Homework #6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Homework #6 - Essay Example The ideology is driven from the whole concept of use-value, exchange-value and commodity. Marx defines the Fetishism ideology into themes. He first states that the exchange-value of a commodity depends major on the labor used in its production process. When determining the value of a product one will tend to use the commodity to compensate the labor. The commodity in his ideology is dependent since it relays on what efforts invested in terms of labor. He also explains the social relation between producers and eternal factors. He shows how different producers relate despite their difference in commodities they offer in the market(Wood, 1970). He uses the relativity of the products to create a personal concept of the market. For instance, one who makes tea and sells directly relates to who bakes cakes and bread. He finally states laboring activities controls the activities of a product. In a real life scenario, the exchange of commodity follows the concept of Money- Commodity- money. This means that one sells a product in order to generate more money and utilize it to make offers and expand productivity. Karl Marx on the other hand explains that money is replaced in its commensurability with human labor (Wood, 1970). Thus, his structure is Commodity- money- commodity. Different from this the fetishism ideology with real life is the fact that labor used while producing does not necessarily reflects the product. In that while, producing one may fall ill and hence spends resources in treating himself hence the final product will not reflect the amount of resources used in the production. Socially it clearly shows how the people relations in the production line as were the case of the tea maker and the cake baker clearly shows a contrasting relation different from what Marx stated. They fail to relate in terms of the exchange value in that they independently fix the value without considering what the other person will react (Wood, 1970). In this

Curbing Examination Malpractices in Nigerian Educational Assessment Essay Example for Free

Curbing Examination Malpractices in Nigerian Educational Assessment Essay The paper examines the role or intervention of guidance and counseling in curbing examination malpractice in Nigerian educational assessment among all the stake holders in education industry. Counseling can be of much interventional assistance in bringing re-orientation of students, teachers, the school and the society. Also provides social, orientational and psychological counseling as an antidote for examination malpractice in Nigeria. Therefore, this paper dwells on concept of guidance and counseling, what examination malpractice is all about, and exposes the causes and an overview of background of examination malpractice in Nigeria is discussed. Similarly, the social effects of examination malpractice is discussed as it affects the political, moral, socio-economic of the nation and conclude with suggestion and solutions through counseling intervention so as to protect the validity and sanctity of examination in Nigeria All over the world examination is considered very important in educational system. By means of it, learners are formally measured and placements are made based on the results accrued from it. In Nigeria, education has been adopted as an instrument for meaningful national development. Therefore, government, communities, private organizations, and individuals have established educational institutions with a view to training the citizens for the development of the nation’s physical and human resources. In these institutions, teaching and guidance services are supposed to take place so that appropriate skills and knowledge can be acquired by the learners. Furthermore, machinery through which the extent of knowledge and skill acquisition is determined at each stage of learning has been set up. This is in form of examination which would be organized in order to evaluate, assess, place and test knowledge and skills. The outcome of the examination is used as a basis for decision making on the examinee’s ability. In view of the exceeding importance attached to examination at national and international levels, examinations are seen as an activity that should be executed well. Learners in Nigeria see examination as activities that should be successfully carried out if future is assured. Thus, there are many instances where there are tendencies to pass examination at all costs. These trends and phenomena really called for concerns from all Quarters including the professional guidance counselors. Educational Guidance as seenbyEncarta(2009),a process of helping students to achieve the self-understanding and self-direction necessary to make informed choices and move toward personal goals. Guidance focuses on the complete development of individual students through a series of services designed to maximize school learning, stimulate career development, and respond to the personal and social concerns that inhibit individual growth. Although guidance activities are usually associated with educational professionals known as counselors, educational guidance is actually a cooperative enterprise involving the participation of teachers, administrators, other educational specialists, and parents. Similarly, Egbule (2002) puts the concept of Guidance and Counseling as a helping service in the understanding of the factors or events that led to the conceptual evolution of it as a subject matter, a professional discipline and indeed a helping service. Meanwhile, he submitted further that it is these factors that are responsible for its popularization as helping service and subsequent use in resolving various educational, vocational and socio-personal problems of individual in the society. Some of the factors according to Egbule, (2002) include: * Traditional practices relating to advising * Civilization in modern society and problems associated with it * Development in the field of psychology and philosophy * Educational development * Socio-political developments * Different behavior problems of individuals that require counseling, among others. Ipaye, (1983) in Abdu, (2007) define guidance and counseling as a helping service that provides the atmosphere as well as the setting within a professional counselor can help a person (client) or a group of person in terms of resolving educational, vocational and personal-social problems. It is also the process of assisting the individuals acquire, get acquainted with and becoming aware of the opportunities in the personal, social, educational and vocational world. This is with a view to experiencing and exploring various interventional communication roles. No doubt, counseling has a long interventional role to play by virtue of its significant relevance in curbing examination malpractices in Nigerian educational society as the comprehensive services would bring about positive attitudinal change in individuals thus creating an opportunity to operate in an atmosphere free from corruption and tension. Administration of examination has generally been associated with the problem of cheating, otherwise known as examination malpractice. Examination malpractice has been defined in various ways. Imogie (2001) in Umar A and et al (2009) maintain that it involves wrong doing before, during or after an examination by candidates and sometimes invigilators, supervisors, typists, printer, or group whose actions give a candidate or group of candidates an undue advantage in an examination. It is also seen as an improper and dishonest act associated with examination with a view to obtaining unmerited advantage, while WAEC itself consider examination as any irregular behavior exhibited by candidates or anybody charge with the responsibility of conducting examination in or outside the examination hall, before, during or after examination. (WAEC, 2003) It could be deduced that examination malpractice is all round irregularities associated with the conduct of examination. Since human beings have always been conscious of human ability and efficiency in the area of appointments or promotions, examinations of different form or standard have been with mankind in the course of human evolution. Examination has along history in the world as reported by Pratt (1980) in Umar G, Mburza A, Bulama K, (2009) that examination malpractices was first noticed over 3000 years ago in the famous Chinese Civil Service and regulations which include death penalty for both the guilty students and examiners. Olowu, (2006) in Nnachi, (2009) added that from China, formal examination spread to different parts of the world. By the middle of the 19th century, competitive examinations were introduced in Britain and India for the selection of government officials. Corrupt practices in examination in Nigeria dated back to the pre-independence. According to various sources, the first publicly reported case of examination malpractices was in 1914, when the question papers of the Senior Cambridge Local Examination were reportedly seen by the candidates before the date of the examination. Since then, there have been incessant cases of irregularities reported on annual basis, the outstanding years were 1963, 1967, 1970, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1991, 1994 to 2003 (WAEC, 2004) the major features of the examination malpractices reported were: impersonation, smuggling in foreign materials, slot in, stealing, converting, collusion in examination hall, mass cheating, mass organized cheating, unlawful assistance from teachers and outsiders and insult on supervisors. This ugly phenomenon is inimical to academic and social development and it needs to be addressed drastically. The incidence of examination malpractices over the years has become so alarming in both public and private institutions despite various sanctions employed. Examination malpractices have in recent years remained one of the disturbing phenomenons in educational institutions in Nigeria. The trend which takes different dimensions and forms has become alarming especially in higher institution of learning. It is not limited to internal examination prepared by schools, colleges, polytechnics, and universities, but it has gone up to external examinations such as WAEC, NECO, UTME, NTI, NABTEB, and professional examinations. The situation became embarrassing to the nation that the Federal Military Government had to promulgate Decree20 to deal with it. Part of the provision of the Decree reads: Any person who fraudulently or with intent to cheat or secure any unfair advantage to himself or any person or in abuse of his office, produces, sells or buy, or otherwise deals with any question paper intended for the examination of persons at any examination or commit any of the offence specified in section 3 (27) (c) of this Decree, shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction be sentence to 21 years imprisonment. However, Examination Malpractices Act 33 of 1999 reversed the above Decree but stipulates punishment ranging from a fine of N50, 000 to N100, 000 and imprisonment for a term of 3-4 years with or without option of fine. It is regretful to note that this is a toothless bulldog as none of these penalties has been fully implemented, if at all they are implemented.

Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ Essay -- Movie Film Essays

Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ Despite the rebuke of Jewish and Christian communities in our culture today, Jews and Christians have faced a thickening wall of inter-faith tension for quite a while; it is an issue our society does not often bring to the forefront among popular current events.   However, the release of Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ, not only drew out the results of this tension among Jewish and Christian communities, but also reinforced those age-old tensions in our society.   Various Christian denominations have responded by bringing attention to their respective condemnations of anti-Semitism, and stressing the importance of inter-faith tranquility between Jews and Christians, bringing to light the common elements of the two faiths while respectfully acknowledging the differences.   These concerns, addressed hitherto, do not just come from biased faith communities 4, but from objective sources as well, concerned merely with the preservation of peaceful relations among several groups, such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).   While the ADL has admitted it cannot and will likely never have any evidence by which to accuse Mr. Gibson of being an anti-Semite, it does fear effects of the film on strengthening current waves of anti-Semitism, as well as creating an inaccurate image among impressionable observers unfamiliar with Jewish or Christian theological teachings 1.   Mr. Gibson has, wittingly or unwittingly, reinforced these tensions by following the film up with a harsh branding of all non-Christians as followers of Satan, a message that Jewish and Christian leaders alike fear could become the demise of inter-faith relations among Jews and Christians around the globe, as Dr. David Elco... ... 12 Feb. 2004.   Obtained from http://www.ajc.org/InTheMedia/OpinionsDetail.asp?did=202&pid=2091.   7) Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.   ?Declaration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to the Jewish Community.?   18 Apr. 1994.   Obtained from http://www.elca.org/ecumenical/interfaithrelations/jewish/declaration.html.   8) Fisher, Eugene.   ?National Workshop on Christian-Jewish Relations.?   23 Sep. 1996.   Obtained from http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek/archives/96-08/1004.html.   9) The Pontifical Biblical Commission.   ?The Jewish People and their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible.?   Vatican Press; 2002.   Obtained at http://www.bigbrother.net/~mugwump/jcrelations/. 10) Sandmel, David Fox.   ?The Passion of the Christ ? Jewish Reaction and Commentary.?   Obtained from http://www.elca.org/ecumenical/interfaithrelations/thepassion/jewish_reaction.html.  

Marries Is Better Than Being Single Essay

There are lots of discussion and arguments about to being single or getting married nowadays. The new generation might not willing to bound into marriage life and they wish to remain in single life so they can have more privacy, freedom and the commitment of   responsibilities. However, marriage is union ordained by God and it is also a wonderful union of two people in love. It is unique, opposite-sex union with legal, social, economic and spiritual dimensions. Getting married does bring a lot of advantages to a person either family. The biggest advantage for getting married is emotional stability. Married people treat their own family as shelter and they can feel secure and relax when staying together with their family. Family provides a peace and comfort zone for those married people to restore their energy. Marriage can helps the couple to become more tolerant, unselfish, caring and more responsible. Its provide a chances for the husband and wife to grow with and sharing their life’s challenges, rewards and sorrows with a person who actually knows and understand what you going through and feels the same frequency. There are a lots of difficulties have to learn by marriage people as that is not easiest to living with someone for the rest of their life. They have to overcome all the problems facing by them and to learn how to take care of others feeling, patience, emotion control, temper, time management and attitude towards their family. In a marriage life, there are always someone’s to hear your companions. It is good to have someone there to have a share, to bounce ideas or to have a witty exchange of remarks. Companionship among the married peoples also offers support and can be particularly important at times of trouble or stress. At such times, married people have distinct advantages over being single. The other advantage for marriage is that allows couples to pool their both incomes to share the cost of living and debts, save more money for retirement and doing investment. The married people can also sharing a house, car and food so they can enjoy save cost for basic living conditions compare with a single person. Therefore, people who are married become less poverty but more wealth and their money goes further. It is because, they tend to specialize, exchange, and share roles and functions in ways to generate higher earnings, encourage savings, helping each other’s to restrain from impulse spending, and generally leave the family financially better off. Marriage can also leads to better health and greater longevity for people. There are more likely to enjoy better physical health. The spouses are intimately aware of and impacted by their spouse’s choices. In a sense, couples have a significant vested interest in watching out for one another and encouraging healthy choices and behaviour. For example, the wife might not allow her husband drinking, smoking or other unnecessary risk-taking and also control his weights. Compared to single, divorced or widowed people, the married people experience less depression, anxiety, and other types of psychological distress. Besides, the married people will have active, satisfying and safety sex lives compared with single people. The married people tend to have more sex because it costs them less in time, money and psychic energy. They have find it more satisfying because their sex partner is more available, less distracted, more eager and more secure and able to please. The higher levels of satisfaction for married couples is related to the fact that marriage adds meaning to the sexual act because it symbolizes a union that is based on sexual fidelity, stronger commitment and emotional intimacy. It had increased their commitment and their sense of responsibility, and had generally strengthened their relationships. In addition, the married life can brings greater safety towards the married people and expand their social network. It’s because, the married people have companion to visit places together, visit friends or holiday together. For the single person, that is far more difficult as often modern social life is geared around ‘couples’ and the single person can often feel left out or sometimes, simply not invited. At times, perhaps, having children might seem to impede their social life but it just brings a change in your social life and much of that social life involves being with your children. Lastly, married people will create a family with a new and challenging life instead of boring life compared with single people. Families are created and held together by the lifelong commitment of a man and a woman who live cooperatively and raise and nurture the children born to them. Families are the building block essential to the formation of a community, and strong social structure arises from the foundation many families provide. A thriving society and culture depend on stable marriages. For example, as marriage declines in a culture,  the state must spend more money and care for children who less of the financial stability with divorce family background. Strong marriages statuses are at the heart of thriving family and community. In conclusion, getting married is better than being single as there married leads to emotional stability, financial stability, train the couples become more independent and responsible, better health and greater longevity, have wonderful sexual life, easy to expand social networks and have a new challenging life instead of boring life compared to single people. Getting married is not an easy but it does bring a lot of meaningful to individuals, family and the community.

Kitchen

Kitchen By: Banana Yoshimoto Mikage Satsuki Growing up is tough; especially when you are alone and young. It forces you to fend for yourself against the world. Instead of playing with your friends, you spend your time figuring out where your next meal is coming from. Which is a sad and scary truth; few stop to think of these poor souls that get such an unfortunate fate. In Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen, the character Mikage undergoes many of changes, but one thing throughout this book that does not change is her love of kitchens.Her parents passed away when she was young and her grandmother raised her. When her grandmother also passed away, she became depressed, listless, and orphaned. In the beginning of the book she is lonely, since none of her blood relatives are still alive. After she moves in with the Tanabe's, however, she finds the courage to face life again. She has a strong bond with kitchens; they seem to give her a calming feeling and help to ease her loneliness. Kitch ens serve as a comfort for her.Throughout the course of this novel Kitchen, Banana Yoshimoto depicts Mikage as a person of great morals, who loves kitchens, and is incredibly strong-willed. In this novel Mikage appears to be an individualist who keeps her morals intact; her grandparents brought her up to be an accepting, gracious person. Mikage is a person of great temperance, although she is a little touchy about her relationship with Yoichi. She is also courageous for a person who lost her entire family, and, because she doesn't want to get hurt again, she distanced herself from other people. When was it I realized that, on this truly dark and solitary path we all walk, the only way we can light is our own? † (Yoshimoto, pg. 21). Her moral stature is apparent when Yoichi tells her that Eriko is a transgender, and instead of getting upset about it, she accepted it because she feels she can trust them. Her dominant traits are her love of cooking and her love of kitchens. These traits originate when her grandmother passes away; the hum of the refrigerator keeps her from feeling lonely.So each night until she moves in with the Tanabe's she curls up beside the refrigerator in her kitchen and goes to sleep. â€Å"Why do I love everything that has to do with kitchens so much? It's strange. Perhaps because to me a kitchen represents some distant longing engraved on my soul† (Yoshimoto, pg. 56). She teaches herself to cook, the summer after her grandmother passed away, at the Tanabe's house. She buys three books and studies them, following all the directions in them.Subsequently, she becomes good at cooking and gets the job she has now as an assistant to a famous cooking teacher. Mikage is more of a rational person who knows her limits. At times, she can be emotional, but overall she thinks well on her feet and is a capable person. â€Å"However! I couldn't exist like that. Reality is wonderful. I thought of the money my grandmother had left me-just eno ugh. The place was too big, too expensive, for one person. I had to look for another apartment† (Yoshimoto, pg. 5). Mikage handles change well; she might not like some things but she gets through them.For instance, her grandmother’s death was a great tragedy, but she got through it rationally, and she adapted very well to the Tanabe's and their kindness. The author wants readers to know how tough Mikage is. She has had a rough go at life, but she still manages to stay strong; reading about her really appeals to the reader’s sympathetic side. Mikage appears to be a nice girl who has just been unlucky lately. Fortunately, when Yoichi comes into her life, she starts to open up more and realize that she is not alone. He struck just the right note, neither cold nor oppressively kind. It made me warm up to him ;†( Yoshimoto, pg. 11). Another thing about Mikage is that she is a fighter, and readers see that towards the end of the story, she fights for what she wan ts. At the beginning of this book Mikage is very guarded and lonely, but as the book progresses she becomes less guarded and more open to people who care about her. At the end of the book, Mikage becomes the one who comforts Yoichi, when his mom passes away. She becomes the center of his support system.

Essay on Proper Classicism

Essay on Proper Classicism Essay on Proper Classicism In reviewing the article â€Å"Proper Classicism†, the article’s lofty tone is well summarized in the second paragraphs opening statement â€Å"...the Howard Building at Downing College has been seen as a key monument in the current Classical Revival, which is being energetically promoted in certain quarters- especially as it has been designed by the self-appointed doyen of living Classical architects, Quinlan Terry. â€Å"Self-appointed† really seems to be the undeniable overture of the critique. As the writer drones on regarding academic architectural perspective, the reader is left rearing through a tidal wave of self-important ramblings regarding â€Å"etiolated Classicism... and Renaissance Greek inspiration. This article seems to embody the antiquated and elitist philosophies that often shroud academically embellished â€Å"peer† reviews. As every architectural detail of this college campus’s structure is analyzed, the review jumps from â €Å"Neo-Classical character ignored†, to Indictable Classicism, to a mention of the â€Å"Disappointing Interior†. Oddly enough, the interior is not â€Å"disappointing† because of its lack of innovation in use of efficient material, or design, according to the critic, it is disappointing â€Å"because of a lack of correlation with the exterior design and the essential crudeness of detail†. From the summary of this review, one is led to believe that the sole purpose of the development is to properly mimic a historic style and conform to a stylized concept. From a utilitarian perspective, this seems utterly ridiculous. Rambling on about the architects accuracy of a stylized perspective seems better suited for a lecture in art history than an architectural review. How are we to understand the ingenuity of the architecture or innovation of technical design, if all that is scrutinized is

What The Doctor Ordered essays

What The Doctor Ordered essays WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED Life is a rat race. In order to succeed, one is required to stay in the front of the pack. To lead a happy, loving life, however, one must stop and smell the roses so the meaningful qualities in life don't pass you by. A prime example of a person who overlooks this aspect of life can be found in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Through Dr. Frankenstein, Shelley warns readers of the consequences of playing god and allowing business to take you away from the simple pleasures in life. As shown through him, too much knowledge and determination may not be what the doctor ordered. Frankenstein illustrates god-like characteristics by creating a living creature. As a boy he was "deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge" (22), and obtained an "eager desire to learn" (23). This dedication and love for science he pursued led him to crave more and strive to go one step further than other scientists have in the past. Devoting his life to learning the sciences of the human frame, Frankenstein became "capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter" (37), and recognizes the chance to become the father of a new type of species he can take credit for. Ironically, Frankenstein's creature obtains the power to destroy his creator, along with all civilization. If God, the single perfect being, cannot create perfect life, how could an imperfect person possibly do it? Frankenstein is oblivious to the danger of his knowledge and to the "citadel of nature" (25) he will enter by becoming aware of the "secrets of heaven and earth" (23). Frankenstein travels down a dangerous path when he goes as far as to play God by exploring supernatural life and after his work is complete, he fearfully realizes that he not only created a new life, but with that life, he brought a new form of evil into the world. During the two years Frankenstein worked on his creation he became totally absorbed in his work...

Stag Moose - Facts and Figures

Stag Moose - Facts and Figures Name: Stag Moose; also known as Cervalces scotti Habitat: Swamps and woodlands of North America Historical Epoch: Pleistocene-Modern (2 million-10,000 years ago) Size and Weight: About eight feet long and 1,500 pounds Diet: Grass Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; thin legs; elaborate antlers on the males About the Stag Moose The Stag Moose (which is sometimes hyphenated and capitalized differently, as the Stag-moose) wasnt technically a moose, but an overgrown, moose-like deer of Pleistocene North America equipped with unusually long, skinny legs, a head reminiscent of an elk, and elaborate, branched antlers (on the males) matched only by its fellow prehistoric ungulates Eucladoceros and the Irish Elk. The first Stag Moose fossil was discovered in 1805 by William Clark, of Lewis and Clark fame, at Big Bone Lick in Kentucky;Â   a second specimen was unearthed in New Jersey (of all places) in 1885, by William Barryman Scott (hence the Stag-Mooses species name, Cervalces scotti); and since then various individuals have been unearthed in states suchas Iowa and Ohio. (See a slideshow of 10 Recently Extinct Game Animals) Like its namesake, the Stag Moose led a very moose-like lifestylewhich, if you dont happen to be familiar with mooses, entailed wandering swamps, marshes and tidelands in search of tasty vegetation and keeping a close eye out for predators (such as the Saber-Toothed Tiger and the Dire Wolf, which also inhabited Pleistocene North America). As for the most distinctive characteristic of Cervalces scotti, its enormous, branching horns, those were clearly a sexually selected characteristic: the males of the herd locked antlers during mating season, and the winners earned the right to procreate with females (thus ensuring a new crop of big-antlered males, and so on down through the generations). Like its fellow plant-eating megafauna mammals of the last Ice Ageincluding the Woolly Rhino, the Woolly Mammoth, and the Giant Beaverthe Stag Moose was hunted by early humans, at the same time as its population was restricted by inexorable climate change and the loss of its natural pasture. However, the proximate cause of the Stag Mooses demise, 10,000 years ago, was probably the arrival in North America of the true moose (Alces alces), from eastern Eurasia via the Bering Land Bridge in Alaska. Alces alces, apparently, was better at being a moose than the Stag Moose, and its slightly smaller size helped it to subsist on rapidly dwindling amounts of vegetation.

Cloud Computing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cloud Computing - Assignment Example Cloud computing might be the frontier in business computing and service delivery, but it does not actually differ from the traditional file hosting and network given that they both use the same technology. The significant difference that makes cloud computing more striking exists in the execution of the technology; virtualization. Virtualization avails clients with unlimited resources given that it allows for large scalability. Cloud computing allows businesses to enter new markets and to get closer to customers thus easy delivery of new services. Cloud technologies are commonly used by businesses, as a catalyst, to implement new processes and systems that free organizations to maximize not only business results but also the functional metrics. The paper examines the difference that exists between cloud services and then traditional networks and hosting. (Ivanov, 2012). Cloud services offer a number of business and economic benefits to an organization such as the access to a highly scalable infrastructure while reducing the cost of operation and maintenance. Servers in traditional networking and hosting set ups are fixed in hardware meaning that an organization has to spend more money in upgrades in case it wants to scale up in order to cater for more users than the current hardware can support. This proves to be costly with minimal benefits given that the upgraded hardware is still limited to a number of users. (Rittinghouse & Ransome, 2010). Cloud services, on the other hand, has its servers and other infrastructures virtually installed in place enabling for scalability from small needs of users to massive corporate needs. The ability for cloud computing to easily scale resources with minimal cost makes it more affordable than the traditional hosting system since users only pay for what they use. Server and infrastructure upgrades are done by the cloud service providers rather than the business organization thus ensuring

AT&T Company background Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

AT&T Company background - Research Paper Example The Company is currently responsible for operations of 34,000 of them at various places including hotels, restaurants, book stores etc. Moreover, what is rater interesting about AT&T is the fact that the customers of AT&T network are able to access around one million hot spots around the glove, thanks to the Company’s agreement with other operators across the globe ("AT&T Company Information."). The Company is also a provider of one of the largest IP based communication services for various businesses, as well as retail customers. Its portfolio of IP based communication services includes VPN, VoIP amongst others. Furthermore, all these services are properly encrypted to prevent leakage of information and enhance security. In recognition for its performance in the work place the company has been a recipient of many awards over the years including the most valuable brand award, top five service providers, most innovative company and best data provider (phone + data) amongst many others amongst a huge list ("AT&T Company

International Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

International Business Strategy - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that on a day-to-day basis, managers are faced with certain situations of which, they have to apply their critical thinking skills since the decision they make usually has a big impact on the entire organization, and it could be either in a positive or negative way. Therefore, managers have to undertake an essential decision-making process, which will explore all the pros and cons, and even offer risk mitigation tactics that can reduce the organization’s vulnerability. Roberts noted that an effective decision-making process will involve all the key stakeholders and it will look at issues from different and broad angles. Secondly, it will involve the use of various analytical tools that test different parameters that can determine the viability of a business decision or option. Among such examples of crucial decisions that managers usually face in their line of work include which marketing strategy to apply or whether to venture into a new market or not. These two strategic decisions will require the manager to undertake a comprehensive decision-making process to establish the best choice of action. However, according to the studies conducted by Lindstedt and Muller for managers to undertake any decision they are required to conduct a market research in order to establish the likely response of the market with the decision that they will undertake, and it is during the market research process that various analytic strategic tools are applied in the process. According to Porter, a business is usually influenced by the prevailing situation in the market, which can as well contribute to its success or failure in the marketplace. Thus, Porter’s five forces provide a basic framework under which to investigate some of the industrial forces that affect a business.

The Impact of Globalization on the UAE and Dubai During The Last Essay

The Impact of Globalization on the UAE and Dubai During The Last Decade - Essay Example This paper demonstrates that globalization has been an integral part in the economic growth of the Dubai. Globalization influenced economic, political and social advancements in the region. The impact of globalization on the UAE and Dubai is considered positive over the last years. Dubai, which is one of the wealthiest member countries in the Middle East, has benefited from globalization. Globalization has influenced Dubai significantly because it has increased the foreign investments, encouraged domestic investment and even stimulated free trade with other countries. Dubai has for a long time enjoyed global economic success since the discovery of oil and gas deposits. Before the oil and gas, Dubai was just a poor desert country but since the discovery of the resources, its market changed rapidly. However, oil is a resource that does not exist forever and one day all the oil resources will run out. However, thanks to globalization, the economic situation in Dubai will still remain stable and continue to enjoy dominance in the global market. The flourishing real estate business and industrial development is because of globalization. Globalization has opened up the country not only on foreign trade but also on import and export market. Globalization has resulted to openness of the country that has its negative impact on culture and tradition. The government must be able to manage the foreign investment flow to have a stable economy. It should be stated, that globalization is not a solution to every economic situation in a country.

Different key factors that influence the failure of projects Essay

Different key factors that influence the failure of projects - Essay Example Industries view project failures as either a pathological state to be avoided or a logical problem of goal definition (Lindahl & Rehn, 2007). This paper will focus on the different key factors that influence the failure of projects especially on the field of information technology (IT). It will discuss the different stages in the project lifecycle and the possible areas of failures in each stage. Furthermore, the paper will tackle the concept of risk management and its benefits in a successful project development as well as in preventing failures. A successful risk management system incorporated in a project will create a programme for handling probable causes of project failures. IT projects fail when it does not meet one or more of its criteria for success. The criteria for successful IT projects are delivery on time, completion on or under budget, and satisfaction of user requirements. Only a few projects achieve all three (Grossman, 2003). In summary, failure can be defined as a system which does not perform as expected, not operational at a specified time and cannot be used in the way expected. There are four key factors that can be associated with project failures. These are design, data, cost and operations. A poor design phase can result in a system that does not match customer expectation, or fails to capture the basic business requirements. The data factor may include inaccurate, inconsistent, not available or incomplete information and records. The cost factor involves the operational costs to implement and run the system that far exceeds the identified business benefit. A survey showed that 35% of all major information systems projects are over budget, termed "runaways", such as the Stock Exchange Taurus Project and the London Ambulance Service (Flowers, 1996). Project Lifecycle The project lifecycle defines the beginning and the end of a project. It is a collection of generally sequential and sometimes overlapping project phases whose name and number are determined by the management and control needs of the organisation (Project Management Institute, Inc, 2008). It also determines which transitional actions are included and which are not in every stage of the project from beginning to end. It can be used to link the project to the ongoing operations of the organisation. (Choudhuri, 2005) The first phase of the lifecycle is the initiating process which involves those processes performed to define a new project by obtaining the authorization needed to start the project. The second phase is the planning process which includes those processes required in establishing the scope of the project, refining the objectives, and defining the course of action in order to attain the objectives of the project. The third phase is the executing process which encompasses those processes performed to complete the work defined and to satisfy project specifications. The fourth phase is the monitoring and controlling process which includes those processes required to track, review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project. The last phase is the closing process which considers those processes performed to finalise all activities to formally close the project. (Project Management Institute, Inc, 2008) Causes of Project Failures In every phase of the project

The Impact of Globalization on the UAE and Dubai During The Last Essay

The Impact of Globalization on the UAE and Dubai During The Last Decade - Essay Example This paper demonstrates that globalization has been an integral part in the economic growth of the Dubai. Globalization influenced economic, political and social advancements in the region. The impact of globalization on the UAE and Dubai is considered positive over the last years. Dubai, which is one of the wealthiest member countries in the Middle East, has benefited from globalization. Globalization has influenced Dubai significantly because it has increased the foreign investments, encouraged domestic investment and even stimulated free trade with other countries. Dubai has for a long time enjoyed global economic success since the discovery of oil and gas deposits. Before the oil and gas, Dubai was just a poor desert country but since the discovery of the resources, its market changed rapidly. However, oil is a resource that does not exist forever and one day all the oil resources will run out. However, thanks to globalization, the economic situation in Dubai will still remain stable and continue to enjoy dominance in the global market. The flourishing real estate business and industrial development is because of globalization. Globalization has opened up the country not only on foreign trade but also on import and export market. Globalization has resulted to openness of the country that has its negative impact on culture and tradition. The government must be able to manage the foreign investment flow to have a stable economy. It should be stated, that globalization is not a solution to every economic situation in a country.

What Is The Most Important Virtue For Human Fulfillment Essay

What Is The Most Important Virtue For Human Fulfillment - Essay Example In the same regard, it is interesting to note the work of four prominent thinkers of their respective times, namely: Descartes, Spinoza, Emerson and Tolstoy, a brief discourse of which is presented hereunder. The stance of Rene Descartes on the said issue can be summarized as, "I think, therefore I am" (Descartes, 1641). Now a very popular statement, this means much more than the literal meaning. This can be taken as the essence of the entire philosophy of Descartes, wherein he began to understand himself by virtue of his thought processes. On the same lines, his thoughts can be extrapolated upon mankind as a whole. The fact of the matter lies in the fact, that man cannot achieve fulfillment if he does not think; this, even as a proposition is considered to be impossible according to the stance of Descartes. By virtue of undertaking things, dealing with them, and ultimately being deceived by them, it becomes all the more evident to man that there is a reality that exists. This reality can be identified with, and the highest virtue can subsequently be attained by means of thinking. Contemplation gives insight, and ultimately self-actualization. There can be no better strength than realizing one's true potential of existence. Ethics by Spinoza Spinoza's views advocate, "All our endeavors or desires so follow from the necessity of our nature" (Spinoza, 1677). This concept given by him refers to the identification of the power that the human being yields and associates from within himself. Whatever one might seek or ask, it is basically a product of how one identifies with the concept of self. The most significant virtue here becomes knowing about oneself. A person, who realizes himself, is truly the most potent of all. Desires, passions and restraints of the material world, can only be understood with reference to the person. Therefore, if and when a person appreciates his own personal standing and inception, it subsequently becomes the greatest source of endowment and fulfillment for the person. Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Emerson here postulates, "Insist on yourself; never imitate" (Emerson, 1841). This again is a propagation of the belief that an individual should at all times try to be what he/she is, and not impose a figure, picture of personality which is not a true depiction of the same. If one has the tendency to falsify one's self-image, then true actualization of self can never be there. To be able to appreciate and attain the highest order of fulfillment, the greatest virtue here would be to not pay heed to social and extraneous challenges, and keep representing one's own personality as it is. If in the face of conflict, one tends to shy away from the true sense of being, then it can never really come out. Under normal circumstances, it is always simple to portray oneself; however, the true test of character is when there is antagonism, and yet still a person can attain virtue by means of beings what he truly is. The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy Leo Tolstoy deliberates upon the topic in the following way, "In place of death there was light" (1886). Though this may seem ironically contrary to the actual concept of life itself, yet this line answers probably the greatest mystery of life - death. So is the virtue of human fulfillment embedded in death Not exactly; it is in understanding the concept of death. It refers to establishing a belief that this entire struggle in life is death itself, and the absolute moment of death, is just the termination of this struggle. The ultimate attainment in life

Organisational change Essay Example for Free

Organisational change Essay The author Gareth Morgan, uses a metaphor when describing organisational change. The title of his book Riding the waves of change suggests that change is a very dynamic process and for like surfers, managers and their organisation have to ride on a sea of change that can twist and turn with all the power of the ocean. The ocean representing the organisations internal and external environment. John Harvey-Jones (1993, p21) once said organisations need to adapt or perish. This is still as relevant now as it was in the 1990s. Change is due to a number of internal and external triggers. External triggers include, political, economic, social, technological and environmental factors and an increase in competition. Internal triggers are changes within the organisation. Change is now a major issue in which organisations, managers and their employees have to face. Organisations who fail to adapt to this dynamic environment in a suitable and appropriate manner, could face organisational failure, causing problems for individual jobs and careers. Managers need a pro-active mindset where they need to anticipate and confront challenges of the future, rather than manage in relation to events that have already occurred. When facing organisational change, managers must consider the people whom the change is affecting. These would include the people within the organisational environment, for example, staff, and the people outside the organisation, for example, customers and other stakeholders. There are many types of organisational change, each type affecting the individual in a different way. Change can be distinguished by considering how deeply the change affects the organisation. Buchanan, Claydon and Doyle, (1999) carried out a survey of management experiences of change. The findings suggest that organisational change can create fear, fatigue and cynicism. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross (1969) found that when dealing with something traumatic and stressful, people go through a number of phases, known as the coping cycle. This has been used to understand peoples responses to organisational change, a situation where people often find it hard to cope. The five stages of the Kubler-Ross response coping cycle disguises peoples individual differences. We may omit some stages, revisit particular stages or pass through them more or less quickly than others. From an organisational outlook, this can be a useful tool when trying to detect where in the response cycle a person may be, during organisational change and guidance and support can be offered when necessary. Managers need to contemplate how much pressure staff can take from organisational change. The relationship between pressure and performance can be described in the Yerkes-Dodson law (1908). The law states that task performance increases as our state of arousal increases, and that beyond some optimal point, we become overwhelmed by the level of stimulation or pressure, and our performance starts to fall. With changes being imposed, people have to spend time learning new things, adapt to new systems and procedures, develop new knowledge and use new skills and behaviours. The organisation cannot stop functioning while this happens and this can lead to the initiative fatigue which Buchanan, Claydon and Doyle found during their survey, mentioned earlier. Peoples arousal levels can be pushed beyond their optimum performance point where change initiatives are frequent. However, Morgan feels it is important to view people as key resources, encouraging them to relish change, blending specialist and generalist qualities, managing in an environment of equals, and making education a continual process. If people have skills in a number of jobs within the organisation, they will be more flexible to change. Management need to know what levels of pressure people are experiencing. There are a number of indicators which can reveal, among other things, that people are working under too much pressure prompting management to reduce the pressure. These measures may include: * Unexplained absences * High rate of sickness * Labour turnover * More customer complaints * More employee grievances * Accidents and mistakes Resistance to change is common, however, people find change threatening. Those involved are presented with new scenarios, new problems and challenges. Change can be ambiguous and unclear. Many people find change, or the thought of change frustrating. Where Huczynski and Buchanan emphasise that change can be a problem for existing employees, Morgan focuses on the importance of managers recruiting people who enjoy learning and relish change and to motivate employees to be intelligent, flexible and adaptive. Tony Eccles (1994), identified thirteen possible sources of resistance which managers should consider when managing chance in the organisation: * Ignorance This may cause a failure to understand the problem * Comparison A solution may be disliked because an alternative is preferred * Disbelief People may feel that a proposed solution will not work * Loss The change may have unacceptable personal costs * Inadequacy The rewards from change are not sufficient * Anxiety People fear of being unable to cope with the new situation * Demolition This is where change threatens to destroy existing social arrangements * Power cut Sources of influence and control will be eroded * Contamination New values and practice are repellent * Inhibition The willingness to change is low * Mistrust Management motives for change are considered suspicious * Alienation Other interests are more highly valued than new proposals * Frustration The change will reduce power and career opportunities There are potentially as many different reasons for resisting change as there are individuals affected by change in the first place. Through a set of approaches which involves the use of a range of management techniques and stakeholder analysis, resistance to change can be managed. Stakeholders are those people or groups with an interest in the organisations activities. There are three types of stakeholder, each should be managed differently: Internal stakeholders exist within the boundaries of the organisation. They are employees and management Connected stakeholders are those outside the organisation, such as suppliers, customers and shareholders External stakeholders include the state, local authorities, the public, pressure groups etc People within an organisation are affected by change and therefore respond differently to specific change proposals. Anticipating responses becomes possible when one understands the stakeholders concerned with a particular organisational change. John Kotter and Leo Schlesinger (1979) identified six methods for overcoming resistance: 1. Education and commitment Managers need to inform the people whom the change involves and affects about the nature of the problem prompting change. Their objections, perceptions and knowledge should be shared with these people to avoid misunderstandings which can cause resistance. It helps to get the facts straight, and to identify and resolve opposing views. There must be a large amount of trust between management and employees if this approach is to be used. Managers should pay special attention to skills that increase their power to communicate, to create shared understanding. 2. Participation and involvement By involving those people who resist change in the planning and implementation of it, their fears will be reduced about the impact of changes on them. Collaboration can reduce opposition and encourage dedication. If managers are to use this approach, it is important that the individuals have satisfactory knowledge and ability to contribute effectively. 3. Facilitation and support Peoples feelings may be altered towards change and they may be able to accept it if they are offered support to overcome the fears and anxieties. 4. Negotiation and agreement When imposing change, it is important to consider those affected who have a certain degree of power over the organisation. A mutually agreeable compromise may be necessary, through trading and exchange. 5. Manipulation and co-optation When proposing change to a particular group or stakeholder it may be necessary to deliberately appeal to their specific interests, sensitivities and emotions, deliberately emphasising the benefits and playing down the disadvantages. Co-optation involves giving key resistors direct access to the decision making process, perhaps giving them for example, high status management positions. 6. Implicit and explicit coercion This is where management abandons any attempt to reach an agreement and results in the use of non-violent force or threats. This could mean firing the individual, demoting them or to obstruct their promotion and career prospects. This may be appropriate when no agreement is being made between management and those concerned with the change. For effective change implementation, managers should enforce change with full cooperation. Employee involvement is very important for managers to overcome resistance and encourage employees to welcome the prospect of change in the organisation. Management should carefully think of leadership styles to managing change because this can help reduce the resistance to change. By adopting a collaborative style of management, employees will willing participate in key decisions affecting their and the organisations future. One experience of organisational change that sticks in mind was the appointment of a new manager at a hotel where I was employed. When I first began working there, the original manager lacked leadership skills. Internal communications were poor, for example, when the restaurant opening times changed, staff were not informed properly or not informed at all by management. Staff had to rely on word of mouth from other members of staff which often led to misinterpretation. Management did, not listen to problems which staff encountered. Management didnt care which led to staff not caring. The hotel had room for improvements, but these improvements were not implemented. The customer was not the focus of any decision-making and their requirements were not met. This resulted in a great loss of business over a short period of time. When new management was appointed, I experienced complete change in the organisation. Staff views were listened to, their ideas for improvement in the hotel were taken into consideration and often carried out. Internal communications were improved and staff felt more involved with the business. With the manager being focused, this led to staff sharing this attitude. Customers were at the focus of every business making decision, their opinions were listened to. The hotel experienced complete innovation which staff and customers were happy with. Within a short time, business picked up again and still continues to. Morgan agrees with Huczynski and Buchanans view that people resist change, but feels that if people are educated and trained to do more one job in the organisation there will be a lesser feeling of loss of security and certainty. He believes in schemes that guarantee employees an income and a role in the organisation, but not a specific role. In this way, security is defined in financial terms-rather than in terms of the right to discharge a particular set of duties or responsibilities- and the organisation provides suitable retraining and development programs. Change demands innovation, and innovation demands that the creative potential in people is unleashed. Many people have come to see themselves as having a clear place in their organisations, whether in terms of their immediate job or career. This trend needs to be reversed to create a situation in which people recognize and accept change, and rise to meet the challenges it brings. Huczynski and Buchanan tend to focus on the negative effects people experience when change occurs, which I believe to be an old fashioned view. I agree with Morgan, who talks more about the positive aspects of change people experience, where people today, like a challenge and have more opportunities and are encouraged to learn more skills. Negatives are seen as opportunities. Morgan believes that it is important to view people as a key resource, encouraging them to relish change, blending specialist and generalist qualities, managing in an environment of equals, and making education a continual process. When managing change, managers need to consider the people whom the change is affecting. Staff should be considered and informed to ensure widespread participation within the business when the change takes place. Management should try to build a culture where their employees share their values and aims, and a company wide acceptance to the change is adopted. The common problem of resistance to change can be helped and possibly overcome through a number of management techniques and leadership styles. Staff should be asked to identify and develop new opportunities in the organisation. This kind of orientation can invigorate and empower people to reach the leading edge of change and stay there. It is also important to consider the customer when managing change in the organisation because in todays marketing orientated attitude to business, all decision making and planning must be based around customers requirements. This is an important factor contributing to the success of the organisation. Connected stakeholders, for example suppliers, also need to be considered and informed of the change. Their views and opinions need to be heard and taken into account. When dealing with stakeholders who have a certain degree of power over the organisation, it may be appropriate to negotiate and compromise with them. This will reduce any conflict which could lead to major problems for the organisation in the long run. Managers should use the views and needs of customers and other key stakeholders as a mirror in which they see and understand their own strengths and weaknesses, and act on these insights to reshape their relations with the environment. It is also important to consider the organisations competitors when managing change. Is the change going to create an advantage or disadvantage to competitors? Will the change encourage new competitors? Clearly, any program of change involves a high degree of skill in people management since people are at the very centre of the change. By considering the people factors when managing change, the change will be successful.

Innovation, Change and Enterprise in the UK

Innovation, Change and Enterprise in the UK Craig Rhodes 1 (a) Critically evaluate why innovation and enterprise is so important for the UK and global economy and what can be done to encourage it? Developing an innovation strategy requires a clear definition of what is meant by innovation. Innovation is the effective commercial utilisation of new ideas. It refers to the scientific, technological, organisational, financial, and business accomplishments that lead to the introduction of new or substantially improved products, practices, services or entire business models. Innovation can be incremental or extreme. It ranges from small improvements in existing products, processes and services at one end of the spectrum to extreme changes associated with breakthrough products, disruptive change and brand new ideas at the other end. A great deal of innovation takes place in the middle of the scale where organisations develop and produce new products, processes and services for existing markets and consumers. Innovation is not always determined by new technology. An organisation can develop completely new products such as Apples iTunes and iPad platform using recognised technologies. Innovation involves varying degrees of risk and needs different resources and processes for its successful implementation. Incremental innovation encourages less risky enhancements by extending existing processes, products or services. Innovation almost always involves change. The word enterprise describes the actions of someone who shows some initiative by taking a risk by setting up, investing in and running a business. (http://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/starting-a-business-what-is-enterprise). This person can seem to be willing to take a risk and making things happen. The person will show initiative by seeing a potential business opportunity and tries to make it work. This can be seen as a bold or risky move for example investing in an opportunity with the potential of losing the investment should it all go wrong. Most of the time it will be a decisive person that shows enterprise. There is a need to innovate especially in UK/Global public service organisations due to their importance and size in developed countries. In the past century public service organisation have grown at a great pace. Such organisations as the NHS and American Education for example have grown and to survive its vital that they take the lead in innovation. Drucker (2007) expresses that pubic service institutions face similar situations, the knowledge is there and the need to innovate is clear. They now have to learn how to build the entrepreneurship and innovation into their own system. Otherwise they will find themselves superseded by outsiders who will create competing entrepreneur public service institutions and so render the existing one obsolete Drucker (2007) There is an increasing attention or support to Innovation, that innovation development is key to create/maintain/improve economic/organisation competitive advantage and secure organisation sustainability growth. Innovation is driven by the ability to see connections, to spot opportunities and to take advantage of them Tadd, Bessant (2009, p1). The key link between Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Change is that you cant really do one without involving the other is some form.An Innovation is the main source for an entrepeuneur, and its usally an innovation or entrepenuer that forces change within an organisation. Importance of Innovation and Enterprise Drucker (2007) refers to innovation and enterprise as a venture that can result in the creation of new wealth from making effective use of existing resources. Innovation commences with analysing opportunities, systematically reviewing these and exploiting these to gain maximum economic returns for organisations. Drucker (2007) has identified seven sources of opportunity that can lead to innovation. These include the enterprises own unexpected successes and failures and of its competition, incongruities (particularly in a process, for instance, production, distribution, or incongruities in customer behaviour), process needs, changes in industry and market structures, demographic changes, changes in meaning and perception and new knowledge (Drucker, 2007). Schumpeter (1934, 1939) classified innovation into five types; new products, new manufacturing processes, new sources of supply, exploration of new markets and new methods of organising business activities. Product innovation is the invention and commercialisation of completely new products and services. Process innovation involves bringing considerable improvements in the way products are made. Process innovation takes place by adopting new technologies (Schumpeter (1934, 1939). Inauen and Schenker-Wicki (2012) innovation has become essential for companies as it is resulting in the availability of knowledge, is facilitating technology transfer and fusion and is reducing innovation cycles. It is helping organisations in developing and maintaining their competitiveness and achieving success. It is assisting companies in exploring and exploiting new opportunities for commercialization. Innovation is a critical driver of economic change (Inauen and Schenker-Wicki, 2012). The views of Inauen and Schenker-Wicki (2012) are consistent with Joly et al (2010). According to Joly et al (2010) innovation is essential for organisations as it helps them in the creation of new products that can solve their customers everyday life problems. Innovation creates wealth and is a major driver of economic growth and development. Von Schomberg (2011) research also states that innovation is the key driver for organisational improvement and success. Niu et al (2013) believes that innovation and enterprise helps organisations in effectively exploiting new opportunities and using their resources to transform innovative ideas into successful outcomes (Niu et al, 2013). Whilst there is no doubt that innovation and enterprise is important for the growth of companies, national and international economies, yet it does suffer from some risks. The key risks of innovation and enterprise are that it requires considerable investment in financial and human resources. There is the risk that innovation can be copied by competitors. Innovation can be risky and lead to uncertain commercial returns (Hayes, 2014). Innovation and enterprise can be encouraged by understanding and applying the principles of change management in organisations. Furthermore, using open innovation, understanding national cultures, customers needs, crowdsourcing, user innovation, recruiting and training people, developing leaders can greatly assist organisations in effectively encouraging innovation. To compete effectively in intensely competitive business environments, organisations need to treat innovation as an essential part of their corporate strategy and not as a one off event. Continuous and consistent innovation is the key to organisational success in the global economy. Change Management Change Management is key to effective innovation and enterprise. It can be used to help employees go through the transition of accepting and implementing change within an organisation. Successful change management enables employees to understand the reasons for change. Part 2 of this essay goes into depths of why Change management is so important. Types of Change Harvard Business School (2003) states that businesses respond to challenges of new technology, new markets new competitors and consumer demand with four programs to overcome these obstacles. These four categories of change are: Structural Change Where the business is treated as a machine style model that are set up of different functions. During this change high level managements usually with the help of external consultants attempt to change these functions so they are able to accomplish a greater overall performance. Examples of previous endeavours for structural change have involved company mergers, acquisitions of other businesses and closure/reduction of operating units. Cost Cutting The main motivation for this type of change is the removal of areas of the business where there are less important activities and functions of a business where the company can squeeze extra cost out of operations. This may involve in department closures, redundancies or cuts in budgets when companies are going through tough times. Process Change The aim of this change is fundamentally a way of making operating processes quicker, more effective, more reliable and less costly, so basically an emphasis on changing how things get done in the business. Cultural Change This change concentrates on the human aspect of the business, where an organisation focuses on the relationship between the management and employees and look at the methods of how they do business. A shift from command and control management to participative management is an example of cultural change. Harvard Business School (2003) Process of Change Kurt Lewin a German-American psychologist introduced a straight forward model of process change which involves three stages that helps to understand the change process. The first stage is unfreezing which includes helping an organisation and its employees accept that change is required. Examining old processes, systems, employees and ways of thinking can show employees how important it is that the organisation changes. Communication in this part of the process is extremely important as it allows the business to inform the employees of the reasons for change, how it will benefit them and when the change will go ahead. The second stage is the Change Step, the transition period, where the implementation of the change takes place. This will be the point in the change process where reality hits the organisation that change is definitely happening, this is where it is key to continue clear communication as people will struggle to adapt to the idea of change, from this there will be resistance, panic and uncertainty. The final stage of Lewins model is Re-Freezing. This is the stage where the organisation looks for reinforcement and stabilisation after the implementation of change. This step was highlighted by Lewin as particularly important after Implementation to ensure that people do not revert back to previous ways of thinking or doing. The organisation has to attempt to guarantee the change is not lost and is reinforced into the Culture of and thinking of the organisation moving forward. Theories of Change The theory of change is a method that can help organisations in successfully achieving their change objectives and outcomes. The theory states that every change proposal needs to be carefully planned, requires the participation of others and needs to be evaluated to ensure that the planned activities are achieved. The theory states the long term goals of change and then maps these backwards to identify required preconditions (Brest, 2010). Organisations can successfully innovate through careful planning, seeking the participation and engagement of their employees and evaluating the degree to which innovation has been effective in improving organisational performance. Recognise and diagnosing the need for change. Recognising and diagnosing the need for change can be done by analysing the types of change, the context of change, using the cultural web model and forcefield analysis (Johnson et al, 2010). Encouraging Innovation and Enterprise Conclusion Innovation and enterprise is very important for the growth, development and survival of organisations in the UK and in the global economy. Innovation and enterprise enhance organisations competitive advantages and improve performance and productivity. However, innovation and enterprise suffers from the risks that it requires considerable financial investment and generate uncertain commercial returns. For businesses, innovation means sustained or improved growth. The innovative company or organisation delivers higher profits for its owners and investors. For employees, innovation means new and more interesting work, better skills and higher wages. Equally, an absence of innovation can lead to business stagnation and a loss of jobs. For the economy as a whole innovation is the key to higher productivity and greater prosperity for all. Innovation and enterprise can be encouraged by understanding and applying the principles of change management in organisations. Furthermore, using open innovation, understanding national cultures, customers needs, crowdsourcing, user innovation, recruiting and training people, developing leaders can greatly assist organisations in effectively encouraging innovation. To compete effectively in intensely competitive business environments, organisations need to treat innovation as an essential part of their corporate strategy and not as a one off event. Continuous and consistent innovation is the key to organisational success in the global economy. 1(b) Using relevant examples consider why innovation and change is often difficult to manage within organisations and how this can be overcome? In todays competitive business world change is the most critical factor in business. With heavy competition, technology and demographical forces pushing towards business change. There are not many businesses that can escape from change. The reasons for a business to adopt change is to maintain employee engagement, increase productivity and improve their performance to new levels. Sometimes change can be implemented due to a change in strategic direction. Change is brought in to make a difference from the past to the present. Change in the organisation can also mean embedding new technologies and creating new work practices into sections of the business. Technological change and new work practices in the organisation shows an impact on the way the business going. If a Business decides on implementing change within the organisation, they will need a team of members to encourage and manage the change. Charles Darwin once said It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones who are most responsive to change The Change process can be a very complex problem and managing it is equally as complex. This is why change is a process that must be carefully planned and executed. So, why is it difficult to manage? Well you can start with the fact that Change can sometimes arrive unexpectedly. A business may not be ready for change. One way of overcoming difficulties when managing change is by having effective Leadership during the change process. The leadership approach has to be focused towards increased and continuous communication. Â   Â  

WHAT DROPPING THE BOMB MEANT FOR THE FUTURE :: Essays Paper

WHAT DROPPING THE BOMB MEANT FOR THE FUTURE This page is focused what dropping the atomic bomb on Japan meant for the future of nuclear war. The page will discuss the events such as the Cuban missile crisis and most recent developments as the Gulf War with the ultimate question being asked, what if we did not drop the bomb? The decision to use the atomic bomb was controversial. Some have claimed the bombing was unnecessary to defeat Japan. Some claim that the United States utilized the atomic bomb to scare the Russian and make them respect American military power. But regardless of the reason, purpose, or motivation, the bomb ended the war quickly and preserved the lives of many Americans (696 Kagan). While it preserved American life, the use of nuclear weapons had consequences we are experiencing today and will experience for years to come. The Atomic Age had begun as soon as the bomb left the cargo bay of the Enola Gay. There was no turning back. The decision that the United States toiled over seemed almost automatic because of all the time and money the United States had committed to its development. But what the bomb meant for the future of the world was unthinkable. No one could have imagined the fear that the phrase "nuclear weapons" strikes in the heart of so many people. Many, many nations have developed nuclear weapons since the Hiroshima bombing and these nations have the capabilities to do to the United States what the United States did to Japan. In 1945, the world was on the brink of nuclear holocaust. Although the world has settled in to more peaceful times since then, the world still fears another conflict which could extinguish the entire human race (58 Sagan). The first post-war effects of the United States' use of the atomic bomb was the Cold War and more specifically the Cuban missile crisis. The U.S., the sole-possessor of atomic weapons at the time, was upset at the Soviets policy of expanding westward. The height of the Cold War and the event the had the United States on the tip of nuclear destruction was the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. Russian premier Nikita Khrushchev made the decision to install nuclear weapons in Cuba, a Soviet ally after a 1957 revolution.

The Importance of Crime Scene Investigation

Crime scene investigation is often a challenging and difficult line of work for even the most experienced law enforcement agent. There are some crimes that are more difficult to handle spiritually and emotionally than others. Crimes against children and the elderly are often most difficult to excuse and most difficult for crime scene investigators to process psychologically (Swanson, Chamelin & Territo, 1999: 313). Such investigations often result in tremendous psychological burden with time (O'Hara, 2003: 178). Homicide in generally is often difficult to recover from emotionally, and often requires the investigator become deeply involved in the forensics model or inner workings of the mind of the criminal to help solve a case (O'Hara, 2003). This can result in increasing psychological stress with time. This paper will review a recent criminal investigation of homicide to two young children and the psychological and emotional effects the crime had on the family of the victims and the criminal investigator. In this case the researcher probes into how a crime scene investigation can result in significant emotional, spiritual and in some cases physical trauma to both the victims family and the crime scene investigator. Here the crime scene demonstrates how emotionally vulnerable crime scene investigators are, much like crime victims in many circumstances. In this particular case two children were murdered by their mother who suffered from severe PPD or post partum depression. The event occurred in the middle of the night and was not revealed until 24 hours later when the father returned from a late night work shift and morning binge. The crime was reported to authorities immediately upon discovery. In this case the two boys, twins, appeared to be suffocated by the mother while sleeping one night. The crime scene was not overly violent. The victims home appeared unkempt however, with trash piling up in the kitchen and littering other rooms of the house. The children were dressed in unclean clothing and the house looked as though it had not been cleaned or attended to in several months. Walking into the family area there was a noticeable lack of children's toys. There were multiple bottles of alcoholic substances and other paraphernalia suggesting one or both of the parents suffered from substance abuse problems. This crime had a particularly devastating effect on me, as I could imagine what it would be like if my family had suffered a similar crime, if my brothers or sisters had been murdered by a family member. Homicide is never an easy crime to cope with. In this case multiple law enforcement agents that were also present at the crime scene had a difficult time coping with the tragic loss of two unique and innocent lives. Not helping the fact were family members that were present wailing and crying out regarding the injustices of the world. Each of the family members present was blaming him or herself for the crime, having recognized the potential for disaster early on but taking no action to prevent it. The father in this case once located and grandparents appeared noticeably distraught. The grandparents were particularly upset, blaming themselves for the incident. The father seemed to waffle between disbelief, shock and terror. The father clearly suffered some sort of substance abuse problem and reportedly was at work when the murders occurred (he works a night shift). Spiritually I found myself questioning how this could happen to two innocent children. The children were not more than a year old. Both were tiny and innocent victims and for moments I considered these parents unworthy of such blessings. Emotionally I wondered what such a tragedy might do to my own family, possibly destroying my motivation for living. There is some indication that the father in this case might be placed on suicide watch, suffering psychologically from these deaths and the death of his wife (who it seems from the investigation took a lethal dose of prescription pills after suffocating the children). The individual lost his life partner but also his children. This crime is in no way justifiable and reveals just how cruel the world can sometimes be to even the most innocent of victims. Even in cases where evidence exists that the perpetrator of a crime was not of sound mind or spirit, there is little justification in cases of homicide. There are in many cases explanations for individual's behavior, as may be the case in this particular instance. The crime scene investigation here suggests that there is evidence to support the idea that the mother in this case was not psychologically fit for parenting at the time in question. There is also evidence to suggest she lacked the support necessary to cope with a difficult situation. That does not excuse her actions nor her substance abuse behavior, but does help explain how a crime like this could have happened. If I were in this particular case I would have ensured early medical intervention and increased familial support to prevent the severe depression that ensued and forced the mother to kill herself and her children. Clearly she was also suffering emotionally and physically, and did not feel she had the resources or support necessary to seek help and solve her problem without resorting to drastic measures. It is possible she suffered from some sort of psychosis. In this case other family members should have stepped in to facilitate earlier intervention and prevent this horrendous crime from occurring. Crime scene investigations are often difficult for crime scene investigators to handle emotionally and psychologically. While the job seems straightforward at first, with time crime scene investigators come to realize how difficult managing the psychological, spiritual and emotional aspects of the job are. Of particular challenge are homicide investigations. It is vital when handling such cases that the investigator separate himself from the investigation so he or she does not associate what is going on in the investigation with any personal situations or circumstances. This can exacerbate the stress experienced by a crime scene investigator. Fortunately there are a number of support mechanism in place that can help crime scene investigators cope with the devastating and trying scenes they encounter from day to day. It is important that these resources be made readily available in the cases where crime scene investigations involve violent criminal activity. While familial support is encouraging and helpful, support among peers and even counselors may be warranted to help crime scene investigators deal with the day to day. Stress management and other relaxation inducing techniques also may help alleviate some of the burden crime scene investigators face when handling difficult or violent cases.

Police Officer Sophmore Project Essay

Introduction The name of my job is police officers. Police Officer are assigned to an area to enforce laws, regulate traffic, control crowds, prevent crime , and arrest violators. They fall under the Protective Service cluster. I have chosen this career because I always wanted to know more about it. I expect to learn how many hours they work a day and how many years of college do you need to become a police. What they Do My job will provide public safety by maintaining order by responding to emergencies call, protecting people and property and promoting a good community relations. My duty will be to monitor, note, report, and investigate suspicious person and situation. My responsibilities are to identify, persue, and arrest suspects and perpetrators of criminal act. Education and Common College Majors To become a police officer you at least need a associate degree or go train in a vocational school. Your majors in college will have to be Criminal Justice/Police Science. It focuses on the duties of police officers and public security officers on how they control crime, and on investigation activities. Wages and Outlook Its Average annual wage in California was $78,700 with most people making between $51,550 and $110,550. In 2008 this occupation employed about 72,200 people in California. Its prediction in 2018 that there will be 77,400 employed. Things they Need to Know You will have to knowledge its equipment , policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of the people. Also: Law and Government Psychology Customer and Personal Service Similar Occupation A similar occupation is a sheriff. They patrol specific areas to detect law violators and make arrest. Patrol and guard courthouses, grand jury rooms, or are assigned to an area to provide security, enforce laws, and to maintain order. In Addition I found out that there are going to have 520 openings for people who want to be a Police Officer and 1,870 of replacement so in total their will be 2,390 opening spots. I will tell them that this job is really good and that people who work in this occupation generally prize achievements. Conclusion I learn that there are 72,200 police officers working in California and by the year 2018 their will be 77,400 police officers. Yes I do think this is a good career for me because I will be getting good money and I will like what I’m doing. I will like to know their benefits just in case anything happens.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Vegetarians Essay

One advantage that cannot be disputed is that vegetarian’s conscience can be at peace in the sense that he does not cause the death of animals grown for meat and fat such as rabbits, poultry or pigs. This idea alone persuades many people, especially women to start embracing vegetarianism as their way of life. Another undisputable advantage of vegetarianism is that long-term vegetarians are rarely overweight thus people can make losing weight easier by becoming vegetarians. Of course, they will still need to compose their diet very carefully since many of the high-calorie (with low nutritional value) foods contain no meat at all. Actually, meat is not high on calories unless it is a fatty meat. Less clear and more arguable is the claim that vegetarianism is healthier and better for one’s longevity. All advocates of vegetarianism play this card and support their claims with many arguments. The basic idea is that our body can get everything it needs from plants or animal by-products such as eggs or milk. Of course, there are extreme groups who refuse to eat animal by-products, but I’ll stick with the less extreme idea. Anyway, this is true, at least as long as you eat fish – some people who consider themselves vegetarians eat fish, some don’t. Anyway, no one can say with absolute certainty (you can believe it, but cannot prove it indisputably) that avoiding all meat is beneficial for human body. However, it is certain that limiting certain types of meat is good for us. And vegetarians benefit from avoiding those kinds of meat (after all they do not eat any meat).

Marketing Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Marketing Report - Research Paper Example By the fifth year, the company should have gained 27,500 customers (5500 *11), resulting in a total of about 77,500 clients. 2. Gain a 15% market share in the STEM toy segment for CircuitTree by 2020. At the moment, Mega Brands has an 8% market share in the STEM category, while Lego has a 5% market share in the same category; this totals to 13% for the two leading brands. Other smaller brands have a total market share of 16%, meaning 71% of the market is still unexploited. A 15% market share means that Voltree will have 76,819 (0.15*512129) customers by 2020. This is closer to its target of a 77,500 customer base within 5 years. 3. Retain 50% of customers gained within the first five years of operation. Currently, CircuitTree is Voltree’s only product, yet STEM toys market data shows that parents between the ages of 25 and 34 perform multiple purchases every year. However, the probability of a parent buying more than one game is 0.5%, because half of them are likely to acquire other games in their next purchase. CircuitTree supports learning and entertainment in a sustainable and balanced manner. Technical and educational practitioners who understand the correlation between entertainment and learning developed the product after intensive research. The Core Product is what consumers pay for. In this case, entertainment and learning are combined into one product: a game that will improve children’s academic potential but still keep them animated. This element comprises the actual physical or virtual features of CircuitTree. The product is imaginative, inspiring, and incorporates high-quality design and styling. It also comes with latest software updates that support long-term usage. The branding, packaging and labeling aspects of CircuitTree are congruent with the company’s strategic objectives. For example, the packaging (both primary and secondary) is environmentally friendly while the labeling is explicit and multilingual to

Strategic Audit of Twitter Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

Strategic Audit of Twitter Company - Essay Example Additionally, the alternative strategy relating to advertising services will be an effective measure for improving profit margin. Current Performance. In the present contemporary era, social media technologies are identified to play an effective role in the field of communication. Presently, there are several social networking service providers and Twitter is one of them. Online users with the use of Twitter are able to convey as well as read short messages with 140 characters. The social networking service provider has offered the global people with a platform for expressing as well as performing conversation relatively at cheaper rate. The service provider has been performing operations with better effectiveness over the years. In this respect, during the year 2013, the company has been conducting operations with revenue of around US$ 176.2 million. However, the company incurred loss of around US$ 645.3 in the same year. The revenue growth rate of the company has been slow due to lessening user base (Twitter, Inc., â€Å"Annual Report 2013†). The company has made investment in different spheres that include technology infrastructure, sales and marketing, research and development (R&D), expansion operations, retaining employees and strategic opportunities among others. In this regard, the company is identified to witness fluctuation in return on investment (ROI) for investors and shareholders. ROI of the company has been positive for the advertisers, as they are able to generate better returns on their investments (Twitter, Inc., â€Å"Annual Report 2013†). Twitter is a US based company. The company has expanded business operation on a global context in different countries that include Brazil, the UK, Australia, Canada and Japan. In this regard, the number of users of the company has increased to a substantial level. Based on the

Global Warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Global Warming - Essay Example The solution is through the concerted efforts of various nations to help each other deal with this environmental trouble in one accord. There are international treaties or agreements that have been made by various nations to help lessen and remedy the damage done by global warming to the environment. Two international and multilateral agreements, the Montreal Protocol of 1987 and Kyoto Protocol of 1998, pay much attention to the damaging effect of world activities to the atmosphere. As cited by Morissette (1989): Its formulation was a response to a growing international consensus on the need to protect stratospheric ozone from depletion by CFCs. The Montreal Protocol is a landmark agreement in that it is the first international treaty for mitigating a global atmospheric problem before serious environmental impacts have been conclusively detected. Upon the agreement of the various countries that participated in the formation and agreement to the Montreal Protocol, the battle against global warming further developed as time went by, and with new concerns. This eventually led to a new agreement known as the Kyoto Protocol.   The  Kyoto Protocol of 1998  is an international treaty deliberated to communicate nations collectively to decrease  global warming,  and to deal with the effects of temperature increases that are inevitable after more than a century of heavy industrialization. Manne and Richels (1998) exposited that this was â€Å"to reduce their aggregate anthropogenic carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by at least 5 percent below 1990 levels in the commitment period 2008 to 2012.† (p.2). The nations that approve of the Kyoto Protocol concur to decrease emissions of six greenhouse gases that increase the problems of global warming. These nations are also permitted to utilize emissions trading to reach their obligations if they maintain or increase their greenhouse gas emissions. All of these activities

Accounting for Income Tax Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Accounting for Income Tax - Essay Example In the same way, the recognition of deferred tax liabilities and assets in combination of an entity has implications on the extent of goodwill that is realised in the recognised bargain purchase gain or in such an entity combination. Other areas that are dealt with by this standard include the recognition of differed tax assets that are generated from unused tax credits or unused tax losses, and the disclosure of income taxes information and the presentation of income taxes in the financial statements (EFRAG, 2011). According to IAS 12, the way, a liability is settled or the way an asset is recovered can have implications on either the item’s tax base or the relevant tax rate, or both. For example, if a vehicle is sold, indexation can be applied on it, in addition to tax deductions against the proceeds of its original cost. In other words, the tax base of the vehicle would act as the vehicle’s indexed cost. On the other hand, if the vehicle is used to run business with the purpose of making taxable profits, corporation tax allowances are not provided, and in that note, its tax base would be zero. It is, however, essential to know that the tax rates applied on use of an item or on sales differ from one jurisdiction to the other (EFRAG, 2011). Difficulties of applying and understanding IAS12 and provide examples. The standards are perceived by the users of financial statements as complex, incomplete and non-standardised. In particular, the information regarding the deferred tax is considered, by users, to be to be insufficient to an extent that it is difficult to forecast the future tax cash flows, accurately. Incidentally, it would have been much helpful if the users are able to understand the strategy applied by an entity, which should be coupled with clear clarifications on the treatment of tax expenses because users do not have the technical accounting knowledge to understand accounting irregularities and complex tax issues that characterise the financial statements. These limitations originate from lack of reflection of the economics of transactions by the accounting method, and from the current standard’s exceptions to the principles - IAS 12 requirements to recognise deferred tax on assets estimated at fair value, and long leasehold investment assets does not reveal the economic implications of recovering the property (EFRAG, 2011). In some jurisdictions, the seller is prohibited from deducting the cost of the property against the income following its use. In such a situation, the fair value of the property will show the present value of future cash flows minus the payments of future tax. Although the current provisions by IAS12 may not reveal the economic impacts of getting back the carrying amount in such situations, when the property is valued at fair value, the deferred tax liability reproduces a tax impact that is perhaps already featured in

Bioremediation Procedures of Crude Oil Impacted Soil Essay

Bioremediation Procedures of Crude Oil Impacted Soil - Essay Example Some features of the spill location show the characteristics usually associated with a priority spill of toxic substance; a spill that seeps down through the subsurface strata and then comes into contact and interaction with the groundwater.   The entire description of the ecosystem and environment where the spill occurred is a rather complex question. Map inferences and a consultation of the USGS Ground Water Atlas infer that the contamination would, because of the largely rural character, spread more readily through the food chain and have a greater impact than when such a spill would occur in predominantly non-rural locations. This is by reason of the greater saturation possible where a rural area presents less paved and therefore sealed off superficial surface runoff, situations.   First, the groundwater flow direction is determined by drilling two or more wells. A non-toxic stain is made to suggest the velocity of groundwater flow, and the testing reveals the contaminant character and concentration. This site today has well upwards of 75 wells that all have data that is constantly changing. Concentrations that are available for wells 604b (years: 1987, 90, 92, 93 and 95); 532c (1986, 87, 88, 90, 92, 93, 95), would be fairly good indicators of both groundwater flow direction and extent of contamination spread because they are separated by a reasonable distance and lie   in the line of predominant groundwater flow. The contaminants recorded are: benzene, toluene; m, p-Xylene; o-Xylene; isopropylbenzene; and Dissolved oxygen, and are parameters which can suggest the effectiveness of the bioremediation. The idea is that aerobic rather than anaerobic processes are predominant. The rationale for this is that where the contaminant concentrations go to zero the Dissolved oxygen concentration increases.

Wide Reading Assignment - Sherlock Holmes Essay Example for Free

Wide Reading Assignment Sherlock Holmes Essay This assignment is based on three Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle which are, The Man with the Twisted Lip, The Final Problem, and The Empty House. The aim is to give a full understanding of each story and to give a good idea of why these stories are still as popular today as they were 100 years ago. I will explain this by discussing some of the characters and taking into account the social and historical context. Sherlock Holmes stories are all quite different in their own way because they explore different kinds of crime and characters. Such as in The Man with the Twisted Lip, where they are trying to solve a suspected murder and in The Final Problem they are trying to catch Professor Moriarty for various crimes. These three stories do have some similarities, which are that Sherlock Holmes always solves the crimes and is always the main character. They also involve Dr. Watson, a doctor, who seems to be Holmes companion in solving these crimes. Arthur Conan Doyle has created Holmes character very effectively as in that period in history crime was rife in London and the public were scared and thought the police force were not protecting their community as well as they should. So because Holmes didnt work for the police force and always solved the crimes then he seemed to be like a hero to the public and maybe their fantasy because he kept people safe and they probably wanted so much for him to be real. The readers of Sherlock Holmes in Victorian England showed so much interest that when Doyle tried to end the stories of Sherlock Holmes by killing him in The Final Problem there was a public outcry and Doyle even received death threats because they wanted so much for him to carry on with this character that had caught their attention so vividly. In that time of history there were no televisions or much entertainment at all for the public so that is probably why they got so intrigued by this wonderful character that solved all the crimes. I would describe Sherlock Holmes as a very pompous, confident and intelligent person. He also seems to be quite secretive about his plans such as when he persuades Dr. Watson to go on one of his missions, he doesnt tell him where they are going or what is in store for him and this makes me feel quite anxious for Watson, such as in The Man with the Twisted Lip when he said But Im all in the dark and Holmes answers Of course you are. Youll know all about it presently. I think this is a very significant quality in all of the Sherlock Holmes stories because it gives a sense of mystery for the reader and makes it a lot more interesting. Holmes also has a dark-side to himself, which is displayed when he states: Had I been recognised in that den my life would not of been worth an hours purchase, for I have used it before now for my own purposes.