Understanding How Technology is Changing Relationships Essay

In our culture, technology serves as an instrumental aspect of our lives. Regardless of where you turn, you are constantly surrounded by technology. Whether it is our cellphones that spend their entire lives within an arm’s reach of us, our computers, or the newest wave of technology that is moving us towards tablets, much of our life is lived in front of screens. With these advancements comes the notion that there is an application that can solve every life problem we may have. Thanks to technological advancements like text messaging or social media networks, there are plenty of ways a relationship can be sustained for a significant period without personal contact. Unfortunately, most people have a misconstrued belief that these†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, if the information sought is not easily available online, one can message the person of interest or friends of the person from an anonymous account and likely get a response. The purpose of this paper is to see what impact technology is having on the successfulness of relationships. This paper will primarily focus on studies that have been conducted that test the sense of intimacy in various setting while also examines qualitative research that has been conducted on this issue. As technology continues to advance, the research conducted on this issue must continue to advance as well and so, at the end of this paper, a request for further research will be presented. There are many variable associated with this research project that must be properly explained before delving into discussing the research that has been conducted on this topic. For the research I gathered, the generally applied definition for technology is any device or network that allows individuals to communicate with having to be in person. This definition primarily includes items such as cell-phones, computers, laptops, tablets, and webcams but also includes non-physical items like social media sites including facebook, twitter, and instagram. This definition of technology is further broadened to include online dating websites such as eHarmony, Match.com, and Yahoo! Personal. Also important to this paper isShow MoreRelatedMarriages: Now and Then Essay1041 Words   |  5 Pages The evolution of men and women, how the roles in society have changed. Over the last five hundred or so years women have come a long way. We have seen in the Sixteen hundreds arranged marriages where the woman had no say in the union, and the relationships were is based on money or prestige (Shakespeare 1668). Presently we see love is the driving factor. In 1997 a study was done to say forty-six percent of marriages end in divorce (Harvey1996). 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Time For A Management Reset - 1980 Words

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A History of Israel from the Bronze Age Through the Jewish Wars - Kaiser, Walter C., Jr free essay sample

Kaiser, Walter C. , Jr. A History of Israel: From the Bronze Age through the Jewish Wars. Nashville, TN: Broadman Holman Publishers, 1988. 540 pp. Summary Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. , in the introduction of his book, A History of Israel: From the Bronze Age through the Jewish Wars, describes how scholars have gone from generally accepting the Biblical account as historically accurate to discarding any supernatural events or anything that disagrees with their interpretation of archaeological artifacts and extra-biblical accounts. Kaiser’s attempt to cover the scope of issues and expanse of time involved in the history of Israel takes a pointedly different approach to today’s popular attitude that, â€Å"the Bible is useless for reconstructing the history of Israel. † (xvii) Instead of starting with the popular presupposition today that the Bible is an ethnocentristic account of history full of supernatural events that must be automatically discarded because of an anti-supernatural view of the universe, Kaiser starts with the presupposition that the Bible is trustworthy. We will write a custom essay sample on A History of Israel: from the Bronze Age Through the Jewish Wars Kaiser, Walter C., Jr or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Kaiser begins with the fact that the Bible has been accepted as trustworthy historically for centuries, but then taking the Bible on its own terms he subjects the claims of scripture to critical methodology to see how they stand up. Contrary to Biblical minimalists, Kaiser considers the claims of the Bible to be, â€Å"reliable – until they are proven to be otherwise. † (xii) To the biblical minimalists Kaiser has dared to do the unthinkable: â€Å"We have dared to use the Bible as a source in the construction of Israel’s history! (xii) In the first chapter Kaiser describes how there is no consensus today of how to interpret historical evidence, particularly written accounts, because any historical account is written from some biased perspective. This is thought to be especially true of the Bible, which is, â€Å"suspect as being a religious document more concerned about getting across a ‘privileged point of view’ than it is in representing fairly the real state of affairs. (2) Kaiser admits that the Bible is not meant to be a history textbook any more than it is a science textbook, and that its main purpose is indeed to reveal who God is and how He deals with man, but it does so using, â€Å"real events from the ancient Near East, against which backdrop the revelation of God was communicated. † (3) In the first chapter Kaiser rebuts the logical fallacies, which are used to exclude the Biblical account of events as historically reliable. The fallacy that history cannot include the supernatural or acts of God assumes that, â€Å"all historical phenomena must be subjected to an analogous explanation, i. e. , one that explains events in terms of other known happenings. † (3) The idea that, â€Å"History cannot include anything that does not have external documentation,† is false in that our available external evidence is random and often cannot prove or disprove events that scholars generally accept as historical fact. The fallacies that, â€Å"History cannot include narratives about individuals, but must focus on nations instead,† (6) and that, â€Å"History must not focus on individuals as shapers of the times, but on sociological factors that attempt to discover general laws and large-scale societal forces the influence historical change,† (7) seem to be largely derived from an abstract Marxist approach to sociology and history in which individuals can play only a minor role in history. I would say that Marx’s philosophy or history has been shown to be a failure by history itself, which records the ultimate failure of nations that tried to implement Marx’s philosophies. Kaiser’s book shows numerous times how the fallacy that, â€Å"History must not give logical and necessary priority to written evidence over material culture,† (7) is weak because the interpretation of material evidence is very subjective and the more material evidence that is uncovered the more it seems to corroborate the written biblical account. The rest of the first chapter describes how the different schools of the study of the history of Israel developed (or digressed) from the traditional approach, which goes on the assumption that, â€Å"the text is innocent until it is proven guilty by external facts,† to scholars who are, â€Å"so skeptical that it seems that skepticism has gone about as far as it can go. † (13) The next chapter gives the geographical description of the land related to the Old Testament events. Kaiser designates four major north-south geographical divisions parallel to the Mediterranean coastline. From west to east they are: the coastal plain along the Mediterranean Sea, the Galilee and central hill country, the Jordan Rift valley and the Transjordanian Highlands. Kaiser describes how Israel occupied a key position in the middle of what is know as the Fertile Crescent, and the role her neighbors played with Egypt to the south, Asia Minor and Syria to the north and Mesopotamia (the â€Å"land between the rivers†) to the east. Throughout the rest of the book Kaiser shows how understanding of the history and culture of the surrounding areas reveals much about the history of Israel and often reinforces the biblical account. The third chapter describes what is known of the archaeological periods pertaining to the early biblical events from the Paleolithic to the Middle Bronze I periods. In particular, Kaiser discusses what some of the major finds and archaeological digs in the area of Palestine reveal about the Bible times. It seems that stoneware and tools, metal artifacts and pottery are often the most reliable indicators of the time period of the level of the site in which the artifacts are found. The type of metal alloys and technology for firing pottery are used as indicators of the technological level related to a specific time period. It is fascinating to see how Kaiser refers to actual archaeological finds, which corroborate with what we already know from the Biblical accounts and how they often add new understanding to the culture that biblical figures lived in. For example, the ziggurats that have been discovered in the area of Mesopotamia where Abram originated from, and the pyramids and other archaeological evidence from the Egypt of Joseph and Moses’ time, give us many clues about the polytheistic cultures that they lived in. The rest of the book guides the reader through a straight line of Israel’s history from the time of the patriarchs to the arrival of the Romans in Jerusalem around 63 B. C. The main source for Kaiser’s outline is, of course, the Bible, but he deals extensively with the other historical and archaeological evidence pertaining to each event and time period discussed. Kaiser meticulously discusses the various approaches to interpreting the data, which seem to cast doubt on or refute the biblical account and shows either new or alternative interpretations of the data that reinforce the biblical account. It becomes obvious, after reading Kaiser’s rebuttals of the skeptics over and over, how preconceptions and the fallacies discussed in the first chapter often determine beforehand how the data will be interpreted. However, there does seem to be less need for rebuttal of liberal historical interpretations in the later chapters before the Persian period. This is probably because there is more known about the events from extra-biblical sources. There are also fewer supernatural events that liberal historians feel a need to find natural explanations for. The first part of Kaiser’s historical outline covers the period of the patriarchs from Abraham to Joseph. Liberal scholars, such as, Julius Wellhausen who, â€Å"declared that ‘no historical knowledge’ of the patriarchs could be obtained from Genesis. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were a mere ‘glorified mirage’ projected back from later Hebrew history. ’ (51) Kaiser’s fresh look at the Middle Bronze IIA period of the patriarchs and his rebuttal of the claim to anachronisms demonstrate that the claim of liberal scholars that Genesis is a product of Jewish historical revisionism is groundless. For example, the assumption that Abraham fit the conception of a backwards bedouin would seem to make the reference to his use camels anachronistic for that time period because domesticated camels were thought to be rare if they were even domesticated by that point at all. However, Kaiser demonstrates that skeletal remains and illustrations of camels discovered at excavations from Abraham’s time period provide, â€Å"more than passing evidence that the camel already was domesticated by patriarchal times. (64) It is also clear simply by reading the biblical account of Abraham’s interaction as a peer with kings does not fit the backwards bedouin stereotype that some try to foist upon him. Part 2 of Kaiser’s book deals with the events surrounding Moses and the book of Exodus. As Kaiser notes, â€Å"several hundred years of relative silence separate the end of the story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50 from the beginning of the Book of Exodus where the story is picked u p once again. However, Kaiser shows how the records of Egypt’s history during that time help to fill in the blanks and to explain how the pharaoh of Moses’ day did not know about Joseph even though Joseph had been second only to Pharaoh himself. This seems best explained by the change of power and political instability caused by a people called the Hyksos. I found especially interesting how what is known of the line of pharaohs from the Eighteenth Dynasty reinforces the biblical account of the life of Moses and the Israelites during that time. Much hinges upon where one places the date of the exodus, but the early date fits both the biblical record and the archeological/historical record best. A big support for the early date is the fact that the chronology of the pharaohs, â€Å"identifies Thutmose III as the pharaoh who sought Moses’ life for what he had done in Egypt because he was the only ruler to live long enough to fit the pattern of the one who sought Moses’ life for the whole forty years that he lived in Arabia with Jethro of Midian. (90) The next part deals with the conquest and allotment of the land as described in the book of Joshua. Although part of the Torah, Kaiser discusses how the book of Deuteronomy is included in what is known as the deuteronomic collection along with the books from Joshua to kings. The description in Joshua 1-11 of how the Israelites conquered the land is often considered a collection of etiological stories of how Israel came to be in the land and is not given much credi bility. Kaiser discusses not only the archaeological support for the stories, but shows how the literary structure of the narrative itself, â€Å"is very similar to that of the Egyptian daybook tradition,† which described significant military campaigns of the pharaoh. Much of this section discusses how the archaeological finds from some of the cities (especially Jericho) mentioned in the conquests match the biblical description of the sieges. The fourth part of A History of Israel, covers the period of Judges and the Ruth account. To explain what kept the tribes of Israel unified it has been popular among some scholars to theorize that Israel was in a cultic league that practiced amphictyonic rites associated with other cultures, such as some Greek groups, which always involved twelve tribes grouped around a central sanctuary. Kaiser states that this theory should be abandoned for, â€Å"the two environments of the Greek and Israelite groups were so different that any similarities were most unlikely. † (176) It is clearly best to accept the biblical account of family ties and understand the twelve tribes of Israel as descendants of the sons of Jacob. Kaiser discusses the connection of the books of Joshua and Judges and how the mention of the death of Joshua forms a literary transition between the two. Kaiser deals with the cycle of apostasy and deliverance in judges and the invasion of people, such as, the Moabites. The section ends with a brief discussion of how Ruth the Moabitess came into the lineage of King David. The next two sections of the book cover the period of the monarchies from the time of Samuel before the inauguration of Sual up until the time before the Babylonian exile. The first of the two sections deals with the monarchies of Saul, David and Solomon. Kaiser’s treatment of the narratives is help the reader to see the transition between the various events of 12 Samuel and their historic significance, which might not be so readily apparent to the Bible reader without the background knowledge that Kaiser provides. For example, Kaiser emphasizes how continued oppression of the Philistines despite Samson’s victories against them was the, â€Å"straw that seems to have broken the camel’s back. (205) He also discusses the significance of relations between Egypt and Israel with the marriage of Solomon to the daughter of the pharaoh, Siamun, and the Egyptian victory over the Philistines depicted in the Tanis Relief from around that time. One of the more interesting parts to me was the discussion of David’s succession to the throne. Although critical scholars question the authenticity of the Succession Narrative, Kaiser discusse s how some of their objections are raised simply because such scholars try to exclude any divine intervention, â€Å"as a proper subject for historical reporting. (227) Even more significantly to me, Kaiser points out that, atypical of an etiological history, the narrative’s, â€Å"refusal to gloss over the king’s sins or weaknesses, the family disruptions, the bitterness, the revolt, and the ignonimous deeds in David’s life all promoted the idea that realistic life and events were being presented. † (228) I have always found the interaction of the Biblical accounts and prophecies, covered in sixth and seventh sections of Kaiser’s book, with the empires of Babylon, Assyria and other powers fascinating because they show how God is sovereign over the nations. At the same time how the accounts the books of Kings and Chronicles fit with the prophets chronologically has always been confusing for me, but Kaiser’s treatment of both the biblical accounts and the extra-biblical records helps bring a more cohesive understanding. Kaiser discusses how Solomon’s heavy taxes and forced periods of labor helped to bring on the division of the kingdom into the northern ten tribes of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, but we also know from the biblical account that it was ultimately the result of David’s sin. Kaiser gives credit to Edwin R. Thiele for helping to untangle the chronology of the complex system of dates of the kings given in the books of Kings and Chronicles. Although Thiele’s work has still not received universal acceptance Kaiser notes that it, â€Å"has never been successfully refuted. † (293) Kaiser notes that the fighting during the first fifty years of the division gave way to fifty years of relative peace between the northern and southern kingdoms during the Omridian dynasty, which was represented by the strong rule of the Israelite kings Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah and Joram with Jehosaphat being the most remarkable Judean king. During this time the Assyrian empire was reemerging and Kaiser mentions some of the interactions that Israel had with this power as well as the emerging kingdom of Syria. Kaiser states that one of the, â€Å"great ‘benchmarks’ in Israelite and Judean history,† (339) was the establishment of the Jehu dynasty, which marked the end of the Omridian dynasty. The influence of the Assyrians is interesting to follow during this time, because we know from the scriptures that God used this empire to punish Israel’s disobedience to His covenant. King Jehu even seems to have borrowed some of the cruel ‘terror’ tactics of the Assyrians against his fellow Israelites in house of Ahab by having the severed heads of Ahab’s seventy sons piled for public display. Kaiser briefly deals with the prophets Amos, Hosea, Micah, Jonah and Isaiah, and an interesting new fact for me was that the Nineveh Jonah preached to was one major cities of Israel’s hated and cruel enemy – the Assyrians. In the midst of Israel’s apostasy and the judgment God brought on them through the Assyrians and the emerging Babylonians, inspiring accounts of the faithfulness of kings like Hezekiah, Josiah and the belated repentance of Manasseh (upon his return from Babylonian exile) to return the people to the worship of Yahweh and the repair of their central place of worship were all too late to avoid God’s judgment of the Babylonian exile. Kaiser discusses the archaeological evidence for the diminished role of the Judean kings as the Babylonian influence grew. Though Jeremiah predicted the seventy-year exile and warned the regent, Zedikiah, not to side with the Egyptians and revolt against the Babylonians, Zedekiah listened instead to the false prophets with their promises of peace. Jeremiah suffered for sticking to the message God had given him before Jerusalem fell as he had prophesied. It is interesting how Kaiser points out that the exiles in Babylon had it much better economically and socially than the remnant left in Judea: â€Å"Life in Babylon was so comfortable that most of the exiles were unwilling to return to Palestine when the opportunity arose. (414) Excavations of Babylon, including the famous hanging gardens, reveal some of the grandeur that existed at the height of Babylon’s influence under Nebuchadnezzar’s rule. Nebuchadnezzar left an unstable empire and it was under the rule of Belshazzar, â€Å"that the handwriting appeared on the wall and the doom of the Babylonian Empire was predicted by Daniel and im mediately enacted as the Medes and Persians entered the city†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (418) At the Edict of Cyrus (recorded by Ezra) not only the return of the exiles but also the rebuilding of the temple began under Zerubbabel. Kaiser gives some fascinating background information about the Persian Empire and court customs under rulers, such as, Cyrus, Darius and Xerxes. Although most critical scholars deny the historicity of Esther, Kaiser demonstrates that the book does not, â€Å"contradict anything that is known from all the sources from this period that are available to us. The objections are basically arguments from silence. † (434) After Malachi, the last writing prophet and contemporary of Nehemiah, the remainder of the book, of course, deals with historical sources outside of the Bible. I had only a vague knowledge of some of the events of the intertestamental period that concerned Israel so this section was fascinating for me. Some of this information comes from Josephus’s Antiquities. As the Persian Empire weakened from within as rulers poisoned one another, Hellenistic culture was becoming, â€Å"a rallying cry that would unite otherwise disparate peoples against the Persians,† (450) and the rise of Alexander the Great spelled the ultimate doom for Persia. Kaiser discusses what is known of various populations of dispersed Jews and their syncretistic religions, such as, the Elephantine Jews in Egypt and the ntermarried Samaritans, who came into being as a result of the population manipulations under Assyria. The development of the synagogue is also discussed as a result of the dispersion. Kaiser also discusses the influence of Greek culture and language on the Jews as exemplified in the Septuagint, a translation of the Hebrew Old Testament into the G reek vernacular. Kaiser gives a summary of the Maccabean Insurrection as recorded in Maccabees and the Antiquities of Josephus. Kaiser’s discussion of the Hasmonean kingdom includes the Hasidim group, â€Å"the pious,† who opposed Hellenistic influence and would eventually become the party of the Pharisees. The book ends with the arrival of Roman rule in Jerusalem in 63 B. C. Critique Kaiser’s discussion of similarities between the forms of the Deuteronomic Covenant and the Hittite suzerain-vassal treaty brings to light the interesting concept that God used and still uses the forms of contemporary culture to communicate His message to people living within that culture. This is an important concept to those, such as missionaries, who feel God’s call to be messengers of the Gospel cross-culturally. Kaiser asserts that, â€Å"had the covenant form been drafted in any other time than the early second millennium, it would have taken a drastically different sort of arrangement of the possible component parts, such as the title, witnesses, stipulations, curses, blessings, deposit provisions, and prologue. (64) It is so easy to think that everything about the way one worships and applies theology to one’s life is Biblical, and the temptation is to teach forms from a Western Protestant tradition when seeking to plant churches among people of another culture. Forms, such as, stained-glass buildings, pews, hymns will probably hold little meaning to another culture. There are aspects of every culture that are evil and aspects that are redeemable. The Gospel transcends all cultures so those in cross-cultural ministry should seek to follow the model of scripture by communicating the Gospel in a meaningful form for each culture without changing the message itself. Kaiser’s History of Israel demonstrates how the story of the nation of Israel is the story of God remaining faithful to His covenant promises in spite of the unfaithfulness of the people. The story of Israel demonstrates the need for believers to remain an identity of consecration to Holy God in the midst of an ungodly world. Kaiser shows over and over how the influence of the pagan religions of the surrounding nations drew Israel away from God. A central theme throughout the book is Kaiser’s emphasis on the trustworthiness of Scripture. The believer’s faith is without foundation if the central events of the Bible did not actually occur, but Kaiser shows how critical scholars try to say that the stories of the Bible do not hold historic validity because they are meant to teach theology and not real historic events: â€Å"Why should we force the biblical evidence to purge itself of its so-called ‘theocratic point of view’ in order to qualify as ‘history’? (143) I believe that Kaiser effectively shows the double standard of these same scholars who are willing to use the religious-based documents of any other nation outside the Judeo-Christian sphere. It is interesting to note how Kaiser’s description of Assyria’s tactics of influence and control over conquered nations was similar to how Josef Stalin later used similar tactics of controlling people groups by having them deported to distant lands and replaced with other peoples. To control populations like the Chechens and Jews, and to prevent their ability to revolt Stalin had people groups deported en-masse to far-away countries like Kazakhstan. Parallels to Assyria’s practice of national extermination also preceded the tactics of men like Adolf Hitler against the Jews of Europe. A background in archaeology and ancient history would help one to appreciate the book fuller. As far as that goes, the book would make an excellent gift for an archaeology or history student looking for an alternative to the liberal and anti-supernatural interpretations of historical evidence. For a pastor, the book makes an excellent handbook to provide a better insight into the biblical culture and contemporary events that is useful for developing a more accurate picture in sermons of what kind of world the events were taking place. The Bible is timeless because it is God’s Word speaking relevantly to all cultures in all times, but I think the tendency of some preachers to attempt to portray biblical characters and events as odern-day as possible robs the accounts of the times that they are grounded in, and insults the listeners’ ability to relate to the biblical accounts as real events in a different time period and culture than their own. The more the preacher is able to tell them about the time and culture the more full and accurate the story becomes for the listeners. Similarly, any reader who is familiar with the old English is able to understand and appreciate the works of Shakespeare, and the more the reader understands of Elizabethan England the mor e he is able to relate to the characters as believable. However, the same characters dressed in modern clothes and using modern technology would seem ridiculous speaking of bare bodkins. Kaiser states, â€Å"My hope is that this work may stimulate the interest of many others to press on in our research of the historical understandings of the people of this land and book. † (xiii) I also would like to see Kaiser’s book encourage those in the fields of archaeology and ancient history to see the historical merit of the Bible and to be bold about using it as a source until the outside evidence refutes their interpretation of the Bible. I am confident that there will be no final conflict with the Word of God and the historical record, and that believers among archaeologists have the distinct advantage of an infallible Source to guide them in their research. The Bible is not a history textbook or an archaeologist’s field manual, but the stories are real events set in real places. As this book hopefully stimulates such research I would also like to see a more â€Å"user-friendly† approach for the layperson. One of my main criticisms of the book is that it is slow reading, in my opinion, for the person not familiar with the terms and designations of historical research. It is not impossible to follow the narrative, but Kaiser’s dry style makes what should be fascinating history too text-bookish. That is as it should be for a certain audience, and making the information more readable and accessible would probably necessitate a few volumes, but I think it would be an invaluable resource for any serious student of the Bible – preacher, missionary and layman alike. This kind of information is too valuable to the believer’s faith to remain inaccessible.

Seminar in Global Supply Chain Management Essay Example

Seminar in Global Supply Chain Management Essay This paper was done to cover the DDBA-8510-1 Seminar Global Supply Chain Management final seminar research paper. Supply chain management, is the active management of supply chain activities to maximize customer value and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. It represents a conscious effort by the supply chain firms to develop and run supply chains in the most effective amp; efficient ways possible (Handfield, 2011). Global Supply Chain Management involves a business or a company’s worldwide interests and suppliers rather than simply a local or national orientation. Companies have used enhanced technological advancement to improve their global supply chain. There are various advantages and disadvantages of global supply chain. Increasing globalization and companies willing to market and do business globally are facing some issues in regard to effective business productivity. With an increase in technology and most company going global for price reduction supplier relationships and management has been essential to productivity. Supplier relationships and management has a vital impact on the future direction of global supply chain management research. This paper analysis and explores global supply chain management and supplier relationships. Global Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Management includes all the activities that must take place to get the right product into the right consumer’s hands in the right quantity and at the right time – from raw materials extraction to consumer purchase. We will write a custom essay sample on Seminar in Global Supply Chain Management specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Seminar in Global Supply Chain Management specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Seminar in Global Supply Chain Management specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer SCM focuses on planning and forecasting, purchasing, product assembly, moving, storage, distribution, sales and customer service (Texas Aamp;M University, 2013). Global Supply Chain Management involves a business or a company’s worldwide interests and suppliers rather than simply a local or national orientation. Global supply chain management involves various amounts of interaction between different companies in various countries. Global supply chain originated when companies migrated to looking for expensive part and labor globally for effective cost savings. The mean focus of companies participating in global supply chain management is cost. Companies focus on cost because it is a primary factor of dealing with local or overseas suppliers. According to Epiqtech (2012) while local labor cost may be significantly lower, companies must also focus on the costs of space, tariffs, and other expenses related to doing business overseas. In regard to cost, time is also an issue and factor when dealing with global supply chain management. The productivity of employees’ overseas and rickety shipping times can cause a negative or positive affect on the company’s lead time into product production. Effective supplier selection is also essential to global supply chain. According to Texas Aamp;M University (2013) for efficient supply chain management companies must make decisions about the number of suppliers to use. Fewer supplies may be easier to manage but could also lead to potential problems if one vendor is unable to deliver as expected or if one vendor tries to leverage its supply power to obtain price concessions. The main factors of company’s transformation to a global supply chain as we know is having external supplier globally to enhance supplier’s diversity which reduces cost and increase revenue while improving reliability. According to Nahla (2003) manufacturers typically set up foreign factories to benefits from tariff and trade concessions, low cost direct labor, capital subsidies, and reduced logistics cost in foreign markets. Companies have used enhanced technological advancement to improve their global supply chain. According to Nahla (2013) global supply chain management trend is evolving as new technologies emerge. Instead of vendors mailing their products and assuring its delivery, companies are now able to track the products exact location through GPS tracking devices. These devices are imperative for global supply chains. The farther the goods are from the final endpoint, the riskier its arrival. Before RFID scans, supply chain managers took inventory weekly or monthly to track sales and supplies. Now, many companies like Wal-Mart track their products with RFID technology. The RFID readers’ purpose is to cross-examine RFID. Advantages and Disadvantages of GSCM Some advantages of global supply chain management for businesses are to increase profit and sales, globalization increases sales because various market options are open, reduces the pressure of relying on local business, competitive advantage, enhance speed and efficiency, product cycle time reduction, and lowers supply chain cost. Some disadvantages of going global in regard to supply chain management is investment of money, time and resources, supplier selection and relationships can become very challenge. The norm disadvantage is as companies go global cooperating within groups and organizations could be very challenge. With cultural barriers, foreign tax laws and regulations companies going global should understand it may take years for supply chain to gain rewards and increase sales. According to Nahla (2013) the greatest benefits of global supply chain management are 1. As opposed to a poorly organized supply chain a global supply is extremely competitive and so you can obtain a really good price for supplies that will all be produced to excellent standards, without even having to search widely; 2. If you have sufficient contacts and suppliers internationally, then you can really reduce the amount of stock that you have to retain, which means that you will save costs in terms of storage/thefts/transporting goods etc; 3 The global supply chain really does operate on a 24/7 basis, simply because of the time differences in different countries; and 3. One of the most interesting factors of the global supply chain is that we can learn from others! Business is done differently in different parts of the world and we are able to learn new ways of doing business, new production methods and new distribution methods, if we keep an open mind and have a willingness to learn. Emerging Issues in GSCM Current challenges in the global supply chain are sustainable supply chain, resiliency in supply chain, shift toward multilocal operations, increase uncertainty and volatility, increased complexity, extended lead time, unnecessary cost, risk management, improved responsiveness, and integrated and empowered supply chain. Increase complexity; in coming year’s complexity of supply chains are predicted to grow, companies are expected to maximize complexity in locations of customers and product variations and decrease number of supplier and manufacturing locations. Extended lead times; company lead times are now highly effected by extended shipping times and foreign employee production. Unnecessary cost; reason companies are bearing unnecessary cost are poor infrastructure, inefficient stocking practices, inefficient transportation and poor monitoring of currency exchange rates. Risk management; supply chain risk consist of environment, process, culture, legal, political, demand, control, and supply risk which needs to be high maintain and controlled for effective production. Sustainability; key sustainability issues facing the global supply chain are working conditions, low wages, human rights, child labor, ethics, recycling, waste, air pollution and environmental green issues (Irshad, Lee, 2012). According to Irshad and Lee ( 2012) supply chains are shifting toward multilocal operations for balancing the trade-off in designs of supply and demand for local responsiveness and global economies of scale leading organizations are in favor of multilocal design, supply and support and furthermore companies are moving from a centralized model, towards a regionalized approach. Current Dilemma GSCM According to Industry Week (2013) many U. S. manufacturers are experiencing talent shortages in part because of an aging baby boomer generation that has begun its exodus from the U. S. workforce. In contrast to this issue there is a lack of students aspired to work in manufacturing. The loss of older knowledge employees and lack of manufacturing students enrolling in the manufacture field will cost major dilemma in companies supply chain management in the upcoming future. Another dilemma in GSCM is ethics. Ethic in the supply chain is essential when keeping track of supplier’s compliance history, selecting suppliers, assigning management to manage supplier relationships. According to Industry Week (2013) ethical challenges in the supply chain represent a huge issue impacting a company’s market share, based in part on customers’ perceptions of a product’s integrity and thus affect revenue. Important Issues GSCM Increasing globalization and companies willing to market and do business globally are facing some issues in regard to effective business productivity. According to Advance Distribution Services (2013) even though most companies do realize that better supply chain management can benefit their bottom line, too many of them are leery about pursing modernization and efficiency fully. Report shows that companies that have managed and adapted to supply chain innovations have been lowering cost and increasing profits by millions. The top 5 organizations with the best global supply chain are McDonald’s, Amazon, Apple, Pamp;G, and Dell. All four of these companies are effective in their global supply chain because they have implemented and focused on supply chain integration of product design, end to end approaches for managing its supply chain, effective customization, used cloud computing technological supply chain advancement, and all 5 companies focused on total supply chain cost and management. Research Topic (Suppliers Relationships) Background Supplier Relation Management (SRM) is the discipline of strategically planning for and managing, all interactions with third party organization that supply goods and/or services to an organization in order to maximize the value of those interactions. In practice, SRM entails creating closer, more collaborative relationships with key suppliers in order to uncover and realize new value and reduce risk (Esourcing. com, 2012). Most businesses and organizations usually address the idea that in dealing with suppliers and customers the best types of relationships are arm lengths. The closer your relationships are to your customers and suppliers the more control of your operations and business you have. Integrating a exemplary supplier relationship through partnerships, similar values, and trust leads to effective cooperation and product productivity. The relationships between suppliers are essential to any organization. According to Ameifo. com (2004) suppliers can directly impact the financial performance and profitability of a buying enterprise, as they influence product development cost, manufacturing schedules, inventory levels, and the timelines of delivery of goods and services. During the supply chain management process supplier relationships are essential to the buying organization during the production development process. If parts, materials, or services cannot meet required design deadline of production then the production process is usually tarnished and repeated. The six levels of supplier relationships through effective partnering are conduct joint improvement activities, share information intensively by selectively, develop supplier’s technical capabilities, supervise your suppliers, turn supplier rivalry into opportunity and finally understand how your supplier work. In order to incorporate a sustainable supply chain building strong relationships with partners and suppliers is essential to business operation globally. Strong lasting relationship with supplier on the global supply chain scale must focus on open communications consistent processes and requirements. Figure 1 shows the financial value scale of effective supplier relationship. From the diagram you can concur that financial value goes up when basic, core, strategic suppliers are in unison. Financial Value Scale of Effective Supplier Relationship: Figure 1: financial value scale of effective supplier relationship Supplier Relationship Areas of Debate Two current theories and debates hunting supplier relationships are, can companies answer the two questions; effective supplier relationship management can provide step change impact to a business or cannot provide step change impact to a business. The main factor in regard to the current debate is the key strategies of supplier selection that builds trust and maximizes value for companies. Theory proves that sustaining relationship with supplier goes further than management. If companies focus on supplier relationship through proper implementation it can provides essential competitive advantage. According to 4C Associates (2013) there are several reasons for the gap between the actual and theoretical benefits of SRM. Firstly it is difficult to reconcile the conflicting goals of two organizations. This is further complicated by the complex structure which frames many businesses. However, the key setback for the implementation of an effective SRM program remains the need for long term investment and the challenge of demonstrating tangible benefits. Suppliers Relationship, Management Technology Impact. Technology and innovations has really impacted supplier’s relationships in regard to SRM. In recent years companies have really moved to more technological advanced strategies and software to manage supplier relationships. Companies are investing significant resources in managing suppliers and the use of supplier relationship software is becoming more common place. Supply chain managers are increasingly using the web to collaborate and to communicate with supply chain partners (The Supply Chain Lab, 2009). All industries with supply chains operations will be affected and impacted by technological advancement in SRM. Companies need to evaluate if future suppliers meet their core standards, because with advance technology supplier selection is not just restricted to procurement departments in organizations. The impact of technology has a positive impact on SRM and this impact can be maximized by strategic implementation of effective SRM innovations. For maximization companies must act consistently act with a relationship mindset? Cloud technology has evolved and is changing how business is being done today. Cloud computing is design to and is changing the way companies use technology to service its suppliers and partners. CloudSRM is a cloud system build for supplier relationship management. In Figure 2 the CloudSRM program is described more detailed. The program evaluates supplier performance, collaborates between supplier and buyers through document sharing. The technological cloud system has proven to improve operational performance and produced procurement savings. Figure 2: CloudSRM integrates ERP applications (csc. com, 2013) Supplier Relationship and Management (Future Directions) One of the key advantages of supplier relationship is cost reduction. Cost reduction is essential to any organization. I believe an area for further research in this topic that would be beneficial is focusing on relationships to enhance cost reduction and better collaboration in the supply chain process. According to The Supply Chain Lab (2009) ccompanies should work together to solve supply chain problems and learn from one another. Better collaboration and communication will lead to increased sales. Improved collaboration can also lead to better demand planning and route scheduling. In regard to supply chain management global technology enhancement is orcing companies to require supplies that are result orientated. Another area of further research is organizations outsourcing to unknown countries. According to The Supply Chain Lab (2009) many companies have been burned when outsourcing manufacturing to countries such as India and China. Management practices that worked in one country are not necessarily going to work in another country and companies need to change the way they think and work in other markets. Supplier relationships and management has a vital impact on the future direction of global supply chain management research. According to Lambert (2008) Customer relationship management and supplier relationship management provide the critical linkage throughout the supply chain. For each supplier in the supply chain, the ultimate measure of success for the customer relationship management process is the change in profitability of an individual customer or segment of customers. Conclusion As analyzed in the above contexts supplier relationships and management has a vital impact on the future direction of global supply chain management research. Global supply chain originated when companies migrated to looking of expensive part and labor globally for effective cost savings. Integrating a exemplary supplier relationship through partnerships, similar values, and trust leads to effective cooperation and product productivity in organization going global, in regard to supply chain management.

Hohokam essays

Hohokam essays As a member of the Hohokam nation there are many things that we need to do daily in order to keep the nation successful. Every member in the nation has a job and specific duties the main part of the nation that keeps it successful is the irrigation system that we use. This system transports water through out the land that belongs the to the tribe. The irrigation system helps transport the water to the crops throughout the land and help the Hohokam become prosperous. Great agriculture leads to trades with other Indian nations, especially trading with the Anazasi nation our main trading partner for the esensials that we need. This is the way the Hohokam nation worked together to become prosperous. The disappearance of the Hohokams is a mystery today. The theory that I believe that led to the disappearance of the Hohokams is that there was a drought that led to many problems. First the lack of water itself killed many people. Second, the drought killed off most of the agriculture and led to a lack of food. Due to the loss of agriculture the nation could not trade with other nations and could not feed its people. During this drought there was some internal problems because of the lack of food causing some members moving to other nations or forming there own nations. This theory has many stages but I believe without the drought the other problems would not occur. Ruth, Gail, "Hohokam Indians", Wilshire Publishing, 1965 ...

Social Classroom Activities to Build Social Skills

Social Classroom Activities to Build Social Skills Students with disabilities, especially developmental disabilities, suffer from significant deficits in good social skills.  They often cannot initiate interactions, they often dont understand what makes a social transaction appropriate for setting or players, they often dont get enough appropriate practice. Always a Need for Social Skill Development Using these fun activities helps model and promote healthy interactions and teamwork within the classroom. Use the activities found here a regularly to help develop good habits, and youll soon see improvement with students in your classroom who need help developing social skills. These activities, embedded in a self-contained program as part of a daily routine, provide students with lots of opportunities for frequent practice getting used to appropriate interactions. Shaky Day Pick a consistent day of the week (Fridays are great) and the dismissal practice is to have each student shake two students hands and say something personal and nice. For instance, Kim shakes Bens hand and says, Thanks for helping me tidy my desk, or, I really liked the way you played dodgeball at gym. Some teachers use this method as each child leaves the classroom. The teacher shakes the students hand and says something positive. Social Skill of the Week Pick a social skill and use it for the focus of the week. For instance, if your skills of the week is showing responsibility, the word responsibility goes on the board. The teacher introduces the words and talks about what it means to be responsible. Students brainstorm ideas of what it means to be responsible. Throughout the week, students are given opportunities to comment on responsible behavior as they see it. At the end of the day or for bell work, have students talk about what theyve been doing or what they did that showed acting responsibility. Social Skill Weekly Goals Have students set social skill goals for the week. Provide opportunities for students to demonstrate and tell how theyre sticking to their goals. Use this as the exit dismissal key each day. For instance, each child states how they met their goal that day: I cooperated today by working well with Sean on my book report. Negotiation Week Many students requiring additional help with social skills usually need support to negotiate properly. Teach the skill of negotiation by modeling and then reinforcing through some role play situation. Provide opportunities for conflict resolution. Works well if situations arise in class or on the yard. Good Character Submission Box Keep a box with a slot in it. Ask students to put a slip in the box when they observe good character. For instance, John tidied up the coat room without being asked. Students that are reluctant writers will need to have their complement scribed for them. Then the teacher reads the slips from the good character box at the end of the week. Teachers should also participate. Social Circle Time At circle time, have each child say something pleasant about the person next to them as they go around the circle. This can be theme based (cooperative, respectful, generous, positive, responsible, friendly, empathetic etc.) and change every day to stay fresh. Mystery Buddies Put all the student names in a hat. A child draws a student name and they become the students mystery buddy. The mystery buddy then offers compliments, praise and does nice things for the student. The students can then guess their mystery buddy at the end of the week. You can also incorporate the Wanted: Friend worksheet. Welcoming Committee The welcoming committee can consist of 1-3 students who are responsible for welcoming any visitors to the class. If a new student starts, the welcoming committee makes sure they feel welcome and they also help them with the routines and become their buddies. Good Solutions This activity takes some help from other teaching staff members. Have teachers leave you notes of the conflicts that have arisen on the yard or in the classroom. Collect these as often as you can. Then within your own classroom, present the situation that have happened, ask the students to role play it or to come up with positive problem solving solutions and practical advice to avoid repeats of the incidents.

Analysing the digital marketing strategy of two companies Essay

Analysing the digital marketing strategy of two companies - Essay Example The navigation bar helps customers in going through a number of advert materials that might be influential in the decision that they finally make. The site also makes it clear that the shop makes free shipping and has a simplified return process. The site makes it clearly evident that they do target female customers given the fact that all their advert materials display female items. In this case, it might be said that the main reason behind targeting female customers is that women are more likely to spend time online looking for items that they like are compared to men. Singer22.com focuses on female fashion products. The pictures of celebrities wearing some of the brands sold at the store are used strategically to lure customers who are fans of these celebrities. This is something that lacks in some retailer sites. However, this site might be said to be lacking shortcuts to connect to the stores social media accounts such as Facebook and Twitter. On the first site someone can easily get the impression on exactly what this site is about. Someone will easily realize that the shop specializes in sportswear and footwear. This is because the images used are a perfect replica of an image that would attract anyone who was looking for sportswear and footwear. The use of models who appear to be sportsmen seem to be a good idea because it gives the impression of what a customer should expect from the store. The navigation bar helps online customers in viewing the advert materials that are used in the sites. The mode of categorization is also highly helpful in this case. The site categorizes its dashboard into: new arrivals, men’s, women’s, Kids, Release calendar, Brands, collections, and find a store. These options make it easier for a customer to get what they want without having to go through all the items that are available in the store. The find a store option is important in enabling customers to locate

Criminology 1 question future crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminology 1 question future crime - Essay Example However, contrary to the thought that development would also make man wiser, it becomes clear that man is losing his insight of moral values. This fact is evident from the ever increasing crime rates all over the world. Man has proved to be capable of committing heinous crimes that are beyond the understanding of certain individuals. What one cannot even imagine, the other is capable of executing, this emphasizes the fact that every man is different from the other. With the advent of the computer age, criminal activity has escalated to another level. In the past, various crimes known to exist were those such as theft, homicide, human trafficking, child and women abuse, juvenile delinquency and so on. However, now with the invention of internet, computer and such other electronic devices, people have left the realm of real world. Whatever they do now, it is always encompassed within the digital world. Therefore, there emerges a whole new possibility of crimes in the modern day as well as in the future. Since the emergence of internet, various crimes have started taking toll on unaware victims and these crimes are known as cyber crime. Therefore, it can be said that future crimes will definitely be directed towards the digital world. The different types of crimes in this field are insider crime, hacking, spam, fraud, cyber terrorism, drug trafficking â€Å"telecommunications fraud, online pedophilia, high-tech espionage† etc (Hagan, 2011). Though the present data provides an insight into the trends of crime to a certain extent, â€Å"they are limited in forecasting crime† (Schafer, 2007). However, various researches and studies based on criminology as well as the modern lifestyles have led to different predictions of future crimes. It is predicted that â€Å"illegal marketing of human parts† will increase substantially, â€Å"employee computer crime† will be on the rise with

Social Gender Essay Example for Free

Social Gender Essay Gender is a collection of expectations and privileges that is assigned to people of a different sex. Sex is a determination made through the application of socially agreed upon biological criteria for classifying a person as male or female. Everyone can relate to social gender roles and the effect it has on the person we are today. Lorber in Night to his Day: The Construction of Gender says, everyone does gender unknowingly due to it being done so often. Without us recognizing we are shaped and forced into doing gender by others and society. Gender roles give certain people a certain around sorority and social status levels as to males being masculine strong individuals, who brings home the bacon, who are independent and able to take care of the needs of himself and his family. On the other hand females in western society have be seen as being feminine, nurturing, beautiful, loving, takes care of all house duties, and always have a meal prepared for her husband when he is finished his long day at work. Lorber says, In todays society gender roles are drastically changing for men and women. Today fathers are taking care of little children, girls and little boys are wearing unisex clothing and getting the same education, women and men are working at the same Job (336). Dating back to over 100 years ago gender roles and differences have been very strict, we see in todays society that it is drastically changing and that males and females are able to accomplish the same task. Lots of students may have misconceptions on gender in society today. Gender is not always understood due to the drastic change in the roles in society today. It is not always evident how it has an effect on our lives and how it has molded us into the persons we are today. Without knowing many students do gender unknowingly through everyday activities, such as what we wear, how we talk, and the way we act around one another. By freshman students reading Lorbers, Night to his Day: The Construction of Gender it will give them understanding on social gender and how it is changing in society today. Gender before was attached to a person by the way you look, act, and do thing different things. As seen in earlier times, men have worked outside their homes, being the main source of income for their family. As for that they held some of the most powerful positions and Jobs in society, such Lawyer, and politician. Women on the other hand, ruled the home. They were expected to stay home raise children and have an evening meal prepared for or another stereotypical female position. Now females are high ranking officials, judges and are making huge impacts on life today.

All Quiet On The Western Front :: essays research papers

Decline of Morality   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque shows that war destroys more than just the physical level; the decline of morality has taken place through various circumstances in the novel such as: then incident where Paul Baumer is forced to kill a soldier in a shell hole, when Paul lies to his mother and the mother of his dead friend Kemmerich and when Paul and Kat must beat a recruit unconscious to stop him from leaving the trench; these incidents can be compared to events in the 1990’s such as: rise in the abortion rate, Columbine High School shootings, and the incident between President Clinton and Monica Lewinski.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Chapter 7 Paul is granted a leave from his duties for about a month and in this time he plans on going home and visiting his family. When he arrives his mother asks him questions about how he is and about the war. More specifically she asks, â€Å"Was it very bad out there, Paul?† He thinks to himself how that is a bad question and that nobody realizes how bad the soldiers actually have so he is forced to lie. He says â€Å"No, Mother, not so very. There are always a lot of us together so it isn’t so bad.† Here the author proves that the war forces some to lie to their parents whom they have always been honest with and this demonstrates the decline of family life that the war causes. Later in the chapter he goes to visit the mother of his dead friend, Kemmerich. While there he tells her that he died instantly and she doesn’t believe him, â€Å"You lie. I know better. I have felt his anguish-tell the truth, I want to know it, I must know it.†(159) He again lies to her, â€Å"No, I was beside him. He died at once† (159). But yet she tells him, â€Å"I know you want to comfort me, but don’t you see, you torment me far more than if you told me the truth? I cannot bear the uncertainty† (159). He sticks to his story telling her, â€Å"He died immediately. He felt absolutely nothing at all. His face was quite calm† (160). Again this incident shows that war has a major affect on family life, if he is able to lie to his mother about the war easily, that makes it easier for him to lie to Mrs. Kemmerich about her son. These incidents can be most closely related to the confrontation involving the President

Compare How Time Is Presented in Hour and One Other Poem Essay

Both poems ‘Hour’ and ‘To His Coy Mistress’ present the power time has between two people. ‘Hour’ is a poem about two lovers who have one hour together and explores the ideas of material possesions and a modern reinterpretation of love. Where as ‘To His Coy Mistress’ is a poem where the man is trying to convince the woman to sleep with him and exploring the idea of living and enjoying your life whilst your young. Both of the poems use different types of poetic techniques to depict how time can effect the relationship of two lovers. In ‘Hour’ Duffy uses a metaphor at the start of the poem to allude how love has less power than time. When Duffy announces ‘Love’s time’s beggar, but even a single hour,/bright as a dropped coin, makes love rich. ‘ we see a twist of notion, like every second is like an hour creating a paradox. Duffy also uses refereces to two fairytales, Rumpelstiltskin and King Midas. When Duffy declares ‘the Midas light/turning your limbs to gold. ‘ Duffy portrays a slightly sinister tone almost giving the reader a message to becareful what you wish for just like in the fairytale of King Midas. When Duffy announces at the end of the poem ‘love spins gold, gold, gold from straw’ Duffy refers to the story of Rumpelstlitskin and could be trying to warn her partner of the commitments they may make or perhaps could be telling her readers to have a reality check once in a while because sometimes you may feel like your relationship and the love you share will be forever and extrodinary but time will always shorten or take it away. On the other hand ‘To His Coy Mistress’ opens with and idea of if the two lovers had enough time they would do great things. When Marvell announces ‘Had we but world enough, and time/This coyness, Lady, were no crime,’ he gives the reader an idea of spending all the time in the world with his lover, if they had all the time in the world. When Marvell uses the adjective ‘coyness’ to describe his lover he is saying that his lover’s shyness is a crime and she shouldn’t be so shy but maybe a bit more laid back. Marvell also uses personification of an evil force when he uses the alternate rhyming of ‘time’ and ‘crime’ to portray that the evil force is taking them away. Also when Marvell announces ‘Two hundred to adore each breast;/but thirty thousand to the rest’ he shows that he would spend alot of time admiring her so she would be ready to give him her heart which reals back to the idea if they had all the time in the world but they don’t. Both of the poems use different types of imagery to portray what type of love each couple have for one another. In ‘Hour’ Duffy uses alot of light and dark imagery. When Duffy announces ‘so nothing dark will end our shining hour’ this is a reference to light imagery and she uses this metaphor to say that the couple should enjoy the hour they have. Also Duffy uses alot of concrete nouns in the next stanza such as ‘candle’, ‘chandelier’ and ‘spotlight’ to create the image that nothing is as beautiful as where they are and the hour that they have. However in ‘To His Coy Mistress’ Marvell uses very grotesque imagery to show what will happen to the lovers because of time. Marvell announces ‘My echoing song; then worms shall try/That long preserved virginity’ alluding the grotesque imagery and telling his lover that if she does not lose her virginity then she will die a virgin and would not have enjoyed life as much. Also when Marvell announces ‘My echoing song’ he depicts the love that both of the lovers used to have or perhaps could suggest that they used to share a romance and now have came back to find eachother again to consumate their love. Both poets use different structures to depict their love for one another. In ‘Hour’ Duffy uses four stanza’s that describe how precious and luxurious that one hour is to the couple. Throughout the poem Duffy uses enjambment to create a smooth feeling of the hour that the couple is sharing. When Duffy declares ‘no jewel hold a candle to the cuckoo spit/hungfrom the blade of grass at your ear’ this alludes the enjambment but also Duffy is trying to say that even jewels aren’t as beautiful as the place they are in suggesting society’s modern reinterpretation of love. Whereas ‘To His Coy Mistress’ has three longer stanza’s inituating a well developed argument to declare all the reasons why the mistress should give herself to the man. Marvell does not use enjambment like ‘Hour’ however does use conjunctions to develop it’s argument At the start of stanza two Marvell announces ‘But at my back I always hear/Time’s winged chariot hurrying near’ he starts the stanza with the conjuction ‘But’ which shows the conjuction. Also Marvell personifies time as a robber taking time away from the two lovers and starts to present slightly bleack image of the time they have to spend together. In conclusion I think that both poems relate well to eacother and give the readers also something to relate to. For instintance in ‘Hour’ audiences can relate because time has maybe taken away their partner or how much time they spend with eathother and ‘To His Coy Mistress’ howe ver can relate to people only wanting to live in the moment and not being in a relationship. Although they are set out differentley and talk about different things they both both present the idea of how powerful time is and how it can be taken for granted.

Paradigm in Nursing Essay

Nursing as any science is a tentative, testable and falsifiable discipline. It undergoes: empirical observation, hypothesis development, experiment, results/finding and finally conclusion. Basing on the finding, one can accept or reject the hypothesis. Theory has been seen as the model of the ethics of conducting a set up and while forth is in position to predict future occurrences or observations of the same kind and capable of being tested through experiment or otherwise verified through observation. Each theory has set principles on how to verify it known as paradigm. Discussion Paradigms are a set of postulations; practices shared by a particular body, say a community of researchers and stems from a single theme. The paradigm seeks to regulate inquiry into the discipline that is concerned. It can therefore be viewed as the norm which the scientists or researchers can use as platform which they can agree of disagree depending on their findings. The various paradigms have one thing in common. They are characterized by ontological, epistemological and methodological differences in their approaches to conducting research (Demarest, et al 1993). This in return contributes to paradigm shift. Paradigm is seen to supersede mere interpretation of the tabulated finding or basic understanding in general. Superstition of paradigm consequently gives varied contribution in the area of disciplinary knowledge construction. Depending on the researchers sentiments/he may consider these differences so vast that one paradigm is inequivalent to another. Alternatively, these differences may be ignored or combined so as to conduct the research needed. To accomplish the task of developing nursing knowledge for use in practice, there is a need for a critical, integrated understanding of the paradigms used for nursing inquiry. This is arising due to the fact that each paradigm has a shift (Demarest, et al 1993). For instance, Child development defects will be viewed from various aspects and hence differing paradigm. A biologist my evaluate child development in perspective that children will naturally gain knowledge as they physically grow and become older, provided that they are healthy. Others may view that the child gains knowledge depending on its surrounding or what it interact with; while others view that a child is due for school after it starts interacting with environment and people as well. A nurse scholar can thus decide to combine the three theories or ignore all to achieve what s/he is researching on. Conclusion In conclusion the nurse researcher should weigh the pros and cons of a particular paradigm in his/her approach to assess of existing knowledge and thereby fill the informational gaps. This is because dominance of a particular paradigm is influenced by a number of factors. These may include: the source of finance for the research, government influence, biases from the journal and editors of the print, conferences and symposiums held, coverage by the media, educators who are responsible of spreading the paradigm to their students as well as the professional bodies which may favor a particular paradigm. However, paradigm should be natural and operational in all times.

A Simple Plan essays

A Simple Plan essays The book, A Simple Plan, by Scott Smith, was much more effective than the movie version because the book was more descriptive and it allowed us to view everything from the main characters point of view. However, the story or plot of the movie was better than the book. The book version of A Simple Plan was better because it was more descriptive than the movie version. The author was able to give more details in the book than you would notice in a movie, for example, It was farmland, unrelentingly flat but made over to look like it wasnt. The roads curved around imaginary obstacles, and people constructed little hills in their front yards, like burial mounds, covering them with shrubbery. The houses up and down the street were tiny, each one built right up against the next... (5). Another example of the details in the book is, The collie was sitting on the porch. It didnt bark this time though; it simply stared at my station wagon, its ears erect, its thin, angular head rotating slowly on its shoulders... (108). The final example of the books details is, The suit made him look young, even fit, a brown paisley tie knotted beneath his chin, a handkerchief sticking up crisply from the breast pocket of his jacket. (267). The book described in d etail the land, the dog, and the suit, whereas in the movie, the viewer would just get a quick glance and may not notice these things. The book did a better job of making the reader feel like they were a part of the story because it was told through the eyes of the main character and let you know all his thoughts and ideas, whereas the movie only showed the expressions on his face and body language. For example, in the book Hank thinks to himself, I didnt have a hat with me, and I wasnt wearing boots-I hadnt planned on hiking through the snow-but I knew that both Jacob and Lou expected m ...

What You Need to Know About Becoming a Dental Assistant

What You Need to Know About Becoming a Dental Assistant Going to the dentist’s office probably isn’t one of your favorite activities. Yet it’s a necessary part of taking care of yourself, and if you’re lucky you’ve found a great dental office and staff that make the process less painful- literally! The dental assistant is an essential member of this team, caring for patients and/or keeping the office running. If you think you might be interested in joining this career path, here’s a snapshot of the dental assisting field. What does a dental assistant do?A dental assistant’s responsibilities may include:Managing patient intakeMaintaining office recordsScheduling appointmentsAssisting the dentist during proceduresSterilizing and maintaining equipmentTaking patient x-rays (additional certification may be necessary)Teaching good oral hygiene and post-appointment care to patientsI’m squeamish about medical procedures. Can I still be a dental assistant?Yes! Many offices hire dental assista nts who primarily manage the office and perform clerical tasks like maintaining records, managing patient appointments, billing, acting as the office receptionist, and ordering and managing supplies. You’ll want to check job postings carefully to make sure that the job doesn’t require hands-on patient care or assisting the dentist during procedures.How do I become a dental assistant?In most cases, becoming a dental assistant doesn’t require a four-year college degree. However, some states require that dental assistant candidates complete a certification program and/or pass an exam, so you’ll want to be aware of your own state’s requirements before you choose this path.You’ll need strong organizational and clerical skills as a dental assistant, as well as solid communication and interpersonal skills. You’d be working with staff and patients (and you may be the first face people see when they visit your dental office), so those customer service skills are especially important in this role.How much do dental assistants make?The median salary for dental assistants is $34,500, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to surveys done by Payscale, dental assistant salaries can vary pretty widely depending on location and experience level at hiring. Payscale also found that salaries tended to be higher for assistants who brought strong office and business skills to their current job.Dental assistants also have high job satisfaction, per the Payscale survey: 5 out of 5 dental assistants polled said they were â€Å"extremely satisfied† with their jobs.Who’s hiring dental assistants?Many dental assistants are employed by independent or small-practice dental offices, but there are also many large firms hiring as well. Among the top corporate employers are:Aspen DentalDental Group LtdFamily Dental CareHeartland Dental CareWhat does the dental assistant career path look like?This field is has great dev elopment potential, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicting 25% growth by 2022. Many dental assistants also choose to go on and become Certified Dental Assistants, dental hygienists, or a number of other dental/medical certification areas and administrative roles.Now that you know what it takes to get started in this popular and rewarding field, what do you think? Could this be you in the near future?

ACTA and Internet Counterfeiting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ACTA and Internet Counterfeiting - Essay Example As an e-commerce medium, it is used as a payment medium through PayPal, VISA and other online payment systems. Moreover, it is the medium through which softcopy products like eBooks, software, online courses and other products are delivered. Since most of these activities involve transmission of sensitive information about people and more so customers, the information passing through the internet is encrypted such that the information encoded by the server can only be decoded by the client’s terminal and vice versa (Illing and Peitz, 2006: 102). This means that information being transmitted over encrypted networks cannot be accessed by third parties. This security property of the internet is priceless since it helps to sustain the faith that suppliers and consumers have on the internet; however, it also poses one of the major challenges in regulation of content being transmitted over the internet. It enables the internet to be used for transmission of information, a large port ion of which is unauthorised for electronic transmission (Biagi, 2011). Such information includes transmission of age-inappropriate content, rumours and propaganda that may undermine peace and stability, and copyrighted material. Censorship for inappropriate content can be easily implemented at a country or state level; however, transmission of copyrighted material like music, eBooks and software is hard to control since sharing networks entails use of multiple servers located all over the globe (Hertwig and Maus, 2010: 60). This necessitates the adoption of a common regulatory system, whereby countries work together to enforce antipiracy regulations. This essay discusses the effects of internet infringement of property rights and copyrights and discusses the adoption of ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement), especially in the European Union. Technical Factors Historically duplication of copyrighted materials has always happened; however, the internet offered a channel that mad e the process quite easy to achieve with little skill level. Moreover, the vastness of the internet and its high rate of growth make any attempt to control its content an exercise in futility. Moreover, the technical knowledge of computer networking specialists gives them the ability to bypass any efforts by regulators, which is the main reason for proliferation of illegal websites (Woodsworth, 2010: 185). Moreover, developments in the information technology sector resulted in the proliferation of highly efficient but cheap IT equipment, which increased the number of servers, terminals and other devices beyond the scope of regulatory bodies. In order to cover the increased usage of the internet for illegal purposes, all stakeholders had to be incorporated in the process, which was the main motive of the implementers of ACTA. The other factor that leads to a high proliferation of computer piracy of software and other copyrighted materials is the capacity of network connections to wor k in both directions, such that information flows to or from a terminal in the same way it does to a server. This allows network terminals like workstations, personal computers and other devices to be used as sources of data, especially as used in peer-to-peer protocols like BitTorrent (Hunnewell and Garlick, 2007). These networks allow users to share data in their computers with other users without the need for a server; which makes it almost impossible to detect the circulation of copyrighted material since pieces of the software or other content are usually spread throughout the terminals in the networks. In this case, remarkably

Central Banks & other International banks Assignment

Central Banks & other International banks - Assignment Example In some cases, the central government may place restrictions con how to hold and use foreign exchange or how to dispose local currency. 2. What did the central banks do to stabilize the financial systems in 2007–2009? In order to stop the financial crisis, central banks across the world followed plans that were almost parallel inaction. The eurozone, US and Britain central banks cut interest rates almost to zero, injected capital in the markets (through massive stimulus programs) and guaranteed bank lending (Allen, 2008). These actions were taken in a bid to restore investor confidence and liquidity. In some nations, the central governments have endeavored to coordinate debt issuance with an aim of avoiding the destabilization of their financial markets. 3. In an effort to stabilize the financial system how much money, in U.S. dollar equivalent and as a percentage of the country's GDP, did the European Central Bank, Bank of England, Bank of China, and the Federal Reserve put i nto the economy in 2008 and 2009? The Central banks responses to the financial crisis were quick and dramatic. The US pumped close to one trillion USD in total in 2008 and 2009 in two massive stimulus packages. In the final quarter of 2008, the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve purchased about 2.5 trillion USD worth of government debt and private assets from banks (Spiegel, 2008). Today, the US has spent about 11 trillion USD to the financial crisis about 9.8 trillion USD going to troubled US corporate entities including JPMorgan Chase and General Motors. About 1.2 trillion USD has been set for use in the countries stimulus programs. Of the 9.8 trillion USD, about 6.4 trillion USD is set to be used in Federal Reserve Rescue Efforts. The Bank of China in 2008pledged to release 586 billion USD in the domestic market to stimulate the country’s economy (Morrison, 2009). 4. How well did each country's efforts work at stabilizing the economy? The central banks of mos t countries have worked in coordination with their counterparts elsewhere cutting short term interest rates. Even the People's Bank of China joined the major economies in cutting interest rates. The central bank interventions worked positively for all the countries in mitigating the effects of the financial crisis. In fact, the effects of the crisis have continued to dwindle over time. 5. What appears to be the major constraint that the central banks used to determine the limits of the monetary injections into the economy? The US assumed a most proactive role in tackling the financial crisis. The Federal Reserve has mainly applied interest rate changes to stop the financial crisis from having greater effects on the economy – more than any other central bank. The bank’s interest rate has been reduced from about 5.3% in September, 2007 to about 1.4% over the last couple of months (Senanayake, 2009). 6. Did the United States use the same or different criteria? Through thi s action, the bank has managed to shelve away worries related to high inflation rates. The US applied interest rate reduction, stimulus packages and a relaxed monetary policy like the other central banks albeit more proactively. By lowering interest rates, the supply of money in the market got to increase thereby reducing inflation and panic in the market. 7. To what extent to do you agree/disagree with the actions of

International & Comparative Employment Relations Essay - 3

International & Comparative Employment Relations - Essay Example 57). These approaches have various effects on the labour standards. This paper analyses the approaches to regulating labour standards in a particular context of Multinational corporations (MNCs). Multinational corporations are business organizations that operate in at least one country apart from their home country. The paper will also consider the effectiveness of current approaches and their sustainability over the long-term. In response to the race to the bottom in labour standards the International Labour Organization decided to focus on what they thought had articulated as core labour standards. This led to a Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work which defined the fundamental rights of workers to be: freedom to associate and the right to collectively bargain to be recognized; illegalization of any type of compulsory or forced labour; abolition of underage labour; and illegalization of discrimination when it comes to occupation and employment (Weil & Mallo 2007, p. 799). International Labour Organization’s member states are supposed to make sure that these fundamental rights are promoted within their territories. This can be said to have been the beginning step toward making sure that the race to the bottom in labour standards is properly dealt with. However, there have been some concerns with regard to the ability of the International Labour’s ability to influence the regulation of labour standards. Despite the fact that the ILO is charged with the responsibility of setting international labour standards it has been observed that these role is in most cases educational, promotional, and normative (Williams & Williams 2014, p. 123). This is because they can only encourage member states to adopt the international labour standards that they propose. They can also be of assistance when it comes to the implementation of these labourstandards. Therefore, it should be noted that

Change Management And Organizational Culture Management Essay

Change Management And Organizational Culture Management Essay 1. INTRODUCTION This assignment discusses on two major change management issues, which are culture and leadership, pertaining to a cultural change. The nature of cultural change will be discussed in two parts which are the different approaches to viewing cultural change in an organisation leading to its implications and two reasons why cultural change is needed. Culture and leadership are essential in a cultural change because they are fundamentally conceptually intertwined (Section 3). In culture, we will be discussing the different perspectives of how culture is shared which leads to the issue on subcultures and change resistance. Furthermore, different approaches to effect a cultural change will be discussed as well. In leadership, theories on effective leadership styles will be looked into together with guidelines on how to effect a cultural change. Case studies and recommendation will be laid out for each issue. Beginning with the end in mind, change agents leading a cultural change will have a deeper understanding of its main issues and recommendations for an effective and successful change. 2. THE NATURE OF CULTURAL CHANGE The scientific approach views culture as an object or a thing that organisations have. McKinsey 7s framework (Peters Waterman, 1982) illustrates culture, shared values, as one of the several components (strategy, skills, staff, system, structure etc) of an organisation. Thus, cultural change is defined as unlike other forms of organisational change, it is the change of shared beliefs, values and behaviours of organisational members rather than solely focusing on the systems and structures within which people work (Waterhouse Lewis, 2004:353). However, the anthropological approach sees culture as what an organisation is or is being. Anthropologist suggests that if cultures in societies are regarded as something societies are, should not organisations be view in the same way too? In support of this view, one suggests that, since organisation ultimately resides in the heads of the people involved, effective organisational change implies cultural change (Morgan, 1986:138). There are two implications resulting from the idea that organisational change is cultural change. The first is that since cultural change is organisational change, no distinction made between a strategy for cultural change and a strategy for organisational change (Bates, 1994). The second is that cultural change is not about what we study, rather; the way one looks at an organisation. Therefore, in a cultural change, one must think culturally rather than to think about culture (Bate, 1994). Although there is no hard and fast rule when it comes to deciding which approach is right, one must therefore take balanced view that the anthropological approach is good for theorys sake while the scientific approach is helpful for practise. Two main reasons for a cultural change The first reason lies in the question, what cause organisations to change if cultural change implies organisational change? One main answer is that the environment is ever-changing thus methods used today may not be relevant and successful for tomorrow. Now, basic assumptions shared among members are considered as methods and processes in an organisational of how people work and solve problems. Thus the change in methods implies change in basic assumptions which means a cultural change. The second reason lies in the perception that there is a relationship between an organisations performance and its culture (Kotter Heskett, 1992). Furthermore, researchers argue that this positive link will exist only if the culture has the ability to adapt to changes. Therefore, changing culture can result in higher performance in an organisation. 3. TWO CHANGE MANAGEMENT ISSUES: Organisational Culture Leadership Culture and leadership are the non-negotiables in cultural change as they are conceptually intertwined (Schein, 1992 pg2). Culture begins with leaders who instil values and assumptions on an organisation which in time are taken for granted if proven to be successful. In this case, the culture now defines leadership (Schein, 1992 pg2). Case in point: Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Corporate, is famous for his radical, charismatic and unconventional leadership style. In 2007, he pulled out a publicity stunt during the launch of Virgin America by jumping off the Palms Casino Hotel in a bungee rope (Yaqoob, 2007). The point is- the reason to Virgins phenomenal culture is largely rooted in Bransons leadership. Thus, one may also understand his leadership style by examining Virgins culture. Since cultures begin with leaders, developing and transforming culture has to begin with leaders too and this justifies the need to examine culture and leadership as the two major change management issues in any cultural change of an organisation. 4. ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE Although many writers have associated organisational culture as an organisations climate (Schneider, 1990), embedded skills (Argyris Schon, 1978), habits of thinking (Hofstede, 1980) and shared meanings (Geertz, 1973), they just seem unable to hit it on the nail. They are merely descriptions of what culture is but not its definition and as Schein puts it, none of them are the culture of an organisation (Schein, 1992 pg10). In this view, Schein defines culture as a shared pattern of (1) basic assumptions that a given group has invented, discovered or developed (2) in learning to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, and that have (3) worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems (Schein, 1992 pg12). 4.1 Dimensions of Organisational Culture The understanding of what organisational culture is leads one to question, What constitutes to an organisations culture? To answer this, there are two models of cultural dimensions. The first is the cultural web model (Johnson Scholes, 1992) which lays out six dimensions (stories, symbols, power, structure, controls and rituals) constituting culture. The second is the levels of culture model (Schein, 1992) which describes three dimensions in degrees of depth: 1. Artefacts (surface level): This refers to the physical architecture of the organisation, the mannerisms, attire and even gossips/stories of the organisation (Schein, 1992 pg17). 2. Espoused values (middle level): They are strategies, goals and philosophies of the organisation. 3. Basic assumptions: This refers to the way things are done in the organisation (e.g. processes of solving issues) that are taken for granted, changing these requires much time and can be very difficult and anxiety provoking (Schein, 1992). Iceberg concept The knowledge of what constitutes to an organisations culture provides a clear, comprehensive and deep understanding of it. Furthermore, one can derive from this knowledge a clear direction of what needs to be changed and worked on in a cultural change. When managing a cultural change, one must be mindful of not falling into the error of the Iceberg concept (Watson, 2002). Cultural changes are often reflected only at the top of the iceberg (e.g. physical appearances, attires, vision etc) while the processes and basic assumptions among the members have not changed or are not changing. Therefore, it is our recommendation that change agents look into the dimensions of the organisations culture (maybe as a checklist) ensuring every aspect are taken into account of for a successful change. Case in point (http://www.income.com.sg/aboutus/releases/2009/aug28.asp): Since the start of a cultural revolution led by Mr Tan Suee Chieh, CEO of Income cooperative, many aspects of the Incomes culture have been changed. At the surface level (Artefacts), Incomes logo was re-designed, particularly from red to orange, to give a sense of relevance and vibrancy. At the deeper level, philosophies and strategies are re-constructed from a work-life balanced perspective to a competitive oriented one. Basic assumptions have been changed to encourage members to be take initiatives rather than wait for a top-down order. 4.2 Subcultures Speaking of shared shared basic assumptions, an important question one must consider is, to what extent are they shared? To answer this, Martin suggests that there are three perspectives to view it (Martin, 2002). The Integration perspective refers to a unanimous consensus of the organisations culture shared across every level and department with no room for ambiguity. Differentiation perspective refers to a certain level of ambiguity and inconsistency in interpretation resulting in a collection of subcultures. Members who have shared norms and beliefs gravitate together forming subcultures. Subcultures may or may not be from the same subgroups or divisions of an organisation and the norms and beliefs they share often arise from changing demands. Subcultures may also be a place to express common unhappiness and conflicts. Fragmentation/ambiguity perspective has a high level of ambiguity and unclear consistent or inconsistent manifestations. Subcultures are unbounded and are extremely dynamic. In other words, organisations can either only have single cultures with no subcultures or a collection of subcultures with a/no overarching culture. It is useful to understand this when overcoming resistance as subcultures can be a resistant to change. 4.3 Resistance Unfortunately, change resistance are inevitable and often begins at the initial stage when motivating members to change. Subcultures, fears, anxieties, uncertainties, misunderstandings and the inertia to change can contribute to change resistance resulting in a stall in the change process. Case in point (Madslien, 2010): Lufthansa and British Airways found hard to persuade members to accept operational changes as they could not win the hearts and minds of their staff. The contributing factor is plausibly that there is a great inertial in members to change. We recommend change agents six ways to overcome resistance to change (Kotter Schlesinger, 1979): 1. Education and persuasion- Provide information for the need for change. 2. Participation and involvement- Empowering members with the sense of ownership in the change. 3. Facilitation and support- Provide counselling and coaching. 4. Negotiation and agreement- Embrace the give and take spirit. 5. Manipulation and cooptation- Distort information forcing them to accept change. 6. Direction and reliance (coercion)- Similar to the aggressive approach where it commands/directs members to change if not they have to face certain consequences. Change agents may also use the expectancy theory model (Vroom, 1964) to motivate members to change. The key is that members would be more motivated to change (if there is a reward/benefit at the end) by integrating all three aspects: 1. Valence- The willingness members to change for a particular outcome. 2. Instrumentality- The effort members must put in to achieve a particular outcome. This must be weighed with the reward/benefit (equity) gained from change. 3. Expectancy- The capability required of an individual to accomplish the task/s. Case in point (www.osl.ltd.co.uk): Joseph, general sales manager of Universal Property Agency Ltd, decided to propose a sales contest to motivate his staff for better sales. He believed that members would be motivated to bring in more sales by rewarding them with cash rewards Members may feel that the effort they must produce is more than the reward, although they may seem attractive. Thus, we recommend that change agents take in to account all three aspects of the expectancy model together in order to motivate members to change. 4.4 Two types (strategies) of cultural change Developmental change focuses on strategies to maintain order and continuity of an organisations culture while transformational change seeks for change and discontinuity. To avoid a Castalian tragedy, we recommend change agents to integrate both strategies; linking each strategy to a different point in the cultural development cycle (CDC) (Bate, 1994). Case in point (http://www.income.com.sg/aboutus/brands/index.asp): Income underwent a cultural revolution of both developmental and transformational change. It is developmental because the point of cultural change is for Income to remain to its cause by being relevant and competitive. It is transformational because the logo of Income is changed and the values and basic assumptions among members are re-constructed. In order for a comprehensive integrated strategy, one must consider the following: 1. The existing culture- Nature of present culture to be changed. 2. Origins trajectory through time- A telescopic perspective to gain a complete picture. 3. The CDC the stage an organisation has reached- The life cycle of its culture and stage where the organisation is at. 4. The environmental context- The context outside the organisation where the culture is situated. 5. The subjective dimension- The culture envisaged after change. 4.5 Four approaches to effect cultural change Aggressive approach The aim is to cause disruption of traditional values, fears and panic among members as a clear intention that change is on its way regardless how members feel or prefer. It is like someone barging into the meeting room forcing a change down the throats of everyone. Case in point (T. Nakajo T. Kono, 1989): Japanese Brewery, Asahi, threw the idea of capitalism out of the window taught members the idea of communism. Food ration were reduced to anyone who resisted the change. Aggressors claim to use this approach only as the last resort for survival where radical times demand radical remedies (Dunphy Stace, 1988:321). In other words, it is being cruel to be kind (Bate, 1994:177). Furthermore, aggressors argue that unlike democracy that allows the opposition to sip in, they should take the initiative and have a single say where there is no chance for negotiation but only complete submission. This approach is dangerous as it may backfire; caused by increase in segmentation of unhappy members. Secondly, the aggressor may be too self-centred and motivated by selfish desires that the change may sidetrack off its intended purpose. Conciliative approach Conciliative approach believes that mutuality is key as it promotes incremental changes quietly without offending either the proposition or opposition. Conciliatives see resistors as being reasonable and believe that both parties are able to work things out amiably. Conciliative use this approach because they feel they have a lack of power to compel members to change. Case in point (Mayo, 1989): Although Peter Bonfield, chairman of ICL, saw the need for a total cultural change; he did not dare to impose it as he did not feel empowered to effect the change. Also, conciliatives use this approach because they want to avoid conflict. They believe it is always better to collude than to collide with members who object the ways things are done. Lastly, conciliatives believe in promoting continuity for cooperative relations rather than discontinuity which breeds resistance. It is an attempt to avoid opposition through gradual continuous development (Renfrew, 1979). However, this approach may be time wasting as conciliatives are always afraid of conflict thus it is difficult to move on (Bate, 1994). Also, one need to critique whether revolutionary changes possible through evolutionary change. Corrosive approach As the name implies, this approach sees cultural change as a political process and aims to incrementally corrode the oppositions power until they become either submissive or irrelevant (Bate, 1994:187). This is achieved through networking and deviously manipulating relationships. They argue that cultural change has to involve networking as it is at the core of cultural development and change (Bate, 1994); empowering individuals which in turn will collaborate with other individuals to effect a cultural change (Brass, 1984). Furthermore, they claim to focus on actions instead mouthing change; it is a concept of pulling rather than pushing for change. This can be dangerous as it can subtly move from change-directed to order-directed and relationships formed are considered as informal which may shift frequently. Indoctrinative approach This approach sees cultural change as a learning process (Schein, 1985) whereby members are being educated of the new culture through intentional training and workshops. This approach is used to change the underlying assumptions of members in an organisation and give new meaning to them. Case in point (Financial Times, 27 March 1991): British Telecom organised a successful three-day course (Project Sovereign) to educate staff the new culture- the new BT will not allow customer calls to get lost. Case in point (Andrew Mayo, Director of Personnel, ICL International, 1989): ICL International conducted major educational programmes to educated members why we are doing what we are doing, to know why they have to shift their thinking. However, this approach faces a problem whether members will buy the message conveyed. Furthermore, the new messages conveyed may not be realistic in actual practise. Change agents may face the issue of how to select the best approach. Thus, we recommend using each approach in different stages of the CDC in a sequential/continuum way (although they are distinct and independent). For example, the Aggressive approach can be used in the unfreezing stage followed by the Conciliative (hearing from members suggestions) and Indoctrinative approach during the cognitive reconstructing stage. Lastly, the Corrosive approach can be used for networking to sustain change. 5. LEADERSHIP Although Stogdill suggests, There are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept (Stogdill 1974 pg259), we believe the most appropriate definition is- leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal (Northouse 2004 pg 3). And process denotes that leadership and learning are indispensable to each other (John F. Kennedy). Moving on from the definition of leadership, one must also consider the different theories on understanding effective leadership in practise. The development of leadership theories can be understood in two categories and they are the classical and emerging approach in chronological order. We have characterised the two approaches in that the classical approach focuses on the hardware of leadership (which includes traits, functions, behaviours etc) while the emerging approach looks into the software of leadership (relationships, emotional/social intelligence, charisma etc). 5.1 Classical approach Trait theory Trait theory is simply a response to the question of, what qualities distinguish an individual as a leader? It believes that effective and successful leadership styles are dependent on certain traits. Examples of leadership traits are self-efficacy, physical characteristics, conscientiousness and skills distinguish a leader from an ordinary man (Carlyle, 1841). These traits are argued to be inherited as leadership cannot be created or promoted and it cannot be taught or learned (Drucker, 1954 pg158). However, behavioural theory suggests that people can learn such traits through learning and observing others. According to the managerial grid theory (Blake Mouton, 1964), there are five different leadership styles resulting from two dimensions of behaviours (concern for people and concern for task) country club style, impoverished management, middle of the road, team management and authority compliance. Although both theories agree that effective leaders must possess certain traits, they differ in that behavioural theory believes that such traits can be acquired. Thus, a learning attitude is important for effective leadership (Schein, 1992). Situational theory Unlike trait and behavioural theories, Situational theory argues that successful leadership styles are dependent on the situational contexts (Hemphill, 1949). Therefore, it is crucial that leaders examine the situation prior to effecting any change. Case in point (Hogan, 2003): Enron, a real-life example of situational theory, was caught in a major scandal in 2001 for insider trading and conspiracy. Due to this situation, an immediate action was taken by dismissing many senior management and leaders. Contingency theory Contingency theory is an expansion of situational theory that suggests effective leadership styles are dependent on the situation and environmental variables such as the groups atmosphere, task structure and leaders power position (Fielder, 1967). The Vroom-Yetton contingency model elaborates Fielders theory stating that personal characteristics and attributes of the leader are important contingent elements too (Vroom Yetton, 1973). Therefore, there is no right leadership style but only the best depending on the environment after carefully examining it. Functional theory Functional theory dismisses the idea that effective leaders possess a common set of traits but propose that they possess the competence to handle a wide range of different situations (Gill, 2006). According to the Action Centred Leadership model (Adair, 1973), there are three areas a leader must consider: 1. Task- Accomplishing the teams goal. 2. Team- The development and building of teamwork. 3. Individual- Empowering and helping individuals develop full potential. As all three aspects are interdependent, it is crucial for a leader to strike a balance among them in order for the group to succeed. Leadership styles An expansion of Lewins theory of three main leadership styles which are autocratic, participative and laissez-faire (Lewin, 1939) resulted in a continuum of seven leadership styles (Tannenbaum and Schmidt, 1958): Figure 1 (www.mindtools.com) describes the seven leadership styles by arranging them in a single continuum. This means that leaders are not restricted to choosing only one style (independent) but are able to select any point of degree within the continuum. 5.2 Emerging approach Transformational/charismatic theory Transformational theory suggests that effective leadership styles depend on the form of relationship between a leader and his members; e.g. leaders and followers encourage one another to higher levels of morality and motivation (Burns, 1978). This can be measured in the influence (trust, respect, inspiration and admiration) a leader has on his followers (Bass, 1985). The relationship between the leader and follower is extremely crucial and is likened to a magnetic force attracting people. Case in point: Herb Kelleher, CEO of the Southwest Airlines, is an example of a transformational leader. Some call him the energizer bunny of the skies (Jones, 1994) and Americas funniest fly-boy (Beddington Loftus, 1998). His personality emanates a force that draws and influences others, producing warm and determined employees which ultimately define culture. 5.3 Selecting the right theory Most leaders face the question, How does one select the right theory or approach and apply it in a cultural change? Our first recommendation is that leaders can employ any one or more theories on a case by case basis. This means that if a leader needs to learn how to connect with his staff in order to motivate them for change, he can employ the trait/behavioural and/or transformational theory. Or the leader can employ the situational/contingency theory in the case of examining and understanding the current situation prior to effecting change. Secondly, we recommend leaders to adopt all theories in a step by step manner sequentially: Step 1 (situational/contingency): Scan the environment to know what leadership needs are essential for change. Step 2 (trait): Select particular traits to meet particular demands for a successful change. Step 3 (styles): Select a style along the continuum model for conveying messages, leading members and motivating them for change. Step 4 (functional): Be clear on areas under each function that is needed to be considered when effecting change Step 5 (transformational): Build and maintain relationships with members during the change for a successful outcome. To conclude, it is crucial to note that there are no right leadership styles or approaches, rather; there are only the best ones depending on the situational context. 5.6 Effecting a cultural change We now move on from selecting leadership styles to effect change to the actual steps in effecting change. We recommend the use of Lewins three steps model to effect change as a guiding principle: 1. Unfreezing: To weaken resistance to change (Schein, 1992) and motivate members for change (Lewin, 1951) in three stages. (a) Disconfirming data: This refers to any information that shows an organisation that it is not meeting its goals in order to stir up discomfort and disequilibrium (Schein, 1992 pg299). (b) Anxiety and/or guilt: Disconfirming data must generate anxiety/guilt in order to leave members with no choice but to accept change. (c) Psychological safety: Change is stressful (Korunka, 2003) as it removes members from their comfort zone (Jarrett, 2003) causing fears of uncertainty and discouragement. Providing a psychological safety net for members through adequate assurances (long term especially); relevant information and gratitude to members (Weick Quinn, 1999) 2. Cognitive restructuring: Redefine organisational traditional values, basic assumptions and processes etc through workshops and courses. 3. Refreezing: Constantly reinforce changes through artefacts reflections, certain behaviours and processes. Case in point (http://www.youtube.com/user/tansueechieh): Incomes CEO gave disconfirming data in his speech entitled, cultural revolution, awakening staff of their lethargy. Cognitive restructuring was accomplished through workshops and new companys statement. Furthermore, Income underwent a rebranding reflected in advertisements, new logo and new colours. These help to reinforce the changes and new culture of Income. Sustaining a new culture, be it a discontinuity or continuity change, is tedious and difficult. The role of rites theory, by Trice and Beyer (1990), suggests cultures can be reinforced by repeating a certain set of rituals. The six rites are the rites of passage (induction), enhancement (rewards), degradation (to publicly identify failures; ATT case), conflict reduction (acknowledge and resolve differing opinions), integration (foster cohesion) and renewal (maintenance). 4. CONCLUSION We have began with the end in mind which is that change agents will have a deeper understanding of two major change management issues, which are culture and leadership, when managing a cultural change. This assignment has discussed issues pertaining to culture such as resistance, different perspectives and the iceberg concept. Issues pertaining to leadership such as the different theories and the guidelines on how to effect a cultural change have been described in detail as well. Both change management issues are supported with case studies and recommendations to assist change agents make better decisions. (4,187 words in total)