Monday, December 30, 2019

Honors Chemistry Common Lab Assessment - 1494 Words

Honors Chemistry Common Lab Assessment 1: Using the Density to Find the Amount of Sugar in a Carbonated Beverage Name: Elisa Johnson Lab Partner: Marleigh Bickel Block 1 Honors Chemistry Experiment Date: Thursday October 9, 2014 Report Date: Friday October 27, 2014 ABSTRACT: The purpose of this lab was to investigate the amount of sugar in carbonated beverages by using the density of solutions, and also to create a standard curve with the percent sugar in sugar solutions. INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this lab was to investigate the amount of sugar in carbonated beverages by using the density of solutions, and also to create a standard curve with the percent sugar from sugar solutions to find the percent sugar of flat†¦show more content†¦Consumption of sugary drink can lead to many health risks such as stroke, diabetes, cancer and many more. According to a new study by UC San Francisco, drinking sugary drinks can accelerate aging as much as smoking does. The research team found that drinking a 20-ounce soda every day accelerates aging by about 4.6 years. People who drink a lot of sugary soda had shorter telomeres, decreasing cells life cycle (Bonar). The length of telomeres has already been associated with human lifespan. In a three-person case study, Dr. Mohamed Bassiouny studied the teeth of a diet soda drinker and two drug addicts and found identical dental erosion among all 3. When the enamel was worn away, teeth became more open to cavities and other problems. With a pH of 3.2, diet soda is very acidic (Meredith). To avoid all these problems, a simple solution would be to check the nutrition label on sodas and other carbonated beverages. To calculate percent of sugar in a beverage, in the nutrition label locate the number and percentage in grams of total carbohydrates. For example, a label lists 28 grams of total carbohydrates and underneath it on the line marked â€Å"Sugars,† it lists 6 grams of sugar. So then, divide the number of grams of sugar by the number of carbohydrates to get 0.214. After that, multiply the number by 100 to eliminate the decimal, and by doing that, the total carbohydrates would be 21.4

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Tesla s Strategic Objectives Drive The World s...

Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable transport Tesla motor was founded in 2003 by a group of engineers in Silicon Valley. The company designs, manufactures and sells electric cars and electric powertrain components. The engineers wanted to prove that electric cars could be better than gasoline-powered cars. Tesla’s vision is to ensure that, â€Å"Every Tesla and electric vehicle using our technology is a step towards making increasingly affordable electric cars available to the consumer.† The first design of Tesla’s engineers was a powertrain for a sports car which was built around an AC induction motor, patented in 1888 Nikola Tesla. He was the inventor, who has inspired the name of the company. The result of their first design was Tesla Roadster which was launched in 2008. In 2012, Tesla launched the world’s premium electric sedan Model S. It was named Motor Trend’s 2013 Car of the Year and has achieved a 5-Star safety rating from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Tesla’s strategic objectives drive the company’s vision and mission. Tesla is not just an automaker, but also a technology and design company with a focus on energy innovation When Tesla designed an electric car, they discovered that elimination of gasoline engine and the associated mechanical components reduces the total number of moving parts in the car, and also the wear and tear on the car, which in turn reduces the need for maintenance. This enablesShow MoreRelatedEvaluation Of A Strategic Business Plan6241 Words   |  25 Pagesin Scott (n.d.), a strategic business plan is a written document that pairs the objectives of a company with the needs of the marketplace. The plan allows businesses to focus on a particular niche in the marketplace, which makes sales, advertising and customer management more effective.† The plan helps businesses evaluate its strengths and weaknesses and provide better service to its clients. In this learning team assig2nment, students in the MBA 507 Competition and Strategic course at ConcordiaRead MoreBusiness Pl Tesla Motors Marketing Plan6405 Words   |  26 Pages MKT 615 – MARKETING PLAN Tesla Motors Marketing Plan GROUP 4 Mathalikunnel, Sebastian Sunny Medipally, Krishna Chaitanya Medishetti, Naresh Kumar Ogunrayi, Olufunke Pan, Yiran Patel, Kiran Patel, Malaykumar Shashikant â€Æ' EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background Tesla motors was founded in 2003 by a group of engineers in Silicon Valley who wanted to prove that electric cars could be better than gasoline powered cars. With instant torque, incredible power and zero emissions, Tesla motors is creating new generationRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesand permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to 201-236-3290. Many of the designations by manufacturers

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Training Professionals Have a Leading Role in Innovation and Change. Free Essays

Management is a fundamental and broad area of business reality today. Effective management practices can lead to organizational success. For organizations to best achieve this success, they need to be receptive to innovation and change. We will write a custom essay sample on Training Professionals Have a Leading Role in Innovation and Change. or any similar topic only for you Order Now With these as objectives in mind, it becomes apparent that training professionals can play a leading role. Change (in a business context) can basically mean the management to ‘plan, initiate, realize, control, and stabilize’ change on both, corporate and personal level (Recklies 2011), while innovation is defined by Sylver (2011) as a mean the introduction of something new that makes something better than it was before. Training professionals are those people who help companies use the most out of their workforce, whether they need to receive training or not (Armson 2008). The purpose of this essay is to successfully explain the leading role that training professionals have in innovation and change. Nowadays, the role of a training professional is to successfully come up with a program that will improve the performance of a certain work group with the best practices to lead towards innovation and change (Miller 2010). Having the right skills to professionally develop someone is essential of the training professionals. As mentioned by Training and Development (2008), professional development is essentially an organized ‘maintenance, improvement and broadening of knowledge and skills’ as well as the personal development of one’s qualities to the level that is necessary to maintain relevance and effectiveness. Generally, it is fundamental that training professionals help the organization’s workers learn all that they need in order to know how to get their job done (Poell, Van Der Krogt, Vermulst, Harris Simons, 2011). Having the right approach is a fundamental step for training professionals to successfully deliver their training and development programs. Firms, nowadays, make considerable effort to efficiently succeed on training their employees. For instance, one of the first steps of training that Mc Donalds US company brings to its new employees is to attend a class called ‘Hamburger U’ – which is now known as ‘ â€Å"Bachelor of Hamburgerology† ’ – so that they can fully understand the firm’s culture and produce a more efficient work (Nation’s Restaurant News 2005). It is also important that training professionals approach carefully to their superiors, as they might need some training or guidance as well. Furthermore, an interesting approach that can be used to train people is to simply not train people. By that, it means that having a training program might not always necessarily be needed measure for performance improvement or change. There are a lot more factors than just the lack of skill that can influence a worker. Asking questions, as Nick Miller (2010) said, about ‘motivation, purpose, end goal, leading indicators, and performance obstacles’ are a really important step to fully know if training is actually needed or not. This is also missed most time due to the lack of relationship between the superiors and the general workers. It is essential that organizations develop innovation into their training and development programs. ANZ Bank focuses its training in four main points: ‘Learning for leadership and talent’ where they help leaders develop their leadership skills; ‘Core banking skills’ where the bank aims to train its employees to develop the necessary technical skills to be able to satisfy their customers; ‘Organizational culture and values’ where it aims to improve social interaction and a deeper knowledge of cultures and finally ‘Learning infrastructure’ where the focus is on ensuring that everyone gets the training that they need (ANZ 2011). The company itself focuses their four points all so that they can bring out the best of its employees towards its customers. Crown is another huge company who has its own training program that is also aimed at their employees. In fact, they have their own college called ‘Crown College’ (HC Online 2011) where employees undergo training to improve themselves. Crown College has a partnership with Swinburne University for its extensive efficient management training programs. As Crown’s human resources executive general manager Peter Coyne (HC Online 2011) mentioned: ‘ â€Å"Employees might start down the Certificate pathway and then step into a Diploma of Business, which can be converted into a degree at Swinburne at some point in the future† ’, this shows that crown focuses its main training facility for a younger age group and that the firm, as mentioned by Peter Coyne (HC Online 2011), trains younger people who got work in crown that had ‘limited success in secondary school’ (HC Online 2011) to change their mindsets from having a job in this epartment of hospitality to turn it into a life time career. ANZ and Crown are two companies that belong to different industries. ANZ is a bank and gets its income mainly from their clients that keep their money there, whereas Crown is a Hotel/Casino where it earns its income from a broad area of hospitality and from gambling itself. Similarly, both firms bring out the most of its employees for one goal: customer satisfaction. Both firms might belong to different industries, but both need customers in order to survive. ANZ needs their money in the bank and Crown needs them for the casino and hotel as well. They both provide services to their customers and the degree of how satisfied the customers are is a really important point for both firms. On the other hand, ANZ focuses its training on people with a good base education that also have high years of experience in the field (ANZ 2011) and Crown aims its training towards the younger age group who doesn’t have much experience as well as studies. In conclusion, various sources believe that the role of Training Professionals is essential for business success, because these people can provide a competitive advantage. Approaches taken by Training Professionals tend to vary, but their common objective is to lead an organization into the level where the business becomes more efficient so that it meets the leaders goals and expectations. In my opinion, training professionals might be under rated. Not much people would even think of it as an option for their careers, but this role is so important for an organization because of its unlimited potential of improving any whatsoever department of the company. References Miller, N 2010, ‘Leading workplace innovation and change: brave new role’, T+D, vol. 64, no. 6, pp. 54-58 Poell, R F, Van der Krogt, F J, Vermulst, A A, Harns, R, Simons, M 2006, ‘Roles of informal workplace trainers in different organisational contexts: empirical evidence from Australian companies’, Human Resource Development Quarterly, vol 17, no. 2, pp. 175-198. Retrieved 14 August 2011 HC Online 2011, ‘Taking the crown: HR at crown casino’ retrieved 18 September 2011, http://www. hcamag. om/news/profiles/taking-the-crown-hr-at-crown-casino/47393 ANZ 2011, ‘Learning and Development’ retrieved 17 September 2011, http://www. anz. com/about-us/corporate-responsibility/employees/developing-careers/learning-development Sylver, B 2011, ‘What does â€Å"Innovation† really mean? ’, retrieved 17 September 2011, http://core77. com/reactor/01. 06_sylver. asp Recklies, O 2011, ‘Managing Change – Definition an d Phases in Change Processes’ retrieved 16 September 2011, http://www. themanager. org/strategy/change_phases. tm Armson, G. 2008, ‘How innovative is your culture? : Coaching for creativity in the workplace’, Training Development, p. 20-23, retrieved on the 14 September 2011, Business Source Complete, AN: 41563804 Training Development 2008, ‘The LD professional Up-Skilling, developing and evolving’, p. 23-24, retrieved 15 September 2011 , Business Source Complete, AN: 43387257 Nation’s Restaurant News 2005, ‘Hamburger University: Ensuring the future’, p. 104-107, retrieved 16 September 2011, Business Source Complete, AN: 16764918 How to cite Training Professionals Have a Leading Role in Innovation and Change., Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

Process of Organizing Fundraising-Free-Samples -Myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about "How a fundraising event is organized"? Answer: This essay introduces how fundraising events are organized. Fundraising events are those events that help an individual, organization or government to raise funds. The fundraising events enable the individuals, organizations or government to make huge money however; these events are usually time consuming and exorbitant. The thesis statement mentions the process of organizing fundraising events in an effective manner. The initial and the most important part of organizing a fundraising event are proper planning and budgeting. It is necessary to properly plan every minute detail of the fundraising event as success of these events are capable of providing massive benefits whereas, failure of these events can result in loss of time, effort and money. Therefore, the first step of organizing a fundraising event is writing down a detailed event plan before sending out invitations. It is also important to choose the type of event one wants to host. There are several types of events one could host such as informal and formal dinners, receptions, breakfasts and barbeques. It is necessary to choose the type of event while keeping into consideration the type of the prospective attendees. The major goal of organizing a fundraising event must be raising funds in an interesting and creative manner. Another major part of organizing a fundraising event is determining the fundraising components of the event. These components involve auctions, ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, registration fees and individual donor gifts. The next crucial step is preparing a budget. The budget involves the projected costs for successfully organizing the event. It is necessary to ensure that the expenses incurred are lower that the revenues generated from the event. It is necessary to take sufficient time in planning the event prior to hosting the final event. A minimum of six months are usually taken while planning an event. It is necessary to decide the date on which the final event shall be held. This tenure of six months are used for publicizing the event and creating a buzz. Host committee plays a vital role in organizing fundraising events as it is not possible for a single person to make all the necessary arrangements. Therefore, it is necessary to recruit some close friends and known people for serving as the host committee for the event. The host committee is responsible to sell the tickets or obtain donations for the event. It is also necessary to set goals for the host committee and ensure that they meet the goals. It is also necessary for the organizers to stay in proper contact with the host committee members in order to carry out a successful event. The members of the host committee are responsible for calling the attendees and sending invitation mails to them. Making phone calls are more effective in convincing individuals for participating in the fundraising events as the invitation mails usually get ignored by the recipients. While planning a fundraising event and choosing the type of event to be hosted, the location of the event is decided i n accordance with the number of attendees expected. The type of food and beverages to be provided to the attendees is also decided. The flow of the event is also planned. Therefore, organizing a fundraising event involves making arrangements that shall be best suitable for the kind of audience invited. It is also necessary to determine the speaker of the event, who shall address the audience. The choice of the speaker determines the success of an event as people are usually drawn to the events where they know the speaker. Once the type of event, its location, budget and host committee members are determined, a timeline is developed. It is necessary to determine what is required to be done and when it is required to be done. The timeline enables the organizers to keep a proper track of the tasks and the people, who are responsible for those tasks. Usually, the events involve guests arriving at the event location and buying or presenting the event tickets for entering inside. The guests enjoy the food and beverages served to them while the hosts introduce the speaker. The speaker addresses the guests and welcomes them while they enjoy their beverages and the entertainment offered to them. Finally, the guests depart after they enjoy the event. At last, the volunteers and the other people associated with the event are congratulated for planning a successful fundraising event. A follow- up meeting is usually organized for evaluating the event components with which the entire event comes to an end. References: Boenigk, S., Scherhag, C. (2014). Effects of donor priority strategy on relationship fundraising outcomes.Nonprofit Management and Leadership,24(3), 307-336. Bray, I. (2016).Effective fundraising for nonprofits: real-world strategies that work. Nolo. Venzin, M. (2018). Fundraising Events Bring Added Revenue to Community Colleges Nationwide.Successful Fundraising,26(3), 1-1. Vlasov, S., Andreeva, T., Ryzhko, A. (2015). Knowledge signaling and fundraising: the role of conferences participation. InProceedings of the GSOM Emerging Markets Conference: Business and Government Perspectives, October, 2015. Weinstein, S., Barden, P. (2017).The complete guide to fundraising management. John Wiley Sons.

Friday, November 29, 2019

The History of Art Essays (1109 words) - Depression,

Fast Food and its Effect on Health Human nutrition is the study of how food affects the health and survival of the human body. Human beings require food to grow, reproduce, and maintain good health. Without the food our bodies could not stay warm, build or repair tissues, and maintain a good heartbeat. Eating the right foods could help us rid certain diseases or recover faster other illness occur. These and other important functions are dueled by chemical substances in our food called nutrients. Nutrients p0lya a major role in maintaining the bodies organs in functioning at its proper level. The Basal Metabolism Rate (BMR) is in influenced by the body site and on state of nutrition. The BMR is an important diagnostic tool especially in determines disorders of the thyroid gland. Inadequate secretion of the thyroid may lead to greatly depresses metabolism with mental and physically lethargy. Depression is a complex illness with many facets of which mood is only one. Depression is a form of mental illness which a person experiences great sadness and despair in one. Depression can also be considered as self-destructive hatred, blaming oneself for being full of helpfulness. Depression can also be used to describe the blues a person may feel from time to time. Depressive disorders are at the present the highest-ranking problems in America. A variety of medical conditions can cause and lead to depression. A depressive disorder is a whole body illness involving your body, mood and thoughts. People with severe depressive disorder usually deal with a combination of genetics, behavioral, and environmental factors. People with these feelings have greater thoughts towards committing suicide. Fiftieth percent of depressed people commit and others attempt suicide. Most of these depressed persons suffer from malnutrition. Mental Health a, psychological state of well being, a sense of purpose in life. Self-esteem, self-assurance, and self-acceptance, are all characteristics of mental health. Mental health is ter m used to refer to the absence of mental disorder. Mental health is focused upon by a person's capability of dealing with strenuous situations. Being able to elude cognitive, emotional, and dysfunctional behavior is good form of mental health. A positive strategy for the mental health and limiting depression is decreasing stresses. Sometimes there is much need for stress management. Psychological make-up also can be linked to depression. A number of different aspects of life can downside an individuals mental health. Depression is a major factor that affects a person's mental state. Many problems such as martial relationships, or financial difficulties in a person's life can lead to stress. Stresses can also onset depression. Stress management can be a positive factor in reducing the risk of depression. Depression is a common and costly mental illness that affects approximately 17.6 million Americans each year. Depression can affect a person's mental health. There are many different forms of depression that are linked to mental health disorders. A number of mental illnesses occur worldwide. The most common disorders are manic depression, schizophrenia, and severe depression. Manic depression is a bipolar disease that causes mood swings from manic to depression. Manic disorders affect a person's way of thinking and judgement Schizophrenia is an abnormal behavior, which distorts thought and perceptions from reality. Severe depression sometimes referred to as major depression enables a person to interact with daily situations. Major depression is manifested by a combination of symptoms that prohibit the ability to work, eat, and sleep. These episodes may reoccur numerous times throughout a person's life. Certain situations can drive a person into depressed state. Without proper treatment, symptoms of depression can last for weeks. A person must first have a physical and psychological evaluation to determine if in fact they do have a depressive disorder. Physician s have to first rule out all other possibilities before administering a medication. There must be a proper interview of the person's complete history. Lab test is also done to determine the symptoms the person is claiming to be having. Necessary treatment will depend on the outcome of the evaluation. Depression can be treated with antidepressant drugs. The human brain has neurotransmitters, which control our emotion and mood state. Antidepressants act on these neurotransmitters by altering the level of the depressed state.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Apply for a Canada Old Age Security Pension

Apply for a Canada Old Age Security Pension Canadas Old Age Security (OAS) pension is a monthly payment available to most Canadians 65 or older, regardless of work history. Its not a program that Canadians pay into directly, rather it is funded out of the Canadian Governments general revenues. Service Canada automatically enrolls all Canadian citizens and residents who are eligible for pension benefits and sends a notification letter to these recipients a month after they turn 64. If you have not received this letter, or you receive a letter informing you that you could be eligible, you must apply in writing for Old Age Security pension benefits. Old Age Security Pension Eligibility Anyone living in Canada who is a Canadian citizen or legal  resident at the time of applying and who has resided in Canada for at least 10 years since turning 18 is eligible for an OAS pension. Canadian citizens living outside of Canada, and anyone who was a legal resident the day before leaving Canada, might also be eligible for an OAS pension if they resided in Canada for at least 20 years after turning 18. Note that anyone who lived outside Canada but worked for a Canadian employer, such as the military or a bank, can have their time abroad counted as a residence in Canada, but must have returned to Canada within six months of ending employment, or must have turned 65 while abroad. OAS Application Up to 11 months before you turn 65, download the application form (ISP-3000)  or pick one up at a Service Canada office. You can also call a toll-free number to receive the  application, which requires basic information such as Social Insurance Number, address, bank information (for deposit), and residency information. For assistance with completing the application, call the same number. If you are still working and wish to put off collecting benefits, you can delay your OAS pension. Indicate the date you want to start collecting benefits in section 10 of the OAS pension form. Include  your  Social Insurance Number in  the space provided at the top of each page of the form, sign and date the application, and include any required documentation before sending it to the regional  Service Canada office nearest you. If you are filing from outside of Canada, send the application to the Service Canada office nearest to where you last resided in Canada. Required Information The ISP-3000 application requires information about certain eligibility requirements, including age, and asks applicants to include certified photocopies of documents to prove two other requirements: Certificate of citizenship, immigration documents, or temporary residents permit to prove Canadian legal status, unless you have lived in Canada your entire life.Stamped passport pages, visas, customs declarations, or other documents to prove Canadian residence history. Photocopies of documents proving your legal status and residence history can be certified by certain professionals, as outlined in the Information Sheet for Old Age Security Pension, or by staff at a Service Canada Centre. If you dont have proof of residency or legal status, Service Canada might be able to request the necessary documentation on your behalf. Fill out and include the ​Consent to Exchange Information with Citizenship and Immigration Canada with your application. Tips If you have already turned 65, send your application as soon as possible so you dont miss any more payments. If you have already supplied the documents when applying for a Canada Pension Plan retirement pension, you do not need to supply them again. If you are incarcerated, you can still apply for a pension but the benefits will be suspended until your incarceration ends. If your application is denied, you must submit a request for reconsideration in writing within 90 days of receiving the notification. The appeal should include your name, address, telephone number, Social Insurance Number, and the reason for your appeal, including any new information that would affect the application, and be sent to the address on the notification letter.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Causes and Effects of the Holocaust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Causes and Effects of the Holocaust - Essay Example Nazi policies concerning the origin of Germans from Aryans contributed profoundly to the massacre during the Holocaust. However, this was considered a misguided notion although Germans continued to insist on its significance leading to killings, not just for the Jews, but also for other minority communities within the region.The augment in popularity for Zionism in the 19th century led to the demonstration of fundamentalism and selectiveness for the Jewish community triggering hatred and prejudices against the Jews. Therefore, Hitler and his associates deliberated on terminating the community’s prosperity in all fields through the Holocaust.Many Jews remained homeless since the Nazis had brought their homes down leading to the creation of camps that held them until they immigrated to Israel. Therefore, the suffering that the Jews endured had not ended due to the effects the events that transpired held for the community. The Holocaust brought psychological traumas to the remnan ts since they observed their relatives’ suffering and even death in the wake of the Holocaust. In addition, many remnants experienced physical harms ascribed to constant harassment and beating by the Nazis who considered them inferior. The occurrence of the Holocaust made the superpowers take measures concerning the prevention of a similar occurrence in the prospect through control and supervision. The Holocaust made other nations around the globe to allow Jews to return to Israel in order to keep them safe from similar occurrences.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Strategic Plan for Abercrombie & Fitch Case Study

Strategic Plan for Abercrombie & Fitch - Case Study Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) operates under three offshoot brands namely Gilly Hicks, Hollister Company and Abercrombie Kids. The mission of the company is to develop innovative and high-quality merchandise that has the ability to satisfy customers and style them appropriately. They also aim at discovering new styles so that they can distinguish themselves from the competitors. The sales of personal care and apparel through the stores are extremely competitive as there are numerous participants in the retail industry. However, the company has diversified its products by innovating new trends in clothing and has adopted the changing demands of the consumers better than their competitors. It has developed and maintained a strong brand image in the United States by marketing its products to the different parts of the diversified demographic markets. A&F undertakes aggressive promotional activities without harming the inspirational nature of th e brand equity. The sales objective of the company is to create string direct-to-consumer sales channels so as to facilitate growth. A&F believes in increasing sales by innovating and creating new casual wears are preferred by the younger generation. Though the changing taste and preferences of the individuals have affected the company sales to a great extent, the company has tried its best to meet the demand of the market. A&F positions itself as a premium brand, which focuses on its styles. Its main objective is centered on revenue and growth, which is achieved through sales. The brand name enables the company to grow and create endless opportunities for growth. It also employs the most talented youths around the globe. It permits higher profit margins and encounters lesser risk for entering into new business concepts. It encourages innovation and ensures profitability through it. A&F prides in creating classic, casual and â€Å"All-American lifestyle brand of clothing†. Th e company employs a proactive approach in order to combat the challenges. The customers praise our brand as it not only gives them comfort but also satisfy them by fulfilling their demands.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Catalonia's Parliament Abolish Bullfighting Essay

Catalonia's Parliament Abolish Bullfighting - Essay Example The ban which took effect in January 2012 caused a lot of controversy, criticism and debates within Catatonia. The activities which led to the acceleration of the ban include the national anti-bullfighting movements and the cries of the animal rights activists. There were also international influence from individuals and groups who considered this tradition and activity as a total violation of the rights of animals and unnecessary risk on the lives of the participants. A review of the bull fighting tradition in the region demonstrates that it contributed significantly to the tourism and hotel industry. This is attributed to the fact that the bullfighting activities attracted tourists within Spain and from abroad who came to witness and participate in the bullfighting activities. In this regard therefore I do not agree with the ban of the bullfighting tradition. This is because of its economic and social cultural significance of the tradition to the people of Catalonia and Spain in ge neral. It is therefore arguable that the legislators of the region should have considered the benefits that the bullfighting tradition had for Catalonia before they would make a historic decision of passing the ban on this tradition. The important considerations that would have been put in mind by the legislators are the number of people who lost their employment and source of income within the bullfighting industry in addition to the negative implication that this had on the economy. The anti cruelty campaigns within Spain and other parts of the world are attributed to the ban on the bullfighting tradition in Catalonia. These campaigns have been staged for a long time and therefore the decision of the parliament on the ban was caused by the pressure of these bans. It is therefore reasonable to argue that the parliamentarians were responding to the voices and pressures of the activists and the animal rights groups instead of the actual implications that the bullfighting tradition ha d on the social economic aspects of the region. It is therefore evident that without the external pressure, the legislatures would not have decided to ban the tradition. This is due to the economic benefits and the cultural significance that the bullfighting exercise had on Catalonia. Because of the ban, the unique cultural identity of this region which led to the attraction of tourists to this region was lost. This means that the government and the economy in general experienced a negative impact from the ban which forms a reason why I do not support it. The arguments that were put forward by the supporters of the ban include postulations that Catalonia should adopt modern culture instead of the bullfighting which was considered cruel (Igor 1). In line of this, it is arguable that the people of Catalonia should not have been mandated to abandon their culture because it is this same culture which made them unique from the rest of the world communities and societies. In addition, thi s culture had been passed to the people of Catalonia from their forefathers for centuries. Therefore it is evident that the basis of a modern culture as an argument for the ban is not justifiable. Therefore the legislatures should have considered the need for the Catalonia people to preserve their conserved culture rather than submitting to the pressures of people and groups from other cultures who had no comprehension of the local culture and what it meant to the people of Catalonia. Many individuals and groups were affected by the ban of the bullfighting tradition. These include fans within Catalonia, the larger Spain and the rest of the w

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Nissan Change Implementation

Nissan Change Implementation In todays rapidly challenging business environment, it is readily acknowledged that it is necessary for organisation to make changes in order to stay competitive. Change management is vital in an organisation as it act as a way to ensure that business is moving in the right decision which indeed requires proper handling as it relates to human involvement. Many researchers argued that implementation is not solely the end point of a process of formulation but rather the interaction of many interactive and discontinuous factors i.e. management decision processes, environmental and business sector characteristics (Wilson, 1992:49). Before implementing a change, a lot of planning is required to ensure all the aspects of a particular problem are properly identified to avoid uncertainties and ambiguities. Thus, in order for management to have positive consequences, it is vital to identify and analyse the overall impact of the change programme i.e. organisation structure, employees attitude, beliefs and behaviours. The aim of this report is to discuss and evaluate the factors affecting the implementation of change in Nissan Motor Company (Nissan). Background of Nissan Due to huge debt, Nissan built alliances with Renault S.A. (Renault) to ensure the survival of the business. The said alliances benefited both parties in terms of market penetration and capabilities. As a result from the said alliance, Renault obtained an equity stake of over 36% in Nissan and its leader, Carlos Ghosn was appointed as the key person in charge for the implementation of the change. During the transition change, Ghosn met will all the employees from different departments to discuss on the current state of Nissan and the way to move forward. Thereafter, a radical or transformational change plan was implemented in order to ensure the success of the business in terms of profitability. Based on Beers model of effective change strategies, Nissan adopted the combined strategy of Theory Economic (E) and Organisation Development (OD) (Beer and Nohria, 2000). This is supported by Eriksson and Sundgren (2005) conclusion that both theory E and OD should coexist as the success for a change relies in the interface between the two strategies. In Nissan, the application of the E strategy is seen from the implementation of aggressive cost-cutting plan through downsizing, lay-offs and restructuring that is related to the its performance while in terms of OD, it involves the change in having English as the medium of communication in the organisation, setting up of the nine cross-functional teams for generation of ideas and culture change within the organisation which mainly touched on the Human Resource practices that overall leads in creating the capability to sustain competitive advantage. With the said changes in place, Nissan has managed to revive its business to compete in the market and at the present moment is one of the leading automakers in the industry. The implementation of change in Nissan Much literate suggest that implementing change is not an easy process. Although the change is foresee as an advantage to the organisation, there will always be mental rejection from the humans included in the process. Therefore, implementation of change needs to be handled sensitively with a structured approach to ensure the success transition from current to future state. In terms of Nissans implementation, it is classified under the blue print change (Hayes, 2010:427) as the final result is known i.e. Nissan to be profitability and be one of the top auto producers in the industry which Ghosn was able to formulate a clear plan of action in achieving the said vision. Factors affecting the implementation of change in Nissan Organisations readiness for change Readiness for change is believed as one of the key factors leading to a successful implementation of change. It was noted that one half of all unsuccessful organisation change efforts failed due to lack of readiness for change (Kotter, 2007). Refreeze Move Unfreeze Figure 1: Lewins three step change process Drawing on Lewins three step stage model of change, it clearly explains the importance of successful implementation of change by unfreezing the current situation followed by adaptation of the current changes which leads to new behaviour and norm (Hayes, 2010:29). The unfreezing stage creates a situation for readiness for change through motivation in terms of the companys clear vision which is seen attainable in the future that consequently increase the employees level of confidence in accepting to the need for change. Once the alliance took place, Nissan minimises barriers to change by maximising the opportunities of a change effort which are accentuated in the unfreezing process. All changes have been well planned in a short span of time. Meanwhile in the moving stage, change has been recognised and acceptance of change has taken place in the workforce. As everyone in Nissan is aware on the urgency for a change, it has automatically built a powerful coalition between management and employees. Beer et al. (1990) highlights the importance of coordination and teamwork especially for companies acting the change process in relation to cost, quality and product development opportunities. Self and Schraeder (2008) conclude that positive perception to a change is due to the visibility of support and commitment while the negative perception is due to visible lack of support or inconsistent behaviours of the management. Due to the positive acceptance in Nissan, Ghosn has managed to restore and reinforce th e new changes in the company in the refreezing step. Based on Kotters 8 step change model, the success of the transformational effort depends on the right action at each stage. Establishing a sense of urgency is very important step as it defines the current state of the company. It was argued that the need for change will only occur until a clear and present danger is recognise which need something to be done in ensuring the viability of the company (Self and Schraeder, 2008). Not only management demonstrate the need for change but must also provide indication that the requirement of a change is the right decision made for the company (Self and Schraeder, 2008). Readiness of change is a key to ensure a successful implementation process of change as when the level of readiness is high, employees are likely to initiate change with greater effort by displaying more cooperative behaviour that will result to more effective implementation. Nissan was in bad shape before the alliance exercise due to its financial position and needed a solid strategy to ensure the viability of the business. Hence, the sense of urgency has been established at the highest priority with the support from the management. Kotter (2007) indicate that to ensure the success of the change, it is important to obtain 75% of the companys management in supporting the change effort or otherwise the transformation process could not succeed and the long term future of the company is in jeopardy. As there is a sense of urgency for change, a leader must promote change by creating vision (Kavanagh and Ashkanasy, 2006). Kotter (2007) highlights the importance of a clear vision as it is needed in guiding people through a major change which leads to a reduction of error rate that determine the success or failure of the implementation. It is argued that vision is not based on originality but on how well it serve the interest of important constituencies such as employees and stakeholder (Kotter, 2001). Therefore, a vision needs to be clearly defined with development of strategies in order to direct the change effort. The said vision will assist employees to understand the reason for the change. According to Kotter (2001), aligning people to a shared vision by communicating the new direction will help in creating coalitions which consequently draw the importance of the vision by committing to achievement. Kotter (2007) indicate that by not having a sensible vision, it will dissolve t he transformation effort as it creates confusion that leads the company moving in a wrong direction. This is supported by Kotters (2007) finding that most companies have sense of direction but it is to complication to be useful and consequently result to a failure in managing change. For Nissan, the main vision for the alliance exercise is to turnaround the company from a loss to profitable business while maintaining the companys identity and self esteem of its employees (Ghosn, 2002). The vision is clearly stated which is align with Kotters (2007) suggestion on the important of a vision. Organisation culture Many researchers highlight that culture is one of the important key aspects to be considered for the implementation of change. According to Smith (2003), culture in an organisation is not only related on how things are done but the set of values, beliefs, customs and systems that are build uniquely in the organisation which differentiate one with another. To change the culture in an organisation is not an easy tasks as usually employees are comfortable with the job and organisation and as a result they are resistant to change. Burnes (1992:291) suggests that in approaching cultural change, a more considered and organisation specific approach should be adopted. For a company to implement a change, comparison between strategic significance (the importance of the companys future) of the cultural resistance needed to be analyse to ensure the success of the implementation change process (Schwartz and Davis, 1981). The process relies heavily on managerial judgment as decision are made with degree of certainty whether to ignore, manage and maintain the existing culture to fit he change environment. Hence, steps are taken to identify the degree of cultural risk involved in the change process that overall has an impact to the companys culture and vice versa. Nissan is a company based in Japan with strong build culture in the organisation. It was difficult for the employees to accept the changes particularly in reward and progression system i.e. from seniority to performance based. It is the culture of Nissan to ensure that all employees have a lifelong career in the company which certainly create the culture of complacency that impacted Nissans competitiveness. Meanwhile, another culture problem faced was the organisations inability to accept responsibilities of which having a culture of blame. Ghosn has observed that all the said factors have contributed to Nissans performance which requires a radical change process. It is noted that Nissan adopted Schwartz and Davis suggestion as mention above wherein the companys culture was change ultimately to ensure the success of the change implementation. During the change process, employees were given a period of one year to change their attitude and to adapt to the changes accordingly. The chan ges implemented have affected the employees work orientation in terms of resistance to change as it was foresee that their particular job was at risk. The impact of resistance to change has been aversely discussed and many researchers highlight that it is the most significant threat to the success of implementation to change (Lines, 2004; Self and Schraeder, 2009). The expectancy theory clearly indicates that individual consciously choose course of action based upon perceptions, attitudes and belief which result to desires in enhancing pleasure and avoiding pain (Hayes, 2010:195). In order to avoid this to happen, awareness for changes need to be communicated to the employees through a clear vision and well defined strategy to ensure the effectiveness of the implementation process. Kavanagh and Ashkanasy (2006) suggest that particularly for culture change, active engagement of the top management is required to ensure the effectiveness of the change. Management plays a vital role in supporting the change as they set as a leader whereby employees will adhere to the changes faster. This can be effectively done by showing the implication of the change to the organisation in terms of profits, productivity or quality work life. For the case of Nissan, a clear focus on the companys priorities and plan and successfully executed accordingly with the backup of a good leader. Transparency was built as a new culture in the organisation as it allows others to provide ideas rather than only top management. This as a result leads to a consistency between how the organisation operates in thinking and doing its daily operations. Level of communication Another important aspect in implementation change is communication as it has an important impact to the success or failure of a change programme. It plays a vital role in the change process as it allows leaders to create a shared sense of direction, establish priorities, reduce disorder and uncertainty as well as facilitating learning (Hayes, 2010:177). In having a good communication, leaders need to ensure that all communication channels will provide information sharing that allows accurate absorption of relevant information by employees. Employees need to be constantly aware on the changes as they contribute to the success of the implementation of change. Meanwhile leaders on the other hand should continuously collect feedback by interacting with employees as well. As a result, organisation will look forward for a successful outcome in the change implementation. Clampitt et al. (2000) indicate that communication strategy has a huge impact on how events will be remembered which in turn shapes employees response. The environment for communication should be open and supportive to enable employees in sharing their concerns, frustration and need without fear of revenge which will lead in building the credibility of the company for a better implementation process (Self and Schraeder, 2008). Meanwhile Abrahamson (2000) suggest that dynamic stability plays a vital role in communicating change implementation as it suggest carrying change by involving elements within an organisation by engaging employees gradually. It aligns the overall concept of change as employees are aware on the proposed changes while management collects feedback by interacting with employees. The application of dynamic stability will allow organisation for a successful outcome in change implementation. When the change process took place, Nissan adopted underscore and explore communication strategy wherein the message was conveyed to all level of employees all across the company in order to get employees aligned with companys goals. This is supported by Clampitt (2000) findings which indicate underscore and explore is the most effective communication wherein it combines two strategies together i.e. tell and sell strategy; and identify and reply that allows managers to shape the change outline and allow reaction from the concerns of employees. Ghosn reiterate that the success of the company relies on the employees and as a team all employees should work hard in aiming to achieve the targeted goals. Despite pouring all the information, Nissan listens to the employees concerns and in fact created a new way of communicating through email. The said method reduces ambiguity and provides a clear picture on how the change will develop a better future for Nissan. Employees are likely to acce pt the pain of change if it clearly shows how their contribution affects the future gains. It is a norm that people expect something in return for the sacrifices made in the foreseeable future. Moreover, Kotter (2007) points out the effect of communication both in words and behaviour are the most powerful form which nothing undermines change more than behaviour by individuals that in consistent with their words. Role of leadership Kotter (2007) indicate that by definition, change requires creating a new system which sequentially always demands leadership. The role of leadership in change management includes creating a vision, aligning relationship around the vision and inspiring others to achieve the vision (Hayes, 2009: 117). In implementing change, a leader plays a key role in shaping the success of the change process which is in line with Beer et al. (1990) suggestion on the role of a leader in mobilising the initial commitment as a step to begin for the change process. Evidence from literature indicates leaders role in the change process wherein it have an impact to the success of change through the linkage between both leader and follower behaviour (Higgs and Rowland, 2005). Ghosn is considered as a transformational leader as he brought changes in the company and the effect of the changes is sustained under his leadership style. Studies have indicated that transformational leaders are able to realign the employees values and norms by promoting both personal and organisational changes which indeed enhance employees ability to accept change (Kavanagh and Ashkanasy, 2006). Ghosn leadership is not based on the Japanese style but rather applying the multicultural experience that enables him to embrace culture differences and building on them. This is considered one best way to manage change as studies have found that a flexible, loosely applied culture based on some diversity and possibly involving the existence of number of subcultures is prove more effective (Kavanagh and Ashkanasy, 2006). For a change to take place, leaders need to convince people on the necessary of the change which usually need a strong leadership and visible support from the management. Kotter (2007) indicate that managing the change is not enough, as leaders have to lead the direction in ensuring the implementation of the change. One of the changes made from the alliance exercise was the implementation of a new management style by setting up a nine cross functional team which the main objective is to achieve the goal for Nissan Revival Plan and business commitments. With the new management style, teams are given three months to review their operations and come up with recommendations for profitability and growth. As a result, it brought employees into a new organisation context through new roles and responsibilities that consequently create a situation that forces new attitudes and behaviour on employees in accepting the need for change which is supported by Beer et al. (1990) as the most efficient way in changing behaviour. Based on findings, it is noted that most successful cases in change relies on powerful coalition in the company (Kotter, 2007) as it is influence by the nature of work environment and organisational culture of which leaders could affect the employees attitudes in working towards change and motivation (Kavanagh and Ashkanasy, 2006). The new functional team have allowed employees to think in a different perspective which leads to the mechanism in explaining the necessity for change across the entire company. Ghosn as a leader incorporate the values of team work in Nissan to ensure all employees are dedicated to the shared vision in building urgency and momentum around the need for change. The requirement of more coordination and teamwork between functions and business units is identified as one of the key factors in implementing a change which is supported by research findings where there is linkage between leadership behaviours to the activities involved in implementing change (Higgs and Rowland, 2005). Proper planning and coordination for the change Literature indicates that successful implementation of change is a difficult goal (Higgs and Rowland, 2005) and often flounders because of improperly framed by management. Finding from a survey with organisations indicate that 66% has agreed that one contributing factor for the implementation problems is ineffective coordination of implementation activities (Alexander, 1985). Leaders have a very important role in the selection and planning of a suitable management approaches as proper planning needs to be carefully identified to ensure a strong foundation which leads to an easier process of implementing change. Goodman and Rousseau (2004) indicate that time is key factor in organisational change but it is always neglected due to performance driven results. It takes time for ensuring a success of change as rushing and expecting too many outcomes will lead to failure. It is agreed that organisation is more effective when components such as structure, technology, systems and people are aligned with each other and when there is a good fit between the organisation and the environment (Hayes, 2010:305). In implementing change, action taken for the change should be identified to determine the flow of changes to ensure the outcome of the change process. Goodman and Rousseau (2004) suggest that it will help organisation to understand the lag between change and results by paying attention to feedback cycles which allows identification on mistakes as well as recommendation action for improvement. Planning should not only include the aspect of the results but to also determine the obstacles for the change to materialise. Goodman and Rousseau (2004) suggest that change intervention allows the increase of knowledge sharing for a better result performance where it reduces time for a given engagement that will result to faster outcome on the result. It is noted that knowledge system is widely used due to its beneficial functions such as positive feedback on a change as it improves in performance. However, it is argued that knowledge exist in the organisation but is not properly used that affects the coordination of the implementation process. For Nissan, the company has indentified the main problem of the company and tried to apply a new set of actions in a different manner which in line with the double loop learning process. Argyris (2002) indicate that double loop learning take place when errors are corrected through exploring the possibility in doing things differently. Information sharing will increase the knowledge of the employees which can be adapted through a learning process that allows a collective ability to act more effectively in an organisation (Hayes:2010: 322). Moreover, creating a new learning experience will allow companies to build its competencies as it is related to detection and correction of errors (Argyris, 2002) which is associated with continuous improvement. Hayes (2010:308) indicated that most literature in organisational learning focuses on the acquisition of knowledge, the recognition of its potential and its application to improve organisational performance. Based on Nissan case, it is summarise that the key to implementing change is a continuous improvement built in terms of information between people and processes, combination both business and human dimension towards shared objectives. Despite identifying the need of organisational learning, it is feasible for companies to plan a systematic training approach within the organisation as change is related to individual change. Change will need employees to think and behave in a different way and it is vital for organisation to provide the knowledge and skills to ensure the success of the change. Hayes (2010:350) indicates that training and development enables company to align between competencies of the employees and leaders as well as the task and structure of the system. Conclusion Managing change successfully has never been an easy task and can neither be problem free. Buchanan et al. (2005) summarised the related factors influencing the nature and outcome of change are such as individual, group, organisational, social and political. Therefore before any change takes place, it is important for a leader to properly analyse the implementation of the organisational change in order to determine the extent for the change that will benefit both organisational performance and employees. From the Nissan case, it was observed that one of the main lessons learn from the implementation of change process is the clear focus set by Ghosn wherein a clear plan is executed based on priorities. Ghosn brought in clear vision by altering the core organisational process with the nine cross functional team. Moreover, factors such as having a high urgency level for the need to change and a strong guiding and powerful coalition has managed Nissan to motivate the employees while creating an environment that accept change and subsequently sustaining the companys competitiveness. Based on the Nissan performance after the alliance exercise, it is concluded that the company is able to sustain its change due to these aspects of organisational readiness; fit with the competitive strategy, managerial values and internal power distribution and the values and power of key stakeholders (Buchanan et al., 2005).

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Hypertext and Spatial-Temporal Dimensions :: Internet Essays Writing

Hypertext and Spatial-Temporal Dimensions missing works cited Hypertext affords the user the ability to make decisions based on where he or she intends or needs to go, and to decide what information or images to process and what to disregard as opposed to what the author intends. The user is free to move around from link to link while constantly making decisions about what he wants to explore and what he deems unnecessary in his search; there is no correct path, rather all paths are relative to each individual user to what his preferences are. The electronic reader is encouraged to think of the text as a collection of interrelated units floating in a space of at least two dimensions. Her movement among units does not require flipping pages or consulting the table of contents; instead, she passes instantly and effortlessly from one place to another (Bolter 175.) With hypertext, as opposed to traditional methods of publishing such as books or magazines, information is presented in a space rather than in a physical object. Electronic readers move around a space with expandable dimensions, the reader is more or less in a small world in which he can explore things not confined by a physical book but opened in a room where everything is next to everything else, which is to say that there is nothing that really separates information apart from other information, each item is accessible through links from another item. I visited a hypertext website, an online journal called Kairos dealing primarily with rhetoric, technology, and issues in hypertext, without motive beyond curiosity browsing the list of immediately available articles when one caught my attention. An article by Janice R. Walker entitled, gThe Third Wave: Yes, But Can They Write?h seemed interesting, and having no idea what the Third Wave is or who gtheyh are, I opened the article and immediately went to the Third Wave link. I wanted to read her conclusions and ultimately whether gtheyh could write. Instant gratification. (As it turns out gtheyh are students, and Walker is unresolved as to whether they can write.) It was not until after I had found the information that I sought that I returned to the Letfs Begin Here link and explored the article to