Eating Challenge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Eating Challenge - Essay Example And also with bread, I have also unconsciously picked up bread placed on the table. I also found out that in these instances, people are likely to feel the urge to just give in – cheat on the challenge, in other words. I also learned that for individuals who are not accustomed to eating fruits and vegetables are likely to find the challenge difficult. However, for people who are adept at preparing and cooking vegetables or preparing salads, the challenge can be easier to manage. My first forays into cooking these meals were made with the help of the internet and I was surprised that many delicious meals could also be prepared using fruits and vegetables. It took a while for me to master these preparations and I went through many ruined meals before I finally picked up some useful techniques in cooking these meals. All in all however, I was enlightened by the experience. I found out that I actually had the discipline to engage in a vegetable and fruit diet, and to resist pork and minimize my bread intake. I also enjoyed the experience especially whenever I would weigh myself and see that I really was losing weight and that my ‘sacrifice’ was actually paying off. Losing weight can build confidence in one’s looks and eventually an overall confidence in oneself. It felt good to lose the extra weight and I was proud that my efforts paid off. Finally, I have learned from the experience that with sacrifice and discipline, many things are

Youth Consumption and Fragrances Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Youth Consumption and Fragrances - Essay Example But the new and cheaper mass brands have registered the highest growth in percentage and absolute levels. The perfumes and fragrances segment have targeted the younger age groups particularly the teen segment. The teens whose ages range from 13 years old to 19-years-old have a total population of 860 million all over the world. These teens have a bigger purchasing power than most of the generations before them. The teens' market is valued at US$250 billionannually worldwide, based on studies done by Euromonitor International. This market segment is a wealthy and sophisticated segment which bodes positive prospects for premium fragrances and celebrity scents. Indeed, celebrity scents have increased the profitability and the resilience of the perfume and fragrances industry on a global sale. Celebrity scents base itself on the established image of an actress or performer and it guarantees a deep consumer base. Hence, this helps fragrance makers to reduce marketing and promotions expens es. Young people look for celebrity scents since they want to imitate their favorite R & B performers, Hollywood actors and actresses and musical artists. Having a good and pleasant smell is a status symbol and an example of making a good impression on one's friends and on one's sweetheart. The basic barometer is this: that what smells good is good, and that what smells bad is bad. The fragrance industry exemplifies that fact that smell is a reflection of material culture and it enhances the olfactory senses of persons. The fragrance market as a whole is composed of these sets: (1) soaps and detergents (in which scents are added in a particular way) (34%); (2) cosmetics and toiletries; and (3) others (air fresheners, polishes, foods, and others) which are designed to convey an unconscious scent experience. (41%). The market is equally shared between flavors (51%) and fragrances (49%). Perfumes, fragrances and deodorants are part of a global beauty business that has been pegged at US $160 billion dollars a year with a very high annual growth rate of 7%. The seven percent growth rate is higher than the growth rate of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the world's developed countries. The estimated global market in 2008 for the perfumes and fragrances segment is pegged at US $15 billion dollars. The Japanese market accounts for US $4.5 billion (Fuji Keizai, 2002, "Fragrance," p. 145).

Pakistan Energy Outlook Essay Example for Free

Pakistan Energy Outlook Essay Primary energy consumption in Pakistan has grown by almost 80% over the past 15 years, from 34 million tons oil equivalent (TOEs) in 1994/95 to 61 million TOEs in 2009/10 and has supported an average GDP growth rate in the country of about 4.5% per annum. However since 2006/07 energy supply has been unable to meet the country’s demand leading to shortages. Meanwhile per capita energy consumption in Pakistan at under 0.5 TOEs/capita remains only one-third of world average. Indigenous natural gas is the largest source of energy supply in Pakistan contributing 27. 7 million TOEs (45.4%) in 2009/10, followed by oil products, mainly imports, at 21.3 million TOEs (34.9%), hydel power at 7.5 million TOEs (12.3%), coal, mainly imports, at 3.7 million TOEs (6.1%) and nuclear power at 0.8 million TOEs (1.3%). Consumption of indigenous natural gas has grown rapidly in all sectors of the economy (residential, commercial, industrial, transport and power) over the past 15 years, driven by growing availability of gas and a low, government-controlled gas price as compared with alternate fuel prices. As a result, Pakistan has developed a vast natural gas transmission and distribution network across the country. However Pakistan’s indigenous natural gas reserves are declining and a low gas price has become a significant disincentive in attracting new gas supplies, either through increased domestic exploration activities or via imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) or regional gas pipeline imports. If current gas policies persist, Pakistan’s natural gas supply is expected to decline from 4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2010/11 to less than 1 bcfd by 2025/26. This will lead to a growing gas/energy shortfall reaching 8 bcfd (over 50 million TOEs) by 2025/26 and will depress Pakistan’s average GDP growth rate over the next 15 years. It is also unlikely that Pakistan will be able to substantially develop its other indigenous energy sources of hydel power and coal by 2025/26 under current policies, and the energy import requirements of the country may grow from the present 30% to over 75% of the energy mix by 2025/26 costing over $ 50 billion per annum in foreign exchange. The government-controlled power sector in Pakistan, one of the largest consumers of primary energy, is facing growing problems due to an unrealistic power tariff, high inefficiencies, low payment recovery and the inability of the government to manage its subsidies mechanism. This has led to a serious â€Å"circular debt† issue which is becoming a barrier for future energy sector investments. This Pakistan Energy Outlook document identifies a set of energy â€Å"Blueprints† which, if implemented, could allow the energy sector in Pakistan to thrive and grow and become the engine for the social and economic development of the country, allowing accelerated GDP growth rates. As with all reform processes, the â€Å"Blueprints† will require significant political will to execute and it is hoped that the present and succeeding governments in Pakistan will rise to the occasion.

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Essay Example for Free

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Essay With the exception of reflexes, the science of psychology portends that all human behavior is motivated. The subject is exhaustively dealt with by different schools of thought and each of which appears to be valid explanations of human behavior. Dr. Abraham Maslow (Halonen Santrock, 1996) made a strenuous effort to arrange human motives in a hierarchy from stronger and lower at one end to weaker and higher at the other. Maslow essentially suggested that what man really wants is more of everything. Man desires a better and better situation for himself. He wants only what he does not already have, and thus satisfied needs do not motivate behavior. Maslow said that needs or wants can be arranged in a hierarchy of importance. Thus, when needs on the lower level are fulfilled, those on a higher level emerge and demand satisfaction. The hierarchy of needs he suggested placed physiological needs as lowest or basic, then safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and finally self-realization needs. In other words, Maslow believed that higher needs are expressed only when the prepotent physiological needs are satisfied. See more:Â  Perseverance essay This is also true of needs for safety and security. Until there is a basic amount of order and stability in meeting the lower needs, a person may have little interest in higher pursuits (Halonen Santrock, 1996). A person with an empty stomach cannot be expected to write literary work or tasked to write an essay about the effects of war on Afghanistan. The paper attempts to scrutinize the validity of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory based on several criteria which shall be discussed as follows. Discussion Maslow’s theory is classified under the humanistic perspective as it emphasizes the direction towards an individual must proceed which is self-actualization. This point in his hierarchy, Maslow tried to explain in much detail. According to him, self-actualization when attained, demonstrates what it is to be a fully developed human being. It is described as elusive due to the fact that man must have to satisfy the lower needs or those needs preceding this highest need (Halonen Santrock, 1996). To satisfy further one’s curiosity about this theory, the theory will be determined by the following: Freedom or Determinism: can a person control their own behavior or is it determined by internal or external forces? In Maslow’s viewpoint, human motives are ordered in hierarchy and thus, man responds to these as they arise (Halonen Santrock, 1996). With this premise, the theory is basically leaning toward the philosophical idea of freedom. Man is free to chart his course and how he is supposed to fulfill his various needs; i. e. his physiological dimension. In addition, the manner with which he carves himself in a particular niche that satisfies his psychological domains is also based on his own volition. There is no flavor of unconscious thoughts pervading motivation like when the idea of psychological instincts being interpreted within Maslow’s understanding; in contrast to this notion, any individual can basically control their own behavior. Maslow’s theory believes on the capacities of human nature to achieve what man wants to achieve rather than be held captive by forces within him or in his external world; it is the internal determinants such as self-determination that separates the theory from the rest especially among those with the deterministic stance (Halonen Santrock, 1996). Hereditary or Environmental: are the characteristics a person has inherited and inborn or is it developed by social influences? Since the premise of this theory hinges on freedom, a person’s characteristics therefore are developed by social influences. According to Maslow then, people vary in their manner of satisfying their needs because of various environmental influences that surround him/her. Man is free to choose from several options adequately provide for his own needs or desires. What are essentials though, are man’s tendencies or propensity to follow the order of needs. Biology or heritability is deemphasized, rather the value of experience is pre-eminent in the theory (Halonen Santrock, 1996). Uniqueness or Universality: individuals are unique or people are all pretty much the same This theory eventually emphasizes individuality or uniqueness, as it fundamentally illustrates in its assertion that every one has the capability for breakthroughs in circumstances which may be difficult. Man is also capable to understand himself and others, showing a lot of hope on the potentials that man possesses that he can exhaust in his lifetime (Halonen Santrock, 1996). Proactive or Reactive: individuals act on their own initiative or just in reaction to external stimuli? Since man is free, unique and has the possibilities to accomplish whatever he is set to do, it is also asserted that man is proactive: he can choose how to respond in any situation and may even extend himself to advance his interests, both positive and negative at whatever goal or in whatever circumstance he may be in (Halonen Santrock, 1996). Optimistic or Pessimistic: individuals can change given the right environment or they are unchangeable? The Hierarchy theory by design is hopeful and positive in every essence, if one is to follow the line of thinking which Maslow attempted to direct his audience. Individuals then have all the chances to make their lives fulfilling, impact others on virtues of honesty, charity and generosity, if and when he determines himself to be one. Likewise, he can also influence and negatively affect those that surround him when he chooses to do so. In this perspective then, an individual has high hopes of changing his attitudes and disposition, as well as his physical arrangements in life (Halonen Santrock, 1996). Part II. Evaluation of the theory If this theory is to be evaluated, the strength of Maslow’s assumptions lies in his recognition of the positives that humans possess. It reminds the audience of the person as a whole being and not just an organism subject to either what the psychoanalysts termed as instincts or behaviorists’ position as merely organismic. The emphasis on developing the potentialities mark Maslow’s crowning achievement in terms of theoretical appeal (Halonen Santrock, 1996). However, there are obvious or clear discrepancies or weaknesses in the theory. Since Psychology claims to start and end as a scientific endeavor, thus following scientific procedures to provide proofs to any of its claims, then Maslow’s theory must be ready to be tested accordingly. And this is where his theory fails in almost every measure in essence. At the outset, this viewpoint of explaining behavior is difficult to measure or put to test. Specifically, despite the details and emphasis Maslow placed on self-actualization the concept is still hard to operationally define. Scientists then and now are encountering various dilemmas in making the concept scientifically or empirically acceptable. In addition, there are illogical and inconsistent presuppositions in the constructs he postulated. He adheres to man’s capability to choose and yet how can he justify the existence of the structure of ordering needs in every individual if man is not born with it in the first place. How can he explain as well on those people who have achieved (jumped to the higher order needs) when they are barely existing or are starving at the same time; being altruistic and yet has no means to adequately meet their own needs (Halonen Santrock, 1996). Lastly, studies even show that many who adhere to this philosophical viewpoint shun the scientific procedures imposed on any scientific field or discipline, and choose to lean towards the clinical orientation for the explanation of specific behaviors or motivations. Others who examined this theory explained that the assumptions on human behavior are too high or exaggerating on positives or the freedom and the logical capabilities that humans possess. Maslow’s theory, especially his self-actualization concept, critics affirm, implies the tendency for man to reinforce his self-centeredness (Halonen Santrock, 1996). Conclusion If popularity and appeal are benchmarks for a theory to pass with flying colors, Maslow’s theory probably will go to the top. This is evidenced also as to the current prevalence of his theory in business; it is pervadingly present in almost every discussion in any business management course apparently (Halonen Santrock, 1996). For convenience, I too would readily fall for his theory and its seemingly simplistic way of explaining behaviors. But if I were to stick to following empirical underpinnings, I should say that the theory is not deep enough to satisfy more difficult human dilemmas, though in some instances, the theory seems to point to some aspects of life’s realities. It is not sufficient to compel me to believe in the theory enough. To illustrate, pursuing many of our own self-centered needs only frustrates us all the time and eventually makes many of us disordered and mentally sick along the way. Can I use it to predict human nature? In fairness, yes; but to a certain extent only, because as I mentioned, it is not sufficient enough to merit full dependence. The theory can probably modified to some degree as a picture of several aspects of being human, but to explain about the potentialities, may imply believing too much when all that is in there is just hot air, so to speak. Self-actualization may provide hope for those who are so discouraged in life, but it is still very limited in reality. Some even say that a by-product of this belief is a sense of irresponsibility (Halonen Santrock, 1996). Remarkably, Maslow suggested that various famous personalities illustrate what his theory posited including Beethoven, the brilliant composer, and Lincoln, one of the greatest leaders of all time. Each of them exemplified individuals who had characteristics of the self-actualized person (Halonen Santrock, 1996). Reference: Halonen, Jane and John Santrock (1996). Psychology: Contexts of Behavior. Brown and Benchmark Publishers, pp. 453 and 553-556.

Small and Medium Enterprises in Indias Economic Growth

Small and Medium Enterprises in Indias Economic Growth Small and Medium Enterprises in Economic Growth of India: Directions towards Sustainable Development Manvendra Pratap Singh, Arpita Chakraborty,  Dr. Mousumi Roy Abstract The inclusive growth is prerequisite in any of fast growing developing economies. Micro small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) play vital role in the socio-economic development of the country. In 2011-12, 36.18 mn enterprises were operational and employed around 80.5 mn people of country, second largest after agriculture sector (MSME Annual Report 2011-12). They accounts for 40 percent of India’s total exports, contributing 45 percent to Indian manufacturing output. With all the good things the darker side of MSME, it attracts only 2.33 employees per unit (on an average), they contributes mere 17 percent to the Indian GDP. This paper will highlight the reasons behind the shining India and Bharat. This paper will also focus on the facilities, scheme provided by the central or state government of country, its implementation and possible solutions for empowerment and spreading its boundaries beyond the country through international cooperation scheme. Keywords: MSME, International Cooperation, regional Economics Introduction Indias economic growth is expected to pick up a faster pace in 2013-14 and record six per cent plus levels of gross domestic product (GDP), according to Mr C Rangarajan, Chairman, Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC). Country reported to expand at a better growth rate as compared to its three BRIC peers China, Russia and Brazil in May 2013, as per HSBC survey. India witnessed an improvement in its business climate on the back of increased foreign direct investment (FDI) and greater revenue receipts by the Government. The ‘BluFin Business Cycle Indicator (BCI)’, reflects macroeconomic developments on a monthly basis, stood at 165.3 points in July 2013, 5.3 percent higher compared to July 2012 which implies that business performance is comparatively better than previous year. In economic development scenario, India is leading from all fronts i.e. 2013 FDI confidence Index stands 5th, 2013 Deliotte Manufacturing Competitive Index stands 4th, 2013 KPMG Change Readiness Index stands 65th. 2013 Global Innovation Index stands 66th. While on societal development front, India’s condition is not upright. As per the United Nations Development Programs (UNDP) Human development Index 2013 India stands 136th. In inequality Index, India stands 91st, in gender inequality 132nd, value of multidimensional poverty index is 0.283 on basis of year 2005/2006. A major cause of poverty among India’s rural, urban poor both individuals and communities, is lack of access to regular job opportunity, productive assets and financial resources. High level of inadequate health care, illiteracy and extremely limited access to social services are common among poor people. Seven states – Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Prad esh – account for 61 per cent of Indias total poor. Chhattisgarh is the poorest state in the country with approximately 40 per cent of its population being below the poverty line (www.downtoearth.org ). According to NSSO 66th Survey 2010, around 52.9 percent of population engaged in primary sector (agriculture and allied sector) contributing 19 percent to gross value added (GVA) of country, 22.7 percent of working population engaged in secondary sector which contributes 28 percent in GVA and 24.4 percent of population engaged in tertiary sector (Services) contributes 53 percent in our GDP. Considering NSSO 66th Survey, around 75 percent working population engaged in primary and secondary sector of the economy, and resides countryside or in outskirts of cities. While considering the basic amenities in such areas are vulnerable i.e. health care centres, schools, sanitation facilities etc. These differences demarcate a thin line between Shining India (Cities) and Bharat (Village s, towns and outskirts of cities) in terms of societal development and economic parity. Literature review In dynamic economic world, business innovation and competitiveness helps Small and medium enterprises to grow leap and bound. According to the Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index, 2013, Developing nations are emerging as potential manufacturing destinations like china ranked 1st as best manufacturing destinations while other developing nations are India, Brazil, Vietnam Indonesia etc. GMCI, 2013 report envisaged that in next five years the above mentioned nations will be key manufacturing hubs along with three leading manufacturing powers i.e. USA, Germany and Japan- remained ranked in top 10 most competitive nations today. Across the world, more than 95 percent of the enterprises are SMEs and employs 60 percent of total private employment (Ayyagari et al. 2011). SMEs by number dominate the world stage, Japan has highest number of SMEs registered among the industrialized nation accounts for 99 percent of total enterprises (Edinburgh Group Report, 2011). India had 26.1 million SMEs (MSME, 4th census) and employed around 59.7 million people of the country, second largest employer after agriculture sector. In European Union, jointly 27 countries accounts for 99.8 percent of total enterprises, employs 67 percent of all workers and contributes 58 percent of gross value added. (Edinburgh Group Report, 2011). The SMEs are lacking in knowledge and information base which reflected in poor work practices mainly the managerial and technical abilities among owners and managers. They mainly fall sort of environmental awareness and its impact and focused toward short term gains over long term objectives because of limited resources and lower capital-output ratio compared to a competitive large unit. Mainly SMEs are reluctant to the programs and policies i.e. waste management circle initiated by National Productivity council because of lack of their nature (Dasgupta, 1999). For example, Henriques and Sadorsky (1996) explored the effect of self-reported community pressure on Canadian firms’ decisions to adopt an environmental plan. The effect of self-reported community pressure (presence versus absence) on Mexican firms’ decisions to adopt certain environmental management practices. Analysis: Urban and Rural working Population across the sectors: In India, services sector mainly includes hotels restaurants, Banking Finance Securities Insurance (BFSI), Information Technology (IT) Information Technology Enabled services (ITES), Education, Health etc. According to NSSO 66th Survey, contribution of services sector is 53 percent as gross value added to the economy and employed only 24.4 percent of working population. Figure 1 shows the distribution of population employment per 1000 distribution in all three sectors of economy. Primarily comparing Round 66 and Round 68, finds out that rural primary sector population is shifting toward secondary and tertiary sector mainly men are relocating toward secondary and women are relocating toward tertiary sector. Considering the fact, urban population i.e. men and women are relocating toward secondary sector with marginal increment. With such development in secondary sector, more than 60 percent of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) approvals have been extended to IT/ITES sector, the manufacturing sector left with one third of total approvals (Deepak Shah, 2009). It may affect growth and competitiveness of manufacturing sector which shows huge potential in terms of engaging new skilled pool of population into itself. According to NSSO 66 Round Survey (Figure 2), while comparing secondary sector of economy, particularly, manufacturing (D) Construction (F) for rural and urban India, employment opportunities are relatively more in urban areas compare to rural areas because of basic facility location factors. With respect to social security, from entire workforce mere 8 percent workers entitled for statutory social protection (i.e. risks as sickness, maternity, disability and old age) through central and state level rules on conventional social security (NCEUS, 2006). Around 86 percent of total workers who employed in unorganized sector lag behind for basic social security benefits. As per (Figure 3) MSME Annual Report 2012-2013, rural registered MSME units are lesser than urban units while unregistered Micro and Small (MS) rural units are far more than urban units. Another important aspect of Indian MSME sector is that micro and small enterprises are more than medium enterprises and employed more number of population compared to medium enterprises where labor efficiency, economics of scale and environmental friendliness would not be considered as a parameter of growth. The overall labor efficiency is gloomily low which signifies poor quality of employment mainly because of informal employment called casualization. In manufacturing sector, 88 percent of employment lies under such category (Kannan (2011). According to planning commission estimates,  casual workforce earnings were only one-fourth of the wages of regular (full time) workers (Rs. 51 as against Rs. 200) in 2004-05. Prevalence of poverty among casual workforce, self-employed and regular was as high as 32 per cent, 17.5 per cent and 11 per cent respectively with an average of 20.51 per cent for all employed workers. (Planning Commission, 2008, Chapter 4, Annexure 4.7). MSMEs financing and credit trends: While considering the outstanding bank credits to micro and small enterprises (Figure 4) are on higher side with year on year increase of average 33.3 percent, which reflects the position of respective enterprises and condition of workers working for such enterprises, because it’s obvious that if an enterprise is falling sort of funds to manage its outstanding credit taken from various banks, how it will take care of its enterprise and workers. It reflects that mainly MS enterprises are dragged behind due to falling short of funds and other finance facilities which requires to compete with established local and global players in respective market. Conclusion: According to NAS data the service-sector has achieved an average annual compound growth rate of 8.7 per cent annum between 1999-2000 and 2009-10 as against 7.7 per cent achieved by manufacturing during the same period. Manufacturing sector in urban India has grown at a faster rate (2.8 per cent) relative to all India (1.7 per cent) over the period 1999-2000 and 2009-10. Unlike service sector has practiced skill scarcity and growth in service sector is reasonably more skill demanding than manufacturing sector at higher skill levels. Indian policy makers needs to focus on manufacturing sector like china counterpart which leads in exports and generated huge and stable employment environment by focusing on MSME model (Ramaswamy, 2012). Microenterprise development could generate income and enable poor people to improve their living conditions, has only recently become a focus of the government. The government initiatives and scheme like cluster development program, integrated industrial development scheme and credit guarantee fund scheme etc which stimulates inter-firm linkages and network have assisted MSMEs to move up in the value chain and gain competitive advantage, given access to technology upgraded production technology in sector should be spread across the industrial zones of the country by conducting workshops and training camps to reap the bene fits (IBEF, 2013). The report of Task Force on MSME (2010) provides roadmap for the enhancement and up gradation of MSME sector and mainly emphasized on following key issues: Public Procurement Policy: Government Departments and PSUs to reach atleast 20 percent of their annual volume purchase from MSEs Government should focus on rehabilitation of sick SME units and enhance schemes in context of National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC). Enable conducive environment for legal and fiscal instruments to incentivize SMEs for their corporation as entities. Assurance for strict adherence to stipulated targets by commercial banks for SMEs. References: ATKearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index, Back to Business: Optimism and Uncertainty (2013) Ayyagari, M., Demirgà ¼Ãƒ §-Kunt, A. and Maksimovic, V. (2011), Small vs. Young Firms Across The World – Contribution to Employment, Job Creation, and Growth, Policy Research Working Paper 5631 (The World Bank Development Research Group). Deepak Shah (2009), Special Economic Zones in India: A Review of Investment, Trade, Employment generation and Impact Assessment, Indian Journal of Agriculture Economics, Vol 64, No. 3, July-Sept 2009. Das Gupta N, 1999. Energy efficiency and environmental improvements in small-scale industries: present initiatives in India are not working. Energy Policy (27) 789-800. Edinburgh (2011), Growing the global economy through SMEs. Goyal M, (2013, June 09). SMEs employ close to 40 percent of Indias workforce, but contribute only 17 percent to GDP. The Economic Times retrieved from http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-06-09/news/39834857_1_smes-workforce-small-and-medium-enterprises. Henriques, I., Sadorsky, P., 1996. The determinants of an environmentally responsive firm: an empirical approach. J. Environ. Econ. Manage. 30, 381–395. HSBC EXPAT Explorer Survey 2013 Report: http://www.expatexplorer.hsbc.com/files/pdfs/overall-reports/2013/report.pdf Human Development Report 2013. The rise of south: Human Progress in Diverse World. Kannan, K.P. (2011) ‘How Inclusive is Inclusive Growth in India’ paper presented at the International Expert Workshop on ‘Inclusive Growth: From Policy to Reality’, jointly organized by International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada and Indian Institute for Dalit Studies (IIDs), New Delhi; 11-13 December, 2011, New Delhi. KPMG Change Readiness Index (2013), KPMG International  MSME Annual Report 2012-13 NCEUS (2006) Social Security for Unorganized Workers, New Delhi, National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector, New Delhi, Government of India. NCEUS (2007) Report on Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganized Sector, New Delhi, Government of India and Academic Foundation. NSSO (2005) Income, Expenditure and Productive Assets of Farmer Households (Situation Assessment Survey of Farmers), 59th Round, Report No. 497, New Delhi, National Sample Survey Organization. Planning Commission (2008), Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012) –– Volume I, Inclusive Growth, –– Volume III, Agriculture, Industry, Services and Physical Infrastructure, New Delhi, Planning Commission, Government of India. Ramaswamy K V, Agarwal Tushar (2012), Services-led Growth, Employment and Job Quality: A Study of Manufacturing and Service-sector in Urban India, WP-2012-007. Rs 27 per day: Indias new rural poverty line, 23 July, 2013, Down To Earth, http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/indias-new-rural-poverty-line-rs-27-day Samuel R A, Global competitiveness Index Report 2013 Zaidi L, (2013). Proceeding from International Conference on Technology and Business Management.

Physics of Color Vision and Color Blindness Essay example -- physics e

What is Color? To understand what color is, we first need to understand what light is. Light, as perceived by humans, is simply electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths between roughly 380 nm and 740 nm. Wavelengths below 380 nm and above 740 nm cannot be seem by the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength just below 380 nm is known as ultraviolet radiation. Electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength just above 740 nm is known as infrared radiation. The sun, black lights and fluorescent lamps are all sources of ultraviolet light. Heat is a source of infrared radiation, which is how thermal vision works. Electromagnetic radiation between the wavelengths of 380 nm and 740 nm constitute light and the human color-vision spectrum. There is evidence that other animals, namely insects and birds, have a color-vision spectrum that extends further into the ultraviolet range. Evolutionary factors greatly influence the development of color vision in different animals and species. Although the human color-vision spectrum is continuous, it can be broken down into discrete ranges of colors which are then labeled with specific names. Surfaces gain the appearance of color based on their reflection and absorption of different wavelengths of light. A surface that reflects all wavelengths of light appears to be white. Conversely, a surface that absorbs all wavelengths of light appears to be black (and also heats up as a consequence of absorbing this electromagnetic radiation). If a surface does not reflect all wavelengths of light equally, it will appear as a color in the human color-vision spectrum. Color Vision Color vision is a highly-debated gray area that lies somewhere between physics and psychology. As we h... ... apart. Be afraid to drive near me because I'm a bad driver. I didn't feel so smart in kindergarten. Between the color flash-card tests and the green suns I was apparently drawing with my crayons, kindergarten was not exactly the high-point of my life. Thank goodness for those little brown spots on bananas! They say that bananas go from being green to yellow when they ripen. To me, they go from being yellow to yellow, so I only trust the spots. Bananas rule! That one game of soccer... When I was a kid, I played in this one game of soccer where my team had green jerseys and the opponents had yellow jerseys. Somewhere in the middle of this game, the sun started shining in such a way that I could not tell the jerseys apart anymore. This was the worst game of soccer I've played in my life. I quit soccer and took up bowling. I showed them.

5 Paragragh Essay: The Catcher In The Rye :: essays research papers

From the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the youthful protagonist Holden Caufield, employs the word â€Å"phony† to describe the behavior of a number of characters including Mr. Spencer and Ossenburger, however it is not them who areâ€Å"phony†, it is the young main character. First, Mr. Spencer, Holden’s ex- history teacher, is not described as phony, but according to the adolescent, his choice of words are. Secondly, according to our main character, Ossenburger is not the generous philanthropist he portrays himself to be, but rather a greedy undertaker. Lastly, the protagonist could quite possibly be the authentic phony. All in all, the main character’s use to describe many other characters in the book is with the single word phony, when in fact the word phony would be the most probable word to describe the lead character. Illustrating Mr. Spencer as phony because of his vocabulary, is when Holden leaves Pencey Prep permanently, and goes to say good-bye to the ex-history teacher. The depicted fake tells the ex-Pencey student â€Å"I had the privilege of meeting your mother and dad when they had their little chat with Dr. Thurmer some weeks ago. They’re grand people†. The ex-Pencey student immediately impugns Mr. Spencer’s use of the word â€Å"grand†, and tells the reader: â€Å"Grand. There’s a word I hate. It’s a phony. I could puke every time I heard it.† To sum up, Holden disgusts Mr. Spencer’s utilization of the word â€Å"grand† and thinks it is fraudulent. Also, Caufield, describes Ossenbuger as phony because of what Holden perceived he did for a living. The wing where the central character lived at Pencey was called the â€Å"Ossenbuger Memorial Wing† named after a men who went to Pencey and later donated a substantial amount of money to the school. Ossenburger makes this income by the â€Å"business of undertaking†. Next, according to our youthful character, Ossenburger is phony because â€Å"he probably just shoves the dead bodies in a bag and throws them in the river†. As a result, Caufield feels that Ossenburger is phony because of his profession in undertaking. While observing the discription of many other characters in the novel as phony, it is safe to say that the phony character is indeed the protagonist. For example, the false character when lying to Mr. Spencer about going to the gym to clear everything out before leaving, is Holden. Once again we see this falsehood, when he tries to hit on some women in a bar, despite thinking the girls are not particularly extraordinary women.

Free Speech Should Not be Restricted -- Argumentative Persuasive Argum

Free Speech Should Not be Restricted I have an idea!   How about we let everyone freely speak their minds about issues and ideas.   Some will be better than others will of course, but the outcome will be a compilation of everyone’s best thoughts.   Everyone that is, except you.   We, meaning the country, decided that whatever it is that you have to say isn’t all that important and it is recommended that you keep all your thoughts to yourself as it is hard not to be offensive to everyone at the same time.   By offensive I mean to displease someone.   In general, no one really likes what you have to say.   Therefore it has been decided that you and only you will be silenced. â€Å"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.†Ã‚   John Stuart Mill could not have been more correct in his statement, using the first paragraph as an example. Walking into any airport, post 9-11, a series security checks is nec...

The Collection of Intelligence Information in the Current World

â€Å"So much information is now available on the Internet (even if some of it is inaccurate) that intelligence collection in the traditional sense is now no longer necessary†. Do you agree? What kinds of information might or might not be available? As a decision-maker would you agree to give up intelligence sources? Introduction Governments â€Å"run â€Å" on information. They need to be constantly aware of what is occurring around them, and how this could affect their interests, in order to take the right decisions at the right time.However not all the information they need is publicly available, which is why intelligence agencies were created with the objective of collecting, analysing and using confidential information, obtained secretly, to advise decision-makers. The collection process takes place after certain tasks have been assigned by the decision-makers, and consists of acquiring the necessary information which will then be treated at a later stage of the intelli gence cycle.Traditionally, the collecting process of such agencies comes from either human intelligence, meaning information directly transmitted from a trustworthy person to an intelligence officer, or technical intelligence, which uses technology and machines to obtain this information. Today, however, the collection process of all information-seeking organizations has been transformed with the Internet. It is the largest, fastest-expanding source of information worldwide, where anybody on any point of the globe can post or have access to information.The impact of the Internet on Intelligence agencies is undoubtable, and it has become a major component of open-source intelligence (OSINT, the process of acquiring information from public sources to be treated and put in use for intelligence purposes). It provides information which is cheaper, more accessible, more timely and easier to disseminate in a shorter time. This has lead some people to believe that: â€Å"So much informatio n is now available on the Internet (even if some of it is inaccurate) that intelligence collection in the traditional sense is now no onger necessary†. Has the Internet revolutionized the information collection process to the point of making the traditional methods obsolete? In this paper, I will defend the view that it has not, thus disagreeing with the statement above[1]. I will discuss that information available on the Internet is no replacement to information collected in the traditional sense, both theoretically (I) and in practice (II), even though it is a useful instrument which can also be used to guide decision-makers (III).I) The theoretical distinction between information available on the Internet and traditional intelligence collection In 2005, General Michael Hayden, from the US Open Source Centre, stated that â€Å"just because information is stolen, it does not make it better†[2]. This is true, however, what if the information was â€Å"stolen† bec ause it was not available anywhere else? One must not confuse the terms information and intelligence. Information is made up of the facts agencies seek; intelligence is the process of acquiring and making use of confidential information which responds to the government's interests.Of course, if this information was available on the Internet, no rational organization would prefer to spend more money, more resources and a greater effort on high-risk operations, which is what information collection implies in the intelligence domain. The problem is that the information intelligence agencies seek is voluntarily hidden by the entity that controls it, which is why it is confidential, and for obvious reasons not posted on the Internet. Moreover, the more people that have a piece of information, the harder it is to have control over it, which incites organizations detaining information to keep it to themselves.By definition, intelligence information is therefore unavailable elsewhere. Conse quently, the information on the Internet has a different content to information coming from intelligence, hence it cannot replace it. Furthermore, the definition of intelligence does not only regard the content of the information, it also concerns how the information is collected. According to David Chuter’s definition, intelligence means that the entity from which information is obtained does not want you to have it, and does not realize you have acquired it.On the contrary, the person posting information on the Internet wants you to have access to it and is aware anybody could acquire it. [3] Therefore, in both aspects of the definition of intelligence, there is a clear distinction between information coming from intelligence and from the Internet, and because of their difference in nature, one cannot replace the other. However, in practice, this theoretical distinction is blurred due to the fact that anybody can post on the Internet, including holders of confidential infor mation.They could, for example, want to harm the person or organization they work for by making such information public through the Internet. II) In practice, the Internet is no replacement to traditional information collection The Commandant of the Marine Corps in 1988, General Alfred Gray Jr. , said that â€Å"most of the intelligence which needs to be known could be obtained via open-source information†[4], which the Internet is a major source of. Undoubtedly, with the huge amount of information available on the Internet, this must be true.There are examples of confidential information been publicly made available through the internet, such as the major Wikileaks information release on confidential subjects- the war in Afghanistan and in Iraq, amongst others. We could then ask ourselves: what if confidential information has been canalized through the Internet and we no longer need intelligence to retrieve it? The information intelligence agencies search for must be importa nt and useful, or it would be irrelevant to the governments that need it. This means it must go through numerous filters and a high discrimination process.The Internet, while it may provide useful facts, has such an enormous amount of information that it impedes this selection process from being efficient. John McLaughlin, a former deputy CIA director, says â€Å"In the Cold War, we struggled to get data. Today, the problem is that there is too much data–more than we can handle. â€Å"[5] This can result in an information overload, meaning huge amounts of time and effort to be used to scan the information and select which is actually important. The difficulties in collecting information from the Internet go further than the quantitative issue.Because the information available on the Internet is what the person publishing it wants others to see, it can be dangerous because depending on this person's interests the information could be contradictory, misleading or even false, hampering the whole intelligence cycle. To avoid this, and as with any information collection, the source must be considered trustworthy, and this is always a difficult matter. On the Internet it is even more so: information is often anonymous, and meta-data (such as the circumstances surrounding the piece of information or the motivations of the person providing it) is extremely limited.Just like Jorge Luis Borges illustrates in his short story The Library of Babel, if one cannot tell what is true from what is false, the information is useless. Consequently, further sources are needed to prove the truthfulness of information and avoid being mislead. This means returning to traditional intelligence collection methods, in which case the Internet cannot be considered a source of information in itself. It can be seen, however, as inspiration for a further investigation.Moreover, the immensity of information available on the Internet incites certain types of behaviour in the information collectors, linked to their subjectiveness, that are also counter-productive for information collection. Political pressure is a potential source of error because it encourages agents to search in a certain direction, which the Internet, with its near-infinite information, is sure to justify. Firstly, it must be noted that not all information an agency looks for is necessarily available, however, the large amounts of information available on the Internet encourage people to believe such information exists.Secondly, misleading sources can exaggerate and create non-existent threats, which is sometimes what intelligence agencies are looking for in order to justify their utility. Thirdly, it is part of human behaviour to struggle to admit you are wrong, especially after investing effort in trying to prove the opposite. Once again, of all the information available on the Internet, that which proves you are in the right direction is likely to be picked, and the rest avoided, encouraging wish-fulfilment behaviour and confirmation bias.With these practical issues concerning information collected from the Internet, it can therefore be considered dangerous for it to be considered a source of information in itself. Nevertheless, it should not altogether be denied a role in information collection. The usefulness of the Internet and its place in the decision-making process If not a trustworthy source by itself, the Internet certainly contributes to a better information collection. Firstly, it directly facilitates the collection of open-source information which is then used for intelligence purposes.Such is the case, for example, with radio or television broadcasts which are now available online. In this example, it means monitors no longer have to be near the broadcast source, nor is complex equipment needed (antennas†¦ ) to obtain these broadcasts. [6] The Internet has an incredible logistical advantage, providing cheaper sources in real time all around the globe. O pen-source information is useful in providing complementary information to the confidential one. It helps determine the context and the circumstances in which the information is transmitted; it serves to â€Å"fill in the gaps†.This is essential, seen as a piece of information taken out of context makes no sense or cannot be used efficiently. Intelligence failures often come from an inability to understand â€Å"the bigger picture† or the general context of a given situation. For example, during the Vietnam war, the strategic concept of the conflict was misunderstood: the US believed it was mainly a Soviet-Chinese supported conflict and ignored the major influence of Vietnamese communists and nationalists. Moreover, information coming from he Internet is in real-time, so it can help those who collect the information assimilate new situations which arise from social or economic change for instance, and to do so quickly. It is therefore important source of collateral inf ormation, which enhances traditional information collection and enables it to be understood and interpreted. From a decision-maker's point of view, most confidential information is not available on the Internet (despite some examples which today are still very limited), which signifies traditional intelligence sources of information can by no means be given up on.The Internet is however an essential tool which must be integrated in the collection process, and in the other stages of the intelligence cycle, in order for the information provided to be pertinent. It can also serve as inspiration for further investigation, as long as its potential dangers are understood, for it is easy for decision-makers, who are under political power, to get carried away by misleading available on the Internet. Conclusion In summary, on one hand, most of the information available on the Internet is not the one which interests intelligence services because they seek mainly confidential information.On th e other hand, some of the information on the Internet hampers information collection because it can be misleading, contradictory, or even false and can lead to counter-productive behaviour from the intelligence agents. Consequently, the information available is not always the one intelligence services are looking for. In addition, there is a theoretical distinction linked to the fact information coming from intelligence must be unavailable elsewhere, which means information from the Internet cannot replace traditional intelligence.This does not imply the Internet should be avoided by intelligence services, on the contrary, it can provide essential information in complement to that obtained by intelligence services. It simply means the dangers of the Internet should be kept in the mind of decision-makers who must find the balance between these two sources of information. ———————– [1] Only the collection stage of the intelligence cycle will be discussed concerning the impact of the Internet, as this is what the statement points to. [2]http://www. usnews. om/news/national/articles/2008/09/12/spy-agencies-turn-to-newspapers-npr-and-wikipedia-for-information. [3]According to this definition, open-source intelligence is not a actually a source of intelligence, the concept open-source information in use for intelligence purposes is therefore more appropriate. [4]†Global Intelligence Challenges in the 1990's†, American Intelligence Journal (Winter 1989–1990) [5] http://www. usnews. com/usnews/news/articles/061103/3dni. analysts. htm [6]https://www. cia. gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol48no3/article05. html

Marketing Qantas

The report discuss all the crucial information on Qantas Airways Limited required for business and competitor intelligence needs and contain a study of the major internal and external factors affecting Qantas Airways in the form of SWOT and PESTEL analysis as well as a breakdown . And examination of leading product revenue streams of Qantas Airways. Data is supplemented with details on Qantas Airways history, key executives and business description, location and subsidiaries as well as a list of products, services and the latest available statements from Qantas Airways Limited.To undertake the report, primary/qualitative (Qantas Web site) and secondary/quantitative (Internet journals, reports and news) data was collected. The oil market is going through dramatic shifts in regional demand and supply balances. In 2012 the influence of OPEC and strong demand from the Brazilian, Russian, Indian, and Chinese (BRIC) economies prevented a decline in price (IATA, 2014, p. 12). This can be se en as a major factor affecting Qantas International’s profitability. With socio political factors in Middle East and North Africa may have low potential impact on the growth of aviation business.Aviation Industry’s growth was always linked to technology. New developments in this front are gathering pace and will continue to influence future dynamics of the industry. New trends in aircraft technology will continue to influence the delivery. Aviation Industry continues to make progress in the area of environmental protection where new aircraft models are designed to cut back emissions and to improve efficiency. On the legal front, industry continues to achieve harmonized legal framework for aviation industry. 2. Qantas International –Important Macro environmental factors2.  1 Crude Oil PricesAviation fuel process follows trends in crude oil prices. One of the most important macroeconomic factors affecting Qantas International Operations and profitability will be fuel prices. Looking at the latest financial statements (Fig 2) it is obvious that fuel contributes to the expenses in a large scale. Thus any changes in fuel prices are going to affect the bottom-line. As mentioned in the PEST Analysis in the previous section, crude oil prices maintained position preventing a decline in fuel oil prices. Source: Qantas Group Annual Report 2013Fig. 2 2.2Technology Technology will be one of the important macroeconomic factors which will be driving Qantas International’s transformation. Qantas group will continue its investments in new aircraft technology, customer experience technology, training, customer service etc. Emerging technologies like New Distribution capabilities (NDC) are going to transform customer shopping experience. Technology will continue to impact following areas of the business†¢Aircraft Design ( Fuel efficient designs, reduced carbon footprint)†¢Customer Experience †¢Ground Handling†¢Customer shopping e xperience Marketing Qantas The report discuss all the crucial information on Qantas Airways Limited required for business and competitor intelligence needs and contain a study of the major internal and external factors affecting Qantas Airways in the form of SWOT and PESTEL analysis as well as a breakdown . And examination of leading product revenue streams of Qantas Airways. Data is supplemented with details on Qantas Airways history, key executives and business description, location and subsidiaries as well as a list of products, services and the latest available statements from Qantas Airways Limited. To undertake the report, primary/qualitative (Qantas Web site) and secondary/quantitative (Internet journals, reports and news) data was collected. The oil market is going through dramatic shifts in regional demand and supply balances. In 2012 the influence of OPEC and strong demand from the Brazilian, Russian, Indian, and Chinese (BRIC) economies prevented a decline in price (IATA, 2014, p. 12). This can be s een as a major factor affecting Qantas International’s profitability. With socio political factors in Middle East and North Africa may have low potential impact on the growth of aviation business. Aviation Industry’s growth was always linked to technology.New developments in this front are gathering pace and will continue to influence future dynamics of the industry. New trends in aircraft technology will continue to influence the delivery. Aviation Industry continues to make progress in the area of environmental protection where new aircraft models are designed to cut back emissions and to improve efficiency. On the legal front, industry continues to achieve harmonized legal framework for aviation industry.2.Qantas International –Important Macro environmental factors2.1 Crude Oil PricesAviation fuel process follows trends in crude oil prices. One of the most important macroeconomic factors affecting Qantas International Operations and profitability will be fuel prices. Looking at the latest financial statements (Fig 2) it is obvious that fuel contributes to the expenses in a large scale. Thus any changes in fuel prices are going to affect the bottom-line. As mentioned in the PEST Analysis in the previous section, crude oil prices maintained position preventing a decline in fuel oil  prices.Source: Qantas Group Annual Report 2013Technology will be one of the important macroeconomic factors which will be driving Qantas International’s transformation. Qantas group will continue its investments in new aircraft technology, customer experience technology, training, customer service etc. Emerging technologies like New Distribution capabilities (NDC) are going to transform customer shopping experience. Technology will continue to impact following areas of the business†¢Aircraft Design ( Fuel efficient designs, reduced carbon footprint) †¢Customer Experience †¢Ground Handling †¢Customer shopping experience

Organizational behaviour assignment

The introductory chapters describes things such the forces within SABA management environment and their impact in either influence positively or negatively the SABA, as well as the factors that influence their organizational structures and the resistance resented by some employees about the impact of the turnaround strategy. In addition, in the final part of the article, an overview of what methods must be made available to maintain the values and norms of its early culture and how their senior leadership should use their influence over the employees in a bid to successfully lead the organization in their glory days, it is presented.Paging 2 Question 1. The SABA s management environment was suffocating at the time of writing the extract. Identify the forces within SABA management environment, and comprehensively discuss the impact of such forces in influencing the success or allure of the SABA. If there is anything that is stead fast and unchanging, it is change itself. Change is ine vitable, and those organizations who do not keep up with change will become instable, with longtime survivability in question. There are things, events, or situations that occur that affect the way that business operates, either in a positive or a negative way.These things, events, or situations that occur that affect a business in either a positive or negative way are called Driving Forces or Environment Factors . There are two kind of driving forces: a) Internal driving forces are those things, vents, or situations that occur inside the organization, and are generally under the control of the company; and b) External driving forces are those things, events, or situations that occur outside of the organization and are by, and large beyond out of the control of the company.For the definitions above we can see that SABA management environment was facing both the Internal and External forces, which unfortunately their top management did not have any control over them, but yet they cou ld respond and adapt to their opportunities and treats. From now on, I will discuss the impact of such forces in either success or failure of SABA. Ã'‘ Impact of the internal driving forces.SABA management environment was largely criticized among the other things, for mismanagement, corruption and nepotism, lacking long-lasting top leadership, drop in the quality of news and documentaries, heavy staff base and too few local productions. In short, there is rising discontent that very little has been materialized of the vision for public service broadcasting. Ã'‘ Impact of the external driving forces. Out of the control of their top management, SABA management environment was facing the impact either positively or negatively of the following external driving ores. A) Economic Forces.Economic forces may well influence for the success of an organization in the sense that low level of unemployment and falling interest rates for example, may give people more money to spend and as resu lt, organizations such SABA can sell more goods and services. Good Organizational Behavior Paging 3 economic times can affect positively the organization because supply of resources becomes easier or more inexpensive to be acquired, and with that SABA can be able to respond effectively in terms of their customers demand, and the organizations have a big opportunity to flourish.In contrast, damage macroeconomic conditions for example, pose a major threat to them, as they reduce SABA manager s ability to gain access to the resources their organization need to survive and prosper. Poor economic conditions make the environment more complex and manager s Job more difficult and demanding. Organization such SABA often need to reduce the number of their employees, streamline their operations and identify ways to acquire and use resources more efficiently and effectively. B) Technological Forces.They can have a good impact in SABA management environment in the sense that tit the changes in t echnological advances that it s observed in the last decades, have also spurred technological advances in the SABA. While the most obvious benefit from technology is increase productivity, which can be translated into a lower cost structure for example, there are some other benefits that can help the bottom line of SABA as well. It can improve speed, the ease sharing and storing of information and a decrease of employees error through automation resulting in a reduction in costs and increase in revenue.In the other hand, with technological advances, have greatly increased the competitive nature of the economic business oral. Technological changes can create competitive pressures for broadcasting companies because as the technology advance, so do the desire of the consumers which will demand better and appropriate supplier of goods and services. If SABA deploys a new communication system for example, they will have to pay an extra fee to train employees to use that technology effecti vely. C) Demographic Forces. Demographics refers to study of people, such their age, sex, marital status, occupation, family size etc. Hough, demography is uncontrollable because managers cannot control the sex, age, marital status in their external environment, but accurate recast future trend and consumption of their organization goods and services. Example: the aging of the population has several implications for the workplace. Most significant are relative decline in the number of young people Joining the workforce and an increase in the number of active employees who are postponing retirement beyond the traditional age of 65. These changes suggest that organizations need to find ways to motive older employees and use their skills and knowledge. ) Political and Legal Forces. Political processes shape a nation s laws and the international laws that govern the relationships between nations/organizations. Laws constrain the operations of the organizations and managers and thus crea te both positive and negative impact in an organization. For example, has been a strong trend toward deregulation of organizations like Organizational Behavior Paging 4 SABA previously controlled and owned by the State. Many analysts described that in order to come up strong again, SABA should already formed partnership with private companies.Another important political and legal force affecting managers and organizations is the political integration of countries/organizations that has been taking place during past decades. Increasingly, nations and organizations can form political unions that allow free exchange of resources and capital. Beyond the opportunities that international agreements to abolish laws and regulations that restrict and reduce trade between countries and organizations can bring, it also pose a serious threat as they can easily increase competition in task environment for organizations like SABA.To conclude, it s better to remind that there still a lot of forces that can influence either in the success or failure of SABA management environment, but here, I tried to focused on the ones that I think are the most relevant to do so. Figurer . The forces within a management environment) Paging 5 Question 2. The change management team set up by the minister will likely encounter stiff resistance from the majority of the SABA employees for some reasons. Outline the sources of resistance and provide coping mechanism to such resistance.In order to understand the reasons behind the resistance, it is critical to define what is meant by the term resistance. Folder and Garlicky, early researcher on the subject, define resistance to change as employee behavior that seeks to challenge, disrupt, or invert prevailing assumptions, discourses, and power relations . If management does not understand, accept and make effort to work with resistance, it can undermine even the most well intentioned and well conceived change efforts. So, here are some reasons why I think employees may act reluctant or show resistance about the SABA turnaround strategy: a) Fear of Job losses.One of the potential reasons why people may be suspicious and fearful towards a organization s change initiatives, is when they perceive the proposed change as having the potential break the continuity of a work environment and thereby creating a climate of uncertainty and ambiguity. According key informants, some of the objective of the turnaround strategy was the cutting of the wage bill. As a result, most employees were concerned that they might lose their Jobs. B) Negative attitude. Most of the SABA employees seemed to exhibit negative tendencies and attitudes towards the organization s turnaround strategy.The impact has also been felt in terms or lowering employee s morale, disillusionment, fear and anger and the work space was considered not to be conductive for engaging in meaningful work. For example, one employee contacted seemed not have faith in the organizatio n s turnaround strategy as she alleged that it was disjointed and that some of activities ere not well monitored . C) Poor consultation by management. The consultation by the SABA s management towards the employees was not efficient. It seems as if the strategy was planned from and by the top management without any input by the rest of the employees. ) Communication and lack of understanding. The way that you communicate the changes that will occur within an organization can have a significant role in how the turnaround strategy is perceived and understood by the employees. The different communication channels and networks should be employed to communicate the turnaround strategy to employee pending on their levels of understandings. According Paging 6 many employees, some of information about the turnaround strategy was disseminated through e-mails and internet of which not all employees had access. E) Top down decision making.The use of medium such as intranet, posters and flyers by the management did not provide an opportunity of feedback by the employees at the grass root level. For example, one of the employees said: we Just saw posters and other promotional items and stickers in the toilet and some of us were not even sure what they were all about . Ã'‘ Recommendations on how the SABA to management can cope with this aeries presented by the employees: It is therefore recommended that the SABA should invest more money in ensuring that the turnaround strategy is disseminated clearly and comprehensively to all its employees.That is to make sure that all employees are on the same page in as far as understanding the turnaround strategy is concerned. The SABA should also ensure that all communique © about the strategy reaches all the employees at various levels and that the strategy is communicated at the level, and through the channels that will be understood by all employees. It is important that any decision that affect employees working environment sho uld be implemented in partnership with all the employees that are or will be affected.The SABA should afford all its stakeholders particularly the employees full and meaningful participation, that is from the planning phase, implementation phase and monitoring and evaluation phase. After the introduction of the turnaround strategy, the organization s climate was dominated by uncertainty and rumors of Job losses, which could have been averted by engagement processes by the SABA. This implies that the organization ought to create a climate of trust between itself and its stakeholders. There is need for accountability and transparency and a climate of climate of trust needs to be re- established.In view of these findings the researcher recommends that the SABA should not overlook the positive contribution that its employees can make, but also strike a balance between the needs of the organization and that of its employees. Paging 7 Question 3 A number of factors have a considerable inf luence on the choice of the organizational structure and designing the SABA structure remains a thorny issue for top management. With regards to these assertions, identify these factors and impressively discuss how each factor can influence the design of SABA s organizational structure.Designing an organizational structure is not a simple task for everyone, especially for big organizations such SABA. Managers design organizational structure to fit the factors or circumstances that are affecting the company the most and causing the most uncertainty. The challenge that the top management of SABA will face is to design a structure that (a) motivate managers and employees to work hard and to develop supportive Job behaviors and attitudes; and (b) coordinate the action of employees, groups, functions and divisions to ensure they work together effectively and efficiently.Thus, for the problems that SABA s top management was facing, the factors that they should look for to design their org anizational structure are as follows: v Organizational size. The larger an organization becomes, the more complicated it s his structure. Running a broadcasting company like SABA it s not simple as running a small organization that may not even require a formal structure, as their individuals simply perform tasks based on their likes, dislikes, ability and/or need.For large organizations, it becomes increasingly difficult to manage without more formal work assignments and some delegation of authority. Therefore, large organizations as SABA must develop formal structures, with tasks being highly specialized and detailed rules and guidelines must dictate work procedures. Inter- organizational communication must flow primarily from superior to subordinate, and hierarchical relationships must serve as foundation for authority, responsibility and control.The type of structure that develops will be one that provides the organization with the ability to operate effectively. That is one rea son large companies are often mechanistic mechanistic systems are usually designed to maximize specialization and improve efficiency. V Strategy. From the article we saw that SABA was struggling with problems such increased competition, unsuccessful methods to survive, change in ownership regulation and many more. The big problem that time was the incapacity to choose the right means to implement a strategy to cope with those problems.Different strategies often call for the use of different organizational structure and cultures. Let take in consideration increased competition for example: after being the monopoly roads for more than 4 decades, the SABA now has find herself competing with 14 private radio stations, 1 free-to-air private national terrestrial television channel, e-TV and melancholic. Paging 8 After find themselves in that condition, they should choose how they could position they self in the market in terms of its goods and services.They should focus on strategies that require a structure that helps the organization face the competition or its objectives. In other words, they should adopt a structure that must fit the strategy. Maybe for example, they ought to decide to be always the first on the market with the sweets and best goods and service (differentiation strategy) or it may decide that should produce a product already on the market more efficiently and more cost effectively (cost-leadership strategy). Strategy is how an organization is going to position itself in the market in terms of its goods and services.Many companies have been divesting business because managers have been unable to create a competitive advantage to keep them up to speed in fast-changing industries. They need to design a flexible structure to provide sufficient coordination among the different business vision, doing that, managers gain more control over their different business. V The environment. The environment is the world in which the organization operates and in cludes conditions such as economic, socio-cultural, legal political, technological and natural environment conditions which can easily influence the organization.Environments are often described as either stable or dynamic. By the criticism imposed on the SABA, I can conclude that they are operating in a more dynamic/flexible environment, where customer desires are continuously changing and are being difficult to solve. SABA is dealing with an external environment changing quickly and with that, the greater is the uncertainty within it and greater are the problems their top management face trying to gain access to scarce resources.In this case, to speed decision making and communication and make it easier to obtain resources, their top management should typically make organizing choices that result in more flexible structures and entrepreneurial cultures. They must likely decentralized authority, empower lower-level employees to make important operating decisions and encourage value s and norms that emphasize change and innovation a more organic arm of organization. V Technology. As Van Sly (2002:3) observes: The most powerful and technologically advanced public broadcaster in Africa was condemned by the very constituency that brought into being .SABA one of the most powerful and technological advanced public Broadcasting Corporation in Africa, even so, its criticized among other things, for drop in the quality of news and documentaries and too few local productions. How can such powerful and technological broadcasting organization facing all this problems? The more complicated the technology that an organization uses, the more difficult it s to regulate or control it because more unexpected events can arise.Organizational Behavior Paging 9 One of the major targets on the turnaround strategy is to finally ensure the launch of digital terrestrial television (TTT). With all these revolution in mind, the SABA top management must come up with a strong and capable f lexible structure and progressive culture to enhance managers and their subordinate s abilities to respond to unexpected situations and give them freedom and desire to work out new solutions to the problems they encounter.In order to create competitive advantage of genealogy, technological tasks must be accomplished using tools, equipment, techniques, and human know-how. V Human resource. A final important factor affecting an organization s choice of structure and culture is the characteristics of human resource it employs. SABA was characterized by lacking long-lasting top leadership, corruption and nepotism, mismanagement, weak and inappropriately skilled and experienced executive management.It is possible to see that is was far behind all expectations that is expected from a large company as SABA. To cope with this problems, when designing organizational structure and culture, heir top management must pay close attention to the needs and kinds of the workforce that they employs a nd to the complexity and kind of work that employees perform. (Figurer. Factors that influence the design of an organizational structure) Paging 10 Question 4 The founders of the organization have a major impact on the early culture of the organization.Critically discuss the various ways through which the SABA can maintain culture. An organizational culture, particularly during its early years is inevitably tied to the personality, background, and values of its founder or founders, as well as their vision or the future of the organization. Many organizations as well as SABA start out with exciting ideas and concepts, but as they grow, they can lose that culture that made them successful or they can continue growing and keep that culture they created. What separates one type of organization from the other?One of the key factors to keep business culture is to define the culture you want to create from the beginning, and integrate it into how you hire people, how you treat employees, t he type of customer service you provide, and the general environment of your organization. So, unfortunately, nowadays SABA does to incorporate all these factors effectively as we saw that they are far for hiring the best and the most capable to perform the tasks, do not motivate the employees, they are far as ever from keeping happy their customers by providing a quality customer service and are operating in a very turbulent organizational environment.The only ways that SABA can recover and maintain its culture or to ensure that its own culture lasts through growth and change, they should adopt the following steps: v Define the culture and how it is different from the other concepts. The core values that the menders instilled in the organization should remain the same and separate from other ideas, and of course, should be observed in the current company s devotion to work and in achieve the goals proposed by the founders. Develop a strategy plan for implementing that culture. SABA must create a systematic process of envisioning that culture, and translating this vision into broadly defined goals or objectives and a sequence of steps to achieve them. V Implementation of the culture. SABA senior management must implement that culture in all they do, including hiring, compensation, rewards and incentives creating the environment, marketing etc. V Make sure employees at all levels know what the culture is and that they buy into it.First of all, be aware of that all employees clearly understood how the top management of SABA want the organization to be running , what kind of values and norms they seek. Make all of them understand the SABA founder s basic principles. In other words, their subordinates must clear understand what is waiting for and what is expecting from them, and Organizational Behavior Paging 11 must know how to actually do the old behaviors, once they have already been defined and/or established.

Master of German Opera – Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner is the master of German opera. He molded opera according to his own creative definition with revolutionary zeal (Richard Wagner Biography, Arizona Opera). Adolph Hitler and his Nazi party enjoyed many of Wagner's works; this negative publicity has caused people hate Wagner and his music. Today Wagner is accepted, but his music is still outlawed in Israel. The youngest of nine children, Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany to a blue-collar family, on May 22, 1813. His father, Friedrich Wagner, a police clerk, died when Richard was only six months old. His mother soon remarried to an actor and playwright named Ludwig Geyer and the family moved to Dresden. Some historians believe that Geyer was Richard's actual biological father; there is evidence that shows that Wagner may have believed this too. Egocentric from childhood, Wagner loved literature. He was especially fascinated by the works of Shakespeare. With his head always in the books, he tried writing tragedies but that never came to anything. He also began piano lessons, but unlike many other well-known composers, he never became skilled on this or any other instrument. Through his teens composing attracted him. In 1829, at age sixteen, he wrote his first compositions, which were not received well by the public. Then he took six months of formal training Theodor Weinlig, cantor of the Thomasschule, in 1831. Those studies resulted in the composition of a Wagner symphony, which was well received in Leipzig and Prague. He began work on an opera, Die Hochzeit, and tossed it aside unfinished. After that he completed Die Feen, but it was not performed until five years after his death. At 20, he began keeping journals in hopes of writing an autobiography in the future. He got a job as the chorus master for the Wurzburg Theatre when he was only 20 years old. He also started to write operas. In 1836, he got married to the actress, Minna Planner, this marriage was to last only until 1862. He was very unhappy with Minna, and regretted this marriage almost as soon as it came to be. In 1837, he and his wife escaped creditors to Paris. Wagner struggled to establish himself in Paris. Most of the time they were living on the verge of starvation; he was arrested and imprisoned on a few different occasions due to his debts. Producers rejected his preliminary ketches of the operas La Rienzi and Das Liebesverbot. Wagner stopped writing all together because of the embarrassment of being rejected. Then Wagner had a new idea and started work on The Flying Dutchman, even though he was impoverished and unknown he felt victorious at its completion in 1841. La Rienzi opened in Dresden in 1842 to enormous success. A success followed the next year for The Wagner became Kapellmeister of the Dresden opera and had financial security at last. However, he continued his poor money management, accumulating impossible debts. Within the five years that followed, he had completed Tannhauser, and Lohengrin. However, Lohengrin, which he considered his greatest effort to date, was rejected by Dresden opera and, in anger, Wagner helped to start a revolution. He wrote letters to Dresden rioters who were creating a growing rebellion in the state of Saxony. In 1849, when the revolution failed, Wagner was exiled, and forced to flee to Switzerland. In Zurich, 1851, he completed his furiously anti Semitic Jewishness in Music. During his thirteen-year exile, he concentrated on writing essays, which told his theories on musical drama. He also began work on his giant creation, a cycle of four musical dramas titled Der Ring es Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelungs). This cycle was made up of these four dramas Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried and Die Gotterdammerung . Der Ring des Nibelungen took 22 years to complete, and stands as one of the most remarkable and extremely influential achievements in music. During the many years of Wagner's exile, Lohengrin was presented in Weimar and was received slowly just as Tannhauser had been. However, in the decade that followed, German audiences loved both operas. In fact, at the time his exile ended in 1860, Wagner was one of the few Germans who had never seen a performance of Lohengrin. During the long period of work on The Ring of the Nibelungs, Wagner's life went through some major changes. He wrote, maybe, his most popular opera, Tristan und Isolde in 1859, and another major work, Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg in 1867. In 1864, the King of Bavaria, Ludwig II, brought Richard to Munich to provide financial support. There Wagner fell deeply in love with a daughter of Franz Liszt, Cosima von Bulow, who was married at the time to one of Wagner's associates. Eventually they got married. They began a project that would prove Wagner's biggest legacy to future generations (Richard Wagner, classicalmus. m), the building of an opera house that was devoted to only Wagner's works. Set in the Bavarian town Bayreuth, the Festspielhaus was the location for the first complete performance of the Ring cycle, in 1876. This was probably Wagner's biggest achievement, to have his greatest work performed in his own opera house. I don't personally listen to classic music; I don't enjoy a whole lot. I did, though, like Wagner's music. I didn't think that I would but I did. My favorite song was Lohengrin because it moves from very calm and quiet to very exciting and loud throughout the whole piece. Wagner has been classified politically as an anarchist and socialist, and simultaneously, a fascist, nationalist, and anti-Semite. His name has been connected to almost all the major trends in German history of the 19th and 20th centuries (Richard Wagner, Bena. com). Some people don't like him or his music just because some of the ideas that has been associated with his name. People need to look past the controversy and just listen to his music, and until people can do this, his wonderful music will never be fully enjoyed.

Debunking the myth of NGOs (non-government organizations) Essay

Debunking the myth of NGOs (non-government organizations) - Essay Example ?s global justice movement and colonial amnesia† the role of NGOs in Canada, even the Left-leaning ones, is in acknowledging and supporting the indigenous struggles. The NGOs have failed to acknowledge the link between colonialism and neoliberalism though they have acknowledged the latter as their enemy. According to Choudry, the Left-leaning NGOs in Canada do not acknowledge or support the struggles by indigenous people against neoliberalism. In order to substantiate this claim, Choudry points out that the issues of Indigenous people in Canada gained international attention as is evident from the fact that the 2008 UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women urged Canada to conduct special inquiry into the atrocities against the indigenous women in Canada. Still, it is surprising to note that none of the so-called Left-leaning NGOs showed any interest or supported the struggles of the indigenous people. The reason for this is found by Choudry in the fact that even the Left NGOs are unable to acknowledge the existing element of colonialism in Canada, and hence, they adopt a ‘White progressive economic nationalist’ position. Thus, the NGOs fail to acknowledge the negative consequences of neoliberalism which surrounds them in various forms. While promoting baseless claims of nation-building, they fail to look into, or understand, the importance of the indigenous struggles. Choudry turns the eyes of the reader towards a factor that often goes unnoticed. That is nations like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S are all colonies in nature, and in all these nations, the indigenous people are in the struggle to preserve their land and sovereignty. However, the NGOs, and the Left in general, think that the struggle by the indigenous peoples for the right to self-determination has nothing to do with the global justice movement. Thus, the NGOs in Canada tend to identify the transnational corporations, powerful governments and political