Cost of Debt Bias

Debt is perpetual 2. probability of default is 6 in each period. The probability is the same in every period 3. If default occurs, bondholders receive p fraction of the face (principal) value f the bond plus accrued interest. 4. Bond is sold at par, i. e. , the bonds initial price equals its principal value. . If the bond does not default, the bondholders receive the promised coupon payment. 6. Discount rates are constant over time. At the start of each period in which the bond has yet to default, the bonds price must equal its initial price. Why? At the start of period 1, the bond promises to pay a perpetual series of interest payments and with a 6 probability of default and an a ecovery rate of p; at the start of period 100, if the bond never defaulted in the previous 99 periods, the bond promises to pay a perpetual series of interest payments and with a 6 probability of default and an a recovery rate of p.The same statement is true for any and all dates in the future. Thus, the pr ice will be the same at all dates in the future. Thus, if the bond does not default at the end of the period, at the end of a period, it is worth P + rYTM P; if the bond defaults at the end of a eriod, it is worth y(P + rYTM P).

Balancing Social and Academic Life Essay

Balancing academic responsibilities and social relationship is complicated. Sometimes, if we just focused on our academic responsibilities, we are setting aside our friends and our family; we set aside the fact that there is a real world you have to have fun and discover. On the other hand, some of us don’t care about our responsibilities on academic especially in college level, because we think our social lives are more important than it is. If you want to be gratified you ought to be balanced in everything that you do and want, that’s why planning and defining moments to each particular activity you do is so important. This research is aimed at providing healthcare professionals with ideas and information regarding student nurses on how they balance their focus and time between academic responsibilities and social relationships. It was also prepared for the purpose of unveiling the effect of which to academic performances. The gathering of data will come from the nursing students of World Citi Colleges from first year to third year. Proper balancing of two certain priorities would lead to an improvement and subsequently much better effect on academic performances of a student. The interest in this subject was motivated by the researcher’s desire to observe the effects on academic performance from how nursing students balance such priorities as a student. Will they spend their time on studying more than they socialize? Or maybe it’s more important for them to hang out with friends and enjoy life to the fullest rather than to study? In this case, is it sacrificing one of our priorities? Could each student able to balance their time or is it just the idea of passing the course? Whatever would be their choice, it may affect their academic performances. These are associated decisions that will determine whether the outcome would be positive or negative. To be able to balance academic responsibilities and social relationship requires thorough management of our time. This is a defying part of being able to meet the academic requirement and to have time with our family and friends. Especially in nursing, there are lots of academic requirement that is needed to pass through the whole course thus, interfering with our social relationship. It takes the time of our social lives, for some this may not be a big deal in other cases social relationship and academic responsibility is a difficult task to make. Most common students in nursing are teenagers, at this stage in life they are focused in self-care; sleeps late and takes nap. Most of their time are given to discover themselves and how big life is. The trouble of studying more than 12 hours a week interferes with the social life and this really affects their school performance. Some others set aside parties or night-life to do homework, even goes to bed early to avoid falling asleep during class and duty hours. At school they become socialized to the role of a nurse and hear countless stories about â€Å"responsible nurses† who put their patients, their employers, and virtually everyone else first in their lives. Statement of the Problem The research aims to investigate the nursing students on Balancing Academic Responsibilities and social life: effect to the academic performance of first year to third year college students of World Citi College, Quezon City Campus. Specifically, sought to answer the following questions: 1.What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of: 1.1Age 1.2Gender 1.3Civil Status 2.How do nursing student balance their social life in terms of: 2.1 Family 2.2 Friends 2.3 Time 3.How do balancing social life affect their academic performance in terms of: 3.1 Academic Outcome 3.2 Student Character 4.How do balancing academic responsibility affect their academic performance in terms of: 4.1 Academic Outcome 4.2 Student Character 5.Is there any significant relationship between balancing academic responsibilities, social life and in the student’s academic performance? Purposes of the study 1.To determine the demographic profile of the respondents. 2.To describe how nursing students balance their social life in terms of family, friends and time. 3.To investigate how do balancing social life affect their academic performance. 4.To find out how do balancing academic responsibility affect their academic performance. 5.To know is there any significant relationship between balancing academic responsibilities, social life and in the student’s academic performance. Significance of the Study This study will benefit the college coordinators, guidance counselors, faculty/professors, students and parents making them aware of how most students balanced their time between academic responsibilities and social relationships, thus, finding out its effect on their academic performance. College coordinators/Professors: they will be prompted to suggest and promote better activities that would encourage students to be more focused on balancing their time for their academic and social life at the same time. Students: the findings of the study course will help them increase their awareness on their strengths and weaknesses regarding their academic performance. One way of helping the students is to give them appropriate attention, and care as well as patient and love in order for them to build up their confidence and best in everything they do. Also, to help them mold the right perspective in life for them to know and feel that they exist in this world. Parents: they can guide, give attention and support their children in relation to their academic performance in school, may it be for their academic improvement or social growth. They can also recognize and identify what are the strengths and weaknesses of their children for them to know how to support and help them to gain security and trust to themselves. In addition, this may also build up the child’s foundation, and will do their best to work hard on their studies. Future researchers: the data gathered from this research could be helpful as an addition resource material for those who are inclined in doing this kind of study. Researcher could make use of the findings of this study in formulating a new hypotheses that is need to be tested in order to support the theories concerning this matter made by early theorists. Scope and Limitations of the Study This study is focused on balancing academic responsibilities and social life; it’s effect to the academic performance of nursing students. This study will be confined within the World Citi Colleges Nursing Department. Respondents of the Study will be represented by the first year to third year nursing students who are officially enrolled in first semester school year 2013-2014. This research will be done in five month’s time. It does not seek to include 4th year students because they are more experienced about the setting and adjusted themselves to college. Other extra-curricular activities of the student will not be included. Conceptual Framework Assumption The researchers assure that all of the information gathered from the student respondents with regards to their profile, balancing academic responsibility and social life are certified, accurate and reliable enough to for this study. The respondents of the study are the 1st year to 3rd year nursing students of World Citi Colleges, Quezon City Campus.

Management of Organisation Essay

Change management may be defined as the planning, initiation, realization, control and the stabilization of change processes both at the corporate and personal level. Change usually may occur at the strategic level of the organization or involve the personal development of the personnel. Change is a powerful force which is often resisted by most individuals whether it occurs at the corporate or personal level. Despite the resistance, change is a good thing. In fact it is a . livelihood of business in any organization. This is so because any possible failure to see and adjust to change may lead to a spiral downward fall that may lead to reduced efficiency, productivity, band productivity. Therefore the effects of change on personalities need to be resolved effectively but the change process must go on. At no point should the change process should be stopped because of its effects on the human component of the organization (Burke, 2002: pp. 55-7). Change may be described by a number of adjectives such as confusing, fulfilling, challenging, liberating, disorienting, empowering frustrating etc depending on the magnitude of the impact it has on an individual. Employees will always view change negatively. They have a negative perception and attitude towards change. The negative attitude of employees toward change is as a result of their fear of losing their jobs, positions, statuses social security and fear of the resulting higher workload. The employees may or may not be justified to view change that way but generally, the effects of change on employees are negative but the interests of the organization should always remain higher than those of personalities. Even those who survive retrenchment that comes with change will still view change negatively because of two reasons. First, they feel guilty because retaining their jobs makes others jobless and second, the high workload that is likely to come with the change. The remnants can only be willing to the resulting workload if they are given a pay rise. These emotions that result from change may put considerable stress on the changing organization. The stress though is short-lived and after some time the employees tend to forget and move on (Kaufman,1995: p. 12). Based on the employees general view of change, implementation of change in an organization, division, department, project etc may not be easy but the management need to be strong to see the organization through the change process. There will always be casualties of change. Change should start with the managers. It is often said that leadership is a message. Whatever the manager says or doesn’t say is a message. Therefore the message needs to be clear, consistent and repetitive. This is so because it takes time for people to hear, understand and believe the change carrying message especially if they don’t like what they hear. It is human nature to resist change and this is precisely the reason why they should be prepared beforehand. Prior communication may make the transition exciting or at least satisfactory. Change implementation is a foursome affair. First, there is need for the establishment and maintenance of the organization’s vision. When you know where you are going it is rare that you can get lost. Second, there is need to establish and maintain a realistic business plan which ought to be in sync with the vision. Third, communication needs to come in time to pass the synchronized organizational vision and business plan to the organization’s personnel. Finally, there is need for action so as to put into practice what has been communicated in the bid to exercise what is in the business plan which is in sync with the organization’s ultimate vision. Successful implementation of change can thus be seen to be represented by the following equation: Leadership + Vision + Communication + Action = Successful Change. The actions need to be measured and evaluated with the results being compared and deliberated upon. It is common knowledge that what gets measured gets done and anything rewarded gets repeated over and over again (Spector etal, 2007: pp. 156-8). Change can be discerned through finding out what people out there say about the organization. What is the organizational ranking out there? Does the organization need to do something to gain a competitive edge in the market? All these questions test the inevitability of change. Another way involves the challenging of all the organization’s products, services and policies in a bid to question their relevance to the present corporate, personal and market context. It is through questioning that you get to understand when change is necessary, how it can be communicated and implemented and how can the favourable results of the change on the organization’s performance measured. Change is often expensive especially when it involves technology. Technology changes fast and thus if any organization that needs to adapt needs to learn rapidly so as to keep up with the pace. Change is often triggered fro without the organization. Linkspan for instance needs to improve technology to keep up with the changing technology. The effect of technology in market enhancement can no longer be ignored. Further, most people have become technology oriented and are likely to choose a service provider who is technologically compliant that the one who is still struggling with indecision whether to embrace technology or not (Martel,1986: pp 45-54). As stated earlier, the first step in the implementation of change is the detailed review of the organization’s vision. Linkspan management needs to question the direction they are taking whether they are in line with the company’s vision. I believe that any company will have its vision focussing somewhere close to having an advantageous edge in the market. No organization sets a vision to make losses. The target is always making huge profits that will lead to the expansion of the organization. Once the vision has been internalized, the management needs to ask itself one very important question; is the intended change necessary? If so, how is the change likely to supplement the organization’s efficiency and performance? Is the change in sync with Linkspan’s ultimate vision, objectives and goals? Once all these issues are established, then it should be officially declared that the change is inevitable and the reasons warranting the change. These reasons and the inevitability of the change need to be recorded. The next step will be an in-depth study on how the change is likely to affect both the strategic corporate and personal components of Linkspan. Study how the change is going to affect the market, the employees, the organization’s expenditure and income, the shareholders, the customers etc. In short measure and evaluate the effects of the change on every party. Once the measurement and evaluation of the effects of the change has been made, it is necessary to carry out the speculation of the cost of the change. The speculation must factor the costs of employee layoffs, the cost of pay increments for those that remain based on the skills that they will be trained on and the market rates, the cost of training and professional development processes, the cost of the technological component of the change such as the new cranes, integrated bridge systems, autopilot, refurbishments, the cost of other loading and unloading equipment updates etc. In general, the full cost of the change process need to be speculated and this needs the involvement of professionals to carry out the speculations in each sector of the change. These professional speculators need time to carry out a detailed research. Once they have all submitted there reports i. e. he personnel pay rise and lay off speculation report ( featuring effects of the change on each class of employees rating them from the most affected to the least affected by the change, the number of personnel to be laid off, and those to be retained, lay off packages based on positions of employees, pay rise for the remaining staff based on additional training and responsibilities, criteria for the layoff and retention process and its legality and the time frame for the layoffs) , the technological investment plan report (featuring the cost of the new technology equipment and the labour for the installation of new and overhaul of the old technology, refurbishments etc, the best service provider and their charges and the time the process is likely to take), projection report on how the change is likely to add the company’s profitability and efficiency and how it is likely to enhance the company’s market position. This should feature a comparative approach where the major competitors are studied and analyzed to determine the market advantage the change is likely to offer the organization (Drucker,1995: pp. 96-103). Once all the reports have been submitted, the management of Linkspan need to take time, study them and the recommendations and thus determine the total cost, legality and time span of the change process. The company’s capability of funding and sustaining the change process shall also need to be evaluated to establish a conclusive decision of whether to carry out the change or not. If the decision is yes then the management needs to go ahead and start communicating the lurking change to all the stakeholders. As stated earlier, the communication needs to be repetitive consistent and above all very clear. After a blanket communication, the specific phase of communication phase follows. This phase involves communication of the change effects to specific groups of personnel. Start with the most hit and tell them the possible effects the change is likely to have on them. The company’s plan to compensate them, train them, motivate them e. g. through pay rise etc. Give each group time to respond and let the emotions run. Change is emotional. The management needs to be keen to give convincing reasons for the inevitability of the change. State that the company’s interests are higher than any personality. State examples of other companies that have done so and the legality of the process based on the reports. Note the acceptance or denial of the layoff or pay rise packages and consider the victims proposals offered immediately or later. They might not offer the proposals immediately because the message may still be devastating especially for those to be laid off. There is need for professional counselling to enhance speed acceptance of the change process. Remember to communicate to these employees the time span of the change process to enable them feature this into their personal financial, social or even psychological schedules (Sanderson, 1995: pp. 178-190). The end of communication to all stake holders marks another session of review of all the recommendations with a committee whose members are drawn from each division of the organization harmonizing the paperwork of the change process and briefing all the stake holders of the status of the change process. The committee has the mandate of identifying the changes noted between the reports recommendations and the actual status. Harmony is then established through deliberative meetings between the management and the affected parties. The committee has to be time conscious because agreements may take time to be reached and in case agreements are not forthcoming, the management should exercise its discretionary powers (Beitler, 2006: pp. 156-9). The review ushers in the actual implementations at the expiry of the notice offered. Actions should be carried out in such a way that the organizations activities don’t grind into a halt. For example, the layoff needs strategy. Do not yet layoff personnel required before the change process is over. Start with those that are not needed immediately the change implementations start. The refurbishments and fitting of the technological equipment should start with tendering process considering the service providers recommended in the report. Consider their quotations and compare with those quoted in the reports. Consider the quality even though it is still important for the process to be cost effective quality inclusive. The tender winner needs to start working immediately. The winner needs to understand that link span need not stop operations and thus should work within the schedule given by Linkspan. The carriers need to be refurbished and fitted with the technological equipments in shifts say maybe four at a time (Spruyt, 1990: pp 200-7). Those employees belonging to the first batch of the carriers that need to be laid off, trained etc need to be subjected to the appropriate exercise as their carriers get to be worked on. After all the batches have been worked on, then Linkspan needs to communicate to the customers for the second time the completion of the upgrading process. For the second time because it is necessary that they are alerted first before the upgrading of the carriers (through a press release) about the limited services to be rendered due to the lurking upgrading. Launch the new fleet and newly trained and new packages together with a farewell party for those laid off. It is important to consider a possible increment of prices of the new services to be offered and if tenable, then communicate them at the launching party and later through a press release The workability of the change needs to be reviewed from time to time say annually. This is specifically important as a way of noting the parts of the process that are not working and the possible remedial measures to be taken. Remember that, always, the most successful companies thrive on change and Linkspan need not be an exception.

(FAR) Quality Assurance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

(FAR) Quality Assurance - Research Paper Example An implied warranty automatically protects the government upon the sale of an item, unless it is overridden by a disclaimer. An implied warranty of merchantability ensures government purchases items of good (average or above) quality and fit for an ordinary purpose intended for, while an implied warranty of fitness protects the government against unsuitable services or products for a specific purpose, known to the recommending seller of the item. Keywords: Defective Products, Items, Contract, Warranty, Acquisition, FAR, Disclaimer, Liability, Cost Determining Criteria to invoke a Warranty in FAR Contracting officers of the government have a crucial role to play, especially in considering commercial practices in handling contracts between the government and contractors, for a smooth exchange of the commercial items or services. Considering the various defects or gross mistakes that may arise in the provision of the commercial products, even though warranties are not compulsory in thes e contracts, such challenges push for the need of the warranty in specific acquisitions. According to the FAR part (46) section (703), contracting officers assess the nature and use of the services or suppliers, trade practices, administration and enforcement, cost, and reduced requirements to determine the appropriateness of a warranty for an acquisition in a contract. Warranties are an extension of the standing relationship between the contractors and the government, but also extend the liability cost to one of the parties based on the matters that may arise from the contract. Similarly, warranties support inspection and acceptance practices in quality assurance of the contracts. When an analysis of the above factors is conducted and the need for a warranty in a specific acquisition found, then in the best interest of the government, a warranty clause can be used. The government acquires the warranty when it is cost effective. In any case, the government would want to reduce the b urden in maintenance, use or operation, and additional costs that may arise due to potential undetected defects. That is why such factors like difficulty in detecting a fault prior to acceptance, assessing potential harm to the government in case of a defect, complexity and function of a an item or service, end use, degree of development, and state of the art under FAR 46.703 part (a) have to be evaluated. The arising costs coming from the deferred liability on the contractor’s side and warranty enforcement of the government’s side, extended trade practice in the cost of a warranted item to the government, the ability of an assured administrative system to report on discrepancies, and reduced government quality assurance requirement would necessitate the government to include a warranty. Through the procedure, the government would ensure that the non conformance is covered in the warranty clause of the contract. Protection against Defective Services Express Warranties They frequently characterize the majority of the government contracts. Some can be complex, but are often specific to service contracts. These warranties can be oral or written, but for official purposes to the government, a written form is often common as a claim for its existence and avoiding chances of contractor’

Market Reseach Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Market Reseach - Research Proposal Example The latter issue has attracted the attention of this company to consumers representing the personal segment or ordinary consumer segment. It is expected that this group may be concerned about the issue of price and the latter proposal will ascertain whether this is a true fact or not. The client has set a period of eight weeks for the completion of the project. Consequently, all the tasks in the research will be distributed evenly within this period. Allocations will be done depending on the weight of the task and how many parties will need to be involved in the process. The focus group will be essential in determining the factors that consumers consider when making decisions about the purchase of notebook computers. Besides this, they will also reveal information about sources of information that they rely on before choosing to buy a notebook computer. Information about the kind of features that make competitors more successful within the market will be sought. This is especially because the market has become relatively competitive today. Special emphasis will be given to price offerings in this particular industry segment as it was a serious concern by CB A budget of two thousand pounds a... 3.2) Notebook computer information This part will dwell on how the notebook computer is regarded by clients in terms of its appearance. Information such as the computer's exteriors design will be looked into. For example colour, design and thickness Information about the interior features of the computer will also be imperative. Things such as display cards, memory, CPU, mainboard and other features will be examined 3.3) Competitor's information Information about the kind of features that make competitors more successful within the market will be sought. This is especially because the market has become relatively competitive today. Special emphasis will be given to price offerings in this particular industry segment as it was a serious concern by CB 4.0 Methodology A budget of two thousand pounds allows one to do more secondary than primary research. (Aaker & Day, 1990) The information sought during the research will represent both quantitative and qualitative portions of the paper. Quantitative aspects will cover the numerical elements of the research such as price. Additionally, qualitative aspects of the research will be reflected by looking into consumer experiences especially with regard to the decision making process. These two aspects govern exactly how the kind of 4.1 Desk research This part of the research will entail an examination of data sources that may have contained information about related topics to the one under consideration. Here, their methods or processes and their results will be thoroughly be examined in order to ascertain that the right procedure is being followed. Additionally, related computer websites will be consulted so as to seek information

Consider how one(or many)of the characters in Harper Lee's To Kill a Essay

Consider how one(or many)of the characters in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird are constructing their Identity. Analysis How - Essay Example It could be studied with equal felicity under the feminist, psychoanalytic or formalistic critical frameworks. To this extent, the novel can be said to be ‘polysemic’. Polysemy is the state of having more than one meaning. Though first coined to describe a linguistic phenomenon, the term has now gained a broader meaning so that it is also applied in discussing authorial intent in literary works. Also implied in the term ‘polysemy’ is the notion that perceptions vary depending on the particular identity of the reader, and â€Å"that words are multi-ordinal; these characteristics can lead to or permit conscious or unconscious confusion. The existence of diverging perceptions and language are explained through general semantics. Two significant ideas of general semantics are non-identity and infinity of values. Each of these ideas is manifest in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.† (Kasper, 2006, p.273) With the help of insights offered by Mar xist school of literary criticism, this essay will argue that social class is a major divisive factor in the novel. A central theme of the novel is its characters’ tendency to strongly identify with their race. Just as race separates, the human will is shown to overcome this difference. The decision by Atticus Finch to defend the black Tom Robinson is the most luminous example. Atticus’ defense of the innocent Robinson proves a daunting task. Despite convincing evidence to acquit Robinson from his guilt, the exclusively white jury convicts him all the same. Even the prison officials concoct a fake encounter and shoot Robinson while he was allegedly trying to escape. What is so shocking is that even within the confines of institutions of law and law enforcement, racial identity plays a dominant and destructive role. Clearly, racial prejudice overwhelms notions of fairness and justice espoused by law. (Singley, 2002, p.47) Applying Marxist critical thought to the novel w e see how race is strongly correlated with class. This means that all the blacks in the novel are inevitably also poor. This relationship between race and class makes the study of Atticus Finch all that more interesting and important. Atticus Finch is an exception to the typical characterization of white men – those seen in the novel as well as they actually existed in early twentieth century America. It order to deconstruct the formative ingredients behind Atticus Finch’s identity, we have to consider his upbringing, his influences, etc. From the references available in the text, we learn that Atticus Finch was a pious man. He is someone who looked up to the words of the scriptures in both letter and spirit. He brings the same attitude and mindset to his work as a lawyer. For Atticus, the spirit is more important than the literal interpretations of law – a concept he assimilated from his personal realizations of God. The manner in which Atticus brings up his ow n children is another indication of how his character is constructed. It is fair to assume that cherished values and virtues are inculcated by parents in their children. Just as Atticus’ children Scout and Jem are raised without prejudice or hatred, he in turn must have been raised the same way. So, it is fair to claim that Atticus’ identity development falls outside Marxist literary critique, for there is no trace of identity with class that is central to Marxism. On the other hand, religion and culture play

Diagnosis And Treatment Of Melanoma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Diagnosis And Treatment Of Melanoma - Essay Example Melanoma is extraordinarily dangerous, but if detected early, it is one of the most preventable forms of cancer (Ingraffea 35). As with many diseases, both environmental and hereditary factors have a profound effect upon the exhibition of melanoma. Until recently, it was assumed that overall exposure level to the sun and/or the number of severe sunburns that an individual received during their lifetime or the ultimate culprits to whether or not melanoma was exhibited. However, further analysis and discussion by researchers has revealed the fact that the overall number of sunburns and/or the overall amount of time of exposure that individual has a son is not necessarily a determining factor with respect to whether or not melanoma will be exhibited within the individual or not. As can readily be understood, genetic factors also play a powerful role in determining whether or not an individual will be particularly susceptible to this form of skin cancer. However, the genetic factors that contribute to the overall susceptibility and likelihood of developing melanoma at any one point in life are not the same as the genetic factors that contribute to issues such as heart disease, high blood pressure, or a litany of other health problems. What is meant by this is the fact that the genetic issues that contribute to the prevalence of melanoma within specific individuals are predicated upon the skin construction, hair color, eyes, and other unique genetic indicators? For instance, an individual that is born with a naturally darker complexion as compared to an individual that has blonde hair blue eyes and relatively pale or light skin is at a distinctly lower likelihood of developing melanoma within their lifetime (Gogas et al. 883). By means of comparison and contra st, an individual that has white features and relatively pale skin is at a much higher genetic risk of developing melanoma throughout their life.

Management Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Management Information Systems - Essay Example The essay "Management Information Systems" talks about the development of a new system for the ABC Company. This company is computer hardware manufacturer that carry out product for larger scale orders. The overall management and handling of such huge orders are difficult through the manual order processing approach.This information system will be used as an information management system of the overall organizational data. This system will conduct an online transaction and store the dealing and transaction data on the company’s central database. After that this data will be used to access the overall sales analysis. We will derive monthly or periodic report for the analysis of the overall business position. This system will facilitate in managing the overall products sales and deals regarding the corporate online transactions. Here we will be able to access and retrieve the overall quality of the stock and its current level because in any online transaction the stock status is really necessary for the handling of dealing. This product and stock information will provide a great facility for stock management. Here we will assign a product code to each project and through that code, we will easily retrieve the product information for the better management of the stack. This system will be an online system. We will create an organizational management module. This module will facilitate only to organizational executives to view, manage and handle online products, stock, sales and other organizational information.

Three Main Parts of a Plant and Differences between Eudicots and Coursework

Three Main Parts of a Plant and Differences between Eudicots and Monocots - Coursework Example Roots are responsible of providing the plant with water and other minerals contained by the soil. It also anchors the plants and holds the plant to ground. Stem has the responsibility to transport water minerals from roots to the leaves and branches and food and oxygen from leaves to other parts. Leaves carry the responsibility of making food for the plants through the process of photosynthesis. Plant can make its food by itself combining carbon-dioxide and sunlight by the process of photosynthesis. The vegetative parts of a plant are root, stem and leaves but flowers, fruits and seeds are its reproductive organs. Difference between Monocot and Eudicot Plants Flowering plants produce seeds of two basic types, monocots and eudicots. There are many differences between the Monocots and eudicots. In monocots there is only one cotyledon in the seed but in eudicot plants the seed has two cotyledons. In monocot plants the root xylem and phloem are distributed in a ring while in eudicots roo t phloem is the xylem. In monocots the vascular tissues are there in the stem in a scattered form but eudicots have its vascular tissues distinctly arranged. Leaves veins in monocot plants are formed in a parallel pattern while eudicots have a leave veins in a net shape.

658 week 10 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

658 week 10 - Essay Example As it grows, it continues the learning process through these two fundamental methods. Through experience and instruction, an individual learns to acquire his needs from the environment. Since what a person learns is a function of their environment; the culture, society, or politics of the day will have a huge bearing on what a person can learn, unlearn, or relearn. All previous cultures and civilizations that have been experienced throughout the ages have had massive bearing on the populace behavior. The ancient Roman civilization was a republic complete with representative from every corner of the civilization. The concept of a republic complete with democratic institution was a reality. Our current civilizations borrow hugely from the Romans. This work will endeavor to interpret influences that create an individual and the social and political influence of our classrooms today. In the ancient Roman civilization, both during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, culture, society and politics played a huge role in the education system. The ancient Roman civilization political elite such as Julius Caesar, the Senate, Emperor Augustus, Constantine etc. were constantly involved in campaigns and conquest that had huge implication on the education system of the day (Zumbusch, 2014). These conquests and campaigns brought many slaves to Rome, some of whom played a role in the education system of the Roman civilization. Romes education system borrows massively from the Greek culture. Many Greek slaves and freemen acted as tutors. Livius Andronicus, a Greek captive from Terentum provides a classic example. As a slave, Andronicus tutored his masters children while as a freeman, became the first private tutor in Rome (Zumbusch, 2014). Ancient Rome society was composed of rigid social structure, which included the elite and the commoners. The elite were mostly successful merchants, rulers, priests and nobles. The commoners were mostly composed of farmers and laborers.

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 75

Assignment - Essay Example Whereas the quality of life is represented in a uniform fashion throughout much of the province of Ontario, only immediate regions around Winnipeg experience or exhibit a relatively high quality of life. This is further interesting as geographic analysis of these two provinces indicate that there is a relative level of comparison in terms of the overall education level represented between these two provinces. Another noted geographical difference between these two provinces has to do with the fact that Manitoba exhibits a very high percentage of foreign born individuals; as compared to Ontario which represents an extraordinarily low percentage. Likewise, higher population density in Manitoba and much lower density in Ontario could effectively be skewing some of the results that have thus far been reported and illustrated. Additionally, it was also noted that there were many more retired individuals living within Manitoba; especially within areas in which a higher quality of life was denoted. Obviously, seeking to determine whether this is a causal factor for whether or not quality of life is impacted upon by the overall representation of a more age advanced demographic is an exercise in futility. Yet, perhaps the most useful of metrics that was analyzed is in terms of the overall representation of primary industries within both Manitoba and Ontario. From the information provided, it was clear that Manitoba had a much less diverse economic base as compared to the province of Ontario. In much the same way that economic "Dutch disease" impacts upon the overall growth and survival of a particular region, the more diversified labor force and opportunities that exist within Ontario likely contribute to the overall higher level of quality of life and other metrics associated that have been discussed at length within this particular analysis. As Ontario is able to represent

Attributes of a Good Dancer Essay Example for Free

Attributes of a Good Dancer Essay Describe the attributes of a good dancer. Discuss ways of improving each of these skills in a suitable training programme: (20 marks) A good dancer should have a range of attributes, which they use on a daily basis and in all their work. One of the first attributes of a dancer is having the correct alignment and posture. Posture is the position in which you hold your body upright against gravity whilst standing, sitting or lie in positions where the least strain is places on supporting muscles and ligaments. Whilst alignment in dance refers to the posture and position of the body while dancing or preparing to dance. Having correct body alignment improves the posture, muscle tone and length of performing career of dancers. Good posture is used during ballet and contemporary dance mainly as its helps create better balance with little strain on the on your ligaments and muscles as possible. Alignment also improves a dancer’s balance and therefore is an important attribute of a good dancer and it also increases levels of agility and can reduce chances of causing an injury. To improve your alignment and posture as a dancer you can practise dancing with the correct posture and body alignment and over time you will become use to it and more comfortable doing so. Train to sit up properly and not hunched over when at home for example whilst eating or watching television; this way you’ll eventually be able to do it without thinking whilst dancing so it will come naturally. You can also do exercises at home or incorporated into your dance warm-ups/cool-downs so you can gradually improve on your technique. An example of a exercise you could do at home in your spare time is to sit on a chair, lift your chest and straighten your shoulders. Move your head back as though you are trying to touch an imaginary wall with the back of your head. Hold this position for ten seconds, relax and repeat up to eight times. As you progress with this exercise try and do it up to three time a day and to improve even more and wider the benefits to other parts of your body you could carry out this exercise sitting on an exercise ball instead of a sturdy chair so you would strengthen your core muscles as well as improving your posture and alignment. Another attribute of a good dancer is to have all round high levels of skill related fitness. This includes agility, balance, co-ordination, power, reaction time and speed. Agility is the ability to change the position of the body quickly and to control the movement of your whole body. To improve this in training you could create a dance phrase which includes travel and changes of pathways and levels. Every dance class work on this phrase and progressively make it more difficult therefore improving your agility as a dancer. Balance is the ability to maintain the point of balance over the centre of gravity and you can develop this by focusing time on your technique; this may include arabesques, rond de jambe en’lair and pirouettes (using spotting technique). Co-ordination is the ability to use two or more body parts simultaneously this area of fitness can be improved during dance class by doing more complicated phrases as you progress. Power is the ability to do strength performances quickly and involves both strength and speed. Having a balanced and healthy diet is one of the most important attributes as not only can it improve you dancing it can have positive changes in your everyday life as well. By eating well between your dance classes/ training sessions and at home you will gradually see a change in your dancing as your body needs a high energy source for your stamina and other aspects of dance such as strength and power. There are six different food groups these include; carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins and minerals, water and fibre. Each of these groups plays an important role in your diet and nutrition as they each help do different things. Carbohydrates are stored in your muscles and liver as glycogen and they provide you with energy so you can do more activity in dance sessions with getting as tired quickly. Fats are stored all over the body in special fat cells; they also provide energy to a dancer but should be consumed in small amounts compared to the rest of the food groups. The third group protein is found in the muscles and organs; it is needed for growth and repair and therefore is important to a dancer in case they are get injured so they can recover quickly. Vitamins and minerals are stored all over the body and they are needed to increase the strength of your bones, which is highly important in dance as strong bones can prevent injury and means you can have better alignment. Water is another group making up the balanced diet and it is found all over the body seeing as 70% of your body is made up of water. It is a vital factor for the metabolic process and helps get rid of body waste, but most importantly in dance it helps you stay hydrated so you can perform to the best of your ability for longer periods of time. The final group is fibre, it is not stored in the body but passes through; we need it for our intestines to function (mainly the colon) and for our digestive system. As a dancer you should have a good and wide range of knowledge of the mus cles in the body and the body’s anatomy; this way you’ll be able to understand the more technical side of dance and the different ranges of movement and will eventually improve your dancing skills. An attribute of a good dancer is spending time researching the different joints and what they do movement wise, as there is more to dance than just the actions performed. By practising good and safe techniques in class from the knowledge they learn, it will help prevent injury of the dancer. Having high levels of dance fitness is also an attribute of a good dancer; these include cardiovascular fitness, strength, muscular endurance and flexibility. Cardiovascular fitness is the ability to exercise the whole body for long periods of time. Strength is the amount of force you can put forth with your muscles. Muscular endurance is the ability to use the muscles, which are attached to the bones, many times without getting tired and can improve your posture. Finally flexibility is the ability to use your joints fully. You are flexible when the muscles are long enough and the joints are free enough to allow movement. You can improve all of these in training sessions/dance classes by focusing on your fitness in warm-ups. An example of a warm-up you could do before a dance lesson could be doing five shuttle runs, twenty plie’s in second, twenty parallel squats followed by twenty crunches and then holding a twenty second plank and doing this three times. You can adjust this warm up as you progress by increasing the amount of times you do a certain activity or how long you hold the plank. You can also make it harder for example doing the plank on one foot for twenty seconds and then on the other foot for twenty seconds. This whole warm up covers every aspect involves in dance fitness and the more you complete it the fitter you will gradually become. Good dancers also have spent a long time improving their performance skills during dance practise and doing lots of rehearsal until they get it right. The performance skills they work on are focus, projection, style and musicality. Focus is the use of the eyes and where you direct them during different aspects of the dance whilst doing certain movemen ts. For example if you were doing an arm circle above your head you would direct your focus to the arm, it helps the audience interpret the qualities of the dance and draws their attention to the most important parts of the movement. Projection is when a dancer gives out a certain type of energy from the body, this gives the movement a noticeable quality, and you exaggerate certain actions more than others, making a movement obvious and stand out. An example of projection would be a lunge to your right with an out stretched arm reaching to the end of your kinesphere. Style is the individual features of a choreography or performance that make us recognise a certain dancer’s performance and personal interpretation. A good dancer will spend rehearsal time practising certain movements of their style to make it original and fit them by doing this you can improve your dance performance. Musicality is how a dancer is able to perform in a relation to the music, so say if they’re is a climax in the music they would create a climax in their dance to fit this. They may also do contrasting movements compared to the music or do movements with similar or matching dynamics. This will fit into you training programme by including them every time you dance so they will eventually come naturally to you and you will do them all the time without realising. To conclude good dancers have a wide range of attributes which they use all the time to get to a high level of performance in dance. These include attributes which now they subconsciously use from great practise and ones which they have to constantly work on and keep up to a good/high standard for example diet and health.

Analysis of the Organisation and Leadership of Unilever

Analysis of the Organisation and Leadership of Unilever 1- Introduction This report offers an analysis of the current organisational structure and management approach of the senior management team at Unilever, a multi-national organisation that produces and distributes many well-known consumer products. Recent years have seen the organisation undergo massive transformation, and they have reduced their workforce by some 41% over the last ten years (Unilever, 2010). They are dual-listed in the Netherlands and the UK, but operate as a single-entity with the same board and senior team. This structure offers them flexibility and adaptability across the globe, and also efficiency in production and distribution. It will draw on the theories of eminent scholars such as Taylor (1999) who proposed the theories of increased organisational efficiency by utilising an appropriate management structure, and also highlight how the internal structure of the organisation is influenced by external environment and organisational structure. This report will consider some of t he recent changes and challenges, which have faced Unilever, and provide and analysis of the likely future challenges facing the organisation. 2- Organisational History Unilever is one of the largest businesses in the world, with an annual turnover of nearly  £40 billion and in excess of 179,000 employees globally (Unilever, 2010). It was formed in 1930 as the amalgamation of the UK soap company Lever Brothers, and the Dutch margarine company Margarine Unie. The main driver for the merger was collaboration, as both companies relied heavily on palm oil as a major ingredient for their products and by sharing resources they were able to import and distribute to their factories far more cost effectively (Unilever, 2010). Indeed, palm oil remains a major ingredient for many products toady, and their continued commitment to sustainability and efficient distribution is one of Unilevers core corporate strategies (Dhillion, 2007). The growth of Unilever has been characterised by mergers and strategic acquisitions, not all of which have been friendly (Polsson, 2008), and their brand portfolio exceeds 400 and includes a wide range of consumer goods, ranging from foods and beverages to personal care products and cleaning products. They are listed on both the UK FTSE 100 and the Dutch equivalent the AXE, and they have 13 brands which generate revenue of over à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1 billion per year. The portfolio includes such well-known brand names as Walls, Ben and Jerrys, Dove, Lipton and Flora, and as can be seen from the few names mentioned, they are both diverse and equally powerful brands and market niches. They are also the largest ice-cream manufacturer in the world, controlling some 73% of the worlds ice cream production and generating revenue of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬5 billion per year alone from ice cream sales in Europe. Unilever have been able to make sales particularly profitable and efficient through centralisat ion of their brand under the heart logo, meaning that they were able to manufacture and distribute under the same brand across Europe with minimum customisation for local regions (Unilever, 2010). Unilever has also built strong links with its subsidiary businesses around the world for its teas and coffees, as much of the raw material required for food stuffs is sourced from African and Latin American countries, such as cocoa, vanilla, palm oil and coffee beans. To reach the size and level of diversity that they now control, Unilever have sought to acquire a further brand or manufacturing interest at the rate of approximately one per year for the last ten years. Such significant activity in terms of corporate diversity and consolidation makes for an interesting topic of study. (Full timeline of activities available in appendix 1). 3- Organisational Structure Considering the size and scope of the organisation it is understandable that they must operate within a defined framework, and as noted by Cummings and Worley (2005:136-138) the sheer size of the company can expose them to the risk of paralysis and stagnation as they are too large to respond flexibly to external challenges. Therefore Unilever have explicitly set out to create a management structure, which is capable of making faster decisions and responding more flexibly to external stimulus. Accordingly Unilever has created a four-tier hierarchical structure, which helps to funnel information into the business, and allows the senior team to make appropriate decisions based on available data (Unilever, 2010b). The structure of the executive team is set out in the diagram below:- Figure 1:- Corporate Structure of Unilever, adapted from Unilever (2010b) According to Unilever, they believe that this structure gives them suitable balance between corporate governance and organisational flexibility. Each level within the hierarchy serves a different function allowing the other levels of the organisation to concentrate on their core roles. Therefore the two executive directors; Paul Polman (Chief Executive Officer) and Jean-Marc Huà «t (Chief Financial Officer) serve as figureheads for the company. Their leadership styles and approaches will be discussed in more depth below. The ten non-executive directors serve as the independent element in Unilevers governance (Unilever, 2010a) and are drawn from a wide range of backgrounds all having huge experience and expertise in their respective areas. They are both internal and external to the organisation to help provide check and balance in their operational views and it is interesting to note that the board is very rare in having such a relatively high proportion of female NEDs at 30% (Black, 2003:236-238). The Unilever Executive (UEx) is responsible for managing profit and loss, and delivering growth across our regions, categories and functions (Unilever, 2010a). It comprises ten operational and executive directors all of whom have exceptional qualifications and experience in the fields of science, technology and business. Unilever has also taken care to ensure that the full cross-section of their multi-disciplinary functions and multi-national breadth are represented on the board, with several nationalities being represented. Finally, the three senior corporate officers are responsible for ensuring that the board of Unilever (both executive and non-executive) have all the necessary information to make prudent and timely corporate decisions on both an operational and strategic basis. The senior corporate officers are tasked with ensuring that the structure and framework of Unilever is returning suitable management information on which to base critical decisions (Unilever, 2010a). 4- Organisational Culture Organisational Culture has been defined as the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization, (Hill and Jones, 2001:27). This definition also helps us to understand the values of the organisation and how they seek to lead and develop their business. Organisational culture is complex, and can be influenced by a huge variety of factors as noted by Hofstede (1980) who identified the influenced and effects of multi-cultural workforces within multi-national environments. He proposed a theory of cultural dimensions which he used to help explain how multi-cultural influences act upon an organisation with regard to strategic application as discussed by De Wit and Meyer; Hofstedes (1993) theory of cultural dimensions implies that although not all the individuals within a countrys population will have exactly the same characteristics, the cultural dimensions will colour the institutional and administrative arrangements that are made within the country, and will set the norms for behaviour. Hofstede, G. (1993) Cultural constraints in management theories, in De Wit, B. and Meyer, R. (2004) Strategy Process, Content, Context, 3rd Edition, Thomson, London pp206. This is strongly evidenced at Unilever where the culture of the organisation is derived from its own multi-national background. This has influenced the process of strategic decision making at Unilever under the systemic approach advocated by Whittington in his work What is strategy and does it matter? (2000). Whittington proposed that organisations in the same circumstances as Unilever would do well to adopt what he described as a systemic approach. In this model the organisation should seek to create a hybrid of processual or delineated strategy on the basis of organisational objective, but that the approach should be tailored or tempered by a respect for cultural differences. Whittington observed that organisational culture is governed by the social structures created by management level, social class and interest groups, and that trying to cut across these groups in certain localised areas was likely to create excessive tension and achieve very little (Whittington, 2000:185-189). It is therefore interesting to observe the influence and effect of Paul Polman as the first external candidate to take the role the Chief Executive Officer. Paul is a Dutch national and has held the role since October 2008. His background and experience in the commercial goods and manufacturing sectors make him an ideal candidate for the role, as he is both financially astute and commercially aware. From the analysis of the company and its operating ethos and mission it can also be implied that his management style is European-influenced and therefore likely to be reflective of an inclusive culture and style in that it is both democratic and laissez-faire (Morgeson, 2005:497-508). Alternatively under the Tannenbaum and Schmidt continuum (1957) it can be suggested that Paul Polman allows freedom of his subordinates to pursue suitable corporate strategies on the basis of their capability and the application of democratic decision-making. Paul Polman succeeded Patrick Cescau as the Chief Executive Officer of Unilever. Patrick Cescau was the former CEO of Unilever and the first group CEO for the company. He is a French national with numerous accreditations to his name and an extremely successful history at Unilever. As reported in the Telegraph (2008), Unilever searched long and hard for a suitable successor to the position and eventually felt that Paul Polman would be a suitable candidate given his own background, capabilities and skills. This was a departure for the Anglo-Dutch company as they had never previously taken an external candidate for the position, preferring to recruit internally. Although Patrick Cescau formally stepped down from his role following his 60th birthday (the main reason for him to leave the post), he has continued to play an active role in corporate life and now serves as a non-executive director to another large multi-national firm. Patrick Cescau was known across the world for his work in regard to sustainability and business growth, and he has proved a hard act to follow (Insead, 2010). 5- Specific Issues It is useful to compare and contrast specific issues at Unilever and the various approaches which the board of directors have taken when addressing these situations, particularly with regard to the work of Patrick Cescau and his approach to corporate sustainability and social responsibility. Indeed he is quoted as having said that There is no dichotomy between doing business well and doing good; and, in fact, the two go hand in hand. (Insead, 2010). Thus, this element will consider some of the current issues facing Unilever and how they will seek to address them. 5.1- Approaches to Corporate Social Responsibility As noted on the corporate website (Unilever, 2010c), Unilever have a strong commitment corporate social responsibility and sustainability and they have adopted a specific and targeted set of measures and key performance indicators to benchmark their own sustainability performance. It is recognised by scholars such as Atkinson et al (2007:66-68) that there is currently no uniform approach to sustainability or any codified measures of best operational practice. This is despite increasingly stringent legislation which seeks to set out minimum performance standards and has been applied on very few occasions save for flagrant breaches which have resulted in catastrophic consequences (Constanza et al, 2007:203-210). Unilever state that their approaches to Corporate Social Responsibility incorporate business benefits as well as ethical principles (Unilever, 2010c). By this they mean that they have continued the work started by Patrick Cescau seeking to align business activity and ethical ac tivity. They have chosen to apply sustainable principles to as many areas of possible in their business on the simple premise that sustainability makes good business sense. Therefore they have engaged some of the most innovative principles in research and development, agriculture, packaging and manufacturing as they believe that sustainability helps [them] win (Unilever, 2010c). The Unilever website offers several examples of successful case studies where sustainability has proved to be of great business benefit amongst both internal and external stakeholders, and the board of Unilever also recognise that this can only be achieve by impeccable business performance and adherence to best principles in their own right. 5.2- Reputation Management and Diversity Contrastingly it is also useful to consider some of the more controversial activities, which have been undertaken by Unilever in their recent history. Unilever have been accused of causing deforestation by campaigners such as Greenpeace because of the use of palm oil, a major ingredient in many products. In consequence Unilever have committed to sourcing all of their palm oil requirements sustainably by 2015 (Unilever, 2010d). This principle has also been applied with regard to their requirements for tea leaves for their Lipton and PG Tips brands (Unilever, 2010c). Unilever recognise that because of their level of consumption of these raw materials and their need to invest in sustainable practices they will need to work closely with bodies such as the Rainforest Alliance to form synergies, which are beneficial to all stakeholders. However Unilever have a strong commitment to positive diversity as evidenced by their localised products and marketing campaigns, which are specifically aimed to meet the needs of consumers at a localised level. This includes specific beauty products for various nations in response to consumer demand. Examples of such positive diversity can be found in Indian advertising for skin creams (Telegraph, 2007). Although there was some adverse reaction to the advertisement it is also recognised that the product met a considerable demand in India and there was also some evident confusion at a localised level as to why the product might not be required. When compared to the Dove brand real beauty campaign which Unilever have managed since 2007 (Dove, 2010) it can be seen that there is a strong demand for localised product management and positive diversity, which Unilever have responded to. This has helped their own reputational and brand management and has enabled them to react rapidly to con sumer demand, which has served to strengthen their corporate and market position. 6- Management and Leadership Approaches at Unilever Netherlands There are several theories, which can be used to help understand the relationship between managers and employees within an organisation. This element of the report will consider three of the main theories put forward by leading academics in the subject, via Taylor (1999) Maslow (1992) and Fayol (1999). Each of these theories addresses a different aspect of the employee management relationship as will be discussed. 6.1- Taylor and Scientific Management Taylor (1999 cited in Matteson and Ivancevich), identified that to achieve maximum efficiency and effectiveness within an organisation it is necessary to synthesize workflows (1999:12-15) to ensure that there is alignment between resource availability and organisational requirements. Taylor suggested that by measuring and monitoring these objectives and setting out clear processes and procedures for employees to follow, it is possible to significantly increase labour productivity and effectiveness. The cornerstone of Taylors theory was centred on adhering to best practice processes to minimise waste and maximise productivity. Taylors theories were developed whilst observing car production plants, and there are close analogies with regard to the production flows of manufacturing in the Unilever plants. As each of the manufacturing plants owned and operated by Unilever produces products and foodstuff, which their consumers will either ingest or use for personal care, the manufacturing must be of the highest standards and quality, with rigorous safety and quality checks at every stage of the process. Unilever have therefore developed and implemented a robust series of controls, which enables them to manage and monitor every part of the production process, and also standardise it across their estate. Such is the level of control exerted by Unilever, that in theory it should be possible to take an employee from a UK manufacturing site and exchange them for an employee from a Dutch manufacturing site, and they should each be capable of performing the necessary roles and functions (Unilever, 2010). Critics of Ta ylors approach such as Daft et al (2010:26), argue that the forced level of direction engendered by the Taylorist approach de-skills and de-motivates employees who effectively become machines who are dehumanised. This is a particularly so on production line, as there is a requirement for absolute conformity as opposed to creativity and individualism. It is a perpetual challenge for Unilever to maintain the interest and enthusiasm of employees who perform repetitive jobs such as those that will be required for a significant proportion of the Unilever workforce. This is something, which was acknowledged and addressed by Maslow (1999, cited in Strage), who noted that employees require more than simple fiscal reward to remain motivated. This has been noted and observed by the management team at Unilever, and when their management approach and corporate culture is applied to the Tannenbaum and Schmidt continuum, as cited in Matteson and Ivancevich, (1999), it can be seen that although so me level of authority must be applied to ensure consistency of process, many of the Unilever employees have a far greater level of freedom and creativity to offer innovative suggestions for product and process improvement. 6.2- Maslow and the Hierarchy of Needs In contrast to Taylor, the Maslow school of thought discusses tools and techniques to help managers to motivate and empower employees to perform to the best of their ability. Maslow (1999, cited in Strage) discusses the hierarchy of needs model, whereby he identified that it was not simply money that motivated employees to work, but many other factors contributed to the desire of employees to perform to the best of their ability. The diagram below outlines what Maslow has identified, in that as each level of need is satisfied, the individual moves up the pyramid to satisfy the next need in the ranking. Figure 1: Maslows Hierarchy of Needs (1999). As Maslows theory suggests, once the basic needs of financial reward for work have been satisfied sufficient to meet the demands of paying bills, then an employee looks for other motivations to come to work, such as feeling valued by their employer, and having their work and achievements recognised. It would seem given that there have been no recent publicised disputes between employees and leaders at Unilever that employees are satisfied with the both the pay and recognition which they receive from the management team. As Maslow noted, once the basic needs have been satisfied, the need to be accepted and to belong is a powerful human motivator. This is closely linked with reward and recognition for work that has been done well or is particularly innovative. Some theorists such as Hackman and Wageman (2005:269) refer to this as celebrating success. They suggest that if major achievements which have been made possible by the co-operative work of the team are celebrated and recognised, this will go on to motivate and encourage employees to continue to perform. Unilever have recently won awards for innovation and environmental achievement (Unilever, 2010), which they were keen to share with the rest of the business, as the entire firm will benefit from such a positive approach (Morden, 1996; McGovern et al, 2008). 6.3- Fayol A third perspective on matters of management and leadership approach is that put forward by Fayol (1999 cited in Matteson and Ivancevich), who similarly to Taylor subscribed to a scientific theory of management. He proposed a general theory of management, suggesting that managers had six primary functions and fourteen further principles of management. In contrast to Taylor, Fayol proposed a far more interactive approach to management techniques, which suggested that process controls were in fact best designed by those people who performed the work every day (ie, the workforce). Fayol argued that if management interacted closely with the workforce and understood their needs and concerns, they would be far better placed to gather feedback about systems and processes and make the necessary efficiency changes. It would seem from the success and growth of Unilever as a multi-national conglomerate that they have been particularly successful and following these principles and instilling a c ollaborative approach which harnesses the power and knowledge of the workforce and uses it to further the growth and development of the business (Fayol, ibid). Examples of this include working with employees to indentify and implement efficiency savings, and also generating a culture of continuous improvement, which builds a self-perpetuating cycle of success (Judge et al, 2002:770-775). When considering these findings in the light of the Blake and Moulton Leadership grid (1964), it can clearly be seen that the leaders at Unilever are at the inclusive and collaborative point on the scale as termed the sound style (previously known as tem style). At this point they have equal concern for both production and people as they recognise that to deliver consistently excellent products they must have committed and motivated employees. According to Blake and Moulton (ibid), this leadership style relies on managers recognising that employees must feel as if they are a highly valued part of the organisation, a theory that is closely aligned with that of Maslow who observed that those employees who produced the best work felt that they were suitably rewarded for their efforts. Moreover, as increasing numbers of organisations recognise the benefits of adopting a collaborative and co-operative approach to achieving organisational excellence, current management theory would indicat e that the days of dictatorial mangers are on the decline (Den Hartog and Koopman cited in Anderson et al, 2002:166-168). This also seems particularly likely given the increasing legislation to prevent employers from bullying their employees and behaving in an inappropriate manner (Miner, 2009). Application of the Hersey and Blanchards situational theory model (1999, cited in Gabriel et al, 1999) further underlines that the Unilever management style is one of participating and delegating as opposed to telling employees what to do. Unilever is characterised by open channels of communication, and there are points which against the Hersey and Blanchard model the leadership style could be regarded as selling, this is more to do with the differing levels of maturity in various parts of the business, and particularly in those parts which have been recently acquired. It is interesting to set the Hersey and Blanchard model against the backdrop of situational leadership, as it seems that the characteristics of Unilever are a mature and confident group of leaders who are happy to delegate tasks and responsibility, and thus leverage the best from their employees (Den Hartog and Koopman, ibid). Remembering that the board of Unilever has been secure and stable for some time, it is of lit tle surprise that they are able to adopt and react flexibly to change. Moreover, their considerable experience of acquisition allows them to rapidly assimilate and absorb new businesses into the estate, and embraces the culture changes, which must necessarily follow (Simons and Billing, 1995; Spillane, 2004). Despite the size of Unilever, it is remarkable that they are able to adapt so readily to change at both an internal and external level, and across global boundaries. In some ways their sheer size has enabled them to cushion themselves from some of the worst effects of the recession, coupled with the fact that their diverse portfolio requires them to be adaptive and flexible to consumer trends a style which is reflected in both their culture and leadership. 7- Recommendations to Enhance Management Practices As can be seen from the preceding discussions, the senior management team at Unilever have faced some serious internal and external challenges, both at a local level and a global level. Some of these challenges are outside of their control, however in order to ensure that they remain one of the leading conglomerates in the world they must adapt and respond flexibly to both internal and external challenges. This section of the report considers some recommendations to continue to improve employee motivation and engagement by enhancing and improving management practices, and also offer suggestions based on relevant theory as to how the necessary changes can be embedded. 7.1- Recommendations for Strategic Change and Effective Management Practices Although there are few current difficulties with employee relationships, it is apparent that some significant changes still need to be made in order to secure the future of Unilever in the current turbulent economic environment. Whilst they are far from bankruptcy, recent years have seen considerable expenditure and challenge for Unilever, which has centred on the considerable number if divestments and acquisitions in order to strengthen and consolidate their global brand portfolio (Morden, 1996:458-496). The theories of Taylor, Maslow and Fayol all offer suggestions as to how to engage with employees in times of significant change and challenge. Application of the Tannenbaum and Schmidt continuum (cited in Matteson and Ivancevich, 1999) indicates that the collaborative style of leadership has helped Unilever in managing and instilling change, and it is clear that under modern management practices that for them to continue to be successful they must continue to engage and motivate em ployees, especially those who are new to the culture of Unilever and have joined them through acquisition (Hassard and Parker, 1993:43-45). Furthermore, Gergen (1995) concurs with Hassard and Parker (ibid), in those organisations, which operate in a post-modernist world, should take care to adopt appropriate management styles and techniques, or get left behind their competitors in a rapidly changing world. Taking all of these factors into consideration, and with reference to all of the theories which have been discussed and applied, it is apparent that there is a self-perpetuating cycle and culture of success which is supporting the leaders at Unilever to behave in a manner which is highly likely to assist them in developing a robust business which is fit to operate in current times. The collaborative and communicative style of the leaders should be upheld and gently moulded in newer acquisitions to one which is collaborative and co-operative in approach, drawing on the theories of Maslow to help motivate and engage employees in such a way that they provide constructive criticism and feedback on how best to help Unilever develop in the current challenging environment. Whilst it is appreciated that management culture and organisational culture is not something that can be changed overnight, as reliance on technology increases and organisations must become more adaptable to survive, it i s likely that the current culture will be fit to see Unilever through into the future. References Atkinson, G., Dietz, S. Neumayer, E. (2007). Handbook of Sustainable Development. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. BBC News. 22 May 2010 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8633455.stm. Retrieved 18th Nov 2010 Blake, R.; Mouton, J. (1964). The Managerial Grid: The Key to Leadership Excellence. Houston: Gulf Publishing Co. Black, Richard J. (2003) Organizational Culture: Creating the Influence Needed for Strategic Success, London UK. Cohan, William D., (2009) House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street, [a novel]. New York, Doubleday. Costanza, R., Graumlich, L.J. Steffen, W. (eds), (2007). Sustainability or Collapse? 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Dove (2010) Campaign for Real Beauty available online at http://www.dove.us/#/cfrb/ retrieved 13th Dec 2010 Fayol, H. (1999) Planning in M.T. Matteson and J.M. Ivancevich (eds), Management and Organisational Behaviour Classics. 7th ed., London: Irwin, McGraw-Hill, pp.12-15. Gabriel, Y. Fineman, S. Sims, D. (2000) Organizing and Organisations. 2nd Ed. London, Sage. Gergen, K.J. (1995) The Limits of Pure Critique in H.W. Simons, H.W. and Billig, M. (1995) After Postmodernism: Reconstructing Ideology Critique. London, Sage. Greenpeace (2007) Unilever admits toxic dumping: will clean up but not come clean http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/contentlookup.cfm?CFID=6864301CFTOKEN=96874361ucidparam=20010620124942MenuPoint=G-A.Retrieved 9th Nov 2010 Hackman, J. R., Wageman, R. (2005). A Theory of Team Coaching. Academy of Management Review, 30(2), 269-287 Hill, C and Jones, G (2001) Strategic Management. Houghton Mifflin pp 27 Hofstede, G. (1980) Cultures Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values, Beverly Hills, CA, Sage Publications Indian Resource Centre (14th May 2003) Monsanto, Unilever use of Child Labour in India http://www.indiaresource.org/issues/agbiotech/2003/monsantounilever.html retrieved 18th Nov 2010 Insead (2010) Top 50 Alumni Who Changed the World available online at http://50.insead.edu/alumni/patrick-cescau retrieved 13th Dec 2010 Maslow, A.H. (1992) A Theory of Human Motivation, Chapter 10 in Henry M. Strage,1992, Milestones in Management: An Essential Reader. Oxford, Blackwell Business. Miner, J. B. (2009). Organizational Behavior: Behavior 1: Essential Theories of Motivation and Leadership. Armonk: M.

Gulf War Was A Perfect Television War Media Essay

Gulf War Was A Perfect Television War Media Essay The media representation of wars has significantly changed over last years. Previously being just an instrument of coverage and propaganda, now media are considered a competent weapon. The war of real objects is partially being replaced by the war of pictures and sounds, information war (Virilio, 2002). On the one hand, information technologies can be regarded as humane weapon, because they lead to the fewer amounts of victims. On the other hand, they directly influence the mental structures, can fulfill the conscious with false images or distort the perceptions, spread moral panics or create virtual enemies and thus are an intelligent weapon of mass distruction. One of the famous works about the usage of information technologies in the war belongs to French sociologist Jean Baudrillard, and his concept of the Gulf War 1991 as the first television war will be assessed in the essay in correlation with his theories of hyper reality and simulacrum. Those concepts are applied to the media representation of the conflict in South Ossetia. The usefulness of the concept of television war for understanding modern conflicts is proved in conclusion. Hyper reality, simulacrum and information wars Philosophical approach of Baudrillards works is concentrated around two main notions -hyper reality and simulacrum. Both terms are related to the reality of the consumer society. According to Baurillard, we all live in the world, dominated by organized perceptions, while people loose an ability to perceive the real surrounding. Instead they face artificial or adapted environments: assembled chronicles of military operations, coverage of suicidal terrorist acts. Baudrillard (1996) claims that the reality is not only possible to represent, the reality should always be ready for representation and thus it becomes a hyper reality, existing only in simulation. It consists of media and cultural images that simulate the real world. Some of this images are representations of real objects, but aggressive information technologies, television and particularly advertisement create special images, deceiving representations of non-existing objects, which Baudrillard (1998), following Plato, calls simulacra. In postmodern culture, dominated by TV and Internet, the notions of true and false representations are destroyed, as people have access only to simulations of reality, which is no more real than the simulacra representing it. Moreover, we start to believe the maps of reality as more real than own experience and take the hyper reality as the actual environment (Mann, n.d.). Consequently, simulacra, which lost any connection to real things, dont have original or prototype, and can parallel some objects, change the notion of counterfeits or false. So a correlation appears that hyper reality becomes the battlefield and the simulacra the intellectual weapons in conflicts of all levels, from the business competition to wars between countries, which gradually turn into information wars. The most widespread technique of symbolic images usage in information war is propaganda, but now in the form of marketing or PR campaigns. Such campaigns provide the basis for military operations and are a perfect tool to make conform to one side or type of thinking. Thus they are the most integrated and hidden, but also the most pervasive parts of the new wars. The censorship is widespread, because the military-media campaigns require a gap between the event and the audience, and censorship breaks the flow of information, while propaganda specialists feed media with false information (Snow, 2003). In these terms coverage of military operations is now able to influence their process as it was, for example, in the movie Wag the dog, where imaginary war actions of American troops in Albania, staged to shift public interest from the reputation crisis of the president, led to real military response. So, the role of media in the modern wars is not limited to news coverage or propaganda, the media now should be regarded more likely as the fourth front of war. The reasons for it could be different. According to sociologist Paul Virilio (2002), the escalation of cybernetic wars of persuasion and propaganda is the result of graduate changes in weapons. The first, prehistorical, wars were tactical and used weapons of obstruction (ramparts, fortresses). The epoch of political wars made them strategic and reliable on weapons of destruction (bows, missiles). The new period of transpolitical wars is characterized as logistical and uses weapons of communication (telephone, radar, satellites, information carriers), which emerged due to global information networks and tele-surveillance. The turning point of modern epoch is the integration of media and industrial army, where the capability to war without war manifests a parallel information market of propaganda, illusion, dissimulation (Viril io, 2002: 17). The image prevails over the real space and substitutes it, changes the landscape from physical to audiovisual by technological accelerants satellites, internet and high-quality video on TV. The level of media influence is dependent on the communication forms, in which it is carried, because it is possible to frame the report, provided with knowledge of certain mediums advantages (Cottle, 2003). Television with live broadcast and reliance on spectacular images, simulacra, is in these terms the best communication weapon. It makes inefficient the object, but concentrates on its representation; it is not a reality, but a construction of it (Webster, 2002). TV news is often watched with the belief that it indicates, the reality, but in fact it is a version of events, shaped by journalists values and morality. The whole reality begins and ends on television screens, and any critical attitude emerges not an original version of event, but creates other symbolic representation in live images (Webster, 2002). According to Virilio (2002), the live image attracts not critiques, but emotion, apprehension. Thus it involves the spectator to the situation, makes him dependent on televi sual interface, even if the problem doesnt concern him directly. All these advantages were used strategically for the first time in the Gulf War, which Baudrillard (1995) called both a non-existing and a first television war. Gulf War 1991: the first television war Three essays of Baudrillard, referred to events in Iraq during January and February 1991, were published originally in the Liberation and the Guardian and lately collected in one book The Gulf War did not take place. Before the actual war, during the strengthening of American military and propaganda, he claimed that the Gulf War will not take place in reality. During the military actions his catchy slogan was that the Gulf War is not taking place and right after the operation he said that the Gulf War hadnt taken place, because the Western public perceived it just as a series of hyperreal TV images. For Baudrillard, media and especially television do not provide the opportunities for effective communication. Television is the technology of non-communication because it limits the interaction needed for symbolic exchange by giving the large amounts of signs impossible to critically analyze and react (Groening, 2007). A war demands a struggle between counterparts, exchange, communicatio n and interaction (Webster, 2002), while Baudrillard (1995) argued that the USA overloaded the symbolic communication space in this war and moreover, the goals of George Bush and Saddam Hussein were so different that they couldnt even be considered as counterparts. Hussein, a former US ally, was not regarded as the real enemy, and the outcome of the war was predictable both for participants and for audience of war (Mann, n.d.). Researchers express the controversial idea that bombing was the most precise in history and civilian casualties thus were minimized (Kellner, 2008). Consequently, the war can be regarded as hyperreal and overloaded by media provocations. The Gulf War was understood by Paul Virilio (2002) also as a turning point in history. He called it the first information war of images, media-staged event or the first electronic war in the form of televised series, broadcast live by satellite. The difference is that Virilio accepted the idea that the war really had taken place, but it moved to the fourth front of communication weapons and instant information. He warned about the doubling of the front, a communication between place of action the Middle East and place of its immediate reception the whole world, which extends widely over the Iraqi-Saudi border. Turning the battlefield into a theatre with the symbolic counterparts- Hussein and CNN emerges the risk of turning TV audience into fans on the stadium, counting casualties like goals of the favorite team. In comparison with Baudrillard, Virilio considers TV as establishing interactivity between those making war and those watching it. But he has the same idea about the role of common people in war impotent tele-spectators, victims of intelligent weapons and the people who serve them (Virilio, 2002: 47). It is obvious that Baudrillard didnt intend to act like a devils advocate and decline the existence of the Gulf War. He agrees that a massive bombing of military and civil objects took place in Iraq in 1991. And lately he (2002) told readers that official casualties in Iraq were estimated in order of 100Â  000, not counting the losses due to consequent hunger and diseases. But the question is why so few US soldiers died in this war, that it was named a war of zero casualties on the side of allies (Virilio, 2002: 97). After analyzing Baudrillards work, it becomes clear, that despite a catchy slogan in title, in fact the author compares real events with their interpretation, and the central conclusion is that the consequence of real events could hardly be named a war, while a consequence of those events representations was perceived as a real war. This effect was a main reason why he called a Gulf War the first and the perfect television war. US-led coalition relied highly on the television. On the first night of military operation, in Kourou, Ariane rocket launched two broadcasting satellites (Virilio, 2002), and it was a sign of parallel intervention of real forces and television. The leaders decisions were significantly based on intelligence reports, coming not from eye-witnesses, but from news and images. Bush recruited CNN and its owner Ted Turner to transit messages to Iraqi people and thus held diplomacy through interposed images (Virilio, 2002). Coalition forces were ordered not to get engaged in the direct battles with Iraqi army, but to use the means of virtual war in response to Iraqi attempts to turn the conflict into traditional. After interviewing soldiers, who were on the battlefield, Baudrillard (1995) claimed that the Western TV channels, especially CNN, offered audience highly edited reports from Iraq under the shape of live feeds. ABC News through life coverage of the Gulf War convinced the nation that Star Wars works (Bass, 2002). But Hussein used media even more cynically, creating a consequence of the images of hostages and the crying children. Attractive simulacra with no meaning behind were promoted by media of both sides: the CNN journalists with the gas masks in the Jerusalem, drugged and beaten prisoners on Iraqi TV, sea-bird covered in oil and pointing eyes into the Gulf sky (Baudrillard, 1995) and the quintessential symbol the Stealth F117, undetectable bomber, that nobody have seen, but everyone knew. The first object, destructed by F117, was also symbolic the building of Hussein forces communication centre (Virilio, 2002). The effect could be correlated with the essence of the conflicts media coverage: it is possible to see it only in time it happens, there is no time to prepare for it and no sense to watch it afterwards. As the victims of F117 see it just in the moment of action, viewers see the live broadcasts at the same time with the military journalists. The last reasons for perceiving the Gulf War as a television war are its results. Baudrillard and Virilio agreed that nobody fully lost or won in the conflict. Defeated in fact, Hussein remained in power and moreover won the information war. In spite of abilities given by Pentagon, CNN lost that television war, because American government issued a document, restricting the real time of operations from the TV present time (Virilio, 2002). Trying to prevent the American audience from communication weapons of Iraq, US officially imposed censorship and turned the public to the search for new information sources. To conclude, Iraq in 1991 was a place not of real war, but of massive violence and a remote enough zone for creating simulacra and holding a perfect television war. The TV Gulf War could have seemed a perfect simulacrum, a hyperreal situation. It is possible to partially agree with Baudrillards and Virilios argumentation, as it may be really the first example in the war history, when the TV technologies were used as a competent weapon and the whole war was spectacled on TV. But from the humane point of view, the statement the Gulf War did not take place undermines the seriousness of the Iraqi civilians massacre, the consequences for the political situation in Iraq and such consequence as the spread of international terrorism, which now is often perceived as the same symbolic non-event (Baudrillard, 2002): it catches the eye on TV screen when happening somewhere, but is not fully understood as possible to happen with the viewer. Nevertheless, Baudrillards theory is useful for understa nding representations of other modern wars, for example, the recent conflict between Georgia, South Ossetia and Russia. South Ossetia 2008 media war Conflict in South Ossetia will remain in the history of the post-Soviet area as a first war, which media helped to spread from the inter-country to cross-continental level. Known as Georgian-Ossetian war, the conflict in August 2008 turned into confrontation between Georgia and USA on one side and Russia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other. On the 8 August Georgia started a bombing of its separatist region South Ossetia. The next day Russia deployed troops in Ossetia and started military operation against Georgia. The USA government expressed eagerness to intervene, but on the 16 August the ceasefire was signed. The actual political result is recognizing the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia from Georgia by several countries, leading by Russia, and high tensions in the region. The number of casualties is still discussed and differs from 160 to 2000 on Ossetian side and from 60 to 400 on Georgian. Baudrillards concept of hyperreal television war is the perfect way of understanding this simulacra-rich conflict. The date of its beginning was a sign itself it was the day of opening the Olympic Games in Beijing, when by ancient traditions all the conflicts should be postponed. The violation of symbolic tradition instantly attracted the attention of worlds media. Artillery system Grad, used by Georgian forces as well as totally destructed building of hospital in Ossetian capital Tskhinvali, became symbols of civilian massacre. The anecdotic situation, when American audience mixed the Georgia as the Caucasus country and the US state, and started panics, was spread by media. Russian media discussed the interview with the 12-year-old ossetian girl on the Fox News, where she accuses Georgia, while being roughly interrupted by the journalist (Kukolevsky, 2008). And even unaware people remember Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, nervously chewing his necktie during the live TV inte rview. All those images were born by the war, which Georgian minister Temur Yakobashvili called a war for international public opinion (Collin, 2008). The media became a crucial battlefield in the conflict between Tbilisi and Moscow. The Georgian side claimed that it tried to reconquer its territory while Russian troops illegally invaded into it. Russians responded that Georgian government organized genocide, while Russian mission was to enforce peace. Both sides accused each other of spending millions of dollars on propaganda. Both sides even employed European PR agencies to promote their viewpoint. Georgia, backed by Western allies, from the beginning dominated in the information war. Started with cyberattacks and blocking of Russian TV, it used the help of USA and Great Britain, who didnt engage into real conflict, but actively engaged in the information one. All the leading global media CNN, Fox News, BBC, Sky News, Reuters, Associated Press were pro-Georgian. For example, Sky News showed a video report about the bombings of Tskhinvali by Georgian troops with a title Russia bombs the Georgian region South Ossetia (InoSmi, 2008; CNN, 2008). Georgia used a main advantage of Baudrillards television war that the world revealed the war from TV news. European audience, unaware of remote Caucasus regions, didnt know that some American and European correspondents presented the videos from Ossetian Tskinvali as the videos from Georgia (Vesti, 2009). Even Russian Foreign minister Sergej Lavrov agreed, that Russia lost that information war, but presented it as evidence, that Russia i s not an aggressor, otherwise it would have prepared a successful strategy (RIA Novosti, 2008). Nevertheless, I consider the results of Russian-Georgian information war as controversial as the results of real week-long conflict. The aim of attracting Western support wasnt achieved by any side. For example, German press claimed the conflict broadened the tensions between Russia and the West (Mannteufel, 2008), while some of British media found evidence of Georgia being an aggressor, guilty in war crimes (Milne, 2008). Some analysts consider Georgian media campaign as more effective because, for example, English-speaking ministers were always available for interview (Collin, 2008), but the media coverage was often favorable to Russia. The Russian strategy in this war could have been more effective, if used the overviewed simulacra images actively, because they all were really catchy and could influence the target audiences. Also Russia could have provided the world media with evidence of Georgian genocide by opening an access to a war zone for journalists. Moreover, it could be useful to prepare a strategic crisis communication plans for the possible conflicts of this kind. But anyway, the negative image of Russia, popular among Western media, could undermine by now any communication efforts. To change the situation, Russia should become a part of global media system, which is impossible because of American domination. The main idea of case study is that in August 2008 South Ossetia became a centre not of a real war, which ended in one week, but of an information war, which lasts till now. On this battlefield a little Georgia, backed by Western transnational media, can beat the huge Russia and create herself an image of a victim of Russian military machine (Zinenko, 2008). Thus it proves the thesis of Baudrillard and Virilio, that the wars of new generation are being won or lost in the space of media and information technologies. Conclusion The theoretical concepts of information and especially television wars by Baudrillard and Virilio, engaged in the essay with the real wars in Iraq 1991 and South Ossetia 2008, emerge the question of what Kellner (2005) calls a centrality of media politics in advanced foreign policy. Of course, the idea of hyperreal television war is an ideal model, and by now there was no conflict that has been totally televisual. Critiques of Baudrillard draw an attention to his hyper-postmodern approach (Hegarty, 2004) or lack of meaningful political engagement (Economic expert, n.d.). Nevertheless, the fact remains in both analyzed war cases and in numerous other conflicts of the last decades the media opened the fourth front, created a hyperreal space of mutual information attacks and marketing-style campaigns, used the simulacra-like images to influence the audience and to attract it to one side. Moreover, media become a means of searching allies or oppositely turn back to life the old confrontations, like in case of South Ossetia they emerged a new spiral of Cold War between Russia and the USA (RIA Novosti, 2008). Consequently, the governments of new generation should consider media campaigns as a part of any successful military operations, and the people, who dont want to be manipulated be spectacular images, should try to be less ignorant and more human-oriented.