The Protestant Ethic And Spirit Of Capitalism - 1828 Words

Brayan Munante Spring 2017 Prof. Delia TERM PAPER Sociology 101 â€Å"The Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism† Max Weber (1864-1920) considered seriously about the emerging dilemmas from the socio cultural and political state of affairs in Germany and criticised purely the historical materialistic concept of explanations. Within his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Weber instead depicts a more conceivable and pragmatic explanation that the materialization of capitalism owed much to the specific patterns of religious motivational explanations in Calvinism between various industrialists at that period. As these people (Calvinists) believed that god s knowledge and astuteness was immeasurable to†¦show more content†¦Additionally, Weber explains that the progress in administrative sphere can be directed only through a guided reckoning, impartiality and competence. In the intellectual sphere, progress was thought to be achieved by the aid of scientific methods, testing skills, experiential data collection b ecause theories that are imitative through scientific reasoning supersede to those that are previously attributed to magical causes. However, this particular enlightenment ideology of motive and self realisation is distinguishable with that of Marx s view of progress and is still qualified by Weber by the rationalisation itself. Compared to Marx perspective, the rationalisation and progress according to Weber involve the positive features of effectiveness, manageability, uniformity, unavoidability and impartiality. These positive aspects of rationalisation can result in enhanced capacity, the development of capacity and power relations and thereby assists in attaining progress in each sphere depicted above. Unlike Marx, rationalisation in economic perspective as witnessed in Western Capitalism was been considered by Weber as the process of reasoning out unreasonable sentiments that hamper accrual and estimation of profit, progress and sentiments like faith, thoughtfulness solidarityShow MoreRelatedThe Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism1463 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Essay No.1 Weber has been considered as an expert on origination of capitalism. His most famous work is The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Weber thesis regarding capitalism is rather considered as an argument counter to Marxist thesis (which was regarding primacy of base over superstructure). Weber discussed in his book that capitalism was resulted by Protestantism which was a religious movement or more specifically speaking Calvinism. However any Calvinist who has gone throughRead MoreWeber, the Spirit of Capitalism and the Protestant Ethic956 Words   |  4 PagesThe protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism, by M. Weber I/ What is the spirit of capitalism? According to Marx’s theory, labour is what define oneself in the world and give meaning to one’s life. Weber emphasized that theory when he published in 1904 â€Å"The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism†. Contrary to what if often thought, capitalism is not an immoderate and immoral seek for money, but a rational and controlled way of doing business. Profitability, which couldRead MoreMax Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism2427 Words   |  10 PagesMax Weber’s work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is arguably one of the most important works in all of sociology and social theory, both classical and modern. In the decades since its inception, this work has gone on to influence generations of social scientists with its analysis of the effect of Protestantism on the development of modern industrial capitalism. This work, examining such broad topics as religion, economics, and history, is not only an interesting and insightful lookRead More The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber1103 Words   |  5 Pagesreligious emotions in causing ideal types such as capitalism. He explained the shift in Europe from the other worldliness of Catholicism to the worldliness of early Protestantism; according to Weber this was what initiated the capitalist economic system. As he mentioned in his book The Protestant Ethic and the spirit of capitalism, capitalism isn’t about being rich. Weber said that there was a connection between religions. He mentioned that Protestants are more likely to be successful businessmen thanRead MoreLiterature Review : The Protestant Ethic And The Spirit Of Capitalism1406 Words   |  6 Pagesother factors, which industrialization is predicated upon. Over the years scholars have made elaborate contributions on achievement motivation. Weber’s most distinctive and most famous contributions in his classical work, â€Å"The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism†. Weber indeed emphasized the importance of religious doctrines and ethical precepts and values must be taken into account as well as among other variables. He assigned special importance to ascetic, achievement oriented valuesRead MoreNotes on Max Webers The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism859 Words   |  3 Pageslooking at capitalism, socialism, and the various dictates of society as ways humans are shaped, actualized, and able to have upward mobility. He is most famous for his works surrounding the sociology of religion and government, and how those two institutions shaped, controlled, and contributed to humankind. For Weber, the idea of rationalism rational thought based on societal efficiency and productivity, runs through his works particularly The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. In thisRead MoreSocial Welfare : The Protestant Work Ethic And The Spirit Of Capitalism995 Words   |  4 Pages In this essay I will analyse the issue of social welfare, referencing Weber’s Protestant Work Ethic and Foucault’s analysis of power structures and the welfare state. The support systems in place to ensure that the poorest and most vulnerable members of society are able to survive have been the subject of increasing scrutinisation and hostility as we have entered the 21st Century. This hostility to social welfare can be seen in the intense backlash against the Affordable Care Act in America, andRead More Summary of Max Webers The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism441 Words   |  2 PagesSummary of Max Webers The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Max Webers The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is a study of the relationship between the ethics of ascetic Protestantism and the emergence of the spirit of modern capitalism. Weber argues that the religious ideas of groups such as the Calvinists played a role in creating the capitalistic spirit. Weber first observes a correlation between being Protestant and being involved in business, and declares his intentRead MoreMax Weber s The Protestant Ethic And The Spirit Of Capitalism1722 Words   |  7 Pagesparticularly focusing on the purpose and the value that human behaviour holds. Max Weber, the highly influential philosopher (born 1864 – died 1920), documented and observed human behaviour, focusing primarily in his text, â€Å"The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism†, on social action. Weber determines that social action is the behaviour or action of an individual, or actor, in the presence of another individual. The specific role of social ac tion is to monitor the influence of another on anRead More Religion and Economics in Robinson Crusoe and Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism2797 Words   |  12 PagesRobinson Crusoe and Max Webers Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the most recognized and influential theories in sociology appears in Max Webers The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, which links the development of capitalism to social and cultural factors, primarily religion, instead of economic factors alone. In his theory Weber concludes that the Protestant Ethic greatly influenced the development of capitalism in the seventeenth and eighteenth

The Decision Making Process At York College - 1250 Words

Part Two Decision making, as defined by Mintzberg, is â€Å"The process of developing a commitment to a course of action† (Dee Bess, 2008,2012). The decision by York College to stop using their old data mining software was made about ten months ago, and the process for finding the new software began about six months ago. It is difficult to classify academic analytics as a strategic, tactical, or operational decision because it has elements of all three. Strategic applies as one of the primary goals is to improve student graduation rates and retention. It is a tactical decision because the software will be used to improve the product we are providing our students to better fit their needs. Finally, it is an operational decision because†¦show more content†¦Currently, the college is in the stage of developing solutions. Of the different search methods available, the College is utilizing the trap search and the active search. Outside vendors have been brought in to demonstrate the services their products can provide. The focus of these products varies, but all share a feature that provides students with improved degree planners and student monitoring software. The similarities are outnumbered by their differences, however, which does include cost. The selection/analysis process is not being conducted by a committee, but is instead being conducted by the Associate Provost for Student Success. Since there is no committee, he is inviting representatives from all the affected departments to observe the demonstrations from the vendors and asking for feedback of on their opinions. This has created some tension among various groups on campus. The reason for this is that some of the software demonstrated could completely change resources that not all agree would be improved. When it has been determined that there are options that meet the needs of the college and its students, a screening process will occur with the chosen vendors returning to campus to discuss in more detail the implementation of their product, giving the college the needed information it needs to make a final decision. Even though the search is being led by one person, the authorization to purchase will ultimately have to be supported by the Provost,Show MoreRelatedEssay about Mgt/230 - Decision Making Progress653 Words   |  3 PagesDecision-Making Process People should make decisions nearly every day, some of those decisions are easy to make, while others are quite difficult to implement. Appropriately combined and organized decision-making process will help to control this issue and bring positive outcomes for people enrolled in it. In this paper I will provide decision-making process when I had to make a personal decision, such as enrolling in college. People face a wide range of opportunities every day, as well as certainRead MoreDecision Making Process Paper820 Words   |  4 PagesDecision-Making Process Paper MGT/230 June 26, 2011 Abstract The decision-making process has six stages. These stages consist of identifying and diagnosing the problem, generating alternative solutions, evaluating alternatives, making the choice, implementing the decision, and evaluate the decision. Choosing to go back to school and what school to attend was a problem that I had that needed to be figured out. I did not use the decision-making process; if I had I am not sure if my decision wouldRead MoreWhy College Is Not Home Essay1475 Words   |  6 PagesThe concept of leaving home and entering a community of unfamiliar faces can be scary for any incoming college student. Within a matter of few short weeks, home goes from the house that you grew up in to the room you share with a stranger and live out of. The main purpose of college is to prepare young adults for the professional world. For many first year student’s college is the first time that they are living without some type of parental supervision. This is meant to help them gr ow and matureRead MoreNegative Effects Of Social Media Essay722 Words   |  3 Pagesadults and teens is something to be concerned about. Students and teens may not think what they say on social media matters, but it truly does. College denial, lack of finding work, and social depression and anxiety are the three most important negative effects of social media use. â€Å"12% of college admission applicants were rejected because of what the college saw on social media.† No matter what one posts, says, and or does, there is no getting rid of it. Even if one thinks they have deleted it andRead MoreRole Of An Inculcative Bellwether As An Ethical Role Model, Decision Maker, And Pedagogia914 Words   |  4 Pages Introduction This paper will fixate on the role and responsibilities of an inculcative bellwether as an ethical role model, decision-maker, and pedagogia. The paper will provide participants with an overview of current ethical issues for learning communities. We will have an opportunity to analyze and develop their decision-making skills within the context of an ethical and moral framework through the utilization of case studies and a quandary-predicated approach to learning. When a person is inRead MoreMaintaining Motivation: Educational Goals Essay1374 Words   |  6 Pagesbecause we have yet to be discouraged by hardly anything. However, the downside is that in many cases rising college students don’t realize all that entails reaching the goals they have set for themselves. As a result, many students falter in their pursuit towards the original set goal. There are several common ways in which students deviate from the original plan. Some students begin college under a desired major an d tend to switch out early on due to difficulty. My paper will devise a way to combatRead MoreMy Life Of Becoming A Nurse1533 Words   |  7 PagesOne sweltering day in August of 2014, while New York was experiencing a 108-degree heat wave, I made a decision that changed my life forever. Two months leading up to this day, I had just graduated high school, and eager as ever to start a new chapter in my life, college. One problem stood in my way though. I had no idea what career I wanted to pursue. I was planning on attending York College, because of the central location, but with no direction as to what major in. On this day, I finally realizedRead MoreEssay on Week 7 Assignment918 Words   |  4 Pagesdoes not pursue ‘glamour’ at the expense of innocent animals.—The Millennium Guild, The New York Times, advertisement, 2007 Helpless animals are harmed in the process of testing chemicals. As a society we should not be inflicting violence on the innocent to pursue our beauty. Evaluation: As a human I would never harm myself in the pursuit of beauty therefore animals should not be harmed in the process either. 2) â€Å"People deserve pay for their labor. Whether you wash cars or transplant heartsRead MoreDecision Making Model1281 Words   |  6 PagesDecision Making Model Analysis Decisions are required in all that we think, do and say. In fact, it is impossible to go through a day without making a decision. Do I get out of bed today? Do I eat breakfast before leaving for work? What shall I eat for breakfast? These are simple examples, but we also face life-changing decisions as we go through life. We find ourselves asking such questions as, Do I return to school? Do I want to have any children? What career path do I want to pursue? ChoosingRead MoreEssay about Emotionally Intelligent Leadership1226 Words   |  5 Pagesdeliver. The neocortex makes us a truly great thinking species, because not only can it synthesize our emotions, but it can even allow us to have feelings about our feelings† (Goleman, 1995). Feelings and emotions play a huge role in our decision making process, the way we handle ourselves and interact with others. This emotional section of the brain is just as important, possibly more important, as the thinking section as we analyze im portant leadership skills. Many emotions tend to be reactions

Reflective Understanding Of Prince2 Principles In A Project Environment Free Essays

our site – REFLECTIVE ESSAY EXAMPLE – CUSTOM ESSAY WRITING Introduction PRINCE is a project management method for controlled environments.I found the training comprehensive and the method a little overwhelming, but overall the course provided me with a clear understanding of how the system can help businesses execute successful projects. I obtained information using the slides provided by London South Bank University (2016), and online search of articles and publications about the application of PRINCE, and the different elements of the system. We will write a custom essay sample on Reflective Understanding Of Prince2 Principles In A Project Environment or any similar topic only for you Order Now Murray (2011) states that the main reason why PRINCE was upgraded in 2006 the constantly changing nature of project management methods and new challenges of project managers, and PRINCE2 is today’s â€Å"best practice† standard, qualification program, and project management framework that has a detailed project process model. The Seven Principles of PRINCE2 According to the Oracle White Paper (Oracle, 2011), the management processes designed by the framework are based on seven principles: a. continued business justification In my understanding, is necessary to monitor the plan and compare it with the actual performance, to ensure that the original project is still suitable for delivering the objectives. This helps companies monitor the health and feasibility of projects. b. learn from experience The research and review previous projects, use existing effective templates, and apply knowledge obtained from them. c. defined roles and responsibilities The creation of project and activity teams is necessary for the success, and the effective allocation of the roles (Marsh, 1996). d. manage by stages It is important to create control points in the project to separate stages, phases, and identify main events. e. manage by exception Workbenches, such as the Manager Workbench and Review Program Workbench should be implemented in order to manage exceptions and implement automated change control, when exceptions occur. f. focus on products The Deliverables section of the plan should be detailing product expectations, including quality assurance guidelines. g. tailor to suit the project environment Templates provide flexible control for project managers, to change the levels and types of controls to be implemented. PRINCE2 Themes The main themes of PRINCE2 are business case, organisation, risk, change, quality, and plan. The Business Case theme addresses why the project is created, what the options are, outlines the costs, timescales, expected outcomes, and risks. The Project Organisation determines who is the owner of the project, identifies the roles of team members, and authorities. It also highlights the roles and responsibilities of each member of the team a:he Project Board consists of an executive, senior user, and senior supplier. To manage and identify risks, a risk register is created, with each risk having a unique identifier. All users should have access to the risk register. The PRINCE2 Method The method of PRINCE involves controls and breakpoints. TThere are five process groups in the PRINCE2 method: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. The method covers ten different knowledge areas and integrates them in a way that they all contribute towards the successful execution of the plans. The above information is available in the 2009 TSO document (TSO, 2009b). Project Plans and Levels As it has been stated previously, PRINCE2 has an organisational theme that needs to be discussed in detail, in relation with the levels and responsibilities related to each level. The main levels are: programme management, directing, managing, and delivering (TSO, 2009a). The Quality Theme The quality theme features managing expectations and projected outcomes, designing quality assurance and interventions. According to a recent publication by CIPFA (2012), the quality approach allows the planning of systematic activities leading to the identification of the company’s products, the project’s products, and the tracking of the quality methods. Customers’ expectations are analysed, an acceptance criteria is created, and this leads to the detailed project product description. The next task is to generate a project response, and a quality register. Quality, according to the definition of PRINCE2, is â€Å"The total amount of features or characteristics of a product, such that it meets expectations and satisfies the stated needs. Saying that all features of the product have to work as expected for a given amount of time† (London South Bank University, 2016). Simply put, the main purpose of the quality theme is to ensure that all the products are f it for their purpose. This approach signifies that if the quality of the products is compromised, the outcomes of the project will be negatively affected, as well. Before implementing the PRINCE2 project, it is necessary to agree on the acceptance criteria and quality expectations. For quality planning, the MoSCoW method of prioritisation should be used: must have, should have, could have, and won’t have for now. This information is detailed in the CIPFA (2012) publication. Risk Theme The risk management and monitoring features implemented in PRINCE2 are as follows: identifying risk, assessing it, planning (to avoid, exploit, reject, etc.) the risk, implementation of actions by risk owners, and communication through checkpoints, highlights, and reports, according to the PowerPoint lecture of London South Bank University (2016). The identification of risk is followed by their qualitative assessment: high, medium, or low risk categories, and the assessment of each risk’s potential impact. Risk responses can be avoidance, exploitation, enhancement, reduction, or sharing. Change Theme Ferguson (2011) describes this theme as the ability to identify and control baselines, changes, and approve or reject them. The online article talks about the applicability of PRINCE on smaller scale projects. Change management should be based on aligning the objectives of the project with the current changes, and making adjustments in order to meet the expectations of the project owners and the customers. For example, the implementation of a change might change the projected outcomes, therefore, changes need to be made. Progress Theme The Progress theme can be described as providing periodic snapshots of the level of completion and performance towards the objectives (Oracle, 2011). Under this theme, the calculations of Earned Value and Earned Value Projection are completed, and this allows project owners and directors to see the value of work completed against the resources used. Thresholds are also important in this bench-marking process. Conclusion Based on the above review, the main benefits of PRINCE2 for companies can be highlighted as: real time input and monitoring, risk management, performance and quality control abilities, and clear definition of objectives. The main benefit of the PRINCE2 method is that it provides a standard and common language for project management professionals. I believe that adapting the management approach can improve the success rate of small- and large-scale projects alike. Bibliography CIPFA. 2012. PRINCE2 Quick Reference Guide. Ferguson, C. 2011. PRINCE2 for Small-scale Projects. Novare Consulting. London South Bank University. 2016. PRINCE2 Presentations and Lectures. Marsh, D., 1996. Project management and PRINCE. Health Informatics, 2(1), pp.21-27. Murray, A. 2010. White-paper: PRINCE2 AND Governance. Outperform. Document Number: 1042-01-01 Version Number: 1v0 Oracle. 2011. PeopleSoft Projects (ESA) Support for PRINCE2. An Oracle White Paper June 2011 TSO. 2009a. Managing and Directing Successful Projects with PRINCE2. The Stationary Office. TSO. 2009. The Executive Guide to Directing Projects: within a PRINCE2â„ ¢ and MSP ® Environment, TSO 2009 How to cite Reflective Understanding Of Prince2 Principles In A Project Environment, Essay examples

Multicom for understanding Power and Politics and Organizational Cultu

Question: Write an essay on Multicom for understanding Power and Politics and Organizational Culture. Answer: Multicom is a public relation firm that was founded by Jim Walsh and Wendy Bridges, the former is a marketing specialists and the latter is a public relation expert. They were colleagues in a communication firm and thought of opening their own Public Relation firm as they felt they together can provide an excellent base and can be successful businessmen. They made two major and two minor partners in their firm. Bridges and Walsh hold 40% of the firms equity each and Marie Beaumont and Frank Rossi hold 10% equity each. Rossi was an editor and Beaumont was film and video person (Shahzad et al. 2012). At the initial stage each of them struggled to develop the business and all of them had accepted the client-centred mode of organization that gives prime importance to client satisfaction level and make strategies to retain their clients forever and serve them better than any other firm. Due to their single goal and cooperation in achieving the goal, in few years, the firm developed the co mpetency in serving the clients. They together followed the same strategies and trained their staff and the unity and the one goal has made the staff work hard to obtain growth and success to the firm (Chatman et al.2013). However, in the third year, the things started to change and power and politics started playing role between the stakeholders. Walsh and Bridges believed in Unitarism perspectives of decision-making management system and Beaumont and Rossi believe in Pluralism perspectives of decision-making management system. Under unitarism, decision making is the process followed from top-down and hierarchical structures. Here, managers own the right to manage things and taking decisions, the employees has no role in decision making. Walsh and Bridge wanted to set such practices where decision is centrally controlled and the employees are under strict rules and should look upon the managers for any decisions. However, in Pluralism, importance is given to diversity of individual and group interests. The view of all the employees is considered in case of making decisions. Any decision is taken by taking into consideration every employee individual viewpoints (Andersen and Moynihan 2016). There was a clash between the partners due to their different principles towards treating the employees of the company. As a result of it, clashes started taking place between the partners due to which the employees unity and one goal target took a back seat. As a result the performance and profit of the organization reduced. Further, Beaumont and Rossi wanted to share more responsibilities of work for the company and desired to increase the share of equity but Walsh and Bridge played their power game and did not wanted to hand over the control to them (Yesil and Kaya 2013). With the passing time, the difference in their philosophy of work became obvious as Walsh and Bridges were more concerned with the disciplinary actions of the employees, and Rosssi and Beaumont were only concern about the results of the work. By the end of the forth year, the difference between them reached the ultimate point and Walsh and Bridges used the politics and power of their majority shares and started taking decision among themselves without taking the view point of Rossi and Beaumont. Walsh and Bridges thought this would affect the other two partners but on the contrary, the other were hardly affected by the elder partners decision and were continued to grow in the following years (Hogan and Coote 2014). Rossi and Beaumont left the company and formed a new one in their place and worked hard to form a new company called Media 2000 The Company Media 2000 quickly became a fruitful company with growing developments and started experiences learning by doing and bringing new innovative methods of meeting the requirements of business (Liden et al. 2014). There is extensive literature on the culture of corporate. According to Hugh (1993), the autonomy of the managers restrains the development of the employees and they do not work with full effort. He believes in Theory Y, which says, the management style is decentralised and they follow that the employees are happy at work and are creative and self-motivated. They enjoy their work with great responsibility and are motivated to fulfil their goals. They consider work as natural part of their life and solve the problem at work with full effort and dedication as they do for their own self. The corporate culture should change, the general theory X of controlling employees and supervise them at every step should be replaced with Theory Y. The employees should not be forced, controlled and threaten for the delivery of task reduces their productivity. They should be rather given opportunity to excel in their task and work without any restriction. It will increase the productivity of the emplo yees (Willmott 1993) In the case the similar differences are seeing in the believes of the shareholders where Walsh and Bridges believes in controlling employees and directing them without giving them any power to take decision but Rossi and Beaumont believes in treating the employees as independent person and taking their advises in decision making for the company (Alvesson 2012) The emergent approach to manage employees emphasis on being yourself through the expression of individuality, fun and difference. It is different from old and traditional pattern of fun and culture and identifies the authentic aspects of the employees selves. It implies free work environment without any external control, the employees should be at themselves and should be free to work according to their own self. The management should only be considered with the productivity of the employees and the employees are to be left free to perform and excel themselves rather than be treated with restriction and assertion. It will help them to take the responsibility and be accountable for their task and be productive (Fleming 2009). Some studies have discussed that the basic feature of organizational behaviour is irrational. The decision-making of the organization tends to be irrational and their ideologies bias their perceptions. The studies make an effort to understand how the irrationality can be converted into rationality and how to make organization behave rationally. However, some studies support irrational behaviour and say that for organizational actions irrationality is necessary. They assert that the commitment and motivation are maximised when actions are facilitated by irrational decision-making procedures and choices are facilitated by clear but narrow organizational ideologies (Brunsson 1982). There are confirmative evidences that the bargaining power of the partners in a joint venture has an impact on the control pattern of the new venture capital that they have started through joint venture between the firms. If there is conflicts between the partners then the employees performance also get affected. On the other hand, if the Partners are united and concentrate on the objective of the firm, then many complex issues get solved and employees also perform well (Yan and Gray 1994). Critically, it can be said that in an organization the behaviour and attitude towards o improve the performance of the employees the management should leave their personal issues and concentrate on larger corporate goals. In the case study, the firm performed well and earned high profit at the initial stage when every employee of the firm from top to down worked towards reaching the goal of success keeping behind their own philosophy of work and differences in their profit share. However, when the firm got stabilised and started earning profit, the top management started getting diverted from the goal and concentrating on their differences in work philosophy. Such change in the attitude of the share holders affected the work environment and deteriorated their efficiency and performance (Martinez et al. 2015). The issue that is reflected in the case can also be supported by the literature review that has shown several studies of organization where the work culture plays the major role in bringing efficiency among the employees which is the string to success. The views regarding the management philosophy of practicing unitarism or pluralism are also critically discussed. In todays competitive world, pluralism practice seems to be more successful than unitarism practice. In the former case, the employees views are taken while making decisions regarding the strategies of corporate in achieving the goals whereas in the latter case, the employees are regarded as subordinates and strict rules are imposed on them without any contribution in decision making. The former makes the employee feel the ownership be accountable for their work whereas, the latter just make them follow the rules. References Alvesson, M., 2012.Understanding organizational culture. Sage. Andersen, S.C. and Moynihan, D.P., 2016. How Leaders Respond to Diversity: The Moderating Role of Organizational Culture on Performance Information Use.Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, p.muv038. Brunsson, N., 1982. The irrationality of action and action rationality: decisions, ideologies and organizational actions.Journal of management studies,19(1), pp.29-44. Chatman, J.A., Caldwell, D.F., OReilly, C.A. and Doerr, B., 2013. Parsing Organizational Culture: The Joint Influence of Culture Content and Strength on Performance in High-Technology Firms.University of California, Berkeley. Fleming, P. and Sturdy, A., 2009. Just be yourself!: Towards neo-normative control in organisations.Employee Relations,31(6), pp.569-583. Hogan, S.J. and Coote, L.V., 2014. Organizational culture, innovation, and performance: A test of Schein's model.Journal of Business Research,67(8), pp.1609-1621. Liden, R.C., Wayne, S.J., Liao, C. and Meuser, J.D., 2014. Servant leadership and serving culture: Influence on individual and unit performance.Academy of Management Journal,57(5), pp.1434-1452. Martinez, E.A., Beaulieu, N., Gibbons, R., Pronovost, P. and Wang, T., 2015. Organizational Culture and Performance.The American Economic Review,105(5), pp.331-335. Shahzad, F., Luqman, R.A., Khan, A.R. and Shabbir, L., 2012. Impact of organizational culture on organizational performance: an overview.Interdisciplinary journal of contemporary research in business,3(9), p.975. Willmott, H., 1993. Strength is ignorance; slavery is freedom: managing culture in modern organizations.Journal of management studies,30(4), pp.515-552. Yan, A. and Gray, B., 1994. Bargaining power, management control, and performance in United StatesChina joint ventures: a comparative case study.Academy of Management journal,37(6), pp.1478-1517. Yesil, S. and Kaya, A., 2013. The effect of organizational culture on firm financial performance: Evidence from a developing country.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,81, pp.428-437.

The Scientific Revolution Enlightenment free essay sample

Scientific Revolution Aristotle and Claudia Ptolemy 16th century science was based on their conclusions Geocentric model: Earth is motion less other planets revolve around it Epicycles- Polymers idea circles within circles Crystalline spheres: heavens are made of a weightless substance allowing them to move Medieval thinkers used Aristotle and Ptolemy ideology into a Christian framework Thomas Aquinas uses Unmoved Mover concept to confirm G-ads existence Medieval thinkers believed their hypothesis but were unsure as to why the earth was in the center, salvation can only OCCUr on earth so g-d placed it there-?one train of thought Mathematics and science became the answers to solving Earths mysteries Nicolas Copernicus (1473- 1543) Heliocentric model: sun in center, circular (epicycle) orbit around On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres: theory published 1543 Critics disagree stating it is UN-Christian and illogical Disagreed with their theology main leaders against it: martin Luthe r, john Calvin 1 ; If corp. We will write a custom essay sample on The Scientific Revolution Enlightenment or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page . Correct church and bible are wrong new direction of thinking this is only a theory, does not have mathematical tools to prove this idea Itchy Brave (1546- 1601)Danish astronomer Does not have a telescope but has a lab and finds very precise data 1572- discovers new star 1577- discovers comet Johannes Keeper (1571- 1630) Assistant to TUB New Astronomy (1609) Laws of Planetary Motion 1: elliptical orbits 2: speed of planet in larger orbit is slower speed of planet in smaller orbit faster 3: farther from the sun slower orbit Keepers law provide the foundations of Newtons Laws of Gravity Galileo Galilee (1564- 1642) First to use the telescope: support for heliocentric theory Bible unreliable source Dialogue on Two Chief Systems of the World (1632) index of prohibited kooks: -earth rotates on an axis and earth revolves around the sun Condemned by Catholic Church-?house arrest Pendulum, principles of inertia. Covers objects of different weight fall at the same speed By the middles of t he 1 7th century, the new science becomes an increasingly Protestant and northern Europe phenomenon Argued that nature was cold, rational, mathematical and mechanistic Laid foundation for the modern study of mechanics-?foundation for Newton Isaac Newton (1642- 1727) Universe is mathematical, empirical, practical, no miracles Calculus, concept of gravity, gravitational pull Keepers 3 Laws of Planetary Motion becomes Newtons Laws of Motion Inertia, acceleration, for every action that is an equal and opposite reaction Principia Mathematical (1687) mixture of science and math -Universal gravitation: planets and star move b/c of gravity, gravity: why planets move in an orderly rather than chaotic sass every scientist looked up to Newton Cornelius Itchy Brave Johannes Keeper (mathematics) Newt.Collectively shatter geocentric theory Natural Philosophy (Modern Science) Attempt to understand the workings of nature and the structure of the universe Scientific Revolution: reaches its culminati on with Newton and his endings Biology, Chemistry, and Medicine: greater advances in physics and astronomy in 16 and 17 Andrea Versatile: The Structure of the Body (1543), dissection learning about anatomy William Harry: blood circulation (1628) Robert Bayle: father of modern chemistry, distinction between chemical elements, compounds, and reactions. Scientific Reasoning and Logic/ Philosophy Responds to science Scientists and philosophers see universe as a governed universal laws that can be seen, and discovered with rational inquiry and experiment Francis Bacon (1561- 1626) Lord Chancellor of England l will put a new route to intellectual discoveryJust because an idea has been around for a while does not make it valid Knowing: secured by experience and data Nova Organza (New Method): what we can know is limited to what we can run experiments on Causes of Human Error: Idols of the Tribe, Idols of the Cave, Idols of the Marketplace, Idols of the Theatre Table of discovery: Experimen ts Lucifer: uncover info about the globe Experiments fructified: experiments that prove things wrong Inductive reasoning to find conclusions Small pieces of experiments and drawing larger conclusions from them If on observes enough apples falling from a tree can conclude apples fall, not tideways Build up data to build up logical conclusion-? inductive reasoning Human Philosophy psychology building blocks Rene Descartes (1596- 1650) Founder of modern philosophy Rationalism/ philosophy of the mind: understanding world based on reason Discourse on Method most famous (1636) and Meditation on First Philosophy (1636) The Dread Argument/ Deceiving G-d Argument/ Evil Demon Argument: all he knows is false and could be false If we cant trust our senses to convey true information about the world around us then we cant trust the conclusions weve made on the grounds of that sense perception Thought recess: sensory data is false my mind is real l think therefore I am -?> G-d is then also real an d Hes not tricking us about the World -?> sensory data is not false, use math and reason to find truth Truth is in the mind a human is a rest cogitations (thinking thing) not an rest extents (extended thing) Cartesian Dualism: idea of reality cogitator ergo sum (l think therefore I am) G- d original cogitator himself, allows clear thinking Best way to understand physical World is through math and reason Deductive reasoning: logic and reason to find the truth The modern Scientific Method Induction (Francis Bacon- inductive) EmpiricismDeduction (Desecrate deductive m) Rationalism Moving from the specific to the general Begins with the general and ends with the specific Carols Linnaeus: classified plants and animals by gees and species William Gilbert: electrical charges in substances Ben Franklin: Identified electricity in lightning an invented lighting rod Alexandra Vote: storage battery, harness electricity due to battery New Science Royal Society for Improving Natural Knowledge, Lo ndon 166 French Academy of science, 1 666 Berlin Academy/ Prussian Academy of Science, Berlin 17 The Enlightenment The Enlightenment (1700- 1800) Deism: G-d as divine watchmaker does not get involved (most distant) John Tolland Christianity Not Mysterious -coined term deism Pantheism: G-d is everything (everything is the same) and everything is G-d (more extreme) Monism: everything is unified by a single substance Branch sipping (1632- 1677) Ethics: disprove Descartes Dualism (mind is separate from matter) Substance: is a substance (inner being or essence) Modes: beings and everything ( expression) No good and evil, only perspective State of Nature: anarchy or constant state of war fear of chaotic Social Contract: agreement made to maintain social order and peace ThomasHobbes (1588- 1679) Pessimistic believed individuals are bad Leviathan: 1651 advocates absolutism, move away from what the fear and towards desires Fundamental desire is survive Likes absolutism Dislikes Anarchy Man m ust pick ruled: absolutism (only right gobo) and security free: anarchy and fear Bad and lack a master Give up power to leviathan so he can protect us John Locke (1632- 1 704) Optimistic Essay Concerning Human Understanding: Theory of Tabular Rasa -blank slate -knowledge from experiences -environment effects human behavior -society progresses with education Two Treatises of Civil Government (1690) In state of nature Pl. Are equal and good Social contract-Pl. Arm government protects natural rights (liberty property happiness) Rebellion: violation of rights Constitutional government is supported Biases Pascal (1623- 1662) Reunite science with religion Mystical experiences enables Pascals Wager: better to believe then not to, gain you gain all, loose you loose nothing Pennies (Thoughts) Witch Craft!!! 70,000- 10,000 women sentenced women older, widows 80% elderly 1700 end of witch craze traditional beliefs and fears result in witch panics and craze Voltaire (Franà §ois Marie Route) (1694- 177) Constitutional monarchy > French absolutism teeters on the English: contrasted English political liberty and intellectual independence with Frances tyranny and bondage Letters are the first sparks in the French Revolution Enlightened Despotism: guest at Potsdam in court of Frederick the Great, form Of absolutism , looses favor with him and is exiled from Prussia.

Free Essays on Accounting Articles

I recently read an article out of the Dayton Business Journal, entitled â€Å"Accounting Office goes Paperless.† Brady Ware, an accounting office in Dayton, has eliminated paper and pencil accounting in their office and has switched to a totally computer based accounting office system. This transformation is expected to substantially decrease the amount of money spent on paper, as well as lessen the time used for handling paper and searching for files, so that accountants may focus on the customers’ needs instead. I think that this is a great revolution for accounting firms as well as for other businesses; more companies should follow Brady Ware’s lead. There are only a few businesses ready to jump into computer technology, at this magnitude, at this point in time, but those businesses that have, are seeing the positive affects that this technology has on a business. One great example is the cost of paper. In a field where ultimately everything is done on paper, the costs can become excruciating. In this article one expert says, â€Å"Paper is a huge cost to businesses and an unnecessary burden.† Utilizing computers can change this burden. Rather than writing everything out and then having to store it in file cabinets, with a computer you simply type in all your information and then store it right there, no paper necessary. Businesses will spend less money on paper and storage units, which (in a perfect world) would be great from employees because Businesses could use the extra money on better employee benefits and pay raises. People may not realize it, but I think that computerized systems make work less stressful. You would never lose files, because they are in the computer; never have to go digging through file cabinets; no more filing, you would have everything at the tips of your fingers. It would be great! In this article they also discussed how most of the employees at Brady Ware were having negative attitudes towards ... Free Essays on Accounting Articles Free Essays on Accounting Articles I recently read an article out of the Dayton Business Journal, entitled â€Å"Accounting Office goes Paperless.† Brady Ware, an accounting office in Dayton, has eliminated paper and pencil accounting in their office and has switched to a totally computer based accounting office system. This transformation is expected to substantially decrease the amount of money spent on paper, as well as lessen the time used for handling paper and searching for files, so that accountants may focus on the customers’ needs instead. I think that this is a great revolution for accounting firms as well as for other businesses; more companies should follow Brady Ware’s lead. There are only a few businesses ready to jump into computer technology, at this magnitude, at this point in time, but those businesses that have, are seeing the positive affects that this technology has on a business. One great example is the cost of paper. In a field where ultimately everything is done on paper, the costs can become excruciating. In this article one expert says, â€Å"Paper is a huge cost to businesses and an unnecessary burden.† Utilizing computers can change this burden. Rather than writing everything out and then having to store it in file cabinets, with a computer you simply type in all your information and then store it right there, no paper necessary. Businesses will spend less money on paper and storage units, which (in a perfect world) would be great from employees because Businesses could use the extra money on better employee benefits and pay raises. People may not realize it, but I think that computerized systems make work less stressful. You would never lose files, because they are in the computer; never have to go digging through file cabinets; no more filing, you would have everything at the tips of your fingers. It would be great! In this article they also discussed how most of the employees at Brady Ware were having negative attitudes towards ...

Problems in Total Quality within the Workplace Assignment

Problems in Total Quality within the Workplace - Assignment Example Unfortunately, this in itself has been a perplexing task since TQM has had various definitions for different people. The TQM philosophy revolves around assumptions that are manifested in people, quality, corporations and the role of top management (Hackman & Wageman, 1995). The strategy outlines four core principles that bring about quality improvement. The first pertains to the process control and design which requires training at all levels of the organization (Hackman & Wageman, 1995). The second pertains to elimination of uncontrolled variance in process standards (Hackman & Wageman, 1995). The third relates to the methodical collection of data and finally, the fourth pertains to continuous improvement (Hackman & Wageman, 1995). However, the implementation of TQM and its application to industries is not as simplistic as its explanation; it is plagued by several problems. Recent research suggests that more than 80% of TQM efforts have failed to achieve desired tangible results since top management fails to set SMART goals (Kearney, 1992). Most organizations have failed to realize significant competitive edge through initiation of these efforts. TQM requires a culture whereby organizations are devoted to increasing quality, often at the expense of short term profits. However, several profit organizations take a myopic view when they aim for short term profits rather than quality. In organizations in the public sector, the issue is that of excessive government intervention and influence on the organization’s activities (Sarkar, 1991). State run organizations are often bureaucratic in nature and tend to deviate from quality improvement activities. In such organizations it is difficult to embed the TQM culture. Furthermore, in certain developing countries the culture is such that it negates change and does not encourage empowerment that is fundamental to the achievement

Law of the Sea Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Law of the Sea - Essay Example The different provisions of this convention included setting of limits, navigation rules, exclusive economic zones, continental shelf, deep seabed mining, the exploitation regime, prospects of technology, the issue of universal participation in the convention, pioneer investors, protection of the marine environment, marine scientific research, and settlement of disputes3. The present study focuses on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 and discusses about the powers that the Convention provides to flag, port and coastal states trying to determine its effectiveness and appropriateness towards prevention, control and minimization of pollution and damage to the marine environment. UN Convention of the Law of the Sea: Article 94 Presenting Duties of the Flag State: According to the Article 94 of the convention, it was the duty of every State to implement authority and be in command of the managerial, procedural and communal matters in regard to the ships flying its flag4. A regi ster of ships is required to be maintained in every State that contains the details of all the ships flying its flags excluding the ones that are not under the policies of international regulations5. While every State should follow their internal laws, they are supposed to execute significant control over the administration of the ship flying its flag as well as the masters, the crew and the officers associated with the ship6. The convention provides that every State has the responsibility to consider measures for safety in regard to the (a) the construction, equipment and seaworthiness of ships; (b) the manning of ships, labor conditions and the training of crews, taking into account the applicable international instruments; and (c) the use of signals, the maintenance of communications and the prevention of collisions7. The details of the ships flying its flag are required to be monitored and evaluated by qualified surveyors not only before the ships fly their flags but also at reg ular intervals once the ships have started. Charts, nautical publications and navigational equipment and instruments that are necessary for the purpose of navigation safety of the ship also need to be available8. Officers and masters in association of the ships should be suitably qualified in seamanship, routing, communications and marine engineering and that the crew members possess sufficient knowledge regarding the type, size, technology and equipment of the ship9. The convention also provides that the crew members as well as the officers and masters need to be acquainted well with the regulations as directed by the law for the safety of life at sea, the avoidance of collisions, the anticipation, diminution and power of marine pollution, and the maintenance of communications by radio10. For the implementation of the above mentioned measures, the convention also rules that every State should be familiar with the regulations, procedures and practices11 internationally stated and th us consider safety measures accordingly. A State has the provision of reporting to the flag State in case any irresponsibility or lack of proper control is observed by the State in relation to the ship flying its flag12. In case of any casualty or incident in navigation leading to loss of lives or in cases of serious

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Cesim Global Challange Report - Essay Example This situation made it extremely difficult for the company to be attractive to investors and thereby limiting shareholder participation. It would be admitted that the efforts of Team Ochre has clearly brought some levels of improvement but it has not totally solved the situation. Team Ochre’s success can be attributed to a relatively impressive fixed asset which stood at $766,581. Even though this could be higher, it is generally better than what most other groups recorded. A number of factors can be given to explain this, including the production based investments which have already been referred to. Team Ochre is focused on maximizing shareholder value through the provision of massive global representation. Using the unit sales volumes as an indicator for market shares for the company, it was found that the company recorded positive market share in three technologies globally. Unlike its competitors, Team Ochre’s financial performance was spread across three major technologies. These were Tech 1, 2 and 3 with 0.00% market share in Tech 4. Team Ochre is also able to achieve consistent performance by effective future forecasting of its market demands. For example for Tech 1, the total available products were 8,552,000, all of which were produced in the USA with 0 manufactured in Asia. Meanwhile the demand for both markets was only 1,799,000. For Tech 2 also, the situation was not different with 0 products manufactured in Asia with 5,975,000 USA manufacturing against 1,285,000 demands. This certainly shows the effect of poor forecasting on by Team Ochre, the result of which was overproduction. Looking forward, Team Ochre plans to continue to focus its attention on efficient and lean production. The reason for saying this is that even though the company has become marketable and lucrative to customers and thus attracted some improved levels of sales, profits are still low. As of round 9, the

Rupert Murdoch Media Mogul Case Study

Rupert Murdoch Media Mogul Case Study Since 1952 when Rupert Murdoch inherited two Australian news paper from his father, he started a non-stop career generating growth within the media sector up to the point where the variety of his communication mediums have reached two-thirds of the worlds population. Murdoch has even been accused of monopolistic practices. Criticised by many people but admired by others, his leadership style is matter of analysis as it seems to contradict any Human Resource theory, i.e. the opposite of what is recognised as a good practice. However, his empire is alive and real, News Corporation (News Corp) is the second largest media conglomerate globally just behind The Walt Disney Company. This document will look at insights into Rupert Murdochs behaviour, his learning style as well as his personality characteristics as influencer in his professional development and managerial style. The analysis of competitive advantage for News Corp will be also discussed. From a Human Resource Management (HRM) perspective, News Corps practices need to be analysed in terms of performance appraisal, selection, relationship management, culture and ethics. A further mention with respect to leadership will be made since this is a core aspect that needs to be understood and appreciated. In order to successfully implement changes and improvements in News Corps HRM policy and approaches, improvements and alterations in Murdochs leadership style and approach need to be implemented. Murdochs People Management Style Learning Style and personality characteristics Theoretically, a successful company should have good practices in HRM. Ingham (2007) refers to best practice as an assumption that by doing things in a set best way, any organisation can improve their performance. He also points out that other concepts acknowledge that there is more than one combination of appropriate practices which varies according to context. Through this document, analysis will be made for each aspect as mentioned; linking the personal characteristics of Murdoch with News Corps practices. For years there has been interest in the importance of developing HRM: from hard approaches that looked at employees as a cost to be managed and possibly minimised, to softer approaches looking at employees as investments, valuables and with the capacity to make important contributions to the companys success. For News Corp however, this development has not happened as they are still operating based, clearly, on hard approaches, focusing on the rational management of people as if they were any other factor of production (Ingman, 2007). Murdoch has shaped News Corp and to accurately understand his performance, it is worthwhile to look at him as a CEO but as a person as well. Beyond his managerial and interpersonal skills, or the lack of them, it is undeniable that he has strong business acumen and ability to find new opportunities. For instance, the creation of the first national newspaper in Australia which gave him political clout, and acquisitions of different successful mediums such as Fox tv in the USA or Star Network in Hong Kong .He has been a natural entrepreneur since his youth and some analysts attribute his success to his ability to learn from mistakes, basic rule for a successful management as Templar (2005) highlights. A focused background in the newspaper market, added to his learning style have likely contributed to Murdochs edge. There are many approaches to learning styles by which this could be analysed and understood. One of the most recognised is Kolbs (1984, cited in businessballs) approach, which sets out learning as a cycle and suggests that everybody has a preferred style of learning. HOW TO REFERENCE THIS FRAMEWORK?, I GOT IT FROM: http://www.businessballs.com/kolblearningstyles.htm In this framework Murdoch could be described as having an Accommodating Style (combination of feeling and doing). Accommodating people are generalised as those who are hands-on, relying in intuition rather than logic and mainly prefer practical and experiential approaches. According to Kolb, they are persons attracted to new challenges, new experiences and to carrying out plans and setting targets. Murdoch seems to have much of this description. Comparing this description to Felder and Silverman Theory, (1980, cited in mindtools) (Appendix 1) Murdoch seems to be an Active Learner, a person who prefers manipulating, doing and learn by trying. This is a description also confirmed by Honey and Mumford (1982 cited in literature available). Another approach by which Murdoch could be analysed is VAK (Appendix 2), framework in which he can be described as a kinaesthetic person as he has show he enjoy actively doing and experimenting in reality. A combination of his knowledge, learning style and personality, could provide a broad picture to understand his behaviour and motivations. His need for achievement, no matter at what cost, has been clear through this career as a well known risk taker. Murdoch is as well an innovative person who easily incorporated new technologies in his business, as he referred to himself: a catalyst for change. Murdoch has some remarkable characteristics that have led him to achieve his success. He is known for his ever-changing tactics, for exercising control, for his smart mind and acting unlike his competitors. The complexity he has have to cope with in business has led him to think creatively, for instance as it is cited in the case study, when his competitor offered to buy his newspaper he published the opponents offer letter with the headlines Bid for Press Monopoly. As a global figure the press, not just competitors, desire to know his plans and strategies. This has not always been possible since he is considered a very secretive person. His understanding about environmental factors, usually referred at as PESTEL (Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental) has given him distinct advantages. For instance, he identifies financially profitable markets, technologies than can help his business, despite union protests and legal ways to reduce his costs, for example, setting operations of his companies in fiscal paradises henceforth paying less taxes than most of its biggest competitors. Despite the fact that Murdoch is not known as a good relationship manager, he does know the importance of maintaining specific good relationships, such as political ones. Actually, it is said that he switched his political preferences to favour his business. (Between the Republicans and the Democrats in the USA, and between the Tories and th e Laboritie in the UK). Competitive Advantage From the point of view of business performance, his job as News Corp CEO has been successful. But the issue is how sustainable could the performance be?. Barney (1991, p.99) points out that firms obtain sustained competitive advantages by implementing strategies that exploit their internal strengths, through responding to environmental opportunities, while neutralizing external threats and avoiding internal weaknesses. By delivering the desired content that members (subscription based customers) want, often referred to as populist Murdoch truly has exploited his organisational strengths. As discussed, he often takes external opportunities. It is arguable that beyond neutralizing threats he is his competitors threat and in external issues his political manipulation has helped him significantly. Theoretically speaking, News Corp should have a sustainable competitive advantage. However, the resource-based model (Barney, 1991) suggests that a resource to generate sustainable competitive advantage must be valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable and without strategically equivalent substitutes. Murdochs strategies have been rare to say the least, unexpected in many ways since he has never let anyone else to know about them and imperfectly imitable due to his power and the size of his company which makes for the competitors it difficult to follow him. However, he is wasting the most important resource by ignoring it as an asset: human resource. The size of his company is greater than most in the sector, having 47,300 employees (CNN); but taking into account his leadership style it is hardly a surprise that for him, employees are not a resource nor an asset. Emotional Intelligence Emotional Intelligence is an aspect that have been gaining importance as it has been recognised as a key factor in relationships and leadership. Goleman et al, (2002 p.3) highlight that No matter what leaders set out to do whether its creating strategy or mobilizing teams to action their success depends on how they do it. Even if they get everything else just right, if leaders fail in this primal task of driving emotions in the right direction, nothing they do will work as well as it could or should. There are four aspects enclosed in Emotional Intelligence, also referred at as Leadership Competences: Self-Awarness, Self-Management, Social-Awarness and Relationship-Management. Self-management clearly is not part of his strengths as he uses to terrorize his employees without stopping and thinking. Social awareness is also missing in his managerial skills as he does not care about what people feel nor try to listening to them. As CEO he is feared rather than respected. His mood and behaviour influenced his treatment toward people. His management of himself and his relationship with people is a clear sign of his poor in emotional intelligence both, in personal and social competence. Relationship management is the result of understanding people and treating them appropriately, according to Bradberry and Greaves (2009); this is clearly a characteristic that Murdoch lacks. In research published in 2005 by Harvard Business Review entitled Heartless Bosses focusing on emotional intelligence, they took a sample from different industries, levels in the organisations and continents. The results showed the lowest average emotional intelligence at CEO level which points out a generalised weakness in this field as a managerial skill. However Murdoch is still an exceptional case. Management Style Murdoch is a recognised manager, who gives results to the shareholders. But analysing in detail, he is managing only the numbers, financial capital ignoring human capital. In this style, some of his approaches are successful while some others are not. For instance, Templar (2005) cites Follow your instinct/ gut instinct and learn from your mistakes as two of the rules of management, but also create a good atmosphere which Murdoch is absolutely not doing. Handy (1995), defines four types of Managers depending on the culture of the organisation: Zeus: The club culture Apollo: The role culture Athena: The task culture Dionysius: The existential culture Murdoch, seems to be a Zeus Manager, a strong leader who likes power and exercises it. However, different to Handys relationship between managerial style and organisational culture, News Corp is better described as a Role Culture or Role Tribe as will be discussed later. To understand why Murdoch share most of his managerial characteristics with Handys Zeus, is worthwhile to look at the following comparison: HOW TO REFERENCE IT:? IT IS FROM THE BOOK GODS OF MANAGEMENT, PAGE 90. DIAGRAM BASED ON KNOW YOUR OWN PERSONALITY EYSENK HR Management in News Corp Performance Appraisal Murdoch is an authoritative person, a control freak, who principally emphasises his employees performance based around his own yield as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI). But if someone did not perform as he liked, then they were fired for not meeting his personal standards. Theory highlights that KPI should help to measure performance reflect on organisational goals and evaluate success or progress. These should be quantifiable and periodically assessed. None of these characteristics can be attributed to Murdochs performance analysis. The case study points out that News Corp HR Systems were poor. With very poor performance appraisal systems and with no annual reviews of staff and no process by which talented people could be promoted this reflects a significant and inappropriate lack of development plans. Early in News Corp launch, Murdochs approach to HR could have been acceptable but in todays fast changing environment, employees are more demanding and relevant theory about good HR practices is being championed by companies, making the leadership style that has been used in News Corp potentially not longer sustainable. Recruitment and Selection Academic literature suggests that a core theme in HRM practice is that people are central to the organisation and it should focus on values and the individual. Human resourcing is often described as a strategic activity, where people are an organisations most valuable asset, and represent the long-term future of the company. Murdochs style is not HR focused. However, some of his practices could be in fact matched with successful HR practices, for instance part of his success could be due to the News Corp selection process. He might not have an HR development plan, but what is clear is he has placed the right people in all his companies, perhaps people with the right skills, knowledge and competences that contribute to the strategy of the organisation. For a global company like News Corp, hiring the right people is crucial. From the potential employees point of view it could be desirable to develop a career there, as they can be involved in the glamour of media in a well-recognised company, thus it is likely that qualified professionals are available for the selection process. However, as News Corp has no performance measurements defined, it is difficult to expect that they have a recruitment criteria established based on measurements that they can apply further. Also it could led to think in Golemans (2002) suggestion Just because a particular executive is the most visible, is he the person who actually leads the company? A CEO who heads conglomerate may have no followers to speak of; rather its the division heads who actively lead people and affect profitability most. Relationship management It is also crucial to remember that the establishment of mutually agreed expectations during selection forms part of a psychological contract, which will strongly influence an employees attitudes and feelings about the organisation (Bratton and Gold 2001, p201). Handy (1999) had referred to this as the secret contract. Every time Murdoch disrespects his employees he is breaching this contract, affecting the labour environment and probably the desire of their employees to stay in the company. In the long term this directly affects costs as recruitment is an expensive process which apart from valuable time, includes use of instruments and training costs. Culture and Ethics A remarkable aspect in Murdochs managerial life has been his ability to integrate different cultures of the acquired companies easily into News Corps as the case states. This is not an easy issue but he has managed it successfully. Culture is a very complex matter of study, especially in non-written aspects, such as assumptions, beliefs and values. But News Corps culture is even harder to understand because of its size and unique characteristics. Some aspects of News Corps culture are noticeable, for instance, behaviour in terms of the relationship between management and employee, this includes a clear lack of development and training. According to the literature available, there are 4 types of culture, one of which is control culture, the framework for News Corp, constantly seeking operational excellence. These organisations have a planning discipline, leadership is a function of authority and decision making is directly related to job role. Handy (1995, 1999) lists this culture types as tribes: The club tribe: centralised, surrounded by circles of intimate and influence. The role tribe: organisations are set of roles or job-boxes, joined together in a logical and orderly fashion. Communications are formalised, as are systems and procedures. It is all managed rather than led. (Handy, 1999, p148-149) The task tribe: individuals cab be allocated in different tasks and projects The person tribe: put the person first than the organisations purpose. News Corp, then, is a Role Tribe. Part of culture analysis refers to communication and behaviours. From ethics, a clear dissonance is reflected between what News Corp as a company promotes and the way Murdoch behaves. Ethics is defined as the study of what is right and good in human conduct and the justification of such claims (Lucas et al, 2006) and business ethics as the study of the conduct of people in the business context. The dissonance can be seen through their communication as they have policies about ethics published for all their employees and for the CEO, yet Murdoch has been accused as having downplayed market news and created a monopoly in media all contradicting many of the policies. They also have competition policies, as referred to in their website, but interestingly he changed the prices of his news papers to destroy competition. Some analysts have also questioned behaviours such as supporting George Bush in his war determination arguing a benefit for the economy as oil were down in prices. Literature available, suggests four considerations in describing ethics in an organisational context: Beyond self-interest, universalised, defendable and action-guiding. The actions taken by Murdoch hardly seem to be beyond self-interest and his treatment among employees in not universalised as is influenced by his mood and demeanour, as discussed earlier. Leadership Analysis Leadership Vs management Murdochs leadership style plays an important role in News Corps overall analysis. He has taken the company where it is now but at the same time he has lost the opportunity to create commitment among his employees sharing his vision and engaging them in the process. For the leader who wishes to increase legitimate power, a long term commitment is required. Trust in relationships, which is the foundation of legitimate power, cannot be fabricated ad hoc. (Covey, 1999 p105) Distinctions between management and leadership need to be assessed. Kotter (1996, cited in Bratton and Gold 2001) explained that the main function of managers is to create plans while the main purpose of a leader is to create a shared vision and a strategy to achieve it. Managers control and probelm-solve, leaders, on the other hand, motivate and inspire. A balance is therefore suggested in order to provide effectiveness in a company. The literature available cites that a manager executes a plan and delivers the goals of the business. Is strong in process and systems, producing key results expected by stakeholders. On the other hand a leader is visionary, envisions where the company should be heading and inspires those in the company to make the vision their own. A good leader has excellent people skills, communicating, convincing, persuading, inspiring and motivating. From this perspective, News Corp is suffering from the first of seven chronic problems in organisations cited by Covey (Appendix 3): Problem 1: No shared vision and values: either the organisation has no mission statement or there is no deep understanding of and commitment to the mission at all levels of the organisation (Covey 1999. p 165) Leadership choice Murdoch has been a highly successful manager, but lacks good leadership practice. A simple way to understand Murdochs leadership choice is also given by Covey in his diagram about the Leadership Choice. Power Process YOU Leadership Choice Principle-Centered Power Utility Power Coercive Power Honor Fairness Fear Sustained Proactive Influence Functional Reactive Influence Temporary Reactive Control REFERENCING: PAGE 106. Leadership Style Murdochs leadership choice has been through coercive power. He has created a fear atmosphere where the commitment is superficial. This definition matches with the Commanding Type described by Goleman et al, (2002) who suggest that there are six types of leadership: Visionary Coaching Affiliative. Democrat Pacetting Commanding The Commanding type is considered the least effective, which defines Murdochs style. such leaders demand immediate compliance with orders, but dont bother explaining reasons behind them. If subordinates fail to follow orders, unquestioningly, these leaders resort to threats. Accordingly, performance feedback if given at all- invariably focuses on what people did wrong rather than what they did well. In short, its a classic recipe for dissonance (Goleman et al, 2002, p76). Dissonant leadership is said by Goleman to generate frustration and resentment, all the contrary to the desirable resonant leadership. Those leaders usually focus only in financial goals regardless for the long-term human cost. In the twentieth-century business, companies were mostly hierarchical and control based, just in the era when News Corp started, but now tends are different and the company has not evolved as it should. Media is a highly competitive sector and the challenges are large and significant. Murdoch has had to successfully navigate through technological changes, for example, the threat that the internet provides to printed news, economic changes globally and different business-related crises. From this point of view his style could have been successful although not appropriate. News Corps initial focus was on printed media, but in the present its main companies are television based. His assertive decisions in its core business has given News Corp a penetration of two-thirds of the population, mainly thanks to Star Network (the Hong Kong based satellite network), Fox Channel in the USA, BSkyB in the UK. It is clear that Murdoch is an excellent business men in terms of results, but, how greater could News Corp be is his leadership style were better? Goleman points out how different leaderships affect different factors in companies, such as climate, financial results, return on sales, growth, efficiency and profitability. Results show that, all the thing being equal, leaders who use styles with a positive emotional impact saw decidedly better financial returns than those who did not (p 54) A CEOs behaviour impacts strongly upon employees, as it is said by Goleman et al, (2002, p 76) Given that emotional contagion spreads most readily from the top to down, an intimidating, cold leader contaminates everyones mood, and the quality of the overall climate spirals down. Thus, News Corps employees are not likely to be committed. This could mean they do just the work they are paid for, not doing their best, nor adding value. As part of a role culture (role tribe) people just do their job, neither more, nor less (Handy, 1995) This is a failure in the psychological contract and as they are not receiving what they expect, they do not do their part. On the other hand, News Corp could experience a brain drain, strengthening competitors and making it harder for News Corp to be sustainable. News Corps organisational climate is another HR aspect that is poorly managed, being the representation of the internal environment among members of the organisation, linked to motivational level (Chiavenatto 2001). It seems to be deficient, taking into account the lack of opportunities of self-actualization, the higher step in Maslows (1943) hierarchy of needs and the relationship of Murdoch with his employees. Murdochs style seems to tend towards Taylorism rather than on relevant, contemporary, focused HR practice, as he is interested on the outcome, efficiency of the work and his employees are just a necessary medium. However, even the scientific management method proposed by Taylor (1911, cited in 12manage) gives its place to training and development in its second step which suggests that the company should select, train and develop the most suitable person for each job, again scientifically, rather than passively leaving them to train themselves Recommendations Based on the analysis outlined here for Murdochs leadership style and his management of his people the following key recommendations are suitable: Move to a more collaborative leadership style: it have been established all the implications that the current leadership style has for News Corp. By improving this core point, the company would gain employees commitment and committed employees will not just work flexibly but rather endeavour to succeed but going the extra mile in pursuit of customer service (Lucas et al, 2006) Redefine Key Performance Metrics to include development and relationship with employees. Clear measurements by which employees could be later appraised. Development plans to ensure the permanence of talent in the company and encourage them to feel ownership; The best people in any field -the talented few who contributes greatest business value- simply dont have to put up with the misery perpetuated by a bad boss. And increasingly, they leave for their jobs. People join companies and leave jobs. (Goleman et al, 2002, p 83). Also performance standards that meet organisational and personal goals, which is often know as good development Succession plan: Through development, ensure the continuity of the business once Murdoch retire, improving in HR Management but keeping the financial and business good results. The following leader should have emotional intelligence strengths as well as control capacity to handle a corporation of News Corps size. Goleman (2002, p27) cites intellect alone will not make a leader; leaders execute a vision by motivating, guiding, inspiring, listening, persuading -and most crucially, through creating resonance. Organisation Development: becoming a learning organisation which means going beyond training individuals. Training all levels in a continuous process and adopting new approaches which take into account more people rather than physical assets. Systematic processes for selection and development. Reach a balance between all the stake holders needs. Good HR practices: Establishment and empowerment of an HRM department to ensure the implementation of good practices and moreover, good fit according to the conglomerate and each organisation that composes it. It might be useful an external consultation to evaluate the situation and suggest ways. However, internal participation is crucial as they know more the company and its environment. Creating sustainable change: Leadership need to be shared in different levels. Decentralising power and looking for collaborative leaders among the company, is easier to make a sustainable change. Any change implies consequences, thus it is necessary take into account the following implications that could result of moving forward: Resources: financial and non financial Resistance: to change, from those who are affiliates to Murdochs style Processes: need to be implemented and/or improved in terms of metrics, recruitment, policies. Conclusion No one doubts Murdochs success and it is clear to see that he is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. However, sustainability could be a key issue for News Corp, as he centralise decisions and the organisation is closely tied to him as a person. He is a strong figure and when he has to retire shareholders might experience uncertainty just like is now happening with Apple, which is increasing the risk of lose shares value and company good-will due to the imminent retire of Steve Jobs. When a company is a reflect of its CEO personality and leadership, succession becomes a problem. If systems, practices and policies are not implemented now, the maintenance and future development of the organisation cannot be ensured. Next CEO will not have Murdochs leadership style and will have to seek for more collaborative approaches Contemporary thinking and new HRM approaches strongly point out that people are key; therefore a win-win approach is convenient to News Corp future development. By treating people as a resource is likely to reach their commitment and build a step to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Murdoch have built a successful empire, the issue now is make it sustainable in the long term. If changes in core aspect such a HRM are not made now, it is not probable to happen. REFERENCES Barney, J., 1991. Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of management, 17, 99-120. Chiavenatto, I., 2001. Administracion de recursos humanos. 5th ed. Santa fe de Bogota: Mc Graw Hill Handy, Ch. 1999. Inside Organisations. Twenty-one ideas for managers. 2nd ed. London: Penguin Books Handy, Ch. 1995. Gods of Management. The changing work of organisations. London: Arrow Books Limited. Bratton, J., Gold, J. 2001. Human Resource Management. Theory and practice. 2nd ed. New York, N. Y.: Palgrave Bradberry, T. and Greaves, G., 2009. Emotional Intelligence 2.0. San Diego, CA: TalentSmart Ingham, J. 2007. Strategic Human Capital Management. Creating value through people. Oxford UK: Butterworth-Heineman. Covey, S. 1999. Principle-Centered Leadership. London: Simon and Schuster Lucas, R., Lupton, B., Mathieson, H. 2006. Human Resource Management in an international context. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel Develepment. Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., McKee, A. 2002. The New Leaders. Transforming the art of leadership into the science of results. Great Britain: Little, Brown. Templar, R. 2005. The Rules of Management. Great Britain: Pearson. Prentice Hall. Kolb, D. 1984. (Online) Experiential learning. Available from: http://www.businessballs.com/kolblearningstyles.htm (Acceded 2nd April 2011). Felder, R. and Silverman, L. 1980. (Online) Learning styles. Available from: http://www.mindtools.com/mnemlsty.html (Acceded 2nd April 2011). Fleming, and Mills. 1992. (Online) VARK learning styles. Available from: http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=categories (Acceded 2nd April 2011). Taylor, F. 1911. The principles of scientific management. Available from: http://www.12manage.com/methods_taylor_scientific_management.html (Acceded 5th April 2011). CNN (online) http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2007/snapshots/6213.html (Acceded 15th April 2011). Bradberry, T. 2005. (online) Hearless bosses?. Harvard Business Review. Avaliable from: http://hbr.org/2005/12/heartless-bosses/ar/1 (Acceded 5th April 2011). BIBLIOGRAPHY Barney, J., 1991. Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of management, 17, 99-120. Chiavenatto, I., 2001. Administracion de recursos humanos. 5th ed. Santa fe de Bogota: Mc Graw Hill Handy, Ch. 1999. Inside Organisations. Twenty-one ideas for managers. 2nd ed. London: Penguin Books Handy, Ch. 1995. Gods of Management. The canging work of organisation

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Paolo Freires Visions of Traditional Methods o

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Paolo Freire's Visions of Traditional Methods of Education Paulo Freire and Ralph Waldo Emerson share a similar vision in regards to traditional methods of education. A main common view is that both writers feel that the current education system in most places does not allow for people to reach their full capacity. Freire and Emerson share many other ideas regarding education such as their view of practice and theory and of free thinking. Their works are among the most thought-evoking. In ?The American Scholar? Emerson places a strong emphasis on the role of books in education and their usage of conveying ideas. He states that, ?Books are the best things, well used; abused, among the worst? (p. 297). This refers to his thought that the idea behind books is indeed a well thought out one. However, aside from the possible misuse of books, there are certain tasks that a book can not accomplish. Many are relevant only for a period of time, after which they become obsolete and new books are required. This is one of the reasons that Emerson feels that books alone can not provide a concrete education. They must be supplemented with additional studies, or, according to Emerson, book studies should be combined with experiences and applied to life. To read for the sake of knowing information is pointless; instead, man should read with the intent to apply newly obtained knowledge to his life. Man should read with a dissecting eye, and pick apart the prose, keeping what is relevant and discarding what is babble. This captures the true purpose of books. Paralleling Emerson?s view of books is Freire?s idea of theory and praxis. Man can learn all there is to know about a ... ...that they in fact have nothing to present. Emerson and Freire see eye to eye on many issues regarding the education of man. The main concept that they share is a belief that man should think freely. All other ideas stated by Freire and Emerson are strictly extensions of this point. The educational vision of Emerson and Freire is for man to learn in a society free of preconceptions, where all men?s ideas are valued and where knowledge is ascertained for the use of practice not just as an end in itself. Bibliography: Emerson, Ralph W. "The American Scholar." 1837. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter, et al. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. 1609-1621. Freire, Paolo. "The Banking Concept of Education." Ways of Reading. Ed. David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky. 4th ed. Boston: Bedford Books, 1996. 212-27.