Leadership lessons from the movie “Invictus” - 1115 Words

Leadership lessons from the movie â€Å"Invictus† Invictus is a biographical film based on the book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation. The story of the film revolves around Nelson Mandela’s efforts and strategy to unite the South African society that is torn apart by apartheid. Upon being elected as the first black President of the nation amidst severe opposition from the whites, Mandela faced an enormous challenge to reconcile the nation and build a democracy in the country devoid of racism. The 1995 Rugby World Cup hosted by South Africa became an unlikely opportunity for Mandela to restore harmony in the country. The blacks in South Africa despised the Springboks, South Africa’s rugby team as it was a†¦show more content†¦An effective leader would strive to incorporate principles into people’s passion. Mandela exhibited both people-oriented and task-oriented leadership. His warmth, mutual trust, respect, apprecia tion and gratitude for his subordinates impressed Francois. In a rugby match, Mandela personally interacted with some of the viewers at the game. During their first meeting, Mandela appreciated Francois’s job as captain of Springboks and acknowledged the challenges as a captain of a national team. Mandela also demonstrated a high level of emotional intelligence and created a positive work environment which made him earn trust, respect and love from his employees. He made an effort to strike a personal chord with his subordinates. For instance Mandela quietly memorized the names of each of the Springboks players so he can give them each a personal greeting. Mandela was an excellent motivator. This is visible when he inspired Francois to win the World Cup. Towards the end of their meeting, it seemed like Francois realized a significant change in his outlook and shared Mandela’s vision about the importance and meaning of a Springboks win to South Africa. Mandela believed in leading by example and by inspiration from the work of others. He found motivation and drive to excel from the Victorian poem ‘Invictus’. Mandela’s philosophy of leadership was to inspire others not only to be their best, but to become even better than they thought theyShow MoreRelatedFilm Analysis : Invictus Movie Analysis1241 Words   |  5 Pages Invictus Movie Analysis Name Institution Introduction The words indicate that a leader should not always be at the forefront, but he or she can leave some duties of the position to his subjects. The case fittingly applies to instances when the people are the ones who actively participate in certain achievements and therefore, they should be given the credit for it while their leader partakes in the attainment in a passive manner. However, the leader should be in the forefront to protectRead MoreEffective Leadership And The Leadership Essay1398 Words   |  6 PagesINTRODUCTION: - This report will investigate on the effective leadership and the need for the leaders to lead from behind and put others in front in the occurrence of nice things and to take the front line when there is a danger. The quote means that leadership should be a collective activity where the leader understands all his followers and includes all of them in his leadership activity. Leadership is defined as a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a commonRead MoreThe Characters Of Nelson Mandela And The 1995 South Africa s Rugby Team Captain Francois Pienaar Essay2146 Words   |  9 Pages1.0 Introduction: In the film ‘Invictus’ the characters of President Nelson Mandela and the 1995 South Africa’s rugby team captain Francois Pienaar exhibit excellent example of leadership theory and concept which help viewers to comprehend and take in the lesson of fundamental leadership practices and the results. By traits and behavioural leadership theory we can recognizes the fundamental qualities and practices principally showed by every viable pioneer. These characteristics and practices additionallyRead MoreNelson Mandela And The Game That Made A Nation2093 Words   |  9 PagesZain Ahmed Mahoney English 9-9 7 January 2015 Introductory Information Title- Invictus: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation Author- John Carlin Genre- Non-Fiction, History Historical Context- Published on November 18, 2009. More of a modern book taking place in the late 1900’s. The book is also made into a movie starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman. Invictus is a poem that Nelson Mandela recites and is written by William Ernest Benley. Protagonist- Nelson Mandela is the protagonistRead MoreNelson Mandelas Leadership4907 Words   |  20 Pages2012 NELOSN MANDELA’S LEADERSHIP . . Microsoft 06.06.2012 6/6/2012 NELOSN MANDELA’S LEADERSHIP June 6, 2012 TITLE PAGE CAUCASUS UNIVERSITY CAUCASUS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS COURSE TITLE: Developing effective leadership skills COURSE CODE: MGS-3211 INSTRUCTOR: Dara Ahmed GROUP PRESENTATION: N1 PRESENTATION TITLE: NELSON MANDELA’S LEADERSHIP GROUP MEMBERS: Tamar Geladze DATE: 6th of June, 2012 12 Page 2 NELOSN MANDELA’S LEADERSHIP June 6, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENT Read MoreNelson Mandelas Leadership Style and Philosophy of Life2130 Words   |  8 Pageslater. They also collaborated on Mandelas Way (2010) which offers fifteen lessons on his leadership style, philosophy of life and lessons he learned during this twenty-seven years in prison. Mandela is a genuinely modest and humane man whose entire life was given over to the cause of social justice, the emancipation of the black majority in South Africa and the abolition of the apartheid regime. In prison, he learned the lessons of patience, self-discipline, respect and understanding for his opponents

Alternative Energy Sources For Renewable Energy - 1710 Words

Since fossil fuels have become such a concern for our environment, alternative energy has become a source of energy that is an alternative to the problem that these fossil fuels have caused our Earth. Alternative energy are renewable and is considered to be free energy sources (Alternative Energy). All alternative energy sources have lower carbon emissions when being compared to conventional energy sources. These sources include Biomass Energy, Wind, Solar, Geothermal, and Hydroelectric Energy (Alternative Energy). With the use of recycling, the clean alternative energies such as the use of solar power systems will benefit in the survival of these energy resources beyond the 21st century (Alternative Energy). Alternative resources†¦show more content†¦Solar energy is mostly used to generate light and heat (Conserve Energy Future). The orbital path of the sun and its variations in the galaxy affects the energy that is emitted from solar sources that are reflected on t he planet (Conserve Energy Future). While 70% of the sunlight gets reflected back into space, we only have the remaining 30% to meet the energy demands that the planet requires (Conserve Energy Future). The sun generates solar energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation. It travels to the earth’s surface at various wavelengths (Solar Energy). There are many living things on earth that depend on the sun’s radiation (Solar Energy). The sun plays a very important part in our environment because it is responsible for producing energy that warms the earth as well as the energy that plants need to make their food (Solar Energy). Solar energy is crucial for plants to create a sustainable life because without it, no animals or any other living thing could survive. There are some advantages and disadvantages to the use of this particular alternative energy source. Some advantages of solar energy is that it id free, it does not cause pollution, it can be used in remote areas where it is too expensive to extend electrical power, it powers low energy items like calculators and watches, and it is infinite, meaning solar energy will never run out (Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar Power). Even though solar energy sounds great

Learning Log Free Essays

Name:Amanda Class:5J Teacher:Anne Bray Learning Log Reflection 1 Activity: â€Å"Chinese State Sports Policy: Pre – and Post – Beijing 2008† I read this article written by Fan Wei in 2010. This was my first time reading an English article which related to Chinese sports policy. The article provides an overview of Chinese sports policy and practice from 1920s to the 2000s with particular emphasis on the post Beijing Olympics. We will write a custom essay sample on Learning Log or any similar topic only for you Order Now I was very worried before I read this article because I was afraid that I could not understand the specialized topic. However, I found it was not that hard than I expected. I learnt the development of Chinese massive sports and elite sports and understood how policy impacted the development of Chinese sports. This article helped me overview the Chinese sports policy and had a clear understand of each process. It will be a very useful experience and make contribution to my master study. As this article closely related to my major, I was glad to read this article before studying in my department. Name:Amanda Class:5J Teacher:Anne Bray Learning Log Reflection 2 Activity: â€Å"The Little Prince† This book was published in 1943, is a novella and the most famous work of French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery. It has been translated into more than 190 languages and it is one of the best-selling books ever published. I read the Chinese vision when I was a child and it was also one of my favorite books. I was very excited to read the English vision. The Little Prince makes several profound and idealistic observations about life and human nature. For example, it tells of a fox meeting the young prince as he exits the Sahara desert. The story’s great part is contained in the lines uttered by the fox to the little prince: â€Å"One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye. † Other key thematic messages are included in the story, such as: â€Å"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed† and â€Å"It is the time you have devoted to your rose that makes your rose so important. † It was really a meaningful reading and made me rethink many things. The languages in the book were easy and also of great meaning to draw on. How to cite Learning Log, Essays Learning log Free Essays This Viking shield has 4 mirror lines and 4 but It has only two unique mirror lines. (mm) What was the most surprising or interesting fact you learnt from Week 1 lectures (20 – 30 words) (2 marks) The interesting parts are the unique mirror lines and the number rotation angles correspond to which type of shape. It can be expressed in a notation like mm. We will write a custom essay sample on Learning log or any similar topic only for you Order Now Complete at the end of Week 2 Image 2 Describe the symmetrical elements you see in this Japanese embroidery. (20 – 30 words) (2 marks)This image has an asymmetric unit. It is a threefold rotation and there is no mirror line in this picture. Hence, there is no point of symmetry. Can you add anything to your Week 1 description of the Flung shield? Creates the remaining parts of the picture. PART II – Plane (AD) and Space (AD) Symmetry You can’t criticize geometry. It’s never wrong. Paul Rand Period Complete at the end of Week 3 Image 3 Use the formal descriptors of plane symmetry to describe this bathroom tile tessellation. (up to 40 words) (2 marks) This image has a glide line located at any point of the pattern because it has horizontal and vertical mirror line with translation. It has 4 fold tetras which rotates 90 degree. Hence, This image is a poem. How are you now more observant of symmetry in your surroundings? Use examples. (up to 20 words) (2 marks) My perspective about shape has change. For an example when I am look at fancy design, I will analyses what type of plane symmetry and etc. Complete at the end of Week 4 Image 4 The triangle in Image 4 is weird. Was Paul Rand correct – geometry is never wrong? (30 – 40 words) (2 marks) Yes. People have been using geometry to solve various problems such as engineering problems. People may interpret picture differently and give opinion. In my conclusion, it is important how the shape is drawn by the artists. Do you believe the world around us is completely described in AD and AD? (up to 20 words) (2 marks) No. We may encounter more than Just AD and AD in the future as life around the world keeps changing. How to cite Learning log, Essays

Service Marketing of Marriot Hotel-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Service Marketing of Marriot Hotel. Answer: Introduction Marriot Hotel is one of the worlds famous hotel organizations which provide total services of hotels and resorts. The main branch of the hotel is located in Washington DC whereas all its activities are operated in almost 70 countries. This hotel is the perfect example of a total service provider as it has great superiority in delivering service. This hotel is considered as one of the best organization of hotel industry and has been nominated several times by Times and Forbes Magazines. Marriot Hotel has successfully formed and established an organizational culture and structure which totally helps the company to be a service-determined company. It has utilized its effective marketing strategies to establish its brand image and organizational culture. The following essay will show the different components of services provided by the organization and will also show the flowchart of various activities which is operated by the management and by the employees of the hotel. Apart from this, the study will also represent the significance of the service driven company and will also portray the managerial implication analysis. Company overview Marriot Hotel is one of the worlds famous hotel organizations which provide total services of hotels and resorts. The main branch of the hotel is located in Washington DC whereas all its activities are operated in almost 70 countries. This hotel is the perfect example of a total service provider as it has great superiority in delivering service. This hotel is considered as one of the best organization of hotel industry and has been nominated several times by Times and Forbes Magazines. Marriot Hotel has successfully formed and established an organizational culture and structure which totally helps the company to be a service-determined company. It has utilized its effective marketing strategies to establish its brand image and organizational culture. Every service enterprise is distinguished into two main components; these are Front Stage and Back Stage. Front stage activities comprise all the processes and activities which are used to connect with the customers and the clients. Employees operating in the front stage of the organization are perfectly trained about what kind of services should be delivered and even hold appropriate and effective skills to ensure that service providing a structure of the organization is of superior quality and standard (Sekulic and Mandaric, 2013). Whereas, back stage workers deal with the processes which are not directly connected to the clients or customers. For the purpose of delivering effective services, the company should have togetherness and better cooperation in its front stage and back stage operations Flowchart In the following, the flowchart of Marriot Hotel is represented: Figure 1: Flowchart of Marriot Hotel Operations (Vorina and Veljkovic, 2012) The flowchart shown above guides to figure out the service encounters stages among the customers and the employees of hotel management. The portrayed flowchart cover up various operations and activities of the front stage and back stage. Backstage Activities at Marriot Hotel The backstage activities of the Marriot Hotel are processes which are commenced basically by the guidance of support department of the hotel. Back stage workers and staffs are the forerunners of the front stage workers in the hospitality service delivery section. The activities at the back stage are not really shown to customers (Ghose and Mukherjee, 2008). Workers operate at the backstage of the hotel normally do not interact with the customers or clients directly. The back stage of Marriot Hotel involves activities like kitchen services, housekeeping services and hotel safety and security services. Even if the customers or guests do not directly communicate with all these service providers, they are still important to support the front stage activities. As for example, best kitchen services and better housekeeping services are significant for the customers satisfaction at the enterprise. Marketing and sales are also vital because it brings right clients at the hotel door (Jayakanth and Adalarasu, 2016). Front stage Activities at Marriot Hotel The front stage activities at Marriot hotel basically starts with customers actions and with visible workers performances. The primer activities are associated to the front desk of the hotel. Front stage activities include the greeting of the customers with a positive attitude and smile on face, checking them inside, handling their personal stuff and information, inquiries of the customers, rental car services, tourism services and most importantly delivering their luggage in their respective rooms. All these activities are front line actions, occurs between the staff and the customers (Crossgrove, 2013). Every activity at the front desk are all about giving physical proof that makes positive views regarding the hotel services in the customers mind. The front desk workers or staffs sometimes have to manage many complex conditions and also have to do adjustments about their service delivered, for the purpose of bringing the intense situation in control (Ismail, 2011). The front desks activities of the hotel bring wide-ranging operations to workers because they have to perform multitask and even have to manage customers, top management and also other workers. Explanation of significance of the service encounter A service-determined organization always has customer-oriented activities, which basically starts with positive communication between the company and a guest. This communication is basically about gaining respect in the customers mind and views. Providing effective and better services to the guests is actually to derive the positive views of the guests regarding the hotel. Marriot Hotel has to confront many indirect and direct communications with the guests and even with the employees (El-Ansary, 2005). Satisfaction of the customer is considered as the important aspects in order to determine the achievement of the company. Marriot Hotel functions worldwide and has also achieved a brand value, so it is significant for the hotel to maintain that brand value and goodwill of the hotel. The hotel should also handle its front stage activities as well as back stage activities appropriately for ensuring that they have to create the experiences of the services to the customer effectively (Hotel Convention Sales, Services and Operations, 2007). The management of the hotel has to set all these services in a way that it can change the emotional experience of the guests at the time of visiting the hotel premise being a positive one. Every service communication of the hotel is a chance for showing their brand value and global standard. So, every positive experience of the guests has to be established according to the brand value. The hotel should also increase the service activities in communicating with the guests and also knowing their requirements for developing the services of the hotel accordingly. Analysis of managerial implications Marriot Hotel utilizes the above-discussed services in gaining the customers to their fold. A service encounter does not depend on any mathematical calculations and also there are many qualitative aspects encouraging the same (Rama Moahana Rao, 2011). The managerial implications which the encountered services can conduct could directly encourage the market share of the hotel because it has a direct connection with the demand of the customer. This association is vital in the situation of hotel where most standard services matters. As per the facilities, many hotels can be the one or the same, but it is the path to deliver the services which matter largely. It is significant for the managers to allocate different service connections, which the customers will have during their stay in the hotel and should also observe what can affect the satisfaction of the customers in a negative way. The entire management of Marriot should improve their services to assure those consumers are made awar e of the wholeness of the procedure (Hyun and Han, 2010). The encounters with the workers as well as the customers can be utilized through the management for increasing sell on different services which hotel provide. Conclusion From the above study, it has been analyzed that every service enterprises are basically distinguished into two main components; these are Front Stage and Back Stage. Front stage activities comprise of all the processes and activities which are used to connect with the customers and the clients whereas, back stage workers deal with the processes which are not directly connected to the clients or customers. The back stage of Marriot Hotel involves activities like kitchen services and hotel safety and security services. It has been found that Marriot Hotel functions worldwide and also achieved a brand value, so it is significant for the hotel to maintain that brand value and goodwill of the hotel. The hotel should handle its front stage activities as well as back stage activities appropriately for ensuring that they have to create the memorable experiences of the services to the customer effectively. References Crossgrove, P. (2013).Boardroom games. Canada: Influence Publishing. El-Ansary, A. (2005). Relationship Marketing Management.Journal of Relationship Marketing, 4(1-2), pp.43-56. Ghose, A. and Mukherjee, I. (2008).Customer service in hotel industry. Hyderabad, India: Icfai University Press. Hotel Convention Sales, Services and Operations. (2007). Taylor Francis. Hyun, K. and Han, J. (2010). The Influence of Customer Value on Customer Satisfaction and Post-purchase Behavioral Intention in Hotel Service.Jounal of Korea Service Management Society, 11(5), pp.199-216. Ismail, A. (2011). Experience Marketing: An Empirical Investigation.Journal of Relationship Marketing, 10(3), pp.167-201. Jayakanth, S. and Adalarasu, D. (2016). Dimension of Customer Satisfaction in the Hotel Business.Bonfring International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management Science, 6(4), pp.158-165. Rama Moahana Rao, K. (2011). Services marketing. New Delhi: Pearson. Sekulic, D. and Mandaric, M. (2013). Quality of services as a determinant of customer satisfaction in the hotel industry.Marketing, 44(3), pp.231-246. Vorina, A. and Veljkovic, B. (2012). Modern quality management in hotel tourism.Marketing, 43(4), pp.264-269.

How did the media shape Americans perceptions of the Vietnam War

Abstract American presence in Vietnam was due to perceived threat in spread of communism. However, it ended with a terrible defeat of both South Vietnam and America military. Many believe uncensored media contributed due to its influence on public opinion.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on How did the media shape Americans’ perceptions of the Vietnam War? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This paper examines how the media worked in this period and gives a detailed account of the kind of reporting that was experienced. It develops a discussion by invoking historians’ perspectives and input from first hand information in the battle field. Eventually an argument develops that dispute the public perception was due to common myths. Introduction The entry of United States in Vietnam War was to stop the spread of perceived communism threat in Southeast Asia, a premise held under a foreign policy then called domino theory. Some of the influential people in America saw the need for taking military precautions by supporting South Vietnam to prevent spread of communism. Still a section of the Americans did not see any need for US involvement in the war. This group did not see any risk to American interests if Vietnam was to be converted to a communist nation. Further some felt that its involvement stopped the spread of communism to other Southeast Asia countries1. Arguments about the war have never been conclusive. However, one fact that emerges is that the war transformed American society. Some of the changes noted are that leaders must look for Americans approval before engaging in a war in another nation. Secondly people became doubtful of the real intention in their political leaders. At the heart of this war, the media is believed to have shaped the Americans perception about the war. It is reported that in early sixties over 80% homes in America owned a television. Kennedy Pa ra notes further that by 1968, over 68% followed television reports on Vietnam War2. Technology in this moment made it possible for television to film some incidents in the war that forged the public opinion in regard to Vietnam War.Advertising Looking for research paper on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This paper will assess the role media played in Vietnam War. Also an in-depth analysis on the coverage in regards to objectivity will be considered. This research will conclude by discussing other factors other than the media that shaped the public opinion during the war. Media technology before and during the war According to Hallin this war was the first war to be televised. Previous wars like the Korean conflict did not enjoy the same level of television power. Korean War and the World War II though also had military and media working very closely. The media therefore only broadcasted censored inform ation. Another thing, the number of viewers as well as technology level was very limited to make an impact during Korea conflict.3 Other historians also describe the war as the first to come closest to American’s living rooms. Some of the things that people were able to follow include dispatch of soldiers in helicopters. The media had a keen interest on this war and kept a significant number of crew in every minute to cover the incidences. In this period, photojournalism developed certain technological aspects that made it possible to document crucial instances and helped to shape public understanding of the war. Both photojournalism and television formed a mutual influence on the public opinion. Photographers like camera crew members were also on full-time employment by various agencies. News agencies such as united press International and associated press are some of the agencies that had permanent photographers. There were also other freelance photographers who also went t o Vietnam to do some work hoping they could have it broadcasted by any agency. Some of these were not trained but they obtained passes that guaranteed them rights from the military to cover the war. The outcome of having this great number of photographer was an economy of war images about Vietnam War. Most of these images covered dramatic action and spot news4. Media reports on the war Toczek Rosson discussed some of the articles emerging in this period and the nature of their reports. According to them, the terms used by some reporters had threatening words. A particular account of what happened at AP Bac as reported by Halberstam, indicated that the war was a terrible defeat of America.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on How did the media shape Americans’ perceptions of the Vietnam War? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to him the Vietnamese failure was clear from the onset and due to th eir lack of surrender they suffered many casualties5. In another account the two discuss another article in United Press International that depicted Americans as infuriated by the Vietnamese lack of aggressiveness. Different accounts of the events by military commanders are also offered in this discussion. Of particular interest is position held by commanders that the media was giving both false and truthful information about the war. The president at the time also took offense with the media reports on Ap Bac war, claiming that the media was not accurately reporting the event. In addition the media also broadcasted some scenes of suffering and violence. For instance, CBS is said to have televised a Morley Safer report on august 1965, where marines were burning some houses in Cam Ne villages and also reported to have mistreated the villagers6. Other scenes of violence like prisoners being executed during Tet attacks were also televised in a different station. Scenes of suffering lik e a case where civilians were sprayed with bullets being mistaken for troops of North Vietnam by South Vietnam planes were also aired. Media reporting is also said to have changed at some point during the war. This was compelled by audience demand for airing of scenes as they happen on the war front. Previously their shots were on specific scenes as described. The new footage was a risky business for the reporters and tactical changes in coverage were inevitable. Journalist now started to develop doubts about the progress of the war. Reporting now revolved more on the cost in human life that was being experienced in the war. The reasons for these changes emanated from an increased division about the war that was taking place in American society. In Hallins work he discusses research evidence showing who the most trusted news anchor by Americans was in 1972. According to this work, Walter Cronkite was the man most trusted by Americans7.Advertising Looking for research paper on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Whether his influence is real or just a perception, his declaration that America could not win the battle in Vietnam and that the country must find a way out of the battle was followed by both public and political effects. On one hand, opinion polls indicated that majority of the public thought American involvement in Vietnam War was a mistake8. There was also the influence on political leaders who knowing the public was watching these news also believed the time to pull out of the war had come. Discussion What we have so far seen in the literature review is that there is a common believe that the media shaped public opinion. Specific accounts such as comments by famous television anchor Walter Cronkite are seen as instrumental in shaping this opinion. His comments are seen to have marked a climax in the war. It is also said to have had political implication by ending President Lyndon B. Johnson’s political career. A different account of how the press brought about the end of the war is also given as an outcome of press airing South Vietnamese defeat. These defeat aired straight through the media made Americans belief that the war could not be won. It is believed that lack of media censorship in Vietnam is responsible for American and South Vietnam defeat. The military was incensed by their failure to defeat northern Vietnamese communist as a result of both media and political influence9. Many historians dispute the claim that media helped to shape the public opinion. Wyatt added his criticism on the so called press role in Vietnam War. Through his work that included analysis of more than 1,800 articles, he discovered facts that he claims challenges the impression of a press that was so powerfully influential. His findings indicate that the press was not acting as independently as is commonly believed by many. That the military exerted some form of censor on what the press reported. Variations in coverage of similar events also existed that made differe nt people to have different accounts of the war. He also notes that the position of editors in the war also mattered a lot. For instance, those papers that were on government side in the domino theory policy did not challenge official information. As a result readers of the different papers that this work covered, formed different views about the war and also received different pictures of the war. Another claim that Vietnam War was influenced by the media emanates from popularity of television in the period. It is commonly accepted that television powers in shaping American public opinion emerged in middle of 1960s. In this period television was the main news source for a large number of Americans and therefore one of the powerful tools that forged their influence. The truth of this claim is verified by research conducted about what Americans considered as their main source of news, around this time. By the end of Vietnam war in 1972, research depicted that 64% of the public got th eir news from television as compared to 50% of the same public that said their news source are mainly newspapers10. Further research indicated that the public has a stronger trust for television, and that they would take television news as factual in case of a contrast in the media. Two reasons for this trust are given; first is the nature of medium being personal, and the second one the presence of evidence in form of pictures. Evidence is even given by these researches that people prefer television news on war to other medium. Although Hallins argues that it is not necessarily correct to say television has a powerful influence on the public opinion, he concedes it influenced politicians’ perception at the time. Evidence from what was happening in the period of sixties decade, also makes us to believe that there was more to the public opinion than we are commonly made to believe. Revolutions had already started to build in America with women rights groups and youths riots be ing witnessed. Americans were becoming skeptical of their political leaders or better members of the upper class. For instance, hurting them at the time was the fact that the country could withstand hostility in its foreign policy so as to continue exploiting resources from other nations. Movement for the youth calling itself New Lefty emerged in this period and committed itself to fight with discrimination and disparities in the society. Speeches delivered by youthful leaders at this time challenged the American real intention in the Vietnam War. They called for leader to accept defeat and wait for eventuality. This eventuality which is possibility of a communist Vietnam nation, they assumed was a decision of the local there11. Simply these speeches reveal that Americans were feeling that their leaders encroached other nation’s right, and thus violating principles of democracy. Sheehan coverage of the war gives another side of the story. His book which was awarded twice and gives a first hand account of what the perspectives the war took. In his work, readers are confronted with opinions held by some key leaders. Of particular value is John Paul Vann who was an advisor to Saigon regime. He criticized the tactics applied by South Vietnam government as well as some of the commands issued by U.S. military. According to him, some of the tactics employed by the military were counterproductive and therefore hindered realization of the U.S. goals12. What comes out clearly is that his advice in most cases did not make any influence on the military command. As an alternative he used the press corps to air his views and among those who were used is Neil Sheehan. Other journalist who documented the war and its atrocities includes Michael Herr. The journalist kept a day to day record of what was going on in the battle line. He went into the battlefield and demonstrated that it was a careless mistake to sacrifice human lives in this war. His book covers the life of the American soldiers and shows how these men put their lives in danger in that war. His artistic work paints a picture of terror during the war that he and the soldiers had to withstand. He demonstrates how soldiers careless died in the line as fatigue caught up with them making some of them forget basic protection13. Conclusion This paper has discussed several facts. The first one being that America’s decision to go to war was political. Second media was more technologically advanced than previous moment in history. Finally American opinions were also shaped by what they believed. Previous believe was that the media influenced the public perception and contributed to the end of this war. This has been challenged by historical analysts as this paper has demonstrated. Critics of the media especially government and the military as well as some editors complained that some reporters were inexperienced and lacked objectivity. However, from what we have discussed from the histor ian perspectives there is a good reason to believe that this might not be the true position. Furthermore even if this is the case other reasons for public disagreement with the war existed. Americans questioned the real reason for engagement in the war in particular. Therefore, according to evidence gathered in this research there is reason to believe that public opinions depicting American loss of faith in the war were more than it’s commonly believed. Bibliography Anderegg, Michael. Inventing Vietnam: The War in Film and Television. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1991. Braestrup, Peter. Big Story: How the American Press and Television Reported and Interpreted the Crisis Of Tet 1968 in Vietnam And Washington. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1977. Cohen, Steven. Vietnam: Anthology and Guide to a Television History. New York: Alfred A. Knoph, 1983. Fuller, A. James Lawrence, Sondhaus. America, War and Power: Defining the State, 1775-2005. New York: Routledge, 2007. Hallin, Daniel C. The Uncensored War: the Media and Vietnam. University of California Press. 1989. Hallin, Daniel. Vietnam on Television. (nd). 13 Nov 2004. Web. Herr, Michael Robert, Stone. Dispatches. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. Print. Kennedy, Lilian. Photojournalism and the Vietnam War. 12 Aug 2007. Web. Levy, Debbie. The Vietnam War. New York: Twenty-First Century Books, 2004. Print. Potter Paul, â€Å"Name the System† (speech, delivered to protestors to end the war, Washington, March 10-13, 1965). Sheehan, Neil. A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam. New York: Random House Publishing Group, 2009. Print. Toczek, David W. B. Rosson. The Battle of Ap Bac, Vietnam: They Did Everything But Learn from It. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2007. Print. Wyatt, Clarence R. Paper Soldiers: The American Press in Vietnam, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995. Print. Footnotes Debbie Levy. The Vietnam War (New York: Twenty-First Century Books, 200 4). Lilian Kennedy. â€Å"Photojournalism and the Vietnam War,† UCD Website. 2007. Daniel Hallin. â€Å"Vietnam on Television. (nd)†. Museum TV. 2004. Kennedy. â€Å"Photojournalism and the Vietnam War.† 5. David Toczek W. B. Rosson. The Battle of Ap Bac, Vietnam: They Did Everything But Learn from It. (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2007). James Fuller, A. Lawrence Sondhaus. America, War and Power: Defining the State, 1775-2005 (New York: Routledge, 2007). Daniel C. Hallin,. The Uncensored War: the Media and Vietnam (Berkeley: University of California Press. 1989). Peter Braestrup, Big Story: How the American Press and Television Reported and Interpreted the Crisis Of Tet 1968 in Vietnam And Washington (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1977). Clarence R. Wyatt. Paper Soldiers: The American Press in Vietnam (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995). Michael Anderegg, Inventing Vietnam: The War in Film and Television. (Philadelphia, PA: Tem ple University Press, 1991). Paul Potter, â€Å"Name the System† (speech, delivered to protestors to end the war, Washington, March 10-13, 1965). Neil Sheehan. A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam (New York: Random House Publishing Group, 2009). Michael Herr Robert Stone. Dispatches (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009). This research paper on How did the media shape Americans’ perceptions of the Vietnam War? was written and submitted by user Amina Berg to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on In His Steps Book Review

Book Review: In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon is an over all good read, it asks the reader: What would Jesus do? By introducing the phrase ‘What would Jesus do?’ Sheldon asks the reader to reexamine their life. Sheldon has his characters deal with too big dilemmas and not any everyday ones. Sheldon through introducing the phrase ‘What would Jesus do?’ was able to get the reader to rely more on the Holy Spirit and less on themselves. When Charles Sheldon introduced the phrase ‘What would Jesus do?’ he was able to get the reader to look closer at their own life as to how they can fix it. Through the reexamination of the church in the story the reader begins to reexamine themselves. Then the pastor asks the congregation to for one year ask themselves what would Jesus do before they acted on something. This felt as if the preacher in the book was talking directly to the reader. By doing this Sheldon was able to ask the audience if to reexamine their lives and see what they can do to be more like their savior Jesus. By introducing this great question Charles Sheldon started a fad and a great self awakening. Self awakening is when a person realizes that they need to look at their life and change it some how. Charles started a fad of clothing bracelets and such by asking this question but in actual fact that was not his sincerest intention. The question is introduced first by the young man: â€Å" and I kept wondering as I sat on the steps outside just what they meant by it. It seems to me there's an awful lot of trouble in the world that somehow wouldn't exist if all the people who sing such songs went and lived them out. I suppose I don't understand. But what would Jesus do? Is that what you mean by following His steps? It seems to me sometimes as if the people in the big churches had good clothes and nice houses to live in, and money to spend for luxuries, and could go away on sum... Free Essays on In His Steps Book Review Free Essays on In His Steps Book Review Book Review: In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon is an over all good read, it asks the reader: What would Jesus do? By introducing the phrase ‘What would Jesus do?’ Sheldon asks the reader to reexamine their life. Sheldon has his characters deal with too big dilemmas and not any everyday ones. Sheldon through introducing the phrase ‘What would Jesus do?’ was able to get the reader to rely more on the Holy Spirit and less on themselves. When Charles Sheldon introduced the phrase ‘What would Jesus do?’ he was able to get the reader to look closer at their own life as to how they can fix it. Through the reexamination of the church in the story the reader begins to reexamine themselves. Then the pastor asks the congregation to for one year ask themselves what would Jesus do before they acted on something. This felt as if the preacher in the book was talking directly to the reader. By doing this Sheldon was able to ask the audience if to reexamine their lives and see what they can do to be more like their savior Jesus. By introducing this great question Charles Sheldon started a fad and a great self awakening. Self awakening is when a person realizes that they need to look at their life and change it some how. Charles started a fad of clothing bracelets and such by asking this question but in actual fact that was not his sincerest intention. The question is introduced first by the young man: â€Å" and I kept wondering as I sat on the steps outside just what they meant by it. It seems to me there's an awful lot of trouble in the world that somehow wouldn't exist if all the people who sing such songs went and lived them out. I suppose I don't understand. But what would Jesus do? Is that what you mean by following His steps? It seems to me sometimes as if the people in the big churches had good clothes and nice houses to live in, and money to spend for luxuries, and could go away on sum...

European Union Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

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Language Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Language - Research Paper Example The ability to produce a clear and concise meaning of what an individual means to relay allows for the better understanding and by extension relations of the participating individuals (Kennison, 2013). The importance of language to man and the emphasis on its development can be seen by the general portrayal of the past progress that was made from Cave men to the modern man that is seen today. In most instances the cave man is shown as an individual with ability to speak and form clear words and communicates mostly with grunts and gestures in the same manner that an ape for example would do (Kennison, 2013). As man continues to evolve and develop as a species the change is seen not only in the posture (that straightens into an upright position) but in their ability to communicate with one another as well (Fitch, 2010). The emphasis of language as one of the crucial elements of evolution lays the foundation for the argument that it is an important part of the human element and is thus involved in one way or another in daily life and in studies such as the humanities and social sciences (Trask, 2007). However to fully grasp the involvement between language and these studies it is critical to comprehend the key concepts of language such as the various definitions that are available. The understanding of these elements would serve to produce a good depiction of the relationship between these two subjects. Textbook Definition The textbook definition of language can be seen as the simplest manner of explanation for the description of the subject (that is, language). This description aims at cutting across the various sub-topics that arise in this matter and present an accurate representation of the meaning of the word (Kennison, 2013). The text book definition of language in this case can be the use of a complicated system of communication by human beings to relate messages to one another in various manners of forms such as spoken and written word as well as gestures in some cases (Fitch, 2010). A language can be termed as any manner of communication that meets this description and there are a large number of languages of languages that have been developed around the world. However, it should be eminent that the textbook definition of language would not be able to fully assist in the relation of the modern day approach to humanities and social sciences and the subject. It is however important in the progression of one’s understanding of the subject so as matter to allow for a clearer perception of the other available definitions of language (Trask, 2007). It is crucial that one first learns the basics of the topic before delving further into the connection that exists between the studies that have been mentioned and the involvement of language in their development and progression. The further definitions of language can be seen to originate from different viewpoints that have been studies in relation to the topic in an attempt to explain the various fundamentals that govern this subject. Language in Relation to Social Structure The human language can be seen to be unique in a number of aspects that are lacking in other species of animals that populate this planet. This is due to the number of properties that can be found in it when studied closely (Trask, 2007). Some of these include elements such as recursivity, productivity and displacement. These are all elements that are not found in

BUS599 - Integrative Project, Mod 5 Case Assignment Essay

BUS599 - Integrative Project, Mod 5 Case Assignment - Essay Example One Balancing Loop Availability of new workers: This is an example of a balancing loop. In the food market, increasing new workers can be a limiting factor to the growth of the market. Explain each one of these loops - what are the causal factors and how do they affect each other. For the Reinforcing loop, you should look for an area where there is growth and for the Balancing loop, you need to look for goal behavior. Once you have identified and explained these critical feedback loops, you need to identify how Whole Foods Market has generated organizational learning, and how they can go further and generate additional organizational learning. What do they need to do to improve their performance further? Balancing Loop A balancing loop is a situation where a feedback reduces the effects of change in a system. It occurs when an action tries to bring two different things into an agreement or any other situation when one tries to provide a solution for a given problem, achieving a given goal etc. It can also be explained as what moves the systems in the direction of the equilibrium. A balancing loop is said to bring a negative feedback. Reinforcing Loop A reinforcing loop is a case where a feedback increases the effect of a change in a system. ... 20). Causal Factors and how they affect the Balancing and Reinforcing Loops Demand The reinforcing loop will either be determined by demand or by subsidy and all of these can affect the profitability of production of organic food. Whenever the farmers’ profitability is low, the other variables found in the reinforcing loop will automatically decrease and whenever the profitability is high, all the other will consequently increase. Subsidies are usually the biggest determinant in the market since market demand is still low and unreliable. Supply A big supply of raw materials reduces the market prices which will automatically decrease profitability for the whole food farmers, which will obviously discourage them. When there is a low supply, there will be high market prices and also the profitability will be high, a situation which will encourage the farmers to join the market. Market Price When there is a low supply of organic food, there will be a decrease in the demand for org anic food by retailers and this will result few purchases from the consumers. Also the raw material prices will act as a balancing factor by connecting to the price of organic food. The consumer price usually relies on the costs which are added in the whole food chain of distribution. Consumers The food consumers can only buy whole food when they find it to be appealing or attractive to them and this attractiveness of the whole food can be determined by several various factors like the price and the supply. Usually when the price is low and the supply is high coupled with diversity or variety of the organic food will definitely attract the consumers in large numbers. Equally when there is a high price and the supply is less the consumers will be discouraged from buying the organic

Definition Of Change Management As An Organizational Capability Management Essay

Definition Of Change Management As An Organizational Capability Management Essay Able and How, an international management consultancy firm, specialises in helping clients solve their communications, change and people issues. The project saw the light when the group was working on a growth strategy for Rio Tinto . It was then that the group made a recommendation that said that the massive organization needs to have a capability to manage change and adapt itself to the volatile business environments in order to grow by 100% in the next 3 years!!! Problem Definition The tinkering over the recommendations lead the group to question, whether they can create a definition of change management as an organizational capability? If yes, whether there are any reliable and credible ways of assessing and benchmarking the same? The long term goal of the group is to create a sort of ranking system that would rate organizations on their ability to manage change or adapt itself successfully to the changing environments. Search for the Solution It was the combination of challenge, vagueness of the idea and the knowledge of the expertise at Cass, which lead to Able and How coming to Cass and specifically to Veronica Hope Hailey to help with project. Literature Review: The rapid changes in the business ecosystem create pressure on organizations to implement change initiatives to meet the demands of the stakeholders. Of late, the frequency and magnitude of change has increased. If anything one was to look at as a indicator of this, it would be the Fortune 1000 list of companies. The list shows that between 1973 and 1983, 35% of the companies in the top 20 were new, and this has increased to 60% when we compare the figures for years between 1993 and 2003. This indicates that increasingly more businesses are dealing with / managing changes in their organizations to stay ahead. At this point, one pertinent question that comes to our mind is what is change management? Change management, as defined in the Business and Management dictionary, is the coordination of a structured period of transition from situation A to situation B in order to achieve lasting change within an organization. Change management can be of varying scope, from continuous improvement, which involves small ongoing changes to existing processes, to radical and substantial change involving organizational strategy. Change management can be reactive or proactive. It can be instigated in reaction to something in an organizations external environment, for example, in the realms of economics, politics, legislation, or competition, or in reaction to something within the structures, processes, people, and events of the organizations internal environment. As a proactive measure, an organization might undergo change in anticipation of say, unfavourable economic conditions in the future. (Bloomsbury Business Library Business Management Dictionary 2007) Change management is a well-known and respected means to deal with budget cuts, volatile requirements, and other non stationary core reasons for project failures. The definition of change management includes at least four basic aspects: (1) the task of managing change, (2) an area of professional practice, (3) a body of knowledge, and (4) a control mechanism. Change can either be programmatic and planned or can be emergent, driven by unforeseen external events (Carl and et al, 2010). Boomer suggests that both academics and practitioners see change management capability as a strategic advantage and view change as a control mechanism, which typically results from standards, policies and processes. He goes further to define that as a body of knowledge, change management consists of methods, tools and techniques (Boomer 2008) to successfully manage the transition from one state to another. A lot of research work has taken place in this area, especially in the academic world. If one were to search for change management, in the past 20 years, in the business source complete, one could find that there are 2515 results in the category of academic journals out of a total of 4309. Moreover, the importance of the industry can be highlighted by the presence of the number of consulting firms with sophisticated tools and techniques to help clients manage change. However, even recent studies show that approximately 70% of all planned organizational change initiatives fail (Eaton, 2010). This leaves us wondering why The study done by Beer and Eisenstat in 2000, does talk about the top 6 silent killers of a change initaitive. They are Top-down or laissez-faire senior management style Unclear strategy and conflicting priorities An ineffective senior management team Poor vertical communication Poor coordination across functions, businesses or borders Inadequate down-the-line leadership skills and development (Beer and Eisenstat, 2000). A lot has been talked about in the academic literature and in practioners world of the prescriptive way to overcome these issues, however, not much has been done to identify the causal effect of these and the failures of change initiatives thereafter. As identified by Pellettiere, one of the main causes for these failures is the lack of a thorough diagnostic investigation in an organizations readiness and risk for a planned change. By a thorough diagnostic investigation, he intends to include both an external as well as an internal analysis using some form of an assessment to determine the need to change as well as an organizations readiness and risk involved in a planned change. He did identify that organizations have a tendency not to conduct a thorough internal analysis but rather have a propensity to initiate quick-fix solutions, sometimes ignoring the context, when implementing a change initiative (Pellettiere, 2006). As such, there have been numerous efforts to develop a scale to assess an enterprises managerial or organizational capabilities to change. Before we go an talk about a metric, let us try to define an organizations capacity for change. Organizations Capacity to Change When an organization undergoes a change, new organizational solutions have to be decided upon; product programs must be modified; positions must be reallocated; routines and policies must be revised; employees training programs need to be planned and implemented; and so on (Meyer Stensaker 2006). This requires a lot of effort. As such, as highlighted by Meyer and Stensaker (2006), organizations that have a capacity for creating multiple change processes in order to create sustainable change must not only have the ability (resources and capabilities) to change the organization successfully, they must also have capability to maintain daily operations and implement subsequent change processes. They defined change capacity as the allocation and development of change and operational capabilities that sustains long term performance (Meyer Stensaker 2006). An organizations capability in managing change should ensure that change should happen without destroying the well-functioning aspects in an organization or adversely affecting subsequent changes. This requires both capabilities to change in the short and long term as well as capabilities to maintain daily operations (Meyer Stensaker 2006). Gtaetz and Smith define it as a firms ability in initiating, managing and implementing critical changes in organizational structures and development processes (Graetz and Smith, 2005; Self et al., 2007). These refer to a firms ability to launch and implement large scale changes to develop organisational capabilities for rapid adaptation, flexibility and innovation (Graetz and Smith, 2005; Yanni Yan, Ding Mak 2009). This definition of change capability does give us an impression that the capability is a static advantage. It can be set in place by having the right processes and structures. If it is so prescriptive then why does it happen that there are organizations that are better off at changing because of some unknown factors. The answer to this was found in the extension of the RBV and the intersection of the same with change management capability. Savory (2006) attempted at extending the RBV concept and distinguished the terms resource, competence and capability. He defined resources as factors that are owned and controlled by the organization or available through alliances and other external relationships whereas competence is the ability to use the resources to an acceptable level of performance towards a desirable purpose. Further, he defined capabilities as the ability to operate a specific configuration of an organizations set of resources and dynamic capabilities as the ability to reconfigure both the use and coordination of a specific configuration and the development of new configurations of resources, according to changes in the organizations environment and strategic direction (Butler, 2009). Dynamic Capability We know the key ingredients of a successful planned change comprise of leadership, visioning, teamwork and communication, but in dynamic environments on the other hand, change can hardly be planned ex ante in a detailed and distinct manner. The most severe disadvantages of planned change can be seen by large losses in the short-term, a high probability of a relapse, issues coming up as an result of limited foresight, unadjusted takeover of best practice from a different context, ignorance of key contingencies, a possible implementation lag that makes change already outdated before completion and a lack of suitability for large-scale change matters (Weick, 2000; Burnes, 2004). One especially severe drawback for hypercompetitive environments is that planned change represses innovative behaviour and, thus, rejects the important innovators, innovations and adaptive processes for this context (Weick, 2000; Biedenbach SÃ ¶derholm 2008). These drawbacks have encouraged us to think of the proactive, emergent change. Such an approach supports experimentation, is sensitive to local contingencies, open to shortened and tightened feedback loops from results to action, is comprehensible and managable. However, also within emergent change there are some drawbacks such as due to its incremental nature the speed of change which is slow, outcomes might be too small and, thus, more appropriate for exploiting opportunities than countering threats. Weick (2000) suggests that such an emergent change, in general, is most suited for operational level change than a major strategic change, which however can be built up incrementally through smaller emerging changes. Moreover it is because of the diffuse and less focused character of emergent change that it is less likely to deliver a transformational shift (Weick, 2000; Biedenbach SÃ ¶derholm 2008). When we talk about organizational change capacity, it cannot be an activity performed in order to improve operations or products once the change has been implemented. Instead, it is an inherent and continuous ingredient of the firms activities that need to be incorporated as a capacity of regular operations. Organizational change is thus upgraded from being a one-off and unique activity, to a strategic capability of the successful companies in hypercompetitive or turbulent environments (Nadler and Tushman, 1999; Meyer and Stensaker, 2006; Biedenbach SÃ ¶derholm 2008). Flexibility and creativity, as per rhe Mckinsey Quarterly (april 2009), are very important for a successful organizational change. These all lead us to think that there exists some kind of dynamic capabilities in an organization that would enable it to proactively change to the external environment. Teece et al. (1997) define dynamic capabilities as firms ability to integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and external competences to address rapidly changing environments. In other words, independent of the line of business, technology applied or markets served, dynamic capabilities point to the ability to constantly change in order to respond to environmental changes, to overtake competitors and to maintain competitive advantages (Biedenbach SÃ ¶derholm 2008). The dynamic capability is an extension of the static resource based view, which fails to explain firms competitive advantage in changing environments (e.g., Priem Butler, 2001). As a result, Teece and colleagues proposed the dynamic capabilities framework to fill that gap. Teece et al. (1997). It seems that the concept dynamic capabilities was the one most suited for developing a theory on organizational capacity to change because of the focus of the theory on the organizational processes that enable growth and adaptation in changing environments (Eisenhardt and Martin, 2000; Teece et al., 1997). Moreover, such capabilities are grounded in organizational learning and managerial capabilities, the former, because organizational learning both leads to dynamic capabilities and is a dynamic capability (Zollo and Winter, 2002) and the latter as managers play crucial roles in developing organizational capabilities (Teece et al., 1997). The dynamic capabilities have actually taken up a strategic stage and subjugated the operational capabilities as zerolevel capabilities, being the how we earn a living now capabilities (Winter, 2003; Dixon, Meyer Day, 2010). Organization Capability for Change When we talk of a construct that would enable us to measure an organizations capacity to proactively change, one is lured to think of 3 antecedents, viz. organizational ambidexterity, environmental uncertainty and relative performance. Ambidexterity, which means doing 2 things at the same time, when extended to an organizational context, refers to the ability of organizations to achieve alignment in their current operations while also adapting effectively to changing environmental demands (Gibson and Birkinshaw, 2004). As conceptualized by Ghoshal and Bartlett (1994) ambidexterity builds on the 4 interdependent attributes, which are discipline, stretch, support, and trust. Discipline encourages individuals to voluntarily strive to meet all expectations generated by their explicit or implicit commitments. Stretch tempts members to voluntarily strive for more, rather than less, ambitious objectives. Support refers to the collective action of members to lend assistance and countenance to others. Finally, trust induces members to rely on the commitments of each other (Gibson and Birkinshaw, 2004). They argued that an organization needs to foster discipline and stretch to encourage individuals to push for ambitious goals, but it also needs support and trust to ensure that this happens within a cooperative environment. In terms of the yin and yang of continuous self-renewal (Ghoshal Bartlett, 1997): a balance between a pair of hard elements (discipline and stretch) and a pair of soft elements (support and trust) (Gibson and Birkinshaw, 2004). To understand the meaning of environmental uncertainty, another antecedent to the change capability, we need take each word at a time. Uncertainty, which is defined as an individuals perceived inability to predict something accurately because he/she perceives himself/herself to be lacking sufficient information to predict accurately or because he/she feels unable to discriminate between relevant data and irrelevant data (Gifford, Bobbitt, Slocum, 1979). The word environmental when attached to the term uncertainty, suggests that the source of the uncertainty is the organizations external environment. This uncertainty stems from the components of the environment (e,g, suppliers, competitors, government, distributors, consumers, etc) in which a company operates. Milliken (1987) said that the decision makers need to not only understand the particular source of environmental uncertainty, but also understand the type of environmental uncertainty. While specifying the source of uncertainty he refers to the domain of the environment which the decision maker is uncertain about (eg. competitors or suppliers). The type of uncertainty focuses on delineating the nature of the uncertainty being experienced. This could of 3 types, State uncertainty, Effect Uncertainty and Response uncertainty. State uncertainty refers to the inability in understanding how components of the environment might be changing. Effect uncertainty is defined as an inability to predict the nature of the impact of a future state of the environment on the organization. Response uncertaintys definition acknowledges the lack of knowledge of response options and/or the inability to predict the likely consequences of a response choice (Milliken, 1987). One of the reasons to construct a scale to measure an organizations capacity to change is to help the firm gain a competitive edge. This would mean superior performance. A firms performance depends on its strategy, but as per Bourgeois, (1980) the lack of consensus on means is more troublesome than disagreement on ends (final strategy). Also, a firms performance is affected by its organizational structures (centralised or decentralised), adaptive entities and decision problems (decomposable or non -decomposable) (Siggelkow and Levinthal, 2003). Based on the aforementioned 3 concepts, a new dynamic capability called organizational capacity for change (hereinafter referred to as OCC) was developed by Judge and Elenkov (2005). They conceptualize OCC as a dynamic organizational capability that allows the enterprise to adapt old capabilities to new threats and opportunities, as well as create new capabilities. More specifically, it is defined as the dynamic resource bundle comprised of effective human capital at varying levels of a business unit, with cultural predispositions toward innovation and accountability, and organizational systems that facilitate organizational change and transformation (Judge et al., 2009). OCC is defined as a meta-capability that enables an enterprise to regain or remain competitive with other enterprises through effective leadership, adaptive cultures, resilient employees, and an organizational infrastructure conducive to change. As suggested, it is different from Cohen and Leventhals (1990) absorptive capacity. Absorptive capacity focuses exclusively on organizational routines and processes while OCC focuses not only on the organizational routines and processes but also takes into account leadership talent and employee attitudes (Zahra and George 2002; Judge et al., 2009). Another construct that comes close to the OCC is the organizational readiness for change (Armenakis, Harris and Mossholder 1993),as both constructs deal with the organizations receptivity to change and organizational resilience. However, organizational readiness for change is focused exclusively on employee attitudes toward change, while OCC examines employee attitudes, leadership capabilities, and organizational infrastructure for bringing about change. In essence, OCC presents a comprehensive and as such, OCC is a bigger and more encompassing concept than absorptive capacity or organizational readiness for change (Judge et al., 2009). Having defined the Organization Capacity for Change, lets see how this has been developed as a construct in the organizational sciences that can be used by executives to prepare for and enhance their organizational change process, or for scholars to study the organizational change process. Building Blocks of the OCC Construct The construct was developed by an inductive process of assessing the works of several academics and practitioners in the area of organizational change over a period of 20 years. The construct has defined eight distinct but inter-related dimensions relating to the issues of human capabilities, formal organizational systems/processes and informal organizational culture (Judge and Douglas, 2009)*. [An earlier version of this paper was accepted for the 2006 Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings for the Organization Development and Change Division.] [Insert the pic here] Sl. No. Dimension of OCC What does it mean? Referred Work 1 Trustworthy leadership Ability of senior executives to earn the trust of the rest of the organization and to show organizational members the way to meet its collective goals (Barney and Hansen, 1994) 2 Trusting followers Ability of the non-executive employees to constructively dissent with and/or willingly follow a new path advocated by its senior executives (Kelley, 1992) 3 Capable champions An ability of an organization to attract, retain, and empower change leaders to evolve and emerge (Kanter, 1983) 4 Involved mid-management The ability of middle managers to effectively link senior executives with the rest of the organization (Floyd and Wooldridge, 1996) 5 Innovative culture The ability of the organization to establish norms of innovation and encourage innovative activity (Kotter and Heskett, 1992) 6 Accountable culture Ability of the organization to carefully steward resources and successfully meet pre-determined deadlines (Ulrich et al., 1999) 7 Effective communication The ability of the organization to communicate vertically, horizontally, and with customers (Oshry, 1996) 8 Systems thinking The ability of the organization to focus on root causes and recognize the interdependencies within and outside the organizational boundaries (Kilmann, 1991) Not only have Judge and Douglas (2009) designed the construct, interestingly they have found significantly positive relationship between OCC and financial performance of companies. This co-relation lends support to the contention that OCC is a strategically important organizational capability, and that it may be a source of competitive advantage. This capability assumes all the more importance when the perceived environment uncertainty is high (Judge and Douglas, 2009). Judge and Douglas (2009) have attempted to make OCC construct as robust and relevant as possible by refining it while surveying 3,725 employees within 161 organizational units in a wide variety of industries during the period of 1999-2005. While they do intend to help leaders in one of the most difficult aspects of leading organizational change initiatives, which is the ability to diagnose and develop the organizations capacity for change (Bossidy and Charan, 2002), their study is not void of shortcomings. Neither does it take into account the size of the change nor does it measure the effects of the specific nature of the environment changes. The study is not free of regional bias, as all the findings are validated in a North American context. Moreover the construct has references to studies that are out-dated, the oldest one done in 1983. A lot of research has been taken place in each of the dimensions in the recent years. It will be worth exploring / expanding the ideas of the construct in the light of latest works. New findings Trustworthy Leadership: The construct talks about trustworthy leadership, but it will be worth understanding what attributes make leadership trustworthy. Ingenhoff and Sommer (2010) identified the 4 different dimensions that influence the degree of overall of trust, namely ability, integrity, benevolence, and information quality. They also identified trust as being significantly important for a companys ongoing success, as it strengthens the long-term relationship between stakeholders and the company (Ingenhoff and Sommer, 2010). Trust, which is correlated with greater information sharing, has been identified to reduce transaction costs. It is unique as a governance mechanism and also creates value in the exchange relationship (Dyer and Chu, 2003). Croonen, 2010, through his studies strengthened the findings of Brockner and Siegel, 1996; Krishnan et al. 2006; Mishra and Spreitzer, 1998 who have considered fairness as an important element of trust and says that it should be shown more often. Trusting followers: When subordinates trust their managers, they are willing to provide benefits in the form of extra effort toward job performance and OCB and should have more favourable attitudes toward the exchange relationship and be more willing to maintain it (Dirks Ferrin, 2002; Konovsky Pugh, 1994; Mayer Gavin, 2005). Every leaders top priority should be to establish trusting relationships in order to drive productive working environments, as a study by the Institute for Organizational Performance has revealed that trust alone predicts 46% of the difference between low and high performers (Mercurio, 2005). For this, it is not only sufficient for senior managers to be able to demonstrate that they are trustworthy, but also they have to trust their subordinates. Such trust-building practices involve exchange of information and the empowerment of employees (Cummings, 1983; Deluga, 1994; Folger Konovsky, 1989; Whitener, 1997). This does puts the manager in a more vulnerable position and organizations should help managers learn to use these procedures wisely (Brower et.al, 2009). It has been identified that effective followers play significant roles in fostering leadership and organizational effectiveness. Trusting followers leads to very effective employees, but requires the leaders put forth leadership over their specific area of work and requires honest upward communication. Such followers need to be dependent, loyal and co-operative (Agho, 2009). Capable Champions When we talk of capable champions, what skills and abilities are we referring to? In his book, The Change of Champions Field guide: Strategies and Tools for Leading Change in the New Era, Ulrich says that the winners in turbulent times will be the ones who are good at understanding the environmental and technological contingencies and leveraging them to the advantage of the organizational performance and excellence. It has been found that good change managers are very good at envisioning. They can see the future they want to create, the short and long-term wins they want to achieve. They are completely aware of the dynamics involved in developing adaptability, team-learning and responsiveness within the organization to achieve the desired win (Khan, 2006). We all know that change in an organization takes in 3 phases and each phase requires specialized skills. The table below gives a summary of same and has been adapted from the study done by Warrick, 2009 and the book Exploring Strategic Change by Veronica Hope Hailey and Julia Balogun (2008). [Refer to book by Veronica .. ] Stage of Change Role played by the Change Champion Skills Needed Mobilise Initiating Developing a change mindset Providing visionary leadership Involving key stakeholders and building commitment Well informed and cognizant of the issues and opportunities and knows how to get things done Move Facilitating Working with teams Working with people Networking and getting the right people together Sustain Implementing Planning and managing the change process Making things happen Motivating people Developing feedback mechanism to evaluate and monitor progress Persevering until the change succeeds (Warrick, 2009) For a successful change, change champions are required to create a creative culture, manage diversity, empower employees, maintaining organizational integrity, establish a just and fair reward system, create an environment of trust and inclusion that will really empower leaders and proponents of change to deal with any change process. Some additional skills are the use of appreciative enquiry, intuition and creativity (Khan, 2006; Warrick 2009). Involved Mid Management When we talk about line managers, researchers say that they can be of 2 types, the realists and the humanists. Realists are goal orientated and focus on getting things done, which includes things like developing a plan and a budget for the work and ensuring that the deadlines will be hit. On the other hand humanists, as the name suggests, focus on the people aspects-for example, making sure everybody understands and is committed to the plan, and figuring out how to handle any resistance to the plan (Axelrod, 2007). Axelrod (2007) further suggests that to get things done in an organization, one needs to bring together both the perspectives in his / her thought process and make it an all encompassing approach by moving beyond the usual suspects to include people who care about or stand to be affected by the initiative, people with relevant knowledge and expertise, and people whose authority is touched by the work. All change efforts need some element of fresh thinking and ways to overcome resistance. It has been found that innovative solutions can be obtained by including people with diverse points of view. Also, by bringing resisters, detractors, and other troublemakers onboard, one can reduce the resistance as it reduces the chance of stirring up trouble and distrust from the outside and might even convert the detractor to an instrumental team member (Axelrod, 2007). Axelrod has suggested some steps, for an involved middle management in a change effort. They are Keep the vision for the project front and center. Remind people whats going to be different as a result of your collective efforts. Give them regular progress reports about whats been achieved so far. Listen and value to the subordinates inputs. Communicate and celebrate the closure is very important too. (Axelrod, 2007). Innovative Culture Change is intended, amongst other reasons, to foster innovation and as suggested by Judge et.al. (2009), it also is one of the pillars that supports and organizations capacity to change. How do we foster innovation in an organization? The answer lay in leaders ability in fostering and developing innovation among their followers by having a vision and mission that encourage ideas from their workforce and actively seeks input from all departments and across all levels. It means giving followers the freedom to make decisions. This act enables employees to try out new ideas in a conducive environment and challenge themselves with a new way of thinking. With the ability to add to the work process, employees will begin interacting in a way that supports innovative ideas and influences the future of the business. It has been prescribed that with proper leadership training, accountability, and daily communication about leaderships responsibilities to foster creativity and trust, mid-level managers can rise to the standards necessary to inspire innovation and grow the next generation of innovative leaders (Agin and Gibson, 2010). When we talk about a culture, what would attributes would define an innovative culture? Daniels, 2010, discovered that innovative workplaces share six cultural characteristics. They are Dimension Meaning Context rich Information feed innovation. It would lead to a culture which ensures free-flowing communication so that innovators can draw on a rich background and perspective. Customer close Key to innovation lies at

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Georgia Phinn Tommie Byrd ENG 101 November 23, 2013 Domestic Violence Against Children What is domestic violence? According to the Minnesota Statue 5181B.01, Domestic Abuse Act, defines domestic violence as willfully causing physical and bodily harm, assault and infliction of fear against a family member or partner within a household (Jau, Lina, 1998). Domestic violence is a serious societal issue and it does not matter the age, the ethnic background, or economic status of that family. This paper will explore the causes and effects of domestic violence against children and the impact on a child’s development through to adulthood and what can be done to rectify this societal issue. There are numerous causes of domestic violence against children. One of a main cause is excessive consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs by an adult within the family as a factor in provoking violent and aggressive behavior towards children. A terrifying case and point is the trial of Eric Pratt. According to â€Å"Lasting Wounds For Everyone But The Batterer† (2000), Eric Pratt was sentenced 10 to 30 years for throwing his 2 year old daughter in a brick wall, knocking her unconscious and using his fist to knock out his daughter’s mother due to drug and alcohol induced fit of rage. One of the saddest part of this case is he was in complete denial at his arraignment. After investigations, it was discovered that Eric Pratt had a drug problem and the mother was aware of this problem and refused to leave the relationship. Another major cause of domestic violence against children is the high risk violent environment in which a child resides. For example in Eric Pratt’s trial case, his wife Massie was aware of Pratt abusing alcohol and ... ... to domestic violence. The abusers need to be held accountable to the full extent of the law for their actions. Library Database Jau, Lina. "What is Domestic Violence?" Asian Pages: 11. Nov 14 1998. ProQuest. Web. 22 Nov. 2013 . Milloy, Courtland. "Lasting Wounds for Everyone but the Batterer." The Washington Post: 0. Mar 22 2000. ProQuest. Web. 23 Nov. 2013 . Shah, Nirvi. "Childhood Violence; 'National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence'." Education Week 22 May 2013: 5. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. McCarthy, John, and Angela Alsobrooks. "The Invisible Victims of Domestic Violence." The Washington PostFeb 17 2013. ProQuest. Web. 16 Nov. 2013 . Glazer, Sarah. "Violence Against Women." CQ Researcher 26 Feb. 1993: 169-92. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. Mantel, Barbara. "Domestic Violence." CQ Researcher 15 Nov. 2013: 981-1004. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.

The models For Organizational Diagnosis

Organizations undertake a diagnosis of their operation for purposes of checking the effectiveness and efficiency of their work processes. It is because they owe it to their stakeholders, stockholders and other interest groups to assure that their needs and expectations are met. When an organization is regularly checked and diagnosed, problems can be pinpointed and resolved and/or anticipated and avoided. Diagnosis and evaluation of the operation and management of an organization can pave the way for initiatives and innovations towards change and the betterment of the company.The different types of organizational diagnostic models are: Force Field Analysis: This model is a simple method designed by Kurt Lewin in 1951. It takes into consideration the two major forces affecting an organization: the restraining forces that are borne from the limitations of the company; and, the driving forces that are borne out of the effective and positive characteristics of the organization. In applyin g this diagnostic method, the desired balance in enhancing the driving forces to counter the restraining forces will be achieved.Leavitt’s Model This diagnostic tool model desgined by H. J. Leavitt in 1967 looks into the contributing variables in an organization. These variables are the tasks performed; the structure designed; the technology implemented and the human resources available.What this model checks are the changes in any and each of the variables and how they affect each other. In diagnosing an organization using this will pinpoint effectiveness of change that will benefit all the variables. Likert System Analysis R.Likert designed a diagnosis model in 1967 that addresses the motivation; communication; interaction; decision making; goal setting; control and performance aspects of an organization. These aspects of an organization are reflected in four different management systems such are the exploitative-authoritative type; the benevolent-authoritative type; the co nsultative type; and the participative group type. This model uses the questionnaire tool to assess an across the board opinion among the employees, thus, a true consensus can be derived at and better analyzed as the responses are graphed and plotted to see trends and transitions.Open Systems Theory Organizations are deemed to be a social entity and the open systems theory greatly considers the feedback from its environment and outside factors. This diagnostic model considers inputs; throughputs; outputs and renewed inputs in and out of the organization to achieve the desired dynamics towards efficiency. In diagnosing through the open systems theory, the organization has a wider leverage to really see the finer details of its function in the inside and in the outside that will lead to a more comprehensive identification of more factors towards change.Weisbord’s Six-Box Model This model as designed in 1976 by Weisbord outlines the categories in an organization that must be dia gnosed: its purposes; structures; relationships; leadership; rewards and helpful mechanisms. Everything that work and play around those categories must be identified and congruently be evaluated towards initiated and innovative, appropriate change. This will identify the â€Å"what is† aspect of the categories and then arrive at â€Å"what should be†. In applying this model, an organization can profoundly dissect its functions thru the very pinpointed questions to be asked.The Congruence Model for Organization Analysis This model is a dynamic combination of the principle of the Open Systems Theory; the Leavitt System Analysis and the Weisbord Six-Box Model. Nadler-Tushman developed this analytical method with the assumption that organizations are dynamic entities operating within a wider environment outside of its confines and that there are behaviors among its employees as individual and groups that transpire and interact and transact.This model is remarkable because it zeroes-in into the aspects of the functions in the organization in terms of whether they fit or they do not fit. It is a model that analyzes relevance and congruence in the interaction of the functions. McKinsey 7S Framework Within the framework of an organization as what the McKinsey Consultants identified in 1981 are the â€Å"7-S† that interact: style; staff; systems; strategy; structure; skills; shared values. These variables are illustrated as cells and molecules which makes them interdependent with each other.The framework therefore rationalizes that to achieve efficiency in an organization, all of those variables must be simultaneously, equally efficient. Any change on any of the variable must correlate with a change in the others. The benefit of using this model is that any initiatives towards change will be reflected in each and every variable of the organization and not just on only one. Tichy’s Technical Political Cultural (TPC) Framework This is a model that further analyzes the environment an organization is in, together with its history.It was designed in 1983. In this diagnosis, the cultural, political and technical dynamics of the organization are identified. The merit of this model is that it considers diagnosing to be very specific about every â€Å"strand† of the organization’s political, cultural and technical dynamics that they should be aligned, managed congruently for the organization to be efficient. High-Performance Programming This diagnostic model adopted the Likert System Analysis to work on the four levels in the organization.Level 1 is identified as the reactive level. The responsive level is the 2nd level. The 3rd level is the proactive level and the 4th is the high-performance level. It was in 1984 that Nelson and Burns designed this model to enable organizations to plan the right interventions towards the necessary transformation. Utilizing this model will enable an organization to truly empower e very individual in its employ that will lead to growth and development. Diagnosing Individual and Group BehaviorThis model specifically focuses on the individual behavior of employees in the organization. M. I. Harrison used in1987 the principles of the Open Systems theory in designing this model. This model takes into account the variable transpiring on the organizational level; the variables on the group level and the variables on the individual level. The distinctive premise of this model that is remarkable is that it considers the quality work life of employees. The Burke-Litwin Model of Organizational Performance & ChangeBurke-Litwin developed this diagnostic model in 1990, thus this is more modern method. This diagnosis process covers the 12 theoretical variables; the consideration of the variable effect of the climate and culture of an organization; the distinction between transactional and transformational dynamics of the organization; and, the specification of the nature an d direction of the effect of the variables. This diagnosis model is the most comprehensive method that will truly define an organization. A. T. &T. (merged with BellSouth Corporation)Going two notches higher because of its year 2008 revenue performance at US$124 billion –A. T. &T. ranked No. 8 amongst Fortune top 500 global companies. This is higher by 4. 3% from its 2007 revenue earnings. 2008 Profits is US$12 billion. Based in Dallas, Texas, A. T. &T. merged with BellSouth in the year 2006. At close of the last trading hour of the last trading day for the week, April 24, 2009 positioned A. T. &T. stock at US$. 25. 22 per share. At more than 100 years of corporate existence, A. T. &T.is the world’s largest communications holding company with most advanced, most innovative, most comprehensive telecommunication services from telephones, to internet, to multimedia services, to entertainment solutions meeting individual to multinational business needs of its 77 million cu stomers.Its research and development laboratories are the most advanced facilities in modern day technology. The leadership it has etched in telecommunication is due to the groundbreaking initiatives in innovations and inventions. Its technological advancements have merited seven Nobel Prizes and thousands of patents all over the world.A. T. &T. sustains its corporate governance by solidifying six strategic focus areas: through their commitments to the betterment of communities; through their meritorious investment in people; through their leadership with integrity, ethics and responsibility; through their environmental concerns for sustainable protection; through their efficient networking with people, businesses and customers; and through their consistently innovating technology. A. T. &T. has more than 300,000 employees worldwide. The career and work environment that the company offers its employees is holistic and comprehensive.Employees have a track opportunity to grow. They ar e made to be involved with the company’s advocacies. They receive above industry standard benefits and privileges. They are continually educated and trained. They dwell within the spirit of true teamwork and concern like a family.Due to the comprehensive global operation and services, the Burke-Litwin diagnostic model will dynamically ensure that continuity and sustainability of the excellence position and prestige that A. T. &T. pursues in the industry. The Burke-Litwin model has the tools and mechanics to analyze the very wide external environment of A.T&T.The many executive positions in the company together with its thousands of employees mandate a more astute conduct of interrelationship behavior plus a unifying culture, a conducive work climate and the alignment of skills, job and performance matching.The mission and strategy of the company together with its management practices can be very well checked by this model, together with the structure of the functions and the system of policies. A complex and dynamic A. T&T. will thrive further and better if they check and balance their organization with the Burke-Litwin model.References:Falletta, S.V., Ed.D.,   â€Å"Organizational Diagnostic Models:   A Review & Synthesis†. 2005. http://www.leadersphere.com/img/Orgmodels.pdf. â€Å"Fortune 500 of 2009† Fortune Magazine. CNNMone.com. http://www.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2009/full_list/. A.T.&T. Corporate Profile http://www.att.com/gen/investor-relations?pid=5711.