Medicinal Uses & Turmeric Essay

Turmeric (Curcumin) is an old spice that is used in traditional Asian/Indian medicine and is related to the ginger root. Known for its various uses, it is not just limited to the culinary scene (curry powders) but also as an alternative for therapeutic abilities. In China and India the spice is being used to help treat certain inflammatory ailments and even diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). It has been used for gastric pain, bringing down fevers, and even relief in the sensation of bloating. It has been used for attempting to curing hepatitis and heart disease. In Ayurveda medicine (a system of traditional/alternative medicine native to India) the ginger root is being prescribed not only for arthritic pain, but for decreased vision, and for coughs. In Southeast Asia, it is being given as an anti-parasitic remedy and for various gastrointestinal tract problems. Curcumin, which is extracted from turmeric, has been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and to reduce beta-amyloid and plaque burden in lab studies. Beta-amyloid is a component of the amyloid plaques that accumulate in the brain of an individual with AD. (Fetrow/Avila, 2000) Turmeric contains curcuminoids such as curcumin which is a yellow pigment. Research studies in animals show that curcumin has the following health benefits: †¢potent anti-inflammatory effects †¢cancer prevention activities †¢antioxidant effects †¢stimulates and enhances the immune system †¢antibacterial and antiviral properties, including against HIV †¢blood-thinning effects Most of these research studies are done in animals only and few are done in human subjects. The positive results from these studies suggest that turmeric possesses many benefits for treating and possibly curing some of our common health problems. Chronic inflammation of the nerve cells is one of the precursors of AD. Patients who have used drugs such as ibuprofen for long periods of time have been shown to have a reduced risk of developing symptoms of AD. There is a risk when using a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory for prolonged periods. They can cause a toxic effect on the gastrointestinal track, kidneys and liver. However, turmeric has an anti-inflammatory effect that is very potent and because of those various effects, turmeric may have a part in curing and improving cognitive functions in AD. (PubMed 2008) Various studies and research indicate a lower rate of AD in India. The prevalence of AD among adults ranging from 70-79 years in India is 4.4 times less than that of adults ranging from 70-79 years in the United States. Researchers have examined the association between the consumption of turmeric and cognitive levels in 1,010 Asians between 60 and 93 years of age. The study found that those who occasionally ate curry (less than once a month) and those who ate it more often (more than once a month) performed better on a standard test of cognitive functions than those who ate curry never or rarely. (PubMed, 2000) Pharmacokinetics shows that the curcumin extract of turmeric has an estimated bioavailability of 65% after oral administration and inhibits cytochrome P-450 isoenzyme 1A1 and is metabolized by glucuronidation. (MedScape, 2010) Curcumin has been used safely as a culinary spice in Asia for centuries. It is estimated that adults in India ingest 80-200 mg of curcumin daily. There are no reported adverse effects of curcumin or turmeric, except stomach upset, nausea and diarrhea and some rare cases of allergic contact dermatitis. There is a caution when taking Warfarin, blood thinners or having a bleeding disorder. Some reports show that taking turmeric along with blood thinning medications such as Plavix, Aspirin or Coumadin (warfarin) might increase the risk of bleeding. If there is a presence of stomach ulcers, caution is advised as turmeric may worsen existing stomach problems. Curcumin is also known to cause the gallbladder to contract and can worsen any conditions that may already be present. (Fetrow/Avila, 2000, NCCAM, 2010) In conclusion, there is the hope that turmeric (curcumin) will lead to a promising treatment for AD. The clinical studies of the chemical properties of curcumin and its various effects on AD shows that further research is needed to develop better drugs based on curcumin for treating AD. The need for large-scale human studies is required to identify the therapeutic effects of curcumin. However, several unanswered questions remain: †¢What is the one main chemical property of curcumin that can be exploited in treating AD? †¢What is the role of curcumin in other neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and other forms of dementias? †¢How does curcumin interact with neuronal plaques? †¢ Is it effective only as a food additive? †¢Would it be effective when used alone or with other anti-inflammatory drugs? Once researches can answer these questions, maybe there will be a clearer path to the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

Crocs Company Essay

I have chosen crocs company to make the report that required in my first assessment. I choose this company because I am interested to make analysis about this company. In my opinion this company is unique. Based on (Wikipedia crocs), Crocs, Inc. is a shoe manufacturer founded by 3 friends – Scott Seamans, Lyndon â€Å"Duke† Hanson, and George Boedecker, Jr. They produce and distribute a foam clog design acquired from a Quebec company called Foam Creations. The shoe had originally been developed as a spa shoe. The first model produced by Crocs â€Å"The Beach† was unveiled in 2002 at the Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show in Florida, and sold out the 200 pairs produced at that time. After a great success selling the 200 pair of Crocs â€Å"the Beach† spa shoe, George realize the potential and try to go beyond the 200 pair. Every pair of Crocs Shoes is from a material called Crosliteâ„ ¢. Croslite is a made from the company’s PCCR (Proprietary Closed-Cell Resin). It is not plastic nor rubber and it is a closed-cell in nature and anti-microbial (eliminates that foot odor). The special Patented Closed Cell Resin (PCCR) warms and softens with your body heat and molds to your feet. The Crocs European styling of the orthotic heel, built-in arch support, and tarsal bar position your feet for ultimate foot comfort and health. Say No to Painful Shoes and Hallo crocs Crocs, Inc, a world leader in innovative casual footwear for men, women and children, celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2012. Crocs offer several distinct shoe collections with more than 300 four-season footwear styles. All Crocsâ„ ¢ shoes feature Crosliteâ„ ¢ material, a proprietary, revolutionary technology that gives each pair of shoes the soft, comfortable, lightweight and odor-resistant qualities that Crocs fans know and love. Crocs fans â€Å"Get Crocs Inside† every pair of shoes, from the iconic clog to new sneakers, sandals, boots and heels. Since its inception in 2002, Crocs has sold more than 200 million pairs of shoes in more than 90 countries around the world. The brand celebrated reaching $1 billion in annual sales in 2011. Marketing Concept have 4 elements that briefly explain what the marketing concept is; Customers Orientation, Competitor Orientation, Inter-functional Coordination and Profit Orientation. In Crocs Inc. Marketing concept is implemented to help the organization identify and give the customer need and want while also trying to achieve their organizational goals. I will explain more about the marketing concept that have been applied by Crocs Company. Customer Orientation This Customer Orientation is mostly about how the organization understands their core customers, their target buyers and their consumers in the industries. This people play a great part to them in creating the ideal product to the optimum valued. Based on the Crocs mission statement â€Å"Bring profound comfort, fun and innovation to the world’s feet â€Å". Crocs do their research what customer need and want. They value their customer toward comfort, fun and innovation footwear. They treat their customer so much better that they make their shoes according to what customer want in their feet. Crocs have made research and collect various types of information that may help them to satisfy their customer needs. That why Crocs have made various types of shoes that cater to all their customer’s need. The Croslite material that make it possible. Crocs defined Croslite as Ergonomic, lightweight, comfortable and odor resistant. Who ever thought that having an ugly shoe can make our feet feel absolutely relax? Well, Crocs did and it was a success. Crocs shoes do not only give absolute comfort like other shoes or stylish appearance but it gave more. No more foot odor, no more aching feet, no more heavy shoes and say Hello to better Healthy Shoes. (crocs, 2013) Crocs have launched an advertisement called â€Å"Feel The Love by Crocs†. In the television commercial for Crocs footwear, the actress wearing black high-heel shoes enters an apartment building and with tired climbs a flight of stairs. When she opens the door, two small red animated characters based on the Crocs original clog model, with stubby arms and legs and blinking  ventilation holes representing eyes, scamper toward her like puppies. The characters cling to her ankles and then, as she sits on the couch to read her mail, they remove her shoes, massage her feet, and then slip a new style of Crocs flats onto her feet. â€Å"Meet Croslite,† says a voice over toward the end and lastly says â€Å"the loyal, loving, good-for-you technology, in every pair of Crocs.† It was a great TV commercial that shows how Crocs understand their core customer, buyers and consumer’s needs and wants. Crocs knows that most of us will have a tiring day and it is a hassle to walk back home with an uncomfortable shoes. The advertisement wanted to deliver that Crocs is the ideal footwear to wear anytime anywhere. Besides that, another example of Crocs is Customer orientation is developing a shoe called † Crocs Prepair Flip† that focus on Athletic like runners and cyclists, etc. The flip-flop enhance recovery after athletic activity thus help lower muscle exertions can provide an improved opportunity for blood flow and fatigue relief, creating greater recovery potential after a hard sporty activities. This doesn’t focus on the athletics but to the customers that like to do sports. This shows that rather than they focus on general customer need them also specific to certain group of customer needs. Like in this Crocs Prepair case, they focus on the active runners, cyclist or other types of sports that might causes some of feet damage like fatigue or muscle exertions. Crocs have proven that they are Customer Orientation organization. (crocs, 2013) Competitor orientation Competitor Orientation means an organization that look at how its competitors are able to satisfy their buyers, customer or consumers. The organization should collect information about their competitor strategy and in the same time making their competitors as their benchmark for either short term or long term marketing strategy. Crocs major competitor is Decker’s, NIKE and Timberland. This major footwear brands have been around for many decade compared to Crocs that is consider as a â€Å"baby† in this Industries. But, to compare the success of crocs to them is actually same. The thing that make  these other competitor different from Crocs is they have the experience and well-known to the world. Crocs have collected some information of their competitor. Based on an article found from the internet called The Strategic Move of Crocs, Inc, 2009, Crocs have identified their competitors and what their competitors are doing in the industries. Crocs also realize that the global casual footwear and apparel is a highly competitive industry. Every competitor is competition with each other’s. In relating Crocs with its Competitor, I will be using Nike to make comparisons with crocs. (HOOVERS) Well-known Brand Name Nike began in the 1971 sold its functional running shoes to the jogging set, but then quickly expanded its offerings to include all athletes in virtually every sport. The shoes were customized to handle the rigors of the individual sport. Nike also expanded its line to be fashionable and cool to wear even when its wearers weren’t sweating. Compare Crocs and NIKE, NIKE has been in the global casual footwear and apparel industry since 1964. It is not surprising if Crocs has a long way to go and face many problems before they are on par with the well-known large companies around the world like Nike. But the potential is very good as Crocs is appear as category-dominant shoes. Even both are different in age but both brands are equally well known to the customers. Who in the world does not know Nike or Crocs? Both have carved a name their brand name in the mind of the customers when they think about shoes. (NIKE,Inc) Inter-functional coordination Inter-Functional Coordination means the people in the organizational that help in developing a marketing plan to achieve the organizational goals and satisfy the customer need and wants. The cooperation within the individual in the organization plays a part in this Marketing concept. In 2007, Crocs acquisition a Designer/manufacturer of sandals for beach/action sports called Ocean Minded. In the acquisition, Ocean Minded is introduced by Crocs  and helping Ocean Mind to boost up their product. Ocean Minded mission statement is; To become the global leader in sustainable lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories whilst ensuring that the four pillars of the Ocean Minded brand – Quality, Authenticity, Responsibility and Community – resonate throughout our company, products, associates and actions. This brand helps Crocs to boost up their social responsibilities toward their employees, their organization, the customer, the environment and to the world. Crocs, Inc. and its founders continue to live the Ocean Minded lifestyle by actively leading beach clean-ups, and supporting and educating customers on the importance of leaving the ocean and all waterways in better condition than when they were found. Thus this shows that not only Crocs is Inter-functional coordination but also a responsible organization that wanted to help another brand that sole purpose to keep the world a better place. (crocs, 2013) Profit orientation Profit orientation Profit Orientation means a term used to describe a business that operates under the primary objective of making money. Although most commercial enterprises have some form of profit orientation to motivate employees to maximize revenues, the most successful producers also incorporate a customer orientation into their corporate philosophy to protect the company’s reputation and facilitate client satisfaction with its products. (BusinessDictionary) Profit Oriented organization means a business that main objective to generate profit. There are ways an organization may achieve the greatest profit for their organization while still giving the customer the satisfaction of their products.In Crocs Inc, the company wanted to make money by selling their clog shoes to the customers. Crocs Inc also have some ways to be Profit Orientation; Cheapest Marketing Strategy Crocs were able to build its brand and build momentum with word-of-mouth marketing without traditional high advertising costs. Crocs Inc started their name by using the cheapest way of Marketing. Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM), also called word of mouth advertising, is an unpaid form of promotion; oral or written. In which satisfied customers tell other people how much they like a business, product, service, or event. Word-of-mouth is one of the most credible forms of advertising because people who don’t stand to gain personally by promoting something put their reputations on the line every time they make a recommendation. (Word-of-mouth marketing, 2013) This strategy is the cheapest way to spread the word about Crocs Brand to the world. Crocs use the social network to market and promotes their product toward their potential customer. Thus, they save up a lot by not having an expensive advertisement or building a billboard that might cost them a lot. Cutting cost Costs were lowered by the elimination of standard box packaging for individual pairs of shoes. They were also decreased by the reduction of stock-keeping units (fewer styles, sizes, etc) and by the use of inexpensive plastic resin material compared to leather and other fabrics. In addition, the plastic resin material allowed Crocs to lower manufacturing costs because the product could be made faster and cheaper using injection molding machines compared to traditional labor intensive methods. This speedy production, also made it possible for Crocs to revolutionize the traditional supply chain approach and make its shoes available to a wide range of retailers and consumers within weeks, not months. By lowering the cost, Crocs can obtain larger amount of profit. This is a great step toward not only to the organization profit margined but helping the other brand realize that Crocs have better ways of managing it cost. This show that Crocs uses the cheapest Marketing Strategy to promote it product, uses the Cheapest distribution Channel to sell their product and cut unnecessary cost to obtain larger amount of profit. Crocs are genius ways of profit orientation  organization. Marketing process consist of 4 step; Situation Analysis, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Mix Decision and Implementation and Control. Situation Analysis SWOT Analysis Strength In Croc Inc, they give not just comfort but by created a material called Croslite, that technologically design to gives each of Crocs Shoe comfort, softness, lightweight, non-marking and odor-resistant. If we think back, Crocs have eliminates most of the problem that we suffer about shoes. When we buy a shoe, we seek comfort, soft and stylish. Plus I always have a problem with new shoe that hurt my feet when I wear it the first time. Well with crocs, they no more painful shoes. The Croslite material ensures that Crocs will never hurt our feet when we wear it. Plus with Crocs, there is no more feet odor. They satisfied the most of customer’s needs, desires and expectation in one material. The product design also unique with many shapes that is very interesting. The price also reasonable based on the material that crocs use to create the product. The product very comfortable and stylish. Weakness Crocs does not have a diversified product offering beyond footwear, which causes revenues to be seasonal (since most of their footwear is worn in summer) and also very cyclical (dependent on consumer spending and performance of the retail sector). Demand for â€Å"Crocs Classic† shoes has been declining over time (from 30% of total sales in 2007 to 16% in 2009) as they transition to a mature product and therefore, revenues are contingent upon the success of new models and fads. Crocs has poor IT systems and depends on manual processes which are not efficient or scalable Opportunities Crocs has the ability to expand through growth in direct to consumer sales and internet sales. Given Crocs’ success internationally, they can continue expanding abroad by reaching untapped markets. In addition, it’s possible that the Crocs â€Å"fad† is in a different part of the fashion trend cycle  abroad and Crocs can even take advantage of further growth in countries where it already has a presence. Lastly, there is an industry movement towards more comfortable and casual shoes, so Crocs has the opportunity to attract new consumers by highlighting the benefits of Croslite. Threats The product of Crocs increase in counterfeit product and highly competitive market. Highly competitive market for example Crocs have to competitive with NIKE. Some retailer with more product differentiation. Decrease in consumer spending resulting from global economic condition poor publicity escalator incident Marketing Strategy The marketing strategy for Crocs is the different target of customer. They do not only focus to one type of customers. Crocs has defines their customers and what they need from Crocs. A) Kids. The Kids which comprised their 23% revenue of sales in 2009, is the number one customers for Crocs. Kids love their Crocs shoes because Crocs’ comfort, easy-on, easy-off style, bright colors and customizable Jibbitz accessories make them ideal for kids. And their low price point and broad size range make them ideal for parents on a budget with fast-growing children. Crocs Inc introduced a fall kids’ collection for school. Kids do love Crocs shoes and they wanted to wear them everywhere even to school. That why this falls collection comes with a â€Å"School Approve† symbol. This â€Å"School Approve symbol comes with meaning of features of closed toes, enclosed heels and non-marking soles that meet typical school dress code. Now kids can wear Crocs everywhere even in school. B) Women. 77% of Crocs sales in 2009 were from products geared towards adults, and suspect that the majority of those sales are to women. Continued focus on understanding the needs of this segment as well as effectively marketing to it. Crocs introduce the Feel the Love campaign seems to focus on female protagonists Marketing Mix Decision Product The Product that provided by Crocs is a brand new type of casual shoe, it is a clog that partly a shoe and a part sandal. This clog shoe is fun, whimsy, brightly-colored, comfortable and lightweight with perfect balance of functional appeal. Crocs Inc provides various types of shoes for women, men, girls and boys. The clog like shoe look ugly at first but with the appealing bright colors that the come with, it catches the buyers and customers. The bright color catches the attention of customers to try it on. Well, the materials that Crocs shoe made from actually make it far. The special Patented Closed Cell Resin (PCCR) warms and softens with your body heat and molds to your feet. The material eliminates all the shoes problem that we have in life. That what sold it worldwide. The wonder shoes. Pricing Croc wanted their product is accessible to many people so their base price point is RM90. They also eliminated a standard box packaging for individual pair of Crocs shoes. This step help them to lower their cost as well decrease their stock keeping unit. Place When we say The Place in Marketing Mix, there may explain how providing the product at a place which is convenient for consumers to know. Crocs evolves their distribution in retail by having each stores in every shopping complex, malls and even streets worldwide. But, recently they reduce on retail expansion and focus on others distribution strategies like having Crocs Kiosk and Online Crocs Shop. All the distribution strategies that implemented by Croc is focusing on the customer’s convenient to purchase a Crocs Shoes. There are now no boundaries in distribution. Promotion Last in Marketing Mix is The Promotion, it represents all of the methods of communication that a marketer may use to provide information to different parties about the product. Promotion comprises elements such as: advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion. In Crocs Inc., they started their marketing strategies in having a Word-To-Mouth Marketing that is an unpaid form of promotion whereby it may be in oral or written form. It created a buzz that will make other people  satisfaction toward the clog shoe to another person. Crocs Inc spend less in promotion because of the word-to-mouth marketing that is the cheapest way of promotion. When the word get out, the influence people like celebrities like Al Pacino, Faith Hill and Paris Hilton were seen wearing the clogs shoes and with their social class influence the other people to wear one clog shoes. Even US President Bush wear one and he actually loves the clogs shoes. Other than using this word-to-mouth marketing, Crocs Inc also do some discounts, promotion online and public relations. Define marketing and related it with Crocs Inc understand us how Marketing works. It is more than Selling and Advertising a product. The major focus is the Customer Satisfaction towards a product. That why a study have been made and a strategies like The 4P’s Marketing Mix is developed. It is to understand more how marketing works. The company’s growth strategy includes: 1- distributing new and internally developed products through a wide range of channels e.g department stores, specialty footwear stores, sporting goods and outdoor retailers and Cocs website 2- acquisition of small footwear companies e.g Foam Creations in June 2004, Fury and EXO in October 2006, Jibbitz in December 2006, Ocean Minded in February 2007 and Bite in August 2007. 3- expansion into global markets with products distributed through more than 8000 international retail stores sold in about 90 countries. The company was able to realize high margins on its products due to high economies of scale and shift to third party operated facilities (83% of third-party manufacturers in China, Bosnia, Vietnam and Romania). The company faces a lot of challenges. 4- Crocs core competencies are supply chain management and small-retailer level marketing, just in time distribution. Croc has used its core competencies to build a brand familiarity and popularity and to distribute new models and accessories in mid-season. Their supply chain management has helped the company to create a stronger maturity map for their products, and to extend the maturity map through marketing How could Crocs exploit their core competencies in the future? Consider the following alternatives: a.Further vertical integration into materials a.Growth by acquisition b.Growth by product extension (Bogari, 2009) My recommendation Crocs have to focuses more on the shoes. Crocs should refocus its entire organization (design, manufacturing, and marketing) on the unique appeal of its shoes. Realign the distribution model in U.S. We believe that Crocs should reduce its focus on retail expansion and instead recommend migration to the model that has proven Reduce retail store presence. Crocs should carefully evaluate the returns on existing stores, and suspend plans to open new stores. For those stores that are not in key geographic areas and that are not strong performance.

Disability Interview Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Disability Interview - Assignment Example Mike used to be quite popular with his social network; the life of the party who was well-respected prior to his injury. Mike has found that his social invitations are nearly non-existent since the injury, causing him significant frustration at the social level. Emotionally, Mike is having adjustment problems with being forced to live back at home with his parents while he attempts to adjust to his disability. Having been an independent person before the accident, Mike often finds himself lashing out at others in frustration and anger over his life situation. At the psychological level, Mike described what would be referred to as defense mechanisms, often denying that his disability exists so that he can cope with the situation. At the physical level, Mike has a difficult time performing simple tasks such as tying his shoes, eating a meal, or even using the restroom independently. Mike’s right arm was severed which had been his dominant hand for basic lifestyle needs such as writing. Even though Mike receives ongoing parental support and encouragement, he still has not learned basic rudimentary skills without assistance or the use of a vocal translator on his personal computer. At the functional level, Mike would essentially be categorized as moderately functional, requiring significant external assistance in many different areas of lifestyle. Mike has learned to overcome his emotional concern over lost friendships through a series of meditation practices mandated by his primary physician. Mike had a long-term girlfriend who abruptly abandoned him after discovering his disability. At the social and emotional levels, Mike is exploring alternative dating websites which match people with like disabilities for romantic encounters. Additionally, Mike has finally learned to overcome his career deficiencies by being linked with a recruiter who manages people with his condition. At the vocational level, Mike is taking extended coursework in an

Complexity of the Tourism Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Complexity of the Tourism Industry - Essay Example Mass tourism is the process of visiting a place by a large number of people at the same time, and the research of the impact that people can have on a specific location or destination that has been over-exposed to particular tourists frequenting the destination (Singh, 2008). The complexity of the Tourism Industry For a number of reasons, alternative tourism in local economies has been much more constrained and less effective than mass tourism. The optional projects in the developing nations are mostly weighed down by the high expenses of international tourism and the insufficient local networks within the tourist destinations. Cultural differences and differences in the living standards of the guests and hosts equally make it difficult to satisfy the needs of the tourists without comprising local norms and cultures (Brent et al., 2011). For instance, in the marginal areas of Thailand, the natives may not be in a position to converse in foreign languages at all, creating a challenge for the tourists to converse with the locals and tour around. To contain these and other challenges of alternative tourism, various proactive approaches must be taken to ensure its sustainability. These comprise lessening the number of tourists, the varying the type of tourists, creating awareness amongst all participants involved regarding the effects emanating from the new set of operations. Cutting down on the number of tourists can take two dimensions: reduction of the number of places where the concentration is high and putting a limit to the probable visitors to be in line with the ability parameters. It is, however, difficult to cut on the numbers in a situation of the liberal market without interfering with the practicality of the industry. Revenues can be anticipated to deteriorate which can lead to unemployment and lowering of the living standards (Rebecca; et al, 2009). The varying types of tourists similarly make it hard to constrain or decrease the number of tourists. V arious tourists have varying preferences. When an area is developed, it is most challenging to modify the types of tourists anticipated to a type which flocked in before with an aim of obtaining an ideal tourism structure (Alan, 2008). Besides, if a tourist location targets a particular market such as culture-lovers or photographers, it experiences the actual risk of not being a big enough market or failing to be a repeat market. Tourists may make decisions that upon visiting the Canadian Arctic, they will travel to the Himalayas and then Antarctica, then Galapagos and so on. Moreover, whilst mass tourists are for the majority sedentary and fritter their money in a constrained number of destinations, most of the expenses of the alternative tourists may initially spend small amounts in a wide range of destinations (Holder IV &William, 2009).

Evaluate the effectiveness of the YCJA on youth crime rates and Essay

Evaluate the effectiveness of the YCJA on youth crime rates and incarceration rates - Essay Example gued that the law was effective, whereby they cited the reduced rates of youth deviancy and custody in comparison to other nations of the world (Doob & Cesaroni, 2003). Nonetheless, the country identified the importance of reviewing the law and ensuring that they implemented another law that was not divisive and controversial. In addition, the review sought to address the argument that YOA overused the country’s custodial and court systems. Moreover, the review aimed at improving efficiency in responding to minor offenders who committed serious crimes (Department of Justice Canada, 2002). Based on the foregoing, it is evident that YCJA was a compromise between politicians. Nonetheless, the act is a response to the increasingly growing number of small cases about incidents of youth offenders committing heinous crimes while also acting as a response to the growing number of cases resulting from incarceration of youths for minor offenses. Indeed, these minor offenses had resulted to a decline in the confidence that the public had on the country’s judicial system. Overall, the main objective of the legislation was to deal with crimes committed by the youth and their eventual outcome. In effect, this expose will carry out an evaluation of the role that YCJA has played on the twin aspects of youth crime rates and incarceration rates. The Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children (CCRC) (2011) identified Canada’s youth custody rates as among the highest in the world, which is prior to the implementation and legislation of the YCJA. In effect, this implies that Canadas implementation of this law was essential in order to enable the country deal with these youthful offenders and reduce these rates. In effect, CCRC (2011) observed a 27% decline in the rate of youths charged in a court of law or recommended to facing  court charges between 2002 and 2006. It is important to point out that the Canadian legislative system made this law in 2002. In line with this,

Live Electronic Music An analysis and documentry of the last century Essay

Live Electronic Music An analysis and documentry of the last century - Essay Example The last century or so has seen rapid developments in sound technologies where as the last 50 years have been particularly instrumental in changing the pith and substance of how music is viewed and perceived in popular culture and this has led to a rapid change in how music is â€Å"packaged† and â€Å"consumed†.This is particularly true for live electronic music where as the developments in electronic technologies over the last 50 years have dramatically changed it itself .Unlike the 19th century electronic music today is both live and recorded.However early influences saw most of electronic music experienced as live performance. ( Pinch and Bijsterveld 2004). The current electronic music scene is based on individual performances through technologically mediated devices, such as a personal stereo or a personal computer that enables the downloading of MP3 files over the Internet. ( Pinch and Bijsterveld 2004)The recent years in particular have seen that there has been an increase in the inflow of electronic instruments like Theremin, Hammond Organ, the electric guitar, the synthesizer, and the digital sampler. The paper also explores how teechnologies such as the phonograph, tape-recorder, and compact disk have enabled ‘electronic sound’ to be produced, controlled, and manipulated without interference from musicians. ( Pinch and Bijsterveld 2004) ... ( Pinch and Bijsterveld 2004)The question remains though how such changes can be viewed in the context of music audiences and for the science and technology studies.Thus the paper has addressed in the context of live and recorded music based on the new technologies and music and how the use of new instruments, such as new varieties of electric guitars and violas; new means of manipulating and controlling sound through microphones, reverberation units, mixing consoles, and new forms of networking software and audiophilia holds for the future of electronic live music. ( Pinch and Bijsterveld 2004)This essay question explores the development of Electronic Music over the past many decades and how the post modern era has moulded it to its styles and tastes based upon aesthetic and political motivation, as well as focus upon particular composers. (Griffiths, P. 1995). Whilst remaining primarily historical some example works will be analysed in detail. However the focus will inevitably be u pon how the past two decades have changed the face of music and this will entail a discussion how the younger crowd of musicians is bringing innovative styles and aesthetics into the spot light. (Griffiths, P. 1995).The most important thing to review here is that all these developments have reflected the changing technology of the times. (Griffiths, P. 1995).The 1980's saw the advent of the MIDI instruments and software which made the control of sophisticated instruments very easy and made the production of music out of the studios much cheaper. (Schwartz, S. 1993.).This further allowed the reintegration of Acoustic sounds to allow for the reintegration of Acoustic sounds through carefully sampled computer based musical instruments. (Schwartz, S. 1993.).This is particularly true

E-Business and Value Chains Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

E-Business and Value Chains - Essay Example This paper will seek to develop e-value and e-customer chains in terms of e-business to show the means by which information technology (IT) has been influencing the Virgin Atlantic Airways apparel business innovation, transformation, and development among other benefits (Godwin, 2009:4). Additionally, this paper will focus on opportunities brought about by electronic business and asses strengths as well as weaknesses experienced by this organization due to information technology. Changes in supply chain management practices of Virgin Atlantic Airways Virgin Atlantic Airways is an acclaimed leader in the aviation industry. Being the first airline to introduce or launch customer for the Airbus A340-600, it accords its name a great deal of success and innovation (Buhalis, 2003:7). This airline revolutionized the business when it created the Upper Class ‘Suite’ and started offering regular services to 25 destinations globally. With development of internet, the supply chain m anagement and practices of this airline transformed. This is because; information communication technologies transformed the entire business world of aviation. In particular, the airline industry fostered its dependency on technology due to its strategic and operational management. Virgin Atlantic Airways was an early adopter of information communication technolo

Law HW week 4 TL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Law HW week 4 TL - Essay Example were â€Å"reasonably necessary† to achieve the City’s intended public use and (2) that the takings were for â€Å"reasonably foreseeable needs.†Ã‚   Milo’s Crossing is an economically depressed neighborhood. The awareness of the depressed economic condition and the evidence collaborating this concern constitutes that it is â€Å"reasonably necessary† to have a redevelopment plan to help improve the economic condition. Under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, the redevelopment plans are qualified as permissible â€Å"public use† due to the benefits enjoyed from the economic growth. It is ruled that use of eminent domain for economic development will not violate public use clauses of the state and federal constitutions if the economic project creates new jobs, increases tax revenue and revitalizes a depressed urban area. The seizure of the properties promises 3,169 new jobs and $1.2 million tax revenues per year thus making the taking of the land valid and constitutional. The decision of the interpretation of â€Å"public use† has also been interpreted by the Supreme Court as â€Å"public purpose† in the case of Midkiff (467 U.S. 229) and other cases involving eminent

US Airways Group - At the Back of the Pack Essay

US Airways Group - At the Back of the Pack - Essay Example Ever since the industry was deregulated in 1978 intense competition and price gauging has made profitability increasingly difficult for the airline industry in general. After the stock market crash of 2008 and the economic recession that followed coupled with rising fuel costs were the direct cause of several airlines having to file for bankruptcy protection (Plunkett Research, 2010). The airline companies that survived the onslaught were presented with a volatile and fluctuating operating environment of rising fuel and energy costs, coupled with a decreased demand for passenger travel in general and negative impact on revenues mainly as a direct result of the economic downturn. The rising costs have cut the margins in the industry so much that current the average net margin in the airline industry is two percent. The period of 2008 and 2009 remained a very challenging period for all the airlines with most of them struggling to remain profitable. For 2010 with the slow economic recovery businesses as well as private travel has increased significantly in volume, so occupancy rates in general for the airline industry have been full. When airlines are able to fill the seats of their airplanes to full capacity the company is optimizing the productivity of the operation. When the latter occurs and companies have idle capacity issues airlines have to take drastic measures to fill those seats which includes price deductions to spur the demand for air travel. After the previous years of consecutive losses the airline industry in general returned to profitability. U.S. Airways just like any other domestic airline is subject to a complicated array of laws and regulations that limit their operations as well dramatically increasing their operating costs. With the advent of the Aviation and Transportation security Act of 2001 which mandated the standardization and federalization of airport security and mandated additional security procedures which increased operational costs tremendously airlines had to absorb the costs and imposed a per passenger tax on ticket sales in order to fund the additional security measures. The Federal Aviation A dministration is the federal agency responsible for regulating the airline industry operations, procedures and their operational safety, including aircraft maintenance. The FAA will regularly issue new directives and changes in maintenance schedules and procedures which create mandated operational costs that are also a factor in increasing airline operational expenses. Other proposals to address airport congestion in certain airports in the U.S. involve increasing pricing to take into account congestion or placing a tax on certain particularly congested airports. This could potentially affect the airline industry in the near future by further increasing the costs of passengers to travel if these changes or suggestions are placed into law (Datamonitor, 2010). Further regulations and government legislation concerning pollution, climate change and aircraft emissions also post a significant operational threat to the airline industry as a whole. In the list of Fortune 1,000 : Most admire d companies 2006, U.S. Airways Group was consistently ranked lowest in all the eight key attributes that were taken into account. U.S. Airways Group achieved an overall score of 3.25 placing it as the least admired airline out of all the major competitors. For this survey U.S. Airways was ranked last in the industry in four of the eight

Fast Food Franchise Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Fast Food Franchise - Case Study Example Fast food is a foodstuff that is readily available and dished up promptly at sites known as fast-food bistros. This is the multi-billion dollar business which inturn keeps on progressing extremely fast around numerous international locations. A fast-food franchise is somewhat different from fast-food points as it is recognized from nominal service and by meals simultaneously which may be presented immediately soon after placing the order. The food items around such dining places is usually prepared in volume upfront plus preserved hot for its reuse. A lot of fast food restaurants are sections of reputable restaurants or franchise's, while standard food products are supplied to every eating venue through main sites. As compared to some other food businesses, the budget fundamentals to set up a fast-food restaurant are comparatively compact in UK, especially at locations consisting of low and medium earning community. Mostly eateries wherever people sit a while and enjoy their lunch or dinner are also measured as fast food (Luffman & Sanderson, 2001).Fast Food Restaurant at Cambridge has proposed to offer the customers with a huge variety in terms of its menu products. Derived from the mentioned food items, the proposal suggests that CFF must offer low-priced combo food to its consumers. The proposed combo meal offers will contribute to increase the traffic to the restaurant. This is really appealing to undertake a sizable diversity of food products to grab an increased niche.

Alibaba Essay Example for Free

Alibaba Essay He and his team have achieved many firsts in the area of Chinese Internet Trade. He founded the first internet commercial website in China, and created a 82B marketplace platform to all small and medium-sized enterprises in Asia and around the world. He promoted the Trust Pass plan on the website, which created the worlds first on-line credit platform for companies. Under Jack Mas leadership, the Alibaba 82B websites have attracted more than 17 million registered members in 220 countries globally, with daily postings exceeding 35 million, making Alibaba. om the most active Internet market place and 82B community worldwide. Since the inception of the company, more than 400 media have reported about Alibaba and Jack Ma, in dozens of languages. In addition to numerous awards presented to Alibaba. com, Jack Ma was lso selected by the World Economic Forum as one of the 100 Young Global Leaders in 2001; was named Business Leader of 2001 by Asia Commerce Association of USA; and was featured on the covers of Forbes Magazine, Nikkei Magazine, and Fortune (China) Magazine. In 2004, Jack Ma was honored as one of the Top 10 Economic Personas of the Year by CCTV. In 2005, Fortune Magazine ranked him one of the 25 Most Powerful Businesspeople in Asia and this year Business 2. 0 ranked him 1 5th among 50 Who Matter Now and Silicon. com ranked him 1 lth among its top 50 Agenda Setters 2006. company, Alibaba. om builds its business success and rapid growth on entrepreneurship, innovation, and service. Says Jack Ma: The company will remain a start-up no matter how long it has been in existence. What ever has been stable, I will disrupt that stability. The company needs to continue to innovate and grow. I want the employees to believe that we are a small company, no matter how big we get. I believe we can create a system and culture to perpetuate this culture of entrepreneurial and start-up spirit. To fuel the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit, along with a service attitude, Jack Ma is looking for people with the following characteristics: 1) People with a dream. Dont let your colleagues work for you. They need to work for their dreams! If people dont believe in the dream and Join the company purely for money, they wont stay long (refer to Appendix 2 for Alibabas vision, mission, and values). 2) People with shared values. The value system is very important at Alibaba. We are crazy for it! In China, we might be the only crazy company who so strongly maintains our value system. People who dont fit our values cannot survive in the company. (Alibabas six ore values are customer comes first, teamwork and cooperation, embracing change, integrity, passion, and honoring your Job). 3) People with a smile. When we hire people, we look for people who are naturally optimistic and happy. In the start-up process we will meet with difficulties and challenges. Optimistic and happy people can better deal with these challenges and succeed. Its hard to make a happy person unhappy, but its even harder to make an unhappy person happy. I am able to tell whether a person is on our staff by their smile. 4) People who enjoy work and can turn stress and challenges into innovation. Employees must be able to handle pressure and challenges, and turn them into positive energy for innovation, not negative energy for depression. 5) People who work together. We dont welcome people who think they are smart because they may think they are above others. This industry is so new that it really doesnt have any real talents. The people who are real talents probably dont know they are talents. Everyone has tremendous potential. We all use other peoples strengths to overcome our weaknesses We are all ordinary people, but our goals are extraordinary. While Alibaba seeks people with strong rofessional skills, these characteristics are even more important in deciding whether a person will Join, stay, and enjoy working in the company. 2 Alibabas Unique Value Proposition † a Smiling Community with a Dream While Alibaba is clear about what kind of talent they need for business success, the question is: how can the company attract, retain, and engage such talent, especially in the startup stage, when Alibaba had limited resources? The answer is a dream, a dream to make a difference in the way people do business, and a dream to create wealth together. During the start-up stage of Alibaba, Jack Ma often told those nterested in working for Alibaba, not of the great working conditions or the high pay, of what they could earn elsewhere. Alibaba also strives to provide a community, where employees can have fun to work together to pursue their dreams with minimal bureaucracy and politics. Ma recently painted a vivid image of his ideal work environment for his employees as follows: Blue Sky Processes, systems, and decisions need to be open and transparent. Theres nothing that should be hidden from employees. We should be transparent. Solid Ground Everything we do should be honest, ethical and contribute to the welfare of the ociety. The company should be on solid financial ground so employees wont worry about the financial future of the company. Free-flowing Ocean Talent must be allowed to rotate Jobs across subsidiaries and departments. Green Forest (R Conducive conditions for continued innovation. Harmonious Community Peers with shared values and simple interpersonal relationships. The ultimate objective of such a community is to offer employees a work environment to grow, contribute, and live out their dreams. Bureaucracy, secrecy, and stagnation are all attributes that inhibit employees, and the company must actively seek out these ehaviors and destroy them. Alibaba from the Eyes of Employees To what extent do employees at Alibaba experience what the company intends to offer? Why do they Join the company and how do they feel as employees working there? Our focus group discussion with employees in different functions and levels confirms that Alibaba is indeed a unique company to work with. The following themes and direct quotations capture their experiences and the feeling of working at Alibaba: A leader with charisma and credibility: Jack Ma is the magnet that draws people into the company and provides them with a credible dream. When I spoke with Jack Ma, I was impressed with his vision and business model. I had been in the internet business for a while but had not seen a successful model like the one Alibaba is employing. Tang Zhenrong, International Website Engineering Department, and one year with the company. Although the objectives for each year seem to be very high, somehow we have always managed to accomplish those objectives. With past success, we have built up confidence that were able to achieve the objectives no matter what they are. Lili Li, Sales Research Department, six years with the company. The passion of Alibaba is from within and radiates outward to others. We can see that they truly believe in the company and the culture of Alibaba is built from there, not by programs or processes. Echo Lu, Director of Organization and People Development. The company is true to its values at all levels. When Jack Ma talks to management about hiring, he told us that we must hire people With the same smell. Zhang Yu, Director of Marketing, Taobao. com Changes, challenges, and growth: People grow under tremendous pressure to change and grow. The speed of change is three to four times that of other organizations. The objectives are crazy, but when we reach and surpass the targets, we then have a profound sense of accomplishment. With the constant pressure and changes, were also forced to evaluate how we do our own Jobs and how we work as a team. Is it sufficient to accomplish the new objectives? Do we need to look at the challenge differently and try different things? Zhang Yu, Director of Marketing, Taobao. om 4 Communication and transparency Jack will meet with all new employees in a group setting, has meetings with management at least quarterly, and bi-annual staff meetings with all employees. On the intranet, theres a BBS that allows staff to post their thoughts and opinions. Jack often interacts with staff on the BBS in an open and casual way. Echo Lu, Director of Organization and People Development A company that cares about employees During the SARS crisis, because of one suspected case, Alibaba made the decision in one day to have all employees work from home and to pass the required isolation period. As a result of this quick action, we contained any possible outbreak, May. Employees continued to perform Jobs tremendously well at home. We encouraged each other through BBS, phone calls, and e-mails. Lili L, Sales Research Department The most positive thing to result from the SARS crisis was an enormous amount of pride for employees who went through this crisis together. They built a strong bond through experiencing this event together. Its still a much talked about event in the company. In fact, some employees have named the day that staff were sent home to contain the outbreak, Alibaba Day, to commemorate the event. The spirit of Alibaba came alive on that day. Echo Lu, Director of Organization and People Development Leadership and Management Practices that Create the Unique Value Proposition Leadership priority: As CEO, Jack Ma invests most of his time in three areas: vision/ mission/strategy, customers, and employees. By clearly articulating and constantly communicating the vision and mission of the company, he creates the most important foundation in attracting outstanding talent. Dont let your colleague work for you, but work for their dreams! Also, it is important to deeply understand customer needs, not competitors actions. Understanding customer needs can help Alibaba develop concrete business plans and focus on realizing its dream. Finally, it is also critical to realistically assess the competencies of employees. It will decide how fast, how far, and how the company can execute its business strategy and targets in the coming year and next three years. His attentiveness to talent is ref lected in two management practices. First, in the monthly senior management meeting, the first question he always asked is How is your team doing? instead of How many sales has your team made? Second, he always spends a lot of time alking around different business units and departments to smell how the people are doing there. If he smells something wrong, he will immediately talk to the unit head to identify problems and improve the situation. As a matter of fact, all senior executives at VP level and above must develop such smelling skills at Alibaba, to make sure that people are being managed properly. Value alignment: Strong shared values are essential in building a harmonious community where people feel comfortable working together and in ensuring that decisions and behaviors are aligned with company direction. Alibaba has gone the extra mile to make sure that people share the same values. When Alibaba hires people, they look for people with the same smell†people who are optimistic, happy, team oriented, ha rd working, and willing to invest their lives to achieve an ideal. When employees Join the company, they attend at least 10 days of orientation, focusing primarily on the companys vision, mission, and values. When the company assesses the performance of employees, 50% is tied to values and 50% is tied to business results. When employees demonstrate behaviors contrary to company core alues, they are asked to leave no matter how strong their business results are, or very important at Alibaba. People who dont fit into our values cannot survive in the company. Stretch opportunities and challenges: While Alibaba offers different training programs for different levels of employees in both technical and management areas, people grow rapidly by achieving impossible targets year after year. Although the objectives for each year seem high and unreasonable, somehow, we have always managed to accomplish those objectives. With past success we have built up the onfidence that we are able to achieve the objectives, no matter what they are, says Lili Li, of the Sales Research Department. At Alibaba I have been stretched and challenged. I have seen myself grow more than in my previous Jobs, says Zhang Yu from Taobao. com. Indeed, Jack Ma believes that all people have potential that can be unleashed in the right environment, allowing them to stretch and challenge themselves. Ma quoted one of his favorite examples, Several years ago when I looked at the current COO Li Qi, there was no way he looked like a COO. Nowadays, from all different angles, he really looks like a COO. Talent has tremendous potential to grow. However, in order for people to grow under challenges, three elements are important. First is teamwork. Alibaba uses teamwork to complement individual strengths and weaknesses to achieve extraordinary goals. Second are the right people, who enjoy challenges and have fun working. Third are line managers who are accountable for personal growth within their teams. Jack Ma remarked that all line managers at Alibaba are entrusted with two scarce resources (capital and talent) to create value for the company. In addition to ensuring good financial returns, they lso need to create value for their talent in terms of their growth and retention. Thats why Jack Ma also walks around the company to smell how people are being managed in different departments, and why he always asks business leaders how their teams are doing in the monthly CEO review. Wealth creation and sharing: All employees of Alibaba receive stock options, and in effect are owners of the organization. At Alibaba, stock options are not a tool for retention but for reward sharing. From five cents per share to five dollars per share in 6 years, many employees have not only shown tremendous pride in the company but also shared the fruits of their collective success for the well-being of both the society and themselves. Transparency and communication: Communication is an important practice within Alibaba that helps maintain a culture of transparency to all employees. Employees have easy access to all executives, including Jack Ma, through the use of email, BBS, and face-to-face meetings (monthly, quarterly or bi-annual staff meetings). Jack Ma sets a high standard for his executives to follow by regularly interacting with employees. All decisions are transparent, and people can see how they are made. This transparency is getting somewhat lost as we get bigger, but were still given a lot of information when possible. Our trust in the leaders has helped us to overcome this change in transparency. Communication is always good and strong from Sales Research Department. Advice to other CEOs When asked about what advice he would like to offer to other CEOs in China, Jack Ma suggested four: 1) Always believe people are the most important asset, and capital comes second. 2) It is not necessary to find the best talent but the talent that best fits your company. 3) Find and groom the talent inside our company rather than keep searching for talent from outside. The best talent is home-groomed people who fit our company culture. It always takes at least three years before people become fully immersed into our company culture 4) Believe in the potential of talent.

Southwest Airlines: Culture and Structure

Southwest Airlines: Culture and Structure This report gives a brief summary of the strategic control systems within south-west airlines. The report reveals that the company has been able to uphold their culture and structure through the use of mission, vision and objectives. It is these that have helped it in their strategic planes, competitive advantage, corporate strategic and operational strategies. The same goals have also guided how the company is able to uphold and motivate their employees in order to realize productivity and give quality service to their customers. Strategic management entails the management of resources through the use of tools like mission, vision, goals, values, roles, objectives, based on a timeline and responsibilities. Strategy in an organization is achieved through organization structure, culture, people and control systems Buller Schuler. (2006). Therefore, in looking at the strategic management design of Southwest airlines, this paper shall detail its organization structure, culture, people and control systems. The airline has managed to keep its head above waters despite the crisis like terrorism, recession and high fuel prices that have locked the airline industry. This has been associated to several advantages and strengths the company has been able to enjoy over the years as compared to their competitors Southwest airlines (2010). This airlines culture revolves around the welfare of their employees base on their principle employees are first and customers are second. This reflects the managements belief in the delivery of excellent service to the employees and the provision of job security. It is this culture that led them to cut back on flights rather than lay off employees during the recession and global economic crisis. This is the management principle that has been upheld by the company for many years, so that the company and the employees are able to prosper in bad times. The airline has been trying to uphold the principle of low operational cost, low borrowing, and a high cash flows Southwest airlines (2010). The company is able to value the employees such that they offer them compensation and benefits from profits and surpluses. This is seen as a means to encourage employees to perform and increase their production. The corporate culture of employee motivation, compensation and assurance of job security is the guiding principle that ha enabled the employees of southwest airlines to have high job performance. At the same time, these employees are encouraged to value their work and the airline as a whole. This aspect has been associated to the contribution of stability and security in the work in the company. therefore, the implementation of a no lay off policy in this company has been the main reason the airline has been able to maintain high rates of employee retention. Buller Schuler (2006) postulate that another corporate culture that guides the company, is their ability to encourage union members and negotiator to conduct employees surveys, before they commence any contract negotiation. This aspect has helped the company to focus on the issues that concern the company and the employees. It is this concern that is associated with the promotion and encouragement of employees and the creation of an employee friendly environment. The airline has been able to effectively use team work and tam building actitivities to motivate and guide the performance of their teams and workplace. The creation of teams and the provision of skills in team resolution, team work and team harmony is another corporate culture that guides the workplace of southwest airlines (Southwest airlines, 2010). This is seen as the airlines most important function used in the management of their teams. The management of such teams involves conflict resolution awareness where they have an overview of the resolutions. The teams are also stimulated scenarios, coaching, training, learning and human resources development programs which they use in the workplace. When discussing strategic management, it is vital that strategy formulation is also incorporated (Buller Schuler, 2006). This is because through strategy formulation one is ale to realize how effective an organization is able to effectively meet their missions, visions, goals and objects as well as manage their resources. Strategic formulation entails three processes, these are diagnosis; is the formulation of a situational analysis of the internal condition of the organization. Looking at the corporate structure of southwest airlines, we find that they are able to make use of their situational analysis where management is involved in the identification of the organizations objectives, the current projects, any current strategies, plus the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. The airline has been able to identify projects, plan and lay down strategies that will help their teams to achieve the project goals. The management of the airline has the sole responsibility of guiding and training staff and employees on strategy formulation. This is also seen as very vital in the creation of a competitive advantage within their industry. The company has been able to critically identify their organizational environment and identify their opportunities in the market that give them an advantage over their competition. Strategy formulation should also help guide the company towards the creation and achievement of their mission, vision, goals and objectives. The mission of Southwest airlines focuses on their employees and customers (Southwest airlines, 2010). The airline has gained and kept their customers by giving exceptional customer service which has provided for by the employees who are seen as the cornerstone of the company. This mission therefore, sets southwest airlines apart from other airlines since they are able to treat their customers like they are all in first class. These first class services can only be seen as being provided for to first class customers in other airlines. Therefore by having mission statement that directs their strategies and goals towards the provision of first class service to its customers makes southwest airlines have a unique relationship with the customers. This is the same mission that also guides the employees, and the workplace performance. Looking at the case of Southwest airlines their mission has enabled them to develop their corporate level strategies. This is due to their strategic portion which is at all levels of Southwests business, and which starts with its workforce, this implies that they carefully select and train their employees to show and depict the image of the company. in addition, those who apply to work in Southwest are put through a selection process, which is strenuous since the company is aimed on getting people who have the right attitudes to the company. Additionally, the company invests heavily in treating its employees well. For example, southwest airlines are able to practice profit sharing with the employees. This is very vital since they encourage employees to personally have a vested interest in the company. This has created a room for salary negotiations. They also give their employees good medical and dental benefits that are important in this age of rising healthcare costs. Moreover, the y have good salaries, profit sharing, health care programs which are tools southwest airlines uses to retain the valuable employees. A view at their missions and objectives reveals that have influenced their operational strategies and competitive strategies. This is seen where they assign their staff roles through informal job descriptions which are concerned with customer service. Their mission, vision and objectives have also affected their corporate governance that is both the mechanistic model and organic model. This is because, at the flight crew level and corporate level, the mechanistic model is used, whilst at the lower structural levels, where there is no use for safety and time, the organic model is used. The airline also fore went the functional structure which was common with its competitors, they decided to have a positive equalitarian culture that created the positive equity based culture seen today. It is this cultural approach that contributed significantly to Southwest airline having the lowest employee turnover, and the highest level of consumer satisfaction. In conclusion we have seen that the airline has been able to effectively make use of their corporate mission, vision, objectives and goals to direct their management, culture, structure and the resources.

Identity Regulation as a Form of Organizational Control

Identity Regulation as a Form of Organizational Control Introduction I have decided to opted â€Å"Identity regulation in organisations is a form of control that needs to be acknowledged in order to encourage the emancipation of workers†. But before starting my assignment i would like to go through that what Organization is and what’s the real truth behind Organizational Behaviour. Organizations are inescapable features of modern social experience for all human beings. From the remotest village high in the Himalayan foothills to life in a lager metropolis, organizations impact on all aspect of human experience. Now we come to that what organizational behaviour actually is:- Organizational behaviour provides one of the mainstream approaches to the study of management and organizations. Its main sphere of interest is anything relevant to the design, management and effectiveness of an organization, together with the dynamic and interactive relationships that exist within them. Hawthorne studies This theory was directed by Elton Mayo during the late 1920s and early 1930s. These studies first highlighted the complexity of human behaviour in an organizational setting. This on turn led to recognition of the importance of the social context within which work occurred and of the ways in which groups become a significant influence on individual behaviour. Ref: organizational behaviour and management john martin third edition The Meaning of Organizational Behaviour Organizational behaviour is one of the most complex and perhaps least understood academic elements of modern general management, but since it concerns the behaviour of people within organizations it is also one of the most central, its concern with invidual and group patterns of behaviour makes it an essential element in dealing with the complex behaviour issues thrown up in the modern business world. Ref: (Financial times Mastering management series) First we are going to start with the Management as an integrating activity;- Management as an integrating activity Management is the cornerstone of organizational effectiveness, and is concerned with arrangement for the carrying out of organizational processes and the execution of work. According to Drucker, it is the management that enables the organization to contribute a needed result to society, the economy and the invidual. Ref:-management and organizational behaviour 5th edition â€Å"The fact is that management ultimately depend on an understanding of human nature.I suggets it goes much further than that. In the first place, good management depends upon the acceptance of certain basic values. It cannot be achieved without honesty and integrity, or without consideration for the interests of others. Secondly, it is the understanding of human foibles that we all share, such as jealousy, envy, status, prejudice, perception, temperament, motivation and talent which provides the greatest challenge to managers. Ref: HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, Institute of Management Patron. The psychological contract One significant aspects of the relationship between the invidual and the organization is the concept of the psychological contract. This is not a written document, but implies a series of mutual expectations and satisfaction of needs arising from the people-organization relationship. It involves a process of giving and receiving by the invidual and by the organization. The psychological contract covers a range of expectations of rights and privileges, duties and obligations, which donot form part of a formal agreement but still have an important influence on people behaviour. Invidual`s Expectations Provide safe and hygienic working conditions Make every reasonable effort to provide job security Attempt to provide challenging and satisfying jobs and reduce alienating aspects of work. Adopt equitable personnel policies and procedures. Treat member staff with respect. These expectations are notwithstanding any statutory requirement placed upon the organization. Instead they relate more to the idea of social responsibilities of management. The organization will also have implicit expectations of its member, for example:- To accept the ideology of the organization To work diligently in pursuit of organizational objectives Not to abuse goodwill shown by the management To uphold the image of the organization To show loyalty. The organization side of the psychological contract places emphasis on expectations, requirement and constraints which often differ from, and may be in conflict with ,an Invidual`s expectations. Ref:-Laurie j Mullins management and behaviour The case study below shows the true picture of the psychological contract and it s nature:- Case study: Disgruntled mice turn on fat cats Rhetoric about employee being vital corporate assets is sounding increasingly hollow writes John Plender. After years of downsizing, delaying and re-engineering, a punch-drunk British workforce hardly looks ready for a return to confrontational industrial relation. Yet the strike at British Airways, complete with management pressure and inter-union rivalry, raises question. Is this the first sign of a shift in power back to the workers as labour market condition tightens? And have managers become complacement in their attitudes to the workforce? The British Airways saga admittedly looks more of a throwback than a forward indicator. Most occupants of British boardrooms would vehemently reject charges of complacency or macho management. Yet there is evidence that business leaders are failing to carry employee with them as they continue to restructure. The standard rhetoric about `empowered` employee being vital corporate assets rings increasingly hollow. Consider recent data from International Survey Research (ISR), a leading consultant whose employee opinion survey covers 450 companies in 18 countries. Some finding in its survey, such as the free –fall in feelings of employment security throughout Europe, are predictable enough. Nor is it surprising that stakeholders-type economics like Switzerland, Norway and the Netherlands tend to have the the most contented workforces. The UK`S ignominious position- second only to Hungary at the bottom of the league for employee satisfaction- will no doubt be dismissed as British workers enjoying a moan. And the fact that UK management is judged less favourably by employee than managers are rated elsewhere will prompt a similar response. Yet when ISR`s work is looked at over a period of years, it is easily brushed aside. Take the progressive year-on-year collapse in the morale of the UK workforce since 1990. The trend is odd because it defies the logic of the economic cycle. Recovery has brought deterioration, not improvement. Also odd is the workforce’s view of management, at the depths of the recession earlier in the decade, UK employee, though generally dissatisfied, were still taking quite a favourable view of the managers compared with the rest of the Europe. Today, despite a marked increased in the rate of UK earning growth, disillusionment appears total. The clue with the ISR survey published at the end of 1995.This revealed that workers attitudes had suffered `the most prepitate decline` of any European country over the previous 10 years. Motivation and commitment to the company were lower than in the strife-torn days of the mid-1970s. The timing is significant because this was the first survey after the notorious British Gas Annual General Meeting at which the investment institute sanctioned a much increased pay-package for Mr.Cedric Brown-this when profits were substantially below their five years earlier, customer service was deteriorating and employee were being shed in larger numbers. The message is clear enough. Far from being a little local difficulty in the privatised utilities, the `fat cat` pay saga had a much wider demoralising impact which is still being felt. It does not follow that British workers are about to the picket lines en masse. As long as insecurity is endemic, and the main legislative reforms of the past 18 years remain intact, the union will not resume their former mantle. Nor does the government of Mr Tony Blair, a personal friend of BA chief Executive , Mr Bob Ayling, appear keen to take an active role in the dispute at BA. There is also a wide spread view that employee satisfactions a key performance indicator. Yet survey feels dimishing loyalty. In effect a contract which views the employee as assets and a cost has an innate tension. If it operate operates against the back ground of ever widening pay differentials between shop floor and board, or runs into the BA style of management, it may become untenable. There is a growing recognition among economist that trust is a valuable commodity. At national level- as in the stakeholder’s economics metioned earlier- it can enhance growth. When it exists between the various stakeholders in a business it reduces transaction costs and enhances competitive advantage. If British business wants to achieve the highest standards of quality in internationally tradable products and services on a sustainable basis, it badly needs to absorb this lesson. Source-Financial times, 12 July 1997. Critically Analysing the meaning of Work, Motivation and Commitment Work organizations can be understood not only as environments in which people produce work, but also â€Å"places where work produces people†. Hence, any discussion of what people want or need out of work (particularly paid employment) cannot be isolated from the context of that work environment. The experience of working in a particular organization can itself produce wants and needs in the worker. Unfortunately, the personality and the motivation theories described everywhere are based on much simpler models of human behaviour. These tend to view the person as possessing a certain set of psychological characteristics which are brought into work each day. The idea that these change through interaction with others in the organization is rarely touched on. Another aspect of the two-pronged approach to the analysis of Invidual`s behaviour by organizational psychological is a tendency to restrict the subject matter to more less quantifiable elements of behaviour and to those aspects of behaviour which are predictable and controllable from a managerial point of view. Ref: J martin Corbett Baritz,1960 and Hollway , 1991 and indeed, Thompson and McHugh (1990) argue that â€Å"the true paradigm of the organizational psychologist is that of ensuring `effective resource use`: supplying advice, recourses and training which are aimed at assisting organization in efficiency managing the conflict and resistance which is a predictable consequence of hierarchically organised production.† Ref: Baritz, L (1960) Servants of power, Middletown: Wesleyan University Press Hollway, W (1991) Work Psychology and Organizational Behaviour, London: sage Thompson, P. and McHugh, D. (1990) Work organizations: A Critical Introduction. London: Macmillan Employee Commitment: on becoming a torturer What kind of person becomes a torturer? For many people it would seem obvious that only psychopaths and cranks would wish to pursue such a career. Yet, torture is currently practised by one government in three and these governments experience little or difficulty in recruting torturers. Are there really sufficient numbers of sadist ready, able and willing to take on such a job, or are there other factors which contribute to the creation of a torturer? There is no hard evidence that torturers are psychopaths or sadist. On the contrary, there is evidence that such people are usually screened out during the selection and recruitment process. Thus, to some extent at least, torturers are selected and recruited from ordinary people: â€Å"A deranged person who receives gratification primilary from feeling of power or from personally inflicting pain on other is usually too unreliable to be counted on by authorities to follow orders†. Ref: J. Martin Corbett Based on the studies of torturers employed by the State during 1967-74 military dictatorship of Greece, the psychologist Haritos-Fatoutos argues that three situational factor foster the creation of a torturer, namely: training, incremental participation and socialisation, and economic and symbolic reward. Training The first phase of training involves group bonding and isolation from the outside world. In case of the torture, this is achieved by placing recruits in remote training camps and putting them through numerous initiation rites. Haritos- Fatoutos describe how the use of euphemism by the trainers helped Greek recruits reinterpret their behaviour. For example, â€Å"tea party† referred to a â€Å"beating with fists and â€Å"tea party with toast† described a â€Å"beating with heavy wooden clubs†. The use of such euphemistic language is , of course, common practice in organizations to put a gloss on unpleasant reality- from the Nazi Party’s â€Å"Final Solution† , through the CIA’s `executive action`, to the `downsizing ` and ` rationalisation` of contemporary business organizations. Training also requires the recruit to develop a world view that divides people into torturable and non-torturable. Through a programme of seminars the recruits comes to believe that the act of tortures is a defence of â€Å"good â€Å"values against the â€Å"bad† values. Recruits are trained to be loyal not only to the state but to the organization, which is semi-secret and will protect them. Ref: Haritos- Fatoutos, M. (1988) The official tortures: A learning model of obedience to authority of violence. Journal of applied social psychology, 18, 1107-1120. Incremental Socialisation Such a moral shift, or disengagement, is made easier by the gradual introduction of the recruits to the brutal act of torture. A typical process of incremental socialisation and desensitisation goes through the following chronological sequences: Recruits act as guards while other carry out torture. Recruits carry food to the prisoners in there cells Recruits fully participate fully in torture. Hence the recruits are pulled inexorably into the torturing process. Having gone through the first two steps in the socialisation process recruits find it very difficult to protest about the use of full torture as there have been corrupted by tacit acceptance of earlier (less extreme) examples of torture. Rewards Once fully socialised, obedient torturers benefit in both symbolic and economic ways. Training fosters in-group bias. The finding of numerous social psychological studies suggested that participation in strenuous initiation rites makes group membership more desirable. Ref: Haritos- Fatoutos, M. (1988) The official tortures: A learning model of obedience to authority of violence. Journal of applied social psychology, 18, 1107-1120. There are some more aspects which really effect of employee performance. Inter-group relations Individual’s allegiances to, and identification with, various social groups can have an important influences on their attitudes and behaviour. The notion of employee commitment can over-generalise the nature of such allegiances and hence overlook the fact that you can be committed to your work, to your collegues, to your department, to your occupation or to the company you work for. But these commitments will vary and will often conflict with each other. There are many groups within even the smallest of organizations. It is not only the varying degrees of commitment each group commands amongst its members that can have a significant impact on organizational functioning. The relations between these groups and the relative power each commands can be more curial in shaping organizational behaviour. Hence, a psychological analysis alone is insufficient to understand fully the complexities of inter-group relations. Organizational design and design The variety of ways in which organizational are structured and managed and how they change over time, provides the basis of much organizational behaviour research. Also it is the domain of almost all so-called â€Å"Management Gurus†. For instance, Salaman (1983) observes that â€Å"organizations are structure of control†. Given that organizational structures include management and worker organization, control and reward systems, and job design, they clearly involve political issues, as well as decisions and strategic choices. Despite this, much of the conventional organizational behaviour literature on organizational structure and design concentrates, somewhat uncritically, on information flows, work structure, job design and cultures as entities designed and controlled by a management elite. Ref:-Salaman, G (1983) Class and the Corporation. London: Fontana. Technology and organization Scarborough and Corbett (1992) describes technology and organization as â€Å"far from containing or controlling the technology process, the formal boundaries and managerial hierarchies of organization may themselves restructure by it†. Similarly, sole resources to a unilateral deskilling process (at a societal level), in which technology developed under capitalism inevitably leads to the deskilling and control of labour, does little to convey the uncertainties and interaction of the technology process, nor account for the key role played by Invidual`s and groups: Indeed, on occasion the transformational power of technological knowledge may escape the intentions of the powerful and undermines, and not simply reproduce, existing social and economic structures. To better understand technology and organization I think its good to go through this case study. Ref: Scarborough, H. and Corbett, J.M. (1992) Technology and Organization: Power, Meaning and Design. London: Routledge. Case study: New technology and the Skolt Lapplanders Introduced in the early 1960s, the snowmobile was adopted by the Skolt Lapp people to replace reindeer sleds as a means of transportation. This technology brought easier access to trading posts, more sophisticated health care and a more varied diet and recreation. Yet, within a few years the introduction of this technology had made a profound impact on the Skolt Lapp community. The Skolt Lapp community, like many traditional communities, was organised around a patriarchal power structure, so that the old man held all the positions of status and authority. However, unlike the younger members of the community, these man lacked the muscular strength and dexterity to ride and maintain the heavy snowmobiles. Given that the new technology symbolised progress and the promise of economic prosperity to many Lapps, this result in a decline in the status of the elders relative to the younger, stronger men. Of even greater significance, and as the snowmobiles replaced the reindeer sled as the dominant means of transportation, this status shift was accompanied by the decline in the importance of the `elders` knowledge and wisdom concerning the care and use of reindeer herds. Such a shift was encouraged all the more by the rapid drops in calf births that resulted from the effects of the frightening noise of the snowmobiles` engines on pregnant reindeers. Indeed, within 3 years, a majority of the domesticated reindeers herd had returned to the wild. The impact of this should not be under-estimated as for generations; the reindeers had been of great symbolic and cultural significance of the Skolt Lapps. Most important of all, the Skolt Lapplanders quickly found themselves dependent on outside suppliers of imported petroleum and spare parts for the snowmobiles. Also, many of the physically ill Lapps became psychologically (and sometimes physically) dependent on the constant supply of non-introduction of the snowmobiles. Thus, an apparently neutral technology brought about significant (and largely irreversible) cultural changes to a community. Ref: Scarborough, H. and Corbett, J.M. (1992) Technology and Organization: Power, Meaning and Design. London: Routledge. Egan, G. (1993) Quarantine. London: Legend Books Organizational Culture Culture as a concept has had a long and checked history. It has been used by the lay person as a word to indicate sophistication, as when we say that someone is very â€Å"Cultured†. It has been used by anthropologists to refer to the customs and rituals that societies develop over the course of their history. In the last decade or so it has been used by some organizational researchers and managers to indicate the climate and practices that organizations develop around their handling of people or to refer to the espoused values and credo of an organization. A deeper understanding of cultural issues in groups and organizations is necessary to decipher what goes on in them but, even more important, to identify what may be the priority issues for leaders and leadership. Organizational cultures are created in part by leaders, and one of the most decisive functions of leadership is the creation, the management, and sometimes evens the destruction of culture. Ref:-Edgar H. Schein (1997) Organizational Culture and Leadership. John Wiley sons, Inc. A cross- cultural comparison of work values Numerous motivation theorist outline the importance of certain characteristics of work and the work environment in promoting job satisfication. But to what extend do the motivation theories of Maslow, Herzbed, Mc Clelland, Hackman and Oldham, etc. reflect what motivates a particular, possibly unique, sample of the working population, namely the average â€Å"American employee†. Can we really generalise such theories to the global working population? Mainstream organisational behaviour textbooks certainly imply as much. But if we cannot generalise from the US experience there are obvious implications for the human resources management policies of multi- national corporations and for international post-merger management. Ref: Maslow, A. (1971) The further reaches of human Nature. New York: Viking Press. Herzbed, P.G. (1976) Non- hierarchical organization vol-2. Harmondsworth: Penguin. In 1989, Don Elizur and colleagues was to collect data by questionnaire from samples of managers and employee from a variety of countries. The average sample size was 285. The author owns UK sample comprised 148 respondents. The age range and gender mix of the samples were similar. The questionnaire was designed to represent the major perspectives outlined by basic theories of motivation. 24 items were selected and respondents were asked to indicate for each item the extent to which it is important. (using response categories ranging from â€Å"very unimportant† to â€Å"very important†). The items included the following. Job interest, to do work which is interesting to you. Achievements in work. Advancement, opportunities for promotion Self-esteem, that you are valued as a person Use of ability and knowledge in your work Job security, permanent job Autonomy, independence in work. Supervisor, a fair and considerate boss. Pay, the amount of money you receive Co-workers, fellow workers who are pleasant and agreeable. This selection of items is listed in tables. They also indicate the survey results from the US, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Korea, Hungary and China. The major similarities and difference between these work population samples can be more clearly comprehended by considering the rank order of the item based on the managerial distributions as represented in table. So we see, for example, that interesting work was considered to be the most important work values by respondents from the US, Germany, and the Netherlands. Yet the same items were considered to be much less important from the point of the Hungarian and Chinese respondents. Also, interesting cross-cultural disparities are in evidence for the last three items; good boss, good pay and friendly co-workers. Table: Rank ordering of work values for a sample of eight countries USA UK Germany Netherland Taiwan Korea Hungary China Interesting work 1 2 1 1 2 3 6 5 Achievements 2 6 7 2 1 1 2 1 Advancements 3 7 10 5 4 7 10 6 Self-esteem 4 5 9 9 3 9 7 3 Use abilities 5 4 6 6 8 4 5 2 Autonomy 6 9 5 4 7 10 9 4 Job security 7 8 4 8 5 2 8 10 Good boss 8 10 3 7 6 6 1 7 Good pay 9 3 8 10 10 8 4 9 Co-workers 10 1 2 3 9 5 3 8 Ref:- Elizur , D.,Borg, I., Hunt, R. and Beck, I. K. (1989) The structure of work values: A cross-cultural comparasion.`journal of Organizational Behaviour, 12,21-30 Conclusion It is a truism to claim that people are an organisational resource -indeed, for some organisations, they are the key resource, without which the organisation would be unable to deliver any meaningful product or service to its customers. Like any resource, however, people may be used wastefully: they may be employed at well below their potential, performing tasks which do not stretch their capabilities and which are ultimately alienating in their psychological impact on the employees involved. Alternatively, people may be managed and led in ways which inspire them to be highly motivated and to demonstrate long-term commitment to both their roles and the organisation which employs them. When this is achieved, the performance of its people becomes a major differentiator for the organisation and a source of long-term competitive strength. Identity Regulation as a Form of Organizational Control Identity Regulation as a Form of Organizational Control Introduction I have decided to opted â€Å"Identity regulation in organisations is a form of control that needs to be acknowledged in order to encourage the emancipation of workers†. But before starting my assignment i would like to go through that what Organization is and what’s the real truth behind Organizational Behaviour. Organizations are inescapable features of modern social experience for all human beings. From the remotest village high in the Himalayan foothills to life in a lager metropolis, organizations impact on all aspect of human experience. Now we come to that what organizational behaviour actually is:- Organizational behaviour provides one of the mainstream approaches to the study of management and organizations. Its main sphere of interest is anything relevant to the design, management and effectiveness of an organization, together with the dynamic and interactive relationships that exist within them. Hawthorne studies This theory was directed by Elton Mayo during the late 1920s and early 1930s. These studies first highlighted the complexity of human behaviour in an organizational setting. This on turn led to recognition of the importance of the social context within which work occurred and of the ways in which groups become a significant influence on individual behaviour. Ref: organizational behaviour and management john martin third edition The Meaning of Organizational Behaviour Organizational behaviour is one of the most complex and perhaps least understood academic elements of modern general management, but since it concerns the behaviour of people within organizations it is also one of the most central, its concern with invidual and group patterns of behaviour makes it an essential element in dealing with the complex behaviour issues thrown up in the modern business world. Ref: (Financial times Mastering management series) First we are going to start with the Management as an integrating activity;- Management as an integrating activity Management is the cornerstone of organizational effectiveness, and is concerned with arrangement for the carrying out of organizational processes and the execution of work. According to Drucker, it is the management that enables the organization to contribute a needed result to society, the economy and the invidual. Ref:-management and organizational behaviour 5th edition â€Å"The fact is that management ultimately depend on an understanding of human nature.I suggets it goes much further than that. In the first place, good management depends upon the acceptance of certain basic values. It cannot be achieved without honesty and integrity, or without consideration for the interests of others. Secondly, it is the understanding of human foibles that we all share, such as jealousy, envy, status, prejudice, perception, temperament, motivation and talent which provides the greatest challenge to managers. Ref: HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, Institute of Management Patron. The psychological contract One significant aspects of the relationship between the invidual and the organization is the concept of the psychological contract. This is not a written document, but implies a series of mutual expectations and satisfaction of needs arising from the people-organization relationship. It involves a process of giving and receiving by the invidual and by the organization. The psychological contract covers a range of expectations of rights and privileges, duties and obligations, which donot form part of a formal agreement but still have an important influence on people behaviour. Invidual`s Expectations Provide safe and hygienic working conditions Make every reasonable effort to provide job security Attempt to provide challenging and satisfying jobs and reduce alienating aspects of work. Adopt equitable personnel policies and procedures. Treat member staff with respect. These expectations are notwithstanding any statutory requirement placed upon the organization. Instead they relate more to the idea of social responsibilities of management. The organization will also have implicit expectations of its member, for example:- To accept the ideology of the organization To work diligently in pursuit of organizational objectives Not to abuse goodwill shown by the management To uphold the image of the organization To show loyalty. The organization side of the psychological contract places emphasis on expectations, requirement and constraints which often differ from, and may be in conflict with ,an Invidual`s expectations. Ref:-Laurie j Mullins management and behaviour The case study below shows the true picture of the psychological contract and it s nature:- Case study: Disgruntled mice turn on fat cats Rhetoric about employee being vital corporate assets is sounding increasingly hollow writes John Plender. After years of downsizing, delaying and re-engineering, a punch-drunk British workforce hardly looks ready for a return to confrontational industrial relation. Yet the strike at British Airways, complete with management pressure and inter-union rivalry, raises question. Is this the first sign of a shift in power back to the workers as labour market condition tightens? And have managers become complacement in their attitudes to the workforce? The British Airways saga admittedly looks more of a throwback than a forward indicator. Most occupants of British boardrooms would vehemently reject charges of complacency or macho management. Yet there is evidence that business leaders are failing to carry employee with them as they continue to restructure. The standard rhetoric about `empowered` employee being vital corporate assets rings increasingly hollow. Consider recent data from International Survey Research (ISR), a leading consultant whose employee opinion survey covers 450 companies in 18 countries. Some finding in its survey, such as the free –fall in feelings of employment security throughout Europe, are predictable enough. Nor is it surprising that stakeholders-type economics like Switzerland, Norway and the Netherlands tend to have the the most contented workforces. The UK`S ignominious position- second only to Hungary at the bottom of the league for employee satisfaction- will no doubt be dismissed as British workers enjoying a moan. And the fact that UK management is judged less favourably by employee than managers are rated elsewhere will prompt a similar response. Yet when ISR`s work is looked at over a period of years, it is easily brushed aside. Take the progressive year-on-year collapse in the morale of the UK workforce since 1990. The trend is odd because it defies the logic of the economic cycle. Recovery has brought deterioration, not improvement. Also odd is the workforce’s view of management, at the depths of the recession earlier in the decade, UK employee, though generally dissatisfied, were still taking quite a favourable view of the managers compared with the rest of the Europe. Today, despite a marked increased in the rate of UK earning growth, disillusionment appears total. The clue with the ISR survey published at the end of 1995.This revealed that workers attitudes had suffered `the most prepitate decline` of any European country over the previous 10 years. Motivation and commitment to the company were lower than in the strife-torn days of the mid-1970s. The timing is significant because this was the first survey after the notorious British Gas Annual General Meeting at which the investment institute sanctioned a much increased pay-package for Mr.Cedric Brown-this when profits were substantially below their five years earlier, customer service was deteriorating and employee were being shed in larger numbers. The message is clear enough. Far from being a little local difficulty in the privatised utilities, the `fat cat` pay saga had a much wider demoralising impact which is still being felt. It does not follow that British workers are about to the picket lines en masse. As long as insecurity is endemic, and the main legislative reforms of the past 18 years remain intact, the union will not resume their former mantle. Nor does the government of Mr Tony Blair, a personal friend of BA chief Executive , Mr Bob Ayling, appear keen to take an active role in the dispute at BA. There is also a wide spread view that employee satisfactions a key performance indicator. Yet survey feels dimishing loyalty. In effect a contract which views the employee as assets and a cost has an innate tension. If it operate operates against the back ground of ever widening pay differentials between shop floor and board, or runs into the BA style of management, it may become untenable. There is a growing recognition among economist that trust is a valuable commodity. At national level- as in the stakeholder’s economics metioned earlier- it can enhance growth. When it exists between the various stakeholders in a business it reduces transaction costs and enhances competitive advantage. If British business wants to achieve the highest standards of quality in internationally tradable products and services on a sustainable basis, it badly needs to absorb this lesson. Source-Financial times, 12 July 1997. Critically Analysing the meaning of Work, Motivation and Commitment Work organizations can be understood not only as environments in which people produce work, but also â€Å"places where work produces people†. Hence, any discussion of what people want or need out of work (particularly paid employment) cannot be isolated from the context of that work environment. The experience of working in a particular organization can itself produce wants and needs in the worker. Unfortunately, the personality and the motivation theories described everywhere are based on much simpler models of human behaviour. These tend to view the person as possessing a certain set of psychological characteristics which are brought into work each day. The idea that these change through interaction with others in the organization is rarely touched on. Another aspect of the two-pronged approach to the analysis of Invidual`s behaviour by organizational psychological is a tendency to restrict the subject matter to more less quantifiable elements of behaviour and to those aspects of behaviour which are predictable and controllable from a managerial point of view. Ref: J martin Corbett Baritz,1960 and Hollway , 1991 and indeed, Thompson and McHugh (1990) argue that â€Å"the true paradigm of the organizational psychologist is that of ensuring `effective resource use`: supplying advice, recourses and training which are aimed at assisting organization in efficiency managing the conflict and resistance which is a predictable consequence of hierarchically organised production.† Ref: Baritz, L (1960) Servants of power, Middletown: Wesleyan University Press Hollway, W (1991) Work Psychology and Organizational Behaviour, London: sage Thompson, P. and McHugh, D. (1990) Work organizations: A Critical Introduction. London: Macmillan Employee Commitment: on becoming a torturer What kind of person becomes a torturer? For many people it would seem obvious that only psychopaths and cranks would wish to pursue such a career. Yet, torture is currently practised by one government in three and these governments experience little or difficulty in recruting torturers. Are there really sufficient numbers of sadist ready, able and willing to take on such a job, or are there other factors which contribute to the creation of a torturer? There is no hard evidence that torturers are psychopaths or sadist. On the contrary, there is evidence that such people are usually screened out during the selection and recruitment process. Thus, to some extent at least, torturers are selected and recruited from ordinary people: â€Å"A deranged person who receives gratification primilary from feeling of power or from personally inflicting pain on other is usually too unreliable to be counted on by authorities to follow orders†. Ref: J. Martin Corbett Based on the studies of torturers employed by the State during 1967-74 military dictatorship of Greece, the psychologist Haritos-Fatoutos argues that three situational factor foster the creation of a torturer, namely: training, incremental participation and socialisation, and economic and symbolic reward. Training The first phase of training involves group bonding and isolation from the outside world. In case of the torture, this is achieved by placing recruits in remote training camps and putting them through numerous initiation rites. Haritos- Fatoutos describe how the use of euphemism by the trainers helped Greek recruits reinterpret their behaviour. For example, â€Å"tea party† referred to a â€Å"beating with fists and â€Å"tea party with toast† described a â€Å"beating with heavy wooden clubs†. The use of such euphemistic language is , of course, common practice in organizations to put a gloss on unpleasant reality- from the Nazi Party’s â€Å"Final Solution† , through the CIA’s `executive action`, to the `downsizing ` and ` rationalisation` of contemporary business organizations. Training also requires the recruit to develop a world view that divides people into torturable and non-torturable. Through a programme of seminars the recruits comes to believe that the act of tortures is a defence of â€Å"good â€Å"values against the â€Å"bad† values. Recruits are trained to be loyal not only to the state but to the organization, which is semi-secret and will protect them. Ref: Haritos- Fatoutos, M. (1988) The official tortures: A learning model of obedience to authority of violence. Journal of applied social psychology, 18, 1107-1120. Incremental Socialisation Such a moral shift, or disengagement, is made easier by the gradual introduction of the recruits to the brutal act of torture. A typical process of incremental socialisation and desensitisation goes through the following chronological sequences: Recruits act as guards while other carry out torture. Recruits carry food to the prisoners in there cells Recruits fully participate fully in torture. Hence the recruits are pulled inexorably into the torturing process. Having gone through the first two steps in the socialisation process recruits find it very difficult to protest about the use of full torture as there have been corrupted by tacit acceptance of earlier (less extreme) examples of torture. Rewards Once fully socialised, obedient torturers benefit in both symbolic and economic ways. Training fosters in-group bias. The finding of numerous social psychological studies suggested that participation in strenuous initiation rites makes group membership more desirable. Ref: Haritos- Fatoutos, M. (1988) The official tortures: A learning model of obedience to authority of violence. Journal of applied social psychology, 18, 1107-1120. There are some more aspects which really effect of employee performance. Inter-group relations Individual’s allegiances to, and identification with, various social groups can have an important influences on their attitudes and behaviour. The notion of employee commitment can over-generalise the nature of such allegiances and hence overlook the fact that you can be committed to your work, to your collegues, to your department, to your occupation or to the company you work for. But these commitments will vary and will often conflict with each other. There are many groups within even the smallest of organizations. It is not only the varying degrees of commitment each group commands amongst its members that can have a significant impact on organizational functioning. The relations between these groups and the relative power each commands can be more curial in shaping organizational behaviour. Hence, a psychological analysis alone is insufficient to understand fully the complexities of inter-group relations. Organizational design and design The variety of ways in which organizational are structured and managed and how they change over time, provides the basis of much organizational behaviour research. Also it is the domain of almost all so-called â€Å"Management Gurus†. For instance, Salaman (1983) observes that â€Å"organizations are structure of control†. Given that organizational structures include management and worker organization, control and reward systems, and job design, they clearly involve political issues, as well as decisions and strategic choices. Despite this, much of the conventional organizational behaviour literature on organizational structure and design concentrates, somewhat uncritically, on information flows, work structure, job design and cultures as entities designed and controlled by a management elite. Ref:-Salaman, G (1983) Class and the Corporation. London: Fontana. Technology and organization Scarborough and Corbett (1992) describes technology and organization as â€Å"far from containing or controlling the technology process, the formal boundaries and managerial hierarchies of organization may themselves restructure by it†. Similarly, sole resources to a unilateral deskilling process (at a societal level), in which technology developed under capitalism inevitably leads to the deskilling and control of labour, does little to convey the uncertainties and interaction of the technology process, nor account for the key role played by Invidual`s and groups: Indeed, on occasion the transformational power of technological knowledge may escape the intentions of the powerful and undermines, and not simply reproduce, existing social and economic structures. To better understand technology and organization I think its good to go through this case study. Ref: Scarborough, H. and Corbett, J.M. (1992) Technology and Organization: Power, Meaning and Design. London: Routledge. Case study: New technology and the Skolt Lapplanders Introduced in the early 1960s, the snowmobile was adopted by the Skolt Lapp people to replace reindeer sleds as a means of transportation. This technology brought easier access to trading posts, more sophisticated health care and a more varied diet and recreation. Yet, within a few years the introduction of this technology had made a profound impact on the Skolt Lapp community. The Skolt Lapp community, like many traditional communities, was organised around a patriarchal power structure, so that the old man held all the positions of status and authority. However, unlike the younger members of the community, these man lacked the muscular strength and dexterity to ride and maintain the heavy snowmobiles. Given that the new technology symbolised progress and the promise of economic prosperity to many Lapps, this result in a decline in the status of the elders relative to the younger, stronger men. Of even greater significance, and as the snowmobiles replaced the reindeer sled as the dominant means of transportation, this status shift was accompanied by the decline in the importance of the `elders` knowledge and wisdom concerning the care and use of reindeer herds. Such a shift was encouraged all the more by the rapid drops in calf births that resulted from the effects of the frightening noise of the snowmobiles` engines on pregnant reindeers. Indeed, within 3 years, a majority of the domesticated reindeers herd had returned to the wild. The impact of this should not be under-estimated as for generations; the reindeers had been of great symbolic and cultural significance of the Skolt Lapps. Most important of all, the Skolt Lapplanders quickly found themselves dependent on outside suppliers of imported petroleum and spare parts for the snowmobiles. Also, many of the physically ill Lapps became psychologically (and sometimes physically) dependent on the constant supply of non-introduction of the snowmobiles. Thus, an apparently neutral technology brought about significant (and largely irreversible) cultural changes to a community. Ref: Scarborough, H. and Corbett, J.M. (1992) Technology and Organization: Power, Meaning and Design. London: Routledge. Egan, G. (1993) Quarantine. London: Legend Books Organizational Culture Culture as a concept has had a long and checked history. It has been used by the lay person as a word to indicate sophistication, as when we say that someone is very â€Å"Cultured†. It has been used by anthropologists to refer to the customs and rituals that societies develop over the course of their history. In the last decade or so it has been used by some organizational researchers and managers to indicate the climate and practices that organizations develop around their handling of people or to refer to the espoused values and credo of an organization. A deeper understanding of cultural issues in groups and organizations is necessary to decipher what goes on in them but, even more important, to identify what may be the priority issues for leaders and leadership. Organizational cultures are created in part by leaders, and one of the most decisive functions of leadership is the creation, the management, and sometimes evens the destruction of culture. Ref:-Edgar H. Schein (1997) Organizational Culture and Leadership. John Wiley sons, Inc. A cross- cultural comparison of work values Numerous motivation theorist outline the importance of certain characteristics of work and the work environment in promoting job satisfication. But to what extend do the motivation theories of Maslow, Herzbed, Mc Clelland, Hackman and Oldham, etc. reflect what motivates a particular, possibly unique, sample of the working population, namely the average â€Å"American employee†. Can we really generalise such theories to the global working population? Mainstream organisational behaviour textbooks certainly imply as much. But if we cannot generalise from the US experience there are obvious implications for the human resources management policies of multi- national corporations and for international post-merger management. Ref: Maslow, A. (1971) The further reaches of human Nature. New York: Viking Press. Herzbed, P.G. (1976) Non- hierarchical organization vol-2. Harmondsworth: Penguin. In 1989, Don Elizur and colleagues was to collect data by questionnaire from samples of managers and employee from a variety of countries. The average sample size was 285. The author owns UK sample comprised 148 respondents. The age range and gender mix of the samples were similar. The questionnaire was designed to represent the major perspectives outlined by basic theories of motivation. 24 items were selected and respondents were asked to indicate for each item the extent to which it is important. (using response categories ranging from â€Å"very unimportant† to â€Å"very important†). The items included the following. Job interest, to do work which is interesting to you. Achievements in work. Advancement, opportunities for promotion Self-esteem, that you are valued as a person Use of ability and knowledge in your work Job security, permanent job Autonomy, independence in work. Supervisor, a fair and considerate boss. Pay, the amount of money you receive Co-workers, fellow workers who are pleasant and agreeable. This selection of items is listed in tables. They also indicate the survey results from the US, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Korea, Hungary and China. The major similarities and difference between these work population samples can be more clearly comprehended by considering the rank order of the item based on the managerial distributions as represented in table. So we see, for example, that interesting work was considered to be the most important work values by respondents from the US, Germany, and the Netherlands. Yet the same items were considered to be much less important from the point of the Hungarian and Chinese respondents. Also, interesting cross-cultural disparities are in evidence for the last three items; good boss, good pay and friendly co-workers. Table: Rank ordering of work values for a sample of eight countries USA UK Germany Netherland Taiwan Korea Hungary China Interesting work 1 2 1 1 2 3 6 5 Achievements 2 6 7 2 1 1 2 1 Advancements 3 7 10 5 4 7 10 6 Self-esteem 4 5 9 9 3 9 7 3 Use abilities 5 4 6 6 8 4 5 2 Autonomy 6 9 5 4 7 10 9 4 Job security 7 8 4 8 5 2 8 10 Good boss 8 10 3 7 6 6 1 7 Good pay 9 3 8 10 10 8 4 9 Co-workers 10 1 2 3 9 5 3 8 Ref:- Elizur , D.,Borg, I., Hunt, R. and Beck, I. K. (1989) The structure of work values: A cross-cultural comparasion.`journal of Organizational Behaviour, 12,21-30 Conclusion It is a truism to claim that people are an organisational resource -indeed, for some organisations, they are the key resource, without which the organisation would be unable to deliver any meaningful product or service to its customers. Like any resource, however, people may be used wastefully: they may be employed at well below their potential, performing tasks which do not stretch their capabilities and which are ultimately alienating in their psychological impact on the employees involved. Alternatively, people may be managed and led in ways which inspire them to be highly motivated and to demonstrate long-term commitment to both their roles and the organisation which employs them. When this is achieved, the performance of its people becomes a major differentiator for the organisation and a source of long-term competitive strength.