Thursday, December 26, 2019
Organisational Power - Free Essay Example
Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1909 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Organizational Power Abstract Power is an intangible force in organizations. It cannot be seen, but its effect can be felt. Power also is an important part of all organized behavior. It characterizes all human interaction. Organizational power permeates all aspects of interpersonal communications and is an essential characteristic of all organizational actions. For organizations, the difference between proper and improper use of power is the difference between success and failure, high and low productivity, motivation and disillusionment. This paper includes a review and analysis of the classical concepts of organizational power in management literature, a description of power style, and research findings on the use of power in every field of organization. Then, the paper will introduce several sources of organizational power and will cite how power influences every aspects of organization. Keyword: Organizational power, Source of power, expert power, rew ard power, referent power, legitimate power, crisis, power sharing, maintain power, managing conflict. Introduction Power is an intangible force in organizations. It cannot be seen, but its effect can be felt. Fairholm, G. W (2011) concludes that à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
âpower also is an important part of all organized behavior; It characterizes all human interactionà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã (p. 14). Organizational power permeates all aspects of interpersonal communications and is an essential characteristic of all organizational actions. For organizations, the difference between proper and improper use of power is the difference between success and failure, high and low productivity, motivation and disillusionment. (Fairholm, G. W, 2011, p. 14). Singh, A (2011) also concludes the power in organization as, à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
âdedication to the power is not enough to make an organization successful; the absence of a proper dedication results in poor organizational health and low productivityà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã (p. 166). Definition. It is important to understanding what organizational power is. Draft (2012) defines organizational power as, à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
âthe ability of one person or department in an organization to influence other people to bring about desired outcomeà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã (p. 531). Organizational power is a result of structural characteristics, because organizations are large and complex system that may contains thousands of employees and hundreds of departments. These departments and system have their own hierarchy structure. For these departments, some positions have access to more information and greater resources, or their performance and contribution to the organization are more critical. So, organizational power reflect large organizational relationships, both horizontal and vertical (Draft, 2012, p. 532). Power and management. Singh, A (2011) states that, à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
âpower is needed even to run the most trivial functions of an organization or projectà ¢ â⠬à (p. 166). Power is a prerequisite for success, inspective of peopleà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â ¢s inner needs for power. The magnitude and direction of the exercise of power is a function of the intentions and skills of the wielder. Organizational power is consequently seen as a management resource, much like information and technical expertise, which are management resources in their own right. The judicious use and design of organizational power is thus significant. (Singh, A, 2011, p. 166) Power Basis. Elias, S (2011) states five major types of power in organization, they are à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
âreward power, coercive power, legitimate power, expert power, and referent powerà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã (p. 269). First, Legitimate power is the formal power and authority legitimately granted to the manager under charter by the organizationà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â ¢s peers. This power is clearly assigned by written or verbal contract, and it outlines the managerà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â ¢s responsibilities. Legi timate power was initially said to be at use when a power holder had a genuine right to ask a target to comply with a request. Second, conceived of reward and coercive power involve the ability of a supervisor to manipulate objects and events of relevance to employees. Reward power is the ability of the manager to confer or withhold rewards such as money, privileges, promotion, or status. Managers may use coercive power as a tool to mention their subordinates that he or she may be deprived of something if he or she does not comply. Third, both expert and referent power were thought of in terms of being positive bases of power. With positive expert power, a subordinate complies with the request of a supervisor because the supervisor knows best. With positive referent power, a subordinate complies with the request of a supervisor because the subordinate identifies with the supervisor. (Elias, S, 2011, p. 275) Crisis and problems with power. Power can brings positive effect to the d evelopment and operation of organization if it has been well used, but the power also could bring negative effects to organization itself, if managers abuse of the power. Knuth, R (2012) brought a new definition, cheap leader, to someone who lack of leadership and abuse of power, à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
âcheap leader is flexible disposition, varying as fortune and circumstances dictate; cheap leaders exist at every level of the organizationà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã (p. 44). Whereas effective leadership advances the common good, cheap leadership is motivated by self-benefit and lust to the power. In addition to manufacturing third-party threats, favorites and reliance on reward power and coercive power identify the cheap leader. Cheap leaders adhere to delegate to others the enactment of unpopular measures and keep in hands the distribution of favors. This conclusion was based on the contention that personal approval from another individual can be a very strong reward, while the threat of rejection can be a very strong form of coercion. (Knuth, R, 2012, p. 45) For expert and referent power, although positive power has benefit to the organization, but the negative of such power cannot be ignored. There are situations in which expert and referent power can take negative forms. For example, while a supervisor may possess superior knowledge about a certain facet of his or her job, possessing such knowledge does not necessarily mean that it will be put to use in a way that will benefit his or her subordinates. On the contrary, that supervisors knowledge may be used in such a fashion (i.e. negative expert power) that strictly benefits him or herself, resulting in resistance to the influence attempt. Negative referent power is said to occur when a supervisor who is disliked or not identified with by his or her subordinates attempts to utilize social power. In such situations, reactance or doing the opposite of what the supervisor requests is likely to occur given his or her subordina tes view him or her as being unattractive or unappealing. (Knuth, R, 2012, p. 46) These managers also cause many damages to the organization. At any level of the organization, cheap leadership has disaffection and dysfunction as its most common byproducts. Cheap leaders intentionally sow the seeds of divisiveness when they create an us-versus-them environment. The prominent fruit of these seeds is mistrust, which often spreads uncontrollably and unpredictably throughout the organization, fostering resentment, rumor, and gossip. The constricted communication that ensues reduces opportunities for employees to participate and demonstrate initiative, causing individuals to feel alienated from the work and the work place. Often, even within fundamentally healthy organizations, there is only a hairs breadth between functionality and dysfunctionality; frequently, cheap leadership provides the additional weight that tips the organization into dysfunctionality. (Knuth, R, 2012, p. 47) Power Management. It is important for managers and organizations to know how to managing power and how to use their power effectively. McManus, J (2013) provides several helps suggestions for managers to know the way to maintaining and managing power. The first opinion is power sharing. McManus, J (2013) states that à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
âPower sharing is a strategy for resolving difference of opinions over who should have the powerà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã (p. 29). Instead of fighting over who should have power over whom, power sharing relies upon the joint exercise of power. Power sharing can take the form of granting complete independence and allowing a minority group to form its own sovereign nation state. Power sharing also can be more integrative. Governance is handled by leaders from each group who work jointly and cooperatively to make decisions and resolve conflicts. (McManus, J, 2013, p. 31) The second opinion is about maintaining power. McManus, J (2013) points out, à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
âthe purpose of power is to maintain itself and to extend itselfà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã (p. 31). The ruler must make use of any form of manipulation, deceit, and even murder to achieve his ends. People in power are seldom challenged or given bad news, and even when challenged, they have a tendency to reject the discrepant information. It is no wonder, then, that changing circumstances often produce, with some lag, a dynamic that causes those in power to lose that power. To avoid losing power, managers (or leaders) should be sensitive to subtle changes in the political, economic and social environment, and understand how a particular management style, or a particular set of actions jeopardize their position and power base. (McManus, J, 2013, p. 31) The third suggestion is about managing conflict. Conflict could be argued that a managers view of the cause of conflict is encouraged by the perspective offered by the classical theory which is largely related to the breakdown of formal authority l inked to legitimate power and the need for measures to maintain such power and restore it when need be. Conflict is identified as abnormal behavior and therefore is likely to result in punishment for the perpetrators of deviant behavior. In some respects this supports the view that management is based on a unitary view which carries with it the expectations that everyone within the organization shares the same view, will work together as a team, acknowledge the legitimacy of hierarchy and respect senior management. Anything which appears to interfere with this view is considered bad for business and is dealt with according to the rules, procedures, customs and conventions which exist within a particular organization. Conclusion. Power and organizations are mutual exclusive in todayà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â ¢s business environment. The development and normal operation of organizations rely on power heavily. If managers have necessary knowledge about what power is and how to use it effectiv ely, the power would bring positive effect to the organization. However, the power also contains several risks and crisis to the organization, because the positive effect of the power to the organization is based on the correct use; if managersà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã¢â ¢ abuse of the power, the organization may face serious problems. So, power is a Pandora box for both managers and organization, the organizational power is a decision-making exercise for which the managers have to place organizational interests above personal interests. It is only when the managers lead well that personnel will follow enthusiastically and the organization will develop continuously. Reference Draft. (2012). Organizational Theory and Design. South-Western Cengage Learning. Elias, S. (2008). Fifty years of influence in the workplace. Journal of Management History, 14(3), 267-283. doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17511340810880634 Fairholm, G. W. (2009). Organizational Power Politics. Santa Barbara, CA, USA: ABC-CLIO. Retrieved from https://www.ebrary.com Knuth, R. (2012). The negative uses of power. Principal Leadership, 5(3), 44-49. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/233345352?accountid=12085 McManus, J. (2013). Managing with POWER. Management Services, 50(4), 29-34. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/234319701?accountid=12085 Singh, A. (2009). Organizational Power in Perspective. Leadership Management In Engineering, 9(4), 165-176. Retrieved from: https://rx9vh3hy4r.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.comrft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journalrft.genre=articlerft.atitle=Organizational+Power+in+Perspectiverft.jtitle=Leadership+and+Management+in+Engineeringrft.date=2009-10-01rft.pub=American+Society+of+Civil+Engineersrft.issn=1532-6748rft.eissn=1943-5630rft.volume=9rft.issue=4rft.spage=165rft.epage=176rft_id=info:doi/10.1061%2F%28ASCE%29LM. 1943-5630.0000018rft.externalDocID=10_1061_ASCE_LM_1943_5630_0000018paramdict=en-US Donââ¬â¢t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Organisational Power" essay for you Create order
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Public policy help shaped the world we live in today. It...
Public policy help shaped the world we live in today. It is formed at the federal level to resolve problems created throughout the United States to standardize the way business can be conducted and to protect the working people, with their jobs, with their wages, and the conditions they work in. It provides the solution to the problems we faced in America and keeps our government involved with all the citizens of the United States of America. Public policy is created by the American system of government to improve the way the American citizens live their lives. One way public policy has helped shape the way America is today is through Labor laws. Before a public policy is formed or implemented, there has to be a problem with theâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦Back then, it was illegal for workers to create unions and strikes but now the right to strike is taken as a given. With many more instances of strikes and unions forming throughout the years, and many injuries and deaths paved a way for future workers, in which the Wagner Act was passed. The Wagner Act was created to protect the workers to form unions and to debate over wages, hours, and terms and conditions of work, therefore allowing them to take part in strikes to in support of their demands. The Supreme Court initially declared the Act unconstitutional but then reversed its decision in 1937 in the case: National Labor Relations Board v. Jones Laughlin Steel Corporation. Chief Justice Huges delivered the opinion of the Court stating, ââ¬Å"The theory of the Act is that free opportunity for negotiation with accredited representatives of employees is likely to prom ote industrial peace, and may bring about the adjustments and agreements which the Act, in itself, does not attempt to compel.â⬠The Wagner Act gave rise to unions around the country. Unions gained so much power throughout the years to the point that received wages and benefits so high that it became detrimental to the cause. General Motors for example was eventually forced to move factories to other countries or shut them down all together because they were no longer able to afford to pay the wages andShow MoreRelated Paper761 Words à |à 4 Pages In the 1790s members of the industry in both Paris and London were working on inventions to try to mechanise paper-making. In England John Dickenson produced the cylinder machine that was operational by 1809. Although useful for smaller enterprises, this lacked the large scale potential of the machine resulting from the invention of Nicholas-Louis Robert in Paris, which had a more complicated incubation period. The last of the early improvements to this machine were financed by the Fourdrinier brothersRead MoreReflection Paper836 Words à |à 4 Pagesand integ rating quotes. Before my papers were full of ââ¬Å"she saidâ⬠and ââ¬Å"she would sayâ⬠; which was boring and showed poor ability to lengthen my word choice. I also had a tendency to just throw quotes in and not integrate it into my writings. By the end of my English 101 class my papers began to present with words like ââ¬Å"the author notedâ⬠, or ââ¬Å"she statedâ⬠along with many other word choices and proper ways of using quotes. Here is an example from my final research paper: ââ¬Å"Author Stephanie Jackson, a certifiedRead MoreOn Behalf of Paper1685 Words à |à 7 PagesFor centuries, people have read and learned on paper. It has loyally served man as the ideal vehicle for conveying our thoughts, feelings, and ideas. In recent years, an opponent has risen: computers. The computer brought the world to our fingertips, to the palm of our hands, but is this competitor superior? Should we drop the written and printed empire that had dominated and quenched our thirst for knowledge for so long? Paper has served an ever-changing world well, constantly adapting and morphingRead MoreReflection Paper1317 Words à |à 6 Pagesused to struggle with forming my thoughts into writing, let alone a paper. I was never confident with what I wrote. My writing had no greater purpose other than the assignment. My writing process included: writing my paper, proofreading it, and turning it in. Once the paper left my hands, it also left my mind. Throughout this course we worked with others, visited the writing lab, wrote critiques, and we were able to revise our papers. I believe that all of this is has caused me to grow greatly as aRead More History of Paper1180 Words à |à 5 Pages The first historical mention of paper is 104 A.D. in China. The Empress of China at that time loved books and wanted to have a lot of them made. At the time everything was written on silk scrolls which were extremely expensive and time consuming to make. She wanted something cheaper and easier to use and so she asked one of her servants, a gentleman by the name of Tsi Lun to come up with an alternative. He worked for over nine years experimenting with different things and finally came up with hempRead MoreImportance Of Writing Paper870 Words à |à 4 Pages Writing papers have not always been my favorite thing to do. The main reason why I detested writing papers, was because I considered my English horrible. English is not my native language and learning it was difficult i n my opinion. Especially, when as a child the only place where you could speak English was at school. Other than that, the only language I was allowed to speak at home was Spanish. Throughout the years I eventually got the hang of it, and at the beginning of fourth grade, I was placedRead MoreCharacteristics And Quality Of A Paper1062 Words à |à 5 PagesChoosing the right paper is more complex and it requires more work than just picking any expensive sheet and keeping your fingers crossed. To choose the right paper, you should not choose one based on the highest quality available, or the most expensive one. Instead, you should choose your paper based on the paper size options, durability, finishing, color, the paper weight, price, availability, opacity, and brightness. To choose between the function and quality of a paper is not very easy. It isRead MoreSelf-Reflective Paper 838 Words à |à 3 Pagesfixed. Although it was a process, I finally got around to clearly understanding what the objectives were for English 1302 and how to apply them to my papers for this course. The first objective that is given in the syllabus is to meet the requirement of 20 pages total by the end of the course. The objective includes being able to revise and edit papers in a proper fashion. There was a time where revising and editing did not seem important, however, it can make a significant difference in a grade.Read MoreRecycling Waste Paper11594 Words à |à 47 PagesPaper recyclingà is the process of recovering waste paper and remaking it into new paper products. There are three categories of paper that can be used as feedstocks for making recycled paper: mill broke, pre-consumer waste, and post-consumer waste.[1]à Mill brokeà is paper trimmings and other paper scrap from the manufacture of paper, and is recycled internally in aà paper mill.à Pre-consumer wasteà is material which left the paper mill but was discarded before it was ready for consumer use.à Post-consumerà wasteRead MoreCarabao Grass Paper17210 Words à |à 69 PagesINTRODUCTION History Paper is believed to have originated in China sometime around A.D. 105. Its invention is credited to a Chinese artisan by the name of Tsai-Lun. Tsai Lun created the first type of paper by mixing macerated cellulose fiber with water. His method was simple. He beat rags to a pulp and diluted this with lots of water. He then drained the resultant mixture through a form of a sieve. The fibers matted together and, when it dried, formed what we know now as paper. This papermaking process
Monday, December 9, 2019
Family and Cousin free essay sample
Human behavior can be explored by taking a look at the different aspects of a personââ¬â¢s life. These aspects include the biological, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual. These aspects can help social workers better understand the background history of a personââ¬â¢s life and gather information in order to do an accurate assessment of a person. This paper does not intend to make an assessment but itââ¬â¢s rather an informative paper in order to discover and understand the various systems of a personââ¬â¢s life. Furthermore this paper will also focus on how these systems interact with one another. I chose to do this paper on my cousin who just became a mother and she is currently learning how to adapt to her new way of life. I think she is in an interesting stage in her life and that is also why I chose her. My cousin and I are only a year apart in age and she chose a different path from the one that is expected after she graduated from high school. She decided not to go to college and began to work doing random retail jobs until she found a permanent job as a hostess. We are so different now but a few years ago we did get along and had a lot of things in common. Her relationship with her mother has also changed and now that my cousin is a mother, they seem to understand each other better. BIO-PHYSICAL My cousinââ¬â¢s name is Carla Sanchez and she is twenty two years old and the youngest of three. She is 5ââ¬â¢5 and before she had the baby she had lost so much weight but now she regained some of that weight back. She has dark long hair and dark brown eyes. Before she became pregnant she fell in love with her babyââ¬â¢s father and lost a lot of weight. During her teenage years she was not as determined to lose weight as she was when she was nineteen when she met her significant other. During her pregnancy her body went through some physical changes. She did not have impulsive cravings and she ate the foods she normally eats but in larger portions. She gained around sixty pounds and now she looks like the way she did before she lost the weight. Her weight when she was a younger child before the teenage years resembles that of her mother. My aunt had an average weight because she was not skinny but she was not overweight either. My cousinââ¬â¢s weight then was average like her motherââ¬â¢s because due to the genes that were passed down to her through her mother. My cousinââ¬â¢s baby is a girl and looks more like her father but she has my cousinââ¬â¢s straight hair. Now that it has been several weeks after childbirth my cousin plans and is determined to lose the weight again. She looks like her mother and both have a healthy mother and daughter relationship. She is very open-minded and very out spoken. Her mother is also an open-minded person. According to the biological determinism theory it is evident that a personââ¬â¢s personality and physical appearance is embedded into a child from birth trough genetics. My cousinââ¬â¢s parents divorced when she was a young child and therefore she has always been close to her mother and that is why my aunt has been able to greatly influence my cousinââ¬â¢s behavior. Most of her life she has been more attached to her mother. à According to Eriksonââ¬â¢s theories of psychological development my cousin is in the intimacy versus isolation stage. My cousinââ¬â¢s childhood and teenage years have passed by. All that is left of her childhood and teenage years are memories. She began working at restaurants during her high school years and has stayed with that career. She has gone from being a waitress when she was sixteen to a hostess. However she is thinking of going back to school because she was her daughter to look up to her when her daughter is older. My cousin did not get married and she is not living with her boyfriend. She lives at home with her baby and her mother. All her time is devoted to her baby however there have been times when she is overwhelmed with the task of raising a child and her mother helps her so that she can at least have some time to rest. According to Paiget my cousin is at the stage four which is based on formal operations. At this level problems are now approached using logic, reason and combinational thought. Also individuals at this stage with formal operations can think about their own thoughts, feelings and think about thinking. I think that at this point Paiget is focusing on how we can look back at our past and reflect. My cousin is able to do this now and she now reflects on how her mother raised her so that she can raise her daughter the same way. My cousin constantly worries whether or not she is raising her child in a proper way or to the extent that it is expected of a mother to raise her child. She lives with her mother and her mother helps her by giving her advice from how to comfort the child to how to give the baby a bath. My cousinââ¬â¢s friend had her baby before my cousin and when her friend met my cousinââ¬â¢s child she was also giving her advice on hoe to take care of the baby. She is acquiring knowledge on how to raise her child from people such as her mother that have had years of experience raising children. Her friend told her that she worries to whether she is taking care of her baby the right way. My cousin has to endure a psychological as well as physical adaptation. Paiget describes adaptation as the process by which structures of the mind develop over time to achieve a better fit with the environment and external reality. My cousin is still eating food in large portions as she did when she was pregnant but now she is drinking more milk because she chose to breastfeed her baby. Therefore she keeps gaining weight and is also stressed out. As far as her mental state she is stressed and cannot focus on herself because she is constantly thinking about the well-being of her baby. She worries just as much as other mothers do because she wants her baby to be happy. She said that her baby seems to be cranky most of the time and basically she is dedicating all her time to comfort the baby. My cousin had learned to adapt to her new role as a mother and she will need to keep up as the baby goes through different stages of her life. SOCIAL She has not been working since July and her social life is not as it used to be before she had the baby. However she was visited by her godparents and many friends when she brought the baby home. They have showered the baby with gifts and seeing how other people have acted towards the baby makes her happy. My cousin is trying her best to imitate her mother because she loves her mother and wants to follow her advice so that she can raise a happy child. According to the social learning theory behaviors are mediated by thoughts, expectations as well as emotions and stresses the importance of observational learning or modeling. In my cousinââ¬â¢s case she sees her mom as a model mom that she wants to imitate. As far as I know my aunt really sacrificed a lot so that my cousinââ¬â¢s could have a better life than the one she had. I have seen how selfless my aunt has been especially with my cousin Carla because she is the youngest one. My cousin wants the approval of her mother in everything she does because she has been very attached to my aunt. Her brother and sister live far away from them. My cousin has kept in touch with her fellow co-workers and many of them came to visit her when she brought the baby home. One of her friends who is a teacher and brought her a huge box of pampers. He also gave her some parenting advice because he, as a father of three, thinks that he has had enough experience with kids. He was very happy to see the baby and many of her friends came to see the baby as well. Even though my cousin has not gone out since she gave birth in November 30th, she has had her friends come over to her place to see the baby. However her weeks have turned into the same routine of just staying at home to take care of her baby. The babyââ¬â¢s father also visits her but not too often because their relationship is not in good standing. My cousin is trying to be the mother that society expects her to be but most importantly she is trying to imitate her own mother. My aunt is a fervent believer in the Catholic faith and she raised her children in the same faith as she was raised in. All of her three children were baptized, did the communions and attended mass on Sundays. Until this day my aunt does not miss a mass at her local church. Her children however have not been as devoted as my aunt has been. My cousin Carla stop attending church after her teenage years when she graduated from high school and spent her weekends working. However my aunt always tries to make sure that my cousin does not loose her faith. According to James V. Fowlerââ¬â¢s theory of faith development my cousin is at the stage 5 which is the individuative-reflective faith. In this stage young adults question the beliefs and stories they have received from family, friends and other social groups. My cousin does not believe everything that my aunt was taught about Catholicism. For example my cousin did not get married and decided to raise a child as a single mother. My aunt did not approve of this because she was taught that a woman must be a virgin until she gets married. Her other daughter moved in with her boyfriend and then got married. My aunt did not approve of this either. My aunt believes that salvation is obtained by following the churchââ¬â¢s sacraments but my cousin believes that no one really knows how to obtain salvation. She also thinks that God is everywhere and therefore she does not need to attend mass every Sunday. My aunt was raised in a very religious home and in her native country religion plays an important role in life but her children who were raised in the United States have found a way to practice their religion however way they think is the proper way. My cousin plans to baptize her daughter and she has picked the godparents already. CULTURE My family is from Ecuador which is in Latin America so that makes us part of the Latino community. My cousin Carla was born in New Jersey. She had to learn about the Ecuadorian culture and the American culture. When she was a kid my aunt would travel with her and her other siblings to Ecuador so that they could visit their grandmother and learn their cultural roots. My cousin had to learn both languages English and Spanish. She now knows them fluently and this has helped her a lot because she was able to make a lot of friends. In Ecuador gender roles are so delineated. Men are expected to work and women are expected to stay at home raising the children. It is not common for females to work outside the home. Most females graduate from high school and after high school they start raising families. My cousin knows both cultures but since she was born and raised in the United States she identifies more with the American culture. When her baby gets older she expects to go back to work and even go back to school so that she can be able to provide a better living for both. She is a single mother but has learned a lot from her mother who got divorced from her husband when my cousin was a young child. In conclusion these several aspects of a personââ¬â¢s life help us understand how each one relates to the other and how they affect human behavior. Human behavior can be affected by the people we associate with and by the culture we are raised in as well as other factors. These several theories described in this paper are very helpful to understand why a person behaves a certain way.
Monday, December 2, 2019
Religion and Film
For a long time, studies linking religion and films have focused on describing the fidelity of films to religious texts, or their worth as tools in religious ministries and missions. In reality, films have been used to either portray religion as it was in the past, is currently or is expected to be in the future. Additionally, religious entities have used films to further their belief while some entities use films to criticize religion. Either way, the link is undeniable.Advertising We will write a custom book review sample on Religion and Film specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In Ostwalt (1998), the author notes how watching the Seventh seal opened him to the idea of suing films as an extension in teaching religion. This basically affirms the existence of a factual link between religion and films worth using in expounding on religious issues to learners. The author highlights a number of benefits in using films can be used in teac hing religion within classroom settings. These include student empowerment, instructiveness and motivation. He further notes that there quite a significant number of films which treat religion in a manner which elicits debate and as such open an avenue for evaluation of religion in depth (Ostwalt, 1998). For instance, he cites the Last Temptation of Christ, Jesus of Montreal, as well as the Scarlet Letter, among others (Ostwalt, 1998). Even then, there is no love lost between films and religion; some implicitly advance the role of religion in social well-being. Itââ¬â¢s not only Ostwalt who acknowledges the link between religion and films, Lindvall (2004) provides a more detailed coverage of the relationship between religion and films. In the research, Lindvall, a lecturer at Duke Divinity School highlights how religion has been treated in films and vice-versa. From the satirical portrayals of the biblical stories in films, the use of films to represent contemporary religions, th e representation of Roman Catholics and the Legion of Decency in films, as well as use of films to criticize some religious practices considered oppressive in the ancient and modern times (Lindvall, 2004). In the article, the author notes how film scholars have come to terms with the importance of religion in engineering the religious landscape that dots films. The author sites the films that take viewers through the past century exhibitions and the role that religion played in the same. Religious extremism, religious sadists, and use of religion as tool for power are among the most commonly highlighted themes in the films. The author further highlights the undeniable and predominant perception of religion in films from a negative and hostile point of view (Lindvall, 2004). It is noted that religion as a subject has received harsh treatment in various films which at times fail to portrayal religion as it rather opting to create a dinosaur out of cat just to meet its entertainment th resholds.Advertising Looking for book review on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The hard reality though, is the fact that they ultimately elicit lots of discussion with respect to its portrayal of religion. It is the aftermath of such movies, he cites, that has seen some religions like Islam throwing in strong sentiments at any movie that attempts to puts spots to its credibility (Lindvall, 2004). However, Christian and contemporary religions have remained open to thrashing, ridicule and in some cases furtherance within a number of films. In conclusion, itââ¬â¢s important to note that both authors converge to one point, various films are intertwined to religion and impact on the fundamentals of the religion they address. The role of religion in film creation and the role of films in religion are worth studying in addition to providing an avenue for debates and discussion of religion. As Ostwalt (1998) pu ts, films elicit hot debates that help students and the general public delve deeper into understanding religion. References Lindvall, T. (2004). Religion and Film. Part I: History and Criticism. Communication Research Trends, 23 (4-7), pp. 2-44. Ostwalt, C. (1998). Religion and Popular Movies. Journal of Religion and Film, 2(3) This book review on Religion and Film was written and submitted by user Jaxton Wolfe to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
How can children become leaders of their own learning Essays
How can children become leaders of their own learning Essays How can children become leaders of their own learning Essay How can children become leaders of their own learning Essay Play is considered to be a important portion of a kid s development, non merely of accomplishments but besides their character. It is a natural procedure. These new accomplishments will be priceless to a kid when they grow up, the things that they learn through drama are the footing of the accomplishments they will necessitate in future scenes, when they move on to secondary school and even in a occupation. Even though kids learn whilst playing it is non evident to the kid or even to many grownups as it is one of the most common characteristics in a kid s mundane life. However, the fact that drama does non necessitate to be worked at, that it comes so of course, seems to do it less valued by society than other activities particularly created for larning. As the benefits of drama do non look evident many parents are in fact tempted to forestall kids from playing and wasting clip ( Dixon 2010 ) , peculiarly during clip in school. There are some really of import points that need to be considered when believing about a kid at drama. A kid is allowed to be in charge when they play, it is a child-lead activity, and usually they have no control what so of all time, they are invariably being told what they should and should nt make but during drama, they can take. Play is really good for learning kids about where they come from and giving them more information about the universe, they are able to research and detect, they can set any theories they may already hold to the trial. Play is besides a good tool for constructing up self-pride, it is good for kids to make activities they know they are good at and it is more likely to keep their involvement. Play is non merely something that is witnessed in kids but within the carnal land every bit good. For illustration, many, if non all, immature animate beings learn through drama, king of beasts greenhorns pattern their hunting technique, immature birds swoop through the air, they are all critical accomplishments learnt through drama. If this is true for animate beings so it could besides be for human kids ( Dixon, 2010 ) . Types of Play Harmonizing to the consequences of a survey by Mildred Parten carried out in the 1920s there are six different types of drama ( Psyblog, 2008 ) . During unoccupied play the kid is comparatively stationary, they make some motion but non with any evident intent. This manner of drama is non often seen. Lone drama involves a kid being wholly engrossed in their ain activity and does nt detect any other kids, this type of drama is most normally seen in kids aged two and three old ages old. During looker-on play a kid takes an involvement in what another kid is making but will non take part, the most they may make is inquire inquiries, they prefer to watch. Parallel drama involves one kid copying another ; e.g. both kids play with the same plaything, but will non really play together. In associatory drama the kids become more interested in one another. This type of drama is the first to affect strong societal interaction. The 6th type of drama is concerted drama, this involves the kids s drama holding some kind of end and it is frequently seen that kids will take on functions and move out narratives together. Parten tended to happen that kids would switch between the different types of drama but largely would take portion in the last two instead than the other four. This may be because the concluding two types involve more interaction than the others ( Psyblog, 2008 ) . The first four types of drama can be put into the class of non-social drama, as there is small or no direct interaction. It is frequently considered that it is less good than societal drama, as it is regarded as the least mature degree of drama ( Luckey and Farbes, 2005 ) . However, I would wish to reason that, in fact, non-social drama besides has many benefits: There is less hazard of a kid being singled out because they can non make something every bit good as other kids and accordingly experience inadequate. Children sometimes find it easier to play entirely, it releases them from the socially and self-imposed force per unit areas ( Luckey and Farbes, 2005 ) they may experience when in the company of others. Intra personal activities allow kids the clip to work things out by themselves and gives them greater control over the pick of activity. Therefore we should take note of the quality of societal interactions when they occur instead than worrying about how frequently they happen. The manner that kids develop and larn through drama has been investigated by many theoreticians and influenced paperss used in the instruction of kids. Theorists In order to measure the impact of drama on the acquisition of kids it is of import to look into the thoughts about kids s cognitive development. Both, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, have contributed theories that have been influential in instruction. Both support the thought of constructivism: Constructivism is a manner of instruction and acquisition that is based on the premiss that knowledge is a consequence of mental building , where kids fit together what they already know to any new information they take in. It is believed by constructivists that a kid s acquisition is non merely influenced by what they already know or believe but besides by which context it is taught in. In add-on the two theoreticians believe that any societal influences on kids greatly affects their cognitive development. However, apart from this the two theoretician s cardinal thoughts were rather different. While Piaget believed that development was something that took topographic point after the acquisition procedure, harmonizing to Vygotsky development and acquisition occurred in the contrary order. Besides, although Piaget and Vygotsky both felt that kids learnt through interactions with their milieus, merely Vygotsky believed that the input from other people had any importance. In Piaget s theory he talks of four chief stages of development, known as the four-stage theory, conducted after detecting his ain kids. The four phases consisted of: The sensorimotor phase. This involved kids from birth to around 18-24 months. Piaget s theory provinces that kids at this age are merely cognizant of their esthesiss ; intending they tend to see the universe through savoring things, listening and touching. The pre-operational phase involved kids from around 18-24 months up to about seven old ages, he claimed that at this phase in a kid s life they are able to treat words, images and new constructs but they are unable to make anything with them. The concrete operations stage involved kids from the ages of seven to twelve, Piaget felt that kids gained the ability to travel about and manipulate objects but merely if they were concrete. The formal operations phase included kids from 12 upwards. Piaget claims that kids are now able to believe in an abstract manner, he believed that it was from around this age that kids begin to believe more like grownups ( Atherton, 2010 ) . In add-on Piaget besides theorised on Adaptation and Development. The Constructivist theory looked at the development of a kid s cognitive accomplishments and the three cardinal procedures that were involved in it. The three procedures were Assimilation: the engagement of new thoughts and cognition into the cognition and apprehension that already existed, Adjustment: a alteration in mental constructions that are needed in order to take on more information Equilibrium: a balance between assimilation and adjustment. When kids experience something new the balance between assimilation and adjustment is non equal, non until they are able to absorb and suit the new information they were faced with will the kid be able to achieve a balance ( Atherton, 2010 ) . Vygotsky s position was that there are no set phases in development at all. The first portion of Vygotsky s theory negotiations of private address , where kids talk to themselves. Vygotsky felt this was a really of import facet as it allowed kids to believe things through and work things out, leting them to come to a decision or think of a solution to a job. Even as grownups a signifier of private address exists. The 2nd portion of Vygotsky s theory is the zone of proximal development. This can be defined as being the difference between what a kid knows and what cognition can be attained with the aid and counsel of person who already has knowledge on the topic. Vygotsky s theory suggested that problem-solving undertakings could be split into three subdivisions: Those that are merely completed by the kid with no engagement of others, Undertakings that can non be completed even if the kid receives aid and The undertakings that can be completed by the kid if they receive aid, this is known as aided public presentation . By deriving counsel from instructors, parents and other kids who have prior cognition of certain countries kids will finally be able to organize their ain thoughts and hold on the constructs for themselves without the aid of others. Bruner built on Vygotsky s zone of proximal development by presenting so called staging . Scaffolding can be described as the aid given to a kid that supports their acquisition, merely as scaffolding around a edifice can be removed when it is no longer needed so excessively can the assist given to a kid. When the kid has been shown how to finish a undertaking they are able to make it by themselves and there is no longer a demand for scaffolding ( Davison, 2006 ) . Within a school system, a good illustration of Piaget s theory could be found in a pre-school or early old ages puting. Piaget positions kids in these early old ages as being in the pre-operational phase, hence, it is hence good to talk to kids at this early phase from their point of position as they are under the feeling of any experiences they have as being the lone experience. Vygotsky s theory would be more suited in a cardinal phase 1 scene where pupils have already formed their ain thoughts and the kids are by and large at different degrees of acquisition ( Davison, 2006 ) . Models The aforesaid theoreticians have had an influence on the Early Years Foundation Stage ( 2008 ) , which is used to back up and develop kids s acquisition from birth to five old ages. The EYFS pulls together the paperss Birth to three affairs ( 2002 ) , curriculum counsel for the foundation phase ( 2000 ) and the national criterions for under 8 s Daycare and childminding ( 2003 ) in able to guarantee that there is good pattern across the age scope. From September 2008 all constitutions that offer attention to kids between and including those ages have been working to the same model and criterions therein. Childs are recognised, by the model, as persons. It includes 4 subjects and is delivered through well-planned drama activities. Practitioners are able to assist kids to develop new accomplishments through drama experiences and they will be able buttocks which skills each kid needs to develop further and where they may necessitate support in their acquisition. The EYFS focuses more on the different phases of development instead than on age and it non merely allows kids to research things for themselves inside but besides encourages the add-on of an out-of-door infinite where the kids are merely every bit free to develop their accomplishments. Many scenes have similar activities for the kids in out-of-door countries as they do indoors but on a larger graduated table. Another facet was the debut of key workers , who are people who get to cognize a peculiar kid and their parents, through working with the kid and assisting them to develop new accomplishments one to one. The EYFS is a model that is used in all early old ages scenes, so no affair where a kid is being cared for or educated, the practicians will all be following the same model and the kids are able to develop and larn through drama based activities. The activities the kids are able to make will supply them with the accomplishments necessary to finish, or at least work towards, the early acquisition ends that are set out in the undermentioned countries of acquisition: Personal Social Emotional Development, Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy, Communication Language and Literacy, Physical Development, Creative Development and Knowledge and Understanding of the World. Every country is viewed as equal to the others and there is frequently an convergence between the countries in the activities the kids do. For illustration, a function drama country set up in a schoolroom will let the kids to be originative but there will besides be facets of mathematics and literacy. If the function drama country is set up as a store for illustration kids can larn about how to number money and give alteration, how many points person wishes to purchase. They will besides be surrounded by linguistic communication used within a store every bit good as Numberss. The sand and H2O trays that are frequently seen within schoolrooms are another good illustration. They allow the kids to construct things, appealing to their originative nature every bit good as allowing them explore and see what happens when they put sand or H2O into a container, or even if they mix them together. So there is rather a big cross-over of countries within each activity. Within the EYFS document the countries are split into phases of development and the practicians are able to look at any resources needed or any learning chances for the single kids in the category depending on at which phase each kid is. It besides helps the practician to understand how they can integrate drama in the schoolroom and the kids s acquisition. The EYFS encourages, parents, instructors and carers, plus other early old ages scenes to work together in order for the kids to make their full potency. The parents and carers are hence able to give some input on how their kid is developing. If kids have disablements or particular educational demands so there is information within the EYFS to enable practicians to provide for those demands and to develop specific activities to assist those kids to come on. Own Experience My Experience has spanned across three scenes, which on first sing seem really different but when examined more closely are non so dissimilar. The first scene was a school in the town of Speyer in Germany. On reaching my first observations were of the environment. As I entered the schoolroom I noticed the deficiency of coloring material. There were some shows of the kids s work but nil that the kids could see, no synergistic shows for illustration. The tabular arraies were set out in a U form with the instructors desk at the forepart, there was no rug country, no function play country, no book country or even any books and no plaything or anything for the kids to play with. The lessons were really structured with the kids holding set times for things like Maths and ( in their instance ) German lessons ; they besides had to larn English and handwriting accomplishments with all activities being initiated by the instructor. The kids got 3 15minute interruptions within the twenty-four hours and this was the lone clip the kids had to play. Even at that age the kids all seemed quite mature and most of them took themselves to and from school, none of parents seemed to of all time come in the edifice. There was a batch of equipment for the kids to utilize outside but there was a definite divide between drama and acquisition and in my position the kids were in no manner leaders of their ain acquisition unless exterior. The 2nd scene was a private school in Lincolnshire. The categories were comparatively little and consisted of 20 kids at the most. The school was really inviting, colorful and bright. The schoolroom had colorful shows of the kids s work and besides synergistic shows of things related to the subject that the kids were larning approximately. There was a function drama country that was changed every term with costumes so the kids could acquire into character, a book corner and games and playthings for the kids to play with. The kids did acquire a batch of chance to play and detect new things but the construction was surely non one I would hold described as being free-flow , nor do I believe the kids led their ain acquisition, all the activities were chosen by the instructor. In add-on, the kids had to read an Oxford reading tree book everyday, which they had no pick over. They besides had structured maths lessons. The activities they did in the afternoon ranged from picture, doing theoretical accounts and pulling. Occasionally a group of kids was chosen to play in the function drama country but they were non asked who would wish to play in it, they were told who would be playing in it depending on who had non already had a spell. Often the kids enjoyed the freedom of pick and learning things for themselves, they felt a great accomplishment if they could state you facts they had merely read in a book or if they completed a mystifier. Watching the kids at drama revealed features that were non so evident when they were sitting at their desks. I was able to prosecute in conversation with the kids and larn about what interested them. I remember holding a conversation with one small male child who was really interested in history and sharks, he wanted to read me a book all about sharks even though he usually hated reading, this book nevertheless was about something that truly interested him and so h e became engaged in reading. For this kid it may hold been more good to hold more pick, particularly in footings of literacy. The 3rd school I have visited was really different from the first two in that it promoted drama and kids being leaders of their ain acquisition. In the schoolroom there were tonss of countries for the kids to travel to and play in, there were tonss of things for them to detect and research. They had approximately five or ten proceedingss input as a whole category for phonics and so they were able to take what they wished to make. At some point during the twenty-four hours there would be a focussed activity with the instructor that all the kids had to finish but it was done in little groups so as non to interrupt the kids s drama. If the kids were interested in anything in the room they were free to entree it, they could play on the computing machines, in the building country, and they could paint, play in the sand or H2O or do theoretical accounts. The kids were given a batch of pick. All the picks the covered countries mentioned within the EYFS. Sand and H2O countries covered chiefl y the PSRN facet for illustration, whilst the building country covered the PSRN and CD. Other countries were possibly more obvious in the subdivisions they covered. For illustration, they had a subdivision with merely graduated tables and swayers and rug figure squares, this subdivision was less often used than the other countries. Possibly it was more obvious to the kids that this was a maths subdivision and it was more like making work. When given a pick between what they saw as work and what they saw as drama, they would take drama. In making so, nevertheless, the kids were still larning but non in an obvious manner, non even to a batch of grownups and most of the subdivisions covered more than one facet in the EYFS. It was interesting seeing the different types of drama in action and the accomplishments being learnt. The information gained by the instructor and TA during drama was used in the planning so any involvements the kids had could be catered for, or if any kids needed a small aid developing certain accomplishments so the necessary commissariats could be made, hence, even though the activities the kids could make had been carefully thought out by the instructor the kids still had some input as their involvements were taken into history when planning for those activities. So in a unit of ammunition a turn manner it is possible to state that the kids were being leaders if their ain acquisition as they had an impact on how they learnt. My scope of experiences has apparently gone from one terminal of the graduated table to the other. In the private school a formal attack is their preferable method of learning. The structured attack nevertheless may be strongly influenced by society and the parents. Parents are paying for their kids to go to the school and do non anticipate to see their kids playing all twenty-four hours, like most people they would non be able to see the benefits. Therefore, a batch of force per unit area is put on the school and the instructors to present good consequences and in a familiar manner. In that peculiar country of the state the 11plus is still present so the parents, once more, expect their kids to make good as they are paying for the tuition. It is difficult to state hence, whether the school is bound by force per unit areas of society and parents or if they believe that this is the best manner of learning. The concluding school, nevertheless, has embraced the free-flow method of instr uction, which is greatly received by the kids and apparently accepted by the parents. After detecting the kids, nevertheless, I noticed that a batch of them will lodge to one or two countries of the schoolroom so they are possibly non developing as many accomplishments as the kids who spend a good sum of clip in each country, possibly for these kids it would be more good to hold them making at least some structured activities. On first reading it seems that the German system is the most structured but we have to see the age scope. The kids in Germany start school between the ages of five and half and six and a half. This would be the equivalent to the start of cardinal phase 1 in England. Before kids in Germany start in class 1 they are in kindergarten from around two or three old ages of age. During their clip there they are capable to play activities and really small else, it has been defined as the passage from place life to a more formal manner of schooling where the kids are taught or encouraged to develop basic accomplishments and cognition through drama and through the societal interactions with others. When sing this so it would look that in this state we are inquiring more of our kids at an earlier age than in other states. The function of the practician in a drama based schoolroom is possibly non every bit evident as in a more formal scene. It is, nevertheless, rather a hard function and inquiries are frequently asked over whether or non the instructor should step in in drama or if the kids should be left to it. Should the instructor articulation in, and promote? The function of the practician in this sense is rather difficult to find. It is more clear, nevertheless in other facets, the instructor is able to detect the kids during drama, to acquire a sense of their character and the accomplishments they already have, they are able to larn what the kid is interested in and, possibly merely as significantly, what they are non interested in. They can calculate out how to supply more stimulations for the kid s involvement whilst possibly including within that stimulation something that will heighten any accomplishments they are weaker at. For illustration, if a kid is merely interested in the reading count ry, so is heightening their communicating, linguistic communication and literacy accomplishments and possibly their cognition and apprehension of the universe, but they have no involvement in countries that incorporate job resolution and logical thinking, the instructor may be able to supply more reading stuff that besides incorporates maths but non in an obvious manner. They are besides able to measure the kids through observation ; they can supervise a kid s advancement. And of class they have a immense undertaking in supplying these drama activities that cover the countries of larning laid out in the EYFS. There is still force per unit area on the practicians to let the kids to come on and so they must supply activities that will provide for all phases of development amongst the kids. Decision Play is something that is experienced by kids from a really immature age. The debut of drama into the schoolroom has allowed kids to make up ones mind for themselves how they would wish to larn. Children still gain critical cognition and apprehension but theoreticians, yesteryear and nowadays and the debut of the EYFS, have altered how they obtain it in the schoolroom. Children have more freedom, they now have more pick and can make up ones mind which activities they wish to make whilst heightening the of import accomplishments needed to come on. The fact that kids learn through drama is no new construct but the debut of that cognition into the schoolroom, instead than curtailing it to play school or kindergarten, is to most people, a new impression. Practitioners still have the tough undertaking of guaranting that all kids are catered for and that they are all able to come on and be prepared for the hereafter. For kids play is the most natural thing to make, every bit good as being the easiest. They do non see it as work. When forced to finish a undertaking or listen for a certain sum of clip, they lose involvement and acquire easy distracted. If they believe they have a wholly free pick and everything is seen as a game their attending is held for longer and accordingly they may larn more, even though the acquisition is non so obvious to them. Thingss that are fun are more appealing. There is, nevertheless, value to both structured instruction and drama based instruction and possibly a balance is what is needed depending on the age and ability of the kids, some kids may profit more from structured activities and demand to be challenged where as others flourish in a drama based environment.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Replacement for and replacement of
Replacement for and replacement of Replacement for and replacement of Replacement for and replacement of By Maeve Maddox Prepositions and particles are tricky in any language. Its not an easy matter to explain why some words are followed by to while others are followed by in or for. The native speaker just knows. Recently, Ive noticed the use of to with the word replacement where Id expect for or of. Homeopathy as replacement to antibioticsâ⬠¦ Offers a cost effective replacement to broken parcel shelf stringâ⬠¦ i have lost 12v ac 2.4 power adapter when moving home and am looking for a replacement to said itemâ⬠¦ The two most frequent meanings of replacement are a person who or thing which replaces another; a substitute. The action or an act of replacing something When replacement is used in the first sense, its synonymous with substitute. For that reason, for is the obvious choice: I need a replacement for my windshield wiper. We need a replacement for Mr. Jones the math teacher. It seems to me that in all three of the examples given above, for is the obvious choice: Homeopathy as a replacement (substitute) for antibioticsâ⬠¦ cost effective replacement (substitute) for broken parcel shelf stringâ⬠¦ looking for a replacement (substitute) for said item. Used in the second sense, replacement is followed by of. Requests for the issuance or replacement of military service medalsâ⬠¦ Operations involve either metal pinning with screws and/or plates or replacement of the hip joint with artificial partsâ⬠¦ Thats not to say that to must never follow the word replacement. The word is often followed by an infinitive: Sansoms replacement to be decided todayâ⬠¦ SMPT gateway replacement to make mail testing easier Sometimes replacement is followed by a prepositional phrase beginning with to: Procedure now calls for the mayor to nominate a replacement to the boardâ⬠¦ Budget woes delay shuttle replacement to 2015 However, in these examples, the to phrases do not qualify replacement; they modify the verbs: the shuttle replacement is being delayed to 2015; the mayors choice will be nominated to the board. Whats the consensus? Is replacement to instead of replacement for a regional thing, or an aberration? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Possessive of Proper Names Ending in S50 Idioms About Arms, Hands, and FingersPersonification vs. Anthropomorphism
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Business Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1
Business Plan - Essay Example According to Wert (2009), ââ¬Å"carnivalââ¬â¢s generic strategy is best described as a blend of low-cost and differentiation.â⬠This is like arguing that the company does not put all its eggs in one basket. Rather, it distributes the available generic strategies prudently to ensure that wider scopes of customer needs are met. By low cost strategy, the company masters in winning the hearts of as many clients with little economic standing as possible. For the high class who would prefer segregated forms of products and services, the company caters for this through the differentiation generic strategy. Scope of Generic Strategy Interestingly, the types of generic strategies identified earlier can be broken further down into whether they are implemented with a broad or narrow focus. Porter explains that the measure of either a broad or narrow focus constitutes the scope of the generic strategy. With reference to the generic strategies blended by Carnival Corporation (which are l ow cost and differentiation), the diagram below may give a representation of the different scopes available to Carnival Corporation. Source: Mind Tools (2012). ... It is not surprising that the current ratio, quick ratio and cash per share are all quoted as low with values of 0.215, 0.154 and 0 respectively (Covestor, 2012). The debt/equity, interest coverage ratio and book value per share are all quoted as average with values of 0.621, 1.17 and 0 respectively (Covestor, 2012). The second way by which the company implements cost leadership is by ââ¬Å"increasing market share through charging lower prices, while still making a reasonable profit on each sale because you've reduced costsâ⬠Mind Tools, 2012). Differentiation involves making your products or services different from and more attractive those of your competitors. With reference to the product differentiation broad generic strategy, the company plays the game more to the implication of the name of strategy where by Carnival Corporation makes their products and services different from competitors in terms of the product quality, packaging appearance and attitude towards work. In t he bid to stand out tall in the industry, the company ensures that it trades not just product but quality service to its customers. This way, the company becomes the preferred destination for customers if the customers know they would even have to pay the same low price somewhere else for the same set of product delivery. Primary Competitors Indeed the Management Study Guide (2012) notes that one crutial area of competive analysis for any company is ââ¬Å"identifying present as well as potential competitors. As far as the cruise ship operation industry is concerned, Carnival Corporation has a number of key competitors. These companies are described as key competitors because they trade in the same kind of business as
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Short answer test Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Short answer test - Essay Example You have carefully chosen channel members to help get your product into the hands of customers. What kind of "valueâ⬠would you want them to add to your marketing efforts and your customers? I would want them to create customer loyalty and retention. Each customer that walks away from the product is customer equity that goes missing. This will need to be done by tailoring products to meet customer needs. The communication process consists of the sender of the advertisement, the content of the advertisement, and the customer who receives the advertisement. Sometimes, feedback can also be considered part of the communication process because it helps to resolve weaknesses. The five tools are advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing. Advertising is used to reach customers through a medium of exchange. Personal selling is direct communication between an advertiser and a customer. Sales promotions add value to a product by offering incentives to purchase it. Public relations have to do with supporting causes that will make a firm look good. Direct marketing is about connecting with a customer in order to get a response. 5. One of the uses of public relations can be used for explaining problems your company is having with product shortages, executive embarrassment, product recalls, etc. How can you use Public Relations Pro-actively? Public relations campaigns are very easy to organize and are also very cheap to run. It helps to take the focus of problems that may be occurring in the business and focuses consumersââ¬â¢ attention on something that does not concern business operations. 6. Your Sunscreen sales are slow. You decide to add B2B sales representatives to your marketing efforts to convince retailers to buy and stock your product. Explain the kind of value you want them to add to your marketing efforts. The best type of value that can be added is to properly explain the products and its uses. This will
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Define and Discuss ââ¬ËRetail Experienceââ¬â¢ Essay Example for Free
Define and Discuss ââ¬ËRetail Experienceââ¬â¢ Essay Define and discuss ââ¬Ëretail experienceââ¬â¢. Use a case study example to demonstrate its application. How does the retailer create and enhance value? Define and discuss ââ¬Ëretail experienceââ¬â¢. Use a case study example to demonstrate its application. How does the retailer create and enhance value? David Olu RETAIL MANAGEMENT Define and discuss ââ¬Ëretail experienceââ¬â¢. Use a case study example to demonstrate its application. How does the retailer create and enhance value? When people go shopping they want to encounter an enjoyable experience which will satisfy their needs so in recent years retailers have tried to take the shopping experience to another level in order to encourage consumers to build a relationship with the brand. The purpose of this essay will be to outline what is meant by the term ââ¬Å"retail experienceâ⬠. The main focus will be on a particular case study involving Apple in order to explain how the retailer goes on to enhance value. Retail experience can be seen as a process in which a retailer packages an experience together with products. (Berman B Evans J 2010) highlight that ââ¬Å"A Retailers image depends heavily on its ââ¬Å"atmosphereâ⬠. When looking at atmosphere it is the psychological feeling a customer gets when visiting the retailer.ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ It is noted that atmosphere can influence hedonic value this is an important aspect of the experience, because this is what plays a vital role in gaining a customerââ¬â¢s interest and it can help in leading the customer into the buying process. All of the major retailers will aim to provide a relaxing environment for their consumers because shopping is considered as fun and pleasurable (Jones, 1999). There are some key factors that contribute to this, first we look at music because it provides entertainment for shoppers Turley and Chebat (2002). Followed by lighting the appropriate use of it,à such as product spotlighting and dim ambient lighting, and thirdly the use of bright and vibrant colours. Swinyard (1993) reiterated this by pointing out that ââ¬Å"Mood states are present in virtually every shopping encounter, and could have a significant effect on shopping behaviourâ⬠. And In Relation to this (Kemp and Kopp 2011) also put forward that Emotions shape our everyday existence, including our consumption and purchase behaviour. So this could mean that a consumer in a bad mood may tend to view shopping activities differently from one in a good mood. When a customer enters the store atmosphere they are not able to experience the music in seclusion or smell the scent without seeing the colours as well they do not walk on the floor-covering without feeling the ambient temperature. The typical customer experiences amounts of all these and other incentives as an on-going, collective experience. So it can be argued that most buying environments are purposefully designed to produce specific emotional effects in shoppers. Berman Evans J (2010) argued that ââ¬Å"The presentation merchandise and the displays that bring shoppers into the store are very important in creating a retail image. So other factors which have to be considered when looking at retail experience is the layout of the shop itself because if the shop is nicely laid out it will encourage customers to spend more time in the shop than originally planned. So retailers have to consider the layout of the products and how they can appeal to customers and also clearly labelled displays if they have any in order to make the customers indentify what is on sell clearly. So it is always essential for a business to ensure that the shop is properly organised. A store exterior provides a powerful impact on a businessââ¬â¢s image this should be planned effectively a store exterior consists of the total physical exterior of the store itself, with a storefront most retailers can present a traditional, trendy, upscale environment, in relation to retail experience customers who happen to pass a shop they usually judge a store by its exterior so this can be used to draw in customers with things like display windows showing products will be able to catch a customerââ¬â¢s attentionà straight away most retailers make use of mannequins in order to grab peopleââ¬â¢s attention. Customers always want to feel valued and welcomed when they visit a shop so when they enter the shop they expect a good customer service from the members of staff this is crucially essential for an organisation to manage. Because not only will shoppers appreciate the store due to the products offered, or atmosphericsââ¬â¢ but they will have more of a strong interest due to the kindness of the salesperson (Lombart and Jeandrain, 2003). If the members of staff are always available and helpful it will create a customer satisfaction and this can be considered as a key determining factor with benefits of repeat shopping and buying behaviour if managed effectively so with this it means that customers will always have a good experience, when they encounter polite and helpful members of staff and this will also create a positive image for the business. Promotion is another tool in which retailers will aim to provide satisfaction to their customers so in order for them to do this they implement special offers as a strategy to achieve this, if an organisation regularly provides promotion as part of its experience it will find that they will attract more customers. So for example retailers like Tesco or Asda regularly offer promotion and they go head to head on offers in order to gain draw in more people. Not only will offering promotions attract repeat custom it will also allow the organisation to generate profit. All different kind of Retailers will try to use different ways in order to bring that retail experience that their consumers desire so retailers who connect with customers through experiences which are personally relevant , memorable, interactive and also emotional are more likely to increase sales and brand loyalty and this is why experience stores such as Apple have emerged, reason being that they want customers to bond with the brand, at first hand , a ââ¬Å"try before you buyâ⬠approach . Apple is one of the biggest leading technology companies in the world apple provides customers with an attractive and relaxed environment where they canà handle. ââ¬Å"Apple has been developing its experience stores since 2001 and by the end of 2008 the company had opened some 250 increasingly sophisticated storesâ⬠(Jones, Comfort, 2010). Benghazi (2012) States that entertaining browsing experiences might help a browser to learn more about the offers and characteristics. Customers will be able to use knowledge in order to make a decision on whether they should purchase the product or not so in regards to this Apple provide their consumers with a live interaction of their products for example the Apple store in Londonââ¬â¢s regent street lets customers get involved in ââ¬Å"Getting started workshopsâ⬠this includes showing customers how to set up a new Mac, connecting to the internet and sending emails. This goes to show that Apple are trying to involve their customers with a firsthand experience of the brand and the products they offer, the experience goes beyond the store itself the company provides summer camps for children and youth workshops. Children aged 8-12 years get what is known as a ââ¬Å"hands-on Mac experience, during a 3 hour workshop 8-13years olds can compose a song ââ¬Å"in a garage bandâ⬠, construct a photo album and create key note presentations. This illustrates on how Apple are trying to expand retail experience to their customers by going beyond the in store experience this will in return generate a positive outcome for Apple. Within regards to the designs of the stores, the interior represents three values, which are transparency, community and service. There is the open spacious interior containing the computers, IPods and IPhones which are neatly placed on tables this portrays transparency. Community is encouraged by the store through its theatre and its lounging areas and then the commitment into services is branded into customers minds as they are able to visit the genius bar, each store is looked at as a place where people can feel comfortable and are not intimidated by technology. Apple stores may be designed to sell but also at the same time they are designed to teach, customers who walk into an apple store just for a casual play of the products can find that the experience can quickly turn into some serious learning. When we look at a typical apple store it has threeà spaces the first one is usually for play and for purchasing, and the other one is for learning a customer would typically come across these areas in that order. The shop is laid out in a simple manner enabling the customers to move around freely to admire the products within the store. Like any other store, apple stores consist of members of staff who wear a blue t-shirt with the apple logo in the middle making them easily recognisable to the public as the staff with a casual look. There always there to help customers with their knowledge on how to use the products. The members of staff always ensure to ask customers if they need help if the customer looks lost, this type of retail setting allows customers and members of staff to interact as the members of staff are always asked questions in regards to the products, and the questions that the customers ask the staff guide the learning and they reveal what has been learned and what else is there left to be learned. So in a sense Apple have able to take the relationship between the customers, staff members and the store to a different level of retailing and learning. The Apple store has built relevance into every section of the shop, the members of staff are aware that they have to start with the customer and with whatever knowledge the customer knows and then progress on from there. Despite the technology the apple store experience is more focused on forming a relationship with the products rather than just focusing on products. An Apples store experience generally provides a powerful image about the brand Apple is able to combine products together with service effectively in order to reward their customers with a unique experience in which customers are able to feel like learners who are able to develop valuable skills. The Apple store learning experience is greatly adapted and focused on the interests and the needs of the individual customer. Conclusion Retail experience is vital for all of the retailers to establish in order to looking at Apple they have successfully established an environment where customers would want to come back again and again so in conclusion Apple has shown that they value their customers by ensuring that their customers experience the products at first hand and by also taking that experience outà of the store by providing their customers with things like summer camps. It is vital that Apple continue to bring this experience to their customers because it will mean that they will generate repeat custom and also they will be able to attract new customers. Bibliography Books Berman, B. and Evans, J. (2010) Retail management a strategic approach. 11th Ed. New Jersey: Pearson education Inc, p.508, 509,510,512. Internet Sonera, T. (2006). Apple case study. Available: www.buyukdemirci.com/Apple/Apple_case_.pdf. Last accessed 18th November 2012. Journals Ballantine, P. et al. (2010) Atmospheric cues and their effect on the hedonic retail. International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, 38 (8), p.1, 2. Burns, D. and Neisner, L. (2006) Customer satisfaction in a retail setting: The contribution of emotion. International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, 34 (1), p.50, 51. Jones, P. et al. (2010) Retail experience stores: experiencing the brand at first. Marketing Intelligence Planning, 28 (3), p.243. KEMP, E. and KOPP, S. (2011) Emotion in consumption. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 10: p.1. Kronrod, A. et al. (2012) Hedonic Consumption and compliance with assertive messages. Journal of Consumer Research, Inc., 39 (1), p.52. Nsairi, Z. (2012) Managing browsing experience in retail stores through. International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, Vol. 40 (9), p.678. Swinyard, W. (199300) The Effects of Mood, Involvement, and Quality of Store Experience on Shopping Intentions. Journal of consumer research, 20p .271. Washor, E. et al. (2009) At the Core of the Apple Store: Images of Next Generation Learning. The Phi Delta Kappan, 91 (2), p.61, 62, 63
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Articles Of Confederation 4 :: essays research papers
After the Revolutionary War, the United States government was in a state of frenzied disillusion. In an attempt to solve the problem of a lack of a functioning government, the Articles of Confederation were formed. Often times called the “Articles of Confusion';, the Articles of Confederation paved the way to our modern system of government. Out of the unreliable and unstable Articles, the Constitution was formed. Though the Articles instilled a seemingly well functioning governmental establishment, the Articles were far from a flawless governing mechanism. Ã Ã Ã Ã Ã In the early days of the new British-free America there was a great fear of the new system of government being of the same mold of their former, a monarchy, or even a dictatorship. There was one group of revolutionaries that supported a monarchy being formed. This faction was a section of the Continental Army called the Society of the Cincinnati. They urged the rise of George Washington, a veteran colonial general, as the country’s new king, but Washington refused. In an effort to subside the uproar of the common folk, and to prevent eventual isolation of sovereignty of national affairs unto one person, the Articles granted each state exclusive governing powers over it’s own political matters. By doing this, the Articles prevented the new-formed states from revolting against their own government, and they also gave the states absolute control over their own local and regional matters and political conflicts. Ã Ã Ã Ã Ã In an effort to create a greater sense of unity and national pride in the States, the Articles forced most states with western land claims to forfeit their claims to the federal government, so that the smaller, less populated states would join the union . This did not make any of the states with western territorial expansion content. They felt that the government was starting to take too much authoritative control. With this in mind, the representatives in congress made the promise that when specified parcels of the lands had a population of sixty thousand or more, they would be eligible for statehood. The requirements that were used for birth into the union are the same that are used today. This helped to suffice the desire to extinguish the current government, and contributed to a greater feeling of pride and unification amongst the states. Ã Ã Ã Ã Ã A piece of the Articles that was very popular with most of the public was the inability of the government, or congress, to enforce taxes on the general public, or individual states.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
An Hour or Two Sacred to Sorrow Essay
In the essay, ââ¬Å"An Hour or Two Sacred to Sorrow,â⬠the writer, Richard Steele, explains to the reader that many unexpected and unfortunate events may occur in our lifetime; however, those occurrences should be looked back upon rather than forgotten. He writes from his own experiences of loss, but continues to include the fact that it is acceptable even satisfying to remember such events. The writer begins by reliving the day his father died. At a mere age of five he remembers knowing something was wrong because no one would play with him, but no recollection as to what was truly amiss in the situation. When he says, ââ¬Å"Iâ⬠¦fell a-beating at the coffin and calling Papaâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ that statement along with, ââ¬Å"â⬠¦ I know not how. I had some slight idea that he was locked up in there,â⬠explains further that he knew something was unsound about the situation just not exactly what it was. He then talks about how his mother smothers him out of her own grie f, which struck his instinct of sorrow for his mother. He then moves on to express the fact that when weââ¬â¢re older we obtain memory better than at a younger age; in addition, he explains that different memories cause different reactions in a person. For instance, when a person passes away all you find yourself remembering is their death not the cheerful memories they left with you. He then elaborates this point by saying, ââ¬Å"â⬠¦ gallant men.. cut off by the sword move rather our veneration than our pityâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ Saying this he points out that when a man from the military dies we are more respectful than sorry or upset by the incident. Many people would prefer not to remember the mournful events of their lives, but rather the joyful experiences. In continuation he says that the first beauty he ever beheld was in a virgin. He describes her as ignorantly charming and carelessly excelling, which lead him to understand why death should have a right to her, but it still baffles him why death also seems drawn to the humble an d meek. He watches death become an object of little value when he states, ââ¬Å"â⬠¦ death become the pretty trifler.â⬠He describes the virgins sudden death and the anguish he felt after hearing this news. He then invites friends who had known her, and they began drinking two bottles of wine apiece; however, he finds that no matter how much he drinks it can not erase what had happened the night before. Which gave them all the more reason to recollect the impact she had left on their lives. In conclusion the writer relives past dismalà experiences that stood out in his memory. In many ways life can be full of sorrow, but we must learn how to move on from these events in our lives. on to better times. He explains that many unexpected and unfortunate events may occur in our lifetime; however, those occurrences should be looked back upon rather than forgotten.
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Analysis of Kraft Foods
[pic] Kraft Food Analysis of Kraft Food Kraft Foods is an American food and beverage multinational company. It produces and markets many brands to more than 170 countries, and 12 of its brands earn more than $1 billion worldwide annually (ââ¬Å"Kraft Foodsâ⬠, 2011). Most of the food products which we consume everyday belongs to this company. For instance, some of well-known brands are Jacobs and Maxwell, Milka and Toblerone, Tang and Cipso. It is the successful and popular leading food companies of the world. So, Kraft Foods will be reviewed in terms of values and promises that it communicates with consumers and employees, communication and job satisfaction respectively. Values of the company are shared among its employees. First value of the company is its employees. The company highlights the importance of its employees and their contribution to the company. It emphasized that hardworking and passionate workers, who constantly seeks ways to make content consumers by finding innovation, make the company what it was. After it, Focus, Passion, Speed, Teamwork and Trust are listed as the most important values of company. Those five values describe fundamental structure of organizational process. Firstly, focus on what is needed to improve the business and focus on what is important to make customers happy is like starting point of the process. Generating innovation according to needs is second value of the company. After focus and innovation, Passion which is motive of making better outcome in each work, the next value in order to reach the most desired outcome. You can manage focus, innovation and passion, but you also have a speed as a fourth value of company in order to compete with other food companies. As it is known in the beginning of the paragraph, employees are the key agents who make the name of brand. So, it is normal that fifth value is the teamwork. The final value of it is trust which is the fundamental block of teamwork and organizational communication. Firstly, the company promises to be open and inclusive, because it sees this value as a critical value to create a high-performing organizational culture. Being open to different perspectives make innovation easy and better. It claims that openness and inclusiveness to diversity are so embedded into their way of doing business and into every department of it. They constitute its blocks of organizational culture. Taking into account every possible different perspectives and evaluate them is one of promises which the company gives to its employees. Also, it guarantees that discrimination or harassment based on age, race, disability, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation or any other legally protected status are not allowed. If the company is able to approach diversity in a positive manner, this gives workers feeling of recognition and makes them more motivated. When we want to give concrete example, 43% of their mployees are women and 35% of management team is constituted by females. It shows us that there is no gender discrimination on hiring and it opens up to gender diversity. Secondly, it promises employees that they will be work in an international environment. For instance, they can be participated into European/International projects. Other than it, they can join into short-term overseas assignments, and then join into l onger-term assignments when they develop in their career path. Moreover, the company assures training and development programs for employees in order to reach their best level of expertise. These programs are like job training, cross functional projects and corporate training programs. It also promises giving feedback about how employeesââ¬â¢ outcome contributes to the business in general. It is obvious that the promises of the company are motivating factor for employees. When we take into account both values and promises of the company, we can conclude that we are open to all ideas, we can discuss about them in a participative context, we can decide collectively and finally we deliver what we decided to others in order to make them be aware of what is going on the company. Their motto is ââ¬Å"We discuss. We decide. We deliver. â⬠The company uses variety of internal communication channels. Social and sports activities are among the practices which HR department prefer to use as internal communication channels. Employees can join sports teams and organized social events including a winter ski day, summer golfing day and a winter family fun day during the holidays. Those enjoyable events are organized by the company-subsidized social committee. They make work atmosphere better and improve communication among workers. It also creates a sense of equity, because every employee has equal access to them. In addition to this, employees can have a chance of socializing and increasing interaction with their co-workers by providing richly physical workplace which contains the fitness facility with free membership, employee lounge with foosball and television, quiet room for meditation and reflection, and a nap room for employees who need a quick break during the day, cafeteria with healthy menus and subsidized meals. While those places offer many opportunities for employees, they can facilitate the internal communication at the same time. The company thinks that every people has different ways of absorbing news and information, every people can use different channels, therefore the company must use very different channels to communicate with its employees. The Kraft Foods is relatively very successful in this issue. It uses face-to-face communication activities such as town hall meetings and lunch-and-learn sessions. Moreover, it has its corporate intranet and internal blog sites. Newsletters, news magazines and e-business updates are also available for employees. The company is also in Facebook. It shares company news. Their community involvement projects and sustainability efforts are announced here. The most important application of it is that some of the Kraft Foods team join to talk about their own areas of expertise to enable information sharing and facilitates internal communication. One of internal communication channel of the company which is very popular is iPhone. Kraft employees use their iPhones for sending email, organizing calendar, and saving contacts. Kraft employees can listen to audio messages, dubbed ââ¬Å"Kraft Casts,â⬠from the CEO and other executives on their iPhones. They are so useful to stay up-to-date on the latest corporate strategies and branding initiatives. It can be also very effective to improve [pic][pic][pic] downward communication. It makes easy information flow from top people in the company like CEOs to all employees. Learning company future strategies or plans by reading from a bulletin is less visual and live compared to by listening and watching from iPhone. There have been many community involvement projects within organization. Employees organized national and international charitable organizations with the support of company. For instance, in my view, the welfare activities serve two functions for the company. Firstly, they can make employees from all levels of organization together. They are one of social events and internal communication channels. They can work for an interdependent goal cooperatively during these charities. Employees from different departments can have a contact with each other and can improve their social relationships with co-workers. In this way, internal communication among employees can be facilitating thanks to them. [pic][pic][pic] Secondly, they can also become an external communication channel for the company. We can encounter much news in the social media when the company performs a charitable activity or subscribes to a relief fund. The company can communicate its brand externally thanks to this news. They can make contribution to the respectability, reliability of company, and at the same increases brand awareness at the same time. In sum, we can consider charitable organizations as both internal and external communications channels. Employer brand of the company is one of external communication channels of it. It can communicate itself through its brand name. While it creates its brand with what it did in the market, the brand creates the company at the same time. There is a reciprocal relationship between two. It can tell the reputation and image of the company in the market via its brand. At the same time, this external communication channels can be a motivating factor for the employees and for the upcoming new employees. The more famous and prestigious brand is, the more people want to work in this company. Its reputation in the market will attract the new employees. Upward communication is less applied in organizations than downward communication. Although there is an open and inclusive workplace for generating diverse ideas, we can not know whether this freedom is also seen in performance evaluation of managers by subordinates. There is not available information about whether subordinate appraisals of managers are applied or are not. Appraisals of supervisors which are done by the subordinates can give feedback about the performance of supervisors. If they take into account these feedbacks, they can be more effective in their working process and managing process. As employees start to recognize that heir feedback is taken into account, upward communication can be also provided. On the other hand, the company has spread all around the world. For instance, one manager who is from Europe can supervise the employees who are from very different and far away country. Thanks to the ways the Internet enables communications like teleconference, a manager can work for a far away office of the company (Waltner, 2010). Although it has so me advantages like company can choose best manager by basing on performance, not basing on location, it can be a barrier to upward communication. While networks for teleconference are available more easily when there is a meeting between senior managers from different departments, it can accessed more difficulty when more subordinate employee need it to communicate with managers. Moreover, the other factor is cultural differences. How much employees want to share their ideas about managers can be change according to culture. For instance, in more collectivistic culture, people can think that making criticism about a person can be perceived as offense by him. So, they donââ¬â¢t want to share its views about him in order to conform existing situation. They can fear of being evaluated negatively by their managers if they give negative feedback about their managers. So, suggestion or complaint boxes can be a good solution for those employees. Attitude surveys are one possible ways of improving upward communication. However, if the results of those surveys about the performance and effectiveness of manager are not taken into account by managers, they have no value (Aamodt, 2010). So, managers also organize a time for discussing the feedback with employees face to face. Although Kraft Foods has those kinds of surveys like many international companies, in my view, it can not effectively discuss its result with subordinates. Because, some employees have still reported some upward communication problem in a website that employees can report reviews about their company anonymously. One of employees says that there is low level of employee participation in decision making. Also, he suggested that the company should take into account the employee surveys (Kraft Foods Employee Review, 2011). Along with that comment, Kraft should initiate more democratic and participative style of management. It can improve upward communication if employees are able to generate ideas or share their concerns about process by including in the decision-making process. The company has all of the channels of communication which are essential in downward communication like bulletin boards, annual reports, newsletters, annual fact sheets or intranets. Although much of communication in organization is downward when compared with upward and although most of channels are available, still downward communication can not reach perfect level. For instance, although the company has a policy manuals or annual reports, they can not function properly, because they have a very technical language. Employees have to read themselves. Interactive meetings to discuss about current company news can be more effective than only transmitting corporate news and facts through written material. For instance, although Kraft Foods Senior Financial Analyst says that the company has many benefits, he suggests that it should improve communication and especially downward communication from middle management (Kraft Food Employee Review, 2011). Although the company has many channels, still some managers donââ¬â¢t really share essential things with employees. Some of them donââ¬â¢t set a proper guideline for what employee will do to achieve its goals. They donââ¬â¢t healthy share about what, when and how employees will do a task. They think that employees have already known those things, because they are their work. They have a problem in taking employeesââ¬â¢ perspectives. So, people managerial positions can be received training programmes to improve their communication skill with their subordinates and make them aware of needs and strivings of their subordinates. Do employees really satisfied with their jobs? For instance, Dieter Follens who is the manager of Product Costing Coffee in Kraft Foods Europe said about the company is that it did not provide only a job for him, but it also provides a career in Finance for him. He had worked as an assistant with internal controls, a financial analyst, a cost controller, finance manager in our European Union (EU) Office after Belgium, and product cost manager respectively. This shows us that Kraft Foods provides employees job rotation. It is one of motivating factors of the company. They can satisfy the needs of growth and challenge. Employees feel less boredom and feel more motivated to their jobs. Also, they can understand better how they contribute to the development of the company (Robbins & Judge, 2011). Understanding the effectiveness of individual outcome and the significance of task which are among five core dimensions of Job Characteristic Model explains the satisfying effects of job rotation. Also, Mr. Follens indicated that awareness of contributing to the the growth f company make him satisfied and engaged with job, an even he added that when contribution took place in different ways, then satisfaction turns into real pleasure for him. His comments obviously showed us that job rotation and changes in the job characteristics make workers satisfied. This is the example of satisfied employee. It is impossible to expect that all employees feel and think same things about the company and their position. Also , Dieter works in organizational part of the company. We can analyze Kraft Food Company as focusing separately on white collar workers and blue collar workers. It is a big multinational manufacturing company in the field of food and beverage, so most of its employees are blue collars, in other words, they are hourly workers. While flexile work options were useful for professional employees, they are not good for manufacturing ones. Therefore, employee dissatisfaction was observed among hourly workers in 2001 and 2002 surveys. Fast Adapts Program was prepared in order to decrease the dissatisfaction. It provided workers shift-swapping, single-day vacations and job sharing. Changes in work options make increase in the level of satisfaction one year later (Executive Office of the President Council of Economic Advisers, 2010). The underlying factor that made this improvement was the autonomy, because it offered plant managers the autonomy in deciding the best suitable flexible work options for their own plant and implementing them. One empirical study showed that when the perceptions of nurses about opportunity of structural empowerment changed, changes in psychological empowerment and so in job satisfaction were observed. It means that employees feel more motivated to work and satisfied with their job when they can make work related decisions that will affect themselves (Laschinger, Finegan, Shamian, & Wilk, 2004). We can also form a relationship between this employee empowerment strategy and the Job Characteristic Model. It proposes that any job has five basic dimensions: Skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback. The most relevant dimension to the empowerment programs in Kraft Foods is the autonomy. It can be defined as the degree of freedom which job offer employees about scheduling the work and deciding procedures to implement it. This freedom makes employees more satisfied and intrinsically motivated to job over time by providing to them experienced responsibility and recognition (Robbins & Judge, 2011). We can observe the same pattern in workers of Kraft foods. There are basic key motivators for employees. As in the most companies, compensation and benefits are among key motivator factors of Kraft Foods. For instance, Canada Kraft offers great financial benefits like bonuses for some employees (depending on the position), new employee referral bonuses (up to $1,000 for some positions), and year-end bonuses (to $100,000). Also, it provides health benefits plan including fertility drug treatments. In addition to this, it offers an employee store with discounted food products, dinner catering services (called the ââ¬Å"Kraft Kafe 5 O'Clock Solutionsâ⬠to take home meals). Also, it provides maternity leave with 100% of salary for 17 weeks. Performance management is one of motivator factors of Kraft Foods. For instance, employees receive individual performance reviews every 6 months in Kraft Canada (Yerema & Leung, 2011). In order to evaluate employees better, managers enroll training programs how to make effective performance reviews. Also, performance evaluation is not only based on one managerââ¬â¢s views, but also it is based on co-workers and other managers who know the employee. In addition to this, it takes a consultant service to make employee satisfaction and engagement surveys better and professionally. In relation to performance management, the most important motivating factor of the company is the training and skills development opportunities for employees. Two motivators are very much related to each other. As the company makes proper performance management, it can organize better training programs according to developmental needs of employees. For instance, Kraft Canada offers tuition subsidies for courses that are related to employeesââ¬â¢ position for the development of them. Moreover, it provides professional accreditations; in-house training programs; online training programs; new employee orientation program. In addition to this, the company offers skills development outside the position of employees in Kraft test kitchens like food tastings, cooking classes and culinary presentations. Also, Kraft Foods North America (KFNA) promotes intranet provides professional development resources for its employees including access to training and mentoring. Values and ethics are among key motivator factors of the company. There is an available 15 pages document of Codes of conduct and Kraft Foods Rules of Behavior in the website of the company. It is also translated so many other languages in order to communicate its compliance and values correctly and efficiently with employees from different nations. It states 10 rules which all employees have to be obeyed. For instance, one of the most important rules of it is behaving people fairly. There are some missing motivating factors for employees in the company like clear career path. For instance, Cristina Monterrey who is Human Capital Senior Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers emphasized that Pwc provide a clear career path to employees. Each employee knows what will be his position in five years. Thanks to this knowledge about their future work life, employees feel more secure and certainty. In this way, employees feel more committed to their work and companies. Other than themselves, an agent helps them organizing their future. Worries about future which can cause stress destroyed in this way and employees work passionately. But, in the case of Kraft Foods, although it provides feedback about performance and training programs according to these feedbacks, there is no available information about a structured career program for employees. In order to make employees more motivated, career plans can be provided for them. Kraft Foods Category Planner in Glenview said that Kraft Foods is a lucrative place to work, but the employees earn every cent they make due to extremely long work hours (Kraft Food employee review, n. d. ). Although he reported that there were lots of opportunities, he paid attention to work load especially for employees with a family. Long work hours can create stress problems, because employees can not balance their work and family life properly. Long hours can be a fundamental dissatisfying factor and it can harm performance along with effect of stress. In my view, there can be some modifications in work schedule. For instance, they can provide alternative or flexible work schedules. Employees start to feel more control over their work by deciding their own working hours. This autonomy and positive effect of change on family life can make employees more motivated to their jobs. References Aamodt, M. G. (2010). Industrial/Organizational Psychology. USA: Wadsworth Cengage learning. Executive Office of the President Council of Economic Advisers. (2010). Work-life Balance and the Economics of the Workplace Flexibility. Kraft Foods. (2011). In Wikipedia. Retrieved November 19, 2011, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Kraft_Foods. Kraft Foods Employee Review (2011). Retrieved from http://www. glassdoor. com/Reviews/Kraft- Foods-Reviews-E13294. htm. Laschinger,H. K. S. , Finegan, J. E. , Shamian, J. , & Wilk, P. (2004). A longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Workplace Empowerment on Work Satisfaction. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, 527ââ¬â545. Robbins, S. P. , & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational Behavior. New jersey: Pearson. Yerema, R. and Leung, K. (2011). Chosen as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers and Greater Toronto's Top Employers for 2012. Retrieved from http://www. eluta. ca/top-employer-kraft-canada. Waltner, C. (2010). Networking Communications for the Global Corporation: An Interview with Kraft Foods CIO, Mark Dajani. Retrieved from http://newsroom. cisco. com/feature-content? type=webcontent&articleId=5305212. [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)