Hofstede Cutlural Dimensions

Hofstede Electronic Submission Coversheet TO BE COMPLETED BY STUDENT By electronically submitting this work, I certify that: †¢ This assignment is my own work †¢ It has not previously been submitted for assessment †¢ Where material from other sources has been used it has been acknowledged properly †¢ This work meets the requirement of the University’s ethics policy Student Name: nidi kumar Student Number : 9048219 Faculty: FBSE Level of study: level 6 Course title: International business management Unit title: Cross-cultural ManagementAssignment title: Airbus and GLOBE Assignment tutor: Peter Jordan Word count: 500 Learner request for feedback: TO BE COMPLETED BY STAFF Tutor feedback: Areas of Strength: Areas for Improvement: Grade mark: Submitted on time (Y/N): Tutor signature: Date: Identify the key cross-cultural issues faced by the Airbus consortium and relate these to the Globe’s projects clusters of business cultures. Critically evaluate the us efulness of this research in understanding the issues involved and in devising viable solutions.What lessons can be learned for companies embarking on international projects? Introduction Cross-cultural management describes â€Å"organisational behaviour within countries and cultures† (Adler and Gundersen, 2008, p 13) as a result it compares the organisational behaviour across various countries and cultures and most importantly it seeks to comprehend and advance the â€Å"interaction of co-workers, managers, executives, clients, suppliers, and alliance partners from countries and cultures around the world. † (Adler and Gundersen, 2008, p 13).A company that has experience of cross-cultural management and thus has its roots in several European countries is Airbus SAS. (Browaeys and Price, 2011). Outlined on the company’s website they express their desire to overcome â€Å"national divides, sharing development costs, collaborating in the interest of a greater mark et share, and even agreeing a common set of measurements and a common language† (Airbus. com cited in Browaeys and Price, 2011, p 67). However, as time progressed evidence suggests that this has not occurred as demonstrated in key cross-cultural issues experienced by the organisation. Introduction not yet complete (Try to make a generic view of CrossCultural Management beyond companies ie consider how CC management is dealt with across industry sectors ( most prevalent in telecoms organizations) also what are the â€Å"roots† of CC management and how does it address new global challenges/provide new solutions)) Method of Research By comparison of 2 companies ie Airbus / Globe highlighting key CC management approaches, issues and solutions (Risk of systemic flaws in approach/repeatable failures)YOU should compare apples with apples ie list all significant issues, select an issue eg Economic Patriotism and evaluate the approach taken by both parties / im arguing for creat ing A table to do this we can talk†¦ Key Cross-Cultural Issues faced by Airbus (Related to Globe’s Cross-Cultural Approach) Problems Faced by Airbus (enumerate and modify in your own words) Socio-cultural & technical problems. †¢ The workforce at the aircraft manufacturer is geographically distributed in proportion to national ownership stakes.In an instance of economic nationalism, government distort private transactions among economic actors by discriminating against foreigners in the name of national interest. This lead to the decrease in the productive efficiency. It is because of the various differences of management styles and way of communication. For e. g. : comparing with the French people, the Germans prefer collective decision making, whereas the French prefer centralised decision. At the same time the Spanish are flexible but have inferiority complex, so they have tendency to be vague and unreliable due to which they respond very less. Ian Stokes, 2006). †¢ The main problem is when EADS company of Airbus was created, two chief executives German and French headed it. It was maintained even due to knowing the fact of the crisis caused by problems in development in A380 began. Looking from the Hofstedes cultural dimensions the French likes high power distance whereas the Germans prefer low power distance. So while making decisions Germans tend to interfere in the conversations while it is being dislike by France people. So this unintentionally hurt the ego's of the French people and creates a conflict between them. Hofstede. G, 1991) 1 †¢ Due to the government involvement respective countries, cost cutting measures were delayed as state aid comes to rescue their respective partner first. From this situation it seems that power id distributed unequally. The government is being self centred and looking after its own motives. Even no action id being undertaken by the group members of the company in order to tackle this issue. I t is in this area that a culture shows the extent to which it ‘tolerates and fosters pecking orders, and how actively members try to reduce them'. Mead, 1994; 66) 1 †¢ One of the main causes in delay of the launch of Airbus A380 for two years was owing to the fact of having a complex wiring design system for it. †¢ There were 1,200 functions to control the plane that takes 98,000 wires & 40,000 connectors. The system has 500,000 models, which needs to be kept in sync from different countries. It was complicated and very much time consuming due the fact of the engineers being at different locations. †¢ Even the aircraft parts were built at different locations.For example: nose sections are built in France, fuselages in Germany, wings in Great Britain and tails in Spain. And the final assembly were done in Toulouse (France). It unnecessarily increased the transportation cost, communication problems and foremost aspect time consumption. †¢ There was a problem with regards to software and knowledge as well. The engineers in Germany and Spain used the older version V4 of the CAD program in order to design the wiring system, while the engineers in France and England used the newer version V5.This created trouble and delay while transferring the data because the some data was lost while transferring files from one system to another. †¢ With regards to knowledge, French were familiar with the software while the Germans were not inexperienced compared to French. According to Hofstedes1 it seem that the French are more of individualistic in nature because they were least concerned about the training of its partner company's. Due to the lack of integration in engineering it resulted failure in execution. When the HRM team was most needed to train the employees ; communicate between them regarding the software problems, they were very busy with responding to the new legislation- such as those concerned with labour working hours and the Frenc h directive on rights of individuals to choose their own training. As the French are more type of individualism because of the preference towards centralised executive, they tend to first sort out their problems that made them busy in doing things which was not important compared to training problem. Ian Stokes, 2006) 1; (Trompenaars, 1993; 8-11) 1 †¢ The top managers were busy struggling for the senior position in the consortium and lobbying for influence. These lead political goals get in the way of project goals. From this it seems that that the top managers were very much individualistic in nature. They were more interested in getting the name an enjoy being superior in the organization. They seemed to be self-achievement oriented and least concerned about the problems going on in the company.This dispersed the decision making power which was most needed in problems like this. (Hofstede, 1991) 1 All this problems lead to the delay in launch of Airbus A380 for two years that was scheduled to launch in 2006. Delay in delivery forced some airlines to cancel their orders. This gave them loss of euro 2 billion due that they had to make drastic cuts in the size of its workforce and closure of some plants, which in turn dented their image in the market. Efforts taken by Airbus to tackle the issues. In order to tackle the design of the wiring system and the software problems, Airbus made special investment to train its employees with the help of the software supplier. †¢ They even tried to set up intercultural sessions to inspire a warm feeling of mutual understanding, but it failed to address adequately the fundamentals of co-operation. †¢ The EADS managers most of the times tried to draw attention to the common areas and similarities, rather than differences in order to tackle the cross-cultural differences with regards to perceptions and doing things. They have distributed their workforce in proportion to the ownership stakes geographically becau se they thought that this would increase their productive efficiency. Put Table A in here Critical Evaluation of Research (based on analysis of table) Economic Patriotism: Many organisations are forced to develop and expand themselves into new markets overseas due to the increasing maturation of domestic markets and foreign competitors. In order to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors they are recognising their identity that can help them to sustain.The main motive behind this step is that by enlightening the only one of its kind personality or character of an organisation or group, all the way through symbols, communications and behaviours, it will help them to create favourable corporate image in the minds of these groups. Such differentiation will help them to create an image based on the uniqueness of its own identity, as well as creating a tendency in the minds of the people or groups as a basis for developing long-term profitable relationships. (Van, 1992) 2. Ec onomic patriotism is most of similarly related on these theories.Economic patriotism means, â€Å"supporting one's country†. Economic patriotism is the coordinated and the promoted behaviour of consumers or companies (both private and public) that consists of favouring the good or services produced in their country or in their group of countries (wikipedia) 3. According to me economic patriotism means favouring the people and practices done in ones own country, right or wrong. The main motive of the people living in their own country is to promote its thoughts, beliefs, way of doing business, etc. this is automatically done because they had been under the influence of such practices since their childhood.It's like expressing that they love their country and ready to sacrifice for it. Economics patriotism can be done with the help of many activities for e. g. : imposing tariffs on imports, quota system, or encouraging consumers to purchase own domestic services and products. N ow a days a new type of economic patriotism has came up that does not allows foreign investors to develop or acquire companies in one's country. For e. g. : Arcelor acquired by Mittal (Largest steel industry). Government and political bodies are playing the main role to promote economic patriotism.Even in the Airbus case study economic patriotism has played a significant role in problems created by government of different countries. The workforce at the company is geographically distributed in proportion to national ownership stakes. So this makes the workforce far from each other. According to the company it may help them to increase productive efficiency. But in an instance of economic nationalism (whereby the people support their respective rights and countries), the government of respective countries changed private transactions according to their thoughts and practices in order to protect the local economic interests.They discriminated foreigners in the name of national interes t. So political bodies came into role in order to support the local people. Their economic motives include the preservation of employment or attraction of economic activity to a certain area. And the company's strategic motives were to include national security in order to capture rents abroad in monopolistic market. But the patriotic approach of the company proved ineffective because it conflicts with the economic efficiency, which derives from the protection of the interests of the local lobbies. pic] The company tried to integrate all its employees and create a sense of togetherness but the â€Å"economic patriotism† practiced by the people and government in respective countries failed the company's objectives. The politicians want to win the votes from people by supporting their interest. The damaged caused by economic nationalism indirectly created inefficiency and poor performance of corporate governance. Due to this damage Airbus reputation was dented. The government d id not supported because it conflicted with the ideas and thoughts of the government.The cost cutting measures were delayed because the state aid first comes to rescue the government-supported company. The competition increased because government supported companies had privileged access to infrastructure and procurement contracts. This delayed all the process in the company and unnecessarily increased the loss and the cost of production. Indirectly the Airbus suffered from takeover threats from the more efficient organisations. Finally, the national efforts to support one's interest proved to be self-defeating as other countries react in kind, neutralising the initial attempt to gain competitive advantage.Reflection of the way the company was organised. One of the causes of the delay was the complex wiring system and the software compatibility. The digital system has 500,000 models that need to be kept in sync. Despite of the fact that even a single mistake can create problems the company operated from different regions further complicating the wiring system. The seems to be communication gap between the employees because engineers in Germany and Spain used the older V4 version of the CAD program to design the wiring whereas engineers in France and England used the newer V5 version.Although it has been said by the software developer that both the version were compatible but the company should not have taken risks of going with different versions. Although there was claim by developer regarding compatibility the data was lost while transferring files from one system to another. The suppliers were also not involved in a collaborative effort to anticipate problems. There was lack of training and communication among the engineers as well. It can be seen because the engineers in France were familiar with the software while the Germans did not have much experience with it.This shows that there is centralised decision in the company that made other engineers lack of knowledge. They built the different parts in different region, which further complicated the assembling system due to the lack of communication related to knowledge and software problems. Author Hellemans notes that ‘what happened in Germany was not just technical problems related to software but it was an execution failure due to lack of efficient knowledge'. (Davis, 2007) 1 From the problems that Airbus faced, the company was not properly organised because it seems that relied mostly on the software developer regarding the solutions.There was even lack of training, communication and transparency within the organisation. It seems that mostly the decision were made in headquarters only, not with the consent of other people. The merger of the national components in 2001 only integrated themselves officially but mentally they were far away from each other. It even seems to be inequality from lack of technological development equally because when France & England upgraded themse lves to V5 version, the German and Spain were still on the V4 versions. Lessons Learned. what are the lessons learnt from this specific research ie outcomes from analysis of the table/also comment on the quality of the research / ie selection of evaluation â€Å"parameters† to compare, what if scenarios / heuristics / deductions / further research) In the real world there is not any specific best way to integrate diverse cultures within an international joint venture. It solely depends upon the situation and the kind of cultures involves. But I am trying to be closer to individual's perception and actions that may lead to a common ground where everyone accept each other.Research: Proper research needs to done before setting up such a culturally diversified company. Research should be on the basis of the cultural dimension of Hofstedes1 i. e. power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculine vs. feminine, short-term vs. long-term orientation, what they like and what they don't. It helps them to integrate all their activities on the common grounds and come up with a solution that maybe acceptable to everyone. Collectivist's approach: As we don't have any idea about what people's want and desires are, a collectivists approach will explore the ideas and perceptions about each other.It will gradually help to know each other's ideas and beliefs that can be helpful to achieve the desired goals and objectives. Initially it may create problems but at the later stage when everybody has been known to each other it help people or employees to understand regarding what to do and what not to do. Diffuse relationships: The company employees need to be considered as members of a group or an organization. They should be involved decision-making process. It helps the employees to build rapport between themselves that in turn explore each other's ideas and beliefs.Their relationships with each other helps us to find how efficient the organization is and what steps need to be taken in order to tackle the cross-cultural issues. Teambuilding session should be conducted in order to create a feeling of oneness, which can increase the efficiency of a company. (Trompenaars, 1993; 8-11) 1. Equality: If we integrate diverse cultures within international joint venture equality should be always there in term development, technological advancement, knowledge, etc. n the Airbus it failed because Germany ; Spain had V4 version of the Cad programme whereas France ; England had the latest V5 version. So always proper standardisation should be adopted within the whole organization at a specific time. Global knowledge, local understanding: the approach should be to indulge diverse cultures but the process should be local. It means any activity done should be on the basis of the activity carries out in the home country of any organisation. Proper training should be given to its employees from the engineers at headquarters because they know it better than anyone else.Th is helps them to consume less time and achieve perfection, stabilisation, which is considered to be vital in any industry in order to achieve goals and objectives. Training can even be of language, way of doing things, actions, etc. Due to lack of proper training the Germans were not familiar with the software, it more delayed the project while executing the fuselages. Time focus (polychromic): Initially the top managers need to be polychromic in time i. e. the top managers need to focus on several tasks ; should be less dependent on detailed information hile doing these tasks. Their main focus should be on involvement with people. This helps the employees or the partners in business to be much more expressive and approach the management whenever they feel to do so. (Hall ; hall, 1990). References. 1. Marie-Joelle Browaeys and Roger Price – Understanding Cross-Cultural Management, 2008. 2. Marlo Thomas; Helene Hill, International Marketing Review, Vol16, Number: 4/5, Year: 19 99, pp: 376-390. 3. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Economic_nationalism. Read more: http://www. ukessays. om/essays/cultural-studies/airbus-case-study. php#ixzz2BNsfYQjM Economic Patriotism A key cross-cultural issue which has been highlighted is the considerable damage caused by economic patriotism to Airbus. An example of this economic patriotism which caused difficulties was the issue of German and Spanish engineers using the older V4 version of the CAD program; whereas the UK and France used the new V5 version. A significant reason for the rejection of the new system has been emphasized by Williams (cited in Clark, 2006) as a matter of national pride.The Germans felt the French were imposing the new system upon them, causing them to reject it. In relation to the GLOBE theory, this act can be identified as an action of assertiveness from German employees, due to the fact that they would rather emphasis on results rather than relationships. Furthermore, Webber (cited in Clark, 200 6) expressed this when he explained that â€Å"changing over to new software is costly and time consuming. As a result, German employees faced French imposition with confrontation. German and French governments also had extensive involvement causing increased economic patriotism. Will add government issues here and relate to individualism from Hofstede Reorganisation of company Airbus required a reorganisation of the company in order to improve â€Å"co-ordination, reduce the costs of production and the time between conception of planes and their introduction into service. † (Browaeys and Price, 2011, p 67), however this was not planned efficiently, due to the fact that culture differences would arise. A significant issue Airbus faced was the problem of having two CEO’s, one from Germany, the other from France.This caused significant concerns because they had to compromise over key decisions due to each country having different cultural approaches to business. †¢ This part will be related to power distance, uncertainty avoidance, collectivism (institutional)(no consideration for others) , future and performance orientation(very little performance as they are not achieving anything) †¢ Will include evidence that relates to the Airbus and globe †¢ Decentralized management †¢ Loss profits †¢ Common language didn’t go as planned Gender egalitarianism I will discuss gender egalitarianism as it’s a key issue because in the case study evidence suggests it’s a male dominated job Critically evaluate In this part of the essay I will evaluate the usefulness of the theory including issues such as: †¢ Data collected from 2004 (therefore not up-to-date) †¢ Quantitative research rather than qualitative Lessons learned †¢ Equality †¢ Rapport between employees †¢ More intensive research needs to be done †¢ Diffuse relationships †¢ Integrate activities on common ground Reference page ADLER, N. , and A. GUNDERSEN, 2008.International Dimensions of Organisational Behaviour. 5th ed. USA: Thomson Higher Education BROWAEYS, M. , and R. PRICE, 2011. Understanding cross cultural management. 2nd ed. England: Pearson Education Limited CLARK, N. , 2006. The airbus saga: crossed wired and a multibillion-euro delay- Business-International Herald Tribune [online] [viewed 25 October 2012]. Available from: http://www. nytimes. com/2006/12/11/business/worldbusiness/11iht-airbus. 3860198. html? pagewanted=all ———————– Important – choose one of the following statements (DELETE TWO THAT DO NOT APPLY): Intermediate submission

Square proposal

Rusk's Tasting Subject: Proposal to write a research paper on the impact of business communication problems of the employer's and the employees of Square Pharmacy along with a unique vision, higher mission and a goal orientation of that company Introduction The pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh is the most developed technical regions within our financial system. This industry manufactures almost firebrands of medicines and they follow different forms for different medicines. This sector is providing 97% of the total medicine requisite of the local market.With the aim to expand into the export market, leading pharmaceutical companies are escalating their business. Square Pharmaceuticals Limited, the flagship company of Square Group, is holding the strong leadership position in the pharmaceutical industry of Bangladesh since 1985 and is now on its way to becoming a high performance global player. It is a trusted name in the industry of manufacturing quality medicines for more than four decade. SQUARE today symbolizes a name – a state of mind. It has today burgeoned into one of the top line conglomerates in Bangladesh.Certain reports suggests that Square is the FIRST to manufacture and market Modernization, Inclining and Catecholamine after the expiry of patents to export antibiotics and other ethical drugs overseas. O develop sustained release technology locally. To achieve an all-time industry high record sales turnover of US$ 25 million. To locally Decisional sodium in the chemical division. In addition to these Firsts, SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Limited (SSP) was always ahead in introducing new products in the market.Their sales turnover was more than Take 1 1. 46 Billion (IIS$ 163. 71 million) with about 16. 43% market share (April 2009- March 2010) having a growth rate of about 16. 72%. The major problem they are facing is communication problem between employees and employers within Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd. This problem has aroused because of not m aintaining a formal relationship between the employer and the employees. A well-managed business organization normally considers the employees as the vital foundation of efficiency gains.As it is a large organization so most of the times it has been seen that the top level employer gives orders to the lower level employees but they do not do their work and as they maintain a friendly relationship those top level managers cannot take adequate steps against them. Maintaining a friendly relationship within an organization is not a bad thing but sometimes the top level employers should behave in a formal way in order to make the employees work alongside the rules and obligations of the company's respected managers and employers.If this problem can be solved then they will give their best performance to enhance the organization. So basically we want to specialize in the communication problems regarding the employers and employees internally. Effective communication occurs only if the rec eiver understands the exact information or idea that the sender intended to transmit. Many of the problems that occur in an organization are the direct result of people failing to communicate. Therefore, we want to figure out the main problem in maintaining the formal relationship of this company's employers and employees within the organization.We want to do an in-depth analysis in order to figure out the communication problems and to find out their rational solutions. Every organization has a unique vision, a higher mission and a goal oriented with that company. We want to know the vision, mission and goals of this pharmaceutical. 2 Research Questions Does Square Pharmaceuticals have a business communication problem? If yes, then what type of business communication problems do they have? What are the reasons behind these communication problems? What are the impacts on that organization because of those communication problems?How can these problems be solved? What are the actions t hey are taking in order to solve those problems? Is there any possibility to ever solve those communication problems? If the problem be solved, what types of benefit will the organization get? Hypothesis The following hypotheses are developed for the study:HA : Technological changes may dad to communication problems. H2O: SAP software maybe more difficult to use than unfriendly to technological changes leading to communication problems. HA: The grapevine may break the hierarchy of information flow.HA: There maybe communication problems regarding changes in compensation and benefited structure. HA: There maybe communication problems regarding performance appraisal strategies. HA: Cultural differences may also cause difficulties in non-verbal communications, causing mixed messages. HA: Leaked confidential information creates a liability issue and may causes communication problem. HA: Communication problems may occurs due to employees who fail to listen or who don't know how to activel y listen to their colleagues.HI O: Negative and indifference attitudes amongst the employers and employees creates communication problems. 3 Research Methodology For our primary data we will survey on the employer and the employees of Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Through a questionnaire to find out their perception regarding this business communication problem and how it can be solved. Also we will interview one of the employers of that organization to know his/her opinion about hose problems and what actions should be taken in order to solve these matters.The secondary data of this report are collected from Square Pharmaceuticals and some other reports such as some well reputed newspapers articles; Daily Star, Dacha Tribune, then Journals and through browsing the internet. Organization Our research paper will follow the general format of a research paper with the main sections such as Introduction, Literature review, Methodology, Limitations, Data Analysis, Findings/Results of the r esearch, Discussion and Conclusion, References.Hence, the organization of this paper will be directed by the research questions which would be answered in the above mentioned main sections. Timetable We intend to follow the subsequent time schedule presented in the class in order to accomplish our research paper timely: June 24 : Final draft of the research proposal August 12: Submission of the research paper Request for Approval the valuable suggestions and instructions from you that will lead us towards our research about the silent killer: business communication problems of Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd. 4

Commentary for “The May Poles and Their Queen” Essay

When reading the Greek myth Orpheus, I was immediately struck by the heroism of the central character. Orpheus is the classic male hero, overcoming all obstacles to bring back his beloved Eurydice, only to be eventually thwarted by something even more powerful than his heroism: his own love. Because of the essentially classical, romanticized nature of Orpheus, I felt it would be an ideal source text for a modern-day interpretation. In order to gain a better understanding of the text, I initially adopted, in Stuart Hall’s terms, the ‘preferred’ reading; that is, how the audience are ‘meant’ to read a text, who they are expected to empathise with and what conclusions they are meant to draw. Applying Greimas’s structuralist scheme, I found it easy to identify Orpheus as the ‘subject’ or, according to Propp’s ‘spheres of influence’, the ‘hero’. Orpheus can also be identified as Propp’s ‘donor’ figure through his extraordinary skill at playing the lyre, which provides him with apparently limitless power when it comes to charming the gods of the underworld. The ‘sender’ would be Eurydice, for dying and subsequently ‘sending’ Orpheus on his quest to the underworld. The ‘villain’ could be Aristaeus for chasing Eurydice, or any of the creatures of the underworld for opposing Orpheus. Alternatively, and perhaps more interestingly, the ‘villain’ could be Orpheus’s own love, which is so strong it forces him to look back, and lose his wife forever. Eurydice can also be identified as Greimas’s ‘object’ or Propp’s ‘princess’: the ‘object’ of Orpheus’s quest, whose only ‘skill’ is to be desired by the ‘subject’, Orpheus. I also applied Tzvetan Tordorov’s theory that there is a similar narrative framework to all stories. For Todorov, a story usually begins with a state of peace and harmony, an ‘equilibrium’: Orpheus has his love, his music and is happy. This then evolves into ‘disruption’: Eurydice dies and Orpheus must journey to the underworld to bring her back. Then Orpheus attempts to repair the ‘disequilibrium’, by charming the creatures of the underworld. Next, according to Todorov, a ‘new equilibrium’ is often found. However, in Orpheus, this is not the case. Eurydice is left in the underworld and Orpheus’s head is left singing alone in the upper world, still crying out for his lost love, unable to find his ‘new equilibrium’ by being denied even unity in death. Applying these structuralist theories, I found, only served to emphasize the essentially patriarchal nature of the myth. The literary theorist Terry Eagleton talks of how â€Å"[a text’s] blindnesses, what it does not say and how it does not say it†¦ [is] maybe as important as what it articulates† (Eagleton, 1996) i.e. the ‘untold’ story, the ‘gaps’ in the original tale, can allow for additional perspectives other than the conventional, ‘preferred’ reading. In reference to Orpheus, I felt that the character of Eurydice, and her account of events, was a very important ‘blindness’, which had been largely ignored by Greek mythology. Because of this, I decided to adopt a more ‘oppositional reading’, as Hall would characterise it, and subsequently, a more ‘feminist’ approach, making Eurydice the classic hero. This opened up a variety of possibilities to me concerning the other roles. Could Orpheus (or Christian in my re-working) now become the ‘villain’, his ‘quest’, from her perspective, becoming more akin to a ‘hunting down’? The ‘object’ could now become Edie’s desire to be recognised and appreciated. Could Christian’s ‘underworld’ not be Edie’s ‘new equilibrium’? I also thought it would be interesting to strip Christian of his ‘donor’ role by making his musical talent all a faà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ade. I felt that it was a perfectly reasonable reading of the original text to believe that the reason Orpheus ‘required’ Eurydice was simply to act as his ‘muse’ and inspire him to create beautiful music. By interpreting Orpheus’ need for Eurydice on a more literal level, I could make Edie the one who was the true musician. This makes Christian’s need for her all the more desperate as, without Edie, Christian feels he can no longer be a successful musician, as is the case in the original text. I also felt that the tale of Orpheus had almost become too romanticized and was subsequently open to a parody. Consequently, I tried to create a carnivalesque interpretation, that is, exaggerate some of the key aspects of the characters until they almost become ‘grotesque’, in order to evoke humour. I decided to make my target audience aged 14-18, as I felt that they would feel comfortable with the modern-day, often egotistical, music culture, and also be open to, and appreciate, the attempt to invert the original tale’s gender stereotyping. As I wanted to create a visually dynamic as well as linguistically comical piece, I chose the genre of a television drama: a genre likely to appeal to my target audience. This also allows the piece to suddenly break out of realism in order to give the drama a distinctly surreal edge, for example, the impromptu arrival of the snake. I felt the addition of this element of ‘magical realism’ to the piece would add to the farcical nature and heighten the comedy. The opening few scenes are key to establishing the tone of the piece, and also the characters’ relationships. The opening scene of a â€Å"rock band† performing on stage is designed to grab the viewer’s attention, whilst also appealing to my target audience. Christian uses the informal register of the archetypal ‘rock star’: â€Å"We’ve been Christian and the May Poles! Goodnight!† This type of lexis has connotations of arrogance and vanity, which is designed to contrast with the stupidity of Orpheus’s kilt and also the band name ‘Christian and the May Poles’, a pun on the original ‘Maenads’. By having Edie backstage, providing the real musical talent, she initially appears a relatively oppressed, marginalised character: always forced to stay in the background: â€Å"Yeah. Well, I ain’t ‘Christian’, am I?† There is a sense that Edie has accepted the belief imposed upon her by Christian: that she is simply an accessory to his success. I gave her a distinct Northern accent in order to appear more ‘down to earth’ than her ‘rock star’ counterpart, and also to appeal more to the audience as the ‘under-dog’. Throughout, Christian is portrayed as the archetypal, vain, male ‘rock star’. I attempted to emphasize this vanity linguistically, through his self-obsessed use of language – â€Å"You’ve already got flowers. My flowers. Flowers handpicked by moi† – and also through his obsession with his eyebrows. I felt that by giving this conventionally ‘effeminate’ concern to both Christian and Al, I could further parody the ‘strong’ male stereotype associated with Greek myths. One of the key changes that I made to the original text was that in my drama, Edie runs away from Christian as opposed to â€Å"Aristaeus†. She is also willingly ‘bitten’ by the snake. By having Edie willingly leave Christian for the ‘underworld’, this is in keeping with my overall ‘feminist’ angle of approach, as it now becomes Edie’s ‘quest’ to find her role as a performer. Instead of making the characters of my ‘underworld’ subtly linked to the characters in the original myth, I decided on overstating their most obvious physical features in order to provide an out and out carnivalesque adaptation. Because of this, I decided that a theatre would be an ideal setting, and, by drawing inspiration from the character of the serpent, introduced the idea of a pantomime production of the Bible in the hope that this would generate further humour. Deliberately playing with the notion of stereotypes, that is foregrounding the whole issue, was also a comic device. Just as Christian is the ‘stereotypical rock star’, so all the characters of the underworld are stereotypical actors, as I felt this would add a new angle to these conventionally frightening characters. The use of ‘stock’ figures and the language associated with them, – such as the ‘wise’ Yorkshiremen – would also speed up audience recognition and mean the characters would not need to be individually introduced. In earlier drafts, I had attempted to give the beginning a more serious edge, in order to contrast with the absurdity of the underworld. I had incorporated monologues, in the style of Jim Cartwright’s Road, in an attempt to provide greater character insight. However, these monologues seemed to ‘jar’ with the other scenes and make the beginning appear ‘flat’, without really adding to the piece. Although they established the characters, they did so in a rather bland, pedestrian way, so these scenes were reworked. However, I still felt I had to emphasize the difference between the characters of the ‘upper world’ and those of the ‘underworld’ and one of the main ways I did this was through my choice of language. Because my chosen setting was a theatre, I wanted to give the language of the ‘underworld’ a distinct theatrical edge. One of the ways I tried to achieve this was through my use of â€Å"luvvies'† discourse, for example, the Serpent’s line â€Å"How marvellous!†, an indication of the affected register of language associated with the theatre. This inflated speech is in immediate contrast to both Christian and Edie’s more ‘down to earth’, Northern dialect and I tried to emphasize this contrast by having the two types of speech juxtaposed in order that they might ‘break against’ each other and subsequently, generate humour: â€Å"Greetings Child/Who the hell are you?† Another theatrical device which I made use of was the ‘one liner’ – a device associated with pantomime – in the hope that this would make the piece feel like a â€Å"pantomime production of Orpheus† as it were. For example the serpent’s ‘one-liner’ â€Å"I’m playing the serpent incidentally† attempts to add humour by overstatement, as I interpreted this character on a literal level and made my serpent, an actor â€Å"wearing a giant green snake costume†. This line also refers to both the pantomime production of the Bible and the original Greek myth. It will inform viewers already familiar with the myth that the ‘descent into the underworld’ is about to begin, and provide a ‘sneak preview’ into future events. The ‘wise men’, Rod, Bob and Todd were added to act as a Cerebus figure. I gave them each a pint of beer in order that they might ‘foam at the mouth’ as Cerebus was famed for doing, and made them â€Å"drunk and†¦ quite menacing† in order to, like Cerebus, be perceived as ‘vicious’. Through their physical similarity and the syntactical correspondency of their language, they are designed to appear like a ‘club-act’, finishing off each other’s sentences in an almost ‘pantomime patter’ style, in order to ‘gang up’ on Christian: â€Å"We are wise men./The wise men of Yorkshire†. I also made them speak simultaneously, in order to appear as though they are ‘one being with three heads’: â€Å"We know!† I transformed the original mythological character of Charon into another actor, Little Ron. I combined many of the traditional aspects of Charon such as the hood and cape, with sunglasses in order to contrast with Charon’s ‘blazing eyes’ motif. I also made him exceptionally short in order to dismiss any preconceptions which the audience may have of Charon being ‘spooky’ and ‘all powerful’. As opposed to Orpheus paying Charon ‘one silver coin’ to descend in the underworld, Christian instead gives Little Ron a cigarette. I felt this fitted in with my modern-day outlook and also would add a comical element by effectively having â€Å"God† smoking. One of the most dramatic changes I made to the original tale was that in my version, Edie chooses to stay in the ‘underworld’, and it is she, as opposed to Des/Hades, who sends Christian back to the ‘upper world’ with the dismissive remark â€Å"I’m an actress, Chris†. By changing the original ending, Edie has found her real existence in the underworld, and to her, it is the upper world which is full of misery. Christian, however becomes a classic picture of male melancholy: â€Å"homeless and unable to even strum his guitar.† He is an allusion to the current crisis in masculinity, a phenomenon often voiced in the media, his ‘traditional role’ as the performer taken over by his female counterpart: abandoned for â€Å"Keith Harris†. Because of this, Christian feels his masculinity has been threatened. This is then made ironic by his final effeminate cry of â€Å"My tweezers!† In the final scene, I had Edie â€Å"smiling sadistically† as she plucks her eyebrows, indicative of her mocking of Christian, a reversal of the original patriarchal tale. For whereas in the original text, it is the ‘hero’ Orpheus who ‘goes on his quest and fails’, in my transformation it is the ‘heroine’ Edie, who not only sets off on her ‘quest’ but also succeeds and ultimately, it is she who ‘comes out on top’. BIBLIOGRAPHY Philip, Neil. The Illustrated Book of Myths, (DK, 2000) Hughes, Ted. Ted Hughes’ Collected Plays for Children, (Faber, 2001) Widdicombe, Rupert. The Sunday Times, (4 September 1994, CINEMA, pages 10-11) Ross, Alison and Greatrex, Jen. A2 English Language and Literature, (Heinemann, 2001) Eagleton, Terry. Literary Theory, An Introduction (Blackwell, 1996) Machery, Pierre. A Theory of Literary Production (Routlege and Kegan Paul. 1978) Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths:1 (Penguin, 1955) Vogler, Christopher. The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (Michael Wiese Productions, 1998) Cartwright, Jim. Road (Samuel French, 1989)

Econmics 100 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Econmics 100 - Essay Example Since the net export is a part of the gross domestic product, considerable rise in exports has led to significant rise in GDP of the country. This in turn is reflected in the higher growth rate of the economy. The growth of an economy is measured by calculating the changes occurring in the total volume of output in the economy or the real income of the individual residents of the nation. However, in recent years there has been less than expected level of economic growth. Therefore the government has adopted different fiscal and monetary policies to boost up economic activities in the country. This paper analyses the policy prescriptions followed by the government as presented in the article. 3.0 Analysis 3.1 Export led growth The 1993 United Nations System of National Accounts (1993 SNA) allows the countries to calculate their growth with the help of any of three credible indicators; the volume of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), real gross domestic income or the re al gross national income. The GDP is the easiest and the most uncomplicated way to account for the growth of a country (World Development Indicators: 2012, 217). The gross domestic product is defined as â€Å"the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time† (Mankiw 2011, 494). The most commonly used approach to measure the GDP is the expenditure method (Taylor 2006, 138). Economists denote GDP as ‘Y’ and divide the components of GDP in to four parts; consumption (denoted by C), investment (denoted by I), government expenditure (denoted by G) and the net exports made by the country (denoted by NX) (Mankiw 2011, 496). The identity that represents the GDP calculation is as follows: Y = C + I + G + NX The net exports component of the GDP is actually the difference between the amount of export and the amount of imports made by the economy. If this difference is positive, it implies the amount of total exports is gre ater than the amount of total import and positive net exports increases the total GDP of the country. If the level of exports falls short of the level of imports, there is negative net export and the amount of GDP declines. The Chinese policy of emphasizing on exports has brought dauntless growth in the Chinese economy since the past three decades. However, recently the Chinese have been facing a huge external constraint in this path of growth. China depends on the international market heavily for its exports, particularly the U.S. and the Europe. The large scale exports made to the U.S. is leading to massive trade deficit in the U. S. It is causing financial vulnerability and discouraging the country’s manufacturing sector. This can potentially harm the development process of the country and stall its course of recovery that is still in progress after the severe sub-prime crisis that occurred in the year 2007. Since the USA is a large country in terms of the Chinese exports, recession in the country might affect the entire world economy, including China. Hence the Chine policy makers have considered shifting their attention towards domestic demand. As the article published in a BBC website says, the policymakers have expressed the desire â€Å"to increase domestic demand to reduce its dependence on exports and achieve more sustainable growth†

Evaluation essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evaluation - Essay Example The movie drew numerous reactions from Americans. For some Americans, the movie exposed what has been happening in the health care system denying the Americans the level of health care they deserve. For others, the movie is, but an exaggeration of the existing drawbacks in the health care system. A close analysis of the movie reveals that Moore addresses critical issues that need attention if the health care system is to be improved. This paper will highlight how Moore successfully exposes the frauds and the scandals in the health care system. A documentary that seeks to make a revelation of an existing failed system should present facts and accurate statistics. It is wrong to make false accusations that lack evidence of proving the claims. This is what is expected in Moore’s film. For it to qualify as a successful documentary, it is critical to analyze whether Moore uses facts and provides evidence for all the claims that he makes. In addition, the claims made by a documentary should be compelling and strong enough to influence policymaking. This is the reason why producers should look for substantial evidence that can influence policy making in the end. The purpose of the documentary should remain evident and the producer should stay from propaganda. The integration of the producer’s opinion with voices from people considered as an authority in a specific field serves to validate the claims made in the film (Moore). Moore’s film can be analyzed based on these criteria in an effort to ascertain that he succeeds in making a documentary that exposes the failure of the health care systems. Evidently, Michael Moore presents facts in his film. He uses statistics to explain the percentage of Americans who lack insurance. He also highlights that over 45 million Americans have insurance covers that prove inadequate when they need medical care

Islam or Shariah Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Islam or Shariah Law - Essay Example Islam or ‘shariah’ law governs under the Islamic code mentioned in the Quran and Hadiths.   It is supposed to be the legal and moral code for every Muslim, comprising of religious matters financial positions and every day issues. Since the instigate of the 21stcentury many Muslim countries including Malaysia, Indonesia morocco and Pakistan, encouraged and responded to democracy and voiced their opinions of it being a much better system to govern countries. Whether the current sociopolitical and cultural settings are compatible with the ‘shariah’ law is the main point which plagues many Muslim men and women. The difficulties faced by Muslims all over are due to the confusion over the legal systems i.e. whether to follow the Islamic mode of punishment or to follow the state; whether the correct method of trade is the Islamic way (free of credit) or to follow the commercial and state policies. There have always been debates over the judicial system whether as to give harsh punishments or let the constitution decide? The debate goes on between political leader and scholars. Some Muslimscholarsbelieve that the amalgamation of ‘shariah’ laws in the legal system of a country is the best way to actually observe the Islamiclaws. One example of this is the fact that polygamy is punishable in several countries, but allowed by Islamic law. In India cows are considered sacred but they are part of the Islamic sacrificial ritual of Eid where they are slaughtered. These are situations where a Muslim cannot act based on his religion alone and has to consider the state laws first. The reaction of â€Å"secularizingIslam† has not always been a pretty sight. Just last year the Archbishop of Canterbury   was fiercely scrutinized by the Government and the political circle, his own Church and other religions after he supported the adoption of a few ‘shariah’ laws in the British system.While some British Muslim scholars ig nored it saying it will not and does not have enough votes by the community. The main point is that most nations support secular systems which are not compatible with Islamic law. The fact that the Archbishop was so heavily criticized shows that the majority in these nations do not support any such laws either. Muslims are therefore stuck in a situation where they must choose whether they wish to conform to the state law or follow their own.

Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Portfolio - Essay Example When the fundamentals are portrayed to be poor, not only does it indicate a poor investment opportunity, but it also hinders the growth of the industry. It is usually a bad image and information to the insurance clients if they realize that their insurance company is not in good financial position to pay them, if it is faced with a huge number of claims. Taking a look at the current performance of the insurance industry, it is hard to predict the position that insurance companies will occupy in future. Even an insurance company is successful in the present period does not guarantee success in future. Some of the reasons leading to future uncertainties of insurance industry include customer experience. For instance, if the insurance company does not offer products desired by the customer, then him or her will automatically go elsewhere searching for the same product. it is thus important for insurance companies to find issues affecting their clients and come up with appropriate ways of responding to the identified issues. Basing on the present characteristics of customers, it is apparent that the future customer will be at the center stage in shaping the system of life insurance. Available researches have revealed that the new customer is not ready to buy products unless he has full information of it. In addition, future customers will not have time to interact with agents or having a conversation with them. Many future customers will be interested in finding out facts about life insurance and not just talking to agents. In spite of the fact that agents are very helpful through provision of information to the insured, future customers will mostly avoid speaking to the agents and instead find out facts about products offered by various insurance companies on their own. Thus future customers will be mostly relying on their personal research so as to vet insurance companies and their respective policies. Therefore, insurance

Male youth suicide in the UK and its emergence as a social problemin Dissertation

Male youth suicide in the UK and its emergence as a social problemin the 1990s in related to press - Dissertation Example The effects of the portrayal of male suicide in the prominent UK publications, The Times and The Guardian, will be presented, detailing how media coverage of this subject has affected the suicide rates of male youth in order to set up the research question that will be examined in more detail in the M2 project. I have chosen The Times and The Guardian as the two referential publications for my research because they are both quality publications that have already gone through the process of tabloidization and currently can be relied on to provide accurate, quality information. The public believes they treat current affairs fairly seriously, so, they are important in forming views and peoples opinions. 2 Suicide Defined Establishing a comprehensive definition for what qualifies as ‘suicide’ is quite difficult, since the most common definitions of the word and the technical definition used by the Coroner’s office in England and Wales diverge. The most common definiti ons of ‘suicide’ are expressed in the following context: a. â€Å"The act of deliberately taking one's own life† (Frankish and Jeffereys). b. ... officially published suicide figures are collected from coronial investigations that take place in cases of unexpected or sudden deaths, and involve post-mortem reports, psychiatric records of the victim, and the social history as denoted by the friends and family, and suicide letters, if any (Sainsbury & Jenkins, 1982). A coronial verdict leaves a large scope for various probability factors, like suicidal behavioural tendencies noticed previously, records of psychiatric problems, associated social events that may have lead the victim to commit suicide, or a suicide note. There are also certain amounts of variations in the certification procedures, as the suicide certification in the UK is based on the coroners’ verdicts that are founded on public inquests; while in Germany, suicide cases are certified only by the general practitioners (Cantor, 2000). Often the problems in delineating suicides like drug overdoses, motor crashes where there was only one passenger (Phillips, 197 7), or death by drowning (O’Donnell & Farmer, 1995), makes it difficult for the investigators to arrive at a conclusion (Cantor, 2000). These aforementioned types of deaths are very often termed as accidental (see Figure 2), and owing to lack of any strong evidences, like a suicide letter, the deaths cannot be termed as presumably suicide (however there are differences based on the coroners’ choice). Thus, we find that, due to lack of evidences, suicides may be registered as ‘accidental’ deaths from unknown causes, unlike deaths by hanging, strangulation, or suffocation that are seen as conclusive evidence of suicide (see Figure 1). Figure 1: Deaths from ‘Suicides’ and ‘Undetermined Injury’ in England in 2008 (Gunnell, 6). Here the variations in the processes adopted for suicide

PetMeds annotated outline Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PetMeds annotated outline - Case Study Example The products are also advertised on the internet platform through social media and video advertisements (PetMeds Express, Inc, 2012). Emails are used to persuade new customers. Old customers are reminded to make purchases through the emails, as well (PetMeds Express, Inc, 2012). The website of the company is also an effective means of marketing the products. The products sold by the company are purchased directly from four major manufacturers. However, these manufacturers offer a variety of resources that cater for the needs of all customers (PetMeds Express, Inc, 2012). Customers make orders directly from the company’s website (PetMeds Website). Optionally, a customer can make a toll-free call to the company’s customer representatives to place an order (PetMeds Express, Inc, 2012). The company has a program in which customer care representatives receive training, on a continuous basis, from training officers. These representatives take care of customer complaints and compliments hence evaluation of customer satisfaction is possible (PetMeds Express, Inc, 2012). After making the order, the company’s supply-chain section, based Pompano Beach, processes the order and ships it to customers across the US. Customers can track the progress of their orders through the company website (PetMeds Express, Inc, 2012). This section analyses the market threats of the company and how it has achieved to counter them. The company has experienced stiff competition from veterinarians and other retailers, traditional and online based. In fact, the veterinarians have even engaged in a litigation battle with the company (Fiala, 2012). However, the company commands a greater market share due to the affordability of its products, promptness in delivery and convenience. The company’s net profits have been relatively flat in the past years, and this is attributed to the increased administrative and general expenses. Nevertheless, this is set to improve in the

Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 18

Analysis - Essay Example This book is about these changes and what effective managers can do to understand and anticipate such changes and respond accordingly (Henry and Kenneth 34). The organization should also include qualities such as reliability, availability, and the background of the persons they hire. The DIY projects that they greatly encourage have to be limited and monitored in order to ensure that the hired personnel provide top quality projects instead of just a creative but shoddy piece of work (Henry and Kenneth 24). The leadership presented is the transformational style of leadership (Robbins 10) whereby the workers are not strictly monitored thereby they depend on themselves to be their own leaders, this is very effective as the workers are not bossed around and they set their own milestones with each employee trying to perform his best leading to a very productive organization (Robbins 12). The communication method presents itself as a reliable means since majority of the people are connected to the Internet due to the rise of social websites and the development of technology over the years. Distinguished by its incorporation of theory, examination, practice and a wide managerial perception, this text has a universal edge (Richard 93). It scrutinizes in detail on how people behave at work, discussing each person’s individual characteristics, their work environment, group dynamics as well as individual and combined behavior. This edition incorporates international and moral issues throughout, and discovers many interesting subjects, including Total Quality Management, managing diversity and virtual corporations (Richard

Iran Country Assessment Essay Example for Free

Iran Country Assessment Essay The Islamic Republic of Iran is a country governed by a regime that began with a revolution headed by Ayatollah Khomeini over two decades ago. Khomeini was the first to label the United States as the ‘Great Satan. ’ Although the Iranian government denies it, terrorism has been actively supported, both materially and morally, for years by Iran and Iran supports efforts damaging to the U. S. If the more extreme elements in Iran continue to hold power and arm themselves with nuclear weapons, the international repercussions would be far-reaching. Understanding of Iran is important for members of the U. S. Armed Forces in order to comprehend the scope of Iran’s extremist’s leanings. On the other hand, many of Iran’s citizens love the United States and are resentful of Iran’s oppressive regime. The anti democracy and hindrance of personal liberty have taken a large toll on the Iranian youth. Iran’s younger generation has put forth a lot of resistance against this oppressive regime. Over two thirds of Iran’s population is under the age of 30, which is good from an operational standpoint. This massive amount of young people generally feels that there is hope to moderate if not remove the oppressive regime. Recently a few young Iranians have been frustrated to the point of actively demonstrating against the regime. It is also important to mention many younger Iranians want improved relations with the United States. Most urban Iranians have access to the Internet and satellite television and are able to compare their standard of living with that of the United States and Western Europe. The Kurdish people believe that they are a nation in itself that are deserving of a sovereign homeland. After the formation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, many Kurdish sided with the Iranian leftist and protested against Ayatollah Khomeini and his regime. In 1979, the Kurdish formed a rebellion, which ended with thousands of Kurdish dead. Shortly after this, Khomeini centered his power and banded Kurds from serving in government office and greatly enforced freedom of expression. The Party of Free Life of Kurdistan is a militant group that is based out of Iraq but has been consistently performing operations in Iran. Iran has prepared to conduct military action against the group and has moved a large portion of Iran’s military to Kurdistan to hinder the uprising of the militant group. The Party of Free Life of Kurdistan would be a great asset to possible future operation in Kurdistan. The party is semi supportive of the United States but will most likely be more than willing to help in U. S operations in Iran due to their long-term goal of destroying the regime. Iran is a tough operational problem set due to their advanced military and technical power. Operations in Iran should be focused on using the people of Iran to include the youth and Kurdish people. Intelligence operations would be better suited for using Iran’s youth because they are more supportive of the Untied States and have the ability to work in Iran’s government and military. The Kurdish are not trusted in the government and would not be able to provide accurate intelligence. Operations should be held out of North East Iraq due to the likelihood of Iraq cooperating with the United States during operations. Iraq has a large portion of Kurdistan and it would be easy to work with the Kurds right out of Iraq. Iran and Iraq have a long history of war which only furthers Iraqs likelihood of helping the U. S. Iran is a very dynamic and technologically advanced country, which presents many intelligence issues. The help of Kurdistan, Iranian youth and Iraq would greatly increase the likelihood of operational success in Iran.

Automobile and Tucker Essay Example for Free

Automobile and Tucker Essay The movie, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, is the story of a man named Preston Tucker and takes place in the 1940s. Preston Tuckers dream was to design and build the greatest automobile ever made. At first, he began by bringing home drawings of his dream car, which was to be called the Tucker Torpedo. He showed the drawings to a man who would eventually become his partner, Abe. Initially, Abe doesnt like the idea of building a car, but he didnt know anything about cars. Tucker placed an advertisement in a magazine about his car, and the public became excited. The car would have an engine in the rear, a middle headlight that turned with the car, and a windshield that would pop out when the car was in a wreck. In the meantime, Robert Bennington, who was the CEO of Ford, became worried that the Tucker Torpedo may put Ford out of business, so Bennington made a deal with him to allow him to buy a plant to build the car in. This also gave Ford a reason to be involved in building the car. The deal stated that Tucker must make at least fifty cars in one year in order to keep the plant, and the first car needed to be presented to the public within sixty days. Abe invested $6,000 to help Tucker build the first car. On the day of the presentation, the car was built but had no engine. Therefore, they had some problems getting it on stage, but once it was on stage, the thousands of people who attended the presentation cheered. After that, Bennington announced to Tucker that he wanted to change the car. He didnt want the engine in the rear of the car, and since the ? Big 3, the three largest automobile makers in the US, were buying all of the steel, there was not enough for Tucker to buy to build his cars. Tucker protested the ? Big 3. A man named Howard Hughes, who owned a steel company, told Tucker about a helicopter company who needed to sell steel. So Tucker bought a helicopter engine and converted it to a car engine, and the car worked. After Tucker protested the ? Big 3, he was spied on by people who worked for the ? Big 3 companies. They accused him of not running his business properly, but it was not true. Abe got scared because he had already served three years in prison for bank fraud and did not want to get caught up in another mess, so he resigned. Then, there were commercials out that told the public that Tuckers car was built piece by piece from a junkyard. Eventually, the government started a full investigation on Tucker and charged him with fraud. Tucker lost most of his investors from this, and had already spent too much money trying to build the car. He did make all the cars, but he did not make the fifty car minimum in time and lost his plant. He was found not guilty of fraud, but after all the bad publicity, people no longer wanted the cars, and Tucker had lost a lot of money, so no more cars were ever made. Today, some of Tuckers Torpedos are still around; some are in museums, and some of them even still run. After watching the movie, I researched the Tucker Tornado on the Internet. One source, The History of the Tucker 48, at www. gizmohighway. com, says that the car actually had additional features not mentioned in the movie. In addition to the turning headlight, rear engine and the windshield that would pop out, the Tucker Torpedo also had more room inside the car and padded steering wheels and dashboards. Another source, 1946 Tucker Torpedo, at www.cybersteering. com, also says that Tucker applied for a $30 million loan before he was accused of fraud and that in 1956, Tucker died of lung cancer in Brazil while trying to build another car, the Carioca. I also found in the open letter from Preston Tucker, at www. tuckerclub. org, that this is a letter that Preston Tucker wrote to protest the other automobile companies and the investigations that eventually killed his company. In it he says that he actually had 1,872 Tucker dealers and almost 50,000 investors that put $25 million into his company. The definition of an entrepreneurship is a person who organizes and manages a business, assuming the risk for the sake of a profit. Preston Tucker started a company and wanted to build a car for Americans knowing that it would take a lot of money that he did not have. He organized and managed the business and assumed the risk of losing a lot of money for a lot of people. I think that Tucker was not treated fairly by his competition. New entrepreneurs like Preston Tucker should be given the same fair chance to build a business just like the others had to build theirs.

The Importance of Feasibility Analysis

The Importance of Feasibility Analysis This report analyses the importance of Feasibility Analysis to businesses when they are deciding on the viability of a proposed business venture involving the implementation or improvement of an information system. This report is split into three parts the initial part defines a feasibility analysis, the second part explains how an IT feasibility analysis should be conducted using the template of the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and the last section in this report examines a completed feasibility study by Powerco, a utilities distribution Company in New Zealand. What is a feasibility analysis? As the words feasibility analysis suggests a feasibility analysis is carried out to decide on the viability of a proposed venture; basically it answers the essential question of is it a viable option and should the project be implemented. All stages of the analysis are carried out in order to answer this question. When researching it is clear that the majority of all large successful businesses conduct a feasibility study to ensure they embark on a viable project, for example Microsoft have a large research department situated in many different cities throughout the globe, this department collaborates with many institutions producing many feasibility analyses a year. When examining successful businesses such as Microsoft, I discovered they will not commit to a new project without first thoroughly assessing all of the variables and reviewing the probability of success through a feasibility study. The feasibility analysis process As a feasibility analysis is often time consuming and expensive (many companies pay consultants to perform the analysis), a preliminary study is undertaken to determine if it would be worthwhile to proceed to the feasibility analysis, within this preliminary study the evaluation of alternatives is made along with brief cost and benefit analysis. A feasibility study is usually conducted after the project managers have discussed all project ideas and every possible scenario, only if the results are positive the feasibility study begins. The content of feasibility Analysis Within a feasibility study it is necessary to discuss a number of areas including; details of the present system; what are the functions and objectives, who are the Stakeholders and the reasons to improve or replace the current system for example inconsistencies / inadequacies in functionality or performance, is there any possible solution alternatives and the advantages and disadvantages of the alternatives. Feasibility analysis can be split into four types; Operational factors; Operational feasibility is used to assess how well the information systems will work if implemented in the given environment. Define the urgency of the project If the project is implemented, will it be a success? Does management support the project? How do end users feel about the new system? People tend to resist change can this problem be overcome? Can management and end users adapt to the change? Has the proposed venture conflicted with organisational or government regulations? Schedule factors; It often takes time to build and implement an information system solution; will the project still be necessary on completion? The technology may exist, but are there the skills available to not only complete the project but complete it on schedule? Is the project deadline reasonable? Is the deadline desirable or mandatory? What are the results of failing to meet the project deadline? Technical; Technical feasibility is the measure of the practicality of specific technical information system solutions and the availability of technical resources. Often new technologies are solutions looking for a problem to solve: Is the technology for the information system solution practical? Does the necessary technology exist? Is the technology proven? Is the technology practical and reliable? Are the necessary skills available to design and implement the system? Is there the infrastructure to cope with ongoing maintenance (problems, upgrades) Economic; This is regularly the most important analysis made, it asks important questions; Is the project justified (i.e. will benefits outweigh costs)? Can the project be done, within given cost constraints? What is the minimal cost to attain a certain system? Which alternative offers the best return on investment? How much will it cost to maintain? The 12 Stages of an ITIL Feasibility Analysis ITIL is a global guidance document that provides worlds best practices for IT service management companies. ITIL guidelines are often used in feasibility studies and are broken down into twelve stages. These twelve stages are described in this next section and if necessary a brief example has been given; Introduction It is important that an introduction to the feasibility analysis is made; this introduction includes the content, the intent, the intended audience, the purpose, and organizational details of the feasibility analysis. Management Summary This stage summarises, what the other stages within the template will explain in more detail; this section provides a quick overview of the feasibility analysis and would include the following, an Introduction, Management Summary, Background of the Project, Objectives, Situation, Benefits, Problems and Risks, Technical Requirements, Options, Cost/Benefit Analysis, Financial/Budget Implications and Recommendations Background to the Project A project is proposed for a specific scenario and this step describes the reason the proposal exists. For example; current sales are at a low due to increased competition, the proposal is for a new company website, where customers are able to buy directly. Objectives The high level business purposes of the proposal, including the long-range management goals. For example, the proposed project is to increase sales by an estimated 15% per annum over the next ten years. Situation This step describes the present condition, without the service in place, including market conditions, it is necessary to highlight the need for the proposed system, and the consequences of the proposal not being authorized. Benefits In the benefits section, it is necessary to focus on the short term benefits of the proposal; this is different to the objective stage which focuses on the long term gains and the cost-benefit step which focuses primarily on the financial benefits. An example of this could be the increased customer satisfaction of the proposed website. Problems and Risks It is important to identify and assess possible problems and risks of the proposed project associated with it within the development, design, and deployment stages. This is done by doing a risk assessment on the proposed system; this will be used to identify problems in many different areas, including technologies, lack of user support, or resources. Technical Requirements Has the business the technological infrastructure for the proposed system? These requirements include knowledge of the hardware and software required, for example, does the business possess the database architecture, network structures, and hardware to sustain the website, will it be necessary to outsource? Options It is recommended in the ITIL framework that a feasibility analysis includes any alternatives to the proposal, including advantages and disadvantages and costs. An example of this could be advertising to increase sales and would show the estimated cost of this. Cost/Benefit In this step, the total cost of the project is calculated; this includes development, design, deployment, and maintenance of the new service. Costs include facilities, hardware, labor, and software. The project cost is compared to the financial benefits provided by the proposed system. What are benefits? These are examples of benefits, more accurate / timely information. Improved operation, increased flexibility of operation, increased output, error reductions, cost reductions; benefits can be placed into three different categories; Monetary; when money values can be calculated, Tangible; when benefits can be quantified, but monetary values cannot be calculated. Intangible; when neither of the others apply, this applies there is a benefit, but it cannot be quantified. There are different types of costs; Project related; development, purchasing, Installation, training costs, Operational costs; these costs are often ongoing costs and include; Maintenance on the hardware; maintenance, lease, materials Software; maintenance fees and contracts Personnel; operation, maintenance There are a number of tools used, which helps in the economic section of the feasibility analysis these are; Cost-benefit analysis (CBA); which estimates and totals up the equivalent money value of the benefits and costs of proposed projects to establish whether they are worthwhile. Payback Analysis; which is used to calculate how long it will take to pay the costs of the project Return on Investment Analysis; which compares the lifetime profitability of alternative solutions, Net Present Value Analysis: using current monetary values, profitability is determined of the proposed project, Return On Investment (ROI) compares the lifetime profitability of alternative solutions, (Lifetime benefits Lifetime costs) Lifetime costs and finally you can compare alternatives with the feasibility analysis matrix. Financial/Budget Implications Once the overall costs have been established, it is necessary to verify if the necessary funds are available, if so how? This may result in changes to the budget or priorities and reducing expenditure to accommodate the costs. Recommendations In this final step recommendations regarding the proposal are made including scheduling and budgeting Summary In summary these twelve steps that make up the ITIL is among the first activities a manager will undertake in preparation for a proposal for a new IT service, though it is important to remember these steps make a general guide and different information systems may require amendments. Examples of feasibility analysis Though the majority of businesses keep their own feasibility analysis private, research identified an interesting feasibility analysis conducted by Powerco. In this section I will briefly review this feasibility analysis in a case study due to the word restrictions on this essay and the extensiveness of the ITIL framework. Powerco has an estimated 410,000 consumers which makes it one of New Zealands largest utilities Companies. These customers expect a reliable service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Powerco applications are split between two platforms; Oracle RAC and Microsoft SQL Server, which has meant that the business had additional expenses of licensing, supporting, operating, and maintaining two systems. Additionally it was awkward for staff to alternate between the systems when working. As the Oracle platform of Powercos warranty cycle was approaching expiration, and the financial system was scheduled an important upgrade, it was clear to the company that it was time to reassess its options and whether it should consolidate to a single server platform or replace existing hardware. Powerco acknowledged that to consolidate the database platforms would create a more simple IT environment and would reduce the total cost of the database system significantly. The case for consolidation was simple why maintain two systems if you dont need to? explains Mr. Griffiths, Infrastructure Manager, Powerco. Powerco undertook preliminary study of the solutions and assessed the pros and c ons of Oracle versus SQL Server. This analysis pointed towards some significant advantages in choosing SQL Server over Oracle. These included reduced licensing and maintenance costs, ease of management and fewer requirements for a specialised skill set to manage and service the system. A feasibility study of migrating to SQL Server was then completed by consultants on Powercos behalf including a cost/benefit analysis, a risk assessment, analysis of the alternatives and the four factors discussed earlier in this report, this confirmed Powercos applications could be supported on SQL Server, with the remaining end of life applications being replaced with SQL Server compatible ones, the feasibility study showed that unlike other options Microsoft SQL Server, serving could be done in-house. Microsofts SQL Server was the cheapest option to license, maintain, and support, particularly because of the specialised nature of Oracle. The business would be more streamline and efficient with just the single platform. Increases security. Further Tangible and Non-tangible benefits. Due to the results of the feasibility study, Powerco changed from the two platforms to solely Microsoft SQL Server, the result of this consolidation has meant Powerco has been able to reduce costs significantly, also ensuring it was easier to maintain and manage in-house and eliminating the need for external consultants. The migration to SQL Server has cut the overall cost of ownership by $390,000 a year, also helping to streamline Powercos IT systems and have given a number of other Tangible and Non-tangible benefits. Conclusion In conclusion this report has explained what a feasibility study is and when it should be used, I have then reviewed the various stages which are recommended by the IT industry experts at the ITIL and have given an example of a successful feasibility study undertaken by Powerco. I believe to be objective this report should have explored examples of a unsuccessful feasibility study, however this was not possible due to my research not providing any suitable cases, but still the findings of this report are clear, it is advisable to do a feasibility analysis, as it is tried and tested and the vast majority of large and established companies use this method to check the viability of a proposed venture and are taking a substantial risk if a feasibility study is not carried out before embarking on new project.

Y2K Bug :: essays research papers fc

Computers have become the backbone of the world today. Is there a time bomb slowly ticking down inside of the computers that run everything from your laundry machine to Wall Street? "The year 2000 bug is a flaw in the programming of embedded chips in most electronic devices"(Outsmarting 2). These chips only calculate the date in the ending 2 digits of the year. For instance, the date 1-1-1999 in the computer comes out 1-1-99. "When the year 2000 comes around, the computers will think that it is the year 1900"(2). Any program or system that relies on dates to perform certain functions, such as calculating ages, time periods, or payrolls is at risk of crashing on the stroke of midnight. Programmers in the 1970's were saving a lot of space in programming by only using the last 2 digits of the year. They had no insight into the problem they were creating by cutting this programming corner. The justification for cutting this corner was two fold. First, think of all of the coding and coding time they saved if the date is calculated over 1 million times in a single computation. Second, in those early years, disk storage space was at a premium and severely limited by today's standards. It was important to make the best available use of storage space. For this reason that they entered only the last 2 digits of the year in the old programming. Because only date sensitive programming is at risk, however if or when the Y2K bug hits, the damage will be minimal at most. For those people who plan to move to the country and sell all of their possessions in order to get away from the effect, do not leave just yet. The year 2000 bug will not be the end of the world. Many think that they will start a rural community and it will be their little Garden of Eden. If the year 2000 bug strikes, it will strike everything everywhere, even in rural Montana. The problems will be universal. People believe that they can rely on insurance to cover their assets are facing another problem created by the year 2000 bug. Insurance companies are calling all of their current clients informing them that their coverage does not include losses due to the year 2000 bug. However, lawyers and law firms are gearing up for what they believe will be a windfall, based on millennium bug claims

Reader Response Criticism to Gods Determinations Essay -- Gods Deter

Reader Response Criticism to God's Determinations For the reader demanding either rational sense or aesthetic pleasure from poetry, reading the preface to Edward Taylor's "God's Determinations" is humbling in ways unintended by the 17th century Puritan minister and poet. "Rationality" per se seems rejected at the start, where we are asked first to comprehend "Infinity," and then to envision it (everything) "beholding" "all things"(also everything). "Things" get no clearer as we progress, as we find whatever "infinity" "beholds" in not everything but "nothing," and that "nothing" itself to become the building material for "all." Identifying the paradox, perhaps, as that which begins the Biblical account of the Creation, even the rationalist may regain interest in the succession of images describing the "building" of "this Globe"in what one might expect to be Biblical terms, but any reader looking for any logical relation between these images is quickly lost again, as metaphors for "this globe" shift from a wood-turning, to an iron ca sting, to a stone edifice, a corse...

Government Surveillance in the Digital Age Essay -- Privacy in the Dig

Government Surveillance in the Digital Age Imagine walking along a busy street in the middle of a sunny day. Also imagine that someone is following you around, videotaping everything you do. Disturbing thought? Even more disturbing is the fact that the United States government is already doing this, and it's perfectly legal. According to Robert Trigaux, a reporter for the St. Petersburg times, until August of 2014, in Ybor City, Florida, the Tampa Police Department used fourty-six surveillance cameras that scanned faces of all people walking around the entertainment district. These surveillance cameras captured facial images and then compared them to a police database of known felons. This same surveillance system was also used during the Tampa Bay Super Bowl at the Raymond James Stadium, and other cities are attempting to install such a system. However, even though the cameras are used in public places, they still represent a large violation of privacy. Also a violation of our privacy is the government's usage of the Carnivore Internet surveillance system that can track all of a person's online activity. The FBI not only has the capability to do so, but in many cases it can lawfully enter a person's home and alter or even steal information form his or her computer, all without the knowledge of the owner of the computer. The government's ability to gather personal information on its citizens is similar to methods of surveillance in the novels The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, and 1984, by George Orwell. In order to prevent the extreme cases of surveillance presented in these novels, it is the public's responsibility to remain alert to new developments in law enforcement so as to prevent an unreasonable s... ...ore/000724fbi.shmtl>. Herdy, Amy. Tampabay: They made me feel like a criminal. 8 Aug. 2001. St. Petersburg Times. 2 Nov. 2013. . Searching and Seizing Computers and Obtaining Electronic Evidence in Criminal Investigations. July 2012. Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. 26 Oct. 2013. . The Nature and Scope of Governmental Electronic Surveillance Activity. Sep. 2001. Center for Democracy and Technology. 27 Oct. 2013. . Trigaux, Robert. Tampabay: Cameras scanned fans for criminals. 31 Jan. 2001. St. Petersburg Times. 2 Nov. 2003. . Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Signet Classic Printing, 1950.

Research and Analyze a Real Life Conflict Essay

The problems arising from today’s workforce diversity are caused not by the changing composition of the work force itself but by the inability of work organizations to truly integrate and use a heterogeneous work force at all levels of the organization (Ibarra, 2003). Granted, some corporations are including diversity goals in their strategic planning and are changing organizationwide policies, but even those changes are focused mainly on internal processes of the organization. This article’s main argument is that organizations need to expand their notion of diversity to include not only the organization itself, but also the larger systems that constitute its environment. Organizational policies and actions that are inclusive can benefit all system levels from the individual worker through the work organization to the wider community. The concept of â€Å"the inclusive workplace,† introduced here, refers to a work organization that is not only accepting and using the diversity of its own work force, but also is active in the community, participates in state and federal programs to include working poor people, and collaborates across cultural and national boundaries with a focus on global mutual interests. The inclusive workplace is defined as one that values and uses individual and intergroup differences within its work force cooperates with and contributes to its surrounding community alleviates the needs of disadvantaged groups in its wider environment collaborates with individuals, groups, and organizations across national and cultural boundaries. The social work profession can play a key role in the conceptualization and implementation of such a model for the workplace. The value system reflected in this model is congruent with basic social work principles, and the skills needed to implement programs to increase workplace inclusion are consistent with professional social work skills and competences. The issue of diversity and inclusion takes on special urgency in human services organizations. Women and racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately represented among the clients of human services agencies as well as in their staff (Henderson, 2004). The extent to which workers from diverse backgrounds feel included in the organization may have a direct bearing on their job satisfaction and commitment and influences the quality of services provided as well as the workers’ own health, mental health, and social functioning. This article presents a conceptual framework relevant to social work practice on the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. The question addressed by this article is not whether diversity is good for the organization, but how to manage it effectively. Viewed from an ecosystems perspective, the notion of organizational inclusion–exclusion is used as a focal point to examine two models–value-based and practice-based–for understanding and managing workplace diversity. The recent emphasis on the diversity of the work force in human resource management is based on historical developments. Civil rights legislation from the 1960s on had outlawed discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, pregnancy, national origin, age, and disability, excluding these factors from employment decisions (the Civil Rights Act of 1964 [P.L. 88-352], Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 [P.L. 95-555], Age Discrimination Act of 1978, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 [P.L. 101-336], Equal Pay Act of 1963 [P.L. 88-38], and Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 [P.L. 93-508]). Triggered by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s plea that people should be judged by their character, not by the color of their skin, the intent of these laws was to provide equal opportunity to all. In 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Executive Order 11246 requiring â€Å"employers doing business with the federal government to develop affirmative action plans to assure equal employment opportunities in their employment practices.† The main rational for affirmative action programs was to compensate for past discrimination and to correct current discrimination. However, with the recent backlash against affirmative action programs (for example, California Governor Wilson’s [R] initiatives in roiling back affirmative action programs), companies may no longer be proactive in recruiting and retaining women and ethnic minority workers, unless they realize that such policies work to their benefit. Forecasts about the future predict an aging work force in which increasing numbers of women and members of racial and ethnic minority groups will participate. By 2020 white non-Hispanic people will represent 67 percent of the work force (down from the current 76 percent), Hispanic presence will be 14 percent (up from its current 9 percent), Asians will represent 6 percent (up from today’s 4 percent), and African Americans’ share of the work force will remain 11 percent (Ibarra, 2003). These work force demographic changes will mirror population demographic trends and will vary by region and state. The western states are rapidly becoming more diverse as Hispanic and Asian populations grow. The human services work force also is becoming more diverse with particularly high representation for women at more than 65 percent. These changes suggest not onl y a more diverse workplace, but also a more varied client pool in human services organizations, and they underscore the need for social work to develop practice paradigms for more inclusive work environments. The nature of opportunities for female, ethnic minority, and older workers has implications for the lives of these workers and their families, for organizational effectiveness, and for society as a whole. As a result of civil rights legislation, affirmative action programs, and workplace policies to promote diversity, acquiring a â€Å"boarding pass† to corporate America has become less of a problem for women and ethnic minority workers than being included in the corporate culture and power structure (Ibarra, 2003). Exclusion from organizational information and decision-making networks has been identified as one of the most significant problems facing today’s diverse work force. The inclusion–exclusion experience is one that has deep social–psychological roots for human beings, given their dependence on others for the provision of even the basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing (Henderson, 2004). Mor-Barak and Cherin (1998) conceptualized inclusion–exclusion as a continuum of the degree to which individu als feel a part of critical organizational processes such as access to information, connectedness to coworkers, and ability to participate in and influence the decision-making process. Research on social demography in the workplace indicates that women and members of racial and ethnic minority groups commonly find themselves excluded from networks of information and opportunity. Similar trends are evident in human services organizations where women and ethnic minority groups, particularly African American women, are more likely than other employees to occupy the lowest-ranking positions. These experiences, in turn, are linked to limited job opportunities, delays in career advancement, and higher rates of turnover (Giagalone & Beard, 2004). Clearly in democratic countries, where equal opportunity is an important national value, promoting fairness and economic opportunities to underachieving members of society is the right and ethical thing to do. Exclusionary organizational practices are destructive for individuals who suffer from their economic, emotional, and social consequences as well as for organizations. Work organizations, therefore, need to create and sustain a culture that accepts individual differences and encourages differential contributions to the work environment. In other words, they need to strive to become inclusive organizations. The welfare-to-work reform efforts can be conceptualized as an opportunity to make the work place more inclusive with respect to socioeconomic status. Welfare reform, enacted by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193), ended 60 years of public assistance programs in which the sole criteria for continued aid was dependency, poverty, age, or disability. A key component of the act is the termination of welfare benefits after a maximum of 60 months, with the expectation that benefit recipients will find jobs by that time. Because of welfare reform, more and more welfare recipients will enter the labor force. Traditionally, employers have had limited involvement or interest in welfare reform and have not viewed working poor people as an element in organizational life worth substantial investment. An inclusive workplace sponsors and supports projects to help former welfare recipients overcome barriers to employment. The programs focus on overcoming barriers to employment faced by mothers with young children, who make up the majority of AFDC recipients and poor families (Giagalone & Beard, 2004), and assists former welfare recipients with child care, transportation, housing, and health care expenses, which are the main barriers to employment faced by this group (Ibarra, 2003). The programs also provide on-the-job training to allow welfare recipients to improve their job skills and increase their wages and benefits. The economic benefits include improved wages for this segment of the population that increases the pool of consumers with discretionary income. Also, better treatment of low-wage employees who are often frontline workers improves the company’s customer relationships. In addition, value-based organizational practices are often attractive to customers. Companies gain a more loyal work force (given that it is treated well) that is committed to the organization and has lower turnover rates as a result (Giagalone & Beard, 2004). With the expanding economy and the current and anticipated labor shortages, employers may need to expand their employee pools by taping into the potential resource of former welfare recipients. A strong corporate commitment to hiring and retaining former welfare recipients that includes help with employment barriers can facilitate the difficult transition and increase the chances of long-term employment. In addition, opening up advancement opportunities for this population may increase their chances of obtaining higher-paying jobs with better benefits that will release them from the vicious cycle of low-paying jobs that do not leave much income above the job-related expenses such as child care and transportation. The main obstacle here is a limited corporate vision. Companies often focus only on the immediate needs and objectives of the company rather than considering the bigger picture that includes moral and ethical values as well as labor-force trends and the larger organizational environment. The other obstacles are stereotypes held by management and workers against welfare recipients and against people of color. The latter is based on a common misconception that the majority of welfare recipients are people of color when, in fact, the majority are white (Giagalone & Beard, 2004). Social workers can help organizations overcome the â€Å"one-size-fits-all† approach that has been wide spread in the area of diversity training. The risk of this approach is that although these interventions may be effective in sensitizing workers to people who are different from themselves, they do not deal with organizational structures and policies that may foster wrong treatment of people from diverse backgrounds. In the context of human services organizations, the need to understand exclusionary practices is particularly important in light of the disproportional representation of women and ethnic minority individuals in their staff (Ibarra, 2003). With their knowledge of human behavior, discrimination, empowerment, and group dynamics, social workers can initiate focused interventions such as diversity training, work groups with women and ethnic minority constituencies, and mentorship programs to facilitate the inclusion of women and ethnic minority workers in management and supervis ory positions. Using an ecosystems approach, the model outlines four systems levels, from the micro to the macro, that are relevant to understanding and implementing the model. Although this approach is well embedded in social work values and principles, one must remember that the workplace is a host environment that is often not open to social work intervention. To propose such innovative programs to businesses, social workers need to be entrepreneurial in their approach and be able to translate their ideas into â€Å"business language.† For this reason, this article provides research-based data that demonstrates the benefits of inclusive organizational policies for the company’s economic well-being. The use of such data is essential when approaching management with an innovative idea for a program to help, for example, former welfa re recipients, or for a community-based shelter for the homeless. References Giagalone, R. A., & Beard, J. W. (2004). Impression management, diversity, and international management. American Behavioral Scientist, 37. Henderson, G. (2004). Cultural diversity in the workplace. Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Ibarra, H. (2003). Personal networks of women and minorities in management: A conceptual framework. Academy of Management Review, 18.