Life without IT

Dad, you always say, â€Å"Ah†¦back then when I was a lil' boy†¦there were no computers, cell phones or video games. Tsk! You young lads have all of 'em now, eh? We kids back then had to send letters, had to listen for our mothers' call to have dinner, and we were fit and healthy as a horse! Humph! You just don't know how much fun you are missin'†¦Ã¢â‚¬  My, my, here we go again. What did I say about those â€Å"when I was a lil' boy† stories! Come on dad! You're so old school! Seriously dad, how can you possibly live without information technology? Now it's considered a basic necessity to have emails and websites, and be able to call, text and access anyone and anything at all times. Imagine how desperate you would be if you deliberately left the house without any technologies at hand. Just for one good day†¦I bet you'll probably cry for help. Okay, okay. That might be bit of exaggerating, but still, you'll be desperate; trust me. Computers, cell phones (well, not to mention video games) replaced life as we knew it. Is there any turning back? No way! They've already claimed the entire generation. Dating back to the 1450s, why did Johann Gutenburg invent the movable metal printing process? Well, to start the Printing Evolution and make printing books a hit! Why did Alexander Graham Bell invent the telephone? Obviously, to make it much easier for us to communicate with each other over long distances! All of the technologies we see and use today are crucial to us. Without them, I know that our lives would be simpler but what about â€Å"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind†? Dad, I'm not trying to criticize for thinking that your childhood or whatsoever is the best. I agree that life can also be superb if there were no advanced technologies. But since we live in the â€Å"Information Age†, information technology has become a part of our everyday lives, and we must admit that it really improves our quality of living. We must live our lives with information technology and accept new things or we'll be cavemen. So dad, how do you like your i-Pad I bought for you? Cool, eh? See? I told you so; you JUST can't ignore and resist the new generation of I.T.!

Learning Organizations Essay

1. 1 Executive summary/ L. O! In times of uncertainty and change, organizations need new and effective managerial tools in order to cope with the rising competitiveness of markets. In this context, the concept of organizational learning is receiving growing attention among both managerial and academic surroundings in the last two decades. Among many possible definitions of a Learning Organization, David A. Garvin, a leading scholar in this field, suggests the following: â€Å"an organization made up of employees skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge. These people could help their firms cultivate tolerance, foster open discussion, and think holistically and systemically. Such learning organizations would be able to adapt to the unpredictable more quickly than their competitors could. †. A learning organization is aimed at increasing the flexibility and effectiveness of a company, making it react faster to changes in a competitive environment. This is achieved in cultures who constantly foster knowledge inside their organizations. Although this general idea of organizational learning may appear rather simplistic at first glance, it’s practical integration into day-to-day operations proves to require a more refined, systematic approach: â€Å"Generative learning cannot be sustained in an organization where event thinking predominates. It requires a conceptual framework of â€Å"structural† or systematical thinking, the ability to discover structural causes of behaviorâ€Å". This paper provides a deeper insight into the implementation and performance assessment of learning organizations (L. O. ’s), mainly using the Three Building Blocks Model outlined by Garvin, Edmondson & Gino. To better understand this concept, the work will rely on Xerox as an example to highlight how L. O. ’s can provide competitive advantages to corporations. In the last section, the paper will also breakdown the effect that learning organizations have on major stakeholders (leaders, employees and organization itself). 1. 2. Introduction: Background to Xerox Xerox is a US-based multinational, founded in 1906, which produces and sales printers and photocopiers and provides related services. Throughout it’s history, Xerox has faced several crisis periods which ended up pushing the company to become a Learning Organization. Around 1980, the company was hit hard by the emergence of new japanese players on the market and lost its almost 100% market share. As a response Xerox introduced the â€Å"leadership through quality initiative† with the objective of training every employee in tools for generating ideas and collecting information, solving problems in a systematical way, reaching consensus etc. â€Å"Xerox became a case study — the first American group to win back market share from the Japanese†. More recently, in the year of 2000, with the announcement of Anne M. Mulcahy as CEO of the company, XEROX’s was able to overcome another serious crisis. Mulcahy’s leadership style, which mirrors many of the strategies suggested by the LO literature, managed to turn around this †sinking ship†, which had 19 billion in debt, a falling stock and double-digit negative growth. In 5 years time, Xerox would be profitable again. Ursula Burns has continued Mulcahy’s work, since becoming the new CEO in 2009, even acquiring new companies such as the 2010 $6. 4 bln. takeover of ACS. Xerox continues to stay on the list of companies frequently cited as learning organizations. The 3 Building Blocks of a Learning Organization The concept of the three building blocks of a learning organizations is introduced by David A. Garvin, Amy C. Edmondson, and Francesca Gino as an assessment tool to determine areas where organizations need to improve their learning methodologies. Below we provide a deeper explanation of each of the three building blocks and how Xerox fits each one of them. Building Block 1: XEROX, a supportive learning organization? There are four distinct characteristics of an organization that determine whether it is or not a Supportive Learning Organization. Firstly, how psychologically safe its employees feel. This is common in organizations where employees don’t feel pressured or marginalized when presenting their own ideas even if these go against what the majority of the organization thinks. Similarly, subordinates at this organization are encouraged to disagree with their coworkers and superiors and present new and bold opinions, meaning that this organization is opened to new ideas. In a supportive learning organization, employees also become aware of the different inputs and opinions each member of a team brings to the table and learns how to accommodate and value those differences. Lastly, a supportive learning organization needs to provide its employees with some time for reflexion, when they will to go over the company’s procedures and analyse past performances in order to assess what can be changed and/or improved. Tolerance and diversity at Xerox Xerox’s openness to new ideas can be partly linked to its high diversity of employee backgrounds, which ultimately reinforces the acceptance and inclusion of different solutions, making employees feel more comfortable in taking risks. This diversity has also enabled Ursula Burns, the current CEO, to climb up the ranks of Xerox and become the first female black CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Besides being â€Å"a proof† to other employees that effort at Xerox pays back, Burns herself stresses this idea of a supportive learning organization when she mentions that she â€Å"wants [XEROX’s] 130,000 employees to get over the past, take more initiative, become more fearless and be more frank and impatient with one another to ratchet up performance†. Burns refers to the all Xerox community as the â€Å"XEROX family†- â€Å"When we’re in the family, you don’t have to be as nice as when you’re outside of the family,(†¦ ) I want us to stay civil and kind, but we have to be frank — and the reason we can be frank is because we are all in the same family. † Building Block 2: Does Xerox implement concrete learning processes and practices? Because â€Å"a learning organization is not cultivated effortlessly†, organizational entities must put explicit processes in place to ensure that knowledge is constantly generated and collected inside the organization. The information must then be interpreted and infused into the organization to be always accessible in a way that will support problem-solving tasks and benefit its constant transformational processes. Moreover, this will also help to develop new products or services, as well as closely monitor competitors, clients and technological developments, using benchmarking techniques. Lastly, the company has to invest in training measures for its employees. MAIN Education and problem-solving at Xerox: The Six Sigma Method In the case of Xerox, measures to implement LO practices started as early as 1983 when executive management inaugurated Xerox’s â€Å" leadership through quality initiative†. The initiatives goal was â€Å"improving business processes to create higher levels of customer satisfaction, quality and productivity† by providing workshops to Xerox employees. These workshops were refined in the late 90’s, reorienting around the Six Sigma method, which had previously been successfully applied in other companies. Although these efforts proved successful in improving productivity, they were only limited to a local supply chain level and were not conducted regularly. In 2002 the management of Xerox then decided to implement the Six Sigma strategy across the whole organization, an effort which Xerox is continuing today. This is shown by the fact that the method has become part of the everyday communication process inside the company. The Six Sigma strategy is a tool, which empowers employees to become more efficient and proactive in daily problem-solving situations, for example by using the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) approach. Six Sigma also requires the employees to closely monitor market trends and to apply benchmarking appropriately. Xerox particularly emphasizes the fact that they see the efforts to implement the Six Sigma method (see attachment 1) as a long-term project. This idea is aligned with the academic literature on LO’s stating that â€Å"becoming a LO is a long process and small setbacks should be expected†. This is because employees and the management have to â€Å"unlearn† old modes of thinking. Information distribution at Xerox Xerox provides employees with access to a large intranet consisting of e. g. reference knowledge, material on best practices, and answers to frequently asked questions. This helps the stakeholders inside the company to share information. It also supports the efforts to keep employees informed on what the priorities are for the overall company. Building Block 3: Are Xerox leaders reinforcing learning? Leaders in a L. O. promote constant learning by raising difficult questions and listening to the answers and concerns of their employees. While doing so, leaders also communicate openness to these new ideas and take them into consideration in their actions. Additionally, leaders have to encourage employees to invest their time in reflecting on both how to solve current problems and what can be learned from past performance. The ultimate goal is for leaders to motivate employees to question the underlying assumptions of current modes of thinking, and therefore initiate efficiency and innovation inside company processes. Promoting Initiative at Xerox For the past two decades, Xerox has engaged their employees to participate in the Earth Awards Program. The goal of this yearly event is to come up with solutions for saving company resources by increasing its efficiency, therefore making it a â€Å"greener† company. With this challenging program, Xerox motivates their employees to generate new ideas that, for instance, in 2010, resulted in company savings of $10. 2 Million. In that year, thirteen winners were announced, corporate wide and among different teams. This is an example of how leaders take their employees’ input seriously and how the generation of new initiatives at Xerox arises from both top and bottom levels of hierarchies. Encouraging employees to invest their time in reflecting by example Senior management at Xerox demonstrates the behaviors, which they in turn expect from employees. A clear example of this â€Å"policy† was when, in 1993, the executive management put together the Presidential Review process. The objective of this process was to review the overall progress of the company collectively through Presidential Review process in 1993. Interviews were organized with more than 30 senior managers answering questions like â€Å"What has changed? Where are the largest gaps between what was intended and what is currently true? If you were to outline barriers that need to be dealt with, what comes to mind? What would you have done differently? †. After the interviews, 45 seniors got together for one day meeting to identify trouble spots and develop recommendations. Action plan was the result . 3. The Effect on Leaders, â€Å"Followers† and Organizations Becoming a successful learning organization can provide a company with significant competitive advantages in the long-run, as it also can largely benefit its major stakeholders (employees and leaders). However, it also requires some behavioral changes from them. In order to achieve the goal of a L. O. (foster knowledge creation and sharing to gain competitive advantage), it is important that leaders infuse a common goal inside the organization. This implies, that leaders should have an effective communication in delivering the company ethos to their subordinates. Once employees identify with the company and its goal, people on all levels of the company would naturally start thinking and discussing promising new ways to achieve these goals. On the other hand, learning processes require time among other resources, and eventually leaders will have to find efficient ways to maximize the time of their employees. It is crucial to determine a balance between time spent going over problem-solvings tasks and past performance analysis (required for learning processes) with regular work. Additionally, leaders will have to define the line between â€Å"acceptable mistakes†- those that arrive from risk taking attitudes, and â€Å"unacceptable mistakes† – those originated by irresponsibility and lack of accountability. This is not always clear and, therefore, leaders might face some obstacles in implementing a learning culture as their workers’ â€Å"fear of punishment† can result in the limitation of creativity. Probably the most effective tool to boost innovation is to empower workers. But if the empowerment process provides employees the feeling that they are contributing and helping to define the company processes, then a new attitude is also required from them. Employees will have to remember that they are expected to show initiative, propose new ideas and act. And they should not always expect directions to do so. This can be particularly hard for workers who are risk-averse and who need clear instructions about their work role. Learning organizations can bring significant benefits to employees. Being part of the company processes transformation and being aligned with its goals are expected to make employees more motivated and dynamic. In this way, many of the aspects of the L. O. raise the levels of enjoying the work process. The job satisfaction in turn is expected to raise productivity levels. Also, because employees are more exposed to those in higher positions in the company, new career opportunities might arise together with monetary rewards. RISKS FOR COMPANY â€Å"No learning organization is built overnight. Success comes from carefully cultivated attitudes, commitments, and management processes that accrue slowly and steadily. The first step is to foster an environment conducive to learning. Analog Devices, Chaparral Steel, Xerox, GE, and other companies provide enlightened examples. † (http://w3. ualg. pt/~mzacaria/gic/HBR-Building-a-Leaning-Organization. pdf) 2. Organizations should be careful in applying new principles ensuring buy-in from most influential employees and checking progress not to fall into the trap of unfeasable change which could seriously hurt current business (see http://knowledge. wharton. upenn. edu/article. cfm? articleid=268) 4. Final considerations: As illustrated by the above analysis, as well by its overall economic performance in the last 11 years, it has become clear that XEROX has largely succeeded in becoming a LO. Arguably, Xerox has become so successful in it’s LO efforts that this has resulted in providing learning services to other companies through subsidiary spin offs, such as Xerox Learning Services. Concerning the evaluation of the theory proposed by Garvin, Gino and Edmondson, it has to be noted that the building blocks have to be seen as interdependent. Without effective leadership and learning environment, the learning process implementation will likely fail. Therefore, each of the above building blocks needs to be tackled by taylormade strategies, not least because companies do not perform consistently in each department. Similarly, organizations have to pay especial attention to comparing the extent of the learning process with other organizations, since only then you will have a solid benchmarking (in contrast to looking only at individual company performance over time). Attachment 1 ——————————————– [ 1 ]. O’Keeffe, T. 2002. Organizational Learning: a new perspective. Journal of European Industrial Training, 26 (2), pp. 130-141. [ 2 ]. Peter Senge (1990), â€Å"The Fifth Discipline† [ 3 ]. â€Å"Is yours a learning organization? † [ 4 ]. One good source on Xerox crisis times http://knowledge. wharton. upenn. edu/article. cfm? articleid=268 [ 5 ]. Building a L. O. [ 6 ]. http://www. economist. com/node/387740 [ 7 ]. http://www. economist. com/node/387740 [ 8 ]. http://mitleadership. mit. edu/r-mulcahy. php [ 9 ]. The following work will assume that the stance of the management towards encouraging the LO inside Xerox has remained constant. Since Mulcahy had been working with Burns for more than 9 years, Burns is expected to â€Å"put her own stamp on the company in a way that was deferential to the work of Ms. Mulcahy, who remains chairwoman. † See: http://www. nytimes. com/2010/02/21/business/21xerox. html? pagewanted=all&_r=1& [ 10 ]. http://www. freepatentsonline. com/article/SAM-Advanced-Management-Journal/20982068. html [ 11 ]. http://www. businesswire. com/news/home/20041027005036/en/Diversity-Practices-Organization-Recognizes-Xerox-Diversity-Leadership [ 12 ]. Farmer, Paula (August). â€Å"The First African American To Head A Fortune 500 Company, Franklin D. Raines Takes Over Fannie Mae†. The Black Collegian. Retrieved November 7, 2008. [ 13 ]. Bryant, A. (February 20, 2010) Xerox’s New Chief Tries to Redefine Its Culture, The New York Times [ 14 ]. Bryant, A. (February 20, 2010) Xerox’s New Chief Tries to Redefine Its Culture, The New York Times [ 15 ]. Garvin, Edmondson & Gino (2008), p. 4 [ 16 ]. Page 11: http://www. xerox. com/downloads/usa/en/n/nr_SixSigmaForumMag_2004_Aug. pdf It could be argued that these efforts were a spillover-effect from Xerox ground-breaking benchmarking efforts in its production process areas in billing, warehousing, and automated manufacturing. [ 17 ]. Page 13: http://www. xerox. com/downloads/usa/en/n/nr_SixSigmaForumMag_2004_Aug. pdf [ 18 ]. Slide 68:http://www. moyak. com/papers/learning-organization-presentation. pdf [ 19 ]. Easterby-Smith, M. , Crossan, M. , and Nicolini, D. 2000. Organizational learning: debates past, present and future. Journal of Management Studies. 37 (6) pp 783-796. See also Senge’s definition of â€Å"mental models†, which refer to how workers need to time to overcome old modes of thinking: Senge, P. M. 1990. The Fifth Discipline. London: Century Business. [ 20 ]. http://www. xerox. com/downloads/usa/en/n/nr_SixSigmaForumMag_2004_Aug. pdf [ 21 ]. Kaye, L. (November 15, 2010) Xerox’s Green Ideas Save Company $10. 2 Million, http://www. triplepundit. com/ [ 22 ]. Garvin, D. A. (2000), Learning in Action: a guide to putting the learning organization to work, Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data – p. 105 [ 23 ]. Garvin, D. A. (2000), Learning in Action: a guide to putting the learning organization to work, Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data – p. 105 [ 24 ]. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. : ImageXerox lean six sigma framework. Figure 3Xerox lean six sigma framework. emeraldinsight. com http://www. emeraldinsight. com/journals. htm? articleid=1628232&show=html.

Qualities of Leader

Different companies, teams and situations need different kinds of leader and leadership qualities. However those leaders always possess some basic qualities which I appreciate such as: communication, trustworthy, confidence, enthusiasm, stability, thoughtfulness and be a model. Communication is the key to become a good leader. He/She should stay close with the team and care for them in only their work but also their privation if possible.People always want to be cared, especially by their leader/boss. By communicating, the leader can find out others’ potential so that the assignment leads to effect results. Making time to listen, to meet, to celebrate with the team can develop the team spirit which is very important in teamworking. Creating trust in the team is very important for leaders. But at first the leader have to believe on his team that they will accomplish their assignments with the best results.Treating fairly also helps to inspire loyalty much. As a consequence, the leader will be well supportive Great leaders are enthusiatic people. They are always ready to roll up their sleeves and get dirty. Only by keeping their passion that they can deal with such a lot of work. Also, dedicated leaders can give their team inspiration and encourage them at work. Ability to keep a cool head is one of leaders’ qualities. When storms, emotions, crises,†¦ come and go, the team can only rely on their leader.Staying calm, finding out the reason and solution of such things, supporting the team are those things that a leader shound do. Another important quality is confidence. Leaders must be confident of their words, behaviour and making decision/judgement. Be sure of theirselves is the key to success and leaders are good examples of that. Finally, diligence is very necessary. A good leader should never forget to strengthen these qualities mentioned. Keeping up-to-date will help them to stand still in their leardership role.

The Unification of Information Security Program Management and Project Article

The Unification of Information Security Program Management and Project Management - Article Example However, converging the two managements has drawbacks as well. More often than not, drawbacks weigh more than success on the first stages of the implementation. In light of the mentioned union, his paper will discuss the risks brought about by the new technology, the tasks to be dealt with in developing the Enterprise Information Security Program, and the adherence to executing risk management. The life of any organization or enterprise moving to build up a gateway lies in making goals into reality, and maintaining a successful position in the industry. Dealing with new things may bring more thoughts to ponder. The unification of Information Security Program Management and Project Management comes with new security threats/risks that must be addressed accordingly. "Unfortunately, in the context of security, requirements and specifications are most often overlooked. This may in turn account for the estimated 92% of security vulnerabilities NIST3 recently attributed to applications."1 Organizations wanting to advance with Information Security Program are susceptible to the possible hazards for the Project Management in setting up new systems to adhere with the goals of both managements. A partner of Hurwitz and Associates, Fran Howarth, wrote an article about "The Convergence of Physical and IT Security." Howarth stated that "IT systems are increasingly being attacked-and not in the way they used to be, by hackers concerned most with gaining the respect of their peers for their exploits, but by criminals intent on financial gain."2 H owarth further explained that: the heightened security threats that we face today-especially given the high levels of international terrorism that we face-affect huge parts of our lives. In recent years, public buildings, hotels, embassies and transport links have all been targeted by terrorists. And huge parts of our critical national infrastructures, including power, water and food supply, transport links and facilities, government and commercial facilities remain vulnerable, not just to terrorist attacks, but also to theft, sabotage and environmental disasters.3An executive summary of a research entitled "Making Security an Integral Part of the Management" from Computer Electronics Inc. reveals that "security should be an important element of project management, to ensure that the security implications of these changes are addressed."4 A skilled and knowledgeable project manager must be aware of the security requirements in managing projects. In addition, A Guideline to the Project & Program Management Standard produced by the International Association of Project and Program Management for the benefit of the project managers who need "to attain project success according to schedule, cost, quality, and to customer expectations."5 IAPPM sees a greater need in developing new techniques as organizations compete to be more accessible in providing solutions, products and services.6 IAPPM describes project management as "the centralized management by an individual to plan, organize, control and deploy key milestones, deliverables and resources from conception through retirement, according to customer goals. Often project managers are skilled to use specific templates and techniques to manage through the preferred project life-cycle."7 For example, a

Project Management (Palm Jumeirah Island) Case Study

Project Management (Palm Jumeirah Island) - Case Study Example We will also provide an in-depth analysis using management theories of the case of Palm Jumeirah Island project, debating on the ways in which the project was implemented and planned, how it was created, the problems it faced that led to its downfall and the upcoming consequences of it. Before going further into the discussion, let us look at Dubai and the importance of Jumeirah Palm being located there. The strategies employed in the creation of this project in Dubai have been embraced to expand the economy, especially the urban economy, striving for international city status and promoting the development of large scale projects. The formation of mega global projects afforded Dubai international status and attention as a country which attracts foreign visitors from different parts around the world (Azzam, 2002). The city in doing this, started to construct huge national real estate companies, embracing mega projects policy focusing on finance from the government, global and GCC investors (Taher & Hajjar, 2013). This led to the development of large transformation in the Dubai economy and population. The Dubai coastline is considered one of the man-made features in the world to be visible from space, making it ‘the eighth wonder of the world’ (Boermeester, 2015). The creation of Jumeirah Palm Island remains one of largest urban operations that have been carried out in the last years in the world. Although the Jumeirah Palm Island has received praise from all over the world, its downfall has been evident with management including planning, designing and implementation theories. According to Malkin (2001), there have been plumbing issues at Jumeirah Palm Island and residents have been forced to visit lavatories in a mall and wash in the sea after a pipe in one of the apartments ruptured. There have been other issues with Jumeirah Palm Island that have caused its downfall ranging from poor

Marketing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing - Research Paper Example Threat of Substitute The food drinks mainly represent the fast moving consumer goods market and therefore the markets mainly rely on creating impulse purchase. Price sensitivity is quite low in the market; mainly marketers mainly rely on customer loyalty and brand loyalty. There are a lot of products that can provide boost and act as replacement to the energy drinks. Due to the nature of the product the target customers may switch to soft drink and carbonated drinks. Also the customers have a lot more health conscious. Therefore the customers may also look to drink lot of fluids such as herbal tea and water. Hence, there are a lot of alternative options for the customers. Overall, the level threat of substitute of products is high. Bargaining Power of Suppliers While considering the bargaining power of the buyers from the perspective the energy drink market only it can be interpreted that the bargaining power of the buyer would be quite low as there are very few players in the market . Also buyers in the market are not very price sensitive as the products are targeted towards the higher end market. The relation between the manufacturer and retailer has also evolved over the course of the market life cycle. However, the buyers should be wary of the fact that there are a lot of substitute products in the market (Williamson, Cooke and Jenkins, 2004). Bargaining power of Buyers The production process to develop the energy drinks is quite simple and bargaining power of the suppliers is quite low. The supply chain of the top players in the market is quite short. The value added in each and every stage of the production process leads to significant level of profit. The only access to the attractive market for the suppliers is through the brand owners. All in all as there are small numbers of players in the market the bargaining of the suppliers is quite low (Brown, 2009). To summarize thing it can be said that the competition level competition in market is moderate as there as few players in the market. The threat of new entrants varies between medium to high as it is likely that more and more competitors would look to enter the market due to the high level of profit. However, the economies of scale, high level of brand loyalty and the recent economic downturn would act as a major barrier to entry. The bargaining power of the suppliers and the buyers is low as there are very players in the market. However, the major threat for would be the presence of various substitute products (Kolb, 2008). Industry Rivalry The market is mainly dominated by companies like GSK and Red Bull. Lucozade is a brand of GSK. These companies have made the market saturated. The market has moved from being a niche market to mass market. It is most certainly a market for the multinational companies. Familiarity of brands would definitely play a key role to play in gaining competitive advantage. Also product dedifferentiation would play a key role. Already Lucozade has been successful in achieving product differentiation through the introduction of the caffeine versions. One of the recent entrants in the market has been the Taut, which has looked to position itself as a clean sports drink. Due to high industry margins, large of companies have looked to enter the market; but the rivalry among the brands have no lead to any kinds of adverse conditions. Although some of the smaller players have tried to imitate the strategies of Lucozade and Red

MULTINATIONAL CORP-EVOL & CUR ISSUE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

MULTINATIONAL CORP-EVOL & CUR ISSUE - Essay Example However, it is important that one understands the significance of this merger to the two companies, their shareholders, competitors, the industry and the consumer (Rumyantseva and Enkel, 2002). In any given industry â€Å"The Rule of Three† manifests itself in the manner in which companies move within the market. The Technology Sector is undoubtedly one of the most oligopolistic, yet monopolistic markets in the modern day. This makes it conform to the rule of three, a fact that may have influenced and possibly affected the manner in which the market is shaped. The rule of three suggests that every industry that is free of major entry barriers and regulatory constraints depicts two types of competitors; full time generalists and product/market specialists (Tu, 2014). Full line generalists are volume-driven and as their market share grows, so does their financial performance they own 10 to 40% of the market share. These full-line generalists usually depict very good financial performance as long as they maintain their control of the market (Sheth and Sisodia, 2002). Product or market specialists on the other hand control 1 to 5 % and have curved out a niche in the market in which they control considerably. Their financial performance is inversely proportional to its market share, i.e. as their market share grows, their financial performance diminishes. Any firm that owns more than 5% but less than 10% of the market is in the ditch. Such companies depict the worst financial performance and are either taken over by a full-line generalist to increase their market share or by a product/market specialist seeking to grow into a full-line generalist (Sheth and Sisodia, 2002). Every market usually has three full-line generalists. Even though at one time there would be more than three, the market usually shakes up to provide three full-line generalists. Consider the

Response to Student Post Kevin Gilling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Response to Student Post Kevin Gilling - Essay Example The way I see it, the problem about Foxconn is not diversity and inclusion based, but simply the violation of human rights. Diversity and inclusion means that members of a minority group are being discriminated against. In the Foxconn case, it is Chinese maltreating other Chinese of all age groups, genders, and persuasions, so the group is pretty much homogeneous. The problem is human rights, but the source is economic. One would wonder why the maltreated workers continue to choose to stay despite the subhuman conditions. This may be traced to China’s migrant worker problem. Because despite the poor pay, factories in the cities continue to attract poor farmers because wages there are still better than the meager and uncertain income in rural life (Wang, 2005). It appears, therefore, that the D&I deficiency is not with Foxconn, but with Apple, the American company which subcontracts Foxconn. Apple has its iPad made in China because the labor costs are much lower than in the U.S . Apple could have given many unemployed Americans jobs, instead of propagating human rights violations by moving its production to China. If workers in China are paid below what their basic needs require, it is because Apple had wanted to save on cost, and would contract with the lowest bidding supplier. Reference Musil, S. (2012). â€Å"Foxconn working conditions slammed by workers’ rights group.† CNET. Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57444213-37/foxconn-working- conditions-slammed-by-workers-rights-group/ Wang Zhenghua (September 21, 2005). "Convicted migrant worker killer waits for final verdict". China Daily. Retrieved August 9, 2012 from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/21/content_479492.htm Response to post of Student 2: Christopher Gilbert Christopher makes an important observation in his post when he says that business decisions on whether or not it chooses to treat its workers with dignity and respect their human rights remain s largely voluntary. The problem coming into the 21st century is that multinational corporations have become so powerful that political entities such as states and international agencies cannot effectively exert force upon them to comply with whatever norms or standards have been formulated. The contest is still between economic might and political mandate. In a post economic crisis regime, however, the multinational corporation holds greater sway because of the investment capital and jobs it is able to infuse into a failing economy. Among the challenges identified in the post is that states refuse to implement international human rights standards because these are looked upon as infringing upon local cultures and values. I believe this is not the case, as every signatory to the UN, and every world economic power, has ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights without a single dissenting vote (UN Association in Canada, 2012). This means that infractions of human rights viola tions cannot be validly argued as counter-cultural or invasive to their way of life, but more likely is the lack of political will on the part of the Member-state to enforce the principles which it has committed to uphold within its jurisdiction. Furthermore, adherence to practices that violate human rights is not so much due to an altruistic desire to preserve one’s culture, as it is to conform with pressures of multinationals to subcontract with

Explain how motion is possible in light of Zeno's paradoxes against Research Paper

Explain how motion is possible in light of Zeno's paradoxes against them. (This is much harder than most people realize. Math - Research Paper Example The race set in a traditionally plural world provokes a reader to draw the conclusion of the race according to the rule of the singular reality ultimately to be confounded with the result that is contradictory to his expected traditional result. Indeed Achilles can move both in a singular and a plural world, but the motion in a singular world is not perceivable since such world does not have any object of references (Whitehead 45). Definitions of Singular and Plural Universe Before defining the proposed singular and plural world thesis, it is necessary to have a clear idea of Zeno’s paradoxes of plurality. In Zeno’s word, â€Å"the universe is singular, eternal, and unchanging. The all is one.† (Brown 34) But this singular universe has a lot to do with his paradoxes of motion. In this singular universe, if Achilles takes a step toward any direction from any from where is, he will find himself where he was. This statement essentially seems to fabulous, since it is quite contradictory to real life experience. But a deeper understanding makes sense. Indeed Zeno’s singular universe is such that it consists of the only One, not of two. As a result, it is as it is. Since it consists of one, it does not provide a viewer with any chance to compare it with other. Therefore it lacks diversity. Because of its lack of diversity and presence of the others, it does not have any objects of references by which distance can be measured and any event cannot take place in it. Again because of the lacks of distance and event, space and time collapse in such a world. In it .00000000001 meter is equal to infinity; but more accurately, the previous statement is simply meaningless. In such universe whether Achilles moves one hundred miles or so back or forth, he will be where he is now. Wherever Achilles goes at what distance, he will remain at the center since such singular universe evolves out of his singular existence. Indeed, there are no â€Å"earlyâ €  and â€Å"later†. Simply there exists the â€Å"now† since there is no other event in term of which the ‘early’ can assigned a meaning. In Zeno’s singular world, one is both existent and non-existent. One is existent is the sense that it perceives itself in a self-submerged merged way and again it is nonexistent in the sense that there is no other that can prove its existence. (Grunbaum 172-83) Indeed this singular universe is one and at the same time it is many, since such one contains infinite number of ones upon its division for infinite times. Therefore one is both finite and infinite, as Zeno says, â€Å"If there are many, they must be as many as they are and neither more nor less than that. But if they are as many as they are, they would be limited. If there are many, things that are are unlimited.† (Simplicius On Aristotle's Physics, 140.29) Indeed in Zeno’s universe, one is the one. Therefore it does not have the possibil ity to join with other to produce the bigger one. The only thing that the one can do is to divide itself and upon the division, the plurality begins. Since plurality begins, relativity can grow giving birth to the sense of distance and events. As a result time starts from here. But the simplest plural world is composed of three ones, since if the simplest plural world is composed of two, they will be mirror images for each others. For example, if

Identify the major issues affecting the individual in the two chapters Assignment

Identify the major issues affecting the individual in the two chapters in terms of No pity by Joseph Shapiro - Assignment Example This group started a formal program in the dormitory in order to offer rehabilitation services to the disabled persons in 1968. The group gained much strength when the counselor evicted two persons for low grades and his action attracted protests from both disabled and able-bodied students forcing him to resign. Their power expanded from the university to the city where they demanded for the city to cut curb on disabled people. Through the movement, the disabled students got a grant of $81,000 that helped them get accessible apartments with personal attendants. Regulation of section 504 was written by the secretaries of Welfare, Education and Health after a 25-days protest. However, this would costs a lot of funds which were unavailable at the time. This is because building and operating independent living centers would have been very expensive. As such, states were awarded the money to operate the centers with a condition to keep out of political activism. In 1980s and 1990s, students who were graduating from high school were empowered and equipped with a sense of independent living. There has been a series of activism since them with physically disabled persons seeking to gain more independence. One major plausible achievement can be traced to a landmark decision made by the United States Supreme Court which give disabled persons and their families to make decisions on their choice of residence as opposed to regulations that were imposed by the federal government. In the case of Olmstead v. L. C., the court ruled that disabled persons can choose to live in a facility or be de-institutionalized and move into the community. The local, state and federal governments were challenges to make more accessible facilities and services in order to reduce the challenges disabled people face in the community. In this chapter, the deaf students are agitated due to discrimination in the

The Message Behind a Certain Short Story Essay Example for Free

The Message Behind a Certain Short Story Essay Are you at peace with yourself and the wrong-doings in your life? In the story Crimson Shadow, by Walter Mosley, a hardened ex-inmate, Socrates, takes in a young boy, Darryl, running from his terrible actions and tries to teach him a lesson. The author uses this scenario to in-turn teach the reader that you have to admit when you are wrong and to right those wrongs. Admitting to your wrong doings is the first step to making them right. If you learn you wrong then maybe you get to be a man [sic] (Walter Mosley 22). Socrates says this to Darryl when he is trying to get him to see that he was wrong for having killed a boy. If you dont realize youre wrong then you cant even begin to make it right. Part of being a real man/woman, in my eyes, is trying your hardest to right the wrongs in your life. If you are able to see when youre wrong and are able to admit to it, then you can start to learn from it. An if thats the truth, an if you could say it, then maybe youll learn sumpin [sic] (Mosley 22). This is what Socrates said to Darryl after he admitted to killing a boy and Darryl was trying to get him to admit that he was wrong. Once you are able to admit to your mistakes and learn from them and not continue to make the same mistakes, only then can you move on and give yourself a sort of peace of mind. Maybe youll laugh in the morning sometimes again [sic] (Mosley 22). Socrates uses this statement to get him to see that he can move on with his life somewhat if he can truly see that hes wrong and is able to admit to it. All in all, Walter Mosley did a great job with his characters and bringing this message out in his story. Socrates teaching this boy to admit and learn that he was wrong and maybe being able to get some peace from it, is a great lesson for all to learn whether you are a murderer or just an ordinary person having made some bad choices. So, the next time you do wrong make sure to make it right, if not for anything else, for yourself. Works Cited Mosley, Walter Crimson Shadow. Print

Motivational Factors Toward Pursuing a Career in Special Education Essay Example for Free

Motivational Factors Toward Pursuing a Career in Special Education Essay This study investigated factors which motivated individuals to initially pursue careers in special education, factors which contributed toward their plans to remain or leave the field, and their perceptions of school districts effective and ineffective recruitment and retention practices. The sample comprised of 15 individuals employed in public schools throughout north Texas who initially pursued careers in special education. Data were collected through the form of audio-recorded semi-structured telephone interviews. Empathy towards students, family, and opportunities to fill job vacancies were factors that participants cited the most for initially pursuing careers in special education. Furthermore, most of the interviewees reported satisfaction within their jobs, but noted excessive demands and lack of administrative support as contributing to job dissatisfaction. Motivational Factors toward Pursuing a Career in Special Education. Chronic shortages in the field of special education continue to pose challenges for public schools across the United States (Billingsley, Carlson, Klein, 2004; Boe, 2006; Billingsley McLeskey, 2004; Brownell, Hirsch, Seo, 2004; Singh Billingsley, 1996; Strunk Robinson, 2006; Thornton, Peltier, Medina, 2007). The limited number of individuals entering and/or remaining in the field of special education has resulted in school districts inability to fill the necessary teaching positions; such shortages have been linked to difficulties in the recruitment and retention of qualified individuals (Olivarez Arnold, 2006). Although difficulties with the recruitment of teachers, low retention, and high attrition rates are evident across all teaching professions, it is much more prevalent among special educators. Specifically, teachers of students with emotional/behavioral disorders exhibit the largest shortage, followed by those serving students with severe/profound disabilities, and learning disabilities (McLeskey, Tyler, Flippin, 2004). Our national school districts are in a crisis. Specifically, districts are scrambling to find qualified special educators to fill the vacant teaching positions. According to Plash and Piotrowski (2006), a projected 611,550 positions in special education will need to be filled by the year 2010. However, the inability to recruit the necessary number of eligible individuals to fill positions continues to be a major problem for school administrators. An infinite number of research studies have been conducted in an attempt to identify barriers which deter people from entering the field (Billingsley, 2004; Gersten, Keating, Yovanoff, Harniss, 2001; McLeskey et al., 2004; Olivarez Arnold, 2006; Thornton, Peltier, Medina, 2007). Studies have identified perceptions of low social status associated with being a special educator, poor working conditions, high rates of stress, excessive paperwork, and low salaries with the decreased number of individuals entering the field of special education (Barmby, 2006; McLeskey et al. , 2004; Rice, Goeling, Peters, 2005). A vast amount of research also exists regarding factors which have contributed to the decisions of individuals to leave the field of special education (Billingsley, Carlson, Klein, 2004; Singh Billingsley, 1996; Thornton, Peltier, Medina, 2007) and consequently contribute to the shortage of and high attrition rates of special education teachers (Barmby, 2006; Fish Stephens, in press; McLeskey, Tyler, Saunders, 2004). According to Plash and Piotrowski (2006), 13. 2% of special education teachers leave their position each year. While six percent of special educators leave the field of education altogether, 7. 2% transfer to general education positions. Prevalent variables identified as contributors to the exodus from the field include occupational stress, burnout (Botwinik, 2007; Greiner Smith, 2006), weak support by administrators, unreasonable caseloads, large class size, low salaries (Darling-Hammond, 2003), testing and accountability pressures (Tye OBrien, 2002), and ineffective in-service programs (Kaufhold, Alverez, Arnold, 2006; Plash Piotrowski, 2006). A study conducted by Brownell, Smith, McNellis, and Lenk (1994) investigated the contextual variables related to teacher attrition. Findings indicated that those teachers who decided to stay in the field of special education were more committed to teaching students with disabilities, had a higher sense of efficacy, felt more prepared by their pre-service and initial teaching experiences, and exhibited more effective coping strategies than those who decided to leave the field. Two international studies were identified which focused on the motivating factors of individuals initially pursuing careers as general educators (Barmby, 2006; Watt Richardson, 2007). Based upon a study conducted in England and Wales, Barmby identified intrinsic (e. g. , the activity of teaching children) and altruistic (e. g. , desire to help children succeed) reasons which contributed to the teachers decision to pursue careers within the field of education. Similar findings (e. g., working with children, shape future of children, and make a social contribution) were reported by Watt and Richardson who investigated the motivational factors which influenced Australian individuals to initially pursue a career in general education. In addition to investigating special educators job satisfaction and decisions to remain in the field, obtaining an understanding of individuals motivations for entering the field of special education have implications which may assist in the increased recruitment and retention of special educators. Such findings would contribute to enhanced teacher educational planning, curriculum design and policy decisions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to obtain perceptions of special educators with regards to factors that contributed toward their (a) initial pursuit of special education careers, (b) job satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction levels and (c) decisions whether to remain on the special education career path. Participants were further asked to provide recommendations that school districts could take to effectively recruit and retain special educators. Design of Study Qualitative methodology was utilized in this study in the form of audio-recorded semi-structured telephone interviews to obtain the perceptions of special educators. Qualitative research is appropriate in dealing with potentially multiple realities, mutually shaping influences, and value patterns (Lincoln Guba, 1985). Interviews serve the purpose of obtaining here-and-now constructions of persons, events, activities, organizations, feelings, motivations, claims, concerns, and other entities (p. 268). According to Bogdan and Biklen (1998), semi-structured interviews encourage interviewees to expand upon ideas, which provide the researcher opportunities to generate abstract ideas through descriptive material. Participants Respondents participating in this study consisted of 15 educators employed in public school districts throughout the north Texas area. This purposive sample was comprised of 11 special education teachers, three diagnosticians and one former special education teacher currently serving as a high school principal at the time of the interviews. Four of the 11 special education teachers within this study were previously general education teachers. Data Collection and Analysis The interview questions conducted for this study focused on factors which contributed toward special educators initially pursuing careers in special education in addition to conditions that would contribute toward them remaining in or leaving the field. Interviewees were additionally asked to provide feedback pertaining to their school districts special educator recruitment and retention efforts. The following open-ended questions were asked to each of the 15 participants.

Material Weakness And Significant Deficiency Accounting Essay

Material Weakness And Significant Deficiency Accounting Essay Auditing Standard number 5, as outlined by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, creates guidelines regarding the manner in which an auditor should approach an audit of a companys managements assessment of that companys internal controls over financial reporting, as well as an audit of that companys financial statements. Of particular note are the Standards outlines of the top-down approach in which an auditor is expected to work his or her way down in testing controls from the most broad level to the most specific, and the Standards definitions of material weaknesses and significant deficiencies. Understanding these concepts is key to understanding the Standard, and thus, essential in performing audits on internal controls over financial reporting and on financial statements. Top-Down Approach Using a top down approach to choose which controls to test regarding an audit of internal control over financial reporting calls for the auditor to begin with the most broad controls, and make his or her way down to the most detailed and specific controls. It is important for the auditor to test these internal controls, as many companies may attempt to ignore certain regulations, or in some cases, not correctly understand or employ them. Internal controls on the financial statement level are the first to undergo scrutiny, followed by entity-level controls, and then significant accounts and disclosures as well as their relevant assertions. The top down approach is utilized to allow for the auditors focus on potential mistreatments of accounts disclosures, and assertions. The top down approach begins with examining the financial statement level, understanding the risks to internal control over financial reporting, and evaluating whether these controls are satisfactory. Once the controls on the financial statement level are tested, the auditor may move to identify and examine entity-level controls. Entity level controls are narrower and more complex than controls on the financial statement level, and include a number of different controls such as controls over management override, risk assessment processes, and controls over financial reporting processes, among others. The auditor must scrutinize the procedures used for each entity level control and determine whether there may be issues with these control procedures. For example, the auditor must examine the procedures used by the company to produce its annual and quarterly financial statements. After an auditor scrutinizes the internal controls on the entity level, he or she should switch focus to significant accounts and their disclosures, as well as their relevant assertions, which include any assertions made by the companys management that have a reasonable possibility of having a misstatement that may cause a material misstatement in the companys financial statements. The auditor is expected to identify the relevant accounts, and then assess the risk factors connected with these accounts. A good deal of the identification process involves the auditors understanding of what could cause potential misstatements. As such, the auditor is expected to perform walkthroughs, in which he or she closely follows a particular transaction through the companys complete process. Walkthroughs are also suggested to be performed in combination with other methods of scrutiny, such as observation and questioning during their process. In selecting which controls to test, it is important for the auditor to consider which ones will have a potential risk of misstatement, and have a significant effect on the auditors conclusion of such. Material Weakness vs. Significant Deficiency In understanding the difference between a material weakness and a significant deficiency, it is important to first understand what a deficiency is. Deficiencies can exist in both design and operation, and they disallow employees from preventing, or in some cases, identifying financial misstatements. Material weaknesses exist when there is a reasonable possibility that a misstatement will occur as a result of one or more deficiencies. A significant deficiency, although less severe than a material weakness, occurs when a deficiency in internal control over financial reporting is worth looking at as a potential cause of future misstatement. There are many indicators of material weakness outlined by the Standard that help to serve an auditor in identifying such weaknesses. These indicators include the identification of fraud practices by senior management, restatements of financial statements that appear to correct misstatement, misstatement of current financial statements, and ineffective oversight of internal controls by the companys audit committee. In addition, the auditor is expected to take steps in reporting material weaknesses as well as significant deficiencies in a companys internal controls over financial reporting. Both material weaknesses and significant deficiencies must be communicated to the audit committee in writing; however, while all material weaknesses must be identified, the auditor is not obligated to report any significant deficiencies that he or she is not aware of. Moreover, both material weaknesses and significant deficiencies must be reported to management of the company being audited, with less importance given to significant deficiencies than to material weaknesses in the write-up. The guidelines created by Auditing Standard number 5 help to establish a standard by which auditors must abide, and helps them through the process of auditing a companys internal controls over financial reporting and that companys financial statements. The top down approach creates a systematic process by which auditors can zero in on potential mistreatments of accounts disclosures, and assertions. Understanding material weaknesses and significant deficiencies is imperative in the process of identifying and reporting such mistreatments and misstatements.

Comparing Destruction in Rocking Horse Winner and Scarlet Ibis :: comparison compare contrast essays

Seeds of Destruction in Rocking Horse Winner and Scarlet Ibis Family relationships can, in many cases, bear the "seeds of destruction" that lead to the downfall of other family members. This is evident in Paul's relationship with his mother in "The Rocking Horse Winner" by D. H. Lawrence, and in Doodle's relationship with his brother in the short story "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst. Both Paul and Doodle are controlled by a relationship within their family that pushes them too hard, causing their deaths. Doodle is controlled by his brother with fear on several separate occasions. When they were younger, Brother took Doodle into the barn loft and showed him the coffin they had made, expecting him to die as a baby. Doodle becomes extremely frightened, and doesn't want to touch the coffin. Brother makes him touch it, by threatening to leave him alone if he doesn't. In response to the threat, Doodle cries, "Don't leave me, Brother," (p 3) and touching the casket, screams. Brother uses fear to control his younger brother, forcing him to do cruel things. In the other story, Paul also is controlled in family relationships. His mother puts great strain on him by being financially irresponsible, and living beyond their means. Paul feels the strain, and is influenced by it to take the pressure away. Also, Paul's mother did not love him. This is a controlling factor because he works extra hard to gain her love. The family relationships with both Doodle and Paul also push them beyond their limits. Doodle is forced to learn to walk through Brother's determination. "Shut up, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to teach you to walk," his brother has said before heaving him up to try again. Brother's pride pushes Doodle to be like the other children, causing them to set unattainable goals of rowing, climbing, and swimming. Doodle is stretched to exhaustion through these exertions.

Stress Essay -- essays research papers

In years past, careers were milestones, which demonstrated successful accomplishments within our lives. Men utilized their careers to stake claim in society; a way to categorize their family’s worth. â€Å"Honey, I’ll be working late tonight† sometimes signified that the â€Å"gang† would have a long evening of crunching numbers, entertaining clients, or even smoking cigars with the boss while talking shop. If life went according to plan, and you chose the perfect career, the worst part of your workday would be choosing the best tie to match your navy pinstripe suit. Well, things have certainly changed. Careers are no longer guaranteed based on who-ya-know concepts. Today, young men and women both prepare frantically in high school to have the best grades and make the right contacts to ensure that once they graduate, they are accepted in a top-notch colleges, in hopes to transition into the perfect career. Little do they know, that because of the changing times, high demands, advancement in technology, liberal concepts, unethical business practices, etc., careers are no longer work filled bliss and may cause a great deal of work-related stress. When you accept a position for employment, one of your last thoughts is â€Å"gee, I wonder if the work environment here causes a great amount of stress.† Of course, if you are a day trader or a high risk emergency room doctor, you have some idea that your position within the organization will in fact be demanding and have a level of stress that is greater than other careers. But, if you are a bank teller, college professor, or a bus driver, work-related stress may not be a deciding factor when one accepts a new job. There are various definitions defining the word stress. Stress is â€Å"a state of extreme difficulty, pressure, or strain,† as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Author Unknown, 2002). Stress can also be comically defined as, â€Å"the confusion created when one’s mind overrides the body’s basic desire to choke the hell out of someone who desperately deserves it† (Author Unknown). Though both definitions accurately describe stress, Robert N. Lussier, author of Human Relations in Organizations, defines stress as â€Å"an emotion and/or physical reaction to environmental activities and events† (Lussier, 2005). When defining work-related stress however, emotional or physical relations that occur are ... ...y and exercise. Exercise produces endorphins, which help make you more upbeat and cheerful. â€Å"Think positive† (Lussier, 2005). It is ok to admit when you are at fault. But, once you do, learn from it, get over it, and move on. There are many ways to detect and treat stress. These are only a few that may be used as a preventative measure. Of all the suggestions listed, the most important is to relax. The old saying goes â€Å"take one day at a time.† Once you have made the accomplishment to get that great job, see it as an opportunity and not a stress filled threat. References Armour, S. (2002, May 16). Employees seek worker’ comp for on-the-job stress. USA Today, News, 01a. Author Unknown (2005, January 27). Management standards for work-related stress.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  January 31, 2005, from http://www.hse.gov.uk.stress/standards/index.htm Author Unknown (2002). Dictionary.com The american heritage ® dictionary of the english language, fourth edition. January 31, 2005, from http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=stress Lussier, R.N. (2005). Human relations in organizations: applications and skill-building 6th edition. (pp. 45 – 50). New York, NY: McGraw Hill

National Security: At What Price Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Ess

National Security: At What Price Never has information played a more important role in society than it does today. The advent of the Internet has made the distribution and collection of information easier and faster than ever before. Today, the Internet is used for communications, shopping, management, and even financial transactions. Despite the slowing economy, recent years have seen a large increase in Internet usage by corporations, and research indicates that this trend will likely continue. Figures gathered by eMarketeer indicate that Internet based commerce will reach as high as $2.4 trillion by 2004 (B2B). With easy access to information from anywhere on the globe, safeguards must be taken to protect sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands. These measures include passwords, protected networks, and secure connections. While much has been accomplished in the area of network security, data encryption remains the most fundamental layer of protection. The goal of data encryption (or cryptography) is to render information unreadable to all except an authorized user (one who knows the password, also called the key). While there are many encryption algorithms and techniques, most involve the use of a "private key" which is the mathematical value that decodes the information. Without the key, a hacker has a chance of one in several trillion to correctly decode the information, making encryption a very effective method of data protection. While encryption fills a critical role in personal and corporate security, the technology can also be used by criminal and terrorist organizations. The same systems that protect your credit card number online can also be used to organize covert operations in safety.... ... Wired News. March 31, 2002 <http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,46816,00.html>. McCullagh, Declan. Senator Backs Off Backdoors. October 17, 2001. Wired News. March 31, 2002 <http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,47635,00.html>. Quotations. n.d. FreedomWriter.com. March 31, 2002 <http://www.freedomwriter.com /quotes.htm>. Schwartz, John. "Disputes on Electronic Message Encryption Take On New Urgency." September 25, 2001. The New York Times Company. February 28, 2002 <http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/25/technology/25CODE.html?pagewanted=print>. U.S. Encryption Policy. February 28, 2002. Center for Democracy and Technology. February 28, 2002 <http://www.cdt.org/crypto/admin/>. U.S. Policy on Encryption Should Protect Our Right to Privacy. n.d. Americans for Computer Privacy. February 28, 2002 <http://www.computerprivacy.org/about/>.

English Proverb Example

English proverbs 1. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. † Strong people don't give up when they come across challenges. They just work harder. 2. â€Å"No man is an island. † You can't live completely independently. Everyone needs help from other people. 3. â€Å"Fortune favors the bold. † People who bravely go after what they want are more successful than people who try to live safely. 4. â€Å"People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. † Don't criticize other people if you're not perfect yourself. 5. â€Å"Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. †This seems pretty clear 6. â€Å"Better late than never. † This one's clear, too. 7. â€Å"There's no place like home. † Your own home is the most comfortable place to be. 8. â€Å"Discretion is the greater part of valor. † Sometimes it's important to know when to give up and run away, instead of always acting brave and maybe getting hurt. 9. â€Å"The early bird catches the worm. † You should wake up and start work early if you want to succeed. 10. â€Å"Never look a gift horse in the mouth. † If someone offers you a gift, don't question it. 11. â€Å"You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. When you try to do something great, you'll probably make a few people annoyed or angry. Don't worry about those people; just focus on the good results. 12. â€Å"God helps those who help themselves. † Don't just wait for good things to happen to you. Work hard to achieve your goals. 13. â€Å"One man's trash is another man's treasure. † Different people have different ideas about what's valuable. 14. â€Å"There's no time like the present. † If you need to do something, don't wait until later. Do it now. 15. â€Å"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.Different people have different ideas about what's beautiful. 16. â€Å"Necessity is the mother of invention. † When you're really in need, you think of creative solutions to your problems. 17. â€Å"A penny saved is a penny earned. † Save your money. 18. â€Å"Familiarity breeds contempt. † When you're around someone for too long, you get tired of them and annoyed by them. 19. â€Å"You can't judge a book by its cover. † Things sometimes look different than they really are. A restaurant that looks old and small might have amazing food, for example. 20. â€Å"Good things come to those who wait. † Be patient.

Internet cafe Essay

One popular place where students and young professionals commonly hangout nowadays is a cyber cafe. Internet cafe or kiosks have been sprouting everywhere, and not just in the US, but all over the world. With the advent of the internet and its wide range of benefits getting more and more popular to everybody, the demand for more internet cafes keeps on increasing. Internet cafe owners are also keeping up with the market trend. If these cafes were previously known as just internet shops being just providers of internet services, they are now like coffee shops and cafes offering great food and coffee as well. This industry still has a lot more to offer to increase and widen its target market, and to keep its customers always satisfied. Services The main reason why there are internet cafes around is to provide internet services to people who do not have access from their own homes. Usually, there are a lot of computers available which are all connected to one computer that acts as a server. Most of the cyber cafes have at least 10 computers available for their customers. The specifications of these computers are usually of the mid-range category. One important thing is that these units should be running fast. Reliability is also as important because, as an owner, you would not want to lose money by having a computer down and, at the same time, spending a lot for its repair. The server computer, which is the one connected to the internet, usually has a high-end configuration – big storage capacity and fast performance. Most of the cyber cafes nowadays not only offer computer and internet access. There are also added services being offered such as printing, scanning, photocopying, CD/DVD burning, photo printing, faxing, and long-distance phone services. Cyber cafes now aim to be some sort of a one-stop-shop for their customers. These businesses want to keep their customers and not look for another shop for services that they may not be offering. This is a good strategy for businesses to increase their customer base and increase earnings as well. Internet gaming is one of the recent technology introduced by this industry. Existing internet cafes either added more computers or upgraded their existing units in order to be capable of handling different internet game software. This new offering of cyber cafes has been very popular among teens. Internet gaming is the modern version of video arcades and is more challenging and exciting because you are actually playing with humans, and not just computers. For a gaming setup, computers are connected to a local area network with one or more servers. Each of these computers has the highest hardware configuration possible as required by the game software. Depending on the game, the users or players can form teams and fight with other teams. These players and teams are all in the same room so it adds more fun to the game. Since the goal of cyber cafe owners is to keep the customers in their shops for a long time, they also started offering food and drinks. Some even had some space allotted for something like a coffee shop or an espresso bar. If that will be added to the shop, though, the owner should be knowledgeable in the coffee business, or at least hire someone who is. It would be not too easy to manage an internet gaming shop and coffee shop in one since they have are two entirely different industries. The owner or the manager should have the right skills and expertise for the business to be successful. It would be best if there would be one manager for the internet gaming business and another one for the food and drinks part. Having separate managers will give more focus on each group yet work together to compliment on each other’s services and offerings making the business succeed as a whole. Facilities Putting up an internet cafe not only requires business knowledge but technical expertise as well. The major equipments being used by these cafes are computers. These computers are required to have specific configuration for their specific purpose. If the computer is simply used for internet browsing, typing documents and email, a mid-range system may suffice. The common hardware specifications of this kind are as follows: Pentium 4 processor, 512MB memory, 40 or 80GB hard drive, integrated video, audio and network cards. On the other hand, if the computer is used primarily for gaming, the usual specifications are: Pentium 4 processor (preferably Core Duo), at least 1GB memory, 80 or 120GB hard drive, at least 128MB PCI-Express video card, PCI sound card, integrated network card. If the shop is also offering CD/DVD burning, a few units should also have CDRW and DVD ±RW drives. For video editing services, at least one unit should have a video card with video capture capabilities. Other equipments that can be found in an internet cafe are printers, faxes, scanners, and copiers. For efficiency and practicality, most owners would buy the all-in-one type. Networking equipments are also important in this business. Routers, hubs, switches, network cables and data cables are needed to connect each of the computers together. Gaming cafes should have very reliable networking equipments because having these units down is unacceptable for this business. Other shops that are always packed with customers would have TVs as well in their waiting area. Cyber cafes offering food and drinks should also have the necessary kitchen equipments. One thing that may be of a challenge in entering the cyber cafe business is the high maintenance requirement of the equipments. As an example, the owner of Howie’s Game Shack, Howie Makler (as cited in Cheung, 2006), said, â€Å"Every 18 months, I basically have to throw away everything and buy $700,000 in new computers. † That is essentially about $3,500 per computer. It may be expensive but is definitely worth it in the long run. It pays to have all the equipments well-maintained and always updated with the latest hardware and software. Talking about software, applications also form bulk of the investment the owner needs to make. Each application installed in each unit needs a license. But it is usually just a one-time fee unlike hardware that needs constant upgrading. Money Matters There is a very big potential of earning huge money in the internet cafe business. Other than the standard service of offering internet and email access, other options to earn are offering printing services, photocopying, faxing, scanning, even resume services and a whole lot more. If planning to put up an internet cafe, it is better to also have a lot of gaming units since this is the trend nowadays. Network gaming is what keeps kids and teens inside these cyber cafes. The common running rates for an hour of internet and gaming access range from $4 to $7. The best way to determine the right price to set for the hourly access is to know the prices being charged by competitors within the vicinity. If there is no close competitor, which is highly unlikely, market surveys and prices being charged by neighboring counties or states can be used as references. Other cyber cafes, like the Howie’s Game Shack, offer such a thing as a day pass wherein customers need not pay the hourly rate; they can buy a pass for $15 which is good for the whole day (Cheung, 2006). This is an example of a good marketing strategy in order to attract more customers, keep them playing for longer hours, and make them come back more frequently. Logistics and Marketing Although it is mentioned that the earning potential in the cyber cafe industry is quite attractive, it also depends on the location of the business and marketing strategies of the owner. Location is one important factor in any type of business. Cyber cafe’s target markets are mostly teens, students and young professionals. Thus, it is beneficial to choose a location where these people are commonly found such as malls, near the parks and schools perhaps. Having creative and innovative minds would also benefit this kind of business. The owners or managers of internet cafes should never run out of marketing strategies in mind to keep customers coming. The cyber cafe business is definitely one promising industry as more and more people are now appreciating the benefits of the cyber world. Although it may not be deemed as that lucrative a business yet, earning is definitely not a problem as long as it is backed by wise and strategic management. The country will most likely see more cyber cafes being established in the coming years. References Cheung, H. (2006). Gaming heaven for Southern California residents – Howie’s Game Shack. TG Daily. Retrieved February 13, 2007 from http://www. tgdaily. com/2006/05/26/howies_game_shack/ Palo Alto Software, Inc. (2007). Cafe – Internet Cafe Business Plan. Retrieved February 13, 2007 from http://www. bplans. com/spv/3142/

Human Resources Task Essay

First, we need to ask what performance appraisals are. They are â€Å"The identification, measurement and management of human performances within an organization.† (GOMEZ-MEJIA, 2010) Performace appraisals are popular and used world wide to measure personal and team performace. Performance management has increased with the gripping economy and having less to do more. Managers have always thought of optimal performance, yet a poorly written performce appraisal has a devistating impact on the employee, the manager, and the company. Today we will discuss the negative affects of a poorly written appraisal and the positive affects of an effective written appraisal. We will cover the steps to take, the information to include, and the expected end results of the appraisal. Covering the core competencies is critical, they include: Inclusiveness, Stewardship, Problem solving and Decision Making, Strategic Planning and Organizing, Communication, Quality Improvement, Leadership, Service Focus, and Teamwork. So, are apprasials needed? Absolutly†¦the appraisal system identifies and ensures we retain the best employees. It gives an outlook of who can best do what, and where best to utilize them. It ensures they reach their highest potential within the company. It allows managers to provide coaching and feedback to the employees so they can improve performace levels in identified areas. Affective appraisals inhibit improvement and development of employee performance. On the other hand, they may be a source of justified legal documentation resulting in discussions or termination. Performance appraisals are critical when it comes to our customers, their survey comments are a source of manager documentation that allows a solid source for a well written employee appraisal. Our customers are our business, and without them our company would fail. (Levinson, 2003) Bonuses are also dependent on appraisals as they provide a fair and reliable merit system. Employees are evaluated on the exact same criteria. Target goals are based on performance and results, and are measures of expectations applying to all employees equally. Discrimination is also avioded as the employee (or team) is able to write their own successes down and have the ability to ensure they represent themselves as the best employee (or team) who deserves the highest (or lowest) recognition. Employees have to see the value in the appraisal system, and if the managers don’t display that value then the system fails. As managers embrace the system and its value, so too will the employees. This will lead to stronger performances as they take ownership in their own success. In short, Performance appraisals save time, inhibit accountability, reduce conflict, increase efficiency and consistency, and promote manager involvement in overall performance. They allow the employees to have a direct clarification of expectations, performance level, self-assessment of performance, and a clear idea of where they need to improve to attain their and the companies expected level of satisfaction. The company then benefits through time management savings, accountabiliity of managers and employees, accuracy in appraisal ratings, increased productivity, employee retention, and increased communication of expectations. PRE-APPRAISAL Collecting accurate data and documentation (D&D) allows an employee/supervisor/manager to create a solid performance appraisal. The day the employee is hired, both positive and negative D&D begins. How you collect D&D is up to you as a manager, but normally it is collected using emails, feedback from team members and the employee, performance reviews, status updates from different projects the employee is working on, knowledge of work scope, communication skills, customer feedback (when used appropriately), work attendance, and finally taking your own notes. These forms of communication and D&D collection will provide for the necessary  information in writing a firm and accurate performance appraisal, benefiting the company and the employee. It is important to know how and what is measured on a performance appraisal; quality and quantity of work performed, and social efficacy are examples of what is to be measured. (GOMEZ-MEJIA, 2010) Performance will certainly differ subject to occupation description and team objectives, yet company business goals will not differ and relevance between the two must correspond with one another. This is a serious tool for management as it has the potential of corrupting a respectable performance appraisal system Now lets address the social part of what should be in a performance appraisal. An easy way to approach this is to ask; what needs to be addressed? Areas and information might include: development intervention, establishing organizational mechanics and progression opportunities. It’s a must to discuss policy initiatives in order to govern company results. Using self-assurance, diverse assistance, joint ventures, area amalgamation and development will assist in the electives and results we are pursuing as a company. Looking back to prepare for the future minimizes and avoids common mistakes, benefiting all members. The following evaluation tools help prevent negative impacts using the pre-appraisal evaluation; relative, absolute, trait, behavior, and outcome. Let’s take these one at a time and strengthen our understanding of each. Relative – a supervisors tool used to compare employees one to another that perform the same work. An example of this is to classify employees to different categories of top, middle, and lowest; then from best to worst. It forces supervisors/managers to rank employees differently rather than equally (ranking employees the same, in effect, inulls the value of the appraisal). The downside is it also creates a difference in performance between employees when there may be none. Absolute – employee performace appraisals are according to company standards only. Supervisors s a better opportunity of a higher rating than that where  the relationship isn’t as strong with use a rating system from 1-10, lowest (1) to highest (10). The downside is that supervisors differ on who should be a 6 and who should be an 8. No consistency exists between supervisors. Personal favorites due to a strong bond between employee and supervisor haanother employee. As with all companies, supervisors change leaving the favored employee at a disadvantage because his next appraisal will not be based on the relationship he/she has with the supervisor. Integrity in the appraisal system then becomes questionable. Trait – consistent and enduring traits of the employee are judged by supervisors. These traits include: reliable, dependable, proactive, diligent, great leaders, and great followers. Keep in mind that these are easily defined but hard to find in employees. The downside; bias occurs wheather intended or not. By virtue it is, unfortunately, unusable in a legal case if requested by the courts. Behavior – this is tool takes time to prepare as employees are ranked based on employee participation in events or meetings, and timeliness to attend such events and meetings. Appraisal comments are very tangible and exact, but essentially are only illustrations of preferred behavior. They measure from 1-10, poor (1) to exceptional (10), and allows employees to assertain which behaviors are favorible and which are not. The downside is because the comments are illustrations of preferred behavior, the actual behavior is perceived rather than authentic. Also, when company changes happen, it’s possible the change can nullify the measuring system of the appraisal. Outcome – employee result focused appraisal tool. This tool can be compaired with the Management By Objectives (MBO) system. There is litheness in rating the employee because bias is eradicated, a clear well-defined standard is set as a measuring tool and allows the employee to achieve the companies objectives. The downside is this tool focuses on output rather than quality and includes areas like: production numbers, and quantity not quality of products sold. If you have produced or sold 2,500 shirts in one day, but the seams in half the sales are defective, you cost the company more money than you made it because now you have to replace those defective orders. Now lets cover which evaluation method a company recognizes for their performance appraisal method. There are 2 common models used; competency, and 360 degree. Competency Model – a model used to measure observable qualities and characteristics employees display in successfully performing job tasks. A great deal of time is spent developing this model, but once complete it is effective in meausuring and developing a sustainable human resources, products, and financial areas within the company. The downside is there is a fineline between personality and performace traits. Supported forms of discrimination are not what a company wants in their performace assessment tool. 360 Degree Model – more of a global approach to measurement. It provides feedback to managers and administrators to review in determining objectives and goals a companies work components can work towards. This feedback consists of peer evaluations, subordinate evaluations, employee evaluations, employee interactions, and company performance from all viewpoints. Each pertinent to the performace objectives the company is attempting to attain. Employees want to promote within their division or company, and in order to do that they must have a clear and direct goal to follow. Employees may be strong in certain tasks, and weak in 1 or 2 others, so too are companies when evaluated. Identifying the weak areas and addressing them head on, the employee and company are destined to succeed. The 360 degree model gives a clear view of where the company stands with reaching their goals and objectives. POST APPRAISAL ACTIVITIES Now that the appraisal is complete we are done right†¦.wrong, we still have to create a plan for improvement and development for the employee. This is called the post appraisal activity as we are now working on making a good employee a great employee. Important during this time are the supervisor/manager records of the employees precise performance. Employee participation is critical as they may discuss how they perceive their  performace to be, allowing the supervisor/manager to develop a plan of continued growth based on both parties’ feedback of each objective. In order to attain a higher level of efficiency and sustainability, a proper evaluation proccess gives the needed information for this success. In order for progress to proceed, it’s imperative that we look back at lessons learned from our performance appraisal system. It gives a snapshot of where changes are required to minimize past faults, and imperious in developing an action plan. Distinct and detailed actions plans are imperative for employee comprehension of objectives and goals. As adjustments are identified and made, the action plan is created and offered for immediate action. They must be inspirational, measurable, specific, and attainable so as to promote compliance for success. Results are key and relevant to action plan success of company goals and objectives. Modification and time bound, these goals must be effective during implimentation. Now we need to close the plan once its been finalized. Performance appraisals are implortant to the employee because they want to see if the supervisor/manager has the same vision of their performance as they do. It is important to the company because they want to have the best success with the best employees, this is a way of measuring that success and making changes where necessesary to ensure that happens. It’s important that the employee be an active member of the closing of their performance appraisal as this is a time to celebrate their succcesses and action plan for increased success. It also gives management the opportunity to instill in the employee that they are a valuable asset to the company and want to ensure they succeed at all levels. An bi-annual review of the action plan allows both the supervisor/manager and the employee time to make adjustments where needed to ensure the path to success is achieved. It’s my recommendation that we use the 360 degree model as it offers more of a snapshot of where we are, where we need to be, and an action plan to get there. This model offers the greatest opportunity for a prosperous result  in our employee and companies success. I recommend a review of our current performance appraisal system be completed by the Human Resources Department with changes being presented to the Board of Directors within 45 days. Finally, I recommend annual training to our supervisors and managers starting immediately within 30 days to ensure they are up-to-date should these changes be implemented. The training will ensure that the staff is in strict compliance with the guidelines are equal for everybody. Communication is key to this being successful as it minimizes the opportunity for error. FEEDBACK MISTAKES Would you agree that employee development is extremely important? Of course it is†¦yet one of the â€Å"faults† a manager makes is they fail to provide timely performance appraisal feedback to the employee throughout the year. The employee has no way of improving in key areas because the manager has waited until the end of year performance appraisal to provide the feedback. This is an injustice to both the employee and the company as the employee now feels victimized, or targeted and becomes self-justifying in their response and actions. DO NOT WAIT†¦if you do the only feedback you will have on the appraisal will be negative because there was nothing the employee was aware of that needed improvement. Providing feedback throughout the year will balance both the positive and negative comments (hopefully more positive than negative). As the employee receives this feedback throughout the year, it reassures them that their manager and company have their best interests at hand, and that the feedback is to ensure they succeed to their fullest potential. A successful employee is a successful manager, something that must be emphasized in Manager’s meetings. I cannot stress enough how important that keeping notes on employee performance throughout the year is critical. Far too often, the most recent of events will bear the greatest of weight on a performance appraisal, I call this â€Å"Overstating Performance† reviews. The problem with this is it appears that the employee was only successful toward the end of the appraisal period, making it look as though he did not give that 100% throughout the rest of the year. This lack of leadership and understanding of the importance of the performance appraisal  system leads to reviews of imbalanced assessments. This is an injustice to the employee and undermines what the performance appraisal system is created to do. It has a high probability that average employee performances will receive exceptional reviews, and exceptional employee performances will receive average reviews. Unfortunately when this happens it becomes a â€Å"time period† based performance appraisal instead of a yearly review, and there is no time period where we have exceptional employees all the time; it just doesn’t happen! Keeping notes throughout the year allows the manager to systematically create a timeline of events that leads to an accurate and fair performance appraisal. It is up to the manager to ensure accurate employee performance reviews are conducted, and note taking throughout the year is critical in writing accurate re Being too critical on employee performance appraisals is not constructive criticism. Negative comments are a form of constructive criticism when given in moderation; employee inclusion is critical when devising a plan of correction for self-improvement. Likewise, being too critical is detrimental to employee morale as they feel they are worthless and cannot perform to the standards set by their manager. We want the employee to understand that they are valued, and critical to the success of the company. Being able to portray this while giving negative feedback takes time, skill, and an understanding of an employee’s limits of self-worth. We need to know our employee and how we can help them be successful without being too critical, yet still being constructive. It is imperative we maintain an open line of communication to make this happen. So we know that being too critical is negative in itself, so too is not providing the constructive guidance for employee improvement. Constructive advice must have value, and insure the employee feels and sees the legitimacy in the employee appraisal system. It is important that they know we want to see them succeed and promote within the company so they can feel pride and self-worth. When they see the value constructive criticism has in the appraisal system, they see a future the company has to offer. Being critical is good, but being critically constructive is better. The manager needs to know that when they provide constructive criticism, they must hold the belief that the employee is capable of making necessary changes to be  successful. The employee needs to know that applying the constructive criticism displays their abilities and desire to remain and promote within the company. Rather than being too favorable or damaging, it should be our goal as managers to give an honest a ssessment; allowing the employees to understand and increase in value what the appraisal has to offer also increases the opportunity to be successful. The appraisal should offer an equally balanced assessment of what the employee is doing correct, their accomplishments, what they need to work on, and (if any) failures with lessons learned. Again, taking notes will allow for an equally balanced assessment that guarantees to promote success with the individual employee and the company. Finding value in the performance appraisal takes interaction between the manager and the employee, not just the manager talking. Both the manager and the employee need to be able to talk and listen, creating an environment of trust, understanding, responsibility, and accountability. The appraisal system is not designed to be a one-way discussion. Employee interaction is not only pertinent to a successful appraisal, but also necessary for understanding underachieved job performance. Two-way communications is required for both parties to attain common goals and realizing the importance in achieving those goals in the upcoming year. This two-way communication requires that the manager be prepared ahead of time by reviewing his notes from the previous year, listening to the employee and not just appearing to be in the same room, and not interrupting the employee when he/she is talking. Proper scheduling is very important, because you want to allow yourself enough time to read over the review, listen and communicate with the employee, wrap up the review once the employee has left, prepare for the next review by going over your notes on the incoming employee, then do it all over again. If your schedule does not allow for extra time, one employee Smith’s appraisal information is sure to be mixed with employee Wright’s appraisal information. This would be a drastic oversight as a deserving employee may receive not so deserving results. Scheduling a break between reviews will minimize this risk preventing a miss rating of employees. As we identify a problem in the performance appraisal process, managers must focus on the employee and not the performance, (GOMEZ-MEJIA, 2010) as this allows the manager to be objective. The employee needs to know their manager is more concerned for  their individual development. Keeping that two-way communication is instrumental to a successful relationship, appraisal, and success of the manager, employee, and the employee then takes possession in their success, and personal and professional growth. Employee performance is what we are looking for; allowing the employee to actively discuss future goals builds trust between the manager and the employee. The employee’s future success is up to them, and taking an active role in setting achievable goals for the upcoming year they are also able to communicate possible solutions to current performance levels. HOW TO ACHIEVE PEAK WORTH Performance appraisals are usually divided into two separate categories: Performance evaluation and salary judgement. (GOMEZ-MEJIA, 2010) The supervisor/manager provides feedback from the performance review so the employee can better comprehend the cooresponding performance score they attained. Relative advice is needed for employee understanding and compliance. During the performance appraisal, the supervisor/manager must become a mentor to support, teach, encourage, and energize employee and team members while providing guidance. If the employee/team believe in their abilities, they are more likely to adapt and overcome. As a supervisor/manager, it’s critical that you perfect the skill of giving guidance in a positive manor to develop their performance . Supervisors/managers want their employess to display passion, drive, skill, and belief that they are the best qualified to ensure optimal results. When the employee is assisted by his manager to move them above his position, then the manager becomes a pronounced leader and is the foundation to a companies capability to endure trying times. A managerial assessment is required on the staffs performance. It concentrates on providing appraisal feedback for administrative conclusions. Next, managers must recognize and deliver advice/feedback for the action plan with a emphasis on proficiency expansion. This process needs to involve the employee as they generate the prosperous results creating the  companies success. In the closing phase, the manager and employee discuss the action plan, it’s timeline, and their successes. All performance appraisals should be the same across the board, meaning there is no change based on position or reputation within the company. Once the performance appraisal and action plan are offered, they must be signed by both parties with the understanding that they are both in agreement with the appraisal, the action plan, the timeline, and have a new found commitment to working as a team to reach the anticipated result. THE BENEFITS Why is it necessary for our employees to succeed? Because their success is the companies success, it’s the only time we benefit. With the employee and manager on the same page and working together for a common goal, it aligns their actions with the goals and objectives of the company. Our companies future depends on how much time and energy we invest in our employees. Image is everything (so they say) and when we can display successful employees, then we have the image of a professional organization that invests in it’s future through it’s employees. Employee turnover rate reduces with a successful appraisal system in place, experienced managers, and professional employees. All these contribute to production increase, contractural agreements met, and customer/employee satisfaction. As an employee takes interest in the success of the company, they are able to relay their approval through great customer service and word of mouth (creating that positive image). Largely the internal philosophy and image of the company improves, profit margin increases with lowered revenue loss and is the single most significant stock we as a company must invest in. EVALUATIONS OF TEAMWORK There are different approaches to teamwork evaluations; these are a few:  ·Managers rate team performance centered on pre-set standards, also known as the Traditional performance review. Team performance assessments can be idiosyncratic, creating very little change, if any, in total performance.  ·Another evaluation type is called the 360 degree assessment, this type includes feedback from what I like to call the â€Å"4 corners†; managers, peers, supervisors, and customers. This type of assessment, or review, displays strengths and weaknesses based on thorough feedback from a 360 degree â€Å"4 corner† view. Unfortunately there is a drawback from this type of multi-source assessment, deciphering the information requires education and training. Once the information is properly interpreted, then performance growth sprouts like fruit on a tree. (AMISANO, 2012)  ·A third type is called objective performance appraisals. This type takes a set of pre-determined objectives and goals and evaluates them based on similar job titles. As this is effective in Individual performance appraisals, it has no bearing on team performance appraisals.  ·The concluding evaluation selection is a team performance appraisal. This assessment type allows you to have an overview of team compatability and performance in a team building environment. This type of evaluation consist of common principles, team effort, and actions achieved on the project. (AMISANO, 2012) Team evaluations are based on financial results, not individual performance results. This type of assessment takes a different approach in that you now are rating based on vital performance indicators like:  ·Customer service quality  ·Marketplace success  ·Financial strength  ·Individual growth  ·Team growth  ·Product deliverable quality These areas, as deemed by leadership as necessary measurement factors, can include other areas as approved by the appraising authority. All approved areas are used in evaluating the team as one entity and how that team functions. It’s important for you to know that there are two sections to team evaluations 1.The individual contribution to team performance 2.The team performance as one entity Outcomes, traits, and behaviors are the areas a manager uses to assess the individual contribution to the team, and behavior measurement assessment for individual involvement to the group’s outcome. (GOMEZ-MEJIA, 2010) This is another system that needs to be in balance when evaluating. For example, we would not use the same standards of measuring financial goals as we would with customer service approval/fears. (GOMEZ-MEJIA, 2010) It’s imperative that the result measurements compliment the measurements of the method. Results are important, but strong personal relationships are what drive team performance to success. A new team will not assess the same as a veteran team that has built a relationship of trust, knowledge, and teamwork. It takes time, education and training to be a successful team member, this is where the team assessments come to play. They assist new members in becoming solid team performers in a limited amount of time. These team assessments are essential in ensuring that they swiftly align with company goals and standards while minimizing undesireable behavior. Criteria influenced by team members must be united with assessment measurements to be effective. Team performance appraisals are specific, calculable, achievable, outcome determined, related, and time assured. Every team member provides feedback to management during their assessments, this is called team inclusion. Team goals must be prioritized by importance as it provides a timeline of tasks forthcoming, and allows focus to be shifted where needed. Teams are a relationship that must be nurtured prior to being effective. As issues arrise, team members are able to adequately adjust and apply changes necessary to avert disaster and solve the issues. This is important because minimal time is spent on a damaged processes and channeled to  product progression. Downside to team assessments are that some members of the team who are not as productive and not pulling their weight, receive acculades on project milestones when in essence they ought not. Employees prefer individual performance appraisals because of this reason. Their work ethics and sacrifices are who they are, and to be judged by somebody elses is an injustice that depletes morale and professional development. RECOMMENDATION Due to the amount of research completed, I feel confident in recommending the use of the 360 degree appraisal model to impliment integration of the individual performance appraisal with the individual contribution to the team appraisal and an overall team performance appraisal. Allowing the combination of appraisals ensures accurate assessments of all employees and how they performed as a team. Following previously mentioned tools, supervisors and managers will utilize all feedback from employees, customers, and individual notes to accurately evaluate the employees. The employees will evaluate their individual performance, they will evaluate their team members performance, and be evaluated by each of the team members resulting in a 360 degree evaluation method. This becomes critical as it separates individual assessments from team assessments so credit is given where credit is deserved. Team performance evaluations are also recommended to use the 360 degree appraisal model. A 360 degree snap-shot view allows the manager to see team performance and functionality from all angles. It exhibits if the team is aligned with company goals and objectives. Utilizing the following evaluator approved evaluation areas, we are able to include the finance department, customer service department, Marketing department, and the quality assurance department in the feedback stage of the assessment.  ·Customer service quality  ·Marketplace success  ·Financial strength  ·Individual growth  ·Team growth  ·Product deliverable quality With feedback from all these sources, including the managers notes, we will create a baseline to revisit when measuring growth. An precise blueprint minimizes risk! TEAM V. INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENTS Parameters, Objectives, Results, Recognition The differences between Team performance evaluations and individual performance evaluations are simple. Individual evaluations require an individual to be hired, provided a job position that comes with a job description with job responsibilities requiring accomplishment. As managers we then have a baseline of the job description and responsibilities, by which we can then evaluate their performance in accomplishing (or not) said job. After which we rate that performance by comparison to another employee with a similar or same job title. The result is a direct reflection on the employees individual performance. He/she takes ownership of their evaluation without fear of other employees mis-deeds. Team evaluations have pre-set conditions approved by the evaluation team and aligned with the company goals and objectives for a determined project. Generally team performance is a result of team member effort, and therefore performance (good or bad) is reflected on the rating of team members. Evaluation results differ based on team member abilities, training, self-reliance, knowledge, and communication. It only takes one bad apple to spoil the harvest, meaning if one team member fails at their part of the mission, the whole team looks bad and receive a disearning review. On the flip side the other team members may be skilled enough to overcome the one team members incompetency and still complete the project on time, under  budget, and to the customers satisfaction. In this case the whole team most likely will receive a great review, including the employee who did not succeed. While the most common appraisal is an individual performance appraisal, companies see the benefit of using team power to complete assigned tasks. As this team-oriented change happens, having team performance evaluations on hand has given us an unfair advantage as we now have a baseline for future team performance evaluations. We know what works and what doesn’t, we know what to look for and what to avoid. We have the tools required at our disposal to ensure our team performance evaluations become flawless. Having said that these evaluations tools can easily be imprudent in a way that causes caos and frustration among team members. That is why it is important that my previous recommendation be taken seriously and implemented immediately. As for recognition, Individual performance evaluations are subject to bonuses, salary increases, and promotions. Team performace evaluations are trickier, but not impossible. If my recommendation is implemented, it becomes a lot easier as we then can include individual contribution to the teams success (or failure) rather than to the team as a whole. Imagine the conflict that would take place if a team failed to successfully accomplish a task because of one team member, and because of that team member they failed to receive recognition for their individual successes. SUMMARY ANALYSIS Performance appraisals: 1.Improves the development and overall performance improvement of the employee 2.Aligns employee performance with company strategy  3.Defines and aligns strategic planning for the employee to emulate (GOMEZ-MEJIA, 2010) 4.Justifies legal action (termination) due to documentation, as well as promotions, bonuses, and raises. 5.Promotes a professional image Progression Planning 1.Needed for future stability 2.Removes fear, instability and uncertainty when leadership changes 3.Delivers our company mission and strategic priorities (GOMEZ-MEJIA, 2010) 4.Investment is with our employees, and therefore with the guaranteed future of our company. Team Appraisals 1.Teams identify issues and initiate change for faster resolution (GOMEZ-MEJIA, 2010) 2.Increased productivity as less time is spent identifying an issue and a resolution implemented 3.Production progression is amplified 4.Teams are an investment as society and the environment dictate change 5.Teams are what make progression planning a success. We owe our stakeholders and ourselves to remain professional, profitable and ethical in our business and personal lives. It is only right to invest in those who invest in you, and that is what our company is dedicated itself to accomplish. Their investment in you guarantees their investment in the company’s future. It is a obligation we can accomplish using the proven tools provided†¦strong performance appraisals creating better employees, a progression plan with strong teams to ensure results and growth. Increased revenue is due to the tools we have in place; it is due to customer satisfaction, increased profit margins, employment gratification, and a riveting public image projecting International quality Works Cited AMISANO, C. (2012, OCTOBER 17). METHODS FOR EVALUATING EMPLOYEE & TEAM PERFORMANCES. Retrieved October 17, 2012 GOMEZ-MEJIA, L. (2010). MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES, SIXTH EDITION. INDIANAPOLIS: PRENTICE HALL. Levinson, H. (2003, January). Management by whose objectives. 81(1), pp. 107-116. Univeristy of California, B. (2012, October 24). Human Resources at University of California, Berkeley  © UC Regents. All rights reserved. Berkley, UC. Retrieved October 24, 2012, from Core Competencies and Behavioral Anchors: http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/files/attachments/behavioral-anchors-matrix-core-competencies.pdf