Od and Change Essay Example

Od and Change Essay OD and Change The Message Is Clear Change Or Disappear â€Å"There’s no off season anymore† Nolan Ryan â€Å"You miss 100% of the shots you never take† Wayne Gretsky â€Å"Somebody has to do something, and its just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us. † Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead CHANGE AN ONGOING PROCESS Companies no longer have a choice, they must change to survive. Unfortunately, people tend to resist change. It is not easy to change an organization, let alone an individual. This puts increased pressure on management to learn the subtleties of change. This final chapter was written to help managers navigate the journey of change. FORCES OF CHANGE †¢ How do organizations know when they should change? †¢ What cues should an organization look for? Organizations encounter many different forces for change. These forces come from external sources outside the organization and from internal sources. This section examines the forces that create the need for change. Awareness of these forces can help managers determine when they should consider implementing an organizational change. EXTERNAL FORCES External forces for change originate outside the organization. Because these forces have global effects, they may cause an organization to question the essence of what business it is in and the process by which products and services are produced. There are four key external forces for change: demographic characteristics. technological advancements, market changes, and social and political pressures. Each is now discussed. 1. Demographic Characteristics (1) the workforce is more diverse and (2) there is a business imperative to effectively manage diversity. We will write a custom essay sample on Od and Change specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Od and Change specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Od and Change specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Organizations need to effectively manage diversity if they are to receive maximum contribution and commitment from employees. 2. Technological Advancements Both manufacturing and service organizations are increasingly using technology as a means to improve productivity and market competitiveness. Manufacturing companies, for instance, have automated their operations with robotics, computerized numerical control (CNC), which is used for metal cutting operations, and computer-aided design (CAD). CAD is a computerized process of drafting and designing engineering drawings of products. Companies have just begun to work on computer- integrated manufacturing (CIM). This highly technical process attempts to integrate product design with product planning. control. and operations In contrast to these manufacturing technologies, the service sector of the US economy is using office automation. Office automation consists of a host of computerized technologies that are used to obtain, store, analyze, retrieve, and communicate information. â€Å"The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment. † Warren Bennis 3. Market Changes The emergence of a global economy is forcing US companies to change the way they do business. Companies are having to forge new partnerships with their suppliers in order to deliver higher quality products at lower prices. 4. Social and Political Pressures These forces are created by social and political events. Managers thus may need to adjust their managerial style or approach to fit changing employee values. Political events can create substantial change. For example, the collapse of both the Berlin Wall and communism in Russia created many new business opportunities. Although it is difficult for organizations to predict changes in political forces, many organizations hire lobbyists and consultants to help them detect and respond to social and political changes. INTERNAL FORCES Internal forces for change come from inside the organization. These forces may be subtle, such as low morale, or can manifest in outward signs, such as low productivity and conflict. Internal forces for change come from both human resource problems and managerial behavior/decisions. . Human Resource Problems/Prospects These problems stem from employee perceptions about how they are treated at work and the match between individual and organization needs and desires. Dissatisfaction is a symptom of an underlying employee problem that should be addressed. Unusual or high levels of absenteeism and turnover also represent forces for change. Organizations might respo nd to these problems by using the various approaches to job design, by implementing realistic job previews, by reducing employees role conflict, overload, and ambiguity, and by removing the different stressors. Prospects for positive change stem from employee participation and suggestions. 2. Managerial Behavior/Decisions Excessive interpersonal conflict between managers and their subordinates is a sign that change is needed. Both the manager and the employee may need interpersonal skills training, or the two individuals may simply need to be separated. For example, one of the parties might be transferred to a new department. Inappropriate leader behaviors such as inadequate direction or support may result in human resource problems requiring change. Leadership training is one potential solution for this problem. Inequitable reward systems are additional forces for change. MODELS AND DYNAMICS OF PLANNED CHANGE American managers are criticized for emphasizing short-term, quick-fix solutions to organizational problems. When applied to organizational change, this approach is doomed from the start. Quick-fix solutions do not really solve underlying problems and they have little staying power. Researchers and managers alike have thus tried to identify effective ways to manage the change process. This section sheds light on their insights. After discussing different types of organizational changes. we review Lewins change model, a systems model of change, and organization development. Lewins Change Model Most theories of organizational change originated from the landmark work of social psychologist Kurt Lewin. Lewin developed a three-stage model of planned change which explained how to initiate, manage, and stabilize the change process. The three stages are unfreezing, changing, and refreezing. Before reviewing each stage, it is important to highlight the assumptions that underlie this model: 1. The change process involves learning something new, as well as discontinuing current attitudes, behaviors, or organizational practices. 2. Change will not occur unless there is motivation to change. This is often the most difficult part of the change process. 3. People are the hub of all organizational changes. Any change, whether in terms of structure, group process, reward systems, or job design, requires individuals to change. 4. Resistance to change is found even when the goals of change are highly desirable. 5. Effective change requires reinforcing new behaviors, attitudes, and organizational practices. The three stages of change. Unfreezing The focus of this stage is to create the motivation to change. In so doing, individuals are encouraged to replace old behaviors and attitudes with those desired by management. Managers can begin the unfreezing process by disconfirming the usefulness or appropriateness of employees present behaviors or attitudes. Changing Because change involves learning, this stage entails providing employees with new information, new behavioral models, or new ways of looking at things. The purpose is to help employees learn new concepts or points of view. Role models, mentors, experts, benchmarking the company against world-class organizations, and training are useful mechanisms to facilitate change. Refreezing Change is stabilized during refreezing by helping employees integrate the changed behavior or attitude into their normal way of doing things. This is accomplished by first giving employees the chance to exhibit the new behaviors or attitudes. Once exhibited, positive reinforcement is used to reinforce the desired. Additional coaching and modeling also are used at this point to reinforce the stability of the change. Resistance to Change Individual Sources of Resistance †¢ Fear of the Unknown †¢ Self-Interest †¢ Habit †¢ Personality Conflicts †¢ Differing Perceptions †¢ General Mistrust †¢ Social Disruptions Organizational Sources of Resistance †¢ Structural Inertia †¢ Bureaucratic Inertia †¢ Group Norms †¢ A Resistant Organizational Culture †¢ Threatened Power †¢ Threatened Expertise †¢ Threatened Resource Allocation UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE We are all creatures of habit. It generally is difficult for people to try new ways of doing things. It is precisely because of this basic human characteristic that most employees do not have enthusiasm for change in the workplace. Rare is the manager who does not have several stories about carefully cultivated changes that died on the vine because of resistance to change. It is important for managers to learn to manage resistance because failed change efforts are costly. Costs include decreased employee loyalty, lowered probability of achieving corporate goals, a waste of money and resources, and difficulty in fixing the failed change effort. This section examines employee resistance to change, relevant research, and practical ways of dealing with the problem. Why People Resist Change in the Workplace 1. An individuals predisposition toward change. 2. Surprise and fear of the unknown. 3. Climate of mistrust. 4. Fear of failure. 5. Loss of status and/or job security. 6. Peer pressure. 7. Disruption of cultural traditions and/or group relationships. 8. Personality conflicts. 9. Lack of tact and/or poor timing. 10. Nonreinforcing reward systems. RESEARCH ON RESISTANCE TO CHANGE The classic study of resistance to change was reported in 1948 by Lester Coch and John R P French. They observed the introduction of a new work procedure in a garment factory. The change was introduced in three different ways to separate groups of workers. In the no participation group, the garment makers were simply told about the new procedure. Members of a second group, called the representative group, were introduced to the change by a trained co-worker. Employees in the total participation group learned of the new work procedure through a graphic presentation of its cost-saving potential. Mixed results were recorded for the representative group. The no participation and total participation groups, meanwhile, went in opposite directions. Output dropped sharply for the no participation group, while grievances and turnover climbed. After a small dip in performance, the total participation group achieved record-high output levels while experiencing no turnover. Since the Coch and French study, participation has been the recommended approach for overcoming resistance to change. Empirical research uncovered three additional personal characteristics related to resistance to change. A study of 284 nonmanagerial office personnel (43 percent male) showed that hands-on experience with computers, whether through training or on-the-job practice, fostered more positive attitudes toward working with computers. Finally, high self-efficacy and an internal locus of control were negatively associated with resistance to change. OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Before recommending specific approaches to overcome resistance, there are three key conclusions that should be kept in mind. First, an organization must be ready for change. Just as a table must be set before you can eat, so must an organization be ready for change before it can be effective. Use the survey to evaluate a company that you worked for or are familiar with that undertook a change effort. Assessing an Organizations Readiness for Change Instructions: Circle the number that best represents your opinions about the company being evaluated. Yes Somewhat No 1. | Is the change effort being sponsored by a senior-level executive (CEO, COO)? | 3 | 2 | 1| 2. | Are all levels of management committed to the change? | 3| 2| 1| 3. | Does the organization culture encourage risk taking? 3 | 2 | 1| 4. | Does the organization culture encourage and reward continuous improvement? | 3 | 2 | 1| 5. | Has senior management clearly articulated the need for change? | 3 | 2 | 1| 6. | Has senior management presented a clear vision of a positive future? | 3 | 2 | 1| 7. | Does the organization use specific measures to assess business performance? | 3 | 2 | 1| 8. | Does the change effort support other major activities going on in the organization? | 3 | 2 | 1| 9. | Has the organization benchmarked itself against world-class companies? | 3 | 2 | 1| 10. | Do all employees understand the customers needs? 3 | 2 | 1| 11. | Does the organization reward individuals and/or teams for being innovative and for looking for root causes of organizational problems? | 3 | 2 | 1| 12. | Is the organization flexible and cooperative? | 3 | 2 | 1| 13. | Does management effectively communicate with all levels of the organization. | 3 | 2 | 1| 14. | Has the organization successfully implemented other change programs? | 3 | 2 | 1| 15. | Do employees take personal responsibility for their behavior? | 3 | 2 | 1| 16. | Does the organization make decisions quickly? | 3 | 2 | 1| Total Score: ——— Source: Based on the discussion contained in T. A. Stewart, Rate your readiness to change, Fortune, February 7,1994, pp. 106-10. (Arbitrary norms are as follows: 48-40 = High readiness for change; 39-24 = Moderate readiness for change; and 23-16 = Low readiness for change. ) What was the companys readiness for change, and how did this evaluation relate to the success of the change effort? Second, organizational change is less successful when top management fails to keep employees informed about the process of change. Third, employees perceptions or interpretations of a change significantly affect resistance. Employees are less likely to resist when they perceive that the benefits of a change overshadow the personal costs. At a minimum then, managers are advised to (1) provide as much information as possible to employees about the change, (2) inform employees about the reasons/rationale for the change, (3) conduct meetings to address employees questions regarding the change, and (4) provide employees the opportunity to discuss how the proposed change might affect them. ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT Organization development (OD) is an applied field of study and practice. A pair of OD experts defined organization development as follows: Organization development is concerned with helping managers plan change in organizing and managing people that will develop requisite commitment, coordination, and competence. Its purpose is to enhance both the effectiveness of organizations and the well-being of their members through planned interventions in the organizations human processes, structures, and systems, using knowledge of behavioral science and its intervention methods. As you can see from this definition, OD provides managers with the tools needed to manage organizational change. The four identifying characteristics of OD and its research and practical implications. OD Involves Profound Change Change agents using OD generally desire deep and long-lasting improvement. OD consultant Warner Burke, for example, who strives for fundamental cultural change, wrote: By fundamental change, as opposed to fixing a problem or improving a procedure, I mean that some significant aspect of an organizations culture will never be the same. OD is Value-Loaded Owing to the fact that OD is rooted partially in humanistic psychology, many OD consultants carry certain values or biases into the client organization. They prefer cooperation over conflict, self-control over institutional control, and democratic and participative management over autocratic management. OD Is a Diagnosis/Prescription Cycle OD theorists and practitioners have long adhered to a medical model of organization. Like medical doctors, internal and external OD consultants approach the sick organization, diagnose its ills, prescribe and implement an intervention, and monitor progress. OD Is Process-Oriented Ideally, OD consultants focus on the form and not the content of behavioral and administrative dealings. For example, product design engineers and market researchers might be coached on how to communicate more effectively with one another without the consultant knowing the technical details of their conversations. In addition to communication, OD specialists focus on other processes, including problem solving, decision making, conflict handling, trust, power sharing, and career development. OD Research and Practical Implications OD-related interventions produced the following insights: †¢ A recent meta-analysis of 18 studies indicated that employee satisfaction with change was higher when top management was highly committed to the change effort. A recent meta-analysis of 52 studies provided support for the systems model of organizational change. Specifically, varying one target element of change created changes in other target elements. Also, there was a positive relationship between individual behavior change and organizational-level change. †¢ A meta-analysis of 126 studies demonstrated that multifaceted interventions using more than one OD technique were more effective in changing job attitudes and work attitudes than interventions that relied on only one human-process or technostructural approach. Od and Change Essay Example Od and Change Essay OD and Change The Message Is Clear Change Or Disappear There’s no off season anymore Nolan Ryan You miss 100% of the shots you never take Wayne Gretsky Somebody has to do something, and its just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us. Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead CHANGE AN ONGOING PROCESS Companies no longer have a choice, they must change to survive. Unfortunately, people tend to resist change. It is not easy to change an organization, let alone an individual. This puts increased pressure on management to learn the subtleties of change.This final chapter was written to help managers navigate the journey of change. FORCES OF CHANGE †¢ How do organizations know when they should change? †¢ What cues should an organization look for? Organizations encounter many different forces for change. These forces come from external sources outside the organization and from internal sources. This section examines the forces that create the need for change. Awareness of these forces can help managers determine when they should consider implementing an organizational change. EXTERNAL FORCESExternal forces for change originate outside the organization. We will write a custom essay sample on Od and Change specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Od and Change specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Od and Change specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Because these forces have global effects, they may cause an organization to question the essence of what business it is in and the process by which products and services are produced. There are four key external forces for change: demographic characteristics. technological advancements, market changes, and social and political pressures. Each is now discussed. 1. Demographic Characteristics (1) the workforce is more diverse and (2) there is a business imperative to effectively manage diversity.Organizations need to effectively manage diversity if they are to receive maximum contribution and commitment from employees. 2. Technological Advancements Both manufacturing and service organizations are increasingly using technology as a means to improve productivity and market competitiveness. Manufacturing companies, for instance, have automated their operations with robotics, computerized numerical control (CNC), which is used for metal cutting operations, and computer-aided design (CAD). CAD is a computerized process of drafting and designing engineering drawings of products.Companies have just begun to work on computer- integrated manufacturing (CIM). This highly technical process attempts to integrate product design with product planning. control. and operations In contrast to these manufacturing technologies, the service sector of the US economy is using office automation. Office automation consists of a host of computerized technologies that are used to obtain, store, analyze, retrieve, and communicate information. The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog.The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment. Warren Bennis 3. Market Changes The emergence of a global economy is forcing US companies to change the way they do business. Companies are having to forge new partnerships with their suppliers in order to deliver higher quality products at lower prices. 4. Social and Political Pressures These forces are created by social and political events. Managers thus may need to adjust their managerial style or approach to fit changing employee values. Political events can create substantial change.For example, the collapse of both the Berlin Wall and communism in Russia created many new business opportunities. Although it is difficult for organizations to predict changes in political forces, many organizations hire lobbyists and consultants to help them detect and respond to social and political changes. INTERNAL FORCES Internal forces for change come from inside the organization. These forces may be subtle, such as low morale, or can manifest in outward signs, such as low productivity and conflict. Internal forces for change come from both human resource problems and managerial behavior/decisions. . Human Resource Problems/Prospects These problems stem from employee perceptions about how they are treated at work and the match between individual and organization needs and desires. Dissatisfaction is a symptom of an underlying employee problem that should be addressed. Unusual or high levels of absenteeism and turnover also represent forces for change. Organizations might respond to these problems by using the various approaches to job design, by implementing realistic job previews, by reducing employees role conflict, overload, and ambiguity, and by removing the different stressors.Prospects for positive change stem from employee participation and suggestions. 2. Managerial Behavior/Decisions Excessive interpersonal conflict between managers and their subordinates is a sign that change is needed. Both the manager and the employee may need interpersonal skills training, or the two individuals may simply need to be separated. For example, one of the parties might be transferred to a new department. Inappropriate leader behaviors such as inadequate direction or support may result in human resource problems requiring change.Leadership training is one potential solution for this problem. Inequitable reward systems are additional forces for change. MODELS AND DYNAMICS OF PLANNED CHANGE American managers are criticized for emphasizing short-term, quick-fix solutions to organizational problems. When applied to organizational change, this approach is doomed from the start. Quick-fix solutions do not really solve underlying problems and they have little staying power. Researchers and managers alike have thus tried to identify effective ways to manage the change process. This section sheds light on their insights.After discussing different types of organizational changes. we review Lewins change model, a systems model of change, and organization development. Lewins Change Model Most theories of organizational change originated from the landmark work of social psychologist Kurt Lewin. Lewin developed a three-stage model of planned change which explained how to initiate, manage, and stabilize the change process. The three stages are unfreezing, changing, and refreezing. Before reviewing each stage, it is important to highlight the assumptions that underlie this model: 1.The change process involves learning something new, as well as discontinuing current attitudes, behaviors, or organizational practices. 2. Change will not occur unless there is motivation to change. This is often the most difficult part of the change process. 3. People are the hub of all organizational changes. Any change, whether in terms of structure, group process, reward systems, or job design, requires individuals to change. 4. Resistance to change is found even when the goals of change are highly desirable. 5. Effective change requires reinforcing new behaviors, attitudes, and organizational practices.The three stages of change. Unfreezing The focus of this stage is to create the motivation to change. In so doing, individuals are encouraged to replace old behaviors and attitudes with those desired by management. Managers can begin the unfreezing process by disconfirming the usefulness or appropriateness of employees present behaviors or attitudes. Changing Because change involves learning, this stage entails providing employees with new information, new behavioral models, or new ways of looking at things. The purpose is to help employees learn new concepts or points of view.Role models, mentors, experts, benchmarking the company against world-class organizations, and training are useful mechanisms to facilitate change. Refreezing Change is stabilized during refreezing by helping employees integrate the changed behavior or attitude into their normal way of doing things. This is accomplished by first giving employees the chance to exhibit the new behaviors or attitudes. Once exhibited, positive reinforcement is used to reinforce the desired. Additional coaching and modeling also are used at this point to reinforce the stability of the change.Resistance to Change Individual Sources of Resistance †¢ Fear of the Unknown †¢ Self-Interest †¢ Habit †¢ Personality Conflicts †¢ Differing Perceptions †¢ General Mistrust †¢ Social Disruptions Organizational Sources of Resistance †¢ Structural Inertia †¢ Bureaucratic Inertia †¢ Group Norms †¢ A Resistant Organizational Culture †¢ Threatened Power †¢ Threatened Expertise †¢ Threatened Resource Allocation UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE We are all creatures of habit. It generally is difficult for people to try new ways of doing things.It is precisely because of this basic human characteristic that most employees do not have enthusiasm for change in the workplace. Rare is the manager who does not have several stories about carefully cultivated changes that died on the vine because of resistance to change. It is important for managers to learn to manage resistance because failed change efforts are costly. Costs include decreased employee loyalty, lowered probability of achieving corporate goals, a waste of money and resources, and difficulty in fixing the failed change effort.This section examines employee resistance to change, relevant research, and practical ways of dealing with the problem. Why People Resist Change in the Workplace 1. An individuals predisposition toward change. 2. Surprise and fear of the unknown. 3. Climate of mistrust. 4. Fear of failure. 5. Loss of status and/or job security. 6. Peer pressure. 7. Disruption of cultural traditions and/or group relationships. 8. Personality conflicts. 9. Lack of tact and/or poor timing. 10. Nonreinforcing reward systems. RESEARCH ON RESISTANCE TO CHANGEThe classic study of resistance to change was reported in 1948 by Lester Coch and John R P French. They observed the introduction of a new work procedure in a garment factory. The change was introduced in three different ways to separate groups of workers. In the no participation group, the garment makers were simply told about the new procedure. Members of a second group, called the representative group, were introduced to the change by a trained co-worker. Employees in the total participation group learned of the new work procedure through a graphic presentation of its cost-saving potential.Mixed results were recorded for the representative group. The no participation and total participation groups, meanwhile, went in opposite directions. Output dropped sharply for the no participation group, while grievances and turnover climbed. After a small dip in performance, the total participation group achieved record-high output levels while experiencing no turnover. Since the Coch and French study, participation has been the recommended approach for overcoming resistance to change. Empirical research uncovered three additional personal characteristics related to resistance to change.A study of 284 nonmanagerial office personnel (43 percent male) showed that hands-on experience with computers, whether through training or on-the-job practice, fostered more positive attitudes toward working with computers. Finally, high self-efficacy and an internal locus of control were negatively associated with resistance to change. OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Before recommending specific approaches to overcome resistance, there are three key conclusions that should be kept in mind. First, an organization must be ready for change.Just as a table must be set before you can eat, so must an organization be ready for change before it can be effective. Use the survey to evaluate a company that you worked for or are familiar with that undertook a change effort. Assessing an Organizations Readiness for Change Instructions: Circle the number that best represents your opinions about the company being evaluated. Yes Somewhat No 1. | Is the change effort being sponsored by a senior-level executive (CEO, COO)? | 3 | 2 | 1| 2. | Are all levels of management committed to the change? | 3| 2| 1| 3. | Does the organization culture encourage risk taking? 3 | 2 | 1| 4. | Does the organization culture encourage and reward continuous improvement? | 3 | 2 | 1| 5. | Has senior management clearly articulated the need for change? | 3 | 2 | 1| 6. | Has senior management presented a clear vision of a positive future? | 3 | 2 | 1| 7. | Does the organization use specific measures to assess business performance? | 3 | 2 | 1| 8. | Does the change effort support other major activities going on in the organization? | 3 | 2 | 1| 9. | Has the organization benchmarked itself against world-class companies? | 3 | 2 | 1| 10. | Do all employees understand the customers needs? 3 | 2 | 1| 11. | Does the organization reward individuals and/or teams for being innovative and for looking for root causes of organizational problems? | 3 | 2 | 1| 12. | Is the organization flexible and cooperative? | 3 | 2 | 1| 13. | Does management effectively communicate with all levels of the organization. | 3 | 2 | 1| 14. | Has the organization successfully implemented other change programs? | 3 | 2 | 1| 15. | Do employees take personal responsibility for their behavior? | 3 | 2 | 1| 16. | Does the organization make decisions quickly? | 3 | 2 | 1| Total Score: ———Source: Based on the discussion contained in T. A. Stewart, Rate your readiness to change, Fortune, February 7,1994, pp. 106-10. (Arbitrary norms are as follows: 48-40 = High readiness for change; 39-24 = Moderate readiness for change; and 23-16 = Low readiness for change. ) What was the companys readiness for change, and how did this evaluation relate to the success of the change effort? Second, organizational change is less successful when top management fails to keep employees informed about the process of change. Third, employees perceptions or interpretations of a change significantly affect resistance.Employees are less likely to resist when they perceive that the benefits of a change overshadow the personal costs. At a minimum then, managers are advised to (1) provide as much information as possible to employees about the change, (2) inform employees about the reasons/rationale for the change, (3) conduct meetings to address employees questions regarding the change, and (4) provide employees the opportunity to discuss how the proposed change might affect them. ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT Organization development (OD) is an applied field of study and practice.A pair of OD experts defined organization development as follows: Organization development is concerned with helping managers plan change in organizing and managing people that will develop requisite commitment, coordination, and competence. Its purpose is to enhance both the effectiveness of organizations and the well-being of their members through planned interventions in the organizations human processes, structures, and systems, using knowledge of behavioral science and its intervention methods. As you can see from this definition, OD provides managers with the tools needed to manage organizational change.The four identifying characteristics of OD and its research and practical implications. OD Involves Profound Change Change agents using OD generally desire deep and long-lasting improvement. OD consultant Warner Burke, for example, who strives for fundamental cultural change, wrote: By fundamental change, as opposed to fixing a problem or improving a procedure, I mean that some significant aspect of an organizations culture will never be the same. OD is Value-Loaded Owing to the fact that OD is rooted partially in humanistic psychology, many OD consultants carry certain values or biases into the client organization.They prefer cooperation over conflict, self-control over institutional control, and democratic and participative management over autocratic management. OD Is a Diagnosis/Prescription Cycle OD theorists and practitioners have long adhered to a medical model of organization. Like medical doctors, internal and external OD consultants approach the sick organization, diagnose its ills, prescribe and implement an intervention, and monitor progress. OD Is Process-Oriented Ideally, OD consultants focus on the form and not the content of behavioral and administrative dealings.For example, product design engineers and market researchers might be coached on how to communicate more effectively with one another without the consultant knowing the technical details of their conversations. In addition to communication, OD specialists focus on other processes, including problem solving, decision making, conflict handling, trust, power sharing, and career development. OD Research and Practical Implications OD-related interventions produced the following insights: †¢ A recent meta-analysis of 18 studies indicated that employee satisfaction with change was higher when top management was highly committed to the change effort. A recent meta-analysis of 52 studies provided support for the systems model of organizational change. Specifically, varying one target element of change created changes in other target elements. Also, there was a positive relationship between individual behavior change and organizational-level change. †¢ A meta-analysis of 126 studies demonstrated that multifaceted interventions using more than one OD technique were more effective in changing job attitudes and work attitudes than interventions that relied on only one human-process or technostructural approach.

The Battle of Palo Alto

The Battle of Palo Alto The Battle of Palo Alto: The Battle of Palo Alto (May 8, 1846) was the first major engagement of the Mexican-American War. Although the Mexican army was significantly larger than the American force, American superiority in weapons and training carried the day. The battle was a victory for the Americans and began a long series of defeats for the beleaguered Mexican Army. The American Invasion: By 1845, war between the USA and Mexico was inevitable. America coveted Mexicos western holdings, such as California and New Mexico, and Mexico was still furious about the loss of Texas ten years before. When the USA annexed Texas in 1845, there was no going back: Mexican politicians railed against American aggression and fired the nation into a patriotic frenzy. When both nations sent armies to the disputed Texas/Mexico border in early 1846, it was only a matter of time before a series of skirmishes were used as an excuse for both nations to declare war. Zachary Taylors Army: The American forces on the border were commanded by General Zachary Taylor, a skilled officer who would eventually become President of the United States. Taylor had some 2,400 men, including infantry, cavalry and the new flying artillery squads. The flying artillery was a new concept in warfare: teams of men and cannons who could change positions on a battlefield rapidly. The Americans had high hopes for their new weapon, and they would not be disappointed. Mariano Aristas Army: General Mariano Arista was confident that he could defeat Taylor: his 3,300 troops were among the best in the Mexican army. His infantry was supported by cavalry and artillery units. Although his men were ready for battle, there was unrest. Arista had recently been given the command over General Pedro Ampudia and there was much intrigue and infighting in the Mexican officer ranks. The Road to Fort Texas: Taylor had two locations to worry about: Fort Texas, a recently-built fort on the Rio Grande near Matamoros, and Point Isabel, where his supplies were. General Arista, who knew he had overwhelming numerical superiority, was looking to catch Taylor in the open. When Taylor took most of his army to Point Isabel to reinforce his supply lines, Arista set a trap: he began bombarding Fort Texas, knowing Taylor would have to march to its aid. It worked: on May 8, 1846, Taylor marched only to find Arista’s army in a defensive stance blocking the road to Fort Texas. The first major battle of the Mexican-American War was about to begin. Artillery Duel: Neither Arista nor Taylor seemed willing to make the first move, so the Mexican army began firing its artillery at the Americans. The Mexican guns were heavy, fixed and used inferior gunpowder: reports from the battle say the cannonballs traveled slowly enough and far enough for the Americans to dodge them when they came. The Americans answered with artillery of their own: the new â€Å"flying artillery† cannons had a devastating effect, pouring shrapnel rounds into the Mexican ranks. The Battle of Palo Alto: General Arista, seeing his ranks ripped apart, sent his cavalry after the American artillery. The horsemen were met with concerted, deadly cannon fire: the charge faltered, then retreated. Arista tried to send infantry after the cannons, but with the same result. About this time, a smoky brush fire broke out in the long grass, shielding the armies from one another. Dusk fell about the same time as the smoke cleared, and the armies disengaged. The Mexicans retreated seven miles to a gulch known as Resaca de la Palma, where the armies would battle again the following day. Legacy of the Battle of Palo Alto: Although the Mexicans and Americans had been skirmishing for weeks, Palo Alto was the first major clash between large armies. Neither side won the battle, as the forces disengaged as dusk fell and the grass fires went out, but in terms of casualties it was a win for the Americans. The Mexican army lost some 250 to 500 dead and wounded to about 50 for the Americans. The biggest loss for the Americans was the death in battle of Major Samuel Ringgold, their best artilleryman and a pioneer in the development of the lethal flying infantry. The battle decisively proved the worth of the new flying artillery. The American artillerymen practically won the battle by themselves, killing enemy soldiers from afar and driving back attacks. Both sides were surprised at the effectiveness of this new weapon: in the future, the Americans would try to capitalize on it and the Mexicans would try to defend against it. The early win greatly boosted the confidence of the Americans, who were essentially a force of invasion: they knew they would be fighting against huge odds and in hostile territory for the rest of the war. As for the Mexicans, they learned that they would have to find some way to neutralize the American artillery or run the risk of repeating the results of the Battle of Palo Alto. Sources: Eisenhower, John S.D. So Far from God: the U.S. War with Mexico, 1846-1848. Norman: the University of Oklahoma Press, 1989 Henderson, Timothy J. A Glorious Defeat: Mexico and its War with the United States.New York: Hill and Wang, 2007. Scheina, Robert L. Latin Americas Wars, Volume 1: The Age of the Caudillo 1791-1899 Washington, D.C.: Brasseys Inc., 2003. Wheelan, Joseph. Invading Mexico: Americas Continental Dream and the Mexican War, 1846-1848. New York: Carroll and Graf, 2007.

Dual Diagnosis Treatment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Dual Diagnosis Treatment - Essay Example The police initiated most of these. Each time Leon was admitted, he was intoxicated and vocalised thoughts of persecution. Once, he tried to hang himself whilst in the hospital. At the age of fourteen, he began to use amphetamines and ecstasy. This has ceased only because he lost contact with friends he used to socialize with and used these drugs with after Leon became engaged in the mental health system. He stopped using cannabis daily and, as a result, his alcohol consumption increased to six litres from four litres of hard cider every day. He usually drinks this when he is on the street with friends. He experiences a feeling of needles and pins in his feet and hands. He believes this is caused by the medications that have been prescribed for him; however, this symptom can be caused by thiamine deficiency which is one of the possible side effects of abuse of alcohol because of dependency on this substance. His past treatment was receiving alcohol detoxification when he was in the hospital. Leon has repeatedly relapsed after his discharge. Several times, during his hospital stay, Leon drank alcohol whilst there and was discharged early because of this. Leon is somewhat concerned about his alcohol consumption but he perceives this in a positive manner because it provides a social outlet. He believes it also helps to diminish the residual hallucinations he writes that he experiences even when he is taking his medication properly. He has professed the belief that the stopping the use of cannabis was all of the change in his lifestyle that he could handle. He wants what he considers a "normal life." Leon would like to have a one on one personal relationship with a partner. (Starkey, Leon, date unknown) Leon has four

Advantages and Disadvantages of Capitalism and Socialism Research Paper

Advantages and Disadvantages of Capitalism and Socialism - Research Paper Example This essay declares that capitalism has slowly emerged to what it has become today, to an extent that it is the most common system of government especially in United States and Europe. Factor that characterize capitalism can be put under four groups of behavioral and institutional structures that are; goods production that is market oriented; production means that is privately owned; a great population that is non existent unless it sells its power to labor in the market; an economic system that displays individualism and need to acquire by most people. This paper stresses that every economic system has its strengths and weaknesses and capitalism is not an exception. Some of the pros of capitalism include economic freedom that spill over to become political freedom, when the means of production and price determination is in the governments hand, it gives the government a lot of power that leads to bureaucracy that may be evident in other parts of life as well. Capitalism experiences efficiency as firms are motivated to be efficient in producing goods according to demand. Such incentives encourage cost cutting and reduced wastage. State firms have a tendency of being inefficient as they lack the motivation for instance to reduce the surplus work force and venture into innovative methods of production. As individuals and companies encounter motivation to work hard, this leads to innovation and expansion of the economy, consequently this aids in increased actual growth of the GDP and improved standards of living.

Social eek 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Social eek 2 - Essay Example This is with regards to distribution of pretax income in the economy. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages linked to greater income equality. Greater income equality helps fight some of the social evils in society including social exclusion and poverty among the poor. Secondly, it leads to improved provision of basic facilities including health education and leads to higher social mobility. On the contrary, improved economic equality leads to lack of motivation by the poor to work hard since income is distributed equally (Desilver, 2013). Secondly, it leads to poor innovation and new skills since the rich contribute towards the payment of taxes that are distributed equally. Greater income equality can be achieved in various ways. First, the cycle of poverty should be broken by increasing low incomes (Ellyat, 2013). Secondly, high incomes should be lowered closer to the average income (Bartels, 2008). Finally, the cycle of privilege that inhibits social mobility and cements inequality should be eliminated. Desilver, D. (2013, December 5). U.S. income inequality, on rise for decades, is now highest since 1928. Retrieved from

Innovations of Nokia Technology

Innovations of Nokia Technology EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The technology in the world is highly rapid rated and just business who might adjust to quick changes in the electronic market can struggle. Technology is perpetually developing. Different companies to present opinion with more innovative products. The customers are given information about the market. They may simply from one company to another company. The challenging is so difficult amongst companies. INTRODUCTION This assignment will explain about Nokia company. Besides it will illustrate innovations of Nokia, analysis of company and marketing strategy of Nokia. Moreover it also will say recommendations about Nokia company and value chain analysis of Nokia company. Today , in the world which has high technology, many people see innovations as an area of their daily life. Innovations such as mobile phones are expedient and carriable and it is selled in a mixture design, shape and colour with unlike functions. Nokia is becoming the directing brand in the mobile phone market have with success enlarged their electronic market by succeeding more than 1,6 billion mobile phone definitions through the world. They help carry out a main human need for social contact with Nokias duty to contact people. Nokia constructed bridge amongst people as they are quitre apart. Nokia is the world director in the mobile telecommunication. Nokia began the external market in 2000. they made a rise their sales with technology of networks and products. They centre on individualised communication technology. Nokia innovated technology to let people to access internet applications ,tools and services instantly.they take care the problem that the person said them , build up the networks system more for wide.so they may enlarge quicker than other industry on electronic market. HISTORY OF Nokia History of Nokia begins in 1895, as engineer Fredrik Idestam founded a wood pulp mill in southern Finland and began manufacturing paper. Because of European industrial enterprise and the development using up of paper and card board Nokia soon become productive. In 1895 Fredrik Idestam handed over the reins of the company to his son in law Gustaf Fogelholm.( http://www.about-Nokia.com/history/)The products of Nokia were sold aboard first to Russia after that to the france and uk. The factory of Nokia appealed an imperative workforce and a small residential area developed around it. A community called Nokia still exists on the riverbank of Emakoski in southern Ireland. The hydroelectricity which the woodpulp mill used appealed the Finnish Rubber Works to found a factory in Nokia. The Finnish Rubber Works purchased the majority of the Finnish Cable Works shares after world war II. The companies were merged to form the Nokia Group.( http://www.about-Nokia.com/history/). When the Nokia gr oup was organised, the sales of Nokia group as 3 percent was produced and the Nokia electronics supplied job for so many people. Processes of Nokia quickly enlarged to different business areas and products throughout the 1980s. the plan was to make it large quickly in all their business areas. Nokia was an important television manufacturer and in the Nordic countries in 1988.(http://www.about-Nokia.com/history/). Nokia launched its first 3G phone which is called Nokia 6650. Today Nokia is a leader of the world in digital technology such as mobile phones, wireless data solutions, multimedia terminals. Success of Nokia is reposed on stable innovation. Human technology of Nokia is about increasing communication and searching new ways to interchange knowledge. INNOVATIONS OF Nokia TECHNOLOGY Companies in each business area innovate products. There are competitive situation amongst companies. It creates competitive advantage. Companies are trying to get the better of this in an industry. It can be seen in the mobile phone market. Nokia has been leader of this market recently. But , Nokia has so many rivals such as Samsung , sony. The products which is innovated are accepted as an advantage and companies might increase the products life cycle. It is as a product is decaying and is being resuscitated. Nokia still holds the largest share of the mobile phone market, but its sales and profits are stagnant while those of rival Samsung electronics of korea are zooming(daft,2007) Many organizations would like to keep their situation of director as business mostly assume the approach as being better to direct than adopt. For companies to direct, they should find any such competition and evaluate its furiousness and deflect getting left back. An abstract from the journal Innovation Implementation: Overcoming the challenge by Katherine Klien and Andrew Knight has stated thatâ€Å"In changing work environments, innovation is imperative. Yet, many teams and organizations fail to realise the expected benefits of innovations that they adopt. A key reason is not innovation failure but implementation failure-the failure to gain targeted employees skilled, consistent, and committed use of the innovation in question. According to this adjustment from the journal, it has been discussed that some companies who innovate and extend a brand too far and in the long run could fall short. This is thought as troubled innovation. These kind of innovations can be seen in Nokia. Companies think that product innovation is a crucial effect. That is why they try to manage it successfully. Innovation is complicated and companies are aided to make it simpler to get by crushing it in to parts on a sample. There are so many innovations in Nokia technology. I would like to talk about Nokia 67 00 classic. It is a new innovation. Nokia has always brought off to plus bread and butter phones to their line up. This innovation might be used by both business and casual people. Nokia was likely the first one to establish mobile phones having bluetooth including color display with the 6230i and 6310i. the next one is the Nokia 6300 classic which is similar to the other ones. But it is little bit better by developing. The trusted candy bar design had a flush keypad and smooth flowing lines. The hand set is designed such that it weights only 116g and also has a much improved battery life of around 5 hours talktime along with the standby time of around 300 hours. This feature is certainly considered far better as compared to its older version which is called 6300.( http://www.articleblast.com/Reviews/Products/Nokia_6700_classic_-_a_new_innovation/) the menu for this mobile phone is so self generated. Person does not need to get an direction book. Because this phone has got 5 way navigation system. Nokia established the new innovation which is 6700. it is described as GSM quad band handset which is enabled with 3G system. Because of that people can send and receive data to another people. Ä °t is fitted out with a 5 megapiksel camera. Ä °t can be took quality photos and videos. Ä °t has autofocus lens, flash models and LED flashand a committed 4X digital zoom power. Normally some mobile phones Has got limitations. But , this phone does not have any limitations. Ä °t is increased its capacity of memory to 8 GB as micro SD chip. This is helpful for people. Because one wants to save photos and videos person can store them without influencing the normal function of phone. Ä °t is an usual multimedia player with RDS FM radio that can be played some latest songs and music. VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS Value chain become a known managements strong analysis tool for strategic planning. Kotelnikov (2001) defined value chain as a high-level model of how businesses receive raw materials as input, add value to the raw materials through various processes, and sell finished products to customers. Value chain is a crucial tool to business improvement because it adopted the opinion that according to Kotelnikov (2001) â€Å"success in digital economy is the implementation of an integrated value chain that extends across and beyond the enterprise† The bigeminal value chain people who take part in company such as managers, customers workers should hand over value and endeavour for a common purpose. Nokia is being a leader of mobile communications technology. Nokia must carry out value chain as a function and a crucial tool in corporate strategy of Nokia. The purpose of Nokia to labour development and sustainability of the wide mobility industry. Ä °t endeavours to reach people via innovative and user friendly mobile phones, tools and solutions for imagination. Forms and styles in an invariably developing product such as mobile phones are so important for Nokia. Being in front of its competitors and informed with the charging needs of Nokias customers is hold Nokia in front of mobile industry. Changes in the international business view can affect the value chain of Nokia during the next 5 years. This is so because of comfoming to charge and making essential allotment for it is crucial for Nokia. Ä °t can be thought as matter as well value chain is not include consisted of the individual business just. Ä °t also concerns to the supply chains and distribution works. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths and oppurtunities The strengths of Nokia are scarcely for or few between Nokia company have been the company which win the european quality awards. The opportunities in Nokia are interminable as a environmental leader. The Nokia has the advantage of benefits of innovations, particularly in the handset market. They presently control of so many of the handset market. Nokia is nearly twice that of Motorola. Consequently Nokia brought in the superlative differences in the mobile phone industry. Nokia showed new ventures adn improvement. Nokias two top competitors are Motorola and Ericsson. All three companies offer cellular phones that are technically similar. Further more, indicated that brand equity is represented by customers recognition of consistent quality, satisfactory physical attributes of the product, and other emotional satisfiers. (Duffy, J. 2000) Moreover , Nokia has so powerful marque acknowledgement. Nokia mobile phones have qualifications more than only methods of speaking such as a fashion situaton. This was an answer of consumer satisfaction. Nokia realised that the mobile phones which look smart could be more effective for people than its techniqual qualifications outside the peoples care of dependability and good serving. Thus , the mobile phones of Nokia has become popular. Ä °t made them reliable brand. Consumers are searching mobile phones because of its name. This authority has resulted it to rise its popularity. Consequently , the organizations expect to get this advantage and go on to improve productive and clever processes of mobile technology. Especially they expect to get an advance from the improvement of their new technology of phones which continue the 3G technologies. Weakness and threats Ä °n spite of Nokia goes on to control in the mobile phone market, Nokia should be cognisant of the rising challenge in an industry. Which is tightly bordering on a developed market. The yearly sales of mobile phones is decreasing substantially. The challenge had risen to deal with this developed market. Nokia must keep on top of this challenge particularly when the japanese companies attempt getting the direct on the improvement of the next generation phones. Organisational structure of Nokia Nokias organizational structure is pliable and variable, uncessantly boosting innovation and organised improvement.organizational plans of Nokia alter as rapid as the mobile phone industry alters. In the mobile phone industry, a flexible organizational structure is crucial because the designs appropriate for business development change as quickly as the business itself. Nokia said that operations outsourcing would be instrumental in helping operators achieve further operations expenditure savings and move away from day-to-day operations of their networks and focus on serving their customers. (Nordic Business Report, Feb 20 2004) Nokia Ventures Organization (NVO) launched in 1998 is a good sample of Nokias pliable organizational structure. NVO was founded to test and improve emergent opinions that had the potential to produce great amounts of revenue. NVO searches many business opportunities and incorporates the feasible ones into Nokias operating business. Over the past 15 years, Nokia has exited from many businesses which did not fit into its overall plans. For Nokia, organizational abilities means that having the skill to have people jointly capable of working together in a quickly changing environment by improving a new product and taking it to market. It also implies, having the people in the organization able to work together in an attempt to innovate, to reply to consumer needs, to see the value suggestion and to decently carry out the organizations strategy. Nokia has a powerful dominant culture, and the pronounced orientation for a decisional or power base which greatly gravitates around the dominant Finn culture. Deployment of Nokia ability in various wireless domains is the hallmark of Nokias present strategy. RECOMMENDATIONS It should protect itself threats from its rivals It should be ready quick change in the market which can be reason increasing of costs, quick obsolescence of mobile phones, new standards and rules A new focus in customer segment should be required to keep its market leadership. It should challenge from coming out rivals and as overcapitalized market. It needed businesses and applications improvers to hedge commitments to Nokia platforms due to stiff competition faced outside its dominant market. It faces market impregnation in the industry causing new endorsers to go down and sales improvement to worsen Share Data http://www.Nokia.com/about-Nokia/financials/key-data/graphs Conclusion To sum up, The Nokia company examined in this assignment comprises the modern pliable global organization that by technological innovation and attractive design appeal moves fleetly via the booming wireless telecommunication market. The company is a director in the mobile phone business in the consumer products and one of the main players in the business networks units as well. When it comes to delivering product design innovations to mobile device users, Nokia is the company against which all others are judged.(lindholm,keinonen, 2003). It innovates the best technology and plays important role in improving a new standard for communications to the future. With sales growth and the market size and potential in the future showing no signs of dropping, Nokia is in a large place to successfully improve and keep its controller position. Some dangers could become from the rising challenge but Nokias research and powerful brand recognition because of its design will sustain the company in t he spotlight for a long time.

Fight Club - Conformity vs Rebellion Essay -- Fight Club David Fincher

Fight Club - Conformity vs Rebellion The conflict between conformity and rebellion has always been a struggle in our society. Fight Club is a movie that depicts just that. The movie portrays the polarity between traditionalism and an anti-social revolt. It is the story of man who is subconsciously fed up with the materialism and monotony of everyday life and thereafter creates a new persona inside his mind to contrast and counteract his repetitive lifestyle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main character is actually unnamed, but sometimes is referred to as Jack, which comes from a medical book he reads in the Tyler’s house perhaps. He is the normal, everyday, worker bee that carries on his overly boring life day in and day out because he is the typical conformist that society tells us to be. Jack is the everyday common workingman to which the audience can sympathize with and relate to. His character portrays the struggles and longevity of the American dream. He is constantly rating his life and his lifestyle by his furniture. The designer furniture that he orders out of mail catalogues defines his personality and self worth. This is due to the fact that he is constantly trying to improve and complete his lifestyle by buying certain pieces of furniture to create a modern but still simple and traditional household. His house is beyond perfection but yet he still tries to further its flawlessness, which relates to his dream of the typical Am erican. But as he constantly tries to improve himself with his furniture and work habits to define his personality, he actually fails miserably and does quite the opposite. When Jack buys his furniture he destroys every attempt that he has made to improve himself. He only falls deeper into the hole that he digs himself. Every piece of furniture that he buys, he loses another part of his identity. Jack’s conformity follows him to work as he becomes a doormat. His socialization is confined to the limits of his cubicle with the only exception being when he is on business trips. During flights he develops relationships with the passengers around him. This is not done out of a real honesty for a conversation, but out of a need to fill a void, a loneliness, a lack of self-worth. His life is full of â€Å"single serving friends†, car crashes, and wishes of an eventful death because the monotony of his life gives him strict boundaries to live by. His... ...rkingman, as Tyler is the man everyone wants to be. Fight Club shows a man that everyone wants to be but can’t because of laws and in most cases common courtesy. The movie states that there is basically a Tyler in all of us, wanting and waiting to come out. None of us will let him out though because we don’t have the courage, or maybe stupidity to do it, although Jack does. For a while in the movie Jack did get everything he wanted. He had no care in the world and couldn’t have felt better about himself as a whole. Not until later does the final message come in, without any control there is chaos. When Tyler ran rampant and did what he pleased things began to get out of hand. For instance his final act of defiance towards society was the blowing up of credit card companies in order to erase the debt record so that everyone’s debt would go back to zero. This is only to create total chaos and embody Tyler’s world without rules. Tyler sums up the m ovie in his own terms, â€Å"You are not your job. You are not how much you have in the bank. You are not the contents of your wallet. You are not your khakis. You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. The things you own end up owning you.†

Fluency & Learning Essay

The purpose of this paper is to specify an interesting story and design reading activities around it to increase the reading fluency of students. The paper starts with a synopsis of The Cay, a tale of survival, in which a young boy is blinded by a severe blow on the back of his head while his ship which makes him entirely dependent on Timothy. The adventurous nature of this story makes it interesting for the students to read and carry out different activities on it, thus contributing to their reading fluency The Cay The book is written by Theodore Taylor. The story deals with a young boy’s misconceptions about race and a black sea man, Timothy, with whom he gets shipwrecked on a deserted island. The young boy, Philip, is blinded by a severe blow on the back of his head while his ship was destroyed by the enemy torpedo. This makes him entirely dependant on Timothy, at least initially through his stay at the island. As Philip explores the island and learns the art of survival and relies less on Timothy, their relationship and mutual respect grows for each other, when they learn to survive and live within the means available at the island. Their struggle to face the odds and survive on an isolated island with no food and water, indeed makes this an interesting tale of survival. (Polette, 1995) I’ll be employing following five different activities for the children to work with the story. Student-Adult Reading In student-adult reading, the class will be divided into small groups and each group will be assigned a chapter from the novel to read. The student will read out loud from the novel with me while the rest of the children listen. I will read the text first, which will actually give the student a model of fluent reading. This is followed by the student reading the same text, while I would assist and encourage him or her during the process. I would repeat this process with individual student until the subject gains fluency in reading the particular passage. (Fluency & Learning to Read – Reading Fluency) c In this activity the students will read a particular passage from the novel along with me as a group. To carry out this activity, each student will be provided his/her own copy of the novel. I would read a particular passage starting from the first chapter so that the children begin to comprehend the story ad they are familiarized with the words. After reading a particular passage I would re-read the passage aloud to model fluent reading but this time asking the students to join in and read the passage along with me. This would be repeated three to five times on selected days of the week. At the end of this routine students should be able to read the text independently. (Reading Fluency, 2002) Tape-assisted Reading This activity follows a different method. Students are supposed to read from their books while they hear and follow a fluent reader read the text from the book on an audiotape. For this activity to be a success the recorded voice should be reading the text at about 80-100 words per minutes. Each student must have his/her copy of the novel in front of him/her and the recorded voice should be loud and audible. To start with, student should point along the text with his finger while listening to the recorded voice. After this practice the student must read out the text aloud with the tape. Reading the text loud with the tape must continue until the student gains fluency and can read the material without the support of the recorded voice. Fluency is important in readind as it allows the particiants to groud words together and focus more on their meanning rather than decoding the text. On the other hand less fluet readers direct more attention towards word recognition than comprehension of the given text. The above mentioned exercise is therefore aimed at easing the hesitation in reading. (Fluency, 2001) Partner Reading Partner reading is an activity which involves a couple of students taking turns to read the text aloud to each other. This would turn out to be an effective reading practice in which fluent readers can be paired with less fluent ones. The less fluent reader will use the fluent reader’s style of expression as a model and learn quickly. The better skilled reader provides help to the weak reader with word recognition and assists him in the process. Another approach to partner reading is check list reading where both the partners are given checklists. After explaining the students how they can change the pitch of their voice to make it more realistic, each students is asked to read out the passage to their respective partners thrice following the above instructions. At the end each students submits a report regarding their partner’s fluency which can be improved upon in the next session. (Murray) Readers’ theatre Readers’ theatre involves students rehearsing and performing a play for their fellow students and friends. Characters from the novel can be assigned to different students who can then act out the play by reading from their individual scripts derived from the novel. ‘The Cay’ will be a suitable book for this practice as it is rich in dialogues. This kind of activity makes reading more appealing and enhances fluency by providing students with the opportunity to interact with their peers on a different level. References Fluency & Learning to Read – Reading Fluency. (n. d. ). Retrieved July 2008, from http://www. time4learning.com/readingpyramid/fluency. htm Fluency. (2001). Retrieved July 2008, from Reading Rockets: http://www. readingrockets. org/teaching/reading101/fluency Murray, D. B. (n. d. ). Developing Reading Fluency. Retrieved July 2008, from http://www. auburn. edu/%7Emurraba/ Polette, N. (1995). The Cay by Theodore Taylor. Retrieved July 2008, from http://www. nancypolette. com/LitGuides/cay. pdf Reading Fluency. (2002). Retrieved July 2008, from http://readingserver. edb. utexas. edu/downloads/primary/guides/Fluency_Presentation. PDF

Victorian Era essays

Victorian Era essays The Victorian Era was a time of wide extremes. elegant city streets, gas lamps, and in contrast grinding poverty. It was also a time of exploration and invention. With their pioneer spirit wild frontier towns were born across the world. and with their flare and ingenuity the Victorians took with them their values and elegance. the term Victorian, which literally describes things and events in the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901), conveyed connotations of "prudish," "repressed," and "old fashioned." Although such associations have some basis in fact, they do not adequately indicate the nature of this complex, paradoxical age that was a second English Renaissance. Like Elizabethan England, Victorian England saw great expansion of wealth, power, and culture. (What Victorian literary form do you think parallels Elizabethan drama in terms of both popularity and literary achievement?) In science and technology, the Victorians invented the modern idea of invention the notion that one can create solutions to problems, that man can create new means of bettering himself and his environment. In religion, the Victorians experienced a great age of doubt, the first that called into question institutional Christianity on such a large scale. In literature and the other arts, the Victorians attempted to combine Romantic emphases upon self, emotion, and imagination with Neoclassical ones upon the public role of art and a corollary responsibility of the artist. In ideology, politics, and society, the Victorians created astonishing innovation and change: democracy, feminism, unionization of workers, socialism, Marxism, and other modern movements took form. In fact, this age of Darwin, Marx, and Freud appears to be not only the first that experienced modern problems but also the first that attempted modern solutions. Victorian, in other words, can be taken to mean parent of the modern and like most powerful parents, it provoked a powerful ...

ETA essays

ETA essays III. A Definition of Social Movement 3 IV. The Background of the Basque Movement 4 VI. ET@ From Social Movement to Violence 6 VII. The Government response to ETA violence 7 Terrorism is not a new phenomenon. The roots of what we today call terrorism can be traced back some 2.000 years. The act of terrorism has remained static and has evolved considerably over the years, even if retaining some of the same characteristics that have historically typified it. Moreover, todays terrorism is in many instances motivated by religious convictions. But also it has often possessed a political dimension. A separatist group frequently founded on violence, regardless of the ideals it expresses, recognises a certain legitimacy and common sense to its use of violence. This can also be said in the case of ETA. This Essay will examine if ETA is a Terrorist Group or if they are separatists who utilises violence thus constituting a terrorist organisation. The question of whether or not the ETA movement constitutes terrorism or employs terrorism in their struggle is an empirical one. There is no question that the Basque struggle exemplifies the use of armed assault to further ethnic nationalist aims. But the question is, as to the degree to which ETA matches the definition of a terrorist group. After a short Introduction will Chapter II outline different understandings of the term terrorism. Chapter III gives a short overview of Social Movement and the IV. Chapter point out The Background of the Basque Movement. Chapter V. illustrates The Origins of ETA. Chapter VI deals with ET@ From Separatist Movement to Violence. Following with the VII. Chapter that highlights The Spanish Government reaction to the violence of ETA. The last Chapter of this Essay close with a summery. There exist no agreed universal definition of terrorism nor it is defined anywhere in the United Natio...

Steve Jobs' Personality & Attitudes Drove His Success Case Study

Steve Jobs' Personality & Attitudes Drove His Success - Case Study Example In order to take a company to the next level, one ought to have creativity in order to keep the company running. In his imagination and creativity, Jobs was visionary that one day his products and services will change the world. Steve Jobs is characterized as being charismatic in his way of leadership. According to Scholars research, describes as how a leader relates with his followers. Being a charismatic person is one who is led by aspirations and communication skills that the leader possesses. In his discussion, Scholars illustrated that for one to be a successful leader; charismatic should be one of the key qualities that one should see. Basing this on Steve Jobs way of leadership, he managed to give numerous speeches thus attracting attention of its audience and still to date is still famous for what he made a number of years that has passed. As a leader, Steve was able to catch attention of his audiences and furthermore his employees with is ability of being able to evangelize. From this point of view, it is clear that he was charismatic in the way he presented himself to his audience as Scholars puts. To add on his way of speech, Steve was able to use metaphors while presenting his speech. In addition, he would bring out his speech is form of storytelling getting the attention of its audience.... It is clear that because of his understanding of technology and his aspirations that made him sail though the challenges that may have come his way. Personal leadership Jobs’ charismatic character appeared as personalized. This according to researchers means that he served his interests and restrained himself from the use of power as a leader. Steve Jobs not only employs storytelling as a way of motivating his followers as a leader but also use force where necessary. According to the case, others refer to Jobs as a man who is dishonest and manipulate his audience (Jose 78). In one of the instances, he stated that his Jobs not to play easy on people but he is to ensure that the make them better. In his demands, he stated that his duty is to bring together things from different parts of his organization and ensure all paths are clear thus fetching enough resources for his main projects. From this point of view, Jobs expects people to follow him and commit themselves to him with total obedience to him since his main objective is Apple. The main aim that individuals want to ascend to power is mainly for social and personalized power motives. Jobs was out of this context. The reason being that he was not in quest for power is that he was not interested in money, status, and luxury. Many people have end up losing direction by following what other people are doing, this was the exact opposite of Jobs’ case. Personality traits Trustworthiness of Jobs was quite low as seen when he talked the secrets he felt in while facing the challenges outside his organization. This reflected how he was able to control the flow of information within the organization. It

Why is College So Expensive Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Why is College So Expensive - Research Paper Example Tuition, books and housing are enormously expensive and take the biggest bite out of the higher education budget but it doesn’t end there. It never ends. There are lab fees, dorm needs including computer, clothes and stereo, commuting costs, parking fees, tutoring and food. Forget entertainment expenses, no money left for that. College is expensive, very much so but just how expensive and why? According to experts, the cost to attend a four-year public university is about $16,000. That includes tuition, housing and general fees but not books. A private university is more than double that amount. Add to that other expenses such as dorm room accessories, electronics and clothing. Then there’s commuting which includes gas, maintenance and parking fess which can total up to $500 per semester. Tickets for outdated stickers handed out by the campus police push the cost higher. Getting a little tutoring help for that physics test will run about $30 per hour. The â€Å"luxuryà ¢â‚¬  of living on campus costs more than anyone can possibly anticipate. â€Å"The main reason why people who go to public universities end up in debt, is not the tuition, but the living away from home expenses, which at a public university, are three or four times more than tuition.† (Hacker, 2010) The price of books is another expense that is always higher than anticipated, shockingly so. The cost of books sometimes determines a student’s major. The difference in price of books can total $1200 depending on the field of study. (Beeman, 2011). There is a legitimate justification for why college textbooks cost more than paperbacks at discount book stores. Producing a new textbook is often very expensive. The market for these books is limited and has become increasingly so. In days past there were more buyers for new textbooks. Publishers could, therefore, distribute production expenses over a larger number of buyers. The relatively recent expansion of the rental and u sed textbook market has diminished the number of new books sold which has kept the price of new editions inflated. Publishers now generate updated editions. In this way they sell more books which acts to spread the production costs over more buyers. The total cost of college textbooks has actually fallen recently even as the price for new books has risen. (Weston, 2011). â€Å"Student spending on textbooks has been decreasing since 2006 because of the rise of electronic books, rentals and the used book market† (â€Å"Why,† 2011). During the 2010-11 scholastic year the average amount spent on books at a four-year college was $534. During the 2005-06 year that amount was $644. Students spend more on gasoline and going to the movies during the academic year and twice the amount on cell-phone use as they do on book expenditures. (Weston, 2011). Tuition costs are high for many reasons. Colleges have expenses which may or may not be obvious to the casual observer. The high-e nd salaries paid to employees have risen. The expense of employing well educated people began to increase substantially about 30 years ago for every industry. Colleges are an industry that cannot readily cut back on labor and much of its work force is well educated by necessity. (Goldstein, 2010). Salaries of faculty and supportive staff account for the largest piece of the college expense pie. The second highest expense can be classified as building maintenance which includes paying the electric bill, ongoing construction, cleaning and furnishing classrooms, libraries, gyms, labs, dorms, student centers and supplying computers, software, IT needs and books. (Trachtenberg, 2011) Colleges have been allocating more for support