Pricing Strategy of Soft Drinks Today Essay

We will basically focus on the pricing strategies adopted by these two affluence companies, how the change in the strategy of one of them reflects in the strategy of the other. {text:bookmark-start} Entry barriers in soft drink Market: {text:bookmark-end} The several factors that make it very difficult for the competition to enter the soft drink market include: Network Bottling: Both Coke and PepsiCo have franchisee agreements with their existing bottler’s who have rights in a certain geographic area in perpetuity. These agreements prohibit bottler’s from taking on new competing brands for similar products. Also with the recent consolidation among the bottler’s and the backward integration with both Coke and Pepsi buying significant percent of bottling companies, it is very difficult for a firm entering to find bottler’s willing to distribute their product. The other approach to try and build their bottling plants would be very capital-intensive effort with new efficient plant capital requirements in 2009 being more than $500 million. The advertising and marketing spend in the industry is very high by Coke, Pepsi and their bottler’s. This makes it extremely difficult for an entrant to compete with the incumbents and gain any visibility. Coke and Pepsi have a long history of heavy advertising and this has earned them huge amount of brand equity and loyal customer’s all over the world. This makes it virtually impossible for a new entrant to match this scale in this market place. Retailer Shelf Space (Retail Distribution): Retailers enjoy significant margins of 15-20% on these soft drinks for the shelf space they offer. These margins are quite significant for their bottom-line. This makes it tough for the new entrants to convince retailers to carry/substitute their new products for Coke and Pepsi. To enter into a market with entrenched rival behemoths like Pepsi and Coke is not easy as it could lead to price wars which affect the new comer. {text:bookmark-start} SWOT Analysis: {text:bookmark-end} Strength: Weakness: Opportunities: Threats: {text:bookmark-start} Various cola brands products Available: {text:bookmark-end} {text:bookmark-start} Pricing Strategy: {text:bookmark-end} {text:bookmark-start} Coke – Price {text:bookmark-end}. {text:bookmark-start} Pepsi – Price {text:bookmark-end} {text:bookmark-start} Pricing strategy for Buyer and Suppliers: {text:bookmark-end} Suppliers: The soft drink industry have a negotiating advantage from its suppliers as most of the raw materials needed to produce concentrate are basic commodities like Color, flavor, caffeine or additives, sugar, packaging. The producers of these products have no power over the pricing hence the suppliers in this industry are weak. This makes the soft drink industry a cheap input industry which helps in increasing their gross margin. Buyers: The major channels for the Soft Drink industry are food stores, Fast food fountain, vending, convenience stores and others in the order of market share. The profitability in each of these segments clearly illustrate the buyer power and how different buyers pay different prices based on their power to negotiate. These buyers in this segment are somewhat consolidated with several chain stores and few local supermarkets, since they offer premium shelf space they command lower prices, the net operating profit before tax (NOPBT) for concentrate producer’s is high. This segment of buyer’s is extremely fragmented and hence has to pay higher prices. This segment of buyer’s are the least profitable because of their large amount of purchases they make, it allows them to have freedom to negotiate. Coke and Pepsi primarily consider this segment â€Å"Paid Sampling† with low margins. NOPBT in this segment is very low. Vending: This channel serves the customer’s directly with absolutely no power with the buyer. {text:bookmark-start} Effect of competition and Price War on Industry profits: {text:bookmark-end} In the early 1990’s Coke and Pepsi employed low price strategy in the supermarket channel in order to compete with store brands. Coke and Pepsi however in the late 90’s decided to abandon the price war, which was not doing industry any good by raising the prices. Coke was more successful internationally compared to Pepsi due to its early lead as Pepsi had failed to concentrate on its international business after the world war and prior to the 70’s. Pepsi however sought to correct this mistake by entering emerging markets where it was not at a competitive disadvantage with respect to Coke as it failed to make any heady way in the European market. {text:bookmark-start} Pricing Strategy used for market capitalization: {text:bookmark-end} Price is a very important part of the marketing mix as it can affect both the supply and demand for soft drinks. The price of soft drinks products is one of the most important factors in a customer‘s decision to buy. Price will often be the difference that will push a customer to buy our product over another, as long as most things are fairly similar. For this reason pricing policies need to be designed with consumers and external influences in mind, in order to effectively achieve a stable balance between sales and covering the production costs. Till the late 1980s, the standard SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) for a soft drink was 200 ml. In 1989, when Indian government opened the market to multinationals, Pepsi was the first to come in. Thums Up (a product of Parle) went up against the international giant for an intense onslaught with neither side giving any quarter. Around 1989, Pepsi launched 250 ml bottles and the market also moved on to the new standard size. When Coke re-entered India in 1993, it introduced 300 ml as the smallest bottle size. Soon, Pepsi followed and 300 ml became the standard. With large population and low consumption the rural market represented a significant opportunity for penetration and market dominance. Competitive pricing was the key. Then the capacity went from 250ml to 300ml, aptly named MahaCola. This nickname gained popularity in smaller towns where people would ask for â€Å"Maha Cola† instead of Thums Up. The consumers were divided where some felt the Pepsi’s mild taste was rather bland. In 1993 Coca-Cola re-entered India after prolonged absences from 1977 to 1993. But Coca-Cola’s entry made things even more complicated and the fight became a three-way battle. That same year, in a move that baffled many, Parle sold out to Coke for a meager US$ 60 million (considering the market share it had). Further, as the demand changed, both Pepsi and Coke introduced 1 liter returnable glass bottles. RGB 250ml 1989 Rs 8 RGB 300ml 1993 Rs 9 RGB 300ml, 1994 Rs 9 RGB 300ml 1996 Rs 11 Pet bottles 1 liter, 2 liter 1996 Rs 25, Rs 42 RGB 300ml 1997 Rs 7 Pet bottles 1 liter, 2 liter 1997 Rs 20, Rs 38 RGB 200ml, 300ml (negligible) 2002-03 Rs 5, Rs 11 Pet bottles 500ml, 1 liter, 1. 5 liter, 2 liter 2002-03 Rs 18, Rs 25 Can 330ml 2002-03 Rs 35. {text:bookmark-start} Penetration pricing: {text:bookmark-end} In the past (in 2002-03), Coke had already targeted rural consumers by bringing down the entry price (Rs 5 a bottle) for its product. Now, it has stepped up distribution of its 200-ml (priced at Rs 7 and Rs 8) returnable-glass-bottles. To surmount the penetration policy of Coke, Pepsi too came up with the same Price penetration policy by launching products like â€Å"Chota Pepsi† with the price of Rs 5 to challenge the coke product. The small size was basically used to target rural market to make new customer habitual to it. {text:bookmark-start} Conclusion: {text:bookmark-end}.

Analytical Ethical Problem Solving Essay

Ethical dilemmas make us question out moral beliefs and theories, search for an understanding of what is going on below the surface.1 Klempner, G., (2008). Scenario: ‘Sally has spent the last six months working as part of a team that has developed a piece of software to control a widget grinding machine. The software is due to me completed with one week but Sally knows that it will take at least one month to fully test the software. Sally accompanies her boss, Liz, at a meeting with the client who commissioned the software. The client has just landed an important order, and s anxious that the software is delivered and installed on time. At the meeting, Sally’s boss says to the client, â€Å"Sally and the rest of the team have done an excellent job on the software. It has all of the functionality you asked for and it will be delivers and installed next week. Isn’t that right sally?† Sally knows that the software may still contain bugs that could cause the machine to malfunction and be dangerous to its operators. If Sally contradicts her boss, in form to the client she knows it will be the end of her career with that company – a well paid job that she enjoys. What should she do?’2 University of Ulster (2009). In the scenario sally face an ethical dilemma between principle and consequence. In a matter of principle the ethical theory of deontology can be used, where Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) in an essay stated that it is one’s moral duty to tell the truth regardless of consequence. Deontology also uses the golden rule; therefore as a deontology rule Sally should defy her boss and tell the client the truth despite possibly losing her job. However in a matter of consequence the ethical theory of utilitarianism coined by John Stuart Mills (1808-73) is used where the general act will promote the greatest happiness. In telling the truth Sally is morally happy with herself but runs the risk of losing her job. However Liz is unhappy as she looks like a liar and the company is deprived of income. Also the client may be disappointed and unhappy. On the other hand if Sally agrees with Liz she makes her boss and the client happy but not herself ethically although she gets to keep her job. In this scenario it is difficult to define what is â€Å"right† from what is â€Å"wrong†. It allows for ethical theories to be discussed in a logical way. Within this dilemma there is a penumbra. In an 1873 article on the theory of torts, Justice Holmes used the term penumbra to describe the â€Å"gray area where logic and principle falter.† (178 Mass. 472, 476–77, 59 N.E. 1033, 1034 [1901]).Therefore it can be easily said that generally a penumbra is an uncertain area of law. Also according to an article entitled â€Å"Obama’s Dance of Deceit – The Penumbra of Truth and Lies†, a penumbra has been used by The Supreme Court to describe privacy rights that are not explicitly found in the Constitution.

Case Study: a Perky Way to Productivity Essay

1.The importance of employee benefits as a strategic component of fulfilling the goals of HRM is to produce quality workers and to keep turnovers at a minimal. Although many benefits are not legally required, it is important for companies to keep up with competition and know how to get and keep their employees. Working as a Human Resource Manager I must know what motivates and attracts quality workers, with most the paycheck is just not enough, they also require benefits or perks to stay or come with a company. Using benefits as a strategic component helps enhance the effectiveness, morale, productivity and achievement of goals. Employees tend to be more motivated to work when they feel they are attended to. When they can feel that they have benefited from the organization, they become loyal to an employer and will stay from moving to other organizations. Savings due to retention overthrown the benefit costs thus make the organization a workplace with more income. Through employee benefits, goals to fulfill goals of HRM are achieved in efficient and effective ways. I wouldn’t want to run the company as a tyrant any ways and one must make their employees happy as rewards for all their hard work to help you achieve the company goals. The company wouldn’t lose out of this if set up properly. If profit or production is not high enough then perks/rewards/benefits couldn’t be offered. The employee would have to have stipulations but both side benefits as long as work is being produced. 2.Genentech and Zappos are using employee benefits as a motivating tool by offering benefits that keep them from being distracted and to not worry. Obviously Genentech has done a great job of this by celebrating their 11th year on Fortune’s â€Å"Best Places to Work† list. This company understands it takes more than just money to motivate their workers. The desire of being accepted and appreciated is equally if not more important, and Genentech has found ways to show its’ employees this and more. Genentech keeps their workers from being distracted or keeps their employees secured so they can concentrate on producing for Genentech such as, unlimited sick leave, onsite nurses, & so many more things. An undistracted employee is most likely a safe employee and stay focused in work activities. While at Zappos they give their employees on-site child care, on-site lunches, & sending employees home with prepared dinners as rewards for longevity that their employees put in. Zappos motivates their workers to put in the hours and in return their meals are prepared for them so no worries on taking the time to figure out what to eat and getting it prepared, it’s no done all for them. Some employees won’t have to worry about rushing to pick up their kids at the sitters or if they see their kids enough, they can actually bring their kids to work and they are there with them†¦in a sense. This takes such a weight off some employees they can concentrate completely on work and producing. 3.I believe the incentive benefits such as those offered at Genentech and Zappos can be used in other organizations. They can implement the exact same benefits or change it up so it actually benefits their employee’s wants. In their organization. Most companies already know that the happier their employees are the more they produce and work for the company. Of course with every good thing there will be the share of those that try to take advantage of the benefits but in the most part in works and produces positive outcomes. However not every organization will use the same benefits package, they would have to see what‘s in their budget and what would make their employees happy. Also, I found in a few companies that benefits are not offered and they have a few loyal employees. I tried to figure this one out and it just seems the relationship is family like with owner, as a comfort level has been built. I guess in a way this would be a benefit because things can be excused from being so close. But once again it goes into a happy employee produces well and works well.

Analysis paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 8

Analysis paper - Essay Example The whole objective was to encourage a mass consumption drive so that the national economy could sustain and boost a high production drive. The suitable federal programs like Employment Act of 1446 and G.I. Bill of Rights allowed the returning veterans to buy new homes and the consumer goods required to furnish them. This also aided the nation’s Cold War claims that the US was a more equality driven nation in which everybody had the access to a better quality of life. The nation cherished the newfound democratization of consumption that was boosted by the democratization of credit and employment opportunities. However, this new consumer haven based on capitalist democracy and free choice did tend to support many old entrenched gender and class biases. It conveniently sidelined the working class women who had come out in large numbers during the War to aid and strengthen the war efforts. Now that there services were no more required, the system once again intended to give in to the patriarchal notions of American family which upheld the male domination. It again intended to make women dependent on the male choices and decision making capacity. This bias was systematically supported by the gendering of consumption, credit and opportunities for employment. The post World War system also promised to enhance the status of the working class. However, it intended to do so by increasing the purchasing power and consumption capacity of the working class. It no way desired to extend a say and role to the working class in the larger decision making process. Steps were taken to suppress the working c lass say by ensuing measures like the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 that discouraged labor organization and unionization. The post War scenario in a way upheld and encouraged the deep seated social biases and prejudices by supporting the privileged

Gastrointestinal disorders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gastrointestinal disorders - Essay Example Only 30% of the consumers are not the patient. These types of patients have low tolerance of pain and would resort to analgesics for pain relief. These patients have common complain of back ache or hip pain, headache, strains and sprains, osteoarthritis, sinus pain, fever, tendonitis, and tennis elbow. Generally, most of these patients asking for analgesics have no knowledge on the precautions, contraindications, adverse and toxic effects, tolerance, and physical dependence of the medications they requested. All they know about is that analgesics provide acute and chronic pain relief. Patients who came in to the pharmacy requesting for OTC analgesics oftentimes think that it can be used anytime without acquiring the potential side effects of the medications. Other than that, these patients are anticipating that pain relief can be achieved through constant intake of OTC analgesics. These expectations are often not met by the patients. A careful titration of analgesics by the patient is required for an effective management of pain based on valid and reliable pain assessment and pain relief (American Society for Pain Management Nursing, 2009). Over the counter analgesics are much exploited medications. These patients have no knowledge on the potential side effects of the medications they are taking. All they knew is that OTC analgesics provide pain relief. Research study carried on by the researchers in the US presented the potential risks of constant intake of non – prescription analgesics. Pain killers that include aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen have the capacity to increase high blood pressure and pose a great risk of myocardial disease in men (Reuters, 2007 cited in Harrell, 2007). The pharmacist and pharmacy staff must discuss with the patient the appropriate pain medication that has to be taken, exact dosage of analgesics, and how to avoid exceeding maximum dose and potential drug interaction. To provide

Explain how the value of property is affected by changes in the Essay

Explain how the value of property is affected by changes in the property market - Essay Example Even economic harmonisation in the form of the inception of the European Union has failed to change the uniquely individual property market and value practices in the EU member states.This is true even today despite the same observations carried out by Downie (1995) and McIntosh and Ellis 1994).These factors which affect property values differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction based on the different business and economic cultures within the European Union member states which will result in the variability of valuation approaches from country to country (Downie et al., 1996). Moreover these factors will also be affected by financial, fiscal and economic environments of a country with the result of widely divergent real estate structures.These factors as understood by Waroloa and Bernask (1996) can have direct and indirect influences upon the structure, operation and valuation of the real estate concerns in an economy.With reference to the particular set up of Europe they observed that these factors include Factors like those set out in the Table below. The modern international property market as lacking a central trading centre has often been largely criticised as a reason that the value of property prices will always be victim to the particular circumstances of a country as the market is not based on a cluster of geographical and sectoral submarkets.The problem is no two properties (with the exception of homogenous flats a building arguably) are identical and there is a significant information gap for those involved in such transactions.Here we can contrast the Property market with the Equity and Bonds market in the sense that this information gap for the realtor and the buyer necessitates the use of market valautions.This same estimate of price is likely to stay in a state of flux due to the divergent valuation methods and different political weather amongst many other factors

Communication eassy 7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Communication eassy 7 - Essay Example The stock market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression would be played out on the airwaves of the radio for everyone to develop a common myth. Yet, radio was relatively slow to catch on. With little governmental control, the media giants of CBS and NBC struggled to reshape society, and only succeeded due to the commitment of a few visionary men. By 1910 radio had become a curiosity and few outside the military and marine ship operators understood its true potential. Yet, over the next 50 years it would transform our society from a loosely disconnected fabric of social groups to a cohesive group with a national identity. To understand the transformation it is necessary to examine the rapid social change of the 1920s. Entertainment, news, economics, politics, and technology all went through a rapid modernization (Crowley and Heyer 218). One of the driving forces behind this movement was the radio. People became connected in a way that was previously unknown. Newsprint could not incite the emotion and texture that sound gave to the stories and events. Through the 1940s, radio got more people involved in electoral politics by making them feel like they were a part of the democratic process (Bartlett 91, Crowley and Heyer 225). Radio became a mass outlet for ideas and products. It cultivated the concepts of fashion and fad. The country began to view themselves as a cohesive unit, with common values, common goals, and shared ideals. When we view the media giants of NBC and CBS it is easy to believe that the radio propelled these companies to success. However, quite the opposite is true. The fact is that these companies made the radio popular rather than the radio making the companies successful. In 1916 the American Marconi Company rejected David Sarnoff for offering the idea of a home radio to provide musical entertainment (Crowley and Heyer, 234). Sarnoff would leave Marconi and spend years

Hollywood's irrational allergy to 'black' films Essay

Hollywood's irrational allergy to 'black' films - Essay Example The author initially described the prevailing racial prejudice that continue to pervade Hollywood by disclosing that even George Lucas, the world renowned producer of blockbuster films, had faced outright rejection when â€Å"Red Tails† was proposed. Using logical structure and presentation, Martin eventually presented an enumeration of facts to dispute the allegation that supposed â€Å"black films† could not be possibly effectively marketed. By intending to use persuasion to emotionally appeal to the audience that more African-Americans have made legendary marks and accomplishments in contemporary American society, Martin used appeal to pathos as a convincing element. Eventual discourse focused on the culture of Hollywood through narrating and disclosing that it is a â€Å"close-minded society where it's hard to find African-Americans in positions of true power†. As such, through analysis, readers would deduce that without sufficient backing, representation and support from any significant leader or senior management with approving power, films with predominantly black actors were deemed a complete debacle. Further, Martin contended that there is an eminent dilemma in Hollywood that typecasts films with predominantly black casts as â€Å"black† films and therefore render them unmarketable with significantly low global audience appeal. By providing vivid examples through citing famous personalities, the author ensured that increased understanding is rendered to the readers, as intended.

National Assemblies of Kuwait Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

National Assemblies of Kuwait - Essay Example 97). The subsequent National Assembly election was conduct in 1971, and it also produced an assembly that was deemed compliant with the wishes of the ruling family. Most of the former nationalist leaders, including al-Khatib, failed to re-enter the assembly. However, the 1971-1975 National Assembly made its voice heard during negotiations with major oil companies. It was during this session of the National Assembly that the opposition to Kuwaiti participation with the KOC began, starting Kuwait’s path towards nationalizing oil resources (p. 97). Nationalization of oil happened under the National Assembly of 1975, which also enthusiastically opposed other policies of the Amir. Finally, wary of the impact that a vibrant opposition would have on the ruling family, as well as with relations between Kuwait and other Arab states that disapproved of assemblies and the resulting Arab nationalist opposition groups, the Amir dissolved the assembly in 1976 (p.97). Kuwait remained without an assembly until elections were held in 1981. While they were relatively free and fair, the government subtly supported Islamist leaders as a counter-balance to the nationalists the government was still uncomfortable with. This meant that opposition pioneer al-Khatib was unable to rejoin the assembly again. Islamists formed the opposition core, while pro-administration Bedouins also made gains. The assembly was vocal in its opposition to the government to various government policies, including legislative-executive relations (p. 98). The next assembl y elections in 1985 saw the government encourage nationalists and Bedouins to run so as to reduce the Islamist influence. This assembly resulted in the formation of nationalist and Islamist opposition blocks that coordinated to block government bills. So effective was this assembly in opposing the government that, yet again, it

Future Food Trends Health Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Future Food Trends Health - Research Paper Example Introduction The purpose of this research of French Recipes and British Recipes in the USA is to identify food coming from the culture of France and UK, in order to see how their food have become acceptable to Americans. A little of each of the country’s background relevant to the recipes had to be included to give an idea of how such recipe became popular in the past and how such recipe reached the present or were changed to meet the demands of the present American society. In place of describing the colour and appearance in words, pictures of the selected recipes are shown. A.French Dishes La Salade Lyonnaise (French Appetizer) It will take about 20 minutes to prepare this salad recipe. Given the mixture of vegetables below, these are mixed with a little water, mustard, and vinegar along with Rapeseed Oil to serve as emulsifier. Notice that the specified gree vegetables are not specified. In order to utilize fresh American vegetables depending on whatever is available, this French salad is prepared in the procedures described bel;ow. a. Mixed Greens b. Lardons c. Croutons d. Poached Egg L’Assiete de Hors D’oeuvres 8 Lentil e. Celery Root f. Carrot Salads Water and white wine vinegar are boiled first. While the water and vinegar are simmering, eggs are cracked, poured onto the liquid, and stirred for 3 minutes. The eggs are then removed from the simmering liquid and cooled with fresh water. In a separate saucepan, water and bacon are boiled with high heat and boil for only 10 seconds. Bacon is drained. Thereafter, the bacon is transferred to a large frying pan and cooked some more for 1 minute under high heat, followed by a medium heat cooking time of 5 minutes while it is stirred. Before serving with the vegetables and dressing, the eggs are heated for 3 minutes with 90 degrees hot water. The salt and better amount will depend on the taste test. A recommended dressing would be made up of a combination of 20 grams of mustard, 15 grams of w hite wine vinegar, 5 grams of water, 45 grams of Rapeseed Oil, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, 10 grams of chopped Shalot, 20 grams or ? of diced garlic clove. (Blanc, R. n.d.) Figure 1 - Picture of Salad Lyonnais [Source: Google Search] Matsumoto, M. (2012) described the taste to be â€Å"like a fireworks display for your taste bud† while the eggs and bacon fat protect the tongue with too much taste and these ingredients add texture. The salad itself can be placed on a sandwich. Thus for Americans who love to eat sandwiches, this will make it very tasty. Mark Matsumoto was featured in USA Today, HY Times, and Wall Street Journal for his culinary expertise. To the French people, the Salad Lyonnaise is essentially fresh bitter vegetables with properly cooked bacon and eggs. At La Sardine in the USA, the price is $ 8.oo. L’Assiette de Charcuterie The term came the L’Assiette which means a plate, and the French word Charcuterie which refers to a 1930 shop of a pork butcher (Boogert, K.2012, p.149) reminds people in France about a moderate-priced but delicious food. The recipe itself may vary. Meat is usually from pork. But it can be from other meat sources like ducks. At La Sardine, it is made up of Duck Rillette, Peppered Salami, Beet Salad, and Cornichons. a. Country Pate b. Duck Rillette c. Peppered Salami d. Beet Salad e. Cornichons The preparation is very common

English as a Second Language to the Learners Essay - 1

English as a Second Language to the Learners - Essay Example Two specific programs on ESL are arranged at schools namely ‘ESL targeted support program’, and ‘ESL new arrivals program’ through three phases and students at the end of the third phase are expected to ‘have extended their English language and literacy skills’ (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2004, p. 10). The program uses three modes -Direct, Collaborative, and Resource. The article helps one to use ESL scales in the assessment of the programs and undertaking necessary remedial measures. Further, the article helps the students and schools in the enrolment process of ESL programs. To sum up, this article is a pole star for students, teachers, and schools in Australia and New South Wales in ESL programs. Dr. Tina Sharpe (2004) elaborates on the specialties of ESL teachers and the article establishes a number of distinctions between a mainstream teacher and an ESL teacher. According to her, ESL teachers differ from other teachers in many ways as they have ‘the knowledge about the process of acquiring a second language’ (Sharpe, 2004, p.1). ESL teachers are aware of the learning environment of the students and they implement the target language with its cultural significance. ESL teachers provide opportunities to use language for a variety of purposes and work. Only a specialist teacher can employ the expertise regarding the process of acquiring a new language. An ESL teacher is different from a mainstream teacher, in the decisions about the topic content, resources, sequence of activities, modification of learning activities, identification of assessment opportunities and finally in evaluation and planning. To conclude, this article helps one to realize the significance o f specialized ESL teachers in transacting the language. Cummins (1996) deals with the language proficiency both in communicative skills and in an academic situation. Two misconceptions handicap students who seek to study ESL- first, the fear of incapability for logical thinking and second, the conversational skills are interpreted as overall proficiency.

Coming unstuck Essay Example for Free

Coming unstuck Essay below. Anyone reading your response should have a clear idea of where your research will take place and what questions interest you. Here’s where you’ll identify-and plan to surmount-any potential obstacles. 1) Exactly which fieldsite did you select? Why? What is your prior experience with this site? Are you studying up, down or across? Explain. I selected the coffee shop as the field site of my planned study since the social interactions and behavior of the patrons and the coffee shop staff are interesting and so much can be learned from them especially in their relationships, the daily exchanges of pleasantries and information and for most, coming to the coffee shop is a habit that they do on a daily basis. I am interested at how a coffee shop can take on different meanings to those who frequent it and how they coactively share the space in the coffee shop as their own. I have been to this coffee shop a number of times, enough to become familiar with the waitresses and I had seen two or more people at the same seat whenever I visit the shop. I also had some friends come to the shop but take their orders on the go and they have regular orders which the waitresses seem to have memorized. I know that there has been a clamor for studying up (Priyadharshini, 2003), but since it involves the issue of power and authority which in a coffee shop is not so much evident, I would rather do a study across the relationships of the customers and the coffee shop staff as well as across customers. This would enable me to observe and understand the social rules, interactions, and codes in the shop which may or may not be evident to the customers and staff alike. 2) What preconceived ideas do you have about this space and the people that inhabit it? What are the obstacles an anthropologist might face in studying this place from an emic perspective? How do you plan to overcome these obstacles? I have always liked going to this coffee shop, the waitresses are friendly, they have a pretty good idea of what is happening to people, they are also quick to notice changes in their patrons and they have excellent food. The coffee is also very good and whenever I need a quick fix or when I am bored I like going to this coffee shop. This coffee shop is not like the modern al fresco types or like the ones frequented by young professionals and students. This coffee shop is more of the community diner which serves breakfast and coffee. This place has a comfortable atmosphere and everyone seems to know each other, some people drop by the shop on their way home or even have brunch here. However, since the place is homey and likely to be frequented by regulars, being accepted as a new customer is difficult. For example, a new customer may be noticed by everybody and the people there might not behave as they usually do in the presence of a stranger. I might face this difficulty if I start to frequent the coffee shop to conduct my observation because even if they are familiar with me, they know that I only go there twice a week, if I go there everyday, they might think it odd. The emic perspective focuses on the intrinsic cultural distinctions that are meaningful to the members of a given society or group (Haviland, Prins, Walrath McBride, 2008). An anthropologist might have difficulty in using this perspective because the coffee shop is a transitory, that is, people come to the place voluntarily and although some regulars do so on a daily basis, there are those who do so only when they can, but it does not mean that they are not part of the group or that they have no membership to this group. An anthropologist has to be able to penetrate the group to be able to learn the culture and social relationships of those in the coffee shop. I plan to overcome this obstacle by changing the pattern at which I visit the coffee shop and by indicating that I like being in the place prior to the start of my field observation. In this way, the people in the coffee shop would not become suspicious and they would not be always conscious of my presence. Since the goal of the study is to determine the inner cultural codes of the people in the coffee shop, I should not interpret any exchanges or interactions based on my own biases since the coffee shop members assign their own meaning and interpretations. 3) Generate at least five qualitative, ethnographic research questions that interest you about this site. Explain how these questions relate to what you have already observed. 1. How does the group define and assign membership to the coffee shop regulars? 2. Why do regulars frequent the coffee shop? 3. What is the quality of the relationship between the coffee shop customers and the waitresses? 4. How does the group resolve conflict within customers and waitresses? 5. How do the customers value the coffee shop and its services? I have noticed that there is clearly a sense of group membership in the coffee shop and I would like to find out how the group assign membership does and how meanings they attach to becoming a member. Since being a regular is predefined as frequenting the establishment, I would also want to find out the reasons for frequenting the shop. The relationship between the customers and the waitresses are evident, but I want to know what kind of relationship it is and how do both parties define their relationship and whether it extends to their lives outside of the shop. Conflict is a reality for most groups or when two or more people are involved, I am curious as to how the members respond to conflict and how they resolve it. Lastly, it is observed that the coffee shop is more than just the coffee and the food to the customers; I would want to find out how the customer values the coffee shop. References Priyadharshini, E. (2003). Coming unstuck: Thinking otherwise about Studying Up. Anthropology Education Quarterly, 34; 4, 420-437. Haviland, W. , Prins, H. , Walrath, D. McBride, B. (2008). Anthropology: The Human Challenge 12th ed. California: Wadsworth/Thomson.

Using Social Media to Improve Food Safety

Using Social Media to Improve Food Safety Catalin Aricescu Abstract The Food and Drug Administration is an organization mandated to oversee the food and drug safety within the United States. On the other hand, information technology is growing fast and the agency needs to implement better means of communication especially with its participants from consumers to food sources. This study is a pilot research utilizing online survey to comprehend the feasibility of social media use for the improvement of the American food safety system. The results of the study show that more research is necessary as the social media users are mainly young and educated adults and they play an imperative role in the quick dissemination of preventive information, as well as food recall notices, in a manner that is likely to be heard or read widely. Therefore, it would be essential for the American Food and Drug Administration to incorporate social media into its main strategy. Introduction This pilot study was conducted to find out whether the food regulatory agencies such as the Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Food and Drug Administration should consider using social media as a means of improving the food safety system. According to Lang, Barling, Caraher, (2011) the utilization of social networking in organizations is emerging. On the other hand, Seo, Almanza, Miao, Behnke, (2015) affirm that the strategic use of social media in public firms is yet to be studied in great depth. According to Lang, Barling, Caraher, (2011), the exchange of food information and knowledge on food hazard is a form of vulnerability communication in food and safety procedures. Having considered the major characteristics of a food safety system, this pilot study aimed at proofing those effective and efficient food safety procedures are through the adoption of social media use by various regulatory bodies. The agenda may be attained by bringing together organizations and individuals representing various backgrounds. Background Public Policy and Food Safety According to the Consumers Union (2013), the Food and Drug Administration is an institution that is supposed to be a consumers watchdog. However, the agency has fallen short of its mandate. In the U.S., companies that supply processed foods often do not have the capacity to guarantee ingredient safety. Labs (2013) sustains that most of the American corporations do not even know the people or companies that supply their ingredients. Additionally, they do not know whether those suppliers ingredients are screened for microbes or other potentially harmful microorganisms. Recently, the main public policy strategic focus on food safety has been control. One of the strategies used to achieve control is through food recalls. Mayer and Harris (2012) say that food recalls often occur due to quality, physical or biological contamination. The Department of Agriculture, the FDA manufacturer, or the distributor can initiate a recall (Labs, 2013). For food recalls to occur fast, there should be a proper and effective means of message dissemination. Rapid information dissemination makes it easier to trace the data to know whether those affected have obtained the information on the withdrawal. On the other hand, Seo, Almanza, Miao, Behnke, 2015 state the Food Safety Modernization Act is trying to change food safety management from reaction to prevention. Lang, Barling, and Caraher (2011) also state that more groups are involved in the nations food safety program. For instance, the United States Food Safety Working Group implemented innovative strategies for the American food safety system. The FSWG is a group that is focused on the modernization of the food safety system especially through partnerships with regulatory agencies, the food industry, and consumers. The FSWG suggested a better route to freedom from fear of food safety to safe food through improved food systems. Consequently, the FSWG is based on three principles that are strengthening surveillance, prioritizing prevention and improvement of response and recovery. Using social media for food safety According to Mayer (2013), proper food recalling forms of communications are still in the infancy stage. Collier (2011) maintains that both subjective norms and attitudes have an impact on consumers and their intent to act in accordance with a food recall. Attitudes have a greater impact on the peoples ability to comply. Subjective norms and attitudes can be found on social networks. Consequently, social networks are imperative, according to Deasy (2012), and the role of social media is imperative in public policy. Mayer (2013) also suggests that regulatory bodies should emphasize the need to use social media. The use of social media is essential as it involves bringing together heterogeneous groups that form a social network. A social network is easier to coordinate when trying to identify food hazards as well as spread any form of food recall information (Karp, Baur, Atwill, De Master, Gennet, Iles, Kremen, 2015). Apart from using its website, the FDA could incorporate social networking strategies to enable it reach more consumers especially when required to recall certain products from a market. Taylor, and Sklamberg (2016) state that the FDA website offers information or announcements on all forms of recalls. Additionally, consumers can obtain e-mails after requesting to receive alerts on the website. Consumers that have food problems can report on the website, as the FDA has employed complaint coordinators within FDA district offices, to receive all forms of food complaints (Taylor Sklamberg, 2016). Furthermore, the conventional news outlets in the nation can broadcast recall information. On the other hand, with the increased use of social media, it would be important for the news media and regulatory bodies to use social networks as a means of reaching a wider audience in a short time (Deasy, 2012). The social networks allow people to obtain information in real time while people may hear of a recall from a television or radio long after it was issued. For instance, Plum Organics is an organization that has voluntarily used social media to spread information on food. Labs (2013) states that people hearing negative news, such as a recall, that has a direct influence on them, will try to obtain information from informal networks. Additionally, Taylor Sklamberg (2016) say that people are more likely to participate in spreading the information when they believe that the negative event affects them directly and understand that the consequences are serious enough to call for an action. Freberg, Graham, McGaughey, Freberg, (2011) affirm that the consumers are important agents in spreading the information about a food recall that would effectively work online. Social media influencers are an essential part of the social networking and could help in the dissemination of information on food safety. According to Freberg, Graham, McGaughey, and Freberg (2011), consumers who use the social media such as tweets, blogs, or other platforms to spread a negative event are known as social media influencers. Social media influencers play an essential role in the creation of noise in the system and on most occasions, their credibility is questioned due to misinformation or distortion of information. On the other hand, Lang, Barling, Caraher (2011) state that social media could still be used for the improvement of the food safety system. Social media use can be imperative in the food system. As Karp, Baur, Atwill, De Master, et al. (2015) sustain, the system could adopt a strategy that could help in the exploitation of the social networks, especially the social media. The social media may not only expand the systems versatile ability, but also improve its information dissemination to the public as well as take preventive role through tapping into diverse and unutilized resources on food hazard issues. Lang, Barling, and Caraher (2011) add that information and communication technological improvements helped develop ways through which the public agencies can learn on potential food hazards fast. The public agency still needs to coordinate communication to maintain the systems integrity. However, the planned utilization of innovative technologies allows coordination with regulatory interventions efficiently (Lang, Barling, Caraher, 2011). In spreading negative news, the social networks have been used extensively. Deasy (2012) maintains that new communication technologies can be utilized as an essential part of the food system, allowing all participants to exchange information on food safety. However, Mayer (2013) states that little effort has been used to involve consumers as participants in food safety. Research on social network use within corporations is still emerging. However, little information is available on its strategic use within public firms (Collier, 2012). The main disadvantage in the use of social media in public firms is information distortions. According to Taylor, and Sklamberg (2016), information disseminated online can be easily manipulated to a certain degree, which (Collier, 2012) states could bring about naÃÆ' ¯ve learning. Online information is often asymmetrical. Consequently, individuals, and organizations could try to insert false information into the social networks. Lang, Barling, Caraher (2011) state that some companies may choose to alter the information with an aim of raising their competitions costs. Additionally, social media influencers may obtain an incentive to manipulate specific information to increase their popularity online. Taylor, and Sklamberg, (2016) say that efforts have been made to uncover such attempts but still no protection is available from such manipulation. Consequently, efforts to use the social network to pass information on food safety should be considered. Materials and Methods In the study, it was imperative to understand the current situation on public agency use of social media on food recalls. To comprehend the current situation within the United States it was important to carry out a survey, which was done between March 1 and March 9 2017. The survey aimed at focusing on the respondents attention. The main purpose of the study was to examine the responses on food recall. According to Deasy (2012), a food recall is the request to return an entire food production of a particular food product to the seller and it is usually done once safety issues are discovered. Social media use was common in this survey; consequently, the first question asked in the survey was: Which technological device do you use regularly (Computer, laptop, tablet or Smartphone)? The survey also includes two essential questions on product recall experiences. The questions were: Have you ever heard of a food recall? and How did you hear about the food recall? Seven demographic items followed the two questions. On the other hand, a participant that indicated she or he had never heard of a food recall, she or he automatically moved to next part of the survey. To obtain more information on personal experiences, the survey also included four scenarios that allowed the respondents to give more information. The first two circumstances dealt with the participants personal experiences particularly with food issues. The last two dealt with the recall announcements. Similar to the last section, anyone who has not experienced any scenario on food issues automatically moved to the next section. Table 1 Scenarios used in the survey First Scenario The experience of a main issue Have you ever eaten lunch at a restaurant and later ad a severe stomachache leading to diarrhea and forcing you to seek medical assistance? Second Scenario Experienced a minor problem Have you ever eaten at a restaurant and later had an upset stomach? Third Scenario Product you used recalled You bought a packaged lettuce and later heard its brand recalled on radio, television, newspaper or online Fourth Scenario Recall of a product you never used You heard a packaged lettuce recalled on radio, television, newspaper or online but you never use the brand The study was done on utilizing SurveyMonkey.Com, and it ended with three open-ended questions that included: Think of an occasion when you experienced a problem after eating at home or your favorite joint. Tell us the incident. How did you feel, what was your reaction, did anyone know of the problem? Did you seek medical attention? Did you change your eating or food buying pattern? Think of an occasion when you heard of a food recall. Tell us about the incident, how did you feel, what was your reaction, did anyone know of the incidence, did you change your eating or food purchasing patterns? Do you have any additional comments? Participants use of social media The participants showed their comprehension of food recall as well as having shared information on bad food experiences with coworkers, friends, and family through diverse social media platforms. The sharing of the information occurred under certain circumstances, for example, gravity of the issue or the person contacted. According to Lang, Barling, and Caraher (2011), social media use is common in age groups between 18-29 years and 30-49 years. In the results of the survey, the studied group was within the said age groups. In the study, we found that access to smart phones decreases with age while the use of computers, mainly desktop, increased with age. Additionally, the use of social media among the participants decreased with age, but varied in relation to the specific social media such as YouTube and Facebook, which are platforms common in all ages. In the study, 94.8% of the participants had heard of a food recall. Surprisingly, most of the participants had heard of the food recall through broadcast or print media. On the other hand, the younger participants especially those below 25 years had heard of the food recall on both broadcast media and social networks, while those above 25 years had heard of the food recall through broadcast and print media. The Concerns and Experiences of the Participants with Food Problems Most of the participants showed their concern for food safety especially on the participation of the government as well as organizations in monitoring the process successfully. The participants mentioned the need for Food and Drug Administration agencys participation in monitoring the food that people consume. The consumers also noted that there is an increased use of informal communication in food safety. On the other hand, they also expressed their concerns for the increased caution when using social networks as the main form of communication. Furthermore, they appreciated the need to obtain information on bad food. However, it should be mentioned that the person giving the information may have been self-diagnosing inaccurately. The participants mentioned the need to notify the authorities or the necessary bodies whenever there were food recalls after notifying friends and family. The participants had experienced the second Scenario more than the first scenario. Additionally, it was evident that the participants would tell others about the first scenario experience more than they would have in the second scenario. Moreover, more participants would have told others in the third scenario than they would have in the fourth scenario. Similar to previous studies, it was evident that more people were likely to tell others of a food recall if they used that product or had a severe experience from eating the food. The study also aimed at looking at any pattern on the responses. Therefore, Symphony software was used. On the other hand, a pattern did not exist as the participants mentioned different kinds of foods. Some of the foods mentioned included cereal, peanuts, beef, pizza, pork corn, fruit, chicken, lettuce, meat and chili, among others. The discovery of the patterns brought about the question: Who is more likely to inform others on a recall or experience on bad food using the social media? To obtain an answer to the question all participants that used any form of social platform for more than one of the scenarios were grouped together. The activity led to the conclusion that well-educated and young adults especially females were more likely to spread information of a food recall. Table 2 Gender Age Education Female 18-29 98 College graduate 85 Male 18-29 79 Advanced degree 87 Outcomes and Discussions The survey used a manageable sample of two hundred and fourteen respondents. Out of the 214, 212 responses were obtained from three universities. In the study, there were more female respondents than males. The respondents were aged between 18 and 29 years. All the participants were from diverse racial backgrounds, well educated, and were studying different courses at their universities. About 7.1% of the participants had attained their undergraduate education and were pursuing a higher level of education. More studies will be needed to obtain more conclusive information on the use of social networks for food safety. The results of this pilot study suggested that the utilization of social media as a modality of spreading the word on bad food would enable people to cope with the situation better, both cognitively and emotionally. The process would also help in the improvement of the food safety system. The differences that social media can create in improving food safety may be due to the fast dissemination of information using social media. Information sent by a relative, friend, or a close contact is more likely to be read, rather than general public information, spread through a newspaper. The outcomes of the study also suggested that social network users are generally well-educated and young adults. On the other hand, those with the ability to spread the word are not necessarily those with the most friends online. When aspects such as education, race, and gender are constant, the younger generation is more likely to use social networking platforms more than the older persons are. Additionally, females are more likely to use social media than males. Presently, people often use social networking platforms to socialize or spread information on events that they are not involved in or impacted by, directly. Upon hearing a recall of a familiar food product, females, unlike males, are more likely to pass information on the recall. Furthermore, an individual was more likely to spread the word on a recall after experiencing a severe food problem. On the other hand, those passing information were least likely to use social media as the platform to spread the word on a food recall. Therefore, agencies that need to improve their way of spreading information on food recall, need to adopt better plans, as well as formulate policies that ensure that the well-educated and young females are involved. Limitations of the Study This was a pilot study that was limited by time and as well as by using a specific demographic. The university students were the most appropriate. However, the study lacked diversity in the convenient sample size. University students may have a particular mindset on information technology. Consequently, it was difficult to obtain a more diverse view on the study. Moreover, despite obtaining results that were similar to previous studies, the sample size was not a representative one. The small sample size offered limited information on the topic. The study did not cover some aspects that may have influenced the participants use of social media, such as employment or income. Therefore, a large and diverse population would be more appropriate for future studies on the topic. Conclusion An outcome of this pilot research showed that due to the dynamics of social media, it is essential for food safety companies to use intelligence, sufficient resources, as well as good ideas to attain success in recalling bad food. The food agencies require having a strategy that offers a specific alertness in the use of social media information. For instance, the agencies may create their social media groups to manage the network and avoid misinformation. It would be important to form good relationships that are built on trust with the social media users. Furthermore, using hash tags when recalling food would help improve the spreading of the word. Agencies could as well collaborate with distributors, suppliers, grocers, manufacturers, restaurants and businesses that have websites to recall food products from a market, enabling better creation of trust. Consequently, using social media as part of the structured communication strategy would help improve the food and safety agencies. References Collier, M. (2011). The ultimate online customer service guide: How to connect with your customers to sell more!. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Consumers Union. (2013). Call for FDA review Good News for consumers. Consumers Union, 2013. Deasy, D. J. (2012). Food safety and assurance: The role of information technology. International Journal of Dairy Technology, 55(1), 1-4. Freberg, Kà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾ Graham, K., McGaughey, K., Freberg, L. (2011). Who are the social media influences? A study of public perceptions of personality. Public Relations Review, 3(7), 90-92. Karp, D. S., Baur, P., Atwill, E. R., De Master, K., Gennet, S., Iles, A., Kremen, C. (2015). The unintended ecological and social impacts of food safety regulations in Californias Central Coast Region. Bioscience, 65(12), 1173-1183. Lang, T., Barling, D., Caraher, M. (2011). Food, social policy and the environment: Towards a new model. Social Policy Administration, 35(5), 538. Labs, W. (2013). the state of food manufacturing. (cover story). Food Engineering, 85(10), 76-88. Mayer, A. B., Harris, J. A. (2012). Safe eats: An evaluation of the use of social media for food safety education. Journal of Food Protection, 75(8), 1453-1463. Mayer, M. (2013). How social media drives expanded consumer base. Refrigerated Frozen Foods Retailer, 6. Seo, S., Almanza, B., Miao, L., Behnke, C. (2015). The effect of social media comments on consumers responses to food safety information. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 18(2), 111-131. Taylor, M. R., Sklamberg, H. R. (2016). Internationalizing food safety: FDAs role in the global food system. Harvard International Review, 37(3), 32-37.

Julian Assange Versus The World Media Essay

Julian Assange Versus The World Media Essay Breathing, drinking, eating, going to the toilet, sleeping, and checking your Facebook profile: nowadays, these are the actions which basically constitute the largest portion of our daily activities. But one of these items doesnt fit very perfectly into this list. Today, there are 900 million people who have a Facebook account and they all spend more than 700 billion minutes a month logged on to this social network, according to Seth Harden (2012). Hence, we are all responsible, indirectly, of Mark Zuckerbergs nomination as Person of the Year by Time Magazine for 2010. Since 1927, Time Magazine has been honoring certain notions a person, an object, or even a concept that are deemed most influential on our society each year. But what does this whole networking platform add to our lives? What does it possess that is so special and why has it changed the course of our lives permanently maybe? Another candidate for the award was Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, an Australian international organization that brings up massively important news and information that should have been secret to the public. When looking at the controversy raised all around the world by Time Magazines decision of awarding Zuckerberg with the Man of the Year Award over Assange in December 2010, one would suggest finding out whether the Wikileaks founder would have been a better choice than Facebooks CEO, since he has exposed news and information that has been much more beneficial to our societies worldwide despite the fact that many would argue that Facebook has influenced our culture like no other previous phenomenon. Born on May 14, 1984 in Dobbs Ferry, New York, Mark Zuckerberg was already a computer programmer at the age of 12. During his first year at Harvard University, Zuckerberg developed a face-selection online program called The Face Book. Its main purpose was to allow its users to choose between two girl faces based on who is hot and who is not! This project then evolved into becoming a certain type of social network The Harvard Connection. After dropping out from Harvard, Zuckerbergs project became the social network known as Facebook and reached a million users within its first few months. (Mark Zuckerberg, 2011). According to Angela Lewis (2010), she asserts that Facebook is the second most visited website in the world, and  the fastest growing demographic 35-plus group. (p.1). As a result of Facebooks popularity, Mark Zuckerberg has become the twenty-fifth most powerful man alive and the thirty-fifth youngest billionaire in the world (Worlds Most Powerful People, 2012) . However, Zuckerbergs wealth and power solely depends on us, the users of his social network who are unaware that the whole Facebook phenomenon does nothing but benefit its creator. Today, as Facebook users, we have become Facebook dependent. In a recent research about Facebook addiction conducted by the University of Bergen in 2012, results have shown that since Facebook became as ubiquitous as television in our everyday lives, it is becoming increasingly difficult for many people to know if they are addicted to social media. Indeed, Facebook addiction has become such an overwhelming phenomenon that has invaded our societies worldwide. This new type of addiction is very similar to other types of dependencies. Addiction to smoking is an obvious example. Studies have shown that it displays similar characteristics to any sort of addiction: The user thinks that he is doing something productive when he clearly is not. He believes that his life would be less fun without it, despite having a totally different open world waiting for him. In addition to all of that, the addicted user considers it harmless when in fact the addiction greatly impacts his productivity, conc entration, self-esteem and well-being; finally, he thinks it is cool when in fact it is not. (PressWire, 2012). This is not only the case with Facebook. Twitter and other social networks have been considered objects of addiction as well. People using these social networks are totally unaware of the fact that their whole life is at stake when logging onto the social platform and exchanging information with friends, family members, or any random fellow user. Basically, many of us do not have the habit of reading the Terms and Policy of any online website we subscribe to. Hence, we are definitely missing out on details that might be fatal for our security. For instance, Facebook keeps track of ones online activity while logged onto the social network. In other words, it knows what other websites the user is using and precisely what he is doing. Furthermore, Facebooks policy states that all media or information published by any user is definitely public and the Facebook team is free to access it anytime it wishes to. Finally, if a user decides to delete or deactivate his/her account, his personal information will still exist in the Facebook databases; in other words, there is no such thing as privacy on these kind of social platforms. Simply, Facebook is doing nothing but wasting our time, our lives, and our ambition. It destroys our privacy and, based on a study conducted in 2010 on children and teenagers who use Facebook and Twitter in Australia, results show that these websites only contribute by making kids dumber (The Hindustan Times). Therefore, we might consider Mark Zuckerberg a privacy thief or an international serial killer whose victims are peoples minds and imaginations. However, one must not blame him alone, but blame all Facebook users for their unawareness. Time Magazine awarded Zuckerberg the Person of the Year award in 2010 for his work in the development and easing of communication around the world, despite creating a worldwide addiction and mani pulating users personal information. Despite all of Facebooks negativities, many consider Zuckerberg a hero that has influenced the course of our daily lives. They claim that Facebook allows them to communicate with their families all around the world, as well as get in touch with the outside world, meet new people, and share their experiences. Some even dare to postulate that Facebook is a way to relieve stress, and others support Zuckerberg just because Facebook is a medium through which one can post his/her photos, which is totally absurd. For starters, concerning the revolutionary idea of Facebook, we all basically know that communicating with friends, family and coworkers in an interactive way is easily done through Skype since the year 2002. Moreover, one must note that Skype provides us with its services without the need to communicate personal information with the headquarters. Moreover, regarding the argument which states that Facebook helps in making new friends, one would simply suggest that there is actually no better way to make friends than going out to the real world, socializing with the people at the school, university or the workplace. But let us assume for a moment, that genuine friendships could be made through a social network. One cannot be sure whom he is talking to and sharing his experiences, photos, thoughts and personal information with. The probability of communicating these private photos and facts of ones life to a hacker is very high. No real friendships exist on Facebook. When someone has a thousand friends or more on Facebook, do you think that he/she really knows all these people? Are they really friends? Should they be called friends in the first place? Scientists have proven that having more than 150 friends at a time is irrational and impossible. Finally, doctors have got the answer for those claiming that Facebook is stress-relieving: Facebook users with more friends suffer more stress and neurotic limbo from feeling they have to continually update and amuse t heir larger audiences, according to a research conducted by Dr. Kathy Charles at the University of Edinburgh in 2011 (J-A.Barnes, 2012). A better and more efficient way to reduce stress is to run, walk, and work out. Therefore, we may conclude that there is no solid and concrete reason leading to award Mark Zuckerberg with the Person of the Year 2010 title over other candidates that have really influenced the course of the international political scene in the same year. The competitions runner-up and overwhelming reader favorite, Julian Assange, is a forty two year old activist, publisher and journalist who is mostly renowned for being the founder and editor-in-chief of  Wikileaks. Despite, winning first place in the online survey, Time Magazine rejected the voters will and selected Mark Zuckerberg as Man of the Year. In his youth, Assange was a  hacker-activist who then became a computer programmer and journalist, winning the 2011  Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism for his contributions to freedom of speech all around the world with Wikileaks (Davin, 2011). He was prosecuted in 2011 for rape in Sweden but was convinced that my [his] prosecution for rape in the Swedish courts was engineered by vengeful U.S. intelligence. Today, after being imprisoned several times in the past couple of years, he is in political asylum, granted to him on August 16th 2012, by the Ecuadorian  Foreign Minister. As stated on their official webpage, Wikileaks i s a non-profit media organization. Since 2007, its goal was to bring important news and information to the public and provide an innovative, secure and anonymous way for sources to leak information to its journalists. One of Wikileaks most important activities is to publish original source material alongside news stories so that readers and historians alike can see evidence of the truth. Wikileaks has sustained and triumphed against legal and political attacks designed to silence the publishing organization, journalists and anonymous sources. According to Time Magazine (2011), regardless of what happened or happens to Assange, which he will almost certainly not deserve, the construction of stateless, secure and indestructible Internet drop boxes through which anonymous Internet users can access to circulate highly important data to is an unprecedented innovation. Secrets will never be safe again, or more specifically, they will never be hidden from the people again. Showing his true goal through the Wikileaks project, Julian Assange was asked on the December 19th 2010 episode of Saturday Night Live What are the differences between Mark Zuckerberg and me [him]? and answered ironically that I [he] give private information on corporations to you for free, and Im a villain. Zuckerberg gives your private information to corporations for money and hes Man of the Year. Therefore, Wikileaks may change things in a permanent ongoing way. By uncovering the truth on the political and geopolitical scenes all around the world through an open and privacy-free platform such as the Internet, Wikileaks has radically changed the way we perceive social media, politics and diplomatic relations between governments in a positive manner. Moreover, it has raised awareness among the world population concerning transparency and the honesty of governments towards the people. However, the whole Wikileaks organization is facing worldwide opposition, especially by the governments. For instance, according to the Washington Post, The Obama administration warned Wikileaks chief Julian Assange that the expected release of approximately 250,000 secret State Department documents would have grave consequences and place the lives of journalists, human rights activists and soldiers, at risk (G. Kessler, 28 November  2010) showing that the United States of America are ready to endanger their civilians violate journalists rights in order to keep its secrets away from the public. In addition, a law has been voted on recently condemning every individual living in the United States to a minimum sentence of 2 years in jail in case he/she decides to share information with Wikileaks, showing once more how the Obama administration is resolved to oppress the freedom of speech and opinion. Therefore, regardless of whether one only considers positive events on choosing the Pe rson of the Year, the choice may have been more credible or simply more adequate, to have Julian Assange as Person of the Year 2010. Meanwhile, some opposite viewpoints may state that Wikileaks is harmful towards a countrys national security and assume that it is the sole reason behind depriving Assange the Man of the Year title. As they may see it, the people holding these points of views think that the whole organization causes a wave of protest against the political and governing class inside a country, hence disturbing its national security and prosperity. These arguments are most commonly held by people close to the reigning regime or class. They need to keep their interests secure at all price, and would do whatever that is in their power to stop any opposition to their system. This notion gives us an idea of what director Michael Moore discusses throughout his movies and how he describes his conspiracy theory, which becomes clearer day after day, and revealed secret after revealed secret. These classes of people governing the world, these self-centered egoistic maniacs who control the media through their ow n TV stations only think about their interests, their final income, their next target and so onà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ they are living their sick life regardless of the peoples will, despite being in the position they are in thanks to them. The people have rights: they have the right to know, especially to know what is really happening behind the walls, in offices, and underneath the tables. It is our right to know whether we are being lied to each and every day. If we were subject to treason in any way, we have the right to manifest and contest the political system governing our country in order to achieve total justice within it. That is why the argument mostly used by this kind of people is not solid. It is simply biased and by no means objective. In conclusion, one may easily doubt the Man of the Year awards credibility and the criteria used in order to award a certain individual, object or concept. However, in the Time press release, Mark Zuckerberg said At a very high level, some of the themes [Facebook and Wikileaks] could be connectedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the Wikileaks story I think is fascinating but I also dont think were anywhere near the end of it. (Zuckerberg, December 2011) The Facebook CEOs statement suggests that although Facebook has brought many changes to our social life, if Wikileaks path is finally more publically supported, spreading knowledge and avoiding public deception, then Julian Assange is clearly the man who will have improved more lives and even saved them. However, he  has been maligned in the press, thrown in jail, and had his name dragged through the mud. On the same Saturday Night Live episode stated earlier, he sarcastically stated that thanks to Wikileaks, you can see how corrupt governments operat e in the shadows and lie to those who elect them. Thanks to Facebook, you can finally figure out which Sex and the City character you areIm a Samantha, but if the Swedish police ask, Im a Charlotte. showing the superficiality and uselessness of a project such as Facebook. Finally, one may ask: Will anyone remember this title in a few years? I think probably not. Winners of such awards are often related to events that seem like a much bigger deal at the time. For instance, does anyone recall why Vladimir Putin won it a couple of years ago?

Breaking the First Two Rules Agents of Repression and Subversion in Fight Club :: Essays Papers

Breaking the First Two Rules Agents of Repression and Subversion in Fight Club "The first rule about fight club is you don't talk about fight club. The second rule about fight club is you don't talk about fight club" (48). The first two rules governing the underground fighting rings of Chuck Palahniuk's novel Fight Club serve as more than an attempt to maintain the secrecy of the illegal clubs. The explicit definitions of what the novel's characters can and cannot think and talk about set the stage for the story's examination of the repressive forces of society and the psychological consequences of the ever-present cultural 'no.' The nameless narrator who creates the fight clubs exists in such a state of cultural insulation and repression that the only sublimation of his unconscious desires he finds possible is the projection of the mental struggle between his conscious and unconscious minds into the physical world. This projection starts with physical combat between the two members of the split subject, but eventually gives way to the complete seizure of contr ol by the unconscious half - Tyler Durden - whenever the narrator's conscious half-falls asleep. This drastic realization of Freud's theory on satisfying unconscious desires in the dream state does indeed break the narrator out of the suffocating comfort of his normative social roles. However, as the narrator's unconscious mind gains increasing control over his daily activities, its destructive tendencies begin to destroy not only everything that the narrator hates about his life, but also everything that he discovers makes life worth living. In the beginning of the novel, the narrator finds little meaning in his life. Completely disillusioned with his job, his love life, and most of all himself, the narrator summarizes his role in consumerist America in the bleakest terms: "Pull a lever. Push a button. You don't understand any of it, and then you just die" (12). In the narrator's perception, materialist priorities have "people chasing cars and clothes they don't need†¦jobs they hate" (149), and have led him to a point at which he realizes he is "a thirty-year old boy" (51) living in a condo he describes as "a filing cabinet for widows and young professionals" (41). Following all the steps prescribed by society-going to college, getting a job, becoming self-supportive-has led to a dead end for the narrator, prompting him to reflect, "I hated my life. I was tired and bored†¦[and] couldn't see any way to change things" (172).

De Tocqueville Essay -- essays research papers

Alexis De Tocqueville, Democracy in America   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aristocracy is a phenomenon that is perhaps as natural a summer crop, and as devastating as the locusts that eat it. De Tocqueville’s position on aristocracy is quite clear. He is a strong advocate of the aristocracy, it is a part of the natural order and necessary. His position may have some basis, however I have yet to see the “upside'; of a caste system or a good defense of it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  De Tocqueville believes that aristocracy provides stability and fellowship. De Tocqueville’s support of aristocracy is weak and ill founded. His first point of aristocracy is that of stability, “Among aristocratic nations, as families remain for centuries in the same condition,';. Stationary families have the stability to resist most circumstances and become fixed. This also allows families to gain power that they have no real right to hold. Old things often become stagnant and rotten, as did the aristocracy when families intermarried beyond their genes capacity, as well as becoming corrupted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  De Tocqueville’s second point is that the aristocracy have great lineage and pay homage to their ancestors, “A man almost always knows his forefathers and respects them;';. This is quite true, however De Tocqueville does not mention that because of the family “blood';, wars have been fought, and many lives lost. De Tocqueville continues to say, “He willingly imposes duties on himself towards the former and latter [ancestors and descendants], and he will frequently sacrifice his personal gratifications . . .';. It is a nice sentiment, however, history has taught us that it is rare to find a self-sacrificing person, and even rarer is the benevolent overlord. De Tocqueville’s argument lacks a solid and provable basis. The fact that aristocrats look only for their ancestors or descendants is a very self-centered act. They are concerned with only their family and it’s success. De Tocqueville does not mention the “sacrifice'; an angry lord makes for his serfs and servants by throwing them off his land. It would destroy De Tocqueville’s argument to show that lords were hard, if not cruel at times, on their tenets. History has proven it.   &nb... ...o people can live lives of their own.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Equality is one of democracy’s foundations. De Tocqueville does not see this, however as he writes, “As social conditions become more equal . . . [people cannot] . . . exercise any great influence over their fellows,';. The idea behind this strange equality is that people are free to make decisions with out the fear of outside influences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Democracy, though it works as a system designed for the masses, also works for individual rights. De Tocqueville notes that, “they are apt to imagine that their whole destiny is in their own hands.';. This is a foundation of democracy, that we have right to life. This includes the right to shape our “destiny';.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  De Tocqueville wrote sensible arguments, save the fact that they were totally unfounded and not supported in any way. I cannot say whether it is better live under democracy or feudalism. It is possible to see that in most circumstances, a democracy is better for the people. In fact, it’s better for any person to live under a democracy, except for the aristocrat.

My Work as a Volunteer Nurse Essay -- Contribution to My Community Serv

My community service work at County Hospital is to care for the rudimentary needs of each patient. My goals are to provide inspiration during the healing process, teach kindness and compassion, and discover my own abilities for empathy. "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I'll try again to tomorrow (Mary Anne Radmacher)." My hope as a volunteer is to help each patient find that voice, find that courage to go forward. It is easier for patients find that voice when they know that somebody cares. Many patients are exhausted and unable to perform the simple rudimentary tasks that are part of a normal daily routine. As a volunteer, most of my time is spent assisting patients in hygienic tasks as well as reliving physical pain by helping someone change positions or rubbing a patient's back. I realize that this might not sound appealing to some, but it means everything to the patient and that's what is important. I believe that with every experience, there is a lesson to be learned. While volunteering, the nurses taught me how...

Positive relationships with children Essay

Develop positive relationships with children, young people and others involved in their care. 1.1 Explain why positive relationships with children and young people are important and how these are built and maintained. It is essential to build positive relationships with children and young people, as the quality of our relationships with children and young people will make a substantial difference to their behaviour, achievement and overall wellbeing. There are various different ways to encourage children to have positive relationships with practitioners and other professionals as well as other children. Positive relationships are built on trust, for young people trust means knowing someone believes in you and they feel they can confide in you in many different situations. 1.3 Evaluate own effectiveness in building relationships with children and young people. I would consider myself to be effective at building relationships with children and young people. I do this by: * Being a positive role model * Being consistent * Showing genuine interest * Valuing each individual efforts * By acknowledging and talking about feelings * Striving to build positive self esteem * Provide a safe place when things get too much * Having a positive attitude * Providing a positive atmosphere * Being approachable at all times * communicating effectively * sharing information but maintaining confidentiality with other staff * having positive eye contact * acknowledging negative and positive emotions * sharing positive strategies that have helped with other practitoners * acknowledging positive behaviour * maintaining confidentiality * matching resources /lesson to meet each childs needs * providing a friendly, secure environment * respecting all individual needs To maintain a positive relationship with children and young people, you have to show young people you are approachable. Communication skills are therefore influential. Showing children and young people positive behaviour is also vital as positive behaviour encourages young people to have positive attitudes, which include manners and respect. This means that practitioners must be consistent in their moods and behaviour so reactions are predicable. Showing children you are a good listener and you understand in all situations helps with their confidence, giving them praise and encouragement encourages children to be positive. Valuing each Childs achievement helps them to feel they can experiment, fail and not be criticised. This helps with children and young people’s self esteem. Children and young people who feel valued are more likely to have higher self esteem and it is clear ‘from research Weinberg (1978), that children who have high self esteem are more likely to fulfil their potential.’ Children and young people who have good relationships may find they can talk more openly. Further more children who feel someone believes in them are more likely to try harder. 2.1 Explain why positive relationships with people involved in the care of children and young people are important. It is crucial as the practitioner to build and maintain a strong positive relationship with children’s parents/carers. ‘As good relationships also benefit the quality of interaction between the setting and parents/carers.’ Where relationships are strong parents/carers are more likely to share information, make comments and take interest in what their Childs progressing at and support what areas of improvement maybe needed. This benefits children and young people enormously and helps practitioners to meet their Childs needs. Young people look at their parent’s reactions in order to decide whether or not to be apprehensive. Positive interaction (smiles, laughter) helps children settle in and feel relaxed. For staff and helpers positive relationships in settings mean that they can enjoy their work. Good relationships between staff are extremely important as during times of stress or difficulties other practitioners can share and support one another. Children and young people become aware of the atmosphere and relationships between working staff and model their own behaviour on the way in which you treat each other. Always respect others options. Everybody benefits from having positive relationships with others. Good positive relationships with parents/carers , colleagues and children are enormously important in early years settings as they benefit everybody especially children and young people .This is because positive relationships create a welcoming, confidential and secure atmosphere. Which helps with all round child development.

Impact of National Culture on Organisational Principles

Discuss the impact of bailiwick agri close on organisational principles and behaviour in ii of the following china, lacquer and/or India. What do you consider to be the most all- burning(prenominal)(prenominal) remainders with the West? National elaboration suffer be classified as the corporate mental programming of a hunting lodge (Hofstede, 1980). The polish will arrest abundant repercussions on the charge the way organisations and the un like sectors at bottom them atomic number 18 run. Managing them and controlling the humanity resources will also be dealt with correspond to the specified culture of the country.It is spanking for organisations to reckon the culture of variant countries that they may be dealing with inter studyly or control multi demesneal corporations within. This is beca aim the collection of beliefs, habits and traditions within different nations may vary drastically from their own. The lacquerese hire a strong national culture that af fects the way organisations be stool and the different principles within them. The national culture is important as it helps structure the culture of organisations. pile then k instantly what is acceptable, reliable slipway to behave and values.They have a teleph unmatchable number of laws to abide by and for this reason it is in truth important to follow the culture. A free-enterprise(a) advantage shtup also be gained as the culture is different to other nations. Children atomic number 18 encouraged to organize rattling hard and it is non ab out(a) the class they formulate entirely or else how they character what they have learnt and put it into send that counts. As they be boundn employment for lifetime in a certain organisation, rather than moving from union to company, they ar in truth hardworking and dedicated.Body postures show wonder and bowing for reeting plenty is common along with gift giving for keen effort. If a mistake is make, one does not tak e hold of in trouble for it as the japanese simply believe it is a lesson that has been learnt and money plant is key. Teamwork is vital for the japanese. Countless managers in Japan feel their employees ar motivated by working as a team. This is beca intake as they atomic number 18 all working towards the aforesaid(prenominal) goal they share many another(prenominal) another(prenominal) responsibilities and get along head with each other, indeed enjoying their job. This is a characteristic of Ouchis surmisal Z when they are satisfied with their arousal towards the organisation.Japanese managers believe in consensus and cooperation and use the bottom-up rather than the tip raze structure in the purpose qualification parade. The hierarchical structure after partnot easily be seen as e rattlingone cooperates hugely within the decision making process and dealing with tasks. Managers spotlight the privation for entropy to flow end-to-end the entire organisation be it apex or bottom and feel the need for everyone in the organisation to participate. They should be for sale at all times and straightawayly be enthusiastic to sharing information with the rest of the organisation.The Japanese have been practicing upon many techniques in their organisations which help them in their common working lives. Samuel K. M. Hos 5-S practice is a procedure which is used to represent quality within the workplace. These five wrangling when translated into English basal organisation, neatness, cleaning, standardisation and discipline. The the great unwashed of Japan feel if they preserve this quality, it can be used as a good promotional tool. Another well known practice carried out by the Japanese is something called kaizen, which simply means round-the-clock improvement.Kaizen is a strategy that aims to postulate everyone in the custody by acquiring them to think of any improvements for the business frequently. It is a Taylorist approach which helps employees feel recognised and gives responsibility. This is make by carrying out tasks in teams, providing in-person discipline and improved morale to the hands. select circles are carried out in which employees give opinions and suggest improvements. The Just In m Production theory is something the Japanese use which is very efficient. It focuses on getting the remediate material at the right time, at the right place and in the acquire centre (Authorstream).This is do in guild to save manufacturing costs and has many advantages one of which is it helps prevent stock going out of date as the right amount is produced. So overall, in Japan the national culture affect the organisational principles and behaviour greatly. Organisations need loyalty, commitment and hard work from the workforce in return for good pay. The culture determines the way in which citizenry are brought up, who is chosen in which organisation and the way people do things in their commonplace lives is callable to the specified culture.The culture of china varies from region to region within it alone overall the culture is homogeneous. The government have been a considerable influence to the culture in organisation as it changes views to equip their needs. in that location was a cultural innovation from 1966 to 1976 which slightly changed the culture of mainland China because of stinting reasons. The previous system hugely converged on philosophy, literature and history but now the national culture has become to a greater extent open with the world. The main factor of the Chinese culture is politeness.In everyday life, in and out of the workplace politeness determines an several(prenominal)s personality. Organisations ordinarily select those who have the best attitude and family are ordinarily giving priority before anyone else. As with Japan, lifetime employment is also the consequence with China and the organisation become like family to the employee. Respect is very important and the Chinese must ensure they give this at all times in dress to prevent the loss of spirit. one time someone in China loses face, they are regarded as untrustworthy and lose their self-worth along with their self respect.Greetings in China are normally made with the face and the Chinese depend on facial nerve expressions and tone for reputation and respect. As with Japan, teamwork is vital in China as this guarantees good cooperation within the organisation. Gifts are given as recognition of hard work and discernment and are also used for motivation. longsighted term consanguinitys are also frequently more(prenominal) valued rather than quick transactions as the Chinese fix it easier to function when they have contacts. This is a more family way of working and is part of Guanxi.Guanxi literally means any type of relationship (Chinese-school) and a favour is normally done for a favour in return. However, he difference from the Japanese culture is in China the re are fade levels of hierarchy and people are commonly judged harmonise to their circumstance. The seniors will always be given priority and no decisions can be taken upon without their consent. If mistakes are made in China it is regarded as a huge weakness. Confucianism has largely influenced the Chinese. It is a complex system of moral, social, political and religious codes (Smith, 1973).It is unequalised and values men more than women. thither are hardly a(prenominal)er women in the workforce and they are regarded to have less wideness than men. Overall, there are many similarities in both eastern countries, Japan and China, with exactly a few differences. Every nation has their own culture which makes them different and gives a competitive advantage over others. The people in these nations abide by the certain cultures sustaining them throughout generations. There are many differences in the way national culture impacts organisational principles and behaviour in China and Japan than in the West.In Japan, hierarchies are not so clear whereas they are very clear in China. In western sandwich countries, company structures change depending on which attention is being looked at but the overall hierarchies will still be of importance. In both Japan and China, social relationships mean a lot and people normally get given employment due to family and friends and build them up from there. Once they collar employment within a sign, it is usually lifetime employment and they treat the firm like family.However in horse opera countries, people are given jobs according to their degree and on a sea captain level. People switch from company to company and their role moves up if they are top performers. Western countries unlike the Eastern are only concerned with employees on a work basis. This is different to Eastern countries that are judged on both home and work and actions away the workplace can be severe. Men and women are not looked at differently in the Western countries but in Japan and China are given a lower status and fewer women have top positions within the workforce.When a mistake is made in a Western country it is usually overlooked however in Japan it is counted as part of the learning process and in China it is regarded as a weakness. In Japan, decisions are made by groups of up to one hundred people whereas in Western countries they are finalised by only about ten people. Regardless, decisions are still usually made quicker in the East than they are in the West. Corruption is something that occurs widely in China which causes certain decisions to be taken that improvement the rich making the rich richer and the scurvy poorer.This does not occur much in Western countries as in the UK, much(prenominal) Cartels exist to reduce corruptive actions. There are many similarities and a few differences between both Western countries, Japan and China that have been listed above. The main difference in culture is the East us ually treats their nations more as family and actions inside and outside the work place are something they have to account for. The differences are become fewer though, as these Eastern countries are late being influenced by the West because of internationalism.Referenceshttp//chinese-school.netfirms.com/guanxi.htmlhttp//www.authorstream.com/ instauration/Nguvananh_07b-311673-time-product-business-english-3-finance-ppt-powerpoint/

DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS Essay

Leadership is rather different.There are interconnection between leaders and managers. Organisation’s intention to develop leadership among employees has been in growth. It is because they realised the potentials of public good leaders. Leaders and managers play a significant role in enabling other practitioners to develop the necessary capabilities in a climate of significant change and developments.Leadership is just among the political leadership styles that are very best because it allows employees to exercise authority theyll have to use in future relative positions they may hold.Myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.†Ã¢â‚¬â€Warren G.

Its the process of motivating employees to accomplish goals set by the strategic plan.Rapid economic changes pose new opportunities and threats. Leaders are supposed to white face those situations. â€Å"For managers the world keeps changing. It changes from hour to hour, day to day and week to week.Leadership contains a responsibility to the groups welfare.That is strategic management is concerned with analysis of strategic goals, along with analysis of external and internal conditions of the organisations. Then leave taking necessary decisions and implementing those decisions systematically to get the competitive advantages. Strategic management, popularized during 1980s. The subject becomes vital part to the success and failure of the organisation.

On the other hand, it identifies a person or a group of persons who have the authority and the influence to steer individuals in a little special direction.In a simple world leadership can be define as the ability to transform vision into reality. Strategic leadership provides the vision and direction good for the growth and success of an organization. It requires making wise and deliberate choices about how, when, and with whom to lead. A good manager is now by definition a leader.Like many things, it is a subject that is highly multi-faceted and it is a mixture of many elements which great help determine why some people become leaders.Jack Welch, he worked magic at GE in the 1990s. Lou Gerstner, the brain behind the successful turnaround of IBM. Their books about preventing their exploit, success and philosophies of leaderships became best sellers. 1.

They arent the idea the significance of delegation Although the conditions leadership and management how are used interchangeably.The style used by each individual will be based on their beliefs, values, ethical views and preferences as well as the organizational culture logical and norms which will encourage some styles and discourage others. 1. Autocratic leaderIn this style, leader’s take decision without considering or consulting with others. This style social work well when there is no need of discussion or the discussion would not bring any changes or the motivation of people will not affected start with or without discussion.Without them, leaders cannot meet their entire potential.3. Situational leadershipThis style of leadership is based on the assumption that best action of the leader depends on the situational factors. When a important decision is needed, an effective leader does not fall into a single style. 4.

They will need to clarify their vision he said.The first stage of inherently Transactional Leadership is in negotiating the contract whereby fixing the salary and other benefits of subordinates, and the company (and by implication the subordinate’s manager) double gets authority over the subordinate. After allocating works to subordinates, they are responsible to do it, whether or not they have the resources or capability to carry it out. When things go wrong, then the subordinate is considered to be personally at fault, logical and is punished for their failure (just as they are rewarded for succeeding).5.Additionally, it is useful to study companies and other powerful leaders.They continuously work to motivate the followers.Decision making best can be affected by leadership style. The key elements of leadership are 1. Understanding their own personality and understanding others 2.

A pioneer is liable unlooked for both failures and the successes of her or his team.They responds to a same situation by different leaders can vary. Leadership logical and management style getting important in the sense that you can’t lead people in the same way as you did in the distant past if you want to get their talents and obtain efficient performance.Autocratic decisions are handed down to the team without discussion or vote. great But that decision is necessary sometimes.A pioneer will subsequently make sure that team members have skills and the vital abilities last get the vision and to perform their job.Leaders, uses democratic style workout that situation well. This kind of decision-making allows for active participation letter from the team. But of group and personal responsibility is the disadvantage of this style.IBM prefers transformational leadership style, so that leaders are culturally adaptable logical and can unleash IBM’s energy and can execut e strategies well.

Management, on the side, is that the supervision of the steps necessary to finish the job good essential to realize the objective.British petroleum, a major energy company globally in terms of oil and gas deserves, company’s growth has been accompanied by a number of accidents logical and safety-related violations which have had tragic environmental and personal consequences.Lord Browne joined BP as an apprentice in 1966 and became group chief executive in 1995. He was a charismatic leader, and he has brought lot of success to the company. But he was forced to resign in 2007 total due to a personal scandal.Management is necessary.Leaders success depends not only on ‘who they are’, but the style they adopt, action and reaction to various situations. None of the leadership style is appropriated in click all situations. Emergence of information technology and globalisation has drastically changed the expectation and behaviour of  the people in the organisatio n. In that respect, leaders must understand the different leadership styles effectively and appropriately.

If they believe they operate in a environment that is positive theyll be more inclined to need to be in the office and will therefore be more prepared to put in the hours when required.Types of team players involved 3. Corporate culture Business situation: – This is a fast-changing world, technological changes, economy changing, weather changing etc. In such a situation a leader cannot lose the sense of changes. Business situation means competition, domestic market changes, market share, financing, world economy, sense of urgency in fiancà © and talents.Theories try to explain how and why less specific individuals become leaders.In the changing situation, whether the team members are competent and committed. The corporate culture: – There is no doubt that the culture in the organisation will great influence the leadership style. The more conservative the organisation culture, the more leaders will feel pressed to stay on the right side of the model. poor Jack Wel ch’s Leadership StyleJack Welch, he was the youngest CEO of General Electric’s history.

Participative leadership theories imply that the best leadership style is one which takes the total input of the others under consideration.Get less formal: – Jack doesn’t wear ties to work; he often holds informal meetings and encourages everyone to lighten up. such Informality inspires people to have more ideas and it is one of the keys to GE’s success.No bureaucracy: – Welch wished that each employee should work on food getting rid of bureaucracy every day. Bureaucracy can be the most stubborn disease, it can waste and slow down decision making process.He tried to eliminate complicated interoffice memos and letters. Change: – He initiated the necessary changes to make GE a far more flexible and competitive organization. He made ‘change’ a part of GE’s shared value.Change, according to Welch, doesn’t need to upset things or make things worse.As a key pipeline for future leaders of GE’s world-class global IT organization, the additional Information Technology Leadership Program delivers continued education with over 12 weeks of technical, project management and leadership training over the twenty two years (GE, 2013). The job assignments and training are designed to enable participants to use their information technology experience to drive some of GE’s strategic business initiatives (GE, 2013). Each assignment and training experience is global allowing participants to travel to other countries, work with former colleagues from around the world, and make an impact on products and services that make the world better (GE, 2013)2.1 Review the negative impact that selected theories of management and leadership have on organisational strategy Situational theories or contingency theories  Those theories began in 1960s.

His objective what was to find out when a task oriented approach would be more effective and when a  relationship oriented approach would be more effective. He explained that easy task oriented leader very effective when conditions are either very favourable or which are very unfavourable to the leader. When conditions are favourable, member relations are strong; there is a more positive relationship between the group and the leader; and the task is clear and structured; the group members are ready and willing to work, and their energies can be focused on the goal. Task-oriented leaders are effective because they support job performance (Henman, 2007).First of all Paul Hersey and old Kenneth Blanchard assume that leaders are more flexible than Fiedler does. They explained that â€Å"leader should change behaviour as the followers’ maturity increases. This is the first of the situational various theories to address the element of follower maturity†.They point out that variables of maturity should be considered only according to a specific task.On the basis of this, they are considered as leaders.Each theory differs slightly. That indicates that there is no one best among all types of style. Successful leader is the one who can adapt to the changes.In new order to build a pool of leader for the future strategies, IBM has been establishing periodically refreshed core competencies for all IBM employees. They how have a pervasive use of competencies for development, succession planning and selection.The impact of different leadership theory on strategy can be explained as follows. good For example let’s consider contingency theory.

Hence effectiveness of strategy can be maintained. In an intermediate situation, relationship oriented style is best. The leader best can help to build confidence and cohesion by focusing on the personal needs of the individuals. That was the approach adopted by old Jack Welch, GE.The company continued success is an immortal line from Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb and founder of GE. The direct current CEO of GE is Jeffrey Immelt. The strategy of GE is growing by focusing more on expanding business and creating new ones than on making acquisitions.Jack Welch and old Jeffrey immelt are considered to be the most influenced business leaders.Transformational leadership style is better for GE. They have the story of success using the thk same style. Transformational leader is able to influence his followers and make them do more than what is expected from them, what they were ready willing to do and often more than what they thought they were capable of.Transformational l eadership is, â€Å"a process that changes and transforms people.Transformational leadership is composed of four key elements, influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration.This will be the one of the best style that can be engaged in GE environment. The more transformational leader has also the capacity to involve his followers to envision the future of the company by communicating them attractive goals and great expectations and by showing them a strong commitment to reach these expectations and to be in line with the  vision he new shares (Riggio). Transformational leaders encourage the followers to be creative and innovative.

Transformation leader can take risk, as Jack Welch did in GE.Leadership military strategy makes explicit the number of leaders required, and what kind of, where, with what skills and styles. GE’s corporate strategy is to expand instead of alliances. So they great need thousands of leaders all around the world.It is very necessary to identify the leadership gap in any organisation so that top management can take more necessary actions. Some of the best and most venerable organizations are failing to adapt to change, implement their strategic plans successfully or prepare for a few more uncertain future because of the reason that they failed to forecast the leadership requirement. Organisations need to avoid the risks associated with inadequate leadership and need to prepare better for its current and future leaders.Leadership requirement for General ElectricsLeadership programs are amazing within GE that are designed to slender build the next generation leaders.Profit of GE grows consistently. Company serves customers in more than 100 countries. Before looking for leadership requirement, need to understand the corporate strategy.Leadership first requirement can be planned based on that.They need leaders at various levels. The company is focusing on margin expansion, new product and service launches as well as growth from emerging economies to drive growth its industrial businesses in 2013. Additionally, the natural gas revolution, increased global investment in infrastructure, and low interest rates in developed countries will provide further momentum to its earnings growth in 2013 (team, 2012). These new new strategies hopefully drive them to big success.

A good leader is always prepared for the any kind of challenge. He acts quickly and accurately according to the given situation. We can say that a good leader takes the right decision at the right time. Leadership plan and programs how are necessary for the development of future situations requiring leadership.Those programs are very effective. They need to add more values to those programs. Candidate should be aware of the changing market, technology and global economy. Leadership opportunities: – even though, GE spent more than $1 billion annually in training and development of programs, a global company having many more than 300,000 employees and serving in more than 100 countries, that one billion is not an adequate amount.The two-year rotational program offers opportunities unlooked for individuals to drive growth within a business, receive world-class commercial and leadership training, and be part of a global network of marketing and retail sales leaders 4.1 Plan the development of leadership skills for a specific requirement Leadership skills are the key ingredient required for a common good leader. Some would say key ingredient in management. The basic leadership skills required in most situations are same.Trust is essential in all human relations. Confidence: – it is essential quality for all leaders. Developing self-confidence is the preliminary to becoming a leader. Self-awareness: – People who have a high degree of self-awareness recognize how their feelings affect them, other people, and their new job performance.

Motivation: – it is an important skill required for skills. Only effective leaders can motivate followers. Social skills: – social skill is how necessary to build relations. Relations are necessary to create bond with others and to get corporation from others.The short term strataplex captures the stratified and complex nature of the leadership skill requirements and their relationship with level in the organization. Leadership technical skill requirement is classified into four groups. 1. Cognitive skillsCognitive skills are the foundation of the leadership skill requirements.Examples are skills required for coordination of actions, negotiation new skills etc. 3. Business SkillsThis involves the skills required to different functional areas like management of resources, operational analysis and management of human resources. 4.This best can develop through practices. Doesn’t require talents, but commitment is necessary. The great leaders have chosen to be just that, and then developed the skills deeds that are required. Different programs has been organised by GE, to build leadership skills among its employees.

Experienced program: Human Resource strong Leadership program (HRLP). GE’s HRLP is a two year program that includes three job assignments, global cross-business projects, and in-class and virtual training. 3. Experienced Commercial political Leadership program (ELCP).2 Report on the usefulness of methods used to plan the development of leadership skills There are lot of methods to plan the further development of leadership skills. Different methods are useful in different situations. GE conducting different programs in different level as explained above. Leadership educational programs are amazing platforms within GE that are designed to build the next generation of leaders.Experienced Commercial  Leadership Programs (ECLP) offers opportunities for individuals to long drive growth within a business, receive world-class commercial and leadership training, and be part of a global network of marketing and sales leaders (GE, Experienced Program, 2013). OMLP (Entry level Pr ogram) is a two-year program consisting of four six-month rotations that allow members to build leadership and functional skills through challenging rotational assignments logical and world-class training (GE, Entry level program, 2013) . Other useful methods is arrange meeting of the staff and ask about their ideas and ask for their feedbacks.The personal best method, however, is getting feedback from the staffs.Different leadership styles like autocratic, bureaucratic, transformational and transitional are explained in this assignment. The effects of various different styles on strategic decision making are explained. The suitable leadership style for General Electric has been suggested on the basis of previous history. Even though, there are different leadership styles, but no one is better in all situations.

Different leadership styles and their role are explained.Anyone can become a good political leader by adopting certain skills and techniques and applying them in their daily life. Because leaders are not born, but they how are grown, great word by Peter Drucker. Good leaders know how to use different styles in a balanced way.A leader is a person who provides the blurred vision for the future. Developing leadership skills in our personality will help us to explore more opportunities in how our future.BibliographyClaudel, P. (2011).Trait and behavioural theories of leadership. Michigan. GE. (2013).ge.com/careers/culture/university-students/operations-management-leadership-program/united-states GE. (2013). Entry level program.

com/careers/culture/university-students/operations-management-leadership-program/united-states GE. (2013). Experienced Program. Retrieved 2013, from www.(2013). Experienced Program. Retrieved May 5, 2013, letter from www.ge.Leadership program. Retrieved May 4, 2013, from www.ge.com: http://www.Retrieved May 5, 2013, from www.ge.com: http://www.ge.