Edgar Allen Poe’s Tribute

The poem â€Å"Annabel Lee† by Edgar Allen Poe is written to tell the story of the speaker's greatest love. The speaker and Annabel Lee loved each other with â€Å"a love that was more than love† until she fell ill and died (9). The speaker blames the angels for killing his darling and proves his love for her by attending her graveside every day for the rest of his life.One way the speaker demonstrates his love is by describing their home (the setting of the poem) as a â€Å"kingdom by the sea† (2). This means the speaker sees himself as royalty because the love he and Annabel Lee share makes him so incredibly wealthy and powerful. This power and wealth was so great, in fact, that â€Å"heaven coveted† the love about which Edgar Allen Poe wrote (10). The angels were jealous of this love being shared on earth, which was apparently more wonderful than anything they had experienced in heaven as angels. The use of the word â€Å"coveted† implies a darker meaning. This was not the simple jealousy of a teenage girl. The angels were committing a sin, breaking one of the commandments of their Divine Master by coveting the love between two of His children. Finally, the speaker's grief at her death further implies the depth and strength of their love. It is logical that the greater the love, the greater the grief; the inverse is also true: the greater the grief, the greater the love. Instead of merely being laid to rest in a coffin or a grave, death â€Å"shut her up in a sepulcher† there â€Å"by the sea† (19, 40). Sepulcher brings such dark connotations that we can almost see the speakershrouded in black after her death, mourning as deeply as the seanext to her tomb.Edgar Allen Poe contributed to the extremity of the poem by using a tone of reverence and pride. This is not some silly poem about puppy love. The love shared by Annabel Lee and the speaker was serious, and seems to be one we can only refer to with a sense of sobriety and admiration. In line 28, the speaker refers to his pride by comparing himself to those older and wiser, saying that hehad experienced a love that â€Å"was stronger by far† than anything those older and wiser had experienced. The

Native Son Book Analysis

The Native Son by Richard Wright centers on the character of Bigger Thomas and the violent acts that he commits out of discontentment with his position in society.   Throughout the novel, he rapes, murders and fights his way through life.   His thoughts are constantly consumed with violent and sadistic imagery.   It is the author’s intent to portray Bigger as a mere product of the ghetto.   Although there is some development as a character later in the novel for Bigger, he is still a failed human being.   His actions and decisions are ghastly and his lack of options ultimately leads to a life of crime.   Society is responsible for the criminal behavior of Bigger Thomas. Violence and cruelty are two characteristics that apply to Bigger and support his role as an unsympathetic character.   An early scene introduces us to the cruelty that Bigger is capable of.   Bigger violently chases a rat and kills the animal with an iron skillet.   He terrorizes his sister with the dark body and she faints out of fear. The violence escalates as the narrative continues on.   Although Jan and Mary attempt to relate to him, he reacts with violence.   While Mary’s murder is not planned, the gruesomeness in the disposal of her body is indisputable. â€Å"The head hung limply on the newspapers, the curly black hair dragging about in blood. He whacked harder, but the head would not come off†¦He saw a hatchet. Yes! That would do it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Wright 70).   His brutality continues on after Mary’s death and his most vicious act occurs when he later flees with his girlfriend Bessie.   Sensing her fear, he rapes and kills her in an abandon ed building.   Not only is his behavior violent, but the allusions to his thoughts are sadistic as well.   â€Å"He felt suddenly as though he wanted something solid and heavy in his hand: his gun, a knife, a brick† (Wright 154). The setting of the novel is crucial in understanding the reasons that society is to blame for his violence.   The urban areas of the United States during the Great Depression are a place where success is possible for only those who are white and rich; a category that Bigger does not fit into.   The novel particularly focuses on the feelings of social unrest that were occurring during this time period.   This focus allows the reader to understand how naturalism plays a primary role in the creation of Bigger.   Naturalism can be defined as the way a character’s environment influences the character and his actions.   Naturalism sets forth the notion that a character is formed and makes choices in response to the environment in which he lives.   Bigger has been predestined to become the criminal that he becomes over the course of the novel.   Yet he does not embrace this destiny, he is fearful of it.   â€Å"The moment a situation became so that it excited somethi ng in him, he rebelled. That was the way he lived; he passed his days trying to defeat or gratify powerful impulses in a world he feared† (Wright 44).   In this particular scene, Bigger realizes that he has picked a fight with his friend Gus out of fear of robbing the white shopkeeper. Bigger is angry at his position in society and incensed by the helplessness that he feels.   â€Å"I'd soon as go to jail than take that damn relief job† (Wright 32).   He is intimidated by whites and reacts with anger when he is forced to deal with them.   He does not know how to behave in front of the Daltons and he is unsettled by their manner of speaking.   They attempt to be kind to him, but this just fuels his anger and adds to his discomfort.   His fury with his family is also apparent.   He hates them because they suffer and there is no hope for an improvement in their situation.   His hatred derives from the fact that he has the inability to make a better life for them. Bigger allows the crimes that he has committed to give meaning to his life.   â€Å"For a little while I was free. I was doing something. It was wrong, but I was feeling all right†¦I killed ’em ’cause I was scared and mad but I been scared and mad all my life and after I killed that first woman, I wasn’t scared no more for a little while† (Wright 185).   The reason that Bigger kills is out of fear. After putting a drunken Mary Dalton to bed, he is about to be discovered in a very bad situation: alone with a helpless white girl in her bedroom. Bigger is so afraid of the consequences of being alone with Mary that he kills her. After the murder, he discovers he has finally accomplished something and he is in a way proud of the murder.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"He felt that he had his destiny in his grasp. He was more alive then he could ever remember having been: his attention and mind were pointed, focused toward the goal† (Wright 141). Symbolism is a device that Wright uses to depict the relationship between blacks and whites in Native Son.   The novel opens with the scene of Bigger killing a rat that he has found in his apartment.   This act is a summary for the rest of the novel.   Bigger and his family are the cornered animals, forced into a situation by the whites of the society.   The rat and Bigger are violent with each other as are blacks and whites.   Bigger is a mere by product of this relationship that had been the standard in this society.   Racism and hatred have caused him to act out in a violent manner. The last section is especially pertinent to the idea that society is responsible for Bigger Thomas.   The lawyer Max's effort is not to deny Bigger has killed, but is instead to clarify his own vision of how Bigger became who he is and of how he therefore did what he did. Max tries to explain to whites, the judge and jury, why Bigger is the way that he is. Max tries to make it clear the reasons that society is to blame for Bigger’s actions.   The jury proves his point because they will have no part of Max's argument and decides to execute Bigger rather than imprison him. This sentence is virtually anticlimactic in its predictability. â€Å"Although he could not put it into words, he knew not only had they resolved to put him to death, but they were determined to make his death mean more than a mere punishment; that they regarded him as a figment of that black world which they feared and were anxious to keep under control† (Wright 257).  Ã‚   This scene when Bigger realizes that everyone is against him, merely reinforce his awareness of the way that blacks and whites are split within American society. The Native Son is undoubtedly a powerful work that depicts the relationship between blacks and whites in society.   This static relationship that is constantly repressing black people is the cause of the criminal actions that those who are reticent commit.   Bigger Thomas is an example of the effect of this relationship.   He can not be blamed for his actions because he felt cornered and reacted the only way that he knew how.   Unfortunately, the novel ends on a pessimistic note.   The whites of the jury do not realize their part in the making of Bigger Thomas and decide to sentence him to death. BIBLIOGRAPHY George, Stephen K. â€Å"The Horror of Bigger Thomas: The Perception of Form without Face in Richard Wright's ‘Native Son.'.† African American Review 31.3 (1997): 497+. Hamilton, Sharon. â€Å"Wright's Native Son.† Explicator 55.4 (1997): 227-229. Tuhkanen, Miko Juhani. â€Å"†A (B)igger's Place†: Lynching and Specularity in Richard Wright's â€Å"Fire and Cloud† and ‘Native Son.'.† African American Review 33.1 (1999): 125+. Wright, Richard. Native Son. New York: Harper and Row, 1940.

Research Critical Appraisal Article Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Critical Appraisal Article - Research Paper Example However, studies were selected with relevance to the various difference in culture, policy making, marginalization and difference in nursing practices among the groups. Demographic and methodological characteristics of study were used. Moreover, the use of methodical searches through the cumulative index to medicine and sociological abstract as a selection of study was used. During the study, the researchers should ensure that the outlined procedures can successfully help in achieving the objectives of the study. In order to achieve this, the list should be narrowed down to point only on specific facts and admirations (Xu, 2007). Further, during the study, the list was narrowed down into four main parts including the difference in nursing performances, discrimination, marginalization and exploitation, challenges in communication and the cultural differences. Documenting and examining of the experiences in pre-dominant subgroups contributed to reduction on the number of group members. Further, the list was narrowed down in relation to gender, race and culture that affect the work and life understandings. While carrying out research, appropriate selection of findings and facts is necessary. Appropriate section will always determine the type of the results possible to be achieved. Due to the fact that the study involved study in a strange land, the selection was based on the nurses from Asia and western countries. In order for the visitors to coop with cultural difference challenges, it was necessary for the selection to be made up of real members and the visitors. This could help in learning some cultural practices (Xu, 2007). Moreover, since there was limited level of experience among the immigrants nurses, the selection could be based on the immigrant’s nurses and the Asian nurses in order to share knowledge and understanding between them. Selection based on language

Unit 8 Application 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Unit 8 Application 2 - Essay Example The exit of a manager must be categorised as downsizing, voluntary or discharge exit so that the calculation of turnover rates in the end becomes possible. Factors contributing to leaving HCLC may be low motivation or external factors in relation to what HCLC offer. It is important to analyse so that the organisation knows what managers are going for that is not being offered (Heneman, Judge and Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012). The organisation may fail to retain some of those valuable managers unless we are concerned about the issue. A higher turnover may be faced in the future if we do not address the issues in the present. This may spoil the image of the organisation such that getting contracts may become problematic. Managers who are leaving may leave with other employees leading to reduced performance and indiscipline. Later, it may be hard to find, attract or hire managers with value. HCLC should look at the basis upon which the managers have left the organisation in the previous year. It is important to find out how long they worked in the organisation and how they were managing their positions. (Harris and Brannick, 1999) It would be very wise to interview those managers who have quit knowing the major reasons of managerial turnover. Sometimes employees are said to quit their bosses but not their job. This is a result of the kind of relationship between managers and their bosses (Gully and Phillips, 2010). Proper research and collection of data on relationships that managers share with operations manager should be conducted. Benefits and costs resulting from managerial turnover should be conducted. Categories of cost should be known in terms of training, replacement and separation and all financial non-financial costs estimated. Benefits must be weighed in association with costs of managerial turnover. This information will

Why is a Hard Days Night culturally important Essay

Why is a Hard Days Night culturally important - Essay Example The Beatles band had developed a unique lifestyle. Many young people developed an obsession for the Beatles band a phenomenon described as â€Å"Beatle mania†. The production of the movie afforded many young people an opportunity to experience a day in the life of the four members of the Beatles band. Richard Lester adopted a concept of realism in developing the first rock and roll film that registered a remarkable cultural impact. This paper will discuss the cultural importance of A Hard Day’s Night. The film features John, Paul, George, and Ringo on their way to London, where they were scheduled to perform on television. The film allows the audience to engage in the activities that the four members of the Beatles band indulged in before they can get to the real performance. The film features press conferences as well as rehearsals that they undertake on their way to London. Most importantly, the film goes deeper to depict the real life of the four boys making the Beatles. The Beatles band members were young and energetic. For this reason, they afforded the time to have fun amidst their official rehearsals and press conferences. As they move from place to place, they meet their fans who exhibit high levels of excitement. Notably, Beatle mania had spread to different cities, although it began in Liverpool. The audience can also see the relationship between the Beatles and their managers who accompany during their trip to London (Frontani 2007, p. 68). The film becomes more intere sting as the boys interact with Paul’s grandfather who proves to be highly mischievous. The film also depicts many of the famous songs by the band. For many people, especially the youths who were obsessed with the Beatles band were able to connect more with the band members after the release of the movie. The release of the movie A Hard Day’s Night exhibited remarkable cultural impacts. In order to understand the cultural impacts of the movie, it is

Phonology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Phonology - Assignment Example A consonant may be defined to be an interruption of the effusion of vocal sound, arising from the application of the organs of speech to each other (Walker: 2008: 6). In order to identify consonant sound, one should understand a vowel. The words of Trofimov et al (2002: 22) are significant in this sense when they define vowel and consonant as follows: â€Å"A vowel (in normal speech) is defined as a voiced sound in which the air passes in a continuous stream through the pharynx and mouth, there being no obstruction and no narrowing such as would produce audible friction.† They further write, â€Å"All other sounds [expect the previously stated] (in normal speech) are called consonants.† Therefore, one can infer that in the production of consonant sounds, there may be an obstruction in the air passage causing for an audible friction. Consonants therefore include (i) all sounds which are not voiced (eg: p, s, ?), (ii) all sounds in which the air has an impeded passage thr ough the mouth (b, l, rolled r), (iii) all sounds in which air does not pass through the mouth (eg: m), (iv) all sounds in which there is audible friction (eg: f, v, s, z). (iv) may be regarded as a particular case of (ii) (Trofimov et al: 2002: 22). To describe the consonant sound, the following pieces of information will be really helpful: a) the air stream mechanism, b) the state of the glottis, c) the position of the soft palate, d) the articulating organs or points of articulation, and e) the manner of articulation or the stricture involved (McMahon: 2002: 30). Various studies have identified that all English sounds are produced with a pulmonic egressive air stream mechanism, that is, the air stream expelled from the lungs is modified to form speech sounds. The sounds produced with the glottis open are voiceless and those produced with the glottis closed are voiced. According to the position of the soft palate the sounds may be nasal or oral. Place of articulation is defined in terms of the articulators involved in the speech gesture (Manell: 2002). The points or places of articulations can be identified by referring to a speech gesture in terms of an active articulator and a passive articulator. b. monophthong Vowels in English language have been divided into two categories, namely, monophthongs and diphthongs. Monophthongs are also called as pure vowels. Bloomer et al writes, â€Å"...there are 20 vowel sounds in RP English. Twelve of these are monophthongs, that is, pure vowels and eight are diphthongs, that is, two vowel sounds run together so that the first glides into the second† (2005: 251). Therefore it is evident that â€Å"A monophthong is a vowel sound which involves no movement of the tongue during its production - there is no glide, as there is in a diphthong† (The university of Hull). Thus, monophthongs are identifiable in the words like; tap, clip, hit, and bee. Similarly, diphthongs are identifiable in the words, cake, boy, p aper, and tape. c. affricate Consonants in English language can be properly understood by understanding the stricture involved, that is, the manner in which the air passage is restricted and sounds produced. Based on the manner of articulation, consonants can be classified in different ways where affricate being one among them. In the production of the

Paper 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Paper 2 - Essay Example Researchers such as Brown, Day and Sherrard discovered the correlation between summarizing, plagiarizing and patch writing (Howard, Tricia & Tanya 179). These three despite their distinct differences are all forms of plagiarism and many academic institutions recognize them as such. The academic integrity policies of various academic institutions treat patchwriting as plagiarism. Patchwriting involves the copying heavily from a source that is a writer chooses to paraphrase his or her cited sources too closely (Howard, Tricia & Tanya 179). Many academicians argue that patchwriting is not a serious academic offence; however, it is a form of academic dishonesty. The academic integrity policies refer to it as a moral failure. By patchwriting, a student fails to display his or her mastery of the subject being tested. It displays the lack of effort in understanding the content and fosters habits that are detrimental to the learning process. Patchwriting is often because of writers trying to summarize or paraphrase cited texts. Patchwriting is not only confined to students, but professors also fall victim to this act. According to Roig, a substantial number of psychology professor patchwrite content that is not in their field (Howard, Tricia & Tanya 179). Other researchers such as Howard argue that patchwriting is a form of learning tactic employed by students and not a literary crime (Howard, Tricia & Tanya 179). Non-native speakers of English patchwrite their academic work despite their academic level. In Pecorari’s research on patchwriting (), it was found that non-native English speaking students used this technique even in their dissertations (Howard, Tricia & Tanya 179). These findings were collaborated by Shi (2004) who researched the practice in Chinese college students. The Marymount University Academic Integrity Policy details the values and principles that aid in maintaining academic integrity in the institution. Academic integrity, in this

Violence in the workplace(hospital nursing department)plan of action Essay

Violence in the workplace(hospital nursing department)plan of action - Essay Example The proposed program to respond to the issue of workplace violence in nursing, workshop will be conducted among the nursing staff. There are four main components of the interventions: assessment, program development, implementation and evaluation. The whole program will consist of three months for assessment and dry runs, twelve sessions during a period of six months and three months for the evaluation of the program. Successful outcomes for the intervention will be established at 50% decrease in reported cases of violent behavior among nursing staff and satisfaction rating of 75% from participants. Assessment will determine were conflicts or violence occurs between nursing staff. The dry-runs will be evaluated as they are completed and will serve as reinforcement to workshop strategies. The program development will involve nursing managers, human resource development consultants and staff representatives. The implementation of the programs will be initiated with a series of three work shop sessions with eight to ten participants. Participants will be chosen at random among the population defined as most vulnerable or susceptible to conflicts that led to violence. The issue of violence either against or by nursing professionals has a considerable impact to society not just health care. Current legislation emphasizes the responsibility of administrators and managers to create safe and secure working environments. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) (2002), the safety and well-being of nursing professionals directly affects the quality, delivery and value of health services. Though the workplace safety statutes have been in place to address the issue in the industry, the NIOSH (2002) saw it fit to develop specific legislation for the nursing profession in consideration of th professional exposure to risk, stress and violence. Case in point:

Legal Issues and the Role of Nurse Manager Essay

Legal Issues and the Role of Nurse Manager - Essay Example Failure to use due care can be considered as negligent behavior. Failure to meet standard of care, which results in injury to the patient, can make the medical professional liable for resulting damages. The medical professional can be a doctor, a nurse, or a health care provider. Causation helps determine whether the medical professional's carelessness caused injury. It is the most difficult element of negligence to prove and so courts have sometimes resorted to the theory of res ipsa loquitor. Three conditions for the application of res ipsa loquitur are "Personal injury" cases are legal disputes that arise when one person suffers harm from an accident or injury, and someone else might be legally responsible for that harm. Injury, which occurs due to someone's negligence in the patient's treatment, forms the basis of claim and lawsuit Negligence is failure to guard against risk of harm to others and imposes liability on whoever is responsible for negligence. In order to prove that negligence has occurred, the following criterion needs to be met and proven in a court of law: In the given case harm has occurred to the patient who fractured her hand. The nurse, nurse manager and the hospital owe the duty of care to the patient and have failed in discharging their duty successfully. Who is liable and to what extent, demands an evaluation of the circumstances, which caused the injury to the patient. This idea of evaluation of circumstances is common in healthcare. It has been noted that, "although a particular action or omission may be the immediate cause of an incident, closer analysis usually reveals a series of events and departures from safe practice, each influenced by the working environment and the wider organisational context. This more complex picture is gaining acceptance in health care" (Vincent et al, 2000). The omission may or may not be purely an act of carelessness; it could be a result of how work processes are organised making the nurse manager and hospital more liable, than the nurse who may not be a direct cause of injury. The fact that in her chart the nurse has documented that "this would not have happened if I had been present to help her" establishes that the nurse made a mistake. However one also needs to consider whether this mistake is truly negligence. This calls for an evaluation of the circumstances in which the injury occurred. Two situations are discussed below: Situation 1.: Delay in response because nurse was gossiping/careless/did not see the call light or failed to stick to the

Women Role in Society Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Women Role in Society - Research Paper Example Yet, in a modern and civilized society, equally they should be treated. One way to determine how women are being treated in our society today is to examine their roles. We want to look at issues such as domestic violence, negative and positive expectations thrust upon women, and whether or not males demonstrate superiority over women. We will do this briefly by examining and analyzing two stories. One is a book by Chinua Achebe titled ‘Things Fall Apart’, while the other is an essay by Maxine Hong Kingston titled ‘No Name Women’. Things Fall Apart This novel is quite interesting as it focuses on the tribal culture in Nigeria. We see the main character, Okonkwo, as being quite violent, all the while also having an ambitious outlook in life. Through the book, we see him as being a person who espouses masculinity. He exerts his manliness time and time again and certainly believes he is superior to women. At one point he brutally beats his wife in order to prove a point. This seems to communicate that domestic abuse is ripe is the cultural setting of this book. The author seems to be drawing awareness to the notion that the role of women in some cultures is one of subservience to the male. In this particular story, the reader witness’s masculinity being demonstrated in society by the beating and emotional distress women suffer at the hands of the men in the tribe. The role of women in this novel is perhaps best portrayed by one of the minor characters, Ezinma. Being the daughter of Oknonkwo, it is interesting to learn more about their relationship. The father quite often expresses his wish that Ezinma would have been born a girl, yet we get the picture that deep down inside he is quite proud of her. Perhaps she is even his favorite daughter. It is one of the only glimpses we have, however, of him really endearing himself to women, either inside or outside of his family. Ezinma does not buy into the notion that role of a women is sim ply to be submissive to the man. She becomes quite bold in the story and often contradicts the wishes of her own father. We get the picture that she could grow up to be a social advocate for woman’s causes. In the end, she supports her father and helps him out politically, but we get the idea that she wants much more and that her father will eventually allow her to adopt a different role. There have been numerous beautiful females like Ezinma over the years that have gradually reshaped the way society view women. Over time, they have redefined the way men are expected to behave towards women in a civilized and cultured society. The author appears to be hinting at that in this book. This student looked a bit further into the life of the author, Chinua Achebe, to discover that his ambition was to rewrite the perception of the West towards Africa. He felt that the continent was unjustly being targeted as uncivilized in many respect, particularly in its treatment of women and the poor. To get his point across, he wrote sensationalized novels, such as ‘Things Fall Apart’ in order to express that Africa is truly a misunderstood culture. Sure, it is different than the West and many practices are antiquated, but times are changing. No Name Woman No Name Woman is just one chapter of a larger novel that takes place in China. This one chapter alone is frequently used to analyze the role women in Asia, particular in Chinese society. We learn in this brief account that women who gave into sexual temptation were treated like the character in the Scarlet Letter – they were shunned by society. The main character’s aunt, for example, had to flea her village when it was

Daimler Chrysler Merger Essay Example for Free

Daimler Chrysler Merger Essay The DaimlerChrysler Merger (A): Gaining Global Competitiveness Question 1: What was the situation at Daimler and what was the situation at Chrysler before the merger? The situation at Daimler was difficult before the merger because Daimler experienced tremendous losses in the beginning of 1990s. Starting from 1995 when the new CEO came in place some changes were instantly done, for example, unprofitable business units were either closed, restructured or sold. Even though the new CEO had in mind how to turn the company around, the Japanese rivals competed really well by offering comparable products in the car industry at cheaper prices. In general, the auto industry was shifting, basically many of the luxury car brand merged with other bigger car companies around the world, and therefore, the number of luxury car brands expanded which also had a positive impact on the economy overall. Chrysler, on the other hand, also experienced a tough period during those two decades; the company was near the bankruptcy twice. Nonetheless, the firm shifted its focus in the direction of cars and light trucks. In the 1990s, Chrysler made significant shifts which ultimately led the company toward a stronger competitor in the car industry. Chrysler shifted its focus and headed for the cost-effective approach, thus the firm was known to be the leanest car manufacturer During the 1990s the company experienced positive changes which turned them into a strong player. The company was focused toward cost-effectiveness approaches which turned to be new world standards. The company was considered as the leanest manufacturer compared to the other participants of the Big3. Nevertheless, the company’s position in the market was weakening after its attempts to expand the company beyond NAFTA. Question 2: How does the external macro-environment look like for the automotive passenger car industry? To address this question I will use the PESTLE forces analysis. Political- the political factors were pretty much stable for the automotive car industry. At the time of the merger and in general, there was not perceived any political instability that would negatively affect this industry. Competition was solely based on the products that each of the companies produced. Economic- The economic factors of that time seemed to contribute positively to the success of the companies. During the 1970s car manufacturers were able to produce fuel-efficient cars due to the oil crises of that time. Countries such as Asia and Latin America were in the expansion nd developing phase and promised an attractive future for the car manufacturing industry. Nevertheless, economic difficulties due to currency volatility, high inflation and competitive pressure resulted in a negative impact for the companies in these markets. Production costs were reduced due to the low cost of raw materials that were set by the suppliers of that time. Socio-Cultural- Socio-Cultural factors of that time did not have a strong impact on the future of the industry. The biggest impact was due to the doubled world population which increased the number of cars purchased. Technological- these factors were the most influential for the future of the car manufacturing industry. The technological developments during the two last decades have shaped largely this industry sector by changing the production methods, affecting the production costs, and changing the working capacities and the employment levels. The companies were investing huge amounts of money in RD which was one of the most crucial aspects of their success. Authorities undertook various technological approaches by the use of computers to reduce the flow of traffic and pollution levels. Environmental- These factors were also crucial for the success of the companies as the world was becoming more conscious and aware for the negative impact that car emissions had on the environment. In order to reduce this impact, companies undertook actions to change the manufacturing process and produce more efficient cars with lower negative impact on the environment. As explained above, the technological developments also played an important role on the reduction of negative impact that cars had and still have on the environment.

The Organisational Culture At Enron Corporation Commerce Essay

The Organisational Culture At Enron Corporation Commerce Essay This paper analyses the Enron organisation culture and the key issues that eventually led to the Enron Corporate debacle and why it is so vital that top level management is the main proponent of this culture shaping lower level employees behaviour of moral reasoning. Moreover, as there is a need to understand how the different types of cultures may effortlessly help business to perform, this essay will identify the type of Enrons corporate culture through applying the assessment instruments developed by Cameron and Quinn (1998). In todays business environment the culture has huge impact on organizations performance. It is widely recognized by the managers, that the adoption of organisational culture as an effective control tool, gives the opportunity to affect on what people think, believe and value (Ray, 1986). It is commonly known that different organisations have typical cultures. The culture of a group can be defined as: A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems ( Schein, 1993: pp373-374). Organisations develop their own culture through history and structure that gives a sense of identity. Therefore, every culture possesses its own traditions, knowledge, art, moral issues, law, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by individual as a member of society (Tylor, 1970).It ascertains, through the beliefs, values and norms the way how things are done around here (Mullins, 2002: p802). Organization theory scholars distinguish that organizational cultures associate to the concept of an organization. However, Huczynsk i Buchanan (2001: p627) argue that the facade symptom of culture are its most visible and most accessible forms, which are the visible and audible behaviour patterns and objects. In the case of Enron, the analysis for the companys downfall moved well beyond financial and economic debate as the corporate culture was shown to be a main reason and contributing issue (Rapoport Dharan, 2004). The society got a shockwave when it came to that Enron was seen to be an example of corporate citizenship and ethics previous to its fall down (Sims Brinkmann, 2003) while in reality the company was cheering a culture for back-biting management possessed with exhibiting short-term profits and inflating the companys stock value. Sims and Brinkmann (2003) point out that this difference between the culture shown to the public and investors and the values being enacted within the organisation is an example of the conflict that can be found between levels of culture within an organisation as suggested by Schein (1985). Conducting the further analysis of the Enrons downfall it is vital to identify the organizational culture that the company could be identified with. Hence, in accordance to Cameron and Quinn (1998) and their developed marking criteria, there are four types of organisational cultures identified which include collaborate (clan), create (adhocracy), control (hierarchy) and compete (market) cultures. After close research and analyse of the types of organisational cultures and relating the criteria to the case study it shows that Enron applied a compete culture, which to some extent, brought the company to downfall.  Compete (market) organizations are focused on relationships- in particular, transactions-with suppliers, customers, contractors, legislators, consultants, regulators, etc. Through efficient external dealings they feel that they can best achieve suc ­cess. Compete (market) organizations are concerned about competitiveness and efficiency through accent o n partnerships and positioning (Cameron and Quinn, 1998). Enron executives spent more time distressing about reputation and getting ahead than trading with the everyday business processes needed to prolong the company.  The top managers believed Enron had to be the best at everything it did. When there existed failures and losses in their business performance, what they did was covering up their losses in order to protect their reputations instead of trying to do something to make it correct. In the case of Enron, the mutual goal of winning that is frequently anxious in compete culture organizations, did not translate past rough business deals and unethical business practices. In Enrons case, its corporate culture played an important role of its collapse. It was culture of greed and moneymaking In Enron, greed was good and money was God. There was a little regard for ethics or the law. Such attitudes infused the whole company from the top down to individual workers. Organisational culture supported unethical practises- corruption, cheating, and fake practices were widespread. Many executives and managers knew that the company was following some illegal and unethical practices, but the executives and the board of directors did not know how to make the ethical decisions and corporate ethical culture. Creative accounting and misleading profit reports were a matter of everyday procedure. Denial and reputation management enabled them carry on their unethical and often illegal activities. In addition, if the company makes huge profits in unethical way then individual who joins the organisation would also have to practice unethical things to survive in the compa ny. The management was blinded by greed and ambition, their decisions became seriously flawed. Thus company fell back and managers had to pay in the form of fines and imprisonment. Thus, disregard to organisational culture and mismanagement in huge proportions and, mainly, greed is among the key factors that brought the Enron the most innovative company to downfall. Enron was looking into the ways of getting bigger, greater and more progressive than the other companies at that time. And it seemed to be really well on the way to that target. However, the analysis of Enrons organisational structure reveals that top managers of any organisation at all times must be responsible of everything that happens in their company. Hence, the Enrons top manager (Kenneth Lay) did not have his objectives, right interest and mission in the organisation. But the success of the business depends on the executives abilities to leadership, influence on others and how the real interests and goals are foll owed by. K. Lays position as a chairman was just a title for the company and as evidence of that is the action of passing along the responsibilities to the Jeff Skilling. That could be seen as the countdown of the organisational structure breakdown which is related as the key issue to all the businesses. A wise decision-making abilities and achievement of organisational objectives truly correlates with the companys organisational structure. In Enron case, people responsible for making such wise and important decisions were obviously those from the top of the management; however they did not really possess any of the productive objectives in their minds. The final decision-making was left for the chief financial and chief operating officers whose ability, in the other hand, excluded any sense of any kind of the responsibility for the consequences could occurred. The basic interest, as it seems from the case study analysis, was the financial profit- money. Thus, decision-making was easily blinded with the quantity of the business deals made and money seen, without any of the consideration of the future problems of the organisation, such behaviour could cause. According to Reh (2002), It is the leaders job to provide the vision for the group. A good executive must have a dream and the ability to get the company to support that dream. But it is not enough to merely have the dream. The leader must also provide the framework by which the people in that organization can help achieve the dream. This is called company culture (p.1). Generally, corporate culture refers to the prevailing implicit values, attitudes and ways of doing things in a company. It often reflects the personality, philosophy and the ethnic-cultural background of the founder or the leader. Corporate culture dictates how the company is run and how people are promoted (Wong, 2005, p.185). The leadership of the Enron could not cope with providing the guidance to help the business to survive. Hence, that is the clear evidence that Jeff Skilling proclaimed the Enrons corporate culture- the culture of greed, corruption and deception. He wanted profits at all cost, in addition the hiring practices became obsessed with finding aggressive, greedy, unethical employees who could deliver on the organisations demand for short term profits. There is a direct connection between the way a business and its people conduct themselves and the leadership within it. There was no respect or responsible decision-making in the Enron. The management of the organization was totally broken down by the companys executives, who displaced their responsibilities to unprofessional staff and there was no rigorous standart of the performance for their business. The senior management failed to maintain a relationship of openness and trust with employees. Staff members who questioned the wisdom of some of Enrons decisions and practices were either ignored or silenced. Senior management cared more about self-enrichment than the needs of employees. They showed little regard for meaning and ethics beyond the bottom line (Wong, 2005, p.185).And when the top managers turned a blind eye on the legal aspects when performing financial operations, the clear message of the tolerance of the illegal practices was sent. After analysing the case study I suggest that the most important lesson is that corporate culture matters it can either bring prosperity or disaster to the organization. A company needs to promote an organisational culture with moral way of thinking as Peters Waterman (1982: p75) points out that without exception, the dominance and coherence of culture proved to be an essential quality of the excellent companies. This culture should be top level management as they are key figures, which employees will follow. If executives of a company consider the short term bottom line to be the most important factor to success then lower level employees will soon get the message and acquire the game rules. This environment is exposed to the actions such as intentionally breaking the rules, if results cannot be achieved within the legal framework. From studying the Enron case it is seen that collapse was brought on by a lack of respect, lack of concern of management and real goals. To point out that the enormous amount of losses of the company destroyed the lives of the Enrons employees and the investors who trusted and heavily invested in the business. After all taking on to account that organisational culture is able to bring an enormous difference and guide the organisation to success and prolong reasonable rewards (Hoecklin, 1995) by possessing effective management (Miroshnik, 2002), the Enrons example demonstrates that when there is unhealthy corporate culture in the company which lacks the true leadership, true interests, true goals, wise decision-making and the main issue is greed for money, then such a business is exposed to become the bankrupt.

The Reconstruction Era in the US (1865 to 1877)

The Reconstruction Era in the US (1865 to 1877) Can the period be evaluated as both a success and a failure? The Reconstruction Era occurred from around 1868 to 1877. Preceding the Civil War, the Souths industry and infrastructure was virtually left in ruins. It was in great need of help, and had to rely on the government that they had tried to stray away from. The Reconstruction can be evaluated as both a success and a failure of ideals chiefly because of the bills and laws that were passed, as well as the failures and step backs that were encountered. The restoration of all 11 ex-Confederate states to the Union, the Radical Republicans, and the Reconstruction Acts that were passed are all examples of accomplishments made during the time. The Black Codes, the belief in white supremacy, and the corruption in business and in government are among the many failures of the Reconstruction. Overall, the period was a time of corruption, greed, and discrimination. To begin with, one of the greatest accomplishments of the Reconstruction was the restoration of all 11 ex-Confederate states to the Union. This was accomplished during the Lincoln and Johnson administrations. By 1868, they were successful in the readmission of South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee into the Union; and by 1877 the readmission of Mississippi, Georgia, Texas, and Virginia (Doc H). Another accomplishment would be the creation of a new agency called the Freedmens Bureau. The Freedmens Bureau offered shelter, food, and medical attention to anybody in need of it after the war. Many criticized the agency and accused it of keep[ing] the negro in idleness at the expenses of the white man (Doc D). Under General Oliver Howard, it was successful in the establishment of some 3,000 schools for freed blacks, which included several black colleges. Soon after, the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were passed. The Fourteenth Amendment st ated that the first section prohibits the states from abridging the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States, or unlawfully depriving them of life, liberty, or property, or denying to any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws (Doc C). Thaddeus Stevens, a Radical Republican, declared that the amendment allows Congress to correct the unjust legislation of the States, so far that the law operated upon one man shall operate equally upon all (Doc C). The supporters of the rights for freed blacks were called Radical Republicans. Among this group was a man named Benjamin Wade who endorsed the rights of women, northern blacks, and labor unions. African Americans were adjusting to their new freedom and branching out to do new things. Many joined Negro Baptist and African American Episcopal churches, and some migrated from the South to form new communities. A popular place they went was Kansas (Doc F). They also created colleges, like Howard and F isk, which trained black ministers and teachers. At the same time, many things were going wrong in the country. Sharecropping became very popular among freed African Americans trying to fulfill their dreams of owning their own farm and providing for their families. Unfortunately, the corrupt style in which these farms were run kept them in an unending cycle of debt. It was almost a new form of slavery. Meanwhile, Republican politicians in the South were beginning to take advantage of the kickbacks they received and took bribes. This illustrated a decline in peoples morals. Black Codes were another failure of the Reconstruction. They were created to restrict the rights of freed blacks. One code stated, Every laborer shall not be allowed to leave his place of employment until the fulfillment of his contract (Doc B). They restricted every right and movement of the freed blacks and subjected them to even more discrimination. Particularly corrupt was the idea of white supremacy that was growing in the South. Many men organized groups of secret societies to intimidate the freed African Americans and white reformers. One group in particular, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), were especially famous for their burning of blacks buildings and the murder of many freedmen to keep them from voting. Simultaneously, there was the corruption in business and government that was distracting the North from the issues in the South. Spoilsmen, such as Conklin and Blaine, were politicians who unfairly displayed patronage on their supporters. The Credit Mobilier scandal was brought to the attention of the government. They had been giving stock to members of Congress so that they wouldnt investigate the profit they were making from government funding for the transcontinental railroad they were building. Another scandal involved Jay Gould and James Blaine who along with Grants brother-in-law attempted to corner the gold market. They were discovered but Blaine had already gotten away with his own profits. The Whiskey Ring involved federal agents conspiring with liquor companies to take millions of taxes from the government. One man, William Tweed, may have profited the most from the money he stole from taxpayers. He was the one behind many plans to help himself to large quantities of graft. He was successful until a cartoonist from the New York Times, Thomas Nast, exposed him and led to his arrest. In time, the new president, Rutherford B. Hayes, agreed to a compromise. The Compromise of 1877 was mainly to end the support for Republicans in the South and to build a transcontinental railroad. Eventually Hayes withdrew the troops that were protecting the freedmen, and the Supreme Court repealed the Reconstruction laws that protected the blacks from being discriminated against. In essence, the period can be evaluated as both a success and a failure of ideals. It just depends on how it is viewed. They did make many accomplishes in the rights for African Americans. They freed them, provided education for them, and allowed them to form black communities. On the whole, the Reconstruction was not a good thing. It was a failure, in a sense. Everything that had been accomplished were basically forgotten or taken back with the Compromise of 1877. It was a period of corruption in business, government, and in ethics. In the long run, the only thing that was a living accomplishment was the freedom of African Americans. More innovations were yet to come.

Essay --

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is one of the most important molecules in any organism. DNA is like an instruction manual for the cell to make new proteins. DNA is made up of two long chains of nucleotides wound up into a helical shape. Each nucleotide consists of a phosphate group, pentose sugar and one of four possible nitrogenous bases (Adenine, Guanine, Thymine or Cytosine). A group of three of the bases of the corresponding sequence to the protein required makes up one amino acid. This is known as the Triplet code. A chain of amino acids is the protein. These proteins can be used for a large variety of tasks ranging from simply allowing chemicals to pass (channel proteins) to the more complex task of fighting diseases (antibodies). This wide range of uses for proteins allows us to use and manipulate it artificially to our needs. Gene therapy is used to treat diseases caused by faulty genes by fixing the faulty genes. This is done by introducing the correct gene in place of the faulty one. The correct gene would have been developed outside the body in a laboratory. The normal gene is transported by a carrier called a vector which is usually a virus due to their nature of attacking the sufferer’s body and inserting their genetic material, however, the viral vector is modified so it cannot cause the patient any harm. Once the vector has released the correct gene into the cell, the cell then begins to produce the correct proteins. Gene therapy can be very useful in the field of science as it can help discover different methods of inserting genetic material into a cell. Genetic engineering isn’t only advantageous in medicine, but also in farming as farmers will have the freedom of choice when it comes to selecting the type of ... ...he protein of the desired characteristics. These characteristics can include physical appearance, preventing genetic disorders and even intelligence although, there are many ethical issues surrounding this particular use of DNA technology. If the ethical issues are overcome, soon, the average intelligence of the human population will increase massively leading to much more discoveries and technological advancements. In the end, DNA is a very useful molecule which can and has been used vastly in science and technology to improve the lives of many people in the present and for the future generations. DNA technology has been the pinnacle of medical science due to the role it plays in an organism therefore has been one of the key fields for scientists to explore allowing it to advance massively over the past few years and continue to progress in the foreseeable future.

The Path to True Happiness: Choosing Love over Desire Essay -- Homers

Motivation is the reason why people behave the way they do. It is the driving force behind human behavior and is what compels actions toward a desired goal. There are copious amounts of varying motivating forces. In Homer’s Iliad, it is honor and glory, whereas, love drives Augustine’s actions in The Confessions. In Meditations, Marcus Aurelius holds that the transient nature of life be the incentive behind human action. Despite the differences in reasoning and motivation, all four texts demonstrate the natural tendency of humans to give into desire in pursuit of happiness. However, true happiness only exists in divine love. As follows, focusing on the ego and one’s desires results in separation from and rejection of divine love and leads, inevitably, to unhappiness and harm to oneself and others. The desire and ultimate goal of the heroes in The Iliad is the fame that endures even after death. Honor and glory guide every action and response they make because honor and glory define the hero in their society. The war served as an opportunity for many to find honor and glory, as they could be gained through great, gallant deeds in battle. Achilles and Hector are both portrayed as great fighters seeing that their presence greatly affect a battle. Paris, on the other hand, must be dragged out of the city to fight in the war he instigated. Only when Hector â€Å"raked [him] with insults, stinging taunts† and shameful things about his character did he return to battle (6.384). Good social standing is essential to the fame and power that the heroes desire. If Paris is to be deemed honorable and glorious, he must leave the safety and comfort of his home and pull his weight in battle. Ultimately, Paris’s pride and desire to be liked and respe... ...n to die. Therefore, it is important to live like it is your last day and to strive to be a better person. For this reason, humans should realize that yielding to desires in the physical world will not constitute eternal happiness. It is only with the help of the gods can humans truly be happy and when it is time to depart from life, Marcus Aurelius encourages humans to welcome death â€Å"for [the gods] would not involve you in anything bad† (2.11). Death should be seen as a precious release because with God’s love and grace, the soul is freed from the battered flesh casing. By actively choosing the corruptible elements of the physical world rather than the eternal, perfect forms, humans bring evil unto themselves. Throughout The Confessions, Augustine is divided between sexual desire and spiritual desire. Motivated by love he seeks to find a solution to his division.

A Taste of American Pie :: Ethnicity Mexican American Essays

A Taste of American Pie Sunday morning. The smell of flour tortillas warming on the kitchen stove would waft all the way to my room. I could hear the radio play scratchy ranchera tunes to which my mother always seemed to know the words. If I lay long enough in bed, my mother would walk in the room and try to wake me up, resorting to singing my name or an old Spanish nursery rhyme if all else failed. Ask me where home is, and I'll tell you just this. This is home. This is me. All I've ever known is Mexican culture. Both of my parents were born in Mexico, and I myself have never lived more than a few hours from the border. I've never known a Christmas without tamales or a September 16 th without celebration. But I am not just Mexican. I am Mexican-American. MÃ ©xico may be home, but America is where I live. I find here in college that I am just beginning to learn what it means to be American. I used to think that I would find that meaning through a sort of duality; anything that was n't Mexican or part of the minority would have to be American. Ironically, the idea of "Americanness" was closer to home. I've come to realize that to be American is to know and share myself. America is a conglomerate of many cultures. As such, it possesses no single, distinct culture. There is no one overarching "American" culture that is independent of all those that make it up. The supposed "melting pot" of peoples is not exactly an accurate portrayal of America. This nation is dotted with cultural enclaves that nurture their own customs and traditions rather than fuse them with others. I, for one, would not give up my Mexican identity to become simply American. I am sure that many would agree that we are all more than American. Each culture, therefore, remains fundamentally unique, never really "melting" into another. To call yourself "American" is to recognize that you are a small, albeit integral, part of a greater phenomenon.

Organizational change Essay

Organizational change is an ongoing process with important implications for organizational effectiveness. An organization and its members must be constantly on the alert for changes from within the organization and from the outside environment, and they must learn how to adjust to change quickly and effectively. Organizational change is the movement of an organization away from its present state and toward some future state to increase its effectiveness. Forces for organizational change include competitive forces; economic, political, and global forces; demographic and social forces; and ethical forces. Organizations are often reluctant to change because resistance to change at the organization, group, and individual levels has given rise to organizational inertia. Sources of organization-level resistance to change include power and conflict, differences in functional orientation, mechanistic structure, and organizational culture. Sources of group-level resistance to change include group norms, group cohesiveness, and groupthink and escalation of commitment. Sources of individual-level resistance to change include uncertainty and insecurity, selective perception and retention, and habit. According to Lewin’s force-field theory of change, organizations are balanced between forces pushing for change and forces resistant to change. To get an organization to change, managers must find a way to increase the forces for change, reduce resistance to change, or do both simultaneously. Types of change fall into two broad categories: evolutionary and revolutionary. The main instruments of evolutionary change are sociotechnical systems theory, total quality management, and the development of flexible workers and work teams. The main instruments of revolutionary change are reengineering, restructuring, and innovation. Often, the revolutionary types of change that result from restructuring and reengineering are necessary only because an organization and its managers ignored or were unaware of changes in the environment and did not make incremental changes as needed. Action research is a strategy that managers can use to plan the change process. The main steps in action research are (a) diagnosis and analysis of the organization, (b) determining the desired future state, (c) implementing action, (d) evaluating the action, and (e) institutionalizing action research. Organizational development (OD) is a series of techniques and methods to increase the adaptability of organizations. OD techniques can be used to overcome resistance to change and to help the organization to change itself. OD techniques for dealing with resistance to change include education and communication, participation and empowerment, facilitation, bargaining and negotiation, manipulation, and coercion. OD techniques for promoting change include, at the individual level, counseling, sensitivity training, and process consultation; at the group level, team building and intergroup training; and at the organizational level, organizational confrontation meetings. CHAPTER OUTLINE 10. 1 What Is Organizational Change? Organizational change is the process by which organizations move from their current or present state to some desired future state to increase their effectiveness. An organization in decline may need to restructure its competences and resources to improve its fit with a changing environment. Even thriving, high-performing organizations such as Google, Apple, and Facebook need to continuously change the way they operate over time to meet ongoing challenges. Targets of Change Organizational change includes changes in four areas: 1. Human resources are an organization’s most important asset. Because these skills and abilities give an organization a competitive advantage, organizations must continually monitor their structures to find the most effective way of motivating and organizing human resources to acquire and use their skills. Changes made in human resources include investment in training, socializing employees, changing norms to motivate a diverse workforce, monitoring promotion and reward systems, and changing top management. 2. Each organizational function needs to develop procedures that allow it to manage the particular environment it faces. Crucial functions grow in importance while those whose usefulness is declining shrink. Thus, key functions grow in importance. Organizations can change structure, culture, and technology to improve the value created by functions. 3 Organizational change often involves changing the relationships between people and functions to increase their ability to create value. 10. 2 Forces for and Resistance to Organizational Change Forces for Change If managers are slow to respond to the forces of change, the organization will lag behind its competitors and its effectiveness will be compromised. (Refer to Figure 10. 1) Competitive forces spur change, because unless an organization matches or surpasses its competitors it will not survive. Managing change is crucial when competing for customers. To lead on the dimensions of efficiency or quality, an organization must constantly adopt the latest technology as it becomes available. To lead on the dimension of innovation and obtain a technological advantage over competitors, a company must possess skills in managing the process of innovation. Economic, political, and global forces, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or other economic unions, are significant forces of change. The European Union (EU) includes over 27 members eager to take advantage of a large protected market. Global challenges facing organizations include the need to change an organizational structure to allow expansion into foreign markets, the need to adapt to a variety of national cultures, and the need to help expatriate managers adapt to the economic, political, and cultural values of the countries in which they are located. Demographic and social forces include an increasingly diverse workforce. Changes in the demographic characteristics of the workforce require managers to change their styles of managing all employees and to learn how to understand, supervise, and motivate diverse members effectively. Many workers want to balance work and leisure. Managers need to abandon stereotypes and accept the importance of equity in the recruitment and promotion of new hires. Ethical forces such as increasing government, political, and social demands for more responsible and honest corporate behavior are compelling organizations to promote ethical behavior. Many companies have created the position of ethics officer. If organizations operate in countries that pay little attention to human rights or to the well-being of organizational members, they have to learn how to change these standards and to protect their overseas employees. Resistances to Change Resistance to change lowers an organization’s effectiveness and reduces its chances of survival. Resistances or impediments to change that cause inertia are found at the organization, group, and individual levels. (Refer to Figure 10. 1) Organization-Level Resistance to Change Power and conflict: When change causes power struggles and organizational conflict, an organization is likely to resist it. If change benefits one function at the expense of another, conflict impedes the change process. In the old IBM, for example, managers of its mainframe computer division fought off attempts to redirect IBM’s resources to produce the PCs that customers wanted in order to preserve their own power. Differences in functional orientation: This means that different functions and divisions often see the source of a problem differently because they see an issue or problem primarily from their own viewpoint. This tunnel vision increases organizational inertia. Mechanistic structure: Mechanistic structures are more resistant to change. People who work within a mechanistic structure are expected to act in certain ways and do not develop the capacity to adjust their behavior to changing conditions. A mechanistic structure typically develops as an organization grows and is a principal source of inertia, especially in large organizations. The extensive use of mutual adjustment and decentralized authority in an organic structure makes it less resistant to change. Organizational culture: Organizational culture, values, and norms cause resistance to change. If organizational change disrupts taken-for-granted values and norms and forces people to change what they do and how they do it, an organization’s culture will cause resistance to change. Group-Level Resistance to Change Many groups develop strong informal norms that specify appropriate and inappropriate behaviors and govern the interactions between group members. Often, change alters task and role relationships in a group; when it does, it disrupts group norms and the informal expectations that group members have of one another. As a result, members of a group may resist change because a new set of norms must be developed to meet the needs of the new situation. Group cohesiveness, the attractiveness of a group to its members, also affects group performance. A highly cohesive group may resist attempts by management to change what it does or even who is a member of the group. Groupthink and escalation of commitment also make changing a group’s behavior very difficult. Individual-Level Resistance to Change People tend to resist change because they feel uncertain and insecure about what its outcome will be. Selective perception and retention suggest that people perceive information consistent with their views. If change doesn’t benefit them, they do not endorse it. People’s preference for familiar actions and events is a further impediment to change. Lewin’s Force-Field Theory of Change Force-field theory is a theory of organizational change that argues that two sets of opposing forces within an organization determine how change will take place. When the forces are evenly balanced, the organization is in a state of inertia and does not change. To get an organization to change, managers must find a way to increase the forces for change, reduce resistance to change, or do both simultaneously. Any of these strategies will overcome inertia and cause an organization to change. (Refer to Figure 10. 2) Managerial Implications Managers must continuously monitor the environment to identify the forces for change. They must analyze how the change will affect the organization and determine which type of change to pursue. 10. 3 Evolutionary and Revolutionary Change in Organizations Evolutionary change refers to change that is gradual, incremental, and specifically focused. It adds small adjustments to strategy and structure to handle environmental changes. Sociotechnical systems theory, total quality management, and the creation of empowered, flexible work groups are three instruments of evolutionary change that organizations use in their attempt to make incremental improvements in the way work gets done. Revolutionary change refers to change that is sudden, drastic, and organization-wide. It has repercussions at all levels in the organization—corporate, divisional, functional, group, and individual. Three ways to implement revolutionary change are reengineering, restructuring, and innovation. Developments in Evolutionary Change: Sociotechnical Systems Theory Sociotechnical systems theory is a theory that proposes the importance of changing role and task or technical relationships to increase organizational effectiveness. It emerged from a study of changing work practices in the British coal-mining industry. The socio-technical systems theory argues that managers need to fit or jointly optimize the workings of the technical and social systems. A poor fit between an organization’s technology and social system leads to failure, but a close fit leads to success. When managers change task and role relationships, they must recognize the need to adjust the technical and social systems gradually so group norms and cohesiveness are not disrupted. By taking this gradual approach, an organization can avoid the group-level resistance to change. Researchers suggest that a team-oriented system promotes values that enhance efficiency and product quality. Total quality management uses sociotechnical systems theory. Total Quality Management Total quality management (TQM) is a technique developed by W. Edwards Deming to continuously improve the effectiveness of flexible work teams. It was embraced by Japanese companies after World War II. Changes frequently inspired by TQM include altering the design or type of machines used to assemble products and reorganizing the sequence of activities—either within or between functions—necessary to provide a service to a customer. Changing cross-functional relationships to help improve quality is important in TQM. The changes associated with TQM are changes in task, role, and group relationships. Implementing a TQM program is not always easy because it requires workers and managers to adopt new ways of viewing their roles in an organization. Managers must be willing to decentralize control of decision making, empower workers, and assume the role of facilitator rather than supervisor. The â€Å"command and control† model gives way to an â€Å"advise and support† model. Flexible Workers and Flexible Work Teams In implementing socio-technical systems theory and TQM, many organizations are finding it easier to achieve their goals by using flexible workers and teams. Flexible workers can be transferred between departments and functions as demand changes. The advantages of flexible workers include quick response to environmental changes; reduced boredom and increased incentives for quality; better understanding by learning one another’s tasks; and combining tasks to increase efficiency and reduce costs. A flexible work team is a group of workers who assume responsibility for performing all the operations necessary for completing a specified stage in the manufacturing process. A flexible work team is self-managed; members jointly assign tasks and transfer from one task to another. In a flexible work team, separate teams assemble different components and turn those components over to the final-product work team, which assembles the final product. Each team’s activities are driven by demands that have their origins in customer demands for the final product. (Refer to Figure 10. 3) Developments in Revolutionary Change: Reengineering The term â€Å"reengineering† has been used to refer to the process by which managers redesign how tasks are bundled into roles and functions to improve organizational effectiveness. It involves rethinking business processes, activities that cross functional boundaries. Instead of focusing on an organization’s functions in isolation from one another, managers make business processes the focus of attention. A business process is an activity that cuts across functional boundaries and is vital to the quick delivery of goods and services or that promotes high quality or low costs. Because reengineering focuses on business processes and not functions, an organization must rethink the way it approaches organizing its activities. A good example of how to use reengineering to increase functional integration comes from attempts to redesign the materials management function to improve its effectiveness. In the traditional functional design the three main components of materials management—purchasing, production control, and distribution—were typically in separate functions and had little to do with one another. Thus coordinating their activities is difficult. Each function has its own hierarchy, and there are problems in both vertical and horizontal communication. Today, most organizations put all three of the functional activities involved in the materials management process inside one function. Three guidelines for performing reengineering successfully are as follows: Organize around outcomes, not tasks. 2. Have those who use the output of the process perform the process. 3. Decentralize decision making to the point where the decision is made. Reengineering and TQM are highly interrelated and complementary. E-Engineering This is a term used to refer to companies’ attempts to use all kinds of information systems to improve performance. The importance of e-engineering is increasing as it changes the way a company organizes its value-creation functions and links them to improve its performance. Restructuring Restructuring is a process by which managers change task and authority relationships and redesign organizational structure and culture to improve organizational effectiveness. Downsizing is the process by which managers streamline the organizational hierarchy and lay off managers and workers to reduce bureaucratic costs. The drive to decrease bureaucratic costs results from competitive pressures. Mergers and acquisitions in many industries, such as banking, have led to downsizing because fewer managers are needed. Other companies have reduced staff to match competitors. The negative effects of downsizing include overworked managers and lost opportunities. Companies that fail to control growth must downsize to remain competitive. The terms anorexic or hollow are used to refer to organizations that downsized too much and have too few managers to help them grow when conditions change. Restructuring, like other change strategies, generates resistance to change. Often, the decision to downsize requires the establishment of new task and role relationships. Because this change may threaten the jobs of some workers, they resist the changes taking place. Innovation Innovation refers to the process by which organizations use their skills and resources to develop new goods and services or to develop new production and operating systems so they can better respond to the needs of their customers. 10. 4 Managing Change: Action Research In Lewin’s view, implementing change is a three-step process: (1) unfreezing the organization from its present state, (2) making the change, and (3) refreezing the organization in the new, desired state so its members do not revert to their previous work attitudes and role behavior. Action research is a strategy for generating and acquiring knowledge that managers can use to define an organization’s desired future state and to plan a change program that allows the organization to reach that state. Figure 10. 6 highlights the steps in action research. Diagnosis of the Organization The first step in action research requires managers to recognize the existence of a problem that needs to be solved and acknowledge that some type of change is needed to solve it. In general, recognition of the need for change arises because somebody in the organization perceives a gap between desired performance and actual performance. Determining the Desired Future State This step also involves a difficult planning process as managers work out various alternative courses of action that could move the organization to where they would like it to be and determine what type of change to implement. Implementing Action 1. First, managers identify possible impediments to change at all levels. The second step is deciding who will be responsible for actually making the changes and controlling the change process. The choices are to employ either external change agents or internal change agents or use some combination of both. 3. The third step is deciding which specific change strategy will most effectively unfreeze, change, and refreeze the organization. The types of change that these techniques give rise to fall into two categories: Top-down change is implemented by managers at a high level in the organization, knowing that the change will reverberate at all organizational levels. Bottom-up change is implemented by employees at low levels in the organization that gradually rises until it is felt throughout the organization. Evaluating the Action The fourth step in action research is evaluating the action that has been taken and assessing the degree to which the changes have accomplished the desired objectives. The best way to evaluate the change process is to develop measures or criteria that allow managers to assess whether the organization has reached its desired objectives. Institutionalizing Action Research Organizations need to institutionalize action research—that is, make it a required habit or a norm adopted by every member of an organization. The institutionalization of action research is as necessary at the top of the organization as it is on the shop floor. Managerial Implications Managers must develop criteria to evaluate whether a change is necessary, and carefully design a plan that minimizes resistance. 10. 5 Organizational Development Organizational development (OD) is a series of techniques and methods that managers can use in their action research program to increase the adaptability of their organization. The goal of OD is to improve organizational effectiveness and to help people in organizations reach their potential and realize their goals and objectives. OD Techniques to Deal with Resistance to Change Education and Communication: One impediment to change is that participants are uncertain about what is going to happen. Through education and communication, internal and external agents of change can provide organizational members with information about the change and how it will affect them. Participation and Empowerment: Inviting workers to participate in the change process is a popular method of reducing resistance to change. Participation complements empowerment, increases workers’ involvement in decision making, and gives them greater autonomy to change work procedures to improve organizational performance. These are key elements of most TQM programs. People that are involved in the change and decision-making process are more likely to embrace rather than resist. Facilitation: Both managers and workers find change stressful. There are several ways in which organizations can help their members to manage stress: providing them with training to help them learn how to perform new tasks, providing them with time off from work to recuperate from the stressful effects of change, or even giving senior members sabbaticals. Bargaining and Negotiation: Bargaining and negotiation are important tools that help managers manage conflict. Because change causes conflict, bargaining is an important tool in overcoming resistance to change. Manipulation: Sometimes senior managers need to intervene, as politics shows that powerful managers have considerable ability to resist change. Coercion: The ultimate way to eliminate resistance to change is to coerce the key players into accepting change and threaten dire consequences if they choose to resist. The disadvantage is that it can leave people angry and disenchanted and can make the refreezing process difficult. OD Techniques to Promote Change Counseling, Sensitivity Training, and Process Consultation: Recognizing that each individual is different also requires them to be treated or managed differently. Sometimes, counseling will help individuals understand that their own perceptions of a situation may be incorrect. Sensitivity training is an OD technique that consists of intense counseling in which group members, aided by a facilitator, learn how others perceive them and may learn how to deal more sensitively with others. Process consultation is an OD technique in which a facilitator works closely with a manager on the job to help the manager improve his or her interactions with other group members. Team building is an OD technique in which a facilitator first observes the interactions of group members and then helps them become aware of ways to improve their work interactions. The goal of team building is to improve group processes to achieve process gains and reduce process losses that are occurring because of shirking and freeriding. Intergroup training is an OD technique that uses team building to improve the work interactions of different functions or divisions. Its goal is to improve organizational performance by focusing on a function’s or division’s joint activities and output. Organizational mirroring is an OD technique in which a facilitator helps two interdependent groups explore their perceptions and relations in order to improve their work interactions. This technique is designed to get both interdependent groups to see the perspective of the other side. Appreciating others’ perspectives allows the groups to work together more effectively. Total Organizational Interventions: A variety of OD techniques can be used at the organization level to promote organization-wide change. Organizational confrontation meeting is an OD technique that brings together all of the managers of an organization at a meeting to confront the issue of whether the organization is meeting its goals effectively.

Great Depression

Mrs. Russell Cause and Effect Essay English 101-80 Great Depression What caused the Great Depression, the worst economic depression in US history? It was not just one factor, but instead a combination of domestic and worldwide conditions that led to the Great Depression. The causes aand effects of the Great Depression was huge across the world, here are three top causes and effects of the Great Depression. Stock Market Crash of 1929 was one of the major causes that led to the Great Depression.Two months after the original crash in October, stockholderzs had lost more than $40 billion dollars. By the end of 1930, the stock market tried to regain some of its losses but it was not enough and America truly entered the Great Depression. Throughout the 1930s, over 9,000 banks failed. Bank deposits were uninsured and thus as banks failed people simply lost their savings. Surviving banks was unsure of the economic situation and concerned for their own survival, stopped being as willing to cr eate new loans.This exacerbated the situation leadig to less and less expenditures. When the stock market crashed, and the banks failed and unemployment levels reached higher and higher pointsw people understandably stopped spending money, which also deeped the economic crisis as demand for products and services slowly stopped. First effect is Stock Market and Banking regulations, after the stock market crash of 1929 and collapse of more then 40% of American banks, strict trading and banking regulations put in place.For financial protection newly formed Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for financial protection. Second effect is when Franklin D. Roosevelt’s introduced programs between 1933 and 1930, designed to help America pull out of the Great Depression by addressing high rates of unemployment and poverty. FDR and Congress introduced regulationzs and subside: the cornerstones of the New Deal wetre the Public Works Administrati on and the National Recovery Administration.Third effect is when many people learned some valuable things about managing their money and doing the best they could with what they had. Children grew up to be very imaginative and inventive. They appreciated the things they had access to in their life because they never forgot just how little they once had. The Great Depression ended in the 1939 as the world increased the production of the war materials with the outbreak of WWII. War production increased jobs and hence large amounts of money were reintrodu ced to circuklate in the economy. Great Depression Steinbeck teaches us that as humans, loneliness and the desire for companionship is inevitable and in this cruel world where we are all set again t one another as rivals for the resources needed to survive, true friendships are to be cherisher d for they are hard to come by. As humans, we are all subject to loneliness at some points in our lives, and we all desire companionship, no matter how indifferent we may act to mask that desire. In by John Steinbeck, Curler's wife is incredibly lonely as the only woman on the ranch and is often isolated from the ranch hands who view her as trouble.She is often see n prancing around the ranch in the pretense of searching for her husband and often attempts to engage other ranch hands in friendly conversation. During her conversation in the stables with Car kooks, Candy, and Leonie, she remarked, ‘Effendi I don't like to talk to somebody ever' once in a w hill? Think like to stick in that house all time? â€Å"‘ (Steinbeck, 77). This was particularly imp rotary as it displays her loneliness and desire for companionship. However, her friendly sees is often seen as flirtatiousness to the other men, and this results in their view of her as an unfed dutiful and dangerous woman.Crooks, just like Curlers wife, suffers from loneliness as w ell, though his isolation results from his race instead of his words and actions. As shown during Eng his conversation with Leonie in the stables, Crooks remarks that â€Å"if he sees something', he don't know whether its right or not† and he has no one to ask and â€Å"nothing to measure by† (Steinbeck 73). He had also cried that if â€Å"a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick† (Steinbeck 73). This was IM portent as well for it showed just how desperately we desire companionship.If we had no on e besides us, we get so lonely and desperate that we became sick due to the lack of company. The desire for companionship and loneliness are inevitable parts of human li fe that we all ex pertinence from time o time, though we may all deal with it in various methods, with some acting more indifferent than others. In this world with a population of around 7 billion and extremely limited ores urges, we are born into a dotage world. The competition for resources took a turn f or the worse when the Great Depression hit in the asses. Futures this harsh reality in which men are set against each other in a competition for the sparse jobs and machined De money, which was then used to purchase a piece of land. This was the dream of every men, but alas, in a world of worsening economy, very few saw their dream to fruition. As Curlers wife had observed in the novella, if she engaged one man in a conversation, they'd get along just if en and have a nice chat. However, if she attempts to engage a group of men in a conversation, the eyed all be too scared of each to talk to her, they'd be too scared that the others may â€Å"get so meeting' on them.This observat ion shows the hostility hidden beneath the pretense of friendly sees the men have with one another. The minute the rest â€Å"gets something† on one of the men, the eyed eliminate him so they'd have less competition for the resources, in this case, money and job s. When Candy, George, and Leonie were first entertaining the idea of owning a stake together r, George had warned them not to tell a soul for ‘they liable to can us so we can't make no SST aka† (Steinbeck 61 This warning displays the distrust among the men.Perhaps this is why true e friends pips are cherished and mourned when lost, for in this hostile world, it is difficult to co me by, but a great blessing in times of hardship. The world is cruel and hostile, and men are all says out to get one another. Loneliness and the desire for companionship is inevitable, we will all expire once it in our bedtime at one point or another, and it will only teach us to cherish our comma onions more.After all, true com panions are hard to come by in this harsh reality in which we are all born as rivals battling for the same limited resources we need to survive. Steinbeck had, thro cough his profound use and command of the English language, taught us, to put it in the simplest way, how to understand one another better. The key to communication and relations ammo Eng people is the understanding of each other, and through , Steinbeck has taught us just how we can begin to understand one another. Great Depression Mrs. Russell Cause and Effect Essay English 101-80 Great Depression What caused the Great Depression, the worst economic depression in US history? It was not just one factor, but instead a combination of domestic and worldwide conditions that led to the Great Depression. The causes aand effects of the Great Depression was huge across the world, here are three top causes and effects of the Great Depression. Stock Market Crash of 1929 was one of the major causes that led to the Great Depression.Two months after the original crash in October, stockholderzs had lost more than $40 billion dollars. By the end of 1930, the stock market tried to regain some of its losses but it was not enough and America truly entered the Great Depression. Throughout the 1930s, over 9,000 banks failed. Bank deposits were uninsured and thus as banks failed people simply lost their savings. Surviving banks was unsure of the economic situation and concerned for their own survival, stopped being as willing to cr eate new loans.This exacerbated the situation leadig to less and less expenditures. When the stock market crashed, and the banks failed and unemployment levels reached higher and higher pointsw people understandably stopped spending money, which also deeped the economic crisis as demand for products and services slowly stopped. First effect is Stock Market and Banking regulations, after the stock market crash of 1929 and collapse of more then 40% of American banks, strict trading and banking regulations put in place.For financial protection newly formed Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for financial protection. Second effect is when Franklin D. Roosevelt’s introduced programs between 1933 and 1930, designed to help America pull out of the Great Depression by addressing high rates of unemployment and poverty. FDR and Congress introduced regulationzs and subside: the cornerstones of the New Deal wetre the Public Works Administrati on and the National Recovery Administration.Third effect is when many people learned some valuable things about managing their money and doing the best they could with what they had. Children grew up to be very imaginative and inventive. They appreciated the things they had access to in their life because they never forgot just how little they once had. The Great Depression ended in the 1939 as the world increased the production of the war materials with the outbreak of WWII. War production increased jobs and hence large amounts of money were reintrodu ced to circuklate in the economy. Great Depression If someone went to prison in 1989 and was released in the year 2000, he would probably be surprised by how drastic change can be in ten years can bring. When 1990 started, people were still communicating through letters and the telephone. The Bible was still the greatest bestseller and people used the word â€Å"terror† to describe how scared they were of their neighbor’s dog. By the end of 1999, however, children were engrossed with a new book. People were sending e-mails to their loved ones, and our idea of terror has been redefined.The 90s was shaped by things we could not have imagined, things that have brought about major changes in our lives. Though the decade was made of numerous and note-worthy events, this paper will zero in on three factors that best define the 1990s in America: the story that mattered to the young, the technology that changed the face of communication, and the heartbreak that we suffered as a nation. In trying to define the 1990s in America, it is important that we take a look at the decade’s popular literary works. Literature is an important indicator of the times.By reading the popular literature of the early 1920s, we see a generation dried out by the. If we read the poetry and fiction of the Beat writers, we see a carefree generation of the late 50’s ready to break into the sexual revolution of the 60s. I’ve always thought of literature as a reflection of a people’s state of mind. It is, after all, the collection of stories of people. And people only write stories of the things that truly matter to them. Ironically, in the 90s, the most popular story ever told could not have happened to anyone.That would just be silly. No 11-year-old boy could have found out that he was a wizard and then went off to wizardry school. But that is exactly the premise of the most popular book of the 90s —Harry Potter. The premise does sound pretty simple, but author JK Rowling managed to craft intricat e storylines of various adventures, with mysteries being deliciously unraveled along the way. The result? The highest selling children’s book in history. No other children’s book has ever made much of an impact as â€Å"the boy who lived†.From then on there were several other books written about magic, wizards, vampires, robots, things not of this earth. And I think this is indicative of what we as a people are ready for. We are a generation ready to be bewildered, to consider things outside our immediate reality. Wiktorin, in his paper about how the Harry Potter books relate to contemporary life, states that â€Å"constructing a world different to the ordinary one and marketing this, can certainly be a very lucrative enterprise† (2). This is exactly what Harry Potter and all the fantasy books of the nineties have offered us.A constructed world so different from our own, but governed by the rules and emotions that are quintessentially human. This readines s to consider things outside our realm went hand in hand with the explosion of the internet in the nineties. In 1984, if you were a lonely kid in school, you went home and dealt with it. In 1998, a nerdy 13-year-old who probably feels ill at ease with his schoolmates can log in on the internet after school and find an online community of people to talk to. In the 1990s, the internet was really primarily used for communication.The e-mail and the chat functions were the most popular internet activities. A study conducted by Axel Franzen shows that email increases social involvement and regression analysis shows that Internet users have 24% more friends (Lesnard, 4). The world got a lot smaller, and getting in touch was just a few clicks away. The amount of information that the World Wide Web has brought to individuals cannot be emphasized enough. If Harry Potter led us to believe or consider things that are outside our realm, the internet allowed us to think of the things that existed beyond our personal reality.It allowed us to be tolerant of differences, because these differences are no longer miles away from us. We hear about it a few clicks away. The things that we can see on the internet can also be seen by people with internet in China. It equalizes us somehow and allows us to interact in astounding ways. As much as Harry Potter brought about a considerable amount of whimsical escape and the internet allowed us to be more aware of others’ cultures and differences, certain events of the 90s unfortunately gave us first-hand experience of evil.In the middle of the decade, America experienced its first terror attack through the Oklahoma Bombing. Despite the number of wars that have been fought by our country, a terror attack was so surprising because it just didn’t make sense. The Oklahoma bombing wasn’t an unfortunate result of any military operation. It wasn’t the work of some psychotic man. It wasn’t an accidental occurren ce. Rather, it was a carefully calculated plan with the sole purpose of terrorizing people. The perpetrators were apprehended and convicted, and the reasons behind their actions was said to be disappointment with how the U.S government handled past issues. Instead of letting their opinions known through protests, they took a course of action as arbitrary as it is terrorizing. The Oklahoma Bombing killed 108 people, including babies on daycare. This terrorist attack reminded us of the need for security, to protect our nation from people who are on the mission to destroy it. When it comes to vigilance against terrorism, â€Å"unlike most other enterprises, success and failure are measured according to the number of lives saved and lost† (Manzi, et. al. , 10).We cannot afford to lose the war against terror, as it will mean losing precious lives. After the Oklahoma bombing, the government implemented tighter security measures and that has stopped numerous other terror attempts. H owever there still continues to be groups of people who vehemently disagree with what America stands for as a nation. So much so, that they are willing to kill thousands of people just to show their hatred and defiance. Sadly, they succeeded again in 2001, when we found ourselves dealing with the horror that is 9/11.Every year we learn something new. Every decade stands for something. But during 1990s, aside from learning the Macarena and wearing baby doll dresses with high cut boots, aside from thinking that boy bands were actually cool, we grew a lot as a nation. The internet has shown us that the world as we know it could be perceived as an entirely different world for others. And it is important to be tolerant of differences, to respect differences. Terror attacks have shown us the extreme effects of our intolerance.Even the preferred choice of reading material shows that we are ready to tolerate changes, unlike Harry Pottter’s human family who can’t accept the fac t that he’s a wizard. There is still so much to be learned, so many virtues to put into practice, and knowledge to be put in use. But I’d love to believe that the experiences we had in the 90s helped us a lot. And in retrospect, I hope that I will also consider this decade as great as the one it preceded. Works Cited: Lesnard, L. †Social Change, Daily Life, and the Internet†, Chimera Working Paper, 2005-07: Retrieved on 17 November 2008, http://hal.archives-ouvertes. fr/docs/00/04/46/29/PDF/CWP-2005-07-Lesnard-Social-Change. pdf Wiktorin, Pierre. â€Å"Constructing a Distinct Other: Harry Potter and the Enchantment of the Future† 17 May 2005. Retrieved on 17 November 2008, http://www. anpere. net/2007/12. pdf Manzi, Powers, & Zetterlund. â€Å"Critical Information Flows in the Alfred P. Murrah Building Bombing: A Case Study†. The Terrorism Studies Series. Retrieved on 17 November 2008. http://www. mipt. org/pdf/murrahcasestudy. pdf