Monday, January 27, 2020

Economic Man Or Homo Economicus Business Essay

Economic Man Or Homo Economicus Business Essay Job design is a term that is widely used in the management of todays modern organizations structure as a strategy to increase their profitability and productivity. Daft, et al., 2010 It is mainly concerned with the process of planning, setting up and organizing systematic tasks within the organization according to the organizations needs and employees capability. In order for the strategy to be effective and efficient, management put the responsibility to their employees and explains how the implementation process of their organization work arrangement will be in their management system. (DuBrin, 2008) Virtual organization is an association that exists but cannot be physically seen by the naked eye. Its a concept that changed in line with the current vast developments. (Burn, J., et al., 2012) The virtual organization is very flexible and responsive because it does not necessarily require an office to operate but the existence of this virtual organization can be felt and experienced throughout the business process. Thurow (2011) states that business processes refers to the networking system used along the production process which conducted virtually through the way of communicating using electronic devices as the main telecommunication form. According to Parker, Craig and Craig (2008), matrix structured organization has the advantage of giving the opportunity for the top management to develop their skills in conducting and managing project-based strategy as well as gaining experience. It also practices a decentralization decision-making system that encouraging improvements of employees self motivation level as they have the chance to make decisions and act independently. Matrix structure organization also creates the flexibility of cross-communication system in exchanging information and ideas among the team members from different departments which can helps on saving time and cost. ( Gido and Clemens, 2008) Chain of command function as an organization system that showing how the operational and management within the organization works in a systematical manner to ensure efficient flow of work activities. It clarifies the organization reporting system between the subordinates to their superior which resulting as the unity of command. (Madura, 2007) According to Lunenburg and Ornstein (2011), it signifies the continues line of authority from the top managerial position to the lowest levels of an organization that showing the distinctive status, roles, responsibility, and the rights inherit in varies positions of the organization itself. Question 14 Maslows need theory consist of physiology needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. Each level must be completely fulfilled before moving on to the next level. (Robbins, 2009) Physiology needs refers to our physical needs. Safety needs are needs of safety and security. Both levels are the low-order needs that can be satisfied internally. The high-order needs that can be satisfied internally are the social needs that seek for love and affection, then the esteem needs that refer to the needs of self-esteem and lastly the self actualization which is the needs of becoming fully matured human. (Shajahan, 2007) Question 7 Scientific management mainly focuses on the application of scientific method of study and also analysis into a problem which occur during management. Scientific Management basically referring on understands what one wants his subordinates to do and see it to be done efficiently and effectively. (Sahni and Pardeep, 2010) According to Murugan (2007), among the principles of scientific management are Science not rule of Thumb, scientific training and development of workers, close cooperation between employees and manager, equal division of works and also responsibility, maximum prosperity of employer and employee and mental revolutions. Question 15 Hackman and Oldhams Job Characteristics Model consists of five characteristic such as skill variety which means variety increases when overcome new problems each day and implementing various skills in completing tasks. Secondly, task identity, where employees working performances is acknowledgeable. Third, task significant is where an employee contributes positive result to the company. Fourth, autonomy is where the employees are given the freedom in planning while carrying out tasks. Lastly, the feedback where there will be an evaluation on employees performance in order to improve any deficiency. (Daft and Marcic, 2010) The application of these characteristic may increase the productivity and produces more motivated and productive the employees. Question 13 Montana and Charnov states the Expectancy Theory of motivation was proposed by Victor Vroom, a business school professor. The theory is more on the individual goal which focuses more on outcomes and their expectations while achieving it. (Jex and Britt, 2008) Employees are able to receive rewards according to his or her performance while working. The theorys method will keep the employees motivated at all times as they hold their personal expectations of the rewards. (Montana and Charnov, 2008) The expectancy of increasing effort by the employees will lead to the increment of performance which will increase the productivity and positive result. Question 10 According to Wright (2010), Hawthorne studies were first attempted by Elton Mayo showing how lighting affected the employees working performance. But it shows that the physical conditions of the workplace do not influence the performance or motivation. In his finding, taking interest in all individual was enough to increase their work efficiency and output. Hence, the Hawthorne Experiment continues to show its result from time to time. Companies which value their employees ideas and opinions will result a higher standard of achievement. (Wong, 2010) This will also increase the ability and self esteem of the employees. Thus, increase their performance and productivity while working. Question 12 Montana and Charnov (2008), states the theory of X and Y was proposed by Douglas McGregor. In theory X, managers will assume that their employees are less ambitious, less responsible, dislike their job and prefer to wait for instructions rather than to lead a task. Managers with theory X are stricter and may threaten their employees to motivate them. But manager who holds the theory Y will assume that the employees are more responsible, willing to do work, more creative and self-directed. Thus, in theory Y the managers will not control much on their employees because they believe that employees are capable to perform well. (Shermerhorn, 2011) Question 16 The effectiveness of an organization internal communication can be improved through creating forum site on social websites such as Facebook and Twitter for discussion related to a matter. (Heath, 2005) Furthermore, any perceptions and ideas proposed by the employees should be considered and not being excluded in order to improve good relationship with other teamwork. Next, employers and employees should also instill proactive attitude to ask when in doubts related to a matter in order to avoid conflicts and distorted message. Lastly, employees should be train on communication skills to improve their self-esteem and communicating potential. (Quirke, 2012) Question 5 Public sectors are basically a bureaucratic government-based organization which normally focusing more on providing services to public rather than making profit. (Lienert, 2009) A simple example of a public sector organization is the government hospitals. The organization emphasizes more on accommodating the health service to the community by providing free to low-cost medical aid. However, privates sectors are non-government owned organization and runs on the main motive on making profit. (Rees and Porter, 2008) For example, supermarket such as Tesco and Carrefour in Malaysia are operated by private enterprises and not the government. Question 6 Planning stage is one of the functional approaches involved in the management process. According to Schwalbe (2006), it concerns activities such as setting goals and objectives of the work in an effort to keep it on track throughout the operation process. Next step would be, create and considering relevant strategies to achieve goals effectively. At last, the final step is simulating plans to coordinate and objectify activities in various possible ways it can succeed. (Lewis, et al., 2006) Within this stage, it requires a lot of critically thinking creativity and innovative aspects from that individual to come out with a radical and quantum ideas. Question 9 Fordism is a term that was named after an American entrepreneur; Henry Ford which was the founder of Ford Motor Company. (Schhlosser and Simonson, 2009) Fordism is a philosophy of manufacturing that being conducted based on the Taylorism theory that emphasizes in machine and efficiency of employees working performance. Fordism philosophy aimed to increase the productivity and reduce costs by adjusting output, set the installation process in phases, and dividing the work into small tasks according to employees expertise. (Blyton and Jenkins, 2007) The effectiveness of the philosophy enables an organization to maximize their profit and performance. Question 11 Personality is an influential matter that affecting a persons decision. It is developed through their education, ways of socialization and nurturing since they were a child.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Power of Wind

Power of Wind Jason A. Jennings Principles of Marketing (BUS 330) Instructor: Debra McCoskey-Reisert January 28, 2012 Power of Wind There is a large sector in the United States that believes wind energy is an excellent alternative resource. There is also a group of people that believe that the wind turbines that are used to generate wind energy is a bad idea because they obstruct the natural view, causes death to birds, and generates noise pollution. They also argue that wind energy is not a dependable source of energy because the wind does not blow continually.Wind as a viable source of energy will be evaluated from a positive and negative perspective. Wind energy has long history of being used as a power source (Berry, History of Windmills, 2011). Considering the current issues that the global community faces concerning green house gases and pollution alternative energy sources must be evaluated. As of 2010 the United States Energy Information Administration listed Saudi Arabia, Ru ssia, and the United States as being the top three world oil producers (U. S. Department of Energy). The top three oil consumers are the United States, China, and Japan.As of 2009 the United States Energy Information Administration listed Saudi Arabia, Canada, Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait as having the highest level of proven world oil reserves (U. S. Department of Energy). In 2010 the United States Imported close to forty nine percent of the petroleum products that it consumed in that same year (U. S. Department of Energy). About half of those imports came from nations located in the Western Hemisphere. The world currently faces a shrinking petroleum based energy supply and a rapidly growing pollution problem as a result of the dependency on petroleum.Countries around the world increasingly have to compete with each other in order to secure petroleum based energy resources. China and India continue to place a higher demand on the worlds petroleum supply because of their rapidly growing e conomies. High gasoline prices, global warming concerns, and fears that fossil fuel resources are likely hitting peak supply while global demand is surging demands the modern world’s undivided attention. Oil producing countries in the Middle East currently hold a forty percent share of the world’s oil market.Wind energy has the ability to market itself. There is a large sector around the world with a belief that wind energy is an excellent alternative resource. Wind farms are also one of the emerging green technologies that are beginning to show their true value. Between the year 2000 and 2010 the wind power capacity of the United States jumped exponentially (see page 6). That is a direct result of the hundreds of new wind farms that came on line in the American power grid. In 2010 global wind installation hit 196,000 gigawatts.In a recent study conducted by the United Nations said renewable energy accounted for sixty percent of new electricity generation capacity in E urope and more than half in the United States of America. The human relationship with the wind has been a long one with the use of sailing ships and windmills. For centuries past the wind was used as the main power source for sailing ships. The use of windmills seems to have started with the Persians for grinding grain (between 500 and 900 A. D. ). Windmills started appearing in Europe around the time of the Crusades (1096 -1270).The European design is very different from the Persian one and there is an ongoing debate whether the Europeans developed the windmill themselves or the Crusaders had taken the idea back to Europe (Berry, History of Windmills, 2011). The earliest windmills found in Europe were a post mill construction. The main structure of the windmill sits on top of a post and could be rotated to face the wind. Human power was needed to rotate the windmill to face the direction of the prevailing winds. The windmill was turned by a long beam that was attached horizontally to the body of the mill.The mills sat upon a tripod structure that consisted of two crossed beams resting on the ground with four angled beams coming up to support the post in the center. These windmills used a horizontal axis allowing the sails of the windmill to take better advantage of the wind. The power was then transferred to machines by cogs and gears. In 1650 smock mills were developed with just the top part of the windmill being turned to face the wind. This was a huge improvement to the windmill because the sail structure was much lighter and easier to turn.Permanent structures could be built to house the mill. Brick and stone tower mills were built using the new smock mill method. Smock mills received that name because they resembled a nineteenth century countryman’s smock. They were built in a tapered, boarded, Octagonal shaped tower form. The Chinese built their first documented windmill in 1219 A. D. and was used to grind grain. In the late 1300’s the Dut ch developed a new sail design that increased efficiency. The sail was constructed with a leading edge that created aerodynamic lift.Windmill sails were made of cloth stretched over a wooden frame. Some windmill designs incorporated trimmed sails allowing them to take better advantage of the variable wind conditions. The English used a fantail on their windmills that allowed them to be turned by the wind. The large Dutch designed windmills continued to be used all across Europe until the development of the steam engine in the 1880’s. The use of steam power caused a decline in the use of large tower windmills. In the United States windmills were used in the west for pumping water to the ranchers live stock.In the mid 1900’s Charles Brush developed a huge wind dynamo that generated electricity and became fascinated with the possibility of producing free energy for the general public. Beginning in the 1930’s a group of disgruntled ranchers got together and started the development of wind energy. The ranchers were facing rising prices, power outages and poor customer service. Robert Righter is a historian that has done extensive research on wind energy in the United States. The first wind farms were built in the state of California in the 1980’s.The Altamont Pass, located near the San Francisco Bay area there are still some of the older and much smaller turbines. They only had a rotor diameter of 15 meters and a capacity of tens of kilowatts. The new turbines being manufactured today have a capacity of 1. 5 – 2. 5 megawatts (MW), rotor diameters as great as 100 meters allowing the blades to sweep an area the size of a football field. Wind power is on the rise in the United States with capacity jumping by 45 percent at the end of 2007 and capacity reaching to 17 gigawatts (GW).Wind power is an attractive alternative to fossil fuels such as coal and oil because it is an energy source that does not produce pollution or climate alter ing greenhouse gases. When the massive turbines have been installed the only fuel that is needed to run them is the wind. Wind resources found around the world are so massive that they could easily meet the worlds current energy needs. A study that was conducted by researchers at Stanford University found that global wind energy potential in the year 2000 was about 72,000 gigawatts (GW), almost five times the world’s total energy demand at that time.The technology used to tap into the wind energy resources is getting much cheaper. In the early 1980’s electricity produced by the wind cost as much as 30 cents per kilowatt hour. In 2007 the cost had fallen to 10 cents per kilowatt hour. There are various incentives in the form of tax credits and feed in tariffs that make electricity generated from the wind cost competitive with electricity generated from natural gas and coal. Maria Sicilia of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated that a $30. 0 dollar tax per to n of carbon dioxide emitted would allow electricity produced on wind farms could compete in most markets without subsidies [ (International Energy Agency, 2009) ]. Even with no tax being placed on carbon emissions the growth of wind power is very likely to continue. The European Union has set a goal of getting 20% of its energy from renewable resources by 2020, with a large portion of it coming from wind power. The United States Department of Energy has laid out a plan to get 20% of the energy needed in the United States from wind power by 2030 [ (U. S.Department of Energy, 2008) ]. Asia may become the biggest market for new wind installations over the next five years. The wind does not blow all of the time and wind farms cannot be placed in some areas of the United States. For wind to stay on the path of expansion the industry will have to build new transmission lines and improve the integration of electricity produced by the wind into the power grid [ (IBM) ]. The industry is also vulnerable financially if subsidies are suddenly phased out. Some groups will say that the massive wind turbines cause the needless deaths of birds.The effect that the wind farms have on the view is one reason that has been cited for saying no to wind power. There have been issues concerning the noise that the turbines create. Wind energy is an excellent and valuable resource that can be used as a replacement for dirty fossil fuels and the dangers of nuclear power. It cannot be the only replacement for those energy sources but it can be used in conjunction with solar power, geothermal, and hydroelectric to fulfill our nation’s energy requirements.The use of coal as an energy source for the generation of electricity can gradually be scaled down. Mankind has had a long relationship with the wind as an energy source and should continue to use it well into the future. Pollution has become a major problem that is affecting the climate and that problem should be resolved on a glob al scale with all nations working together for the common good. A comparison of year end wind capacity in the United States between 2000 – 2010 (U. S. Department of Energy, 2011) References Berry, M. (2011, May 24). History of Windmills.Retrieved January 28, 2012, from Windmill World: http://www. windmillworld. com/windmills/history. htm GWEC. (2011). GWEC. Retrieved January 5, 2012, from Global Wind Energy Council: http://www. gwec. net/http://www. gwec. net/index. php? id=28 IBM. (n. d. ). Wind power is the fastest growing source of electricity. Retrieved December 26, 2011, from IBM – Greener Energy – Smarter Planet: http://www. ibm. com/smarterplanet/us/en/smart_grid/article/wind_power. html International Energy Agency. (2009, October 1). Renewable Energy Essentials: Wind.Retrieved January 5, 2012, from iea. org: http://www. iea. org/Papers/2008/Wind_Brochure. pdf Kotler, P. , & Armstrong, G. (2010). Principles of Marketing. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prenti ce Hall. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (2011, July 22). Wind Research. Retrieved December 28, 2011, from NREL: http://www. nrel. gov/wind/ U. S. Department of Energy. (2008, May). 20% Wind Energy by 2030. Retrieved January 1, 2012, from Increasing Wind Energy's Contribution to U. S. Electricity Supply: http://www. 20percentwind. org/default. aspx U.S. Department of Energy. (n. d. ). Oil Production. Retrieved January 28, 2012, from Independent Staistics ; Analysis: http://38. 96. 246. 204/countries/index. cfm? view=production U. S. Department of Energy. (2010, September 1). Wind ; Water Program. Retrieved December 26, 2011, from Technologies: http://www1. eere. energy. gov/windandhydro/wind_how. html U. S. Department of Energy. (2011, September). Wind Powering America. Retrieved January 7, 2012, from Energy Efficency ; Renewable Energy: http://www. windpoweringamerica. gov/

Friday, January 10, 2020

Violence Among the Youths in Inner Schools

Violence among youth, especially in inner city schools, is one of Americas most pressing and controversial concerns. Local studies indicate that youth violence is increasing. In addition, America†s youth, like adults are now more frequently using guns instead of fist to settle their disputes. While the public is ready to believe that school violence is definitely present, some local leaders and school administrators are not willing to recognize that it is happening in front of their own eyes. They think that people will boycott the communities, their schools will be labeled unsafe and they will be blamed for failing to keep peace and order. Gang activity at school is particularly susceptible to â€Å"the Ostrich syndrome,† as many of the administration ignore the problem. A big loss that occurs is that opportunities to help the youth and reduce violence are lost. Finally, there is sometimes a contradiction between school policies and school practice. Many districts and schools have broad regulations for dealing with violence, and the school enforcement may either be uneven or laidback. This creates a situation where teachers do not feel supported when they necessitate discipline, students do not feel protected and the delinquents will then think that he or she will not be punished. On the other hand, administrators express dismay that the teachers so not enforce policies in the classroom. Despite these inconsistencies, the government, communities and schools have come up with many promising types of anti- violence approach, and social and personal transformation focusing on discipline. Most have originated in urban areas, where youth violence was first identified. The federal government has money set aside for after school programs focused on gang prevention and other recreational community activities. Most of these activities are focused on breaking the cycle of violence. The most effective proved to be the long-term family interventions involving, religious and recreational organizations. For example, programs in parenting and family relationships, especially those focused on non-violence and substance abuse can protect children from learning violence at home. Out of school programs keep youth entertained while the family is unavailable. These programs can also provide youths with attention from caring role models. They also keep the youth away from negative influences on the street. Programs can offer assistance with schoolwork and develop positive values. Helping young people find employment is an important way for communities to reduce property crime and build the youths self-esteem and sense of responsibility. It also helps the youth see how vital it is to their future to stay in school and further their education and career. Another positive aspect to providing jobs and job training is that it can reduce stress that can trigger violence. â€Å"In 1878 economist Carroll D. Wright from Massachusetts Commissioner of Statistics noted that more than 67% of convicts in the state were recorded as ‘having no occupation†: of 220 men sentenced to one year 147 were without trade or any regular means of earning a living† (Currie) Anti-violence and programs that run in the school can run from a range of ideas. From general education improvement to interventions to target specific groups of students. They involve parents in a variety of roles and community leaders and resources. The goal is to create a peaceful non-violence school. A commitment to enforcing violence prevention helps the students and the staffs feel safe. In addition to zero tolerance for guns, some school also have zero tolerance for other types of behavior such as assaulting a teacher were violent students will be removed from the classrooms. It might not affect some students to be expulsed from school so school responses to certain type of acts include legal prosecution. Since there is a strong use of drug sales and violence in the schools by the students, administrators make special efforts to keep the school. To keep students from bringing in weapons some schools use metal detectors and administer random acts of searching students† bodies and possessions. Teachers used to be the most common type of security but with increasing school violence, schools are hiring security guards to patrol the sites. With school security the most common type of measure is monitoring the students in the hallways and places where they get together the most, like cafeterias, bathrooms and the p.e. field. Most violent prone school may even form relations with the police to periodically visit the schools and regularly patrol the halls. Probation officers with on site offices can provide help to students who have already been in illegal trouble. Early intervention is necessary to prevent youth violence. Elementary education training in anger management, impulse control, mediation and conflict resolution skills can prevent youth from participating in violence as they mature. Early discussions about negative consequences of gang membership and providing positive way to get needs met can protect them from future gang recruitment efforts. Some schools have a specially trained safety coordinator whose primary function is to coordinate anti-violence programs and offer crisis counseling and mediation. Other types of programs offer incentives for positive behavior such as recognition and reward system for good citizenship. The goal is to bring about change in the students so that their behavior is constructive. Effective gang strategies involve all school operations and staff. It requires good communications and security and staff trained in crisis intervention. Schools not only need to acknowledge their presence but actively investigate its extent and determine who its gang members are, what they do and where are their hang out spots. The first step is to establish the fact that gang presence such as clothing, paraphernalia, flashing signs or shouting slogans and writing graffiti on school or personal property will not be tolerated. Discipline measures, practiced consistently show the schools seriousness. Staff who takes a personal interest in individual members by holding personal conferences and counseling can help loosen the hold of the gang, by meeting informally with members and show them positive experiences that would otherwise be lacking in their lives. To do this some staff members may need to change certain attitudes about gang members and spend a little more time than they would with them. If that does not work offering counseling in a variety of outside agencies and involving parents and making them aware of the choices and consequences that their child is taking may help change the attitude of the child. If all else fails gang members can be transferred to alternative schools for more intensive support. Concern about increasing youth violence is being routed into a variety of innovative and hopefully effective programs across the country. The most effective programs acknowledge that gang activity and violence exists in their community. Use all available resources like law enforcement and social services. Involve families into both school and community programs, and prepares to engage in long-term effort for positive experiences. In all communities it is likely that sometimes anti-violence work will be compromised by lack of resources and time. Even the most dedicated individuals may experience moments of frustration. Early evaluations in well-organized programs is possible and even though statistics show that youth violence is steadily increasing the effort and slight expenditure are necessary.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Katherine Moran. Health Psychology Research Review. May

Katherine Moran Health Psychology Research Review May 7, 2017 HOW ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AFFECTS COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING IN CASES OF BOTH LONG- AND SHORT-TERM USAGE The social culture of college in America often has an underlying foundation of binge drinking. Out of the 60 percent of American college students who drink regularly, two-thirds of these students also report engaging in frequent binge-drinking (NIAAA, 2015). While students may be aware of some of the short-term consequences of engaging in these binge-drinking behaviors, which can range from being hungover, to showing poor academic performance, to assault and/or violence, public health concerns stemming from excessive use of alcohol often have far reaching, long term effects.†¦show more content†¦The paper was supported by resources from the US Department of Health and Human Services, the NIAAA, the Medical Research Service of the US Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Alcoholic Beverage Medical Research Foundation. METHODOLOGY: The paper was a qualitative review utilizing mostly correlational methods and containing both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. MAIN POINTS/FINDINGS: The authors first looked at the premature aging hypothesis and its association with alcoholism. They reported that most studies found that as an individual ages the harmful neurological effects of alcohol become more pronounced and the brain is more susceptible to permanent damage or greater reduction in size of the cerebral cortex, corpus callosum, hippocampus, and cerebellum. There is also an association between neuropsychological and psychomotor deficits in older alcoholics. In terms of gender the review found evidence episodic memory tasks were performed better on by women across all varying degrees of drinking habits (non, light, moderate, and heavy) than men. Men performed better on visuospatial tasks, but only in the non and light drinker groups. fMRI data looking at gender differences in alcohol-related brain impairment showed inconsistent results and the authors suggested that further research is necessary in this area of study. Results of twin, family, and adoption studies showed that there are genetic risk factors that influence susceptibility to alcoholism, whileShow MoreRelatedLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 Pages Library and Information Center Management Recent Titles in Library and Information Science Text Series Library and Information Center Management, Sixth Edition Robert D. Stueart and Barbara B. Moran United States Government Information: Policies and Sources Peter Hernon, Harold C. Relyea, Robert E. Dugan, and Joan F. Cheverie Library Information Systems: From Library Automation to Distributed Information Access Solutions Thomas R. Kochtanek and Joseph R. Matthews The Complete Guide to AcquisitionsRead MoreProject Mgmt296381 Words   |  1186 PagesCritical chain method Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Reducing Project Duration Leadership Chapter 2 Organization Strategy and Project Selection 1.4 Projects and programs (.2) 1.4.1 Managing the portfolio 1.4.3 Strategy and projects 2.3 Stakeholders and review boards 12.1 RFP’s and vendor selection (.3.4.5) 11.2.2.6 SWAT analysis 6.5.2.7 Schedule compression 9.4.2.5 Leadership skills G.1 Project leadership 10.1 Stakeholder management Chapter 11 Teams Chapter 3 Organization: Structure and