Saturday, August 31, 2019

Business Studies Motivation Report Essay

1.1- The following report is selected to discover and explain the motivational theory know as Theory Z. Theory Z is a motivation theory which was discovered and created by Dr. William Ouchi and is known as the so-called ‘Japanese Management’ style. Dr. William Ouchi’s theory Z was based on Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s famous â€Å"14 points†. Deming was an American scholar whose management and motivation theories were rejected in the United States, he then went on to help lay the foundation of Japanese organizational development during their expansion in the world economy in the 1980s, from there on this is where Dr William Ouchi created the motivational theory ‘Theory Z’ 1.2Here I have created a timeline of the motivational theories to show how they have evolved. 1943 – Abraham Maslow – A theory of Human Motivation. This is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs where there is a pyramid, at the bottom of the pyramid there is the physiological things required such as breathing, food, water. At the top there is the self-actualization, such as morality, creativity, problem solving. 1960 – Douglas McGregor – Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X and Theory Y consist of two very different types of management. Theory X believes that no one enjoys work and employees are lazy and require force so their work it complete. Theory Y believes that people enjoy work and has a friendlier atmosphere. McGregor also combined his theory with Maslow’s in saying the bottom half of the triangle was Theory X needs and the top half was Theory Y needs. 1980 – Dr. William Ouchi – Theory Z. This theory is fairly recent and has developed from all of the theories. Dr. William Ouchi has combined all the motivational theories and crea ted the theory Z, this theory is what I will be doing my report on. In the 1970s and 1980s, many United States industries lost market share to international competitors, particularly Japanese companies. Concerns about the competitiveness of U. S. companies led some to examine Japanese management practices for clues to the success enjoyed by many of their industries. This led to many articles and books purporting to explain the success of Japanese companies. It was in this atmosphere that Theory Z was introduced into the management lexicon. 1.3Theory Z’s main attributes consist of combined motivational theories. This theory makes assumptions that the workers tend to want to build happy and intimate working relationships. Theory Z also states that theory Z workers need to be supported by the company and they highly value a working environment. These workers have a very well developed sense of order, discipline and an obligation to work hard. Unlike McGregor’s Theory X workers, Theory Z employees can be trusted and to work hard so long as their managers can be trusted to support them according to Ouchi’s Theory Z. I will be focusing on applying this theory to the workforce in the Holiday centre as the organisation’s communication is not of a good standard as well as the company being unorganised. 1.4This Theory fits the organisation I have chosen as the within this workplace there needs to be good working relationships as well as trust, yet there still needs to be discipline and an obligation to work hard. The organisation that I am fitting this theory to is a Holiday Park’s swimming pool located in a rural town. Application 2.1Within the workplace of the Holiday Park’s Swimming pool sector, there are issues between the pool managers and the staff (lifeguards) on poolside. The pool managers have adopted Douglas McGregor’s Theory Y motivation theory. The pool managers have built strong relationships with the staff so therefore making it difficult for the pool managers to come across as strict. William Ouchi’s theory Z motivation theory is suitable for this situation as it combines strong relationships between staff, like a ‘clan culture’ but the theory still retains some elements of bureaucratic hierarchies, such as formal authority relationships, performance evaluation, and some work specialization. Therefore the pool managers would still be able to have their relationship but still keep their authority over the lifeguards. 2.1.1 Pros – This theory would apply well to this organisation because it keeps the respect of the hierarchies within the business as well as keeping the relationships that have been built throughout work 2.1.2 Cons – The cons of this theory is that having this relationship between the pool manager and lifeguards existing at all could cause some problems to their relationship outside of work due to the lifeguards disapproving of being told what to do by their friend or by being jealous of their friend having a higher paid, more responsibilities job. Douglas McGregor’s theory X would be more suitable for the pool managers. 2.2The lifeguards within this company are unmotivated and have low morale, this then results in the lifeguards being upset and strict, stopping people from enjoying themselves. This is a big issue for the company because with unhappy staff comes unhappy customers. The lifeguards require motivation and need to feel more like a ‘clan culture’, they need job satisfaction; this is where Theory Z would be suitable. The theory would suit to this situation because Theory Z encourages and emphasizes individual contribution and responsibility. Theory Z also emphasizes communication, collaboration, and consensus in decision making. If the lifeguards had theory Z applied to them, they would feel more inclined to work. 2.2.1 Pros – The pros of this is that with the lifeguards having their own responsibility and contributions, they will feel more satisfaction and recognised by the company, it will give the employees self-confidence therefore resulting in a stronger workforce. 2.2.2 Cons – The cons of this theory applying to this situation is that the staff could get too much on their hands and take on to responsibilities and result in making a decision before consulting anyone else, the individual contribution and responsibilities could be taken advantage of. Conclusion The theory fits the situations well due to the theory applying relationships to the workforce yet still retaining the job authority so the respect is not lost from a lower staff member to a member of a higher job. The theory also applies individual contribution and creates a self of value towards the company by the staff as they feel their opinion is wanted, as well as their confidence within the workforce and company increases.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Wounds That Can Not Be Stitched

Stephanie Holmes 06-06-2011 Wounds that Can’t be Stitched Up I learned that sometimes you think your over things in your life until you see that actual person that has caused a fear in your life. It was upsetting to me that this man did not get any serious punishment for DWI and hit this family. That how did even have the nerve to get back behind the will after the tragedy he caused. It made me made when people were making excuses for him. He had the nerve to say to her at the end did I scare you oh, that really ticked me. As he staggered from his vehicle, he looked at me and asked drunkenly, â€Å"Did I scare you? † It made me mad. How can he dare ask a question like that when he damn their killed her mom, brother, and sister. Her daughter was standing outside to. I would imagine that would be very upsetting to her especially the stuff her family had been through. I think the writer was very heated and probably wanted to beat him up. That some people don’t understand what they did caused pain and hurt. Some people never learn. Now and then I’d see his name in court log of our local paper for another DWI. As he staggered from his vehicle, he looked at me and asked drunkenly, â€Å"Did I scare you? † He kept repeating that he’d did nothing wrong. Yes she was an intelligent source to discuss this piece with. She had an essay that appeared in Newsweek. The incident had caused her to write the essay The Wound That Can’t Be Stitched Up. That she used the sixth edition of Models for Writers to help her learn how to write.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

6 Ways For Freshman To Get On Track In The New Year

Even though many people heralded in the new year with the popular mantra, â€Å"New Year, New Me†, many high school students may find that their lives have remained essentially the same after the new year, especially when it comes to school and the upcoming spring semester. After all, even though it’s a new year, high school students are in the same school with the same people, most of the same classes, and most of the same teachers. For some freshman, the idea of another semester of the same old same old can be downright terrifying. Many freshmen have almost everything figured out by the time their spring semester starts. They have good grades, a good GPA, a healthy social life, extracurriculars, etc. On the other hand, some students find that freshman year is a tough adjustment, and they may be struggling on into the spring semester. It makes sense. When you enter 9th grade, you’re bombarded with more rigorous academic requirements and pressure and a completely different social scene than middle school. If you’re a high school freshman who finds themselves still struggling with and getting used to high school, the new year provides a unique opportunity for you to get yourself back on track. Here are some ways for you to make a positive change for yourself this semester. Yes, classes in high school are harder than they were in middle school, and they usually require a different approach to studying and learning the material. However, as a result of the increased level of difficulty, there are usually more ways for you to get academic help if you are struggling. Take some time during this semester to figure out what your academic resources are. Here are some resources to look out for: These are great academic resources, but we at understand that students sometimes struggle with social or mental health issues as well. Well, there are plenty of resources in high school for those too. If you feel overwhelmed, discouraged, or depressed as a result of your freshman year experience, we at highly suggest that you talk to somebody you trust and work out a plan with them to get you back on track. This can be a guidance counselor, a teacher you trust, a parent/guardian, a friend, a member of your community, or anyone that you think will listen and be able to help. There are more people looking out for you than you probably think. Unlike in middle school, you are now expected to come to a teacher yourself or figure things out for yourself if you don’t understand an academic concept or find yourself struggling in class. While teachers will be more than willing to help you if you approach them, they won’t slow down their class for you or go out of their way to see if you need help like they may have in middle school. The sooner you realize that the sooner you can take action and help get your academics back on track. Also unlike middle school, the grading system in high school is sometimes stricter, so it’s worth taking the time to understand how it works sooner rather than later. Some of your classes may have completely different grading systems, which means that you need to prioritize assignments for each class completely differently. You also may notice stricter policies like â€Å"late work gets a 0† and â€Å"If you are absent, you have X days to make up an assignment†. It’s not impossible to understand and follow these new academic standards once you know them. Sure, it’s an adjustment, but if you set high expectations for yourself this year, you’ll find that you can get all of your academic work done, perhaps even with time to spare. When you are stuck in a building with the same people for 8 hours a day and 5 days a week, social groups and cliques naturally form, and sometimes a hierarchy develops. While you may have been used to the social scene in middle school, high school is a whole different beast. When you enter high school, you’ve gone from being a big fish in a small pond in middle school to a small fish in a huge pond in high school. You’re the youngest students, and the students in other grade levels aren’t just older than you anymore. They’re adults: they drive, they have jobs, they’re dealing with real-world problems like applying to college. It can be different and perhaps a little intimidating to be in such a new atmosphere. Every high school has a different social scene, and you’ll get used to yours soon enough. The key to feeling comfortable in this new environment, however, is to find a group of friends to experience it with. Odds are, your friends are thinking the same things you are about your school and your classmates. Talk to them about it. It could be a bonding experience, and it could make you all feel a little bit better about your current situation. You may also consider immersing yourself in the social culture at your high school. If the big activity at your school is football games, find a friend and go see what it’s like. If it’s the Homecoming Dance, find a group and go! The more you participate, the more people you are likely to meet, and the more comfortable you might feel in your school. Our Early Advising Program helps students in 9th and 10th grade discover their passions and build strong academic and extracurricular profiles to succeed in high school. Many freshmen make the mistake of thinking that they can take on the world when they enter high school by taking AP classes right away, joining a bunch of extracurriculars, etc. While taking on a bunch of responsibilities may have been possible in middle school when extracurriculars required less commitment and classes were easier, the same number of commitments can seem overwhelming in high school. Take a beat during the remainder of your freshman year and make sure that you’re not putting too much on your plate. If you find that you’re not able to get 7-8 hours of sleep, you don’t have time to take breaks during a school day, you’re not finishing all of your work, or overall you’re not maintaining healthy habits, you’ve definitely got too much on your plate. Make sure that starting this year you make a conscious effort to maintain healthy habits. Every day, you should spend at least a couple of minutes to relax, destress, and do a mental health check. You’d be amazed how much happier you are when you are living right. The easiest way to feel like you are a part of the school community is to join clubs and organizations at your school. There, you will probably make friends and expand your social circle. You will also be doing something positive on behalf of your school, which may give you a sense of identity or attachment to the school. Freshman year is the time to explore the different clubs and organizations at your school so that you can explore your options, make a lot of friends, and narrow down the extracurriculars that you want to continue throughout high school and gain leadership positions in. Try to join things that you have a passion for, but also try to get involved in activities that you may not have picked for yourself before this year just to try something new. Who knows? You may love it. If you find that one of your passions or interests is not represented at your school, don’t be afraid to take a bold move and start a club of your own! If you need help doing that, check out How To Start a Club in High School. High school is a time when many students find their voice and build up the confidence to speak up for themselves. If you haven’t been verbally advocating for yourself, whether it be through communicating with your teachers when you need help on an assignment or communicating with your friends when you need to talk about something, now would be a good time to start. Don’t forget that you are almost an adult. Now is the time to build that confidence to speak up for yourself. You’d be amazed how much you are going to need that in college and beyond. In the long run, organization skills are also important to have. As classes get harder and your responsibilities build, you’re going to need to make sure that you have all of your materials, papers, assignments, and study resources neatly organized so that you don’t have to waste time trying to figure out where you put everything. You should seriously consider investing in organizational materials like binders, notebooks, file folders, and a planner/calendar to keep a mental check on all of your tasks and assignments. For more help navigating your freshman year of high school, read through these previous blog posts: Still feel like you need a little boost? Check out ’s Neer Peer Mentorship Program , where you will be matched with a successful college student who is on the same path as you are when it comes to your academic, career, and college goals. This mentor will meet with you and your parents to provide helpful advice on all topics from college admissions to career goals, and they’ll make sure that you are poised to succeed throughout high school.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Application of the Nursing Process to Delivery Culturally Competent Essay

Application of the Nursing Process to Delivery Culturally Competent Care - Essay Example Although the Hispanics still reserve aspects of their traditional cultural beliefs, medical care should be sought because it is necessary for longevity. Therefore, in order to deliver a competent service to them, I would have to heavily invest in communication (Adrian, J. et al., 2013). Although the Hispanics have lots of differences, I would strive to understand all the environmental, physiological and psychosocial factors influencing their communication process. After acquiring such knowledge, I would not hesitate to establish a healthy interpersonal communication and relationship with them (Betancourt et al., 2011). For me to deliver competent services to the Hispanics, I would strive to deal with any barrier such as linguistic limitations and the use of verbal and non-verbal cues at all times. To do this, I would have to be a critical listener who gives enough time to my patients to express themselves. Also, if need arises, I would have to involve the support of the patient’s close friends or carers (American Association of Medical Colleges, 2013). This would help me to overcome the ethical dilemma of confidentiality and benevolence that might arise. For me to deliver culturally competent and sensitive healthcare services to the Hispanics, it should be incumbent upon me to carry out an informed cultural assessment. This would be done using the Purnell Model for Cultural Competence, an assessment model developed in 1995 to help in carrying out cultural studies by healthcare providers. Here, I will apply the Sunlight Model to help me in understanding how the Hispanic’s cultural values, beliefs and traditional practices influence them (Office of Minority Health, 2002). It is an assessment model that would make it much easier for me to have knowledge of the all aspects of the Hispanics including their attitudes, cultural beliefs, perceptions and major issues of heath concern to them. As minorities, the

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Is there a case to downgrade ecstasy to a class B drug in the UK Essay

Is there a case to downgrade ecstasy to a class B drug in the UK - Essay Example It is said to generate extreme heat in the body as a result of highly stimulated frenetic dancing. Each tablet is said cost between ? 10 and ? 20 and the drug has been classified in the list of â€Å"A† class illegal drugs under Misuse of Dugs Act (Arnold, 2013, p. no page no). There has been no significant study on the effects of Ecstasy in Britain. Dr Hendry of National Poisons Information Unit at Guy’s Hospital, London, the only scientist licensed to supply pure Ecstasy, is reported to have commented that the ongoing tussle between the two opposing groups concerned with legalization of drugs is actually preventing research in respect of the drug consumed by almost 500,000 people every week end as to what really is the effect of the drug in their bodies though some studies have revealed that it causes midweek depression. The DOB or the â€Å"Golden Eagle† , a potent derivative of Ecstasy 33 times its strength is reported to have caused several death in Britain during 1998 when it began to be sold. The drug which was developed in the United States is meant for use as antidepressant also called as â€Å"flatliners† claimed to cause out-of-body experience. About 36 derivatives of Ecstasy were brought under the purview of the Misuse of Drugs Act as a class A drug. Purpose of this paper is to examine whether there is a case for downgrading the drug as B class drug in view of it being a soft drug and several campaigns for downgrading. Ecstasy is a derivative of amphetamines which are stimulants. They are responsible for increasing cerebral activity and causing excitement and euphoria. In high doses, it is known to cause hallucinations and drug induced psychosis similar to paranoid schizophrenia. The fatalities caused by this drug are not usually dose-related and postmortem toxicology can only be measured qualitatively rather than on quantitative basis. The impairments caused also do not correlate with blood levels unlike in alcohol consumption. Amphetamines have been used for various conditions in the past. They were also once used to induce anorexia. It is currently used for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They have euphoriant effects and are responsible for psychomotor stimulation. Users tend to increase their dose up to 50x to overcome psychological dependence caused by the drug. The sympathomimetic effects which can be pronounced and lasting for several hours are : dilated pupils, ta chycardia, hypertension, and tachypnoea. Although death due to overdose is rare, it can occur due to hyperpyrexia, fits and heart failure. Long term consumption in large doses causes psychosis accompanied by paranoid ideas and delusions of persecution. Cardiomyopathy is also found to occur due to its use. Ecstasy, a derivative of amphetamine has mild psychedelic effect and causes pseudo-hallucinogenic effect in high doses. With development of gradual tolerance, its long-term use causes mood disorders. As the drug is classified as emphathogen (or enactogen), is known as love-drug. Its chemical variants have the same effects. Ecstasy related deaths in high-profile events have attracted media attention and most of them have been associated with at least one other drug. Death occurs due to multiple causes and mechanisms including exacerbation of undiagnosed heart conditions,

Monday, August 26, 2019

Police Roles and Functions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Police Roles and Functions - Essay Example ils to truly encompass all of the roles that police officers should be serving: in fact, many of the roles that police officers fill have very little to do with law enforcement at all, and are not necessarily related to crimes. Law enforcement may be the central role common to all police forces, but they have many different roles on top of that. The primary function of any police force is law enforcement. Each police force has a set of laws that they are expected to enforce by catching and aiding in the prosecution of people who break those laws. The laws that a particular force are expected to enforce varies. Federal officers, for instance, can be of assistance in local matters, but only when invited by local police forces. The primary purpose of federal law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, is the coordination of larger resources to solve interstate or international crime: things like organized crime, trafficking across state lines and so forth (Villa and Morris 1999). Local police tend to be on-the-ground officers who may see crimes being committed, who respond immediately to crime calls, who secure crime scenes and so forth. State police are usually responsible for administering zones between local police offices – this can be anything from traffic enforcement to a wide variety of other tasks. Law enforcement may be the primary mission of any police agency, but it is not what takes up the vast majority of an officer’s time. There are many other roles that a police officer fills, and that are of immense benefit to his community. Police officers, for instance, can be first responders to any emergency situation. This could mean giving first aid to someone who has had a heart attack to responding to a traffic collision or treating victims at the scene of a shooting (Villa and Morris 1999). Furthermore, police officers are often called on to adjudicate quasi-legal situations in which someone might be or feel threatened, even when no charges

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Ethics in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics in Business - Essay Example Whenever there is discussion about saving or preserving ecosystem, majority concentrates about land and very few people pay attention to sea and species living in it. The attention of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and towards preserving fish and limiting annual catch limit is worth appreciating, as very few people pay attention to this aspect of the ecosystem. It is really very important for balanced Ecosystem. This proposed regulation will certainly affect people in fisheries business as with the implementation of this regulation Annual Catch Limit will be fixed, and people in fisheries business will be able to catch fish up to the specified annual catch limit only. 2) The proposal is to make changes to 5 fishery ecosystem plans in order to create a method or rule to specify annual catch limit (ACLs) & accountability measures (AMs) (Sutinen Jon G., 2005). The suggested proposal will be helpful in balancing eco system and mainly concentrates on the problem of over fishing. The proposal specifies that fishery management plan of every council must contain a method to specify annual catch limit, to prevent over fishing. Accountability measures are also needed to diminish or correct any surpass of annual catch limit.

Experience of Freedom for Euro-American (the White American) from 1865 Essay

Experience of Freedom for Euro-American (the White American) from 1865 to 1900 - Essay Example It is important to note that slavery ended not because of the charitable heart of white American slave owners. Slavery ended after a bitter and bloody civil war that cost hundreds of thousands of American lives. Slavery only ended after a struggle both in military and political terms (passing of the Thirteenth Amendment). Majority of the white slave owners did not even wanted to end slavery and so, from their point of view emancipation is already enough for the former slaves. For the white Americans, freedom meant the emancipation of the slave African Americans and that is already more than enough freedom for them considering that they were once slaves before. The definition of freedom is articulated by Garrizon Frazier, a black minister who responded what freedom means because it includes not only the political aspect but also the economic aspect of freedom. Freedom is â€Å"placing us where we could reap the fruit of our own  labor, and take care of ourselves.† The way to accomplish this was â€Å"to  have land, and turn it and till it  by our own labor† (Foner 1983:586). Freedom also includes not only freeing from the shackles that the state formerly sanctioned but also the equal protection of the laws and the equal provision of opportunity in all spheres of life. The White Americans however disagreed to this definition considering the previous of Black Americans as former slaves. To them, emancipation is already enough for the African Americans as freedom exactly meant the removal of the bondage of force servitude. Thus, efforts by White Americans still continued to disenfranchise the White Americans in other forms such as denial of the right to vote, segregation and discrimination. The first few aspects of freedom such as â€Å"reaping the fruit of our own  labor, and take care of ourselves [by having] land, and turn it and till it  by our own labor† was relatively easier to accomplish because it only

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Intelligence-led policing requirements of COMPSTAT Essay

Intelligence-led policing requirements of COMPSTAT - Essay Example The implication of this is that the commander naturally throws in his ‘enthusiastic support and energetic leadership’ to the program and the immediate goal of the program considering that his name and reputation is on the line, which is tangibly manifested by his obligation to personally deliver the report in the presence of the top brass and other units. COMPSTAT, like ILP, is largely based on the analysis of crime-related data and statistics, with analysts forming an integral part of its operations collating all submitted crime-related data and making sense of them through the crime mapping. The analysts then prepare the COMPSAT book, upon which the week’s presentation and discussions during the standard COMPSAT session are based on. The only difference is that in the ILP, the data gathered and collected are not necessarily known facts and statistics but unconventionally gathered data from tips, leads and reports of suspicious activities. Meetings and sessions a re also held in the COMPSTAT policing program periodically conducted usually, at least, once a week. This meetings and sessions, however, cannot be strictly categorized as the strategic and tactical, as required in ILP, because they consist mostly of presentation by a commander of the crime-related incidents in his/her jurisdiction and the strategies taken as a consequence and an interrogation of some sort by a facilitator, usually the chief or his designated assistant, of the law enforcers commander.

Friday, August 23, 2019

RP2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

RP2 - Essay Example ed all of his living expenses for his time in Delaware, California and Michigan totaling 30 months, claiming all the expenses for food, rent and transportation were temporary living expenses while he was away from homes. Issues or tax questions: Abdul would like to claim a deduction for his temporary living expenses while he was away from home but IRS examined Abduls returns and challenged the deduction for temporary living expenses. Rationale: Temporary living expenses including travel expenses incurred during temporary work assignment or extended business trip that was intended to last for one year or less (J.k 88). Temporary living expense includes meals, local transportation and hotel accommodation or apartment rent for longer stays. Meals may be estimated using federal per diem rates. On tax return temporary living expenses are deducted as unreimbursed employee business expenses. Authority: IRS periodical 54, page 12, travel expenses are in Form 2106-EZ or Form 2106, allowable unreimbursed expenses are in the 2106-EZ Form or Form 2106 to Form 1040, Schedule A and are subject to a maximum based on 2% of calculated Gross

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Toyota Motor Company Essay Example for Free

Toyota Motor Company Essay In the worldwide automotive industry, Toyota Motor Corporation is the leading player in terms of revenue, profit and net worth as of April this year (Associated Press).   The Aichi Prefecture, Japan-based automaker reported in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission consolidated earnings of 1.6 trillion yen or about $14.3 billion for the year ended Mar. 31, 2007. To have reached its current leadership position in the market, Toyota Motor follows a business strategy that focuses on safety, reliability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of its products.    The company was able to capitalize on its smaller but more fuel-efficient models to increasingly gain bigger shares in different markets worldwide. The companys key market areas are: China, Japan, North America, and Europe.   Toyota’s corporate goal is to hold on to its position as a market leader, while continuing its growth.   In order to achieve this, the automaker believes in the importance of advances in technology, production and marketing, quality control, and strengthening of its cost-efficiency model. Specifically, Toyotas strategies are focused on: a) offering of full product lineup and distinguish products through hybrid technology that includes: expansion of distribution reach for its Lexus model to reach the most number of countries, manufacturing global brands that would meet regional characteristics while  utilizing the same designs and core components. b) localization of global operations with targeted regional strategies: the company understands that having a local manufacturing, marketing, and sales offices will help it maximize that markets potential while saving on cost of shipping vehicles and parts.   The localization wil lalso protect it from currency fluctuations and help it respond better to local preferences and tastes. Toyotas biggest strength is its ability to provide markets with good alternatives to bigger and more expensive vehicles.   Its product lines are attractive and are designed to make them affordable for consumers to buy, while keeping maintenance costs minimal. I dont consider Toyota to have a weak point, but rather, I consider it to be facing challenges.   The carmakers biggest challenge, for me, is to stay competitive, not only with the American and European carmakers, but with other Asian car manufacturers that also offer quality cars at affordable costs. BIBLIOGRAPHY TOYOTA. Home Page. http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/index.html (7 November 2007) Toyota overtakes GM in global vehicle sales, The Associated Press, 24 April 2007. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18286221/ (7 November 2007) Toyota Motor Corp. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-   Ã‚   edgar?action=getcompanyCIK=0001094517owner=includecount=40 (7 November 2007)

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Identify different types of cost that an organization would incur

Identify different types of cost that an organization would incur In management accounting there are several ways of classifying the different types of cost. These classifications depend according to the immediate need of management. I have classified different types of cost and have explained each of them below. Cost classification Cost elements Direct cost Direct materials Direct labor Direct expenses/ overheads Indirect cost Indirect materials Indirect labor Indirect expenses/ overheads Types of cost Fixed cost Variable cost Semi-variable Marginal cost Cost element A cost is incurred in purchase raw materials to producing finished goods, administrative, marketing and selling activities. These costs are normally classified by manufacturing companies as direct and indirect costs. Direct cost Direct costs are all those cost that are directly linked with the production of goods and services. The direct costs can be further divided into 3 main categories. Direct materials costs Direct Material is the initial material that goes into the final product and can be traced back to it from the finished product. E g: A company that manufactures note books will use papers, ink, stapler pins, machines and labors for producing books. Here the papers, ink and stapler pins are the direct material for this company. So any cost incurred in buying and handling of these raw materials can be taken under the direct raw material costs. Direct labor costs Direct labor cost is the cost of employees or workers directly involved in the production of goods or a service. E g: Fixed salary of a worker involved in the production line; that is in some part of production like cutting papers, binding papers etc. Direct expenses / overheads costs The cost of services which involved producing finished product or expenses included particular production. E g: Chargers for electricity usage for the machine used to make the note books in a book manufacturing company. Indirect costs Indirect costs are those that are not directly involved in the production of the good or services. These costs are essential part of producing the final product. The indirect can be further divided in to 3 main categories. Indirect material costs Indirect Material is not the initial material that goes into the final product and can be traced back to it from the finished product. It is the materials or tools that can make the production of goods or a service efficient and easier. E g: In a government factory, the sewing machines, printing machines etc. can be the indirect materials as these machines are not a part of the final product (clothes). Indirect labor cost Indirect labor cost is the cost of employees or workers not directly involved in the production of goods or a service. In other words it is the work or task done by a worker that does not produce any products but this service is necessary for the success of the finishing point of the production. E g: The wages of inspectors, store keeper, watchmen, machine maintenance etc. Indirect expenses/ overheads costs Indirect expenses are the expenses are not directly linked with the production of a good. These costs are charged to the final product. E g: Selling and administrative expenses, telephone expenses etc. Types of costs Cost can also be classified based on how frequent they react to production. Fixed cost Fixed cost is the cost that never changes over a period of time. And also it does not increase with the output of the firm. E g: Rent, wages of permanent workers etc. Variable cost Variable cost is the cost which sustain of the input that vary with the production level. These cost change in the short run. E g: cost of raw materials, wages paid for the worker of the production line. Semi variable cost Semi variable cost is composed of a mixture of fixed and variable elements. Therefore it also named as semi fixed cost. It is also referred to those cost that remain as a fixed cost until a particular level at which it becomes variable. E g: monthly rental for a phone may be charged with call charges. Here the rental is fixed as the call charges are variable. Explain with examples why different costing methods are used by organizations in the modern context. Costing methods are used by companies as means for pricing or stock valuation and to control business or to assist in managerial decision making. Costing methods are very important in accounting in order to make the right decision for the success of the organization. If the company failed to make the right decision at the right moment, it will be a reason for the drawback of the organization. Now let me show you some reasons why these methods are Applying in a business. To decide buying or making a product more profitable for the organization. To decide whether to accept or reject an order placed by a consumer. Make decisions of extending business to international level by doing business with foreign countries. To decide extra shifts or extra efforts in a production of a product or reducing production. To plan how much profit is needed or measure the capacity of the profit of the business. To decide whether to shut down the company if it is making continues loss or to try to improve the business if there any chance. A company starting out might use the break even concept to calculate and see at what level the company can start earning profits and at which level the company will be suffering a loss. To decide whether the current plant is working out or not and to decide if replacing the existing plant is going to be profitable for the company or not. To decide to star production of a new product or to stop the production of an existing product. Examples Costing for pricing and stock valuation Job costing This method for costing is followed where the costing is done separately for each product. Therefore job costing is mostly used in a situation where the products manufactured or service provided are based on a particular specification of the customer or many goods are made for costing done separately. The productions of these goods are higher due to the fact that they are orders placed by customers. E g: Job costing used in construction industry because the constructions based on the orders placed by the customers. Here the costs are calculated separately for each building. Batch costing Batch costing means all the fixed and variable cost which is incurred when producing a batch or a set of products. Here a number of products are taken as a single job in total. The unit cost of a batch of products can be calculated by dividing the batch cost by the number of units produced. E g: A shoe manufacturing company may produce 100000 products per month. These 100000 products may be labeled as a batch at that particular date and cost is calculated for the entire batch taking all products as a single job. Contract or terminal costing Contract costing is also similar to job costing. It is usually connect with site based work, by the requirement s of the customers undertaken and relatively long duration. E g: Company involved in the construction industry may use this method as individual customers place different contracts which last for several years or accounting periods. Process costing Process costing is found where the product go through various stages as it goes to the finished product. Products which are made by combining different parts of the final product are also including the process costing method. The following is terms are also used under process costing. Operation costing Single or output costing E g: A finished computer passes through various processes. First of all are made separately and they are fixed together in the final progress. For this product the costing is calculated based on the process. Operation costing or service costing Operation costing method is used by companies which does not have a specified finish product as the output like the service industry. E g: Service of a lecture Departmental costing Here the costing of the products is based on the departments at which they are produced. Costs of products are calculated as how cost and at which department. E g: News papers are made at different departments. Multiple costing or composite costing Multiple costing applied to calculate the cost for the products which have a very complex production. For these kinds of products one costing method may not be enough. Therefore they use several costing methods in calculating. E g:- Products like vehicles, airplanes etc. the total cost is based upon a mixture of sub prices calculated in the job costing and service costing etc. Control and managerial decision making Activity based costing It is the attribution of costs to cost units based on the benefits received from indirect activities. E g: Cost of quality controls is spread among the units produced and each contains a part of this expense. Historical costing Historical costing is ascertaining costs after it have been incurred so that costs can be compared over different period. Direct costing All direct costs are charged to the finish product and all indirect products are charged to profit and loss. Absorption costing Here both variable and fixed costs are taken as a total cost and charged on the product. Marginal costing In this costing method the variable costs are taken rather than the full cost of production and total fixed costs are deducted to get the profit or loss. Collect production details from any organization that produced three products, analyze and present these data. Propose the terms productivity, efficiency and effectiveness and evaluate its impact on any selected organization. Explain the terms productivity, efficiency and effectiveness and evaluate its impact on any selected organization. The modern environment to managing a company specifies that productivity, efficiency and effectiveness are important for the success of the organization and also for the survival among the competitors in the business field. This is based on the fact that one company which is not concerned with these matters is actually on a worthless path and may easily lead the company to come to an end of business. Productivity Productivity is a measure of output from a production process, per unit of input. It is fairly similar to efficiency as productivity also measures the same as efficiency. However productivity is an outcome from the sum of effectiveness and efficiency or by the way of increasing the effectiveness and efficiency productivity also increase. There are two way to measure the productivity of a company as I shown below. Productivity = Output Input Productivity = Value of output / time In the above formulae the time can be many different factors such as energy, resources etc. And the value of output is the defined quality of output by the organization. Productivity = Output > Amount of achieved goals > Effectiveness. Inputs > Amount utilized resources > Efficiency. However enhanced productivity always defines rather value of an organization as follows: Can restrict the waste of resources. Company always can sustain the increasing demand. Company easily can faces to the competition of the market. Employee development also increases. Manufacturing quality increases. Production cost can get low and purchase prizes can restricted. Net profit increases. There are five ways that can helps to enhance the productivity as I have shown below. Enhancing the output, when the inputs keeping as stet. Output keeping as stet, when as the input decreasing. Enhancing the output, when as the input decreasing. Enhancing output rather than enhancing inputs. Decreasing inputs rather than decreasing inputs. Efficiency Efficiency is dong the thing right. In other words contribute the resources by minimum wasting to achieve the organizational goals and objectives or the way to utilize the resources to achieve the organizational goals and objectives. Efficiency is closely related to the productivity. E g: A company that produces shoes could be said efficient if it uses up all the resources in order to output as much products or services. It company reaches criteria it could be labeled as an efficient company. Efficiency = total output/ total input. Now let me evaluate its impact on ABC Company and XYZ Company E g: Company ABC produce 50 tables in 10 days and company XYZ produce tables in 120 tables in 20 days. Based on the above calculations we can identify that the company XYZ is more efficient as it is able to produce 6 tables per day compared to company ABC which can only produce 5 products per day. Effectiveness Effectiveness is doing the things right. In other words achieving the appropriate objectives in the given period or deciding the right things. Therefore effectiveness is the liability of the company to achieve the set targets and objectives. Effectiveness is measured by output in terms of the set target by the company. E g: A company is producing mobile phones. The company wants to earn a minimum of $100000 profits in one month and has set a target of producing 5000 mobile phones in order to achieve the profit. And after a month the company is able to make 6000 mobile phones. Effectiveness = 6000/5000 Effectiveness = 1.2 However Effectiveness and Efficiency always expresses the relativity between each others to the Management as follows: How it is done? In the wrong way, in the right way, Ineffectiveness Inefficient Effectiveness but Ineffectiveness [Die fast] [Die Slow] Effectiveness but Inefficient Efficient Effective = Management [Survive] [Strive for success] The best approach for a company would be a mix of both efficiency and effectiveness. This is because without effectiveness an efficient company will eventually meet the wrong conclusions and without efficiency an effective company cannot gain the maximum profits or may be in loss. By having the perfect mix of these a company can save time and stress to gain more profits. Explain in detail the principles of Quality Value and how it is implemented in organizations. An introduction to quality management Quality control can be traced back to a very long time ago in craftsmanship and at the time of building the pyramids. Here a master craft man looks after all the craft to see whether they satisfy the necessary quality needed. It was then used in all aspects of arts to make sure a good end product is made to satisfy the customers. This concept changed as US introduced assembly lines in production by dividing the product into interchangeable parts. Later the Japanese have adapted quality management in their business and defined quality management as a continuous improvement (which never ends). What is quality? Quality is the ongoing process of building and sustaining relationships by assessing, anticipating and fulfilling stated and implied needs. There are several ways of measuring quality and different people view quality in relation to different criteria. It can be a measure of excellence where the product is free from all kinds of defects. Quality can also be how much the company, product or service is able to satisfy the customers or how much they meet the customer expectations. It maybe also a measure set by the company for a characteristic such as how much heavy, light, soft, tall, Thick or thin etc. Reducing waste created in the production process or using the waste in creation of other goods. The quality also is how uniform the end products are, with as minimum differences possible. Quality management Quality Management ensures the customer confidence and better efficiency within company. Therefore allow the company to better compete with the others in the business field. It involves several stages Quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement. Quality control is a way of ensuring that finished products are reliable, suitable and money-wise best to meet a specification determined by the company. Quality control involves certain tests performed at the end to determine whether the product meets the set quality. Basically quality control is marinating the quality within certain limits. Quality assurance is ensuring that the products exceed the customer expectations. Quality assurance is more process oriented while the quality control is more concerned with the product. Basically quality assurance is making sure that all the end products are free of defects. PDCA (Plan Do Check Act) is an effective method for monitoring quality assurance. Quality improvement is an approach where ongoing process is analyzed and systematic efforts are put to improve it. It focuses on areas like:- In industry: product failures or work-related injuries etc. In administration: increasing efficiency or reducing re-works etc. In medical practice: reducing medical errors and needless deaths etc. Principles of quality for any organization Create constancy of purpose towards improvement. Replace short-term reaction with long-term planning. Adopt the new philosophy. The implication is that management should actually adopt his philosophy, rather than merely expect the workforce to do so. Cease dependence on inspection. If variety is reduced, there is no need to inspect manufactured items for defects, because there wont be any. Move towards a single supplier for any one item. Multiple suppliers mean variation between feedstock. Improve constantly and forever. Constantly strive to reduce variation. Institute training on the job. If people are inadequately trained, they will not all work the same way, and this will introduce variation. Institute leadership. Deming makes a distinction between leadership and mere supervision. The latter is quota-and target-based. Drive out fear. Deming sees management by fear as counter-productive in the long term, because it prevents workers from acting in the organizations best interests. What is value? Value means extent to which a good or service is perceived by its customers to meet his or her needs or want, measured by customers willingness to pay for it. It commonly depends more on the customers perception of the worth of the product than on its intrinsic value. Principle of value for any organization Anticipation: the anticipated future benefits to be derived from the property. Balance: the equilibrium reached in a free market when complementary used of neighboring property permit maximum value for individual properties and the neighborhood. Change: the continuing effects of economic, social, and governmental forces on the property and its environment, resulting in continuous change in market value which must be anticipated. Competition: the tendency of a highly profitable use to be duplicated by others until an excess supply of similar goods and services reduces profitability, and thus value. Conformity: the creation of maximum market value through a reasonable degree of similarity of property use, appearance, and owner demographics. Consistent use: the requirement to value all aspects of a property: land, improvements, and personal property on the basis of a single class of usage at any given point in time. Identify and asses potential improvement tools and techniques that modern organization use. Many improvements can be brought to organizations by using tools and techniques. Quality experts have introduced many different theories which can help an organization in identifying and assessing potential improvements. Demings 14 points summarized Create constancy of purpose towards improvement replace short term reaction with long term planning. Adopt the new philosophy similarly by management and workers. Stop depending on inspection- if variant is reduced; there is no need of inspection because there are no any items for defects. Choose quality suppliers over low cost suppliers to minimize variation in raw materials and supply. Improve constantly to reduce variation in all aspects e.g.:- planning, production, and service. Set up training on the job to reduce radiation for managers and workers in how job is done. Leadership not supervision to motivate people and get the best output from them not just to meet the targets. Drive out fear encourage two way communications and make interest for employees to work in the organization. Break down internal barriers internal departments have to work together as internal customers. Eliminate slogans processes make mistakes not people. Management harassment of workers will create bad relations if no effort made to improve processes. Eliminate management by objectives management by objectives encourages law quality goods. Remove barriers to satisfy workers including annual appraisals. Encourage self improvement and education for everyone. Everyone is responsible for continual improvement in quality and productivity. (W. Edwards Deming Total Quality Management Demings 14 points. Mftrou.com management for the rest of us. Cited on July 27, 2010.) http://www.mftrou.com/edwards-deming.html. The Deming cycle (PDCA cycle) The Deming cycle is a process which includes four stages. It is mainly used for solving problems in business. The Deming cycle also called as PDCA cycle. PDCA stands for: Plan Do Study (check) Act Plan identify an opportunity and plan a change. Do test the change and take steps in control. Study study the results. Act take action based on what you learned in the study step. If you are not satisfied with the change, start going through the cycle from the beginning with a different plan and if you are successful take action to improve the process. Six Sigma Six sigma is a data- driving method for quality improvement. It finds and eliminates the defects in production process by focusing on outputs. It focuses on customer satisfaction and outcome results by reducing variation and waste. Therefore it applies anywhere variation and waste exist. There are two sub methodologies of Six Sigma. That is six sigma DMAIC and six sigma DMADV. Six sigma DMAIC is an improvement system for improving an existing process by analyzing the defects in the end products and eliminating them. Define Define the project goals and customer (internal and external) deliverables Measure Measure the process to determine current performance Analyze Analyze and determine the root cause(s) of the defects Improve Improve the process by eliminating defects Control Control future process performance Six sigma DMADV is an improvement system used to develop new process or product at six sigma level quality. Define Define the project goals and customer (internal and external) deliverables Measure Measure and determine customer needs and specifications Analyze Analyze the process options to meet the customer needs Design Design (detailed) the process to meet the customer needs Verify Verify the design performance and ability to meet customer needs Kaizen This is the Japanese word for continuous improvement to the manufacturing of organizations. Kaizen goals are established each year as part of the planning process thats how Kaizen costing involved to process. This strategy involves everyone in the organization working together to make improvements focusing on eliminating waste on all process starting with the workplace. It relies on human resources rather than capital investments. Kaizen principles Human resource is the most valuable company assets. Process must be evolved by gradual improvement rather. Improvement must be based on evaluation of process perform. Five elements (foundation) of Kaizen Teamwork. Personal discipline. Improved morale. Quality circles. Suggestions for improvement. Tools for mapping processes Flowcharts Flowchart represents a process which consists of many different types of steps. Flowchart divides the huge process into small tasks in an order. Mostly flow charts can be used to analyze a process and to divide a process into different stages. With the intention of that, many can involve in particular stage. A flow chart is made up of different shapes drawn for different events and all the events are joined together by arrows from start to end. Work flow diagram Workflow diagrams are very similar to flow charts. Graphical picture of steps taken, time spent, and distance traveled and other aspects of the way a particular piece of work is done. Workflow diagram is suitable for showing the over view of a business process. Value added flowchart The value-added flow chart also known as value stream map. It is a method to improve cycle times and productivity by visually separating value-adding from non-value-adding activities. Tools for ideas generation and seeing connections Cause and effect diagram (fish-bone diagram) Cause and effect diagram was invented by Kaoru Ishikawa. Therefore is also called as the Ishikawa diagram. Cause and effect diagram is also called as fish bone diagram because a completed diagram can look like a skeleton of a fish. It is a diagram which makes out all the causes or inputs that result in an effect or output. This method combines the brain storming with a type of a concept map. Causes are arranged according to their importance. This helps to identify sub causes and check where a problem might be caused and helps to compare the importance of different causes. And also fish bone diagram can help in systematic analyzing of the problem. Brainstorming Brainstorming invented by Alex Osborn who is the founder of the Creative Education Foundation. This is a powerful tool that creates ideas, solves problems, motivates and develops teams. In brainstorming mostly members from a mixed group, joins together for a brain storming session. The brain storming session is held mostly in an open space where members can feel free to express their ideas. All the members keep adding their opinions on a particular topic and also on other ideas provided by members. At the end of a brain storming session the whole problem will be recognized and solved as necessary. Relations diagram Relationship diagrams show all the relationship between factors or areas of a process. It helps to identify the key areas which may be driving several other factors. As an alternative of a process shown in a chain, this diagram shows the areas of the process which have effects on other areas and links them all. Therefore you can find which the areas that have the most impact. Tools for data collection and analysis Histogram It is used to graphically summarize and show an allocation of a process data set. It is built by dividing the data into different classes or bins in the x-axis and identifying their frequency in the y-axis. As u can see in the figure 6 a histogram looks like a bar graph. But its frequency is taken depending on class width which can vary unlike in a bar graph. Scatter gram A scatter diagram is a tool for evaluating the relationship between two variables where one variable is plotted in the horizontal axis and other variable is plotted in the vertical axis. It can be used to identify whether or not a cause and effect relationship exists between the two variables. In a scatter diagram higher relations are shown with close points or points along a curve or line. And in case the relationship is low or no relationship is shown with points scattered throughout the diagram with no logical sequence. Control chart Control charts also called as statistical process control are a type of chart that is used to control the quality or to manage the quality within a certain level. It identifies the quality of a process and displays them in the form of a line graph with set upper and lower limits. It can also have a center or middle line for average. These lines are created based on the historical data. The control chart identifies how the process changes over time and records them in the time order. Pareto analysis Pareto analysis technique which helps you chooses the most effective change. The 80-20 theory was first introduced by an Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto. His theory was adapted to business application by Joseph M. Juran. Pareto chart is a tool for visualizing the Pareto principal which states that a small set of problems affecting a common outcome tends to occur much more frequently than the remainder. A Pareto chart can be used to decide which problems to be solved first and which needs more attention. Prepare forecasts and budgets for business. Explain in detail the purpose the nature of the budgeting process for an organization like The Shovel Company. What is a budget? A budget is a master financial plan. Once a firm has identified customer needs changes through estimating, it needs to decide if it can be met profitably. A budget is a plan expressed in dollar amounts that acts as a road map to carry out an organizations objectives, strategies and assumptions. The budget plans the future incomes and expenses. It is the process in which the company decides on how to spend to achieve their set objectives. Having a budget is very important for a company in order to make the most effective decision. Each department in the organization will have a separate budget for their operations. When all these budgets join together we call it a master budget. Master budget give the overview of what the company wants to achieve and how to achieve for the next decided time period. The decisions which taken without a master budget do not contribute to the profit

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

How Does Celebrity Culture Effect Our Behaviour Cultural Studies Essay

How Does Celebrity Culture Effect Our Behaviour Cultural Studies Essay The significant development of celebrity industry also contributes on those effects. As people see how easy to be or to do something, they will consider it a target to achieve. This is absolutely right with the many ones dream to become celebrities. Furthermore, when the celebrity content becomes daily, it also effects on all of us, especially the young. Their life styles, their behaviorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ are often imitated. According to Robert van Krieken (2010) said in his article, celebrity which is usually seen as a frothy and unreal topic is also a measure of how superficial contemporary culture has become. However, the celebrity production industry has never ever significantly developed like it today. Also, there is no signal that the limits of the spread of celebrity culture have been reached (G.Turner, 2010). The continuously operating apparatus of celebrity industry along with the growth of digital media has made them the perfect partners who contribute in the expansion of each other. The production of reality TV shows, the rise of Idol, Master Chef, Australias got Talent and others take us to a point that all television formats are produced depending on exploiting people interest in the chance to become a celebrity (G.Turner 2010). It is the celebrity industry which first creates celebrity through the process called celebritisation (G.Turner 2010). For example, the reality TV shows like Idol that many contestants try to express themselves to be recognised through the performance process. This is one among many TV shows which offer people the opportunity to prove themselves to become famous. That is a very first step of the process of transformation (G.Turner 2010). Then, the expansion of digital media the producers and distributors of content through printed and electronic forms magazines, newspapers, television, and now with the development of the various kinds of on-line media would help the celebrities to hold their fame (G.Turner 2010). Those all contribute in the fact that news of celebrities is now full of magazines, newspaper, internet and other kinds of media. It is obvious that the development and efficiency of the media machine help to create a celebrity easier. That means many peoples dreams now easier to be real. Especially, the growth of the reality TV shows make people have more opportunity to appear on TV. Therefore, there are a lot of celebrities who are production of this type of celebrity production industry. A phenomenon called Susan Boyle is an example. A 47-year-old single woman has been the worldwide star just after only one appearance on TV. She had sung the song I dreamed a dream in the TV show Britains got talent (C.Cadwalladr 2010). Then it was like her dream come true when the video of her performance got more than 100 millions views on YouTube. After that, her first album I Dreamed a Dream sold more copies than any others. The story named Susan Boyle like a fairy tale has spread over the world about a talent woman and how easy to become a celebrity (C.Cadwalladr 2010). Furthermore, if someone is the winner in a show, wi th the support of many kinds of media, he could become a celebrity without doubt. What seems to come next to fame? It is wealthy. Statistics show that actors can be paid nearly $US20 million for making a single film (S.Bunbury 2009). But it is not the only source of their income. They are also paid to appear on advertising or to represent a brand. For many years, Australian celebrities efforts are trying to sell us things like hair replacement, air-conditioning, alcoholic drinks, house-and-land packages and fast food. Sarah Murdoch hustles for undies; Gwyneth Paltrow endorses cosmetics; Celine Dion used to represent a car company, Bruce Willis hawks vodka (C.Middendorp 2010). Hence, they can earn millions of dollar from these advertised campaigns (C.Middendorp 2010). Another example is Kylie Minogue who is a famous singer in Australia. She is also known as actress, childrens book author, underwear designer and perfumer. As a result, her net wealth in 2006 is approximately $55 million, according to James Thomson-the editor of BRWs Entertainer Rich List (D.Ziffer, L .Dubecki 2006). However, the obvious prices that most of them have to pay for the fame are their own privacy. The fact is that the celebrities always use media for their self-promotion. So, some people argue that it is unfair for them when the media reports some thing which they want to keep secret. Nevertheless, other said that celebrities take advantage from media to create the ideal figures of them no matter how inaccurate they are, so it has right to tell the truth (B. Haywood 2004). Therefore, some famous celebrities are always followed by the paparazzi and their privacy is exposed on magazines, newspapers. It is obvious that in a society that is obsessed by media and celebrity culture, celebrities have a great impact on everyone. From fashion trends to life style or political views, peoples behaviours, interests and beliefs are strongly affected by celebrities. Furthermore, these celebrity-culture-obsessions usually begin at an early age, therefore, other than adults, teenagers and children are most impressed. They often think of famous people as role model and try to become those figures (C. Shaffer, 2010). For example, there was a research done by the UK research organisation YouGov in 2005 which surveyed a group 800 of 16-19-year-age young people (Cassidy 2006). It showed that 10% of teenagers would leave school to appear on TV if they had opportunity. Sixteen in 100 of them believed they could find success through celebrity industry. Meanwhile, 9% think being famous is the best way to achieve wealthy without qualifications. The positive affects of celebrities are social and environmental effects. Many environmental topics and issues such as global warming, wildlife animal protectionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ could approach the publicity thanks to the celebrities. Tom Hanks, Al Gore, and Leonardo DiCaprio strongly believe in living green lifestyle (C. Shaffer, 2010). These advocacy-celebrities can positively influence people as they would live more eco-friendly and do good thing for environment protection. Furthermore, many celebrities campaigns concerning social issues like charity, helping poor people, HIVà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ also have good impacts on people recognition. One example is that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had adopted 3 orphans from different countries (Ethiopia, Cambodia and Vietnam). However, the bad effects also be accompanied by the good effects. The public, with so much exposure to celebrities, could strongly be influenced by their behaviour or even misbehaviour. The fact is that people are imitated by the behaviour associating with success and fame. So, that is the reason why they can have impacts on people, especially the young. Meanwhile, young celebrities can easily affect young people. However, two thirds of 1,007 people in a weekend USA Today Poll believe Hollywood stars are no more likely to get into trouble than other young people (K. Thomas, 2007). Paris Hilton and Linsay Lohan are example. Both of them had to go to jail because of using drugs and driving when they got drunk. Other scandals of the young celebrities concerning with sex, drugs, drunk, clubs, partiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. are exposed daily on many kinds of media. Hence, the downgrading lifestyles of celebrities are seriously affects on young people in general and the next generation in particu lar. No parents want those bad figures to become their childrens role but they could find no way to get rid of their effects. After the hardest work- choosing topic, I have to determine how I could approach it. I focused on how does celebrity culture affect our behavior, with three objectives: to examine the rising tide celebrity culture on newspapers, magazines, TV and the Internet; to evaluate the cost to be a celebrity; to research the effects of celebrity culture on our behaviour. However, on the process I did the research, I had to change my second objective to to explain why many people want to be celebrities, which seems to be more suitable to my way of approaching the topic. At first, I found it not too hard to meet the deadlines. Because most of my resources for the research project are from Internet, so it was easy for me to collect everything. Then, the hardest and most time-consuming step is to read all of them and classify which articles; journalsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ are suitable for which objective. Unfortunately, I was sick and absent 3 days from school, so, I could not hand in the second objective on time. Therefore, I did really hard to catch up with other friends and the deadlines also. From this part, I have learnt a lot about time management: to arrange work, to do the schedule, to catch upà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. I think this very important for my future study in university. Also, this is the first time I write the reference list, so I found it is quite difficult. I had to do it many times and asked the teacher to make sure that I was on the right way. Thanks to him, I could finally finish it. Now I feel more confidence to write the reference list next time. To sum up, I have learnt many new things when doing this research project. They are not only academic, but also social and communicational skills: to do the oral presentation, to manage time, to arrange work, to write a report, to do a bibliography, to overcome unexpected problemsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Those skills are always important in both my study and my life in future.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Sir William Wallace :: essays research papers

When the king of Scotland died without an heir to the throne the nephew of the king also the king of England nicknamed Edward the Longshanks (Edward I) took the throne for himself and complete control of Scotland. William WallWhen the king of Scotland died without an heir to the throne the nephew of the king also the king of England nicknamed Edward the Longshanks (Edward I) took the throne for himself and complete control of Scotland. William Wallace was Born in January of the year 1272. He was the second of three sons. He was born in the town of Elerslie, which was in Scotland. His Father Sir Malcolm Wallace held the title of knight but had little to no political power. Wallace's Father was involved in a revolt called Turnberry Band when William was 14 years old and was sent to live with his uncle Argile. His Uncle taught William Latin and French and how to be a swordsmen.When William's father returned from the revolt at Turnberry Band William was 17 years old. Fighting between rival families and rival towns were heating up. Civil War was about to Break out in Scotland. Brawling and riots inside towns turned into full scale battles, Where in the Battle of Loudoun Hill William's father was involved and killed. William Stayed with his mother For two years until he met Murron Braidfoot and married her in the year 1272. There are many tales on how William Wallace became and outlaw after his marrige, one such is that one day Wil liam was fishing at a near by lake when a group of english soilders approached him and demanded william give them the fish he had caught. William trying to get food for himself and his wife said they could only take half. The soilders enraged lunged at William. But William fought off and killed both of the guards, forever becoming an outlaw. In The month of may 1272 A group of english soilders under the command of The English Sheriff of Lanark, William de Hazelrig ordered the death of William's wife. It seems that William had already started his revolt against England when his wife was murdered in an attempt to arrest Wallace. Wallace's huge act of rebellion attracted the attention of common folk and Scots nobles alike, all of whom were unwilling to bear Edward the Longshanks laws.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rebelion forces under William Wallace were scattered all over scotland but they all submerged together and met a larger more equipped english army at the Battle of Stirling. The Battle of Stirling happened a little differently

Dangerous Liaisons: Present and Past Essay -- Dangerous Liaisons Essay

Dangerous Liaisons: Present and Past      Ã‚     Halfway through viewing Dangerous Liaisons, a remarkable contrast as well as a huge parallel came to mind.   The film's principal characters' treatment of their promiscuity was quite different from what we see today.   They were quite covert about their sexual relations, and often concocted cunning plans to assure the secrecy of their activities.   Today we find quite the opposite taking place on our news programs and talk shows.   It seems to me that the cause of this whole difference in treatment of sexuality is due to the advent of mass media.   That pre-Revolutionary French society was not completely different from today, however.   Like our treatment of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, the common people of the late 18th century French society were quick to ridicule the Marquise for her promiscuity revealed.   We, as a society, are still just as quick to gossip over someone else's sins while being guilty of the same.   It is simply a conditi on of being human.   In short, the story set forth in the film Dangerous Liaisons shows both a striking contrast, due to technology, and a very remarkable parallel, due to a double standard brought on by the human condition, between the way sexual relations and promiscuity were viewed in the late 18th century and how we view them today at the close of the 20th.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The importance of stealth in promiscuous relations to the French aristocracy pervades the entire film.   We see throughout the film that the Marquise is quite fond of entertaining guests in her domicile, which is flanked by a wall of mirrors.   Early in the film we learn that there is another set of rooms entirely behind the wall, her "private" bedchambers.   It... ... French revolution.   Most of us really don't care if the rest of the world thinks, or even knows for sure if, we are carrying on promiscuous lives.   Sex is just another daily event.   It is pop culture thanks to mass media.   Our cunning Valmont would probably be very bored today, for his sexual conquests would just be too easy for him.   The Marquise would probably be having sex on the other side of the mirrors.   However, when the truth about them is known for certain, I bet we would treat them just as badly as we are treating the leader of the free world.   Our society is quick to judge, even when we could easily be judged for the same offenses.   We are humans after all.   Ã‚   WORKS CITED Heinein, Maryam.   "Couple plan to lose virginity online" Los Angeles, CA Channel 4  Ã‚   News Home Page.   16 July 1998.   <www.msnbc.com/local/KNBC/111301.asp>

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Racquetball :: essays research papers

Racquetball is played by two or four players. When played by two, it is called singles and when played by four, doubles. A non-tournament variation of the game that is played by three players is called cut-throat. Racquetball is a competitive game in which a strung racquet is used to serve and return the ball. The objective is to win each rally by serving or returning the ball so the opponent is unable to keep the ball in play. A rally is over when a player (or team in doubles) is unable to hit the ball before it touches the floor twice, is unable to return the ball in such a manner that it touches the front wall before it touches the floor, or when a hinder is called. Points are scored only by the serving side when it serves an irretrievable serve (an ace) or wins a rally. Losing the serve is called a sideout in singles. In doubles, when the first server loses the serve it is called a handout and when the second server loses the serve it is a sideout. A match is won by the first side winning two games. The first two games of a match are played to 15 points. If each side wins one game, a tiebreaker game is played to 11 points. The specifications for the standard four-wall racquetball court follow. (a) Dimensions. The dimensions shall be 20 feet wide, 40 feet long and 20 feet high, with a back wall at least 12 feet high. All surfaces shall be in play, with the exception of any gallery opening, surfaces designated as out-of-play for a valid reason (such as being of a very different material or not in alignment with the backwall), and designated court hinders. (b) Markings. Racquetball courts shall be marked with lines 1 1/2 inches wide as follows: 1. Short Line. The back edge of the short line is midway between, and is parallel with, the front and back walls. 2. Service Line. The front edge of the service line is parallel with, and five feet in front of, the back edge of the short line. 3. Service Zone. The service zone is the 5' x 20' area bounded by the bottom edges of the side walls and by the outer edges of the short line and the service line. 4. Service Boxes. The service boxes, used in doubles play, are located at each end of the service zone and are designated by lines parallel with the side walls.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Pride Goes Before A Fall Essay

In a bid to exemplify the notion’s statement, â€Å"pride goes before a fall,† Alice Walker, Joyce Carol Oates and John Updike draw on their main characters Dee, Connie, and Sammy in their stories â€Å"Every day Use,† â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? † and â€Å"A&P† respectively. Dee, Connie and Sammy are an example of how the notion of pride is shown in various ways and how as their pride reaches its peak, they fall. Dee shows her pride in her self centered personality that causes her to lose her appreciation for her mother and her sister Maggie, and causes her to abandon her heritage and become distant. Connie, in â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? † shows pride in her overconfidence that leads her to act impetuously causing her to lose her personal safety. Sammy, in â€Å"A&P† shows pride by simply quitting his job in response to what he views to be an unacceptable behavior by his boss, and wishes to grab the attention of girls that merely recognize him. The Preoccupation with pride that these characters have causes them to eventually fall. Dee’s egocentrism leads her to become unappreciative to both her family and her heritage. Dee reveals her true personality when she responds to her mother for the reason she wants to take the quilts instead of her sister in the quotation, â€Å"Hang them, she said. As if that was the only thing you could do with quilts†(Walker 375). This quotation shows moment when Mama’s attitude changes in the story. Before it, she was submissive to Dee and had much respect for her. After, she realizes that Dee will never be grateful to her or even able to understand that there are other people in this world besides herself. Dee’s pride is shown in her eagerness to take the quilts that are originally for Maggie; She ignores her sister’s feelings and her mother’s will. She fakes love for her mother’s old things because they are expensive, not because she enjoys the history and is proud of her heritage. The pride causes Dee to lose her appreciation for her mother, sister, and heritage and at the same time she loses her mother appreciation for her. Maybe if she did not respond to her mother’s question by simply hanging the quilts, her mother would have given them to her. However, her selfish desires of getting whatever she wants leads her to loose her mother’s respect. Connie’s self assertiveness ended by her loosing her safety. Connie shows her pride in her personal thought as the narrative states, â€Å" actually Connie thought that her mother preferred her to June because she was prettier†(Oates 53). Connie’s overconfidence of her self comes from her beauty. She finds her self to be a beautiful young girl who is a point of interest among the boys. As a result of herself, she builds up her personality with that overconfidence, while at the same time building her pride up. As soon as her pride is at its maximum level, she acts in an impetuous way ignoring the outcomes of her actions, this can be seen through the quotation, â€Å"It was a car she didn’t know†¦ she whispered â€Å"Christ, Christ,† wondering how bad she looked†¦ she went into the kitchen and approached the door slowly, then hung out the screen door, her bare toes curling down off the step†(Oates 54). This quotation shows Connie’s pride and how her pride causes her to fall. Connie’s reaction when she finds a stranger in her driveway by wondering how she looks reveals that her pride takes value over her safety, while the normal thoughts that any body can think about when he finds a stranger entering his driveway is thinking about his safety, Connie is only concerned with her beauty. Connie’s overconfidence pushes her to approach the door which is the beginning of her fall. Connie lives in her small safe life of teenagers, not taking into consideration the outside wild life that she approaches blindly. At the time she decided to open the door, Connie the teenager and the young adult is blended together. Connie is in a stage of maturation— She decides to approach the door for the stranger which is the teenager side of her mind and at the same time she approaches it slowly which is the young adult side of her character. Her action to hang out the screen door is the time when Connie is completely mature and considered a young adult. At this moment, Connie cannot go back to the level of maturity she had when she was a teenager. Connie starts the fall. Connie’s overconfidence causes her to portray an imaginary photo of how the world is and she acts from this perspective which ultimately ends her losing her self security. Sammy resigning his job shows pride, but renders him inferior in society. Sammy shows pride in the way he reacts to his boss, Mr. Lengel. The way he treats the girls is shown in the quotation, â€Å"The girls who’d blame them, are in a hurry to get out, so I say â€Å"I quit† to Lengel quick enough for them to hear, hoping they’ll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero†(Updike 87). The quotation shows the girl’s reaction to Mr. Lengel’s words. They want to go out of the store as quick as they can. It also shows Sammy’s rashness in thoughts and making decisions by stating that he quits in a quick manner. Quitting to Sammy is a way that he shows pride and is a way to grab the girls attention. He is showing that he supports them, and he thinks that they will consider him their hero. Sammy also shows hesitation that his action may attract the girls attention. He hopes that by quitting, his proud actions will grab their attention. However, he comes out of the store and he does not find any body waiting for him. As the narrator states, â€Å"I look around for the girls, but they’re gone†¦ I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter†(Updike 88). At this moment, Sammy realizes his fall. This fall can be viewed in two perspectives. The first perspective is a superficial one because he thought that the girls would be impressed and would be waiting for him which they didn’t. The second is when he realized that he quit his only job and that world will be hard to him, which is something that is hard to handle.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Design of Organizational Control Mechanisms Essay

Problem: When a team of individuals produce a single output the problem arises on how to contribute the reward so that every individual is equally rewarded. This article examines three different mechanisms to deal with this issue: 1.Markets Markets deals with the control problem through precise measurement and reward of individual contributions. 2.Bureaucrats Bureaucrats rely on a mixture of close evaluation with socialized acceptance of common objectives. 3.Clans Clans rely on a relatively complete socialization process which effectively eliminates goal incongruence between individuals. Introduction: Controls (by Tannenbaum)=sum of interpersonal influence relations in an organization Controls (Ezioni)= control is equivalent to power Controls (Weber)= a problem in creating and monitoring rules through a hierarchical authority system Main questions in article: 1) What are the mechanisms through which an organization can be managed so that it moves towards its objectives? 2) How can the design of these mechanisms be improved, what are the limits of each design? An example: The parts supply division Purchasing department: buys 100.000 items (p.a.) from 3.000 suppliers purchased by 22 employees on 3 management levels. † †¢Purchasing officer – send out request to 3 manufacturers and adds information on reliability,†¦ and the order †¢Supervisor – Consults agents if they need help and reminds workers that they are not allowed to accept presents Warehousing operations: 1.400 employees (incl. 150 manager) †¢Pickers and packers (worker) †¢Supervisor (manager) – Formal authority (written rules) – Informal authority (personality) Three mechanisms: 1.Market mechanism –> purchasing function Agents and supervisory employ market mechanism: to minimize cost for the company by picking the best price on the markets. In a market prices convey all of the information necessary for efficient decision-making. Frictionless market: Prices represent exactly the value of good or service. Therefore reward can be contributed in direct proportion to contribution of employee! Agents and supervisory are subject to bureaucratic mechanisms: Their work is controlled by a set of bureaucratic surveillance controls (performance evaluation, hierarchical oder-giving) 2.Bureaucratic mechanism –> warehousing function Warehousing is subject to routines of monitoring and directing. This is done by close personal surveillance and direction of subordinates by superiors, based on a set of rules. Rules vs. price: Rules are arbitrary (beliebige) standards without comparison, based on assigned values of (successful) actions. Prices imply that a comparison has already taken place. Prices are far more efficient means of controlling transactions than are rules. However, the conditions necessary for frictionless prices can rarely be met, and in such conditions the bureaucratic form, despite its inadequacies, is preferred. 3.Informal social / clan mechanism Supervisors can rely on bureaucratic mechanisms but this requires surveillance which is associated with costs. But when the supervisor knows that his workers achieve the â€Å"right† objectives, he can eliminate many of the costly forms of audition and surveillance. Social and informational prerequisites of control The three models can be arranged along two dimensions: 1.Informational requirements =prerequisite to successful operation 2.Social underpinnings = Set of agreements between people, as a bare minimum, is basis for control Type of controlSocial requirementsInformational requirements MarketsNorm of Reciprocity (Wechselwirkung) Prices BureaucracyNorm of Reciprocity Legitimate authorityRules ClanNorm of Reciprocity Legitimate authority Shared values, beliefsTraditions The informational prerequisite of control: While a Clan is the most demanding and the Market the least demanding with respect to social underpinnings, the opposite is true when it comes to information. Within large organizations departments tend to develop own jargon in which complex information is easily transported. Each system carries information on how to behave: †¢Explicit system: accounting system – easily accessible by newcomer (system is created) †¢Implicit system: is far less complete in its ability to convey information. e.g. US Senate – need years to understand flow of information (systems â€Å"grow up†) Companies attempting to control the organization through a price (=market) mechanism use â€Å"transfer prices† to represent prices of internal performances. The advantage should be obtained by using the best prices within the firm. Organizations can also create an explicit set of rules (behavior as well as production and output) that will cover every situation and therefore cut the information problem down by using rules that will cover 90% of all events and depending upon hierarchical authority to settle the remaining 10%. Again legitimate authority is critical to bureaucracy. In a Clan the information is contained in the rituals, stories and ceremonies. So to say the information system does not require a information system, it’s just there. For example Chinese-American Hui: conducts business as venture capital lender but they also enter risky businesses and even the repayments are left open. Entry is only granted by birthright, a practice that guarantees that every member is part in the same social network and therefore behave to the same rules and principles. While the Market and Clan are both specialized approaches it is the Bureaucratic which is the system that is most flexible. Of course, under certain circumstance both the Market and Clan approach will deliver better results but the Bureaucratic can withstand high rates of turnover, a high degree of heterogeneity and it does not have very demanding informational needs. Designing Control Mechanisms: Costs and Benefits Two ways of effective people control: 1. Find people that fit needs exactely 2. find people that don’t fit exactly but use a managerial system to instruct, monitor and evaluate them Best approach depends on costs. Ad 1. is associated with costs and search and acquisitions but their skills will help to reduce costs in the long-run. Ad 2. includes trainings costs and a the costs for the supervisory system but reduces high turnover. Search and select ‘clan-type’ people: Cost of Search and Acquisition: High Wages Benefit: Perform tasks without instruction, work hard Instruct people into the ‘clan’ system: Cost of training: instruct, monitor, and evaluate unskilled workers (who are likely to be indifferent to learn organization skills and values). High rates of turnover. Costs of monitoring: developing rules, supervising. Benefit: heterogeneous system of people that can be controlled. Explicit rules (codified knowledge) offset turnover costs. Loose coupling and The Clan as a Form of Control New view with impact on designing control mechanisms. The ability to measure either output or behavior which is relevant to the desired performance is critical to the â€Å"rational† application of market or bureaucratic forms of control. Knowledge of transformation process: Tin Can plant: If we understand the technology (e.g. production process and what it takes for a successful production) perfectly, we can achieve effective control by setting rules that lead to behavior and processes that lead to our desired transformation steps. Thus, we can create an effective bureaucratic control mechanism. Women’s boutique: On the other hand, if we don’t understand what is needed (e.g. control system for women’s boutique) to be a successful buyer or merchandiser, we can’t create rules. But we can measure output (turnover per buyer, salex volumes,†¦). So we can use the output control mechanism to monitor various indicators and set actions accordingly. Apollo Program: Each step of the transformation (assembling) is crystal clear and we have a output measure (it comes back or not). Thus we have the choice and the lower cost alternative will be preferred: clearly as the cost of failure would be prohibitive (untragbar) and more elaborate behavior control system will be installed. Reseach Lab: We have the ability to define the rules of behavior and we can measure the output which will be some 10 years in the future. Certainly a strong output control system will be used but effectively this cannot guarantee success – so neither behavior nor output measurement will be sufficient, leaving us with no rational form of control. Therefore such organizations rely on ritualized, ceremonial forms of controls. This approach only works with the recruitment of a selected few individuals, with the same schooling and professionalization process. Another organizations using this form: Hospitals, Investement banks, †¦ Whereas output and behavior control can be implemented through a market or bureaucracy, ceremonial forms of control can be implemented through a clan. Closing observations Depending on the organization and its requirements it has to be choosen which control systems works best. E.g.: manufacturing: behavior and output control vs. service org.: cultural or clan controls. Nevertheless every control system is directed at achieving cooperation by: †¢Market mechanism: each person’s contribution is evaluated; combined with a personal loss of reward †¢Clan mechanism: attain cooperation by selecting and sozialising individuals such that their objectives overlap with the organization’s objectives †¢Bureaucratic mechanism: does a little of each, partly evaluates performance and partly engenders feelings of commitment to the idea of legitimate authority in hierarchies Two main questions: 1. Clarity with which the performance can be assessed 2. Degree of goal incongruence (either trust each other or control each other)

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Administrative Discretion – Essay

Administrative Discretion NAME SCHOOL Should public administrators be restricted to only laid down rules in the discharge of their duties as espoused by Max Weber or should they have some amount of discretion? To me that is a very open question in regards to public administration and depending on the situation either administrators’ following guidelines is best or administrators following their best discretion can be the best for the situation at hand. So when answering this question I can go either way, situation and circumstances permitting. In this paper I will go into further detail to explain why both sides of this question are equally applicable. When situations arise and public administrators have to make decisions in regards to the public safety, environmental safety, or the safety of anything in general it is important that they follow the laid down rules that their duties are bound by. Legal-rational authority â€Å"is based on a belief in the legitimacy of the pattern of normative rules and the rights of those elevated to authority under such rules to issue commands† (1). This can also be translated into â€Å"follow the rules of society! Everything has always worked better if everyone and everything follows this bureaucratic rule of thumb. One situation where public administrators should have been held to follow the laid down rules in regards to their duties was the finalization of the DoD, or Department of Defense’s budget. The ultimate work around was an extension to make a decision and funds w ere allocated for the mean time but potentially this could have been a major freeze on the majority of DoD operations to include the Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, and Coast Guard. On the other hand, there is another option that makes sense. Public administrators, while following the laid down rules they are to follow, can be very effective when allowed varying amounts of discretion in their actions. Weber states that legal-rational authority is â€Å"†¦superior to any other form in precision, in stability, in stringency of its discipline, and in its reliability. It thus makes possible a particularly high degree of calculability of results for the heads of organizations and for those acting in relation to it† (1). Now taking that this type of bureaucracy that is followed works very well, in my career in the military I have learned that when particular situations arise, flexibility and speed is key. Thus in turn, public administrators are allowed that extra bit of flexibility just like in the case study 5 – Wichita Confronts Contamination. City Manager Chris Cherches used the flexibility he had managing the city and was able to save the city and state thousands if not millions of dollars that would be wasted if the EPA had been forced to manage the city’s cleanup operation. Cherches swift action, flexibility and determination in service to his city was detrimental to not only saving the cost that would have been brought to the city and state but his actions show how being allowed the discretion in his position actually provided a better outcome than not. Ultimately, flexibility or discretion is the deciding factor when it comes to getting the positive result or outcome of any situation. When it comes down to it, it is the actual situation or circumstance that dictates what the best course of action is to be, whether it is to follow the rules down to the letter or to have the discretion to make the decisions that will ultimately be the deciding factor in the positive outcome. With the examples give, on one hand you have congress who cannot come to an agreement over the finalization of a budget for the arm of the government, the Department of Defense and luckily was able to extend the term of the budget freeing up an allocated amount of funds. On the other was the City Manager of Wichita, Kansas who was able to save not only the city but the state countless amounts of money in a cleanup operation. So as you can see it is not a question of what is right, answer A all of the time or answer B all of the time, it is the question of which situation applies; can you use answer A, answer B for the particular situation. In the real world, situation and circumstances dictate all actions and outcomes. References: 1. Stillman, R. J. , II (2010). Public Administration, Concepts and Cases. Boston, MA: Wadsworth