Anonymous Hacker Book Report

Allow me to explain. Not that long ago there was a shooting in Sandy Hook Elementary school. It was a tragedy across the board that most of us felt. While the Anon portions of the internet (Achaean, Reedit, etc) teemed with inappropriate Jokes and disgusting humor, there was an underlining sense of outrage that could be felt in the far corners of the deep net. This didn't come to full bloom until the Westbrook Baptist Church stepped in with their plans to protest the funerals of the dead children of Sainthood.Immediately the same people who would post â€Å"dead kid mess† were striking out urbanely and quite harshly against the audacity of someone to tarnish the memory of kids In real life. That's what a lot of people don't understand about Anon and the 100 different sec groups out there trolling â€Å"newfangled† and â€Å"morals†. The net is a different world inside. Anon and everyone else do not see it as an extension of real life unless it's to make an impact . These are the same personality types that love tagging things with spray paint. It's all for laughs, until however it gets serious.Westbrook Baptist Church (WEB from now on) struck a moral nerve with Anon and the est. of the hastiest community. Commander X came out of retirement, Jester (whose admittedly against Anion's actions usually, came out in support and offered services. ) Whether It was setting up VPN for everyone to run Dodos off of or setting up old school pranks Like pizza wars or blacking out (faxing black pieces of paper to run out Ink) It went Like wildfire. It was one of the first times I've ever seen all the factions come together. What amazed me however was the interactive real life protests that went down.Anonymous called for actions and the net responded in kind. Ass of people took to the streets from Anon to protest the WEB. With them members of the Hells Angels and even former military and off duty police stood in solidarity against them. What was amazing was the fact that this translated from online IIRC to real time real life protest. People broadcasted the whereabouts of the WEB van and flooded any hotel with calls, faxes and emails who dare take them in. This was then broadcasted again on Stream so the world could see Just how powerful the Internet could be. The biggest thing was Black Lotus.A service that provided hardcore Dodos protection for invalids. This service costs a lot of money to employ and only those most fearful of an attack will get In touch wit Black Lotus. However that week they were held over a barrel. Instead of going Dodos was not an option really, what was however was the â€Å"dioxin† of the employees. Dog were accumulated in a massive pastiest that went around the net. Everyone who was poised went online and did their research. This yielded some insane results. Everything from the Coo's address and phone number and social security number were captured.After a bunch of threats and back and forth with YANG (Your Anonymous News) twitter account and Jackal (one of the few respected enough to lead a proper â€Å"Pop†) the company employing Black Lotus protection gave up. Instead of being dosed, they gave all the money they got from WEB to the Sandy Hook Victims fund on top of a generous donation of k. We Are Anonymous is a good book about a few isolated incidents. I don't however find it to be indicative of what Anon is about or the other sec that work within the hastiest community. Yes we did it for the lulls, but there was a sense of â€Å"moral† to all of us.

Extracurricular Activities in School Essay

An ideal school gives to students the scope and the spirit of healthy competition — to excel at all levels. Class work and the home work given by teachers have their academic importance; in this also one who excels wins the praise and appreciation from the teachers. But academic distinctions alone do not fulfill all the purpose for which the school exists. A school is the workshop of life-building in which the raw material is the nascent young pupils. The Principal, the teachers are molders of this raw material into the ideal mold. For this process, many more activities, other than vroom ones are needed to fulfill the purpose. A young pupil might have the potential and the natural Lent to excel in games and sports and he needs to go to play field and the sports ground for the purpose. There can be students whose natural bent of mind is towards creative art and the art room is his field where he needs to be given the chance to exhibit his potential. Even little children of the nursery or the primary classes can draw such lines and make such figures which may amaze an on-looker and may be led to exclaim —’What an idea, how could he imagine this?’ One cannot and does not know how much talent in what direction lies in a child’s brain. This can only come out when he or she is given that opportunity. The school has to provide such chances and explore out the pearls from the sea-depths of the young mind. Art competitions of different level of students are activities that need to be arranged and the excellence in that to be rewarded and encouraged. There are boys and girls who have a knack of oration. They have in them an amount of self-confidence that they can face spectators and audience. Elocution contests and debates offer them the chance to exhibit this latent talent of theirs. Such inter-class or inter-school competitions should regularly be held which would further them to become good debaters — who knows, they may one day become parliamentarians and what they have gained during their school days may place them in good stead in that field. Cultural shows; dramatics performances, mono- acting’s are events which schools generally hold and it so necessary for schools to hold them. That is also at of total education. Taking part in such events gives children a sense of self-confidence and embellishes their accomplishments which they possess or can even develop. Anything, any activity which helps in the development of the total personality of young boy or girl is a part of  education and competitions, the effort to excel from others, is an incentive which must be provided to a young mind. Such an opportunity is offered to them only through such cultural and extra-curricular activities Opening up of personality; developing the latent talents- promotion of the intellectual effort and an opportunity of healthy competition — all these are factors which an educational institution should always encourage — only when it does this, it fulfills its role in the total education of the young.

Internationalization Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Internationalization Strategies - Essay Example An organization can also have facilities and economic interests in several countries. According to Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson (2011), the main reason firms go international is to extend the lifecycle of their products. Firms require expanding to secure required resources. Supply of raw materials has caused many Chinese companies to expand internationally. Industries such as electronics and clothing move their operations to foreign companies due to lower production coasts. Industrialization in different countries has caused similar demand for products. This has caused pressure in several companies to integrate their operations globally. People in developed countries have similarities in lifestyles and companies are forced to expand globally to meet increased demands. Business level- integrated cost leadership and differentiation Every business requires a competitive strategy in its domestic market. In international business the home country is the main source of competitive advantage. T he ability of a firm to expand into international countries depends on the resources and abilities established in the home country. However, as the business expands into the global market, the home country becomes less significant in providing competitive advantage Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson (2011). As stated by Michael (1998), this advantage occurs in two types: cost leadership and differentiation. ... dership and differentiation are integrated actions aimed delivering goods or services at prices lower than competitors with features acceptable to customers. A business requires efficient scale facilities and control production costs and overhead tightly. Monitoring costs of competitor products helps an organization adjust its prices to lower levels. Advantages The firm concentrates on a segment of customers and tailors its strategies and resources to its service. Hoskisson (2008) argues that strategic competitiveness is achieved when the firm satisfies a group of customers. The firm is committed at providing customers with superior value to gain advantage over competitors. This helps a company increase its profit. For example, Ford Motors estimates that increase in customer loyalty creates approximately $100 million additional profits annually. Firms concentrate more on their core business activities. Firms channel most of their resources on core activities and carry out innovations aimed at satisfying their customers. SAS institute is a software company that allocated more than 30 percent of their revenues to R&D. the firm concentrates on its core competences to serve customers such as the U.S bureau. Companies maintain low costs while serving a wide segment of customers. In the case of airlines, flight attendants may be required to purchase their own uniforms and customers are charged to check luggage. Flight attendants spend time selling products like water, digital cameras and MP3 players to passengers. Global companies can participate in e-commerce. This improves customer relations management. Careful integration of technology in a firm increases successful competition of a business. CEMEX SA, a Mexican global cement company, uses the internet as a link between

Research Method - Feasibility Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research Method - Feasibility Study - Essay Example As one of the most common mental health disorders, it is important for nursing staff to have a good understanding of bipolar disorder and how it affects the patient and their health. The most common pharmacological treatment for bipolar disorder is lithium salts, used as a mood stabilizer (Peacock, 2000). However, one of the most common side effects of taking lithium is that it increases appetite and thirst, and thus can cause significant weight gain in some patients. Some patients therefore request medication for their bipolar disorder that is not linked to weight gain, and thus the following PICO question (Chiappelli, 2010) was formatted: P – patients with bipolar disorder worried about weight gain I – other medication used in the treatment of bipolar disorder that are not associated with weight gain C – weight gain using lithium salts for bipolar disorder treatment O – control psychiatric symptoms whilst reducing the likelihood of weight gain The purpos e of this investigation is to search the existing literature on bipolar disorder and various medications to see if there are any that can be used to reduce mania, depression and weight gain. Discussion The literature chosen for this topic was found using the databases MEDLINE and OVID, two well-respected databases providing access to detailed and current nursing information. To complete the search, the search terms ‘bipolar disorder AND treatment AND weight gain’ were chosen, because this returned results providing the information necessary to complete the task. The search returned 6642 results, ordered by relevance. The five articles chosen were selected because they each discussed how a type of medication used for the treatment of bipolar disorder (not lithium salt based) affected patient weight and their symptoms of the disorder. As the search results were ordered by relevance, so results at the top were assumed to be the best for the research of weight gain and bipo lar disorder, although it would be impossible to brose 6642 results to ascertain whether this was the case. A search using ‘bipolar disorder AND medication AND weight gain’ was also conducted but the results from this search were not used because it returned many more results (over 10,000) and the returned results seemed to be irrelevant or all secondary sources. It seems that it would be extremely possible to complete a dissertation on this topic. The fact that 6642 results were returned from these two databases suggests that there is existing research on the topic that can be used to answer the PICO question in detail. It also suggests that the topic is of interest to those working in clinical situations, and that the weight gain aspect of lithium salts is bothering to many patients. The five articles suggested each describe a different type of treatment and how they can be used for bipolar disorder and how they affect the metabolism and weight changes within the body , and there were many more describing different treatments that may possibly be equally effective in treating bipolar disorder but avoid weight gain issues. The fact that there were so many resources in the literature also means that information can be found easily and used to the advantage of a dissertation. There were issues when conducting the search. There do not seem to be comparisons within the literature between lithium salts and the other types of medication suggested

Team Performance Measurement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Team Performance Measurement - Essay Example Even though performance evaluation can be a successful process that acts as a basis for human resource development in healthcare organizations, there is a likelihood of various challenges being encountered especially if some of the team members consider it to be a punitive undertaking by the management. In a situation whereby individual accomplishments are valued more than teamwork (Sangvai et al. 2008), the junior staff in the healthcare cadre may regard performance measurement as an undesirable process due to their minimal contributions in the hierarchical structure where physicians dominate leadership and public trust. Such attitudes of inferiority may hamper the process of performance measurement as some team members feel intimidated (Castka et al. 2004). Members of a team usually have different perceptions regarding their individual performance and that of others. Some perceive themselves as the top performers, which may present a challenge in the performance measurement process when the continuous feedback to the group reveals results that are contrary to their expectations. If such individuals are rated below their counterparts in the preliminary results, they are likely to be de-motivated and discontented, thereby lowering their performance. Enthusiasm of such team members to participate in subsequent performance measurement processes may decrease; hence delaying the evaluation exercise and the ultimate results (Schrader & Lawless, 2004). Even though a strong team is expected to pursue shared objectives, the different roles require individual performance evaluation so that the management can determine the career development needs for each employee (Sanwong, 2008). This presents a major challenge since the teams normal workflow is affected by the idiosyncratic approach that promotes individualism rather than collective accomplishment of tasks. Some of the team members are likely to develop a pessimistic attitude thereby reducing their

Investigation of the conventions of behavior that governed aristocrats Essay - 1

Investigation of the conventions of behavior that governed aristocrats at a symposium and those of marginals as well as the conventions of thought that characte - Essay Example This is a thesis proposal that seeks to investigate whether such norms were really prevailing or not among those considered within the paper’s scope, the last being small and limited. The cynics of ancient Greece traced back their roots to Socrates though one of his pupils, Antisthenes (Hock, Undated). Nevertheless, it is confirmed that the actual propounder of this school of philosophy is one Diogenes of Sinope (404-323 B.C.) (Hock, Undated). From Diogenes Laertius it is known that Diogenes fled to Athens when his father, a banker, started adulterating money. There he met with Antisthenes and inducted some of the philosophical thought his teacher was heir to from Socrates. Thereafter he started leading what the cynics construe as a truly virtuous life – doubling up his cloak, carrying a begging bag for his food and eating and conversing wherever he could (Hock, Undated). He believed that ‘the minimum is the optimum’ – the cynic philosophy put in a nutshell (Hock, Undated). This may be taken as a very brief introduction to cynicism and a lengthier version of the background to cynicism will become available later in the paper. Hereafter the paper shall contrive to use some incidents or anecdotes, called chreiai in Greek, from Diogenes’ own life and some from his close disciple Crates (358-290 B.C.) (Hock, Undated) to bring out the essence of this thesis proposal. It shall also use some supplementary texts to do this. The essence of cynicism is that the minimum of life is the optimum to live with (Hock, Undated). The extent to which the initiators – Diogenes and his students such as Crates – involved their personal lives with this minimalist philosophical precept is evidenced from their rigorously frugal life-styles. Diogenes even forsook the perusal of his drinking cup, which he took out of his begging bag and threw away, when he saw a boy drinking water with his bare hands

Responsible tour operators are changing the way we travel to what Essay

Responsible tour operators are changing the way we travel to what extent can this be proved - Essay Example With the growing importance of the lifestyle market, tourism and travel create the desired lifestyle and personal enhancement rather than many other lifestyle products. Consequently, destination marketing organizations would have to reinvent themselves to create holiday experiences in relation to the changing requirements of customers. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which responsible tour operators are changing the way we travel. The Background to Tourists’ Orientation For Responsible Tourism Nearly twenty-five years ago, Krippendorf (1987) argued for responsible tourism, using the theory of Maslow’s pyramid of needs. He predicted that there would be an increase in â€Å"emancipated tourists†, who once their needs for physical sustenance through sleeping, eating and drinking were fulfilled in a recreational manner, they would seek emotional recreation by undertaking activities and experiences not available to them in e veryday life. Consequently, tourists would seek experiences of social contact with other people and â€Å"self realization through creative activities, knowledge and exploration† (Krippendorf 1999: 74). ... This trend is based on the larger shift in consumer preferences towards the purchase of green products which do not adversely affect the environment in their production processes, and ethically traded products based on fair trade practices and corporate social responsibility. Recent survey evidence (King 2002) confirms changes in consumer attitudes in the context of wider market trends towards more ethical consumerism in the United Kingdom. Campaigns undertaken by Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) and Tearfund helped to increase the orientation towards responsible and ethical tourism as a market segment. Responsible Tourism Responsible tourism involves a proactive approach by tourism industry partners to â€Å"developing, marketing and managing the tourism industry in a responsible manner so as to create a competitive advantage† (Pennington-Gray, Reisinger, Kim et al 2005: 266). Responsible tourism is a management strategy that includes planning, management, product development and marketing to bring about positive economic, social, cultural, and environmental effects. This type of tourism promotes responsibility to the environment through sustainable measures, as well as involving local communities in the tourism industry. Additionally, responsible tourism is focused on the safety and security of a visitor. Government agencies, employees of the tourism industry and those outside the industry, as well as members of the local communities together hold the responsibility. Besides environmental sustainability and the safety and security of visitors, other aspects include culturally responsible tourism which contributes to mutual understanding and respect

Sports Management - Sponsorship Proposal Assignment

Sports Management - Sponsorship Proposal - Assignment Example The event will be held concurrently from the month of October 10th to 12th, incorporated with training sessions, followed by sprints. This event stands as one of the most recognized events in the Plone Content Management System (CMS). The target audience for the event are developers, managers, agencies of the government, students, education institutions, and any party interested in learning about technology. As a result, the event brings together the leading developers and contributors around the world and enable them to share relevant success stories. Other Plone events were held in Arnhem, San Francisco, Bristol, Budapest, Washington DC, Naples, Seattle, Vienna, and New Orleans. An event is a non-profit event and the revenue collected will be raised by sponsors. The sponsorship packages offered vary and suitable for various organizations and the target group. The sponsorship plan for the conference offers maximum exposure to the technical audience. The initiative of sponsoring the Plone Conference 2014 will enable an organization reaches an audience of developers, software engineers, managers, investors, and service end users from more than 30 countries in the world. The conference will enable the sponsor to This category is available to sponsors who can meet an investment of US $ 18,000 but limited to four sponsors. The sponsor will enjoy a prominent space in the exhibition hall (4 MÂ ²). At the same time the brand exposure through logo placement in Plone conference websites, conference rooms, tot berg insert, conference guides for mobile devices, Twitter announcements, and joint announcements. In the job fair platform, the sponsor will enjoy a reserved table for recruitment as well as an ad as a company recruiter in conference websites. Furthermore, the sponsor will have 10 conference passes and 10 training passes. This level is entitled to sponsorship investment of US $ 8,500 and only limited to four parties.

Product Life Cycle of Nokia Essay Example for Free

Product Life Cycle of Nokia Essay INTRODUCTION In the present context, managing has become one of the most important areas of human activity because of increasing role of large and complex organisations in the society. Because of their increasing role, the organisations have attracted the attention of both practitioners and academicians to find out the solutions for business problems. Concept Defining the term management precisely is not so simple because the term management is used in a variety of ways. Being a new discipline, it has drawn concepts and principles from a number of disciplines such as economics, sociology, psychology, anthropology, statistics and so on. Each group of contributors has treated management differently. For example, economists have treated management as a factor of production; sociologists have treated it as a class or group of persons; practitioners have treated it as a process comprising different activities. DEFINITION â€Å"Management is the art of getting things done through and with people in formally organized groups† Koontz â€Å"Management is the art of knowing what you want to do and then seeing that it is done in the best and cheapest way† – F.W. Taylor â€Å"Management is the art of securing maximum results with minimum effort so as to secure maximum prosperity and happiness for both employer and employee and give the public the best possible service† John Mee. â€Å"Management is the accomplishment of results through the efforts of other people† Lawrence â€Å"Management is simply the process of decision making and control over the action of human beings for the expressed purpose of attaining predetermined goals† – Stanley V. â€Å"Management is a process involving planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling human efforts to achieve stated objectives in an organization.† From the above definitions, the following features are identified:1) Organised Activities: Management is a process of organized activities. Without organized activities, two groups of people cannot be involved in the performance of activities. Where a group of people are involved in working towards a common objective, management comes into existence. 2) Existence of objectives: The existence of objectives is a basic criterion of e very human organization because all organizations are deliberate and purposive creation and, therefore, they should have Introduction to Management some objectives. Without objectives, it becomes difficult to define the direction where organized group of activities would lead to. 3) Relationship among resources: Organised activities meant to achieve common goals are brought about to establish certain relationships about the available resources. Resources include money, machine, material, men and methods. All these resources are made available to those who manage the organization. Managers apply knowledge, experience, principles for getting the desired results. Thus, the essence of management is integration of various organisational resources. 4) Working with and through people: Management involves working with people and getting organisational objectives achieved through them. The idea of working through people is interpreted in terms of assigning and reassigning of activities to subordinates. 5) Decision Making: Management process involves decision making at various levels for getting things done through people. Decision making basically involves selecting the most appropriate alternative out of the several. If there is only one alternative, there is no question of decision making. Nature of Management: The study and application of management techniques in managing the affairs of the organization have changed its nature over a period of time. The following points will describe the nature of management 1) Multidisciplinary: Management has been developed as a separate discipline, but it draws knowledge and concepts from various disciplines like psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, statistics, operations research etc.,. Management integrates the idea and concepts taken from these disciplines and presents newer concepts which can be put into practice for managing the organisations 2) Dynamic nature of Principles: Principle is a fundamental truth which establishes cause and effect relationships of a function. Based on integration and supported by practical evidences, management has framed certain principles. However, these principles are flexible in nature and change with the changes in the environment in which an organization exists. 3) Relative, Not absolute Principles: Management principles are relative, not absolute, and they should be applied according to the need of the organization. Each organization may be different from others. The difference may exist because of time, place, socio-cultural factors, etc.,. 4) Management: Science or Art: There is a controversy whether management is science or art. An art is personal skill of business affairs. Art is characterized by practical knowledge, personal creativity and skill. The more one practices an art, the more professional one becomes. Management can be considered as an art because it satisfies all these criterion of an art. A science is a systematized body of knowledge of facts. It can establish cause-and-effect relationships among various factors. It involves basic principles, which are capable of universal application. Management can be considered as science because it satisfies all these criterion of a science. Introduction to Management 5) Management as profession: Management has been regarded as a profession by many while many have suggested that it has not achieved the status of a profession. Profession refers to a vocation or a branch of advanced learning such as engineering or medicine. 6) Universality of management: Management is a universal phenomenon. However, management principles are not universally applicable but are to be modified according to the needs of the situation. Importance of Management Management has been important to the daily lives of people and to the organisations. The importance of management may be traces with the following. 1) Effective utilisation of Resources: Management tries to make effective utilisation of various resources. The resources are scarce in nature and to meet the demand of the society, their contribution should be more for the general interests of the society. Management not only decides in which particular alternative a particular resource should be used, but also takes actions to utilize it in that particular alternative in the best way. 2) Development of Resources: Management develops various resources. This is true with human as well as non-human factors. Most of the researchers for resource development are carried on in an organized way and management is involved in these organized activities. 3) It ensures continuity in the organization: Continuity is very important in the organisations. Where there are no proper guidelines for decision making continuity can not be guaranteed. It is quite natural that new people join while some others retire or leave the organization. It is only management that keeps the organization continuing. 4) Integrating various interest groups: In the organized efforts, there are various interest groups and they put pressure over other groups for maximum share in the combined output. For example, in case of a business organization, there are various pressure groups such as shareholders, employees, govt. etc. these interest groups have pressure on an organization. Management has to balance these pressures from various interest groups. 5) Stability in the society: Management provides stability in the society by changing and modifying the resources in accordance with the changing environment of the society. In the modern age, more emphasis is on new inventions for the betterment of human beings. These inventions make old systems and factors mostly obsolete and inefficient. Management provides integration between traditions and new inventions, and safeguards society from the unfavorable impact of these inventions so that continuity in social process is maintained. Functions of Management:To achieve the organisational objectives managers at all levels of organization should perform different functions. A function is a group of similar activities. Introduction to Management The list of management functions varies from author to author with the number of functions varying from three to eight. Writers Henry Fayol Luther Gullick R. Davis Management Functions Planning, Organizing, Commanding, Coordinating, Controlling POSDCORD- Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, Directing Planning , Organising, Controlling Planning, Organising, Motivating, Coordinating, Controlling Planning, Organising, Staffing, Leading, Controlling Koontz Different authors presented different variations. By combining some of functions, these are broadly grouped into Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing, and Controlling. 1) Planning: Planning is the conscious determination of future course of action. This involves why an action, what action, how to take action, and when to take action. Thus, planning includes determination of specific objectives, determining projects and programs, setting policies and strategies, setting rules and procedures and prepar ing budgets. 2) Organising: Organising is the process of dividing work into convenient tasks or duties, grouping of such duties in the form of positions, grouping of various positions into departments and sections, assigning duties to individual positions, and delegating authority to each positions so that the work is carried out as planned. It is viewed as a bridge connecting the conceptual idea developed in creating and planning to the specific means for accomplishment these ideas. 3) Staffing: Staffing involves manning the various positions created by the organizing process. It includes preparing inventory of personal available and identifying the sources of people, selecting people, training and developing them, fixing financial compensation, appraising them periodically etc. 4) Directing: when people are available in the organization, they must know what they are expected to do in the organization. Superior managers fulfill this requirement by communicating to subordinates about their expected behavior. Once subordinates are oriented, the superiors have continuous responsibility of guiding and leading them for better work performance and motivating them to work with zeal and enthusiasm. Thus, directing includes communicating, motivating and leading. 5) Controlling: Controlling involves identification of actual results, comparison of actual results with expected results as set by planning process, identification of deviations between the two, if any, and taking of corrective action so that actual results match with expected results. Introduction to Management TAYLOR SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT The concept of scientific management was introduced by Frederick Winslow Taylor in USA in the beginning of 20th century. â€Å"Scientific management is concerned with knowing exactly what you want to do and then see in that they do it in the best and cheapest way† Since Taylor has put the emphasis on solving managerial problems in a scientific way, often, he is called as father of scientific management and his contributions as the principles of scientific management. Taylor carried experiments about how to increase the efficiency of people. On the basis of experiments, he published many papers and books and all his contributions were compiled in his book â€Å"scientific management†. His contributions are divided into two parts. Elements and tools of scientific management Principles of scientific management FEATURES / ELEMENTS AND TOOLS OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT 1) Separation of planning doing: Taylor emphasized the separation of planning aspect from actual doing of the work. In other words planning should be left to the supervisor and the worker should concentrate only operational work. 2) Functional foremanship: Taylor introduced the concept of functional foremanship based on specialization of functions. In this system, eight persons are involved to direct the activities of workers. Out of these four persons are concerned with planning viz., route clerk, instruction card clerk, time and cost clerk and disciplinarian. The remaining four persons are concerned with doing aspect of the job, viz., speed boss, inspector, gang boss and maintenance foreman. It is against to the principle of unity of command.

What Is Meant by the Term Organisational Culture Essay Example for Free

What Is Meant by the Term Organisational Culture Essay The late twentieth century saw an emergence in industry competition and in order to continually achieve success, organisational behavior had to evolve into something new. Organisational culture is one form of organisational behavior that is focused on the shared values and beliefs which members and employees of a specific organisation believe to be the right way to act in a particular situation (Vecchio, 2000). Just like other theories of organisational behavior, the purpose of culture theory is to gain knowledge of employee attitudes so that organisations can reduce cost and improve production (Stanford, 2010). The aim of this essay is to show the rise of culture belief in organisations, and why it can play an important role in organisational performance. First it will provide a history of the literature, then present different concepts that can be seen, such as has and is theory strong and weak cultures. Finally it will identify positive effects it can have on organisations and employees. The rise of Humanistic theories From the 1920s to the early 1970s Scientific Management was widely adopted by Western companies because it was an easy structure to implement by managers in an organisation to achieve success and control over employees (Burnes, 1996). However with the oil crises in 1973 interest in the Japanese model of production spread to the World (Brown and Williams, 2012). This happened because the Japanese were achieving what no other organisation had ever achieved; in addition they were contradicting every previous concept of production (Vecchio, 2000). When organisations around the World were practicing mass production, the Japanese were developing the just-in-time approach. This is when the raw material would only be ordered just-in-time to be produced, and production would only start just-in-time to be delivered to the costumer, avoiding waste and contributing towards a more effective cash flow; additionally they were practicing team work (Brown and Williams, 2012). Employees were involved in decision making and projects would be integrated at different levels from the marketing and finance department to the shop floor (Vecchio, 2000). This reduced alienation and empowered employees, the results were considerable and were seen as a miracle by Western organisations. Therefore, as a response to the Japaneses new challenging approach, western organisations began to explore different models of behavior (Burnes, 1996). That is when the theories that were more humanistic (Human Resource Management, Culture theory and Contingency approach) were rediscovered and adopted. In 1982 Peters and Waterman (1982) suggested that the key to the recovery of Western companies was the implementation of organisational culture. In their study they analysed several different organisations from the USA and identified a list of eight common beliefs that according to them were the reasons for their success (Mullins, 2011). Thus, if a company wishes to achieve ‘excellence’ they should embrace those beliefs. Customer orientation, respectful treatment beyond different level of employees and a set of values through a clear organisation philosophy were a few of those common attributes (Burnes, 1996). They argue that when employees have organisational values integrated within their actions, there is no need for close supervision, reducing organisation cost and empowering employees (ibid). Therefore, managers should adopt a system where employees have more freedom, nevertheless managers would still have some kind of control (Brewis and Willmott, 2012). It was this study in the 80’s that made famous among managers culture theory as a recipe for success (ibid). Peter and Waterman sent their message to the world as the one best way to be successful. Concepts of Culture Most writers (including Peter and Waterman cited above) that are concerned with culture theory believe that managers can implement and manipulate culture in order to improve organisational success (Brewis and Willmott, 2012). This assumption that culture is a variable and can be changed is explained by Smircich (1983) as culture being something that an organisation ‘has’. For instance, managers could build a value into an organisation and its employee, such as, customer satisfaction and team work to increase productivity. According to Brewis and Willmott (2012) in the has theory, culture can be seen as functional and technical. It is functional because it establishes an order in an organisation, it will lead all employees in the same direction. Additionally work is meaningful to them, which may be seen as empowerment. It is technical because managers can continually administrate core values of a company to achieve better outcome (Brewis and Willmott, 2012). Indeed that m ay be the reason why the subject is so popular today; it is connected with better performance. Has theory can also be associated with strong culture. Deal and Kennedy (1982) believe that in order to achieve success an organisation should implement a clear and consistent set of values, which enable employees to assume how to behave as the way to do things here. If employees feel for the company, if it touches them in some way, they will follow its leaders anywhere because they value, even idolize, everything it stands for (Linstead, 2012, p.197). This approach is supposed to increase employee loyalty and to trigger strong emotions, such as, aspiration, devotion and love (Linstead, 2012). However it is also argued that strong culture may lead to a predictable staff outcome, discouraging new ideas (Brewis and Willmott, 2012). Nevertheless, a considerable number of managers confirm that the structure that culture provides to an organisation has a direct link with its prosperity (Mullins, 2011). On the other hand, some writers view culture as something an organisation is (Smircich, 1983). It is suggested that just like in life where humans develop a behavior that it is a result of their local surrounding, in organisations employees too develop a behavior on a daily bases (Brewis and Willmott 2012). It is created organically and difficult to understand where the roots of it came from, hence hard to manage and change (Stanford, 2010). Is theory sympathises with what literature calls a weak culture. Here the subject is treated more flexible, giving more room for scope, and creativity (Linstead, 2012). It is a debate whether an organisation should adopt strong or weak cultural values; strong cultures may be inflexible and as consequence can react slower to external and internal changes (Stanford, 2010). The link between culture and empowerment According to Stanford (2010) an effective culture would be when employees believe that there are more reasons to work than to just make money, when work is meaningful to them. In addition she believes that the employee should feel engaged within the job, without breaching ethical issues (Stanford, 2010). It should be noted that organisational culture enable human resource management to affiliate organisational values with new employee values, and when both share common beliefs the results can be beneficial for either side. Employees feel fulfillment and managers benefit from this in terms of a more efficient production (Vecchio, 2000). This suggests that managers are paying attention to organisational culture because it empowers employees and as a result boosts productivity. Therefore it can be argued that ‘culture theory seems to achieve what a range of studies have tried to understand for decades, that is how to reward and empower individuals at work in order to improve organisational performance. Hawthornes study in the 1920s draws attention to the fact that humans are not only driven by monetary incentives as stated by Taylor, instead it shows that there is a desire for recognition (Linstead, 2012). Employees need to feel that they are being valued. However at the time it did not demonstrate clear enough how to measure these concepts in organisational practice (Burnes, 1996). Culture theory developed those assumptions in more detail, making it easier for managers to manipulate and implement. Certainly the approaches created by culture theory reaffirm what numerous studies such as Job design, Theory Y and Maslow already said, however it appears that it glued several ideas from those studies into a clear module for organisation practices. In spite of that, culture theory has been criticised to manipulate and control employees in a way that could be seen as unethical (Linstead, 2012). It should be noted that there is an element of control; just like in life, organisations need a mechanism for social order. For Marxists, organisation culture tries to control employees’ emotions and that is a form of exploitation and inevitably will lead to alienation (ibid). Nevertheless, it can be argued that most employees dont feel controlled, and they actually approve of the methodology (ibid). Conclusion Organisation behavior has developed from Scientific Management into a wide school of thoughts, and it will continue to evolve in response to challenging business environments. This essay has given reasons for the widespread use of organisation culture since 1982. It has demonstrated through different concepts why managers are attracted to the topic and it can be concluded that what provokes manager’s interest is the idea that culture is something an organisation has. In this approach, culture can be manipulated to integrate all employees toward the same direction and achieve organisational goals. In addition it can be assumed that when employee values are aligned with company values it results in better organisation performance. For that reason, it is suggested that there is a link between organisation performance and employee empowerment. Culture is seen as the commodity that holds an organisation together. It seems then, that culture, despite its criticism, will probably continue to develop as the demand for it endures on. References Brewis, J. and Willmott, H. Culture. In Knights, D. and Willmott, H. eds. (2012) Introducing Organizational Behaviour and Management. 2th ed. Andover: Cengage Learning. Brown, G. and Hookham Williams, C. (2013) ULMS151 Organisations and Management Custom Text. Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan. Burnes, B. (1996) Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organisational Dynamics. 2th ed. London: Pitman Publishing. Deal, T.E. and Kennedy, A.A. (1982) Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. Linstead, S. Managing Culture. In Worthington, F. ed. (2013) ULMS157 Introdution to HRM Custom Text. Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan. Mullins, L.J. (2011) Essentials of Organisational Behaviour. 3th ed. Harlow: FT/ Prentice Hall. Peters, T.J. and Waterman, R.H. (1982) In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best – run Companies. New York: Harper. Smircich, L. (1983) Concepts of Culture and Organizational Analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly, 28(3), 339-358. Stanford, N. (2010) Organisation Culture: Getting it right. London: Profile Books. Vecchio, R.P. (2000) Organizational Behavior: core concepts. 4th ed. Fort Worth: Dryden Press.

Domestic Violence Campaign in Malaysia

Domestic Violence Campaign in Malaysia Introduction What is domestic violence? Domestic violence is define as any form of aggressive and violent behaviour afflicted on family members or partners, regardless of gender, sexuality, race, culture or background (â€Å"Definition,† n.d.). On 8th March 2014, the campaign #NoExcuseForAbuse was launched in conjunction with International Women’s Day. The campaign is hosted by Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) which is a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Malaysia. The organization aims to promote and create respect, protection and fulfillment of equal rights for women. The idea is that no one deserves to be abuse (About us, n. d., â€Å"WAO Vision and Mission†). For more than six months of planning, the campaign was brought to life by Art Director, Justin Phang and his team and it was successfully launched at Publika, Kuala Lumpur on 8th March 2014. The campaign is supported by Studio DL, Publika, TWBA Kuala Lumpur, My Hero Hypermarket and the US Embassy. Research In Malaysia, 39% of women are estimated to have faced domestic violence, but they often hide the truth of this social problem due to the traditional belief in the privacy of the family and the closeness of marriage relationships. According to a national research study in Malaysia which is conducted by WAO between 1990 and 1992, 1.8 million or 36% of women above the age 15 were beaten by their partners. In 1989, only 909 of them actually reported violence to the police (Domestic Violence, n.d., â€Å"The Malaysian Context,† para. 1). Many women who face domestic abuse may experience difficulty in understanding and handling the matter. They may not even know the abuse and continue to justify it ignorantly. Many of them do not know their rights and what to do if they are being abused by their partners. Therefore, the Domestic Violence Act was implemented in 1996 to protect women from being battered and abused. Domestic violence does not just affect women but also children. Children will be affected not only physically but also mentally. They will feel powerless and have low self esteem. Many of them may not trust people easily anymore. Besides that, many children who witness abuse will either become withdrawn, turn aggressive, or they may exhibit bullying behaviour towards other children.(The Effects of Domestic Violence (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.wao.org.my/The+Effects+of+Domestic+Violence+on+Children_106_62_1.htm) Based on the story of Sanjeev, a witness of domestic violence that we found in our research, Sanjeev started to witness his father abusing his mother when he was only two years old. He realized that his mother was beaten by his father even before he was born at a later time. In one particular incident, Sanjeev witnessed his father tried to hit his mother by using a chair and threatened her with a knife. Sanjeev saw all these through a keyhole. At that time, his brothers and sisters were with him. He proclaimed, Feel like kicking him!! One cent also wont give him! and Hes no more in my family, when he was asked about how he felt towards his father. (The Effects of Domestic Violence (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.wao.org.my/The+Effects+of+Domestic+Violence+on+Children_106_62_1.htm) Domestic violence brings bad impact to children. Children are weak and helpless witnesses of the violence that happens in their homes because they are no able to oppose. Mothers always feel that it is hard to escape from their abusive partners and tell themselves to stay until their children grown up to give them a better and complete condition for development. It happens as the father is the real economical support of the family. However, these experiences of growing up in an abusive environment might have a long-term impact on children’s lives. (The Effects of Domestic Violence (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.wao.org.my/The+Effects+of+Domestic+Violence+on+Children_106_62_1.htm) The witnessing of domestic violence by children is a psychological abuse for the child. The childs development of self and social ability will be affected by the abusive action of adult. They will feel fear thus causing them to feel that they live in an unsafe and unstable condition when threaten and abused through verbal or physical. All these factors contribute to an unhealthy condition for child growth. (The Effects of Domestic Violence (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.wao.org.my/The+Effects+of+Domestic+Violence+on+Children_106_62_1.htm Action The main goal of the campaign is to raise public awareness and education towards domestic violence. The campaign hopes to encourage women who are abuse either physically, mentally or emotionallyto reach out for aid. It aims to educate the public on the issue and provides a channel for victims to seek for help.#NoExcuseForAbuse (2014,March 8) Retrieved from http://www.wao.org.my/news_details.php?nid=320ntitle=#NoExcuseForAbuse+ This objective is in line with its organization, WAO which is to offer emotional and social support and care to women. Asides from that, the organisation goals which is to spread the awareness of violence against women to public and related agencies is also publicized through this campaign. About us (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.wao.org.my/About+Us_3_3_1.htm The campaign targets the beginning stage of domestic violence in which the situation has not aggravated into a serious state. It is generally aimed at women who are under abuse and are not sure whether the experience that they are going through is normal. They hope to send out the message that any sort of abuse whether it is physical, verbal or emotional should not be tolerated. Hence the slogan, â€Å"Be it physical, verbal or emotional, there’s #NoExcuseForAbuse†.#NoExcuseForAbuse (2014,March 8) Retrieved from http://www.wao.org.my/news_details.php?nid=320ntitle=#NoExcuseForAbuse+ Communications In order to achieve the campaign’s goal, several events had been organized to ensure its success. Firstly, an installation art exhibition was held at Publika, Kuala Lumpur from 8th March till 17th March 2014. Subsequently, it was held at My Hero Supermarket in Puchong and Sri Damansara from 22nd March till 31 March 2014.The exhibition portrays hand-stitched words of the voices of victim survivors on blouses. â€Å"It’s alright, he apologised. He said he’ll never do it again.† and â€Å"I’m afraid of him, but leaving him will bring shame to my family† weresome of the voices featured on the blouses. Theaim of the exhibition is to create the same feelings and thoughts of what the victims has felt.#NoExcuseForAbuse (2014,March 8) Retrieved from http://www.wao.org.my/news_details.php?nid=320ntitle=#NoExcuseForAbuse+ Secondly, posters of high profile women wearing the t-shirts with the message â€Å"Be it physical, verbal or emotional, #NoExcuseForAbuse† were release online on social media. 27 women pledging their support for the campaign namely, YB Hajah Nancy Shukri (Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department), YB Hannah Yeoh (Selangor Assembly Speaker), YB NurulIzzah (MP for LembahPantai) and YB Mas ErmieyatiSamsudin (Putri UMNO Chief)were featured on the online posters. The campaign encourages the public to send in their pledge of support by taking photos and posting them on social media with tag #NoExcuseForAbuse.#NoExcuseForAbuse (2014,March 8) Retrieved from http://www.wao.org.my/news_details.php?nid=320ntitle=#NoExcuseForAbuse+ Lastly, a helpline was also released on the day the campaign was launched. TINA (Think I Need Aid) is a SMS helpline where members of the public may message to seek for advice or to report any suspicious case of abuse that they know.It is the first of it’s kind in Malaysia and they operate from Monday to Friday, 9.00 am till 5.30 pm. Advocacy officer, Sally Wangsawijaya (2014) said that victims especially the younger generation will find the SMS helpline more preferable as it will be like an informal conversation and they can remain anonymous. Additionally, it will also be a safer method for the victims to seek for help if the culprit is nearby. She noted that the victims will be referred to social worker when they are ready as consent is needed before the victims can be counselled. #NoExcuseForAbuse (2014,March 8) Retrieved from http://www.wao.org.my/news_details.php?nid=320ntitle=#NoExcuseForAbuse+ Evaluation Basing on the data and information that we have collected, we came to an agreement that this campaign has been effective in trying to raise public awareness and education towards domestic violence. As one of the main objectives of the campaign is to reach out to those who are in doubt and confuse about the happenings in their relationship, an installation art exhibition has been launched to inform the public on this matter. We agree that this method is effective in relaying its message as it aims to portray the similar feeling that is experienced by the victims through a display of hand-stitched words on blouses that represents the voices of the victim survivors. By putting ourselves in the victim’s shoe, we feel that this exhibition is able to create the necessary motivation and encouragement to speak out and to seek for appropriate help. In addition, we feel that the pledge of support given by 27 high profile women volunteers is able to send out the message that women can be strong and independent on their own and they should not succumb to abuse. This action is in line with the campaign’s main message which is ‘Be it physical, verbal or emotional, there’s #NoExcuseForAbuse’. Asides from that, we believe that the SMS helpline, TINA (Think I Need Aid) that was set up is a smart move to further encourage victims of domestic violence to reach out for help. Josiah, I. (n.d). The thought of calling might be too much and speaking through the phone may also pose danger especially if the perpetrator is nearby. My teammates and I agree that calling might not be the best option for the victims to voice out as some of them could be in doubt and they are worry about the consequence of their actions. We believe that the victims will feel safer to reach out by messaging as they can remain anonymous. Moreover, the victims will not miss out any message that is being relayed as the message sent out could be reread. This method is useful and more convenient to those who might be engage during daytime and to victims where the abuser is nearby. All in all, we would like to conclude that the campaign, #NoExcuseForAbuse has been effective in relaying out its message which is to raise public awareness and education towards domestic violence whilst providing a helpline to those in need. However, we feel that the campaign has yet to be exposed to the whole of Malaysia as it has been launched for only a short period of time and currently there are no on-going events or activities. References Definition. (n. d.). Retrieved from http://www.domesticviolencelondon.nhs.uk/1-what-is-domestic-violence-/1-definition.html About us. (n. d.). WAO Vision and Mission. Retrieved from http://www.wao.org.my/About+Us_3_3_1.htm Domestic Violence. (n.d.). The Malaysian Context [para. 1]. Retrieved from http://www.wao.org.my/Domestic+Violence_98_5_1.htm

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome :: essays research papers

Fetal alcohol syndrome The 1990s is witnessing the significant impact alcohol-related birth defects are having on our society. These birth defects are caused by maternal use of alcohol during pregnancy which are irreversible, yet preventable. The most severe outcome, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), to the less easily diagnosed fetal alcohol effects (FAE). The incidence of FAS is estimated at .33 per 1,000 live births. The estimated incidence of FAE is three times that of FAS. With an annual cost of $76.4 million in the United States which only includes FAS, not FAE. The bulk of these costs are associated with mental retardation. It impacts the family, education system, health system and social services in general, as well as individual losses. FAS is considered the most common known cause of mental retardation in the Western World. For a positive diagnosis of FAS, in addition to a history of maternal alcohol use during pregnancy, each of the following three categories must be present: 1. slow growth before and after birth including weight, height and/or head circumference, 2. facial dysmorphology such as thin upper lip, flattened philtrum, and/or short openings between eyelids, and 3. damage to the central nervous system. Diagnosis can be difficult because many of the critical diagnostic features change with age. It is most difficult to diagnose in newborns and adults. Reaching an FAE diagnosis is even more difficult because only some of the symptoms are present, and possibly not as visible. This disorder cannot be detected by genetic testing because the damage is done after the baby is born. It is not known how much a pregnant woman can safely drink without damaging the fetus, although heavier drinking increases the likelihood of damage. Also, there does not seem to be any time during pregnancy when it is safe to drink. As a result, it is generally recommended that pregnant women abstain from drinking. Children born later to alcoholic mothers were at greater risk than older siblings. Another variable is the fact that drinking alcohol may not be the only risk-taking behavior of the mother. Poor nutrition, poor health, smoking, and other drug use may also contribute to poorer neonatal outcome. There is still a lot to be learned about how alcohol causes damage to the fetus, as well as the timing of exposure. Alcohol affects many organ systems, including the brain, which develops throughout all trimesters of pregnancy.

Clusters In Business :: essays research papers

Competitive advantage is not created within a single firm alone. Efficiency in internal operations is essential but not necessarily sufficient to compete globally. Factors external to the business are increasingly important. Each firm is inherently part of a "cluster" of activities made up of firms along the value chain as well as related and supporting organizations e.g. research and development, finance, worker skills, infrastructure. In general, clusters are geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers, firms in related industries, and associated institutions in particular fields that compete but also cooperate. A cluster may include industries that share similar workforce, input, or infrastructure needs. In addition, a cluster may have more to do with the output of the â€Å"cluster† industries. Clusters may also be defined by complementary or interdependent industries: one may produce what another needs. It has been demonstrated throughout the world that strong clusters ensure sustainable competitive advantage and that this strength has managed to help countries improve drastically on their global competitiveness. One region that is currently developing a very attractive multimedia cluster is San Francisco, California. The cluster is constantly evolving as telecommunications and computer technologies combine in a rapid fashion. Defined broadly, the multimedia cluster is the creators, producers, and distributors of software and hardware that integrate video, sound, text, and graphics. This integration is all done in a digital medium to produce a multimedia product or service. Currently there is an estimated 2000 multimedia or multimedia-related industry firms concentrated in the San Francisco area. The major components of the multimedia industry’s potential cluster in San Francisco are categorized as follows: Supplier Sector Technology providers - These are the producers of the enabling technology and include firms in computer hardware and software, consumer electronics, and digital communications. Examples include: Apple, Creative Labs Multimedia developers - These are the integrators and developers of the "media" itself and include artists, writers, programmers, animators, interface designers, and others. Examples include: Broderbund, Crystal Dynamics Content providers - These are the providers of information presented through multimedia and include film, TV and video entertainment companies, print publishers, news organizations, and information systems service providers. Examples include: LucasArts Entertainment, HBO Community Infrastructure These are the shared resources that contribute to and benefit from the multimedia potential cluster. This infrastructure is comprised of research labs, universities, training organizations, investors, associations, accountants, and other professional services providers that either contribute to the development of the product or engage in using the product.

Life Is a Dance Essay

â€Å"Life’s a dance you learn as you go Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow Don’t worry about what you don’t know Life’s a dance you learn as you go.† These few lines were picked from one of the greatest hits of John Michael Montgomery. These best explains why some of us consider life a dance. Every dance has a unique identity. Each of them has its own history, series of steps and music. Therefore, life is like a dance. Really. We let ourselves learn and experience slowly but surely. Every step is complex to the extent that the whole routine might be ruined when you did it thoughtless or unprepared. Discipline and patience are two major factors needed to dance with grace and style. Also, dancing imparts to us the need to take into consideration the history of the dance you’re interested to for us to be able to grow from time to time from our mistakes or committed errors. Dancing also need the performer to be self-confident and independent – being brave enough to gain his dream, his passion and his aim to fame. Life is also an art, like a dance. You have to be creative to produce magnificent performances and flexible enough to adapt from the ups and downs of rehearsals and few blunders around. A true performer dance not to compare himself to anyone but to dance better than one self. As you learn more as time passes by, one must enjoy each step along the way for him to be exultant on what he loves to do. Dancing also teach us to interact more with people especially those who you might be with and also those who can aid us to dance better, grow more and be the best as we can be in the performing stage. Life is like a dance – always changing. Sometimes you find yourself alone or with a partner or within a group. Sometimes you’re the lead, sometimes you’re not. Sometimes steps are fast and tough or gentle and stress-free. But the result will depends not on the routines, but on how you dance the piece. Interpretive dance will be my piece if I have to choose. This particular dance defines my life as well. Movements are based on human expressions and feelings. I’m used to show what I feel towards the people who surround me. Also, I have high regard about freedom and personal expressions. Movements in this kind of dance are also communicating to the viewers. â€Å"Actions speak louder than words. â€Å" – This old little saying, I believe, is true. One can show the sincerity and truthfulness more when it is communicated with actions. Often the style includes grand, eloquent movements which, in my opinion, are the reason why it is associated with higher form of arts. Imagination is greater than knowledge. Creativity is of much more value here than the other types of dance. We can dance for laughter, for tears, for love, for pain, for fears or even for madness. Dancers create their own character by a dance full of passion and by dancing not just with a foot but most of all, with a heart even with music or without.

Nursing as an Entity

Nursing as an Entity Casey Berling, BSN Student Eastern Kentucky University NSC 252 Intro to Professional Nursing Department of Baccalaureate & Graduate Nursing, College of Health Sciences October 31, 2012 If the question was asked, â€Å"What is your definition of nursing,† to the thousands of nurses in the world today, there would be one word that would unite them all, and that is the word care. Nursing strives to be a very unique profession where selfishness, and self-serving isn’t even thought of.It takes a special kind of person who can drop everything at an instance, and provide critical performance of skills and assessment to allow a patient ease in their time of need. My definition of nursing is a selfless entity in which caring, privacy, and safety of patients reign supreme when used with critical thinking essay writer law†¦.. quality assessment and patient needs are met with the most affectionate of hearts and minds, that deliver attentiveness to the pati ents outlook by providing suggestions and help in a non-demanding manner.Defining my Definition My definition above I believe encases not only the technicalities of the nursing profession, but also what entitles a good nurse to give quality care. Without the major points mentioned like safety, and privacy, how can a patient feel secure with not only their provider but with the entire industry as well. Nursing is a very resourceful occupation and to remain this way it must harness every aspect I believe it calls for. Including attentiveness, privacy, and selflessness.Attentiveness Nursing doesn’t judge nor take itself for granted. It utilizes every tool placed in its midst and allows for those caring men and women to take hold and deliver the highest quality of care to its clients. â€Å"Attentiveness entails the detection of the patient and/or family need. If the nurse fails to recognize the need, the patient or family will not experience caring,† (Lachman, 2012). With out paying attention to details a nurse is not allowing the patient to be top priority.This detail is enforced in hospitals when nurses do rounds, to show that every hour a patients needs are met, and they are never left in the dark/neglected. Another facet of my definition involves privacy and this is also extremely important in nursing as a profession. Privacy â€Å"Nurses have always recognized the necessity for confidentiality, beginning with the Nightingale Pledge,† (Kerr, 2009). Especially in today’s society with all the electronic transfer and readings of patient documentation it is harder to keep things under wraps.It remains at such a high standard due to the HIPPA laws, â€Å"To protect this data, rules were promulgated to set a national standard for the privacy of health information,† (Thede, 2010). But with the correct care nurses should put into being confidential it shouldn’t even be a big problem. It is well understood that nurses should al ways keep privacy as a key importance to ensure the fact care is kept to that patient, and to that patient only. SummaryTo take an undivided look at nursing one can see that it takes much more than what is simply asked of a nurse. A nurse must not only provide care with the tools set directly in front of him/her, but with thinking critically and on the spot. Nursing is so unlike any other profession due to the amount of time vested in caring, understanding, documenting, and coping with other people. With what seems like a complex mindset, of being selfless and totally attune to only caring in the moment, a nurse must let all other stresses escape from getting in the way.So when asked what my definition of nursing is, I hope it is noted that the main focus is putting the patient first, and allowing them to receive the copious care they deserve. Works Cited Kerr, P. (2009). Protecting Patient Information In an Electronic Age: A Sacred Trust. Urologic Nursing, 29(5), 315-318. Lachman, V. D. (2012). Applying the Ethics of Care to Your Nursing Practice. MEDSURG Nursing, 21(2), 112-116. Theode, L. (2010). Informatics: Electronic Health Records: A Boon or Privacy Nightmare?. Online Journal Of Issues In Nursing, 15(2).

Key Success Factors †Organizational Culture Essay

In this assignment we introduce the idea that the organizational culture is the personality of an organization which can be defined, measured, sustained and changed and have an important impact on an organization’s effectiveness. We want to define organizational culture as it is presented by two theorists, indicate levels of expressions of culture in an organization, and provide specific strategies or tools to modify organizational culture. We know that every individual has something that psychologists have termed â€Å"personality†. An individual’s personality is made up of a set of relatively permanent and stable traits. When we describe someone as innovative, relaxed, warm or conservative, we are describing personality traits. An organization, too, has a personality, which we call the organization’s culture. Organizational culture is an important situational variable that influence all members of an organization to various degrees, so it is important to have a sound understanding of this construct to manage and work effectively in an organization. In this paper project we want to define organizational culture as it is presented by two theorists, indicate levels of expressions of culture in an organization, and provide specific strategies or tools to modify organizational culture. Chapter IDefinitions of Organizational CultureWe will present how Schein defines organizational culture in â€Å"Organizational culture and leadership†(1992) as it is presented by Yukl in â€Å"Leadership in Organizations†(1998) and Ott’s definition of the organizational culture in â€Å"The Organizational Culture Perspective†(1989) as it is presented by Lawson and Shen in â€Å"Organizational Psychology†(1998). Schein’s definition of organizational cultureSchein (1992) defines culture of a group or organization as shared assumptions and beliefs about the word and their place in it, the nature of time and space, human nature, and human  relationships. Schein distinguishes between underlying beliefs (which may be unconscious) and espoused values, which may or not be consistent with these beliefs. Espoused values do not accurately reflect the culture when they are inconsistent with underlying beliefs. For example, a company may espouse open communication, but the underlying belief may be that any criticism or disagreement is detrimental and should be avoided. It is difficult to dig beneath the superficial layer of espoused values to discover the underlying beliefs and assumptions, some of which may be unconscious (Yukl,1998). The underlying beliefs representing the culture of a group or organization are learned responses to problems of survival in the external environment and problems of internal integration. Schein say that the primary external problems are the core mission or reason for existence of the organization, concrete objectives based on this mission, strategies for attainting these objectives, and ways to measures success in attaining objectives (Yukl, 1998). All organizations need to solve problems of internal integration as well as problem of external adaptation. Objectives and strategies cannot be achieved effectively without cooperative effort and reasonable stability of membership in the organization. Internal problems include the criteria for determining membership in the organization, the basis for determining status and power, criteria and procedures of allocating rewards and punishments, an ideology to explain unpredictable and uncontrollable events, rules or customs about how to handle aggression and intimacy and a shared consensus about the meaning of words and symbols. The beliefs that develop about these issues serve as the basis for role expectation to guide behavior, let people know what is proper and improper and help people maintain comfortable relationship with each other (Yukl, 1998). Robbins (1994) and others sustain too that the shared values determine in large degree what employees see and how they respond to their  world (Robbins,1990; Robbins, 1994; Stoner and Freeman, 1992)When confronted with a problem the organizational culture restricts what employees can do by suggesting the correct way – â€Å"the way we do things around here†(Bower,1966) – to conceptualize, define, analyze, and solve the problem (Robbins, 1994). We believe that the internal and external problems are closely interconnected and organizations must deal with them simultaneously. In conclusion, Schein (1992) defines the organizational culture as shared assumptions and beliefs about the world and their place in it, the nature of time and space, human nature, and human relationships. Organizational culture have distinct dimensions that can be defined and measured. This is important to know in order to develop and use change strategies of the culture. Ott’s definition of the organizational cultureOn the other hand Ott (1989), in â€Å"The Organizational Culture Perspective† describe organizational culture as a social constructed, unseen, and unobservable force behind organizational activities. Organizational culture is a social energy that moves organizational members to act and unifying theme that provides meaning and direction to and mobilizes the members. It functions as an organizational control mechanism, informally approving or prohibiting behaviors (Lawson and Shen, 1998). In short, organizational culture is a hypothetical construct that must be inferred from the share thoughts, feelings, values, and actions of organizational members. Last, Ott suggested that organizational culture is a concept, construct, energy, idea, rather than a thing that can be directly observed, measured and manipulated. But we do not agree that the organizational culture is just a concept, energy, idea and can not be observed, measured or manipulated because then we can not discuss about managing and changing the organizational culture.  If culture exists, and we argue that it does, it should have distinct dimensions that can be defined, measured, and changed. I n â€Å"Organization Theory – Structure, Design and Applications† Robbins (1990), propose that there are ten characteristics that when mixed and matched tap the essence of an organization’s culture:1. Individual initiative, which is the degree of responsibility, freedom, and independence that individuals have. 2. Risk tolerance. The degree to which employees are encouraged to be aggressive, innovative, and risk-seeking. 3. Direction. The degree to which the organization creates clear objectives and performance expectations. 4. Integration. The degree to which units within the organization are encouraged to operate in a coordinated manner. 5. Management support. The degree to which managers provide clear communication, assistance, and support to their subordinates. 6. Control. The number of rules and regulations, and the amount of direct supervision that are used to oversees and control employee behavior. 7. Identity. The degree to which members identify with the organization as a whole rather than with their particular work group. 8. Reward system. The degree to which reward allocation are based on employee performance criteria in contrast to seniority, favoritism and so on. 9. Conflict tolerance. The degree to which employees are encouraged to air conflicts and criticisms openly. 10. Communication patterns. The degree to which organizational communications are restricted to the formal hierarchy of authority. These ten characteristics include both structural and behavioral dimensions which means that organizational cultures are not just reflections of their members’ attitudes and personalities. A large part of an organization’s culture can be directly traced to structurally related variables (Robbins, 1990). John P. Kotter in â€Å"Leading Change† (1996) sustain that culture refers to norms of behavior and shared values among a group of people. Kotter(1996) says too that culture is not something that you manipulate easily but it is possible to make the transformation. â€Å"The first step in a major transformation is to alter the norms and values.† (Kotter, p.156,1996,). He sustain that cultures changes only after you have successfully altered people’s actions, after the new behavior produces some group benefit for a period of time, and after people see the connection between the new action and the performance improvement. In conclusion, organizational culture is not just a concept, construct, idea, energy, ghost which can not be seen or measured but it is a system of shared meanings with a certain structural and behavioral dimensions that are closely associated and interdependent. In every organization there are patterns of beliefs, symbols, rituals, myths and practices that have evolved over time. These in turn create common understanding among members as to what the organization is and how its members should behave. Organizational culture refers to norms of behavior and shared values among the people items which can be changed to increase the performance of an organization. Chapter II Levels of expression of organizational cultureAccording to Schein (1992) organizational culture is discernible at three different levels: artifacts, values and basic assumptions. ArtifactsIt is widely agreed that the most readily observable but least exact expression of the shared meanings of the culture are represented by artifacts. Artifacts include things and the arrangement of things in an organization, as well as observable behaviors captured by organizational stories and ceremonies, rites and rituals (habitual activities rooted in values and basic assumptions like weekly or monthly departmental meetings or presentations), and norms (unwritten rules for appropriate and inappropriate behaviors). Artifacts of a culture are quickly detected but the share meaning is the key for appreciating and becoming deeply aware of the organizational culture. Values Values, defined by Schein (1992) as someone’s sense of what ought to be, as distinct from what is, represent the second level of organizational culture. Shared values are important concerns and goals shared by most people in a group that tend to shape group behavior and that often persist over time even when group membership changes (Kotter, 1996). The basic issue at this level of organizational culture is the members’ determination of what works or is successful for a given organizational problem. Values can be both espoused and enacted; however, adults pay the greatest attention to enacted or operationalized values and are more inclined to modify their own values in response to them than to values that are solely expressed or espoused (Lawson and Shen, 1998). The validity of a given value is determined by testing the preferred solution against physical or social realities. For example, out of many comparable manufacturing processes, one is selected or valued because it yields the most durable product or particular activities are performed in particular ways because the feel right or are accepted by a large majority of organizational members as the right thing to do. Hence, what works and what members agree works becomes the anvil against which values are hammered out for a particular organizational culture. Basic assumptionsAccording to Schein (1992) when the initial preferences for organizational problem solving continue to be successful, organizational members increasingly take the originally tentative solutions for granted and come to believe that their selected solutions actually reflect reality because they have continued to be successful. If a solution works repeatedly, it must be true, and any doubt about its efficacy is eliminated from the minds of the members and eventually from the cultural mind of the organization. For example, if the members of an organization share the beliefs that they must first and foremost learn to harmonize human actions and desires with the elements of the world, such as clean air, water, open spaces, and respect for vegetation and other living creatures it is most likely that they will be working for a â€Å"green organization†. As the members act on their fundamental beliefs and the organization succeeds, grows, and prospers, the fundamental beliefs are taken for granted and simply acted on without further reflection or regard. According to Schein (1992) when these fundamental beliefs are shared, taken for granted and nondebatable, they become the basic assumptions of the culture. Changing basic assumptions is an anxiety-provoking and difficult process that involves double-loop organizational learning or basically changing the important things you have done and still do, rather than single loop learning which involves getting more efficient at what you now do (Lawson and Shen,1998). In conclusion to this chapter we have understood that there are several level of expression in the organizational culture like artifacts, values and basic assumptions which can be determined analyzed and changed. Artifacts are observable behaviors but least exact expression of the shared meanings of the culture; values represent important concerns and goals shared by most people in a group that tend to shape group behavior and also we have the basic assumptions which are the fundamental beliefs shared by all the members about the organization which are very difficult to change, but it’s possible to do this. Chapter III Cultural Change StrategiesOrganizational learning and organizational culture are intimately linked to each other, and this linkage  provides the bases for instituting organizational cultural change. A number of different changes are possible, including elimination of existing cultural forms that symbolizes the old ideology, modification of existing cultural forms to express the new ideology, and creation of new cultural forms (Yukl, 1998). Schein’s change strategySchein’s (1992) leader-centered change strategy is perhaps the most fully articulated. It is a strategy that involves a clinical relationship between outside consultants and informed and cooperative insiders whose primary joint task is to identify and then change the basic assumptions of the organizational culture primarily by changing either the leaders’ assumptions or changing the leaders. The external or outside consultant has the distinct advantage of independence and transience (Wallace and Hall1996). As an outsider, the external consultant is independent of the organization’s hierarchy and status system. Detached financially, socially, and emotionally from the consultee’s system. The outside consultant is in a position to be more objective in the assessment and diagnostic stages of the consultation process, and is free to offer new perspectives and paradigms for action. We consider that the outside consultant it’s very important to have in a change process from the organization. Schein (1992) identified specific primary strategies that can be applied to change an organizational culture. All these strategies focus on the formal (and informal) organizational leader or leadership team and include for example: what leaders pay attention to, measure, and control; how leaders react to critical incidents and organizational crisis; observed criteria by which leaders allocate scarce resources; deliberate role modeling, teaching, and coaching; observed criteria by which leaders recruit, select, promote, retire, and excommunicate organizational members. Schein (1992) also identified secondary strategies and reinforcement mechanism to change organizational culture that include modifying  organizational rites, rituals, and stories; structuring reward system to promote change; and revising formal statements, such as the organizational mission statement (what we do), vision statements (what we aspire to be), value statements and recruitment materials. Schein’s cultural change process focuses primarily on the leader or leadership team and involves the external consultant working closely with organizational insiders who are committed to organizational change and have sufficient influence to an impact on many members of the organization. Lawson and Shen Cultural Change StrategyLawson and Shen cultural change strategy combines features of different approaches that, in one way or the other involve changing norms, or unspoken rules of behavior, reward systems and organizational rites or organized and planned activities that have both practical and consequences (Lawson and Shen, 1998). Basically, there are three phases to these cultural change strategy: assessment; construction and implementation of cultural and learning change projects and organizational outcome measures and project modifications. Lawson and Shen (1998) recognize too the importance of the external consultant in the changing process of the organizational culture. Phase 1, assessment, involves three steps: identifying the client, increasing cultural awareness and establishing baselines. In the first step the external consultant focuses on identifying the organizational processes of motivational systems, leadership, decision making, conflict resolution, and individual – organizational change as the client for the change program, rather than a particular individual, group, or unit. It is important to indicate that these organizational processes will change only if individual members who give life to them change their shared and unifying patterns of thoughts, feelings, values, and actions about the critical issues in the organization. Phase one also involves increasing cultural awareness by assembling as many of the documents that serve as a preliminary directory of an organizational culture. To obtain information about organizational stories, jokes,  ceremonies and rituals; information from external persons or organization that interact regularly with the target organization. And establishing cultural baselines by creating a document that describes the current organizational culture. From the assessment document, the leadership, committed organizational members and the change consultant can identify the cultural baselines and focal processes around which the consultant can build cultural change projects. Phase 2, construction and implementation of cultural and learning change projects, is the action phase. Once the draft mission statement is completed, the consultant expect some suggestions for revision and discuss the document to give everyone an opportunity to participate in the process. The external consultant expect suggestions from the internal consultant or from the manager of the organization. The internal consultant is aware of the existence of sensitive records and data; through experience the inside consultant has prior knowledge of the organization’s history, social structure, power structure, communication channels, politics, and local customs and beliefs in the organizational community. In addition, it is important to have a good collaboration between the external consultant and the internal consultant because the insider has command of the organization’s language – the jargon (favorite terms and phrases unique to the organization) which is very important to make an implementation of cultural and learning change (Wallace and Hall, 1996). Here it is appropriate to establish some learning experiments in which a current process that supports the new mission statement is described and root causes of problems and barriers to change are identified and then to start implementing a change in a given process while monitoring changes in performance. Last it is important to initiate or reinforce an existing rite of enhancement. Phase 3, organizational outcomes measures and project modifications, includes a synthesis and interpretation of performance or outcome measures for all  cultural change projects and then decision about what modification of existing cultural change project are required and established as the way to do things in the organization. It is critical to provide systematic feedback to members so they become aware of their individual and collective sense of efficacy (capacities to execute specific patterns of actions), identify the extent of resistance to change and help to identify barriers to change in the organizational culture (Lawson and Shen, 1998) . Cultural transformation requires time and if the leadership is not prepared for a sustained campaign then the focus will be lost and the transformation effort will dwindle and die. A good collaboration between the external consultant and the leadership of the organization is required for the success of the changing process which may take a couple of good years. Kotter (1994) affirm too that culture changes only after you have successfully altered people’s actions, after the new behavior produces some group benefit for a period of time, and after people see the connection between the new actions and the performance improvement. In conclusion to this chapter we have understood that a number of different changes are possible to make in an organizational culture, including elimination of existing cultural forms that symbolizes the old ideology, and creation of new cultural forms in the organizational culture to save an organization and to make it if profitable and more efficient. We indicate that both cultural change strategies are worthy to be followed considering that both accept the importance of an external organizational psychologist consultant who is working closely with the internal consultant / manager and is promoting change strategy that involves the leadership team and change strategy for the other members of the organization by creating reinforcement mechanisms to modify organizational rites, rituals, to promote an holistic change in the organization. ConclusionsIn conclusion to this paper project it is essential to remember that organizational culture is a situational variable that influences, to  various degree, all members of an organization. We have learned that organizational culture is the unifying and shared pattern of thoughts, feelings, values, and actions that serve to bind together organizational members and distinguish them from nonmembers. Organizational learning and organizational culture are linked to each other and this provides the bases for instituting organizational cultural change. We have seen two specify change strategies and the steps to implementate them which can be applied in a wide variety of organizations. We have understood that a solid understanding of organizational culture minimizes the unnecessary expenditure of attention and emotions regarding what, how, when and why to think, value, feel, and act in the workplace. REFERENCES _____Yukl, G. (1998). Leadership in Organizations. (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall_____ Kotter, P. John, (1996). Leading Change, Boston: Harvard Business School Press_____Lawson, R.B., Shen, Z. (1998). Organizational Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press_____Robbins, P. Stephen, (1990). Organization Theory – Structure, Design, and Applications. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall_____ Robbins, P. Stephen, (1994). Management -fourth edition. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall_____Stoner, A. James, Freeman, R. Edward, (1992). Management. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall_____Wallace, A. William, Hall, L. Donald (1996). Psychological Consultation – Perspective and Applications. Pacific Grove, C.A.: Brooks / Cole Publishing Companycopyright  © Sorin Balogh

Shawshank Redemption

Andy’s Changed Life In the film, Shawshank Redemption, directed by Frank Darabont, insight was given to the life of prisoners in bondage. Tim Robbins’ character Andy gave an excellent illustration on how new prisoners enter a world of unknown dangers and survive. Andy’s metamorphosis from â€Å"lanky new fish† to a man of prestige was definitely interesting. His change reflected on his fellow prisoners, the Prison staff, and himself as well during his sentence. Andy exemplified a man who could compromise with his surroundings and make the best of every moment.The story of Andy’s life in the Shawshank Redemption gave insight for every man beginning his prison journey. Upon the arrival of all new prisoners stood Andy, a man convicted of murder. Like any other, bets were placed on him to challenge how long he could last. Andy began his new life quiet and concrete. His fellow prisoners had no idea what type of man he would become. After being attacked a nd raped on numerous occasions Andy had to stand up for himself. As he gradually made friends with Morgan Freeman’s character, Redd, his network grew. He needed things and Redd got it for him.From that point on because of his attitude people grew interested. Andy became one of the most friendliest and dependable friends any of the prisoners ever had. The ways he carried himself and acted upon situations were accepted throughout the entire prison. Once he became well-known it was as if he was the leader of a new clan and the people enjoyed following him. He opened pathways for the men and fought for their education. Through him the prisoners were able to enjoy a library and earned opportunities to get their GED or anything else. Andy was definitely no longer a â€Å"lanky new fish† by the time he left Shawshank Prison.As for the Prison staff at Shawshank Prison, Andy’s attitude and persona took a toll on them as well. Andy was never one to cause trouble or engage in anything involving violence. After a bold act towards the head officer Andy became the accountant and tax preparer for almost the whole Prison Staff. He helped to set up college funds and savings for many of the officers. Andy’s work became so good that the warden himself used him as his personal accountant to maintain his dirty money. At this point Andy had gained respect throughout the entire prison and the officers often looked out for him.The Prison staff became dependable on Andy and his marvelous works. He handled and managed their money so they really had no choice but to trust him. I think it shocked every officer to see himself getting help from a prisoner. As Andy grew within the prison, it can be assumed that he became a prominent figure in maintain the prison itself. Therefore his role as a prisoner seemed to have disappeared and he was just a man. Officers may have feared him as a person because he grew with prestige but in the end they needed him. Every man can see a change in himself whether it is good or bad.Andy definitely saw his change from when he first entered to his last days standing on in the prison yard. When he entered prison he had no idea what he had actually done. After sitting around and living from day to day he was able to realize that life is entirely too short to sit and do nothing. He had been sentence to life on behalf of each murdered person and it was nothing he could to about. He compromised, made friends, and made the best out of every moment. He grew to recite his favorite line, â€Å"I’m innocent, isn’t everybody here? Andy noticed the life of others and knew that it wasn’t a life for him. People depended on the four walls that surrounded them, but Andy understood that they were only temporary. There was life beyond what Shawshank Prison offered. As he looked in the mirror and saw how he was aging his whole attitude changed and it reflected on in his walk and even his talk. Life is all about changing and living. Andy’s life definitely changed and he lived through each moment. His fellow prisoners had first hand experience of his life as an innocent man to a man who could and would take risk.As it shocked them, it shocked him as well. The Prison Staff didn’t clearly understand the type of man he was because he was one of a kind. I admire him because he took his surroundings and made life of it. He helped and changed people’s mind sets of life itself. Andy opened people’s hearts and minds and did it all out of his heart. I don’t believe that he needed prison to understand his purpose in life but it definitely helped him to find one. Works Cited Shawshank Redemption. Dir. Frank Darabont. Columbia Pictures, 1994. Videocassette

Chapter Assignment

A. Scope Statement Project objective To organize a casual, charity dinner-dance concert for 30 couples within four weeks at cost not to exceed $5,500. Deliverables Dinner for 60 people. Venue. Jazz music performance. Charity Information announcement. Milestone 1. Hall reserved and Jazz combo hired -February 2 2. The guest list checked-February 7 3. Invitation sent-February 14 4. Track list confirmed-February 20 5. Caterer hired-February 25 6. Tables, chairs arranged-February 28 Technical requirements . There must be dance floor that can accommodate 60 people to dance. 2. There must be sufficient number of tables and chairs that can hold 60 people. 3. There must be proper sound equipment for the music. Limits and exclusions 1. The concert will be organized to the specification provided by the local charity. 2. Alcohol drinks are not included among the ticket price but soft drinks are included. 3. Venue decoration and arrangement work limited through February 27 to March 1. Customer review The local charity b.The priorities would likely be the time and scope. The time is constrained since the concert would be held on specific date, and the scope of it must meet the specifications provided by the local charity. The quality should be accepted since the project should be on time and not to exceed the budget. Therefore, slightly lower quality is acceptable though not desirable. The one should be enhanced Is cost. Because the remaining budget will be included In charitable donations, the organizer loud take advantage of every opportunity to reduce the cost.