Frankenstein and Dorian Gray Essay Example

Frankenstein and Dorian Gray Paper The nineteenth century was a time of fantastic development and change, both scientifically and psychologically, which would have placed a dramatic effect on the writing of Mary Shelley and Oscar Wilde. The new science suggested that we do not know the universe, that what we know suggests a struggle, and that human beings take part in that struggle because their minds are clouded by unconscious motivations. In a period when the distinctions between the disciplines were less rigid, especially in science art and philosophy; science was considered to hold the key to social progress. Incredible discoveries were occurring; in 1802 Galvani showed that running a current through a frog produces a twitch-endanger life, and in 1803, Aldani attached a battery to the corpse of a criminal which led to it moving and one of its eyes moving. These breakthroughs would have inspired Shelley enormously. Shelley was brought up by wealthy, middle-class parents and had a respectable, almost idyllic childhood. Her father, William Godwin was both a philosopher and a novelist. He had a passion for science and Marys childhood was dominated by her love to roam around her fathers extensive library. Shelley wanted to speak of the mysterious fears of our nature and awaken thrilling horror, and so created a gothic novel. Mary Shelley was influenced by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), a poet and critic, who deemed it important to address scientific issues in his work. Shelleys biggest inspiration was her husband, Percy Shelley, who had an intensive excitement for nature, the supernatural and science, all themes that vividly run through Frankenstein. He was interested in live matter emerging from dead matter. We will write a custom essay sample on Frankenstein and Dorian Gray specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Frankenstein and Dorian Gray specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Frankenstein and Dorian Gray specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Critic Mario Praz expresses that All Mrs Shelley did was to provide a passive reflection of some of the wild fantasies which, as it were, hung in the air about her. Oscar Wilde, the author of The Picture of Dorian Gray, was mainly influenced by the psychological development in the nineteenth century. Until the 1880s, psychology was widely regarded as a branch of philosophy, before it developed as an independent scientific discipline. Psychology borders on various other fields including neuroscience and artificial intelligence; factors of which Mary Shelley also bases her writing upon. The progress of psychology, and most prominently Sigmund Freuds psychoanalysis would have been a huge influence on Wildes writing. Oscar Wildes tutor, Reverend JP Mahaffy, was a huge inspiration to him, along with his parents who were noted authors. The imprisonment of Wilde had a huge affect on his writing and could possibly have led him to develop the sinister character of Dorian Gray. Victor Frankenstein could be described as too impatient, ambitious and self-centred to accept the slow pace of science and evolution, which could explain his despair before the creation of the monster. By using chemicals to put together his creature, he short-circuits the natural cycle required for the creation of new life, and the result of his experiment is, in effect, an evolutionary step backwards. The Modern Prometheus, as Frankenstein is sometimes referred, originates from the Latin Prometheus, who makes an unnatural man from clay and water to directly repel against the laws of nature. The figure of Prometheus was the subject of a poem published by Lord Byron in 1816 who explored and harnessed the secrets of nature. Shelley immensely uses the theme of Prometheus throughout Frankenstein, and Victors creation of the monster is almost identical to that. These two aspects of the Prometheus story, creation and transgression, complicate the image of the scientist represented by Victor Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein could be compared with Dr Faustus, a man who desires to know the secrets of the universe, and sells his soul to Satan. He becomes power-hungry but does not know how to handle the power. The Faust legend raises the question of eternal damnation due to the unpardonable sin of despair. Victor relinquishes his family for the pursuit of secret knowledge, and, working in isolation, creates a creature that he abandons. This can also be compared to Oscar Wildes Dorian Gray. Wilde was very familiar with the Faust legend through popular culture and so incorporated its themes into his writing. Lord Henry can be associated with the devil, or at least the devils advocate, and Dorian Gray the innocent, unwitting, insecure boy who has his flaws manipulated by Lord Henry. He persuades nai ve Dorian, to exchange his soul for eternal youth which in turn leads him to become greedy and out of control. Mary Shelley was reading the book Emile previous to writing Frankenstein. The novel argues that mans nature is harmless, but is made evil by societys perception. The monster, although visually distorted and horrendous, was not born a bad person. A parents, or creators job is to support and care for their creation, which Victor failed to do. Inspiration for this storyline may have originated from Marys home life. Both Percys and her father simultaneously disowned them for falling in love with one another, similar to Victor and the monster, on their departure she began to write Frankenstein. The theme of the monster in man is very apparent in both Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray. In Shelleys novel, the monster is used as a symbol for our own inner ugliness. Although it appears to be the cause of fear and prejudice, it could stand for a hideous and violent reaction to something unknown and different. This is similarly obvious in Wildes Dorian Gray, as Dorian is an envied, beautiful man, but on discovery that he will one day lose his assets and look different, his personality significantly alters and he transforms into a monster. Another theme that is present in both novels is that of discovery. Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein and the monster all begin by expressing their desires to discover. The monster has humble aims to discover motives, but the others have lofty ambitions and are prepared to sacrifice human relationships to fulfil them. Dorian Grays only motive is to sustain his youth, but by doing this embarks on an incredible journey which enables him to discover himself, and release the monstrous characteristics he possess inside him.

Meniscus Definition and Examples (Science)

Meniscus Definition and Examples (Science) A meniscus is a phase boundary that has been curved because of  surface tension.  In the case of water and most  liquids, the meniscus is concave. Mercury produces a convex meniscus. Meniscus in Chemistry A concave meniscus forms when the liquid molecules are more attracted to the container via adhesion than to each other via cohesion. A convex meniscus occurs when the liquid particles are more attracted to each other than to the walls of the container. Measure the meniscus at eye level from the center of the meniscus. For a concave meniscus, this it the lowest point or bottom of the meniscus. For a convex meniscus, this is the uppermost or top point of the liquid. A meniscus is seen between the air and water in a glass of water. The water is seen to curve up the edge of the glass. Meniscus in Physics In physics, the term meniscus can either apply to the boundary between a liquid and its container or to a type of lens used in optics. A meniscus lens is a convex-concave lens in which one face curves outward, while the other face curves inward. The outward curve is greater than the inward curve, the lens acts as a magnifier and has a positive focal length. Meniscus in Anatomy In anatomy and medicine, a meniscus is a crescents in humans are found in the wrist, knee, temporomandibular, and sternoclavicular joints. In contrast, an articular disk is a structure that completely divides a joint cavity.

Radio Frequency Identification Tags Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Radio Frequency Identification Tags - Essay Example They proved that the once-thought virus-safe RFID tags are prone to virus attack even if the memory seems too small to contain all the information needed by the virus to ruin the technology. This research is a call for the RFID designers to take extra care in engineering the chips' code. Since the databases vary about their built in security, the designers should focus on the details of the lines of source code which numbers up to millions. Around 6 to 16 mistakes out of a thousand lines of code mean less security and vulnerability to virus attack. This is important because RFID tags have promising uses in industries such as groceries and airports, wherein important information are all stored in databases. The uses include tracking and inventories, storage of information about personal and financial matters, and property monitoring. Interference of the RFID tags using the viruses does not affect only the system, but the larger scale of the industries concerned. False tags can be used on an item to deliver a virus in a properly working system. This virus can then replicate its illegal code on the databases and corrupt the files. (Kirk, 2006). Privacy of information stored in RFID tags should start at the design and engineering stage. The RFID tags must be designed in such a way that it holds the minimum amount of information possible, without compromising its function and performance. Manufacturers must find a way to decrease the linkability of the tags with confidential data (Cavoukian, 2006). Since RFID tags carry important information, it is very usefule not only in identification but for access into different databases as well. The Senate of the California State had passed a legislation which bans RFID tags in government transactions and documentations. Integration of RFID in any form of identification card, license, and document issued by the state. This prohibition is applicable also in the use of RFID by the employees for security access. (Hook, 2005). The University of Amsterdam's Faculty of Science created a website called the RFID Guardian. The site aims to help RFID users secure their privacy. The website, www.rfidguardian.org, offers a free video about the function of RFID Guardian and how its system works (Faculty of Science). Data and identity theft The RFID tag user should be responsible for the information covered by his tag. He should definitely be in control of the information his RFID tag carries. The same goes for institutions and organizations. They, therefore, should allot resources for training their employees so that the organization as a whole would be able to comply with privacy and security guidelines. They should limit the use of RFID in the disclosure of information by assessing their files and classifying them according to their relevance and confidentiality. Data including those of personal and confidential nature, and those data containing dispersible information, should be updated and accurate. This could prevent subsequent transfer of information using RFID tags from one system to another, which makes the information vulnerable to illegal attacks. There should also be consent from an individual concerned whether or not certain information about him can be disclosed from his RFID tag (Cavoukian, 2006). Due to the important data stored in RFID tags, the technology attracts unauthorized individuals to invade somebody else's privacy. These illegally involved people can

Managing the marketing process of Jims Cleaning Essay

Managing the marketing process of Jims Cleaning - Essay Example According to the study conducted an organisation orientation consists of production, product, selling, and marketing. If these four segments are not available, an organisation does not exist. Therefore, the marketing process is managed by the top marketing professionals. The top marketing professionals manage the marketing process by analyzing the market trends and market structure, absorbing the opportunities from the environment, developing the effective strategies, planning, implementing and controlling the marketing strategies and functions, and finally measuring the business efficacy to evaluate on how well the marketing process is managed by the top marketers. Jim’s Cleaning is the leading organisation that has been used in this assignment for analyzing its business effectiveness, marketing approaches, marketing strategies, and its business and market metric in which it operates. The effectiveness of the business can be measured by evaluating the performance of an organi sation. The effectiveness of business is measured in terms of business profitability and business performance increased or decreased due to marketing activities. Marketing mix and customers are the two tools that must be accurately managed by the top marketers for managing and aligning the marketing activities together to achieve productive results. Marketing activities need to be according to the market segment and also according to the lifestyles of the market segment. A marketer must ensure that the goods and services must be available to the customers and a clear message should be communicated to them. Jim’s Cleaning is a well known company in Australia that has a numbers of franchises in various countries. It is regarded as the most profitable company that provides wide range of cleaning services to customers (Jim’s Cleaning Group). Following are some of the significant tools that measure the business effectiveness of Jim’s Cleaning. Managing 7 P’s t hrough 4 C’s for Business Profitability It is commonly known that marketing is a game and there are 7 P’s of marketing; product, price, placement, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence. These 7 P’s are the tools that are needed for playing the game between the buyers and the sellers. Customers need to be catered in terms of all marketing aspects so that they prove to be highly profitable for the business. Buyers and sellers exchange values for satisfaction that results in profitability. Product, price, placement, and promotion are the traditional P’s used for goods, whereas, people, process, and physical evidence are the extensions used for services. If these 7 P’s are properly managed by the marketers through the use of 4 C’s, it means an organisation is working and managing the marketing activities effectively that results in the increased profitability, growth, and market value of an organisation. Customer Solution: Customer s olution is related with the first P that is product. The top marketers search for the problem of the customers, identifies the problem, create solutions (goods or services) for the solving the problem, communicate the message to the customers about the goods or services, and finally delivers the value to the customers for satisfying their needs (Armstrong and Kotler, 82). Jim’s Cleaning provides cleaning solutions for homes and offices. It provides wide ra

Half the Sky Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Half the Sky Movement - Essay Example Breakthrough is an organization that is committed to deal with violence against women in the society. The organization defines sexual violence as all acts ranging from assault from partners, early marriages, â€Å"honor† killings and rape. Sexual Violence is viewed as a violation of human rights to a safe environment. It is seen as an issue that causes women to be insecure while living on earth. The organization views sexual violence as an act that keeps women from contributing fully to the economy of the community. The organization states that the key reason as to why women are faced with such traumatizing issues is simply because they are women. They are seen as less of a value compared to men. Research also shows that the level of education in women is less than that in women and thus, the gender difference. Thus, the organization states that the only way in which women can stop sexual abuse is self-empowerment. Women should equip themselves with education and skills such t hat; the community will realize that they are of value to the economy. This way, they will be able to earn respect from members of the opposite sex and be able to reduce cases of sexual violence.Equality Now is an organization that is based in New York which mainly deals with social issues affecting the lives of women. The organization also has a branch in Kenya that mainly targets at helping women who suffer from gender-based issues in Africa. Equality Now classifies a number of practices as sexual violence.... The organization defines sexual violence as all acts ranging from assault from partners, early marriages, â€Å"honor† killings and rape. Sexual Violence is viewed as a violation of human rights to a safe environment. It is seen as an issue that causes women to be insecure while living on earth. The organization views sexual violence as an act that keeps women form contributing fully to the economy of the community. The organization states that the key reason as to why women are faced with such traumatizing issues is simply because they are women. They are seen as less of a value compared to men. Research also shows that the level of education in women is less than that in women and thus, the gender difference (CIA, 2012). Thus, the organization states that the only way in which women can stop sexual abuse is self-empowerment. Women should equip themselves with education and skills such that; the community will realize that they are of value to the economy. This way, they will be able to earn respect from members of the opposite sex and be able to reduce cases of sexual violence (Breakthrough Organization, 1). Equality Now is an organization that is based in New York which mainly deals with social issues affecting the lives of women. The organization also has a branch in Kenya that mainly targets at helping women who suffer from gender based issues in Africa. Equality Now, classifies a number of practices as sexual violence. For instance, gang raping, sexual assault, child marriages and bride kidnapping. The organization views sexual violence as being a result of inequality in women. Therefore, the organization mainly works to end such acts through promotion of equality among women. According to the organization, equality between

Harley Davidsons Process Of Change

Harley Davidsons Process Of Change Harley Davidson celebrates their 107 years anniversary this year. In their long journey, they have faced many bumps. One of the biggest challenges was in 1980s where Japanese motor cycle company joins the competition in United States. It gaves a huge impact to Harley. The Harley almost becomes history that day. Until some important person came and initiated change of every single aspect.. Rich Teerlink and Lee Ozley were two of the key person behind the change. Rich Teerlink was CEO of Harley Davidson, Inc and Lee Ozley was consultant for the company. In the year 2000, they wrote a book called More than a motorcycle: the leadership journey at Harley. The book tells stories about more than 12 years journey of change. How they analyze the problems, failure they made, challenge to change, until they succeed in changing Harley Davidson become better company. In this research paper, the authors try to see their journey from knowledge management perspective. The authors will draw importan t components that could affect implementation of knowledge management initiative. Leadership, business process, organizational structure, lifelong learning, culture and employee participation, are some components that lead successfulness of Harley Davidson s journey. Keywords: Knowledge Management, Leadership Introduction On the edge of bankruptcy, Harley was acquired by American Machine and Foundry (AMF) in1969, but still not revolving well until 1980. Worse is that the independence of Harley, Inc. put Harley people from honeymoon to hard times because of capital deficit. The arrival of crisis in the early 1980s, when many of Harleys employees lost their jobs or opportunities for career advancement, turned into a driving force of adopting the traditional command-and control hierarchies to remove the crunch. It seemed safe and steady after the crisis, nevertheless, the tree leaders, Rich, Tom Gelb, vice president of manufacturing, and John Campbell, vice president of human resources, started to take into account the survival and prosperity of the company in the long run. Decisive, top-down leadership style no longer could afford the future with limited effectiveness and durability. Commitment, rather than compliance, together with appropriate leadership were put on the agenda in view of Employee involvement (EI). This revolution started with information flow for knowledge sharing within the organization, supported by strategy thrust in stair-step. Leadership played a vital role in articulating a vision of collaboration during the whole business process while emphasis on human capital through awareness expansion, commitment extension and two-way communication helped building the life-long learning culture of the company. Best Practices originated from the Operational Committee the behavior model, also contributed to one of the core advantages of Harleyworld class system. Preparation of Journey Getting There from Here Strategic thrust (Figure 1) for change rises from comparison between where we are today and vision of ideal future with power derives from the stair-step idea (Figure 2), which stimulated the forward information flow in that a shared vision help people on the stair to tolerate the near-term unknowns. Making Change Popular The conceptual framework (Teerlink, 2000) Lee outlined was based on the mathematics of change, providing an approach to making change welcome. Change = (E*M*P) > Resistance E=Engagement, M=Model, P=Process The need to do things differently drives peoples engagement.(E) The Vision of ideal future provides a clear goal with the proper model giving the reality-transformation.(M) Approaches to make change welcome ,stepping toward the clear goal.(P) Structure for Information Flow With the fact that Harley could not afford another three years of only incremental change, management team agreed to adopt the one-year contract that afterwards proved to be beneficial for both the union and management to take the risk. Demanding for establishing the appropriate relationship among the unions, between the union and the company together with feedbacks from the stakeholder, customer, shop floor worker along the tree dimensions: quality, financial performance, interpersonal relations turned into the catalyst of producing the Joint Vision Process. The information flow unfold the process by combining the two perspectives from both union and nonunion together, with negative and positive pressures, limited time but also stimulus to the process, brought by the one-year contract. Joint Vision Process Joint Vision Process (Figure 3) was the first step in the journey. The purpose is to jointly create the company s vision between the Union and Management. Individuals from the two groups formed their own perspectives toward vision for the company and the union-management relationship which then combined into a joint vision. In producing a final Joint Vision, a three-day session called the May Big One was held at the Ramada Inn in May 1988. There is one and only rule that nothing would be included in the final vision statement that wasnt the product of complete consensus. This rewarding process carried out through a continuing dialogue, with participants showing a sense of personal ownership in company matters, enabled this switch, rather than change from Point A (my ideas) to point B(my companys ideas) through a series of steps (my institutions ideas, my sites ideas). The proxy is community since local and specific cannot be generally accepted. The conference committees, set up by ROI with members including the most senior managers and labor leaders from both union and nonunion, aimed to address apparent disagreement. What continued was the setup of the Joint Leadership Group, which was created as a network of temporary structures, composing union and management leaders, to help move the Joint Vision Process forward. And Local Site Committees, responsible for the identification of barriers had three guidelines to decide the work of problem solving, which are 1. Problems and issues would be dealt with by the people most directly affected and knowledgeable. 2. Only the top-level joint group could identify issues as off limits to the Joint Vision Process. 3. Any joint group could form task forces to do pieces of work within the charter of that joint group. Temporary governance structure (Figure 4) of the process was then seated to hunt down barriers, giving fairness to those people who have not yet been directly involved by reaching a numerical balance between unions and management. Modeling Appropriate Behaviors The Operational Committee was established by individuals reporting directly to members of the Executive Committee to make executives actions visible and support a culture of collaboration in the embryonic form of Best Practices, enabling combination of Tacit knowledge interaction from different levels. The two consultants, Bob and Lee, provided a series of recommendation after observing a number of committee meetings. They pointed out that one facilitator was needed in the committee to help train the members with the guidelines and ground rules, and those participants should contribute to the topic only at the meeting, and also third-party attributions had to be avoided. It is troublesome in the late period of identifying and addressing barriers to the Joint Vision and hundreds of barriers lead to the negotiation between the two sidesunion and management, ending with a new two-year labor agreement. The process went well from mid-1988 to early 1990, and then came the unavoidable suspension because of lacking comprehensive training of leaders from both the union and the management sides, following by the discussion based on six specific issues. Margaret Crawford, a member of one of the salaried groups, says that going right to the barriers was probably a mistake and that focusing on opportunities could be a better idea. Since it really takes time to build relationship, active steps should be taken to help people in the organization change. All in all, the Joint Vision Process was a painful process but it did give the right direction, setting the foundation of the whole journey. Leadership involved creating opportunities, Harleys Executive Committee moved forward to expand awareness of senior management of the two separate organizations, Harley and Holiday-Ramble, through activities mainly focus at debate stimulation, learning sharing and organizational cohesion, which was the first time that all top executives from both HDMC and HRC come together in a working session. The learning organization began among the groups with the following six objectives (Teerlink, 2000): Provide insights and concepts to assist senior management in leading their organizations more effectively Demonstrate continuous learning as a way of life Get better acquainted Exchange ideas and information Elicit ideas for the content and process of future sessions Have fun After an effective icebreakerthe Tinker Toy exercise in which the five-member teams comprising purposely mixed employees from HDMC and HRC, in team, design, build, and sell a Tinker toy, all participants came to the next activity, where no challenging ideas were provided by the groups toward the extreme thought given by the guest speaker James Brian Quinn. The participating managers had unexpected flat, one-dimensional reflect in spite that a high level of camaraderie was promoted through the enjoyable experiential learning in which people had energetic and positive responses to the skits. Rich was unsatisfied as peoples habits of getting the answers from on high lead no different new ways and the unawareness of Participation is an important element of Harleys long-term success and must be so recognized by the operating units. (Teerlink, 2000). And Lee compared the awareness expansion to a watershed event, saying that it broke the egg open a little. The Business Process Business process is defined as a structured, measured set of activities designed to produce a specific output for a particular customer or market. It implies a strong emphasis on how work is done within an organization, in contrast to a product focus s emphasis on what. A process is thus a specific ordering of work activities across time and space, with a beginning and an end, and clearly defined inputs and outputs: a structure for action. Taking a process approach implies adopting the customer s point of view. Processes are the structure by which an organization does what is necessary to produce value for its customers. (T. Davenport, 1993) As a brushfire of change, the Joint Vision Process received various feedbacks among different level of participants. Problems exist in both pace and process. Channeling energy released through the awareness expansion sessions, the Joint Vision Process, the beginning of organizational learning together with related initiatives called the need of structures. Business Process (Figure 5) is such a device that predated the Joint Vision Process, helping define much about the way Harley does business today. The distinction between Harleys previous improvement programs and the Business Process is that the latter automatically expand and extend the productive programs. Below are the three components of the Business Process: the corporate Umbrella, the operating unit, and the work unit (My Area) Corporate Umbrella In building the umbrella package of ideas including values, issues, and stakeholders, one-word signposts is agreed in the Executive Committee to summarize the following four areas: How will we behave in our interactions with others? (Values) What is truly important to Harley? (Issues) Whom does Harley serve? (Stakeholders) How will we describe success in the future? (Vision) (Teerlink, 2000) The values to determine our interactions with others are based on the short list presented by Dr. Alex Horniman, an ethics professor at the University of Virginia s Darden School, which are to tell the truth, to be fair, to keep your promises, to respect the individual. And to encourage intellectual curiosity was added as a fifth value by the Executive Committee. Five issues including Quality, Participation, Productivity, Flexibility, and Cash flow are focused by the group to determine what kind of company Harley was supposed to be. Stakeholders, whom the Executive Committee defined as anyone inside or outside the company who has an interaction with Harleys products, services, or representatives. comprise six parts: customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, government, and society. Shareholders were replaced by investors due to its restriction on unfolding all of those who backed Harley with money and other assets. The vision, including key ideas of the importance of relationshi ps, the imperative for action, and the international nature of the companys future markets, was defined together by all senior managers and was proved to be the driving force of the forwarding overwhelming business process. Two sentences captured the vision before 1994: Harley is an action-oriented, international companya leader in its commitment to continuously improve the quality of profitable relationships with stakeholders(customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, government and society). and Harley believes the key to success is to balance stake holders interests through the empowerment of all employees to focus on value-added activities. and then was changed to To be a leader in continuous improvement in mutually beneficial relationships with all our stakeholders. Operating Unit A three-year plan, as an attachment of a cover note Rich prepared for the December 1987 board of directors meeting, including a mission statement, operating philosophy, and selected strategies, was the foundation of the Business Process. The Executive Committee attached great importance to flexibility on the mission statement: Preserve and perpetuate the Harley institution through continuous improvement in the quality of our goods and services, and achievement of our financial goals, Provide motorcycles, accessories, and services to motorcycles in selected niches, provide the general public brand-identified products/services to enhance Harleys image and attract new customers (Teerlink, 2000). Engage in manufacturing or service ventures that can add value (not only profit) to the motorcycle business (1991) and We fulfill dreams through the experiences of motorcyclingby providing to motorcyclists and to the general public an expanding line of motorcycles, branded products, and services in selected market segments (February 1999) Objectives: How do we measure success? Operating units are guided in general terms by objectives which are traditionally stated in financial like develop the global market potential of 100,000 units by December 31, 1996, and develop the capacity to meet that demand while continuously improve quality. It is suggested by the Executive Committee that no more than five objectives should be adopted in each operating unit within Harley. Strategic plans, guiding operating units in specific terms, are based on a three to five year time horizon, compared with that of objectives, mostly a five to ten year time horizon at Harley and are changed corresponding to different objectives in various periods of time. Work Unit (My Area) The philosophy embedded in the mind of Harleys people is supposed to be doing the right thing naturally and organically but not in response to some external crisis, which can be enabled by tools for individuals and groups to operate independently, without continuous guidance from corporate, balancing local responsibility with the larger needs of functions, divisions, and departments. Three key points here: 1. A work unit, today operating as natural work group, would map out plans annually according to the stages of the annual operating plans. 2. An employee-driven Performance Effectiveness Plan (PEP) was developed for every employee to understand plans, in both strategic and operating level, and then to make personal plans correspondingly. 3. Inside the Two-way communication, managers act as knowers, to whom people provide their information and go for answers. Managing business process enables organizations to be more efficient, more effective and more capable of change than a functionally focused, traditional hierarchical management approach. In business process, knowledge is created and transferred throughout the organization by tools such as lessons learn database, best practices and community of practices. And since the transfer of business practices is viewed as a source of competitive advantage in knowledge management strategies (Alexandre P., 2007), business process provides Harley the platform to build the core advantages of the companyworld class system through best practices originated from the Operational Committee the behavior model(Teerlink, 2000). Organizational Structure Organizational design is one of the factors that will greatly influence the implementation of a knowledge management process (Enrique Claver-Corte s, 2007). Organizational structure which have high hierarchy and very bureaucratic tend to have low innovations from the employees. Usually the structure is command-control, not much space for the employees to express himself. Harley s manager and union members found that organizational structure gives huge barriers to realization of company s future. Rich changes Harley s organizational structure from command control decision making into employee-driven and minimal structure. Employees have opportunity to contribute on deciding specifics boxes and lines for the organization and the structure should derive from real organizational functions. Rich and colleagues come up with idea about circle organization. The philosophy behind this circle organization was to get the right people, together at the right time, to do the right work right. (Teerlink, 2000). It represents shared leadership and cross-functionality at work in Harley. The circle organization based on three core processes, Create demand; include marketing, sales, public relations, customer services and styling. Produce product; include manufacturing, engineering, purchasing, logistics, etc. Provide support; include finance, HR, legal, information services, etc. And leadership and strategy council (LSC), its coordinator of other three circles. Figure 6 shows complete picture about the circle organization. Arrows pointing to stakeholders area means it s the external focus for the company. Meanwhile, arrows pointing across the circle indicate recognition of interdependence. The scheme encourages employees to seek the right people to work with in order to get the work done. The command-control position was replaced by the coach or facilitator in each group. Employees communicate and share knowledge inside and between the circles, knowledge buyer and seller change their idea how to solve a problem, new ideas often generate during the discussions. Employee Engagement One of factors influencing successfulness of Knowledge Management initiative is employee s engagement to the organization. When employee feel the organization is belong to them and their contribution is recognized by the company, employee will be encouraged to share their knowledge and actively participate to the company s business strategy. Bob Hayward in his website shares some benefits of employee engagement in the organization (Hayward, 2010): Better performance Knowledge worker whom engage in his job tend to work smarter. They always looking for ways to improve their performance. Work in effective and efficient way. It means better quality, innovations and lower cost. Better communication Engaged employee communicate to share ideas, information and knowledge. Knowledge sharing is in his blood. He actively plays roles in knowledge market. Greater customer satisfaction Customer is a king. Engaged employee will seek how he could meet customer needs. Customer satisfaction is his target. Better team working Employee has personal responsibility to deliver business agenda. He works in the team to achieve organization s vision. Greater commitment Employee has a pride and really cares about the company s future, because company s future is also his future. Lower employee turnover and greater ability to recruit great people One of serious problem in organization is high employee turnover. Without proper knowledge management system, knowledge could walk away out the door together with employee. Organization has to reinvent the wheel every time employee goes out. For engaged employee, they do not easily leave the company. They feel happy working there. Good employee usually has good networking; it will lead them to propose the company great people to join them. Rich and his teams clearly have vision how to engage their employee to the company. Harley did some activities to encourage the employee engagement: Established Performance Effectiveness Process (PEP) PEP gives individual opportunity and responsibility to determine function of his work unit and how he can make difference in company s future. PEP is the smallest participatory process entity of company s vision that will evolve iteratively and it will lead to the creation of whole company business process. PEP can be used for several activities, such as: o Performance Evaluation One purpose of performance evaluation is to see strength and weakness of individual. Harley involved the employee on defining their own performance measure and see individual from other perspective. Employee should know his position based on others judgments and understood how their colleges perceived them and how to improve their performance in the eyes of their college. Based on this evaluation, company will extract strength and weakness of their employee. So the company will know which subject they should concentrate to develop. o Career Development PEP was tailored by the HR department to become basic for career development. Many employees like status quo. When company trying to make major cultural change, they do not want to change and hate to be changed. Integrating career development into PEP, it will insist the employee to change their habit. If they do not want to change, then he will be the first employee who will leave the company when layoff comes. o Maximize employee participation. Individuals know clarity how he can make a difference. It s good for company as well for the individuals. With PEP, employee have to give input how to improve them self as well as the company. In their employee handbook, Harley Davidson commit to create a working environment designed to maximize employee contribution and provide resource and opportunities to develop their knowledge. PEP does not succeed in its first month or even first year of implementation. It emerged over several years, with continuous improvement in all aspects. Compensation The second way how Harley engaged the employee is by giving them compensation. Harley compensates people not only from performance but also on how they demonstrate their capabilities. Harley found that they should not compensate the employee only with money. Because their motivation is not only money, indeed we should have much money to do that, said Lee. Harley has two visions on giving compensation. The first is to make a larger part of employees compensation at-risk or variable and the second is to compensate all employees in essentially the same way by creating standard pay components across the company. Listen to the employees Harley Davidson is an employee driven organizations. They were changing their culture from command control top down company into more participatory. Most people want the same thing from their company. For them working motivation is not only money. What Harley s employee really seeks are rewards and recognition in non-monetary realms. They seek opportunities to be heard, organization s evidence of contribution, involvement in decision making and problem solving process. They want to know every single aspect in organization and understand what is going on. Employee seeks total experience in their working place. The company really listens carefully and takes necessary action to response the employee s need. Harley s facilitate sharing session on what they expect in the organization. The employee proposed 49 things to the company. Some of the items can be done immediately and the others need approve from the board. But Harley really engages to his employee satisfaction, and this will bring the employees to do the same thing for the company. Lifelong Learning Learning organization is organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together. (Senge, 1990) Some benefits of becoming a learning organization are: Maintaining levels of innovation and remaining competitive (McHugh, 1998) Being better placed to respond to external pressures (McHugh, 1998) Having the knowledge to better link resources to customer needs (Wikipedia, 2010) Improving quality of outputs at all levels (Wikipedia, 2010) Improving corporate image by becoming more people oriented (Wikipedia, 2010) Increasing the pace of change within the organization (Wikipedia, 2010) Harley s leaders, both union and management leaders have commitment to encourage and facilitate learning and intellectual curiosity in the organizations. Intellectual curiosity is result of looking somebody else doing the task and reason why he doing in that way. Company serves the employee by providing skills and knowledge they need. The most significant step toward Harley learning culture was Awareness Expansion III. One of participant said We re learning from each other, and we re increasing our understanding of our respective business . Successfulness of AEIII leads to establishment of AEIV. AEIV main purpose is to learning from each other. Employee divided into 5 groups and they present on one particular topic. They change knowledge when the presentation was held. Working together in this way, give them a new experience of learning. Based on Lee opinion, AEIV is a huge step of Harley s journey because the group discussion is led and facilitated by themselves, not by professional. Another achievement in AEIV is, they collaborate with MIT-based Organizational Learning Center (OLC). This Research group headed by Peter Senge, he is an organizational theorist and consultant. Peter Senge was the author of The Fifth Discipline book. Rich and Lee had read the book and interest to implement his idea on how to become a successful organization. Senge proposed five disciplines about successful organization, which are: personal mastery, mental models, shared visions, team learning and systems thinking. Senge s sights were aligned with what Harley s doing lately. By working together with OLC, Harley wants to emphasis lifelong learning for all employees. To support this program, Harley provides some formal learning program to its employee. Harley Davidson Leadership Institute Tuition reimbursement programs at Graduate and Undergraduate levels Degree Program with Marquette University Lifelong Learning Centers Motorcycle U Harley Davidson University On creating the learning concepts, they were involving all the stakeholders. Because the root learning concept built based on old Chinese proverb Tell me, Ill forget Show me and I may remember But involve me, and Ill understand To decide specific training and education, management and labor jointly adopt Learning Maps approach developed by Perrysburg. By using this Learning Maps, the employee come up with four topics that they need to learned: our market, the business process, our processes and the money cycle. All these topics are compelled to help every single employee understand the companys critical business issues in the same way. Communication Achievements reached in Communication As stated by Rich and Lee at the beginning of the journey, the umbrella business process was serving to ensure that everybody had the appropriate level of information as defined, to allow them to do their job for the organization. However, the results from two baseline audit surveys on the employees in 1991 broke the leadership s expectation after their more-than-three-year effort on improving the relationships and communications within the organization. Shocked by the feedbacks from a majority of the employees, the leadership recognized the failure on communication and started to find and fix the problems. Aligning with the organizational strategy, transforming the company from command-and-control model to a totally new way based on good communication, Rich and Lee thoroughly abandoned dictating method and broke the assumptions of some senior managers and supervisors on employees perspectives about information and knowledge. Later, they came up with a new approach to improve organiz ational communication by asking the employees what they need to know and trying to meet the needs. Due to the executive of the new approach and the establishment of Harley communications department (which had a risk of setting the communication situation back to the command-and-control era, as worried about by Rich, but truly facilitated the organizational communication and drove the efforts on better communication), the employees curiosity on information in a big picture By design, they owned the big picture. They therefore took responsibility for figuring out which piece of that big picture they would communicate, to whom, and in what form. (Teerlink, 2000) was dramatically raised and information and knowledge finally began to flow efficiently throughout the company and among plants in different locations. Although the achievement Harley obtained on organizational communication still cannot be regarded as a huge success, it did lead to favorable outcome in the organization s coming partnering project. The roots of partnering, as described by Rich and Lee in the book, can be traced back to the crisis in the late 1970s and 1980s.During the hard time, Harley s union leaders and members worked collaboratively with management to save the company. However, once the crisis was gone, the collaborative work began to fade, which was obviously not likely to the company continuous improvement in the new marketing environment. And in the year of 1994, the increasing marketing demand urgently called for an expansion of manufacturing capacity which was not possible to be realized without partnering. Due to the endeavors mainly made by Harley s leadership, Joint Partnership Implementation Committee (JPIC) was founded and Kansas City plant started up as a great outcome of partnering. Factors Leading to Success of Communication According to Thoma

The Deceived Invisible Man :: Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

In the Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, our main character struggles to find his place in society. Throughout the novel, he finds himself in "power-struggles". At the beginning of the novel, we see the narrator as a student in an African-American college. He plays a large role in the school as an upstanding student. Later, we see the Invisible Man once again as an important member of an organization known as the Brotherhood. In both situations he is working, indirectly, to have a place in a changing world of homogony. In each circumstance he finds himself deceived in a "white man's world". The Invisible man originally wanted to graduate from his college to be a professor, perhaps even the president of the college. His dream and life as he knew it was crushed when he was expelled from school for taking a white alumni to a black neighborhood where he should not have gone. The president of the college reprimands him for not having enough common sense to show the white man what he "wanted" to see. Dr. Bledsoe, the president, believes that it is necessary to lie to the white man. He calls The Invisible man a "nigger". By this act, Bledsoe is stating that he feels superior. Dr. Bledsoe promises the Invisible Man letters of recommendation to white businessmen in New York. He finds that in truth the letters are mocking him and stating that he will never be invited back to the college again. Bledsoe masks his "respect" for the white man, signing the letter, "Respectfully, I am your humble servant". This power struggle between the white man, the powerful black man, and the black citizen is a twisted circle of trying to please the "other". The Invisible man meets a character named Brother Jack. He is a member of the Brotherhood, an organization desiring peace between races. It can be said that the Brotherhood represents American communism. Brother Jack is the head of power. Once the invisible man finds his place as a political figure in the Brotherhood he is successful. He is a strong speaker and the public loves him. He receives a note warning him that he was moving too fast and that it is a "white man's world". In the end, he discovers that it was Brother Jack, the very man fighting for equality, who was responsible for the letter.

Organisational Culture- analysis of Oticon Essay

INTRODUCTION Oticon, a Danish company founded in 1904 was the first company in the world to invent an instrument to help the hearing impaired. In the 1970’s, Oticon was the world’s number one manufacturer of the â€Å"behind the ear† hearing aids. During the 1970’s and 1980’s as the market for â€Å"in the ear† hearing aid grew, Oticon’s fortune suddenly declined and they lost money and market share. The main problem for all of this was that Oticon was a very traditional, departmentalized and slow-moving company. Even though Oticon had 15 sites and 95 distributorships around the world, Oticon was operating in a market dominated by Siemens, Phillips, Sony, 3M and Panasonic and most importantly, Oticon manufactured the â€Å"behind the ear† hearing aid but its customers preferred the â€Å"in the ear† product. Oticon also specialized in analogue technology whilst its customers were moving towards digital technology. In 1988, a new President of Oticon was appointed, Lars Kolind. With his appointment, he worked hard to turn the situation of Oticon around. Kolind implemented cost-cutting measures; he pared the company down, cut staff and increased efficiency, and reduced the price of a hearing aid by 20%. Nevertheless, this still did not achieve the results he wanted. He never gave up. He had been searching for a sustainable competitive advantage for Oticon. He wanted to create a new way of running a business. One that could be more creative, faster and cost effective and also compensate for technological excellence, capital and general resources which Oticon lacked. Kolind believed that Oticon could no longer compete with its technologically advanced competitors. By reinventing itself, Oticon showed that it could. Oticon drastically changed its organizational structure, ways of working and culture to let loose the human potential of the company. Kolind created a vision of a service-based organization and pursued it to gain a competitive edge. Employee involvement is crucial to successful change; especially in situations as Oticon’s that require attitudinal and cultural change. Planned and emergent perspectives stress that this is a slow, learning process. Rapid organizational transformations can only be successful if focus is on structural as well as cultural change. Kanter _et al_ emphasized that an organization’s structure can be changed relatively quickly through a ‘Bold Stroke’ but that cultural change can only be achieved by a ‘Long March’ requiring extensive participation over time. Oticon’s transformation was that of a rapid organizational change, which was based on the vision imposed on the company in a directive fashion by the CEO. This lead to the widespread change of attitudes and behaviours. Kolind’s vision was the reason for this rapid change in attitudes across Oticon. A more planned approach, facilitated by this change in attitudes was used to achieve this rapid structural change. This was then followed by a period of emergent change where staff had to develop and adjust to new ways of working with and behaving towards each other. Schmuck and Miles (1971) argue that the level of involvement required in a project is dependant on the impact of the change on people concerned. Building on earlier work by Harrison (1970), Huse (1980) developed this difference further. He categorized change interventions along with continuum based on the ‘depth of intervention, ranging from the ‘shallow level’ to the ‘deepest level’. The greater the depth of intervention, Huse argues, the more it becomes concerned with the psychological make-up and personality of the individual, and the greater the need for full involvement of individuals if they are to accept the changes. Therefore, linking levels of involvement to the types of change proposed is necessary. The key is that, the greater the effect on the individual, especially in terms of psychological constructs and values, the deeper the level of involvement required if successful behaviour change is to be achieved. The theory of cognitive dissonance of Burnes and James (1995) helps in seeking to understand and explain why major rapid attitudinal changes at Oticon were successful without a great deal of initial involvement. The theory of cognitive dissonance states that people want to behave in  accordance with their attitudes and usually will take corrective action to alleviate the dissonance and achieve balance. At Oticon, fundamental attitudinal change was achieved relatively quickly because management and employee recognized the need for change and saw why new vision is the only hope for the company’s survival. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE, or CORPORATE CULTURE, comprises the attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values of an organization. It has been defined as â€Å"the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization. An ORGANISATION’S CULTURE is affected by a number of factors including: The ENVIRONMENT in which the organisation operates. Internally, this is often conveyed by its physical layout which can, foe example, reflect warm friendliness or cold efficiency. The BELIEFS, VALUES AND NORMS of the employees within the organisation, particularly those communicated by top management. The formal and informal LEADERS who personify the organisation’s culture. The PROCEDURES that have to be followed and the behaviour expected of people within the organisation. The network of COMMUNICATIONS which disseminates the corporate image and culture. OTHER FACTORS could include the oeganisation’s size , history, ownership and technology. MODEL OF CHANGE- SEQUENCE OF EVENTS (SOURCE:MANAGEMENT. RICHARD L DAFT- 6TH ED.) Corporate culture is something that is very hard to change and employees need time to get used to the new way of organizing. Many people are not willing to change unless they perceive a problem or a crisis. For companies with a very strong and specific culture it will be even harder to change. Cummings & Worley (2005, p. 491 – 492) give the following six guidelines for cultural change, these changes are in line with the eight distinct stages mentioned by Kotter (1995, p. 2)3: Formulate a clear strategic vision In order to make a cultural change effective a clear vision of the firm’s new strategy, shared values and behaviours is needed. This vision provides the intention and direction for the culture change Display Top-management commitment It is very important to keep in mind that culture change must be managed from the top of the organization, as willingness to change of the senior management is an important indicator. The top of the organization should be very much in favour of the change in order to actually implement the change in the rest of the organization. De Caluwà © & Vermaak provide a framework with five different ways of thinking about change. Model culture change at the highest level In order to show that the management team is in favour of the change, the change has to be notable at first at this level. The behaviour of the management needs to symbolize the kinds of values and behaviours that should be realized in the rest of the company. It is important that the management shows the strengths of the current culture as well, it must be made clear that the current organizational does not need radical changes, but just a few adjustments. Modify the organization to support organizational change. The fourth step is to modify the organization to support organizational change. Select and socialize newcomers and terminate deviants A way to implement a culture is to connect it to organizational membership, people can be selected and terminate in terms of their fit with the new culture Develop ethical and legal sensitivity. Changes in culture can lead to tensions between organizational and individual interests, which can result in ethical and legal problems for practitioners. This is particularly relevant for changes in employee integrity, control, equitable treatment and job security. FORCES CAUSING AND RESISTING CHANGE WITHIN AN ORGANISATION (SOURCE: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO BUSINESS STUDIES- 3RD ED- BRUCE R JEWELL) NEED/ REASONS FOR CHANGE. In order to survive and prosper in a competitive and rapidly changing environment, organisations also need to change. This may be brought about by many influencing factors which may be internally within the organisation or in external environment of the organisation. EXTERNAL FORCES originate in all environmental sectors, including customers, competitors, technology, economic forces and the international arena. EXTERNAL INFLUENCES: POLITICAL factors including legislation or other government measures. Organisations are forced to change in order to meet, for example, health and safety, environmental or consumer protection requirements. ECONOMIC factors such as changes in levels of unemployment and interest rates which can have a major impact on demand. SOCIAL factors including changes in life styles and environmental issues which organisations must respond to if they are not to lose out to competitors. TECHNOLOGICAL progress such as word processing in the office or robots in the factory can change working materials, methods and practices and create the need for new skills. TRADE UNIONS can influence wage rates, working conditions and other aspects of industrial relations. COMPETITION and changes in consumer tastes and demand all impact on business organisations, making change necessary in order to respond. MEDIA reports which can influence consumers’ and employees’ perceptions of an organisation and its goods and services. INTERNAL FORCES for change arise from internal activities and decisions. If top managers select a goal of rapid company growth, internal actions will have to be made to meet that growth. New departments or technologies will be created. Demands by employees, labour unions and production inefficiencies all can generate a force to which management must respond with change. INTERNAL INFLUENCES: NEW PRODUCTS OR SERVICES which require change in order to introduce them. MANAGEMENT CHANGES, due perhaps to a merger, take over or the appointment of  new staff. This may affect the management style and culture of the organisation. QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEMS which are becoming increasingly important in organisations in order to meet changing customer expectations. PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFITABILITY IMPROVEMENTS which often require change in systems or procedures in order to control or reduce costs and/or increase output. CUSTOMER SERVICE is now more crucial than ever for organisations in competitive markets because they can only survive and prosper if they satisfy customers. After the need for change has been perceived and communicated, change must be initiated. This is a crucial stage of change management- the stage where ideas that solve perceived needs are developed. Responses that an organisation can make are to search for or create a change to adopt. IMPLEMENTING CHANGE One frustration for managers is that employees often seem to resist change for no apparent reason. To effectively manage the implementation process, managers should be aware of the reasons for employee resistance and e prepared to use techniques for obtaining employee cooperation. Employees appear to resist change for several reasons and understanding them helps managers implement change more effectively. SELF-INTEREST. Employees typically resist a change they believe will take away something of value. A proposed change in job design, structure, or technology may lead to a real or perceived loss of power, prestige, pay or company benefits. The fear of personal loss is perhaps the biggest obstacle to organisational change. LACK OF UNDERSTANDING AND TRUST. Employees do not understand the intended purpose of a change or distrust the intentions behind it. UNCERTAINTY. Uncertainty is the lack of information about future events. It represents a fear of the unknown. Uncertainty is especially threatening for employees who have a low tolerance for change and fear the novel and unusual. They do not know how a change will affect them and worry about whether they will be able to meet the demands of a new procedure or technology. DIFFERENT ASSESSMENT AND GOALS. Another reason for resistance to change is that people who will be affected by innovation may assess the situation differently. Often critics voice legitimate disagreements over the proposed benefits of a change. Managers in each department pursue different goals, and an innovation may detract from performance and goal achievement for some departments. These reasons for resistance are legitimate in the eyes of the employees affected by the change. The best procedure for managers is not to ignore resistance but diagnose the reasons and design strategies to gain acceptance by users. Strategies for overcoming resistance to change typically involve two approaches: the analysis of resistance through force-field technique and the use of selective implementation tactics to overcome resistance.

Saying Goodbye!! Essay Example

Saying Goodbye!! Essay Example Saying Goodbye!! Essay Saying Goodbye!! Essay Ive learned that goodbyes will always hurt, pictures never replace having been there, memories, good or bad, will bring tears and words can never replace feelings. There were many things I wanted to write before writing on the word goodbye, but life takes a man to where fate has decided and it never goes in the neat little order we desire. I never thought that saying goodbye would be so hard. I am 14 but life has taught me one thing that u might forget the place where you were born but u won’t forget the place or people who made you feel so special. I have to accept that for every hello you say, theres a sad goodbye. I remember it was 18 June 2008 I was jolted into real life. Sometimes being strong means being able to let go, but I wasn’t strong to concede that the time is up and finally I have to say goodbye to the one who made me laugh, who made me realize that I was better than anyone, who made me feel like a princess, who let me sleep in her arms when I was all alone and who spent her nights to tell me stories about prophets. It was 18 June 2008, it seemed to me that everything around me had stood idle, there was silence because my ears were not ready to accept what they just heard, and my mind repeated the words- grandmother has passed away. I went to my home town for her funeral, she was cold because she was dead, I couldn’t believe that she was the same lady I met a month ago. Her lips were silent with no smile, her eyes were closed with no spark, and her heart was in her chest with no beat of life and a body with no soul. I finally had to say goodbye forever because according to the law of nature there is no hope of meeting her again in this world and I’ll never get a chance to tell her how much I loved her. I might meet her in the next world, in the life after death but not until my heart is beating and my soul is within me. I wish that GOD give human one last chance to meet with the one they love and if that was possible I would only say her that â€Å"Ill miss you forever, Ill miss you always, Goodbye is so hard, but Ill say it anyways†. For the first time in my life I felt real pain, real heartache. It was 5:30, I was hit with the truth, it was Wednesday, my grandmother died, it was 6th month of 2008, a part of me died. I knew that this moment would come in time. That I have to let her go and watch her soul fly. I knew she won’t come back but even after 12 months I was dying inside. Even today when I am writing this I am searching for words to define my feelings. I always try hiding my emotions but eyes dont lie. I guess theres no easy way to say goodbye. It’s weird, you know the end of something great is coming, but you want to just hold on, just for one more second just so it can hurt a little more. Oftentimes we say goodbye to the person we love without wanting to. Though that doesn’t mean that weve stopped loving them or weve stopped to care. Sometimes goodbye is a painful way to say I love you. Once I said goodbye with no hope of meeting again, and life taught me how hard it is but to say goodbye with a little tad of hope is even more painful because you never know that the candle of your hope will keep burning or fade in the world of darkness and despair. There is nothing in the world that compares to saying â€Å"goodbye. † The sadness that comes with it is like no other, but the hope that comes with it as well; the hope that this is not the last goodbye. The hope that keeps us going, keeps our heads high as we wait for the next time; if that next time comes. Some people don’t think that saying goodbye is such a big deal, probably because they have never had to do so. We laughed until we had to cry, we loved right down to our last goodbye, but over the years well smile and recall, for just one moment we had it all. I remember it was 3rd April 2010, I walked last time through the gates of the place I spent seven most tremendous years of my life. My school although it has four walls but has future of thousands of minds. My school- CONVENT, where I met with the people who belonged to the same world like me but think in their own way and live in a world full of love and care, moreover in search of peace. I remember my first nun, sister Magdalene who taught me how to forgive, how to care and most importantly how to say goodbye not only to humans but to regret, despair and loneliness. It was a pleasant morning but however I was surrounded by fear of losing some special friends who held their hands when I needed them the most. I said goodbye to them in an unbelievable way, I was not quite sure about what I was saying but I knew it was the time to finally say goodbye to them and move on with a new life. â€Å"The loss of a friend is like that of a limb. Time may heal the anguish of the wound, but the loss cannot be repaired. † If saying goodbye hurts so much, why do we say goodbye? Because it hurts so much more to keep holding on to something that isnt there. . However, if you look at saying goodbye as a new hope, things begin to brighten up. You have a hope that you will someday be able to see them again. Saying goodbye may bring a great deal of sadness, but the amount of sadness depends on your hope in seeing them again. It is the end of something simple and the beginning of everything else.

Challenges to foster a national identity during the Meiji restoration period. The WritePass Journal

Challenges to foster a national identity during the Meiji restoration period. Introduction: Challenges to foster a national identity during the Meiji restoration period. Introduction:Background :Rationale:Westernisation influence in Japan during the Meiji Restoration Period:Political influence:Economic influence:Education influence:Military influence:Arts influence:Education system in Japan during the Meiji Restoration period:School system reform:Universities established:Primary school:References: Related Introduction: Sth that captures the reader’s attention. Background : In the middle of the 1800’s Japan had been a closed country for hundreds of years. There was a governmental policy which essentially stated that Japanese people would be killed if leaving the country and anyone entering would also be killed. There was a small island in the south of Japan where the Japanese imported goods from the Dutch, Chinese, and Korean nations, but there was little or no trade with any other country. Thus, the country of Japan was closed to outside influences, partly to maintain political domination control and to prevent the foreigners from stealing their gunpowder. In the mid 1860’s an American diplomatic fleet of steam powered battleships arrived and insisted upon the opening of Japanese trade with the US. The feudal Shogun government, however apprehensive of the threat to their control over the people of Japan, had no choice but to allow trade with the US. This opened the door for international trade and relations with the world beyond Japan for the first time in hundreds of years. I 1868, the shogun(the military leader) was forced to step down and the sixteen year old Emperor Meiji was â€Å"restored ,† so that Japan might catch up military with the West. There was the end of a relatively stable number of years of Shogun government called the Edo period. During this period a primary Shogunate (military dictatorship) was essentially running the government and the various different Samurai clans of the country were managed by this primary Shogunate, which was based in Edo (the city now known as Tokyo). Thankfully this particular military dictatorship was a relatively noble group monetarily, but their own noble and self-sacrificing way was actually part of what allowed the imperial family to take over the government of Japan at this rather pivotal moment. Essentially Meiji was the heir son of the imperial family and so those who stood to benefit from him being placed in as leader of the country helped to make it happen. The leadership of the Shogunate in Edo was handed over rather effortlessly as the Shogunate was apparently duped by Meiji and his supporters. Meiji’s primary supporters, of course, were leaders of some of the primary opposition to the Shogunate. This assertion of the leadership of an imperialistic family was known as the â€Å"Meiji Restoration†, yet it was not really a restoration as there had apparently never been a truly united Japan ruled in such a way before. Suddenly Meiji took over and any Samurai opposition to the changes was essentially stopped with force until the Samurai class was finally outlawed. The Meiji constitution was written as part of this â€Å"restoration† and basically fabricated a national identity for Japan. It also conveniently fabricated a nationalistic mythology which attempted to falsely present Meiji and his family as Shinto divinity. The result was a fanatical religious theocracy with a false history and deluded national patriotism. This ultimately led to the sad events of WWII and the immense disgrace of the Japanese people. It was essentially a nation-wide cult fabricated by politicians. Rationale: Westernisation influence in Japan during the Meiji Restoration Period: Political influence: In 1889, a constitution was promulgated which established a parliamentary government but left it accountable to the emperor rather than to the people. Administrative power was centralized in a national bureaucracy, which also ruled in the name of the emperor. There as a change in the feudal system. The classes were declared equal, so that samurai and their lords lost their feudal privileges, while the role of merchants began to be respected. Japan received its first European style constitution in 1889. A parliament, the Diet was established while the emperor kept sovereignty: he stood at the top of the army, navy, executive and legislative power. The ruling clique, however, kept on holding the actual power, and the able and intelligent emperor Meiji agreed with most of their actions. Political parties did not yet gain real power due to the lack of unity among their members. Economic influence: In order to transform the agrarian economy of Tokugawa Japan into a developed industrial one, many Japanese scholars were sent abroad to study Western science and languages and businesses, while foreign experts taught in Japan. The progression and improvements in education would boost the economy because of the increase in knowledge and skills. Industrialization created more importance on businesses and the prospering of them, than the farming and agrarian economy. After means of large governmental investments, the transportation and communication network in Japan were improved. The government also directly supported the prospering of businesses and industries, especially the large and powerful family businesses called zaibatsu. The large expenditures led to a financial crisis in the middle of the 1880s which was followed by a reform of the currency system and the establishment of the Bank of Japan. Thus, Japan’s economic grew tremendously during the Meiji restoration period. Education influence: A universal education was implemented. The education system was reformed after the French and later after the German system. Among those reforms was the introduction of compulsory education. Compulsory public education was introduced both to teach the skills needed for the new nation and to inculcate values of citizenship in all Japanese. This means that the money is going towards education, which goes to the people, and creates more capital, because of more knowledge. Military influence: There was a high priority for Japan in an era of European and American imperialism. Universal conscription was introduced, and a new national army modelled after the Prussian force was established, and a navy after the British force was established. Arts influence: In 1876, the government opened the Technical Fine Arts School (Kobu Bijutsu Gakko) and invited the architect Giovanni Cappelletti (d. ca. 1885), the sculptor Vincenzo Ragusa (1841–1928), and the painter Antonio Fontanesi (1818–1882), who was deeply influenced by the Barbizon school, to teach its students in Western techniques and media. Fontanesi’s students Yamamoto Hosui (1850–1906), Kuroda Seiki (1866–1924), and Asai Chu (1856–1907) all later travelled to Europe to study academic painting, and are looked upon today as the Meiji period’s greatest producers of Western style paintings (yÃ… ga). On the other hand, the government took the acquisition of Western art techniques as a means of fostering industrial development, as opposed to promoting an appreciation of Western aesthetics or art theory. This was to let the young Japanese gain appreciation for the potentially important role of the museum in society, and the establishment of Ja pan’s first public museum at Yushima Seido Confucian shrine. Conder taught at the University of Technology (Kobu Daigakko). His students Tatsuno Kingo (1854–1911), Katayama Tokuma (1853–1917), and Sone Tatsuzo (1853–1937) were responsible for many of the major architectural monuments during the Meiji period.    Education system in Japan during the Meiji Restoration period: School system reform: The reform of the school system has contributed the most to the enlightenment of the Japanese people. By the 1906, the school attendance was as high as 95%, which Japan boosted the one of the highest literacy rates in the world. The resorted Imperial government immediately realised the importance of universal education to the nation’s pursuit of modernisation and progress of Japan. Gakusei, a education system was implemented in the 1872 and the promulgation of the Imperial Rescript on education in the 1890, these laid the foundation for modern education system in Japan. The school system was then modelled after the westernisation. Universities established: Universities as well as technical and professional schools were established to promote higher education to meet the demands of a labour force. Except for the terakoya, small regional schools providing basic education, most traditional schools from the Edo period were almost exclusively reserved to boys belonging to the samurai class. Despite this, the level of literacy in the late Edo period was remarkably high, which no doubt paved the way for the Meiji educational reforms. Primary school: The nationalisation of the education system made primary school compulsory for both boys and girls. At first, the attendance was very low. However, after tuition was abolished for elementary schools in 1900, then there was an increase in attendance. Many things in the school was influenced by the westerners. Firstly, the school was furnished western-style were built throughout the Japan. Secondly, the school curriculum was also based on western models. This includes history, science, geography and arithmetic. Schools also continued to give moral instruction based on Confucian tradition, which encouraged patriotic loyalty and filial piety. Games like sugoroku, the New Year’s game, were used to introduce young children to the scripts in a fun way. The sugoroku board shown here illustrates the different steps a student must follow before earning a degree. Education in the Empire of Japan was a high priority for the government, as the leadership of the early Meiji government realized the critical need for universal public education in its drive to modernize and westernize Japan. Overseas missions such as the Iwakura mission were sent abroad to study the education systems of leading Western countries. After 1868 new leadership set Japan on a rapid course of modernization. The Meiji leaders established a public education system to help Japan catch up with the West and form a modern nation. Missions like the Iwakura mission were sent abroad to study the education systems of leading Western countries. They returned with the ideas of decentralization, local school boards, and teacher autonomy. Such ideas and ambitious initial plans, however, proved very difficult to carry out. After some trial and error, a new national education system emerged. As an indication of its success, elementary school enrollments climbed from about 40 or 50 percent of the school-age population in the 1870s to more than 90 percent by 1900, despite strong public protest, especially against school fees. By the 1890s, after earlier intensive preoccupation with Western, particularly United States, educational ideas, a much more conservative and traditional orientation evolved. Confucian precepts were stressed, especially those concerning the hierarchical nature of human relations, service to the new state, the pursuit of learning, and morality. These ideals, embodied in the 1890 Imperial Rescript on Education, along with highly centralized government control over education, largely guided Japanese education until the end of World War II. There are two different perspective to the modernization of Japan. Some Japanese think that it is a chance to achieve collective, national glory. However, others do not really encourage modernization. Change to them meant danger, decadence and loss of moral virtues. They fear of three areas: gender disorder, cultural concern and political disorders. Firstly, for the gender anarchy, the Japanese banned women from adopting short hairstyle in the 1872. It emerged again when the government sharply restricted women’s political activity in 18890. However, during the Meiji period, the primary duty of the women was to serve the twin roles of good wife and wise mother was not purely reactionary or restrictive. During the Meiji formulation, wise women needed schooling. This was to ensure that the mother raises the children well in a new era, thus the mother needs to be literate. They had to know something about the world beyond the home. â€Å"Good mother, wise mother† was aggressively promoted by the Japanese government that the women have to be educated. The imperial institution took part in the project to prescribe new roles of women for men.   The imperial signaled that men should have western haircuts by adopting that style of him. While the hair of the women should be kept long and braided up. The women’s appe arance was also influenced by the westerners. the westernized facial appearance encourages the women to stop shaving their eye brown and blackening their teeth. However, it was later changed with support from the throne in the face of western examples and criticisms. Secondly, the Japanese fear of political disorder. They fear that a restless populace might challenge their political control which led to the decision for a conservative constitution. It inspires for a call for scarification for the state in Imperial Rescript. It also inspired a spark for military drills in school. Thirdly, it is the open of the port to the outside world. Japanese fear that people from across the sea would poison the soul of the Japan. They fear that they would influence the Japanese or to convert them into Christianity and demolish their true identity and cultural, they fear the lost of their cultural. Due to the rapid modernization and adapting many things from the westerners, they start to fear that there is no unique identity of Japan. Thus a magazine â€Å" The Japanese† was published. The writer thinks that the nation followed a path towards the so-called civilized. They feared that it might â€Å"forfeit our nation national character and destroy all the elements in References: Websites: japan-guide.com/e/e2130.html 21/4/11 , on the western influence on Japan. travel-to-japan.com/the-meiji-restoration/ (21/4/11), the background of Meiji Period. museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitLo.do;jsessionid=AA30BECF533CBA0ECFF8450FC71FF6C1?method=previewlang=ENid=12991 23/4/11, education system during the Meiji period.

The Global Trade Distribution Processes of marks and spencer Essay

The Global Trade Distribution Processes of marks and spencer - Essay Example It has 766 stores in the UK in major shopping centres, airports, railway stations, retail parks and service stations (Brook Intelligence Centre, 2013). The company has a huge presence in the international market and has stores in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. M&S sells through different channels including in store ordering, telephone, home catalogue and online. Operating Segments The company specialises in various forms of trade. First, the company sells home products, clothing as well as food that are sourced from over 2000 suppliers from different parts of the world. (Brook Intelligence Centre, 2013) The entity is also the leading retailer in lingerie, women wear, and its market share has grown rapidly in all other market segments. The company aims to become a multi channel retailer will various sources of revenue ranging from mobile to internet channels in the UK and across the global market. The company also offers financial services through the M&S Bank that was started in 2 012 including loans, travel, cards, insurance, savings and investments (Brook Intelligence Centre, 2013). Shop Formats The company’s outlets are designed in an attractive way and since they are spacious, the shopping experience is simply amazing. There are core shops that include M&S Food Halls and a collection of the company’s clothing line. ... Finally, M&S Simply Foods supply groceries and home ware (Brook Intelligence Centre, 2013). Company’s Global Trade Strategy The company came up with a three-year strategy in November 2010 to change the company from a conventional retailer into a global multi- channel retailer. The first phase of the plan was from 2010 to 2013 that focuses on the UK market (Brook Intelligence Centre, 2013). The second phase focused towards developing the company’s presence in the international market. In November 2010, the company set out to increase its revenue by ?1.5billion to ?2.5billion over the next three years (Brook Intelligence Centre, 2013). However, due to the decline in the economic environment, the company expects to achieve a decline in revenues (Brook Intelligence Centre, 2013). Focus on the UK As earlier explained the company’s plan for 2010-2013 focused on business in the UK. This involves enhancing the brand name in its areas of operation. Branding takes centre s tage of all advertising campaigns. Owing to the fact that the market is becoming increasingly competitive, the brand is meant to draw attention to the value and quality offered in their product. The women swear sector has been underperforming as shown in the SWOT analysis discussed later in the paper. The company has come up with new store designs at the end of 2013. With regards to the food section, the company mainly focuses on freshness, convenience and freshness. In 2012, M&S started working on delivering a better shopping experience for their customers through the new store layouts (Brook Intelligence Centre, 2013). The new store designs offer improved navigation and better brand differentiation. The stores have been designed according to local demographics. Multi-Channel The company aims at

DS Assignment 7 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

DS Assignment 7 - Coursework Example This has been worse on countries that have benefited greatly on the monetary policies of the Fed. Higher levels of international liquidity relative to short-term liabilities and lower balance sheet vulnerability to currency depreciation have enabled most countries in the Latin America to withstand any financial breakdowns (Franko, 2006). The fact that Latin America expects to experience an increased economic growth in the current year, reforms geared towards increased productivity have been enhanced and are expected to dominate the forthcoming international talks. The policymakers’ attention has to shift to other macroeconomic aspects given that financial risk problems seem to have been adequately dealt with such as fiscal policy evaluations as well ensuring that the interest rates remain low so as to encourage investments as well as consumption and the exchange rate. This will aid economies that had been badly affected by tapering of the Fed in the previous year provided that they take control of huge current account deficits and reduction of labor costs as well as assets’ valuation (Blair, 1999). The recent financial crisis have triggered new debate on the impact of gender on the economic cycle as well as making policymakers to reconsider earlier studies by (Bullock, 1994) who tried to explore the effect of women in employment on recession. He had earlier suggested that the vulnerability of women could be viewed in three dimensions namely demand side in which the recessionary effects are triggered by the pattern and form of gender segregation. The second dimension is about how women are committed to participation in the labour market and the common belief that women may act as a flexible reserves in who are willing to quit their positions in times of low economic demand. The final view is about a keen consideration of the role played by the