Do something that I have never done before Essay

hen I heard that the professor asked us to do something that we have never done before, I got excited at the moment. It made me feel like I got a good reason and opportunity to try something special. I took something really crazy such as skydiving or boarding into my consideration in the first. Afterward, a flash of idea came upon while I was talking about cooking with my friend; I wanted to cook lobster, a live lobster. I watched a famous TV show named â€Å"Take home chef† before, which is a show that basically teaching people how to cook. I watched one episode that was teaching people how to cook a live lobster. I dimly remember that the whole procedure to cope with live lobster was quite challenged for me. First of all, I have rarely cooked. Furthermore, I have never purposely taken any live of any creature before! After making the decision, I started to search information and some videos, which show people how to deal with live lobster, and also some recipes for cooking lobster cuisine. I chose the backed way to make my first lobster dish, which seemed easy but not as boring as the one just simply steam it. And in general, there are three ways to kill lobster. First, freeze it to death; second, boil it; the last, do bloodletting until it die. I picked the most friendly and the fastest way for the beginner, which is boiling. To get live lobster, my friend and I went to Redondo Pier. In that pier, you can get all kinds of fresh seafood that people come to their mind. I saw approximately twenty to thirty lobsters lively swinging their claws and legs in the pool; suddenly, somehow I felt a bit guilty and scary I would kill these lives in person later. Having both nervousness and excitement, we drove back home and got ready to be a lobster killer for the very first time in my life. When I took of the lobsters from the bag, they were still moving their claws and legs. â€Å"Don’t you really dare to kill me by your own hand? † I felt the lobsters were trying to deliver this warming with their staring eyes. I was afraid that I would be gripped by its claws so that I didn’t dare to cut the ties that bound its claws. I directly put them into the boiled water. The first few minutes, the lobsters were still moving. I suddenly thought of the recipe says that lobster doesn’t feel pain and will be dead in ten seconds; however, it may keep moving because of  muscle spasms. This made me feel more creepy while seeing them moving and gradually stopping in the boiled pot. After around five minutes, I pulled it from the water and submerged it into ice water to cool it. Then, here came another tough part: splitting its head from the body and then cutting the body into two pieces. I carefully follow the instruction from the recipe to cut the lobsters from the top to the base of its tails. I felt accomplishment when I successfully split them into pieces. Afterward, I spread butter, pepper and lemon juice on it; and the last step was put them into the oven. After waiting nervously for eighteen minutes, an aromatic backed lobster cuisine came out. This was my very first time to cook all by myself, and the tough thing was that I had to deal with the lobsters, which were still alive. Though the procedure was a bit hard for me as a beginner of cook, I still enjoyed this experience. Above all, I had a delicious lobster cuisine for a dinner, and got a great accomplishment for that.

Management and Golden Rule

At work, we should always be aware of the ones that do not appear to be ethical with decisions made for the company. Golden Rule 1 Samuel 19:1-3: How does Jonathan live by the Golden Rule in disclosing this information to David? Saul is on the hunt to kill David, but Jonathan, the son of Saul, is very fond of David. So Jonathan tells David about the plan and tells him to go hide. Jonathan Is living by the Golden Rule by telling Jonathan of the plan, because he feels that he should warn Jonathan as he would Like the same done to him if the tables were turned.In the working place, you should always show your coworkers respect and you would want the same In return. Causes Significant Harm Samuel 16:1-3: Does Samuel have a duty to disclose this Information to Saul? If not, why? No Samuel does not have a duty to disclose this information, because the Lord, the most high, has asked him to do this. The Lord is the highest leader and his rules should be followed. Sometimes you are asked to f ulfill a task at work in confidence.When asked by the team leader, rules should be followed. Chapter Eleven 1. Human Dignity Isaiah 58:3: Why doesn't God hear the prayers of these managers? God doesn't hear the prayers of these managers because they are fasting, but the fasting ends with arguments and fist fights among each other. They cannot expect to be rewarded for these things. Getting along with each other In the office Is essential to get the Job done. One cannot be rewarded when each other cannot get along. 2.Reciprocity Daniel 2:48-49, 6:1-4: Why is Daniel promoted? What admirable characteristics does he display? Daniel was promoted by the King because he was able to interpret his dream. The dream was interpreted correctly, and the King promoted him. Daniel displays dignity and loyalty to the king and all of its wise men. Being loyal to your am members promotes dignity and trust among the workplace. 3. Servant Leadership Mathew 20:24-28: What are the primary characteristics of Jesus' view of leadership?His primary characteristic view is servant leadership. Leadership is based on power and self-interest. Authority is not an avenue for self-promotion but should be used to serve others. Being a leader you should still have respect for your team. 4. Gift Recognition Acts 6:1-6: Why are these seven men chosen to become early church leaders? These seven were chosen because they were spiritual and full of wisdom. These leaders

Mgt100

It has been argued that, while difficult, organisational culture can be changed. Do you agree? Why or why not? There are many things that it is difficult for organisations culture can be changed. Organisation culture is talking about share values, principles, tradition and ways of doing things. However it influence the ways organisation members act. There are some academic journals and books talk about organisation culture and how could it be change. 1. GR Jones (2007) Organizational theory, design, and change 2.Taylor & Francis (2012) TQM and organisational culture reference to http://www. tandfonline. com/doi/abs/10. 1080/14783363. 2012. 647847 3. CK Lee, B Tan†¦(2008) The impact of organisational culture and learning on innovation performance http://inderscience. metapress. com/content/6334164r472up141/ WebQuest Activity 4 Use your referencing guide to find 10 mistakes in the following paragraph and reference list. Superscript numbers indicate approximately where the mistakes are. One has been done for you.It is difficult to derive a simple meaning of culture and many texts on the subject open their discussions with a range of definitions (Linstead, Fulop, & Lilley, 2009 and Taylor, 2004). For example: Culture refers to â€Å"a complex set of values, beliefs, assumptions, and symbols that define the way in which a firm conducts its business† (Barney, 1986) and many authors follow similar variations on the theme of â€Å"shared values† (Robbins, Millet, & Waters-Marsh, 2008 and Schermerhorn Jr, et al. , 2011) .Organisational culture is not the same as national culture which can sometimes work against the values an organisation is trying to encourage (Gerhart, 2009). References Barney, J. B. (1986). Organizational culture: can it be a source of sustained competitive advantage? Academy of Management Review, 11 (3), 656-665. Gerhart, B. (2009). How much does national culture constrain organizational culture? Management & Organization Review, 5 (2), 241-259. Linstead, S. , Fulop, L. , & Lilley, S. (2009). Management & Organization: A Critical Text.Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Robbins, S. , Millet, B. , & Waters-Marsh, T. (2008). Organisational behaviour (5th ed. ): Pearson Education Australia. Schermerhorn Jr, J. R. , et al. (2011). Management (4th Asia-Pacific ed. ). Milton, Qld: John Wiley & Sons Australia. Taylor, C. (2004). Leveraging corporate culture to build corporate performance. Sydney. ANSWERS 1. The word â€Å"for example† should put after full stop like as above 2. Semi colon should be used instead of ‘and’ 3. Not necessary to put ‘for example’ in parentheses 4.The list has the heading References 5. The references list should be start a new page 6. The publisher of the book has to be mentioned at the last, put a colon after the publication place instead of a full stop. 7. Single quotation should be used instead of â€Å"double quotation† 8. The author name should be in normal form not Italic form 9. All the authors should be mentioned instead of putting ‘et al’ if the book has 6 or 7 authors, otherwise ignore the ‘et al’ if it is written only by one author. 10. The location of the publication should be mentioned.

Marketing Creativity - Idea Trends Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Marketing Creativity - Idea Trends - Essay Example Idea trends are critical in the business world because they form the heart of any business. This is usually regardless of what stage of development the business has reached. New businesses need idea trends in order to help the entrepreneur become enthusiastic about his business venture. Idea trends have the ability to change into business ideas if they are channeled in the right direction. It is also important for the already established business owner poor marketer because it adds some spice into the running parts of the business. After identifying an idea trend, business owners need to come up with a name for the idea trend. This is because it will allow the future business owner to describe his views using this name. It ill also be instrumental in trying to access some sort of financing for the project or business. Before one can convince another individual about their idea, they need to first give it a form of identification first. Thereafter, there is a need to put all these creative ideas into writing. Business owners need to organize their idea trends in the form of a business plan. If one expects to catch the attention of any investor, they need to place their idea trends in this format. Thereafter, an entrepreneur needs to ask themselves how they can start up a business on the basis of that idea trend. Some of the issues that need to be addressed include finance. It may take a while before a new business starts picking up or returning some sort of payback to the investor. It is therefore important for such a person to ensure that they stay ahead by getting the necessary finances before starting the business. Furthermore, some countries may have some regulations about how they conduct business. These legal formalities must be checked and implemented before an idea trend can be generated into a thriving business. 2 Once the business is up and running, it id wise for the entrepreneur to ensure that he shares his passion and vision about his idea trend to his business partners and employees. Additionally, he should also ensure that the product or service he makes out of the idea trend is something that the market can be interested in. Besides these, entrepreneurs should also manage their finances wisely. If the idea trend will require too much capital input beyond his or her capability, then there is no use implementing it in the first place. More and more people fail to transform idea trends into thriving businesses because they fail to address one or all of the following requirements. Identification of a specific idea trend The idea trend that will be studied in the essay below is the issue of renewable energy especially in relation to homes. There are many countries throughout the world that have expressed their interest in the issue of renewable energy. The world has become increasingly careful about their energy expenditures. Governments have realized that thy need to employ energy sustainability if there is any hope of managing their finances or maintaining resources for the future generation. Statistics show that The United States is the highest oil consumer in the world. This means that the State is spending much more than it should. Some of the major reasons why renewable energy has become a worrying issue and hence the potential to become an idea trend can be seen below 1) Using non-renewable energy is a burden to the local oil consumer 2) Using non-renewa

Music for the Stage (Wagner-Die Walkre) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Music for the Stage (Wagner-Die Walkre) - Essay Example Every author who have studied this work have noticed the rpesence of a number of leitmotifs which are short, melodious and harmonic in general through which the work gains its expressiveness and dramatic form. (Richard Wagner website, http://www.trell.org/wagner/motifs.html). Though Wagner had never used the word leitmotif, his critics had been somewhat paranoid in attributing a number of leitmotifs distributed in the entire stretch of this work. Wagner had called them ‘melodic moments’ and described them as created â€Å" by the orchestra into a kind of guides-to-feeling through the whole labyrinthine building of the drama† (Richard Wagner website, http://www.trell.org/wagner/motifs.html). He (Richard Wagner website, http://www.trell.org/wagner/motifs.html) also has added that, â€Å"at their(melodious moments) hand, we become the fellow-knowers of the proufoundest secret of the poet’s aim, the immediate partners of its realisement.† Apart from â₠¬Å"communicating the emotional nuances†, leitmotifs in Die Walkure are also perceived by critics as â€Å"the building blocks of a symphonic composition† (Richard Wagner website, http://www.trell.org/wagner/motifs.html).

Database Design Proposal Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Database Design Proposal - Article Example The proposed research is intended for a health facility. Like other organizations, the health facility comprises several departments. The departments are further divided into sub divisions dealing with an array of activities. There are divisions that deal with personnel management. A range of working staff is available for accurate running of the hospital. Each category deals with different equipment and duties. There are patients, who are the core business of a health facility. There are inpatients and outpatients suffering from different ailments. The system needs to keep track of their ages, dates of admission and discharge, health progress, treatments they undergo, whether or not they succumbed to their illnesses among others. From this scenario, it is obvious that the database needed to safeguard information of the health center must be efficient. This is massive information, and there are several challenges associated with such immense data. †¢ Problems of redundancy could arise in data storage. This means that the same data could be stored severally in different platforms of the organization’s database. This leads to wastage of time and storage space. Lack of coherence between the different data stored in relational tables could lead to broken database. This makes it hard for the data users to access all the relevant data on a particular subject. Due to the above problems, normalization of data is a mandatory process to avoid redundancy and data incoherence.

The Presence of Racism is Shakespeare's Othello Essay

The Presence of Racism is Shakespeare's Othello - Essay Example Therefore, after the Reformation, it represented an antagonistic political and religious force against Protestantism in England. At that time, Italy was the site of classical Roman history and civilization which paved the way for the "Renaissance" of European culture from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century. (Nostbakken, 2000) Differences matter. Othello was not a Venetian by birth and therefore his status is ambivalent: he both belongs and does not belong to the city of Venice. He belongs because he is Venice's military general whose main role was to defend the city from possible invaders, and he is a Christian who shared a common religion with his fellow Venetian citizens. However, he is also a real stranger from a strange country, a foreigner and an outsider. The play manifests the inherent tension which exists between the differences that set him apart and the qualities that allow him to play a respected and vital role in the city's day-to-day life. Cassio, another key character of this play, is an outsider but he is less of a stranger compared to Othello for he is a European gentleman. Cassio comes from the beautiful Italian city of Florence. Othello, in contrast comes from the unknown and misunderstood world of Africa. (Nostbakken, 2000) The courtesans of Venice were prostitutes serving an upper-c... In this play, Shakespeare presents the strong positive and negative impact of identity by exploiting many degrees of difference between various characters of the play as distinguished by their rank and status, and by their places of origin, adoption, or conquest. Shakespeare wrote this play for English audiences in the early seventeenth century and this play reflected and responded to problems, situations, and problems of the period. Hence, the play showed identities defined by differences as well as similarities. In a sense, the responses of English audiences were also influenced by their own sense of identity as a nation.Iago's character speaks for the corruption and intrigue in Venice. In the first scene, he implies the practice of political prejudice, as opposed to impartiality, by explaining that friendship gained Cassio the title of lieutenancy while Iago's attempts had failed. Iago acts as a model of self-interest rather than duty. Iago's advice to Roderigo to "put money in th y purse" exemplified the naked greed that foreigners identified with Venice's highly prosperous merchant economy. Iago is inherently revengeful, scheming, and manipulative. His dominance in the play mirrors the dark side of humanity and also the dark side of Venice. Iago is a true native of Venice and he belongs there in a way that Othello, the outsider, does not. (Nostbakken, 2000) Venetian women were perceived to be very deceptive. Desdemona was shown as a "super-subtle Venetian" and suspects practically every man and woman as being unfaithful, adulterous, or promiscuous. However, Desdemona does not fit the Venetian stereotype of infidelity and deception. She was a faithful woman.

Population Changes and its Effect on Adult Education Research Paper

Population Changes and its Effect on Adult Education - Research Paper Example This specifically has become its advantage in the international trade considering that many multinational companies want to invest in China for profit maximization in particular. However, in some parts of the world, the increase of population has become a considerable problem of the government. In the case of developing countries, many people could not afford to go to school and get their degree due to the incapacity of the government to set enough budgets for free education for all. There are specifically many issues and these include socioeconomic factors that need to be faced. Maintaining a quality life in the case of highly populated nation has become a struggle especially in developing countries (Glewwe & Kremer, 2006). On the contrary, this may not be a great deal of problem in highly developed countries knowing that the government can afford to subsidize public education. However, in the case of highly populated countries, private institutions for education have become the sta ndard for quality education. Thus, these sectors are ensuring that their service is a cut above the other. This is their specific strategic move in order to entice students with their standard quality service in obtaining higher degree especially in adult education. The impact of population change on education Clearly, population change has become a considerable factor on how the system of education has been structured (Blanden & Machin, 2010; Climent, 2008). For instance, in Australia, there is a strong effort to promote standard and quality education amidst the rapidly increasing population. This has become its central focus considering that its economic standing in the world is so far one of the most great in contemporary time. The point of the country is to ensure that adult education has to be of high quality considering that the there is corresponding increase in population. However, in contrast, education in Africa for instance is remarkably poor knowing that there are other important issues that need to be addressed aside from it. There are other social issues that may be tied up to economic considerations. Food in Africa has become far more important than obtaining a degree. In line with this, it is clear enough that the country needs to focus on the problem from the basic point of view which particularly would involve population control. This example may be contrasting, but it is evident that the level of focus given on education can be influenced by population change. In the Philippines for instance, the country is currently debating on reproductive health bill. The current president of the country is very clear about its stand on the major impacts of population increase. This is the reason that he is strong in his stand for reproductive control issues. There is a need to certainly reduce the number of children that a family should have due to current status of the country. In fact, the current situation of the country is a concrete example how educ ation is compromised by high population. The government could not totally support the need of students for higher education due to high budget. The country has to allocate other budget. Thus, there are remarkable budgetary constraints. There are state universities in the country but there is always deficit on budget leading to poor educational

International business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

International business - Essay Example nalysis will seek to draw a level of definition to each and state the ways and means by which they are both separate yet at the same time intricately related. With relation to international business, this is an activity that takes place on what can be understood as a micro level. In this sense, key players within the private sector engage in exchange of goods and services which directly mirror the same process that occurs on a national and/or domestic level. In this way, one can understand that role that individuals, managers and other shareholders hold within this level of transaction as being the most important; with the roles of politicians only being tangential or secondary as long as no barriers to exchange exist (Buckley 2009, p. 330). With relation to the term international trade, this encompasses the activities that have previously been discussed within the preceding paragraph detailing international business activities. For this reason, the international trade definition is something of a catch all definition which all of the activities of international business and the tangential and related aspects thereof are included. Moreover, when one discusses the term international trade, there is a level of emphasis that must necessarily placed on the role that politicians play with regards to regulating the flow of trade between two or more countries (Rasche 2012, p. 681). Although this same type of regulation is exhibited within international business, the term international trade necessarily implies a more macro view of the system as opposed to one that is purely focused upon a more micro approach. The fact of the matter remains that trade and international business are in effect two sides of the same coin. Regardless of the level of differentiation that can ultimately be discerned, the true differentiation that is most recognizable is the involvement of the key players within the process. Due to the more macro view of international trade, the level

Accounting Standard AASB138 Intangible Assets Essay

Accounting Standard AASB138 Intangible Assets - Essay Example This means that as much as possible, no pieces and bits of expenses are to be left out. The collection of every amount that went into spending is supposed to be captured as part of the expenditure development (Deegan, 2012). This also entails a mandate whereby accounting for research and development expenses will not be done in isolation. Rather, it is expected that the expenses making up for the two will be integrated as one so as to have a total aggregate of the expenditure. What is more, the AASB138 requires specific items that cover cost of all internally generated intangible assets to be accounted for (66). These would include costs of materials and services, cost of employee benefits, fees to register a legal right and amortisation of patents and licenses (66, a, b, c). There however exist some freebies as far as items to be covered are concerned as there are entities that are encouraged but not necessarily required. These include amortised intangible assets that are still in u se and intangible assets that did not match up the recognition criteria in the Standard (128). 2 Explain the rationale behind the different accounting treatments for research and development expenditures. A critical review of the AASB138 shows that there are different accounting treatments given to varying research and development expenditures. Such differences exist for varying reasons.... Secondly, the tangible impact that different research and development expenditure creates is always different and subject to quantitative grading (Accounting Scholar, 2012). For this reason, there exists different accounting treatment for research and development expenditures so that accountants would have the opportunity of undertaking their own assessments of the impacts of expenses so as to undertake effective quantitative grading. In the opinion of Deegan (2012), having the same accounting treatments for all research and development expenditures would only be a way of saying that when quantitative grading is done, all entities will be on the same scale (p. 231) 3 Before the introduction of Accounting Standard AASB 138 Intangible Assets in 2005, Australian companies were allowed to treat research expenditure as an asset and spread the charge against profits over several years. a Examine possible impacts of the introduction of new accounting standards regarding research expenditure s to the key elements of companies’ financial statements such as assets, liabilities, equity, income and expenses. With the coming into force of the new accounting standards on research expenditure, one of the key impacts that is expected in terms of financial statements of companies is that there will be an overall change in the technical structure and setup of their financial statements (Deegan, 2012). For example as the new accounting standards brings into force new definitions and categorisations of key entities like assets and expenditure, it is expected that the overall structure of financial standards will change drastically. In terms of assets, it is expected that companies are going to record comparatively reduced volumes of assets than they

D6 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

D6 - Assignment Example People from Mid West and South West entered California in search of food, shelter, and work. But soon they became a burden on the state economy and in the cities like Oklahoma, San Francisco, etc. crowded refugee colonies could now be discerned. The Depression had worldwide presence and effects, but it hit California very severely due to its suddenness. â€Å"The ‘20s had been an optimistic time. The population had boomed. The Bay Area had grown and prospered, and the population of Southern California had tripled. California was the future. Suddenly, almost overnight, the mood darkened. Businesses that had been expanding suddenly cut back. People were laid off, couldn’t pay their bills, couldn’t find a new job. In those days, there was no such thing as unemployment insurance. No welfare, no social security, nothing.† (Nolte, Paragraphs 3-4) In his writings, Starr has depicted the situation as very pathetic indeed. There was a dramatic drop in the wages of the agricultural workers just in 4 years during the beginning of the 1930s. By 1934, the number of workers had become almost one and a half times the number of available jobs. The dream of economic boom had been turned into a nightmare. (Starr, 235-251) In the United States, there were two major political parties during the beginning of the 20th century. The Democratic Party had a center-left political position, while the Republican Party emerged had emerged as a right wing establishment. This situation continues even today. However, during the Great Depression, tensions increased considerably. There was the emergence of â€Å"red scare† (Nolte, Paragraphs 1) and public had become antagonized toward the capitalist order of American democracy. In such a crisis situation, the Democrats moved ahead with a sort of reform agenda and assured the people of a better future and a more responsible scheme of governance. This social democratic approach became the political

What is meant by the term gothic Essay Example for Free

What is meant by the term gothic Essay Gothic literature, which is sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre that links horror and romance into one tale of ‘transgressing the boundaries’. Gothicism was unheard of until the late 1700’s, this movement into a new genre of literature. This was pioneered by the English author Horace Walpole, in his famous fictional book ‘The Castle of Otranto’, or as Walpole alternatively titled it ‘a Gothic story’. Horace Walpole himself had transgressed the boundaries slightly; by introducing this new style of writing he had added a whole new genre into literature. Walpole’s style of writing was unique and captivated the readers mind and imagination to let he or she share the act of transgression, or as Robert Kidd, a renowned critic put it, â€Å"The Gothic has somehow seduced the reader so that he or she is complicit in engaging in whatever he or she might encounter†. This is what kept Gothicism alive, the author’s ability to intrigue the reader and give them a thirst to read more gothic literature. The term Gothic has been viewed as very different things over time. Gothicism came about at a very tumultuous time, after the fall of the Roman Empire, a time of raw and uncontrolled exercise of physical power. The Goths were a barbaric tribe of murderers, rapists and thieves, later the term was known as ‘Medieval’. Nowadays the term Gothic is viewed very differently by modern society, when thought about now, one thinks of it as horror. It is in rock bands, the theatre, but mainly in the modern film industry. Gothicism has become somewhat of an obsession to modern film producers and leading film companies in recent years. This acceleration of Gothic themed films started in 1922 with the film ‘Nosferatu’; this was then followed by ‘Rebecca’ in 1940. And the list continues, Sleepy Hollow (1999), Corpse Bride (2005), Sweeney Todd (2007), and one of the more modern examples, the newer version of The Woman in Black (2012). This just highlights the extent of interest in modern society about modern Gothicism. The standard thought of somebody, when they are posed with the question ‘What do you understand about the term Gothic?’ would most likely be fairly predictable. The scene would be set in the heart of a dark, wet forest away from any normal civilisation. The building would be a dark and rundown old mansion in a large empty clearing with large empty  rooms and halls. Gargoyles would be clinging to the exterior of the building, and a decrepit, collapsed roof leaking and dripping in the driving rain. When the innocent traveller knocks on the door hoping to gain refuge and shelter from the storm, he is greeted by an emaciated, gangly butler who invites them in, as they fail to notice the menacing grin as they enter the dark, badly lit and claustrophobic corridor. The scene created is one of fear and horror which is typical of Gothicism. All these features are motifs in Gothic literature. These tools are what all authors of Gothic literature use without exception. This is for the simple reason that these tools are what keep the genre of Gothic literature alive. The author uses the reader’s natural, urge for adrenalin boost and thrill, through suspense and mystery to make the book successful. In almost every Gothic text, the reader is in a position of dramatic irony where he or she can see everything happening and unfolding, without the ability to stop it. Another one of the main reasons, as to why Gothic Literature is such a success is because; Gothic texts allow the reader to think the unthinkable, and to sublimate their innermost desires, psyche and their wildest imaginations. The reader is able to satisfy his or hers innermost desires through the pages of the book. The reader finds refuge through Gothic text. This is no exception with the authors. The author also wants to satisfy their imagination by creatively and articulately channelling their thoughts into a work of art. Robert Kidd writes in his ‘Transgressing the Boundaries’ article, â€Å"The power and passion of Gothic Literature seemed eminently suited to the iconoclasts who wished to challenge the status quo†. There were many famous writers like this, for example, Horace Walpole, Lewis, Godwin and of course Mary Shelley. The authors and readers of Gothic Literature share a very special connection. Both sides gain from books and share the same feelings as one writes and one reads the book, with both satisfying their imaginations. Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ or ‘The Modern Prometheus’ is a known as a Gothic text. Although Frankenstein is indeed a gothic text, it does not include every element of Gothic text. However it is impossible to read the book without realising that there are a lot of Gothic techniques within. A major part of Gothic literature is mystery, and this is present from the very beginning of the book. We experience mystery firstly in the letters on  pp. 15-31. The reader at this stage does not know who is writing the letters (He is soon revealed as Robert Walton) and who the Mrs Saville he is writing to is. This is the first mystery; the next is why Robert Walton is writing in such a serious tone, â€Å"Rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied†. Already the reader is feeling a sense of danger and mysteriousness in the book. This is an exact example of the reader being driven to read further to satisfy their curiosity. Gothic Literature is not only about horror; romance also plays a very large part in it. And this is also present from the very beginning of the book. In the letters mentioned in the previous paragraph, as well as the mystery and danger sensed by the reader (â€Å"Rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied†.), the reader also senses the love between Robert Walton and his sister, Mrs Saville. There are of love and affection in every single letter without exception, for instance â€Å"Farewell, my dear, excellent Margaret.† And the list can continue with numerous examples. The various examples above that contribute to a Gothic text are not lone samples. These various themes and motifs continue throughout the text. Gothic text also has a reputation for not immediately beginning with horror and dark mystery; rather it begins with peace and harmony that gradually changes throughout the text, and again ‘Frankenstein’ is a testimony to this. When Victor completes his pride, his experiment, his son, his reaction is one of ecstasy, â€Å"Beautiful. Beautiful!† which quickly changes to one of disgust and abhorrence, with his words â€Å"the beauty of the dream vanished, and a breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.† This emotion of love changing to disgust is verification of Shelley’s efforts make ‘Frankenstein’ a Gothic text, as many texts do. Mary Shelley, in the book ‘Frankenstein’ or ‘The Modern Prometheus’, went to great lengths to make the book a Gothic text, and indeed it went on to become one of the most famous Gothic texts in history.

Controversy And Criticism At The Nestle Company Commerce Essay

Controversy And Criticism At The Nestle Company Commerce Essay In past ten years Nestlà © Company was accused by many of experts and organisations around the world for unethical business practices in the way the company does its business, the company was involved in serious boycotts which ruined the company overall reputation in past years. In this essay we have discussed and analysis some of the most serious Nestlà © unethical business practices (Phdinparenting, 2010). One of the most critical issues that Nestlà © has been criticised for during past 15 years is the promotion of the use of infant formula to mothers across the world. Many believe that Nestlà © strategy for promoting its infant formula was misleading and harmful that violates both International Code of Marketing of Breast milk Substitutes and WHO Code regulating the marketing of breast milk substitutes (Mcspotlight, 2002). Nestlà ©s marketing campaign encouraged mothers across the world for bottle feeding instead of breast feeding, they used free sample to pursue this mission in addition Nestlà © implies that malnourished mothers and mothers with twins have not the ability to Breastfeed their child, despite many international health organisations claimed that there is no evidence to support this statement which could put both the mothers and babies life in danger (Corporatewatch, 2003). There have been numerous reports of direct advertisement targeting mothers across the world in countries such as Malaysia, South Africa and Ireland as a result advocacy groups and health organizations accused Nestlà © of unethical methods of promoting its milk and demand the company to immediately stop its marketing strategies (Mcspotlight, 2002). One of the Health organisations that criticised Nestlà © for its marketing strategy was IBFAN which believed Nestlà © is harming misleading mothers by offering them a free sample of milks as they are in hospitals, because as mothers are released from hospitals they have to continually buy Nestlà ©s formula since babies get adapted to the Nestlà ©s milk. IBFAN also claimed that Nestlà © uses humanitarian aid to create markets by offering attractive gifts and different sponsorships to influence health officials to market and promote its products by targeting young mothers who have given birth (Corporatewatch, 2003).. 2.2 Using Suppliers That Violate Human Rights Another controversy issue faced by the company during past years was using suppliers that violate human rights, in 2009 BBC reported that Nestlà © buy its milk from a farm seized from its white owners which is now owned by the wife of Zimbabwes President Robert Mugabe, they supply between 10% to 15% of Nestlà ©s local milk supply (Corporatewatch, 2003). However the company denies the proclamation and claims that the only reason they purchase their milk supply from its African supplier is to help meet the food needs of Zimbabwean consumers (BBC, 2009). 2.3 Exploiting Farmers In 2001, Nestlà © faced huge criticism for purchasing cocoa from the Ivory Coast and Ghana suppliers, which may have been produced using child slaves. An investigation by BBC showed that hundreds of children who lived in Mali, Burkina and Togo were being purchased from their parents and sent to countries such as Ivory Coast and Ghana to be used in production of coca (BBC, 2001). Most of the children who work in coca farms are ranged between 12 to 14 years old, and are forced to work 80 to 100 hours each week while they are not paid fairly, barely fed and beaten regularly (Corporatewatch, 2003). After the widespread of these reports Nestlà © Company faced huge criticism from health and labour organisations around the world to put a stop to these anti-humanities act, as a result the company did not have any choice except to express its concern over the use of child labour in coca farms to, however the company never confirmed that non of its chocolate products derived from these anti-humanities resources (Mcspotlight, 2002). 2.4 Union Busting In late 2001, labour organisations accused Nestlà © for denying its worker right; one of the countries that most of the accusation came from was Columbia, in which eight worker of the company got assassinated because they were part of food and drink labour union called SINALTRAINAL; however there have been no evidence linked Nestlà © to these assassinations. In another example involving Nestlà © union busting, in 2001 the management of Nestlà © subsidiary Comestibles La Rosa threatened the company worker that they must either renounce their union membership or they should leave the company (Corporatewatch, 2003). 2.5 Promoting Unhealthy Food Nestle was recently exposed after a report by the UK consumers association claiming that 7 out of 10 of the Nestlà ©s breakfast cereals containing the highest level of fast, sugar and salt water. The company is accused for denying the role of corporate responsibility in promoting its product to public (Corporatewatch, 2003). 2.6 Illegal Extraction of Groundwater The company was also accused for abusing and ruining water resources in Brazil and United State. In the region of Serra da mantiqueira in Brazil which is known for its vulnerable groundwater resources, Nestlà ©s over pumping action has resulted in depletion and long term damages to the region water resources (Corporatewatch, 2003). Nestlà ©s was accused because people of the Serra da mantiquira believ that the company action has changed the taste of their drinking water and also the over pumping has caused complete dry out on the main region water resources. Nestle used these water resources for its mineral water product called Pure Life bottled water (Phdinparenting, 2010). 3.0 Solae Company 3.1 Solae History Solae LLC is an international soy supplier which is based in Louis, Missouri. This company is the world leader in developing and producing innovative soy technologies, meat and other nutritional products. The company was founded in 1958 by producing just industrial soy protein products; however Solae started producing other food product (such as baked goods, meats, beverages and nutrition bars) in 1973 after DuPont and Bunge created Solae Company as a joint venture (Solae, 2010). Solar use soybean resources around the world in order to create nutritious and great-tasting ingredients including baked goods, meats, beverages and nutrition bars which are used by thousands of customers in more than 100 countries around the world. The company has approximately 2,400 employees in different parts of the world including North America, Asia, Europe and Latin America (Solae, 2010). Solaes commitment to innovation and development has resulted in production of new soy product tag along by more than 98 patent and 338 patents pending which is more than any other soy provider in the world (Solae, 2010). On 26 of March 2010, Solae Company was recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the worlds most ethical companies. Each year Ethisphere Institute prepares a list of 100 companies which it believes are the most ethical companies in the world on basis of attitude and future refinement (Ethisphere, 2010). The world most ethical companies are recognize not only making statements about doing business ethically but also translating those statements into action. Solae was ranked among on of the 100 most ethical companies in the world along with giant companies like Pepsi, Nike, Ford, Xerox, Henkel and LOreal in addition the company was positioned at top 5 most ethical companies in food and beverage industry joined by Campbell, Mills and PepsiCo (Ethisphere, 2010). 4.0 Solae Ethical and Decent Practices Solae ethical and moral practices are inspired by the companys core value which mostly concentrate on what the company is and what it is stand for, Solae top executives believes the strength of the company begins with a deep commitment to ethics from the top to bottom in the company, ethical behavior is one of the core values at Solae, which is important in both the companys professional and personal lives. According to Solae officials, at Solae ethic codes are designed to make sure that each of the companies personnel are constantly upholds the companys standards and objectives. Any act that deliberately violates the law or regulation to screen non-compliance with this Code of Conducts, or company overall policy is an ethical violates (Solae code of conduct, 2010). 4.1 Safety and Health Solae Company believes that in doing business all occupational illnesses, environmental incidents and injuries are preventable and can be controlled by implementing the right business practices along with providing the best and high quality foods to consumers. The companys overall goal is zero for incidents, meaning that safety and health are one of the most important aspects of Solae Company (Solae, 2010). Every employee at Solae is responsible for acting in reliance with safety and health law which was developed to prevent any incident involving employees and other Solae personnel. Managements in each department are responsible for training, educating and motivating employees to understand and act accordingly to applicable safety and health laws. 4.2 Sustainable Practices for Society Solae core value of environmental custodiantion is a major example of the companys commitment for people in different societies. At Solae employees are expected to compete lawfully at all manners, they are also expected to protect the environment and to be a good keeper of the company operations, services and products (Ethisphere, 2010). 4.3 Environmental Practices Since the company was founded, Solae mission has been to be the preferred universal partner in the expansion and delivery of nutritional and efficient solutions for its customers, the Company is constantly committed to promise to conduct business and operations with respect and care for the Mother Nature. Since Solae main business is product of soybean resources, the company pays a great respect and attention to environmental practices which helps to keep our nature green and un harmful. At Solae managers at each corporate level are held responsible for educating, training, motivating and instructing employees to understand the important of Solaes commitment to protect environment in addition each employee at Sola company has the responsibility to meet and fulfil the terms of Health and Environment which were developed to guide each employee in pursuing the companies mission and vision (Solae code of conduct, 2010). Solaes commitment to environment is one of the core value developed by the company which has allowed the company continually improve and implement main manufacturing process and activities to reduce its impact on Mother Nature, It is believed that Solae track its activities across all manufacturing department in order to replicate successful improvement where it is needed. The company has received several awards because of its environmentally friendly business practices around the world. For example: In 2009, the company headquarter in StLous was given a LEED Green Building Certificate (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for having the most energy efficient, greenest and high productive building in the region (Solae, 2010). In 2005, Solae received two awards from different non-profit organisations for reducing total energy consumed by the company by more than 10 percent and decreasing greenhouse emissions by 7.7 produce by the company (Solae, 2010). 4.4 Ethical Competition Law Practices It is believed that, Solae competes forcefully in the marketplace to best supply its customers needs and preferences. Solae Company has gain most of its reputation as a result of its Competition Laws which the company follow in most of the countries that operates, these laws are compound and can vary from country to country depending to its market place competition condition and pressure (Solae code of conduct, 2010). 4.5 Water and Energy Consumption Solae is well known around the world for its efficient water and energy consumption in compare with other companies involved in food industry. Soy uses less water than other kind of proteins such as meat, milk and eggs. In addition soy is known to be an efficient source of protein based on return amount of energy use in compare with other resources of proteins. C:UsersArmanDesktopvirtuawater.jpg C:UsersArmanDesktopenergyefficiency.jpg USDA; FAO/ UNICEF, USA Protein Advisory Group (2005) 4.6 Equal Opportunity Non Discrimination Solae Company is against any discrimination regarding any employee or new application who wants to join the group because of race, sex, age, colour, national origin, marital status, expression or ancestry (Solae, 2010). Conclusion To sum up, Core values are particularly critical in these days as we operate in markets around the world and aiming to serve customers with different needs and ideas. Obviously at Solae Company the central attention is to understand responsibilities and obligations toward individuals and environment. As experiment has shown us a companys success is pretty much dependent on ethics and moral which builds a long term reputation for both the company and industry. Unfortunately, after analyzing Nestlà ©s corporation act, clearly ethics has no place in the company long term strategy. This fact has greatly influenced companys reputation and has ruined its position in food industries around the world. As a result the concept of ethics has become one of the most important aspects of management duty. For companies as big and successful as Solae and Nestle training employees to follow ethical and social principles are key success factor and has to be observed and practice continually. Many businesses are interested in making money, and that is the bottom line or in other words they just want to be in business; on the other hand there are many businesses that making money does not mean everything to them, but doing the right thing and having responsibility and commitment toward society have far more importance. Solae has to continue its effort in practicing ethical principles in all company levels and Nestle has to change its long term strategy and pay attention to what is right and wrong.

Feminist Sociological Study And Gender Inequality Sociology Essay

Feminist Sociological Study And Gender Inequality Sociology Essay The feminist perspective is the political stance of someone committed to changing the social position of women to bring about gender equality (Pilcher and Whelehan, 2004), whilst gender is described as the characteristics taken on by males and females in social life and culture through socialisation. Gender is a process and not a permanent state, implying that gender is being produced and reproduced, whereas inequality refers to the unequal rewards or opportunities for different individuals or groups within a society (Wharton, 2005). This essay will define how the feminist perspective has influenced the sociological study of gender inequality. It will summarise how the three founding fathers of sociology viewed mens oppression and womens subordination and discuss how earlier feminists viewed their counterparts attitudes. In the late 19th and early 20th century sociology remained a male dominated discipline with the classical theorists Marx, Durkheim and Weber. This was surprising due to the fact that the pre-existing patterns of gender inequality brought about modernisation. Womens labour contributed vastly to industrial capitalism. Although the classical theorists had literature and theories of contemporary feminist movements they never addressed the gendered process of modernisation, they saw women in more traditional roles within the family (Bilton et al, 2002). According to Giddens (2009) Marx viewed gender differences in power and status between men and women in the divisions of class. Gender inequality only appeared when industrial capitalism was formed; men went out to work and controlled the family income and the women stayed at home doing the housework whilst looking after the children. Fulcher and Scott (2003) noted that Marx viewed womens oppression as serving the capitalists society. Durkheim (1897 cited in Simpson 1952) viewed gender inequality as entrenched in society. In his discussion of suicide, Durkheim stated that men are a product of society while women are a product of nature. Durkheim suggested that women and men have different identities because women are less socialised then men. Likewise, Giddens (2009:91) stated Womens social position and identity are mainly shaped by their involvement in reproduction and childrearing. Durkheim (1897 cited in Simpson 1952) argued that women bear and rare children whereas men are active in the public spheres of politics and work. Yet, today feminists would argue that women are shaped as much as men through socialisation. Waters (1994) pointed out that Webers theory on gender inequality is confined to a system of organisational domination rather than power. Weber used the word patriarchalism rather than patriarchy to describe his category of traditional domination, where a person in authority inherits a particular status at birth. Weber indicated that the power of the man in the household is unimpeded and that women and children are his property. Women, Weber (cited in Roth, G. Wittich, C. 1968:1007) argued, are dependent because of the normal superiority of the physical and intellectual energies of the male. According to Waters (1994) Weber viewed the status of women and children under patriarchalism as similar to slaves in that they are capable of being bought, sold and rented. The first wave of feminism coincided with the classical theorists Marx, Durkheim and Weber. Giddens (2009) highlighted the fact that from 1800 to 2000 there had only been five feminist sociologists: Harriet Martineau 1802-76, Simone de Beauvoir 1908-86, Betty Friedan 1921-2006, Judith Butler 1956 and Vandana Shiva 1952. Martineau, the earliest sociologist and feminist was famous for introducing sociology to Britain through her transcript of Comtes thesis of sociology. In Giddens (2009) Martineau argued that if a society is to be studied, sociologists must focus on political, religious and social institutions. Secondly, that a society must include an understanding of womens lives. Thirdly, issues of marriage, children and domestic life should be left unchallenged and that sociologists must do more than view but act in ways to benefit society. Erstwhile influential figures of first wave feminism were Mary Wollstonecraft, Harriet Taylor Mill and her husband John Stuart Mill. Wollstonecraft (1792 cited in Abbott and Wallace, 1990:191) emphasised that inequalities between men and women were not the outcome of natural (biological) differences but due to the influence of the environment, and especially the fact that women were excluded from education. Wollstonecraft argued that it was essential to educate women and change society so women and men were seen as equal (Abbott et al, 2005). In Harriets essay, The Enfranchisement of Women 1851, published under her husbands name she campaigned that women should be given equal rights to the same jobs as men and that women should not live in separate spheres. Harriets views were seen as more radical than that of Johns however, they both argued in their book The Subjection of Women 1869 that women should have the same rights as men under law (Mill 1851, 1869 cited in Abbott, Wallace, 1990). The suffragettes and other campaigners of the 19th and 20th century campaigned for change. In 1839 women won the right to custody of an infant child, in 1882 the right to own their own property, in 1918 the right to vote and in 1934 they won the right to divorce on the same grounds as men. The 19th and 20th century feminism was all on the subject of change and having the same legal rights as men. Although women did not achieve equality with men in the 19th or early 20th century, most rights had been won. This first wave of feminism saw social change and therefore sociologists could no longer ignore gender inequality (Abbott, Wallace, 1990). Whilst the feminist theories had developed independently to sociology, the study of gender in sociology came from the second wave of the womens movement. Academic subjects like sociology appeared to ignore women. Women were rarely the subjects of research, and activities dominated by women such as house work and childcare received little interest. Oakley (1972) criticised sociology for generating knowledge more to do with mens lives rather than womens. At the time sociology was expressed in a quote by sociologist Jessie Bernard (1973 cited in Wharton, 2005:4) Can sociology become a science of society rather than a science of a male society? According to Waters (1994) feminist sociologists used the expression malestream to illustrate the mainstream discipline of sociology. Feminists implied that sociology was blind to gender and that it viewed gender difference and male oppression as symbolic, thus, sociological explanation was not needed. Giddens (2001) pointed to the fact that feminism and the womens movements had forced fundamental changes in sociology. Feminists argued that men and women had different experiences and viewed the world differently they did not build their understandings in equal ways. According to Waters (1994) womens experiences are intentionally ignored and the ways in which men dominate women is seen as natural. Additionally, when women were included in research, they were presented from a male perspective. Oakley (1972) suggested sociology had been biased from the beginning. Sociology was predominately a male profession and the principles of gender resulted in assumptions about differences between males and females. She argued that despite the criticism of the discipline for its malestream views little has changed over the years. Although women are studying the subject, the majority of lecturers are male. According to Abbott Wallace (1990) there has been some change in that sociologists can no longer afford to ignore the feminist perspective and there has been converse about the changes needed for male bias in sociology to be overcome. It has been noted that gender is a generally formed perception which contributes differing social roles and identities to males and females. According to Giddens (2009) gender differences are rarely neutral and that gender is a significant form of social stratification. Giddens (2009: 614) emphasised that gender is a critical factor in structuring types of opportunity and life chances faced by individuals and groups, and strongly influences the roles they play within social institutions from the household to the state. Fulcher and Scott (2003) stated that for many feminists, social stratification has been seen as entrenched in relations of sexual power that are built around natural differences of sex. Similarly, Giddens (2009) stressed that even though men and womens roles vary from society to society, there is no known society in which women are more dominant than men. Mens roles are usually highly rewarded and valued more than womens. Firestone (1971) argued that societies are sepa rated into opposed sex classes and that all men oppress all women, thus the struggle between men and women is the driving force in human history. Although women have made a number of advances around the globe, gender differences serve the foundation for gender inequality. There are many academic perspectives relating to gender inequality and how men dominate women in the public and private sphere (Giddens, 2009). The functionalist theory searches to show that gender differentiation contribute to social stability and integration. According to Waters (1994) Parsons and Murdoch studied the family in industrial societies and how children were socialised. They noted that the stability of the family contributed to successful socialisation. Parsons argued that the family operated more efficiently were women acted in an expressive role, caring for the children and offering them emotional support. Whereas the men performed better in an active role by going out and earning money for the family, Murdoch added that males and females are best suited to the roles they are biologically determined to perform. According to Giddens (2009) Femin ists argued that women are not prevented from occupations on the basis of biological features, they suggested humans are socialised into roles that are culturally expected of them and there is nothing natural about the distribution of tasks in society. Liberal feminists looked for explanations of gender inequality in social and cultural attitudes. They also fought for the equal rights of women through democratic means (Waters, 1994). The Liberal theory came to light with the suffragist movement in the early 20th century and fought against laws that gave rights to men and not women. They campaigned to pass laws to outlaw discrimination against women and to give women rights in the workplace, educational institutes and the media. Abbott et al (2005) criticised liberal feminists of not dealing with core issues of gender inequality, they do not acknowledge the nature of womens oppression. According to Bilton et al (2002) radical feminists alleged that men had an interest in controlling women through various tactics, including rape, genital mutilation, domestic violence and sexual harassment. The violence that women were exploited to showed a source of male supremacy. Giddens (2009) noted that radical feminists concentrated on the family home as one of the primary areas of womens oppression. Radical feminists argued that men exploited women by relying on unpaid domestic labour. Firestone (1971 cited in Giddens, 2009:617) expressed that ..because women are biologically able to give birth to children, they become dependent materially on men for protection and livelihood. Radical feminists argued that men see women as sexual objects whose main purpose is to entertain and please them. Additionally, radical feminists see patriarchy as a phenomenon. They suggest gender equality can only be gained by overthrowing the Patriarchal order. Marxist and socialist feminists argued that womens oppression was a symptom of capitalism rather than patriarchy. Like radical feminists, Marx feminists argued that the household was the location of womens oppression arising from the fact that women took part in unpaid work in the private sphere, that is, caring for the labour force and raising the next generation of workers to benefit the capitalists at no cost to them (Bilton et al, 2002). However, Marx had little to do with gender inequality, according to Giddens (2009) it was Engels who did more than Marxs in relation to gender inequality. Engels did so through the Marxist perspective. Engels (in Giddens, 2009) argued capitalism strengthens patriarchy by putting wealth in the hands of capitalists which underpins womens subordination to men. Both Marxist and radical feminists saw how capitalism effected gender relations in both the public and private spheres. They wanted to see a restructuring of the family and an end to domestic slavery, however Marx argued this would only be achieved through a revolutionary change. hooks (1981 cited in Haralambos Holborn, 2008) criticised white feminists of failing to acknowledge how race and racism impacts on womens experiences. She argued that white feminist theories of oppression applied to all women; therefore this institutionalised racism. Giddens (2009) pointed out that although black feminists stood next to their suffragette counterparts for womens rights they realised race could not be ignored. Black women were at a disadvantage on the basis of their colour, race, gender and class position. Black feminists concluded that if gender equality is to prevail then racism needed to be addressed in mainstream feminism. Post-modern feminism came about in the 1980s and challenged the definition of modern feminism. Post-modern feminists argued that woman is a debatable category, complicated by issues of class, ethnicity, sexuality and other facets of identity. They rejected the claim that there is a grand theory that can explain the position of women in a society because each society has complex social relations and women do not actually have a fixed identity. Post-modern feminists accept that there are many different points of view that are all equally valid (Marsh and Keating, 2006). Characteristics of Masculinity and femininity differ from one society to another, not only do the characteristics differ but so do the sexual activities in which people engage. Connell (1995 cited in Macionis Plummer, 2008: 366) described this as part of a gender order in which societies shape notions of masculinity and femininity into power relationships. Connell argued that femininity and masculinity were arranged around hegemonic masculinity and suggested that men produced and maintained gender inequality. According to Giddens (2001) Connell used pragmatic data on gender inequality to show how women were kept in subordinate positions to men. Connell categorised societys gender order into three facets: labour that referred to the sexual divisions of labour in the home and place of work, power that referred to domestic violence within the home and cathexis which related to the mechanics within emotional sexual relationships. According to the Office for National Statistics (2010) the pay gap for full-time employees in 2009 is down from 12.2% to 10.2%. For women, full-time earnings increased more across the bottom 10% of the distribution with a growth of 1.8% compared to 0.8% for their male counterparts. Similarly, the hourly earnings of the top 10% women went up by 2.1% compared to the 0.8% for men. In addition, the Office for National Statistics (2008) noted that in 2007/08 women were five times more likely to suffer from domestic violence than men, this accounted for 85% of women compared to 15% of men. Up until 1970, crime and deviance like other areas of sociology had ignored women. Sociologist, Carol Smart (1979 cited in Haralambos Horn 2008) criticised criminology for being male dominated and sexist. She argued that because women committed fewer and less insignificant crimes then men, women were undeserving of research. The Office for National Statistics (2008) reported that in 2006 males where more than likely to be found guilty of crime than women. In England and Wales between 82% and 94% of males were found guilty of a violent crime and 97% of males were found guilty of sexual offences. Criminologist Otis Pollock (1950 cited in Haralambos Horn 2008) claimed that women were more deviant then men. He argued that statistics on crime and gender were deceptive and that certain crimes women committed were likely to go unreported. Firstly, Pollock stated that the police and magistrates tended to be men and were chivalrous. Secondly, women were clever in hiding their crimes; Pollock linked this to female biology. Thirdly, Pollock saw womens domestic role as an opportunity to commit crime in the private sphere and that this type of crime went undetected. Although, Pollocks theories have been heavily criticised by other criminologist, his critics do give him creditability for being the first to say statistics did underrate female criminality. In summary, it is evident that in the 19th century men dominated society, early sociological theories ignored gender issues in particular women. Feminists such as Martineau fought against these sexiest ideologies arguing that malestream research did not relate to the lives of women or indeed their concerns. Feminists stressed that society could not be fully understood without taking women into consideration. The first wave of feminism was all about how men viewed and marginalised women and equal rights. As feminism developed in sociology, individual theories formed within feminism thinking. These theories highlighted and explained how women viewed gender inequality and how men oppressed women in the public and private sphere. Feminists believed that developing such theories would help them understand their subordination and help liberate themselves from mens control. Feminism has also helped sociologists understand how masculinity and femininity is arranged around the dominance of men and how the power relations of gender order keep women in subordinate positions within the home and at work. Whilst the feminist perspective has influenced the study of gender inequality by obtaining the same civil rights as men, acquiring rights in the workplace, the home and in politics. Some feminists still argue that there needs to be a total rethinking of sociological theory around the issues of women, although some progress has been made. It would appear that women still have a considerable way to go in closing the gendering gap and having the same equal opportunities as men. Yet, it remains to be seen if women will ever break through the glass ceiling and reach the top of the social mobility ladder or earn the same wage as men in high flying positions.

Plagiarism On The Increase Essay -- Writing Cheating Essays

Plagiarism seems to be an increasing problem in today's society, especially on college and university campuses, with the immense resources presently available to people. Previously, individuals were restricted to finding information in resources such as books, magazines, journals, encyclopedias and newspapers, but with the technology and the growth and popularity of the Internet, plagiarism has truly become an issue. There seems to be a direct correlation with the increasing use of the Internet and decreasing amount in student writing. Plagiarism.org defines plagiarism as "the improper use, or failure to attribute, another person's writings or ideas". Plagiarism can actually include such things as copying, downloading or merely altering facts and data from published work, such as websites, books, encyclopedias or magazines, copying from friends or another's work, using media without acknowledgment from the original source or citing the source in a bibliography and using work from another class without permission from professors. There is also plagiarism that occurs accidentally. Accidental plagiarism occurs "when a writer does not intend to plagiarize, but fails to cite his or her sources completely and correctly". An tremendous misunderstanding that many students tend to have is that when they put information in their own words, which is called paraphrasing, they are not committing plagiarism. However, it is plagiarism until they properly reference where they actually received the information Obviously, plagiarism involves a great number of factors and our concern. In this day and age, students are faced with huge amounts of pressure to produce many assignments and get good grades. They may resort to plagia... ...g a chocolate bar from a local convenience store and stealing another person's ideas and work? Both of these situations are wrong , yet people continue to become involved in these illegal actions. People seem to be taking advantage of the immense resources in the world today, especially because computers and the Internet have become a necessity, instead of a luxury, in households. Certainly, the Internet is an excellent source of information, only if it is used wisely and cautiously. References "What's Wrong With Copying?". Economist. April 1997. Pg 77-78. "Your Idea Is Brilliant; Glad I Thought Of It". Fortune. October 2000. Pg 412. "Cybercheats". New Republic. March 1998. Pg 14-15. Online. www.ehhs.cmich.edu. 2000 Online. www.plagiarism.org. 2001. Online. www.virtualsalt.com. 2001. Online. www.writing.northwestern.edu. 1996.

Nihilism in Turgenovs Fathers and Sons :: Fathers and Sons Essays

Nihilism in Turgenov's Fathers and sons Turgenov’s Fathers and Sons has several characters who hold strong views of the world. Pavel believes that Russia needs structure from such things as institution, religion, and class hierarchy. Madame Odintsov views the world as simple so long as she keeps it systematic and free from interference. This essay will focus on perhaps the most interesting and complex character in Fathers and Sons: Bazarov. Vladimir Nabakov writes that "Turgenov takes his creature [B] out of a self-imposed pattern and places him in the the normal world of chance." By examining Bazarov this essay will make this statement more clear to the reader. Using nihilism as a starting point we shall look at Bazarov’s views and interpretations of science, government and institution. Next we will turn to the issue relationships. Finally we examine Bazarov’s death and the stunning truths it reveals. These issues combined with the theme of nihilism will prove that chance, or fate is a strong force wh ich cannot easily be negated. Nihilism as a concept is used throughout Fathers and Sons. To gain a better understanding of the ideas behind this term let’s look at what Bazarov says on the subject. "We base our conduct on what we recognize as useful... the most useful thing we can do is to repudiate – and so we repudiate" (123). The base concept of nihilism is to deny or negate, and as we learn later in the same paragraph, to negate everything. With this ‘destruction’ of everything from science to art there is no building for nihilists, as Bazarov says "That is not our affair" (126). Nihilists view the current structure of society as concerned with such trivialties as ‘art’ and ‘parliamentism’ while ignoring real life issues such as food, freedom, and equally. Nihilists are aware of these social woes and hence mentally deny to recognize any of the present authority or institutions which only serve to perpetuate a myth. Bazarov agr ees with the statement that nihilism "confine[s] [oneself] to abuse" (126). "... I don’t believe in anything: and what is science—science in the abstract? There are sciences as there are trades and professions, but abstract science just doesn’t exist" (98). For Bazarov anything that is not tangible and concrete doesn’t exist. Psychology, quantum mechanics, neurochemistry would be scoffed at by Bazarov. It seems peculiar that Bazarov would say, "... nowadays we laugh at medicine in general, and worship no one," (197) while at the same time he pursues a career as a doctor.

Ruby Turpin Essay

Her knowledge does not rest upon the will of God, but on the racist environment she lives in. Ruby Turnip is a closet racist, she loves to categorize people and put them in boxes. It is the environment she is surrounded with that influences her actions. But the influence around her is not invincible. Ruby Turnip has been given the capability to break out of her mold and become something more. She has been given by God a chance to become a better Christian. A culture and way of life are engraved into your being from the beginning of your birth.A hypocritical culture, like that of the South, creates an interesting conflict of ideas and beliefs. The ordinary Southerner is a Christian who airships God every Sunday; one believes that at the end of time, God will judge them by looking at all his lifetime's deeds, both good and bad. But he is also born into an environment that has a lot of prejudice. These opposing values, one symbolizing charity and brotherhood and the other representing a n elitist culture, are taught and engraved in the South.Ruby Turnip believes she is a good Christian women but participates in the old southern pastime of racism. She believes that she is not racist, but is shocked to see blacks leading the way into heaven. She treats the black helpers like idiots, putting on a ask to cover her true prejudices and beliefs. It takes the spontaneous outburst of Mary Grace for Ruby Turnip to be shaken out of her closed point of view. She cannot understand how she is both a Christian and a warthog from hell. At first she cannot understand why, not seeing her own hypocrisy and pharisaic attitude.But at the end of the story, Ruby Turnip has a vision of the procession to heaven with those she considered lesser in front of her to heaven. It is a cultural shock. Everything she was made to believe in is false. Everything she has learned about the world and its society is false. The only Ruth she now has is the Divine Truth, the revelation from God. It is up t o Ruby Turnip to use this new found truth as way to become a better Christian ore forsake this new divine revelation. It is possible for Ruby Turnip to overcome and triumph over the social norms she faces in the depraved and biased culture she faces in the South.She, unlike the other characters we encounter in the story, ponders over the caste question. In one sense Ruby Turnip is better than her husband, Claude, and most other Southerners. She constantly ponders and obsesses over the classification of people as she may have a guilty conscience. Her constant thinking might make her able to come to terms with her own attitude. Claude is a man that accepts the bias culture that he has grown and lived with. Moreover, he neither questions nor ponders about the social question he is surrounded with.He chooses to ignore it. On the other hand, Turnip falls asleep pondering this question. Quote. Her nonstop mulling over this question shows that it is possible for her to grow into a more per fect Christian. The idea that while others do not think about the bias they have grown with, Ruby Turnip thinks about this social norm every day. Ruby Turnip t her core is a person with contradicting beliefs: a Christian, and a judgmental Southern. She is a person capable of being apathetic to the plight of others. She agrees with the spirit of the song.The gospel song's message â€Å"You go to your church / And I'll go to mine / But we'll all walk along together We'll help each other out† (496), which is played in the reception room, States that all though we are all different We are all Christians and that we will all walk together hand in hand to heaven and ultimately to God. This shows that her Christian beliefs of equality is a strong and integral part of her being. Ruby Turnip's philosophy in life is to help others. She makes it her life goal to help those that are in need, who need a hand. She never spared herself when she found somebody in need, whether they were whit e or black, trash or decent' (497). It is her duty as a morally upright Christian to not see others for what they are but for who they are. Ruby Turnip knows that before death, we are all equal. She dreams that â€Å"they [people] were all crammed in together in a box car, being ridden of to be put in a gas oven† (492) This graphic imagery references the holocaust when the Jews were crammed into box cars and transported. O camps. This scene symbolizes that before death and ultimately God we are all equal.That no matter our station or position in life we are, before God's judgment we are equal. Ruby Turnip although a biased and judgmental person, she is not morally at fault. The definition of a sin is any act regarded as such a transgressions especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle. Her sin or transgression is no a deliberate act against God's will. She believes in the truth that she has been taught: that racism and judgmental doesn't go against or oppose the divine will of God. The environment around her has affected her to the point of not realize her own moral faults and defects.This is the reason why she has trouble grappling over Mary Grace's revelation: that she, Ruby Turnip, a believer in the grace of God is a warthog from hell. Her judgmental and racism can only be considered a culpable sin when she encounters Mary Grace. Mary Grace is the first oppositions to the beliefs Ruby Turnip has grown up with. She is the only one to go against the social norms that have been imposed by the southern society. Mary Grace represents an enlightened, more modern world view on societal bigotry. It takes the grace of God to knock some human development into her.Ruby Turnip is not culpable for her sin because of her ignorance. Her ignorance of a more Christian point of view of the world, blocks her path to God. But as soon as God reveals to her the truth, Ruby Turnip has a choice: either accept this revelation or turn awa y from God and believe in the society beliefs. â€Å"For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required; and to whom much was committed, more will be asked of him. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes† (Luke 12:48).Those who are not given much are not expected to give back, they are punished less severely than those who much is given but don't give back to God are punished to the most limits. â€Å"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Chrism's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise: (Galatians 3:26-29). We are all brothers and sisters with Christ and because Of this We are the heirs to the promise of eternal salvation with God.

Critical Thinking and Problem solving Essay

Numerous decisions are taken every day. People choose when to get up on a certain morning, what clothing to wear, and whether to read a particular book. Most of the decisions made throughout the day are relatively trivial or inconsequential. It probably does not matter too much if it is decided to sleep an extra 15 minutes on a certain morning or if a blue shirt is selected rather than a green one. However, some of the decisions can carry substantial consequences. Choosing to get an undergraduate or graduate degree, deciding on a new job or career, or selecting one vendor out of many candidates to be the long-term supplier of a company of a necessary resource are important decisions that are likely to have a significant and meaningful impact. Learning, understanding, and applying critical thinking and problem-solving skills can improve the quality of the decisions that mean the most to us. The research paper also explores some fields where critical thinking proves a pathfinder in finding the correct solution to a problem. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Introduction Critical thinking and problem solving have been identified as essential skills for college students. Problem solving is defined as a step-by step process of defining the problem, searching for information. The goal of problem solving is to find and implement a solution, usually to a well defined and well- structured problem. Critical thinking is a broader term describing reasoning in an open-ended manner, with an unlimited number of solutions. The critical thinking process involves constructing the situation and supporting the reasoning behind a solution. Traditionally, critical thinking and problem solving have been associated with different fields: critical thinking is rooted in the behavioral science, whereas problem solving is associated with the math and science disciplines. Although a distinction is made between the two concepts, in real life situations the terms critical thinking and problem solving are often used interchangeably. In addition, assessment tests frequently overlap or measure both skills. Problem solving is defined as understanding the problem, being able to obtain background knowledge, generating possible solutions, identifying and evaluating the process, and exhibiting problem-solving dispositions. It is easy to fall into routine ways of thinking instead of being creative. The accompanying display lists some common barriers to creative thinking. A major block to creativity is groupthink (going along with the majority opinion while personally having another viewpoint). Nurses or the employees of the company, who engage in groupthink generally, wish to avoid interpersonal conflict. It takes intellectual courage to think something new and different from one’s peers, and then act on those thoughts. Independent thinking is a hallmark of persons who think critically and creatively. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Critical thinking includes problem solving and decision making processes. People use problem solving in their daily lives. With the problem-solving method, problems are identified, information is gathered, a specific problem is named, a plan for solving the problem is developed, the plan is put into action, and results of the plan are evaluated. However, this kind of problem solving is frequently based on incomplete data, and plans are sometimes based on incomplete data, and plans are sometimes based on guesses. Conversely, the nurse uses the nursing process to identify and to make decisions about client needs. It is a systematic and scientifically based process that requires the use of many cognitive and psychomotor skills. According to Costello-Nikitas, the following actions interfere with effective problem solving: †¢ Jumping too quickly toward a conclusion before exploring all the aspects of the problem †¢ Failing to obtain critical facts, about either the problem or proposed change †¢ Selecting problems or changes that are too general, too complex, or poorly defined †¢ Failing to articulate a rational solution to the problem or proposed change †¢ Failing to implement and evaluate the proposal appropriately Definition, Explanation and Importance of Problem Solving E. Paul Torrance’s definition of creativity fully describes problem solving and suggests the skill needed to reach this higher level goal: The process of sensing problems or gaps in information, Forming ideas or hypotheses, testing and modifying These hypotheses and communicating the results (Torrance 1994). A problem is â€Å"a question or situation that presents doubt, perplexity, or difficulty or a question offered for consideration, discussion or solutions† (Webster 1995). Problems are ever present in the life, preschoolers learn to say† I have a problem and apply the phrase to everything from a broken crayon to muddy shoes. Adults spend a great deal of time worrying about their own problems, which range from how to get three kids to various ball practices on the same afternoon to devastating financial or health problems. The ability to solve problems is highly important and should be a significant part of educational training. Higher-level Thinking Skills Schools curriculums often include the development of higher-level thinking skills, processes that require more mental effort than simple memory and recall. For example, many social studies guides denote decision making and problem solving (higher-level thinking skills) as key skills (Riecken and Miller 1990), which students use to solve problems. Higher-level thinking skills are sometimes known as higher-order thinking skills or productive thinking skills. Treffinger and Nassab (1996) discuss productive thinking and define it as including â€Å"creative thinking, critical thinking, problem solving, and decision-making†¦. † They further discuss the fact that productive thinking â€Å"builds on a rich knowledge base, motivation, personal characteristics and styles, and meta-cognitive skills. † Critical Thinking Swartz and Perkins (1990) discuss critical thinking as the â€Å"the critical examination and evaluation—actual and potential—of benefits and courses of action. Numerous lists of critical thinking skills exist; however, close analysis of them often reveals similarities in semantics. One list of critical thinking skills (Maker and Nielson 19996) follows: †¢ Determining fact and opinion †¢ Choosing relevant from irrelevant information †¢ Determining the accuracy of a statement †¢ Determining the credibility of a source †¢ Recognizing ambiguities †¢ Identifying underlying assumptions †¢ Determining external and internal bias †¢ Recognizing valid and fallacious arguments Critical thinking in Nursing Profession Nurses use critical thinking skills in each step of the nursing process. â€Å"Everything nurses do require high level thinking; no action is performed without critical thinking† (Rubenfeld & Scheffer, 1999) â€Å"Because the conclusions and decisions, nurses make affect people’s lives, our thinking must be guided by sound reasoning—precise, disciplined thinking that promotes accuracy and depth of data collection, and seeks to clearly identify the issues at hand. The role of the nurse has shifted from one of â€Å"hand maiden† to one of an autonomous partner in health care delivery. The impact of technological expansion and the increased acuity level of patients, combined with consumer demand for accountability and responsibility, have fueled this change. Currently, novice nurses must possess cognitive skills that require critical thinking. The nurse uses critical thinking to solve problems, make decisions, and establish priorities in the clinical setting. The framework for solving patient problems is called the nursing process. Critical thinking is an essential skill in the administration of safe, component nursing care. Critical thinking may be defined as â€Å"the process of purposeful, self regulatory judgment. The process gives reasoned consideration to evidence, contexts, conceptualizations, methods, and criteria† (American Philosophical Association, 1990) Ennis describes critical thinking as â€Å"reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do† (Nosich, 2001). Critical thinking is a goal directed; it is thinking with a purpose. Critical thinking also involves questioning. These questions include: Why? Who? What if? When? Where? Data are collected and organized within the critical thinking process. Pertinent data are separated from irrelevant data. Related data are clustered together to encourage the recognition of patterns. These clusters of data are then analyzed, and successful solutions to problems are identified. Knowledge Critical thinking calls for a knowledge base that includes declaration knowledge, (specific facts or information) and operative knowledge (an understanding of the nature of that knowledge). Nursing curricula assist the student in learning specific facts about nursing and the delivery of quality care. Students are also taught how to examine the belief underlying the facts in order to analyze and interpret those facts. In other words, students are not expected to merely repeat facts that have been memorized but instead to understand the reasoning behind the knowledge. Finding meaning in what one is learning is the core of critical thinking. In order to think critically, to solve problems, and so make decisions, nurses must develop a broad base of knowledge. This knowledge base includes information from other disciplines such as science (anatomy, physiology, and biology), psychology and philosophy (logic) Nurses apply this knowledge to specific client situation through critical thinking. Critical thinking and Problem solving in Business Gone are the days when management expected workers to check their brains at the door. As a knowledge worker, one is expected to use one’s brains in thinking critically. One will be solving problems and making decisions. Faced with a problem or an issue, most of us do a lot of worrying before separating the issues or making a decision. All that worrying can become directed by channeling it into the following procedure: 1) Identify and clarify the problem Your first task is to recognize that a problem exists. Some problems are big and unmistakable, such as failure of an air-freight delivery service to get package to customers on time. Other problems may be continuing annoyances, such as regularly running out of toner for an office copy machine. The first step in reaching a solution is pinpointing the problem area. 2) Gather Information Learn more about the problem situation. Look for possible causes and solutions. This step may mean checking files, calling suppliers, or brainstorming with fellow workers. For example, the air-freight delivery service would investigate the tracking systems of the commercial airlines carrying its packages to determine what went wrong. 3) Evaluate the evidence Where did the information come from? Does it represent various points of view? What biases could be expected from each source? How accurate is the information gathered? Is it fact or opinion? For example, it is a fact that packages are missing; it is an opinion they are merely lost and will sum up eventually. 4) Consider alternatives and implications Draw conclusions from the gathered evidence and pose solutions. Then weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative. What are the costs, benefits, and consequences? What are the obstacles, and how can they be handled? Most important, what solution best serves your goals and those of your organization? This is where your creativity is especially important. 5) Implement the best alternative Select an alternative and put it into action. Then, follow through on your decision by monitoring the results of implementing your plan. The freight company decided to give its unhappy customers free delivery service to make up for the lost packages and downtime. Be sure to continue monitoring and adjusting the solution to ensure its effectiveness over time. Developing critical thinking and problem solving skills in the child Reasoning, critical thinking or general intellectual functioning is one of the strongest predictors of academic success and resilience. Teaching children problem solving – how to figure things out—is key to success learning, and problem solving is characterized by the ability to generate possible strategies, analyze those strategies,, and anticipate their possible consequences. Skills that a child learns to master under the heading of problem solving include planning, flexibility, resourcefulness, and critical thinking. Planning entails looking ahead, anticipating possible outcomes, and making healthy choices. Flexibility entails shifting plans when one’s original strategy does not work out. Resourcefulness involves seeking help when needed, using resources intelligently, and developing â€Å"street smart. † Critical thinking refers to higher-order thinking skills that go beneath surface impressions and opinions to offer understanding and deeper meaning to an event or situation. Conclusion Many decisions don’t need much thought. Relatively small, routine, or mundane choices generally don’t require spending a lot of time or energy because the outcomes associated with these types of decisions probably don’t affect very much. Important decisions can shape lives, and decision quality is improved if person critically analyze the problems by considering new and different options, weighing the evidence objectively, looking at a problem from a different angle that gives different insights, developing novel solutions that effectively solve dilemmas, and accurately forecasting the probable impact of our decisions. Critical thinking is a process that emphasizes a rational basis for what one believes and provides standards and procedures for analyzing, testing, and evaluating beliefs. Critical thinking skills enable decision makers to define problems within the proper context, to examine evidence objectively, and to analyze the assumptions underlying the evidence and beliefs. Critical thinking enables to understand and deal with the positions of others and to clarify and comprehend one’s own thoughts as well. When critical thinking is applied, all aspects of the decision process are involved, from defining the problem, identifying and weighing decision criteria, and generating and evaluating alternatives to estimating the consequences that will result from our decisions. However, critical thinking does not mean that a person always make best possible decisions, never reach the wrong conclusion, and never make mistakes; it is simply a process person apply that enables, to arrive at superior; it is simply a process one apply that enables, to arrive at superior decisions consistently. Problem solving is a part of decision making. A systematic process that focuses on analyzing a difficult situation, problem solving always includes a decision-making step. Many educators use the terms problem solving and decision making synonymously, but there is a small yet important difference between the two. Although decision making is the last step in the problem-solving process, it is possible for decision making to occur without the full analysis required in problem solving. Because problem solving attempts to identify the root problem in situations, much tine and energy are spent on identifying the real problem. Decision making, on the other hand, is usually triggered by a problem but is often handled in a manner that does not eliminate the problem. Reference DeLaune, Carter, Sue. Ladner, Kelly, Patricia. (2002). Fundamentals of Nursing: Standards & Practice. US: Thomson Delmer Learning. Pg. 82, 89 Heywood, John. (2000). Assessment in Higher Education: Student Learning Teaching, Programmes and†¦ England: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Pg 177 Meador, S, Karen. (1997). Creative Thinking and Problem Solving for Young Learners. Westport: Libraries Unlimited. Pg. 69, 70 Marquis, L, Bessie. Huston, Jorgenson, Carol. (2005). Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing: theory and Application. Wolters Kulwer Health. The NPEC sourcebook on assessment. US: DIANE Publishing. Pg. 11 Williams, W, Steve. (2002). Making Better Business Decisions: Understanding and Improving Critical. North America: Saga Publications. Pg. 1-3

EKATO Organization Essay

A team is a formal work group whose members work internally with each other to achieve a common objective. A self-managed team is a small group of employees responsible for an entire work process, improve their operation or product, plan their work, resolve day-to-day problems, and manage  themselves. U. S companies including Ford Motor company, Digital Equipment and Boeing report many positive benefits from their experience with self-managed teams including higher productivity, improved quality and lower turnover. Team Development and Evolution EXATO vision it self as a services organization involve in providing solutions for mixing problems, rather than just designing and manufacturing of mixing machines. EKATO objective was to design a flexible and optimized production facility at a realistic cost, while creating an attractive environment to foster innovation. Therefore the new building was designed to support a cell-based, self-managing culture. Before the change to self managing culture, an extensive consultation and participation programme was conducted. This was based around people, process, technological and architectural strategies. A planning groups consisting of both workers and representatives of the workers’ council was formed to discuss any affect on employees due to those changes. The plan is to have 3 person groups. Wide-ranging internal information was made available to employees to support the new-managing, self-optimising approach in EKATO. With self managing teams approach brought good results; The new decentralised system amortized itself within the first 2 years operation Throughput times were reduced by 50% Inventories fell by 50% Spare parts stores reduced by one-third Machine cost fell Changes to plans reduced by 40% Obtaining information and passing it on cost reduced due to its availability and the easy communication Double time work was eliminated Due to the amount of coordination between that large no. of cells, the company reformed the cells into 8-9 persons instead of 3 allocated to three major manufacturing areas responsible for drives, shafts and impellers. Each manufacturing area has a leader who is responsible of that production group. Conclusion Teams can supply the competitive edge. Group pressures can have influence over individual’s behavior. The basic philosophy is â€Å"Entrusting employees with responsibility assures highest quality standards and low costs to the customer’s advantage†. 2. Evaluate the contribution that an effective HRM operation makes to the organization? Maximizing the effectiveness of the human assets of an enterprise is critical. HRM strategies vary from one company to another but provide similar services to the organization. – In EKATO, the HR is decentralized by making the department managers to be responsible for their staff finance and HR matters especially the appraisal and performance. – HRM includes a variety of activities, the key is deciding what staffing needs you have and whether to use independent contractors or hire employees to fill these needs. In EKATO hiring decision vital since staff composition  determines whether the firm has the necessary creativity skills and attitudes. EKATO maintains relationship with universities that specialised in process and involve this expertise on specific assignment. This open doors for universities students to work with the company after they finish their studies and be part of the organisation. – Attracting new employees by rotating them through different sections of the company for few months including assembly to gain the hand on experience in the entire company and be multi skilled. – Improving employees’ skills by providing extensive training programme to allow them to improve the productivity and have high quality performance. EKATO Team skills were improved through training before and after the move to the cell structure, to allow workers to be multi skilled and able to rotate roles to some extent. Coaching assisted individuals in personally adapting to working in teams on day-to day basis. Group members were trained in conflict resolution, problem solving, interpersonal relationship skills, team roles, group dynamics and decision making, as well as setting goals and priorities. – The typically objective of the HR is to provide an atmosphere in which all employees can perform their jobs to the best of their abilities and creatively contribute to the organization. EKATO retains its people by providing interesting work environment. Working there is relatively challenging because employees need to keep up development by attending seminars and read to stay current and keep up with fast technology. It is easier to make the job interesting for R&D staff than sales people. – They motivate their employee by adjusting the reward system to include an individual bonus for works contribution and the group productivity which encourage workers to work as a team to achieve individual goals. Re-training some employees who resisting the new change of the company to be self managing and group process. In addition, human resources management includes 15 methods to improve competitive advantage. 1. Working security: organization gives employees a long-term contract. 2. Carefully interview: managers should be carefully choosing excellent employee. 3. High salary: the salary is higher than another competitor at least. 4. Appropriate compensation: every month choose the excellent employee and give reward. 5. Employee ownership: provide stock of organization or share in project of profit. 6. The salary concentrating: Narrow the degree of the difference of the salary among employees. 7. Participate in management: let lower level employees join management. 8. Term work and working design 9. Symbolic equality principle: treat all employees equally. 10. Internal upgrade: through upgrade a lower level employee to higher position 11. Measurement practicing: Organization should measure employee attitude, different of the scheme and spirit of creation and ability of employee performance level. Notes: Introducing new technology such as expert system to help the company to manage and share solutions and knowledge, thereby reducing duplication. 3. Discuss the extent to which leaders at EKATO have attempted to change the organisation’s culture? Culture represents the unwritten feeling part of the organization. It refers to the set of values, beliefs, norms, attitudes, assumptions, and understandings shared by all members of the organization. It also defines the basic organizational values and communicates to the new members joining the organization the correct ways to think and act, and how things taught to be done. An understanding of organizational culture helps organizations respond and adapt to external environment by changing and solving internal problems. EKATO is a family owned enterprise. The founder Todtenhaupt was very technically oriented and has excellent relationship with his works and people in the chemical industry. The founder passed the organisation culture to his sons. But his sons changed the culture by bringing in an outsider Mr. Zeiler as CEO/President. The CEO, Mr. Zeiler believes that the leadership has to do with the personality style, values and assumptions. The CEO concentrated on the company internal matters and problems. With his sales background, he changed the company from role oriented i.e. bureaucratic to self managing culture. He focused on his workers by delegating responsibility to them and empowering skilled employees. He implemented the trust and openness culture within the organisation by allowing staff to learn from mistakes. To prevent classical labour problem, the CEO implemented communication and sharing the information culture by having open discussion on the company’s numbers, problems and goals. This is done by having two annual meetings between management and employees where the workers council and the CEO report to the staff. Beside that, top managers meet weekly and senior managers engage in cross-functional weekly problem solving meetings. Top management set the company plan and individual departments’ goals. These  goals are communicated to departments’ managers and then discussed within department staff. Senior mangers then meet quarterly to discuss the direction and review the strategy and areas of innovation. Each department manager is required to present results, costs and innovation capability. The outcome of these meetings are fed back to top management and then shared with staff. Hence, the spreading nature of culture will have an effect on organizational processes such as decision making, design of structure, group behaviour, work organization, and motivation and job satisfaction. Management interest in organizational culture to improve performance and increase competition. It is developed and manifests itself in different ways in different organizations, therefore, it is not possible to say that one culture is better than the other. Hence, there is no such thing as an ideal culture, only an appropriate culture.