Different stakeholders Essay

Every organisation has Stakeholders; these are groups or individuals that affect or are affected by the business. The number of stakeholders of a business varies and so does their importance and influence on the company. The type of organisation and the product or service it supplies also determines the stakeholders. An organisation such as Lidl has far more stakeholders than family business; it is therefore much more influenced and affected by the actions, aims and objectives of its stakeholders. In this report I will evaluate the influence that the different stakeholders exert within Lidl. Employees are very influential stakeholders of Lidl and they are crucial for the running of the organisation. They have around 315,000 employees worldwide. The quality of an employee’s performance depends on the way human resources are managed within the company. An employee’s main interests are salaries, wages and job satisfaction; all of these factors influence the company’ s staff turnover. When employing new staff, and managing existing staff the employers must consider a lot of different elements. Employees can affect and influence Lidl in various ways and due to different reasons, some are; skills and qualifications, personal views and opinions, employee performance, training and redundancy. As employees are one of the main stakeholders and are the human resources of the company; their performance highly affects Lidl. If the employees are not satisfied with their wages or the working environment the products and services will not be of a satisfactory standard which could result in poor publicity. Motivation is one of the methods used to improve employee performance as when employees feel unmotivated they tend to perform inadequately e.g. the shop floor could be untidy, shelves un-stocked or a lack of people on the tills. An employee’s skills and qualifications are crucial aspects because if an employee doesn’t have the right skills or knowledge to perform a certain task essential for the consecutively of Lidl; it could slow down the whole production process therefore decreasing the quality of the presentation within the store resulting in Lidl making less profit than they could have. Customers contribute to profit levels and turnover through buying products and services.

Kristens cookie company Essay

From the given data we can draw the following Process Flowchart The case analysis yields the following points 1. The time taken to fill rush order will depend on whether there are any orders that are being processed currently or not. Accordingly we will have two scenarios a). No order is being processed when the rush order is received. The time in this case will be equal to the sum of the time required for all the processes. Time = 6 + 2 + 1 + 9 + 5 + 2 + 1 = 26minute b). An order is being processed when the rush order is received. In the worst case, the cookies will have just been put in the oven. Thus oven will not be free before (1 + 9)= 10 minutes. By this time, the washing of the bowl and mixing of the dough for the rush order will be done. This will take 8 min. Since oven will not be free for 2 more minutes. Thus total time for this process will be 8 + 2 + 1+ 9 + 5 + 2 + 1 = 28 minutes Every additional order of a dozen cookies will take an additional 10 minutes to fulfill (as the time taken for baking is the only bottleneck involved) 2. If we are open for 4 hours (or 240 minutes), the number of orders that can be filled will be: Every order will take 10 minutes, since the baking time (ie 10min) is the bottleneck, except the first order which will take 6+ 2 =8min in the beginning and the last order which will take 5+2+1=8 more minutes. Thus, [240 – (8+8)] / 10 = 22.4 orders can be filled in a day. That is 22 orders or 22*12 = 264 cookies in a day. 3. I am performing the process of washing, mixing and filling the dough in the tray, while the roommate is putting the tray in the oven, packing, and collecting the payment Thus for each order I spend: 6 + 2 = 8 minutes Roommate spends: 1 + 2 + 1 = 4 minutes A problem of idle time arises when more than one order is to be fulfilled, now if 2 simultaneous orders come, then I will have an idle time of 2 minutes and the roommate will have an idle time of 6 minutes. 4. If we order 2 dozen cookies or 3 dozen cookies, then my time will be reduced for washing and mixing, since the dough for 3 dozen cookies can be mixed together. That is my time will be reduced by 6 minutes for a 2 dozen order and 12 minutes for a 3 dozen order. My roommate’s time will be reduced by 1minute for 2dozen and 2 minute for 3 dozen. It is the time required for collecting payment since now she will collect payment only once for the whole order. However the total time for the process is still the same, since the baking process is the bottleneck and this will not affect the process of baking ,If this time that is saved, can be utilized for some productive work, which can earn more than the discounts we give, only then should we give discounts for 2 dozen or 3 dozen orders. 5. The business can be run smoothly using only one food processor, but the minimum number of trays that are required are 2 trays. This can be explained as follows The total time required for fulfilling an order is 26 minutes, now if another order is taken before the fulfillment of the first order then we will need another tray in which to place the ingredient mix and prepare it for baking. If we have further orders then the first tray can be used again since it will have come back after the cooling cycle. 6. To make cookies in lesser time we can use 3 ovens or use an oven with a larger capacity. With 3 ovens we can make 3 dozen cookies in just 31 minutes as compared to 48 minutes taken with just 1 oven. This amounts to an increase of 35% in sales due to time being saved. Addition of an extra oven can also help in this regard; with an extra oven we can fill 28 orders in a day instead of only 22 orders. Thus the additional rent that we can pay for an additional oven will be an amount lesser than the additional profit made by tending to 6 extra orders in a day. The additional oven will be very useful since the main Bottleneck encountered in this process is the time taken to bake the cookies. Additional analysis 1. If I were to do the whole process by myself it would take me 36 minutes to fill 2 orders which come back-to-back. The problem in this case would be that there can be no parallel processing. Thus after every 2 orders the process of baking has to start afresh, hence the total number of orders that can be filled per day will be X = (240*2)/36 = 13.333 Therefore only 13 orders can be filled everyday as compared to 22 that can be filled by 2 people. Hence working alone would have the same costs but sales would decrease by close to 50%. 2. There will be no effect on the time taken to manufacture the â€Å"Crash priority† order that has come up; both the new order and the order already in the oven can be delivered on time. The only problem here can arise if we have other orders in queue when this order arrives, then those orders will have to be kept waiting when we attend to this order. We can charge the customer a premium which will be equal to the number of orders whose delivery time will be extended beyond an hour due to this order. i.e. if we have 6 orders in queue and 3 of them are delayed due to the new order then Premium charged= No. of orders unfulfilled due to the new order * price; 3. The entire process time taken here is 26 minutes; every additional order will take an additional 10 minutes. Therefore we can service 4 orders in the first hour and 6 orders in every subsequent hour, this holds good if we have to deliver within an hour. If that restriction is relaxed, then delivery time we promise will be determined by the number of orders already in queue and any work-in-progress The formula that we can use for determining delivery time will be Time = (No. of orders in the queue*10 minutes) + (Work in progress* Time remaining in baking) + 10 minutes (Baking time of the new order) + 8 minutes (time till packing) i.e. if we have 3 orders in queue and another order which has to be baked for a further 5 minutes the delivery time we can promise will be Time = (3*10) + (5) +10+8 = 53 minutes. This is how we can promise delivery. 4. The major factors that should be considered at this stage of planning the business are what prices to charge, how many orders to accept and what can the profit be, the business has no extra costs apart from the input costs. But to safeguard against breakdown of equipment we must add a maintenance charge for the machine maintenance, the other costs that can come into picture are the opportunity costs, i.e. if our time was utilized in other tasks what could have been the profit we could have made. Hence these are the important factors that must be considered at this stage of planning. 5. If the product was a standard product then the following changes could be made * We can have 3 ovens, this will be useful because if the product is a standard one then we will always make 3 dozen cookies every time we prepare a mix, thus it would be useful for us to have 3 ovens as it would considerably reduce our time and give faster output * We can increase the number of orders that we can service each night * The order-taking system will be changed since now there is no customization so we will only be required to ask the customer as to how many dozens does he/she want These are the changes that should be made if the product is changed to a standardized one.

Deviants and Crime

The person who deviates distinctly from the norm is called a deviant. A deviant may also be defined as the person whose attitudes and behaviors go against the set societal norms or standards. Deviance is not age specific but it starts in the early ages of human development and if it goes unmarked, it ends up reaching a point of no return making an adult whose personality can be described by one word; a deviant. The act of deviance is learnt either by association with other deviants or by trying to give excuses to justify the acts of deviance leading to habit. Deviance and crime is one and the same thing.This is because, when one goes against the set of norms in this case the formal rules called law, this is crime. Deviants defy both the formal and informal (Social) standards and norms. For example, a deviant may go against the social norms and commit an act of nose picking in public or against the law and break into private premises with an intention of stealing. Based on this, devia nce is a subject of concern to both the socialists and the criminologists. These two professionals engage in a serious study of how norms are formed, changes that the norms undergo over time and the enforcement of norms.The sociology of deviance can be summarized in three main theories i. e. symbolic interactionism theory, Structural functionalism theory, and conflict theory. These theories try to explain the causes of deviance. Stealing is one example of deviance that is a serious crime in the US today. People do not wake up one day and become thieves. Theft is a habit that is learnt at childhood and continues into adulthood. This paper seeks to define and develop a sociological theory that explains deviance from the symbolic interactionism theory perspective (Rodney, 2007:pp 48)Symbolic Interactionism Theories All the theories under this class are of the view that deviant behavior is learnt. As a result of the learning, the deviant behaviors eventually become part of an individual ’s personality or character. The theories under this class include Sutherland's differential association theory, Gresham Sykes and David Matza's neutralization theory and Tannenbaum and Howard Becker’s labeling theory. Sutherland's differential association theory proposes that the criminal and deviant behaviors are not inherent in individuals but they are only learnt.It amplifies the common belief that all human are created good. Every individual is inherently good but society makes them bad. The learning of criminal or deviant behaviors is the same as the learning of other behaviors such as saying â€Å"thank you† when one gives a compliment or gives a favor. The learning process comes as a result of interaction between people or groups of people through the use of symbolic communication. The symbolic communication may also include ideas and attitudes that are transferred from one individual or group to another.If the symbols used in the communication are favor able and desirable than the converse, then an individual or group embraces deviance communicated by the symbols, ideas or attitudes and will tend to be oriented to of deviant behaviors more than any other behavior (Lanier, 2004 pp. 162-163). Taking theft as an example of a deviant criminal behavior, we realize that if an individual associates with an individual or group who steal or hold the idea of stealing more favorable than unfavorable, and the association is intimate, then motives ideas, attitudes , techniques etc that are favorable to stealing are learnt.Once this learning occurs and incase there is a need, then one will tend to steal and in this way we say that this criminal and deviant act of theft has resulted from symbolic interaction. The Neutralization theory, just like the name suggests, sets out to explain the ways that the deviants eventually kill their guilt conscience through rationalization. Some of the rationalizations used include the denial of responsibility of the deviant action aimed at making the criminal feel better.Denial of responsibility is simply an argument that the offender had no option and that any other person put under the same circumstances would have acted the same way the offender did. Continued denial of responsibility eventually kills the guilt conscience making the criminal cold and to have a propensity of committing the crime again. For example, if a criminal steals and accepts responsibility, then there is some guilt that comes with the acceptance and this guilt has a reform component. Failure of accepting responsibility rules out possibility of reform and thus high probability of committing the crime again in future.Other defense mechanisms or rationalizations used include the denial of damage and denial of victim. Denial of damage or injury refers to the reasoning that the criminal act did not hurt anybody and thus the offender is not morally wrong. This reasoning is based on the elementary conviction that if an act ion doesn’t cause any harm to others, then it is morally right. On the other hand, denial of the victim is an argument that the victim deserved the deviant act due to his /her perceived lack of morals by the offender. Denunciation of his denouncers is yet another rationalization used by deviants or criminals to protect their actions.It is an argument that those who denounce their actions have the potential of committing same or similar acts or they also commit similar acts and as such they are hypocrites. Denunciation of denouncers makes the offender feel better about his actions and it too blocks reform thus opening up a possibility of future criminal acts. Finally, appeal to higher loyalties involves positive reinforcement of the criminal act by what he beliefs in. The criminal argues that some values surpass the law or traditions and thus the criminal construes the values to be more important than the law.For example, if one steals because he is starving, he has done nothi ng because he believes in saving life. To him, life is more important than the law. Generally, under this theory, criminals rationalize criminal acts by neutralization (Lanier, 2004 pp. 168- 9). The labeling theory is a popular one which has been used not only in sociology but also in psychology. The psychological labeling theory, in a layman’s language states that if you continually call a child names, say a thief, the child will end up becoming one. Frank Tannenbaum and Howard S.Becker proposed the labeling theory in the sociological context. They said that the act of society creating rules whose violation amounts to defiance causes deviance in itself. If society says that the people who take other people’s property without permission are thieves and thieves are not good people, this definition amounts to labeling. The labeling represents the negative attitude the society holds against a deviant such as a thief and makes the offenders to internalize the label and try to act out the label by carrying out actions that conform to the label.For example labeling of a thief, makes the deviant such labeled to internalize this label and carries out acts of theft in a bid to conform to the label. This theory lies at the boundary of symbolic-interactionism and conflict theory. The conflict theory orientation of this theory proposes that the society wield power to create norms and label deviants. A good example is the prison system which labels the convicts of theft to a point that these theft convicts also begin to view themselves as thieves (Giddens, 2006 pp. 525-7).In a bid to reinforce the reinforce Edwin Lemert proposed the idea of primary and secondary deviation. He construed primary deviation to be the deviance before the deviant is labeled as such. Secondary deviance on the other hand is the acts of deviance that come after the primary deviance as a reaction to the societal institutions that have power to set norms and to label. Lemert explains fu rther how one moves from primary to secondary deviation and finally to assumption of the role of the label he/she has been given.The transition between these stages starts when an offender commits a deviant act for the first time prompting the society to administer some disciplinary penalties on him. If the disciplinary penalties administered on the primary deviant do not manage to stop the crime, the offender may act the same crime or deviance again thus prompting even harsher punishment from the society. The harsh punishment makes the offender to resent the society or the institution in the society that administers this harsh punishment. The resentment sets pace for more crimes with the institution reining harsher and harsher punishment on the offender.As the number of crimes increases the society, apart from the punishment given to the offender, lavishes stigma too on the offender. This stigma marks the labeling g stage. The stigma sandwiches the offender between a rock and a har d place where he has no option than accept the role prescribed by the label. In a bid to fulfill the role, the offender acts out the role prescribed in the label and this constitutes the secondary deviance. Secondary deviance hardens the criminals courtesy of the labeling act by the societyPrimary and secondary deviance is witnessed in the American legal system when a first time offender receives lesser punishment as compared to a second or multiple time offender of the same crime. For both the offenders, say thieves, the punishment is meant to reform them. The multiple time offenders get a harsher punishment because the society feels that the first- time punishment was not sufficient enough making the offender commit a second crime. The second time offender is more likely to commit the crime the third time that the first time offender is to commit a second crime.The implication of this primary and secondary deviance can be applied in the prison system where the criminals are suppos ed to be viewed as good people except fore the crimes they have committed. They should not be condemned but subjected to rehabilitation. This is necessary because it has been witnessed that the harsher the punishment, the deeper the deviance and the higher the probability of the crime or deviance being repeated again (Hanson, 2005, P75). In conclusion, the reformation of criminals should not be harsh and inhuman.The harsh and often inhuman punishments we witness in our American prisons were put in place to scare the larger good population away from crime. It is evident that this intention has blatantly failed and thus there is need for an alternative strategy. This is necessary because if people are no longer scared of that harsh and inhuman punishment, then they will automatically engage in criminal activities. This is the same as threatening a person who doesn’t fear death with death. This won’t achieve any end at all. However, removal of such harsh and inhuman punis hment may trigger the same response that its existence triggers; resistance.What will happen if people know that the punishment given after a crime is lighter than before? The US government represented by the prison system is at a cross road and there is dire need to try a punishment devoid rehabilitation approach as opposed to the harsh punishment. Just like labeling has the impact of acting out, positive labeling may create desirable reformation in the criminals. The society too needs to be sensitized so as to respect the innate goodness of the criminals such as to avoid stigmatization that has led to the hardening and resistance of the criminals. References Rodney, Stark Sociology; Biological Theories of Deviance (10th edition) Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007 Newman, Graeme Crime and Deviance: A Comparative Perspective. Michigan: Sage Publications, 1980 pp127-135 Giddens, Anthony Sociology. Polity Publishers, 2006 pp 525-7 Lanier, Mark Essential Criminology. Westview Press, 2004. pp 168-9   

Organization group work, politics & leasership Essay

Organization group work, politics & leasership - Essay Example A group, created to perform certain tasks may contain members from different departments of the organization. It is done so to get the members with diverse skills so that the group can perform better in terms of work. This makes the different departments and segments of the organization to come closer and to coordinate with each other. Otherwise in usual circumstances, there is a less chance of different departments in an organization to come closer in this way. They share their skills with each other, which broaden the view and experience of the group members. It helps them in their further work in the organization and enables them to get creative in their work. Groups are formed usually of the like minded people, the people who think the same and can work with each other on friendly grounds. These people work together for their mutual cause not for anything which is beneficial for them only. It is the best solution for the organization problems and is famous all over the world. All the organizations in different countries practice it and it gave them the best result. While working together in a group, individuals are committed to achieve a goal and aim that is important for all of them as a part of the organization. ... While working together in a group, individuals are committed to achieve a goal and aim that is important for all of them as a part of the organization. All of them are striving and working hard for a goal that is important for all of them, not for the benefit for any individual person and this is the biggest advantage of group work. The individuals work together to get their mutual goals, without thinking of their own interest. The individuals may be different in many terms. Their knowledge could be different from others, their skills might be different from their other group members, and while working in a group they learn how to communicate well with each other and how to work with diverse nature of people in the organization. The cooperation is the main point while working in a group and the group members are expected to cooperate with each other in a manner that makes the group environment best to do their work. Individual's knowledge plays an important role in group work. Suppose a group consists of five to seven people. If, instead of a group work, they had preferred to work individually, then what had happened All of them would be scattered and they will work on their own ideas. But the advantage of working in a group is that the all five to seven people will put their efforts and ideas at one place and like this the result will be much better than everyone working individually. Five to seven brains would be thinking about the same thing and they will come up with their own ideas. The team leader will listen to all of them and all the ideas would be written properly. And after sometime a decision would be taken on the best idea or may be an idea would be generated by combining two or more ideas

Ethical Issues of Lay Offs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethical Issues of Lay Offs - Essay Example Lay-offs are defined as â€Å"suspension or termination of employment (with or without notice) by the employer or management.† (Business Dictionary 2009) Layoffs are management’s option when faced with situations such as financial difficulties, positions are no longer required, business slow-down, or work interruption. This could be categorized as follows: to save the company, to change, and to improve the company. Regardless of the rationale, layoffs cause undue stress, emotional pain, anguish and suffering for the terminated employees. On the other hand, the managers who are assigned to deliver the blow are also faced with sorrow or guilt, as the case may be. It is in this regard that layoffs are closely evaluated in terms of ethical issues which arise due to the critical consequences that arise. Due to these consequences, layoffs become controversial ethical issues. Velasquez & Rostankowski (1982) averred that â€Å"an act with ethical or moral consequences is that such an act involves decisions freely taken that will have positive or negative consequences for others†. According to Gilbert (2000), â€Å"in some circumstances, laying off some employees is the ethical thing to do, and managers who fail to do so are guilty of unethical conduct. In other circumstances, no ethical defense of layoffs can be found, and managers who decide on layoffs in these circumstances are guilty of unethical acts. In a wide range of circumstances in between, there are ethical arguments for and against layoffs.† To determine the morality of a decision or an action, one approach is that of utilitarianism which holds that a moral decision or action is one that results in the greatest good for the greatest number of people. (ibid.) Using this approach, management justifies that it is common to layoff on the basis that terminating 1000 personnel if this move will save the organization from bankruptcy and hence preserve the jobs of 5000 others.   

Week #2 Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week #2 - Article Example This shows that independence is really an asset when used well. Another thing I have learnt is that if you believe in a value a cause you have to stand up for it, invest your time and money in it, and be smart about it. Without effort (which is basically time and money) a cause will remain just an idea that is worthless unless it is followed up. Still on page 126, we are told how since Lancie Clippinger did not invest in expensive specialized equipment, he was able to modify his ways to suit his wishes and circumstances. This might appear coincidental, but it is clear from the book that Clippinger is really just a smart and dedicated man who knows what he wants and goes for it. Had he been half-hearted in his approach to the venture, he would not have invested so wisely. On page 120, we are told that Lancie Clippinger is an intelligent man who understood the value of his own thinking and paying attention, and who â€Å"understood clearly that the profit is in the difference between costs and earnings, and who proceeded directly to minimize his costs†. This spells out another very important lesson, that it is vital to understand what we are doing. This is only possible if we have passion for what we do, which will allow us to act in an intelligent manner like

Analyzing an article Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analyzing an article - Assignment Example However, why should not there be a general product for a particular range products. For example, what would happen if Apple’s iPhone were priced similar to Samsung Galaxy? In this case, people would argue that customer’s choice between the Galaxy and the iPhone is based on the brand name. Now suppose we scrape off the brand names and give the two products a similar appearance. Which of the products would sell more and why? This and many other economic and marketing puzzles dominate the article. Issues of brands and prices dominate the technology market. However, the issue still applies even to most basic consumer services. For instance, why are some private doctors or lawyers busier than others are, despite having the same qualification? Consequently, why are some commodities costly and yet they have a better market than cheaper ones. For example, why do people always go for an expensive lawyer whenever they have legal requirements? This and other similar questions are tackled in the article. The author argues that customers are the sole determinants of prices and they control the market. What does being expensive really means. The issue of expensive and cheap commodities characterizes any market. Customers are complaining that a thing is either too expensive or it does not meet their expectations. Surprisingly a car valued at $3000 and a candy valued at $2 might be categorized as expensive products. It beats logic to analyze the price difference between the two products in terms of their price money. Indeed, $3000 is extremely greater than $2. Thus, it might be absurd to categorize both products as expensive products. Consequently, customers of each of the above products have a hypothetical price that they consider as fair or correct. However, how do sellers get access this price without going through the customer? The power to unlock this mystery is the key to successful marketing. Some like when the prices are high while others like it when the prices are at the lower extreme. Choice for either extreme depends on consumer's decisions. Surprisingly customers will always complain that the prices of commodities are extremely high independent of their purchasing power (Bade, and Michael 72). Are consumers always complaining about prices or can we achieve the reverse situation. Indeed, it is possible to manufacture the later scenario in an ideal market. According to the author, successful marketers know how to reverse customer’s view on expensive prices. Analyzing the News In a market system, successful products always have substitute. Availability of substitute is the main factor that distinguishes a competitive or an ideal market from a monopoly. Consumers distinguish different products based on brand names or their market label. Despite the differentiation, some products are more successful than others are. Consequently, customers would buy such products at even high cost defying key economic principles. Price is the key monetary representation of a product’s value. Thus, the price of a product reflects its true value in a particular market. Customers have they own definition of value that depends on the nature of a product and the subsequent economic environment. For example, people would be comfortable buying a bottle of water at $100 in a hot desert. Consequently, the same customers would not be able or willing to buy the same bottle in a place where water

Critically Assess the Employee Relations Management Style Adopted By Essay

Critically Assess the Employee Relations Management Style Adopted By ACME Engineering - Essay Example 148-149). ACME is a sales and a manufacturing operation. This makes us different from other Japanese plants that have will have just a manufacturing operation. This is one significant organizational difference among ACME and further UK Japanese plants. ACME is an industrialized plant and a selling tool. It's also a declaration of commitment to the long term in Europe. â€Å"Acme components represent computational elements and data stores of a system. ACME’s managerial style included a mechanistic organization† (Garlan et al. n.d., p. 52). Management Style Used by ACME: ACME follows a classical-scientific method to management with autocratic management style. â€Å"Autocratic management style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished, without getting the advice of their followers. Some of the appropriate conditions to use it are when you have all the information to solve the problem, you are short on time, and your e mployees are well motivated† (Leadership Styles 1997). The autocratic management style leaves no room to workers payment to the running of the industry, and they are treated quite and impersonally; frequently ignored when they suggest developments for the business. Because the classical-scientific technique relies on every member doing their individual task to contribute to the entire business, the high stages of absenteeism signify that work is not getting done; hence the production of the business will suffer. ACME’s vertical separation, which includes of four stages of control, constitutes the distribution of authority among the organizational hierarchy levels and technologies to provide the organization more control than its activities and projects. â€Å"In addition to profit sharing, the executive pay package at Acme should include a stock option plan† (Lawler 2011, p. 248). ACME is extremely centralized. Directors from the top of the class structure have a ll the control to create the majority of the choices for the organization, and subordinates are probable to follow instructions. Even though, I consider that ACME has founded a high level of formalization and standardization, they experienced complicatedness abiding to their own policies. Employees at ACME use individual specialization, where workers concentrate on one particular work and area individually. â€Å"Acme’s top executives were actively looking for managers whose behavior and management philosophy aligned with this new orientation. These efforts reinforced the emphasis on sensitivity to bias and racial stereo types that Bowman had initiated† (Thomas & Gabarro 1999, p. 162). Following are the Managerial Style Structure of ACME. Specialization Type: At ACME, the head retained the single structure of the plant, before it became a divide entity. The managerial structure was well-defined, with high quantity of separation of labor. Each section executed its task separately. Therefore, type of area is individual. Integrating Mechanism: Due to the well-defined, tall ladder of the organization, the basic incorporating mechanism in ACME is Authority. Distribution of Authority: The majority choices were issued from top of the organization down to its lesser levels. Distribution of power was mostly centralized. Standardization of Rules: Most of the works were being done in an already defined method, were orders to create actions which were issued among

American Women Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American Women - Personal Statement Example When the men went to war the women would manage the farm or the shop. It was accepted then that women did not need to be educated and so emphasis was only placed on educating males. The women were represented by their husbands or their fathers in public affairs. Once they got married they lost the right to property. Today, with the industrial revolution and other changes that have taken place since the 19780’s the family unit is less cohesive and stable as their survival is no longer dependent on the family farm. Women are now free to vote, to attend college and to work outside the home. They no longer live on farms but in suburban communities. Women are now seen as equal to men and being able to take up positions in business and politics where they help to make decisions. . Part 2 How have women’s roles changed from the 1950’s to the 21st century? What impact has the media had on these changes? The roles of women have changed from being the homemaker – co oking and cleaning to taking up careers outside of the home in politics, medicine and law. Women are now focused on education and jobs. Their lifestyles have changed along with the family structure. According to Francis (2007) in 2003 there were 1.35 females to every male who graduated from a four year college.

Business Concept Description Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Concept Description - Essay Example Small-scale producers gain through Rare Tea’s buying harvests up-front by saving associated costs for their distribution. What is unique about the product of Rare Tea is the presence of trust it places with its small-scale producers that could generate high-standard quality of best-tasting tea in the world. Adhering to this leads to buyer-producers relationship, which the bottom line is to hold fast to product quality and sustainability, while Rare Tea continues to take charge of the entire distribution through buying harvests up-front. Ensuring the best quality and sustainable supplies of best-tasting tea leaves is a remarkable way of giving high value for customers’ needs. This is to make sure that the customers will always have the quality product the moment they need it. In addition, the existence of fair trade from farm to customers would guarantee generating the right price for the product. The Rare Tea, as a small-scale company is trying to beat highly established vast private tea farms. Its long-standing relationship with producers under small-range farming allows it to explore vast opportunity across the world as there are independent tea farmers waiting for their break. Aggregating all their productions could help Rare Tea Company address the prevailing market demand for quality tea products. As a small company, Rare Tea needs to expand, which would require funding coming from highly established financial institutions. Potential investors seeing Rare Tea’s business sustainability may express possibility to start their investment with the

Tools For Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tools For Learning - Essay Example In this regard, it is arguable that any form of positive attribute to the students by all stakeholders is indispensable. According to Blakemore & Frith (2007), motivation is considered the most critical aspect of learning that every student is supposed to be subjected to. In weak areas of students, motivation is regarded as the first element of ensuring student’s success. Motivation is believed to influence, stimulate and expedite students’ effort to accomplish results. Educational psychologists argue that motivating students in the early childhood education may require inducement of intrinsic motivation that aims at making learning pleasurable, enjoyment and interesting. This can be attained by subjecting students in play, exploration as well as challenge. Nevertheless, extrinsic motivation is also considered ideal in that the students are subjected to reinforcements such as rewards. However, this has been refuted by some researchers arguing that the intrinsic motivation is more desirable and mostly results in better learning outcomes compared to extrinsic motivation. Motivation involves constellating beliefs, perceptions, interests and actions (Alfrey, 2003). Educators can use either motivation that focuses on cognitive behaviors like use of different strategies and monitoring students’ progress or non-cognitive aspect which involves focusing and changing students’ perception, beliefs and attitudes (Blakemore & Frith, 2007). In some instances, educators can decide to use both motivational strategies in the effort of enhancing effective learning. In situations where behavior is the focal point that currently determines student’s performance, reinforcements like those advocated by B.F. Skinner are endorsed. Positive reinforcements such as rewards are advocated for students with good behaviors that are considered ideal in determining students’ performance while

Healthy Grief Essay Example for Free

Healthy Grief Essay The loss of a family member and/or loved one can put someone on an emotional roller coaster. Whether it is an expected or unexpected loss, the emotional process of dealing with the grief could be the same. With an expected loss, loved ones are able to prepare themselves for what is to come. An unexpected loss could bring more emotions into the grieving process. This paper will discuss the grieving process by Kubler-Ross, the story of Job, and the way Muslims deal with death and dying. While some people focus on the sadness of losing a loved one, others try and find the positive in the any situation. To grieve the loss of a loved one, many would say that they feel a lot of different indescribable emotions. Shock, disbelief, emotional pain, anger, and sadness are all some emotions that people feel while grieving. Kubler-Ross developed a five step grieving process that one should experience and move through so they can move on to a happy life (Lecture 5 Notes). The process itself is: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (Lecture 5 Notes). It is easy for a person to not believe that a loved one has passed on as begin the grieving process (Lecture 5 Notes). Once the denial has processed and the loss has become a reality, it is normal to get angry and ask ‘why did this happen?’ Bargaining with God is the next step in the grieving process. Trying to make a deal with God to try and bring back a loved one gives a person hope that their loved one will come back. Once reality has set in, depression is the next step (Lecture 5 Notes). This is when the feelings of hopelessness set in, making it difficult for a person to pass this stage (Lecture 5 Notes). The last stage of the grieving process is acceptance (Lecture 5 Notes). This is the stage that helps a person emotionally move on from grieving the loss of a loved one. Life goes becomes a new type of normal with the memory of the loved one instead of the having the loved one there (Lecture 5 Notes). In the book of Job, Satan challenges Job’s faith and love for God, with God’s permission (Study Bible-NLT, 2008). Satan does everything in his power to get Job to not only doubt God, but to curse him as well (Study Bible-NLT, 2008). Satan killed his ten children and destroyed his livestock and servants (Study Bible-NLT, 2008). Job focused more on God and praised him as he mourned loss of his children and wealth (Study Bible-NLT, 2008). Satan then tried one last time by filling Job’s body with sores (Study Bible-NLT, 2008). The doubt of his wife and the negativity of his colleagues never gave him a change of heart. Job remained faithful to God, never doubted Him (he doubted himself at times), and still praised Him (Study Bible-NLT, 2008). God eventually replenished Job’s wealth and blessed him with more children (Study Bible-NLT, 2008). Job grieved in a very healthy way. He did not blame others and he did not curse God. He tried to find the good in every ba d situation. One religion that differs from Christianity and western civilization’s way of grieving the loss of a loved one is the Islamic religion. With death and dying, Muslims believe that there is life after death (Ross, 2001). It is believed that believers of the religion must practice the five pillars of Islam and live a righteous life on earth in order to have a different afterlife than those ‘unbelievers’ (Ross, 2001). People of the Islamic religion must mourn as they prepare for a quick burial (Ross, 2001). A loved one should be buried the day of death or the day after, not any later (Ross, 2001). In public, it is not of their norm for women to show any emotion at a time like this (Ross, 2001). Finding joy in the midst of losing a loved one can be trying. But like Job in the Bible, joy could come quicker if faith is not lost. Grieving is a challenging time to stay positive. Making the attempt to stay positive helps push one through the grieving process without getting stuck in one of the stages for too long. A good way to find joy is to continue to praise God and not to lose faith in Him. In closing, re-reading the book of Job in the Holy Bible has reminded me of how important it is to praise God in the midst of a storm. The loss of a loved one is tragic for anyone and grieving is a natural process in life. But if the focus stays on praising God and not losing faith, that grieving process can turn into a healing process and it is possible to find peace in the midst of grieving. God always has a rainbow waiting at the end of each storm, it just depends how long it takes for you to play in the rain before you get there.

Employee Issues And Failure Of Mergers And Acquisitions Management Essay

Employee Issues And Failure Of Mergers And Acquisitions Management Essay Globalization has demanded change in business practices because of its initiated competition (Schuler and Tarique, 2007). However, two streams can be found in the literature suggesting two different views about this phenomenon of globalization. One view suggests that it is being evolved to accomplish the power, politics, and wealth accumulation objectives and to do so, it has been instilled through carefully planned strategies, plans and tactics (Chomsky, 1999; Schuler and Tarique, 2007). Other view conveys a contrasting philosophy asserting that it is a social phenomenon which is benefiting the people around the globe by reducing monopolies of few (Castells,1996). Though these two views convey two opposite messages stating it political fixture designed for the purpose of gaining control of power, authority and wealth or a phenomenon which is operating to benefiting the people around the globe has instigated challenges for the business organization, somehow. Whether these are threats or opportunities, these are challenging (Mourdoukoutas, 2006). This phenomenon has changed the face of the world economy, and economic conditions of most of the countries are forcing the organization to change their business strategies. The organizations are using various forms of collaborations and alliances such as mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures inside and across the national boundaries in order to survive through the threats or to grow on the new challenging opportunities provided by globalization. Kogut and Singh (1988) state that collaborations such as joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions are the source of sharing and spreading and sharing risks over partners firms. According to Contractor and Lorange (1988) such collaborations allow developing and harnessing knowledge of the host organization. Choi and Hong (2002) suggest that collaborations can be for the purpose of knowledge or/and material flow. However, many of such collaborative efforts are not successful and according to Datta (1998), employee resistance is the key factor that hinders the success in such collaborations. And this essay, in fact, analyses the statement often employee-related issues prevent a merger or acquisition from succeeding in order to offer a better understanding of the factors of such failures by reviewing the relevant literature and using a case study. However, main focus of the essay is on collaborative relationships with main focus on joint ventures. Employee Related Issues and Failure of Mergers and Acquisitions As states in the given statement that often employee-related issues prevent a merger or acquisition from succeeding, Datta (1998) asserts that these are the conflicts and interventions arising from the employees that hamper the success of mergers or acquisitions. Kumar and Andersen (2009) state that these conflicts and resistance from employees stem from three levels due to their unwillingness to be the part of the new development and insecurity associated with this new formation. Das and Kumar (2009: 18-19) explain these levels stating that Pragmatic conflict occurs at the level of the functional specialists, moral conflict falls within the domain of alliance level managers, and cognitive conflict involves the top level managers, i.e. the individuals who are responsible for initiating and managing the alliance based strategy of the firm. Pragmatic conflict centers on issues of operational coordination among partner firms, moral conflict revolves around the appropriateness of behaviors among the partner firms, while cognitive conflict focuses on issues pertaining to the strategic rationale for continuing with or exiting from the alliance. Das and Kumar (2009) it is the top management which should be made responsible for their lack of vision about the intensity of change and then failure to manage change, resulting in failure of such collaborations. Change Management and Success of Collaborative Efforts Organizational change usually is perceived or rightly believed to contain threat or challenging opportunities of personal loss or rewards respectively as consequences of the change for the stakeholders. Lorenzi and Riley (2000) state that these threats or risks can fluctuate from simply disturbance of established routines to job insecurity if we talk about the internal stakeholders. While Hall (2002) classifies the change as shot tem and long-term and states the trade-offs between short and long run. Use of the term change management has been widespread in management writings and organizational studies (Ackoff, 1981, 1990). Interest of managers and researchers in change management topic has been stimulated by the commentary of Peter Drucker (1999), stating whether change can be managed at all or organizations are merely led or facilitated because of its episodes. In the words of Lorenzi and Riley (2000) Change management is the process by which an organization gets to its future state, its vision. While traditional planning processes delineate the steps on the journey, change management attempts to facilitate that journey. Consequently, implementing change instigates crafting a vision for change, and it proceeds further by empowering and allowing individuals to work as agents in the process to accomplishing that vision. These agents require realistic and future oriented strategies, plans and tactics to make successful transformation. However, since managing change is not simple and requires top managers to have a holistic approach which addresses all the major factors and disturbances arising from them. Factors Requiring Attention Kauser and Shaw (2004) that though employees can affect the success of such collaborations, however, there are plenty of factors that have more devastating impact on the success. In fact, firms investing in such collaborations face various uncertainties, resulting in affecting the intended outcomes. Gulati and Singh (1998) state that such uncertainties can stem from numerous factors that can be critical in hampering success in the firms with different norms, cultures, future plans and intentions. If these are the international joint ventures, various factors such as difference in national cultures, varying labour market conditions, different political and legal system can be crucial in defining success in collaborations (Bratton and Gold, 2007). Unavailability of timely and adequate allocation and sharing of resources is one of the main reasons that can cause some type of failure in such collaborative efforts and hence should be given proper focus while addressing the change arising from collaborations (Boddy et al, 1998). Given the dynamic and volatile business environment, timely and adequate allocation of resources, including human, capital an information, are vital in the success of mergers and acquisitions (Yan and Zeng, 1999). Earlier, Yan (1998) believed that bargaining power, control and trust are the main factors that can play central role in the successful mergers and acquisitions. Sirmon and Lane (2004) state that cultural compatibility should be taken care, while going into such collaborations. Lorange and Roos (1992) that these are the intentions of the collaborating firms that cause issues, resulting in impeding the success. Lorange and Roos (1992) further state that difference in objectives, and differing practices, norms, values also contribute towards failures. Fey and Beamish (2000) suggest that varying intentions, lack of cultural compatibility, and differences in objectives are the main factors that create uncertainties in employees, resulting in impeding the success. Hennart et al, (1998) collaboration without clear identification of need and objectives of collaboration, lack of concentration towards qualitative factors cause failures because it hinder effective decision making. Looking at the above statements and assertions, it can be argued though employees related issues can cause failures but it is the failure to manage change due to lack of vision to identify the factors and manage them is the main reason. Employee related issues such, according to Hennart et al, (1998), arise from lack of trust in the new working arrangements. If top management is able to remove these issues by giving incentives, ensuring security and involving them in the entire process of initiation and development of such collaborations, employees related issues can be solved (Sirmon Lane, 2004). Yan (1998) evidence that such failures are the result of incomplete contracts because of improper decision-making on behalf of the people who are supposed to manage change by efficiently responding to and reacting to changing business environment through proper attention to various internal and external factors. Sirmon and Lane, (2004) suggest that it is the lack of vision to predict the s everity of change which can result from the new business arrangements. These collaborations demand employees new roles and hence, human resource management should be well prepared to play its new roles in these changing business arrangements along with their traditional roles of hiring, training etc. Inability to do so means failure of collaborations whether it is mergers, acquisitions or joint ventures (Sirmon and Lane, (2004) and in this regard, role of human resource management need to be changed due to globalization and its wedged factors such as culture, political and social structures, economic conditions, labour market conditions, market size. Human resource management role should be sensitive to all the factors and effective in cross cultural environment, both organizational and national (Scullion and Linehan, 2005). For instance, national culture, defined by Hofstede (1980, 1991) as values, beliefs, and assumptions distinguishing people of different societies from one another, with Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Collectivism-Individualism, and Masculinity-Femininity dimensions affect the HRM role and practices in this era of globalization, where companies are driven to go limitless in terms of nationalities. For example, Budhwar and Boyne (2004) state that in India, hiring and promotion is completed keeping in view religion, caste system, and culture. (Clark Pugh (2000) suggest that feminine culture of Netherland is not suitable to use hard HRM. According to Hofstede (1983) and Blunt Jones (1986), that Kenyas culture showing uncertainty-avoidance dimension needs that organization should take care various ceremonies such as funerals and marriages. Similarly, tensions arsing form different organizational culture (in case if it is different) and national culture requires more than traditi onal HRM role (Cooke et al 2008). This means that in case of international collaborations, these factors can cause serious problems and hence organizations need to develop and deploy a policy that pay attention to these factors as well to avoid future harms. In case of mergers and acquisitions in different countries, political, legal, and social structures influence HRM role and functions (Noe Ford, 1992). Economic system of a specific country with different governance structures is also hard on playing its cards to alter the HRM role and practices in its own terms. Labour Market conditions, (Ali, 2000), market size (Tayeb, 2005) also needs different motivational and promotional strategies as same standard for all markets cannot work. Same quantitative target will not work for sales persons in London and Lancaster. Role of unions is also important in shaping HRM decisions of selections, promotions, wages (Collins et al, 1993), and motivation (Rosen et al, 1986) It means that new business environment may require different business practices, demanding different role of HRM and that is its role envisioned in strategic HRM (SHRM. Bratton Gold (2007: 56) define SHRM as The HR polices and process that result from the global competitive activities of multinational companies and that explicitly link international HR practices and processes with the worldwide strategic goals of those companies It means that HRM is no mere an administrative facility but has received or expected recognition as a strategic business collaborator. Companies are  actively relating  the HRM in the development and implementation of both people and business strategies (Christina Evans, 2003). It means that HRM needs to manage people and proactively support the overall management and decision making of the organizational. According to Guest (2002) managing people includes ensuring commitment from employees, building high trust and flexible roles, creating focus on value s, flattering hierarchical structure of the organization, and ensuring autonomy at national level and enhancing self control. In the era of globalization, where new forms of organizations are unavoidable, Christina Evans (2003) goes further to explain the HRM role stating that it contributes to overall development of the organization through performance measures, agenda building, translating strategic level strategies into HR deliverables. Holbeche (1999) suggests that role of HRM is strategic rather than operational, proactive rather than traditional reactive, changing instead of stagnant, and of employee champion. Ulrich (2000) suggests that HRM role in competitive world is turning knowledge into action. Keeping in view the new role of HR, this essay suggests that it is not the employee related issues that cause problems; rather it is the ineffective role of HR that can cause predicaments for the collaborating firms. Black and Gregersen (1999) state that if seen from individualistic perspective, Resistance from the employees to adopt new practices, procedures and values can be a problem and can be a factor in failure of mergers. There could be conflicting interests of the employees of local and foreign companies, which could enhance the complexity of the task for expatriatesAnd this signifies the fact that the employees involved in such collaborations, especially expatriates, require interpersonal and cross-cultural skills, along with comprehensive understanding of the foreign culture to efficiently work with employees of different cultures The above statement brings attention to the fact that though employees resistance and issues related to employees such as lack of strong interpersonal skills and inability in understanding of different cultures are vital in creating troubles in the success, it also bring attention to the fact the important new role of HR to train them and make them suitable for such unavoidable assignments, in the current business scenario. Hence, once again, this essay argues that if we look at the surface, it looks the employees related problems; however, in-depth investigation tells us that it is the over-all ineffectiveness of the organizational policies and practices that hinder success. Luo (1998) asserts that success of such arrangements depends upon the right choice of partner. Luo states the partners selection significance stating various factors vital in this regard including organizational practices, routines, norms, values, culture, structure, government connections, effectiveness of distribution channels, skill and capacity development, position and experience in the industry. Brouthers et al., (1995) propose the four cs formula for the success such arrangements, and these four Cs are compatible goals, complementary skills, cooperative organizational culture, and commensurate risk-taking orientation. This suggestion of Brouthers et al., (1995), further signifies the value of clearness in business objectives, responsibilities and understanding of the partners. Zeira, et al., (1997) found significant positive relation between objectives clarity and and success of mergers and acquisition. For the purpose of re-iterating this point, survey results of Thompsons (1996) study identifies that cross-cultural communication issues, lack of business objectives clarity, and intentions of partner firms create fatal towards the success of such collaborations. According to Thompsons (1996; 145) Disagreements and misunderstandings over the business objectives of the relationship and over business strategies were most fatal and threatening to the success Kealey et al., (2006) suggest that issues arising from environment create the major hindrances and, to a particular level, these problems can be alleviated, and the level to which these problems are alleviated, determines the failure and success. Kealey et al., (2006) identifies some such issues which have been stated as under: Congeniality of the organizational cultures and compatibility among them General economic health of the economy (host) along with international economic conditions, resources availability such as financial and human, and consumer demands and competition. Regulatory and law and order situation of country (host), such as foreign investment restrictions, import and export controls and policies Friendliness, health, and effectiveness of firms Social and political climate, and ability of the management to manage change pro-actively Looking at the above discussion and emphasis on change management, role of human resource management and external environmental factors along with clarity of objectives, trust, and intentions of the partners, and significance of selection of firms for such collaborations, this essay argues that though importance of employee related issues can be a problem in the success of mergers and acquisitions is always their but these are issues which are the result of improper HR policies, ineffective change management. Case of Rolls-Royce and BMW It was, in fact, joint venture resulting in acquisition between Rolls-Royce and BMW stared in 1989 and broken, after 10 years, in 1999. Habib and Mella-Barra (2002) express their point of view about termination of this collaboration stating that it is possible that the venture ended because of failure to cooperate on the part of the two partners, such an explanation is unlikely given that BMW was paid in Rolls-Royce shares, which have made BMW one of the largest shareholders of Rolls-Royce, with a 10% stake. From this termination it is also argued that Rolls-Royce wanted to acquire know how the pertenr regarding to re-enter the aircraft engine manufacturing after long time because Rolls-Royce was not in the business before the initiation of joint venture. And when Rolls-Royce believed that they have gained substantial knowledge of how to run the business independently, it terminated the collaboration. While Minehart and Neeman (1999) suggest an another reason stating that this close was consequence of various conflicts arising from lack of consensus on investment decisions and trust and together with imbalance in powers of decision making. Therefore, if combined these stated reasons, it was the differences in intentions, goals, conflicts, power disparity and lack of trust that cause termination of this venture. Hence, it was not the employee related issues rather some organizational level issues which caused the end the collaboration. Conclusion This essay analyses various factors which can cause failures to mergers, acquisition and particularly joint ventures. In fact, this essay analysed the statement often employee-related issues prevent a merger or acquisition from succeeding to reach a certain conclusion. This essay argues that though employee related issues play detrimental role in such collaboration, however, these issues are the result of the certain inefficient practices including inability to manage change, ineffective HR policies and practices, lack of clear objectives etc. These factors also include intentions and lack of trust and differences in objectives. The case of Rolls-Royce and BMW confirmed above ideas suggesting that, it has been the differences in intentions, goals, conflicts, power disparity and lack of trust that cause termination of this venture. Therefore, these were not the employee related issues rather some organizational level issues which caused the end the collaboration.

Handedness and Lateralization

Handedness and Lateralization Handedness and Lateralization Cortical Organisation and Lateralization Of The Brain In Handedness And Dominance According to Annett most people in our society define handedness as the hand that you use for writing (1970). Researchers define handedness as the hand that performs faster or specifically on physical tests. Paul Broca (1979), suggested that a persons handedness was opposite from that specialised hemisphere (so a right-handed person probably has a left-hemispheric language specialization). However, a majority of left-hemispheric brain specialise for language abilities. Many researchers have try to this correlation between handedness and brain lateralisation. The key reason that hand-brain link is important and is an accepted methodology is that clinicians use handedness as a marker for brain lateralization. Language is a distributed cerebral network with differences in area involvement that relate to specific language functions (Frith et al., 1991). Vital regions in network lateralize to one hemisphere and determine lesion (Ojemann, 1991). In most people this lateralization is to the left. The only consistent information on the variability of hemispheric control between individuals are aphasias following a stroke or hemispheric inactivation by procedure in patients with brain lesions (Wada and Rasmussen, 1960). Pertaining to the unevenness of language control there is a chance of functional hemispheric reform (Rasmussen and Milner, 1977). It assumes that variation from left hemisphere language power is related to a difference like left-handedness. In right-handed subjects there is puzzling correlation of verbal language and hand dominance, both confines to a small area to the left hemisphere (Mayeux and Kandel, 1991). The actual variability of language lateralization in the general popu lation is practically unknown. Evaluations in a representative number of healthy subjects do not exist because, in the past, no technique was available to determine language lateralization effectively and non-invasively. This lack of information has hampered the assessment of language disturbances. There is an ongoing debate on the role of the right hemisphere in recovery from aphasia after left hemispheric strokes (Weiller et al., 1993Go; Heiss et al., 1997Go; Mimura et al., 1998Go). Particularly, in retrospective evaluations it would be important to know how many patients with left hemispheric strokes and transient disturbance of language can be expected to have been right hemisphere language dominant and to have suffered speech impairment due to other, more unspecific causes like decreased vigilance. Moreover, knowledge concerning the exact incidence of right hemisphere language dominance in healthy righthanders would be important for functional neuroimaging studies. Here, due to lack of information, researchers often need to rely on the assumption that restricting examinations to healthy right-handers will control for a possible variability in hemispheric dominance. Recently, a simplified functional imaging technique, functional transcranial Doppler-ultrasonography (fTCD) has become available (Aaslid, 1987Go; Hartje et al., 1994Go; Silvestrini et al., 1994Go; Rihs et al., 1995Go). It allows determination of hemispheric dominance in individual subjects in an effective, reliable and non-invasive way (Deppe et al., 1997Go; Knecht et al., 1998). This technique has now made it possible to establish the variability in the side and degree of language dominance in a representative number of healthy subjects. fTCD measures cerebral perfusion changes related to neuronal activation in a way comparable to functional MRI (fMRI) and 15O-PET (Kuschinsky, 1991Go; Jueptner and Weiller, 1995Go; Deppe et al., 1997Go, 1998Go). fTCD makes it possible to compare perfusion changes (by measuring blood flow velocities) within the territories of the two middle cerebral arteries (MCAs), which comprise the potential language areas (van der Zwan and Hillen, 1991Go). It thus provides an operational index of laterality which, in many respects, resembles the one obtained by the intracarotid amobarbital procedure (Wada test) (Wada and Rasmussen, 1960Go). Determination of language lateralization by fTCD matches precisely both the results of fMRI and the Wada test with concordance in every single case (Deppe et al., 1998Go; Knecht et al., 1998aGo). As in many previous studies of this kind, word generation was chosen as an activation paradigm because it is one of the most effective measures of language production (Neils-Strunjas, 1998Go). On this basis language dominance was determined in a total of 188 healthy subjects. Left-handers were excluded from the study because of possible confounding effects of handedness on hemispheric dominance (Kimura, 1983Go). A careful history for brain damage in the prenatal period or in infancy was taken in order to exclude subjects with possible plastic reorganization of hemispheric dominance after brain lesions (Rasmussen and Milner, 1977Go). The work was part of the Munster functional imaging study on the variability of hemispheric specialization in health and disease (Deppe et al., 1997Go; Knecht et al., 1998aGo, bGo). Hemispheric language dominance was assessed in 188 healthy volunteers with 111 females (mean age 26  ± 5.5 years, range 17-50 years) and 77 males (mean age 27  ± 3.7 years, range 21-40 years). Subjects were excluded if, on a standardized questionnaire, they reported delayed or disturbed language development or a history of other neurological disorders, particularly perinatal asphyxia or kernicterus, head trauma, loss of consciousness, epileptic seizures, meningitis or encephalitis. They were further required to have successfully completed the equivalent of high school (`Realschule or `Gymnasium). Right-handedness was assessed by a handedness index in the Edinburgh Inventory of greater than 30% (Oldfield, 1971Go). Left-handers were excluded from the study, as were right-handers with a score for right-h andedness lower than 30%, because, due to the small number of these subjects, an adequate evaluation of the effect of handedness on language lateralization would not have been possible. Approximately 75% of the subjects recruited had an index of more than 80% right-handedness. All subjects gave informed consent to participate in this study, which was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Mà ¼nster. Assessment of hemispheric language dominance was performed by a standardized fTCD technique (used in a number of previous studies) and a word generation task, validated by direct comparison with the intracarotid amobarbital injection and fMRI (Knecht et al., 1996Go, 1997Go, 1998aGo, bGo; Deppe et al., 1997Go, 1998Go). Briefly, subjects were presented with a letter on a computer screen 2.5 s after a cueing tone. Silently they had to find as many words as possible starting with the displayed letter. For fTCD an activation paradigm strongly based on verbal fluency was used, corresponding to the fields of reported female superiority (Basso et al., 1982Go; Pizzamiglio et al., 1985Go). Task performance was controlled by instructing the subjects to report the words after a second auditory signal following 15 s after presentation of the letter. All words had to be reported within a 5-s time period. The next letter was presented in the same way after a relaxation period of 60 s. Letters were presented in random order and no letter was displayed more than once. `Q, `X and `Y were excluded because very few words have these as initial letters. Changes in the cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) in the basal arteries were measured as an indicator of the downstream increase of the regional metabolic activity during the language task. Dual fTCD of the MCAs was performed with two 2 MHz transducer probes attached to a headband and placed bilaterally at the temporal skull windows (1Go). Details of the insonation technique, particularly the correct identification of the MCA, have been published elsewhere (Ringelstein et al., 1990Go). The spectral envelope curves of the Doppler signal were analysed off-line with the fTCD software AVERAGE developed by one of the authors (M.D.) (Deppe et al., 1997Go). 1 Schematic diagram of the way language lateralization was determined. Perfusion increases and therefore neuronal activation during word generation were assessed in the vascular territories of the left (marked in red) and right (marked in green) MCAs, which comprise the language areas. This was achieved by fTCD measurements of the CBFV changes in these arteries. Systemic effects were eliminated by calculating the differences in perfusion changes between sides. Averaging the responses over 20 repetitions (on average) in each individual made the results highly reliable. (For details, see Deppe et al., 1997.) After automated artefact rejection, data were integrated over the corresponding cardiac cycles, segmented into epochs which related to the cueing tone and then averaged. The epochs were set to begin 15 s before and to end 35 s after the cueing tone. The mean velocity in the 15-s pre-cueing interval (Vpre.mean) was taken as the base-line value. The relative CBFV changes (dV) during cerebral activation were calculated using the formula: dV = [V(t) Vpre.mean] x 100 / Vpre.mean where V(t) is the CBFV over time. Relative CBFV changes from repeated presentations of letters (on average 20 runs) were averaged time-locked to the cueing tone. The number of repetitions was less than 22, because no letter was presented more than once during the word generation task. A functional TCD laterality index LIfTCDwas calculated using the formula: Statistics The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to assess the hypothesis that laterality indices in males and females were drawn from different populations. Unlike the parametric t-test for independent samples or the Mann-Whitney U test, which tests for differences in the location of two samples (differences in means, differences in average ranks, respectively), the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test is sensitive to differences in the general shapes of the distributions in the two samples, i.e. to differences in dispersion and skewness (Spence et al., 1990Go). The Mann-Whitney test for equivalence (Wellek, 1996Go) was employed to confirm equivalence of laterality indices in men and women. A significant result in this test provides a strong positive measure for a lack of gender differences in laterality indices. We tested the null hypothesis H0: |P[LImale > LIfemale] 1/2| >={varepsilon}versus the alternative hypothesis of equivalence H1: |P[LImale > LIfemale] 1/2| In six of the 194 right-handed subjects determination of language lateralization was not possible due to lack of a temporal bone window, i.e. inadequate ultrasonographic penetration of the skull by the ultrasound beam. In the remaining 188 subjects (59% females, 41% males) the overall distribution of language lateralization was bimodal with 7.5% being right hemisphere and 92.5% left hemisphere language dominant (2Go). The distribution of language lateralization was equivalent in men and women (3Go). The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test did not detect any significant differences between females and males in the overall distribution (P > 0.05). In the subgroup of left hemisphere language dominant subjects, the Mann-Whitney test for equivalence showed equivalence with P The average number of words found during the activation task per letter presented was not statistically different between men and women (Mann-Whitney U test, P = 0.81) or subjects with left or right hemisphere language dominance (Mann-Whitney U test, P = 0.26). It was also independent of the index of lateralization (correlation coefficient r = 0.027). These are the first data on the natural distribution of language dominance in a large series of healthy right-handed subjects. They demonstrate equivalence of language lateralization for word generation in males and females, and they suggest that 1 in 13 healthy right-handed subjects is right hemisphere dominant for language. Methodology There is debate whether language can be treated as a separate mental faculty or should be approached as part of a more general cognitive system (Fodor, 1983Go). Moreover, language comprises receptive and expressive aspects and is intertwined with prosody, memory and attention (Knecht et al., 1996Go; Binder et al., 1997Go). Therefore, the assessment of language lateralization based on a single activation task provides just one index of the interindividual variability in language processing. This approach can nevertheless serve as a first step in elucidating the factors underlying the diversity of large scale neural language organization. fTCD lends itself to determination of hemispheric language dominance. The index of lateralization obtained by fTCD based on word generation is very reliable and closely corresponds to (i) the outcome of the intracarotid amobarbital procedure and (ii) the index of lateralization obtained by fMRI (Deppe et al., 1998Go; Knecht et al., 1998aGo). Other techniques like head turning, event-related potentials, transcranial high frequency magnetic stimulation or the dichotic listening test used for the evaluation of language dominance have so far failed to provide results that are reproducible and in sufficient concordance with the intracarotid amobarbital procedure (Bryden and Allard, 1981Go; Jancke et al., 1992Go; Jennum et al., 1994Go; Segalowitz and Berge, 1995Go; OLeary et al., 1996Go; Hugdahl et al., 1997Go). Unlike the intracarotid amobarbital procedure and as opposed to brain lesions, functional imaging techniques including fTCD assess brain activation and not inactivation. They are set to determine the location and relative amount of the maximal activation while diffuse or bilateral activations are cancelled out. Thus, fTCD is insensitive to a lesser activation in the contralateral hemisphere. Moreover, fTCD cannot determine whether an activated region during a task is a critical region that, when damaged, will result in a loss of that particular function. This shortcoming holds for all functional imaging techniques. However, the fact that determination of language lateralization by fMRI and fTCD correspond closely to that determined by the intracarotid amobarbital inactivation suggests that activated regions match critical regions and therefore provide essential information on the risk for language loss (Desmond et al., 1995Go; Binder et al., 1996Go; Knecht et al., 1998aGo). Sex Fuelled by the general interest in `la petite diffà ©rence, the lack of information about the natural distribution of language dominance has led to far-reaching speculations about possible differences in language lateralizations between the sexes. This discussion has been characterized by a high acceptance for positive results. Thus, despite considerable data to the contrary, there is a strong belief that language in women, on average, is less lateralized than in men (Bakan and Putnam, 1974Go; Levy and Reid, 1976Go; McGlone, 1980Go; McKeever et al., 1983Go; Hough et al., 1994Go; Rugg, 1995Go). The idea of an increased bilaterality in women has received support by a recent fMRI study in 19 males and 19 females (Shaywitz et al., 1995Go) in which activation related to a rhyming task was found to be more bilateral in women than in men. It has been conjectured that an increased bilaterality of language in women would lead to a decreased susceptibility to unilateral infarctions explaining a greater male than female proportion of aphasics (McGlone, 1980Go). Kertesz and Sheppard then showed that aphasias were as frequent in males as in females, as long as sex differences in the incidence of infarcts were taken into account (Kertesz and Sheppard, 1981Go). Similar results were obtained in a more recent epidemiological study (Pedersen et al., 1995Go). Recently, using fMRI, Frost and colleagues found no differences between sexes during a language comprehension task when group averages were compared (Frost et al., 1999Go). Our data provide the first direct evidence that language lateralization during word generation in men and women is also equivalent in variablity. In fact, they not only show a lack of significant differences but they positively demonstrate significance of equivalence in healthy subjects even though this finding is based on a word generation task, i.e. a field of reported female superiority (Kimura and Harshman, 1984Go). Equivalence of hemispheric lateralization between sexes during word generation does not exclude gender di fferences in subfunctions of language like rhyming, which we did not investigate. As was pointed out before, such a difference has been reported by Shaywitz and colleagues in a small series of subjects examined by fMRI (Shaywitz et al., 1995Go). However, in line with our results, these researchers did not find gender differences in other language tasks. Right hemisphere language dominance The predominance of right-handedness and left hemisphere language lateralization has led some theorists to suggest that a gestural system of communication with dominance of the right hand provided the neural architecture for vocal articulation in human evolution (Hewes, 1973Go; Kimura, 1987Go). If indeed handedness and language were coupled because they share the same neural resources, then any deviation from this pattern would have to be pathological. Right hemisphere language dominance in right-handers or left hemisphere language dominance in left-handers reported from the intracarotid amobarbital procedure does not challenge this view, because this procedure is only performed in patients with brain pathology. However, the present findings in healthy subjects indicate that even under natural conditions the association between handedness and language dominance is not an absolute one. Because 75% of subjects were strongly right-handed (>80%) and the remaining had handedness indices o f >30%, the effect of the degree of handedness on language lateralization could not be evaluated in the present study. Comparison of left- and right-handers will be necessary to test whether a relative association between handedness and language dominance exists in healthy subjects. The extreme argument could be put forward that all of our presumed healthy subjects with right hemisphere dominance must have suffered covert brain damage resulting in a shift of language into the right hemisphere. A similar argument has been made to explain left-handedness in healthy subjects (Coren, 1990Go). We believe that covert brain damage was unlikely. The medical history in all subjects was unrevealing and the scholastic achievement was similar. The average number of words produced during the task did not differ between subjects with left or right hemisphere language dominance and the pattern of language lateralization variability was bimodal with maxima for left- and right-hemisphere dominance (2Go). If there had been subclinical damage to language relevant areas in the left hemisphere resulting in a shift to the right, one would have expected impaired word fluency and more cases with little lateralization because of a bilateral representation of language functions. This was not the case. We therefore suggest that right hemisphere language dominance is not a pathological but a natural phenomenon. Previous estimates of `atypical right hemisphere language dominance were either based on the results from the intracarotid amobarbital test in patients evaluated for resective neurosurgery or on the occurrence of `crossed aphasia, i.e. aphasias after right hemispheric lesions. In patients with epilepsy submitted to the intracarotid amobarbital test the number of right-handers with right hemisphere language dominance was 4% in a large series and rose to 12% when a left hemisphere lesion was defined (Rasmussen and Milner, 1977Go). Because the Wada test is only performed in patients with brain lesions, which are often associated with a secondary transfer of cortical functions from the damaged to the intact hemisphere, these numbers cannot be extrapolated to healthy subjects (Helmstaedter et al., 1994Go). By evaluation of stroke-patients with crossed aphasia, the incidence of right hemisphere language dominance in right-handers has been inferred to be between 1 and 2% in the majority of series (Gloning, 1977Go; Borod et al., 1985Go; Kertesz, 1985Go). On the one hand, this low estimate of right hemisphere language dominance in previously healthy subjects made aphasias in right-handers after right-sided lesions seem an exceptional event and has resulted in almost 100 reports on `crossed aphasia in the last 30 years. On the other hand, difficulties in the assessment of language performance due to physical exhaustion and deficits in sustained attention in the early stages after stroke and reorganizational restitution in the later stages may have facilitated an underdiagnosis of aphasia in right hemispheric stroke patients in many studies. Not every patient with a cerebral infarction in the respective language dominant hemisphere will suffer damage of the language areas and become aphasic. The overall rate of aphasia due to stroke has been found to be 38% in the acute state and 18% at discharge from the hospital (Pedersen et al., 1995Go). Reasoning from the effects of brain activation to the effects of brain lesions is problematic but results from activation studies may be conceptually useful to the understanding of lesion-deficit variability in the clinical context (Willmes and Poeck, 1993Go). In a single recent study on 880 stroke patients it was reported, in passing, that of right-handed aphasics 9% had right hemispheric lesions (Pedersen et al., 1995Go). In a study on language deficits in servicemen who had suffered penetrating brain wounds, 18% of the aphasics had suffered right hemispheric lesions (Mohr et al., 1980Go). However, here the possible effects of diffuse brain damage by the impact of a bullet and the effect of variable handedness pose methodological limitations. Our cohort was similar in age to these soldiers. We found an incidence of 7.5% of right hemisphere dominance in our activation study of healthy subjects. This combined evidence suggests that about 1 in 13 previously healthy right-handed patients with a right hemispheric infarction could be at risk of suffering language impairments becaus e this is the hemisphere dominant for word generation. Conversely, after left hemispheric infarctions right-handed patients, who in retrospective evaluations seem to have recovered well from language disturbances, and on fMRI or PET may even show language related activation in the right hemisphere, may do so because they had been right hemisphere language dominant to begin with. Presently, we do not know the relevance of the extent of language lateralization by fTCD. Low indices of lateralization indicate that there is a bihemispheric activation during word generation. 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Language Games, Writing Games - Wittgenstein and Derrida: A Comparative Study :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Language Games, Writing Games - Wittgenstein and Derrida: A Comparative Study ABSTRACT: The concept of deconstruction was first used by Derrida in transforming Heideggerian "destruction." The deconstruction of Derrida is a textintern, intertextual, in-textual activity. He plays a double game inside of philosophy, emphasizing that our thinking is embedded in metaphysics, while at the same moment he questions metaphysics. Wittgenstein's deconstruction, however, involves a new kind of reading, a Zerzettelung of the traditionally argumentative and linear thinking modes. The game plays an important role in both philosophers' texts. I would like to investigate this role and function under the two following viewpoints. First, I think that the game has a strategic role. Second, both philosophers stress that their game is not a founded game but is bounded to knowledge and forms of knowledge. Wittgenstein and Derrida are two spurs, Ã ©perons of philosophical thinking, who changed the milieu of philosophical discourses. They practice new arts of thinking and writing, which lead to a change of paradigm and of style in philosophy. In the case of late Wittgenstein the change manifests in a critical attitude toward modern logical discourses. The annonced silence (Stille) of the Tractatus transfigures itself through textual dispersions into the styles (Stile) of the late Wittgenstein. By Derrida we can discover this paradigm change in his critique of philosophical "logo-phono-ethnocentrism" and even more in his way of writing, wich through its disseminating force overpasses the bar between philosophy and literature. Alluding to the historical perspectives of these relationships Rorty remarked (Rorty 1984, 5) that as Derrida treats the philosophy of Heidegger, in the similar way treated Heidegger the philosophy of Nietzsche. Derrida is in the same position to Heidegger and Heidegger to Nietzsche as Wittgenstein is to Russell and Russell to Mill. It would be interesting to analyze paralelly the Mill-Russell-Wittgenstein line to the Nietzsche-Heidegger-Derrida line or to investigate the Mill-Nietzsche, Russell-Heidegger and Wittgenstein-Derrida couples. I would like to focus in my paper on three aspects of the Wittgenstein-Derrida relationship: the philosophical attitudes, the writing and reading activity and the language games and writing games. 1. Philosophy as deconstructive activity The concept of deconstruction would be used the first time by Derrida, transforming Heideggerian "destruction", but we can suppose, that the activity meant by deconstruction would be "practiced" also by others, by earlier philosophers. Derrida himself notes that there are at least three proto-deconstructors - Nietzsche, Freud and Heidegger, but the deconstructive activity is as old as the philosophy.

Beowulf :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

The epic poem, Beowulf, depicts the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon times. The hero, Beowulf, was an outstanding warrior with all the extraordinary values required by a hero. He was able to use his super-human physical strength and courage to put his people before himself. He encountered terrifying monsters and the most ferocious of beasts, but he never feared the threat of death. His leadership skills were excellent and he was able to boast about all his achievements. Beowulf was the ultimate epic hero who risked his life countless times for immortal glory and for the good of others. Common traits of an Anglo-Saxon warrior were physical strength, leadership skills and heroic stoicism, which Beowulf demonstrated throughout this poem. Beowulf was a hero in the eyes of his fellow men through his amazing physical strength. He fought in numerous battles and returned victorious from all but his last. One of those victorious battles, was the battle against Grendel, in which Beowulf fought against a monster that had killed many men. â€Å"He twisted in pain, and the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder snapped, muscle and bone split and broke† (31.389). Beowulf showed his great strength by ripping Grendel’s arm with his bare hands, which would be impossible for a regular human to do. When Beowulf fought Grendel's mother, who sought revenge for her son's death, he was able to defeat her as well. â€Å"From its scabbard, broke the chain on its hilt, and then savage, now, angry and desperate, lifted it high over his head and struck with all the strength he had left" (38.535). He was able to slay Grendel’s mother by slashing the monster's neck with a giant's sword that could only be lifted by a person as strong as Beowulf. After defeating Grendel’s mother, Beowulf decided to finish off Grendel by slashing the monster's neck with the giant sword. â€Å"Then struck off his head with a single swift blow. The body jerked for the last time, then lay still† (38.560). After Beowulf chopped off his head, he carried it from the ocean to Herot mead-hall with ease. The head was so enormously heavy that it would take four men to lift and carry it. Another trait of Beowulf was his ability to put his people’s welfare before his own. â€Å"Heard how Grendel filled night with horror and quickly commanded a boat fitted out, proclaiming that he’d go to that famous king, would sail across the sea to Hrothgar, now when he was needed† (23.