Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Competition is becoming more and more fierce while the market is becoming globalization. With higher consumer sovereignty, customers are no longer satisfied with qualify products and good services. The society concerned more about the business ethic and environmental issues. Companies are expected to act virtuously nowadays. The ideas of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Citizenship are spreading faster than ever before and become one of the hottest business models in the recent decades. â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)† is defined as â€Å"the commitment of business to contribute to sustainable economic development, working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve their quality of life† at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in 2000. The main idea of CSR is that corporations should be responsible to the stakeholders which include the customers, shareholders, suppliers, employees or any other party that may be influenced by the corporate actions. Different organizations may have formed different social responsible programs which can be categorized in four major components: the environment, the community, the work place and the market place. Different companies will emphasize on different aspects to create the social responsible programs. â€Å"Particular CSR initiatives may do good, or harm, or make no difference one way or the other, but it is important to resist the success of the CSR idea. â€Å" (Briggs & Verma, 2006) Mounting evidences show the benefits brought by the CSR Programs. For example, corporations made huge donation to disasters nationwide and to the bottom billions. However, not every CSR Program can be built up successfully. Nestlà © had suffered from a boycott last over 30 years which is the result from its failed CSR Program. Known as the baby killer, Nestlà © is blamed to kill thousands of Babies in the less developed region. They promoted and distributed free instant formula milk powder to replace breastfeeding and led to severe health problems or even death to the babies (Sethi, 1979). The two opposite results of CSR programs bring up queries for CSR programs. Is there a business case for CSR? How can corporations be benefitted from CSR? Theses questions will be discussed in this essay and so as the answers. B. Is there a business case for CSR? â€Å"Corporations are expected to be good citizens† asserted by Briggs and Verma (2006). Customers are demanding more from the corporations. Responsible corporates are required to meet the â€Å"Triple Bottom Lines† which are the economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social sustainability. Join Elington illustrate the interrelationship of the triple bottom line in 1997, â€Å"Society depends on the economy – and the economy depends on the global ecosystem, whose health represents the ultimate bottom line† (Elkington, 1997). CSR programs can also help the company to achieve sustainable growth which is the ultimate goal for every CSR program. Sustainable development is development to satisfy the needs of present generation without sacrificing the ability of future generations to development (WCED, 1987). Study indicates that sustainable growth and business success cannot be achieved solely by maximising short-term profits, but instead th rough market-oriented and social responsible programs (Neal, 2006). The CSR programs may engage with the following four aspects: the environment, the community, the workplace and the market place (World Business Council, 2000). As the foundation of every human being in the earth, responsible to environment is an essential part of CSR programs. Learnt from the Industrial Revolution when people sacrifice environment for business growth, private organizations today have worked to improve the environment. For example, Toyota has developed the hybrid card models which can use both fuel and electricity as power source. It can help to reduce the air pollution and reduce the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This innovation is also being considered as long-term oriented and sustainable for future development so both the customers and investors are satisfied with it. The second aspect of corporate social responsibility is the community. Corporations have to be responsibility to the local community as they are the essential for the business success. Social responsible firms should hire local labour force in the work place. Corporations often make donation after huge disasters such as earthquake or hurricane. For example, companies had donated over US$547 millions after the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (Briggs & Verma, 2006). Although some criticize that the corporations are making disasters into opportunities for public relationship, the donation can certainly help the community to rebuilt their home afterward, The third aspect of corporate social responsibility is the workplace. Companies are responsible to ensure the safety and ethnic in the workplace. The employees are generating the profit so the companies should be responsible to them by creating harmless and harmony working environment. For example, Nike, and other American and European sports wear production companies, promise to monitor the working conditions in its supplier factories in less developed countries (Vogel, 2005, 1). Corporations should also be responsible to the market place. Not just manufacturing quality product but also meeting the needs of various customers. For example, although smart phones are becoming popular in recent years, some people with visual disability may not able to use those products without assistant from other people. By introducing the Voiceover application, customers with visual disability can use the smart phone or other devices created by Apple easily. Besides the positive point of view, there have always been criticisms of CSR ever since it was invented. In 1970, the Nobel Price winner, Friedman wrote â€Å"The Social Responsibility of Business is to increase its Profits† and the three main arguments he stated in his article have become the foundation for the criticisms against CSR. In his first argument, Friedman claimed that only human beings have a moral responsibility for their actions (Friedman, 1970). As a collected entity, companies do not have the responsibility of the decision made by the management. However, corporations act like human in many ways. For examples, in legal terms, corporations are consisted as an artificial person whose behavior is decided by the corporate internal decision structure and the organizational culture. Many corporations are acting progressively to create a public perception of good citizenship to gain positive image and competitive advantages from the society (Brigs and Verma, 2006). In the following article, Friedman pointed out that the government, instead of the private business section, should be responsible to solve the social issues and problems (Friedman, 1970). Later scholars support his argument that with huge amount of tax collected by the government, the responsibility of social support should be transferred to the government and the public sectors. However, in some cases, government may not be able to take the responsibility due to insufficient funds or malfunction of government agent. Geoge Kell, executive head of the United Nations’s Global Compact Office, indicated that â€Å"So long as government fail to do their part and so long as business goes global, CSR helps fill an important void† (Brigs and Verma, 2006). The last argument of Friedman is that the managers should be responsible for the interest of shareholders (Friedman, 1970). Charring out CSR programs may increase the cost and weaken the company’s performance. In which way, the interests of the shareholders are harmed (Henderson, 2001). This argument is proven wrong by the countless successful business cases of CSR programs. C. How can corporations be benefited from the CSR programs? 1. CSR can help the corporates to increase the profits. Corporations can be benefited from the CSR programs in many aspects. Since the most important goal for the company is maximise its profit, scholars and managers are working to figure out how CSR programs will influence the company’s profitability. Companies generally increase their profitability by two means: Cut cost and Differentiation (Porter, 1985). An effective CSR Programs can help the corporations to achieve both points. Cost reduction can be achieved by CSR Programs directly or indirectly. The direct way is to reduce the cost by using the raw material or energy in a more efficient way. For example, by reducing the packaging, companies can cut the unit cost of product and protect the environment by producing less waste at the same time (Welford, 2000). The other way is to reducing the indirect cost such as the employee training cost, the management cost. For example, the employee caring programs can lower the employee turnover rate and reducing the hiring and training cost for new employees. By this mean, the employees are more satisfied to the companies and will be less likely to resign and have better performance in the workplace. Google has been paid attention to this issue. The company created the â€Å"best† working environment in the world and create the most satisfied. The CSR program successes in increasing ability to attract and retain employees and reducing operating cost. Another way to increase profitability is differentiation. By using differentiation strategy, the products can be outstanding among the competitors (Welford, 2000). Corporates have been using CSR programs as differentiation points long ago and achieve positive result. Take the Body Shop as an example. They differentiate their products from the other skin care products by using all natural ingredients and making statements such as â€Å"no animal test† and â€Å"support community fair trade†. By building such social and environmental responsibility image, the Body Shop successfully build up its brand image and reputation and create the customer loyalty. 2. CSR can enhance brand competitiveness. Today’s companies can no longer afford to ignore CSR. More and more corporates build up their own CSR programs to enhance their brand competitiveness by enhancing the image and reputation of the corporates. Firstly, customers nowadays focus more on the image and reputation of the brands. They demand more than quality product and nice services. According to the research conducted by the PR firm Hill & Knowlton, 79% of Americans take corporate citizenship into account when makings purchase decision (Briggs and Verma, 2006). Corporate Social Responsibility Programs can help the corporate to gain the public trust and support which will enhance the brand competitiveness. Customer sovereignty has further supported the ideas that with high degree of freedom and information, customers can make their choices among different brands. The brand with better image or reputation will be more likely to win in the industry. Secondly, Corporate Citizenship is demanded by the government. Especially for some sensitive business that companies need to maintain nice relationship with the government. For example, Casino Industry in Las Vegas and Macao are expected to make large donation to the â€Å"responsible gambling program† or the charity funds. By making public donation, the firms may be able to build up better image to reduce the resist in the society and the government. Managers continually encounter demands from multiple stakeholder groups to devote resources to corporate social responsibility (McWilliams & Siegel, 2001). Investors consider more about the social responsibility of the invested firms nowadays. Companies cannot managing their impact on society and the environment if engaging in CSR (Brigs & Verma, 2006) D. Conclusion Corporate Social Responsibility is becoming the trend of social public relationship strategies in the recent decades. In this essay, questions of CSR programs have been discussed in many aspects. With thousands of successful cases of corporate citizenship, companies all working hard to catch up with the trend and develop their own CSR programs. Although there are criticisms about the intention and the necessity of corporate social responsibility programs, the effective of CSR programs is ascertained. Later study shows that successful CSR program can benefit the society and the company at the same time. The corporations can enjoy higher profits and better brand competitiveness by setting up CSR programs. Therefore, companies should work with the community to achieve the â€Å"win-win† situation. Bibliography: Briggs, W. & Verma, A. 2006. ‘Sharing the wealth’. Communication world. January – February 2006. pp. 25-28 Freeman, R.E. 1984 ‘Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach’. Marshfield, MA: Pitman Publishing Inc. Friedman, M. 1970 ‘The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits’. The New York Times Magazine, September 13, 1970 Henderson, D. 2001. ‘The Case Against â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. Policy Vol.17 no.2. pp. 28-32. Winter 2001 Neal, A. C. 2007. ‘Corporate Social Responsibility: Governance Gain or Laissez-Faire Figleaf?’. HeinOnline. 2007-2008. pp. 460-474 Robison, M. 2002. ‘RSA Wold Leaders Lecture – Beyond Good Intentions: Corporate Citizenship for a New Century’. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. London, 7 May 2002. Sethi, S. P. 1979. ‘A Conceptual Framework for Environmental Analysis of Social Issues and Evaluation of Busin ess Response Patterns’. The Acdemy of Management Review, Vol.4, No. 1, pp. 63-74 Vogle, D. ‘The Market for Virtue: the Potential and Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility’. 2005. Harrisonburg, Virginia WCED. 1987. ‘Our Common Future, World Commission on Environment and Development’. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Welford, R. 2000 ‘Corporate environmental management 3: Towards sustainable development’, London: Earthscan.

Digital Art

Digital art is a general term for a range of artistic works and practices that use digital technology as an essential part of the creative and/or presentation process. Since the 1970s, various names have been used to describe the process including computer art and multimedia art, and digital art is itself placed under the larger umbrella term new media art. The impact of digital technology has transformed activities such as painting, drawing and sculpture, while new forms, such as net art, digital installation art, and virtual reality, have become recognized artistic practices. More generally the term digital artist is used to describe an artist who makes use of digital technologies in the production of art. In an expanded sense, â€Å"digital art† is a term applied to contemporary art that uses the methods of mass production or digital media There are two main paradigms in computer generated imagery. The simplest is 2D computer graphics which reflect how you might draw using a pencil and a piece of paper. In this case, however, the image is on the computer screen and the instrument you draw with might be a tablet stylus or a mouse. What is generated on your screen might appear to be drawn with a pencil, pen or paintbrush. The second kind is 3D computer graphics, where the screen becomes a window into a virtual environment, where you arrange objects to be â€Å"photographed† by the computer. Typically a 2D computer graphics use raster graphics as their primary means of source data representations, whereas 3D computer graphics use vector graphics in the creation of immersive virtual reality installations. A possible third paradigm is to generate art in 2D or 3D entirely through the execution of algorithms coded into computer programs and could be considered the native art form of the computer. That is, it cannot be produced without the computer. Fractal art, Data moshing, algorithmic art and Dynamic Painting are examples.

The Misuse of Prescription Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Misuse of Prescription Drugs - Essay Example s such as painkillers, tranquilizers, stimulants, or sedatives without the appropriate prescription from a medical practitioner simply for the experience that results from using the drug. Employees may use prescription drugs to get high, stay awake or avoid sleep while others may use such un-prescribed drugs for actual medical needs. The most significant reason behind the habit is the fact that it does not receive the attention it deserves due to efforts placed primarily on traditional drug abuse such as cocaine. Most individuals are also oblivious of the addictive effect that may accompany misuse of such drugs, while the reality is that even simple and seemingly harmless sharing of medication may be accompanied by profound addiction and negative consequences. Some of the symptoms of misuse of prescription drugs include sudden mood changes, heightened irritability and aggressiveness. Others include confusion, concentration fluctuations, reduced productivity, frequent short term sick leaves, deterioration in people skills, dishonesty and theft as the individual seeks to maintain the expensive habit (HSE 5). Misuse of prescription drugs should particularly gain the attention of management in today’s firms due to a number of reasons. First, the issue is now relevant than ever as literature and research indicate that it is on the rise. It mainly affects the young employees i.e. generation X and Y (Maxwell 1), whose workplace culture is already an issue of concern to the manager (Tolbize 2-4). The impacts of misuse of prescription drugs in the workplace can be studied based on the employees abusing the drugs themselves, fellow workers, the management and the workplace as a unit. The effects of abusing prescription drugs by employees concern both their medical and social well-being. They may experience health problems, addiction and psychological issues which affect their personal, family, social and professional lives and ultimately trickle down to the firm’s

Media studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Media studies - Essay Example For instance, in Brazil, Samba is seen as music of the young working class, but in Europe and North America, it represents an exotic form of ‘world music’ popular with the educate elite. This explicitly reveals that relationship between culture and social class seems to differ broadly in the world. Thus, ‘class culture’ is a concept created by the debates about the changing structure of class (Kirby 1997: 676). Working Class Culture In the 1950s, affluent group of workers was emerging due to the escalating standards of living in the 1950s and changing working class culture nature, which created a change in political attitudes and middle class lifestyle. According to Kirby, â€Å"Sections of the working class enjoyed access to a range of cultural goods and commodities for the first time, including family cars, washing machines, televisions and holidays abroad† (1997: 676). Kirby further suggests that mass society was created by the emergence of America n cultural products including rock and roll, American movies, and juke boxes and so on, which led to gradual erosion of the working class culture. ... It also emphasized on commitment of one to political involvement and a sense of decency, which, knows right from wrong. The arrival of mass entertainment designed to appeal to all classes slowly eroded the traditional working class culture. The introduction of radio, for example, alienated the need for working-class people to meet and sing their own songs (Kirby, 1997: 677). Stereotypes of the Working Class Culture Stereotypes are based on â€Å"oversimplified and pre-conceived ideas of the characteristics of a particular, situation or group† as displayed in Oxford Dictionary, 1989, â€Å"Stereotype†. In many studies of the working class culture and stereotypes, there has been the dominance of gender. According to Dunk, stereotypes relating to gender are changing. Nonetheless, structures of patriarchy and ideology still have root in the society (Dunk, 2003: 18). Central stereotypes reflect the world concepts of dominant classes who are in a quest for self-actualization at the expense of others below their class. For example, many have stereotyped Blacks as ‘Jezebels whereby women were all perceived as promiscuous (Mankiller, 1998: 565). Alongside racial and ethnic stereotypes, gender and social class are among the most prominent features where people fall. In the society, a complex interplay exists among racial-ethnic, gender and class stereotypes (Andersen, Taylor 2008: 276). Andersen and Taylor further notes that there are gender stereotypes. This refers to stereotypes that focus on a person’s gender. According to these authors, women stereotypes tend to be more negative compared to those of men. The typical woman has been traditionally stereotyped as subservient, flighty, overly emotional, overly talkative

Case study analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Case study analysis - Essay Example I decided to visit Gartree Therapeutic Community to learn on how offenders can interact well among themselves as well as the staff. I had a vision of learning about different therapeutic interventions. Prison Objectives This organization is guided by aims that enable it rehabilitate offenders of different kinds. First objective is to instill hope in the convict. In many cases when one is sent to prison, he or she feels shut and forgotten forever. People believe that there is no life behind bars. However, this organization restores the lost hope in the offender. This helps to boost his morale and self esteem. It also prepares him or her to face the new challenges that he will face in prison life. In addition, it is said that when hope is lost all is lost. Therefore, the prison has well laid objectives that enable the offender accept his new status in society. This enables prisoners to move on with their lives. When an individual learns to accept his environment, cope with the changes and appreciate the people around him, such an individual grows. This shows that this objective of instilling hope to offenders is a positive attitude. Offenders feel that the world has condemned them, and there is nothing good left for them. They are considered as chiefs of sinners. The society tends to avoid such people. They are separated from their friends and loved ones. They learn to accept that they will be in prison forever. Such scenarios suck hope, leaving us in a world of deep thought. It was a positive idea for the prison authority to come up with this objective of instilling hope in offenders. Moreover, it is my desire that the staff is also part of the program. Today people are going through different challenges in their lives such as loss of jobs, rejection, marriage break ups; lose of loved ones among many. They need to be encouraged and supported morally. Lees, Manning, and Rawlings (2004) suggest that through personal interactions among the prison community, people can encourage each other. Life issues are always present. They come to us when we like it or not. It is vital that we equip ourselves with life skills that can assist us overcome. Another objective in this organization is assisting offenders to have an insight on how their problems came about. A prison is a rehabilitation agency out to correct individuals. This indicates that one should turn away from his past and be able to focus on the future. However, one can not achieve this without realizing where things went wrong. It is the duty of the prison to help the offender be able to have this insight and make an about turn in this life. This helps a person to stop blaming himself or the people who were around him. This insight helps the offender to realize that the things he does affects other directly or indirectly. This fosters to bring change from the inside of a person. It also helps one to avoid doing things that may affect other negatively. This enables him to be cautious with h is words and actins. More so, it helps to create a significant interaction among offenders and the staff. Particular Site The GTC was established in 1993 to give an opportunity to under therapy in a unique living and learning environment. This regime is similar to the rest of the wings. However, in the mornings prisoners enroll in therapy time exercises. They engage in therapy and feed back program for three mornings in small groups. Such small

Comparison between the Indiana Constitution and the United States Essay

Comparison between the Indiana Constitution and the United States Constitution - Essay Example The United States Constitution has 7 articles whereas the Indiana Constitution has 16 articles. There are similarities in the articles; each article has sections that elaborate it further. Some articles discuss the same content such the legislative, the judicial and the executive. Differences in the articles: the order in which the article appear is not similar; in the Indiana Constitution the first article is the Bill of Rights whereas in the United States Constitution, the first article is The Legislative Branch. In Indiana Constitution, the Bill of Rights is located in Article 1 and in the United States Constitution the Bill of Rights is located in the Amendments. There are some similarities in the rights explicated; for example, there is right to freedom of press, expression and religion, the right to trial by a jury in a civil case and the quartering of soldiers. Rights not held in common: the right to no slavery or involuntary servitude is not held in common by the two constitutions; Indiana Constitution considers it as a Bill of Rights. In the Indiana Constitution, the distribution of powers is found in Article 3 whereas in the United States Constitution the distribution of powers is found in Articles 1, 2 and 3. Article 3 of the United States Constitution describes the Supreme Court and Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution describes the Supreme Court. Similarities in the article; all the judicial powers are vested in the Supreme Court. Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution gives a thorough description of the roles of the people in the judiciary; the United States Constitution does not. Amendment to the Indiana Constitution is proposed by any branches of the General Assembly. In the United States Constitution, proposal to the amendment of the Constitution can be done when two thirds of each of the houses finds it necessary. The United States Constitution has been amended

Factors that organisation can utilise to help build brand equity Essay

Factors that organisation can utilise to help build brand equity - Essay Example The clients, through what they speak of the product, ultimately determine the brand equity of a commodity. In this case, the most promising products in meeting the needs of the clients have a strong value for their brand. Through the use of information available at the market and the clients’ perception of the products capacity to meet the needs, an appropriate product is selected. This is greatly influenced by the beliefs and perception of the client towards a commodity in relation to the specific needs that need to be addressed. In the course of improving brand equity of a specific product or institution, the two main factors that are taken into account include brand knowledge and brand awareness. The product should be placed in the client mind to an extent that when s/he is confronted with a problem, the products appears to be the first choice among the products that could address the challenge. Understanding the rivals in a business Understanding the brand equity of compet itors is important in the making of brand equity; this is mainly because the organization will maximize on their weaknesses. Moreover, this will provide sufficient information in preparation of a brand that is unique from the existing ones and thus easily identifiable by the clients. This places the product as well the organization at a competitive edge in the market that is ever competitive, thus enjoying customer loyalty, increased sales and consequently growth. Approaches for ensuring brand equity There are various approaches to ensure brand equity in an organisation within the market in which its supplies products to its customers. Customer-based equity brand approach is one in which an organisations considers various factors to be implemented so as to come up with a brand that is strongly established in the market. Customer-based brand equity model ensures that an organisation can be able to attract its customers by clearly considering their choices as could be determined by th eir preferences. Kevin Keller developed the model and hence it also bears the name Keller’s Brand Equity and it involves four steps of developing a stable and strong brand in the market. The first step of customer-based brand equity implies that a product needs to be logical, and should integrate different aspects of life as well as establishing itself in the market. This happens by creating customer awareness or salience, which aims at ensuring that a brand stands out, and customers recognise it. According to this step, an organisation, which is implementing a branding venture, should focus on being all-inclusive and focusing on its ability to its establishment in the market. This means that for a brand to thrive in a market, it will have to undergo the process of growth to establish itself in the business by involving as many people with their own differences. This means that an

Freedom and Human Rights in Orwells 1984 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Freedom and Human Rights in Orwells 1984 - Essay Example The issues of freedom and human rights are discussed further on. A process of individual’s degradation in the face of oppression and intimidation is shown by Orwell. It is interesting to trace individual’s transformation from an independent citizen to a dependant person oppressed by a perverted socialism. A novel’s background Socialism by itself is not destructive. It is more relevant to look at its rulers and discuss their history. In accordance with Marx, a great philosopher of socialism: â€Å"revolutionary violence was inevitable since those in power will never voluntarily relinquish their position, and he viewed the future communist society as the redemption of that nightmare of history that we have had hitherto† (Scaliger, 2007). Another position is expressed by Orwell. Socialists showed violence to fight against violence; an example of the Soviet Union shows to us that the society based on violence would lead to freedom opposition. Therefore, it is necessary to develop human rights protection laws and take control over freedom achievement in the society. A political form of Socialism is not bad in its essence. It is better to reach socialism by democratic means and not through violence. Orwell shows that working people have their own ethical concerns creating a bridge for decency development under socialism (Deery, 2005). Consequently, Orwell is positioned as an ethical socialist, who is focused on the basic moral values of working people and he does not want that people would lose them. Social justice for Orwell can be reached in case liberty, equality and fraternity are preserved. It is interesting to discuss external factors influencing on conceptual representation of freedom by Orwell (Deery, 2005). In accordance with Marx and Engels, freedom is an integrative part of self-determination. In reality, freedom has a broader meaning; it should be clarified that freedom â€Å"means being in charge for one’s own life and being able to reveal the highest potential of an individual† (Scaliger, 2007). In this utopian novel, Orwell created a satire of an ideal type of socialism. Stalinist practices and Trotsky’s practices provided Orwell with fruitful information about the cruel and violent regime, degrading human souls. The world order reinvented by Orw ell is an interesting fantasy of a writer: â€Å"His narrative gifts having flowered during the ugliest days of Stalinism and soared at a time when such ideas were in the air, he thereupon extrapolated Stalin's system and Burnham's schemes--worldwide and into eternity† (Deery, 2005). Freedom in the novel An interesting vision of freedom provided by Orwell is appealing for contemporaries as well: â€Å"Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four" (Orwell, p. 69). The Party is intimidated by the emergence of extra-linguistic reality and by the fact that some global issues may be intimidating for the whole society. It is easier and more convenient for the Big Brother to reshape the minds of his people, take away a hope from them and transform their skills into a motive force for socialism. For Winston, the Party is bad, because â€Å"its infallibility, or freedom from the strictures of falsifiability, is buttressed by its ability to impose, through Foucauldian di sciplinary techniques, a radically groundless regime of purely local and discontinuous epistemes† (Orwell, p. 45). We can see that there is an internal and external fight for freedom among the main characters of Orwell’

China Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8250 words

China - Dissertation Example The existing business firms also face certain legal, financial, socio economic, political, and technological obstacles due to increased globalization. Despite of these drawbacks Globalization has helped the developing countries of the world through increased opportunities of foreign investments and opening the domestic markets to the global environment. The fourth largest country of the world after USA, Russia, and Canada with a population of 1.3 billion is China in the year 2010. By the year 2015 the population of the country has been expected to reach a value of 1.375 billion on an approximate basis. The unemployment rate of the country has also been in a trend of decreasing with increasing participation of the country in the international market. The unemployment rate decreased from 4.65 percent in the year 2009 to 4.1 percent in the year 2010 with the expected value for 2011 to further decrease to a value of 4 percent and also expected to remain at that level till the year 2015 a s per the predictions of the economists of the country. The country has boundaries with 34 other countries of the continent. Russia, India, Pakistan, and six central Asian countries are the close neighboring countries. China remains a leading civilization outstanding the other countries in Arts, Science, culture etc for the recent years. The single party controlled political state of China with a central planned system of administration experienced a market-oriented approach of development after 1978 and since then output and the pace of the country’s development quadrupled. The economy of the People’s Republic of China has been expanding rapidly making the economy of the country a huge one. There has been a miraculous growth of the country’s economy for over the last 30 years with an average growth of above 8 percent of the gross domestic product of the country each year. Participation of the country in the international organizations of the world drastically i mproved the living standards of the countrymen however many families are still below the standards with the increasing reach of the country to the global market. During this period of 8 percent growth of the country’s GDP the economy of the country experienced more than ten times growth. In the year 2007 the value of the total Gross Domestic Product of the country reached a level of about 3.42 trillion in US dollars. China has been famous in the international community with the increasing contribution in the international trade and with the phenomenal economic growth of the country. In the year, 2010 China has been the largest exporter in the world trade. The double-digit growth rate of the economy in the last 10 years has made it the second largest in terms of the Gross Domestic Product of the country just after the United States of America. The country went ahead of Japan in the year 2001 with its economic development. The economic downturn of 2009 for the first time reduce d the demand for the country’s exports in many years but the country again hold back the economy rebounding quickly with a GDP growth rate of 10% in 2010 exceeding all countries. (The world fact book, 2010; Huang, 2002; The Chinese economy, n.d) Research Hypothesis The economic growth of the country of China has been mainly because of the liberalization of the countr

Analysis of Multinational Computer Technology Corporation Microsoft Essay

Analysis of Multinational Computer Technology Corporation Microsoft - Essay Example Microsoft has a very friendly and supporting approach in the routine ways that staff at the company behave towards each other, and towards those outside the company that can make up the ways people do things. The control systems and measurements are constantly under the management review to monitor the efficiency of the staff and managers' decisions. The rituals of Microsoft's life are special events, corporate gatherings, which the company emphasises what is particularly important and reinforce the way things are done. On-going meetings and communication at every level of the company's hierarchy represent a strong internal environment (Microsoft Corporation Annual Report). Interpersonal communication within Microsoft is supported by technologies that connect people from different locations of the world. Facial communication stands for always friendly and expressive attitudes of people working along with each other. The issue of space is observed to be of the same level as in a typic al organization: people keep the distance with each other and sustain professional relationships. Normal distance when negotiating or greeting within Microsoft is around one meter. Microsoft's relationship model combines process maturity with a flexible, fast-paced small company culture that makes it easy to work with. The delight is enhanced by a company’s ability to provide ramped-up value and responsibility as the relationship progresses. Microsoft’s people are inspired to be open, fair and uncompromising in their efforts to ensure external as well as internal customer satisfaction. The company pays special attention to Integrity because of the trust that its clients place upon it. Ethics, values, reputation are vital to Microsoft’s philosophy. Its objective is to be globally respected as a process management company that is truly viewed as a strategic extension of our clients' capacity.

Mice and Men and Great Expectations Essay Example for Free

Mice and Men and Great Expectations Essay Of Mice and Men and Great Expectations, have many similarities. They both show the way certain characters are treated by society. These similarities may be strong but there are natural differences that come from the different times and places the stories are set in.-as well as the way the authors approach the topic.  Steinbeck begins Of Mice and Men by creating a tranquil scene where everything is seemingly at peace. Steinbeck creates with words images of paradise such as when he writes: A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hill-side bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. A river, which is said to run deep, is calm and slow moving. Its water is clear too, twinkling over yellow sands, it has warm water too and seems perfect-almost too good to be true. Inevitably it is. Of Mice and men is set in the 1930s during Americas great depression. After the stock exchange crashed in New York, money and jobs became hard to find. There was poverty all over America and California, which affected everything. Like the American dream, paradise can only exist with money. Therefore only the wealthy can enjoy this and even then it is spoilt by the poverty surrounding it. The American Dream is a paradox, just like the paradise of Salinas River. They cannot exist because they contradict themselves. Paradise is bliss but how can this exist with so much poverty and suffering in the world? The Salinas River seems briefly to have escaped the paradox. There is no sign of poverty, just peace and tranquillity. Then human life enters the scene. Human life is introduced when a path is described; There is a path through the willows and among the sycamores, a path beaten hard by boys coming down from the highway. Its the point that the track has been beaten hard that really emphasises what effect humans have had on the river. Other animals leave tracks that are temporary and blend into the scene. Humans have left their path permanently, like a scar it proves that not even the Salinas River can reach paradise. But it is not the only scar, In front of the low horizontal limb of a giant sycamore there is an ash pile made by many fires; the limb is worn smooth by men who have sat on it. Two more scars. The introduction of humans into the scene sees the end of the animal life in the scene. As the humans approach all the wildlife is scared of and the area is completely deserted. For a moment the place was lifeless. The peace is broken and with it any chance of the Salinas River truly becoming paradise.  The story is set in California where few people owned land. They had either lost it due to the financial problems the depression caused or were just too poor to afford any in the first place. The people needed to find work; one of the most common jobs was to work on a farm. These people became known as migrant farmers. They would drift from one farm to the next, rarely settling for long. The two characters that enter the scene are migrant farmers and are looking for work. This is the first introduction of human life into the scene. Great Expectations is set in Victorian England, where just like in 1930s California, the rich thrived and the poor suffered terribly. Even more distressing perhaps was the disease that swept through towns and killed many children as well as adults. This led to an increase in orphans, who have the same feelings of being alone and poor. They have the same problems as many others and werent much better off than the criminals in jail. Criminals were treated like animals, as were the poor community as a whole. Just like during the dust bowl, if you werent rich then you were a social outcast. After introducing the character Pip, Dickens begins describing his surroundings. Dickens goes into great detail to set the scene. He describes the area as Marsh Country which stretches for twenty miles up to the coast. Pip is in a secluded graveyard overgrown and derelict. Beyond the graveyard is a dark flat wilderness, Intersected with dykes and mounds and gates, with scattered cattle feeding on it, was the marshes. It is a raw afternoon towards the evening. The setting is dark and there is a sense of evil and death about the place. It seems to be building upto something sinister, and does so when the criminal enters the scene. He is described as a fearful man, in all course grey with an iron on his leg. He almost represents death in this scene, an evil presence trying to seize Pip.

Chapter 32 Ap World History Outline Essay Example for Free

Chapter 32 Ap World History Outline Essay A. Postcolonial Crises and Asian Economic Expansion, 1975–1990 I. Revolutions, Depressions, and Democratic Reform in Latin America 1. The success of the Cuban Revolution both energized the revolutionary left throughout Latin America and led the United States to organize its political and military allies in Latin America in a struggle to defeat communism. 2. In Brazil a coup in 1964 brought in a military government whose combination of dictatorship, use of death squads to eliminate opposition, and use of tax and tariff policies to encourage industrialization through import substitution came to be known as the â€Å"Brazilian Solution. † Elements of the â€Å"Brazilian Solution† were applied in Chile byte government of Augusto Pinochet, whose CIA-assisted coup overthrew the socialist Allende government in 1973 and in Argentina by a military regime that seized power in1974. 3. Despite reverses in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, revolutionary movements persisted elsewhere. In Nicaragua the Cuban-backed Sandinista movement overthrew the government of Anastasia Somoza and ruled until it was defeated in free elections in1990. In El Salvador the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) fought guerrilla war against the military regime until declining popular support in the 1990s led the rebels to negotiate an end to the armed conflict and transform themselves into a political party. 4. The military dictatorships established in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina all came to an end between 1983 and 1990. All three regimes were undermined by reports of kidnapping, torture, and corruption; the Argentine regime al so suffered from its invasion of the Falkland Islands and consequent military defeat by Britain. 5. By the end of the 1980s oil-importing nations like Brazil were in economic trouble because they had borrowed heavily to pay the high oil prices engineered by OPEC. The oil-exporting nations such as Mexico faced crises because they had borrowed heavily when oil prices were high and rising in the 1970s, but found themselves unable to keep up with their debt payments when the price of oil fell in the 1980s. 6. In 1991 Latin America was more dominated by the United States than it had been in1975. This may be seen in the United States’ use of military force to intervene in Grenada in 1983 and in Panama in 1989. II. Islamic Revolutions in Iran and Afghanistan See more: what is essay format 1. Crises in Iran and Afghanistan threatened to involve the superpowers; the United States reacted to these crises with restraint, but the Soviet Union took a bolder and ultimately disastrous course. 2. In Iran, American backing and the corruption and inefficiency of Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi’s regime stimulated popular resentment. In 1979 street demonstrations and strikes toppled the Shah and brought a Shi’ite cleric, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to power. The overthrow of an ally and the establishment of an anti-western Islamic republic in Iran were blows to American prestige, but the United States was unable to do anything about it. 3. In the fall of 1980 Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded Iran to topple the Islamic Republic. The United States supported Iran at first, but then in 1986 tilted toward Iraq. 4. The Soviet Union faced a more serious problem when it sent its army into Afghanistan in 1978 in order to support a newly established communist regime against a hodgepodge of local, religiously inspired guerilla bands that controlled much of the countryside. The Soviet Union’s struggle against the American-backed guerillas was so costly and caused so much domestic discontent that the Soviet leaders withdrew their troops in 1989 and left the rebel groups to fight with each other for control of Afghanistan. III. Asian Transformation 1. The Japanese economy grew at a faster rate than that of any other major developed country in the 1970s and 1980s, and Japanese average income outstripped that of the United States in the 1990s. This economic growth was associated with an industrial economy in which keiretsu (alliances of firms) received government assistance in the form of tariffs and import regulations that inhibited foreign competition. 2. The Japanese model of close cooperation between government and industry was imitated by a small number of Asian states, most notably by South Korea, in which four giant corporations led the way in developing heavy industries and consumer industries. Hong Kong and Singapore also developed modern industrial and commercial economies. All of these newly industrialized economies shared certain characteristics: discipline and hard-working labor forces, investment in education, high rates of personal savings, export strategies, government sponsorship and protection, and the ability t o begin their industrialization with the latest technology. 3. In China after 1978 the regime of Deng Xiaoping carried out successful economic reforms that allowed private enterprise and foreign investment to exist alongside the inefficient state-owned enterprises and which allowed individuals and families to contract agricultural land and farm it as they liked. At the same time, the command economy remained in place and China resisted political reform, notably when the Communist Party crushed the protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989. B. The End of the Bipolar World, 1989–1991 I. Crisis in the Soviet Union 1. During the presidency of Ronald Reagan the Soviet Union’s economy was strained by the attempt to match massive U.S. spending on armaments, such as a space-based missile protection system. The Soviet Union’s obsolete industrial plants, its inefficient planned economy, its declining standard of living, and its unpopular war with Afghanistan fuel dean underground current of protest. 2. When Mikhail Gorbachev took over the leadership in 1985 he tried to address the problems of the Soviet Union by introducing a policy of political openness (glasnost) and economic reform (perestroika). II. The Collapse of the Socialist Bloc 1. Events in Eastern Europe were very important in forcing change on the Soviet Union. The activities of the Solidarity labor union in Poland, the emerging alliances between nationalist and religious opponents of the communist regimes, and the economic weakness of the communist states themselves led to the fall of communist governments across Eastern Europe in 1989 and to the reunification of Germany in 1990. 20. The weakness of the central government and the rise of nationalism led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in September 1991. Ethnic and religious divisions also led to the dismemberment of Yugoslavia in 1991 and the division of the Czech Republic in 1992. III. The Persian Gulf War, 1990–1991 1. Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990 in an attempt to gain control of Kuwait’s oil fields. Saudi Arabia felt threatened by Iraq’s action and helped to draw the United States into award in which American forces led a coalition that drove Iraq out of Kuwait but left Saddam Hussein in power. 2. The Persian Gulf War restored the United States’ confidence in its military capability while demonstrating that Russia—Iraq’s former ally—was impotent. Cather Challenge of Population Growth I. Demographic Transition 1. The population of Europe almost doubled between 1850 and 1914, and while some Europeans saw this as a blessing, Thomas Malthus argued that unchecked population growth would outstrip food production. In the years immediately following World War I Malthus’s views were dismissed as Europe and other industrial societies experienced demographic transition to lower fertility rates. 2. The demographic transition did not occur in the Third World, where some leaders actively promoted large families until the economic shocks of the 1970s and 1980sconvinced the governments of developing countries to abandon the pronatalist policy. 3. World population exploded in the twentieth century, with most of the growth taking place in the poorest nations due to high fertility rates and declining mortality rates. Tithe Industrialized Nations 1. In the developed industrial nations of Western Europe and Japan at the beginning of the twenty-first century, higher levels of female education and employment, the material values of consumer culture, and access to contraception and abortion have combined to produce low fertility levels. Low fertility levels combined with improved life expectancy will lead to an increasing number of retirees who will rely on a relatively smaller number of working adults to pay for their social services. 2. In Russia and the other former socialist nations, current birthrates are lower than death rates and life expectancy has declined. III.The Developing Nations 1. In the twenty-first century the industrialized nations will continue to fall behind the developing nations as a percentage of world population; at current rates, 95 percent of all future population growth will be in developing regions, particularly in Africa and in the Muslim countries. 2. In Asia, the populations of China and India continued to grow despite government efforts to reduce family size. It is not clear whether or not the nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America will experience the demographic transition seen in the industrialized countries, but fertility rates have fallen in the developing world where women have had access to education and employment outside the home. IV. Old and Young Populations 1. Demographic pyramids generated by demographers illustrate the different age distributions in nations in different stages of economic development. 2. The developed nations face aging populations and will have to rely on immigration or increased use of technology (including robots) in order to maintain industrial and agricultural production at levels sufficient to support their relatively high standards of living and their generous social welfare programs. 3. The developing nations have relatively young and rapidly growing populations but face the problem of providing their people with education and jobs while struggling with shortages of investment capital and poor transportation and communications networks. D. Unequal Development and the Movement of Peoples I. The Problem of Growing Inequality 1. Since 1945 global economic productivity has created unprecedented levels of material abundance. At the same time, the industrialized nations of the Northern Home to enjoy a larger share of the world’s wealth than they did a century ago; the majority of the world lives in poverty. 2. Regional inequalities within nations have also grown in both the industrial countries and in the developing nations. II. Internal Migration: the Growth of Cities 1. Migration from rural areas to urban centers in the developing world increased threefold from 1925 to 1950 and accelerated rapidly after 1950. 2. Migrants to the cities generally enjoyed higher incomes and better standards of living than they would have had in the countryside, but as the scale of rural to urban migration grew, these benefits became more elusive. Migration placed impossible burdens on basic services and led to burgeoning slums, shantytowns, and crime in the cities of the developing world. III. Global Migration 1. Migration from the developing world to the developed nations increased substantially after 1960, leading to an increase in racial and ethnic tensions in the host nations. Immigrants from the developing nations brought the host nations the same benefits that the migration of Europeans brought to the Americas a century before. 2. Immigrant communities in Europe and the United States are made up of young adults and tend to have fertility rates higher than the rates of the host populations. In the long run this will lead to increases in the Muslim population in Europe and in the Asian and Latin American populations in the United States, and to cultural conflicts over the definitions of citizenship and nationality. E. Technological and Environmental Change I. New Technologies and the World Economy 1. New technologies developed during World War II increased productivity, reduced labor requirements, and improved the flow of information when they were applied to industry in the postwar period. The application and development of technology was spurred by pent-up demand for consumer goods. 2. Improvements in existing technologies accounted for much of the world’s productivity increases during the 1950s and 1960s. The improvement and widespread application of the computer was particularly significant as it transformed office work and manufacturing. 3. Transnational corporations became the primary agents of these technological changes. In the post-World War II years transnational corporations with multinational ownership and management became increasingly powerful and were able to escape the controls imposed by national governments by shifting or threatening to shift production from one country to another. II. Conserving and Sharing Resources 1. In the 1960s, environmental activists and political leaders began warning about the environmental consequences of population growth, industrialization, and the expansion of agriculture onto marginal lands. Environmental degradation was a problem in both the developed and developing countries; it was especially severe in the former Soviet Union. In attempting to address environmental issues, the industrialized countries faced a contradiction between environmental protection and the desire to maintain rates of economic growth that depended on the profligate consumption of goods and resources. 2. In the developing world population growth led to extreme environmental pressure as forests were felled and marginal land developed in order to expand food production. This led to erosion and water pollution. III. Responding to Environmental Threats 1. The governments of the United States, the European Community, and Japan took a number of initiatives to preserve and protect the environment in the 1970s. Environmental awareness spread by means of the media and grassroots political movements, and most nations in the developed world enforced strict antipollution laws and sponsored massive recycling efforts. 2. These efforts, many of them made possible by new technology, produced significant results. But in the developing world, population pressures and weak governments were major obstacles to effective environmental policies.

Choices And Consequences That People Face

Choices And Consequences That People Face Every choice a person makes has consequences, whether they are positive or negative. Many times before a person makes a choice, he/she mentally calculates the cost and benefits of his/her choice. Other times some of the consequences may have not been intended or thought through. The feminist movement is an example of that. While the feminist movement accomplished great things for women, it also hindered women in other areas. Some of the problems related to the ironies of the feminist movement and the mixed message women were receiving. It began to change the way women made choices. Even though the feminist movement affected womens choices, many women have chosen to quit their job in order to raise a family. Because women were able to have jobs during the war, they realized they were no longer content to be housewives. In the 1960s most of the feminist movement was led by radical feminists. They began to fight for reproductive and employment rights. The Equal Pay Act was enacted in 1963. This meant that employers had to give employees the same amount of money for the same job. During this time abortion was made legal in all fifty states (Feminsm). The third round of feminism began in the 1990s. This was led by many types of feminism. It dealt with more than just prejudices against women but also races and economic standing (Feminsm). Feminism has many ironies that can be explored. It helps determine how the feminists made their choices and what they meant by them. Dr. Wendy Walsh, who is a clinical psychologist, has an interesting view on feminism. Even though she is a feminist herself, she believes that it did have negative consequences. She writes, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦feminism didnt liberate femininity. Feminism liberated masculine energy in women. It was a masculinist movementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦It pushed femininity in the closet. (Walsh) That statement seems pretty accurate. Feminism did not encourage women to be more feminine. It encouraged women to be like men. Women were supposed to have the same jobs as men and achieve the same success. To many women, this was a good thing, but to others it was not. Walsh comments that women who liked their traditional role were hurt by that. They were then told that their job was not as important as a woman who works outside the home (Walsh). The feminist movement seemed to start because women said they were unsatisfied being housewives. If that is true, then women should be happier now because they are pursuing careers. However, according to a poll done by ClubMom, a free national membership organization for moms, the results are the exact opposite. Working moms and stay-at-home moms were asked to rate various aspects of their life and to grade their overall satisfaction with life. Working moms rated A thirty three percent of the time while stay-at-home moms rated A fifty two percent of the time. They also rated their job as a mom. Stay-at-home moms gave themselves an A fifty one percent of the time while working moms only did forty five percent of the time. Interestingly just eight percent of moms would continue to work full time if they did not have to worry about finances (New Poll). F. Carolyn Graglia, author of Domestic Tranquility: A Brief Against Feminism, also writes about the many ironies of feminism. Betty Friedan, Kate Millett, Germaine Greer and Gloria Steinem were some of the leading womens rights movement leaders in the 1960s. They did not support womens roles as a wife and mother, but Betty Friedan was the only one who had been a wife and mother (Graglia 13-14). It seems that the women should not speak against something they have never experienced. Maybe they wanted others to choose what they had chosen to make their choices more acceptable. Friedan did decide to divorce because she believed that she could not tell women to not get married while she herself was still in the awful institution. She claims that marriage destroyed [her] self-respect. (Graglia 13) Some women still believe that women can be more satisfied caring for their children opposed to having a successful career. Suzanne Venker writes in Feminsm:Opposing Viewpoint about why she believed a woman should choose to stay home. She was an English teacher and then a full time mom. Venker argues that women seem to be unhappy in the workplace. She cites that people have spent over five hundred million dollars on self-help books in 1999 (Finsanisk). Another source says that women count for ninety percent of self-help (Smith). So the vast majority of the self-help books were sold to women. Venker believes that if careers were truly fulfilling women like they are supposedly supposed to do, then people would not need to buy so many self-help books (Finsanick). Obviously, feminism had a tremendous impact on society. Women achieved the right to vote, have equal jobs, and own property. Many countries had women political leaders, and there were more females than males in many higher institutions. In the U.S., a woman ran for president and another almost became vice president. Husbands and wives also began to split the work more evenly in earning money, taking care of children, and maintaining the house (Feminism). Television changed from June Cleaver vacuuming in high heeled shoes to Clair Huxtable managing a house and her career as a lawyer. It gave women the opportunity to pursue a good career if that is what they wanted, or if they needed to due to finances. With all the changes that many believed to be positive, there were negative as well. Whether feminists intended for it to happen or not, the feminist movement, especially the radical one, brought about some negative consequences. The early feminists choices affected everyone. The feminist movement affected womens choices. The feminist seemed to focus on equality and women getting to have a choice. They wanted women to be able to choose to be a doctor or architect if that is what she wanted. But when women were given the right to a successful career, it almost became expected of them. Rebecca Scarlett said it like this, Suddenly, women were no longer allowed to choose. Suddenly women had to be everything they had always been, and be everything men had always been, as well, or they would have to feel inadequate and ashamed! (Scarlett) Now women who choose to stay home and take care of her children and house, are viewed as being lazy. People might think she is not smart enough hold or pursue another job (Scarlett). Feminists choices hurt womens right to choose. Sometimes people experience consequences as the result of their choices, and other times one must make a choice based on the consequences of choices made by the people around them. That is what many women have to do now. Radical feminists choose to devalue a womans role with her children and household. The consequences were that women are expected to pursue a career and now many women must make a choice: do they follow the feminist way or choose to take a different path. After she makes the choice she must see if her choices were worth the consequences. Other times women are forced to make choices whether they want to or not. Some mothers must work due to economic status or single parent homes. But many things are affected by the womans choice whether it was voluntary or necessary. In the article in the book Feminsm, Venker cites Dr. Phil by saying Life is about tough choices. I never encountered a successful person who didnt have to sacrifice in one area of her life to be successful in another. If you put more into your career, kids and family suffer; if you put more into family, career suffers. Thats the bottom line. (Finsanick) In spite of the feminist encouraging women to seek employment outside the home many women are still choosing to stay home. In fact, in 2005 there were about 5.6 million stay-at-home moms (The U.S. Census Bureau) So, why would a woman choose to go to PTA meetings and change diapers when she could be a doctor or lawyer? It seems that women are realizing that it is hard to do it all. They are deciding to put their careers on hold for a few years while they focus on their family. Iris Krasnow is an example of a woman who quit her job to stay home with her children. Krasnow has written a book about her journey entitled Surrendering to Motherhood about her journey. Glenn T. Stanton sums up her book in his article Two Women Tell All. Iris Krasnow grew up in the radical feminist period. She was an extremely successful journalist for UPI interviewing some of the most famous and interesting people in the world. Krasnow achieved the feminist goal but she was still empty. She began seeking different things to bring her fulfillment. She later married and they decided to have children. Krasnow and her husband wanted to have four [children] by forty and they did (Stanton). She then tried to have it all by pursuing her career and taking care of her family. Krasnow did this because she believed that her career gave her value and she could not imagine life without it (Stanton). One day when she was feeding her fours boy and surrounded by a mess, she realized something: There are no shackles in their house, this is no jail. These kids are your ticket to freedom like nothing you have ever tasted, the kind that is not hinged on TV appearances or writing for Life magazine or being a size 6 again. Its the liberation that comes from the sheer act of living itself. When you stop to be where you are, then your life can really begin I realized for the first time in my life I was exactly where I was supposed to be. (Krasnow 157) Iris Krasnow thought that she could have it all, but she realized that the choices she was making were not the best for her family and children. Her choices were based on what she believed was best for her family and what brought her personal fulfillment. She believes that surrendering to motherhood was the most liberating and powerful thing she had ever done in her life. (Krasnow 2-3) In F. Carolyn Graglias book she explores how feminism has hurt women and families and why she chose to stay home. Glenn Stanton also summarizes the book. Graglia grew up with a single mother and was poor. She decided the ticket out of poverty was to become a lawyer. After college Graglia obtained a job at a Wall Street law firm in the 1950s. At that time it was not common for a woman to have a career like that. She had a successful career until she chose to stay at home when her first child was born. Graglia was not forced to do it; she did it because she wanted to. Like others she chose the choice that wasnt popular. She chose to be a stay-at-home mom in the 1960s and 1970s. Graglia says that people were much more accepting of her choice to be a lawyer in the 1950s than they were of her choice to be a stay-at-home mom (Stanton). She believes that feminism robbed women of their surest source of fulfillment. (Graglia inside cover) She also believes that feminism tried to tell women th at their job as a mother and wife were not valuable. Candace Cameron Bure is another example of a woman who quit her job to stay home with her children. She is best known for her role as D.J. Tanner on Full House. She has also appeared on other T.V. shows, T.V. movies, and feature films. In 1996 she married Valeri Bure, who is now a retired hockey player. After she got married she decided to postpone her career to raise a family (Career) When doors were not opening for her in acting she believed it was God telling her to stay home. Bure considers it a great privilege to stay home (Rice). She counter argues what society tells women, Our society says, Work! Make more money! The career is great! But stay-at-home moms, youre so not cool. Get going. But theyre wrong. I thank God, who alone is able to keep our hearts in the right place. (Rice) After taking a break from her acting career she has returned to acting. Bure has been in several movies and plays Summer Van Horn on ABC Familys Make It Or Break It. (Career) People still vary greatly on the opinion if moms should work outside the home. People seem to judge others choices strongly. Parents and mothers, in particular are judged for every choice they make. They are judged from what they feed their children to where they send them to school. A womans choice to stay at home or pursue a career is not judged any less. No matter what the woman chooses, she will be judged for it. Some may agree with her choice and others may tell her that she made the wrong choice. Some people believe that people are becoming more accepting of whatever choice a woman decides to make. Women on either side of the issue know that each family must decide what choice is best for them. In the article Mothers Who Chose to Stay Home Elizabeth Drew School who made the choice to stay home does not judge the choices of other women. Her choice to stay home was best for her family (Gardner). The choices that a person makes also depend on the culture and expectations that a person was raised with. According to Jolene Ivey in the black culture staying home is not readily accepted. Since the civil rights movement gave them more rights to jobs and education, people did not think it was wise for them to reverse that. When Jolene Ivey decided to stay home with her children she felt like she was alone among her black friends. She then decided to start a support group called Mocha Moms to support black women wanting to stay home (Gardner). When a person has support and encouragement around them it makes his or her choices much easier. Some mothers choose to stay home because they realize their job will not accommodate their new lifestyle. Elizabeth Scholl is an example of that. She had a masters degree and was very career focused. She even planned having a baby around a project. When she learned that her employer was only going to grant her six weeks of maternity leave she knew that she would not be ready to leave her baby at that time. Scholl said that babies dont even hold their head up by six weeks. She requested to work part time, but her job would not allow it. Then she decided to quit. Scholl says that it was truly the hardest decision Ive ever made. But I came to the realization that these jobs are going to be there when I go back to work. (Gardner) Adjusting to being at home was very difficult for her in the beginning (Gardner). Many jobs are not very accommodating for mothers. Some careers do not allow women to work part time or to work from home. Also many times when families calculate child care expenses and taxes women are not making enough to justify working (Gardner). Women have many reasons as to why they choose to stay home in spite of the feminist movement telling women to pursue a career. Part of it is a cycle. Women decided that they wanted to alter their lifestyle. They chose to pursue careers and devalue being a housewife. That also resulted with women being unhappy. Because of that some women still decided to choose to stay home. Many women sacrifice their career in order to stay at home with their child. Whether they are quitting their job as a desk clerk, actress, or lawyer, many women are realizing how difficult it is to balance a career with family. Women are being set free by realizing they do not have to do it all. They can be fulfilled by being a wife and mother. Many women believe their choice to stay home is well worth it.

Ellen Franz: Using Community to Close the Cultural Achievement Gap Essa

One of the foundations of teaching that is currently lacking adequate implementation in the classroom is the ability to understand and use the cultural differences that exist within different communities in order to help individual students thrive. Not only is it important for teachers to cultural awareness, but also it is crucial for teachers to have the skills to utilize this awareness when forming relationships between the learner and the community. Thus they are able to promote the best learning environment possible. In other words, while it is both important to focus on the individual students and the overall culture it is important to connect both of them in order students to be successful in the classroom. Ellen Franz, an elementary school teacher in a small school in Sausalito Marin City School District, is able to seamlessly accomplish the daunting task. She does so by focusing on the individual students’ needs while keeping in mind the overall community by being aware of the cultural differences between her and her students. She is grounded in the culture and community which allows her to use the techniques of ZPD in order to bring all students to a level where they can expand their knowledge and learn what they are supposed to in order to thrive. However, this is not a magic formula and creating the relationships with both the students and the community is not enough. To assure that ZPD is being used as effectively as possible, everyday she must take control of the class and in order to do so she consistently uses pedagogical knowledge, engagement, formative assessment, and persistence. Her ability to use pedagogical knowledge effectively is very important because it allows her to stay in control of the classroom and m... ...chers to know what pay attention to and what to focus on. In addition, there are some basic things that could be taught such as the importance of forging relationships with parents and how to knowing how to approach parents that may not as assessable either because of language barriers or work More importantly it is crucial for teacher to be culturally aware before joining the field of teaching because there is a thin line between being aware and feeling bad for students. When working in a community that is underserved it could be easy to make up excuses for students or assume that parents don’t care about their education. However, this is not always the case and if teachers have an idea of the challenges that they will face and a understanding of how to deal with them then it may buffer against the instinct to not hold students accountable to the same standards.

Volcano Mount Vesuvius :: essays research papers

Mount Vesuvius is a volcano located in southern Italy, near the bay of Naples and the city of Naples. It is the only active volcano on the European mainland. Vesuvius rises to a height of 1277 m (4190 ft). Vesuvio (Vesuvius) is probably the most famous volcano on earth, and is one of the most dangerous.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mount Vesuvius is a strato-volcano consisting of a volcanic cone (Gran Cono) that was built within a summit caldera (Mount Somma). The Somma-Vesuvius complex has formed over the last 25,000 years by means of a sequence of eruptions of variable explosiveness, ranging from the quiet lava outpourings that characterized much of the latest activity (for example from 1881 to 1899 and from 1926 to 1930) to the explosive Plinian eruptions, including the one that destroyed Pompeii and killed thousands of people in 79 A.D. At least seven Plinian eruptions have been identified in the eruptive history of Somma-Vesuvius (1). Each was preceded by a long period of stillness, which in the case of the 79 A.D. eruption lasted about 700 years. These eruptions were fed by viscous water-rich phonotitic to tephritic phonolitic magmas that appear to have differentiated in shallow crustal conditions. They are believed to have slowly filled a reservoir where differentiation was driven by compositional convection. A minimum depth of about 3 km was inferred for the top of the magmatic reservoir from mineral equilibria of metamorphic carbonate ejecta (2). Fluid inclusions ([CO.sub.2] and [H.sub.2]O-[CO.sub.2]) in clinopyroxenes from cumulate and nodules indicate a trapping pressure of 1.0 to 2.5 kbar at about 1200 [degrees]C, suggesting that these minerals crystallized at depths of 4 to 10 km (3). The differentiated magma fraction was about 30% of the total magma in the reservoir, and a volume of about 2 to 3 [km.sup.3] was inferred for the reservoir (4). The magma ascent to the surface occurred through a conduit of possibly 70 to 100 m in diameter (5). A thermal model predicts that such a reservoir should contain a core of partially molten magma (6) that can be detected by high-resolution seismic tomography. The earliest outcropping volcanic deposits date back to about 25,000 years ago. The lavas observed at a -1125 m bore-hole are about 0,3-0,5 million years old. It is known for the first eruption of which an eyewitness account is preserved, in 79 AD. Geologically, Vesuvio is unique for its unusual versatility. Its activity ranging from Hawaiian-style release of liquid lava, fountaining and lava lakes, over Strombolian and Vulcanian activity to violently explosive, plinian events that produce pyroclastic flows and surges.

Imperfections in The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay -- The Bir

Imperfections in The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne Too often in this world does man attempt to perfect nature. Tampering with this sort of element most commonly leads to a disaster to come extent. Because man is never satisfied, he is constantly vying for perfection, regardless of the outcome. Such is the case in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, 'The Birthmark.' Aylmer's persistent attempt to perfect nature is the cause of Georgiana's demise and the affirmation that when man tampers with such a powerful component terrible things may occur. In this short story, Hawthorne uses symbolism to emphasize the strange shape of the 'earthly imperfection' (204) and his desperate need to change it. The shape of the birthmark 'bore a little similarity to the human hand' (204). Here, Hawthorne?s use of symbolism clearly illustrates a distinct connection between the shape of the birthmark as a human hand and the need to remove it by the same means. In Aylmer?s quest for perfection, he simply ignores the fact that he is tampering with an incredible force: Nature. The ?crimson hand? (206) symbolizes man always trying to change something natural: something that need not be changed. Aylmer?s subconscious obsession with science quickly becomes apparent when he realizes that he has the knowledge to potentially change something that nature has brought. At one point in the story Aylmer becomes so infatuated with removing this birthmark he dreams about how he will do so. He goes a...

A Study on Employee Attitude and Leadership Behaviour

ABSTRACT The Research titled namely â€Å"A Study on Employee attitude & Leadership Style† is a research study conducted among various managers in different functional areas in Sify Software Limited & Everonn Education Limited. In this research study, the researcher has made an attempt to identify the various styles followed by leaders due to different behavior among employees. The study mainly focus on the various attitudes of employee’s in different groups and its impact of the performance if individual, group or team & organization. Further, the study also focuses on finding out the significant relationship between the attitude of employees and its impact of completion of module, work, deadlines, and target. This study is limited to the managers working at Sify Software Limited & Everonn Education Limited. The Researcher has proposed to use descriptive type of research & Analytical type of result. The Researcher has proposed to use descriptive type research, in order to collect the real facts from the respondent’s regarding the attitude of the employees. The Researcher has also proposed to use Analytical type of result to analyze the behavior of employees and its impact of deadline & productivity. Once the data has been collected from the respondents (Managers), the Researcher has proposed to use various statistical tools like Percentage Analysis, Weighted Average Method, Chi-Square Method, One-Sample Run Test, etc. , and in order to analysis the various types of behaviors, the researcher has also planned to use cause and effect of diagram. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. 1INTRODUCTION Employee values, attitudes, and leadership behavior play a very important role in enhancing employee work motivation and performance. Employee work values, attitudes and leadership behavior can carefully be adjusted to produce a strong impact on employee work motivation. It would, therefore, be interesting to examine the precise nature of their roles in influencing the intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation of employees. Individuals vary in their value systems. For example, achievement is a concern for the advancement of one’s career while concern for others may reflect caring, compassionate. Supervisory behavior may vary considerably in the same job situation. Behaviors such as encouraging other employees or helping others work on difficult tasks. A supervisory behavior may adopt democratic orientation or punishment when interacting with employees and thus may affect the work behavior. Though research on leadership styles, work values, and attitudes is concerned with finding the conclusions as to what specific leader behavior, work values and attitudes would produce a strong impact on employee work motivation and performance, no clear-cut conclusions have yet been rendered. It is, therefore, necessary to examine these issues, on a relative basis, which characteristics may act as more effective motivators in employee motivation and work performance. With such an understanding, management would better be able to use available motivational tools for their maximum impact on employee work performance. Thus the objective of this study is to examine the importance of values, attitudes and leadership behaviors in employee work motivation and performance. To gain a deeper insight into the exact nature of such influence, the roles of employee values, attitudes and leadership behavior in influencing intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation and performance are examined. Finally, the study explores the managerial implications of the findings and discusses the actions that might lead to improvements in employee motivation. VALUES, ATTITUDES AND EMPLOYEE WORK MOTIVATION The following description relates to values, attitudes, and employee motivation. VALUES Values are enduring beliefs that a specific mode of conduct or end state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end state of existence (Rokeach, M 1973). Some basic values, which are expected to affect the attitude and work motivation of an employee, would logically include: Family: The extent to which the job offers family well-being to the employees Recreation: The extent to which the job offers recreational facilities to the employees A sense of accomplishment: The degree to which the person feels the job gives the person a sense of accomplishment after the job is done. Advancing at the company: The degree to which the person feels the job will create opportunities for advancement. Financial security: The extent to which the job offers financial security to person. Integrity: The extent to which the job provides information accurately and emphasizes impartiality and recognizes different points of view ATTITUDES Attitudes are not the same as values. Attitudes are evaluative statements –either favorable or unfavorable—concerning objects people, or events. It has been treated both as a general attitude and as satisfaction with five specific dimensions of job: pay, the work itself, promotion, opportunities, supervision and co-workers (Smith, Kendall, and Hulin, 1969; Balzer and Smith et al, 1990). The combined effects of these factors produce for the individual some measure of satisfaction and dissatisfaction (Herzberg, Mausner, and Snyderman, 1959). Definitions of these five dimensions of the job are given as under: Definitions of key Job Dimensions Job DimensionsDefinition Work SatisfactionThe extent to which an employee is satisfied with work, including opportunities for creativity and task variety, allowing an individual to increase his or her knowledge, changes in responsibility, amount of work, security, and job enrichment (Balzer and Smith et al, 1990; Smith et al, 1969) Pay SatisfactionThe extent to which an employee forms an attitude toward pay based on perceived difference between actual pay and the expected pay. Expected pay is based on the value of perceived inputs and outputs of the job and the pay of other employees holding similar jobs or possessing similar qualifications (Balzer and Smith et al, 1990) Supervision SatisfactionThe extent to which an employee is satisfied with his or supervision, as measured by consideration and employee-centered actions of the supervisor and the perceived competency of the supervisor by the subordinate (Balzer and Smith et al, 1990, Herzberg et al, 1957) Satisfaction with promotionsThe degree to which an employee is satisfied with the Company’s promotion policy, including frequency of promotions, and the desirability of promotions (Balzer and Smith et al, 1990, Herzberg et al 1957) Co-workers’ SatisfactionThe work-related interaction and the mutual liking or admiration of fellow employees (Bazler and Smith et al, 1990, Smith et al, 1969, Alderfer, 1969) Overall Job SatisfactionThe extent to which an individual’s desires, expectations and needs are fulfilled by employment (Szilagi, Sims, and Terrill, 1977) 1. 2INDUSTRY PROFILE As the study is applicable only for e-Learning industry let us have a brief introduction about the software industry below. The current e-learning boom in India has added to the existing woes. Standards apart, the industry hangs on the edge where processes and players are dubious. Much of this blame can be put on the Indian government’s inability to put together a regulatory body. Unregulated and unstructured, the e-learning industry in India is likely to wreck havoc for the global e-learning industry as small vendors pile up huge â€Å"learning garbage† for clients worldwide. E-learning in India has come of age. Two decades and the nation already cherish several global e-learning players on its soil. This can be attributed to some basic reasons like cheap human resources, a large pool of English-speaking workforce and ‘business discounts’ offered by the central and state governments. Although exact figures of the size of the industry is not available, a conservative estimate shows the offshore e-learning industry at about $150 million in 2004-05, up almost by 200 percent in the last two years. In spite such impressive figures, the e-learning industry in India remains mired with a plethora of issues. Some of these issues include lack of uniform e-learning standards and workplace practices, and the lack of adequate human resources to power the spiraling upward growth. These concerns apart, government apathy has also bolstered fly-by-night e-learning entrepreneurs who eye quick bucks and increasingly deliver ‘learning garbage’ to a global clientele. Smaller vendors in India have setup e-learning business houses with paltry investments of a few thousand dollars – in the hope of getting a sizeable pie of the global e-learning business. Most of these short-term vendors run their shows from North India – from places in and around the National Capital Region of Delhi. The modus operandi for these vendors is simple. They rent in a couple of rooms in an urban area and advertise for resources in job websites and newspapers. Writers, designers and technology professionals – mostly unskilled – are hired by the dozens. The average salary of the employees ranges anything between $100 to $400 and the working hours stretch well over 72 hours per week. Next, these companies setup small sales calling teams to call up international clients asking for work. The sales pitch is often exaggerated and boasts of a few â€Å"big names†. To show their experience, these vendors cull-out a few odd CBT’s from other companies or ‘steal’ courses through their contacts. The basic quality that behooves a standard e-learning company is absent in these companies. Proprietors remain ignorant of even the most basic information that is essential to run the show. A Java programmer, for example, is asked to hone his skills in C++ or any other program since he is responsible for all ‘programming’ needs. Almost anyone who walks in for the position of writers is employed as an ‘instructional designer’, primarily because they can be asked to work for lesser salaries on the pretext that they lack instructional designing experience. Vendors also rely on these writers to validate the learning content for authenticity even when content validation remains the domain of the expert, the Subject Matter Expert (SME). The writers and designers are instructed to download content from Internet websites and ‘rewrite’ them before using it. A basic ignorance of the Internet medium on the part of the owners means that the writers are often confused with the content because no single idea or information on the Internet appears consistent. E-learning processes are virtually absent in these companies. All that offers a direct benefit to the proprietor becomes part of the practiced processes. A Project Manager, for example, may be required to recruit people, review e-learning courses, undertake marketing activities, and do just anything that catches the fancy of the owner. In some companies, it was observed that programmers were asked to work as typists. The motto: no resource should sit idle. Employees who work for more than 9 hours a day are neither paid additional remuneration nor are given facilities like cabs and food for their late stay and long hours of work. As an e-learning professional once remarked, â€Å"employees in these fly-by-night ventures reminds one of the rampant practice of human slavery in Africa and Arabian countries a few centuries back. Professional torture apart, these employees are also subjected to extremely inhuman conditions of work – congested workplace, outdated computers, stinking toilets, and the same paltry salary year after year. Employees in these companies too appear to have resigned to their fates – partly because their poor education that doesn’t stand them in good stead for jobs in big e-learning MNCs and also because most do not have a professional competence in English language. This phenomenon is rarely reported by any section of the Indian media, perhaps due to ignorance or for fear of antagonizing the international fraternity. The abysmal condition and the unplanned e-learning sector, however, have both a positive and a negative side to it. The positive side is that these e-learning ventures help to reinforce the fact that there is no alternate to quality, and quality comes from the big guys, not the fly-by-night operators. The flipside is that the employees in tiny Indian -learning ventures rarely get the exposure to standard work processes and world-class e-learning products thereby subjecting themselves to professional impairment. Unfortunate for the Indian e-learning industry, at a n era of globalization and information revolution, Indian laws too have failed to contain these IT hawks. While the existing labour laws do have provisions against inhuman practices in the private workplace, in practice they remain a mirage. Most of the employees neither have the financial resources to chase litigation nor are they willing to ‘waste’ their time. The Southern part of India presents a striking contrast to the North. Recent years have seen a rapid and strategic development of global e-learning companies in the South, in places like Bangalore and Chennai. Several global players have also setup their centers in Pune, Mumbai and Hyderabad. Not surprising, the South has become a favorite e-learning destinations for serious e-learning players because of the absence of the mayhem so rampant in the Northern part of the country. Although the same Indian laws apply to all states across India, security and infrastructure is usually better in the Southern states than in the North. Consequently, most of these global giants are reluctant to setup their operations in the North for obvious reasons: lax security, incompetent e-learning resources, and rampant corruption. However of all the paraphernalia, one primary reason that dissuades the big names in e-learning from setting bases in North India is the abysmally poor skill-sets of the workforce here. In an era of cut-throat competition, generalized skills fetch little or paltry returns. In the past companies like Tata Interactive Services, Brainvisa, Sify e-learning and Accenture have all failed to locate substantial trained workforce from the North for its setups in the South. Amidst all the rigmarole, smaller global clients seeking ‘cheap’ e-learning courses remain unconcerned about the operatives of these vile businessmen. The only thing that seemingly matters for them is ‘cheaper products’, even if it comes in poor quality or if the employees who developed them are subjected to inhuman practices. Its time that global clients shed their ignorance and act responsibly by seeking detailed credentials from smaller e-learning vendors in India on their HR processes, employee welfare schemes and workforce competence. Failing to do this will not result in the development of shabby e-learning courses. The state of e-learning in India, particularly the frenzy in North India, remains a serious concern for the industry. Either the law of the land has to haul-up the desperados or wait till the hawks eat up the industry for the worse. A regulatory authority is essential now, if the industry is to survive and prosper. Money-eyed hawks can’t be allowed to have a field day. If they hang around for long, the death of the industry in India is imminent. 1. 3 COMPANY HISTORY 1. 3. 1 SIFY SOFTWARE LIMITED Sify eLearning was formed in December 2000. With over 8 years of experience in the training domain and our speciality in Instructional Design and Interactive Multimedia Content Development, we have developed over 5000 hours of learning content comprising Web based training (WBT), Computer based training (CBT), and Instructor Led training (ILT) courses. We have close to 300 employees located in our offices in India, the US, UK, and the Middle East. In India, Sify's offices are located in Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore. Sify eLearning, which ranks among the top three eLearning Services providers in India, is a part of Sify Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:SIFY), with a revenue of US$150 million in 2008. Sify Technologies (www. sifycorp. com) is a pioneer and leader in the Internet, networking, and e-Commerce services in India and serves more than 1500 corporate and 600,000 retail consumers. We are proud to be the preferred eLearning vendor to many Fortune 100 companies. 1. 3. 2EVERONN EDUCATION LIMITED Everonn is one of the leading educational companies in India. Everonn today is the largest VSAT education network in the World. Everonn is listed in both the NSE and BSE. With a firm belief that technology-enabled learning can truly nullify social and economic boundaries, Everonn’s achievements have helped millions of students achieve their dreams. From its pioneering VSAT-enabled virtual and interactive classrooms to its emphasis on offering only the highest-quality content to students, Everonn’s quest for excellence has enabled the company to repeatedly break new grounds in the Indian education industry. Everonn’s commitment to a better standard of education is the guiding principle behind all its activities, from making Pre-school toddlers school ready to enhancing the employability of college students and providing the best entrance exam guidance in the nation. 1. 4PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED The Research titled namely â€Å"A Study on Employee attitude & Leadership Style† is a research study conducted among various managers in different functional areas in Sify Software Limited & Everonn Education Limited. In this research study, the researcher has made an attempt to identify the various styles followed by leaders due to different behavior among employees. The study mainly focus on the various attitudes of employee’s in different groups and its impact of the performance if individual, group or team & organization. Further, the study also focuses on finding out the significant relationship between the attitude of employees and its impact of completion of module, work, deadlines, and target. This study is limited to the managers working at Sify Software Limited & Everonn Education Limited. 1. 5NEED FOR THE STUDY The need for the study is to bring out the various attitude of employee in different groups and its impact on the performance of individual, group or team & organization. This research study is restricted to employees working in Sify Software limited & Everonn Education Limited. Generally employees working in any software companies are from different background in the sense they are from different regions, different culture, language, belief, Qualification, religion, communities etc. , which generally varies from the employees working in other sectors. This difference in attitude of employees is a very big challenge for software companies since it leads to many conflicts among the employees that affect the conducive working environment of the organization. In this study the researcher mainly focuses on changes in attitude of employees and the level of impact on their performance. Further the researcher has made an attempt to analyze the change in leadership behavior due to changes in employee attitude. In addition, the study will also be helpful in finding out the significant relationship between the attitude of employees and its impact on completion of module, work, deadlines, and target. 1. 6OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 1. 6. 1PRIMARY OBJECTIVE 1. To study the changes in attitude of employees and the behavioral changes of leadership at Sify software limited & Everonn Education Limited. 1. 6. 2SECONDARY OBJECTIVES 1. To identify and analyze the relationship between employee attitude and leadership behavior in Sify Software Limited & Everonn Education Limited. 2. To analyze the level of impact of leadership behavior on the team and performance of team. 3. To find out various ways to improve the attitude of people towards organizational commitments. 4. To identify the relationship between the attitude of employees and their performance towards their job. 1. 7SCOPE OF THE STUDY The study may help to find out the style to be adapted by leadership that may help them to effectively control the attitude of employees and also it helps to influence the workers and to extract work from them. This study may show the various characteristics of employees and its impact on the performance. Generally employees working in any software companies are from different background in the sense they are from different regions, different culture, language, belief, Qualification, religion, communities etc. , which generally varies from the employees working in other sectors. This difference in attitude of employees is a very big challenge for software companies since it leads to many conflicts among the employees that affect the conducive working environment of the organization. In this study the researcher mainly focuses on changes in attitude of employees and the level of impact on their performance. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE SURVEY 2. 1REVIEW OF LITERATURE ?Attitudes are not the same as values. Attitudes are evaluative statements –either favorable or unfavorable – concerning objects people, or events. Employee values, attitudes, and leadership behavior play a very important role in enhancing employee work motivation and performance. Employee work values, attitudes and leadership behavior can carefully be adjusted to produce a strong impact on employee work motivation. It would, therefore, be interesting to examine the precise nature of their roles in influencing the intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation of employees. ?Leadership Theory & Leadership Styles: Leaders and followers each have different traits, values and levels of motivation. Theories that explain leadership effectiveness in terms of situational moderator variables are called contingency theories of leadership (Yukl 2006). Fiedler’s (1964) contingency model of leadership effectiveness is contingent upon the interaction of leadership style and situational favorableness (Liu et al. 2003). Thus, leader effectiveness is the product of many variables related to the followers, the task, and the organization (Tatum, et. al. , 2003). Transformational leadership theory emphasizes longer-term and vision-based motivational processes (Bass & Avolio, 1997; Liu et al, 2003) and attempts to capture the emotional and symbolic aspects of leadership, helping researchers understand how leaders influence followers and motivate them to make self-sacrifices, putting the needs of the mission or organization above materialistic self-interests (Yukl, 2006). Researchers have found that most managers believe there is no single universal style of leadership applicable in all situations (Yun, Cox, and Sims, Jr. , 2006; Lord et al. , 2001). For example, a task-oriented leadership style may be most appropriate where a job involves psychologically immature or inexperienced workers; whereas, a relations-oriented leadership style may be most appropriate where workers are highly experienced and can be trusted to work autonomously (Tatum, et. al. , 2003). ?Group Types: Yukl (2006) defines several types of teams that can be found within an organization; two such teams include: Functional and Cross-Functional. Yukl (2006) provides the following about each team: â€Å"Functional teams are characterized by members of an organization with specialized jobs but are all part of the same basic function (e. g. maintenance, quality, etc. ). These teams operate for a long duration of time with membership that is relatively stable. Cross-Functional teams are characterized by members from a combination of functional subunits (e. g. quality, production, sales, and maintenance) working together on projects that require joint problem-solving skills. These teams operate until their task is completed. Membership may be stable over the life of the team or it may change as some functions increase/decrease in importance†. Leadership Credibility: Credibility is the foundation of leadership, and employees want their leaders to be honest, inspiring, competent, and forward looking (Kouzes and Posner, 2000). The credible leader must be seen as well informed and worthy of belief (Stoner, 1989). Credibility n urtures collaborative, cooperative relationships where employees assume responsibility for accomplishing work-related objectives voluntarily (Gabris & Ihrke, 1996). For credibility to exist there must be trust between leader and follower (Kouzes & Posner, 2000). Leadership credibility deals with perceived believability toward the leader-supervisor as someone an employee can trust in a supervisor-subordinate relationship (Gabris & Ihrke, 1996). Organizational Justice: Organizational justice theory is intimately tied to leadership and decision processes (Tatum, et. al, 2003) and is based on the idea that a set of justice rules is used by individuals to evaluate fair treatment; and the extent to which those rules are satisfied or violated determines perceptions of justice or injustice (Mayer, et al. , 2007). Procedural justice refers to the perceived fairness of the methods used to make organizational decisions (Tepper, et. al. , 2006; Bauer, et al, 2001). In procedural justice, employ ees are concerned about whether the decision process is fair and the process used to determine the outcome was just (Fernandes & Awamleh, 2006). Perceptions of fair procedures enhance employee acceptance of organizational outcomes (Latham & Pinder, 2005), lead to organizational commitment (Lind & Tyler, 1988) and satisfaction at the individual level (De Cremer, 2007). Shared perceptions of justice at the group level are positively related to satisfaction and commitment to the organization (Mayer, et al. , 2007). Just outcomes signal to employees that they are valued by the organization (Tyler & Lind, 1992). Individuals experience procedural injustice when they are denied voice and decision control (Tepper, et. al. , 2006). Interactional justice is defined as the interpersonal treatment people receive as procedures are enacted (Bies & Moag, 1986; Colquitt, 2001). Interactional justice is concerned with how information is communicated and whether individuals affected by a decision are treated with respect and dignity (Fernandes & Awamleh, 2006). ?Group Commitment: Commitment is believed to affect organizational performance (Fiorito, et al. , 2007) and outcomes such as job satisfaction (Williams & Hazer, 1986). Commitment is strongly influenced by leadership (Kouzes & Posner, 2000). When employees feel unfairly treated, they may respond affectively with low commitment (Latham & Pinder, 2005). The effect of leadership style on group interaction depends on both the consistency of the leadership style and the attitude group members have toward the leadership style (Kahai, Sosik, & Avolio, 1997). Describing the task in a way that links it to member values and ideals, explaining why a project or task is important, involving members in planning strategies for attaining the objectives, and empowering members to find creative solutions to problems (Yukl, 2006). If members see leadership as legitimate, they should remain more attached to the team and exert more effort to benefit it (Colquitt, Noe, & Jackson, 2002). ?It is readily accepted that organizational change impacts employees in a variety of ways (French, Bell, & Zawacki, 2000). Consequently, the impact of organizational change on employee attitudes has received considerable research attention (e. g. Gardner, Dunham, Cummings, & Pierce, 1987; Griffin, 1997; Lines, 2004; Saari & Judge, 2004; Schweiger & DeNisi, 1991). Research indicates that employee attitudes are related to how individuals perceive or react to change (Mossholder, Settoon, Armenakis, & Harris, 2000). This is important since positive perceptions of change can enhance the implementation of these organizational initiatives (Lines, 2004; Armenakis, Harris, & Feild, 1999). In this study, employee attitudes are investigated when organizational change is caused by the introduction of new technology. As depicted in Figure 1, salient attitudes of interest include job satisfaction, organizational commitment, intent to turnover, and job stress. The most-used research definition of job satisfaction is by Locke (1976), who defined it as â€Å". . . a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences† (p. 1304). Implicit in Locke’s definition is the importance of both affect, or feeling, and cognition, or thinking. When we think, we have feelings about what we think. Conversely, when we have feelings, we think about what we feel. Cognition and affect are thus inextricably linked, in our psy-chology and even in our biology. Thus, when evaluating our jobs, as when we assess most a nything important to us, both thinking and feeling are involved. Continuing this theoretical development, Judge and his colleagues (Judge & Bono, 2001; Judge, Locke, Durham, & Kluger, 1998) found that a key personality trait, core self-evaluation, correlates with (is statistically related to) employee job satisfaction. They also found that one of the primary causes of the relationship was through the perception of the job itself. Thus, it appears that the most important situational effect on job satisfaction—the job itself—is linked to what may be the most important personality trait to predict job satisfaction—core self-evaluation. Evidence also indicates that some other personality traits, such as extra-version and conscientiousness, can also influence job satisfaction (Judge, Heller, & Mount, 2002) In the research literature, the two most extensively validated employee attitude survey measures are the Job Descriptive Index (JDI; Smith, Kendall, & Hulin, 1969) and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ; Weiss, Dawis, England, & Lofquist, 1967). The JDI assesses satisfaction with five different job areas: pay, promotion, coworkers, supervision, and the work itself. The JDI is reliable and has an impressive array of validation evidence. The MSQ has the advantage of versatility—long and short forms are available, as well as faceted and overall measures. Another measure used in job satisfaction research (e. g. , Judge, Erez, Bono, & Thoresen, in press) is an updated and reliable five-item version of an earlier scale by Brayfield and Rothe (1951). All of these measures have led to greater scientific understanding of employee attitudes, and their greatest value may be for research purposes, yet these measures may be useful for practitioners as well. In practice, organizations often wish to obtain a more detailed assessment of employee attitudes and/or customize their surveys to assess issues unique to their firm. ?Job satisfaction is one of the most extensively researched work-related attitudes (Loscocco & Roschelle, 1991). Saari and Judge (2004), however, observed that HR practitioners lack thorough knowledge of job satisfaction and related antecedents. Job satisfaction is operationally defined as an individual's assessment of the degree to which their work-related values have been achieved (Locke, 1969; Locke, 1976). Research suggests that organizational change has a discernable impact on job satisfaction (see, for example, Ferguson & Cheyne, 1995) which is associated with organizational citizenship behaviors that are beneficial to organizational effectiveness (Organ, 1990). ?Organizational commitment is also a frequently studied job attitude (Lines, 2004; Loscocco & Roschelle, 1991). Definitions and conceptualizations of the organizational commitment construct are numerous and diverse. Morrow (1983) observed at least 25 different conceptualizations of organizational commitment. Despite this diversity, O'Reilly and Chatman (1986), among others, suggest that psychological attachment to an organization is a theme underlying most conceptualizations of organizational commitment. Of particular interest in this study is the relationship between affective organizational commitment and reactions to the organizational changes since individuals with high levels of affective commitment tend to exert extraordinary effort on behalf of an organization (Porter, Steers, Mowday, & Boulian, 1974). In addition, individuals with high levels of affective commitment are likely to remain with an organization because they want to remain with the organization (Porter et al. , 1974), not because they have no other alternatives or because of social pressure. CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3. 1PROPOSED METHODOLOGY 3. 1. 1FOR EMPLOYEES The Researcher has proposed to use Qualitative and Analytical type of research. The Researcher has proposed to use Qualitative type of research, to assess the behavior of various employees in different teams which has an impact on overall performance of the team. The Researcher has also proposed to use Analytical type of result to analyze the effect of behavior on their individual performance towards their relationship with peers etc. 3. 1. 2FOR MANAGERS To assess the changes in leadership behavior due to changes in employee attitude, the Researcher has used the same Qualitative and Analytical type of research design. 3. 2RESEARCH DESIGN The research design is the blue print for fulfilling objectives and answering questions of specific research problem. A research design is purely and simply the framework a plan for a study that guides the collection and analysis of the data. The research designs used in this project are listed below. 3. 2. 1 DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH To describe the characteristics of certain groups e. g. users of a product with different age, sex etc. , to determine whether certain variables are associated e. g. , age and usage of a product. 3. 2. 2 ANALYTICAL RESEARCH To analyze the behavior of employees and its impact of deadline & productivity. 3. 3DATA COLLECTION METHOD In this study the researcher has proposed to use both Primary and secondary data. 3. 3. 1PRIMARY DATA Primary data will be collected through a structured Questionnaire from the target respondents.