Advertising Uses Essay

Advertising: Information tool, manipulation tool, or Beyond? The impact of advertising in our society is a fiercely debated topic, and has been ever since its conception in its most basic form. Advertisers make their ads stand out by using humor, ongoing story lines, unexpected dialogue, unusual techniques, attention-getting spokespersons, or simply by repeating the ads so often that people can’t help but remember them. According to the majority advertising is a form of communication that typically attempts to inform or persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service. This is not a surprise, advertisements are everywhere. Society is so used to it that they just see it as a tool for letting others know about a product. The majority sees advertisement as an information tool. Unfortunately advertising doesn’t have that purpose anymore. According to Chuck Blore said: â€Å"Advertising is the art of arresting the human intelligence just long enough to get money from it†. Just until the 1800’s advertising was an information tool, then it became a manipulation tool because of mass production during the industrial revolution. Everything stayed the same until the 21st century. This century had changed the whole concept of advertising, now advertising is something beyond information or manipulation. Advertising is a tool to create costumers (yes, create!). Now publicists create needs, preferences, beliefs, points of views, and everything they need to get money without measuring their acts. Advertisers are changing customers’ true desires instead of selling their products to the ones who needs them. Advertisers create needs. Its not true that every time someone sees a Burger King ad he/she is hungry, its just part of the advertiser’s job. They make every ad incredibly appealing so that everyone who sees it believes that he needs a burger right away, or at least something to eat. Haven’t you noticed that those kinds of ads are always close enough to the respective restaurant, and it’s not just in the food business that advertisers create needs? They do it in every opportunity they have, such as apparels, technology, etc. Advertisers create preferences. They build desires and preferences every time they have to present a product that isn’t for everyone. Advertisers show products as unique and incredible. The costumers believe they need them right away. What advertisers do is create an image of a product that will make costumers buy it without thinking it twice; it will create such a huge desire for that product that costumers will feel the need for buying it even though it can be a product that they wouldn’t be interested before the ad. Advertisers create beliefs and points of view. They do everything for achieve their selling goals; they don’t care about the costumer real desires. Advertising is in such a position that it can make costumers change the way they see themselves, the way they see others, and they way they feel about their lives. In this case there are examples such as all the commercials with models that make costumers feel insecure with their bodies (no matter the gender). Also ads that insist with the idea of getting thinner with machines or pills â€Å"without doing exercise† making costumers believe that everything works. Advertisers create perceived difference and make them feel that a particular product is different. Most of the time the difference is simply the audience the company wants to target. Unfortunately one of the biggest consequences of abusive advertisement is that most of the advertisers are targeting kids affecting their way of thinking and all their interests. Kids fourteen and under spend an estimated $20 billion a year and influence purchases by parents, grandparents, and others to the tune of $200 billion a year. As a result, advertisers spend big bucks to reach kids: an estimated $800 million for programs alone. Experts say that children are particularly vulnerable to the persuasive effects of advertising, especially television commercials. â€Å"Kids are the most pure consumers you could have,† says Debra McMahon, a vice-president at Mercer Management Consulting. â€Å"They tend to interpret your ad literally. They are infinitely open.† The child as in-house salesperson is a powerful friend to advertisers. Because of this, some advertisers are very concerned with the society, because a lot of advertisers are just trying to sell the product witho ut limits. They don’t think about the audience that can see their ads. Advertising has become really intense during the past years. They are trying to sell their products or services without a limit, without respecting the costumers. It should be controlled, definitely. Advertising, too, should be held to the truth, as many people take it at face value and ingenuously believe all or most of what is said. That’s why there are associations promoting responsible advertising like the International Advertising Association (IAA) and Advertising Educational Foundation. Also there are advertising ethics that are being discussed, ethics that should be present when an ad comes out for the rest of the world. Advertising should be more socially responsible, because advertising is just one of the most important social influences in a capitalistic economy, like ours. And using media as its vehicle is a pervasive, powerful force shaping attitudes and behavior in today’s world. As the media grows, the number of advertisements increases everyday and it plays a substantial role in people’s life because we are bombarded with thousands of advertising messages daily. The industry should concentrate more on the advertising ethics, and how to satisfy the consumers, instead of manipulating the consumer into buying their product, misinforming, tricking people for their own financial gain and creating negative social impacts. Advertising must be truthful, not misleading, ambiguous, or make wrong factual claims that can get consumers to buy inferior products thinking these products can deliver more. Advertising should be creative, and who says you can’t direct your creative abilities towards projects that aim to do good? Advertising should be responsible, so that it helps to contribute a positive effect on our society and the environment. I do not wish to see advertising eliminated from the contemporary world, because it is an important element in today’s society, especially in the functioning of a market economy, which is becoming more and more widespread. I do wish that the world of advertising change and can be limited to be used as an information tool, not manipulation or â€Å"beyond that†, and hopefully in the future we’ll have the chance to see on magazines, billboards and TVs ethical and responsible ads, because as Chris Moore said once â€Å"Advertisers are in the busi ness of communicating with thousands, even millions, of â€Å"others† all the time. That gives us thousands or millions of chances to practice what we believe every day. And try to get it right†. References Day, Nancy. Advertising: Information or manipulation? Enslow Publisher, 1999. Scivicque, Christine. December de 2007. February de 2011.

Activity 2

SOCY 101 Nicole Cousin- Gosset 18 September 2012Activity Two *What would he or she find? Based on your knowledge of your hometown, list out the positive and negative things you think the ethnographer might find. Positive: * Good amount of private owned businesses * High value for education (successful rates of graduates) Negative: * Low rate of diversity * Hard to find a job nowadays *What are some things that strike you about your hometown based on census data? What might the researcher learn if only reviewing the statistical data from census records?What are some things that might be misunderstood about your hometown from only reviewing census data? Positive: * 88. 8% High School Graduates, % of persons age 25+, 2006-2010 * Median Household income 2006-2010 is $63,959 * Living in the same house 1 year & over, 2006-2010 is 86. 6% Negative: * Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2006-2010 is 27. 9 * Persons below poverty level, percent, 2006-2010 is 8. 1% * Bachelor's degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2006-2010 is %35. Some of the things that surprised me by looking at the census data were the poverty level, number of foreign born persons and homeownership rate. They were each lower than what I had anticipated when I think about Baltimore County. The poverty level and homeownership rate struck me the most because they go hand in hand with showing how tough this bad economy has been on the county. I think the researcher would have only learned about the Business quick facts such as retail and merchant wholesaler sales because that isn’t something the average person living in Baltimore County would know.Something that might be understood just by viewing the statistical data on Baltimore County is that seeing as how we have a pretty large part of the population and a relatively high percentage of people below the poverty line, that we are mainly a lower-middle class region. When the fact is, that just like every other county, there a re places where that data might be true and places where it would be the exact opposite. * Discuss the utility of qualitative and quantitative research. How does one complement the other? Quantitative research is important to understand the core qualities something.No matter what we may like to think about a certain topic, the truth is a fact is the difference between an opinion and a statement. It can clear up any confusion that may arise when dealing with people and emotions. But likewise, the approach to understanding emotion can have its benefits as well. Quantitative research can be useful for getting into a deeper level of understanding, getting past the basic facts and taking a look as to the why, how, when, and what of the facts. The complement each other well because by using both research methods, you can completely understand each side of the topic in question.

An Explanation of How Play and Activitie

An explanation of how play and stateless are used to support speech, language and communication Play situation can be set up to teach particular vocabulary or language concepts. Play can be structured to reinforce or over learn this language, and then later the children will, hopefully, incorporate the same language in their own play. Play can give the opportunity to relate language to something concrete; something that can be directly experienced. This ensures that language is used meaningfully, which is especially important for children.Play can lead to the exploration and development of reticular manipulative skills, organizational skills, imagination and reading and writing skills. For instance, dressing and undressing dolls helps the children develop their own dressing skills, while role-play can develop a depth of understanding In topic work and allows for reading and writing with a purpose. Play dough with circular cutters- the children will have the opportunity to manipulate the play dough, press the shapes and have the satisfaction of seeing the result of their action. This activity relates to the circle theme and encourages the use of language-e. : round,circular and so on. Nursery rhymes, songs and using musical instrument can help children to listen and take turns, but also to sing and communicate. Some nursery rhymes can help children to practice particular speech sounds. Books can help to increase vocabulary and help children to learn the meanings of words. Some books can help children to participate, for example a book that makes musical sounds when a picture Is pressed. Books can also be made specifically to meet a childs Interests and so encourage the child to point or vocalizes.When children interact with puppets and make them talk and Interact with one another, they are also Involved In dramatic play. This type of play Is excellent for developing language and for expressing feelings. Fantasy play strengthens memory for both narrative information and lists of objects. Language is embedded in play of all kinds and especially in codification play. Children have opportunities to hear others use speech correctly and to increase their vocabulary. In negotiating roles and disputes, children develop linguistic and conversational skills. Children continue to form and modify concepts through play.

Letters of Van Gogh Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Letters of Van Gogh - Essay Example Vincent van Gogh wrote and preserved many letters during his life, which were made into a collection. Most of the letters were addressed to his brother. His total tally of letters amounts to 819, whereby 600 of this letters were to his brother Theo. Some of van Gogh’s letters were addressed to his sister Wil. One letter went to Kruysse, a friend, while other letters went to Emile and Rappard. After Vincent van Gogh had died in 1891, his wife collected these letters and addressed them to respective addressees. The letters were later organized and published in 1914. Most of the authors describe Vincent van Gogh as a man who protected even the least scrap of paper. Vincent van Gogh was both an art historian and art therapist as well. His works leads mostly to interdisciplinary articles. This article also presents a mindset and a word view which is primarily Jungian, though it has been informed by the works of Julia Kristeva. His letters also presents the unions of the opposites, the complementarities, and bipolarities, which are consistently pointed out on all the levels, which includes the lifestyles, the words, the images, and the analysis of the formal elements of art. In addition, the works of Vincent van Gogh asserts the diagnoses of bipolar disorder, which are exacerbated by the borderline personality disorder. The letters of Vincent Van Gogh depicts the literature skills as well as a unique authentic literary skills and style. His style mirrors the Balzac literature, which he had previously read and valued. His literary style also reflects the historian work of icons such as Michelet, Zola, who was a naturalist, Voltaire, as well as Flaubert.

Future Trends of AviaitionEarospace Education Essay

Future Trends of AviaitionEarospace Education - Essay Example Now, however, there are factors that mitigate against this once-abundant pool of available talent, creating a need for more trained pilots to take to the skies. First, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the federal governing body for all commercial air flight, has a strict retirement rule. All pilots must leave the cockpit at the age of 60. While this has not yet created any dramatic shortages, writer Denver Beaulieu-Hains (2000) said that situation will change very soon. "Over the next 10 years, [the retirement] requirement may put a crunch on airline work forces, as baby boomers reach their golden years. And, with military cutbacks resulting in fewer trained pilots, the strain is hitting the industry from both ends of the runway." Beaulieu-Hains (2000) further stated that the baby-boomer pilots now approaching the retirement age represent fully one-third of the commercial aviation industry's pilot and mechanic work force. When they are forced to retire, the growing shortage will exacerbate considerably. To no one's surprise, the Professional Pilots Federation is trying to get the 60-and-out rule overturned. In April 2000, it petitioned the FAA for exemptions for 69 members of its organization, at the same time requesting strenuous testing - both physical and neuropsychological - to see if older pilots are indeed more likely to suffer from incapacitation than younger pilots (Beaulieu-Hains, 2000). (The age 60 retirement rule was set by the FAA in the 1950s, based on the belief that the ability to process and act on information slows as one gets older.) Stringent Qualifications Required Becoming a commercial pilot is not easy, even for someone who is fit physically and emotionally. All candidates for any cockpit flight position must meet strict FAA medical requirements and receive what the governing body calls an FAA Class 1 Medical Certificate. This assures the prospective employer that the person applying for a pilot's job is free from any physical or emotional conditions or disorders that would prevent him or her from performing the complex duties required of today's modern aircraft (Faa.org, 2001). And, the airlines themselves are no less strict. Anyone involved in an aircraft's flight, of course, has the lives of as many as 300 people in his or her hands. Particularly at the major airlines, standards not only meet FAA requirements, but usually exceed them. Southwest Airlines is a case in point. Before a candidate is even interviewed for a flight position, the airline requires the following: Resume, Airman Certificate (required by the FAA, as well), U.S. Type Rating on a B-737, the First Class Medical Certificate, ad at least three letters of recommendation. Those letters cannot be simply from friends or relatives; they must be from individuals who can attest to the pilot's flying skills, and who have observed them in flight over a sustained period of time (Southwest, 2000). As for flight experience, Southwest requires 2,500 total hours for jet aircraft or 1,500 hours for turbine aircraft. Beyond that, the airline also requires 1,000 hours as "pilot in command" on a turbine plane. The airline specifically excludes simulator, helicopter, and other non-turbine or jet aircraft and prefers candidates who have a four-year college degree (Southwest, 2000). Other airlines are not so stringent, especially smaller one,

Annotated bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Annotated Bibliography Example Over 1000 samples were drawn from the population under study, this being a reasonable and practical sample size for such a study. Culture is found to impact the reward preferences, such impacts not being straight forward though. The study also reveals that reward preferences may not be impacted by cultural influences alone. It is instead influenced also be factors such as economic conditions among other contextual factors. The research was conducted using data drawn from one industry alone as opposed to several industries. There is a chance that other industries could reveal different results. Also, the countries featured in the sample share certain cultural characteristics which could lead to results only practical to countries with the same characteristics. It is also noted that the results may also have been affected by the difference in importance in the various cultural dimensions. Reward variance could have been impacted by organizational factors including the size of the organization and ownership. It is important to take culture into consideration when determining the reward schemes or strategies to apply for an organization’s workforce. In addition, other factors must be taken into consideration given that it is not only culture that influences these preferences. Understanding people’s culture in a multinational environment is greatly important to the human resource manager and to the reader. The reader gets to appreciate Hofstede’s framework as it provides practical contributions with respect to culture. The reader realizes the importance of culture as a factor in rewarding employees especially when dealing with multinational companies and organizations that are served by people from of different cultural backgrounds. The audience furthermore gets to appreciate how much employee preferences affect reward management at the international

Clay Shirky's Here Comes Everybody (2008) Term Paper

Clay Shirky's Here Comes Everybody (2008) - Term Paper Example As an example, many people are blogging about thousands of topics. Some of these blogs are personal and only go out to a few people (usually family and friends) while others are intended for a larger, more global audience. These blogs may have errors in them but they are being shared without filtering. Socially, the â€Å"publish than filter† approach is able to bring people together on a larger scale than previously available. People can learn about each other via several social networking sites and they can meet large groups of people via these sites. People are able to have conversations with perfect strangers about their ideas. Economically, many people have learned to master social business networking by sharing content on several social networking sites that include Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube. Each site has a different way of giving content but people are able to gain an understanding of the person behind the business as well as the business. Mass amateurism , according to Shirkey, refers to the idea that anyone can publish anything so â€Å"everyone is a media outlet†. This means that people do not have to have fancy degrees in journalism or be professional writers to be published on the Web. People are able to provide different viewpoints on a variety of topics and it does not matter who they are as a writer. Also, the individuals are able to publish more often and more regularly. One example that Shirky keeps exploring is the Blog. The blogs are written on many different topics and people can present their political views, share photos, or create videos and publish them all over the Internet with most of the tools to do these things provided for free. Another example that Shirky gives is the use of instant messaging and other chat programs that allow the individual to be in touch with a variety of people in real time. These types of media allow an individual to publish more than once, on a regular basis, and more is said than would be possible in print newspapers and magazines because of the standards of those newspapers and magazines. The advent of mass amateurism does not mean the end of professionalism; it just means another vehicle for information will be developed. There will always be people who want to read professional literature including magazines and newspapers like Time or The New York Times because they want to read good journalism. Open Source Software (OSS) is software that is provided free by a manufacturer that gives the same opportunity to the end users as commercial software. Linux is one good example because it is a group of software programs that many schools have used instead of Microsoft products. The reason OSS is popular is because there are no licensing agreements that must be updated yearly and schools can make as many copies as necessary; faculty and students can also copy this software to their home computers. Shirkey says that OSS is more an ecosystem that can tolerate mista kes easier than commercial software systems. Because Linux uses source codes and the company gives the codes to users, people can customize the software to meet the organizations’ needs. The history of OSS shows that it will not take over commercial software because it still has some challenges. Shirky continually showed how different types of OSS was used but how it was given as an alternative for organizations who did not have the money to

What do Investors Look for in a Business Plan Dos and Donts in a Thesis

What do Investors Look for in a Business Plan Dos and Donts in a Business Plan - Thesis Example This analysis supports the entrepreneur in his decision on what to do next in the process of execution. Thus planning reveals whether it is justifiable to continue with the venture or abandon it. This makes business plans one of the most widely regarded aspects of pre-startup planning (Honig & Karlsson, 2004). The value of planning cannot be questioned because most investors wish to see a business plan first which helps them decided whether to invest or not (Mason & Stark, 2004). However, entrepreneurs, being young and inexperienced, are unable to define their businesses in line with the business plans. The poor business plans that they draw up do not reflect their business objectives. Because of the lack of knowledge and information the business plans do not reflect the mission, objectives, plan of action and financial projections in a manner to attract investors. These challenges lead to greater issues and may even lead to abandoning of projects. They may realize that lack of planning is the cause but by this time they have ended burning up valuable resources such as time and money. A business plan defines how the venture is expected to operate in the current environment. A business plan is essential for both internal and external purposes. Entrepreneurs may have brilliant ideas to start a new venture. They may also have the resources to implement their ideas. However, unless the ideas and plans are compiled together it could soon become confusing for the entrepreneurs as well. Planning is an opportunity evaluation and is important for an entrepreneur who is faced with the decision to enter the market. Therefore, a business plan is absolutely necessary to start a new venture, to attract investors and more importantly, to make the entrepreneurs aware of what they expect to achieve from their business activities. Awe (2006) refers to the Webster definition of an entrepreneur and describes it as â€Å"one who organizes, manages and assumes the risks of

Reject inference applied on large data sets Research Paper

Reject inference applied on large data sets - Research Paper Example However, this assumption does not hold true in the case of application scoring. The modeling data set becomes inherently biased if the customers that are perceived to be â€Å"bad† are approved while those that are perceived to be â€Å"good† are rejected. It is a matter of fact that the only population’s performance that is known is for the approved, which apparently does not perform the same way as the rejected population, hence the rejection of this population is rather questionable. Notably, the selection bias does not take place if further bad rates are estimated using the approved population in the model alone. Nonetheless, considering that the model is applicable to the whole population in order to decide who to reject and who to decline, the bias becomes a very important consideration. Correction and accounting for this sample bias is achieved by use of rejecting inference techniques. In view of this, a gap is present in any statistical model when known Good-Bad (KGB) of the approved population of loan applicants is used, because of the high sampling bias error that occurs. As a matter of fact, any analysis of characteristics is biased as a result of the ‘cherry selection’ of prospective good customers. If bad rates across the whole population is truly described by the characteristics, then it is evident that the rate of approval by the same characteristics should be inversely related. For a case in point, if the customer has serviced loans without any problem for the last one year, then the subdivision’s general bad rate should be moderately small, and the approval rate from this subdivision should be large. Nevertheless, customers that hold at least 4 bad loans in the previous one year should be treated as a high credit risk. As such, any approval in this segment should be assigned a variety of other ‘good’ characteristics to su persede offensive

Business Report of Lenovo Essay Example for Free

Business Report of Lenovo Essay Introduction Lenovo was found in 1984 in Beijing and it is the world’s second-largest PC vendor. According to the last official statistic, Lenovo consolidated turnover of 146.6 billion Yuan and Lenovo employs nearly 40,000 people. Lenovo is a well-known national brand in China and Lenovo is serving customers in more than 160 countries. In order to expand overseas business and access to world-class brand, Lenovo carried out an acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division in 2005. IBM was founded in 1911 in the United States and it is the largest information technology and business solutions company in the world, currently has more than 30 million employees in the world, with operations in over 160 countries and regions. The problems experienced by Lenovo concerns the construction of cross-cultural teams. Most of the merger and acquisition fail in the post-merger cultural integration. Lenovo set up work teams for designing the future of IBM and developing the new view after acquisition. The results had been shown it uneasy and can lead to the failure of the Lenovo’s acquisition strategy. At the beginning of the acquisition, cultural differences had not been enough anticipated in the acquisition process. And Lenovo wants to remedy the problem as soon as possible to make IBM acquisition profitable in the next strategy. The report part of the business plan Summary This report is intended to identify, describe and propose some solutions to Lenovo to solve the problems about teams and groups in the acquisition of the IBM. This report will describe problems associated with team building, provides some possible solutions and evaluates each of these. And, this report will describe the impact of cultural differences on the establishment of work groups. Actually, Lenovo had taken some measures, but it with little success. According to the current state of Lenovo, this report will give some suggestions and solutions to overcome or avoid the conflict caused by cultural differences and set up effective cross-cultural teams. Especially, these solutions are based on literature on the issue. It concludes that it is necessary for the company to establish effective and appropriate measures to eliminate the barriers in cross-cultural teams, as absence of this may threaten the company’s long-term development. To overcome the problem, Lenovo should take the follow action for IBM survival: * Obtain the core values between Chinese employees and American employees through an internal survey. * Design an international training program for all the employees and especially for managers. * Incorporate both corporate cultures of Lenovo and IBM to create a new corporate culture. * Every cross-culture team should organise monthly meeting or weekly meeting to evaluate the progress of communications and work. * Organise some internally non-working activities to create more opportunities for the communication among employees with different cultural context. * Set up the special teams to deal with the problem caused by cultural difference in every cross-cultural team. Introduction This section of business plan will introduce the problems caused by cultural differences in cross-cultural teams and give some suggestions to overcome the problems. In the acquisition of IBM, Lenovo accepted more than 10,000 employees and it also means that Lenovo accepted a very different culture. Lenovo is not only facing the differences between western and eastern culture, but also Lenovo facing the problems of how to integrate the teams with different organisationally cultural context. In this report, the recommendations to overcome the problems in cross-cultural teams and groups are based on the literature on team building and cross-cultural team management. Body At the beginning of the acquisition of IBM, Lenovo had taken some measures. For example, in order to both sides can communicate better, the new Lenovo use the international common language English as the official language of the company. But cultural integration is a long-term process, which requires companies to devote their time and patience and the communication, compromise between both of high level, and staff in the acquisition. It must not be too hasty. Base on the fact of Lenovo, there are three aspects should be noticed and improved. Firstly, IBM has a long history and IBM has very high brand awareness. In addition to the brand, employees can get the respect for personal values ​​and a comfortable working environment can be provided for employees by the human resources services and the improvement of the system. In contrast, Lenovo has a big gap no matter the position in IT industry and the strength of themselves. If some team members uphold the cultural superiority or group superiority that their own cultural value system better than those members from other cultures or groups, their behavior maybe resulting in the failure of team building because they will be possible to take hate and boycott from other members, even lead to conflict. Because the conflicts caused by cultural differences between team members and individual differences under thus influence, analysis and identification of cultural differences is necessary. Secondly, communication is the process of exchange and transmission of information among people or groups. Because of the multi-cultural background, language and non-language barrier, people lack of understanding of each others political, economic, legal, social and cultural environment, and the understanding of the customs, values, etc. are different. They are often based on their own perspective to make an analysis and judgment on each others information, and thus the misunderstanding and conflict are often obtained. Because of these, design a multi-cultural training and hold a monthly meeting or weekly meeting is necessary. Thirdly, a company has an acquisition of another company means an integration of two different corporate cultures. When the employees of a cross-cultural group are conscious of the different of personal cultural awareness with others, it will be cause the group lost their purpose. Based on the possibility, establish a common business concept and corporate culture is a good solution to this problem. Establish a new joint management concept and a strong culture based on the environmental requirements and the principle of the companys strategic development, so that reducing cultural conflict and that each employee’s thinking and behavior can combine with the companys operations and purpose. Adopting these recommendations and the actions in summary can make internal and external combination of the teams more closely, establish a good reputation in the international market and enhance multinational cultural adaptability. This is the ultimate goal of why Lenovo needs solve the cross-cultural issues of teams and group in the acquisition of IBM. (1077 words) Section 2 1. What the literature says â€Å"teams and groups† The importance of teams and groups for an organisation In modern society, one person’s power, information and resources are limited. Most time people need cooperate with others no matter working or others as Handy (1993) said â€Å"On average, managers spend 50% of their working day in one sort of group or other. Senior managers can spend 80%†. Although there is no clear and single definition of a teams and groups, there is a basic limited definition by Bennett (1991) â€Å"a collection of two or more people who possess a common purpose†. The formation of an organisation groups in order to achieve the purpose of work more efficiently. An organisation can produce some different kinds of groups, for example: formal and informal, LOCO, HICO, teams, etc. An organisation needs to be aware of their differences and use them as efficiently as possible. There are a lot satisfying reasons why an organisation should create work groups. For example, organising effective groups can have some uses for the distribution of work, the management and control of work, problem-solving and decision-making, information processing, information and idea collection, testing and ratifying decisions, co-ordination and liaison, increased commitment and involvement, negotiation and conflict resolution, inquest or inquiry into the past. (Handy, 1993) No matter what kind of a group there is a bottom line is â€Å"A strong group is †¦ usually more powerful than a strong individual and can have a considerable effect on organizational policy and practice.†(Thomson, 2002) This literature review will pay attention on teams mainly. In a team, everyone plays different role and they have specific function and they working with an important principle â€Å"voluntarily co-ordinate their work in order to achieve group objectives†(Bennett, 1991). Building a team People hope they can define their identity through their membership of certain groups like people belong to local political and pressure groups, for example, because they experience a shared set of values with the other people in the group which reinforces their own values. But, according to Thomson (1997), one reason why people belong to group is â€Å"social needs†. As Thomson Mabey said â€Å"some †¦ groups will be family or friendship groups, which are formed to meet a diverse range of needs such as affection, security, support, belonging or identity. Some may be committees, where members usually represent different interest groups who come together to discuss their differing perspectives on matters of interest†, people should build a team for the work that is highly complex problems, need for consensus decisions and there is uncertainty when a broad range of competences are required. A company is a big group of a lot of people working together, so the managers are responsible to build effective teams or workgroups. After collecting more individual talents, building a team has the ability to use the talents on a united effort and success is very important (Woodcock, 1979). Consequently, the managers should know how to effectively build a team. In general, the managers must have the knowledge about the five development stages (forming, storming, norming, performing and mourning) in a team or workgroup and they should have an appropriate leading method for themselves (Thomson Mabey, 1994). Of course, this is not enough for managing a team. The managers need realise everyone’s advantages and dis advantages in the team and especially the differences of their culture context. Teams and cross-cultural context In modern society, business environment developed quickly international. Different cultural members mixed in a team so that the team has powerful ability to solve complex problem. But, individuals from different cultural context must show a different behavior and values in the team. This is because the peoples cognition, thinking, needs, values, code of conduct, customs, etc. are formed in the years of life, work and education. The individual differences caused by cultural differences led to the conflict of the team in the cross-cultural context (Sun, 2012). So, how to make a cross-cultural team working effective is the main responsibility of managers. In a cross-cultural team, there is an important factor is a clear understanding of every one culture and values, and a process of acculturation. The acculturation process is a mutual exchange of cultural pattern (Olie, 1995). Related to the case of Lenovo, the best recommendation for acculturation is integration. It different with one culture dominate the others, integration is a process of acculturation (Nahavandi Malekzadeh, 1995). Interest for Lenovo In the case of Lenovo, Chinese and American must accept each other for working effectively. But the main problem in the cross-cultural groups is communication. The managers of Lenovo must make everyone in the group understands and adapt to the different culture with some training or actions. And more important is design a politic cooperatively cultural pattern. 2. What does the literature say about different cultural contexts and its influence on teams and groups What are culture and its importance According to Hofstede(2003), culture is â€Å"the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another†. It related to a group. With a large-scale research study of IBM branches around the world by Geert Hofstede, the culture is considered a compositive project. Geert Hofstede creates a new way to describe culture through five variables: power distance, individualism, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation. All theories have limitations. Although this method created by Geert Hofstede is not absolutely right, it does not affect the theory of Hofstede can analyse one country’s culture as a valuable tool. Contract with the case of Lenovo, the most important effect by culture is â€Å"Currently only 25% of international mergers and acquisitions in Europe are successful. The price of failure is high. Cultural misunderstanding lead to loss of face, loss of money and, in extreme case, even loss of life† (Gibson cited in Naysmith, 2006). If managers do not pay enough attention on the culture, it possibly can cause the failure of the acquisition of IBM. Organisational culture Culture is not only exists in the countries, but also culture exists in any organisation constituted by people. Based on Handy (1993) said, â€Å"The role organisation will succeed as long as it can operate in a stable environment†. A steady cultural environment is necessary for an organization get success. At the same time, organisational culture is manageable and it can affects the approach of management, the accepted goals and customer of the society determine and influence that what managers strive for and the rule observed by managers (Stewart cited in Naysmith, 2006). So, the organisation also based on the cultural context of the country. The organisational culture can also measured by the five variables created by Hofstede.(Geert Hofstede, 2001) Influence of culture on â€Å"teams and groups† If a company formed by people comes from different cultural country, this company will own a special energy. It is a competitive advantage from a cross-cultural context. But, exerting the competitive advantage effectively is the most important challenge for the cross-cultural group. Because in a cross-cultural group the members have different working purpose and processes will be revealed. (Maznevski Peterson, 1997) The effectiveness of work group will be decreased by the ethnocentrism, stereotypes, different expectations and difference in values. And these negative emotions will produce the anxiety and misunderstanding in-group, even diminishing the workers dedication to the company and destroying the group ardor. Interenst for Lenovo Cross-border mergers and acquisitions not only include the corporate cultural differences of both sides, but also include the cultural differences between the countries of the two sides. Organise some activities or cultural training to make more opportunities for every understanding different culture can eliminate the negative affects effectively. 3. Conclusion This literature review introduces some keys briefly for understanding teams and groups in a cross-cultural context. Firstly, teams and groups are particular important for an organisation. But there are some problems should be solved in a cross-cultural group. The managers is not only should know everyone’s skill and talent, but also they should know their difference caused by different cultural context. And some actions can make a good communication between each other for understanding the differences are necessary. Secondly, based on enough knowledge to understand the importance of culture, the managers should eliminate the negative affects of cross-cultural context through some activities or training. And the most important is creating an appropriate organisational culture. It can give the cross-cultural group an approach, so the cross-cultural group can exerts the competitive advantages completely. Bibliography Bennett, R., (1991), Organisational Behavior, London: ME/Pitman, pp.145, 154. Geert Hofstede, (2001), Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations, Second Edition, Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications Geert Hofstede, (2003), Cultures and Organisations, Intercultural Cooperation and Its Importance for Survival, Soft ware of the Mind, London: Profile Books Ltd. Handy, C, (1993), Understanding Organisations (4th ed.), London: Penguin, pp.150-2. Maznevski, M. Peterson, M.F., (1997), Societal Values, Social Interpretation, and Multinational Teams. In C. Skromme Granrose S. Oskamp (Eds.), Cross-Cultural Work Groups, pp. 61-89, London: Sage Publications Ltd. Nahavandi, A. Malekzadeh, A.R., (1995), Acculturation in mergers and acquisitions, In Jackson (Ed.), Cross-Cultural Management, pp. 328-341, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd. Olie, R., (1995), Culture and integration problem in international mergers and acquisitions, In T. Jackson (Ed.), Cross-Cultural Management, pp. 308-325, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd. Sun Ziwen, (2012, April 13), Case analysis of the cultural integration in cross-border mergers and acquisitions of Chinese enterprises, Peoples Forum, 356(2), 7. Thomson, R., (2002), Managing people (3rd ed.), Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, pp.92, 95. Thomson, R. Mabey, C., (1994), Developing Human Resources, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann in association with the Institute of Management, pp.177. Woodcock, M., (1979), Team Development Manual, Aldershot: Gower Press Teakfield Limited, pp.177.

Product Success Is Not A Reliable Indicator Business Essay

Product Success Is Not A Reliable Indicator Business Essay The report highlights the importance of different factors that contribute to the success of a company and strengthens its foundation. It draws insight on product success that is given an important consideration in terms of companys future growth and revenue generation. It is an essential pre-requisite for a companys strength. It contribution is vital towards the success of a company but it is not considered as a reliable indicator as various other factors play a greater and crucial role in determining companys strength. The strength of a company lies in those indicators which have the power to govern change and sustain its competitive advantage in the long run. There are various indicators which have been changing with the course of time and changing needs of business environment. These indicators are viewed different by various scholars. Thus, enriching there interaction in a company. The term reliability is the measure of consistency of different indicators that are devised in a company structure to overcome competitive threats and have a grab on opportunities. It can be correlated to business acumen and its knowledge. A great deal of business success depends on generating new knowledge and on having the capabilities to react quickly and intelligently to this new knowledge . . . (Richard Rumelt, 1996). The products of a company play a significant role in generation of revenue but the essential indicators are the factors leading to the creation of the product in accordance with the market demand and consumer needs. The firm specific knowledge plays a crucial role in exploiting the available resources to have a competitive advantage and contribute to companys strength. An essential feature of strategy or more specifically innovation strategy should be directed towards accumulation of such firm specific knowledge. Ives et al. (1998), for instance, trace the history of knowledge management back to the ancient Sumerian civilization where cuneiform archives served to record knowledge for future generations. Modern management tends to focus on controlling, centralising and standardising knowledge which reduces the marginal cost of knowledge by economies of scale. It is argued whether knowledge management represents an extension or departure from these tendencies. The conversion of tacit into explicit knowledge and storing it is lined up with such tendencies. The new technology integrates knowledge in the organisation. It opens up new opportunities for knowledge creation and transfer beyond the more traditional means of face-to-face interaction, mentoring, job rotation and staff development (Alavi and Leidner, 1997). IBMs Larry Prusak says, knowledge is both an asset and a process of acting knowledgeable. Knowledge management is the process of continually managing knowledge of all kinds to meet existing and emerging needs, to identify and exploit existing and acquired knowledge assets and to develop new opportunities (Quintas et al., 1997). The knowledge management programmes have coheren ce across a number of dimensions, including organisational structure and culture, people aspects, process and technology (Quintas et al., 1997 p387). Harry Scarbrough (1998) points that managing knowledge is not easy as it are often sticky and tacit. It cant be extracted from its context. He raises human relation issues such as staff will resist being treated as a moveable asset. It is further argued that knowledge itself appears in a number of different guises according to context: intellectual capital (e.g. Bontis, 1998; Roos et al, 1998); knowledge assets (Boisot, 1998; Teece, 1998); workplace and organisational capital (Adler and Cole, 1993; Argyris, 1992). The formulation of an innovation strategy having the ability to cope up with an external environment that is considered to be complex and ever changing, with consequent uncertainty about present and future advancements in technology, competition challenges and market demands may prove to strengthen companys business tactics in the long run. It is argued that the distinction between approaches i.e. choice and implementation breaks down when firms decision are made in complex and fast changing environments. The rational approach to innovative strategies dominance is believed to be less effective than the incremental approach which lays emphasis on changing needs in the light of new information, learning and understanding that is consciously obtained. The nature of the competitive threats and opportunities that emerge from advances in technology rightly stress the importance of developing and protecting firm-specific technology in order to enable firms to enable themselves against the c ompetition (Porter, 1980). It is argued that Porters approach underestimates the power of technology to change the course of the competion by transforming industrial structures and overestimates the organisational competencies to exploit them. It is very difficult (but not impossible e.g. the case of Nokia) for a manufacturing traditional textiles to have an innovation strategy to develop and make computers (Patel, P. and Pavitt, K., 1998). The product success is not a reliable indicator because when the product enters the market its reliability and validity depends on the market forces and competition and both of them are based on uncertainties. A firms technological innovation requires complementary assets to produce and deliver new products and services. Prior commercialisation activities require and enable firms to build such complementarities (Teece, 1986b). New products and processes can either enhance or destroy the value of such assets (Tushman et al., 1986). For example: IBMs direct sales increased with the development of computers, while disk brakes were rendered useless as auto industries invested in drum brakes. Further ample evidences are available for a given type of competence (e.g. quality) which can be supported or manufactured by different routines and combination of skills. Garvin (1998) and Clark and Fujimoto (1991) studies both indicate that there was no one formula for achieving either high quality or high product development process. There is a firm competition between firms on the basis of product design, quality, process efficiency and other attributes. It is pointed that firms are constantly seeking to create new combination, and rivals are continuously attempting to improve their competencies or to imitate the competence of their most qualified competitors (Schumpeter, 1934). Such processes drive the destruction of product creativity. The focus is on the dynamic capabilities of firms which provides a coherent framework to integrate existing and empirical knowledge, and facilitate prescription (Teece, D. and Pisano,G., 1994). What depicts the strength of a company in global market is not its products success but demonstration of firms timely responsiveness and rapid and flexible product innovation, integration of management capabilities to effectively coordinate and redeploy internal and external competences. It is offered as an emerging paradigm of a business firm. It tries to facilitate a prescription by integration of existing conceptual and empirical knowledge. It is an indicator which provides competitive advantage to firm rooted in their high performance routines, processes and continued by history. They are built as they cant be brought from a market place. The very essence of capabilities/competencies is that they cant be readily assembled through markets (Teece, 1982, 1986a; Kogut and Zander, 1992). Resear chers (Doz and Shuen, 1989; Mody, 1990) have pointed that collaboration and partnership can be vehicles for new organisational learning, helping firms to recognize dysfunctional routines, and preventing strategic blind spots. This concept of dynamic capabilities opens the door to inter-organisational learning. Leonard Barton (1992) finds that the organisational core capabilities can easily create core rigidities. That is, opportunity for learning will be close in to previous activities and thus will be transaction and production specific (Teece, 1988). Porter (1980) describes two market strategies: innovation leadership and innovation followership. The initial one is concerned with those firms which attempt to introduce a new product to gain a technological lead and temporary monopoly profits whereas the latter tries to initiate the market pioneer by reverse engineering. It is argued that the survival and growth in the firms succeed or fail in their innovations, whether offensive or defensive. For a firm to survive and grow in competition, it must be capable of adapting its technologically based strategy to this competition. The introduction of a new product in any industry poses a threat to older products and processes by turning them obsolete or uneconomic. It has been inferred that core competencies play a vital role in companys strength. Managers will be judged on their ability to identify, cultivate and exploit the core competencies that make growth possible (Hamel and Prahalad, 1994).In the long run competitiveness derives from an ability to build at lower cost and more speedily than competitors, the core competencies that spawn unanticipated products. The real sources of competitive advantage are to be found in managements ability to consolidate corporate wide technologies and production skills into competencies that empower individual businesses to adapt quickly to changing opportunities(Hamel and Prahalad, 1994). The validity of this statement still holds its firm position in the mainstay thinking of todays firms. Core competence leads to the harmonisation of a number of related skills which starts building up an intelligent organisation. The competence base should be strong and should be managed properly. It should not be overlo oked. The core product of a company is the crux of an end product.For example: Cannon has 84% share in laser printer engines but miniscule laser printer share.It has built its core competence in engines rather than printers through continuous feedback from customers. It has been able to manage low risk, low cost and reduction in lead time by focusing on its competencies. In conclusion, a well-crafted strategy can lead a company to be a pioneer firm in the market if it possesses the ability to convert intellectual leadership into market leadership and be ahead of their rivals. The foresight of the rising opportunities plays a vital role in gaining a competitive advantage. Core competence and dynamic capabilities holds the key to exploit opportunities and are intriguing assets which are built with time. By getting hold of such opportunities a company can capture royalties, market reputation, customer lock-in, vast distribution network and set or define rules for other companies to compete, as Sony did in portable audio products and Intel has done in microprocessors. The key to innovation is stability.The focus of a company should be on organisational stewardship and stability rather than short-term profit fixation which can be gained from the success of one product.

Ugly Ambition in Shakespeares Macbeth :: Macbeth essays

Ugly Ambition in Macbeth       The Bard of Avon saturates the pages of the tragedy Macbeth with ugly feelings of ambition - unprincipled ambition which is ready to kill for itself. Let's thoroughly search out the major instances of ambitious behavior by the husband-wife team.    In "Macbeth as the Imitation of an Action" Francis Fergusson states the place of Macbeth's ambition in the action of the play:    It is the phrase "to outrun the pauser, reason [2.3]," which seems to me to describe the action, or motive, of the play as a whole. Macbeth, of course, literally means that his love for Duncan was so strong and so swift that it got ahead of his reason, which would have counseled a pause. But in the same way we have seen his greed and ambition outrun his reason when he committed the murder; and in the same way all of the characters, in the irrational darkness of Scotland's evil hour, are compelled in their action to strive beyond what they can see by reason alone. Even Malcolm and Macduff, as we shall see, are compelled to go beyond reason in the action which destroys Macbeth and ends the play. (106-7)    Fanny Kemble in "Lady Macbeth" refers to the ambition of Lady Macbeth:      [. . .] to have seen Banquo's ghost at the banqueting table ... and persisted in her fierce mocking of her husband's terror would have been impossible to human nature. The hypothesis makes Lady Macbeth a monster, and there is no such thing in all Shakespeare's plays. That she is godless, and ruthless in the pursuit of the objects of her ambition, does not make her such. (118)    In "Memoranda: Remarks on the Character of Lady Macbeth," Sarah Siddons mentions the ambition of Lady Macbeth and its effect:    [Re "I have given suck" (1.7.54ff.)] Even here, horrific as she is, she shews herself made by ambition, but not by nature, a perfectly savage creature. The very use of such a tender allusion in the midst of her dreadful language, persuades one unequivocally that she has really felt the maternal yearnings of a mother towards her babe, and that she considered this action the most enormous that ever required the strength of human nerves for its perpetration. Her language to Macbeth is the most potently eloquent that guilt could use.

On Another’s Sorrow. Essay -- English Literature

On Another’s Sorrow. There is a strong religious theme running throughout this poem. Black uses the idea of sorrow to show, and how we deal with it to show the difference between humans and God. He does this by splitting the poem into two halves and looking at how a person and then God would deal with sorrow. Blake asks several questions, as it is in first person at this point I feel that it is Blake asking the questions, which are, ‘Can I see another’s woe, And not be in sorrow too? Can I see another’s grief, And not seek for kind relief?’ This is an example of Blake’s use for the rhetorical question, which stirs thoughts of how we cope with sorrow, which is shown when he asks, if I can not feel sorrow when I see another feeling sorrow?, and when I see another feeling grief can I not go and find relief from it? He answers this with ‘no it can never be.’ This then leads the reader to ask themselves where he will find this relief. Blake then in the second half of the poem shows that God is the one who you can seek relief in and who is there to help in t...

Memo Advising Outline of Marketing Communication Mix :: essays research papers

To: Managing Director of new airline company. From: Marketing Consultant Date: xxxx Subject: Advising on the promotional and advertising campaign outlining the marketing communication mix. People no longer buy shoes to keep their feet warm. They buy shoes because of the way shoes make them feel- masculine, feminine, different, young, and glamorous. Buying shoes has become an emotional experience. Business is now selling excitement rather than shoes. Since the airline company is targeting business persons and others requesting a very personalized treatment it should focus on selling an experience of complete â€Å"V.I.P† treatment in sophistication rather than a simple means of traveling comfortably. The Marketing Communication Mix Another one of the 4P's is 'promotion'. This includes all of the tools available to the marketer for 'marketing communication'. As with Neil H.Borden's marketing mix, marketing communications has its own 'promotions mix.' Think of it like a cake mix, the basic ingredients are always the same. However if you vary the amounts of one of the ingredients, the final outcome is different. It is the same with promotions. You can 'integrate' different aspects of the promotions mix to deliver a unique campaign. The elements of the promotions mix are: 1. Personal selling 2. Sales promotion 3. Public relations 4. Direct marketing 5. Advertising Let us look at the individual components of the promotions mix in more detail. Remember all of the elements are 'integrated' to form a specific communications campaign. 1. Personal Selling Personal Selling is an effective way to manage personal customer relationships. The sales person acts on behalf of the organization. They tend to be well trained in the approaches and techniques of personal selling. However sales people are very expensive and should only be used where there is a genuine return on investment. For example salesmen are often used to sell cars or home improvements where the margin is high. 2. Sales Promotion Sales promotion tends to be thought of as being all promotions apart from advertising, personal selling, and public relations. For example the BOGOF promotion, or Buy One Get One Free. Others include couponing, money-off promotions, competitions, free accessories (such as free blades with a new razor), introductory offers (such as buy digital TV and get free installation), and so on. Each sales promotion should be carefully costed and compared with the next best alternative. 3. Public Relations (PR) Public Relations is defined as 'the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its publics' (Institute of Public Relations). It is relatively cheap, but certainly not cheap.

American Literature Essay

Works of art reflect the influences of the period, during which artists have created them. Any form of art exposes the trends prevailing in the period of time when the art was created. Paintings belonging to varied periods differ from each other, as the artists follow a style that is reminiscent of the period they lived in. Two such paintings which reflect the periods in which they were painted are Kindred Spirits by American Asher Durand and The Gross Clinic by American Thomas Eakins. The painting Kindred Spirits, painted in 1849 reflects Romanticism whereas the painting The Gross Clinic reflects Realism. In this paper we will analyze these two paintings and focus on the differences in ideas and attitudes expressed through the paintings. Differences The painting Kindred Spirits reflects the period of Romanticism during which the emphasis was placed on the depiction of feral nature in paintings. In this painting, Asher Durand has captured a rich and vibrant natural landscape. Although the painting depicts Thomas Cole and William Cullen Bryant, the natural landscape is more prominent in the painting. The natural features like Catskill Mountains, the Fawns Leap and the Kaaterskill Falls are incorporated in the landscape. Durand has removed himself from the painting and decided to include Cole whom he wanted to honor through his painting. But the one of the major characteristics of Durand’s landscape paintings is visible in this painting also and that is depiction of harmonious nature. â€Å"Durand’s landscapes almost always move toward harmony, and he located his own vision of landscape solidly within the aesthetic category of the â€Å"beautiful,† as this term was understood in the nineteenth century. † (PecK). The minute details of nature are highlighted by Durand. The depiction of a real landscape points out that Durand wished to bring forth a realist image of the nature rather than an idealized one where an imaginary landscape is depicted in a painting. The aesthetic beauty of nature is revered and admired by Durand. The painting The Gross Clinic presents a view which differs vastly from Romanticism. Being a realist painting, The Gross Clinic depicts a surgical theater where a surgery is being carried. A real event of surgery is depicted on the canvas, in spite of the fact that the scene was horrific. Through this painting, Eakins presents the reality of life in an audacious manner. The realist attitude of Eakins towards life is portrayed through his painting. The conditions in which a surgery was performed during the nineteenth century are presented in the painting. The painting Kindred Spirits provides a beautiful view of nature which is pleasant and soothing whereas the painting The Gross Clinic disturbs the mind of the looker. Eakins was more interested in the events that occurred in real life and he insisted on capturing those events in a realistic way. His painting The Gross Clinic is one such painting that focuses on a real event which is painful and disturbing but necessary to understand the life of that period. The atmosphere in a surgical theater, the naked human body and a distressed woman provide a grim but real picture of life. The display of nudity which prevailed in late Nineteenth Century is included in this painting in form of the naked human body upon which surgery is being performed. The pleasing beauty of nature, which is represented in the painting Kindred Spirits, contrasts with the horrifying depiction of a surgery in The Gross Clinic. Works Cited Peck, Daniel. Unlikely Kindred Spirits: A New Vision of Landscape in the Works of Henry David Thoreau and Asher B. Durand. American Literary History. 17:4(2005) 687-713. http://alh. oxfordjournals. org/cgi/content/ful

Make decisions or solve problems Essay

What are heuristics? How do they help us make decisions or solve problems? How do they hinder decision making and problem solving? What does the study of heuristics tell us about how our mind works? Elvira Gubayeva In psychology, the term â€Å"heuristics† is used to describe cognitive shortcuts that our mind takes in order to save time and effort while solving problems and making decisions. Although this rule of thumb technique does not guarantee the solution, it is highly likely to solve the problem. These congnitive shortcuts differ from algorithms as algorithms will definitely solve the problem, although they would consume more time in the process. Thus, heuristics are shortcuts that eliminate the need to consider unlikely possibilities or irrelevant states to reach the final solution. From that perspective, heuristics are useful in making decisions or solving problems. One of the most important heuristic methods was explored by Newell & Simon. They called this method the means-ends analysis. This method implies that the problem solver will note the difference between the current state of the problem and the goal state, the solution. He would then create a subgoal to reduce the difference between the two states. A path, or an operator, would be selected to reach the subgoal. Egan & Greeno(1974) used the Tower of Hanoi problem to investigate this heuristic method. They found that subjects with prior experience with the problem who used the means-ends analysis solved more difficult versions of the problem faster than subjects who did not make appropriate subgoals. Subjects who changed their strategy to means-ends analysis produced better results than those who did not. Overall heuristics are useful in solving problems and making decisions as they reduce the complexity of different solutions that are possible. They do yield good results when they are used in the appropriate context. However, heuristics can also hinder decision making and problem solving. For example, Anzai & Simon(1979) found that many subjects used domain dependent strategies while solving the tower of Hanoi problem. This hindered their process to the solution as they avoided certain states in the puzzle that they believed would not help them, rather than move towards a definite goal/ subgoal state. Subjects were more interested in the goal state and focused on reaching that rather than reaching the subgoal state first. As Thomas(1974) found, this could actually hinder process. Thomas used the missionaries-cannibals puzzle and adapted J. R. R. Tolkien’s hobbits and orcs to replace missionaries and cannibals. To reach the solution quicker, subjects had to move away from the goal state. However, not many were willing to do that. This distraction to reach the goal state caused the subjects to take longer solving the problem. If the subjects found themselves moving away from the goal state, they typically thought they reached a back alley and backtracked. As a result, subjects took longer to solve the problem as they were using the domain dependent heuristic and avoided moving away from the goal. Another heuristic which could hinder correct decision making and problem solving is the availability heuristic. We use data that we can remember better or that which had a bigger impact on us rather than complete data. Thus subjects can make judgements based on what is easier remembered than an unbiased judgement. One availability heuristic that is commonly used is the media bias. The media presents such a great number of fatal accidents that most think that death is more likely to be caused by an accident rather than diabetes. This is not the case, yet because an accident is easier to remember and had a greater impact on the mind most would consider the statement above to be true.

Law and Legal Instrumentalism

Law, a set of coherent rules and values within a society, is a human process. As such, it is crucial to approach its application within society in a pragmatic and realistic sense rather than a formal one, which views law as a set of mechanical and abstract principles. A legal realist approach on law takes into account extra-legal factors which help shape how law is used within a social context. This approach does not view the discipline of law as a literal set of principles to be formally detected and applied, but recognizes that the interpretation of law by legal actors is manipulated by situational factors.BrianTamanaha in Law as a Means to an End: Threat to the Rule of Law examines how law, originally understood as an â€Å"instrumental to serve the social good†, is now just a mere instrument to further the goals and agendas of those who have access in its use (Tamanaha, 4). In essence, the notion of a common â€Å"social good† is no longer a qualifiable condition of law. In a complex, multi-faceted society, it is optimistic to presume that there is a true identifiable social good. Thus, lawyers, legislatures, judges and other legal actors are capable of using law to further their personal or collective political, social and economic interests.Tamanaha examines the ways in which legal actors, specifically cause litigants and judges, instrumentally exercise law. Thus, the term instrumentalism, a form of legal realism, is a pragmatic method which stems away from a formal application of law by critically examining cause litigation and judicial activism. Although law may be used as a mechanism to achieve a certain outcome, it is not used lawlessly and without merit as lawyers are advocating for a broad social cause and judges use law based on the merits of the constitution, given the benefit of time and postulated reason of their decision making.Brown, a case regarding segregation within the United States emerged with lawyers stirring up lawsuits b y informing African American citizens of their legal rights (Tamanaha 159). The process of instigating litigation was previously prohibited in common law practice; it was not professionally ethical for lawyers to set lawsuits in motion. However, it became increasingly common for lawyers to achieve change in public policy and legislation by fighting for a specific cause within the judicial arena. This ethod was forward-looking in that the courts became a battle field for interest groups seeking remedial change; the decision of the law was not necessarily to compensate for any harm inflicted in the past, but to change the policy in the future. This expansion from the traditional bilateral litigation no longer was to award the affected parties with compensation, but became a method to attain a reformative decree (Tamanaha 161). Eventually, cause litigation was an encouraged means to advance societal goals, in the sectors of environment protection, political reform and mental health, to name a few (Tamanaha 160).Although such issues of public policy appear to benefit society as a whole, the intent of the cause lawyers who instigate such legal actions is questionable to Tamanaha. The lawyers in these situations are no longer amoral technicians of law, but individuals who seek their own ideological implementation (Tamanaha 156). The cause which lawyers strive towards becomes the primary concern, whereas the clients themselves are secondary, fulfilling the standing requirement before the court (Tamanaha 156).This can be very detrimental to the clients because they may not be aware of the consequences of their legal actions. For instance, Baehr v. Lewin, 1993 was a successful lawsuit brought forth to legalize same-sex marriage in Hawaii. Although the litigants won, the ultimate consequence was detrimental; following it was a series of amendments nation-wide which prohibited same-sex marriage (Tamanaha 167). The battlefield within the court became not a place to determ ine legal rights, but a remedial catalyst in public policy. Such political battles focus on adversarial ideologies rather than legal rules and merit.However, the work of cause litigants cannot be narrowly categorized as one that is purely self-serving. More often than not, cause lawyers instigate lawsuits by informing the oppressed and disadvantaged of their rights. By doing so, they use law to encourage political change to the otherwise uninformed public. These causes often grow to become social movements as it â€Å"provides the basis for a sustained series of interactions between power holders and persons successfully claiming to speak on behalf of a constituency lacking formal representation (Austin 2)†. This formal epresentation demands change from the power holders with a strong backing of social support. Often, these groups lack the resources and skills which lawyers can provide, offering their advice to enlighten the marginalized group to â€Å"initiate and nurture p olitical mobilization† (Austin 4). The instrumental use of law by judges is immensely threatening to the judicial system and to a democratic society as a whole. Judges who use law to achieve a certain outcome undermines the rule of law. The legal system requires that judges be objective arbitrators of the law.As independent bodies, it is essential that they remain impartial in their decision making and delegate based on rule, and not personal preferences (Tamanaha 227). This is a crucial aspect of the rule of law, which binds the action of the state to pre-fixed rules, placing judges equal under and before the law, just as all other subjects of society. The rule of law ensures transparency and predictability which prevents the government from ruling coercively. It is an essential component to a democratic state.However, when judges decide a cases, they may be inclined to achieve a particular result. In essence, they are using laws to achieving another end, namely one that stre ngthens their own ideological beliefs and interests. Whether it is a certain political philosophy or a particular social policy which they seek, arbitrarily decided cases and manipulated law enforcement defeats the characteristics of the judicial branch of the state. Because there is no particular hierarchy of values, judges are able to promote some while extinguishing others.The general terms of legal rules allows judges to focus on the consequences of their decision. Their decisions will naturally be based on their political affiliations or ideological tendencies. Consequently, it is difficult to believe that judges are truly impartial in decision making. The result of judicial activism is that private attitudes become public law (Tamanaha 234). Furthermore, the procedural process of the case takes a backwards approach; the decision is made first, then it is justified by the legal rules which judges find applicable (Tamanaha 236)Nevertheless, there is a certain form of procedure w hich judges are bound to. Although values are not ranked hierarchically, there are two forms of rights obtained from the constitution: specified rights and secondary rights (Bork 17). The latter is of utmost importance as it addresses the values held by the constitution, such as the right to vote or procedures in criminal processing, all which the courts need to protect (Bork 17). The former alludes to the principled rules which the original framers of the text intended to convey (Bork 17).Because constitutional law does not have a concrete theoretical premise on which adjudicators are required to base their decision making processes on, they are founded on neutral principles. That is, issues are addressed based on general principles postulated on reason to ensure that conflicting values are not lawlessly chosen over one another (Bork 2). Granted, there are adversaries in the legal principles to which judges ascribe. Therefore, it is critical for the judges to recognize that in deci ding cases, they are setting legal precedent, and therefore should have a firm belief that the values being applied are done so lawfully.These beliefs are in relation to the legal system as a whole, not their personal preferences (Bork 2). Ultimately, Bork’s concern lies not with the decisions made by judges but what makes their decisions legitimate. The courts essentially work as advocates for the minority who otherwise would have no say on the issue at hand. Helping the powerless realize their rights is a form of advocacy that judges take. It is not about undermining the rule of law, but giving opportunity to access the law (Bork 3).Nevertheless, it is crucial for judges to base their decisions off of neutral principles; just as principles and values cannot be applied lawlessly, they just the same cannot be defined lawlessly (Bork 8). The critical examination of judicial review goes beyond it’s obvious implications and expositions of undermining the rule of rule. It is unfair to presume that judges are completely unreasoned in their decision making. There is a level of predictability as judges are bound to legal precedent and cannot decide cases in an tyrannical manner.Although the courts are not elected officials who are granted the power to delegitimize legislation, they are in many ways better equipped in making such decisions. For instance, the courts are distanced from political or social pressure allows them to make sound decisions in a timely matter. Elected officials tend to act on expediency and pressure when it comes to making value-based decisions (Bickel 25). Essentially, they are inclined towards one side of the issue in order to appeal to the interest of the predominate voters, as opposed to abiding to the fundamental values of law (Bickel 25).Judges on the other hand make decisions far from societal pressures, with more leeway in terms of time. This gives the courts the ability to make more calculated decisions, taking into consi deration not only the fundamental values of the state but also the unforeseen implications of a decision. (Bickel 26) In dealing with the pith and substance of a case, decisions are argued to be â€Å"sober second thoughts† (Bickel 26). Ultimately, the use of law within a judicial context by judges and lawyers is not an arbitrarily unfair process.Such legal actors are bound to the values of the laws within society. Such values are premised on the rule of law, the foundational concept of a democratic society. Cause litigants are often involved in social issues and advocate for those who require a formal delegate. These cause lawyers may use law in such a way to achieve a certain outcome, but this outcome results in change in public policy to those who are otherwise be unaware of their legal rights. Moreover, although judges may have their own social desires and political preferences, they cannot easily sway towards them.Their professional duty requires them to be consciously r ule-bound and rely on the precedent. Further, the basis of their decision is on neutral principles. Such principles are not vague and abstract, but stem from the precedent of previous judges in common law. Instrumentalism is pragmatic in that it recognizes that law is not a math; there is not a formula which judges rely on. However, social movements and changes through the judiciary ensures that fresh insight is continuously brought about within society, giving room for social change and progress.

Power in ‘Ozymandias’ (page 14) and in one other poem from Character and voice: Compare Essay

Bothe Ozymandias and The River God have a strong theme of power throughout the poems. Power in The River God is first present when the river says â€Å"But I can drown those fouls† The use of the word â€Å"can† brings out the power of the river. He has the choice over people’s lives and the river is not afraid to let us know this. The whole sentence sounds like The River God is trying to add fear to whomever he is addressing, showing them he is in charge and they should know this. Ozymandias also attempts to bring out fear through his power. â€Å"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!† He is confident that he is more powerful than the mightiest and wants everyone to know this. The poet uses the word â€Å"despair†, in other words Ozymandias is saying look and be afraid. The word shows the worry and fear of those who lived in the times of Ozymandias. Both Ozymandias and The River God believe they are more powerful than any other, they are both arrogant and do not see anyone as competition to their reputation. The River God says â€Å"O I may be an old foul river but I have plenty of go†. He is saying that even though he is worn down and old he is still as strong and mighty as he was when he was a young river. The use of the word â€Å"plenty† brings out his arrogance, he is not just saying he is powerful but he is saying he will carry on with this strength for years to come. However in Ozymandias there is proof of his down fall, his loss of power. â€Å"Nothing beside remains† and â€Å"a shattered visage lies† are both evidence that even though he had all this power once he died it all left. The poet could have done this to show the reader that nothing lasts, everything has to end. The use of the word shattered is strong as it is almost like somebody defeated Ozymandias and that somebody was time. Als o it is quite ironic that on the stone it was written â€Å"Look on my works† as none of them remained and therefore couldn’t of been as important as he made out. Ozymandias is written to sound powerful when read out loud, iambic pentameter is used which gives the poem a regular sound.

Leadership in Infromation Technology Research Paper

Leadership in Infromation Technology - Research Paper Example However, little population ranks self-knowledge as most critical. Using means, the rank order of knowledge domains is as follows: Business environments (1.5) Technology (2.14) Self and human resources (2.57 and 2.57) Finance (3.86) Much of the literature available addresses leadership at a strategic level. Clearly the most critical role of effective IT leaders is perceived to be the communicator role, followed by facilitator, guide, partner, and collaborator. Informal management styles seem to be preferred in technology intense organizations. (Lewis, S. & Lewis, 2005) The roles of tactician, technical guru, and human resources leader receives middle rankings while commander, servant, dictator, king or queen receive the lowest ranking for effective IT leaders. Congruent with this ranking of roles for effective IT leaders, team building is considered the most important function, followed by management, then creating. Leadership in Information Technology in Private Industry When the inf ormation technological skills of leadership are combined with an ability to use software to solve IT problems as in Acorn Computer City, New York, leaders of the organization are better equipped to move among the various agencies comprising our society. It was assessed whether leaders of IT firm can be trained, what characteristics are important for IT leaders of the organization, and what is the best environment to encourage IT leadership. While strategic leadership is possible at all levels within the organization, there is a need for work on leadership at the project leader/project manager level. As Sear (2008) pointed out, IT leaders have a difficult time making the transition from skilled technical work to project leader. Not only are they better able to use software to manage their... The concept of communication with a physician via e-mail is not really a future capability; it is available now and used to a very limited extent. What stands in the way of its widespread use is not the absence of cutting-edge communication technology, but rather a broken payment system. Physicians are paid relatively well for procedures, relatively poorly for office visits, and not at all for telephone or e-mail advice. Increasing the bandwidth for patients without fixing reimbursement is more likely to lead to a future state where frustrated patients complain, "My doctor doesn't return my phone calls or answer my e-mail." One of the more contentious but critically important issues today is the so-called misalignment of the costs and benefits of health IT. Essentially, the argument is that under our current fragmented healthcare system, physicians and hospitals pay for IT, and most of the benefit flows to payers. The Center for Information Technology Leadership modeled the cost and benefit of an ambulatory computerized physician order entry system, and concluded that 89 percent of the benefit accrued to payers, with only 11 percent flowing to providers (Johnston et al. 2003). Nelson references the landmark Wang study, which looked at system benefits of an advanced EHR in an office practice. Wang concluded that primarily by reducing pharmacy expenditures and avoiding redundant testing, payers would save about $86,000 per physician over five years-thus making the first real economic argument for payers funding EHRs for physicians.

Physics (Electron Physics and X-ray Tomography) Coursework - 1

Physics (Electron Physics and X-ray Tomography) - Coursework Example gher than that of the photon attraction for the jump to take place from K-shell to the L-shell, loosely bound electrons from L moves into the K-shell to replace the ejected electron. When a lot of high incident energy are directed to an atom, many electrons are emitted and forms the x-rays. Bremsstrahlung is the process of slowing down primary radiatin; X-ray is produced by radiations when electrons are retarded or decelerated2.. The radiation becomes intense and attains higher frequencies with increase in energy of bombarding electrons. The colliding electrons shifts electrons from high-energy shell to low energy shells, the rapid replacement by electrons from outer shells create a clearly defined x-ray. The curve shown below was produced by analysing the nature of radiation produced by bombarding electrons from four distinct energy levels against a tungsten target. The graph is used to relate the intensity of x-rays emitted and the wavelength for accurate x-ray photographing. The figure above shows X-ray spectrograph when copper is used as the target material, the intensity of the photon have linear relation with the wavelength. The intensity rises to peak then starts to slope downwards; high accelerating voltage causes the peak to rise sharply, as shown by Kp, KÃŽ ±, LP and LÃŽ ±. X-ray tube functions as energy converting system that converts electric energy into x-ray radiation and heat. Heat3 is the undesired product of the process; the conversion takes place in x-ray tube. The components of x-ray tube includes The higher the amount of current the higher the intensity of x-rays emitted since more of electrons are displaced from the high energy levels. In the case above, 5mA produces much lower intensity of X-rays as compared to 100mA since the rate of electron displacement is high in the first case characterized by the high peak of 100mA current4. b) Attenuation by photoelectric effect result from interaction between Photons and Matter. Photons are

Human Law and Conscience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Law and Conscience - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that conscience can be regarded as a set of moral convictions arising from traditional and spiritual beliefs, which is invoked and defined by the individual himself. Unlike the structural Human Laws, which includes both the civil laws and ecclesiastical laws, conscience is a subjective concept that holds the possibility of implicating total sovereignty over these human laws. Most importantly, the value of human conscience has a direct influence on the individual’s expression of denial or compliance with the human laws. However, the conflict between this individual conscience and human laws is inevitable. Exercising one’s own conscience by involving or refusing to the government that enforces unfair policies is one of the primary right and obligation for any citizen to act upon. There are many scholars and theorists who express the civil disobedience in the light of human conscience. Civil disobedience can be regarded as a nece ssary expression of human conscience and morality towards unjust laws. The concept of the right to resistance has a significant importance when the government policies turn out to be unjust or immortal towards the society. This would help in reconfiguring the laws of the State to make it more equitable and less onerous towards its treatment of the community as a whole. According to Henry David Thoreau, the morality of individual acts can possibly outweigh the consequences of civil disobedience against the severity of the injustice. It can be asserted that acting on civil disobedience does not undermine the power of democracy but it reinforces the values of liberty and deference. In circumstances when the human laws or government policies become an intrusive power, stifling the people’s rights, civil disobedience is acceptable by all means that would recognize the freedom of every individual. Fighting against inequality within a community has to be witnessed through the inborn , unwritten law of one’s conscience rather than inferring from the human laws that actually created it in the first place.

What Is Discrimination Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

What Is Discrimination - Literature review Example A racial group means a group of people defined by their race, color, and nationality (including citizenship) ethnic or national origins. Victimization means treating someone less favorably because they have made a complaint of discrimination (a "protected act"), or are thought to have done so; or because they have supported someone else who has made a complaint of discrimination. Vivid legal responsibility is the legal basis whereby an organization may become legally liable for the acts of its employees or agents. This can apply even where the institution had no knowledge of the acts and where, if it had been aware, it would disapprove or have disapproved of the acts in question. (Andrew, 1995) Direct discrimination is when a person is treated less favorably by another in a comparable situation. For example, A40-year-old woman applies for a job and is told she cannot have the job because the company is looking for new employees in their 20s. An African couple is looking for a school for their child and is told by their local school that the child cannot go to that school because there are no non-white children there. A man applies for a job and does not get it and is told that the company does not want gay people working there. (Andrew, 1995) The west of the city is mainly occupied by black people. This means that proportionately more non-black people will be applying for the job. A facility is "open to everyone", but it is on the third floor and there is no lift. This means that people in wheelchairs cannot use the facility. A company insists that people cannot leave their desks during the day apart from toilet breaks and lunch. This means that practicing Muslims cannot work there since they cannot pray at the appointed times.(Ibid, 1995) Indirect discrimination occurs where the effect of certain requirements, conditions or practices imposed by an employer or education provider has an adverse impact disproportionately on one group or other. Indirect discrimination can also occur when a rule or condition, which is applied equally to everyone, can be met by a considerably smaller proportion of people from a particular group, the rule is to their disadvantage, and it cannot be justified on other grounds. (Alf, 1958) Â  

Case Analysis Report Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Analysis Report - Case Study Example With reference to the case, it is observed that GMCR has established a business venture with Starbucks for K-Cup portion package of their coffee for use in ‘Keurig Single cup brewing technology’. The key players or officers as mentioned in the case study are Howards Schultz, the President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of Starbucks Corporation, Jeff Hansberry, President of Starbucks Global Consumer Products Group, the then CEO and President of GMCR Lawrence J. Blanford and Nigel Travis, the CEO of Dunkin Brands and President of Dunkin’ Donuts among others (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, 2009). The current CEO and President of GMCR is Brian Kelly. The company’s total sales for the year 2012 were USD 3,859,198 and the total profit was USD 1,269,399 (Yahoo! Inc., 2013). One of the major events in the GMCR’s history was in the year 2006 when GMCR made acquisition of Keurig, a maker of single-cup brewing machines. Moreover, in the year 2010, the company’s stock rose to an all time highest figure, placing it in the number one position in the Best Corporate Citizen criteria. In 2011, GMCR’s decision to enter into a venture with Starbucks was another important phase of the company (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, 2009). ... It has a wider reach to the customers created through joint venture with the top most coffee houses in the coffee industry. It is the only manufacturer of single brewer machine (Wile, 2013). Weaknesses The main factor which may be weakness for the company is its financial performance is dependent primarily on the sales of K-Cups. Increased cost and decreased of raw materials may have keen impact on the future production of the company (Wile, 2013). Opportunities Owing to the reason that GMCR is the only manufacturer which provides single serve brewing machines and K-Cup, its brand name is getting promoted with joint ventures formed with well known companies such as Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts resulting in attraction of more companies to form a venture with them (Wile, 2013). Threats With the new trend of globalization, the world has become a much smaller place and GMCR is facing significant competition from companies manufacturing similar products (Wile, 2013). SWOT Matrix An alysis Via Porter’s Five Forces Model Porter’s five force model is a business strategy tool used to analyze the value of an industrial structure, capturing the vital rudiments of competition. Threat of new entrants GMCR is the only company which provides a wide selection of coffee products, the number of competitors competing for the same section of customers and resources is limited. Thus, threat of new entry can be deemed to be low as the company possesses exclusive offerings which can be quite hard for new competitors to imitate (Vitalsource.com, 2013). Bargaining power of buyers GMCR, being the only manufacturer of K-Cup, has a large number of buyers resulting in quite limited bargaining influence by the customers having a positive impact on the company (Vitalsource.com, 2013).

Relationship LensEveryday Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Relationship LensEveryday Ethics - Essay Example This paper will use "Everyday Ethics" by Catharyn Baird as a guide to develop a personal ethical framework for the workplace. A number of ethical competencies need to be enhanced and developed in my profession. At the basic level it should involve anger management in order to avoid conflicts. Problems should be rectified in a smart and prudent manner. Further negative events in the workplace should be used as a stimulus to improve productivity and output. The ability of choosing how to live and work is called free will. We all decide on our own about how we will live our lives. Philosophers call this ability a gift of free will. The understanding of how to live our life is called self efficacy. This is another ethical competency that needs to be integrated in the workplace. As a professional I am answerable to the management, colleagues, and customers. I need to implement superior ethical principles which will assist in creating an efficient and effective work environment. In order to better handle our professional lives we should improve our self efficacy. Self efficacy is defined by Albert Bandura as an ability to handle different given types of performances. The people who have strong belief in their self efficacy will be ready to make choices in their lives according to the situation. They start believing that they are effective. With knowledge and learning our self efficacy can increase. In the event we find more satisfaction and we become effective ethical agents in our professional lives. Self efficacy helps to create superior relationships and associations with the stakeholders. Management, colleagues, and customers are the constituents to whom I am answerable. Workplace Integrity Integrity is about creating accountability and fairness in the workplace. This is accomplished through the pursuit of clear and precise objectives. I need to protect the information of the organization. It also means following honest and transparent procedures during work tasks and duties. Workplace Greatest Good The greatest good is achieved in the workplace by maintaining a balance between organizational interests and ethical dilemmas. I seek to create an ethical environment where the spirit of friendship, openness, and collaboration is promoted. Workplace Justice Justice inside the workplace should be implemented in a smart and prudent manner. It means that individuals should ensure that there is no discrimination or bias. As a professional, I seek to implement justice so that the work duties are distributed according to the skills and expertise of the workforce. Workplace Courage Workplace courage means that the employees should express their opinions and feedback in an open and constructive manner. I pursue these qualities in order to ensure the highest ethical and moral principles in the workplace. Future Perceptions and Career Different work situations can create cynicism in our minds and because of that self efficacy in our professional lives can become low. For example, if we are working in a manufacturing plant where we are only a part of system and not connected to our customers even in good times; we may start believing that we have no control over our economic lives. We feel