Thursday, October 31, 2019

The meaning of Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The meaning of - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that when studying at high school levels, it was evident that most of the academic papers were referred to as essays even when some of them appeared as mere articles. In addition, most United States educators refer articles or essays as term or research papers. This forms the basis of my title the â€Å"meaning of the term essay†, where I tend to explore the distinction of the term essay and other literally works such as articles. This is mostly true in the French history by essayist such as Montaigne in his pronounced use of the word essay in his literary work. The word essay has also been used to mean to examine, try, and to attempt to explain something with being sure of succeeding. The association of essay with experiments also gets its root from the same idea of attempting to explain something. Francis Bacon also attempted to emphasize the lack of empirical support of essay while attempting to establish its application in social sciences or arts. The key characteristic that draws a line or creates a distinction between essays an article depends exclusively on the writer’s assumptions, objectives, personal ideas, and style or structure of the literally material. A typical essay is not based on fixed place or a given time limit but unlike an article, it thrives on the ground of its original content. Also unlike pale articles, essays insist on good and fluent language, in fact in the most excellent essays good language is not narrowly a medium of communication, but communication on its own.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Monitoring ,Final review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Monitoring ,Final review - Essay Example This would also ensure that the deliverables are present in the right condition to ensure completion of the project and achievement of the set objectives. This will be done upon completion of the project, this ensures the construction is per the initial plan and any deviations are raised and necessary measures addressed to ensure full satisfaction of the stakeholders. Construction of stadium is should be effectively describes what the value is to the football sponsoring organisations from the results gained after the construction is complete. Â  Managing construction will involve value management of benefits, costs, timescales, and risks. Is the construction plan clearly defining the results expected to be gained after the stadium is constructed as per the construction plan, resources and time it will take for construction, the plan will proved agreed times for monitoring and placation of necessary inputs. Stage plans will be established to provide details on how and when the objectives stipulated by the stakeholders are being met by showing the construction plans and drawing, activities and resources required for construction. Â  The Stage Plan will provide a baseline against which stage progress will be measured and is used as the basis of management control throughout the stage in the proceeding construction stage. In monitoring the construction process a work package will be used to Sets out all information needed to deliver one or more specialist products. Â  The necessary information is collated by the Project Manager and used to formally pass responsibility for work or delivery to a team leader or member In the event of a change in the decision or strategy of construction will be identified in the stage. Stake holder may change or improve an idea and thus will be implemented at the change control strategy stage. Adequate information shall be provided by the Project Board to sponsor and stakeholders by providing a summary of each stage status at

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Claudius Ptolemys Contributions to Science

Claudius Ptolemys Contributions to Science Claudius Ptolemy The ancient world can be traced back to times of mysterious and enigmatic people. Some mysteries, however, remained unfathomed till date. Life, during those times, was very different; humans performed activities and tasks that gave a lot of prominence to the Gods and were primarily based on the cycle of nature. On the contrary, today, life has taken 360 degrees turn. Our life today is almost dependent on technological gadgets. The transition from then to now has been enormous. There is a stark difference observed in the lifestyles of both the ages. And it is not just the lifestyle there is a vast difference even in the thinking. Since ages, many questions have often been accumulating in the human mind such as, what are the dimensions of the earth, how many continents are there on the Earth, and what are the functions of the Moon and the Sun in our day-to-day lives. Now, the answers to these questions are just a click away. But when a similar scenario must have emerged during ancient times, people might have associated it with some myth or an old wives’ tale. The transformation of people from an ancient era to the modern one was really a lengthy process where philosophers, thinkers, mathematicians, astronomers and geographers must have put across their observations and theories to the general public. However, change is never easy. Their ideas and concepts were not accepted instantly. In fact, they were all rejected outright and they were ridiculed as well as humiliated because of their beliefs and concepts. But all of them stood their ground and fought for what they believed was right. After a series of untiring efforts, they were rewarded and were proved right years after they passed away. It was the observation and contribution of these people which have now evolved into theories and concepts that help us simplify and demystify our lives. Let us shed light on the life of one such person who made a significant contribution in changing our lives. His name was Claudius Ptolemy. He was a Greek-Roman citizen, who displayed multiple talents of astronomy, mathematics, georgraphy, astrology and poetry. Decoding the Enigma In a distant town of Ptolemais Hermiou in Thebaid, Egypt, a child was born into the family of Ptolemies. The family was the descendant of Ptolemy Soter, a mighty General from the army of Alexander the Great in 90 AD. Although the family was rooted in Egypt, the Roman influence on the family was such that the infant was given a Roman name, Claudius. The name Claudius is a Roman nomen (Roman naming system) and the fact that Ptolemy bore it, indicates that he lived in Egypt under the rule of Romans . Nothing much is known about Claudius Ptolemy’s upbringing or his family. â€Å"Where did Ptolemy come from?†, â€Å"Where was he born?† are the questions which are still asked today but the answers have been lost with time. All that is known is Ptolemy started becoming renowned as someone who had a keen mathematical and astronomical sense. He became popular in Thebaid and later, in Alexandria, where he began to reside in his adulthood. Star Gazing Nothing much is known about Ptolemy’s ancestry, apart from what can be deciphered from the details of his name. However, the modern researchers are sure of one fact, that it was Ptolemy who wrote the great edict called Almagest at around 150 AD. Ptolemy wrote in Greek and utilised Babylonian astronomical data. In spite of being a Roman citizen, most of the scholars came to a common understanding that Ptolemy was ethnically Greek, although some others also had the opinion that he was a Hellenised Egyptian. In most of the later Arabic sources, he is referred to as, ‘the Upper Egyptian’, which means that he may have belonged to southern Egypt. Hence, the Arabic geographers and physicists referred to him by his Arabic name Batlaymus. Ptolemy built his reputation owing to his astronomical works, wherein he had recorded the existence of 1000 stars, out of which 300 were his finds. He is also credited with coming up with the first practical theory of Refraction of Light. He was precise in his discussions about the dimensions of the planet. Ptolemy came up with a compilation of the ancient view of astronomy in an astronomical manual called Almagest. He used the 800-year-old astronomical observations by his predecessors as a reference point for this purpose. He also added his conclusions on the basis of this reference as his vision of the universe. Ptolemy’s successors considered the Almagest to be the Gospel of astronomy for many centuries throughout medieval Europe. The ancient Greeks believed in the theory that the path of the planets was completely spherical, were discarded later as it was proved later that the orbits of the planets are elliptical. Even Ptolemy had been convinced by this earlier belief. Going Into the Orbit In Ptolemy’s manual, it was clearly seen that he followed the steps of Aristotle, whom he considered his ideal. Aristotle had come up with a theory that the planets moved in a continuous and uniform motion in perfect circles. As per Ptolemy’s observation he concluded that earth is a spherical object which remains freely suspended in the centre of the Universe. One of the studies revealed the stars to be bodies which were fixed to a strong exterior of the Universe which lay beyond the orbit of Saturn. A large number of these studies were based on Aristotle’s philosophy but Ptolemy added his inputs by calculating the motion of each planet in great detail and thus came up with his contribution to astronomy. One of his early works, the ‘Almagest’ provided a detailed study of the Mathematical theory of the movements of the Sun, the Moon and other planets. Ptolemy’s theory that the planets move in circular epicycles along their orbits, which was wel l-received during those days. The Almagest was preserved in Arabic manuscripts, like most of the Classical Greek Science. By the 12th century, it gained the desired reputation and was widely sought after. Due to its popularity, it was translated twice into Latin, once into Sicilian and then into Spanish. Like Ptolemy’s predecessors, his model was geocentric and received almost complete acceptance universally until simpler heliocentric models were introduced during the scientific revolution. Ptolemy’s theory of Planetary Hypotheses extended beyond the explanation given in the Mathematical model of the Almagest. The Planetary Hypotheses depicted the physical realisation of the Universe in the form of nestled spheres and used the epicycles of this planetary model to portray the dimensions of the Universe. According to his calculations, the sun was at an average distance of 1,210 earth radii, while the radius of the sphere of the fixed stars was 20,000 times the radius of the Earth. To calculate astronomical calculations in Handy Tables, Ptolemy introduced an efficient tool which tabulated all the data required to calculate the positions of the Sun, the Moon and the planets, as well as the rising and setting of the stars and the eclipses of the Sun and Moon. This Handy Tables became the basic model which was improvised later as astronomical tables or zijes. Ptolemy also worked on a star calendar or Almanac, which he prepared with the help of the positions of the hands and disappearances of stars during the solar year. This was presented in the Phaseis (Risings of the Fixed Stars). His observations made a huge impact in those days and made Ptolemy somewhat of a seer or scholar. Mapping it Out Apart from Ptolemy’s tremendous contribution to the understanding of astronomy throughout the world, he also laid down the groundwork to the future cartography or the study of maps. He wrote another treatise on the lines of the Almagest, compiling his knowledge of Geography, along with what was already known through the Roman Empire. An important source of information for the book, Geographia, written by Marinos of Tyre, an earlier geographer and the gazetteers of Roman and ancient Persian Empire. Ptolemy began the book with a discussion of the data and the methods used by him to write down the book. The book was written in a much organised pattern on the lines of following a grand scheme. He assigned co-ordinates to all the places and geographic features he knew in a grid that spanned the globe which was quite similar to the work of Marinos. The Latitude that we know of today and is measured from the equator was done by Ptolemy but he named it as climata, which was the length of the longest day rather than degrees of arc. For example, the length of the mid-summer day increased from 12 to 24 hours as one moved from the equator to the polar circle. In books 2 through 7, Ptolemy used degrees. He assigned 0 degrees longitude to the Blessed Islands or the Canary Islands, which was the most western land on the extreme left of blue sea of Ptolemy’s map. This was identified by the six dots that were also labelled as Fortunata islands. Most medieval mapmakers followed the instructions that Ptolemy had devised and mentioned it in the Geographia. The second part of the Geographia contained Ptolemy’s Oikoumene or the map of the whole world. The area of Oikoumene extended from 180 degrees of longitude from the ‘Blessed Islands’ in the Atlantic Ocean to the middle of China and about 80 degrees of latitude from Shetland to anti-Meroe or the east coast of Africa. His map indicated he knew only about the quarter of the globe. He improved the projections of his maps than they were since the third century BC. However, Ptolemy’s maps were inaccurate as compared to the modern maps because he took the size of the Earth as being only 500 stadia for a great circle degree on the globe. The Bible of Astrology Along with the Almagest which spoke at lengths about astronomy, it is believed by some that Ptolemy also wrote a 4-part treatise on astrology called the Tetrabiblos, which in Greek terms means, Four Books. But there are others who believe that Tetrabiblos wasn’t written by Ptolemy. In fact, many scholars state that he must have just given the term Apotelesmatika, meaning Astrological Outcomes, as it was found in some Greek manuscripts. It is said that Tetrabiblos was revered as much as the authority of a Bible by the astrological writers for more than thousand years. It is an extensive database based on the ancient principles of horoscopic astrology and as a result has been continuously reprinted. However, it could not come up to the level of Almagest as it did not touch upon some popular areas of the subject such as medical astrology and event astrology which was interpreting astrological charts for a particular moment to determine the outcome of a course of action to be initiated at that time. However, these were later incorporated into the treatise. Ptolemy was of the belief that astrology was a science which tried to describe the physical effects of the heavenly bodies on the terrestrial life but unsuccessfully. Although he had no issues with the basic validity of the traditional astrological doctrines but he worked at modifying the details so that aligns with the Aristotelian conception of nature, matter and change. Ptolemy had a practical view of astrology. He believed that astrology was conjectural like medicine as many variable factors had to be taken into account. While to assess the requirement of the medicine factors such as the race, country and upbringing of a person had been taken into account for astrology the deciding factors were the position of the Sun, Moon and the planets at the precise moment of their birth. So he considered astrology to be useful in life, but in no way, relied upon it completely. A later pseudepigraphical composition known as Centiloquium, a collection of 100 aphorisms ascribed to Ptolemy, was commented upon by the Arabic, Hebrew and Latin scholars. Striking a Chord Ptolemy had resided in the Roman Empire, where music was given a high status as an art form. His work called ‘Harmonics’, is an observation on Music theory and mathematics of music. Ptolemy was very critical of his predecessors’ approach to the Musical theory. As per his theory he based the musical intervals on mathematical ratios, which was contrary to the belief followed by Aristoxenus and in sync with the belief accepted by the followers of Pythagoras. Ptolemy further propounded the theory which was first spoken about by Pythagoras about the musical notes being translated into mathematical equations and vice versa in Harmonics. He also wrote at length about an intense diatonic scale, which was later incorporated by many musicians. Another commendable contribution of Ptolemy’s work is Optics. However today, the only Optics that has survived is in poor Arabic translations and in around 20 manuscripts of a Latin version of the Arabic, translated by Eugene of Palermo, Circa 1154. Ptolemy wrote about the properties of light, including reflection, refraction and the colour in it.. The work is a significant part in the early history of optics. The more famous Eleventh Century Optics by Alhazn (Ibn al-Haytham) was majorly influenced by this work. It contained the earliest surviving table of refraction from air to water, for which the values (with the exception of the 60 degree angle of incidence), although historically praised as experimentally derived, it seemed to have been obtained from an arithmetic progression. It had the earliest surviving table of refraction from air to water for the values with the exception of the 60 degree angle of incidence. It seemed to have been obtained from an arithematic progression although it is said to be derived experimentally. Ptolemy’s work is based on the combination of mathematical, philosophical and physiological traditions. His theory of vision was based on extramission-intromission theory; the rays (or flux) from the eye formed a cone, the vertex being with the eye and the base defining the visual field. The rays were sensitive and conveyed information back to the observer’s intellect about the distance and orientation of surfaces. The size and shape of the object get determined by the visual angle subtended at the eye, combined with perceived distance and orientation. This was one of the initial statements of size-distance invariance as a cause of perceptual size and shape constancy, which was a view supported by the stoics. Ptolemy provided explanations for many phenomena concerned with illumination, and colour, size, shape, movement and binocular vision. He also classified illusions according to those caused by factors such as physical, optical and judgmental. However, his explanatio n of the Sun or Moon illusion was obscure (the enlarged size on the horizon) which was the difficulty of looking upwards. Footprints in the Sand It is believed that Ptolemy died around 168 AD in Alexandria, the city where his work flourished. He left a lasting impression on most of the researchers existing during that time. Although his works were controversial, in recent times, it has been discovered that his studies still contain important clues and observations that are practical. Many objects or characters have been named after Ptolemy as a tribute to his immense contribution to the modern day Astronomy, Astrology and Geography. Some of them include, the crater Ptolemaeus on the Moon, the crater Ptolemaeus on Mars, the Asteroid 4001 Ptolemaeus, A Character in the Fantasy series, The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Track number 10 on Selected Ambient Works 85–92 by Aphex Twin, the Ptolemy Stone used in the Mathematics courses at both the St. Johns College campus. Sir Patrick Moore, an English astronomer and TV presenter called his cat by the name of Ptolemy and the name of a music magazine was called Ptolemaic Terrascope. With the information of Ptolemy’s life being virtually unknown, it is only his work and legacy that do justice to his biography.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Essay --

The smell of thanksgiving dinner piques your interest long before you see it. Visions of roasted meats, potatoes dripping with gravy, butter soaked rolls and steaming pumpkin pies dance through your mind. However, when you run downstairs and observe the feast, you can hardly believe your eyes, plates overflow with foods you’ve never seen before: Yellowstone carrots, Royal Burgundy beans, Golden beets, and a Bourbon Red turkey. The color wheel cooked and set on your table sparking images of a completely different time, when the producer of our food was the farmer down the road; when our freshly prepared meals were packed with nutrients and the words affordable and healthy went hand-in-hand. In today’s American life, this vision of our food system is nowhere near our dinner plates. We were once confined to eating what was within sight and within season, but no longer do climates or distances constrain our menus. Our pantries are full year round -- all foods and all seasons. Plus, its cheap; so cheap that of each dollar we spend only nine cents will be on the life sustaining nutrients our bodies demand according to Annette Clauson in 2010 on behalf of the United State Department of Agriculture. However, two side effects of this system are becoming ever more obvious. First, we face a major food-related health care crisis and second, our farmers continue to experience economic insecurity. Fortunately, a forward-thinking group of people works to solve these problems by turning back the clock and taking a lesson from better times. They ask, â€Å"What if instead of being shipped from unknown locations, our food came from closer to home, from our friends and neighbors whose practices we know and whose livelihood we can support?† They seek t... ...he country which is documented by Martinez for the Department of Agriculture where he also discusses how community supported agriculture programs sustain nearly 1,500 farms. Chico has our very own farmers markets and they vary throughout the year of what day. They sell flowers, food, fresh crops, plus other locally produced items. The potential for these numbers to grow is enormous; especially if people want this food. With such powerful information streaming on a daily basis, think of what the future could hold: a food system where the agrarian heritage of our nation refocuses on a nutritionally sustainable, economically healthy future. Where consumers know the producers of their quality food and where agriculture is a financially robust enterprise. Making this vision a reality doesn’t require anything radical; we must simply try to buy local as often as we can.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Chpl 500 Writing Assigment 1

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY WRITING ASSIGMENT ONE a RESEARCH paper sUBMITTED TO Dr. Charlie Davidson iN PARTIAL FULFILMENT oF THE REQUIREMENTS chpl 500 lIBERTY Baptist THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY BY wILLIAM nESTOR LAGRANGE GA March 24, 2013 When we think of a chaplain we think in of those who sever in the military providing spiritual comfort to soldier’s hospital. This role of spiritual leader can be traced back to the Roman imperial period where the Roman emperor was not just in charge ruling the empire but also was in charge of the state religion.Since the emperor was head of the state religion he was known as the â€Å"pontifex maximus† and it was his job to maintain the â€Å"pax deorum (peace of the gods)† to ensure welfare of the state. Those who served in Roman army religion were important, in every camp there was a shrine called aedes signorum which was locate at the headquarters. Within military there were personal that held different religious responsibilities such as victimarius and turarius who were the incense keepers. It was not until the fourth century when Christian clergy began to emerge in the Roman army.The source that is often looked at about the use of Christian clerics comes from Eusebius of Caesarea. In his report Life of the Emperor Constantine when he engaged in war he would make his tent in shape of a church to have sacred edifice to worship God in which the priests and deacons would provide the service according to the law of the church. Other group soldiers that practice religion was the Barbarians who professed Arian from of Christianity and these soldiers were attached the Roman army and were the first examples of Christian’s clerics being attached to an army unit.The Arian clerics would follow the barbarian armies for practical because when the armies would travel they could not find any Arian churches to meet the spiritual needs of the soldiers at the time. As stated earlier Christian clergy started to be used by the Roman army by Emperor Constantine who had vision of a cross which lead him to paint the symbol on his legionaries shield. This would also lead to other rituals to help Romans soldiers moral they would eventually use Christian relics and litanies and on the sails of the ships they would paint pictures of the Virgin.As move from the Roman imperial period to the Middle Ages religious leaders took continue to maintain the moral of the men who were fighting and facing imminent death. Chaplains gather their flock and provided liturgical services like penitential rites of purification and supplication because they believe war was the result of sin and the outcome was divine judgment. During the Crusades the fighters would fast three days and only take the Eucharist.They would bless the standard of the forces and would lead the soldiers with a processional cross or a prized relic. Chaplains would provide special blessings to provide protection on things like The Crusader’s Holy Lance because it was used a tool to communicate during chaos of combat. Just by looking at two different time periods religion was very important to people and the spiritual leaders had their hands full to maintain moral of people especially those who served in military units.They have to deal with stress of war and the toll it would take on the soldiers, this is the same thing that modern chaplains or religious leaders deal with today and it is not an easy job. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Doris L. Bergen, ed. , The Sword of the Lord: Military Chaplains from the First to the Twenty-First Century (Notre Dame, Ind. : University of Notre Dame Press, 2004), 29. Chpl 500 Writing Assigment 1 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY WRITING ASSIGMENT ONE a RESEARCH paper sUBMITTED TO Dr. Charlie Davidson iN PARTIAL FULFILMENT oF THE REQUIREMENTS chpl 500 lIBERTY Baptist THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY BY wILLIAM nESTOR LAGRANGE GA March 24, 2013 When we think of a chaplain we think in of those who sever in the military providing spiritual comfort to soldier’s hospital. This role of spiritual leader can be traced back to the Roman imperial period where the Roman emperor was not just in charge ruling the empire but also was in charge of the state religion.Since the emperor was head of the state religion he was known as the â€Å"pontifex maximus† and it was his job to maintain the â€Å"pax deorum (peace of the gods)† to ensure welfare of the state. Those who served in Roman army religion were important, in every camp there was a shrine called aedes signorum which was locate at the headquarters. Within military there were personal that held different religious responsibilities such as victimarius and turarius who were the incense keepers. It was not until the fourth century when Christian clergy began to emerge in the Roman army.The source that is often looked at about the use of Christian clerics comes from Eusebius of Caesarea. In his report Life of the Emperor Constantine when he engaged in war he would make his tent in shape of a church to have sacred edifice to worship God in which the priests and deacons would provide the service according to the law of the church. Other group soldiers that practice religion was the Barbarians who professed Arian from of Christianity and these soldiers were attached the Roman army and were the first examples of Christian’s clerics being attached to an army unit.The Arian clerics would follow the barbarian armies for practical because when the armies would travel they could not find any Arian churches to meet the spiritual needs of the soldiers at the time. As stated earlier Christian clergy started to be used by the Roman army by Emperor Constantine who had vision of a cross which lead him to paint the symbol on his legionaries shield. This would also lead to other rituals to help Romans soldiers moral they would eventually use Christian relics and litanies and on the sails of the ships they would paint pictures of the Virgin.As move from the Roman imperial period to the Middle Ages religious leaders took continue to maintain the moral of the men who were fighting and facing imminent death. Chaplains gather their flock and provided liturgical services like penitential rites of purification and supplication because they believe war was the result of sin and the outcome was divine judgment. During the Crusades the fighters would fast three days and only take the Eucharist.They would bless the standard of the forces and would lead the soldiers with a processional cross or a prized relic. Chaplains would provide special blessings to provide protection on things like The Crusader’s Holy Lance because it was used a tool to communicate during chaos of combat. Just by looking at two different time periods religion was very important to people and the spiritual leaders had their hands full to maintain moral of people especially those who served in military units.They have to deal with stress of war and the toll it would take on the soldiers, this is the same thing that modern chaplains or religious leaders deal with today and it is not an easy job. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Doris L. Bergen, ed. , The Sword of the Lord: Military Chaplains from the First to the Twenty-First Century (Notre Dame, Ind. : University of Notre Dame Press, 2004), 29.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Management/performance Appraisal Essay

The movie â€Å"Office Space† is a satirical version of the challenges identified in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. In the movie, Peter Gibbons, the character played by Ron Livingston is the quintessential corporate employee who characterizes the ailments that the Industrial Psychology aims to identify and cure. Office Space points out some burning issues that have emerged with the evolution of the corporate culture. Motivation Employee motivation is a constant challenge for every organization whether it has a strong and ambitious mission statement or not. In the interview with the consultants â€Å"Bobs† Gibbons articulates it accurately when he states that he is not motivated because any extra effort he puts in might lead to a leap in the share price of the Initech stock or better rewards for his management but he is not compensated in any way. He also bluntly points out that the productive period of his, in a regular week is around 15 minutes. This is a challenge that most organizations face, where the job description leaves a lot to be desired in terms of adequate motivation for its employees to work at peak performance levels for a long duration of time. Management/performance Appraisal In the vexing issue of cover sheets for TPS, Gibbons is harassed by more than one boss. He might be exaggerating when he says that he has to report to eight different bosses but he is right in the fact that an employee begins feeling highly insecure when his performance is scrutinized with unusual and unwarranted vigor and by more than one supervisor. Personnel Recruitment and Selection In the entire movie, one of the most effective characters, Milton Waddams, so efficiently played by Stephen Root, is shown as an ineffective employee but is never clear what his role and responsibility is in the organization. In fact he is revealed to have remained in the organization due to a technical glitch though he was sacked five years ago. Any organization needs ot identify every employee’s strengths and weaknesses through its recruitment processes and also nurture their talent through constant training and knowledge initiatives. Change management is an essential function of the management and ineffective handling of such functions leads to the wide spread paranoia that becomes evident in the reactions of the employees towards the external consultants. Team Effectiveness Initech does have a bunch of talented people in Michael Bolton, Samir Nagheenanajar, Peter Gibbons et al, but fails to build effective team spirit because of the low motivation levels and constant insecurity. Besides every employee is preoccupied with their own woes of the working environment and busy dealing with it, rather than trying to maximize their productivity. Leadership In this movie, the characterization of Bill Lumbergh, played so obnoxiously by Gary Cole ( which means he has succeeded completely) is the perfect example of all that might go wrong with the leadership teams of corporates. He is a bully by nature and does not take any initiative to listen to his team members. He is a throw back to an older era when bosses were treated like royalty. Today the leadership has to play a more constructive role and infuse a sense of inclusiveness in decision making. The scene where he asks Gibbons to come in to work on both the days of the weekend without any explanation or pretense of asking for an opinion is classic Mike Judge. When reviewed in detail, Office Space provides examples of almost all the important issues that form the crux of Industrial/Organizational Psychology but the topics mentioned above are the most significant representations of the conflict and the treatment of the movie. While it is important to note the topical significance of the movie, the experience is rendered enjoyable due to some superb performances and believable exaggerations. That, perhaps is the basic reason for the movie’s cult status on the DVD circuit though its theatrical run did not make it a super hit.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The History of the Sony Walkman

The History of the Sony Walkman According to Sony, In 1979, an empire in personal portable entertainment was created with the ingenious foresight of Sony Founder and Chief Advisor, the late Masaru Ibuka, and Sony Founder and Honorary Chairman Akio Morita. It began with the invention of the first cassette Walkman TPS-L2 that forever changed the way consumers listen to music. The developers of the first Sony Walkman were Kozo Ohsone, general manager of the Sony Tape Recorder Business Division, and his staff, under the auspices and suggestions of Ibuka and Morita. Introduction of Cassette Tapes, a New Medium In 1963, Philips Electronics designed a new sound recording medium - the cassette tape. Philips patented the new technology in 1965 and made it available free of charge to manufacturers all over the world. Sony and other companies began designing new compact and portable tape recorders and players to take advantage of the cassette tapes smaller size. Sony Pressman Sony Walkman In 1978, Masaru Ibuka requested that Kozo Ohsone, general manager of the Tape Recorder Business Division, begin work on a stereo version of the Pressman, the small, monaural tape recorder that Sony had launched in 1977. Akio Moritas Reaction to the Modified Pressman This is the product that will satisfy those young people who want to listen to music all day. Theyll take it everywhere with them, and they wont care about record functions. If we put a playback-only headphone stereo like this on the market, itll be a hit. - Akio Morita, February 1979, Sony Headquarters Sony invented the compact and extremely lightweight H-AIR MDR3 headphones for their new cassette player. At that time, headphones weighed on average between 300 to 400 grams, the H-AIR headphones weighed just 50 grams with comparable sound quality. The name Walkman was a natural progression from Pressman. The Launch of the Sony Walkman On June 22, 1979, the Sony Walkman was launched in Tokyo. Journalists were treated to an unusual press conference. They were taken to Yoyogi (a major park in Tokyo) and given a Walkman to wear. According to Sony, The journalists listened to an explanation of the Walkman in stereo, while Sony staff members carried out various demonstrations of the product. The tape the journalists were listening to asked them to look at certain demonstrations, including a young man and woman listening to a Walkman while riding on a tandem bicycle. By 1995, total production of Walkman units reached 150 million and over 300 different Walkman models have been produced to date.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Maths Coursework Number Grid Essays

Maths Coursework Number Grid Essays Maths Coursework Number Grid Essay Maths Coursework Number Grid Essay I will start my investigation by looking at 2 by 2 squares. I will draw a square around 4 numbers, find the product of the bottom left and top right numbers and the product of the top left and bottom right numbers, then calculate the difference between the 2 products. I will see if there are any patterns and if so I will try to work it out algebraically.I will then look at changing the size of the squares to see if there are any patterns. I will try looking at 3 by 3 squares, 4 by 4 squares and 5 by 5 squares; I will do the same with these squares as I have with the 2 by 2 squares, I will find the products of the top left and bottom right and the bottom left and top right numbers then calculate the difference between them.Once I have fully investigated the patterns within the squares and found an algebraic formula for the patterns I will look at rectangles. I will start by looking at a 3 by 2 rectangle and looking for patterns there; if I find a pattern I will try to work out a formula for this pattern. I will then try changing the size of the rectangles and looking for patterns there. I will look at 2 by 4 rectangles, 5 by 3 rectangles and 4 by 5 rectangles.I will also look at changing the size of the number grids to see if this has an affect on the patterns. I will look at a 9 by 9 grid, an 11 by 11 grid and a 5 by 5 grid. I will be looking for patterns in 2 by 2 squares within the different size grids and trying to find an algebraic formula to explain my findings.First of all I am looking at 2 by 2 squares within a 10 by 10 grid. The squares I am looking at are highlighted in the grid below. I chose these squares randomly; there is no particular reason why I chose them.he different size grids and trying to find an algebraic formula to ex

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Subject Lines, Subscriptions and Submissions

Subject Lines, Subscriptions and Submissions Subject Lines, Subscriptions and Submissions Subject Lines, Subscriptions and Submissions By Maeve Maddox In this post I want to deal with some miscellaneous questions that have come to me via email. Subject Line Several readers have asked if I could put the days topic in the subject line of the subscription feed. I regret that the answer is: I cant. The way that the subscriptions are handled (Feedburner) does not give me the option of entering a post-specific description in the subject line. If it ever becomes possible, Ill do it. Subscriptions Every so often I get a request to enter a subscription for someone or to change an address. The subscription links are at the upper right-hand corner of the DWT page. Any address changes have to be made by the subscriber. Submissions Now and then writers ask about submitting articles or stories to this site. Language-related posts DWT does accept guest posts that conform to the following guidelines: 1. The post must be original. 2. The post must be related to the English language or writing in general (e.g., grammar, punctuation, freelance writing, writing exercises, etc. 3. The author must grant DWT the exclusive rights to publish it online. It may not be republished on the writers own blog or in an ebook. The writer does retain print rights. 4. Guest posts will include a byline with a brief bio about the author and up to two links (one for a website and one for a Twitter/social networking account). Submissions for guest posts may be addressed to daniel@dailyblogtips.com Fiction submissions Apart from contests, DWT does not publish fiction. Because so many readers are looking for a chance to publish their fiction, Ive decided to keep my eye open for possibilities. I just heard about a literary magazine that is looking for submissions. Although published under the auspices of an Arkansas college, it is open to writers from anywhere. VISIONS: literary magazine published online by Northwest Arkansas Community College. No payment, but for a writer building a portfolio, that may not be a deterrent. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Regarding Re:Flier vs. Flyer25 Idioms with Clean

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Business Schools Focus on Perfomance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business Schools Focus on Perfomance - Essay Example The above scenario was a major cause for the collapse of major companies in the world, especially financial institution, which had risked so much while practicing securitization. Other major institutions had to sellout cheaply, losing real value of what they were worth (estimated to be about $14.5 trillion in the U.S). Governments of some of the most powerful nations, also had to come to the rescue of some of the major business institutions by dishing out rescue packages that included huge sums of money to bail out the sinking giants (Bartlett and Ghoshal 1998). Business schools are the major institutions in the world that produce some of the financial gurus this world has to offer, and had to offer back then even before the global financial crisis. The blame can thus be entirely attributed to them for not imparting enough knowledge or rather, teaching irrelevant and impractical lessons to students who hold the future of the economy of the world upon them. Criticism should thus be ap preciated by these business schools and an objective to improve should be the target. Sumantra Ghoshal, a great business academician, since passed on, was one critique of the business schools and optimistically believed that the situation could be reverted or changed to offer improved and practical knowledge that would assist financial professionals be able to solve practical problems. In order to build a foundation that could avoid future financial crisis business schools globally have the responsibility to improve their curriculum to focus on more practical financial scenarios in the world rather than focus on performance. Role of Business Schools Any critique that could follow without the declaration of the real roles of business schools towards the modern day commercial discourse could be absolutely null and void. Below are some of the roles that Sumatra Ghoshal defined that Business schools have towards the contribution to a better business world. Business schools have the obli gation of instilling ethics to its students. Business ethics define the behavior that business parties should exhibit when dealing with matters that concern business. Ethics are responsible in inhibiting vices such as corruption, theft and general inappropriate characters in many business organizations. The other key role that business schools face is the responsibility to bring out a complete economic with the ability to deal with current business matters. Knowledge would be absolutely useless without the practical knowhow. Management research issues and internships fall in this category as they form the main parts in business schools responsible for practical knowledge. Business schools have the responsibility to impart to their students the mental capacity to apply knowledge imparted. Education is mostly done in a theoretical method, but such knowledge imparted should be focused on dealing with the real world situations in the contemporary world. Lack of the ability to apply know ledge would prove the hopelessness in business schools, a fact that Ghoshal, a great critique, wouldn’t want to believe was he still alive. Business Schools’ Target on Performance Content rather than Educational Content According to Sumantra Ghoshal,

Friday, October 18, 2019

Write plan addressing principal's directives Essay

Write plan addressing principal's directives - Essay Example The responsibilities every affiliate of the family has. I will require from each student an essay on how their family celebrates holidays like, thanksgiving and birthdays. In so doing students get to be grateful for the value of family, and gain invaluable knowledge that is practical and they can put it on paper in case of an assessment test on the subject. My teaching methodology of family history, growth and change, will slightly be off tangent. Each student will be required to research on their family’s history and note down an essay. In the family’s history, I expect them to identify their family heritage and the changes their family has encountered over time. I expect some of my students to contribute their family tales, songs, dances and even legends; this will make the unit highly practical. They will do this in groups, whereby one student volunteers to share a folktale while the classmates will ask relevant questions. The aim is to have students share information freely and respect each other. The concept of communities can be introduced by getting the students appreciate the variety of their communities. They get to know their cultural uniqueness, religious difference, ethnicity and school is what makes them unique. In this unit, I will task my students to try and locate the country, state and country on a map. They should list down geographical features, natural resources, artificial resources and significant symbols that identify their community. Their task will be to try and locate the school from the global perspective, give the cardinal directions, and how the school affects the environment. The last unit will have students getting to know how people satisfy their wants and citizenship. Students ought to know what their parents do for a living to provide for them. They will discuss in groups the types of occupation people carry out. The issues of trade and exchange, science and

Research paper of a scholary published creative problem solving

Of a scholary published creative problem solving process - Research Paper Example Large corporations and small businesses can use creative problem-solving methods to re-think old approaches to production and build new approaches. The important aspect of creative problem-solving is that it encourages individuals to share their ideas with a workgroup, and that it recognizes the need of managers to facilitate this popularly in the office or work environment to foster change and improvement in operations. Without management trained in creative problem-solving and seeking to develop intra-office communication through knowledge-sharing, there is unlikely to be any new development or change in the way day-to- day operations in a business are conducted. From this and practical experience in the field, it is evident that creative problem-solving is most effective in business groups or industries which need to innovate to survive or have a competitive advantage over other similar businesses, for these situations require an awareness of the challenges of the industry placed continually to the forefront in order to keep vibrancy and dynamism in the workplace ongoing. In the first case study referenced, Vidal, Mulet, & Gomez-Senent (2004) discuss the â€Å"Effectiveness of the Means of Expression in Creative Problem-solving in Design Groups† based on this important need to challenge work groups to innovate and come up with new ideas for advertising-related careers. The first part of effective management is to knowing clearly the requirements of the job, and for a project manager in publishing or software development, this extends to knowing the requirements of every person’s job as well as communicating to the employees precisely what their responsibilities are in the workplace. However, the case has been made by industry insiders with years of practical management experience in advertising, media, and publishing, that creative campaign projects such as those found in design, magazine and television publishing require a unique management st rategy that is different from that of industrial activity or scientific research. Creative problem-solving approaches the ground of every business and communication problem as unique to the work environment and community engaged. Through this, the discipline can work with the management team and staff on premises to build an improved flow of communication that encourages workers in sharing ideas between each other in order to stimulate a more dynamic, creative process in the office. While it is easily understandable that disciplines such as design and publishing have their own unique need for creativity in the workforce, creative problem-solving as a management technique can be implemented in innumerable situations across all sectors of business and industry. The essential quality of creative problem-solving is that it frees up communication between individuals in channels that had not been previously open, welcome, or understood. In the example of the R. L. Reid study, â€Å"Creat ive Problem-solving Speeds Illinois Tollway Work† (2006), the management technique can even be put into effect in bridging the communication problems that separate workers from the public at large. The reason for this is that creative problem-solving as a management technique operates on the actual terms of the question or problem at hand,

Security Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Security - Assignment Example With these features, users of the 2014 MS SQL server will be able to form a database in an SQL Server operating in on-premises or in a computer-generated device in Windows Azure with a developing storage site the users’ information in Windows Azure Blob Storage. Evidently, each of these features work well in contrast to the former SQL Server by Microsoft (Natan, p. 74). 2. I can ensure that the DBMS operating in a consistent overall secure environment by first checking whether DBMS setting on which it is operating is at maximum capacity and output. Assuring optimal capacity enables me to store the file and its sensitivity degree in the database (Natan, p. 223). As a result, the DBMS makes sure that only authorized users can read or edit the file. Second, I can make the DBMS multi-level so that it can with similar authorization ranges. Afterwards, I can store the file at any location because it is presumed that the location can process the information that agree. Third, the DBMS is at multi-level, I can make it handle the authorization ranges differently. This way, the file stored at a given location can be authorized to read or edit the degree of the file (Natan, p. 223). 3. An example of how buffer overflows can make databases susceptible is a program composed in a language that tolerates or even facilitates buffer overflows (Natan, p. 24). Occasionally, such a program can depend on another program composed in a language that facilitates buffer overflows. Such a program will replicate information from a single stream on the stack to another without initially testing their sizes (Natan, p. 24). This program does not employ methods like canary values or non-applicable stacks to stop buffer overflows. At this point, is very possible that the database accommodating this program is susceptible to external intrusion. Programs regularly distribute memory

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Judith Jarvis Thomson's argument for limited abortion rights Essay

Judith Jarvis Thomson's argument for limited abortion rights - Essay Example Thomson takes issue with this assessment, arguing that a fetus cannot be equated with a born individual since the moment of conception, although she concedes that it is very difficult to exactly ascertain when a developing fetus deserves recognition as a human being. The other point she makes is that on what grounds would pro-lifers oppose abortion when the pregnancy was the result of a rape. Judith Thomson is essentially trying to differentiate between cases of pregnancies that result due to negligence or indifference of either of the partners, and those which arise due to crime. It is on such grounds that the author expects special rights be granted for pregnant women to choose. She also thinks that it is unfair for anti-abortionists to expect a woman to invest so much of her physical and mental resources on a child that she does not want in the first place. The pregnant woman also carries the risk of complications during childbirth, which in some cases could even cost her life. She argues that those who talk about rights of unborn babies should also consider the risk of life to the woman who is carrying the baby. Here too, Thomson asks for special concessions to be made for pregnant woman who fall under high-risk category, namely those who ha ve a history of complications, those who are physically weak or anemic, those who are too poor to take care of themselves, etc. Hence, the author is not in support of indiscriminate practice of abortion, but rather implores the readers to consider the vast gray areas in the issue and seeks a moderate approach from the lawmakers and the society at large. Judith Thomson’s viewpoint on the issue of abortion is not fully compatible with the unique cultural values of our nation’s culture. In its 240 year history, the majority of American people have been religious. The foremost among religions practiced in the country is Christianity, the doctrine of which

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

The Hear Fails without Warning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Hear Fails without Warning - Essay Example It is against this background that this paper provides a textual analysis of Hilary Mantels excerpt of The Heart Fails Without Warning. From the outlook, the author seeks to inform the reader about anorexia, an illness that one of the teenage girls suffer from and from the topic, which later has fatal implications on the wellbeing of the teenage girl. To ensure objectivity, the paper employs Nord’s text analysis model to underscore the text’s communicative function. In order to effectively explore this, it will examine both the extra textual as well as intra textual factors. The translation brief provides useful information about the author of the source text. In this respect, Hillary Mantel is an author of ‘The Hear fails Without Warning’, a story that is published in the Guardian Review Magazine of October, 2009. The aim of the author is to inform the audience about the environmental and social problems that this society is grappling with. Also worth ment ioning is the need by the author to highlight the health implications that the demeaning conditions have on the wellbeing of the inhabitants. From an individual point of view, the sender of the information is the editor of the Guardian Review magazine. This is suggestive in the topic of the magazine as well as in the information contained in the source takes. It can be presumed that the editor of the Guardian Review Magazine simply wants the important message to reach the target audience- parents and guardians. Notably, they are the most directly in contact with teenage girls and hence, knowledge about the challenges that teenagers face would probably be helpful. The relative information is directed at a diverse client base. To begin with, Mantel seeks to inform the local inhabitants about the deteriorating social conditions and what they can do to protect the vulnerable children from the resultant negative implications. Another group that the author wishes to reach to pertains to t he relevant policy and decision makers as well as law enforcement agencies. These are wide and varied including the government, the police and stakeholders in the health ministry. His main intention is to inform the abovementioned individuals about the situation on the ground. This is implied in the source text and specifically in the Journal type that the article is published in. In most cases, it can be agreed that the preceding audiences are the ones who mostly read the magazine. Undoubtedly, knowledge about this would enable them to take necessary action towards protecting the welfare of the affected individuals. Since it is published in The Guardian Review magazine, the author specifically wishes to reach out to all adults who are charged with the responsibility of taking care of the young children. Relative information would enable them understand the challenges that especially face the youth. The text was published in 2009 for the purpose of informing the audience about the c hallenges that this segment of the populations was grappling with at that particular period of time. However, the facts presented herein had lasting implications on both the intended target as well as the general audience. This is particularly so because the author addresses social and environmental concerns whose implications are pervasive. This is apparent when the author cites that the family shares a small house and a bedroom and school girls are raped

Judith Jarvis Thomson's argument for limited abortion rights Essay

Judith Jarvis Thomson's argument for limited abortion rights - Essay Example Thomson takes issue with this assessment, arguing that a fetus cannot be equated with a born individual since the moment of conception, although she concedes that it is very difficult to exactly ascertain when a developing fetus deserves recognition as a human being. The other point she makes is that on what grounds would pro-lifers oppose abortion when the pregnancy was the result of a rape. Judith Thomson is essentially trying to differentiate between cases of pregnancies that result due to negligence or indifference of either of the partners, and those which arise due to crime. It is on such grounds that the author expects special rights be granted for pregnant women to choose. She also thinks that it is unfair for anti-abortionists to expect a woman to invest so much of her physical and mental resources on a child that she does not want in the first place. The pregnant woman also carries the risk of complications during childbirth, which in some cases could even cost her life. She argues that those who talk about rights of unborn babies should also consider the risk of life to the woman who is carrying the baby. Here too, Thomson asks for special concessions to be made for pregnant woman who fall under high-risk category, namely those who ha ve a history of complications, those who are physically weak or anemic, those who are too poor to take care of themselves, etc. Hence, the author is not in support of indiscriminate practice of abortion, but rather implores the readers to consider the vast gray areas in the issue and seeks a moderate approach from the lawmakers and the society at large. Judith Thomson’s viewpoint on the issue of abortion is not fully compatible with the unique cultural values of our nation’s culture. In its 240 year history, the majority of American people have been religious. The foremost among religions practiced in the country is Christianity, the doctrine of which

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Planning a Party Essay Example for Free

Planning a Party Essay Planning a party takes time and requires focus. You want to make sure you get everything covered and don’t leave out any details. You need to find a location, possibly a public venue or even your own home. Will you have a theme or keep it casual? Not only is the location important but who will be your party guests? You want to know who will be attending and where so that you can make proper arrangements for food, beverages, party favors and decorations. Finding the proper location for a party can be tricky. You will need to make sure that the venue can hold enough people depending on the size of the party. Do your research online first and see what sort of businesses in your area offer space to rent. Will there be enough parking available? Is the date of your party available at the time and location you chose? These are all important questions to ask while planning. Don’t forget to make a reservation or schedule a walk through. You may find the perfect place to host your party and choose to change your date. It all depends on what you want and what details are important to you. Once you have decided on your party venue and what your theme will be, if you decide to have one, then it’s time to start making a list of who you will be inviting. Remember just because you invite someone it does not mean they will be attending. This is when it becomes a good time to add an R.S.V.P to your invitation so you can get a better idea of the number of people who will actually be attending. If your guests will be allowed to bring someone make sure you put that on the invitation as well. Date, time and the type of dress are also important to include. You may choose to send a paper invite through the mail or send your invite by email. When choosing your invitation you can get creative with your theme or keep it basic. Next you have the task of tackling the details, food, drinks, decorations and party favors. If you choose to have food at your party be sure to plan ahead. Keep in mind the number of guests expected to attend and the age group. Catering is always an option or you may choose to make food or snacks on your own. When selecting beverages you may want to select a few options so that your guests have choices. When selecting decorations recruit the help of a friend or two for an outside opinion and help setting up. If your party will be themed try and stick to your theme while decorating. Getting a list together of what you would like can save you time. Party favors can be a fun way to thank your guests for attending and give them something to remember your party. There are loads of ideas online that you can use to get creative. Once you have all your ideas and details in place then your party is ready to come to life. There are so many options out there that can make your party just what you want it to be. Just remember to stay calm; getting stressed or discouraged will not make the process any fun. If you need help with something don’t be afraid to ask a friend. There are so many choices to make and endless possibilities. Give yourself adequate time to prepare. When it comes time for the party try to have fun and enjoy what you have created. If your guests see that you are relaxed and enjoying yourself they will relax and have a good time.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Microteaching As A Tool For Training Teachers English Language Essay

Microteaching As A Tool For Training Teachers English Language Essay Microteaching (MT) originated in 1960s at the Stanford University as a tool for training of student teachers. Allen and Ryan (1969) who originally gave this idea had conceptualized MT as a real teaching, where the complexities of normal classroom in terms of class size, scope of content and time are all reduced. Further, it focuses on specific teaching tasks, allowing increased control of practice and greatly expanding the feedback dimensions of teaching. In essence, it meant viewing MT as a scaled down version of a real teaching scenario with less time, less content, less skills being put to use and less audience. The name of the technique seems to have originated from this concept of less. MT provides an opportunity to the teachers to give a small sample of their teaching, get feedback from peers and re-practice the skills as required. The focus is on improvement of individual or a cluster of skills, which could be covered within a short span of 5-7 minutes. Allen and Ryan (1969) listed 14 teaching skills, each of which could be individually or with other skills covered within the time available. Conceptually, it was a sound model, using the power of feedback to shape behavior. Implied in this was to view teacher training with a behavioristic approach i.e. trying to develop similar set of responses in all teachers under similar conditions. The originators of MT viewed it as an opportunity for safe practice of a cluster of teaching skills to make lessons more interesting, reinforce learning and be able to open and close lectures effectively. Immediate focused feedback and encouragement with opportunity to practice the suggested changes were considered essential components of MT protocol. A perusal at this philosophy brings out certain important points. The sessions are brief; are conducted in a safe and non-threatening environment; teaching is broken into smaller skills and tackled one at a time; encouragement is provided to reinforce the good points and immediate and focused feedback is provided. The most important of these- especially considering that we are dealing with grown up adults with a varied number of years of teaching experience- seems to be the provision of a safe and non-threatening environment. While the concept spread out to a number of pre-service teacher training institutions, there were certain changes in the methodology along the way. MT became a session where teaching was to be critiqued and the trainee teacher needed to repeat the sessions till perfection! Simultaneously, large and larger checklists were developed to capture almost every aspect of teaching behavior, taking away the very basic tenet of micro. A Google search of microteaching checklists generates a number of documents, some of them with over 60-70 points to be observed within a span of 5-7 minutes. Even the smaller checklists so often used in basic medical education workshops list the entire rage of teaching behaviors from lesson planning to closure. Such checklists may be alright for a feedback on teaching but are not suitable for MT as all the listed behaviors cannot be observed within the time available. For some reasons, MT was also seen as putting the teacher under a microscope so that all faults in his/her teaching can be brought out (Ananthakrishnan, 1993). Contrasted to the safe environment and encouragement originally conceptualized by Allen et al (1969), MT came to be seen as an exercise in fault finding. Using checklists during MT sessions has its own problems. In addition to the inappropriate length and content discussed above, it is presumed that there is the way to teach, which can be quantified and that all teachers can and should acquire this way. This situation is similar to the conflict that we have about use of atomized checklists of an OSCE and global ratings of a long case. While checklists may be appropriate during initial stages of training, they generally fail to capture the total, which is more than aggregation of individual skills (Norman et al, 1991). Given the difficulty of meaningfully observing a large number of trainees on a large checklist within a short span of time, use of technology was made. The technique was modified to include use of video recording of lectures so that the trainees and instructors could later go through the tapes in a more meaningful way. The use of video recordings became so much a part of the process that in some later definitions, this used to be included. Barnett(1991) for example, defined MT as method of teacher training in which simulated teaching sessions (often videotaped) are used to develop and analyze trainees specific teaching skills and behaviors. (Emphasis added) Developed countries may have been able to make use of technology as an additional input but for most others, it only seems to have alienated the teachers further. While many pre-service training programs continued to use it, its use for in-service training does not seem to be very encouraging. Most of the times, it is a session at basic education workshop but its use as a useful teacher improvement tool remains highly underutilized. While we do not have any data to this effect, it is unlikely that a large number of participants from these workshops ever use it back home. An interesting turn to this story came, when Allen and Wang (1996) themselves felt the dissatisfaction with the methodology, writing ..its complexity overwhelmed its effectiveness as a training device and its use declined over time. This resulted in a revamp of the system of microteaching to emphasize the basic tenets viz. providing a safe environment in which recognition and feedback help the teachers to improve their teaching skills. One of the driving forces behind this change was to make MT less dependent on technology, especially for use in resource poor settings. This method was extensively used in Namibia and China. It is pertinent to mention that the new model was specifically directed towards in-service training something with which we are struggling. The major change in the new model, which incidentally has been called 21st century microteaching (we will call it MT2), was the further scaling down of the teaching environment. Large number of teachers to be trained and less availability of technology seemed to prompt these modifications. However, as we shall see later, there was also an implicit shift from behavioristic to cognitivistic philosophy by taking away the pre-decided response from teachers and allowing them to reflect on their teaching behaviors. This is line with accepted models of teachers professional development (Clarke and Hollingsworth, 2002). This methodology has been extensively tested and has become a part of Chinas nationwide strategy for in-service teacher training. A number of other countries are also using this approach. Broadly, the MT2 consists of a small group of 4-5 teachers, rotating through the roles of a teacher and students. Elaborate scoring protocols have been done away with and replaced by a simple 2+2 evaluation protocol. In effect, it means that each student will provide 2 compliments and 2 suggestions to the presenter. At the end of the session, each presenter will thus have 8 compliments and 8 suggestions, presuming that there are 5 members in the group. Contrasted to the earlier version of MT, where a supervisor was considered essential, MT2 relies on the power of peer feedback, making the environment even less threatening. Presenters also find it convenient to organize the re-teach sessions depending on their time and convenience. The benefits of such an approach go beyond simple improvements in teaching skills. In the first place, it allows the teachers to reflect on the feedback (Anson et al, 2010). Reflective teaching has been found to be an important input in making teaching better. In addition, participation in such sessions seems to improve the self-efficacy beliefs of teachers (Mergler, 2010), which are considered a crucial input in determining the application of newly acquired skills. The process of reflection is stimulated by feedback- in this context, the quality of feedback becomes an important factor. A good method to use is the Pendletons framework (Pendleton et al, 1984). In essence, this consists of asking the presenter first about what he/she did well. The observers then discuss what went well, adding their comments. The presenter is then asked what went less well and what different he/she would do next time. Finally, the observers discuss what went less well and offer suggestions for improvement. As can be seen, this approach is strength oriented, focusing on what is done well, re-enforcing it and offering suggestions for improvement. The possibility of using the suggestions is high compared to the critique oriented deficit based model. Some people however, feel that presenters pay less attention to positive points as wait more for the negative points to come. Moreover, this approach categorizes comments as positive and negative. To overcome some of the issues with providing feedback as given above, some modifications have been tried (Millard, 2000). The presenter is first invited to say how he/she found the experience and whether s/he thinks that learning outcomes were achieved. The observers then take turns to say what they learnt and how they felt. They are encouraged to use I statements and tell only their observations rather than inferences (I think you did..) or advice (I think you should..). Finally the presenter has the chance to add any more comments but without justifying or being defensive. S/he can also invite advice if required. This allows learning from what actually happened rather than from hypothetical situations or from remembered experience. Beyond these simple easy to use steps, a number of add-ons are available depending on the availability of technology, resources, personnel and institutional support. Video recording and then viewing the tapes together seems to improve the outcome of the sessions (Brent et al, 1996). Using standardized students (on the lines of standardized patients) has been another modification, especially for improving teaching of clinical skills (Gelula and Yudkowsky, 2003). Standardized students can also be used for formal evaluation of teaching skills using objective structured teaching evaluation (OSTE, on the lines of OSCE) (Morrison et al, 2002). However, even without such interventions, MT2 seems to provide good opportunity to teachers and improves its acceptability. It can be seen that MT2 has the potential of better acceptability, ease of use and provides a much safer environment for teachers to improve their teaching skills. It does not use terms like criticism or putting the teacher under microscope. Rather, it uses the power of positive re-enforcement to promote reflections, develop self- efficacy beliefs of teachers and allow them to make changes in their teaching conceptions, each of which is considered crucial to professional development of teachers. Not that the earlier model was bad or wrong- but considering that in most of basic medical education workshops, we impress upon the participants to use adult learning principles in their teaching- it is desirable that we also treat the participants as adult learners. Rather than demanding a pre-decided pattern of responses from teachers, it would be worthwhile to provide them with feedback and allow them to reflect on this. Any change brought about this way is likely to be more long lasting and convincing. Strictly speaking, MT may not be called a technology but its adoption can very well be explained by technology adoption model (Davis, 1989). The likelihood of adoption of an innovation depends on two crucial factors viz. perceived usefulness (which has been built during the workshop sessions) and perceived ease of use (which relates to the ease of having a session back home). If participants do not find the innovation easy to use ( e.g. they have to get the Dean/ MEU coordinator, get photocopies of long documents, make a video recording etc.), then it is unlikely that it will be put into practice. MT can be compared to a situation where before going for a party in a new outfit, you ask your friend how am I looking and s/he tells you that the suit is perfect but the tie is looking a bit odd so why not change it with a different color. With this kind of interaction, you are likely to use this technique in future as well. However, if your friend takes out a checklist and starts criticizing your poor dress sense, then it is unlikely that you will ever ask it again.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

A Student According to Ted Kooser Essay -- poem analysis and review

Ted Kooser’s poem â€Å"Student† underlines how the life of a student truly is. As we were discussing our insights of the poem â€Å"Student† by Ted Kooser, Omar Mejia mentioned how he found a comparison with a turtle in the poem. I have imagined a baby turtle and their journey when is born and running trying to reach the sea. Imagine the life of a turtle that their life starts in the sand and after its journey to their future begins. Somehow I agree with this idea. As I imagined the complicate and hard life that a sea turtle must have I also recall how the life of a student could be as hard and complicate. Sometimes the life of a student can be complicated, busy, confusing, struggling, happy, sad, depressing, demanding and joyful and so on and so forth. The life of a student is a life full of responsibilities Kooser first mentions the best friend of a student â€Å"The green shell of his backpack†(Line 1). A backpack that will accompany the student during most of the studying time in which a student will carry their books, notes maybe a computer. As of me I have my backpack most of the time at s...

Saturday, October 12, 2019

The Scarlet Letter :: essays research papers

People judge others they encounter based upon their own values. These values are acquired through experiences in the home, school, at work, and with friends. A person is taught from their parents at a very young age what is right and wrong, but they may fail to realize that the values they are taught are filtered through the minds of those who teach. Therefore one is a product of their previous generation adding our his or her judgement to the values that we will pass on.Hawthorne judges the characters in The Scarlet Letter by using his own values. These values were drastically different from other Puritans. Instead of the stern, harsh values of the Puritans, Hawthorne sees life through the eyes of a Romantic. He judges each person accordingly, characterizing each person's sin as the pardonable sin of nature or the unpardonable sin of the human soul. One can infer, by the writing style, that Hawthorne is most forgiving to Hester. He writes about Hester with a feeling of compassion that the descriptions of the other characters lack. Hawthorne approves of Hetser's feeling, vitality, and thirst to overcome the iron shackles of binding society. He shows us that although Hester is not permitted to express her feelings verbally because of social persecution, there is no one that can restrain the thoughts of the human mind. Hawthorne, being a romantic and man of nature himself, can relate to the this. - If you were to look up the human mating characteristics in a science book you may surprise yourself. The human instinct is to have more than one partner not to stay loyal to one partner- In fact Hester is often contrasted with the Puritan laws and rules, especially when Hawthorne states: "The world's law was no law for her mind." (70) Roger Chillingworth's personality is one of intelligence and knowledge but no feeling. Hawthorne considers Roger Chilingworth's sin the worst in the book. In one of his journal entrees he labels it the "unpardonable sin." Hawthorne describes him as very cold and Puritan-like, an educated man that looked very scholarly. As stated here:There was a remarkable intelligence in his features, as a person who had so cultivated his mental part that it could not fail to mould to physical to itself, and become manifest by unmistakable tokens. (67)Hawthorne frequently refers to Chillingworth's genius and diction, but purposely fails to have Chillingworth show any slight sign of compassion.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Cyclical Political Theory Essay

Personally, I subscribe to the opinion that what we have in this world is a necessary connection between things. Technically, something can not come out of nothing. Actions are interrelated and whether we accept it or not, they overlap. Thus, I accept George Modelski’s position in his cyclical political theory. However for me, this principle is not only limited to only political events but all areas of life. In the case of World War I and World War II, I hold the position that both of them are not two separate political events. Why do I hold this claim? The truth is that if we look at both events critically, one would see that both wars are one and the same, only that it was fought in different locations and at different years. I provide the reasons for my position below. To begin with, the issues that surrounded the war are one and the same. The Germans wanted to dominate Europe and knew that to achieve this, they had to root out some other powerful nations like France, Britain, Russia and America. The German leaders also felt threatened by the expansion of Russia and wanted to root them out before they could overshadow the Germans. Furthermore, both of them were between colonial Lords. Apart from this, both wars was a scenario where the good guys are trying to stop the bad guys – the Allies being the good guys while Germany and their alliance being the bad guys. In both wars, we see elements of ideological propagation where one party wanted to feed their ideas to the other party. Summarily, I believe that the world war two was just a way of bringing what could have been brought to an end in World War I to an end. It involved the same set of people who were fight for the same cause and wanted to achieve the same results. Reference: †¢ Microsoft Encarta Dictionary 2008, â€Å"World War I†. †¢ Colby University Website, â€Å"German Responsibility for the Outbreak of the War† Retrieved August 5, 2008 from http://www. colby. edu/personal/r/rmscheck/GermanyC1. html †¢ Daniel Pipes, â€Å"Similarities in treason during World War II, the Cold War, and now† Retrieved from http://www. danielpipes. org/comments/11660 August 5

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Beowulf: Pagan Values Tied with Christianity

The poem titled Beowulf was composed sometime between the seventh and tenth century in a language that is known as Anglo-Saxon. It incorporates many pagan themes and concepts, yet it also contains many references to Christianity. Although paganism and Christianity can be seen as unalike, the two aspects are brought together by the poet in order to show the need for grouping. The pagan themes, such as fate or the common goal of fame and heroism, raise questions in the religious community that could be misleading or misinterpreted without the Christian insight provided in the text.As a result, it is clear that this combination of pagan concepts and Christianity shown in Beowulf is for a Christian audience. In order to enhance the value of the poem Beowulf, the author reconciles pagan concepts such as fame, vengeance, and fate with Christianity. The pagan concepts play key parts in the storyline and are related to the components of Christianity in the poem. One of the pagan concepts dep icted in Beowulf is fame. Other ancient texts, such as The Odyssey and The Iliad, show warriors who venture out far from home to accomplish heroic tasks and build fame.The poem shows Beowulf and other characters in the story to have the same urge. Beowulf is shown early in the story as â€Å"the mightiest man on earth, high-born and powerful† (p. 15). The concept of fame is very important to him and to his people. After hearing of Grendel and his strength, Beowulf declares â€Å"to heighten Hygelac’s fame and gladden his heart, I hereby renounce sword†¦: hand to hand is how it will be, a life-and-death fight with the fiend† (p. 31). He wants to maximize not only his own fame but the fame of his king.He will fight Grendel equally matched and â€Å"perform to the uttermost what your people wanted or perish in the attempt, in the fiend’s clutches† (p. 43). The pagan concept of fame is accomplished when Beowulf defeats Grendel and gives the arm of the creature to Hrothgar. Beowulf has proven his skills and strength by ridding the land of Grendel and Hrothgar praises him by stating, â€Å"You have made yourself immortal by your glorious actions† (p. 63). Although the idea of fame at this time conflicts with certain notions of Christianity, the author reconciles the two by adding many references to God with the achievement of fame.The author is able to attribute both Christian concepts and heroism to God through the dialogue of Hrothgar. When Hrothgar arrives in the mead-hall the morning after the slaying, he first thanks God by saying, â€Å"let the Almighty Father be thanked†¦the Heavenly Shepard can work His wonders always†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 63). He praises Beowulf and states that the killing of Grendel was accomplished â€Å"with the Lord’s assistance† (p. 63). Another example of the ties between God and fame is when Hrothgar gives his speech to Beowulf over the dangers of power. He tells the stor y of Heremod, a king who eventually loses everything due to selfishness, to Beowulf. Almighty God had made him eminent and powerful and marked him from the start for a happy life†¦ a change happened, gave no more rings to honour the Danes†¦ he suffered in the end†¦his life lost happiness† (p. 119). The story shows that God is the true beholder of power and when man strays from Him, or lives a life of no values, He has the power to take away happiness and power. The only way to live on earth is through the grace of God. Consequently, the pagan concept of fame ties back to God and is reconciled to Christianity. Another concept of paganism found in the poem is the concept of vengeance.The first sign of vengeance comes clear when Grendel’s mother becomes aware of Grendel’s death. She is infuriated and â€Å"desperate for revenge† (p. 89). She had no interest in the Danes or Geats until the death of her son. She goes to the mead-hall, kills Aesch ere, and takes back Grendel’s remaining corpse. This anger and desire to avenge Grendel’s death also leads to her eventual death when Beowulf meets her at the mere and kills her with the mystical sword. After killing Grendel’s mother and resurfacing to land, Beowulf tells his men, â€Å"if God had not helped me, the outcome would have been quick and fatal† (p. 15). The author seems to imply that latching onto anger and vengeance leads to the destruction of oneself. It can also be interpreted that Beowulf was aided by God to destroy Grendel’s mother due to her fixed desire to wreak havoc and revenge on the mead-hall. This can be seen as the authors attempt to reconcile vengeance with Christianity. Another example of vengeance can be seen when Grendel’s mother kills Aeschere and Hrothgar mourns over his death. Beowulf tries to console Hrothgar by saying, â€Å"Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning. † (p. 97).This shows the importance of avenging the death of one’s comrade or friend to Beowulf and also the contrast between vengeance and Christian belief. After Beowulf finishes his boast, Hrothgar â€Å"sprang to his feet and praised God for Beowulf’s pledge† (p. 97) This is another attempt by the poet to reconcile the pagan concept of vengeance with Christianity. The desire to seek vengeance is discouraged through Christianity, and in the case of Grendel’s mother, can result in the destruction of oneself. Although, the question rises as to why Beowulf wasn’t corrected for seeking vengeance on Grendel’s mother.This is where a third pagan concept is seen in Beowulf; the pagan concept of fate. The pagan concept of fate in Beowulf is mentioned in association with good and bad fortune. For example, when explaining Hygelac’s death, the author states â€Å"fate swept him away because of his proud need to provoke a feud with the Frisians† (p. 85). The use of fate in this context refers to bad fortune due to Hygelac’s desire to stir up a confrontation with the Frisians. At an earlier point in the story, Beowulf tells Hrothgar, â€Å"no need to lament for long or lay out my body: if the battle takes me†¦Fate goes ever as fate must! (p. 31). Here Beowulf leaves the decision to fate, which is a concept of paganism, but there is no mention of fate being controlled by God. This is in direct conflict with Christianity and the author is does associate fate with Christianity in other portions of the text. For example, when Beowulf is declaring his formal boast to kill Grendel, he states, â€Å"And may the Divine Lord in His wisdom grant the glory of victory to whichever side He sees fit† (p. 47). This example shows Beowulf’s demonstration of his Christian beliefs and acknowledgement that it is ultimately up to God who will win the fight.After the fight with Grendel’s mother, Beowulf makes another declaration of fate when he states â€Å"it was hard-fought, a desperate affair that could have gone badly; if God had not helped me, the outcome would have been quick and fatal† (p. 115). Beowulf surrenders himself to God and is fully aware that his fate was left to God’s will. Beowulf once again shows his belief in not only the pagan concept of fate but in God as well. Therefore, the author has successfully reconciled fate with Christianity. In order to enhance the value of the poem Beowulf, the author reconciles pagan concepts such as fame, vengeance, and fate with Christianity.These concepts are seen all throughout the poem and act as representation for the relationship between pagan concepts and Christianity. Although in some areas the two aspects of Anglo-Saxon life can be seen in conflict, as in the pagan concept of vengeance, the two seem to be interrelated. Although Beowulf is an epic narrative, it is full of Christian elements t hat show the beliefs of Christians today venture back in time to as early as the seventh century. Christian customs, such as man believing in God and the presence of good in the world, make this pagan story into what is now believed to be a primary Christian story amongst many.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

History of Comesa Essay

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa traces its genesis to the mid 1960s. The idea of regional economic co-operation received considerable impetus from the buoyant and optimistic mood thatcharacterised the post-independence period in most of Africa. The mood then was one of pan-African solidarity and collective self-reliance born ofa shared destiny. It was under these circumstances that, in 1965,the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) convened a ministerial meeting ofthe then newly independent states of Eastern and Southern Africa to consider proposals for the establishment of a mechanismfor the promotion of sub-regionaleconomic integration. The meeting, which was held in Lusaka, Zambia, recommended the creation of an Economic Community of Eastern and Central African states. An Interim Council of Ministers, assisted by an Interim Economic Committee of officials, was subsequently set up to negotiate the treaty and initiate programmes on economic co-operation, pending the completion of negotiations on thetreaty. In 1978, at a meeting of Ministers of Trade, Finance and Planning in Lusaka, the creation of a sub-regional economic community was recommended, beginning with a sub-regional preferential trade area which would be gradually upgraded over a ten-year period to a common market until the community had been established. To this end, the meeting adopted the â€Å"Lusaka Declaration of Intent and Commitment to the Establishment of a Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern Africa† (PTA) and created an Inter-governmental Negotiating Team on the Treaty for the establishment of the PTA. The meeting also agreed on an indicative time-table for the work of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Team. After the preparatory work had been completed a meeting of Heads of State and Government was convened in Lusaka on 21st December 1981 at which the Treaty establishing the PTA was signed. The Treaty came into forceon 30th September 1982 after it had been ratified by more than seven signatory states as provided for in Article 50 of the Treaty. The PTA was established to take advantage of a larger market size, to share the region’s common heritage and destiny and to allow greater social and economic co-operation, with the ultimate objective being to create an economic community. The PTA Treaty envisaged its transformation into a Common Market and, in conformity with this, the Treaty establishing the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, COMESA, was signed on 5th November 1993 in Kampala, Uganda and was ratifieda year later in Lilongwe, Malawi on8th December 1994. It is important to underline the fact that the establishment of PTA,and its transformation into COMESA, was in conformity with the objectives of the Lagos Plan ofAction (LPA) and the Final Act of Lagos (FAL) of the Organisation ofAfrican Unity (Organisation of African unity). Both the LPA and the FAL envisaged an evolutionaryprocess in the economic integration of the continent in which regional economic communities would constitute building blocks upon which the creation of an African Economic Community (AEC) would ultimately be erected.

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Expectancy theory of motivation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Expectancy theory of motivation - Essay Example According to Williams (2010) valence, as a component of the expectancy theory of motivation, has another implication: the valence related to a particular task can be considered by an individual as important but for another individuals may be considered as of no particular value (Williams 2010, p.507). This means that the effectiveness of valence, as a component of the expectancy theory of motivation is not standardized. Montana & Charnov (2008) note that in the first phase of expectancy theory of motivation an individual need to be pursued that he will be able to perform a particular task (p.248); b) expectancy reflects the relationship between performance and expected outcomes; this means that if the rewards related to a particular task are important then it is quite possible for an individual to be motivated in order to perform the above task (Williams 2010, p.507). Griffin & Moorhead (2011) describe this component of the expectancy theory of motivation as the ‘performance -t o - outcome expectancy’ (Griffin & Moorhead 2011, p.104); c) the last component of the expectancy theory of motivation is instrumentality which shows ‘the preference of an individual for the rewards related to a particular task’ (Montana & Charnov 2008, p.248). In the context of the expectancy theory of motivation, instrumentality reveals the willingness of an individual to perform higher in order to get more rewards (Williams 2010, p.507). In any case, the expectancy theory promotes the idea that motivation can be high only if ‘all three components are high’ (William 2010, p.507). This means that if one of the components is low, then motivation cannot be high even if the other two components are high. The company in the given scenario could use the expectancy theory of motivation in order to enhance its employees’ motivation. According to the scenario, the employees of supervisor A are

Monday, October 7, 2019

A critical comparison of texts Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A critical comparison of texts - Term Paper Example Most of the Chuan qi stories involved some aspect of the supernatural, and often involved humans interacting with supernatural creatures and spirits. The Chuan qi genre is only one of the five forms of fictional Chinese literature, and has four thematic story groups within it, those being historical stories, supernatural stories, stories of knighthood and errantry, and love stories. The love stories of the genre deal with the acts of keeping faith and breaking faith. A creature of another realm could attain human form and gain its liberty by keeping faith with a human; likewise, a human who broke faith with a spirit entity could take on bestial habits and become beasts themselves. The idea behind the two was that one could not happen without the other; there was an even exchange that took place, and as long each participant offered something essential, no retribution took place. But, if one party broke the equation or the exchange, the situation became serious. The moral being that a balance was always to be maintained.1 (Pg.518). T’ang writers brought about the Chuan qi style at a time when the neoclassical movement in prose created a steady foundation for story narration. T’ang subject matter and literary material was taken from the rich, invigorating, cultural livelihood of the big city. Writers of the Chuan qi stories were mostly well-educated men who gathered in the capital city trying to make a name for themselves through either fame or through political advancement. While the Chuan qi genre of story telling often employs elements of the supernatural, the writers tried to tell interesting stories that were straight forward, and devoid of flowery poetic language. Supernatural events occur alongside human interaction, instead of replacing it, and city workers and dwellers are depicted in their everyday lives. Chuan qi stories can be described as tales of the marvelous, and are usually written in the classical

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Leadership and governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Leadership and governance - Essay Example Since the leaders tend to build a group of followers as they set their ideologies, the paper also looks at the characteristics of followers and what their role should be in ensuring that they participate in the organizations’ governance and aide in the achievement of the set goals. The actions of the leaders in governing the organization will mean the difference between the success and the failure of the organization. Due to this fact, the characteristics of good leaders and the management skills that should be applied in governance have been addressed in the paper. The roles f different people in an organization have been discussed in the paper. Among those include the role of executives, managers and other leaders in the organizations. Some of their roles overlap like overseeing the general performance of the organization. Their different roles will therefore be explained in details and what is expected from them both by their subordinates and the organization. Leaders have the responsibility to ensure that an organization succeeds in achieving oits set goals and follow the plans that have been put underway. This paper addresses the relationship between leadership and governance and the roles of different people in an organization in trying to achieve the goals set by the organization. The people in leadership positions have more than a responsibility to lead the organization. They are the role models who set the pace for all the other workers in the organization and help to show them the vision of the organization and strategies that should be used to actualize the vision. This is done by practicing good governance and setting up plans and strategies that can be actualized. The leaders have the role of uniting and motivating the workers in an organization. If they fail in this fundamental role then that could mean the failure of the whole organization in

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Project Management Processes in Organizations-Phase 4 Discussion Board Essay

Project Management Processes in Organizations-Phase 4 Discussion Board - Essay Example Whether or not this project provided value to the business was not given much thought by the project managers. However, because of spread of IT and globalization, the competition for business has increased rapidly and the businesses have become very vulnerable now. A product may be successful one day and the next day, it might be a failure. Therefore, the businesses may only survive if they convince their customers that they are providing value to their customer by dealing with social, ethical and business issues effectively. (Ashley Johnson-McGlashan) It is the job of project managers to ensure that their project’s objectives are aligned with the long term goals of the organization. Otherwise, both will get affected negatively. The company I used to work for manufactured clothes. It was known to be socially responsible in all their operations and this gave the company a competitive advantage by making its brand image superior to their competitor’s. The customer base of the business was expanding rapidly and the company needed to expand itself. A project was proposed in which it was suggested that the labor intensive factories must be made completely automated. This would make the production process cost efficient and would save a lot of time. The project involved a large scale change in the production method of factory and this meant making the employees that were no longer required redundant. The company executives were not informed about this aspect of the project because the project team knew that the company would not agree to it and hence would not support the project. The company executives approved of the project without giving much thought to dismissal of their employees. The project was ini tiated as soon as it was approved. The start up cost of the project was very high therefore, in order to save costs; the project team dismissed 60 percent of the factory staff without arranging a compensation of any sort. These employees went on