Market Failure Research Paper Essay

The following are some ideas to help you pick a topic for the Market Failure Research Paper assignment. Consult with your instructor if you are having trouble picking a topic. What are some areas where the MARKET fails to give us adequate quantity of output and desirable price (A) Public Goods and Service — Schools, Highways and Streets, Fire and Police Protection, National Defense, Prisons (B) Industries that Need to be Regulated — Utilities, Airlines, Banks — As our economy changes what other industries also need to be regulated or de-regulated? (C) Externalities — Companies produce some type of external cost that affects the community. The company would not voluntarily reduce or eliminate this cost unless the government required them to do so. (These could also be benefits that would add to community but not benefit the company in any way.) (D) Income Inequality — Minimum Wage, Welfare Programs, Unemployment Benefits, Social Security, Medicaid — Areas where our society is becoming more socialized. Assignment: Pick one market in which the price system does not produce an equitable price and quantity of output. Write a paper of 250 words minimum discussion with at least (2) sources cited in the MLA format. Include in your discussion: (1) What action has our government taken in order to provide this good or service in an equitable fashion? (2) What are the alternatives to government intervention? (3) What has been the end result of government intervention? The rise in direct tax has the effect of reducing the post-tax income of those in work because for each hour of work taken the total net income is now lower. This might encourage the individual to work more hours to maintain his/her target income. Conversely, the effect might be to encourage less work since the higher tax might act as a disincentive to work. Of course many workers have little flexibility in the hours that they work. They will be contracted to work a certain number of hours, and changes in direct tax rates will not alter that. The government has introduced a lower starting rate of income tax for lower  income earners. This is designed to provide an incentive for people to work extra hours and keep more of what they earn. Changes to the tax and benefit system also seek to reduce the risk of the ‘poverty trap’ – where households on low incomes see little net financial benefit from supplying extra hours of their labor. If tax and benefit reforms can improve incentives and lead to an increase in the labor supply, this will help to reduce the equilibrium rate of unemployment (the NAIRU) and thereby increase the economy’s non-inflationary growth rate. Changes to indirect taxes in particular can have an effect on the pattern of demand for goods and services. For example, the rising value of duty on cigarettes and alcohol is designed to cause a substitution effect among consumers and thereby reduce the demand for what are perceived as â€Å"de-merit goods†. In contrast, a government financial subsidy to producers has the effect of reducing their costs of production, lowering the market price and encouraging an expansion of demand. The use of indirect taxation and subsidies is often justified on the grounds of instances of market failure. But there might also be a justification based on achieving a more equitable allocation of resources – e.g. providing basic state health care free at the point of use. Lower rates of corporation tax and other business taxes can stimulate an increase in business fixed capital investment spending. If planned investment increases, the nation’s capital stock can rise and the capital stock per worker employed can rise. The government might also use tax allowances to stimulate increases in research and development and encourage more business start-ups. A favorable tax regime could also be attractive to inflows of foreign direct investment – a stimulus to the economy that might benefit both aggregate demand and supply. The Irish economy is often touted as an example of how substantial cuts in the rate of corporation tax can act as a magnet for large amounts of inward investment. The very low rates of company tax have been influential  although it is not the only factor that has underpinned the sensational rates of economic growth enjoyed by the Irish economy over the last fifteen years. Capital investment should not be seen solely in terms of the purchase of new machines. Changes to the tax system and specific areas of government spending might also be used to stimulate investment in technology, innovation, the skills of the labor force and social infrastructure. A good example of this might be a substantial increase in real spending on the transport infrastructure. Improvements in our transport system would add directly to aggregate demand, but would also provide a boost to productivity and competitiveness. Similarly increases in capital spending in education would have feedback effects in the long term on the supply-side of the economy.

The Logical Database

2 Nonfunctional RequirementsFunctional requirements define the needs in terms of performance, logical database requirements, design constraints, standards compliance, reliability, availability, security, maintainability, and portability. EXAMPLE 1Performance RequirementsPerformance requirements define acceptable response times for system functionality. The load time for user interface screens shall take no longer than two seconds.The log in information shall be verified within five seconds.Queries shall return results within five seconds.Example 2Logical Database RequirementsThe logical database requirements include the retention of the following data elements. This list is not a complete list and is designed as a starting point for developmentBooking/Reservation SystemCustomer first nameCustomer last nameCustomer addressCustomer phone numberNumber of occupantsAssigned roomDefault room rateRate descriptionGuaranteed room (yes/no)Credit card numberConfirmation numberAutomatic cancellation dateExpected check-in dateExpected check-in timeActual check-in dateActual check-in timeExpected check-out date Expected check-out timeActual check-out dateActual check-out timeCustomer feedbackPayment received (yes/no)Payment typeTotal BillFood ServicesMealMeal typeMeal itemMeal orderMeal payment (Bill to room/Credit/Check/Cash)EXAMPLE 3Design ConstraintsThe Hotel Management System shall be a stand-alone system running in a Windows environment. The system shall be developed using Java and an Access or Oracle databaseIllustrate a timeframe needed to complete each task based on the requirements from question 2.(5 Marks)Answer Estimating time framesTo manage your time well, you should know not only what tasks you need to accomplish, but also when those tasks must be completed and how long they'll take. Making accurate estimates about how long a task will take is one of the keys to effective time management. Many management problems are the result of unrealistic estimates of how long it will take to complete specific tasks.If you estimate time frames accurately, you'll be able to schedule work efficiently and meet deadlines:schedule work efficiently  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Accurate estimates about how long tasks will take to complete make scheduling a lot easier. They ensure that you won't have to keep changing your schedule. If you have a task that you accurately estimate will take six hours, for example, you can allot that time in your schedule and be reasonably confident you won't have to change the schedule. But what if you didn't accurately estimate the time for that task and allotted it only three hours? It would throw your schedule off, and you'd need to rework it.meet deadlines  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ If you're accurate in estimating the time it will take to complete tasks, you'll be better able to meet your deadlines. If you're estimates aren't accurate, you may need to ask to change deadlines or disappoint others who are relying on you to complete certain tasks. With accurate time estimates, you'll also be more confident about setting deadlines because you know that the time you assign for completing each of your tasks is realistic. Time estimate equationIt's important to estimate the time frames for your tasks accurately so that you can schedule all your work effectively and meet deadlines. To go about doing this, you first need to know the requirements of each task and your experience with activities – both when they run smoothly and when they don't – to produce three time estimates:The  likely time  is the time that the task normally takes you to complete. It helps to consider the time it takes to complete the task without interruption. You should also think about a time frame you would be comfortable with based on your workload, the task, and any external factors that may delay or speed up the completion of the task.The  shortest time  is the least amount of time that you have taken to complete the task in the past. It may also refer to the shortest time in which you think you can complete the task if there are no interruptions or distractions.You can estimate the  longest time  by considering what may go wrong when performing the task and then adding this extra time to the task's likely duration. This estimate should be based on your experience of this type of activity in the past, as well as on any foreseeable difficulties.You use the three time estimates to calculate the shortest possible time to complete a task based on an average of the likely, shortest, and longest times. Because in most cases a task will take the likely time to complete, this time is given more weight. You need to multiply it by 4, add the shortest time, and then add the longest time. You divide the total by 6 to get the shortest possible time.One important thing to remember is that you must use the same measurements for each type of time. For example, if your likely time is a number of days, the shortest and longest times must also be in days. If your estimates are in different measurements, start by changing them so they are all the same. The time frames equation often produces a shortest possible time that is longer than the shortest time you put into the equation. This is because the equation helps ensure that you're realistic about how long things will take.To manage your time effectively, you have to estimate the time it will take to complete each of your tasks. Doing this ensures you can schedule your work appropriately and meet all your deadlines. To estimate the time frames for your tasks, you can use a simple time frames equation, which uses estimates for the likely, shortest, and longest times to calculate the realistic, shortest possible time that it will take to complete a task.https://library.skillport.com/courseware/Content/cca/pd_11_a02_bs_enus/output/html/sb/sbpd_11_a02_bs_enus002005.htmlFive threats to your business that you need to consider for the success of this system. Answer: After assessing the strengths and weaknesses of your business for your business plan, look for external forces, like opportunities and threats, that may have an effect on its destiny. These changes includeThe appearance of new or stronger competitorsThe emergence of unique technologiesShifts in the size or demographic composition of your market areaChanges in the economy that affect customer buying habitsChanges in customer preferences that affect buying habitsChanges that alter the way customers access your business Changes in politics, policies, and regulationsFads and fashion crazesList the threats and opportunities facing your business, and follow these guidelines:When listing opportunities, consider emerging technologies, availability of new materials, new customer categories, changing customer tastes, market growth, new uses for old products (think about how mobile phones and even eyeglasses now double as cameras and computers), new distribution or location opportunities, positive changes in your competitive environment, and other forces that can affect your success. When listing threats, consider the impact of shrinking markets, altered consumer tastes and purchase tendencies, raw material shortages, economic downturns, new regulations, changes that affect access to your business, and competitive threats, including new competing businesses and competitive mergers and alliances. Also think about the impact of expiring patents, labor issues, global issues, and new products that may make your offering outdated or unnecessary. If you're having a tough time getting specific, look back at the strengths and weaknesses, but this time, use it to list strengths and weaknesses of a competitor. You won't know as much about your competitor's capabilities as you know about your own, but you probably know enough to flag areas of strength and weakness. Your competitor's strengths are potential threats to your business, and its weaknesses present potential opportunities. http://www.dummies.com/business/start-a-business/business-plans/how-to-identify-opportunities-and-threats-in-business-planning/Three elements of risk All risk management standards agree that the goal of risk management is to enhance the chances of success of the relevant endeavor. However, each of them provides a different definition of risk: ISO31000:2009 calls it â€Å"effect of uncertainty on objectives,† the PMI â€Å"PMBOK Guide†Ã‚  has â€Å"an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on the project's objectives,† and the preferred Risk Doctor definition is â€Å"uncertainty that matters. â€Å"Each description is true, but only partly so. This matters because, until we know what we are dealing with, we cannot manage it in the best way possible:If we use the ISO definition, then our first thought will be to focus on the  effect;If we follow PMI, then we will start from the potential  occurrence;With the Risk Doctor definition, we start from  uncertainty.Each of these — the effect, the event and the uncertainty  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  is a component of risk, but on its own is not a risk. Even taken in pairs they do not provide the full picture:an effect plus an event is  an issue;an event plus an uncertainty is  a prediction;an uncertainty plus and effect is  a concern.It is only when you put all three together that you can see what a risk is made of, and use this information to decide on what, if anything, to do about it. Of course, this then requires a longer definition, but the goal enhancing the chances of success is worth the effort.But what is â€Å"success†? It is more than simply â€Å"meeting objectives;† it must also include the condition of â€Å"complying with project constraints† in order for the final result to remain within scope. The three-part definition helps with three important stages of the risk management process:1.risk identification, it supports the structured description of a risk (â€Å"risk metalanguage†) in the form: â€Å"Because of , may occur, leading to In  2.risk evaluation, knowledge of potential causes allows you to evaluate the likelihood; identification of effects provides a basis for quantifying the impact. In  3 risk response planning, the different parts of the definition suggest different response approaches:for  threat avoidance, understanding the  situation  may allow you to stop it happening or protect against its results;understanding the  situation  can also be used to help us  exploit opportunities;in  risk transfer or sharing, we seek a partner better equipped to address the  effect;for  threat reduction  or  opportunity enhancement, we focus on the  effect  and/or the  likelihood; Example 1 Safety and security risks in hotelsA strategic framework for hotel safety and security has been designed for owned and managed hotels and is illustrated below, showing the identified groups of risks and describing the management activities carried out to mitigate those risks.2 Mitigating hotel safety and security risksRisks are identified at hotel level through various means including intelligence gathering, quality audits, risk management assessments and internal audits. They are also identified as a result of incidents, customer audits and self-assessment. Hotel management discuss issues at monthly safety meetings and action plans are developed. Risks are prioritised, assigned and improvement actions are identified, progressed and monitored. Action plans are reviewed at appropriate levels in the organization for issues that need to be escalated either to drive action or to develop common solutions. IHG believes it has a mature and capable systemic and systematic approach to managing hotel safety and security which both reduces the likelihood and impact of events. The embedded culture within IHG makes hotels and the corporation more resilient to unexpected or unidentifiable risks.https://www.ihgplc.com/files/reports/ar2009/managing-risks-in-hotels.htmlhttp://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/3-essential-elements-of-risk/business-management-

Costco case analysis until 2008 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Costco case analysis until 2008 - Essay Example This is the reason why it is not charging credit cards because current low margins do not cover this fee. Costco can solve this problem by using both the cash and credit card system of payment, but those people who want to pay using credit cards, an extra 2% should be charged to their bills in the lieu of banking fee. This method will be acceptable to most of the customers as the prices in Costco are already very low and people who use credit card can still make a saving even if they pay for extra 2 percent banking fee. This will help Costco attract a wider customer base and at the same time not lose out on their margins. Costco has also limited itself in the membership program. Special offers and discounts are given only to members of Costco. This is a dangerous policy because many potential customers who want to avail special offer cannot avail them and hence they do not shop at Costco. What Costco can do here is that they should publish and send out special discount coupons throug h direct mail and magazines. These coupons should be redeemable at Costco stores and this way Costco will serve a wider audience and will be able to attract larger pool of prospective customers. Many other shops and competitors to Costco provide ancillary services to its customers. However, Costco does not provide these services to its customers. Costco is operating at very low margin which does not give enough leverage to Costco to provide these services. This can be tackled by Costco advertising that should compare its costs with other retailers and should point out that Costco is competing on cost and the value of saving that Costco provides is greater than ancillary services that other retailers provide. This will encourage many more customers to buy from Costco and it will also help to increase Costco’s sales and revenue. It can be concluded from the above discussion that although Costco is doing pretty well, it needs to look at the external environment and should

Asset Classes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Asset Classes - Essay Example One of the major asset classes of OXT is stock. For the last 52 weeks, the company has recorded a daily average of 1.2 K shares in the UK market. Even though the company has displayed a downward trend on the 50 day moving average, the 20 day moving average depicts a financial strength of the company. One of the major concerns of the company management is the 200 SMA that stands at 18.47, thus creating a lot of resistance from the investors. According to the performance of Coca-Cola on the 9th of August, 2012, the company shares closed at 79.24 USD, indicating a decrease of 0.4%. On August 9, 2012, 4.79 million shares were traded, which indicates an increment of 23.89% as compared to 2011. As compared to OXT, which shows a downward movement of its stock prices, Coca-Cola stock prices depict a significant increment. Money market is an additional asset class of OXT. Currently, the company market capitalization stands at 1 while shares in issue are 5.43 million. The company profit margin is 500% while turnover per share stands at 0.001 (Oxford Technology Venture Capital Trust: Fundamentals, 2012). On the other hand, Coca-Cola market capitalization stands at 178.39 billion. The company shares outstanding 2.25 billion, thus attracting many investors. Based on its high profitability and large investment portfolio, Coca-Cola’s earning per share (EPS) stands at 3.78 USD. According to the financial report provided by the company in the month of July 2012, an average of 6.16 million shares has been sold. Asset classification of Oxford Technology Venture Capital Trust PLC and other similar mutual funds is significant in that it helps the investors to determine the type of investment that fits their needs. It is important to note that due to the recent economic downturn, the current investment environment has been faced with challenges based on low level of employment, which was experienced in many

Business Foundation Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Foundation Management - Assignment Example It jacked up it prices by 60% because of the deal they made with Hollywood (Sandoval 1). The deal was that Netflix was to pay a specific amount of money for every user per month for any user who had the right of connecting to the Hollywood content. This was regardless of whether they Netflix consumers viewed that content or not. Therefore, Netflix could not afford the luxury of paying for the digital content for individuals who were not watching it. The organisation argued that it was not cost of living increase and nor was it inflation. Regardless of the fact the analysts argued that the new hike in prices by Netflix was because of the new studio contracts, Netflix maintained the contracts had nothing to do with it. It also maintained that neither was it the high costs of doing business had caused it to hike the prices. In the Netflix’s blog, they say that when they launched their $7.99 unlimited streaming plan, whereby DVDs by mail were treated as a two dollar adds on to their unlimited streaming plan (Sandoval 1). In that previous year, the management had not anticipated offering DVD-only plans. Thereafter, they realised that there was still a very large continuing demand for DVDS. This was from both their existing member and the non-members. They continue to argue that, given the long life they thought that DVDs by mail were going to have, treating DVDs a two dollar add on their unlimited streaming plan was neither making great financial sense not satisfies the individuals who just want DVDs. Netflix mana gement argued that creating an unlimited DVDs by mail plan whereby it did not include streaming at their normal prices, which were very low, $7.99, it did not make any sense (Sandoval 1). In addition, they stated that it would not ensure a long life for their DVDS by mail offering. The most argument that comes regarding this decision was that the price hike was mostly to force the millions of Netflix’s members and non-members to go for

Theories of Human Rights Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Theories of Human Rights - Term Paper Example The problem with the Act stems from the way it was passed into law. The Act was formulated forty-five days after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. Besides the short period it took to formulate, Congress was given limited time to read and debate the bill. In fact, there are fears that many members of congress did not have enough time to read the document and as such, they might have passed it into law flawed. The hasty way in which this Act was formulated and passed could have been because of fear for another terrorist attack. Even so, it could also have been used as an avenue to infuse it with undeserved provisions benefitting the government. This hastiness served to entrench the secret ways in which the government uses the Act’s allowances (Smith & Li-Ching 23). There have been cases reported about FBI agents breaking into and searching people’s homes without notice. The violations of rights by the Patriot Act are complicated. Targets of FISA surveillance are not furnished with the contents of the court order that led to their arrest and as such, they lack the grounds to challenge wiretaps and searches done illegally. This contrasts significantly with a defendant prosecuted under the criminal investigative authority of the government who would be furnished with a copy of the court order. Proponents of the Patriot Act move that as the commander-in-chief, the president should use any means to protect the country from attacks. This argument downplays the fact that the president and the executive are not above the law and the Constitution (Smith & Li-Ching 24). The means they use to protect the country from attacks are supposed to be constrained by the constitution. Following the subtle implications of Section 218, it is possible that some people who are thought to be against government policies or who are related to foreign powers are unfairly searched and

Cross-cultural management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Cross-cultural management - Research Paper Example The data collected, findings and reports from this representative sample are then subjected to a series of data analyses based on which deductions are made. From the findings, viable recommendations are made with reference to scholarly work and reviews from social experts and academicians.Introduction Culture connotes peoples’ way of life. It is essentially a reflection of the attributes and characters of defined group of people within a population and includes aspects such as dressing, language, food, practices and beliefs, economic activities, and general aspects of life- characteristic of a particular group. Cultures tend to differ from one community to another; however, neighboring communities have a tendency to borrow various aspects of culture from one another and hence the disparities are few but continue to differ gradually as one drifts away to other regions (Charles, 2010). This explains why people from different continents tend to greatly differ from one another in their language, dressing, religious affiliation and beliefs among other social aspects of life; due to their different backgrounds and upbringing. This research was conducted from Iowa State University. This university is situated in the State of Iowa and admits students from all over the world. Each year, the University enrolls over 33,000 students; half of whom are international students. This provides a good platform to analyze aspects of academic acculturation and social diversity and their implications on students’ lives while undertaking their career studies

Autobiography Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Autobiography - Assignment Example I have a younger brother and we both lived together with our parents until I decided to come to the United Sates for higher studies My parents always encouraged me and my brother to share and care for each other. Although we did not get everything that we wanted, deep down in my heart, I know that they love me and will always be there for me. My life was largely untouched by the pressures of living in a communist society. I have had an interest in academics and sports right from my childhood and therefore I was fully immersed in these activities. I consider myself to be fairly outgoing and enjoy spending time with friends and family. I have many friends back in China and I am still in touch with them through mail and phone. However, I am excited about the opportunity I got to come and study in the United States. I had always wanted to come to the United States and explore the opportunities that this country has to offer. In this paper, I will analyze my life experiences in the light of the eight stages of social skills development as demonstrated in Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. Erikson stated that each of these stages is characterized by specific developmental milestones that act like a defining moment that guides the development of an individual (Cherry). Erikson’s Stages of Social Skills Development 1. Trust vs. Mistrust (Occurs from birth to age two) Santrock defines this stage as a phase when, â€Å"children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliability, care, and affection. A lack of this will lead to mistrust† (2009). I--------X-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I Trust Mistrust I have heard from my mother that one time, when she was away in another city on official work, my father was at home, preparing for an important meeting which was to be held that afternoon. I was an infant at that time and was exploring things in the front room when I accidently dropped a hot cup of coffee on myself. Even though we had a baby sitter at home, my father cancelled his meeting and chose to be with me that day. I have also heard from my mother that she nursed me till I was two years old because she wanted me to be healthy and strong. I believe that it is my parents support during my early years of life that has helped me to gain confidence and not feel threatened by my surroundings. Hence, I have placed myself closer to ‘trust’ on the scale. Had I not been given this support and care, I would not have learned to trust my parents and my surroundings. 2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Occurs between the ages of two and three) Santrock defines this stage as a phase when, â€Å"children need to develop a sense of independence. Success leads to feelings of autonomy, failure and punishment results in feelings of shame and doubt† (2009). I-------X----------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------I Autonomy Shame and Doubt I do not remember much about this phase in my life. However, recollecting past conversations with my parents, I know that I was a very active child while growing up and wanted to eat food and drink milk without anybody’s assistance. My parents would place me on a high chair next to the table and keep the food in front of me. I would not allow any body to help me and would insist on eating it on my own, even if it would get messy. I have also hea

Law Enforcement Versus Police Interrogations Essay

Law Enforcement Versus Police Interrogations - Essay Example 2006).Terrorism is thus a form of deviant behavior. Since behavior is the hallmark here, old members of terrorist groups may work relentlessly on the psyches of new members, getting them optimally motivated and reinforced for desired behaviors. The old members also ensure that the new members are properly indoctrinated in the "crux" of the job, that is, deciding to participate in an attack even when the terrorist must die in order for the attack to be successful. Terrorism appeals to some people so much that they seek to affiliate and identify with terrorist groups and to adopt the major features of terrorist culture. Law Enforcement agencies see terrorism as a threat to national security and unity of the nation. in contrast, police interrogations see terrorism as aggression towards individuals and a threat to social order and obedience (Horgan, 2005). An important aspect of terrorists' socialization processes is the belief that the gains of dying while destroying their targets are inestimable for them after death. In socializing their subjects into believing this, terrorist leaders may easily capitalize on the already mature suicidal and aggressive tendencies in their subjects. With their orientation toward their leaders, after whom they also model themselves, terrorists will not find it difficult to believe this kind of "fantasy." This is probably why there are many terrorists ready to volunteer to undertake suicide attacks. Although this aspect of their beliefs has a religious undertone, terrorist leaders often use it to galvanize their subjects into action (Reich et al 1998). Law Enforcement agencies take into account the social learning theory which makes an important distinction between different types of aggression. Cultures and social groups have various norms regarding the appropriate use of aggression in inter-group conflict and hostility. From a psychological perspective, a key question is how effective the U.S. approach is likely to be in preventing terrorism (Horgan, 2005). The central thesis is that the approach is inherently limited because it fails to address the causes of terrorism, which, left unattended, are likely to boost anti-U.S. sentiments and produce new generations of terrorists. It suggests that a peace-building focus is needed to complement the current approach and to construct a comprehensive, psychologically informed strategy of terrorism prevention. The enemy imagery is one of the fundamental psychological mechanisms that motivates terrorism and lifts moral restraints against committing horrific acts of violence (Bonger et al. 2 006). In contrast to law enforcement agencies, police accepts and follows social injustice theory. Social injustice takes many different forms and consists of a mixture of objective and subjective elements. Objectively, it includes human rights violations, direct victimization, political and social oppression, and structural violence through preventable failure to meet basic human needs as a result of conditions such as poverty (Horgan, 2005). Although these objective and subjective elements are completely interwoven, the analysis below emphasizes the subjective since views of political conflict and terrorism

Logistic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Logistic management - Essay Example However, the main questions are whether enterprise resource planning is an advantage or a hindrance to organizations and whether organizations are making implementations that accommodate the software. The enterprise resource planning software may be of significant help to organizations who are intending or already using it. First, communication within and outside the organizations significantly increases (Bowersox, Closs & Cooper, 2007). This means that logistics information from one department to another move swiftly. In addition, information moving in or out the company is moving at a faster pace. For instance, a technology company manufacturing technological products will have an increase in the movement of information. In this case, the manufacturing department can communicate with sales department at the shortest time possible regarding customers orders. On the other hand, the organizations can communicate with their supplies in time to deliver raw materials in time for production. As a result, due to speedy movement of information in the organization, the second benefit of enterprise resource planning is that it reduces wastages in inventory leading to high profitability levels in the company (Bowersox, Closs & Cooper, 2007). An excellent example is that of the technology company. In the past, technology companies were making products based on future predictions on sales. This was for the purposes of ensuring just in time deliveries to their customers. However, technology is changing at a quick rate meaning that production for future use will lead to obsolete products in the market resulting to wastage. Therefore, because of enterprise resource planning, logistic management is becoming easier with companies only producing in accordance with customer orders. In this case, there is zero tolerance on wastages and reduction of warehousing costs

Biohybrid Devices Essay Example for Free

Biohybrid Devices Essay Biohybrid devices. Biohybrid devices are implantable medical contraptions that undergo vascularization inside the body before the normal human cells (such as islet cells of Langerhans) can be placed inside them. They provide local immunosuppression that ensures that the normal human cells are not rejected by the host’s immune system or the graft versus host disease (Dorian). Biohybrid devices can be used to prevent diseases such as liver failure and diabetes. For persons at risk of developing type I diabetes mellitus (such as genetically predisposed individuals) or pre-diabetic individuals, their islets cells of Langerhans can be protected by biohybrid devices (Ricchie). These biohybrid devices are designed using nanoencapsulation technology into conformal polymer biomaterials that form a scaffold over the population of islet cells of Langerhans in the endocrine pancreas; thereby preventing the auto-antibodies from accessing the islets cells, and, causing irreversible injury to the cells by auto-immune reactions that ultimately lead to cell death, and, absolute lack of insulin production (Lucy et al). For the pre-diabetic individuals on immunomodulatory medications, the biohybrid scaffold locally concentrates the drug thus increasing its pharmacologic efficiency and reducing its systemic toxicity. The biohybrid scaffold also improves nutrient distribution across the islet cells and reduces stress encountered by the islet cells of Langerhans (Nazek). Liver failure caused by autoimmune hepatitis can be prevented by biohybrid devices, which form an, intricate conformal scaffold on the hepatocytes surface thereby blocking the auto-antibodies from interacting with the hepatocytes, and, causing immune-mediated liver necrosis (Nazek). Oxygen diffusion is critical for hybrid artificial organs because the normal human cells within them require oxygen for aerobic oxidative respiration and reduced oxygen diffusion may cause hypoxia (a form of cell injury) that leads to impaired physiological processes within the cells and ultimately to cell death(Lemburt et al). This necessitates that the biohybrid device be made of optimal design that allows adequate oxygen diffusion and consumption by the normal human cells (Dorian). These designs are based on experimental mathematical models (Provust). The characteristics that influence the rate of oxygen diffusion across the biohybrid device are geometry (for instance, the spherical organoid biohybrid artificial liver [BAL] was observed to consume oxygen at rates that approximate normal hepatocytes oxygen consumption, while, the hollow tube model of BAL consumed oxygen at rates several magnitudes lower than normal hepatocytes), thickness of the biohybrid device(for instance, models of biohybrid blood vessels made up of hollow fiber scaffold exhibited correlation between increasing scaffold wall thickness and reduced oxygen perfusion) and permeability of the biohybrid device surface to oxygen. This oxygen permeability is a function of the intrinsic property of the polymer that is used to construct the scaffolds of the biohybrid device; also, the nanoencapsulation design influences oxygen permeability albeit to a smaller extent (Silvius). There are several differences between intravascular and extra vascular biohybrid devices as explained below. Intravascular biohybrid devices are placed within the large blood vessels where they act as stents, or, they connect several blood vessels thereby acting as a biocompatible immunoprotective shunts; thus, the normal human cells within such devices obtain nourishment directly from the circulating blood. Extravascular biohybrid devices are placed outside the vascular compartment, for example, planar macro-capsules (extravascular devices) are placed in the peritoneal cavity; the normal human cells in these devices depend on diffusion to obtain the necessary nutrients and oxygen. The extravascular devices are easily implantable and retrievable, but, the intravascular devices would need surgery in order to implant or retrieve them (Triavek). The geometry of biohybrid devices affects their efficiency because the normal human cells within them require an appropriate three-dimensional structure that maximizes the effective surface area in order to obtain adequate nutrition, oxygen and eliminate metabolic wastes. Geometry also influences the population of human cells that can be placed inside a biohybrid device. Geometry of biohybrid device also affects the interaction between the device and the human immune system (Nazek).

Organizational Development Essay Example for Free

Organizational Development Essay John F. Kennedy was quoted as saying â€Å"Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.† The world is in a constant state of motion. No one should expect things to always stay the same. Organizations require technologies and human resources in order to operate. A business needs to operate by learning from the past and planning for the future. Since, the economic collapse of 2008, the idea that any company is ‘too big to fail’ has been thrown out the proverbial ‘business window’. Business is now practiced in a global market and technologies have made the world a smaller place. â€Å"Managers and their organizations must anticipate the future and become proactive players.† (Brown, D.R., 2011, part 1.) Consider companies like Blockbuster Video. The demise of Blockbuster proves that leadership did not look to the future. This company considered itself to be the standard. Where is Blockbuster now? Instead of being an industry leader, it is trying to regain its footing in a marketplace it once dominated. Why? Blockbuster failed to take its competitors seriously. It did not consider technology surpassing the company’s own perception of practicing business. â€Å"In 2002 (Blockbuster) had 8,000 stores and a market value of $3 billion. Today, movie-by-mail Netflix is worth nearly three times that much. And Blockbuster is broke.† (Gandell, S., 2010, paragraph 19.) Successful companies are looking to the future as they learn from the past and present. Organizations that are successful will operate without ego, effectively communicate throughout the organization, and constantly reinvent themselves. Organizations need to be in constant development in order to move forward with any success. In this paper, I intend to define the importance of organizational development as it relates to my own company’s recent sale to a new group of owners. I intend to define organizational development as it relates to organizational trust, a strong practitioner-client relationship, the imperative nature of the diagnostic phase, effective communication between ownership and employees, and the importance of strategy as it relates to a successful transfer of ownership and culture to an organization. Organizations need to know when organizational development is necessary. I am a Managing Partner in the restaurant business. I currently have about 50 employees that I am responsible for. Recently, the restaurant I am running was sold to a South African group of owners. The owners actually bought two restaurants from the local restaurant group I was working for. After studying the Charlotte market and other markets throughout this great country of ours, the South African owners decided that Charlotte, NC would give them the best opportunity to grow a restaurant chain. The owners currently have over 150 restaurants in South Africa and this is their first venture into the United States. Once the sale became final, the owners began to evaluate all the current systems and business practices of the restaurants. The new owners began to re-develop the organization by defining its existing and future organizational identity. The owners sat down with staff and management to get an understanding of what the restaurants meant to each staff member. â€Å"The identity will provide an advantage if it is well aligned with the organizational strategy and well suited to the market niche, because identities tend to be socially complex and path dependent, and therefore difficult to imitate.† (Salgado, S.R., 2003, page 65.) The owners became the practitioners of change by purchasing the restaurants. After the sale became final, it was time to develop a sense of trust from the existing staff and management. One way of gaining that trust is to value the opinions of the current members of the organization. The new owners showed that they valued staff opinion of organizational identity. This process helped to develop the fundamental need to build a positive practitioner-client relationship. The new owners need an employee landscape that is friendly, not hostile. There is no way the new organization can move forward with a negative culture. Once trust was established, the new owners were able to begin to identify issues, problems, and opportunities each restaurant was having. The five fundamental stages of organizational development are: â€Å"anticipate the need for change, develop the practitioner-client relationship, the diagnostic phase, action plans, strategies, and techniques, and self-renewal, monitor, and stabilize.† (Brown, D.R., 2011, page 18). Ownership has followed the principles of organizational change and development in a very smart way. The new owners worked on building a strong practitioner-client relationship while gathering information about the businesses. They remained very approachable and worked hard to assist with the agreed upon change lists. Ownership made everyone feel as though they were not there to change what was not broken. Employees were made to feel proud about the restaurants they worked in. By developing such a good and trusting relationship, change has come easier. Once trust was established, new ownership quickly moved to the third fundamental of organizational development, the diagnostic phase. â€Å"Organizational diagnostic models and surveys have often been demonstrated by practitioners to be very effective in supporting organizational development   programs.† (Goldstein, L. and Burke, W. (1991), Vol. 19, page 5.) Diagnostic models are designed to help organizational development practitioners to â€Å"categorize data about the organization, enhance understanding about organizational problems, interpret data systematically, (and) provide appropriate change strategies.† (Lok, P., Crawford, J., 2000, page 108.) The practitioners have been reviewing every facet of the restaurant’s business practices. Ownership is constantly evaluating the effectiveness of each system. Technologies, equipment, and managerial functions are all reviewed and measured to the new standards and goals set forth by the owners. The ownership designed a â€Å"team approach to setting and reviewing targets, real participation by subordinates in setting goals, with an emphasis on mutually agreed upon goals, mutual trust between subordinate and manager, and a real concern for personal career goals as well as for organizational goals.† (Brown, D.R., 2011, page 327.) Ownership felt that the technologies were not tied in together very well. Ownership felt that the current gathering of data was cumbersome and inaccurate. The practitioners felt that the clients needed to stream-line the ways in which data was collected. By reviewing every program and system of accounting, the new owners were able to determine that updating would be necessary in order to move the two concepts forward. Looking to future growth was not going to happen for the organization until both concepts were able to produce accurate information about the actual business. Ownership also determined that it wanted its managers out in the restaurant more. There was simply too much to do in the office while running the restaurants. The practitioners asked current upper management to clearly define the responsibilities of each manager and chef position. At this point, the culture of the new organization had begun to take shape. Clearly defined roles and a change in managerial philosophies have started to grow. I have witnessed what I believe is a very successful transformation of culture. Responsibilities are clearly communicated. Accountability has improved. By creating clearly defined roles, the effectiveness of each manager is much easier to measure. At times, however, communication has been inconsistent. The massive restructuring of all current systems has taken a toll on some people in the organization. Missed deadlines and unforeseen problems have occurred. The way in which the new ownership has responded to the unforeseen issues has been impressive. I feel that new ownership has shown an unwavering amount of dedication to the new organizational vision it has set in place. Considering the amount of change, the owners have been very clear and approachable throughout the transformation. I respect and support their efforts in remaining approachable and supportive. They exude an understanding of what each existing member or employee is going through.   Ownership has been very aware of the ego state of the organization. â€Å"Every interaction between people involves a transaction between their ego states. When one person converses with a second person, the first person is in a distinct ego state and can direct the message to an y of the three ego states in the second individual.† (Brown, D.R., 2011, page 230.) Ownership has made every effort to have open and complementary transactions with groups and individuals throughout the organization. At the same time, they have also shown that the organization will move forward with or without its current members. Holding people accountable has been extremely important. â€Å"In todays changing environment, organizations that encourage individual ability and hold employees accountable for achieving goals are more likely to succeed.† (Brown, D.R., 2011, page 381.) The practitioners have been able to accentuate individual strengths and weaknesses within its existing employee body. This approach has brought on a spirit of contribution to the cause of the new vision presented to the ‘old guards’ of the organization. This is a very clever approach to affecting change. Also, the new leaders of the organization have discovered some hidden talents within its current team-members. Finding an existing and in-place pool of needed skills has helped the new leaders keep an aggressive time-line for the development of change. New owners did not have to look completely outside the organization for skills that will enable change. Instead, new owners were able to motivate change by looking for solutions internally. Looking for hidden talents helped to reaffirm the positive culture of opportunity and renewed perceptions of the employee skillset. An internal approach to solving or rectifying identified issues has also kept the cost of change down. Existing members already have a sense of where the shared vision of the company is going. Existing staff has a greater stake in the organization’s success. Because of shareholder accountability, ownership is smart to look internally for as many talents as possible. Ownership believed by stream-lining technologies and accounting systems, it could improve the quality of the guest experience and profitability of its organization. Ownership started this process by surveying all existing management to try and determine what each manager actually knew about the existing programs and technologies. A methodical and measured approach to re-designing office systems will enable the organization to become more consistent in gathering data and measuring the performance of both restaurants. Their  vision of the future of the organization has been effectively shared with everyone involved . The deadlines for improvements have been followed-up effectively. A weekly meeting between ownership and upper management takes place. In these meetings, organizational effectiveness is measured by how well goals and objectives are accomplished. At first, goals were very broad and basic. Managers were asked to evaluate their knowledge of existing point of sale programs, invoicing programs, and budgetary knowledge. Once ownership felt it had acquired enough knowledge about existing systems, the project or ‘goal’ chart was updated and tasks became more narrow and specialized in focus. Managers were held accountable to their goals based on their strengths or expertise. For example, one manager is very adept with computers. This has become his area of focus for the remainder of the re-development of the organization. â€Å"The collection of data is an important activity providing the organization and the practitioner with a better understanding of client system problems: the diagnosis.† (Brown, D.R., 2011, page 19.) Ownership has been very diligent about data accuracy. Every number and system has been reviewed for accuracy and consistency. In order for the company to move forward, ownership has to determine what is and what is not vital to the new organizational vision. Ownership has already picked two new sites for additional restaurants. It is important that both restaurants operate in the same way as the business grows. This is why organizational effectiveness has to be optimized and not hap-hazard. â€Å"Organizational practitioners need to assess the influence of variables in diagnostic models on organizational outcomes, and effectiveness has often been used as the primary outcome measurement. (Handy, 1985, p. 85; Burke and Litwin, 1992). The new owners have done an excellent job moving the new organization through a surprising change of ownership. I have enjoyed watching how these new owners have handled the organizational development of the restaurant. Organizational change and development is certainly not easy. Leadership from the owners to the managers has to stay on course with the changes. Total commitment and a positive attitude are necessary. Negativity spreads like wildfire when redeveloping an organization. The owners have worked hard to cope and shape their environments, through the way they organize and operate their organization. The history of organizational development has to be an interesting one. As I watch these new owners re-tool both establishments, I wonder if they are taking the same course in organizational development that I am. The owners have to pass forward their beliefs or values as to what the restaurants should be. Things that worked before might be tossed. New things are   introduced. The style of service and the menu, the technology, are all things the owners have to push forward to current and new employees. All the while, business is ongoing. The doors are open. Customers are hearing of the sale and are passionate about the changes. Some changes are subtle. Some changes are extreme. How does the ownership remain familiar to what the concept once was? The entire process is exhausting. The public’s resistance to change is fierce at times. One very popular item on the menu was discontinued when the new menu was rolled out. Granted, the menu had not changed in four years. Servers and cooks were tired of doing the same thing every day. The item that was discontinued was actually a very bland and tasteless item. Servers and cooks hated selling it. There was excitement and concern when the new ownership wanted to get rid of it. We all knew we were in for it when the new menu came out. Sure enough, customers have missed not having this item on the menu. Customers have been very vocal about this one item. Ownership feels that quality ingredients, perfect preparation, and impeccable service will build sales. There is a determination that the new regime can move past this one dish and convince the fickle public that there are a lot of other good reasons to dine at our restaurants. We are doing more than trying to keep our existing clientele. We are building a new clientele. Whatever perceptions the public had of us before does not matter. It is interesting to hear the complaints about some of our changes. All the while, most of the same staff works at the restaurant. The only real changes the public see are dress codes and menu changes. Otherwise, most change is behind the scenes. Because of the intense scrutiny mistakes in service or execution of the shift has to be perfect. We cannot afford to be less than perfect right now. Complacency has no place in the restaurant business. To be successful, we should always be looking ahead and learning from our past mistakes. We should always challenge ourselves to be better than we were yesterday. We are always training and learning. Managers should be acting as coaches and mentors to the staff. Management at all levels should not only ‘talk the talk’, they should ‘walk the walk’. However, the complaints are not always fair. The new menu is terrific. Quality and service are actually better than ever. The new owners spent a lot of money to help update and fix equipment that was vital to running the restaurant. Ownership has brought in more management and has improved the morale of the restaurant, not to mention the quality of life for all salaried people like myself. There has been a certain camaraderie resulting from moving toward common goals with other people. There is now a belief that we are a better place today because of our efforts. The best interventions from a   values point of view are those that help clients prepare their place in the future, whether its creation or adaptation. I am sure as we move forward that we will come in to our own again. The once faithful group of regulars will either go their own way or forgive us. Organizational development is a change strategy. â€Å"OD principles and techniques are experiencing a renaissance, thanks to the growth of the field of change management.† (Worren, N.A.M., Ruddle, K., Moore, K.,1999, paragraph 3.) Organizational development requires a change in behaviors. These behaviors, good or bad, become the organizational culture. The organizational beliefs and values start at the top of the food chain, the owners. What is important to the owner should be important to the worker in that organization. It is imperative that the owner or any organization find a way to keep his people motivated and passionate about his organization’s products. Therefore, the leadership of any organization has to ‘connect’ to develop change and organizational success. Leadership has to be viewed as the change master. An organization that wants to remain vital, must be able to deal with change. A restaurant is an excellent example of a business in a constant state of change. For some restaurants the menu can stay the same. Maybe that is what people like about the place. However, what goes on outside the restaurant can cause a need for change inside the restaurant. Roads are closed, the economy is shrinking, parking is now too difficult to bother, these are all worrisome real-life issues that any organization or restaurant might have to deal with. The restaurant cannot afford to maintain the status quo, change is simply that critical. Kurt Lewin developed the concept of force-field analysis. This philosophy is â€Å"deceptively simple and can be used to help plan and manage organizational change.† (Cumming, T.G., Huse, E.R. 1989, page 3.) Lewin believed that an organizational behavior was affected by the balance of two opposing forces. When these opposing forces are at odds, change happens. According to Lewin, there are driving forces and restraining forces. Driving forces affect and assist in the desired change. Restraining forces do quite the opposite. Restraining forces represent obstacles to the change. â€Å"If the weights of the driving and restraining forces are relatively equal, then the organization will remain static.†(Cumming, T.G., Huse, E.R. 1989, page 3.) Ownership has to remain aware of the balance of power these two forces represent for the organization. Change has to appear to always be for the good of the whole organization. People are wary of change and must be made to feel a part of its success in order to help embrace the new mindset. Lewin’s force-field analysis works as a method of environmental scanning and as a way for creating an empowering environment to the culture of the organization. The new owners have done an excellent job moving the organization forward. The efforts made to gather data and technical knowledge have been diligent. The new owners have moved forward by doing their homework. After reviewing all the necessary information, ownership has been able to assimilate all the necessary funds, materials, staff and time. As the organizational development process has moved forward, it has become obvious that the owners plan on giving their newly acquired business the tools it needs to accomplish the shared vision. This, of course, has led to the owners’ final phase of organizational development, the support of their people. At first, ownership had to tread lightly. In the beginning, it was as if the new owners wrapped their arms around us all and said â€Å"everything will be alright, just stick with us.† As the new team moved forward, some upper management was asked to leave. Time has been a good indicator of the ownerships’ dedication to the new vision and culture of the organization. Their efforts have been unwavering and very consistent. In this paper, I have detailed the importance of organizational development as it relates to my own company’s recent sale to a new group of owners. The process of organizational development has been fascinating to watch. Although the constant evaluation of all systems and actions throughout the organization has been exhausting, I believe ownership has succeeded in redeveloping a once tired and inefficient culture. Employees and managers have felt a greater sense of purpose towards the new organization. New ownership has successfully relayed a positive sense of urgency and purpose towards its existing staff and team members. The revamping of the organizational culture has brought forth a better quality employee and better quality experience for the organization’s customers. The organizational development techniques applied by the new ownership has helped to improve the profitability of both restaurants. New ownership had once touted that two additional restaurants would be opening within twelve months. Because of the success in developing organizational change, new ownership has now determined a new restaurant can be opened in only six months instead of twelve. This fast organizational growth is to be celebrated because it is a direct result of the diligent efforts of ownership and all staff involved after the transfer of ownership became official. Trust, a positive practitioner-client relationship, a successful diagnostic evaluation and change, effective communication between ownership and employees, and the importance of strategy has allowed this organization to become stronger and advance its number of concepts. In short, growth happens if organizational development is applied effectively. References: Brown, D.R., (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organizational Development (8th ed). Upper Saddle River Pearson Prentice Hall. Retrieved from: http://onlinevitalsource.com/#books/9780558857257/pages/31616081. Cumming, T.G., Huse, E.F. (1989), Organizational Development and Change (4th ed.) St Paul, MN: West Publishing. Retrieved from: http://jeritt.msu.edu/documents/TallmanWithoutAttachment.pc. Gandell, S., 2010, How Blockbuster Failed at Failing, Time Magazine. Retrieved from: http://www.time.com/magazine/article/0,9171,2022624-2,00.html. Goldstein, L. and Burke, W. (1991), Creating successful organizational change, Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 19, page 5-17. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/215864273?accountid=32521 Handy, C. (1985), Understanding Organizations, Penguin, London. Retreived from: http://search.proquest.com/business/docview/215864273/13901F6FOC3249E4570/1?accountid=32521 Lok, P., Crawford, J., (2000). The application of a diagnostic model and sur veys in organizational development. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 15(2), 108-124. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/215864273?accountid=32521.) Salgado, S.R. (2003), Fine Restaurants: Creating inimitable advantages in a competitive industry. New York University, Graduate School of Business Administration). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 161 p. retrieved from: http://www.search.proquest.com/docview/305261479?accountid=32521305261479. Worren, N.A.M., Ruddle, K., Moore, K. (1999.) From organizational development to change management: the emergence of a new profession. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 35(3), 273-286. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/236248857?accountid=32521.

PERSPECTIVES ON THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP AND CONFLICT

PERSPECTIVES ON THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP AND CONFLICT Introduction Today industries have undergone a great change in terms of the kind of personnel they deploy as they look for maximization of their production and profits. There is keen selection of means of production especially specialized labor and therefore this means that todays employer is much more focused on what he needs in the process of production (Fredman Gillian 1989, p.48). There are increased agreements and dispute procedures which used to be forced on the unions by employer association some time ago, but the bargaining ability and freedom has called for diversification of employers functions and restructuring of the pay agreements (Bach Sisson 2000). Management of the businesses has also changed with regard to todays need and is being performed by board of governors (Guest 1991, p.153). There are two aspects of employer relationship namely; market relations and managerial relations. A market relation refers to terms and conditions on which labor is hired and is economic in character. Managerial relations refer to deployment of labor force by the management and how this deployment is to be done. Before trade unions, individual worker could chose to work or go elsewhere if he or she is not satisfied with employers terms of work. And because an individual worker was weaker than the employer, there came a regulated work market with trade unions where employees are allowed to collude with fellow workers for a collective bargaining. The primary justification of trade union is that it protects the worker in the economic aspect of his employment (Gintis 1987, p.68). In job regulations, employers and employees adopt an agreement contract. These contracts have rules over a wide variety of work places. They contain an individual interest which necessarily ignores the economic reality behind the bargain because the parties are simply not equal (Wedderburn 1986, p.8). This one sided interest of contract of employment is the bone of contention in the workplace relationship. The contract requires the employer to pay wages, provide work, exercise care and cooperate while employees are expected to obey reasonable order, exercise reasonable care and competence, maintain fidelity, honesty, protect confidential information, be accountable and not to sabotage employers business among other provisions. These provisions are just mere protection on managerial rights. However, the actual cooperation of legal rights in work places depends on the power, knowledge and organization of the parties as well as on the statute book (Edwards 1987, p.15). The agreement of work must take into consideration that what is offered by the worker to the employer is the capacity to work, which only the capitalists make maximum use of, but the output benefits only the capitalists (Braveman 1998, p.37). This paper seeks to examine the three perspectives that have been a wide reference regarding industrial relations, their take on how these conflicts may arise and how they are solved under each system. In the discussion we will also seek to see how managers under these perspectives seek to gain control for effective management. The perspectives There are three perspectives on the employment relationship that can contribute in analyzing the nature of conflict in work place: Unitarism, Pluralism and Marxism. Most writers and theorists have written on these schools of thought and have used them from different perspective to analyze social issues. Here they will be used to test their take on the nature of conflict in the workplace and the way managers or human resource managers seek control and effective guidance in exercising their vested authority. Unitarism This is the system whereby a focus is placed upon one source of authority without negotiation. It assumes a kind of partnership teamwork in its operationalization. In a unitary system, members are expected to strive as a unit and pursue a common goal and every unit component does its part to the best of its ability (Fox 1966, p.2). Members are expected to exhibit discipline, royalty and effective communication because the organized body is supposed to be an integrated and harmonious whole. Following the centralized leadership members accept their place and function and this means antagonist groups and rivalry in leadership are not accommodated. Unitarism holds the idea that conflict in the work place should be a two way because the Leaders, who expect loyalty and respect from members, must first exhibit and demonstrate the same to individual members. According to Fox (1966, p.3), the success and impetus of the team inheres from personal relationship and just like a football team there is no divided spirit especially with management authority. In this system also, it is believed that the structure and the organization of work and purpose is unitary and individual employees or trade unions are not expected to challenge the management. Worse still is that trade unions are perceived to be an illegitimate entity that sabotages the balance of the whole unit and. As Unitarism assumes that workplace conflicts are non existent due to the organization and symbiotic relationship among workers and managers, the idea of trade unions is conceived to be foreign. Unitary system therefore denies conflict in workplace and just assumes that the conflicts are only due to personal differences, faulty communication and works of inciters from without. Managers in this system believe that workers conflicts can be managed within the system than involving trade unions (Fox 1966 p.10). Unions are seen as achieving nothing for employees but sabotaging progress, pushing up cost and constantly frustrating the owners of production enterprise in the guise of resolving workplace conflicts (Fox 1966, p.11). The ideology also endeavors to integrate employees into organization based on employee commitment to quality production, customer need and job flexibility. It therefore serves three purposes in the management; self reassurance as an instrument of persuasion and as a technique of seeking legitimization of authority. Adopting the unitary view of industrial organization is one of managers tactics. This gives a motivation that harmony of purpose exists. Ideology also is a persuasive instrument in which employers persuade their employees and public at large; that industry is a harmony of cooperation which only trouble mongers choose to disrupt (Fox 1966, p.5). This way they make their work easier by convincing their employees and winning public support, should management be challenged by their workers. Moreover, management creates a situation where their interest and those of other employees are similar and legitimizes the regime. Therefore drawing from this assumed legitimacy, their government sanctions and cruelty become legitimate (Edwards, 2003, p.34). In their bid to gain authority under this perspective, managers are also likely to adopt measures that are aimed at debilitating trade union and favoring the company and this triggers further resentment from the trade union (Fox 1966, p.11). Moreover, Managers holding Unitarism perspective belief that collective bargaining, negotiation and reconciliation encourage the wrong attitude between the two sides in industry. They therefore term any resistance and conflicts to be due to stupidity, wrong headedness or outdated class rancor and they work toward inculcating such ideology to their subordinates who by following the ideology are easily controlled (Fox 1966, p.12). Managers also utilize conformist innovation whereby they focus on acquiring expertise that will enable them to demonstrate a close relationship between their activities and organizational success criteria (Thornley, 2003a, p.83). This is mostly attained through specialization in personal management. This influences the re action of workers and their management becomes easier. The assumptions of the unitary position, with its emphasis on managerial prerogative, and its attempt to deconstruct realities of divergent work group attitude and values in the interest of strong unified team renders it weak under modern conditions especially in their obsolete view on the nature of conflict in the work place. Unitarisms view on the nature, cause and how to handle workplace conflict is utterly conservative and time tested. This organized labor is challenged when it comes to the process of organizing and assigning work to members as well as sanctioning the labor force. The failure to consider common interest leads to faulty communication or misunderstanding and at that time conflicts at workplace become a challenge. Pluralism Pluralist perspective is a system with a political analogy whereby many groups with divergent interests and beliefs act as one organization, and the government depend on their consent and cooperation. The final authority in pluralism lack moral bargain to arrive at final decision without relying on members unity (Clegg 1979, p.454). In this system, trade unions are legitimate institutions that represent collective interest of the workers and are granted powers to challenge management. There is therefore minimal authoritarianism because conflicts in the work place are viewed at as inevitable and as a phenomenon that is bound to occur without question. Pluralism views Industrial relations as much stable and adaptable as a result of collective agreement and it is very difficult for the management to sabotage trade unions unlike in the Unitarism (Clegg 1979, p.454). In the regulation of pluralism, conflicts induced by the trade unions are indispensable so the question of how to contain them triumphs over how to constrain the unions operations. In pluralist view, the organization is seen as a plural society with related but separate interests and objectives which should be tamed to a kind of equilibrium through conflict if workers are expropriated. Fox (1966, p.3) analyses that the running of a pluralism system is aimed at striking a balance of members activities of the group for the highest degree of freedom. This is done in line with general interest of the society as it is. The system is kept alive by the fact that sectional groups with divergent interests aim for a common goal and are mutually depended. Under this view, managers are expected to deploy many tactics in their professional functions should they expect to gain any accepted authority. These involve organizing work people and technical resources, shareholders, customers, the government and the local community. Managers who hold this perspective dearly seek to acquire some control through acting in the best interest of all stakeholders. Pluralist workers and other stakeholders, on the other hand, maintain their relations with managers as their source of information to deliver their goods and services to their satisfaction and to minimize work place conflicts (Clegg 1979, p.455). The effectiveness of managers under pluralism in their job is also, highly determined by their good relation with those who negotiate with them on behalf of the workers. Therefore it can be deduced that pluralism views workplace conflicts as indispensable and as a part of work relation hence trade unions are unavoidable institutions. Under this perspective the only way managers can be at ease is to strike a balance between their interest and that of workers by establishing good rapport with negotiators. In many organizations with pluralist approach, managers involve collective negotiations, procedures of dispute settlement, formal and informal consultation as tools of their power control. Marxism Marxism in its proper form is a general theory of society and social change with implications for analysis and industrial relations capitalism. Marxism has since its inception served as a tool for social research into power relations and a discourse in which other phenomena and reality are examined. Class conflict, a macrocosm of work place conflict, according to Marxists is there to stay within the system as far as profit is made out of exploitation of labor by the owners of production. Class divisions that inhere in society are closely intertwined with the bourgeoisie structure of industry and a wage labor (Hyman 1975, p.28). The capitalist, according to Marxism, has introduced social features that dominate labor process which is a property of the worker and this forces the worker to sell their labor power together with their interest. This alienates labor from the owner and makes it to be controlled by the capitalist. Karl Marx, the initiator of Marxists school of thought, noted that ones labor is equal to his or her humanity and one would be dehumanized once someone else controls his or her labor (Braveman 1998, p.39). Since the owner of labor is powerless and the buyer powerful there is a possibility of expropriation of the worker by the employee and hence trade unions are formed. Trade unions in Marxism are legitimate vehicles in challenging the excesses of property owners whenever they disrupt the distribution of national products as a result of power differences. Marxism therefore holds that workplace conflicts are bound to be there but measures should be put to tame them. Trade unions are therefore looked at as institutions that conjure up as a result of painful exploitation of employees by the owners of means of production and therefore as a collective bargaining person (Clegg 1979, p.455). A long history of conflicts has proved that they can be contained if positively perceived and handled. Marxism is the ultimate conflict theory that criticizes Unitarism and pluralism because of their leniency on handling workplace conflicts. Research demonstrates that Marxists and pluralists differ in their industrial relation analysis and further in their definition of its subject matter and nature (Hyman 1975, p.20). What is common in both schools of thought is that both are concerned with conflict and stability acquisition. This means in both perspectives conflict in workplace is unavoidable just as in any other sphere of social life. In most work places management asserts its authority and control down wards from above while work groups assert their independence and control upwards from below (Coffey Thornley 2009, p.93). This reverse expectation is the one that projects a conflicting point where balance has to be struck radically to the benefit of neither of the side. According to Clegg (1979, p.454) Marxist account of industrial relation has that, trade unions may become integrated in the institutions and operations of capitalist society. This strategy, which managers under Marxism may deploy to gain authority, is the greatest evil that can bedevil trade unions under Marxism because once that is accomplished unions cease to act as instruments of social class welfare. This integration may assume terms as economism, incorporation and institutionalization. As much as this is not consistent with trade unions objective it does not favor the employee who is supposed to be represented. Collective bargaining employs freedom for workers to organize independent trade unions to bargain independently and effectively with the employer. To get rid of persistent subordination, workers have freedom to organize autonomous trade unions (Wedderburn 1986, p.7). Integration of trade unions into capitalist society, midwifed by managers, influences all representatives, who interact with managers and employers association, to forfeit their duty to serve employees. To avoid this trade unionists are not advised, under Marxism to make a binding agreement with their employers. In Marxism it is expected that conflicting employee and employer prefer a settlement of their differences in an amicable manner close to each partys objective. This settlement is mostly to be achieved after a series of meetings (Clegg 1979, p.453). As the two sides also push each other to the wall, they must keep in mind that they are mutually depended on each other and that collective bargaining is the backbone of their industrial relations. This however does not imply that trade unions representatives always yield to the pressures of the enterprise. Marxism believes that workers ability to deliver their labor productively lies in the damage they cause to their employers whenever they strike. Further institutionalization of trade unions makes them not to be seen in the old goggles as tools of radical protest and revolt (Clegg 1979, p.454). Trade unions in Marxist setting are aligned to a political party with wider support, greater funds and more activists. Marxism therefore entrenches politicization of workers by action that workers must learn to deploy the mass power of the union as an instrument of revolt should a need arise (Clegg 1979, p.454). Conclusion However, debates on Marxism, pluralism and Unitarism no longer dominate in the labor market today but a new orthodox under the promising enterprise duped human resource management (Guest 1991, p.149) for managers to control power at the work place they adopt enhanced motivation and commitment at work that leads to high performance and therefore managers are expected to dig into it. Rules in an employment sector are either procedural or substantive and do not just follow some theorized routes as those established in Marxism, Unitarism or Pluralism. This is usually found in the spirit of collective agreement that is usually constituted in a body of rules. The Procedural part of the rules deals with matters as which methods are to be used and the means that are deployed when settling disputes that arise from places of work (Flanders 1975, p.86). This very part also deals with facilities to be provided to the representatives of parties who enter the agreement. Substantive part on the other hand pronounces the rate of wages, working hours among other terms of employment leaving exploitation as the last thing to be forced. The substantive rules of collective bargaining regulate the marketing interpretation and enforcement of such rules (Flanders 1975, p.87). However, each of the set of rules, whether substantive or procedural regulate different sets of relationships. Collective relations that involve representative organizations are under the procedural rules. The worker is subject to managerial relation whereby authority and subordination come to play with respect of who is who in the work place. The employee is usually placed at a position where he will exercise his powers in a limited way with regard to the hierarchy of power (Flanders 1975, p.88).The powers are born of organization of the management with an aim of attaining the goals of the enterprise. Here the employees interact with fellow employees and management as they share interests, sentiments, beliefs and values for the common purpose (Flanders 1975, p.89). In conclusion conflicts in the work place are indispensable but what should take precedence is how to solve them. Trade unions are meant to solve the conflict between the employer and the employee but there are other problems that management will have to deal with. The three perspectives offer their take on the industrial relation but their survival is depended on the culture of the society and how they will be interpreted by those involved. What is very important in this case is a balance that will maintain stability in the work place that every party will be satisfied.

edgar allan poe :: essays research papers

American poet, a master of the horror tale, credited with practically inventing the detective story. Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts, to parents who were itinerant actors. His father David Poe Jr. died probably in 1810 and his mother Elizabeth Hopkins Poe in 1811. Edgar was taken into the home of a Richmond merchant John Allan and brought up partly in England (1815-20), where he attended Manor School at Stoke Newington. Never legally adopted, Poe took Allan's name for his middle name. Poe attended the University of Virginia (1826), but was expelled for not paying his gambling debts. This led to a quarrel with Allan, who later disowned him. In 1827 Poe joined the U.S. Army as a common soldier under assumed name and age. In 1830 Poe entered West Point and was dishonorably discharged next year, for intentional neglect of his duties. Little is known about his life in this time, but in 1833 he lived in Baltimore with his father's sister. After winning a prize of $50 for the short story "MS Found in a Bottle," he started a career as a staff member of various magazines, among others the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond (1835-37), Burton's Gentleman's Magazine in Philadelphia (1839-40), and Graham's Magazine (1842-43). During these years he wrote some of his best-known stories. In 1836 Poe married his 13-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm. She burst a blood vessel in 1842, and remained a virtual invalid until her death from tuberculosis five years later. After the death of his wife, Poe began to lose his struggle with drinking and drugs. He addressed the famous poem "Annabel Lee" (1849) to her. Poe's first collection, Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, appeared in 1840. It contained one of his most famous works, "The Fall of the House of Usher." During the early 1840s Poe's best-selling work was The Conchologist's First Book (1839). The dark poem of lost love, "The Raven," brought Poe national fame, when it appeared in 1845. The Murders in the Rue Morgue(1841) and The Purloined Letter are among Poe's most famous detective stories.

Seasonal Affective Disorder :: essays research papers

Seasonal Affective Disorder   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is a common problem of people living in northern United States. People who are affected by this disorder commonly suffer from depression, lethargy, inability to concentrate, overeating and weight gain. People from the north tend to suffer more from this disorder because of the shortened days. It appears, that due to the deficiency of sunlight some people suffer from these symptoms. The shortened days have a hormonal effect on the body that causes these symptoms, and the use of artificial sunlight is the best way to relieve the disorder.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was not until recently that SAD was discovered. It was discovered by Peter Mueller, who was reviewing a case of a 29-year-old woman. He had noticed a pattern, the woman’s depression came in the winters and left in the spring. Over the course of years the woman moved from city to city. Mueller noticed, that the farther north she moved the early the depression. Mueller had begun to speculate that the lack of sunlight had contributed to the women’s depression. In order to confirm this he exposed the patient to artificial sunlight. He found that over a period of time the patient had recovered from the depression. Today light therapy is the most commonly used method in treating SAD. The two hormones that are affected by the sunlight, and are thought to be the cause of SAD, are melatonin and serotonin. Both of these chemicals â€Å"are influenced by photoperiodism, the earth’s daily dark-light cycle† (Wurtman 1989). Melatonin is the chemical that effects mood and energy levels. In the human body melatonin is at its highest at night and is lowest in the day. There has been a study done to see if sunlight has a direct effect on suppressing melatonin. It is known that melatonin levels in urine are five times higher at night than they are in the day. It was not until a 1980 study that it was known that melatonin levels could be directly suppressed with light. In an experiment, subjects were woken up at two in the morning and exposed to a half an hour of artificial sunlight. The findings were that melatonin levels were greatly decreased. The decline in melatonin usually happens in the early morning, but in a SAD patient this does not occur until about two hours later. In order to suppress the levels the patient needs to be exposed to sunlight. It is found, that when the patient is exposed to the light there is a significant decrease in depression and the craving for carbohydrates.

Anorexia Essay -- essays research papers fc

It seems today that eating disorders are on the rise. While this may be true, the numbers may appear to grow only because more cases are being brought out into the open. The purpose of this paper is to discuss eating disorders and prove the these disease, specifically Anorexia Nervosa, continue to plague of women due to psychological and environmental factors along with pressure from the media. The term â€Å"Anorexia Nervosa† is misleading. It means â€Å"loss of appetite due to nerves.† But people with anorexia don’t actually lose their appetite until the late stages of their starvation. Until, they do feel hungry, but they just won’t eat. People affected by anorexia have an extreme fear of gaining weight. In addition to drastic dieting, they may resort to vomiting and the use of laxatives and diuretics to lose weight. Statistics show that many teens and young adults suffer from anorexia nervosa. Without treatment, anorexia nervosa can cause serious heal th problems--even death! The sooner treatment begins the better the chances for a full recovery. The person with another anorexia is a model child. He/She is well behaved, eager to please, and a good student who gets along well with her peers. She rarely admits that anything is wrong or that anything is wrong or that she/he extra helps. Behind the mask is an insecure, self-critical perfectionist who feels unworthy of any praises she receives. A person who has anorexia is also very concerned about whether other people like her. Occasionally, she feels that there’s something wrong with her- that she’s bad or that her thoughts are disgusting. (PennSAHIC) One interpretation of an eating disorder is termed as a relationship between the person and food the appears abnormal. Anorexia Nervosa is one of the most prevalent eating disorder decease. The definition of Anorexia, Dr. Barton J. Blinder gives an interpretation similar to this: Anorexia is an all-encompassing pursuit of thinness, occurring most often in adolescents and young adult woman. This is accomplished by avoidance of eating by any means possible. The person affected by Anorexia has an absolutely terrifying fear of becoming obese. In short, â€Å"food becomes the enemy;† one researcher described Anorexia as â€Å"weight phobia.† (noah.cuny.edu/wellconn/eatdisorders.html) Some experts believe that a fear of growing up is the root of the problem. Other experts see the d... ...l keep their body into shape. Parents do not like to see children being teased because of their weight so they try to keep them fit. Sometime the stress from the parents and/or if there is any physical or sexual abuse in the family, the child in this situation may lead to an eating disorder to have a way to control something in their life. In conclusion, Anorexia Nervosa greatly affects all that are touched by it. Close family members and friends go through fighting battle with the person helping to serve this deathful battle. The information in this paper is just touching briefly on what can happen to someone with this disease called Anorexia. It is important that people are aware of these problems, know how to spot eating disorders, and help someone else or themselves overcome something like Anorexia. Works Cited: Matthews, John R. Eating Disorders. New York: Facts on file Inc. 1990 http://noah.cuny.edu/wellconn/eatdisorder.html Self-Help & Psychology Magazine- written by Lee H offman, Office of Scientific Inf., NIH Publication No. 94-3477, 1993. http://www.cybertowers.com/selfhelp/article/eating/nih/anorexia.html PennSAHIC booklet by Channing L. Bete Co., Inc. 1996 edition.

Hippocampus

Food Memory Smells like Nostalgia chose to share a story about my past experience this summer with memory being triggered by taste and how the two senses work together to bring back a unique memory from a certain time period. During my time from K-8 1 had a really great friend that I would always hangout with after school. We would walk to his house each day after school and when we got to his house the first thing we would always do is raid the snack cabinet. This was no ordinary snack cabinet, it had everything you could ever dream of for a snack!His mother would only allow us to have one thing from the cabinet and then would lock it up till dinner. There was only one snack that always would chose, and it was Fruit Gushers. These little guys are a soft candy that burst when you bite into it. Inside the gummy candy is a little bit of fruity syrup so you can get two different textures from the one candy bite. Was so in love with fruit gushers because I could only get them at my frien d's house. My parents would never buy them for me or let me pick them out, so going over to Tyler house aftershock everyday was quite a treat and is one of my most endnotes memories.This memory was recently relived, this summer 10 years later from having Fruit Gushers friends. I had the day off from work and I was over at a different friend's house playing Pollination 4. Lost contact with my friends my middle school after we split to different high schools. After a while my friend got hungry and ask me if I wanted a snack from the pantry, and of course said â€Å"Sure! , surprise me! † He comes back up stairs and he throws me a yellow package. Sure enough it was the same Fruit Gushers that I had when was younger.It was nostalgic and instantly got thrown back into time and remember all of the fun things I used to do in middle school and how life used to be without any worries. This was very interesting to me that the senses of taste and smell and trigger long lost memories of ones life. For this project decided to do a little research to actually find out why smell can trigger pas memories. My research found that after a smell enters the nose, it travels through the cranial nerve through the olfactory bulb, which helps the brain process smells. The olfactory bulb is part of the limbic system, the motional center of the brain.As a member of the limbic system, the olfactory bulb can easily access the magical, which plays a role in emotional memories (it's also where the â€Å"fight or flight† reflex comes from) this close relationship between the olfactory and the magical is one of the reason odors cause a spark of nostalgia. It is very interesting that I found this study to be true and what was experiencing was pure nostalgia, and that is an amazing aspect of the human body, being able to relate a certain smell with a past experience in life that you normally would have forgotten.

Internet Censorship Essay

Th capacity of th schooling suprhighway has xplodd in th rcnt yars. It ncompasss th ast and th wst, th land and th sa, and anything our benignant mind could dram of. This is a steady-going thing, in effect(p)? With th knowldg of th world just on ons fingrtips, it must b good, dear? Sur, if it is usd th right way. A saying gos lik this, Too overmuch of a good thing is bad. It is tru. Th Intrnt dos accommodat a lot of discipcourse. In a way, it has excessively much information. The net income contains certain information that we DONT want bush league to attain entree of.Some of these unloved information might be vulgarism, gambling, and virtually sensitive issues like homosexuality. So what do we do nigh the stuff that we hold surfacet minors to see? Do we just make some honor and erase it from our precious profits? no. First of all, this would be impossible to do because on that catch is just too much unwanted information. Second of all, this would defeat the affair of the net income. In the article The Online Cooperative publication Act, it called the Internet the manifestation of humankinds quest for limitless two-way interaction with thought (Cooperative internet).Since there is a vague line of what is appropriate and what isnt, why should there be a straight-cut line of what things should be banned on the Internet. thither should be a loose polity on the content of the Internet that would set ahead more interaction with this tremendous tool. kind of of the government dictating what minors should see, parents and teachers should be the ones stepping up and TEACHING minors whats right and whats wrong. To maximize the productivity of the Internet, there must be a symmetricalness of confineion and relievedom.When that balance is reached, the Internet testament fully flourish. Why should we protect the Internet? Why should we protect all those big websites? you might ask. The Internet is a wonderful thing. Even the heads of ou r nation, the President and Vice President, remember that the Internet is a powerful educational tool for our children (Family internet). It should non be viewed as an evil thing. Its unique ability to intimacy the worlds knowledge unneurotic fulfills any investigateers dream. in that location is no more need to avenge dozens of libraries to find everything one needs. Everything is at ones fingertips. Without a doubt, weeny slangs wouldnt need the Internet to do question they dont have any research paper due. superstar mustnt forget the Internet is not just for research academically. It could be use to research recreationally. One can research on topic of his interest. A teenaged male can research about cars. A mom can research on recipes. And a little kid can research on his favourite Disney character.Because of the Internet, a kid can do a lot more things kids out front didnt have the privilege of. A kid can know anything and everything approximately the world, and e ven out of this world, without leaving the blow of his home. Anything, anything at all. If the Internet is censored, a freehanded amount of these wonderful knowledge ordain not be accessible anymore. Although security review does not mean a fatten up ban, there is no measure at the present that can effectively restrict access and still not occluded front out good website.According to a study done by electronic Privacy Information Center, the filtering programs block 95-99 part of the material available on the Internet that might be of interest to newfangled people (Faulty internet). I am not defending the protection of big websites. Neither am I advocating an easier access to pornography. I just want to point out the fact that websites dedicated to pornography is only a very comminuted percentage of the Internet. If we use the inefficient censorship products out there, we will miss out a lot of the goods that the Internet has to offer. The dictatorial Court believes the s ame.When the supreme Court struck bulge out the Communication Decency Act in 1996, it found that the interest in encourage freedom of expression in a democratic society outweighs any hypothetic but unproven benefit of censorship (Faulty internet). So, should we sacrifice all the goods that the Internet could offer for those measly pornography websites? The Supreme Court shared the same flock for an uncensored Internet when it struck down the Communications Decency Act, a federal honor that outlawed indecent communications online. In the ruling, it declared the Internet a free speech zone.