Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Q2) â€Å"Evaluate the relative importance of corporate social responsibility relative to other corporate objective† (40 Marks) Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a firm’s decision to accept responsibility for its social, environmental and ethical actions. A firm’s decisions whether to adopt and rank importance to CSR should be due to a variety of reasons, like the financial stability of the company aswell as the culture of the organisation. But one definitive factor would be a firm’s corporate objectives, corporate objectives are a quantifiable statement of a business’s goals which should include measurable targets. Essay will look to examine the relative importance of CSR in relation to other corporate objectives. Many companies underlying corporate objective is profit maximisation, with this goal ranking higher than any other. This party due to the share holder value theory which makes profit a priority, therefore resulting in many firms qu estioning whether to become more socially responsible is worth the additional costs which would result in reduced profit for the company and key stakeholder’s groups. Primark offers a perfect example to this point, Primark is a retail firm in which offers exceptionally low prices through exploiting cheaper labour from abroad. If the company was to become more socially responsible they would have to sacrifice their unique selling point of low prices which may cause the company to fail. Thus proving how many businesses will see little importance in CSR relative to profit maximization. On the other hand companies whose key corporate objective is profit maximisation should take into account that CSR represents a long term commitment which can help to improve reputation and image of the company. This is due to consumers becoming more and more aware and concerned over where goods are sourced from and how they are made. CSR is therefore likely to route to profit maximization in the long term due to consumers now looking for socially responsible companies, which may rank over price therefore resulting in higher sales and therefore higher profit. This can be seen in the company Marks & Spencer who launched their bag for life campaign promising to reduce the wastage of plastic bags, and also presented an opportunity for Marks to charge for bags resulting in higher profits. Marks & Spencer is therefore a great example of a company who has looked to become more socially responsible and as a result improving their brand and reputation and even creating opportunities to improve profits, therefore demonstrating the relative importance CRS can have with profit maximisation. In contrast profit maximisation should always remain key as CSR in cases can only help to maintain brand value having little effect on overall profit maximisation. In addition, another key corporate objective is market growth, to gain market growth companies invest heavily in advertising costs amongst other promotional campaign, therefore leaving many organisation questioning whether CSR is another cost which is not sure to be beneficial to the business. However supermarket giant Tesco main corporate objective is market growth, but Tesco has recently reported that targets had been underperformed, therefore CSR could be important to this objective. During times of market growth CSR can act as a USP to differentiate the company from competition, which could be why marks & Spencer received higher profits this year after launching their bag for life campaign promising to cut down on plastic bag wastage. Due a recent change in customers views and attitudes towards the environment, becoming more socially responsible could be vital to gain an edge over competition when aiming for market growth. Then again CSR can be dependent on each individual company on whether it holds any importance to key corporate objectives. For example many oil companies whose product is in such high demand that it isn’t necessary for the business to adapt any CSR strategy as the product is so inelastic that people will by it regardless of image or reputation. This is controversially not the case for the oil provider giant BP who recently suffered a massive public relation nightmare after a massive oil spill, leading to a big hit in their reputation and brand image. BP has now ironically made CSR one of their core objectives to help rebuild the reputation and gain market growth. To conclude it is clear that CSR holds an apparent importance to other corporate objectives of a business, with it able to acting as a unique selling point for a business who is looking for market growth this can be seen in the company velvet who recently launched their triple velvet range which promised to plant a tree for every pack sold. CSR can also help in profit maximization as CSR represents a long term commitment which is likely to route to profit maximisation in the future and merits priority. But alternatively CSR is not a law requirement and has been proven that It is not always necessary depending on each company’s products, for examples oil is in such high demand that whether the company adopts CSR or not will not matter as the product is in such high demand it will be purchased regardless. Finally many companies already have a strong brand image and reputation so do not need to adopt CSR within their corporate objectives but can rely on other existing qualities to help to full fill objectives. For example apple offers a unique product with a strong reputation for quality and brand image. All of these factors can help to contribute towards profit maximisation, with image and quality allowing for increased added value to their products helping to increase profit margins. As well as strong brand image and loyal customer base helping to drive companies forward through times of market growth.

If I Die in a Combat Zone

The novels If I Die in a Combat Zone and The Things They Carried were both written by Tim O’Brien. Tim O’Brien is a Vietnam War veteran and all of the novels he wrote are about his times in the war. He includes the same characters in the stories, but changed their names and descriptions. I do not believe that O’Brien wrote the books for any political reason. Both of the novels have very much in common including the style that it is written, and the stories that are told. There are also differences including the order of the stories, and the endings.These similarities and differences are important for the novels because it shows the diversity that different soldiers go through in times of war. The style that O’Brien writes in both novels is first person narrative. O’Brien tells the story in his point of view, and tells different stories. In If I Die in a Combat Zone the stories he tells his whole time in Vietnam. He starts with how he got drafted int o the war and his training. He considered leaving the country to go live in Europe. At the last minute he almost left, but then decided to stay and go to Vietnam.He continues the story in chronological order of the times and significant events that had happened throughout his duty. In The Things They Carried, O’Brien told significant stories that were told out of chronological order. The stories told in The Things They Carried were also less biographical and focused more on the men in his platoon. He also jumps back and forth between the war and post war, where he talked to the surviving men from his platoon. He tells the stories of the war, and the stories that the men told him. This is one of the differences between the two books.The ways the stories are told are different. Even though both books are told in the perspective of O’Brien, when he is telling the stories in The Things They Carried, we are more sympathetic to the other characters because it mostly focuses on them. In both of the stories, O’Brien also uses the same terminology in the books. He uses what I describe as â€Å"war† terminology. He uses words and acronyms. For example he said that they were looking for Charlie. I’m not very educated on the Vietnam War so I looked up who Charlie was. Then I realized that Charlie is the Vietnamese army.There were other terms including the different guns and different mine types. Thankfully, O’Brien explained those terms. O’Brien is consistent with his terms and it makes it easier to read one book after reading the other because of this consistency. The endings of If I Die in a Combat Zone and The Things They Carried are different. In If I Die in a Combat Zone, the end is O’Brien going home from Vietnam. He says that there is no joy in leaving Vietnam. He says that he thought of the friends he gained and the friends he lost. He reminisced what he learned, and realized that he did not learn a lot.The e nding of The Things They Carried is one last story that focused on O’Brien. It was the first time that he had seen a dead body in Vietnam. It then flashes back to his past where his girlfriend had died because of a brain tumor. That was the first time he had seen a dead body. The soldiers say that to keep a person alive is to always tell memories. But O’Brien didn’t do that, he just imagined that his girlfriend was still alive and waiting for him. Although collectively I did not like either of Tim O’Brien’s books, but I can say that they are well written.The reason I did not like the books was because of the graphics that were described. I understand that learning about the Vietnam War is important, and the horrific aspects are important to learn also, but I do not agree with describing in detail about bodies being blown to pieces. Both books have their similarities in being that they are about the Vietnam War, the style of the book, and the storie s and their content. Although the differences were big, including the order of the stories, and the perspective of the stories, the books are close in content. I believe that these books can be read simultaneously with each other.

5 Projects To Visit Before Doing Anything In Dubai

5 Projects To Visit Before Doing Anything In Dubai As Dubai is getting geared up for hosting the new developments for coming years, the whole economic horizon has got a fast move. Major visitor and recreational points of interest across the city are usually taking a leap, with projects effectively worth gigantic amounts of money already on their way. If you are interested to see the Dubai future projects, then do not forget to visit these places below. 1. Al Habtoor City This city offers 3 well-appointed inns Regis, a leading W Lodge, presenting more than 2,600 sophisticated suites. This town specifically offers 3 stylish noncommercial podiums, a 2,300-seat perpetual water-based cinema by Franco Dragone known as La Perle, and several stores and recreational amenities, such as shops, well-known dining places and state-of-the-art restaurants, a blvd, a marina balcony, a golf academy and divine landscapes. The exceptional advancement also offers 3 luxurious noncommercial properties, Noura, Amna Meera, in a couple of 74-storey podiums and another 52-storey tower, including elegant condominiums, together with 14 penthouses, 3 of which are generally Very important personnel penthouses. Their attics have expansive living areas, roomy cooking areas, and several balconies having hypnotic vistas. A few penthouses cover a space of 900sq m of the magnificent standard of living with big glass windows. The towers’ 7 penthouses have 862 sqm, with the L-shaped living area, providing occupants clear sights of the exclusive swimming pool, spa bath and landscaped backyard. Extend across 4 floors; the 3 Very important personnel penthouses possess magnificent spaces, several garden balconies, open-air spa bath, a workout room, saunas and steam area the best high-end experience. 2. Al Seef Expanding 1.8km over the Creek and in the vicnicity to National Historical Area, Al Seef is built to keep Emirati lifestyle at its root. Experience the country’s traditions, take a trip through their history and submerge in the customs through programs and ethnic gatherings at the open-air amphitheater as well as open-air memorial, museums, and galleries, Emirati handmade items selling shops and conventional souks, plus floating trading markets. Site visitors can see glimpses associated with Emirati tradition, for example, pearl scuba diving, angling, vessel building and have the means to access abras as well as dhows. The waterside viewpoint may also have eateries and dining places exactly where site visitors can eat, unwind and then inhale the timeless ambiance, precisely where dhows drift their way on the superbly serene stream. This project will be the place to find 3 lodgings a 200-key history, a 150-key modern elegant and a 250-room cutting-edge extravagance resort. 3. Bvlgari Resort Hotel and Marina Village Specifically situated on Jumeirah Bay Isle, a seahorse-shaped tropical isle off the coastline of Jumeirah Seashore, Bvlgari Vacation resort is actually designed by renowned developers of the city and is the world’s 5th Bvlgari Resorts Hotels property. Scheduled to be functional this coming year, its made by an Italian company. The particular 1.8-million-sq-ft multifaceted building will encompass 101 suites and rooms, twenty noncommercial private villas coupled with a marina surrounded by landscapes and followed by a full array of deluxe features. The occupants can have spectacular sights of the Arabian Beach and a pristine sand seashore cove. 4. Dubai Frame Standing upright at 150m height and 93m in width in Za’abeel Recreation area, Dubai Frame is going to be on the list of the city’s one of a kind and unforgettable attractions upon its finalization by the end of this year. Providing strength to its legendary status, it will eventually gleam against the azure skies with its a couple of glowing towers and a linking bridge. The frame signifies the new, the old and the potential of Dubai. Site visitors will turn to Dubai’s history at the mezzanine standard, the location where the city’s background and development will be explained through a brand new and refreshed means of demonstration. The site visitors will certainly enjoy the sky patio point that has a 360-degree sight of Ancient Dubai to the northern part and Brand-new Dubai towards the south. Theyll experience fun packages to complement the revolutionary Dubai adventure. The ultimate experience is a digital urban center of the city, walking visitors through the present to five decades into the foreseeable future in the spectacular metropolis. 5. Bluewaters Island A Meraas venture, Bluewaters is without a doubt a cutting-edge family-friendly tropical isle spot proudly located off the coastline of Jumeirah. Its a human-made compounded tropical isle which is the place to find a privileged choice of high-class condominiums, penthouses, and townhomes. Within this tropical isle, you will not have issues finding the world’s biggest wheel named Ain Dubai, which is 210m in height. Established to be on the list of world’s biggest travel and leisure hang-outs housing a couple of high-end resorts, Bluewaters Island will be a shopper’s heaven, having a wide array of retail and cuisine aspects. JBR’s The Shore is also a couple of minutes of easygoing walk away. This plan would be to construct ten non-commercial towers, providing 3-bedroom condominiums. This tropical isle is going to be linked to the landmass by way of a direct road from Shaikh Zayed Highway. A monorail model will certainly run and carry tourists on a driverless vehicle platform to Dubai Metro’s Nakheel Harbor and Towers platform. A walking bridge will link up this tropical isle to the JBR beach, providing its occupants and site visitors a couple of minutes of a good old stress-free stroll.

E-business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

E-business - Essay Example As a hedge against all liabilities for the company, the manger should develop a plan of insurance that covers the company’s legal costs, as estimated in advance, for middle and extreme examples of corporate liability. This type of insurance coverage will be analyzed by the manner to see to what extent the company remains open to civil and criminal suits for negligent business practices that may occur in the ecommerce operation. In establishing insurance coverage for the company in the case of corporate liability for services offered online, we must purchase the required policy for insurance in all instances of operating liability on the internet. Website security is most important in an ecommerce website, as the customer finds a sense of trust and operability in the existence of a website with secure credit card processing facilities and shopping cart. Secure servers use a type of connection that is different from typical web pages in HTML. The secure pages require a SSL connection which stands for â€Å"Secure Socket Level† encryption technology. The manager will purchase required SSL certificates as needed to operate the ecommerce site with security. For business conducted in England and the United Kingdom, the manager should develop a plan to meet all requirements of the Data Protection Act of 1998. This will require the ecommerce site to have a Privacy Statement and â€Å"Terms and Conditions† page to make clear all company policies relating to the collection of data. (The National Archives, 1998) The manager will be responsible for all third party contract negotiations conducted with foreign and national companies within the relationship of the ecommerce website facilities, logistics, warehousing, and distribution. The responsibility of the manager must override all concerns of the departments to present a clear plan of security that matches with the legal team’s views. Any requirements from upper management and staff

Foreign Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Foreign Investment - Essay Example MFN clause has been beneficial in generating parity in trading opportunity among states by converting bilateral accords into multilateral agreements. As a matter of public international law, MFN clause provides the sovereign equality of states relative to trading policy. While as a tool for economic policy, it establishes a basis for international treaty in relation to competitive dealings.2 The establishment of Most-Favoured-Nation dealing has quite a long record. Before the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), bilateral trade agreements often include an MFN clause, and by itself contributed a great deal to trade liberalization. Nevertheless, various measures in the '30s were carried out that constrained the operation of the MFN initiative. These measures were viewed to result in the splitting up of the world economy into trade blocs.3 Realizing from this mistaken view, the unqualified MFN clause on a multilateral footing was subsequently integrated in the GATT following the ending of World War II, and has led to trade stability all over the world. The dual purpose of the MFN principle is removing the econ... The MFN clauses ensure that protected investments via treaty will obtain favourable treatment no less than the agreement the host country bestows to investments from any other state firms or nationals. The Netherlands-Philippines Bilateral Investment Treaty is one distinctive example wherein it formulated that "each contracting party shall extend to investments, in its territory, of nationals of the other contracting party treatment no less favourable than that granted to investment by any third state."4 II. Procedural and Substantive Rights of Investors Maffezini v. Kingdom of Spain5 The issue being dealt with in the Maffezini case was to find out in what permissible conditions that an investor can apply the MFN clause covered in a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) that is valid to its dispute as a way of establishing the arbitral's jurisdiction. In resolving this issue, the tribunal presented the difference between the rightful extension of rights and privileges by way of the operation of the MFN clause, and the bothersome treaty-shopping that could disrupt policy objectives of the essential explicit treaty provisions.6 Case Facts: An investment dispute between the Kingdom Spain and an Argentine petitioner submitted to adjudication by the petitioner under the Spain-Argentine BIT. The terms of the treaty provide that any dispute arising from the BIT has to be submitted to a competent tribunal in Spain when the procedures for amicable settlement fail (Art.-X.2). Further, that a dispute could only be elevated for international arbitration if the competent tribunal in Spain delivered a decision on the merits that fall short of resolving the dispute, or a decision has not been made on the merits within a period of eighteen

Examine anticipated interview questions, responses and previous Essay

Examine anticipated interview questions, responses and previous interview experiences - Essay Example The most appropriate dress for a job interview was noted to be conservative. This means wearing the â€Å"the traditional dark suit and white shirt† (McGowen, n.d., par. 1). McGowen (n.d.) also recommended that for a job interview, ladies should wear dark colored suits or dress and the skirt should be knee length. Likewise, dark colored shoes are suggested to be worn. For men, the dark classic suit should be worn with black leather shoes. Other important suggestions include ensuring that the hair is neatly combed and that there are less accessories or perfume so as not to distract the interviewer during the process. On a daily basis, wearing the most appropriate dress would depend on what other employees wear. As such, one could initially ask which is the most preferred dress code for men and women in the work setting as soon as the job has been awarded. Likewise, one could also observe what are the preferred and traditional office wear that could be accepted; and that which would retain professionalism and adherence to a good corporate image. In one’s job, casual dress is actually considered okay. Only those that are too revealing or that which could distract customers and other employees in the regular course of business transactions which are considered unacceptable. Tattoos and piercings are not allowed in one’s work setting because these are perceived to be detrimental to maintaining a professional corporate image. As such, one is aware that there is a workplace policy regarding dress code and the restrictions for tattoos and body piercings to make it explicitly clear on the code of behavior and conduct that employees must adhere to. Maintaining a good impression in the work setting is part of assuming a professional stance and an appropriate work ethics. Dressing for success in the work setting should be consistent with the policies and procedures of the organization with regards to proper decorum in following defined dress

Answers for 5 discussion questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Answers for 5 discussion questions - Essay Example Jackson’s â€Å"The Haunting of Hill House† is a book whose plot revolves round haunting sessions in a hill house. â€Å"Eleanor did not sleep during the afternoon, although she would have liked to; instead, she lay on Theodoras bed in the green room and watched Theodora do her nails, chatting lazily, unwilling to let herself perceive that she had followed Theodora into the green room because she had not dared to be alone† (pg 40). This quote portrays horror in the hill house as everybody feels fear yet they refuse to admit. Horror in the hill house make characters incline to believe in redemption from religion. â€Å"Hell House† depicts haunting sessions and doom that befalls non-believers. This movie is unethical as a method of persuasion as it instills fear in characters leaving them with no other option but believe in religion. Cults and organizations exhibit pledge to their leaders regarding organizational beliefs, ideas and obligations. Leaders of cults and organizations command actions of members and resistance to these actions is unacceptable. Cults and organization serve to acquire financial benefits. Encouraging team spirit within cults and organizations forms a unique feature. However, cults differ from organizations in various aspects. Actions of leaders of organization are subject to review by relevant authorities marred with such duties. Cults are not answerable to any authorities and their activities are non-religious. Unlike cults, organizations condemn members from cutting links with their families or friends. Organizations are not necessarily formed on religious beliefs and ideologies. "It is also possible that part of our test of faith is our loving of this world, even our flesh body, to the extent to be willing to leave it without any proof of the Next Levels existence" (Davis pp. 123). The intriguing aspect of Davis’s analysis is the

Two-Way Bilingualism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Two-Way Bilingualism - Essay Example Emerging results of studies of two-way bilingual programs point to their effectiveness in educating nonnative-English-speaking students, their promise of expanding our nations language resources by conserving the native language skills of minority students and developing second language skills in English-speaking students, and their hope of improving relationships between majority and minority groups by enhancing cross-cultural understanding and appreciation†. (Donna Christian, 1994) Most Two-way bilingual programs do not segregate language minority and language majority students. They also provide instructions in, and through, the two chosen languages. One of it is obviously the native language of the student from the minority community, and the other one is inevitably English. The former is also called as the target language. The programs attempt to teach students regular subjects while also developing their understanding of languages. To reap full rewards from this system of education, â€Å"students from the two language backgrounds are in each class, and they are integrated for most or all of their content instruction†. These programs are also beneficial in that they create an atmosphere that promotes favorable attitudes toward both languages and their respective cultures. The program is framed in such a way that the students achieve expertise in both their native language and English. There are other merits to two-way bilingual programs. Firstly, they help address several serious issues facing the present state of education. They also help in creating an intuitive and easy-to-learn approach to educate the increasing number of nonnative-English-speaking students registering in American schools. This is done in an â€Å"additive bilingual environment† that not only encourages development of native language and English, but also ensures general academic progress. Furthermore, â€Å"They promise to expand

Company Law globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Company Law globalization - Essay Example But significant parts are outmoded or have become redundant and they are enshrined in law that is often unnecessarily complicated and inaccessible." In today's world, global companies are able to control more human and economic resources than many nation states. The economic influence of these firms goes far beyond stock markets; these organisations have a genuine impact on people's lives, as the case of Enron illustrated in the U.S. With this perspective, questions like, who governs corporations and how are top executives appointed, or is economic globalisation changing corporate governance practices, are worth asking. Setting up and running a company in the UK is governed by the Companies Act 1985, but many other set of laws affect company operating procedures. These include the Sale of Goods Act 1979 that regulates the sale of any item; the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 which regulates the minimum standards of health and safety for employees; and the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 which requires employers to have insurance against physical injury and disease sustained by employees. Likewise, there are two types of companies: Private Company - this is usually a small or a family-run business. ... Public Company - must have a minimum capital of 50,000, offer shares to the public, and must have at least two directors or members. They must include "plc" (Public Limited Company) in the registered company name. The law characteristically views a company as a fictional person, a legal person, or a moral person (as opposed to a natural person). Under such tenet, traditionally seen as a legal fiction, a corporation enjoys many of the rights and obligations of individual persons, such as the ability to own property, sign binding contracts, pay taxes, have certain constitutional rights, and otherwise participate in society. It must be noted that corporations do not possess all the rights appertaining to individuals, for instance, in most jurisdictions, a corporation cannot become a citizen, nor vote. On the other hand, corporations often have rights not granted to individuals, such as treaty rights or as an example, the right to stockpile restricted pharmaceuticals without a prescription (Cooke, 1950). In common law nations, standard statement of this theory is found in Lennard's Carrying Co Ltd v Asiatic Petroleum Co Ltd [1915] AC 705, where Lord Haldane stated: "My Lords, a corporation is an abstraction. It has no mind of its own any more than it has a body of its own; its active and directing will must consequently be sought in the person of somebody who is really the directing mind and will of the corporation, the very ego and centre of the personality of the corporation." Salient features of incorporation include: Limited liability - Unlike in a partnership or sole proprietorship, members of a modern business corporation have "limited" liability for the corporation's debts and obligations (this is

Mittal Steel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Mittal Steel - Essay Example Mittal steel announced a hostile takeover bid for its nearest rival Arcelor steel. Mittal has lead consolidation in the world steel industry and their strategy emphasises size and scale and well as product diversity and quality. This acquisition satisfies all those elements of their strategy. Since Arcelor is not only a very large producer, which would add to the size and scale of Mittal's operations but also a producer of high value steel which is not a strength of Mittal Steel, this would satisfy the range of product diversity and quality which they desire. The steel industry has in the past largely been dominated by domestic countries that supplied steel to their market and then exported an excess overseas. Recently however this has drastically changed. Going Global: The steel industry has now become a largely global industry as opposed to a domestic one, especially in with the emergence of Mittal steel which is built on acquisitions and companies such as Arcelor and ThyssenKrupp now actively pursuing acquisitions. According the Economist (2005, 72) "Until these deals, steel had largely been a national business, with America's traditional integrated producers serving chiefly the domestic market. The international steel business consisted of export trade, rather than the ownership of assets in several countries. The emergence of Arcelor and Mittal has changed all that, with steel groups that have an increasingly global dimension." Consolidation: Recent acquisitions and the new global nature of the steel business have helped to consolidate the industry. Instead of being fragmented, many companies, Mittal included have sought to achieve success through size and scope. The Economist (2005, 72) notes that, "the global industry will come to be dominated by a handful of big groups with production of around 100m tonnes a year." Privatisation: Many Eastern European governments in particular have privatised major industry, allowing for easier consolidation in the industry. Mittal itself was about to take advantage of this by purchasing major steel operations from Poland and the Ukraine. China: China's capacity for steelmaking has increased from 11% in 1994 to 25% of the world total in 2005 (Economist 2005, 72). While demand has gone up in the world and China in particular for steel, the worry is that if demand in China goes down they will export their steel and flood the market. PEST Political Anti-Competition Policies The EU has the right to make anti-trust allegations regarding the merger of Arcelor and Mittal. There is pressure from especially the French government to prevent this merger. Economic Market Trends The consolidation of the steel industry has brought about many cost efficiencies and has allowed Mittal in particular to become vertically integrated. According to D'Costa (1999, 13), the emergence of low cost firms makes sense because, "Most processing technologies connected with steelmaking were and continue to be characterised by strong economies of scale. Add to that the fact that large amounts of finance are needed to implement best-practice techniques on scales that yield

Hocheng Philippines Corporation Essay Example for Free

Hocheng Philippines Corporation Essay Hocheng Philippines Corporation has been well-known for their finest creations of bathroom fixtures and accessories. It has acquired latest high-tech machineries and equipped workforce to provide high-quality porcelain products which is considered to be their main priority. Most of their production relies on these machineries that might result to interruption if there will be some technical problems experienced. Back up plan should be established to at least avoid delay in production. Safety in workplace is essential and should not be neglected by the management. There is a Violation Receipt which is intended for strict compliance with the rules regarding proper attire for safety. Someone noticed to be in violation will be reprimanded. Though, while exploring all the sides of the plant, I saw employees not in their uniforms, only wearing shorts and are topless which maybe is permissible to the management since these specific employees are under casting process. On the other hand, I noticed that there are a lot of ceiling fans that help in fast drying of the clays molded/ceramics that make much of the dust spread in air around the place which requires wearing of masks whenever in the workplace, but none of them wears one. This could be a huge risk in their health. The company must provide a strong policy regarding the implementation of wearing mask every time they are exposed to dust, come up with an excellent way to oblige employees in obeying with the plant instructions for worker protection and inform them about the hazards. Furthermore, there is only a little supervision from the management to its employees in actual testing of the outputs. One of them disclosed that before packing, testing the ‘flush’ should be made, but this is sometimes made randomly, and not for the entire units. There should be someone responsible for ensuring that all products went under testing and that all the employees are doing their jobs, most especially for those employees sleeping during lunch breaks. Someone must be roaming around, to check if none of them does that during work hours. Good thing about the production process is that it is well automated which minimizes human intervention and speeds up the process. But its huge reliance to machines results to possible delay in production if even just one part of it fails to function properly. If the machine crashes or experiences some technical problems, the production will be in halt. Thus, back up equipment or plan should be prepared by the management in case this happens. Sanitation and freshness were well-emphasized by the company. Of course, those are essential and of a great deal to their consumers. As a matter of fact, it was shown in the video that the pans used in baking are regularly and intensively cleaned and how these are cleaned but none was indicated about cleaning the machines used. Dough is not only placed on the pans, these also touch other parts of equipment before reaching the packaging section. It is impossible that these machines will never be subject to dirt, even if it is in a closed area. Therefore, they should find a way to maintain these machines sanitized, cleaning them regularly as possible without affecting the time allotted for the production. Upon observing in a short span of time, though in a limited view, a huge bulk of dough came into my attention. It was at the floor. I have no idea regarding the plan for that filthy dough but most probably, it is not going near our mouth. Hence, it should be segregated to a separate container, clearly emphasizing that it is no longer to be used for production to ensure that confusion will be avoided and that there is no chance of accidentally including it to clean ones. Strength Hocheng Philippines Corporation has been well-known for their finest creations of bathroom fixtures and accessories. It has acquired latest high-tech machineries and equipped workforce to provide high-quality porcelain products which is considered to be their main priority. As what one of the employees said, â€Å"We do not let our product even with just a small slight crack reach our customers. † In fact, all processes have TQC (Total Quality Control). There is QA (Quality Assurance) every month, like an auditing to randomly check if quality requirements are met to have quality-products. It serves as systematic requirement, a comparison with a standard. In addition to this, every certain period, there is four-hour training for skills development of the current employees. Kanban System is implemented in the company. It is a scheduling system for lean and JIT (Just-in-time) production, which has been proven to be a great way for improvement in the entire production. And, there is automation in maintaining/monitoring inventory. To simplify and speed up in updating the inventory level, the company uses barcode. However, for those items that are broken or defective, updating in inventory system is done manually and it is handled by three people, eliminating the possibility of having false information regarding these outputs. HCG uses Proximity scan (through ID) in entering the plant. This improves efficiency and reduces the possibility of deception. Furthermore, check list of materials to be used for casting is prepared by an immediate supervisor and if the materials prepared are found out to be insufficient, the employees themselves will approach a person in charge to have material requisition. Also, there is move ticket to authorize every time there will be transferring of materials. Almost stages in the whole system require documentation. Even for those items that are to be disposed, are being accompanied by appropriate records which help in audit trail purposes.

Theories Of Innovation And Change Management Essay

Theories Of Innovation And Change Management Essay Spending quality time surfing and researching the internet on Innovation and Change, I realized that there are uncountable theories and researches on innovation and change. From all indication, these researches and theories stated clearly that, innovation is inevitable because business and competition is constantly evolving, typically in the advanced technological tools and systems driven by the constant environment changes which is in line of the definition of Innovation the introduction of new and improved ways of doing things at work (West et al, 2003) or the successful exploitation of new ideas (Porter and Ketels, 2003) While there are many competing models and methods for change and innovation, applying any of them requires a consideration of the individuals or resources involved and the context within which they will be used When innovation is mentioned, it is important to recognize that one key element is people; people are the source of creativity, which is the basis for innovation. As we understand, Creativity is the means of generating new ideas and perspectives. One way to understand people as a source of creativity is to focus on their capabilities, skills, and motivations particularly those that are more likely to produce imaginative and artistic behavior. Leaders need to inspire, motivate and encourage staff to come out with new creative ideas, to reward people for good ideas. According Linda Holbeche; (2006), she does not believe that it is easy to combine the hard and Soft Changes (E and O Theory) as this will lead in mistrust of the orgainations leaders by their staff. The author, on the other hand, explains that organizations who have the skill and capabilities to resolve and combine the two theories will not only improvement or increase profitability and productivity but also put their employees on the adaptation phase for change.  This method will create positive organizational culture of change ownership by employees and will lead to a successful transformational change in the organization (Beer and Nohira, 1995). L. Holbeche (2006) mentioned that successful change occurs when people willingly change their behaviors. This is the same with Lewins force field analysis. With any planned change, works need to be prepared in order to predict the relative success of that change. What the management and leaders should do is to identify the restraining force which developed by Kurt Lewin, a pioneer in the field of social sciences, and alleviate the concerns by providing the people with adequate information about the impending change and its underpinning. According to Lewins force field analysis (1951), an issue is held in balance by the interaction of two opposing sets of forces those seeking to promote change (driving forces) and those attempting to maintain the status quo (restraining forces). force field analysis graphic What could be the utmost motivating factor in gaining employee buy-in is the fact that there will be role or position to be eliminated, and that the change can only enhance processes, eliminating resistance in the process. We to carefully examine the state of affairs of the business before we map up responses to organizational changes, as stated in the diagram above, some people would accept changes while others would decline then eventually resist. The life cycle of change resistance is a gradual process until you acquire at least 90% buy-in. Change leaders are challenged to manage the change towards survival though change might mean to alter existing systems, culture and processes. A clear strategy for this is to break down changes so that the people could absorb it little by little. This means to integrate the driving forces that could increase the rate of change acceptance. The company should look at initiating changes not only based on internal pressures but more emphasis is placed on opposing external pressures. Culture is essential to innovation in organizations as Dobni (2008) stated the objective to be modern, the facilities to support innovation, functional level habits necessary to impact an industry and value direction, and the surroundings to apply innovation (p. 540). With this, innovation could be viewed as contextual from an organizational culture viewpoint and the level to which a company can be modern will circumscribed by its culture. Dobni (2008, p. 543) provides another aspect that associates business culture with innovation through its industry direction. When it comes to change, there are three change phases according to the results of the research carried out by Prosci (2011). The first is preparing for change, the second, managing change and the last reinforcing change. if the three stages are effectively applied success is hence guaranteed. Self Leadership Assessment and Action Plan Self Leadership Assessment and Action Plan Having said all of these, it is evident that leaders should also be in a position to balance between employees freedom and responsibility. Leaders have to do this without domination or control while at the same time, showing concern over employees feelings and needs. There is a need to generously encourage their employees creativity and voice their own concerns, as argued by Amabile (1998) and Peltz, (1956). A successful leader is a great listener to staff concerns and problems. Respect, honesty and trust are key principles in the way I lead and guide my staff.   The approach I follow is a participatory approach in designing and planning the yearly plan, in welcoming opinions and suggestions, in recognizing staff efforts, in providing opportunities for performance development and career path under a collectively approved training/learning plan. Further, fairness is what I follow to treat staff without any biased feeling or favoring one over others. Despite the wealth of knowledge and experience gained over years as a manager, I believe that enhanced skills to enhance and strengthen my leadership skills. To enable myself to efficiently become a successful leader for others to follow and to enable a planned change, leaders need to possess the technical expertise and to select the right people to jointly plan and implement change. Nonetheless, the need for a shared understanding cannot be emphasized enough in the literature. This is the only way that a more open as well as more honest communication can be promoted. Eventually, concrete actions leading to attaining the planned changed can be thus developed through this. At an organizational level, the climate where shared understanding is the dominant norm, maximizing the fit among strategy, structure and purpose related to the impending change. However, there remains the fact that the readiness and the willingness of the people must be in existence to sustain the appropriate kind of work. Owing to this fact, I need to scientifically gain the right knowledge and path of how to become the role model. A feasible and doable action plan would involve: 1) creating an effective team within the division, 2) designing a double vision of the division with defined mission, 3) opening a flow of communication between senior/middle managers and staff (operations talk to program and vice versa), 4) creating recognition and award system based on staff performance and yearly assessment, 5) ensuring a healthy, supportive and creative environment among the division staff, 6) driving creativity, innovation and change within the division; and in every employee inside the organization wherein leaders cannot affect change and innovations alone, they need followers to implement and 7) proving record of respected and trusted leader; support building employees loyalty to the organization. These are namely my plan of action to further enhance and develop my leadership skills that are essential for my career development and for the organizational success. Once these skills are obtained, my performance and capabilities will be stronger as a leader that will lead me to overcome difficult challenges on the way be it internally or externally. I need to reiterate that if we have a trusted, transparent and open relationship between managers/leaders and staff that is built over years, staff will not react strongly against change. Next is to conduct innovation and change-centered exercising programs such as goal setting and process mapping. Organizational Innovation and Change-Related Training This training is designed on studying how to set goals from team and business levels. Such training instructs members how to set goals by using organizational goals, declaration of values and vision and mission statements. Learning how to create innovative goals in the workplace is primary of this program. Strategic innovation goal setting skills are the designed outcome of this training. This training is suitable for staff, professionals and managers, with a total exercising time of 4 hours. The studying goals of this training are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Help the company develops and apply activity plan à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Identify the factors that influence ideal goals à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sequence the steps for putting organizational goals into action à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Applying visualization techniques Innovation and Change-Related Process Mapping Training Process applying represents a visual device used to show you the primary businesses. Process charts are also regarded as communication device, planning device and a device that effectively cuts cost for organizations. The benefits of this training is to enhance the knowing of procedures inner to the company and increases control groups knowing of the business and functional performance. Provided that procedures are the most effective way to manage the company, procedures then directly supports the organizational goal. By improving procedures, the company can enhance inner productivity, efficiency, variety and customer support. Through this, the company could generate useful analytic data in order to obtain conclusions, draw results and produce recommendations. This two-day training is suitable for professionals, program implementers, control associates, program planners, change professionals and enhancement teams. This exercising programs goals are as follows: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Improve efficiency and quality of work through determining critical areas of enhancement à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rediscover primary procedures through analysis of organizational complications Conclusion In summary, there are many ideas and literature on change, innovation and leadership. Some can be implemented successfully while others cannot be actionable on reality.   Many factors control the need for change and change vary in nature like why,. Nevertheless, the most important factor of change that all research and books agreed upon is: the PEOPLE. The authors contemplated on how to correctly and effectively manage the peoples behaviors during a change. The relationship of trust, honesty and respect between leaders and employers, when this is felt within the organization, employees will welcome the change with less resistance be it soft or hard changes. Change is inevitable, particularly in the world of business. Change can cause both positive and negative results for any company. First, change means growth and improvement, thus it can help companies to focus on the different threats and opportunities which can be implemented and prevented inside the organization in order to ensure success and maintain position in the market and industry. On the other hand, change can also cause negative results for any company, particularly in the aspect of management. It can cause huge amount to be spent, at the same time great effort to be exerted in order to ensure that the change will not affect the behavior and attitudes of the employees and other important stakeholders towards the company.

John Lockes Theory Of Personal Identity Philosophy Essay

John Lockes Theory Of Personal Identity Philosophy Essay For should the soul of a prince, carrying with it the consciousness of the princes past life, enter and inform the body of a cobbler, as soon as deserted by his own soul, everyone sees he would be the same person with the prince, accountable only for the princes actions; but who would say it was the same man?2 In this example Locke shows that the human body is not necessary in personal identity since you could have the same person in two different bodies. Since the physical body cannot maintain personal identity, Locke comes to the conclusion that it must be the psychological aspect of humanity that retains personal identity. 1It is at this point that the emphasis of identity is placed on the psychological rather than the physical aspect of life as stated in Lockes second book: This may show us wherein personal identity consists: not in the identity of substance, but in the identity of consciousness3 Lockes next point was to differentiate between a man and a person. He uses the example of a rational talking parrot and compares it to an organism with the same shape as a human being though; it is unable to engage in rational discourse.1 This thought experiment is used by Locke to demonstrate that rationality is not an essential part of a man. Since rational discourse was not a necessary part of man. Locke expressed identity using something else. Thus, Locke finally narrowed down the integral part of personal identity to consciousness. Lockes definition of conscious is as follows: Consciousness is both a necessary and a sufficient condition for a morally vital sense of personal identity.3 Locke describes the essence of self as being their consciousness, which he states as something distinguishable for every thinking thing. This consciousness is described as the sameness of a rational being. The unique characteristic of consciousness is that allows it to retain personal identity is that it can be extended backwards to any past action or thought. It is this characteristic that Locke uses to explain his theory of personal identity. 4Locke also disagrees with the Cartesian view of the soul, which held that a mans soul was of an entirely different essence than his body, focusing more on the connectedness of the same conscious thought. Therefore, Locke reaches the conclusion that personal identity can only be achieved through psychological continuity. As a result of this, psychological continuity relies only on the beings ability to consciously look back on their previous existence and be able to distinguish between conscious thought and memory. This distinction is extremely important to bec ause Locke is frequently ambiguous when dealing with both terms. When he refers to conscious memory, he implies that it represents the consciousness of a past experience. Conscious thought, on the other hand, involves perceiving that one perceives. Locke explains that when we will anything, we are always conscious of it. Psychological continuity, as Locke describes it, also insinuates that a person who exists at one time is indistinguishable with a person who exists at a second time only if the first person remembers some past experience that connects the second person to the second time. Therefore, Lockes definition of personal identity centers around the continuity of the consciousness, which is able to relate past and present memories and retain some sense of self awareness. Now that I have explained and given an analysis of Lockes theory of personal identity, I will now evaluate the validity of Lockes theory by proving that his account of personal identity is incorrect. Lockes arguments contain flaws from their conception. I have a great difficulty with Lockes statement of self-conscious awareness as the main constituent of personal identity since intrinsically that consciousness is available only to each unique self. Due to this dilemma, third party juries will be subject to error in many cases. In order to further explain this point, I will divide my argument into two questions; what does personal identity consist of and how can one tell a person is the same? First, since Locke defined personal identity as a persons consciousness, I will use that as my basis for this argument. Thus, since we can only tell a person through their physical aspect, it becomes impossible to distinguish if someone elses consciousness resides in the person you are looking at . An example would be if a person robbed a bank but wasnt conscious of the fact that he performed the act in the first place. According to Locke, the man should be free of all charges since he wasnt the same person who robbed the bank. This however is preposterous if in a courtroom there is evidence of that person robbing the bank, the only exception being if the person could prove they lost consciousness throughout the event. Another error found within Lockes argument centers around the fact that even though a person can switch bodies, it is the consciousness that determines the identity of the bodies. Thus it is clear that while Lockes statements seem perfectly rational in theory, practically though, they have no weight. Another flaw found in Lockes argument, is in how he leaves out particular cases where his theory of psychological continuity cannot apply. First however, I must define the distinction between person and man. Locke defines man as a living body of some particular sh ape. A person, on the other hand, is an intelligent thinking being that can know itself as itself the same thinking thing in different times and places.4An example of this would be humans who remain in vegetative conditions and show no mental faculties whatsoever. According to Lockes description of personal identity these human beings are not considered persons since nothing can be discovered from their past in order for that individual to define their psychological identity. Lockes argument between man and person becomes too controversial since the definition of both terms can never truly be settled. In conclusion, after providing examples to counterclaim Lockes argument that personal identity originates from psychological continuity it is clear that Lockes view on identity is too flawed to be correct when defining identity for each person. 1William, Uzgalis. John Locke > The Immateriality of the Soul and Personal Identity (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/supplement.html (accessed October 13, 2010). 2Locke, John. Of Identity and Diversity. In Essay Concerning Human Understanding Volume Two. 1690. Reprint, Toronto: Dover Publications, 2005. 517-518. 3John, Locke. Of Identity and Diversity. In Essay Concerning Human Understanding Volume Two. 1690. Reprint, Toronto: Dover Publications, 2005. 514. 4John, Locke. Of Identity and Diversity. In Essay Concerning Human Understanding Volume Two. 1690. Reprint, Toronto: Dover Publications, 2005. 515. sBibliography Uzgalis, William. John Locke > The Immateriality of the Soul and Personal Identity (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/supplement.html (accessed October 13, 2010). Locke, John. Of Identity and Diversity. In Essay Concerning Human Understanding Volume Two. 1690. Reprint, Toronto: Dover Publications, 2005. 517-518. Locke, John. Of Identity and Diversity. In Essay Concerning Human Understanding Volume Two. 1690. Reprint, Toronto: Dover Publications, 2005. 514. Locke, John. Of Identity and Diversity. In Essay Concerning Human Understanding Volume Two. 1690. Reprint, Toronto: Dover Publications, 2005. 515.

jet propulsion :: essays research papers

Jet Propulsion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Propulsion is a word that is derived from two Latin words: pro meaning before or forwards and pellere meaning to drive. To push forward or drive an object forward is Propulsion. A propulsion system produces thrust to push an object forward. Newton’s third law is the basis of the generation of thrust on airplanes. The engine accelerates a gas, and the reaction to this acceleration produces a force on the engine.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Different propulsion systems generate thrust in slightly different ways. That is: the propeller, the turbine engine, the ramjet, and the rocket. Each of these propulsion systems is applied everyday. The reason for four different types of engines is based on the balance of drag. Drag is what keeps planes in the air and accelerating. Thrust from the propulsion system must do two things: balance the drag of the airplane when the airplane is cruising and also the thrust from the propulsion system must exceed the drag of the airplane for the plane to accelerate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most airplanes spend most of their airtime cruising through the skies, such as cargo planes. In this application excess thrust is not as important as high engine efficiency and low fuel usage. Because of the aerodynamic efficiency of propellers and fans, it is more fuel efficient to accelerate a large mass by a small amount. That is why we find turboprops on cargo planes and airliners.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some aircraft such as fighter planes require very high thrust to accelerate quickly and to overcome the high drag associated with high speeds of these airplanes, engine efficiency is not as important as very high thrust. Afterburning turbojets are used for this and a new technology called ramjet or rocket propulsion is used for this.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Well as you can see Propulsion is very important for flying through our skies.

Doing Business in Italy Essay -- International Business

Doing business in Italy is very different than in the United States. â€Å"Set to move onto a slow, but steady, path of economic growth;† Italy, at first glance, seems to be a promising business environment with projected increases in GDP per capita in the coming years, according to Business Monitor International (â€Å"Italy Autos Report† 30). However, there are many cultural, administrative, geographic and economic differences that make the business environment much different than that in the US. Generally dominated by domestic carmakers, mainly Fiat S.p.A., the auto industry in Italy doesn’t look very appealing for new firms because of the high barriers to entry. However, foreign carmakers like Ford have managed to penetrate the Italian market, with vehicles like the Fiesta, by focusing on small fuel efficient cars. Furthermore, Italy faces many problems that makes it a less attractive place for business; such as â€Å"low business productivity, insuff icient investment in high technology industries, disadvantageous demographics, and the labour market.(â€Å"Italy Autos Report† 31)† Although the automotive market in Italy doesn’t show much room for sales growth as shown by a high car ownership per capita. In 2009, mostly due to government incentives, the auto market saw a more moderate drop in sales than in the previous year (fig. 1). According to the Business Monitor International total auto sales is forecasted to surpass 2.58 million units by 2014 (â€Å"Italy Autos Report† 27). Taking into account Ghemawat’s four dimensions of distance; culture, administrative, geographic and economic shows that while there are costs and risks associated with doing business in Italy there are also advantages. English is taught early as a secondary languag... ... both advantages and disadvantages. The current auto market, mostly dominated by domestic players due to the consumers loyalty toward domestic brands, shows very little appeal for new entrants. Some foreign carmakers, Ford for example, are showing signs of growth in this market. Ford has been able to do this by appealing to the consumers desire, for small affordable cars. Works Cited "Italy Autos Report - Q1 2010. " Italy Autos Report 1 Jan. 2010: ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry, ProQuest. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. Italy - Labor. Encyclopedia of the Nations. 28 Feb. 2014. . Potesta, Sandra. How to do Business in Italy. Feb. 2007. 28 Feb. 2014. . Welcome to Italy. 28 Feb. 2014. .

Physics of Pool :: physics sport pool billiards

Physics is the science that allows us to understand the fundamental behaviors of the universe. It can be explored at the macroscopic and microscopic levels, giving insight into the way objects interact. Here we will take a look at how physics can be applied to the game of pool. Almost all of the different aspects of pool can be explained through physics, and a better understanding of these fundemental principles can aid in performance playing pool. In the game of pool there are sixteen balls, one cueball and fifteen physically identical numbered balls. While there are many interactions between all the balls on the table, in order to simplify things we will only look at the interactions between the cue ball and the first ball it strikes. These principles can be expanded to evaluate the entire system of balls on the pool table. In order to evaluate the physics of pool, first the measurable values of the system must be collected. Parameter Symbol Value Cue ball mass m1 1.6x10-1 kg Cue ball radius r1 2.79x10-2m Ball mass m2-m16 1.7x10-1 kg Ball radii r2-r16 2.86x10-2 m Coefficient of friction  µk 0.027 Knowing these values the Motion, Work, and Energy can all be derived. The motion of the balls can be catagorized into two general catagories which are collisions and spin or rotation. Here the focus will be on collisions between the balls. The spin can have a significant effect on the motion of the ball, but due to time constraints and complexity of the science of it it will not be addressed to much detail. "An elastic collision between two objects is one in which the total kinetic energy (as well as total momentum) of the system is the same before and after the collision." (Physics for Scientists and Engineers) In a collision between the cue ball and another ball, since the masses are so similar the resulting angle between the vectors of the balls is approximately ninety degrees.

Benefits of IFRS Essay

IFRS will enable US bank to compete globally; more than one hundred countries in the world are already using IFRS. This is because more than sixty percent of investors in US operate foreign stocks with foreign banks and other companies which use IFRS. Therefore, if US bank fail to switch to IFRS, transparency and comparability will reduce for US issuers and investors (Silver, 2009). Furthermore, US exchanges such as the NYSE have been gradually losing their position as the place where worldwide companies list their shares. This being the case, the US bank has been affected since foreign investors now prefer investing their wealth in other banks where the accounting standards are not as strict is in the US. To avoid losing investment opportunities and lagging behind the current developments in the field of accounting, US bank does have to switch to IFRS. Comparing the annual report of Rabobank with that of Wells Fargo bank shows how IFRS reduces financial reporting into smaller and less complicated documents. The 2009 annual report of Rabobank were complied in a 61 (Rabobank, 2010) pages document while that of Wells Fargo were documented in 196 pages (Wells Fargo, 2010). This implies that IFRS summarizes financial reporting more than thrice of the GAAP accounting standards. It is also evident from the annual reports of the two banks that IFRS provides more comprehensive historical information regarding the performance of the bank over the past five years(the case of Rabobank) while GAAP only gives the present and previous year’s figures. This makes IFRS more effective since the stakeholders, management and investors can be able to track the financial position of the bank at a glance so that which is very important for future palming (IASCF, 2009). Adopting IFRS will make reporting for most banks in US easier since it will reduce the complexities of comparing financial statements from different subsidiaries across the globe. It will also facilitate internal consistency and streamline all operations, auditing, reporting standards, training and company standards (Articles Base, 2009). For instance, Rabobank applies IFRS on its financial reporting. This has greatly improved the efficiency of the bank since it operates in more than forty countries around the world. Following the bank’s annual reports since 2004, the total net profit calculated using IFRS was higher by 15 million Euros as compared to the same when calculated with GAAP (Rabobank Nederland, 2005). This difference was majorly due to the benefits of reclassifications of interest income under IFRS. This is because under the IFRS accounting standards, several interests are no longer consolidated and this results to lesser third-party interests (Rabobank Nederland, 2005) Disincentives of adopting IFRS IFRS accounting standards are less detailed as compared to GAAP; GAAP is more complex and based on rules while IFRS is based on principles. Adoption of IFRS will reduce the quality of financial reporting because most of the rules applied for GAAP have been let-out in IFRS—while IFRS principles fit in a single two-inch thick book, GAAP standards fit in a nine-inch thick book—this indicates that the details and reporting requirements of IFRS are fewer and compressed (IASCF, 2009). Adoption of IFRS implies that banks will incur additional costs: training staff on IFRS standards and also initial conversion costs which will be paid to advisors and auditors (Articles Base, 2009). Considering the format of the annual reports of the two banks, it is evident that IFRS eliminates many items from the annual report and presents only the consolidated financial position of the bank. Information eliminated from Rabobank’s 2009 financial reports include the vision, mission and goals of the organization, financial reviews, the report from independent registered public accounting firm and reports on stock performances; however this information is provided in Wells Fargo 2009 annual report.

Heat Conduction

Experiment 16: Heat conduction Introduction In this laboratory you will study heat flow across a temperature gradient. By comparing the temperature difference across one material to the temperature difference across a second material of known thermal conductivity, when both are conducting heat at a steady rate, you will be able to calculate the thermal conductivity of the first material. You will then compare the experimental value of the calculated thermal conductivity to the known value for that material.Thermal conductivity is an important concept in the earth sciences, with applications including estimating of cooling rates of magma chambers, geothermal explorations, and estimates of the age of the Earth. It is also important in regard to heat transport in air, to understanding the properties of insulating material (including the walls and windows of your house), and in many other areas. The objective of this laboratory experiment is to apply the concepts of heat flow to measure the thermal conductivity of various materials. Theory Temperature is a measure of the kinetic energy of the random motion of molecules with a material.As the temperature of a material increases, the random motion of its molecules increases, and the material absorbs and stores a quantity which we call heat. The material is said to be hotter. Heat, once thought to be a fundamental quantity specifically related to temperature, is now known to be simply another form of energy. The equivalence of heat and energy is one of the foundations of thermodynamics. As the molecules in one region of a material move, they collide with molecules in neighboring portions of the material, thus transferring some of their energy to other regions.The net result is that heat flows from regions with higher temperatures to regions with lower temperatures. An exact calculation of this heat flow can be very difficult for materials with complicated shapes and complicated temperature distributions, but in some s imple cases the heat flow can be calculated. In this experiment, we will consider the heat flow across a plate of material of cross sectional area A and thickness ? x when its faces are held at constant (and different) temperatures, as indicated in Fig. 1. Figure 1 Heat flow across a plate. In this case the rate of heat flow H across the material is given by H = KA !T ! x ( ) (1) where ! T = T2 † T1 is the temperature difference across the plate and K is a quantity called the thermal conductivity. Note that this equation only applies because we keep the top and bottom at fixed temperature. In a more general situation, the flow of heat would alter the temperature of the top and bottom, and a more complicated approach would be required to deal with the situation. Heat is transferred more efficiently through shapes with a large area that are subject to a large temperature difference, but more slowly through thicker materials.If the units of H are J/s, that of A are m2, ? x is in m, and the units of temperature are ? C or K, then the units of K must be W/m-oC. Prove this for yourself, and show it in your laboratory book. Since the Celsius degree is the same size as a degree on the Kelvin scale, the units of thermal conductivity are usually expressed as W/m-K. We will use Eq. (1) to measure the heat flow through a material of known thermal conductivity and then use this result to determine the thermal conductivity of unknown samples forced to conduct heat at the same rate.Thermocouples In order to apply Eq. (1) we will need to measure the temperature difference ? T across our samples. It would be difficult to insert a thermometer into the gap between plates without disrupting the heat flow, so we will instead use a temperature probe that uses a device known as a thermocouple. 2 Figure 2. A Thermocouple A thermocouple is simply two connected wires made of dissimilar metals. Whenever two different metals contact each other, a small voltage difference is generat ed. This voltage difference is dependent on the temperature of the junction.If we measure this voltage difference with an accurate voltmeter, we can look up the temperature of the junction relative to the temperature of the connection to the voltmeter in a thermocouple table. The instrument used in this lab does the conversion for you, so can read the temperature directly. The thermocouple probe is now a very common device for measuring temperature, particularly in small places. For, example many medical thermometers are now based on thermocouples rather than the more traditional liquid in a glass tube. Experiment: Apparatus:The apparatus for this experiment are shown in the following figure, which also demonstrates how you will use the equipment. Figure 3. The apparatus for measuring thermal conductivity. 3 The apparatus for this experiment consists of a hot plate to supply heat, an ice bath to absorb heat, and plates of various materials through which heat will follow. Temperature s of the plates will be measured with a glass thermometer. In addition, the diameter and thickness of each plate will be measured with vernier calipers. Method Measure the diameter and thickness of each plate provided.Calculate the areas of the plates. Create the following table in your report and fill it in. Table 1. Dimensions of various plates Material Masonite Aluminum Plexiglass Plywood Teflon Using the glass thermometer, measure the temperature of the room and ice bath. Record your values. I. Thermal Conductivity of Plexiglass Construct a â€Å"sandwich† consisting of aluminum, masonite and plexiglass with the slots arranged so that thermocouples can be inserted on either side of the masonite plate. Place the sandwich on the hot plate with the aluminum side down. Place the ice bath on top of the sandwich.Switch the hotplate controller on and set the Variac to approximately 40% power. The exact value is not important, but if the power is set much higher some of the mater ials may get too hot. WARNING: Use extreme caution around the hot plate and when handling any of the materials that come into contact with it for the remainder of the experiment. The surfaces will become HOT! It will take up to 30 minutes for the heat flow to achieve a steady state. Monitor the progress by plotting the temperature readings T1 of the thermocouple 1 and T2 of thermocouple 2 as a function of time. Expect a maximum time of 45 minutes.Take readings every 1 to 2 minutes. If you miss a reading, skip it and record the next reading at the appropriate time on your plot. 4 Diameter (cm) Diameter (m) Area (m2) Thickness (cm) Thickness (m) You should find that the temperature readings eventually approach constant values. Even if they are still drifting after 30 minutes, the small changes to the heat flow will have only a small effect on your results. Record final values of the temperatures for the aluminum/masonite/plexiglass sandwich. You now have all the data needed to calcula te the thermal conductivity of plexiglass.See the â€Å"analysis† section later in these notes for details about how to do this. Calculate its value. II. Thermal conductivity of Plywood Carefully remove the Plexiglas plate and replace it with the plywood sheet (with slot down). Reinsert thermocouple 2 and place the ice bath back on top of the sandwich. Since a steady state heat flow has already been established in the aluminum and masonite, this new configuration should take only about 20 minutes to achieve a steady state. While you are waiting for the temperature readings to stabilize, you may wish to use the time to calculate the thermal conductivity of Plexiglas.If you do this, keep an eye on the temperature readings so that you know when a steady state has been achieved. Record the steady state values of the temperature for the sandwich of aluminum/masonite/plywood. III. Thermal Conductivity of Teflon Carefully remove the plywood plate and replace it with the Teflon plate (with slot down). Reinsert thermocouple 2 and place the ice bath back on top of the sandwich. Again, a steady state will probably be achieved in about 20 minutes. Record the steady state values of the temperatures for the sandwich of aluminum/masonite/Teflon. Analysis If e neglect the heat that escapes from the edges of the plates (due to convection and radiation), all of the heat provided by the hot plate must flow through each of the plates and into the ice bath, once a steady state has been achieved. Thus the heat flow through each plate must be the same throughout the sandwich. In particular, this means that the heat flow through the masonite is equal to the heat flow through the top material. Therefore we can write Hm = Htop . Using Eq. (1) we find that K m Am ! Tm ! xm = K top Atop ! Ttop ! xtop ( ) ( ) (2) The thermal conductivity of masonite is known to be 0. 0476 W/mK.You can derive an expression from Eq. (1) for the thermal conductivity of the top plate. 5 Use your measur ed values and the known value for the Km to calculate the thermal conductivities of each of the top plates used. Prepare a table like that shown below and fill in the values in your report. Table 2. Thermal conductivities of materials used in this laboratory. Material Calculated thermal Published value of K conductivity (W/mK) (W/mK) Aluminum Masonite Plexiglass Plywood Teflon The least accurate measurements in this experiment are the thermocouple voltages, which are only measured to 0. 1 mV accuracy.Based on this accuracy, estimate the uncertainty in the temperature difference across the masonite plate. Considering the uncertainty in this temperature difference only, what is the approximate percentage error in your calculated thermal conductivity values? Questions: 1. Use Eq. (1) to calculate the total rate of heat flow H through each of the plates in Part 1. (Note: The same value of H must hold for each plate, so you only need to use Eq. (1) once). 2. Do your results agree with th e expected values? If not, what measurements, processes, and/or assumptions do you suspect to have been significant sources of error? 6

What is Chromosome 21?

Down syndrome (DS) is a condition in which extra genetic material causes delays in the way a child develops, and often leads to mental retardation. It affects 1 in every 800 babies born. The symptoms of Down syndrome can vary widely from child to child. While some kids with DS need a lot of medical attention, others lead very healthy and independent lives. Though Down syndrome can't be prevented, it can be detected before a child is born. The health problems that can go along with DS can be treated, and there are many resources within communities to help kids and their families who are living with the condition. Normally, at the time of conception a baby inherits genetic information from its parents in the form of 46 chromosomes: 23 from the mother and 23 from the father. In most cases of Down syndrome, however, a child gets an extra chromosome – for a total of 47 chromosomes instead of 46. It's this extra genetic material that causes the physical and cognitive delays associated with DS. Although no one knows for sure why DS occurs and there's no way to prevent the chromosomal error that causes it, scientists do know that women age 35 and older have a significantly higher risk of having a child with the condition. At age 30, for example, a woman has less than a 1 in 1,000 chance of conceiving a child with DS. Those odds increase to 1 in 400 by age 35. By 42, it jumps to about 1 in 60. How Does Down Syndrome Affect a Child? Kids with Down syndrome tend to share certain physical features such as a flat facial profile, an upward slant to the eyes, small ears, a single crease across the center of the palms, and an enlarged tongue. A doctor can usually tell if a newborn has the condition through a physical exam. Low muscle tone and loose joints are also characteristic of children with DS, and babies in particular may seem especially â€Å"floppy. Though this can and often does improve over time, most children with DS typically reach developmental milestones – like sitting up, crawling, and walking – later than other kids. At birth, kids with DS are usually of average size, but they tend to grow at a slower rate and remain smaller than their peers. For infants, low muscle tone may con tribute to sucking and feeding problems, as well as constipation and other digestive issues. In toddlers and older children, there may be delays in speech and self-care skills like feeding, dressing, and toilet teaching. Down syndrome affects kids' cognitive abilities in different ways, but most have mild to moderate mental retardation. Kids with DS can and do learn, and are capable of developing skills throughout their lives. They simply reach goals at a different pace – which is why it's important not to compare a child with DS with typically developing siblings or even other children with the condition. Kids with DS have a wide range of abilities, and there's no way to tell at birth what they will be capable of as they grow up. Medical Problems Associated with Down Syndrome. While some kids with DS have no other health problems, others may experience a host of medical issues that require extra care. For example, half of all children born with DS also have congenital heart defects and are prone to developing pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs). A pediatric cardiologist can monitor these types of problems, many of which can be treated with medication or surgery. Approximately half of all kids with DS also have problems with hearing and vision. Hearing loss can be related to fluid buildup in the inner ear or to structural problems of the ear itself. Vision problems commonly include amblyopia (lazy eye), near- or farsightedness, and an increased risk of cataracts. Regular evaluations by an audiologist and an ophthalmologist are necessary to detect and correct any problems before they affect a child's language and learning skills. Other medical conditions that may occur more frequently in children with DS include thyroid problems, intestinal abnormalities, seizure disorders, respiratory problems, obesity, an increased susceptibility to infection, and a higher risk of childhood leukemia. Fortunately, many of these conditions are treatable. What is Chromosome 21? According to wikipedia. org, Chromosome 21 is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. People normally have two copies of this chromosome. The trisomy of the 21 causes Down Syndrome. Chromosome 21 is the smallest human chromosome, spanning almost 47 million nucleotides (the building material of DNA) and representing about 1. 5 percent of the total DNA in cells. The Human Genome Project announced that they had determined the sequence of base pairs that make up this chromosome. Chromosome 21 was the second human chromosome to be fully sequenced. Chromosome 21 likely contains between 200 and 400 genes. These include: †¢ APP: amyloid beta (A4) precursor protein (peptidase nexin-II, Alzheimer disease) †¢ CBS: cystathionine-beta-synthase †¢ CLDN14: claudin 14 †¢ HLCS: holocarboxylase synthetase (biotin-(proprionyl-Coenzyme A-carboxylase (ATP-hydrolysing)) ligase) †¢ KCNE1: potassium voltage-gated channel, Isk-related family, member 1 †¢ KCNE2: potassium voltage-gated channel, Isk-related family, member 2 †¢ LAD: leukocyte adhesion deficiency (symbols are ITGB2, CD18, LCAMB) †¢ SOD1: superoxide dismutase 1, soluble (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 1 (adult)) †¢ TMPRSS3: transmembrane protease, serine 3. Effects of Chromosome 21 The effects of chromosome 21 is best felt by the conditions that are associated with its lack or mutation. These include: Cancer Rearrangements (translocations) of genetic material between chromosome 21 and other chromosomes have been associated with several types of cancer. For example, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (a type of blood cancer most often diagnosed in childhood) has been associated with a translocation between chromosomes 12 and 21. Another form of leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, has been associated with a translocation between chromosomes 8 and 21. Down Syndrome In a small percentage of cases, Down syndrome is caused by a rearrangement of chromosomal material between chromosome 21 and another chromosome. As a result, a person has the usual two copies of chromosome 21, plus extra material from chromosome 21 attached to another chromosome. These cases are called translocation Down syndrome. Researchers believe that extra copies of genes on chromosome 21 disrupt the course of normal development, causing the characteristic features of Down syndrome and the increased risk of medical problems associated with this disorder. Mental Retardation Other changes in the number or structure of chromosome 21 can have a variety of effects, including mental retardation, delayed development, and characteristic facial features. In some cases, the signs and symptoms are similar to those of Down syndrome. Changes to chromosome 21 include a missing segment of the chromosome in each cell (partial monosomy 21) and a circular structure called ring chromosome 21. A ring chromosome occurs when both ends of a broken chromosome are reunited. Alzheimer’s Disease. Duplication in Amyloid precursor protein (APP) locus (duplicated segment varies in length but includes APP) on Chromosome 21 was found to cause early onset familial Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a french family set (Rovelet-Lecrux et al) and a dutch family set (Sleegers et al). Compared to AD caused by missense mutations in APP, the frequency of the AD caused by APP duplications is significant. ALL the patients that have an extra copy of APP gene due to the locus duplication show AD with severe Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA).

Organisation and Behaviour Essay

Case Study 1: Dimensions of Organisational Structure Changing the Rules at Bosco Plastics When Jill Thompson took over as chief executive officer at Bosco Plastics, the company was in trouble. Bosco had started out as an innovative company, known for creating a new product just as the popularity of one of the industry’s old standbys was fading, i.e., replacing yo-yo’s with water guns. In two decades, it had become an established maker of plastics for the toy industry. Bosco had grown from a dozen employees to four hundred, and its rules had grown haphazardly with it. Thompson’s predecessor, Wilhelm K. Blatz, had found the company’s procedures chaotic and had instituted a uniform set of rules for all employees. Since then, both research output and manufacturing productivity had steadily declined. When the company’s board of directors hired Thompson, they emphasized the need to evaluate and revise the company’s formal procedures in an attempt to reverse the trends. First, Thompson studied the rules Blatz had implemented. She was impressed to find that the entire procedures manual was only twenty pages long. It began with the reasonable sentence â€Å"All employees of Bosco Plastics shall be governed by the following . . .† Thompson had expected to find evidence that Blatz had been a tyrant who ran the company with an iron fist. But as she read through the manual, she found nothing to indicate this. In fact, some of the rules were rather flexible. Employees could punch in anytime between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. and leave nine hours later, between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. Managers were expected to keep monthly notes on the people working for them and make yearly recommendations to the human resources committee about raises, bonuses, promotions, and firings. Except for their one-hour lunch break, which they could take at any time, employees were expected to be in the building at all times. Puzzled, Thompson went down to the lounge where the research and development people gathered. She was surprised to find a time clock on the wall. Curious, she fed a time card into it and was even more flabbergasted when the machine chattered noisily, then spit it out without registering the time. Apparently R&D was none too pleased with the time clock and had found a way to rig it. When Thompson looked up in astonishment, only two of the twelve employees who had been in the room were still there. They said the others had â€Å"punched back in† when they saw the boss coming. Thompson asked the remaining pair to tell her what was wrong with company rules, and she got an earful. The researchers, mostly chemists and engineers with advanced graduate degrees, resented punching a time clock and having their work evaluated once a month, when they could not reasonably be expected to come up with something new and worth writing about more than twice a year. Before the implementation of the new rules, they had often gotten inspiration from going down to the local dime store and picking up five dollars worth of cheap toys, but now they felt they could make such trips only on their own time. And when a researcher came up with an innovative idea, it often took months for the proposal to work its way up the company hierarchy to the attention of someone who could put it into production. In short, all these sharp minds felt shackled. Concluding that maybe she had overlooked the rigidity of the rules, Thompson walked over to the manufacturing building to talk to the production supervisors. They responded to her questions with one word: anarchy. With employees drifting in between 8:00 and 10:00 and then starting to drift out again by 11:00 for lunch, the supervisors never knew if they had enough people to run a particular operation. Employee turnover was high, but not high enough in some cases; supervisors believed the rules prevented them from firing all but the most incompetent workers before the end of the yearly evaluation period. The rules were so â€Å"humane† that discipline was impossible to enforce. By the time Jill Thompson got back to her office, she had a plan. The following week, she called in all the department managers and asked them to draft formal rules and procedures for their individual areas. She told them she did not intend to lose control of the company, but she wanted to see if they could improve productivity and morale by creating formal procedures for their individual departments. Case Questions (AO 1.1, 1.2 & 1.3): †¢ Do you think Jill Thompson’s proposal to decentralise the rules and procedures of Bosco Plastics will work? If so, why and how? Give reasons. What, in your opinion, are the requirements to make decentralisation effective? †¢ What kinds of rules and procedures do you think the department managers will come up with? Which departments will be more formalised? Why? †¢ What risks will the company face if it establishes different procedures for different areas? Explain your reasons by analysing the merits and demerits of ‘organic’ and ‘mechanistic’ structures with regard to changes proposed by Jill Thompson. Case Study 2: Organizational Structure and Culture Surviving Greenscape’s Hard Times In ten years, Greenscape had grown from a one-person venture into the largest nursery and landscaping business in its area. Its founder, Lita Ong, combined a lifelong interest in plants with a botany degree to provide a unique customer service. Ong had managed the company’s growth so that even with twenty full-time employees working in six to eight crews, the organization culture was still as open, friendly, and personal as it had been when her only â€Å"employees† were friends who would volunteer to help her move a heavy tree. To maintain that atmosphere, Ong involved herself increasingly with people and less with plants as the company grew. With hundreds of customers and scores of jobs at any one time, she could no longer say without hesitation whether she had a dozen arborvitae bushes in stock or when Mrs. McCormack’s estate would need a new load of bark mulch. But she knew when Martina had been up all night with her baby, when Adrian was likely to be late because he had driven to see his sick father over the weekend, and how to deal with Emily when she was depressed because of her boyfriend’s behaviour. She kept track of the birthdays of every employee and even those of their children. She was up every morning by five-thirty arranging schedules so that Johnson could get his son out of daycare at four o’clock and Doris could be back in town for her afternoon high school equivalency classes. Paying all this attention to employees may have led Ong to make a single bad business decision that almost destroyed the company. She provided extensive landscaping to a new mall on credit, and when the mall never opened and its owners went bankrupt, Greenscape found itself in deep trouble. The company had virtually no cash and had to pay off the bills for the mall plants, most of which were not even salvageable. One Friday, Ong called a meeting with her employees and levelled with them: either they would not get paid for a month or Greenscape would fold. The news hit the employees hard. Many counted on the Friday paycheck to buy groceries for the week. The local unemployment rate was low, however, and they knew they could find other jobs. But as they looked around, they wondered whether they could ever find this kind of job. Sure, the pay was not the greatest, but the tears in the eyes of some workers were not over pay or personal hardship; they were for Ong, her dream, and her difficulties. They never thought of her as the boss or called her anything but â€Å"Lita.† And leaving the group would not be just a matter of saying good-bye to fellow employees. If Bernice left, the company softball team would lose its best pitcher, and the Sunday game was the height of everyone’s week. Where else would they find people who spent much of the weekend working on the best puns with which to assail one another on Monday morning? At how many offices would everyone show up twenty minutes before starting time just to catch up with friends on other crews? What other boss would really understand when you simply said, â€Å"I don’t have a doctor’s appointment, I just need the afternoon off†? Ong gave her employees the weekend to think over their decision: whether to take their pay and look for another job or to dig into their savings and go on working. Knowing it would be hard for them to quit, she told them they did not have to face her on Monday; if they did not show up, she would send them their checks. But when she arrived at seven-forty Monday morning, she found the entire group already there, ready to work even harder to pull the company through. They were even trying to top one another with puns about being â€Å"mall-contents.† Case Questions (AO 2.1, 2.2 & 2.3): †¢ How would you describe the organization culture at Greenscape? Under the different types of culture, what type of culture, do you think, operating in Greenscape? Justify your views with evidence. †¢ How large can such a company get before it needs to change its culture and structure? And why it is important to change culture and structure? Discuss briefly the benefits and difficulties that Greenscape have to cope with changing its culture and structure as the company gears for its growth. Case Study 3: Leadership Models and Concepts Right Boss, Wrong Company Brenda Hogan was continuously on top of things. In school, she had always been at the top of her class. When she went to work for her uncle’s shoe business, Fancy Footwear, she had been singled out as the most productive employee and the one with the best attendance. The company was so impressed with her that it sent her to get an M.B.A. to groom her for a top management position. In school again, and with three years of practical experience to draw on, Hogan had gobbled up every idea put in front of her, relating many of them to her work at Fancy Footwear. When Hogan graduated at the top of her class, she returned to Fancy Footwear. To no one’s surprise, when the head of the company’s largest division took advantage of the firm’s early retirement plan, Hogan was given his position. Hogan knew the pitfalls of being suddenly catapulted to a leadership position, and she was determined to avoid them. In business school, she had read cases about family businesses that fell apart when a young family member took over with an iron fist, barking out orders, cutting personnel, and destroying morale. Hogan knew a lot about participative management, and she was not going to be labelled an arrogant know-it-all. Hogan’s predecessor, Max Worthy, had run the division from an office at the top of the building, far above the factory floor. Two or three times a day, Worthy would summon a messenger or a secretary from the offices on the second floor and send a memo out to one or another group of workers. But as Hogan saw it, Worthy was mostly an absentee autocrat, making all the decisions from above and spending most of his time at extended lunches with his friends from the Rotary Club. Hogan’s first move was to change all that. She set up her office on the second floor. From her always-open doorway she could see down onto the factory floor, and as she sat behind her desk she could spot anyone walking by in the hall. She never ate lunch herself but spent the time from 11 to 2 down on the floor, walking around, talking, and organizing groups. The workers, many of whom had twenty years of seniority at the plant, seemed surprised by this new policy and reluctant to volunteer for any groups. But in fairly short order, Hogan established a worker productivity group, a â€Å"Suggestion of the Week† committee, an environmental group, a worker award group, and a management relations group. Each group held two meetings a week, one without and one with Hogan. She encouraged each group to set up goals in its particular focus area and develop plans for reaching those goals. She promised any support that was within her power to give. The group work was agonizingly slow at first. But Hogan had been well trained as a facilitator, and she soon took on that role in their meetings, writing down ideas on a big board, organizing them, and later communicating them in notices to other employees. She got everyone to call her â€Å"Betty† and set herself the task of learning all their names. By the end of the first month, Fancy Footwear was stirred up. But as it turned out, that was the last thing most employees wanted. The truth finally hit Hogan when the entire management relations committee resigned at the start of their fourth meeting. â€Å"I’m sorry, Ms. Hogan,† one of them said. â€Å"We’re good at making shoes, but not at this management stuff. A lot of us are heading toward retirement. We don’t want to be supervisors.† Astonished, Hogan went to talk to the workers with whom she believed she had built good relations. Yes, they reluctantly told her, all these changes did make them uneasy. They liked her, and they didn’t want to complain. But given the choice, they would rather go back to the way Mr. Worthy had run things. They never saw Mr. Worthy much, but he never got in their hair. He did his work, whatever that was, and they did theirs. â€Å"After you’ve been in a place doing one thing for so long,† one worker concluded, â€Å"the last thing you want to do is learn a new way of doing it.† Case Questions (AO 3.1, 3.2 & 3.3): †¢ What factors should have alerted Hogan to the problems that eventually came up at Fancy Footwear? †¢ Could Hogan have instituted her changes without eliciting a negative reaction from the workers? If so, how? Case Study 4: Need-Based Perspectives on Motivation More Than a Pay Cheque Samuel Gibson was a trainer for Britannia Home Manufacturers, a large builder of prefabricated homes. Britannia Home had hired Gibson fresh from graduate school with a master’s degree in English. At first, the company put him to work writing and revising company brochures and helping with the most important correspondence at the senior level. But soon, both Gibson and senior management officials began to notice how well he worked with executives on their writing, how he made them feel more confident about it, and how, after working with an executive on a report, the executive often was much more eager to take on the next writing task. So Britannia Home moved Gibson into its prestigious training department. The company’s trainers worked with thousands of supervisors, managers, and executives, helping them learn everything from new computer languages to time management skills to how to get the most out of the workers on the plant floor, many of whom were unmotivated high school dropouts. Soon Gibson was spending all his time giving short seminars on executive writing as well as coaching his students to perfect their memos and letters. Gibson’s move into training meant a big increase in salary, and when he started working exclusively with the company’s top brass, it seemed as though he got a bonus every month. Gibson’s supervisor, Mirella Carta, knew he was making more than many executives who had been with the company three times as long, and probably twice as much as any of his graduate school classmates who concentrated in English. Yet in her biweekly meetings with him, she could tell that Gibson wasn’t happy. When Carta asked him about it, Gibson replied that he was in a bit of a rut. He had to keep saying the same things over and over in his seminars, and business memos weren’t as interesting as the literature he had been trained on. But then, after trailing off for a moment, he blurted out, â€Å"They don’t need me!† Since the memos filtering down through the company were now flawlessly polished, and the annual report was 20 percent shorter but said everything it needed to, Gibson’s desire to be needed was not fulfilled. The next week, Gibson came to Carta with a proposal: What if he started holding classes for some of the floor workers, many of whom had no future within or outside the company because many could write nothing but their own names? Carta took the idea to her superiors. They told her that they wouldn’t oppose it, but Gibson couldn’t possibly keep drawing such a high salary if he worked with people whose contribution to the company was compensated at minimum wage. Gibson agreed to a reduced salary and began offering English classes on the factory floor, which were billed by management (who hoped to avoid a wage hike that year) as an added benefit of the job. At first only two or three workers showed up—and they, Gibson believed, only wanted an excuse to get away from the nailing guns for a while. But gradually word got around that Gibson was serious about what he was doing and didn’t treat the workers like kids in a remedial class. At the end of the year, Gibson got a bonus from a new source: the vice president in charge of production. Although Gibson’s course took workers off the job for a couple of hours a week, productivity had actually improved since his course began, employee turnover had dropped, and for the first time in over a year, some of the floor workers had begun to apply for supervisory positions. Gibson was pleased with the bonus, but when Carta saw him grinning as he walked around the building, she knew he wasn’t thinking about his bank account.