William Faulkner s A Rose For Emily - 1528 Words

1. From what point of view is A Rose for Emily told? Why? In William Faulkner s short story A Rose for Emily the reader is given the account of an old woman who is rejected by society. The reader is acquainted with Miss Emily Grierson by a spectator, somebody who is not Miss Emily, but rather part of the town that rejects her. The storyteller has a somewhat omniscient perspective, knowing more than the normal town s individual, however not all that matters there is to think about Miss Emily. The storyteller is available for the greater part of the scene, however never assumes a noteworthy part which would have him talk or do anything critical. William Faulkner purposely composes the story in this design to indicate precisely how†¦show more content†¦The storyteller being more seasoned was not an oversight, and had a reasonable reason, in light of the fact that the storyteller was more established her knew more, and permitted the reader to experience direct what happened in the past through blaze backs. The data that give to us thro ugh the storyteller is a noteworthy part of the plot, and seeing how the town and its kin look and see Miss Emily. During that time the town from taking a gander at Miss Emily as a landmark to thinking about her as a fallen landmark, obviously the storyteller s town saw Miss Emily as the landmark that has fallen for the new era s town. The whole town would prattle about her, being cheerful for her when she would discover somebody and feeling frustrated about when she was allowed to sit unbothered. The town just about felt sorry for Miss Brill. Miss Emily disengagement from the town is somewhat her own issue. This is another advantage of having a more seasoned part as a storyteller; we can contrast him with Miss Emily. The storyteller in the story is still part of the town, saying we and our. So why not Miss Emily? From the earliest

Friendship Essay What Makes A Good Friend - 965 Words

A friend is someone difficult to find. A friend is someone you can always count on when times are tough. The dictionarys definition of a good friend is a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard. A good friend is there when you are struggling. For example, when a boy breaks your heart a good friend walks you through it and offers a shoulder to cry on. According to Bree Neff, a good friend is someone who is trustworthy, doesnt talk behind your back, listens to your problems, gives good advice and tries to lend humor along with his or her support. There are also bad friends, those who pretend to care and then turn around gossiping and starting drama. Good and bad friends are all around you, involved in†¦show more content†¦You want friends that show they care and do not resent your achievements. A good friend sees good in your accomplishments; because of this they will not want you to do poorly and will always be looking out for you, hoping you do your best. A trustworthy friend is someone you can count on no matter what. They are someone you can call in the middle of the night and vent to, or just talk. They are someone who, if they say they are going to do something, they do it and dont bail out. Good friends are people with whom you can talk to and trust with your secrets. You can tell a friend anything and know they wont open their mouth just for the fun of it because they like and respect you too much to hurt you. If you have something you feel like you can’t tell anyone about, they are the friends you can tell. A good friend is someone who when you tell them personal stuff you dont have to worry, you know your secret is safe. Trusted friends are those you can tell your flaws to and know your revelations are safe. Sometimes after you tell people certain information you think: â€Å"What in the world was I thinking?† but a trustworthy person wont ever make you feel like that. What is a loyal friend? A loyal friend is someone who never lets you down. They are someone who does things with you even though these things maybe totally boring, but they still do them. Loyal friends won’t back out at the last second. They stick withShow MoreRelatedFootball And Aristotle s Philosophy Of Friendship880 Words   |  4 Pages Friendships are a main aspect of what we seek for in life, for Aristotle says that â€Å"without friends, no one would choose to live,† (Football and Aristotle s Philosophy of Friendship, Pg 32). Through excerpts from Gallagher’s â€Å"Football and Aristotle s Philosophy of Friendship†, McMahon’s â€Å"Seinfeld Subjectivity, and Sartre,† Condella’s â€Å"Why can’t we be virtual friends,† and finally Thalos’ â€Å"Why I am not a friend,† we can determine the reasons why we hold friendships so dearly to us. In Gallagher’sRead MoreDefinition Of Friendship Example Essay1172 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Friendship Read the following information about friendship. Using the information presented, your own experience, observations, and/or readings, write an article for your school newspaper about the meaning of friendship. As you write your speech, remember to: Focus on the definition of friendship. Consider the purpose, audience, and context of your article. Organize your ideas and details effectively. Include specific details that clearly develop your article. Edit your speech for standardRead MorePsychology Tma021554 Words   |  7 PagesCompare and Contrast the approach to studying children’s friendships taken in the Bigelow and La Gaipa (1975) study with that taken by William Corsaro. In this essay you will read about the many similarities and differences of the study and research of children’s friendships expectations, which were approached by Bigelow and La Gaipa (1975) and William Corsaro (2006). Firstly I will introduce both of the different approaches and methods and I will then later go into the results of their work.Read MoreEssay about Emersons Friendship737 Words   |  3 PagesEmersons Friendship I believe that in his essay, â€Å"Friendship†, Emerson’s main point is that people should not be afraid to expand their friendly horizons. They should more try to open up and be honest with people. The essay investigates simply how to be more open with others and gives tips on differentiating between true friends and those whom we just refer to as friends. There are many people whom we speak to and meet on an everyday basis. In everyday conversations we show othersRead MoreAristotle on Friendship Essay1134 Words   |  5 PagesAristotle on Friendship We are social creatures. We surround ourselves with other human beings, our friends. It is in our nature. We are constantly trying to broaden the circumference of our circle of friends. Aristotle understood the importance of friendship, books VIII and IX of the Nicomachean Ethics deal solely with this topic. A modern day definition of a friend can be defined as â€Å"one joined to another in intimacy and mutual benevolence independently of sexual or family love†. (OxfordRead MoreVirtuous Friendship Essay756 Words   |  4 PagesAristotle is right to claim that young people cannot form complete friendships because they allow convenience to rule their lives instead of correct discernment and virtue. According to Aristotle, a complete friendship is the friendship of good people similar in virtue (1156b8). This means that the argument of whether or not young people can form complete friendships is rooted mostly in virtue. Aristotle distinguishes human beings unique ability to commit virtuous, voluntary actions when heRead MoreTaking a Look at Nicomachean Ethics957 Words   |  4 Pagesabout how the virtuous human being needs friends from Book VIII from Nicomachean Ethics. In this essay I will talk about the three different kinds of friendship that (Utility, Pleasure, and Goodness) that Aristotle claims exist. I will also discuss later in my paper why Aristotle believes that Goodness is the best type of friendship over Utility or Pleasure. In addition to that I will also talk about the similarities and differences that these three friendships share between one another. And lastlyRead MoreA Curiosity Of Benefits And Self Love1463 Words   |  6 PagesBenefits and Self-Love in Friendships Reading Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, it is tempting to conclude that Aristotle provides clear explanation about the benefits of friendship and the idea of self-love. Throughout his examples of friendship, Aristotle supports his assumptions with evidence and real-world situations. His arguments about self-love and benefits from having friends seem clear and understandable to the reader. However, Aristotle unsuccessfully explains why friendship is primarily about activityRead MoreAristotle And Aristotle On Friendship1480 Words   |  6 Pageshis work The Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle addresses the question: what is the good life? Aristotle acknowledges that the generally accepted notion of the human good is happiness or, alternatively put, eudaimonia. The difficulty surrounding the age old question, and the topic that Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics primarily addresses, is not what we call the human good, but rather how happiness is defined and what contributes to a goo d, eudaimonic, flourishing life. Aristotle writes that happiness isRead MoreTrue Friend1081 Words   |  5 PagesFriendship is a very special relationship between two people or more. That’s why you need some time a power to understand them . I agree that friendship require time and energy .I think that friendship contains love, faith and honesty, and for that you need to spend time to know that other side very quit, so friendship require time and energy for two reason. First reason is that some friends are friend for life second is that people cannot live alone. The first reason why friendship worth time and

Lead and Manage a Team Within a Health and Social Care Setting Free Essays

The features of effective team performance are set out in Brian Tuckman’s phases of team development theory, ‘Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing. ’ This outlines the phases that a team will go through in order to become effective and reach maturity. At the ‘Forming’ stage of team development individual roles and responsibilities are unclear and each member of the team is concerned to avoid conflict with each other. We will write a custom essay sample on Lead and Manage a Team Within a Health and Social Care Setting or any similar topic only for you Order Now From this point the team will go through the ‘Storming’ phase which is when they start to conflict as individuals put forward ideas which will be challenged by others in a bid to gain power and position over others. After this the ‘Norming’ phase follows and it is at this point that individual roles are defined and accepted and ground rules and conduct are agreed. After each of these stages the team then reaches the ‘Performing’ stage which is where they are all working towards the same shared goal. This theory shows that for all teams to be effective each individual needs to be clear on their role, responsibilities and shared end goal. This is achieved through positive leadership, utilising the skills of the team and addressing weaknesses to make the team more effective. The challenges experienced by developing teams are often due to organisational change. Staff may be resistant to change such as moving to join a new team or working with people they do not know. A health and social care organisation needs to identify the skills and knowledge that are required for the service plan and recruit staff according to this to ensure that the diversity and skill mix needed is met to fulfil the service outcome. Newly appointed staff should complete an induction that ensures they understand and comply with the organisations values and objectives and their role and support systems should be clarified as quickly as possible to ensure they can contribute as quickly and effectively as possible to the team. An established team experiences different challenges to a developing team. They may have more difficulty maintaining staff enthusiasm and momentum. To overcome these challenges the organisation needs to be aware of changes to workload and conflict between individuals to resolve issues quickly before they impact on other staff and then service users. Also feedback should be given to staff in order for them to maintain or improve performance levels and recognition should be expressed for good work to maintain a high level of staff morale. Once momentum is built then it is easier to maintain and helps staff to remain enthusiastic and continue o communicate and trust their colleagues and manage their time efficiently and keeps them orientated to the important work tasks. Challenges to effective team performance can be overcome by the organisation being clear about the values and objectives in relation to staff and service users and communicating these and the time frame in which these are expected to be achieved. Support should be given to those who are capable of sharing the organisations objectives so they can become committed to ensuring that the service outcomes are met. If this is not done then it can be difficult to maintain effective team working. Dawes and Handscomb performed a review on team leadership in 2005 and suggested that these difficulties stemmed from competing professional interests. In different settings they reviewed the relationship between team working and care outcomes and it was found that within a long term care setting the care outcomes required effective team working to be met. It is considered that management styles can be divided into three categories. * Autocratic- characterised by individual control over all decisions and little input from group members. Paternalistic- a type of fatherly managerial style typically employed by dominant males where their organizational power is used to control and protect subordinate staff that are expected to be loyal and obedient. * Democratic- a style in which members of the group take a more participative role in the decision making process. A leader can be anyone who has the ability to influence other members of a team. It is considered that a manager and a leader are different but they are complementary to tasks being carried out. Management styles will change to reflect the stage of development the workforce’s stage of development. When starting a new team a manager will have to be clear about setting goals, establishing rules and assigning responsibility and then taking on the more troublesome tasks of organising resources, motivating and creating a cooperative team. As the team develops then roles can be delegated and appropriate support provided. Doing this enables the team to become more confident and the style of management and leadership changes so team members begin to take on more leadership functions. The primary focus of a leader is to develop and maintain trust between the service user and the staff. The service user will look at the staff to establish with them character and competence. If these two characteristics are met then this develops trust with the service user. Character relates to motive and intent, whether the staff are working towards the same objectives. Competence relates to skills and results, whether the staff are able to care for the service user and meet the objective set by the organisation. Staff that are registered with professional bodies have accountability and are answerable for their actions. They are accountable by law for meeting the standards and objectives that are set out for them. Even when staff are working towards a common goal, conflict can still arise. This can be due to different personalities, communication styles, sense of priorities and changes to workload. Trying to prevent conflict is best practice so a manager should try to build an environment that is supportive, positive and stable to try and reduce the likelihood of conflict developing. If conflict does develop then a manager should try to: * Address it at the earliest opportunity. * Keep the discussions positive. Look at what can be done to resolve the conflict. * Encourage the team to focus on the problem, not the person. Encourage honest dialogue between the team, welcoming different points of view that do not create blame. Each individual should be allowed to voice their point of view and also listen to and respect each other’s views. * Ask each individual to accept ownership of their part of the problem. * Discuss a variety of options before settling on an agreement that is based on o bjective criteria that will resolve the conflict. Conflict does not always necessarily have to be a bad thing, as if it is dealt with constructively, can lead to increased productivity, development of new ideas and personal development of team members. How to cite Lead and Manage a Team Within a Health and Social Care Setting, Papers

Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses

Questions: 1.Explain the planning process adopted by managers in organizations.2.Provide a brief summary of Ferguson Plarres organizational history.3.Describe Ferguson Plarres approach togoal setting.4.How does Ferguson Plarretrack progress toward goal achievement? Answers: 1. The planning process includes the setting of goals and the commitment that is required to develop these goals. To achieve these goals an action plan is required by the organizations that will help them in proceeding towards the goals in a systematic manner. These action plans need to be tracked so that the progress can be measured, which will help in calculating the time that will be required to achieve these goals. The plan needs to be flexible in nature so that if any contingency arises, it can be able to work on that and then again proceed towards its goal (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). The first step in the planning process is the setting of goals, which will help the organization to have an aim that it will want to achieve in the market. The goals have to be specific so that it will provide the organization a target, which it will aim to achieve and maintaining its standards at the same time. for example, Tesco has SMART objectives and goals and is specific in nature. The first objective of Tesco is no deforestation, which means that the trees that will be cut down by the company will be replaced by them. The goal of the company is measurable as they can keep a track of the number of trees they have cut down and replaced it with new saplings. The goal of the company is also specific as it has set a target that the they will stop deforestation by 2020, which helps them in achieving the goals (Kerzner 2013). The next step is the commitment that is shown towards achieving the goals. The goals of the company should motivate the employees to work in a smarter way in the organization. The goals of the company need to be set after being discussed with the employees so that it can be achievable. It should be realistic in nature and the senior management of the company needs to be committed so that they can inspect that it can be achieved by the employees. This will encourage the employees to be committed towards the organization and help them in achieving its target. Tesco is committed towards its policy of zero deforestation, which in turn has motivated the employees to serve in the organization in a better way. Since, the company hires people from the local community, it allows the employees to gain trust in the company by doing these activities for the community. This helps in attracting customers too for the company (Davenport 2013). The third step in the planning process includes the development of action plans that are effective in nature. The action plan helps an organization by listing the steps and the resources that will be required by the employees to help the company achieve its goal. Tesco has developed its action plan in such a way that they have managed to regain their competitive factor in the market. The main themes of the company were that they wanted their customers to experience shopping in an easier and better way. The company kept the products that were required daily by the customers, which made its availability in the store very frequent. This helped the company to maintain their loyal customers. The third strategy that was adopted by the company is that the prices of the products will be low, which cannot be matched by their competitors (Hill, Jones and Schilling 2014). The business model that is followed by the company mainly revolves around three pillars that are the customers, products and the channels. The company keeps its customers at the core of the business model and listens to the queries that are raised by the customers. This helps the company in delivering the products at the best price possible along with the best service. The products of the company is thoroughly looked after the product team who keeps a track of the products that are being available in the stores after discussing it with the potential customers. This allows the company to keep the most needed products in the store so that the customers can get what they are looking for. The company has a wide network of channels that allow them to purchase the products from small and big shops and through the online business. The company tries to improve its channels by making it more convenient and efficient for the customers (Harper 2015). The fourth step includes the tracking of the progress with respect to the achievement of its goals. The methods of tracking the goals are divided in to proximal goals, which are short-term goals and distal goals, which includes the long-term goals that the company wants to achieve. The proximal goals help the company to achieve its distal goals in the long run. Progress can be tracked through another method as well that includes the feedback regarding the performance of the company and its employees. These feedbacks allow the managers to know their employees in a better way and their contribution towards achieving the target set by the company. Tesco maintains a good communication pattern that helps them in getting feedback from the customers and the employees. The main goal of the company is to provide values based on the services that it renders to the customers (Simons 2013). The fifth and final step is to maintain flexibility that will lead to achievement of the goals. Tesco has shifted to broad banding, which has helped them in increasing their flexibility to achieve their goals and objectives. The company has to use the resources that are available to them so that the strategies that they have formulated will help them in the future. This has helped them in opening of more stores and continue their operations overseas as well. The company has undertaken the total reward policy, which has helped them to maintain their employees by giving them rewards on a constant basis, which helped them achieve recognition (Harper 2015). Benefits of Planning Planning in the organization will help in determining the objectives that has been set by the company. It will help in focusing the attention on the goals of the company for the employees. It helps in minimizing the risks of the firm. Proper planning will provide the firm an opportunity to stay away from any obstacle that it might get while trying to achieve its objectives. It helps in greater coordination amongst the employees as the employees under the proper guidance of the managers will strive to reach to the goal set by the firm. It helps in boosting up the morality of the employees as it creates discipline within the organization. Lastly, it encourages innovations to take place in the organization. The planning process provides various opportunities that helps in improving the performance of the employees (Hill, Jones and Schilling 2014). Pitfalls of Planning There are however limitations to planning as well such as the rigidness of the planning procedure. It tends to make the working administration within the organization inflexible and the procedures and the policies have to be strictly followed under all circumstances. Planning may lead to over-ambitiousness of the policies that may not be achieved within the stipulated time. the planning process is time consuming in nature as it has to collect the information that needs to be analyzed before making further plans in the organization. There is a chance of probability in the planning process as it is based on the future forecasts of the company. It does not follow the real situation as the predictions are all made for the future. Planning process requires an investment of money, which may prove to be expensive for the company in the future (Simons 2013). 2. The Ferguson Plarre Bakehouse is a family owned business venture who are still in operation. The company has a long history, which can be traced back to the 1800s. the company was started by two families Fergusons and the Plarre families who are of European ethnicity and established their company in Australia a century ago. The company was established in 1901 in the Northern and the Western suburbs of the country in Melbourne and became household names in the locality at a faster rate. The company continued its trading business during the World Wars and even faced the harsh conditions of Great Depression but they managed to survive through these times. The company saw its fourth generation take over the business in 2012 and they managed the business through retail shops, franchising their bakery and the daily operations of the company. The company continues to deliver quality products through better service and continuous innovation techniques. The products include chicken, beef t hat is free from hormone injection and freshly made cream in their manufacturing unit. The company is recently run by Steve Plarre who relaunched the original store of the company (Ferguson Plarre 2013). 3. The mission of the company is to provide the materials that are organic in nature so that their consumers do not face any health issues in the future. The vision of the company is to upkeep the satisfaction level of the customers by providing them with the best quality products that is available in the market. they will not compromise on their product quality, which may lower their customer base. The strategical plan of the company after the Plarre family bought the Fergusson family is to promote the brand throughout the country by establishing various franchisees. This will help the company as more number of customers will get a taste of the historical company in Australia. The company has built its brand on a fresh note that pertains to the history of the company. The company recently faced a few problems when they changed the senior managers but it was done in a positive manner. The company has a good network of communication pattern that has helped them set their goals as communication helped the company to interact with the customers in a proper manner. The major goal of the company is to have a turnover of $24 million AUD, which is more than the turnover from the previous year of $20 million AUD. The company plans to achieve this turnover by adding new stores and the growth of the existing stores needs to be increased by 10 percent. The company has launched point of sales system, which will help them in keeping a track of the products that will be sold. Earlier it used to maintain a register, which caused problem in understanding the transactional values of the company (Ferguson Plarre 2012). 4. From the video, it can be understood that Ralph Plarre has introduced a system of graphical representation in the company. The particular products that achieve more sales in the market are marked with a green line and the products that do not do well in the market are marked with the red line. This helps the company to get a better hold of the products and the situation in the market. The strategy of the company is to review its goal every month, which will help them in maintaining a flexible strategy so that when they face any problem they can come up with a different solution. The production process of the company is also tracked so that the products that sell more in the market can be manufactured, which directly results in increasing the profits of the company (Ferguson Plarre 2012). Reference List Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014.Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Davenport, T.H., 2013.Process innovation: reengineering work through information technology. Harvard Business Press. FergusonPlarre 2012, Interview with Steve Plarre, Part 3: Planning, Cengage Learning Australia. FergusonPlarre 2013, Our History, viewed {Accessed on 23rd May, 2017}, https://www.fergusonplarre.com.au/about/history/ Harper, C., 2015.Organizations: Structures, processes and outcomes. Routledge. Hill, C.W., Jones, G.R. and Schilling, M.A., 2014.Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning. Kerzner, H., 2013.Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Loosemore, M., 2013.Innovation, strategy and risk in construction: turning serendipity into capability. Routledge. McLean, T., 2014.Grow Your Factory, Grow Your Profits: Lean for Small and Medium-sized Manufacturing Enterprises. CRC Press. Simons, R., 2013.Levers of control: How managers use innovative control systems to drive strategic renewal. Harvard Business Press.

Where Do You Get Love Essay Example For Students

Where Do You Get Love Essay Word Count: 522As individuals, we seek a fantastical encounter with true love. Through the plays A Midsummer Nights Dream, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night, Shakespeares characters find true love through various tests in which one of the lovers identity is masked, either physically or subconsciously. While these three plays share different plots, they all portray Shakespeares stance that romance exists in human love, and that if the love is pure, it will prevail over the most eccentric circumstances. A Midsummer Nights Dream employs several mythical qualities, such as fairys and love potions. The love between Hermia and Lysander is put to an immediate test when Hermias father, Egeus says, Scornful Lysander, true, he hath my love, And what is mine my love shall render him. And she is mine, and all my right of her I do estate unto Demetrius (I, I, line 95-98). This causes the young lovers to venture into the forest, so their love can exist without interference. Falling under this spell causes Lysander to ignore, and treat Hermia poorly. Despite the actions of Lysander, Hermia stays true to her feelings of love for Lysander. These examples of faith, conveyed by Hermia, are central to Shakespeares position that true love is more powerful than any authoritarian figure or love potion. We will write a custom essay on Where Do You Get Love specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now As You Like It portrays another example of Shakespeares vision of true love. The way in which Rosalind and Orlando meet and fall in love is conventional Rosalind falls in love with Orlando through his manly labors and good looks at his wrestling match with Charles. Sir, you have wrestled well, and overthrown more than your enemies (I, ii, 234-235). However, a new dimension is added to the play by Rosalinds disguise as Ganymede and her suggestion that Orlando pretend to court her. Rosalind charms the reader with the depth of her true love forOrlando. Shakespeare portrays Rosalinds love both seriously and comically, through the quickness of her wit and her sense of humor when dealing with Orlando. As You Like It conveys Shakespeares belief that true love does exist in human love through a bizarre tale of unconditional love. Twelfth Night portrays Shakespeares notion that true love will overcome all adversity. Shakespeare masks the identity of Viola, but contrary to the character of Rosalind, Viola finds herself caught between being in love, and being the love of Olivia. The concealing of the identity of Viola challenges her to honor her true loves love for Olivia, a loyalty she even agrees to die for. Shakespeare uses the self-sacrifice of Viola to state the extent to which one would go for true love. Through these three comedic plays, filled with quirky characters, and peculiar circumstances Shakespeares stand in the debate over human love is clear. Shakespeare was a romantic, who saw romance in even the most bizarre of characters. Through the deception of ones gender, and the creation of a love potion, Shakespeare goes into the depths of our imagination to convey the extent to which true love can affect an individual.

The Fourteen Points of Woodrow Wilsons Plan for Peace

The Fourteen Points of Woodrow Wilsons Plan for Peace November 11 is, of course, Veterans Day. Originally called Armistice Day, it marked the ending of World War I in 1918. It also marked the beginning of an ambitious foreign policy plan by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. Known as the Fourteen Points, the plan- which ultimately failed- embodied many elements of what we today call globalization. Historical Background World War I, which began in August 1914, was the result of decades of imperial competition between the European monarchies. Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Russia all claimed territories around the globe. They also conducted elaborate espionage schemes against each other,  engaged in a continuous arms race, and constructed a precarious system of military alliances. Austria-Hungary laid claim to much of the Balkan region of Europe, including Serbia. When a Serbian rebel killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, a string of events forced the European nations to mobilize for war against each other. The main combatants were: The Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, TurkeyThe Entente Powers: France, Great Britain, Russia The U.S. in the War The United States did not enter World War I until April 1917 but its list of grievances against warring Europe dated back to 1915. That year, a German submarine (or U-Boat) sank the British luxury steamer,  Lusitania, which carried 128 Americans. Germany had already been violating American neutral rights; the United States, as a neutral in the war, wanted to trade with all belligerents. Germany saw any American trade with an entente power as helping their enemies. Great Britain and France also saw American trade that way, but they did not unleash submarine attacks on American shipping. In early 1917, British intelligence intercepted a message from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmerman to Mexico. The message invited Mexico to join the war on the side of Germany. Once involved, Mexico was to ignite war in the American southwest that would keep U.S. troops occupied and out of Europe. Once Germany had won the European war, it would then help Mexico retrieve land it had lost to the United States in the Mexican War, 1846-48. The so-called Zimmerman Telegram was the last straw. The United States quickly declared war against Germany and its  allies. American troops did not arrive in France in any large numbers until late 1917. However, there were enough on hand to stop a German offensive in Spring 1918. That fall, Americans led an allied offensive that flanked the German front in France, severing the German armys supply lines back to Germany. Germany had no choice but to call for a cease-fire. The armistice went into effect at 11 a.m., on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. The Fourteen Points More than anything else, Woodrow Wilson saw himself as a diplomat. He had already roughed out the concept of the Fourteen Points to Congress and the American people months before the armistice. The  summarized Fourteen Points included: Open covenants of peace and transparent diplomacy.Absolute freedom of the seas.The removal of economic and trade barriers.An end to arms races.National self-determination to figure in adjustment of colonial claims.Evacuation of all Russian territory.Evacuation and restoration of Belgium.All French territory restored.Italian frontiers adjusted.Austria-Hungary given opportunity to autonomous development.Rumania, Serbia, Montenegro evacuated and given independence.Turkish portion of the Ottoman Empire should become sovereign; nations under Turkish rule should become autonomous; Dardanelles should be open to all.Independent Poland with access to the sea should be created.A general association of nations should be formed to guarantee political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike. Points one through five attempted to eliminate the immediate causes of the war: imperialism, trade restrictions, arms races, secret treaties, and disregard of nationalist tendencies. Points six through 13 attempted to restore territories occupied during the war and set post-war boundaries, also based on national self-determination. In the 14th Point, Wilson envisioned a global organization to protect states and prevent future wars. The Treaty of Versailles The Fourteen Points served as the foundation for the Versailles Peace Conference that began outside of Paris in 1919. However, the Treaty of Versailles  was markedly different than Wilsons proposal. France- which  had been attacked by Germany in 1871 and was the site of most of the fighting in World War I- wanted to punish Germany in the treaty. While Great Britain and the United States did not agree with punitive measures, France won out. The resultant treaty: Forced Germany to sign a war guilt clause and accept full responsibility for the war.Prohibited further alliances between Germany and Austria.Created a demilitarized zone between France and Germany.Made Germany  responsible for paying  millions of dollars in reparations to the victors.Limited Germany to a defensive army only, with no tanks.Limited Germanys navy to six capital ships and no submarines.Prohibited Germany from having an air force. The victors at Versailles did accept the idea of Point 14, a League of Nations. Once created, it became the issuer of mandates which were former German territories handed over to allied nations for administration. While Wilson won the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize for his Fourteen Points, he was disappointed by the punitive atmosphere of Versailles. He was also unable to convince Americans to join the League of Nations. Most Americans- in an isolationist mood after the war- did not want any part of a global organization which could lead them into another war. Wilson campaigned throughout the U.S. trying to convince Americans to accept the League of Nations. They never did, and the League limped toward World War II with U.S. support. Wilson suffered a series of strokes while campaigning for the League, and  was debilitated for the rest of his presidency in 1921.

A History of Nazi Germany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

A History of Nazi Germany - Essay Example The German economy was greatly hindered as Germany, after the First World War, was taking the complete responsibility of the financial loss, the lives that were lost and mass destruction, this brought down the whole country.The German soldiers turned to fascism as they were unable to the proper supplies for their survival after their return from war. Germany could not get any help to recover from their financial loss, after the First World War the whole world went into great depression this too was not of any help to the German economy. As a result the country turned to fascism to get its wealth and pride back.Adolf Hitler, the political leader of the National Socialist German Workers, was one of the main personalities who promoted the fascist ideas. Hitler was assisted in promoting this Nazi concept by Albert Speer. Hitler was supported by the Germans and they turned to his ideas as he promised to meet their monetary needs after the world war I. The offer made by Hitler was irresist ible by the Germans and they declared him the Chancellor of their country.Hitler's government was fascist in nature which was led by dictatorship, and the dictator had absolute power, he suppressed other political parties, had control over the financial affairs and the dictator was considered to be a strong nationalist. The complete order and control of the German Government was in Hitler's hands through this philosophy. Hitler through his personal guard the SS, enforced fascism and his government hated particular groups of people and also was very racial. Hitler joined a group called the German Workers Party in the year 1919 in the city of Munich. Within no time he became one of the seven committee members who headed the party. This party held meetings in which different issues like the threat posed by the enemy namely the Bolshevisks that is the Communists who had come to power in Russia, the areas where the present government lacked, the weakness of the government and the threat posed by the Jews who were the enemies within the country were brought forth. They also spoke about the better times before the first world war. "In March 1920 he was discharged from the army and became a professional politician. His meteoric rise had begun." 1 Hitler began operations in forming his new political party, it was renamed as the National Socialist German Worker's party which is in short the Nazi party. the party won around eight hundred thousand votes, however it was more than just a political party. it was being turned into a military force by their leader Adolf Hitler. A group called the "Storm troopers" were trained by him to act as militia at his command. The Nazi party and its troops were being supported by the past German military leaders. In Bavaria in the beginning the Nazi party was formed and started out as a small group called the German Worker's party. The party was resisted and opposed to the Treaty of Versailles and Communism. the party came to existence and was formed by the Germans due to the humiliation they faced as they a result of their defeat in the First World War and the severe terms and regulations imposed on them by the Allies. At first Hitler joined this party as a secret agent and later became one of the most influential members of the party, as a result of his power to inspire and enthusiasm for the cause he became the leader of this small party, influencing and promoting his ideas to the people of similar ideology. 1. Carsten, Francis Ludwig, 1967. The Rise of Facism. (University of California Press: USA, 1967), 95. This party was soon renamed as the National and Socialist German Workers Party, their political manifesto was based on a twenty five point program that was adopted by the party. it was due to their strength of their belief in the twenty five points that the Nazi's chose to take force in Munich in a coup d' etat. Despite an initial success in achieving the coup's main objective of seizing power, the coup was unsuccessful. The party seemed to be destroyed and Hitler was

Development and underdevelopmint issues of measurment and defintion Research Paper

Development and underdevelopmint issues of measurment and defintion - Research Paper Example The concept of Human Development Index (HDI) is also covered in order to guide the developing countries on the essential factors that they should consider during the measurement of human development. The macroeconomics and microeconomics challenges that are faced by the developing countries have jeopardized the provision of basic services including education and health. Due to the lack of adequate resources as a result of inadequate technology and innovation, developing countries have continued to rely heavily on developed states both in terms of financial resources and human capital. Even though the financial assistance has reasonably addressed the economic challenges faced by the developing countries, the amount of international debts has gone up leading to more economic problems especially during economic crisis. Some of the major macroeconomics problems faced by the developing countries include high rate of unemployment, high taxes, decreased production of goods, poor infrastructure as well as misappropriation of financial resources among others. This paper seeks to discuss development and underdevelopment issues that affect developing countries Economics development entails the study of macroeconomics and microeconomics factors that leads to an economic growth. Other aspects that are covered when analyzing the economic development of a developing country include education, health and the conditions of the work places among other issues (Frans, 2002). In addition, economics development involves establishment of methods and policies that a developing country should adopt in order to increase the national economic output. The policies that are adopted both at the domestic and international levels, may involve qualitative and quantitative approaches. One of the major aspects that are essential in economic development as compared to other fields of economics is that it incorporates both political and social factors that affect the lives of

Financial Analysis of BAE systems plc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Financial Analysis of BAE systems plc - Essay Example The principle operations of the company are electronic system, cyber & intelligence and platforms & services (UK and US and international). The electronic systems of the company includes, electronically optical sensors, commercial and digital engine and flight controls, electronic warfare systems, persistent surveillance capabilities, next-generation military communications systems and data links and hybrid electric drive systems. Cyber & intelligence includes, US based security and intelligence business and the BAE  System’s Detica business. It covers the cyber, financial security and commercial activities based in the UK. From the above figure, it is evident that the sales of the company have decreased over the years from 2008 to 2012. The revenue has reduced by 7% reflecting lower volume of sales in Land & Armaments business and there was no contract for Typhoon aircraft delivery during 2012 under the surveillance of Salam Typhoon program (BAE Systems, 2014b). The Earning Before Interest, Tax and Amortization (EBITA) has also reduced by 6% to approximately  £1,895 million (BAE Systems, 2014b). The earnings per share (EPS) went down by 2% (which excludes the benefit of UK tax settlement in 2011). The order backlog has also increased by about 8% to  £42.4 billion. The order taking in non-US and UK have increased to  £11.2 billion from  £4.8 billion in 2011. The total dividend paid to the investors has also increased by 4% in 2012 to about 19.5 p (BAE Systems, 2014b). According to Dick Olver, Chairman of BAE Systems Plc, â€Å"BAE Systems has delivered a robust performance in a challenging environment† (BAE Systems, 2014b). The company concentrates on the way it has conducted its business over the years and also focuses on the operational and strategic progress. The mission statement of the company is to â€Å"deliver sustainable growth in shareholder value by committing Total Performance† (BAE Systems,

Lack Of Group Cohesiveness Psychology Essay

Lack Of Group Cohesiveness Psychology Essay Teams and groups have a great impact on the behavior of employees. Good working and interactions with peers, subordinates, and superiors and crucial aspects of organizational life, helping employees achieve personal and organizational goals. When relationships are poor, they can become sources of stress. Moreover, incivility at work and elsewhere has become a major problem. Incivility implies rudeness and disregard of others. It includes the violation of workplace norms for mutual respect. A high level of political behavior or office politics also may create stress for managers and employees. The nature of relationships with others may influence how employees react to other stressors. In other words, interpersonal relationships can be either a source of stress or the social support that helps employees cope with stressors. The group can also be a potential source of stress. The group stressors can be categorized into following areas: Lack of group cohesiveness Starting with the historically famous hawthrone studies, it has become very clear that cohesiveness or togetherness is very important to employees, especially at the lower levels of organizations. If an employee is denied the opportunity for this cohesiveness because the other member of the group shut the person out, the resulting lack of cohesiveness can be very stress-producing. Lack of social support Employees are greatly affected by the support of one or more members of a cohesive group. By sharing their problems and joys with others, they are much better off. If this type of social support is lacking for an individual, the situation can be very stressful. There is even research indicating that the lack of social support is so stressful that it accounts for some health care costs. Intraindividual, interpersonal and intergroup conflict. Conflict is conceptually very closely linked to stress. Conflict is normally associated with incompatible or hostile acts between intraindividual dimensions such as personal goals or motivational needs/values, between individuals with in a group, and between groups. Conflict can hence lead to considerable stress for individuals. In addition to the group per se, group-level dynamics may become stressors, for example a recent study found that organizational politics was a potential source of stress in the work environment. Aggressive behavior : A frightening category of work stressors is overly aggressive behavior in the workplace, often taking the form of violence or sexual harassment. Aggressive behavior that intentionally threatens or causes physical harm to an employee is classified as workplace violence. Work place violence tops the security threats employee face at their organization. Homicide is second only to transportation accidents as the most common cause of workplace fatalities. A second form of overly aggressive behavior in the workplace is sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is unwanted contact or communication of a sexual nature. Many female employees have been object of unwanted sexual advances, propositions or discussions at work. As with workplace violence, sexual harassment is a serious problem. Management clearly has a strong responsibility to do everything in its power to prevent sexual harassment from occurring. When it does occur, it needs to be dealt with quickly and firmly. INDIVIDUAL STRESSORS: In a sense, the stressors discussed so far eventually get down to the individual level. There is also more research and agreement on possible situational dimensions and individual dispositions that may affect stress outcomes. For example, individual dispositions such as type a personality patterns, personal control. Learned helplessness, self efficacy and psychological hardiness may all affect the level of stress someone experiences. Conflict between work and other roles : A person has many roles in life (e.g., breadwinner, family member, little league coach, and/or social workers, to name a few), only one of which is typically associated with work (although some individuals may hold more than one job at a time) these roles may present conflicting demands that become sources of stress. Furthermore, work typically meets only some of persons goals and needs. Other goals and needs may conflict with career goals, presenting an additional source of stress. For example, employees personal desires to spend time with their families may conflict with the extra hours they must work to advance their careers. Current demographic trends, such as the increasingly large number of dual-career couples, have brought work and family role conflicts into sharp focus. Career development: Major stressors related to career planning and development involves job security, promotions, transfers, and developmental opportunities. An employee can feel stress by under promotion (failure to advance as rapidly as desired0 or over promotion (promotion to a job that exceeds the individuals competencies). The current wave of reorganization and downsizing may seriously threaten careers and cause stress. When jobs, teams, departments, or entire organizations are restructured, employees often have numerous career-related concerns: can I perform competently in the new situation? Is my new job secure? Typically, employees find these concerns stressful. Differences between company and employee values A further cause of stress lies in differences between company values and ethical practices, as often reflected in the organizations culture, and employee ethics and values. Substantial differences can lead to significant mental stress as an effort is made to balance the requirements of both sets of values. Personality characteristics The personality characteristics points out the complexity of, and individual differences in, personality dispositions and traits. Personality traits such as authoritarianism, rigidity, masculinity, femininity, extroversion, supportiveness, spontaneity, emotionality, tolerance for ambiguity, anxiety, and the need for achievement have been uncovered by research as being particularly relevant to individual stress. Most attention has centered on the type A personality. Friedman and rosenman define the type a personality as an action-emotion complex that can be observed in any person who is aggressively involved in a chronic, increscent struggle to achieve more and more in less and less time, and if required to do so, against the opposing efforts of other things or other persons. Type A 00employees experience considerable stress. They are the ones who: Work long, hard hours under constant deadline pressures and conditions for overload. Often take work home at night or on weekends and are unable to relax. Constantly compete with them, setting high standards of productivity that they seem driven to maintain. Tend to become frustrated by the work situation, to be irritated with the work efforts of others, and to be misunderstood by supervisors. Type B people appear more relaxed and easygoing. They accept situations and work with them rather than fight them competitively. Type B people are especially relaxed regarding time pressures, so they are less prone to have problems associated with stress. Still, type B individuals can be highly productive workers who meet schedule expectations; they simply obtain results in a different manner. The research on type A and type B people is still accumulating. For example, some of the type A behavior patterns, such as competitiveness and a drive for career success, appear to be consistent with societys values. At the same time, the hostility and aggression these people exhibit may make it difficult for many employees to work with them. Some studies also suggest that there may be different forms of type a personalities. As a result, the type As who are more expressive and less hostile may be less prone to heat disease. Other type As apparently enjoy their success so much that they disregard the surrounding stress and do not suffer from heart attacks or other physical consequences. Besides the debate surrounding the impact of type a personality on health is the question of the success of type As versus type Bs. It is pretty clear that type As are typically on a fast track to the top. They are more successful than type Ba. however, at the very top they do not tend to be as successful as type Bs, who are not very ambitious, are more patient, and take a broader view of things. The key may be to shift form type A to type B behavior, but, of course, most type As are unable and unwilling to make the shift and/or to cope with their type A characteristics. Personal control The second internal factor affecting employee stress is the amount of perceived control they have over their work and working conditions. Employees who have a substantial degree of independence, autonomy, and freedom to make decision seem to handle work pressures better. Since two employees may have the same actual control and flexibility, it is clearly their relative perception of that freedom that counts. Managers can respond to this need for control through a variety of measures such as allowing flexible work schedules, enriching jobs, placing individuals on self-managing teams, or empowering employees by using participative leadership styles. Peoples feelings about their ability to control the situation are important in determining their level of stress. In particular, if employees feel that they have little control over the work environment and over their own job, they will experience stress. Studies have shown that if employees are given a sense of control over their work environment, such as being given a chance to be involved in the decision-making process that affects them; this will reduce their work stress. A large study by Cornell university medical researchers found that those workers who experience loss of control, especially in relatively how-level jobs, have tripled the risk of developing high blood pressure. The researchers concluded that lack of control turns stress into physical problems. They also found that employee perceptions of the amount of control they experience at work relate to stress, which in turn affects physiological outcomes such as blood pressure as well as psychological outcomes such as job satisfaction. Learned helplessness: The feeling of loss of control goes back to come of the classic research on learned helplessness conducted by Seligman. In conducting experiments on dogs who could not escape shock, he found that they eventually accepted it and did not they have learned to be helpless. Other studies found that people, too, can learn to be helpless, which helps explain why some employees just seem to have given up and seem to accept stressors in their work environment, even when a change for the better is possible. Most recently, Seligman and his colleagues have concentrated on peoples explanations for their lack of control. Specifically, they suggest that people are most apt to experience helplessness when they perceive the cause of the lack of control: To be related to something about their own personal characteristics (as opposed to outside, environmental forces) As stable and enduring (rather than just temporary) To be global and universal (cutting across many situations, rather than in joint one sphere of life) Further study and research on the sense of control in general and learned helplessness in particular will provide much insight into stress and how to cope with it. Perception: Perception is a process whereby a person selects and organizes environmental information into a concept of reality. Employee perceptions of a situation can influence how (or whether) they experience stress. For example, two employees have their hob duties substantially changed-a situation likely to be stressful for many people. The first employee view the new duties as an opportunity to learn new competencies and thinks that the change is a vote of confidence from management in her ability to be flexible and take on new challenges. In contrast, the second employee perceives the same situation to be extremely threatening and concludes that management is unhappy with his performance. Past experience: A person may perceive a situation as more or less stressful. Depending on how familiar that person is with the situation and his prior experience with the particular stressors involved. Past practice or training may allow some employees to deal calmly and competently with stressors that would greatly intimidate less experienced or inadequately trained employees. The relationship between experience and stress is based on reinforcement. Positive reinforcement or previous success in a similar situation can reduce the level of stress that a person experiences under certain circumstances; punishment or past failure under similar conditions can increase stress under the same circumstances. The evidence indicates that experience on the job tends to be negatively related to work stress. The two explanations have been offered. First is the idea of selective withdrawal. Voluntary turnover is more probably among people who experience more stress. Therefore, people who remain with the organization longer are those with more stress-resistant traits or those who are more resistant to the stress characteristics of their organization. Second, people eventually develop coping mechanisms to deal with stress. Social support: The presence or absence of other people influences how individuals in the workplace experience stress and respond to stressors. The presence of coworker may increase an individuals confidence, allowing that person to cope more effectively with stress. For example, working alongside someone who performs confidently competently in a stressful situation may help an employee behave similarly. Conversely, the presence of fellow workers may irritate some people or make them anxious, reducing their ability to cope with stress. Locus of control: Those with internal locus of control believe they control their own destiny. Those with external locus believe their lives are controlled by outside forces. Evidence indicates that internals perceive their jobs are less stressful than do externals. When internals and externals confront a similar stressful situation, the internals are likely to believe that they can have a significant effect on the results. They, therefore, act to take control of events. In contrast, externals are more likely to be passive Self efficacy: Self efficacy has also been found to influence stress outcomes. Self efficacy refers to an individuals belief that he or she is capable of performing a task. Evidence indicates that individuals with strong self efficacy reacted less negatively to the strain created by long work hours and work overload that did those with low levels of self efficacy. That is, confidence in ones own abilities appears to decrease stress. As with an internal locus of control strong efficacy confirms the power of self beliefs in moderating the effect of high strain situation. There is increasing evidence that peoples self-perception of their capacity to be effective and bring about change may be an important disposition in the ability to withstand stress. For example, those with high self-efficacy have a relatively low level of physiological arousal (for example, they have less adrenaline in the bloodstream). Yet those under stress tend to have high physiological arousal. Thus, those with high self-efficacy tend to remain clamer when faced with a stressful situation. Over arousal can impair our ability to solve compels stress-related problems by elevating out motivation well beyond optimal levels and distracting us from task at hand. So people with higher self-efficacy expectations have biological as well as psychological reasons for remaining calmer. Personality: Some peoples personality includes a high degree of hostility and anger. These people are chronically suspicious and mistrustful of others. Evidence indicates that this hostility significantly increases a persons stress and risk for heart diseases. More specifically, people who are quick to anger maintain a persistently hostile outlook, and project a cynical mistrust of others are more likely to experience stress in situation. Psychological hardiness: Everyone has observed individual differences of people faced with stressors. Some people seem to go to pieces at the slightest provocations, while others seem unflappable in the face of extremely stressful situations. Those able to cope stressfully with extreme stressors seem to have a hardiness disposition. Personality traits that seem to counter the effects of stress are known collectively as hardy personality. As a personality type, hardiness is defined as a cluster of characteristics that includes feeling a sense of commitment, responding to each diffulty as representing a challenge and an opportunity, and perceiving that one has control over ones own life. The hardy personality is characterized by: A sense of positive involvement with others in social situation; A tendency to attribute ones own behavior to internal causes A tendency to perceive or welcome significant changes in life with interest, curiosity, and optimism. A high degree of hardiness reduces the negative effects of stressful events. Hardiness seems to reduce stress by altering the way people perceive stressors. The concept of the hardy personality provides a useful insight into the role of individual differences in reaction to environmental stressors. An individual having a low level of hardiness perceives many events as stressful; an individual having a high level of hardiness perceives fewer events as stressful. A person with high level of hardiness isnt overwhelmed by challenging or difficult situation. Rather, faced with a stressor, the hardy personality copes or responds constructively by trying to find a solution-to control or influence events. This behavioral response typically reduces stress reactions, lowers blood pressure, and reduces the probability of illness. Frustration: Another cause of stress is frustration. It is a result of motivation (drive0 being blocked to prevent one from reaching a desired goal. It is a felling of insecurity and dissatisfaction arising from unresolved problems or unsatisfied needs and wants. The mind, either consciously or subconsciously, generally attempts to cause behavior designed to help the frustrated person adjust to an unresolved situation, a type of behavior termed an adjustive reaction of defense mechanism. Some adjustive reactions are positively directed while others may be negative. Some frustrations may result in mild adjustive ` reactions; other reactions may be extreme and emotional. The intensity of a particular adjustment generally depends on two factors: the type of frustration activity and the previous experience of the frustrated person. Psychologists have developed a variety of terms to describe the numerous types of adjustive reactions to frustration. Symptoms of stress:Â   Stress affects different people in different ways, and everyone has a different method of dealing with it. Psychological symptoms Anger, Depression, Anxiety, Changes in behavior, Food cravings, Lack of appetite, Frequent crying, Difficulty sleeping (mental), Feeling tired, and Difficulty concentrating. Physical symptoms Chest pains, Constipation or diarrhea, Cramps or muscle spasms, Dizziness, Fainting spells, Nail biting, Nervous twitches, Pins and needles, Feeling restless, A tendency to sweat, Sexual difficulties such as erectile dysfunction or a loss of sexual desire, Breathlessness, Muscular aches, and Difficulty sleeping (physical). Data Analysis and Interpretation The research for the project is objected at identifying the stressors existing in the banking sector. This purpose is extended to identifying the different stressors faced by the employees of public sector banks and private sector banks. The focus was basically on the employees of state bank of India (a leading public sector bank) and ICICI (one of the leading private sector bank). Various stressors are identified and comparison between the stress levels existing in the employees of these banks is done on various significant grounds. A sample size of 46 respondents is selected that includes 23 respondents of both the banks. The questionnaires projected various questions concerning the individual, group, and organizational stressors. The respondents were asked to tick the appropriate option (yes, no or not applicable for all except 2 questions). The responses, expressed in terms of yes, no or not applicable are analyzed in terms of their repercussion on stress generating capacity. A yes answer to a statement could not necessarily mean positive answer. The statements were so formed that a yes could indicate a negative answer as well. Same is the case for no. Each no does not mean something negative. Considering this and since the purpose is to understand the level of stress each question is marked 1 (one) on the negative answer give and 0 (zero) on every positive reply, irrespective of whether it is yes or no. the interpretation of the scores is done on the following basis: Questions are divided on the basis of three stressors: Individual level: there are 18 questions to understand the impact of this stressor. Negatively answering one statement can give 1 point and in all these statement can yield a maximum score of 18 points. Group level: there are 6 questions to understand the impact of this stressor. Negatively answering one statement can give 3 and in all these statement can yield a maximum score of 18 points. Organizational level: there are 18 questions to understand the impact of this stressor. Negatively answering one statement can give 1 point and in all these statements can yield a maximum score of 18 points. Analyzing these stressors independently, the following is base: Less than 4: This score presents that the respondents are not prone to stress and are not likely to have and suffer from a stress related illness. 4 to 8: This score presents that the respondents are prone to stress and likely to suffer from the negative effects of stress. They may possibly be open to stress related illnesses. More than 8: This score presents that the respondents are very prone to the negative effects of stress and may be open to stress related illness. They must not delay in doing something about it and seek professional stress management counseling and consult medical doctor. After analyzing these stressors independently, they are summed up to find the total stress faced by an employee. The following base is taken: Less than 10: This score presents that the respondents are not prone to stress and are not likely to have and suffer from a stress- related illness. 10 to 20: This score presents that the respondent are prone to stress and are likely to suffer from the negative effects of stress. They may possibly be open to stress related illnesses. More than 20: This score presents that the respondents are very prone to the negative effects of stress and may be open to stress related illness. They must not delay in doing something about it and seek professional stress management counseling and consult medical doctor. The comparative study of the stressors affecting the employees of both the banks- SBI and ICICI is done keeping the above base in focus. The comparison is presented through pie charts. Various dimensions affecting the stress level and the personal characteristics of the respondents are presented and compared to understand to organizational environment and culture. FINDING From the data presentation and interpretation of various level of stressors presented above, as analyzed from the information collected from various respondents, the following findings can be chalked out: Comparative analysis: While comparing the stress level of female employees of both the banks, it is clear that female respondents of icici feel extreme stress, while female respondents of SBI are easy going and feel stressed. Of all the stressors, 26% of the female employees of ICICI feel extremely stressed by the organizational stressors. One of the reasons for this lies in the fact that the female employees of SBI have been with the bank for many years; hence they have developed the coping mechanisms to deal with the organizational stressors. While comparing the stress levels of the employees of SBI with the stress levels of the male employees of ICICI, it is found that 44% of the male employees of SBI face extreme stress and 16% of male employees of ICICI face extreme stress. While comparing the male versus female employee stress levels of ICICI, it is Evident, that female employee suffers more stress as compared to male employees. 26% of female employees suffer from extreme stress. While comparing the male versus female stress levels at SBI, it is found that male employees (approximately 44% of male employees feel extreme stress) of SBI feel more stress as compared to female employees (only 29% of female employees feel extreme stress). One of the reasons worth mentioning is that in SBI; most of the key positions are occupied by male employees. Hence female employees are in charge of such positions that do not cause much stress. Stress level of SBI is high as compared to icici, since 39% of total respondents of SBI face extreme stress and only 17% of the total respondents of ICICI face extreme stress. The analysis presented a surprising result. The stress level of the employees working in public sector bank i.e., SBI is higher than the stress level of employees working in the private sector bank i.e., ICICI. I would now like to present the findings that indicate this difference. First, I am presenting the reasons that are responsible for high stress among employees of SBI: First of all, irrespective of their hierarchical positions, there is little autonomy provided to the employees. All employees are required to consult their concerned manager for taking decisions. Moreover, the managers themselves do not have ultimate authority. They are also required to consult regional managers to take certain decision. Secondly, there exists bureaucracy in public sector banks. There are very long procedures framed for conduct of any activity. Any task that can be otherwise conducted easily requires long procedures to be followed for accomplishing it. This leads to wastage of time and resources. Much of employees energy is diverted towards these activities that actually require less attention. The decision making process of the bank is very long. It takes much time to take decisions. The permissions of top management are required to be taken before finalizing a decision and implementing it. These certainly prove to restrict quick decision making, and hence leads to delay in activities and stress. The restrictions posed by the rules and regulations of the banks are also one of the essential factors causing stress. Employees feel suppressed and pressurized owning to these. Many employees of SBI are currently finding themselves fixed amidst banks rules and regulations and their desire of freedom of working. Most of the employees working in SBI have reached the maintenance stage of their career development. Owing to this, they face much mid-career crises. These employees are currently suffering the Mid Career Crises. To add to this, of late, there were many technological changes implemented in bank. No doubt, the employees were provided adequate training regarding the use of the technology and software, there still exists some level of dissatisfaction among employees concerning the technological area. The employees of SBI feel that there is partiality existing in the treatment of employees in the bank. They perceive that the managers do have hard corner for few employees. This perception of employees affects their ability to accept any decision taken by manager. There is lack of motivation among the employees of SBI. There are no incentives provided to improve their performance. There is only one incentive given (in terms of bonus) at the time of Diwali. Lack of incentives proves to be a demotivating factor. As it is, the income received by the employees of SBI or for that matter any public sector bank is lower than what is earned by employees in private sector. The manager of icici, despite of less experience as compared to manager of SBI, enjoys a pay package of rs.8,00,000 to rs.9,00,000 On other hand, manager of SBI, with more experience receives a pay package of around rs.4,00,000 to rs.5,00,000. Many respondents (especially branch managers) feel that there is no proper grievance handling system. Though all employees of bank (working under the branch managers) are satisfied with assistance and support of manager for addressing and solving their grievance, there is not much support provided by top management to branch managers to consider and solve their grievances. Many branch managers have agreed to the fact that their personal goals are not in line with organizational goals. This demotivates the employees to work willingly and productively. It imposes a compulsion on employees to accept, a Learned Helplessness, (a feeling that they cannot do much) which leads to stress. Recently, various sister concern banks of SBI were merged with SBI (SBS merged with SBI). Many employees of SBS who now work as employees of SBI feel that they are step children of SBI. There is lack of a feeling of belongingness and togetherness. They feel insecure and restricted in the new working environment. Few of the respondents felt stressful because of over-direction provided to them by their branch managers. They felt that their work is constantly watched and scrutinized more that necessary. They feel interfered and mistrusted. This is the cause of their stress. There exists a constant fear of punitive action among the employees of SBI. They are criticized severely for their mistakes. This makes them feel over cautious in performing any task and restricts their creativity and learning. Many branch managers feel that their branch members i.e., employees of his or her branch are not adequately trained to deal with customers. They feel that they require training of professional etiquettes, and for managing customers. Due to lack of patience and empathy shown by the employees to the customers, managers are required to interfere in small matters that at the end can result in havoc if not addressed properly. When managers spend more time in clearing these petty issues, they are unable to give required time to their actual work. Sometimes, this, also leads to work overlapping since managers are required to multi-task for sometimes

Human Nature :: essays papers

Human Nature In â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† , human nature is the same as it would be in just about any story that we would read or hear. Human nature is no different in Burma than anywhere else in the world. In this story we see different degrees of human nature, from completely normal to in some cases extreme. This essay is mainly focused on peer pressure. â€Å"Should I shoot the elephant or should I not?† or â€Å"Will I lose face with these people if I don’t shoot the elephant?† In this essay, I will discuss the traits of the different characters. Orwell was the kind of person that did not have a very high self-esteem. He did not have his ducks in a row, so to speak. I don’t think that Orwell was one to function under pressure. He would give in to what he thought the people of Burma wanted, not to what he wanted. But secretly inside he hated the environment in which he lived, he hated the imperialistic government in which resided in Burma. He hated the residents of Burma. He stated that he would love to stick his bayonette into the stomach of a Buddhist priest. He felt all of this hatred for the people around him, but yet he felt as if he had to go along with everything and everyone else just to live in harmony. As Orwell was summoned to the â€Å"tiny incident† as he called it, taking care of the elephant situation, he found that the residents of the village did not know exactly what was going on with the elephant until they found out that there could possibly be a shooting, or at least some excitement. For example, he asked some of the villagers if they had seen the elephant. Some said that the elephant went to the left and some said that the elephant went to the right and some did not even know about the elephant at all. The people seemed to be only out for themselves. They were not interested in the situation until they found out that they might be able to benefit from it. This is typical of people in any culture, especially in present times. In the last paragraph of Orwell’s essay, there had been two men that had feelings on the shooting of the elephant.

Portfolio Management of Research Projects Essay

1 Introduction More and more, organizations rely on research projects in order to stay updated on new technologies, processes and practices on their fields. Through them, they remain ahead in the competition and sustain their competitive advantages. This is specially the case for organizations that are on the top of their industry and which other organizations follow closely to benchmark their strategic moves. This seems applicable for private organizations, however research and development also plays a big role in public organizations. In the last few decades there has been an increased belief that organized research and development could stimulate economic growth and contribute to improving economic welfare. Given this, governments provide research and development (R&D) funding in order to promote scientific and technological development. With the increased need for production of scientific and technological knowledge in the public sector, there has been an increase in R&D activities performed by private organizations in order to match these production needs. Whether they are of a public or private nature, organizations rely on projects as means to deliver results. This derives in the tendency to engage in several projects simultaneously. Organizations group these projects in portfolios which should be managed in order to decide its composition and strategic moves. This managerial task is known as Portfolio Management which applied to R&D projects is defined as:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"a dynamic decision process, whereby a business’s list of active new product (and R&D) projects is constantly updated and revised. In this process, new projects are evaluated, selected, and prioritized; existing projects may be accelerated, killed, or deprioritized,; and resources are allocated an reallocated to the active projects. The portfolio decision process is characterized by uncertain and changing information, dynamic opportunities, multiple goals and strategic considerations, interdependence among projects, and multiple decision-makers and locations† (Cooper, Edgett, & Kleinschmidt, 2001). Portfolio Management of Research Projects in the Public and Private Sectors The aim of the present thesis is to gain a better understanding on how this process is applied in both a public and a private setting. The thesis work focuses on the analysis of one public organization and two private organizations. While the sample may not be representative to completely understand the behaviour of organizations and their portfolio management, it provides an opportunity to model the process in these settings. The project is lead through a series of iterative literature review supported by interviews and document analysis. The research questions represent the point of reference to start the research. This project is approached with an open mind, which allows re-evaluating the initial assumptions of the thesis and gives flexibility to the researcher. A more in-depth description of the  methodology followed in this report can be found in the fourth chapter of this project. The motivation behind this master thesis developed from previous studies on project management of research projects. During these studies a less known topic came up: portfolio management of research projects. It appeared that, while it was a less known topic, it was not of less importance. Through discussions with professionals from both research institutions and industrial organizations, it became evident the relevance of the topic. I was motivated by this relevancy which is present in both the public and private sectors. 2 Trondheim, NTNU MSc in Project Management, Thesis 2 Problem Formulation This master thesis aims to present a description and comparison of the process of portfolio management of research projects undertaken in a public and a private organization. The major focus in this regard is to identify the commonalities and differences of the organizations’ practices with respect to portfolio management and obtain a better understanding on how the process works in both organizations. This understanding and thesis will hopefully be helpful for organizations that seriously consider R&D and for researches who will work on this topic in the future. There may be several research questions that can be studied in connection with portfolio management of research projects. I choose to consider some important research questions within the scope of this master thesis. The research questions are presented and explained below. 2.1 Research Questions The focus of the investigation behind this project is based on the following  questions: How do organizations perform the portfolio management process? How do organizations select which research projects should make up their company’s project portfolio? How do public and private organizations define success in research projects? What drives the difference across firms, if any? 3 Portfolio Management of Research Projects in the Public and Private Sectors The model is based on my assumption that organizational strategy plays a major role in the way an organization proceeds to lead the activities associated with managing its portfolio of research projects, which in turn have the main purpose of generating knowledge and possibly bring competitive advantages to the organization. Based on this understanding the research approach, as will be explained in a later section, was developed in order to study to what extent the model reflects reality. Though the terms strategy and knowledge are not explicitly mentioned in the research questions, both terms are underlying aspects that reflect on the research questions and hence this study. The research questions and research model are connected to each other and complement each other in such a way to highlight the topic this thesis. 2.3 Importance of Thesis As part of a previous project for the Specialization Course of the Master in Project Management at NTNU, I got acquainted with the challenges and  uncertainties associated with research projects. During the research phase and in discussions with interviewees from research institutions and industrial organizations, peers and professors it became evident that one area of interest in R&D for those developing in the R&D environment is the one related to portfolio management of such projects. While portfolio management is an important topic in the literature of Project Management, there are fewer investigations that link this topic with specifically research projects. This may be because only recently the interest in research projects has been growing and this discipline is now seen as a potential tool for business success and competitive advantage. It became clear that organizations rely more on projects as a means to deliver results. Organizations arrange projects in portfolios according to their goals and strategy. Research projects, which may be among the projects in the portfolio or be the sole elements of the portfolio as will be explained later, help organizations keep updated in new technologies, methodologies, processes, etc. However, in private organizations investing in Research projects, whether internally or externally obtained, may seem as an unnecessary expenditure given the focus on day to day processes. On the other hand, there are public 4 Trondheim, NTNU MSc in Project Management, Thesis  organizations specifically dedicated to generate or fund research projects in order to generate knowledge and development of public interest.  Either way, both private and public organizations that wish to remain competitive have a tendency to undertake research projects. The nature of both organizations may lead to different approaches on how to manage their portfolios. This could develop into managerial activities that while work on one setting may not be useful on the other and vice versa. Getting to understand how these managerial activities are performed in the public and  private settings can give future researchers and organizations interested in R&D projects an insight on some of the current practices in these settings. 2.4 Research Approach Once the importance of the topic was clarified the topic was better delimited through literature review and brief discussions with academics and professionals knowledgeable in the area. Literature review includes basic theory of portfolio management, research projects, portfolio management of research projects. Furthermore I used theories on portfolio evaluation and selection and tools and techniques for portfolio management. This general literature provides a framework within which I could look at and describe portfolio management of research projects. Portfolio management of research projects can be seen in two ways. One is when a company has a portfolio that includes all types of projects (IT, construction, R&D, etc.) and makes selection, resource allocation or termination decisions considering all of these projects. I will call this a Mixed Project Portfolio (Figure 2: Project portfolio), where Project (P) 1, 2†¦ N, coexist with Research Project (RP) 1, 2†¦ N. Figure 2: Project portfolio consisting of mixed projects The other way of looking at portfolio management of research projects can be when a company either undertakes only research projects or they simply manage them Yolanda Yebra Aguado 5 Portfolio Management of Research Projects in the Public and Private Sectors  independently of the projects which support day to day activities (IT, procurement, etc.) In this case, it is possible to talk about a Portfolio of Research Projects (Figure 3: Portfolio of research projects), in which activities of portfolio management are done only considering the interdependencies of research projects within the portfolio. Figure 3: Portfolio of research projects For purposes of this project, the focus is on this second way of looking at portfolio management, where the organizations’ portfolio consists only of research projects; hence the context of this study. This research study is based on an iterative process – a learning cycle – which helped refine the course of the study and further investigation. Based on this an interview guide was created; this interview represents the basis for the qualitative approach in this paper. The interview, as it will be explained later, is a semi-structured interview allowing the researcher to address the issue with an open mind as well as giving the opportunity to direct the interview in the desired direction or adding relevant topics. In addition to the interviews, document analysis is also used to support the topic. The analysis of the document is done adhering to the same premises and perspective of the interviews with the aim of finding important and relevant information. This process helped create a framework within which it was possible to operate in a flexible manner. Through this, the research questions were refined and fine-tuned in order to emphasise the main elements of the research topic. To complete the research, I present an analysis of the findings. Whenever comparisons are possible, they will be presented. Finally conclusions that resulted from the analysis will be drawn. Further information on the methodology followed for this project is explained in the following chapters. 6 Trondheim, NTNU MSc in Project Management, Thesis 2.5 Scope and Limitations The major limitation associated with this project comes from the amount of time dedicated to the investigation. The project is developed during the spring semester of 2011 as a master thesis for the Project Management program. Due to this time limitation, the number of cases to be analysed will be limited to three organizations. Though the sample may not be representative to fully understand the behaviour of organizations and their portfolio management, it provides an opportunity to look at some kind of pattern in organizations’ practices with respect to portfolio management of research projects. Furthermore, this thesis can be used as a base for further research in the matter; a stepping stone to go further. In the cases where specific literature regarding research and development projects was hard to find or of no access, general literature on portfolio management and project management is used as a source to discuss relevant issues. The same applies to models and tools consulted on the matter. Regardless of these limitations, I believe that a better understanding on the topic will be possible through this study to reach conclusions and provide a base or reference for academics, practitioners as well as general public who are interested in the topic. 3 Theoretical Background This chapter presents the theoretical background of the report. To begin  with, the concepts associated with the main topic Portfolio Management of Research Projects (PMRP) are presented. The objective of this is to get acquainted with them, to have a better understanding of what is discussed by different authors and to choose specific definitions to work with. Once the main topics and definitions are introduced, three main concepts related to PMRP are presented. The first one is the influence of Strategy in PMRP and why organizations choose to rely on strategy to support it. The next section deals with the Selection process and presents some methods and criteria for project evaluation and selection suggested by the literature available. The third concept is project Success, which is explored from an overall project management perspective and more particularly from a public and private organization perspective. The concept of success is looked at in order to understand what organizations perceive as successful and how it impacts their business in future strategy, project selection and other areas. 9 Portfolio Management of Research Projects in the Public and Private Sectors 3.1 Basic concepts of the Portfolio Management of Research Projects This section presents the definitions of the basic concepts associated with the report. First, I begin by briefly introducing the evolution of research and development projects and their nature. Next, the definition of portfolio management is presented. After these two presentations, other relevant topics are described. Finally the main topic of the research, portfolio management of Research projects, is introduced. 3.1.1 Research and Development Projects: a Private and Public Approach David et al. (2000) present a very comprehensive analysis of the development of R&D research in the US. According to the authors the end of the 19th century marked the beginning of organized research and development activities upon  the productive resources for societies. Since then, the percentage of national gross product directed by both private and public organizations towards increasing the scientific and technological knowledge has increased. The same study claims that during the 1930s, the  Ã¢â‚¬Å"total R&D expenditures in countries such as the US, the UK and Japan remained in the range between two-thirds and one-quarter of one percentage point of their respective national product figures.† (David, Hall, & Toole, 2000). Since then there was an increased belief that organized research and development could stimulate economic growth and contribute to improving economic welfare, which led governments to create public institutions supporting civilian science and engineering. This gave way to an expansion of government agency research programs in non-defence as well as military technologies, and established models for the performance of governmentfunded R&D by private sector contractors. With the increased need for public production of scientific and technological knowledge, there was an increase in R&D activities performed by private organizations in order to match this production needs. This is given that technology is the most crucial factor for the progress of a nation’s economic development and living standards (Chang & Hsu, 1997). In order to promote scientific and technological development, governments provide R&D funding. As a result, support for selective development of specific industries is provided through direct, project-oriented subsidies. Government policy concentrates resources on long-term R&D problems and on expensive basic research that could not be undertaken by industry. Whether they are of a public or private nature, organizations rely on projects as means to deliver results; this tends organizations to engage in several projects at a time. The nature of these projects varies from  marketing to IT, environmental issues, procurement, new product development and research and development (R&D). More and more, organizations rely on research projects (R&D, new product development, innovation) in order to stay updated on new technologies, processes and practices on their fields. This is how they remain ahead in the competition and sustain their competitive advantages. This is specially the case for organizations that are on the top of their industry and that influence other organizations to follow them closely to benchmark their strategic moves. In order to maintain competitive advantage, organizations need to develop successful product and process innovation (Archer & Ghasemzadeh, 1999; Mikkola, 2001) for what they turn to R&D projects to achieve this. However R&D projects have a very particular nature. Research projects are characterized for being associated with a high degree of uncertainty and unpredictability (Balachandra, K, & Pearson, 1996). Therefore, large scale R&D projects require large budgets and high risk and long term programs (Chang & Hsu, 1997). This is mostly due to the fact that the outcome of a research project, such as knowledge generation, is intangible and hard to measure through standard project evaluation. 3.1.2 Portfolio Management Given the importance of developing research projects, organizations are faced with the task of conforming portfolios of projects. For practical purposes, this report considers project portfolio as: â€Å"a group of projects that are carried out under the sponsorship and /or management of a particular organization† (Archer & Ghasemzadeh, 1999). The task of selecting which projects should be a part of the company’s project portfolio is an important activity in many organizations. It is presented in the following definition. Portfolio Management is defined as the strategic choices, resource allocation, project selection and balance of the pool of projects available for organizations to undertake (Cooper, Edgett, & Kleinschmidt, 2001; Linton D. & Walsh T., 2002; Wang & Hwang, 2005). However this activity is not an easy one to do. Managers find challenges in deciding which projects to undertake, how to allocate resources to them through their whole life cycle and how to balance the portfolio once projects are completed or have to be terminated. Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is a critical task in company performance. Some key questions to be considered before deciding to do project portfolio management are known as â€Å"Five Ws and One H† (The Enterprise Portfolio Management Council, 2009): Who can use the PPM process? Everyone from Chief executives, heads of department, managers, supervisors, portfolio, project and program managers, to systems engineers. What should PPM be used for? To manage multiple projects, programs, assets, software applications, resource allocation, products.  When should PPM be used? When there is more than one project or program or decisions must be taken when it comes to proposal ideas competing for a slot in the portfolio, whether projects or programs should go forward or terminated, resource allocation, strategic changes, mergers, acquisitions or joint ventures to mention some. Where is PPM used? In both profit and non-profit organizations, government agencies, universities, investment firms.  Why should PPM be used? To ensure that projects and programs are aligned with strategies, goals and business objectives, to communicate project and program details, to manage projects and programs as a whole. PPM is a holistic, systems approach to business projects. How to decide whether to use PPM or not? Conversations and discussions between executives, managers, project and program managers and experts are encouraged in order to assess the situation and define the business case. Screening, Selecting and Prioritization Reprioritiza tion of projects Allocation and reallocation of resources according to priority Figure 5 Managerial activities related to PPM, based on (Blichfeldt & Eskerod, 2007) p. 358. Literature on PPM has widely focused on these managerial activities of project screening, selection, prioritization, balancing and resource allocation, while most recently focus has shifted to actual day to day management of the portfolio. Theories and literature have gone from focusing on tools, techniques and methods to a more managerial approach of how the activity is actually done. Thus, this thesis studies documented techniques and methods PPM, but keeps in sight the importance of the actual activities undertaken by the institutions. 3.1.3 Portfolio Management of Research Projects Global market changes and the interest of business organizations to remain ahead of their industry, tend organizations to rethink their competitive  strategy more often than before. Firms that cannot supply innovative products faster than competitor, lose competitiveness. R&D projects are used as a source of strategy, because they help target the increasing complexity demanded by shorter life cycles of products and services that wish to remain ahead and up to date (Mikkola, 2001). Most importantly, organizations have an increasing interest in evaluating their R&D projects from a portfolio’s perspective; in which project selection, resource allocation and balancing remain the main activities to be performed. According to McNally (2007), managing R&D is considered as one of the three core business processes.  Perhaps the most comprehensive definition of Portfolio Management of Research Projects, and the one to be considered for this thesis, is given by Cooper, et al. (2001). The authors describe the term as: â€Å"a dynamic decision process, whereby a business’s list of active new product (and R&D) projects is constantly updated and revised. In this process, new projects are evaluated, selected, and prioritized; existing projects may be accelerated, killed, or deprioritized,; and resources are allocated and reallocated to the active projects. The portfolio decision process is characterized by uncertain and changing information, dynamic opportunities, multiple goals and strategic considerations, interdependence among projects, and multiple decision-makers and locations.† This is an important and critical task to be undertaken because it requires a considerable amount of human resources and opportunity costs incurred as projects go from the selection phase to the implementation. At the same time this is a difficult task because decision makers have to work relatively fast with little reliable and highly changing information. Therefore the selection and development of successful innovations has a high degree of risk associated with it (Nesse & Velde, 2010). In order to manage portfolios of research projects, organizations rely on different tools or techniques. Literature (Wang & Hwang, 2005) points that R&D portfolio decisions are hard to take given the nature of R&D projects and environment. On the one hand, R&D projects have long lead times, and on the other hand, market and technology are so dynamic that it makes information for portfolio management seem unavailable and unreliable. All organizations that wish to engage in R&D are faced with the problem of managing the portfolio of research projects, where projects have to fight for a limited pool of resources. At the same time project selection becomes a complicated task because the decision maker has to determine which new proposals should be funded, which existing projects should be continued and to what extent a resource should be involved in the selected project of the portfolio (Chien, 2002).