Frederick Herzberg Essay

Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor theory, also called the motivator-hygiene theory. This theory has identifies that there are hygiene factors that can lead to job dissatisfaction but if a hygiene factor is improved it does not improve job satisfaction. Examples of these hygiene factors in the workplace are organizational policies, quality of supervision, working conditions, wage or salary, relationships with peers, relationships with subordinates, status and security. Improving one of these factors such as salary cannot make a person more satisfied with their job it just satisfies that aspect. The other half of Herzberg’s two factor theory is motivator factors, which are ways to achieve job satisfaction. Motivator factors are related to what people actually do in a day’s work. The presence or absence of these motivators changes an employee’s view of their job. Examples of these motivator factors are achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement, and growth. Job dissatisfaction can result from these when they are low. But to enrich these factors will result in higher job satisfaction unlike in the hygiene factors. Essentially in order to properly motivate employees improving salaries and working conditions does not work, an employer has to improve the quality of the job, the quality of the work and the quality of the goal. In the article The Best Places to Launch a Career one can see facets of Herzberg’s two-factor theory at work with big companies trying to attract the Generation Y’ers, which make up approximately 78 million people who will be entering the workforce from 2004 to 2022. The first of course is salary. Companies have raised base salaries in order to attract prospective employees but this is not the main drawing point as shown later in the article. Higher salaries is just an example of a hygiene factor that while maintained well will continue to keep employees from becoming dissatisfied. The rest of the article addresses motivator factors. Companies have begun to appeal to the next generation of employees by â€Å"making themselves more transparent, flexible, responsive, even nurturing. † By doing this they are drawing employees of the Generation Y traits more agreeable to the motivator factor side of Herzberg’s theory. These traits being inherent in this generation such as having high expectations for their job and their peers, demanding meaningful work, wanting constructive feedback from their peers and employers, and most importantly they want to be in a position of influence. In order to address these traits the article addresses several companies that are rethinking the way they are handling this generation that does not shy away from discipline and who demand authenticity. For example, the article states that New York Life Insurance recently discovered that only 3% of corporate interns accepted positions with their company. To change this they took away all the perks and instead gave them more strict expectations, gave them business etiquette classes, and a challenge to brainstorm new marketing strategies for the company which was later used in a advertising campaign. When New York Life changed its strategy they incorporated the motivating factors such as giving more meaningful work, responsibly, and recognition through the brainstorming for the company, growth through etiquette classes, and an all over enrichment of the job and their personal careers. Another example is JPMorgan Chase & Company is changing how it attracts prospective Gen Y employees. Rather than flash money signs and bonus amounts as incentives, they are giving a more realistic view of what it means to be employed with the company. To do this, the article states, that they allowed a New York University film grad to follow three fellow Generation Y employees though their days at work in a documentary style film. The result being that prospective employees will have a realistic view of duties and the work that goes into obtaining the annual bonus. Yet again appealing to the motivation factor of the two-factor theory but not completely ignoring the importance of the hygiene factors. In summation, the article addresses that the Generation Y does not want just money or perks such as free lunches and on-site massages like Google Inc. offers but they want a chance to grow, a chance to achieve, a chance to do something meaningful and accept all the responsibility that comes with it. Google appeals to this aspect by giving employees one day a week to brainstorm new ideas for the company. Herzberg’s two-factor theory, while being debated by scholars on its merits because of its difficulty to be verifiable through additional research, seems to be a very viable theory that can in one way or another be applied to any work place and results of more satisfied employees will be seen. Herzberg said it all when he said â€Å"If you want people to do a good job, give them a good job to do. † Reinforcement theory defined by the textbook is the administration of consequence as a result of behavior. Therefore if you want a behavior to continue you positively enforce it by giving positive rewards or if you want a negative behavior to stop you administer a negative consequence. By using reinforcement strategies people can be taught a behavior or have a behavior enforced through classical conditioning by associating a behavior with a desired result. These strategies include positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is the administration of positive consequences that tend to increase the likelihood of repeating the desirable behavior in a similar setting. In this is the law of contingent reinforcement that states for a reward to have maximum reinforcing value, it must only be delivered if the desired behavior is exhibited. Rewards can be given either continuously or intermittently and both have different results in changing a behavior. Continuous reinforcement teaches what behavior is desired more quickly than intermittent reinforcement but behaviors under intermittent reinforcement are lasts longer. Negative reinforcement is the withdrawal of negative consequences, which tends to increase the likelihood of repeating the behavior in a similar setting. Essentially behavior is reinforced by not receiving the punishment or avoiding a negative consequence. Punishment reduces the likelihood of a person repeating the behavior but the punishment has to fit the negative behavior. Arbitrary punishment can lead to dissatisfaction in a person and therefore just increase low performance. Extinction is the withdrawal of reinforcing consequences of a given behavior resulting in the frequency of the behavior being reduced. The article RAZR’S edge is wholly an example of reinforcement theory. A team of 20 or so people secretly toils on a new phone that will be a high end toy for the rich and ends up making a blockbuster phone that is so slim it redefines phone size for an entire industry. The resulting phone ended up being huge mass market phone that sold over 50 million units in approximately two years. The team members were then asked to appear at a meeting at company headquarters where they received not only a natural reward in the form of a standing ovation but were rewarded with a large amount of stock options. Therefore the team members were positively rewarded with a contrived reward of stocks for a job well done. In breaking the article down, one can also see some other examples of positive consequences for behavior at Motorola. The first example being Motorola’s Geoffrey Frost, credited with coming up with the marketing campaign â€Å"Hello Moto† and bringing the company back into good standing with consumers being promoted to executive vice president. His hard work was rewarded with a contrived reward of higher pay and position in the company as well as natural rewards of compliments, special projects, and recognition. The second example in the article is the team leader Jellicoe who had previously worked on another successful phone being given a special project to create the thinnest phone and to do it in a restricted time frame. He was positively rewarded for a previous job well done with a natural reward of being given a special project to work on. He was also rewarded by being able to assemble his own team to work on this new project and was given autonomy to work on the project in secret from the rest of the company. The third example of positive reinforcement in the article is the team that was assembled to design the phone. It was a team of 20 engineers who had shown talent before in other projects. These engineers received a natural reward for jobs well done in the past and for continually exhibiting behaviors such as creativity and the ability to continue to innovate at Motorola by being asked to be on this special project where they would have the liberty to completely redesign a phone that would change the phone market at the time. The fourth example of positive reinforcement is when Jellicoe sets up a competition among five of the engineers with who can come up with the best design to solve a technical challenge with a design complication. The result being Tadd Scarpelli coming up with the best solution to the problem and his reward being that his design was the one used for the phone as well as the recognition for a problem well solved, therefore reinforcing the positive behavior of thinking critically and being creative. The article RAZR’S edge is wholly a look at positive reinforcement in the form of both natural and contrived rewards for a team who made the seemingly impossible. But when broken down there are many examples of how past behaviors were rewarded with special jobs, recognition, and compensation. As the article says, Scarpelli to this day still approaches strangers and asks them if they like â€Å"his† phone which seems to be the ultimate reward. According to the textbook, expectancy theory argues that work motivation is determined by individual beliefs regarding effort/performance relationships and work outcomes. Breaking this theory down is that people will do what they can do when they want to do it. There are three factors that go into expectancy theory. Netflix through has set its company up to create an environment where when expectancy theory comes into play it has a high value on its ability to obtain, retain, and motivate its employees to keep innovating new strategies in order to keep it number one in on-line movie rentals. The first factor being expectancy, which is the probability that work effort will be followed by performance accomplishment. Essentially this will have a higher value the more a person is certain that the level of performance expected can be achieved. The second is instrumentality which is the probability that performance will lead to various work outcomes. This second factor like the first is given a number the higher the number the more certain the person is that an achievement will receive various outcomes. The last is valence which is the value to the individual of various work outcomes. This factor is also given a value the higher the value the more desirable the outcome is to the person. When these three are set up as an equation where motivation equals expectancy times instrumentality times valence as factors approach a zero value the less motivational appeal there is to do a certain task. When reading the article Netflix: Flex to the Max one can use expectancy theory to explain the success Netflix has had motivating its employees. First and foremost are the expectations and goals set by the founder Reed Hastings. He clearly states what he wants from his employees such as hard work, high performance, uniting them on one focused goal, and giving them the freedom to achieve it. He hires the best of the best and will immediately let them go if performance is not excellent. By setting clear goals that each individual is certain that the level of performance expected can be achieved there is a high value in an individual’s expectancy factor. At Netflix an individual’s instrumentality value will also be high as once the performance is achieved the various outcomes are desirable. Secondly, Hastings offers employees high salaries, unlimited vacations, and freedom to create their own compensation packages. The third part of the equation, being valence, will also be high for an individual at Netflix. Working for a company that not only gives them the freedom to work on their own schedule while expecting excellence but encourages them to hire three people they loved working with which creates a better workplace for all employees. While this places a positive value on why valance is high for an individual at Netflix, a negative one is that if one doesn’t live up to expectations they are swiftly shown the door. Therefore, wanting a positive outcome is more desirable in order to stay at a company that pays well and expects excellence but gives large amounts of freedom. When all these factors in expectancy theory are so well laid out from clearly set goals, which have to be attained in order to maintain the various outcomes that range from unlimited vacation to major stock options, and the desirability to make Netflix a great work environment by bringing in people one wants to work with again. Motivation with all of these factors in place is high and the motivation to continue to be employed there is higher therefore Netflix is becoming more successful in retaining the types of employees it needs to stay ahead in the on-line movie rental business. The textbook defines the self-concept as the view individuals have of themselves as physical, social, spiritual or moral beings. The self-concept in humans embodies several different aspects such as personality traits, values, attitudes and believes, and behavior. In order to change the self-concept there are several steps that need to be accomplished for an overall change. First being self examination, which is a self evaluation to isolate discrepancies in one’s self-concept and then having the desire to work on changing them. The second step being a self expectation where one sets goals for themselves and places the according demands in order to reach these goals. Third, is self-direction which is taking responsibility for oneself by monitoring and adjusting through insight and growth. Lastly, is self-realization where one has reached the full potential, are willing to take risks, and will venture out to make new opportunities. When looking at General Electric’s methods for training their leaders it shows that they realize self-concept is important and that it is not easy to change and develop. Recognizing and evaluating leadership capability on day one of employment is a new concept that they are working with also because they believe in changing and nurturing leaders earlier will create a larger pool of talented people that can only improve the company. It is because of these two important realizations that GE funds its Crotonville facility. It is from this facility that its future leaders are molded, strengthened and trained. This campus while expensive is funded through good times and bad because of their belief that human capital is the most important thing they can keep working on. Not only because helping people learn to change their self-concept to make them the best leader possible but because, as the article states, companies that provide people with opportunities to learn and grow become talent magnets. Another practice that GE has that helps develop the self-concept besides its training facility is that they believe changing up job assignments allows people to hone and discover new talents instead of just assigning them at what they are good at. Therefore, they get more well-rounded leaders, managers, and workers. For example, the article gives John Dineen who is in Erie, Pa. There he is learning many facets of the company, such as, how to deal with customers, labor negotiations, and the companies supply chain, Dineen is learning through GE’s idea that feedback is key so employees learn how they have performed and then mentor, support and train their employees to help them improve key skills. The article also points out that while you can try to coerce people into doing what a company wants by firing and demoting it just does not work in this day and age. General Electric’s programs for training and improving its future leaders is very much about changing and working with self-concept. In the self-examination step, they evaluate employees early to recognize what behaviors they have as good and which ones need to be honed. Then employees accept not only feedback but mentoring, a trip to Crotonville for extensive training and courses in making them the best leaders possible. They set goals in order to work on what is weak not improve what is good. GE recognizes the importance of giving people a chance to change and work on their lesser traits rather than reinforce already strong ones. Well-rounded employees that can think on their feet take risks, and will venture out to try new jobs and ideas, are what makes GE’s program so great. GE is not just training employees but creating strong confident talented leaders who can take on anything even if it is to be a leader in another company. The relationship between satisfaction, performance and rewards can be described in three arguments. One argument is that satisfaction causes performance which is if job satisfaction causes high levels of performance, he answer is to increase employees’ work performance to make them happy. Another argument is that performance causes satisfaction which is that if high levels of performance cause job satisfaction, the answer is to give attention to helping people achieve high performance and then job satisfaction would be high as well. The hitch in this argument is that if job performance is high but an individual feels that the reward is not equal to performance then job s atisfaction will not continue to be high. The third argument is rewards cause both satisfaction and performance. This argument states that properly rewarding employees can positively influence both performance and satisfaction. I personally believe the best overall argument is the last one, that rewards cause both satisfaction and performance. The average person does not go to a job thinking if I do my best today the reward will be greater satisfaction at the work place but I go to work for the money. While performing well may equal satisfaction on a personal level if the job well done is not recognized by a reward people become discouraged, even if the only reward is a raise. In accordance with Herzberg’s two-factor theory rewards also may not be monetary but a new job assignment or more freedom to move about in a job unsupervised can be a reward as well. Knowing that you are trusted to do a job well done can be extremely rewarding. Therefore rewards cause satisfaction and job performance. Netflix has the best example of rewards causing both satisfaction and performance. While Netflix gives rewards more upfront than most companies the incentive to keep these rewards by hard work and above average performance. For a Netflix employee high salaries, unlimited vacation, freedom to get the work done and do the job you were hired to do because you are good at it are all rewards. They realize if job performance does not live up to expectations they will be shown the door. The employees of Netflix have great amounts of job satisfaction because they realize that it is a great place to work because of the rewards they receive for doing the job they were hired to do exceptionally well. Also shown in the article The Best Places to Launch a Career attracting Generation Y employees is based on the argument rewards cause both performance and satisfaction. The article touches on the fact that Generation Y does not just want to come to work, do the job, and go home. They want an opportunity to work hard, have new assignments, develop themselves and have a chance to advance in the work place. All of these being rewards to cause high performance and satisfaction. In the article Dan Black states â€Å"If you don’t make an effort to provide and environment in which this generation can do their best, they’re going to find one where they can. If a job is done well by an employee they may feel personal satisfaction but that can only be for so long before they begin looking for the benefit of their hard work. Even in a volunteer position the reward is free, it is seeing the benefit of your work reflected in others. Volunteers feel personal satisfaction of where they volunteer and perform well because the reward is high. If there was n o reward to volunteering people would be less inclined to do it. All of these points continue to cause me to believe that rewards cause both satisfaction and performance. Without being rewarded whether it be monetary or just seeing the benefit of a job well done in a volunteer aspect people will discontinue to be satisfied in the area they are working in and performance will slack. The age old question of â€Å"what’s in it for me? † says it all. No one does anything without personal benefit. Without reward what would be the point of performing well, without reward nothing would be satisfying, and without performance and satisfaction a firm could only produce poor quality work.

Marketing in the Wine Industry Essay

There’s more in a glass of wine than meets the eye, or the palate. Wine isn’t just for the rich and affluent anymore. Everyone can enjoy wine, whether it’s a five dollar bottle or a five hundred dollar bottle. Winemakers and wine distribution companies have come up with new and exciting way to market their wines to people of every tax bracket and all walks of life. (Manda) Marketing in the wine industry is changing. Traditionally, consumers looked to opinion leaders like Robert Parker and the Wine Spectator to find the best wines on the market. While those methods are still effective, winemakers and wine enthusiasts have discovered a new way to spread the word about particular wines. Social media has become the new, hot trend in marketing in just about every industry out there right now. And the wine industry is no exception. Corkd. com is a website for wine drinkers and enthusiasts where users can create their own wine journal, wine cellar, shopping list, and connect with online drinking buddies. This website is one way the wine industry as stepped up to the plate and utilized the opportunities of the internet in marketing. â€Å"Cork’d is your pulse on the wine world and an online playground for all things wine. By collaborating with some of the smartest wine drinkers and industry figures, Cork’d is providing you with the most comprehensive, fun and exciting wine content available. Whether you’re a winery looking for exposure or an events company looking to promote or host a tasting, Cork’d wants to talk to you. Our mission is to breakdown the stereotypes, myths and pretenses surrounding wine culture to help you discover and drink better wines. † (corkd. com) Another factor changing the wine industries marketing strategies is where consumers are buying wine. Chain stores and supermarkets have taken over wine distribution from wholesalers. Costco has become one of the largest wine retailers in the United States. According to Michael Roberto, â€Å"There’s no question that a seismic shift is occurring at the retail and wholesale level. The number of alcoholic beverage wholesalers in the U. S. has decreased by 75 percent since the 1960s. At the retail level, wine sales are increasingly shifting to supermarkets, wholesale clubs, and the like. For instance, Robert Mondavi now sells 10 percent of its wine in unit terms through Costco. These changes in the retail and distribution channels present substantial challenges for wineries, of course, because these powerful players such as Costco have much more clout and bargaining power than small liquor stores. Smaller vineyards often can find it more difficult to secure shelf space, and all wineries find themselves facing pricing pressure from the retail and distribution channels. † Even though many wineries do not like the changes and small retail shops are suffering because of this shift, many consumers are actually profiting from these changes. Winemakers have found another fun way to market their wines simply with their labels. The new â€Å"trend† in the wine business is a funky label. Traditionally, wine labels were simple and to the point. The label had the name of the vineyard, the year, and basic information about the wine in a simple fashion. Recently, winemakers have started to get creative with the names of their wines and the design of their bottles and labels. Now, when you walk down an aisle in a store filled with different wines there are many different bottles that stick out because of loud colors, wild pictures, or crazy names on the label. This is a great form of marketing to use for wine because the bottle itself is a great marketing tool. Many consumers will buy a bottle of wine just because they like how the bottle looks or maybe they are giving it as a gift and the title is something catchy that conveys some type of message that relates to the person who is receiving the wine. For example, there is a wine called â€Å"Bitch† wine. The wine itself is not bad, but its nothing to rave about. One of the main reasons that particular wine is so popular is because of the name. The label is black with pink script font with â€Å"Bitch† printed on the front, and on the back it just repeats the name of the wine over and over again. This wine is marketed to women and is a perfect gift to give a friend as a joke they can enjoy. Women have become a hot target market for wine makers. According to the 2006 Adams Wine Handbook, â€Å"Men prefer beer; women prefer wine,† Many women are emerging as winemakers and marketers are realizing the potential for profit in female consumers. â€Å"Women make up 52 percent of the adult population and purchase 57 percent of the wine consumed in the United States. 1 They represent a huge market with great purchasing power that until recently has been overlooked. According to experts, women are less influenced by wine ratings, as they tend to judge the entire product. Although the wine quality is important to women, so are the label design, the bottle shape and the philosophy of the winery. † (Wine Institute) While there are many new ways to market wine, the traditional methods are still widely used. Promotion in the wine industry is all about putting the name of the winery on everything from wine keys to wine bags to key chains to hats. Wine distribution companies have always been know to give out free merchandise with the name of the wines they sell everywhere. This is a great way to advertise. Consumers love to receive free things and that opens up a great opportunity for wineries to advertise with little cost. California former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed September as â€Å"Wine Celebration Month†, also known as California Wine Month. This is another great way for wineries to get their name and wines out in the public. DiscoverCalifornaiWine. com states, â€Å"September is California Wine Month, and that makes it a fine time to enjoy a glass of California wine and a visit to wine country. September is harvest time in California and California Wine Month celebrates the state’s ideal climate for wine, beautiful wine country landscape, our talented and ingenious winemaking families, our celebrated lifestyle and cuisine; and our commitment to sustainability and the environment. † Another trend in the world of wine is sustainability and organics. Many vineyards around have become 100 percent sustainable and the numbers are growing. The new world culture is all about reducing our carbon and ecological footprint. So many wineries have actually capitalized on this idea. Wineries have begun to include their efforts at social responsibility in their advertising. Which caters to a growing market of consumers, as many people nowadays will only buy organic. Tolosa is a winery that has recently dedicated itself to sustainability and creating wine without harming the environment. One if their brochures stated that, â€Å"In August 2009 Tolosa converted to solar electrical generation. This system will provide the winery’s electrical energy for the next 25 years. CO2 emissions reduced by over 500 tons. This is equivalent to planting nearly 100 acres of trees. † Tolosa is one of the many wineries’ that has begun to capitalize on sustainability. The times have changed and so have marketing strategies of the wine industry. The wine industry is booming more than ever. Success in the wine industry is possible whether a company uses new or old marketing techniques. In this new age, the marketing department should focus on women and social media. As Tinckenell and Tincknell, a wine consulting and marketing firm, have written on the front page of their website MarketingWine. com, â€Å"If it doesn’t come from the heart, the message will be hollow. If you don’t imagine it first, someone else will. If it isn’t inspired and creative, it won’t get noticed. Each link in the marketing process — the heart, the mind, and creativity — communicates your story to the world. † Works Cited About Cork’d  « Cork’d Content. † Cork’d Content. Web. 20 June 2011. . â€Å"Discover California Wines : California Wine Month. † Discover California Wines : Welcome to Discover California Wines. Web. 20 June 2011. . The Changing Structure of the Global Wine Industry (2004). Michael Roberto. Salls, Manda. â€Å"Marketing Wine to the World — HBS Working Knowledge. † HBS Working Knowledge – Faculty Research at Harvard Business School. Web. 20 June 2011. .

1 page report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

1 page report - Research Paper Example Companies will avoid law suites which are brought by harming the environment. Environment is made dirty when companies litter in places like beaches. There are some companies that emits carbon into the air and others spill oil into the sea (Anderson, 2006). By engaging in these practices, companies will never face law suits. Another importance for companies engaging in these practices is saving costs on production of their products. These are companies that have started recycling programs where they recycle plastic containers etc. These saves cost of producing new plastic products and it eventually cleans the environment. These practices are used by some companies as business strategies. Companies that protect the environment are praised by people because they are responsible. They get good opinion by people and customer loyalty. It is important for companies to engage in environmental sustainability practices because there are global challenges of energy efficiency. There is also climate change due to emissions by companies. Human activities have brought climate change and this should be reduced (Ramon, 2007). Living in a dirty environment predisposes people to diseases. There are several steps that companies can take in order to become environmentally sustainable. The first step is by reducing rubbish by recycling. Recycling of some rubbish reduces the operation costs of a company. Recycling of rubbish will eliminate littering which eventually encourages pests. Another step that companies should take is by manufacturing eco-friendly products. These are products that are environmental friendly. The eco-friendly products do not emit carbon and are not harmful to the environment. For instance, car manufactures are designing cars that consume less energy and emit less carbon. Air pollution is another area considered by companies. Companies are taking caution in emitting gases into the air. Some gases are dangerous when inhaled by employees and

Marketing Research for Yelp in the Brazilian Market Term Paper

Marketing Research for Yelp in the Brazilian Market - Term Paper Example If you feel that any of the steps mentioned in the proposal contradict with your expectations, kindly notify us so that we may be able to make the relevant modification on a timely basis. BACKGROUND: Yelp is planning to provide its services to the Brazilian users regarding Brazilian markets and this research report would assist Yelp in initiating its operations in Brazil. The research report would include a comprehensive study of various factors that will help the organization understand the manner in which Brazilian businesses operate and the ways in which it can engage the Brazilian users. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research is to ensure whether it would be feasible for Yelp to start operating in Brazil. The research report would provide the factors that are responsible for the success of Yelp in other territories and an analysis of the fact whether those factors would be feasible in Brazil. The findings of the research report would assist Yelp in understanding the environment of Brazilian markets and modifying its strategy for entering in the Brazilian market accordingly. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: The research methodology to be followed would consist of primary research and secondary research. In primary research, the relevant information would be acquired directly from the users, while in secondary research, the information already available from different sources would be analyzed and it would be determined whether such information can be utilized for the purposes of this research. The primary research would be conducted through the use of online surveys using the social networking sites and questionnaires at different markets in Brazil. A set of questions would be designed that would focus on the attitude of the users towards a service like Yelp in Brazil. The surveys and questionnaires would include questions that would help the research team analyze their response towards such a service. In this manner, it would be found out whether the users anticipate the services provided by Yelp in Brazil or not. The questionnaire would be simple in order to ens ure a higher response rate. The following would be the key information to be acquired through the questionnaires: 1. What are users overall perceptions and attitudes towards the services like the ones provided by Yelp? 2. How users view Yelp as compared to other such websites in Brazil. 3. Understanding the attitude of the users by understanding the cultural specifics that are most common in Brazil. 4. The factors that the users like and dislike regarding the markets of Brazil and how a service like Yelp would help them decide where to shop and where not to. 5. What the users in Brazil know about Yelp, what they like about its services and what do they dislike about it. The secondary research would include the analysis of market researches already conducted by other organizations or independent researchers. It would

Cultural relativism (sociology) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cultural relativism (sociology) - Essay Example Such relationships are popular in western world in terms of partner relationship and marriage but it is condemned in the eastern world. When we deal with people in or from cultures different from our own, not only prudence but also moral decency requires that we attend to these differences and consider them with care and sensitivity in light of the respect we owe the members of other cultures simply as human beings. It is a true doctrine relating to the sociology and anthropology of moral beliefs (What is Culture relativism). Differences in dress, diet, and social norms are readily apparent. Such diversity in terms of ethics and justice are also easily seen and apparently shaped by the culture in which we live. Proponents of cultural relativism believe this cultural diversity proves that culture alone is responsible for our morality (Culture relativism). Moral relativists say that what we perceive as moral convictions or conscience are the byproducts of culture. Moreover, to pass judgment on another culture would be ethnocentric. This strength, nevertheless, is also a major weakness. Cultural relativism excuses us from judging moral practices of another culture. Still, provide the feeling of being compelled to condemn such actions as the Holocaust or ethnic cleansing (Cultural Relativism).

Politics of the Counter-culture in Relation to Class and Gender Essay

Politics of the Counter-culture in Relation to Class and Gender - Essay Example The vital role in the development of this counter-culture was played by the politics, influential individuals, the significant subcultures and cultural groups working against the dominant social behaviour and culture of the period. Counter-culture in the US referred to the extensive refusal of the mainstream social culture and norms of the previous decade, i.e. the 1960s. Significantly, this is identified with the emerging subculture of the youth who discarded the cultural standards of their previous generation and the youth culture in the US resulted in the cultural and political segregation of the youth. The counter-culture in the UK can be realised as a reaction against the post-war social norms of the 1940s and 1950s and this was characterised by a counter culture of the youth. Whereas several societies have witnessed distinct of counter-culture in various forms, it referred more to a visible phenomenon affecting several spheres of the social life in the UK. Thus, the counter-cul tural movement in the UK expressed the ethos, aspirations, and dreams of the particular subculture of the youth during the 1960s and 70s. ... As such, psychedelic experience falls into place as one, but only one, possible method of mounting that exploration. It becomes a limited chemical means to a greater psychic end, namely the reformulation of the personality, upon which social ideology and culture generally are ultimately based." (Whiteley, 81) Therefore, the politics of the British counter-culture needs to be comprehended in relation to race, class, gender and the freedom of the youth subculture. The counter-culture was the most prominent social reality of the 1960 in the US and the UK and the emerging youth culture proved significant contributor and sponsor of this movement. Counter-culture is often related to class and gender and the movement mainly affected the youths of the period who longed for all sorts of freedom. The extensive popularity of the counter-culture was marked by the great interest in popular music, tastes, drug consumption, and art. The counter-culture also manifested its control over the media and publishing. In her book Promise of a Dream: Remembering the Sixties, Sheila Rowbotham gives a significant account of the emergence and spirit of the counter-culture which also signals the emergence of new interests and tastes among the popular culture. "As 1966 drew to a close a counter-culture was emerging which was to run alongside the radical movement, sometimes interacting with it, sometimes diverging from it. A heady mix of music, drugs, art and underground papers was ready for take-off. The great congregation of people who showed up at the Roundhouse to launch International Times that October seemed to be the alternative manifest. The vast old round building, a former railway turning shed, in Chalk Farm, north London, belonged to

Energy Security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Energy Security - Research Paper Example However, there should be development of alternative ‘clean’ energy sources, which do not rely on fossil fuels and which have a tolerable environmental effect in order to meet the raising global demands for energy and to allow for the depletion of fossil fuel supplies in the future (332). For effectively use of renewable sources, there is a need of consistent ways of storing energy for example, rechargeable batteries and high-temperature superconductivity as well as developments in hydrogen storage (Dresselhaus and Thomas, 333). Due to high demands, the strained global energy systems has caused high prices hence increasing global anxiety over the world’s ability to meet energy needs. It is evident that there is a challenge trying to administer the growing complexity of an energy-interdependent world while on the other hand trying to meet environmental, security, and economic goals. This necessitates a more advanced energy policymaking approach one that fully values the complex nature of energy security, the need to manage the trade-offs inherent in energy policy decision-making, and the interdependencies of global markets (Verrastro and Ladislaw, 95). On the other hand, each energy source has some adverse effects. Fossil fuels processes emit carbon dioxide, and perhaps other contaminants, such as nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and ash. There is production of radioactive fission products in the nuclear plants. While dams and large lakes are needed for hydroelectric plants, large areas are necessary f or solar and wind energy although they are limited geographically. Then again, geothermal sources are restricted to very few locations and those methods using small temperature gradients need very large heat-exchanger areas because of the low thermal efficiencies in the earth or oceans (Dresselhaus and Thomas, 332). One of the alternative energy supplies that the globe can rely on is solar

Services marketing environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Services marketing environment - Essay Example Moreover he will give some recommendations from the results and the analysis, which will help the hotels to be improved. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a summary as well as an interpretation from research findings of the secondary data, by books, journal articles, reports, electronic databases and websites in order to drown the literature. In addition, an in-depth analysis of the roles and purpose of the HR in organizations in general will be included, how HR assists in the organization and how HR helps the organization strategy. Moreover, the research is concentrated on the HRM in companies. Finally, some information about the HRM in hotels will be given. This chapter is very helpful in increasing the knowledge relative to the studying area since the results and the findings of the primary data will be related with the literature review. Therefore, the knowledge from literature review is going to provide a more professional research that will focus on the purpose of this research. Also, the purpose of this is to offer an overview of significant information published on the topic in order to narrow down the research questions to a specific, suitable form. 'The study of consumer behaviour is at this time seen as a 'behavioural or social science.' There are many that would challenge that this is a misnomer although it is not strictly a 'science', in it purest form when compared with the 'Natural' and 'Mathematical sciences'. Watson states, "Behavioural Science is a purely objective experimental branch of Natural Science." To understand the real reasons people purchase one brand over the other, it is necessary to understand their underlying needs and concerns. In the past the theory of consumer behaviour has come from psychology; however, with further study sociology, anthropology and economics also contribute. Social Influences/Class: 'Social class membership serves consumers as a border of reference for the growth of attitude and behaviour.' The hierarchical aspect of social class is significant to marketers. Consumers purchase products based on, either their own or a senior class, or their wanting to have an improved role and status in life (Andreassen, Paul B. 2002, 371-389). Interest have to be paid to social class, as it is a natural form of segmentation, which determines buyer behaviour. Due to this, Geodemographic clusters were developed to locate concentrates of consumers with particular characteristics. Many companies design products or services for specific social classes. Consumers from the lower classes may only dream of owning a BMW or Jewellery from Harry Winston, therefore marketers would not target them (Arkes, Hal R., 2003,

LGBT is a bad idea in university because Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

LGBT is a bad idea in university because - Essay Example LGBT housing is a bad idea in university because housing is discriminative in nature. According to (Cochran) , Barry Magee, who is the Director of Resident Life, argues that housing LGTB will create an environment where allies of LGTB community as well as those individuals who are identified as LGTB come together and share comfortable conversations . In addition, Magee said that housing of LGBT will create a safer atmosphere in the campus for the LGBT community by bringing the community together. Rather than creating a safe environment, housing of LGTB will convey discrimination on the Campus. Researchers argue that the main ground of discrimination and especially in a school environment is a negative perception. The perception that a particular set of group of the individual is more important that another will cause students uproar. Housing of LGBT will act as a transparent base for comparison of beliefs and personal behaviors and as result safety the safety of the student will redu ce. In most cases, every action that is conducted towards schoolmates, classmates among others will be evaluated on the basis of LGBT (Lee 205). LGBT housing is a bad idea in university because of academic reasons. Social relationships are very critical, both in schools and outside school. Good relationships raise the self-esteem of students and more importantly their way of expression. Self-esteem in school enables students to identify their better performers on campus comfortably and as a result making them their target to their academic improvements. Housing of LGBT will be creating a barrier by which students will be interacting. For instance, it will be exceptionally peculiar to find a member of LGBT community interacting, leave alone taking an academic project together with others for fear of discrimination. Fundamentally, different tutors and professors have different teaching methods. In some

Burdens of History Essay Example for Free

Burdens of History Essay The British imperial history has long been a fortress of conservative scholarship, its study separated from mainstream British history, its practitioners resistant to engaging with new approaches stemming from the outside – such as feminist scholarship, postcolonial cultural studies, social history, and black history. In this light, Antoinette Burton’s Burdens of History: British Feminists, Indian Women, and Imperial Culture, 1865-1915 represents challenges to the limited vision and exclusivity of standard imperial history. Burton’s Burdens of History is part of a budding new imperial history, which is characterized by its diversity instead of a single approach. In this book, the author examines the relationship between liberal middle-class British feminists, Indian women, and imperial culture in the 1865-1915 period. Its primary objective is to relocate â€Å"British feminist ideologies in their imperial context and problematizing Western feminists historical relationships to imperial culture at home† (p. 2). Burton describes Burdens of History as a history of â€Å"discourse† (p. 7). By this, she means the history of British feminism, imperialism, orientalism, and colonialism. Throughout the book, the author interposes and synthesizes current reinterpretations of British imperial history, women’s history, and cultural studies that integrate analyses of race and gender in attempts at finding the ideological structures implanted in language. In this book, Burton analyzes a wide assortment of feminist periodicals for the way British feminists fashioned an image of a disenfranchised and passive colonized female â€Å"Other†. The impact of the message conveyed was to highlight not a rejection of empire – as modern-day feminists too readily have tended to assume – but a British feminist imperial obligation. According to Burton, empire lives up to what they and many of their contemporaries believed were its purposes and ethical ideals. Burton based her book on extensive empirical research. Here, she is concerned with the material as well as the ideological and aware of the complexity of historical interpretation. Backed by these, the author particularly examines the relationship between imperialism and women’s suffrage. Burton brings together a remarkable body of evidence to back her contention that women’s suffrage campaigners’ claims for recognition as imperial citizens were legitimated as â€Å"an extension of Britains worldwide civilizing mission† (p. 6). Centering on the Englishwomans Review before 1900 and suffrage journals post 1900, the author finds an imperialized discourse that made British women’s parliamentary vote and emancipation imperative if they were to â€Å"shoulder the burdens required of imperial citizens† (p. 172). The author shows in Burdens of History how Indian women were represented as â€Å"the white feminist burden† (p. 10) as â€Å"helpless victims awaiting the representation of their plight and the redress of their condition at the hands of their sisters in the metropole† (p. 7). Responding both on the charge that white feminists need to address the method of cultural analysis pioneered by Edward Said and the imperial location and racial assumptions of historical feminisms, Burton explores the images of Indian women within Victorian and Edwardian feminist writing. In her analysis, the author argues that Indian women functioned as the ideological â€Å"Other† within such texts, their presence serving to authorize feminist activities and claims. By creating an image of tainted Oriental womanhood, and by presenting enforced widowhood, seclusion, and child marriage as â€Å"the totality of Eastern womens experiences† (p. 67), British feminists insisted on their own superior emancipation and laid claim to a wider imperial role. However, while feminists persistently reiterated their responsibility for Indian women, the major purpose of such rhetoric was to institute the value of feminism to the imperial nation. According to the author: â€Å"The chief function of the Other woman was to throw into relief those special qualities of the British feminist that not only bound her to the race and the empire but made her the highest and most civilized national female type, the very embodiment of social progress and progressive civilization† (p. 83). According to Burton, British feminists were, â€Å"complicitous with much of British imperial enterprise† (p. 25): their movement must be seen as supportive of that wider imperial effort. She sustains this argument through an examination of feminist emancipatory writings, feminist periodicals and the literature of both the campaign against the application of the Contagious Diseases Acts in India and the campaign for the vote. Indeed, the greatest strength of this book lies in the fact that Burton has made a n extensive search through contemporary feminist literature from a new perspective. In the process, she recovers some quite interesting subgenres within feminist writing. She shows, for instance, how feminist histories sought to reinterpret the Anglo-Saxon past to justify their own political claims and specifying some characteristic differences between explicitly feminist and more general womens periodicals. Certainly, Burton’s survey establishes the centrality of imperial issues to the British feminist movement, providing a helpful genealogy of some styles of argumentation that have persisted to the present day. Burdens of History is a serious contribution to feminist history and the history of feminism. In conclusion, Burton states that British feminists were agents operating both in opposition to oppressive ideologies and in support of them-sometimes simultaneously, because they saw in empire an inspiration, a rationale, and a validation for womens reform activities in the public sphere. Her arguments are persuasive; indeed, once stated, they become almost axiomatic. However, Burton’s work is to some extent flawed by two major problems. First, the author never compares the â€Å"imperial feminism†; rather she locates in her texts to other imperial ideologies. In addition, Burton does not subject imperialism to the same kind of careful scrutiny she turns on feminism. She does not define â€Å"imperialism† in her section on definitions, but uses the term – as she uses â€Å"feminism† – largely to denote an attitude of mind. Another problem is Burton’s failure to address the question of how feminist imperialism worked in the world more generally. It is true that feminists sought the vote using a rhetoric of cross-cultural maternal and racial uplift, however, one may ask: what were the effects of this strategy on the hearing accorded their cause, on wider attitudes toward race and empire, and, more specifically, on policies toward India? The author not only brushes aside such questions; she implies that they are unimportant. It seems that, for Burton, the ideological efforts of British feminists were significant only for British feminism. It can be argued that Burton’s difficulty in tracing the way Burdens of History works in the world is a consequence of her methodological and archival choices. The problem is not that the author has chosen to approach her subject through a â€Å"discursive tack† (p. 27), but rather that she has employed this method too narrowly and on too restrictive range of sources. While the author has read almost every piece of feminist literature, she has not gone beyond this source base to systematically examine either competing official documents, Indian feminist writings, or imperial discourses. Thus, Burton’s texts are treated either self-referentially or with reference to current feminist debates. Overall, Burton’s approach is useful in providing a critical history for feminism today, Certainly, it is as a critique of Western feminisms pretensions to universal and transhistorical high-mindedness that Burdens of History succeeds. However, if one wishes to map out the impact of imperial feminism not only on feminism today, but also on imperial practices and relations historically, one needs a study that is willing to cross the border between political history and intellectual history and to take greater methodological risks.

Whether Ethical Leaders Are Born Or Made Philosophy Essay

Whether Ethical Leaders Are Born Or Made Philosophy Essay In this essay we will extend to the debate which is going on for years that Ethical leaders are born or made, starting initially with the understand of what is an ethical leader who is an ethical leader and the good and bad traits of leader and how leader can be ethical and understanding the concepts attributes of good ethical leader like Mr. Nayaran Murty, Chairman Ex-CEO, Infosys Technologies Ltd. And will learn more about him in terms of of his character, values moral behaviour. While in the last part of essay we will try to figure out what are the important Ethical issues faced by todays Business Leader through the frame work of Stakeholder, Owners. What is an ethical leader? Someone who is able to stimulate people willingness to practice well-being encourages good ethical behaviour. They are also open to questions, discussion, and criticism. A good leader is someone who cares about the followers in general. Any theory of ethical leadership must be based on two new premises. First, ethical leadership is a system of thought based on setting rules for what to do, not on what not to do. Second, leadership must evolve to include ethical behaviour not because ethical behaviour is simply a natural good in and of itself, but mainly as part of the core of what leadership is for pragmatic reasons. The world does not exist for only one moment. It exists as a continuum of time and any definition of leadership must recognize that leadership is not an event that occurs in one second, but is a process that takes time. While an act of leadership may appear episodic, for true leadership to occur it must be built on a series of actions that produces a very useful range of results. The definition of leadership that incorporates this time dimension, The definition is: Leadership is the creation and fulfillment of worthwhile opportunities by honourable means(Herb Rubenstein, 2003) The debate of Ethical Leader Born versus Made has been going on for years, and it will still go on, to add to this debate a person might be blessed with extraordinary talents like he might be the best orator or the best writer or the best in his field still he may not emerge out to be as ethical leader. People may possess almost all the traits of a leader, but if they lack the all important human touch than they will fail to attract people towards themselves. Ethical leadership is about having great relationship with others; a follower is ever desirous of seeking personal association of his beloved leader. If a leader does not display the personal bonding then its just a matter of time that the followers will abandon him. A person is not compelled to follow somebody; instead he chooses to follow somebody. But why does he choose to follow an individual? What did he see in that particular individual that he decided to be dictated by his terms and conditions? He submissively accepts an individual as the architecture of his destiny because he sees a personal touch in that individuals gesture along with being ethical, he sees someone who is showing great concern for his personal well-being and he sees that this individual is ever desirous of his success and is willing to provide him the necessary direction which can lead him to succeed. So, he decides to accept his authority and he becomes his follower. An ethical leader has to be credible and trustworthy. His words and actions should match; he should become a living example to his followers. Whatever expectations a leader has from his followers he should clearly state it. People want an Ethical leader to be honest; a follower has willingly surrendered himself to the leader so he wants that the person whom he is following should be honest in his words and in his actions. An Ethical leader should be a great communicator of ideas and visions; his words should establish a bond with the follower. An ethical leader should create a positive environment wherein the people can be self-motivated; a leader should always be inspiring. He should display great amount of competence and commitment towards his work. He should lead by example and display tremendous determination; his never to die attitude will inspire his followers. A leader should also display great competence and capability. People follow someone if they believe that the person has got the requisite capability of achieving what he tends to achieve. Some people have a natural ability which makes them take initiatives in leadership and being ethical as well. The will to make decisions is also one trait which is inherent in some people and proves to be an essential quality of a leader. While some qualities needed for good leadership may be natural to some people it is important to note that all skills needed for an ethical leadership are not present in any individual. He has to learn some skill on his own by making deliberate efforts. Since all the properties needed for good leadership are not inborn in any individual everyone has learn the ropes of this business. That is why it is stressed that leaders are made and are not born.   The debate of Ethical Leader Born versus Made has been going on for centuries. As said earlier ethical leadership can be taught learned. There are some skills have to be learned for a good ethical leader. In some people these qualities are inborn but some people have to learn these skills. What are the means to learn these skills? One way is you can watch a leader and learn from him. Like Mr. Narayana Murty, Chairman CEO, INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES (LTD) One of the founders of Infosys Technologies Limited; Chosen as the World Entrepreneur of the Year 2003 by Ernst and Young Narayana Murthy is the Non-Executive Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies Limited. He is a living legend and an epitome of the fact that honesty, transparency, and moral integrity ethics are not at variance with business acumen. He set new standards in corporate governance and morality when he stepped down as the Executive Chairman of Infosys at the Age of 60.   Born on August 20, 1946, N.R. Narayana Murthy is a B.E. Electrical from University of Mysore (1967) and M.Tech from IIT Kanpur (1969). Narayan Murthy began his career with Patni Computer Systems in Pune. In 1981, Narayana Murthy founded Infosys with six other software professionals. In 1987, Infosys opened its first international office in U.S.A. With the liberalization of Indian economy in 1990s, Infosys grew rapidly. In 1993, the company came up with its IPO. In 1995, Infosys set up development centers across cities in India and in 1996, it set up its first office in Europe in Milton Keynes, UK. In 1999, Infosys became the first Indian company to be listed on NASDAQ. Today (in 2006), Infosys has a turnover of more than $ 2billion and has employee strength of over 50,000. In 2002, Infosys was ranked No. 1 in the Best Employers in India 2002 survey conducted by Hewitt and in the Business Worlds survey of Indias Most Respected Company. conducted in the same year. Along with the growth of Infosys, Narayana Moorthy too has grown in stature. He has received many honors and awards. In June 2000, Asiaweek magazine featured him in a list of Asias 50 Most Powerful People. In 2001, Narayana Murthy was named by TIME/CNN as one of the 25 most influential global executives. He was the first recipient of the Indo-French Forum Medal (2003) and was voted the World Entrepreneur of the Year 2003 by Ernst and Young. The Economist ranked Narayana Murthy eighth on the list of the 15 most admired global leaders (2005) and Narayan Murthy also topped the Economic Times Corporate Dossier list of Indias most powerful CEOs for two consecutive years 2004 and 2005. Strategy is all about differentiating yourself in the marketplace to maximise your margins. Differentiation could come through products and services. But your stakeholders must feel you are more and more valuable to them, compared to competitors. Stakeholders would mean society, customers, employees, government, investors; each must say this company is adding more value to me than any other. Ethics and values can be defined as anything that stands the test of golden behaviour. That is the rule, that one must do unto others what you would like to be done unto you. Nayaran Murty define ethics and values in a more elaborate manner. Ethics and values form the protocol for conduct and behaviour in a community for each of its members. So that enhances the confidence, the enthusiasm, the energy, the joy of everyone else in the community. If I conduct myself as per that protocol of behaviour, it enhances the confidence, the enthusiasm, the energy and joy of everyone else in the company. As I said earlier, if you want to become unique in the marketplace, then you want all to work hard. If you want 67,500 employees in Infosys to agree voluntarily to commit to hard work, then they have to trust the leader. A leader has to have followers to be a leader. That is why I stood by my controversial decision on CEOs salaries being linked to companys earnings. If you want to enhance the trust of employees in the leader, then the leadership of the company has to conduct itself in a manner that enhances trust. Also, the CEO or the leader must definitely reap benefits proportionate to the benefits derived by the company. Never before in the history of business community in the world did we have a situation where trust of man and woman in the street is lowest in business leaders. According to a US survey, corporate leaders are least trusted, as many of them violated codes of ethics and even laws. On the Indian side, if you have analysed how salaries of CEOs have increased in 15 years, they have gone up from Rs 7,000 and Rs 10,000 to Rs 7 million on an average. I am one of those who fought for this. When on board of a company, I saw to it that the CEO had a variable linked to output. Indeed, salaries of the lowest paid persons have not correspondingly gone up. I wont get into a debate whether this is right or wrong. But after getting the government to agree to limit on salaries, it is incumbent on our part to live up to expectations and conduct ourselves in a manner that enhances trust of all stakeholders, particularly the government and the society. The fact that we opened borders in 1991 and welcomed MNCs to operate, has had a tremendous positive impact on value delivered to consumers. But if we have to continue to satisfy our customers we have to conduct ourselves in a manner that is worthy for the simple reason that customers today have a plethora of choices. A Ethical leader is an agent of change, and progress is about change. In the words of  Robert F Kennedy, `Progress is a nice word; but change is its motivator. Leadership is about raising the aspirations of followers and enthusing people with a desire to reach for the stars. For instance, Nayaran Murty wanted to take Indian Software Industry to the world level. And he was successful in his vision because he has the attributes of a very good ethical leader. A leader with  vision  has a clear, vivid picture of where to go, as well as a firm grasp on what success looks like and how to achieve it. But its not enough to have a vision; leaders must also share it and act upon it. Nayaran Murty, chairman and CEO of Infosys Tech Ltd., said, Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion. Nayaran Murty was able to communicate his or her vision in terms that cause followers to buy into it. He communicates clearly and passionately, as passion is contagious. A good leader must have the discipline to work toward his or her vision single-mindedly, as well as to direct his or her actions and those of the team toward the goal. Action is the mark of a leader. A leader does not suffer analysis paralysis but is always doing something in pursuit of the vision, inspiring others to do the same. Integrity  is the integration of outward actions and inner values. A person of integrity is the same on the outside and on the inside. Such an individual can be trusted because he or she never veers from inner values, even when it might be expeditious to do so. Narayana Murty have the trust of followers and therefore displays integrity. Honest dealings, predictable reactions, well-controlled emotions, and an absence of tantrums and harsh outbursts are all signs of integrity. Nayaran Murty is centered in integrity and is more approachable by followers. Dedication  means spending whatever time or energy is necessary to accomplish the task at hand. Nayaran Murthy inspires dedication by example, doing whatever it takes to complete the next step toward the vision. By setting an excellent example, he shows followers that there are no nine-to-five jobs on the team, only opportunities to achieve something great. Magnanimity  means giving credit where it is due. A magnanimous leader ensures that credit for successes is spread as widely as possible throughout the company. Conversely, a good leader takes personal responsibility for failures. This sort of reverse magnanimity helps other people feel good about themselves and draws the team closer together. To spread the fame and take the blame is a hallmark of Narayan Murthy. Leaders with  humility  recognize that they are no better or worse than other members of the team. A humble Nayaran Murthy is not self-effacing but rather tries to elevate everyone. Leaders with humility also understand that their status does not make them a god. Nayaran Murthy is a role model for all Indian businessmen aspiring young people, and he pursued a follower-centric leadership role. Openness  means being able to listen to new ideas, even if they do not conform to the usual way of thinking. Nayaran Murty able to suspend judgment while listening to others ideas, as well as accept new ways of doing things that someone else thought of. Openness builds mutual respect and trust between leaders and followers, and it also keeps the team well supplied with new ideas that can further its vision. Creativity  is the ability to think differently, to get outside of the box that constrains solutions. Creativity gives Nayaran Murthy the ability to see things that others have not seen and thus lead followers in new directions. Fairness  means dealing with others consistently and justly. Nayaran Murty checks all the facts and hear everyone out before passing judgment. He or she must avoid leaping to conclusions based on incomplete evidence. When people feel they that are being treated fairly, they reward a leader with loyalty and dedication. Assertiveness  is not the same as aggressiveness. Rather, it is the ability to clearly state what one expects so that there will be no misunderstandings. Nayaran Murty is assertive to get the desired results. Along with assertiveness comes the responsibility to clearly understand what followers expect from their leader. A  sense of humor  is vital to relieve tension and boredom, as well as to  defusehostility. Nayaran Murty knows how to use humor to energize followers. Humor is a form of power that provides some control over the work environment. And simply put, humor fosters good camaraderie. The most important issue  in  Business  Ethics Conflict of  Interest Business ethics can be examined from various perspectives, including the perspective of the employee, the commercial enterprise, and society as a whole. Very often, situations arise in which there is conflict between one or more of the parties, such that serving the interest of one party is a detriment to the other(s). For example, a particular outcome might be good for the employee, whereas, it would be bad for the company, society, or vice versa. Philosophers and others disagree about the purpose of a business ethic in society. For example, some suggest that the principal purpose of a business is to maximize returns to its owners, or in the case of a publicly-traded concern, its shareholders. Thus, under this view, only those activities that increase profitability and shareholder value should be encouraged, because any others function as a tax on profits. Some believe that the only companies that are likely to survive in a competitive marketplace are those that place profit maximization above everything else. However, some point out that self-interest would still require a business to obey the law and adhere to basic moral rules, because the consequences of failing to do so could be very costly in fines, loss of licensure, or company reputation. Some take the position that organizations are not capable of moral agency. Under this, ethical behaviour is required of individual human beings, but not of the business or corporation. Other theorists contend that a business has moral duties that extend well beyond serving the interests of its owners or stockholders, and that these duties consist of more than simply obeying the law. They believe a business has moral responsibilities to so-called stakeholders, people who have an interest in the conduct of the business, which might include employees, customers, vendors, the local community, or even society as a whole. Stakeholders can also be broken down into primary and secondary stakeholders. Primary stakeholders are people that are affected directly such as stockholders, where secondary stakeholders are people who are not affected directly such as the government. They would say that stakeholders have certain rights with regard to how the business operates, and some would suggest tha t this includes even rights of governance. Ethical issues can arise when companies must comply with multiple and sometimes conflicting legal or cultural standards, as in the case of multinational companies that operate in countries with varying practices. The question arises, for example, ought a company to obey the laws of its home country, or should it follow the less stringent laws of the developing country in which it does business? To illustrate, United States law forbids companies from paying bribes either domestically or overseas; however, in other parts of the world, bribery is a customary, accepted way of doing business. Similar problems can occur with regard to child labour, employee safety, work hours, wages, discrimination, and environmental protection laws.

Essay --

Currently, there are many discussions regarding society’s views on how a â€Å"good† person should act. For example, in one society going to war may be viewed as a patriotic act, while in another society it may be viewed negatively because it can be seen as an act promoting violence. Furthermore, there are flaws in always conforming to society’s standards because it takes away one’s individuality. These topics are raised in the â€Å"Unknown Citizen† which is a poem by W.H. Auden that describes a man who is viewed by society as a perfect person and also in â€Å"Do Not Go Gently† by Dylan Thomas where he urges society to not accept death and fight it. As a result, there are actions that society declares as being righteous, but it is also important that people follow their own intuition because that way they become their own person. In both the â€Å"Unknown Citizen† and â€Å"Do Not Go Gently,† the authors give an impression of what a virtuous person is. For example, in the work, â€Å"Unknown Citizen,† the unknown man is reported to be perfect in every way and does absolutely no wrong. In fact, it was stated t...

A Mind Full, a World Shattered :: Personal Narrative Writing

A Mind Full, a World Shattered At the end of a long road one will look back and ponder the experiences that time has moved along the path. There is no doubt I am leaving high-school a different person and I doubt there are few ideas that I once held that have remained the same. At times I miss the simple lessons, the easy test, the mindless homework assignments. I wasn't sure what I expected in high-school, but I am leaving with a mind full, and at times, a world shattered. I'm not sure education meant much to me when I began this path. Perhaps it meant a little more when I had to work for the knowledge I chose to keep or dismiss. I have come to realize that high-school was no more than life lessons, ways to cope, how to deal with people, and a way to test my boundaries mentally and emotionally. It took me awhile to realize that those test given prove nothing, those papers written in structured form prove little else than the thesis statement on the paper topic demanded by teachers. As I look back I can say I will take this with me: Understanding who I am is understanding what I have learned, what I have failed at, what I have questioned, and what I believe. I have learned to distrust words but adore their depth. I have learned to follow directions and to break the rules. I have learned that teachers are just people, with their own minds and beliefs that, in some way, have infiltrated the class room and what I have been taught. At times this has been a tremendous gift, other times a great tragedy. I have learned that a brilliant person is not one who can memorize facts or maintain a high GPA. I have learned grades do not reflect who I am and my abilities. Grades are only maintained to because people are afraid to just "be" and just "learn." I have realized that grades and competition may be the system used to induce hard work and dedication, but I also know that there are better ways because the system fails on a moment to moment basis. I have realized the most important people of this world are not those walking around with the most money or graduating from the best high-schools.

Art History :: essays research papers

EXTERNAL HISTORY: .Considered along with LAS MENINAS to be one of the most important masterpieces of DIEGO DE VELAZQUUEZ , as if final perido,this metological scene despits Minerra ´s dispute with Arachne over weaving abilities.Traditionally cosidered to represent women working at the tapestry workshop of Santa Isable but it now prored that it is mythological subject.It was probably painted around 1657.The title of "THE SPINNERS",as it ispopularly known,is a later invention and seems to have been inspired by the women who are spinning in the foreground they were workers in the Santa Isabel tapestry factory in Madrid.This Velazquez painting, considered for a long represent a generic theme,actually hides the depiction of a mythological theme draped in the everyday labour of a tapstry workshop.In the mid forties,sepcialists refused to interpet it as a simple every day scen.Their doubt were clarified when reearcher Maria Luisa Caturla brought to light aninventory in which an unknowed Velazquez ´s Fable of Arachae was mentioned,owned by huntsman to King Philip 4th,Don Pedro de Arcc.One of the problems that hindired the identification of the subject lay in the fact that the work did not belong to collections and documentary information existed about it. INTERNAL HISTORY: The Fable of Archa,as related in Ovid ´s Metamorphoese,tells how Minerva,goddess of the arts and of war,competes with Arachne,famous for her skill in spinning in weaving a tapestry.The young spinner was insolent enough to prevent in her work one of the love advantures of the goddess father Jove,and by way of punishment,she was transformed into a spider. ICONOGRAPHY: Even so,Velazquez had used Baroque recourse of inserting a picture within a picture since he was a youngman, and he linked to reverse the order of important of the story(i.e putting the trivial forward and the fundamental behind) This canvas was added onto it in the 18th century,on the upper part and both sides.It is not know if this aws done to restore it to its original state (it was thought to have suffered damage in the Alcazar fire of 1734) or if it was simply and attempt to complete the scene to make it larger.Certain scholar say it is an Apology of fine arts,intended to show the superiority of the art of painting over the hand crafts, while others see it a Political Allegory after Ripa ´s Iconology. TECHNIQUE: The Spinning wheels turns rapidily showing the loose Velazquez technique.The canvas was probable damaaged by the fire in the Alcazar(1734) and an upper s

Organizational Citizenship Behavior

What is organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)? Describe in your own way. Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is behavior that goes beyond the basic requirements of the job, is to a large extent   left to one's own discretion, and is largely beneficial to the organization. OCB comes about as a result of job satisfaction. As employees that are highly satisfied with their jobs are more likely to think that they are being treated fairly , therefore trust in the organization and their employer is likely to arise . This then leads employee's to be more willing in helping out during extra hours voluntarily, volunteering for extra job activities, avoiding unnecessary conflict etc†¦ This is OCB. How is OCB different from normal working behavior? OCB is different from normal working behavior in the sense that the â€Å"employee goes out of his normal working behavior to get involved† (Allen, T. D. , 2006 ) into helping others and go beyond the normal expectations of their jobs. As a normal working behavior would be doing the tasks being asked of you and forced upon you as it is in your job description, but OCB differs from normal working behavior as â€Å"OCBs are employee behaviors that, although not critical to the task or job, serve to facilitate organizational functioning† (Lee and Allen, 2002, p 132). If you are a manager, how do you motivate your subordinates to exhibit more OCBs? Use the theories you have learned from different chapters. Firstly I would like to emphasize the importance of OCB to managers and the organization as a whole as successful organizations need employees who will do more than their usual job duties and provide performance that is beyond expectations and as I have mentioned before OCB describe actions in which employees are willing to go above and beyond their prescribed role requirements. Therefore reiterating the belief that these behaviors are correlated with indicators of organizational effectiveness, therefore showing us that OCB's are crucial for managers. Now, how to motivate subordinates to exhibit more OCB's, using Herzberg's two-factor theory that suggests that motivation factors (which include achievement, recognition, responsibility, growth, and work itself) are strongly related to job satisfaction. I can then say that if I was a manager I would have to make the jobs of my employees challenging, exciting , interesting and satisfying as employees who find their jobs to be such things, â€Å"tend to tolerate demanding supervision, avoid complaining, focus more on positive sides, and forgive organization’s minor faults. These kinds of behaviors are typically related to OCB. † (Herzberg et al. ’s 1959) Since hygiene factors are related to an individual’s job dissatisfaction, one can expect that hygiene factors may also influence an individual’s OCB. Therefore as a manager I would focus on placing hygiene factors such as job security, fringe benefits, and good work conditions so that dissatisfaction from the lack of these factors doesn't occur and OCB is therefore encouraged. Allen, T. D. (2006). Rewarding good citizens: The relationship between   citizenship behavior, gender, and organizational rewards. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 36, 120-143. Lee, K. , & Allen, N. J. (2002). Organizational citizenship behavior and workplace deviance: The role of affect and cognitions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(1), 131-142. Herzberg, F. , Mausner, B. , & Snyderman, B. (1959). The motivation to work. New York: Wiley.

P&G vs Unilever Executive Summary

Unilever and P&G – Comparative Analysis Executive Summary The Consumer Products Industry is the biggest industry in the world at the moment, with total revenues amounting to about 50% of all goods sold. It is comparable to the GDP of the 4th biggest economy in the world, and entails most of the products we use in our every day lives. There are 3 key factors that drive the industry today: developing markets, the emerging middle-class of developing countries and the millions of baby boomers in developed markets.The industry faces many challenges nonetheless, such as an increase in prices of raw materials, crude oil, crops and commodities – especially oil prices; the constant broadening of the industry caused by globalization; and an increasing tendency for consumers to shop at mass-discount shops rather than the well-established companies within the Industry. The main players in this industry are Unilever, P&G, Nestle, Johnson &Johnson, PepsiCo, Mars and Henkel. This repo rt focuses on the comparative analysis of Unilever and P&G. Some of P&G’s most famous brands are Braun, Gillette, Oral-B and Pantene.These and the top 50% of most well known brands account for 90% of P&G sales and more than 90% of its profits. Furthermore, 25 of these 50 brands go as far as generating more than $1 billion each in annual sales. Overall, the company markets its brands in over 180 countries across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and the Asian region. Despite the recent crisis, P&G continued to experience growth due to a strategy of â€Å"investments in innovation, portfolio expansion, marketing support and consumer value†. The company is also investing $2 billion in R&D annually.As for Unilever, the company owns more than 400 brands, and 2 million people use Unilever an product on any given day. Unilever is based in 100 countries and sells products into more than 150. The long-term goals are continuous improvement and developing a sustainable business, and the company has over 6000 people working in R&D across the globe for a total of $1,3 billion worth of R&D investments in 2011. In terms of financial comparative analysis, market Ratios for both companies show that Unilever and P&G are attractive investments for investors.P&G has a higher EPS on average and is a more preferable investment currently for investors looking for high returns. The market ratios also show that Unilever has been improving its earnings and has a higher earning potential in the future as its EPS, P/E and payout ratio have been improving over time. P&G on the other hand currently has a higher yield as shown by the Dividend Yield ratio but its performance seems to be declining gradually as evident by the worsening Market Ratios.The Liquidity ratios of both companies clearly point out to the fact that the companies are not in a position to meet their immediate liabilities. However, this is not a matter of concern as both companies are la rge, stable and established businesses. The liquidity ratios show an adverse situation for the companies even though they are healthy otherwise. This is because the industry is such that the companies must have high current liabilities over extended periods of time and low assets due to very fast inventory turnover rate.The consumer goods industry requires that a company’s inventory turns be fast and the accounts payable be large over long periods of time to have a high level of efficiency and consequently profitability. It also assures both corporations a competitive edge and for this reason liquidity ratios must remain low which may seem unhealthy but in reality is helpful in this particular industry. From 2007 to 2011 Unilever consistently had higher growth rates in revenue, operating and net profit. During this time span P&G profit growth rates even were negative.This indicates that P&G is from an absolute point of view still bigger and more profitable, but Unilever is ca tching up. A closer look at the profitability ratios shows that both companies are doing very well with gross ratios of 43,80% (Unilever) and 50,56% (P&G). These ratios are above the 40% industry average and especially P&G is very profitable. This first indication is consistent with the further analysis of profitability ratios such as the net profit margin, which is still is 5% higher for P&G than Unilever.So far P&G has managed the increasing pressure on margins due to increasing raw material prices more successful than Unilever, but has to adjust its cost-structure to stop the ongoing negative trend of the last five years. Regarding efficiency ratios like return on capital ratios the previous dominance of P&G’s financial performance cannot be confirmed. Instead, Unilever outperforms P&G in all efficiency ratios, like the return on invested capital (16,89% vs. 10,42%), the return on assets (11,26% vs. 8,99%) or the return on capital employed (16,66% vs. 14,06%) for the time span between 2007 to 2011.This indicates Unilever outstanding capabilities to allocate its resources to the most profitable investments and to use the assets as efficient as possible. In terms of the debt situation for P&G and Unilever, analysis has shown that Unilever’s business is higher leveraged (D-E ratio 2,13) than P&G’s (1,09). This and the higher efficiency also explain why Unilever’s return on equity is much higher (36,06%) than P&G’s (18,78%). As a result of its high profitability and low debt-to-equity ratio, P&G’s TIE ratio is also much higher than Unilever’s (11,95 vs. ,61). The analysis has shown that P&G is a more conservative financed and highly profitable business whereas Unilever is more aggressive in terms of growth. Unilever already is highly efficient and has grown much faster than P&G over the last five years. If this trend is not reversed P&G will face increasing competition from Unilever in the close future. Weâ€℠¢ve calculated the average over five years for each company’s activity ratios and compared them as such because these ratios seemed to be relatively stable over time.They also appear to be in line with the companies’ strategies and policies, starting with the Asset Turnover being proportional to the return on equity: Unilever has a turnover almost double that of P&G. As we’ve mentioned earlier, fast inventory turnover is a characteristic of the industry, but Unilever seems to be doing better than P&G in these terms as well. We believe that Unilever’s focus on food products gives it a higher Inventory Turnover (9,09) compared to P&G’s household products focus (5,41).This gives Unilever a lower average age of inventory. Unilever also has a higher Day Purchases Outstanding Ratio, meaning they stretch suppliers much more by taking 88,40 days to pays them, compared to P&G’s 65,48 days. Strictly speaking, we would expect P&G to display a higher ba rgaining power to do its much higher Revenue, but this ratio shows a different story. Reasons for this could be due to geography, both in terms of differences in local management and in local regulations, and to the diversity of suppliers induced by the focus on 50 or 300 brands.In terms of the Day Sales Outstanding Ratio, it is P&G that seems to have the better policy this time. They convert Accounts Receivable to Cash in about 28 days versus 35 days for Unilever. Again, although smaller, this difference is important because it can reflect a difference in policies or diversity of suppliers. These two factors combined, low DSO and high DPO Ratios, lead to a negative Net Working Capital such as we had seen in our Walmart analysis. Compared to Assets, P&G has a negative NWC of -27% and Unilever of -20%.In conclusion, both companies show very strong financial health given the crisis, especially compared to the rest of the market. They are defensive values which show that their policies are working to resist the crisis. In absolute terms P&G is doing better as a company because it is a bigger, stronger, established firm. In relative terms the ratios paint another picture though: Unilever has been catching up to P&G in recent years, and their growth and financial management seems to be stronger than that of P&G.

Early 1920s and Hitler’s Rise to Power

The Rise of Hitler 1. Why did so many German people join the Nazi Party? In the early 1920s, Germany was especially hard-hit during the Great Depression after the first World War, mainly because of the Treaty of Versailles, which made Germany go into an extreme hyperinflation. People could not buy anything with a reasonable price. In 1922, a loaf of bread costed 163 marks. In September 1923, it would have costed 1,500,000 marks and in November of that same year which was the peak of the hyperinflation, the loaf of bread would be worth 200,000,000 marks.Prices were going up faster than people could spend their money. Naturally, workers were unhappy with the social and economic conditions in Germany. Then came Adolf Hitler, who formed a party known as the Nazis which promised many things that the workers and the people of Germany wanted and implemented his ideas through his propaganda. Hitler told people that he would make sure everybody got a job and that he would help the peasants. T hese ideas were implemented into his propaganda and proved to be very effective. . Why did the Munich Putsch 1923 fail? The Munich Putsch of 1923, also known as the Beer Hall Putsch was Adolf Hitler’s attempt to overthrow the Weimar government of Ebert and establish a nationalistic one instead in its place. The Munich Putsch failed because of several factors. First, Hitler had only about 35,000 supporters at that time so there was a shortage of rebels. Second, the Kahr had called in army and police reinforcements and 16 Nazis were killed.Hitler was threatening to shoot anyone that left the Beer Hall and didn’t rebel so not everyone was happy about participating in it, so when the police and army reinforcements came, most of them fled since they didn’t even want to be there in first place. Overall, the reason for the Munich Putsch failing is because the Nazis, despite not having enough supporters at the time, tried to force itself into power against superior mili tary and political forces. 3. Why did Hitler receive such a light sentence at his trial for treason?What were the consequences of his trial and time spent in prison? In 1923, after being arrested for participating in the Munich Putsch, Hitler served a fairly light sentence of 5 years and a 200 mark fine after being accused of high treason. Hitler actually only served 9 months of those 5 years in prison. However, the usual consequence of high treason was death. The question is, why didn’t Hitler get executed? In the courtroom at the time of the trial, Hitler used that time to make another one of his speeches, causing more people to join his cause.This also made the judge like him, so the judge gave him a particularly light sentence. However, even if the judge didn’t like him, he would have gotten a lighter sentence anyways. This is because there were many more German people supporting Hitler now and if the judge sentenced Hitler to death, then that might have caused an uprising or a protest. Therefore, the judge decided to send him to pay a 200 mark fine and serve a 5 year prison sentence, although he would be eligible for parole after 9 months.

Essay on poverty Essay

There are many reasons for pursing a higher education. A few persons revel in the intellectual excitement of academic exploration, others â€Å"consume† not only the knowledge that college provides but all the social dimensions associated with it—alcoholic stimulated parties, erotic adventures with new friends, athletic events and intramural sport participation, etc. But for most persons, a significant, maybe even the dominant reason, for going to college is that it supposedly will improve one’s prospect of acquiring a good job. In a sense, a college degree has long been considered a ticket to the middle class—an adult life with a good income and relatively high job security. From the standpoint of society, efforts to expand college graduation attainment rates have been justified by President Obama and major foundations (for example, Lumina and Gates) on a need to be competitive with other nations which have a larger proportion of adults with college degre es. This study argues that the conventional wisdom that going to college is a â€Å"human capital investment† with a high payoff is increasingly wrong. Evidence shows that currently more than one-third of college graduates hold jobs that governmental employment experts tell us require less than a college degree. That proportion of underemployed college graduates has tripled over the past four decades. In 1976, Harvard economics professor Richard Freeman wrote about The Over-Educated American—at a time when most college graduates, at the margin, entered professional, managerial and scientific positions traditionally considered jobs for college graduates. If we were â€Å"overeducated† at that point in time, what is the case today? Moreover, the push to increase enrollments has led to a majority of the increment of our stock of college graduates finding employment in relatively low skilled jobs, most of which are not particularly high paying (although there are excepti ons). We added roughly 20 million college graduates to the population between 1992 and 2008, for example, but the number of graduates holding jobs requiring less-than-college education skill sets rose during that same period by about 12 million; in other words, 60 percent of the total increase in graduates over the past two decades was underemployed. Anecdotally, most persons can see this is their everyday lives. For example, the senior author was startled a year ago when the  person he hired to cut down a tree had a master’s degree in history, the fellow who fixed his furnace was a mathematics graduate, and, more recently, a TSA airport inspector (whose job it was to insure that we took our shoes off while going through security) was a recent college graduate. Actually, these individuals are far more typical of many recent college graduates than is commonly supposed.

Process Improvement Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Process Improvement Plan - Essay Example For every group of data, the points on the X-Bar usually represent its average. The range chart on the other hand displays the difference between the lowest and the highest dimension in the group (SPC 2013). Statistical control limits also known as confidence band is normally attached to the weakening line so as to reduce the unexplained error. The confidence interval in the regression is normally based on past data. Control limits are expressed in terms of positive or negative mean absolute deviation (MAD). MAD is normally simple and useful when obtaining tracking signal. It is used to denote the average error that is in the forecasts. It measures the dispersion of the observed values from the expected values. When sign is put in consideration in the computation of MAD, the control limits are obtained. MAD is calculated by obtaining the sum of absolute deviations and then dividing it with the number of data points. Control limits can also be expressed in form of standard deviations. Standard deviation relates to mean absolute deviation when the errors in the project are usually dispersed. ‘The standard deviation’ is normally a bigger measure. For instance, if the MAD of a set of points was estimated to be 60, then the measure for the standard deviation would be 75. ... It is used to indicate whether the average of the forecast is keeping pace with any upward or downward genuine changes A typical control chart has two horizontal lines that are called ‘upper control limit’ (UCL) and lower control limit (LCL). If the process happens to be in control, almost all the samples fall between them and hence no action needs to be taken. If a point plots outside of the control limit it is taken that the procedure must be out of control and hence investigation is necessary and corrective action should be taken in order to find and eradicate the possible causes for the behavior. The sample points that are on control chart are normally connected with a straight line to make it easier to visualize how the sequence of those points has been evolving over time. Even if all the points happen to plot inside of the control limits and they act in a non-random approach then this is a signal that the procedure might be out of control. These limits are calculat ed from Range and ‘SPC X-Bar’ values. They are plus/minus three standard deviations from the average calculated and represent 99.97% self-assurance factor that any of the reading that falls between the limits can is an attribute of the regular process discrepancies (Confidence intervals: how they work, 2013). Effect of Seasonal Factors Using Process Performance Data Control: Measurement will help in reduction of variation. They help reduce overruns in expenditure so as the objectives agreed on can be achieved. Management assessment: The concept for process performance involves meeting the planned established operating goals, detecting of deviations from the planned performance levels and then restoring these performances to the levels planned or even