The Necklace By Guy De Maupassant - 979 Words

In the begining of the short story, The Necklace written by Guy De Maupassant, He starts off by describing the character Mathilde, who is described as being †one of those pretty and charming creatures who sometimes are born into a family of clerks. As I was reading I pictured a pretty lady who was pretty and charming and was happy with her life. As you continue reading, the story starts describing her life style and how she lives and then goes to what life style she would prefer. Mathilde, †dressed plainly because she could not dress well†. Did she dress plainly because she couldnt afford it or was it beacuse she thought she wasn t pretty enough to dress nicely? As you continue reading the author describes her surrondings as being †shabby†,† bare† and †ugly†. Mathilde was a dreamer. She dreamed of being a women with money, a nice house and many friends.† She had no gowns, no jewels.nothing†.And she loved nothing but that. Her way of thinking made her angry and full of envy. Mathilde had a friend who had all the Riches and luxuries that she wanted but she could not go over to her house because it would make her sad. Mathilde was married† to a little clerk of the Ministry of Public Instruction†. He loved his wife and when he received an invintation from the Minister of Public Instruction, He offered it at the dinner table that night hopping she would be excited but, †Instead of being delighted, as her husband had hoped,She threw the invitation on the table crossly.†BecauseShow MoreRelatedThe Necklace By Guy De Maupassant863 Words   |  4 PagesThe short story â€Å"The Necklace† written by Guy De Maupassant, tells the story of a married couple who live an average lifestyle together in France—when one day everything in their lives changes due to a simple decision. The author aims to show the reader the power of decision making when faced to decide between needs, wants, honesty and untruthfulness and how every decision we choose to make affect our lives in ways we never thought possible. In the first few lines of the story, the narrator introducesRead MoreThe Necklace by Guy de Maupassant1034 Words   |  5 Pagesregret which Guy de Maupassant depicts throughout â€Å"The Necklace.† Guy de Maupassant, a French writer, born in 1850, was considered one of France’s greatest short-story writers. His writings were mostly influenced by the divorce of his parents when he was thirteen years old and by great writers such as Shakespeare, Schopenhauer, and Flauber. His parent’s divorce caused his stories to depict unhappiness of matrimony, deceit, miscommunication, and a profound misunderstanding (Maupassant, Guy de, 1850-1893)Read MoreThe Necklace by Guy De Maupassant1367 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Being Honest is Always Best† Telling the truth will always prevent future conflicts. Author Guy De Maupassant who lived from 1850 to 1893 proves in the story of â€Å"The Necklace,† that no matter how bad a situation is, speaking with the truth is always best. Now, this author does not prove this theme directly. Instead, throughout various situations in the story the main characters are faced with a long-term conflict because decisions were not made with honesty. Mathilde and Loisel who is her husbandRead MoreThe Necklace, by Guy de Maupassant791 Words   |  4 Pagescharacterized by other people. In â€Å"The Necklace† Mme. Loisel is a beautiful woman with a decent life, and a husband that loves her, and only wants to make her happy. She is not rich but she makes it along, she insists of a better, wealthier life. When her husband gets her invited to a ball, she feels the need for a brand new fancy dress and tons of jewelry. When the couple realizes they cannot afford jewelry as well, they searc h out to borrow her friend, Mme. Forestiers’ necklace. She comes to notice she noRead MoreThe Necklace, By Guy De Maupassant966 Words   |  4 PagesIn Guy De Maupassant’s â€Å"The Necklace,† Mathilde is a 19th century French woman who desires a wealthier lifestyle than she can acquire. She is completely indulged in the material possessions of life and is focused on the items she does not have rather than what she owns. It seems her happiness is entirely dependent on wealth and status. She neglects her husband and is never content with what he can offer. Eventually, Mathilde’s struggles of envy, selfishness, and materialism drive her to poverty.Read MoreThe Necklace By Guy De Maupassant934 Words   |  4 Pagesduring this time period was Guy de Maupassant, who wrote one of the most influential short stories of this century. â€Å"The Necklace†, written by Guy de Maupassant, illustrates elements of fiction such as the symbolism of the necklace be cause of Mme. Loisel’s desire to be rich, irony due to the twist ending, and a powerful theme. Firstly, the necklace Mme. Loisel borrows and her perspective symbolizes the desire she has towards being wealthy and important in society. Maupassant describes effectively theRead MoreThe Necklace By Guy De Maupassant1381 Words   |  6 Pagesstories are â€Å"The Necklace† by Guy de Maupassant and â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty† by James Thurber. â€Å"The Necklace† was about a materialistic woman who faced consequences because of her envious personality and â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty† was about a man who experienced daydreams randomly throughout the day. Although both short stories used literary elements, Guy de Maupassant utilized them for readers to understand and enjoy the story more than James Thurber. â€Å"The Necklace† was a short storyRead MoreThe Necklace By Guy De Maupassant1093 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout the short story titled â€Å"The Necklace† by Guy de Maupassant, it is clear that the main themes being stressed are pride versus greed, and that things are not quite what they appear. Each of these things are represented throughout the story in some way, whether it be using animated language or symbolism. It is also clear that background information clearly aided the development of the themes Maupassant incorporated throughout the passage. It is seen throughout the story that the main characterRead MoreThe Necklace, By Guy De Maupassant999 Words   |  4 PagesIn Guy de Maupassant’s â€Å"The Necklace,† readers experience Mathilde Loisel’s life-changing event. Coming from nobility, de Maupassant tells the story of luxurious desire through the eyes of the middle class woman Mathilde. Mathilde constantly dreams of living the life of the upper class, and this prohibits her from acting in reality. Mathilde’s internal struggle for a sense of social royalty shows readers how quickly selfish pride destroys a person’s life. Throughout the course of â€Å"The NecklaceRead MoreThe Necklace By Guy De Maupassant1019 Words   |  5 PagesIn the short story of â€Å"The Necklace†, the author Guy de Maupassant is a creative and intriguing tale which reveals a person s dreams of a luxurious lifestyle with countless materialistic possessions. He has skillfully developed the story into a mystery which reveals itself at the end. The main point in the story is that materialism can distort your view of happiness and fulfillment. It is wrong to be materialistic to the extent that you disregard what you already have and lose everything. Mathilde

Whiplash Film Analysis - 1517 Words

Damien Chazelle’s critically acclaimed American drama film Whiplash (2014), presents a thought-provoking and confronting depiction of volatile and manipulative relationships, in which Andrew Niemen, a young ambitious jazz drummer is pushed to the brink of his ability and sanity by his ruthless teacher, Terence Fletcher. Nieman’s passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into an obsession. Whiplash proving highly popular with audiences utilizes cinematography to explore the central themes, the battle between being a good person and being remembered and the effects of a volatile and manipulative student-teacher relationship. Whiplash utilizes conventions and ideas from the drama genre to communicate these central themes and film†¦show more content†¦However, now Neiman’s gradual spiral into an obsession for greatness has driven him to breaking point. The car crash scene is the turning point in Nieman’s character. His pursuit of perfection and gr eatness has blinded him. At this point Neiman has lost his old self completely, his dialogue is arrogant and hostile, he no longer cares for his band members or anything apart from greatness. His gradual change of behaviour is evident through his dialogue 1:03:28 when Nieman is on the telephone to one of his band members, he starts cursing and using profane language, similarly to Fletcher. Drumming has become his life, he is no longer concentrated on being a good person instead he is focused on being remembered, as demonstrated after the car accident, Nieman is determined to succeed and please Fletcher, thus continuing to play. As he plays every excruciating beat, his blood drips onto the drum set; representing the pain that he is willing to go to achieve success. Neiman’s madness is stopped by Fletcher’s two words: â€Å"You’re done†. Along with lighting and dialogue, the volatile and manipulative relationship between Fletcher and Nieman is explored thro ugh Chazelles use of cinematography. Music, editing, and camera angles are used by Chazelle to explore the effects of a volatile and manipulative student-teacher relationship. The cinematography and music used throughout the scene intensify the volatile relationshipShow MoreRelatedWhiplash Film Analysis1222 Words   |  5 PagesDamien Chazelle’s 2014 cinematic thriller Whiplash, Chazelle portrays the everyday struggle of a promising jazz drummer. Nominated for Best Motion Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and many other accolades, audiences everywhere rave of this film. Andrew Neiman, the young drummer and a very motivated individual, finds himself easy to cheer for in his journey to success. Though the movie dazzles audiences with its entrancing plot, critics applaud the feature film for its commentary on an increasingly competitiveRead MoreAnalysis Of Andrew Neimans Film, Whiplash And Through The Uses Of Tools1492 Words   |  6 Pageshis character in a film or play. To the audience, not all tools present the mselves clearly in a blatant manner, but if the audience member were to pay closer attention to the actor playing the character, he or she could note the tools utilized. An actor, through his experience, develops his mastery of various tools of the craft of Acting and ultimately employs the tools to portray his character in the best possible method. Miles Teller portrays Andrew Neiman in the movie Whiplash and through the useRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie The Raiders Of The Lost Ark 1605 Words   |  7 PagesIndiana Jones a character and heroic traits. The instruments used for the song were, strings, winds and percussions. His theme for Indiana Jones was divided into three different sections that gave suspense and heroic feeling to the scenes. To begin analysis, the theme is separated into a three-parts, ABA form, sections A and B were used to relate the main melody to the song. A and B sound different from the main melody but are associated with the main theme. A little background of how Williams main

Integrated System of Maintaining Library Records †MyAssignmenthelp.co

Question: Discuss about the Integrated System of Maintaining Library Records. Answer: Introduction In today's world many academic libraries are shifting from the old integrated library systems to the next generation ILS systems. There are many libraries in the world who are achieving huge success by using the new system. ILS is enterprise software that derives a lot from the business operations of the library. In the case study the researcher has tried to find out the problems that exist with the implementation of the assistants and the ways by which it can be customized. The researcher has been appointed as an experienced business analyst and he has been asked to change the total INS module accordingly. Literature Review Most of the libraries in modern days have been moving away from the traditional system of maintaining the records to a new and integrated system of maintaining library records. The system is named as the Integrated Library System (Yeh and Walter 2016). The migration to the ILS system includes a number of other factors like, system selection, implementation project structure, projectmanagement and tracking, hardware, relations with vendor, conversion of information, training the staffs with the new methods, system administration, local programming, staff client production, software changes, postscripts and many more as such. As mentioned earlier the traditional software system to maintain the library system is a time consuming process. This is the main reason behind the implementation of the new ILS system. The new generation ILS system improves both the front end and the back end user interface of the library software. The researcher in this following report has mentioned the problem s and the specifications related to the implementation of the ILS software by customizing it according to the needs of the library and make it more user friendly in nature (Fu 2014). Advantages of ILS system in Library Some of the advantages of the ILS system oflibrary management are; There are no licensing fees for the open source software These softwares have no such maintenance cost on logical extension ILS systems has a very low acquisition cost and also lower cost of implementation and support cost The ILS systems has a better quality control than most other software Users with access to the different source code not only reports problems but also pinpoint to the perfect cause for the organization The better control of the quality greatly reduces development The availability of the source code helps the service users to fix the errors and to fix the different problems faster and efficiently The ILS system have the trend to localize easily and can match to the exact requirements of a culture regardless of its economic size and status The following system is available through online community and the internet The software is easily accessible in windows, Linux or Mackintosh systems Disadvantages of ILS system Some disadvantages of the ILS system have been pointed out by the researcher. They are; As mentioned earlier the system is less user friendly as all the features are not available in the system The lack of training facilities to the staffs have rendered the following software useless and ineffective The ILS system needs some specialized skills and knowledge about the particular software Implementing and maintaining the ILS system involves a huge labor cost. ILS system is incompatible with other source software The documentation quality is variable ILS system comes with few advanced features Customization of ILS Systems The request to customize the ERP system he is very much essential for a library. The researcher has presented the rational system behind the implementation of the Ala system in library (Tejeda et al. 2014). The integrated library system is much like the library communities equivalent to an ERP. As mentioned earlier Dallas is large enterprise software that carries out the different functions what the business operations of the library. The case study has highlighted that a public library system was shifting to a new ILS system which combine the vendor supported and the customer system with the original home grown system of the library. The staff who are in charge of acquiring the books the movies and the periodicals where establishing a unique barcode for each of the different items (Bales et al. 2017). Under the old system the staff members had to barcode all copies of a single item like all copies of a single book with a sequential number of barcode. But while implementing the new s ystem the stops discovered that the acquisition model required the information for each item to be entered individually which was practically impossible. It was a huge task of the new business analyst to change the situation by customizing the new ILS software. In most of the cases it is favorable to avoid customized air systems as they are very large and integrated enterprise wide administrative software systems. It is better to use a full-scale system that can work for many years. But as the new business analyst it was the task to customize the system anyhow. Training the staff to use the system and know how to make use of the system and produce the most production through the business processing cycle was a daunting task. Customization brings profits in terms of the convenience of users but it has large problems when it comes to small scale business strategies. It is seen to be very expensive in the short term and often does not help to gain reasonable benefits in the future (Moore et al. 2016). Before the approval of the customization request of the library the researchers offer to work with the staff to identify and develop a cos t-effective product that would help in customizing the product. The following task was essential as because differing the system for customizing it was not in the policy of the ILS implementation. The researcher documented the business process and performed The Legacy system. This into LED interviewing the staff and observing the different processes that involved from the start to the competition of the projects (Fu 2013). The following steps were done as because the users process was very much essential to the research. Some of the research questions were, Is the new ILS system better or the old system better? How can the old system change with the implementation of the new system? What are the advantages and disadvantages of ILS system? The researcher also examined on how the process of implementation was currently being attempted. The researcher concentrated more on bar-coding the individual items as well as the multiple items which were termed as batch bar-coding. It was important to understand how the following tasks where performed by the ILS system (Singh 2013). The researcher also examined on whether any other libraries or organizations had similar issues while implementing the system in their software. The researchers resulted in identifying the means of performing the different Birds barcodes for the needs of the library (Day and Ou 2017). The research into the new INS has resulted in finding out the means of performing a batch barcode. It is one of the most difficult tasks for the business analyst to choose the right path. Email follow the identified batch bar-coding approach or he may adopt the new INS business for batch bar-coding and last but not the least customizing the alias to meet the requirements w as what in the mind of the business analyst (Singh 2017). After receiving the lighter library items the business analyst registered items into the highest system and established their barcodes. The model of acquisition of the Legacy system that the library followed was used to match the barcodes of all the copies of the same item (Gritten and Comer 2017). As mentioned earlier the new wireless system did not perform such an operation and applying a barcode was to be done individually (Albee and Chen 2014). Call the acquisition stuff was responsible for the following task and dance then analyze provided them with the required training so that they can use the accusations model of the new ILS system (Shadle and Davis 2016). The investigation carried out by the researchers the new ILS is supported batch bar-coding where attributed to the cataloging staff of the library. The library staff however failed to understand the following because of the uses of the acquisition model didnt have much access and never knew the capabilities of the module. No one of the library at the full view of the ILS system. This prompted the authorities to customize the following system to make it user friendly. Core Acknowledge Areas of Integrated Library System Libraries around the world have been using the e- learning process to interact with the contents easily. The integration of the new system in the library is essential to discuss about the technical infrastructure of the library. The seamless integration of the digital resources and services into the library is one of the key steps in describing the technological advancements which has the library to provide a better service to the users. A number of vendors who provide INS services working in collaboration with the vendors of the course management system. Such collaboration will help to create tools and building blocks for integrating the libraries resources into the new systems. Interactions between the learning environments Sun the library information systems are continuously in progress after the integration of this new systems in the library. Integrated library systems will help the vendors to create user friendly products and manage large information. Integration and Dis-Integration The librarian son the different it professionals engaged with the LMS vendors to create new solutions to access new knowledgemanagement and address different issues related to the same. The traditional if emphases on integrated systems are not taking a modular approach where products are interfaced and integrated with single enterprise systems. Recommendations The report has pointed out to a large number of problems that needs to be addressed. The researcher has provided some recommendations on the following research. Some of them are; As the success of the implementation program of ILS software system is not guaranteed the organization must not take a draft approach to implement the system The customizing program is a time consuming process, thus it has to be undertaken accordingly Necessary permissions must be taken to customize the system The customized system should be made user friendly to make sure that it meets the specifications of the library Conclusion The following example is one of the best to describe the typical system of operating a library system with the latest technologies. The research conducted by the researcher has exposed the problems that are faced by the new technologies. The library wanted a paradigm shift to the ILS system almost instantly which was a risk to the system of the library. The following system could have been implemented slowly and in phases. The new systems have a lot of shortcomings both in the real world and in the perceived world. A thorough analysis of the report will highlight the need for a slow, disciplined and scientific approach before the implementation and integration of the new system. References Albee, B. and Chen, H.L., 2014. Public library staffs perceived value and satisfaction of an open source library system.The Electronic Library,32(3), pp.390-402. Bales, A.B., Fox, R. and VanNevel, M.R., 2017. Managing Library Software Development: A Case Study in Developing an Inventory Management System for Off-Site Storage Using an Outside Contractor.Library Leadership Management,31(4). Day, A. and Ou, C., 2017. Determining organizational readiness for an ILS migrationA strategic approach.College Undergraduate Libraries,24(1), pp.103-116. Fu, P. and Fitzgerald, M., 2013. A comparative analysis of the effect of the integrated library system on staffing models in academic libraries.Information Technology and Libraries (Online),32(3), p.47. Fu, P., 2014. Supporting the next-generation ILS: the changing roles of systems librarians.Journal of Library Innovation,5(1), p.30. Gritten, T. and Comer, A., 2017. Venturing across the Borders: Collaborating on a New Discovery System between Academic and Public Libraries. Moore, M.D., Bradley, J.J., Crane, J.N., Kalkur, N., Mercer, T.C., Nees, T.S. and Van Vliet, E.M., Bibliotheca Rfid Library Systems Ag, 2016.In-library lending activation. U.S. Patent Application 15/384,585. Shadle, S. and Davis, S., 2016. Wrangling Cats: A Case Study of a Library Consortium Migration.The Serials Librarian,70(1-4), pp.116-120. Singh, V., 2013. Experiences of migrating to an open-source integrated library system.Information Technology and Libraries (Online),32(1), p.36. Singh, V., 2017. Open source integrated library systems migration: Librarians share the lessons learnt.Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, p.0961000617709059. Tejeda-Lorente, ., Porcel, C., Peis, E., Sanz, R. and Herrera-Viedma, E., 2014. A quality based recommender system to disseminate information in a university digital library.Information Sciences,261, pp.52-69. Yeh, S.T. and Walter, Z., 2016. Critical Success Factors for Integrated Library System Implementation in Academic Libraries: A Qualitative Study.Information Technology and Libraries (Online),35(3), p.27.

Types of Surveys free essay sample

In the following situations, decide whether you would use a personal interview, telephone survey, or self-administered questionnaire. Give your reasons. a A survey of the residents of a new subdivision on why they happened to select that area in which to live. You also wish to secure some information about what they like and do not like about life in the subdivision. For this group we can use a focus group which is used as a preliminary research technique to explore peoples ideas and attitudes. It is often used to test new approaches (such as products or advertising), and to discover customer concerns. A group of 6 to 20 people meet in a conference-room-like setting with a trained moderator. The room usually contains a one-way mirror for viewing, including audio and video capabilities. The moderator leads the groups discussion and keeps the focus on the areas you want to explore. Focus groups can be conducted within a couple of weeks and cost between two and three thousand dollars. We will write a custom essay sample on Types of Surveys or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Their disadvantage is that the sample is small and may not be representative of the population in general. For this survey I would recommend a self-administered survey since the people are in a central location that can be studied via paper or computerized instrument without interviewer assistance. For this group we can have comment cards such as the ones restaurants and hotels give. This survey gives fast access to the computer literate, allows for rapid data collection and allows for visuals to be used. Incentives may be used to increase response rates. The disadvantage is that there is a need for low-distraction environment for survey completion. b. A poll of students at Metro University on their preferences among three candidates who are running for president of the student government. Intercept interview is a survey that target’s participants in centralized locations such as the University. Intercept interviews reduce costs associated with the need for several interviewers, training and travel. Or a self-administered survey where the people in this scenario the students are intercepted in a central location and studied via paper or computerized assistance. Its advantages is that it will get rapid data collection, access participants that may not be reached via phone, and it gives a sample frame list from viable locations rather than prospective participants. The disadvantage is that there might be skewed responses. In this particular situation a telephone interview may be feasible also because it has lower costs than personal interview. Furthermore, it gives better access to hard to reach participants through repeated callbacks. CATI-allows for responses to be entered directly into a computer file to reduce error and cost. The disadvantage is that there is a lower response rate than for personal interviewing. Interview length must be limited. c A survey of 58 wholesale grocery companies, scattered over the eastern United States, on their personnel management policies for warehouse personnel. Mail surveys are a cost effective method of gathering information. They are ideal for large sample sizes, or when the sample comes from a wide geographic area. They cost a little less than telephone interviews, however, they take over twice as long to complete (eight to twelve weeks). Because there is no interviewer, there is no possibility of interviewer bias. The main disadvantage is the inability to probe respondents for more detailed information. The telephone survey is good since the people to be selected are a sample that are to be interviewed by a trained interviewer. Lower costs than personal interview, it allows for expanded geographic coverage without dramatic increase in cost. It also reduces interview bias. The disadvantage of this type of survey is that there are higher costs if interviewing geographically dispersed sample, interview length must be limited and many phone numbers are unlisted or are not working making directory listings unreliable. Responses may be less complete. d A survey of financial officers of the Fortune 500 corporations to learn their predictions for the economic outlook in their industries in the next year. Talking with people is a good way to get information during the initial stages of a research project. It can be used to gather information that is not publicly available, or that is too new to be found in the literature. Examples might include meetings with prospects, customers, suppliers, and other types of business conversations at trade shows, seminars, and association meetings. Although often valuable, the information has questionable validity because it is highly subjective and might not be representative of the population. Personal interviews are a way to get in-depth and comprehensive information. They involve one person interviewing another person for personal or detailed information. Personal interviews are very expensive because of the one-to-one nature of the interview ($50+ per interview). Typically, an interviewer will ask questions from a written questionnaire and record the answers verbatim. Sometimes, the questionnaire is simply a list of topics that the research wants to discuss with an industry expert. Personal interviews (because of their expense) are generally used only when subjects are not likely to respond to other survey methods. A study of applicant requirements, job tasks, and performance expectations as part of a job analysis of student work-study jobs on a college campus of 2,000 students, where 1,500 are involved in the work-study program The best type of survey in my opinion is a self-administered survey via computer-delivered via intranet, internet and online services. It allows participants time to think about questions, and it is perceived more anonym ous. The disadvantages are that there are no interviewer interventions available for probing or explanation, it cannot be long or complex. This can also be addressed via a personal interview since people selected to be part of the sample are interviewed by a trained interviewer. The advantages are good cooperation from participants, interviewer can answer questions about survey, probe for questions, use follow-up questions, and gather information by observation. Illiterate and functionally illiterate participants can be reached. Some of the disadvantages are that high costs, need for highly trained interviewers, and longer time needed in the field collecting the data.

Advantages and Disadvantages of In Vitro Fertilization free essay sample

An examination on the positive and negative effects of In Vitro fertilization. This paper examines the issues surrounding In Vitro fertilization. It describes what it is medically, who is eligible for this treatment, and the legal ramification of conceiving a child outside the biological uterus. The author writes that IVF often causes birth defects in children. Table of Contents Introduction to Infertility and In Vitro Fertilization Causes of Infertility Indicators for IVF (in vitro fertilization) Steps in the IVF Treatment Positive and Negative Effects of IVF Treatment Conclusion In vitro treatment is often used as an infertility treatment because IVF offers couples who cannot have children naturally, a chance of having a baby and even though fertilization takes place outside the womans body, the couple will still experience the process of natural pregnancy and conception, as well as the opportunity to conceive their own child. In vitro fertilization also prevents the problem of custody over a child that usually happens when couples adopt or subsist to surrogacy, wherein the child was conceived in another womans womb (fertility Confidential 2001). We will write a custom essay sample on Advantages and Disadvantages of In Vitro Fertilization or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page These problems are not only legally demanding, but also emotionally straining to couples that have used these measures to have their own child.

Writing Jobs How to Make Money Writing Online in 2019

Writing Jobs How to Make Money Writing Online in 2019 Writing Jobs: How to Make Money Writing Online in 2019 The options are out there.Take it from someone who figured out how to make a living writing after only a few monthsyou can do it the same way I did (which Ill explain in this post).Do you want to work from home?Do you want to work for yourself?Do you want to make a living doing something meaningful and fulfilling?The answer is obvious and the only question isHow?Whether you want to be your own boss, spend your day doing something you love and are good at, or even if you’re just looking for a new career opportunity, learning how to make money writing and which writing jobs are even available to you is worth it.How to Make Money WritingSo you’ve already determined you want to write. You love it, it’s fulfilling, and you don’t despise it nearly as much as you do that 9-5 you’ve got now (or are still avoiding like the plague).Firstly, that’s fantastic (we love writing here at Self-Publishing School, if you haven’t noticed)!Secondly, now th e work begins because writing jobs won’t just start falling from the sky and landing in your lap.And that’s why you’ll have to learn how to make money writing, since there are far more opportunities than you think exist out there†¦In this post, we’re going to cover:The highest paying writing jobsHow to find writing jobs onlineOnline and remote writing jobs(howtofindthem!)Jobs for creative writersBlog writing jobsBy the end of this blog post, you’ll know exactly how to make money writing like our very own Student Coach here at Self-Publishing School, Lise Cartwright.She makes a full-time income of over $4,000 per month just from her self-published books- and you can do the same. What are the highest paying writing jobs?Not all writing jobs are created equal. After all, there are many different forms of writing, all coming with their own price tags.These are the highest paying writing jobs and our advice for breaking into them.#1 Author $$$$$On e of the best jobs with one of the highest earning potential is becoming an author.This could be nonfiction or fiction, it doesnt matter.I understand that this one may come as a surprise. After all, the reputation of starving artist and the stigma against authors has to have been created for a reason.But in todays age, with technology and the possibility of self-publishing, making a large income as an author is not only realisticits easily attainable with the right system.Being a self-published author is far more lucrative than traditional publishing nowadays solely because its directly up to you how much you make.The more you work and market and push for more book sales, the better youll do. And therefore, this has the highest earning potential.NOTE: If youre ready to become an author within the next 90 days to start earning what youre worth, check out our VIP Self-Publishing Program, where we teach you exactly that! Learn more about it here#2 Screenwriter $$$$$If youre someone wh o would rather write movies or TV shows than books or novels, this could be the path for you.Screenwriters- especially if you work hard and make it to the big leagues- have extremely high earning potential.A screenwriter writes TV shows and movies. Contrary to what many believe, there are typically several writers who work on one show and movie, but its not necessarily easy to become a Hollywood screenwriter.That means if you work hard, play your cards right, and focus on committing to this path, you can potentially make a lot of money writing.If you work hard, play your cards right, and focus on committing, a job in writing is just around the corner.Click To Tweet#3 Content writer $$$$If youre looking for a great career as a writer, content writing is where its at.Now, I may be biased (since this one is actually my job), but its a lucrative field to get into- especially nowadays.Every company has a website. And as Russ Henneberry from DigitalMarket says, everybusinessshouldhaveabl og.And that means every business needs a writer for those blogs.However, keep in mind that content writing is more than just writing. Theres a lot of information about SEO you need to learn if you want to be effective at your job.That being said, its a growing field and you can even find remote jobs.#4 Technical writer $$$Not many people realize theres a lot of opportunity in this department.What is a technical writer? This is a person who knows how to take complex topics and condense them into easy-to-understand jargon for the layman.This includes writing in the fitness field, medical, psychological, law, and many more.If you have a set of specialized knowledge, seek writing jobs for companies looking to break it down so anyone can understand it.How to Find Writing Jobs OnlineThe best method for finding writing jobs is to hit up the internet.You’re bound to have better luck searching online than any other way. And with so many different job sites and apps out there, it†™s worth diving into a few to see what jobs are available.Here are a few of the best websites to find high paying writing jobs:BloggingPro’s Job BoardJournalismJobs.comProBlogger’s Job BoardFreelanceWriting.com JobsLinkedIn’s Job BoardThese are also reliable places to find freelance writing work, however, you will often be paid less for these jobs and they’re typically short jobs:UpworkFiverrFreelancerWhen it comes to searching for writing jobs online, you have to keep in mind that some people will be more reliable than others.Our first list covers places you can find writing jobs that are typically much better pay and longevity than the websites in our second list.However, don’t dismiss Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer completely. I personally got my start on them!Online and Remote Writing JobsWhat sounds better than working from the comfort of your own home, and even from bed, with nothing more than a laptop in front of you?Almost nothing.As some one who works remotely and as a writer, it’s extremely convenient and enjoyable to do what I love.If you’re wondering where to get started, here’s a list of remote writing jobs you could potentially have:Content ManagerContent EditorContent WriterCopywriterTechnical WriterSpeech/Script WriterTranscriptionistAcademic WriterColumnistGrant WriterProposal WriterTranslatorSocial Media ManagerFilm CriticFood CriticProofreaderEditorTravel WriterGhost WriterThis list could go on, but this is great starting point for you to pinpoint what interests you. From there, you can learn how to find these types of jobs.The first step to landing a job in writing is to figure out your niche- what you want to write about.Click To TweetHow to Find Online and Remote Writing Jobs:If you’ve decided what you want to write about, it’s your job to do research so you can find the best job that fits what you’re looking to do.There are two methods for finding writing jobs online:Outreach you personally find websites and platforms you want to work for and reach out via email cold pitching your writing services.Respond to job postings this is the more traditional method in which you visit job boards (like the ones listed above) and respond to job postings with your resume.Outreach for Writing Jobs:This method often takes the most finesse in order to get right. After my stint with Upwork and Fiverr ended, personally used outreach to land some of my most consistent and highest paying clients.Here’s how you can do outreach to land writing jobs:Determine your niche and the type of content you want to write. This can be beauty, fashion, education, parenting, movies, television, fitness, lifestyle, and any category you’re interested in. We recommend choosing one you both enjoy and know a lot about (less research means you can do more and therefore get paid more).Visit websites you know have content in this niche. For example: if you want to w rite about food and travel, Thrillist.com might be your best bet. Choosing a niche like wellness might land you on sites like TheGreatist.com. If you’re not sure which sites cover your niche, just do a quick google search for, â€Å"[your niche] websites†.Scroll down to the very bottom of the site’s homepage and look for â€Å"write for us† link. Not all websites will have this but many that are primarily content usually have a means for you to write for them, as seen in the example below from IntrovertDear.com. Click on the write for us or equivalent page. Read over their guidelines to see if this is a good fit for you. If you want to know about compensation and they dont list any, simply location a contact email or fill out a contact form and ask!Cold pitch your idea. Technically, since they are accepting writers, its not considered a cold pitch, but you do still have to sell them on your ideas. Focus on what theycangain from working with you and less o n you. This becomes easier with experience and proven results.Responding to Job Postings for Writing Jobs:This one is just like any other job you apply for online.After searching for writing jobs via the job boards listed above, simply send in your resume and CV if applicable.A few tips to optimize your resume for writing jobs:Be unique and creative with its appearanceFocus on the results your writing has obtainedList technical writing skills in addition to just writingMake sure to mention your knowledge and experience with SEO (which youll need for almost any online writing job)Be humorous and let your style come outHeres an example of my personal resume that landed methis writing job.As you can see, I tailored it to this companys branding and made sure to focus on getting my own personality on the page (address/company info is hidden).The trick is to find jobs that youre a good fit for and where your style and voice will fit in the best.Jobs for Creative WritersThere are more jobs for creative writers than you think.Many of us automatically think author when we think of creative writing. And while an author is one of the best options, its not the only one.NOTE: If you do want to write creatively as an author, make sure to check out our VIP Fiction Self-Publishing Program so you can get started in the next 90 days! Learn more about it hereHere are some of the many jobs available to creative writers:AuthorShort story writerCreative writing teacherStory bloggerPlaywrightChildrens book authorNovelistGhostwriterEditorJournalistSocial Media ManagerCreative writing doesnt limit your options as a writer. All writing needs some creativity thrown in there and these jobs allow you to do that.Creative writing doesnt limit your options as a writerif anything, it broadens them.Click To TweetBlog Writing JobsWith the invention and high utilization of the internet, every single website needs writers.There are two options when it comes to blog writing jobs:Create your own bl ogWrite for another blogHow to Find Blog Writing Jobs:Blog writing jobs are everywhere. Whether a website advertises that theyre hiring or not, you can often wiggle your way into writing for them.In the section above about performing outreach for online writing jobs, we highlight the system of cold pitching, which involves visiting websites and looking for a write for us page at the bottom.If you cant find this page, you can use tools like Hunter.io in order to locate email address in which you can pitch to.Here are a few tips for finding blog writing jobs in your area of expertise:Determine your writing nicheGoogle [your niche] websites in order to find sites with your contentYou can also try Googling [your niche] write for us to locate their specific writing pageRead their content to determine if your voice/style is a good matchLook at their blog posts and determine if theres an area of weakness you can strengthenDoing these things will ultimately help you find the best writing jo b for you.Are you ready to get started?If you want to make a living writing, the best thing you can do is work toward a career where youre writingforyourself.After all, theyre your words and your mind, dont you want to have the freedom to utilize them in any way you want?If so, check out this training and you can make money from writing within the next 90 days.

Current Defense Policies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Current Defense Policies - Essay Example financial and diplomatic aid in Pakistan asserting that most of the Pakistani leaders were unaware that the terrorist was taking refuge in their country (Forest 2011). In addition, he also alleged that the end of Al-Qaeda’s reign of terror is inevitable since majority of the Muslim world has forsaken them, as well as their cause, and with Bin Laden gone, finances might die down to nothing (Forest 2011). Analysis Forest (2011) asserted that the withdrawal of U.S troops, and funding in Pakistan was uncalled for since they were ignorant of Bin Laden’s occupation in their country. The alliance between the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban is no secret. According to Omar bin Laden (Maclean 2010); the success of Al-Qaeda lies in their alliance with the Taliban. Although there is no concrete proof to establish the ties between the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) and the two Islamic militia, ISIs history of working with drug dealers and Islamic extremist, their involvement in delivering Taliban to power in Afghanistan in the 1990s, as well as their association with the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, cannot be put to rest (Inter-services Intelligence, 2011). The Central Intelligence Agency and the ISI has successfully worked together to seize many Al-Qaeda operatives in Pakistan.

Japanese and American Films Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Japanese and American Films - Essay Example Kiki's Delivery Service, a Japanese animated fantasy film was produced by Studio Ghibli in Japan on 29th July 1989. Hayao Miyazaki wrote it, produced and directed it as an adaptation of the 1985 novel that was of the same name by Eiko Kadono. Just as Harry Potter, Kiki’s delivery service was first a written novel that became popular and was later turned into a film that made it even more known. Its popularity among the targeted audience who were children led to it winning various awards. The film focuses its story on the main character, a young girl named Kiki. According to the writer of the book, a close understanding of the movie and the book portrayed the gulf between reliance and independence in teenage Japanese girls. Just like Kiki’s delivery service and harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone, a dog of Flanders was first written as a novel which was later produced as a film. The fact that they were all novels before being films is one of the similarities bet ween the three popular films. The screenplay was however written Robert Singer and Brodie which was entirely based on the novel. In 1999, Kevin Brodie directed the film which was shot in Belgium. Based on the original novel, a Dog of Flanders was the fifth film. It can be analyzed that the book versions of these films are very similar to the films. The producers strictly based the films on the characters in the novel, giving them life to help people understand and place a motion picture to the already well understood and loved books.

Neuroscience and Spirituality Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 12750 words

Neuroscience and Spirituality - Dissertation Example In recent years however, there is a growing interest in how spirituality or religion may play a role in managing mental and physical health and this interest has led to the exploration of the changes that spirituality or meditative practice may bring about in the human mind. This chapter contains a review and critical analysis of the available literature and research on the topic of neuroscience and spirituality. The aim of the chapter is to present and evaluate the evidence that backs the linkages between spirituality or meditation and brain activity using scientific empirical methods. There is a growing field of neuroscience that aims to understand the specific impacts of spirituality, religiosity and meditation on the brain functions and correspondingly on the mental and the physical health of the human beings. The current review is an attempt to collate and critically assess the available research in terms of the validity of the findings and claims and the validity of the methodo logy that has been employed by the numerous scholars. This niche field is still in a growing stage and most of the research undertaken is exploratory in nature, and hence a review of the available work in the area is expected to provide an understanding of what is already known and what potential future research may hold for the topic. This chapter is divided into sections that follow a logical structure from an overview of the methods, tools and techniques that are being employed and the approaches or hypothesis used in recent meditation studies. Next, the review focuses on the changes that occur in the brain during spiritual experience or among people who are high on religiosity. Finally, the literature review delves deeply into the analysis and evaluation of available research that are aimed at specific impacts of meditation, namely, attention and arousal, immunity, self-regulation and emotions, and pain management. 2.2 Meditation Studies There has been a large number of scholars who have aimed to assess the impact of meditation on the human brain and hence on the body functions. The studies are methodologically designed to assess autoimmune indicators like the blood pressure or the heart rate, hormonal indicators or immunity markers, and more recently, electroencephalographic (EEG) and brain scanning techniques to directly view the changes in the neural reactions. Meditation is the technique of focusing on the breath and proactively ignoring the thoughts. It is said to lead to physiological changes that are found to produce a body relaxation response (Newberg and Iversen, 2003). Several researchers have found that the physiological indicators of blood pressure and heart rate are decreased during a mediation phase. Early research conducted by Banquet (1973) had already established that the EEG patterns for people doing meditation are different from those people not doing meditation. In addition, it has also been found that sleep EEG patterns are different f rom the meditation EEG patterns, indicating that meditation involves a more powerful neural activity that is not seen during sleep. There are studies that have found that an increased alpha-wave activity in the frontal area associated with meditation (Al-Kandari), a change in heart rate and blood pressure (Koeing et al, 1998) and cortisol levels (Sudsuang et al., 1991). Most of the studies mentioned above have been done from an earlier era where neuroimaging was not available. However, with the advent of technologies like functional imaging

The Factors Influencing Strategy Implementation Management Essay

The Factors Influencing Strategy Implementation Management Essay The aim of this module is to produce a 4000 word research proposal that would be capable for supporting the preparation of a Masters dissertation. The project report would include an introduction including a title, which would highlight the content of this business document providing a background, informing the reader of the problem / issue at hand and the context of the situation that would be discussed. The research issue would be provided highlighting the importance of the issue in todays ever-changing and competitive, cut-throat business environment. Adequate linkages would be provided to co-relate the research aims, research objectives, research questions and the hypothesis as such generated. A coherent and critical literature review would follow demonstrating the knowledge of the literature available and linking it to the situation which would be investigated. A research design and methodology would be adopted to investigate the concerned issue providing a rationale as to how the research objectives are to be accomplished explaining the selection of the research paradigm. The research design would include the methods of data capture, the data access issues, the analysis and the interpretation means that would be used to assess the situation and appropriate reasons would be provided for the choice of research tools used. Relevant ethical issues underpinning the research objectives would also be discussed along-with the resources required to complete the research proposal. The last part of this management report would include a timetable that would provide the time that it took to complete each part of the research proposal along-with a list of references utilized to complete the report. INTRODUCTION TITLE: FACTORS INFLUENCING STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION BACKGROUND The title of this research proposal is factors influencing strategy implementation. Before we discuss the issue and highlight the importance of the issue in the context of the report it is of prime importance to understand the concept of strategy implementation itself. It is the process by which the business strategy formulated is put into action. It includes the design and management of organizational systems to achieve the best integration of people and structure, allocating resources, managing human resources and developing information and decision processes to achieve organizational objectives. Pierce and Robinson  note that to effectively direct and control the use of the firms resources, mechanisms such as organizational structure, information systems, leadership styles, assignment of key managers, budgeting, rewards, and control systems are essential strategy implementation ingredients. After the creative and analytical aspects of the corporate strategy have been formulated the priority of the management is to convert the strategy into operationally effective action. A strategy is never complete, until it gains a commitment of the firms resources and becomes embodied in its organizational structure. Strategy implementation is an iterative process of implementing strategies, policies, programs and action plans that allows a firm to utilize its resources to take advantage of opportunities in the competitive environment (Harrington, 2006). There is no one definition of strategy implementation as seen from the above citations but for the purpose of this report, taking into consideration the definitions above we can define strategy implementation as an iterative, dynamic and a complex process, which comprises of series of decisions and activities by the management and the administration those affected by many interrelated internal and external factors, to turn strategic plans into reality in order to achieve the objectives of the firm. RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY This part of the report would highlight the aim and the objectives of the research, discussing the issue chosen and its importance by proposing a research question and providing an answer to it in the literature review. Many studies have acknowledged that business strategies often fail not because of inadequate strategy formulation, but because of an inappropriate implementation strategy. This report would study the factors that enable or impede effective strategy implementation. This report would highlight how strategy implementation has been researched so far and how this field may be moved forward so as to help in effective execution of a business strategy. As a result of the literature review undertaken, the report has found nine critical factors for strategy implementation that will be discussed further in the literature. Formulation of an effective strategy, making the strategy work and implementing it throughout the company is a difficult task (Hrebiniak, 2006). Many factors potentially affect the process by which strategic plans are turned into organizational action. Unlike strategy formulation, strategy implementation is more of a craft, rather than a science. After successful formulation of the business strategy, difficulties usually arise during the subsequent implementation process. If the business strategy formulated is not applied correctly to all the aspects of the organisational structure the business model would fail, thus harming the organisation in many aspects, the major being the financial capability of the firm, which would take a huge blow. It is of prime importance to get the implementation right otherwise there would be huge losses for the firm. Noble (1999b) notes, the best-formulated strategies may fail to produce superior performance for the firm if they are not successfully implemented. This issue is of utmost importance in todays day and age because of the cut-throat competition in the ever-changing business world where each firm needs to keep re-modelling their policies and procedures to keep up with the change in the external and internal business environment. There are combination of issues that influence the success of strategy implementation, ranging from the people who communicate or implement the strategy to the systems or mechanisms in place for co-ordination and control. How can we better understand these issues and their importance for successful strategy implementation? In this report we try to respond to this question by the critical analysis of the existing research on the factors that influence strategy implementation. An analysis has been conducted of the most widely used literature databases to identify key factors influencing the process of strategy implementation, to surface current areas of agreement and disagreement on the topic. LITERATURE REVIEW In the following section, the report would review the study sources and assess their research context, theoretical bases, their main results and the research methods used as well as the analytical techniques which are employed for the study. The examined organizational levels and organizational types are the two elements of the research context. The core of the literature review, would concentrate on the nine factors identified through rigorous analysis of the study sources, that play a role in influencing strategy implementation success, as well as the frameworks or models that aggregate or relate the relevant factors to each other. This is followed by the discussion of the theoretical bases of the reviewed studies. Finally, the research methods and analytical techniques adopted will be reviewed to see which methods are still underutilized in the context of strategy implementation. By carrying out a literature review of the existing studies, the report found two types of strategy implementation studies: one that highlight the importance of the individual factors for strategy implementation and the second that emphasize the big pictureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ of how the single factors interrelate and form a strategic implementation environment. The research would highlight nine recurring, individual factors that influence strategy implementation. They are namely the strategy formulation process, the strategy executors (managers, employees), the organizational structure, the communication activities, the level of commitment for the strategy, the consensus regarding the strategy, the relationships among different units/departments and different strategy levels, the employed implementation tactics, and the administrative system in place. THE NINE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE STARTEGY IMPLEMENTATION 1. Strategy Formulation If the corporate strategy drafted by the business is a poor or a vague strategy, then it can limit the implementation efforts dramatically. Good execution cannot overcome the shortcomings of a bad strategy or a poor strategic planning effort (Hrebiniak, 2006). Several studies mention the fact that the kind of strategy that is developed (Alexander, 1985; Allio, 2005) and the actual process of strategy formulation, namely, how a strategy is developed (KimMauborgne, 1993; Singh, 1998) will influence the effect of implementation. Alexander (1985) believes that the need to start with a formulated strategy that involves a good idea or concept is the most crucial and critical factor which helps promoting its successful implementation. As Allio notes, good implementation naturally starts with good strategic input: the soup is only as good as the ingredients (Allio, 2005). 2. Relationships among different departments and different strategy levels Many studies in the concerned field have stressed that the institutional relationships among different units/departments and different strategy levels play a major role in the outcome of strategy implementation (Walker Ruekert, 1987; Gupta, 1987; Slater Olson, 2001; Chimhanzi, 2004; Chimhanzi Morgan, 2005). Walker Ruekert note that marketing policies, inter-functional structures and processes, corporate-business unit relationships and processes are a major influence on business strategy implementation. In addition, allocation of resources, functional competencies, inter-functional conflict, decision-making participation and influence, and coordination also have different effects on the implementation of various kinds of business strategies. Implementation effectiveness is negatively affected by conflict and positively affected by interpersonal communication and not written. Such interdepartmental dynamics are affected by senior management support informal integration and joint re ward systems. Other relationships that have received attention to a lesser extent include finance, manufacturing, engineering, quality, marketing, accounting, and sales. 3. Executors Executors comprise the top management, middle management, lower management and non-management. Effectiveness of strategy implementation is, at least in part, affected by the quality of people involved in the process (Govindarajan, 1989). The quality refers to the capabilities, experience, skills, attitudes, and other characteristics of people required by a specific position (Peng Litteljohn, 2001). Findings indicate that strategy implementation effectiveness, critically depends on the human or people side of project management, and less on organization and systems related factors. Top management refers to the senior-level leaders including presidents, owners, and other high ranking executives (CEO, CFO, COO etc.) and senior-level managers. Hrebiniak and Snow (1982) report that the level of interaction and participation among the top management team typically leads to greater commitment to the firms goals and strategies. This, in turn ensures the successful implementation of the strategy. Gupta and Govindarajan (1984) note that greater the marketing and sales experience of middle managers, the greater would be their willingness to take risk and successfully implement the strategy. Heracleous (2000) also finds that if middle management do not agree with the strategy, or do not feel that they have the skill set to implement it, then they would sabotage its implementation. Middle managers expect the direction from the top management but frequently feel that they are in a better position to start and evaluate alternative courses of action. Also, the lack of shared knowledge with lower-level management and non-management employees would create a barrier to successful strategy implementation. 4. Communication Many researchers have emphasized the importance of adequate communication channels for the process of strategy implementation. Alexander (1985) notes that communication is mentioned more frequently than any other single item that promotes successful strategy implementation. Communication includes explaining what new responsibilities, tasks, and duties need to be performed by the employees in order to implement the strategy. It answers the why behind the changed job activities, and explains the reasons why the new strategic decision was made. Rapert and Wren (1998) find that organizations where employees have easy access to management through open and supportive communication channels outperform those with more restrictive communication environments. Effective communication is a fundamental requirement for any effective strategy implementation. Organizational communication plays an important role in training, knowledge acquisition and applied learning during the process of implementation. In fact, communication is vital in every aspect of strategy implementation, as it relates in to the organizational context, organizing processes and the implementation objectives. 5. Implementation Tactics Nutt (1986) stipulates four types of implementation tactics used by managers in making planned changes: intervention, participation, persuasion, and edict. Intervention refers to strategy adjustments made during the implementation stage by introducing new practices and norms. Participation includes formulating strategic goals and nominating a task force that can develop and propose the corresponding implementation options. Persuasion is the tactic which uses involved parties to convince the employees about the desired course of actions. The issuing of directives is the main focus of the implementation tactic edict. Lehner (2004) considers the implementation tactics as genuine organizational behaviour based on the assumption that implementation in general is dependent on the environment, and various strategic and corporate variables. 6. Consensus Nielsen (1983) notes that firms must achieve consensus both within and outside their organization in order to successfully implement business strategies. The consensus about a firms strategy may differ across the operation channels within the company. If the employees of the company are not on the same information level or if information passes through many layers in the organization, a lower level of consensus would result. This lack of shared understanding may create obstacles to successful strategy implementation.(Noble, 1999b). Floyd and Wooldridge (1992a) label the gulf between strategies conceived by top management and awareness at lower levels as implementation gap. Strategic consensus is the agreement between the top, middle, and lower-level managers on the fundamental policies of the organization. Strategic decisions are initiated by a team of top managers and then mandated to the rest of the organization, overlooking the importance of securing consensus with and commitment to the organizational strategy with the lower level employees, which is a big barrier for effective strategy implementation. 7. Commitment Strategy implementation process may fail if the strategy does not achieve support and commitment by the majority of employees and the middle management. Shared understanding without commitment would result in counter effort and may negatively affect the organisational performance. The understanding between middle management and those at the operational level to that of the top management teams strategic goals is of prime importance to successful implementation. Noble Mokwa (1999) have put forward three dimensions of commitment that are central factors which directly influence strategic outcomes: organizational commitment, strategy commitment and role commitment. Organizational commitment is the extent to which a manager identifies with and works toward organization-related goals and values. Strategy commitment is the extent to which a manager comprehends and supports the goals and objectives of an implementation strategy. Role commitment is the extent to which a manager is determine d to perform his individual implementation responsibilities, regardless of his personal beliefs about the overall strategy. 8. Organisational Structure The type of strategy adopted could differ in many ways and have different requirements regarding an adequate organizational structure. Factors relating to the organizational structure are the second most important implementation barrier according to Heide Grà ¸nhaug Johannessens (2002) study. Drazin and Howard (1984) stipulate that a proper alignment of the strategy with the organisational structure is an important pre-requisite for successful implementation of a corporate business strategy (Noble, 1999b). They note that changes in the competitive environment require adjustments to the organizational structure. If an organisations realignment strategies are lacking, it may exhibit poor performance and be at a major competitive disadvantage. 9. Administrative Systems Roth, Schweiger Morrison (1991) study suggests that organisational business units make use of three administrative mechanisms which are formalization, integrating mechanisms, and centralization, to create operational capabilities of configuration, managerial philosophy and coordination, to support business strategy implementation. Some researchers have also focused on the control systems which are one of important ingredients of administrative systems (Drazin Howard, 1984; Nilsson Rapp, 1999). Drazin and Howard (1984) discuss about the role of formal control system in the process of strategy implementation, and suggest that the fluidity of control system contribute to strategy implementation (Noble, 1999b). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY This part of the project report would focus on the research design and methodology adopted to carry out the research of the issue chosen which is the factors influencing strategy implementation. The following literature would highlight the components of the research paradigm chosen to accomplish the study. This section of the project report would provide a detailed rationale on how the study would achieve the research objective put forth in the title. This part would explain the methods of data capture used and the issues which would arise in gathering the required information along with the analysis and the interpretation techniques employed to achieve the research aim. Limitations would be included in the following report to make the reader aware of the shortcomings of the chosen methodology; the relevant ethical issues would also be discussed in the proposed research design along-with the resources required to complete the proposed research. The choice for the research methodology adopted is in congruence with the strategic issue chosen for the research proposal. The selection criteria to choose articles for inclusion in the research analysis: The articles which contain the keywords strategy implementation or strategy execution have been included in the literature .From this; further articles were identified using the references sections of the previously retrieved articles. In this way, the report also includes the articles which treat strategy implementation as one of the major subjects even if their title or keywords did not include the terms strategy implementation or strategy execution. As a final selection criterion it was checked whether the articles explicitly discuss factors impeding or enabling strategy implementation success. Data Collection Secondary Sources In order to identify the factors that enable or impede effective strategy implementation, the report has analysed relevant academic, peer reviewed journals such as the Strategic Management Journal, the Academy of Management Journal, the Journal of Management Studies, Long Range Planning, Journal of Management, Academy of Management Executive, Human Relations, Sloan Management Review, Journal of Marketing, etc. using the literature databases of EBSCO Host, ProQuest ABI, Science Direct, JSTOR and Wiley Interscience. Information has also been sourced from Google Scholar and books, newspapers, trade journals, industry portals, government agencies, trade associations, monitoring industry news and developments. The research data would be collected in different organisations or units of an organisation. The organisations were mainly professional service organisations, from both public and private sector. For example, finance, insurance and telecommunications companies, and government departments would be included. The size of the units under study would be 100 to 500 employees. The study would be qualitative in nature, main research method being semi-structured interviews. Primary Sources and Sampling In each organisation or unit, representatives would form three groups, namely the top management, middle management, and lower level personnel, would be interviewed using the questionnaire provided below. Altogether twenty-five interviewees per organisation would be randomly chosen: 2-5 persons representing the top management level, 4-13 persons the middle management level, and 8-17 persons from the lower level personnel. The interviewees would be chosen randomly, ensuring however that different tasks, work groups, and departments were represented equitably. The general topic of the interviews would be strategy implementation. During the interviews, the interviewees would fill out questionnaires, in which they would evaluate the various problem statements. The questionnaire has been given below: Q1. How do you define the concept of strategy implementation? Q2. What kind of issues would you associate strategy implementation with? Q3. How do you participate in the strategy implementation process? Q4. How are the policies pertaining to strategy implementation communicated within the different levels of the organization? Q5. Describe your own role in the process of strategy implementation. Q6. Evaluate the degree of the strategy implementation problems in your organisation. Data Access Issues Some data access issues might arise in the research journey, which could be the unwillingness of the employees to participate in the planned interviews hampering the information gathering capabilities of the subsequent research report along-with lack of co-operation from concerned companies which might not give permission to carry out interviews with its employees fearing a possible leak of its corporate strategy to its competitors. Also finances required for the successful completion of the information gathering process might not be adequate. Data Analysis The results of the questionnaires would be assessed, as well as the comments of the interviewees for the statements would be analysed. The main data analysis method employed would be content analysis of the interviews. The transcribed interviews would be coded accordingly to the central issues of the research. The analysis method would include historical trend analysis and linear regression analysis using software tools, judgmental forecasting, and conjoint analysis. Limitations of the Research Design The approach in conducting the literature review has shortcomings which should be acknowledged. The following are the limitations in the methodology adopted. Collection of articles has been carried out by relying on the databases of EBSCO Host, Science Direct, JSTOR, Wiley Inter Science and ProQuest ABI and the report thus may have overlooked some critical viewpoints on strategy implementation included in monographs or specialists books. Some selective articles in the review, however, rely heavily on concepts from advanced books on corporate strategy thus making up for the shortcoming to a certain extent. The articles have been located using the keywords strategy implementation and strategy execution. This procedure of gathering articles may omit some important articles. The report also excludes some very specific strategy implementation contexts, such as post-merger integration implementation. The research has discovered that most of the conducted studies in the subject focus on the influence of middle managers on strategy implementation. There is no special research relating to lower management and non-management, even if several authors have stated that it is important to consider their effects on strategy implementation as well. Another major research challenge incudes, a lack of understanding between the relationships among the nine reviewed factors, for example, there are major disagreements about the relationship between the variables of communication, commitment and consensus which the report fails to highlight. Also a limiting factor is that there are very few studies that systematically examine how different organizational units and strategy levels can influence strategy implementation, which the report has not included. Strategy implementation involves many theories including agency theory, social learning theory, expectancy theory, organization theory and social system theory. Because of the limited word count it was not feasible to include such theories in the text presented which is also a shortcoming. The lists of journal articles selected are not comprehensive enough, as many other issues could potentially affect strategy implementation. Such other factors, however, are less mentioned or not analysed in-depth, as many of them are also hard to control and modify. Research Ethics For research to be carried out successfully there are many ethical issues that need to be taken into consideration. It is very important to secure the permission and interests of all the people involved in the study. The people involved would be given assurance that any information obtained during the interview process would not be misused as this is the moral responsibility which would be maintained towards the participants. It is the duty of this research to protect the rights of the participants of the study as well as their privacy and sensitivity. The confidentiality of those involved in the observation would be maintained at all times, keeping their anonymity and privacy secure. Resources required for effective research The resources required to carry out the proposed research would require the support and co-operation of the supervisor in charge so as to provide guidance for submitting an effective research analysis report. Also would require permission from the industries chosen for the study of the research issue and the co-operation of its employees for conducting interviews. Adequate financial support would also be required to assist in the completion of the proposed research analysis report to cover the cost of commuting and resultant transportation fares. TIMETABLE TASK SELECTION OF INDUSTRIES FOR RESEARCH FOCUS DAYS 1-5 6-10 10-15 16-20 21-25 25-30 LITERATURE REVIEW/ CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF SECONDARY SOURCES OF DATA INTERVIEWING PROCESS INDEPTH STUDY OF VARIOUS SOURCES ASSESSING RESOURCE FOR CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK COLLECTION OF SECONDARY SOURCES OF DATA DEVELOPMENT OF RATIONALE FOR STUDY FINALLY FORMULATED RESEAERCH PROPOSAL REFRENCES Saunders, M., P. Lewis and A. Thornhill (2007) Research methods for business students, Harlow: FT, Prentice Hall (4th ed.) Blumberg, B., D.R.Cooper and Pamela S. Schindler (2008), Business Research Methods, London: McGraw Hill (second ed.) Wilson, J. 2010, Essentials of Business Research A Guide To Doing Your Research Project London: Sage Allio, M.K. (2005). A Short, Practical Guide to Implementing Strategy. Journal of Business Strategy, 26, 12-21. Beer, M., and Eisenstat, R.A(2000). The Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation and Learning Sloan Management Review, Summer, 29-42. Bourgeois à Ã‚ ¨, L. J., and Brodwin D.R. (1984). Strategic Implementation: Five Approaches to an Elusive Phenomenon. Strategic Management Journal, 5, 241-264 Govindarajan,V., and Fisher.J. (1990). Strategy, Control systems, and resource sharing: effects on business-Unit Performance. Academy of Management Journal, 33, 259-285. Heracleous, L. (2000). The Role of Strategy Implementation in Organization Development Organization Development Journal, 18, 75-86. Higgins, J.M. (2005). The Eight à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Sà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s of Successful Strategy Execution. Journal of Change Management, 5, 3-13. Lehner, J. (2004). Strategy Implementation Tactics as Response to Organizational, Strategic, and Environmental Imperatives. Management Revue, 15, 460-480 Noble, C.H. (1999a). Building the Strategy Implementation Network. Business Horizons, 19-27. Nutt, P.C. (1986). Tactics of Implementation. Academy of Management Journal. 29, 230-261. Nutt, P.C. (1989). Selecting Tactics to Implement Strategic Plans. Strategic Management

The Miller Inside and Out Essay -- Character Analysis, Miller, Alison

The relationship between the Miller and the Miller’s Tale is close, for the tale is a reflection of the teller. The Miller’s tale is a fabliau, a genre best described as a short story full of ribald and humor. The Miller’s tale consists of events of â€Å"cuckoldry† (Chaucer 1720), â€Å"foolishness† (1718), and â€Å"secrets† (1719). Telling such a story, the Miller can immediately be classified as a man of low social status with a vulgar sense of humor full of shrewdness. However, as the tale continues, it reveals the unexpected soft side of the Miller as he sympathizes with the distressed woman trapped in the norms of society. Thus, the Miller’s characteristics of obscenity, deception, and sympathy drive the plot of his tale. In his attempt to surpass the Knight, the Miller sacrifices decorum for the sake of entertainment, reflecting his bawdy nature. When first traveling with the Miller, Chaucer listened to the Miller bellow â€Å"his ballads and jokes of harlotries† (1712). Scandalous topics appear throughout the Miller’s tale of a young girl â€Å"so graceful and so slim† named Alison who cheats on her husband, John, with his student, Nicholas (1720). When â€Å"handy Nicholas† first encounters Alison, he â€Å"[catches] her between the legs† and woos her, and they devise a plan to sleep with each other secretly (1721). This lecherous scheme fuels the entire plot of the tale. However, the parish clerk Absolom with his â€Å"gray eyes† and â€Å"nightingale† nature, typical attributes of lusty men, attempts to win Alison’s heart (1722, 1723). Although Absolom utilizes every method to win Alison’s heart even chewing â€Å"licorice and carda mom,† he ends up kissing her â€Å"bare bum† whereas Nicholas sleeps with her (1729, 1730). Chaucer’s initial encounter with the drunken Mi... ...nsequences (1732). By justifying Alison’s actions and letting her remain unharmed, the Miller sympathizes with the helpless Alison, revealing his unexpected sensitive quality. The drunken Miller tells his tale of obscenity, deception, and sympathy in his attempt to surpass the Knight. Although his physical traits and actions characterize the Miller as bawdy and dishonest, his hidden sympathy for Alison reveals he is somewhat gentle. Each character resembles the Miller’s attributes. Nicholas is both deceitful and lusty while Absolom is just lusty. Alison’s helplessness may exist since the Miller is helpless in his own life, causing him to steal in order to survive in the medieval society since it was harder for poorer men to make a living. Thus, the manifestations of the Miller’s characteristics and their outcomes bring light to the Miller’s true humane nature.

Pride and Prejudice Essay

Mr Collins proposes to both Elizabeth and Charlotte, but their reactions are very different. What does the behaviour of all three characters, during chapters 19, 20 & 22 tell us about the different attitudes to marriage in the early nineteenth century? In the 19th century, men were rated higher than women in society therefore when it came to marriage, once women were married all of their belongings, earnings and wealth were passed onto their husbands and in return their husbands would take care of them. Men and women back then would very rarely marry for love and happiness but otherwise mainly for money, security and to be higher up in society in some cases. Jane Austin wrote the story ‘Pride and Prejudice’ which deals with some of the most important aspects of adult life in the 19th century and explores the different views of marriage thoroughly throughout the book. Elizabeth Bennet is the second eldest of the five Bennet sisters and plays a vital part in the novel where she believes that marriage should be about love, equality and respect. Her view is that marriage is to be an equal partnership and a meeting of minds. She is a girl of high principles and her marriage would have been one of equality as she quotes â€Å"And if I were determined to get a rich husband, or any husband, I dare say I should adopt it† (volume 1 chapter 6 page 15) which shows her determination that she would not marry for money, but only for true love. Marriage today is seen upon by society as a way to be connected to your ‘other half’ forever due to your undying love for each other. Many people get married by choice of the heart which is similar to the way Elizabeth saw matrimony back in the 19th century. When Mr Collins proposes to Elizabeth she try’s to be nice and reject him in a nice way by saying ‘†Accept my thanks for the compliment you are paying me. I am very sensible of the honour of your proposals, but it is impossible for me to do otherwise than decline them† (volume 1 chapter 19 page 89) though he does not believe that her means what she says when she refuses him. Therefore Elizabeth ends up saying â€Å"I am perfectly serious in my refusal. – You could not make me happy, and I am convinced that I am the last woman in the world who would make you do† (volume 1 chapter 19 page 90) and by saying this she is sticking to her principals of only marrying for love. Even though he can save her and her family financially, she is still prepared to sacrifice financial security for personal feelings and freedom. I do admire Elizabeth for this decision because she told him what she honestly thinks/believes. I believe you should only marry someone if you are deeply in love with them and feel that you want to share your life with them. Also, Elizabeth does not want to make the same mistakes others have made in past marriage; advised by her father as he does not have true feelings for Mrs. Bennet which makes their marriage very unhappy and uncomfortable. This has probably influenced her decision a lot to decline Mr. Collins because she does not want to end up in the same position as her parents. After many attempts of trying to change Elizabeth’s mind, Mrs. Bennett resorts to saying â€Å"You must come and make Lizzy marry Mr Collins, for se vows she will not have him, and if you do not make haste he will change his mind and not have her† (volume 1 chapter 20 page 93) to Mr. Bennet because she desperately is trying to marry all off Elizabeth so that she isn’t her responsibility any more. Elizabeth is also getting older and at that time when they got to a certain age and were not married, they would be seen as not eligible for marriage, i.e. a spinster. On the other hand, Mr. Bennet reduced the situation to a joke by contrasting his opinions of the proposal with that of his wife. He ended the situation by saying â€Å"An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. – Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr Collins, and I will never see you again if you do† (volume 1 chapter 20 page 93) because he understands why Elizabeth does not want to marry Mr. Collins, cares more about his daughters happiness than their wealth and does not want to see her end up regretting her married life like he is. When Mr. Collins is rejected he refuses to abandon his decision to marry. Instead of Elizabeth, he decides to set his sights on Charlotte Lucas and asks her to marry him instead. As soon as Elizabeth found out that her best friend Charlotte was engaged to Mr. Collins, she expressed her surprise by exclaiming â€Å"Engaged to Mr Collins! My dear Charlotte, – impossible!† (volume 1 chapter 22 page 104) because she could not come to terms that Charlotte would be marrying this arrogant man. ‘But Elizabeth had now recollected herself, and making a strong effort for it, was able to assure her with tolerable firmness that the prospect of their relationship was highly grateful to her, and that she wished her all imaginable happiness’ which shows us she was pleased for the couple and shows her support for Charlotte by wishing her well. By doing this Elizabeth demonstrates that she will support others if they believe they will be happy despite not wanting to marry for any other reason than love and happiness herself. The character Mr Collins is a Church of England rector, who inherits Mr Bennet’s estate and his patron is Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Darcy’s aunt). His attitude towards marriage is different to Elizabeth’s as he wants to marry for economical reasons which is clearly shown when he says â€Å"Having now a good house and very sufficient income, he intended to marry; and in seeking a reconciliation with the Longbourn family he had a wife in view, as he meant to choose one of the daughters, if he found them as handsome and amiable as they were represented by common report† (volume 1 chapter 15 page 57). Mr Collins himself is silly, pompous and self-satisfied, though he seems to have a significant role as a potential marriage partner, which is unfortunately let down by his lack of care for anyone but himself. He only wants to secure his place in society by marrying as Lady Catherine will promote him which will then move him into a higher class of people. Mr Collins reasons for wanting to marry one of the Bennet sisters is ‘This was his plan of amends – of atonement – for inheriting their father’s estate; and he though it an excellent one, full of eligibly and suitableness, and excessively generous and disinterested on his own part’ (volume 1 chapter 15 page 57-58) which means as he is inheriting their fathers land, he thinks he can make things better by marrying on of them however despite him thinking this is a very good idea, he is not in love with any of them. Whilst Mr. Collins is in search of a wife; his first choice is Jane, but learning of her likely engagement to Mr. Bingley, he switched his attention to Elizabeth. I believe that this sudden change is consistent with everything we have learnt about Mr. Collins. Although whilst on one had his intentions appeared honourable i.e. he wants to marry one of the sisters in order to re pay them for inheriting their fathers land , the fact that he is willing to marry any of them without loving them, demonstrates his ultimate lack of regard and respect. It also highlights his underlying reason to marry in order to accumulate more wealth and social status. Next, the way Mr. Collins proposed to Elizabeth was excessively formal and consisted entirely of reasons why he should marry. His starts off with mentioning â€Å"Almost as soon as I entered the house I singles you out as the companion of my future life† (volume 1 chapter 19 page 88) which is a complete lie as we all know his first choice was Jane. The order in which he gives his reasons for marrying is interesting too as he mentions he wants to set a good example, how it will make him happy and the fact that Lady Catherine had told him to get; all before he even mentions love! His proposal shows only concern for himself and his standing with Lady Catherine who seems to be the only woman he does care for. Apart from being incredibly long-winded, his speech sounds like a business deal without any suggestion of romance which probably turns Elizabeth off him even more. When Mr. Collins says â€Å"I am therefore by no means discouraged by what you have just said, and shall hope to lead you to the altar ere long† (volume 1 chapter 19 page 89) means he is then dismissive when Elizabeth turns down his proposal assuming that she really means yes, when she is saying no and thinks that all young women react in this way initially when asked for their hand in marriage. Again, this shows us that he is pretty arrogant, doesn’t take Elizabeth seriously – or any other women for that matter and thinks that he will marry Elizabeth in the end despite what she is saying. Amazingly, Mr. Collins is very fast to change mind from Elizabeth to Charlotte which tells us he has no intention of stopping until he is married and he would happily marry a woman who does not love or even like him. He barley knows Charlotte, yet he is willing to spend the rest of his life with her and he will not be grateful that she is his wife but grateful they are married because then he is seen higher in society. Although he may have said he had feelings for Elizabeth, they way he was able to move onto Charlotte so quickly also enhances our thoughts of him being selfish. By doing all of this, he is quickly showing that he only has a heart for himself therefore he will never love any woman or find true love and no woman will ever be able to love him back.

Proactive Organizational Tips for Messy Student Desks

Proactive Organizational Tips for Messy Student Desks Neat desks are essential to help students build constructive study habits, organizational skills, and a clear mind for concentration. That positive feeling you get when you walk into your classroom in the morning and things are all straightened up from the afternoon before it works the same for students. When they have clean desks, they will feel good about school in general and the whole classroom has a better atmosphere for learning. Here are four organizational issues and the simple strategies that will help students keep their desks as neat and structured as possible.  Ã‚   1. Little Stuff is Everywhere The Solution: A plastic shoebox-size container, which can be bought at any big box store like Wal-mart or Target, is a cheap and lasting solution that keeps all of the little things together in one place. No more pencils, calculators, or crayons stuffed in the nooks and crannies of a desk. Once you buy a set of these containers, theyll last you years (and save you at least a dozen or more gray hairs!). 2. Loose Paper Explosions The Solution: If you look in your students desks and see countless loose papers flying all around, then you need a tried and true solution the Neat Folder. Its simple just give each student a folder in which to keep the loose papers that they will need again in the future. With all of the items consolidated, the inside of the desk assumes a more organized and sophisticated look. (Well, at least as sophisticated as a 30-year-old school desk can look.) Give students each color-coded folders that correlate with each subject. For example, a blue folder is for math, a red folder is for social studies, green  is for science, and orange is language arts. 3. There Isnt Enough Room The Solution: If there are simply too many items in your students desks, consider keeping some of the less-used books in a common area, to be distributed only when needed. Take a critical look at what youre asking children to store in their desks. If its too much for comfort, alleviate some of the items in competition for precious storage space. Every little bit makes a difference, so try creating space on the bookshelf just for student textbooks. This will help alleviate all of that extra clutter in their desks. 4. Students Just Wont Keep Their Desks Clean The Solution:  As soon as its tidied up, it transforms back into its formerly disastrous state. Some students just cant seem to keep their desks clean for any length of time.  Consider implementing a program of consequences and/or rewards to motivate the student to maintain the proper standards of desk cleanliness. Maybe the student has to miss recess, maybe he or she can work towards earning a privilege. Find a plan that works for that student and stick to it. Edited by Janelle Cox

History of Management Thought Revision Essay Example

History of Management Thought Revision Essay Example History of Management Thought Revision Paper History of Management Thought Revision Paper rewarded for teaching and developing your employees. c. Gantts emphasis on the importance of morale. d. The Gantt Chart steadily evolved into a valuable tool for scheduling (planning) and controlling work. (1)Widely used during World War I (2)Became an international management technique. (3)A forerunner of subsequent planning and controlling techniques such as major milestones, PERT, CPM. e. The New Machine a group headed by Gantt to promote the idea that engineers should be industrial leaders. Social responsibility Gantts concern that business should not lose sight of its service role in the economy. C. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth 1. Frank worked in the construction trades and called his job design motion study. Independent of, but influenced by, Taylor. 2. Lillian our First Lady of Management for her accomplishments with her husband as well as after Franks death. 3. As partners, they made numerous contributions: a. Franks study of bricklaying; motion study; a white list to identify top workers in an appraisal system; and a bonus to employees for suggestions. b. Motion and fatigue study a joint effort to reduce fatigue and improve productivity. (You might suggest that one or more of your students read â€Å"Cheaper by the Dozen† by F. B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine G. Carey. â€Å"Cheaper by the Dozen† has appeared as a movie twice: the first had Clifton Webb play Frank and Myrna Loy portrayed Lillian; a more recent release has Steve Martin as Frank and Bonnie Hunt as Lillian. If class members can find both of these movies, a comparison and evaluation can be made- and a lively discussion. c. Other contributions: (1)Therbligs (2)Motion pictures with special lighting to study micromotions. Note that Frank offered this technique to Taylor. (3)Process charts to study the flow of work through the shop. (4)Promotion planning. (5) Pioneering work with handicapped employees. d. Psychology of Management Lillians original, but not final, Ph. D. dissertation. It was not industrial psychology, per se, but the psychological intent of scientific management. e. Lillian’s efforts to bring Gilbreth’s motion study and Taylor’s time study are worth mentioning. D. Harrington Emerson 1. He worked largely independent of Frederick Taylor but they corresponded and he was aware of Taylors ideas. . Emersons ideas focused on: a. The lack of organization, in Emersons view, was a major problem. He proposed the line-staff organization as a way of bringing staff knowledge to assist the line managers. b. Emersons line-staff idea was similar to Taylors desire to use the knowledge of functional foreman, but an improvement since it did not split the chain of command. c. Emerson t ook Taylors idea of setting performance standards and applied this to cost accounting. Standards could be established for what the costs should be, rather than estimating costs from previous records. d. Incentives Emerson provided 120% wages for 100% performance (the standard) and that increased if the worker produced more. e. Of Emersons numerous principles: clearly defined ideals (objectives), participative decision making, and the proper use of staff stand out as the more unique of his ideas. f. Emerson established a successful consulting practice and sought to improve ethical practices among consultants. E. Morris Cooke 1. Cooke worked closely with Taylor and became one of the four individuals Taylor considered his disciples (others were Gantt, Barth, and H. King Hathaway). 2. Cookes early work developed when Taylor sent him on various consulting assignments: a. In education, where he felt that college administration was inefficient. b. In government, where Cooke became Director of Public Works for the City of Philadelphia and successfully implemented scientific management. 3. Collaborated with Taylor in preparing Principles of Scientific Management and received the royalties for his efforts. 4. In his later work, Cooke became interested in getting the leaders of organized labor to work within scientific management ideas. a. Suggested that management needed to tap labors brains. b. Worked with labor leaders in gaining a better feeling about union-management cooperation. c. Served Presidents F. D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman in government positions. Chapter 9 The Human Factor: Preparing the Way This chapter has one purpose but many sub-topics. The common element is the emphasis on the human factor as it appeared in personnel management, psychology/ industria l psychology, sociology/industrial sociology, and employee participation in decision making as manifested in the trade union movement and industrial relations, union-management cooperation, and employee representation plans. A. Personnel Management: A Dual Heritage 1. One part of the beginnings of personnel management may be found in the industrial betterment/welfare movement. a. This movement found its basis in the Social Gospel and grew out of a concern for improving industrial conditions. b. A number of companies employed a welfare secretary to advise management. Their duties were many, and in some cases appeared to be paternalistic. c. Many, though not all, of these secretaries were females, perhaps because of their experience in vocational guidance or social work, or perhaps because some of their duties resembled a role stereotype of what a woman did i. e. menus, handling illnesses, etc. 2. Scientific management emphasized improved personnel selection, placement, wage plans, and other matters that involved employee welfare. Taylor had described this role but it was others who advanced personnel management. a. Mary Gilson would be one example of the scientific management viewpoint. b. Also Jane William s at Plimpton Press. c. The Henry Gantt/Elizabeth Briscoe clash at Bancroft Mills relates similarities and differences between the welfarists and those of scientific management. d. Henry Ford and his $5 per day minimum is worth mentioning, as well as his sociological department. (Ask the class what Fords advisers did does this sound like a modern social worker? Also, why was the sociological department changed? ) B. Psychology 1. This section begins with a plutology quote (1863) which resembles A. H. Maslows (1943) hierarchy of needs theory. The purpose is to show that this early insight came from deduction and introspection, not empirical study. 2. The pseudosciences also reflect this introspection, yet some of these, such as graphology and astrology, are claimed today to have merit. Students may comment, and accurately so, that at this point in history these were considered scientific and not pretenders to science. Phrenology is my favorite, especially if you pretend to be an on campus recruiter. ) 3. Industrial Psychology a. Wilhelm Wundt pioneered scientific psychology. b. But more importantly, Hugo Munsterberg applied this scientific approach to industrial problems. c. Munsterberg sought (1)the best possible worker (2)the best possible work (3)the best possible effect d. He advocated (1)tests for worker selection 2)research in the learning process in training (to me, this sounds like an early concept of what we would call transfer of learning theory). e. Others who were early in the field of industrial psychology are mentioned briefly in the text. (They are not emphasized, but you may find a favorite here to assign for your class. ) (1)Charles S. Myers (2)Walter Dill Scott (3)Cecil A. Mace (4)Morris S. Viteles C. The Social Person This section involves the antecedents of industrial sociology as well as sociological theory. (Again, different individuals and contributions are open to your choice. 1. Whiting Williams obviously a favorite of mine, and a person whose ideas have been long neglected. a. A white-collar personnel director who put on the clothes and guise of a worker to study work first hand. That is, a participant-observer. b. Emphasized the centrality of work (before the work of Bob Dubin and George W. England). c. Job defines social status as well as a persons place in the work situation. d. The workplace is a part of a larger social system. e. Saw earnings as a matter of social comparison influencing how a person viewed himself relative to others. My feeling is that Williams should be seen as the originator of equity theory. ) f. Workers mainspring was to be found in their relations with others (is this or is this not a pre-Hawthorne view of human relations? ) g. The Eleventh Commandment Thou shalt not take thy neighbor for granted still good advice. h. My conclusion is that industrial sociology began with Williams, and that the Social Gospel influenced his thought. 2. Sociological theory a. Emile Durkheim (1)anomie normlessness (2)mechanical societies were dominated by a collective consciousness. 3)organic societies were characterized by interdependence and the division of labor, leading to anomie. (Note that some modern writers use other definitions for mechanical and organic. ) (4)Durkheims thinking influenced the human relationists view of the need for social solidarity. b. Vilfredo Pareto (Not one of my favorites as I find his ideas on social systems clouded in jargon. I mention him, however, for : (1) The Pareto Circle that influenced the Harvard version of human relations. (2)Paretos influence on Chester Barnard and cooperative systems. . Social behaviorism may be worth mentioning because of the notion of the social person, the beginning of social psychology, and C. H. Cooleys looking glass self, a very interesting way of looking at the formation of self-efficacy, personality development, and a host of other ideas. d. Gestalt psychology definitely deserves a mention. A number of persons who we will encounter later, such as Mary Follett and Kurt Lewin, were gestaltists and the notion prevails in much of our modern thinking about group dynamics and sociotechnical systems. D. Employee participation in Decision Making This section examines three paths to give employees a â€Å"voice† in the firm or organization: 1. Through membership in a union that would represent the workers’. a. John R. Commons is a substantial figure here. Perhaps the first to use the phrase â€Å"human resources† and considered the â€Å"Father of Industrial Relations. b. Commons was not anti-scientific management because it worked in some firms, but felt workers needed a say-so in the workplace. c. Other economists were interested in â€Å"applied economics† issues such as turnover, job analysis, etc. . The position of Samuel Gompers and the AF of L was to achieve gains for organized labor through bargaining power, not productivity. Gompers said more, more, and then more was what labor wanted. 2. Union-management cooperation a. Morris Cooke, Ordway Tead, and Robert Valentine were examples of those who were trying to reformulate what labor felt was the uny ielding, no union, position of scientific management. The revised emphasis was to be on consent: b. Union-management cooperation plans began when union membership was in decline in the early 1920s. Unions agreed to accept scientific management if they were involved by electing representatives and could bargain about wages, hours, working conditions, and so on. 3. Employee representation plans a. These did not involve unions but the workers elected representatives and participated through shop councils and committees. Unions did not like these plans (no membership dues, perhaps). b. Commons studied 30 of these â€Å"industrial government† or industrial democracy plans. c. Henry Dennison’s plan is noteworthy for its progressiveness. d. The Sage Foundation study indicated most employee representation plans were progressive and improved labor-management relations. (In Part Three we will see the demise of union-management cooperation and employee representation plans with the passage of the National Labor Relations Act. ) Chapter 10 The Emergence of Management and Organization Theory This chapter discusses the work of two major management theorists, Henri Fayol and Max Weber. Fayol provided the basis for the modern approach to general management theory through the management process. Weber conceptualized bureaucracy to provide a formal approach to organization theory. A. Henri Fayol 1. Fayol was an engineer who rose in the management hierarchy to become the Director (CEO) of a large-scale, fully integrated enterprise formed his conception of management as the general activity of integrating the functions of the firm in order to intelligently use resources to attain the objectives of the firm. In the opening pages, note how he built his theory from his experiences. 2. While Frederick Taylor was more production oriented, Fayols viewpoint was that of general management. . Fayol drew certain conclusions from his experiences: a. Managerial abilities differed from technical ones, and the success of the firm depended to a greater degree on good managers than good technicians. b. Fayol felt that every organization required management regardless of whether it was commercial, industry, politics, religion, war etc. I feel there is much misunderstanding about what Fayol intended. This statement of his suggests the universality of management in that this activity is necessary in all organizations. It does not mean, at least to me, that managers are universal, that any manager can manage any organization. (This point is arguable and merits class discussion. ) c. Managers needed certain qualities, knowledge, and experience. d. Managerial abilities become more important as a person moves up in the hierarchy; technical abilities are less essential for upper level managers. (I like to point out to my students that most CEOs still have a fond place in their heart for their technical specialties engineering, chemistry, whatever even though they must decide for the firm as a whole. e. Management could be taught in schools and universities but was not because of the absence of management theory. (Theory has many meanings for individuals so you might ask your students to give their definition and compare that with Fayols. ) 4. Fayols Principles of Management (This is one of those areas where controversy can thrive some maintain that management principles is an oxymoron. My approach is to stress his disclaimer that there is nothing rigid or absolute in management and that Fayols principles were guides, lighthouses, but not absolutes nor universals. Since he has 14 principles, I do not try to cover them all but stress those below. ) a. Division of labor he appears rather traditional here regarding work design, but note the job enlargement he practiced in the Commentry coal mine. b. Authority the point here is his distinction between formal authority, the right to give orders and the power to exact obedience, and personal authority which was a compound of intelligence, experience, moral worth, ability to lead and so forth. Fayol was aware of the need to combine and complement the authority of position with leadership qualities. c. Unity of command standard, but worth a reminder for the students. d. Unity of direction good advice to a lot of organizations. e. Centralization note that this does not mean that all decisions are made by top level management but finding where decisions should be made depending on the factors Fayol mentions. f. The gangplank, a means for providing lateral communications. Fayols French for this was passerelle which translates as a bridge, foot-bridge, or gangway. Gangplank was Constance Storrs translation for passerelle but I am often reminded that gangplank is also what the pirates made you walk if you were behaving badly! ) g. Subordination of individual interests to the general interest. Put this in a contemporary context by asking students for examples of persons who use their position of authority to serve their self-interest rather than the interests of the firmâ€⠄¢s employees, shareholders, etc. 5. Fayols Elements of Management (This is another area that is plagued by terminology. Most introductory management texts use some version of Fayols description of what managers did, but the labels are different. ) a. Planning also could be translated as foresight, but very basic to Fayols theory: (1)Plans depended on the firms resources, work in process, and future trends that could not be predetermined. (Note that Fayols ideas resemble what would be called a strategic audit. ) (2)Plans needed to have the characteristics of unity, continuity, flexibility, and precision. 3)Long range planning certainly a unique idea for his time but a valuable contribution in the evolution of strategic management. b. Organizing Fayol included both the design of the organization and the staffing job of the manager in this element (I tell my class that organizational design is like developing the plot and roles in a drama, while staffing is selecting and rehearsing individuals to fill those roles. Try it, and let me know if it works for you. ) (1)Structure of the organization had to be consistent with the objectives, resources, and requirements of the firm. 2)Functional and scalar growth (these are described, but you may wish to review these concepts so you can explain Fayols span of control ideas. ) (3)Span of control relatively narrow at the top, but greater at lower levels, according to Fayol. (4)Staff (advisory personnel, not to be confused, as it often is, with staffing. No wonder our students struggle with the language of management. ) On the subject of staff, Fayol disagreed with Taylor; that is, line managers needed staff advice but not through functional foremen advising workers. 5)Staffing (today we call it personnel or human resource management) involved selection, evaluation, and training of personnel. c. Command: Fayols term for directing, leading, supervising, actuating, or whatever. d. Coordination: harmonizing the activities of the organization. e. Control: checking on performance to identify and make corrections, if necessary. 6. The author concludes that Fayol was a â€Å"strategist† before that term became popular. Discuss the pros and cons of Fayol as using strategic management skills. (Fayol spent relatively little time discussing command, coordination, and control. The point I stress is that planning, organizing [and staffing] set the stage for where we are going and when and how we intend to get there; then these plans, people, and resources are activated, led, motivated, and coordinated; and as our information system brings us performance data, the control element enables management to renew the elements by replanning, or reorganizing, or whatever has been indicated by our control system. Thus, management is a continuing process, not a neat set of discrete elements/functions that are performed without consideration of the other elements. ) B. Max Weber and Bureaucracy (To begin, ask the class what bureaucracy means. There is a high probability that this idea will be associated with rules, impersonality, inefficiency, and catch-22 situations. This opens the door for what Weber intended. ) 1. Webers Germany was characterized by cartels which limited competition; his interest in the capitalistic spirit (from Chapter 2) led him to ask if a market oriented society could operate large organizations on some rational, systematic basis? A good discussion point might be the quote from Weber about â€Å"rational capitalism† versus â€Å"greed. Is capitalism and its market system a â€Å"rational† way to allocate resources? 2. Bureaucracy as theory a. It was management by the office, not by person. b. It was an ideal, the pure form of organization but this did not mean that it was the most desirable. c. Weber is suggested as the founder of Organization Theory. 3. Authority Weber had three pure types: a. Rational legal b. Traditional c. Charismatic (Have your students describe each type. Then, ask if organizations can operate best on the rational-legal basis, as Weber argued. Why? Or, why not? ) 4. Elements of Bureaucracy Ask the students to review these and apply them to a university, business, or other organization. 5. Weber argued that bureaucracy was, technically, capable of attaining the highest degree of efficiency. If so, why do we think of bureaucracy as undesirable? Chapter 11 Scientific Management in Theory and Practice Our purpose in this chapter is to examine the impact of scientific management on management education, on international management, and on other disciplines. Second, we see the spread of management ideas beyond the factory and the emergence of general management. The chapter is replete with names so suggestions will be made below where different emphases might be placed. ) A. The Study and Practice of Scientific Management 1. Education for Industrial Management (This is one area you may wish to summarize. The main points are: a. Early in the 20th century, the teaching of management in colleges focused on production management and was based on Frederick Taylors writings. b. Daniel Nelsons observation that scientific management gave credibility to the study of business. Business schools were considered by educators of that time (and maybe today) as too vocational. . Scientific Management Internationally a. The management revolution spread abroad as a product of the U. S. A. b. In France, industrialists tended to implement scientific management to increase productivity without following Taylors advice. Taylorisme became a dirty word for French workers. c. In Britain, note the differing opinions on scientific management. d. In Poland, Adamieckis harmonogram was similar to PERT. e. In the U. S. S. R. (which at the time was the Soviet Union rather than as it stands now): (1)Lenin advocated Taylorism, but little came of this in practice. 2)Gilbreths ideas on motion study probably had more influence than Taylors ideas. (3)Taylors idea of a mental revolution ran counter to the Bolshevik distrust of capitalism. (4)Walter Polakov was successful in getting the U. S. S. R. to use Gantt Charts for their five year plans. f. In Japan, Taylors ideas gained widespread acceptance. The Japanese liked the idea of harmony, cooperation, and mutual interest. What modern scholars call Japanese style management had its roots in the work of Taylor. 3. Industrial Practice (Beau coup names here so select as you see fit. Briefly: a. The Hoxie study highlighted the difference between the notions of scientific management and how well they were implemented. Note, however, that the Hoxie report was a pro-union document and biased toward labor unions. Also, see John Frey’s later doubts about Hoxie himself. Also noteworthy are John R. Commons’ comments about why the Hoxie report was not included in the final report of the Industrial Relations Commission. b. Studies by C. B. Thompson and Daniel Nelson provide more accurate assessments of scientific management. c. It is worth emphasizing that Nelson concluded that scientific management had a strong positive correlation with industrial efficiency. Also, scientific management was associated with growth not stagnation in most industries. d. Scientific management was associated with batch shop production and labor intensive operations. But in capital intensive industries, or automobile assembly lines, scientific management was less useful. e. Evidence from the U. S. Bureau of Census disputes the notion that scientific management â€Å"de-skilled labor. † Rather, the number of skilled and unskilled workers was increasing during this period. Scientific management has been criticized for de-skilling jobs and your author and the employment data from this period suggests this has been perpetuated as an untruth. B. Emerging General Management 1. Scientific management and other disciplines (for your selection): a. Public administration b. Marketing c. Accounting and standard costing d. The crossover chart as a forerunner of break-even point. e. Flexible budgeting. f. J. O. McKinsey is an unsung pioneer for the business policy/strategy field. His influence on Bill Newman will be discussed later. 2. Early organization theory (very useful if this is an emphasis in your class): A brief summary of some previous notions of organization, line-staff, organization charts, etc. b. Russell Robb is the focal point of this section. His ideas involved: (1)Organizations differed as to goals sought as well as means to those goals. (2)These organizational differences suggested there was no one best way to organize. 3. DuPont and General Motors (I place more emphasis here because of the very innovative things that were happening during that period at DuPont and G. M. ) a. Psychological tests for personnel selection. b. Donaldson Brown and Return on Investment (ROI) as R = T x P. This became the basis of the DuPont Chart system that is still in use. c. William C. Durant is an interesting study, but briefly examined here. He was great at building a firm, but not noted as an outstanding manager. d. Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. and the creation of centralized policy, control, and review while decentralizing administration and operations. e. The use, by both G. M. and DuPont, of the multidivisional structure. Organized around product divisions, these divisions could be decentralized for operations and performance could be measured by ROI (when we speak of the M-form organization, here are its origins). 4. Business Policy and Philosophy (again, numerous ideas to consider): a. Arch W. Shaw and the beginning of a business policy course. b. The problem or case method of instruction borrowed from legal education. c. A. H. Church and his distinction between what we would call policy formulation and implementation. d. Oliver Sheldon and a philosophy of management built on the efficiency values of scientific management with the ethics of service to the community. Chapter 12 Scientific Management in Retrospect This chapter examines the scientific management era in light of its economic, technological, social, and political environment. The student should see how the ideas of managing shaped and were shaped by changing environmental factors. A. The Economic Environment 1. The U. S. A. was in transition from an agrarian to an industrial nation. In this period of growth, scientific management provided a means whereby a better utilization of resources could occur. 2. The U. S. work force was very diverse with immigrants from many lands. See the data for the Nation and the example of workers at Ford Motor. 3. Compare Taylor’s â€Å"mental revolution† with the â€Å"mutual gains strategy† of today. 4. The U. S. orker prospered, both in wages, real wages (purchasing power), and reduced hours of work. (See the data for 1865-1890 and 1890-1921. ) 5. More employees were in management with the addition of staff specialists. This growth in the managerial hierarchy made it more critical to plan, organize, etc. 6. Alfred Chandlers rationalization of resource utilization describes well the needs of industry during this era. The ideas of the scientific management pioneers fitted these needs. 7. Industrial efficiency was increasing, partially due to scientific management (see the data on productivity). B. Technology and New Horizons . A substantial number of today’s Fortune 500 companies started during this period. 2. New manufacturing processes in steel and metal-working. 3. Transportation advances by automobiles, aircraft, canal and bridge construction. 4. Emerging energy sources in petroleum and electricity. 5. Assembly line developments at Ford Motor. 6. Office work was reshaped by the mimeograph for copying, the typewriter, carbon paper, Hollerith’s punch card, and visual means of data presentation such as Gantt Charts. C. The Social Environment 1. Horatio Alger, Jr. characterized the success ethic of U. S. enterprise. 2. Scientific management ideas were consonant with the social values of self-directing, high need for achievement, individuals. 3. Change came as the Western frontier closed; Bill Scott called this the collision effect, which would lead to a transition period of individualism being replaced by a social ethic (coming in Part Three). 4. The Social Gospel described briefly here at the risk of repeating previous material. C. The Political Environment 1. The political articulation of the Social Gospel was the Populist-Progressive Movement. 2. Scientific management appealed to the Progressives, especially Morris Cooke. An increasing regulation of business during this time overcame the inadequacies of the earlier Sherman Act. 4. Check the tax rates they are a good way to capture a feeling for this era of relatively limited government. Part Three The Social Person Era Chapter 13 The Hawthorne Studies The purpose of this chapter is to describe the studies at the Hawthorne Plant of Western Electric, then a subsidiary of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. The social person was not invented by these studies, but was elevated and brought to wider recognition by those who interpreted the results. The interesting thing about these studies is how they have been publicized, misinterpreted, praised, and criticized over these many years since the event. Each of us will bring some of our views in when teaching this chapter and it is interesting to find that the issues of Hawthorne have not been resolved but continue to generate articles and presentations. I have used the microfilm records of these studies and I am indebted to Chuck Wrege, Ron Greenwood, and Al Bolton for their seminal work. A. The Studies Begin 1. The original research issue was the effect of workplace illumination on worker productivity. Those who came initially to Hawthorne were electrical engineers from MIT. a. After establishing performance baselines in three departments, the researchers varied the level of illumination. Their conclusion: illumination appeared to have no influence on output. b. Another attempt was made with a control group and a variable group, placed in separate buildings. Again: in this case output went up in both groups. c. The illumination research was abandoned in 1927, but one of the researchers, Charles E. Snow, concluded there were too many variables and the psychology of the human individual could have been the most important one. The Relay Assembly Test Room a. The studies could have been trashed at this point, but Homer Hibarger and George Pennock pushed for further study. Pennock had an excellent insight: supervision was a better explanation. b. The participants were volunteers, knew the objectives of the study, and were observed for a short period in their regular department prior to going to a separate room with their observer. You may wish to indicate to your students that two of the original participants were replaced about 8 months into the experiment. This became an issue which is discussed in Chapter 17. A number of changes were introduced: (1)The incentive payment plan was changed such that the relay assembly group was rewarded on their output rather than on the output of the larger relay assembly department. Note that the participants were told that they could make more money under this arrangement this point will come into play later when various interpretations are made of why output increased. (2)Rest periods were introduced. (3)After 8 months, two operators quit and two new ones selected. (4)Work-day and work-week changes. (5)Lunch and refreshments were provided by the company. . Over a year after the studies began, all of these privileges, except the small group payment plan, were removed. While output varied, the overall trend was increased output. 3. Clair Turner and an early interpretation of the rise in output: a. The small group resulting in more esprit de corps. b. The style of supervision: the participants’ remarks are worth noting. c. Increased earnings: average wages went from $16 to $28-50 per week while in the test room. d. The novelty of the experiment. c. The attention given to the operators by others. 4. A second relay assembly group was formed by Clair Turner in an effort to test the pay for performance effects. Average earnings per week had increased significantly. a. The second relay group was formed and taken from the large group payment plan to the small group one. Initially, output went up and then leveled off. Note that this study lasted only 9 weeks. Then, this group was returned to the original payment plan, output dropped (and that was the end of the second group). b. Mica splitters had always been on individual pay incentives and this group was studied for 14 months. In this group, average hourly output went up during this period. Turner concluded that pay incentives were one factor, but not the only one, although it was of appreciable importance. (Chapter 17 provides a critique of the studies but my preference is to present and discuss Chapter 13 without reference to the criticisms. When we get to Chapter 17, we discuss the various interpretations of the studies and tie it all together. Other instructors may choose to tie 13 and 17 together in the discussion. The outcome should be the same. ) 5. The Interviewing Program a. Snow and Hibarger started asking the workers directed questions about their feelings. b. Elton Mayo made a contribution by changing the interviewing program to a nondirective approach. He felt that supervisors need to listen more. c. With the nondirective approach the length of the interviews and the information gathered increased: (1)There appeared to be a cathartic effect. After a worker complained, follow-up interviews revealed that the complaint was gone. The workers felt better even though no change in conditions had occurred. (2)Fact and sentiment had to be separated. (3)Two levels of complaints (a)Manifest, i. e. what the employee said. (b)Latent, the psychological content of the complaint. 4)Complaints were symptoms to be explored. (5)Pessimistic reveries (Mayos phrase) could be reduced if supervisors were concerned and listened to their employees. Thus, according to Mayo, pessimistic reveries would be negative attitudes held by employees that could interfere with their performance. 6. The Bank Wiring Room a. Concerned observation, but not intervention, with male workers assembling switches for central office switchboards. Note the supervisors’ objections before the study began. b. Restriction of output was a surprising finding even though this practice had been described by others. c. Workers had established an output norm that was lower than managements standard or the bogey. d. In the informal organization, there were two cliques, each having norms about appropriate in-group behavior, such as the practice of binging. e. Researchers found that the work groups: (1)Deliberately restricted output (2)Smoothed out production (3)Developed intragroup disciplinary methods. f. Some workers were isolates, not in a clique, because of various factors. g. Rules for clique membership: (1)Working too fast, a rate buster. (2)Working too slowly, a rate chiseler. (3)Do not squeal on a member of your group. 4)Do not act officious or be socially distant. h. Factory as a social organization; work groups served to protect the workers within their group, and to protect the group from outsiders. The workers viewed: (1)Technologists and managers as following a logic of efficiency which interfered with group activities. (2)Workers were apprehensive of authority and followed a logic of sentiments which reflected their feelings and attitudes toward outsiders. B. Human Relations, Leadership, and Motivation 1. The Hawthorne effect: part of the research and human relations folklore for years. Allegedly, the findings were biased because the experimenters became personally involved in the social-work situation. a. Theresa Layman, one of the participants, rebutted this; so did Don Chipman, one of the observer experimenters; and so did Clair Turner, one of the experimenters. b. The Hawthorne effect is widely referenced, but is a dubious explanation of the Hawthorne results. 2. Mayo felt â€Å"pessimistic reveries were one type of blockage which arose out of personal, social, and industrial problems and became manifest in apprehension of authority, restriction of output, etc. . Anomie, borrowed by Mayo from Emile Durkheim to describe the break-up of traditional society, leaving people without norms. 4. Leadership, in the view of Mayo and Roethlisberger, needed strengthening by social and human skills for the leader (note my feeling that Mayo and F. W. Taylor sought the same goal of collaboration and cooperation but differed in means). a. Influenced by Chester Barnard, Mayo co ncluded that authority had to be based on social skills in securing cooperation. b. Management needed to focus more on building group integrity and solidarity. c. First line supervisors were particularly important in good worker-manager relations. 5. Motivation in the human relations literature evolved and became more Mayo and Roethlisbergers advocacy than based on what happened at the Hawthorne plant. a. Early reports, such as Clair Turners report and Mark Putnams statement to Business Week, placed money as important. b. The test room participants stated they liked the fact they were able to make more money. c. Chuck Wrege cites a memo to Mayo in which he is told that economic and financial factors were of considerable importance. . As time passed, the Mayo-Roethlisberger theme shifted: (1)Example, Roethlisbergers memo that Mayo would be happy because of some evidence that physiological, not economic, factors were related to output. (2)More emphasis in later writings is placed on social belonging needs, being accepted by the group. (3)A later quote regarding discarding economic man. (Some of this discussion overlaps the critique in Chapter 1 7. You may find it to your liking to combine these differing views of what motivated the social person. ) Chapter 14 The Search for Organizational Integration This chapter focuses on two individuals, Mary Follett and Chester Barnard, both of whom are very important in the evolution of management thought. Follett was chronologically closer to the scientific management era, but intellectually a forerunner of understanding group processes. Barnard, on the other hand, influenced human relations thinking and continues to influence our understanding of organizations and management. A. Mary Parker Follett 1. Basis of her philosophy: a. Johann Fichte, Georg Hegel, and Gestalt psychologists. b. Early experiences led her to realize the need to rethink our ideas bout authority, leadership, and conflict resolution. 2. Conflict Resolution: She saw 4 ways a. Submission if in a conflict situation. b. Struggle, and someone wins and the other loses. c. Compromise, a solution she did not like, especially as it appeared in labor-management collective bargaining. d. Integration, finding a solution that did not involve compromise, submission, or struggle. My students are much more accustomed to bargaining or battle, and less at ease with trying to find a more creative solution. Folletts illustrations do not help our understanding of integration much either. The topic of conflict resolution does engender a lively class discussion if the students are prompted to think about labor-management relations, dating or marital relationships, or even international conflict. 3. Authority and Power a. Essential to integration would be rethinking authority and power. b. She advocated power-with and co-action to replace power-over and coercion. c. Depersonalize orders and follow the law of the situation. Ask your students if there is a similarity here with management by objectives which they may or may not yet be familiar with. d. Authority is based on knowledge and not the will of one person. I comment here that this sounds like F. W. Taylor and the functional foreman. The class may or may not agree. If not, this opens the door to a discussion of authority and influence. e. Power-with required circular response, disclosure and open discussion. f. Follett believed in employee representation plans (Chapter 9) because of cooperation and shared power. 4. Leadership a. Folletts notion of the role of the leader/manager was an extension of her ideas of integration and authority. b. Control could not be achieved without integrated efforts, that is, when interests were not reconciled. c. Control was based on facts, not people; and correlated, not imposed from above. d. Coordination facilitated control. e. Leadership, then, involved defining the purpose of the organi-zation and skills in coordinating and evoking the law of the situation. f. These leadership tasks were not based on the power of the leader, but a reciprocating influence of leaders and followers within the context of the situation. I find Follett fun to teach her ideas are unique and provoke discussion. She is often dismissed as too idealistic, out of touch in a tough world where decisions have to be made without time to implement her techniques. But, in a tough world can we make better decisions because people are involved and co-acting to achieve a common purpose? B. Chester Barnard 1. Cooperative Systems: a. Formal organizations as the kind of cooperation that is conscious, deliberate, and purposeful. b. Formal organizations helped: (1)Maintain an internal equilibrium. (2)Examine external forces to see if adjustments must be made. An open systems viewpoint. (3)Analyze the functions of executives. c. Organizations needed to be cooperative systems because people had choices and they could choose to contribute or not to contribute. d. The executive functions could modify actions and motives through influence and control. e. Effective-Efficient: individual and organizational goals might differ and Barnard expressed this as: (1)Effective, meet the goals of the organization. (2)Efficient, meeting individual motives, and only the individual could determine whether or not this was occurring. Students may find Barnards terms mean something different from previous definitions of effective and efficient. Mayo used logic of efficiency where Barnard meant effective. My advice to the class is to keep these definitions in mind only for Barnard. . The only measure of efficiency according to Barnard was the organizations capacity to survive. That is, to provide adequate inducements to satisfy individual motives to secure their cooperation. At this point, another question occurs: an organization must also be effective or it may not be able to be efficient. Rather than being dichotomous, are effective and efficient really co-acti ng? 2. Elements of formal organizations: Barnard defined a formal organization as a system of consciously coordinated activities or forces of two or more persons. The late Lyndall Urwick felt this definition was too broad, and quipped: under Barnards definition, a boy kissing a girl is also a formal organization. a. Willingness to cooperate, and this was to be facilitated by the offerings of objective and subjective incentives. Perhaps somewhat controversial is Barnards notion that this meant self-abnegation, surrender of control of personal conduct, and depersonalization of personal actions. Did this mean we lose our individuality? If so, then why did he stress the need to satisfy individual motives? b. Purpose, or objectives of the organization. Although individual and organizational motives were different, individuals could achieve their motives by working toward organizational purposes. This reminds me of Douglas McGregors Theory Y, which will be presented in Chapter 20. c. Communication, for which Barnard developed 3 principles: (1)Channels should be definitely known. (2)Objective authority (I interpret this to mean formal authority) requires a definite channel of communication. (3)Keep the line of communication short and direct. d. Informal organization, where Barnard also saw 3 universal elements: 1)Communication. (2)Maintenance of cohesiveness. (3)Maintenance of feelings of personal integrity and self-respect. It might be worthwhile to ask the class how Barnards notion of the informal organization compares with F. W. Taylors systematic soldiering and Elton Mayos illogical logic of sentiments. 3. Acceptance Theory of Authority a. Barnards definition of authority included the notion that a communication must be accepted by the organizational member. b. Authority did not reside in persons of authority, but in a members acceptance of authority. c. Individuals would consent to authority if four conditions were met: (1)They understood the communicated order. (2)They believed the order was consistent with the organizations purpose. (3)The order was compatible with their personal interests as a whole. (4)They were physically and mentally able to comply with the order. Depending on how much time you wish to spend on this topic, there are a number of implicit issues here regarding interpersonal communications, the clarity of the organizations purpose, and the morality/ethical possibil- ities regarding personal interests. d. Zone of indifference, Barnards phrase for explaining how an organization could function since members could accept or reject authority on almost any occasion. Individuals could be very indifferent, leading to a wider possibility of acceptance, or less indifferent. This depended on the individuals weighing the inducements, burdens, and sacrifices. In class, I may say: as your instructor, lets assume I have some a uthority in this class. How far can I go? Would you stand in your class seats if requested? Would you etc.? I find a fairly wide acceptance of reasonable requests, but for a promise of better grades the students become a lot more amenable to my suggestions. In some ways, this is scary. e. Authority of leadership, Barnards way of expressing the potentiality of assent created when people had respect for and confidence in their leaders. f. Authority still existed in the organizational hierarchy, in formal authority, but authority in the final analysis still rested with the organizational member. 4. The Functions of the Executive. Three, according to Barnard: a. Provide a system of communication. b. Promote securing personal efforts. c. Formulate and define organizational purpose. d. Decision making and â€Å"strategic factors. † Strategic factors was an idea that Barnard took from John R. Commons. e. In â€Å"logical† and â€Å"non-logical† decision making, Barnard reveals the importance of intuition, tacit knowledge, to go with logical decision making processes. 5. Moral leadership for Barnard involved executives having a high moral code, demonstrating it as an example, and seeking to create this morality in others. For discussion, this can lead you into recent examples of failures as well as successes of executives, financiers, and others in displaying their moral leadership. Chapter 15 People and Organizations My students refer to Chapters 15 and 16 as telephone book chapters, lots of names and some intellectual addresses where contributions were made. These are accurate assessments so I suggest that you tailor your assignments to fit your course objectives. In Chapter 15, I focus on Moreno, Lewin, Maslow, Scanlon, Lincoln, McCormick, Simon, and Whyte as well as the leadership studies at Michigan and Ohio State. For my purpose, these capsulize the research in group dynamics, changing behavior, job design, motivation, participation, leadership, decision making and socio-technical systems. A. People at Work: The Micro View I approach this as organizational behavior before it acquired that label. The bases of modern OB were being built during this era. 1. Eduard Lindeman a. Early study of group behavior in member interaction, participation, and attitudes. b. Origin of phrase participant-observer. c. Lindeman was a cohort of Mary Follett and they appear to have influenced each other. . Jacob Moreno a. Sociometry, trying to classify individuals into groups that were capable of harmonious relationships. b. Sociogram, mapping interpersonal preferences. Note the difference he found when preferences were for social vs. task mates. c. Psychodrama, a cathartic experience for an individual in a group setting. d. Sociodrama, the basis of role playing. e. Role reversal, taking the role of others and a us eful technique for working with culturally diverse groups. 3. Kurt Lewin a. Group dynamics and field theory. Gestalt notions for understanding individuals in groups. Note Moreno’s influence on Lewin. b. Quasi-stationary equilibrium. Groups never achieved a steady state but were continuously in a process of mutual adaptation. (This notion has led me to have numerous doubts about the findings of small group research projects. ) c. Leadership, perhaps an inappropriate label for a study of social climate in 10-11 year old boys. Lewin asked his counselors to role play democratic or authoritarian styles and found what he expected in the boys reactions. One counselor, however, misplayed his role and, rather than throwing the data out, Lewin called this laissez-faire. This style has persisted in the literature despite its inaccuracy. d. Changing behavior, Lewins finding that group participation facilitated the change process. His three step model is still a foundation for contemporary â€Å"action research† and organizational change: unfreezing through participation; moving to the new level; and freezing (reinforcing) the desired new behavi or. e. Lewins work became the basis for sensitivity training through his influence on Leland Bradford. B. Human and Industrial Relations 1. National Labor Relations Act of 1935 led to a new emphasis on collective bargaining and labor-management relations. 2. Interdisciplinary research such as the University of Chicago Committee on Human Relations. 3. Beginnings of industrial relations centers at various universities. 4. Increased interest in human relations training. C. Changing Assumptions about People at Work 1. Motivation, both Henry Murray and A. H. Maslow and the development of a need theory of motivation. a. Maslow and the hierarchy of human needs. b. Maslow’s â€Å"humanistic psychology† and the Third Force in psychology. . Joseph Scanlon, union official and later a colleague of Douglas McGregor at MIT. The Scanlon Plan: (1)A union-management productivity plan whereby groups of workers got bonuses for proposing savings in labor costs. (2)Group oriented. (3)Not profit sharing. d. James F. Lincoln, rewarding individual efforts based on skill ratings. (1)Wages and benefits were comparable to the Clevela nd area labor market. (2)In addition, bonuses were paid for performance based on quality and quantity of output as well as self-management (or, in contemporary terms, â€Å"empowerment†). 3)Bonuses were typically substantial until recent years. Have a class member check Lincoln Electric’s web site and/or Cleveland area newspapers for the latest on employee bonuses. 2. Job Enlargement, research in the 1940s by Walker and Guest indicated some possible improvements if jobs were designed to lengthen (broaden) the work cycle (you may want to stress that this concerned combining jobs rather than increasing job depth). 3. Participation, a power-equalization thesis of this period to play down the importance of the organizational hierarchy. 1)James Worthy, at Sears, Roebuck argued for flatter structures and decentralization. He also worked with the University of Chicagos Committee on Human Relations to study the impact of structure on employee morale. (2)William B. Given, Jr. , a bottom-up approach. (3)Charles P. McCormick, a plan for participation which is still operative in this tea, spice, and extract firm. Junior boards were created (multiple management) to improve communications, manager development, and coordination through participation. 4. Leadership a. T. W. Adorno and the F (for Fascist) scale. b. Rensis Likert and the University of Michigan studies of leadership orientations: (1)An employee orientation, stressing interpersonal relations. (2)A production orientation, focus on producing. (3)An employee orientation, coupled with more general supervision, led to higher productivity, better morale, lower turnover, greater group cohesiveness, and less employee anxiety. c. The leadership studies at Ohio State University, largely led by Ralph Stogdill and Carroll Shartle, also found a two dimensional orientation. (1)Initiating structure, acting to further the work objectives. 2)Consideration, emphasizing followers needs and interpersonal relations. d. Despite differing terminology, leadership was viewed by each as a two-by-two matrix of leader behaviors in which being people-oriented was not mutually exclusive of a production orientation. D. People at Work: The Macro View 1. William Foote Whytes study of restaurants. a. Status in the social system ran counter to the work flow and who initiated work for others in the technical system. b. Whytes work was key to the idea of socio-technical systems. c. Whyte is noted for â€Å"participatory action research. † 2. E. Edward] Wight Bakke, the interactions of the formal and informal systems; the bonds of organization; and the fusion process involving organizational position and personal views of standing or status. 3. Tavistock Institute and the work of Elliott Jacques. 4. Pioneering study of Trist and Bamforth on the impact of technology on The social system. 5. Herbert A. Simon, greatly influenced in his early work by Chester Barnard, was interested in how choices (decisions) were made: a. Limits that â€Å"bound the area of rationality made it difficult to achieve the best possible decision. Note Simon’s later use of the term â€Å"bounded rationality. b. Satisficing or good enough decisions were a result of the decision makers limited rationality. c. Composite decisions would be better because of th e limits on one persons capability to achieve better solutions; participation by different groups would be an improvement. d. With James March, Simon authored the influential book Organizations. They viewed organizations as complex networks of decision processes that influence human choices. 6. George C. Homans was influenced by the writings of Vilfredo Pareto through the seminars of L. J. Henderson. Another study of the relationships created when work and social systems interact. Various dimensions were found in: a. Activities, formal or informal. b. Interactions, prescribed or emergent. c. Sentiments, the elusive nature of feelings. Chapter 16 Organizations and People Again, one of those chapters with numerous names. The broad intent of the chapter is to prepare the foundation for a later discussion of management and organization theory. In contrast with Chapter 15, the focus is on formal organization, re