Raphael

Raphael Visual analysis assignment, discussing Raphael and the fresco, The School of Athens, (1510-1511). It measures 5. 79 x 8. Mom and is housed in The Stanza Della Signature, Vatican, Rome. Rafael Sansei or Saint (1483 – died Rome 1520) was a major art figure in the age of the Renaissance. He was â€Å"one of the greatest portrait artists of all time and one of the greatest painters of classical figure groups†l Gerard El grand in his studies of Renaissance Art agrees with this statement. â€Å"He helped to define the Italian High Renaissance. † 2 Repeal's artistic education began early.His father Giovanni Saint was a painter in the Montenegro court. Raphael in subsequent years trained as a painter and gradually surpassed his teachers. Raphael was possibly a student of Perusing as their painting style was very similar but as Raphael progressed in his studies; his compositions superseded his teacher's works. â€Å"He surpasses his influential mentor Perusing in the ren dering of tender yet powerful beauty. † 4 It was in 1508 that Raphael was summoned by Pope Julius II to work for the Vatican and it is where Raphael created the monumental work, School of Athens. In 1508 Raphael was summoned by Pope Julius II to work for the Vatican, where he produced his elaborate frescoes and established his own workshop. â€Å"5 The age of the Renaissance needs to be understood in order to study and comprehend the School of Athens fresco and its underlying meanings. The ideas and knowledge of Ancient Greece were of paramount importance at this time especially in regards to the practice of art. â€Å"It was an era when ancient practices were given a new birth. The name Renaissance was commonly used as well as other definitions, renovation and restitution.This also explains why the artists saw themselves as revolutionaries. They saw their own potential; they had a desire to exist. It was a remarkable feat of self assertion. â€Å"6 The humanist ideology an d followers of this movement helped to reinvent Classical Greek culture. Patriarch was the most famous of the humanists and was the first to put forward the idea of returning to Classical Antiquity. â€Å"That this return could only be a new beginning and not simply a matter of blind faith. â€Å"l The humanists were involved in translating ancient texts, such as Plat's Times and Aristotle Mechanical Ethics. â€Å"They also wanted to reconcile Platonism with a well assimilated Aristotelian but also with the three main religions Christianity, Judaism and Islam. 3 These rediscovered ancient texts â€Å"could restore man to a place in a cosmos that was ordered differently from the Aristotelian cosmos†. 4 Humanism and its influence transformed the Renaissance artists' practice, their methods of painting and the subjects expressed. â€Å"The ideas of the Ancient Greeks transformed the fields of philology, medicine and theology. 5 The reinterpretation of the sciences, mathemati cs and physics can be seen with the new developments in painting at this time. â€Å"To talk about ‘renaissance art' is to talk first and foremost about the broader cultural phenomenon of the Renaissance itself. 6 The Renaissance was not a time whereby the ideals of Classical Greece were Just regurgitated. It was â€Å"the imitation of antiquity which must not be interpreted as a rigid concept. â€Å"7 Certain inventions were being introduced in relation to painting during the Renaissance.Elegant gives a chronology of events in relation to the theory of perspective. 8 â€Å"In 1300 Ghetto introduced elementary rational perspective. It is legend that Ghetto drew freehand a perfect circle, firmly establishing the art of draftsmanship even though he had no grasp of mathematical science underlying it. In the 1330 and 1400 artists came aware of measurement, using guide marks to help paint the surface of the walls for frescoes. In 1342 – 4, Imbroglio Lorgnette understood the near approximation and definition of a vanishing point.It was also understood that the ancients had developed some kind of systematic perspective method, (at least in stage design). In 1425 Brucellosis ‘peepshows' demonstrated the possibility of exact coincidence of natural vision and pictorial vision in a determined space. In 1435-6, painting could be defined as a kind of window circumscribing the intersection of a flat surface with the pyramid of visual rays. In 1450 experiments in Ariel respective by Flemish painters created recession in landscape backgrounds through a series of increasingly cool and pale color zones.During 1450 – 60, there was evidence of a mixed perspective system sometimes bifocal in appearance, sometimes in separate planes, sometimes legitimate but usually based on complex calculation. In 1498 the manuscript On Divine Proportion by Luck Piccalilli was published. Historians have suggested that the diagrams within this manuscript are attributab le to Leonardo dad Vinci. â€Å"l The knowledge gained by artists through these new principles of mathematics and physics were integral in their understanding of the satirical space. The application of perspective was no longer a rudimentary affair but based on legitimate constructs according to certain laws which led to recognition of pictorial space. â€Å"2 Renaissance artists rediscovered human anatomy with the study of Classical Greek and Roman statuary. â€Å"To reproduce the third dimension of space and life of the figures by representing mass in terms of perspective, this optical realism in relation to the material world with correspondingly tonal realism. The pictorial space required the construction of perspective called oceanography which rejected the undefined representation of space in Byzantine and medieval frescoes.Based on the idea that space was homogeneous, it was conceived of as axial and could be applied to a flat surface, devised by theoreticians of art, it a imed to be natural before becoming artificial that is to say based on geometry. â€Å"3 Valley Reese describes the fresco School of Athens as â€Å"sumptuous, a vibrant and vivid intellectual scene. It has vaulted architecture, three Greek arches leading to the beautiful sky beyond. Raphael has put great effort into the space of this painting. There are echoes of the pantheon structure. The edifice is a large space and is placed in genuine antique style. 4 Wisped states that â€Å"The architecture contains roman elements but the general semi circular setting having Plato and Aristotle at its centre might be alluding to Pythagoras circumspect† 5 Jill Grayer comments that Raphael â€Å"deliberately romanticists Greek space. That he intellectualized it for a purpose. It echoes or imitates the grandest buildings in Rome the golden house of Nero' and it makes references to famous paintings. It does not represent a type of pagan worship but has a rhetorical importance. It is rhe torical fantasy. L Elegant also comments on the paintings mythical capacity. It was not a time of illusion, if myth did come into it, it was defining vital myth. â€Å"2 The Renaissance can be defined by its difference to the previous historical era, The Middle Ages. Elegant states that the â€Å"The Middle Ages was an era entirely steeped in darkness followed by the radiant dawn of the Renaissance. Although the eminent art critic, John Risking saw the Renaissance as no more than the decline of the middle ages and having at its core puritanical origins. â€Å"3 John Risking was not alone in this view as Elegant states that the Nazarene painters ND the Pre-Reappraises also saw the Renaissance in this way.In the 13th Century, the artist Ghetto represented life and used painting methods that differed from the religious art of the Middle Ages. â€Å"He still presented his figures as in a frieze but he was interested in the different contours and relief of the face and delineated the se. He introduced the everyday life into tragic or fantastical scenes not so much as the coded legend as the active life of the legendary beings depicted. â€Å"4 Elegant emphasizes the difference between these two periods of history. â€Å"The Middle Ages was â€Å"stuck in a rut of using tired old Byzantine motifs.Tuscany was virtually a cemetery of classical ruins. The Renaissance was a time when painting broke free from religious decoration. Its purpose was to no longer educate or to elicit an emotional response from the faithful but to make them participate, through their own personal experiences, in a reconfiguration of sacred history. â€Å"5 Jeanie Anderson acknowledges that religious themes still played a major role in art, during the Renaissance. â€Å"Religious art remained the most important subject matter in the Renaissance as it had been in medieval art, but now portraits and stories fromClassical Antiquity were introduced into the artists' repertoire. â€Å"6 El egant also states â€Å"that this was a time when old theoretical frameworks were demolished when the Christian universe, a strained compromise between Ptolemaic astronomy, Aristotelian cosmology and the literal teachings of the bible collapsed. † 1 The fresco School of Athens was housed in the public library of Pope Julius II. It had been a tradition during this time of the Renaissance to divide books into subjects and classification. The books in the library were divided between subjects such as philosophy, law, poetry, and theology.These books were housed underneath the frescoes. â€Å"The image above would reflect the range of books underneath. It was known that Pope Julius II used or read very few philosophical books and only read law and theology. â€Å"2 Angier Hobbs comments that â€Å"the Christian religion is taking into account and adheres to the religious and philosophical thought of the past and embraces it. † Melvyn Bragg states that â€Å"the truth is sought by philosophy and found by theology and kept by religion. â€Å"4 This painting was an expression of the time. It denounces authoritarian dogma and all religions and philosophies are being abated. They are influencing each other, a spirit of curiosity which was constantly active. The classical world chimed with a new sensibility one which was totally free of dogma. There was a lack of distinctive Judgment during this time and the opening up of thought. â€Å"5 In Repeal's painting School of Athens, the figures are identified as having different ideas. â€Å"An energetic debate is being practiced and the scholars are discussing law, astronomy, physics, philosophy, theology, mathematics, and poetry including music. â€Å"6 The Vatican library consisted of classical references, and it protected Greek culture.It was a refuge of Greek learning, as the scholars of Classical Greece had been forgotten in the intervening years before the Renaissance. â€Å"7 Jill Grayer discusse s the figures in the painting, School of Athens. â€Å"Hypoxia, a Greek Manipulations philosopher in Roman Egypt can be seen and Heron of Alexandria represents an ancient Greek mathematician and engineer. Penalties, a stoic philosopher represents poetry and Diatom of Matinee is a female philosopher who plays an important role in Plat's Symposium. She is giving Socrates the teaching of love.It is unusual to have women centrally viewed and to be given such status. Inspirational poets and painters are depicted. Euclid is represented and there are great Christian philosophers, theologians and on the other side of the room are poets and lawyers. The central main figures in the painting are of Aristotle and Plato. Plato is pointing to the sky and Aristotle is pointing towards the ground. Egyptians are personified, as well as Zoroaster who was before the time of Abraham's teachings. Statues of Greek gods are seen on either side, Apollo and Athena.Classical, pagan, Renaissance scholars and religious leaders are represented. In this painting we have the cream of intellectual thought. There is a harmonious aspect to this world as conflict is left out of the frame. (Who is better than another? ) There are plenty of philosophers not paying attention to Plato and Aristotle. It has the complexity of intellectual thought and represents the time. â€Å"l Herbert Read in his book The Meaning of Art reinforces this idea. The Renaissance was a time â€Å"where minds were consumed by intellectual curiosity. 2 Wisped suggests that â€Å"nearly every Greek philosopher can be found within the painting but determining which are depicted is difficult since Raphael made no designations outside possible likenesses and no anthropometry documents to explain the painting. Raphael had to invent a system of iconography to allude to various figures for whom there were no traditional visual types. The identities of some of the philosophers in the picture such as Plato or Aristotle are unde niable. Beyond that identification of Repeal's figures have always been hypothetical. 3 Jill Grayer states that â€Å"not a lot of people knew about Greek architecture. â€Å"4 She goes on to say that â€Å"he would not have known these texts†¦ Plato and Aristotle. He was only interested in basic knowledge of tradition. He was not a scholar but a painter. There was no evidence that Raphael had a formal education, or knowledge of Plato and Aristotle philosophy. â€Å"l Although Jill Grayer later mentions that these ideas would have been talked about and debated continuously during the â€Å"Raphael had moved to Florence in 1504 and then to Rome in about Renaissance. 1508. Both cities were major centers for High Renaissance Art.Other artists who worked in Florence were Botanical and Michelangelo and they all relied heavily on strong draftsmanship. Drawing was the basis of their paintings which is confirmed by present day x- ray bibliographic analysis which shows strong drawi ng beneath the minted surfaces†2 It was said by one of his friends, Elegant states, that it was â€Å"Repeal's greatest Joy to be taught and to teach. â€Å"3 With such changes and developments in painting and knowledge being disseminated it is unlikely that Raphael would not have been influenced by these new inventions and new discussions.Giorgio Vassar who was a close friend and contemporary of Raphael claims that he was ‘angel like'. â€Å"Raphael was modest and good. Gentle and always ready to conciliate, he was considerate of everyone. â€Å"4 Herman J Heckler introduces Vassar as a man who knew and admired Raphael. â€Å"He writes with an assurance of a an he knew, respected and loved. â€Å"5 Although Elegant states that such a description is disappointing and uninteresting. Vassar describes him like a professor. â€Å"6 Artists during the Renaissance were perceived as heroic and were Just as important as statesmen, 7 so Vicar's comments were not wrong or m ade out of context.

Understanding Mixed Research Methods

Understanding Mixed Research Methods our site Dissertation TopicsWhat Are Mixed Research Methods? Simply put, mixed research is the combination of qualitative and quantitative research methodology, and is used in studies where there is a need for a better understanding of the problem. The main benefits of mixed methods research are as follows: Better understanding of the research problem More insight than simple quantitative methods Allows the validation of qualitative and quantitative methods Provides more information than single method research There are, however, some limitations and disadvantages of mixed method research design, as well, such as: The complexity of the research data makes it hard to interpret and analyse Takes a lot of time to plan and execute There is a greater chance that discrepancies will arise than in single method research The main differences between mono and multiple methods are presented in the below graph. The Purpose of Mixed Methods Research The main reason why most students and researchers use mixed methods is because one type of data would not be enough to provide answers to the research questions or test the hypothesis. In other cases, the secondary method is added to improve the quality of the data, or, the study might have multiple phases. Mixed methods are popular today, as many researchers are looking to investigate issues from different perspectives. If the findings of one research method are unexpected, a second method might be needed to interpret the discrepancies. The application of mixed methods is the most common in the following fields: Nursing and social care Educational research Sociology Psychology Political sciences How to Design a Mixed Resesarch Study? It is important to determine the sequence of data collection and clarify the analysis methods. First, the author will need to choose the mixed research design they would like to use in their study. There are four main mixed research design approaches used in health and social studies, education, marketing: Sequential explanatory design This method first collects and analyses quantitative data, and later validate and explain the results using qualitative research. The focus of this approach is on the quantitative research, and the qualitative study helps put the results into context. Sequential exploratory design In this approach, the first research conducted is qualitative, followed by a quantitative study that is integrated in the interpretation of the results. The focus of this study design is on quantitative data. You can use this research design to explore a phenomenon in detail or test a new theory. Concurrent triangulation In this method, qualitative and quantitative research have equal priority, and they are conducted separately. The results of the two individual data collections are discussed in the interpretation of the findings. This mixed method is most suitable for validating the results of one method with the other. Concurrent nested In this method, the author will need to choose a dominant data collection method, and nest the results of the other type of research in the interpretation phase of the study. The information is interpreted together, to provide a deeper understanding of a phenomenon. Before deciding which method to choose, it is important to plan where the point of interface between the two research methods will be: at the point of Data collection Data analysis Interpretation The Mixed Methods Research Design Mixed methods research is more complicated than either quantitative or qualitative. Therefore, you must plan your data collection, analysis, and interpretation phases carefully. Use the below flow chart to create your own design that is fit for the purpose of your study. First, develop your research questions for the qualitative and quantitative studies. Next, you will need to identify your samples and determine the sample size of both qualitative and quantitative data collection. Decide whether the sample sizes will be equal or unequal. Finally, make a plan for merging qualitative and quantitative data and interpreting them in a logical way. How to Make the Most Out of Your Mixed Research Design? You must ensure that you have a clear research strategy that describes your methodological approach and the interpretation of the results. You need to describe the different phases of research, such as exploration, triangulation, complimentarity, transformation of data, and the dissemination of the results. It is important that when you structure your mixed method research, you clarify this in the methodology section and cover the data collection and analysis methods separately for qualitative and quantitative research. Likewise, you will have to first present the findings of both research together, followed by the synthesis of findings and the results section. Develop your research questions and add sub-questions that further focus on the specific aspects of the issue you investigate using mixed methods. You need to focus on the Rationale section of your paper and effectively communicate why using the mixed research method prov ides a better understanding of the issue than single methodologies. Always justify your choice of data collection. Do not neglect theories and theses. Using a mixed methodology can help you test your hypotheses better, develop new theses, or confirm research statements or answer important questions related to the field. Just like other research designs, your study will need to include the limitations of the research, as well as the insights you gained through the study. Good mixed research studies are well developed, clear, integrate the quality standards of both qualitative and quantitative research, provide more information than standard studies, and include the discussion of ethical issues related to the mixed methodology. Get Help with Your Mixed Methods Research Design Planning your mixed research design can be overwhelming, and you might feel like you are unable to develop clear research questions that are related to both data collection and analysis methods. Merging information to gain a greater insight into problems is the main benefit of using mixed research, however, the approach is not without challenges. Talk to our site and let our professional academic writers and editors help you design your mixed methods research.

World War 1 †Was this an “unnecessary war”?

There are conflicting views on this topic as the subject is a complex one. However, it is true that it was a war that could have been avoided. It can be argued that WW1 was inevitable in the circumstances, but if we look at the very root cause of the war was limited and could have been controlled. It was a series of events that triggered a massive, global war. The organ of the conflict was disagreement between Austria-Hungary and Serbia’s on how to handle the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. No other countries were involved in the matter connected with the assassination.Russia and Germany got involved simply because of their objectives to safeguard Austria-Hungary and Serbia, respectively. Other countries like Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire had almost no interest in the matter. Thus, if Russia and Germany had kept out of the matter, in simple words, the war could have been avoided. The Series of Incidents The First World War was definitely an unnecessary conflict. What began as a local conflict over a political assassination soon turned into an unbelievable bloodbath.The minor conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia soon had Americans fighting in France, Indian troops fighting in Mesopotamia, and Australians fighting in Gallipoli. The fight was now mainly about Germany for the Allied Powers, and not Austria-Hungary. The prime cause of original conflict, Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination, however,still remained unresolved. Those who were still fighting in 918, were doing so because halting the war could lead to unacceptable losses.With nationalism spreading its roots fast through southern and Eastern Europe, was the major cause of mutinies in the Austro-Hungarian army and led to their collapse. Soon, Germany was isolated and this ushered in the war’s end (Brussels journal. 2008). Opaqueness Of Diplomacy Although diplomacy plays a major role in preventing armed conflicts from happening, in case of World War I, we find it playing an opposite role, whether intentionally or not. Few of the warring nations in World War I were directly interested or least involved in the conflicts between Austria-Hungary and Serbia.They became involved only because of treaties forcing them to protect other countries. Many of these treaties were publicly known while some were secret. The unclear diplomacy objectives were perhaps the main factors that led to Germany making some aggressive moves. The Germans thought that Britain would never go into war against them. Russia has its own secret treaties and agreements to take care of. Italy is believed to do some research of its own to decide which side will offer higher potential benefits.Hence, it were these diplomatic maneuverings that soon accelerated the war, leading it to catastrophic levels. The potential enemies were unclear of the consequences of their actions. It was the tragedy of the diplomatic crisis that led the fighting in August 1914 to swell into the four-y ear tragedy. Perhaps, if potentialities of radio and telephone were exploited to the maximum to break the obstacles to communication, the destruction of the continent and a dialogue of the deaf could have been avoided (Keegan, 1999).Conclusion World War 1 was unnecessary as the train of events could have been intervened at any point, before the first clash of arms happened. Millions of lived were lost and tortured. There are some views that Was World War 1 inevitable that the Nationalists and the militarists had been playing war games for more than four decades now and the time was just ripe for a real war. Conflicting ambitions and real tensions played a major role in the war’s escalation, what with the naval arms race on between Britain and Germany.With German colonial ambitions intensifying and a destabilizing Europe make some observers and strategists feel that was inevitable. However, WW1 had nothing to do with the root cause of the conflict -assassination of the Archduk e. It seems the tensions were already high in Europe and the rest part of the world for a number of different reasons. The assassination just gave these countries an excuse to settle their own scores.

A Kind & Just Parent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Kind & Just Parent - Essay Example B. and has fundamentally focused on Mr. B.’s room in the detention center school. The experiences tell how juveniles in the urban regions enter into the world of crime and what environmental factors specifically bring the crime committing juveniles to their destination i.e. the detention center. The story tells that the Juvenile Court originally had the intentions of being a â€Å"kind and just parent† towards the prisoners (Ayers). However, it became difficult for the Court to achieve that as the differences between the urban youth crisis and the tendency of the Court to take action against that grew manifolds. As a result of this, the Juvenile Court failed to maintain its original image of a â€Å"kind and just parent†. However, in spite of that, the mentors of the detention center never gave up their efforts of assisting the imprisoned juveniles. The book presents a thought provoking argument that emphasizes upon a need to devise such standards for the juvenil e justice that are suitable for them as kids. Finally, the author presents few considerations regarding little children in context of the juvenile justice system. Through A Kind and Just Parent, readers are offered a transformative image of juveniles that are held in justice system. Such an image is hard to retrieve from the stories in news or other forms of media. Ayers has beautifully captured everyday life events of the juveniles. His work presents a well defined image of the life of a juvenile in the juvenile justice system. The characters of the book fully cover the three dimensions of fun, vulnerability and violence. Young people discuss their lifestyle, and analyze their conditions by comparing themselves to their friends. The reader thoroughly reviews the life of an imprisoned juvenile for a whole year in the school. The reader is also introduced to the teachers who convey their own perspectives. The teachers make the reader understand how the kids end up getting caught up i n the juvenile justice system. The teachers also emphasize upon a need to think rationally and straight about the juveniles and tell what role society can play in keeping the juveniles away from the world of crime. Keeping a child away from crime is a social responsibility of every responsible citizen. The author emphasizes upon a need to help juveniles stay away from committing crime. It is noteworthy that crime is a strong flavor of cheating that is ingrained in the very personality of every human being. Children may be taken to task for having stolen a thing from a shop, or in more severe cases, for having murdered someone. But what about cheating in exam that is considered by students a norm, rather than an offense? Millions of children cheat in their exams every year all over the world despite the ever increasingly tougher exam conditions and supervision. All we as adults, can do is to forbid the children from doing such things but there is little objectivity in our approach. S econdly, every person displays some level of indignity in his/her daily life activities. No one is perfect. To be realistic, people are too self concerned and self centered to care what a child in the neighborhood is up to. In the contemporary society, people have become so immune to social injustice that many hardly bother to set the pattern for a juvenile. Keeping a child away from crime is not a one hr job. Indeed, it requires years of nurturing, education and supervision to make the child comply with the advice of an adult. If there is

The Kyoto Protocol and climate change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Kyoto Protocol and climate change - Essay Example Global warming and Political climate Global warming is a phenomenon that occurs as a result of greenhouse gases (GHGs) averting thermal radiations from being reflected back to the space. (Wang and Wiser 2002). Coppock (1998, p.2) defines it as the increase in average global temperatures as a result of pumping CO2 into the atmosphere thus changing its temperature levels which in turn affect the water bodies such as oceans and seas leading to alteration of the Earth’s hydrologic cycle. The global warming not only creates fear to the planet’s residents because of rising global temperatures, (currently above 1Â ° C higher than 5 centuries ago) but also an increase in intensity of hydrologic cycles. This causes storms which are responsible to flooding that leads to destruction of farmlands, life and property (Painuly and Rowlands 2001). Generally global warming has more immediate consequences such as floods, rising global temperatures and far-reaching environmental, economi c and social impact that does not chose whether one nation is the main producer of emissions or not (Carr and Thomas 1998). The ecosystem, a natural sink( the uptake of greenhouse gas by forests, soil etc) is of paramount importance as the changes in climates may cause organisms of fresh water and wetlands to face new conditions due to higher temperatures and altered precipitation thus may have trouble producing enough organic sediments and root material that enable them to adjust. Contentious issues According to Schiermeir (2012 p.3), for the planet Earth to get rid of dangerous climate change, countries should limit global emissions to less than 2Â ° C above preindustrial levels, the EU’s threshold likely to prevent dangerous climate change. Further, he assert that to contain a... The Kyoto Protocol is seen by some researchers as a remarkable achievement in international affairs. The first it has put the world on the right path by bringing in the issues of climate change to the table so as the nations can chose to join the work force to regulate the emissions. The second it will leave a valuable legacy since it developed methodologies for reporting and verifying national greenhouse-gas emissions and land-use changes that will act as guide for future climate treaty as with any agreement containing specific quantified and legally binding commitments, issues of monitoring and compliance are central. Third, it has come with a way of trading carbon emissions through the EU’s Emission Trading Scheme among countries that face limits. Also through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) transactions, an establishment of market incentives is proposed for rich countries to get credits towards achieving their emissions’ targets by making cost-effective emissi ons cuts in poor. The CDM despite critics that it is plagued by bureaucracy, had an arm’s length investment worth almost U$100 billion supporting some 5000 CDM projects whose services range from provision of solar cookers to rural people, e.g. in China to supporting clean energy production projects such the 100-megawatt wind firm in Mexico.

Consumer behaviour and marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Consumer behaviour and marketing - Essay Example Generally, marketing to such a consumer base has to be made depending upon certain strategies. However, in an era of globalisation, serving consumers worldwide is what most marketers and producers have to do. Global consumer culture hence implies, the expansion of businesses and organisations all over the world in order to serve people belonging to different cultural backgrounds (Arnould, 2009, p. 3). Such a strategy involves a huge research to study the innate characteristics of consumers and this is where the importance of the present research lies. Outline In this era of globalisation, the concept ‘Global Consumer Culture’ has its own significance. It would not be wrong to say that the multinational organisations have to invest money as well as time to frame up strategies for each of their destination countries. Global consumer culture is a relief for them to let them think the world as a global village and a single market. However, evidences show there are a number o f obstacles resisting the spread of this concept. The segment ‘Global Consumer Culture: The Limitations of the Concept’ has discussed these points taking reference from books and journals. At the end, a conclusion has been inferred from the discussion and analysis, carried in the earlier segments. The analysis and evaluation section is primarily associated with the different kinds of consumers that the marketers have to deal with and the strategies that they adopt to handle each according to their cultural backgrounds. Global Consumer Culture: The Limitations of the Concept â€Å"Consumer culture can be defined as a social arrangement in which the relations between the [lived cultural experience of everyday life] and social resources, between meaningful [valued] ways of life and the symbolic and material resources on which they depend, is mediated through markets† (University of Wyoming, n.d., p.1). Consumer culture is a system, in which the behaviours found in t he consumption process and in all times and places it is dominated by the consumption of commercial products. This also enables the transmission of existing cultural values, norms and habitual ways of doing things from generation to generation. The consumer behaviour is largely influenced by the free personal choice in the private arena of daily lives. In this modern era, the consumer culture is no longer governed by tradition rather it is more influenced by instability in the economy. Globalisation culture positioning is a strategy, used to cover various consumer segments emerging with the global consumer culture (Warren, 2009). As the globalisation has spread its wings; companies do not bother to cross the boundaries of the countries. In such a case, global consumer culture is driven by the expansion of the organisations and its marketing principles across the globe. In theoretical terms, global culture can be described as the process wherein the global consumers would be united i n way to make this world as a single market place. As per Belk, introduction of global culture would lead to homogenisation of global consumption. Global consumer culture facilitates the same consumption behaviour of the consumers, which means that consumers in every corner would have the opportunity to eat the same food items, wear the same fashionable clothes, drive the same types of cars, watch the same television programs, stay

Medication error Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Medication error - Essay Example Quality management philosophies and systems are highlighted because they emphasize a learning organization culture that critically determines and resolves medication errors in the long run. Hence, medication errors are not the responsibility of prescribers alone, but a responsibility of the healthcare team and the healthcare organization, as well as the government. Introduction On September 14, 2010, 50-year-old Kimberly Hiatt, a longtime critical care nurse at Seattle Children’s Hospital, administered the wrong dosage of calcium to a fragile baby, Kaia Zautner (Aleccia, 2011). Zautner died five days later, although it was not clear whether the medication error killed her. Nevertheless, Hiatt, who was fired and underwent a state nursing commission investigation, committed suicide seven months after Zautner died. Aleccia (2011) reported that around 1 in 7 Medicare patients are harmed because of medication errors. Andel et al. (2012) estimated the economic costs of medication er rors using quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and the Institute of Medicine’s report of 98,000 deaths every year. They discovered that the conservative cost of these deaths is â€Å"$73.5 billion to $98 billion in QALYs† (Andel et al., 2012, p.41). ... Causes of Medication Errors: Providers and Environment Tully et al. (2009) examined the causes of and factors connected to medication errors that concern prescriptions for hospital inpatients. They grouped the causes according to Reason’s model of accident causation, which will also be used in this essay: active failures, error-provoking conditions and latent conditions. Active Failures Active failures pertain to hazardous acts that prescribers make, which means that all medication errors consist of at least one active failure (Tully et al., 2009, p.826). One of the most common sources of active failure is knowledge-based. Prescribers committed mistakes either because they did not know enough about the drug or about the patient (Grissinger & Kelly, 2005, p.62; Tully et al., 2009, p.826). Some of the examples are giving the wrong dose or not being aware that a patient’s co-morbidity was a contraindication for the provided medicine. Another kind of active failure is skill -based or based on memory lapses (Tully et al., 2009, p.826). A couple of instances are interruption of the prescriber, who then makes a mistake, and when prescribers were too busy that they made an error. Aside from skill-based faults, policy violations are also problematic. Violations refer to active choices wherein prescribers ignore formal or informal policies that they were expected to follow (Tully et al., 2009, p.826). One example is medication error that comes from a medical student because his supervisor did not check his prescription. These active failures contribute to numerous medication errors. Error-provoking Conditions Error-provoking conditions are different from active

Business Policy and Strategic Management Assignment

Business Policy and Strategic Management - Assignment Example The employees are not binded by formalities and teams are cross-functional. Secondly, Southwest does not provide too much personalization in its services which keeps its cost low and also provides for standardization in services. Although high end facilities are not made available to the employees, but standard services and low cost is what makes Southwest an exceptional case amongst the airline competitors. Weaknesses Southwest suffers from certain internal management limitations which arise from leadership incompetency. Lately the organization had suffered dramatic shift in the way culture was managed by its leaders- from Herb Kelleher to Gary Kelly. Loss of relationships, affection and cultural match took place which was worsened by the externalities of increased safety demands, fuel prices and customer complaints. Recommendation Southwest has always thrived on the motto of providing services to the customers at rock bottom prices which its rivals could not. To sustain this feat, it is recommended that southwest should concentrate on its human resource development. Till date, its workforce strategies and strengthened human capital had garnered it the much needed reputation and profitability. In the future also, it needs to develop its employees by means of cross-departmental training and encouraging them to come up with greater innovation.

Plz see the attachment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Plz see the attachment - Research Paper Example The legacy of feminism laid a very positive impact on the lives of women around the globe. Awareness campaign started in all the major countries and most of its impact was observed in developed countries such as Canada, Australia, USA, UK etc. However men were not given proper time by the so called feminist women. In the name of moderation, women were not able to sexually satisfy men. Thus the sexual health of men went down by the passage of time and they were not able to satisfy their wants after hectic day at work. A large community of men faced this problem. This was a big dilemma for all the men living in developed countries. Eventually this gave rise to antifeminist and men rights protection movements. These movements never got an overwhelming reception but still the issue was highlighted on different forums. Critique & Arguments A strong set of arguments can be found at both ends. (Roosh) is of the view point that feminism has made women out of their minds. They are trying to e njoy every fruit of life just because their rights were violated previously. The justification made by these women is unacceptable and illogical. They want to grab all the societal benefits and bring the best out of everything. The viewpoint which is prevailing throughout the majority of women is that they have succeeded in their goals and now it’s the time to enjoy. Even today if a woman is unable to get good grades or a good job then she eventually blames the society, especially men. They think that men are the barriers between their success, in fact problem lies within themselves. Sex as an advantage is used by most of the women. Their monetary and materialistic desires need to be fulfilled first, than they would be available to have sex. Sex is used as a proper bargaining tool making men life miserable. If men are not getting their sexual demands than eventually they will go for other options. Family lives are totally ruined, children are spoiled due to no interest of wom en at home. Gone are the days when women stayed back home so that their children would get attention. Women these day’s have a simple focus, to beat men in every area. Killing of babies is a common practice; abortion is considered an ordinary thing by women (Melissa). The statistical figures are quite astonishing as men have really believed that they have lost their role in the society. Men consider themselves as a second class citizen now. The race of who gets paid more is now is in. The role which apparently men had in the 20th century cannot be seen anymore due to women rapid dominance in the world. This century has given women empowerment at extreme. Historically men had the role as a provider of the house, the ultimate thing but now tables have turned over. There are no more cherishing talks on the dining table and no more men dominance. Figures show that 82% men are sure that their role in the society which previously had is totally demolished. 52% men are certain that women rule will be sooner there in the world (Boycott). (Dhaliwal) states that eminent role of men has been clean swept and male are under the direct influence of women. He quoted one of the incident in which a woman with a diamond ring and having a successful career was with a nerdy looking guy which was for sure not that successful. The depiction of both the entities gave a clear indication that man was under

Music in People's Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Music in People's Life - Essay Example VTI Ltd is generally into business that focuses on the active followers of music who normally make purchases of music records. Ironically, the fact that a person is an active follower of music does not guarantee that the person will be dogmatised to whatever a music company presents it with (Armenakis, Harris, & Mossholder, 2003). Mostly, these music consumers want dynamism and diversity in the way their businesses deal with it. It is for this reason that the all new form of music record trading, which is the online sale of music has become embraced by most lovers of music. There is no denying the fact that online sales make access to music easier and less expensive. There is also a lot of fun when it comes to how interactive and interesting the act of making purchases online can be. Due to this situation, a lot more consumers of music would be more comfortable doing business with companies that guarantee them these variables of services. The need for change at VTI Ltd. Change is not something that a lot of people embrace easily in organizational management and set up. This is because in most cases, people feel very comfortable with the systems they have been associated with and with feel that trying their hands on new ideas, programmes and systems would bring about an entire change in the organisational culture, which would in turn affect the way business is conducted within the organisation (Osborne & Brown, 2005). But as much as it is true that changes in key policies, programmes and systems could lead to changes in organisational culture, it is also true to argue that changes are generally needed when there is the need for a pragmatic reformation aimed at growth and development (Grundy, 1993). In the current case of VTI Ltd, the only justification for change is that revenues are falling and the company has not made any profits in the past four years. Clearly, any organisation that becomes plagued with such a situation must first look out for a course of cha nge to ensure that wrongs are corrected and the direction and focus of the organisation is placed in line with demand trend on the market (Hirschhorn, 2000). There is also the need for change because customers have changed their consumer behaviour towards the company. Yet again, O’Toole (2005) notes that when consumer behaviour changes towards an organisation, its revenues may either go up or down. But in this case, revenues are going down. Causes of change at VTI Ltd. There could be two major paradigms of causes of change for VTI Ltd, which are internal and external. Largely though, it can be said that the internal changes are quiet dependent on the external changes. This is said because it is realised from the case that the major cause of change is changes in consumer behaviour, which is quite an external phenomenon (Batt, 2002). There is also an external cause of competition, whereby the company is seen not to be proactively surviving the competition it is reaching from ke y competitors. In a situation where there is lack of competition, revenues will fall because competitors win over the available customers of a company (Baum & Rowley, 2005). Even more, changes in business orientation, which is also an external factor, could be counted as being responsible for the change. By this, reference is being made to how the music sales industry has adopted itself to a more technology based way of doing business, where electronic commerce has become the order of the day. Generally, these external factors have led up to internal causes such as organisational conflicts and struggle, which is seen between management and employees, and lack of employee satisfaction, arising from

Respond question about reading Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Respond question about reading - Essay Example e texts make that establish a comparison or relationship between Alexie and Superman, and thirdly, why Alexie uses superman and not some other fictional character, in the readings, â€Å"The Joy Of Reading And Writing: Superman And Me†. Superman, a superhero character in comic fiction books, at times, faces dangerous situations, but in the end of the episode, he usually saves the world and he survives. Similarly, Alexie faced a dangerous when he was born hydrocephalic, which forced him to go through a brain surgery when he was only 6 months old. The likeness in the two is based on the fact that, they are faced with a dangerous situation, but ultimately they thrive and overcome the dangerous situation (McQuade & Atwan 27). Furthermore, as Superman grows to be older, his prowess is shown by how he wins various feats involving villains. Similarly, as Alexie, from an inferior Spokane Indian background grows up, his prowess starts to show when he moves from the reservation school and enrolls in a high school. In particular, Alexie’s prowess is seen firstly, when he becomes a star player in his high school basketball team. Secondly, he gets a scholarship to attend Gonzaga University in Spokane. Thirdly, â€Å"after graduation he receives the Washington State Arts Commission poetry Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Arts poetry Fellowship. Fourthly, he receives a PEN/Hemingway Award for â€Å"Best First Book of Fiction† because of writing a collection of short stories. Fifthly, Alexie’s prowess that make him similar to Superman, continue to be seen, when Granta puts his name as part of â€Å"Best of Young American Novelist†, and his books win different awards such as th e Christopher Award, National Book award for Young people’s Literature and PEN/Faulker Award for Fiction (McQuade & Atwan 28). The major connections in the text that establish a comparison or relationship between Alexie and Superman are the struggles that Alexie and Superman had to go through in

HSC2014 Eat And Drink Essay Example for Free

HSC2014 Eat And Drink Essay Be able to support individuals to make choices about food and drink. 1. 3 Describe ways to resolve any difficulties or dilemmas about the choice of food and drink. Allowing an individualthechoiceofwhat theywishtoeat isveryimportantand iftheydonotwant what is on the menu you can try asking what they would prefer and agree with them a suitable alternative. If a service user cannot communicate with words alone, using pictures or some other method to show what food they wish to eat could also be an appropriate method. Explaining the nutritional values of meals and encouraging a healthy option is important but it is the service users right to refuse or choose something different. 1. 4 Describe how and when to seek additional guidance about an individual’s choice of food and drink. Familyandfriendsofa serviceuseroreventheserviceuserthemselvescanprovideguidancein regards to what they like to eat and drink and what they prefer, this information can be found in each service users care plans. However, there may be other times in which additional guidance should be sought out. For example, if a service user is on a particular diet for diabetes or weight loss, if they are on a soft food diet or even a puree diet and you are unsure of what foods are suitable for them then a qualified member of staff can be asked. Be able to provide support for eating and drinking. 3. 1 Describe factors that help promote an individual’s dignity, comfort and enjoyment while eating and drinking. It is important to assess the needs of each service user separately as what works for one may not be suitable for someone else. A calm and clean environment should be provided during meal times and it is vital to ensure that any special cutlery or eating aids are provided at the beginning of each meal and that they are accessible to the service user. You should ensure that a drink is within reach and that what they are eating is suitable for their diet and needs. Providing the service user with encouragement or psychological support is of upmost importance, any assistance should be provided with feeding if the service user struggles or requires aid. Be able to clear away after food and drink. 4. 1 Explain why it is important to be sure that an individual has chosen to finish eating and drinking before clearing away. Itis veryimportantandrespectfultoensurethata serviceuserhasfinishedwiththeirmealbefore clearing it away. It may be that the service user is a slower eater than someone else or is quite simply having a breather, they could also need a break for the toilet; if the food is cleared away before they are ready it is possible for them to be left still feeling hungry or thirsty. This could upset or agitate the service user. Be sure to fully communicate with the service user to be one hundred percent certain that the meal is finished with if they should stop eating. Be able to monitor eating and drinking and the support provided. 5. 1 Explain the importance of monitoring the food and drink an individual consumes and any difficulties they encounter. Keepingarecordormonitoringanindividual’sdietcanbeextremelyimportant. Itcanhelpwith understanding certain likes and dislikes of food, which meals are eaten better and which types of meals are preferred. It can also provide answers in regards to any changes that may highlight certain health issues such as difficulty with swallowing or chewing, struggling with solids but eating better with softer foods or loss of appetite due to illness. Also, if a service user suffers any sudden weight loss, monitoring food intake is important for understanding whether it is a health issue or purely lack of eating. Steps can then be taken to rectify any issues.

Trumps Changes to Transgender Bathroom Rules

Trumps Changes to Transgender Bathroom Rules The Proposal for Transgender Bathroom Conversion Now that the Trump Administration has withdrawn Federal enforcement of the transgender bathroom order, it is up to each State to decide what course of action to take, if any (Hersher, Johnson, and para 4-5) It is evident by the number of lawsuits filed against the Federal Government that the constitutionality of Obama’s Executive Order is in question. Recently, the Supreme Court postponed hearing a case involving a Virginian transgender high school’s student, partially due to President Trump’s announcement. The details of the case involve a transgender student, who was already using the boy’s bathroom, but pressure from parents and others forced the school district to change its policy and deny the student’s ability to use the boys’ bathroom. (Liptak, para 2-5). The school adopted a policy that states all students must use the bathrooms/locker rooms according to the gender on their birth certificate and a private bathroom/locker room would be provided for transgender students. The boy sued under protections outlined in the fourteenth amendment stating he was refused civil rights because of his gender. In light of the recent withdraw of Obamaâ₠¬â„¢s order by the Trump Administration, the Supreme Court decided to send the case back to the appellate court of origination for its further review. In August, the Supreme Court decided (5 to 3) that while the student’s case proceeds, temporarily, the school is not compelled to let the student choose his bathroom (Hersher, Johnson, para 17). Besides the lawsuits sparked by the transgender bathroom issue, many religious organizations and activist groups have also voiced concern over the issue. North Carolinians objected so loudly that State legislatures refused to override state laws that stated people had to use the bathroom of the gender corresponding to their birth certificates. In return, the Justice Department sued the State of North Carolina for circumventing the ordering in this manner (Hersher, Johnson, para 11). Other states and communities passed similar laws or already had them in place prior to the order. When there is this much opposition and prejudice it usually stems from a gross misunderstanding of the situation In order to produce any meaningful solutions to this problem, it is paramount to educate the public about the medical realities of hermaphroditic conditions and elicit empathy to replace the anger this subject has released. Once Americans understand that in many cases being transgender is a choice the person’s doctor made for them at birth, it is possible more people will understand the bathroom issue more readily. It is also meaningful to illustrate the costs associated with converting schools to standards acceptable to the entire community, not just the transgender group. A three step plan is proposed that incorporates educating the public about intersex conditions, developing a realistic budget for schools to accommodate transgender bathrooms, and organizing a vote on the issue once the public is better informed.   Many people are opposed to the transgender bathroom because they lack an understanding of the medical issues involving intersex children and the path in life they face. It is difficult for most people to ever imagine having an intersex condition or having a child with a gender identity problem. Educating the public through public service announcements may be an effective way to approach this problem. If more people understood that in some cases, what has happened to an innocent baby at birth should not be the cause of persistent suffering psychologically and physiologically to have a Male XY genetic marker with a vagina. The prejudice transgender people encounter is widespread and educating the ignorant tends to abate some of the prejudice. The transgender community should consider eliciting a well-known or at least well-spoken spokesperson in order to start the process of educating the massed about the transgender plight. The second part of the plan involves preparing budget estimates for school conversions needed to accommodate transgender students. Safety of students seems to be one of the primary concerns of opponents to the bathroom issue, so privacy is of utmost priority. Based on ideas currently being discussed within the Sarasota School District, schools would provide a private, unisex bathroom for transgender students and partition locker rooms to provide a private space there as well. It is currently not known how many specialty unisex bathrooms each school will provide; however, for purposes of this analysis, it is assumed that one per school will be built out. The budget line items represent the total cost of each subcontracted task. For instance, the drywall line item indicates the total cost to partition the locker rooms/private changing areas. Even though not all of the districted schools may have locker rooms, for purposes of this cost illustration, it is assumed each school will requir e the build out. Once the public is sufficiently educated and the costs to convert the schools are properly relayed to the public, it will be time to organize a vote on the issue. Even if Trump rescinded the Federal Executive Order, States must remain concerned and prepared for a ruling by the Supreme Court that may ultimately force State school districts to comply with the initial order after all. In the event this happens, at least the public will be more educated and costs will be spelled out so that voters can make a rational, rather than emotional, decision. It must be emphasized that currently the Transgender Community does not seem to have a ‘famous’ person for their cause. A movement does not move very far without a leader. In the event the State and its voters or the Supreme Court decide to proceed with establishing policies for transgender bathroom availability, it is important to describe the costs that will be associated with revamping schools to fit the new policies. In order to illustrate the cost per school and the impact to the over school district, Sarasota County School District will be used as an example. It should be kept in mind that if legislation impacts all school districts statewide, a further cost analysis will need to be performed. The following budget is based on estimates obtained from local contractors based on a price for completed jobs (Daniel’s Plumbing, Jimenez Drywall). Based on the cost budget analysis, the cost of school bathroom/locker room conversions equal approximately $759,500, or $17.70 per registered student (SSD, Student Enrollment Charts). If the proposed idea of adding unisex bathrooms and converting current locker room space to include a partitioned area wi th showers is acceptable, the costs per student are low enough to justify the conversion.  If more build out is required, this budget analysis will need to be revised to take into consideration any changes. Based on empirical evidence (verbal survey of students from various SSD schools), approximately 0.1% of registered students, or approximately 429 children may be affected by an intersex condition or are transgender. The cost of conversion per transgender child, divided over the 13 years the child is assumed to attend SSD school, equals approximately $136 per child: this amount is rather a small amount to pay for the safety, security, and well-being of all students concerned. It should be noted; the costs contained herein estimates and are for illustrative purposes only.   The time is now for the Transgender movement to strive to educate the public more on the issues that affect them in an effort to reverse some of the prejudice that exists today. It seems imperative for the group to organize and delegate a leader to champion their cause. (Maybe Obama’s free?). Once organized, the group needs to decide how to educate the masses. Next, the group needs to formulate what bathroom arrangements are acceptable and provide a plan that includes cost estimates based on a per child basis in order to make acceptance of any changes more credible. The final phase is for the group to get petitions circulating to get the issue on a ballot and get the voters to approve its proposition. Many movements take years to accomplish their goals: Just think about how long it took women suffragettes, gay right activists, or civil rights leaders to accomplish their goals. The Transgender movement received a head start when Obama made the nation aware of one of its issues; however, the movement needs a powerful leader and some organizational zeal to accomplish its goals. Citations Liptak, A. Supreme Court Won’t Hear Major Cases on Transgender Rights†. Dated March 6, 2017. Retrieved from the New York Times website on April 12, 2017 WEB https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/us/politics/supreme-court-transgender-rights-case.html?_r=0 Hersher, R. and Johnson, C., â€Å"Trump Administration Rescinds Obama Rule On Transgender Students Bathroom Use†. Dated February 22, 2017. Retrieved from NPR.org website on 4/11/207 WEB http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/22/516664633/trump-administration-rescinds-obama-rule-on-transgender-students-bathroom-use Budget created by Serena Hart on MS Word. Cost estimates based on conversations with two local Sarasota contractors: Daniel’s Plumbing, Jimenez Drywall. Not to be relied on, for illustrative purposes only. For final presentation purposes, this report will be incorporated with an analytical report, also by Serena Hart entitled, â€Å"Color Me Blue†.

Archimedes Essay -- biography biographies bio

Archimedes (287BC-212BC) was truly one of the greatest mathematical minds of all time. The discoveries and inventions of Archimedes formed the basis of many of the fundamental concepts of modern physics and mathematics. Born 287 BC Archimedes grew up in the thriving commercial hub of the port city of Syracuse, Sicily. His father, Phidias, was an astronomer and mathematician and it is thought his family enjoyed the life of aristocracy. Very little is known about his life, what is has been reported by the Roman writer and historian Plutarch. He studied for a short time in Alexandria, Egypt. Alexandria was a great place of learning, and at this time Euclid studied there and undoubtedly influenced Archimedes thinking. At the end of this study, Archimedes returned to Syracuse were he spent the rest of his life actively discovering and explaining important concepts. He is one of the few geniuses in history that enjoyed his own fame in his lifetime. Both his peers, his king, and even his enemies respected him for his work. Most of Archimedes writings were lost in the burnings of the Library of Alexandria. What we know of Archimedes treatises is from three manuscripts. Two of them have been lost in history (one was last heard of in 1311, another in 1550) and the third is The Archimedes Palimpsest, now at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. (PW) The Archimedes Palimpsest is very important and contains many ideas of Archimedes. During the medieval ages, the parchment on which his work was written was re-used as a prayer book. In order to reuse his parchment, the medieval monks palimpsested (in Greek â€Å"scraped off†) the text and then wrote over the remains. It is currently being refurnished at Rochester Institute of Techn... ... Wikipedia. Archimedes Spiral. Last updated.19 March 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes_spiral Wikipedia. Archimedes. Last updated 1 April 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes Archimedes Spiral. Last updated July 20, 2003. http://www.2dcurves.com/spiral/spiralaa.html) NOVA. Infinite Secrets. Created September 2003. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/archimedes/pi.html Math Refresher. Archimedes and the Area of a Circle. Created May 02, 2006. http://mathrefresher.blogspot.com/2006/05/archimedes-and-area-of-circle.html Buzzle.com. Vishwas Purohit. Could Archimedes have lifted the Earth? Created 7/30/2004 http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-30-2004-57259.asp J J O'Connor and E F Robertson. A History of Calculus. February 1996. http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/The_rise_of_calculus.html

Positive Impacts of E-books Essay -- electronic books

There are a lot of sources of information which provide readings in many mass mediums such as books, encyclopedias, newspapers, brochures and many more. In line with the advanced progress of technology, readings also could be done digitally on computer screen. Up to date, electronic books or much simpler to be known as Ebooks are preferable in search of wide range of information. Referring to Viloria, (2008) â€Å"Ebooks are form of texts, pictures, video and even audio comprised into an electronic file. For instance, a document typed in Microsoft Word is one of the examples of an ebook† (p.1) They are extant in different formats for example PDF, PDA and EXE-compiled HTML format. This type of on-screen documents increasingly used because of their vast vantages compared to conventional printed textbooks. This essay which entitled â€Å"The Positive Impacts of Ebooks† explicates several impacts, which means strong effects of electronic books towards various issues. First and foremost, electronic books bring a promising impacts towards environment since they reduce the needs of trees for the purpose of printing. According to the site â€Å"Environmental Science & Technology,† (2008) â€Å" Reducing paper use does more than save trees. Pulp and paper mills are also a major source of pollution. The reason that pulp and paper mills are contributing to pollution is because they release harmful gases to atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide and particulates, which cause global warming, acid rain, smog and what worst to human, is respiratory problems.†(p.4242-4245) Scientifically, paper bleached with chlorine release dioxin, a carcinogenic substance. It is always a good idea to save the environment by recycl... ...ant, J. M. A. (2004). Are electronic books effective in teaching young children reading and comprehension? International Journal of Instructional Media, 31(3), 303. Grimshaw, S. (2007). Electronic books: Children's reading and comprehension. British Journal of Educational Technology, 38(4), 583-599. Harroff, W. (2010). E-Books Advantages Over P-Books. Charlotte Johnson. Retrieved November 15 2010 from http://faculty.mckendree.edu/william_harroff/ebe/ebook_advantages_over_pbooks.htm Nelson, M. R. (2008 March/April). E-books in higher Education: Nearing the End of the Era of Hype? Retrieve Nov 18, 2010 from ECAR Research Bulletin. www.educause.edu Stanford University Makes E-book Investment. (2007, July 6). In Book Business Magazine. Retrieved Nov 17 2010 from http://www.bookbusinessmag.com/story/story.bsp?sid=68596&var=story.

Inclusion or Exclusion in The Crucible Essay -- Essay on The Crucible

Much of The Crucible by Arthur Miller was about being part of a group. What is it to belong to a group? Is it really that simple when someone says, "Either you're with us or you're not"? Yes, it is that simple. Belonging and exclusion in any situation are two sides of the same coin - you can't have one without the other. In any organization or group, people are bound together by a community of interest, purpose or function and if you do not believe in these same things, then you are not a part of that group. In an organization or group, you have to ask yourself, "What is it to be a part of this particular group, what does it take to belong?" It takes following the rules of the group, agreeing with their purpose, obeying their authorities and the ability to go the length for their cause. In The Crucible, if the characters did not abide as part of the group, the Christian Church, then the consequences were fatal. The Crucible told of what is was to be a scapegoat i n their society and what it took to defend themselves from becoming that scapegoat. To remind people in an organization why they belong takes continued focus on a common goal or common belief. By having one main function, a group is generally more effective than if everyone has different ideas and outlooks on specific topics. However, to keep everyone on the same page, the members of a group need to accurately know where they stand in reference to their goal. One way to do this is through social facilitation. This is the concern of self image through the presence of other people. It's a concept that allows members to know the acceptable opinions of the group. Someone who agrees to the ideas set out from the organization. "Group polarization is the concept of changing personal opinions to extremities after a group discussion.(Johnson 13)" This concept eliminates members who aren't sure what they think of the group's purpose. They decide that either they agree completely or they disagree completely. Either way it means they decide if they are in or out after the group discussion. A common goal is one way to distinguish and separate the devoted members from the questionable individuals in a group. High cohesiveness is an effective tool in the success and effectiveness of an organization. However, in order for ... ... truth, denying her involvement as a witch, but be hung anyway for "lying" under oath. On the other hand, an innocent victim could lie and confess her involvement as a witch, accuse another witch instead and be let "off the hook". However, if the innocent victim lied and confess, but wasn't willing to turn in another witch, she would be hung anyway. (Starkey, 17) This created quite an ironic situation coming from a Christian based community of purity and holiness. Exclusion is about scapegoating and denying the truth or reality to oneself. A scapegoat is a person made to bear the blame for others, an escape from dealing with one's responsibility. The scapegoat lets one rationalize bad situations and blind oneself from the reality of that situation. No one saw the reality in Salem and no one even tried. They were all too caught up in trying to find someone else to blame for their fears and problems. However, organizations tend to do that too. They create an opposition or enemy so they can use it later to their own advantage, making themselves seem more powerful. So the question goes back to, "Are you in? Or are you out?"

Judgment and Decision-Making

After making this decision if any bloomer is investigated than he tries to defend himself and target others. The top authority do not want to take the duty of wrong decision on himself but want to blame on others and make this mortal decision as a result of a radical decision. This type of concept is called â€Å"Looking Up and Looking Around† (LULL). This is not the case of deficiency or lack of experience of a decision maker but only because of frighten of an unsuccessful person this mortal decision becomes the result of radical decision.In any form of organization if important decision is to be taken, then it is good to have ore number of people so that if any bloomer is investigated than it is divided among all & it makes easier to find the base of the mistakes committed. There are many types of blames which involves the conveyance of one to other. First of all there are some guys called â€Å"Fall Guys† who takes the blame or responsibility of failure decision on t hemselves. Secondly, there are some people called â€Å"Escape-Goat† which are binge out from the organization for not deserving the blame.When a person is hired & he does not know that the person who was there previously in his lace had made mistake & his mistake is blamed on him. After looking at all of this â€Å"Jackal† says that the key concept is to make effort to protect yourself & try to protect the other group from suffer of the blame instead of accepting the bloomer perpetrated. Practical Experience In February I got a Job in DHAL warehouse where my work was to do receiving and pick packing. After two months there was a barbeques and dance party for all the employees of DHAL including Head of the Department.Work was divided among each person and in the end all came with their budget and expense and the expense was ore than the budget. All the excess expense were paid by the committee member and in the end when rap time came all were mum and they started incri minating to our new general manager. He bends out to be a â€Å"Fall Guy'. After that the whole committee member checked the account details and fund for the last year and came to know that the previous manager took out some money from the fund and commence us with a few embark on money.This is the complete illustration of Article 2 frames'. The article analyses the cognitive as well as psychophysical factors which help in ending out the value of the risky prospects. This article mainly challenges both theoretically as well as empirically the classical utility theory. This article presents how managers or rather human beings behave in real economic situations. In this article a systematic approach towards risky choices which helps in deriving several hypotheses for psychophysical analysis of various reactions towards probability as well as money have been discussed.By choosing risk aversion and Bernoulli (1954) essay the authors have tried to explain why most people are usually fou nd to be verse towards risk and why the degree of risk aversion lessens with rising wealth. In order to tackle the normative issues the author shifts focus from psychology to the decision theory. According to the Modern Decision Theory the risky prospects are being characterized by the probable results as well as the probabilities of all the results.The standard economic model suggests that all the human beings depict a very stable â€Å"utility curve† which is being implied by their choices but this article attacks directly on the axiom of extensionally. Therefore it is proposed in this article hat alternative framings need systematic examination which presents a helpful and highly beneficial reflective device which can easily be of advantage for the decision makers to assess all the values, attached with the primary as well as secondary consequences of their choices.The article specifies that mostly stability results because of loss aversion instead of change. Therefore bot h loss aversion as well as effects of consequent endowment is very unlikely to play very insignificant role in the economic exchanges which take place every day or in routine. Thus finally it explains he difference between the experience value and the decision value. The decision theory does not provide major distinction between the two because it is mostly assumed that the decision values and experience values are coinciding with each other (Keenan and Thieves, 1984).Practical Experience In India when I was doing Bachelors my friends were playing a cricket betting on the internet and were earning a lot, so I talked to my friend and ask him how to play. He told me and I was eager to play the cricket betting. After few days there was a cricket match between India and Pakistan I decided to bet against India. At that time it was like if India wins you will get double money and for Pakistan you will get four times the money you invest. I was having $1000, so I thought to invest $100 I. E.I was thinking to be risk aversion rather than risk seeking because I was betting for the first time. After the match got finish India won and I got $200. But if I would have played $200 for India and $100 for Pakistan then I would have earned more in playing risk seeking than playing as risk aversion. Article 3 Abstract: Reading 3. 3, Fischer, B. , Slavic, P. Ad Liechtenstein, S. (1980), ‘Knowing what twine those people who hold values with those people who elicit values. In this research Values' mean all the evaluative Judgments which are either absolute worth or relative or desirability of the possible events.Central to the process of psychophysics value is the finding that it is difficult to presume the effective stimulus rather it should be discovered. This article brings together a diverse collection of effects like ‘irrelevant† context effects, response mode, stimulus presentation and organism in order to facilitate the appreciation of the limit up to whic h the apparent alee of people are influenced by elicit, to give a tentative organization of outcomes along with the contexts in which these might come up and to explicate the effects of these outcomes.Thus this article explains the labile nature of expressed values and any kind of subtle changes in the elicitation mode is supposed to bring in highly visible effects on the preferences which are mentioned by people. Some impacts are reversible while other are not, some effects lead to deepening of the perspective of respondents while others do not; some impacts are deliberately brought about, while there are not; some impacts are very highly specific to the questions of value, while others Just impact all the kinds of Judgments; some are well documented, while others are simple speculations.If one wants to elicit these values one needs to confront these effects which cannot be avoided. The best way to have an interaction with our respondents and also to help them in making value Judgm ents which are in their best of interest is to provide them with better and newer analytical tools. These tools are very helpful in changing the respondents by deepening their perspectives. The main aim of this article is to deliver the message to consider multiple perspectives while decision-making (Fishhook, Slavic and Liechtenstein, 1980).Once my father wants to invest in his new business at that time I was doing ABA in India, so he asked me how I should proceed. He wanted to start Retail store of Grocery. So first of all he made a team of employee who will work in that grocery store. Before that he hired one elicit and put his project besides him. His values were not well defined and were not realistic, so it was difficult for elicit to make his decision. Because of his value were not properly defined it was also difficult for his employee to work in the store.So in the end his business was not up to the mark and he ended up with a loss. By this example I Just want to say that y our values should be realistic and it should be related to the previous environment so that you end up with a good conclusion. Article 4 Abstract: Reading 5. 1 . Zimmermann, H. (1983) ‘The two camps on rationality. This article analyses the ‘rationality concept' while decision-making and according to Zimmermann (1983) any action is considered to be rational if it is in conjunction with NY individuals' beliefs as well as values.The most important research tools for psychology of Judgment as well as decision are the normative tools, while the most vital model for Judgment is ‘Babes Theorem' along with multivariate utility models while for the normative model of decision the SUE models are very prominent . This human Judgment is found to be limited which causes the violation of the rationality principles. The concept of Judgmental biases suggests that the probabilistic judgment is mostly hugely biased because the individuals mostly rely on heuristics.In terms of gains and losses the coding outcomes is Just one of the many cognitive mechanisms which people make use of while editing or depicting their decision problems. The third violation of rationality theory occurs while observing the decision-making behavior of people through motivational perspective and several coping patterns which are used by mass while handling stress of various decision situations. In this research the varied deficiencies present in human Judgment as well as decision are being emphasized.On the other hand the optimists who believe n the rationality theory believe and lay emphasis on the implicit rationality of decision behavior as well as human Judgment. In support of their argument they raise mainly three theoretical arguments which are: the meat-rationality argument, the continuity argument and the structure argument. Therefore the researchers of this camp challenge the belief that human decision as well as Judgment is cognitively deficient.The author thus suggests that with reference to rationality issue one should be liberal while utilizing the concept of rationality. Secondly the commonality concept should be used in its prescriptive sense in legitimate manner wherever the prescription is being required and thirdly the concept of rationality should be used very cautiously in descriptive research. Practical Experience When I finished my Bachelors education I got a Job in Transformer making and testing company. There were two groups in the company who were working on the same project and I got selected in one of the group.Both groups were good but one was thinking rationally following the rules, team leader's advice and setting the destination of making up to the conclusion and others were thinking irrationally not allowing the rules of the company, team leader's advice to complete the task within less span of time to make themselves feel good in the company. Both were coming to the same conclusion but chief likes the people who fulfill deeds in an optimistic manner and not in a pessimistic manner.But not all the people will able to follow the qualities of optimistic and fulfill the goals of company rather than being pessimistic and fulfilling the goal of company. Article 5 Abstract: Reading 4. 3. ‘Theories of Risk perception: Who fears what and why? In this article the writer is concentrating on the hypothesis of risk sensing and he fines risk on the foundation of people coming from different aspects like different backgrounds, culture, posture etc. Every individual takes risk on any situation depending on the foundation of situation.For one person the risk might be higher for decisive situation but for another person the same situation might not be risky for him to handle. Different people look at the venture situation differently. The writer tries to explain Risk sensing through different theories on the foundation of different test or example like â€Å"Economic Theory, Knowledge Theory, Political Theory, assist us to realize the role of each in a well defined manner. â€Å"Knowledge Theory' conveys that people recall everything in a different manner I. E. They recall it to be peril and predict it to be grievous or life threatening. Personality Theory' conveys that more or less mass volition to deal with risk and more or less mass avert to deal with risk. â€Å"Economic Theory' conveys that people loaded with money are happy to deal with risk than the wretched people who are not loaded with money. â€Å"Political Theory' conveys that more or less people deal with risk in order to increase the tutus or tycoon in the surroundings. After doing a proper survey on risk it displays that risk postulates from last many ages and it postulates in many domain and well educated people are functioning on risk hypothesis.This article helps us to evaluate how condom is the risk and if there is any danger than what are the means to rub this risk. Practical Experience I wanted to share my experience when working as a ‘cashier' in one of the esteem bank in India (State Bank of India). My Job was to handle all the customer's bank accounts and look after their each cash transactions. In my hand was having all the personal information of their account details and if there was any problem then I was authorized to take each customer's secret information like account details, credit or debit card information etc.All the information of each customer was with me and if anybody could peril of pervert this information and whole rap will seed on me and because of this bank may have to suffer a loss of money or it may harm the reputation of the bank. So in this whole situation it was all depend on the sensing of my risk. If I do not want to have a loss of money to the bank then I should have my aril risk sensing in a positive manner.

Organisational Design

Nine tests of organisation design The weight of research and insight into organisational design is heavy and growing. Michael Goold and Andrew Campbell cut through the complexity and emerge with a new approach to organisation design which includes a rigorous framework for design choices based on nine key tests of organisational effectiveness. Michael Goold is a director of the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre. His research interests are concerned with corporate strategy and the management of multi-business companies, and he runs the Centre’s programme on Group Level Strategy. Product-market strategies What are the factors that should guide the choice of organisation design? There are many managerial rules of thumb about things such as spans of control and reporting relationships. In addition, academics and consultants have produced a huge amount of work on organisation design. But our research told us that managers still lack a practical and systematic framework to guide their organisation choices. An important purpose of our work has been to condense previous ideas on organisation design into a few core principles, on which to base a usable framework. Less an intellectual triumph than a practical checklist for addressing the most important issues, FIGURE 1: FRAMEWORK FOR ORGANISATION DESIGN GOOD DESIGN PRINCIPLES Specialisation principle Email: michael. goold Corporate strategy Co-ordination principle @ashridge. org. uk ORGANISATION DESIGN People Control and commitment principle Knowledge and competence principle Constraints Innovation and adaptation principle 4 DIRECTIONS FIT DRIVERS www. ashridge. com/directions The Ashridge Journal Summer 2002 Ashridge Business School http://www. ashridge. org. uk FIGURE 2: NINE TESTS FOR ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN Product-market strategies GOOD DESIGN TESTS Specialist cultures test Specialisation principle Andrew Campbell is a director of the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre and visiting professor at City University. Previously Redundant hierarchy test Knowledge and competence principle Market advantage test Corporate strategy Difficult links test Co-ordination principle Parenting advantage test ORGANISATION DESIGN People he was a Fellow in the Centre for Business Strategy People test Accountability test Constraints Control and commitment principle t the London Business School, and a consultant at Feasibility test Flexibility test FIT TESTS Innovation and adaptation principle McKinsey & Co. Email: andrew. campbell our framework is grounded on some basic principles. The first and most important, the fit principle, embraces four drivers of fit – productmarket strategies, corporate strategies, people and constraints. The other good design principles are the specialisation principle, the co-ordination principle, the knowledge and competence principle, the control and commitment principle, and the innovation and adaptation principle (Figure 1). The principles are broad in nature and not always easy to convert into prescriptive guidance. They are more valuable in orienting managers than in resolving particular organisational dilemmas. However, as we worked with the principles, we found ways to convert them into some practical tests. Perhaps the most important contribution of this lies in the insights and understandings that the tests produce. The tests match the fit drivers and the good design principles. (See Figure 2). @ashridge. org. uk The fit tests One almost universally agreed proposition is that organisations need to be fit for purpose. Strategy, 5 DIRECTIONS www. ashridge. com/directions The Ashridge Journal Summer 2002 Ashridge Business School http://www. ashridge. org. uk Nine tests of organisation design therefore, should be a key driver of organisation design, and we have found it useful to distinguish between product-market strategies and corporatelevel strategy. But strategy is not the only driver of organisational design. At least as important are people. Many authorities counsel against designing an organisation around people, preferring to build around the strategy and change the people if necessary. However, people cannot always be changed and new ones with the required attitudes may be hard to find. So designs should take account of the people available to lead and work in them. Finally, organisation design is subject to various constraints, ranging from laws laid down by governments to organisational capabilities or resources that are deeply embedded. The people test: â€Å"Does the design adequately reflect the motivations, strengths and weaknesses of the available people? † The feasibility test: â€Å"Does the design take account of the constraints that may make the proposal unworkable? The fit tests bring out the most important inputs that should guide organisation design choices. Provided the design has been selected with these inputs in mind, there should be no problem in passing the fit tests. However, organisation design choices are not always so rational. All too often, organisations evolve in ways that are not sufficiently related to the strategy of the compan y, or else pay scant attention to the limitations of managers who will fill key positions. In one company, we were told that the structure had always been primarily driven by the balance of All too often, organisations evolve in ways that are not sufficiently related to the strategy of the company, or else pay scant attention to the limitations of managers who will fill key positions. power between the four barons who ran the main divisions, resulting in business unit groupings that had little to do with the opportunities in the markets being served. Under these circumstances, the organisation will be a barrier to successful strategy implementation and will damage competitiveness. The fit tests ensure that organisations that are evidently not fit for purpose will be exposed, and that more suitable alternatives will be adopted. The good design tests The fit drivers lead to four fit tests: While the four drivers of the fit principle are The market advantage test: â€Å"Does the design allocate sufficient management attention to the operating priorities and intended sources of advantage in each product-market area? † recognised by most managers, we believe the good design principles and tests represent more of an advance. They synthesise the vast quantity of academic research and managerial experience about what makes an organisation work well into The parenting advantage test: â€Å"Does the design allocate sufficient attention to the intended 6 DIRECTIONS few basic tests that should guide any organisation designer. The specialisation principle and co-ordination principle both concern the boundaries between sources of added-value and strategic initiatives of the corporate parent? † www. ashridge. com/directions The Ashridge Journal Summer 2002 Ashridge Business School http://www. ashridge. org. uk units. The specialisation principle states that boundaries should exist to encourage the development of specialist skills, whereas the co-ordination principle emphasises that activities that need to be co-ordinated should be located within the boundaries of a single unit. Although these basic principles are clear, there are unfortunately often trade-offs between specialisation and co-ordination. A broadly-based product structure may give economies in purchasing and manufacturing, but be detrimental to the development of specialist products for particular markets. A disaggregated geographical structure with many local units may support the special skills needed for different regions, but prevent effective co-ordination in product development or IT infrastructure. The difficult organisational problems arise when there are trade-offs between different ways of grouping responsibilities. In order to help with these trade-offs, we have developed two tests, which give more precision to the basic principles and make them more practically useful. business unit, with little or no contact with the rest of the company. Alternatively, instead of setting up a separate unit, it may be possible for the corporate parent to ensure that the specialist culture receives sufficient protection by flexing corporate policies and procedures or by giving it certain powers. The test focuses attention on the dangers of suppressing or damaging activities that fall outside the mainstream corporate culture, dangers which are easy to overlook. The difficult links test recognises that many co-ordination benefits can be achieved through spontaneous networking between units, but that others will be more difficult. For example, best practice sharing can often be left to networking between units, whereas the establishment of common technical standards is unlikely without a corporate policy which makes them mandatory. Organisation designers should focus only on the few co-ordination benefits that will be difficult: where networking will not deliver the benefits. For these difficult links, it is necessary to develop appropriate co-ordination mechanisms or interventions to overcome the difficulty, or to The specialist cultures test: â€Å"Do any ‘specialist cultures’, units with cultures that need to be different from sister units and the layers above, have sufficient protection from the influence of the dominant culture? † readjust the design so that the co-ordination lies within the responsibilities of a single unit. This test makes managers assess which co-ordination benefits will be difficult to achieve if left to the network, and to think through whether and how the difficulty can be overcome. The difficult links test: â€Å"Does the organisation design call for any ‘difficult links’, co-ordination benefits that will be hard to achieve on a networking basis, and does it include ‘solutions’ that will ease the difficulty? † Together, the specialist cultures test and difficult links test give managers a powerful means of assessing the trade-offs between the benefits that can be gained from co-ordination and from specialisation. In the 1980s, IBM decided to set up its PC division as a very separate unit, free from the influence of the IBM corporate culture and The specialist cultures test questions whether the required specialist skills will thrive only if the managers concerned are insulated from the influence of other parts of the organisation. For example, sometimes the best way to develop and market a new product is to set it up as a separate policies. This promoted a specialist PC culture that was highly successful in bringing the new product to market rapidly. Using a similar logic, many commentators argued that, when faced with performance problems in the early 1990s, IBM should break up the whole company into separate, 7 DIRECTIONS www. ashridge. com/directions The Ashridge Journal Summer 2002 Ashridge Business School http://www. ashridge. org. uk Nine tests of organisation design independent units. Lou Gerstner, however, believed that the opportunity for IBM lay in providing integrated customer solutions. He therefore kept the company together. But he recognised that co-ordination between separate product divisions was not proving a satisfactory means of offering integrated solutions, due to conflicting divisional priorities and incompatible technologies. He therefore gave authority to IBM Sales and Distribution division and to a new unit, the Global Services division, to concentrate, respectively, on customer solutions and services, using both IBM and competitor products. These divisions have the power to offer a unified approach to customers and have dealt well with the previously difficult links between IBM divisions. At the same time, Gerstner has encouraged new business activities, such as Business Innovation Services, IBM’s e-business initiative, not to be bound by IBM’s traditional policies nd ways of doing things. IBM’s structure now takes account of both the difficult links and the specialist cultures tests. The difficult links and specialist cultures tests help managers to address the organisation design issues faced by companies such as IBM, where there are evident advantages both from specialisation and co-ordination. The tests identify the real trade-offs between co-ordination and specialisation and h elp managers to find ways of gaining the benefits of co-ordination without undermining the development of specialist skills. The knowledge and competence principle is mainly concerned with delegation. It states that responsibilities should be allocated to the person or team best placed to assemble the relevant knowledge and competence at reasonable cost. The practical test that follows from the principle is: This test is based on the premise that the default option should be to decentralise to operating units, only retaining responsibilities at higher levels if there is a knowledge and competence rationale. As we have argued in previous work, hierarchy can only be justified if it adds some value to the functioning of the organisation. 1 Questions about whether and how the hierarchy adds value have helped numerous companies to sharpen their thinking about the design of their headquarters, group and division levels. The redundant hierarchy test is a way of formalising these questions. The control and commitment principle concerns two challenges that arise in any decentralised organisation: how to maintain appropriate control and how to ensure high levels of motivation. Units should feel strong pressures to self-correct if they are failing to deliver, and parent-level managers to whom the units report should be able to identify problems easily and promptly. This leads to a further test: The accountability test: â€Å"Does the design facilitate the creation of a control process for each unit that is appropriate to the unit’s responsibilities, economical to implement, and motivating for the managers in the unit? † The accountability test focuses managers on the pressures that exist for a unit to self-correct. These depend on the relationships the unit has with ts internal and external customers, the performance measures for the unit, and the unit’s reporting relationship. Market-facing business units with arms-length customer relationships and bottomline performance measures are relatively easy to control and motivate. Corporate functions with no external customers, tied internal relationships and The redundant hierarchy test: â⠂¬Å"Are all levels in the hierarchy and all responsibilities retained by higher levels based on a knowledge and 8 DIRECTIONS subjective performance measures present more accountability problems. In a complex structure, it is all too easy to create a design that looks good on paper, but leaves unit managers de-motivated and unclear about their performance objectives, and competence advantage? † www. ashridge. com/directions The Ashridge Journal Summer 2002 Ashridge Business School http://www. ashridge. org. uk parent managers unable to control those who report to them. The accountability test helps managers design units and establish performance measures that produce effective, low-cost controls that are highly motivating. The innovation and adaptation principle states that structures should be designed to innovate and adapt as uncertainties become clarified and environments change. An organisation design that is perfect for today is of little use if it cannot adapt to cope with the conditions of tomorrow. The principle yields our last test. under-attending to product or from underattending to geography? † Often there is no clear The flexibility test: â€Å"Will the design help the development of new strategies and be flexible enough to adapt to future changes? answer to these trade-offs, but making sure that the question is asked helps managers to find a reasonable balance between competing interests. By pointing out the trade-offs and weak points in a The test recognises that some structures allow for evolution and adaptation, whereas others build in rigidity and power bases that resist change. It ensures that the designer considers the changes which may be needed and whether the design will b e flexible enough to make them. chosen design, the tests help managers to be more thoughtful about problems that may occur and future changes that may be needed. The tests also help managers weigh the advantages and disadvantages of different designs and provide a rigorous analytical structure for making design choices. An organisation design that is perfect for today is of little use if it cannot adapt to cope with the conditions of tomorrow. Using the tests The purpose of the tests is to raise issues. Some can be addressed by refining the structure, by designing process solutions, or by appointing different managers. A key benefit from using the tests comes from the ideas for design improvements that they suggest. For example, a common problem is the creation of a layer of management, say a geographic region or a product group, without specifying what responsibilities should be retained by this layer and why. The redundant hierarchy test helps point out this design weakness, alerting managers to the need either to eliminate the layer or to define the responsibilities, skills, management processes and leadership style that is needed to make the layer a positive influence on performance. Some issues raised by the tests point to unavoidable trade-offs: â€Å"do we lose more from The nine tests are the core around which we have built our new approach to organisation design. This article is drawn from Michael Goold and Andrew Campbell’s new book, Designing Effective Organizations (John Wiley & Sons, 2002). REFERENCE 1. Goold, Michael; Campbell, Andrew and Alexander, Marcus. (1994). Corporate-level Strategy, John Wiley & Sons and Goold, Michael; Pettifer, David and Young, David, â€Å"Redefining the Corporate Centre† , European Management Journal, February 2001. 9 DIRECTIONS www. ashridge. com/directions The Ashridge Journal Summer 2002 Ashridge Business School http://www. ashridge. org. uk