Monday, December 30, 2019

The Pros And Cons Of Vegetarianism - 1524 Words

About 75 million are vegetarian of choice and an approximate that there is more than a half a billion of them. The figure that will slowly multiply with growing wealth and culture (Leahy et al 2). A vegetarian nourishment may play an advantageous role in health and avoiding obesity. Vegetarianism encompasses a spectrum of eating patterns: from people who wish to be known as ‘vegetarians regardless including some animal meat in their meals, but meats products should be omitted such as fish and fowl from a vegetarian dish (Lea and Worsley 505). Even though some people may be in contradiction of vegetarianism, it is a lifestyle and a diet that many follow and it is advantageous because it corresponds to religions, ethics, and has health†¦show more content†¦When comparing animals to a human being, we think they do not have a soul: if they are able to sense of their own mortality and grieve the loss of companions. Animals have language, melodious abilities, a sense of th e mysterious, originality and liveliness. Animals possess a sense of right and wrong; they are capable of fidelity, altruism, and even self-sacrifice, are not this attributes of having a soul. In some religions, such as Jains, the people cover their mouths to prevent injuring insects by breathing them in; in addition, they fashion a broom of soft quills and mildly clear the paths in front of them as they make their way over it. Their worships and values for all kind of lives even smear to root vegetables. They too are whose lives are as important as humans (Holloway 25). In Jainism, souls who lived harmfully came back for the next life in a lower form, maybe a snake or a frog and souls did their period on the wheel of rebirth, just as too much nourishment made their bodies sustainable and hard to drag around. So Jains supposed evil conduct adds burden to the soul and made it resistant to get off the wheel of rebirth as a punishment (Holloway 25). This religion shows us how caring th ey are for the smallest of the creatures in the world, their belief impels that we should respect every living organism, show a great example of a perfect religion. Furthermore, Jainism still has millions ofShow MoreRelatedPros And Cons Of Vegetarianism941 Words   |  4 PagesIs a vegetarian diet healthier than a meat eating diet? Becoming vegetarian certainly has pros because of its potential health benefits. However, becoming vegetarian also has its cons because it can cause the human body to become deficient on some of the body’s needs such as iron. With that, there are many advantages and disadvantages to vegetarianism that could make or break the choice of becoming one. A vegetarian lifestyle is known to provide the body with many health benefits. According to â€Å"BecomingRead MoreThe Benefits of Being a Vegetarian896 Words   |  4 Pages Colin Campbell, â€Å"No chemical carcinogen is nearly so important in causing human cancer as animal protein†. There are nine categories of vegetarianism which include many different diets such as vegan, raw food and macrobiotic diets (ProQuest). The different categories of vegetarianism from which you can choose depend on your body type and lifestyle (Preyss Pro). Not being a vegetarian can lead to obesity, illness and harm to animals. These problems can be solved by more vegetarian foods being servedRead MoreThe Ethical Implications Of Vegetarianism1614 Words   |  7 Pagescontroversy over the topic. The reasons that vegetarianism has grown into a controversial topic are mostly the human beliefs and health reasons associated with it. Vegetarianism has been around since as early as the seventh century B.C.E.. The civilization was the Indus Valley Civilization, they practiced tolerance towards all living things. Several Indian cultures and various religions (such as a ahimsÄ ) also practice non-violence towards animals (â€Å"Vegetarianism†, Wikipedia.com). This used to be the soleRead MoreVegetarian Diet Vs. Vegetarian Diets891 Words   |  4 Pagesadults, the pros and cons of vegetarianism, and foods that are nutrient dense and the sources in which to find these nutrients can be found. There are many reasons to why people chose to switch to a vegetarian diet. Individuals following a vegetarian diet are less likely to develop cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and more. A reduced intake of foods have bad fats, cholesterol, treated with growth hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides. Other pros to be beingRead MoreBody Reset Diet : The Nutrition And Dietary World By Storm986 Words   |  4 Pagesconcerning sustained weight loss, even after solid foods are reintroduced to the diet and smoothies are taken away. As with any diet, there are pros and cons to it. The pros are that plant-based smoothies that are low in calories are short-term and can eventually be phased out of the diet completely. Moreover, results should be seen very soon after the diet begins. Cons include smoothies could get boring, even in a span of fifteen days. Also, it is not proven that this diet effectively manages weight lossRead More Vegetarianism Essay1819 Words   |  8 Pagesyears, I learned a lot about vegetarianism and found out it’s not even close to what people think it is. Vegetarianism is a lifestyle in which a person eats foods of plant origin (Shapiro, par. 3). More precisely, this is not always just the vegetable food, because there is a separation among vegetarians. There are adherents of vegetarian food that eat only plants. Some people eat vegetarian food and drink milk, others consume plants, milk and eggs (Friend 11). Vegetarianism, for many supporters of theRead MoreFat Free, Weight Watchers, Pills, Detoxes, And All For What?966 Words   |  4 Pagesto conclude he still is). Beyonce is allegedly vegan, but not only does this seem like a trend, studies show it may have major environmental benefits as well. The more I meet people, converse, and network, the more it seems that vegan, or just vegetarianism is spreading. Many of my friends are vegetarian, or just love animals enough to influence me to look twice at the burger before I grab it, or to only keep vegan snacks in my dorm. I have found that eating plant-based comes from a place of ethi calRead MoreEssay about Beef...and Why It Shouldnt Be Whats for Dinner5062 Words   |  21 PagesUntil recently, vegetarianism has remained ostracized at the outskirts of our society, associated in collective public opinion almost exclusively with radical animal rights activists and left-wing political attitudes (Lund). In recent years, however, the practice of abstaining from meat consumption has taken on new life, fueled by new evidence of its health benefits and a changing moral landscape that is gradually expanding to include the rights of animals with those of humans. In spite of itsRead MoreNet Profit1479 Words   |  6 Pagesthe current menu b) Implement the vegetarian menu (mixed menu including old menu or part of it c) Franchise Livoria s name Alternative (a) - Keep current menu Pros: Livoria responds to the current loyal customers and the change will not impose effortS to change the menu and implementation of new products. Cons: Livoria will not address one of the major issues and opportunity (increased competition and shift of customer preferences). This alternative will diminish the cash flow byRead MoreHosp 310 Final Exam Answers792 Words   |  4 PagesQuestion 13. TCO 7. How is the wellness trend evolving truth-in-menu ethics in the restaurant industry? Also, explain how the same trend is evolving menu planning for people with heart conditions and for those who prefer alternative diets such as vegetarianism? Describe one specialty entree for a customer on a special diet (you may select the diet preference such as low salt, high carb, or low fat). Question 14. TCO 7. Outline the scope of college and university food services. What are the advantages

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Essay about Stevie Wonder - 904 Words

Stevie Wonder Stevie Wonder has been a major figure within the Black Music scene over the last forty years. Stevie Wonder was born Steveland Judkins on May13, 1950, however, he now prefers to be known as Steveland Morris after his mothers married name. He was blind at birth. The cause was the prematurity of the eye. Blood vessels in the back of the eye hadnt reached the front of the eye thus when he was born, prematurely, that growth temporarily stopped then wildly took off branching out in the Vitreous of the eye. After his family moved to Detroit in 1954, Steveland joined a church choir, the gospel leanings on his music balanced by R B. In 1961, Ronnie White of the Miracles, who†¦show more content†¦His contract with Motown expired in 1971, rather than re-signing right away, as the label expected, Wonder financed the recording of two albums of his own material, playing almost all the instruments himself, and experimenting for the first time with more determined musical forms. He pioneered the use of the synthesizer in Black Music, and also broadened his lyrical concerns to include racial problems and spiritual questions. Wonder then used these recordings as a lift to convince Motown to offer a more open contract, which gave him complete artistic control over his music, plus the chance to hold the rights to the music publishing with his own company, Black Bull Music. The signing of the contract with the release of the solo recordings Where Im Coming From and Music Of My Mind, which, despite warm serious reaction, quickly established him at the head of black music. Talking Book, in 1972, combined the technical advances of recent albums with big profitable success, producing hit singles from the driving Superstition, to the ballad standard You Are The Sunshine Of My Life. Wonder married fellow Motown artist Syreeta on 14th September 1970; he premiered many of his new production techniques on Syreeta (1972)Show MoreRelatedStevie Wonder1180 Words   |  5 PagesStevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Jenkins is what it may say on his birth certificate, but this world-renowned, transcendent artist is better known as Stevie Wonder. Even at birth, Stevie was ahead of his time. He was born premature and doctors were unsure if he would live. Stevie was placed in an incubator to save his life. As a result of the incubator supplying Stevie with too much oxygen, he was left blind. Throughout life, Stevie never let his disability hold him back. By age 10, he had alreadyRead MoreThe Role Of Models For A Person s Life1443 Words   |  6 PagesMusicians can also be role models and can be influential to individuals. Personally, I believe one of the most influential musicians would have to be Stevie Wonder. As a result of a premature birth, Stevie Wonder was born completely blind, he didn t let that hinder him at all. Wonder spent 51 years in the music business and won 22 Grammy awards. Stevie Wonder is a role model of mine because of his determination and obvious success t hrough overcoming adversity. Lastly, it’s hard to discuss role modelsRead MoreI Am Born On The World1238 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction: Steveland (Stevie) Hardaway Judkins was born on the 13th of May, 1950 in Saginaw Michigan (Bio, 2015). Due to being born six weeks premature, Stevie was placed in an incubator to help maintain his breathing (Bio, 2015 Stevie Wonder, 2011). The forced oxygen caused the retinas in the back of his eyes to become unattached, leaving Stevie permanently blind (Bio, 2015). This happened due to the growth of blood vessels in the back of the eyes not fully developing correctly (WikipediaRead More Songs in the Key of Stevie Wonder’s Life Essay1850 Words   |  8 PagesAt the young age of twenty two, Stevie Wonder sang, â€Å"When you believe in the things you don’t understand / Then you suffer / Superstition ain’t the way†. He started his career in the early 1960s, but in 1972, Superstition established Stevie Wonder as one of the most recognizable musicians of his time in American and African-American culture and music. Although music was Wonder’s main priority, he also dedicated his time to a fight against racism throughout national and international borders. MusicallyRead MoreIntervention Of A Patient With A Dementia851 Words   |  4 Pagesweek that normally responds well to music. Therefore, I utilized music therapy to engage the patient. My field instructor told me the genera of music that he enjoyed, so deciding on that was easy. I played several well known Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder songs. The intervention was successfully for about 15 minutes, in which he was tapping his foot and singing along. After 15 minutes, the patient began to lose focus and fell asleep. I would still say that the intervention was a success; it mayRead MoreWhite Class Sterotypes in the Play Good People1511 Words   |  6 Pagesyoung manager, Stevie. Stevie begins to let Margie go for her continuous tardiness to work. She keeps telling stories about his mother, and tries to completely ignore the fact that she is in the process of being fired. She even tries to negotiate a pay cut as low as $8.15 just as long as she can still stay there. I was beginning to think Margie may have attention deficit disorder with the amount of times she tried changing the subject, b ut she finally starts listening to what Stevie is saying andRead MoreMusic, By Victor Hugo1135 Words   |  5 Pagesimportant role in further expressing our feelings embedded in a picture. Music has the ability to convey the feelings one would like to express but is unable to do so through pictures and words. Our feelings often come from memories; American musician Stevie Wonder (2004) mentioned, â€Å"music, at its essence, is what gives us memories. And the longer a song has existed in our lives, the more memories we have of it.† For someone like me that loves listening to music, we almost always try to picture the sceneRead MoreEssay Music Influence on the Civil Rights Movement1037 Words   |  5 Pagescredited with the success of influential artists such as: Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, etc. b. A lot of white people and people today believe Motown was only created for the money and the money was being kept tight around Gordy for his wealth. i. In 1966, Motown had 200 musicians under a contract, only 4 were paid. The four that were paid were Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Diana Wells, and Stevie Wonder. ii. Gordy Berry originally wanted his artists to have nothing to do with racismRead More Motown Essay584 Words   |  3 PagesGordy had gathered the best jazz and blues players in and Motown was born through his genius. This small but dynamic record company has produced and help make many stars that we all know today such as Diana Ross and the Supreme, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and more recently the Jackson 5, Boyz II Men , and Queen Latifah. It is very surprising that both the genre of Motown and Hitsville remind unharmed by racism for the most since Detroit has been historically known for severe racism and segregationRead More Critical Analysis of Theme for English B Essay629 Words   |  3 Pagesother. He comes to the conclusion that although each has something to contribute, neither of them is really free. The student will never be white (the paper), but the instructor can gain color (from the student). I think of the Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder song Ebony and Ivory, and how the keys of a piano work together. Neither one can make as much music as when they work together. Although on first reading, I did not care for this poem. However, the more I read it and thought about what

Friday, December 13, 2019

Evaluation of Early Childhood Development Free Essays

The early childhood stage of development is the time of physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. Infants enter the world with a limited range of knowledge, skills and abilities. A child beginning to develop new motor, cognitive, language and social skills is a source of wonder for parents and caregivers, but sometimes may not be so much of a wonder. We will write a custom essay sample on Evaluation of Early Childhood Development or any similar topic only for you Order Now The study of development is a rich and varied subject, because sometimes factors may influence a child’s development to take an atypical route. Developmental psychology seeks to understand and explain how people grow and change through the entire lifespan. Researchers study the enormous range of influences including how genetics shape a child’s development as well as how experiences play a role. Because of this, it would be a good idea to devise a developmental policy to monitor development and hence provide the necessary support and treatment for children who are having certain difficulties in their developmental process, thus minimizing the challenges of family caregiving. Under psychological basis and using prior knowledge of policies, leadership skills, legal strategies and organisational dynamics a programme can be devised to inform policymakers and government agencies as well as health-specific caregiver organizations, on legislation and policies that can assist family caregivers, including community based supports etc. Methods to measure the impact and effectiveness of the program implemented will be taken by conducting interviews with several persons and experiments will also be done. The programme will be called ‘The Children’s Basic Integration’ and will be a faction under the American Psychological Association (APA) that targets the development and of children between 3-5 years of age, of early childhood, referred to as the Initiative vs. Guilt stage by Erik Erikson. During this stage, children begin to acquire a desire to copy adults around them and thus take initiative in creating play situations during play time. At this stage, Erikson states that children become involved in an ‘Oedipal Struggle’ and resolve this struggle through social role identification. Children at this stage become frustrated and experience a feeling of guilt if they do not obtain something that they naturally desire, if they are abused or neglected or feel as though they have done something wrong. This stage was chosen because a lot of behavioural patterns can be detected and identified, it is a relatively early stage to install change if necessary and they can take part in dialogue in acquiring data for the evaluation. How to cite Evaluation of Early Childhood Development, Papers

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Foreshadowing in of Mice and Men free essay sample

Foreshadowing in Of Mice and Men By Alex Luciani Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is the tale of an unlikely friendship between two men trying to achieve their dream. It’s set in California during the Great Depression. Foreshadowing is used throughout the story to predict major events that happen later on. It fills the reader with a sense of dread and anticipation and keeps the story suspenseful. It makes the tone of the story more tragic, as the characters are predicted to fail. The ending of the story, in which Lennie accidently kills Curly’s wife and George kills Lennie, is predicted using foreshadowing. Foreshadowing creates intensity and keeps the story interesting, which suggests that foreshadowing can make a book more enjoyable. Lennie’s accidental murder of Curly’s wife is foreshadowed several times. At the beginning of the novel, George discovers that Lennie has been petting a dead mouse that he has in his pocket, and it’s implied that Lennie accidently killed it while petting it. We will write a custom essay sample on Foreshadowing in of Mice and Men or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Later, Lennie kills his puppy in a similar manner when he accidently crushes it. The repetition causes the reader to assume that Lennie will accidently kill something else. George tells Slim that he and Lennie had to leave Weed when Lennie grabbed a girl’s dress and was accused of attempting to rape her. George explains that as soon as the girl started screaming, Lennie was â€Å"so scared all he can think to do is jus’ hold on† (41). It is in an almost identical situation that Lennie accidently kills Curly’s wife. Curly’s wife let Lennie feel her hair, but as soon as she thought Lennie was going to mess it up, she started screaming. Her screaming caused Lennie to hold on to her hair, and eventually led to him breaking her neck. Lennie’s death is predicted when Carlson decides to shoot Candy’s dog. Carlson proposes that the dog is more trouble than he’s worth and that Candy might as well let him shoot the dog. He explains that he won’t hurt Candy’s dog, that he’d shoot him in the â€Å"†¦back of the head. He wouldn’t even quiver† (45). The detail that Carlson uses to describe how he will shoot Candy’s dog is uncomfortable to read and causes the reader to suspect that Lennie will meet his end this way. When George kills Lennie at the end of the story, he does it in an identical manner to what Carlson described. George shoots Lennie right in the back of the head, just as Candy’s dog had been killed. George’s eventual killing of Lennie is foreshadowed right after Carlson kills Candy’s dog. Candy tells George that he â€Å"†¦oughtta have shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t oughtta of let no stranger shoot my dog† (61). The significance of this statement isn’t fully revealed to the reader, but it fills them with anticipation about who will be killed. This statement resonates with George, and eventually convinces him to kill Lennie, to save him from suffering at the hands of Curly or anyone else. George, realizing that Lennie will always be in danger, chooses to let him die peacefully, at the hands of a friend. John Steinbeck uses foreshadowing to keep the reader in constant suspense, always guessing as to how the events of the story will play out. Foreshadowing builds intensity in many scenes, and can even reveal reasoning for the choices that characters make. The reader begins to dread the ensuing events of the story because they’ve been predicted to be unfortunate for the characters. The use of foreshadowing makes Of Mice and Men interesting and more enjoyable as a whole.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Fetching water †a Strenuous Obligation of Rural Women in India

Fetching water – a Strenuous Obligation of Rural Women in India Free Online Research Papers For women there are no developed countries. Implied in this statement is the truth that women everywhere works for longer hours, the plight of poor rural women is rather worse. Every dawn brings with it a long search of fuel fodder and water. It does not matter if the women are old, young or pregnant, crucial household needs have to be met after weary day. Traditionally, fetching water has been a woman’s job. The arduous task of fetching water is becoming nightmarish because of the underground water table and general ecological degradation. Fetching water is an extremely strenuous activity undertaken by rural women and it consumes an enormous amount of their time and energy. In Haryana where all the villages are provided with safe drinking water through community water supply since 1990, fetching water was found drudgery prone activity (Jindal: 1992). In the year 1999-2000, AICRP team of FRM conducted ergonomic evaluation of fetching water with the objective to see the risk involved in this activity. METHODOLOGY The details of the procedure adopted for the above investigation is covered as fallow: As the workload generally assumes to be modified by age, ten subjects each from the two age groups 20-30 yr. And 31-40 yr. were selected for the study on workload due to fetching water. The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase all the home activities were tested for drudgery and fetching water was rated as most drudgery prone activity in the home sector. In the second phase ergonomic evaluation of fetching water was done which is discussed in this paper. The experiment of fetching water by 20 physically fit women was carried out both in the morning and evening in two ways: a) By sub-dividing the activity: i. Onward journey to the source with empty vessel(s). ii. Drawing/ pumping water. iv. Backward journey with filled vessel(s) to the storage place in the home. The observations were recorded for each sub-activity separately, for every min minimum for 20 minutes or till the activity is complete, which ever was earlier. Before the subject started the onward journey to the source, her resting heart rate/min for 5 minutes were recorded. She was made to walk up to the water source. During the activity, intend down the working heart rate/min and RPE. Then she was given rest and recorded the Recovery Heart Rate/min and RPE for a minimum of 10 min or till complete recovery. Similarly, the observations were recorded for (b) Drawing and pumping water (c) Backward journey with filled vessel(s). b) As a complete cycle: Fetching water was carried out completely in one cycle i.e. from onward journey with empty vessel(s) till she reached back and unloaded the filled vessel(s) at her destination. During the experiment, her working HR and Resting HR were recorded every minute till recovery. Research Associate, Department of Family Resource Management, I.C. College of Home Science, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar Physiological Stress Assessment The physiological stress of the activity was done using heart rate count per minute. Women attend to the activity of fetching water in the morning and evening. Therefore heart rate measurements were taken by tying the heart rate monitor in morning and in the evening. Bio-mechanical Assessment (analysis of the postural bends) Posture is the orientation of the person’s body parts of the work place arrangement so that the work is performed with ease. In activities involving flexi-curve was used to measure the spinal cord profile in the normal; position and it was drawn on white paper by marking cervical and lumber regions. Postural bends were taken in the identified body positions for each part of the activity using flexi-curve in the similar way and the deviation at the lumber region was analyzed for each age group against the normal position in standing. Measurement of Physiological Workload was done with the help of formulae given by Varghese et al (1994) as fallow: Energy expenditure (kj/min) = 0.159 xAHR-8.72 Energy expenditure (Kilo calorie /min)= 0.039AWHR TCCW ( Total Cardiac Cost of Work ) = Cardiac Cost of Work(CCW)+Cardiac Cost of Recovery (CCR) Where, CCW = Average Heart Rate (AHR) x Duration of Activity AHR = Average Working Heart Rate (AWHR) Average Resting Heart Rate ( ARecHR) CCR = Average Recovery Heart Rate( ARecHR)- Average Resting Heart Rate (AWRHR) PCW = TCCW/Total time of Activity Physiological Workload Index Rating on Perceived Exertion Very light 1 Light 2 Moderate 3 Heavy 4 Very Heavy 5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Activity profile a) Type of vessel: Earthen pitcher was used mainly to fetch water (80%) followed by brass tokni (20%). However, the trend in rural areas is that they generally use brass tokni to fetch water but empty it into earthen pot after return. A brass tokni weighs on an average 3 kg whereas earthen pitcher ranged from 6-7 kg. However to fetch drinking water only earthen pitcher was used (Table1). b) Mode of carrying load: Head load was the only mode of carrying water to home. A woman carried one vessel at a time having a load of 5.8 kg during onward journey while she carried 24.2 kg (with water filled vessel) during return journey (Table 1).In a similar study conducted by Hyderabad AICRP team reported shoulder as the mode of fetching water( Annual Report,2002). c) Number of vessels: On an average, a woman fetched 23 vessels of water daily in summer i.e. 17 in the morning and 6 in the evening (Table 1). This water requirement was for the purpose of cooking, cleaning, washing and bathing of self, family members and many times for animals, too. Hence, she had to make 23 trips per day to fetch water. d) Time spent: An average woman spent 6 min. per trip to fetch one vessel of water to home (Table 1). Hence, the total time spent per day on fetching water was 138 min. This indicates that she spends 105 man-days in a year to fetch water. Further, she could bring ten vessels of water in an hour. e) Distance traveled: A woman traveled a distance of 0.25 km per cycle of fetching water (Table 1). This depicts that she had to travel 5.75 km in a day only for fetching of water. f) Speed of walking: A woman walked speed of 2.8 km/hr during onward journey of fetching water while it was 3.5km/hr for backward journey. The walking speed of the woman increased while backward journey because she carried a head load and wanted to ease herself by finishing the task as early as possible. Physiological Stress Physiological stress of women respondents was determined on the basis of various parameters like average and peak heart rate, energy expenditure, total cardiac cost of work and rating of perceived exertion while performing the activity. This is discussed as under: a) Heart Rate: Table 2 reveals that average and peak heart rate of women was observed to be 103.7 bpm-1 and 111.3 bpm-1 while fetching water during morning hours for the complete cycle. However, there was a slight increase in average and peak heart rate (104.6 bpm-1, 111.4 bpm-1) during evening hours even though maximum vessels of water were fetched in the morning (17 vessels). The reason for the same could be due to gradual increase in fatigue as the day progresses. Both average and peak heart rate was maximum during drawing of water among both the age groups in the evening viz., 21-30 years (122.5 bpm-1 and 123.1 bpm-1) and 31-40 years (127.4 bpm-1 and 129.5 bpm-1) (Fig.1). Fig.1 Relationship between heart rate and energy expenditure b) Energy expenditure: Energy expenditure calculated on the basis of average and peak heart rate was found to the extent of 7.7 Kj/min and 9.0 KJ/min. respectively during morning hours. However, energy expenditure increased with the increase in age and as the day progressed to the evening (7.8 KJ and 8.9 KJ/min). It was determined to be maximum while drawing water (10.7 KJ/min) followed by backward journey (8.35 Kj/min.) (Table2). The reason may be that they were drawing water with the help of hand-pump fitted over the water supply tap due to low pressure, which required more physical efforts for fetching water. A significant positive correlation existed between energy expenditure and time spent during backward journey both in the morning and evening (Fig.1). c) Physiological workload: The average working heart rate increased up to 35% over rest causing stress. This could be perhaps due to manual lifting and carrying loads. The work joules (calories expenditure) indicated 8.4 kj/min or 2.0 Kcal (Kilo calories) and 37.6Kj/min or 8.67 Kcal/hr which were well within the acceptable limits of a healthy worker performing the same work for an 8 hr schedule. d) Physiological cost of work( PCW): Physiological cost of work was determined on the basis of TCCW and duration of activity. TCCW was assessed as 253.2 and 280.8 beats among two age groups respectively for the complete cycle of fetching water during morning hours. However, it was calculated as 243.8 and 276.8 beats during evening respectively (Table 3.). Unlike heart rate and energy expenditure TCCW also showed an increasing trend with the increase in age. Physiological cost of work was determined to be maximum during drawing water (73.3bpm-1). -74.3bpm-1). The activity was perceived moderately heavy on the RPE score. Again the HYDERABAD AICRP team showing higher heart rate, higher peak heart rate, higher energy expenditure made contradictory results and the fetching water was perceived as heavy activity (AICRP:2001-2002). It can be understand that the work â€Å"Water Fetching† is moderate heavy for the women in terms of subjective rating on perceived exertion and physical cost of work. By this it can be inferred that the energy wasted in supporting the losd is greater than the energy required completing the task as no technical device be used. Therefore alternative technical tools could be planned to give mechanical advantage to this manual work. Bio-mechanical assessment a) Postural Analysis: The spinal curvature at cervical and lumbar regions was recorded while onward journey, drawing water and backward journey during fetching water. i) Frequency of postural change: Bending posture was adopted for maximum number of times (40) while fetching water closely followed by standing posture. Bending posture was adopted for maximum time during drawing of water from the hand-pump (Fig.2.) ii) Spinal curvature at cervical and lumbar region: Table 4. Show the average cervical and lumbar angles obtained while onward, backward journey drawing water by women during fetching water. These angles were recorded to study the effect of bending on anterior posterior spinal curvature. Percentage deviation in the cervical region from the normal position was assessed to be 1.7 % and 7.3 % while drawing water among women belonging to two age groups viz., 21-30 yr. 31-40 yr. It was 2.9 and 3.1% respectively in two age groups during backward journey respectively. In lumbar region, percentage deviation from normal position was quite significant in case of drawing water among both age categories (10.0% and 8.9 % respectively). It was assessed to be 2.9 and 3.5 percent during backward journey for the women belonging to 21-30 yr. and 31-40 yr. of age respectively. It is evident that the anterior- posterior spinal increases during carrying load while it decreases during drawing water. Respondents complained of fatigue during work and also towards the end of the day. Postural stress could be a causative factor for high physiological cost and fatigue. This might lead to vertebral column related injuries or health problems in the long run which is evident from the body ache and pain. Musculo -skeletal problems: To study the muscle-skeletal problems, a body map was used to analyze the magnitude of body pain of women while fetching water. Very severe to severe pain was reported in shoulder joints, upper back and lower arm specially while drawing water. While carrying load back home, pain was more evident in neck, upper arm, shoulder joints, upper leg, lower back and calf muscles. Carrying heavy loads for prolonged periods covering long distance were the risk factors and against the acceptable mode of manual material handling and therefore strain cervical, shoulder and lumber regions. The musculo skeletal disorder of ligaments, joints, spinal discs is a possibility to occur due to the aforesaid risk factors. Put the postural muscles under continuos contraction leading to muscular fatigue, and if it sustained for longer period will cause severe muscular injury. CONCLUSIONS An average woman carries a head load of 24.3 kg. and fetches 23 vessels of water per day. She covers a distance of 5.75 kms at a speed of 2.8km/hr during onward journey and 3.5 km/hr for backward journey of fetching water and spends 138 min per day. Physiological cost of work in terms of energy expenditure was found to be the extent of 7.7 kJ/min during morning hours. However, energy expenditure increases as the day progresses to the evening (7.8 kJ/ min) and also increases with the age. A significant positive correlation exits between energy expenditure and time spent during backward journey and also for drawing of water. While drawing water percentage deviation in the cervical region comes to 1.7 per cent and 7.3 per cent among women belonging to 20-30 yr. and 31-40 yr. of age groups. In lumber region deviation was to the extent of 10 and 8.9 per cent. A woman feels very sever to severe pain in shoulder joints, upper back and lower arm especially while drawing water. Pain is mo re evident in neck, upper arm, shoulder joints, calf muscles while carrying load back home. It is important that a large-scale study is undertaken to investigate biomechanical disorders in fetching water,. establish causative factors and come up with solutions to minimise their cause. As, water carrying either on the head hip, back or shoulder has posture and biomechanical disorders associated with it. Solutions must be sort to alleviate these problems These may require new methods of transporting water. Rick management strategies: ? It is generally considered that the load to be carried by women workers should not be more than 30 percent of her body weight ? Body should be in alignment during carrying water. Proper posture should be adopted while drawing and bringing water. ? Women should use other sources of water for different purposes, e.g. for drinking cattle irrigation ditches and pond water can be used. It will save the additional trips of water. ? Rain water harvesting, recycling wastewater and saving water losses, are some of the simple techniques, which can help stretch the smallest drop of water. ? It is required to provide the water in the household premises to illuminate the drudgery and fatigue of the rural women. Haryana State, Government is pledged to provide the water supply within the household premises of all the villagers. ? Push Trolleys developed for fetching water by the Hyderabad AICRP team should be prorogated in the areas where the fetching water is drudgery prone activity. REFERENCES ? Annual Report 1999-2000. Ergonomics of Farm Women’s Drudgery – All India Co-ordinated Research Project in Home Science. Deptt. of FRM, COHS, CCSHAU, Hisar: 1-80. ? Annual Report 2001-2002.Ergonomics of Farm Women’s Drudgery- AICRP in FRM Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad: 1-95. ? Jindal, A.1992. Housing Needs in Content of Rural Women M.Sc. Thesis. Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. 1-165. ? Varghese, M.A., Saha, P.N. and Atreya, N. 1994. A Rapid Appraisal Of Occupational Workload From A Modified Scale of Perceived Exertion. Ergonomics, 37(3): 485-491. Research Papers on Fetching water - a Strenuous Obligation of Rural Women in IndiaAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationThe Hockey GameThe Spring and AutumnPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyMind TravelBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseResearch Process Part One

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Case study (Cost Analysis) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

(Cost Analysis) - Case Study Example It is essential for the Chief financial officer to develop a budget that retain and influence doctors input. Managing the physicians could be adequately done by proper management of time so that those who may seek to make more money do not do it at the expense of BCH. As a CFO, the management can be effected by converting hospital staff’s net paid days worked to a factor. BCH CFO Office is open and staffed seven days a week, per as a work agreement with a well managed care plans. The office manager prepares a worksheet, which displays 9 holidays, 15 vacation days, 7 sick days, and 3 education days, equaling thirty four paid days per year not worked. The physicians’ cluster allows 5 sick days, 8 holidays, and 1 education day. A physician must work one full year to receive 5 vacation days. An employee ought to have worked full time for 3 full years before getting 10 annual holiday days. This is a cost effective approach that can be implemented to allow physicians get comm itted (Nowicki, 2008). As a CFO, the iron triangle of health care must be implemented to cater for the physicians, patients and organization. Health policy analysts normally refer to an iron triangle of healthiness. The three edges of the triangle are the quality, cost, and accessibility of care. This means that, in equilibrium, improving the performance of the health care organization along any one of these perspective can compromise one or both of the other aspects, regardless of the quantity that is spent on health care (Zelman, McCue, & Glick, 2009). Such tradeoffs are not frequently required, of course. For instance, tying payments to physicians to the quality of services offered could improve providers’ enticement to contain costs and progress quality. As a CFO, cost effective programs implementation is essential. Dealing with hospitalist issues Hospitalist is the term applied for physicians who are specialized in the care of sick clients in the hospital. This movement was started about ten years ago and has transformed due to many factors. These factors include; convenience, cost-effectiveness for hospitals, financial strains on primary care doctors, efficiency, patient safety, and need for more dedicated and synchronized care for hospitalized patients. As a CFO, funds must be budgeted to enable implementation of the hospitalist. Financial costs Cost accounting system; Bobcat Community Hospital has a strong billing and collection constituents but a weak cost accounting coordination. Financial incentives have always maximized on reimbursement but not in controlling costs (Brent, 2003). The cost of implementing this would not change the 2010 budgetary

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Arguments For And Against Resistance To Change Essay

Arguments For And Against Resistance To Change - Essay Example With evidence of companies failing to change owing to resistance by employees, it is no wonder that organizations invest great time and resources to conduct training and coaching in order to reduce resistance to change. While there are strong arguments that support this view, there are various reasons to prove that managing resistance to change may, in fact, may not be a good idea always. One reason why resistance to change may be productive is that it prevents bad/wrong ideas from being assimilated in the organization. Employee resistance to change allows firms to rethink â€Å"why† they are changing. In other words, it allows leadership to reconsider the business case for change with a critical perspective. If all employees agreed and there was no resistance, clearly management could oversee the ‘downside’ of changing making it unprofitable for the firm in the long run. Furthermore, because resistance to change often comprises of the fear factor (including loss of status, power or even job for employees), it encourages the top management to discover the impact that change would have on the ‘people’. Therefore, resistance to change is essential in the sense that it allows management to develop an open-ended view of change and consider the drawbacks of change. By doing so, managers can then come up with policies and procedures to counter the drawbacks and make change more workable and feasible for employees. Furthermore, the fact that resistance is seen as a â€Å"problem† to change leads management to derive strategies to overcome rather than engage it. Managers may often go at length to reduce the ‘threat’ of resistance and, in doing so, may adopt tactics that may be harmful to the organization. As a result, it is common to find management taking on an overly defensive role in trying to push the change too hard as well as become overly protective of their status in trying to win the argument against disgrun tled employees (Watson, 1982). This occurs because management views resistance to change as a reactive process in which agents possessing power oppose the reactions of other agents (Jermier et al., 1994). This leads them into an evitable trap whereby the management becomes overly concerned with protecting their position and argument rather than listening to what the disgruntled employees have to say. As a result, communication is reduced and the situation evolves into a manager-employee conflict. This stems from the fact that managers may alienate employees who are seen as obstacles rather than resources for change. Consequently, this conflict results in loss of reputation and poor relationships with employees, thereby reducing the morale of employees. Additionally, managing resistance to change often brings with the incorrect assumption that resistance is a one-sided phenomenon. Managers may become overly simplistic to assume that resistance is caused only by the attitudes and beha viors of employees. In fact, many models, such as three dimensional model of change, are based on the inherent assumption that resistance is solely the product of the behavior, emotions and attitudes of the employees (Hayes, 2010). Under this view, managers attempt to see the resistors as irrational and self-centered and consequently, try to block their interference in the change process. Although this true, resistance to change can be attributed partially to the way in which the organization is bringing about change and the behavior of managers in this respect. Therefore, managers who hold this view often ignore the fact that resistance to change is, in fact, feedback and that it must not be blocked or reduced but dealt with

Monday, November 18, 2019

Post Anaesthetic care course Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Post Anaesthetic care course - Essay Example On arrival at the ward I learnt that the ward was checked and stocked up by night staff and signed in the logbook. Soon after starting my shift our first patient was wheeled to a bay by theatre staff. I put on personal protective equipment and approached the patient. I connected the patient to the monitoring and their airway to the central oxygen. I learnt from the anaesthetist that the patient Mrs Brown (not her real name) hemiarthroplasty of her right hip operation under general, plus regional anaesthetic. She was in theatre for almost two hours and was stable throughout the operation. Mrs Brown is a 72 years old lady of 57kg, had a fall two days ago that fractured her neck of femur. Her medical history was dementia, untreated hypertension (high blood pressure) and high cholesterol. She had no-known allergies and was not taking any regular drugs except painkillers when needed. In theatre she induced with sevoflurane, was given a fascia-iliac nerve block 100 mcg Fentanyl intravenously on induction, 100 mg Propofol, 30 mg Rocuronium, 4 mg Ondansetron, 3.3 mg Dexamethasone, 50 mg Cyclizine , 75 mg Voltarol, 1 gr Paracetamol, 10 mg Morpheine and Glycopyrronium Bromide 0.5mg and Neostigmine Metilsulfate 2.5 mg at the end of surgery. The theatre nurse estimated blood loss of 500 millilitres. The patient had two Bellovac drains in situ that were unclamped and had started collecting in theatre, and the wound was dressed using a Mepilex dressing. A- Airway - the patient’s airway was patent. She had an oropharyngeal (Guedel) airway used as a bite block size 2 (green), and an endotracheal tube size 7 in situ connected to a water circuit and to 10L central oxygen. The bag was moving, and the endotracheal tube was misting. B- Breathing - Mrs Brown was breathing spontaneously. Her respiratory rate was 12 per minute and shallow in depth, bilateral air entry was present with equal chest

Friday, November 15, 2019

Why is Mcdonalds such a successful company? Emphasis on India China

Why is Mcdonalds such a successful company? Emphasis on India China 1. Introduction In the present day we all lead a very hectic lifestyle cramping our lives with endless things to do and accomplish. Gone are the days when meals were cooked and served in households three times a day, instead, the youth live on pre-cooked micro waved meals and fast food. We want food and we want it fast. This was essence for the rise of Mcdonalds From humble beginnings in 1954, when Raymond Kroc who was a salesman had a vision of getting the best food in the shorted possible time to people across America was the birth of the fast-food chain that we know as McDonalds. What he did as a pioneer in the fast food industry is akin to the accomplishment of Henry Ford in the automobile industry. The same concepts of Henry Ford were applied of ensuring timeliness, proper disclipine and production efficiency were utilized. In this instance, to French fries, milkshakes and Hamburgers. Today, McDonalds is a brand that is recognized in every corner of the world. A testament to the accomplishment of this fast-food chain is the endorsement by the economist in the world who compare the official exchange rate with that of the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) as the Big Mac Index to gauge if the currency is undervalued or overvalued. In this globalised world, how is that McDonalds managed to reach the heights that it has today with 30,000 outlets in 120 different countries spread across the globe in so many different societies with different cultures, different tastes and different economies. What are the factors that have allowed the managers in McDonalds to succeed in these countries? This paper is an attempt to address these issues. 2. International Business (Multi National Corporations) Today the world is a globalised world and increasingly becoming like a single market place. The barriers of international trade are considerably reduced. Businesses are forced to develop effective management teams and policies that can operate in different national environments. â€Å"Globalization is necessary for success and survival in the worldwide market; however, global competition is not easy† (Bateman Scott, 2004). At the onset of the twenty first century, the list of fortune 500 companies century are increasingly companies that are global (Global Capitalism, 2005) and McDonalds is part of this group. This trend gives rise to an important question in a service organisation about service quality how can multinational firms in the service industry obtain a competitive advantage over local industries and succeed? With over 30,000 restaurants operating in 120 countries and with over 1m employees McDonalds is a truly global success. But, what has made the company successful during one of the toughest economic environments for decades? The past 18 months have been a very testing time for companies across the globe. Many have succumbed to the economic turmoil caused in the US housing markets, many have changed their strategy going forward and many have changed their senior management however, McDonalds has seen an astonishing growth in its sales over the past few months. From the study of McDonalds, we identify three key factors: Embracing globalisation Adapting to local culture 3. Strong company core values (culture) The first factor globalization, has allowed between different parts of the world to come closer together, provides opportunities of exchange and expands the consumer base. Among the factors that have allowed these organisations to succeed in the global market place has been their ability to harness the cross-cultural issues and the benefit that a diversity brings to the organisation. The final factor is strong company core values that it disseminates across all aspects of its business across the globe. McDonald Corporations uses these factors to conduct business around the world. 3. Research and Findings (Primary Secondary) To any society, food is an important cultural ingredient. â€Å"Food is the oldest global carrier of culture.† (Britannica 2007). People believe that we become what we eat and impact our behaviour. Changes in its preparation has the potential to alter the traditional beliefs of people, so how could McDonalds succeed even in such an environment? In todays intensely competitive marketplace for fast food services, maintaining a competitive advantage puts a heavy premium on having a highly committed or competent workforce. â€Å"Increasingly it is being recognized that competitive advantage can be obtained with a high quality workforce that enables organisations to compete on the basis of market responsiveness, product and service quality, differentiated products and technological innovation†. (Chew, I. Horwitz, F. Case study findings). The Fast food industry like other service industries has many characteristics. When taken in context of India and China, the following are the main ones; Liberalisation of the economies of China and India Vast population Changing consumer behaviour Highly competitive environment Strong traditional food culture. Looking at these individually, the liberalisation of trade and investment in China and India has allowed for the proliferation of many international fast-food outlets in these countries. As these countries enjoy economic prosperity, a large working population means that the per capita and household disposable incomes have grown. More and more woman now work in these countries hence the fast-food/take-away and home delivery markets have grown phenomenally in India and China. Gone are the days when McDonalds enjoyed competitive advantage simply because of their unique product line. Besides the national restaurants, there are other western fast-food organisations like Burger King and KFC that pose tough competition to McDonalds by offering similar product lines. 3.1 Critical Success Factors Interview sessions were held on a number of consumers across various regions of Hong Kong. Some critical factors of success of McDonald were identified. Product line Lower Prices Sales Promotion Service Quality Adapting to Local taste Convenient Location Seating space Cleanliness The survey results gave the following results that are depicted on the chart below: If one were to look at a threshold of 80%, we find that convenient location, lower prices, service quality, cleanliness and adapting to local taste are the critical factors that consumers rate when walking into a fast food outlet and McDonalds rates high on them. 3.2 SWOT Analysis Porter (1985) suggested that the manner in which a firm puts its strategies into practice will define the sphere that it operates in be it cost leadership, differentiation or focus strategy. According to him, competitive advantage stems from not just one activity that the time does but from many discrete activities. These could be the marketing, designing, delivering or even supporting its product or services. A SWOT analysis is a good starting place in order to identify potential competitive advantages. If a quick SWOT analysis is done on McDonalds the results can be summarised as follows; 3.3 McDonald as an Employer Employees perceptions about McDonalds could be demonstrated by Hewitts â€Å"2009 Best Employers China Study†, according to which, McDonalds(China)company Ltd. has been regarded as the 3rd best employers in China. Hewitt is one of most widespread professional studies which have most impact force and influence. McDonalds figure shows a Employees engagement of 75%, which is about 26% above the average. In general, employees in â€Å"The Best† such as McDonalds speak more positively about the company (Say), more willing to serve the company (Stay) and contribute more to the company (Strive). Engagement Behaviours The Best Employers including McDonalds also shows lower turnover rate than the rest across all levels. Employees Turnover Rate Leaders of McDonalds drive a strong message that employees are highly valued assets of the organization. Employees hold strong positive perceptions of their leaders with respect to range of organizational relationships Employee View of Senior Management  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The BestTheRest I see strong evidence of effective leadership from senior management  Ã‚  Ã‚  68% 46% Our senior leaders remove barriers to create effective cross-department teams  Ã‚  68% 49% Our senior leaders develop relationships at all levels within the organization  Ã‚  70% 51% Our senior leaders requires continuous improvement from all parts of the organization  77% 57% Our senior leaders create excitement about changes  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  76% 56% Our senior leaders fill me with excitement for the future of this organization  Ã‚  Ã‚  66% 44% Our senior leaders treat employees as this organizations most valued assets  Ã‚  Ã‚  69% 47% Our senior leaders consistently demonstrate the organizations values in all behaviors and actions73% 51% 3.4 Position of McDonalds When we analyse the competing fast-food chains in China, we find that till the end of 2008, KFC opened over 2300 restaurants in China, while McDonalds only has 1100 restaurants. In a questionnaire which investigatesâ€Å" The Most Impressive Restaurant in Guangzhou† shows that Mcdonalds with a proportion of 23.5% is leading other fast-food restaurants including KFC and some other local restaurants. Proportion of Impression of Fast-food restaurants in Guangzhou Research also reflects that McDonalds major consumers are young people aged between 15 and 25. By calculating we can infer that this group of people goes to McDonalds every 2.82 weeks with 60% of them going there because of the fashion image given by McDonalds while 33.3% of them go there because of its conveniences. However, convenience is cited by 53.5% for people aged between 25 and 40 as the reason for going to McDonalds. Proportion of different aged people take a meal at McDonalds at different frequencies consumer aged between 15-25 Consumer aged between 25-40 Motive of consumption During the survey, questions were asked about which promotion method most influences the interviewee the main source that people use to acquire information being 1) TV advertising and 2) friends. These are 74% and 65% respectively. Mean while, when asked about the impact of advertising,75.5% of interviewee express that they are frequently attracted by TV advertising which are quite innovate. 24.5% of interviewees say that they are occasionally interested but no one has ever been attracted nor seen the TV advertising. (diagram) Consumers sensitivity of TV advertising 4. Analysis In spite of being an American firm that is built around the Hamburger model, McDonalds has become a part of the lives of people in Asia. Consumers in countries like China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, where the staple diet is mostly rice or noodles have still embraced this fast food chain. It has even managed to penetrate in India, where cows are considered sacred. 4.1 Globalisation and Glocalisation There have been widespread campaigns about the ill-effects of globlasition there are a few that are pro-globalisation and postulate that globalisation enhances culture rather than adulterate it. Where it not for globalisation, it would have been unlikely that McDonalds would have had developed as a brand. â€Å"Researchers have coined a term, glocalisation, to refer to the interactions between local influences and actors and global forces† (Smith Guarnizo, 1999). Large multinational firms, particularly in the services sector, have taken steps to adapt to local values, traditions and cultures. In some instances, there have been large scale protests when a multinational firms sets up its operation overseas. McDonalds had to bear the brunt of protests when it first started in India. Radley Balko (2003), states that â€Å"In most communities, the McDonalds has conformed to the local culture not the other way around. The McDonalds corporation notes that most of its overseas franchises are locally owned, and thus make efforts to buy from local communities. McDonalds also alters its regional menus to conform to local taste.†. For example, in India, the non-vegetarian menu includes chicken and fish items only. Beef is not on the menu in India because are considered sacred. 4.2 Contribution of Culture to their Success People bring an organisation alive. Using a more diverse description, fish feels the need for water only when it is not in it. Culture is like what water is to fish. It sustains us. We live and breathe through it. â€Å"McDonalds commitment to diversity is established on the foundational belief that diversity is not just a moral and ethical issue, but also a business issue† (McDonalds, 2005). Due to the sheer number of outlets in 120 different countries, McDonalds has no choice but to embrace diversity. What is means is that almost every culture, every ethencity is represented in McDonalds. Internal management policies dictate that local suppliers are promoted. This is an extension of their policy on diversity. the use of local suppliers and based on their policies of diversity. When the individual outlets are examined, at the managerial level, there exists a task/occupational sub- culture.†A task culture is job or project oriented culture and emphasis is placed on completing a specific task†. Coles, M. et al.,(1999). The members have strong recognition for the skills of one another and respect each other. They need each other for the organisational success. Culture is itself not visible, but is made visible by actions or if one does something weird and people will come up and tell you that it is not the done thing. McDonalds realizes that having diversity as an asset greatly enhances the profitability of the company. Diversity is a direct reflection of a companys interpersonal relationships. McDonalds leadership encourages diversity through their policies and programs. McDonalds proven success with leveraging the advantages of diversity can be attributed to their core value of ethics. When I characterise the people of McDonalds on the basis of Herzbergs Motivation hygiene theory, Mullins,L.J.(2002), it is easy to appreciate and seems readily applicable. However when looking at it deeper, certain factors emerge questionable Money is a complicated motivator, it satisfies peoples need in a variety of ways, a set of people in McDonalds, money was important as they needed to fulfil their basic physiological need, there were others who needed money to throw parties (a social need) and the customer relations manager wanted it to buy a house (esteem need). People cut right through the way in which th ey prioritised money. 4.3 Management Practices There is a saying, â€Å"You can take the horse to the water but you cannot make it drink.† It will drink only if it so desires. People will also do what they want to do unless motivated, whether on the shop floor or in the ivory tower. This can be done intrinsically or by external stimulus. Watson (1997) mentioned that â€Å"McDonalds focuses on standardization of its products, as consistency and predictability are important keys to the companys worldwide appeal. It was also indicated that one key to McDonalds success was the constant push to speed up production without sacrificing consistency. McDonalds had created a system that depends upon standardized procedures in everything from sandwich assembly to advanced management training at Hamburger University†. In the 600-page â€Å"Operations and Training Manual† production guide, McDonalds ensured that nothing is left to chance; photo layouts showed where the sauces should be placed on the bun, and the exact thickness of sliced pickles was specified. All equipment at McDonalds restaurants must be purchased from approved suppliers, and the architectural design of both interior and exterior is carefully controlled. It can be said that McDonalds preaches uniformity and consistency with the fervency of a relig ion. 4.4 Core Values bind across cultures A growing belief that one of the major sources of potential competitive advantage for businesses is the effective management and development of people. For example, Sparrow et al covered in their study over 2000 organisations across the globe and their report concluded that â€Å"an organizations people provide the only realistic basis for achieving a sustainable competitive advantage†. A good example of the manner of dissipation of the core values is in the form of bonding at the shop floor. For example, the employees of McDonalds are collectively called the crew of the restaurant. This is the term used at all McDonalds restaurants. It means the same in every country and every outlet of McDonalds all belong to the same family. McDonalds senior team put the companys resilience down to an on-going investment to its customers including improving the restaurant experience and expanding its menu. The company has also maintained a massive commitment to its people and their training, which includes making apprenticeships available to all eligible employees and a cohesive and comprehension management, leadership and coaching programme. David Fairhurst, Senior Vice President People at McDonalds UK said: â€Å"In these challenging economic times, it is more important than ever for employers to invest in their staff.† Carole Williams, Corporate Training Manager for McDonalds UK, said a key component of its success is through strong leadership and communication. 4.5 Managing the Customer Experience In our personal lives, most of us would like to believe that the more someone knows us, the more that person will like us. As the old saying goes, to know me is to love me. Interestingly enough, this is also the essence of customer service. Without product differentiation, its the service that that will develop customer loyalty. Crainer (1995) in his book â€Å"The Real Power of Brands† identified McDonalds as a brilliant international exercise in uniformity. He wrote, â€Å"Wherever you go in Europe or the world, a McDonalds restaurant appears very similar and its products are uncanny reproductions of each other. It is homogeneous, uniform and highly successful. That is a McDonalds formula.† Crainer also mentioned that â€Å"McDonalds restaurants are clean; the food is consistent; the service is good. In effect, the very uniformity of the brand is the crucial differentiating factor.† In today competitive environment, customer service is not merely a means to drive sales. McDonalds has created a a niche for itself by raising the bar of competition by providing customers a unique experience. They have accomplished this is through their employees. As the competitive bar goes up, they ensure that the quality of their employees goes up too. Adapted from Mulins .J â€Å"Employee Relations and business performance† 5. Lessons Learnt In addressing the issues relating to developing effective international management teams it appears that the following areas should be considered: Identifying the nature and implications of national cultural differences within the team. Establishing a basis for building understanding and awareness of cultural differences and how they may be managed. Formulating a framework for developing a high performing team which takes account of cultural differences and leverages the diversity present in an international team. It is useful to identify clear framework for analysing and understanding national cultural differences. Such frameworks have been developed by researchers and consultants such as Hofstede and Trompenaars. While the respective merits and drawbacks of different frameworks are widely discussed and are rather helpful in illustrating the major issues which need to be considered. 6. Conclusion In conclusion, there are no simple answers on how management and management practice drive organisation success. Of all the resources available, in the International arena, the human resource is clearly the most significant, but also the most difficult to manage. The models mentioned earlier are only the basic strategies, though the final mix will vary from situation to situation. The key to competitiveness for Mcdonalds is quality and quality depends more on the commitment of individuals; more on the way these individuals behave; their team spirit than on the passive execution of orders received. People create the future through what they do and dont do. More importantly through what they can and cannot do. The value of companies stems from the people who work there, the skills they possess and their potential to transform.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Essay --

First Aid has a history that dates only 120 years ago, in 1837 the skills of first aid was first introduced to civilians by Woolwich ,London, and Colonel Frances Duncan. (Pearn, 1994 ). First aid was commonly used during the world wars. Today it is used nationwide and there are many different types of first aid treatment. Some different types of first aid treatments are animal bites, burns, cuts, shock, poisoning and insect bite and sting. (Chennai, 2014 ). Animal Bite First Aid Animal’s bites can come from not only dogs but from wild animals also like rabbits, squirrels and skunks. When you are treating these type of bites you want to consider how minor or major the bite is. How to classify a bite as a minor bite you want to look at the bite and determine if the bite barley breaks the skin. (Noseworthy, 1998-2014 ). If you don’t have any sign of rabies it is consider a minor bite. The way you would want to treat a minor animal bite is to wash the biting area thoroughly with soap and water. You also want to apply an antibiotic cream to prevent any infection and cover the bite with a clean bandage. (Noseworthy, 1998-2014 ) If a bite is considered a deep wound it means that the animal bite created a deep puncture of skin or the skin is badly torn and bleeding. The way you would treat these would be to apply pressure with a clean, dry cloth to stop the bleeding you should also see your doctor if bleeding gets worse. (Noseworthy, 1998-2014 ). If you notice signs of infection such as swelling, redness, and increased pain or oozing you are not to treat it but go immediately to your doctor. However if you suspect the animal that bit you has rabies you shouldn’t try to treat it yourself you should see your doctor immediately to treat it.... ... to direct someone to call 9-1-1 and get the AED. Once this is done you begin your chest compression this time you are to use the thumb circulating method in the same place you would if you were doing an adult CPR. (Nina Beaman, 2013).This time with child and infant the compression are five cycles of fifteen and one and one half deep and four centimeters and one hundred a minute. The breaths are still two but u want to give the child or infant enough breaths so that it fills the chest cavity just enough. Remember to count out loud so if help come they can know how many breaths and compressions you already made. (Nina Beaman, 2013). In conclusion knowing first aid and CPR and knowing the procedures could help save a life one day. It can you on the other side of the first aid or CPR to treat the patient that is suffering with the same way you would want to be treated.

Monday, November 11, 2019

And the Earth Did not Devour Him by Tomas Rivera

As a nation of immigrants, American history cannot be written exclusively in a single perspective particularly of the dominant ethnic group. A comprehensive depiction of our history requires the inclusion and accommodation of the experience of every member of modern American society.Tomas Rivera’s â€Å"And the earth did not devour him†, is a literary piece that provides an supplemental presentation of the US history in the perspective a beleaguered group of Mexican farmers albeit obliquely creating the impression that the US government and its business capitalist partners are the oppressors.The story was set sometime between the 1940’s and 1950’s during which many Mexicans came to the US to work as farmers under the Bracero (manual labor) Program.This program which was instituted by both the Mexican and US government to cover the need for workers lost during the previous world wars, became a channel for the exploitation and social discrimination of the te mporary manpower imported from Mexico instead of providing for the fair treatment of Mexicans workers in the US.   Many transient Mexican workers (braceros) illegally entered the US instead of returning to Mexico after the expiration of their work contracts.This prompted the US government to deport over 3 million Mexican migrants without proper regard to their individual rights, without effectively differentiating legal   and illegal migrants and without due consideration to the disintegration of family relations.  In a series of different stories often with unnamed characters, Tomas Rivera’s novel generally captures the struggles and challenges in the lives of Latino migrant workers in their employment in America.The Struggle of the Mexican AmericanMexico leads in the Latino immigration to the U.S. The sharp rise of illegal immigrants from Mexico especially with the Braceros program created political tensions between the US and Mexico. History would almost always recou nt the illegal immigration of Mexican farmers by reporting the series of steps used by the US government in combating illegal immigration.For example, aside from the massive deportation of illegal Mexican immigrants (i.e. Operation Wetback) initiated by the Eisenhower administration, the US government instigated a U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement with the objective of generating jobs in Mexico in order to prevent, discourage and decrease the pour of Mexican workers illegally entering the US soil.Strict laws that called for tighter restrictions on legal and illegal immigration to regulate the U.S.-Mexico border were implemented.Later on, many American states adopted the English only policy which delegates English as the exclusive official language. The standardization of language was accordingly intended to warrant the integration of Mexican immigrants in the American community. (Stacy, p 609-613)This example of historical account along with similar and related events tends to reduce the incidence of immigrant farm workers in the United States in American history as a mere issue of illegal immigration without due consideration and recognition to the unique experience and socio-political circumstances of Mexican migrant workers in South Texas.By recording the lives and recounting the traditional trails of an immigrant population, the novel produces in an artistic yet authentic literary piece the spiritual history of a people thereby providing them a distinct cultural voice.In light of their family’s struggle to become part of America,   Ã‚  the protagonist in the novel undergoes intimate and spiritual moments of resolving one's identity, family and society beyond the sheer politics of defying the dominant culture. In one instance, he even questioned God‘s wisdom in their plight.â€Å"God could not care less about the poor. Tell me, why must we live here like this? What have we done to deserve this? You’re so good and yet you have to suffer so much† (Rivera, p 189)The stories in the novel practically served to support and confirmed the hardships and brutalities that the immigrant Mexican farmers faced at work. In the story, â€Å"That It Hurts†, one boy was expelled from school because he was Mexican.In another terrifying story, â€Å"The Children Couldn't Wait†, a boy was killed because he couldn’t comply with the boss’s insistence that the workers should wait to drink water, a privilege freely endowed to cattle but not to the Mexican workers.   The farmers bear long hours of intense work, modest food and deficient accommodations in their camps for a meager pay.The children needed to join their parents in working in the fields to improve family earnings at the expense of not being able to attend school.   Ã‚  Younger children incapable to work were left to fend for themselves which made them vulnerable to poor health conditions and other environmental risks.While the predicament of the Mexican migrant workers is comparable to the slavery of the blacks earlier on in the history of America, the novel depicts a young man’s struggle for self identification which ended with a reaffirmation of his bicultural predisposition as well as his patrimony and allegiance with America. The novel did not necessarily represent resentment against the Anglo culture and resistance.Thus, people should reconsider the maltreatment of immigrant workers and the discrimination of ethnic minorities in general. For instance, the novel did not directly criticize the Anglo culture but only uses it for comparative discussion of differences aimed to create a sense of pride and community among the oppressed Mexicans.In the anecdote entitled â€Å"The Night before Christmas†, the Mexican mother tells her children that, â€Å"In Mexico, it’s not Santa clause who bring the gifts, but the three wise men. And they don’t come in the sixth of January, that’s the real date†.(Rivera, p130) In this example, the novel is not directly criticizing American culture but is   surreptitiously protesting against a social imposition of the dominant culture that utterly disregards the religious beliefs of Mexicans.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary Rocks Sedimentary rocks are from sediments collected from the streams and buried beneath in a process commonly referred to as geologic. This is due to geographical effects such as the tectonic forces controlling the progression of weathering. The process leaves a complicated record thus the different kind of sediments form the deposits. (Strahler, 13) The categories include Clastic, Chemical and Biogenic. Water and wind sorts some sediment to be almost of the same size thus commonly referred to as â€Å"well-sorted†.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sedimentary Rocks specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Conversely, there are particles of different sizes especially those sorted by the ice and huge mass wasting with a reference of â€Å"even unsorted† or â€Å"poorly sorted†. Sediments take a variety of individual shapes from rounded, sphericity or angular. Well-sorted sediments are caused by prolonged erosio n or weathering. Sedimentary rocks can also form from the biogenic deposits such as the foraminifer formed from planktons cells that covers wide area of the ocean floor or the chemical deposits such as the salts formed from magnesium, potassium or sodium chloride found near salt lakes like Lake Bonneville in Utah. The volcanic sediments form clasts, which are originally volcanic. (National Atlas of United States) Formation of sedimentary rocks Deposits and burring of these types of sediments in a process known as â€Å"lithification† causes the formation of new rock known as the sediment rock. (U.S. Department of Interior Survey, 2010) The rock depends on the material or type of sediments and the process. Formation of rock beds occurs from sedimentary particles, which lay in distinct strata. The composition of the sedimentary rocks overtime changes depending in the deposition process and mineral composition. This aspect is what makes the adjacent strata different from the pre ceding one. The boundary between the layers referred to as the â€Å"bedding surface† thus the origin of the term â€Å"Rock Bed†. (Strahler, 13) The presence of the bedding surface enables the geologists to be in a position of telling the ages and is the indication that the rock was once sediments thus the term â€Å"Sedimentary Rock†. Various processes are involved in the formation process: â€Å"lithification†. They include compaction a process that reduces the pore space in the sediments because of the weight of the superimposing layer. Secondly is the cementation process where substances dissolves in pores through which water precipitates to form matter that joins the layers strongly together. Lastly is the crystallization process where new crystalline minerals bond the old ones.Advertising Looking for essay on geology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The classification of sedimentary rocks falls into the following categories. Siliciclastic rocks or clastic made of sand quatz commonly referred to as resistant minerals like Lithics and fledspar mixed with clay minerals, which form from withering of iron oxides such as feldspar: orthoclase or kaolinite. Chemical and Biogenic or biochemical rocks form from liquid solutions such as calcite that reacts with hydrochloric acid to exist as either micrite; muddy line or limestone. (U.S. Department of Interior Survey, 2010) The clastic rocks is a composition of visible grains of quartz sand and clay grains mixed together while the chemical and biochemical forms from splitting of minerals that are in solution state. Silica is made of materials that do not dissolve in water and have silica as the main component transported either as sediments at the bottom of the water or suspension. This aspect makes the clay grains and visible sand grains to mix and deposit together. On the other hand, the minerals that are in solution st ate easily dissolve in water. They deposit together without traces of silica. The geologists tend to specialize on the siliciclastic rocks because of the various groupings that others have hypothetically made discovery. (Strahler, 13) The mineral deposits that are in solution form separates from the solutions through precipitation from the water thus concentrating the salts. This helps to classify them as chemical rocks while the biochemical rocks are as a result of plants and animals remains especially those involved with marine life, which draws them from the solutions for formation of the skeletons, which eventually die to form the sediments. Other biochemical rocks include the coal and peat but forms in the presence of clastic rocks such as sandstones or shales. The integration of minerals to form sediments makes the classification difficult due to inconsistency involved. This means that researchers have an uphill task to come up with a straightforward way of classifying them. National Atlas of the United States. â€Å"Distribution of Sedimentary Rocks.† 2010. Web. Strahler, Alan. H. â€Å"Introduction to physical geography† (Fifth Ed). 2009Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sedimentary Rocks specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More U.S Department of the Interior survey. â€Å"U.S Geography Survey.† 2010. Retrieved from https://www.usgs.gov/science-support/osqi/yes/resources-teachers/

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

The Night is For Hunting essays

The Night is For Hunting essays "The Night is for Hunting" is the sixth book in a series of seven written by John Marsden. "The Night is for Hunting is about a group of five kids in their late teens that have to try to survive on their own in the harsh conditions while another foreign country is taking over Australia. The teenagers have to battle the difficulties and challenges that this problem brings, like trying to stay alive, finding food, finding a safe place to take cover and while doing all this they also have to hold their friendship together. This book is in point of view of Ellie, one the teenagers, which i think gives it very good effect and makes it more exciting. In this novel it was a year since the foreign country had attacked Australia and taken it over and some old teenagers that had escaped being caught or killed a number of times in this war found a bunch of younger childeren that were being captured by the opposing country and the teenagers risked their lives to save the children and took care of them through out the book. At first the children didn't like the teenagers but then their respect grew for them through out the book. I thought this was a very exciting book with an interesting plot and the characters all had an unique personality which I thought helped bring the book into a more real life perspective. One of the main themes of this novel is that friendship is one of the most important things to have. In the book the friendship between the teenagers is so strong each of them would risk their own lives to save their friends and having such good friends through the terrible war is one of the only things that keep them sane. This friendship shows in the part when Ellie decides to go roaring into a house full of enemies with a motorbike to save her friend Homer even though she had the chance to run and now has a very low chance of survival. This shows ...

Monday, November 4, 2019

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Philosophy - Essay Example He prioritizes the realistic form of visual arts rather than the abstract form (Wolff 323). There are different points in the view presented by Tolstoy. The view regarding the importance of the representation and expression of culture and morality in the artworks is a very important aspect of viewing the significance of art. This can be attributed to the fact that the artworks being a product of human being’s creativity and experiences can ultimately represent his true nature. Culture and norms encapsulate the experiences of human beings. Thus, what Tolstoy expressed in his view is correct. On the other hand, the definition of art cannot be limited by the number of people who can relate and appreciate the price of artwork. When he Tolstoy said that the best art is the most widely accessible art because it can better communicate with audience, he limits the capability of the people who observes the artwork to realism. He is right about the subjectivity of beauty but he can be wrong because his view stressed the failed to recognize that viewing art is subjective. Even the culture and morality that he is using as a guideline for his judgment can be subjective. In conclusion then, if Tolstoy is right about judging that the best art is the most widely accessible ones, why do surrealists and other unconventional artists still being appreciated? It is because their works also mirror the realities of life. Every product of human creativity on a personal point of view represents culture, thus, even in the absence of beauty or reality in the picture that is painted, it is still considered as art. Being the best or the worst art is judged only by subjectivity of the Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 19 Philosophy - Essay Example Humans therefore must carry out all actions and functions that make them into human beings and distinguish them from animals. Aristotle concludes that what distinguishes human beings from animals is their capacity of rational thinking. We are therefore happy as human beings when we do well what makes us human and distinguishes us from other species. But to seek happiness and fulfillment is not all that makes us human – human beings are also inherently very social beings and are political animals (Politics I.2) who seek to live in communities. Aristotle thinks that the state is the highest form of community, but at this point we should bear in mind that at his time the form of state and government Aristotle was most familiar with was the Greek polis, or city state, a relatively small entity both in geographic terms and in terms of population size. To Aristotle the polis encompasses all other human associations, from the family nucleus to clans to trade associations. A polis must have a constitution by which the lives of all citizens are organized and it must have a ruler, or law giver. It is important that the polis aims to achieve the highest good for all its citizens. In turn, as human beings are political animals, they can only achieve the good life by organizing themselves as citizens in a state. Citizenship may include holding a public office or serving as an administrator, but always includes some form of direct involvement and service rendered to the polis. Aristotle has three steps in mind, according to the age of a citizen: at a young age a citizen should serve as a soldier to defend his state, in middle age he should hold a public or administrative office and as an older citizen he should carry out religious duties. Citizens should be awarded for their efforts depending how much they have contributed to the running of the state. Aristotle warns against excess in any form and advocates moderation and inclusiveness. The rich and the poor should

Friday, November 1, 2019

Books Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Books - Essay Example Books define the character of the child. Research indicates that children who were introduced to reading at tender age are well mannered because books use different characters to define the implications of being ill mannered (Whitehead 38). During adolescent age, books are very important in informing the child about all changes that may occur during this period. Many children tend to be influenced by the peer pressure but books have been cited as one source of information on how such children can control their changes and feelings. This helps them to define their character and enable them to control the changes (Whitehead 18). In addition books helps the group spend their time wisely an aspect that prevents the group avoid vices such as drug abuse and early pregnancies. This ensures that they are able to achieve their dream careers. Morrow, Lesley M, Elizabeth Freitag, Linda B. Gambrell, and Lesley M. Morrow. Using Childrens Literature in Preschool to Develop Comprehension: Understanding and Enjoying Books. Newark, Del: International Reading Association,  2009.

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Reflective exercise for studing marketing module Essay

Reflective exercise for studing marketing module - Essay Example My knowledge on the topic of international marketing has improved tremendously as a result of the classes and lecture sessions. I have learnt that the strategies of marketing for internal businesses have become a crucial and cumbersome task in today’s competitive world. Globalisation is one of the most important contributing factors to international marketing strategies. My information was updated to a much greater extent in the areas of international marketing and its impact on global factors to an organization’s managerial decision making, the approaches of entering new markets, designing and developing new products for international markets, the attributes of marketing research internationally, the marketing mix for international business and a lot more. Our group comprised of three members including me. We had diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds two of us are Chinese and one belonged to Saudi Arabia. Due to the difference in cultural and religious backgrounds I learnt how to communicate and manage a diverse team. We as a team found out that the business rules of International Marketing are not the same as they used to be few years ago. The reasons behind these change of rules and strategies is globalisation and its associated threats and opportunities. I got the information that due to various factors like increased globalisation, technological advancements and increased role of internet, the competition has increased greatly these days in every industry. Due to this reason, businesses have to adopt newer methods and strategies in order to survive in the competitive world and have a sustainable business. I also got familiar with the difference of conventional marketing and international marketing and due to this I realised that the modern marketers have changed their mind sets for global development. In today’s world the traditional ways of marketing are not sufficient for this reason the marketers and the executives need to be more innovative thinkers, create newer and better ideas to market internationally and possess quick decision making capabilities. The concept of innovation in marketing techniques was also highlighted in one of the lectures and I think this is one of the basic requirements for international marketing methods of today’s world. Examples of innovative marketing techniques are video clips posted on social networking websites and viral marketing. The conventional tools for assessing the decision making abilities of an organization which includes the SWOT analysis and the PESTL analysis are found to be quite different from a global business perspective. Important to note, that I studied and analysed that now more number of factors are needed to be analysed and examined in SWOT and PESTL analysis for a global organization. I would also like to accept and appreciate the skills of my teacher who encouraged and motivated us to learn the concepts of International marketing from a broader vi ew point and effectively implement it in the practical world when possible. The lectures, seminars and the reading materials were adequate enough to bring deeper insight in the students and held up to date information. We also studied and learnt to determine the opportunities present in the global marketing with the help of real-life case studies. Moreover, it was studied that the

Monday, October 28, 2019

Organizational change Essay Example for Free

Organizational change Essay Organizational change is an ongoing process with important implications for organizational effectiveness. An organization and its members must be constantly on the alert for changes from within the organization and from the outside environment, and they must learn how to adjust to change quickly and effectively. Organizational change is the movement of an organization away from its present state and toward some future state to increase its effectiveness. Forces for organizational change include competitive forces; economic, political, and global forces; demographic and social forces; and ethical forces. Organizations are often reluctant to change because resistance to change at the organization, group, and individual levels has given rise to organizational inertia. Sources of organization-level resistance to change include power and conflict, differences in functional orientation, mechanistic structure, and organizational culture. Sources of group-level resistance to change include group norms, group cohesiveness, and groupthink and escalation of commitment. Sources of individual-level resistance to change include uncertainty and insecurity, selective perception and retention, and habit. According to Lewin’s force-field theory of change, organizations are balanced between forces pushing for change and forces resistant to change. To get an organization to change, managers must find a way to increase the forces for change, reduce resistance to change, or do both simultaneously. Types of change fall into two broad categories: evolutionary and revolutionary. The main instruments of evolutionary change are sociotechnical systems theory, total quality management, and the development of flexible workers and work teams. The main instruments of revolutionary change are reengineering, restructuring, and innovation. Often, the revolutionary types of change that result from restructuring and reengineering are necessary only because an organization and its managers ignored or were unaware of changes in the environment and did not make incremental changes as needed. Action research is a strategy that managers can use to plan the change process. The main steps in action research are (a) diagnosis and analysis of the organization, (b) determining the desired future state, (c) implementing action, (d) evaluating the action, and (e) institutionalizing action research. Organizational development (OD) is a series of techniques and methods to increase the adaptability of organizations. OD techniques can be used to overcome resistance to change and to help the organization to change itself. OD techniques for dealing with resistance to change include education and communication, participation and empowerment, facilitation, bargaining and negotiation, manipulation, and coercion. OD techniques for promoting change include, at the individual level, counseling, sensitivity training, and process consultation; at the group level, team building and intergroup training; and at the organizational level, organizational confrontation meetings. CHAPTER OUTLINE 10. 1 What Is Organizational Change? Organizational change is the process by which organizations move from their current or present state to some desired future state to increase their effectiveness. An organization in decline may need to restructure its competences and resources to improve its fit with a changing environment. Even thriving, high-performing organizations such as Google, Apple, and Facebook need to continuously change the way they operate over time to meet ongoing challenges. Targets of Change Organizational change includes changes in four areas: 1. Human resources are an organization’s most important asset. Because these skills and abilities give an organization a competitive advantage, organizations must continually monitor their structures to find the most effective way of motivating and organizing human resources to acquire and use their skills. Changes made in human resources include investment in training, socializing employees, changing norms to motivate a diverse workforce, monitoring promotion and reward systems, and changing top management. 2. Each organizational function needs to develop procedures that allow it to manage the particular environment it faces. Crucial functions grow in importance while those whose usefulness is declining shrink. Thus, key functions grow in importance. Organizations can change structure, culture, and technology to improve the value created by functions. 3 Organizational change often involves changing the relationships between people and functions to increase their ability to create value. 10. 2 Forces for and Resistance to Organizational Change Forces for Change If managers are slow to respond to the forces of change, the organization will lag behind its competitors and its effectiveness will be compromised. (Refer to Figure 10. 1) Competitive forces spur change, because unless an organization matches or surpasses its competitors it will not survive. Managing change is crucial when competing for customers. To lead on the dimensions of efficiency or quality, an organization must constantly adopt the latest technology as it becomes available. To lead on the dimension of innovation and obtain a technological advantage over competitors, a company must possess skills in managing the process of innovation. Economic, political, and global forces, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or other economic unions, are significant forces of change. The European Union (EU) includes over 27 members eager to take advantage of a large protected market. Global challenges facing organizations include the need to change an organizational structure to allow expansion into foreign markets, the need to adapt to a variety of national cultures, and the need to help expatriate managers adapt to the economic, political, and cultural values of the countries in which they are located. Demographic and social forces include an increasingly diverse workforce. Changes in the demographic characteristics of the workforce require managers to change their styles of managing all employees and to learn how to understand, supervise, and motivate diverse members effectively. Many workers want to balance work and leisure. Managers need to abandon stereotypes and accept the importance of equity in the recruitment and promotion of new hires. Ethical forces such as increasing government, political, and social demands for more responsible and honest corporate behavior are compelling organizations to promote ethical behavior. Many companies have created the position of ethics officer. If organizations operate in countries that pay little attention to human rights or to the well-being of organizational members, they have to learn how to change these standards and to protect their overseas employees. Resistances to Change Resistance to change lowers an organization’s effectiveness and reduces its chances of survival. Resistances or impediments to change that cause inertia are found at the organization, group, and individual levels. (Refer to Figure 10. 1) Organization-Level Resistance to Change Power and conflict: When change causes power struggles and organizational conflict, an organization is likely to resist it. If change benefits one function at the expense of another, conflict impedes the change process. In the old IBM, for example, managers of its mainframe computer division fought off attempts to redirect IBM’s resources to produce the PCs that customers wanted in order to preserve their own power. Differences in functional orientation: This means that different functions and divisions often see the source of a problem differently because they see an issue or problem primarily from their own viewpoint. This tunnel vision increases organizational inertia. Mechanistic structure: Mechanistic structures are more resistant to change. People who work within a mechanistic structure are expected to act in certain ways and do not develop the capacity to adjust their behavior to changing conditions. A mechanistic structure typically develops as an organization grows and is a principal source of inertia, especially in large organizations. The extensive use of mutual adjustment and decentralized authority in an organic structure makes it less resistant to change. Organizational culture: Organizational culture, values, and norms cause resistance to change. If organizational change disrupts taken-for-granted values and norms and forces people to change what they do and how they do it, an organization’s culture will cause resistance to change. Group-Level Resistance to Change Many groups develop strong informal norms that specify appropriate and inappropriate behaviors and govern the interactions between group members. Often, change alters task and role relationships in a group; when it does, it disrupts group norms and the informal expectations that group members have of one another. As a result, members of a group may resist change because a new set of norms must be developed to meet the needs of the new situation. Group cohesiveness, the attractiveness of a group to its members, also affects group performance. A highly cohesive group may resist attempts by management to change what it does or even who is a member of the group. Groupthink and escalation of commitment also make changing a group’s behavior very difficult. Individual-Level Resistance to Change People tend to resist change because they feel uncertain and insecure about what its outcome will be. Selective perception and retention suggest that people perceive information consistent with their views. If change doesn’t benefit them, they do not endorse it. People’s preference for familiar actions and events is a further impediment to change. Lewin’s Force-Field Theory of Change Force-field theory is a theory of organizational change that argues that two sets of opposing forces within an organization determine how change will take place. When the forces are evenly balanced, the organization is in a state of inertia and does not change. To get an organization to change, managers must find a way to increase the forces for change, reduce resistance to change, or do both simultaneously. Any of these strategies will overcome inertia and cause an organization to change. (Refer to Figure 10. 2) Managerial Implications Managers must continuously monitor the environment to identify the forces for change. They must analyze how the change will affect the organization and determine which type of change to pursue. 10. 3 Evolutionary and Revolutionary Change in Organizations Evolutionary change refers to change that is gradual, incremental, and specifically focused. It adds small adjustments to strategy and structure to handle environmental changes. Sociotechnical systems theory, total quality management, and the creation of empowered, flexible work groups are three instruments of evolutionary change that organizations use in their attempt to make incremental improvements in the way work gets done. Revolutionary change refers to change that is sudden, drastic, and organization-wide. It has repercussions at all levels in the organization—corporate, divisional, functional, group, and individual. Three ways to implement revolutionary change are reengineering, restructuring, and innovation. Developments in Evolutionary Change: Sociotechnical Systems Theory Sociotechnical systems theory is a theory that proposes the importance of changing role and task or technical relationships to increase organizational effectiveness. It emerged from a study of changing work practices in the British coal-mining industry. The socio-technical systems theory argues that managers need to fit or jointly optimize the workings of the technical and social systems. A poor fit between an organization’s technology and social system leads to failure, but a close fit leads to success. When managers change task and role relationships, they must recognize the need to adjust the technical and social systems gradually so group norms and cohesiveness are not disrupted. By taking this gradual approach, an organization can avoid the group-level resistance to change. Researchers suggest that a team-oriented system promotes values that enhance efficiency and product quality. Total quality management uses sociotechnical systems theory. Total Quality Management Total quality management (TQM) is a technique developed by W. Edwards Deming to continuously improve the effectiveness of flexible work teams. It was embraced by Japanese companies after World War II. Changes frequently inspired by TQM include altering the design or type of machines used to assemble products and reorganizing the sequence of activities—either within or between functions—necessary to provide a service to a customer. Changing cross-functional relationships to help improve quality is important in TQM. The changes associated with TQM are changes in task, role, and group relationships. Implementing a TQM program is not always easy because it requires workers and managers to adopt new ways of viewing their roles in an organization. Managers must be willing to decentralize control of decision making, empower workers, and assume the role of facilitator rather than supervisor. The â€Å"command and control† model gives way to an â€Å"advise and support† model. Flexible Workers and Flexible Work Teams In implementing socio-technical systems theory and TQM, many organizations are finding it easier to achieve their goals by using flexible workers and teams. Flexible workers can be transferred between departments and functions as demand changes. The advantages of flexible workers include quick response to environmental changes; reduced boredom and increased incentives for quality; better understanding by learning one another’s tasks; and combining tasks to increase efficiency and reduce costs. A flexible work team is a group of workers who assume responsibility for performing all the operations necessary for completing a specified stage in the manufacturing process. A flexible work team is self-managed; members jointly assign tasks and transfer from one task to another. In a flexible work team, separate teams assemble different components and turn those components over to the final-product work team, which assembles the final product. Each team’s activities are driven by demands that have their origins in customer demands for the final product. (Refer to Figure 10. 3) Developments in Revolutionary Change: Reengineering The term â€Å"reengineering† has been used to refer to the process by which managers redesign how tasks are bundled into roles and functions to improve organizational effectiveness. It involves rethinking business processes, activities that cross functional boundaries. Instead of focusing on an organization’s functions in isolation from one another, managers make business processes the focus of attention. A business process is an activity that cuts across functional boundaries and is vital to the quick delivery of goods and services or that promotes high quality or low costs. Because reengineering focuses on business processes and not functions, an organization must rethink the way it approaches organizing its activities. A good example of how to use reengineering to increase functional integration comes from attempts to redesign the materials management function to improve its effectiveness. In the traditional functional design the three main components of materials management—purchasing, production control, and distribution—were typically in separate functions and had little to do with one another. Thus coordinating their activities is difficult. Each function has its own hierarchy, and there are problems in both vertical and horizontal communication. Today, most organizations put all three of the functional activities involved in the materials management process inside one function. Three guidelines for performing reengineering successfully are as follows: Organize around outcomes, not tasks. 2. Have those who use the output of the process perform the process. 3. Decentralize decision making to the point where the decision is made. Reengineering and TQM are highly interrelated and complementary. E-Engineering This is a term used to refer to companies’ attempts to use all kinds of information systems to improve performance. The importance of e-engineering is increasing as it changes the way a company organizes its value-creation functions and links them to improve its performance. Restructuring Restructuring is a process by which managers change task and authority relationships and redesign organizational structure and culture to improve organizational effectiveness. Downsizing is the process by which managers streamline the organizational hierarchy and lay off managers and workers to reduce bureaucratic costs. The drive to decrease bureaucratic costs results from competitive pressures. Mergers and acquisitions in many industries, such as banking, have led to downsizing because fewer managers are needed. Other companies have reduced staff to match competitors. The negative effects of downsizing include overworked managers and lost opportunities. Companies that fail to control growth must downsize to remain competitive. The terms anorexic or hollow are used to refer to organizations that downsized too much and have too few managers to help them grow when conditions change. Restructuring, like other change strategies, generates resistance to change. Often, the decision to downsize requires the establishment of new task and role relationships. Because this change may threaten the jobs of some workers, they resist the changes taking place. Innovation Innovation refers to the process by which organizations use their skills and resources to develop new goods and services or to develop new production and operating systems so they can better respond to the needs of their customers. 10. 4 Managing Change: Action Research In Lewin’s view, implementing change is a three-step process: (1) unfreezing the organization from its present state, (2) making the change, and (3) refreezing the organization in the new, desired state so its members do not revert to their previous work attitudes and role behavior. Action research is a strategy for generating and acquiring knowledge that managers can use to define an organization’s desired future state and to plan a change program that allows the organization to reach that state. Figure 10. 6 highlights the steps in action research. Diagnosis of the Organization The first step in action research requires managers to recognize the existence of a problem that needs to be solved and acknowledge that some type of change is needed to solve it. In general, recognition of the need for change arises because somebody in the organization perceives a gap between desired performance and actual performance. Determining the Desired Future State This step also involves a difficult planning process as managers work out various alternative courses of action that could move the organization to where they would like it to be and determine what type of change to implement. Implementing Action 1. First, managers identify possible impediments to change at all levels. The second step is deciding who will be responsible for actually making the changes and controlling the change process. The choices are to employ either external change agents or internal change agents or use some combination of both. 3. The third step is deciding which specific change strategy will most effectively unfreeze, change, and refreeze the organization. The types of change that these techniques give rise to fall into two categories: Top-down change is implemented by managers at a high level in the organization, knowing that the change will reverberate at all organizational levels. Bottom-up change is implemented by employees at low levels in the organization that gradually rises until it is felt throughout the organization. Evaluating the Action The fourth step in action research is evaluating the action that has been taken and assessing the degree to which the changes have accomplished the desired objectives. The best way to evaluate the change process is to develop measures or criteria that allow managers to assess whether the organization has reached its desired objectives. Institutionalizing Action Research Organizations need to institutionalize action research—that is, make it a required habit or a norm adopted by every member of an organization. The institutionalization of action research is as necessary at the top of the organization as it is on the shop floor. Managerial Implications Managers must develop criteria to evaluate whether a change is necessary, and carefully design a plan that minimizes resistance. 10. 5 Organizational Development Organizational development (OD) is a series of techniques and methods that managers can use in their action research program to increase the adaptability of their organization. The goal of OD is to improve organizational effectiveness and to help people in organizations reach their potential and realize their goals and objectives. OD Techniques to Deal with Resistance to Change Education and Communication: One impediment to change is that participants are uncertain about what is going to happen. Through education and communication, internal and external agents of change can provide organizational members with information about the change and how it will affect them. Participation and Empowerment: Inviting workers to participate in the change process is a popular method of reducing resistance to change. Participation complements empowerment, increases workers’ involvement in decision making, and gives them greater autonomy to change work procedures to improve organizational performance. These are key elements of most TQM programs. People that are involved in the change and decision-making process are more likely to embrace rather than resist. Facilitation: Both managers and workers find change stressful. There are several ways in which organizations can help their members to manage stress: providing them with training to help them learn how to perform new tasks, providing them with time off from work to recuperate from the stressful effects of change, or even giving senior members sabbaticals. Bargaining and Negotiation: Bargaining and negotiation are important tools that help managers manage conflict. Because change causes conflict, bargaining is an important tool in overcoming resistance to change. Manipulation: Sometimes senior managers need to intervene, as politics shows that powerful managers have considerable ability to resist change. Coercion: The ultimate way to eliminate resistance to change is to coerce the key players into accepting change and threaten dire consequences if they choose to resist. The disadvantage is that it can leave people angry and disenchanted and can make the refreezing process difficult. OD Techniques to Promote Change Counseling, Sensitivity Training, and Process Consultation: Recognizing that each individual is different also requires them to be treated or managed differently. Sometimes, counseling will help individuals understand that their own perceptions of a situation may be incorrect. Sensitivity training is an OD technique that consists of intense counseling in which group members, aided by a facilitator, learn how others perceive them and may learn how to deal more sensitively with others. Process consultation is an OD technique in which a facilitator works closely with a manager on the job to help the manager improve his or her interactions with other group members. Team building is an OD technique in which a facilitator first observes the interactions of group members and then helps them become aware of ways to improve their work interactions. The goal of team building is to improve group processes to achieve process gains and reduce process losses that are occurring because of shirking and freeriding. Intergroup training is an OD technique that uses team building to improve the work interactions of different functions or divisions. Its goal is to improve organizational performance by focusing on a function’s or division’s joint activities and output. Organizational mirroring is an OD technique in which a facilitator helps two interdependent groups explore their perceptions and relations in order to improve their work interactions. This technique is designed to get both interdependent groups to see the perspective of the other side. Appreciating others’ perspectives allows the groups to work together more effectively. Total Organizational Interventions: A variety of OD techniques can be used at the organization level to promote organization-wide change. Organizational confrontation meeting is an OD technique that brings together all of the managers of an organization at a meeting to confront the issue of whether the organization is meeting its goals effectively.