Wednesday, October 30, 2019
The three keys to success in retailing are location, location, Essay
The three keys to success in retailing are location, location, location - Essay Example This eventually led to symbolic representation, of these debts in the form of precious items like gemstones etc. and eventually the instrument 'Money' developed and is being exchanged. Ultimately, markets developed and shops became a permanent part of these markets. This was where the retail trade initiated. Retail trade in actual is embedded in two significant groups the Peddlers and the Producers. The peddlers would purchase the commodities they thought would sell in the market for a profit and the producers on the other hand were more interested in selling only the goods they were producing . This trend continues even today, with certain specific shops specializing in certain specific areas, these actually reflect their origins, as in a broad mix of producers. Such as a general store. Such as Casey's in the mid west of U.S.A .the general store has taken over the establishments of specialist shops. The customer's find this more convenient o visit, than to visit four different shops for their choice of goods. The term Convenience stores are also used for such stores. These have further developed into Super markets or super stores'1. 'It was Frank Woolworth who initiated his retail business also his career in 1873. He worked as a sales assistant in the Augusbury and Moore Dry goods store in Water Town New York. William Moore the co owner took pity on this young boy and accepted his plea of a three month free work trial at the store. The country (America) was still recuperating since after the civil war and the cash was surely tight. A brainwave occurred to Moore; he wanted to display all his surplus stock at a fixed price of 5 cents per piece. He then asked Frank to arrange for it. Back in 1877 this fixed price strategy for one whole day was quite new, and not a routine concept like today. In those days, the prices never used to be displayed along with the products instead the customers had to always ask the assistant for the prices. These prices in those times used to vary from individual buyer to another individual buyer majorly depending upon how they looked! An amazingly attractive display was setup by Frank, he used a red colored material and it had Gold lettering over it , this boosted sales and also developed a lot many peoples interest . Frank truly believed that a whole big Store could be filled up with five cent goods rather than just one single counter. And, so in 1879, he somehow was able to persuade Mr. William Moore to support him in the opening of a store of his own. He failed in his first attempt, which was at Utica in New York. His store was popular initially but gradually the sales declined. But at his first attempt frank had made enough money to clear all his debts and also along with all this he learnt a very valuable lesson , that he had to really make sure that his store should have been located at the heart of the town instead of some side street area . He gave it another try and this time around he, opened in Lancaster Pennsylvania, about 60 miles away. Franks' store opened on June 21st, 1879. It was a huge success from the start, taking $127.65 on its first day. Woolworth's Success Someone
Monday, October 28, 2019
Commentary on Wilfred Owens Dulce Et Decorum Est Essay Example for Free
Commentary on Wilfred Owens Dulce Et Decorum Est Essay In this commentary, we will take a deep look into this poem that Wilfred Owen wrote. In the poem, a group of soldiers are described, and their emotions. Using three guiding questions, this will be an introduction into the way Owen writes his poems. Answering these guiding questions will give the reader the full package that the poem has to offer. The first guiding question that is to be answered is: How are the feelings amongst the soldiers described? First of all, one can say the soldiers all feel as if they were torn apart. This is notable in the way the soldiers ‘cursed through sludge’, and how the ‘men marched asleep’. Despite their fatigue, the group of men still have a strong bond, as they did not think only of themselves while shouting ‘gas! GAS! Quick, boys! ’. This explains they are prepared to share their senses, and not keep them to themselves only. The bond between the soldiers is also notable when they all watch their mate slowly die, while they can do nothing about it. The way the soldier feels while seeing his friend’s death, makes him (and probably his mates) feel that dying for their country, and seeing others die, isn’t all that honourable. The second aspect of the poem that needs to be looked at is the atmosphere that the writer calls up. This atmosphere can be described as a dynamic one. It goes from the gray and darker mood to a fast-paced one, while ending in the depressing situation of a friend’s death. The gray and dark atmosphere is found in the way the soldiers ‘limped on, blood-shod’ through the land. The group was ‘drunk with fatigue,’ and didn’t have the energy to walk in a faster pace. In line 9 however, the mood shifts as the ‘green sea’ of gas approaches the soldiers. Described as an ‘ecstasy,’ the men fought against the time and put on their helmets as soon as possible, to avoid death. The poem starts it’s depressing atmosphere in line 15, where the soldiers behold the death of their friend. They want to do anything to save him, but were hopeless, so they ‘flung him in’ the wagon, and watched ‘the white eyes writhing in his face. ’ Owen leaves the reader with the same emotions the soldiers felt, the fact that they felt betrayed by their country. Lastly, a look needs to be taken into the poetic devices in the poem, and how they contribute to the message. The most notable thing in this area is the way Owen shocks the reader. The message itself describes ‘the old lie’ that dying for your country would be sweet and fitting. Owen wants the readers to understand how many people really care for one soldier’s death. In the last paragraph it’s almost clearly stated how one would feel while dying for their country. The dying soldier leaving behind ‘his hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin’ would give an image of how he would be dying his painful death. The reader could imagine the pain the soldier has, and how the other soldiers around him would feel. These three given answers on the guiding questions should give you a more in depth look into the poem, and give one understanding to the questions the reader might have himself.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Cratique on Losses Essay -- Essays Papers
Cratique on Losses The Poem â€Å"Losses†written by: Randall Jarrell, who was a poet, literary critic, and teacher, from New Orleans, served in the United States Air Force during World War Two. This helped Randall Receive most of his ideas and material for poems like this one. â€Å"It was not dying: everybody died. It was not dying: we had hied before In the routine crashes-and our fields Called up the papers, wrote home to our folks, And the rates rose, all because of us.†When people died in war it didn’t impact the majority of the people in the United States, they would just contact the papers or whoever sent the letters to there family and went on fighting the war. â€Å"We died on the wrong page of the almanac, Scattered on mountains fifty miles away; Diving on haystacks, fighting with a friend, We blazed up on the lines we never saw.†When Randall referred to people dying on the wrong page of the almanac, this just meant that when people died they were marked down as a casualty of war and not of natural death. Scattered allover the land fitting with a friend or maybe someone they have just met and never saw before. The line they never saw before is the line between them and whom they were fighting. They couldn’t see this line but they new it was there and what was needed to be done to cross this line. The soldiers were not that old, at one point Randall says,†We died like aunts or pets or foreigners. (When we left high school nothing else had di...
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Understanding Parkinsons Disease Essay -- Health Medicine
Understanding Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease To date, there are no specific diagnostic criteria for Parkinson's Disease. Diagnosis can only be made by an expert examination after the person has already developed symptoms. Biochemical measures can be used such as a screening strategy monitoring the dopamine levels in the cerebrospinal fluid. Otherwise, specifically 6(18F)dopa positron emission tomography can be used for a direct measurement of dopamine activity. Using a computer to assess movement time is another test for Parkinson's disease. To examine the electrophysiological characteristics of tremor and preclinical nigral dysfunction characteristic of Parkinson's EMG (electromyographic recordings) can be used. Finally, a symptomatic screening is often utilized and consists of nine symptom related questions, as well as disease specific and drug specific questions. This provides an indirect functional measure of the nigrostriatal dopamine system. Facts about Parkinson's Disease Increasing age strongly increases the risk of Parkinson's disease. Male gender and possibly Caucasian ancestry are associated with more modest increases in risk. The reported prevalence of Parkinson's disease varies widely in international community-based studies; ranging from 31 to 328 per 100,000 people. Whether these differences represent actual differences in the occurrence of disease cannot be easily determined. This is due to the limited number of studies conducted and restricted population samples used. The risk factors of Parkinson's disease are primarily environmental and are not genetically based. Clinical Features The main clinical features in Parkinson's Disease include rigidity, bradyki... ...an de Silva, H.A.; Khan, N.L.; & Wood, N.W. (2000). The genetics of Parkinson's disease. Current Opinion in Genetics & Development 10:3 (June); 292-298. Tanner, C. M. (1996). Early Intervention in Parkinson's Disease: Epidemiologic Considerations. Ann Epidemiol. 6: 5; 438-441. Tasker, R.R.; Lang, A.E.; & Lozano, A..M.. (2000). Pallidal and Thalamic Surgery for Parkinson's Disease. Experimental Neurology. 144:1; 35 - 40. Veldman, B.A.J.; Wijn, A.M.; Knoers, N.; Praamstra, P.; & Horstink, M.W.I.M. (1998 ). Genetic and environmental risk factors in Parkinson's disease. Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery 100:1;15-26. Volkmann, J.; & Sturm, V. (1998). Indication and results of stereotactic surgery for advanced Parkinson's disease. Critical Reviews in Neurosurgery. 8:4; 209-216. For information regarding Parkinson's Disease: http://www.parkinsonsweb.com/
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Human embryonic stem (hES) cells have the unique capability of differentiating into all cell types, leading to the development of an entire organism. As the integrity of ES cells is critical for the developing embryo, these cells have likely evolved mechanisms that detect and respond rapidly to adverse stimuli. Indeed, hES cells have been shown to be highly sensitive to DNA damage, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this rapid death remain unclear. Caspases are critical mediators of apoptosis in mammalian cells, and a key protein that controls their activation is Bax, a proapoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family. While the main components of the apoptotic pathway have been identified, exactly how this pathway is regulated in various primary cells remains unclear. Here, we examined the apoptotic pathway in hES cells and report a unique mechanism engaged by hES cells that can prime them to undergo rapid apoptosis inresponse to genotoxic damage.To visualize GFP-tagged Bax, 3-day colonies of hES cells were transfected with 2 mg of hBaxC3-EGFP (Addgene) with FuGENE HD transfection reagent. The process of introducing nucleic acids into eukaryotic cells by nonviral methods is defined as transfection. Using various chemical, lipid or physical methods, this gene transfer technology is a powerful tool to study gene function and protein expression in the context of a cell. Development of reporter gene systems and selection methods for stable maintenance and expression of transferred DNA have greatly expanded the applications for transfection. Assay-based reporter technology, together with the availability of transfection reagents, provides the foundation to study mammalian promoter and enhancer sequences, trans-acting proteins such as transcription factors, mRNA processing, protein:protein interactions, translation and recombination events (Groskreutz and Schenborn, 1997). Transfection is a method that neutralizes or obviates the issue of introducing negatively charged molecules (e.g., phosphate backbones of DNA and RNA) into cells with a negatively charged membrane. Chemicals like calcium phosphate and DEAE-dextran or cationic lipid-based reagents coat the DNA, neutralizing or even creating an overall positive charge to the molecule. This makes it easier for the DNA:transfection reagent complex to cross the membrane, especially for lipids that have a â€Å"fusogenic†component, which enhances fusion with the lipid bilayer. Physical methods like microinjection or electroporation simply punch through the membrane and introduce DNA directly into the cytoplasm. Here we describe the striking observation that healthy undifferentiated hES cells maintain Bax in its preactivated state at the Golgi. This is in contrast to other cell types in which Bax is typically present in an inactive form in the cytosol. Our results also highlight the fact that the apoptotic machinery undergoes dynamic changes even at early stages of differentiation.While undifferentiated hES cells have constitutively active Bax and undergo rapid apoptosis in response to DNA damage, just 2 days of differentiation induced significant changes suchthat Bax was no longer active, and the cells were no longer highly sensitive to DNA damage. This could be manifested with even greater complexity in vivo as cells during early embryogenesis undergo rapid proliferation and differentiation.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
“Performance Management can be defined as a systematic process for improving organizational performance by developing the performance of individuals and team.†The WritePass Journal
â€Å"Performance Management can be defined as a systematic process for improving organizational performance by developing the performance of individuals and team.†Introduction: â€Å"Performance Management can be defined as a systematic process for improving organizational performance by developing the performance of individuals and team.†Introduction:Links between individual, team and organizational objectivesIndividual and Team:Individuals, team and organizational objectives:Evaluating Teams:Task Performance:Team Functioning:Team Member Satisfaction:Selecting and agreeing individual and team objectives:Individual and team responsibility in achieving objectivesCreating an environment of trust and support with othersEnvironment of Trust and Support:Building a rapportBuilding trust and respectManaging conflictPersuading or influencing another personNegotiatingCommunicating assertivelyCommunicating informativelyCommunicating supportivelyImportance of Trust and support in an organization  MotivationTeam working and Team BuildingCustomer CareHuman Resource ManagementNegotiationWorkload managementCareer Development Evaluating and assessing individual and team performance against objectiveWritten Essays:Critical Incidents: Graphic Rating Scales:        Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale s:       Methods of providing feedback to individuals and teams on performanceProviding Feedback to individuals and team:Types of Feedback:Motivational Feedback:Developmental Feedback:Constructive Feedback:Constructive Feedback Requires:AssertivenessRespect for others SkillTips for Constructive FeedbackChoose the right timeStart with positivesFocus on the behaviorBe accurateBalance negative with positiveBenefits of FeedbackCauses of conflict and strategies to minimize or prevent conflictTypes of Conflict: Task Conflict:Relationship ConflictProcess ConflictSystems for performance assessment for individuals or teamsPerformance improvement cycle         The performance improvement cycle can be explained below:Indicators of poor performanceSupporting performance improvementBASE PAY:Assistance Programs:Disciplinary and grievance proceduresManagement Functions1. Planning:2. Organizing3.  Leading4. ControllingThe key aspe cts of legislation that applies to an organization’s disciplinary and grievance procedureHonesty and integritySelf-confidenceIntelligence Job relevant knowledgeLeaders are energeticReflective Statement BibliographyRelated Introduction: Performance Management may be defined by as a feedback mechanism for the evaluation of employee s past performance. This may be a five minute informational discussion between employees and their supervisors’ or more elaborate, several week process involving many specific steps: Employees generally see any such evaluation as having some direct effect on their work lives. Performance Management led to increased pay, a promotion development areas for which the employees need some training. As a result, any evaluation of emotionally charged event. Performance Management is no longer a simple process. It is now more difficult to perform one while simultaneously focusing on key job activities. Performance evaluation conveys to employees how well they have performance on established goals. It also desirable to have these goals and performance measures mutually set between the employ and the supervisor. â€Å"Without proper two way feedback about an employee’s effort and its effect on performance, we run the risk of decreasing his or her motivation†Links between individual, team and organizational objectives Individual and Team: Individual are the constituting body of a team. Team is more than a group. It has common objectives and accountability and may be setup by the organization under the supervision or coaching of a team leader. â€Å"A team leader is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance, goals and approach, for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.†                                                           (Katzenbach and Smith) Team working may be used for: Individuals, team and organizational objectives: Meeting team objectives can be more difficult than meeting individual objectives, as more people need to be involved in the process. More people mean more ideas, more skills, more knowledge, and more experience collective efforts to see the organizational objectives as a success. These potential benefits needs careful management of the process agreeing team objectives in a worth. Organizational objectives should be SMART S         Short M        Measurable A        Accurate R        Reliable T         Time Manageable In that situation individuals and team will put their best efforts to meet the SMART goals. Evaluating Teams: Team effectiveness includes: Task Performance: Fulfillment of task and organizational goals. Team Functioning: Constructive maintained of team working managing the demands of team, roles and process. Team Member Satisfaction: Fulfillment of individual development and relationship needs. Selecting and agreeing individual and team objectives:                                    It can be more difficult to agree team objectives that individual objectives, as more people desire to be involved in the process. However, more people also means: more ideas; more experience, skills and knowledge tremendous support within the team; and a combined determination to have objectives through successfully.                                                                                                                                                   All these benefits make the useful management of the process of agreeing team objectives worthwhile.                                                                                                                                                      Training activity gives the team leader to a method of agreeing team objectives that is based on to get maximum input and commitment.                                                                                                                                                   The team leader can utilize the            training activity to agree real-life team objectives by replacing the examples provided with their own material. I am introducing the training process by telling the participants that they are ready to spend some time focusing on SMART objectives in the context of setting team objectives then I put pressure on the importance of agreeing rather than imposing objectives. Next, I conversant about how difficulties in agreeing individuals objectives. I set a step by step method that can be used when agreeing team objectives, than run either or both of two exercises where objectives are made for a particular area. Individual and team responsibility in achieving objectives                                    We can define a team as a group of people who are all focused to achieve a common objective. In the team, every member may know his/her value within the team, and they can work towards the individual objective they have been given when all the smaller objectives get together, they become a greater common objective.Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â à ‚              A team can work well with great efficiency when the team is efficient. It’s not important to provide for a team where every single person has the essential team spirit is more necessary for the team to be a real team in every possible way.                                                                                                   Individual members should be fully committed to their personal objective the greater common objective of the team can be achieved if the members of the team concentrate on their â€Å"bit†and deny the rest to those who are a salary commensurate with such responsibilities.    Team members should know to appreciate how the pooling of individuals talents and to the skills and the recourses can strengthen the team and achieve better results.                                                   There should be importance of individuals’ members and importance should be accepted by the team leaders and managers.Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â à ‚ If a team worker feels that he is a valued person of his team, he has the right team spirit, and they will be much more easily persuaded of its importance. They are agreed to work interdependently towards both personal and team goals with mutual support. Members of the team collaborate together. They are agreed to use their talent and experience for organizational objectives. They respect and listen to every person’s point of view. They participant equally in decision making. Creating an environment of trust and support with others Environment of Trust and Support: Different skills are used in interactions and relationships between two or more people which are as follows: Building a rapport Being in tune with the other people, which draws them into a relationship. Building trust and respect So that relationship is maintained and cooperation facilitated. Managing conflict Managing conflict in the relationship to preserve it. Persuading or influencing another person Persuading or influencing another person, to do what you want them to do or to share your beliefs Negotiating It means to compromise or a mutually acceptable solutions to problem. Communicating assertively It includes to uphold your rights and get your needs met. Communicating informatively Through this you give timely and relevant information Communicating supportively It is usedto encourage others and get their commitment. Why Trust and Support are important? Understand and manage the roles, relationships, attitudes and perceptions. Communicate clearly with the other people. Achieve your aims. Importance of Trust and support in an organization  In business context, trust and support are important for processes such as: Motivation It means persuading and inspiring for committee performance. Team working and Team Building It helps in building trust, encouraging communications and managing conflict. Customer Care We can win trust, exchanging information and managing conflict. Human Resource Management We can use it for negotiating, interviewing conducting approvals and managing disciplinary and grievance procedures. Negotiation It means maintaining relationships by acceptable solutions. Workload management It has being able to delegate effectively, negotiating assistance and saying â€Å"no†assertively flexibility. Career Development It provides demonstrating networking, communication and leadership skills, essential for management roles.  Evaluating and assessing individual and team performance against objective                  Following points explain the individual and team performance against objectives: Written Essays: In a written essay, an evaluator appraises an employee’s performances through a written description of an employee’s strength and weaknesses, past performance, and potential. In addition, the evaluators make suggestions for improvement. Critical Incidents: Using critical incidents, an evaluator appraises an employee’s performances by focusing on critical behaviors that separate effective from ineffective job performance. The appraisers writes down anecdotes that describe what an employee did that was especially effective or ineffective. The key here is that only specific behaviors not vaguely define personality traits, are cited. Graphic Rating Scales:        One of the most popular performance appraisal methods is graphical rating scales. This method list a set of performance factors such as quantity and quality of work, job knowledge, cooperation, loyalty, attendance, honesty and initiative. The evaluator goes down the list and rates the employee on each factor using an incremental scale. For instance, a factor such as job knowledge might be rated from 1 to 5. Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales:       Another popular approach is behaviorally anchored rating scales, which combine elements from the critical incident and graphing rating scale approaches. The appraiser rates an employee according to items along a numerical scale, but the items are the examples of actual job behaviors rather than general descriptions or traits. Methods of providing feedback to individuals and teams on performance Providing Feedback to individuals and team: Feedback gives information to others about their performance, behaviors and results against goals. Types of Feedback: Motivational Feedback: Rewards reinforce positive behaviors by praise and recognition. The purpose is to motivate them. Developmental Feedback: Informing what to be improved and how to improve? Its purpose is to develop learning. Constructive Feedback: Supports development. This is not giving only positive feedback but negative feedback as well when there are shortcomings. Constructive Feedback Requires: Assertiveness Assertivance is preparing to face difficult situation. Respect for others While developing the individuals, they should be managing respectfully. Skill Effective feedback is a complex interpersonal skill Tips for Constructive Feedback Choose the right time It is necessary that choose the right time close to the event. Appropriate time should be chosen for sensitive matters e.g. conflict handing situation. Start with positives People accept criticism if balanced with positive aspects Focus on the behavior Rather than personality Be accurate Avoid exaggeration for instance instance instead of saying that you are always late, it is better to say you were late on two occasions. Balance negative with positive Close your discussion with positive encouragement. Benefits of Feedback Positive feedback is motivational. Negative feedback is developmental. Feedback helps employees to understand and adjust their performance. Feedback enables us to plan and direct our efforts. Feedback enables us to understand the purpose. Causes of conflict and strategies to minimize or prevent conflict When I am using the term Conflict, I am referring to perceived incompatible differences resulting in some form of interference or opposition. Whether the differences are real is irrelevant. If people in a group perceive that differences exit, then there is conflict. Conflict is a natural outcome in any group and need not be negative but rather has potential to be a positive force in contributing to a group’s performance. The very major proposes that not only can conflict be a positive forced in a group but also that some conflict is necessary for a group to perform effectively. It is also necessary that all conflicts are good and best. Some conflicts are seen as supporting te goals of the work group and improving its performance. Types of Conflict:    There are mainly three types of conflict which are as follows: Task Conflict: Task Conflict relates to the content and goals of the work. Relationship Conflict Relationship conflict focuses on interpersonal relationships. Process Conflict Process Conflict refers to how the work gets done. Systems for performance assessment for individuals or teams A performance evaluation system would be remiss if it did not concern itself with the legal aspects of employee performance. Suppose a supervisor has decided to terminate an employee. Although the supervisor cites performance matters as the reason for the discharge, a review of the employee’s recent performance appraisals indicates that performance was evaluated as satisfactory for the past two review periods. Accordingly, unless this employee’s performance significantly decreased, personal records do not support the supervisor’s decision. Performance improvement cycle         The performance improvement cycle can be explained below: The performance improvement cycle is given below:  In this diagram, the first circle shows following terms: Use Behavior-Based Measures: Combine Absolute and Relative Standards Providing Ongoing Feedback Use Multiple Raters Rate Selectively Train appraisers Indicators of poor performance Bad Result Less effectiveness: Not able to meet the organizational objectives Employees absentees Dissatisfaction of the employee Not able to work in team Supporting performance improvement Probability one of the most complex function of performance management is the design and implementation. International compensation packages in the United States generally used the â€Å"balanced _sheet approach, ’’ which considers four factors: base pay, differentials, incentives and assistance programs. BASE PAY: Ideally, this equals the pay of employees in comparable jobs at home, but the range of pay scales in most countries is far narrower than in the United States. Thus, whereas a middle manager in a U.S. factory might earn $75,000 a year, the same manager in Germany might earn the equivalent of $110,000. However, the U.S higher_ level executive might earn $500,000 and her counterpart in Germany only the equivalent of $150,000. How can human resource managers satisfy the middle manager who earns a third less than the counterpart where he works, while also satisfying the German executive who earns less than her U.S. counterpart?                                                                                              In addition to fairness among overseas employees, foreign currencies and laws must be considered. Should expatriates be paid in U.S. dollars or the local currency values_ or a combination of the two? How does the organization deal with changes in currency values? Do restrictions apply to either bringing in or taking out dollars or the local currency? If so, how are savings handled? Should salaries increases follow the same standards as those established for the domestic employees or local standards? Does the expatriate pay U.S. or foreign income taxes?Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â à ‚                                                            The U.S. State Department has negotiated agreements with every country to determine where income will be taxed, but the protection of foreign tax rates creates new administration for the organization. Differentials:      The cost of living fluctuates around the world, and the value of the dollar to foreign currencies affects prices. For example, if a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States where $1.25; in England is might be equivalent to $4.83; and in Hong Kong, 5.24, to publishes a regular updates by most multinational corporations for providing differentials to maintain the standards of living the expatriate would enjoy if he or she were home. Incentives:     Not all employees are willing to leave family, friends and the comfort of home support system for long periods of time. Thus, mobility inducement to go on foreign assignment is regularly offered. These may include monetary payments or services, such as housing, car, chauffeur, and other incentives. But companies must decide how a hardship premium should be paid. As a person of salary? In a lump sum payment? In home or foreign currency? In forgiven housing is provided, what happens to the vacant home back in the US or to the family housing situation when they eventually return? Incentives required carefully planning before, during, and after the overseas assignment. Assistance Programs: As with any relation, the overseas transfer requires much expenditure for the employee’s family. Some assistance programs commonly offered by multinational corporations includes household goods , shipping and storage , major appliances; legal clearance for pets and their shipment; home sale protection living expensive ,travel and annual home leaves, special return leaves . Club membership and security. Disciplinary and grievance procedures DISCIPLINE:          Condition of orderliness, in which members behave sensibly according to the standards of acceptable behavior and goals of the organization. (i) Positive Discipline. Procedures designers so that employees have no option than to act in desired manner. (ii) Negative Discipline. Sanctions designed to make people behave in desirable way. Action can be Punitive (punishment)                                                                                                           Deterrent (warning not to do)  Reformative (it will not happen again) STRICT DICSIPLINE. Types of disciplinary situations that managers have to face are as follows: Sleeping on duty Threatening co-workers Disobeying Take drugs Guilty Destroy company’s image Embezzlement Lying Safety procedures ignored Disciplinary Action: The informal talk minor problem, the employee has clear records. Friendly talk at this level to inform about standards Oral warning employees repeated violation, emphasizes the undesirability and warning for the formal, written warning Written warning becomes permanent record of the employee. Lay off or suspension repeated violations lead to this can go for days or weeks. Dismissal drastic step on serious offence. Expensive for the organization Managing disclipnary Situation: Immediacy: Disciplary actions should be taken speedily. Avoid haste and on the spot decisions. Advance Warning: Employee should be informed in advanced about rules and regulations Consistency: Each time it occurs, action should be taken. Inconsistency lowers the morale. Impersonality:                       Action should not be based on personality. Privacy: Action should be taken in private to avoid conflict and humiliation. Fairness: Actions to be based on investigated facts. Opportunities should be given to defend him or her. The role of the manager in both a disciplinary and a grievance procedure Describing what managers do is not easy or simple. Just as no two organizations are alike, no two manager’s jobs are alike. Despite this fact, management researchers have, after many years of study, developed three specific categorization schemes to describe what managers do: functions, roles and skills. In this section, we will examine each of these approaches and take a look at how manager’s job is changing Management Functions According to the functions approach, managers perform certain activities as they efficiently and effectively coordinate the work of others. What are these activities or function? All managers perform five functions: Let’s briefly look at each function. 1. Planning: If you have no particular destination in mind, then you take any road. However, if you have someplace in particular you want to go, you have got to plan the best way to get there. Because organizations exist to achieve some particular purpose, someone must clearly define that purpose and the means for its achievement. Management is that someone. As managers engage in planning , they define goals, established strategies for achieving those goals and develop plans to integrate and coordinate activities. 2. Organizing Managers are responsible for arranging and structuring work to accomplish the organizational goals. We call this function organizing. When manager organize, they determine what task are to be done. Who is to do them, how the task are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are to be made; 3.  Leading Every organization includes people, and a manager’s job is to work with an through people to accomplish organizational goals. This is the leading function. When managers motivate subordinates, help resolve work group conflicts, influence, individuals or teams as they work, select the most effective communication channel, or deal in any way with employee behavior issues, they are leading. 4. Controlling The final management function is controlling. After the goals and plans are set, the task and structural arrangement determine \d, and the people hired, trained and motivated, there has to be some evaluation of whether things are going on planned. To ensure that goals are being met and tat work is being completed as it should be, managers must monitor and evaluate performance. Actual performance must be compared with the previously set goals. If there are significant deviations. It’s management’s job to get work performance back on track. This process of monitoring, comparing and correcting is what we mean by the controlling function. The key aspects of legislation that applies to an organization’s disciplinary and grievance procedure Drive Leaders exhibit a high effort level. They have a relatively high resire for achievement; they are ambitious; they have a lot of energy; they are tirelessly persistent in their activities; and they show initiative. Desire to lead Leaders have a strong desire to influence and lead others. They demonstrate the willingness to take responsibility. Honesty and integrity Leaders built trusting relationships between themselves and follower by being truthful or no deceitful and by showing high consistency between word and deed. Self-confidence Followers look to leaders for an absence of self-doubt. Leaders, therefore, need to show self-confidence in order to convince follower of the rightness of their goals and decisions. Intelligence Leader need to be intelligent enough together, synthesize and interpret large amounts of information, and they need to be able to create visions, solve problems and make correct decisions. Job relevant knowledge Effect leaders have degree of knowledge about the company, industry and technical matters. In depth knowledge allows leaders to make well-informed decisions and to understand the implications of those decisions Leaders are energetic Leaders are energetic lively people. They are sociable, assertive and rarely withdrawn. Reflective Statement Simply I can say that Performance management systems involve different activities, far more than simply reviewing what has employee has done. These systems must fulfill several purposes. Moreover, they are often constrained by difficulties in how they operate. Bibliography By (Michael Armstrong) Book name: Performance Management, 3rd Edition Katzenbach and Smith
Monday, October 21, 2019
Case Study Is About How Can One Abusive Customers Cause Emotions to Run High. Essays
Case Study Is About How Can One Abusive Customers Cause Emotions to Run High. Essays Case Study Is About How Can One Abusive Customers Cause Emotions to Run High. Paper Case Study Is About How Can One Abusive Customers Cause Emotions to Run High. Paper This case study is about how can one abusive customers cause emotions to run high. As the times improve with technology, we now have automated telephone system for customer service centre. But with this system, it creates a labyrinth for customers. Longer waiting time and thus its more difficult to speak to an actual human being. How mad can a customer get? Customer could rant and rave over some small issues and there’s an even vulgarity involved. There might be customers who can be racist towards the officer. Employees have no choice but to swallow down the hatred. Ad many companies require customer-service employees to display positive emotions at all times to maintain satisfied customers. But they cant expect it to just stop there. It could cause emotional instability to the employees. They are bringing home the negative feedback and emotion, might lead to a dispute within the family due to all the stress. Employees who are frustrated by the inability to do anything about abusive customers and the mood being caused can have psychology effect on them. Inasmuch as there are no ways of releasing the stress for them. Although some companies train their representatives on how to defuse a customers anger and to avoid being abuse personally but the effort isnt enough. If the training helps, employees who work on the phone would not have frequent absent or are more prone to illness and are more likely to make stress-related disability claims than other employees. Thus, emotions can run high and the effects can be damaging. The customer comes first has been heard by many. But companies should give attorney to employees on to deciding when it is appropriate to put customers second. This could help on reducing the stress level the employees have. 3. Questions and Answer 1. From an emotional labor perspective, how does dealing with an abusive customer lead to stress and burnout? Dealing with an abusive customer leads to stress and burnout, directly in proportion to the amount of time and level of hostility taken in the phone call. Even with using coping strategies such, it is difficult to not take such calls personally. In the long term, such negative emotion would have been accumulated until one cannot take it and explode suddenly. Emotional labor is a form of emotional regulation wherein workers are expected to display certain emotions as part of their job, and to promote organizational goals. The intended effects of these emotional displays are on other, targeted people, who can be clients, customers, subordinates or co-workers. It is an employee’s expression of organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions at work. Employees can display fake emotion by acting. Such acting can take two forms: 1) Surface acting which involves hiding one’s inner feelings and refrain emotional expressions. ) Deep acting wherein they modify one’s true inner feelings to match the emotion expressions the organisation requires. This can be very mentally torturing and cause them to be stressful. Having to bottle up certain emotions in the name of customer service can cause a person to blow up later. Even with â€Å"thick skin,†stress will affect immunity and psychological well-being. This is not healthy for that person or for others around them. Stress is a complex issue and no two individuals will be affected in the same way by either work requirements or the work environment. In practice, it can be helpful to think of stress in terms of a simple ‘bucket’ model: The bucket model suggests that stress and fatigue result when a person’s reservoir of personal resilience is drained faster than it is replenished. The bucket model shows, there’s no point in ‘filling the bucket’ if stressors keep draining it quickly. Control of stressors is frequently needed in order to prevent stress building up. 2. If you were a recruiter for a customer-service call center, what personality types would you prefer to hire and why? In other words, what individual differences are likely to affect whether an employee can handle customer abuse on a day-to-day basis? It takes a very strong person to take day to day abuse by customers. Employers need to size up just how much abuse their employees need to take from a customer. A motto which people normally heard the customer is always right does not apply in every case. Finding the right personality for that job is not easy as there are many considerations to be taken of. I would avoid type A and competitive personalities as they tend to be more impatient, moving rapidly, spurring emotions and anger. The personality of the person that could fit such a position is someone calming; laid back; has a good sense of humor; and feels that if they have an extremely difficult situation that the Manager or Supervisor is there to deal with an unruly customer. Dealing with abusive customers takes team work in the company. Management has to decide what customers are worth having them come back for their services and not tolerate irate customers that nothing but trouble each and every time they walk through the door. 3. Emotional intelligence is one’s ability to detect and manage emotional cues and information. How might emotional intelligence play a role in responding to abusive customers? What facets of emotional intelligence might employees who are able to handle abusive customers possess? The higher the emotional intelligence, the more ability is readily available to compartmentalize job function and personal emotions. Emotional intelligence (EI) describes the ability, capacity, skill or, in the case of the trait EI model, a self-perceived grand ability to identify, assess, manage and control the emotions of ones self, of others, and of groups Emotional intelligence is composed of 5 dimensions: . Self-awareness – the ability to aware of one’s emotions ii. Self-management – the ability to manage your own emotions and impulse iii. Self-motivation – the ability to persist in the face of setbacks and failures iv. Empathy – the ability to sense how others are feeling v. Social skills – the ability to handle the emotions of others Those people, who ca n detect emotions in others, control their own emotions, and handle social interactions well have a powerful leg up in the business world. People who have high level of EI perform well in their job. The ability to deal patiently with their problems and complaints, and to remain courteous even when our customers are difficult or angry, is very important. One has to be a patient, professional, and polite â€Å"people person†- even when dealing with unhappy customers and able to work with emotionally and mentally challenged people. 4. Article 2 5. Summary 6. Question Answer 2. What mistakes do you think each party made? Mr. Korman made the mistake of assuming Ms. Abdala would agree with the salary cut and went ahead and ordered stationary and business cards for her, when he hadn’t even talked to her about the reduced salary. She had accepted the job based on certain conditions; salary being one of those. Since Mr. Korman breeched their agreement by cutting her salary after an agreement had been reached, she has a right to rethink acceptance of a job offer. However, she should have done it in a more professional manner; in person to his face and explain that she accepted the job based on certain agreed upon conditions, salary being one of them and that it was poor form on his part to cut her salary and assume that she would be accepting of that. Her method of informing Mr. Korman of her change of mind was unprofessional and discourteous, given the time and effort already invested by Mr. Korman. The situation should be done by a formal letter rather than an email. The tone of her email was also rude. She should simply have declined the position, not implied that it was underpaid. Forwarding it to a colleague was a breach of etiquette on Mr. Kormans part, but I would stop short of calling it unethical, since Ms. Abdala chose to use email to convey her message. However, he did not have her consent to forward her emails sent to him to other people, especially those from outside of his office. I unequivocally think it was wrong to forward this email to anyone. It turned an annoying wart of an interchange into a triage situation. One has to be very careful what you put in writing! Bla, bla, bla? Choosing phrases like this can damage ones reputation beyond repair. Ill also say his first response to her email was both professional and restrained. Neither of these people was particularly ethical or intelligent. 3. Do you think this exchange will damage Abdala’s career? Korman’s firm? Yes, this exchange will damage both Abdala’s career as well as Korman’s firm. They have I think both of them handled this poorly; Korman for not putting the offer in writing then changing the terms of that offer, and Abdala for responding so immaturely. I can’t believe that both these people are in the legal profession, considering that not only is their spelling atrocious, but their conduct is totally unprofessional in any field. I believe nobody would ever deal with an employer or employee in this way! . Amazingly, Abdala is not concerned in the least with how the outing of her attitude, poor communications style, and either lack of spelling acumen or mixing of metaphors will impact her employability as an attorney. Nor is she concerned that this has now been forwarded to several thousand people, at last count, and posted around the world. In fact, she is quoted as saying â€Å"I’m not upset at all. I’m enjoying the notoriety. †Both parties appear to be very unprofessional, extremely dim and informal. I believe that Ms. Abdala should have found a better way of backing out of her agreement. I believe her comments and actions were immature from start to finish. I also believe Mr. Korman should not have forwarded the emails; there is no question he knew the damage they could inflict on Ms. Abdalas [questionable] reputation. Therefore, we can only surmise he indeed did hope to damage that reputation. 4. What does this exchange tell you about the limitations of e-mails? There is always a limitation of e-mails. Thats when the exchange, by Korman and Abdala, began whipping through cyberspace, landing in e-mail in-boxes around the city and country, and, eventually, across the Atlantic. In short order, it has become yet another cautionary tale that you should definitely not put in an e-mail anything you wouldnt want the rest of the world to read. Things to consider before venting in email: Would I say this to this person’s face? Am I putting the receiver in awkward position? How would I feel if I got this email message? Usually, by the time you consider the above questions you will be calm enough to write your message with a different approach. Catching someone by surprise in a flaming message is a quick way to alienate your reader mainly because they will react wit h anger or embarrassment. When it appears that a dialogue has turned into a conflict, it is best to suggest an end to the swapping of email and for you to talk or meet in person. If you receive a flaming email try to respond in a short and simple response. If that does not appease the flamer than make contact with him or her outside the virtual realm. 7. Referencing Shellenbarger, S. (2004, February 5). Domino Effect: The Unintended Results of Telling Off Customer-Service Staff. Wall Street Journal. p. D1. Robbins, S. P. (2010). Person International Edition: Essentials of Organisational Behaviour (10th Edition). Karr, k. (2009, June 23). Retrieved from mood. ws/ (2003). Healthy Work: Managing Stress in the Workplace Act. New Zealand. Retrieved from osh. govt. nz/order/catalogue/stress/managestress. pdf Kurtzig, A. (2003). Retrieved from justanswer. com/business/ Anne. (2006, February 23). The Story Of Annes Life. Retrieved from theinternetpatrol. com/when-emails-haunt-you-the-saga-of-william-korman-and-diana-abdala/ (2006, February 27). Retrieved from http://nogovernmentcheese. blogspot. com/2006_02_01_archive. html Goodwin, C. (2011). Retrieved from http://midlifecareerstrategy. com/blog/archives/22
Sunday, October 20, 2019
New Meaning for Ingest
New Meaning for Ingest New Meaning for Ingest New Meaning for Ingest By Maeve Maddox A reader has alerted me to a new use of the verb ingest: Feed is a suite of tools to assist in preparing content for ingest into HathiTrust. I found additional examples of this incomprehensible use of ingest in what are clearly technical contexts: High Speed Smart Data Ingest into Hadoop Fedora digital objects can be encoded in several XML formats for ingest and export. I was ingesting with the cli interface by creating a file that is cli commands Since the 17th century, ingest has been used in English with the meaning â€Å"to take in food.†Substances other than food are also said to be ingested. In reference to human beings, ingest is a clinical term for â€Å"to eat†or â€Å"to swallow.†In figurative usage, it can be simply to â€Å"to take in†or â€Å"to absorb.†For example, birds are said to be â€Å"ingested†by jet engines. A student â€Å"ingests†information.†Here are some examples that illustrate the usual meaning of the verb and its different forms: Children ingest considerable amounts of soil Foreign body ingestion is not uncommon in clinical practice, and it may occasionally lead to penetration injuries. The Nature of the Ingested Protein Has No Effect on Lean Body Mass During Energy Restriction in Overweight Rats American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) gives important instructions about what to do if a child has ingested poison. ‘Miami Zombie’ Didn’t Ingest Bath Salts Confirms Autopsy In the context of computer science, ingest seems to have acquired a meaning similar to input. I found this definition of the term â€Å"data ingestion†at TechTarget: Data ingestion is the process of obtaining, importing, and processing data for later use or storage in a database. This process often involves altering individual files by editing their content and/or formatting them to fit into a larger document. I often have the feeling that some of the changes in usage like this unfamiliar meaning for ingest are driven by non-native English speakers who translate words from their own languages into English words that don’t necessarily have the same meaning in English. For example, the German verb einnehmen can be translated as â€Å"to partake of a meal,†but it also means â€Å"to get, receive, collect,†meanings that certainly go along with the definition of â€Å"data ingestion.†Apart from computer jargon, ingest still means â€Å"to swallow, to consume, to take by mouth.†Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Useful Stock Phrases for Your Business EmailsThat vs. WhichMay Have vs. Might Have
Saturday, October 19, 2019
What factors causes the lack of trust in project management teams Essay
What factors causes the lack of trust in project management teams - Essay Example Today most of the organizations embrace the notion of groups or teams. Teams have become the core unit in many organizations. Part of this based on the fact that groups are effective in solving problems and learn more rapidly than individuals. The above definition of Team itself explains that a team could be formed for the specific purpose that may be to execute and manage a specific project or projects. This team can be called as project management team. Teams are particularly important when problems and decisions involve very uncertain, complex and important situations and when the potential of conflict is great. Teams are clearly more appropriate when there is not an immediate time pressure. (Ware, 1993, 1994). But teams can also bring about the worst in us. Teams can result in a situation where the whole is less than the sum of its parts. Teams can be a big waste of time and energy, can enforce norms of low productivity and can exploit, stress and frustrate members. Trust plays t he main role in functioning of any project management team. If the trust among team members is low then timely completion of projects and proper functioning of the team could not be assured.During the last few years there has been an increasing acknowledgement of the importance of trust in business interactions within the management and organizational literature. (Kramer& Tyler, 1994. Mayer, David &Schorman, 1995). Trust enables cooperation and becomes the means for complexity reduction even in situations where individual must act with uncertainty because they are in possession of ambiguous and incomplete information. It is not therefore surprising that in the current age of global and digital economy and virtuality (Tapscot, 1996) there has been an enormous interest in trust. According to Platt, Trust is essential to any team whether virtual or real. Real teams may interact day to day and chances of loosing trust may be lower but for the virtual teams where the possibility of day t o day interaction or face-to face interactions are almost negligible, possibility of loosing trust is much higher. Trust is a state of a positive confidence through subjective expectation regarding the behaviour of somebody or something in a situation, which entails risk to trusting party (Baba, 1999). It is a dynamic and emergent social relationship that develops as participants interact with each other over time and depending on situation. Jarvenppa and Leidner have conducted one of the most detailed researches, which studied Trust and Teams thus far. It highlighted significant difference in the behaviour and strategies between high and low trust teams emphasize on the clarity of roles and responsibilities among team members. Panteli and Duncan in their study of virtual teams, projects managed by virtual organizations, which involves a team of geographically far off located contractual employees, finds that the content of communication both formal and informal as well as frequency helps in building and maintaining an interactive social situation and can act as the frame for reference in constructing the trust relationship. Finally after going through different studies we can classify the different factors, which causes lack of trust among project team members. Shared goals are and should be one of the important aspects of the project management team, which cannot be taken for granted. Lack of trust may be due to lack of awareness about shared goals among team members. Generally most of the members of the team may or do not know the goals of the team and everybody have their understanding and perceptions about goals which brings distrust among team member
Friday, October 18, 2019
Week 4 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Week 4 - Research Paper Example It will also discuss the barriers to effective communication and how to overcome them. Additionally, the paper will define the correlation of leaders, organizational politics and stakeholder groups. In the Aristotle model, communication is described as a linear process. He further claimed that the packaging of messages is either in emotion (pathos), logic (logos) or character (ethos) (Palta, 2006). The model comprises the sender, the content, the message, the medium and the receiver. The sender is the individual from whom the message will come from. The content refers to what the message contains. The message could be in form of goods or just verbal information. The medium refers to the mode in which the message will be moved from the sender to the receiver. Mediums of sending messages include through telephones, through written letters, telegrams or just personal delivery. This model forms the basis of all communication models that are established today. The model covered all the aspects of communication and very minimal additions are made to the model. In modern day communication theories, there is the inclusion of distortion. However, distortion is only an inclusion to the Aristotle model of communication. Communication theorists come up with models which revolve around the Aristotle model. In many modern communication models, the goals and the objective of the message are usually defined. It is at this juncture that distortion comes into play. In case of distortion, the objective and goal of the message will not be achieved (Caputo, 2003). The modern model borrows from Aristotle model in that it defines the capability of the medium. After the medium, the model follows the Aristotle model to the receiver then to the feedback. Different barriers affect the effectiveness of communication models. The five barriers of communication are difference in perception, difficulties
Birth Control Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Birth Control Policy - Essay Example For instance, some theories such as the public choice theory put more emphasis and focus at the level of individuals rather than focusing on the institutional level. The public policy making process is normally at the heart of effective services provision. It has been stated that the process of policy making normally occurs six major phases (Howlett, et al 2009). These are agenda setting, decision making, policy formulation, implementation, evaluation and finally termination or renewal. Health is a matter of public interest. For this reason the government involvement in matters concerning health is usually to a greater extent. The government normally formulates policies for different reasons. Some policies are normally formulated for the purpose of population control. Population control is actually the essence of birth control. The health policy is triggered by the desire and need to address several issues. These are broadly explained as; the health care policy seeks to be comprehensive enough to include the highest number of the citizens possible. This is one of the reasons why some people were saying that implementation of the policy will be very expensive and might cause the tax payer a lot of money. Coverage does not necessarily mean access. These two can be mutually exclusive. For instance, a person might be under the coverage of a certain health care scheme but for some other reason fails to gain access. Coverage also means a wider scope of the provisions of the insurance and other health plans. For instance, there is a new federal directive that requires insurance plan to also provide for birth control. The policy also seeks to ensure that the health care being accorded is quite affordable to everyone. This stems from the notion that health care is a very essential service that each and every person should have access to. For this reason it is important that the health care cost is affordable. Health care is a very important service. This can
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Conflict within an Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Conflict within an Organization - Essay Example Inside and outside stakeholders, such as employees, management, and shareholders, however, competes over their share of the rewards and resources that the organization generates. To grow, change, and survive, an organization must manage both cooperation and competition among stakeholders (Gasparino & Raghavan, 2001; March, 1962). Organizational conflict is the clash that occurs when the goal-directed behavior of one group blocks or thwarts the goals of another. Conflict can be beneficial because it can overcome organizational inertia and lead to organizational learning and change (Coser, 1956; Robbins, 1974). When conflict within an organization or conflict between an organization and elements in its environment arises, the organization and its managers must reevaluate their view of the world. Conflict between different managers or between different stakeholder groups can improve decision-making and organizational learning by revealing new ways of looking at a problem or the false or erroneous assumptions that distort decision-making. For example, conflict at AT&T between the board of directors and top managers about the slow pace at which top managers were restructuring the company caused a radical change in managerial attitudes (Hymowitz, 2001; Bernstein et al, 2000). A new top-management team was appointed to increase the pace of change and to overcome AT&T's conservative approach. Similarly, conflict between divisional managers at IBM resulted in a major change in organizational focus, from a purely mainframe focus to a more consulting-oriented focus (Nugent, 2002). Beyond a certain point, however, conflict stops being a force for good and becomes a cause of organizational decline. Innovation is, of course, more or less impossible in such a setting. An organization in trouble spends a lot of time making decisions-time that it cannot afford because it needs to adapt quickly to turn itself around. Thus, although some conflict can jolt an organization out of inertia, too much conflict can cause organizational inertia: As different groups fight for their own positions and interests, they fail to arrive at consensus, and the organization drifts along; failure to change makes the organization go from bad to worse (Amason, 1996). At first, many organization theorists regarded conflict as wholly dysfunctional because it was believed to be the antithesis of cooperation. It was generally interpreted as a sign of a defective or an incomplete social structure. Therefore, early conflict theorists proposed that the appropriate response was the creation of structural mechanisms for dealing with issues that generate conflict. Committees, task forces, liaison roles, and many other forms of coordination were recommended for this purpose (Galbraith, 1977). The second phase of theorizing about organizational conflict developed around American organization theorist Louis Pondy's observation that, although conflict may be unpleasant, it is an inevitable part of organizing (1967). In Pondy's view conflict may still be regarded as dysfunctional, however, as a natural condition, conflict is unavoidable and should be accepted. This phase of study led to theoretical interest in the sources of conflict, and a search for understanding of its fundamental conditions. The natural view of conflict helped managers confront conflicts they could not alter
Native Guard Poems By Natasha Trethewey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Native Guard Poems By Natasha Trethewey - Essay Example The poem profoundly conveys her heart for the blacks in rich voice texture and images of truths concerning the battles not only against slavery for the fellow blacks but even with the unsettled issue of freedom that appears detached from the desired racial equality. â€Å"Native Guard†begins with an epigraph attributed to the 19th century social reformer and statesman Frederick Douglass stating â€Å"... if this war is to be forgotten, I ask in the name of all things sacred what shall men remember?†in reference to the Civil War which Trethewey revitalizes with her literary design. Utilizing ten stanzas each bearing distinct date, the poet pays tribute to one member of the Louisiana Native Guards being â€Å"the first officially sanctioned regiment of black soldiers in the Union Army.†With reference to the first line where the speaker expresses †Truth be told, I do not want to forget†, the native guard himself is shown to have gathered to his sen sibility an essential contemplation of the past, adding â€Å"†¦I thought to carry with me / want of freedom though I had been freed, / remembrance not constant recollection†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . ... s and ends with a memory wherein the last line of each sonnet becomes a variant of the subsequent sonnet's opening line, as in a meaningful chronology of historical events. Since â€Å"Native Guard†is a first-person narrative supposedly by an unnamed ex-slave in an all-black regiment of the Union Army, the lines can be observed to possess stately approach to language and structure. Within the poem’s context is the presence of circularity depicting circumstantial shifts as one finds the former slave guarding the imprisoned inside the Union fort at Mississippi’s Ship Island. Comparing his personal life in relation to his professional life as a military officer who look after welfare of the fallen rebels, he states – I now use ink to keep record, a closed book, not the lure of memory  flawed, changeful  that dulls the lash for the master, sharpens it for the slave. For the slave, having a master sharpens the bend into work, the way the sergea nt moves us now to perfect battalion drill, dress parade. Trethewey’s style of writing in â€Å"Native Guard†is characteristic of a speaker’s tone or at least, a sound representative of the way speech is made in the culture or group the narrator has become a part of. Like journal entries, the words are phrased and constructed in a manner that indirectly yet effectively states the type of sentiments involved and along the following lines, the bitterness may be sensed with the drop of the last two words – †¦We’re called supply units - not infantry – and so we dig trenches, haul burdens for the army no less heavy than before. I heard the Colonel call it Nigger work†¦ Often, the work celebrates not only the factual details which history is not made to confront or disclose but also the most excruciating truths that
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Conflict within an Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Conflict within an Organization - Essay Example Inside and outside stakeholders, such as employees, management, and shareholders, however, competes over their share of the rewards and resources that the organization generates. To grow, change, and survive, an organization must manage both cooperation and competition among stakeholders (Gasparino & Raghavan, 2001; March, 1962). Organizational conflict is the clash that occurs when the goal-directed behavior of one group blocks or thwarts the goals of another. Conflict can be beneficial because it can overcome organizational inertia and lead to organizational learning and change (Coser, 1956; Robbins, 1974). When conflict within an organization or conflict between an organization and elements in its environment arises, the organization and its managers must reevaluate their view of the world. Conflict between different managers or between different stakeholder groups can improve decision-making and organizational learning by revealing new ways of looking at a problem or the false or erroneous assumptions that distort decision-making. For example, conflict at AT&T between the board of directors and top managers about the slow pace at which top managers were restructuring the company caused a radical change in managerial attitudes (Hymowitz, 2001; Bernstein et al, 2000). A new top-management team was appointed to increase the pace of change and to overcome AT&T's conservative approach. Similarly, conflict between divisional managers at IBM resulted in a major change in organizational focus, from a purely mainframe focus to a more consulting-oriented focus (Nugent, 2002). Beyond a certain point, however, conflict stops being a force for good and becomes a cause of organizational decline. Innovation is, of course, more or less impossible in such a setting. An organization in trouble spends a lot of time making decisions-time that it cannot afford because it needs to adapt quickly to turn itself around. Thus, although some conflict can jolt an organization out of inertia, too much conflict can cause organizational inertia: As different groups fight for their own positions and interests, they fail to arrive at consensus, and the organization drifts along; failure to change makes the organization go from bad to worse (Amason, 1996). At first, many organization theorists regarded conflict as wholly dysfunctional because it was believed to be the antithesis of cooperation. It was generally interpreted as a sign of a defective or an incomplete social structure. Therefore, early conflict theorists proposed that the appropriate response was the creation of structural mechanisms for dealing with issues that generate conflict. Committees, task forces, liaison roles, and many other forms of coordination were recommended for this purpose (Galbraith, 1977). The second phase of theorizing about organizational conflict developed around American organization theorist Louis Pondy's observation that, although conflict may be unpleasant, it is an inevitable part of organizing (1967). In Pondy's view conflict may still be regarded as dysfunctional, however, as a natural condition, conflict is unavoidable and should be accepted. This phase of study led to theoretical interest in the sources of conflict, and a search for understanding of its fundamental conditions. The natural view of conflict helped managers confront conflicts they could not alter
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Asthma. Pathologic basis of disease Research Paper
Asthma. Pathologic basis of disease - Research Paper Example Asthma can be divided into different groups on the basis of severity of attacks that are mild intermittent, mild, moderate and severe persistent asthma. But typically the asthma is classified into extrincsic asthma and intrinsic asthma. Extrinsic asthma is set off by type 1 hypersensitivity reaction caused by an extrinsic antigen. Intrinsic asthma is initiated by various mechanisms including pulmonary infections caused by viruses especially, cold, stress, exercise and inhaled irritants. Some categories classify asthma in accordance to the agent that causes the constriction of air passages for example seasonal asthma, exercise asthma, occupational asthma, drug induced asthma and asthmatus bronchitis. The genetic susceptibility to type 1 hypersensitivity, chronic inflammation and bronchial hypersensitivity are the major factors that cause asthma. Our immune system contains Type 2 helper T cells (Th2) which is type of CD4+ helper T cell secretes interleukins. The interleukins then promote allergic inflammations and stimulate B cells to produce IgE and different antibodies. Type 1 helper T cells (Th1) are also a type of CD4+ helper T cell which secretes interferon-ÃŽ ³ (gamma) and intereukin-2. The interferon-ÃŽ ³ (gamma) and interleukin-2 activates the macrophages and cytotoxic T cells which kills the viruses and other invading organisms. These two types of helper T cells form an immunoregulatory loop that is the cytokines from type 1 helper T cells inhibit type 2 helper T cells and cytokines from type 2 helper T cells inhibit type 1 helper T cells. These two types of helper T cells respond to different immunogenic stimuli and try to destroy them. Any imbalance in the regulatory loop of these two types of helper T cells makes it easier for the viruses and agents to attack the bronchopulmonary tree and cause inflammation which leads to asthma. In patient suffering from hypersensitivity as occur in asthma, when an antigen is presented to the skin, a wheal and flare reaction occurs. This wheal and flare reaction is clear example of hypersensitivity type 1. In air passages when the allergen reaches the epithelial lining it stimulates the induction of type 2 helper T cells (Th2). The type 2 helper T cells secrete various cytokines such as interleukin 4 (IL-4) and interleukin 5 (IL-5). The interleukin 4 (IL-4) then triggers the production of immunoglobulin IgE by the B cells and promotes the growth of mast cells. The interleukin 5 promotes the growth and activation of eosinophills. The reaction mediated by IgE to the allergens elicit an acute response and late phase reaction. The acute response to the allergens consist of bronchoconstriction, edema, mucous secret ion and in rare cases the decrease of blood pressure. The acute response occurs by this mechanism; the contact of antigens to the mast cells stimulates the secretion of mediators which mediate the reaction. In the case of air passage diseases when the allergens reach the mucosal surface, the reaction of allergens first occurs with the mucosal mast cells. In this reaction mediators are secreted which opens the tight junction in between the mucosal cells and improve the entrance of the antigens to the submucosal mast cells. This reaction causes the broncoconstriction, edema and mucous secretion which is acute response. Vagal stimulation in lungs also called bronchoconstrictio
Advantages of Internet Essay Example for Free
Advantages of Internet Essay Science and technology play a very important role in our life. Most of our daily activities are greatly associated with science and technology. One of the contributions of science and technology to mankind is the invention of Internet. With this invention being so widely used, it has both advantages and disadvantages. In this essay, I shall discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the Internet. The first advantage of the internet is that it provides us with leisure. This is because the Internet can provide us with various endless entertainment. For example, we can watch videos in YouTube which has millions of videos from comedy to romance and horror to suit our mood. Not only that, some television networks have their own websites. These enables us to catch up on movies or television programmes on television which we have missed. Radio channels such as Class95 and Perfect10 also have their own sites to listen to radio programmes for those who do not own a radio set. There are also many sites that enable the users especially youths to watch anime or read manga online. This is good as this enables us to save money as the cost of a manga or anime DVD can be quite expensive. These different from of online entertainment will not only gives us leisure but also provide a medium in which we can relieve the daily stress from school and work. The second advantage of the internet is E-commerce which is growing rapidly and becoming more popular. Examples of e-commerce include online shopping and e-banking. Through online shopping, we can buy many things over the net which provides a range of products from all over the world with just a click of the mouse. Examples of famous online shopping sites are Yahoo!, Amazon and e-bay which sells various products from books and furniture to electronic devices and office supplies. Doing shopping online is indeed convenient as we do not need to travel to do our shopping. As a result, time is saved.
Monday, October 14, 2019
Intelligent Agents Characteristics
Intelligent Agents Characteristics Report on Intelligent Agents Methodology The research for this report was done using the various books from the library, Internet sites and computer magazines. Introduction The uses of intelligent agents within the home and in businesses have increased dramatically over the years. Intelligent agents are a part of a program that carries out a task unsupervised and applies some degree of intelligence to the task. New and improved intelligent agents are constantly being designed and produced to carry out numerous repetitive and predictable tasks. One definition of an intelligent agent, as described by states â€Å"an intelligent agent perceives its environment via sensors and acts rationally upon that environment with its effectors. Hence, an intelligent agent gets percepts one at a time and maps this percept into actions†In his book, Essentials of Management Information Systems, Kenneth Laudon describes an intelligent agent as being â€Å"software programs that work in the background to carry out specific, repetitive and predictable tasks for an individual user business or software application†. The design and production of an intelligent agent has to take into consideration numerous factors. This report takes a look at these considerations and factors and provides and insight into how intelligent agents are influencing businesses and society as a whole. Findings Agent Characteristics Intelligent agents have four main characteristics: â€Å"An agent is a computer software system whose characteristics are situatedness, autonomy, adapitvity and sociability.†Situatedness When an Agent receives some form of sensory input from its environment, it then performs some actions that change its environment in some way. Autonomy This agent characteristic means that an agent is able to act without direct intervention from humans or other agents. This type of agent has almost complete control over it own actions and internal state. Adapitvity This agent characteristic means that it is capable of reacting flexibly to changes within its environment. It is able to accept goal directed initiatives when appropriate and is also capable of learning from its own experiences, environment and interaction with others. Sociability This type of characteristic means that the agent is capable of interacting in a peer-to-peer manner with other agents or humans. Design Considerations One of the most important aspects of intelligent agents is the design of the actual agent. The agent needs to be able to fulfil the tasks that are required from it, i.e. to achieve its goals. There are four main aspects that need to be taken into consideration when designing an intelligent agent. Percepts This is the information that the agent receives Actions This is what the agent needs to do or can do to achieve its objectives. Goals This is the factor that the agent is trying to achieve Environment The final aspect is the environment in which the agent will be working in. The environment in which the agent performs is probably the most important aspect that needs to be considered as this affects the outcome of the percepts, actions and goals. Different Approaches to Agent Design From the agent characteristics and design considerations come four different approaches to intelligent agent design. Simple Reflex Agents Simple reflex agents are the most basic form of intelligent agent. They are simple minded, direct connections between percepts and actions. Reflex Agents with Internal State Reflex agents with internal state are similar to the Simple reflex agents except they remember the state of the environment as contained in earlier percepts. As the agents sensors do not provide a detailed account of the environment at each input, a perception of the environment is captured over a period of time that provided further information to the agent and enables it to provide better results. Goal Based Agents For a goal based agent, the agent must know more than the current state of the environment, they must know the full requirements of the goal that they are required to perform. The goal based agent combines the information of the goal with possible actions that will achieve that goal. This may cause the agent to take longer sequences of possible actions before deciding on the right course of action and whether the goal has been achieved. Goal Based agents also take the future into consideration. 3.4 Utility Based Agents Utility-based agents are the ultimate form of intelligent agent and are an extension of the goal-based agent. Utility agents consider degrees of utility and try to maximise their own potential. Utility functions allow the agent to identify conflicting or alternative goals and decisions. The likelihood of success and importance of the goal can also be compared and evaluated by the utility agent; the agent would then execute appropriate action to ensure the best option was selected. Distinction between Environments Accessible Vs Inaccessible This environment is concerned with whether the agent is able to see the exact state of the environment. If the agents sensors are able to provide it with complete access to the state of the environment needed to choose an action, then the environment is accessible otherwise it is inaccessible. Deterministic Vs Nondeterministic In a deterministic environment, the use of the same actions will produce the same outcome every time the process or situation is repeated. But in a Nondeterministic environment the final outcome of the process or situation will be different every time. Episodic Vs Nonepisodic In an episodic environment, subsequent episodes do not depend on the actions that occurred in previous episodes, agents in this type of environment dont need to plan ahead. Agents in Nonepisodic environments do tend to depend on previous actions that occurred in previous episodes and do tend to have to plan ahead. 4.4 Static Vs Dynamic A static environment is an environment that doesnt change and the time taken for an agent to process an action doesnt matter, as the environment will remain the same. A dynamic environment changes continuously and an intelligent agent has to be able to process actions quickly before the environment changes. Discrete Vs Continuous In a discrete environment the number of distinct percepts and actions that an agent will receive is limited to a set amount, but in a continuous environment the percepts and actions are unlimited. Intelligent agents that are in an accessible or deterministic environment do not need to deal with uncertainty. Inaccessible, Nondeterministic, Nonepisodic, Dynamic, and Continuous environments are the most challenging, as these are unpredictable environments, the other environments are more stable and less volatile. The use of Intelligent Agents in Businesses The use of intelligent agents has increased dramatically over the past 5 year, though the majority of people wouldnt think twice about the process that they do that make their lives easier. During the1990s, A.D.Little, a management consultant, estimated that by the year 2000, 15 to 20 percent of all computer applications would contain intelligent agents. Though this figure has increased a substantial amount with the development of new technologies. The use of intelligent can agents can be seen in every industry sector within the UK and all over the world. The most common and widely used agents are found within two main areas. The first is within office type environments in which computers are used and the second is on the World Wide Web. In the first issue, computer software is the main reason for agents being used so widely: Operating systems use agents to add email and dial up networking account, do group management, add/remove programs and devices and monitor licences. Spreadsheet agents offer suggestions for improvement and can also tutor novice users. Software development agents assist in routine activities such as data filtering. The second and area and probably the largest is the Internet. The internet uses a variety of different types of agents to help the user find what they are looking for. They include: Search engines improve your information retrieval on the Internet Web mastering Agents these agents make it easy to manage a web site Web Agents These agents improve the users browsing experience. Monitoring Agents These agents monitor web sites or specific themes you are interested in. Shopbots These agents allow you to compare prices on Internet. Virtual Assistants these include virtual pets and desktop assistants. Intelligent agents can be seen in a wide variety of situations, the table in point 5.1 provides more examples of what agents are capable of. Though agents are making life easier, it is also reducing the amount of employees needed to do the job. An example of this would be a car-manufacturing factory. During the 1980s thousands of people were employed to make the vehicles but since the introduction of machinery that contains an intelligent agent to do the repetitive work, numerous people were made redundant and the positions in which 4 5 people did the job has been reduced to one or two men and the machine. An intelligent agent is something that perceives and acts in an environments. An ideal agent is one that always takes the action that is expected to maximise its performance. There are a variety of basic agent program designs. The designs vary in efficiency, compactness and flexibility. The appropriate design of the agent program depends on the percepts, actions, goals and environment. Some environments are more demanding than others. Reflex agents respond immediately to percepts, goal based agents act so that they can achieve their goals and utility-based agents try to maximise their own ‘happiness. The use of intelligence agents has increased beyond the expectations of experts within the management and information technology fields. The use of intelligent agents are being seen in a wide cross section of businesses whether it be in machinery and equipment or within the software programs that they have in their computers and networks. The most widely used forms of intelligent agents are found on the Internet, they are mainly used within search engines. Recommendations Intelligent agents are the basis of artificial intelligence; there are considerable ongoing researches into the field, with many exciting possibilities. â€Å"Agents are here to stay, not least because of their diversity, their wide range of applications and the broad spectrum of companies investing in them. As we move further and further into the information age, any information-based organisation which does not invest in agent technology may be committing commercial hara-kiri.†Bibliography Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig 1995,Artificial intelligence: A modern Approach, Prentice Hall www-cdr.Stanford.edu/nextlink/expert.html [Accessed 13 October 2002] Intelligent Agents on the internet: fact, Fiction and Forecast, Oren Etzioni and Daniel S. Weld www.computer.org/intelligent/ex1995/x4044abs.htm [Accessed 16th October 2002] www.hermans.org/agents/index.html [Accessed 16th October 2002] Intelligent agents likely to cut jobs, alter offices, Kile Martz www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/1998/08/03focus5.html [Accessed 16th October 2002] http://www.agentland.com/ http://sbm-connect.tees.ac.uk/ebuscon/Presentations%20(PPP%20%20PDF)%20Files/Chapter%2011%20Intelligent%20Systems%20in%20Business.pdf [Accessed 13th October 2002] Turban, McLean and Wetherbe, 1996, First Edition, Information technology for managers Improving Quality and Productivity Laudon K. Essentials of Management Information Systems, 2002, Fifth Edition, Prentice Hall
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Smitty :: essays research papers
Hello my name is R, I had been running track all through high school and am just about to start my senior season. I had never been great, but good enough to make states last year in the 100 meter dash. Up until this year (When I transferred to Newark after 3 years at Hodgson) our only coaches were only temporary or who only coached track because they needed some more spending money on their paycheck. Some were even athletes themselves before they let themselves go and now wanted to relive their fantasies of victory through our hard work and sweat. This winter though, events will change. I have an experienced track coach who has championships to prove it and also cares of his athletes as if they were his children. He had run track in both high school and college but chose to be a coach for the love on the sport. His name is â€Å"Smitty†(as though we call him) and he was my ideal coach and person since he obviously was better at it than any of my other coaches. Not only that, but he has more passion than anyone else on the team and all my other coaches. Add to that the fact that he was more successful than most of the coaches in the state in sending athletes to college. He is also a very stern coach that comes with extremely hard workouts. If he hadn't been one of the nicest and most helpful people in the world things might have gotten ugly between him and I very quickly because at Hodgson I didn’t practice much. Instead, he became one of my best friends, as well as part of my family. I don't know exactly why, but Smitty seemed to make me his special project for the season( Calling me the next Brandon Reeves). From the first day of meeting him he pushed me harder than anyone else, spent more time with me and made sure that I pushed myself. Maybe it was because I ran the same distances he ran, but then again so did a few of the other guys. Maybe it was because he saw something in me that none of the other coaches had. I wasn't sure what it was, but at times I enjoyed the extra attention, on the other hand I am sure that I will hate it when he makes me run the extra distance or work extra hard.
Friday, October 11, 2019
Savage Cultures in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays
Heart of Darkness Essay: Savage Cultures Conrad effectively evokes a dream like image of the jungle by using language. He uses strong words to describe the natives appearances, characteristics and presumed behavior. Very common in his descriptions are the use of very strong and erotic words like "wild " and "intense". For example the description of a boat load of natives paddling down stream is distinctly primitive. He says "they shouted, and sang†¦ their bodies streamed with perspiration; they had grotesque masks†¦but they had bone, muscle, a wild vitality and intense energy of movement†¦"(78). In contrast a comparison, to the author’s description of a white, affluent, suggestively desirable race, made them appear artificial, sloppy and lethargic. Clearly seen in the following phrase, "flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly"(81). Another obvious implication of a primitive and savage culture using language, which gives the reader the illusion of wilderness, is the author's use of the word cannibals. By using the word cannibal the author implies a savage and uncivilized race, since both the word and the act are abrasive. Especially in context with the period this text was written in, 1910. Back then, the idea of natives in the jungle was a proven fact not a rumor or fantasy. Already afraid of this reality the use of the word made the image of the native more frightening and convoluted. Whereas today, cannibals are hardly threatening at all since the likelihood of their existence is purely fiction. Ironically, Conrad is able to combine the use of this word with a very tender and humorous description of his crew, "Fine fellows - cannibals-in their place. They were men one could work with†¦And, after all, they did not eat each other before my face: they brought along a provision of hippo-meat"(104). A last description of a native is of Marlow’s companion the "savage who was fireman"(106). He too was described to imbue the image of a savage as society had presupposed a native would look like. Marlow describes his native physical traits, beginning with a description of his teeth. He said " -and he had filed teeth, too, the poor devil, and the wool of his pate shaved into queer patterns, and three ornamental scars on each of his cheeks.
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