Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 16

Strategic management - Essay Example First, yip’s model has been explained in which four drivers, such as cost drivers, government drivers, competitive drivers and market drivers, have been included. Each driver has its own influence on the performance of Samsung. However, a particular attention has been given to those factors that are highly relevant and represent the actual performance of Samsung. After introducing Yip’s drivers, critical analysis on Samsung has been provided. After this segment, a general introduction to Porter’s generic strategies has been mentioned. It is followed by a part representing a critical analysis on Samsung. Before the conclusion part, McKinsey’s 7-S model along with the application of this model on Samsung has been provided. Internationalisation is a comprehensive process and strategic way to enter into and explore new international markets. For understanding and evaluating the dynamism inbuilt to the internationalisation process, Yip has identified four drivers: Market drivers, government drivers, cost drivers and competitive drivers (Campbell, 2002). And each driver is further segmented into different parts. For example, market drivers encompass various threads, such as global customers, common customer needs, international distribution channel, physical existence in strategically important countries and available and movable marketing techniques and so on ( Evans et al., 2011). In this regard, it is important to highlight that market drivers cannot be enumerated because each industry has its own factors that directly support or create competition for the industry. As a result, market drivers vary from one country to another; from one market to another; and from industry to another. Government drivers are mainly related to the regulatory aspect. In this context, all those factors are relevant that are related to the compliance with law

Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway Essay Example for Free

Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway Essay The story under the title â€Å"Cat in the Rain† was written by Ernest Hemingway, one of the most favourite American novelists, short-story writer and essayist, whose deceptively simple prose style has influenced wide range of writers. So, the story begins with the description of the hotel where two Americans stopped. It was raining, that’s why the couple stayed in and just a cat in the rain attracted the young woman’s attention. She wanted to get the cat inside but failed and was brought another cat. The problem of the story lies very deeply and we are to uncover it. The story is written in one mood which constantly and directly increases. It starts from the beginning where it’s created by a persistent and repeated use of the â€Å"rain† with a number of phrases associating it, such as puddles, deserted square, glistening war monument. Repetition is one of the widely used and favourite stylistic devices of Hemingway. Here he applies it to reveal the relationship of the protagonist to the old hotel owner (she liked , she liked ). As the verb â€Å"to like† is not used to characterize relations of the wife to her husband, this contrast is full of the concealed but easily read meaning. Though the cases of repetition in the story may seem a bit obtrusive, their modifications enter into the core of the narration very organically. They carry emotional character, however penetrating the story the deep sorrow becomes evident gradually. We realize that little, as if meaningless, capricious wishes of a young woman reveal the drama of her fate, the absence of comfort in her life, comparable with the cat in the rain. The title of the story anticipates this confrontation and the fact that the cat’s image makes great play twice – just increases the total effect. In fact, the young woman pines for love, for home, for her family. And the purring cat she’d like to have and to stroke is a traditional symbol of home and comfort she lacks so much. She wants warmth, attention, care, joy, happiness; however she is brought the cat – a pitiful substitution of that, what she, a young, beautiful woman needs incredibly. This is the main problem of the novel we tried to uncover. Perhaps the hotel owner didn’t get the reason of her yearnings and took her wish for whim. But dignity, deference and respectfulness of the old man are confronted to egoism and carelessness of George not occasionally. The war monument is also mentioned deliberately. The world George and his wife belong to – is uncomfortable, homeless after-war world, where the fates of young people joined with such hardships and troubles. If to speak about the text itself, it is told in the 3rd person narrative. the description is interlaced with descriptive passages and dialogues of the personages. The author makes extensive use of repetitions to render the story more vivid, convincing, more real and emotional. The authors style is remarkable for its powerful sweep, brilliant illustrations and deep psychological analysis. Everything he touches seems to reflect the feelings of the heroes. The story reveals the authors great knowledge of mans inner world. He penetrates into the subtlest windings of the human heart.

Self Other And Social Context Management Essay

Self Other And Social Context Management Essay To help build Departmental capability over the medium and long term the identification of needs should be directly linked to the achievement of the Organisational goals as well as on the broader career development needs of individual employees. Numerous studies have shown that individuals process information differently. In todays educational environment the traditional educational delivery method of a professor standing in front of a classroom of students has been augmented, and in some cases supplanted, by various on-line, distance learning delivery methodologies. Studies have also shown that not all individuals learn at the same level when participating in courses which utilize different approaches. GLOBAL REVOLUTION A global revolution is taking place in the field of workplace learning. It is driven by the requirements of information explosion, increased globalisation, the changing nature of work and business as well as changing learner needs and aspirations. In the modern business environment, companies are forced to approach the way they conduct business activities with a more external focus. Not only the business partnerships extending across regional, national and continental borders, but international standards are also becoming the norm. Preparing workers to compete in the knowledge economy requires a new model of education and training, a model of lifelong learning. A lifelong learning framework encompasses learning throughout the life cycle, from early childhood to retirement. It includes formal, non-formal, and informal education and training. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Formal education and training includes structured programs that are recognized by the formal education system and lead to approved certificates. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Non-formal education and training includes structured programs that are not formally recognized by the national system. Examples include apprenticeship training programs and structured on-the-job training. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Informal education and training includes unstructured learning, which can take place almost anywhere, including the home, community, or workplace. It includes unstructured on-the-job training, the most common form of workplace learning. Recent knowledge and the accumulated stock of human capital are inputs in the production of new knowledge and wealth. The speed of change in the knowledge economy means that skills depreciate much more rapidly than they once did. To compete effectively in this constantly changing environment and globally, workers need to be able to upgrade their skills on a continuing basis. Change in the knowledge economy is so rapid that companies can no longer rely solely on new graduates or new labour market entrants as the primary source of new skills and knowledge. Schools and other training institutions thus need to prepare workers for lifelong learning. Educational systems can no longer emphasize task-specific skills but must focus instead on developing learners decision making and problem-solving skills and teaching them how to learn on their own and with others. Lifelong learning is crucial in enabling workers to compete in the global economy. Education helps reduce poverty; if developing economies do not promote lifelong learning opportunities, the skills and technology gap between them and industrial countries will continue to grow. By improving peoples ability to function as members of their communities, education and training also increase social capital (broadly defined as social cohesion or social ties), thereby helping to build human capital, increase economic growth, and stimulate development. Social capital also improves education and health outcomes and child welfare, increases tolerance for gender and racial equity, enhances civil liberty and economic and civic equity, and decreases crime and tax evasion (Putnam, 2001). Education must thus be viewed as fundamental to development, not just because it enhances human capital but because it increases social capital as well. ORGANISATIONAL REALITIES This article examines the organisational realities. The perspectives appearing in the literature, the structural, the perceptual and interactive are identified and examined. Additionally, a perspective termed the organisational culture, the change leader approach and organisational reframing will also be discussed. 2.1 ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE Realigning processes and roles to fit a new organizational reality is daily work for leaders. Planning and implementing changes is a fundamental set of skills at which all leaders must excel to ensure their teams and functions are set up to do great work. Improving an organizations success through aligning its culture became a popular focus of work in the 1980s. During this time, many behavioural science researchers acknowledged the power and importance of organizational culture. In the last twenty-five years, organization culture has become a frequent topic of discussion among a broad audience of leaders including operational managers and organization development, human resources, and training professionals. Culture is now a regular consideration or it ought to be during strategic planning sessions and throughout change management initiatives. Changes that go against a work culture or that are initiated without regard to the culture are likely to fail whereas culture-consistent changes ensure better results while reinforcing the most important workplace values and beliefs. Sometimes it is the culture that needs to change to support a new reality. Determining how to change a culture without wrecking intrinsic motivation or losing top talent is a delicate matter, indeed. To begin examining this challenge, lets first establish a common definition of organizational culture. What is an Organizations Culture? Many definitions of organization culture can be found in behavioural sciences literature. A frequently cited definition comes from organization development pioneer Edgar Schein. In his book, Organization Culture and Leadership, Schein described culture as being deeper than behaviours and artefacts. I will argue that the term culture should be reserved for the deeper level of basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of an organization, that operate unconsciously, and that define in a basic taken for granted fashion an organizations view of itself and its environment. Schein emphasized assumptions and beliefs while others see culture as a product of values. In Cultures Consequences, Geert Hofstede wrote, I treat culture as the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Culture, in this sense, includes systems of values; and values are among the building blocks of culture. Culture is to a human collectively what personality is to an individual. Beliefs and values are linked. What about understanding? In the article, Organizations as Culture-Bearing Milieux, Meryl Reis Louis wrote that, any social group, to the extent that it is a distinctive unit, will have some degree of culture differing from that of other groups, a somewhat different set of common understandings around which action is organized, and these differences will find expression in a language whose nuances are peculiar to that group. These three descriptions of organization culture find root in collectively held individual thinking processes. In their piece titled, The Role of Symbolic Management, Caren Siehl and Joanne Martin argued that culture consists of three components: context, forms, and strategies. This description suggests a more systemic description of culture with both internal and external components. In Riding the Waves of Culture, Fons Trompenaars offers another systemic model and described three levels of culture: 1) the explicit layer made up of artefacts and products and other observable signs, 2) the middle layer of norms and values and, 3) the implicit layer, which is comprised of basic assumptions and beliefs. In Corporate Culture and Performance, John Kotter and James Heskett acknowledge internal and external components of culture, too. They see organization culture as having two levels, which differ in their visibility and resistance to change. The invisible level is made up of shared values that tend to persist over time and are harder to change. The visible level of culture includes group behaviors and actions, which are easier to change. Is it important, or even possible, to sort out these definitions and decide which is most accurate? Schein, for example, argued that artefacts and products reflect the organizations culture, but none of them is the essence of culture. The differences and Inter-connectedness of assumptions, beliefs, understandings, and values could be studied further to determine which are more elemental to culture, but would that be time well spent? Which is most important, that a definition be right or that it be helpful? Although we cannot determine the right definition, each of these descriptions adds value to our approach to strengthening organization culture. Based on the work of these and other researchers, we could make the following conclusions about organization culture: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Each company has a unique culture built and changed over time. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Beliefs, assumptions, values and understandings and the actions and norms they produce are important components of culture. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ We recognize culture by observing actions and artefacts (explicit factors). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ While some call it a sub-culture and others a climate within the larger culture, there may be cultural differences within subgroups of an organization. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Observable behaviours and actions are easier to change than are beliefs and values. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The observable elements of culture affect the invisible elements and visa versa. Change in one cultural element will impact other elements. Although not apparent in the above offered definitions, it is also important to consider how cultures external to the organization impact and affect the organizations culture. Employees sense their organizations culture soon after they join the company. They might have a hard time describing the culture, but they know it when they feel and see it. There may be similarities in particular industries but each company will have unique cultural attributes. Improving the Organisations Culture A workplace culture can enable or hinder success. Leaders can impact the alignment of the culture with the companys mission and strategies. How? Culture is socially constructed and leaders need to initiate great conversations that tie cultural norms to the organizations goals. If the current culture is not in alignment with the new reality, leaders need to be the catalysts, or bridges, who create a new understanding and help individuals select new behaviours and, eventually, beliefs. Leaders must also define, clarify and reinforce understanding of the actions and beliefs that build the desired culture. The organizational culture is particularly important when implementing organization-wide change. Many organizations are struggling to keep up they layer new initiatives onto the work processes before previous initiatives have taken hold. A culture can either enable or be a barrier to nonstop changes. If the culture is nimble (in the habit of being re-aligned), change will be more fluid and effective. Most large-scale changes need to be supported by complementary changes in the organizations culture. Change plans, then, should address current and desired cultural elements. Leaders can play a key role in facilitating change by aligning projects and development efforts to reinforce the desired culture. A culture of Continuous Learning- Key to improving Organisational Culture Many organizations say they want to build a learning culture. What does this mean? Generally, what they are saying is that they want people to grow and be receptive to changes and willing to take on new tasks. A culture of continuous learning goes deeper than this, although these behaviours are certainly important. Employees value continuous self-development and choose to make learning a priority in the face of competing demands. Leaders, also, match their intention to seek coaching and development with the attention they give learning each day and week. A culture of continuous learning develops when there is a collective understanding of the importance of personal and team growth backed up by actions a resolve to inject learning into everyday work practices. Cultures of continuous learning tend to be more nimble, which means that they are easier to align and realign when new goals or new realities change how an organization must conduct its work. Resistance to changes on an organizational level is more common when team members are unaccustomed to learning and relearning new tasks, projects, and processes. Here are several important indicators of a culture of continuous learning: People are curious and adventurous. They value mental exploration. Most people are naturally curious. To what degree does the work environment encourage people to be curious and adventurous at work? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Team members are allowed and encouraged to experiment. It is safe to venture outside of established practices and explore (within limits). Can employees try new ways and approaches? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The work environment is stimulating it is sensual. The sights, sounds, smells, and textures are interesting and engaging. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Employees at all levels seek and embrace learning in a variety of forms. This is the most telling clue. What level of participation is there in development opportunities? Are executives active learners? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ There is a healthy view of failure and mistakes. Employees are held accountable, but productive recovery is also rewarded and mistakes are looked at as learning experiences. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ .The workplace is intrinsically rewarding. When employees are self-motivated, they seek learning and development. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The organization is proactive about succession. Talent is developed and promoted. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The organization has a focus on innovation in all functions and at all levels. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The organization embraces Omni modal learning and communication in-person, over the web, virtual, formal, informal, one-on-one, group, as part of regular meetings, separate courses, on site, off site, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Managers and leaders can help build these conditions by engaging team members in a diverse set of learning opportunities. Being a role model for lifelong learning is important, too. Leaders need to practice what they preach and ways to fit professional growth into their busy schedules. The organizations culture is like a rudder under a large ship. To turn the ship, the rudder must move in the right direction. A nimble culture can help organizations explore and be successful while moving to meet new goals and seize new opportunities. Like an inoperable rudder, if the culture does not move, or moves in the wrong direction, it is hard for the organization to progress. Mahatma Gandhi once said, You must be the change you wish to see in the world. Every leader and manager should model the desired culture and his or her actions should reinforce excellence. 2.2 Change Leader To achieve their purposes, organizations must constantly learn, adapt, and grow, a process referred to as change. Research shows, however, that only a relatively few structured change efforts achieve great success-most just get by while the majority fail to reach predefined performance goals and objectives (Mansfield, 2010); ( Salem, 2008); (Schneier, Shaw, Beatty, 1992). At issue is what underlies this phenomenon of underperformance. Studies of complex social systems suggest that the major reason for failure lies in the way decision makers think about and execute the change process (Smith, 1999). If one looks at the typical change process, it is apparent most decision makers view organizations from an objective perspective-as an assemblage of parts that can be arranged and re-arranged to produce predictable outcomes; however, the magnitude of the failure of planned changes led us to ask the following questions: Research Question 1: What factors facilitate or inhibit the change process? Research Question 2: How do these facilitators and inhibitors evolve within an organization? Research Question 3: What are the implications of understanding this evolutionary process relative to achieving a more sustainable level of performance? The answers to these questions led us to propose an alternative approach to understanding and changing organizational performance, one that supposes that organizational learning and change involves understanding the organization from the objective and the subjective perspectives simultaneously. We call this the Full Dimensional Systems Model (FDSM), a perspective which draws heavily on the concepts associated with Complex Adaptive System (CAS). The FDSM perspective assumes there are multiple, interrelated domains of influence that impact change and that these domains must each be appreciated and addressed simultaneously to achieve sustainable performance improvements. The FDSM provides a valid and powerful rationale for determining how to implement meaningful change within organizations as well as identifying probable outcomes and consequences from those changes. Flaws in Traditional Approaches to Thinking About Change The fact that organizational change frequently fails underscores the flaws inhering in traditional approaches to change. These approaches to change are flawed in four ways. First, the need for change is framed in almost exclusively objective terms, thus overlooking important subjective issues. Secondly, the change problem is viewed as a puzzle to be solved (Mansfield, 2010), and the challenge is collecting and analyzing enough data until all the pieces form the right solution. Thirdly, using this approach means that decisions are often based on flawed and/or incomplete information. Fourth, decision makers tend to develop detailed change strategies (often based on the data collected around the need for change), assuming that, if they follow the plan, the puzzle will be solved and the organization will come through the process better structured to meet the needs of their clients. This typical mental model leads to a misalignment of how decision makers perceive and respond to the hard r eality of reality itself (Wolfberg, 2006). Myths and Other Dangerous Half-Truths About Change Adherence to traditional approaches to thinking has produced a number of myths, or dangerous half-truths, about how to make change happen (Kelly, Hoopes, Conner, 2005); (Pfeffer Sutton, 2006). Myth 1-Change starts at the top Organizational change starts with a goal and a plan created by senior management. This approach is usually met by what is referred to as resistance and typically does not work in the fast changing systems of today because the change strategy reflects the same paradigm that created the problem in the first place. The truth seems to be that change depends on the participation of many system members (agents) in an essentially self-organizing process. It may also depend on change agents who consciously influence self-organization toward new and more adaptable patterns of relationship. Myth 2-Efficiency comes from control Change is possible only when every detail is mapped out in precise terms. This prejudice ignores the fact that every process improvement adds new and/or changes existing subsystems, which adds even more complexity to subsystems/systems that already have problems. The result is that many efforts to solve problems actually lead to more serious ones. Myth 3-Prediction is possible It is assumed by many managers that an action in one place will have a replicable effect in another. This, it turns out, is usually false, in part because a complex system consists of many agents, with different ideas, biases, prejudices, and expectations, and each of these concepts interact with many subsystems to determine outcome. Even small variations in the patterns of interaction can produce enormous variation in outcomes. In other words, complex systems are usually very sensitive to inconsistencies in mind-sets and processes. Myth 4-Change is manageable Assuming the course of change is predictable, many managers make a related assumption-that you can manage the change process by developing and then implementing complex plans. The fallacy of this myth was very clearly illustrated by the recent Gulf of Mexico oil tragedy that cost 11 lives and did untold damage to the Gulfs ecosystem. The assumption was made that through design and control alone, the company could achieve the aim of hazard elimination-This turned out not to be the case. The validity of these myths is not supported by the facts. Decisions made in the manner described above often produce unanticipated and unintended consequences. A typical occurrence is illustrated in one of the organizations we studied (Owen Mundy, 2005) where a shared services human resources model was created to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of human resource delivery. Although the delivery model seemed very efficient, it produced the unexpected and unintended consequences of bringing about a loss of direct contact with customers and direct accountability at the local level. The result was that the quality of service delivery actually declined significantly as did the level of customer satisfaction and, instead of saving money, costs soared as a quiet revolt of internal customers ensued. An important effect of these flaws is the creation of what might be thought of as ripples of dissonance in an organization. These ripples, which represent the diverse patterns of self-interest (significant differences) that exist relative to the change, behave like attractors and exhibit all the properties associated with attractors, that is, the emergence of self-organized, adaptable networks, and so on. The psychological mathematics of how this region of dissonance is resolved, then, is at the root of much of the wasted energy observed when an organization tries to implement a large-scale (organization-wide) change or intervention. Any change that involves new patterns of relationships among members, new ways of behaving, and new processes requires a different mental model than the one that is typically used to understand and execute change. A NEW WAY OF THINKING IS NEEDED The contention is that decision makers must shift from a puzzle-solving perspective (a typical fact-based approach) toward a mystery-solving perspective (a value-based approach). The puzzle-solving perspective rests on the assumption there is one right answer; as soon as it is discovered, events can be expected to flow in a predictable manner (Mansfield, 2010). The mystery-solving perspective rests on the assumption there is no one right answer or even a right way to get to an answer; rather, there is an array of possible outcomes, none of which is predictable. Because there are many possible outcomes and consequences associated with any organizational change decision, decision makers need to be able to anticipate and understand the implications of their decisions, and how to respond should the improbable outcome become a reality (Wolfberg, 2006). The only way to do this is for decision makers to create a fully transparent environment in which the many differences of potential releva nce to a change are put in the open for analysis. Although there are many organizational change methods available, few are based on such a mystery perspective. The result is that change efforts are generally disconnected from a significant pool of knowledge. The bottom line is that the way a change agent views the causes of change determines how she or he sees the world and, therefore, determines how she or he intervenes on behalf of the organization. If change agents see the organization as a machine, then they use interventions consistent with this view; if they see it as a complex, multidimensional system, then they use methods appropriate to that paradigm to change (Kim Mauborgne, 1999). Modern organizations are complex. Simply moving from the organizational chart to examining how work gets done in most organizations easily demonstrates this. Work is a complex process involving multiple interactions between the members of an organization and their teams, teams and other teams, teams and other organizations, and so on. Changes in one part of an organization will invariably have an effect on other parts of the organization-some obvious and others less so. As organizations grow and change through time, their complexity grows and changes as well. (Anderson, 1999) proposed integrating four attributes of CASs into our thinking of modern organizations: agents, feedback loops, self-organization, and coevolution. All human systems comprised numerous semi-independent agents, each of which is capable of autonomous action; such action follows that agents schema of the organization. A schema is a mental model of how the world works and how to interpret events in that world. These schema act like self-fulfilling prophecies and thus can have powerful and sometimes disruptive effects on a change. A second concept is that agents are connected to one another by feedback loops. One agents behavior can affect the behavior of numerous other agents in self-reinforcing cycles of influence. These feedback loops underscore the importance of coevolution. Third, agents coevolve with one another. A given agents adaptations impact the efforts of agents to adapt, and these co-adaptations lead to patterns or waves of self-organization that flow throughout the organization. Finally, CASs evolve over time through the entry, exit, and transformation of existing agents, and new agents can be formed by recombining elements of previously successful agents. Furthermore, the linkages between agents also evolve or coevolve over time, shifting the pattern of interconnections and their strength. CHANGE IN CASs: A METAPHOR How can organizations hope to adapt to the ever increasing level of complexity and in the process remain vibrant, responsive, and healthy? The answer to this question lies in the principles of CASs. (Dooley, 2002) offers the following three principles about the nature of the CAS: (a) order is emergent as opposed to hierarchical, (b) the systems history is irreversible, and (c) the systems future is often unpredictable. The basic building blocks of the CAS are agents. Agents are semiautonomous units that seek to maximize some measure of goodness of fit by evolving over time in response to the environment. Rather than focusing on macro strategic-level changes, complexity theory suggests that the most powerful processes of change occur at the micro level (e.g., the individual and groups) where relationships, interactions, experiments, and simple rules shape emerging patterns. As everything in an organization is interconnected, large-scale change occurs through the integration of changes that affect the smallest parts. Organization change occurs through the evolution of individuals and small groups. Like biological changes, these changes are sometimes not incremental but dramatic. From a complexity perspective, everyone can be a change agent if they are aware of options to help the organization adapt to its environment. A metaphor will serve to clarify these points. A jazz ensemble is a CAS. Each musician is autonomous. They interact as they play. They bring their own intents, biases, levels of interest, experience, and aesthetics to the performance. A minimum number of rules are put in place regarding set, place, time, and so on. Usually, the players know one another very well, and they are all very competent in the theory and practice of jazz music. The music is a balance of control and improvisation (in the moment changes or adaptations in the melodic and/or harmonic line). They listen to each other and adapt themselves to fashion their music. Their enthusiasm influences the other members of the band and the receptivity of the audience. The audience influences the band. In the end, the quality and creativity of the performance is the result of the interaction of all these elements. These emerging patterns influence not only the current selection but also the next piece as well as successive pieces. This metaphor illustrates how creativity and efficiency emerge naturally in human organizations. Some basic rules, positive contacts, and relationships among members allow solutions to emerge from the bottom up. In this CAS, the musicians and the audience all act as autonomous system agents; the setting, roles, rules, and duration of the concert constitute the container/context; the contribution of each instrument and the continuous change of melodies and harmonies are significant differences, whereas the influencing processes between musicians and their audience are transformative exchanges; the continuous successions of music are the self-organizing patterns. Each of these concepts is highly interdependent REFRAMING THE ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT Reframing is about changing perception by understanding something in another way. (Bandler Grinder, 1982) explained reframing in the following manner: What reframing does is to say, Look, this external thing occurs and it elicits this response in you, so you assume that you know what the meaning is. But if you thought about it this other way, then you would have a different response. Being able to think about things in a variety of ways builds a spectrum of understanding. None of these ways are really true, though. They are simply statements about a persons understanding. BASIC TYPES OF REFRAMING There are two basic kinds of reframes: context reframing and content reframing. Both can alter our internal representations of events or situations, which permits us to experience the events in other, hopefully, more resourceful ways. Context reframing Bandler and Grinder noted that every experience in the world and every behavior is appropriate, given some context, some frame (1982,p.9) Context reframing offers an understanding of how we make meaning through the environment physical, intellectual, cultural, historical, and emotional in which a situation occurs. It can also provide a pattern of thinking that helps us see the value in every situation regardless of any perceived downside. Context reframing is taking an experience that seems to be negative, not useful, and distressing and showing how the same behaviour or experience can be useful in another context. Childrens stories are full of reframes designed to show children how what might seem a liability can be useful in another context. For example, the other reindeer made fun of Rudolphs bright, red nose; but that funny nose made Rudolph the hero on a dark night. Context reframing can be used as a perceptual filter, taught and practiced until it becomes an integral and habitual way of organizational thinking. It is a very useful tool in business as it is the way of thinking that gives one the ability to make lemonade from those unexpected

Life in the Sixties :: essays research papers

Life in the Sixties   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sometimes in life people do strange things, and while others may perceive it as a harmless act, human morals can make it seem otherwise. In the story â€Å"A & P† John Updike reveals what it is like to have been a young man who worked in a grocery store in the nineteen-sixties and what it was like to see three young girls walk in with only two pieces on. The semi- sexist thoughts of how Sammy describes the young girls when they walk in, the three girls walking in to the grocery store in only two pieces was obviously against the moral standards of that day, and sometimes small, seemingly insignificant actions and events can push a person to make a life-changing decisions, are the themes of John Updike’s story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How men perceive women is a funny thing, Sammy, the one who is telling the story, gives, what we call sexual, and almost kind of a perverted way of describing the girls. Updike used his descriptions of the girls to bring out that men, even then had impure thoughts of women and the way that we perceive them sometimes, really though, it’s the nineteen-sixties and in walks three beautiful girls in not just bathing suits, but two pieces! Of course a male mind is going to start racing a million miles per second. So begins the sexual descriptions of the girls. So as Sammy is ringing up the lady’s food at the cash register, he can’t help but be distracted, Updike shows us this when Sammy says â€Å"I stood there with a box of HiHo crackers trying to remember if I rang it up or not. I ring it up and the customer starts giving me hell†(p.344). Updike clearly showed that the girls were a distraction to Sammy, and how easy it was for his thoughts to go astray.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The three girls walking into the A & P was not what was wrong, it was the fact that they came in wearing bathing suits. Not just the normal bathing suit, but a bikini! By law, one had to be over eighteen just to get in to a movie if there were going to be women in bikinis in it. Two piece bathing suits were practically unheard of and if someone was caught wearing one, they might have been considered wild and irresponsible. Walking into the grocery store would be were the wild part comes in.

Climate Change: Fact or Fiction

Weather can be defined as the state of the atmosphere including movements of energy like wind and precipitation. Climate is the generally prevailing weather patterns of a region. The climate of a region is made up of the different weather patterns. The weather patterns are usually repetitive according to the seasons. Where I’m from in southwest Nebraska it snows in the winter, rains in the spring, and is hot in the summer. The question is, has the weather and climate always been like this in Nebraska? We have proof that climate has changed in the past.Seventy million years ago there may have not been any ice on the North Pole. The region was most likely covered in forest. The amazing part of this hypothesis is that without the polar ice caps the ocean levels would be around seventy meter higher than they are now. Scientist also know that the world was in its most recent ice age about 2. 6 million years ago. If the North Pole went from forest to ice sixty-eight million years, o bviously the world has seen drastic changes before. This raises the question of whether or not this could happen to us again.Could the increases in temperature that everybody attributes to global warming just be a natural cycle of the planets climate? Most people think not. The logical answer for the steady increase in temperature is global warming due to the â€Å"Greenhouse Effect†. The Greenhouse Effect is caused by an increase in the concentration of â€Å"greenhouse gasses† in the atmosphere. Some of the most dominate greenhouse gasses are Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrous oxide, and Water vapor. Some people might argue that these gasses are found naturally in the atmosphere.The concentration of the gasses could be increasing due to natural factors. The atmosphere may be holding these gasses in for an unknown reason, or the environment may be producing higher concentrations naturally. This theory is unlikely according to data recorded in past years. Ice cores show that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased dramatically since the industrial revolution. It’s no coincidence that global warming started becoming noticeable the same time humans started harvesting fossil fuels.Burning, mining, and processing fossil fuels are the main cause of the increase in gas releases. According to Peter Singers book One World, the scientific evidence that human activities are changing the climate of our planet has been studied by the IPCC in order to provide policy makers with an authoritative view of climate change and its causes. (Pg. 15) The â€Å"Third Assessment Report† released by the IPCC in 2001 found that our planet has shown clear signs of warming over the past century.Since 1960 snow and ice cover has decreased by about ten percent, and mountain glaciers are in retreat everywhere except near the poles. Paralleling the changes in the climate is an unprecedented increase in the concentration of greenhouse gass es in the atmosphere. This increase is produced by human activities such as burning fossil fuels, the clearing of vegetation, and in the case of methane, cattle and rice production. Not for at least the last four-hundred and twenty years has there been so much carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere. Pg. 15-16) What will happen if we continue to emit increasing amounts of gasses into the atmosphere, and global warming continues to increase? According to the Third Assessment Report, between 1990 and 2100, average global temperatures will rise by at least 1. 4 °C, and by as much as 5. 8 °C. Although these average rises in temperature might seem small, even a 1 °C rise in the average temperature would be greater than any change that has occurred in a single century in the past ten-thousand years.Moreover, some regional changes will be more extreme and are much more difficult to predict. (Pg. 16-17) If the average temperature of a major agricultural region was to rise 5 °C all the dominant crops in the area may not be suited for the region anymore and major economic downfall could result. Now that everybody in the world is aware of the cause of global warming, the question arises, what are we supposed to do? I believe the best and most effective answer to that question is reduce the amount of energy that we use.The first and simplest step is to reduce your power consumption. Creating power is one of the largest uses of fossil fuels which means the less power made, the less fossil fuels used. Everybody can use less power by simply turning off lights and unplugging appliances when not in use. Most appliances continue to consume power even after they have been turned off, if everybody just unplugged their electronics or switched off the power strip energy would become a lot more sustainable. Another huge problem with the world is automobiles.While most people love their cars and don’t want to lose the freedom to go anywhere their thoughts might be changed when they look at all the negatives cars produce. First, is all the time, energy, and resources used to make a car. Most car parts are made from expendable ores and minerals and then shipped across the globe. This not only uses up mineral reserves in the production of the parts but consumes large amounts of petroleum energy in the transportation process. Then, as everybody knows all these cars consume huge amounts of energy in the form of gas every day, this will deplete our oil supply in no time.Cars also need roads to drive on. Roads are the leading consumer of the United States mineral resources, and the take up very large amounts of space in cities and agricultural areas. People in cities can ride the bus and everybody can ride the train on long distance trips. If we could all cut the amount we drive in half the sustainability of many of the world’s resources would increase dramatically. Turning off your lights and taking the bus aren’t the only way people can reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses they contribute.Factories produce a large amount of pollutants every day. Factory products can also contribute to atmospheric pollution because everything made requires resources to be produced. And after a product is used up it becomes waste and must be disposed of in some way. We can lower the amount of waste that is being put into landfills by buying goods that aren’t over packaged. Many goods are jazzed up with large and fancy packaging but in the end people just throw the package away. If the same product can be purchased in a smaller package it will cost less and take up less space as waste.Consumers should try to buy fresh produce from local stores. While fresh goods are not usually over packaged, buying local also helps to cut down on the amount of transportation and the energy wasted while the item was stored in large warehouses. Another step in the environmental preservation process is to recycle everything possible. This is more easily said than done for most people but it is becoming easier and more convenient all the time. Recycling bins are popping up all over in convenient locations and the incentives to recycle are getting greater all the time.It isn’t that hard to separate easily recyclable materials like cans and bottles in your home and take them to the proper recycling center. Another easy was to recycle is take your plastic shopping bags back for recycling or get a reusable bag. If resources are conserved, then naturally the amount of gasses being released into the atmosphere will be decreased. In conclusion, global warming is a major global problem. If a sufficient remedy isn’t found soon enough the world may never be the same. Finding a means to curve the rise of global warming is easier than most people think.

Please tell us how you spent your most recent summer vacation

I spent most of my last summer (2007) traveling around Europe’s architectural sites and familiarizing myself with two important design softwares: Photoshop and Illustrator.Since the summer was to be the last one to spend as a family, my parents and I decided to take a vacation of my choice, of which I choose Europe because of the continent’s wealth of historical and architectural heritage. I have always been fascinated by the cultural history of the continent’s architectural sites.The first place to visit was Rome. It was amazing to the Roman Coliseum whose size architecture and appearance is just a beauty to be reckoned with; I felt so privileged to have seen this great piece of art. Irrigations pipes and channels built during the days of the Roman Empire were also great pieces of dazzling architecture I was privileged to see.The second city to visit was Paris, France. One of the dazzling sites was the Mona Lisa, but I was dazzled to see that the picture is smal ler than expected. It is widely said that a picture could be more than a thousand words; the Mona Lisa is worth more than those words and more than thousand times its sheer size.This little-yet-widely-famous picture is recessed in the gallery, protected by thick glasses, Mona Lisa’s smile, small eyes and her androgynous features is a site for any art lover to stare and admire.While still in France, we had a chance to visit Venice whose water transportation system and the beautiful voice that many of the Gondola drivers are just amazing sites. I spent the latter part of my summer learning how to use Adobe Photoshop and illustrator. The skills I developed, steady hands and strong concentration, will make it easy to deal with design classes at NYU.#2) Describe a trait or characteristic that has been passed along to you by your family. Tell us why you like or dislike this part of yourself.My home nickname is â€Å"silent but deadly†. â€Å"Silent† is from my father and â€Å"deadly† from my late mother. I like the combinations of these two names because it makes me feel as if my parents are in me at all times. My father is a successful executive in Hong Kong and has exemplified greater leadership skills that I have been associated with the character traits I borrowed from him.Indeed, I find myself becoming a leader like my father. I have already started developing those skills through participation in group activities both in my neighborhood and in school; I have served as leader in several extracurricular activities throughout my education career. The listening skills that I got from my father have enabled me to be attentive to others as well as being tolerant to colleagues’ opinions.My mother was a great philanthropist, perfectionist, full of grace, caring, attentive, understanding, and a-people-person. She was also charismatic, investigative and a straight talker. She was a thoughtful person who would never take stand or decis ion on something before undertaking some thoughtful process. The resulting decisions would have been final; she stood to what she believed-in.These characteristics have made me an individual who is interested with other people in the society. Being a blend of two talented individuals has made a big contribution to the person I am today. Sharpening the combination of two individuals to NYU is one of the goals I want to achieve. I am also planning two use the skills I have developed from my parents legacy to make a contribution in NYU’s community.#3) New York City is an essential element of academic and cultural life at NYU. If you could start a club or service organization at NYU, what would it be and how would you envision it impacting the larger community.I plan to make a contribution to NYU and NYC through the establishment of a Chinese club that will enable members of the community to learn about Chinese ways of life. The club will for instance help NYU community members l earn mandarin and Chinese calligraphy that are increasingly becoming popular worldwide.Other activities of the club would include opera and water painting. All NYU community members would be welcome in the club, even if they are not of Chinese origin. This is because the club’s intention is to teach and learn from others. Incase there exists other clubs of this sort, I shall join them and make my contribution from there. The Chinese club will make a pint of joining hands with other cultural organizations in the NYU and with NYC to celebrate different cultures.This shall be achieved through celebrations and carnivals at different calendar dates. Taking advantage of New York City as the melting port of world cultures will be the greatest help that NYU will provide this club; members shall be able to understand different people through learning and teaching activities. In addition, the club shall embark on helping people of different cultures to cope with the fast paced NYC-life .This shall be achieved through the network of friendship that will have been established through association with other clubs within the college and New York City itself. To ensure that information about the club reaches a wider group of audience, the club shall establish a website where all its activities will be posted, including materials to teach language and calligraphy.#4) You have been selected to sing in a talent show. What song would you choose? Why?I would definitely sing Whitney Houston’s â€Å"I Will Always Love You†; it reminds me of pleasant memories and has cultivated sense of making use of opportunities I find on my growth process. I first came across this song when I was watching the movie, â€Å"The Bodyguard† with my parents.   It was a very interesting movie. Like most of the love stories, this talked about a Bodyguard fell in love with his client, Whitney Houston.   Unlike many other movies, this movie is very special because it incorpo rates several music soundtracks.However, Whitney Houston’s â€Å"I Will Always Love You† stood out from the rest because it was my mother’s favorite song and. Lyrics, too, are very touchy and meaningful.   I love the lyrics of the song because it speaks a lot of the feelings I have for my mother.   Even though it has almost been 8 years since her death, â€Å"I will always love you† provides me with fresh memories of her.   In terms of musical quality, I love the arrangement, mainly because of the many instruments that were used: such as piano, guitar, drum, and last but not least the saxophone.The saxophone part comes in the chorus; it heightens the overall emotion quality of the song.   I love this song and it is one of my all-time favorites. Because of the fresh memories that the song provides, I have always looked forward to saying â€Å"I Will Always Love You† to people and places; I for instance said it when I left Europe’s arc hitectural sites. I would therefore feel obliged to sing the song at NYU, because the opportunity of studying there will leave a lasting impact in my life.#5) Please tell us what led you to select your anticipated academic program and/or NYU school/college, and what interests you most about your intended discipline.I am applying to the College of Arts and Science at New York University and hopefully major in the field of East Asian Studies, focus of study being: Chinese and Japanese Tradition†. Though I am born and raised in a Chinese family, I attended International School from 5th Grade onwards.The International School, provided me with the opportunity to study European, American, Native-Indian, African, Indian history and many more.   However, little of Chinese history of art was taught. This has left me with great urge of learning the history and art of my country; which is the reason why I intend to study at NYU. It is unfortunate that I have no answers when my friends from the States ask about Chinese histories, cultural rituals and many more.However, reading â€Å"China: Its History and Culture†, written by W. Scott Morton has provided me with great foundation for learning Chinese history.   It was not after reading the book that had a very understanding about the Chinese culture and values.   I think it is never too late to learn about something, especially something that is as meaningful and interesting as the history of my root, the place that I am born in.   I started looking for a transfer and NYU came across my mind.The strong faculty that NYU has will help me excel in this specific field of study.   NYU has many resources and opportunity to offer that no other university can provide. In addition, NYU’s liberal arts education will provide me with and opportunity to learn about other areas of study apart from East Asian studies.