Saturday, August 31, 2019

Liquid Crystal Display Essay

A thin, flat electronic visual display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals is known as a liquid crystal display. Direct light is not emitted by LCDs. Displaced cathode ray tube (CRT) displays of LCDs are used in most applications. Two sheets of polarizing material, are used in LCD displays, with a liquid crystal solution between them. The crystals align as a result of an electric current, so that light cannot pass through them. Each crystal, therefore, is like a shutter, either blocking the light or allowing light to pass through. Some of the technologies behind liquid crystal display are as follows Illumination-A cold cathode fluorescent lamp that is situated behind the LCD panel is used as an external lighting mechanism as LCD panels produce no light of their own. The conventional backlit LCDs are now being widely replaced by two types of LED backlit LCD displays. Active Matrix-This design depends on the usage of thin film transistors (TFT) — basically, tiny switching transistors and capacitors. One of the most important technologies behind liquid crystal display. These are arranged in a matrix on a glass substrate. They are required to switch the LCD’s pixels on and off rapidly. In LCDs, each colour pixel is created by three sub-pixels with red, green and blue colour filters. Twisted Neman tics-To allow light to pass through, twisted nematic displays containing liquid crystal elements are used, these twist and untwist at varying degrees to allow light to pass though . Any grey level or transmission can be achieved by properly adjusting the level of the voltage. Advanced fringe field switching (AFFS)-This technology provides superior performance and colour gamut with high luminosity. It helps in maintaining a wider viewing angle for a professional display and also minimizing colour distortion. Enhancement of the white/grey reproduction is achieved by optimizing the white gamut which also corrects the colour shift and deviation caused by light leakage. Vertical alignment (VA)-In this technology the need for extra transistors is removed because the liquid crystal material naturally exists in a vertical state. When no voltage is applied a black display is created and a white display is created when voltage is applied. This is one of the most widely used technologies behind liquid crystal display Bluephase Mode-It is used to obtain a better display of moving images; it also helps in improving the temporal response of liquid crystal displays. This technology removes the usage of expensive colour filters also short switching times can be achieved so realization of time sequential colour coding can be done Quality Control-There maybe occurrence of defective transistors in LCD panels which cause permanently lit or unlit pixels which are known as stuck pixels or dead pixels respectively. The presence of few defective transistors does not hamper the stability of the LCD panels. However the location of the defective pixels is important . it may be rendered useless if the defective pixels are clustered or are in the centre of the viewing area . also uneven patches may occur which is termed as clauding.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Examine the Role of Expert and Lay Knowledge in Understanding and Managing Risk.

Examine the role of expert and lay knowledge in understanding and managing risk. Contents Page Introduction 3 Risk3-4 What is risk? How do we understand risk? How do we manage risk? Expert Knowledge4-5 What is it? Advantages of expert knowledge Disadvantage of expert knowledge Lay Knowledge5-6 What is it? Advantages of lay knowledge Disadvantages of lay knowledge Beck’s Theory of a Risk society6 Case Study: Allotments the London Borough of Hackney. 7 Who has the knowledge? What are the risks? What is the evidence? Conclusion Case Study: Sun tanning. 8-9 Who has the knowledge? What are the risks?What is the evidence? Conclusion Conclusion9 References10 Introduction. This report will investigate how expert and lay knowledge can be used to understand and manage risk in today's risk society. Using the course materials to explain how different types of knowledge influence how we assess risk. Risk What is risk? Risk is ‘a state in which there is a possibility of known danger o r harm, which if avoided may lead to benefits. ’ (Bromley et al 2009) A risk can be visible, such as an injury sustained by falling off a bicycle, or invisible such as the link between sunbathing and skin cancer.The level of potential harm will affect the degree of risk felt. How do we understand risk? In today's society risk is almost always associated with a negative outcome. So when we are partaking in any activity we automatically compare the risk to the potential benefit. In order to understand risk we have to gain knowledge about the potential harm, this may be either expert or lay knowledge. How do we manage risk? By comparing the potential benefits against the potential harm of an activity we can decide whether to partake in that activity.One example of managing risk involves cycling and how risk is reduced by wearing a helmet. In this situation the benefits of cycling remained the same, it is the risk of sustaining serious head injury that is reduced by wearing a hel met (Carter and Jordan 2009, p59). In order for people to assess risk they will often review two types of knowledge. Expert knowledge – knowledge provided by experts. Lay knowledge – knowledge provided by personal experience. Expert knowledge What is it? Expert knowledge is usually provided by officials in order to inform the general public of the risks that certain activities may pose.There are two main ways of obtaining expert knowledge as discussed by Carter and Jordan (2009), scientific testing is used in the example of the allotments and epidemiology which was used in relation to sunbathing. Both of which have their advantage and disadvantages. Epidemiological findings are often refined and processed into health campaigns and policies. The advantages of expert knowledge are: 1. Experts have access to knowledge and equipment not available to the layperson. 2. They can complete complex scientific testing. 3. They are able to complete large-scale and long-term resear ch such as epidemiology. . Expert assessment of risk can be generalised and can be applied/delivered to specific target groups and the general populace. 5. They are usually employed to assess invisible risks. The disadvantages of expert knowledge are: 1. There are many different theorists and tests available and they often contradict one another making the results difficult for the public to understand. 2. Political agendas can affect project funding and research. 3. Information is given in blanket statements to the general public and can cause anxiety for non-specific groups. 4.Results from scientific tests can be analysed, reviewed and interpreted differently by different people. Lay knowledge What is it? Lay knowledge is an individual’s interpretation of expert knowledge combined or compared to personal experience. (Carter and Jordan 2009, p88) cite Davidson et al who suggest that people interpret and analyse expert knowledge into â€Å"lay knowledge† and they do th is through the medium of humour sometimes referred to as they â€Å"Uncle Norman† or â€Å"the last person† exceptions. For example my uncle Norman smoked 50 cigarettes a day, had fried breakfast every morning and lived until he was 92.The advantages of lay knowledge are: 1. People are empowered to use their own expertise and experiences to evaluate risks. 2. It is in line with the person's own views and religious beliefs. 3. Any assessment is specific to individuals, and their interpretation of expert knowledge. The disadvantages of lay knowledge are: 1. It is subjective and limited to an individual's knowledge or experience. 2. It only looks at risk on an individual basis and does not take into consideration the population as a whole. 3. It is usually based on the exceptional attention to the rule.Beck's theory of a risk society. One prominent sociologist investigating risk is Ulrich Beck, the main points to his theoretical perspectives are: 1. Risks in current socie ty are increasingly invisible. 2. Personal experience is no longer adequate for assessing risk. 3. We rely increasingly on knowledge provided by experts, however, that knowledge is â€Å"open to a social process of definition† (Beck cited in Carter and Jordan, 2009, p. 80). 4. Expert knowledge is usually targeted at the blanket population and can cause anxiety for everyone. . Political considerations are increasingly focusing on risk making epidemiology increasingly popular when devising health campaigns. 6. Experts focusing on long and short-term risks. Case Study: Allotments in the London Borough of Hackney. Who has the knowledge? In this example the knowledge about the risks is provided by experts such as the environment agency and scientists. What are the risks? They have assessed the risks to be: 1)Potential health risks of eating vegetables grown in soils containing poisons such as arsenic and lead. )Potential health risks from their skin contact with soil containing po isons such as arsenic and lead. What evidence is there? 1)The first shows the total levels of poisons in the soil by testing various soil samples and found dangerous levels of arsenic and lead in the soil. 2)The second test at the amount of those poisons that can be absorbed into the human body and found that the levels of poisons that could potentially be absorbed by the body were not high enough to cause concern. However, because there is no standardisation for the second test, the Environment Agency would not accept these findings.Nine samples were sent to different facilities around the world for testing and there was a high degree of variance in the results. Conclusion Because of the two different tests the soil went from being poisonous to safe again (‘A risky world? ’, 2009, track 2). Differences in results from scientific testing make it difficult to know which set if expert knowledge to follow. Case Study: Sun tanning. Who has the knowledge? In this example hea lth experts and holidaymakers have the knowledge to assess the risks of sun tanning. What are the risks? )Health experts advise there is a risk of getting skin cancer through exposure to the sun. 2)Holidaymakers perceive the risk as embarrassment of being seen as a â€Å"peelie wally† when they are on the holidays. What evidence is there? Organisations such as Cancer research UK have taken evidence from epidemiological studies that link overexposure to the sun to skin cancer. However, (Carter and Jordan 2009 p 81) show other scientific research that says lack of sunlight contributes to mood disorders such as SADS, and lack of vitamins D causes illnesses and diseases such as osteomalacia, arthritis and multiple sclerosis. http://www. longevity. about. com/od/researchandmedicine/a/vitamin_d. htm accessed on 11July 2012) Evidence from focus groups urged holidaymakers indicates that they are fully aware of the expert knowledge when assessing risk in relation to sun tanning they a re more likely to be influenced by lay knowledge. One interviewee states with the tan â€Å"Your skin clears up and you look and feel healthier†¦ † (Carter and Jordan 2009 p 77) Conclusion. Therefore in this case study the holidaymakers were comparing their own mbarrassment of going on holiday and being a â€Å"peelie wally† and the benefits of getting a tan and feeling healthier and looking better, with the health advice experts have given about sun tanning causes skin cancer. Conclusion. It is apparent in today’s society risks are increasingly invisible so we rely more on expert knowledge. The two case studies have shown that expert knowledge is often contradictory and there are many differing opinions on how best to obtain evidence in order to assess risk. Because of this people will use lay knowledge to assist them is assessing risk.Lay knowledge is also influential if a person has had experience of harm caused by the risk then they will be more cautiou s about partaking in that activity. So it could be deemed that expert knowledge and lay knowledge are more often than not in direct contrast with one another. References. ‘A risky world? ’ (2009) Exploring Social Lives [Audio CD 1], Milton Keynes, The Open University. Bromley, S. , Jeffries, E. , Meegan, J. and Staples, M. (2009) Learning Companion 3, Introducing the social sciences, Milton Keynes, The Open University. Carter, S. nd Jordan, T. (2009) ‘Living with risk and risky living’, in Bromley, S. , Clarke, J. , Hinchliffe, S. , and Taylor, S,. (eds) Exploring Social Lives, Milton Keynes, The Open University. http://www. longevity. about. com/od/researchandmedicine/a/vitamin_d. htm accessed on 11July 2012 Word count: 1368 Self-Reflection. I am still struggling to stick to my study schedule but I found this TMA much easier than the previous ones because it was not an essay. The shorter more concise paragraphs and bullet point are easier for me to link be cause of my dyslexia.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

As You Like It †the Play Essay

As You Like It is considered by many to be one of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies, and the heroine, Rosalind, is praised as one of his most inspiring characters and has more lines than any of Shakespeare’s female characters. Rosalind, the daughter of a banished duke falls in love with Orlando the disinherited son of one of the duke’s friends. When she is banished from the court by her usurping uncle, Duke Frederick , Rosalind switches genders and as Ganymede travels with her loyal cousin Celia and the jester Touchstone to the Forest of Arden, where her father and his friends live in exile. Observations on life and love follow (including love, aging, the natural world, and death) friends are made, and families are reunited. By the play’s end Ganymede, once again Rosalind, marries her Orlando. Two other sets of lovers are also wed, one of them Celia and Orlando’s mean older brother Oliver . As Oliver becomes a gentler, kinder young man so the Duke conveniently changes his ways and turns to religion and so that the exiled Duke, father of Rosalind, can rule once again. â€Å"All the world ‘s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts† As You Like It – (Act II, Scene VII). â€Å"Can one desire too much of a good thing? â€Å". As You Like It (Act IV, Scene I). â€Å"True is it that we have seen better days†. As You Like It – Act II, Scene VII). â€Å"For ever and a day†. As You Like It – (Act IV, Scene I). â€Å"The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool†. (Act V, Scene I). The play is fictitious, but shakespeare is said to have taken the traits if rosalind from ‘Rosalynde’ by thomas lodge. One of Shakespeare’s early plays, As You Like It (1598-1599), is a stock romantic comedy that was familiar to Elizabethan audiences as an exemplar of â€Å"Christian† comedy. Although the play does include two offstage spiritual conversions, the â€Å"Christian† designation does not refer to religion itself. Instead, it denotes the restoration and regeneration of society through the affirmation of certain Christian values such as brotherly love, marital union, tolerance for different viewpoints, and optimism about life at large. The plot is very simple: the resolution of the dramatic problem in the warped attitudes of two evil brothers toward good brothers, and related obstacles to marriage for several couples in the play (most notably Rosalind and Orlando) are easily overcome, and a happy ending is never in doubt. On one level, the play was clearly intended by Shakespeare as a simple, diverting amusement; several scenes in As You Like It are essentially skits made up of songs and joking banter. But on a somewhat deeper level, the play provides opportunities for its main characters to discuss a host of subjects (love, aging, the natural world, and death) from their particular points of view. At its center, As You Like It presents us with the respective worldviews of Jaques, a chronically melancholy pessimist preoccupied with the negative aspects of life, and Rosalind, the play’s Christian heroine, who recognizes life’s difficulties but holds fast to a positive attitude that is kind, playful, and, above all, wise. In the end, the enjoyment that we receive from the play’s comedy is reinforced and validated by a humanistic Christian philosophy gently woven into the text by a benevolent Shakespeare.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Definition of Groups and teams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Definition of Groups and teams - Essay Example Definition of Groups and teams In this age of competiveness and extensive rivalry, sustainability is the most essential requirement of any organization. This might be possible only if the employees of the organization work in groups and teams so as to accomplish the objectives and goals of the future era. Along with this, such type of coordination within the employees of the organization might help in enhancement of their inner skills and experiences thereby amplifying their performance. And, this might help in enhancement of the productivity and profitability of the organization to a significant extent thereby amplifying its brand image and reputation in the market. Therefore, it might be stated that, the concept of groups and teams is extremely essential for the employees of an organization in this age of globalization. A group is recognised as a collection of individuals comprising of similar type of characteristic features and qualities. And as a result of which the individuals within a specific group desire to share varied types of ideas and information among themselves thereby amplifying their skills and talents. Moreover, the members within a group also try to share all sorts of believes, principles, and standards so as to resolve varied types of inconsistency. A group is recognised as a collection of individuals comprising of similar type of characteristic features and qualities. And as a result of which the individuals within a specific group desire to share varied types of ideas and information among themselves thereby amplifying their skills and talents.... 134-234). Storming is the second stage of group development. And in this stage, varied types of conflicts and arguments take place within the members of the group so as to maintain mutual understanding and agreements among all. This is done, to understand the inner ideas and views of the members over a specific topic so that, differentiated opinion may not take place. This is extremely essential for the individual of a specific group, as it might prove effective in enhancing their dedications to attain a specific task (Brown, 2007, pp. 461-469). Norming is the third stage of group development and in this stage, the level of intimacy among the members of the group gets enhanced. As a result of which, the inter-personal relationship and bonding among the employees of the group gets enhanced thereby amplifying their level of dedication over the assigned tasks. It might also enhance the scope of success of the tasks or objectives of the specific group. Thus, it is extremely essential for a group in order to accomplish the assigned duties and responsibilities. Performing is the fourth stage and in this phase, the employees or members are just ready to perform and tackle all sorts of tasks or duties. As a result of which, the ways to achieve the specific tasks and objectives become easier and simpler in nature. And so, it is extremely essential for a group of members (Adair, 2010, pp. 34-45). Adjourning is recognised as the last stage of a group development process. And in this stage, the members gets scattered again. And then, the members again try to connect with other members so as to get united into a separate group. Therefore, it might be stated that Tuckman’s five

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Web Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Web Security - Essay Example Web security manages and secures web traffic by sorting threats of web malware, blocking URL’s containing inappropriate content, and prevents the loss of confidential data over protocols on the web. Attackers use the web to deliver viruses such as malware. A huge percentage of breaches involve crimes that target corporate information. Another challenge of brand impairment occurs when the contractors or employees make postings that are inappropriate to sites of social networking. Therefore, the on-site contractors and employees expose an organization to legal uncertainties by visiting sites containing inappropriate content. Consequently, the productivity of an organization will suffer if the contractors and the employees exceed the use of the web during working hours. Web security ensures that the confidential information and networks are available and secure. Also, it protects the networks coming from outside such as malware posted over the web. Web security enhances the web p rotection and reduces the legal exposure by blocking restricted sites. Subsequently, it scans email of the internet and other web traffic that are outbound to reduce the loss of confidential data. It also prevents and detects proliferation to protect the end users against application threats. Web security also chooses among hosted, appliance, and premises options for web filtering and web security. Table of Contents WEB SECURITY. 1 MEMORANDUM 1 ABSTRACT. 6 INTRODUCTION 6 BACKGROUND 7 OBJECTIVES 8 FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO WEB SECURITY 8 Human and Technological Factors 9 The knowledge of the user 9 The technology that is in use at that particular time 9 Tools for Security 9 The necessary tools available for security 9 SECURITY CAN BE ACHIEVED BY ADDRESSING 9 User and Technology Factors 10 Responsibility of the User 10 Relevance to Security 10 Sweet Development 11 Design 12 Visualization 12 HISTORY OF WEB SECURITY 12 History of Web Tools 13 Preventing SQL injection 13 Creating awaren ess to web security 14 Tools to detect web attacks 14 Web versus desktop applications 15 Intelligent information systems 16 INTERNET CONTROLS: 16 Intrusion Detection System: 17 Signature-based network intrusion detection system: 18 Analysis-based network intrusion detection system: 18 Firewalls: 19 Encryption program: 19 Honey popts: 19 CONCLUSION 20 REFERENCE 21 3.Singh, Brijendra and Agarwal, Pooja. â€Å"Algorithm for Web Server Security† IETE Journal of Research57.5 (Sep 2011): 413-422. 22 6.Hossain, Md Safaet and Hossain, Md Shazzad. â€Å"Web Test Integration and Performance Evaluation of E-Commerce Web Sites† International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security10.9 (Sep 2012): 65-69. 23 7.Serrhini, Mohammed. Moussa, Abdelazziz Ait. â€Å"Home Users Security and the Web Browser Inbuilt Settings, Framework to Setup IT Automatically† Journal of Computer Science9.2 (2013): 159-168. 23 9.Volkoviy, Andrei and Chekhov, Ilia. â€Å"Use of Mobile Ap plications in Security and Safety Systems† Information & Security28.1 (2012): 146-153. 24 APPENDIX A. GLOSSARY 25 IT Systems: These are secure systems developed and can automatically detect threats and ensure that they are removed without the involvement of the user. 26 APPENDIX B. RESEARCH METHODS. 28 ABSTRACT. This final report discusses the topic of web security and some of the risks that internet users all over the world experience. Over the years, web security has grown to become a very crucial part of our daily life. This is shown by the manner in which most of the world population conducts their business (Alanazi, Fahad, &Mohamed, 2011 87). These include, doing bank transactions,

International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 10

International Relations - Essay Example Section 3(a) of the IMF fund‘s agreement requires â€Å"the funding to adopt policies towards using resources (Goldstein et al. 480) as well as the special policies for special balance of payments problems. These policies will assist members to solve their balance of payments problems in a manner consistent with the provisions of this agreement ad that will establish adequate safeguards for the temporary use of the general resources of the fund† (IMF 2002). Additionally, the initiative will stipulate the IMF and encourage the borrowing countries to affect their policy changes in a way that may help the country to repay its debt without having to affect negatively the IMF. The countries must therefore make a legal agreement that binds them to compliance with the Fund â€Å"conditionalities†. However, the least developed countries have been given improved conditions in that the IMF has undertaken a review of its conditionality to poor countries in order to streamlin e them to Poverty Reduction Growth facility (PRGF). As a result, public sector, employment, trade policy, public enterprise reforms, privatization, social security, pricing and systematic reforms have been included in the agreement. As a result, least developed countries have been given more â€Å"conditionalities† as compared to the developed countries. As a third world leader, accepting most of the conditionality given to the third world countries is an â€Å"economic Suicide†. They may subject the economy to a series of problems encompassed with huge debts and inability to owner the fund’s agreement. Section 3(a) for instance is an infringement of the economy of a country. It translates to a form of neo-colonialism in which the recipient country has to reform and implement its national economic policies in accordance to what an external body demands. It inhibits the sovereignty of a state to act within its limits

Monday, August 26, 2019

HR Training Class Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HR Training Class - Term Paper Example This is a serious consideration based on the current trend of decreasing sales. Customers are moving to new retail store departments to avoid our long and slow moving queues. The new employees will undergo training in product placement and arrangement within our outlet. This should be able to encourage placing common commodities at easily reachable spots while less demanded goods at distant yet strategic locations. This encourages the ease of shopping and time saving for our customers (Besharov & Cottingham 2011). The product knowledge gap is another factor and has been our undoing for some time. This was enhanced by the high staff turnover and we lost our best employees to the competitors. The new training will emphasize familiarity not only with our products/ services, but an emphasis will be laid upon our staff knowledge of mission, goals, objectives and vision. This will provide a sense of direction and responsibility in the workforce. Reducing the knowledge gap is necessary in e nsuring our employees assist customers in decision making at the store. Customer care would be nothing if we do not take advantage as an organization. The training intends to benefit from employees who are able to carry out opportunity sales thus encouraging customers to spend while increasing our sale turnover. The final consideration is in terms of conflict resolution. The training will equip our employees with the skills necessary in handling all manners of contentious issues related to customer experiences. Over the last year we have paid for damages and lawsuits in a variety of cases thus experienced a substantial reduction in our net income. We intend to control such negligent cases. The overall aim of the training is to enhance full dedication to work by the employees in an environment that supports, encourages and rewards their effort. During the training some interventions will be established to intensify the employees’ performance including effective team building,

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Argument essay (mini research paper) about immigration( specific

Argument (mini research paper) about immigration( specific topics included in instructions) - Essay Example must oppose the Great Wall of America because it is not an effective and efficient solution to illegal immigration, it promotes nativism that borders racism, and it results to inhumane consequences that goes against the universal right to work and live in other nations. The Wall is too expensive, yet ineffective, in curbing illegal immigration. The Wall is too costly, and it is not even completed in a consistent manner. Wayne A. Cornelius from the University of California at San Diego complains of the endless costs of building the wall: â€Å"Upward of $25 billion has been spent on border fortification since 1993, but we have little to show for it beyond photo ops for anti-immigration politicians.† These funds are approved by Congress, but the expenses will never end because of the large area of territory needed to build the Wall and to maintain it. Furthermore, the Wall will not stop immigrants, who are deeply driven to cross physical barriers because of socio-economic reasons. David Von Drehle, a reporter for Time, notes that immigrants will seek for other ways to illegally enter America: â€Å"Crossings didnt stop--they moved† (2). People will not stop in searching for means to breach the Wall, especially when they have nothing to lose. Furthermore, a wall, no matter how solid or guarded it is, cannot stop the ingenuity of human smugglers. Their business is to move people illegally across borders, and not even the Great Wall can stop them: â€Å"Smugglers like to cut this fence with torches, then carefully put everything back in place so the border patrol wont notice† (Von Drehle 2). When obstacles exist, human smugglers use other modes of getting people across the border. Thus, the present Wall is inefficient and not significantly effective in stopping illegal immigration. Apart from being an ineffective and expensive way of controlling immigration, the Wall promotes sentiments of nativism that can lead to racism. Richard Rodriguez, a news writer for Los Angeles

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Personal statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Statement Example I have taken the highest level of math courses available to me, and have always felt that mathematics come very naturally to me, but I also have always been able to understand complex systems such as those in biology or chemistry. I think that my understanding of systems and my affinity for mathematics will lead to me being highly successful as a major in economics. My interest in economics largely stems from the recession which seems to have dominated American life for most of the time in my life when I could understand such issues, and shows no sign of improving drastically for another great portion of my life. It seems incredible that it was possible for so much false wealth to be generated simply by banking practices and poorly loans, and that the drop in one area of financing could lead to a cascade reaction that has such immense global consequences. I want to study economics to be able to understand how all of this could have happened – and how it can be prevented in the future. ... But it also asks for an experience that is important to you, and I would like to focus on that. Throughout high-school I have volunteered in a wide variety of places in a very organized fashion, but there was one experience that I remember that stood out especially for me. A few years ago there was a storm in my town that caused extensive property damage to my family’s house and all of the houses in the vicinity – and the work of clearing up took a long time. Once many of the families were well progressed in clear broken trees and other damages from their property, it became apparent that a neighbor of mine who I had never met was not clearing their property at all – when I noticed this I asked my parent why this was the case, and they reminded me that the couple that lived there was fairly old and might not be able to clear the property themselves. I decided that it would probably be a good thing to go check on them, and see if they could use some help clearing their property. At first they said they had it under control, but upon talking to them more I learned that they were trying to save up money to hire a cleaning crew, because they could not do the work on their own, but crews were so expensive they were having a hard time at it. I offered to help, and over the next few days spent an hour or two a day clearing their property, which was a slow process and eventually got very frustrating. On the third day, however, another neighbor stopped by and asked why I was doing this when it was not my property, and so I told them the story, and they offered to help a few hours to. The next day another person stopped by, and before too long we had nearly a dozen people working to clear the property, and it was finished in less than a

Friday, August 23, 2019

Start-up business support Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Start-up business support - Essay Example [2] POVERTY REDUCTION: Since poverty is the offspring of unemployment, the issue of poverty in many homes and communities will be dealt with to a reasonable level as to bring relief to such families, individuals and communities. [3] AREA OF PRIORITY: Apart from the individual or group business ideas, there are some important areas and business ideas we must give priority to ahead of others. these are the areas we believe will impact very positively in the lives of the people of this region. Major among these include, but not limited to: [i] AGRICULTURE: For a long time, this region has expected a programme of this nature to come into being to enable us bring up the matter of food production. food security is important in every community. this region is noted for being endowed with fertile lands, good rain full throughout the year. Other facilities that will aid agricultural activities are dams and river basins for irrigation during the off season of rains. The new government policy on agriculture and food security in the next couple of years us a good motivation to the people in this region to embrace mass production of various agricultural produce and agricultural derivatives. People and young graduates want to go into agricultural businesses, but the snag has been how to go about it. Under this sector, SUBS shall consider entrepreneurs whose business ideas correspond with agriculture and agriculture related projects. In view of this, we tend to give priority attention to the following projects if anyone or organization proposes or presents any of them to us for start-up and support: [1] Mass production of cassava and cassava end products [2] Mass production of wheat and wheat end products [3] Mass production of yam tubers and derivatives [4] Mass production of maize and by products [5] Mass production of rice grains and by products [6] Mass production of cowpea and by products [7] Mass production of groundnuts and by-products [8] Mass production of cotton and by-products [9] Mass production of fish [10] Mass production of poultry [11] Mass production of cattle and by-products There will also be consideration for such agriculture related businesses as production of fertilizer, fabrication and procurement of agricultural equipment and implements, cassava chips and starch, maize starch for the Pharmaceutical industry and other end users. From cassava there shall be extraction and production of ethanol for the industries that use them. This will also extend to the production of various types of gums and stickers. There will be corn, cassava and rice flours for the industries that require them for their products. Also production of vegetable oil, garri processing, textile milling, leather products from sheep, goats and cattle, then soap and detergent from palm fruits and kernels, Cocoa butter and palm kernel cake for export and local use. These shall be the priority areas that will be

Thursday, August 22, 2019

English poetry Essay Example for Free

English poetry Essay The second decade of the twentieth century, a change-over period in the history of English poetry, was not a very inspirational one for poets. The existing group of poets, the Neo-Romantics attempted in vain to keep the Romantic spirit alive by writing about nature and harmony but with the arrival of industrialization and the beginnings of the modern world, it became painfully clear that the lilting, peaceful Romantic style was in no way a reflection of the present state of affairs. The mechanized world of machines, factories and similarly regimented human societies, long ignored by the Neo-Romantics was finally examined and put into verse by T. S. Eliot. Of the numerous works that capture the nascent modern world, one that stands out in particular is ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’. Eliot dives into the heart of urban decay in the first stanza itself, when he compares the evening to an etherized patient lying comatose on the operating table. The metaphor that symbolizes the numb, unquestioning society that inhabits the deserted streets, cheap hotels and sawdust restaurants captures a theme that is constantly revisited in this poem. The women who talk about Michelangelo do so as a ritual of fashion, without understanding anything about the art itself. Eliot goes on to compare the fog that spreads across the city to a cat that skulks on the rooftops before going to sleep. The fog that slips insidiously into every home represents the clouded judgment of the people that inherit the modern world. The protagonist in the poem echoes Marvell and the preacher in Ecclesiastes with the phrase, ‘there will be time, turning Marvell’s call to seize the moment and the preacher’s teaching- to everything there is a season- upside down to suit his indecisiveness. 2 The comparisons to Hamlet in the poem once again parallel the lack of resolve that characterizes the protagonist. He longs to be the rogue element in a society that picks up on the trivial things like one’s thinning hair, or depleted weight but fails to pay heed to life’s more important aspects. The protagonists envisions himself breaking the cycle and speaking life’s messages to the gossiping crowd only to falter at the moment of action. He finds himself pinned like an insect and unable to begin speaking his mind. He wonders if it is worth the trouble and anticipates that even if he were to speak, his message would be dismissed by as not being pertinent to the gossip that the society indulges in. His inability to make a change breeds some amount of self-loathing that surfaces in parches across the poem. Death- the eternal Footman- snickers at him for being afraid. He admits that he is neither a prophet nor Prince Hamlet; that he is merely an attendant lord whose capacity to act stops at staring a scene or two. The poem ends with the ageing protagonist taking a walk on the beach and slipping into another world where the mermaids are riding the waves and singing to each other. But even here, he believes that they will not sing to him. He lingers there for as long as he can, before he is awoken by the lifeless hand of human interaction and condemned for his lack of action, to drown in its throes. The themes that Eliot discusses through this poem and others like ‘The Burial of the Dead’ and ‘A Game of Chess’ explore and hit out against the soulless modern existence which moves along in a regimented stupor and parallels the oncoming wave of industrialization.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Chicboy Marketing Plan Essay Example for Free

Chicboy Marketing Plan Essay Chic-Boyâ„ ¢ is a new trademark and business model of Pier One Bar and Grill Holdings Corporation, the company behind the successful Pier One Bar and Grill restaurant chain in the Philippines. It is a quick-service restaurant that is a cut above fast food, with a cult-like following. Our concept focuses on quality, variety and service. Chic-boy’s pride is its Cebu Lechon Manok and Cebu Lechon Liempo marinated and stuffed with her band spices and charcoal broiled to juicy and tasty perfection. * Objectives The main objective of Chic-Boy is to provide people/ their customers with great foods at affordable prices, provide convenience by allowing family reunions and get together. And last but not the least, one of their objectives is to expand the business by providing and allowing franchise. * THE FRANCHISOR-FRANCHISEE RELATIONSHIP Franchisor shall provide Franchisee with specifications for brands and types of any equipment, fixtures and furniture required for the Franchised Facility, The Franchisor will provide supplies such as products, equipment and materials previously designed and provided by the Franchisor to be used in the Franchised Facilities and â€Å"services† that includes, but is not limited to, consistent innovation and renovation of products and processes, in-store audit checks related to the consistent practices of hygiene, safety, and proper implementation of pre-defined pharmacy practices and methods, also training and assistance program will be given. * Responsibilities of the Franchisee The responsibility of the franchisee will focus on the continuing services and royalty fees, accounting and records, standards of quality and performance. * PRODUCTS AND SERVICES The company offers a wide variety of meals such as Chiquito Meals, Chibog-Busog Meals, Cebu Lechon, Magandand Umaga Meals, Sphagetamis, Japanese, Appetizers, Merienda, Desserts, Soup, Sizzling Specials and etc. Most meals are served with house soup and unlimited rice, they also offer bottomless iced tea. They also give customers fried garlic for free. * MANAGEMENT , STAFFING, STRATEGIC PARTNERS, ANG PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT * Management Team The owner is considered as the General Manager of one store. In every store the highest position that is handling the daily production is their respective Supervisors. . * Staffing The newly franchised Chic-Boy outlet will be hiring 11 staffs consisting of the cooks, crews, cashiers and security guard. * Strategic Partner and Professional Support As for strategic partner, the company will be provided with general contractors will be responsible for the store equipments, maintenance and physical attributes and design of the store, and as for professional support, an accountant to head the accounting and financial side of the company. * Gantt Chart As for the schedule of activities of the company, Chic-Boy will have a one year preparation before it will formally open. The given month will be from September 2012- September 2013. * OPERATIONS * Hours and Days of Operation The proposed Chic-Boy outlet will be operating for seven (7) times a week, sixteen (16) hours a day. The store hours will be from 7:00 am up to 10:00 pm * Layout and Facilities The store will be at least 200sqm. It will have a second floor to accommodate the number of customers. The chairs and tables will be arranged as to allow the customers to still walk in between the them even if ther are a lot of customers. * Licensing, Permitting Other Regulatory Issues Getting the required business license and permits for Chic-Boy is a necessary step to ensure that the business is abiding the bylaws. It needs some kind of business license or permit to run the business legally. Chic-boy will get first clearance and permit before heading to the Securities and Exchange in Commission. * Operating Procedures The procedure will be a simple process starting from the entrance of the customer followed by the purchasing of the food, consumptions of the ordered item and then leaving of the customer once done and satisfied. Then as a new customer arrives, the process starts again. * Inventory Management The products of Chic-Boy will be ordered from the commissary in a daily need basis. It will be stored in the kitchen chillers to preserve good quality and freshness and to satisfy customers standards. * MARKETING * Target Location The franchise will be located at Dr. C. A. Aguila St. inside Mendiola, Manila. Its approximate square footage is 200 sqm. , it is a well traversed path leading jeepney’s and vehicles coming from recto heading to Pandacan, Sta. Ana, Makati and Pasay, vice versa. It is also surrounded by at least six (6) schools. * Marketing Targets The target market of Chic-boy will be students, employees and famiies. There are no age limit as to who are their target market, as long as they can still eat the meals offered by the establishment. * Distribution Since the entity proposed is not in the manufacturing industry, the distribution described in the plan will be the location where the outlet will be put up thus serving the customers within the vicinity. * Competitive Environment and Positioning The primary competitors of the Chic-Boy will be the fast food chains such as Jollibee, McDonald’s and KFC that are within the same vicinity of the proposed franchise. The other food plaes are considered as secondary competitors because since both offer food, the service and type of food served is different. * Marketing Tactics and Support The marketing tactics and support that Chic-Boy are already offering are simple flyer giving and posting of tarpaulins and posters. And the Chic-Boy radio they have in their own stores and outlets. * CAPITAL PLAN * Sources of Funds The P 6,069,000 total investment will be funded by the 5 investors with the distribution as follows: P 3,069,000 for the managing director and P 750,000 for the remaining 4 investors. * Use of Funds The total investment of P 6,069,000 will be used in the payment of rent for the land/property, Working Capital, Furniture, Fixtures, Equipments, Construction and Renovation. A fund shall be allotted for the payment of rent, because the property is leased; for the furniture, fixture and equipments, this includes the aircon units, signage, tables chairs, grillers, range hood, freezers chillers, plates, utensils kitchen and restaurant supplies; another allocation for the construction renovation which includes civil works, plumbing, electrical, lighting, mechanical, exhaust and fresh air; and last but not the least, funds to be used as commissary deposit, franchise fee and working capital.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Development of ICT Examination System

Development of ICT Examination System Abstract: Today, conducting examinations for schools or colleges is a serious concern of the government agencies. The mal-practices or the delay in declaration of results are affecting the careers of the students and in turn break the image of delivering bodies and hence government. Government of Maharashtra had constituted one committee on examination reforms to carry out the in-depth study for use of ICT in examination system. The researcher is registered doctoral student, hence presented in the review paper, the examination reforms is the need of every time in the society since its establishment. Keywords: ICT, Examination reform, Education Introduction: Examinations play an important role in imparting education and knowledge to students. Examination is an instrument to evaluate the knowledge, understanding and learning of students. For Teachers, Examinations provides feedback to evolve their way of teaching. In Maharashtra, serious concerns have been expressed on various issues regarding security of university examination papers and image by the media about the capabilities of Universities to hold organize examinations in a fair manner. In this regard, Hon’ble Chief Secretary opined that immediate action needs to be taken to set up a reliable system so that aforementioned incidences do not occur and Universities can hold the examinations smoothly. A Review: In 2011, Mohini Bhardwaj, Amar Jeet Singh placed the need of present time in India in following manner, â€Å"ICT has reached at every door step, but its potential has not been fully utilised. ICT is a very helpful tool for providing good governance by bringing a sea-change in the working of organisations and institutions.† In two years of span the speedy development of ICT implementation in examination is quoted by Dr. Anurag Sankhiyan, that, â€Å"Trend of seeking online applications for regular, entrance /competitive examinations and conducting on-line examinations have made the system very simple and cost effective for the examining bodies. But, on the other hand, this change is also bringing lot of challenges to the rural youth of the country who are not that much techsavvy. The present paper, focus on the possibilities and challenges of integrating ICT in examination system.† Ron Oliver in his research paper titled â€Å"The role of ICT in higher education for the 21st century: ICT as a change agent for education† stated that, the world moving rapidly into digital media and information, the role of ICT in education is becoming more and more important and this importance will continue to grow and develop in the 21st century. The paper argues the role of ICT in transforming teaching and learning and seeks to explore how this will impact on the way programs will be offered and delivered in the universities and colleges of the future. Aatish Palekar in his web article, The Reform of Examination System – Essay, quoted that, in any education system, they must occupy an important place. Yet the way and the form in which they are held need reform. There are so many serious defects in the present system of examination that their purpose is completely defeated. They fail in measuring the progress of students. Many ways of reforming the examination system have been suggested. One is the setting of objective-type questions, instead of the present system in which the questions require long, essay-type answers. Mohini Bhardwaj and Amarjeet singh focused that the need of ICT is at prime stage considering the gross enrollment ratio in India, as per the University Grants Commission (2008) report titled â€Å"Higher Education in India-Issues related to expansion, inclusiveness, quality and finance†, the number of universities in India has increased from 20 in 1950 to about 431 in 2008, colleges from 500 in 1950 to 20,677 in 2008 and enrolment of students has increased from mere 100,000 in 1950 to 11,612,000 in 2008. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) i.e. which is a ratio of persons enrolled in higher education institutions to total population of the persons in age group of 18 to 23, rose from 0.7% in 1950 to about 11% in 2007. Still the fact remains that the GER in India is quite low compared to that of the developed countries and world average having GERs 54.6 % and 23.2% respectively. Indian government aims to bring GER to 15 % by 2012. The researcher made the current review about GER, and find that the current GER is 19% and the government of India aims to achieve the GER up to 30% by 2020. (The Diplomat, Challenges and Solutions in Indian Higher Education  ByShreyasi Singh, October 02, 2013) The author Anurag Sankhiyan is trying to trouble shoot the challenges in examination system with ICT, hence quote that, â€Å"India is not a rich country where we can change the whole picture in one day. Being a developing nation, the country is facing lot of problems in every sphere. ICT based examination system is quite costly in the initial stage and in case country manage to invest for changing the manual system to ICT we will be facing the challenges on the part of learner who have to adopt the same. Maximum universities, educational boards and selection bodies are inviting the examination applications online. Students who are rural and not have the access to the new technology have to visit cities for filling the application forms. In that case they depend on the people who are managing the cybercafà ©s. Maximum time it has been observed that their forms get rejected due to filling wrong information by such people. Providing proper orientation to the students regarding using the technology is one of the main challenges.† The author rightly focus the challenge of poverty in the nation and the challenge of implementing ICT at lowest possible rate along with the lower ICT literacy among the poor citizens. Anurag Sankhiyan, had also pointed out the significant tangible benefits of using ICT in examination system over the manual system. They quoted that, with ICT integration of technology, process, resources; also streamline procedures in examination system were identified. The author stretch the ICT usage up to quality of service and effective monitoring in the process along with statistical reports at the finger tips. But Mohini Bhardwaj and Amarjeet singh, these authors placed the challenges of main feature of ICT i.e. integration of ICT in examination system in following way- Lot of investment is needed on the part of universities and school examination boards as technology is quite costly. Lack of ICT trained people is another challenge, for which proper training programmes in a regular manner are to be organised. Less initiative taken by the state universities to integrate ICT in the examination system due to lack of funds. Maximum student population of the country is living in the rural areas and not has access to the new technologies. Changing the mindset of the people presently using manual system and making them trained. Orienting students to adopt new technology before shifting to the ICT based examination system. Conclusion: Hence it is clear from above review that in spite of achieving higher GER and ICT promotion at higher stage, the monetary issues are of prime importance. The lack of initiation by universities, rural population and capacity building of the stake holders are challenges in 2013-14, where researcher want to carry out the study to know the implementers thoughts, stake holders e-readyness, how to implement complete ICT solution in NMU region which also covers tribal along with rural region. References: Dr. Anurag Sankhian, (2013) Redesigning Indian Examination System through Technology, GIAN JYOTI E-JOURNAL, Volume 3, Issue 2 ISSN 2250-348X, 57-67 pp Mohini Bhardwaj, Amar Jeet Singh, (2011) Automated Integrated University Examination System, Himachal Pradesh University Journal, 1-10 pp Aatish Palekar, The Reform of Examination System – Essay ARTICLES http://www.publishyourarticles.net/eng/articles/the-reform-of-examination-system-essay.html accessed on 6.6.2013 at 9.30 am Government of Maharashtra, (2012) Reforms in Examinations System in Universities of Maharashtra through use of Technology, Committee Report. Ron Oliver (2002), The role of ICT in higher education for the 21st century: ICT as a change agent for education, HE 21 conference proceedings

Liberty And Paternalism Essays -- essays research papers

LIBERTY AND PATERNALISM   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Stuart Mill and Gerald Dworkin have distinctly opposing views on legal paternalism in that Mill is adamantly against any form of paternalism, whereas Dworkin believes that there do exist circumstances in which paternalism is justified. Both agree that paternalism is justified when the well being of another person is violated or put at risk. Mill takes on a utilitarian argument, explaining that allowing an individual to exercise his freedom of free choice is more beneficial to society than deciding for him what is in his best interests. Dworkin, on the other hand, feels that certain cases require the intervention of either society as a whole or its individual members. He breaks Mill’s argument down into two distinct types, one based on utilitarianism and one based on the absolute value of free choice.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After reading both articles, â€Å"Paternalism† by Dworkin and â€Å"On Liberty† by Mill, I believe that Dworkin is correct in explaining that some intervention is necessary under certain circumstances. I have come to this conclusion based on the fact that there do exist circumstances in which an individual is incapable of making a rational decision considering not only the well being of himself, but also the well being of other members of society. Also, the argument that the protection of the individual committing the action in question is not reason enough to interfere with the action is ludicrous in that one of our governments main reasons for existence is to protect the members of our society. This protection includes protection from ourselves at times when we are unable to rationally decide what is in our best interests. This essay will consist of an examination of this controversy as well as an application of my proposed conclusion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before addressing any opposing views to my conclusion, I will first explain my reasoning. As Dworkin explains in his essay, there are circumstances when a person is unable to make a rational and logical decision for himself. The inability to make such decisions has long been a justified reason to interfere in the process, such as in cases with young children. When a young child is about to run across a busy street in order to chase his ball, the child’s parent, or any other bystander, is rightfully justified in... ...f such a decision, the government has aright to step in and help the person. This is because at this understanding of the situation, the person is not capable of making a decision that he would likely consent to at after fully understanding the situation. As in the seat belt case, often times, a person does not fully understand that not wearing a seat belt contradicts his true desires and that no possible good or benefit can come from not wearing it. However, when a person is making a rational decision between two things that he values, he is the only person that can decide which is best for him. An important condition to remember in this conclusion is that all of this is assuming that no other individuals are being harmed or put at risk by the actions of these people. Under this condition I have come to the conclusion that there do exist certain circumstances where the government has a right to legal paternalism. These circumstances include times when an individual is unable to make a rational and logical decision for himself either because he does not fully understand the issue or because he is unable to logically assign value to specific possible consequences of a decision.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Compare and Contrast the Ideas and Techniques of the Poets in the some

Compare and Contrast the Ideas and Techniques of the Poets in the some of the Love Poems we have Studied Love is a very popular topic for poetry. This is because love is one of the only things that there is no scientific fact no true definition and can be thought of in so many different ways. Poets can use poems to portray all the different types of love that people feel, romantic, young, stereotypical, fake, possessive, physical, the list is endless. Three poems that portray some of these are â€Å"The Flea†, â€Å"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning† and â€Å"A Woman to her Lover†. I like the poems â€Å"The Flea† and â€Å"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning† by John Donne because of the imagery and metaphors he uses to give us an understanding of both poems. I also like the poem â€Å"A Woman to Her Lover† by Christina Walsh because it gives a woman’s view of love. This gives a significant contrast to Donne’s poems. â€Å"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning† is a good contrast to â€Å"The Flea† since in â€Å"The Flea† the man who is talking is trying to persuade the woman to sleep with him when she is trying to refuse. Whilst in â€Å"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning† the man speaking is trying to persuade the woman being apart from each other will not break them up. In both poems Donne uses very strong imagery as a persuasive technique. For example there is a very good and strong in â€Å"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning†. Donne uses a compass to define the woman and the man moving away from each other. He uses the idea of the compass by making his lover the pointed end that stays in the same place and him being the end that has the lead attached which moves back and forth. Donne uses the image to show how even if he moves back and forth, ... ...elebration of their love. Christina Walsh talks of the music of the spheres, this is because as the planets moved the planets made music so joyous the heavens rejoiced in their love. This is a strong and another Biblical image to show how greater love the woman wants to have with her lover. â€Å"And we shall have the music of the spheres for bridal march† These three poems represent three couples who seem completely different because of the way they want to show their love but also alike. â€Å"The Flea† is an example of the stereotypical desire for physical love, â€Å"A Woman to Her Lover† is an example of a woman who is expecting this stereotypical love but yet wants true and holy love. Finally â€Å"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning† is an example of this pure and great love that does not have physical needs, the love that the woman in â€Å"A Woman to Her Lover† wants. Compare and Contrast the Ideas and Techniques of the Poets in the some Compare and Contrast the Ideas and Techniques of the Poets in the some of the Love Poems we have Studied Love is a very popular topic for poetry. This is because love is one of the only things that there is no scientific fact no true definition and can be thought of in so many different ways. Poets can use poems to portray all the different types of love that people feel, romantic, young, stereotypical, fake, possessive, physical, the list is endless. Three poems that portray some of these are â€Å"The Flea†, â€Å"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning† and â€Å"A Woman to her Lover†. I like the poems â€Å"The Flea† and â€Å"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning† by John Donne because of the imagery and metaphors he uses to give us an understanding of both poems. I also like the poem â€Å"A Woman to Her Lover† by Christina Walsh because it gives a woman’s view of love. This gives a significant contrast to Donne’s poems. â€Å"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning† is a good contrast to â€Å"The Flea† since in â€Å"The Flea† the man who is talking is trying to persuade the woman to sleep with him when she is trying to refuse. Whilst in â€Å"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning† the man speaking is trying to persuade the woman being apart from each other will not break them up. In both poems Donne uses very strong imagery as a persuasive technique. For example there is a very good and strong in â€Å"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning†. Donne uses a compass to define the woman and the man moving away from each other. He uses the idea of the compass by making his lover the pointed end that stays in the same place and him being the end that has the lead attached which moves back and forth. Donne uses the image to show how even if he moves back and forth, ... ...elebration of their love. Christina Walsh talks of the music of the spheres, this is because as the planets moved the planets made music so joyous the heavens rejoiced in their love. This is a strong and another Biblical image to show how greater love the woman wants to have with her lover. â€Å"And we shall have the music of the spheres for bridal march† These three poems represent three couples who seem completely different because of the way they want to show their love but also alike. â€Å"The Flea† is an example of the stereotypical desire for physical love, â€Å"A Woman to Her Lover† is an example of a woman who is expecting this stereotypical love but yet wants true and holy love. Finally â€Å"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning† is an example of this pure and great love that does not have physical needs, the love that the woman in â€Å"A Woman to Her Lover† wants.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Sir Gawain & The Green Knight :: essays research papers

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight A knight rides into the hall dressed entirely in green. The knight is large, well- dressed, and imposing, but he does not wear armor nor carry a shield. Rather, he holds some holly in one hand and a huge ax in the other. The Green Knight, without first introducing himself, demands to speak with whoever is the head of the court. King Arthur answers the Green Knight’s call to the head of the company and asks him to dismount and eat. However, the Knight refuses, saying that he does not intend to stay. He tells Arthur that his court is reputed to be the best and worthiest in the land, and so he has come there with a challenge. He says that he has not come in war, as proved by his lack of armor, but rather to propose a challenge. He will allow someone to strike him with his ax, as long as they agree to find him in one year to accept the return blow. The Green Knight looks around to see if anyone will accept his challenge, and he begins to taunt and laugh at the knights. King Arthur is enraged at the stranger's laughter, and he stands up to accept the challenge. He takes the ax, and the Green Knight dismounts and prepares for the blow. However, before Arthur can strike the blow, Sir Gawain speaks up, asking if he can replace the King in this game because he does not think the King should take the responsibility upon himself. The court agrees to let Gawain take the challenge, and the King blesses him. Gawain goes to the Green Knight, who asks his name and then accepts him as the challenger. Gawain asks the Knight where he will find him in a year, and the Knight tells him that he will learn after he takes his strike. The Green Knight bows his head, baring his neck for the blow, and Gawain swings the ax and chops off the Knight's head. The head falls to the floor and rolls around the hall, but the Green Knight picks up his head and mounts his horse. He turns the head toward Gawain and tells him to seek him at the Green Chapel next New Year's Day. He rides away, and Gawain and Arthur hang up the ax and finish their feast. In November of the next year , Gawain rides all around Arthur's kingdom searching for the Green Chapel, but no one he asks has ever heard of it or of the Green Knight.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Three in the Middle: the Experience of Making Change

Micro Switch, founded in 1937 and acquired by Honeywell Inc. in 1950, is a division that has long been known as an innovative industry leader in switches, sensors and manual controls. During the transition from electro-mechanical to electronic and solid state, Micro Switch enlisted the assistance of 49 year Honeywell employee to maintain their competitive edge within an ever changing market. With an internal shake up intended to preserve the organization’s reputation, as well as improve their downward decline, middle managers are left to ponder if â€Å"something had gone wrong, or as this the way a successful change was supposed to feel† (Lenan, Stone, 2008, pg. 194, para. 1). Case Summary and Problem Definition Economic issues began arising during the switch from electro-mechanical to electronic and solid state during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. The apparent regression was in full force by 1985 and it took two years of plummeting for Micro Switch to enlist the help of Ramon â€Å"Ray† Alvarez in 1897. Alvarez had created a significant track record for himself and thus reinforced this decision. He had not only been a Honeywell employee for 49 years, but also a history of turning around two other Honeywell divisions. Alvarez developed a three year plan to not only reignite Micro Switch’s competitive edge, but to also facilitate performance excellence. Despite his reputation for being psychologically intimidating, Alvarez was able to move cautiously enough in the beginning to gain support from senior managers, but did not necessarily set the tone for factory workers and lower level employees. In this three year plan, Alvarez devised three different strategies to go about achieving this mission. First was to create a mission statement as well as a new vision: â€Å"growth through quality solutions to customer needs† (Lenan, Stone, 2008, pg. 194, para 3). Second, was to establish a scrupulous annual strategic planning process that allowed Micro Switch to become more competitive, quicker to respond, and monetarily savvy. Third was the development of APEX, Achieve Performance Excellence, a model that would not only act as the focal point of this change, but would allow Alvarez to continue to fine tune Micro Switch’s strategies during later years. In its first year APEX was intended to encourage nearly 4,000 employees that the change was an urgent matter, and increasingly more necessary than ever before. APEX focused on giving employees specific ways to strive for quality and distinction by creating an employee suggestion system, as well as awards for employees that met performance objectives. Quality and performance was the heart of this transition and by 1990, APEX became much more sophisticated. The Building Block Councils was developed during this time and was comprised of an arrangement of committees and councils. Their primary objective was to encourage division wide involvement in a variety of strategic areas by creating six councils that implemented new standards to their designated area. These areas were the customer satisfaction council, quality council, goals council, awareness council, training council, and recognition council. Upon reading the observations of three high level managers who also served as chairs on many of the new councils, it becomes evident that the plan brought forth by Ray Alvarez in fact had many short comings. The first three year plan focused on symptoms not actual problem and according to Rick Rowe, another Micro Switch director, â€Å"the easy changes had already been made. Now the company had to tackle deeply ingrained behaviors and processes which were holding the division back from reaching its goals† (Lenan, Stone, 2008, pg. 200). Alvarez in many ways, did not focus on separating immediate symptoms from the actual underlying problems. Focusing on symptoms may achieve more approval in the beginning, but this will begin to dissipate once people realize that the basic core problem never went away. As indicated above, Alvarez did an exceptional job announcing the change, implementing APEX, and encouraging division wide involvement through Building Block Councils. That being said, the Building Block Councils focused around middle and higher level managers, not lower level employees, and thus lower level employees were not immediately included in the process. This would later change as Deb Massof, a new director brought on by Alvarez and often seen as an outsider, tirelessly attempted to encourage employee involvement. Massof’s initial utcasting was the symptom of an underlying culture clash problem that should have been dealt with right away. When trying to have meetings to get employees involved in the strategic planning process, Massof asserts that she just got blank stares from employees. Lower level employees should have been informed that some things were going to change; according to Massof’s account, it appears as though no one ever actually told them they w ould be doing away with the top down approach. This may have been hindrance in this situation. If this change had been formally communicated, just by some employees hearing this, their involvement and productivity may have increased significantly. Due to the fact that prior to Alvarez, Micro Switch operated under a top-down bureaucratic management structure, and he should have considered that Micro Switch had likely attracted employees that had not only accepted this, but became increasingly comfortable with that approach, as well. However, they did not anticipate this, and this led to a great deal of resistance to the change itself. Massof has indicated that she was eventually successful in developing cross functional business teams, but states that initially thinking independently was exceptionally unusual for nearly all of the employees and most of them couldn’t even comprehend why they were being pressed to do so. Communication of expectations and really communication in general could have improved the efficiency of this situation vastly and could have got lower level employees on board a lot quicker. Case and point, Massof stated that in July of 1990, her unit completed their second strategic plan with no complaining, and brought a â€Å"new level of skill and detail to the task† (Lenan, Stone, 2008, pg. 202, para. 3). In addition to this, they were also able to establish benchmarks during their second strategic plan. Measurability is an essential aspect of the change process and yet Ellis Stewart, another Micro Switch director, indicated that his team felt as though they were not able to see any of their progress despite their efforts. What we need is some growth to take advantage of all the work we’ve done† (Lenan, Stone, 2008, pg. 204, para. 2). Due to the fact that Stewart’s business unit had not established any benchmarks, short term goals, or measurability to illustrate short term wins, they had trouble maintaining motivation and upholding morale. The next underlying problem is the lack of direction. According to Massof, â€Å"I do think people want to change. They do want to do good. But they’re real frustrated at not knowing what to change† (Leban, Stone, 2008, pg. 200). Without actually saying it, Massof illustrated that there really was not a fruitful plan set in place, let alone one that included employees in the planning stages. Alvarez did a wonderful job creating a sense of urgency with Micro Switch directors, establishing a vision, and goals. The fundamental problem lied not within the â€Å"why† part, the â€Å"why† part was clearly understood. Rather, the main issue is that lower level employees were not steered in the right direction and obviously were not an integral part of the change process as they didn’t even understand what they needed to change. Starting with why is of course important, but the â€Å"what† aspect, arguably just as important if not more, is what actually sets people in the right direction. The next core problem is that the change implemented was not small and manageable. During Massof first 18 months with Micro Switch her highest priority in her business unit was â€Å"making up for fifteen years of no investment and no new products†¦ to compensate for years of neglect; and to start drawing people into both the revitalization process and daily operations in ways they had never done before† (Leban, Stone, 2008, pg. 01). This is hardly what one would consider a small manageable change; Massof’s business unit didn’t even understand their own customers anymore. In addition, there was no use of a project manager or consultants to help them with market research, and thus no one to keep them on track and remind of what the goal actually was. Trying to gain support for the culture shift was a large problem during the change process, and although Alvarez often encouraged autonomy, this was not always the case. The new and improved Micro Switch was expected to perform with a sense of urgency and thus work was expected to be not only that of high quality, but done as quickly as possible. Ellis Stewart, head of Building Block Council on Training, swiftly and efficiently developed a new employee training program known as APEX College, and was reprimanded for â€Å"acting without authorization. † For change to be successful it is imperative there are no wavering expectations and mixed signals being sent and authority must be given with responsibility. Review Alternative Courses of Action, Make Recommendations, and Implement Listed previously in the section above, are ten evident problems and in this section, each problem will be lumped together based on similar underlying issues into five categories, reiterated and then recommendations will be made. 1. The initial focus was placed on symptoms not problems. Changes were not small and manageable. Lack of project manager, etc. Focusing on underlying problems is a crucial step in the change process. Many organizations, who aim to change aspects of their business whether it is internally or externally, tend to focus on the symptoms because of their obviousness. Although as stated previously, tending to symptoms may gain more initial acceptance and approval, the change will fall short in the end as the realization that nothing actually changed, sets in. My recommendation is to dig deep and not look for a â€Å"band-aid† solution, but rather one that tackles deep rooted issues. I also think in this situation, bringing in outside assistance would be increasingly prudent. Analysts, project managers, and other like professionals generally have the ability to point out core, fundamental issues that have either been ignored or simply not accepted by the organization. Meaning that, many organizations suffer from certain issues that become the big elephant in the room that no one talks about, or it’s an elephant that only lower level employees see, but cannot point out due to the organization’s management style. In the case at hand, it seems as though nearly all of Micro Switch employees didn’t even realize many of the issues because they weren’t expected to, and thus because no one questioned it, it was never brought to anyone’s attention. This is precisely why I feel an outsider, who is actually hired and contracted to provide a service that points the underlying problems out would be extremely useful. . Communication was poor and employees were not told the culture was going to change. Employees were not actually an integral part of the change process, despite announcements stating otherwise. The tone of the change process was set, but employees had no direction. (What should be changed what shouldn’t). Lack of Clear Expectations. Communication is essential in many areas of life, and businesses are certainly not the exception. A successful change requires buy-in from staff, and this includes all differing levels of employees understanding their roles. In this case, my first recommendation would be to inform employees of how Micro Switch used to operate, very top down. By Alvarez simply assuming that employees knew that Micro Switch had previously operated under a Theory X type of management structure, he set a number of the employees within the organization up to fail before they could succeed. In some instances, this can be helpful, but in business when time is of the essence and truly invaluable, the stumble that occurred could have been prevented. The next step would be to illustrate what the new Micro Switch structure would look like. This is what is used to be, this what we’re changing, and these are the expectations, type of deal. Now, these things are important notions to communicate, but role understanding is where Micro Switch actually began to see a lot of issues. If employees do not understand what they need to be changing, what their roles are, and what the expectations are, then the change cannot be implemented. Lastly, this should all be communicated verbally, and in writing. Each employee should receive a packet of information and be briefed over and over again about the upcoming changes. After it is made exceptionally clear, each employee should sign a waiver of sorts, indicating that they understand not only why the change is taking place, but more importantly, what their role is in the process, what is going to change, and what the expectations are related to their own job duties. Delegating tasks to help employees during this process is crucial, and therefore communication does not need to be administered by just one individual. Having a plan and communicating that plan would help Micro Switch in terms of efficiency and gaining approval at a quicker rate. 3. Resistance to the culture change imposed was not anticipated in advance. Massof indicated that Micro Switch was in a time warp and their extreme resistant to change was deeply ingrained in Micro Switch’s culture. Resistance in contrast, to the previous issue listed above, is something that should have been assumed. In this case, my recommendation again, begins with communication. Considering the employees’ perspective and asking them until face to face is a question that should be tackled initially to help develop a plan to fill in perception gaps. Resistance is not always a bad thing and in the case at hand, anticipating this could have helped Alvarez really communicate what was going to be changed, thus making the implementation process a lot smoother. After this, tracking perception is vital and although Alvarez attempted to have employee feedback system, it did function in an efficient manner. Not a great deal of information was give about the system, which leads me to believe that it was not very thought out. Resistance can be caused by a lack of understanding, not necessarily disapproval and this proved to be true in this case. 4. Lack of measurability. In any change, measurability is a key factor. My recommendation would be to create project goals and use the scorecard approach. Alvarez did a great job dealing with education, but only dealt with part of the performance aspects. The development of APEX should just be starting point, but how will Micro Switch know if it’s successful if it’s not measured and tested. I would also implement short term goals to prevent loss in momentum, as stated by Ellis previously, employees at all levels need to see growth. This is illustrated through measurability. 5. Lack of authority with responsibility Successful change must be driven by support from top management, involve employees and project managers. I would begin by using a combination of Change Theories E and O thus accepting the paradox between hard side of change and the soft side change. Alvarez left a lot of gaps in his plan, and most his plan involved the softer, internal side of the organization. This issue ties a lot into communication, clear guidelines, and concise expectations; however, it is still important mention on its own due to the account given earlier by Stewart. Follow-up and Evaluate In order to evaluate this process, I would focus primarily on the balanced scorecard approach. This strategic management system enables organizations to focus on their vision, strategy and their measurement. Balanced scorecards also offer a structure for communicating how employees are expected to execute the strategy. Micro Switch employees at various levels felt they had nothing to show for their work. This technique could have cleared up a lot of confusion during the Micro Switch change and increased their efficiency exponentially. In addition to the clarity provided, this system would also illustrate their progress in tangible terms. This process includes four different areas of measurement, financial, customer, internal operations, and learning and growth. Therefore, this measurement system should satisfy the needs of employees at various levels and shareholders well, because as its title indicates, it’s well balanced. This approach indicates that although financial measurements are of extreme importance, they cannot take the place of intangible assets. Following the guidelines of the balanced scorecard approach from this point, I would make the strategy explicit, choose the measures, define and refine, and deal with people. Once these have been established, the work needs to be divided up into two interfaces, differentiation and integration. Differentiation refers to the degree of similarity or difference represented by the design of the work units†¦the way an organization coordinates the work across work-units is the integration† (Lenan, Stone, 2008, pg. 66). Conclusion Although Alvarez did implement some great ideas during the beginning of his time at Micro Switch, the shakeup led many middle managers to ponder if something had gone wrong. In the end, it’s not necessarily that anything implemented had gone array, but rather that there were many gaps in the planning that needed to be filled in. Initially, this wasn’t as evident but as excitement began to dissipate and employees struggled to understand what their new roles were within the organization, the holes in the plan became clearly evident. Developing APEX set Micro Switch on the right track, but left a lot to be desired with the way things were handled (or not handled) internally. By merely adding communication, a project manager, goals, and measurements, Micro Switch employees at various levels would have likely felt a lot more optimistic with the end result.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Psychological and Sociological Theories of Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a crime that occurs regularly within the United States. It claims millions of victims each year. There is not a specific cause to establish why domestic violence occurs. However, it has been documented that domestic violence is a product of physical, emotional, sexual, psychological, and any other forms of torture or torment that the particular abuser wishes to employ to gain control or power over their victims (Gosselin, 2005). Due to the complexity of this crime, many criminologists and socialologists have studied its causes and the effects in order to determine social policies and additional theories to better understand the causation of domestic violence. The social policies and theories that are developed from this research can better explain, educate, and assist the victims of domestic abuse, the judicial system, and law enforcement on how to gain a clearer understanding regarding the relationship between crime causation, criminal behavior, and domestic abuse (Greene, Heilburn, Fortune and Nietzel, 2007). Most importantly, the much needed research and data will empower law enforcement with the much needed knowledge to respond and combat the growing epidemic of domestic violence. Crime theories can be grouped into four categories: biological, sociological, psychological, and social-psychological. Each of these theories have assisted the criminal justice system by providing specific knowledge and data that has been helpful with the establishment of laws (specific laws that fit the crime of domestic violence such as the stalking law), sentencing practices (different punishment guidelines for acts of domestic abuse that differ from non-domestic situations), and social policies (aid and education for abuse victims) (Greene, Heilburn, Fortune and Nietzel, 2007). In addition to existing theories, new theories are developed based on the research concluded from studies involving crime victim statistics and punishment of offenders. These theories are established in hopes to develop a means to an end for domestic abuse. Hopefully, there will be a theory developed to end the vicious cycle of abuse so the actions of an abuser can be identified before fatal incidents of abuse begin. When referring to the causation of domestic violence, more than one theory can assist in the explanation of its causation. In my opinion, the sociological theory and the psychological theory best explain the causation of domestic abuse. The sociological theory, otherwise known as the social theory, believes that criminals commit crimes due to social forces, cultural differences, specific religious beliefs, and/or as a result of their surroundings (low income or poverty stricken areas) (Gosselin, 2005). The sociological theory contains two subtopic theories which are called structural and subcultural theories. The structural theory, which applies to domestic violence, believes that individuals who possess low or lack of educational opportunities, a low income status, and/or a lack of community support are susceptible to choose a life of criminal activity (Greene, Heilburn, Fortune and Nietzel, 2007). This theory relates to domestic violence, because it has been established that economic stress is a trigger for abuse, as well as, cultural differences. Offenders that suffer from loss of employment, poverty, limited access to cash or credit, or that have someone who is dependent on them solely for support are, at times, triggered by the stress and lash out on the victim in a physical or emotional manner which results in domestic abuse (Gosselin, 2005). Cultural differences, such as, beliefs that women are inferior to males or women are the property of males, have also sparked incidents of domestic violence which have claimed victims not only in the United States but worldwide. An additional theory that falls under the umbrella of the sociological theory which, in my opinion, explains domestic violence is the rational choice theory. The rational choice theory has laid the groundwork to establish a better understanding regarding social and economically driven behavior (Schacter, Gilbert, & Wegner, 2009). This theory believes that an individual will choose criminal behavior by â€Å"free will† after weighing out the rewards and benefits verses the consequences or punishment for their behavior (Gosselin, 2005). In essence, the abuser will choose domestic violence as a means to the end since they feel control and domination is necessary in order to coexist within personal relationships. On the other hand, if the offender believes the risks outweigh the ability achieve personal gain, control, or satisfaction, he or she may choose not to commit the abuse (Schacter, et al. , 2009). I believe this theory explains the restraint an abuser displays when they carefully select the type of abuse administered to their victims and the length of time they choose to enact the abuse. Most abusers will not openly abuse their victims in front of others in order to deter detection. Detection is not an option for most abusers, since they are familiar with the consequences of their actions. A second example of a theory that would explain domestic violence would be the social learning theory. This theory falls under the category of the psychological theory. The social learning theory is the most relevant theory that applies to criminology. â€Å"Behavior is supported by rewards and extinguished by negative reactions or punishments† (Siegel, 2007, p. 109). The social learning theory believes people are not born with the ability to act in a violent manner. However, theorists suggest and believe aggressive and violent behavior is learned through observation, life experience, and society which will cause an individual to be aggressive and violent to others (Siegel, 2008). It is further believed the behavior manifests in young children when they are subjected to violence and /or aggression they observe from adult role models. In addition, social learning theorists believe this behavior is learned through a process called behavior modeling/modification. The study of behavior is paramount, in order to establish a framework of understanding regarding the motivation behind the abuser’s criminal activity. Behavioral modeling/modification can be described in three principle sources that cause criminal behavior. The sources are family interactions, interactions with mass media, and environmental experiences (Gosselin, 2005). Understanding behavioral modification is important in order to comprehend the root cause of criminal activity. In my opinion and experience with dealing with offenders, the concept of behavioral modification helps to better understand domestic abuse when it occurs from the hands of a previous victim who has turned to a life of offending. There are a number of abusers who claim to have suffered from issues pertaining to relationships with family, had adverse interactions with mass media (pornography), or have suffered adverse environmental experiences (homeless or unemployed) that have caused them to lack the skills needed to maintain a productive relationship within society. The study of family interactions has shown that aggressive children are a part of a family whose members use similar tactics with others, thus, implanting the seed for future abuse. Secondly, studies regarding the effects that mass media have on individuals has shown that video games, television, and other mass media that depicts violence in a rewarding manner, influence the behavior of an individual in a number of ways that can result in future criminal behavior (Siegel, 2008). Lastly, environmental studies regarding he effects society and culture have on an individual, has provided data that concluded individuals from low income areas, which are riddled with crime, are prone to act aggressively more so than individuals who hail from areas with lower crime rates (Siegel, 2008). Thus, observation and learned behavior will lay the groundwork for continued aggressive behavior which may remain with an individual throughout adulthood. Finally, stress due to observing adverse behavior and /or the psychological or emotional effects of learned behavior can be a catalyst for an individual to apply what they have learned by engaging in criminal acts. This may cause repeated cycles of criminal, aggressive, or violent behavior (Siegel, 2008). As we have learned from domestic abuse incidents, a number of abusers do come from low income areas, have endured stress from the observations and learned behavior of others, possess cultural differences, and/or were previously victimized in their lifetime. The cycle of domestic violence is another example that is supported in the psychological theory category. From the previous explanation, it is logical to conclude that the social learning theory suggests the cycle of domestic violence can be explained by the social learning theory. Through learning the weaknesses and observing the shortcomings of a potential victim, the abuser will use their knowledge to enact abuse. The cycle of violence theory, which falls under the psychological theory category, believes there is â€Å"substantial evidence that a generational cycle of violence occurs in domestic assaults† (Gosselin, 2005, p. 77). Many abusers will admit that they have been subjected to a number of factors, such as, being a victim of former abuse at the hands of an immediate family member, have observed the effects of abuse on others, or suffered from stress that allowed them to believe abuse is a means to an end. Personal choice, as referred to by the rational choice theory, suggests the abuser does understand the causes and effects of his or her actions by the selective methods they choose to inflict the abuse. In summary, the exact causation of domestic violence is a mystery. The true and exact reasoning used by an abuser will remain inside their mind unless they honestly offered to explain their actions. Based on statistical data and research provided by criminologists, we can understand the effect abuse has on an individual, as well as, the methods used to commit the offense. Theories are mere suggestions of what may cause incidents. They do not provide the specific answers needed to end the abuse. However, theories do empower law enforcement officers and victimologists with the much needed knowledge to combat abuse and assist victims.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

An Analysis of Ethics In the Workplace

In the first article â€Å"What role should HR play in corporate ethics† the authors establish that HR is vital toward maintaining and building corporate ethics programs. In particular the researchers suggest that HR professionals can create programs that help facilitate open communication and enhance ethics by helping employees and management officials understand the effects non-ethical behavior may have on customers, shareholders and organizational productivity. The authors also suggest that ethics programs should be linked to all business units including finance, security and any legal organization components. An ethics program according to this author must cover multiple areas including risk assessment, organizational standards, communication, reporting and organizational assessment. I support the author's views in this article. Ethics starts by opening the lines of communication within an organization. HR plays a key role in ethics development in an organization because HR professionals come to intimately understand the needs, wants and problems employees may have with ethical subjects. In the second article, â€Å"How HR can facilitate ethics† the authors suggest again that HR professionals must play an important role in developing, maintaining and updating ethics programs. This article like the previous article supports adopting ethical systems within the organization. A key element of ethics programs defined by the authors is also communications. The authors suggest that HR plays three critical roles with respect to ethics including determining employee's loyalty, providing consistent information and assessing perceptions about ethical behaviors in an organization. Again the authors here make a valid point. HR is critical as the previous article mentions to the success of an organizational ethical program. I also believe that a solid ethics program will build loyalty but not just among employees. A company that has a reputable ethics program in place will also stand out among the competition. In an increasingly global marketplace it is vital that organizations take steps to ensure they conduct ethical business practices. Both of these articles are very relevant to the field of HRD. As companies continue to expand into an international marketplace, the media more and more is highlighting stories that feature unethical behavior. Such behavior tarnishes the reputation of companies and also harms employee's chances for advancement and personal success. It is vital that human resource professionals take an active role in developing ethical systems within the organization. HR professionals are trained not only in ethical management but also to work with employees to form a bridge between managers and employees. HR professionals can help open the lines of communication, survey current employees and mangers to determine potential problems areas, and work with multiple business units synergistically to ensure all company objectives are met in as ethical a manner as possible. It's not enough to simply â€Å"do† business. Companies that fail to uphold ethical standards will ultimately fail in the long term. It is important that companies not only remain competitive but take pride in ethical work practices. HRD teams should continually work to discover new and innovative techniques for building ethical work practices into organizational processes and procedures. Ethics is something that should be ingrained in the heart and soul of organizations.

Organization Theory and behavior-power and authority Essay

Achievement of organizational objective depends on organization structure which is dynamic. Organization structure defines the flow of power and authority geared toward a particular course of action directed by organization’s objective. For organization structure to help to organization objective it is dependent on the employees. Employees operation are guided by the organization supervisors, whose their role is defined in the organization structures. Supervisor operations are dependent of power and authority which help to ensure things in an organization are done in the right way as well as achieving organization goals and objective. In organization management power and authority are very important as they help the organization to be able to direct organization employee toward organizational goals. Power and authority are dependent on the leadership model in an organization. Organizational managers are the leaders who employees report to hence their performance is dependent on the leadership offered by the manager. Achievement of organizational goal shall only be possible if power and authority are employed effectively. Authority and power helps the management to be able to create a productive culture through social process to guide employees’ capacity towards attaining organization goals and objectives. Power and authority helps the leader â€Å"†¦to create, maintain and improve a culture so that people will achieve objective (purpose) and continue to do so over time†¦Leadership in an organizations is a more specific process of influence since it involves goal that have been specified and can be measured or at least evaluated achieved only through employment of power and authority)† (Macdonald, Burke & Stewart (2006) pp 80). To influence employees toward organization goal, management can employ three ways according to Macdonald, Burke & Stewart (2006). That is force, manipulation and persuasion. Use of force by the management involves employment of force as well as real application of physical force to compel employees to work. Concept of force requires power to as it call for imposing one person against other employees, often referred to as coercion. Manipulation takes form of social distortion which direct requires the subject to do as they are told without asking questions. Manipulation is different force in that there is no coercion and employees are convinced that they are doing the right thing. Persuasion in an organization attempt to influence the employee to act in a certain way geared towards achieving organizational objectives without force or manipulation. It is dependent on will of the employee and mutual trust. Employment of force manipulation in an organization is dependent on the power and authority bestowed to the various leader or supervisors in the organizational operations. In an organization, authority is provided for by the organizational structure. Organizational structure grants an outline formal distribution of authority in an organization. Authority in an organization is largely provided for by formalization meaning standardized as well as rule and regulations that govern employee operations. Formalization defines the discretion in which an employee can act in his/her duties. â€Å"In an organization with high degrees of formalization, job descriptions and policies provide clear direction. Where formalization is low, employees have a great deal of freedom in deciding how to conduct their work†. In an organization different department exhibit different degree of formalization which may be base on the qualification of the employee to the organization affairs or rank of the employee. Authority is related to power in that it legitimizes supervisors to be able to direct and control subordinates to the intended course of action. Authority helps the supervisor to make decision geared towards organizational objective. Organization has three form of authority namely line authority, staff authority as well as team authority all distributed in the organizational structure. Line authority refers to straight supervisory form superior to subordinate organized such that it flows from top to the bottom of organization structure. Organization structure gives the chain of command which is unbroken line of command defining the decision, making process within an organization. Chain of command defining the authority of different personality in an organization helps employees to know who they are answerable to. This helps to avoid problem of duplication organization activities which comes due to more than one person assigning duties. Line of authority which is the basis of chain of command is linked to line department which are directly connected to production and sales of the organizational products. Examples of line department are marketing and production responsible for performance of the employees and reward. Staff authority as compared to line authority is more pegged to authority to advice base on the expertise and involves advising line managers. Employees help the line departments in coming up with the advices to be used for decision making but they lack authority to make the last decision. Staff supervision through suggestions made by line department decides on what is to be carried in the line department, coordinate as well as provide technical assistance. Team authority is executed by work teams responsible for daily operations in an organization. It comprises of groups of operating employees responsible for coordination of the organization operations. Team based structure as define under team authority in an organization organizes separate functions based on the overall organizational objectives. Authority is dependent to power such that for a supervisor to be able to get things done in accordance to the objectives of the organization power is required. â€Å"Everyone has power in one form or another and it is by exercising this power that organization get thing accomplished. Supervisors who are capable of achieving their objective independently of others are said to possess strength†. To be able to include people in the plan as well as organizational activities, supervisor requires power to get organizational things accomplished. Therefore, power is capability to apply influence in the organizational ahead of authority. This is gotten from the position as established by the organizational structure. In an organization a legitimate power bestowed to various leaders in an organization is established by individual position according to organizational hierarchy. Other forms of power include coercive power, reward power, expert power, referent power as well as information power. Supervisors’ power toward course of action depends on influence in the organization giving authority which may be centralized or decentralized. Centralization means the decision making power is concentrated on top of the management while in decentralization form of decision making authority is in lower level of employees. Relation of authority and power is that authority is the legitimate power of a supervisor to be able to direct employee to a certain course of action in accordance to organization goals. In a nutshell authority is a form of power delegated from the organization main authorities to subordinate.