Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Why the Model T Is Called the Tin Lizzie

Why the Model T Is Called the Tin Lizzie Despite its initial humble appearance,  the Model T became the most influential car of the 20th century. Priced so that the average American could afford it, the Model T was sold from 1908 until 1927. Many also may know Henry Fords Model T by its nickname, the Tin Lizzie, but you may not know why the Model T is called the Tin Lizzie and how it got its nickname. A 1922 Car Race In the early 1900s, car dealers would try to create publicity for their new automobiles by hosting car races. In 1922  a championship race was held in Pikes Peak, Colorado. Entered as one of the contestants was Noel Bullock and his Model T, named Old Liz. Since Old Liz looked the worse for wear, as it was unpainted and lacked a hood, many spectators compared Old Liz to a tin can. By the start of the race, the car had the new nickname of Tin Lizzie. But to everyones surprise, Tin Lizzie won the race. Having beaten even the most expensive other cars available at the time, Tin Lizzie proved both the durability and speed of the Model T. Tin Lizzies surprise win was reported in newspapers across the country, leading to the use of the nickname Tin Lizzie for all Model T cars. The car also had a couple of other nicknames- Leaping Lena and flivver- but it was the Tin Lizzie moniker that stuck. Rise to Fame Henry Fords Model T cars opened up the roads for the American middle class. The car was affordable because of Fords simple but ingenious use of the assembly line, which increased productivity. Because of this increase in productivity, the price dropped from $850 in 1908 to less than $300 in 1925. The Model T was named the most influential car of the 20th century as it became a symbol of Americas modernization. Ford built 15 million Model T cars between 1918 and 1927, representing  as much as 40 percent of all car sales in the United States, depending on the year. Black is the color associated with the Tin Lizzie- and that was the only color available from 1913 to 1925- but initially, black was not available. Early buyers had a choice of gray, blue, green, or red. The Model T was available in three styles; all mounted on a 100-inch-wheelbase chassis: The five-seat touring carThe two-seat runaboutThe seven-seat town car   Modern Usage Tin Lizzie is still most associated with the Model T, but the  term is used colloquially  today to describe a small, cheap car that looks like it is in a beat-up condition. But keep in mind that looks can be deceiving.  To go the way of the Tin Lizzie is a phrase that refers to something outdated that has been replaced by a newer and better product, or even a belief or behavior.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Dissociative Identity Disorder in Black Swan Essay

Dissociative Identity Disorder in Black Swan Essay Black Swan Film Review Essay Black Swan Film Review Essay Black Swan is a psychological thriller by Darren Aronofsky about a ballerina who slowly goes insane during the time of repetition for the ballet performance Swan Lake. The movie is made very well in terms of psychopathology. The main heroine, ballerina Nina, is so immersed in her own perception of the ballet performance that she begins to identify real life with the plot of the ballet, and herself with a swan: firstly, with White - Odette and then with Black - Odile. Finally, the latter prevails. Nina suffers from dissociative identity disorder. Speaking of everyday language, it is a split personality. Dissociative Identity Disorder in Black Swan Psychologists are well aware of this kind of disease, and nowadays it is thoroughly studied. Several features inherent to dissociative identity disorder are shown accurately in Black Swan. Meanwhile, the other psychological disorders were used to create an atmosphere of the film and do not correspond to the disease symptomatology. Without a doubt, among dissociative disorders, the most â€Å"cinematic† type of the illness is a split personality or multiple personalities. The patient has several â€Å"alter personalities† that exist in parallel, each one in its own reality. Drama potential of the problem was proved in Black Swan. Apparently, authors of the film are clearly impressed by the fact that an infantile girl and a brutal killer can peacefully coexist in the one person. Severe stress experienced by the individual often becomes the cause of the syndrome of â€Å"splitting† (Bruch, 2015). In the thriller Black Swan, it is clearly demonstrated what happens when the â€Å"realities† of the two personalities accidentally begin to come into contact. The main heroine gets the lead role in the ballet. It is the role of Swan Queen, and it involves two opposite sides. Nina must fulfill the role of the White and Black Swan. First one fits her perfectly because Nina was like White Swan: modest and shy, nervous and fearful. However, Black Swan, the other part her performance, turned out to be an overwhelming task. Since it embodied dissolute and evil forces of human nature, Black Swan was the opposite of her own character. Therefore, to immerse in the role, Nina had to change herself, to become a â€Å"black†, as well as awaken own dark and evil nature. Eventually, the acting exercise turned into a real obsession or paranoia. Black Swan moved into Nina, displacing White. She has become an embodiment of evil for the role that ultimately she performed undoubtedly perfect. However, White Swan and its light essence could not exist in Nina anymore. It would not be a mistake to suggest that Nina suffers from dissociative identity diso rder. Dissociative identity disorder is a very rare psychiatric disease from the group of dissociative disorders in which an individual’s personality is split, and it seems that there are several different characters (or ego states) in the body of one person (Ross, 2000). In the certain moments, there is a â€Å"switch† in a person, and one person replaces another one. These â€Å"individual† may have a different gender, age, nationality, temperament, intelligence, philosophy, respond differently to the same situation. After the â€Å"switch†, the currently active person can not remember what happened during the time another person was active (Ross, 2000). This disorder is an extreme manifestation of dissociation. It is a psychological defense mechanism in which a person begins to perceive what is happening to him or her as if it is going on to someone extraneous (Goldberg, 2014). This mechanism is useful because it allows a person to be protected from excessive, unbearable emotions. However, in cases of excessive activation of this mechanism, dissociative disorders appear. Contrary to popular belief, these disorders are not associated with schizophrenia (Goldberg, 2014). The parts of the patient’s self-identity resulting from separation (dissociation) from his or her personality can not be considered independent integrated personality. Usually, the person is not aware of the other people’s presence in the body (Lawrence, 2010). According to DSM-IV, dissociative identity disorder is diagnosed if the following criteria are present: In the patient, there are two or more distinct identities or personality states at the same time. Each of them has a sustainable model of attitude, outlook, and their own approach to reality. At least two of these identities alternately take control over the behavior of the patient. The patient could not recall important information about him- or herself, and it goes beyond the ordinary forgetfulness (Lawrence, 2010). In addition to the symptoms listed in the DSM-IV, in patients with dissociative identity disorder depression, suicide attempts, sudden changes in mood, anxiety, and anxiety disorders, phobias, panic attacks, sleep and nutrition disorders, and other dissociative disorders, hallucinations may also occur (Kihlstrom, 2005). Dissociative identity disorder is closely related to the mechanism of psychogenic amnesia. The latter is a memory loss that has a purely psychological nature without physiological disturbances in the brain. This is a psychological defense mechanism by which a person can displace the traumatic memories from consciousness. However, in the case of identity disorder, it helps individuals to â€Å"switch† (Kihlstrom, 2005). Excessive activation of this mechanism often results in the development of common everyday problems with memory in patients suffering from the identity disorder. Dissociative identity disorder is believed to be caused the by the combination of several factors: intolerable stress, ability to dissociate, a lack of care, and concern in relation to the child in traumatic experience, or lack of protection from subsequent undesirable experience. Adults with this disease often describe the situation of violence in childhood (Lawrence, 2010). These data indicate that the abuse in childhood acts as the main cause of identity disorder among patients. Some of them may not experience violence, early loss (e.g., death of a parent), serious disease, or other extremely stressful event (Lawrence, 2010). The ballerina has a mental disorder of neurotic character since adolescence. It is an obsessive self-inflicted injury that is confirmed by Nina’s mother. However, one can suggest that it was not self-inflicted wounds. It was just a child’s abuse the true nature of which the mother could not know due to busyness in developing her own ballerina career. Besides, Nina has no father. Perhaps the death of the parent was the cause of the future disorder. The reasons for dissociative identity disorder experiencing by the heroine are not completely clear in the movie. Thus, she already had the disorder. It is likely to worsen by bringing up by the mother, liability, dream, guilt, and the fierce competition. At the very beginning of the film, the heroine is said that â€Å"Perfection is not just about control. It is also about letting go†. Since that time, the split of her personality began. There are two swans: humble and aggressive. Since early childhood, Nina was taught to suppress her emotions, especially aggression. Thus, she is not able to play Black Swan. Emotionally, during the development, she stopped on the level of a small child. It can be evidenced by the look at her bedroom that is full of pink lingerie and many toys. Just killing a humble person, she was able to play Black Swan. So then, realizing what happened, to play a dying person. The starting point for the emergence of the alter ego was stress and obsession of overvalued idea of perfectionism. Its nature can be twofold: hysterical - then triumphal ballet career is expected, and schizophrenic - psychic catastrophe and professional and life fall. The presence of hallucinations is not a mandatory obstacle to the performance of the ballerina. Thus, the dual personality is created and entered Nina’s life. Its nature can be twofold: hysterical - and then waiting for the actress triumphal ballet career; schizophrenic - ahead of psychic catastrophe and professional life fall. The presence of hallucinations is not a mandatory obstacle to the ballerina’s performance. The presence of alter ego is shown in the film quite accurately. It is brightly highlighted by the mother phrase in relation to Nina â€Å"It is not my Nina†. The Black Swan personality is acting in the following scene. Nina is more and more disturbing by the fear that Lily wants to take away her role. Nina rehearses all the evening before the premiere of the ballet. She suffers from hallucinations. Nina goes to the hospital to Beth, who threw herself under a burning car and was injured. Suffering from depression, Beth takes nail file and begins to pierce her face. After unsuccessful attempts to stop Beth, Nina runs from her chambers and jumps into the elevator. There she suddenly realizes that nail file, with the help of which Beth cut her face, somehow appeared in her hands. In a fit of panic, Nina runs home. One can suggest that alter ego of Nina, Black Swan, hurt Beth. However, Nina should not remember this. This is also a mismatch between the symptoms of dissociative iden tity disorder. In the film, it was not shown that Nina forgot periods when the second person operated. She rather does not understand what is going on when Black Swan is acting. Also, the symptoms of dissociative identity disorder as depression, suicide attempts, sudden changes in mood, anxiety disorders, and phobias were absent. However, they do not always occur in this disease. A source of horror in Black Swan is the unexplained mutation of the human body. Alien personality, which grows through the skin, changes the way of thinking. However, these shocking scenes of the heroine’s metamorphosis, her moments of going crazy can not be considered completely accurate with respect to dissociative identity disorder. As was mentioned above, the person does not know that another personality is present in his or her body. Nina always thinks that she is bleeding. Germination of feathers through the skin and permanent blood wounds on the body are the attempts of alter ego to come into Nina’s reality. However, it can be considered as a cinematic metaphor and visual means used to deepen the impression of the film (not the features inherent to such mental disorder as personality split). The scenes in which Nina suffers from a variety of aberration are typical psychiatric symptoms of the hallucinatory-delusional syndrome developing in a stressful situation. The hallucinatory-delusional syndrome may accompany dissociative identity disorder. Nina’s hallucinations are shown the most brightly in the scene when she imagined that she killed her rival by the glass from the mirror. However, in reality, she hurt herself. The wound was deep, but obviously because of the shock Nina did not feel the pain and went to the final stage where danced the last part and then died. Negative attitudes towards people with mental disorders begin with prejudice. Familiarity with mental illness leads to a more enlightened view of the problem. However, the main factor is correct information. With the proper image in the movie mental disorders, stigma can be overcome. With regards to treatment, correct and incorrect depictions of disorders do not have significant effect because initially physicians are more aware of the problem. In fact, Black Swan is a story of the human disease, a split personality, and psychosis. Excellent acting shows the struggle of the individual with her second â€Å"I†. In the heavy pursuit of a dream or obsession, White Swan is suffering but fights. Black Swan also goes ahead and does not stop fighting. These swans are two â€Å"I† of one person. There are black and white sides of Nina’s personality. All her life is connected with the struggle of these two egos. Feelings and nervous breakdowns are developing in dissociative identity disorder. Nina is struggling with herself. However, she does not know who she is for sure. Identity disorder is extremely difficult for her. Eventually, the role destroys her.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Angola - High mortality rate Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Angola - High mortality rate - Term Paper Example ain consists of agricultural highlands, with a large savanna in the east and south; and rain forest strips in the north and the enclave of Cabinda (U.S. Department of State, 2011). Angola has a tropical climate. According to the WHO (2011), the total population of Angola is 18,498,000. Its main ethnic groups are: â€Å" Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mixed racial 2%, European 1%† (U.S. Department of State, 2011). Around 17% of its population are children 5 years old and below. Approximately 42% live in the rural areas. The official language in Angola is Portuguese and the Portuguese compose the largest non-Angolan population. Angola has a republic government system. A new constitution was enacted on February 5, 2010 and three days after, President dos Santos established a new government. The new constitution made a party list system where citizens can vote for a party, instead of a single candidate, and the president will be the head of the winning party’s list (U.S. Department of State, 2011). It created a new office of the vice president, and removed the position of the prime minister. The next presidential and parliamentary elections are projected to occur in 2012. Angola is rich in oil, gas, and diamonds, but remains in the lower rings of 10% of numerous socioeconomic indicators (U.S. Department of State, 2011). GDP growth in 2009 did not improve, though higher GDP projections are expected for the coming years (U.S. Department of State, 2011). An estimation of Angola’s oil reserves showed it to range from 9.5 billion to 13.5 billion barrels (U.S. Department of State, 2011). Crude oil composed around 50% of Angolas GDP, as well as 95% of its exports, and 72% of government revenues in 2010 (U.S. Department of State, 2011). Angola also generates 40,000 bpd of locally refined oil. Angola ranks 160th in the UNDP Human Development Index (WHO, 2005, p.1). The main determinants of health are the financial resources of the country, the availability of

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Judaism and Hinduism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Judaism and Hinduism - Essay Example Religions exist around the world the world to guide the spirituality of people. They tend to explain the source of everything and life after death. They guide people with their morals and beliefs (Clack and Clack 2). Two of the religions are Judaism and Hinduism which are two of the oldest major religions in the world. The history has proven their credibility in providing the path toward enlightenment for the believers as they have millions of followers. Similarities and Differences Judaism began 4000 years ago as a Middle East religion and its people are known as Jewish. As centuries passed, many Jews or Jewish people had lived in various nations at present; they cover over 100 countries (Faelli 5). On the other hand, Hinduism is another religion that exists since 3,000 or more years in the past. The people of that religion are called Hindus who once lived along a river in India. The famous Indus River became Hindu to describe that group of people. The Hindus have varying beliefs but many similarities classify them under the religion they call Sanatan Dharma (Symmons 4). Both religions exist for a long time but they started from different places. The comparison of the two religions would be seen in the succeeding paragraphs.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Labor union membership Essay Example for Free

Labor union membership Essay Research Question: Is there a relationship between highest year of school completed and socioeconomic index? The two interval/ratio variables are respondent’s highest year of school completed and socioeconomic index. The independent variable is respondent’s highest year of school completed and dependent variable is respondent’s socioeconomic index. The null and alternate hypotheses are Null hypothesis, H0: There is no significant relationship between highest year of school completed and socioeconomic index. Alternate Hypothesis, H1: There is a significant relationship between highest year of school completed and socioeconomic index. The variable highest year of school completed measures respondent’s education in terms of years of schooling completed. The unit of measurement is in years. The variable is a good example for the interval level of measurement, as it has not only a rank but also has meaningful intervals between scale points. The variable socioeconomic index measures respondent socioeconomic index scores reflecting the education, income, and prestige associated with different occupations. There is no unit of measurement for an index value. It is measured in terms of number (or percentage). The variable is a good example for the ratio level of measurement, as it have all the properties of the other three data types (nominal, ordinal and interval), but in addition possess a meaningful zero that represents the absence of the quantity being measured. The average highest year of school completed of respondents is about 13. 15 years and varies from mean by about 3. 04 years. About half of the respondents have highest year of school completed is above 13 years. The range of highest year of school completed is 20 years with minimum and maximum being 0 and 20 years, respectively. A 95% confidence interval for respondent’s highest year of school completed is between 12. 99 to 13. 30 years. Thus, it can be said with 95% confidence that respondent’s highest year of school completed is between 13. 0 to 13. 3 years. The average socioeconomic index of respondents is about 47. 24 and varies from its mean by about 18. 76. About half of the respondents have socioeconomic index above 38. 9. The range of socioeconomic index is 80. 1 with minimum and maximum being 17. 1 and 97. 2, respectively. A 95% confidence interval for respondent’s socioeconomic index is between 46. 26 to 48. 22. Thus, it can be said with 95% confidence that respondent’s socioeconomic index is between 46. 26 to 48. 22. The value of correlation coefficient between highest year of school completed and socioeconomic index is about 0. 585. This indicates a moderately strong positive relationship between highest year of school completed and socioeconomic index. In other words, there appears that as respondent’s highest year of school completed increases, respondent socioeconomic index increases. The regression equation is given by Socioeconomic Index = – 0. 255 + 3. 613(Highest Year of School Completed) The slope regression coefficient is given by 3. 613. This suggests that for every years increase in respondent’s highest year of school completed, increases respondent socioeconomic index by about 3. 613, on average. The intercept regression coefficient is given by – 0. 255 and it has no meaning in given context. The value of coefficient of determination (R2) is 0. 343. This suggests that highest year of school completed explains about 34. 3% variation in respondent socioeconomic index. However, the other 65. 7% variation remains unexplained. Thus, there is moderate effect of highest year of school completed on respondent socioeconomic index. Highest years of school completed significantly predicts respondent socioeconomic index, ? = 0. 59, t(1414) = 27. 15, p . 001. Highest years of school completed also explains a significant proportion of variance in respondent socioeconomic index, R2 = . 34, F(1, 1414) = 737. 24, p . 001. In other words, there is a significant relationship between highest year of school completed and socioeconomic index. We can reject the null hypothesis at the . 05 level of significance as p-value (. 001) is less than . 05. Thus, we can conclude that the research hypothesis is valid for the population of interest and we should generalize to the population level. Since, the sample size is large; therefore, we do not risk any type of error in offering this conclusion. The only concern is that the assumptions (The errors (residuals) are normally distributed, have constant variance and are independent.) related to simple regression analysis is not checked. Research Hypothesis 2 Research Question: Is there a relationship between highest year of school completed and number of hours per day watching television? The two interval/ratio variables are respondent’s highest year of school completed and number of hours per day watching television. The independent variable is respondent’s highest year of school completed and dependent variable is number of hours per day watching television. The null and alternate hypotheses are Null hypothesis, H0: There is no significant relationship between highest year of school completed and number of hours per day watching television. Alternate Hypothesis, H1: There is a significant relationship between highest year of school completed and number of hours per day watching television. The variable highest year of school completed measures respondent’s education in terms of years of schooling completed. The unit of measurement is in years. The variable is a good example for the interval level of measurement, as it has not only a rank but also has meaningful intervals between scale points. The variable number of hours per day watching television measures respondent number of hours per day watching television programs. The unit of measurement is in hours per day. The variable is a good example for the ratio level of measurement, as it have all the properties of the other three data types (nominal, ordinal and interval), but in addition possess a meaningful zero that represents the absence of the quantity being measured. The average highest year of school completed of respondents is about 13. 05 years and varies from mean by about 3. 08 years. About half of the respondents have highest year of school completed is above 12 years. The range of highest year of school completed is 20 years with minimum and maximum being 0 and 20 years, respectively. A 95% confidence interval for respondent’s highest year of school completed is between 12. 89 to 13. 30 years. Thus, it can be said with 95% confidence that respondent’s highest year of school completed is between 12. 9 to 13. 2 years. The average number of hours per day watching television of respondents is about 2. 89 hours and varies from its mean by about 2. 23 hours. About half of the respondent’s number of hours per day watching television is above 2 hours. The range of number of hours per day watching television is 24 hours (may be data error) with minimum and maximum being 0 and 24 hours (may be data error), respectively. A 95% confidence interval for respondent’s number of hours per day watching television is between 2. 78 to 3. 01 hours. Thus, it can be said with 95% confidence that respondent’s number of hours per day watching television is between 2. 8 to 3. 0 hours. The value of correlation coefficient between highest year of school completed and number of hours per day watching television is about -0. 289. This indicates a weak moderate negative relationship between highest year of school completed and number of hours per day watching television. In other words, as respondent’s highest year of school completed increases, number of hours per day watching television decreases. The regression equation is given by Hours per Day Watching TV = 5. 636 – 0. 210(Highest Year of School Completed) The slope of regression coefficients is given by –0. 21. This suggests that for every year increase in respondent’s highest year of school completed, decreases respondent’s number of hours per day watching television by about 0. 21 hours, on average. The intercept of regression coefficients is given by 5. 636, which suggests that individual with no education watches about 5. 6 hours of television each day, on average. The value of coefficient of determination (R2) is 0. 084. This suggests that highest year of school completed only explains about 8. 4% variation in respondent’s number of hours per day watching television. The other 91. 6% variation remains unexplained. Thus, there is very weak effect of highest year of school completed on respondent’s number of hours per day watching television. Highest years of school completed significantly predicts respondent’s number of hours per day watching television, ? = -. 29, t(1483) = -11. 64, p . 001. Highest years of school completed also explains a significant proportion of variance in respondent’s number of hours per day watching television, R2 = . 08, F(1, 1483) = 135. 52, p . 001. In other words, there is a significant relationship between highest year of school completed and number of hours per day watching television. We can reject the null hypothesis at the . 05 level of significance as p-value (. 001) is less than . 05. Thus, we can conclude that the research hypothesis is valid for the population of interest and we should generalize to the population level. Since, the sample size is large; therefore, we do not risk any type of error in offering this conclusion. The only concern is that the assumptions related to simple regression analysis is not checked.

Friday, November 15, 2019

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee :: essays research papers

How does Scout and Jem’s perception of Boo Radley change during the novel? How does Boo affect the lives of the Finch household in the novel? Boo Radley is the neighborhood mystery. The Radley place fascinated the children, because it was a popular subject of gossip and superstition in Maycomb. Arthur Radley had gotten into trouble with the law when he was a boy. Instead of being sent to the state industrial school, his father took custody of him within their house. He was not seen again for fifteen years. Many legends grew up about the Radley house and about what went on inside. Miss Stephanie Crawford, added to the stories - which included stories of crime, mutilation, curses and insanity. Dill was fascinated by these stories, and gave Scout and Jem the idea of making Boo Radley come out of seclusion. When Dill, always eager for a new adventure, dares Jem to run up to the house and touch the door. Jem thought things over for a few days. Finally, filled with fear, he accepted the dare. He ran up, touched the house, and ran back. As the three children stared at the old house, they thought they saw an inside shutter move. On the last night that Dill was in Maycomb they decided to go to the Radley place to take a peak in one of the windows. When they were there, they saw a shadow of a man pass, they ran and while they were running they were fired upon by a shotgun, Jem got his pants caught in the fence. He took them off and they ran back to the woods. About 10 minutes later the neighborhood was gathered outside the Radley place. The adults asked Jem, Scout, and Dill where they had been, Jem told them they were playing strip poker and that was how he had lost his pants. Later that night Jem made a run for his pants he found them neatly folded and sew on the fence. Scout and Jem start to find things in a tree right outside the Radley house, they find different trinkets such as a watch, a knife, and some figures that look like them. When they were walking by one day, Mr. Radley was putting cement in the tree’s hole, he said it was sick and that it needed to be filled. So that ended the gifts in the tree.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Insurance and Jessie Robinson

Questions 1. Think of a real or made up but realistic example of a pure risk that you or someone you know may face, and then answer the questions below. a. Describe the specific risk. (1-3 sentences. 0. 5 points) b. What sort of negative outcomes are possible for this type of risk? (1-3 sentences. 1. 0 points) c. Would this risk be likely to create unexpected expenses? Why or why not? (1-3 sentences. 1. 0 points) d. Describe at least one way you could protect yourself against this risk. (1-3 sentences. 1. 0 points) 2.Think of a real or made up but realistic example of a speculative risk that you or someone you know may face, and then answer the questions below. a. Describe the specific risk. (1-3 sentences. 0. 5 points) b. What sort of negative outcomes are possible for this type of risk? (1-3 sentences. 0. 5 points) c. What sorts of positive outcomes are possible for this type of risk? (1-3 sentences. 0. 5 points) d. Would this risk be likely to create unexpected expenses? Why or wh y not? (1-3 sentences. 1. 0 points) e. Describe at least one way you could protect yourself against this risk. 1-3 sentences. 1. 0 points) 3. Imagine that you are a parent with young children. You want to get life insurance to protect your children financially until they are old enough to produce their own incomes. Would term life insurance or permanent life insurance be a better choice in this situation? Why? (2-4 sentences. 1. 0 points) 4. Describe two types of insurance that you have or are likely to have at some point in your life. What risks are these insurance plans protecting you against? Why do you think these types of insurance are important? 4-8 sentences. 3. 0 points) 5. List four valuable items that might be kept in an apartment or house. Next to each item, write the estimated dollar amount that each item might be worth. (Complete sentences are not necessary. 1. 0 points) 6. In your Section_6 folder, navigate to and open the Example_Insurance_Application, and then comple te the steps below to save a copy of the file with your initials in your Section_6 folder. a. Click the File menu, and then Click Save a Copy. b. If a Save a Copy dialog box appears, click Save a Copy. c.Make sure the Save in drop-down list is set to your Section_6 folder. If not, click the drop-down list, then click Local Disk (C:), then double-click your course folder, and then double-click the Section_6 folder. d. In the Name: field, type Example_Insurance_Application followed by your initials. e. Click Save. 7. Follow the instructions below to fill out the Example_Insurance_Application for Jessie Robinson. This is an application for renter's insurance. (4. 0 points for completing the form correctly according to the instructions below) a.Fill out the Applicant Information section of the form using the name Jessie Robinson, the date of birth 7/15/88, the SSN 888-88-8888, and the email address [email  protected] com. Jessie Robinson is not retired. b. Jessie Robinson is renting a n apartment on  785 Maple Avenue  in  Seattle,  WA. The zip code of the address is 00448. c. Imagine what Jessie Robinson's answers to the yes and no questions under Coverage Information might be. TIP: There are no right or wrong answers, but make sure to answer each question. d. Choose a date for Jessie Robinson's coverage to begin and the number of years Jessie has had insurance coverage.TIP: There are no right or wrong answers, but be sure to answer each question. e. List Jessie Robinson's reason for applying for new insurance as Moving to a new address. f. List the estimated cost of the four household items you determined in question 5 above as the answer to â€Å"How much personal property coverage do you need? † g. Imagine whether Jessie Robinson has animals, and then list what kind. TIP: Consider your answer to the  question â€Å"Do you have an animal that is vicious or attack trained, or that has previously bitten or injured anyone? † before you answ er this question. h. Click the File menu, and then click Save. . In your Section_6 folder, navigate to and open the Example_Insurance_Claim, and then complete the steps below to save a copy of the file with your initials in your Section_6 folder. a. Click the File menu, and then Click Save a Copy. b. If a Save a Copy dialog box appears, click Save a Copy. c. Make sure the Save in drop-down list is set to your Section_6 folder. If not, click the drop-down list, then click Local Disk (C:), then double-click your course folder, and then double-click the Section_6 folder. d. In the Name: field, type Example_Insurance_Claim followed by your initials. . Click Save. 9. Follow the instructions below to fill out the Example_Insurance_Claim for Jessie Robinson. This is a renter's insurance claim form. (4. 0 points for completing the form correctly according to the instructions below) a. Use the information from the Insurance_Application form you filled out in question 7 above to fill out the Insurance Policyholder Information section of the Insurance_Claim form. TIP: Jessie Robinson's phone number is 206-999-0000. b. Fill out the rest of the form with a realistic loss Jessie might have suffered, such as a fire, flood, or robbery.Imagine how severe the damage was and what, if any, evidence Jessie has of the loss. Describe what happened and list at least two damages or injuries the loss caused. Estimate the total cost of the loss. 10. Describe at least two ways you or someone you know might be at risk for identity theft. (1-2 sentences. 2. 0 points) 11. Describe at least three things you can do to protect yourself from identity theft. (1-3 sentences. 2. 0 points) 12. Describe at least three steps you should take after finding out that your credit card was stolen. (1-3 sentences. 2. points) Answers 1. A. ) The example of pure risk would be when your house burns down. B. ) A few of the negative outcomes for this type of risk is because there is only a chance of either loss or no loss, but no chance of gain. C. ) This risk would cause unexpected expenses because you do not predict if your house were to burn down so it would cause you to have to purchase a new one. D. ) One way to protect yourself from this risk is to have a home insurance plan that include insurance for when you house burns down. 2. ) the example of speculative risk is

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Management Theories

ABSTRACT Management is the most important part of any organization. No organization can achieve its objectives without proper management. So management is considered the hub of any organization. As society continuously relied on group effort, and as many organized groups have become large, the task of managers has been increasing in importance and complexity. To meet the challenges like competition, efficient and economical uses of sources and maximum output, knowledge of management and theories of management is basic requirement.Henceforth, managerial theory has become crucial in the way managers manage complex organizations. This article will provide the basic information of main management theories and how they have developed. It also addresses the management objectives, functions, goals, and essentiality as well as the requirement skills of a Manger. Relating to my current company – AON Vietnam, member of AON Corporation, the article point out which theory of management fi t best with the style of management in AON Corporation, one of biggest insurance brokers worldwide and what a Manager at AON should do. Topic 1 & 2) CONTENTS I. MAIN MANAGEMENT THEORIES 1. Definition of Management According to Drucker (1974) Management is â€Å"the activity of getting things done with the help of others peoples and resources†. It means that management is a process of accomplishing work with the help of other people. According to Weijrich and Koontz (1993) â€Å"Management is process of planning, leading, organizing and controlling people within a group in order to achieve goals. It is also the guidance and control of action required to execute a program.It indicates that there should be definite plan/program for affective management (Shied, 2010). On the basis of these definitions it can be concluded that management is a process that includes strategic planning, setting objectives, managing resources, developing the human and financial assets needed to achie ve objectives and measuring results. It also includes recording facts and information for later use upon requirement. 2. Management Theories Contemporary theories of management tend to account for and help interpret the rapidly changing nature of today’s organizational environments.Several important management theories which are broadly classified as follows: 1. The Scientific Management School. 2. The Classical Organizational Theory School. 3. The Behavioural School. 4. The Management Science School. 5. Recent developments in Management Theory comprising works such as Systems Approach, Situational or Contingency theory, Chaos theory, and Team Building approach. This discussion will provide a general description of these management theories, how they have developed and the successes that they achieved. A Timeline Overview of Key Management theories pic] a. The Scientific Management School The first management theory is what is popularly referred to as Frederick Taylor’ s Scientific Management. Frederick Taylor (1856 – 1915) started the era of modern management. Taylor consistently sought to overthrow management â€Å"by rule of thumb† and replace it with actual timed observations leading to â€Å"the one best† practice. â€Å"Taylorism† involved breaking down the components of manual tasks in manufacturing environments, timing each movement (‘time and motion' studies) so that there could be a proven best way to perform each task.Thus employees could be trained to be ‘first class' within their job. This type of management was particularly relevant to performance drives e. g ‘Action On' projects. It has to be acknowledged that from an economic standpoint, Taylorism was an extreme success. Application of his methods yielded significant improvements in productivity. For example, improvements such as his shovel work at Bethlehem Works, which reduced the workers needed to shovel from 500 to 140. Henceforth, Taylor proposed four underlying principles of management: First, there is need to develop a ‘science of work’ to replace old rule-of-thumb methods: pay and other rewards linked to achievement of ‘optimum goals’ – measures of work performance and output; failure to achieve these would in contrast result in loss of earnings. – Second, workers to be ‘scientifically’ selected and developed: training each to be ‘first-class’ at some specific task. – Third the ‘science of work’ to be brought together with scientifically selected and trained people to achieve the best results. Finally, work and responsibility to be divided equally between workers and management cooperating together in close interdependence. This was a rigid system where every task became discrete and specialized. However, many critics, both historical and contemporary, have pointed out that Taylor’s theories tend to â€Å"dehumani ze† the workers. Therefore, in summary, while the scientific management technique has been employed to increase productivity and efficiency both in private and public services, it has also had the disadvantages of ignoring many of the human aspects of employment.This led to the creation of boring repetitive jobs with the introduction of systems for tight control and the alienation of shop floor employees from their managers. b. Classical Organizational Theory School In this category of management theory are the works of Henri Fayol’s administrative theory and Max Weber’s bureaucratic theory. Administrative Theory Henri Fayol’s administrative theory mainly focuses on the personal duties of management at a much more granular level. Fayol believed that management had five principle roles: †¢ Forecasting and planning. †¢ Organizing. †¢ Commanding Co-ordinating †¢ Controlling. Forecasting and planning was the act of anticipating the future a nd acting accordingly. Organization was the development of the institution’s resources, both material and human. Commanding was keeping the institution’s actions and processes running. Co-ordination was the alignment and harmonization of the group’s efforts. Finally, control meant that the above activities were performed in accordance with appropriate rules and procedures. Fayol also developed fourteen principles of administration to go along with management’s five primary roles.These principles are: specialization/division of labor, authority with responsibility, discipline, unity of command, unity of direction, subordination of individual interest to the general interest, remuneration of staff, centralization, scalar chain/line of authority, order, equity, stability of tenure, initiative, and esprit de corps. Fayol clearly believed personal effort and team dynamics were part of an â€Å"ideal† organization. Fayol’s five principle roles of management are still actively practiced today. The concept of giving appropriate authority with responsibility is also widely commented on and is well practiced.Unfortunately, his principles of â€Å"unity of command† and â€Å"unity of direction† are consistently violated in â€Å"matrix management†, the structure of choice for many of today’s companies. Bureaucratic Theory Max Weber (1864 – 1924) postulated that western civilization was shifting from â€Å"wertrational† (or value oriented) thinking, affective action (action derived from emotions), and traditional action (action derived from past precedent) to â€Å"zweckational† (or technocratic) thinking. He believed that civilization was changing to seek technically optimal results at the expense of emotional or humanistic content.Through analyses of organizations, Weber identified three basic types of legitimate authority: – Traditional authority: where acceptance of those in authority arose from tradition and custom. – Charismatic authority: where acceptance arises from loyalty to, and confidence in, the personal qualities of the ruler. – Rational-legal authority: where acceptance arises out of the office, or position, of the person in authority as bounded by the rules and procedures of the organization. It is the rational-legal authority form that exists in most organizations today and this is the form to which Weber ascribed the term ‘bureaucracy'.The main features of bureaucracy according to Weber were: †¢ A continuous organization or functions bounded by rules. †¢ That individual functioned within the limits of the specialization of the work, the degree of authority allocated and the rules governing the exercise of authority. †¢ A  hierarchical  structure of offices. †¢ Appointment to offices made on the grounds of technical competence only. †¢ The separation of officials from the ownership of the organization. †¢ The authority was vested in the official positions and not in the personalities that held these posts.Rules, decisions and actions were formulated and recorded in writing. It is not coincidence that Weber's writings were at a time of the major industrial revolutions and the growth of large complex organizations out of the cottage industries and/or entrepreneurial businesses. c. Behavioural School The key scholar under this category is Elton Mayo. The origin of behavioralism is the human relations movement that was a result of the Hawthorne Works Experiment that started in the early 1920s. Elton Mayo and his associates’ experiments disproved Taylor’s beliefs that science dictated hat the highest productivity was found in ‘the one best way’ and that way could be obtained by controlled experiment. The Hawthorne studies attempted to determine the effects of lighting on worker productivity. When these experiments showed no clear correlati on between light level and productivity the experiments then started looking at other factors. These factors that were considered when Mayo was working with a group of women included no rest breaks, no free more hours in the work-day/work-week or fewer hours in the workday/work-week.With each of these changes, productivity went up. When the women were put back to their original hours and conditions, they set a productivity record. These results showed that the group dynamics and social makeup of an organization were an important force either for or against higher productivity. This outcome caused the call for greater participation for the workers, greater trust and openness in the working environment, and a greater attention to teams and groups in the work place.Finally, while Taylor’s impacts were the establishment of the industrial engineering, quality control and personnel departments, the human relations movement’s greatest impact came in what the organization†™s leadership and personnel department were doing. The seemingly new concepts of â€Å"group dynamics†, â€Å"teamwork†, and organizational â€Å"social systems†, all stem from Mayo’s work in the mid-1920s. d. Management Science Theories Douglas McGregor (1906-1964) postulated management ideas as contained in â€Å"Theory X† and â€Å"Theory Y†.Using human behaviour research, he noted that the way an organization runs depends on the beliefs of its managers. â€Å"Theory X† gives a negative view of human behaviour and management that he considered to have dominated management theory from Fayol onwards – especially Taylorism. It also assumes that most people are basically immature, need direction and control, and are incapable of taking responsibility. They are viewed as lazy, dislike work and need a mixture of financial inducements and threat of loss of their job to make them work (‘carrot and stick’ mentality). T heory Y†, the opposite of â€Å"Theory X†, argues that people want to fulfil themselves by seeking self-respect, self-development, and self-fulfilment at work as in life in general. The six basic assumptions for ‘Theory Y’ are: work is as natural as play or rest – the average human being does not inherently dislike work, whether work is a source of pleasure or a punishment (to be avoided) depends on nature of the work and its management. Second, effort at work need not depend on threat of punishment – if committed to objectives then self-direction and self-control rather than external controls.Third, commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement. Satisfaction of ego and self-actualization needs can be directed towards the objectives of the organization. Fourth, the average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only to accept but to seek responsibility. Fifth, high degrees of imagination, ing enuity and creativity are not restricted to a narrow group but are widely distributed in the population. Lastly, under the conditions of modern industrial life, the intellectual potentials of the average human being are being only partly utilized. . Recent Developments in Management Theory Under this category of theory are the Systems Approach, Situational or Contingency theory, Chaos theory, and Team Building theory. The systems theory has had a significant effect on management science and understanding organizations. A system is a collection of part unified to accomplish an overall goal. If one part of the system is removed, the nature of the system is changed as well. A system can be looked at as having inputs (e. g. , resources such as raw materials, money, technologies, and people), processes (e. g. planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling), outputs (products or services) and outcomes (e. g. , enhanced quality of life or productivity for customers/clients, productivity ). Systems share feedback among each of these four aspects of the system. The Chaos theory is advocated by Tom Peters (1942). Chaos theorists suggest that systems naturally go to more complexity, and as they do so, they become more volatile and must, therefore, expend more energy to maintain that complexity. As they expend more energy, they seek more structure to maintain stability.This trend continues until the system splits, combines with another complex system or falls apart entirely. It will need an effective manager for the latter worst scenario not to happen. Team Building approach or theory emphasizes quality circles, best practices, and continuous improvement. It is a theory that mainly hinges on reliance on teamwork. It also emphasizes flattening of management pyramid, and reducing the levels of hierarchy. Finally, it is all about consensus management – i. e. , involving more people at all levels in decision-making. 3. Management theory applied to AON II. WHAT A MANA GER DOESManaging, like all other practices – whether medicine, music composition, engineering, accountancy, or even baseball – is an art; it is know-how. It is doing things in the light of the realities of a situation. Managers just don't go out and perform their responsibilities. A good manager should discover how to master 05 basic functions: planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. †¢ Planning:  This step involves mapping out exactly how to achieve a particular goal. For example, that the organization's goal is to improve company sales. The manager first needs to decide which steps are necessary to accomplish that goal.These steps may include increasing advertising, inventory, and sales staff. These necessary steps are developed into a plan. When the plan is in place, the manager can follow it to accomplish the goal of improving company sales. †¢ Organizing:  After a plan is in place, a manager needs to organize his team and materials a ccording to his plan. Assigning work and granting authority are two important elements of organizing. †¢ Staffing:  After a manager discerns his area's needs, he may decide to beef up his staffing by recruiting, selecting, training, and developing employees.A manager in a large organization often works with the company's human resources department to accomplish this goal. †¢ Leading:  A manager needs to do more than just plan, organize, and staff her team to achieve a goal. She must also lead. Leading involves motivating, communicating, guiding, and encouraging. It requires the manager to coach, assist, and problem solve with employees. †¢ Controlling:  After the other elements are in place, a manager's job is not finished. He needs to continuously check results against goals and take any corrective actions necessary to make sure that his area's plans remain on track.All managers at all levels of every organization perform these functions, but the amount of time a manager spends on each one depends on both the level of management and the specific organization. Roles performed by managers In his classic book,  The Nature of Managerial Work,  Henry Mintzberg describes a set of ten roles that a manager fills. These roles fall into three categories: †¢ Interpersonal:  This role involves human interaction. †¢ Informational:  This role involves the sharing and analyzing of information. †¢ Decisional:  This role involves decision making.The below table  contains a more in-depth look at each category of roles that help managers carry out all five functions described in the preceding â€Å"Functions of Managers† section. Mintzberg's Set of Ten Roles | | |Category | |Role | |Activity | | |Informational | |Monitor | |Seek and receive information; scan periodicals and reports; maintain personal contact with stakeholders. | | | | | |Disseminator | |Forward information to organization members via memos, reports, an d phone calls. | | | | |Spokesperson | |Transmit information to outsiders via reports, memos, and speeches. | | | |Interpersonal | |Figurehead | |Perform ceremonial and symbolic duties, such as greeting visitors and signing legal documents. | | | | |Leader | |Direct and motivate subordinates; counsel and communicate with subordinates. | | | | |Liaison | |Maintain information links both inside and outside organization via mail, phone calls, and meetings. | | |Decisional | |Entrepreneur | |Initiate improvement projects; identify new ideas and delegate idea responsibility to thers. | | | | | |Disturbance handler | |Take corrective action during disputes or crises; resolve conflicts among subordinates; adapt to environments. | | | | |Resource allocator | |Decide who gets resources; prepare budgets; set schedules and determine priorities. | | | | |Negotiator | |Represent department during negotiations of union contracts, sales, purchases, and budgets. | | | Skills needed by managers Not everyone can be a manager. Certain  skills,  or abilities to translate knowledge into action that results in desired performance, are required to help other employees become more productive. These skills fall under the following categories: Technical:  This skill requires the ability to use a special proficiency or expertise to perform particular tasks. Accountants, engineers, market researchers, and computer scientists, as examples, possess technical skills. Managers acquire these skills initially through formal education and then further develop them through training and job experience. Technical skills are most important at lower levels of management. †¢ Human:  This skill demonstrates the ability to work well in cooperation with others. Human skills emerge in the workplace as a spirit of trust, enthusiasm, and genuine involvement in interpersonal relationships. A anager with good human skills has a high degree of self-awareness and a capacity to understand or empathize with the feelings of others. Some managers are naturally born with great human skills, while others improve their skills through classes or experience. No matter how human skills are acquired, they're critical for all managers because of the highly interpersonal nature of managerial work. †¢ Conceptual:  This skill calls for the ability to think analytically. Analytical skills enable managers to break down problems into smaller parts, to see the relations among the parts, and to recognize the implications of any one problem for others.As managers assume ever-higher responsibilities in organizations, they must deal with more ambiguous problems that have long-term consequences. Again, managers may acquire these skills initially through formal education and then further develop them by training and job experience. The higher the management level, the more important conceptual skills become. †¢ Designing skill is the ability to solve problems in wa ys that will benefit the enterprise. To be effective, particularly at upper organizational levels, managers must be able to do more than see a problem.In addition, they must have the skill of a good design engineer in working out a practical solution to a problem. Managers must also have that valuable skill of being able to design a workable solution to the problem in the light of the realities they face. It has, however, got to be mentioned that the relative importance of these skills may differ at various levels in the organization hierarchy. Although all four categories contain skills essential for managers, their relative importance tends to vary by level of managerial responsibility. Management Theories ABSTRACT Management is the most important part of any organization. No organization can achieve its objectives without proper management. So management is considered the hub of any organization. As society continuously relied on group effort, and as many organized groups have become large, the task of managers has been increasing in importance and complexity. To meet the challenges like competition, efficient and economical uses of sources and maximum output, knowledge of management and theories of management is basic requirement.Henceforth, managerial theory has become crucial in the way managers manage complex organizations. This article will provide the basic information of main management theories and how they have developed. It also addresses the management objectives, functions, goals, and essentiality as well as the requirement skills of a Manger. Relating to my current company – AON Vietnam, member of AON Corporation, the article point out which theory of management fi t best with the style of management in AON Corporation, one of biggest insurance brokers worldwide and what a Manager at AON should do. Topic 1 & 2) CONTENTS I. MAIN MANAGEMENT THEORIES 1. Definition of Management According to Drucker (1974) Management is â€Å"the activity of getting things done with the help of others peoples and resources†. It means that management is a process of accomplishing work with the help of other people. According to Weijrich and Koontz (1993) â€Å"Management is process of planning, leading, organizing and controlling people within a group in order to achieve goals. It is also the guidance and control of action required to execute a program.It indicates that there should be definite plan/program for affective management (Shied, 2010). On the basis of these definitions it can be concluded that management is a process that includes strategic planning, setting objectives, managing resources, developing the human and financial assets needed to achie ve objectives and measuring results. It also includes recording facts and information for later use upon requirement. 2. Management Theories Contemporary theories of management tend to account for and help interpret the rapidly changing nature of today’s organizational environments.Several important management theories which are broadly classified as follows: 1. The Scientific Management School. 2. The Classical Organizational Theory School. 3. The Behavioural School. 4. The Management Science School. 5. Recent developments in Management Theory comprising works such as Systems Approach, Situational or Contingency theory, Chaos theory, and Team Building approach. This discussion will provide a general description of these management theories, how they have developed and the successes that they achieved. A Timeline Overview of Key Management theories pic] a. The Scientific Management School The first management theory is what is popularly referred to as Frederick Taylor’ s Scientific Management. Frederick Taylor (1856 – 1915) started the era of modern management. Taylor consistently sought to overthrow management â€Å"by rule of thumb† and replace it with actual timed observations leading to â€Å"the one best† practice. â€Å"Taylorism† involved breaking down the components of manual tasks in manufacturing environments, timing each movement (‘time and motion' studies) so that there could be a proven best way to perform each task.Thus employees could be trained to be ‘first class' within their job. This type of management was particularly relevant to performance drives e. g ‘Action On' projects. It has to be acknowledged that from an economic standpoint, Taylorism was an extreme success. Application of his methods yielded significant improvements in productivity. For example, improvements such as his shovel work at Bethlehem Works, which reduced the workers needed to shovel from 500 to 140. Henceforth, Taylor proposed four underlying principles of management: First, there is need to develop a ‘science of work’ to replace old rule-of-thumb methods: pay and other rewards linked to achievement of ‘optimum goals’ – measures of work performance and output; failure to achieve these would in contrast result in loss of earnings. – Second, workers to be ‘scientifically’ selected and developed: training each to be ‘first-class’ at some specific task. – Third the ‘science of work’ to be brought together with scientifically selected and trained people to achieve the best results. Finally, work and responsibility to be divided equally between workers and management cooperating together in close interdependence. This was a rigid system where every task became discrete and specialized. However, many critics, both historical and contemporary, have pointed out that Taylor’s theories tend to â€Å"dehumani ze† the workers. Therefore, in summary, while the scientific management technique has been employed to increase productivity and efficiency both in private and public services, it has also had the disadvantages of ignoring many of the human aspects of employment.This led to the creation of boring repetitive jobs with the introduction of systems for tight control and the alienation of shop floor employees from their managers. b. Classical Organizational Theory School In this category of management theory are the works of Henri Fayol’s administrative theory and Max Weber’s bureaucratic theory. Administrative Theory Henri Fayol’s administrative theory mainly focuses on the personal duties of management at a much more granular level. Fayol believed that management had five principle roles: †¢ Forecasting and planning. †¢ Organizing. †¢ Commanding Co-ordinating †¢ Controlling. Forecasting and planning was the act of anticipating the future a nd acting accordingly. Organization was the development of the institution’s resources, both material and human. Commanding was keeping the institution’s actions and processes running. Co-ordination was the alignment and harmonization of the group’s efforts. Finally, control meant that the above activities were performed in accordance with appropriate rules and procedures. Fayol also developed fourteen principles of administration to go along with management’s five primary roles.These principles are: specialization/division of labor, authority with responsibility, discipline, unity of command, unity of direction, subordination of individual interest to the general interest, remuneration of staff, centralization, scalar chain/line of authority, order, equity, stability of tenure, initiative, and esprit de corps. Fayol clearly believed personal effort and team dynamics were part of an â€Å"ideal† organization. Fayol’s five principle roles of management are still actively practiced today. The concept of giving appropriate authority with responsibility is also widely commented on and is well practiced.Unfortunately, his principles of â€Å"unity of command† and â€Å"unity of direction† are consistently violated in â€Å"matrix management†, the structure of choice for many of today’s companies. Bureaucratic Theory Max Weber (1864 – 1924) postulated that western civilization was shifting from â€Å"wertrational† (or value oriented) thinking, affective action (action derived from emotions), and traditional action (action derived from past precedent) to â€Å"zweckational† (or technocratic) thinking. He believed that civilization was changing to seek technically optimal results at the expense of emotional or humanistic content.Through analyses of organizations, Weber identified three basic types of legitimate authority: – Traditional authority: where acceptance of those in authority arose from tradition and custom. – Charismatic authority: where acceptance arises from loyalty to, and confidence in, the personal qualities of the ruler. – Rational-legal authority: where acceptance arises out of the office, or position, of the person in authority as bounded by the rules and procedures of the organization. It is the rational-legal authority form that exists in most organizations today and this is the form to which Weber ascribed the term ‘bureaucracy'.The main features of bureaucracy according to Weber were: †¢ A continuous organization or functions bounded by rules. †¢ That individual functioned within the limits of the specialization of the work, the degree of authority allocated and the rules governing the exercise of authority. †¢ A  hierarchical  structure of offices. †¢ Appointment to offices made on the grounds of technical competence only. †¢ The separation of officials from the ownership of the organization. †¢ The authority was vested in the official positions and not in the personalities that held these posts.Rules, decisions and actions were formulated and recorded in writing. It is not coincidence that Weber's writings were at a time of the major industrial revolutions and the growth of large complex organizations out of the cottage industries and/or entrepreneurial businesses. c. Behavioural School The key scholar under this category is Elton Mayo. The origin of behavioralism is the human relations movement that was a result of the Hawthorne Works Experiment that started in the early 1920s. Elton Mayo and his associates’ experiments disproved Taylor’s beliefs that science dictated hat the highest productivity was found in ‘the one best way’ and that way could be obtained by controlled experiment. The Hawthorne studies attempted to determine the effects of lighting on worker productivity. When these experiments showed no clear correlati on between light level and productivity the experiments then started looking at other factors. These factors that were considered when Mayo was working with a group of women included no rest breaks, no free more hours in the work-day/work-week or fewer hours in the workday/work-week.With each of these changes, productivity went up. When the women were put back to their original hours and conditions, they set a productivity record. These results showed that the group dynamics and social makeup of an organization were an important force either for or against higher productivity. This outcome caused the call for greater participation for the workers, greater trust and openness in the working environment, and a greater attention to teams and groups in the work place.Finally, while Taylor’s impacts were the establishment of the industrial engineering, quality control and personnel departments, the human relations movement’s greatest impact came in what the organization†™s leadership and personnel department were doing. The seemingly new concepts of â€Å"group dynamics†, â€Å"teamwork†, and organizational â€Å"social systems†, all stem from Mayo’s work in the mid-1920s. d. Management Science Theories Douglas McGregor (1906-1964) postulated management ideas as contained in â€Å"Theory X† and â€Å"Theory Y†.Using human behaviour research, he noted that the way an organization runs depends on the beliefs of its managers. â€Å"Theory X† gives a negative view of human behaviour and management that he considered to have dominated management theory from Fayol onwards – especially Taylorism. It also assumes that most people are basically immature, need direction and control, and are incapable of taking responsibility. They are viewed as lazy, dislike work and need a mixture of financial inducements and threat of loss of their job to make them work (‘carrot and stick’ mentality). T heory Y†, the opposite of â€Å"Theory X†, argues that people want to fulfil themselves by seeking self-respect, self-development, and self-fulfilment at work as in life in general. The six basic assumptions for ‘Theory Y’ are: work is as natural as play or rest – the average human being does not inherently dislike work, whether work is a source of pleasure or a punishment (to be avoided) depends on nature of the work and its management. Second, effort at work need not depend on threat of punishment – if committed to objectives then self-direction and self-control rather than external controls.Third, commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement. Satisfaction of ego and self-actualization needs can be directed towards the objectives of the organization. Fourth, the average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only to accept but to seek responsibility. Fifth, high degrees of imagination, ing enuity and creativity are not restricted to a narrow group but are widely distributed in the population. Lastly, under the conditions of modern industrial life, the intellectual potentials of the average human being are being only partly utilized. . Recent Developments in Management Theory Under this category of theory are the Systems Approach, Situational or Contingency theory, Chaos theory, and Team Building theory. The systems theory has had a significant effect on management science and understanding organizations. A system is a collection of part unified to accomplish an overall goal. If one part of the system is removed, the nature of the system is changed as well. A system can be looked at as having inputs (e. g. , resources such as raw materials, money, technologies, and people), processes (e. g. planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling), outputs (products or services) and outcomes (e. g. , enhanced quality of life or productivity for customers/clients, productivity ). Systems share feedback among each of these four aspects of the system. The Chaos theory is advocated by Tom Peters (1942). Chaos theorists suggest that systems naturally go to more complexity, and as they do so, they become more volatile and must, therefore, expend more energy to maintain that complexity. As they expend more energy, they seek more structure to maintain stability.This trend continues until the system splits, combines with another complex system or falls apart entirely. It will need an effective manager for the latter worst scenario not to happen. Team Building approach or theory emphasizes quality circles, best practices, and continuous improvement. It is a theory that mainly hinges on reliance on teamwork. It also emphasizes flattening of management pyramid, and reducing the levels of hierarchy. Finally, it is all about consensus management – i. e. , involving more people at all levels in decision-making. 3. Management theory applied to AON II. WHAT A MANA GER DOESManaging, like all other practices – whether medicine, music composition, engineering, accountancy, or even baseball – is an art; it is know-how. It is doing things in the light of the realities of a situation. Managers just don't go out and perform their responsibilities. A good manager should discover how to master 05 basic functions: planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. †¢ Planning:  This step involves mapping out exactly how to achieve a particular goal. For example, that the organization's goal is to improve company sales. The manager first needs to decide which steps are necessary to accomplish that goal.These steps may include increasing advertising, inventory, and sales staff. These necessary steps are developed into a plan. When the plan is in place, the manager can follow it to accomplish the goal of improving company sales. †¢ Organizing:  After a plan is in place, a manager needs to organize his team and materials a ccording to his plan. Assigning work and granting authority are two important elements of organizing. †¢ Staffing:  After a manager discerns his area's needs, he may decide to beef up his staffing by recruiting, selecting, training, and developing employees.A manager in a large organization often works with the company's human resources department to accomplish this goal. †¢ Leading:  A manager needs to do more than just plan, organize, and staff her team to achieve a goal. She must also lead. Leading involves motivating, communicating, guiding, and encouraging. It requires the manager to coach, assist, and problem solve with employees. †¢ Controlling:  After the other elements are in place, a manager's job is not finished. He needs to continuously check results against goals and take any corrective actions necessary to make sure that his area's plans remain on track.All managers at all levels of every organization perform these functions, but the amount of time a manager spends on each one depends on both the level of management and the specific organization. Roles performed by managers In his classic book,  The Nature of Managerial Work,  Henry Mintzberg describes a set of ten roles that a manager fills. These roles fall into three categories: †¢ Interpersonal:  This role involves human interaction. †¢ Informational:  This role involves the sharing and analyzing of information. †¢ Decisional:  This role involves decision making.The below table  contains a more in-depth look at each category of roles that help managers carry out all five functions described in the preceding â€Å"Functions of Managers† section. Mintzberg's Set of Ten Roles | | |Category | |Role | |Activity | | |Informational | |Monitor | |Seek and receive information; scan periodicals and reports; maintain personal contact with stakeholders. | | | | | |Disseminator | |Forward information to organization members via memos, reports, an d phone calls. | | | | |Spokesperson | |Transmit information to outsiders via reports, memos, and speeches. | | | |Interpersonal | |Figurehead | |Perform ceremonial and symbolic duties, such as greeting visitors and signing legal documents. | | | | |Leader | |Direct and motivate subordinates; counsel and communicate with subordinates. | | | | |Liaison | |Maintain information links both inside and outside organization via mail, phone calls, and meetings. | | |Decisional | |Entrepreneur | |Initiate improvement projects; identify new ideas and delegate idea responsibility to thers. | | | | | |Disturbance handler | |Take corrective action during disputes or crises; resolve conflicts among subordinates; adapt to environments. | | | | |Resource allocator | |Decide who gets resources; prepare budgets; set schedules and determine priorities. | | | | |Negotiator | |Represent department during negotiations of union contracts, sales, purchases, and budgets. | | | Skills needed by managers Not everyone can be a manager. Certain  skills,  or abilities to translate knowledge into action that results in desired performance, are required to help other employees become more productive. These skills fall under the following categories: Technical:  This skill requires the ability to use a special proficiency or expertise to perform particular tasks. Accountants, engineers, market researchers, and computer scientists, as examples, possess technical skills. Managers acquire these skills initially through formal education and then further develop them through training and job experience. Technical skills are most important at lower levels of management. †¢ Human:  This skill demonstrates the ability to work well in cooperation with others. Human skills emerge in the workplace as a spirit of trust, enthusiasm, and genuine involvement in interpersonal relationships. A anager with good human skills has a high degree of self-awareness and a capacity to understand or empathize with the feelings of others. Some managers are naturally born with great human skills, while others improve their skills through classes or experience. No matter how human skills are acquired, they're critical for all managers because of the highly interpersonal nature of managerial work. †¢ Conceptual:  This skill calls for the ability to think analytically. Analytical skills enable managers to break down problems into smaller parts, to see the relations among the parts, and to recognize the implications of any one problem for others.As managers assume ever-higher responsibilities in organizations, they must deal with more ambiguous problems that have long-term consequences. Again, managers may acquire these skills initially through formal education and then further develop them by training and job experience. The higher the management level, the more important conceptual skills become. †¢ Designing skill is the ability to solve problems in wa ys that will benefit the enterprise. To be effective, particularly at upper organizational levels, managers must be able to do more than see a problem.In addition, they must have the skill of a good design engineer in working out a practical solution to a problem. Managers must also have that valuable skill of being able to design a workable solution to the problem in the light of the realities they face. It has, however, got to be mentioned that the relative importance of these skills may differ at various levels in the organization hierarchy. Although all four categories contain skills essential for managers, their relative importance tends to vary by level of managerial responsibility.

Friday, November 8, 2019

When Should I Capitalize Internet

When Should I Capitalize Internet When Should I Capitalize Internet? The question of whether to capitalize â€Å"internet† is source of much controversy. It has even inspired its own Wikipedia article. But we’re here to make writing easy, so we’re going to ignore the controversies and set out the basics of when to capitalize â€Å"internet† in simple terms. Internet as a Proper Noun Unless it appears at the start of a sentence, you should only capitalize â€Å"Internet† when it is a noun. More specifically, you can capitalize it when referring to the Internet (i.e., the world wide web). Everything is connected now In this case, â€Å"Internet† is a proper noun, a word that names a unique thing. So â€Å"the Internet† is like the name of a person (e.g., Delia) or city (e.g., Boston). Using a capital â€Å"I† was common in the early days of the web, especially in technical writing. However, as the internet has become part of our lives, most people now write it with a lower-case â€Å"I† instead. Dialect can make a difference, too, as capitalizing â€Å"Internet† is more common in American English than other dialects. Ultimately, though, it is a matter preference. For instance, both of these sentences are fine: I looked up advice on the Internet. The internet is full of contradictory advice. The most important thing is consistency. So if you write â€Å"Internet† in one part of a document, you would want to use the same capitalization throughout. You may also want to check your school/college/employer’s style guide. However, there are a couple of situations where you should never capitalize this term. We will look at each of the following below: Using â€Å"internet† to refer to interconnected networks in general. Using â€Å"internet† as an adjective. Internet as a Common Noun The word â€Å"internet† is a contraction of â€Å"interconnected network.† We can therefore use it to describe any set of interconnecting networks. And when referring to interconnected networks in general, we do not capitalize â€Å"internet† because it is a common noun rather than a proper noun. In other words, while the Internet is an internet, it is not the only internet! You are unlikely to need the generic term â€Å"internet† in your daily life. But if you are involved with computers in your work or studies, remember not to capitalize â€Å"internet† unless you’re referring to the Internet. Adjectival Internets We can also use â€Å"internet† as an adjective. For example: My internet connection has dropped out again. Here, the word â€Å"internet† modifies the noun â€Å"connection.† This means we’ve used it as an adjective. And as such, we do not need to capitalize it. Summary: When Should I Capitalize Internet? You can capitalize the â€Å"I† in â€Å"internet† if you are using it as a proper noun, but this is a matter of choice. Here at Proofed, for example, we prefer â€Å"internet† in all cases. But this is just because we don’t see the need to capitalize it, not because â€Å"Internet† is wrong. There are no hard and fast rules about capitalizing â€Å"internet,† then. However, if you want to capitalize it, keep the following in mind: You can capitalize â€Å"Internet† when it is a proper noun (i.e., when it refers to the world wide web), but this is a matter of choice. Do not capitalize â€Å"internet† when it is an adjective (e.g., â€Å"internet users†). Do not capitalize this term when referring to internetworking in general. If you are writing for your studies or job, you may have a style guide available. Check this for advice on capitalization. Make sure to apply capitalization consistently in your writing. And if you’d like more help with your writing, you can have it proofread.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Why Some Products Fail to Impact the Market Essay Example

Why Some Products Fail to Impact the Market Essay Example Why Some Products Fail to Impact the Market Essay Why Some Products Fail to Impact the Market Essay In this era of tight competition from domestic and global firms the firm who dont come out with new products are putting themselves at great risk Because their existing products are prone to changing customer needs, shorter product life cycles, new technologies and increased competition. Despite years of research and huge capital being pumped in to understanding the consumer, making a launch successful is still a difficult task. The new product largely depends on the product quality and the marketing tactics of the firm, there are many occasions were the product failed miserably even after using the best technology and quality the reason is that the new product is not worth for the customers. The prime factor for the new product success is customer value 1. Faulty product idea: The product often fail because faulty of product idea. A good idea can revolutionize the market but a bad idea may prove bitter to the firm or it may backfire Eg: Polar industries in 1991 launched COOL CATS fan decorated with cartoon characters meant primarily for children. The fan was priced at premium; the idea was that childrens were increasingly becoming influensors in purchase decisions and to attract the kids with the cartoon creatures and to position the product exclusively for kids. The product failed miserably inspite of its huge advertising budget because when the fan was put on it didnt have any colour effect and the customer did not justify its premium price. 2. Distribution related problems: The new product fails if the product is unable to meet the channel requirements. While developing the product the channel requirements must be given adequate consideration. Eg: when NESTLE launched its new chocolates the product and promotion was ok but the product failed in the distribution side because the company stipulated the product to be stored in refrigerators. The product faced two problems in the distribution side because it meant excluding a number of retail outlets as they didnt have this facility and secondly the chocolate was not picked by the customers as it was not seen upfront in the retail shops. Finally Nestle had to reformulate the product according to channel requirements. 3. Poor timing of launch: Too early or late entry into the market is a common cause of failure. Kinetic Merlin was launched in pune in 1991. It was a 3 in 1 set consisting of a colour television, a stereo with detachable speakers and a home computer. The product was targeted at the Indian consumers who are fond of sophisticated gadgets to immediately adopt such an innovative idea but in reality the idea was too advanced for the customers to digest at that time because they were not exposed to such type of products before. . Improper Positioning: Positioning means putting the product into the predetermined orbit. Improper positioning may affect the product success. Eg: Titan Tanishq introduced their 18 carat jewellery and the product was positioned at elite segment but there was a contradiction as to why these elite segment should go in for a low carat gold because the norms for gold in India at that time was 22 carat. The product failed miserably in retrospect Titan had to introduce 22-carat jewellery.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Arabic civilization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Arabic civilization - Essay Example The aspect of the average density population has little effect to its Arab world since the significant human settlement is found where there is adequate water supply (Wischenbart, 2011). The high rate of illiteracy, lack of up-to-date statistics and information, distorted balance of payments, low purchasing power, and low level of technological development are the due factors that have made Arabs fail to develop in as required in the market book. This statement is well analyzed in this paper. Cultural issues affect every market. The diversity of the culture determines the extent to which such affect the market. For instance, Arabs culture is divided into three main parts, the Urban, Rural, and the Nomad. As such, these cultures place a great significance in both the family and the community. Cultures associated with richness are, Arab art, music and philosophy, these have made great contribution to the development of different areas particularly, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, language, architecture among others have all benefited from Arab industry (Mazlish, 2004). The Arab world has contributed much to the world’s economy. However, this is seen to decline in the book market because they do not seem to abstain from some of their practices. They do not give jobs because of what you have but for who you are, freedom of expression between them is sharply limited as well as freedom of association unlike other countries. The quality of education has seen to be decl ining causing a clear mismatch between the labor market and the education system. Arabs cultural standard does not seem to allow their populations to buy books in a way that develops the book industry (Harabi, 2007). The ballot box power transfer has never been adopted in which parts of the developing world are a common phenomenon. Bogus elections, confused executives and the judiciary, media constraints and on the civil society sometime

Friday, November 1, 2019

Science Fiction and Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Science Fiction and Film - Essay Example Further, rather than limiting the text, science fiction constructs have been argued to actually engender more insightful philosophical investigations. In a popular science fiction blog, writer Brad Templeton (2010) recently indicated, In mainstream literature, the clichà © is that the purpose of literature is to â€Å"explore the human condition.† SF tends to expand that, to explore both the human condition and the nature of the technology and societies we create, as well as the universe itself†¦ The best hard SF thus explores the total human condition. In this sense, the futuristic settings and slightly fantastical subject matter aid the text in constructing an investigation into the nature of humanity that otherwise couldn’t be as successfully broached in more traditional writing or film. While the nature of science fiction is broad to the extent that it can encompass most literary examinations, it seems that despite its genre characteristics the central concern of the science fiction text is the examination of the humanity of its characters. In Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and the Wachowski brother’s The Matrix the nature of humanity is literally explored through the philosophical investigation of what it means to be human. In examining the philosophical quandaries posed by Blade Runner and The Matrix, this essay demonstrates that despite their technologies and futuristic settings, the central concern of these science fiction works is the investigation into humanity and what it means to be human. Blade Runner posits a future world wherein the Tyrell Corporation has constructed a robot so equal in intelligence to its creator that upon its revolt on a distant planet it had to be banned on earth. The film opens with an investigator questioning a man seemingly to discover whether he is a replicant; that is, one of the robotic beings that have been outlawed on earth. By Director Ridley Scott opening the film with this