Organisational Business Practices Essay

Organization is a principle of life. We seek the help of organizations to meet our day to day requirements such as to feeding, clothing, educating entertaining, protecting etc. However, organizations are not contemporary creations. Modern society has more organizations which are fulfilling a larger category of societal and personal needs. Organizations are so encompassing in the modern life that it is sometimes easy to overlook that each may be regarded as an entity with a specific contribution and specific goals. Organization is a system of consciously coordinated activities of two or more persons in order to achieve a common goal. It is a system of four major internal interacting components such as: task, people, technology and structure. Organizations are said to be open systems. A number of metaphors can be used to think and explain about the nature of organization. There are eight archetypical metaphors of organization: Machines, Organisms, Brains, Cultures, Political Systems, Psychic Prisons, Flux and Transformation, Instruments of Domination. General Discussion Document: Director of Marketing is proposing to introduce a new process of sales at Superior Sales Corporation for which there will be changes as per the present set up. Staff are likely to resist the change hence some suggestions are placed to reduce the resistance. Organization Structure: Functional superiority can only be achieved if there is enough reliability and focus within each business unit. Elites are those specialized organizational units with closeness to power and having superior capability. Their functions signify a particular organization’s typical capability. It is, important that more than one such elite function exist. They need to be complementary so as to make sure that they serve as a check on another. Pluralist are those essential forces that play a important role in decision making. The tension that is created amongst these forces stimulates thoughts and lead to self-improvement and competitiveness, Elite functions bring main strengths to an organization, but must assist with the whole to attain shared results. The stronger and more competent the elites are, the more difficult it is to achieve cross-functional teamwork. The organization’s challenge is therefore to ensure that these functions are on a par with that of competition, but at the same time they need to ensure that they respond to market demands by cutting across these functional compartments. Organization Cultures: Organizations are mini-societies that have their own distinctive patterns of culture. Culture is a modern concept used in a social sense to refer broadly to civilization and social system. Its increasing use within the social sciences has led to definitions of varying generality, which develop in a host of ways. Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. There is a growing literature of relevance how organization can be understood as a cultural phenomenon. It is valuable to understand the relationship between culture and industrialization. The greatest strength of this metaphor is that it shows how organizations rests in shared systems of meaning, values, ideologies, beliefs and other social practices that ultimately shape and guide organized action. Reactive and Proactive Changes: Forces for change arise out of an organization’s interaction with elements in its external or internal environment. The action of competitors, suppliers, government units or public groups may have substantial impacts on change. Social and cultural factors such as life styles, values or beliefs also lead to important changes. Forces of change may also arise from within an organization depending upon different phases of growth or demands made by different interest groups. Reactive changes occur when these forces make it necessary for a change to be implemented. Proactive change takes place when some forces to change lead an organization to conclude that a particular change is desirable and goes about in initiating the change in a planned manner. The difference between reactive and proactive changes corresponds to that between reflexive behavior and purposive behavior. Reactive change, like reflexive behavior, involves a limited part of the system whereas proactive change and purposive behavior coordinate the parts of the system as a whole. Organizational change has noted that many participants respond with dogged resistance to altering the status quo. In the industrial phenomenon workers have at times sought, in extremely violent fashion, to block the introduction of new technology. Supervisors and lower level managers have balked at large scale projects in job redesign and job enrichment; even low level employees, the presumed beneficiaries of such projects, have fought such changes. Senior managers have fought pitched battles against realignment of corporate structure. Even the proposal by a course coordinator to adopt a different style of presenting the report is capable of touching off a frenzy of defensive tactics to resist change. Such behavior may be either overt or covert. Overt resistance may take the form of employees deliberately failing to do the things necessary for successful change or simply being unenthusiastic about the change. The absence of overt resistance does not mean that resistance is not present, as resistance may be hidden from direct observation. Covert resistance can be more detrimental to change than open resistance because it is harder to identify and eliminate. There are at least two sets of factors which explain the process of resistance. One set relates to the personality and the other relates to the social system. Decreasing the Resistance: Managers who have been responsible for implementation have developed personal perspective consisting of assumption and strong feelings about how change should be introduced. These philosophies fall into two camps, either tops-down or bottoms-up. The Tops-down Strategy: The advocates of this strategy believe that, in general, people resist changes and require direction and structure for their well being as well as to work efficiently and effectively. The basic psychological contract between employees and management, it is assumed, is one in which the employee provides work, effort and commitment and expects in return pay, benefits, and a clear definition of what is expected to be done. It follows that it is the management’s responsibility to design the changes it deems appropriate and to implement these thoroughly but quickly by directives from the top. The Bottoms-up Strategy The advocates of this approach profess what to them is a more enlightened view of human nature. They argue that people welcome change and the opportunity to contribute to their own productivity, especially if the change gives them more variety in their work and more autonomy. These managers assume people have a psychological contract which includes an expectation that they be involved in designing change as well as in implementing it. Commitment to change, they say, follows from involvement in the total change process and is essential to successful implementation.

Vsepr Lab

Molecular Geometry A. Natural Orientation of Volumes about a Central Point. You will need 20 round balloons for this experiment. Join them together as indicated in the Balloon Arrangement column and then describe the shape in the space provided. Balloon ArrangementDescription of the Shape Two-Balloon SetLinear Three-Balloon Set Trigonal Planar Four-Balloon Set Tetrahedral Five-Balloon Set Trigonal Bipyramidal Six-Balloon Set Octahedral B. Valence Shell Pairs: Single Bonds Fill in the table below for the corresponding compounds.Reference the tables provided in the introductory comments for Lab #16 VSEPR Theory. Molecular ShapeNumber of Bonds About Central AtomShape Description BF3 3Trigonal planar BeCl2 2Linear CH4 4Tetrahedral PF5 5Trigonal bipyramidal SF6 6Octahedral C. Valence Shell Pairs: Single Bonds and Non-Bonding electron pairs Fill in the table below for the corresponding compounds. Reference the tables provided in the introductory comments for Lab #16 VSEPR Theory. Molecular FormulaNumber of Bonds and Non-Bonding PairsShape Desrciption NF3 ,1Trigonal pyramidal H2S 2,2Bent H3O+ 3,1Trigonal pyramidal PH3 3,1Trigonal pyramidal ClO2 2,1Bent D. Valence Shell Pairs: Single and Double Bonds and Non-Bonding electron pairs Fill in the table below for the corresponding compounds. The shapes and other information on pages three and four of your lab will be helpful. FormulaNumber of Bonds and Non-Bonding Electron PairsShape Description CO32- 3,0Trigonal planar SO2 2,1Bent H2CO 3,0Trigonal planar SO3 3,0Trigonal planar SO32- 3,1Trigonal pyramidal NO2- 2,1Bent PO33- 3,1Trigonal pyramidal

Election results Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Election results - Essay Example The results of an election are and can never be predicted in terms of how the results are received by the population. This is because an election in essence is carried out because there are different interests within the population and only the larger part of the population that is for a particular opinion or an individual always carries the day. If most or the entire population is for a particular idea or person, then the elections may be unanimous, and a peaceful co-existence within the population continues; like in presidential elections of The United States of 2008, which was the 56th presidential election held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Obama, the then junior United States senator from Illinois defeated republican John McCain, who was the senior United States senator from Arizona. Obama would go on to make a decisive victory over McCain in both the electoral and the popular vote. Obama received the most votes ever garnered by a presidential candidate in American history and a lso won the electoral and popular vote by the largest margin ever in twenty years. This meant that most of the country was basically in a quorum for the change. The other faction that was anti Obama had to accept the results because the elections were free and fair and they had to accept the results (Baldino & Kyle p11). If a part of the population that does not win the election feels that the election was some how compromised, their might be a protests which if not checked in time, may escalate to some form of violence between the diverse divisions of the populace. An example of such instances are like the post election violence that rocked the republic of Kenya in late December of 2007 and early 2008, the aftermath of Ugandan elections during the February 2011 elections that also led to the arrest of the main opposition leader Kizza Besigye, and also in Zimbabwe which also resulted in a power sharing pact between Robert Mugabe and Mukwazhi

Conduct a Search for Potential Research Sources Paper

Conduct a Search for Potential Sources - Research Paper Example Baby Boomers in the Middle: Analysis of Social Supports Among African-American Caregivers (Gadling, 2010), attempted to answer the critical question whether the caregiver burden is a predictor of social supports for African-American baby boomers. According to the researcher, many baby boomers are in the ‘middle’, which means that they are caught in between their young children and their aging parents because of the commitments and responsibilities that they have towards both these groups. Due to these care-giving obligations, they are not able to focus on their own needs. The research focused on the African American community to find out if the caregiver burden were high because of the low level of social support. The researcher conducted a thorough review of literature where the concepts of care giving care giving stress and the peculiar case of African American caregivers was highlighted. The research methodology was to conduct personal interviews to a group that had f our specific groups belonging to the age group of 45-55, the African Americans, non-Hispanic Whites, Latinos/Hispanics and Asian Americans. The theme of the research was around four key variables like social support, caregiver burden, quality of life and family obligation. Even though these variables provide an overall picture, it would have been better to include variables that specifically stand out for the African American community, rather than including it in the broad variable of quality of life. In addition, as the answers to the survey were collated through the process of interview. However, the questions were strictly close ended, just like in a survey. If some open ended questions were also included, it could have provided an added advantage of some qualitative results too (Creswell, 2007). The research concluded that family obligations, caregiver burden and quality of living as composite variables were not predictors of social support among African-American baby boomers. Social support had an intense effect on the caregiver; hence, social support can have a very high impact on the caregiver. Overall, the research was very elaborate and was carried under ethical considerations. In the research Baby Boomers' Needs and Preferences for Retirement Housing: A Phenomenological Qualitative Study, Elridge explores the options that Baby Boomers have in retirement housing and tries to understand their requirements. Through a qualitative approach, the researcher has a goal to understand the specific housing requirements of baby boomers with regards to the retirement housing configuration. The research also identifies an additional issue of a huge population approaching the retiring age and hence, adequate housing options are increasingly important. The researcher carried out the research through the Qualitative phenomenological Q-sort method, which is a study individualizing subjectivity as a part of the observation of a phenomenon. This is a very interesting m ethod of research because phenomenology as providing information based on lived experiences. Hence, this method would be able to add the element of subjectivity in the research. However, the researcher has conducted the research with only a very limited sample of 20 respondents. The assumption in the research is

Search Integration of Social Media Research Paper

Search Integration of Social Media - Research Paper Example In the wake of globalization, various firms need to embrace the cultural diversity by incorporating various major search languages in its marketing strategy thereby giving organizations a local appeal in its geographically dispersed market. This is one of the tools that Zarah seems to utilize with an immense command on the market size in the fashion industry. It is common to realize that social media requires customization in respect of the cultural differences prevalent in the world and this has been done by introducing the use of various languages that are tailored to meet the demands of people (Hoffman & Bateson, 2009). It is, therefore, a boost for the organization to act locally and think globally in respect of placing website adverts. It has adopted online sales that constitute the display of varieties that the customers simply click on and obtain all the required information then transact online. This is more convenient for many people due to the paradigm shift of socio-econom ic order of the society which keeps people busy most of the time. It has equally diversified the social networking sites thereby enhancing chances of reaching out to many clients of all age brackets around the world. To optimize the use of social media, Zarah has a very active Twitter, Facebook, google+, daily blogs and other accounts on which it is able to count on the number of likes and pins after posting pictures of its variety of products. The figures obtained in this process and the comments provide a basis for reorganizing its strategies on appropriate marketing mix. Zarah also utilizes the social media to take note of the global fashion trend by responding immediately through Twitter and its other social media sites and collecting feedback on desires and modifications preferable to the existing and potential customers (Hoffman & Bateson, 2009). This has the updating effect with attraction consequences to the potential customers who are prolific internet browsers.

Oil Spills Clean-up Technology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7750 words

Oil Spills Clean-up Technology - Research Paper Example Proactive measures ought to be taken to prevent such catastrophes from occurring. Some of the accidents are caused by the neglect of the management and other members transporting the oil. The BP Company for instance has been one of the current culprits of oil spill. Reports indicated that the company was aiming at reducing the cost of operation and therefore had poor methods that would have been used to prevent oil spills. Other companies that have been caught in the same incidence include the Union Carbide in India. The company was concerned with the issues of cutting on the cost of operation. In the process, it failed to repair and maintain the gas cylinders leading to leakage of gases. The negative effects of this were death of thousands of people. It would therefore be imperative to have ways that would be used to prevent these incidences from occurring. Punitive measures should be used to ensure that the responsible companies pay for the damage caused. This may include confiscat ion of their certificates of operation until such companies can show their readiness to prevent the situation. The following discussion will focus on the oil spill cleaning techniques, limitations and classification. Literature review Current oil spill cleaning techniques There are a number of oil spill cleaning techniques, which have been used for decades to address this problem. These methods however differ in terms of cost, the effects on the environment, flora and fauna, and complexity. The other main determining factor of the technique to use include whether the oil spill has taken place in the deep sea or near the shore. The following are some of the current methods, which are used to clean oil spills: 1. In-situ burning of oil This is one of the most common techniques... This essay stresses that major oil spills have been blamed on poor strategies used by the management to deal with the problem. Some of the policies that are stipulated are poor due to the need to cut down the cost of operation. Some of the companies that have been blamed for such poor policies include the BP Company. Due to the 2007/08 economic turmoil, the company management was in the process of cutting down cost of operation. As a result, this led to the problems, which have been witnessed. It is for this reason that some of these companies need to be punished. Other methods that would also be used in to prevent oil spills include regular check of machinery and the piping systems. This is done for the purpose of preventing of detecting any anomalies on such machines. Any leaks should be repaired immediately they are detected. Any loose valves ought to be tightened to prevent any spills. However, majority of the companies fail to address this issue due to the current the current co mpetition in the world of business. The high demand for oil and other related products prevents the management to take the safety precautions. This paper makes a conclusion that the bottom-line is that there is no effective method, which can effectively address the issue of cleaning the oil spills. For that reason, there is need for more innovation in order to have such methods. The current ones are not only expensive but also lead to major environmental problems. All measures ought to be taken to prevent the oil spills since the cost of such catastrophes are high.

An oil dependent economy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

An oil dependent economy - Research Paper Example Brown points out many aspects in his article to support the fact that the rising cost of fossil energy is driving the American economy back into its local communities. Every product produced that ends up in the hands of the consumer is directly effected by the use of fossil fuels. Past decades of inexpensive oil has created this dependency which in turn has given rise to the way our society lives. There is virtually no limit to the distance that food can travel to the consumer. Many of the products that we consume daily travel from China, an emerging country, also, have seen a growing dependency on fossil fuels. In their effort to become more capitalistic, backward agricultural methods have been replaced with modern machinery dependent on oil. Dependency on oil not only creates higher cost in food; it also creates a constant flow of filthy air back into the environment. Therefore, with these notable factors, should the government make policies that drive the consumer back toward the local economy? It’s a question of individual initiative in most instances, but most of us look to the government for guidance just as a child looks to its parents. Should the government be involved at all in the daily lives of the consumer? Policy is not treated in the same fashion, as are laws. Policies put forth to a society as a whole give suggestions and positive influences that are more readily accepted by the majority. A policy is a more tactful way of achieving an end result without the rigors of law. Consider our food safety! Where do our foods originate? What are the safety factors involved in transporting foods from such long distances? What are the positive factors of focusing more on local grown foods? The Food and Water Watch states, â€Å"Our current food system is broken, and it didn’t happen by accident.†