Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Things Fall Apart And Haroun And The Sea Of Stories

Faced with the necessity to establish their works to a vast universal readership, African authors are imposed to connect their worldviews in English which frequently does not fully express African culture and society. To manage this dilemma, African authors use a variety of different writing techniques to portray the facets of African traditions.Code-switching as a writing technique. Code switching is used to indicate meaning in assertion text. African writers use them to convey a certain goal in the everyday life of the Africans. They use the most frequent form of code-switching which is the native language and English. The use of native words is due to African authors and their inability to fully convey their culture in English. In the†¦show more content†¦You buried it in the ground somewhere so that you can die and return again to torment your mother (Things Fall Apart, p. 57).. The term iyi-uwa is heavily charged traditions of the Igbo society. The author uses in-text explanation which can highlight this complex item of Igbo, and for that matter, African mythology. The example alludes to a prevailing belief among some African peoples that some babies have the ability to cause their own death if they are unhappy about the treatment they get and can return to torment their parents. Iyi-uwa is a kind of talisman the babies are supposedly born with, which is a symbol of their magical powers. If a local witch-doctor can find and destroy the talisman, the baby will lose its magical powers and this will put an end to what amounts to a cycle of torment. The main motivation for the use of native words and expressions is their social and cultural relevance. The explanation placed in apposition to the native words might appear repetitive and redundant since they just repeat what has been expressed in the indigenous language and make it comprehensible to the non-native readers. Yet, the effect would not be the same if the native words or expressions were not used. Besides preserving the meaning and compensating for a lack of adequate terminological equivalence due to cultural differences. The impenetrable song lyrics as signaling battle Ikemefuna was having with himself, feeling loss and desperation. TheShow MoreRelatedKite Runner1198 Words   |  5 Pagesmother isn’t present. In KhaledHosseni’s novel, The Kite Runner, a story of a boy who has an absent mother, and longed for his father’s love and did everything to get until the point that he even gave up an important friendship with his childhood friend. Another two novels that parallel the story is Chinua Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart and Salman Rushdie’s, Haroun and the Sea of Stories. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe tells a story of a man who fills himself with fear due to his father’s reputation

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Discrimination Of Mice And Men - 919 Words

Discrimination of Mice and Men â€Å"Listen to me, you crazy bastard,† â€Å"Don t you even take a look at the bitch.In the book â€Å"Mice and Men† People in the story uses mean phases and words to use against people that is not the same as them or that does not look like them.In the quote it shines light on how people treat each other during the book and on how they act when they are near each other.In John Steinbeck s Novel Of Mice and Men, the author illustrate that people discriminate against one another because they want to feel better of themselves and to gain self pride. People discriminate because they are insecure of themselves. What this means is that people are not truth to themselves so they have to reform in bullying and discriminating each other. So when Candy or anybody on the farm tries to bully Lennie, it is because he is different from them and he is not the same as anybody else. For Example â€Å"Lennie lumbered to his feet and disappeared in the brush. Furthermore this shows my point,â€Å"George lay where he was and whistled softly to himself.There were sounds of splashing down the river in direction Lennie had taken. George stopped whistling and listened.â€Å"Poor bastard,† he said softly, and then went on whistling again.†(Steinbeck s 8) George in this quote brings down Lennie, because he is not as smart as him or he is slow compared to other people to George and you can say he is not â€Å"normal†. InShow MoreRelatedDiscrimination in Of Mice and Men886 Words   |  4 Pages Discrimination is a problem that pla gues those whose qualities are vulnerable. There are many examples of discrimination in the novel, Of Mice and Men. The characters face discrimination in many different ways including racial, age, gender, and disability. Crooks, the black stable buck, is the victim of racial discrimination. Candy, the old swamper, is a victim of the age discrimination. The victim of gender discrimination is Curleys wife because she is a woman. Life of the victims is hard becauseRead MoreOf Mice and Men Discrimination Essay923 Words   |  4 PagesDiscrimination if often based on many qualities and abilities. Some of the most clearly shown examples in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men are gender, age and racial discrimination. The victims of these types of discrimination are Curley’s wife, who is unhappy and bitter about her life, Candy, the old, disabled swamper and Crooks, the black stable buck. Throughout the novel, these three characters face many hardships because they are ha rshly judged and often misunderstood. Curley’s wifeRead MoreDiscrimination And Prejudice By Harper Lee And Of Mice And Men1238 Words   |  5 PagesDiscrimination and prejudice were very common acts in the early and middle 1900’s. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck prejudice is displayed by the acts of hate towards someone’s color of skin. People of color were the majority, that were treated unfairly. During this time in the southern states, black people had to use separate drinking fountains, bathrooms, churches, and even go to separate schools. Even though much of discrimination was driven towardsRead MoreDiscrimination in the Book â€Å"Of Mice and Men† by John Steinbeck1451 Words   |  6 PagesDiscrimination was one of the issues that caused conflict in the novel â€Å"Of Mice and Men† by John Steinbeck. One example of discrimination in the novel comes in the form of racial discrimination against Crooks, as he is an African American. A nother example of discrimination is gender discrimination against Curley’s wife. Finally, there is discrimination against mentally disabled people, which is evident in Lennie’s character. The ranch hands actions and conversations demonstrated the racial discriminationRead MoreRacial Discrimination In John Steinbecks Of Mice And Men899 Words   |  4 Pagesa friend, and bury all chances of breaking free from the life of an average migrant worker? How would anybody feel? These situations in John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men illustrates two key points throughout the story; discrimination and loneliness. In Of Mice and Men, Crooks, the black stable hand, is the definition of racial discrimination. He is isolated from the community of white migrant workers because of his racial status. Crook mentioned this point clearly to Lennie when they first met.Read More Discrimination in Steinbecks Of Mice and Men Essay example812 Words   |  4 PagesIn the literary work Of Mice and Men, the reader is introduced to the ranch as a world of its own, within which prejudice plays a significant part. The characters in this novel act as a community in a world of their own, having no connections to any other type of society. A strong point, enforced through many examples in the book, is the constant ability of the stronger to overcome the weaker. The prejudices of the majority towards the minority, at the ranch are the white-males, who retain powerRead MoreExamples Of Discrimination In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck1758 Words   |  8 Pagestie ya up with a collar, like a dog† (Steinbeck 7 2). Discrimination plays a large role to feeling lonely. In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, characters endure attempts by society to make them â€Å"invisible.† These include racism, ageism, sexism, and isolation. More specifically, three of these characters experience loneliness from acts of discrimination. Factors contributing to their loneliness include ageism, disability discrimination, and racism. Each of these characters are migrant workersRead MoreAnalysis Of Of Mice And Men 903 Words   |  4 PagesThe character in Of Mice and Men that is most similar to Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby is Curley. Curley and Tom Buchanan have many similarities throughout both books. These shared characteristics stem from one thing both men have an abundance of: privilege. Curley and Tom are easily two characters with the least amount of struggle in The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men. Inheritance of power is prevalent in both Tom and Curley’s lives. Tom lives in East Egg, known for â€Å"old money† and highRead MoreKill A Mockingbird And Of Mice And Men978 Words   |  4 Pagesvictim is someone or something that is hurt by some unpleasant occurrence.The books To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men both depict several instances where people are victims. Both of these books tell a story in which the characters live through these tough conditions every day, from having no money to being victims of racial discrimination. To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men convey considerable understanding of an unstable era in American history through common events and lifestyles ofRead MoreDiscrimination Is A Disease By Roger Staubach1492 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Discrimination is a disease† (brainyquote). According to Roger Staubach, once discrimination begins, eventually it will spread to other people as they see discrimination occurring. Discri mination is shown in the novella Of Mice and Men through many characters. The story takes place in Soledad, California during the 1930s, around the time of the Great Depression. Characters George Milton and Lennie Smalls, a huge, child-like man, search for a job at a ranch after something went wrong at their old

Monday, December 9, 2019

Managing Innovations Of Telstra Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Managing Innovations Of Telstra. Answer: Introduction: Telstra is the company that operates in the telecom industry that serves the market with different types of services such as mobile phones, internet services, and other information technology services (Telstra Exchange, 2017). Most of the homes and offices in Australia takes the services of calls, internet, mobile, broad band etc. from Telstra. It not only served the Australian market with the mobile and telephones services but also caters the nationwide market with the telecom communication services. The company is listed in fortune biggest 500 companies of the world. The vision statement of the company suggests that the company wants to convert the world and tries to provide best services to their customers. The company believes in having growth with long term profits by creating high value for the shareholders. This report focuses on the environmental analysis of the company with the use of SWOT analysis technique and also provides the information about the future trends and strat egies that are available for the company to be used in the next 10 years. Analysis of threats and opportunities: Analysis of treats and opportunities of the company results in providing the information about the trends of the industry that acts as the threat for the company and also develop the opportunities for the company to be explored. Threats: Saturation of the market: It is the biggest threats for the company. The market is very much saturated for the company because there are many other companies in this industry that are serving the Australian market such as Optus and Vodafone Australia. This results in division of market share amongst the different companies. It has been analysed that Telstra is the company that is on the top in the market share but the progress is not been seen (Gardiner, 2015). Other competitors like Optus and Vodafone are experiencing growth and may cover large market share in future because they are not so behind from Telstra. Technology: Rapid changes in the technology are another threat for the company. In the telecom industry, most of the companies come up with the new technological changes and innovation in their services because people always want new products and services by telecom industry. Thus, it is required by Telstra to come up with any of the innovation in the market to serve the customers. Innovation plays a very important role in telecom industry and thus requires Telstra to build up innovation and to be updated technologically (Fan, 2011). Opportunities: Going global into international market: It is the first and the fore most opportunity that is available for Telstra. This is because Telstra is performing well in Australia, now it is the time to move into international market such as Asia and China. China is the place where internet penetration is very low but the users of different market at the place are high thus it is required by Telstra to enter such place with its businesses that it can do the needful. Not only in China but the use of high speed internet is increasing in all over Asia (Ferrers, 2015). Entering different business: Most of the companies are entering into different businesses, so as to be safe. As the telecom industry is very such linked with the legal and government regulation thus the market is very much fluctuated. Entering into the new industry or any related business such as into technological hardware will helps the company to grow and also helps in enhancing the brand image (Harris, 2012). Future innovations: In terms of innovation, it has been analysed that the company is focusing on the threats and the opportunities available in order to make some of the innovations. It has been analysed that the company is into 5G plans that will be implemented in near future. It is the technological innovation by which Telstra can serve the customers. The company has an innovation lab that is made for making innovations. Other than 5G, the company is also focusing on products like drones, augmented and virtual reality and Internet of Things (Khatamianfar, Khalid, Savkin and Agelidis, 2013). The company is considered as an innovative firm as it is investing a lot in making innovations. The company has launched the first voice over LTE in the market. There are lot more opportunities with the company such as entering to the new industry (Berkhout and Van Der Duin, 2007). Making innovation is the competitive advantage that the company has if the company enter the new market or the business with some of th e innovation then it will definitely help the many to capture large market. Analysis of strength and weaknesses: Strengths: Market position: The major strength of the company is its market position. In terms of market share and position, the company is on the top in Australian market. There are range services that the company serve to the market such as landline, mobile calls, networks, data connection etc. the company is also leader in terms of network connection (Aidi, 2012). Range of network: 98% of Australian is under the network circle of this company. This suggests that most of the Australia prefers to buy this network for availing the services. The company has the aim to cover 99% of the Australian population under their network circle. High investment in the innovation and future technologies is also strength of the company (Yksel and Dagdeviren, 2007). Innovative services: The company has served the market with first Voice over LTE services. The future technology that the company is focusing on is narrowband Internet of Things technology. Entering the new market ad business is another key strength of the company. The company is preparing to enter the new market of Asia from new businesses. Weaknesses: High price and lack of customer service efficiency: As far as the weaknesses of the company is considered, it has been analysed that the company lacks in efficiency of the customers service operations. High price is again a big weakness of the company. Most of the people do not take the services from Telstra because of its high prices than the competitors (Cortimiglia, Renga and Ghezzi, 2011). Not going global: The company is not focusing on growing by taking the business of the international market while the biggest competitor Vodafone is overcoming the customers of many countries. It is the need for the company to expand its business to different market so that it can enhance its customers base as well as the market share. In todays dynamic environment, it is required by the companies to be active. This is because the needs of the people are changing (Yang, Lee and Kurnia, 2008). Most of the people prefer to keep the prepaid services especially in case of the individual customers thus; the company like Telstra is not focusing on the individual customers and focus more on the market that is availing the services of post-paid plans. It is required by the company to have individual customers by releasing offers in prepaid (Goggin, 2010). This is because the customers are not loyal these days. They prefer to change the network according to the offers and the discounts they g et. Competitive analysis of the company: As per the land mass, it has been analysed that Telstra is the company that is covering almost 2.4 million Sq. kilometre of the Australian total land mass by its network. As far as the competitors of the company such as Vodafone and Optus are concerned, they are covering around less than a million and 1 million sq. kilometre of the total land mass respectively (Gubbi, Buyya, Marusic and Palaniswami, 2013). This suggests that Telstra is way ahead of its competitors in terms of network coverage. As far as the innovation is concerned, it has been analysed that both the competitor companies are innovating their products and services to compete with Telstra. As far as Vodafone is concerned, it is the company that deals with innovation as per the requirements. The company claims that most of the Australian uses their 4G services for their homes and business purposes (Pande and Padwalkar, 2014). Vodafone is cindered as the global leader in terms of Internet of Things technology that supports the company to empower and releases the some of the most innovative products. Vodafone has released the connectingDrive products that are installed in the BMW series5. This is the product that allows the customers to listen to the favourite music along with the facility of emergency calls. Vodafone IoT technology is used by much business as the company provides much solution by this technology to other business. Optus is another big competitor for Telstra in Australia. Optus is considered as weakest among all the three companies (Macaulay, 2016). Optus has not cages since years. It has been analysed that Optus need to make some changes in their processes to achieve the target in the market and to compete with Vodafone and Telstra. Even the company is very strong in terms of mobile market but it fails in challenging Telstra since years. At the time of vodafail in Australia also the company failed to attain the market share (BT., 2017). The surprise move of Optus was to enter the football league. This has helped the company to achieve some of the market position. Telstra is competing with these organizations by implementing Telstra innovation hub and IoT technology in their business. Direction of the company in the next 10 years: Strength: Market position Brand image Network coverage Weakness: Customers service High price Opportunities: Global market entering new business Threats: Market saturation Change in technology As per the above SWOT matrix of the company called Telstra, it has been analysed that the company has major strengths that are required by any of the telecom company to be in the market and to compete with the competitors. Telstra is using its strength in a very effective manner and this is the reason why the company is on the top of the telecom market in Australia. It has been analysed that the company has to strategies its activities and make the use of its target to explore the opportunities available (Carruthers, 2014). As the company has strong market position so the company can easily enter the new market which is the major opportunity that is in front of the company today. As far as the competitors are considered, Vodafone is doing great at international level. Thus it is also important for the company like Telstra to make use of its strength and explore the opportunities present in the market for the company. One more opportunity is also available for the company in the marke t that deals with entering into the new business. The company can again use its strengths to avail this opportunity. As the company has good brand image and the network coverage the company can easily enter the new business as it does not need to create awareness of the brand but only need to make awareness about the products or the serves it is releasing (Drucker, 2014). After assessing the strength and the opportunities, the companys weakness suggests that it is very high priced. This somehow affects the companys customer base. This is because people prefer to buy the network that is cheap especially in case of prepaid services. Threat for the company is market saturation. The market or telecom industry is so much saturated that there is no scope of making new customers. The company have to target the already existing users who are using different networks. This is because there are no people left the country or in the world who are not using the network services from one or the o ther companies (Teece, 2010). Technology is another threat for the company. In this dynamic environment, it is very difficult for the telecom companies like Telstra to come up with all the new technologies as and when they come into market. In the next 10 years, the many would be directing towards reducing its price by making reduction in their cost of the process. Reduction in the cost helps in reducing the ultimate prices for the customers. Also, the company would be involving its process and making investments in innovation so as to compete with the innovation made by Vodafone. In terms of innovation, it has been analysed that the company is focusing on the threats and the opportunities available in order to make some of the innovations. It has been analysed that the company is into 5G plans that will be implemented in near future. It is the technological innovation by which Telstra can serve the customers. The company has an innovation lab that is made for making innovations (Ch esbrough, 2010). Conclusion: Telstra is the company that operates in the telecom industry that serves the market with different types of services such as mobile phones, internet services, and other information technology services. The major strengths of the company are its market positioned its brand image while the weakness of the company is its high price and bas customers service. As far as opportunities are concerned, the company has to enter the new business and the global market while the threats for the company are market saturation. The company is very innovative in nature because the company has launched the first voice over LTE in the market. In future, the company have to target the already existing users who are using different networks. This is because there are no people left the country or in the world who are not using the network services from one or the other companies. Technology is another threat for the company. In the next 10 years, the many would be directing towards reducing its price by making reduction in their cost of the process along with entering the new business and market at global level. References: Aidi, L., 2012. Business modelsfor mobile broadband media services: Case study indonesia telecom market andManagement . BT. (2017).Study: Vodafone Steals Mobile Market Share From Telstra and Optus - BT. [online] Available at: https://www.bandt.com.au/technology/study-vodafone-steals-mobile-market-share-telstra-optus [Accessed 12 Sep. 2017]. Berkhout, A.J. and Van Der Duin, P.A., 2007. New ways of innovation: an application of the cyclic innovation model to the mobile telecom industry.International Journal of Technology Management,40(4), pp.294-309. Carruthers, K., 2014. Internet of Things and Beyond: Cyber-Physical Systems.Newsletter,2014. Chesbrough, H., 2010. Business model innovation: opportunities and barriers.Long range planning,43(2), pp.354-363. Cortimiglia, M.N., Renga, F. and Ghezzi, A., 2011, June. Mobile Social Networking: A Case Study in an Australian Mobile Network Operator. InMobile Business (ICMB), 2011 Tenth International Conference on(pp. 84-92). IEEE. Drucker, P., 2014.Innovation and entrepreneurship. Routledge. Fan, P., 2011. Innovation, globalization, and catch-up of latecomers: Cases of Chinese telecom firms.Environment and Planning A,43(4), pp.830-849. Ferrers, R.A., 2015. Managing 21st Century Innovation: Lessons from Ten Years of Smartphones.Browser Download This Paper. Gardiner, B., 2015. Telstra CEO: Don't be afraid of machine learning.CIO, (Spring 2015), p.8. Goggin, G., 2010. The internet, online and mobile communications and culture.The Media and Communications in Australia, large print edition,, Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin, pp.412-54. Gubbi, J., Buyya, R., Marusic, S. and Palaniswami, M., 2013. Internet of Things (IoT): A vision, architectural elements, and future directions.Future generation computer systems,29(7), pp.1645-1660. Harris, P., 2012. Infrastructure, innovation, structural reform.Public Administration Today, (31), p.6. Khatamianfar, A., Khalid, M., Savkin, A.V. and Agelidis, V.G., 2013. Improving wind farm dispatch in the Australian electricity market with battery energy storage using model predictive control.IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy,4(3), pp.745-755. Macaulay, T., 2016.RIoT Control: Understanding and Managing Risks and the Internet of Things. Morgan Kaufmann. Pande, P. and Padwalkar, A.R., 2014. Internet of ThingsA Future of Internet: A Survey.International Journal,2(2). Teece, D.J., 2010. Business models, business strategy and innovation.Long range planning,43(2), pp.172-194. Telstra Exchange. (2017).Telstra Exchange | Technology news, Innovation, Telstra news. [online] Available at: https://exchange.telstra.com.au/ [Accessed 12 Sep. 2017]. Yang, S., Lee, H. and Kurnia, S., 2008. mobile telecommunications and businesses in australia: market overview and key emerging trends.Trends in Mobile Technology and Business in the Asia-Pacific Region, p.11. Yksel, ?. and Dagdeviren, M., 2007. Using the analytic network process (ANP) in a SWOT analysisA case study for a textile firm.Information Sciences,177(16), pp.3364-3382.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Little Miss Sunshine Essay Essay Example

Little Miss Sunshine Essay Essay Outline Little Miss Sunshine Symbolic Interaction Theory Title: Family Experience in Little Miss Sunshine We will write a custom essay sample on Little Miss Sunshine Essay specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Little Miss Sunshine Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Little Miss Sunshine Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Introduction The Hoovers I. The family structure II. The characteristics of the family members III. Reality of the challenges experienced in the Hoover Family The symbolic Interaction Theory I. Description of the theory II. Relating the theory to family interactions III. Relating the movie to the theory Influence of the Movie I. How the movie influences people’s thoughts and ideas about marriage II. Is the family in the movie an ideal family? Name: Lecturer: Course: Date: Family Experience in Little Miss Sunshine Movies are quite helpful in understanding sociology. This is because, films are often a reflection of the society and they observe the societal and family trends at a particular time. For instance, family movies made in the fifties and sixties are different from those made today. By analyzing such movies, one is able to tell how the family structures were at the given time. Many early movies depicted families normally as comprising of a mother, father and their children, with all the members of the family having their roles clearly defined. The theme of single parent families was not common. Although conflict was common, it did not often lead to violence (Reynolds and Kinney 518). Presently, movies address all types of families including households with same-sex parents. Additionally, most movies and television programs evidence conflict and violence. Television programs and movies are a way of gauging societal trends and observing changes and experiences in the family. The movie Little Miss Sunshine presents the story of a seemingly dysfunctional American family bent on fulfilling their daughter’s dream of participating in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty contest for young girls. The family uses a Volkswagen Van for a road trip to save on expenses. The family is an extended one, comprising of the girl’s parents, brother, uncle and grandfather. The uncle is a homosexual who has just rejoined the family after trying to commit suicide. The grandfather gets along with his granddaughter and he even helps her prepare for the contest. He is old and he ends up dying as they are travelling to the contest due to a drug overdose. The brother is an introvert and remains sad most of the time in the journey. The father is a motivational speaker, although his career has experienced various downfalls. Apart from the grandfather, the men in the family are reserved about the road trip. They are hesitant about going to the contest but they eventually off er their support for Olive, the young contestant. The mother seems to be the strong one in the family and the ones who holds it together. She is willing to make her daughter’s dream materialize despite the mounting challenges. The family encounters various challenges during the trip such as dealing with a broken down van. Many families experience most of these challenges. They are faced with financial constraints and they have to sacrifice luxuries and comfort just like in the movie. Due to varying needs and preferences, conflicts and emotional instabilities are quite common. Families also experience tragedies necessitating effectual handling practices as noted in the film. Support within family members may mean executing extreme measures in a bid to fulfill the dreams of loved ones. Substance abuse is another issue that families, especially those with young members have to handle (Aldiabat and Navenec 1063). Movies often depict happy-endings where the protagonist becomes the hero. Little Miss Sunshine is different as it shows that a person can win through failure. The Hoover family learnt the importance of each member in terms of synergy depicted in the scene where they join Olive on stage. The rest of th e family members knew that Olive would not win and they were probably humiliating themselves, but they found happiness through the challenges they had overcome as well as being supportive to each other. Therefore, families face challenges as those depicted in the film by the Hoover family in the movie and collective support and decision-making act as helpful factors. Rogers describes the symbolic interaction theory as â€Å"ways through which people and systems interact and communicate with one another as well as the essence and characteristics of that interaction and communication† (93). In other words, people interpret relayed information received in terms of culture and experience. Individuals perceive the world based on the meanings they attach to their experiences that are acquired through social associations. The theory posits that people interact through symbols and knowing the symbols used will lead to a higher understanding between the involved parties. The theory recognizes that in a family, all members have different personalities. Additionally, given time, families change and grow. Due to this, families are important since they influence and develop a child’s perspective towards culture, beliefs and values. They determine the manner in which a child develops his or her interactions (Reynolds and Kinney 522). The theory r ecognizes the roles that people play. Through the process of interacting, people create and improve their roles. The symbolic interaction theory recognizes that individuals are active members of the society and that they actively shape their experiences. However, these actions are not usually translated as experiences but they are a way for people to experience and exercise freedom. A person will be influenced by other people to adopt a certain attitude or behave in a particular manner (Aldiabat and Navenec 1070). The dramaturgical approach asserts that people create settings with rules and rituals, through which they ensure that their interactions have meaning and importance to them. These practices help to classify the required environments and maintain social order. The looking glass approach in symbolic interaction holds that people can identify their self-identity through their interactions with others (Rogers 95). In the movie, various elements of symbolic interactions are evidenced. All members of the Hoover family have different personalities as well as perceptions about the world. Olive and her brother are different in many ways. Olive has a happy, outgoing and cheery attitude towards life even when things do not seem to go her way. On the other hand, her brother seems to hate everybody and is always indifferent towards the rest of the members. The theory recognizes the change and growth in families. This is evident in the movie, with almost every member outgrowing a given form of behavior. Richard, Olive’s father, is first presented as a man propelled by his need to succeed as a motivational speaker and thereby according priority to this over his family. In fact, Richard has developed a self-help program and the first step to the program is that people should avoid being losers. As the trip ends and he spends more time with his family, Richard changes his perspective and develops a new attitude towards the priorities. Olive’s brother, who had vowed not to speak, has some visible changes as well. This occurs after he learns that he cannot attain his dream of being a pilot since he is colorblind. Olive’s uncle changes from a man who was once suicidal and becomes a responsible man. More so, he is able to overcome his depression and even discusses the problem to the initiator. Influence is an evident aspect in family relations (Rogers 98). The men initially have reservations about going to the contest but through the trip associations, they end up joining Olivia on stage. The adults in the movie realize that Olive does not have the talents that the other girls offer by noting her limitations after observing the preparation process. Unlike the other girls, Olive is plump and plain. She arrives at the contest late and therefore has to skip the necessary preparation processes; the rest of the competitors have applied make-up creating high competition in the pageant. They had obviously spent a lot of time and money for the given function. The adults are intimidated by these occurrences and let the perceptions of others determine their attitude. The themes of marriage and family are prevalent in the film and thereby influence people in different ways. The prevailing idea is that families are not perfect and regardless of what one does, he or she cannot entirely control what other members prefer. The Hoover family faces many diverse challenges, and in a way, some of their roles seem to be reversed. For instance, most individuals do not expect the elderly (grandfather) to abuse drugs (heroin) or use offensive words but teenagers fit the profile perfectly. The film encourages acceptance between the members. Although the family knows that Olive has no chance of winning the contest, they offer their support to the end. The family members do not discourage Olive in any way thus boosting her self-esteem to face the crowd and perform her dance at the contest. The movie is a clear illustration that marriages do not have to be perfect. Spouses should support each other and be there for each other despite the circumstances. Oliveâ€⠄¢s mother does not share her husband’s idea of being a motivational speaker. However, she does not discourage him from the aspiration. On the contrary, she supports him, as a wife should. There is no ideal family in terms of family members and experiences since each unit faces different challenges. Families have different ways of handling and managing their problems. For some, like the Hoover family, the main challenge is created by lack of monetary assets, while for others it may mean dealing with diverse issues and challenges such as rebellious children and unfaithful spouses. There is no distinct way of handling such problems; a given family may choose to ignore problems and put on a happy face for publicity purposes (Rogers 98). This does not solve the problem and it only accentuates it. For the Hoover family, the road trip was important since it enabled them to face their problems and offer collective resolutions towards the same. While other families may not take road trips, they can adopt other practical approaches, as deemed desirable. Little Miss Sunshine provides a chance to learn about symbolic interactions. The family interacted with each other along the w ay, perhaps more than they did when they were at home. They were able to work out the challenges they were facing as a family. These challenges were important for their growth and development as individuals and as family members. Works Cited: Aldiabat, Khaldoum, and Navenec Carole. â€Å"Philosophical Roots of Classical Grounded Theory: Its Foundations in Symbolic Interactionism.† The Qualitative Report July 2011: 1063-1081. Print. Reynolds, Larry, and Kinney Nancy. Handbook of Symbolic Interactionism. Walnut Creek: Rowman Altamira, 2003. Print. Rogers, Anissa. Human Behavior in the Social Environment. New York: Taylor Francis, 2010. Print.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

The First Amendment and Restricting Free Speech essays

The First Amendment and Restricting Free Speech essays In response to verbal assaults and hate speech, several colleges and universities have prohibited language that can be racist or sexist. Victims of racism or hatred have the full right to be offended by such shameful speech. But although it is offensive, banning free speech on campuses is not justifiable because of the simple offense. Susan Jacoby says "You can't OD [overdose] on the First Amendment because free speech is its own best antidote." To reach a higher level of understanding, freedom of thought and expression is especially vital in a college or university; but should be limited and free of harm. Freedom of speech is a beautiful attribute that would only ever become an issue with humans who are socially satisfied and wish to address their beliefs publicly. Of course, someone who thinks they are right, and everyone else is wrong, should be given the right to talk. Fortunately for the rest of the world, once the "know-it-all" begins to speak, we will quickly realize how stupid they make their self-look. It is also a great addition to society to have such judgmental people. Humans are such great judges that whenever anyone around you says something you do not quite agree with, you begin to automatically assume the other possible parts of the person. If we hear someone publicly address how homosexuals are humans and should be given their natural rights, we will automatically link them to liberals or even Democrats. How we judge people allows us to give everyone feedback on what they have to say. If someone in class says something that is outrageous and offensive to me, I will m ost certainly look at them and give him or her some type of stare that expresses how I feel about their ignorance. Again, giving people emotional feedback on what they are saying is a gift and should be treated as one. If you are the one getting the "dirty look", then you might feel contended to change or rephrase what you just said in hopes of a misunde...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Failure is feedback Why objective opinions improve your work

Failure is feedback Why objective opinions improve your work Oftentimes in life, the difference between a crushing setback and an opportunity is perspective. HealthRise Solutions David Farbman believes that a â€Å"failure† is simply a time for feedback, an opportunity to make yourself better. Business is a long and winding road, and the ability to see opportunities for what they are (without lying to yourself) is a crucial skill for anyone trying to navigate it. [Source: Daily Fuel]

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Ethics and Social Reqponsibiliities Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethics and Social Reqponsibiliities Paper - Essay Example Nike abused workers in various third world countries with sweetshop operations which violated human rights and working standards. In India in 1984 there was a huge gas leak accident cause by Corporation which could have been prevented if the company followed the safety standards of developed nations. This paper analyzes the statement â€Å"Strict governmental regulations are necessary to make companies behave ethically. The essay provides an analysis of the statement to illustrate whether the statement is true of false. Ethics and corporate responsibility are the two concepts used to dissect the statement. Ethics is the rules of conduct that are considered to determine if an action is right or wrong (Webster’s II, 1984). Most corporations especially public firms have established codes of ethics to set guidelines for the behavior of its employees. These written documents many times are not proactively referenced and utilized by the firms. In their host country many companies act and practice legitimate business practices, but once the opportunity surges to break the rules in foreign land it is another story. Ethics are suppose to be universal principles, but competitive forces at times drive company and its management staff into unethical decision due to the pressure to achieve results. A company establish in a foreign country such as the South American nation of Peru can legally abide by the standards set in that nation and if the norms in this nation are softer in different operating aspects the company will take advantage of it and lower their standards in order to reduce cos ts. The regulations about environmental issues set by agencies such as EPA are tough. If in Peru a company does not have to comply with certain air quality standards a company will not purchase the machinery and equipment necessary to comply with the US standard. The premise that strict governmental

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

In cold blood pt.2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

In cold blood pt.2 - Essay Example They are lodged in separate jail cells in the same building. During the course of next rounds of questioning, the evidence is put forth. The sets of footmarks taken at the scene of crime are similar to those of two pairs of shoes in the possession of the two accused. In panic, Dick breaks down and names his friend of the murders. The people of Holcomb take the developments of the case leading to the arrest of two men stoically. They have doubts whether they are to be blamed for the murders exclusively. Truman Capote writes about their mixed feelings, â€Å"Some day they’ll get to the bottom, and when they do they’ll find the one behind it. The one wanted Clutter out of the way. (231) Once the detectives succeed in creating confusion between the two accused on the basis of the evidence in their possession, they have achieved the obvious. Both the accused become suspicious about each other and wish to save one’s own skin and escape from the clutches of law. Look a t the plight of Perry en-route to Garden City when Dewey, the Chief Investigator, mentions to him the episode of the bicycle chain killing. In cold†¦.2 Perry concludes that Dick has made a clean slate of the issues. He panics and makes a detailed confession and avers that of the four Dick is responsible for two killings. The sequence of events was: The duo reached River Valley, being sure that Clutter kept a safe with 10 thousand dollars.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

IT service Essay Example for Free

IT service Essay The IT service offers reliable, fast and cost smart IT online support to global clientele. The idea for such a service is derived from the constant growth of demand for various IT services and a wide offer of skilled professionals available globally. The projected 2004-14 employment increase of 453,000 translates into 1.6 million jobs [1]. Main service features are flexibility and real-time problem solutions offered round-the-clock. The innovation of service process is in hiring freelancers from different time zones and building the network of highly skilled workforce at minimum cost possible. The company would have on-site professionals as well to ensure consistency and proper recourses management. Recent Accenture study shows that 85% of IT managers claimed that global IT operations were crucial to their business strategy, 94 percent of them said their companies operating capabilities to support that strategy were not up to it[2]. Here are some pointers how to avoid potential ethical and legal obstacles that may occur in the process: Avoid dumping pricing accusation on certain markets by building smart pricing scheme Avoid payment and labor law issues in the countries we are hiring professionals from by creating virtual marketplace with its own terms and conditions. There is concern about federal, state and local government policy proposals that may restrict overseas outsourcing where labor costs are lower[3]. Run transparent businesses processes and give the clients proper information on your staff and policies – some clients do not trust service providers from less developed countries, so we have to make sure to distribute the work force properly. Mission statement We are a dream IT department for every client: always available, professional and cost smart. We want to be considered number one choice for online support within next three years. Marketing objectives for year one Although we are going to offer our services globally, this projection is done on the basis of three major markets defined by the size of market potential: Country A, B and C. For the first quarter we will focus on sales contacts and building the brand and site visibility: Achieve brand/website awareness among the target customers of 30% on target audience. Sales force will have task to perform initial contacts or address inquiries received online. Customer contact will be fully completed once the customer receives the tailored offer. This will be the base for bonus scheme. Total customer contacts achieved 1200. Offers accepted 850. We expect slow profit growth in first year due to initial setup costs. Expected profit from 850 contracts: 4250000$ (based on average 5000$ annual maintenance fee umbrella contract) Market share:   Country 1: 3%, Country 2: 7%, Country 3: 2%. Other markets: total of   3%

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Age Of Reform In America Essay -- essays research papers

American reform movements in the early to mid 1800’s strived at improving our developing society. America was growing larger, and with the expanding population, many new ideas sprang up. Conflicting opinions between the people of the United States caused the emergence of an Age of Reform, where people tried to change things such as the educational system and women’s rights. These movements were the result of our nation’s self-determination and interest in improving the society we live in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Between the 1820’s and 1860’s, Americans were trying new things and promoting different ideas and ways of thinking. Once such idea is that of a utopian society. A utopian society, simple put, means a perfect society. There are many examples of experiments at utopian society in the 1800’s.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George Ripley endeavored to create one of the first utopian societies in West Roxberry, Massachusetts. The community was called Brook Farm, and was established in 1841. Everyone in the community shared labor and leisure time equally. Ripley believed that leisure was the most important step to understanding yourself. The problem with Brook Farm was that the residents ended up believing in a form of communism, despite its objective of being a community where the individual would be able to become ‘whole’. A fire late in 1847 caused the community to disband and separate. Brook Farm is important because not only was it one of the first utopian society experiments in the 1800’s, but it proved that people were confident about trying new things. Critics of Brook Farm said that the point of the community was nothing more than the desire to become better than other people. This demonstrates that (even though it failed) Brooke Farm was created solely for t he purpose of bettering the way in which people lived.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1948, John Humphrey founded another utopian experiment in Oneida, New York. This was another important utopian society experiment in the 1800’s. In this society, children were raised by the whole community, and businesses were run by the whole community. In other words, everyone who lived there was part of one big family. The Oneida experiment grew fairly large over 30 years, including over 200 peopl... ...forbade black education. Besides that, very little of the white population went to schools anyway. Establishing school systems in these areas was a tricky job. Despite problems in the South and West with education, America had grown into a more learned nation. Over 80% of the population (excluding the slavery population) were literate, compared with a much lower literacy rate prior to the 1800’s. Americans had once again worked hard in order to enhance their societies’ standards.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Age of Reforms was a period in which many changes were made to improve the way in which people lived at the time. Utopian experiments were attempts at creating a flat out perfect sociological structure. Reforms in women’s rights made strides in making basic civil liberties available to not just men, but females as well. Lastly, reforms in the educational systems of America provided more hope for future generations by making our country a more intelligent nation. All of these accomplishments demonstrate how the Age of Reforms was a period in which America improved by leaps and bounds in the process of turning it into what we know it as today.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Critical Evaluation of the Benefits and Limitations of Using Ict in Knowledge Management Processes Essay

1. 0 Introduction Knowledge management can be considered to be an essential strategic function in any organisation today. As the world becomes more globalised, and traditional structures of intermediation are removed whilst new ones are created, it is clear that knowledge, and consequently a learning organisation is one that is more likely to find unique sources of competitive advantage, and be able to develop sustainable competitive strategies in the long term. A number of different processes and sub-processes have been identified with knowledge management, such as knowledge generation, knowledge codification, and knowledge transfer or realisation (Grover and Davenport, 2001). Nonaka (1994) suggests that knowledge itself is created through the conversion between tacit and explicit knowledge, through the processes of socialisation, internalisation, externalisation, and combination. Technology has often been used to facilitate and support the processes involved in knowledge management. Knowledge management is essential for sustaining the growth of an organisation and ensuring its success. From the perspective of investors, the worth or value of an organisation is as a result of its ability to strategically retain and generate knowledge that facilitates the organisation’s business activity. The sharing of practices throughout the organisational hierarchy, and adoption of effective techniques formulated by individuals having great expertise in the relevant field can help to improve the efficiency of the business activity. Yet the intertwining of knowledge management processes and information and communication technologies (ICT) may blind knowledge managers to the shortcomings of the use of ICT in knowledge management processes. This essay therefore seeks to present a critical evaluation of the benefits and limitations of ICT in knowledge management processes. 2. 0 Benefits of Using ICT Knowledge management is essential for sustaining the growth of an organisation. From the perspective of investors, the worth or value of an organisation is as a result of its ability to strategically retain and generate knowledge that facilitates the organisation’s business activity. The sharing of practices throughout the organisational hierarchy, and adoption of effective techniques formulated by individuals having great expertise in the relevant field can help to improve the efficiency of the business activity. Wenger et al (2010) explain that one of the main advantages of technology is that it has allowed communities to interact in new ways. In fact, new technology that was developed to facilitate interaction between communities was often the result of a need that was felt by these communities, for a tool to facilitate interaction within the community. The technology tools help communities to bridge problems such as time and space, participation and reification, etc. Examples of such tools include the Internet itself, wikis, etc. In terms of knowledge management processes, these communication tools are important because they facilitate communication between two or more people, and consequently tacit knowledge sharing within the community. Kelly (2009) explains that the technological dimensions are part and parcel of effective knowledge management. Some of the technologies which are essential for modern knowledge management processes include business intelligence, CRM (Customer relationship management software), collaboration, distributed learning, knowledge mapping, etc. Databases can be used as knowledge repositories, as well as for storing structured and unstructured knowledge; they may also be used to identify the people (tacit knowledge holders) within the organisation. Each of these different set of technological tools facilitate different knowledge management processes. For example, business intelligence software allows the firm to create knowledge about its competitors, and the broader economic environment. Collaboration and distributed learning technologies allows individuals within the organisation to communicate and share knowledge, allowing for geographical and structural barriers to be overcome. This is especially important in today’s globalised world. Technology simplifies the flow of knowledge and accelerates its dissemination and assimilation. Knowledge discovery technologies allow the firm to find new knowledge, either within the organisation itself, or outside; knowledge mapping technologies facilitate the tracking of knowledge sources effectively, etc. Overall, it can be said that the different aspects of knowledge creation, transfer and storage is facilitated through technological infrastructure. Introducing technology in knowledge management will reduce redundancy in the activities of an organisation. It can enhance productivity and can be used for skill development. Promoting client value can also simplified by using technology for knowledge management. Improved and efficient use of knowledge management offers competitive benefits in the market. It leverages an organisation and makes it better prepared to face uncertainties both on a local and global scale. The sharing of practices, techniques and information with partners around the globe, made easy by technology can help streamline business processes which otherwise may be inefficient and wasteful i. e. aligning the organisational objectives with the available resources to successfully conduct the business activity can be greatly enhanced with the use of technology in knowledge management. Zack, 1999) 3. 0 Limitations of Using ICT Boland et al (2004) opine that much of the effort to design information technology to support some of the higher level knowledge management functions such as cognition and decision making at the managerial level have severe shortcomings. They highlight some of the problems inherent with using ICT such functions, explaining that as the collection of representations grows, as in hypertext, it becomes increasingly difficult to navigate through the collection. Help is required, and this help is the price that has to be paid for richer communication. Then there is multiplicity, where each of the actors have their own interpretations of the same situation; these multiple interpretations are required in order to support individual reflective thought as well as group dialog. Clearly, technology is not sufficiently advanced yet to support these high level rich communication that is required for knowledge management. Roberts (2010) is rather critical of the ability of ICT to contribute to knowledge transfer, especially tacit knowledge transfer. She states that technology has been proven to be very useful for the transfer of codified knowledge, i. . explicit knowledge, but is still relatively less useful for the transfer of tacit knowledge. Furthermore, the impact of ICT on the production processes even in the knowledge based economy of today, which is highly dependent on technology, is unevenly distributed. This is because technology is yet to be able to replace, much less enhance certain forms of human interaction. Roberts (ibid) further explains that knowledge is a very complex construct, resulting in technology being inadequate to fully facilitate knowledge transfer (esp. acit knowledge). For example, she highlights that tacit knowledge transfer requires antecedents such as trust, mutual understanding, and many other factors that can be established only through face to face interaction (Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1998). Hislop (2002) explains that the sharing of knowledge between communities is very complex and not straightforward. Different organisations may experience different problems with the sharing of knowledge, because of different factors. Any application of technology for the purposes of knowledge sharing therefore should take into account the potential difficulties involved in knowledge sharing across communities. Knowledge sharing within communities is made more complex also when there is a lack of the sense of collective identity as well as a significant common knowledge base. Divergent identities means that there may be perceived or actual differences in interest between two or more communities, creating a potential for conflict. Walsham (2001) provides many examples of where ICT is inadequate for knowledge management. For example, he shows that the knowledge management processes are particularly complex when working across different cultures. The workers in different cultures based their specialist expertise on different foundations (such as experience, or theoretical knowledge) resulting in different methods of knowledge transmission through the product cycle. These different workers from different cultures would then give different degrees of importance to technology, and the different emphases on face to face contact. Walsham (ibid) further suggests that the role of technology in knowledge management processes is limited to facilitating communication, such as through the creation of safe enclaves for online communication. He also stresses that the use of technology should be context-dependant. In fact, Newell et al (in Prichard, 2000) rightly point out that technology has been considered to be essential in knowledge management, but is actually based on ‘nebulous concepts’. However, the increasing pervasiveness of technology in organisations, and the different ways in which it can be put to use creates its own problems. They explain that the routine use and reliance on IT cuts across different managerial specialisms, and increases the levels of uncertainty about the relationship between the use of the technology and the pursuit of the organisational goals. This means that many organisations perhaps adopt technology for the sake of adopting technology. However, this should not be the case, as IT is just a tool like any other, to be used to achieve a particular purpose. The relative sophistication of the tool tends to blind managers as to the fact that it is a tool, and using the tool becomes the goal. This is detrimental to the organisation’s long term prospects. Hislop (2010) explains that it is the fundamental nature of knowledge that makes it extremely difficult for technology to play a central role in the knowledge sharing processes. This is because very specific conditions are required for ICT-based knowledge sharing to take place successfully. From the practical perspective, the tacit and explicit division of types of knowledge has worked well; viewing knowledge through a different lens does not do away with the problems that arise when technology is to be used in the knowledge management processes. McKinlay (2002) also points out that there may be other dangers associated with the over reliance on technology for knowledge management. For example, he explains that team work is used for knowledge sharing, because it was able to result in the extraction of tacit knowledge hidden in the routines of team work; this extraction of tacit knowledge could then allow for its conversion into codified knowledge. If team work were to be abolished totally, then the team working routines which facilitated the extraction of the tacit knowledge would not take place; consequently, the extraction of tacit knowledge would also not take place. Furthermore, he points out that the use of technology often results in formal working practises. However, there are ‘relatively frubby and pedestrian forms of knowledge’ that are very important for knowledge creation, in the form of radical product and process innovation. From this it can be seen that the over emphasis on the use of technology in knowledge management can actually be counter productive, and result in less effective knowledge management. Jackson (1999) explains that one of the major problems with the use of technology in knowledge management processes is that both technological and business changes are taking place at a very rapid pace. This means that human beings have very little time to get to grip with the change, and assess the impact of these changes. There is also consequently even less time for reflection on the type of systems and competencies needed, and to create new configurations of work based on these new technologies. In addition to this there is also the issue of cost effectiveness, which underlies all effort in the business environment. If any task is not cost effective, it should not be undertaken. However, the pace of progress of technology cannot be predicted, and this undermines the cost efficiency of any effort relating to the assessment and effective implementation of technology in knowledge management processes. Overall, it can be said that it is clear that the blind use of technology in knowledge management processes has a number of disadvantages which should not be ignored by any good knowledge manager. 3. 0 Conclusion Clearly, the role of ICT in knowledge management is one that is evolving. This is because not only is knowledge management itself evolving, but technology itself is developing at a rapid pace. ICTs have been shown to bring a number of benefits to the various knowledge management processes, and can be considered to be essential for these processes. However, it was also shown that ICTs are not sufficiently developed to be able to replace face to face interaction in knowledge management processes. In fact, it is shown that ICT is still highly inadequate in replacing the antecedents required for higher level knowledge management processes that are provided by face to face communications. Hence it can be said that knowledge managers must use ICT in a considered manner. Neither can they ignore the benefits of ICT to some knowledge management processes, nor can they ignore the limitations of ICT for the other knowledge management processes.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

The Effect of Conflict Towards Performance

INTRODUCTION Businesses nowadays are operating in a turbulent environment where organisations are searching for measures that will allow them to improve their performance and competitiveness (Dodd, 2003). Conflict is generally regarded as disagreement regarding interests or ideas (Esquivel and Kleiner, 1997). In addition organisational conflict is regarded as the discord that occurs when the goals, interests or values of different individuals or groups are incompatible with those of individuals or groups block or frustrate each others in an attempt to achieve their objectives.Conflict are inevitable part of organisational life since the goals of different stakeholders such as managers and staff are often incompatible (Jones  et al. , 2000). Besides that,  Loomis and Loomis (1965)  argue that Conflict is an ever-present process in human relations. That is why various organisations have changed their approaches to enable them to manage their organisations effectively to avoid con flicts at all costs. Conflict is a fact of life in any organisations as longer as people compete for jobs, resources, power, recognition and security.In addition, dealing with conflicts is a great challenge to management (Adomi and Anie, 2005). Conflicts commonly arise when employees interact in organisations and compete for scarce resources. Employees in various organisations are organized into manageable groups in order to achieve common goal, therefore, the probability of conflicts to arise is very high. Nowadays, most serious conflicts make headlines in the newspapers, which might affect the public image of the company. Conflicts have both negative and positive outcomes to the individual employees and the organization at large.There is no one source of conflicts which occurs in organisations at all levels of management (Barker  et al. , 1987). In social life, conflicts do occur but they are managed by family members, friends and relatives. The same case applies to organisation s, when conflicts arise; it needs to be resolved by management for the sake of the organisational growth, survival and enhance performance. However, conflicts are rarely resolved easily, to a certain extend most conflicts are managed, as individuals work out differences (Barker  et al. , 1987).Conflict can occur within groups (intra-group conflict) or among groups (inter-group conflict). Therefore, the main aim of this study is to examine the effects of organizational conflicts towards organizational performance. It specifically tries to examine in detail, the causes, types, effects and recommend various strategies on how to resolve organizational conflicts to enhance organizational performance. WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT? ‘A condition between or among workers whose jobs are interdependent, who feel angry, who perceive the other(s) as being at fault, and who act in ways that cause a business problem. (Dana, D. 2001) Interdependency – each party needs something fr om the other and are vulnerable if they don’t get it Feeling Angry – people are emotionally upset – anger is not always visible – some people will hide their anger with a veneer of politeness – however, Dana suggests that the emotion we all know as anger is always present when there is a conflict. Blaming Each Other – each party sees the other as being at fault often moving from the immediate workplace issue into personal issues Causing a Business Problem – How is the conflict impacting on job performance? if it is not then it does not fall within the definition of workplace conflict. This definition includes emotions, thoughts and behaviors – psychologists consider these three the only dimensions of human experience. So conflict is rooted in all parts of our human experience. Factors of conflict in organization 1. Managerial Expectations – it is job of an employee to meet the expectations of his manager, but if those ex pectations is misunderstood, conflict can arise. 2. Breakdown in Communication If a department requires information from another department in order to its job, and the second department does not respond to the request this is will lead to conflict to arise. 3. Misunderstanding the information Internal conflict can sometimes arise as the result of a simple misunderstanding. One person may misunderstand information, and that can trigger a series of conflict. 4. Lack of accountability Organization conflict might arise from frustration. One source of frustration is a lack of accountability.If something has gone wrong, and no one is willing to take responsibility for the problem, this lack of accountability can start to permeate throughout the entire company until the issue is resolved. Factors of conflict in employee 1. Differing values Some employees have strong beliefs, which they are not willing to compromise. These beliefs can conflict with coworkers’, creating conflict. 2. Opposing interest When an employee decides to pursue her own career goal, without regard for the organizational goal and its well- being, it result in strife among coworkers. 3. Personality ConflictsOne employee may have a reserved a personality while another may be more outgoing and forward. Problem arises when the two do not understand or respect each others’ inner nature. 4. Personal problems If the employee has problems outside the workplace, such as marital or parental issues, she may take them to work with her. Positive And Negative Effects Of Conflict It is often assumed that all conflict is bad for the organisation, however if managed effectively, conflict can bring benefits: Potential Positive Effects * Better ideas produced * People forced to search for new approaches Long standing problems brought to the surface and resolved * Clarification of individual views * Stimulation of interest and creativity * A chance for people to test their capacities Potential Negative Effects * Some people feel defeated and demeaned * The distance between people increased * A climate of mistrust and suspicion developed * Individuals and groups concentrate on their own narrow interests * Resistance developed rather than teamwork * An increase in employee turnover Models Of Conflict Management There have been many styles of conflict management behavior that have been researched in the past century.One of the earliest,  Mary Parker Follett  (1926/1940) found that conflict was managed by individuals in three main ways: domination,  compromise, and integration. She also found other ways of handling conflict that were employed by organizations, such as  avoidance  and suppression. Early Conflict Management Models Blake and Mouton (1964) were among the first to present a conceptual scheme for classifying the modes (styles) for handling interpersonal conflicts into five types: forcing, withdrawing, smoothing, compromising, and problem solving.In the 1970â€⠄¢s and 1980’s, researchers began using the intentions of the parties involved to classify the styles of conflict management that they would include in their models. Both Thomas (1976) and Pruitt (1983) put forth a model based on the concerns of the parties involved in the conflict. The combination of the parties concern for their own interests (i. e. assertiveness) and their concern for the interests of those across the table (i. e. cooperativeness) would yield a particular conflict management style.Pruitt called these styles yielding (low assertiveness/high cooperativeness), problem solving (high assertiveness/high cooperativeness), inaction (low assertiveness/low cooperativeness), and contending (high assertiveness/low cooperativeness). Pruitt argues that problem-solving is the preferred method when seeking mutually beneficial options. Khun and Poole’s Model Khun and Poole (2000) established a similar system of group conflict management. In their system, they split Kozan’s confrontational model into two sub models: distributive and integrative. Distributive – Here conflict is approached as a distribution of a fixed amount of positive outcomes or resources, where one side will end up winning and the other losing, even if they do win some concessions. * Integrative – Groups utilizing the integrative model see conflict as a chance to integrate the needs and concerns of both groups and make the best outcome possible. This model has a heavier emphasis on compromise than the distributive model. Khun and Poole found that the integrative model resulted in consistently better task related outcomes than those using the distributive model.DeChurch and Marks’s Meta-Taxonomy Model DeChurch and Marks (2001) examined the literature available on conflict management at the time and established what they claimed was a â€Å"meta-taxonomy† that encompasses all other models. They argued that all other styles have inherent in the m into two dimensions – activeness (â€Å"the extent to which conflict behaviors make a responsive and direct rather than inert and indirect impression†) and agreeableness (â€Å"the extent to which conflict behaviors make a pleasant and relaxed rather than unpleasant and strainful impression†).High activeness is characterized by openly discussing differences of opinion while fully going after their own interest. High agreeableness is characterized by attempting to satisfy all parties involved In the study they conducted to validate this division, activeness did not have a significant effect on the effectiveness of  conflict resolution, but the  agreeableness  of the conflict management style, whatever it was, did in fact have a positive impact on how groups felt about the way the conflict was managed, regardless of the outcome. CONFLICT CONTROLSTRATEGY| POSSIBLE ACTIONS| EXAMPLES| Avoidance| Avoid situations where conflict occurs; reduce triggering events ; cooling off periods| Reduce contact between the parties; set up system for dealing with conflict subjects; adjourn meetings| Alteration| Change the form or place of the conflict| Agree not to argue in front of others, or to criticise each other without making a positive suggestion; meet before conflict situations to resolve problems| Feedback| Help parties to understand how others are affected| Other people are upset; team s losing resources or cooperation from others; loss of dignity| Help With Consequences| Provide support, more rest, more thinking time| Neutral person to listen to stressed people; time off; more social events; encourage getting away from the office at lunch time; discourage overwork| Suggestions To Overcome Conflict Management. There are many ways to overcome this problem. Here are some suggestions and tips to manage and cope with the conflict management towards organization. * Build a certain and good communication. * As we know communication is a process of i nteract between one person to another.Communication is a tool to convey a message. A good communication can avoid misunderstanding and uncertain information and can directly solve any problem wisely. All person in any organization must know how to build a good communication and know how to react with any problem to a void conflict. If there is something that they might in argue or disagree they have to sit together and come out with a best solution that everyone satisfied. * Don’t ignore conflict. * Conflict in organization can lead a positive outcomes too. Each person in any organization must take a fairly solution and never avoid and ignore the conflict.It is very essential because it can avoid the problem become twice and become bigger and bigger. Conflict might happen in any organization because each person have a different opinion, goals, value and belief. So, everyone must support and help each other to cope the conflict in order to achieve a common goal in the organiza tion. * Have an own conflict management skills. * Skills such us know how negotiate and know how to minimized anger can help and enhance the effectiveness of good working environment. This will make everyone in the organization can achieve a joyful in a workplace.The way everyone carry themselves in the work place can avoid a conflict and misunderstanding between each other. Everyone in any organization must have their own conflict management skills so that every single problem can be solve and minimized easily. Four ways towards organizational performance 1. PM focuses on results, rather than behaviors and activities A common misconception among supervisors is that behaviors and activities are the same as results. Thus, an employee may appear extremely busy, but not be contributing at all toward the goals of the organization.An example is the employee who manually reviews completion of every form and procedure, rather than supporting automation of the review. The supervisor may con clude the employee is very committed to the organization and works very hard, thus, deserving a very high performance rating. 2. Aligns organizational activities and processes to the goals of the organization PM identifies organizational goals, results needed to achieve those goals, measures of effectiveness or efficiency (outcomes) toward the goals, and means (drivers) to achieve the goals.This chain of measurements is examined to ensure alignment with overall results of the organization. 3. Cultivates a system-wide, long-term view of the organization. Richard A. Swanson, in  Performance Improvement Theory and Practice  (Advances in Developing Human Resources, 1, 1999), explains an effective performance improvement process must follow a systems-based approach while looking at outcomes and drivers. Otherwise, the effort produces a flawed picture. For example, laying off people will likely produce short-term profits.However, the organization may eventually experience reduced prod uctivity, resulting in long-term profit loss. 4. Produces meaningful measurements These measurements have a wide variety of useful applications. They are useful in benchmarking, or setting standards for comparison with best practices in other organizations. They provide consistent basis for comparison during internal change efforts. They indicate results during improvement efforts, such as employee training, management development, quality programs, etc. They help ensure equitable and fair treatment to employees based on performance.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

AP by John Updikes

AP by John Updikes Introduction The story, set in a small town in New England, opens with three teenage girls, wearing just their bathing suits, walking into an AP grocery store; it is the watching of these girls that gets the story rolling (Tiger-town). The narrator, Sammy, a teenage boy working in the store, watches these girls closely, taking note of how they behave and carry themselves, their hair styles and bodies as they go on about their business in the store.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on AP by John Updikes specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Sammy and his coworker, the married Stokesie, ogle over the girls and joke about it. But Sammy is conscious of the fact that Stockesie is married and cannot go after the girls but he feels he still has the opportunity and freedom to go after the girls himself. The store manager, Lengel, reproaches the girls because of the way they are dressed and the girls are embarrassed. When the girls le ave, Sammy, hoping that they are watching, reproaches his boss for his treatment of the girls and decides to quit. Against his boss’s pleas he insists and in the end, he leaves only to find the girls long gone. Discussion The story explores a number of themes; the key one around which the rest seem to revolve is the power of desire (Tiger-town). The author manages to bring out this through the behavior of the characters. The girls, although there’s no beach around, are dressed in bathing suits, a symbol of their disregard for the town’s social norms and a deliberate and explicit provocation of the men. Now they have set the men’s desires rolling, including the married Stocksie and Lengel who downplays it by confronting them. While every man watches them, they act nonchalantly, especially Queenie; thus, by not acknowledging the men, the girls further inspire the men’s desire while managing to avoid being subject of it. In Sammy, the narrator, the gi rls inspire much stronger desires since his desire for Queenie inspires his imagination. His description of the girls shows, on one end, his appreciation of the females, and on the other, how aggressive the male gaze is. In the end he quits his job; it is largely argued that Sammy’s reckless behavior is not purely as a result of his desire. Instead it is blamed on his hormones. Nonetheless, his response cannot be separated from his desire. For Sammy, he has attained a kind of freedom and the deliberate behavior by the girls against the norms, symbolized in their dressing, opens up a world of possibilities for him. As such when Lengel reproaches the girls, it is as if he has hurt Sammy’s belief in possibilities; Sammy’s quitting may as well be his effort to reassert to himself the world he has just envisioned.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Upd ike also explores the pervasiveness of advertising (Tiger-town). The brand names in the shop sets the story in the American prosperity after the war. These names don’t just reflect the plenitude of the time, but also the domination of marketing in shaping people’s tastes. Sammy’s revolt is partly against the artificiality of these brand names. Conclusion Generally, AP is a story about desire; the girls’ desire for male attention; Stocksie’s desire of freedom from his wife, Sammy’s desire of Queenie and for the desire that the adverts spark from the consumers among others. But it is equally the role that age plays in the belief on possibilities that is explored. Tiger-town. â€Å"AP  by john updike.† 2009. Web. tiger-town.com/whatnot/updike/

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Exercise Your College Reading Skills

Exercise Your College Reading Skills Your college career depends largely on your ability to read well. However, its a fact that some of the most brilliant minds, including Albert Einstein, were not great readers. You may be frustrated if you understand advanced material but have trouble getting it from the page into your brain. Here are some tips on how to improve your reading skills and your grades. Indulge in Pleasure Reading Daily Sure, you spend most of your day reading textbooks and other course-related content. It is hoped that you enjoy at least some of what youre reading. However, set aside some time before bed to read something you truly enjoy. Choose a magazine, chick lit, a classic novel, or the hottest creative nonfiction. When youre engaged in what youre reading, youll be more attentive and naturally improve your reading skills. Allow Enough Time Scheduling regular study times throughout the week is a good idea anyway, but particularly if you find reading challenging. Leaving all of your reading assignments for the last minute makes you feel pressured to fly through the material, which is never good for deep understanding or long-term memorization. Read While You Listen Listening to an audiobook as you follow along with a print version can be an enjoyable experience. While it may sound like overkill, this double-input method is a great way to improve weaker reading skills. Hearing the words pronounced aloud as you read them will improve your retention of vocabulary and your comprehension. Just be sure that your audiobook is an unabridged version; otherwise, you may have a hard time skipping ahead to the right spot in your book. Read to Yourself You may not have access to a recorded version of your school texts. If your roommate is gone frequently or tends to wear headphones a lot, try reading aloud as you study. Hearing the words may increase your comprehension and retention of the material. Use a Reading App It may contradict what weve said above, but if youre an average reader, pronouncing words in your head as you read may slow you down. After all, you have the capacity to read words far faster than you can speak them. Therefore, while some people have reading difficulties that respond best to vocalization, others do better to quiet the voice in their head. An app like Syllable can actually teach you how to become a speed-reader. Eliminate Distractions Online Who can read when there are ads, links, pictures of cats, and other distractions on the margins of a webpage? Install a browser add-on or plugin that allows you to read a clean version of the primary content. Youll read faster and remember more of what you read. Use a Dictionary or Thesaurus If you understand every word that you read in college textbooks, youre probably a professor by now. Dont just skip over unfamiliar words. That one definition may clarify an entire paragraph. Make sure you have a dictionary or thesaurus site or app nearby whenever youre reading. Take Care of Your Eyes Even though youre young, youre staring at screens and pages for hours a day. Human eyes simply werent designed for so much effort. If you struggle even the slightest bit with reading, be sure to get an eye exam. Glasses or contacts might make a huge difference in your reading ability. Furthermore, dry eyes are a common affliction today, so always have a bottle of artificial tears on hand. You blink less when you stare at a computer screen, so youll need to replenish that lost moisture regularly. The more comfortable your eyes are, the better youll be at reading. Some people are natural-born readers, but that doesnt mean that you cant improve your skills significantly. Get into good reading habits and make use of the tools that are available to you. When you can read well, you can accomplish anything.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

City of Worcester Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

City of Worcester Report - Assignment Example A critical review of the literature on the aforementioned will serve to outline the nature of tourism marketing and, in so doing, identify the core objectives and components of the City of Worcester's tourism marketing plan. The report will conclude with a set of best practice recommendations, specifically addressed to the City of Worcester. Branding is a managed process to serve consumers, create identity for goods and services, and differentiate goods and services from competitors (Kotler, 1994; Kapferer, 1997). Branding is a powerful means for creating competitive advantages in marketing corporations, products, and services. Cai (2002) acknowledged that branding is the single most important objective of marketing today. The ability to create value by developing and maintaining the attributes that appeal to consumers emotionally has become a main focus of branding (Knowles, 2001). Therefore, branding refers to the process of transforming functional assets into relationship assets (Knowles, 2001) or the process of adding meaning to consumer products (Aaker, 1991). Branding has developed into a modern concept that can be applied to anything from products and services to companies, not-for-profit causes, and even countries (Clifton, 2003). Modern branding is concerned increasingly with assembling and maintaining a mix of values, both tangible and intangible, which are relevant to consumers and which meaningfully and appropriately distinguish one supplier's brand from that of another (Murphy, 1998). Emotional benefits over and above a product's functional benefits are emphasized increasingly in the branding process. Branding is a powerful means of differentiation, and differentiation is a significant competitive positioning strategy (Pappu, Quester, & Cooksey, 2005). Berry (2000) noted that "a brand reduces customers' perceived monetary, social, or safety risk in buying services, which are difficult to evaluate prior to purchase" (p. 128). Due to greater opportunities to visit a variety of destinations, places are becoming increasingly substitutable and difficult to differentiate (Pike, 2005). 2.1 Destination Branding Travel destinations, just like other consumer products, have had to turn to branding to identify and distinguish themselves and to convey a positive and motivating message (Aaker, 1991). Although branding is a relatively new concept in tourism marketing (Cai, 2002; Pike, 2005), branding's extension into tourism destination management is expanding (William, Gill, & Chura, 2004). Consumers increasingly recognize that a destination can also be a perceptual concept which can be interpreted subjectively through the experience process (Buhalis, 2000). A strong and lasting destination experience for tourists, if appropriately managed, can act as a foundation for building destination brands (Hall, 2002). Buhalis (2000) states that destinations offer an amalgam of tourism products and services which are subsumed under the name of destination brand. Also, Murphy, Pritchard, and Smith (2000) noted that a tourism

Thursday, October 31, 2019

IPHONE 5 AND IOS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

IPHONE 5 AND IOS - Essay Example Flaws in iPhone 5 Introduction Apple Computers Company has its headquarters in California America and is one of the successful and innovative companies across the world. Apple Computer Company has a big market name across the world, which is due to the high innovation and production of unique products. Steve Jobs was the actual founder of Apple Computers Company in 1976 and began to design and produce iPhones, iPods, iOS and iTunes. Apple also produces computes like the Macintosh, Power Mac and Apple Brands. Apple Computers Company under the headship of Steve Jobs was the first company to innovate and design iPod that was unique in the entire electronics markets. â€Å"iPhone† is a brand for mobile communication devices designed and manufactured by Apple Computers Company. iPhone exists in series ranging from iPhone iPhone2, iPhone 3, iPhone 4 and latest iPhone 5. Apple Computers Company released iPhone 5 in September 2012 and managed to sell neatly 5000000 units of the produc t. Such big sale attributed to the perceived unique features that iPhone 5 exhibited and that created serious anxiety and curiosity among the consumers who could not hesitate from buying the product. One of unique features that Apple Computers included in the iPhone 5 series was Siri, which is software that recognizes voice and can answer questions as well as help one accomplish phone setups and even browsing without necessarily touching the screen. Siri software has can help individual phone user update face book and twitter without having to touch the screen or dial any pad. The iPhone 5 also has an inbuilt eight-mega pixel camera that significantly attracts more consumers of the product. Long battery life of up to 225 hours on stand by mode and 8 hours talk time, and super lightweight are among other features that attract iPhone 5 much praise and consumers. Moreover, iPhone 5 is considerably unique innovation bearing its wireless charging capability. Flaws in the iPhone 5 Despite the excessively acclaimed beautiful and unique features, iPhone 5 has particular design flaws that have made customers regret over their decisions to buy the phone. The flaws are only unique to the iPhone 5 series and never occurred in the other previous series of iPhone. a) Breakable security locks and passwords b) Misleading maps c) Soft and easily scratched body d) Appearance of purple pigmentation on photos e) Produces rattling sound from inside f) Unresponsive and inefficient touch screen g) Inability to maintain correct time and date Scratching body The menace of scratch on the bodies of iPhone 5 gadgets began to occur immediately after the launching of the phone into the market. The body of iPhone 5 is an anodized aluminum cover that is relatively soft. The body easily scratches to remove the silver coating and leaving the inner aluminum exposed (Margid, 2012). Scratches are prone around the edges of the phone that scrubs when forcing the device through a narrow enclosure or pocket. Some consumers also claimed to have realized the scratching menace on removing the gadget from the box immediately after buying. To improve on the problem of scratches on the body, it is important tat the company use vulcanized metallic case of just use uncoated aluminum cover to avoid the =bad impression. Purple Coloring on Images Caught Using the iPhone 5 Camera Many customers of iPhone 5 voiced their surprise with the appearance of purple pigmentation on the images captured by the camera of iPhone 5. This

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Incident Command System; Principles and Features Part I; Mitigation Case Study

Incident Command System; Principles and Features Part I; Mitigation and Risk Reduction - Case Study Example This information will all be acquired at the city council’s office or the city building authority The other important aspect of this floor plan is to get information about the infrastructure, drainages and gutters, general slope of the land, any nearby streams and rivers, underground pipes and cables and other features that are in the area. It also helps in determining the accessibility of the whole area, type of terrain, location of the safe houses and whether they can easily be accessed â€Å"The rapid needs assessment is a description of the extent of the damage that is sustained by the community. It is the general scope of the disaster in the area† (Flood plain management, 2011). This information can be acquired in the local authorities or any disaster management officials in the city, such as the Red Cross. The rapid needs assessment contains information on: Medical needs and availability of resources – This is information on the injuries, loss of lives and the number of victims that required assistance. It also states the number of medical teams that were at the scene of rescue and the facilities that are functional in the area. The availability of adequate medical equipment and supplies and the requirement for outside assistance are also documented in this assessment. Mass care – This is the mass equipment such as shelter, food and water and relief supplies that are available for the rescued group and the community in general once they are moved from the affected areas. Effect on infrastructure – This is the assessment of the amount of damage caused to the infrastructure. This is the impact on things such as buildings, roads, sewages and drainages, power generating facilities, schools and hospitals, communication lines, water pipes and distribution facilities. Release of dangerous materials – These are the materials that may have been released and can cause harm to the

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Complex Leadership Styles And Success Management Essay

Complex Leadership Styles And Success Management Essay Leadership style is too complex to limit to a simple formula, although there are some personality traits that are effective for becoming a successful leader. Some of these belong to leadership, while others are used in project management. Some general characters are common in most of the leaders such as: creativity, intelligence and courage. However, there are two opposite traits among leaders especially in critical situation which can determine whether the leader will be successful or not. Some leaders tend to blame others and avoid responsibility, while other leaders accept the failure and believe that outcomes depend on their decision and also their actions. Today, being an effective project manager is one of the most important issues in each organisation. This chapter will demonstrate the gist of activities which have been done about leadership so far. It will demonstrate the differences between management and leadership within the project environment. Leadership can be expressed in terms of the ability to build the instruction of project, motivate the members and maintain the performance of different groups in the organisation. In general, managers should deal with complexities and leaders should focus on changes. Leadership is related to conflict management and soft skills but management is related to formulating, monitoring and processing. Accepting failure but not defeat, considering the past mistakes during the project, and being the optimistic person should be considered for leaders to overcome the problems and direct the project in the proper way. It is difficult to establish a certain instruction for becoming an effective project manager although many different leadership and management styles have been built to develop the project accurately. All of the leadership styles and management technologies have been made in order to finish the project on time, precisely and satisfactorily. Effective leaders should first find out the purpose of their leadership (George, 2006). . Leadership theories General view Leadership has been considered more than any other aspect of human behaviour in the project management study. Leadership is the ability to bring people together to attain the results over time. Leadership is the long-term process and it needs years of progress and hard working. The leadership for 21st century becomes more complex and should be redefine in order to achieve the great goals (George, 2006). Many investigations have been carried out in leadership studies so as to find an appropriate leadership theory. For instance, Bass (1985) has had a great impact on leadership theory. He identified different types of characteristics, behaviours, and leadership styles. In spite of that, the science of leadership does not have certain factors which can be applied for all of projects in the world. Measuring and assessing projects in different places are not the same due to different situations. Therefore, many aspects of leadership still stay theoretical and cannot be practical (Gehring, 2007, Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). All general leadership theories such as transformation, transaction and path-goal indicate that the project managers should own the required traits to lead a project effectively. In other words, effective project managers should recognise which approach is appropriate for applying to project leadership. Pinto et al. (1998) stated that Any project managers ability to lead effectively is augmented by his or her understanding of alternative approaches to leadership. Therefore, leaders should extract the skills of their employee and apply them to the project in order to lead the project accurately (Gehring, 2007). History of theories Theory of leadership like other theories has the history of formation. The first one was called superior individual and related to ancient Egyptians kings. The second was the great man theory which made by developing the first theory and indicated that a great man could determine the history of his country. The third one was the man of the hour and it was the modern form of the great man theory. This theory expanded and made the basic recorded leadership theory that called trait theory. After this time leadership was broadly modelled due to impact of great leaders on history such as Napoleon, Frederick, Churchill, Roosevelt and etc (Gehring, 2007). Trait theory Generally, traits are concerned with personal characteristics such as courage, intelligence, creativity and appearance. Trait theory has remarkable mistakes due to its limitations. The reason is that it is difficult to determine which leader can be known as a successful leader. Also, many trait lists have been made for leadership; therefore it is not easy to make a trait list as a reference. In addition, leaders who only possess the trait list cannot be called as successful leaders. Finally, by the end of 20th century, this theory is replaced by modern theories which concerned by behaviour of leader rather than traits (Gehring, 2007) . This theory indicates that effective leaders are born, not made. It supposes that effective leaders have almost the same traits. Three major factors are considered in this type of theory: personal appearance, personality, and abilities. Kirkpatrick and Locke (1991) found the main traits of effective leaders; intelligence, technical knowledge, self-confidence, influence, ambition, and integrity. This classification for effective project managers is different. It includes problem-solving and negotiating abilities, initiative, orientation, communication, perspective and self-confidence (Turner, 1999, Turner, 2005). The authentic leaders should have the five main traits for leading the organisations such as: showing self-discipline, making connected relationship, leading with both hearts and heads, training solid value, and encouraging their purpose with passion (George, 2006). Competency Unfortunately, the leadership terms such as: leadership trait, leadership attribute, leadership style and leadership competence have very narrow definition. Therefore, sometimes these terms have been used in an incorrect position. However, it should be noted that in the modern project, all of these terms should be considered in order to evaluate leadership success (Gehring, 2007). According to trait theory, some researchers believe that the effective leaders have the common inherent competencies. Although, this idea is just for inherent competencies and the personal competences can be learned as well as personal characteristics during the work (Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). Some authors believe that all of people have the power of leading in them; some of them in government, some of them in business, and etc. This power as series of competencies should be discovered in a certain time by themselves to serve others (George, 2006). Projects need project management competencies in order to be accomplished successfully. Competence can be defined in terms of skills (including intelligence, management and problem-solving skills), knowledge, traits, aptitude, behaviour, and motive. The competencies have been identified by the project manager competency development (PMCD) framework: knowledge, performance and personal. The personal one also has been classified into six major competencies: (1) personal effectiveness, (2) influence, (3) Managerial, (4) cognitive, (5) human service and (6) accomplishment (Gehring, 2007). Many taxonomy have been made for the competency, although, one of the comprehensive one was made by Dulewicz and Higgs (2003). They defined fifteen leadership competencies for three types of leadership: intellectual, managerial skill and emotional. See table 2.1(Dulewicz and Higgs, 2003). Table 2.1: Fifteen leadership competencies and the competencies profiles of their styles of leadership (Dulewicz and Higgs, 2003). The competency leadership theory was made in 1990 in order to recognise the competencies of effective leaders. It shows that effective leadership can be obtained only by learning. Different combination of competencies can make different styles of leadership; therefore, they can be useful in different situations. Accordingly, Bass (1990) stated that certain leaders are more suitable for stable circumstance and others are suited to an unstable circumstance (Turner, 2005). It should be noted that the leaders in certain industry can very rarely to be effective in other industries where they have not enough experience. Thus, the structure of industry can impact on competence of leaders (Groysberg et al., 2006). Major leadership theories Many leadership theories lists have been identified over the last century. One of the significant of these lists is classified into six theories: (1) trait theory, (2) competency theory, (3) behavioural or style theory, (4) contingency theory, (5) visionary or charismatic theory, and (6) emotional intelligence theory (Turner, 2005). The behavioural or style theory is related to behaviours and assumes that effective leadership can be obtain during the life and effective leaders are not born naturally. The Cognitive theory assumes that an effective leader can be made in a special environment. Path-goal theory is made through cognitive theory. In pas-goal theory leaders should help members to find their path to their goal. This theory determines four leadership behaviours: directive, supportive, participative and achievement-oriented (House, 1971, Turner, 2005). The visionary or charismatic theory appeared in 1980 when business leaders changed their strategy due to critical situation. Two leadership types of this theory are transformational (people-focused) and transactional (task-focused) which are made by Bass (1985). Later, Bass and Avolio (1995) developed these transformation and transaction leadership styles and found that transformation style has greater influence on the project than transaction one. The transformational one is usually for high difficulty circumstance and the transactional one is usually for low difficulty circumstance. However, the appropriate one is the combination of both types which can be useful in diverse condition (Turner, 2005, Bass and Avolio, 1990). The emotional intelligence theory indicates that the leaders emotional intelligence is more effective than the leaders intellectual ability for the project. The main areas of emotional intelligence are as followed: visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and commanding (Turner, 2005, Goleman, 2002). Leadership Models Firelighter and fire-fighter There are two general styles of leadership in project management: fire-fighter and firelighter. The leaders who pay more attention to anticipate and even prevent problems are known as proactive leaders or firelighter, although, the leaders who tackle immediate problems are known as reactive leaders or fire-fighter. There should be a linkage between proactive decision and reactive decision to control the project accurately. Therefore, recognizing the necessary skills for the project manager is vital in order to make the shift in leadership style. However, it is obvious that project leadership which tends to be proactive in controlling projects is more effective (Barber, 2005). Proactive decision affects the direction of project and reactive decision solves the existing problems of project. These two leadership styles might be known as transformational leadership model or firelighter and transactional leadership model or fire-fighter. Transformational leadership is about lighting the fires of stakeholders motivation and creativity. In contrast to the transformational style is transactional leadership style which indicates the reactive behaviour of leadership (Barber, 2005). Bass and Avolio (1990) pointed out that there are times when leaders may need to apply a more reactive transactional style and be fire-fighters, but the main outcomes for success depend on the leaders capacity for being a firelighter. Active and effective leader combines leadership style (how the leader affects) and best practices (the best day to day working behaviours). The best practices for effective leadership style include parameters such as: vision, credibility, collaboration, communication, action-orientation, feedback and recognition, and accountability. In addition, the research has proved that the most popular leadership style for running safety and creating high-performance culture is transformational one (Krause, 2007). Transactional leadership style might be passive or active, although both approaches stay reactive. Fire-fighter leaders who just take action when they face to the problem are known as passive and other fire-fighters who trace deviation from standards tools and react to problems are known as active (Barber, 2005). The firelighter leadership style is more complex than the fire-fighter style. The fire-fighter style is overcoming the inertia of reactive leadership. Many different fire-fighter-firelighter models have been built to control the project precisely. One of these models separates the transactional style into three parts; maintenance, reactive and avoidant. Figure 2.1 (Barber, 2005) illustrates this model. Maintenance comprises initiating structure, emotional consideration and contingent reward. This part can prepare the requirements to transform the fire-fighter leadership style to firelighter one. In other words, the maintenance behaviours make a bridge to the transformational leadership style (Barber, 2005). The reason for that is the forming of credibility and trust of leadership which enable the leader to be accepted among team members as the firelighter leader. The firelighter part of this model combines the maintenance behaviour and the transformational behaviour. The contribution of this model is to expand understanding of the importance of the firelighter role in project management (Barber, 2005). The significant point of this model is the active transactional behaviour. It can provide a bridge to firelighter style for project managers who are confused by reactive fire-fighting style. Maintenance behaviours explain the tasks, assign responsibilities, identify rewards for attempt and observe the personal requirement of the team members (Barber, 2005). Bass (2003) indicated that contingent reward is the capability to establish fundamental objective and to present bonus to project members accordingly. It indicates a combination of task oriented and stakeholders supportive manners. In the initiating structure, the leader should clarify contingent rewards, direction of the project and assignment for the team members. Emotional consideration is related to team structure, personal requirement and ambitions (Barber, 2005). Leadership in project management Figure 2.1: The fire-fighter-firelighter model of leadership (Barber, 2005). The leader should defuse conflict between the team members and provide an appropriate environment for the team members. Bass (2003) expressed that firelighter leaders should persuade the team members to be inventive and imaginative by searching new assumptions, reframing problems, and applying new approaches. They also define four vital elements for transformational leadership; idealised influence, inspirational motivation, individualised consideration and intellectual simulation (Bass, 2003). Firelighter leader should enhance the understanding of the advantages of the project among the stakeholders. They should persuade their members to think about their action beyond simply what is in it for them. In other words, they should raise the consciousness of followers and move the focus of follower away from their self-interests (Bass, 2003). In addition, Bennis and Nanus (1985) asserted that the effective leader can manage changes and unpredictability by encouraging members to be innovative to overcome the difficulties. Therefore project managers are known as fire-fighter due to continually solving the problem and put out fires. Project manager and leadership style Project managers should trace the progress of their project and anticipate any problems before they will occur in the future. So, it is wise that project managers can be proactive and forestall the problems rather than being reactive and solve the problems. Project managers who focus on proactive leadership style will be more successful in completing projects accurately. Thus, project managers are known as fire-fighter due to continually solving the problem and put out fires (Barber, 2005). A project manager is a businessman, a psychologist, an accountant, and a technician. The project management institute (PMI) has developed classification; the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK) which identifies eight main management competencies: scope, time, cost, risk, quality, contract, communication and human resource. Project managers should be highly effective people. They should possess knowledge of the technical details of their jobs as well as the ability to obtain the goals by leading the project team effectively (Barber, 2005). It should be noted that there is not only a comprehensive leadership style for leading a project successfully. However, using different leadership styles for each stage of a project can be more appropriate (Frame, 1987). Project managers leadership style affect their implementations, although, they usually tend to be task-oriented rather than people-oriented. They should create an appropriate environment for their project members. Therefore, their competencies are evaluated in terms of their success in leading the projects. In addition, it should be mentioned that in multiple-cultural projects, project managers should use particular leadership styles (Turner, 2005). Leaders with any leadership styles should be careful with the hazards of leadership in order to prevent to lose their way such as: being an imposter, being a shooting star, being a loner, being a glory-seeker, and being a rationaliser (George, 2008). Implication of the fir-fighter-firelighter model The fire-fighter-firelighter model builds a combination of firelighter and fire-fighter styles. It is useful for different styles of managing especially those which need remarkable changes in the project management environment (Barber, 2005). Firelighter leaders encourage the team members to use their creativity and adopt the requisite manners to deal with the problems. They demonstrate a combination of transformational and transactional behaviours. Nevertheless, they tend to be active leader and rely on transformational behaviour rather than reactive behaviours of management by exception. Thus, It is essential that the leader tend to be proactive in order to conquer the forthcoming problems (Barber, 2005). Software tools in project management by monitoring past data can strengthen a reactive leadership style. The leader who trusts on monitoring software tools would be the reactive fire-fighter through the project cycle. The concept and control of forthcoming problems is the most important ability for being an effective leader in project management (Barber, 2005). Integrating leading and managing Leading versus managing Many different rules have been established for differentiating the leading and managing so far. However, it is difficult to determine the role of them in succeeding of a system. Some researchers state that the competences and traits of leaders and managers should differ from each other in order to perform their tasks successfully. Managers tasks are related to effectiveness, direct and stability of the project, although, leaders tasks are related to adaptation, innovation and flexibility of the project. In other words, managers are practical, critical, and logical, while leaders are imaginative, inventive, and sensitive (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). There are diverse views about managing and leading. Some people who are more pessimistic about managing would like to have leaders in their systems. Some people who are more optimistic about managing would like to have both manager and leader in their systems. The other attitude is to having one person as a both leader and manager in a system. Nevertheless, it is very rare that someone can perform both managing and leading tasks in an organisation. It should be considered that in any of these perspectives, too much attention on leading or managing makes an organisation to be unsuccessful (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). If a system is more complicated, then a managing role is more important and if a system has an active atmosphere with much uncertainty, then a leading role is more significant. In other words, a system which needs more changes requires a leader rather than manager and a system which needs more process and orders requires a manager rather than leader. Herein, the significant point is to inter-relate the leading and managing roles in an organisation. Therefore, if any organisation can establish this joint properly, then it would have the better performance and successful project accordingly (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). Different approaches There have been different approaches for definition of managing and leading. This debate is still continuing due to complexity of appreciation of these contexts. The first approach is to make a coequal role for both leading and managing and defined each of them more broadly. The second approach is to define a leading role as the previous definition but add it to managerial roles. The third approach is to establish a set of roles without identifying as leading or managing roles. The most appropriate approach should be defined in terms of the performance determinants in the flexible leadership model. In spite of that the best approach is still unknown and further research is needed to obtain it (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). The Flexible leadership model Three determinant of organisational performance can be recognised by the flexible leadership model; (1) effectiveness and popularity, (2) invention and changeability, and (3) human resources and relations. Each of these determinants is more important in an especial situation. Human resources and relations are more important when replacing skilled members is difficult. Organisations which consider this determinant are more likely to have effective employee skills. The example of this is General Electric Co. which has been identified as the best organisation in training employees. The reason is that, it uses sequence plan to prepare employees for empty key positions (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). Leadership behaviours There are many kinds of leadership behaviours that can affect the performance determinants such as task-oriented which are related to efficiency, change-oriented related to changeability, and relations-oriented related to human resources. Table 2.2 (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005) illustrates these leadership behaviours (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). Management programs and systems Management is an essential work for any organisation. Organisations prepare their members to be effective in all levels. However, there is not a certain code of conduct for management. The lack of common acceptable knowledge, skill and practice lead to management as a practice rather than profession. However, with enhancing the technology in management some programs and systems cover this problem (Lorsch and Clark, 2009). Management programs and systems also can influence the performance determinants. They are demonstrated in Table 2.2 (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). One of these systems is benchmarking. It is a systematic program for improving adaptation, services, and products. It should be noticed that in all of organisations, programs and systems should be directed by leaders to ensure that a management system is carried out accurately (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005) Table 2.2: Leadership behaviours and management programs and systems (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). Leadership behaviours and management system Both of these ways can affect the performance determinants and they act as supplementary for each other. The leadership behaviour can be applied in an organisation to develop new programs. For instance, if manager persuade employees to attend a new training programs and apply them to their job, then this program would be more successful. In the other hand, management program also can improve the effect of leadership behaviour. Employees cannot be innovative without programs. In spite of that in some cases the application of leadership behaviours are limited by management programs (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). Performance determinants Each of performance determinants can affect the other determinants. Sometimes this affection leads to improve the other determinants and sometimes it leads to degrade the others. Therefore, it is not easy to build a certain formula for enhancing all aspects of performance determinants simultaneously. However, the right balance among performance determinants can be useful for improving the organisational effectiveness (Yukl and Lepsinger, 2005). Project success factors In the 1970s, project success factors have been determined in terms of developing system, improving of implementation, and evaluating time, cost and process. In the 1980s, critical success factors (CSF) was brought up in terms of the quality of the implementation, stakeholders activities and organisational objectives (Turner, 2005). Many efforts have been done for establish the comprehensive project success factors. One of the most popular lists was made by Pinto and Slevin (1988). See Table 2.3 (Pinto and Slevin, 1988) . Table 2.3: Project success factors (Pinto and Slevin, 1988). The other important list which covers the previous efforts was made by Turner (1999). This list includes five main factors for project success: context, attitude, sponsorship, definition, people, system, and organisations. See Figure 2.2 (Turner, 1999). Figure 2.2: The seven forces model for project success (Turner, 1999). Project managers leadership competencies and project success Project manager competencies The six main schools of leadership have been recognised by Higgs (2003): trait, behaviour, contingency, visionary, emotional intelligence, and competency. Leadership is defined in terms of these schools as a combination of personal characteristic and competencies (i.e. skills and knowledge). This combination can create different leadership styles which are suitable for different situation. Moreover, competency school has been identified as the most important school of leadership in project management. Therefore, more studies on this school is required for leadership of project management (Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). Personal characteristics and competencies of leaders can influence skills, knowledge and effectiveness of projects accordingly. Thus, assessing the leadership competencies is essential for any organisation. Many efforts have been undertaken for assessing leadership competencies such as multi leadership questionnaire (MLQ) made by Bass and Avolio (1995). However, the documentation has shown that they are still not trusted by all of organisation(Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). Goleman (1996) asserted that two factors are very important for success of projects: emotional intelligence (EI) and intellectual aptitude (IQ). In accordance with this idea, EI model has been made and used by organisations as the most important factors due to its variation in the performance of project. In general, four key competencies have the major role in leadership performance such as: emotional, cognitive, behavioural, and motivational. Intellectual competencies (IQ), managerial competency (MQ), and social and emotional competencies (EI) are the significant elements of leadership competencies (Dulewicz and Higgs, 2000b, Dulewicz and Higgs, 2000a, Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). Project competence and success of project management are closely interconnected. Many competencies lists for project managers have been determined such as: knowledge (qualification), skills (ability to do diverse tasks as: technical, administrative, planning, budgeting, leadership), and core personality characteristics. The effective project leaders should have the basic characteristics such as: credibility, problem solving, tolerance, flexible and communication. However, the researchers have not been able to make a certain link between project manager leadership competencies and project success (Pinto, 1998, Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). Project success There have been many measurement tools for assessing the project success in terms of time, cost and function. The common tool of evaluating project success is critical success factors (CSFs). These days, the modern instrument can take into accounts the parameters such as: client satisfaction, stakeholders ideas, product and service success, business and commercial success, performance improvement, and system benefit. Nevertheless, there are some hazards in projects which can delay the process of implementations. These can be appeared in planning, controlling, and performing of tasks (Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). There is a close connection between the project managers concept of project success and his or her competence. Some researchers have defined this relationship in terms of people, project strategy, leadership style, teamwork, and industrial relations. Although, others have been defined it in terms of cost, time and quality of project and ignore the influence of people on projects. According to project success, Jugdev (2005) found the four key parameters as follows: (1) The project sponsor should have enough desire to carry out the project, (2) The working relationship between project sponsor and project manager should be adjusted accurately, (3) A project manager should tackle complexity and uncertain situations, and (4) Stakeholders idea should be taken into the success criteria (Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). Instruments Today, managers can measure their performance by an intangible variable based more on perceptions rather than factual proof. It includes the quality of management and the status of relationship with the leaders, colleagues and employees. Geoghegan and Dulewicz (2008) identified that there is a statistically significant relationship between a project managers leadership competencies and project success. They used two different types of questionnaire to approach their idea. The first one is the leadership dimensions questionnaire (LDQ) made by Dulewicz (2005) and the second one is the project success questionnaire (PSQ) made by Pinto (1986) (Budd Jr and Marx, 1999). LDQ This tool has been worked in terms of respondents leadership competencies that evaluated on fifteen aspects of leadership. It includes seven EQ competencies five MQ competencies, and three IQ competencies. It has been known as one of the most popular instruments and has been used in diverse public organisations such as: the Royal Air Force, the Home Office, the Royal Navy and private organisation such as DHL. Each dimensions of this tool can be acceptable by reaching the reliable level (i.e. Cronbachs alpha > 0.7) (Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). The example of LDQ questionnaire that has been filled out by 80 project managers is shown in table 2.4(Geoghegan and Dulewicz, 2008). Project managers work in different par