Prime Minister Essay Example for Free

Prime Minister Essay As he walked up the rickety stairs to the graveyard, his hand flaking the paint off the banister, listening to the thunderstorm overhead, Jake felt apprehensive. He was startled by the rustling of the autumn leaves in the bitter wind and the dancing of their shadows cast by the orange street light. He had left his friends house in a good mood but that was long gone as he sensed the peril that he was in. It was back. A creature had been following him on or off for weeks now and Jake could hear the sound of two extra footsteps a few metres behind him. He turned around but, as always, there was no one there. He knew he was not imagining it, but he didnt want to tell his family or friends as they would just laugh at him. While turning round once more he and thought he caught a glimpse of something, too big for a dog but too small for a human. He broke into a run and knew that his follower had done the same. He looked round and saw that his assailant was now making no effort to hide. The ground was being eaten up by this monster like creature that was pursuing him and he knew there was no hope. His screams for help filled the air but it was too late for there to be anyone out to hear him. He looked around for any means of protection and saw a stake with a note about the up-and-coming Easter egg hunt in the graveyard. Wrenching the stake from the ground, he turned to face his attacker; seeing how close the monster was too late. The creature was right at the end of the stake and as he collided with it, the stake went straight through his right shoulder. As Jake looked down at the victim that was now pinned to the ground by the stake he saw its coal-black cape, its milky-white fangs and his blond hair and blue eyes in the reflection off its pale white eyes. He started to run, as what he saw was a creature that he had thought only appeared in nightmares. It was a vampire! Â  As the sweat ran down his wrinkled face, the Prime Minister struggled to answer the last question concerning the rising number of murders in populated towns and cities. He knew that this new problem was going to be hard to solve and could cost him his job but he would do his best. He left the interview in a hurry, trying to get away from all the questions. As he finally got out the door, ignoring the crowd of reporters with their cameras flashing at him, his personal assistant rushed to his side and told him that he had urgent news from the Minister of Defence. He walked, wearily, but briskly, to his office and picked up the phone to his colleague. Prime Minister, I have urgent news regarding our current problem, he explained with a tone of graveness in his voice, We have video evidence of one of the creatures that are committing these assaults. Creatures? the Prime Minister asked, wondering if his colleague had made a mistake. Yes. We appear to have the first ever sighting of vampires in the world. I think we should try to get hold of one of them to question it. Yes, of course, please keep me informed of any more news that comes in, the Prime Minister stuttered incredulously, his face turning white at the thought of vampires on the loose. He knew that whatever it was that had to be done had to be done quickly, or else the whole population was in danger. The Minister of Defence had had a hard day. His phone had been ringing all day with enquiries from police stations all over the country. He was glad that he had finally found out the nature of the problem that the nation was facing. He knew that the Prime Minister was under extreme pressure but he was seriously losing faith in his ability to cope with this crisis. He was looking older every day, his good looks gone and his famous, lush brown hair was now grey and clearly thinning. The stress of his job was taking its toll and some of his recent decisions had been so questionable that the Press was having a field day. He knew that his doubts were shared, not only by the members of the Cabinet but by a large section of the population. As the phone started ringing once more, he cursed and picked it up knowing that it would be from another Police Officer in some part of the country asking for advice on what to do with another victim of an assault. That is why he was surprised by what was said.

The Pursuit of Happyness Essay Example for Free

The Pursuit of Happyness Essay America is a land of great hope and opportunity, but with its many benefits, there are also flaws, such as a large homeless population. The Pursuit of Happyness is a movie based on a true story about a man named Chris Gardner, and his struggle to live a happy life. Jonathan Kozol’s essay, â€Å"The Homeless and Their Children† is about Laura and her struggle to maintain a good life for herself and her family. Will Smith, as Chris Gardner, in The Pursuit of Happyness is very similar to Laura from â€Å"The Homeless and Their Children† because they both are unable to provide for themselves or for their families, and do not have a stable place to live thus, supporting Kozols picture of homelessness. Both have different causes for being homeless, but share similar effects. Chris Gardner’s story starts in 1981, in San Francisco. He is a very smart and hard worker who deeply cares about his wife, Linda, and son, Christopher. Gardner takes a chance and invests his life savings into a device called a bone-density scanner. He goes around selling these from door to door. Soon the people stop buying it, due to it being expensive. This leaves Chris on his knees, with his wife leaving him and moving to New York, with very little money, and being kicked out of his apartment. His wife tries to take her son, but Gardner refuses. He then applies for a stockbroker position at Dean Witter, but in order to get that position he has to go through training for six months without pay. At the same time, the government takes what little money he has left in his bank account for his taxes. This makes him unable to pay for the rent, leaving him and his son homeless. From this point on, Gardner goes through numerous hardships such as sleeping in a bathroom, searching for a job day by day, and finding a way to feed himself and his son. Chris does not give up at all, but rather works even harder for that one and only position, which is also being pursued by nineteen other people. In one scene, he tells his son â€Å"Hey! Dont ever let somebody tell you You cant do something. Not even me. All right†? Chris finally gets the job, goes to his son, and embraces him. In â€Å"The Homeless and Their Children,† Jonathan Kozol visits the Martinique hotel and interviews one of the homeless families. He decides to call the mother Laura. She has four children and they face many difficulties. Her oldest son has been diagnosed with lead poison, and the youngest daughter with scabies. The hospital keeps sending letters to her, but due to her illiteracy, she is not able to read them, thus preventing her from helping her children. She also has many problems with her home. Her room’s radiator is broken, and the bathroom plumbing has overflowed. Laura has four rooms in her apartment and each is more dangerous than the other one. The screws are loose in the crib; the corners of the beds are sharp and unprotected. Just by being homeless, she has enough problems, but also being illiterate only adds more. Her apartment also has big rats that come out at night and bite sometimes. Laura has gotten into many arguments with the manager of the building and complained to him about fixing the problems â€Å"Why you give my son lead poison and you didn’t care?†(Kozol, p.308) of her apartment, but he just ignores her and says that she is causing trouble for him. On Christmas, her children complain that they did not get any presents, but Laura tells them you will get something soon. Laura faces many numbers of problems each day, but she does not give up. She says â€Å"I figure: Go to church. Pray God. Ask him to help. I go on, my knees, I ask Him from my heart†. (Kozol, p. 309). Chris Gardner and Laura are similar in that they have both made wrong decisions in their lives. Gardener invested in the bone density machine, Laura, being young, got drunk with a boy, and that lead to her having a child. Laura did not believe in abortion so she kept the child however; she should n ot have had any more children since she was not capable of taking care of them by herself. Gardner on the other hand had to only worry about his one son and his son become a motivation for him to exceed in life and be a good father. Another similarity is that both individuals tried to make things better for there families. Laura did her best to read and since she could not read, she tried to understand the pictures she saw in the newspapers, grocery store etc, to help better her life. Gardner was capable of reading but he had a changed in career even though he did not poses the right education for the job that he was going for, he taught himself many things and ended up getting the job. The cause of Gardners ending up homeless was a bad financial decision. The effect of his homelessness was that he was unable to find a suitable place to operate from. He had to bounce around from motels after motels and eventually homeless shelters, which made his life more difficult. Laura ends up being homeless because she never got a chance to be educated, and then she got married very early and had kids, and this became a burden for her. The cause and effect on the society are that people can appreciate the little things they take for granted just by imagining themselves in Laura’s situation, and learn how harsh a life of a homeless person is. The society can learn from this, and thus, choose to help people like Laura by volunteering. The effect of Gardner’s story is that his patience and perseverance became an inspiration to the society. The Pursuit of Happyness portrayal of a homeless person is very similar to Kozol’s portrayal of homelessness. They both are unable to support their families, Gardner cannot find a job, due to Laura’s illiteracy she is unable to reply to the hospital or the welfare department. In this situation for both characters, many things can be done to improve their lives. First of Laura should have done something to keep her childrens father around all the time. When a family supports each other, they are successful and are able to prosper through many hardships. In case of Mr. Gardner, he should have made his early decisions carefully and through consulting family members and other who might have knowledge in the product that he was investing in. These two stories are very similar but with very different endings. In the end, people should not blame problem on themselves or others, instead they should come together and find a solution.

Types of organizational structure

Types of organizational structure What is the definition of an organization? Is a social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a need or to pursue collective goals. All organizations have a management structure that determines relationships between the different activities and the members, and subdivides and assigns roles, responsibilities, and authority to carry out different tasks. Organizations are open systems they affect and are affected by their environment. A business organization is an individual or group of people that collaborate to achieve certain commercial goals. Some business organizations are formed to earn income for owners. Other business organizations, called nonprofits, are formed for public purposes. These businesses often raise money and utilize other resources to provide or support public programs. The term business organization refers to how a business is structured. The business organization is defined in the bylaws when the business is formed with the name and contact information of those who own and run the company with their roles defined. The bylaws state the purpose of the organization and what it does. A sole proprietorship does not have bylaws because one person owns and controls the business. What is an organizational structure? Is the typically hierarchical arrangement of lines of authority, communications, right and duties of an organisation. Organisational structure determines how the roles, power and responsibilities are assigned, controlled, and coordinated, and how information flows between the different levels of management. A structure depends on the organisations objectives and strategy. In a centralized structure, the top layer of management has most of the decision making power and has tight control over departments and divisions. In a decentralized structure, the decision making power is distributed and the departments and divisions may have different degrees of independence. A company such as Proctor and Gamble that sells multiple products may organize their structure so that groups are divided according to each product and depending on geographical area as well. Organizational structure is a system used to define a hierarchy within an organization. It identifies each job, its function and where it reports to within the organization. This structure is developed to establish how an organization operates and assists an organization in obtaining its goals to allow for future growth. The structure is illustrated using an organizational chart. There are two types of Organizational structure. Formal Structure which is the organisation of business that hierarchical the nature. For a company, formal structure can be found on its organisational chart that includes the staff names and their official job titles. It is easy to understand and to the point is unlike the long drawn out definitions while reading, one do forgets the previous sentence after moving to the next. The other defines the term in its crudest form. A formal organisation structure shows a recognisable chain of command, it also has many levels of management. This makes communication slower and decision making harder to implement. Informal structure Informal structure consists of the social structure of an organisation. It includes the corporate culture, behaviour interactions and social connections which occur within an organisation. Many organisation have a formal, written structure, and a more informal, cultural structure. A good advantage for the informal structure is, it evolves constantly. And it can easily respond quickly in a changing situation. An informal structure is much more relaxed, with very few levels of management. This makes communication much easier between levels and decisions and made faster. Centralization Decentralization Centralization is said to be a process where the concentration of decision making is in a few hands. All the important decision and actions at the lower level, all subjects and actions at the lower level are subject to the approval of top management. According to Allen, Centralization is the systematic and consistent reservation of authority at central points in the organization. For example Company A is run by Stephen Clarkson B. Delgado. Company A is being controlled by a centralized or a top level superior; this is an example of an centralized organization. The implication of centralization can be: Reservation of decision making power at top level. Reservation of operating authority with the middle level managers. Reservation of operation at lower level at the directions of the top level Decentralization is a systematic delegation of authority at all levels of management and in all of the organization. In a decentralization concern, authority in retained by the top management for taking major decisions and framing policies concerning the whole concern. Rest of the authority may be delegated to the middle level and lower level of management. Decentralization is the distributing power and decision making among different people, departments, or locations within an organization. For example, a national retail chain may allow its store managers to make decisions on the merchandise that will be carried in their particular stores. Some benefits decentralization would include decisions are made by those who have the most knowledge about local conditions greater managerial input in decision- making has a desirable motivational effect managers have more control over results Business Structures As a government has different types of organization, Organisations have a formal structure which is the way that the organisation is organised by those with responsibility for managing the organisation. They create the formal structures that enable the organisation to meet its stated objectives. Often these formal structures will be set out on paper in the form of organisational charts. However, in the course of time an informal structure develops in most organisations which is based on the reality of day-to-day interactions between the members of the organisation. This informal structure may be different from that which is set out on paper. Informal structures develop because: people find new ways of doing things which they find easier and save them time patterns of interaction are shaped by friendship groups and other relationships people forget what the formal structures are It is easier to work with informal structures. Sometimes the informal structure may conflict with the formal one. Where this is the case the organisation may become less efficient at meeting its stated objectives. However, in some cases the informal structure may prove to be more efficient at meeting organisational objectives because the formal structure was badly set out. There are two types of Organizational structures Tall Structures Tall organizational structure is one which has many levels of hierarchy. In these organizations, there are usually many managers, and each manager has a small span of control they are in charge of only a small group of people. Tall structures tend to be more complicated and complex, and may be slower to respond to market changes than organizations where managers have a larger span of control. Tall structure has many levels of management and its supervision. Long chain of command is one of it. It means, running from the top of an organisation. The advantage of tall structure is clear management structure, narrow span of control, the function of each layer will be clear and distinct, and a clear progression. Pros and Cons of tall structure The pros of tall structures lie in clarity and managerial control. The narrow span of control allows for close supervision of employees. Tall structures provide a clear, distinct layer with obvious lines of responsibility and control and a clear promotion structure. Challenges begin when a structure gets too tall. Communication begins to take too long to travel through all the levels. These communication problems hamper decision-making and hinder progress. Flat Structures Flat structures have fewer management levels, with each level controlling a broad area or group. Flat organizations focus on empowering employees rather than adhering to the chain of command. By encouraging autonomy and self-direction, flat structures attempt to tap into employees creative talents and to solve problems by collaboration. Pros and cons of flat structure Flat organizations offer more opportunities for employees to excel while promoting the larger business vision. That is, there are more people at the top of each level. For flat structures to work, leaders must share research and information instead of hoarding it. If they can manage to be open, tolerant and even vulnerable, leaders excel in this environment. Flatter structures are flexible and better able to adapt to changes. Faster communication makes for quicker decisions, but managers may end up with a heavier workload. Instead of the military style of tall structures, flat organizations lean toward a more democratic style. The heavy managerial workload and large number of employees reporting to each boss sometimes results in confusion over roles. Bosses must be team leaders who generate ideas and help others make decisions. When too many people report to a single manager, his job becomes impossible. Employees often worry that others manipulate the system behind their backs by rep orting to the boss; in a flat organization, that means more employees distrusting higher levels of authority. Diagram of Tall and Flat Structure Tall structure http://www.emeraldinsight.com/content_images/fig/0291020503007.png Diagram 1: Tall structure By: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/content_images/fig/0291020503007.png Flat structure https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaP89kycrBzNSMAJOzl3b5SnZ7Z8Hkfx0IaLVspOwQNY7C8iJ9-tblr-_Yv-PlJ1OkG_f5rtZ1TcnHSNDttdE5bUTIF5a1Gsp3ahn09nRYR2O37lCIMHi6Qk2nXpaC8sjPNP8xSG55NzvI/ Diagram 2: Flat structure By: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaP89kycrBzNSMAJOzl3b5SnZ7Z8Hkfx0IaLVspOwQNY7C8iJ9-tblr-_Yv-PlJ1OkG_f5rtZ1TcnHSNDttdE5bUTIF5a1Gsp3ahn09nRYR2O37lCIMHi6Qk2nXpaC8sjPNP8xSG55NzvI/ Span of control Span of control is the term now used more commonly in business management, particularly human resource management. Span of control refers to the number of subordinates a supervisor has. In a business of more than one person, unless the business has equal partners, then there are managers and subordinates. Subordinates are workers controlled by the manager. A hierarchy describes the structure of the management of the business, from the top of the company the managing director, through to the shop floor worker, who reports to their foreman, in a manufacturing business. The hierarchy of a business is usually best understood by drawing an organisation chart showing which levels of management and employees report to whom. An example of a hierarchy is shown in the diagram below: http://www.tutor2u.net/business/gcse/organisation_public_sector_clip_image002.jpg Diagram 3: Span of control Created by: http://www.tutor2u.net/business/gcse/organisation_span_of_control.htm The advantages of a narrow span of control are: A narrow span of control allows a manager to communicate quickly with the employees under them and control them more easily Feedback of ideas from the workers will be more effective It requires a higher level of management skill to control a greater number of employees, so there is less management skill required An example of a wide span of control is shown in the diagram to the right:http://www.tutor2u.net/business/gcse/organisation_public_sector_clip_image004.gif Diagram 4: Wide span of control By: www.tutor2u.net, (n.d) There are also different types of organizational structure Product Structures An organizational structure is a framework in which companies outline the different responsibilities in their company. A product-based organizational structure separates the company by products, activities, projects or geography. This allows a company to have a particular focus on specific items in its business operations. Organizational structure refers to the different hierarchies or levels in a company. An organizational structure appears as a series of boxes, vertical and horizontal lines. The boxes represent various titles within the organization, and the vertical lines represent to whom that position reports. Horizontal lines show which employees are on the same level. The appearance of an organization structure is usually pyramidal because there are fewer executive-level positions at the top of the company. Advantages and disadvantages: Product-based structures allow companies to remain flexible in the business environment. This allows the company to add or remove structure sections as necessary. However, it can prohibit companies from achieving company-wide goals since each unit operates on its own. product-business-organization-structure.jpg (516ÃÆ'-344) Diagram 5: Product structure By: http://the-business-plan.com/wp-content/uploads/product-business-organization-structure.jpg Geographical structure Organizational structure defines the hierarchy in which an organization will operate. There are many defined types of organizational structure, but some organizations may create their own, or use a combination of several structures to efficiently run business operations. Geographic organizational structure is used for organizations that have offices or business units in different geographic locations. Geographical structure is the firm organized into geographical units (regional, national, international) that report to a central headquarter which administers the core functions such as planning and marketing. example-geographic-org-chart.jpg (600ÃÆ'-159) Diagram 6: Geographical Structure By: http://thethrivingsmallbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/example-geographic-org-chart.jpg Function The term organizational structure refers to how the people in an organization are grouped and to whom they report. One traditional way of organizing people is by function. Some common functions within an organization include production, marketing, human resources and accounting. The classic organizational structure where the employees are grouped hierarchically, managed through clear lines of authority, and report ultimately to one top person. Advantages Some advantages of a functional organization are that the lines of command are clear. Individuals specialize and departments tend to develop common knowledge across the group. There may be an advantage to individuals in that career paths can be fairly easily defined. Disadvantages Disadvantages of the functional organization include poor communication across groups and slow response to changes in the environment. Too much work may be referred upward due to the lack of decision making authority, and serious problems can ensue when groups develop a narrow perspective. http://thethrivingsmallbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/example-functional-org-chart-jpg.jpg Diagram 7: Function Structure By: http://thethrivingsmallbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/example-functional-org-chart-jpg.jpg Multi divisional Companies use organizational structures to characterize their hierarchical and reporting structures. The organizational structure shows the superior-subordinate equations in the organization. A multi-divisional organizational structure is used by large organizations. Here, the scale of operations is very large; hence the number of employees is also very enormous. The company divides all of its strategic functions into departments. All these departments do their share of the allocated work, and all the work is later collated as the organizational tasks. According to the Human Resource Management Guide, a multidivisional organizational structure consists of self-contained units that operate as their own separate entity. For example, Procter and Gamble owns multiple national brand names and creates a self-contained business model and organizational structure for each product. Each brand is given its own corporate identity, leadership and organizational design. Advantages A multidivisional organizational structure promotes motivation among team members because of the performance/reward connection. This structure makes it easy for leadership in the organisation to maintain keen oversight and reward those who perform well. The service provided to customers meets their needs more appropriately because leadership and employees work more closely with customers. There is also clear identity and purpose in this structure that increases team member loyalty, dedication and satisfaction. Disadvantages A multidivisional organizational structure does have some disadvantages. The disadvantages deal directly with external relationships. Although the department itself is very close and possesses a defined identity and purpose, communication between departments can be difficult. Conflict between departments is common due to competition and differences in values, systems and expectations. This structure also costs more to operate and manage because each division is considered its own entity. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/content_images/fig/0410130305001.png Diagram 8: Multidivisional diagram By: http://www.emeraldinsight.com Matrix Matrix structure is defined as a type of management system in which workers report to more than one person, effectively having two or more supervisors at the same time. This can be illustrated by the example of a project environment, where professionals with different types of expertise are brought together to work on a projects. They report to a number of managers of different projects, as well as to a functional supervisor. The idea is to share knowledge and personnel to maximize effectiveness. The matrix structure is an organizational design that groups employees by both function and product. The organizational structure is very flat, and the structure of the matrix is differentiated into whatever functions are needed to accomplish certain goals. Each functional worker usually reports to the functional heads, but do not normally work directly under their supervision. Instead, the worker is controlled by the membership of a certain project, and each functional worker usually works under the supervision of a project manager. This way, each worker has two superiors, who will jointly ensure the progress of the project. The functional head may be more interested in developing the most exiting products or technologies, whereas the project manager may be more concerned with keeping deadlines and controlling product costs. Advantages The cross functional teams of a matrix structure reduce the functional barriers between departments, and increase the integration of functions. Matrix structures open up for communication, and may provide an opportunity for team members to learn from each other thus distributing valuable knowledge laterally within the organization. The matrix structure makes it possible to assign specialized resources to projects when needed. Disadvantages A matrix structure lacks the effectiveness of bureaucracy, and will potentially not work if the organization does not need to react swiftly to changes The flat hierarchy may be the cause of conflict, and different stakeholders may pursue entirely different goals. The great focus on integration between functional areas requires a great amount of lateral communication, and it may require great resources to get information distributed efficiently between team members. As said before, the use of a matrix structure seems more feasible for organizations operating in business environments characterized by change, dynamism and uncertainty. This could e.g. be organizations operating in high-tech industries such as computing or telecommunication http://thethrivingsmallbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Example-Matrix-Organization-Chart-jpg.jpg Diagram 9: Matrix Diagram By: http://thethrivingsmallbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Example-Matrix-Organization-Chart-jpg.jpg Definition of Culture Is the values and behaviours that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization. Organizational culture includes an organizations expectations, experiences, philosophy, and values that hold it together, and is expressed in its self-image, inner workings, interactions with the outside world, and future expectations. It is based on shared attitudes, beliefs, customs, and written and unwritten rules that have been developed over time and are considered valid. Also called corporate culture. Company culture is the personality of a company and defines what a company, from an employee perspective, is like to work for. Company culture includes the company mission, values, ethics, expectations, goals, and work environment. Whether written as a mission statement, spoken or merely understood, corporate culture describes and governs the ways a companys owners and employees think, feel and act. Your own businesss culture may be based on beliefs spelled out in yo ur mission statement. It could consist in part of a corporate symbol, like the rainbow-colored apple that symbolizes Apple Computer. Whatever shape it takes, your corporate culture plays a big role in determining how well your business will do. There are four types of cultures: Power Is one based on the dominance of one or a small number of individuals within an organisation. They make the key decisions for the organisation. This sort of power culture may exist in a small business or part of a larger business. There are some organizations where the power remains in the hands of only few people and only they are authorized to take decisions. They are the ones who enjoy special privileges at the workplace. They are the most important people at the workplace and are the major decision makers. These individuals further delegate responsibilities to the other employees. In such a culture the subordinates have no option but to strictly follow their superiors instructions. The employees do not have the liberty to express their views or share their ideas on an open forum and have to follow what their superior says. The managers in such a type of culture sometimes can be partial to someone or the other leading to major unrest among others. Role Exists in large hierarchical organisations in which individuals have clear roles (jobs) to perform which are closely specified. Individuals tend to work closely to their job description, and tend to follow the rules rather than to operate in a creative way. Role culture is a culture where every employee is delegated roles and responsibilities according to his specialization, educational qualification and interest to extract the best out of him. In such a culture employees decide what best they can do and willingly accept the challenge. Every individual is accountable for something or the other and has to take ownership of the work assigned to him. Power comes with responsibility in such a work culture. Task Exists when teams are formed to complete particular tasks. A distinct team culture develops, and because the team is empowered to make decisions, task cultures can be creative. Organizations where teams are formed to achieve the targets or solve critical problems follow the task culture. In such organizations individuals with common interests and specializations come together to form a team. There are generally four to five members in each team. In such a culture every team member has to contribute equally and accomplish tasks in the most innovative way. Person There are certain organizations where the employees feel that they are more important than their organization. Such organizations follow a culture known as person culture. In a person culture, individuals are more concerned about their own self rather than the organization. The organization in such a culture takes a back seat and eventually suffers. Employees just come to the office for the sake of money and never get attached to it. They are seldom loyal towards the management and never decide in favour of the organization. One should always remember that organization comes first and everything else later. There are certain organizations where the employees feel that they are more important than their organization. Such organizations follow a culture known as person culture. In a person culture, individuals are more concerned about their own self rather than the organization. The organization in such a culture takes a back seat and eventually suffers. Employees just come to the offi ce for the sake of money and never get attached to it. They are seldom loyal towards the management and never decide in favour of the organization. One should always remember that organization comes first and everything else later. Task 2 Explain how the relationship between an organisations structure and culture can impact on the performance of the business All businesses have Business organization has structures and cultures that have been followed to apply great impact on the productivity of their business. These organizations could have applied either a product structure, Multi-dimensional, Matrix structure etc. And have followed a power type culture or person type culture and so on. Each of these has its own effect and impact on their business. These structures and cultures play an important role of setting the definition of an company, setting their goals and how they could organize its members to meet their goals As The behaviours and beliefs characteristic of a workplace are its culture. The culture and structure of an organization affect one another. A structure appropriate to the organization helps to develop a healthy culture. In companies with rigid structures, communication tends to follow reporting lines. In companies with flatter structures, communication may occur more easily across departments. Studies have found a relationship between job satisfaction and organizational structure. Organizations with flatter structures may foster more feelings of self-actualization and create less anxiety in employees. Relationships with customers may suffer if departmental relationships cause the customer difficulty in getting problems addressed. Multi-functional teams that can answer a customers questions and resolve issues have a positive effect on customer satisfaction. Organizational structure impacts the success of a companys projects. If project personnel also perform routine operational work , it may be difficult for them to focus on projects and meet schedules. If the flow of information across departments is difficult, it may affect ability to share resources effectively. Task 3 Look at the factors associated with individual behaviour and discuss how they influence an individuals behaviour at work. Each individuals work has its own effects on organizations. There are many factors on how individual or group goals have affected an organization. These goals could also be the life force of the performance both could be positive or negative depending on how the scenario goes. Either way all these factors are important as a single employees goals and ambition could lead any organization to success if in proper standing and worked on accordingly. Collective goals These are goals that are collected or shared by individual to form a same goal coming from the same ideology. For instance a basketball teams belief in practicing and training other people with the game or making basketball more accessible to others, this could lead their team to complete objectives like win in an inter-basketball tournament, gaining new players and earning more money. Or to simply fulfil the need of its members to gather more players to gain more company and improve their basketball abilities. Within these goals there are many different types of goals as it is shown Ideological Goal, These are the goals or objective that has a connection with an individuals belief and values. These Goals usually are the inspiration of what an individual have for example. An Archery clubs mission or ideological goal is to share to other people their own knowledge of archery. Formal Goals are goals set by an dominant individual, These goals are usually organizational based goals that is set by a higher supremacy. These goals move an organization on how that individual or owner wants his organizations to be. Shares personal goals are goals pursued when the individual members agree and collide with their own individual ideas as missions. These are the goals shared by all individuals of a group to form one centralized mission where they can all complete as a group. Controlled performance Every organization needs to take responsibility to its owners and other stakeholders for the achievement of its collective goals. These goals cannot simple move on its own and needs to be moulded step by step being controlled accordingly so that to ensure the success of their goals and missions. This ensures that All goals whether ideological, formal, or shared personal goals are understood by all members The necessary resources are secures and utilised in such a way that goals will be reached without undue risk, disruption or waste They can tell whether, or to what extent they have reached their goals. This is why all organizations has a centralized management, to ensure that the employees who are working on these goals and mission carry out their individual tasks positively and with no mistake to avoid negative backlashes and effects.

Writing as Art in The Painted Bird :: Painted Bird Essays

Writing as Art  in  The Painted Bird  Ã‚  Ã‚   Three Works Cited    The use of art has many functions.   It lacks a satisfactory definition and is easier to describe it as a way something is done --â€Å"the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others†Ã‚   --rather than what it is.   Jerzy Kosinski’s The Painted Bird describes the disasters that befall a six-year-old boy who is separated from his parents and wanders through the primitive Polish-Soviet borderlands during the war.   Kosinski fails to mention the boy’s name and the names of the towns the boy travels over throughout the text.   This enables the reader to assume that this child could have possibly been any unfortunate youngster during the war.   Kosinski’s writings organize the chaos of the boy’s life experiences through form.   The use of both organic and conventional form throughout the book draws the reader closer to the horrific encou nters the young boy faced on a daily basis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Using writing as a method of art organizes the chaos of experience through form.   Kosinski’s novel applies organic form to portray the appalling predicaments the boy encountered during the separation from his family.   The use of organic form in the formal pattern offers the reader the â€Å"what-will-be-next† scenario before they proceed through the pages.   Kosinski gives the reader a taste of the animalistic characteristics of the towns’ people the boy confronts during the war.   This allows the reader not to be â€Å"shocked† when the peasants the boy faces demonstrated an extraordinary predilection for incest, sodomy, and meaningless violence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While reading â€Å"The Painted Bird†, the reader gains the impression that religion seemed to be a high priority for the village people.   However, Kosinski’s use of conventional form to inform his readers that church was a very important part of the   culture in these villages seemed to contradict this portrayal. In the culminating incident of the book, the boy drops a missal while he’s helping service Mass and is flung by the angry parishioners into a pot of manure .   Emerging from the pit he realizes that he has lost the power of speech.   Church goes watched as the young boy was tossed into the manure and no one tried to assist him.   A group of bullies pushes the boy, a presumed spy or Jew, below the ice of a frozen pond.

Obtaining a Competitive Advantage Through Cost Leadership and Different

This assignment will cover how a business can gain a competitive advantage over similar businesses in the same market using sources such as cost advantage and differentiation. What will also be discussed is the value chain model made by Porter, and this assignment will explain what the model was actually designed for. Furthermore, it will be explained how a business can use methods of competitive advantage through various stages of Porter’s Value Chain in order to help it maintain and increase the competitiveness of the business, and this will be done through assessing the operations of the business and locating exactly where any competitive advantage can be gained. Lastly, Porter’s value chain features 9 activities which can each be identified as being either a primary or support activity and what will then be explained will be how these primary and support activities can add value to a business, and whether or not support activities can be considered as being any more or any less important than a primary activity. It is suggested by many that there are two ways for a business to gain competitive advantage; this is done through either cost advantage or differentiation. Porter (2004, p.64) claims that cost advantage is when a â€Å"firm achieves a lower cumulative cost of performing value activities than its competitors†. A good example of this would be ASDA within the food retailer industry. ASDA (ASDA beats its full year sales and profit plan, 2009), known for their â€Å"commitment to everyday low prices†, are very much a cost-leading competitor in the food retailer industry and they stated that they beat their â€Å"full year sales and profit plan† for the fourth consecutive quarter in 2009 by introducing a â€Å"significant cost reduction prog... ...l Group (2008) Annual Report 2008: Our key strengths. [Online] Available at: http://www.homeretailgroup.com/ar/2008/review/keystrengths/p2.shtml (Accessed: 19/11/2011) Johnson, G., Scholes, K. (2002) Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases. 6th edn. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. McGeary, R. (2011) Anatomy of Market Research [Online] Available at: http://www.remnet.com/porter.html (Accessed: 14/11/2011) Millar, V., Porter, M. (1985) ‘How Information Gives You Competitive Advantage’, Harvard Business Review pp. 18-36. [Online] Available at: http://zaphod.mindlab.umd.edu/docSeminar/pdfs/Porter85.pdf (Accessed: 17/11/2011) Needle, D. (2000) Business in Context: An introduction to business and its environment. Third edition. London: Thomson Learning Porter, M. (2004) Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. New York: FREE PRESS.

Humorous Wedding Speech to a Groom with Long Hair :: Wedding Toasts Roasts Speeches

Humorous Wedding Speech to a Groom with Long Hair Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. I must admit, I am more nervous about being best man than I was at my own wedding. Maybe it’s because I have been married a year and I know what Jonathan’s letting himself in for! And on that happy occasion, as some of you know, Jonathan was my best man and he did a wonderful job. However Jonathan, there are many reasons why you should get married and I’m not sure if revenge is one of them. But, it is a great thrill and an honor, and Jonathan’s already agreed that I can do it again next time! First of all, Pamela, you look radiant – absolutely stunning in that dress. Jonathan, you need a haircut! As I was walking behind him leaving the church this morning a funny thought occurred to me. From the back, it is very difficult to tell if Jonathan is a man who needs a haircut or a woman who just had one. When Jonathan was best man at my wedding he made a great deal of me having a mullet. Jonathan, I don’t think I have to say anything more about your present hairstyle other than at least mine had a name. But he hasn’t always looked this way as you’re about to find out. When I first met him, at the age of fifteen, he was in the process of developing a 'Human League' style flick, which his sister Sally enhanced with a little coloring. The words 'Babe Magnet' do spring to mind – but not on this occasion. We soon became close and it was great to have someone to hang out with because being a teenager is never easy. Rejection is the worst thing. I know all about the humiliation of being turned away; from football teams for not being good enough, from pubs for not looking old enough and from women for not looking male enough. Yep, I’ve seen Jonathan do all those things, and he carried himself with dignity throughout. After leaving school and between getting a job, Jonathan smartened himself up. But he suffered terribly from headaches during this period, he was going for the wet hair look and the toilet seat kept falling down. However, this new image seemed to completely contradict his emerging obsession with the electric guitar that was to keep him banging away in his bedroom until the small hours – or at least that’s what he told his mum.

Ernest Hemmingway Research Paper

Steven Glansberg English Comp II Research Paper 3/28/12 Every writer has his or her own unique style of writing. Writing is such a personal matter that authors have no choice but to get creative. One of the most famous, classic American writers and journalists was Ernest Hemmingway. Ernest Hemmingway had one of the most unique writing styles of all time. His distinctive writing style, characterized by economy and understatement, influenced 20th-century fiction, as did his life of adventure and public image.Ernest Hemingway's fictional style of writing was successful due to the fact that the characters he presented exhibited authenticity that resonated with his audience. He created characters that would directly relate and grow upon the audience of his work. Ernest Miller Hemmingway was born on July 21st, 1899. He was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois. Hemmingway led a normal life and after his high school graduation he worked as a reporter for the Kansas City Star. After that job he left for the Italian front where he became an ambulance driver during World War I.Unfortunately Hemmingway was seriously injured during his duty and returned home to the states in less than a year. This over-seas experience during war would later be the basis for his novel â€Å"A Farewell to Arms. † Ernest Hemmingway did most of his literary work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s. His career in writing ended shortly after he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. In his career Hemmingway published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction work.An additional three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works were published posthumously. Hemmingway’s first novel was â€Å"The Sun Also Rises†. The New York Times wrote on this novel saying, â€Å"It was a truly gripping story, told in a lean, hard, athletic narrative prose that puts most literary English to shame and also no amount of analysis can convey the quality of this novel. † This novel was written in a spare, tightly written prose, which Hemmingway was notorious for. Hemmingway had one of the most distinct styles of writing in all of iterature. Many literature analysts believe that his writing style was influenced by his time spent in World War I. It is also thought that while at war Hemmingway lost his faith in the central institutions of Western civilization. Hemmingway created his own style of writing that reacted against the â€Å"elaborate style† of 19th century writers. By creating a style in which meaning is established through dialogue, through action, and silence he was able to create a fiction in which nothing crucial is stated explicitly. He said everything while keeping â€Å"under the radar† per say.That is how the Iceberg Theory came into place with Hemmingway’s writing style. The Iceberg Theory, also know as the Theory of Omission, was a theory that was all about how Hemmingway kept the he facts floating above the â€Å"water† but keeps the supporting structure and symbolism operate out-of-sight just like the structural view of an iceberg. In other words the meaning of a piece is not immediately evident, because the crux of the story lies below the surface, just as most of the mass of a real iceberg similarly lies beneath the surface.In Hemmingway’s novel â€Å"The Art of the Short Story,† he explains, â€Å"A few things I have found to be true. If you leave out important things or events that you know about, the story is strengthened. If you leave or skip something because you do not know it, the story will be worthless. The test of any story is how very good the stuff that you, not your editors, omit. † Hemmingway clearly states that by leaving out obvious facts, you unintentionally strengthen your writing by making your audience think and ask questions about certain topics that you wanted to focus on in the first place.A famous p iece of writing by Hemmingway that clearly supports the Iceberg Theory was â€Å"The Old Man and the Sea. † This novel centers upon Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman who struggles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. The plot of this story consists of the aging fisherman Santiago that sails out to see, catches a great white marlin, but then struggles all the way back to shore fighting off sharks to the point where he ends up with nothing but the carcass of the marlin.This story doesn’t seem like it has any literary significance on the surface but if you read between the lines you find out that this novel is a meditation upon youth and age. Even though the protagonist, Santiago, spends little or no time thinking of those terms you can see that the details point towards a struggle between ages. Another story that also has an underlying reflection upon the struggle between ages is â€Å"A Clean Well Lighted Place. † In this novel there is an internal st ruggle between the young and the older waiter in a restaurant.The struggle between characters in this novel is that the younger waiter thinks that he know more about life and love than the older waiter. Hemmingway doesn’t have the younger waiter come out and directly say he knows more than the older waiter for a specific reason. By not making the younger waiter say that he strengthens that topic because then his audience is now asking themselves questions about the young and old waiter’s feud. In this story Hemmingway used a large portion of dialogue.The reason for this is to create a constant back and forth motion between the two waiters. With this constant back and forth it is much easier to make a comparison between the two waiters. Hemmingway also did something very unique in this story. He used Spanish language in this story to even further the excellence of his language use. Ernest Hemmingway’s writing style can never be recreated or copied by anyone. He k new how to get the most from the least in his writing. He mastered the art of pruning language. Getting ever last drop of language genius out.No one knew how to multiply intensities as well as he did or knew how to tell nothing but the truth in a way that allowed for telling more than the truth. Unfortunately Ernest Hemmingway committed suicide in the summer of 1961. Even though he is gone his literary legacy lives on through his works still being read and used all around the world. His unique style of writing and his very interesting way of leaving out a topic that was important in order to strengthen his argument will be a great example for other writers even as the years pass.