Job Enrichment Essay

The cost of not applying this people-oriented philosophy is that workers become unmotivated, and dissatisfied which leads to low productivity and quality and high absenteeism and turnover rates. The average turnover rate in the building service industry is more than 100 percent. This means that if you have a crew of 10, you will have to hire more than 10 new people over the course of a year just to maintain your crew. You will spend a lot of time filling in for the employees who quit, adjusting work schedules, training replacements and answering a thousand questions from people who don’t have the authority or the knowledge to make decisions on their own. High turnover in the industry is even more significant for another reason: It means that we aren’t doing our job well as supervisors and managers. All levels of management must know how to work with people. Compensation and the work itself are factors, but management certainly shares responsibility when a worker quits. Study after study shows that workers can be motivated to work hard if they are involved, given responsibility and recognized. Job enrichment is one way to accomplish this. The Case For Job Enrichment Most employees are trying to reach the economic level at which their basic needs for food, shelter, health care, job security and the like will be fulfilled. Usually less fulfilled but equally important, are the employee’s intangible needs for knowledge, achievement and general self-satisfaction. These higher-level needs can be fulfilled only through work that is personally significant or meaningful to the employee. Meaningful work not only improves the motivation of employees and serves their human needs, but also increases their productivity and the overall effectiveness of the organization. 10 Meaningful work: ⠝‹ Involves employees in the identification and solution of problems that affect them and the organization. ⠝‹ Provides employees with the feeling – not the pretense – that they are personally contributing to the organization. ⠝‹ Provides employees with the opportunity to do the work they do best. If employees are performing meaningful work, they are highly involved in solving work problems that touch them personally and they share in the planning, organizing and controlling of what they do. With this comes increased understanding, achievement and stimulation, which combine to boost motivation and the organization’s effectiveness. One of the most effective ways to make work more meaningful is through vertical job loading or job enrichment. It goes a long way toward ensuring that the job satisfies people’s higher level needs and that employees are motivated to greater performance. Job enrichment can reduce turnover and give supervisors more time for work that cannot be easily delegated. Taking the time to build in motivators can result in increased job satisfaction and much smoother operations for your company. The argument for job enrichment can be summed up quite simply: If you have people on the job, use them. If you can’t use them on the job, let them go. If you can’t use them and you can’t let them go, you will have a motivation problem. Principles Of Job Enrichment Job enrichment is essentially a structured system of increasing employee responsibility and authority through effective, welldirected delegation. However, it is important to remember that only responsibility and authority can be delegated; accountability cannot. With that in mind, let’s look at the five principles of job enrichment. Principle 1: Remove controls. The first principle of job enrichment is to remove some controls while still retaining accountability. As dis- BSCAI Services Magazine November 2005 cussed above, the supervisor must always retain accountability but can remove or lessen some of the controls on subordinates when they are ready for it. Obviously, this can’t be done with employees who have just started on the job. If it is, they’ll be overwhelmed and confused, and the results will be disastrous— for them and for their supervisors. But it can and should be done when the employee is ready for it. Example 3. A lead person with a particular knack for training is made an on-the-job trainer. Example. When a cleaner has completed an initial training period, the supervisor checks on his work less often, perhaps weekly instead of nightly. Vertical Versus Horizontal Loading In this example, the employee has achieved a certain level of expertise. That achievement is recognized, not just with words, but also with actions. The fact that some controls are being removed demonstrates confidence in the employee. It increases the employee’s responsibility and control over his or her own work, and that improves motivation. Principle 2: Assign a complete natural unit of work. The second principle of job enrichment is to assign employees a complete project—a complete natural unit of work—whenever possible. Doing this increases their sense of accomplishment. They can see the results of their own work more clearly. It increases their accountability for that work and fosters pride in a job well done. Example. A cleaning team is given complete responsibility for everything within their area. Of course, the employees must see these as positive changes, and be interested in making them. Assigning new or specialized tasks recognizes some special ability in an individual employee, and it provides an opportunity for growth and advancement. One warning: It is important to distinguish between vertical job loading and horizontal job loading. Job enrichment involves vertical loading, or increasing the importance of the job upward. Horizontal loading merely increases the amount of work required without providing for growth and more responsibility. Here are some examples of horizontal job loading: ⠝‹ Rotating the assignments of a number of jobs that need to be enriched. This means general office cleaning for a while, then restrooms, then trash removal, etc. ⠝‹ Removing the most difficult parts of the assignment in order to free the worker to accomplish more of the less challenging assignments. ⠝‹ Challenging employees by increasing the amount of production expected. If the employee cleans 4,000 feet a night, see if he or she can clean 5,000. Principle 3: Give employees additional authority. The third principle of job enrichment is to give employees additional authority and freedom. Whenever possible, people should be given the authority to make decisions about their own work. Example. An experienced work crew is given responsibility for inspecting their own work. Obviously, the additional authority has to be realistic and consistent with the person’s job, and the person has to be ready for it. This is different from just piling on more work. It is giving the person some new authority and responsibility because he or she has demonstrated competence in other areas. This gives people recognition and a sense of achievement, and that again improves their motivation. Principle 4: Make reports directly available. The fourth principle of job enrichment is to make periodic reports available directly to employees rather than just to their supervisors. Example. Inspection reports are given directly to the crew responsible for cleaning the area. Again, this lets employees know that they are important. It gives them recognition, keeps them informed, and gives them direct feedback on their performance. Principle 5: Assign new or specialized tasks. The last principle of job enrichment is to assign people new or specialized tasks, enabling them to become experts. Example 1. A general cleaner is trained to become a floor machine operator. Example 2. An employee is given responsibility for quality control for an entire account or series of accounts. Circle No. 11 on Free Inquiry Card November 2005 BSCAI Services Magazine These examples of horizontal job loading do nothing to make a job meaningful and should be avoided at all costs. They actually reduce the employee’s personal contribution rather than providing an opportunity for growth within the job. In confusing horizontal for vertical loading, supervisors and managers often merely enlarge a job’s meaninglessness instead of enriching it. Developing A Job Enrichment Program Whether or not you apply these job enrichment principles depends on you and the people who work for you. While nearly everyone needs recognition and a sense of accomplishment, not all employees want more challenging work, additional responsibility, and a chance for advancement. Some workers may be meeting their higher level needs off the job, they may have other needs entirely, or they may simply lack the ability. Other employees, though, will have the potential and desire for more. They may need to be coached because of fear or a sense of inadequacy or they may need to be prodded because of a lack of ambition. But they should be encouraged to take advantage of opportunities, if they have the potential to better themselves and the company. For those employees who have the potential and the drive to move up, managers and supervisors have a responsibility to provide opportunities for further training and advancement. According to Steve Garcia, CBSE, of SMI Facility Services of Albuquerque, New Mexico, job enrichment begins when the employee is hired. The employee needs to feel that his or her employment is not a dead-end job. It should be explained to him or her that the goal of the company is to train, develop and promote employees.   And, notes Garcia, it is important that the company follows through with this process. â€Å"In most cases, company training involves learning only how to clean, which is fine, in the beginning, but I think shortly thereafter it should go a step further by teaching employees how to inspect, how to interact with customers and how to train new employees.† â€Å"Imagine telling your cleaner that you will be stopping by tonight to review an inspection report he has filled out himself,† he continues,â€Å"I think you will find in most cases the facility will meet or exceed the expectations of the company and the customer. Your employee will also feel his role with the company is more than just a janitor. He will realize he plays a key role in the entire process.† In addition, Garcia believes job enrichment allows a company to have a pool of well-qualified, loyal employees, which can move into higher positions within the company. Approach these jobs with the positive attitude that they can be changed even though years of tradition may have led managers and supervisors to believe that the content of the jobs is unchangeable. Get Employee Input Once the jobs are selected, the next step is direct participation by the employees whose jobs are to be enriched. Get a group of workers together to develop a list of changes that may enrich these jobs. They will be a valuable source of ideas and their participation will help ensure the success of any changes. Do not be concerned about the practicality of their suggestions at this time. Just generate a list without getting sidetracked into discussions about how they could be implemented. Once the list is complete, you and the group should screen the list to eliminate suggestions that involve dissatisfiers rather than actual motivation. (You may want to implement changes that eliminate dissatisfiers as well, but right now your focus should be on job motivators.) You should also screen the list to eliminate any horizontal loading suggestions. Be sure suggestions are specific and concrete. Generalities, such as â€Å"Give us more responsibility,† are very difficult to implement and are virtually meaningless. You want things you can carry out and measure or observe in some way. For example:The work team will inspect their own work nightly and the supervisor will inspect weekly. This actually gives the team more responsibility but in a specific, defined way that can be implemented and observed for its effectiveness. Use direct participation by the employees whose jobs are to be enriched. They will be a valuable source of ideas and their participation will help ensure the success of any changes. Implement The Program Once the job enrichment program begins, there may initially be a drop in performance. This is because changeover to a new job or way of doing things can lead to a temporary reduction in efficiency. But don’t lose faith! If the above steps are taken and the principles of vertical job enrichment followed, your employees will be motivated to achieve the growth and self-fulfillment they need and want. Clearly, job enrichment takes some work. It has to be built into a job. That takes some time and effort at the beginning but like good training, it will pay off with more motivated employees who are willing to work hard and capable of working independently. Ultimately that means improved motivation and job satisfaction. Select The Right Jobs The first step in putting job enrichment into practice is to select those jobs as candidates for job enrichment that meet the following criteria: $ Current attitudes are poor Motivation will make a difference in performance Changes will not be too costly This article was excerpted from the Building Service Management Program Volume Three – Motivation And Training. The program is a multi-volume training course that covers the technical aspects of cleaning and maintaining buildings as well as the management skills required in an increasingly complex and demanding industry. For more information on the program, contact BSCAI’s Information Central at 1-800-368-3414 or visit www.bscai.org go to the on-line store and click on publications. BSCAI Services Magazine November 2005

Alberta Tar Sands

â€Å"Only when the last tree had died and the last river has been poisoned†¦will we realize that we cannot eat money†. This is an old Cree saying that is very applicable today. Is the mining of the Alberta tar sands worthwhile, knowing its devastating effects on the environment? There are very valid points for both arguments, being them economical, political, environmental, or moral. The mining of bitumen is not something that is sustainable for the environment, or the companies involved. Although these open-pit mines produce much of the world’s oil, people should consider paying more at the pumps rather than destroying the only world we have to live in. The tar sands in Alberta essentially benefit every country but Canada, and everyone will have to pay the price of the damage caused to the environment. Pollution is caused in the production of bitumen, as well as in its consumption. The first documented European discovery of the tar sands in the Athabasca region of Northern Alberta was made by Alexander Mackenzie in 1773. Over one hundred years later in 1899, Charles Mair and a party of Dene natives explored the Athabasca area by request of the Canadian government. 1 Mair and his party stayed at the northern fur trading post of Fort Chipewan. 1 Following his visit to the region, Mair made a very prophetic statement: â€Å"That this region is stored with a substance of great economic value is beyond all doubt, and, when the hour of development comes, it will, I believe, prove to be one of the wonders of Northern Canada†. 1 Commercial development of the Alberta tar sands first began in 1967 by Suncor . The oil crisis in 1973 sparked investor’s interest in mining development in Alberta, and Herman Kahn proposed that the Canadian government begin mining the tar sands. 1 However, the Trudeau government believed that it would overheat the economy, create steel shortages, unsettle the labor market, and drive up the Canadian dollar. 1 Now, instead of Canada mining the tar sands, global companies from the United States, China, Japan, Korea, France, and Norway have invested a total of 200 billion dollars in the Alberta tar sands. These investments account for sixty percent of global oil investments. Bitumen is defined as a naturally occurring semisolid mixture of hydrocarbons. The fields of bitumen are naturally occurring all around the Athabasca water basin. Most of the Alberta tar sands lie so deep underground that it must be removed by first separating the bitumen from the sand using steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). 1 SAGD works by using water from the Athabasca River and heating it into steam. 1 The steam is then pumped into the ground using hoses. Steam melts areas of bitumen from top to bottom, and the liquid bitumen drains from to the bottom of the pit where it can be collected. This method was created by University of Alberta chemist, Dr. Karl Clark. It was first used by Suncor in 1965. Bitumen is considered one of the world’s dirtiest oils, because of its many impurities. 1 These impurities make a complex mining system necessary. Clearly, the harsh reality of having mined all of the clean oil is that we must now mine the dirtiest. Fort McMurray in Northern Alberta has changed dramatically due to the growth of the mining industry’s presence in the tar sands. 1 The growth in the area is said to be exponential, with no chance of slowing down anytime soon. This growth has completely changed the identity of the city. Housing in Fort McMurray is scarce and expensive. 1 It is nearly impossible to live in Fort McMurray unless you work in the mines. This has destroyed small business owners in the city, because they cannot get anyone to work for them at a reasonable wage. Also, the high average family income has caused high inflation rates. The mine employees who live in the city temporarily have caused the city shortfalls in roads, schools, and health care. Although shocking, these are typical problems that face cities that experience such a large econo mical boom in such a short period of time. The Canadian government has no regulations for the reclamation in the Athabasca region. 1 There is also little known as to how the diverse ecosystem of the region can ever be returned to its natural state. The wetlands that once covered the area cannot be replaced. Also, the large oil companies have not found any way to destroy the toxic waste byproducts in the tailings ponds. 1 In an effort of reclamation, 7. 5 million tree seedlings were planted in the area, but many did not survive because of the state of the soil. Syncrude spent 0. 20% of its total budget on reclamation efforts in 2005. There is estimated to be no bitumen left in forty years. The Alberta government fears that the cost of the reclamation will fall on taxpayers when the global companies leave. This is why it is essential for hold these companies accountable for reclamation while there is still money to be made in the tar sands. Bitumen requires much more energy in production than standard crude oil. 1 Producing one barrel of bitumen takes three times as much energy as producing a barrel of crude oil, and it creates three times as many pollutants. However, bitumen only sells for half the price of crude oil. Every day, the amount of natural gas needed to heat four million homes is used to boil water into the steam needed in SAGD. 1 The mines also use as much water per year as a city of two million people. To produce one barrel of bitumen requires the excavation of two tons of earth, and three barrels of fresh water from the Athabasca River. 1 1. 3 million barrels are exported every day. 1 Because of the oil production, the region has some of the most polluted air on the planet. The three hundred tons of sulphur that is released into the air per day has caused Alberta’ s eastern neighbor, Saskatchewan, to have recurring acid rain. This is just another example of how the destruction caused by oil production will ripple throughout the country. The forests in the area of the Athabasca oil sands have experienced extensive clear-cutting to make room for open-pit mines. 1 It is estimated that the mining developments in the region will eventually destroy a forest approximately the size of Florida. 1 Because of the destruction of the soil, the spruce and pine trees that once covered the region will never be able to grow in the now salt-rich soil. 1 This will obviously have a detrimental effect on the wildlife in the region. Already, the moose, deer, beaver, waterfowl, and other animals that once lived in the region are now scarce. 1 The delicate ecosystem of the area has been destroyed. The tailings ponds along the Athabasca River are used to hold the toxic waste that is produced in the production of bitumen. 1 These ponds now cover twenty-three square miles, and 400 million gallons of this toxic waste is produced daily. 1 It contains salt, phenols, benzene, cyanide, arsenic, as well as other carcinogens. 1 The tailings ponds pose a threat to wildlife that unknowingly enters the ponds believing them to be fresh water. This reality made headlines when 500 ducks were killed in the ponds on April 28, 2008. 1 The ponds are also not properly contained. Not only to the toxins leak into the groundwater, but many of the ponds leak directly into the Athabasca River. 1 There seems to be no real solution to this problem, as not even the experts know how to properly discard the waste in the tailings ponds. Canada has no official water policy, as well as the worst record of pollution enforcement among industrialized nations. 1 The tailings ponds contaminate the water, and Suncor and Syncrude are legally allowed by the Alberta government to ump 150 pounds of arsenic into the Athabasca River per year. 1 One hundred years ago, all of the water in Alberta was potable; it must all now be chemically treated. 1 Also, twenty-three percent of Canada’s freshwater can no longer support aquatic life because of watercontamination. Already, deformed fish are being found in Lake Athabasca. 1 Fort Chipewan is downstrea m from Fort McMurray and the mining operations. As an aboriginal people, they eat fish and wild game from the area. 1 They also drink the water from the Athabasca River. Five cases of cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer of the bile duct, have been recorded in Fort Chipewan in the last five years. 1 Cholangiocarcinoma typically occurs in one in 100, 000 people. 1 In 2006, Fort Chipewan’s population was 915. 1 These statistics speak for themselves; however, the province has denied the community a thorough health study. 1 The current state of Fort McMurray is due to the exponential growth that has taken place in the city. 1 However, the city’s seemingly thriving state makes it at risk for drugs, prostitution. Nearly half of mine workers test positive in drug screening. Therefore, most companies don’t do drug testing, because they would have nobody to work if they did. 2 The city and surrounding area have high rates of people driving while impaired, and road fatalities on Highway 63. 1 As well, the province of Alberta has the lowest voter turn-out in the country. 1 Fort McMurray has a high divorce rate, and a suicide rate thirty-one percent above the provincial average. 1 The city also has a high drop-out rate for high school students. The entire city is caught up in the money, not seeming to realize that their income is based on an unpredictable and unreliable market. The people living in Fort McMurray expect the money to keep on coming, and the people from outside of the city are only there for the money; when they’ve made the money that they went there to make, they will eventually leave. Alberta women also experience the highest level of abuse in the country. The province’s premier says that this is â€Å"the price to pay f or prosperity. Unfortunately, to some degree, he’s right. ElDean Kohrs is quoted as saying that â€Å"a history of power production synonymous with boom development usually leaves behind spiritual depression, divorce, drunkenness, dissension, and death†. The people of Fort McMurray can only hope that once the bitumen is gone, the city will not end up like the Klondike City of the gold rush. Although there are many devastating environmental effects of mining bitumen in the Alberta tar sands, the mining gives way to many opportunities for economic gain. The global demand for oil is a huge factor in why it is beneficial to mine the area. The Alberta tar sands are the world’s last remaining oil field, and have attracted sixty percent of global oil investments. 1 Although bitumen is referred to as ‘dirty oil’ it cannot be argued that all forms of oil cause some kind of environmental damage. Canada is now the second largest exporter of oil in the world. It is without doubt that the tar sands would eventually need to be mined, knowing our growing rate of oil consumption; but the rate of the growth is what has frightened people away from the idea of mining the area. Many of the large oil companies are making large strides in making better environmental choices. Suncor has reduced its water consumption by thirty percent in the last two years, and Syncrude has reclaimed twenty-two percent of its disturbed land. The Canadian government has also spent six billion dollars on climate change projects in the last fifteen years. 1 These are positive signs showing that the ways of mining land are changing for the better. The tar sands have also prompted growth all over Alberta. All major cities in Alberta have seen substantial growth in population over the past five years, and this growth as made Alberta one of the wealthiest provinces in Canada. Bitumen mining has also had a large effect on the Canadian dollar. 1 Between 2003 and 2006, the Canadian dollar went from sixty-four cents to eighty-seven cents on the U. S. dollar. This value is nearly parallel with the price of crude oil. Canada’s main exportation priority has become providing the United States with oil. 1 Canada is now the single larger exporter of oil to the U. S. 1 The U. S. has a high demand for oil, as U. S. citizens currently consume twenty-five percent of the world’s oil. 1 However, because of our high exportation, the Free Trade agreement is under intense scrutiny. It would seem that the agreement is no longer benefitting both countries. In summarizing the arguments, you could come to several conclusions. You may believe that the devastating effects on the environment are not worth mining bitumen. You may believe that to stay economically strong, Canada must mine the Alberta tar sands and have high exportation to the Unites States. Morally, it is clear what is right; however, economic decisions are never easy to make. The mining has devastated the region, and it is easy for a person to say that is wrong. However, these same people would not be ok with walking to work, or with paying high prices at the pumps. It is an ethical dilemma that faces the people today, between what we know is right, and what we are willing to go without. It is undeniable that the argument for the thesis is much stronger, but it may not have much validity to people concerned with the economy. The mining of bitumen is not sustainable, and will eventually recreate the identity of northern Alberta. 1 We can conclude that mining the Alberta tar sands has a detrimental effect on the environment that will eventually affect the entire world. â€Å"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world†-John Muir.

Acquisition of Manipulative Skills in Chemistry

Acquisition of Manipulative Skills in Chemistry Practical or hands-on activity is an essential instrument of assessment in an active science teaching and learning process. Science practical is a hands-on activity where the students are given the opportunity to practice what they have learned in the theories of science. It is an instrument for the students to acquire Science Process Skills (SPS) and Manipulative Skills (MS). Through practical activities a student’s Science Process Skills, Manipulative Skills as well as critical thinking and learning are developed. Also, science practical is a student centered and active learning process, which prepares a student to learn how to think, analyse, solve problems and produce appropriate solutions to it. This science practical is said to be a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Model. To identify and evaluate the level of the acquisition of SPS and MS, an assessment should be conducted on students. Assessments are important means of gaining dynamic picture of students academic developme nt. As an instrument of assessment, PEKA Chemistry was introduced in Malaysian school curricular. PEKA Chemistry is school-based practical assessment which was introduced in the year of 1999 to replace SPM Chemistry Practical Paper. This instrument is designed with a few constructs and criteria to assess student’s SPS and MS at the upper secondary level. The assessment is done continuously for two years, starting with the Form Four students and it is continued until the said students complete their Form Five. Students are assessed formatively by their chemistry subject teacher within the process of teaching and learning. LITERATURE REVIEW From other source of study, a few problems were identified in the implementation of PEKA. From the study by Siti Aloyah Alias (2002) ‘Evaluation Of The Implementation Of The PEKA Biology Program’ it is shown that even though the students enjoyed the assessment, many students are not sure of the skills they are suppose to master. With this, it is proven that the studied students have not mastered the SPS and MS skills as stated in the objective of PEKA. This study also shows that teachers are uncertain of using and designing their own scoring rubrics. They find it difficult to mark the students evidence as they do not have a proper standard marking guide. The study on Student Ability in PEKA Biology Among Form Four Science Stream Students by Nor Aziah Darus shows that time constraint in completing experiments was one of the main problem identified. This means the amount of experiments suggested by the ministry has got no proper time allocation. The amount of workload for teachers is too taxing. Teachers are under stress where they are suppose to finish the subject syllabus and the all the PEKA in a limited time of period. This in one way or other leads to lack of interest in teaching and learning of PEKA . Perlaksanaan Peka Kimia Di Sekolah Menengah di Sekitar Daerah Batu Pahat, Johor by Lee Soh Hoon   (2 007) showed that the frequency of the PEKA implementation is not sufficient. Faiza (2002) feels that the teachers are having problem in marking the practical report because the score scheme given by the ministry is too rubric. Additional to this, teachers in certain school are facing problem of insufficient lab apparatus which leads to limitation of experiment to assess. She also quoted that student’s excellent performance in PEKA (Biology) does not promise an excellent result in Biology theoretical examinations.

The Cabinet of Dr Caligary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Cabinet of Dr Caligary - Essay Example 72). The film seems to equally represent the disturbed German psyche and act as prescient element of the later Nazi regime. While there are clear links between the film and the mind, many prominent film theories conflict such a depiction. This essay examines how the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari complicates Munsterberg's the Photoplay and his discussion on attention, and Eisenstein's essays on Film Form through the physical depiction of the mind. Analysis Munsterberg’s theory of attention as articulated in the Photoplay considers the nature of film meaning in terms of viewer attention. In this context of understanding, he notes â€Å"Of all internal functions which create the meaning of the world around us, the most central is the attention. The chaos of the surrounding impressions is organized into a real cosmos of experience by our selection of that which is significant and of consequence† (Munsterberg). Here Munsterberg is indicating that rather than more subtle aspects of film expression, meaning is largely a factor of the viewer’s attention. When one considers such a theory in terms of Caligari there are a number of considerations. After the initial scene with Francis in the asylum the film opens onto the highly stylized Expressionist ‘mountains’ of the town featured in Francis’ story. The German Expressionist scenery is interesting to consider as it challenges the distinguishing features Munsterberg’s theory of attention. While the director incorporates the mountain backdrop as a functional element of setting, its distorted German Expressionist influence, while not constituting the main focus of attention, nevertheless greatly affects the meaning and tone of the scene. For instance, while it clearly exhibits a denotative aspect – mountain cutouts clearly denote mountains – one can also make the case that the mountain scenery is an entirely symbolic manifestation of Francis’ distorted paradigm. While for Munsterberg film meaning is largely linked to the viewer’s attention, Soviet theorist and director Sergei Eisenstein places the primary emphasis on montage. Eistenstein writes â€Å"Shot and montage are the basic elements of cinema. Montage has been established by the Soviet film as the nerve of cinema. To determine the nature of montage is to solve the specific problem of cinema† (Einstentein, p. 3). Even as such a perspective in terms of the highly experimental Russian cinema holds true, this view is complicated when applied to German Expressionist cinema. One considers that in Caligari it is not montage, but symbolism and scenery that greatly rely meaning. After Alan dies, Francis goes to the police. The mise-en-scene displays a large, winding staircase he must climb to speak with the officers who are positioned on extremely high-chairs. This is also echoed in the giant chair found in Alan’s apartment, expressionistically representing the overarchi ng authority that looks down on the characters. When examining the authoritarian function of the chair, one might argued for the interpretation of the cultural object in terms of the hierarchical power structures that are inherent in society. The majority of the investigation is left to Francis who must relay to Jane the horrible news of Alan’

Essay on project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

On project - Essay Example The skit demonstrates the role of the group leader in setting the mood and maintaining professionalism in the entire process. The narrator has a role to inform the audience of what they expect in the debate. My role is to organise the debate and the debate members in a manner to enhance cohesion and collaboration. I have to remind all the members of the meeting, venue, and the time. If need be for adjusting on the time or the venue, it is my work to inform all the participants. In addition, it is the work of the narrator to see to it that each participant has a chance to contribute available ideas according to the available time. Another task is to maintain the mood of the house by requesting participants to give applause to acknowledge a good point, control the extent of the laughter, and make sure that the mood remains professional. One of the challenges faced by the group is maintaining a professional mood. The fact that students are working by themselves gives them the freedom to express themselves and if not controlled it may fail to yield the expected results. For instance, some ideas are captivating enough to make students laugh. On their own, students will want to enjoy themselves by adding to ideas that will make them laugh the more. The leader will have to make sure that the group does not deviate from it’s main purpose. Working in teams has various uses to the student outside the subject. In the course of the group project, students have a chance to express their ideas and influence the decisions made by the entire group. This is unlike in class where students who rarely talk in class have a chance to build their self-esteem by contributing in a smaller group. Students in groups have a chance to take up leadership positions to make sure that their group members observe time, remind them to come for the meeting, and make sure that laid out plan for the project is in place and that the group is

Art Management and Marketing assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Art Management and Marketing assignment - Essay Example However, owing to the fact that there have been recent dynamics and shifts in this industry, stakeholders have been compelled to undertake proper analysis in relation to the facets of the art industry in order to make sound decisions. This project focuses on a case study analysis of Baxter Theatre and its external and internal environments that affect its success either positively or negatively. Moreover, it focuses on a discussion of forecasted cashflow and income statement of the organisation as well as the financial risks it faces as it continues with its operations. In addition, the case study uses the SWOT analysis tool to analyse the company’s enviroment in terms of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The organisation focuses on curation and facilitating performances such as overnight hotel collaboratives and residency performances as well as provision of a platform for university and high school students to produce films and engage them in networking for a period of approximately two months, thus improving their capacity to perform in the favorite art activities. The long term goal that the organisation aspires to achieve is to create a society where art is appresciated and perceived not as an altertanative means of income, but rather a pertinent aspect of social and economic development. This is to be achieved through capacity building by narturing talent of young artists at university and high school level while creating awareness in the society on the need to appreciate art. There are various external factors that directly or indirectly affect the success of the organisation towards achieving its mission, short-term and the long-term goals. This because of the inherent potential threats and challenges these factors can cause to the organisations. One of the major external factors affecting the success of the organisation is competition from other well established art organisations (Mark, 2011).

Impact on management science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Impact on management science - Essay Example To answer this question it is necessary to examine the nature of HRM and its role in strategic organizational development and planning. Whilst top management must always accept the need for innovation there is still the decision as to which opportunities it wishes to develop in relation to its resources and those it chooses not to pursue. An effective business strategy depends upon the successful management of opportunities and coordination of HR in order to create a competitive advantage. Taking into account that HRM is not an independent part of business, it is possible to assume that HRM is a strategic activity aimed to respond effectively to changes and business transformations. The basis strategic HRM is that every manager is given a clear idea of the results expected. The human resources function is now highly specialized and perhaps can be said to be at the centre of conflict between labour and capital. They in effect operate on the 'boundary' between the workforce and the organization. Human resource management is that part of the process of management that is concerned with the maintenance of human relationships and ensuring the physical well-being of employees so that they give the maximum contribution to efficient working. It is obviously closely related to the management process as a whole and each functional manager and supervisor applies the principles effectively. Departmental managers, by effective leadership, ensure human resources policy is adhered to and department activities are successfully carried out. Michael Armstrong (2003) proposes the following definition of HRM: " the concept of HRM could be regarded as a philosophy governing how employees should be treated in the interests of the organization. But this philosophy can be applied in many different ways and there is no single model which can be used to describe HRM (p 23)" A logical approach to the consideration of this function is to look first of all at the problem of overall company organization and manpower planning, then the operations necessary to implement the plan, that is, recruitment and selection, training and development, and wage and salary administration. Other aspects of human resource management include industrial relations and the law of employment, welfare and safety, and other employee services. The importance is that the process of HRM is extremely important and continues to advance rapidly and change becomes imperative. When an organization develops a highly committed work force, coupled with enlightened management, its self-managed multifunction teams will be able to take on the challenges of the future (Price, 2004). Driven Forces of Strategic Intent to Planning Social Change as a Driven Force of Strategic Intent in HRM Social change creates new HR policies and training needs. For example, as more people travel abroad and experience the high levels of customer service in North America and the Far East they become more demanding in their expectations for customer service at home. As a further example, in society women's right to occupy jobs at the highest levels in companies and institutions. Both these examples indicate the need for HR training, the first in customer care skills and the second in management skills for women. In this situation, training is a strategic tool of the entire organization realized

CSR is just public relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

CSR is just public relations - Essay Example CSR has been found to be profoundly necessary for organizations because it has significant effect on employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders and the community. Public Relation is defined as the practice or profession for maintaining and developing goodwill of an organization’s stakeholders. Public Relations generally include an employer’s participation in charitable causes, sporting events, education and other civic arrangements. It is known that ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ aroused as a result of implementation of ‘Public Relations’ in the organizations but it has a broader perspective in the modern world. CSR has become extensively essential for organizations to sustain in the competitive market. Corporate Social Responsibility is not just limited to public relations of organizations in the contemporary era. There are several uses of CSR in the global market. CSR is a development process for organizations that helps to transform social problems into strategic opportunities. CSR enables companies to work with their societal and political stakeholders in order to test innovative solutions and reallocate social responsibilities. There are mainly three factors through which CSR provides response to global challenges. There are many companies that assume CSR to be a way of engagement in the society in order to give back something in return. Most of the companies participate in activities such as charity and donations and believe that their CSR activity is of high quality. In order to understand the true value of CSR it is important that companies start realizing the true value of CSR. CSR is not just a philanthropic activity in fact it is a process wherein companies provide sufficient aid to their important stakeholders (Zientara, 2014, p.42). A new way of partnership with other companies or producing goods based after making

How Nintendo is left brained Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How Nintendo is left brained - Essay Example This part of the brain controls the right side of the body. (Edward) CERTAIN FEATURES OF NINTENDO GAMES WITH EXAMPLES: A number of Nintendo games are available for purchase in the market. These games incorporate techniques that require analytical and logical approaches to be embedded by the player. Examples of Nintendo games involving the brain activity of the player from the left side of the brain include Donkey Kong, numerous puzzle related games such as Repton, Knights Lore, Cantlequest. Puzzle solving games involve the embedding of decision making techniques. Thompson writes about traditional puzzle games in his book â€Å"Video Games Design Revealed† in the following words: â€Å"The general format for traditional puzzle games often includes a problem that needs to be solved, followed by some kind of subtle scenario change, followed by another puzzle that needs to be solved in order to gain points or move up a hierarchy of levels.† (31). Each puzzle game introduced by the Nintendo game introduces a different decision making perspective to the player. This results in even more brainstorming on the Player’s end. In addition to puzzle solving games there are also few brain games in the Nintendo Series of video games. These games are named as the ‘Brain Training Series’ by their developer Professor Kawashima and Nintendo.

Imposing Tax on Economic Rents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Imposing Tax on Economic Rents - Essay Example The company can now make significant gains by availing the security for patent rights. The company will get large amounts of economic rents as long as the patent remains. This means that the marginal cost of producing the drug is less than the price charged for the drug. The government should impose a tax on the economic rent earned by the company to ensure that the successful drugs available in the market should stay in the market. But this would have certain long-run consequences. The pharmaceutical company would reduce resources for the discovery of new successful drugs. So, economic rents are phenomena in the short run. In the long run, it acts as a source for rewarding risks taken in society. Thus, it holds good not only for this pharmaceutical and drug business but also for the sports and entertainment sector. Dominant firms in the market practice such strategies that encourage the development of an oligopolistic market structure. Mergers are the most common way to develop this structure. This refers to the process of joining of two or more firms to bring it under one single ownership or control. Mergers result in the establishment of huge corporations that operate in the market. Thus, firms which have the prospects of raising huge capital in the market and operating successfully are deterred from entering the market. The market is already saturated with large oligopolistic firms. The two most common types of mergers are vertical and horizontal mergers. Horizontal mergers refer to the joining of those firms which have been producing and selling the same kind or similar products. An example of a horizontal merger is the joining of two daily newspapers within the same city. Vertical mergers occur between firms which maintain a buyer and seller relationship. This usually occurs between companies operating in the same industry, but at different stages of the production process.

New Revenue Streams for the National Maritime Museum Essay Example for Free

New Revenue Streams for the National Maritime Museum Essay Bishoff and Allen (2004) state that â€Å"most cultural heritage institutions are mission driven; their primary purpose is to support and promote the public good. † Just as The National Maritime Museum mission statement is â€Å"to illustrate for everyone the importance of sea, ships, time and stars and their relationship with people†. Swan (2012), explained in her presentation that â€Å"this is the largest maritime museum in the world which attracted 2. 45 million visitors in 2010 /2011 and 709. 000 visitors just at the National Maritime Museum alone†. Museum is the place for learning, education and socialisation. Sources that contribute to museums’ earned revenue include admission, gift shop, memberships, facility rentals and other variety of sources like private sector. Essentially, any product or service that is offered by the museum generates income. There is another form of revenue which is classified as unearned revenue. The main sources of unearned revenue are fundraising through individual donations and grants through any level of government. Hiring museum facilities for an event or filming is the best form of revenue. In order for the museum to remain financially viable earned revenues should be a fundamental part of the budget planning. There should be a dedicated team which is able to brain storm and look for new ways in how to contribute new revenue streams. Museum can be interesting to visit once if displays and exhibitions are not changed. As well as interactions and special events has to accommodate demand. Bearing in mind seasons, half term holidays or summer holiday is a good way start looking into additional revenue. Museum need to be creative and come to a problem from many angles at once. Advertising is an important revenue stream for helping businesses reach exactly the customers they want and increase value. Advertising can be through local newspapers at the whole Royal of Greenwich council and as well Lewisham council which is situated close by. Another form of advertising is to reach schools as through educational interest and possibility to cater this need. The leaflet or informational package can be distributed to local nurseries, primary and secondary schools. There is a pdf file available at Google website so hard copy must be available too. Another form of advertising is to develop or contribute to already existing mobile phone software application otherwise called an app. To develop the application can be costly but if the best interaction outcome can be achieved this could be the next step to advertise and market the museum. As Cooper (2012) spoke that† the task is to drive all sales and further interaction through website and media team is looking for new ways. † Smart mobile phones are widely used and are playing big part towards communication and interaction. It can serve businesses in local community and if new application is developed people will pay for it use and that is a new potential revenue stream. Another way to bring foot to the museum is to develop an additional source of technical interaction. As technology is spreading fast museums and other historical organizations need to follow new trends in order to be fashionable and appeal to various demographics. Swan (2012) showed in her presentation a ? 30 million re-development plan which was completed in 2011. With new entrance, substantial space for special exhibitions, an archive centre and upgraded visitor facilities this museum will appeal to wider audience due to his architecture and modern external look. The benefits in finishing re-development before Olympic Games 2012 give a possibility to welcome more visitors. This new entrance at the other end of the building will contribute towards visitor numbers as their will not need to walk all around to the font building to enter. To follow new technology is a good way to look into the future. One of the ways it can be done is through QR code which would be displayed next to the collected historical item. QR code online application would allow explore information via mobile phone or any other form of computerised equipment. QR codes are probably the newest version in delivering information and are most popular and flexible to use. Most businesses and individuals can interact with the museum due to their need in marketing campaigns through this premises or education. Audio guides who would deliver tour in few foreign languages as tourists are contributing highly in visitor numbers. Cooper (2012) said that Americans, Japanese, Russian, Chinese and Europeans are coming by coach in big groups, so additional language is seen as must have. Audio guides would contribute to better history understanding and at the same time there would be full interaction while at the museum. Without an additional language audio guides’ foreign visitors are not fully exploring the museum message. As this maritime museum is one of the largest in the world customer expectations are not achieved. Although Spanish, Russian, Arabic and other foreign languages can be found at the official website. For the museum to survive, their need to think of new sources of the revenue streams to obtain income. The National Maritime Museum has many activities based on educational and informational need. The interesting would be to find out how many schools are aware that this particular museum is providing interactive activities. The same would apply to local residence with young children. There are so many things to explore and do at the museum but people think that this is a place where they can get in touch with heritage by looking and reading at the displays. The museum is not the place to visit only on the rainy day. The National Maritime Museum is a very welcoming place and vide range of information can be found on their website. There is as well an interactive part were children with an adult help can make various things like sea monster mask or globe. Many interesting tasks in â€Å"Make your own† can be done at home but for the children of age 5-8 parents’ interaction would be needed. While further looking how this could be brought in to a promises the idea came to mind. Rather than having the tool in making mask or globe on line children could be doing it at the museum. There are no complicated tools or objects involved in the process and children would not be proud in taking an item home and sharing with their friends or siblings. This would as well show to parents that the museum is not just about looking at the material collected. Children at the age of 5-8 are particular excited in showing their achievements. The National Maritime Museum holds pirate day every Wednesday and Friday and there are six sessions between both days. This shows that there is an interest for schools to organise trips and bring children were they can become pirates for the day. Young boys and girls are very interested in pirates. As their imagination is full of excitement it can be further broadened by inviting them to dress up as pirate. Dressing up as a pirate would give them enjoyment and feeling that they are real characters. They can as well learn how to talk like the pirate or scrub the deck, a very hands on attraction. To achieve additional revenue to the museum, hiring the dressing up clothes could be beneficial. An example would be that just ? 2 of charge could bring around ? 120 a week and total annual revenue is more than ? 6000. This is of course if 60 children would come to this activity within the week. The dressing up outfits is not high in price and can be purchased at one of the local party shops. As pirate outfit can be urchased for around ? 15 so expenditure can be recovered in few months’ time. Another follow up using the same dressing up outfits is an idea which is designed especially for young pirates. Pirate children birthday parties can be educational and fun. While dressing up in pirate and exploring the interactive children’s gallery session and pirate treasure trail, children could have memorable event. There is Maritime History show once a week, which takes 45 minutes and cost ? 45 for up to 30 children. So ? 2 charge for costume hire will not be seen as an expensive addition to a day out. Those dressing up costumes can be used further by inviting children to have they birthday party at the museum. Providing birthday party package for the fixed price would bring additional revenue. Package would include invitations, pirate costume, packed lunch and beverage which can be served at the garden as picnic or at the premises at the upper deck depending on the weather and time of day. And cake which is a must have for every birthday party. Children birthday parties would need to be pre-booked as many birthday parties are taking place on the weekends and as Swan (2012) informed that Sunday is the busiest day a week. The National History Museum in London is providing similar services were children can experience the museum in the night. This idea is probably taken from the popular blockbuster movie â€Å"The Museum at Night†. There are not many places in the surrounding area to hold children birthday party which would appeal to wide age spectrum and provide educational as well as fun time. Ticketed entrance to a special exhibition. Museums often undervalue and under-price what they offer. Activities to under 5 years old This interaction would welcome local community people, to visit museum and see it as a place to learn and meet others. Many children and they guardians look for activities for children under 5. At this age they are interested in meeting new friends and learning new skills. So children who are not taken to nurseries or who has not yet started primary school need to interact and learn new ways in communicating and exploring the world which surround us. Special events with character appearances will contribute to visitor number. The museum already holds a music and dance activity for children under five. 30 minute interactive hand clapping and singing could be more fun if character appeared to read the book. This museum has flexibility in providing books about the sea, ships and stars which is their mission statement. The books can be covering educational aspect. As museum already has new library added to it, this to children gives flexibility to provide grate chance to introduce and develop historical skill. Information about people and their relationship with the sea and stars could be an inspiring experience and opportunity to broaden their knowledge. As from my own visit at one of those music and dance activity few years ago I remember that it was far too short and overcrowded by number of mums and children. Many parents spend 30 minutes on their journey to come and have another 30 minutes of fun. Younger children can lose interest and get board after long singing, but for older 4 to 5 years old this activity is too short. My thought on this would be to introduce art and craft activity. This is good way in teaching eye and hand coordination and children have something to take home. The art and craft activities can as well have a small monetary charge or donation, which would allow getting material needed. 3D crafts would teach children how to build ships or stars. The opportunity of 3D imaging can make all of these areas of museum activity a much richer experience. Historical images and written descriptions are not appealing to every child who is entering museum. So another way to attract interest in exploring history is through showing video footage. An example would come from five most popular collections of â€Å"Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson, 1758-1805 or The Return to Amsterdam of the Second Expedition to the East Indies on 19 July 1599†. Short visual video footage, in form of cinema, would provide feelings through history and symbolism of navigation and safety. And if that could be achieved through 3D visual experience it would provide even better understanding and give the feeling like they are actually involved at the battle. It would provide information why we need to look after the sea and why it is important. Utilize high school students as part of their work-term experience. Contact schools to encourage high school students to gain work experience through volunteering at the museum. Setting up a program of this kind could produce a predicable stream of volunteers and may decrease the need for paid staff. Book day Adult evening at The National Maritime Museum Drawing and painting classes are popular in terms of hobby or free time activity for adults. This would provide excursions to the Queens House and then take place at the upper deck at Maritime museum This is a good link in connecting art and history together. Adult only activities would need to be pre booked and would have small fee charge in order to provide equipment and tools needed in holding painting classes.

Computer in Life Essay Example for Free

Computer in Life Essay What do you think of when you hear the word ‘computer’? Do you think of technology? Or maybe one of the ways to get on Facebook which I am sure many of you are thinking right now or you might even imagine a boring office full of screens and keys with people typing frantically in front of. All of those visions are correct, but first let’s take a look at the history of several inventions that led the creation of computers which has dramatically changed the world of technology. The first machine that was invented, which worked like a computer, was a gear-powered German device dubbed the Calculating Clock created by Wilhelm Schickard in 1623. It operated by pulling or pushing rods set inside a glass case. 20 years later, in 1640s, a similar device known as a Pascaline was invented and became famous dramatically.. In 1944, the Harvard Mark-1 computer was completed. That computer was approximately similar to a modern computer, but it was a large calculator driven by a camshaft with no stored programs. This massive computer filled a large room and was a joint effort between Harvard University and IBM. Personally, I believe that one of the most important inventions in my life has always been a computer. I was raised in this technological world where computers are a necessity. Computers dramatically transform my life in terms of education. They acknowledge me with the events that happen around the world, which I think are extremely important to learn. They give me an efficient, convenient and cozy way of work and study. Computers do not just provide me with education or learning experiences, but they are also one of the means of entertainment and globalization. They provide me with leisure time watching movies online or listening to music. According to me, it is one of the most relaxing ways to release the stress from studying and working day and night. Also in terms of globalization, with the aid of computers, I can visualize and make conversations with my long distance family and friends. They assist me in keeping relations with my family and friends, even though I am extremely far from them. I, as a student, strongly believe that computers are extremely important in terms of education as I mentioned before. Before computers were invented, I (you were born after computers were invented) as well as everyone else relied on books to provide them with educational knowledge. Now that computers are available, I never search through hundreds of pages of books. I can just surf the Internet in the blink of an eye to research for learning information. If I need to type anything or write an essay, I have easy access to my Microsoft word or Notepad in which I can also save the information and open it whenever I desire to and if I make any errors typing, it provides me with the correct word or information. Isn’t that amazing? It’s like a human sitting in the back of the computer screen reading my essay and correcting it of any mistakes I may make. Furthermore, the computers also assist me when it comes to math, such as math problems like logarithms, sine, cosine, and tangent can be awfully difficult to calculate and may take students a long time to do so manually. Luckily, with the help of computers, students may turn a five-minute problem into a one-minute problem. Computers have also made a major impact in the business field. They have gained importance as they have increased the productivity and efficiency of workload. Large amounts of data in the personal lives as well as in business and industrial sectors are stored on computers. Overall, as I provided you with all the benefits of computers, according to me, computers are one of the necessities in today’s technological world. In today’s world, it is almost impossible to think that one can survive without computers. They have become a gadget of almost daily use for people of every age. With the computer industry growing rapidly, the computer technology has also brought about a revolution of laptops and palmtops replacing the desktop, which are still popular in many of the industries. With the reduction in size, it has become quite easy to carry the computers and use them to the fullest. Computers are extremely helpful in terms of education, entertainment, globalization, etc. People might think that there might be negative aspects to the inventions of computers, but as far as I am concerned, I do not believe that the statement is true. The computers have had numerous positive effects and they will continue to do so in the future as well.

The Four Frames of an Organization

The Four Frames of an Organization Warren Bennis(2003), notices that good observation of the situations is the core competency of leadership and it is a important tool in developing successful organizations. Bolman and Deal (2007) highlights four major areas of organizational theory namely structure, people, political dynamics and culture. Each frame has its own logic, focus, assumptions and path to success of organization. Structural frame views an organization as a factory or machine and gives more importance to goals, formal relationships and specific roles. It also emphasizes on policies, procedures, creating rules to merge the focus of diverse group towards achieving the organization goal. The people frame perceives an organization as a unit with each individual having their own ideas, energy, needs, talent, limitations and feelings. Individuals in an organization should be given the liberty to operate on their own to display their talent but at the same care should be taken to get their job done. As per the view of Thomas (2006), the political frame perceives an organization as an arena with competition, power, conflict and policies as core where beliefs, skills, values, conflicts and interests among the staff are evident organizational realities. Finally, the cultural frame views organizational life as a festival where individuals join together to form culture, context and meaning as they engage themselves in their specific roles and bring creativity and inspiration into their work. Each frame plays an important role in an organization, but any frame alone is deficient. Gallos(2008), views modern organizations as complex beast and the fast growing technology and competitive world only adds more to their complication. Structural Frame: The structural frame as discussed before is concerned with rules and goals of the organization. So, the frame concentrates on the goal directions, structural clarity, and task accomplishment in an organization.(Harris Nelson, 2008).The main values of this frame are: The best approach is rational approach ; Dividing labor based on their specialization leads to improved performance and individual expertise; synchronization and control are best achieved through the authority and impersonal rules; and Based on an organizations nature structures can be systematically designed and applied. These principles suggest that problems in organization usually are signs of structural issues and it can be solved by streamlining and restructuring. But these are just one of the many problems that an organization is facing. Rationality is another important concept that an organization deals with. As per the view of Brunsson (2009), organizations are intentional, in other words organization works towards a definite reason. In many companies, it is a hypothesis that behaviors are governed by decisions under a norm of rationality. Usually this norm is difficult to satisfy in reality. Like two sides of coin, the concept of differentiation and integration are the reason for it being viewed as a rational approach. Differentiation in when tasks are done among individuals and integration is the link between the roles that make the interdependence. These roles and interdependencies are synchronized vertically by power and laterally by teams, meeting etc. There are six main assumptions in structural frame: Existence of organization is to attain established objective and goals. Efficiency of organization is increased and performance is enhanced through clear division of employees and specialization. Proper co-ordination and control ensures that diverse effort of individuals and units engage. For an organization to work at its best rationality should prevail over personal choice and external pressure. The structure of an organization should be designed in such a way that it fits to the circumstance of the organization. Structural deficiencies lead to performance gap and in this situation and can be solved through proper analysis and restructuring. Two design issues are how to allocate work and how to coordinate roles between them or unit. A job prescription is in form of job description, procedures where it is clear document on what an employee should do and what he should not to accomplish a task. Once work is allocated to individuals the managers/leaders face next important decision as how they should group people into working units. There are several basic operations (Mintzberg, 1979): Groups are partitioned on the basis of skill set and knowledge. For example Java team, Visual Basic team and so on. Groups based on working time, as by shift. Units formed on basis of product. Telecommunication software, accounting software and so on. Groups around client or customer. Groups around place or geography. Say for example team in Australia, team in India Groups by process. For example development, testing and support. In an IT firm like this, it is important to form groups and it can be best formed when they are grouped based on skill set, time, geography and process. The real problem here is problem of co-ordination. Units try to focus on their own priority rather than organizations. For an organization to be successful it has to employ an effective method of coordinating between the units to work towards the organizational goal. This can be achieved by either vertical coordination or lateral coordination. Vertical Coordination: In vertical coordination higher management has the authority. They decide as what should happen through authority, policies, rules and control system. Authority means designating a boss. He integrates the effort of individuals and units. They take control by resolving conflicts, making decisions, solving problems and distributing rewards. Rules and policies ensure informality among the employees. This helps to reduce particularism (Perrow, 1986) reacting to a particular situation on personal bias or political forces rather than towards the goal of organization. In order to make sure that a level of quality is maintained, standards are set. So a measurement against standard helps in finding the performance and makes it possible to fix a problem. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) reduce difference in performance for tasks that requires high level of predictability and not allowing more margins for error. Standard operating procedures can fail how ever more often only in case of situations that is not foreseen. Mintzberg (1979) distinguishes performance control and action planning. Performance control imposes outcome objectives. F or example increase the teams productivity by 5%. This is good way when the goals are clear but not successful when goals are hard to measure. Action planning specifies action as well as time frame. It works well when it is easier to access how the job is done. Lateral Coordination: Sometimes vertical coordination cannot be effective. Behavior of people is usually untouched by rules and command. Lateral techniques such as meetings (both formal and informal), network organization, matrix structure, coordinating roles and task force helps in filling the void. In our organization in order to fill the void there will be continuous meeting. There will be wide range of meetings like project management meeting to make sure that project can be delivered on time as promised with high quality. In a high technology company that is under consideration, we will have task forces also. High-technology firms have high degree of reliance on project teams or task forces to synchronize development of new service or product. Being a high technology company it is important to have networks as knowledge will be spread all cross the organization and it cant be at a particular place. Ghoshal and Barlett (1990) argued that many organizations have evolved into inter organization network. Initiatives arise from many places as it is a multi centric structure. Structural imperatives: Organizations architecture depends on following factors: size and age, core process, environment, strategy and goals, information technology and nature of the workforce. Let us see how these factors play a role in shaping an organization. Size and age: An organizations size and age plays a key role in architecture. A small company can have informal structural arrangements. Whereas the same organization, as it grows, it will be difficult to get a hold of the process if things are not formalized. As a startup IT company it can be informal but since it is high technology organization it is very much essential to formalize process say for example documenting everything as the work done is not repetitive and knowledge needs to be shared. Core Process: The core product is taxation software for tax agents. Henderson and Clark (1990) said that it is difficult to cope with the change in a technology for an established company than a startup firm. Being a startup firm there is an edge, in an aspect to get into the business with latest technology. Also care should be taken and structure should be in such as way that firm should be flexible enough to adapt to latest technology without much of hassle and complexity. If the start up organization fail to build a flexible structure then it will also fall in the same pit as other established company and the new comers will take over the lead. Environment: Environment plays a major role. In a high technology industry there is always high degree of uncertainty. This demands sophisticated architecture. New roles and specialties are often required in order to cope up with the emerging problems. High level of adaptability and flexibility are required in an uncertain industry like high technology industry. Strategy and goals: Strategic decisions are inclined towards long term goal and are concerned with the future (Chandler, 1962). Goals that are stated are the ones that an organization follows most of the time. We need to look beyond formal statement of purpose to understand the link that exists between strategy, goals and structure. Information Technology: New technologies and computers continue to revolutionize the amount of information available and the speed at which it can be shared. Information is central structural determinant. Galbraith (1973) defines uncertainty as difference between what information is in hand and what information is needed. As the gap increases, the complexity of making a decision also increases. In this situation organization has two choices: Firstly, reduced the need for information. Secondly, increase the capacity to process it. In a high technology organization it is better to choose the second option as high technology organization need as much as information possible to stay in the race. Information technology plays an important role in high technology firms. Innovations in information technology make flatter structure unavoidable. Drucker (1989) pointed out that information-based organizations need fewer management levels when compared to other industries. Similarly, this applie s to high technology firm and will follow more of flat structure than vertical structure. Nature of workforce: In a high technology industry, even a lower level workforce need to have high knowledge. Sometimes lower level workforce has more technical knowledge than their supervisors. There is increasing need to specialization of areas. Drucker (1989), makes an observation that work will be moved to place where people are rather than moving people where work is. Similarly there is need to design the structure such that there are different centers based on availability of work force. This again increases dependency on network as work has to be coordinated between different geographic locations. Boundary less organization: Prahalad and Lawrence (1995) insisted about the importance of boundary less organization. In a boundary less organization ideas flow through different layers easily and hence the productivity will be high. The organization as a whole functions far better. In the startup high technology organization the number of layers between top and bottom is less so that there is free flow of ideas. Care should be taken on diluting the number of layers as too much autonomy leads to chaos. The following factors should be considered when designing a structure. They are gap versus overlap, underuse versus overload, lack of clarity versus lack of creativity, excessive autonomy versus excessive interdependence, too loose versus too tight, goalless versus goal bound, irresponsible versus unresponsive. In our organization care should be taken such that there is no inclination towards any of the character discussed above. Right balance should be maintained. Structural configurations: Structural design starting from scratch does not happen most of the times. Usually supervisors copy an existing structure from their experience or some existing popular theory. Let us look at Mintzbergs fives and see how it is applicable in our organization. Mintzberg model has five components. First component is operating core. Core consists of employees who make the product to the customer or clients. Layer above this is administrative. They are managers who provide and control resource for the operation. Above this is strategic apex. It comprises of top level management, who are responsible for strategic decisions. Usually they are board of directors and equivalent. Two more components in the sides are techno structure which comprises of specialists who measure and inspect the output of the process. Last component is support staff whose work is to facilitate other workers and ensure smooth running of office. Mintzberg derived five structural configurations from this blueprint. Simple structure: This structure has only two level, strategic apex and operating core. Usually it has direct supervision. It works well in family business. The positives of simple structure are adaptability and flexibility. It also has negative side as boss too close to day today operation lose focus and gets distracted easily and they dont take into account the long range strategic issues. Machine bureaucracy: In machine bureaucracy, strategic apex makes all strategic decision, managers supervises all day today operation. And procedures are standardized. Machine bureaucracy has lots of support staff and few technostructures. Key issue is how to keep employees motivated as it is routine work. Professional bureaucracy: In this structure, majority of people are from operating core and very less number of managers. Technostructre is comparatively very less. Professional bureaucracy stumbles when they try to get a greater control over operating core. Divisionalized form: Work is done in the form of quasi-autonomous units. Each division serves different market. For example a MNC might have financial service, IT, manufacturing etc. It creates ample resource and responsiveness without much risk. But it has other tensions like cat and mouse game between the headquarters and the division. The other potential problem is the gap that widens between head quarters and the divisions. Adhocracy: Adhocracy is loose, flexible structure mostly tied together by lateral means. This kind of structure is more often found in condition of turbulence and rapid change such as advertising industry. After looking at these five structures its professional bureaucracy and divisionalized form that suits our organization. In high technology industry, there is need for more people with technical skill than managerial skill. Hence professional bureaucracy works well in high technology organization. Restructuring: Every organization has to restructure at some point in time. Restructuring is time consuming and more over it does not even guarantee success. Restructuring happens due to various pressures such as environment shifts, technology change, organizational growth and leadership changes. Miller and Friesen(1984) found that companies in trouble usually fall in the following three categories. Impulsive firm: It is a fast growing organization with rapid changes usually lead by one or very few managers. This will lead organization to run out of control. Many onetime successful owners fail to recover from this stage and they stumble. Stagnant bureaucracy: These are organizations that follow old tradition. They often become too stagnant. They dont make up to market speed and lower level managers often feel left out. Headless giants: These are loosely coupled organizations where the administration is weak. Most of the decisions are made by the division and does not have any real strategy at the top. Decision making is not proactive whereas it is reactive. Organizations are reluctant to make changes in structure because it creates uncertainty and confusion. Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability and Ethics: Corporate Social Responsibility is the most accepted and credible form to prevent societies from social unrest and save the planet and environment from destruction through corporate behaviour. The relationship between corporation and the society is interdependent. Any organisation is largely dependent on social stability and economic condition. In case of international organisation like the high technology organization, it is important to operate in a responsible manner particularly in local community to avoid conflicts and avoid boycotts. However Multi National Companies face problem when respect for local community clash with core value. For example when a company has its core value as equal opportunity for all, this will collide with job for locals. Implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility strategies makes good business sense. Profit maximization is not the mantra of start up hight technology firm as it can equally hurt. Only a long-term rather than short term, balanced v iew on profit maximization will be reasonable, and responsible. This makes it evident that Corporate Social Responsibility can provide an opportunity for organisation to improve their long term profit and at the same time benefit wide range of people apart from managers and owners. This ensures sustainability. Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability and Ethics: Corporate Social Responsibility is a major source of competitive advantage. One reason for doing good is to create a good opinion about the company among the society. This creates an intangible asset that is impossible for a competitor to reproduce. Thus we can say Corporate Social Responsibility is a major player in value creation. Another source of competitive advantage is by reducing operating cost. In high technology business, the costs associated with dumping of hardware can be avoided by giving it to the charity. Researchers have found that certain consumers are interested in buying product that adds value to the society. Also there are bunch of investors who prefer investing in companies that has high social responsibility. The High technology start up firm can tap this market by maintaining high level of Corporate Social Responsibility. 75% of consumers declare that they would not buy a product that doesnt have good ethical value or goods produced under bad circumstances. So it is important for the firm to act ethically as major customers consider ethical value. Research has found that certain consumers are even ready to pay a premium for sustainable products. We have seen the benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility but the real problem is the implementation phase and the practical feasibility with such measures. Major decisions needs to be taken not only on what the corporation should engage in but also should measure whether the Corporate Social Responsibility initiative will fail or succeed. A prerequisite for corporate responsibility is availability of resource. This would explain why survey among 1000 companies have shown that 94% believe Corporate Social Responsibility will lead to profit but only 11% were able to implement it. So in the high technology firm that is discussed, care should be taken that we are not falling short of resource as this is a major road block in implementation phase. For a new firm it can be difficult implement CSR because there wont be well established formal structure. Further more they will be in a phase of survival. Corporate climate tells how things are and corporate culture tells as why things are as they are. Both climate and culture are key factors for corporate social responsibility. Conclusion: Corporate Social Responsibility brings sustainability in business. This works well in long run. Also Corporate Social Responsibility provides competitive advantage over the competitors. For a start up high technology firm, structure plays an important role. Without structure, energy and time of resources are often misdirected. Often we fail to find the real cause if the problem. For example sometimes we spend more time and money on training but the real problem is with social architecture rather than peoples attitude and skill. There is no perfect structure. It depends on circumstances and factors like technology, goal, strategy and environment. A structural design might be apt for a particular time and circumstance but more often than not there will be need to change the structure depending on the changes in goal, strategy and environment. Restructuring is important but at the same time it is high risk. In short term it creates more confusion and anxiety. In long run it depends on h ow well it gels with the organisation goal, environment and strategy.

My Service Learning Experience :: Community Service, Volunteer Work

I wanted to volunteer at an animal shelter since I am majoring in Pre-Vet, but at the last moment, I decided to do something very different. I chose to student teach first graders at County Elementary. It is very surprising to me that I chose to do this. I always said that I hated kids and had no desire to ever work with them I even said I would never give birth to any kids because I hated them so much. The thing is that I actually enjoyed my experience very much. I chose this activity because I wanted to try something different that I thought I wouldn't like. The teacher that I did this volunteer work for was my 1st grade teacher at County Elementary when I went to school there in 2000. The reason that I hate kids so much is because had a really bad experience with them. In the summer of last year I baby-sat these kids across the street from me that moved here from New York. They were the kids from hell. They were so annoying, and ungrateful. For instance they always asked me to buy them Taco Bell, and when I did, they would say, "why did you buy me this?", or "I want more, you better buy me more." I hated them. I was so stressed from them that I would cry at night. I really didn't want to baby-sit them anymore but I felt bad if I said no. So I thought I couldn't judge all kids on those three. I had to give others a chance, and didn't want to give up on having kids. I did many fun and exciting things while I was working with these kids at County Elementary. The first day Mrs. Aiken introduced me. She said, " Boys and girls this is Taysha, and I was her teacher when she was your age." They were all in awe. They couldn't believe that I had her as a teacher. The first kid I helped was a black girl named Shontele. I helped her with her math work and reading. I taught her to group thins in Math when you are adding or subtracting. For example: Say you have ten subtract three. I told her to put ten into groups of five, then cross out three, and count how many there was left. She enjoyed that and thought it was now much easier to do her Math.

Franz Haydn Essay -- Music Composer Haydn Biographies Essays

Franz Joseph Haydn Joseph Haydn is regarded as one of the greatest composers of the classical period. He is often called the father of both the symphony and the string quartet, and he founded what is known as the Viennese classical school, which consisted of himself, his friend, Wolfgang Mozart, and his pupil, Ludwig van Beethoven. During his lifetime, he produced a mind-boggling amount of music. He lived from the end of the baroque period to the beginning of the romantic period, and presided over the transition between them. Franz Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria, on April 1, 1732, to Mathias and Anna Maria Koller Haydn. Joseph Haydn's parents had twelve children, but, sadly, six of them died during infancy. His surviving siblings included two brothers, Johann Evangelist and Johann Michael, and three sisters, Anna Maria Franziska, Anna Maria, and Anna Katharina. Many references give March 31 as Haydn's birthday, but official records disprove this. It is rumored that his brother, Michael, was the source of this inaccuracy. Supposedly, Michael didn't want it said that his big brother came into this world as an April Fool. At age seven, young Joseph entered the choir school at St. Steven's Cathedral in Vienna, where he was to remain for the next nine years. During his early years, he became interested in composing music, but he had no formal training until his late teens, when he worked for Italian musician and composer, Niccolà ² Porpora. He avidly studied music, including the works of C. P. E. Bach, and held several music-related jobs in Vienna during the 1750's. His earliest composition, Missa Brevis in F, comes from this period, as does Der Krumme Teufel (The Lame Devil), a burlesque opera, which Haydn composed in 1752. This opera was banned shortly after it's opening, however, because a local nobleman thought that the main character was his caricature. Then, in 1758, Haydn got his first regular musical job as musical director to Count Ferdinand Maximillian von Morzin in Lukavec, Bohemia, where he wrote his first orchestral compositions. The Morzin orchestra performed Haydn's first symphony, which he conducted from the harpsichord. On November 26, 1760, he married Maria Anna Keller. Maria Anna, who was Joseph's elder by four years, was bad tempered, disliked music, and was unable to clean the house or bear children. She enjoyed makin... ...s of his death spread, and, because of the invasion, his funeral went largely unnoticed. His remains were moved several times after his death, and his body now rests in Eisenstadt. During his lifetime, Joseph Haydn composed 107 symphonies, about 50 divertimenti, 84 string quartets, about 58 piano sonatas, and 13 masses. In all, his surviving musical works include over 750 compositions and over 330 songs. (A large number of Haydn's works were destroyed in the 1770's, so these totals would be even higher had it not been for the two fires.) He produced such an abundance of works during his long career that a man named Anthony von Hoboken compiled a directory of the master's works, the title of which translates to Joseph Haydn - Thematic-bibliographic Listing of his Works. This three-volume directory was so helpful in sorting through the massive quantity of music that most of Haydn's works are now known through their Hoboken reference number as well as their title. Undoubtedly, Franz Joseph Haydn is one of the greatest composers of all time. His music, widely acclaimed during his day, has since made him immortal. Very few can stand shoulder to shoulder with this great master.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Essay -- essays research papers

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jekyll does deserve his final miserable fate because he commits several selfish deeds to the point where he brings his miserable fate upon himself. In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson uses Jekyll to represent how man prioritizes by putting himself over others. Throughout the book, Jekyll’s two different sides are used to show that man is consistently selfish and will usually think of himself before others. Even though Jekyll has a good side and an evil side, both sides of him are selfish. Jekyll originally takes the potion for selfish reasons, Jekyll uses Hyde to conquer his own evil temptations, and in the end Jekyll gives into Hyde and completely gives up.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jekyll originally taking the potion can be conveyed as a selfish act because he mainly took the potion to benefit himself. Jekyll said he took the potion so he could become recognized for his good deeds, even though he was well respected by his peers he wanted more recognition from the public, he wanted to be famous for his deeds and become well known among the public. Jekyll says, â€Å"†¦fond of the respect of the wise and good among my fellowmen...And indeed the worst of my faults was a certain impatient gaiety of disposition, such as has made the happiness of many, but such as I found to reconcile with my imperious desire to carry my head high, and wear a more commonly grave countenance before the public.† (Page 103). Jekyll ... Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Essay -- essays research papers Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jekyll does deserve his final miserable fate because he commits several selfish deeds to the point where he brings his miserable fate upon himself. In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson uses Jekyll to represent how man prioritizes by putting himself over others. Throughout the book, Jekyll’s two different sides are used to show that man is consistently selfish and will usually think of himself before others. Even though Jekyll has a good side and an evil side, both sides of him are selfish. Jekyll originally takes the potion for selfish reasons, Jekyll uses Hyde to conquer his own evil temptations, and in the end Jekyll gives into Hyde and completely gives up.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jekyll originally taking the potion can be conveyed as a selfish act because he mainly took the potion to benefit himself. Jekyll said he took the potion so he could become recognized for his good deeds, even though he was well respected by his peers he wanted more recognition from the public, he wanted to be famous for his deeds and become well known among the public. Jekyll says, â€Å"†¦fond of the respect of the wise and good among my fellowmen...And indeed the worst of my faults was a certain impatient gaiety of disposition, such as has made the happiness of many, but such as I found to reconcile with my imperious desire to carry my head high, and wear a more commonly grave countenance before the public.† (Page 103). Jekyll ...

Edible Cutlery Essay

In the eco-friendly world, it will no longer be enough to eat your meal before getting dessert; you will have to eat your plate before you get dessert. In fact, your plate may even be dessert. In a brilliant moment of inspiration, Universite de Montreal industrial design professor Diane Bisson saw a vision of a world in which food product waste was drastically reduced and even recycling, as we know it, would carry a lesser burden. Edible plates and containers. The perfect and thorough recycling method. Ms. Bisson stewed her ideas for 10 years until she finally applied and won a research grant allowing her to work with dieticians and chefs to create recipes for plates made without without preservatives, artificial colours or sugar. Their creations are beautiful, spanning all the colours of the spectrum with carved designs of varying thicknesses. Recipes are primarily vegetable-based, so the plates and containers are nutritious. Two hundred of her 400 edible prototypes were prepared for Ms. Bisson’s new book launch at commissaries design gallery in Montreal. They were very tasty, according to gallery owner Pierre Laramee. The book, Edible: The Food as Material will be available in late January. I’ll let you know in the comment section below where it’s being sold. It will have many recipes for edible containers that you can prepare at home. Many of the edible plates made for the book launch were made to blend with the foods they hold, both visually and taste-wise, like a carob plate made to serve sweets. Others included beets or poppy seeds as a base. â€Å"Her ambition is really to try out as many shapes and as many gastronomic food combinations as possible so that we can get into many different markets. She could see a lot of different venues. Just a few of those venues would be shopping mall food stands, hospitals, and catered food services. Next project for Ms. Bisson is to work with a caterer to come up with a five course meal with accompanying edible plates and cutlery. Also, she will have to figure out how to preserve her edible plates without common preservatives, as her current container prototypes are drying up after awhile. Edible plates, containers, cutlery. Think of how they could tastefully change our world. However, the problem with edible plates, and indeed any edible containers, is that in order to be hygienic, they need to be protected by some other packaging that is NOT meant to be eated. Hence, what we need is re-usable packaging. A sealed container protecting the sterile contents inside, from the contaminating world outside, which can be reused many times. An Indian entrepreneur manufactures delicious edible cutlery forks, knives and spoons that can all be eaten up post-meal Even as global warming turns up the heat on the world stage, entrepreneur Narayana Peesapaty, 44, may have found the perfect answer to the mountains of disposable plastic cutlery choking the world: he makes them edible. In other words, after people have eaten their curry and rice, they can now chew and swallow the spoon. The Hyderabad-based entrepreneur’s company – B. K.  Environmental Innovations Private Limited – manufactures eco-friendly forks, knives, spoons and chopsticks in delicious flavours of vanilla, strawberry and pineapple. And all can be gobbled up after the meal. The outfit is part of the New Ventures Global initiative to encourage environment-friendly business ideas in developing countries. Peesapaty, a former scientist at the Institute for International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), is already supplying his product to a raft of hotels, sweet shops and organised retailers in the city. Samples have also been sent to corporate caterers, schools and housewives. It took the scientist another two years to give commercial shape to his idea. I began by checking out the suitability of various cereal flours – wheat, rice and sorghum (jowar) as base for edible cutlery,† he says. Finally, he zeroed in on sorghum. Jowar has traditionally been an important source of nutrients such as folic acid and fiber, yet the domestic consumption of this crop has recently decreased and been replaced by starch-laden rice. B. K. Innovations is thus helping to revitalize the popularity of jowar with consumers, especially since those with diabetes have shown an interest in consuming edible cutlery as a nutritious snack. Vegetable pulp – spinach, beetroot and carrot – were used to add colour and nutritive value to the cutlery. Spinach gave it a green shade, beetroot red and carrots brought out a yellow hue. In 2006, the entrepreneur applied for a process patent for producing edible cutlery. The entrepreneur’s entire production line – comprising blenders, slicers, dyes and an oven – had to be designed and calibrated to ensure that the spoons retained their hardness while not losing out on their taste and nutritive value. BK offers spoons in three flavours and has also expanded its production to edible sandwich wrappers and edible chopsticks. Large-scale domestic buyers have already shown initial interest, and BK Environmental Innovations hopes to eventually enter the international market. Requests from international sellers have come from various countries including Singapore, New Zealand, and Canada. With Japan and China’s growing demand for chopsticks and the decreasing availability of resources, an environmental movement has grown to search for better options. Narayana expects edible chopstick to be a popular alternative to disposable chopsticks. Peesapaty feels there’s a great future ahead for his edible chopsticks which will give stiff competition to the disposable ones. In fact, he aims to corner a portion of the global disposable chopsticks market, which sees sales of around 24 billion units per annum in Japan and 35 billion units in China. However, the innovator’s path has not been without challenges. When he wasn’t getting investors for his dream project, Peesapaty says he had to sell his flat for Rs 35 lakh (about US$ 100,000) three years ago. He then moved to a rented house with his wife and young daughter. In other words, of the Rs 50 lakh Peesapaty has invested in the venture so far, 70% of the funds have come from his own pocket.