The Pros and Cons of Affirmative Action

The concept of affirmative action is found in a speech by President Kennedy when he was referring to the government’s responsibility to ensure that affirmative action was taken with regard to equal employment opportunities for individuals regardless of race, creed, color, or national origin. It is interesting that although President Kennedy pioneered the concept of affirmative action, it was President Lyndon Johnson who first applied this concept by taking steps to equalize the presence of individuals in government positions. President Johnson outlined that it was not enough to say that equal employment opportunities existed; it was the government's responsibility to ensure that the positions not only existed, but were being filled by minorities in a commitment to cultural diversity. Directives were put into place as part of this process that not only banned discrimination, but also offered incentives to government contractors who employed a culturally-diverse workforce. Some of the pros of affirmative action, therefore, include increased opportunities for cultural minority groups, such as legislation that strongly urged employers to select minority candidates and contractors (given that they met qualifying criteria) Numerous research studies have been conducted regarding the glass ceiling for women, as well as attempts to determine percentages of cultural identity in the white-collar professional positions (for example). Such studies have identified that there are more Caucasian males in positions of authority at a majority of companies. To rectify this, many agencies established affirmative action plans that were intended to encourage minority applicants, and thus enlarge the pool of qualified applicants from which to draw for available positions. The downside to this, however, was that the legislation that was designed to encourage minority employment fostered the discrimination it sought to eradicate. To weight any individual's application due to demographic information (as cultural information is) results in basic discrimination. One cannot have both options available; either no-one is favored, or everyone is favored. To have two qualified individuals, and then to choose one based upon his or her cultural identity is at its heart discriminatory. At what point are professionals free to choose the best person for the job, without knowing the individual’s cultural identity? In the ideal world, individuals would be interviewed by telephone or by e-mail in such a way as to reveal no identifying information. This would enable the employer to make a decision solely upon an individual’s qualifications and experience for the position, as opposed to fulfilling a criterion for minority employees. This is not, however, practical at this point in time, and so employment rests in the hands of companies who have an ethical obligation to be equitable, if for no other reason. Weighting a decision based upon cultural identity only applies if there is no opportunity for a variety of individuals to apply for a given position. The issue remains, however, that the individuals still need to be qualified for a position. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, there are differing degrees of qualification. No one appreciates being a token employee, yet that is the standard that affirmative action laws have succeeded in achieving. It is ironic that anti-discrimination laws are themselves discriminatory. The concept of fairness and equity for all individuals, then, should apply regardless of cultural identity—not because the company has no racial representation. Even the act of gathering cultural information is discriminatory because that information is being used to discriminate against other well-qualified individuals. All professionals who hire new employees must consider how they can meet equity in employment without discrimination.

Example of a Synopsis

We decided that the best way to impact our community was to change the way people think thus changing their reality. The Powerpuff girls project was situated at the Amani Na Wema Children Home. Our chosen topic was to give the same leadership seminar we received from Mrs Ogalla in a manner in which they could understand. We taught kids between the ages of 10 and 15 years of age. This was so as to equip them with the tools they required to brighten their future. In our first session we taught them about goal setting, planning and teamwork. In our second session we taught them about Comfort zones, Excuses and doing a vision board In our third session we taught them about Accepting feedback and Doing their best. In our last session we asked them to give us back what we taught them in a creative way. We then threw a party as a farewell gift to them. We experienced several challenges one of them being that we were unable to teach them during the holidays. Furthermore it was difficult to find a convenient time for all of us to meet and discuss our content for each session. Despite all the challenges we managed to pull through as a team and get the work done. Through these challenges we have learnt invaluable lessons by putting into practice our leadership skills. In conclusion the project has opened our eyes to the need to change and develop our society by developing their ‘Software’ that is changing how they think.

Thalassaemia Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thalassaemia - Lab Report Example Then there is the ÃŽ ±-thalassaemia trait characterized by two affected ÃŽ ±-globin genes. Hemoglobin H disease is the third type classification of ÃŽ ±-thalassaemia which has three affected genes. Finally, there is the ÃŽ ±-Thalassaemia Major that has four affected ÃŽ ±-globin gene (Weatherall and Clegg 2008). There are three different types of ÃŽ ²-thalassaemia. The first one is ÃŽ ²-thalassemia trait which has one mutated ÃŽ ²-globin gene and one normal one. The second one is Thalassaemia Intermedia, which has two abnormal l genes although there is a little production of ÃŽ ²-globin. The third is Thalassaemia Major in which there are two abnormal genes that cause extreme decrease or complete lack of ÃŽ ²-globin production (Weatherall and Clegg 2008). Haemoglobin electrophoresis is a method used to separate the different blood haemoglobin types in a procedure that uses cellulose acetate in alkaline buffer. The process involves the use of extremely small samples of haemosylates prepared from whole samples of blood. These samples are applied to the Titan III Cellulose Acetate Plate whereby the haemoglobins in the samples undergo separation by electrophoresis with the use of an alkaline buffer. The pH of the buffer ranges between 8.2 and 8.6. They are then stained with Ponceau S Stain and the resulting patterns that form are scanned on a scanning densitometer followed by determining the relative percentage of each band. TF is diluted to 15ml, and SF is collected in 3ml so as to maximize absorption in the spectrometer. This, however, does not affect the results because they were diluted using distilled water. Distilled water is free of ions and other soluble contaminants and; therefore, cannot affect the result of the experiment. The pH of the solution in which amino acids are dissolved mostly determine their ionic state. Cationic amino acids exist at low solution pH of approximately 1. An increase in solution pH causes the

Information system Development (Bluetooth) Essay

Information system Development (Bluetooth) - Essay Example According to Flint, Karvinen, McKnight, & Tee (2008) the Bluetooth is a new and modern type of technology in the telecommunications sector. This new technology allows connecting wirelessly to the computers, mobile phones and personal digital assistants or PDAs. This wireless connection allows easily interconnection by a short-range wireless link. In this way we can transfer data within short distance with high data rate. By means of this technology, users of wireless technology, cellular phones, PDAs can purchase a 3in1 mobile phone that is able to offer facility of portability at the office or home. It also presents the capability to obtain rapidly synchronized information in a notebook or desktop computer. At the present, this technology implementation at business sector facilitates in sending or receiving a fax, virtual business meeting, working collaboration, initiate a print-out and also the facility of the fixed computer devices complete coordinated. Examples of these devices c onsist of desktop computers, handheld computers, PDAs, smart phones, notebook computers, handsets, microphones, digital cameras, fax machines, and printers. Windows XP contains built-in Bluetooth facility that helps users without problems to configure Bluetooth communications (Flint, Karvinen, McKnight, & Tee, 2008) and (Shelly, Cashman, & Vermaat, 2005). According to (Shelly, Cashman, & Vermaat, 2005, p. 476), Bluetooth technology utilizes short-range radio waves for the communication between two Bluetooth devices. The speed of the data transfer between devices is approximately 1Mb/sec. To communicate with each other, the distance between Bluetooth devices must be about 10 meters (which is equal to 33 feet) however it can be expanded to 100 meters using extra equipment. A Bluetooth device comprises a tiny chip that permits it to transfer data to other Bluetooth devices (Shelly, Cashman, & Vermaat, 2005). A Bluetooth technology chip takes the

This will be an evidence based appraisal of an aspect of your practice Essay

This will be an evidence based appraisal of an aspect of your practice and include making recommendations for nursing practice a - Essay Example 1472). Fall-related injuries are seen in about 15% to 50% of patients – these injuries include fractures or lacerations. Moreover, falls often cause fears of falling and it subsequently causes activity restriction and prolonged hospital stay (Schwendiman, p. 1472). Different factors have been considered as possible contributory causes for falls, including, an aging population, rising patient acuity, nurse shortages, an inefficient staff, and similar factors (Hendrich). Measures to prevent falls have been implemented by various hospitals in their clinical setting; however, for the most part, these methods have not been able to significantly reduce the rates of falls. This paper shall explore different ways by which nurses can prevent inpatient falls. It shall answer the question: according to evidence-based practice, what are the efficient nursing interventions which can be applied to prevent inpatient falls. Methods: An extensive literature search was conducted for this paper. First, a manual library search of the school library was carried out – searching medical and nursing journals for published studies in relation to falls and the prevention of falls. This search covered the past five years: January 2006 to December 2010. Relevant studies were set aside for further evaluation. Next, an internet search was carried out through the following databases: Medline, PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and other nursing journals. The Medline database was used because it presented a reliable database of medical and nursing related peer-reviewed researches from a variety of nursing and medical journals. The Cochrane database was chosen because it has the widest and most extensive database for peer-reviewed medical and nursing-related researches. This database yielded studies which were used for this assessment. Finally, Google scholar was also used because it is one of the fastest databases to search. It stores all academic journals and studies from a wide-range o f topics. Moreover, it has search properties which were chosen in order to specify the search process and ensure reliable search results. A Google scholar search was carried out in order to facilitate the search process. The following search words and combinations were entered into the search engines: falls prevention; inpatient falls prevention; elderly falls prevention, and similar combinations. Studies falling within the 5 year period were set aside for further evaluation. Each study were then critically analysed based on the following elements: reliability of authors, peer-review process, publication in a reliable peer-reviewed journal, validity of research methods, reliability of results, and validity of general research process. Results: Based on the search results, there were 10 studies which fulfilled the criteria for this research topic. Various studies presented methods for the prevention of falls. Some of these methods were evaluated depending on effectiveness and impact on clients. In a paper by Schwendiman, et.al., (p. 1472), the authors carried out a serial survey study in order to evaluate in-patient fall rates and injuries before and after the implementation of an interdisciplinary falls prevention program (IFP) in a 300-bed urban public hospital. In the process of research, the authors were able to establish that falls often lead to negative consequences like injuries,

What people addicted to TV Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

What people addicted to TV - Essay Example In effect, these actions often lead to excessive cravings regardless of their nature. In this case, the activities can be physical and not physical. One such activity is the addiction that people have to the television. Gradually, the suggestion that the television set can be addictive is increasingly becoming true with various studies suggesting various reasons that make televisions addictive. In view of the foregoing, this expose addresses the various reasons that make the television addictive. TV addiction can affect any person in the society despite their age, position in the society, and their background. In this regard, parents will tend to complain of their child’s addiction to the television while also worrying about their own addiction to the television. As an emphasis to the level of addiction, the grip of the television extends even to researchers who study people’s addiction to the set. In this case, a researcher from the University of California, who devoted his life studying the television, observed that he watched the television even in incidents that required concentration (Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi). In effect, this indicates that a person is at a risk of addiction to the television despite their age and position in society. In an experiment conducted by Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi, the findings indicated that people who watched the television appeared relaxed and passive when watching the television. In addition, the experiment discovered that turning off the television set contributed to the loss of the feeling of relaxation while the state of being passive continued. A previous study, which used electroencephalograph (EER), supports these findings by indicating that people who watched the television showed less mental simulation unlike those who were reading (Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi). Naturally, it is obvious that a human being will tend to engage in an activity that contributed to relaxation. In addition, it is evident

The role of retailer branding strategies in Singapore Research Paper

The role of retailer branding strategies in Singapore - Research Paper Example Product and brand are terms that are related because of several properties shared by them. Brand relies on the nature of the product or service. These attributes when used to market the product distinguishes it from its competitors, in the market, gives birth to Brand. Brand is linked with the product by relaying the attributes and character of the product. Additionally the characteristic of a product used to distinguish it from other product is termed as a brand. This means that the attributes associated with the product in terms of the characteristics of the product gives rise to brand. A brand deals with the identity of the product, which enables it to be distinguished from other products (Finskud, 2009, p. 34). A product currently may mean a good with physical characteristics or service or intangible goods such as software or algorithm. Therefore, a product can be described as a product, service or intangible good such as software that a firm produces and use it to generate incom e. Companies like Microsoft Corporation deal exclusively with software as their end product. Such software like Microsoft office 2010 is, therefore, a product of Microsoft Corporation. Brand deals specifically with the characters that distinguish the product in the market. It is the impression that surrounds the product. A brand can be categorized as a â€Å"strong brand† if it has several qualities or characters associated with strong brands (Finskud, 2009, p. 198)... Branding is vital in marketing because it enables the sales of all the company’s range of products. The success of many companies such as; Coca Cola, Adidas and Nike among other brands are based on use of brand image creation. Therefore, companies must be ready to venture in branding to be able to achieve success. Retailer branding in Singapore Retail branding is used by giant supermarkets in ensuring that the product sales are improved and outpace competition from other supermarket. The success is based on the ability to create a powerful strong brand. A strong brand is characterized by the ability to drive the shareholder value; therefore, it is managed by brand marketers who ensure an active buy-in from all stakeholders. The brand is valued in financial terms and is classified as an asset to the company during the calculation of profits and loss (Finskud, 2009, p. 45). As part of the organization, it is viewed as a part of the organization and covers a variety of business d imension. Additionally, customers are ready to pay consistently a higher price for the brand while ignoring the competing product or service. As a result of the strong affiliation to the brand, customers want to associate with the brand, it qualities, values and personality. Association with the brand gives rise to loyalty to the brand. Additionally, customers are ready to pay consistently a higher price for the brand while ignoring the competing product or service. As a result of the strong affiliation to the brand, customers want to associate with the brand, it qualities, values and personality. Association with the brand gives rise to loyalty to the brand. Due to the above characteristics the brand becomes a trademark protected by the firm and

Strategic Management Case of Volkswagon and Suzuki Essay

Strategic Management Case of Volkswagon and Suzuki - Essay Example Strategic management can be defined as a bundle of strategies that managers in an organization adopt and implement to positively influence the direction of the organization. These strategies will normally affect the performance of the company, and are desired to give the company a competitive advantage over other industry players. A global strategic partnership involves two or more organizations coming together and pooling resources in a bid to reach a wider market and strengthen their competitive advantage (Jeschke, 2008). In today’s business environment where there is massive competition from various players in the market, strategic management becomes a very important tool for survival. Strategic management gives an organization a fresh way to look at the existing business environment to remain both profitable and relevant amidst competition. In a bid to achieve relevance, organizations also link up together in strategic alliances to jointly pursue opportunities either in th e same operating environment or in a different one.The case between German carmaker Volkswagen and Japanese’s Suzuki is a classical case of how organizations pursue the concept of strategic alliances for gaining competitive advantage in their operations. The partnership between Volkswagen and Suzuki has been described by many analysts as a straightforward venture. This is because each organization had clear objectives that would easily be met upon the completion of the partnership.

Crisis and conflict are inevitable in capitalist economies Essay Example for Free

Crisis and conflict are inevitable in capitalist economies Essay Marx believed that capitalism was doomed, and he developed an intricate analysis of the law of motion of capitalist society to prove it (Fusfeld 2002, p 50). At one level his argument had a moral basis. He argued that the inherent injustices of capitalism lead ultimately to social and economic conditions, which cannot be maintained (Fusfeld 2002, p 50). On another level his argument is sociological: class conflict- between a decreasing number of increasingly wealthy capitalists and a growing and increasingly miserable working class- will lead ultimately to a social revolution (Fusfeld 2002, p 50). To conclude his Final argument is economic, that the accumulation of capital in private hands makes possible economic abundance; yet accumulation also leads to depressions, chronic unemployment and the economic breakdown of capitalism (Fusfeld 2002, p 50). At each level the idea of conflict is emphasized: conflict between ideal reality, between capital and labor, and between stagnation (Fusfeld 2002, p 50). Out of conflict comes change, and in this respect according to Marx, capitalism must give way to another society in which conflict is replaced by ethical, social, and economic harmony. Furthermore, Marx argued that the crisis would become deeper and severe longer as capitalism developed. Student no. Z3220293 However Marxs analysis of conflict within capitalist societies was limited by his theory of the laws of motion. He argued that conflict between classes created by an unequal distribution of wealth, and would ultimately lead to an unsustainable social situation prompting the demise of the world capitalist system. Thus, he perceived class conflict as the fatal flaw of capitalism. However his detractors would argue that conflict of some form exists in all human interactions and thus has existed in all political and economic systems, concluding that capitalism addresses this inherently human conflict in order to avoid crisis. In a capitalist society according to Marx, the two great economic interests are those of a capitalist and worker. These two classes stand opposition to each other, since the capitalist can prosper only if the worker is exploited. In this respect capitalism is only the latest in series of social organizations in which one class exists at the expense of another, stated in the communist manifesto. Marxists would further argue that peoples dominated politically or economically by great capitalist nations now bear the burden of exploitation, poverty and unemployment However as a proof of Marxs errors, his detractors point to the rising living standards of modern nations. The working class has not been subjected to growing misery, and labor unions have gained economic and political power in all major industrialized countries (Fusfeld 2002, p 50). Moreover, the working class Student no. Z3220293 has shared the increased wealth, income, and economic benefits that have been spread widely throughout all social classes. In spite of all the concessions that have been made to the working class, such as social welfare legislation, union organization and higher living standards Marxists contend that the basic defects of capitalism remain, holding back economic growth and postponing the emergence of the abundant society (Fusfeld 2002, p 50). Nevertheless Marxs prediction of the triumph of socialism and the creation of democratic, egalitarian, and nonexplotive society has not proved accurate. Capitalism was placed on the defensive by the rise of communist regimes in Russia and China, and by the spread of socialism through many of the less-developed countries (Fusfeld 2002, p 60). But in most instances, these non-capitalist economies developed authoritarian political regimes, new forms of economic and social inequality, and new aspects of exploitation. Ultimately Marx argued, as Fusfeld states ( 2002) the economy could achieve widespread abundance and produce enough for all, and at that point in human history all people could be completely free, both politically and economically. Further more Marxist economics suggested that capitalism could not achieve this Student no. Z3220293 goal, as it prevented the full development of modern technology and resulted in periodic stoppage of capital accumulation. However, it is evident that under capitalism technology has flourished. More so capitalism has provided the push for new productive industries, as it is a continued to growing and change. Thus such an economy offers more opportunities then a stagnant one. For example China is the manufacturing hub of the globe. Even though China has its roots in communism it is still regarded as an extremely influential capitalist society. Its cities are booming. There are more building cranes in china than in all the United States. Chinas super-highways are filled with modern cars. Its research and development centers are state of the art. At the rate its growing, China will soon be the largest economy in the world. In these respects it is evident to conclude that under capitalism economies have grown and benefited, due to its productive nature. Further more, in a Marx perspective, labor under capitalism is exploited as it is not paid the full value of the products and services it produces. The capitalist employs workers at the current wage rate and works them for as many hours each day as possible, making sure that the value of the workers output is greater than the wage paid (Fusfeld 2002, p 61). This difference between the wage and the value added by the worker, which Marx refers to as surplus value, becomes the capitalist profit. Exploitation of the worker can be intensified, and the surplus Student no. Z3220293 value appropriated by the capitalist can be increased, by an employers efforts to achieve lower wages, longer hours and an employment of greater number of women and children. Marx was correct in some respects, for example developing countries at present are experiencing high rates of exploitation. Women and children whom work in such exploitive environments in china for example for less then a few dollars a day are the truth in Marxs theory. More so, Marx critique of capitalism included a forecast of its inevitable break down. In some instances capitalism has served as an unstable society, which has been suffocated with conflict and crisis. For example the great depression and the 1987 recession. In both instances the economy had if not almost hit bottom. In a Marxist view this could be concluded as the demise of capitalism. However his detractors would argue that conflict of some form exists in all political and economic systems, concluding that capitalism addresses this inherently human conflict in order to avoid crisis. Which in some respects is true. For example on black Monday of the October 1987 when a stock collapse of unprecedented size lopped twenty-five percent off the Dow Jones industrial average. The collapse, larger than that of 1929, was handled well by the economy and the stock market began to quickly recover. More so during the great depression certain strategies were adopted to deal with the crisis. The new deal was the name given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of programs between 1933-1938 with the goal relief, recovery and reform of the United States Student no. Z3220293 economy during the great depression. The new deal had three components, direct relief, economic recovery and financial reform. In these respects one can observe the recovery of capitalist economies and their ability to continue to grow. To conclude it is evident that crisis and conflict is inevitable in capitalism however such an economic system is able to adapt and recover from such conflict. References student no. Z322093 Campbell, D 1996, the failure of Marxism-the concept of inversion in Marxs critique, Dartmouth Press, London Cohen, G A 1978, Karl Marx theory of history, Oxford University Press, London Culter, A, Hindess, B, Hirst, P Hussain, A 1977, marxs capital and capitalism today, Routledge Kegan Paul Ltd, London Fusfeld, D 2002, the age of the economist, 9edn, Addison Wesley Press, Harman, C 1995, how Marxism works, 5edn, Bookmarks Press, Sydney. Worsley, P 2002, Marx and Marxism, revised edn, Routledge Press, London

The Day of Valor on the fourth month of the Roman calendar Essay Example for Free

The Day of Valor on the fourth month of the Roman calendar Essay A week after celebrating the Day of Valor on the fourth month of the Roman calendar in the year of Rat, I was born one evening in a city called the financial capital of the country that was colonized by Spaniards for more than three hundred years after it was discovered by a famous Portuguese explorer. My first name Johanne is a variant of Johanna which means â€Å"God is gracious† and my second name Victoria means victory hope my life goes well as my name. My parents, Victorino and Wilma, were a hard working couple who works as an employee of a private company. They produced of our own kind six times in eleven years having five boys, leaving me no sister to have a bonding with. Since I’m the only girl, they call me Princess or sometimes Negneg, short for negra, because of my dark complexion. It’s not that dark like people in Africa but it’s the darkest complexion in my family but it’s alright because I have these black tantalizing eyes, a good set of teeth and a slim body that makes me look like a Filipina beauty queen. I spent my seventeen years of existence in a city known for being a major cultural entertainment hub in Metro Manila. I studied my first five years of my primary education in Nicanor Garcia Elementary School, Makati. After my hit-and-run 50-50 accident case when I was in fifth grade, God gave me my second chance to live and finished my elementary course in Rizal Elementary School in Laguna. I have to transfer because of the severe fracture in my right leg causing me to have a hard time going up stairs. I have recovered from what had happened and continued my secondary education in General Pio del Pilar National High School in Makati. In elementary, I always make my parents proud of me by giving them a numerous medals every end of the school year. I’ve been a consistent contestant in Mathematics Quiz Bee and I made my school proud after qualifying twice in Mathematics Trainer’s Guild, a program to train gifted Filipino kids for international competitions. Aside from Math, I’ve also been in various contests regarding Science and Journalism. Considering me as a dynamic student, I was fairly awarded at the end of the year. When I stepped high school, it was the most exciting part of my life. Having crushes, love team ups, courtships, prom night were the things that could really make you giggle. But the most remarkable incident that shaped my character now was improving my leadership skills. When I was in third year, I ran as the president of SMILE (Students Movement for the Improvement of Leadership and Empowerment) Party List for the upcoming Supreme Student Government election. I taught I’m going to win because I’m from the star section but I’m wrong. I lost. I’m so ashamed. Because of that, I don’t feel like going to that school again. But there was a Non-government organization that invites the students to go on camp in Iba, Zambales for free. Of course, I joined and that made me forgot the pain I felt. On the first night of the camping, everything has changed after the moment I received Jesus Christ as my personal savior. When I got back in school, God blessed me so much that He gave the Hi-Y Club (a high school based club of Young Men’s Christians Association) in my lead. From that happening, I really appreciated the quote: â€Å"After the storm, there’s a rainbow.† I taught the door of opportunity to explore more in leading has closed for me, not realizing He has opened the window for me to experience the chance I thought I lost. Because of this club, I learned to balance my mind, body and spiritual aspect of my life. Creating programs, helping community, serving others and volunteering were some of my experiences that really made my heart swollen and would like to share to others to inspire them. Aside of being a Y’er, I’m now a Christian and started serving Him like sharing the good news, being a part of dance and drama ministry, and helping other Christian to grow in their spiritual life. I feel over joy and satisfaction every time I see myself volunteering on the camp where I was saved. After the enjoyment of high school, I took one step forward in the reality of life. I face the truth that my life will rotate in complicated solutions, brain-whacking terms, millions of numbers, struggling calculators, statements to finish, stability of study, life-long practice, thick books to read, rushing late night work, ugly eye-bugs, unbalanced sums, financial reports, constant lack of sleep, accurate solutions, and heart-stopping result after deciding to take Bachelor of Science in Accountancy in the first polytechnic university in our country. I know I can make it through because I believe that â€Å"what the mind can conceive, the body can achieve†. I may not be the cream of the crop in our class but I will manage to pursue my dreams step by step because I cling to God’s promise: â€Å"For I know the plans I have for you,† declares the Lord. â€Å"Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future.†(Jeremiah 29:11)

Political Subjectivity Theories Analysis

Political Subjectivity Theories Analysis Power, Freedom, Justice: Explorations in Political Subjectivity Reflective Logs: The purpose of this paper is to reflect on how the following thinkers studied in the module engaged with Kant`s conception of subjectivity. I will address the following thinkers and topic in my reflective logs: Arendt, Berlin, Fanon, Marcuse, Foucault, Habermas, Rawis, MacIntyre, Rorty, and New Materialism. Immanuel Kant – Sapere AudeDate: 21st January 2014 Kant in his work â€Å"What is Enlightenment?† argues that â€Å"Enlightenment is man`s release from his self-incurred tutelage† (Kant, 1784). He means that one can only become enlightened when they find the courage to think/reason without the help of others. Hannah Arendt – Vita ActivaDate: 22nd January 2014 Hannah Arendt is truly one of the most significant thinkers of the 20th century, and one of the most influential to me in political subjectivity. The German born thinker introduces the term â€Å"vita activa† into political subjectivity. She differentiates between three basic human activities: â€Å"labour, work, action† (Arendt, 2000 p: 167-181). These conditions are necessary for a human being in order to live a life on earth. Labour is defined as the biological practice of the body, and it is a significant necessity of life. Work maintains a world that is â€Å"artificial† (Arendt, 2000), which is highly differentiated from every day’s environment. Action is defined by her as the ongoing activity that is not interfered by other things, and she connects this to the plurality of the human position. Arendt suggests that labour is repetitive, which is never ending, while work has an actual beginning and an end. While action is ongoing as revealing who we are has a beginning but no end. Because of this reasoning Action becomes immortal in her view. Arendt moves forward from the view of Kant as she develops thought to action while Kant`s view is based on reflective reasoning. Isaiah Berlin –Negative and Positive FreedomDate: 5th February 2014 Berlin`s biggest contribution to political subjectivity was his paper on the differentiation of two concepts of liberty. He distinguishes between positive freedom and negative freedom. He defines â€Å"negative freedom† as â€Å"freedom from† (Berlin, 1969 p.2), which implies the absence of pressure put on a human being by others. He describes positive freedom on two ways: Firstly, as â€Å"freedom to† (Berlin, 1969, p.8.) to be able to reach and seek one`s wished goals. Secondly, as being independent, and ruling one`s self without depending on other beings â€Å"the freedom which consists in being one`s own master† (Berlin, 1969, p. 8.) Even though, the basic notion of distinguishing different freedoms goes back to the time of Kant, Berlin further develops these notions, and he became the first to outline the ongoing debate. Berlin also contradicts the views of Arendt`s, even though he also believes that it is important that a line to be â€Å"drawn betw een the area of private life and that of public authority† (Berlin, 2002:171). While Arendt is a supporter of the freedom in the public sphere, Berlin`s freedom is based on the private sphere, as for him being free is â€Å"to the degree which no man or body of men interferes with my activity† (Berlin, 2002:169). Maurice Merleau-Ponty – EmbodimentDate: 12th February 2014 Maurice Merleau-Ponty argues that a human being cannot isolate himself/herself from the public realm and from the perceptions of the world. He suggests that the actions of an individual are guided by experiences, and subjectivity is established through the body and life experiences of a human being. Merleau-Ponty does not agree with the concept that â€Å"thinking subject can absorb into its thinking or appropriate without remainder the object of its thought†, and that â€Å"our being can be brought down to our knowledge† (Merleau-Ponty, 1962:72). For him freedom is a state of consciousness where personal actions and responsibilities can be chosen from a variety of possibilities. For him freedom is every time provided within a field of possibilities. He suggests that freedom is always an option for the being in every situation, unless we give up ourselves and our belonging to the situation. He also goes against the views and arguments of Kant and Descartes who â€Å"de tached the subject, or consciousness, by showing that I could not possibly apprehend anything as existing unless I first of all experienced myself as existing† (Merleau-Ponty, 1962:x). It is because to Merleau-Ponty it is only through the body that he â€Å"understand other people, just as it is through my body that I perceive `things`† (Merleau-Ponty, 1962:216). Herbert Marcuse – Agency and StructureDate: 19th February 2014 Marcuse in his print One-Dimensional Man offers a different approach to political subjectivity. In his post-Marxist view he criticise the modern world and its contemporary capitalism. He addresses the industrial society, and he blames this capitalist industrialised civilisation for the loss of freedom. Reasonable democratic unfreedom prevails in advanced industrial civilisation (Marcuse, 1964:1). He suggests that the capitalist world produced a reality with created needs which eventually turned human beings into consumers and producers. This is shaped through the media, the management of consumption and contemporary modes of thought regarding what to consume (Marcuse, 1964). He argues that this results in the loss of the freedom of the individual and the loss of critical thought and the loss of oppositional behaviour. He also worries about the working class as they integrate into capitalist world, hence about the disappearance of the revolutionary Marxist society who fights capitalis m and the capitalist West. Michel Foucault – Subject and PowerDate: 26th February 2014 The main focus for Foucault has been on the connection between the subject and power. He argues that by power people are turned into subjects (Foucault, 1982:777). For Foucault subjectivity is viewed as a way to exercise power above others. This is demonstrated through the idea of the Panopticon where in the designed prison, prisoners would not be able to tell whether they are being watched or not. Therefore, they assume that they are being observe hence they act differently while under the assumption of observation. He acknowledges the component of fairly enlightened changes in the way of imprisonment, however he argues that these new method of punishment evolves into the new way in which society is controlled to punish less, perhaps; but certainly to punish better (Foucault, 1977:109). Schools, hospitals and other central significant buildings are being based on the following model. Therefore, he argues that this relationship enters the private by escalating from the public, and tu rning individuals into subjects. Foucault also tries to question and shape the values and elements of Kants Enlightenment via a discussion which should be used as a form of practice, and as motivation to change the way individuals think and act today. Jà ¼rgen Habermas – Communicative FreedomDate: 5th March 2014 Habermas takes the centre of the attention to language and to forms of communication. His term for this is lifeworld communications (Habermas, 1987, p.297). He suggests that this communicative sphere has a vital influence on ones private and public self. Unlike Foucault for Habermas reason must be acknowledged as social. While Foucaults subjectivity is the production of forces of power, Habermas believes that communication in the context of discussion enables individuals to demonstrate their positions in a mutual way. Habermas strongly believes that language and communication can alter the world, subjectivity and also freedom. A man from his private sphere can communicate their choices to the public sphere through the tools of communication and speech, while they also listen to the preferences of other private individuals. Habermas has been influence by Kant and Kants ethics, however he argues that his ethical concept is the improved version of the Kantian one. He does not agree with every point of Kant, such as the dual framework of his ethics. For Habermas, morals emerge from discussions which are fundamental due to their logic, instead of their freedom. John Rawls – Social JusticeDate: 12th March 2014 John Rawls is one of the thinkers who has been most influenced by Immanuel Kant. He proposes that a just society is the society that could be fair to all individuals universally. He created a new concept on justice. He mixes the elements of the philosophy of Kant and Utilitarianism in order to create a new method for the judgement of private and public institutions. Rawls proposes the idea of the usage a veil of ignorance (Rawls, 1999:11). Behind this veil, every individual is incapable of knowing anything about themselves, resulting in rational, free and equal individuals. He then argues that these rational individuals would create a society where mostly two principles would be most significant and fundamental: Principle of Liberty and Principle of Difference. Principle of Liberty is mainly Kantian in the sense that it offers primary and common respect to every individual as the minimum principle for every just establishments. The other one promotes inequality and believes that it w ill serve every individual for the better. Alasdair MacIntyre – Justice in Plural SocietiesDate: 19th March 2014 MacIntyre has been one of the major critics of Kant and those who are basing their theories on the Kantian model. He believes that the moral views and theses of Kant, Rawls and other thinkers are condemned to fail as they used the old irrational dialects of morality. These thinkers are doomed to decline as they share certain characteristics that are deriving from their eminently distinct historical background (MacIntyre, 1985). He claims that the theory of Rawls that is based on the individual and was influenced by the Kantian model does not realise the significance of the community as such. He suggest that the community has a major impact on the life of the individual and it is only possible to create a just society in the public sphere. As he puts it â€Å"a society is composed of individuals, each with his or her own interest, who then have to come together and formulate common rules of life† (MacIntyre, 1981: 232-233). He completely refuses to accept the Rawls-Kantian noti on where society is inferior and the individual is primary. He reaffirms that â€Å"the relationship between me, my social identity, and my good will preclude †¦ re-evaluation† (MacIntyre, 1982:664). Richard Rorty  ­Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Justice as a Larger Loyalty Date: 26th March 2014 Rorty is quiet alike MacIntyre, in the sense that individuals have different identities which pose an influence on the behaviour and actions of the individual. Although his thesis is based on the behaviour of public loyalty to certain companies. He realises the limitations of Kant`s foundationalist theory. He suggest that these theories are like mythological stories where the human brain as such was limited. He believes that it is wise to get rid of the â€Å"residual rationalism that we inherit from the Enlightenment† (Rorty, 2001:235). His main reason for this is that the elimination of rationalistic rhetoric would allow Western countries to purse the Non-Western areas â€Å"in the role of someone with an instructive story to tell, rather than in the role of someone purporting to be making better use of a universal human capacity (Rorty, 2001: 235). Finally, he argues that most of the philosophical debates are unnecessary and the centre of attention should not lay on the tr uth but rather on the betterment of humans. New Materialism Date: 2nd April 2014 New Materialism and the writer of the article, William Connolly draws upon some self-organizing preservation which provide assistance in the foundation of our world. These relating biological, geological and climate systems are seriously undervalued in today`s neoliberal economic markets. The reading engages with many influential thinkers and philosophers such as Immanuel Kant, Deacon, Foucault and Hayek. New-materialism reinvents and rethinks the ideology of freedom. Connolly in the reading encourages the left to take back the state and not to relinquish it. Conclusion Date: 2nd April 2014 To conclude, political subjectivity has been a very interesting module to attend in the last semester of my studies. I realised by the end of this tasks that each week my understanding of the different thinkers have developed significantly through the material provided by the module leader. I have discovered new thinkers in the module and broadened my vision of political subjectivity. It raised some serious questions and discussions which seems to be a never-ending position while individuals have their own ideas. Bibliography: Alasdair MacIntyre (1985) After Virtue, chapter 15, Duckworth, pp. 205-225 Arendt, H. (1958) The Human Condition, University of Chicago Press. Arendt, H. (1970) On Violence, Harvest Books. Arendt, H. (2007) ‘Introduction into Politics’. In The Promise of Politics, ed. Kohn, J. Schocken Books Herbert Marcuse (1964) One-Dimensional Man, Routledge Immanuel Kant (1784) ‘What is Enlightenment?’ Isaiah Berlin (1969) ‘Two Concepts of Liberty’. In Four Essays on Liberty, Oxford University Press Oxford John Rawls (2004) ‘On Justice as Fairness’. In Clayton and Williams (eds) Social Justice, Blackwell, pps. 49-84, extracts from (1999) Theory of Justice, (revised edition), Harvard University Press (pps. 6-9, 10-19, 52-58, 61-73, 130-39) Jà ¼rgen Habermas (1987) ‘An alternative Way out of the Philosophy of the Subject: Communicative versus Subject-Centred Reason’. In The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity, MIT Press (pps. 294-326) Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1958; reprinted 2003) ‘Freedom’. In Phenomenology of Perception, Routledge, pp. 504-530 Michel Foucault (1977) ‘Panopticism’. In Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prisons Richard Rorty (2001) ‘Justice as a Larger Loyalty’. In Festenstein, M. Thompson, S. (eds.), Richard Rorty Critical Dialogues, Polity Press, pps. 223-237 William Connolly (2013) ‘The New Materialism and the Fragility of Things’, Millennium Journal of International Studies, Vol. 41, I. 3, pp. 399-412.

Cancer Essay -- essays research papers fc

Cancer   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Right now, cancer is one of the most feared diseases in the world. In the early 1990s almost 6 million new cancer cases developed and more than 4 million deaths from cancers occurred. Also more than one-fifth of all deaths were caused by cancer and it has been predicted, by the American Cancer Society, that about 33% of Americans will eventually develop this disease. This is a huge disease that is killing people all over the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The field of cancer study is called Oncology. The government has spent billions of dollars on research of this fatal disease. Cancer is the most aggressive disease of a larger class known as neoplasms. Neoplasms do not fully comply with the parts of the cell that control the growth and functions of the cell. These cells eventually become abnormal growths and can be recognized as not normal tissue. These traits are passed down as the cell reproduces therefore spreading the cancer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Neoplasms are generally classified into two groups: malignant and benign. Malignant tumors, or abnormal tissue, grow more rapidly than benign tissue and they invade normal tissue. Benign tissue is structured similar to normal tissue while malignant tissue is abnormal and has an unstructured appearance. Of greater importance, benign tissue does not metastasize, or begin to grow in other sites, like malignant tumors do. Cancer always refers to metastasized tumors but the term tumor is not always necessarily cancer. A tumor is any living tissue that is distinguishable as abnormal living tissue. After a cancer forms, it can also change from a benign to a malignant state, therefore making the cell grow at a more rapid rate. The development of the cell starts when it forms notable abnormalities in chromosomes and then multiplies exceedingly. Then metastasis usually occurs and generally causes the death of the host. There are many different cancers which form on just about all parts of the body. In the US, skin cancer is the most common cancer, then prostate cancers in males, and then breast cancer in women. Leukemia is clearly the dominant cancer in children. The number one killing cancer in the world today is lung cancer, mostly caused by the smoking of cigarettes. Some researchers have stated that if Americans stopped smoking, lung-cancer deaths could disintegrate within two decades. Stomach cancer is ... ...e cancerous legions in the body. The second is radiation therapy, which uses radiation to try and kill the tumor. One of the main problems with that is not only does it kill cancerous tissue, it also kills healthy ones. The third way to treat cancer is chemotherapy, which is treatment by chemical agents. The chance of complete cure is not common but it is usually used to increase the life of the carrier. The desired effect of treatment in cancer patients is remission, where the cancer is gone from your body and if it does not return within 5 years it is considered cured.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Right now the government is spending huge sums of money on cancer research. They are continuously finding cures and finding better ways to treat and deal with cancer. Research has come very far and helped many people fight cancers. Thanks to all the work done, cancer is still a dreaded disease but is now curable which gives many people faith in recovery. Bibliography Compton’s Encyclopedia(1992). Cancer . Chicago: Compton’s Learning Company Encyclopedia Britannica(1992). Cancer. Chicago: Encyclopedia Brittanica, Inc. American Cancer Society website(1996): http://www.cancer.org/acs.html

T.S. Eliots The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock Essay -- Eliot Love So

T.S. Eliot's The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock Works Cited Not Included The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, a poem by T.S. Eliot, provides an abundant source of material for applying Freudian analysis.[1] Specifically, it is the character Prufrock who supplies this rich source. Although many Freudian themes could have been addressed in relation to Prufrock, in this paper it will be narrowed to the prevalent themes of ambivalence and cultural frustration found in Freudπs work and the contributing role the super-ego plays in their occurrence. In fact, Prufrock exemplifies ambivalence and its necessary conditions so well that Freud himself would have probably labeled him a neurotic. Before applying Freudian analysis to Prufrock, it is important to address one issue that will have an immediate effect on the interpretation of the poem. It stems from the following translated passage found in Danteπs Inferno that appears right before the body of the poem. The passage is spoken by a person within the eighth chasm of hell.[2] If I believed that my answer would be To someone who would ever return to earth, This flame would move no more, But because no one from this gulf Has ever returned alive, if what I hear is true, I can reply with no fear of infamy. (Eliot, 3) Although this passage may suggest that Prufrock is speaking to someone who he can trust, his character would suggest otherwise. Prufrock is far too consciously anxious when it comes to what people think of him. This can be displayed by his enduring indecisiveness found in the many questions he asks throughout the poem, such as, ≥Do I dare / Disturb the universe?≤ (45-46) and ≥S... ...y. The issue of sexual repression, an example being when he asks "Do I dare to eat a peach?" (125), could easily be another thematic focus. Also, one could focus on the dream-like structure of the poem, and how the issues of manifest and latent content come into play. Of course, as alluded to, repression (not just the sexual kind) is extremely prevalent throughout the poem, and would thus provide an excellent case study for Freudian analysis. However, it was interesting to address the issues of ambivalence and cultural frustration because when applying these to the poem Prufrock's character began to make more sense. There was an explanation provided for his previously inexplicable behavior. Also, there was a vivid example of Freudian theory at work. In this sense, the coupling of Freudian theory and this poem, made both even more comprehensible and enriching. T.S. Eliot's The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock Essay -- Eliot Love So T.S. Eliot's The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock Works Cited Not Included The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, a poem by T.S. Eliot, provides an abundant source of material for applying Freudian analysis.[1] Specifically, it is the character Prufrock who supplies this rich source. Although many Freudian themes could have been addressed in relation to Prufrock, in this paper it will be narrowed to the prevalent themes of ambivalence and cultural frustration found in Freudπs work and the contributing role the super-ego plays in their occurrence. In fact, Prufrock exemplifies ambivalence and its necessary conditions so well that Freud himself would have probably labeled him a neurotic. Before applying Freudian analysis to Prufrock, it is important to address one issue that will have an immediate effect on the interpretation of the poem. It stems from the following translated passage found in Danteπs Inferno that appears right before the body of the poem. The passage is spoken by a person within the eighth chasm of hell.[2] If I believed that my answer would be To someone who would ever return to earth, This flame would move no more, But because no one from this gulf Has ever returned alive, if what I hear is true, I can reply with no fear of infamy. (Eliot, 3) Although this passage may suggest that Prufrock is speaking to someone who he can trust, his character would suggest otherwise. Prufrock is far too consciously anxious when it comes to what people think of him. This can be displayed by his enduring indecisiveness found in the many questions he asks throughout the poem, such as, ≥Do I dare / Disturb the universe?≤ (45-46) and ≥S... ...y. The issue of sexual repression, an example being when he asks "Do I dare to eat a peach?" (125), could easily be another thematic focus. Also, one could focus on the dream-like structure of the poem, and how the issues of manifest and latent content come into play. Of course, as alluded to, repression (not just the sexual kind) is extremely prevalent throughout the poem, and would thus provide an excellent case study for Freudian analysis. However, it was interesting to address the issues of ambivalence and cultural frustration because when applying these to the poem Prufrock's character began to make more sense. There was an explanation provided for his previously inexplicable behavior. Also, there was a vivid example of Freudian theory at work. In this sense, the coupling of Freudian theory and this poem, made both even more comprehensible and enriching.

Global sourcing Essay

1) What is global sourcing? Global sourcing is defined as the process of identifying, developing, and utilizing the source of supply for the enterprise through expanding purchasing activities internationally. It is a part of post reengineering activities which is an useful measure of cutting cost. Global sourcing is a typical example of foreign construction outsourcing firms which process construction by distributing each process of construction work to vendors instead of running on its own. Such construction method not only does reduce costs in terms of managing construction sites such as labor cost and equipment cost including vehicles, but also is being adopted by various companies for value-adding construction management (CM) project. For instance, global sourcing was utilized when building Daewoo Business Center at Warszawa, Poland, on March, 1997. The process of erecting the center was alloted to vendors; construction was executed by VOICE(England), design through RTKL(U.S.), facility management was duty of Dongwoo which is a department of Daewoo Group, hotel management by Hilton hotel(U.S.). 2) Global sourcing factors Global sourcing factors that must be understood and balanced can be segmented into 5 categories. First factor is material cost. The bottom line of execution of global sourcing is reduce cost by minimizing material cost. Another category is transportation cost. Various costs including inventory delivery cost can be dwindled through global sourcing. Moreover, significant amount of transportation expense can be reduced when marketing products at outsourcing regions. Cross-border taxes, tariffs, and duty costs are third factor which form global sourcing. Instead of relying on domestic production but rather outsource each process internationally, costs can be reduce by avoiding trade barriers which include cross-border tax, tariff and duty cost. Next factor is supply and operational performance. With effective resource management and cheap labor cost, supply and operational performance can be efficiently managed which enables global sourcing companies to manufacture high quality-low price merchandises. The last category of global sourcing is supply and operational risks. Cultural and geographical disparities can yield additional costs such as labor cost and transportation cost. If not managed thoroughly, they can militate as huge risks in terms of conducting sourcing. 3) Advantages of global sourcing There are three major merits of performing global sourcing; gumption to changes, reduction of cost, and trade barriers avoidance. To begin with, global sourcing allows a firm to develop capacity to cope with changes in market condition. Importing numerous raw materials and resources economically and steadily can be done through global sourcing. With such abundant resources, a firm can flexibly adopt to environmental alterations when confronting unexpected economic crisis. Secondly, average 20% of cost saving is possible. Components of products or raw materials procured from abroad is advantageous in terms of price. Furthermore, many countries such as American and Europe are sourcing materials to cut cost in terms of distribution industries. As a result, China has become the hub of production base for global sourcing. Even in case of Korea, sourcing products from China are 30%~40% cheaper than Korean domestic goods. In particular, simple functional merchandizes whose design and quality are relatively less considered are largely influenced by global sourcing. Consequently, over 70% of commodities and clothes are imported from China. Last merit of global sourcing is evasion of trade barriers. In case of global sourced goods, the price is lower, leading to economical purchase, by avoiding trade barriers such tariffs and cross-border taxes. On top of that, firms are able to acquire restricted raw materials and resource. Thus, unique and competitive products can be created. 2. Case-Study (Li&Fung) 1) Introduction Li&Fung is a professional trading company which specializes in global sourcing and was founded in 1906. It functioned as a broker between Asian manufacturers and foreign traders and expanded as a trading company later on. Today, Li&Fung acts as a professional sourcing and distribution firm focusing on toys and textile. Becoming an intermediary, it reconstructed the business by forming it as a connection and manager of diverse supply chains. Li&Fung is the representative of ‘smokeless factory’ without owning any equipment and factories regarding production process from raw material to final goods and distribution of final products. 2) Business area / Present condition Li&Fung won the rewards in ‘Fabulous 50†² selectied by Forbes Asia, ’50 for 2012’ from Morgan Stanley, and ‘The most influential companies 25’ from Business week. The sales of Li&Fung in 2007 was 92.4 billion in Hong Kong dollars, approximately 36% increase in sales compared to that of 2006. Net income reached 30 billion dollars(2007) and Li&Fung Co. Ltd. succeed in gaining 19.8% increase in sales (110.7 billion Hongkong dollars)than that of previous year. After 1998, foreign companies such as The Limited, Gymboree, American Eagle, Warner Brothers, Abercrombie & Fitch, Bed, Bath& Beyond, Tesco, Avon Products, Levi-Strauss, Reebok have become major customers of Li&Fung, and Royal Ahold, Guess Jeans, Bebe also joined as major customers of Li&Fung in 2000. As a result, Li&Fung currently has 68 offices in the 38 countries, and shareholders numbers 17,900. In addition, it consists of 107,000 employees engaged in the business associated with Li&Fung, especially 40,000 related businesses only in the United States. Thus, it can be said that Li&Fung has entered plateau stage as a company settling new form of SCM rather than just being a simple trading firm. 3) Platform / Operation System Li&Fung is one of the enterprises which effectively employ platform strategy. In terms of strategy, Li&Fung adequately balances SRM and CRM strategy to manage producers and customers. Li&Fung distributes textile component orders to vendors as soon as receiving orders from textile industries. It makes most of 15,000 subcontractors which are located around the globe. When producing a jacket, for example, Li&Fung procures materials from diverse vendors; outshell is from Korea, Zipper from Japan, lining is done from Thailand, and trademarks and thread from Hongkong. Fabric is dyed in Southern Asia, China sews, and finally quality inspection and packaging are done in Hongkong. Then, headquarter in Hongkong generally manages cash flow and value-added process. 4) Success Factors Success factors of Li&Fung can be categorized into three elements. The first factor is IT evolution. Through IT development, product lead time dwindled through forming network among producers and customers, and even efficiently manage vendors. Another facet is SRM and CRM, especially have strength on SRM. Li&Fung analyze customer’s needs and scrutinize supply chain to meet the desires. Since firms tend to focus on maximizing their capability instead of in accordance with needs, Li&Fung can otherwise strive to fortify supply chain or value chain for customers. In other words, the key role of Li&Fung is to direct manufacturers of supply chain to the intended direction. For that specific purpose, it establishes education to producers on scattered network management rather than having strict control system for managing vendors, and emphasizes on trust and active empowerment. Lastly, Li&Fung follows 30/70 rule, which is to set a standard(from 30% to 70% of total production) on production quota to Li&Fung. This enables Li&Fung to have loose liaison among subcontractors. Minimum 30% of total production allows Li&Fung to possess minimum supply from each subcontractors and prevention vendors from being subordinates can be done by setting maximum 70%. The core objective of this principle is to assure vendors of gaining huge profit from being a member of the network and on the other hand guaranteeing flexibility of business and availability of a room for growth. Other vendors also benefit from the principle by being expose to opportunities to work with others, which help them to learn and come up with innovative ideas. Such principle demonstrates value of Li&Fung on making supply chain more dynamic and lively. Thus, change in partners frequently happens in supply chain of Li&Fung. In conclusion, Li&Fung shows contradictory management of pursuing stable and long-term partnership whereas also demanding loose network instead to forming strict organization. 3. Problem & Solution 1) Wage stagnation / Pricing pressure The first problem of Li&Fung is wage stagnation of China. China accounts for 60% of total global sourcing of Li&Fung, which means that shift in China impact Li&Fung heavily. After the economic liberalization of China, China has been able to attract world companies as the most suitable production base due to cheap and abundant labor. As a consequence of substantial growth, China’s wage has been increasing 16% annually. As labor cost takes up the largest portion of garment industry’s costs, Li & Fung’s first half of 2011 net income dwindled 18%. Therefore, there is high necessity for finding a new production base(a new partners) and gain price competitiveness through such measure. Second problem is overseas buyers’ desire to lower supply pricing due to high uncertainty from global recession. As shown in the ‘average import price of textile in the U.S.’ graph on the right, the average import price has been continually decreasing, from $3.18 in 20 06 to $3 in 2009. Heavy pressure on supply pricing is having negative impact on net income of Li&Fung. 2) China & U.S Trade conflict Third adversity is potential trade disputes between the United States and China. This trade conflict, which is referred to as protectionism, is noteworthy of a notice as 69% of total production of Li&Fung is sold to the United States. The United States has criticized China on the currency exchange rate manipulation, along with accusation of exchange dumping. In addition, Section 421 is an article which can be executed in a situation where increased import of Chinese products acts as a severe damage to American domestic industries. Accordingly, it is inevitable to exclude potential trade conflict between two countries on account of high possibility of implementing additional countervailing duty by executing section 421. 3) Expanding partners in Southern Asia In preparation for deterioration of China’s production environment and falling competitiveness of China as a sourcing region, Southern Asia is evaluated as the most practical alternative for strategic sourcing of Li&Fung. In terms of percentage change in world textile industry sourcing, diminution of China is noticeable, as –7%, whereas Vietnam and Bangladesh show growth, respectively displaying 1% and 20% of sourcing uprising rate. To demonstrate suitability of sourcing to Banladesh, environment of Bangladesh such as social infrastructure and facilities, and educational level should be thoroughly examined. Nevertheless, wage of Bangladesh is much cheaper than that of China, Bangladesh being one third that of China, in terms of only considering unit labor cost. Furthermore, Bangladesh is likely to be significantly equipped with garment-industry infrastructure judging from the large number of textile industries sourcing to Bangladesh. Therefore, it is no hasty conclusion that Bangladesh is the most appropriate region for new production base of Li&Fung. 4) Quality management system Controlling over 15,000 vendors is demanding and the possible drawback is failure of consistency in quality. Since quality is prerequisite these days, stricter vendor’s quality management system should be made. One of the tools that Li&Fung can utilize and apply stricter is ‘Vendor compliance index’. There are six indexes Li&Fung should keep attention to; efficient operation, productivity, process innovation, ensuring the quality, purchase the appropriate law material, and good working condition of labor. By balancing and fulfilling following vendor compliance indexes, Li&Fung will be able to afford products to customer with coherent quality. 4. Conclusion The concept having used by Li&Fung is highly familiar to us as global sourcing is also deployed by domestic companies such as Samsung and LG. Global sourcing can be divided into two factors; risk element and opportunity element. These two elements are in trade-off relation which means that change in one element accompanies the other, while endeavoring to maximize opportunity element. Thus, taking advantage of opportunity and risk element in a timely manner is the premise for successful global sourcing and in-depth analysis on local region and strategy should be followed when implementing global sourcing.

Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay

Learning is a natural ability that is wired into many animals DNA; the way that humans should learn has been debated by the various educators because of the endless ways to teach. Teachers and parents take this matter seriously like Ralph Waldo Emerson in â€Å"From Education† and Todd Gitlin in â€Å"The Liberal Arts in an Age of Info-Glut† who created essays on education; and Billy Collins in â€Å"The History Teacher† entail for then and who wrote a poem concerned with the status of education. These people show what the importance of education is entailing what learning should and should not involve; a teacher should respect and have patience for children; a teacher should also let a child have creativity and lessons of the past. Many teens do not respect their teacher which might be because the teacher does not respect them; as the golden rule goes, â€Å"treat others the way you would treat yourself†; Ralph Waldo Emerson in â€Å"From Education† would probably agree with this quote because he strongly believes that, â€Å"the secret of [e]ducation lies in respecting the pupil,† (page 102). Shows that Emerson understood what children are thinking then did something to help them by simply respecting them. Another big issue with education is patience; some people do not have enough patience to guide children to what they are supposed to learn. Emerson also believes that patience is an important part in education, â€Å"to regard the young [children, they require] no doubt, rare patience: a patience that nothing but faith in medial forces of the soul can give,† Emerson was trying to say that someone has to really care in order to teach information to children (page 105). Some people do not see the point in having art classes or history classes; the reason why is because art assists students to express themselves in a way that words cannot along with helping them find out what kind of person they truly are; and history is needed to teach children where they originated from; and to show them mistakes that other people in the past made so they will not make them again. Todd Gitlin in â€Å"The Liberal Arts in an Age of Info-Glut† agrees with this â€Å"[students] need some orientation to philosophy, history, language, literature, music, and arts that have lasted more than 15 minutes,† (page 156) because students need the outlet to express themselves; or if they do not they would not learn morals then they would become exactly what people were trying to stop; as shown in â€Å"The History Teacher† by Billy Collins who stated, â€Å"the children would leave his classroom for the playground to torment the weak and the smart,† all because â€Å"[the teacher tries] to protect his students’ innocence he told them the Ice Age was really just the Chilly Age, a period of a million years when everyone had to wear sweaters. And the Stone Age became the Gravel Age, named after the long driveways of time,† this demonstrates how not teaching children lessons of the past which are the brood violence’ that others committed in history; by not teaching this history it affects children’s behavior in real life (page 143). Morals are right and wrong many people’s morals will differ; this is why teaching them is tricky because the teacher’s morals might not be the same as the parent’s morals. This is why some of the history in textbooks is sometimes just the summary of what really happened but not enough for the main point to be set across unlike in â€Å"The History Teacher† where, â€Å"the Spanish Inquisition [is] nothing more than an outbreak of questions such as â€Å"How far is it from here to Madrid? †,† and â€Å"the War of the Roses took place in a garden, and the Enola Gay dropped one tiny atom on Japan,† explains when a teacher goes too far in trying to protect student’s mind from bad; when only good is taught and everything else is censored then the students become the opposite; because they do not know the consequences of doing bad, which is why history is taught. As teachers and parents they have to let their students make their own choices as shown in â€Å"From Education† Emerson says, â€Å"it is not for you to choose what he shall know, [or] what he shall do,† shows that sometimes a student needs to find out the consequences the hard way, and let them choose what they want to learn (page 143). Education is needed in modern day society to help students and children grow and help the nation; by giving students proper education the teacher are not really helping the students but they are helping themselves. Teaching creativity helps a student express themselves; respect should be given so the student can give it back; patience is needed to help them understand; morals need to be taught through history so the student will make fewer mistakes; these are essential to a good education and an even better future: as shown by the writings of Billy Collins, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Todd Gitlin.

Culturally Poetic

Culturally Poetic Cultural identity is the collective personality of a people usually associated with a certain group or culture, or that of an individual in relation to certain behavior, thoughts, and influences. (Central Michigan University) These beliefs and shared characteristics allow a group to establish a common ground and in turn make them unique to others. A cultural identity may be national, ethnic, or even generational. Our identity is based upon our differences when compared to other groups. Cultural identity is essentially defined by differences rather than likenesses to others. The identifiable aspects of culture are historical, linguistic, and mental. These three factors may also be found in poetry and are related to the views that an author wishes to express. In my essay, I will seek to identify elements of culture in the following poems: â€Å"Bully†, â€Å"What it’s Like to Be a Black Girl†, â€Å"Self-Pity’s Closet†, â€Å"Rite of Passage†, and â€Å"The Panther†, In Martin Espada’s poem, â€Å"Bully† cultural identity is evident throughout the length of the poem. The poem is introduced by way of location, the time period, and the year, â€Å"In the school auditorium / the Theodore Roosevelt statue / is nostalgic for the Spanish American War† (713). The poet themes seemingly focus on change within American society. This theme is noticeably identifiable in the following stanza: But now the Roosevelt school is pronounced Hernandez. Puerto Rico has invaded Roosevelt with its army of Spanish-singing children in the hallways, brown children devouring the stockpiles of the cafeteria, children painting Taino ancestors that leap naked across murals. 714) Espada effectively provides contrast between Roosevelt’s belief of ethnocentrism and the invasion of the Spanish colonies by comparing the immigration of Puerto Rican families in a 1987 Boston, Massachusetts. At the poem’s ending we are able to envision a revenge of sorts with the children now invading Roosevelt himself. The following stanza is irony at its best and brings the ele ment of culture and change to the forefront, Roosevelt is surrounded by all the faces he ever shoved in eugenic spite and cursed as mongrels, skin of one race, hair and cheekbones of another. (714) This bit of irony is representative of the fact that change once experienced on the island of Puerto Rico now too is prevalent within America. Roosevelt is declared the â€Å"bully† by his conquest and those that were once without power are now empowered through change and assimilation. This poem uses historical factors to establish a cultural identity. Patricia Smith’s, â€Å"What it’s Like to Be a Black Girl† (for Those of You Who Aren’t) approaches the idea of a black girl becoming a woman at a time when race matters were still prevalent. The author begins with a direct but conversation like tone to denote the importance of what is being imparted: First of all, it’s being 9 years old and/ feeling like you’re not finished, like your edges are wild, like there’s something, everything, wrong†¦(672) The theme here is puberty based changes that takes place according to a â€Å"black girl. † The girl feels incomplete because her body is experiencing changes. Smith goes on to describe the girl’s desire to fit into society by wanting to have the physical traits of a white woman. The young girl is displeased with being black and seeks to change her appearance: †¦it’s dropping food coloring In your eyes to make them blue and suffering Their burn in silence. It’s popping a bleached White mophead over the kinks of your hair and primping in front of the mirrors that deny your reflection†¦(672) She goes on to describe the Black Power Movement and the Motown era by mentioning â€Å"it’s flame and fists and life according to Motown. † As a blossoming young girl approaching womanhood she finds it not only difficult to become a woman, but a black woman. Finally, the girl looks forward to every woman’s dream of becoming a bride. This is evidenced in the final three lines: â€Å"it’s finally having a man reach out for you/then caving in/around his fingers. The girl anticipates a completed transition when she will become married. This poem uses mental aspects to form cultural identity during a time or racial tension. Michelle Boisseau’s, â€Å"Self-Pity’s Closet† focuses on the way that society views beauty, self-image, and self-confidence. Boisseau uses figurative speech, imagery, and perceived sounds throughout the poem to bring light to a poor self image. The theme of this poem is equated to as the poem states self-pity. What seemingly appears as others judging us blinds us to the fact that we judge ourselves far worse than others would. The closet so to speak is within the individual feelings of: â€Å"Depression, loneliness, anger, shame, envy† (999) are the basis of self-pity. Feelings of self-loathing and self-hurt are evident in the following lines: after your vast and painful declarations subtle humiliations creeping up like the smell of wet upholstery, dial tone in the brain, the conviction that your friends never really loved you†¦(1000) The author seeks to express an inner fight a person struggles with when worried about the way others perceive them. The narrator uses the words, â€Å"dial tone in the brain† to describe a continuous mode of embarrassment within herself. She is unable to part with a feeling of inadequacy and is therefore trapped by her very own self pity. This poem uses mental aspects by associating self-pity with not being able to identify with the status quo of our cultural identity. In Sharon Olds’s, â€Å"Rite of Passage† a mother examines the behavior of her son and his friend during his birthday party. The title of the poem allows the reader to relate the â€Å"rite of passage† being the journey that her son will take toward manhood. Male maturity is the theme of the poem. What makes the poem ironic is her ability to view them as men though they are but six and seven years old. The following lines are quite imaginable to any mother noticing the machismo nature of young boys: As the guests arrive at my son’s party they gather in the living room— short men, men in first grade with smooth jaws and chins. Hands in pockets, they stand around jostling, jockeying for place, small fights breaking out and calming. One says to another How old are you? Six. I’m seven. So? (811) In the last line we experience a typical conversation between two boys that are likely â€Å"sizing† each other up; the six year old responds to the seven year old â€Å"So? The mother then goes onto visualizing the boys as men with careers by stating, â€Å"They clear their/throats a lot, a room of small bankers/they fold their arms and frown†¦Ã¢â‚¬  One cannot help but to envision the boys as men at a table matching wits at an older age. The birthday boy as if chairman of the bank settles the dispute between his friends in the following lines: â€Å"speaks up as a host/for the sake of the group. /We could easily kill a two-year old,/he says in his clear voice. † The group agrees and the children return to playing or as the mother describes, â€Å"†¦they relax and get down to playing war, celebrating my son’s life. Just as Smith’s â€Å"What it’s Like to Be a Black Girl† focused on a girl approaching maturity so did Olds’ â€Å"Rite of Passage. † Olds uses mature language and terms to equate the behavior expressed by the boys as being their way of coming into manhood. The boys feel a need to intimidate each other with physical threats which showcases their immaturity on their way to adulthood. This poem identifies with the culturally defined behavior of a male having to prove he is a â€Å"man. † In Rainier Rilke’s poem â€Å"The Panther† the poet uses the panther a wild animal to express personification and similes to express confinement. An obvious reason for the panther being the subject is because its color represents a seemingly dark nature and contributes to the poem’s tone. A panther is also known to be a solitary creature that stakes out its prey. The use of the panther represents a theme of entrapment that most readers are able to identify with. The panther’s discontentment and longing to be free from his troubles is expressed as the cage’s bars. He has become so accustomed to seeing the bars that he no longer sees anything but what appears directly in front of him it is as if he has lost himself. The panther’s desperation in a sense mirrors human personality. Rilke’s offers her interpretation of this poetically by saying, His vision, from the constantly passing bars, has grown so weary that it cannot hold anything else. It seems to him there are a thousand bars and behind the bars, no world. (674) Rilke’s makes us aware that although the panther is confined we are still able to see its power and its beauty. Though caged he is still himself though he feels â€Å"paralyzed† by the cage; this feeling is interpreted in the following lines, â€Å"As he paces in cramped circles, over and over/the movement of his powerful soft strides/is like a ritual dance around a center/in which a mighty will stands paralyzed. The idea of confinement is relatable to a prisoner or anyone trapped in a situation with seemingly no way out. The panther yearns for more and this is evidenced by his pacing and boredom with his life. In the end the panther has lost his soul and his excitement is reduced to the opening of his eyes ever so slightly . It seems that the panther takes his final glance that touches him inwardly to the point his body becomes tense and his heart is excited for a split second until he realizes his situation and no longer bothers to react. This idea is well expressed in the final stanza. Only at times, the curtain of the pupils lifts, quietly—. An image enters in, rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles, plunges into the heart and is gone. Rilke in â€Å"The Panther† and Boisseau in her â€Å"Self-Pity’s Closet† both convey the message of an inner struggle within their subjects. The poems are able to speak to the reader on a personal level and make the connection of human emotion with their dark but personal nature. â€Å"The Panther† embodied a feeling of weariness and surrender that human often time encounter in not one but within all societies and cultures. Often times we find ourselves staying within the box or the status quo instead of stepping outside of the box-in this case the cage. In comparison, the five poems that I have chosen to review are full of impact and take on a deeper meaning. They touch on outward appearances as well as inner feelings. They were all able to bring out identifiable aspects that we are all able to connect with through either personal or secondary experiences. In contrast, â€Å"Bully† came from a historical standpoint, while â€Å"What it’s Like to Be a Black Girl† and â€Å"Rite of Passage† focused on what is accepted by society. Lastly, â€Å"Self-Pity’s Closet† and â€Å"The Panther† dealt with inner struggles and the way that we tend to view ourselves when we take an inner look. Works Cited Central Michigan University. Cultural Identity as an Instrument. 8 May 2006. 3 November 2009 . Boisseau, Michelle. â€Å"Self Pity's Closet. † Mayer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 999-1000. Espada, Martin. â€Å"Bully. Mayer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 713-714. Olds, Sharon. â€Å"Rite of Passage. † Mayer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 811-812. Rilke, Rainier Maria. â€Å"The Panther. † Mayer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 674. Smith, Patricia. â€Å"What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl. † Mayer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literat ure. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 672-73

Brand ‘You’

Every person in this world has some abilities which make him unique and make him distinguishable from everyone else. That’s the main idea behind brand ‘You’. I have some abilities which make me different and add to my value in the market. This feature of distinctiveness is observed by many HRD’s when they induct fresh workforce from the market. There are so many ways to promote oneself and that’s how the demand for brand ‘You’ builds up in the market. In order to promote oneself, first step is to analyze one’s abilities and capabilities.This can be done by regular sessions of intra-personal communication. A person should know what he is good at and he should list down his unique features and ponder over them once in a while. For example, I have good communication skills, therefore I would capitalize on this particular skill of mine. Similarly if I am good at teaching, I would publicize teaching as my special feature. If I am good at communication skills, I would take part in discussions. If I am good at influencing people around me, I would promote my leadership skills.These qualities can be found out by one’s self-feedback and the results obtained from self-feedback should be compared to the actual prospective outcome to keep at a check at reality. â€Å"If you don't take control of your brand, you'll be forever stuck with how the world judges you† (Brandy, 2007). Knowing about oneself is the key to success in brand ‘You’. A brand is always unique because of its style, its organizational culture, its adjustment with its environment.Same applies to brand You, a person should have a unique style of his own, he should have his unique ways of carrying out his work and he should commensurate with the external environment as well. To increase the value of my brand ‘You’, I would analyze my abilities, publicize my unique capabilities and capitalize on it. This is how I will create my own position in the market. References Brandy, D. (2007). Creating Brand You. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved August 22, 2010 from http://www. businessweek. com/magazine/content/07_34/b4047419. htm

Evolution of Management Theory

ABSTRACT In this paper, we examine how management theory concerning appropriate management practices has evolved in modern times, and look at the central concerns that have guided its development. First, we examine the so-called classical management theories that emerged around the turn of the twentieth century. These include scientific management, which focuses on matching people and tasks to maximize efficiency; and administrative management, which focuses on identifying the principles that will lead to the creation of the most efficient system of organization and management.Next, we consider behavioural management theories, developed both before and after the Second World War, which focus on how managers should lead and control their workforces to increase performance. Then we discuss management science theory, which developed during the Second World War and which has become increasingly important as researchers have developed rigorous analytical and quantitative techniques to hel p managers measure and control organizational performance.Finally, we discuss business in the 1960s and 1970s and focus on the theories that were developed to help explain how the external environment affects the way organizations and managers operate. By the end of this chapter, one would understand the ways in which Management Theory has evolved over time. You will also understand how economic, political, and cultural forces have affected the development of these theories and the ways in which managers and their organizations behave. INTRODUCTIONChanges in management practices occur as managers, theorists, researchers, and consultants seek new ways to increase organizational efficiency and effectiveness. The driving force behind the evolution of management theory is the search for better ways to utilize organizational resources. Advances in management theory typically occur as managers and researchers find better ways to perform the principal management tasks: planning, organizing , leading, and controlling human and other organizational resources.The evolution of modern management began in the closing decades of the nineteenth century, after the industrial revolution had swept through Europe, Canada, and the United States. In the new economic climate, managers of all types of organizations—political, educational, and economic—were increasingly trying to find better ways to satisfy customers’ needs. Many major economic, technical, and cultural changes were taking place at this time. The introduction of steam power and the development of sophisticated machinery and equipment changed the way in which goods were produced, particularly in the weaving and clothing industries.Small workshops run by skilled workers who produced hand-manufactured products (a system called crafts production) were being replaced by large factories in which sophisticated machines controlled by hundreds or even thousands of unskilled or semiskilled workers made produ cts. Owners and managers of the new factories found themselves unprepared for the challenges accompanying the change from small-scale crafts production to large-scale mechanized manufacturing.Many of the managers and supervisors had only a technical orientation, and were unprepared for the social problems that occur when people work together in large groups (as in a factory or shop system). Managers began to search for new techniques to manage their organizations’ resources, and soon they began to focus on ways to increase the efficiency of the worker–task mix. CLASSICAL MANAGEMENT THEORIES One of the first schools of management thought, the classical management theory, developed during the Industrial Revolution when new problems related to the factory system began to appear.Managers were unsure of how to train employees (many of them non-English speaking immigrants) or deal with increased labor dissatisfaction, so they began to test solutions. As a result, the classic al management theory developed from efforts to find the â€Å"one best way† to perform and manage tasks. This school of thought is made up of two branches: scientific and administrative management, described in the following sections: Scientific Management Scientific Management arose because of the need to increase productivity and efficiency.The emphasis was on trying to find the best way to get the most work done by examining how the work process was actually accomplished and by scrutinizing the skills of the workforce. The classical scientific school owes its roots to several major contributors, including Frederick Taylor, Henry Gantt, and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. Frederick Taylor is often called the â€Å"father of scientific management. † Taylor believed that organizations should study tasks and develop precise procedures. Also, he developed an incentive system that paid workers more money for meeting the new standard.As a result, many theorists followed Taylor 's philosophy when developing their own principles of management. Henry Gantt, an associate of Taylor's, developed the Gantt chart, a bar graph that measures planned and completed work along each stage of production. Based on time instead of quantity, volume, or weight, this visual display chart has been a widely used planning and control tool since its development in 1910. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, a husband-and-wife team, studied job motions. In Frank's early career as an apprentice bricklayer, he was interested in standardization and method study.He watched bricklayers and saw that some workers were slow and inefficient, while others were very productive. He discovered that each bricklayer used a different set of motions to lay bricks. From his observations, Frank isolated the basic movements necessary to do the job and eliminated unnecessary motions. Workers using these movements raised their output from 1,000 to 2,700 bricks per day. This was the first motion study designed t o isolate the best possible method of performing a given job. Later, Frank and his wife Lillian studied job motions using a motion-picture camera and a split-second clock.When her husband died at the age of 56, Lillian continued their work. Thanks to these contributors and others, the basic ideas regarding scientific management developed. They include the following: †¢ Developing new standard methods for doing each job †¢ Selecting, training, and developing workers instead of allowing them to choose their own tasks and train themselves †¢ Developing a spirit of cooperation between workers and management to ensure that work is carried out in accordance with devised procedures †¢ Dividing work between orkers and management in almost equal shares, with each group taking over the work for which it is best fitted Administrative Management Whereas scientific management focused on the productivity of individuals, the classical administrative approach concentrates on the total organization. The emphasis is on the development of managerial principles rather than work methods. Contributors to this school of thought include Max Weber, Henri Fayol, Mary Parker Follett, and Chester I. Barnard. These theorists studied the flow of information within an organization and emphasized the importance of understanding how an organization operated.In the late 1800s, Max Weber disliked that many European organizations were managed on a â€Å"personal† family-like basis and that employees were loyal to individual supervisors rather than to the organization. He believed that organizations should be managed impersonally and that a formal organizational structure, where specific rules were followed, was important. In other words, he didn't think that authority should be based on a person's personality. He thought authority should be something that was part of a person's job and passed from individual to individual as one person left and another took over.This n on-personal, objective form of organization was called a bureaucracy. Weber believed that all bureaucracies have the following characteristics: †¢ A well-defined hierarchy †¢ Division of labor and specialization †¢ Rules and regulations. †¢ Impersonal relationships between managers and employees. †¢ Competence. †¢ Records. Henri Fayol, a French mining engineer, developed 14 principles of management based on his management experiences. These principles provide modern-day managers with general guidelines on how a supervisor should organize her department and manage her staff.Although later research has created controversy over many of the following principles, they are still widely used in management theories. They are: †¢ Division of work †¢ Authority and responsibility †¢ Discipline †¢ Unity of command †¢ Unity of direction †¢ Subordination of individual interest to general interest †¢ Remuneration of personnel †¢ Centralization †¢ Scalar chain †¢ Order †¢ Equity †¢ Stability of tenure of personnel †¢ Initiative †¢ Esprit de corps Mary Parker Follett stressed the importance of an organization establishing common goals for its employees.However, she also began to think somewhat differently than the other theorists of her day, discarding command-style hierarchical organizations where employees were treated like robots. She began to talk about such things as ethics, power, and leadership. She encouraged managers to allow employees to participate in decision making. She stressed the importance of people rather than techniques — a concept very much before her time. As a result, she was a pioneer and often not taken seriously by management scholars of her time. But times change and innovative ideas from the past suddenly take on new meanings.Much of what managers do today is based on the fundamentals that Follett established more than 80 years ago. Chester Barn ard, who was president of New Jersey Bell Telephone Company, introduced the idea of the informal organization — cliques (exclusive groups of people) that naturally form within a company. He felt that these informal organizations provided necessary and vital communication functions for the overall organization and that they could help the organization accomplish its goals. Barnard felt that it was particularly important for managers to develop a sense of common purpose where a willingness to cooperate is strongly encouraged.He is credited with developing the acceptance theory of management, which emphasizes the willingness of employees to accept that managers have legitimate authority to act. Barnard felt that four factors affected the willingness of employees to accept authority: †¢ The employees must understand the communication. †¢ The employees accept the communication as being consistent with the organization's purposes. †¢ The employees feel that their act ions will be consistent with the needs and desires of the other employees. †¢ The employees feel that they are mentally and physically able to carry out the order.Barnard's sympathy for and understanding of employee needs positioned him as a bridge to the behavioral school of management, the next school of thought to emerge. Behavioral Management Theory As management research continued in the 20th century, questions began to come up regarding the interactions and motivations of the individual within organizations. Management principles developed during the classical period were simply not useful in dealing with many management situations and could not explain the behavior of individual employees. In short, classical theory ignored employee motivation and behavior.As a result, the behavioral school was a natural outgrowth of this revolutionary management experiment. The  behavioral management theory  is often called the human relations movement because it addresses the human dimension of work. Behavioral theorists believed that a better understanding of human behavior at work, such as motivation, conflict, expectations, and group dynamics, improved productivity. The theorists who contributed to this school viewed employees as individuals, resources, and assets to be developed and worked with — not as machines, as in the past.Several individuals and experiments contributed to this theory. Elton Mayo's  contributions came as part of the  Hawthorne studies,  a series of experiments that rigorously applied classical management theory only to reveal its shortcomings. The Hawthorne experiments consisted of two studies conducted at the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company in Chicago from 1924 to 1932. The first study was conducted by a group of engineers seeking to determine the relationship of lighting levels to worker productivity.Surprisingly enough, they discovered that worker productivity increased as the lighting levels decreased — that is, until the employees were unable to see what they were doing, after which performance naturally declined. A few years later, a second group of experiments began. Harvard researchers Mayo and F. J. Roethlisberger supervised a group of five women in a bank wiring room. They gave the women special privileges, such as the right to leave their workstations without permission, take rest periods, enjoy free lunches, and have variations in pay levels and workdays.This experiment also resulted in significantly increased rates of productivity. In this case, Mayo and Roethlisberger concluded that the increase in productivity resulted from the supervisory arrangement rather than the changes in lighting or other associated worker benefits. Because the experimenters became the primary supervisors of the employees, the intense interest they displayed for the workers was the basis for the increased motivation and resulting productivity. Essentially, the experimenters became a part of the study and influenced its outcome.This is the origin of the term  Hawthorne effect,  which describes the special attention researchers give to a study's subjects and the impact that attention has on the study's findings. The general conclusion from the Hawthorne studies was that human relations and the social needs of workers are crucial aspects of business management. This principle of human motivation helped revolutionize theories and practices of management. Abraham Maslow,  a practicing psychologist, developed one of the most widely recognized  need theories,  a theory of motivation based upon a consideration of human needs.His theory of human needs had three assumptions: †¢ Human needs are never completely satisfied. †¢ Human behavior is purposeful and is motivated by the need for satisfaction. †¢ Needs can be classified according to a hierarchical structure of importance, from the lowest to highest. Maslow broke down the needs hierarchy into fiv e specific areas: †¢ Physiological needs. Maslow grouped all physical needs necessary for maintaining basic human well-being, such as food and drink, into this category. After the need is satisfied, however, it is no longer is a motivator. †¢ Safety needs.These needs include the need for basic security, stability, protection, and freedom from fear. A normal state exists for an individual to have all these needs generally satisfied. Otherwise, they become primary motivators. †¢ Belonging and love needs. After the physical and safety needs are satisfied and are no longer motivators, the need for belonging and love emerges as a primary motivator. The individual strives to establish meaningful relationships with significant others. †¢ Esteem needs. An individual must develop self-confidence and wants to achieve status, reputation, fame, and glory. Self-actualization needs. Assuming that all the previous needs in the hierarchy are satisfied, an individual feels a need to find himself. Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory helped managers visualize employee motivation. Douglas McGregor  was heavily influenced by both the Hawthorne studies and Maslow. He believed that two basic kinds of managers exist. One type, the Theory X manager, has a negative view of employees and assumes that they are lazy, untrustworthy, and incapable of assuming responsibility.On the other hand, the Theory Y manager assumes that employees are not only trustworthy and capable of assuming responsibility, but also have high levels of motivation. An important aspect of McGregor's idea was his belief that managers who hold either set of assumptions can create  self-fulfilling prophecies  Ã¢â‚¬â€ that through their behavior, these managers create situations where subordinates act in ways that confirm the manager's original expectations. As a group, these theorists discovered that people worked for inner satisfaction and not materialistic rewards, shifting the focus to the r ole of individuals in an organization's performance.Management Science Theory Management science theory is a contemporary approach to management that focuses on the use of rigorous quantitative techniques to help managers make maximum use of organizational resources to produce goods and services. In essence, management science theory is a contemporary extension of scientific management, which, as developed by Taylor, also took a quantitative approach to measuring the worker–task mix in order to raise efficiency.There are many branches of management science; each of them deals with a specific set of concerns: †¢ Quantitative management utilizes mathematical techniques—such as linear and nonlinear programming, modelling, simulation, queuing theory, and chaos theory—to help managers decide, for example, how much inventory to hold at different times of the year, where to locate a new factory, and how best to invest an organization’s financial capital. â € ¢ Operations management (or operations research) provides managers with a set of techniques that they can use to analyze any aspect of an organization’s production system to increase efficiency. Total quality management (TQM) focuses on analyzing an organization’s input, conversion, and output activities to increase product quality. †¢ Management information systems (MIS) help managers design information systems that provide information about events occurring inside the organization as well as in its external environment—information that is vital for effective decision making. All these subfields of management science provide tools and techniques that managers can use to help improve the quality of their decision making and increase efficiency and effectiveness.Organizational Environment Theory An important milestone in the history of management thought occurred when researchers went beyond the study of how managers can influence behavior within organiz ations to consider how managers control the organization’s relationship with its external environment, or organizational environment—the set of forces and conditions that operate beyond an organization’s boundaries but affect a manager’s ability to acquire and utilize resources.Resources in the organizational environment include the raw materials and skilled people that an organization requires to produce goods and services, as well as the support of groups including customers who buy these goods and services and provide the organization with financial resources. One way of determining the relative success of an organization is to consider how effective its managers are at obtaining scarce and valuable resources. The importance of studying the environment became clear after the development of open-systems theory and contingency theory during the 1960s Contingency TheoryAnother milestone in management theory was the development of contingency theory in the 1960s by Tom Burns and G. M. Stalker in the United Kingdom and Paul Lawrence and Jay Lorsch in the United States. 39 The crucial message of contingency theory is that there is no one best way to organize: The organizational structures and the control systems that managers choose depend on—are contingent on—characteristics of the external environment in which the organization operates. According to contingency theory, the characteristics of the environment affect an organization’s ability to obtain resources.To maximize the likelihood of gaining access to resources, managers must allow an organization’s departments to organize and control their activities in ways most likely to allow them to obtain resources, given the constraints of the particular environment they face. In other words, how managers design the organizational hierarchy, choose a control system, and lead and motivate their employees is contingent on the characteristics of the organizational environment. CONCLUSION The search for efficiency started with the study of how managers could improve person–task relationships to increase efficiency.The concept of job specialization and division of labour remains the basis for the design of work settings in modern organizations. New developments like lean production and total quality management are often viewed as advances on the early scientific management principles developed by Taylor and the Gilbreths. Max Weber and Henri Fayol outlined principles of bureaucracy and administration that are as relevant to managers today as when they were written at the turn of the twentieth century. Much of modern management research refines these principles to suit contemporary conditions.For example, the increasing interest in the use of cross-departmental teams and the empowerment of workers are issues that managers also faced a century ago. Researchers have described many different approaches to managerial behaviour, including The ories X and Y. Often, the managerial behaviour that researchers suggest reflects the context of their own historical era and culture. Mary Parker Follett advocated managerial behaviours that did not reflect accepted modes of managerial behaviour at the time, but her work was largely ignored until conditions changed.The various branches of management science theory provide rigorous quantitative techniques that give managers more control over their organization’s use of resources to produce goods and services. The importance of studying the organization’s external environment became clear after the development of open-systems theory and contingency theory during the 1960s. A main focus of contemporary management research is to find methods to help managers improve the way they utilize organizational resources and compete successfully in the global environment.Strategic management and total quality management are two important approaches intended to help managers make bet ter use of organizational resources. REFERENCES CliffsNotes. com, (2013). Classical Schools of Management. http://www. cliffsnotes. com/study_guide/topicArticleId-8944,articleId-8851. html. David Sibbet, (1997). 75 Years of Management Ideas and Practice. Supplement, Harvard Business Review, Reprint number 97500. David Stauffer,  (2011). An Overview of Management Theories. http://www. ernsanalysis. com/sjsu/ise250/history. htm James Swartz, (1994). Evolution of Management Thought. Productivity Press, Portland OR Lyndsay Swinton, (2010). Frederick W. Taylor: Master of Scientific Management. http://www. skymark. com/resources/leaders/taylor. asp M. Bosman, (2010). Historical Evolution of Management Theory. http://www. scribd. com/doc/37785213/Evolution-of-Management-Theory Prof. M. Thenmozhi, (2007). EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THEORY. Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.