everystep of the way. We consistently drive outstanding execution by scaling our leanings into process and tools around what matters most. Breakthroughs come when we get people with knowdge thinking creatively. 5. take the hill teamwork—–we team together to drive action versus activity. we discuss the undiscussable.always promoting healthy debate and healthy decisions. our relationships allow us to ask the earth other. We make specific verbal contracts to get big things done with urgence and excellence. 6. recognize! recognize! recognize! —–we attract and retain the best people and inspire greatness by being world famous for recognition. we love celebratng the achievement of others and have lots of fun doing it!

The weak are forced to create alternative realities Essay

The brain is a crucible: a melting pot of intersecting ingredients that forges a reality that is deceptively the same, but often vastly different for each individual. That reality is a construct is a fashionable term these days; it means that we tend to see reality from a particular frame of reference. There is always a context, whether it be political, social or cultural. For those who are unable to construct a satisfactory reality, it is then that they are forced to create an alternative reality, perhaps that fulfils their dreams and meets their views and values. In the words of cognitive neuropsychologist Kaspar Meyer, â€Å"what is now clear is that the brain is not a stimulus-driven robot that directly translates the outer world into a conscious experience. What we’re conscious of is what the brain makes us be conscious of, and in the absence of incoming signals, bits of memories tucked away can be enough for a brain to get started with†. Reality for each individual differs according to their past experiences and memories, as well as what they choose to perceive to be true. Those with weaker frames of minds – such as individuals suffering from mental disorders, or solely living under delusion – tend to create alternative realities in order to escape the harsh truth. Consider the materialism of the post-war United States. Motivated by prosperity and wealth, all Americans were expected to achieve the profound ‘American Dream’, of which Arthur Miller critiques throughout his play ‘Death of a Salesman’. The play’s lead character Willy Loman struggles to face the true reality, but instead, chooses to believe he is leading the life he had always dreamt of. Willy believes himself to be the best salesman of his company, claiming he is â€Å"well liked† by all, and â€Å"vital in New England†, when in fact, his true reality proves to be quite the opposite. Willy struggles to pay his mortgage, as well as fails to support and provide for his family. Despite his favourite son Biff finding the words to call him out to be what he truly is – â€Å"(a) fake†¦ (a) big phoney fake† and â€Å"a dime a dozen†, Willy remains ignorant towards the truth. Willy’s alternative reality provides him with the motivation to continue his life, despite the loss of his job and loss of  respect from Biff. Alternative realities provide temporary relief from the harsh truth of reality, which is sometimes necessary for those who are considered mentally weak. It is often easier to support the alternative realities created by the mentally weak. Due to their mental state, disregarding what they believe to be true can carry several consequences. In ‘Death of a Salesman’, Willy’s wife Linda remains supportive throughout her husband’s delusion. He claims she is his â€Å"foundation (and) support†, which is simply conforming to the expected role of a 1950’s housewife. Another example includes the 2010 movie directed by Martin Scrosese titled ‘Shutter Island’, which clearly highlights the importance of accepting the alternative realities created by the mentally weak. The film’s protagonist Teddy Daniels believes himself to be a U.S marshal assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston’s Shutter Island mental institution. However, in true fact, Teddy is actually Andrew Laeddis, one of the institution’s most dangerous patients they have because of his delusions and his violence towards the staff and the other patients. Andrew (or Teddy’s) delusion created an alternative reality in which he was able to escape the truth about his murderous past. In order to support his alternative reality, the staff at the institution developed a scenario in which Andrew was able to live out his delusion, therefore preventing the otherwise dangerous psychological effects of his true nature. If Andrew was in fact exposed to his true reality rather than living as his alter ego, he may have not been able to survive, hence proving the importance of supporting a mentally weak individual’s alternative reality. Alternative realities may not always be negative. In these cases, the alternative reality protects the individual from harm or negative attention due exposing their true self. Consider the death of Whitney Houston, or the even more recent Robin Williams. Despite their true reality consisting of depression and substance abuse, these two renowned celebrities developed and maintained an alternative reality to allow others to portray them as role models and successful artists. In the case of Robin Williams, his severe  depression led to his suicide. As a comedian and successful actor, Williams was perceived by the majority to be a motivated happy man. In true fact, despite working to ensure other people were laughing, he was diagnosed with severe depression, to the point where he eventually took his own life. Robin William’s alternative reality forced others to see him as he was not, but without the negative attention of showing who he really was. In Whitney Houston’s case, despite her perception as an iconic successful singer, her alternative reality consisted of a cocaine addiction to the point where she drowned in a hotel bathtub. Following their deaths, the public was finally made aware of who they truly were, regardless of what we had previously perceived them to be. Alternative realities such as these can be crucial to ensure happiness and satisfaction for the individual, without highlighting their true selves to the world. Those who are mentally weak tend to create alternative realities in order to avoid their true selves. Whether they are living within a delusion – such as Willy Loman – or suffering from a mental condition – such as Andrew Laeddis, (otherwise known as Teddy), alternative realities may be beneficial for the individual, however difficult for others to accept. Due to individual differences in realities due to social, emotional, cultural and political factors, each person must construct a reality that is most suitable for their views and values, even if that results in alternative realities being created. In the words of author Mignon McLaughlin, â€Å"a critic can only review the book he has read, not the one in which the author wrote†, and therefore we cannot judge an individual’s choice of reality or alternative realities without experiencing it ourselves first hand.

Heard Curious Facts About The Amount Of Time

Most of us have often heard curious facts about the amount of time we devote to certain activities. For example, one can be amazed by the realization that we spend more than one third of our life in sleep. But not less importantly, when speaking about our conscious part of life we have to admit that more than a half of it is occupied by work. And while the state of sleep is usually pleasant for us, if one dislikes his or her job it is a great problem, as spending half of our life for an unpleasant activity looks like a very pessimistic perspective.Moreover, some researchers even suggest that it is the very nature of human beings that makes us dislike work as such, and that we carry our professional and personal chores only out of the bare necessity to survive rather than because we enjoy it. However, I believe that this view is somewhat simplistic, and that it is possible for a person to really enjoy his or her job, and with the help of the personal association with what one is doing to turn the necessary work into a perfectly meaningful activity. Let me try to define what I mean by this, and how I define the notion of meaningful work.First of all, it seems safe to suppose that without the internal motivation based on our system of psychological rewards human beings in any time during the history would hardly commence any kind of activity that would lead beyond the satisfaction of the most basis needs, such as the need for food and shelter that even animals can fully satisfy with their level of intelligence.Thus, there is something in the human psychology that seems to drive us to the achievement of something excessive in relation to the minimal possible goal. In the context of our discussion, this psychological factor means that there is something in the process of work of almost any kind that can incite the person carrying it to strive for its completion for the sake of the completion. And on my personal example I can testify that the visible end result of th e work can trigger mechanisms of psychological reward, which for some people, including me, can in the future serve as powerful additional motivators (Bryner 2007).On ground of this, as one of the definitions of meaningful work may serve the establishment of the link between a person`s understanding that work can actually offer psychological rewards that are safe in contrast to those offered for instance by alcohol or drug abuse, and the chosen strategy of behaviour in which that person aims to include work in her or his life as a necessary and worthwhile activity that satisfies something more than the mere need for money.That the above mentioned approach to the definition of meaningful work is indeed a possible life strategy is testified by the example of what is known as workaholism, a psychological dependency on one`s professional activity as on the only or the most significant source of self-satisfaction. This phenomenon demonstrates that the psychological rewards produced by wo rk can be so strong that they may essentially overtake a person with the force similar to a drug seeking behavior (Killinger 2004, pp.3-17).While this may be quite problematic for an individual, it can help us strengthen our definition of meaningful work in such a way as to in addition to the already mentioned understanding of psychological rewards associated with work to include in it the clause that meaningful work is also characterized by person`s ability to imagine life without it and still retain the sense of one`s being. In this light, a truly meaningful work may be defined as an inherently voluntary activity based on the assumption that one`s occupation is neither based on the unavoidable compulsion, nor is the only meaning of life, but rather represents the possibility for a harmonious personal development and offers benefits for one`s emotional and even spiritual life.With all this said, I think we can conclude that the idea that the human unwillingness to work is our inher ent quality is true only in a limited context, while from the general point of view work we are involved in influences almost every aspect of our life, and therefore is an integral part of our being.SourcesBryner, Jeanna. â€Å"Subliminal Rewards Trigger Harder Work, Research Shows†.LiveScience.com, 2007. Visited April 16, 2007 at

The Shawshank Redemption

Adrian Sanchez Intro to Film 1 Sharri Hefner 4/20/13 Shawshank Redemption The Shawshank Redemption is a drama film released in 1994 written and directed by Frank Darabont. The overall theme of The Shawshank Redemption is the burden of isolation and imprisonment. Each of the inmates inside Shawshank Prison is locked up metaphorically as well as literally. Most prisoners in Shawshank redemption are there for life sentences. All that time behind the walls have changed the way the prisoners think and how they live.The young prisoners always say they are innocent when they are truly guilty. But Red, (played by Morgan Freeman) admits that he is guilty after spending 40 years in jail. The time he had to think about what he did is what led him to confess the truth. This is just one example of what all those years of isolation does to a person. The formal elements, camera, and the narrative is what I will use to prove the theme. The overall look and feel of the film is dark until the ending. The mise-en-scene of shawshank prison is unjust and shady.The design and characters help shape the mise-en-scene as an unjust and shady prison system. The design of shawshank looks like an old school dark sort of tower as you can see when andy first arrives to the prison. The costume is spot on in this movie. The officers uniforms look very intimidating as the prisoners uniforms look very dirty and plain. The warden is also dressed nice throughout the movie always in a suit. They use this to differentiate the high class and the lower class. The higher class is always controlling the lower class and accessing their dominance.They instill fear in their prisoners by abusing them and beating them which is very unfair. Years of being in that sort of environment can cause some prisoners to go crazy. Imagine going through that and witnessing that type of abuse every day of your life? Its going to have a huge effect on your brain mentally. This type of abuse makes a prisoner feel trapped an d even more isolated. Also the camera helps dictate the feeling of isolation and imprisonment. The camera is key to the theme. The camera shots and angles help make the viewer see how it feels to be isolated and trapped.One of my favorite shots of the movie is when andy is walking inside shawshank prison and they use a cut transition into a subjective shot where andy is looking up and seeing the tall building as hes walking inside the prison. That scene lets me know that he is already feeling trapped and he had just got there. They also use lighting to help inforce isolation and imprisonment. When Red is in his jail cell and as soon as the lights go out the lighting immediately changes and they do a close up shot to reds face and his emotion seems frightened and scared.Also when Andy gets cornered by three guys for the first time the lighting helps build shadow to make andy feel trapped. The narrative also helps shape the theme. The narrative as a whole helps dictate the theme. The characters throughout the movie feel trapped. There are different levels of isolation within the prison from the large, enclosed recreation yard to the smaller work crews down to the cellblock, cells, and, finally, solitary confinement.The prison then becomes a multilayered world that they have to live and deal with for the rest of their lifes. The sad thing is they cannot do nothing about it. When Bogs gets locked up in solitary confinement for a week the officers opened the door and said â€Å"Times up bogs† then he put on a fake grin and said â€Å"its your world boss†. This is the warden and the officers world and the prisoners are trapped in it with nothing they can do about it. They are in for so long that they get used to the prison system and this cruel world.But they forget about the life outside the bars. When brooks finds out he will be on parol he loses it. He almost kills his friend just to stay in jail. He wants to stay in jail because outside of the wall s he is nothing but inside the prison he is actually somebody. The montage of brooks when he gets out of jail is extremely sad. It depicts the negative effect on being imprisoned for a long time. When he gets out he is lost in the world. He feels even more alone then he ever was in shawshank.Being in prison for that long has negative effects on the brain. When you get used to one way of living you feel like that’s the only way to live but when you step out in the real world you are just confused and don’t know how to react to the environment. Sadly he committed suicide at the end of the montage. Also red told andy in the last scene that they were in prison together â€Å"ive been in here for most of my life. Im an institutionalized man now [†¦] In here im the guy that can get things for you. Outside all you need is the yellow pages. He is saying that he is so used to the prison that he would never survive in the real world. This futher proves my theme that isolat ion and imprisonment is a burden. You feel trapped both physically and mentally when you’re in jail for that long. Andy and red were the only ones to break through the physical and mental hurdle that many prisoners couldn’t. Others would have just given up. But andy and red had other intentions. They wanted freedom so bad they would do anything to get it. And so they did. Now that’s The Shawshank Redemption.