The affect of globalization on China Literature review

The affect of globalization on China - Literature review Example Globalization is a significant but not a new economic phenomenon. World Bank throws out that there were three main globalization waves since 1870 where the global economy, capital flow and migration have been increasing dramatically. China is the fastest growing country among all the developing countries and dominates an important role in the most recent globalization wave. From the figure 1, we can see that the GDP of China has been significantly increasing to an unprecedented rate and the rate has maintained 12% growth annually in the global economic integration decade. The rapid economic growth in China captures the world’s attention especially after the economic reform and openness policy in 1978 as the Trade, exports and imports have enormously gone up (Refer to Figure 2). Perhaps like other developing countries, China has been experiencing an increase in economic inequality accompany with the global economic integration. As shown in figure 3, the Gini coefficient from 19 78-2008 presents that the inequality within the country has been highly raised. Growing on the intra-country inequality not only affect the stability of the country, but also hamper the potential economy growth. Moreover, the inequality problem is quite complicated in China as the wage inequality, uneven income distribution and regional disparity are all needed to take into account when we concern about the economic inequality of a country. The following chapter will briefly review the current literature to see what scholars have discovered on this topic and how they argue about the story. In chapter 3, the empirical model will be constructed and displays the details of data resource, data description and OLS assumptions. Chapter 4 will access the tests for the model to check its validity, and then find out the relationship between the four independent variables and the dependent variable. Critical analysis about the globalization impact on the inequality in China will also applied in Chapter 4. The conclusion will be drawn in Chapter 5 to summarize what evidences have been found from

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) - Essay Example The second research paper titled ‘Corporate social responsibility brand leadership: a multiple case study’ has been directed towards using existing research and studies that provide frameworks for the analysis of CSR as a tool for brand leadership strategy. The existing literature is supported by a qualitative study of five UK based firms that have a significant market share, successful brand strategies and a very active CSR. The paper is organized in two parts where each part is dedicated to one research paper. The analysis is organized as presenting the research strategy, methods, findings, assumptions, and overall quality of the research paper. The analysis also makes suggestions for improvement after the analysis. The main argument of this research paper is to critically analyze the two research papers based on qualitative studies and suggest drawbacks that could be improvised for a more comprehensive study. The paper uses Grunig’s situational theory of publics for the purpose of analysis of cases presented within the paper (Byrd, 2009). The framework within the theory helps in creating a single case study with three different aspects of analysis. The research is conducted by way of exhaustive interviews conducted with the senior counselors of each of the two American companies that are under analysis. The primary document analysis is focused completely on the communication of the progress reports presented to the global compact unit on a semiannual basis by each participating member. The secondary analysis is conducted by way of materials and documents produced by the agencies which also include speeches, articles and presentations for the purpose of business publication. The key research question is to find out the dynamics that were responsible for company realization that such coalition was for the benefit of the organization. The second

Overview of Brazils macro environment

Overview of Brazils macro environment Being one of the members of the Big Four BRIC countries, Brazil experienced the economic downturn and bust and has been hampered by excessive indebtedness and high inflation in the past. Since 1990s, Brazil has implemented numerous policies with government and authorities support to launch the reform. Brazils economies started to growth rapidly after policies and stabilization plan were implemented. Moreover, the ongoing sound marco-economic and social policies have extended the period of stability, growth and social gains (WorldBank, 2010). Thus, the continuous development of its interior for hosting the World Cup and Olympic Games in 2014 and 2016 respectively can pursue industrial and agricultural growth. With the vast natural resources, labor pool and trading opportunities to other foreign countries therefore significantly increased in Brazil and more foreign investors were attracted. Nowadays, it has become a regional leader with leading economic power of South America that is one of the first in the area to begin an economic recovery (InvestorPlace, 2010). Overview of Brazils macro-environment In this section, it is going to overview Brazils macro environment by applying PEST analysis and the few aspects are being discussed as follow. PEST Analysis PEST analysis is analyzing the external environment which is analyzing the factors of Marco-environment. It includes Political factors, Economic factors, Sociological factors and the Technological factors (Jobber, D., 2004). Political Factors Refer to Figure 2.1, Brazil has the stable political climate which under the leadership of the communist party. The legal system of it is based on the Roman Codes (CIA, 2010). Brazil has 26 administrative divisions and the government is divided into executive branch, legislative branch and judicial branch (CIA, 2010). In addition, it perceived the corruption problem as ranked 75th position out of 180 nations of the transparency Internationals 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index (Transparency, 2010). In addition, Brazil involved within the free trade agreement that is signed by the United States, Central America and Dominican Republic which benefited Brazil for trading opportunities (BusyTrade, 2010). Furthermore, it launched the Growth Acceleration Plan in 2007 to develop and steady the economic growth (WorldBank, 2010) Being one of the emerging economies in the world, Brazils economy is growing at a moderate but steady level with continuous growing GDP. Refer to Figure 2.2 which is figured out that the GDP of Brazil is constant growth during 2000 to 2007 significantly.and maintained the sustainable growth to 2008. From Figure 2.3, Brazil weathered the global financial downturn with relatively minor impacts.  The country was one of the last to fall  into recession in 2008 and among the first to resume growth in 2009. With the large growth in agricultural, manufacturing and mining, it ranked highest among the South American countries with the strong position in the global economy (Tradingeconomics, 2010). Brazil is the largest national economy in Latin America, the worlds tenth largest economy at market exchange rates and the ninth largest in purchasing power parity (PPP), according to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It has large and developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing and service sectors, as well as a large labor pool. Thus, the expanding of its presence in international financial and commodities markets can help Brazils economic keep on growth Refer to Figure 2.4, the interest rate in Brazil is kept on declining as to attract more foreign direct investment. The government lowered down the interest rate, in consequence, to lower the inflation rate. From Figure 2.4, Brazil suffered serious inflation rate in 2008. However, it declined during 2009. The latest inflation rate is 4.6% in July of 2010 which means the prices measured against the standard purchasing power is still high. According to Figure 2.6, about currency convertibility, Brazil allows its currency to adjust in value in foreign exchange markets so long as the fluctuations in value. From Table 2.7, the mid-year population is 201,103 thousands and ranked 5 out of 238 countries (CIA, 2010). Brazil was one of the largest population countries in the world. The growth rate of 2010 is 1.2 which was lower than 1995 and 2005. The nationality of Brazil was Brazilians (CIA, 2010) and the religions were mainly Roman Catholic (CIA, 2010). The languages of Brazilians were Portuguese (CIA, 2010). From Figure 2.8, Brazil does not suffer from aging problem. And the birth rate was maintained from 2009 that 18.43% in Figure 2.9 (UNICEF, 2010). Together with longer life expectancy with the index of life expecting at birth in 2008 is around 71.99 years old as maintained (UNICEF, 2009). The labour force is 101.7 million in 2009 that ranked 6th out of 228 countries (CIA, 2010). The unemployment rate is kept on dropping in these 2 years as refer to Figure 2.10. The role of female and male are vary by social classes (EveryCulture, 2010). Most of the Brazilian women had jobs outside home and employed in low-skill or low paying jobs (EveryCulture, 2010). It meant that there was no gender equality in that society. Source: Tradingeconomics, 2010 Despite the poverty ratio is decreasing as refer to Figure 2.11, Brazils inequality levels remains among the highest in the world. Many people still live in poverty with social exclusion is quantitatively and qualitatively pronounced and structurally ingrained (WorldBank, 2010). Technology Factors Brazil is a leader in science and technology in South America and in some fields as a global leader. About the technological research is largely carried out in Brazil which is mainly supported by government. Furthermore, the Brazilian information technology market is the largest in Latin America and the spending on IT product and services is expected to increase positively. Together with the expending economy lifting millions into middle class for whom computers are no longer beyond reach. Brazils IT services market is expected to continue to grow strongly in 2010, with total spending of around US$9.4bn as the economy continues to bounce back from recession. For a developing market, the percentage of Brazil IT market revenues generated by services is high at around 38%, which corresponds more to developed market levels. Brazil government supported the technology development by providing the funding as it was the leader of science and technology development in South America. Refer to Figure 2.12, Brazils research and development is keen on innovation of technology infrastructure. Ideological Factors Brazilians had the strong national ideology that they called their land as the racial democracy (EveryCulture, 2010). They were seldom judge on the black and white people but classified racially depend on the social classes (EveryCulture, 2010). As a result, it meant that Brazilians were having heavy concepts on the social classes. Brazils Trade, Investment and Migration Pattern Brazil is in Group 4 which is the nearly new industrialised economies with the average growth rate in pass decades (Thompson, G., 1998). Agricultural was playing an important role in Brazil. However, Brazil is turning from agricultural to industrialization. Agricultural should be a critical role to Brazil (Balassa, B., 1998). As a result, in order to develop the economics, Brazil needed to import the industrialization subsidiaries such as machinery and equipment. By the trade theory, the comparative advantage of the nation is determined by factor endowments (Thompson, G., 1998). During the process of industrialization, the structure of comparative advantage shifts from simple, labor-intensive product to sophisticated capital and technology-intensive product (Thompson, G., 1998). As a result, Brazil as the latecomer industrialization (Thompson, G., 1998) begins to import the products from the advanced nations such as United States. The following are the indicators of imports and exports by values. From Figure 3.1, Brazils value of exports and imports is sustainable growth during 2007 to 2008. As the brought down by weaker economic activity and lower global commodity prices drive the total exports fell by 22.7% (in US dollar terms) and imports by 26% as economic recession (CIA, 2010). Furthermore, Brazils export major commodities are transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos is ranked 26th when compare to the universal. And import major commodities are machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil, automotive parts, and electronics (CIA, 2010). Investment pattern In Latin America, Brazil is the largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) as Brazil is open to and encourages foreign investment. Only generate the domestic savings is not sufficient for sustainable long-term growth in Brazil (Investorplace, 2010), thus must continue to attract FDI. Together with the legislation promoting public-private partnerships and infrastructure development program known as the Growth Acceleration Program can boost Brazils economic. From Figure 3.2, the foreign direct investment climate was not stable during 2002 to 2009. There are undulated changes during 2007 to 2009 because of low labour cost and rich natural resources, hence, many foreign direct investments were attracted to invest in Brazil. For many foreign direct investors, the most attraction point was the growing local market and policies that encourage the foreign investment (Hubpages, 2010). The largest single source of the foreign investment in Brazil was the United States, then Germany, Japan as follow (Hubpages, 2010). Moreover, the biggest foreign direct investment activities were invested in manufacturing (Hubpages, 2010). In 2014 and 2016, it is going to held World Cup and Olympics encourage the investment through tourism sector (InvestBrazil, 2010). Migration pattern As economic growth, Brazilian started to move to urban to have a better living environment. There were two factors driven the movement, push and pull factors (Thompson, G., 1998). Push factor was Brazilian to avoid poverty and poor living standard. Pull factor was Brazilian to improve the living environment. As a result, there is now 88% of population is classified as urban (CIA, 2010). Only a few percent were still living near the coast. The net migration rate was -0.09 migrants/1,000 population (CIA, 2010). Relationship between Brazil and the international environment Political Factors In 1990, Brazils government has radically changed the framework conditions for industrial development accompanied by technology and industrial policy programs. Moreover, Brazil is gradually opening the market to foreign competitors that remarked few regulations on trade and investment from foreign countries, thus creating an environment that requires international competitiveness and thereby forces companies to attain international levels of quality and efficiency (BrazilGov, 2010). There are a number of implications that Brazil is implementing to control the Foreign exchange rate of currency with the policies and action programs. Moreover, the presence of legal and regulatory trading protection for foreign investor doing business in Brazil. As refer to Figure 4.1, Brazil was ranked 73th out of the 183 best practice economies countries (IFC, 2010). Together with foreign direct investment and government support that has mobilized a significantly large amount of capital to upgrade the infrastructure of interior (FloridaBrazil, 2010). Economical Factors Despite the economic crisis, Brazils GDP showed continued growth through 2007-2008 while other regional countries GDP declined (Worldbank, 2010). In addition, the steady growth with strong consumer spending and job creation that stability of living forming a healthy economy, hence, Brazil certainly attract the foreign investors to catch up the business opportunity (Obelisk, 2010). Brazil with large growing in agricultural, manufacturing and mining, thus, Brazil is keen on performing its potential to being emerging market. As a result, Brazil ranks among the 10th richest nations of the world by GDP and has maintained the lowest external debt when compared to other regional countries (SloanCenter, 2010). Sociological Factors Brazil is one of the countries that has the largest population of the world with around 102 million labor force that ranked as 6th when comparing to the world as shown in Figure (CIA, 2010). Ideological Factors Brazilians had strong sense of national ideology that proud of their countrys natural resources and diverse culture (EveryCulture, 2010). Besides, Brazilians are welcome the foreigners to travel and invest in such robust emerging market (FloridaBrazil, 2010). Foreign Relations Brazil is a community leader in Linter American with collective security efforts in economic cooperation of Western Hemisphere (BrazilGov, 2010). Moreover, as a member of Organization of American States and Inter American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance that can figure out that Brazil has potential to expand relations with its neighbors (BrazilGov, 2010). In addition, Brazil is a founding member of the Latin American Integration Association and Union of South American Nations that has been a leader of G-20 group of nations (BrazilGov, 2010). In 2009, Brazil not only became a creditor country that trading with United States, Western Europe, and Japan, but also China is a growing market for Brazilian exports. Characteristics and Challenges of macro-environmental factors towards the trade, investment and migration patterns of emerging markets Main drivers for doing business in Brazil Brazil is the 5th largest economy with population of 198 million. Many local companies are undervalued and in need of restructuring, capital and technology Growth potential and consumer market Broad industrial base and infrastructure, and a diversified economy Creativity and flexibility of labor force, coupled with its competitive cost basis Abundant agricultural, mineral and energy resources and potential Established transportation networks (railways, highways, ports) and distribution channels in most industrialized areas Privatization in late stages and follow-on transactions still in development Inflation under control in the last 10 years Increasing globalization and international trade, with Government policies favoring exports Foreign investors are eligible for most available fiscal incentives Goodwill generally tax deductible New regulations favoring minority shareholders Improvement in local capital and debt markets Main Challenges of doing Deals in Brazil Complex tax and employee related regulatory environment, with high taxes and social charges on payroll, sales and income Multiple taxes with fast changing legislation affecting business plans and increasing risks of contingencies Economic environment still considered volatile as compared to more stable economies Fast-changing business conditions Lack of local financing coupled with high real interest rates Quality of historical financial information affected by fluctuations in exchange rates and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles differences Complex transfer pricing and foreign capital registration rules Difficulties in reorganizing companies quickly, including high costs for employee terminations Important cultural peculiarities, including a different perception of the due diligence process Sometimes the  ³know-who ´ is more important than the know-how in the local market Considerable bureaucratic rules and regulations for certain businesses and industries High demand for investments in the distribution channels and infrastructure Semi-skilled and unskilled labor in certain developing areas Social extremes with unequal distribution of wealth a significant portion of the Population not participating in the consumer market Justification of selection of Brazil There are many reasons of choosing Vietnam and going to identify its economic future as emerging market. First, Brazil has strong commitment that has made significant progress in developing a sustainable investment market over the last decade and rightly deserves its reputation as the leader among emerging economies in this regard. These achievements can proofed that foreign investors are tend to doing business in Brazil as refer to Figure 6.1, 6.2. Second, the evolution of a sustainable investment market by Brazil has led other emerging markets to focus on the same issues and goals. Third, Brazil has strong business case that importance of sustainability in business and investment in Brazil that provide stable political climate and facilitated rules and regulations that maintained the economy steady growth. Finally, Brazil demonstrated impressive courage, determination, flexibility, and creativity in sustainable future. Together with Brazils stable economic and political environment that liberal investment and governments commitment to economic reform can direct Brazil being success. In order entering into Brazil, 4P is playing an important role to guide the investors as refer to Figure 7.1. Product Product is a key element in the overall marketing offering. (Armstrong, G. Kotler, P., 2007). From Figure 7.2, there are three levels of products which are core benefits, actual product and augmented product. In order to evaluate the product element in Brazil, it is important to understand their lifestyle, habit and their consumption behaviour. Nowadays, Brazilian demand more IT products such as mobile phone, computers and software. Moreover, as Brazilian are becoming more wealthy, the demand of housing and transportation are increasing (Laposte, 2010). Most Brazilian including the low-income population is loyal to brands. Those people with the upper-middle classes are pay attention on the quality and the value-added services such as the warranty or after-sales services. They will not reject the foreign goods although they have the national pride (Laposte, 2010). As a result, based on the three levels of product, in order to design the product to enter into Brazil, it is recommended that import the convenience, shopping and specialty products to satisfy both low and high income group. For the low income group, the core benefit of the product should be high quality commodities with low price such as toothpaste. For the high income group, the core benefit of the product should be strong brand preference such as luxury goods. Price Price is the amount of money charged for a product or services (Armstrong, G. Kotler, P., 2007). As there is a wide gap of rich and poor in Brazil, the price setting should based on the target segment which is the segmented pricing. Segment pricing is selling products or services at two or more prices which difference in price not differences in costs (Armstrong, G. Kotler, P., 2007). If the target segment is the low-middle class, the price setting should be lower. If the target segment is the high-middle class, the price can be higher as they are less price-sensitive. Place (Distribution Channel) Marketing channel is a set of independent organization that help make the product or service available for use or consumption by the consumer or business user (Armstrong, G. Kotler, P., 2007). When enter into Brazil, producers cannot sell the goods directly to the final users. As a result, the intermediaries are playing the important role to bring the products to the markets. In Brazil, supermarket is becoming more important for the distribution channel as it made 80% of sales (Laposte, 2010). There are several large local wholesalers and retailers in Brazil. When entering into Brazil, it can choose the major wholesaler as the intermediaries to help bringing the foreign products to Brazilian. Promotion Promotion mix is the specific mix of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations and direct marketing that a company uses to persuasively communicate customer value and build customer relationships. (Armstrong, G. Kotler, P., 2007). In order to make the effective promotion in Brazil, it is going to discuss on the media environment in Brazil. Television has the lowest average Advertising Index in the world (Anonymous, 2006). However, it was the most effective promotion tools to Brazilian. Refer to Table 7.1, TVs penetration is 97.4% which was dominant. Brazilian watched television over five hours per day. As a result, the promotion should mainly focus on television which has a high coverage. Moreover, there is another new opportunity to promote in Brazil which is direct e-marketing such as telemarketing, e-mail etc. These can be used as the promotional tactics but not to maintain the relationship between the customers and companies (Laposte, 2010). The most effective way of the promotion strategy should be the pull strategy which spends a lot on advertising to create customers demand on products (Armstrong, G. Kotler, P., 2007). In addition, the promotional message on advertising should be reflecting Brazils culture such as Brazilian is enthusiasm. Conclusion Brazil has steadily improved macroeconomic stability, building up foreign reserves, reducing its debt profile by shifting its debt burden toward real denominated and domestically held instruments, adhering to an inflation target, and committing to fiscal responsibility. Brazils potential can be maintained and sustained in future of development.

Nuclear Power Plant :: essays research papers

New form of Energy for Capetown   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Capetown is considered to be the largest city in South Africa, having a population of over 2,727,000 inhabits. The energy form used in Capetown at the moment, is Gas Turbine, wich provides most of the city ´s electricity. The use of electricity in Capetown is very low compared to western countries, for example there is only one TV for almost ten people, the energy consumption per inhabit a year is about 4000 kWh, wich is 2550 kWh less than the energy consumption per inhabit a year in Paris, France.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Our plan is to built the most effective, cheap also inviromentaly friendliest way to produce energy for the 1 575 000 inhabits of Capetown, we came to the solution: BUILT A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT. ? Picture of Loviisa, Nuclear power plant We explain our solution by the following facts: ? If we built other forms of plants we would need:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Coal power plants or   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  12  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hydro power plants or   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  7  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gas turbine power plants or   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  173  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Solar power plants or   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4792  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wind power plants. but we only need one nuclear power plant to provide enough electricity for 1 575 000 people. Inviromental facts that concerned us:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A nuclear power plant may sound nasty and dangerous, from the naturistic point of view, but that is not a fact. A very good example of this is, the amount of fuel that a 900 MW nuclear power plant needs, wich is about one van of uranium per year, but a coal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  power plant with same capacity needs about 140 tons of coal per hour, and it also polutes the air by carbon dioxide wich is released when coal’s stored energy is been transformed into heat energy. The carbon dioxide wich is been released in the prosess causes greenhouse effect, wich is the main cause of increased temperature of world. A hydro power plant does not need fuel, but it polutes the sights of a beautiful current river, because of it size, sometimes whole villages have to be moved from the reservoir area, it also effects the biosystem of both up-and down stream for quite a long distance from the location of the dam. A wind power plant is a good solution but it needs space, ev en one turbine needs about 100x100m space to work properly, if a malfunction appears in the turbine, it can fall down or the blades might break, and fly for thousands of meters. The industry producing the turbines polutes the inviroment, The turbines also cause some problems in TV and radio links.

Shadowing Report

Shadowing Report Interview Date: 04. 08. 2012 Interview Time: 1:00pm Shadowing Date: 04. 12. 2012 Shadowing Time: 8:30am – 2:00pm The person I chose to shadow for this assignment is John Smith who is a friend of mine. He, himself has been in the management profession for the past 4 years or so starting at Pizza Hut. According to him, he worked at Pizza Hut for about six years and was originally hired as a driver. Due to a car accident, the management opportunity fell into his lap and he began training as a shift manager.He moved his way up quickly to become the acting Store Manager, although he says his official title was Assistant Store Manager. He worked for Pizza Hut for a total of 6 years with half of those years in the management position before finally pursuing another job in another city. That job was with Mighty Taco, Inc, which I'm sure you have heard of because the restaurant is a staple to the Buffalo area. He then packed up himself and his family from the Rochester area to move here to accept the position.I asked him why he made that move and he said it was so his wife could get help with their newborn daughter while she went back to school. He said that it was actually his wife who found the listing for the job in the newspaper and encouraged him to send in his resume. Because of his experience with management when working at Pizza Hut, he was essentially hired after one interview. He has now worked for Mighty Taco as a Manager for almost a year and he works with other Managers, including Shift Managers, Managers and General Managers, and crew members.Mighty Taco, Inc, as I mentioned before, is a staple to the Buffalo area that was founded in 1973. The almost 40-year old company describes itself as being synonymous with fast, delicious, Buffalo-style Mexican food and has about 20 different locations. The first Mighty Taco opened up in Buffalo, NY at 1247 Hertel Ave on August 31, 1973, and although that location is no longer around, the compa ny has made its name for itself within the Buffalo community. The restaurants have what you would expect from a fast-food Mexican chain in that they primarily sell tacos and burritos, but with a twist.They have specials such as the â€Å"Roastito† which consists of chicken breast or steak in a tortilla with roasted peppers and onions, cheese and sour cream, the â€Å"El Nino Burrito† which has half a pound of ground beef in it and the â€Å"Mighty Fish Taco† which consists of a battered fish filet, lettuce, tomato cheese and tartar sauce or salsa. One of the things that I believe makes the company so unique is there unusual advertisements. I remember when I first moved to this area a decade ago and saw my first Mighty Taco commercial on the TV.I must say that it weirded me out, but the advertisements have grown on me over the years and I appreciate their uniqueness. From the chanting of â€Å"Mighty Taco, Mighty Taco, Mighty Taco† to â€Å"Buf-Mex at its Best† the company has won the hearts of all within this area. One might think that working in a fast-food restaurant that education and training may not be necessary but I learned very quickly that this is far from the truth. While this may be true to be a crew member, being a manager in this industry requires the manager to be fully prepared and equipped for anything that comes to them, including training and education.When asked about such training, Steve explained that he received most of his training at his previous job at Pizza Hut. There were many training seminars and programs that he had to go through, including mock role plays and information on how to deal with various paperwork. An example of a mock role play he gave was a customer coming in complaining they found a foreign object in their food and how they would handle it. This later came into real life when one day at Mighty Taco a customer actually came up to him with a complaint of a foreign object found in the ir food.He said it was kind of ironic but he handled the situation by the book. He apologized profusely to the customer and offered to remake their order as well as throw in a free bag of chips and cheese. He also filled out the proper paperwork associated with the issue including the batch number of the food, time, date, etc and sent it all the main office. The customer left satisfied and the company was able to address the issue. Another situation in which he put his training in mock role play to use was with a situation with an employee. Employee subordination is something no manager likes to deal with.In fact, Steve said it is one of the more challenging part of his job because no one wants to be a disciplinarian. In this situation, an employee was directed to do dishes before he left for the day by the manager on duty to which the employee refused. The manager on duty again directed the employee to help with the dishes and again the employee refused so Steve was brought in to d eal with the situation. He explained that he sat the employee down and explained to him what would happen if he refused to do the work he was assigned one more time.It would be considered insubordination and there would be repercussions of suspension or even termination. The employee still vehemently refused to do the dishes and Steve had no choice but to write up the employee and suspend him pending termination. The next day the employee was terminated. In this situation, both managers agreed that they handled it by the rule book and sadly it ended up with a non-ideal resolution. These are just many of the items that the training seminars prepare the management for.Since working for Mighty Taco, the only difference he says is that he had to re-certify his food safe certification due to more and more restaurants in the industries making the switch from Prometric to Servsafe. Managers for Mighty Taco typically work a 45 hour work week with at least 5 hours of overtime guaranteed but no more than 7 hours. They get compensated for that overtime with the typical time and a half pay. Steve says that the summer months and Christmas time tend to be busier so he more often than not pushes to the 47 hour mark during those times.The managers typically work one of two shifts, either the opening shift which is 8:30am – 5:30pm or the closing shift which is 5:00pm – 2:00am. While he does not directly work on the schedule, he does have training in making schedules due to his experiences with Pizza Hut. He is trained in making the schedules while complying with various laws associated with schedule making, like scheduling minors. In terms of choosing his work week, he says he typically just rolls with what schedule is given to him but he also gets the days he requests off without an issue.Apparently as long as he works a Monday morning inventory shift every 3 weeks and works a certain amount of open and closing shifts per period, he is free to work whenever, as long as he works 45 hours a week. When it comes to the salary ranges for the various positions within the store, it seems that Mighty Taco, on average, pays higher than other places within the field. He states that the crew members at Pizza Hut only started at minimum wage whereas the crew members at Mighty Taco start at $8 per hour, almost $1 more per hour. The Shift Managers at Mighty Taco start off at about $9. 0 per hour and the Managers start off at about $11 per hour. The General Managers get paid a salary wage that is set by Mighty Taco based upon experience and time with the company. Not only do the employees with Mighty Taco generally get paid higher, but Mighty Taco has some great benefits. For example, the Managers and General Managers get full medical insurance and the General Managers get full medical insurance for their families as well. The only thing Steve has to pay is the co-pays. â€Å"Health insurance is rare enough in the food industry, but to get it paid in fu ll? That's amazing! Steve says. He also receives a week of vacation after being with the company for a year with the maximum going to 4 weeks. Employee evaluations are something that is common to every business and Mighty Taco is no different. Raises within the company are earned through 6 month reviews. Steve explains that his second review is actually coming up because, like previously mentioned, he has been with the company for almost a year. The raises for managers is a percentage based system based upon how the store is doing, how the manager personally does and various other factors.After explaining to me how the performance evaluations are done, I quickly realize that he is talking about a Graphic Rating Scale Method that I learned about in my Human Resources class. A Graphic Rating Scale Method is the most common type of evaluation method which lists a number of traits and a range of performance for each field. Some of the various traits Steve is scored upon include time man agement, training and development of employees, organizational know how, communication, teamwork, etc. According to Steve, teamwork is one that he always scores high on due to his ideals on the importance of teamwork.He believes that in the service industry,your work is also dependent on other people and goes on to say, â€Å"one man cannot do the job alone and it requires teamwork to accomplish any goals for yourself and the company. † The supervisors in the company who conduct these evaluations are the General Manager of the store and the District Manager. Being a manager is something that Steve enjoys with his favorite part pertaining to the management of the employees and helping to improve them as well as himself through the hard work and effort put into the job.He, in particular, really likes working for Mighty Taco because he feels like the company respects all their employees. He says that at his previous job, he did not feel like he or the other employees received an y of the respect they deserved. Being respected is key in maintaining moral and motivating employees. Although he does enjoy it, the job of a manager can be stressful at times. It is the big stuff he dreads, like the before-mentioned issues with crew members, but the little stuff is easy to deal with.Things like not having enough crew members during a busy shift or running out of a particular food or customer complaints. He says the best thing is to remain focused and to try and not let it get to you. He says that as a manager, he cannot let the stress get to him because he is the example to the crew members and must remain professional. However, once he gets home, he relieves stress by spending time with his family, specifically his 10 month old daughter, and playing video games like any typical male in their 20's. Steve would like to stay with the company as long as he can due to the opportunities it has given him.His ultimate goal is to be a District Manager for Mighty Taco, in p articular the one for the new restaurants opening up in Rochester, where he is originally from. He then jokes and says that he'll settle for being promoted to a General Manager position for now. Overall he really likes Mighty Taco as a company and hopes to stay with them for a long time. I shadowed Steve on Thursday, April 12, 2012 during an opening shift from 8:30am to 2:00pm. This is what happened while I was there: Upon entering the store, the alarm was shut off and the ovens were turned on.From there the lights were turned on and he clocked into the system. At this point, he is the only employee in the store and arrived approximately 10 minutes before his shift started. The next employee didn't arrive for about 15 more minutes and he is the cook, hence the ovens being turned on. His next step is to goes into the office to check the manager logs for any important information left by the previous shift's manager. This manager log, he informs me, includes any employee interactions and write ups, and any pertinent information like any cleaning jobs that have to be done today.He tells me that one of these cleaning jobs includes cleaning out the freezer, which is not done very often. From there he pulls all the paperwork and starts to go over any checklists, like the opening checklist. He gets the sales from the previous night and how over or under it is from forecast as well as the labor yield and the cost of sales of food. With all that information written down, he then calls it in to his District Manager. The next thing he does is check all the emails for any customer complaints that came in overnight and anything that may have come in from the main office.Today in the emails, he received a complaint about missing an item on his order and he informs me that this is pretty commonplace. The next big thing he does has to deal with the money in the safe. He made sure that the deposit from the previous night is there and make sure it adds up. He also counted the c hange in the petty cash and called the bank with an order for more change. Once making sure that all the money is there, he then ensures that all of his other employees arrive before going to the bank. Once three more employees arrive, we go on over to the bank at about 9:00am to deposit the money and to get the coin order.Upon returning to the store, he then writes down all the information about the deposit including the credit card log. He then faxed that information over to the office. After the money is situated, he then helped the crew members with setting up the line and making sure everything is in order for the morning. He set up the soda machines, and made fun of me for saying soda rather than pop, he filled up the food wells in the line for the employees and just went around seeing what the employees needed help with. He did this until about 9:45am where he then puts the cash drawers into the register.I ask him if he prefers to work on the line or to work in the office and he tells me he'd prefer to be in the thick of things but he has to the his managerial duty. At 10:00am, he finished the checklist and essentially opens up the store for the customers. Now the day officially begins and it is quite interesting to see everyone working together in this environment. As soon as the store opens, a customer immediately comes in and I ask if this is a normal occurrence. I'm told by Steve and the employees that more often than not, customers do not start showing up until closer to 11:00am.Also at 10:00am, another employee comes in and Steve immediately directs him to do a lot check, which he tells me includes sweeping and emptying the trash outside. At 11:00am, two more employees show up and I ask Steve what is the role of all these employees. Because to me it seems there are a lot of employees but then again, I am not used to this line of work. As it stands right now there are 8 employees plus Steve and he tells me what each of their jobs are. There is a co ok for the morning, but he eventually goes on to register or line depending on where he is needed.There are two employees on register up front, there are two employees on headset/cash-out on drive-thru, there are two employees dedicated to drive-thru line and two employees dedicated to the front counter line. The employees on line are broken down into wrappers and grill. I ask Steve which of these jobs he prefers to help out on and he informs me he prefers wrapping on the front counter line. He also then informs me that when the lunch rush happens at 11:30am, that I need to stay out of everyone's way. I can only describe the lunch rush as being organized chaos.While it is extremely busy, Steve directed all his employees efficiently based upon their strengths and weaknesses. He helped out wherever he was needed and kept up morale and motivation by joking with his employees. The banter back and force is amusing but at the same time questions are being asked about appropriate conduct. For example, questions about what went on a particular taco were often shouted out as well as questions confirming what the customer wanted. Even at the store's busiest moment while I was there, Steve kept his cool when dealing with both employees and customers alike.It seemed to me that everyone worked together efficiently in this environment, bringing about a sense of teamwork. After the lunch rush was over, which was about 1:30pm, we had a moment for me to ask him some questions about his day. I asked him how he prioritized his responsibilities during the day. He explained that there are 5 priorities set by Mighty Taco: customer service, cleanliness in customer area such as the dining room, cleanliness in the kitchen area in customer view, food preparation and food maintenance, and other cleanliness duties.He explains that anything he does throughout the day, he first takes into account the customers because he believes they are one of the most important aspects of his field. I t hen ask him how he decides who gets assigned to which job. He says its based upon their knowledge, skill level, time allotment and willingness to learn. He says that employees that are only there for a short time he more often than not will direct them to do a simple and quick cleaning or preparation job. I also asked him what is the most dangerous thing that has ever happened to him during his time as a manager.I got a startling response that I didn't expect. He started off laughing and saying that he was robbed at gunpoint one time when working at Pizza Hut. Apparently one night close to closing time, a man came in following an employee demanded all the money in the register. In this situation, one that he hopes no one ever has to go through, managers are taught to comply with any and all demands of the perpetrator. Procedure states that in such an event, the police should be called as well as the immediate supervisor and District Manager and the store should be shut down.Sadly th e perpetrator was not found but no one was harmed, which is the main goal in a situation like that. On that scary note, the shadowing was over and I thanked him profusely for allowing me to shadow his job and told him I would contact him with any further questions. Throughout this entire experience, I learned quite a bit of things. I have never worked in a management position before even though that is what my major is. Prior to coming back to school I have only ever worked in the Accounting world, from being a bookkeeper to working in Accounts Payable.While I would still like to stay in that section of the business world, this experience has taught me the hard work that goes into management. I hope to take these experiences and use them to further my career after I graduate, hopefully getting a position as an Accounts Payable Manager. Steve Nadig left me with some good advice for the eventuality of me becoming a manager of some sort which basically was to keep all my paperwork as o rganized as I can. He says that's his least favorite part of the job and he works hard on keeping all his paperwork in order.He also states that I should try to be as unbiased as possible, which I will take to heart because I know first hand what its like to have bias get in the way of a good management decision. Overall I found this to be a wonderful experience and I'm happy for getting the chance to do so. Works Cited â€Å"What Types of Behavior Indicate Insubordination? † Small Business. 21 Apr. 2012 . â€Å"Mighty Taco. † Mighty Taco. 21 Apr. 2012 . Dessler, Gary. â€Å"Chapter 6 Performance Management and Appraisal. † A framework for human resource management. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011. 174.

Information Theory Essay

Information theory is a branch of applied mathematics and electrical engineering involving the quantification of information. Information theory was developed by Claude E. Shannon to find fundamental limits on signal processing operations such as compressing data and on reliably storing and communicating data. Since its inception it has broadened to find applications in many other areas, including statistical inference, natural language processing, cryptography generally, networks other than communication networks — as in neurobiology, the evolution and function of molecular codes, model selection in ecology, thermal physics, quantum computing, plagiarism detection and other forms of data analysis. A key measure of information is known as entropy, which is usually expressed by the average number of bits needed to store or communicate one symbol in a message. Entropy quantifies the uncertainty involved in predicting the value of a random variable. For example, specifying the outcome of a fair coin flip (two equally likely outcomes) provides less information (lower entropy) than specifying the outcome from a roll of a die (six equally likely outcomes). Hearst Tower (New York City) The six-story base of the headquarters building was commissioned by the founder, William Randolph Hearst and awarded to the architect Joseph Urban. The building was completed in 1928 at a cost of $2 million and contained 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2). The original cast stone facade has been preserved in the new design as a designated Landmark site. Originally built as the base for a proposed skyscraper, the construction of the tower was postponed due to the Great Depression. The new tower addition was completed nearly seventy years later, and 10,000 Hearst employees moved in on 26 June 2006. The tower – designed by the architect Norman Foster, structurally engineered by WSP Cantor Seinuk, and constructed by Turner construction – is 46 stories tall, standing 182 meters (597 ft) with 80,000 square metres (860,000 sq ft) of office space. The uncommon triangular framing pattern (also known as a diagrid) required 9,500 metric tons (10,480 tons) of structural steel – reportedly about 20% less than a conventional steel frame. Hearst Tower was the first skyscraper to break ground in New York City after September 11, 2001. The building received the 2006 Emporis Skyscraper Award. Citing it as the best skyscraper in the world completed that year. treehugger. com Processes In philosophy and systems theory, basic processes, or logical homologies as they were termed by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, are unifying principles which operate in many different systemic contexts. For example, feedback is a principle that figures prominently in the science of cybernetics. Natural and industrial processes utilize basic processes such as feedback. Turning torso HSB Turning Torso is the tallest skyscraper in Sweden and the Nordic countries, situated in Malmo, Sweden, located on the Swedish side of the Oresund strait. Upon completion, it was the tallest building in Scandinavia, the tallest residential building in the EU and the second tallest residential building in Europe, after the 264? etre (866 ft) Triumph Palace in Moscow. A similar, taller skyscraper featuring a 90Â ° twist is the Infinity Tower, currently under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Prior to the construction of Turning Torso, the 86? metre (282 ft) Kronprinsen had been the city’s tallest building. It was designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and officially opened on 27 August 2005. The tower reaches a height of 190 metres (623 feet) with 54 stories. The vision of HSB Turning Torso is based on a sculpture called Twisting Torso. The sculpture is a white marble piece based on the form of a twisting human being, created by Santiago Calatrava, a trained sculptor, architect and engineer. In 1999, HSB Malmo’s former Managing Director, Johnny Orback, saw the sculpture in a brochure which presented Calatrava in connection with his contribution to the architectural competition for the Oresund Bridge. It was on this occasion that Johnny Orback got the idea to build HSB Turning Torso. Shortly thereafter he traveled to Zurich to meet with Calatrava and ask him to design a residential building based on the idea of a structure of twisting cubes. The turning torso officially started to be built on Feb. 14, 2001. en. wikipedia. org Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research. The term does not yet have a well-established, precise meaning, but systems theory can reasonably be considered a specialization of systems thinking, a generalization of systems science, a systems approach. The term originates from Bertalanfy General System Theory (GST) and is used in later efforts in other fields, such as the action theory of Talcott Parsons and the system-theory of Niklas Luhmann. Arkit Eco studio Australian architecture studio Arkit will construct a full scale eco studio prefabricated house as part of Melbourne’s annual state of design festival. the home measures 50m square and will host different events during the festival. To begin, two people will be living in the eco studio full time, working from it in the day and sleeping there a night. Inside, the home has a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living space and an adaptable services hub. On top a green roof provides insulation and greenery. Arkit constructs a variety of sustainable prefabricated homes using their modular system. All their structures feature multi compartmental wall panels that provide insulation and rigidity. Sustainably harvested western red cedar and hoop pine are used inside and out, while water-saving technologies help further reduce the home’s environmental impact. It took 6 years of internal r&d prototyping and 1 year of environmental analysis by ghd to create the eco studio.

Easy and Completely Edible Slime Recipe

Easy and Completely Edible Slime Recipe Most slime recipes are non-toxic, but there are only a few you can eat and none that taste as good as this one! Heres how to make edible slime. Edible Slime Ingredients 14 oz. can of  sweetened condensed milk1 tablespoon of cornstarchfood coloring (or you could add a little unsweetened powdered drink mix)couple of drops vanilla or other flavoring, if desired Make the Edible Slime In a saucepan over low heat, stir together the milk and cornstarch. Stir and heat until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat.Stir in the coloring and any flavorings. Allow the slime to cool.Enjoy! When you are finished playing with this slime, store it in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator. Refrigerated slime is good for a day or two. You can clean up the edible slime with warm soapy water. If you added food coloring or drink mix, keep the slime away from surfaces which could be colored, such as carpet or upholstery.

Critical analysis essays

Critical analysis essays On September 11, 2001 our world became united due to tragic events that occurred in the United States. No one really understands why these events took place, but Louis Jaramillo tried to further explain his thoughts in an emotional, creative, visual form. In Louiss thought provoking piece he exemplifies primary, secondary, and complementary colors. He provides line, value, and overlapping. The explosion of many colors used in the piece each illustrates a very important meaning, which to me represents the implosion of the twin towers. A large portion of the piece is red, which relates to the massive amount of bloodshed during the September 11 attacks. In addition to the red there are many other colors following a circular pattern around the piece. These colors each represent their own individuality as a country, but as the colors blend together they signify unification. These colors represent the many nations involved in the uniting of our world. In the center of the piece there are two very distinct objects. One of the objects appears to resemble a circular drawing that allows the piece to continue the circular flow, just as the world would. The other object signifies the writings of a foreign language, which represents the terrorists. It is art like Louis Jaramillo that make us reflect on the tragic events that occurred on September 11, 2001. It stirred the emotions of sadness as well as love for a country were people pull together and become one in a time of tragedy. ...

A Review of the Dr. Seuss Classic, The Lorax

A Review of the Dr. Seuss Classic, The Lorax Since The Lorax, a picture book by Dr. Seuss, was first published in 1971, it has become a classic. For many children, the Lorax character has come to symbolize concern for the environment. However, the story has been somewhat controversial, with some adults embracing it and others seeing it as anti-capitalist propaganda. The story is more serious than most Dr. Seuss books and the moral more direct, but his wonderful zany illustrations, use of rhyme and made-up words and unique characters lighten the story and make it appealing to children 6 and older. The Story A little boy who wants to learn about the Lorax explains to the reader that the only way to find out about the Lorax is to go to the old Once-lers home and give him ...fifteen cents/and a nail/and the shell of a great grandfather snail... to tell the story. The Once-ler tells the boy it all began long ago when there was an abundance of brightly colored Truffula trees and no pollution. The Once-ler concentrated on expanding his business, adding to the factory, shipping more and more fruit and making more and more money. In telling the story to the little boy, the Once-ler assured him, I meant no harm. I most truly did not. / But I had to grow bigger. So bigger I got. The Lorax, a creature who speaks on behalf of the trees, appears to complain about the pollution from the factory. The smoke was so bad that the Swomee-Swans could no longer sing. The Lorax sent them off to escape the smog. The Lorax also angrily pointed out that all of the byproducts from the factory were polluting the pond and he also took the Humming-Fish away. The Once-ler had grown tired of the Loraxs complaints and angrily yelled at him that the factory was going to get bigger and bigger. But just then, they heard a loud sound. It was the sound of the very last Truffula tree falling. With no more Truffula trees available, the factory closed. All the Once-lers relatives left. The Lorax left. What remained was the Once-ler, an empty factory and pollution. The Lorax disappeared, leaving only a small piece of rocks, with the one word...UNLESS. For years, the Once-ler wondered and worried about what that meant. Now he tells the young boy he understands. UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. Its not. The Once-ler then throws the very last Truffula tree seed down to the boy and tells him hes in charge. He needs to plant the seed and protect it. Then, maybe the Lorax and the other animals will return. Impact What makes The Lorax so effective is the combination of a step-by-step look at cause and effect: how unfettered greed can destroy the environment, followed by an emphasis on positive change through individual responsibility. The storys end emphasizes the impact one person, no matter how young, can have. While the rhyming text and entertaining illustrations keep the book from being too heavy, Dr. Seuss definitely gets his point across. Because of this, the book is frequently used in elementary and middle school classrooms. Dr. Seuss Dr. Seuss was the most prominent of several pseudonyms that Theodor Seuss Geisel used for his childrens books. For an overview of some of his most well-known books, see.

Paleozoic Fossils Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paleozoic Fossils - Essay Example 3. The marine community which existed in the Cambrian age was mainly consisted of the brachiopod. Graptolite and sponge were also found in this age. 4. Relationship between climate and plate tectonics to Paleozoic life: The late Paleozoic movements were closely associated with the plate tectonics theory. These movements are also known as Appalachian Movements. 1) Invertebrate went under a huge change during this age. They changed from low diversity to high diversity. Class and families were soon formed within the community. North American continents show the changes found among the vertebrates in this age. Plants were found mainly in the wetlands which covered most of the world. Plants were the first sign of life in this era. 2) The Gulf of Mexico came into existence during this time in the Pangaea. On the other hand the Caribbean Sea was also formed. The Jurassic Age was the most important period for all these changes. 3) Greenstone Granite Belts: West Africa, Precambrian age. 5. Permian Period was the last time period in the Paleozoic Age. The time is about 290 million years ago from now. The formation of Pangea became complete by this age. The reptiles got a new life because of the climatic change. Changes favored the arrival of the mammals. Part 2 Paleozoic Era is one of the most interesting eras in prehistory of biological science. This is the age when some of the major climatic changes took place. So fossils are the main things which are to be displayed before the common people coming to the museum. There will be computer animations which will show the gradual changes among the vertebrate, invertebrate and the plant lives in this period. We should also concentrate on the evolving of the...Changes favored the arrival of the mammals. Paleozoic Era is one of the most interesting eras in prehistory of biological science. This is the age when some of the major climatic changes took place. So fossils are the main things which are to be displayed before the common people coming to the museum. There will be computer animations which will show the gradual changes among the vertebrate, invertebrate and the plant lives in this period. We should also concentrate on the evolving of the mammals in the Permian Age because common people will be interested in it. As for the children there must be large pictures of dinosaurs which lived in the Paleozoic Era. There will also be a Paleozoic global map which will show the existing lives in different parts of the world. The interactive exhibitions will have guides who will help the visitors to get what they try to know.

Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Organizations - Essay Example In First Aid, a person is taught how to respond to common first aid emergencies, such as burns, head, back as well as neck injuries and cuts, while, in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED), a person is taught how to respond to cardiac and breathing emergencies in grown-ups, as well as how to make use of automated external defibrillators (AED). Blood borne pathogens training is designed for first responders, lifeguards, health care professionals and other employees who are at risk for on-the-job exposure to body and blood fluids which can lead to infection. This course assists in meeting the training requirements for the OSHA blood borne pathogens standard. This course educates on how to assist avoid exposure incidents through personal hygiene and proper cleaning, protective equipment, work practice and disinfecting of equipment. The organization’s Nurse Assistant Training Program equips an individual with the knowledge as well as the experience required to grow to be a qualified Nurse Assistant. The organization has prepared people for employment in the field of nursing for over a hundred years. The program stresses on the importance of learning excellent communications skills as well as the Art of Care giving to offer compassionate care towards people within the health care system. The students, through lecture, role-playing, DVDs, and laboratory practice, are able to learn procedural skills for instance bathing, vital signs, dressing and positioning (American Red Cross, 2). The National Headquarters of the organization is located at 430 17th Street, Washington DC. The building accommodates art and artifacts made by famous artists obtained by the American Red Cross from the time when it was formally initiated, in 1881. Positioned the front position of this collection are Tiffany

Climate Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Climate Change - Essay Example Earlier it has been pointed that ecological destruction is one of the many leading causes that contributed to climatic changes. Jha and Whalley (1999) pointed that in developing countries, these environmental destruction is caused by massive soil erosion, open and illegal logging, dumping of solid and chemical wastes to the seas and ocean floors, incessant and unregulated pollution’s emission from companies, households, vehicles and industries. This is exacerbated by untreated human and nonhuman waste and other non-compliance of environmental control and laws in resource extraction, land use, and maximization of chemical-based fertilizers (Jha et al., 1999). The heterogeneity of environmental issues is also affected by the lack, if not absence, of enabling policies that can regulate and address ecological problems around the globe. As advanced nations engaged in an extractive industries in open states or countries, project developments in sites where there are mineral production sharing agreement proved destructive to mountains due to open pit nature of operations with consequential negative impact to rivers, water basins, siltation in the shorelines, displacement of native people, polarization of community (e.g. pro-mining and against), militarization of mine sites, and aggravation of community-based human rights violations (World Bank, 2004). The human beings, an integrated part of ecosystem, are also alienated by these developments as original residents in mine sites are removed from their natural livelihood (World Bank, 2004).... The influence and confluence of sun’s phenomenal flares that emit heat waves, atmospheric natural relations within earth’s axis and the environmental destruction made by human beings, intentional and non-intentional, have contributed or caused climatic changes (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2008). Figure 1. A comprehensive graphics of climate change effects to the world. (OpenGreenSpace, 2012). Causes of environmental problems Earlier it has been pointed that ecological destruction is one of the many leading causes that contributed to climatic changes. Jha and Whalley (1999) pointed that in developing countries, these environmental destruction is caused by massive soil erosion, open and illegal logging, dumping of solid and chemical wastes to the seas and ocean floors, incessant and unregulated pollution’s emission from companies, households, vehicles and industries. This is exacerbated by untreated human and nonhuman waste and other non-compliance o f environmental control and laws in resource extraction, land use, and maximization of chemical-based fertilizers (Jha et al., 1999). The heterogeneity of environmental issues is also affected by the lack, if not absence, of enabling policies that can regulate and address ecological problems around the globe. As advanced nations engaged in an extractive industries in open states or countries, project developments in sites where there are mineral production sharing agreement proved destructive to mountains due to open pit nature of operations with consequential negative impact to rivers, water basins, siltation in the shorelines, displacement of native people, polarization of community (e.g. pro-mining and against), militarization of mine sites, and

C.S Lewis The Screwtape Letters Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

C.S Lewis The Screwtape Letters - Research Paper Example The character of Screwtape in the book is one from the lower rungs of the bureaucracy of Hell, as he acts as a sort of mentor and tries to guide Wormwood towards adopting the path of temptation and sin which would eventually lead him to Hell. The book is made up of thrity one letters in which Screwtape delivers his expert advice to Wormwood, on how to engage in the most sinful of conducts, while trampling on his personal Christian faith and beliefs about humanity. (Green, Jordan) The book also takes place within the confines of a parallel universe in which both Wormwood and Screwtape survive because of the devil’s existence; in their world, doing wrong is seen is doing right – emotions like jealousy and greed are given importance over any kind of good anyone would do, and both the inner demons of Wormwood and Screwtapes’ minds do not conform to any kind of good done for the benefit of humanity. They are not even able to comprehend what doing such good pertains or consists of. According to C S Lewis, â€Å"There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.† (Lewis, C.S) Thus with the help of the Screwtape Letters, he is able to grasp the attention and minds of almost all kinds of believers of human faith and religion out there. With the help of this quote, Lewis tries to explain how man should not shut his mind to the kind of wrong that is being done in the world, or the kind of devils that exist in the form of sin, that eventually puts a person into trouble. However, at the same time, a man should also not believe in the existence of these devils to the extent of formulating a lifelong bond or relationship with them, in a manner that would eventually lead to the degradation of the person. This powerful satire written by the author is a take on the devils that persist in society, and how

Symbolism in The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich Essay

Symbolism in The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich - Essay Example The car becomes an integral part of the relationship between the brothers. They embark on a long trip, taking turns driving the car. On their return, Henry gets drafted into the Army where he becomes a marine. While leaving, he entrusts the car to Lyman’s care and hands over his keys. Once Henry returns home from the Vietnam War, he suffers stress disorders and, in a bid to divert Henry’s attention from the traumatic memories of war, Lyman whacks the car so Henry will focus his attention on fixing it. As expected, Henry commits himself to repairing the car. The brothers again take a trip to the Red River, where they fight, reconcile and then Henry commits suicide. The story’s main focus is the bondage between the brothers and Erdrich uses symbolism throughout the narrative to emphasize the strength of their relationship. Right at the beginning of the story, the author uses the color red as a symbol of bonding between the brothers. By deploying the â€Å"Red Convertible† as a fascination for the brothers, the author symbolizes the blood relationship between them. The car rather assumes the proportion of a living character rather than a non-living thing in the brothers’ lives when Lyman reminisces about it as being â€Å"reposed, calm and gleaming† instead of being parked in the place (McMahan et al. p†¦.).

Lippitt's Phases of Change Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Lippitt's Phases of Change Theory - Essay Example However people all over the world always fight to resist change. They fear the new ideas that change is going to impose on them (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2006). They fear the unknown as they are skeptical of what the new changes might bring to their lives. People want to maintain the status quo and therefore will do anything to resist the change. They do this because of various reasons some of them include the need to maintain social relations that have been built over time. Some just resist change because of the costs and the consequences associated with the change. Eventually the people do change no matter how long it takes them (McGinnis, 2005). At the workplace this is evident in so many ways and can lead to frustrations in the leadership of the organization if the correct measures are not put in place to address the change to new platforms, technology structures and process. Managers will therefore employ many models to ensure that they can effectively manage the change and that it d oes not cost the organization (Miner, 2007). Change It is important to realize that there are two types of change: uncontrolled change and controlled change. The uncontrolled change is created by nature and cannot be altered by humans. The change may be perceived as positive or negative depending on an individual’s perspective. ... To gain the intended result requires a thorough understanding of the present state, the desired state, the variables involved and the mechanics of change itself (Nicklos, 2010). Lippitt’s phases of change theory The phases of change theory was proposed by Lippitt and is built on Lewin’s three stage theory- the most widely used change theory. In Lewin’s theory, it involves three stages: (1) the unfreezing stage where the change agent is motivated to create change. The affected people are then made aware of this need to change. The problem is identified or diagnosed and the best solution is advanced and selected to address the problem (Warner, 2010). There three possible mechanisms that give input to the initial change: lack of confirmation, guilty or anxiety and psychological safety. The second stage is called the moving stage where information is gathered to facilitate the change and here an influencial person is key to the success of this stage. The third and la st stage is the unfreezing stage where the changes are integrated and stabilized as part of the value system. There exist driving forces that encourage the change while at the same time there are restraining forces that work against the change. The change agent identifies and deals with the latter forces in order that change is established with homeostasis and equilibrium (Warner, 2010). Therefore Lippitt borrowed the ideas of this theory and used them in developing the phases of change theory by adding seventh phase to Lewin's original theory of change. The theory has seven phases. Phase one is diagnosing the problem. During this phase a nurse manager or the change agent looks at all the possible ramifications of a proposed change

Symbolism in The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich Essay

Symbolism in The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich - Essay Example The car becomes an integral part of the relationship between the brothers. They embark on a long trip, taking turns driving the car. On their return, Henry gets drafted into the Army where he becomes a marine. While leaving, he entrusts the car to Lyman’s care and hands over his keys. Once Henry returns home from the Vietnam War, he suffers stress disorders and, in a bid to divert Henry’s attention from the traumatic memories of war, Lyman whacks the car so Henry will focus his attention on fixing it. As expected, Henry commits himself to repairing the car. The brothers again take a trip to the Red River, where they fight, reconcile and then Henry commits suicide. The story’s main focus is the bondage between the brothers and Erdrich uses symbolism throughout the narrative to emphasize the strength of their relationship. Right at the beginning of the story, the author uses the color red as a symbol of bonding between the brothers. By deploying the â€Å"Red Convertible† as a fascination for the brothers, the author symbolizes the blood relationship between them. The car rather assumes the proportion of a living character rather than a non-living thing in the brothers’ lives when Lyman reminisces about it as being â€Å"reposed, calm and gleaming† instead of being parked in the place (McMahan et al. p†¦.).

Lifes Ups and Downs Essay Example for Free

Lifes Ups and Downs Essay One warm weekend in June, my girlfriend decided she wanted to take me on a weekend getaway to none other than Las Vegas, Nevada, a place where no one else existed but me and her. So I thought. I was totally ecstatic; at this point it’s been moths since we’ve been out just the two of us with no kids. The first night we get there we get dressed up and make reservations at our favorite restaurant. The moment we get to the restaurant, she starts acting weird and all of a sudden does not find a single thing on the menu appetizing and complains of a stomach ache, so we leave in a hurry. Arriving back to our suite, there is a card taped to the door with her name on it. So many thoughts are racing through my mind, â€Å"She is planning something special for us, she has a surprise for me, maybe she ordered room service while we were out and it was inside waiting for us.† As quickly as the thought came they left, we entered the room only for her to admit she was just too tired and needed to rest. So I let her, I laid next to her wondering what was going on, what was going on in her mind. It was almost like we were living in two different worlds. As she slept curiosity suddenly came over me, very quietly I got out of bed grabbing her bag which contained the note that was tapped to the door, into the bathroom I went. My eyes could not believe what was written so boldly across the paper â€Å"I HOPE SHE WAS WORTH IT.† I could not resist questioning the matter at hand, I woke her up and she blatantly denied there being any meaning to this card. We argued hard and like ever before, almost like she had forgotten who I was, like I didn’t matter to her. The rest of the night went on and we were both hurt. I used indirect termination strategies to spare my heart anymore hurt. I couldn’t come to terms that this was finally coming to an end. Four years later, I found out I was never her one and only I was simply her girlfriend number two. Being very cautious to every relationship offer that came my way, I turned down so many. I did not care to see another relationship. I was never one to â€Å"get-over† a bad situation, but I knew I had to move on; I couldn’t come to terms with my last break up. Just as soon as I let down my guard, there she was someone who made me feel alive again. She helped me heal every wound in my heart and soul. Until, I started to see some similarities from my past relationship. She was so secretive, there began to be relational violence. I had to wear sunglasses everywhere I went even if I was inside because of the bruises I would have from the nights before when I didn’t do what I was asked in a timely manner. When the questions came from my friends and co-workers I had to lie. My life has never had so much deception I soon began believing in my own lies. I questioned her I didn’t understand why I had become her human punching bag. She was so cold and nonchalant towards me. As the days went by the dresser drawers slowly became empty the closet became empty and there seemed to be less and less of her things at my place. I wanted to know what was happening, was my life slowly slipping away again? So I picked up the phone and attempted to call her, I got no answer. Days went by without me hearing from her. Then I realized our relationship had ended in sudden death. There was no contact between us. The outside world became non-existent to me. I could not cope with the thought of another relationship ending so sudden. My life hasn’t been the same, how do you wake up one day to a world that isn’t your own? Relearning life one day at a time has been tough but I am a fighter this too will make me stronger!

Autonomous Tennis Ball Picker Robot

Autonomous Tennis Ball Picker Robot The basic purpose of this project is to provide opportunity and benefit to the sports players. They can do more practice in less time with the help of this robot. Various different electronic devices were used to pick the tennis ball or any other ball. It is not so easy for any tennis player to pick a ball lot of times during practice. It affects his practice and time.Autonmous tennis ball picker robot will save the time of a player. He can do more practice in less time. This robot is not only for a tennis player .it is easy to use and cost effective. Our design is not only for tennis, it can also be used in other sports involving balls of similar size. Chapter 1: Introduction: In the tennis and sports equipment market, there are very few advanced electronic devices assisting in the feeding and picking of tennis balls or any other kind of balls. Tennis players do not prefer picking up over five hundred balls after a long days worth of drilling, or a baseball player would not enjoy picking up over five hundred baseballs on the ground from batting practice. As a result, our solution is an autonomous ball-picker device that is easy-to-use and cost-effective. Our design can be used for a variety of sports besides tennis, involving balls of similar size and weight. Chapter 2: Literature Review This Chapter is a review of the background material. This includes comparison of previous devices used for same purpose. it also includes the way how this robot is more effective then previous.? Chapter 3: Modeling and Design This Chapter describes the modeling of different parts of our robot. And all the various other Design decisions and selections made throughout the course of the project. Chapter 4: Experimental setup This Chapter describes in detail the techniques used in our robot. It contains the detection of the ball, design of user interface and all other aspects of the project. Chapter 5: Results and Discussion This chapter provides a result of the project in which the key points of the project are Discussed and any specific conclusions are drawn Chapter 6: Recommendation This chapter is an analysis of the project in terms of overall performance and working. It also contains overview and recommendation of experts Chapter 1 Introduction Professional tennis matches can last upward of 3 hours, often with little more than 10 minute of rest in- Between sets .The need to train for such endurance matches becomes difficult without a partner of Adequate skill. For decades, tennis players have been using automatic tennis ball launching machines to train without the need of a partner. Therefore, it is determined that using current technology, a player will spend ~35%of the total time collecting tennis ball, and not training. This is a large proportion of the time, and needs to be reduced to truly emulate a tennis match. There are certain method of automatically collecting tennis ball ,as will be investigated in section 3 Proposed Solution ,but the e are not portable, and require extensive modification to the tennis court. 1.1 Needs Assessment There is a need to improve upon the experience of the solo practice sessions of ball sport athletes by Extending the duration of consecutive shots, kicks or swing of the soloist through the conception of a ball-gathering system that operates while the solo athlete is in practice. Current practice session duration are limited by the number of balls initially loaded into the automatic ball launchers .At the end of practice sessions, or during intermissions, the ball must be manually picked up. Existing automatic ball return systems are not portable and cannot be used in conventional courts. 1.2 Goal Statement The solution shall serve as a tool to improve the solo practice experience by gathering stray balls in Conventional practice environments and returning them to the user, or a more desirable location. The System shall also be relatively portable, and address the need of requiring manual collection of stray balls Following each practice session. 1.3 Human Controlled Manual Pickup Human controlled manual pickup involves the use of a tool such a those seen in Figure 1: Manua Tennis Ball Collection Mechanism .This type of solution require the user to top hi /her training session in order to both collect the ball and load them back into the launching device. This solution will score well in the area of cost and portability, but will obviously rank very low in terms of speed. LITRATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction: Any mechanical device which can be programmed to perform a number of tasks involving manipulation and movement under automatic control. The term robot suggests a machine that has a humanlike appearance. A robot is a system that has sensors, control system, manipulation power supplies and softwares that work together and perform a task. Designing, building, programming and testing a robot is a combination of physics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, structural engineering, mathematics and computing. A study of robotics means that students are actively engaged with all of these disciplines in a deeply problem-posing problem-solving environment. A robot has these essential characteristics: Sensing First of the robot should have an ability to sense its surroundings. It would not sense in that we sense our surroundings. Movement A robot needs to be able to move around its environment. Whether rolling on wheels, walking on legs or propelling by thrusters a robot needs to be able to move. To count as a robot either the whole robot moves, like the Sojourner or just parts of the robot moves, like the Canada Arm. Energy A robot needs to be able to power itself. A robot might be solar powered, electrically powered, battery powered. The way your robot gets its energy will depend on what your robot needs to do. Intelligence A robot needs some kind of smarts. This is where programming enters the pictures. A programmer is the person who gives the robot its smarts. The robot will have to have some way to receive the program so that it knows what it is to do. 2.2 History: A robot is a virtual or mechanical artificial agent. In practice, it is usually an electro-mechanical machine which is guided by computer or electronic programming, and is thus able to do tasks on its own. Another common characteristic is that by its appearance or movements, a robot often conveys a sense that it has intent or agency of its own. The beginning of the robots may be traced to the Greek engineer Ctesibius. In the 4th century BC, the Greek mathematician Archytas of Tarentum postulated a mechanical steam-operated bird he called The Pigeon. Hero of Alexandria (10-70 AD), a Greek mathematician and inventor, created numerous user-configurable automated devices, and described machines powered by air pressure, steam and water. In the 3rd century BC text of the Lie Zi, there is a curious account on automata involving a much earlier encounter between King Mu of Zhou (Chinese emperor 10th century BC) and a mechanical engineer known as Yan Shi, an artificer. The latter proudly presented the king with a life-size, human-shaped figure of his mechanical handiwork made of leather, wood, and artificial organs. Al-Jazari (1136-1206), a Muslim inventor during the Artuqid dynasty, designed and constructed a number of automated machines, including kitchen appliances, musical automata powered by water, and programmable automata. The robots appeared as four musicians on a boat in a lake, entertaining guests at royal drinking parties. His mechanism had a programmable drum machine with pegs (cams) that bumped into little levers that operated percussion instruments. The drummer could be made to play different rhythms and different drum patterns by moving the pegs to different locations. 2.3 Modern era evolution in robotics technology: In these days robotics technology has progressed much more than early nineteenth century. Many new technologies have been invented. Robots are used in many fields as discussed below 2.3.1 Industrial robots (manipulating): An industrial robot is officially defined by International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The International Organization for Standardization gives a definition of a manipulating industrial robot in (ISO 8373). Which is Automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more then three axes which may be either fixed physically or mobile for use in industrial automation applications. The typical applications of industrial robot are wilding painting, assembly, pick and place, packaging, product inspection, testing, all accomplished with high endurance, speed, and precision. 2.3.2 Service robot: Most commonly the industrial robots are physically fixed and have manipulators and robotics arms for the production and distribution of goods. The International Federation of Robotics gives the definition of service robot which is The service robot is a robot which operates semi or fully automatically to perform services useful to the well being of humans and equipment, excluding manufacturing operations. 2.3.3 Military robots: The robots are also used for military purpose. Such types of robots are autonomous or remote controlled robots. There have been some developments towards developing autonomous fighter jets and bombers. The use of autonomous fighters and bombers to destroy enemy targets is especially promising because of the lack of training required for robotic pilots; autonomous planes are capable of performing maneuvers which couldnt otherwise be done with human pilots. 2.3.4 Mobile robot: These types of robots have capability to move around in their environment, they are not fixed to the physical location. The best example of the modern robot that is commonly used in these days is Automated Ground Vehicle (AGV). An AGV is a mobile robot that follows markers or wires in the floor, or uses vision or lasers. Mobile robots are also found in industry, military and security environments. They also appear as consumer products, for entertainment or to perform certain tasks like vacuum cleaning. 2.3.4.1 Classifications: A mobile may classified by: The environment in which they travel: Humanoid. Autonomous underwater vehicles. Unmanned aerial vehicles. The sources they use to move mainly are: Human like legs. Wheeled robots. Tracks. 2.3.4.2 Mobile robot navigation: There are many types of mobile navigation. 2.3.4.3 Manual remote This type of robot is totally under control of a person with the help of some joystick or with the help of any other controlling device. The device may be plugged directly into the robot, may be a wireless joystick. 2.3.4.4 Line-following robot Some of the earliest Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) were line following mobile robots. They might follow a visual line painted or embedded in the floor or ceiling or an electrical wire in the floor. Most of these robots operated a simple keep the line in the center sensor algorithm. Mathematical modeling 3.1 Modeling of structure: (2) Where b is the damping force We also know that b = rolling resistance + air drag Rolling resistance =  µmg Air drag =  ½Ãƒ Ã‚ Ãƒ Ã‚ ¡dA (V+Và ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â€š ¬) ² So we get b =  µmg +  ½Ãƒ Ã‚ Ãƒ Ã‚ ¡dA (V+Và ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â€š ¬) ² Where à Ã‚  = air density Cd = air resistance A=front resistance coefficient V=vehicle speed Và ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â€š ¬=head wind velocity We know that the driving force is given as: Where T = torque ÃŽÂ · = transmission coefficient ir = over all gear ratio rd = radius of tire Now put driving force in equation (2) We know that T=Kti Put in above equation Now Take Laplace By taking common = 3.2 DC Motor Speed Modeling: Where e =back emf so Put in equation (1) By taking Laplace à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. (1) Where Where K=constant i=armature current Put the value of T in above equation Take Laplace Put value of from equation (1) Material use We are using aluminum due to following properties Aluminum is a very light metal with a specific weight of 2.7 g/cm3, about a third that of steel. the use of aluminum in vehicles reduces dead-weight and energy consumption while increasing load capacity Aluminum is ductile and has a low melting point and density Dc motor We are using power window motor due to high torque because in this motor worm gears which is best for producing very much torque and sufficient speed Design

Business Analysis of HydroCan Essay -- Consumer Market Businesses Reta

Business Analysis of HydroCan Overview The company HydroCan is planning to launch a new type of lawn car product called â€Å"StaGreen†. They have hired a consulting group called â€Å"Stone Age Marketing Consultants† to create a marketing plan to launch there new product. They can’t decide between launching the product to the consumer market or the commercial market. So research is conducted on both markets to determine where the product should be marketed to. The Product The StaGreen is a chemical fertilizer created to improve your lawn but with a unique benefit that no other lawn care product has. The fertilizer reduces the need for manual watering on most types of grass by 40%. The Consumer Market The consumer lawn care market is a very pricey market with Canadians spending $2.3 billion in 1995. Not only does the consumer market have high spending, it also has high competition. StaGreen’s competitors would be â€Å"Scott’s Turf Builder† , â€Å"Scott’s Miracle-Gro†, and â€Å"Ortho† . These three products control 50% of the total consumer market. Lawn care products are mainly sold in three types of stores; discount stores, specialty stores, and home improvement stores. The most lucrative of the three are discount stores because in 1994-1995 it is estimated that 60% of fertilizer sales were purchased in discount stores. This is a large comparison to 30% in specialty stores and 10% in home improvement stores. The Commercial Market The commercial market is mainly fixed of Golf co... Business Analysis of HydroCan Essay -- Consumer Market Businesses Reta Business Analysis of HydroCan Overview The company HydroCan is planning to launch a new type of lawn car product called â€Å"StaGreen†. They have hired a consulting group called â€Å"Stone Age Marketing Consultants† to create a marketing plan to launch there new product. They can’t decide between launching the product to the consumer market or the commercial market. So research is conducted on both markets to determine where the product should be marketed to. The Product The StaGreen is a chemical fertilizer created to improve your lawn but with a unique benefit that no other lawn care product has. The fertilizer reduces the need for manual watering on most types of grass by 40%. The Consumer Market The consumer lawn care market is a very pricey market with Canadians spending $2.3 billion in 1995. Not only does the consumer market have high spending, it also has high competition. StaGreen’s competitors would be â€Å"Scott’s Turf Builder† , â€Å"Scott’s Miracle-Gro†, and â€Å"Ortho† . These three products control 50% of the total consumer market. Lawn care products are mainly sold in three types of stores; discount stores, specialty stores, and home improvement stores. The most lucrative of the three are discount stores because in 1994-1995 it is estimated that 60% of fertilizer sales were purchased in discount stores. This is a large comparison to 30% in specialty stores and 10% in home improvement stores. The Commercial Market The commercial market is mainly fixed of Golf co...

Child Development Essay -- Psychology, Locke, Rousseau, Piaget, Watson

There have been many visionaries that have developed theoretical frameworks which give a basic, general approach to understanding the ways in which children develop. Doherty and Hughes (2009) recall that early childhood progression is most commonly presented in terms of specific periods of time. Therefore, this tends to relate to the idea of fixed and limited stages that are strongly linked with chronological age, moreover, providing a very specific ordering of change. The most frequently identified periods of development are prenatal, infancy and toddlerhood, early childhood, later childhood and adolescence. Generalised theories on child development came about in the 17th century, with John Locke’s ‘Some Thoughts Concerning Education’ (1693) forming a foundation where a child was born as a â€Å"blank slate.† Contrastingly, Jean- Jacques Rousseau’s ‘Emile’ (1762) explored the idea that children were born with a sense of morality. These two theorists provide the origins of generalised development, meaning that within these theories, children develop in the same way. However, using Gewirtz and Pelaez-Nogueras’ (1992) criteria for evaluating theories, generalised theories do not take account for individual differences that exist as children grow and develop. Thus, it could be suggested that these broad patterns are not likely to be very helpful. Behaviourism, on the other hand, asserts that development of the individual can be achieved through observation of, and experiences in, the environment. It stipulates that development has to be based on observations rather than speculations about cognitive processes, which are by their nature unobservable. One early proponent of this theory was John Watson, who, in 1913, published a paper ... ...t reflects slow and steady change over time, or it goes through distinctly defined stages. Arguably, development should be considered as being largely continuous but having certain stages characterised by ‘milestone’ stages such as beginning to walk, where this new skill is clearly different from the child’s previous abilities. The development within early childhood can be seen to be due to many factors that have some clear effects upon some aspect of their progression, such as diverse environments and social settings. Every child experiences a unique combination of genetic and environmental influences that show how children have their own distinctive abilities, suggesting that generalised patterns are not very helpful indicators in considering the development of an individual child except as a loose framework within which to child’s development can be monitored.

Bureaucratic Management

Bureaucratic management refers to a management style in which strict adherence to law and rules is emphasized, hierarchy is followed and flexibility is not tolerated but rather the following of laid down procedures. Such a style is lacking in terms of ‘enterprising’ freedom and rarely do employees produce or perform to their maximum. In this paper, the bureaucratic management style will be discussed with an aim of highlighting the main characteristics of the bureaucratic style.Secondly an effort will be made in order to establish where the bureaucratic management owes its origin from as well as what factors contributed to the development of the management style. After careful assessment of the system, the author hopes to make a balanced assessment on the appropriateness of the system as well as to briefly compare it to other management systems.As well as discussing the post-bureaucratic management, this paper will highlight the main characteristics of post-bureaucratic t radition as well as making a judgment on its suitability to today’s business and to asses whether it has replaced bureaucratic management. However in this paper neither of the management styles is supported but on the contrary the author raises pertinent issues on the characteristics identified as well as merits. According to, Clegg, Kornberger, and Pitsis, (2005.62-100. ) how values, power, rules and discretion are interconnected determines the performance of the organization and are core to bureaucratic management. Organizational structure forms in bureaucratic management a very critical role. In bureaucratic management, organizational structure is usually rigid and relations amongst workers are determined by their respective positions in the organization something which makes the style very impersonal.Bureaucracy can be said to promote and advocate for the protection of the individual from organizational discrimination something which is favorable especially due to the fac t that, too much vulnerability of a manager to the superiors in the organization may not augur well for managers. In such an environment, management is not affected by secondary factors such as ethnicity, class, gender, economic status and race as rising to such positions does not call for one to be loyal to any senior authority but rather to follow the proper and laid down organizational rules.The above is very crucial for smooth functioning of organizations and makes bureaucratic management very ideal management style. While bureaucratic management instills order and control in an organization, abuse of bureaucracy by managers is always a possibility in bureaucratic management. Although it is counterproductive, bureaucratic management can thrive where staff is keen on following the laid down procedures. Clegg, Kornberger, and Pitsis, (2005.99-108) argues that bureaucracy is too restrictive and rule bound although such claims have been echoed by other critics of bureaucratic manage ment who argue that the above arises due to the fact that, it is based on equality before law, ones qualifications for management positions as well as the fact that it is based on liberal norms, such as equal representation and equal opportunities for all those who qualify. In addition, modern bureaucratic management has tended to encourage gender mainstreaming in the offices.While civilization was a major catalyst for the evolution of bureaucratic management, some have questioned the claim arguing that bureaucratic management at its best fails to be responsive to the fast unfolding scenario of civilization. A major characteristic of bureaucratic management is the fact that they are rule-driven. In fact, organizations which use bureaucratic management style are known to follow properly laid down procedures for executing any function and deviation from such is detrimental and could cost the â€Å"offender his/her job†.Therefore, bureaucratic management depends on strict rule i nterpretation in order to determine what should be done and not done as well as to determine the way forward for the organization. Although there is a clear need nowadays for organizations to be market responsive, bureaucratic management rarely achieves that goal something which can explain why such organizations are fast being avoided by an increasing number of business enterprises and a quite a substantial number of public offices and departments. Clegg, Kornberger, and Pitsis, (2005. 56-79.) warns that the crave to migrate from bureaucratic management to other market responsive management styles may at the long run not achieve the change desired but rather serve to cause a further craving for further management reforms. He further notes that a good understanding as well as knowledge of bureaucracy is necessary if success is to be achieved in management. It’s easiness to implement stems from the fact that since it is naturally founded and deep rooted in the rule of law, it becomes easy for subjects to relate with it and therefore it naturally attracted traditional managers as the ideal type of management in most situations.On top of that, subordinates are more likely to adhere to rules and procedures under bureaucratic management because of the authority the system accords to supervisors over subordinates as compared to other systems which do not accord much power to superiors (Ackroyd, 2002. 80-123). Bureaucratic management mainly conforms to hierarchical structures which have clear defined roles and responsibilities for every single employee in an organization and hence well defined and curved out duties for every single employee.The system also encourages the adherence to rules and therefore career growth, promotions are easy to sort out as every one is often aware of all that is required by the organization in order to be promoted. Like wise, recruitment follows the traditional jobs filling methods in which superiors appoint or interview subordina tes for staffing. Bureaucratic management can cause limitation of individual’s freedom in some cases but that is necessary especially in military organizations which deal with security matters very sensitive and needing much control.Whilst bureaucratic management is grounded on principles aimed at regulating its application it at the same time causes the management to curtail freedom of worker to conduct individual affairs under the desired privacy. In bureaucratic management rules are designed to meet the wishes of the top management and subordinates are expected to comply with orders of superior authorities without questioning something which has led to many people branding the type of management as dictatorial.The fact that it emphasizes the division of businesses into hierarchical thus putting the organization under strict lines in which authority and control is the goal makes the style to loose supporters in the modern business environment. In addition bureaucratic manag ement favors a system whereby, duties, rules and procedures are generally fixed something which is fast loosing support in post bureaucratic management tradition evident in most organizations today.In bureaucratic management, a lot of emphasis is put on experience and qualifications for one to be employed and it is characterized by the supervision of lower and subordinate officers by the higher office. Bureaucratic management is monocractical while office workers or state servants are expected to follow the laid down rules (Clegg, Kornberger, and Pitsis, 2005. 56-79). Another major characteristic of bureaucratic management is that it is characterized by impersonal relationships amongst the workers in the organizations. It is also characterized by the formal division of labor.In the USA evidence of bureaucratic management is seen in the functioning of the government, the Department of Defense as well as in schools and large corporations. Bureaucratic management is different from othe r forms of management such as scientific management in that the latter is more concerned with the association between employees and machines. Other management theorists such as Henri Fayol advocated for administrative management in which emphasis is laid on management functions as well as the roles of managers in the functioning of organizations through the principles of management.Bureaucratic management therefore entails a system whereby the bureaucratic manager at the helm passes judgment and his/her will is followed without compromise. In bureaucratic system, the will of the boss is the authority and their words final and not subject to any challenge. Bureaucratic management does exist even in democratic environment but it calls for a careful balancing in order to achieve positive growth of organizations in terms of functionality of the different departments as well as to ensure orderliness.While bureaucratic management advocates for mandatory adherence to laid down laws and rul es as well as procedures, whenever failure to do so happens, it is met with punishments according to the laid down punishment laws. Bureaucratic management has been accused as a system which discourages one’s freedom space and also for not doing anything to tap the potential in people. Although such accusations are not necessarily true, bureaucratic management cannot be termed as good or bad but rather should be viewed as sometimes the most ideal when some situations prevail.History of bureaucratic management Bureaucratic management can be traced back to military and religious leadership which preceded the emergency of big businesses and organizations ( ). In the pre industrial era when trade was not well organized and little or no industries existed, the need for management existed. Public order was a necessity and therefore there was a need for governments to guarantee that. One method of management came to be very popular especially due to its ability to ensure the smooth running of activities.That called for establishment of law as most of the management then depended on adherence to strict and well laid out rules. Naturally only a bureaucratic management could augur well for managers who did not enjoy today’s access to management tools nor the advantage of technology un like today’s mangers and therefore bureaucratic management which puts little demands on the managers was viewed as the ideal system of management.In the 18th century, the subject of bureaucracy was studied in depth even by fathers of sociology such as Max Weber who supported its adaptation in management due to its suitability to management of large organizations. He contended that for effective management of large organizations, managers needed to be empowered and protected from environmental threats and the only way to do so was to have a management style which was simple but effective.In the 18th century, bureaucratic management gained much acceptance especially from the religious organizations, governments and military due to attributes such as the fact that it is easy to execute functions under bureaucratic management, and the belief that the system is logical as well as the fact that it advocates for procedures. The above factors were favored in order to achieve the smooth running of organizations. In terms of religion, there were in the ancient times religious clergy who due to the role they played in religious festivals were functioning in strict bureaucratic management.The development and division of society into social classes and the widening gap between state and society therefore creating the need for control, enforcement of law and order, introduction of tax collection, all this called for another group known as ‘officials’ to fill the gap of overseeing activities in both public and private business all contributed to the introduction of bureaucratic management. Post-Bureaucratic Management The twin issues of power and k nowledge management are crucial for a post-bureaucratic management system ( ).The fact that in any given organization there is quite a number of contradicting elements, such as human beings with different needs from the organization, the organizational goals which the same human beings must achieve calls for effective organizational management so as to address needs at all levels. While human beings constitute a very important part of the organization, that they must be managed in order to play their roles effectively is a fact that cannot be wished away.Human beings as a key resource in any organization must be managed in every way possible to achieve organizational goals as well as a positive organizational culture, a positive working environment and the achievement of the objectives of the organization. Characteristics of post bureaucratic management. Post bureaucratic management encourages employee participation. Post bureaucratic tradition advocates for a business environment w hereby employees are empowered to contribute in terms of ideas and skills towards the growth and development of the organization.The bureaucratic management style is considerate of the fact that, people are talented differently and rather than suppressing the potential in individuals, management is supposed to discover and nurture any special skills as well as capabilities in the workers or staff through programs such as training and refresher courses. The above is only possible in an environment whereby management encourages its employees to participate fully in the decision making process.In a modern world in which technology especially information technology and internet has changed drastically how business is carried out as well as how people interact, bureaucratic tendencies are fast becoming outdated. The above is a clear sign of a fast changing business world and this is pointing to the fact that time for post bureaucratic management tradition has come. That fact is further s trengthened in view of the concept of globalization which favors the communication structure in many organizations to shift from vertical to horizontal as time plays a crucial role in determining how profitable a company is likely to be.Team work is also another characteristic of post bureaucratic management. While most bureaucratic management systems are a one man show in that, the manager and the superiors are the brains behind every innovation the organization aims to achieve, post bureaucratic management advocates strongly for team spirit. There are numerous benefits associated with team work the most important of all is the synergetic effect that results when staff in an organization function as a whole rather than individuals.Another pointer to the fact that today’s managers have shifted from bureaucratic management to a post bureaucratic management system is the fact that most organizations have dropped the rigidness earlier associated with the decision making process as evident in bureaucratic management in favor of a more flexible decision making system. Today most organizations take less time to make decisions and resolves issues which under the bureaucratic management system would take weeks to settle.The above can be attributed to the involvement of many people in the decision making process as opposed to leaving the function of decision making and deliberations to a small clique of managers. The above coupled with the popularity of being flexible is gaining ground and many organizations are dropping that culture whereby decision making process was inflexible. Open discussion as well as deliberations of issues. In bureaucratic management, management reserves the right to discuss any issues which arise.However in post bureaucratic management, management encourages the participation of all employees in the system before any changes are incorporated. This has become very popular especially with employees as more and more feel important to the o rganization something which boosts employee motivation to work. Today that trend is evident as the use of market research as well as surveys has become very popular as management of most organizations tend to seek for the input of all employees before any major changes are instituted in the organization.It tries to nurture employees into an intellectual capital. There is a growing trend of organizations to nurture and even shop for talented employees in post bureaucratic management. This is in sharp contrast to bureaucratic management in which to fill some vacancies, one has to undergo some rigorous process in the organization so as to achieve promotions. Evidently, an organization’s culture, its systems, as well as the process of effecting change are very crucial for organizations nowadays.Therefore today’s managers play a very important role in management of organizations. While in bureaucratic management, the use of mediation apparatus, theories of management, busin ess tools, the use of decision support systems and also other tools such as white boards is not very common, in the recent times that have become a key part of management process. That is yet another pointer to the fact that, organizations are drastically shifting to post bureaucratic management tradition and practices.With analytical business tools such as SWOT analysis, balanced scorecard, porters 7 principles and PEST analysis constantly being applied by business that points to yet a drifting away pattern from bureaucratic management to post bureaucratic management. Post bureaucratic management is based in the belief that the production of knowledge is a process which can be learnt and perfected while bureaucratic management proponent believe that it production of knowledge is a social practice in which individual people performance rather than teams is more important.There is clear evidence today that, organizations are laying more importance to team work and communal spirit rat her than individual effort. Post bureaucratic management is the undisputed and ideal management system that can save organizations from the effects of today’s business challenges as well as solve and counter challenges of this global knowledge based economy in which the rate of discoveries, innovativeness and the crave to be ahead of others is forming the centre piece of organizations.The amount of administration related duties in the contemporary society is evidence enough for the continuing relevance of bureaucratic management in the post-modernism era. There is an increased relevance businesses are attaching to division of labour coupled with the growth of multinational companies with extremely enormous sales turnover. Future without Bureaucratic Management Many have experimented with the idea of a future without bureaucratic management in that there will be a minimal need for supervision due to a highly responsible and self disciplined society.Although the above argument leaves more on socialism ideals it is however a feasible possibility. Modern bureaucratic management has been applauded for being impersonal. Comparison between bureaucratic management and post bureaucratic management The advent of mass production catalyzed the introduction of post bureaucratic management due to the high demand put on the organizations in terms of production as well as the need for routines and procedures in production.The advancement of technology has led many to imagine that bureaucracy would be abandoned. However the truth of the matter is that no matter how high technology has contributed to the mechanization of production the need for workers is still very evident. This is due to the fact that still people are needed to operate the technological equipment in the design of the computer systems so central to today’s organizations as well as to oversee the process of production. Therefore, bureaucracy remains very relevant in the post-bureaucratic era.Burea ucratic management is characterized by high costs making it a less ideal management Accusations against bureaucratic management it is rigid in decision making hence slowing down the decision making process. The fact that officials feel threatened by lack of adherence to rules may affect unity of the organization as suspicion is likely to arise. Bureaucratic management has been accused of being insensitive to morals. Bureaucratic leadership does not encourage empowerment of followers.Bureaucracy leads to a lot of dependency on a few people to chart the way forward for an organisation even when it is clear that contribution of subordinates may matter. Bureaucratic management suppresses talent and while it may augur well for governments its effectiveness for private business is questionable. Bureaucratic management is accused of being inflexible and that it is argued that it would affect economic growth were it to be implemented in wholesome therefore compared to entrepreneurship and i n a capitalistic setting bureaucratic management may not be ideal in some cases.While bureaucratic management advocates for high levels of accountability, post-modernism management dwells on employee capability unlike bureaucratic management which emphasizes on employee competence. While bureaucratic management lays emphasis on age in terms of who is allocated the more complex work and is likely to be promoted, post-modernism lays more emphasis on the capability of people to analytically resolve matters inspite of experience or their age.Bureaucratic management lays emphasis on the organizational design, that is structure in terms of roles and responsibilities, on top of that, the mode adopted by an organization in as far as decision making process is concerned as well as the style of human resource management is concerned it is very rigid for bureaucratic management. The governance of human resource in post-modern management is accommodative. Post-modernism management puts a lot of emphasis in cultural relevance to organisation management but bureaucratic management comes short of this.Bureaucratic management lays emphasis on value such as responsibility, loyalty and accountability as well as adherence to fixed rules ad regulations. Bureaucratic management puts more emphasis on the existence of formal authority to superiors. Bureaucratic demands for obedience of higher authority. In bureaucratic management, emphasis is laid on the monopolization of information by the top hierarchy. Promotion process is clear, thus moving up the corporate ladder is something which follows certain pre-set patterns.The decision making process is often pegged on fixed steps. There is emphasis on equality at work, because of emphasis on vertical communication there are clear set boundaries which are very hard to break in bureaucratic management. Post-bureaucratic Management emphasizes on role of dialogue amongst people as opposed to the authority imposing their word and therefore consensus is achieved through involvement of dialogue. Unlike in bureaucratic management whereby internal trust is not critical, post-modern management thrives on high level of loyalty from subordinates.The migration from bureaucratic management has been occasioned by the introduction of market reforms. In addition, it is not easy to permeate boundaries as vertical communication is highly valued unlike in post bureaucratic management where there is a high degree of information sharing. The decision making process in post-bureaucratic management is highly flexible. Unlike in bureaucratic management in which things remain the same for long periods, in post modern management change is often welcome.Bureaucratic management has been accused of lacking in terms of motivation to employees. Conclusion From the above discussion it is evident that bureaucratic management is totally irrelevant relevant to today’s management. It has for long been used in both public and private managemen t. The major characteristics of bureaucratic management identified above are, that is highly pegged on rules and roles, adherence to strict procedures, and it is hierarchical, that it does not call for loyalty as well as the fact that it is not flexible.On the other hand post bureaucratic management is more flexible, it advocates for loyalty and internal trust, it is permeable and not rigid, it is not hierarchical and finally it encourages open discussions in as far as decision making process is concerned. References Ackroyd, S. (2002. 80-123). The Organization of Business, Oxford. OUP. Clegg, S. R. , M. Kornberger, and T. S. Pitsis (2005. 56-79). Management and Organizations: An Introduction to Theory and Practice, London: Sage Word Count: 3,697 words. Bureaucratic Management Under industrialisation, bureaucracy was the dominant form of organisation and management. The factory was designed to produce standardised products; the bureaucracy was designed to produce standardised decisions. Many major corporations of today developed in an industrial society, based on a bureaucratic model of machine-like division of function, routine activity, regularity, seeming permanence, and a long vertical hierarchy. For a long time bureaucracy thrived in a world of mass markets, uniform goods and services, and long production lines.During the 1990’s, however, the top-down bureaucratic and authoritarian style of management began yielding to a networking style of management. Horizontal communication in a networked environment is freer and more fluid, with few bureaucratic barriers. In the new style of management, people learn from one another, peer to peer; everyone is a resource for everyone else, and each person gets support and assistance from many different direc tions.Interestingly, the corporations of today are only getting ever bigger, and yet in most of these organisations that demand more than simple mechanical work from the employees, alternatives to bureaucratic form of management are being actively explored and experimented with. Bureaucratic management is one of the three branches of the traditional approach to management. The other two are scientific management and administrative management.All the three emerged around the turn of the 20th century as theorised models. The traditional styles of management aimed at getting the organisation run like a lubricated, smooth-running machine. It may also be noted that while the first systematic theory of bureaucratic management originated from Germany, scientific management or Taylorism emerged from the United States, and the theoretical system of administrative management had its roots in France.These so-called traditional approaches to management as well as the other approaches such as be havioural approach, systems approach, contingency approach, and quality approach — all of them developed based on varying assumptions about the behaviour of people in organisations vis-a-vis the key goals of an organisation, the types of problems faced vis-a-vis the methods to reach to their solutions. All these various approaches to management have contributed in their own ways to development of modern management thought, and continue to influence managers' thinking in the modern corporate context.However, of all these traditional and non-traditional management approaches, the bureaucratic form can be considered the earliest and still the most commonly prevalent. In many ways, it is also the most outdated. Bureaucratic form of management is based on the use a set of rather rigid rules. There is a clear hierarchical order involved, an unambiguous division of labor, and a detailed system of procedures of transaction. Bureaucracy existed for centuries in different forms and in different contexts, but a word for it did not exist until the mid-18th century (Walker 2001).Coined by a French Physiocrat, ‘bureaucracy’ literally meant â€Å"government by desk. † Today, the name of Max Weber (1864 – 1920) is most closely associated with bureaucratic management. Weber did the foundational work on the development of the mechanistic industrial organisation form, the bureaucracy. He was a German social historian whose works began to be widely recognised only from the mid-twentieth century, when they were translated into English. Weber based his studies significantly on his observations of the governmental bureaucracy that existed in Germany during his time.He is today considered as one of the pioneering sociologists, and his study of bureaucracy forms part of a much wider framework of social theory that concerns general social and economic issues facing society. Weber’s concept of bureaucratic management provides a functional model o n how a large-scale organisation should operate efficiently. Weber observed parallels between the mechanisation of industry and the proliferation of machine-like bureaucratic form of organisation. He noted that the bureaucratic form routinises the process of administration exactly as the machine routinises production.This was a logical outgrowth of the thinking of the time; an industrial revolution, with mechanised productive apparatus (one form), would naturally inspire a mechanised organisation (another form) to complement it. In Weber's work we find the first comprehensive description of the bureaucratic form as one that emphasises speed, efficiency, clarity, regularity, reliability and precision. As the Industrial Revolution got underway in the United States this form was ideally suited to the situational constraints of the era (Banner 1995).For a long time now, the very word bureaucracy has had many negative connotations, but as originally envisaged by Weber, it was a strong po sitive force for bringing order and coherency into the running of an organisation, based on the cornerstones of efficiency, stability, consistency and predictability. Weber's model stipulates seven essential characteristics for a well-functioning bureaucracy. These characteristics join together to a form of management style that emphasises regulation and control, even at the cost of being rigid and non-conducive to individual initiative and innovation.These characteristics are: a formal system of rules, impersonality, division of labour, hierarchical structure, an elaborate authority structure, lifelong career commitment, and rationality (Hellriegel et al, 2005). Rules: These are formal guidelines imposing order on the activity of the employees, providing a discipline that can help an organisation to run smoothly and reach its goals. Bureaucracy is rule-based governance. It can be viewed as an institutional method for applying general rules to specific cases, in order to make the ac tions of people working in an organisation fair, equitable and predictable (Wilson 1989) .The rule of rules brings uniformity of procedures and operations, facilitating organisational stability and integrity, making the work of an organisation relatively immune to erraticness of individual behaviour of the employees or the management. Mises (1969) observes the following on the importance of rules and regulations in bureaucratic organisation: Bureaucratic management is management bound to comply with detailed rules and regulations fixed by the authority of a superior body. The task of the bureaucrat is to perform what these rules and regulations order him to do.His discretion to act according to his own best conviction is seriously restricted by them. Impersonality: This means objectivity. Employee performance is evaluated and issues are resolved in as objective manner as possible. Although this term may sound intimidating, Weber viewed the objectiveness ensuing from adherence to rul es and impersonality as essential to guarantee fairness for all employees — eliminating personal bias and favouritism from the system. Division of Labour: The overwhelming importance of this concept of course originated in economics, with Adam Smith and others, in the early nineteenth century.Division of labour promotes efficiency. A high degree of compartmentalisation of work in a precise manner enables a medium to large-scale organisation to use its workforce efficiently. Everyone is circumscribed to perform duties on the basis of his or her own field of expertise. Further, by splitting a large task into much smaller and more easily manageable parts, and assigning each part to an individual, the ease of learning and carrying out that each divided segment of the task is enhanced. At the expense of possible monotony and tedium, the principle of division emphasises efficiency and output.Narrow division of labor also makes it easier to replace the employees, especially in facto ries that involve routine, mechanical tasks. Hierarchy: The traditional pyramid-shaped hierarchical structure positions each employee at a level commensurate with the amount of authority he or she exerts in the job. This authority can be equated to the scope of decision-making power of the employees, and increases at each higher level of the pyramid. People in the higher levels direct the work of people at lower level positions.A well-defined hierarchy can bring clarity in an employee's relationship and responsibility towards his or her work as well as well as towards other employees in the organisation. Hierarchy establishes a chain of command through superior and subordinate levels, helping ensure a smooth flow of work. Hierarchy is also based on a sharp distinction between the management and the workers. Bureaucracy's fundamental tenet has been that the job of the management is to design and coordinate workers' jobs (Pinchot, Pinchot, 1993).Hierarchy, like rule-orientation, divis ion and a number of other characteristics of bureaucracy, is a common feature of any social organisation and has been so throughout human history, but all these characteristics are particularly stressed upon in a bureaucratic setting within an organisation. The intensity with which these features are emphasised differentiates an organisation with a high bureaucratic structure from another with a low bureaucratic structure, which together form the two ends of a continuum.Authority Structure: This is merely another way of looking at the hierarchical nature of bureaucracy. Authority structure refers to a clear association of people and their scope of decision-making power at various levels within the organisation. The authority-structure can be based on different criteria. Weber identified three types of authority structures (Hellriegel et al, 2005): a) Traditional authority structure: This is based on custom, gender, seniority, birth order, ancestry, and so on.The succession of kings, and the authority of the king, in various cultures throughout the history of humanity, for example, was primarily based on such criteria. A king inherited and wielded power simply because it was his birthright. b) Charismatic structure: Within any group or organisation, some people can exert a predominant influence by virtue of their charisma or special talents, although technically speaking they are not superior to their co-workers. Charisma can come into play inside a bureaucratic organisation also, although mostly not as a primary determinant of leadership but a complementary one.c) Rational-legal authority: Bureaucratic organisations for the most part tend to rely on this form of authority where leadership is defined in a framework of rules and regulations. A superior's orders are complied with because of his or her position in the formal hierarchical structure of an organisation, and not because of some special abilities or privileges he or she may possess. Though authority ma y be based on a rational basis, bureaucratic management is fairly authoritarian, and many people would resent this.By its very nature, bureaucracy is a structure defined by chains of dominance and submission (Pinchot, Pinchot, 1993). Lifelong Career Commitment: Traditionally, typical large-scale bureaucratic organisations emphasised stability, order and steady progress. They did not attract potential employees by offering a promise of adventure, excitement and rapid rise as many modern-day software companies are prone to do, for instance. Instead, their allure was job security together with slow and steady salary increases for deserving candidates.The opportunity for promotion is used as the main incentive to ensure that the employees perform satisfactorily. Though the notion of lifelong commitment looks completely outmoded and out of place in most modern business organisations surviving in turbulent ever-changing market conditions, it still prevails in many Japanese or South Korean organisations such as Toyota or Samsung, and can be seen in many governmental bureaucracies in the West, such as the postal service or the civil service. When an employee joins these services, virtually a permanent employee contract is being made.Rationality: It is the orderly and efficient allocation of financial and human resources to achieve the desired ends. In principle, managers operating in a bureaucratic environment are supposed to take decisions logically and scientifically. All the other characteristics of bureaucracy, such as division of labour and hierarchy, are meant to promote the element of rationality within the mechanisms and dynamics of the organisation. Rationality also implies assigning specific goals to each division of the organisation in such a manner that, working together, all these various divisions accomplish the larger goal of the organisation.Rationality, based on goal-directed activity, gives more chance for an organisation to be successful. The bureau cratic form of management is best suitable when routine or repetitive tasks need to be done in an efficient and consistent manner. Adhering to rules and regulation by the employees in performing tasks ensures quality and quantity of output. In fact, phenomenal amounts of work can be accomplished when the bureaucratic structure is effectively deployed and the management is run in a streamlined manner.But these very same aspects of bureaucratic management that can foster efficiency in one setting can lead to ponderousness and inefficiency in another. Though vertical and rigid bureaucratic structure is dismissed as a viable basis for an increasing number of vast thriving multinationals of today which put a special premium on innovation and change or adapting to change, it had indeed been adopted widely in the commercial and industrial sector until the recent decades. Max Weber viewed bureaucracy as a ‘rational' instrument for collective achievement.And even Joseph Schumpeter (188 3-1950) who was a pioneering researcher in the field of entrepreneurship, and who extensively studied the role of the entrepreneur as an innovator, defended Weber's position on bureaucracy (Wood 1991). Though Schumpeter believed that bureaucracy can lead to efficient allocation of resources, other major thinkers in this field such as Hayek and Mises rejected such a possibility. Mises (1969) held the position that bureaucratic management is â€Å"management of affairs which cannot be checked by economic calculation.† Therefore, he argued that it is only suitable for public administration and not private enterprises driven by the overriding profit motive. However, even in the conduct of public affairs, down the decades, bureaucratic style of management has become associated with maladministration, corruption, irresponsibility, wastefulness, inefficiency, slackness, tardiness, and red tape across the majority of the countries of the world. Schumpeter lauded many features of bure aucracy, but also recognized its limitations. He also commended Hayek for his presentation of dangers in bureaucratic planning and management (Wood, 1991).. Though bureaucratic management has been much maligned, and for good reasons, the fact is that many successful organisations have been successful over generations very much under tight bureaucratic patterns of organisation and control (Pinchot, Pinchot, 1993). The bureaucratic management structure emerged in the most distant past of human history, from the time a higher social order emerged among clusters of people, and is still the most widely prevalent form of management, though there is a pronounced tendency to loosen its seemingly rigid grip.Karl Marx traced the origin of bureaucracy to four sources: religion, the formation of the state, commerce and technology (Wikipedia 2006). Bureaucratic structures existed in religious institutions, as those in Egypt and Greece, thousands of years ago. But bureaucracy primarily evolved as the state apparatus evolved with the growing complexity of the civil society. Over a thousand years ago, the Chinese had in place an elaborate centralised bureaucratic structure to manage the affairs of the state.In the medieval times, new administrative structures were needed to meet the growing demands made upon central government in Europe (Argyle 1994). In fact, bureaucracy was the default style of administration and management until the modern times. It was so easy and common for bureaucratic structures to prevail and proliferate because, ultimately, the top-down hierarchical pattern of management was rooted in the human psychology. But human psychology is changing. For example, for centuries, people desired to have a father-figure in the form of a king to rule and protect them.They did not consider it dehumanizing to be subjected to an arbitrary ruler. However, to the enlightened sensibilities of people during the modern epoch which can be said to have gradually emerged from the times of Renaissance and Reformation and fully flowered in the twentieth century, the notion of being ruled by a king who possessed some divine right would seem abhorrent. Similarly, being dominated by the superiors from all quarters may have been quite acceptable to the majority of employees until very recently.But workers of the â€Å"knowledge era† prefer to be individualistic, independent or working in a team of peers as far as possible. Bureaucracy flourished in an age of mechanisation, but today ideas and creativity are in high demand, and corporations find it making more economical sense than ever to nurture a work culture that is anti-bureaucratic. Bureaucracy is past-oriented in many ways, and innovation is thoroughly future-oriented. At its very root, the entrepreneurial process of innovation and change is at odds with the administrative process of ensuring repetitions of the past.Structures and practices that may work well for the perpetuation of the known are not generally conducive to the process of innovation. In their book, The End of Bureaucracy & the Rise of the Intelligent Organization, Pinchot and Pinchot (1993) note that bureaucracy is no more appropriate to the sophisticated work culture of today than serfdom was to the factory work of the early Industrial Revolution. New forms of organisation are emerging, but to sustain them in the long run is a different proposition.The mega corporations of today are intrinsically geared towards efficiency, but increasingly they will now need to also master creativity in order to survive. There is a dilemma here. Firms will not survive in the long run unless they are proficient at exploring new technologies, and they will not survive in the short run unless they are proficient at exploiting existing technologies. Herein lies a great dichotomy at the heart of modern business organisation. A dynamic balance has to be struck between a host of conflicting factors.In their constant quest for manag ing the balance between centralisation and decentralisation, between interdependence and diversity, between integration and flexibility, and between control and creativity, large organisations still manifest a strong tendency to favor efficiency and productivity gains over and above creativity and innovation (Johansen 2003). The rational-bureaucratic model of organisation still remains dominant, although there is a clear paradigm-shift in management practices.In many large organisations, which happen to be inherently bureaucratic, one would find a plethora of ideas and potential ideas that go unnoticed because there are some structural impediments to their realisation, or little or no incentive for employees to bring such ideas forth. For instance, incentive structures in large firms are designed to minimise surprises, yet innovation is inherently full of the unexpected. From a managerial point of view too, the reward system for general managers is typically based upon annual profit s or ROI of corporate resources managed.They are therefore rewarded for achieving short- rather than long-term profit. Moreover, apart from the greater inherent risks involved, the rewards associated with the profits from any longer-term, more radical innovations are unlikely to accrue to the manager originally involved in initiating a novel project, since he or she is likely to have moved on to other responsibilities before they are achieved. As such, innovative efforts often fall through the cracks inherent in most large organisations.In fact, in these organisations there could usually be strong â€Å"disincentives† for innovative activities (Martin 1997). If hierarchy was central to traditional organisation, the lack of hierarchy is central to innovative organisation. As for division of labour, Jaffee (2001) observes that, In the postbureaucratic organization, social and functional integration takes precedence over differentiation and specialization. The postbureaucratic o rganisation is much flatter , with fewer levels of managers.Most work will be horizontal knowledge work performed by multidisciplinary teams. Rather than satisfying their immediate supervisor (vertical relationship), team members concentrate on satisfying he needs of the next person in the process (horizontal relationship). Teams will be given considerable autonomy and will be expected to carry out the intent of the company's mission and vision. Project managers and network managers will replace most of the middle managers and functional staff in the traditional bureaucratic-style organisation.Companies can only succeed by tapping the talent and dedication of their people and by combining that talent and dedication in a team effort. The building of trust is emphasised in innovative enterprises. Politics, infighting, and departmental jealousies that are common features of bureaucracies are to be minimised. Leaders work hard to earn their team mates' trust and vice versa, thus creatin g conditions in which trust can flourish. In such dynamic companies, there is widespread enthusiasm, a spirit of doing whatever it takes to achieve organisational success (Martin 1997).