Olaudah Equiano: a Man of Many Customs

James Pajich Prof. Carla Lovett Hist. 105 18 October 2012 Olaudah Equiano: A Man of Many Customs The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano describes the life of a native African who was kidnapped from his homeland in the Eboe Province (which is now the Nigerian town of Isseke) at age eleven and thrown into the horrors of the African slave trade. Unlike most victims of the slave trade, Equiano regained his freedom and experienced multiple facets of life that no one could have expected.Equiano became a man of diverse customs and values. However, due to the absence of written records’ it is often a matter of debate as to what his true origin really was. Throughout his autobiography, Olaudah Equiano defined himself as a native African. He used vivid illustrations of his homeland and experiences on the Middle Passage, and was even willing to defend the public’s view of him as a man of Africa. I personally define Equiano as a European citizen according to his c ustoms, personal desires, and behavior.Equiano’s narrative played a key role in a variety of cultural, historical, and literary issues, therefore, the identification and ultimately the validity of its author take on special importance. While reading The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano I found it very apparent that Equiano viewed himself as an African born individual. He illustrated his culture and customs as an Igbo African in vivid details of culture, religion, law, and agriculture. (43-56) He also described the atrocities of the Atlantic slave trade as if he had recently experienced them: stating the smell, appearance, and reaction of his fellow slaves. 64-68) â€Å"Although culturally Equiano became â€Å"almost and Englishman,† embracing Christianity and British customs, the experiences Equiano shared with slaves and free people of color, and living in a world that did not differentiate between members of separate African communities, led him to consider himself also a son of Africa. † (21) Equiano embraced his African heritage throughout his life and even fought to uphold his reputation as such. There was an instance where two anonymous notes appeared in London papers charging that he was not from Africa at all, but was actually born on he Danish island of St. Croix in the Caribbean. Equiano realized that this claim falsified the validity of his Narrative and immediately confronted and threatened those responsible for the papers with legal action, providing actual witnesses of the fact that upon his arrival in England he was only able to speak an African language (24-25). This reaction shows that Equiano held much pride in his African identity and was willing defend it against those who claimed otherwise. However, there is evidence of significant authority that claims Equiano may have fabricated the origins of his identity.There are two certain documents, discovered by literary historian Vincent Carretta, that pin point the birthplace of Equiano in South Carolina that keep modern day scholars and historians from absolute certainty of his actual birthplace. One of these documents was written on February 9, 1759 in the baptismal registry of St. Margaret’s Church in Westminster, England. It read, â€Å"Gustavus Vassa (Olaudah Equiano) a Black born in Carolina 12 years old. † (26) The second document was from Equiano’s Arctic expedition in 1773. It claims that he was currently 28 years old and born in South Carolina.Neither of these findings is conclusive as to whether Equiano was African or American-born, but they certainly leave plenty of room for uncertainty. (26-27) I personally define Equiano as European, particularly an Englishman. Notions of English nationality are found in great abundance throughout the text. Equiano’s narrative repeatedly expresses his desire for a male English identity. He doesn’t view Englishness as a racially exclusive nationality, b ut one that evokes an ethnic identity that Equiano defines through Christianity, and citizenship.Two to three years after arriving in England Equiano claimed â€Å"I no longer looked at them as spirits, but as men superior to us; and therefore I had a stronger desire to resemble them; to imbibe their spirit, and imitate their manners I therefore embraced every occasion of improvement; and every new thing that I observed I treasured up in my memory. † (83) Here we see Equiano’s envy for his new â€Å"superiors† and his wish to possess their culture and belongings. This desire strongly encouraged my opinion of Equiano’s identity as European.My opinion was also influenced by Equiano’s acculturation into English society and customs during his early teen years. â€Å"I could now speak English tolerably well, and I perfectly understood everything that was said. I now not only felt myself quite easy with these new countrymen, but relished their society a nd manners. † (83) It is clear that Equiano identified his shipmates as his â€Å"countrymen† and personally enjoyed the interactions he had with each one of them. It was now between three and four years since I first came to England, a great part of which I had spent at sea; so that I became inured to that service, and began to consider myself as happily situated; for my master treated me always extremely well; and my attachment and gratitude to him were very great. From the various scenes I had beheld on ship-board, I soon grew a stranger to terror of every kind, and was, in that respect at least, almost an Englishman. † (83) This passage shows that Equiano developed an affectionate relationship with his master and also that their bond strengthened Equiano’s identity as an adult man.Even more important, the identity Equiano is trying to proclaim for himself as an adult man, â€Å"a stranger to terror of every kind†, is as a European. There are also certain actions and beliefs that Equiano maintained that provoked the establishment of his European desires. For instance, he believed the only manner towards proper adulthood is as an Englishman. Equiano doesn’t come right out and say this but there is a point in the text where he noted that he considers himself very fortunate that he didn’t receive his family members’ tribal marking on his face, as is would have represented his entrance into mature Ibo manhood. As I was now amongst a people who had not their faces scarred, like some of the African nations where I had been, I was very glad that I did not let them ornament me in that manner† (69). Also, during Equiano’s voyage to Jamaica and the Mosquito Shore he went to see a Guineaman doctor to purchase slaves to cultivate a plantation. He even chose them according to their native land in hopes that it is near his own. (189) The identification of Olaudah Equiano is of the utmost importance becaus e of the critical role he played in the antislavery movement. Even the timing f a personable voice speaking out against slavery was important because it was a time when opposition to slavery was scattered throughout Britain and America and Equiano’s narrative, along with other factors, helped assemble the movement into one of the greatest in British history. It was Equiano’s personal accounts and experiences that validated his narrative. He possessed the intelligence and capability to spread his ideas to men and women on all levels of British society. He also had the members of significant political authority to support his narrative to yet further its validity.Unfortunately, Equiano never had the opportunity to bare witness to what he worked so hardly toward because the slave trade ended in both England and the United State ten years after his death (1807). Conclusively, it is very apparent that Olaudah Equiano distinguished himself as an African-born man, even though I personally identify him as a man of European customs based on his desires, influences, and his acculturation into European society. Most importantly, Equiano’s narrative played a key role as an abolitionist tool in the fight against slavery and the identity of its author deems it valid as a historical document.

Evolution of Management Essay

As long as there have been human endeavors, there have been people willing to take charge—people willing to plan, organize, staff, and control the work. One might say that nature abhors a vacuum and thus someone will always step forward to fill a leadership void. Probably the natural emergence of leadership grew out of our instinct for survival. In the hostile world of early humankind, food, shelter, and safety needs usually required cooperative efforts, and cooperative efforts required some form of leadership. Certainly leadership was vested in the heads of early families via the patriarchal system. The oldest member of the family was the most experienced and was presumed to be the wisest member of the family and thus was the natural leader. As families grew into tribes and tribes evolved into nations, more complex forms of leadership were required and did evolve. Division of labor and supervision practices is recorded on the earliest written record, the clay tablets of the Sumerians. In Sumerian society, as in many others since, the wisest and best leaders were thought to be the priests and other religious leaders. Likewise, the ancient Babylonian cities developed very strict codes, such as the code of Hammurabi. King Nebuchadnezzar used color codes to control production of the hanging gardens, and there were weekly and annual reports, norms for productivity, and rewards for piecework. The Egyptians organized their people and their slaves to build their cities and pyramids. Construction of one pyramid, around 5000 BC. , required the labor of 100,000 people working for approximately 20 years. Planning, organizing, and controlling were essential elements of that and other feats, many of them long term. The ancient Egyptian Pharaohs had long-term planners and advisors, as did their contemporaries in China. China perfected military organization based on line and staff principles and used these same principles in the early Chinese dynasties. Confucius wrote parables that offered practical suggestions for public administration. In the Old Testament, Moses led a group of Jewish slaves out of Egypt and then organized them into a nation. Exodus, Chapter 18, describes how Moses â€Å"chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, and differentiated between rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties and rulers of tens. A system of judges also evolved, with only the hard cases coming to Moses. The city-states of Greece were commonwealths, with councils, courts, administrative officials, and boards of generals. Socrates talked about management as a skill separate from technical knowledge and experience. Plato wrote about specialization and proposed notions of a healthy republic. The Roman Empire is thought by many to have been so successful because of the Romans’ great ability to organize the military and conquer new lands. Those sent to govern the far-flung parts of the empire were effective administrators and were able to maintain relationships with leaders from other provinces and across the empire as a whole. There are numerous other ancient leaders who were skillful organizers, at least as indicated by their accomplishments, such as Hannibal, who shepherded an army across the Alps, and the first emperor of China, who built the Great Wall. Many of the practices employed today in leading, managing, and administering modern organizations have their origins in antiquity. Many concepts of authority developed in a religious context. One example is the Roman Catholic Church with its efficient formal organization and management techniques. The chain of command or path of authority, including the concept of specialization, was a most important contribution to management theory. Machiavelli also wrote about authority, stressing that it comes from the consent of the masses. However, the ideas Machiavelli expressed in The Prince are more often viewed as mainly concerned with leadership and communication. Much management theory has military origins, probably because efficiency and effectiveness are essential for success in warfare. The concepts of unity of command, line of command, staff advisors, and division of work all can be traced back at least to Alexander the Great, or even earlier, to Lao Tzu. The Industrial Revolution created a need for new thinking and the refinement of old thinking. Time and motion studies intensified the division of work, as did centralized production and research and development. Modern management theory prevails afterwards. The preceding historical review indicates that thinking about management and leadership is in large part situational and that practices evolved to deal with new situations that arose. It also indicates that yesterday’s principles and theories are surprisingly contemporary and surprisingly sophisticated. Some overlap occurs, of course, and some gaps. Today’s theorists have attempted to fill in the gaps and adapt the theories to current situations. Yet, like in other areas of thought, not much is of recent origin in the field of management theory. The Evolution of Management Changes in management practices occur as managers, theorists, researchers, and consultants seek new ways to increase organizational efficiency and effectiveness. The driving force behind the evolution of management theory is the search for better ways to utilize organizational resources. Advances in management theory typically occur as managers and researchers find better ways to perform the principal management tasks: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling human and other organizational resources. In this paper, we will try to examine how management theory concerning appropriate management practices has evolved in modern times, and look at the central concerns that have guided its development. First, we look into the so-called classical management theories that emerged around the turn of the twentieth century. These include scientific management, which focuses on matching people and tasks to maximize efficiency; and administrative management, which focuses on identifying the principles that will lead to the creation of the most efficient system of organization and management. Next, we consider behavioral management theories, developed both before and after the Second World War, which focus on how managers should lead and control their workforces to increase performance. Then we discuss management science theory, which developed during the Second World War and which has become increasingly important as researchers have developed rigorous analytical and quantitative techniques to help managers measure and control organizational performance. Finally, we discuss business in the 1960s and 1970s and focus on the theories that were developed to help explain how the external environment affects the way organizations and managers operate. At the end of this paper, one will understand the ways in which management theory has evolved over time. One will also understand how economic, political, and cultural forces have affected the development of these theories and the ways in which managers and their organizations behave. Figure 1. 1 summarizes the chronology of the management theories that are discussed in this paper. Scientific Management Theory The evolution of modern management began in the closing decades of the nineteenth century, after the industrial revolution had swept through Europe, Canada, and the United States. In the new economic climate, managers of all types of organizations—political, educational, and economic—were increasingly trying to find better ways to satisfy customers’ needs. Many major economic, technical, and cultural changes were taking place at this time. The introduction of steam power and the development of sophisticated machinery and equipment changed the way in which goods were produced, particularly in the weaving and clothing industries. Small workshops run by skilled workers who produced hand-manufactured products (a system called crafts production) were being replaced by large factories in which sophisticated machines controlled by hundreds or even thousands of unskilled or semiskilled workers made products. Owners and managers of the new factories found themselves unprepared for the challenges accompanying the change from small-scale crafts production to large-scale mechanized manufacturing. Many of the managers and supervisors had only a technical orientation, and were unprepared for the social problems that occur when people work together in large groups (as in a factory or shop system). Managers began to search for new techniques to manage their organizations’ resources, and soon they began to focus on ways to increase the efficiency of the worker–task mix. Job specialization and division of labor The famous economist Adam Smith was one of the first to look at the effects of different manufacturing systems. 7 He compared the relative performance of two different manufacturing methods. The first was similar to crafts-style production, in which each worker was responsible for all of the 18 tasks involved in producing a pin. The other had each worker performing only 1 or a few of the 18 tasks that go into making a completed pin. Smith found that factories in which workers specialized in only 1 or a few tasks had greater performance than factories in which each worker performed all 18 pin-making tasks. In fact, Smith found that 10 workers specializing in a particular task could, between them, make 48 000 pins a day, whereas those workers who performed all the tasks could make only a few thousand at most. Smith reasoned that this difference in performance was due to the fact that the workers who specialized became much more skilled at their specific tasks, and, as a group, were thus able to produce a product faster than the group of workers who each had to perform many tasks. Smith concluded that increasing the level of job specialization— the process by which a division of labour occurs as different workers specialize in different tasks over time—increases efficiency and leads to higher organizational performance. Based on Adam Smith’s observations, early management practitioners and theorists focused on how managers should organize and control the work process to maximize the advantages of job specialization and the division of labour. F. W. Taylor and Scientific Management Frederick W. Taylor (1856–1915) is best known for defining the techniques of scientific management, the systematic study of relationships between people and tasks for the purpose of redesigning the work process to increase efficiency. Taylor believed that if the amount of time and effort that each worker expended to produce a unit of output (a finished good or service) could be reduced by increasing specialization and the division of labour, then the production process would become more efficient. Taylor believed that the way to create the most efficient division of labour could best be determined by means of scientific management techniques, rather than intuitive or informal rule-of-thumb knowledge. This decision ultimately resulted in problems. For example, some managers using scientific management obtained increases in performance, but rather than sharing performance gains with workers through bonuses as Taylor had advocated, they simply increased the amount of work that each worker was expected to do. Many workers experiencing the reorganized work system found that as their performance increased, managers required them to do more work for the same pay. Workers also learned that increases in performance often meant fewer jobs and a greater threat of layoffs, because fewer workers were needed. In addition, the specialized, simplified jobs were often monotonous and repetitive, and many workers became dissatisfied with their jobs. Scientific management brought many workers more hardship than gain, and left them with a distrust of managers who did not seem to care about their wellbeing. These dissatisfied workers resisted attempts to use the new scientific management techniques and at times even withheld their job knowledge from managers to protect their jobs and pay. Unable to inspire workers to accept the new scientific management techniques for performing tasks, some organizations increased the mechanization of the work process. For example, one reason for Henry Ford’s introduction of moving conveyor belts in his factory was the realization that when a conveyor belt controls the pace of work (instead of workers setting their own pace), workers can be pushed to perform at higher levels—levels that they may have thought were beyond their reach. Charlie Chaplin captured this aspect of mass production in one of the opening scenes of his famous movie, Modern Times (1936). In the film, Chaplin caricatured a new factory employee fighting to work at the machine imposed pace but losing the battle to the machine. Henry Ford also used the principles of scientific management to identify the tasks that each worker should perform on the production line and thus to determine the most effective way to create a division of labour to suit the needs of a mechanized production system. From a performance perspective, the combination of the two management practices— (1) achieving the right mix of worker–task specialization and (2) linking people and tasks by the speed of the production line—makes sense. It produces the huge savings in cost and huge increases in output that occur in large, organized work settings. For example, in 1908, managers at the Franklin Motor Company redesigned the work process using scientific management principles, and the output of cars increased from 100 cars a month to 45 cars a day; workers’ wages increased by only 90 percent, however. From other perspectives, though, scientific management practices raise many concerns. The definition of the workers’ rights not by the workers themselves but by the owners or managers as a result of the introduction of the new management practices raises an ethical issue, which we examine in this â€Å"Ethics in Action. † Fordism in Practice From 1908 to 1914, through trial and error, Henry Ford’s talented team of production managers pioneered the development of the moving conveyor belt and thus changed manufacturing practices forever. Although the technical aspects of the move to mass production were a dramatic financial success for Ford and for the millions of Americans who could now afford cars, for the workers who actually produced the cars, many human and social problems resulted. With simplification of the work process, workers grew to hate the monotony of the moving conveyor belt. By 1914, Ford’s car plants were experiencing huge employee turnover—often reaching levels as high as 300 or 400 percent per year as workers left because they could not handle the work-induced stress. 15 Henry Ford recognized these problems and made an announcement: From that point on, to motivate his workforce, he would reduce the length of the workday from nine hours to eight hours, and the company would double the basic wage from US$2. 50 to US$5. 00 per day. This was a dramatic increase, similar to an announcement today of an overnight doubling of the minimum wage. Ford became an internationally famous figure, and the word â€Å"Fordism† was coined for his new approach. Ford’s apparent generosity was matched, however, by an intense effort to control the resources—both human and material—with which his empire was built. He employed hundreds of inspectors to check up on employees, both inside and outside his factories. In the factory, supervision was close and confining. Employees were not allowed to leave their places at the production line, and they were not permitted to talk to one another. Their job was to concentrate fully on the task at hand. Few employees could adapt to this system, and they developed ways of talking out of the sides of their mouths, like ventriloquists, and invented a form of speech that became known as the â€Å"Ford Lisp. † Ford’s obsession with control brought him into greater and greater conflict with managers, who were often fired when they disagreed with him. As a result, many talented people left Ford to join his growing rivals. Outside the workplace, Ford went so far as to establish what he called the â€Å"Sociological Department† to check up on how his employees lived and the ways in which they spent their time. Inspectors from this department visited the homes of employees and investigated their habits and problems. Employees who exhibited behaviours contrary to Ford’s standards (for instance, if they drank too much or were always in debt) were likely to be fired. Clearly, Ford’s effort to control his employees led him and his managers to behave in ways that today would be considered unacceptable and unethical, and in the long run would impair an organization’s ability to prosper. Despite the problems of worker turnover, absenteeism, and discontent at Ford Motor Company, managers of the other car companies watched Ford reap huge gains in efficiency from the application of the new management principles. They believed that their companies would have to imitate Ford if they were to survive. They followed Taylor and used many of his followers as consultants to teach them how to adopt the techniques of scientific management. In addition, Taylor elaborated his principles in several books, including Shop Management (1903) and The detail how to apply the principles of scientific management to reorganize the work system. Taylor’s work has had an enduring effect on the management of production systems. Managers in every organization, whether it produces goods or services, now carefully analyze the basic tasks that must be performed and try to devise the work systems that will allow their organizations to operate most efficiently. The Gilbreths Two prominent followers of Taylor were Frank Gilbreth (1868–1924) and Lillian Gilbreth (1878–1972), who refined Taylor’s analysis of work movements and made many contributions to time-and-motion study. Their aims were to (1) break up into each of its component actions and analyze every individual action necessary to perform a particular task, (2) find better ways to perform each component action, and (3) reorganize each of the component actions so that the action as a whole could be performed more efficiently—at less cost of time and effort. The Gilbreths often filmed a worker performing a particular task and then separated the task actions, frame by frame, into their component movements. Their goal was to maximize the efficiency with which each individual task was performed so that gains across tasks would add up to enormous savings of time and effort. Their attempts to develop improved management principles were captured—at times quite humorously—in the movie Cheaper by the Dozen, which depicts how the Gilbreths (with their 12 children) tried to live their own lives according to these efficiency principles and apply them to daily actions such as shaving, cooking, and even raising a family. Eventually, the Gilbreths became increasingly interested in the study of fatigue. They studied how the physical characteristics of the workplace contribute to job stress that often leads to fatigue and thus poor performance. They isolated factors— such as lighting, heating, the colour of walls, and the design of tools and machines—that result in worker fatigue. Their pioneering studies paved the way for new advances in management theory. In workshops and factories, the work of the Gilbreths, Taylor, and many others had a major effect on the practice of management. In comparison with the old crafts system, jobs in the new system were more repetitive, boring, and monotonous as a result of the application of scientific management principles, and workers became increasingly dissatisfied. Frequently, the management of work settings became a game between workers and managers: Managers tried to initiate work practices to increase performance, and workers tried to hide the true potential efficiency of the work setting in order to protect their own well-being. Administrative management theory Side by side with scientific managers studying the person–task mix to increase efficiency, other researchers were focusing on administrative management, the study of how to create an organizational structure that leads to high efficiency and effectiveness. Organizational structure is the system of task and authority relationships that control how employees use resources to achieve the organization’s goals. Two of the most influential views regarding the creation of efficient systems of organizational administration were developed in Europe. Max Weber, a German professor of sociology, developed one theory. Henri Fayol, the French manager who developed a model of management introduced earlier, developed the other. The Theory of Bureaucracy Max Weber (1864–1920) wrote at the turn of the twentieth century, when Germany was undergoing its industrial revolution. To help Germany manage its growing industrial enterprises at a time when it was striving to become a world power, Weber developed the principles of bureaucracy—a formal system of organization and administration designed to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. A bureaucratic system of administration is based on five principles (summarized in Figure 1. 2). †¢ Principle 1: In a bureaucracy, a manager’s formal authority derives from the position he or she holds in the organization. Authority is the power to hold people accountable for their actions and to make decisions concerning the use of organizational resources. Authority gives managers the right to direct and control their subordinates’ behaviour to achieve organizational goals. In a bureaucratic system of administration, obedience is owed to a manager, not because of any personal qualities that he or she might possess— such as personality, wealth, or social status—but because the manager occupies a position that is associated with a certain level of authority and responsibility. †¢ Principle 2: In a bureaucracy, people should occupy positions because of their performance, not because of their social standing or personal contacts. This principle was not always followed in Weber’s time and is often ignored today. Some organizations and industries are still affected by social networks in which personal contacts and relations, not job-related skills, influence hiring and promotional decisions. †¢ Principle 3: The extent of each position’s formal authority and task responsibilities, and its relationship to other positions in an organization, should be clearly specified. When the tasks and authority associated with various positions in the organization are clearly specified, managers and workers know what is expected of them and what to expect from each other. Moreover, an organization can hold all its employees strictly accountable for their actions when each person is completely familiar with his or her responsibilities. †¢ Principle 4: So that authority can be exercised effectively in an organization, positions should be arranged hierarchically, so employees know whom to report to and who reports to them. Managers must create an organizational hierarchy of authority that makes it clear who reports to whom and to whom managers and workers should go if conflicts or problems arise. This principle is especially important in the armed forces, CSIS, RCMP, and other organizations that deal with sensitive issues involving possible major repercussions. It is vital that managers at high levels of the hierarchy be able to hold subordinates accountable for their actions. †¢ Principle 5: Managers must create a well-defined system of rules, standard operating procedures, and norms so that they can effectively control behaviour within an organization. Rules are formal written instructions that specify actions to be taken under different circumstances to achieve specific goals (for example, if A happens, do B). Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are specific sets of written instructions about how to perform a certain aspect of a task. A rule might state that at the end of the workday employees are to leave their machines in good order, and a set of SOPs then specifies exactly how they should do so, itemizing which machine parts must be oiled or replaced. Norms are unwritten, informal codes of conduct that prescribe how people should act in particular situations. For example, an organizational norm in a restaurant might be that waiters should help each other if time permits. Rules, SOPs, and norms provide behavioural guidelines that improve the performance of a bureaucratic system because they specify the best ways to accomplish organizational tasks. Companies such as McDonald’s and Wal-Mart have developed extensive rules and procedures to specify the types of behaviours that are required of their employees, such as, â€Å"Always greet the customer with a smile. † Weber believed that organizations that implement all five principles will establish a bureaucratic system that will improve organizational performance. The specification of positions and the use of rules and SOPs to regulate how tasks are performed make it easier for managers to organize and control the work of subordinates. Similarly, fair and equitable selection and promotion systems improve managers’ feelings of security, reduce stress, and encourage organizational members to act ethically and further promote the interests of the organization. If bureaucracies are not managed well, however, many problems can result. Sometimes, managers allow rules and SOPs—â€Å"bureaucratic red tape†Ã¢â‚¬â€to become so cumbersome that decision making becomes slow and inefficient and organizations are unable to change. When managers rely too much on rules to solve problems and not enough on their own skills and judgment, their behaviour becomes inflexible. A key challenge for managers is to use bureaucratic principles to benefit, rather than harm, an organization. Fayol’s Principles of Management Working at the same time as Weber but independently of him, Henri Fayol (1841–1925), the CEO of Comambault Mining, identified 14 principles (summarized in Table 2. ) that he believed to be essential to increasing the efficiency of the management process. Some of the principles that Fayol outlined have faded from contemporary management practices, but most have endured. The principles that Fayol and Weber set forth still provide a clear and appropriate set of guidelines that managers can use to create a work setting that makes efficient and effective use of organizational resources. These principles remain the bedrock of modern management theory; recent researchers have refined or developed them to suit modern conditions. For example, Weber’s and Fayol’s concerns for equity and for establishing appropriate links between performance and reward are central themes in contemporary theories of motivation and leadership. Behavioural Management Theory The behavioural management theorists writing in the first half of the twentieth century all espoused a theme that focused on how managers should personally behave in order to motivate employees and encourage them to perform at high levels and be committed to the achievement of organizational goals. The â€Å"Management Insight† indicates how employees can become demoralized when managers do not treat their employees properly. Management Insight – How to Discourage Employees Catherine Robertson, owner of Vancouver-based Robertson Telecom Inc. , made headlines in February 2001 for her management policies. Robertson is a government contractor whose company operates Enquiry BC, which gives British Columbians toll-free telephone information and referral services about all provincial government programs. Female telephone operators at Robertson Telecom must wear skirts or dresses even though they never come in contact with the public. Not even dress pants are allowed. As Gillian Savage, a former employee, notes, â€Å"This isn’t a suggested thing, it’s an order: No pants. † Brad Roy, another former employee, claims a female Indo-Canadian employee was sent home to change when she arrived at work wearing a Punjabi suit (a long shirt over pants). The no-pants rule is not the only concern of current and former employees. Roy also said, â€Å"I saw some people being reprimanded for going to the washroom. While Robertson denied Roy’s allegation regarding washrooms, she did confirm that company policy included the no-pants rule, that employees were not allowed to bring their purses or other personal items to their desks, and that they were not allowed to drink coffee or bottled water at their desks. The company does not provide garbage cans for the employees. A g roup of current and former employees recently expressed concern with the number of rules Robertson has in place, and claimed that the rules have led to high turnover and poor morale. A current employee claims that many workers do not care whether they give out the right government phone numbers. Robertson said that she knew of no employees who were discontent, and was shocked that the policies had caused distress among employees. She defended the dress code as appropriate business attire. Robertson may have to make some adjustments in her management style. The cabinet minister responsible for Enquiry BC, Catherine MacGregor, ordered an investigation of the contractor after being contacted by The Vancouver Sun about the allegations. She noted that the skirts-only rule for women is not appropriate, and that, â€Å"All of our contractors are expected to fully comply with the Employment Standards Act, Workers Compensation rules and human rights legislation. † Additionally, Mary-Woo Sims, head of the BC Human Rights Commission, said dress codes can’t be based on gender. Thus, an employer can’t tell men they must wear pants (as Robertson does), but tell women they can’t. â€Å"On the face of it, it would appear to be gender discriminatory,† Sims said. The Work of Mary Parker Follett If F. W. Taylor is considered to be the father of management thought, Mary Parker Follett (1868–1933) serves as its mother. 28 Much of her writing about management and about the way managers should behave toward workers was a response to her concern that Taylor was ignoring the human side of the organization. She pointed out that management often overlooks the multitude of ways in which employees can contribute to the organization when managers allow them to participate and exercise initiative in their everyday work lives. Taylor, for example, relied on time-and-motion experts to analyze workers’ jobs for them. Follett, in contrast, argued that because workers know the most about their jobs, they should be involved in job analysis and managers should allow them to participate in the work development process. Follett proposed that, â€Å"Authority should go with knowledge †¦ whether it is up the line or down. † In other words, if workers have the relevant knowledge, then workers, rather than managers, should be in control of the work process itself, and managers should behave as coaches and facilitators—not as monitors and supervisors. In making this statement, Follett anticipated the current interest in self-managed teams and empowerment. She also recognized the importance of having managers in different departments communicate directly with each other to speed decision making. She advocated what she called â€Å"cross-functioning†: members of different departments working together in cross-departmental teams to accomplish projects—an approach that is increasingly utilized today. Fayol also mentioned expertise and knowledge as important sources of managers’ authority, but Follett went further. She proposed that knowledge and expertise, and not managers’ formal authority deriving from their position in the hierarchy, should decide who would lead at any particular moment. She believed, as do many management theorists today, that power is fluid and should flow to the person who can best help the organization achieve its goals. Follett took a horizontal view of power and authority, in contrast to Fayol, who saw the formal line of authority and vertical chain of command as being most essential to effective management. Follett’s behavioural approach to management was very radical for its time. The Hawthorne Studies and Human Relations Probably because of its radical nature, Follett’s work was unappreciated by managers and researchers until quite recently. Instead, researchers continued to follow in the footsteps of Taylor and the Gilbreths. One focus was on how efficiency might be increased through improving various characteristics of the work setting, such as job specialization or the kinds of tools workers used. One series of studies was conducted from 1924 to 1932 at the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company. This research, now known as the Hawthorne studies, began as an attempt to investigate how characteristics of the work setting—specifically the level of lighting or illumination—affect worker fatigue and performance. The researchers conducted an experiment in which they systematically measured worker productivity at various levels of illumination. The experiment produced some unexpected results. The researchers found that regardless of whether they raised or lowered the level of illumination, productivity increased. In fact, productivity began to fall only when the level of illumination dropped to the level of moonlight, a level at which presumably workers could no longer see well enough to do their work efficiently. The researchers found these results puzzling and invited a noted Harvard psychologist, Elton Mayo, to help them. Subsequently, it was found that many other factors also influence worker behaviour, and it was not clear what was actually influencing the Hawthorne workers’ behaviour. However, this particular effect— which became known as the Hawthorne effect—seemed to suggest that workers’ attitudes toward their managers affect the level of workers’ performance. In particular, the significant finding was that a manager’s behaviour or leadership approach can affect performance. This finding led many researchers to turn their attention to managerial behaviour and leadership. If supervisors could be trained to behave in ways that would elicit cooperative behaviour from their subordinates, then productivity could be increased. From this view emerged the human relations movement, which advocates that supervisors be behaviourally trained to manage subordinates in ways that elicit their cooperation and increase their productivity. The importance of behavioural or human relations training became even clearer to its supporters after another series of experiments—the bank wiring room experiments. In a study of workers making telephone switching equipment, researchers Elton Mayo and F. J. Roethlisberger discovered that the workers, as a group, had deliberately adopted a norm of output restriction to protect their jobs. Workers who violated this informal production norm were subjected to sanctions by other group members. Those who violated group performance norms and performed above the norm were called â€Å"ratebusters†; those who performed below the norm were called â€Å"chiselers. † The experimenters concluded that both types of workers threatened the group as a whole. Ratebusters threatened group members because they revealed to managers how fast the work could be done. Chiselers were looked down on because they were not doing their share of the work. Work-group members disciplined both ratebusters and chiselers in order to create a pace of work that the workers (not the managers) thought was fair. Thus, a work group’s influence over output can be as great as the supervisors’ influence. Since the work group can influence the behavior of its members, some management theorists argue that supervisors should be trained to behave in ways that gain the goodwill and cooperation of workers so that supervisors, not workers, control the level of work-group performance. One of the main implications of the Hawthorne studies was that the behavior of managers and workers in the work setting is as important in explaining the level of performance as the technical aspects of the task. Managers must understand the workings of the informal organization, the system of behavioural rules and norms that emerge in a group, when they try to manage or change behaviour in organizations. Many studies have found that, as time passes, groups often develop elaborate procedures and norms that bond members together, allowing unified action either to cooperate with management in order to raise performance or to restrict output and thwart the attainment of organizational goals. The Hawthorne studies demonstrated the importance of understanding how the feelings, thoughts, and behaviour of work-group members and managers affect performance. It was becoming increasingly clear to researchers that understanding behaviour in organizations is a complex process that is critical to increasing performance. Indeed, the increasing interest in the area of management known as organizational behaviour, the study of the factors that have an impact on how individuals and groups respond to and act in organizations, dates from these early studies. Theory X and Theory Y Several studies after the Second World War revealed how assumptions about workers’ attitudes and behaviour affect managers’ behaviour. Perhaps the most influential approach was developed by Douglas McGregor. He proposed that two different sets of assumptions about work attitudes and behaviours dominate the way managers think and affect how they behave in organizations. McGregor named these two contrasting sets of assumptions Theory X and Theory Y (see Figure 1. 3). THEORY X According to the assumptions of Theory X, the average worker is lazy, dislikes work, and will try to do as little as possible. Moreover, workers have little ambition and wish to avoid responsibility. Thus, the manager’s task is to counteract workers’ natural tendencies to avoid work. To keep workers’ performance at a high level, the manager must supervise them closely and control their behaviour by means of â€Å"the carrot and stick†Ã¢â‚¬â€rewards and punishments. Managers who accept the assumptions of Theory X design and shape the work setting to maximize their control over workers’ behaviours and minimize workers’ control over the pace of work. These managers believe that workers must be made to do what is necessary for the success of the organization, and they focus on developing rules, SOPs, and a well-defined system of rewards and punishments to control behaviour. They see little point in giving workers autonomy to solve their own problems because they think that the workforce neither expects nor desires cooperation. Theory X managers see their role as to closely monitor workers to ensure that they contribute to the production process and do not threaten product quality. Henry Ford, who closely supervised and managed his workforce, fits McGregor’s description of a manager who holds Theory X assumptions. THEORY Y In contrast, Theory Y assumes that workers are not inherently lazy, do not naturally dislike work, and, if given the opportunity, will do what is good for the organization. According to Theory Y, the characteristics of the work setting determine whether workers consider work to be a source of satisfaction or punishment; and managers do not need to control workers’ behaviour closely in order to make them perform at a high level, because workers will exercise selfcontrol when they are committed to organizational goals. The implication of Theory Y, according to McGregor, is that â€Å"the limits of collaboration in the organizational setting are not limits of human nature but of management’s ingenuity in discovering how to realize the potential represented by its human resources. It is the manager’s task to create a work setting that encourages commitment to organizational goals and provides opportunities for workers to be imaginative and to exercise initiative and self-direction. When managers design the organizational setting to reflect the assumptions about attitudes and behaviour suggested by Theory Y, the characteristics of the o rganization are quite different from those of an organizational setting based on Theory X. Managers who believe that workers are motivated to help the organization reach its goals can decentralize authority and give more control over the job to workers, both as individuals and in groups. In this setting, individuals and groups are still accountable for their activities, but the manager’s role is not to control employees but to provide support and advice, to make sure employees have the resources they need to perform their jobs, and to evaluate them on their ability to help the organization meet its goals. Henri Fayol’s approach to administration more closely reflects the assumptions of Theory Y, rather than Theory X. Management Science Theory This theory focuses on the use of rigorous quantitative techniques to help managers make maximum use of organizational resources to produce goods and services. In essence, management science theory is a contemporary extension of scientific management, which, as developed by Taylor, also took a quantitative approach to measuring the worker–task mix in order to raise efficiency. There are many branches of management science; each of them deals with a specific set of concerns: Quantitative management utilizes mathematical techniques—such as linear and nonlinear programming, modelling, simulation, queuing theory, and chaos theory—to help managers decide, for example, how much inventory to hold at different times of the year, where to locate a new factory, and how best to invest an organization’s financial capital. Resources in the organizational environment include the raw materials and skilled people that an organization requires to produce goods and services, as well as the support of groups including customers who buy these goods and services and provide the organization with financial resources. One way of determining the relative success of an organization is to consider how effective its managers are at obtaining scarce and valuable resources. The importance of studying the environment became clear after the development of open-systems theory and contingency theory during the 1960s. The Open-Systems View One of the most influential views of how an organization is affected by its external environment was developed by Daniel Katz, Robert Kahn, and James Thompson in the 1960s. 38 These theorists viewed the organization as an open system— a system that takes in resources from its external environment and converts or transforms them into goods and services that are then sent back to that environment, where they are bought by customers (see Figure 1. 4). At the input stage, an organization acquires resources such as raw materials, money, and skilled workers to produce goods and services. Once the organization has gathered the necessary resources, conversion begins. At the conversion stage, the organization’s workforce, using appropriate tools, techniques, and machinery, transforms the inputs into outputs of finished goods and services such as cars, hamburgers, or flights to Hawaii. At the output stage, the organization releases finished goods and services to its external environment, where customers purchase and use them to satisfy their needs. The money the organization obtains from the sales of its outputs allows the organization to acquire more resources so that the cycle can begin again. The system just described is said to be â€Å"open† because the organization draws from and interacts with the external environment in order to survive; in other words, the organization is open to its environment. A closed system, in contrast, is a self-contained system that is not affected by changes that occur in its external environment. Organizations that operate as closed ystems, that ignore the external environment and that fail to acquire inputs, are likely to experience entropy, the tendency of a system to lose its ability to control itself and thus to dissolve and disintegrate. Management theorists can model the activities of most organizations by using the open-systems view. Manufacturing companies like Ford and General Electric, for example, buy inputs such as component parts, skilled and semiskilled labour, and robots and computer-controlled manufacturing equipment; then, at the conversion stage, they use their manufacturing skills to assemble inputs into outputs of cars and computers. As we discuss in later chapters, competition between organizations for resources is one of several major challenges to managing the organizational environment. Researchers using the open-systems view are also interested in how the various parts of a system work together to promote efficiency and effectiveness. Systems theorists like to argue that â€Å"the parts are more than the sum of the whole†; they mean that an organization performs at a higher level when its departments work together rather than separately. Synergy, the performance gains that result when individuals and departments coordinate their actions, is possible only in an organized system. The recent interest in using teams comprising people from different departments reflects systems theorists’ interest in designing organizational systems to create synergy and thus increase efficiency and effectiveness.

Post-occupancy evaluating of low income housing in the Kingdom of Dissertation

Post-occupancy evaluating of low income housing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - Dissertation Example 13 Pictures(3) Showsthe region of Ha’il, with the pleased of the project. 13 Pictures(4) Site plan of the Al-Ghazalah project 13 Pictures(5) Site plan of the Al-Ghazalah project 15 Pictures(6) Ground floor plan 15 Post-Occupancy Evaluation of Low Income Housing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Chapter 1 Introduction Housing demand is one of the most important issues and challenges that face developing and developed countries (Al-klyfh, 2009). These countries have tried to solve their housing demands with different policies. Some policies and proposals have met the needs of different levels of society. One of these economic classes is called the low income group that encompass some Saudi Arabian people with low annual income. To address the issue on housing income, the government tried to establish residential complexes, an introductory concept and still under trial. This paper will focus on low income housing post occupancy evaluation as the main issue. The housing policy will b e assessed using the post-occupancy evaluation method (POE). However, before investigating the Saudi Arabian policy, it is important to investigate the different international policies for low income housing. 1.1. International policies for low income housing Many institutions, international agencies and local communities around the world have for many years now addressed poverty, increase standards of living,as well as provide adequate shelter for the poor (United Nations Centre for Human Settlements, 1987).These UN programs were allocated in 155 countries and have established national centres that work directly with various local government agencies (Tiesdell, 2004). Important processes that have been followed are: a. Secure possession of the land. b. Provide public facilities and services. c. Finance low-cost housing d. Provision of construction materials. e. Community participation. f. Cooperation with the private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) (Tiesdell, 2004) . A review of socio-economic policies indicates that there is a growing interest in the issue of housing for the poor by civil society organizations and governments of many countries. A limited review on Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom low cost housing will be included due to time constraints. 1.1.1. Affordable Housing in the UK Housing policies in Britain has local planning authorities mandate developers of housing projects to provide a certain percentage of affordable housing for low income groups (Tiesdell, 2004). The two aims are as follows: a. Social: sustain a mixed community in terms of income and social level and reduce illegal settlements that lack basic services b. Economic: shoulder part of the burden of financing in order to allow beneficiaries provided with lower prices than the market price or rent housing (social security) at less than the prevailing costs. UK housing, however, did not meet stated objectives, such as acceptance from high-income and middle classes due to preference

Wine Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Wine Marketing - Essay Example Starting up a new business is taking a risk; nonetheless if the resolution is well thought there are abundant benefits that come up with endowing in business. This paper analyses the benefits, risks, challenges, requirements and any thing else that Dynasty Wine Company in China has to go through as it undertakes a new business start–up involving the sale of its products over the Internet. Before Dynasty is set to start the new venture there are long and short terms constraints that it should consider to ensure there will be continuity in the business. The future is impulsive and so even the negligible details about something should be interpolated before commencement is done. In the modern world, expertise has been allowed in organizations. It assists in mounting competence and thus buyer satisfaction. The competitiveness of a venture is vested on the quality of its management decisions (Moschis 1994). Quite a number of schemes that target at meeting a certain goal in the busi ness arena have been developed. The move has made it obligatory for a business to integrate it in their plans so as to make certain they benefit totally from the benefits derived from it. In the (wine) industry, the employment of online dealing has become uniformly important. Many companies have diversified their business operation into many countries through the internet. Online business is the use of the internet to produce and implement business transactions. The internet makes available many opportunities that allow businesses to generate markets and supply to their customers in astonishing ways. It is an innovative area in international trade that entails trading of goods and services internationally through electronic means. It is the exploitation of telecommunication networks to manufacture, publicize or put up for sale goods and services. With the development in know-how, electronic business has been rising

Choose an American film made in the period since 1945 which, in your Essay

Choose an American film made in the period since 1945 which, in your view, can legitimately be described as 'popular' - Essay Example This essay will be exploring some of the textual and contextual criticism on this film. It will also examine the role or place for this film in a social, cultural and industrial context. Let us begin with a brief overview of film history from the mid 1940's up through the late nineties, when Titanic was introduced. During the 1940's, film evolved in a newly post war time and the genre of film noir began. During the 1950's post classical age in film, the introduction of television challenged the idea of film as it had been known. The 1960's brought with it the genesis of independent film which threatened the system of big Hollywood film. It was not until the 1970's that the term and idea of "blockbuster" was invented. By this time, the "new wave" of film was in place and the idea of cinema was changing. The 1980's kept the new idea of "blockbuster" alive with the introduction of teen based films (Breakfast Club, Saint Elmo's Fire). It was not until the 1990's that computer animation was alive and prominent in mainstream films. The movie Titanic arrived as not only a film using then, cutting edge computer animation but also an enormous (one of the largest in film history, a whopping $200 million USD) budget. Prior to this time period, big budget film was not as prominent. As an audience member to a showing of Titanic, one could watch a computer animated version of the famous ship ( The Titanic), slowly sink over a 2 hour period, bottom first followed by the full erecting of the ship in the Atlantic and finally the virtual sinking of the very ship that was never supposed to sink. This film is classified as historical drama or epic film, by most critics. An epic film or a historical drama (one in the same), can be defined as a historically based film that has been recreated and built upon fictionally. Usually, the use of powerful scoring and elaborate costumes can recreate a historical time or legend, so that the audience gains a sense of realism from the piece. In observing some criticism on the film, one critic says of Titanic"By deliberately adopting the stylistics of sentimentality in his screenplay, Cameron recalls yet another, less cynical time in Titanic. As with the golden age of Hollywood musicals or the 1950s-era films of Doris Day and Rock Hudson, Titanic eschews the irony of modernity and the narrative dislocation of post modernity in favor of yet another, more sentimentalized genre in which good inevitably wins out over evil, heroes invariably overcome class barriers, and lovers always find the means to endure despite harrowing odds" (Davis, Womack, 2001). This piece of criticism is referring to the film as viewing a "less cynical time" when that is really untrue. The essential conflict of the film, aside from the immanently sinking ship, is that the newly love stricken Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) cannot be together but, due to their class differences, and Rose's engagement to another man, they are unable t o be together. Certainly, if there is any truth to the circumstances of Jack and Rose, the entire time period was more than cynical. They were kept apart because one had financial means and social status while the other did not. The sentimentality observed by this critic is not necessarily pointing out a less than cynical time. Love, especially unrequited love is timeless and

Homework for Eco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Homework for Eco - Essay Example It is only through capital investment and not capital consumption that growth can be experienced in the economy (Callum). In the Chinese and Middle East context, Faber notes that the Chinese economy is a growing economy due to its investment and increased production rather than consumption. Additionally, China exports to the developing and emerging economies totally by passing the old world order. However, its overdependence on the raw materials such as oils from the Middle East could be an undoing in the future. Middle East is known for its instability and therefore the overdependence on their oil for production could greatly affect the economy (Callum). The approach reduces the moral hazard by ensuring that the creditors do not experience losses. This is due to the fact that losses on the creditors’ side have more detrimental effect on the institution than the loss of Equity by the institution. Creditors impact more on the company than the equity holders. The Creditors can easily cause more losses in case they themselves incur losses. It is ideal than a rescue that protects both creditors and equity holders (Mark). This approach eliminates the problem completely due to the fact the owner who has all the liberty to invest on behalf of the creditor and who has access to more information acts responsibly. This is due to the fact the owner incurs charges and possible losses in case of poor investment options. Senator Lincoln proposed that the commercial banks be forbidden to trade derivative securities in 2010. This is with the intent of preventing the banks from using the cheap deposits to subsidize risky derivative businesses. The proposal also prevents banks from using emergency banking facilities. This proposal encourages financial intermediaries to divest their derivatives by forbidding the government from giving these banks assistants such as tax breaks (Yves). Despite the fact the

What are the roots of the Arab-Israeli Conflict Essay

What are the roots of the Arab-Israeli Conflict - Essay Example On the other hand, Iseroff, 2008, mentions that Sykes Picot Agreement of 1916 planned to divide Ottomans holdings between France and Britain after the war. The revolt by Arabs led by T.E. Lawrence led to partial Arab self-determination. However, many feel that Arabs had been short-changed by British promise to give Syria to French and Palestine as Jewish homeland. British denied any such promise that included Palestine in the area promised to Arabs. The conflict thus began. In November 1917, The Balfour Declaration highlighted British support for creation of Jewish homeland in Palestine without disturbing civil and religious rights of non-Jewish communities in the region. The Arabs opposed the idea for fear of dispossession by Zionists or the fear of living under Jewish rules. The British wanted to establish regions of self governing Palestine as well as Israel. However, while Israel feared Arab majority in such councils, Arabs displayed their displeasure by non-participation and instigating pogroms and rioting during 1920s. The violence led to formation of Hagannah Jewish self defence organisation in 1920. Future immigration of Jews into these territories led to protests from the Arabs against Jewish settlers despite direct benefit due to investment and infrastructural development in the region. Religious aspects like false rumours of synagogue on Wailing Wall or Jewish encroachment of Muslim rule over temple mount compound further fuelled rioting leading to evacuation of Jewish people from Hebron. An attempt to resolve situation through 1929 Passfield white paper to stop further immigration by British was however opposed vehemently and immigration of Jewish people continued unabated and in fact swelled during 1930s due to Jewish persecution well...The o wnership, demography and area have greatly fluctuated during this long history. Present Israel extends from Jordan river to the Mediterranean, with Egypt in the south, Lebanon in the north and Jordan in the east. The identified borders are about 78% while the rest is land occupied during operations like 6-day war of 1967 and some autonomous Palestinian regions. Gaza strip is another stretch of 141 square miles south of Israel controlled by Palestinian Authority. (Iseroff, 2008) Historically speaking, Israel came into existence starting from Abraham, 1272 BC and Jews claim their dominion over the land for about 1000 years randomly while continuous presence during past 3300 years. Romans conquered Jerusalem over 2000 years back and expelled the Jewish to Diaspora. The land has thereafter been ruled by the Romans, Islamic and Christian campaigners, by the Ottomans and British Empires. The present crisis involving small land of Israel as described above involves Israel and 24 Arab nations as shown in the map below. The genesis of this modern history can be traced back to massive immigration of Jews from Arab countries and Europe during first 3-4 decades of the 20th century All major countries and particularly UN have to play a supportive role to evolve a consensus. The solution can only be evolved by sitting across a table and talking to each other peacefully.

Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Marketing - Assignment Example Students of economics are, of course, aware that in traditional economic theorising, the analysis of the firm and its behaviour is built upon the assumption that firms operate in such a manner as to maximize their profits. Economists, however, do not discount the possibility that there may be other objects of desire that entrepreneurs may pursue and try to maximise, for example, power, a quiet life, prestige, social service, and may be a host of others. But, so far no theory of the firm within the framework of a 'free market' economy has been developed on any one of the above premises. So the theorem of profit maximization continues to remain central to the study of the business firm. And profits can be made by a firm only through selling its products in the market. Market and marketing are essential ingredients in a firm's search for profit. Market positioning and the strategies adopted to gain an advantageous competitive position for selling its product will determine the firm's degree of success in 'maximising' its profit. In this paper we consider a few of the market strategies that firms adopt particularly, those of 'target market' and 'differential advantages' to secure an advantageous position in the market. We shall also discuss alternative marketing strategies and relate all to the market provision of education particularly by local authorities in UK. . . The general definition of a market is a coming together of buyers and sellers to exchange products or services or both and the concept includes both non-profit as well as profit-taking enterprises. Marketing is purposeful interaction in the market by sellers and buyers through exchange. Marketing is seen as activity that is distinct from selling (Fennell, 1987). Philip Kotler (Kotler & Fox, 1995) offers the following: 'Marketing is the analysis, planning, implementation and control of carefully formulated programs designed to bring about voluntary exchanges of values with target markets to achieve institutional objectives. Marketing involves designing the institution's offerings to meet the target markets' needs and desires, and using effective pricing, communication, and distribution to inform, motivate, and service these markets.' (p. 6). Target Market A one sentence description of a target market is that it is the market segment to which a particular product is marketed. It is defined by age, gender and socio-economic grouping. 'Targeting strategy' is usually the selection of the customers the firm wishes to service. The decisions involved in targeting strategy include: which segments to target; how many products to offer; and which products to offer in which segments There are three steps to targeting: namely, market segmentation, target choice and product positioning. And targeting strategy decisions are influenced by: market maturity, diversity of buyers' needs and preferences, strength of the competition and the volume of sales required for profitability Targeting can be selective, for example, focus

How Did the Rise of the State Affect the Power of the Monarch Essay

How Did the Rise of the State Affect the Power of the Monarch - Essay Example A great link existed between religion and the monarch; as messengers of God, monarchs had the divine right to rule hence everything they said was the law. The monarchy was held until death or abdication and was hereditary in nature in that it was passed on to the eldest child of the monarch. Later elective monarchs emerged as well as those who usurped power and declared themselves monarchs like the Napoleon of France (Parker, 1999). Absolute monarchy is whereby the monarch wields all the power; he is head of government as well as the state and he is the rule. Moreover, his decisions are viewed as being from God hence should not be contravened. An elective monarch is elected by an elective body for a period of time or for life such as the pope of Vatican City is elected by a college of cardinals. A constitutional monarch on the other hand is bound by the constitution hence he /she is just ceremonial. For example, Queen Elizabeth of England is a constitutional monarch and a head of sta te of several commonwealth monarchy states (Fandel, 2008). The two European countries that contributed much to the rise of the state are England and France. The revolutions in the two countries saw the decline in the power of the monarch and in some states its natural death. The paper will discuss how the ‘rise of the state’ affected the power of the monarch. European Absolute Monarchy Most of European countries such as France, Belgium, United Kingdom, Spain and others were ruled by an absolute monarch. According to Fandel (2008); Schiel (2005), the early monarchs arose as a result of wealth and power gained through hunting and later from agricultural activities. The wealthy people were respected and seen as closer to God than other members as they well endowed with resources. The monarchy was inherited through primogeniture whereby the eldest son ascended the throne after the monarch’s demise. However, Primogeniture was criticized by some nobles’ more so as it discriminated against women. As a result, some states started exercising equality by allowing females to inherit the throne. The monarchs had immense power which they derived from religion. Most of Europe was under Roman Catholic Church hence kings and queens were coronated by the church. Stefoff (2008) argues that the divine right was used to justify the unlimited power of the monarch. For example in France, king Louis XIV had absolute power which he shared with trusted ministers and lived in a palace in Versailles which symbolised wealth and power (Mason, 2011). However, Beik (2005) argues that there was no absolutism due to the fact that the king collaborated with powerful elites so as to gain their support. To assert his power king Louis XV made a proclamation in 1766: â€Å"sovereign power resides in my person alone†¦its to me alone that legislative power belongs without dependence or division, all public order emanates from me. â€Å" Louis XIV had also made a pro clamation during his rule: ‘’I am the state.† (Mason 2011 p. 15). This indicates the immense power the monarchs had; they were above the state. The monarch performed various roles such as making, enforcing, and interpreting laws. There was no separation of power between state organs such as the legislature, executive and judiciary. The monarch was not

Core concept needed to be an effective youth worker Essay

Core concept needed to be an effective youth worker - Essay Example These organizations also look for sponsors to finance various projects. However, the most significant requirement is probably that of trainers and facilitators, who directly interact with the youth. The youth workers who work for various government and non-government organizations can instinctively follow certain moral principles and also take the help of formal training in order to develop the core competencies required for this mission. The core competencies needed to be an effective youth worker are many and varied since motivating and managing the youth is a challenging job. The entry-level youth development workers require domain knowledge, analytical skills and positive attitude. In addition to that they must have enormous level of patience as most of the times they will find themselves working actually on the mindsets of the target audience than anything else. The youth workers should be able to understand how a person evolves through the various stages of life and what kind of evolution takes place before, during and after the adolescence. They should have the fundamental knowledge of youth development programs and the processes associated with that. They should be able to apply this basic knowledge taking into consideration the contemporary trends and issues that influence youth development. These workers should be able to develop and facilitate age appropriate activities for the group. The activities should be engaging and the participants should be able relate these activities to their lives. The objective of the youth developmental work is to enable the youth to take decisions that add to the social, economic, political and ecological well-being of the community. To attain this objective, the workers have to develop effective programs. Once these programs are executed it is also required to follow up the programs in order to check the progress and bring amendments wherever necessary making sure that the goals and objectives of the programs are achieved. Again, for ensuring the success of these programs it is important to develop strategies for evaluating the effect and outcome of these programs. Workers involved in the youth development projects undertaken by the government organizations, voluntary organizations, trusts and public bodies must have the core competencies that are necessary to promote effective leadership, decision-making and implementation skills among the youth. Those organizing the youth development programs should think of more and more activities related to youth leadership development. Apart from summing up the basic leadership qualities, the youth should be provided mock leadership experience through participatory activities, which will enable the participants to understand the challenges of leadership role. These organizations should hire facilitators, faculty and agents who would be able to build a rapport with the youth and would be able to communicate the objectives of the programs. For this they need to be concerned about and interested in the feelings, the inadequacies and the ambitions of the youth. The facilitators should be good listeners who can listen with empathy and objectivity and without being judgmental. They can start with sharing the various problems that face the youth, for example, they can talk about job opportunities to the unemployed youth. But for that they need to be aware of suitable job

Sonnets And Songs Essay Example for Free

Sonnets And Songs Essay Sonnets and songs share number of things in common. One example is that they both rhyme at the end of each line. Today’s songs don’t usually rhyme, unless if the songs are under the genres of hip-hop and rap, but most of the songs from the 60s, 70s and 90s do rhyme. One of few differences between a song and a sonnet is the way it appeals to the audiences or the readers and the kind of language that is used in these two different two pieces of writing. The song ‘I Will’ by The Beatles and ‘How do I love thee? Let me count the Ways’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. For number of reasons, ‘I Will’ by The Beatles appeals more affectively to the audiences as it has repetitions, exaggerations and it has the tune that will be remembered by the audiences. Firstly, the sonnet ‘How do I love thee? Let me count the ways’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a sonnet about her love, who is anonymous in the sonnet. She uses many adjectives and poetic devices such as similes and metaphors. She also used some repetitions such as â€Å"I love thee freely, as men strive for right; I love thee purely, as they turn from praise. I love thee with the passion put to use† Although this sonnet is very sweet, it uses old English from 1800s that people today don’t use. Most of the people can’t understand most of the English that is used in this sonnet. The repetition shows a little bit of the sonnet’s rhyming pattern. It is quite different from the rhyming pattern that is in the song, ‘I Will’. Secondly, The Beatles use some poetic devices just like Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet except with some exaggerations and most importantly, it is a song, which mean that it will have tune in it. The tune in ‘I Will’ is the biggest difference that differentiates songs from sonnets. The tunes in songs make songs more memorable than sonnets; for example, The Beatles’ songs are going to be more memorable than Shakespearean sonnets. Whereas Browning’s sonnet is about her love to this person, The Beatles’ song is about his willingness to do anything for his love toward this person. The Beatles also exaggerated a little bit in the repetitive part of the song such as â€Å"Love you forever and forever, love you with all my heart, love you whenever were together, love you when were apart† The rhyming pattern used n this song can be seen in the example of repetition. The pattern uses ABAC DEDF pattern, which means it rhymes every second lines but random words are in the every other second lines. Furthermore, everyone knows that normal person can’t live forever, so the exaggerations in the song lyrics make the audiences know that this man loves this person so much that he’ll wait until his death. Thirdly, The Beatles were more effective than Browning when conveying the same theme because of the exaggeration, repetition and the tune. The old English from Browning’s sonnet made it difficult for the readers from 2012 to read and understand the meanings behind the sonnet whereas The Beatles used the modern English and had the tune in their sonnet, basically a song, and they used the same theme, similar poetic devices. Furthermore they were able to get the meanings of the song over to the audiences. Having similar structure and theme made it easier to see which piece of writing is more effective in conveying the theme. To sum up, The Beatles’ song, ‘I Will’ was more effective in conveying the theme than Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s ‘How do I love thee? Let me count the ways’ as it had easily memorable tune, exaggerations and some poetic devices such as similes, metaphors and repetitions. Although Browning and The Beatles used similar themes and poetic devices, The Beatles was more effective only because it was easily understandable by most of the people and had that easily memorable tune. Maybe if Browning’s sonnet had modern English and tunes, it might have been more effective in conveying the theme than The Beatles.

Gradgrinds system Essay Example for Free

Gradgrinds system Essay In this fifth chapter the readers are certainly convinced of Bitzers unpleasantness because of what he says about horse riders. He says, The horse riders never mind what they say, which shows that he has been affected by Mr.Gradgrinds teaching method in that now he looks down upon anything that is slightly fanciful. This lets the readers know that Mr.Gradgrinds system is failing because although the pupils he is teaching are becoming more intellectual, they are also becoming more devoid of sentiment, and therefore more unkind to others around them. I think that Sissy becomes a much more favoured character in this chapter because she seems innocent and frightened when she says things like, he frightened me so. I think that this is Dickens trying to prove that the more fanciful and spirited character in the book should be treated better and listened to more.  By the last chapter in the second book it is completely clear that Mr.Gradgrinds views have been wrong all along. At this point in the story Louisa has been married to Mr.Bounderby, and Sissy is living with the Gradgrinds. It is obvious throughout the book that Louisa dislikes Mr.Bounderby intensely; however her father never picks up on these emotions. That is why, during this chapter, Louisa breaks down and tells her father how she feels. I think it is significant that Louisa arrives at her fathers house drenched from the storm, as this makes the scene seem more dramatic and her seem in a much greater state of desperation. She says a lot about what she feels and she lets go of all her pent up frustration when she says things like, I curse the hour in which I was born to such a destiny, if you had only neglected me, what a much better and much happier creature I should have been this day, and, What have you done O father, what have you done with the garden that should have bloomed once, in this great wilderness here? These are all very powerful words and I think that it is when Louisa has made all her points that the readers see Mr.Gradgrind for what he really is: not a man who wishes to crush the happiness of anyone he comes into contact with, but a father who loves his children and only has their best interests at heart, regardless of how misguided his ideas on upbringing are. I can tell this because he says things like, my poor child, and, I never knew you were unhappy, my child. The plot outcomes really bring Dickens points of view out into the open as he has shown how the characters that were oppressed by Mr.Gradgrinds system have been destroyed and how the people who stayed true to themselves have succeeded. For instance, Louisa had become the sorry, wretched woman who broke down in front of her father, and Tom has resorted to stealing and deceit. Also Bitzer, who has been brought up alongside Mr.Gradgrinds system has become an unemotional man of facts and figures, who doesnt care for anyones feelings. Sissy on the other hand who had remained kind and spirited for the whole of the story, and who was raised by the circus, becomes a very carefree and happy woman.  Mr.Gradgrind when shown the error of his ways becomes a much more tolerable man and I think the readers respect him for making a change. I think this is how Dickens tries to express the fact that a change in society must be made, and if it were the person who was responsible for the change would be greatly respected and honoured.

Systems To Involve Stakeholders In The Planning Change Management Essay

Systems To Involve Stakeholders In The Planning Change Management Essay Prior to implementing a companywide change, it is important to get stakeholders on board. Organisations take their stakeholders into confidence, just to ensure the smooth transition, since they are the one who will be affected by the change. For an organisation stakeholder can be its employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, managers, government, local community, creditors etc. n order to achieve this goal, stakeholder analyses are carried out. Stakeholder Analysis The process of identifying those who will be affected by the actions of organisation. It also enables the managers to analyze the attitudes of stakeholders towards the change. In order to carry out these analysis, following steps are taken: Identify the stakeholders in stakeholder analysis the first step is to come up with the list of any who will be affected by the organisational actions, this can include an individual, a group or an organisation. The possible stakeholders for Gill Construction can be: new Managing Director previous MD senior managers suppliers lenders / banks customers public future recruits, environment protection groups regulatory bodies Prioritize your stakeholders For organisations the list of stakeholders can be very long, in one case of university 20,000 stakeholders were identified. This doesnt mean that everyone is very important to the organisation. Hence the next step in stakeholder analysis is to prioritize stakeholders. This can be done using Power / Interest Grid. Using this grid, Gill construction can identify their key stakeholders, which can be: new Managing Director senior managers suppliers lenders / banks customers public environment protection groups and regulatory bodies existing workforce Stakeholder analysis strategy Understand Your Key Stakeholders this is the last step in stakeholder analysis. It focuses on understanding the key stakeholders, and defines the way they will be affected. It also highlights the interests stakeholders have with the organisation. It answers the following question: What financial or emotional interest do they have in the outcome of change? Is it positive or negative? What motivates them? What information do they want? How do they want to receive information? What is the best way of communicating with them? What is their current opinion? Is it based on good information? Who influences their opinions generally? Do some of these influencers therefore become important stakeholders in their own right? If they are not likely to be positive, what will win them around to support change? How to manage their opposition How they can influence others by their opinion? Convergence and Divergence Another model adopted by management gurus to analyze the stakeholders. It enables the managers to identify the factors which are opposing the stakeholders and which are supporting it. Divergence analysis of the factors which are opposing the change for stakeholders. The first step is to identify the basic change factors which are causing the opposition, these can be beliefs, values, and goals associated with the stake holders. Managers need to answers like What are their beliefs about change and which have led them to oppose it? What are the values being transgressed by change actions? Are their stress values being triggered? How is the change affecting their career social goals? Managers also need into their perception of the change, analyzing this can give them huge edge converting their opposition. They need to answer questions like What do they think about change? What do they think will happen? How do they look at other stakeholders? Convergence elements which are supporting the change. It is much focused on those who oppose the change. Managers need to understand who they are dealing with, what they are capabable how and how they can affect them. For-example A regulatory body or HSE will have permission to shut down the work in progress if they find anything in violation of the laws. Also in case of Supply chain, they may also ruin their relationship with the supplier. Banks and Lenders will have their leverage over the organisation since a loan was taken for the purchase of new machinery. Managers need to look into the following cases: How the stakeholder will be managed? Do they need any leadership or they will just follow? What made them follow the leadership How will they support the change? How prepared are they for the change? Evaluate the systems used to involve stakeholders in the planning of change Stakeholders Circle: A tool designed to gain stakeholder commitment and involve the key stakeholders in developing a change management strategy. This cycle has six steps and also known as Six Steps Stakeholders Cycle Identify the stakeholders The first step is to identify the key stakeholders, which can influence and have interest within the organisation. Prioritize the stake holders Managers need to identify the key stakeholder using the Power-Interest Grid. For Gill Construction these key stakeholders are : MD Employees Management Customers Suppliers Regulatory Bodies Map the Profile next step is to map the profile, how will they be affected, what is in the change for them, how they can be supported, what kind of support we can get from them, what are their culture and values. All the questions will be answered at this point Engagement strategy At this point a managers need to decide how they are going to address the issues of stakeholders in order to gain their commitment and support. New MD of Gill Construction need to hold a meeting with management of the company. Clearly define what He wants to achieve and what his goals are. Since his goal is to improve the quality of the work done and also expand the business. It will be then the job of Management to directly contact their respective staff members and explain the situation to them. Ideas for improvement will be taken. Meeting and Presentations will be held with suppliers and explain your objective to them. Also Management will seek advice from regulatory bodies to assists them in improving the H S at workplace. Banks and Lenders will also be taken into confidence. A clear business plan will be presented to them. Optimise their Support next step in this cycle is to optimise the support from stakeholders. Managers need to be very clear and specific about their objective to the stakeholder and try to get most out of them. They need to keep good relationships with their lenders/ banks and suppliers. Monitor the last and final stage is to monitor the strategy. They need to keep going back to their stakeholders and ensure their support is still with them. If they have any kind of doubts they need to clear them out. Develop a change management strategy with stakeholders A strategy will be formed which will help management at Gill Construction to gain commitment from their stakeholders. A general change management strategy involves three steps: Situational awareness before a companywide change is implemented, everyone will be made aware of the change and what is going to happen in result of this change. A vision will be created Stakeholders will be informed that how this will effect. Suppliers will be notified about what will be expected of them. Employees will be taken into confidence to avoid panic. Supporting structures second step is to structure teams and sponsor coalition. They will be debriefed about who is going to do what. If they will be let go off, they will be informed at this stage. They will be informed that they need to trained to operate the new machinery. Bank or Lender will be informed about new purchases and equipment. New policy about H S will be sent to HSE and they will be informed about it. Suppliers will be contacted and new terms regarding JIT will be set, also material price will be revisited.   Strategy analysis this stage involves risk analysis to be carried out. what degree of risk is involved in this change. What will happen if this strategy fails. In case there is no progress even after this change, what will we do, what if lenders refuse to pass a load. In case of resistance from stakeholders a resistance to change strategy will be required. Management will give their best to negotiate on good terms with the suppliers and use the bargaining power. Management also need to convince the bank and lenders to pass the load and take them into confidence. Create a strategy for managing resistance to change It is in human nature that whenever they are asked to move out of their comfort zone or change, they resist it. When organisations go under change it is very obvious that stakeholders will be afraid of its outcome. Hence it is very important to manage this resistance because this resistance can raise the risk factor during the change or transition process. Passive versus Active Resistance A framework adopted from Active Passive Being critical Agreeing verbally but not following through Ridiculing failing to implement change Appealing to fear Procrastinating or  dragging one feet Using facts selectively Feigning ignorance Blaming or accusing Withholding information, suggestion, help or support Intimidating or threatening Standing by or allowing change to fail Manipulating Blocking Starting rumours Arguing Managing Resistance Before a change is implemented it is very important for managers to either eliminate resistance completely or bring it down to a very lower level such that it has a very minor effect. There can be number of ways for managing this resistance. Some of the ways adopted by Gill Construction can be: Communication everyone within the organisation should be made aware of the situation. Managers need to communicate openly with all the stakeholders and discuss the issues with them. Even if they are supporting the change management need to check with them back to back to ensure the full commitment. Management need to hold meetings, brainstorming session with the staff and communicate with them. Suggestions will be taken from the staff and their participation will be encouraged. Training staff will be provided with appropriate training to build up their skills so that they can operate the new machinery. This will help to eliminate the resistance put up by the operational workforce. Also work-shops will be held with other staff to ensure that they are not left behind. They will be provided with the information and steps involved in this transition will be explained to them. Feedback Taking feedback or suggestions from the stakeholders is always the best way to gain their commitment. This shows to them that management is still listening to them and they hold a value to them. Taking feedback about the training is also good to monitor the staff performance.

Abortion :: essays papers

Abortion Abortion on demand should be legal for many reasons. In countries where abortion is absolutely not tolerated it is a fact that women continue to receive abortions, from unqualified back-street abortionists or the village massage abortionist. Both of these individuals risk putting the woman through painful and potentially fatal tortures just in an attempt to abort a child. Each year 84 000 women die worldwide from failed abortion attempts. Because of anti-abortion legislation women avoid going to the hospital, often until it is too late, to avoid prosecution from police. In the cases of rape and incest the very idea of being forced to have the child of the woman's abuser is repulsive. There are also cases when a woman's health is put in jeopardy by having a child at all, forcing such a woman to bring a child to term, would be no less than attempted murder. If a woman is forced to give birth to a child she does not want, if left in that woman's custody, the child could potentially face hatred and resentment from the mother for the rest of it's life. In countries all over the world, children are found dead and abandoned in places as degrading as garbage dumps. The only effective method of preventing unwanted births is abstinence, and this is just not a realistic objective. There is no 100% effective form of birth control, and even men and women using birth control have unwanted pregnancies. Some women for financial, occupational, social, and maturity reasons, see pregnancy as cessation of their lives. There are no accurate statistics on how many women attempt or succeed in committing suicide each year rather than live with their pregnancies. Women will continue to have abortions with or without government legislation, but with legislation, the conditions under which they have their abortions can be sanctioned and observed. The role of family in abortion is that preservation of family has a profound impact on some women's decision whether or not to have an abortion. Some women have learned to protect and preserve each and every member of her family, including an unborn child. For these women abortion is not even a consideration, but many do live their lives harboring resent towards their husbands and the child for forcing her to have a child she did not necessarily want. Other women see abortion as a necessity to protect the family they already have. Abortion :: essays papers Abortion Abortion on demand should be legal for many reasons. In countries where abortion is absolutely not tolerated it is a fact that women continue to receive abortions, from unqualified back-street abortionists or the village massage abortionist. Both of these individuals risk putting the woman through painful and potentially fatal tortures just in an attempt to abort a child. Each year 84 000 women die worldwide from failed abortion attempts. Because of anti-abortion legislation women avoid going to the hospital, often until it is too late, to avoid prosecution from police. In the cases of rape and incest the very idea of being forced to have the child of the woman's abuser is repulsive. There are also cases when a woman's health is put in jeopardy by having a child at all, forcing such a woman to bring a child to term, would be no less than attempted murder. If a woman is forced to give birth to a child she does not want, if left in that woman's custody, the child could potentially face hatred and resentment from the mother for the rest of it's life. In countries all over the world, children are found dead and abandoned in places as degrading as garbage dumps. The only effective method of preventing unwanted births is abstinence, and this is just not a realistic objective. There is no 100% effective form of birth control, and even men and women using birth control have unwanted pregnancies. Some women for financial, occupational, social, and maturity reasons, see pregnancy as cessation of their lives. There are no accurate statistics on how many women attempt or succeed in committing suicide each year rather than live with their pregnancies. Women will continue to have abortions with or without government legislation, but with legislation, the conditions under which they have their abortions can be sanctioned and observed. The role of family in abortion is that preservation of family has a profound impact on some women's decision whether or not to have an abortion. Some women have learned to protect and preserve each and every member of her family, including an unborn child. For these women abortion is not even a consideration, but many do live their lives harboring resent towards their husbands and the child for forcing her to have a child she did not necessarily want. Other women see abortion as a necessity to protect the family they already have.